Hello,
Thanks for visiting and reading my blog. I hope the information you find here will be both helpful and entertaining at times. I plan on showing fun photos of sessions I have done, and sharing a few thoughts about them along the way. Feel free to share a comment or two if you wish.
Happy reading.
Steve
Family and kid photos
Last month I had the opportunity to photograph my niece and nephew's family. We went to a place not too far from their home, a fairgrounds with a western theme village. Some neat old buildings to take photos at, and the weather was overcast but ok. When I'm taking photos, one of the things I try to be thinking about is the background. I know, lighting and posing are probably the ones that come to mind first, but the background is just as important. Busy backgrounds can easily ruin an otherwise good photo, things like light poles, traffic, people or whatever. But there are 2 sides to this. Because I like trains (and so do most kids), I spotted this car and thought, now that might work. So I placed brother and sister together in front of this car, and used an aperture that would keep it all in focus. I think it adds an eye catching background that gives the viewer more to look at without taking anything away from their portrait.
Although this post is directed at backgrounds, look for the light first. Use light natural light to your advantage. On this particular day, the sky was very gray and overcast, so light was not a concern.
Moving either yourself or your subjects to keep your background clean looking is one element that is often overlooked.
Suitable backgrounds will help with your portraiture.
Slow down, and take a closer look
Although I am primarily a portrait and wedding photographer, I also enjoy nature and wildlife photography. I find it relaxing, rewarding and challenging. Somedays, if I have the time, I will just sit in one place and wait for a photographic opportunity to come to me. Taking the time to zone in, and really look around can pay off sometimes. If you have a camera that you can really zoom in with, or an slr with a macro lens, take the time and slow down. Take a close look at what's around. Often times, taking a real close up provides us with the opportunity to see things we may not normally see. In the world of close up photography, we are truly giants. Unfortunately, we are usually looking at the big picture also, walking right by some awesome photographic opportunities. These are water drops on a few strands of a relatively small (about the size of a silver dollar) spider web on a foggy/misty morning in my backyard. Taken with a Canon 5D MarkII, 100mm macro lens with a 36mm extension tube and an off camera ringflash. Understanding not everyone has this type of equipment, the links below should get you on a great start to macro photography with whatever camera/equipment you do have. Slow down, and take a closer look at what you may be missing. Happy photographing.
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/macro-photography-tips-for-compact-digital-camera-users
Slideshows
Hi Everyone,
Slideshows are the topic today. With just about everyone photographing just about everything these days, we all probably have a ton of photos hidden away. Loaded onto our computer hard drives, maybe we even burned them to a CD for safe keeping, or we have a few hundred on our memory cards. No matter where your photos, chances are you are not looking at them very often (unless they are framed and hanging on your wall). But what about all the other ones? You know, the snapshots that really get you smiling, the ones we often forget about. When we do finally see those again, we can remember the story about that photo like it was yesterday. But instead of those photos staying buried in a shoe box like days of old, we bury them digitally. Rarely, if ever, to be seen or heard from again. Now think, how easy it would be to just put a DVD in our home theatre systems and watch those photos play on tv, with some great music to go with them. Watch them whenever we want, with a lot less effort than searching endlessly for prints or digital files. SLIDESHOWS!! Slideshows on DVDs, labeled clearly, and stored next to your movie collection. Want to watch your wedding, vacation, birthday party, reunion? How amazingly convenient to just play a professionally made DVD, sit back, relax and enjoy. I have attached a 1 minute video of a senior session I did, that gives you an idea of what is possible. Unlike the days when my father would put the slides in to the old Kodak carousel, and click away (and add commentary as he went), slideshows today can be filled with slick transitions, great music and viewed in high definition. There are some pretty cool consumer level programs that will help you achieve an awesome looking slideshow for yourself. I'm sharing a couple of web addresses of companies that offer this, but I can't speak to their quality or product. www.photodex.com; www.smilebox.com; www.animoto.com I think you can even do some cool stuff in power point on your pc. The other option is you can hire someone like me to do it for you. Contact me through my website, all I need are your digital files (jpeg) and any descriptions you want to add to the photographs. I charge by the hour to do this type of work, so contact me for an estimate. Text can even be added to any picture, just like the way we used to write on the back of the photo (remember?). Either way, start enjoying the photographs you take, on that HD flat screen tv you have hanging on your wall. What a great way to reconnect with your family and friends, start bringing back those memories in a very enjoyable way. Talk again soon.
Steve
Choosing your wedding photographer
Choosing a photographer for your big day is a daunting task. There are so many out there, how do you know one is better than another. Here are some tips in helping you to decide:
- Choose a photographer that suits your style. Photographers will either shoot formal wedding frames, or be more like photojournalists, shooting as the event happens, or some photographers will do a mixture of both. Choose a photographer that suits your style.
- Every photographer has a portfolio of work. Ask to see it. Look for crisp images, good lighting, well composed foregrounds and backgrounds, ask yourself whether the photography your viewing expresses any emotion.
- Meet with your photographer. It is essential that you understand each other and can work together throughout the process as the character of the photographer will play an important part in the type of photo’s you end up with. No matter how technically proficient the photographer is, a personality clash with your photographer will leave you with less than desirable photographs of your special day.
- Ask technical questions: equipment, backups, lighting techniques. Even if you are not sure what you are asking, a professional should be able to convey enough information clearly to set your mind at ease in a friendly manner that is understood by you.
- Ask for References and check them out. Ask whether the photographer was punctual, friendly, assertive, worthy of recommendation?
- Check out the small print. Large studios may hike up the price of an estimate by sending along associates or charging you for travel time to your wedding etc. Make sure you know what your getting, and get it in writing.
- Ask if the photographer uses a shot list. This ensures you get the photos you want, and the photographer doesn't miss any that are important to you. There are photographers out there that will tell you they don't need a shot list, because they have done so many weddings they know it all. Shot lists are a valuable tool, and in my opinion should always be used.
- Ask where does the customer service end? After the bill is paid? When the prints are delivered? The minute your photographer leaves for the night? Will your photographer be accessible after the prints are delivered and the bill is paid? In my mind, once a customer, always a customer.
- Finally, never choose a photographer based on price. Although you may feel this is a good place to start, it simply isn't. Choose your photographer based on their work first. Love their work, enjoy their personality and then consider the cost. You are investing a great deal on your wedding day on many things, don't let the cost of your photographer be your decision maker.
The photo’s that you take away from your wedding are the only lasting impression you will have of your special day.
Once you’ve made your choice, don’t second guess. Consider it one less thing to have to think about!