New Third Party Manufacturer

This week I wanted to write and make everyone aware of a new third party builder for photography accessories, YONGNUO.

Some of you may have heard of them before and some of you may not, but YONGNUO has been around for a few years now and they started out making knock-offs of Canon and Nikon’s Speedlites.

If you are familiar with them, their first generation of Speedlites had issues with getting hot while using them or failing after short periods of time, but lately their quality has improved dramatically, to the point where now many Pros are buying their Speedlites and using them full time. Their newer YN560 Mark IV Speedlite is as good as the Canon 580 EX Mark II and has all the same features, (I Know because I own both Canon’s and YONGNUO’s models). And their newer YN600EX-RT is giving Canon’s new 600EX-RT a run for it’s money.

Photography is an expensive business to get into and anywhere you can save some money, you are doing well. YONGNUO’s YN560 Mark IV costs $69.00 compared to Canon’s 580EX Mark II’s $449 and the YN600EX-RT is $119 compared to Canon’s 600EX-RT at $499.

But in the last 2 years, YONGNUO has started making knock-off lenses as well to compete with Canon, Nikon, Tamron and Sigma. The first lens that YONGNUO offered was a total knock-off of Canon’s EF 50mm F/1.8 “Nifty Fifty”. Not only does the YONGNUO model look identical to Canon’s but in reviews, it shoots about 98% as good as Canon’s. The difference, Canon’s is $130 and the YONGNUO 50mm F/1.8 runs $56!

And now YONGNUO has released their own 35mm F/2 prime lens for both Canon and Nikon. The YN35mm F/2 looks identical to the Canon 35mm F/2 but where the Canon model runs $599, the YONGNUO model runs $94. I read a LOT of positive reviews of the YN35mm so this week I bought one myself and it arrived on Saturday and I took a couple of quick test images with it and was VERY impressed myself! I also discovered when processing in Lightroom that even though Lightroom doesn’t recognize the lens by default, the Canon EF 35mm F/2 lens profile works perfectly!

So, for those of you looking to save money, especially while attending AI, you have save a ton with YONGNUO Speedlites and lenses! Now I mentioned that I would show you how well the YN35mm F/2 lens works, well here are a couple images I shot with mine.

Comments/Questions

"Grey Market", Should You Avoid It?

Another question I get frequently from photographers that are new or photography students is “should I buy “grey market” camera gear and what exactly is it other than cheaper?”

First, let me start by saying ALL the major camera manufacturers are foreign to the USA and have USA counterparts that import and sell their products in the US. Nikon and Canon both have their US offices located on Long Island, NY and most of the rest of them are located in New York City as well.

These US offices are the ONLY source for importing the camera bodies, lenses, etc from the factories in Japan, Germany and elsewhere and selling in the US market with USA warranties.

Image of legit Nikon D7000 USA model box from Ken Rockwell

The reason many people are attracted to “grey market” items is the savings in pricing vs buying in the US. Most of the time, the “grey market” items are made in the same factory as the USA items to the same specs and using the same parts and quality control, but in this day and age there is a LOT of counterfeiting going on out of China, so you have to be very careful.

When you by a “grey market” item, you cannot go to Nikon or Canon US and get service or warranty repair. Even if the item is made in their factory, since it was not imported by the US division and they did not get their mark-up, they are not obligated to honor any warranty and they won’t.

Right now their is a large legal battle between Canon and “Grey Market” sellers on eBay. Canon USA is suing them for hurting their business, which is odd as the “Grey Market” sellers have been doing it for decades and Canon didn’t seem to care until just recently.

Some of the large, reputable dealers even sell “grey market” lenses at least, B&H is one of them and they even have a “grey market” section on their site that explains this. Now in the case of a large company like B&H, they offer a comparable warranty on their “grey market” items and service and warranty them through their massive store in NYC.

Many people have differing opinions on “grey market”, my opinion is do your homework and then decide for yourself. I have bought some “grey market” lenses as the savings were huge compared to buying the USA model and the dealer I bought from is very reputable and warranties the items themselves, but not all of them do and many use slick talk and ads to con you out of your money so you do have to be careful. I would NOT buy a camera body “grey market” as it’s the most important piece of my photography set up. I buy genuine USA models only from an authorized Canon dealer so I know when it needs service I can send it to Canon US.

I’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts several ways to save on lenses, like buying them from pawn shops, CraigsList, eBay or from a members of local camera clubs. Most new photographers, and especially photography students don’t have Trust Fund money, so find those deals where you can. I’ve even made a fair share of extra money buying old FD lenses for almost nothing from local pawn shops as they had been sitting on them for 10-12 years and them sell them on eBay for a massive profit and then use that money to buy the new lens or body I wanted.

Is “grey market” for you? Only you can decide that, but be careful and do your homework. Remember the old adage, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”.

Comments/Questions

Should I Only Buy Name Brand Lenses?

Another one of the questions I myself and many other photographers get from students is this one, “Should I only buy Name Brand lenses”, i.e. Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc.

To be honest there are no straight yes or no answer to this question. Some of it is personal preference, some of it is your budget. I am a Canon shooter and I love my Canon gear, but do I only buy Canon lenses? Absolutely not! Why, well for one thing, I have an I.Q. higher than 10 points and another, I am NOT rich!

In the past you would usually hear the old adage you get what you pay for but this is no longer the case. Over the last few years third party lens builders have gotten better and better at putting out quality equipment. Tamron, is in my humble opinion, the King of third party lenses, outside Carl Zeiss, who’s lenses are priced so ridiculously high, for manual only lenses, I will never own one.

I consider Tamron the King of third party lenses because I have personally never had a bad Tamron lens nor read any bad reviews on any of them. I have had Sigma lenses that threw all kinds of weird errors when I tried to use them and the image quality had been really weak on some of them I have used but I have read that lately Sigma is getter really good as well. Just like Canon or Nikon, both builders have their low end lenses and their high end lenses. For Tamron, their high end ones are the SP series, and many photographers compare Tamron’s SP series as being nearly as good if not sometimes better than Canon “L” series glass. Image quality, build quality, all on par or better than Canon’s “L” glass, the catch is, Tamron’s SP lenses cost WAY less money.

Monarch butterfly shot with Canon 70-200mm F/4 L USM

What is the most popular zoom lens in photography? The 70-200mm lens is by far used by more pros than any other zoom lens every made. Why, well it has what is known in the industry as the “sweet” focal lengths. 70-85mm is popular for portraits as is 135mm and having a max of 200mm is good for most all around shooting, sports, events, etc. Now Canon makes four versions of the 70-200mm “L” series lens. There’s the 70-200mm F/4 L with or without IS (Image Stabilizer) and the 70-200mm F/28. with or without IS. These four lenses vary in price from $800-$2,100 for the new F/2.8 IS II. As most people will tell you, if you want the best lens, go with the F/2.8 with or without IS depending on your wallet. The reason is the faster F/2.8 lets in more light so you can use it in lower light shooting, like if you specialize in shooting bands at concerts or bars as those are very low light situations.

Not everyone wants to spend $2,100 for a single lens, enter Tamron. Tamron offers the same 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC (Di means fits full frame as well as crop bodies, VC means Vibration Compensation, same as Canon’s IS) for $999-$1,499 depending on who you buy it from. That is considerable savings for the most popular lens in one of the best apertures. I currently have the Canon 70-200mm F/4 USM but plan to pick up the Tamron 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC as one of my near future purchase.

Hopefully, this article will help you decide where you want to put your money when it comes to lens purchases. Now get out there and make some great images!

Comments/Questions

Best Places to Buy Photography Gear on a Budget

Frequently I hear students say that they don’t have much in the way of photography gear due to cost of ownership. It is true that photography gear is not cheap, unless it’s cheap quality and hence gives cheap results. I’ve had quite a few students ask me how I have acquired so much gear in the last 18 months and I tell them all the same thing, you have to know how to find the deals.

1. Craigslist - Craigslist can be one of the best places to get a good deal on most anything, especially camera gear and lenses. I have bought numerous pieces of gear on this site, but you have to watch out for scammers and always meet people in public places like a coffee shop or store parking lot during the day.

2. eBay - eBay is handy for buying items too as you can find more sellers on there since they are world wide. The problem is you also run into more scammers. Also since you are buying on-line, there is no way to check out the item in person and you can get burned.

3. Pawn Shops - Pawn Shops are a great place to buy used gear and they often have no clue what they have. A person goes into a Pawn Shop to pawn their gear and the shop looks at what the gear sells for on eBay and then offers the seller like 25% of the actual value. If the person forfeits and the Pawn Shop can then sell the item, it is usually months later and the shop doesn’t really keep track of the value, they just price it to make a profit.

4. Local photography clubs - Often times you can find local photography clubs and there will be members selling gear from time to time.

5. Warehouse stores - Another good place are warehouse stores like Sam’s or Costco. Here you are buying new and getting a warranty and you get the better pricing offered by someone that can leverage volume pricing.

6. Amazon - Amazon is another great place to get camera gear and anything else. They have a wide selection of lenses from Canon’s FD to EF and Nikon, Sony and others as well.

                                          70-200mm F/4 L USM and 70-300mm IS USM

    The big thing to remember buying used gear is that you can get burned if not careful. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is but sometimes you do get lucky and the person has no idea what they are selling. I personally bought a Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM lens at a local pawn store for $200 in mint condition. This lens new retails for $900. I also bought a Manfrotto tripod at the same store for $50 and it was missing the release plate that attaches to the camera. I bought a  new plate for $7 on Amazon, the tripod with the fluid movement head turned out to be worth $500. Just remember, if you buy used, test it good before you part with your hard earned money. Meet them somewhere public for safety and test the lens or whatever it is on your own camera body to make sure it is fully operational, NEVER take the seller’s word for it.

    Good luck with buying more gear and get out there and make some awesome images!

Comments/Questions

Backup Workflow for Photographers.

Backup, backup, backup. I know that we all know these words and think about them from time to time, but how many of us really have a solid backup solution for our digital files. The honest truth is that a drive will go bad, they are not designed to last forever and if you are just editing and storing your images on one drive you are asking for trouble. You should always be looking for ways to safeguard clients important images. After all you are getting paid to produce them so you certainly don’t want to loose any of them.

            So the best practice is for you to keep 3 copies of your files. This way you have 2 copies onsite and one copy offsite. It is very important to have the offsite copy in case of fire floods or theft. And when referring to a offsite location it should be 50+ miles from your location because if you flood out most likely everything near by will be doing the same. For some it might not be feasible to keep a drive 50miles from their location so in this case I would recommend using cloud based services though they do cost yearly to have and use.

            My Workflow is to upload my files directly onto my external drive, from there I copy them to a second external drive. I don’t really have a place to keep an offsite external drive so I use a cloud based service for my third copy. By having 3 copies of all your RAW files you can be assured that you will not loose your customers flies and that can be extremely important.

            I personally use Seagate drives but you may find one that you like better. I don’t really think that there is a wrong solution just as long as you have one in place. When looking into the cloud based services I would make sure that you shop around on them because some are unlimited files including RAWs and some are jpg only. They also charge different fees depending how much space you need. When you first start up a cloud service be ready to spend hours if not days awaiting all your files to upload to the cloud. When buying external drives I wouldn’t buy them any larger then what you think you will shoot in a year. This way though you have to keep buying new ones each year they are always fresh and shouldn’t break down.

Backup Work Flow:

Example 1 Main Drive  --  Backup Drive1 – Backup drive 2A  -- Backup Drive 2B

Example 2 Main Drive – Backup Drive  -- Cloud

Seagate Drive 2014

Which Lenses are Better, Primes or Zooms?

    Another question I have frequently asked by other students and even members of my photography club is which lens is better, Primes or Zooms?

    This is an interesting question and can stir some debate. Primes are lenses with a fixed focal length, such as the Canon 40mm STM Pancake lens or the Canon or Nikon 50mm lenses, known as the “Nifty Fifty”. These lenses are not able to zoom in and out but they are extremely power lenses to have.

    Advantages of the Primes is they will be of a wider aperture than the zooms. My 40mm lens is F/2.8 and my 50mm is F/1.4, with the wider aperture, I can use these lenses in much lower light levels than I can say my 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 lens, which covers the same two focal lengths. There are today zooms than can do F/2.8 but they are very expensive and I don’t want to get off track here.

    The other difference with Primes is, since they have a fixed focal length you have to get closer when shooting something. A lot of photographers like to use the “Nifty Fifty” for portraits, but you cannot shoot a portrait of someone from 10-12 feet with a 50mm as you will pick up too much background. Move in to around 3-6 feet and you will get a great portrait, depending on the style you are shooting for. The Prime lens will generally have a sharper focus to it, even at the wide end of it’s aperture and will cost a lot less money than a zoom.

                                    My mailbox shot with the 40mm STM from around 2-3 feet

    Zooms do have their places, however, such as shooting at an outdoor event like a concert or fair where you cannot always get close to your subject and really need or want to get the shot. In these situations, yes it’s great to have that handy telephoto zoom lens to get in nice and tight to the subject without risking yourself or interfering with anyone else, say law enforcement at an accident scene. Zooms have come a long way and like a said, a nice 70-200mm F/2.8 is one of the most popular lens from both Canon and Nikon, but it’s also got a hefty price of up to $2,500 where you can get a good prime generally for $140-$700.

                           My mailbox shot with the Canon 70-200mm F/4 L USM from around 20 feet

    So, do both lenses have a place in your camera bag, absolutely, and as a general rule, my Primes and Zooms will usually sit in the bag peacefully without fighting too much. I do challenge you to use your primes more, many photographers tend to get lazy or they are shy and don’t want to get close to their subjects. I encourage you to break out of this mode of thinking and get close to your subjects, as long as you can do so without getting hurt or killed in the process. I’m not telling you to walk up to the lion at the zoo and get in his face with your 50mm, but next time you are shooting people, say on the street, use that 50mm and get up close and personal.


Comments/Questions

Keeping Your DSLR Sensor Clean

    One of the biggest problems we face as photographers is keeping that DSLR sensor clean when shooting, especially when shooting outdoors. Your sensor is the primary component inside your camera for capturing and preserving those moments to the memory card and needs to always be in the best possible condition and clean to take great photos. Dirt, dust, oils and general grime on the sensor will show up on your images and make them look badly such as the example below from The Digital picture.com

    Those two spots you see are from sensor dust and they are imbedded in your image. Now you can remove them using Photoshop, Lightroom and some other editing programs, but why not prevent them all together? I am going to give you some tips for keeping the dust and dirt out of your sensor.

Never touch the inside of your DSLR, especially with you fingers. The internal workings behind your lens are not meant for your fingers so, keep them out!
Only change your lens in a semi controlled environment. What I mean by this is don’t change your lenses outdoors in 35mph winds as you are just asking for sensor dirt.
Keep your camera pointed down when changing lenses. I am not sure why so many people don’t get this one. Holding the camera with the opening facing forward or up just invites the dirt in, holding it down makes it harder for it to get in.
Never change the lens with the camera powered on. Will it ruin your camera to do so, no but it will keep a static charge inside the shutter area and allow dust to be drawn to your sensor like a magnet.
   
    I have found, one of the easiest ways to keep my sensor clean is just limit how often I change lenses. I never change them outdoors if I can help it. I carry 2-3 bodies when I am shooting outdoors and I equip one body with a wide angle lens for landscapes, the second one will have a portrait lens of some sort for capturing people and my third will have a nice telephoto zoom for anything else I might need to shoot. Now I know you are thinking “I’m not rich enough to afford 2-3 camera bodies.” You’d be surprised the deals you can find at local pawn shops or yard sales, often people don’t realize what they have and will sell the bodies cheap. Also, who says you need the latest, most expensive body out there. Instead of buying one $1,000-$3,000 body, use that money to buy 2-3 bodies that are cheaper because they are the older model, like getting a Canon 1Ds full frame for $500 that was made in 2004 but still shoots great, instead of the Canon 1Dx which runs $7,000. Too many people don’t seem to realize that it is not the camera that takes the great images, it’s the person behind it.
    Until next Sunday, this is the Sunday Ambassador saying get out there and make some great images!

Comments/Questions

Looking for and going to a Photo Expo near you.

Last week I went to the PhotoPlus Expo in NYC. It was a great experience getting to see all the different new products and even some of the old. It a good place to run into people you know or even make new friends. While you don't always have to spend money at the photo expo it is usually a good place to look for a deal. You can also bring your questions that you might have for the different products. When I went I had the intentions of buying a book bag to put my camera in because I have out grown the shoulder strap bag that came with the camera. I was able to walk around and look at all the different ones each company had and see what one had the best price.
          While the companies where offering a good price on some of them I was still able to purchase the bad cheaper with my student discount. It was nice because there was no shipping or tax and I took the bag home that day. I know I can't fit everything I have in this bag but it will work for most shoots. I will have to only take what I think is most important. I also sat in a couple of classes at the show. While some of them where very basic and gave information I already knew it was a good refresher as well as a place to get some new ideas. Of coarse they show off the gear you only dream to own, but not all of it was expensive.
           The one product that they showed was called a Eye Lighter by Westcott, it was great. It was used to bounce light back up into your subjects face and fill the shadows. While you probably would only use the for head shots I can see it paying for its self very quickly if that was your main business. I would have never know about this product if I didn't goto the show and sign up for some classes.
            There are photo expo type shows all across the country so take a look in your area and see what's available. I know they gave a big one in TN and Vegas. For more information on the Eye Lighter take a look at this link.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search/mode/edu?Ntt=Eye+lighter&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=


TBT

Thursday Ambassador

It’s raining and I have to shoot, now what?

It’s raining and I have to shoot, now what?

We have all been there, needing to get assignments done and the weather isn't it's best so what can we do? We still have a deadline that we have to make, but we don't want to get our cameras wet. For me I shoot OCR races professionally so sometimes I don't have a choice but to work in the rain. While my semi pro body is weather resistant and so is the glass that doesn't mean I should let it get wet. So what are the available options? Between myself and some of my peers we have tried several different options. I have used in the past a inexpensive bag that is made to protect your gear from the elements. The company is called Op Tech and the bags are available at most camera retailers. They cost about $8 for 2 bags. The bag is pretty simple to use and it very convenient because they fold up small and will fit in your bag.

             There are other options that are more expensive solution but It doesn't mean it's better.  One of my peers have purchased a few of the more expensive ones and they each had something about them he didn't like. The one system that he using covered the equipment very nicely but the area to look through to view the screen kept fogging up on him. That could make it difficult to get the shots if you can't seem what you are shooting. It always best to do you research before you purchase anything because you don't want to have to keep buying different ones before you find what fits your needs. 

             Weather really isn't the best reason to not meet your deadline. There are many available options for us to prepare for the nasty days as well as the nice once. It's always best to make sure you are prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws at you. Sometimes you will find that you have taken your best shot yet and the weather wasn't that favorable. One of the photographers that AI have gone out and shot with never cancels for Inclement weather. The one time I went to shoot in NYC on top of “The Rock” the weather wasn't that nice and they claimed the visibility was very low. I decided to go up anyway since I was there and the view was much better then I thought,  my shots turned out great anyway. You don't want to miss out on opportunities by not being prepared or thinking you just don't want to shoot in the rain.

For more information take a look at these options, each camera will have a different sized cover but the cheaper plastic bag ones are universal.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/469774-REG/OP_TECH_USA_9001132_18_Rainsleeve_Set_of.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/815182-REG/LensCoat_LCRCPM4_RainCoat_Pro_Realtree_Max4.html

 

TBT 

Thursday Ambassador

The importance of a backup plan.

            A backup plan is an essential part of photography. Not only for your school assignments but also for your jobs you should always have that backup plan. While you always hope everything goes smoothly you never know. If you don't have a plan “B” then you could end up loosing a job or failing your assignment. One thing I always do when I have something that requires a model is I make sure I ask more then one. This way if my preferred model can't make it then I have someone else to take there place. Another important thing to think about is having backup equipment. Especially if you are doing a job for someone. Nothing is more embarrassing then not being able to complete the job because your equipment failed. If you are shooting for a wedding then you could wind up getting sued if you don't get the job done.

            I personally don't have a backup pro body but I do have a mirror less camera that I can use if needed for my assignments. It still shoots in RAW and has the capability to swap out the lens. I wouldn't rely on this camera though if I was doing pro job like a wedding or a Sweet 16. If you can not afford to purchase back up equipment then make sure you rent something to use for those jobs.
         
            There are many rental companies that are available to rent all types of equipment. Depending on how long you need to have the rental equipment it is always cheaper to purchase it is you need something for weeks at a time. However if you just need it for the weekend then by all means rent it. When choosing a rental company you need to look at how they have the rentals set up. Most of them will place a hold on your credit card for most of the replacement cost of whatever you are renting. While this doesn't matter to much with a regular credit card, this can make things very difficult if you are using a debit card. Now suddenly your bank account shows no funds because it is reserved just in case you brake or loose the rental equipment. There are many different rental companies so it doesn't hurt to google them and shop around. Also some of your local camera stores may offer rentals as well.


Thursday Ambassador

New ways to get creative.

Recently I was able to try out a new photography tool. This tool is great for getting creative and the possibilities seem endless. The tool is called the Pixelstick, barley on the market but will be fully very soon. Was recently part of a kick starter program to secure funding to help bring this invention to market. The founders Bitbangerlabs was hoping to receive $110000.00 in support to help bring this tool to market. What they did get was a flooding of interested people and received $628,417.00 well over there hopped amount. In the proceeding months they worked on getting some select companies to manufacture the product they designed. The manufacturing was built from their working prototype.
         This Pixelstick will take your light painting to a whole new level. You can have it broadcast simple patterns or you can even have it display a .bmp file 1 pixel line at a tie to broadcast full characters or words from within your images. When I gave this tool a test run I didn't have any .bmp files with my to use that feature but I have seen some images from others to know that the possibilities are endless on what you can create. You can really do some out of the box thinking with portraits, product photography, or just simple abstract images. You can purchase your own for $325 currently but there is no confirmed date they will start shipping late orders since they have to fulfill all there backers orders first. I know I will be purchasing my own I hope very soon. If your looking to get creative with your photography then I would look into getting one for yourself.

For more information check out their kick starter website.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitbangerlabs/pixelstick-light-painting-evolved/posts

You can also check out their website to purchase your own.
http://www.thepixelstick.com

People have been finally receiving their own Pixelsticks so check out Flicker for some great ideas of how you could use your own Pixelstick
https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Pixelstick

TBT Ambassador Thursday

Works Cited

Flickr. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.

"Pixelstick - Lightpainting Evolved | Home." Pixelstick - Lightpainting Evolved | Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.

"Pixelstick - Light Painting Evolved." Kickstarter. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.

I have my strobes but how do I trigger them?

There are three major way to trigger strobes lights to go off. The first option is probably the cheapest but makes your studio area almost dangerous because you have your camera physically connected to your strobes by a wire. The will make it so you have a constant trip hazard in your studio. With this option you are also relying on the other strobe firing with its optical slave. A optical slave is an eye on the strobe head that can see other strobes flash. When the eye sees other strobes go off it will make that strobe go off as well. You can also use this option and take your on camera flash or a speed light to trigger the strobes. The disadvantage with this option is when you are doing an on location shoot your optical eye my not see the other strobes go off because of all the ambient light. Because you dnt have a controlled environment of a studio this Optical slave option isn't a very good one. The third option is to use a wireless trigger. This system works by taking a trigger and attaching it to you camera, then attaching another to each strobe. The trigger that you attach to your hot shoe will trigger all the other triggers. Thus eliminating the worries that the optical slave won't see the other strobe going off. Another problem with relying on a optical slave say for a wedding reception, when ever anyone takes a photo near by that has their flash on they will set off your strobe.

A few wireless trigger systems that I have read about are Younguo, Pocket Wizards, Phottix just to name a few. While I only have experience with pocket wizards I sure they all work the same. The main difference in them are they can only work with each other because they all have different frequencies. They also all have different working distances so you may want to research that prior to purchasing your triggers. This way you will purchase the right one to meet your needs. Another thing to consider is some strobe companies make their own triggers. For me I purchased the Pocket Wizard brand because I knew that my light meterhas a pocket wizard build into it. When I want to take a reading I hit the button on the meter and it fires the strobes. To hook up your trigger one attaches to the camera via the hot shoe,the receiver part of the trigger connects to your strobes with a wire between the trigger and the strobe. You will want to purchase one trigger for each strobe plus you will need the transceiver for the camera.

Some places you can purchase these triggers are B&H Photo, Adorama, Mac On Campus, or your local Camera store. Be sure to look and ask what student discounts are available.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152594568718498&set=gm.524332494372336&type=1

Thursday Ambassador 

Long Exposure, What are they?

This is a star trail, many images stacked together.

For this week I want to talk a little about long exposures and what exactly does that mean. The first thing I want to cover is what a long exposure means, typically a long exposure if when you have your shutter open for a longer period of time and you need a tripod to keep the camera from shaking to get a crisp image. You would use this technique if you wanted to capture water but you didn’t want to freeze its motion, you wanted to capture it while it was moving. In doing so you create this very silky look to the water. No if you where photographing you scene and it turns out you have to much light for the amount of time you want to leave the shutter open then you might need to ad what they call a Neutral density filter.  These filters help block the light from reaching the cameras sensor and therefor allow you to leave the shutter open for longer periods of time.  There are many different amounts of light that these filters block all the way up to one that blocks 10 stops of light. With a 10 stop filter you can leave the shutter open for minutes at a time without over exposing the image. The result on water would give it a very smooth spot where all the water is. For some things you don’t need the ND filters but when you decrease you shutter speed and you increased the F stop to where you want it and there is still to much light making the image over exposed then you need to get your ND Filters out.

Long Exposure and Sea Isle City, NJ

There are many different things you can shoot besides water. I like to shoot moving objects like speeding trains. Even speeding cars on a freeway. At might with a long exposer you could capture the cars lights going by . You can be very creative with your long exposures and make them a very art like image. I have shot water fireworks, moving objects all with a long exposer. Some of my images are below. For more tips feel free to ask questions. I would love to see some of the images you have created.

TBT Thursday Ambassador.

Another Sunrise image in Sea Isle, NJ

How to shoot fireworks!

            So for this week’s topic I think it’s a very relevant one since the Fourth of July is tomorrow.  Lots of people always want to shoot the fireworks. Everyone always asks the same thing, what settings should I use? What’s the best way to capture them? For me I like to go and set up a little bit early this way you know what you are going to have in the way of a foreground. Without a foreground your images might look a little plain.  You will want to make sure you have a sturdy tripod and a remote cable release. I like to set my camera to bulb mode and use a wireless trigger to operate the shutter. This way I can hit the shutter and count how long its open for. If there are a lot of fireworks set off at once it will be a good idea to use a shorter amount of time. I also like to shoot with .8-15 seconds this way I get the trail of the firework going up in the air.  You will also want to make sure the camera is in Manual focus. Then to set the focus I would turn it to infinity and they back just a bit.

Photographing Fireworks!

What you'll need:

Camera with a manual setting.

Remote shutter release.

Tripod

Secure the camera in the tripod composing your shot. Connect the remote shutter release so that it's being used to trip the exposure.

Fireworks settings:

Shooting Mode-Manual

Focus Mode - Manual

ISO 100-200

Aperture F/5.6-F/8

Shutter Speed of 0.8"-6"

Advanced considerations:

Vary the shutter speed slightly using the "bulb" setting according to the event and number of rockets.

Use white balance presets and film emulations that give greater colors and saturation.

Most important, have fun!!!

Happy Shooting,

Thursday Ambassador