Tag Archives: tips

Photography

Faces on public streets

2 Comments

I can’t remember an April as busy as this in a long time.

But it’s been a really good mix of play and work.

First there was my little exhibit, then Easter/Spring vacation followed by the launch of my very own small flash lighting workshop.

Faces from Santa Barbara

Interesting character–I bet this cowboy’s collection jar is usually full by the end of the evening. Demeanor and persona is important when you’re a musician performing in public. The best musicians don’t necessarily have that, that’s probably why they need to hire a publicists? I shot with my 50 mm lens as well and in the end, I liked this one with my wide angle best because it gives you a sense of location and therefore “context.” For vacation pictures, sometimes that’s important.

On Tuesday evenings the city of Santa Barbara hosts its Farmers Market on State Street, downtown.

I’m a sucker for an interesting face so I gravitated towards the street performers and musicians.

In particular I liked this guitar-slinging fellow who sang Country songs, used a train whistle and harmonica for accompaniment.

When you’re out in public, you can’t assume everyone wants a camera in their face.
Continue reading Faces on public streets →

Tutorials

First Communion Photos

5 Comments

Available light portraiture–Keeping things simple is sometimes the best way to go especially when you don’t have a lot of fancy gear. This portrait inside the St. Catherines of Alexandria Church, Riverside, CA was done using window light on the left and a reflector on the right. Canon 80-200 zoom. ISO 400 1/125 @ f2.8

As the beneficiary of those “toys,” you get to shoot the annual extinguishing of birthday candles and other recurring events.

Those are the easy ones.

If you blow those, there’s always next year.

But not so for those milestones which happen only once in a lifetime.

Blowing that might mean a fast auction for your “toys” on ebay.

More likely, your next lens of piece of equipment will undergo a prolonged approval process by your “boss” who holds the purse strings.

Since we camera buffs have to stick together, I have some suggestions which should keep you in business. Continue reading First Communion Photos →

Assignment, Photography

Learning from your contact sheet

Unless you have darkroom experience, you probably won’t know what a “contact sheet” or “proof sheet” is.

Now that we have digital photography, the term itself is irrelevant.

The “contact sheet” or “proof sheet” is nothing more than a grid of thumbnails of your entire shoot which displays unique numbers underneath each image.

A lot can be learned from it. But you must have the right attitude when you share it with your coach or mentor.

Remember not to get defensive. If you’re asking for help this way, leave the attitude at the door.

As I said previously, if you have enough memory cards, never erase your images in the camera.

I’m not saying save those “masterpieces” of your foot, car trunk or back of your lens cap when you accidentally fired off the shutter.
Continue reading Learning from your contact sheet →

Assignment, Photography

Photographing a belly dancer Part 3

2 Comments

A change of attire for a different mood–Getting different looks for their models is often a goal for photographers. It can be something as simple as letting their hair down and introducing a colored backlight. Here is the setup for the lights.

Before you tear down the set sometimes you have to ask yourself, “What else can I try? I’m already here.”

Everything is already set up. If you have time, you might as well push the envelope and see.

That’s what I really enjoyed about working with Hadia.

She was up for more.

When she produced the paraffin lamps, I was chomping at the bit.

Now we were literally playing with fire and turning up the heat.

If you’re trying this at home, and your model has long hair, have her tie it up for safety sake. Continue reading Photographing a belly dancer Part 3 →