Picture of the Day

Don't get much of this snow/ice stuff in Nashville.  You wouldn't believe how excited we can get unless you live here.  Shot with my cell phone camera.

Project 52 - Week Five

Cell Phone Camera

Video

I have spent most of my week trying to learn a bit about video editing.  I have managed to teach myself all of the software needed for professional photography but I forgot how hard it was in the beginning.  I see cool things that I want to do but am limited by my shoe string budget.  Since I am just starting, I am learning with what came installed on my computer.  Once I figure out what I can use the video stuff for in the photography studio, I am sure I will upgrade quickly.  I have an idea in my head and IF I manage to pull it off, I will post the vid here.  Don't expect it soon though.  The learning curve could take some time.

Camera Choice

Friends, family, and general associates often approach me when they are looking to purchase a new camera. The want to know which one they should buy. My response is always the same....don't know but I am thinking of purchasing a car.....which one should I buy. Both questions make as much sense as the other at face value. It depends! Cameras are nothing more than tools and I wouldn't buy a DSLR if I was going to make pictures of my kids on bdays and holidays. Seems like overkill. Then again, I wouldn't show up to the next wedding with only a point and shoot. You have to purchase the tool that YOU NEED.

If you are getting serious about your photography and you know what EVERY button and menu item on your P&S does, then maybe it is time to move up to a DSLR. It is important to know what the buttons and menu items do on any camera that you have. If you don't know, then how do you know the camera you currently have won't do what you want the new camera to do.


I guess the next most often question is Nikon or Canon. First, if you ask me, there is nothing finer than a Nikon. Just kidding. You should buy whichever brand your photographer buddy has so you can borrow his expensive lenses. Actually, buying which brand your buddy has isn't a bad idea. Forget about his lenses for a minute. If you get the brand that he has, then you have someone to go to when you can't figure out why the camera refuses to fire or throws another curve ball to you.


Most important is the last nugget of knowledge. DON'T buy a top of the line camera of any brand and then skimp on the glass you need to go in front of it. If you have to choose between camera and glass, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS opt for the glass. You are much better off buying a lower end camera with great lens as opposed to buying a great camera and putting cheap glass on it.


Hope this helps...J 

Project 52 - Week Four

Nikon D200 1/800 sec at F2.8 ISO 100

Corporate Shots

So I got a call from a regular client a couple of weeks back. He had taken a senior position at another office and wanted to update all of the employee headshots. Below is somewhat of a typical setup for this type of shoot. I almost always work with small strobes for this type event. They produce good light for a head and shoulders and are a lot less weight than the studio strobes. Setup included sb800 main light, sb600 hair light, sb600 bg light, and a reflector. Lights were set to TTL and fired CLS via a sb800 on camera. ISO 100/250 sec/F5.6/70-200/2.8@70mm.  

And the results straight out of camera.  The BG light was cutoff for this image.

Project 52 - Week Three

Camera Phone Image.  Not to bad for a quasi macro shot.

Push the Bounds

We continue to push the bounds of what traditional photographers offer their clients.  Below is one of those products delivered along with traditional prints.  The kids love having it on their IPod or sharing it through social media.

Video Project

It was over Christmas that this idea came to me. We were at my wife's parents house and her dad was playing so old home movies on the VCR. Most were cookouts or other family get togethers but at the end of one of the tapes was an interview with my wife's grandmother. Someone thought enough to sit her down at the kitchen table, turn on the camera, and get her to basically tell her life story. Be a photographer, the first thing I noticed was the poor lighting quality. Can't help it. It just jumps off the screen at me. Once I got past that, I could see the real value of this piece. The grandmother, long deceased, was captured on this film for future generations to see and hear. I thought of my family and my wife's and knew that I had to put together something honoring the elders of our families. I spoke with my wife and she was all about the idea. There was only one problem. We don't own a video camera. Seems silly in this day and age but I had almost always rather have still images from an event. I managed to talk my sister into borrowing her camera for the project. Problem one solved!


Next was the lighting. Being my usual cheap self, I couldn't reason buying "real" video lights for this one time personal project but I refused to film it with one tungsten bulb in an overhead fixture. A little research led to me these little guys.


I had a small one with a 5 inch or so reflector hanging in the garage and went to Home Depot and picked up another with a 10.5" reflector along with a 150 watt CFL. My first thought was to run the main light thru a diffusion panel to soften the light. Since I like to travel as light as possible, I opted for a small umbrella instead. This allowed me to leave one stand behind. I only needed to modify the main light's reflector by drilling a hole in it to slip the umbrella through. With my main light set, I looked toward the second, smaller light. I used a super clamp and attached it to a 40" extension arm. Using it bare bulb would be ok for a hair/rim light. I went ahead and set everything up in the living room. Looking at the hair light closer led me to think that I had a soft box  that would fit. Low and behold, it was almost as if it were made for it. I just left the hot shoe adapter off and it slipped perfectly over the work light's reflector.


I had a complete three light (a reflector for a third light) setup ready and it only cost me 25 bucks. And since I think photographers are going to have to learn at least a little video to stay competitive in the future, this was a great exercise for someone who has no video experience. I would love to have had a two or three camera setup for the project, but didn't have the software, knowledge, or time to mix the three together properly. Oh yeah, and I was a couple of camera's short. Maybe next time!

Project 52 - Week Two

Ok.  This one surprised even me.  This was shot on New Year's Eve at a friends house.  The amazing part....it was taken with a VERY old Nikon CoolPix 2100.  I just set it to scene view (fireworks) and pointed it upward.  Exposure 4 sec at f5.2.