Partayyy!

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Party time. You have read about it here before, many times, but let me reitereate something.

Consider these three good (if I say so) recent party shots (made during a Bat Mitzvah party):

What do they all have in common?

I’ll help.

  • ONE: they are flash shots.
  • TWO: They are not DIRECT flash shots – the flash is bounced off something, somewhere.
  • THREE: The background is well exposed for all three. A little darker than the foreground, but only a little (say, 1-2 stops).

And as regular readers know – we start with step three. Always start with the background. Indoors, start with the Willems 400-40-4 rule (400 ISO, 1/40th second, f/4) and then change ISO as needed for a good background.

Then – and on;y then – worry about the flash. Use flash exposure compensation if needed. Higher ISO if you need more flash range (e.g. for high ceilings). Move if needed to get a bounce surface.

OK, your challenge: go take a few shots like this. The festive season demands it!

Learn!

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Those of you who wish to learn more about photography for the season:

You can engage me for portfolio reviews and private training any time. It is cost-effective, fun, and delivers guaranteed results.

More immediately: Saturday I am teaching at Vistek in Mississauga: Sign up now… (Flash in the morning; Lenses in the afternoon); and Sunday an all day flash workshop in Timmins, Ontario at the Porcupine Photo Club. I am flying out there in my winter clothes! Then I have many photo club speaking engagements in the next months. Stay tuned, and see you there!

Now back to finishing my recent shoots for the clients. Like many pros, I thank the heavens for Lightroom!

What you need

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A studio setup usually uses big, wall-outlet powered lights (“strobes”) and more.

But here’s me, on a recent shoot:

As you see, I used speedlights there. They are smaller, lighter, easier.

The setup was:

  1. Camera and a backdrop.
  2. Two light stands.
  3. On each light stand, a bracket for mounting umbrella and flash.
  4. On each light stand, a Pocketwizard (as received) and a Flashzebra cable to connect pocketwizard to flash.
  5. Pocketwizard on camera (as sender).

All you need to do simple portraits like this:

But the real minimum is this:

1. One light stand

2. One bracket like this:

3. One remote flash to put on that bracket

4. One umbrella to put into that bracket

5. One way to fire the remote flash using TTL (the on camera flash is set to not flash, but to just send “morse code” commands to the remote flash). This local master flash can be a large flash (SB-900, 600EX) on your camera, or on certain cameras like most Nikons and many recent Canons, the pop-up flash.

And that is really all as a minimum!

When using that, you simply mix available light with flash, using the techniques outlined on this blog. Then you can do shots like this, of Dan and Kristen, whose engagement photos I made recently in Hamilton:

 

Get ready… Partaaaay…!

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December. Christmas, Hannukah, office party, family get-together: important events and the year’s highlight.

But ephemeral. The great company lasts six hours. The food, about the same. The fun, ditto. The hangover, if you are so inclined, a day and a half.

But the pictures: forever. I strongly recommend you photograph your events. Or have it done. And if you are SO inclined, I am available to shoot all your events. Prices on http://www.mvwphoto.com/Prices.html and for November and December, I will include a large 13×19 print and USB stick free of charge. Be quick, since my dates are filling up.

And for all of you, in the next weeks, some advice on event and party shoots!

Make-Up Tip

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When you shoot portraits, you may want to have your model use make-up. Even with someone who normally does not need, or use, make-up. Even in many cases for men!

Why? For several reasons, as so often when you ask “why”. Or rather, when I do, for rhetorical reasons.

One is to change appearance. Eye shadow or blush can make someone look different. Different looks can be interesting.

Another reason: to make the model feel better. Confidence is a good thing and your shoot will go better.

Another is to fix oily skin. Photographers always carry powder to stop reflections from softboxes or umbrellas. Shoots can be hard work, and slightly sweaty or oily skin can cause a lot of imperfections.

So can blemishes. Yes, Lightroom (or Photoshop) can fix these very well, but take 100 shots and now you need to fix 100 images. One application of make-up is

Then there’s age… make-up can stop its visible progress.  Always a good thing, if you ask most people. Under-eye shadows are a good example.

The following picture is a good illustration of how make-up can change someone’s appearance from the usual:

View your work

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One of the most important things you should do as a photographer is to review your portfolio with a pro. Critiquing (not criticizing – big difference) your work is the best way by far to improve quickly.

Full disclosure: I offer this as a service. Portfolio reviews can be done via Skype/online and are a very beneficial formof tuition. “Tough love” is a way of introducing feedback.

And however you do it, get that feedback. Every good learning system, from evolution in biology to op-amps in electronics, uses feedback to adjust its output to external traction to that output.

So however you do it, get feedback, and then act on it in Lightroom or Aperture and become your own critic.

In the next week, some examples. Stay tuned!

Detail, detail

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When travelling, I like to take snaps, like any other tourist.

But I often make sure I get no other tourists in the snaps. I do that by tilting, zooming, and moving myself. Like these, in The Venetian:

And this, the sky in Henderson, NV:

 

And some more:

These are nto your travel images per sé. But they are great as background, “storytelling” images. The kind you use in your book, when you make a book of the trip. Perhaps as supporting or even background images. Remember, above all: keep them simple. Simple is good. Blurry background, zooming in, tilting, all great ways to keep them simple!

 

 

Aftermath – Abandon All Dreams

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“Aftermath” – a short series I shot in a foreclosed home in Henderson, Nevada yesterday.

The contrast between the beautiful home and its present gutted nature, the abandoned dream is so great, and so sad.  None of this was staged, of course. The stories are human (look at the card in one of the shots: in fact it says “For Mommy, With Love”.)