Ok, this isn't a tip post, but it's something that really, really needs to be spoken up about. As a photographer, and specifically one that travels to do his job, I generally need to be mobile with all of my equipment. To do on location photography requires everything to be easily moved, set up and taken down, with low weight and quick response. This also means that I usually have to be mobile to communicate and work, which means I need a laptop computer, with some type of mobile internet.
Luckily, I've got mobile broadband for my laptop, which means that I can go generally anywhere and connect to the interwebs. In case that doesn't work, I can also connect via wi-fi anywhere I'm "allowed" to. It's becoming increasingly popular for places to offer wi-fi connectivity for free, which is great for people like me who may need that quick access.
However, most of these places have overlooked one of the most essential things when it comes to mobile computing. Unfortunately, this isn't a localized occurance, it's a widespread issue. Most of the places that I've mobile computed from don't offer a whole lot of access to power outlets. Yes, that's right, there needs to be more access to electricity. Now I understand that it's possible the businesses that are offering internet access now, probably have been in buildings that weren't built with a lot of outlets, but have joined the 21st Century. But I know there are places that have been remodeled or newly rebuilt that knew they were going to offer access, that still didn't build with enough, or any, outlets for their customers.
Granted, I get the fact that most people won't spend several hours sitting in one location doing work over the internet, unless it's at an office, home or other business specific place. But it's always possible that you might be in a, say famous burger joint with a clown for a mascot, for quite a while, working, eating, or killing time, and your battery run out. Case in point, one locally just rebuilt with their new setup, a nice "modern" look and feel with flatscreen TVs with news, and several signs on the windows and out in the parking lot saying they've got free wi-fi (which is different from most of the others in the area who have decided to charge for access). Of course the idea of fast food doesn't normally include breaking out the laptop to do whatever, but in this era of information and technology, especially for business people who travel in their jobs, it's not unheard of.
Plus, it's good business sense to have people able to stay in the location. They might spend more money if they're there longer, and people see that customers are in the building and it can draw more business in.
I do understand that not everyplace I go and use my computer are meant to be wi-fi hotspots. So they're not always expected to be a place that is going to accomodate computer users. But for those places that are hotspots, please remember that electricity is important.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Now we're ready
Ok, now it's time for a new topic. This one's been irking me for a bit now, and it's one of the reasons I wanted to restart with the blogging.
As a freelance photographer, I'm always looking for as many ways as I can to try to get work. Websites, word of mouth, selling prints, whatever. The next job is always on my mind. So I heard about a website where freelancers (not just photographers, but all kinds of careers) can sign up for notifications of jobs, and people looking can post what they need and get bids from the people interested. So every day or two, I get an e-mail where a photographer (or videographer, or editor, or photoshop master) is needed for a job. If I'm interested, I'll put in a bid and see if I win.
The one problem I've had with this set up is that people don't know what their jobs are worth. They want to hire a photographer to come do some shoot, and then they want all the rights and all the copies, and oh, yeah, you have to sign a non-disclosure (that one was new today). Now not all of the jobs are written up like that. I've taken bits and pieces from different ones from the past. But they generally all read the same. Oh, and the "budgets" are tiny. One recently was asking for a photoshop master to re-process some wedding images. That is not only stepping on the original photographer's toes, it's illegal. I wanted to write a scathing letter to this person telling them what for. But I didn't.
Let me be clear here. I know that sometimes budgets are tight. I know operations are small and want to save money. I know that people may not know how the pricing works. So here's my two cents.
You are rarely going to get a photographer who releases their copyrights on any images. Not without a lot, and I mean a LOT of compensation. That's our bread and butter. Depending on the job (specific products, name or brand recognition, people) I can take those images and use them as stock. Which means I can make money with any image I create, even after you're done with it. Even for events like weddings, I have a contract that has a clause allowing me to use the images as I see fit afterwords.
I'm not going to drag this out complaining about every little thing people request through this service. But I will say that if you're going to hire someone to do work for you, learn the pricing, structure and rules/laws governing that career. Be sure to be aware of how things work before you ask for some outrageous, potentially career ending request. And don't take for granted just how much a professional is worth, both in talent and in compensation.
As a freelance photographer, I'm always looking for as many ways as I can to try to get work. Websites, word of mouth, selling prints, whatever. The next job is always on my mind. So I heard about a website where freelancers (not just photographers, but all kinds of careers) can sign up for notifications of jobs, and people looking can post what they need and get bids from the people interested. So every day or two, I get an e-mail where a photographer (or videographer, or editor, or photoshop master) is needed for a job. If I'm interested, I'll put in a bid and see if I win.
The one problem I've had with this set up is that people don't know what their jobs are worth. They want to hire a photographer to come do some shoot, and then they want all the rights and all the copies, and oh, yeah, you have to sign a non-disclosure (that one was new today). Now not all of the jobs are written up like that. I've taken bits and pieces from different ones from the past. But they generally all read the same. Oh, and the "budgets" are tiny. One recently was asking for a photoshop master to re-process some wedding images. That is not only stepping on the original photographer's toes, it's illegal. I wanted to write a scathing letter to this person telling them what for. But I didn't.
Let me be clear here. I know that sometimes budgets are tight. I know operations are small and want to save money. I know that people may not know how the pricing works. So here's my two cents.
You are rarely going to get a photographer who releases their copyrights on any images. Not without a lot, and I mean a LOT of compensation. That's our bread and butter. Depending on the job (specific products, name or brand recognition, people) I can take those images and use them as stock. Which means I can make money with any image I create, even after you're done with it. Even for events like weddings, I have a contract that has a clause allowing me to use the images as I see fit afterwords.
I'm not going to drag this out complaining about every little thing people request through this service. But I will say that if you're going to hire someone to do work for you, learn the pricing, structure and rules/laws governing that career. Be sure to be aware of how things work before you ask for some outrageous, potentially career ending request. And don't take for granted just how much a professional is worth, both in talent and in compensation.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Third and long
Hopefully not, but I'd like to not have to make a fourth post from the past, so this one may be chock full of everything. Let's get started.
In the last post was a photo of a dent in a hood of an old, beat up truck I happened upon at a local library. It fit the theme of the original post of minding your surroundings in more ways than one. Firstly, it was a dent in a car, which always means someone wasn't minding their surroundings. Second, I wasn't at the library to look for old beat up trucks to snap shots of. But I couldn't help but love the beauty of a rusty beat up truck. I was there taking pictures of some outdoor art, and the truck was just there as I was leaving. As a photographer, I'm always trying to mind my surroundings for great shots. Sometimes I feel as if I'm not stopping and looking enough to find shots. But I'm working on it. I think that's a big thing you have to remember as a photographer is patience. But that's a topic for another entry.
Skill Level: P&S
Last week I wrote about what happened to me during a friend's wedding, with one of the other guests and a disposable camera. It's been gnawing at me for a week to put this topic up. So much so that I almost wrote them back to back. But, I have to pace myself, or you won't get your weekly fix. I want to talk this week about a topic that has been at the forefront of my mind for a couple of years. The topic is probably best described as camera envy.
Now camera envy is a curable affliction. It can easily be fixed by remembering that it's not the kind of equipment you have, but how you use it. (No innuendo implied). It's just as easy to take great pictures with a point and shoot film camera as it is with a high end digital professional DSLR. It's a matter of realizing what you're taking, how you're taking it, and what you're trying to convey.
I started out with my photography in my childhood, but it wasn't a hobby I actively pursued. As I got a little older, I still really enjoyed taking pictures, but never put much effort into it. Until I ended up on the yearbook staff of my high school. I wasn't one of those kids you see in movies walking around with a camera all the time, but I can look back at my senior yearbook and point out a large number of the candid school shots that were one's I took. A couple of years later, my interest was piqued again thanks to my wife/fellow photographer/business partner and her elective photography class in college. She had to get a Pentax K1000 for her class, which, I guess is standard for students still. We brought that camera out every chance we could, and that's basically where I caught the bug that's brought me where I am. We still have that camera with film in it, and use it. some of my personal favorite images in my collection were taken with that camera. It's still amazing.
Even some of our images currently in our portfolio were taken with our little digi-cam. I've had people compliment me on my images from that little camera, even with a professional hired to take shots at the same location.
You can go out and find stacks and stacks of books, magazines, tapes, cds, dvds, websites and experts who can tell you how, where, when, why, and with what to take photos. It's almost sad that a lot of these people have been at it for so long, they've forgotten what it actually means for normal people to grab a camera and take photos. You can get technical information for every situation you might encounter and yet it's really not as difficult as it seems.
Whether you're taking photos for yourself, your friends and family, or for profit, it boils down to the basics every time. There are no rules in photography. Take shots for you, and if you want to sell them, someone will buy. (You might have to look, and do marketing, but someone, somewhere will like what you've done.) I recently read an article on a young guy who's using an old Kodak camera to show the world around him, and he's making enough off his work to do it full time. So you don't have to have the latest gadget, equipment, or techno-widget to take wonderful pictures.
So forget about camera envy. Not every picture you're going to take will be fantastic, but then again, not every picture the Ansel Adams' and Annie Leibovitz's of the photography world take are perfect. Do what inspires you.
The first image above was from a client who I'm personally familiar with. I loved this shoot and I'm pretty pleased with how that shoot turned out, especially this one. I fiddled around with the image in post processing and it looks great. But I'm biased.
Skill Level: Pro (D)SLR
If you're a new-to-the-game pro or semi-pro, you're probably trying to figure out exactly what you want to do. It's a bit daunting to look into the field of professional photography and see all the areas that are available to make a move towards. Anything from weddings to pets, from food to advertising, from studio portraits to public events, makes it a wide open field. The advice I have to give here is pretty simple, but it's probably the most overlooked. Do what you love. You love photography (and if not, why are you doing it?) that's a given. But, what else do you love? What hobbies do you have? What activities do you do in your free time? And how can you translate that into the images you take?
From personal experience, I can honestly say that I'm coming into my own realization about exactly what I'm wanting to do. It's not always a simple process, and it doesn't always happen immediately. It's taken a pretty decent amount of searching, thinking, reading, researching, and learning. But once you have that epiphany, that "A ha!" moment, it's a good feeling. I knew getting into photography, I wanted to be free to shoot at will. I really didn't want to focus on weddings. Sure, they're a way to make money, but as with any job, if you really don't like it, it won't satisfy you. So I'll occasionally take a wedding gig, but it's not really where I want to go professionally. I also don't really want to stick to in studio work. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Studio work is fine, and can be very rewarding. But not for me. I don't like having to be in one place for very long. It tends to cramp my creative process. Which is why I want to get outdoors to shoot. I'm not claustrophobic, but I have more room to breathe and think in the outside world.
To me, weddings, studio shoots, school pictures, it's all repetitive. The idea, for those with the patience and ability, is to make it not so monotonous. And there are those gifted wedding photographers who can do it. Recently the photojournalistic style of candid shots rather than staged shots has been making a big impression on the world of wedding photography. Unfortunately, not every bride, groom, or mother of the bride has the insight to let this happen. That's because it's been done one way for a very long time. If you look into the history of wedding photography, it wasn't actually done at the wedding. Photography was expensive, so usually it was done after the fact at a studio or home. Once film, processing and cameras became cheap, it turned into the hiring of a pro to shoot everyone at the ceremony. Now, it's possible to shoot things as they happen. That to me is the better style. Take a look through enough wedding albums from the last thirty or so years, and you'll see what I mean. Groom and bride, couple and parents, couple and family, couple and attendants, couple and... And the list goes on and on. Back before digital was so prevalent, photojournalistic could be cost prohibitive. Taking candid shots requires multiple rolls of film. It still could be done, but it was going to cost extra. Now, it's as if each click of the shutter can show every moment and memory from the day. And it's great when as a photographer you're able to find someone who is open-minded enough to let you roam and shoot. It can be stifling when you can't. So I don't focus on that area.
So my goal is to find a genre of photography that allows me freedom to be creative and the ability to go outside. My ideal office/studio/gallery set up would include not only an indoor studio (which I do believe is necessary, you just can't go outside for every shoot) and an outdoor backyard type with multiple sets for shooting various looks. But that's the topic of the next entry here, so I won't go into too much detail now. Of course my ultimate goal is to find someone who's willing to pay me to be creative. It's not just a job. It's an adventure.
The second photo above is a cake pan full of metal stars. Most of them are designed like those blue camp coffee pots you can get with camping supplies. But one is a rust colored star. It stands out. It's different. It makes no excuses. The shot was taken in a series which was following the Red Rule. What's the Red Rule? If you see red, shoot it. But which one would you choose?
The entry to follow will be shortened. Not only to save space, but because I think I can sum it up better now. At one point, for quite a while, I was having difficulty coming up with posts. Part of it was because I wasn't really getting into the whole blog thing, and another was because I was at a point in my photography where I wasn't sure where to go. I knew what I didn't want to do, but I didn't know what I wanted to do. I mentioned that I'd been spending a lot of time in some online communities based on photography, not only for research, but for guidance. And in offering some advice, I found some solace and idea to help me move forward. I wanted something to click in me, not just in my camera.
The conversation started out with someone asking how someone could be doing so well with crap photography, but how someone with great photography would be struggling. I won't quote the whole thing now, but basically I responded that it's all subjective. Especially in photography. People like what they want. You just have to keep plugging away.
In the post I skipped a bunch of the answer after that, but I went on to suggest that photographers should find a theme and go shoot it. When they're feeling a lull in their work, or not feeling the right direction, they should just go shoot.
My ultimate advice, and I'm trying to adhere to it myself, "Take out your camera, and shoot your brains out."
In the next couple of posts, I'll go into that, and what it's meant to me lately.
In the last post was a photo of a dent in a hood of an old, beat up truck I happened upon at a local library. It fit the theme of the original post of minding your surroundings in more ways than one. Firstly, it was a dent in a car, which always means someone wasn't minding their surroundings. Second, I wasn't at the library to look for old beat up trucks to snap shots of. But I couldn't help but love the beauty of a rusty beat up truck. I was there taking pictures of some outdoor art, and the truck was just there as I was leaving. As a photographer, I'm always trying to mind my surroundings for great shots. Sometimes I feel as if I'm not stopping and looking enough to find shots. But I'm working on it. I think that's a big thing you have to remember as a photographer is patience. But that's a topic for another entry.
Skill Level: P&S
Last week I wrote about what happened to me during a friend's wedding, with one of the other guests and a disposable camera. It's been gnawing at me for a week to put this topic up. So much so that I almost wrote them back to back. But, I have to pace myself, or you won't get your weekly fix. I want to talk this week about a topic that has been at the forefront of my mind for a couple of years. The topic is probably best described as camera envy.
Now camera envy is a curable affliction. It can easily be fixed by remembering that it's not the kind of equipment you have, but how you use it. (No innuendo implied). It's just as easy to take great pictures with a point and shoot film camera as it is with a high end digital professional DSLR. It's a matter of realizing what you're taking, how you're taking it, and what you're trying to convey.
I started out with my photography in my childhood, but it wasn't a hobby I actively pursued. As I got a little older, I still really enjoyed taking pictures, but never put much effort into it. Until I ended up on the yearbook staff of my high school. I wasn't one of those kids you see in movies walking around with a camera all the time, but I can look back at my senior yearbook and point out a large number of the candid school shots that were one's I took. A couple of years later, my interest was piqued again thanks to my wife/fellow photographer/business partner and her elective photography class in college. She had to get a Pentax K1000 for her class, which, I guess is standard for students still. We brought that camera out every chance we could, and that's basically where I caught the bug that's brought me where I am. We still have that camera with film in it, and use it. some of my personal favorite images in my collection were taken with that camera. It's still amazing.
Even some of our images currently in our portfolio were taken with our little digi-cam. I've had people compliment me on my images from that little camera, even with a professional hired to take shots at the same location.
You can go out and find stacks and stacks of books, magazines, tapes, cds, dvds, websites and experts who can tell you how, where, when, why, and with what to take photos. It's almost sad that a lot of these people have been at it for so long, they've forgotten what it actually means for normal people to grab a camera and take photos. You can get technical information for every situation you might encounter and yet it's really not as difficult as it seems.
Whether you're taking photos for yourself, your friends and family, or for profit, it boils down to the basics every time. There are no rules in photography. Take shots for you, and if you want to sell them, someone will buy. (You might have to look, and do marketing, but someone, somewhere will like what you've done.) I recently read an article on a young guy who's using an old Kodak camera to show the world around him, and he's making enough off his work to do it full time. So you don't have to have the latest gadget, equipment, or techno-widget to take wonderful pictures.
So forget about camera envy. Not every picture you're going to take will be fantastic, but then again, not every picture the Ansel Adams' and Annie Leibovitz's of the photography world take are perfect. Do what inspires you.
The first image above was from a client who I'm personally familiar with. I loved this shoot and I'm pretty pleased with how that shoot turned out, especially this one. I fiddled around with the image in post processing and it looks great. But I'm biased.
Skill Level: Pro (D)SLR
If you're a new-to-the-game pro or semi-pro, you're probably trying to figure out exactly what you want to do. It's a bit daunting to look into the field of professional photography and see all the areas that are available to make a move towards. Anything from weddings to pets, from food to advertising, from studio portraits to public events, makes it a wide open field. The advice I have to give here is pretty simple, but it's probably the most overlooked. Do what you love. You love photography (and if not, why are you doing it?) that's a given. But, what else do you love? What hobbies do you have? What activities do you do in your free time? And how can you translate that into the images you take?
From personal experience, I can honestly say that I'm coming into my own realization about exactly what I'm wanting to do. It's not always a simple process, and it doesn't always happen immediately. It's taken a pretty decent amount of searching, thinking, reading, researching, and learning. But once you have that epiphany, that "A ha!" moment, it's a good feeling. I knew getting into photography, I wanted to be free to shoot at will. I really didn't want to focus on weddings. Sure, they're a way to make money, but as with any job, if you really don't like it, it won't satisfy you. So I'll occasionally take a wedding gig, but it's not really where I want to go professionally. I also don't really want to stick to in studio work. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Studio work is fine, and can be very rewarding. But not for me. I don't like having to be in one place for very long. It tends to cramp my creative process. Which is why I want to get outdoors to shoot. I'm not claustrophobic, but I have more room to breathe and think in the outside world.
To me, weddings, studio shoots, school pictures, it's all repetitive. The idea, for those with the patience and ability, is to make it not so monotonous. And there are those gifted wedding photographers who can do it. Recently the photojournalistic style of candid shots rather than staged shots has been making a big impression on the world of wedding photography. Unfortunately, not every bride, groom, or mother of the bride has the insight to let this happen. That's because it's been done one way for a very long time. If you look into the history of wedding photography, it wasn't actually done at the wedding. Photography was expensive, so usually it was done after the fact at a studio or home. Once film, processing and cameras became cheap, it turned into the hiring of a pro to shoot everyone at the ceremony. Now, it's possible to shoot things as they happen. That to me is the better style. Take a look through enough wedding albums from the last thirty or so years, and you'll see what I mean. Groom and bride, couple and parents, couple and family, couple and attendants, couple and... And the list goes on and on. Back before digital was so prevalent, photojournalistic could be cost prohibitive. Taking candid shots requires multiple rolls of film. It still could be done, but it was going to cost extra. Now, it's as if each click of the shutter can show every moment and memory from the day. And it's great when as a photographer you're able to find someone who is open-minded enough to let you roam and shoot. It can be stifling when you can't. So I don't focus on that area.
So my goal is to find a genre of photography that allows me freedom to be creative and the ability to go outside. My ideal office/studio/gallery set up would include not only an indoor studio (which I do believe is necessary, you just can't go outside for every shoot) and an outdoor backyard type with multiple sets for shooting various looks. But that's the topic of the next entry here, so I won't go into too much detail now. Of course my ultimate goal is to find someone who's willing to pay me to be creative. It's not just a job. It's an adventure.
The second photo above is a cake pan full of metal stars. Most of them are designed like those blue camp coffee pots you can get with camping supplies. But one is a rust colored star. It stands out. It's different. It makes no excuses. The shot was taken in a series which was following the Red Rule. What's the Red Rule? If you see red, shoot it. But which one would you choose?
The entry to follow will be shortened. Not only to save space, but because I think I can sum it up better now. At one point, for quite a while, I was having difficulty coming up with posts. Part of it was because I wasn't really getting into the whole blog thing, and another was because I was at a point in my photography where I wasn't sure where to go. I knew what I didn't want to do, but I didn't know what I wanted to do. I mentioned that I'd been spending a lot of time in some online communities based on photography, not only for research, but for guidance. And in offering some advice, I found some solace and idea to help me move forward. I wanted something to click in me, not just in my camera.
The conversation started out with someone asking how someone could be doing so well with crap photography, but how someone with great photography would be struggling. I won't quote the whole thing now, but basically I responded that it's all subjective. Especially in photography. People like what they want. You just have to keep plugging away.
In the post I skipped a bunch of the answer after that, but I went on to suggest that photographers should find a theme and go shoot it. When they're feeling a lull in their work, or not feeling the right direction, they should just go shoot.
My ultimate advice, and I'm trying to adhere to it myself, "Take out your camera, and shoot your brains out."
In the next couple of posts, I'll go into that, and what it's meant to me lately.
Round Two
Ok, here's the second round of posts I'm moving over. I don't think they'll all fit here without being long and boring, so I'll probably have to post a third set. With that in mind, here's the next set.
Skill Level: Beginner (D)SLR
Last post I included an image of a firework explosion. Yes, it was taken on the Fourth last year. Right around Independence Day, there's a lot of advice from the "experts" on the best way to shoot. I'm no expert, but I like to at least give my perspective. If you haven't figured out that a lot of photography is trial and error by now, you're hearing it. I know going out with my camera, that I'm not going to get every shot right, and that I'll be collecting throw-aways. And it's not a problem with digital although it can be cost prohibitive with film. Moving from film to digital gave me the patience to frame a shot and wait for it to happen. With fireworks, however, it's nice to have the digital to make as many throw-aways as possible.
I read somewhere that with fireworks, you'll have a ratio of 20-1, meaning out of 20 shots, you'll have one that comes out good. I think it's easy to come out with a better ratio than that. It helps to have a camera with multi-shot capabilities, and adjustable shutter speeds. It also helps to choose your spot. If you're at a small, local show, get close to the area where the pyrotechnics are happening, and try to stay upwind. For the last two years, I was able to sit about a hundred yards away from the platform the shells were shot from, so I could hear the shot, see the fuse trails and have a great chance of approximating how high the shells were going to go. I didn't use a tripod, I shot with a shutter speed of a second at f/8 with a 28-80mm lens at 28mm, and ISO was 400. Multiple shot mode came into play after a couple of minutes when I realized it would help me bracket better. The one thing I've seen people repeat in their advice was use a tripod and shutter release/remote. I threw that out, but with this caveat - if you're not shooting next to/under the explosions, use it. If you're far enough away that you can't track the shells easily, but you know where they're going to go bang, set up your tripod, point the camera in the right place, and let it do the work.
Me, I was sitting in a lawn chair, tracking the fuse trails (they make weird lines on images too, so don't ignore them) and pressing the shutter just before I figured they'd blow up. I only looked at the previews on my screen the first couple of times to check out the settings, but after I had everything dialed in, I ignored them. Make sure to close the eye you're framing the shot with as the explosion happens, or you'll be seeing a lot of spots by the end of the night. When the finale started, however, I realized that it'd just be better to keep the camera pointed in the general direction of the shots and only peek very quickly. Through the viewfinder, it was all white, although later on the computer, most came out well.
It also helps to have a large memory card. I ended up with over 500 jpeg images, some just black, some remnants of the blasts, some not quite at the apex of the colors. I even had several that were just off center so only half the blast shows up. I still kept those, sometimes it adds drama and could be used in the future for who knows what. As for the final number of decent or semi decent shots? 294. Not bad, and well over the 20-1 ratio. Granted, I'll be doing another culling to get the best shots to show publicly, and I'll probably do some Photoshop work to have a little fun with the ones that weren't exactly what I'd hoped. All in all, I figure it was a pretty good night for fireworks. And cameras.
I hope your shots came out as you'd hoped, if they didn't, I hope I helped you for next year.
Lake of Fire - The first picture I put up is one, that to me, looks like an optical illusion. If you consider what the perspective could be, you may see a serene lake scene from atop a hill or mountainside and seeing the whole shoreline with a layer of low lying clouds. Or, you could be looking off into the horizon standing on level ground at a burning orange sky during a sunset. You be the judge.
The blog entry that was supposed to go here, will not be making an appearance. It was meant to remind photographers to pay attention, and be respectful of the surroundings they're in, especially during a paid job. However, I have since become a bit more understanding of the issue, and my previous thoughts don't hold water now a year later. So we'll just skip it and move on.
I will, however, put up the anecdote that I talked about at the end of the post. As I was standing outside a church at the wedding of some friends of ours. I was not the professional hired to shoot their wedding, but I always take my camera with me. As everyone was filing out of the church to do the bubbles thing, and I was standing well back from the crowd as I had a rather long lens. One of the other guests stepped into my line of view, quickly realized that there was someone behind her and apologized for blocking me. She then looked at my gear, looked at her point and shoot and back to me, waved her camera and laughed, "Of course, look at this thing and look at yours." The camera envy was very palpable. I chuckled and responded with "Well, I'm a professional..." and just left the thought open. I could have been a bit more suave, but oh well. She was at least paying attention to her surroundings.
I think that's enough for now. I'll finish up the rest in the next post or so.
Last post I included an image of a firework explosion. Yes, it was taken on the Fourth last year. Right around Independence Day, there's a lot of advice from the "experts" on the best way to shoot. I'm no expert, but I like to at least give my perspective. If you haven't figured out that a lot of photography is trial and error by now, you're hearing it. I know going out with my camera, that I'm not going to get every shot right, and that I'll be collecting throw-aways. And it's not a problem with digital although it can be cost prohibitive with film. Moving from film to digital gave me the patience to frame a shot and wait for it to happen. With fireworks, however, it's nice to have the digital to make as many throw-aways as possible.
I read somewhere that with fireworks, you'll have a ratio of 20-1, meaning out of 20 shots, you'll have one that comes out good. I think it's easy to come out with a better ratio than that. It helps to have a camera with multi-shot capabilities, and adjustable shutter speeds. It also helps to choose your spot. If you're at a small, local show, get close to the area where the pyrotechnics are happening, and try to stay upwind. For the last two years, I was able to sit about a hundred yards away from the platform the shells were shot from, so I could hear the shot, see the fuse trails and have a great chance of approximating how high the shells were going to go. I didn't use a tripod, I shot with a shutter speed of a second at f/8 with a 28-80mm lens at 28mm, and ISO was 400. Multiple shot mode came into play after a couple of minutes when I realized it would help me bracket better. The one thing I've seen people repeat in their advice was use a tripod and shutter release/remote. I threw that out, but with this caveat - if you're not shooting next to/under the explosions, use it. If you're far enough away that you can't track the shells easily, but you know where they're going to go bang, set up your tripod, point the camera in the right place, and let it do the work.
Me, I was sitting in a lawn chair, tracking the fuse trails (they make weird lines on images too, so don't ignore them) and pressing the shutter just before I figured they'd blow up. I only looked at the previews on my screen the first couple of times to check out the settings, but after I had everything dialed in, I ignored them. Make sure to close the eye you're framing the shot with as the explosion happens, or you'll be seeing a lot of spots by the end of the night. When the finale started, however, I realized that it'd just be better to keep the camera pointed in the general direction of the shots and only peek very quickly. Through the viewfinder, it was all white, although later on the computer, most came out well.
It also helps to have a large memory card. I ended up with over 500 jpeg images, some just black, some remnants of the blasts, some not quite at the apex of the colors. I even had several that were just off center so only half the blast shows up. I still kept those, sometimes it adds drama and could be used in the future for who knows what. As for the final number of decent or semi decent shots? 294. Not bad, and well over the 20-1 ratio. Granted, I'll be doing another culling to get the best shots to show publicly, and I'll probably do some Photoshop work to have a little fun with the ones that weren't exactly what I'd hoped. All in all, I figure it was a pretty good night for fireworks. And cameras.
I hope your shots came out as you'd hoped, if they didn't, I hope I helped you for next year.
Lake of Fire - The first picture I put up is one, that to me, looks like an optical illusion. If you consider what the perspective could be, you may see a serene lake scene from atop a hill or mountainside and seeing the whole shoreline with a layer of low lying clouds. Or, you could be looking off into the horizon standing on level ground at a burning orange sky during a sunset. You be the judge.
The blog entry that was supposed to go here, will not be making an appearance. It was meant to remind photographers to pay attention, and be respectful of the surroundings they're in, especially during a paid job. However, I have since become a bit more understanding of the issue, and my previous thoughts don't hold water now a year later. So we'll just skip it and move on.
I will, however, put up the anecdote that I talked about at the end of the post. As I was standing outside a church at the wedding of some friends of ours. I was not the professional hired to shoot their wedding, but I always take my camera with me. As everyone was filing out of the church to do the bubbles thing, and I was standing well back from the crowd as I had a rather long lens. One of the other guests stepped into my line of view, quickly realized that there was someone behind her and apologized for blocking me. She then looked at my gear, looked at her point and shoot and back to me, waved her camera and laughed, "Of course, look at this thing and look at yours." The camera envy was very palpable. I chuckled and responded with "Well, I'm a professional..." and just left the thought open. I could have been a bit more suave, but oh well. She was at least paying attention to her surroundings.
I think that's enough for now. I'll finish up the rest in the next post or so.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The first few tips.
Well, the idea was to take some of the old blog entries and photos and post them here. But as I'm going through them, I'm realizing that they're a year old or more and not all the information may be relevant. So, how about I do a bit of weeding out and combining and get the best of all of them together. I've also got a new topic I'll be posting about in the next day or so, as it's one that's been on my mind for a while.
Let's begin.
We'll be implementing a skill level rating system for our tips and hints, when we have them. Since there are so many different levels of skill in photography, it was pointed out to me that the first tip above may be confusing to some people. So with the tips, I'll try to remember to put up our skill level rating.
Point and Shoot (P&S), Beginner (D)SLR, Advanced Amateur, Pro.
I want to try not to lean to heavily on the digital with the ratings, which is why the "D" is in parentheses. While what I talk about may actually be for digital, it can apply to film as well. I'll be sure to note, as I did, that it's for digital. And as with any skill level rating, if it is marked for one level, it's valid for the levels to the left. For example, the tips above are marked Beginner (D)SLR. Advanced Amateurs and Pros would understand, but someone with little more than point and shoot experience wouldn't necessarily be able to follow.
Skill Level Rating: Beginner (D)SLR
Here's a tip for you, one that I've had to keep in mind as I've been shooting in all sorts of different lighting scenarios recently. I shoot digital, Nikon D80 actually, which makes it easy to change settings for f-stops, ISOs, and shutter speeds. When moving around with wildly differing lighting, or even as the sun goes down, or especially indoors, the first reaction is to bump up the ISO to compensate for the low light. While you may have success with this for small increments, when you're having to bump it up to above 800 it may make far too much noise, or fuzz. You have other solutions to this issue, but you have to be able to handle your camera and keep it steady. Drop your ISO back down to 400 or so, and slow your shutter speed down to somewhere between 1/100 s and 1/40 s. Slower shutter speeds allow for more light, but also allow for more visible camera shake which may blur your image. Keep an eye on your preview images to make sure it's coming out as you want and adjust accordingly.
Skill Level: P&S
There have been several people lately that have decided to move to digital from film who've asked me what's the best way to go. While there is no one right way, I have to be honest with them about what they're wanting. One person has had several years with film SLR and was really looking to buy a DSLR of the same brand, so the lenses would match. While this may seem like a good idea, they've not had any time with a digital camera in their hand. I'm sure they've had friends and family with point and shoot digitals who've asked them to take pictures on occasion, but no lengthy test or trial and error learning process.
To this person, and any others who're wanting to make the jump in the same manner, I recommend that they go buy a moderately priced digital p&s and some imaging software. It's not to say that they couldn't just jump from film to digital, as much of the camera controls are the same, but without practice on something similar beforehand, it could be tricky. And to be honest, this is exactly what I did. We've had a little point and shoot digicam for a few years, and as I was deciding between film and digital SLRs, I had the digicam to practice. The shutter lag kept me patient, which is a skill and a mindset that I carry over to my DSLR. Even though now, it's almost excruciating using the little thing after having the luxury of the speed and multiple shots per second capability.
As for imaging software, there are several on the market now that are relatively cheap and offer different and similar options when it comes to working with digital images. Maybe I'll get to this topic in the future. But it helps to have more than MS Paint or the software that comes with the camera. I know Macs come pre-loaded with software, but I'm unfamiliar as it's been a while since I've touched a Mac. I'm a PC guy, but again, that's a topic for another day.
Another related topic, I had a friend tell me that they couldn't get their pictures right, even with their digicam. After a bit of questioning I find out that they're doing two of the cardinal sins of cheap digicams.
1st is not using the live-view on the screen to line up the shots. Yes, digicams normally have (I've seen one or two that don't) viewfinders. These are not like the viewfinders on the mid range digital (ed. note: Mid range by my standards are digicams that have most of the features of a DSLR, but don't change lenses. These cameras have more features than low end digicams, and usually run 4-8 mega pixels.) or DSLRs. They are not directly above the sensor, so what you see is not what you get. This means that your picture will be offset. The cure is to use the view screen, as it's directly behind the lens and sensor, so your image will be framed properly.
2nd is that they weren't using the flash. This may work in daylight, outside, no clouds, and no wind, but indoors, in poor light, or just about anywhere else even in daylight, the flash for some reason makes the camera work better. Pictures don't turn out blurry, or look as if you're shooting during an earthquake. I don't have any technical reason why (or at least I haven't looked it up somewhere), but I have practical experience. Every time I tried with my digicam to not use the flash, even in daylight outdoors, it liked to turn out horribly. So I'd turn the flash back on, and it'd come out great.
They said they'd take this advice and see what happened, but I haven't heard how it's worked for them. Hopefully, dear reader, you'll consider these bits of wisdom and they'll help you in your quest to be a better photographer.
That's a lot of info for one post. I'll leave it at that.
Good morning America...
...how are you? You know me, I'm your native son. -Willie Nelson, Good Morning America
Of course today is 9-11-08, seven years after the tragedies in New York City, the Pentagon and Shanksville, PA. I'm also seeing that it's starting to be called "Patriot Day" by some news media outlets. I guess that's appropriate.
Yes, I do remember where I was and what I was doing on that terrible day in 2001. I think everyone will remember. I used to turn CNN on every morning to watch while getting ready for work. I was only able to watch for a few minutes, and they only had the initial reports. Listening to the radio in the car, the morning show I like is usually comedy related. I didn't realize for several minutes that their broadcast was not a joke. Then the towers fell, rumors started, people began to panic, and everyone was changed.
It wasn't my original intention to start this blog today. And I don't wish to make a political statement. So I'll just conclude by letting you know that there will be several posts added in the near future, as I'm transferring from one service to another. Bear with me, I'm going to learn this layout, and more information will be available as I go along.
Thank you.
In Memoriam of those lost on 9-11-01.
Of course today is 9-11-08, seven years after the tragedies in New York City, the Pentagon and Shanksville, PA. I'm also seeing that it's starting to be called "Patriot Day" by some news media outlets. I guess that's appropriate.
Yes, I do remember where I was and what I was doing on that terrible day in 2001. I think everyone will remember. I used to turn CNN on every morning to watch while getting ready for work. I was only able to watch for a few minutes, and they only had the initial reports. Listening to the radio in the car, the morning show I like is usually comedy related. I didn't realize for several minutes that their broadcast was not a joke. Then the towers fell, rumors started, people began to panic, and everyone was changed.
It wasn't my original intention to start this blog today. And I don't wish to make a political statement. So I'll just conclude by letting you know that there will be several posts added in the near future, as I'm transferring from one service to another. Bear with me, I'm going to learn this layout, and more information will be available as I go along.
Thank you.
In Memoriam of those lost on 9-11-01.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
