About Me
My job as your photographer is to do more than just put a face to the name. I bring experience, professionalism, confidence, and a relaxed persona that produces photographs that instill a sense of trust and confidence in a potential client or customer. When you don’t do that, you will fail to get everything you can out of a brochure, website, or press release. The picture is critical.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but you rarely hear about the reactions to a poor quality photograph. Professional photography when presenting yourself or company to the public is a necessity.
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Tag Archives: lighting
Young girls and tattoos
I have photographed many young females with massive tattoo displays recently. Most all of them were strikingly colorful; both the young lady and her tattoos. They have held all sorts of jobs, been from various backgrounds and nearly all under 21.
The young never see themselves growing old or their bodies wearing out and loosing its youthful firmness. Although I do not have tattoos, almost got inked one night in Army boot camp back in ’72 though, I can understand one, two or a few tats to mark an occasion, person or event. To have massive, highly visible sleeves at 18 or 19 is not looking beyond the rebellious 
moment of youthful freedom.
I did encounter a young woman about 2 years ago, she was in her late twenties, who realized life, to include her body, moves on. She asked if I would photograph her tattoos, after a short discussion we agreed on date, time and place. During the session she explained to me her body was ‘failing her’, her words and she wanted to memorialize them as her body is now and not as her children and grandkids would eventually see them.
I am not against tattoos, I enjoy the photographic challenge of lighting them and posing the model to achieve the best effect. I never mention my thoughts about the years to come and how I have learned life and bodies change. I simply take the photographs for their grandkids.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 79°F;
- Humidity: 42%;
- Heat Index: 79°F;
- Wind Chill: 79°F;
- Pressure: 30.1 in.;
Posted in My Photo; My Comment., People
Also tagged All Sorts, Amp, Army Boot Camp, background, Backgrounds, color, Colors, Displays, Duri, Emily, female, Females, Flickr, girl, girls, Grandkids, Heir, Ink, Job, Jobs, Light, male, man, Memorial, Memories, model, Modeling, Models, Nathalie, Night, Oment, one, person, Personality, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photographs, Photos, Places, Pose, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph, Sessions, Stan, stand, Target, Tattoo, Tattoos, Time And Place, woman, Young Females, Young Girls, Young Lady, Young Woman, Youthful Firmness, Youthful Freedom
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Should I use a light meter with a digital camera?
I was recently asked the question in the title, there is only one answer.
Get one, use it.
Simple really, as a photographer you paint with revealed light and shadow, that’s all. Why would you hesitant to utilize a tool to designed to report the variances you cannot see in a way you can use?
Do I shoot without one, yup, sometimes. Do I rely on the camera’s metering, yup, alot sometimes. But I never leave home without a light meter in my bag.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 91°F;
- Humidity: 42%;
- Heat Index: 93°F;
- Wind Chill: 91°F;
- Pressure: 29.82 in.;
Posted in Just a quick thought
Also tagged camera, digital, Digital Camera, Get One, home, Hoot, Light, Light And Shadow, Light Meter, Lot, one, Paint, Paint With Revealed Light And Shadow, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photographs, Shadow, shoot, Tool, Use It., Variances, Yup
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Playing with black and white again
I started in photography shooting only black and white on film while stationed in Schwäbisch Hall, West Germany at Dolan Barracks, with the US Army. I enjoyed the entire process of taking the photograph and then spending hours in the dark room developing the print. My mentor back then was a German WW II photographer, Herr Ritter. I would spend a lot of time selecting the paper, cropping the picture and playing with the time under the light and developer only to have Herr Ritter walk behind me and give me his, usually one word, assessment of my work. Now every time I start to produce black and white imagery I feel Herr Ritter in the next room; about to walk in.
Today, I shoot digital, have a computer, Photoshop and the associated plug-ins. The subject of my photography has changed, I enjoy portraiture, I like to simplify the female face to the essence of femaleness; to show basic beauty. Sometimes that is a hight-key process, sometimes an ultra close-up. This image of Barbara is another, different, attempt.
I wonder what Herr Ritter would say.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 71°F;
- Humidity: 83%;
- Heat Index: 71°F;
- Wind Chill: 71°F;
- Pressure: 30.03 in.;
Posted in My Photo; My Comment.
Also tagged Amp, art, Attempt, Attempts, B&W, beautiful, beauty, black, black and white, Developer, digital, Dolan Barracks, Essence, face, female, Female Face, Females, film, Flickr, German Ww, Germans, germany, Hoot, Image, Imagery, Images, Light, Lot, male, man, Mentor, one, paper, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photographs, Photography, Photos, Photoshop, Playing With The Time, portrait, Portraiture, Prints, pro, Rig, Ritter, Rkd, rkdauph, Schwäbisch Hall, shoot, Target, Ultra Close-Up, Us Army, Walk, west germany, WW II
3 Comments
Post Processing Fun
I like high-key ultra closeups. I like to work with an image, not just high-key, until “I” see an aha picture. I know a lot of folks don’t care for the treatment I afford an otherwise acceptable normal photograph.
I do, however, also use post processing to salvage an image, or at least part of it. The half face of Barbara here for instance; another photographer placed his big mitt and light meter into the frame and covered the other half of her face as I puller the trigger on the picture.
I liked the half I could see, I liked the the slight tilt of her head (she was starting to move away from the intrusive hand and meter), I liked the expression of her eyes and face.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 71°F;
- Humidity: 83%;
- Heat Index: 71°F;
- Wind Chill: 71°F;
- Pressure: 30.03 in.;
Posted in My Photo; My Comment.
Also tagged art, Closeup, Closeups, Expression, eyes, F1, face, Flickr, frame, Fun, hand, Head, High-Key, Image, Images, Light, Light Meter, Lot, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photographs, Places, Post Processing, pro, Rig, Salvage, Stan, Tilt, Ups
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Using the Nikon Creative Lighting System
This photograph was taken using a Nikon D-300, the Nikkor 28-70 f2.8 and 2 SB800s. One SB800 was placed high picture right behind Emily the other was hand held slightly high picture left above her head. Although I have the equipment to mount the flashes to either an umbrella or softbox, this session was done with only the Nikon defusser on one of the strobes.
I am becoming a real fan of the Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS) and the ability to control the SB-800s using the Commander mode on the D300. I’ve now used them in studio sessions as fill or hair lights, outdoors from as far as 30 feet away or the sole source of light as in this photograph.
The two cautions when using the system is to remember to have the sensor facing toward the camera and don’t step to far in front of the flashes. I spent nearly 10 minutes on one outdoor shoot trying to figure out why the flash wouldn’t fire, gave up and realized, the next day, that I had the IR receiver facing away from the camera.
CLS is a great tool, take the time to learn it.
Read about us being hassled by the Park Rangers in Washington, DC during this shoot.
Also see Damien Franco’s expansion of my photo tip about Seeing the Shadows over at www.yourphototips.com.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 81°F;
- Humidity: 71%;
- Heat Index: 85°F;
- Wind Chill: 81°F;
- Pressure: 30.02 in.;
Posted in My Photo; My Comment.
Also tagged Blog, camera, Cat, CLS, creative, Creative Lighting, Creative Lighting System, d300, door, Duri, Emily, equipment, face, Feet, flash, Flickr, Franco, hair, hand, hassled, Head, Hoot, Ir Receiver, Light, Lighting System, man, Modes, Nikkor, nikon, one, Park Ranger, Park Rangers, Photo, Photo Tip, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photographs, Photos, Places, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph, Sb, sb-800, Sb8, SB800, Sessions, Shadow, shoot, Sole Source, Source Of Light, strobe, Strobes, studio, Studio Sessions, Target, Tool, Umbrella
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Nikon Speedlight umbrella test
When I decided to start playing with Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS) I took this series of photographs to try and understand the difference between a shoothrough umbrella and a reflective one.
I also used this test to learn how to use the Commander mode on my D300 to change the power settings of the Speedlights.
SB-800 on left into 32 inch Photogenic white umbrella: SB-600 on right through 48 inch Wescott umbrella. Controlled by D300 Commander mode.
- Top half of photo: both at half power
- Bottom half of photo: Both at full power.
Posted in Lighting tests
Also tagged art, camera, CLS, Controlled, creative, d300, Flickr, Hoot, Light, Lighting System, man, Modes, nikon, nikon d300, Nikon Speedlight, Nikon Speedlights, one, People, Photo, photogenics, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photographs, Photos, Power Settings, Reflection, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph, Sb, sb-800, shoot, speedlight, Stan, stand, Test, Umbrella, Wescott, White Umbrella
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Nikon D300 & SB-800 Speedlight Flash Diffusion Test
On camera flash photography has always challenged me. I learned photography, in West Germany during the early ‘70s, using natural light only, black and white film and developed my own prints. My first experience, in the early ‘80s, with a flash gun was a reunion of flight school classmates and our families. We paraded the kids through the living room, onesies, twosies, you know the drill, and I took whole family photos too. The garish, over exposed pictures with that damn hard edged shadow (like the top center picture) was embarrassing when the color prints arrived. Who needs a flash? Not a REAL photographer anyway; so, back to natural light for more than 2 decades.
Click to continue reading “Nikon D300 & SB-800 Speedlight Flash Diffusion Test”
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 51°F;
- Humidity: 49%;
- Heat Index: 51°F;
- Wind Chill: 49°F;
- Pressure: 30.33 in.;
Posted in Lighting tests, Things
Also tagged 70s, af-s zoom-nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8 if-ed, Amp, Aperture, Aperture Priority, art, background, Backgrounds, black, black and white, camera, Camera Flash, Camera Flashes, Cat, CLS, color, Colors, Couple, Crowds, D2x, d300, Developer, diffuser, Duri, education, equipment, eyes, Eyes Of The Devil, F1, face, family, Feet, File Test, film, flash, flash diffuser, flash gun, flash photography, flash test, Flickr, Flight School, Focal Length, germany, girl, Girl In The World, girls, hand, Head, Heir, human, Human Face, Image, Images, Ink, Inti, Iso, Job, Jobs, lens, Light, Light And Shadow, man, Manikin Head, Modes, Natural, natural light, Nikkor, nikon, nikon d300, omni-bounce om-sb5, one, Ounce, Outsider, People, person, Personality, Photo, Photo Tip, photogenics, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photographs, Photography, Photos, picture control file, Places, portrait, Portraits, Pose, Prints, pro, Quick Test, red eye, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph, rs-df100 flexidome flash diffuser, Sb, sb-800, Sb5, School Classmates, Shadow, shot, Shoulders, speedlight, Stan, stand, standing, studio, studio lights, Target, Test, ttl, west germany, White Film
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D300 Picture Control File Test
A test of the 4 included picture modes included with the D300 and 4 downloadable Picture Control Files; the 3 D2X modes and Ken Rockwell’s PCF.
JPEGs right out of the camera, just labeled and resized for here. Settings the same for all shots.
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/180)
Aperture: f/6.7
Focal Length: 85 mm
WB = Auto
To MY eyes on MY monitor, the D2Xmode1 comes closest to the colors on the actual painted wooden duck , Standard is close. Again, that conclusion is based on MY eyes on MY monitor.
Lighting with a SB-800 and SB-600.
cut and paste for 1412 by 1062 size.
Posted in Lighting tests
Also tagged Aperture, camera, color, Colors, Conclusion, Cut And Paste, D2x, d300, eyes, File Test, Flickr, Focal Length, Ken Rockwell, Light, Modes, Paint, Pcf, People, Photo, Photos, picture control file, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph, Sb, sb-800, shot, Stan, stand, Test, Wooden Duck
1 Comment
Follow Me
Something soft & sexy, something mean and something in-between
Most every time I work with a new model I get asked the same question: What should I bring to wear?
There is no doubt that clothing, makeup and the ability to ‘strike a pose’ are important to a successful portrait/modeling session. However, the most essential asset a model can bring to the studio or location is the ability to interact with the camera.
My job at a shoot is to make them look as best I am able given my limited skills with lighting and equipment. I cannot, however, do it alone. You have seen that cell phone snapshot that drew you in; you have also seen a professional portrait that, although technically sound, just leaves you feeling that something misfired. A model must have an understanding they are not trying to tease/seduce/influence me as the photographer: They must make the connection with the viewer of the photograph.
My answer to the outfit question: Bring something soft & sexy, something mean and something in-between.
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