Take Risks, but Always Play it Safe!

When it comes to improving your photography, you're going to need to take risks. Sometimes that will mean climbing to a higher vantage point, and other times simply stepping out of your comfort zone. It is imperative, though, that you always keep the safety of yourself and your clients in mind when planning each shot. Follow a photography news blog or two and you will hear of photo shoots gone terribly wrong because the parties involved did not take proper precautions. Following are examples of times that necessitate extra caution, and I would love to hear your additional safety tips in the comments!

Location Photography
When on location, it is important to be aware of your surroundings at all times. For my very first wedding I was second shooter, which allowed me to learn quite a bit and observe how the lead handled each location differently. To capture the below image, we had everyone who wasn't a member of the bridal party help us monitor and control traffic. We first planned out the scene, explained where each person would stand, and then waited for a break in traffic. It was not a very busy area, but we still had plenty of people to line up and briefly stop any cars while we quickly got our shots. It took only a minute to get what we needed since each person knew his or her position. Advance planning for each location will help you get the shot faster and keep those around you safe. Railroad tracks are a whole other ballgame - see this article for more information.

Newborn Photography
There are so many safety considerations to keep in mind if newborn photography interests you. If you see a sweet pose of a baby with his head in his hands and want to recreate it, know that those images are composites. A spotter (Mom or Dad are your best bets) should be gently holding baby's head upright so that it does not tip to one side. The image of baby Carmella, below, was taken with her on a couch with Mom just off camera ready to step in if Carmella shifted in the slightest. Before you take the leap into newborn photography, do tons of research to ensure you're ready to capture beautiful images safely. There are plenty of resources out there like this one to get you started.

Street Photography
The genre of street photography is especially intriguing to me because I love to observe people. However, it can seem out of my comfort zone because I am terrified of confrontation and dislike the idea of annoying others by photographing them when they are unaware. Esteemed photographer Bruce Davidson has discussed this topic at length, and Eric Kim has collected some of Davidson's best advice on his blog. Being aware of your surroundings and anyone who is eyeing your gear will help keep you safe, and asking for permission to take a photo or to use it after you've already taken it will keep you in people's goodwill. I loved seeing the below scene unfolded with the pigeons following the woman who fed them daily while the businessman continued chatting on his phone as if there were no birds flapping in his face. I spoke with the woman after capturing a set of images and sent her a link to the final product so she could see it through my eyes. This kind of photography can result in all kinds of new connections!

Happy Friday, and Happy Independence Day (be sure to stay safe around fireworks and sparklers)!

-Friday Ambassador

Works Cited:

Darcy - Life with My 3 Boybarians. "Recognize Composites & Safety First. "Life with My 3 Boybarians. Darcy - Life with My 3 Boybarians, 2012. Web. 3 July 2014.

Kim, Eric. "15 Lessons Bruce Davidson Can Teach You About Street Photography." Eric Kim Street Photography Blog. Eric Kim Street Photography, 9 Oct. 2012. Web. 03 July 2014.

Peterson, Lori. "Railroad Safety for Photographers - Digital Photography School." Digital Photography School. Digital Photography School, 2014. Web. 03 July 2014.

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

Your Editing Style: What Would You Do?

The settings you choose in camera and the lighting you incorporate make up one part of your photographic style. What you do with the out-of-camera images is another. Have you found your editing style, or are you still trying to figure it out? This week, I want to see what you would do with the straight-out-of-camera image. My edit appears on the left, and you'll see that I love a simple, clean edit with slightly saturated colors. Grab the image on the right and make your tweaks to show your editing style, then share your edited image in the PSPN Google+ group. Make it your own, but please, leave the watermark in tact - you can add an "edited by ____" notation on the image to show your part of the work!

Happy editing,

Friday Ambassador

How to shoot Lightning.

So this week I wanted to talk about shooting lightning. Its that time of year where we start to get the right weather to create lighting. The first and foremost important thing is to realize that lightning can be a great thing to capture it is also dangerous. You want to make sure that you take the right steps to protect yourself and your gear. Some of the very obvious things you don’t want to do are stand under a tree. Use an umbrella. Some other info I found was:

•    Avoid putting yourself above the surrounding landscape. Seek shelter in low-lying areas such as valleys, ditches and depressions but be aware of flooding.

•    Stay away from water. Don't go boating or swimming if a storm threatens, and get to land as quickly as possible if you are already on the water. Lightning can strike the water and travel a substantial distance from its point of contact.

•    Stay away from objects that conduct electricity, such as tractors, golf carts, golf clubs, metal fences, motorcycles, lawnmowers and bicycles.

•    Avoid being the highest point in an open area.Swinging a golf club, or holding an umbrella or fishing rod can make you the tallest object and a target for lightning.

•    You are safe inside a car during lightning, but be aware of downed power lines which may be touching your car. You are safe inside the car, but you may receive a shock if you step outside.

•    In a forest, seek shelter in a low-lying area under a thick growth of small trees or bushes.

•    Keep alert for flash floods, sometimes caused by heavy rainfall, if seeking shelter in a ditch or low-lying area.

As far as equipment you need a tripod, camera remote (I prefer wireless) a good rain cover. In my bag you will find:

Rokinon 14mm on my D600 with Rain sleeve

Nikon D600, Rokinon 14mm F2.8, Phottix Aion Wireless Remote, Induro CT314 Tripod, and Optech Rain shelve.

As far as setting go I set my ISO to 100 and my shutter to bulb with a F stop of F/5- F/11 The reason I set the camera to bulb it I let my Phottix Aion remote do all the work, I can set it up so that it shoots 30 seconds at a time for as many shots that I set up. I usually start with 100 shots. I set the camera up and then raise the ISO to about 500 and open the shutter for about 10 seconds just to give me an idea of how the scene will look once exposed. If I like it then I bring the ISO back down to 100 and then hit the play button on the remote and it starts triggering the camera. Out of 100 shots I’m lucky if I get 3 good images sometimes its none. There is no way to cover every viewing direction so you have to set the camera up and hope that its pointing in the right spot. To get this right I would use your judgment and look at radar to see what direction the storm is travelling. If you need to you could always change your cameras view and then reset the remote to start shooting again. I hope this helps some that are struggling with capturing Lightning. Please post your images in the Google Plus page I would love to see them.

TBT

Thursday Ambassador

 Works Cited:

"How to Photograph Lightning, From Start to Finish." PetaPixel RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://petapixel.com/2013/04/10/how-to-photograph-lightning-from-start-to-finish/>.

"Lightning Safety." Government of Canada, Environment Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.ec.gc.ca/foudre-lightning/default.asp?lang=En&n=159F8282-1>.

Bag Links

Rain Sleeve:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=583456&gclid=CjkKEQjw5qmdBRCn--70gPSo074BEiQAJCe7zZuagGc2zro2bjNYnCs56TG2u7dccwyVZbC22DRspJ7w_wcB&Q=&is=REG&A=details

Phottix Aion Wireless Timer And Shutter Release

http://www.uniquephoto.com/accessories2/phottix-aion-wireless-timer-and-shutter-release-for-nikon-upto-60m-ph16375/?utm_source=google_products&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=sc&scid=scplp772994

Rokinon 14mm

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/769555-REG/Rokinon_FE14MAF_N_14mm_Ultra_Wide_Angle_f_2_8.html

What I Have Learned vs. What School Can't Teach You

When I made the decision to go back to school I had absolutely no knowledge of DSLR cameras, I didn't know what they meant when pro's talked about "glass", I had no idea why you use umbrellas in the studio, and what's even more embarrassing was that I had no clue about just how a photograph was taken--for all I knew it was some mysterious magic that went *poof* as soon as you pushed the button.  Silly, right?  Well, after less than two years I now know so much about photography that I work part-time as a digital photography and Adobe software tutor while I finish up my degree.  I have come such a long way in a short amount of time; while I owe much of the credit to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh-Online Division for teaching me, there were two things that school never taught me that helped me excel as much as I have.

1. Passion

The textbook definition of passion is " a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something." 

I have always loved taking photos and my dream job, for as long as I can remember, has been to be a National Geographic photographer.  I mention this often in my posts and use it as criteria for many assignments because it is definitely one of my strongest passions.  You can often answer your own questions sometimes by listening to yourself and discovering a passion you had never considered before.  Without these strong feelings of enthusiasm for photography and becoming a photographer, I would not have pursued going back to school nor would I have done so well thus far (I have a 4.0 GPA with four classes left).  When you feel so strongly about something you stop making excuses and "can't" is not an option; and when you have a passion for success, there is nothing that is impossible, no obstacle too difficult to overcome.  School can not teach you passion.  It has to come from within.  Realizing your passion is only half the battle; pursuing it 100% makes it achievable.

2. Curiosity

Like passion, the textbook definition of curiosity is "the desire to learn or know more about something or someone."

Without curiosity it is likely that I would never learn as much as I have.  It takes both passion and curiosity to learn and grow as well as improve.  For example, it takes serious passion to but in 100% effort and it takes just as much curiosity to exceed standards and expectations.  This is because you're not only pushing yourself to do better than what is expected, but you're also challenging your curiosity to "see what else I can learn about this subject." 

So, school will teach you how to shoot in manual mode on a DSLR, but it does not necessarily insert the information into your brain; it takes curiosity to learn what acronyms, such as DSLR, stands for, what exactly "single lens reflex" means, and how you can take what you have learned and use your knowledge to set you apart from your competition.  You may think to yourself, "wait, I need to set myself apart?  How do I establish my own unique brand from what is already out there??"  That curiosity, my friend, will drive you to always do better, always be better, and get you closer to your dreams than only learning the basics. 

The Photography program can teach you the basics and get you to the door of opportunity, but you have to have passion and curiosity within yourself to want to see what's on the other side of that door.

Do you have the passion and curiosity to open that door and see what opportunities are out there?

Tell me about your experiences in school and how curiosity and passion have led you to success!

Works Cited

"A young man mountain climbing the classic north west ridge of Mt." Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 23 Jun 2014.
<http://quest-preview.eb.com/#/search/167_4015375/1/167_4015375/cite>

"Curiosity."  Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, n.d. Web. 23 June 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curiosity>

"Passion." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, n.d. Web. 23 June 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passion>

"Show Them the Door." Photograph. ccm. Christ Church Manchester, 12 June 2013. Web. 23 June 2014. <http://www.ccm.org.uk/academy/entry/show_them_the_door/ >

Master the Maternity Session

Working with engaged couples and new parents is a blast because it means seeing people at their happiest. Emotions run high and the images captured serve as valuable reminders of important life events, from weddings to first birthdays. An event that is quite different from those is the pregnancy itself. Maternity sessions are exciting in their own right, but instead of the high-energy images captured at weddings and family portraits, there is an underlying sense of serenity mixed with anxious anticipation at a maternity session. Capturing this is so worthwhile - if you know anyone who is expecting, see if they'll let you try your hand at maternity photography to see if it's something you want to add to your repertoire!

Typically taken after the 30-week mark (I find 32 weeks to be ideal), maternity photographs should show off a mom-to-be's connection with her child and make her feel beautiful even though she's likely quite uncomfortable and ready for baby to come out! Selecting a location that is special to the couple, encouraging her to bring a few outfits that make her feel great, and shooting a variety of angles and poses will make for a successful maternity session. Incorporate props from baby's nursery or the other parent into the session for extra special images. Not only will the parents love having reminders of how they felt while waiting on their little one to arrive, but the child will get to see how loved he or she was even before taking a first breath!

-Friday Ambassador

Gallery Hanging, Photo clubs.

Since today is the opening reception for a gallery hanging I'm in, I would like to talk about having your images hung in a gallery setting. I have been lucky enough to have this opportunity to hang 3 of my images along with others in a camera club that I belong too. It is great in many ways because people get to see your work and see some of the things you can do. It is also great because you might find someone that loves your work enough that they want to by it. While I have my three images up From June 15^th till September 11^th hopefully hundreds of people will get to see them. They are setup in a hospital gallery at one of the local hospitals. Does anyone else belong to a camera club? I find it’s a great place for ideas and just making friends that have the same interests as you do. If I didn’t belong to this club I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to hang my images in this gallery display.

            Not only is it good for making friends but also it is good because I am networking with peers that are into photography. While most of the members are more on the amateur level there are some pros and you never know they might be looking for some type of assistance on one of their shoots someday. If you don’t belong to a camera club it wouldn’t hurt to research them in your area and join one.

 "Dr. Donlop" This image was taken at night and was light painted.

 "Speeding Lights" This image was taken just after sunset with the speeding traffic going by.

"Milky's Leg" This image was taken about 2am. It was my first try to capture the milky way.