A warm welcome to my new readers – those of you who saw me speak at the Photo Expo.
Use this DAILY site as a resource for all your photo learning. I aim at everyone, from beginners to pros. Use the SEARCH field to look for articles that talk about whatever interests you, and ask questions whenever you like.
And come see me teach – at NSI in August, but also whenever you like for private coaching or on one of my scheduled courses. See you there!
Michael
[EDITED 8 April]
Today, I did a second one-hour flash course (a part two) at the Rick Bell-organized Niagara School of Imaging show at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens – thanks to those of you who came out to see.
Here’s Rick:
And of course today I had a little more time to talk to Canon, Nikon and the others who exhibited. A few observations, then!
The 85mm f/1.2 Canon prime is the best lens I have ever used. It’s soooo sharp, and its focus ring moves soooo smoothly… a dream! Here it is:
(Ohh… that glass… and as for my image, don’t you love that 16mm look? My 16-35mm Canon is also sharp and quite consistent: I love that lens.)
When I pointed the great focus ring action out to the Canon person at the counter (not a junior staffer), and asked “why aren’t all your lenses like this?”, his reaction was: “you don’t like our equipment much, do you?”.
His reaction took me aback. Granted, it was perhaps partly caused by my having complained about the Canon service program (CPS) nowadays charging money for good pro service; and at the inconsistent focus I have with so many Canon lenses; and my musing about possibly switching to Nikon, but regardless, he continued to point out that he was a pro, a good one, and he had no problems, and that he has heard no other pros complain about Canon focus. It seemed to me that the implication was that I was at fault, that I did not know photography, i.e. that it was all my problem.
Now regardless of whether what I often experience is my problem or, as I strongly suspect, that of my lenses, his is a poor reaction to a customer complaint. Customers, when they engage with you to talk about your product or service, are doing you a very valuable service. It’s great to hear where customers, rightly or wrongly, perceive problems with your products. You don’t tell tem to go away, you ask for more depth, and either use the information to communicate more clearly, or to fix issues and improve your product.
[POSTSCRIPT: I can admit when I misjudged: Canon just called me and they are taking it seriously – the sales guy did escalate my issues, and a lady called and his making arrangements for investigation/repair and loaners. I shall keep you all in the loop!]
And in my case, I believe my concerns are valid. Search for “Canon Inconsistent Focus”:
Google shows 868,000 results. The same phrase with the word “Nikon” substituted yielded only 168,000 results.
[Again: since he did take it seriously and since the Canon lady did call, I imagine I misjudged and I finally got the attention I think I deserve as a great customer. Keeping you in the loop!]
Anyway – off to Tamron next. I tried the Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 lens, and felt that it is almost as good as the Canon 24-70 f/2.8 mark II, and for $1,000 less. And it is stabilized! It is much better than at least my MkI version of the Canon lens. Anecdotal, but an easy to see and hands-on experience.
But the camera also showed Aperture “00” twice when I put this lens on my camera. This is probably nothing to worry about – the “00” warning usually just means a bad contact – but it is still something to watch out for. I would not, for instance, buy one of these a week before my Jamaica wedding next week, just in case. But: recommended you check it out.
Enough gear talk for now. Back to my two new Bengal kittens. But first:
Beginners tip of the day: as you saw here the other day, remember that to do a flash picture outdoors, your shutter speed must stay below 1/250th second (1/200th on some cameras). First try the picture with the flash off. If the shutter speed is below or at that value, you can turn on the flash and shoot. Otherwise, don’t even try. Your camera will reduce the shutter speed to 1/200th-1/250th sec, and your picture will be overexposed. This will happen especially on sunny days when you want blurry backgrounds.
Today I talked at the Photo Network Expo show in Toronto (at the old Maple Leaf Gardens): “Conquering Flash”, a one hour crash flash course. Tomorrow, I am on again with the same subject at 3:30pm, so if you did not make it today, come tomorrow!
It was also a great opportunity for me to network and to play with gear, since gear is important. As you know I am considering adding, or switching to, a Nikon D4.
Service and support can be important too, and Nikon’s pro program is free for pros. The Nikon folks have been extremely helpful in my exploration of them and their equipment. Here’s Nikon’s Jim Eyre, who was instrumental in arranging to lend me the two D4 bodies and lenses and flash:
While the D4, like every camera, has a few drawbacks (the menu system is old; I cannot turn vertical shots a quarter turn so they fill the LCD display when reviewing “only on the camera”, etc), they are minor, and this camera is a true delight to work with. The “click” is just wonderful; it’s light; it holds very well – and ergonomics are important. It is very tunable, like all Nikon bodies; one feature I particularly like is that I can rename my own custom modes. I never use these modes on the Canon bodies, since I cannot rename them and hence, I forget what they are for.
The Nikon lenses have come a long way too: they are now, well, sweet. Progress is good, isn;t it?
Here’s Chris Ogonek, left, who like me used to teach at Henry’s School of Imaging, evidently in awe of his lenses, one of which, the super-sweet 14-24mm f/2.8, is being tried here by my tolivetolove.com colleague Kristof:
Canon, of course, has cool gear too. Here’s the 300mm f/2.8 IS in action:
And a few more:
That’s 6400 ISO, f/2.8, with the 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM, and it’s like a studio shot – the lady’s hair, which I was aiming at, is great, with every strand sharp. (View at full size!)
The Fuji X100 is now the X100s: many improvements, but manual focus using superimposed squares (like a Leica) in particular is excellent. Damn, my X100 is outdated now. I liked the X100s as much as the superb Leicas, which were also on display.
My talk is about flash, of course. Including off-camera flash, like in this hand-held shot of myself I did in about ten seconds on stage:
More fun tomorrow: and for me, more networking and a report on what’s great.
For you, the same, and lots of speakers, including Storey Wilkins and David Williams; it is very much worth coming, even on a Sunday when perhaps you would rather sleep. Get up, come see the expo, an expo downtown for once, and learn from the great collection of NSI (Niagara School of Imaging) speakers!
..a week before I go shoot a Jamaica wedding, here is a detail of a shot from my 24-70 f/2.8L lens (click, then view the full original size of this detail):
One of a series of many shots, all the same. And here is a shot from Kristof’s same lens (but the MkII), also one of a series, all the same:
Taken on the same 5D MkIII (and they show the same on my 1Dx). Good methodology (fast shutter, one central small (“spot”) focus point aimed consistently at a contrasty area, good light).
Now, can my lens be tuned, adjusted, calibrated, repaired? We shall see – time will not allow this I fear, so it may be a drive to the shop for me to buy a new lens.
This is the kind of thing pros do – that’s one reason you pay them.
The writing has been on the wall for many years. Now, Sears and Walmart USA portrait studios have shut down, unable to make ends meet. No more family or portrait photos.
Mmm.
As the article says:
Store photo studios, which did big business in the 1970s through the 1990s, have been closing in recent years due to the move to digital and smartphone photography, where anyone can create, crop, and edit a family photo online. In addition, the demand for paper photo albums has all but disappeared.
What do I think when I read this?
On the one hand, I think there are reasons these guys did not do well. Reasons such as:
On the other hand, the writing really is on the wall. Everyone is a photographer now. Perception versus reality! Now that everyone with a camera thinks they are a photographer even without training, the market for family shots has declined.
“Yes but in Canada, they are still open!”. No – the writing is on the wall here, too. We simply get it later than Americans, who are often ahead in many ways.
And since a large print is $2 at Costco, paying $80 seems odd to a market that cannot distinguish “making a print” from “making a photo and printing it”. I think we have to face it: photography for money is a declining market except in niches (like “people who want top quality and are willing to pay”).
Is it all bad news? Yes, overwhelmingly (seeing skills disappear is a shame), but taking all this into account, it seems to me that for photographers who want to make enough money to eat there are still a few avenues left open:
Find niche markets: there are always niche markets that are willing to pay, since in those markets, photography is not perceived as a commodity.
Go upmarket: even in saturated, commoditized markets like portraits, there are always those who can see quality. We have a lot to offer. Good composition, perfect lighting, great artistic insight, experience, good “post”-skills, redundancy, reliability, customer service. The fact that there is a McDonalds does not mean there is not space for $200 a meal luxury restaurants also.
Teach: If everyone thinks he is a photographer, let’s make them all into real photographers! This is a good market, if you are a great teacher. Beware, though – everyone thinks they can teach, and few actually can. But if you are one of those few, you will do well. I am delighted to teach, here on this blog and also at Sheridan College, at Vistek, at Niagara School of Imaging, and at CameraTraining.ca – and by way of private coaching. Come see me tomorrow and Sunday in Toronto: http://photonetworkexpo.com/ – book online and use promo code Michael2013 to get 50% off a weekend pass. See you then!
So no, it’s not all bad news. The world, and the photography market, is changing. As it always will continue to do. Adapt, and change the business you are in. I am in the business of getting people bueatiful images – whether from me or from themselves after I teach them how.
Michael
You know that on many cameras, like the Canon 7D or the Nikon D90, you can use your camera’s pop-up flash to drive other flashes. Or you can use an on-camera “master/commander” flash to do the same:
A student asked me yesterday: “how do I turn the on-camera flash off, so it does not flash, and only the external flash fires?”
I told her how to set the on-camera flash to off. On Nikons, in the flash section of the pencil menu you set it to “-“; on Canons you select the option where only the external flash shows, so only it will fire.
“But it is still firing”, she mailed me back.
No. It is not. That is a misconception. Try this: turn off the external flash, then shoot. You see the flash, but the picture is all dark!
How come? What were you seeing?
You were just seeing the flash fire commands at any external flashes in the room, using “morse code”. I.e. you were seeing TTL preflash activity, not a “real” flash, fired when the shutter is open. This was just techie stuff, all before the mirror is raised and the shutter opens. After the shutter is open, nothing.
It helps to know these little techie facts, doesn’t it?
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For more: http://photonetworkexpo.com/ : come see me talk this weekend in Toronto about Flash Photography, and even better: book online and use promo code Michael2013 to get 50% off a weekend pass. See you then!
The new April/May issue of Photo Life Magazine is in stores this week! And in it, the next article in my light series: “Using Your Flash Studio-Style”.
Get your copies now – excellent magazine, and I am not saying that because of my article: this magazine talks about photography, not just about gear.
Get your copy now! And see me AND the magazine staff this weekend at the show in Toronto: http://photonetworkexpo.com/.
A “standard” studio portrait is very simple to build if you have three or four flashes; and it is entirely repeatable, that is its beauty. Here’s how you do it in six easy steps:
ONE set the camera to settings where the ambient light does “nothing”. Like 100 ISO, 1/125th sec, f/8. Test this by taking a non-flash picture: it should be dark.
TWO set up your main light, using softbox or shoot-through umbrella, at 45 degrees from the subject, 45 degrees up. Turn your subject into that light.
THREE then add a fill light on the opposite side. You can use a reflector, or another flash with umbrella, set two stops darker than the main (“key”) light.
FOUR then add a hair light, for that shampooey goodness™. This is a light from behind at an angle, using a snoot or grid to avoid lighting all of your subject.
FIVE then add a background light – another flash.
SIX then decide if you want colours anywhere – like the background. I used a complementary colour here – complementary to the subject and her clothing:
Done!
Here’s my Sheridan College class on Monday, practicing this:
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Want to learn this? Next week’s workshop (April 10) in Hamilton, Ontario is about this very subject: studio photography. In one evening, learn to do this, use a light meter, use pocketwizards, compose, etc. There are still spaces, but this small, intimate studio workshop is limited to 10 students, so book right now!
http://photonetworkexpo.com/ : come see me talk this weekend in Toronto about Flash Photography, and even better: book online and use promo code Michael2013 to get 50% off a weekend pass. See you then!
You have heard me say many times: details count. Very much so!
So, when the camera position results in extraneous stuff, and it cannot be avoided at the time, as in this interview photo – taken last week, when I was being interviewed for Jane Dayus’s Hinch’s Wedding Café:
Then you do post work to remove things. Can you see it?
Well, I am assuming you can see what’s been left out here:
Right… I may think of myself as holy (and no I do not) – but I have no cross growing out of my head. Nevertheless, as said, do not worry if you have to shoot something like this – get the shot, fix it later, if you have to.
Following up from what I said yesterday: You can do without faces in portraits, and often it’s better, because the viewer, as I so often say here, has to put the story together in his or her mind.
You see that I focused on his face, but you cannot see it. What you can see is his intense focus (pun intended) on the subject.
Or this moody portrait of a nude on the Lake Ontario shoreline:
Guarded, anonymous, closed: what’s the story? We cannot tell, we can only guess.
Or this faceless shot of amazing photographer Peter McKinnon also does not rely on a face:
As you see, faces are not needed to make a photo interesting. Here’s one more example:
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it: go shoot an interesting portrait that does not show facial detail.
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NEWS: http://photonetworkexpo.com/ : come see me talk this weekend in Toronto about Flash Photography, and even better: book online and use promo code Michael2013 to get 50% off a weekend pass. See you then!
NEWS: There are still spaces left on my signature workshops in Hamilton in the next few weeks: see http://www.cameratraining.ca/Schedule.html to book now!