Monthly Archives: January 2010

Moi, aujourd'hui.

Posted on January 31, 2010 by Michael Willems

Even in a snapshot, you want to; Avoid direct light (use reflected light instead). Use an off-centre composition (follow “the rule of thirds”). Blur the background, if the picture is a portrait. Straighten horizontal/vertical lines. Fill the frame. If you … Continue reading →

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Posted in Composition, Learning | Leave a comment

1D MkIV

Posted on January 30, 2010 by Michael Willems

As a shooter, and as a teacher,and as a tech blogger, I need the most recent equipment. So I have no obtained a Canon 1D MkIV to replace my 1D MkIII. So far it seems fine. Not the same great … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gear | Leave a comment

Creative Bokeh

Posted on January 30, 2010 by Michael Willems

Bokeh means the blur, or the quality of the blur, in parts of your image that are out of focus. And you can use this to effect. For instance when shooting city lights, or Christmas tree lights, you can make … Continue reading →

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Posted in Picture of the day, Technique | Leave a comment

Metering

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Michael Willems

A few words on light meters. When shooting studio shots like the ones I talked about, you use a flash meter. When doing that to accurately judge the right exposure, keep this in mind: Have a spare battery at hand … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gear, Light, Technique | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Houston:

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Michael Willems

We appear to have an issue: clicking through to blog post links gets you to an empty page. Problem at WordPress.com I presume – if so, it’s one I hope they will fix soon!

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Posted in Learning | Leave a comment

A standard portrait setup

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Michael Willems

Back to the standard “small studio” setup I described earlier. This time I shall talk a bit not about how it works – I assume light sensitive slave cells and Pocketwizards and cables are all old hat to you now … Continue reading →

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Posted in Learning, Light, Technique | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Try this fun technique

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Michael Willems

Have some fun with your photography. Set your SLR to S/Tv mode Select a shutter speed of 1/10th second. Use minus one stop exposure compensation Use a zoom lens Use flash Now get ready. Prefocus on your subject with your … Continue reading →

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That portable studio

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Michael Willems

So when I pack by bags to do a location shoot, like today’s executive headshots shoot, you saw in a recent post that I bring rather a lot. And what do I use? How does it look when it’s all … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Gear, Light, Technique | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

That look over the shoulder

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Michael Willems

One common sexy model look is the “look over the shoulder”. Like here, in this shot of Nemo, a somewhat Rubenesque but nevertheless pretty model: In an “over the shoulder” pose women can look over either shoulder, but for men, … Continue reading →

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Why photography costs money

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Michael Willems

Mainly because it breaks the photographer’s back. Here is part of what I am bringing to a multiple corporate headshots session tomorrow: This kit consists of: One backdrop Two rolls of backdrop paper, grey and white One two-monolight set with … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Gear, Learning | Leave a comment