This is the first in a series of regular weekly posts I’ll make each Thursday on the subject of photographic composition. Before I start digging into the “rules” of composition, though, I’d like to start with a general discussion about composition and, more importantly, how one learns the skill of seeing, composing, and capturing effective compositions. (more…)
File Types and Color Profiles
Anyone who’s ever used Adobe Photoshop can tell you there are 20 different ways to save an image file. Each of these formats has a specific use and reason to exist – but for those of us in the still photography industry there are four major file formats. (more…)
I wasn’t always a photographer. Back in the 90s I was a disc jockey. I can remember many times getting into heated discussions with young people who had called into the station about whether or not the record companies were within their rights to sue people who downloaded music. No matter how hard I tried to explain that music was a business and record companies as well as artists had a right to charge whatever they wished for the fruits of their labor, people just didn’t get it. They acted as if they had a right to the music. They believed that once they bought a song they could do whatever they wanted with it, including reproduce it and distribute it to thousands of people.
And so it was that last weekend I laid in bed unable to sleep. (more…)
It’s time to pack!
In two days I leave to begin scouting for my upcoming photo workshop in Oregon, today I’ll start some of the necessary packing for the trip. It sure seems like there’s a lot of stuff to remember to bring, as much as I’ve appreciated a digital workflow, there’s just a lot more stuff to bring along. This used to drive me crazy, because I could never shake the idea that I’d forget to bring something, even when I hadn’t forgotten anything. Eventually, I just made a list, and then refined it over time. My standard list contains some things that won’t be necessary for every trip, that’s fine, it’s very easy to cross out things that you decide not to pack. (more…)
I would love to say that all it takes to succeed in this industry is talent, passion and hard work. But of course, that's not how it works. Yes it…
This is the fourth in a series of posts on digital darkroom techniques describing digital darkroom techniques that “combine” groups of images towards various ends. Previous parts covered focus blending and stitching, today we’ll talk about HDR (high-dynamic range) imaging. (more…)
SoFoBoMo has begun rercuiting for their second year, and it’s definitely worth a look.
SoFoBoMo is an project based loosely on NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and NaSoAlMo (National Solo Album Month), efforts to provide structure for creative types to produce their first novel or musical album. SoFoBoMo participants pledge to entirely produce (from inital photography through graphic design, layout and writing) a photography book within a 31-day span (any one month span in May and June 2009). The only length requirement for SoFoBoMo is that the completed book must contain at least 35 photographs. (more…)
I recently was talking to an aspiring wedding photographer about gear. She has a ::amazon(“B0007QKMQY”, “Rebel XT”)::. I wrote her an email that outlined what gear I thought she should be looking to get. (more…)
This is the third of a series of posts on digital darkroom techniques describing digital darkroom techniques that “combine” groups of images towards various ends. Part two covered focus blending, this post will discuss stitching. (more…)
“So,” I said, “How do you feel about standing in traffic?”
A few weeks ago I had this idea for a shot. I wanted to shoot a couple surrounded by blurred movement while they stood frozen in time… in their own world. The first obstacle to overcome was how to shoot a long exposure on a sunny day. A neutral density filter solved that problem ( I used a 6 but really needed a 9). Next I had to get the couple. Lucky for me I was getting ready to shoot an engagement session at the University of Tampa which sits on Kennedy Blvd, one of the busiest roads in town.
So, after about an hour and a half with my clients I finally asked them to stand in traffic. They were totally on board with the idea and stood there without moving for about 15 minutes while I stood on my own little traffic island with my tripod, shooting away. (more…)