The Skilled Photographer 3DVD set

We are getting closer to the release date of August 1, for The Skilled Photographer 3 DVD set.
All new material, all new demonstrations, this picks up where Jump Start Your Photography ends.
Ken has been working continuously on the editing. It looks like all three DVDs are full to capacity or close to it. Lots of instruction and live demonstrations.

We wanted to out do ourselves with this and make it even better than the Jump Start. That's a pretty tall order because Jump Start Your Photography has been getting nothing but 5 star reviews. Whether on Amazon or emails or at the seminars people are telling us how Jump Start has dramatically improved their understanding of photography.

The new schedule is set for this fall and a new series of seminars. As soon as we are done with the DVDs we will start to give all the details. For the next week we are focused on getting the DVDs out.

Making Tomato Sauce for the Year

It's that time of the year when the Italians' biological clock clicks in and we are compelled to make the tomato sauce for the year. This genetic trait is predominantly Italian although some other races have been known to carry a less potent trace of this gene. Others are infected with the gene when married to an Italian.
In centuries gone by it was thought that tomatoes were poisonous. In England tomatoes were thrown at actors performing Shakespeare by the audience when the actors forgot their lines.
This practice soon stopped when the audience realized that Italian actors would screw up the lines on purpose while performing Romeo and Juliet so they could get their tomatoes for free. Which brings up a common misconception that people have about how Juliet died. No she did not drink poison. She ate canned tomato paste. Poor Juliet,what a horrible way to go.
The Italians' addiction to tomato sauce goes back even further. Julius Caesar was quoted as saying, " Right about now I would die for a plate of spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce, et tu Brute?"

Here is the secret to making really fantastic tomato sauce. First you have to start with really ripe tomato's. About 12 cases of red Plum tomatoes will yield enough sauce to last a family of 4 the whole year. Unless you invite the relatives over one too many times.

Next you throw them in water and let them cook. When they start to split open they are cooked. Take them out and pass them through a strainer. Take the strained sauce and put it in Jars with a couple of basil leaves and close the lid tightly. Some people, like my wife, will add a pinch of salt before closing the lid so it will last longer. She says that unfortunately the same technique does not work on people. Hey! what's that supposed to mean?

Lastly you put the jars in a pot with water and you count 1 hour from the time when the water starts to boil. After which you let the jars and water cool together. If you take the jars out the cold air will crack them and your Italian wife will crack both your legs for letting that happen after all that work.

There is an old Italian wives' tail that if you have sex the night before making tomato sauce the jars will all go bad. Fortunatly this is not true otherwise you would see a lot of Italian men walking around with crutches and eating their pasta with a little olive oil.

In conclusion, when your Italian wife says to you, "Honey, it's time to make the sauce." She really means it's time to make the tomato sauce and you better listen to her. Things can get ugly if you miss the yearly cycle because tomato season is over.

And you thought I only know photography.

All filming complete

Just finished all filming for the new DVD set The Skilled Photographer. Besides 3 great lectures on Composition, Camera Functions, and Lighting there are tons of live demonstrations. We photographed dogs, horses, people, motorcycles, flowers, you name it. Of course we picked the hottest days to do this so not only did we have to pack up all the gear but lots of bottled water and towels.

I got to walk the horse while his owner got her riding gear on. You don't realize how powerful a horse is till you stand next to one.

Ken says he'll have the whole thing edited by mid July. I say the 1st of August. We should bet on it. If he wins I buy him a pizza. If I win he buys me one of those motorcycles I photographed.

Anyway, we shot way more material than Jump Start Your Photography and that has been getting stellar reviews on Amazon. So we are aiming to out do ourselves for this one.

Here are preliminary dates for the new seminars we are having in Florida

Sunday, October 17 Tampa

Sunday, October 24 Orlando

Sunday, November 7 Boca Raton

Sunday, November 14 Fort Meyers

We will know 100% in the next 2 weeks. Untill then keep taking photographs.

Posing techniques DVD

What's Going On? A new posing DVD !

I have been getting emails asking what I am up to. Am I still on planet Earth?

I have not sent out a Newsletter in over a month and also not posted any blogs in about the same time. The reason for this is Ken and I have been busy producing the "Posing with Attitude" DVD.

It is almost 2 hours long (116 minutes) and is split up in 2 parts. The lecture and the live sessions.

There are examples of men, women, couples, children, and families. We had a pet segment (dog) but had to cut it out as it did not fit.

It is on sale on http://www.amazon.com/ for $29.95. Search for "posing with attitude".

Many are also asking when is the next installment of "Jump Start Your Photography" DVD coming out? I just finished the Powerpoint presentation and am practicing the presentation so it flows smoothly when we film it.

We got so many outstanding reviews for "Jump Start" that we don't want to dissappoint anyone by rushing the next set. Our goal is to exceed everyones expectations with "The Skilled Photographer". More composition, more lighting, more camera functions, more live photo sessions. More but all new material. The Skilled Photographer simply picks up where Jump Start left off.

Photos by Missy at the 2 Day Workshop

Missy got some great shots in Orlando and Tampa. The one on the left was in Tampa at USF.

Using the Diagonal line in Composition within a horizontal format makes for an interesting composition.

Using no flash or reflectors the lighting on the model is also excellent. Not to mention the relaxed expression. Whether we took the photos in the day or at night you can see we all used a tripod for accuracy. Some of the photos were taken at a shutter speed as low as 1/4 of a second. After editing the photos she made the photo below into a black and white. This is one of the photos taken on the porch of the place we stayed at. The lighting is natural light without flash or reflectors. Directional light coming from the left and causing slight shadows on the right. I say slight because you can still see detail in the shadows. They are not black. The use of the Dominant Subject Rule and Informal Composition make this a Professional Portrait to be proud of.

Although a little cool in the shade the day in Tampa was a lot warmer than Orlando. Every now and then we got that little gust of wind to help out with the hair. Again, I really like the expressions. They are very natural and not forced or fake. Good rapport with the model is key. The more confident you are with the technique the more energy you can put to establishing a connection or rapport with the model. Lighting and Composition are important but it's the expression that sells the photo.

If you are wondering which camera she used or what lens I purposely left that out. Everyone at the workshop had Canon, Nikon, and Sony cameras. Lenses ranged from the expensive to economical. Yet everyone walked away with terrific photos. That's because Missy and the rest of the photographers invested in themselves and learned technique.

All the equipment in the world can't save you but a little equipment with the right technique will yield amazing results.

Great job Missy!

Tammie Workshop photos

Orlando and USF Photos by Tammie

Cable release in one hand giving directions with the other. Tammie has it under control. Really that's what professional photography is about. Having control so things turn out as you planned. If someone is paying for the photos they (photos) should turn out to their expectations. The only way that will happen is if you have control over what you are doing.

Tammie has some really good Photoshop skills to enhance the photos. Vignetting (darkening of edges) and converting to black and white as well as retouching. However, she "enhances" the photos not "fixes" them. Her composition is on the money and so is the lighting. Excellent studio portrait. Except these were taken on a porch with ambient light and not studio lights. Look at how accurate the 45 degree lighting is (Short 45 to be exact). Detail in the highlights and detail in the shadows. A perfect exposure.

Same holds true of the photo to the left of the young man. The hat is cut off. That's because she placed the eyes on the top third where they belong. It's a photo of him not the hat. I really think she nailed the expressions as well. Honest, real expressions and not fake or forced smiles. Looking at their eyes they are focused and full of expression.

The nighttime photo of the young lady on the right is very impressive. This was taken with just one flash on camera and a slow shutter speed to pick up the ambient light in the background. Photo was taken on a tripod. Not a lot of equipment but a lot of results.

The 2 days in Orlando were freezing (for Florida anyway). Everyone did a great job. A lot of credit has to be given to the models who were wearing light clothes. Tammie, Missy and Paula got sick and had to leave the second day. We met in Tampa at USF a week ago to finish things up and it was still cold. Sometimes you just can't get a break.

These next set of photos were taken at USF. I could write a book with all the photos that everyone took. When one of our models got cold we let her take a break and wear her coat. So everyone started taking photos of her in her coat.

Terrific use of the Diagonal line in these next set of photos not to mention the lighting. Exposure is also exact. Again, note the expressions. This means there was a good rapport with the model.
In all the photos so far the choice of background has been terrific. The backgrounds are very simple and not busy. Choosing a backdrop that does not take away from the subject is key. It's very easy as a photographer to get caught up with the pretty flowers or so many other things that will take away from the subject. There are so many other photos I would like to put on this blog. I could go on and on.

Great job Tammie!

But wait! One last thing.

A quick thanks to Ken Cherry for all the great photos of us in action. This is a shot of Ken I took a few months ago with his video camera. We were all so busy taking photos of the models and he was busy taking photos of us that no one took photos of Ken.

Studio Backdrop

Studio Scenic Backdrops are synonymous with professional photography!

Nothing says "professional" to your client like a studio backdrop. It just has this classical look that can't be gotten any other way. Add the studio lights for absolute control and accuracy of light patterns and it spells professional.

I love the realism of the outdoor on location portrait. If I want columns in the photo I go somewhere where there are real columns in my background.
So what is it about those painted fake backdrops that I like?

The fantasy! They are not real and are undefined so they are more dreamy and full of fantasy. Very idealistic. In these photos the only thing that is real is the bride. Someone real surrounded by fantasy.
Change the photo into a black and white and you have the ultimate idealistic image.

This reminds me of photos taken in the 1920's and 1930's. Where people went to a professional photographer and took the photos in the studio.

Back then taking the huge and cumbersome view camera outdoor was a nightmare. So the photographer created the fantasy of the outdoor with the painted backdrop.

There was no color so to warm up the skin tones there was Sepia. Not only did sepia add warmth to the skin tones it also now gives a feeling of nostalgia.

So here is how I took these photos;

I used three Novatron portable studio lights. The camera was set at ISO 100. The shutter speed was 100 and the f/stop was 5.6.

The main light was to the left as you look at the photo (slightly behind the models shoulder or 90 degrees). There was a second main light to the left of the camera ( about a stop and a half weaker than the first main light). Lastly there was an overall fill light to the right of the camera. The fill was about a stop weaker than the second main. The light was directional and was wrapped around the subject. Lighting straight out of the Renaissance.

I thought I would take a break from the Orlando workshop photos and share this with you. Next blog will focus on another photographer that attended the 2 day workshop. So who will it be? Hmmm, there are 2 more plus, Tammie, Missy, and Paula who finished there second day in Tampa.