OK, this isn’t strictly a wedding photograph but it was made on the day of the wedding at the couples chosen venue last Saturday. So, I guess it is a wedding photograph, right ;~) I mentioned to my couple on Saturday, that they had about the best day of the year on which to be married. The temperature was ideal, the location was perfect, and the sky - all day and evening long, was astoundingly beautiful.
I made this image right after I photographed the bride and groom with this sunset as a backdrop. Nature’s beauty persisted well into the evening and I just had to get a few more images. Besides the wedding and reception were outdoors and everyone had the opportunity to enjoy not only the wedding celebration but also Mother Nature’s beauty. This is just an example of the kind of photographs I capture on the wedding day that will serve as perfect backgrounds for the album we’ll eventually design for the couple.
In addition to that, this is simply a beautiful sunset landscape image and can be truly enjoyed on it’s own merit. I choose a super wide angle lens to capture the full effect of the clouds spreading across the sky and lake. A tweak or two in Lightroom 4 brought out all the detail and color of this fabulous scene. When all is said and done, what can I say, I really like it.
I have to tell you - writing my new book and keeping the blog going has become quite the challenge as of late. Both of those commitments and the fact that we are in the absolute busiest busiest part of the year with events every weekend since the end of May has certainly strained my resources on time around here. Thanks for hanging in there with me - I appreciate it.
In spite of the lack of time, I've managed to find enough time to get about 20,000 words of the book "on paper" so far. I'm still managing my 2000 words/day goal too. The cool thing about all the effort is that the more I write, the more good ideas I come up to incorporate into the book - and that's a good thing. Anyway, I'm still pounding away at the keyboard and hope to have the very rough first draft completed by the end of the month. Once I get that wrapped, I start putting the "spit and polish" on it and I’ll begin sharing some excepts with you guys too. We're getting closer - stay tuned!!
Hey gang, time is short today and it's getting late in the day, so let's get right too Quick Hit Monday. Here we go.
PhotoPro Network Summer School Coming Your Way!!!
Let me tell you about the coolest thing happening this summer right here in the Midwest. It's our just announced PPN Summer School. If you are anywhere - like within 300 miles of Louisville, KY - you need to check out the unbelievable learning opportunity!!!
We're covering the gamut from Small Flash Photography, Weddings, Fashion, Lifestyle, High School Seniors, Landscape Photography, Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4, Portfolio Development, Social Media Marketing, Brand Building, HOT SHOTS! Digital Image Competition & Review, and much more! 12 exiting photography sessions and 10 unbelievable speakers for only $89 for two days! Plan to come on down and be part of the excitement.
This year we've got some great web-casts on Landscape photography and social media marketing. We've got our Hot Shots! Image competition and our Saturday evening shoot out too! YES, there will be prizes too!!! You can get all the info right here.
Explosive Wedding Photography:How About A great Time In Florida
OK, gang, I'm stoked about this announcement too. My good friends and two very talented photographers, Nickolas and Eric, are presenting a solid weekend of instruction at the end of this month in Orlando, Florida. Here is the quick blurb about what's happening:
Explosive Wedding Photography: June 29, 30, July 1, 2012
We know that times are tough for photographers, the market is flooded and profits are down. However, we are not willing to let that ruin our dream of enriching people's lives though photography. With that in mind, Nicholas and Eric will show you all of the tips, tricks, and effective shortcuts to starting your business, maximizing your time and profits, and to gain explosive growth in a tough economy! You will also get an opportunity to produce some portfolio-quality images under the guidance of Nicholas, Eric and their coaches. The Workshop will include:
* Lighting shortcuts, * Client management, * Free Effective Marketing, * Editing workflow, * Multi-Purpose Posing, * Photographing in less than ideal surroundings, * Psychology of the Client, * How to remember it all!
This will be a three-day seminar that is both fun and capable of increasing your revenue 200%! We will be spraying the lucky attendees with lighting, planning, customer, and post-processing workflow magic bullets that will put time back in your day and money in your wallet.
There's one part theory - one part model shootout - and one part creativity!
Those were the BIG news items for today. Let me leave you with a few Quick Hit Monday Links and then I've got to go. Enjoy!! -David
Canvass Wrap Actions - Indispensable!!!
This is about the best free action set I've seen lately. We had an image going through the studio a few weeks ago that needed canvass mounting with the canvass wrap. I could have “fussed” with the image in Photoshop for far too long so hit the "NET" to see if I could find an easier way to set up my image for ordering. Time to HIT THIS LINK RIGHT HERE!! This link will give you, count them, 5 actions that help you prepare your image for printing so your next canvass wrap comes out perfect! I prefer the Mirror Wrap. These are indispensable actions - and they are FREE! Enjoy!
I’m not a big light meter user since I use the light-meter built into the camera, but I think this is a very instructive video tutorial by top photographer, Mathew Jordon Smith, on the subject. He makes a very good case on why and when to use a light meter. It’s short and sweet and loaded with good info. _________________________________________________________________
Hey gang, that’s got to be it for me today. I’m still way behind the “eight ball” and need to get back to the book.
Have a great rest of the day and I hope to see you tomorrow for a late afternoon Technique Tuesday.
Today we head back from the beautiful horse country of Lexington, KY and land in CINCY this afternoon. Once we arrive, it's back to work for me as I still have one more program to wrap up for Photoshop World coming up in just two weeks. I just can't believe it's right around the corner already. My other two programs; Lightroom 4 for Wedding and Portrait Photographers and 12 Ways To Make Your Lighting Exciting are just about completed and look really good. I'm really excited and looking forward to be presenting these new programs in Washington, D.C. in a few weeks.
Also, around the corner is another wedding this weekend and then a quick run up to Sandusky, OH to check out their PhotoBlast Convention. The real reason I'm going up is to catch up with my good friend and Canon Rep, Mary Mannix. She's told me she has the new Canon 5D Mark III with her and I could have a peak - I'm getting excited already. (This sounds expensive to me..LaDawn)
OH, more 5DM3 news, my other good buddy and Canon Rep. Michael Sheras may be attending my sold out (sorry) Pre-Con Shootout at Photoshop World. Guess what? He may be bringing his 5DM3 along for me to shoot during my pre-con class. I'm really stoked about that. Mike told me no promises, but if he has the camera, I'll get to shoot with it. I guess we'll have to wait and see ;~)
Lightroom 4 Breaths New Life Into DOA Images!
I've got a brand new Technique Tuesday for you today. As you know Adobe released Lightroom 4 just last week and I was thrilled. We've been using the BETA since it's first day of release - yes, even in our regular production workflow. What can I say…. besides it's an AMAZING piece of software! Anyway, always trying to push cameras and software to it's limits, I thought today I would plan to do that in today's post.
Here's the plan - I've selected two horribly under exposed images and two horribly over exposed images, let's call them my Lazarus images. I'm going to see if I can save them in Lightroom 4. Remember, I'm NOT trying to make a "silk purse" out of a "sow's ear" - OK, yes I am. All joking aside. I'm not trying to make a visual masterpiece out of these 4 images. I'm only trying to get them to a sell-able condition, for example, in the bride's wedding album.
But that's what's so amazing about this version of Lightroom. Lightroom's has this new found ability to really wring the last amount of quality out of any image. Sure, start with a good image and Lightroom 4 will take it to a brand new level. Take a "crummy" image and Lightroom will work it's magic to get you a passable, sell-able image. And, that's a good thing it you got the shot but severely missed the exposure. Why not hit the PLAY button below to see what I'm talking about. I really think you'll enjoy what you see ;~)
Hey gang, that's it for me today. We are packing the bags and heading north in just a short while. I hope you enjoyed the post today and I'll see you soon.
This image was made on a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii a few years ago. LaDawn and I were wondering through this wonderfully lush botanical garden luxuriating in the beautiful surrounds. During our stroll, we happened upon this small waterfall. A simple click of the camera would not have done this image justice.
The secret was to catch the motion of the water and the only way I could do that was with a super slow shutter speed. I had no tripod with me so I had to resort to plan B - an image stabilized lens, a tree, and me.
That's right, this is a handheld image at 1/2 second! I took several to be sure I had at least one sharp. I love the color, composition, and motion of this image. It hangs as a large print in our living room at home.
Oh, BTW, you can check out my video tutorial on how I pull these slow/non-tripod exposures off right here.
Camera specs: Canon 5D fitted with 24-105mm IS lens at 35mm, F22 @ 1/2 second, ISO 800. Enjoy! -David
This is just an easy portrait I made of this young lady in the middle of the day under the worst of conditions. – very bright and sunny, urban clutter everywhere, and VERY hot and humid.
It was a city photographic session so I was challenged to separate my subject with a part of the sky that would allow enough “space” to supply an adequate background for this image. Low camera angles and long lenses can make that job quite a bit easier. I was sitting on the pavement with a long lens attached to my camera to get the framing I wanted.
The next challenge was to keep the bride out of the direct sun – which is never flattering light. There was a shadow being cast by a nearby building in which I could place my subject within. Now a lot of photographers would have just shot away and been satisfied with the flat non-dimensional lighting on her face.
The other problem they would have encountered would have been getting the correct exposure on the bride standing in the shadows thereby rendering a detail-less, overexposed sky behind her – again, not a very interesting image.
Adding the off-camera flash solves the problem. It brings detail and dimension to the bride’s gown and facial features as it is brought in camera right just enough to create the loop lighting pattern on the subject’s face. Now by balancing the flash exposure with the sky behind the bride, I can easily bring in the nice textures of the clouds in the sky behind the bride.
Finessing the image in Lightroom 3 finished the result. All in all, a nice basic image of the bride captured in a not so basic way.
Camera specs: Canon 5D fitted with 70-300mm lens at 120mm, F 14 @ 1/200 second, ISO 400. Enjoy! -David
This image has an interesting story about it. I was teaching at Photoshop World a few years ago and this young lady attended several of my sessions. She approached me during the Tech Expo and said that she had already signed up for my Digital Master Class.
I was flattered and continued to listen. She asked if we had booked any models for the class yet and I said that I didn't think so. She proceeded to tell me how much she enjoyed my images and had nothing like I showed from the person who photographed her recent wedding.
She then offered to be my model for the class if only I could get photographs like what I showed in my presentations - this time I was extremely flattered and gladly obliged her offer. The rest is history - she was a beautiful model and I was pleased to get some great images of her from our sessions. This is one of those images.
It was made in the side aisle of the church. I wanted to capture the large painting behind her as part of my composition. Take a close look at this image. I have her positioned so that the pew camera left lead right to her. The pillars to the right also lead the eye directly to our bride. She is positioned near Quadrant #4 within the scene nicely counterbalancing the wall painting which is in Quadrant #2.
She's in an easy, comfortable pose - notice the feminine S-curve in her body. I brought the light in from camera left shooting through my translucent umbrella. I think it all comes together for a very nice portrait of our bride - she loved it too, BTW.
Camera specs; Canon 20D fitted with 17-85mm IS lens at 17mm, F5.6 @ 1/20 second (handheld), ISO 800. Enjoy! -David
Wow! Do I have a BIG announcement for everybody today! I didn’t even mention it when it happened because it slipped right by me as we traveled the country. About 2 weeks ago, my blog DigitalProTalk passed a milestone – I posted my 2,500the post! 1,200 words a day, 2,500 times – you can do the math. That works about to about 40 full sized books of photography information!!! That’s one heck of a lot of a good thing going on at DPT. My THANKS to the thousands of readers everyday who enjoy my blog. Like I say, If you’ll keep reading, I’ll keep posting ;~)
I have to tell ya’, the weather for our CBTL2010 tour has been just perfect since we started. You can see some touches of fall color in the air on our drive into Philadelphia yesterday. As we head north to Boston, I suspect we will be welcomed by even more brilliant color landscape of New England – always a gorgeous site.
Our Philly crowd was pretty fired up last night and we had a great time. Today we head up the road to Newark – just a short drive. We should land early, be set up on time, and be ready for everybody tonight. Now if I can only end on time ;~)
The One That Got Away: Body Away, Face Back
Today I have three great images that are just so close to hitting it out of the park. All of them are similar so I think our discussion today will really point out how some small fixes can make a big difference in the final image.
Hit the “Read More…” link below for the rest of the story.
First, Image #1
Let's look at our first image. It is just so beautiful. I love the great expression and the hand on the hip also adds a nice casual feel to the image. Look how the bride's placement in the frame counterbalanced with the cityscape in the background. The exposure balance of the flash on the subject balances perfectly with the slight under exposure on the city in the background.
So what's not to like with this image? Only a very few small things.
1- When lighting my subject, I like the light to CROSS the gown from the opposite direction. That way we set up highlights next to shadows adding to the detail and definition of the beautiful gown. I want to bring the light in from camera left to make that happen.
2- In this photograph the maker did a nice job setting up the loop lighting pattern on our bride's face. The problem is that the head and body are pointing in the same direction which adds to our lighting problem which I mentioned above.
3- To solve the problem, my rule of thumb is to ALWAYS have the subject's face be turned into the opposite direction of the body. In this image we needed to to turn the bride's face to camera right (her left) or opposite the direction her shoulders are facing. Now bring in the light to give us that great loop lighting pattern and we have a great shot - it's out of the park.
Now let's look at image #2
It's pretty darn close to image #1. The head is leaned back a bit too far for my taste. When the light was added, it's placement was a bit low. Notice how the nose shadow stretches up to the eye socket - not very flattering.
I think NOT seeing the far arm also distracts just a bit form the image. I would always suggest showing both the subjects arms in a most portraits.
How would I improve on this image?
1- First of all, I would make the same suggestions to this image as I presented in the first image. That would improve the overall look of the image.
2- Next I would probably have the bride hold the bouquet with the other hand and grab the veil or gown with her left hand. That would solve the missing arm problem.
3- And finally, I would have her tilt her head down slightly so as not to photograph so much of her neck.
That's it and I think it would look great.
On to image #3
This image is just really a nice image to view. I've included in today's post because it illustrates how I would have positioned the the bride for the photograph. The light is coming in from camera left creating a nice loop lighting pattern on the bride's face.
With her body facing the opposite direction you can see how the the off camera flash skims the gown really bringing out the fine details. The maker also had her pull back the bouquet so as to not cast an ugly shadow on her dress.
Notice too how the bride's right hand is gracefully positioned in the image with the wrist bent back slightly and the fingers extended slightly. My only super minor suggestion here is that the arm could be dropped just a few inches more into a slightly more diagonal position. Like I said, very minor change.
Overall I'd like to see the background underexposed just a bit. That would have made the bride "pop out" of the image even more. Our first image had the perfect flash/ambient balance. Do the same for this image and it too is out of the park.
This is the kind of attention to detail that we should all bring to our wedding/portrait photography. It just raises the bar on the quality of the image we deliver to our clients. Pay attention to the small details, make the small adjustments, and you will end up with exciting images all the time.
Hey gang, That's it for me today. We head up to Newark shortly - it's a short drive, only about 2 hours so we've got little breathing room for set up. Then it's the long haul to Boston on Thursday. Hey, it's all still fun.
Everybody have a great rest of the day and I'll see you in Newark tonight or right here at DPT tomorrow for another episode of Business Day Thursday. I have a special surprise for you with tomorrow's post. You'll have to tune in to see what it is.
Whew! We are almost at the end of the week and that ol' bear is receding into the distance. We got just about everything wrapped and packed for Photoshop World and are looking forward to heading to Las Vegas tomorrow. Hopefully that means a little R&R over the weekend.
I spent today putting together a 1 hour long demo video on a brand new lighting technique I'm going to be first showing at Photoshop World. Let's just say it has to do with my old Mini Z-Rays now renamed "LOVE Lightz". I know, I know, you're thinking what is Ziser up to now. Can't tell ya' yet, but I promise I will real soon ;~) WAY cool and way fun!!!
To Gel Or Not To Gel, That Is The Question
Today, I’m going to the Skribit widget for our topic today. The question that was raised recently was, "Do you gel your flash to match your ambient light or post process the image to remove the yellow tint?
The quick answer in no on both counts. I've gotten this question a number of times over the years. When people see my "shutter drag" images from church interiors, they always wonder how I soften the warm tones. The fact of the matter is that I LIKE the warm tones.
Think about it. If I light my subject with a cool light source like my flash at 5600 K, slow down the shutter to pick up some of the ambient, and balance the final print for the cooler light source, you would think the background would really shift orange.
Why doesn't it shift that much? Here's one of the reasons. For those of you that have read my CBTL book, in Chapter 1 in the section entitled, "Balancing the Flash With The Ambient" starting on page 40, I mention that I underexpose the background slightly. That amount of under exposure may be up to 2 stops underexposed from the correct exposure on the subject.
That means what? It means that the orange cast is two stops less noticeable. I still get a warm cast to the background, but I said earlier, I like the warm tones surrounding the properly color balanced subject. Compositionally it makes the subject project out from the scene.
Once I did gel the flash and made the exposure for the tungsten color balance. The result for me was that the subject sort of blended into the background. I just didn't like the result and I decided to return to my original procedure NOT gelling my flash.
Said another way, it you expose the ambient without underexposing it by a stop or two, you will definitely see the orange cast. You will also have problems with it mixing with your flash illumination which could cause you fits in Lightroom and Photoshop. So remember, under expose the ambient to reduce the amount of orange cast in your images.
One last thing, if you do follow my technique, you may sometimes get a bit too much warmth in the shadows. The easy fix is to desaturate the Yellow color channel in Lightroom slightly. This works like a charm. I actually showed the technique in a recent Technique Tuesday entitled, "Go Away Green". In that case I was dealing with the green tint of overhead florescent fixtures. Here is the link to the post right here.
So there you have it folks. That's an update on how I photograph in ambient light situations. Give it a try and see if it works for you.
Hey gang, that's it for me today. One more busy day and then we head west. I'll plan to see everyone next Monday, with my pixel winnings falling from my pockets:~). Have a great weekend.
If you are going to be at Photoshop World, come on by and say HI. You can catch me at one of my programs or we will be hanging out in the Tech Expo at Booth #342. You just might find me at the Peachpit, Manfrotto, and Westcott booths too.
We made it back home safe and sound on Saturday at about 5:00 p.m. unpacked the bags. grilled dinner with a part of LaDawn’s family and just took it easy over the rest of the weekend. I hope you got a little chill time in too.
Today, we gear up BIG time for our Captured By The Light 2010 tour. Most of the venues are booked, the brochures are being printed and mailed this week, and I begin putting finishing touches on the program.
I'm really excited about this year’s presentation. Why? Because it's all new material. 10,000 photographers attended last year’s Digital WakeUp Call tour and loved it. This year’s tour is 4 hours of new content with tons of fresh information. You are going to LOVE it. Check it out right here.
New Blogger at BHInsights.com
That’s right, there's a new blogger at BHInsights.com and his initials are DZ ;~). If you have not had a chance to visit BHInsights.com, you really owe yourself a visit. They have posts packed with info on photography, lighting, video, computers, and sound. There’s an informative post today that FINALLY explains all the “dual core” vs. “quad core” processor jargon as it relates to the speed of your computer [link].
I'm been asked to be one of their VIP bloggers and am honored with the request. I already have 4 posts ready to go! I'm not sure of the posting schedule but I'm checking in with B&H today so I should be able to give you an update tomorrow - stay tuned.
New Book In The Wings?
OK, I'm floating this idea out there to you guys and girls today to get your feedback. With the huge popularity of my book, Captured By The Light, I have been considering, well, more than considering, let me say planning a new book. The title, "What Makes A Beautiful Image?" I'm planning to break the book into 5 sections - Location, Lighting, Lenses, Composition, and Color.
I plan to write it in the same easy step by step style of my last book. It will be jammed packed with great images, detailed diagrams, DAZNOTES, and the steps I took to create each of the brand new images. I'm looking at completing it sometime in 2011. What do you think?
Friday Photo School Recap
I'll tell ya' we had a great time with my buddy Will Crocket and his entire team at Friday Photo School. I hear that about 1,100 attendees tuned in for the presentation - one of their largest audiences on record. Wow! Hey, don't worry, if you missed the show you can still download it in all it’s HD glory for a very reasonable $15 right here. Rumor has it that I may be making another visit in a few months. I'll keep you posted.
Here is a quick preview of the show:
Oh, one more thing. During my visit, I did several of my demos tethered into my laptop. Just before we left, a my package arrived from USBFirewire.com with the right angle mini B cable. What a joy to use. Holding the camera now feels so natural. Before I was always worried I would bend the old connector and break something. If you plan to shoot tethered, you need this cable. A two thumbs WAY UP!
WOW! What A Sight!
LaDawn and I spend a lot of time on the road and it's mostly in a car. We just love to see the country from a car window as apposed to a plane seat. Last year, for instance, we drove over 25,000 miles on my Digital WakeUp Call tour. It was just a kick to see so many sites across America.
I digress - the drive home on Saturday was no exception. We had not made the short 300 mile drive to Chicago for a few years so we were REALLY surprised what we saw on the drive this time - the largest wind farm in the United States!
Just about 90 miles north of Indianapolis we began seeing these super sized propellers atop these 90 feet high supports - there were hundreds of them for as far as the eye could see. It was the brand new Fowler Ridge Wind Farm. It was an amazing sight. It turns out that they have just recently, over the last two years, been completed. I grabbed a few quick “drive-by shots” as we raced past all the wind turbines. Way cool sight!
Free and Mostly Free Education
Free Content: EpicEdits.com
I am constantly amazed by the free and mostly free content on the web. Take for instance EpicEdits.com. Even though fellow blogger, Brian Auer, is in the middle of moving back to Idaho, his blog is always chocked full of good, free, solid content.
I haven't been there for a while but decided to check in this weekend. Just look at the front page [link]: Camera Pre-check list, Adobe easy airbrushing, cool night photos, portfolio do's and don'ts – all really good information for free.
Don’t forget to check out the header tabs too. They send you to his other three blogs. My favorite is FeelingNegative.com – it’s all about film, all the time.
Close to Free: CraftandVision.com
CraftandVision.com has been publishing nearly free content for a while and has on-line 15 titles for the "thinking photographer". The articles are a peek into the artist mind. With titles like "Chasing Reflections", "Vision In Motion", or "The Inspired Eye" you get a chance to see how each photographer thinks.
Photography is not always about F-Stops and shutter speeds. Its about a more important aspect of photography - the process of creativity. Who cares what new point and shoot was just release by so and so camera company? Show me how an artist thinks, let me peer into his/her creative processes. That is truly the best way to learn and grow.
If we want to experience the art and craft of photography more fully, and yearn to connect with authors that explore more than the mundane photo fluff so prevalent on line, then this website is for you. Craft and Vision does just that with articles that cost about the same as an iPhone app you'll delete in a few weeks. Well worth the visit.
And Now Just For Fun
The Largest Digital Photo Ever - 70 gig!
20,000 images stitched together into one humongous image [link]. With that kind of resolution you should get a pretty good 8x10 print don’t you think ;~). Read the entire story right here and enjoy the interactive demo right here.
The Longest Exposure Ever
Adobe's John Nack is as close to an eclectic blogger as I have seen. Not only does he report on the latest greatest from Adobe's secret labs, but he also manages to find and share some of the most interesting photo stories on the web.
What can I say, the posts at least appeal to me and John. John's eclectic links are just flat-out-fun to follow. Take for instance his recent post about the longest exposure in the world [link]. We're not talking several minutes or an hour or two. I'm talking about YEARS!!! Here is John's link from the longest exposures in the world right here.
And Finally One For the Road
10 Renowned Photographers On YouTube
Blogging buddy, Syl Arena, has been buried in his new book entitled "The Speedliters Handbook" [link], a 432 page opus I hear.
Still a recent visit to his blog, PixSylated.com revealed 10 very cool YouTube videos from some of the most esteemed photographers in the industry. What a joy to hear the words of these masters. If you've got a minute or two check them out right here.
Hey gang, that's it for me today. I got a planning meeting with our State association about our Fall meeting. We are doing something completely different for the Fall seminar. I'm planning a Webcast with three of the top photographers in their fields. And, we are going to open it to everyone worldwide!
I nearly have all the details worked out. As soon as we everything nailed down, I'll point you to all the info. It should be a kick. I can tell you that the date to circle is September 26, 2010 - more later.
Time for me to head on out. I'll see everyone tomorrow for another episode of Technique Tuesday.
Hope everyone had a great weekend. We stayed busy around here with shoots on Friday and Sunday. In fact we got in pretty late last night. Sunday is usually "recuperation day" for me– but it looks like Monday is this week with my later than usual post today ;~)
Anyway, I've got lots to tell you about today so let's get right to it.
Danger! Danger! Will Robinson!
Boy, that's what I was thinking after a brief flash experience I had at yesterday's wedding. The bride was coming down the aisle with her mom and dad. We were shooting outdoors on a bright and sunny day and I thought I was all ready to go.
I set the camera on aperture priority at F6.3 and the ISO 200. I figured the shutter speed would range over several stops to accommodate the changing light conditions of the shadowed/sunny walk up the aisle and with my on-camera flash set to "high speed sync", the flash would sync to ANY shutter speed. That was my plan to soften the effects of the contrasty lighting conditions.
Here's what happened. The bride, mom and dad were heading down the aisle. I took the first shot. It was WAY overexposed! Danger, Will Robison!!! What's happening??? I checked the shutter speed – it was saying 1/250 second! That’s impossible, I have “high speed flash sync” enabled!
I quickly turned the flash OFF. With the flash turned off the shutter speed was hitting about 1/800 second. When I turned the on-camera flash on and even with "high speed sync" enabled, the shutter speed immediately dropped to 1/250 second - it's native sync speed - in aperture priority mode! Every Canon camera to date has worked with “high speed sync” enabled in “Aperture Priority” mode!Why not the 7D?
After a few quick adjustments, I captured the images I needed, but it wasn't with my "high speed flash sync" technique. The problem apparently lies in the fact that "high speed flash sync" has been neutered on the Canon 7D in the "aperture priority" mode setting. This is a HUGE deal for wedding photographers!
I own 5 Canon cameras: a 20D, 30D, 40D, 5D Mk II, and 7D. It seems that only the 7D DOES NOT let "high speed flash sync" work in aperture priority mode. I'm heading to the trenches to check this out - more on Wednesday.
UPDATE: It’s been interesting how many folks have told me that they have had the same issue with the Canon 7D, especially since it supposedly defaults to “Auto.” If you are having problems, please see the Canon 7D solution on Wednesday’s post right here.
My Brand New Kelby Training Video On Line
Yep, I just got word over the weekend that my latest training video just went "live". Here is a link to the preview video right here. I'm pretty excited about this new video. The entire Kelby video team headed to Cincinnati, OH recently and followed me on an entire wedding from start to finish!
The bride happens to be my cousin's daughter. I approached them about the idea of being featured in one of my training sessions and they gladly obliged. The entire wedding proceeded exactly the way a real wedding proceeds…. I mean it was a REAL wedding, right!
We were occasionally running late needing to make up for lost time. We were fighting with bright sunny days and had to solve lots of exposure issues, we had to come up with some great locations for exciting photographs because that is what our clients expect. And we had to be on top of all the happenings at the wedding reception too.
This video is the first real "peek behind the scenes" of me shooting an actual wedding along with all the challenges and rewards that are part of every wedding shoot for all of us. I hope you enjoy it. Here is the link right here. Please let me know what you think.
P.S. Not a member of Kelby training yet? No problem, you can sign up for only $25/month right here.
Or better yet, pick up my2010 Success Collectionright here and we'll even GIVE you 1 month FREE pass to Kelby Training – what a deal!
Prepared to Be Inspired: Check Out These Photogs
With having this past Saturday off, LaDawn and I headed down to Cincinnati Summerfest, the 43 year long running art fest in Cincy area. What's cool about this are festival is that it is "juried". That means that you have to "past muster" even to be able to display your artwork. That said, there are a lot of great things to see at this show - including photography.
Think of the this part of Monday's post as an extension of Inspiration Friday last week. Here are three photogs whom I thought were exhibiting some outstanding images. Hope you enjoy!
Joseph Wilson Gallery [link]: His wife had "booth duty" when we came by. Turns out Joseph is right here in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was showing some beautiful scenic images - really nice stuff. I loved it.
Tom Lazer Galleries [link]: Tom Lazer has some great looking scenic images at his booth, too. He showed a broad range of subject matter in his images which I enjoyed. His winter scenes were some of my favorite.
European-Art Gallery [link]: Paul James gets around - like really gets around. His images from Europe were simply stunning. He captured the old world feel of some gorgeous locations he visited over the years. Each image not only told a story, but also captured a wonderfully beautiful moment in time. He has hundreds of images on his site - a definite must see!
My Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk Coming Your Way!
LaDawn and I took a few hours "scoping out" this year's Worldwide PhotoWalk trail. We haven't quite nailed things down yet - hopefully by tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. I'll yet you know the minute we publish it. It will be fun and I'm really looking forward to it again.
Hey gang, that's it for me today. The day is getting away from me and I've still got lots to do. Enjoy the read today and I'll see everybody tomorrow for another exciting episode of Technique Tuesday: Secret Settings In Lightroom 3!
After our rainy weekend, the last few days have been picture perfect. I'm working through my edits for my latest Kelby Training video due out shortly, helped my daughter polish here resume' to get off to prospective summer employers in NYC. Liz is attending PACE University and loves living in New York City. LaDawn’s hand continues to heal with her ability to additional functionality and use. I contacted some of my vendor buddies about a little project that I keep hinting about and launching next week. So things are good.
Great Food For Your Brain
Hey, before we get to today's post I want to point you towards some great learning experiences coming your way. Normally I'd post these on Quick Hit Monday, but the information kept coming fast and furious and some are opportunities have limited attendance. So check them out and see if there might be a fit for you. Here we go...
.... This revolutionary and ground-breaking new seminar, taught by two of the world’s most sought-after and beloved instructors, Ken Sklute and Mitche Graf, will show you how to “fuse” your art and business minds together to make a one dynamite package!....
Mitch and Ken are good friends of mine whom I've known for years. Definitely, check out their program right here. And, for your $49 bucks you get $500 worth of goodies for attending. They are about 1/2 way through their tour so catch them when they get to a city near you. They're heading to the west coast next week. I wish they were coming to Cincy ;~(
Marathon Press Design And Marketing Seminar: [link]
This program is coming up June 14th and 15th. LaDawn and I attended this program a few years ago over at the home office of Marathon Press. It was wonderful - just jammed packed full of great ideas. This seminar is limited to ONLY 12 studios! Here is the link to all the info. Jump on this one quick if you are interested.
That's the easy update around here so let's get on with today's post. I think you are going to like the "hand tricks” we're pulling off today. Here we go...
Perfectly Perfect Exposure - It's All In The Hands
I've spent a lot of time discussing exposure in my seminars, workshops, and my new book. Too many people rely just on the camera's auto exposure system and let it to do all the work. When shooting weddings you've got to be a bit more careful in nailing the exposure, especially the off-camera flash photographs.
Remember, I always shoot ALL my flash exposures with the camera set to manual so I've got to nail the exposure. If you blow it, you just may over-expose all the detail away from the beautiful gown - not a good thing. A similar situation can occur when photographing the groom and groomsmen. Those guys are always wearing those dark tuxes. If you're not careful, you can easily "blow out" the shirts too.
The easy way to be sure your exposure is "dead on" is by using my "blinky" method of exposure. I simply include a "diffuse white", like the bride's gown in the test shot, make my exposure, check for "blinkies" in the dress, and adjust the exposure downward if I see any.
OK, what are these darn "blinkies" I'm talking about? Simple - it's the blinking area of your camera's LCD screen that indicates "overexpose" when you enable highlight alert on your camera. If you see "blinkies" on the bride's gown or any diffuse white area in the scene, your histogram graph is banging up against the right hand side axis - or said differently, you are overexposing the whites in the scene.
Hit the “Read More…” link below for the rest of the article.
After I get the "blinkies" under control I check the histogram again. I want those diffuse highlights to land about 1/3 of the way into the fifth section as shown on my Canon camera. Nikon shooters have four section histograms so on a Nikon, I would suggest you let the diffuse white hit about 1/2 way into that fourth section.
Why do I do this? Simple – I’m making an Ansel Adams Zone System work into determining my correct exposure. Ansel always exposed for Zone 9 so that he preserved all the detail in his white tonalities. It turns out that if you have the diffuse whites as shown on your histogram hit about 1/3 of the way into that fifth section, you are exposing your whites just the way Ansel did, into Zone 9 - pretty cool.
So if you take my advice, you can rest assured that your exposures will be perfect for every shot. So what do you do when you don't have a "diffuse white" in the scene? Robert Ash, one of my Digital Master Class attendees last week, came up with a really handy - no pun intended - solution to the matter. I'll let him tell you in his own words below in his article, "The Ultimate Portable Light Meter."
The Ultimate Portable Light Meter
It can be tricky to monitor light levels without a meter. If you're shooting a wedding that happens to include neutral tones like white clothing (a wedding dress, etc.) then metering on diffuse whites until highlight warnings disappear like David Ziser does is very effective. But what if there are no diffuse whites in the scene - or what if there are no other neutral colors at all in the scene you're photographing? Or what if no one in the wedding or portrait is wearing white?
One easy answer is literally in the palm of your hand. It turns out that the human palm is the world's most convenient - and most portable - light meter. Also, it turns out the human palm is not only accurate but consistent because, regardless of the overall color of any of our skin, the palms of everyone's hands are about the same brightness or reflectivity.
To use your palm to measure exposure properly:
Put the palm of your hand in the same light that's falling on the subject (if your palms are sweating you can wipe them on your clothes first to prevent specular highlights from influencing the reading).
Zoom in on the palm of your hand until your palm completely fills the frame (make sure no shadow from your lens or lens shade is visible in the frame).
Focus on infinity (this will prevent the lines of your hand from influencing the meter reading).
Lock in your meter reading or memorize the exposure reading for your palm.
Then open up one stop. Your exposure will now be correct.
The reason this works is because, for any scene or color they are metering, camera meters always try to expose that scene so it has the same brightness as a middle gray. A middle gray is a gray whose brightness value is halfway between black and white. An evenly-lit human palm which fills the frame is one stop brighter than a middle gray (for those familiar with the Zone System, the human palm is at Zone 6 and middle gray is at Zone 5). Because the meter will set the exposure so your palm will have a middle gray brightness - one stop lower than the palm's actual brightness - opening up one stop from that reading gives the correct brightness and therefore the correct exposure.
Once you have one object at the correct exposure, all the other objects under the same lighting will also be exposed correctly, just as if you were metering off a neutral - like a white wedding dress.
Hey Robert, pretty fancy hand trick and great tip! Thanks a bunch. Hey gang, be sure to check out Robert's website right here. He also has some beautiful landscape photography right here - definitely take a peek. And lastly, he just posted some of his images from my Master Class - you can check them out right here you will clearly see what a great time we had last week.
What struck me about the tip was the fact that any hand will work regardless of which part of the world you hail from. I guess I always knew that, but tying it to an exposure technique - very clever.
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Hey gang, that's it for me today. Plan to stop back tomorrow for another money making episode of Business Day Thursday.
WOW! Today is the BIG day - my largest webinar ever!!! We have photographers attending from around the world - New Zealand, Russia, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Brussels - the list goes on and on. Thanks to all who registered.
Remember, there is seating for the first 1000 people that log in. 2:30 p.m. will be the official time folks can start logging in.
The ways things shaped up these last 48 hours has really caught us by surprise. I even called the "GoToWebinar" tech support team 5 times over the last 3 days asking why registration didn't cut off at 1000. I never got a satisfying answer from them, but they plan to address the issue in an upcoming release. That doesn't help us today though.
That said, if you can't log on because of our huge crowd, we have scheduled a "LIVE Encore Performance" again two weeks from now on March 17, 2010 at 4:00p.m. Yep, I'll give the program again. The slightly later start time may even work better for many people.
We will email everyone who wasn't able to attend today the details about how to sign up for our "Encore Performance" on March 17, 2010.
I've planned a short PhotoFAVS Wednesday today, so let's get right to it.
PhotoFAVS Wednesday: Ed Pierce's 14’ Pocket Target
Exposure is critical when shooting digital, even if you are shooting RAW and even more so if you're shooting JPEG mode.
I regularly use the "Highlight Alert" function enabled on my cameras. That basically means that if I'm over-exposing diffuse whites, for example, a bride's wedding gown, the viewfinder will "blink" back at me. I need to make an adjustment to the exposure to make the "blinking" go away to be sure I'm not "blowing out the whites" and jamming the histogram up against the right most axis.
OK, what do I do if I don't have a "diffuse white" tonality in the scene? I simply add one. You can use anything that's white - I've even used a piece of notebook paper in the past. But notebook paper is not all that professional so I picked up my buddy, Ed Pierce's mini target [link]. It's small, light, and really inexpensive. Ed is even running a sale on them right now so check the pocket target out here. He even has a video to show you how it works.
Ed invented his target years ago and just recently was awarded a patent on his design. The pocket target collapses to about 6 inches when closed and opens to about 14 inches - large enough for me to easily include in my pre-shooting set up.
With the pocket target, I can quickly check for my "blinkies" with my "Highlight Alert" function on my camera and be super accurate on my exposure in no time.
Hey gang, that's it for me today. I'm going to tweak my presentation a bit more and then I'm catching up with Nicholas, my Ace#1 assistant for a Web-Cast run through. I'll see ya' on the air in a few hours. Remember, If you can't log in we are re-broadcasting the event "LIVE" in two weeks so everyone will have a chance to hear the program, today or on March 17th.
Brrrrrr!!!! We woke up to 27 degrees in sunny downtown Daytona Beach today - Heck, I asked the front desk what time the ski slopes opened today;~) Regardless, it's still good to be in sunny Florida for the next couple of days.
So did you get a chance to work your way through the 10 Technique Tuesdays I posted yesterday - lots of great information available. Anyway, let's get right to today's Photo FAVS post.
High ISOs - A New Way To Think About Shooting
Hit the “Read More…” link below for the whole story.
My High ISO Journey
Many of you know that I am a high ISO "speed freak" when it comes to shooting. It probably goes back to my early college days when I was working my way through school as a school photographer.
The fastest film we had at the time was Kodak Tri-X film rated at 400 ISO. New developers were hitting the scene back then - Accufine and Diafine to name two. Diafine developer could push Tri-X up to 3200 ISO - unheard of back then. The problem was that the negative did not print that well at that high ISO.
I stumbled upon a different high ISO solution back in those late 60's. My favorite film/developer combo was Kodak Tri-X film processed in Edwal's FG7 developer diluted with a 9% Sodium Sulfite solution. That gave me a very useable shooting speed of 1600 ISO - perfect for the football and basketball games I was assigned to photograph back in those days. OK, am I losing everybody - just hang in here with me a bit longer.
Everybody who saw my shots were pretty impressed with the results - fine grain, nice detail in the shadows, and good looking prints- from the "kid" photographer. I was just 21 years old.
Anyway, that quest for high ISO shooting continued as I was building my fledgling photography business. I remember when Kodak introduced their brand new high ISO Vericolor 400 film - WOW! 400 ISO in 1988. I even got to "beta test" it back then. As a footnote, one of those "test prints" went on to be the highest scoring print of the Mid-East Print Competition and I was named "Photographer of the Year." Boy, it sure changed how we shot weddings.
The film evolution continued with Kodak introducing their 1000 ISO film and finally settling in on their Kodak Vericolor 800 ISO formulation. This film became my only choice for shooting weddings in the years leading up to my switching to "digital" in 2000.
On To Digital
As I migrated to digital very early in the last decade. Sorry, couldn't resist. I was curious about the new high ISO settings I found on the new digital cameras. I began testing them - 800 ISO on my then Fuji S-1, 1600 ISO on my Nikon D1x.
Was there a problem? Not as far as I was concerned. Heck, I felt they looked as good, maybe better than I was getting out of my high speed color films. Picture Code had just introduced their beta of Noise Ninja and it seemed to work magic on any noise I was seeing. I was hooked.
Now look how far we’ve come! Canon and Nikon both just recently introducing cameras that shoot 6-figure ISOs - UNBELIEVABLE!!!
So are these new "speed freak" cameras going to change how we shoot weddings? Well, they should, but maybe not in all the ways you might consider. It's more that just pointing the camera at a low light subject and taking the picture. Heck, a tripod will let you do the same thing.
These low light cameras open up all kinds of new possibilities for all shooters. If you use flash, the high ISO settings will let you use much less "flash power" giving you many more flashes per charge. Even now, shooting at 800 or 1600 ISO routinely for me at a wedding, I can make the 4 AA's in my Canon 580 EX2's last all day. It's only going to get better.
Another benefit of the new high ISOs means "slower" glass will work in the same shooting situation. That should put a few bucks back into the back pocket for a lot of photographers. Now we will be able to shoot at F4 instead of F2.0 to obtain the same result. Think about it - the high ISO cameras should really expand the lens choices we can use on any job.
More On The High ISO Upside
I foresee a lot of photographers, now armed with these new high ISO cameras just shooting away without any regard to "contrast control" or "direction of light." I suspect we all will capture some great low light images but I think the other side of the coin – quality and well lit images, is going to suffer.
I like a post I found at Matt Adcock's Flashflavor site. Matt appreciates that the quality of light does not have to suffer when applying the use of the new high ISO cameras. Check out his post right here where he describes how he uses his off-camera flash in low light conditions to add the "polish" of directional lighting on his shots. Here is the link right here.
This past November, Matt followed up the post with another by his buddy Dave from DQ studios. This is a great article - you can give it a read right here. You can see there are lots of possibilities available to us.
The main point I want to make today is the fact that lots more LIGHTING DOORS open up if we understand the full ramifications of these high ISO cameras. It's more than just shooting in low light situations. It's also about how these low light situations coupled with creative use of low power off camera flash can add vitality and polish to our imagery. Once again, it will be the "difference that makes the difference" for those of us who will embrace the far reaching implications high ISO cameras bring to the mix.
Here is one more link to check out. It's at DigitalPhotoPro right here. They hit on some of the points I've mentioned and provide a listing of all the high ISO cameras. It's a nice reference article.
