Another Photo Shoot Tomorrow...

I've just been preparing all my gear, formatting memory cards, charging batteries etc ready for the second half of the school photoshoot tomorrow.

I'm looking forwards to it. Apparently the (part time) staff who couldn't make it last time are really excited as they saw the photos from the first session and loved them.

I'll post some shots afterwards. Things I'm going to do differently tomorrow based on what I leanred first time around...

• Turn the ambient (flourescent) lighting off.
• Seperate subject from the background with more distance and get the background light in a better position to blow the background white.
• Get them to lick their lips before taking the shot. (can't remember where I read this)
• Interact more and direct the posing . Get poeple to smile more naturally via interaction jokes.threats of photoshopping in warts and spots :-)
• May be set the short lighting up from the opposite and swap poses 180degrees so not all facing left.

And one thing I must remember is to ask people if it's OK to put their photos on my blog and add them to my long neglected 100 strangers project. http://www.flickr.com/photos/marklandon/sets/72157611320280959/

...and finally I must get some business cards printed out. I've been looking at some from "moo" via Flickr. Having some cards to give out to people at these shoots wouldn't do my word of mouth advertising any harm at all !!

Full Spectrum

Full Spectrum
Originally uploaded by Mark1970Vintage

Another attempt at water drops on a DVD and I'm much happier with the results this time. This was done in day light with a much more definitive light source... the window is fairly obvious in the reflection.

Processed in Lightroom with a large amount of clarity and increse ont he blacks slider to make the colours really pop and the dark grey DVD surface go black.

This reminds me of my favourite Pink Floyd Album " Dark Side of the Moon"

I love how the streak of colour coming in from the left goes from red/orange through to yellow/green.

Taken with a 100mm macro lens with a 250D screw in filter attached for extra magnification. Each water drop was probablt < clear="all">

Splashing Around

Splashing Around
Originally uploaded by Mark1970Vintage

Splashing Around
I was running out of time to come up with a shot for the Autumn themed monthly photo competition at work . The recent storms and rain have brought most of the foliage down off the trees. There is one nice bit left in Windsor great Park but when I went up there on Saturday it was raining so the camera stayed firmly in the bag... I've learned my lesson about getting it wet (see my star trails photo).

I thought I would take advantage of the rain and the puddles by having some fun with my kids. Dress them up in bright clothes and welies and try to get some frozen water and refelction action going on as they jump up and down in puddles. Half an hour and lots of fun later this was the best shot of the bunch and I have my entry to the autumn competition.

Canon EOS 40D, EFS 17-55mm IS USM, 580EXII strobe.

20mm. 1/250 sec, f/8 +1EV flash. Manual exposire mode to ensure the low lighting di not lead to a slow shutter speed and blur. Using manual means that camera uses the flash to expose the subject vs using ambient to expose for the background with the subject "filled" with flash. Slightly cropped plus boosted exposure, blacks, clarity, saturation and sharpening in lightroom.

Flickr 50,000 Hits Since I Joined

Flickr 50,000 Hits Since I Joined
Originally uploaded by Mark1970Vintage

I joined Flickr back in June 2008 and was fairly slow uploading images. It was only when my Canon 40D DSLR arrived in September that I got more serious. I've experimented with a lot of things over the last 18 months, portraits, still life, macro, strobist lighting, freezing motion etc etc and I've certainly learned a heck of a lot. I've been really pleased to have been asked and be able to photograph a friends wedding, 2 christenings, a holy communion and recenlty a set of head shots for a local school.

When I look at my "most interesting shots" see link below I am really pleased with the quality of what I can produce, not just out of camera but with some post processing in Lightroom and Photoshop to take things to the next level. Looking at some of the other shots on Flickr that I admire I've still got a long way to go... but I will find that magic explore place sometime soon !!

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/marklandon/popular-interesting/

I'm helping to set up a photography group at work and it's great to see that there is so much interest ranging from complete beginners to seasoned experts. There will be a range of themed monthly competitions and regular seminars, tutorials etc. It's the subject of this first tutorial that I'm blogging about today. I've always suspected I was a bit of a geek when it comes to gear and kowing how to use it but this was confirmed on Wednesday lunchtime when I took a few fellow Canon DSLR owners "under my wing" for some basic training on their camera. I take my own level of knowledge forgranted and was very pelased to be able to share some basic information with the group that they just didn't know and were very grateful for. This was as simple as focus screen adjustment using the dioptre dial. Focus point selection using the quick slect wheel. SHutter half press to focus and recompose. (I know... I was amazed they didn't know how to use this either... does noone read the manual ?) They were basically using their expensive DSLr's as point and shoots and not venturing off the green "auto" function. We went into the basics of aperture and shutter speed and how to control DOF using aperture. I think shutter speeds was also a n insight for them too and made them realise why they were getting blured shots in low light. Basically theu were expecting this "majic" expensice DSLR to do everything for them without understanding the how and what limitations it has. In all we made good progress, I enjoyed teaching and they took a lot away and have some new skills to practice. Next time I think I'll use the camera tethered to a lap top so that we can get input from the group on how to change settings for a particular situation or effect, change them, and see the results straight away on the screen.

I Won a Photography Competition With This Shot !!

If The Pumpkin Closes Her Eyes, the Witch Can't Hypnotize Her !!
Originally uploaded by Mark1970Vintage

OK, so it's no big deal, there was no prize or anything... but the Kudos of being "voted" the winner. Come on, thats big !! Humungous !! ... and reward in enough itself :-) . The competition was in the "Unbearably cute" group on Flickr for their Halloween themed monthly competition.

The title of this shot is "If The Pumpkin Closes Her Eyes, the Witch Can't Hypnotize Her !!"

Here's my "winners notification"

"Kimberly Lynn says:
Congratulations, you are our first place winner of The Cutest Halloween Costume Contest! Unbearably Cute! "

Click on the image to go to my Flickr stream and see the lighting details.

Pro-Bono PhotoShoot for local School.

I had a great time this morning doing a "proper" photoshoot for a local school. The brief was to create some simple head and shoulders shots to update their website and school notice boards.

I spent a fun hour putting a lot of what I have learned into practice and look forwards to posting more of the resulting photos to my Flickr account soon.

This experience was invaluable and helped me to learn a lot including..... how difficult it can be to get some people smile.

• Knowing your gear, how it works, dialing in settings gives you confidence.


• Checking and readying gear (according to a checklist) the night before gives you peace of mind and lets you focus on the creative process vs technical issues.


• Turn off ambient lighting sources to avoid colour casts.


• Having a few poses in mind prior to shooting saves time and puts you in control.


• "Narrow" lighting is more flattering than broad.


• Interact with your models to make it less scary (for them) and a fun experience.


• Seperate the subject from the background more (difficult due to space limitation)


• Show people the shots you got on the camera LCD to get initial feedback.


• Some people just don't like being photographed OR the result... even if others love it.


• The strobist website has been invaluable in my learning experience.


• I am able to turn theory into practice and get a pretty good result.... judge for yourself when I post the images.


• A large school whiteboard makes a great background.


• I need more lighting gear !! (to blow out aforementioned white background)