Using Your Strobes with a "T" Series Canon

One of the issues new students have been running into is difficulty getting their strobes to work with their “T” series Canon camera purchased through the Art Institute.

The tricky issue here is that the Canon “T” series cameras are a consumer grade DSLR and they are not equipped with a PC sync port like the professional and prosumer bodies are. Since the “T” series Canons do not have this PC sync port, they cannot trigger the strobes directly and you have to use a Master/Slave set up.

Most strobes are designed so that if you are using a Speedlite, the strobes will automatically fire when they see the flash of your Speedlite external flash. Now, what I did in my case was I used my Canon Speedlite mounted in the hotshoe on a Canon T3i and then pointed the Speedlite behind me and bounced it off the wall, which in turn fired my strobes without fail.

Hotshoe adapter that adds a PC Sync port to your camera

I know some students have told me that they have tried firing their strobes with their flash and it only works once in a while. I believe the problem here is they are trying to use their Canon’s built in flash, which is not powerful enough to make the strobes fire reliably. I know from my own personal testing in my studio this weekend I was only able to get the strobes to fire once in a while with the Canon’s built in flash, but when using one of my Speedlites, the strobes fired every time.

Strobe end of the Sync port

Now I know you may be saying, “well that’s all fine and good but I don’t have a Speedlite external flash and cannot afford to buy a $300-$600 Speedlite to make my strobes work.” Well, the good news is, you can get the inexpensive Bower External flash at Walmart for like $40-$60 or you can go on Amazon and buy one of the Chinese Yongnuo Speedlites, which are knockoffs of Canon Speedlites and run anywhere from $30-$65, depending on what model you buy.

Another thing I found out from another student, Jessi James is the hotshoe adapter that came with your trigger system, should be able to be used as an add-on PC Sync port. What this means is attach the piece to your Canon’s hotshoe mount and then plug your sync cable’s 1/8” end into the trigger system on your camera and the other, 1/4” end into one of your strobes. I could not personally test this part because all of my sync cables are PC to 1/4”, I have none that are 1/8” on one end and 1/4” on the other. Hopefully this information will help those of you who have had problems with your strobe kits.

One last note that I believe some students are having trouble with. Every camera has a maximum shutter sync speed, this is the fastest you can set your shutter when using flash or strobe lights. Check your owner's manual or Google to find out what the max is for your camera model, some it's 1/160, some it's 1/200. With many of the consumer grade DSLRs if you set the shutter too high it will effect how well your strobes fire. On my old Canon 1D Mark II if I set it too high, it would actually cause the camera snap a photo of the mirror as it moved. Now get out there and shoot those studio assignments.

Comments/Questions

Internship Week # 2 - Making Connections

RC Bronco's Helmet 

While I shoot for the Jackson Silverhawks we had a weeks down time.  I didn't want to waste a week not shooting for my internship.  I contacted one of the other teams that had asked me to shoot for them this year who is in a different Semi-Pro League.  I helped them obtain their photographer Tonya who is one of my best friends. I asked if it would be OK for me to help Tonya shoot the Bronco vs. Storm game since I was off on Saturday.  Their owner Jimmy told me I was welcome to shoot any game for them that I wanted. 

While I'm not going to go into the details there have been some issues with my team the Silverhawks that the team is trying to work out.  In the off chance the team can't work out the problems I needed to think what I could do to save my internship. Several teams and organizations have offered to step in and help taking over my internship if something were to happen to my team.  Since  3 of these parties would be at this particular game it was a good way to do a bit of investigating to see which of the 3 might be a good fit for me if a new organization is needed. 

Most of the coaches and players on the Summit County Storm are well known to me as 3/4 of the team or  were all part of last year's Silverhawk team.  While the Broncos do have a photographer at this point the Storm does not have one full time.  The Storm is actually the first team that asked me to shoot this year however we failed to make a deal in a timely manner which is how I ended up shooting for the Silverhawks instead.  I do know the Storm is willing to work with me as an intern.

After shooting side by side for awhile Tonya and I elected to split the field. She stayed on her teams's side and I   shot on the side of the Storm. I was shooting both teams equally since the Storm had asked me if I would be shooting and indicated the person who normally helps them with photography had to do videography. I always shoot both teams at every game and share pictures. It is one of the reasons that I was asked to shoot for 5 teams this year. The players actually asked their coaches to try to get me as their team photographer. Networking with the players and the coaches are good ways to make connections at this level.

We freely share images on Facebook for the teams to share digital images from the games.  I sometimes joke I think there are more football players on my Social Media sites than friends or family. It is a good way to get more traffic to your Facebook page as well too.

The Bronco's Fame Brown captures the ball and lands at my feet as I backed up towards the sidelines to get the shot.

Images like this that are often my favorite shots but surprisingly they are not the shots the players share! They like to raze the other teams pointing out who pushed whom, or who took the other player down.  

Earlier today one player posted an image that had 8 images - 4 of mine and 4 of Tonya's posted back and forth in the discussion.  Not only were teams that knew me in this discussion but players that I didn't know from different teams.  This is a great way to get my name out so that when this season is over I again can pick the team that I really want to shoot for.  I like to see which shots the players like best so I can make sure at the next game to try to get a few more of those types of shots

This type of shot is something the players are more likely to like 

Everything you do as an intern has the ability to define your future. So do the other photographers in this field who you meet.  

Tonya and I weren't the only photographers on the field that Saturday.  The show Saturday Showdown was shooting video and photography.  Their photographer Jennifer quickly introduced herself to me and between shots we were able to discuss many ideas and photographers.  Jennifer and I exchanged contact information.  

The owner of Saturday Showdown is Wally.  Wally had asked me about doing some work with him on his show earlier in the season but I was already under contract. Jennifer introduced me to her boss Wally who remembered our conversation.  He and I talked for awhile and he discussed getting some of my work seen by a larger audience. He told me several places I could get some of my Semi-Pro shots seen.  He asked me to make sure to give him a call so we could talk about a few things later. Wally has indicated to me he would gladly take me on as an intern if I would need to change from the Silverhawks.

Later in the day Jennifer introduced me to another photographer Bryan. We talked about the types of photography that we shoot. Bryan asked me if I ever did any 2nd shooting especially for weddings and I told him that I did. He also runs a photo booth for weddings.  He gave me his card and we exchanged information.

One of the most important things to remember is to follow up with your connections! 

It doesn't help to meet people or collect their cards and never do anything with the information! I made sure to add all 3 new contacts to my Social Media sites.  I followed up with a conversation with both team owners and the owner of Saturday Showdown.  

At the end of the day it is your internship. You can do the bare minimum  you can to get by or you can really make it into something strong!

Going into week 3  we are discussing Phone Etiquette and Listening Skills.

The Silverhawks are hosting a youth camp on Saturday and Sunday night. I'm looking forward to getting some great shots of the kids.  Right now we are scheduled to get storms so hopefully it will even out.

If you have any questions so far about being an intern or anything else please let me know! 

Have a great Friday!

Jessi

Pre-visualization vs Site visits?

Pre-visualization vs Site visits

Good morning everyone.

This week I have been doing quite a bit of pre-visualization and site walks. 

Well, they are both the same? Actually, no they are not. 

In my classes this week we have had to pre-visualize a scene before we actually shot the final images.  To me it is actually seeing the entire completed photograph before I even clicked on the shutter release button. What I want to say here is that you should just not think of pre-visualization as where you want to setup up your lights and models.

It should really be about every single facet of your photograph. You should consider, aperture, wind, light direction, poses, flag placement, hair and wardrobe and actually see what that photograph would look like; as if it were the front cover of the magazine that you would like to be featured in. Make sure that you even think about text placement, colors and take it even further by thinking about how you could use the photograph in a composite. Basically, what would the client want?

What is it that the client is wanting to do with your photograph. It is not just about taking the perfect photograph, but how everything will come together when you finally deliver the photograph to the client. Where will they use it. Is it for a wedding album? Cover of a product? As they turn the page is the model facing the viewer as they turn the page or looking towards the middle of the page.

You might say that is a lot of visualization, but to me it says a lot about how you want to change the pose of the model. If you change the pose then the lighting is going change, which in turn changes the feel and look of the photograph.

Pre-visualization is a powerful tool and when used correctly can open a can full of creativeness.

Now, onto site visits. I always think of this as where my light is coming from. We are always going to be painting with light so I always look for areas of where the light will be coming from when I am on the scene for the final shoot setup. What time of day will I be there and what do I have to work with?Here is a great app to use, which I know will help you with just that, light direction. The Photographer's Ephemeris It is a great tool if you would like to plan where light will be coming from on location. Not just for outdoors,but also if you are in-doors and you would like to use some large windows. 

The site walk is used often to get to know your terrain. You are going to use your pre-visualization in this location so here is where you look for places to place everything.

You are looking for power sources, slope of the land, size of the space, height of interior rooms. It is also a trip to see if your visualization will actually work within the environment of the location. The site visit is also a way to figure out all the other logistical requirements you might need. Who is going to carry all the equipment, is their budget for transport, is it going to be windy (if you are outside) and last but not least, is it private property and do you require permission to get inside.

The two, pre-visualization and site visits work very closely together and I cannot emphasize how important both are to the success of your shoot.

Therefore, in closing I would just like to say that you should remember to always take notes, make sketches of what you see, hear and smell. But most important of all, take photographs. You might visit more than one location and knowing which one worked and which did not, especially if you are sending someone else can be very important in the long run. Another great app that you could use is GPS MotionX Instead of buying an expensive GPS system for your camera the IPhone version (I am not sure if they make it for other phones) you can track your locations and then email the file to you so you can upload it into Lightroom under the map feature. It will sync up with your photographs you have taken giving you a great idea of all the locations that you have visited. Just make sure that your clocks are synced correctly so that you can get the correct times for each photograph. For only$0.99 it is a much cheaper option.

So here is to better visualization and creative inspiration from all of you.

Have a great week.

Denzil

Ps: Please let me know if you would like to see something here we could discuss.

Make Great Images in Bad Locations

One of the things I frequently recommend to students is don’t let your creativity become stale. What I mean is don’t use lame excuses like “If only I lived near Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, then I could make fantastic images!”

The thing is, if you lived near one of these remarkable places, then all you would do is take the same clichéd images we’ve all seen over and over again. A truly great photograph is taken anywhere that a skilled photographer happens to be.

Don’t be upset when I say you live in a bad location, but I have photographers frequently complain that they have nothing to photograph. It doesn’t matter if you live in Flint, Michigan, smoggy Los Angeles, California or a country town in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania as I did growing up, all making great images requires is opening your eyes. Open eyes even in the crappiest of locations leads to brilliant work and growing your skills as a photographer.

One of the biggest keys to taking great photographs anywhere is look for color in everything. Even a drab location has brilliant colors of some kind, such as neon signs, your camera will highlight these colors in low light, so shoot them at night time. Another interesting place to shoot is a local mall with varied lighting, your camera will accentuate the differences between tungsten, fluorescent sodium and metal halide light, which are invisible to our eyes.

Strawberry I shot Macro at a local Strawberry Farm near my home.

Look for objects out of place such as an old soda can sitting in a gutter along the street that still has brilliant colors. Make photos that highlight whatever it is that catches your eye, an old tire swing still hanging in a tree, a dilapidated barn in an empty field or a rusty old car that sits in the woods. Photography is about being able to “see” it’s not about the camera. The strongest photo is one that expresses itself most clearly, often the strongest photos have the least in them.

So, get in your car, drive around your area and look for things that stand out, look for details. If driving around doesn’t inspire you, go for a hike and take your camera along, there are always great images to be made in nature, especially if you have Macro capabilities.

Night time is another great option, grab your tripod and go make some long exposures, even the most boring street contains great images waiting to be made. Use a short tripod and a wide angle lens for some dramatic angles. Position along the street on a sidewalk and do long exposures of cars driving by, the taillights make for really awesome light effects, almost like the cars are moving at warp speed.

Shooting night time, long exposure along Hwy 78 in GA

Your studio is also a great place to make images and express your creativity. I am building my studio in the second master bedroom of my house this coming week. Many photographers create their own realities in their studio, anything from miniature cities or towns to model railroads and many other ideas can help you make fantastic images and spark your creativity. Great images come from within so get our there and get those creative juices flowing.

Comments/Questions

Week 1 - Internship - Loyalty and Not my job!

Let the fun begin - final full practice before the Season starts.

So first of all I can truly say I survived week 1 of my internship! It was a bit of an unexpected bumpy first week caused by rain and a few unexpected twists within in the team this week.  I'll be first to say if there hadn't been unexpected twists I might get bored. I love the unexpected challenges that drive other people crazy.  I love impossible odds and embrace change! Yes..you can think it that girl is CRAZY! I think that often it is surviving that fire of any unexpected challenge is what makes us stronger photographers! It teaches you to think on your feet!  Which leads me to this week's post.

The first two days I expected to shoot - weather got in my way! I had hoped to not shoot at the Sunday practice simply because I had plans to shoot a fun horse event up in Cleveland.  However, it didn't work out that way so I shot at practice on Sunday.  

Our practice field was taken so the team had to play someplace where the grass was more than a little bit too long.  I won't lie I loved it! (Sorry guys - I know it was hard to play in).  It made for fun creative shots that I won't have a chance to shoot again.  I won't lie I had a lot of fun looking for some fun angles that made it look worse like the one below.

Making the best of an unexpected playing field trying to not get lost in the grass.

These weren't ideal shooting or playing conditions but sometimes you have to go with the flow and make the best of the situation.  In my case I had fun shooting funny shots like this one.

The biggest issues of the week involved the loss of   some team members and fundraising.  I actually almost spent more time this week trying to brainstorm fundraisers because of deficits that our unexpectedly small team has caused. While trying to make sure our team has the best year and best field possible we realized we would need to do some fundraising to help our goals.

The question that might come to mind is why as a photographer is it my job to help with that? I did my job I showed up. I took pictures. 

I have yet to ever work with any client where the job was clear cut like that! When you shoot weddings you play wedding planner helping keep the bride from being stressed out.  You are sometimes the shoulder to cry on if something doesn't go right.  In fashion you might be making clothing work with pins, clips, whatever you can find!  The point is your job isn't just to hold a camera and you need to  be prepare to embrace that as an intern.  Your main focus will be to use your camera in most jobs that you do but that doesn't mean you won't be wearing multiple hats too.

I am supposed to be on vacation in June.  I have the privilege of helping to shoot a very important to me cake smash session.  I agreed to help my other friend who is a make up artist / hair stylist with a shoot or two while I was in town.  I loaned out my daughter as a model.  Even though I am acting as a photographer while on vacation when I realized she also needed another model, I agreed to step in.  You never know what will be asked of you when you are "just shooting".  You have to be ready to forget the words even mentally "that's not my job". Your job is anything that makes it easier for you when it is time to pick up your camera.

As I though over the loss of a few of our players this week it brought me to the other thing I learned this week - loyalty. There will always be something out there that looks better on paper than what you have.  If you are a music photographer that might be wanting to shoot the big shows. So it can look good when you have a chance to help assist another photographer at a big show.  However, if you are contracted already to shoot some local bands what does that really say about you if you go shoot the big show.  Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. The choices that we make in our careers will stay with us for life.  Sometimes it is best to earn your place in your given genre.  Start out shooting the smaller venues and move up to bigger venues as your skills grow.  When the bigger venues look back they will notice if you are a team player and how loyal you were to the the last person you worked for.  They will notice if you do choose to leave and move on to a better situation   how you ended your relationship with your last client or employer.  Did you leave the right way?  No one may comment at the time, but that doesn't mean they will not notice and not hire you if they are afraid you will leave the next time something better comes along.

If you commit to something commit to it 100%.  Even if you see it won't work out to be the perfect situation you had hoped for you will be able to have pride in yourself for seeing your commitment til the end.  As an intern this is an important lesson to learn before you do have something better offered to you and you have to make a snap decision.

So in closing I just wish our leaving team members well on their new teams and wish them a great season this year! It was great to get to be part of your careers.  I do truly hope to see each of you reach your true potential.  It has been nice to see how well this team has worked together to help each other be better players.  

This shot seemed metaphoric as we can't see who is left to catch this ball.

This week in class we are looking at Time Management and learning to multitask and prioritize. Both of these are important to learn as photographers and as busy students.  

Next week the team doesn't have practice and the formal pictures were put off due to the holidays. Upcoming we have a youth camp and formal pictures as we regroup and prepare for our season to start.

I hope you enjoyed the view of week 1.  I look forward to your thoughts!

Jessi

Crossfire Lighting

Crossfire Lighting.

Good morning everyone. Today I am going to show you a great way to simulate the sun in a photograph if you have no sun. It may also be suitable it you are photographing on an overcast day and your client may have wanted to have a backlit photograph with the sun shining through onto the hair.

This is the lighting setup that you could use when shooting for this type of photograph. You could use two strobe units or if you only have a single strobe, adding a reflector can help light the face as well.

Your background can be any background,just ensure that you select a background that does not detract from your subject. Using a shallow depth of field will also help in making sure your subjects stands out.

To get  great sunlight effect against your subject hair. I would suggest using a light meter and look to obtain an exposure of f11at 1/250 sec on the back of the hair. You will have to shoot in manual mode. Your sync shutter speed will depend on the type of camera that you have.

Your key light should be approximately 2-stops lower at approximately f8. Using your light meter you can adjust your strobes accordingly.

The tricky part when using the reflector though would be to ensure that you have enough light bounce from your hair light at the back of your subject. Make sure that you have the reflector close enough to your subject and try changing the reflection surface. Use silver or white and try an obtain the results you desire.

Here are two images. One with the strobe lights and the other with the reflector. See if you can identify each setting.

 

There is a distinct difference. The entire look a feel can change giving your photograph a completely different “feeling”

I think it all comes down to what equipment you have to work with and what your client would like to achieve.

It is a simple setup that can work anywhere. Indoors and out and also great for any location shoot because you need the minimum of equipment.

Have a great day everyone. Keep on photographing.

Denzil

Ps: Please let me know if you have any suggestions or would like to see something you are working on in this Ambassador blog.

Happy Monday,


Today I want to talk about classes that are difficult and not giving up on them.  Many times we may start a class that we are sure we are going to struggle in.  I know it has happened to me a few times and I won't deny that my first instinct was to drop the class and take it at another time.  I have always stuck it out though.  The key is determination and focus remembering your goals.  In the end all of your hard work will pay off.  There are times when we are going to have to work harder to get what we want and that is just better training for what the real world is all about. 


If you find that in the beginning of a class you are really struggling and finding it difficult to understand the assignments you have options.  You can use the available tutoring service that AI offers, there is also extra credit assignments sometimes that you can do and mostly put extra effort into your work for that class.  Try not to get discouraged and if you do, there are so many people here to help you. 


The last class I took and just finished was more difficult than most.  I started out the first week with a 76% which I was so upset about.  I knew that this was going to be so hard to bring back up.  I used my resources and talked to the alumni ambassador who gave me some positive reinforcement and did some extra credits.  I just finished that class with a final grade of 96%.  Which proves that nothing is impossible.  You can do anything if you put your mind to it. 


Don't ever be afraid to ask for help if you need it.  The instructors are there for you along with so many others.  Have a great week everyone. 


Barbara Ann