Monthly Archives: October 2010

Speed lit

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Michael Willems

Since this blog is called “speedlighter”, and I kind of specialize in lighting, I thought I might do a quick post on quick lighting. Today, I had a student shoot me, and her dog, using one studio light (a 400 … Continue reading →

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Framed

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Michael Willems

One more composition post, this morning. When you shoot an image, you need to think about what the subject is, and how to draw attention to it. There are several ways to do it. Blur the background. Use converging lines. … Continue reading →

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Dutch Angle

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Michael Willems

A play on words. “Dutch Angle” is a Hollywood term used to describe cinematic angles used by the likes of Leni Riefenstahl in 1930s Germany. (How would Hollywood know the difference between “Deutsch” and “Dutch”? Just think of the Pennsylvania … Continue reading →

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Posted in Composition | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Confusion reigns…

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Michael Willems

…but I am here to help you sort it out. I hear a lot of beginning (and some advanced) students who confuse white balance with exposure. This confusion is not surprising, since both have something to do with “this picture … Continue reading →

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A few more pictures

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Michael Willems

Today, a few more pictures for you for the recent walkarounds. You know how I always talk about story telling? One way to do it, one I have mentioned many times before, is to have a blurry subject in the … Continue reading →

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Snaps du jour

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Michael Willems

Today, a few snaps of the day. From a recent walk through Oakville: Keep in mind here: Red versus green is a good contrast. Crop carefully. Zoom in close to remove distractions (they were all around). Foliage is dark; so … Continue reading →

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Posted in Picture of the day | Tagged | 2 Comments

Reader question

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Michael Willems

A reader asks the following question: The issue of aspect ratio: most D-SLR cameras don’t shoot in the traditional 4×6 ratio (or at least I don’t think they do). That’s why whenever I send my photos to be printed off … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gear, Travel | Tagged | 5 Comments

Flash method

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Michael Willems

Let me reiterate a simple flash method for camera-aware (i.e. “grip-and-grin”) people pictures at events (like receptions, parties, etc). Set your camera to “manual”. Attach your flash. Bounce your flash off the ceiling or wall just behind you if you … Continue reading →

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Posted in Learning, Light, Technique | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Negative Space

Posted on October 23, 2010 by Michael Willems

Sometimes you draw attention to your subject not by making it big (which is often a great solution), but by making it small, and surrounding it by “essentially nothing”. By what we call “negative space”. The negative space does not … Continue reading →

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Prints

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Michael Willems

Mmm. One of life’s little annoyances. I left a red box of 13×19″ prints somewhere this week. My portfolio of recent work. But where? It appears gone without a trace… So to all local friends: if you see it anywhere, … Continue reading →

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