Take my picture!

One of the most annoying things that happens at an event i'll be shooting at is when people ask to have their picture taken and then walk away with no idea how to get it. The people will even ask to see the photo and then remark on how awesome it is and smile and simply walk away.  Did you somehow think this was going to magically show up in your inbox in the morning or appear on your wall on facebook because i somehow knew how to get this picture to you.

So i guess this message is to you people out there that does this, stop doing this.

I have $120, what camera should i get?

One of the most common things that i get asked is "I have $120, which camera should i get". That's pretty simple to answer, it doesn't matter for $120. See my previous post "It's not the camera, its the photographer", that will help highlight the main train of thought on this issue. You can buy a digital camera for $20 now that will snap 5 megapixel pictures or buy a $80 HD video camera from CVS.

When you're in the price range of $20 to $300 and looking at simple point and shoots you're basically paying for style, what looks good on you and what looks the most modern. Some of these cameras do have some bells and whistles that i admire such as the option to shoot in Shutter Priority mode or full manual. When it comes to brass tacks though the sensor that is used is pretty much all the same.

Let me use an simple comparison to highlight what i mean. Lets say you're looking at cars and you're just looking at Fords, Chevys, Lincolns and Saturns all in the price range of $8,000 to $12,000; you're buying the brand, the look and the color. All those cars will do exactly the same things but one may have an extra cup holder or one may have a little better suspension. In the end all of these cars aren't a Corvette or a top of the line Mercedes.

So if you have $120 to buy a camera, buy something that looks nice and maybe has a function to shoot manual. For photographers a $120 camera is considered a throw away camera, something that if it breaks we won't blink an eye.  Save an buy a DSLR if you want great pictures and want to improve your basic photography skills.

fin.

A bit about Worcester Photo Studios

So if you're from Massachusetts or surrounding states and have kept your ear to the ground then you have in no doubt heard about Worcester Photo Studios. It's a huge co op style studio, when i say huge i mean around 10,000 sq ft and over 13 areas to shoot in and a huge bay door to bring in cars, trucks, buses and elephants; while the last may not be entirely true we still have good intentions of bringing an elephant in there at some point.

So we started about 2 months back with an empty warehouse which used to house weaving looms and other various heavy equipment. We've been slowly turning it into a studio which at sometimes seems like a clubhouse because of all the members that love to hang out between shoots.   We took out around 17,000lbs of metal and lots of wood from the building. We're slowly transforming the inside to resemble what we all saw in our minds a year ago when we first came up with this idea.


Most days we're covered in dirt and grease from preparing the studio to be the powerhouse that it aims to be, the days that we're not we are sitting and marketing ourselves on the computers and working at new things to make the studio even better.  My office is a couch and an end table and Pat's office is a small mobile station cluttered with tech, we're making due until the office is completed.

So let me lay out the plans as if you were coming in to check out the studio and i was giving you a walk through. In the back right hand corner of the building we have plans for a 30ft three sided cyclorama and to the left of that a stage for bands or DJ to perform. To the right of the cyclorama going up the side of the building we have the location of the soon to be rain room with sprinklers and waterproof lighting and sealed and completely black walls and floor for the most amazing pictures you've ever seen.

Continuing down the right wall we have 2 more built sets which we haven't fully designated as anything in particular. The models changing room is next with plans to build a make up room off of that. The models room has it's own bathroom and plans for a shower and second vanity.  The photographers bathroom is after this followed by the office which Pat and I will be occupying.  The left side of the building from the left rear will be backdrops and single sets, around 7 or 8 sets for use. Then we have the green room which will is a place where you can meet with clients and also we will have a classroom for different photographers to teach or run seminars. In the upper left hand corner we have the editing room where we will have macs for everyone to work on their shots from the day or night. We also have the kitchenette and storage room directly in front of the editing room. The upper right hand wall will house our gallery which is partially open to non members as well as members.
Looking down the middle of the studio it's open and chairs and props will be positioned strategically throughout. The bay doors are in the very front of the building allowing mass entrance or for larger things.

So that's where we are now, come down and check it out. Call either Pat or myself at 1-800-210-9531

It's not the camera, its the photographer.

I always hear from people that they had a bad shoot or couldn't get a picture because of their camera being too old or too slow. I can honestly say that 90% of the time it's not the camera that's making the picture good it's the photographer (pictures from Nikon D3X's are the other 10%).

I've had dozens of point and shoot pocket cameras and crappy SLR's and I can honestly say it's who has the camera who makes the photo good. There are a few books out there that document this effect, i can't think of the author at the moment (even though i could simply google it and find out), who has put together an entire book of photos just from his Iphone with the help of a few effects done in Iphone.  But the point is it came out pretty amazing, you're going to loose a little bit of depth of field and a few other things but it's where the composition and image comes into play.

Sometimes I'll be looking through a bride and groom magazine (it's a central MA sorta thing) and i'll notice that the published photo is blurry or grainy and I'll be dumbfounded on how it made the cut.  Then i take a second and third look at the picture and realize that the picture has a classic feel and also captures the moment only the way a photographer can.

So here's an example for all of you to go by. When you weren't a photographer or realized that you wanted to be one, look at your pictures from previous years and find the gems. I personally cringe when i see my old work but revel in the moments when i took the time to make the proper composition and take multiple pictures instead of a quick snap and turn away. What i'm trying to say is that before you had the right equipment, before you invested thousands of dollars  that your craft was photography and not excess of equipment.

fin.

Going too far with retouching.

So 15 years ago when you wanted to jazz up a photo or make it stand out it's because you had a few dozen filters on your camera or you had the pleasure of developing your own film. Now with the advent of hundreds of photo apps and software like photoshop or paint shop pro to name a few we are able to do just this in seconds and minutes.

With photoshop you can apply one of the many filters or actions to quickly adjust a picture to give it a sepia tone or ancient or 80's feel which is if course wonderful.
I myself am a fan of adding little effects and some basic brush effects on photos.

Here is where I have an issue. When people change people so much that they remove freckles or change the position of eye brows, neck lines or slim waist lines.
I believe that thru photoshop we have lost some of what used to make photographers really strive to get the picture right the first time. At times there are exceptions to the fact, you can lighten a scar or lighten teeth, but many times the people are already fine the way they are.

The only times I usually touch up someone to that point is when asked. I will ask when I shoot a wedding if there's anything the couple would like fixed that's not too invasive. Often times I adjust people's teeth or bags under their eyes and basic blemishes. I never move locations of facial features. I have been asked to slim a waist line before but only of asked.

When working with skin I usually try to keep a natural look. I work with layers a bit in photoshop to achieve this. There are dozens of examples on how to work with skin online so I won't touch upon that right now. I have never liked the plastic look to skin that some photographers like to bestow upon their subjects. I like to look at it like this, my photo is not an ad for Guess Jeans and won't be appearing on any billboards. You can spend 30 minutes on a picture trying to get someone's skin perfect and make them look almost alien or you can keep it somewhat natural.

When using effects or presets or actions I like to try and treat it like going out to eat, I don't do it too often and I don't order everything on the menu. I always see photographers posting on facebook and can almost instantly recognize their work by the different effects they apply. I also judge them by the creativity of the effect, most times if I can figure out what they did in 10 seconds I'm not impressed. If an effect can add mood or depth to a photo then by all means. There's no set rules in photography only guidelines.

So it's always up to you how you retouching your photos. My only advice out of all this is concentrate on the photography end of it not the retouching. Amazing photographer is nicer to hear than amazing photoshopper.

Aperture, Shutter & ISO. Quick basics for photographers

So one of the most common things I do at the studio is correcting photographers camera settings. Most photographers don't understand why there pictures are coming out too dark or too light.

Photographers can always correct their work in post but that doesn't help them become better photographers. So here is the basics for those of you willing to take the time to heed my words of wisdom.

Your aperture is what regulates the amount of light that is let into the camera and also will effect the amount of bokeh (fun amazing blurriness). The higher the aperture the less light that is let in and also the sharper the picture. The smaller the aperture means more light and a little bit lighter on the focus.

The shutter of course is what opens and shuts and let's light in. The faster the shutter the less light that gets in and the slower the light the more light it let's in.

The ISO dictates the sensitivity the camera will have while shooting. The ISO will also get grainier the higher it goes. 100 is good for any light setups or outdoors and 400 for cloudy and 800 for dusk or indoors. 1600 will do wonders for indoors, but there is a price to pay for such magical low light photography. Then higher the iso the more grainy your pictures will come out. The more sensitive your camera is the better it will handle a higher ISO vs. grain.
There's a few things out there that will help you in the fight against grainy pictures. A full frame sensor on a DSLR will mean it's much kinder to you. Post processing in lightroom and photoshop will also help to reduce noise and levy the quality. When it comes to quality through you want to keep your iso as low as you can. Nikon has a setting of 50 for iso for some of it's cameras. I believe that Canon has ISO 100 as one of its lowest settings. The ISO will basically compensate for any blunders in exposure and act almost as a safety net for your low light shots. I commonly turn up my ISO when shooting weddings because of restrictions on flashes.

So once you've absorbed the above info you may continue on.

Now here's what i do when I help people with their camera settings. By looking at a picture you should be able to tell why a picture is blown out or under exposed by looking at the settings and also what conditions you were taking the picture in.

The combination of Shutter speed, Aperture and ISO will dictate how proper the exposure is. I expect to receive a good deal of criticism on this subject, here's how I operate though.

I keep my Nikon on ISO 50 all the time, if I have to shoot indoors I switch on auto ISO. I have my auto ISO range from 400 to 1600. Most times if I have to shoot indoors I'm using a flash or have adequate lighting somehow. When using Auto ISO you can expect mid ranges in your ISO such as 320 or 460. If you're shooting a wedding then you're going to want to adjust your range from 200 to 800, but for most events such as a family party or small event it's not going to matter. I always look at who I'm catering to when adjusting my ISO, if its a model I keep it low; if it's an event I usually don't worry to much and enjoy a higher ISO



So that's my two cents on the issue of Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO