Blog
Wedding Workshop Wrap-up
On Sunday SCV Center for Photography hosted our Wedding Photography Intensive workshop with the awesome Wedding Photographer William Innes as our fearless instructor for the day. The dedicated group started at 8am, yes, on a Sunday morning, and the entire group was early at that. By 9am the group was shooting our totally decked out models Sarah & John, who did a fantastic job. We were back in the studio b early afternoon for lunch and Q&A. After lunch, it was all about workflow and editing the images from the day. By 5pm the group was spent, but thrilled with the images and new found knowledge. To see more on the workshop and about our totally awesome instructor, head over to http://williaminnes.com/blog/
Silhouette Photos
In looking at some photos on the web today, I noticed a lot of silhouetted photos on the beach that really made me think about how little I have seen this in our local photography. So after doing some looking into my own images, I realized that I have done some of this, but really not enough lately, so I thought I would post some basic thoughts in creating a nice silhouette.
- The basic idea is to place a strong subject in front of the bright light, which can be a person, tree, building, animal, whatever it is that interest you.
- Make sure you great light behind your subject, and that light needs to be brighter than the light hitting your subject from the front, or foreground light.
- It helps it you have a nice plain background, no clutter, nothing that could distract your viewers eye from leaving the main subject in your image.
- Do not use any flash from your camera. You are trying to make your subject go black in the image, although you will want some detail, but just enough so that you know what the subject is.
- The most difficult part is the exposure. Use spot metering, and point it at the brightest part of the image, as this will under-expose your subject. If your subject is too bright still, either speed up the shutter speed or change the aperture. So if your aperture is currently at f8, adjust to f11. And then just continue to adjust to you get the image you are looking for.
Making a silhouette can lead to a great image, both in bright daylight, or even at sunrise or sunset. So get out there and make some images, and if you need additional inspiration or assistance, check out our workshop schedule at the SCV Center for Photography via our website www.scvphotocenter.com.
Nikon releases new lenses
Nikon announced today the release of several new lenses. The first that caught my attention was the 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 VR lens that compete directly with Tamron. This will provide the everyday photographer with a great range, thus reducing the need to change the lens. This will be a welcomed addition to the vacation photographer as it will improve the range from the Nikon 18-200mm VR.
The next lens is the 24-120 f4 ED VR. The great thing about this lens is it is geared toward the full frame sensor, so no loss of megapixels. Great addition for those with the D700 and D3 cameras.
The other lens is the 85mm f1.4 which has been a little late to the game. While the 85mm f1.8 is a great lens, this should rock with the f1.4 aperture.
Eric’s Party at the Hyatt Valencia
On Saturday 8/14 we photographed Eric’s 16th birthday party at the Hyatt Valencia. What a grand party indeed. He invited 90 of his close friends for an evening of music, food and all around fun. Thanks Eric for letting us share and photograph your birthday event, and I do mean event. Here are just a couple of tease photos from the event. SCV Center for Photography supplied 2 photographers for the evening, and it was more fun than work, as the kids were a blast.
Shooting Ideas…..
There are times when your photographic creative juices fail you, and you just can not come up with any ideas of what to photograph, but you want to photograph. Here are a few ideas for you to consider:
- Your Yard: You may think this is funny, but your yard is a target rich environment. Most of you are likely to have flowers, roses, herbs or plants. These items always make great macro subjects. And don’t forget the grass, which first thing in the morning with dew and sunlight can be pretty pleasing.
- Your House: To be more specific, the kitchen. Consider those hanging pots, or the many utensils you have laying around. If you just look around, you may be surprised what you see.
- Park: Most us have a park fairly close to home. The kids play area always has some interesting objects, that might be interesting macro shots. The kids playing, laughing and running are great photos to send the grandparents. You may even be lucky to have a water fountain or other textures to consider.
- Industrial Park: Take a drive though the local business park. Check out the textures on the building, as they can make for some interesting abstracts. A lot of businesses have some pretty nice landscaping, so again, flowers, plants and even water treatments can make for great photos.
- Farmers Market: Most towns today have a local farmers market, and this can be an awesome place for photographs. You should always ask the vendors if they mind having the produce photographed, but generally, most have no problems.
Hopefully these tips can you help you jump start your creative juices on those slow days. Enjoy, and keep shooting. If you are interested in other ideas, please log onto our website at www.scvphotocenter.com and check out our many workshops each month at the SCV Center for Photography.
