Goats Can Climb onto Fences :) - Shooting for Fun!

Just a quick break before I continue some album designing..

Yesterday my soulfriend, Grace, and I went around the area exploring new places for me to use for portraits.  Here are some images I took.. for fun :)

It's nice to shoot for fun sometimes, you get to take a fresh look at things without any pressure hehe!
 :)

I found an awesome place, I can't wait to take my next engaged couple there.. Come on couples, book me so we can go!! It's MAGICAL!  (Sorry, didn't put any pics up of it, just some inside one of the buildings HAHAHAHA)

Shot through a chain link fence :)

This particular goat knew how to stand up on a fence to get him some grub!

Yay for Farmer's Markets!

My beautiful soulfriend :)

Details...

 Reflections!

Meetup: SmugMug - Mini Portrait Workshop

Yesterday evening we had a Mini Studio Lighting Workshop for our Philly SmugMug.

Recently, my photog friend, Hillary, and I accepted the position as co-leaders of the Philly Smug, and this was our first official meetup as co-leaders!  I am very excited to be taking on this role, especially with Hillary as I can't think of anyone else who I rather work with!  We've been working together already for several of the past meetups, so now it was just a matter of making it official hehe!

Dave Kappler was our first guest speaker, and he was very knowledgeable (and entertaining) when it comes to studio lighting!  Learned a lot from him speaking and look forward to finding more guest speakers to share their knowledge with us! Check out his site - especially his headshots and fashion images!!

Here's some images from our meeting last night :)

Date Night? Photography Practice? Or both?!

So, Tuesdays are date nights for Fred and me, and lately our Tuesdays have been full.. but tonight we had some time to get dolled up and go out for our date night!

So what did we do?  We took pictures of each other HAHAHAHAHA!  It was nice to just go out and shoot for fun.. and try new things in our photography.  So much to learn and try, and Fred and I are just always striving to improve our skills.  Here's a few pics of us on our date night.

Good thing we brought the bug spray HAHAHA!

This first photo is my favorite of myself from the night - thank you Fred!  I just like how I'm in a spot light.. the flash is directly in front of me (the direction my head is facing).. and it's up pretty high and aimed down at me... giving this spotlight effect.

 This is one of my faves of Fred.. it's the same thing as above.. but now it's Fred HAHAHA!

I wanted to do a silhouette, so I exposed for the sky and didn't add flash..

Fred went for an unconventional crop, I like!

The street lamp was lighting the tree and I liked the gradient it made.. and I added flash on Fred.

This was a fluke.. the flash was right beside Fred and wasn't even set correctly (way too much power), but I decided to see if it would work.. and I guess b/c the flash was not facing Fred directly.. the spill is the part that hit him and wasn't overpowering.. so it ended up being just enough for him.  See how it falls off sharply though at his waist?  Yeah.. cuz the flash was not pointed at him, but somehow it worked out!

And there you have it, our date night! Yay!

How I Do: Using Flash to Give Your Image More "Umph"

So I'm going to blog really quickly since I would like to blog more regularly (I keep saying that, don't I?).  That doesn't explain why I need to blog quickly though.  Today is just a hectic Monday, several albums to design and stuff, but it's great to be busy, that's for sure!

I just wanted to give you an example of how adding flash can give your image more umph when used correctly.

Below is an available light image.  80mm, f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/400 sec.  This image never went to the client because to me, it's lacking something.  The background for one is overexposed and the subjects are too dark.  Sure, I could work some photoshop magic, but to me, that's an extra step I shouldn't have to take in the first place.  I strive very hard to get my images right in camera, so that when it's time to edit, all I have to do is 'enhance' and not to 'fix.'  It's been a long process getting to this point, but I think it's helped me to improve in my craft, and I still am striving to learn as much as I can :)

After taking the above image to assess the lighting (and we'll say that it was also for the purposes of this mini tutorial LOL) I knew that available light was not going to cut it.  I immediately set my shutter to sync speed for flash (1/250 on my D700), and went to work on exposing the background correctly.

Here's the next image I took, ISO 200, 112mm, f/5.6, 1/250.   First thing I did was set my shutter to 1/250 like I said above.  Then I adjusted the f-stop to a point where I got my background to be the way I liked (kind of on the darker side).  Then I added the flash on the couple and adjusted that until they were properly lit as well (I told my husband whether to raise or decrease the power).

So, first expose for the background to get it to look the way you want, then add the flash to light up the subject and adjust that until it's how you want as well.  Remember, assuming nothing is really in close proximity to your subject, the flash only affects your subject and the background is affected only by the ambient available light.   This isn't always the case (such as if the background is RIGHT behind the subject, etc...) but in general when doing environmental portraits, this is what I think of in my head when I do these shots.

Here's a pic behind the scenes (well, not in this exact location, but just to give you an idea where my assistant aka my husband stands).  Usually a 45 degree or so from my camera position, but sometimes less if I have to be careful about shadows.

I don't know about you, but to me, the one with flash looks 10xs better, at least in this type of situation!

Okay gotta go, sorry if this is semi repetitive, but I'll do some more intense how-to's in a bit, I promise!

Oooo I just realized I can do an indoor version of this too, that will probably be 'part two'. :)

Cliff Mautner's Bootcamp - Day 2 & 3 | Taking whatever comes my way

Wow, I'm so late!  Lot has been going on, which is great, but I'm finally going to finish talking about my workshop with Cliff Mautner.

Day 2 was great.  We ventured back out into the city for a couple of hours and were able to utilize natural light to create some dramatic images as well as off camera flash to make our subjects pop :)

Natural lighting..

Off-camera flash outdoors..

That evening, we got to sit in on an actual client meeting which was VERY enlightening!  All I can say is, Cliff is the man!

Day 3 we were able to learn more about the business side of photography.  It was so awesome that we could just pick Cliff's brain as well as the brain of his studio manager, Noelle who is a beast at post-production.  I learned so much, and I hope to streamline my workflow so I can do more in less time.

Going to this workshop was definitely worth it.  For me, I feel like it was a game changer.  I feel so much more confident about how to tackle harsh light and about how I can best utilize my flash.  It's made me examine how I do business and helped me to decide what direction I want to take this business in.

I have to say I really met such great and talented photographers who continue to be a support group that I can go to and I am so very thankful for that.  We all really formed a close bond and I hope that we will all be friends for many years to come!!

Hmm, what else?  That's what I get for not blogging right away, I think too many things go into and out of my head that I can't retain memories for very long hahahaha!

These past few weeks in general have been great.  I have been stepping out of my comfort zone and taking risks, and I'm glad that I am because I feel it has helped me to grow as a photographer, and more importantly, as a person in general.   I don't know what's ahead, but I'm ready to take whatever comes my way with a fresh and positive outlook.  As long as I get to continue doing what I love, I am happy.  And if I have the things that matter most to me in this life (God, love, family, friends, laughter, and good pho), then I know everything is going to be just fine.

Cliff Mautner's Lighting and Skillset Bootcamp - Day 1

Today was amazing.  Just amazing.  

I'm currently taking a workshop with Cliff Mautner, who is an amazing wedding photographer.  I've been wanting to go to his workshop ever since I first found out about it, and that was over a year ago.  I've checked his website and blog every few months to just READ about the workshop, thinking that I'd never be able to save up enough money to go.  It was kind of pathetic actually,  the description of the workshop never really changed or anything, yet I would read and reread it, daydreaming about one day being able to go hahaha!

But the day has finally come.  It's really happening.  I'm really here.

Today was Day 1.  I'm so thankful not only to be in Cliff's presence, but also to be in the presence of so many other awesome photographers, some newer like me, and some who are more experienced.   We're so diverse.. there's people from all over the US, as well as from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan!  Imagine!  So you KNOW this is THE workshop to go to :)

Cliff really is down to earth.  He'll tell it to you straight.  He's honest.  Sincere.  Practical.  Everything is simple with him.  It was one thing for me to watch some of his videos online to learn - it helped a lot and has gotten me to where I am today.  But it's a whole other thing to be able to learn from him in person.  To pick his brain.  To have him personally critique my images and to offer insight.

Here are some images from today.  I was able to get the exposures right in the camera and just add some contrast or turn it into black and white.  I'm really not big on photoshop and being able to get things right straight out of camera is a big deal for me.  Besides, one quote that stuck with me from today was,  "There's no 'unsuck' filter in Photoshop".  HAHAHAHA!  If only - lol jk!  But I do believe that Photoshop can be used to enhance photographs that already kick butt in the first place :)

Anyway.. here we go!  I'm really looking forward to Day 2!!

"There are no rules. Only good pictures."

Riding in a Small Airplane and Seamless Backgrounds

Last Saturday, Fred took Irene and me to a company picnic where they were giving out free small airplane rides.  Free? How could we refuse? So it was a first for all of us and it was really cool.  We flew above New Castle Delaware for a few minutes in a teeny weeny plane.  I thought turbulence on a big commercial plane was scary - let me tell you... in a small craft, you really cannot deny you are just a little fly in the big sky... and that any gust of wind could just send you out of control. But let's not dwell on that - the view was awesome.  I don't know if I'd do it again, but I know Fred really wants to be a pilot hahahaha.  Let's see if I will actually let that happen LOL lemme stop.

So they made us sit a certain way in order to 'balance' the weight on the craft.  Somehow that meant I needed to sit up front.  Eek!  I had to make sure I didn't touch anything hahaha.  Which was kind of hard since my legs are superlong and there are foot pedals I had to avoid so I wouldn't accidentally steer the plane hahaha.

But overall, a great experience.  Thank you to Fred's company :)

I decided to try something different with presenting my photos.  Instead of having each one individually framed with a watermark, I popped them all into a template... to kind of condense it.  I'm still working on it, but hope it's easier on the eyes.

CLICK TO ENLARGE!! (They get pretty big)

To see more pictures, here's my facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2125096&id=1102932&l=d97dd73a1c

Also, we set up our studio on my parents' ever-so-spacious basement.  Wow.. so much space.  How did we manage to set up a studio in our teeny apartment in Cali?  Well, I guess where there's a will, there's a way.  At any rate, seamless paper is awesome.  We had to figure out how to make the background a bright white, so it took some tweaking.  But basically, we blanketed our background with light and then used another light for the foreground.  We are missing a light though so right now we're only working with 2 lights.  I think the plan is to get a continous light source for the background and then have 2 flashes in the front for our key light and our fill.  So these are the results of our first 'studio' session.  Really, we were just playing around.  But I'm excited to complete the set-up and start holding portrait sessions.  All our stuff is finally arriving on Wednesday so we'll be in full swing by May.  Let me know if you want a photoshoot - indoor or out or both!

Practice: Some Legs and Some Jumping!

Fred and I were trying to figure out what to practice tonight.  We ended up taking pictures of our legs HAHAHAHA.  We're still working on it though.  Here's what turned out alright:

NEW LENS! Let's Do a Product Shoot!!

Hi!

So today a new lens came in the mail - YAY! We now have a 17-35mm 2.8 wide zoom!  That plus our 80-200mm 2.8 and our 50mm 1.8 means we're fully equipped for weddings - yay!

We are still waiting for our 85mm 1.8 but our friend Brian, the photo dude who runs our Long Beach Photo Society thingy, lent us his to try out, as well as his 10.5mm 2.8 fisheye. Here's a few pics from the fisheye. Thanks Fred for bringing out my big head :)

I of course wanted to post pictures of the new lens, but I decided I would try something different.  I wanted to practice making 'product shots' or something.  So using a 3-flash set up, I embarked upon an attempt to bring out my new lens's 'best side' hahahaha.  I just wanted it to 'pop' persay.  You be the judge as to whether I was able to accomplish that.  I think it's a decent start, and it was fun to just play around with the lighting today.  I'm definitely gonna do more.  I want a cool reflective surface to work on.  So I'm sure I'll be getting one .. one day.. to add another dimension.

So first let me show you the set up in the apartment (using my new wide zoom lens hehe):

I put a flash w/ umbrella 45 degrees behind on camera right and 45 degrees in front on camera left.  I also added a flash w/ a grid on a boom above the table... sort of in front of my subject and tilted it back towards the subject so the shadow would go behind it a little bit..

I used the 85mm 1.8 that I borrowed from Brian, and stayed at 1/200th of a second and a f16 aperture.

Here's one of my earlier shots..

Eh.. It didn't really jump out at me though..  So I decided to take a different approach..

I started to like where it was going.. it seemed to come out a little more... Yah? Yah?? [nudge nudge] Hahaha...

Time to add the case...

Now to tilt it to the side..

What do you think? Does it pop? Maybe a little bit I hope? Hehe.. Like I said, I want a better surface, but I'm pretty happy with the result.  You do what you can with what you got, yeah?

So that was fun.  Hope you enjoyed!