Plan Your Shots!

A good friend who owns a music production company asked if I could shoot photos of his staff for their website.  He wanted a group shot as well as photos for each person.  He had an idea in mind for the group shot and when I asked him for an example, he sent me a few shots he wanted to mimic in look and feel.  Great.

Group Shot

I asked about the other pictures and he was very non-committal and kept deferring to "whatever I thought".  I did not push him on this, and that is the reason for this post...

Shooting Origami for a Book

Sometime last year while at a mutual friend's house, John Szinger was talking about photographing his origami.  We got to discussing this topic and he asked for some advice on how I might do this.  I happily offered to help and expected nothing more than some time together showing some basic lighting ideas from the "this is how I would do it" perspective.

When we discussed it again sometime later, I found out that he was writing a book on origami ("Origami Untamed" from Tuttle Publishing) and actually needed pictures for the book.  I was still interested in helping and we found an evening where I could stop over and take some shots.  The process he had been using for photographing his (quite amazing) creations was to position them on paper backgrounds on his kitchen table and shoot them with the camera on a tripod. While the mix of fluorescent and incandescent lights might have played havoc on a human subject, his results were not too bad for the paper subjects.

Walrus

With that said, I was pretty sure that with some strobes and light modifiers, a much more flattering image could be created.  We had dinner together and then I set up several lights and modifiers.  After several hours of shooting, we came to some realizations...

Photos with Context

Each year, we take a family trip to a lake in the Catskill Mountains (New York) to stay with my wife's cousin.  Aside from the great family get together that it always is, I have been taking my camera along to shoot during the innumerable boat rides with tubes, water skis and wake boards.  When the weather is nice, this is a non-stop event.

I have been working over the years on how to capture the action - and the variables are many.  Light can change constantly between clouds moving and shadows from the hills.  The boat is bouncing and the subjects can be whipping across the back of the boat - or popping up and down depending on the particular activity.  Putting the technique aside of capturing a skier jumping a wave at 20 MPH with a 300mm lens while you are trying to brace yourself on a bouncing boat, what I tried to bring into the exercise this year was capturing context with the shots.

Camera Tech Basics - Part 3 - Summary

Should I buy this camera?  Is this a good camera?  How many times do I hear this!

The bottom line is - a camera is just a piece of equipment.  What do you want to do with it - that is a good place to start.  Aside from price (which is not irrelevant, of course) - what are your photographic goals?  I think consumers are winning as far as how great the technology that is available in cameras today.  There are many choices of cameras that can produce stunning images in many situations.

Camera Tech Basics - Part 2 - Lens

Which Lens Should I Get?

I am asked frequently "which lens should I get" or something along those lines. As with the sensor / mega-pixel discussion - I see a lot of people go for a top shelf camera and then skimp on the lens. Of course, it all depends on what you want to shoot, but in general, I am a big fan of good glass.

I don't think anyone will disagree with the statement that there is no right answer about what is the right lens or lenses for a particular person.

So, what do I look for in a lens? Maybe that is a good place to start.

Camera Tech Basics - Part 1 - Sensors

Sensors

I am frequently asked about cameras and if such and such is a good piece of equipment.  I invariably look at camera equipment from a very basic standpoint, but also try to take into account what the person may want to do with it, and what their skill levels are as far as using it.  I will attempt to break out the basics here on the technology of modern cameras and what the tradeoffs are (and perhaps what my preferences are.)

Most digital cameras have more in common than not - from one in a cell phone to a professional grade DSLR.  In general, they all have a lens which focuses the light on a sensor.

So, why the differences in price and quality?  Let's work forward from the image sensor.

Getting started, finally!

After fits and starts, I have finally put together a website for my photography.  I will be using this blog to provide information about shots as well as general information on photography.  Please feel free to chime in anytime!