Networking

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The word “network” is usually thought of in relation to computers. Computer networks have been around for years. But networking also refers to reaching out to and connecting with people. How big is your people network?

Word of mouth is one of the oldest and best forms of advertising any product. A person of his or her word is one who will be well respected. Are you a person of your word?

A people network, much like a computer network, is only as strong as its weakest link. Identifying weak links is not always an enjoyable task but it is a vitally important one. Today networking can take place in a number of ways–telephone, email, Facebook, Twitter, and so many more ways are available for us to connect with other people.

How strong is your network? Can you find any ways to make it stronger?

Anticipating Action

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Photographing baseball games is one of my photo passions. I coached baseball for nine years and while I do miss coaching, I find that I can still keep myself involved in the game by trying to capture the action with my camera. It is not always easy, but the challenge is invigorating!

I often pre-focus on a spot where I think the next play will take place. Obviously I do not always guess this correctly, but when I do it makes capturing the action much easier. I switched my focus button to be one on the back of my camera instead of with the shutter release. This allows me to focus on a spot, second base for example, and then I can recompose without losing focus on that spot. When a  base runner attempts to steal second, I am ready to go.

Watching the contact zone in front of home plate helps me anticipate where the action will take place. Then I can quickly move my camera to the right spot and click away!

Wedding

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Walking through bubblesI had the privilege of photographing Pete & Jodi’s wedding yesterday. They are a neat couple with some really great friends. It was a great day even though the sky was a little gray and a few raindrops did fall. But the excitement of this couple tying the knot overcame all the shadows.

I learned a lot while photographing this wedding. First of all, the Nikon SB900 Speedlight performed beautifully as usual. I am still experimenting with this accessory and have been very happy with the results. I also enjoyed photographing some shots before the wedding as the wedding party was preparing for the ceremony. These candid and posed portraits were enjoyable to make.

Photographing the newly wedded couple as they made their way through the bubbles made for some interesting photos and really made me consider the possibility of starting my own franchise see here for more. Sometimes the bubbles reflected the light from my flash, which created an interesting effect. The formal portraits after the wedding were fun, too, and everyone had the opportunity to join in the fun with their own cameras to record this special day.

Congratulations Pete & Jodi!

The Versatility of Lightroom

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I enjoy using Adobe Lightroom for my workflow. I use this software to download my photos to my laptop and external hard drive. Then, once this is done, I can sort through the photos to find the keepers that I might want to post on an online gallery or print. The Develop Module then allows me to tweak the photograph in a variety of ways. The white balance can be changed, the exposure can be adjusted, and tools like the local adjustment brush and graduated filter can be used. Once I finish the develop adjustments, I can create a slideshow or go to the Web Module and create a gallery to post on my website.

As you can see Lightroom is very versatile. It is easy to use and it serves as the software I use for nearly all of my workflow. Creating web galleries and slideshows is a breeze. Rating photos and creating collections to use for creating books or printing specific photos is easy, too. You can sort photos by how they were flagged, ranked, or even by the metadata that was captured when the photo was made.

If you haven’t tried Lightroom yet give it a try. You can download a free 30-day trial to see just how versatile this software is to use. Check it out at: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/

Presentations

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Most of us know the value of sharing presentations with others. PowerPoint presentations have been used for a number of years now to share information or a project. Information kiosks, laptops, and projection screens all share presentations in creative ways. Photographers can utilize this technology by sharing their photographs with others.

Today I had the opportunity to share my photographs with the students at PVI who were celebrating at their Cast Party. They recently performed The Music Man, Jr. and I photographed all three performances. I used a laptop to share the photographs, but I also had a display to show framed prints and a photo memory book. This display utilizes track lights to highlight the photographs and attract attention. The display of the photos always attracts people to see my work.

Presenting our photos can happen in a variety of ways. Can you think of some creative presentations to share your photographs?

Read Your Camera Manual

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Admittedly, I am not one to read instructions. I guess I am a typical male, but reading directions seems like a waste of time when I can figure it out on my own. Besides, reading directions is for sissies and only needed as a last resort, right?

Well, all good things come to an end eventually. When I got my Nikon D70, I quickly realized that reading the user’s manual would be incredibly beneficial. There are just so many features available that I knew it would be easier to learn about and use this camera by first reading the manual.

This wasn’t easy for an anti-instruction-reading man like me, but I swallowed my pride and slowly read one page after the other. I quickly learned about all the features of this incredible camera and how to use them. Amazing!

A little over a month ago I purchased a new Nikon D300. To my amazement, the accompanying manual is over twice as thick as my D70 manual!

I have to sign off for now. I have some reading to do. Yep, another instrution manual! (I just hope this isn’t habit-forming!)

The Exposure Stool

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The three legs of the exposure stool are ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. These three variables work together to control the light that records an image. Shutter speed and exposure work in a reciprocal way–as one goes up, the other goes down. For example, when your exposure calls for a shutter speed of 1/125 and an aperture of 5.6, the same exposure can be achieved with a shutter speed of 1/500 and an aperture of 8.

This reciprocal relationship is helpful when you want to blur out the background of a photograph to emphasize the subject. By shifting to a larger aperture like 2.8 to decrease the depth of field, you then decrease the shutter speed to keep the proper exposure. The reverse is also true: if you need a faster shutter speed for fast-moving action, you can decrease the aperture opening and thereby use a faster shutter speed. Pretty neat, huh?

Higher ISO settings are needed when you reach the limit of aperture or shutter speed. When there isn’t enough light, there is a point when you cannot open up the aperture or decrease the shutter speed any more. The solution is to increase the ISO.

The three legs of the exposure stool work together to allow a variety of creative ways to get proper exposure.

New Photography Ideas

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I firmly believe that photographers need to always be looking for new ideas and inspiration. Photography is an art form that require this. Becoming stale is the fear of many artists. Success is met with both elation and some amount of trepidation. The feelings of elation are pretty much self-explanatory, but with every success comes the worry of where the next new idea will come from and will it be better than the last?

So where do you get new ideas?

We have a lot of resources available today to find inspiration and new photographic ideas. Other photographers, magazines, the internet, and podcasts are all places we can find inspiration and cultivate new ideas to enhance our photography. These are all places I frequent often to get new ideas. My iPod allows me to take podcasts with me so I can listen to them wherever I go. I gain plenty of new insights this way. Photographer’s websites and photo galleries are another place to receive inspiration.

Where do you go for new ideas?

Shadows

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Shadows help to provide a sense of dimension in a photograph. The long shadows at the end of the day or the shadows created by side-lighting can create a stunning photograph. Try to add some side lighting to your photographs and see what you think.

Rembrandt used shadows when he was painting his masterpieces. In fact, studio photographers still use “Rembrandt lighting” today. The distinguishing feature of Rembrandt light is that the shadow of the subject’s nose connects with the shadow cast on the side of the face. The master artist knew that lighting was crucial to a scene or subject and he is remembered for how he painted specific shadows into his portraits.

Shadows are like vegetables—they are an important part of our diet, but not everyone likes them. Shadows can create a breath-taking photograph that otherwise would be flat. Photographs are only two-dimensional so utilizing anything that will help create the sense of depth can be useful.

Shadows obviously change with the time of day and the direction of the sunlight. This is why fill light is so important, even on bright sunny days. Harsh shadows from a hat brim can be nasty and distracting to a photograph. Fill light can help brighten the shadows.

There was an old saying years ago, “Only the shadow knows.” Well, maybe, but as a photographer you better begin to understand at least a little bit about shadows and when they can be useful. Sometimes a photograph can be made spectacular with the creative use of a shadow. Give it a try!

Headshots

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I am learning more and more about photography and just this week I learned about headshots. These portrait shots are used mainly for actors who are auditioning for a play or musical. Typically they are printed in black and white and are 8” x 10” photographs.

Just today I shot my first headshot. It was fun to spend time with the family, who gave me a couple sample headshots that were taken in previous years. This gave me a starting point and I already had thought about some setup details prior to my arrival for this shoot.

I used my Nikon SB-900 off camera on a small tripod and used the diffuser dome to help spread the light out evenly and softly. The pop-up flash on my D300 served as the commander unit and it worked beautifully. I setup everything at home first to make sure it was working correctly. Then I loaded my two tripods and camera bag into my truck, followed the directions, and arrived at the shoot.

We used a white sheet as a backdrop and a stool. That was it. My SB-900 Speedlight provided the light, and my D300 captured the shots with ease. I did move the flash around a little bit and noticed that I could eliminate some shadows just by moving the flash. I spent about 45 minutes with the family and enjoyed this opportunity very much.

Once back home, I uploaded the RAW images to my laptop, sorted through them to find the proofs I wanted to share with the family, and created a webpage to show the proofs. An email message was sent out to the family and now they can view the proofs and pick out the image they want to be used for the headshot.

I have a lot more to learn about the SB-900 and plan to do a lot of research on this. This flash sure is powerful and versatile! I just began to touch the surface of what this unit can do and I already am very happy I purchased this flash. In fact, I am planning on buying another one in the near future because I would like to add either a fill light or a backlight to some portraits.