Boca Raton Photography Class

Sunday, November 14, 2010 is the date for the Boca Raton Photography Seminar. Last year we held the class indoor and then went out side to take photos. This year we have 2 separate classes depending on what you would like to learn.

The morning class,
will cover camera functions like Shutter speeds, f/stops, getting the correct exposure, depth of field. What they are, how they work and how they work together.
Why is this important? Why not leave it on AUTO and just snap the picture? Until you are able to control the camera settings your camera will decide what the photo will look like when you snap the shutter. This is why you delete so many photos before getting the photo the way you want. Once you learn how to use the camera on MANUAL every photo you take will be good.
How this class will benefit you;
-Put the camera on MANUAL setting and take control of the outcome.
-Get consistent and predictable results.
-No more deleting half the photos
-use the settings creatively and get outstanding looking photos of ordinary things.
-make every photo a perfect exposure

The afternoon class
This class is all about lighting. I'll explain and show you studio lighting so you can master the techniques that will set you apart from every other photographer. Photography is all about creating your own unique style. Once you learn studio lighting you can apply it outdoors and on location. Turn every photo into a work of art. Unfortunate but true, most photographers today just snap. You will be one of the ones that create!
What you will learn;
-how to control light ratio
-light patterns
-which lights will help you be more creative
-which lights will make you the most money
-what to use on location
-which lights will give you more bang for the buck
This class will be in two parts . The lecture/instruction and then the live demo with model.

From a creative stand point this will open up a world of possibilities. From a financial outlook this will enable you to offer what most other photographers cannot. Studio photography is synonymous with professional photography. Get the competitive edge by learning studio lighting. Go to www.getthepicture.tv and check out the details.

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.

Photography by Joyce in Orlando

Two Day Orlando Photography Master Class. Photos by Joyce

They say bigger is better. I don't know if that is true but Joyce came with the mother of all lenses. The canon 100mm to 400mm L lens. As you go to the higher mm the background turns into blobs of color. Especially in the close up photography and wider f/stops. Later in this article you'll see examples of this.

Let's start with the studio photography. This photo was done using the Novatron portable studio lights. Notice the 90 degree lighting and detail in the eyes. This is not easy when your subject is wearing a hat. Keeping the shadow caused by the hat out of the eyes takes a little work. A really excellent portrait study. If the red bothers you it might look better in black and white. Keep in mind that the monitor you are viewing this on is contrasty and the shadows aren't as deep as they appear. Although the light ratio is high there is detail in the highlights and shadows. Which is the definition of a "perfect exposure".

This next studio portrait was done without the lights. It was taken on the porch of the apartment we stayed at using available light. Again bringing home the point that it is not the equipment but the expertise of the photographer that produces professional results. Although we used people for models this technique can be used for product and still life photography as well as pet photography. The subject does not matter.

Most of the time Joyce nailed the exposure to the point where it did not need any correction what so ever. The close up on the top left is an example. Even the color is right on. The more you get it right in the photography the less time on the computer fixing it. This leaves more time to take more photos.

And now for the 400mm mother of all lenses. The previous photos the lens was set at less than 400. The photo on the right the lens was set at 400mm and at its' widest aperture. I think f/4. Look at the background. No trees or bushes just blobs of color. It looks like a painted studio backdrop. The subject is tack sharp. This why I tell everyone not to worry about the depth of field. Just make sure your subject is in focus.

Lastly, we took some photos at night. Keep in mind that it was freezing. Look at the exposure of the background. It's right on the money. Most photographers will overexpose the background at night. Using flash to light the subject and ambient for the background makes for interesting photography. This is another shot that required no exposure or color adjustment. Straight out of the camera. I usually like color more than black and white but this shot looks really good in black and white. If I were either of these models would I pay for this photography? The better question is does Joyce accept credit cards?

Really terrific!