Shoot with Beverly

Another natural light portrait

Portrait using window light.

I set up a shoot with Beverly, a friend and co-worker. She'd wanted to do this for a while but our schedules never seemed to matchup. when it finally did it was fabulous. We agreed to meet at Serenity Park for the photoshoot. I arrived earlier and began scouting the area for places to shoot. While scouting I met another photographer who informed me that there was a wedding in a few minutes. (Bummer!)

So we drove around looking for an alternative. Turns out it's all about the location.  We ended up a most unexpected place, which I will refer to as 'an abandoned government building', which turned out to be great! The light was amazing and Beverly was great! I spotted a few areas where the light seemed interesting, set up a single light took a couple shots then forgot about the flash because available light was just so lovely. I really enjoy using available light for portraits. Having to deal with the camera and model only really simplifies things (though there are times that your flash just can not be ignored. I did  use a flash for fill in some of the images.)

The three images in this post were converted to black & white after the shoot. I'm really experimenting with black & white conversions so I spent quite some time doing conversions and messing with the luminosity of various color channels to see how that would affect the different areas of the images. Changes in the red channel seem to be more important for skin tones. I will probably post something about that in the future.

This is one of many planned photoshoots. I'm excited about my next shoot as well.

If you're interested in doing a shoot with me just drop me a line and we'll set it up.

This is my favorite photo in the shoot. For this shot it's all available light. I use my 70-200 f/2.8 lens extensive for this session. Here I was probably about 8 feet away from her.

What I've been up to...

Well I've been spending most of my time learning these days. I have been asking myself two major questions: What can I do to better my skills as a photographer? What can I do to give my clients a better experience?

So I have been spending my time answering these two questions. And as a result some changes will be taking place on my website and my packages, so don't be surprised.

Did I Learn Something?

You bet I did. Just finished a webinar on Marketing Wedding photography with Rob Provencher (great guy!). It went on longer than planned but I'm not complaining. From this webinar I've come up with a project that I would like to work on. I am in the process of refreshing my portfolio. I will be planning one big shoot per week. Not a job, just a shoot that I plan and execute and get models and props, etc.

This will definitely have a focus on wedding photography and portraits. More information and posts coming soon.

Spotlighting the Bride & Groom

Very often when out on photo-shoots I come across great opportunities for creating beautiful imagery. This was definitely one of these situations.

This photo was the last one we made on this evening. I saw the mixture of light and shadows and thought it would make a great photo. I did not have all the equipment with me for this kind of shot (we were supposed to be out of there before nightfall but nightfall came and we were still there).

To get this shot done I used my off-camera cord with a flash with a snoot made from a sheet of bristol board which I got from the security office. My Wife ( trusty assistant) held the flash and directed it in place, whilst I took the photos.

We had a lot of fun and the bride and groom really liked the result.

I would love to get my hand on that new iMac with 27 inch display. Great for editing and for displaying images.

Bird's Eye view

It is dangerous to only focus on the details and not see the wider view of things. Whilst the detail view focuses on the now the bird's eye view sees the whole picture. It considers cause and effect, process and product. Both views are important but the bird's eye view helps you in better focusing on details that will be you to where you want to go.

In the same light, it is dangerous for photographers to only look at what they are doing and comparing themselves with a few other photographers. We live in an age where the industry is what we should be looking at. Chase Jarvis has been preaching this doctrine for some time now but there are still photographers who unfortunately have not caught.

I met a photographer yesterday who understood the wider industry and was willing to share techniques and such (Thanks Peter). Some of the techniques were put to use right away.

I had seen this image every time I looked at the leaves of this flower. Some how the light was never hitting it at the right angle. And in the days of film I never had any f2.8 lenses. I am very satisfied with this photograph. It just works. The light is amazing, the colors are dashing. I like the highlight at the very edge of the leaves in the front. It adds some good detail. The pattern of color in the background is very interesting and reminds me of painting. This is one of my favorite shots for this week.

I took this yesterday after a school's graduation meeting. Today myself and a friend will be making pictures at the graduation. I am just making sure every is ready for me to leave. Enjoy. Cheers.