Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Technique Tuesday: “I’ve Seen The Light”

Technique Tuesday: “I’ve Seen The Light”
Hey gang, I’m pretty stoked about this tutorial today. It’s the first one I’ve put together completely with my Canon 5D Mark II. Here is why I’m fired up. The entire tutorial gives the viewer and exact “camera eye” view of the shot. You see what I see in the camera as I look for the light and compose the image.

There were just a few hic-cups during the shoot; noisy kids coming out of the elevator where I was doing the demo, my reference to a triangular shadow on the camera side of the face when I meant triangular patch of light, and the hotel guard coming by on his Segue just as I was doing the wrap up – notice my quick glance to the left as I smile my way to the end of the video.

Here is the back-story on this episode -
In this episode of Technique Tuesday I want to walk you through a short lesson in how to find the direction of light in a natural light situation -- say for example, outdoors. I think this is one of the hardest things for photographers to learn. You would think it would be a given but, I can remember years ago when my instructors were trying to teach me how to do it and, I didn't find it that easy. I'm just covering the tip of the iceberg today but I hope it gives you some insights on how to improve your natural light photography. Anyway, hit the PLAY button below and enjoy the show.







This was my first try but I have to say, I love the possibilities – more to come for sure – enjoy!

That’s it for me today – more book writing on my plate and then we head back to Cincy bright and early tomorrow. I’ll see everybody then for another episode of Analysis Of A Wedding – Part 6 – “Shooting the Room.”

See ya’ then. -David

20 comments:

  1. Nicely done as usual, David. In this one I like the way you went over to your subjects and pointed out shadows and highlights. For instance, the "triangular area" on the face .... you actually put your finger on the area. You did this several times in this video and it really helps. Otherwise I only think I know what you are talking about! :-)

    Thanks so much.

    Jeff

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  2. David, thanks for this video, i hope your new 5d Mark II will lead you to doing more of this kind of tutorial-videos in the future. can't wait to see them and learn more from your expertise....

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  3. Thanks, David. Very informative as always! I did have a small problem with the audio. The right channel (not sure if this is the correct term) was very faint and distorted. I don't know if anyone else experience this, but I made sure it was not malfunctioning headphones or speakers.

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  4. Thanx for this great tutorial. Your videos are so informative.

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  5. I don't get any sound from the videos that you have done with the 5D MkII. I have been having issues with the right channel though. So, I will check that out again since a previous poster mentioned a problem with it. However, I don't have a problem with the audio from the tutorials that you make with your regular video camera.

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  6. Hi David, just watched your video conversation speaking about jpgs, raw, file size, workflow etc., and that you are now using Jpg and RAW. I totally agree that this is the way to go. I don't have the 5D mkII yet but I use the old 5D and a 40D. For my past 4 or 5 weddings I've been doing just that - shooting RAW for the important shots and jpg otherwise, saves lots of room and makes the process easier to deal with. I think more and more photogs are going to go this direction. Thanks for your great tutorials.

    Stan Richard
    SR Photography
    wedding photog
    Des Moines, IA

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  7. Excellent video - very informative. I agree with the previous comment on how detail you got pointing out the triangular light on the camera side.

    Thanks!

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  8. Thanks for a great tutorial! Also, thanks to LaDawn for modeling. It was really interesting to hear and see your descriptions of the light. I have a new 5D MII, so your recent tutorials are especially fun.

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  9. Great to see you behind the camera David. I've been following your series on Kelby training, and its a great enhancement to see things from your viewpoint.

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  10. over a short period of time this blog has become my very favorite. i visit it five days a week

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  11. Hey old man how did you marry such a beautiful bride? Just kidding not about the beautiful bride just the old man part.Hope you appreciate each other. Great job.

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  12. Hey David -- I've been following your blog for months now and enjoying it all - especially the technique videos. However, today's (1/6) video link seems to have been disconnected. All I see is a large white space where I'd normally expect to find the link.

    Something broken?

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  13. Thanks David,

    Very nice tutorial ! The video looks really good and I did not notice any of the distractions you mentioned, the new 5d mk2 really is an outstanding camera.

    Your wife looks really beautiful and yes you're a lucky man. :-)

    Thanks for sharing so much with all of us.

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  14. Wow, nicely done. I want to go out and get my 5D MKII now. Thanks for the Blog.

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  15. Thank you Mr. Ziser.
    As usual, your posts are always helpful and informative. This one though put a smile on my face all along.

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  16. Bringing light to the area around the eyes I found very useful. Thanks for putting in those finished images at the end. It made a nice comparison with the actual conditions at the time of capture.

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  17. Wonderful to view the scene from the camera's viewpoint. This really opens up a whole new way to do tutorials. Extremely informative.

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  18. Nice Tutorial, David. La Dawn did a great job modeling for you. All my best,

    Lance Burns

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  19. See the things that is unique in my blog

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  20. Great tutorial! Thanks. One question, with natural lighting what is the best method for setting your exposure. Do you use a light meter or do you shoot in a semi-auto mode. If you do use a light meter do you point the dome at ths camera?

    Thanks for all the great tips.
    Lou

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