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.

Designing Your Business Card

When you get to the point where you are ready to start marketing yourself as a professional, one of the first things you will need is a business card.  It sounds easy enough to slap on your personal information and sit back and wait for the calls to come in, but are you including the right information?  Not sure?  Not sure if you're ready for business cards yet?  Don't panic!  Below are tips for making the right decisions about your business card.


1.  Do you need one?

If you are not going out and meeting people or taking on work that would lead to future business, or if you're doing all of your networking electronically there is no need to get business cards...unless you just really want them then continue reading.

2.  Where do I order them?

There are so many options for ordering business cards.  Personally, I order my first business cards from Vistaprint because I got a good deal on them, and, since I am not profitable yet, I needed something to get me by as I market myself.  Right now I saw they were advertising 40% off any item in your cart.  MOO is another great resource.  They caught my eye with their mini cards--a new trend in self-marketing material.  Check them out!

3.  Contact details?

Nowadays we have innumerable way to get in touch with people: home, cell, office, secondary, fax, personal email, business email, website, IM, Facebook, Twitter, and snail-mail to name the most common.  Maybe most of these don't apply to you, but if you're like me, you have most of these to consider.

There is no point in adding contact information that you don't answer/check every day.  You will thank yourself in the end for not adding too many sources when you only have a couple inquiry streams offered!

Personally, I have my name and address (because I run my studio out of my home), phone number, business email, and website (I have a price guide on my website--saves me the time of having to explain it).  I also included some extra text up in the corner that says "Find me on Facebook" instead of posting my Facebook URL because I am big on posting teasers and updates on my page.

4.  Does it need a purpose?

Do you want to include links to your social media?  Include it if:

• Your social networks are useful to your potential clients/employers.
• You have an online community you would like to build.
• You regularly check and update your social media pages.

You might also want to avoid advertising your social media if:

• The content on your page is inappropriate for clients/employers.
• You don’t regularly check or update your social media pages.
• You don’t have the time or resources available to respond to people via social media.
• Your customers are not using social media.

Do you want to include any additional text or information for  clients to take action such as: "Call for a quote," "Follow me on Twitter," or "Award-winning ______!"?  Omit any information that takes away from the clear message/intent.  Keep it simple.

*Bonus*  Your card, if you choose, can also double as an appointment card, a loyalty card, discount card, etc. that you and your clients will get more use out of.

5.  Do I need a logo?

Yes!  It helps people get familiar with your branding and will be more likely to remember your symbol/graphic/logo, especially if you have a simple business name.  Here are a couple examples of my personal logos and graphics that I created using Photoshop.

6.  What about a QR code?

No, just no!  It stands for Quick Response code and is a bar code that people can scan with their phones.  Although they are slowly gaining popularity in our culture, unless you know that most of your clients will have a QR reader app and can scan your QR code then you can consider using a QR code generator for your business marketing.  Still not sure about it?  Refer to the flowchart below.

Do you have a business card already?  What information did you include?  Have any other questions?  Please comment below and I will find an answer that's right for you!

Works Cited

"Businesspeople shaking hands." Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 11 Aug 2014.
<http://quest.eb.com/#/search/154_2882895/1/154_2882895/cite>

Curry, Niq. "Flowchart." Photograph. niqcurry. Uniq Creative, 4 May 2014. Web. 11 Ayg. 2014. <http://niqcurry.com/what-info-should-i-have-on-my-business-card/ >

Curry, Niq. "What Info should I have on my Business Card?" niqcurry. Uniq Creative, 4 May 2014. Web. 11 Ayg. 2014. <http://niqcurry.com/what-info-should-i-have-on-my-business-card/ >

moo. MOO, Inc., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. <http://us.moo.com/ >

"QR Code Generator." Photograph. qrstuff. QRStuff, n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. <http://www.qrstuff.com/ >

vistaprint. Vistaprint, n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. <http://www.vistaprint.com/ >

Top 5 Publications to Further Your Education

My current stack of magazines -
I'll go through them in one sitting!

Once you graduate from the Photography program, your schooling may be complete but your education certainly isn't! Flipping through industry magazines will introduce you to new techniques and inspirational artists, provide opportunities for discounts on advertised products, and keep you abreast of industry news and contests. Joining a professional organization can give you the benefit of certain publications and online resources, and there are several unaffiliated options as well. Here are my top 5 that I look forward to reading:

1. Professional Photographer. A membership to Professional Photographers of America, Inc. (PPA) includes a subscription to my favorite photography magazine, which is full of business tips, gear reviews, and gorgeous images!

2. Photo District News (PDN). Joining Wedding and Portrait Photographers International will snag you a subscription to PDN.

3. Rangefinder. Along with PDN, a membership to WPPI will get you a subscription to Rangefinder. Though the two are published by the same company, each magazine features unique content.

4. Popular Photography. I remember reading this way back when I was into photography as a hobby. It is an established publication with a great reputation that continues to deliver quality content online and in print.

5. Photoshop User Magazine. Digital photography does not end with the click of the shutter. Check out Scott Kelby's publication to help hone your editing skills.

Which magazines do you look to for inspiration and furthering your education? Add to the list by commenting below!

-Friday Ambassador

Works Cited:

"Magazine - KelbyOne." Photoshop User Magazine. KelbyOne, LLC, 2014. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.

"PDN." PDN - Photo District News. Emerald Expositions, 2014. Web. 7 Aug. 2014.

"PopPhoto." Digital Camera Reviews, Photography Tips and More. Bonnier Corp., 2014. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.

"Professional Photographer Magazine: Weddings." Professional Photographer Magazine. Professional Photographer Magazine, 2014. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.

"Rangefinder - Imaging and Photography Magazine." Rangefinder Magazine. Emerald Expositions, 2014. Web. 07 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 

Get More Confidence with Outdoor Flash Photography

My current class, Portraiture, has been seriously testing my skills with specific instruction and although I am feeling more confident about using my strobes I am still facing some issues on how much knowledge I still lack in problem-solving photography obstacles.  I have been scouting locations and scheduling extra shoots not only for added practice but also to cover myself for when I make those inevitable errors like forgetting to reset a setting--I have actually done a few shoots where my Auto-Focus was set to manual and I never caught it until I caught previews of noticeably-blurry photos--no one else noticed it either, but I still felt so disappointed in myself.

In an effort to get better results with my on-location, outdoor shoots using flash I had to do some extra research to help me understand what it really means about strobes being controlled by aperture and ambient light controlled by shutter speed and how to effectively use flash photography outdoors during daylight hours.  I recommend reading the entire article here but I will highlight the points that I found very informative.

An Introduction to Outdoor Flash Photography

If you're like me and knew so little about the field of photography, the challenges these classes offer to get us real-world experience should be accepted as a means to acquire or hone our skills.  Many of these assignments will provide us opportunities to venture out of the studio where we face even more elements for consideration.  Good time management is very important as well as understanding your environment.  The studio gives us greater control but how do you set up your strobes during the day..?  Using ambient light and likely a reflector card would be the first go-to, maybe even a speedlight, when shooting outdoors during the day, but effectively using flash photography outdoors can be both an invaluable skill and fun to experiment with.  This Nature photographer here cannot resist the urge to be shooting outside so it was important for me to learn how to be able to combine the two for portraiture -- Double bonus!

The first problem we face is balancing the mixed light.  You have natural ambient light and flash to consider so make time to do a custom white balance using your gray card.  

Next, since we cannot control the sun we can effectively control the strobes to light the scene.  It is often noted that we should avoid shooting when the sun is high but rather shoot early or shoot around sunset.  Sometimes we cannot avoid it so the best approach when using strobes is to first set the exposure on your camera to match the available light.  You will need to keep an eye on your shutter speed so that you are metering for an exposure that is within your sync speed.  This will help you determine the aperture at which to meter your strobes.  It is important to take test shots beforehand to obtain the correct exposure balance before you start shooting because natural ambient light can change pretty fast.  You will also need to determine the quality of light you want to create by using modifiers appropriately and also getting creative with how you use them such as for bouncing light for use as fill light as you will see later when discussing cross lighting.

 Depending on how much you want to over- or under-expose the background will determine the level of drama you want to create.  This is where we learn what it means about what shutter speed and aperture control.  Changing the shutter speed slower than sync speeds typically around 1/200th will control the exposure of the background.  Slowing it down will brighten up the background thus lessening the contrast and opening up the shadow regions.  The aperture will control the subject and how over- or under-exposed it is.  Say you metered for f/8 @ 1/200th and you are ok with the illumination of the background but you want to emphasize your subject by making them brighter you would open up the aperture to f/5.6 or f/4 or something similar and let more light in.  If you wanted them a bit more under-exposed you would stop down the aperture and close it down to something similar to f/9 or f/11 while the background remains constant.

Something to consider about light placement is outdoor cross-lighting.  This is where the lights face the direction of the sun and the model is captured in between--something comparable to shooting under the mid-day sun with no shade.  It is highly recommended to have the sun illuminating your subject and your strobes fill their shadowed side or you will end up running into issues with them squinting.  Follow the same instructions for metering and checking the desired exposure.

These tips will help you achieve more effective outdoor lighting and  increased success when using your strobes outside.  As with pretty much everything we learn, practice does indeed make perfect and hard work almost always pays off.  Let your passion and curiosity inspire you to be the best photographer you can be.  Do you have tips about flash photography outside or questions I might be able to answer?  Please leave a comment below!  

Works Cited

Eftaiha, Diana. "An Introduction to Outdoor Flash Photography." photography.tutsplus. Envato Pty Ltd., 15 Dec. 2010. Web. 8 Aug. 2014. <http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/an-introduction-to-outdoor-flash-photography--photo-4272>

All images are my own and from my recent experiences using my strobes during the day.

7 Techniques for Better Portraits

If you know me, you will know that this is a rather odd post for a Nature photographer, but this blog post is going to explore two areas: 1.) 7 posing techniques and 2.) why you will be seeing more portrait tips from your Tuesday Ambassador.  Let's get started with some great tips.

When photographing a subject/model, there are many things going through your head as you fire away--is my exposure good, is my white balance set appropriately, am I shooting in RAW, how does the subject look in relation to the background, are they framed appropriately, did I make adjustments to my camera settings that I should have reset before I started, oops they blinked -- take another shot, etc.  There are far more things to consider besides these basics to capture some really technically proficient portraiture, and, although it may seem overwhelming, the more you practice and implement these techniques the easier it will come--like second-nature. 

The first tip to better your portraits is posing the hair.

"How do you pose hair?" you may ask.  There is generally no "rule" for what works best here because everyone is different, but pay attention to the way the hair lays over the shoulders and where the hair is parted in relation to the camera.  It is recommended to avoid having hair falling over the sides of the shoulders.  If possible try one or more of these hair poses:

1. All hair behind the shoulders.
2. All hair in front of the shoulders
3. All hair on one side.
4. All hair on the other side.
5. All Hair up (pulled back).

Hair will tend to fall naturally or with an intentional part.  It is further recommended to have this part in the hair facing the camera so that more of their face is in the frame and not hidden behind hair.

The next tip is to pull the ears forward.

"Wait, what?  How you do pull the ears forward?" you may be wondering as you question where I learn these crazy tactics.  This is a development to originally asking your subject to pull their chin forward; often, asking your model to do this will cause them to lift the chin up and you will therefore be capturing the inner-workings of their nostrils.  Avoid this by asking them to pull their ears forward and by doing this you are hiding the appearance of a double-chin and it makes the jaw line slightly more defined as in the examples below.  It may feel unnatural and uncomfortable to them but the intent here is to make your portraits better and with that comes a slight, temporary awkwardness.

Tip number three: lift the arms up.

When having your subject or model posing for you the natural response is typically to let the arms fall flat to the sides.  It causes them to look awkward and squishes the arm against the body causing it to look bigger.  You can ask them to lift the arm an inch or two away from the body as if it were floating or have them place a hand on the hip with the pinky-side of the hand facing out.  This will create the illusion of length.

Tip number four: leave visual space at the waist.

The above photo is an example of how you can maintain the perception of a slimmer waist as demonstrated by the red line.  The arm, when pulled away from the torso, will reduce its visual size.  This also applies to other objects that may be in the background such as light poles, trees, and even other people.  These have the potential to add bulk to the torso so be conscious in isolating the torso.

Tip number five: turn the shoulders.

This may be second-nature to you, but it is important to understand exactly what this does.  When your subject or model stands square to you it makes them appear larger and more broad.  By having them turn their shoulders they are slimming their profile and will thus appear slimmer in the photo as we can see below.  Note the slimmer area between the first red line and the one on the right.

Tip number six: avoid showing the whites of the eyes.

You may start thinking about how much editing you have to do to make the eyes look whiter, but this is about position of the iris.  To keep a portrait looking natural and not awkward, avoid telling them to simply "look away," rather, give them a specific area to focus on where you can control their eye-line.  If you can see more of the whites of their eyes than you can the iris, or colored part, ask your subject to direct their gaze somewhere that brings their eyes to a more pleasing position as you can see in the photo below.

The seventh and final tip for better portraits is to not let the nose break the face.

It sounds confusing, but let the photo below illustrate what I am talking about.  Turning the face too far in one direction will ultimately cause the nose to break the natural curve of the face.  This tends to make the nose look bigger and is also referred to as the "Pinocchio" effect.  Have them turn their face back towards you until there is a small space between the nose and the adjacent cheek.   




It certainly sounds like a lot to consider, but once you put it all together you will have new skills to create better portraits.  So, as a self-proclaimed Nature photographer you might be wondering why I am offering tips on portraiture all of the sudden.  I am currently in the Portraiture class right now and I feel as though I have uncovered a hidden talent, opened a door of potential that I never knew I had or never thought I would want.  I know I have a lot to learn still but these small steps will help us all create better portraits.

Do you have any tips for better portraits or questions that I might be able to answer?  Comment below and thanks for reading today!

Works Cited

Lucas, Ben. "7 Posing Techniques for Non-Models."photography.tutsplus.  Envato Pty Ltd., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/7-posing-techniques-for-non-models--photo-15608>

 

Lucas, Ben. "Portrait Posing Chin 1." Photograph. photography.tutsplus.  Envato Pty Ltd., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/7-posing-techniques-for-non-models--photo-15608>

 

Lucas, Ben. "Portrait Posing Chin 2." Photograph. photography.tutsplus.  Envato Pty Ltd., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/7-posing-techniques-for-non-models--photo-15608>

 

Lucas, Ben. "Portrait Posing Waist." Photograph. photography.tutsplus.  Envato Pty Ltd., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/7-posing-techniques-for-non-models--photo-15608>

Lucas, Ben. "Portrait Posing Shoulders." Photograph. photography.tutsplus.  Envato Pty Ltd., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/7-posing-techniques-for-non-models--photo-15608>

 

Lucas, Ben. "Portrait Posing Eyes." Photograph. photography.tutsplus.  Envato Pty Ltd., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/7-posing-techniques-for-non-models--photo-15608>

 

Lucas, Ben. "Portrait Posing Nose." Photograph. photography.tutsplus.  Envato Pty Ltd., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/7-posing-techniques-for-non-models--photo-15608>

Sunday Spotlight On: The Emotionally Inspired Photographer

As I begin to create concepts for my photography, I find myself driven by my emotional state at that time. In my opinion that is when I create some of my best work. Recently I have been almost like a zombie with school, work, parenting and even as a friend. I am not sure why things are hitting me all at once but I have accepted it and begin to approach photograph as my therapy. Trust me when I say that I have a ton of series that I begin and never finish and it is because I am over that emotion. Now I am finding myself just creating and have taught myself that things does not always have to be about a series. One image is enough, or shall I say that one image can relay the message that I am intending to make. For my Photo Criticism course we were to create images with two different concepts. That day I was running on empty and I knew that I had to do the assignment but I just wanted to sit down and finish watching my television show The Leftovers. Once it was over I thought about using that show as inspiration. Just like that it all came together!

Quiana P Jackson. Floating, 2014

Quiana P Jackson. Untitled, 2014

Quiana P Jackson. Gravity, 2014

As photographers, who says we cannot be inspired by our misfortunes?

I am your Sunday Funday Ambassador. Happy shooting!