With this image from the workshop in Seattle, we were working outside the hotel and the city scene there wasn't all that hip and urban. It was visually quite cluttered. So when I wanted to use this image, my first thoughts were to simplify it a little since there is a LOT going on in the background that doesn't add to the image and just detracts from our model Julia. The leading lines of the cars, overhead train lines and the pavement all do help to give a more dynamic composition .. along with Julia's crazy body angles. But the image definitely needed some work. Here is the image Read more inside...
when your flash fails to fire ..
[ click on the image to see a larger version ] What do you do with an image that is under-exposed but there is a certain moment that you love? Well, perhaps you get lucky that when you convert it to B&W and crank up the exposure and embrace the noise / digital grain ... and all this adds to the mood and in this case even poignancy of the moment. Here is the original unedited image of the bride dancing with her dad ... Read more inside...
available light photography – dealing with high-ISO noise
available light photography - dealing with high ISO noise
Most times when you read about dealing with high-ISO noise, the information is about how to use noise-reduction software to minimize noise. This time however, when I say "dealing with high-ISO noise", I meant in the sense of just dealing with it / accepting it. I do have Noise Ninja and Neat Image, and would recommend them if you have an image suffering from excess noise. However, often times, it might just not be necessary. The image above was shot with the Nikon D3 (and Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 lens), late afternoon on a Read more inside...the progression of an idea ..
[ click on photo to see a larger image ]
the progression of an idea during a photo shoot; incl the use of off camera flash
Because of the positive comments I've had to the recent addition of video clips that show a glimpse of how I work, I thought I'd show the progression of an idea. Not just how the actual image was made, but how the idea progressed. The photo above of Sarah and Mark at Coney Island, is from the day-long photo session where we went to different locations in New York. Where this image above started, was in a previous sequence .. Read more inside...NYC photo-shootout redux
Another photograph from the recent NYC photo shootout. We were a group of photographers working with Lea during this part of the afternoon. There are several parts in what makes an image successful - the subject, the setting, lighting and then the post-processing. There are limitations in working as a group with a model. So where I would've preferred shooting with a longer lens to compress the perspective more, you sometimes have to accept the situation. In this case, the setting wasn't ideal, and there was a fair amount of background clutter. Therefore this might be a good time to to Read more inside...
Image size & Resolution – 72dpi or 300dpi
Image size & Resolution - 72dpi or 300dpi
I live 20 miles at 65mph outside New York. Yes, that sentence is pure nonsense. I live 20 miles outside of New York. That's it. The complete description of the distance. Now that 20 miles of course could mean either 30 minutes or 3 hours of driving, depending on traffic through the Lincoln tunnel. But I digress. I could have described my distance from my house to New York as 20 miles, or disregarding traffic, as 18 minutes at 65mph. But it is nonsensical to describe my distance from New York as 20 miles at 65 mph. The 65mph becomes a Read more inside...a little less gray ..
I love color. I see in color. I really favor color over B&W images. But strong B&W images do have impact that is often lost with the distraction of color. Even though most of the photographs on my wedding photography blog are in color, there was a recent wedding which I showed as a set of B&W images instead. What happened was that when I started editing the images from that wedding for the blog, first one image, and then another, looked really good as a warm-toned B&W … and then I decided to go all the way and create a blog entry that consisted only of B&W Read more inside...
Using lens flare for that golden glow
Using lens flare for that golden glow effect
I've had some questions about images that I have posted which show a lot of lens flare, and specifically the image above. And the question also arose what kind of Photoshop actions or effects I used on that image. The answer is simple .. none. While that image isn't quite "straight out of the camera", it is (nearly) "straight out of the raw converter". Something I find myself doing quite often on days when I photograph in the sun, is to seek out the sun purposely in the frame of my camera .. and allow the sunlight to flare as a burst Read more inside...a raw element of style
During the portrait sessions with my couples, I try to maintain a fluid style of photographing them. Instead of rigidly posing I try to direct only a little, adjusting my position and my composition. I really want as natural looking and flattering portraits as I can, while getting a variety of images. For these reasons I move around a lot while shooting ... and I often try to get some lens flare on purpose. I love the way the image warms up and the flare creates pools of light within the image. This is an unpredictable effect, but when it works, I feel that the flare adds something Read more inside...
wedding photography: working with higher ISO settings
This was a first for me - a couple who high-five each other after the first kiss! (This was from a wedding last year.) My settings : 1/100th @ f3.2 @ 32oo ISO. Yes ... 3200 ISO. I couldn't use flash and I needed a hand-holdable shutter speed with the 70-200mm zoom. Even though it is a stabilized lens, I do need a shutter speed that is fairly fast to stop any movement. (Or stops movement enough.) So why this photo? Read more inside...
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