Fun with Steph
The weather has put a damper on some recent photo shoots. However I got to sneak in a few shots with a friend.
Archive for Just for Fun
A Lesson in Light
I’m pretty much a self-taught photographer. My last formal class in photography was back in high school. That class handed me the basic tools to get to the point that I am today. And, up until recently, I was more or less satisfied with that point. But, the more I delve into the online photography world and the more research I do, the more I become unsatisfied. I’ve never really desired to take additional classes to learn more advanced techniques, because I never cared to shoot the typical yearbook photos. I was uninspired by them. I want to be expressive and not be nailed down by a set of rules like the “inverse square law”.
But recently, I’ve been discovering great photographers who are both technically and creatively brilliant. I’ve found my inspiration. I want to be able to shoot like this: (Click photo for Dustin Snipe’s blog)
Or this: (Click for Zach Arias’s Blog)
The thing that all these photos have in common is artificial lighting that draws you away from the natural lighting (sunlight) in the image. I feel I have a pretty good handle on natural lighting, and can make studio (artificial) lights look like natural lighting, but I’ve never tried to mix the two. So, I’ve enrolled myself in another self-taught course, so to speak, to learn more advanced lighting techniques.
Last night I was experimenting with light’s depth of field. These two images were both taken in a lit room, with the same light. The only difference in the lighting is the distance the light was from the volleyball when the images were shot.
Just by moving one light I got such different results. It really is a simple technique, but when combined with some creativity, I’ll be able to use it to produce results like the Zach Arias shot above, which by the way, also only used one light. I’m excited about the possibilities.
Why I Photograph in the Evenings
I always recommend to my clients that we shoot in the evening. It’s not because I work an 8-5 job, though that is convenient. It’s simply because the lighting is more pleasant the few hours before sunset. (Mornings are good second choice, but I still prefer evenings). The light at these times is warmer and the highlights compared to the shadows have less contrast.
There’s all sorts of technical explanations for it, but I took some pictures this weekend that illustrate how great evening light is. Here’s a couple pictures of a canoe at my grandparent’s house. Had I taken these photos a couple hours beforehand, the light in the back would have been too bright and looked almost white, or the canoe would have been silhouetted. But, because it is evening, I was able to capture both. And, further thanks to a lens with a wide aperture, they both have a sort of painted look about them. (No computer effects were added).
20 Cent Music Downloads!
Ok, so I know this has nothing to do with photography, but I think it’s still worthy of mention.
I love music. Who doesn’t? I just hate spending $15 on a CD and finding out that I only like 2 songs on it. I tried buying individual songs from Rhapsody, Yahoo, and iTunes, but I was always frustrated by all the license rights restrictions. You can only burn the song on a CD 5 times. You have to sign into your account to listen to it on another computer. Blah Blah Blah. At that point Myspace Music and iTunes became my friend. I could listen all I wanted, but I still missed being able to take the songs with me.
But then I discovered MP3fiesta. This site sells songs legally without all the annoying license restrictions for only 20 cents a song! And, an entire CD ranges around 2 dollars. The only annoying part is that after you purchase a song, you have to right-click save as every song link, but for all the money and later frustration you’re saving, it’s well worth it.
Lighting Experiments
I’ve been working on creating a photo studio piece by piece. Last year, I added a light kit to the collection. But due to space constraints I had to leave it in the box most of the time. This past week, thanks to a garage sale, I was able to free up some space to set up a lighting studio.
My younger sister is taking a photo class in high school and has to photograph a series of things based off a list given to her by her teacher. I helped her set up the shots and couldn’t refuse taking a few of my own.
On a side note… it wasn’t until today that I had photographed two types of glasses.
I think I’ll probably submit the top one for stock. I think the bottom photo has too shallow of a depth of field to be useful for stock.
Pages
Links
Recent Posts
- 2011 Highlights – Seniors
- 2011 Highlights – Nephew
- Anna Class of 2012
- Kristen Class of 2010
- Rebekah – Class of 2010
Categories
- Check This Out
- Child Photgraphy
- Corporate Photography
- Event Photography
- Family Photography
- Headshots
- Just for Fun
- Senior Photography
- Stock Photography
- Wedding Photography