Entries in candid (49)
Indian Rocks Beach 12 Person Candid Family Portraits in the afternoon
Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 3:35PM Jason Collin 
Baby in the air on Indian Rocks Beach candid family portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power frame left & SB-600 @ 1/2 power frame right rearIt was an unusual family beach portrait session for me in two regards. First, it was a large family of 12 people out on Indian Rocks Beach. The more people the bigger the challenge of course. Secondly, the client requested a 4pm start time since there were very young children in the shoot who could not stay awake for a more traditional sunset shoot which that day would have been until 7:50pm. This latter condition though led to a new style shot I had not tried before (above) that I really like having one parent hold the baby in the air with the other parent looking on behind.
Afternoon on Indian Rocks Beach large 12-person family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightIn order to fight the power of the afternoon sun and still have the water in the background, I had to set my speedlights to 1/2 power to fill in the light on everyone's faces and also carefully angle everyone to get as much blue in the sky as possible. That along with basically four babies in the photo made for a bit of a challenge! I was very pleased with the result though. It came out better than I thought possible for a middle of the afternoon portrait in direct sunlight.
This family told me they make this same photo year after year - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThey told me that they all make this same pose year after year and having many photos over time showing it. I am glad to contribute the 2013 version of it!
Candid kids playing on Indian Rocks Beach - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/250th natural lightGetting all the babies close together was a no-go even with parents sitting them right next to each other, so leaving them to their own devices I had to do some moving myself to make this candid shot.
12-person family walking down Indian Rocks Beach candid portrait photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/500th natural lightA big action shot with 12 people on Indian Rocks Beach which was at least not crowded at that time of the day on a weekday afternoon!
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VIP EYE CARE St. Petersburg Customer Appreciation Event 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012 at 3:05PM Jason Collin 
VIP Eye Care boutique customer choosing new frames - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 1/10 ISO 800 zooming in while shutter pressed & Nikon SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedI have a long relationship with VIP EYE Care in St. Petersburg. They have been both my source of eye care and also a loyal photography client (see here). My lastest photography assignment for them was photographing their 2012 Customer Appreciation Celebration event.
A packed boutique at VIP Eye Care - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 1/60th ISO 800 Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedI roamed around photographing candids of customers checking out all the fashionable eyeglass frame choices. I learned that choosing a new pair of glasses is quite an involved decision. In fact, I saw several people looking whan I arrived at 6pm and only finally decided just before I left at 8pm!
This pair or that pair? - Nikon D80 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/100th Nikon SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedI also started to pick up on some insider jargon, always something I like to do. There are letter and number code names for specific lens shapes. Not surprisingly, new designs are carefully kept secret I also heard from one vendor.
Even babies tried new glasses - Nikon D80 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/100th with Nikon SB-600 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedEven a baby got to try on some new shades during the celebratory event. I am very thankful for the continued business from VIP Eye Care and highly recommend Dr. Henri if you are looking for a very good eye doctor.
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Clearwater Ribbon Cutting Event for 211 Tampa Bay Cares
Friday, September 14, 2012 at 4:26PM Jason Collin 
A festive ribbon cutting at 211 Tampa Bay using many pairs of scissors! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 on hotshoe @ 1/4 powerOne of my favorite types of photography jobs I get our ribbon cutting events. This Wednesday I got to photograph no less than two ribbon cuttings for 211 Tampa Bay as they held a morning event and an afteroon one too. The morning was hosted by the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce so I got to see some old friends from there and other networking regulars. It was really tight quarters for where they wanted to do the ribbon cutting. I had to stand about 4 feet up on a ladder to get high enough to clear a wall of cubicles to make the above shot.
There were a lot of iPads and iPhones featuring the 211 Tampa Bay app to try out - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 on hotshoe @ 1/4 powerI immediately saw that 211 Tampa Bay utilizes a lot of tech access via apps for the iPhone and iPad. They had some staff members giving demonstrations with chances for visitors to get hands on with the apps themselves also.
The Mayor of Largo Patricia Gerard (center) - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 on hotshoe @ 1/4 powerThe Mayor of Largo Patricia Gerard attended the morning ribbon cutting ceremony along with 211 Tampa Bay board members. Everyone wants a photo op with the mayor!
Sharing laughs at the 211 Tampa Bay ribbon cutting event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 on hotshoe @ 1/4 powerThere was a lot to do at this event from using tech like the iPad to taking a tour of the call center, and of course eating and having laughs with friends. Everyone with 211 Tampa Bay was very friendly. It was a good atmosphere to shoot in.
I resisted using an iPad so I did not feel the need to get one of my own! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 on hotshoe @ 1/4 powerI look forward to continuing to be the photographer for 211 Tampa Bay. It is always nice to be able to photograph a fun event, expand my business network and of course provide the client with images they will enjoy for years to come.
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Honeymoon Island State Park Family Beach Portraits Candid Sunset
Wednesday, July 4, 2012 at 5:49PM Jason Collin 
Candid Family Beach Portrait at Sunset on Honeymoon Island State Park - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 in front of subjects & SB-600 behind & to the right of subjectsThe streak continues for photographing past clients. This time it was DSLR Photography Lesson student Angela's family for sunset beach portraits out at Honeymoon Island State Park. We had to reschedule our candid portrait session three times due to various weather, including tropical storm Debbie. There was a bit of a time issue as well as one of Angela's daughters was soon off to college! In the end we had perfect weather for the entire shoot.
Family Beach Portrait on a swinging bench on Honeymoon Island State Park - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-600 to frame left & SB-800 to frame right
This bench swing was the first and only prop we used during our photo session. With a little careful arranging the entire family of five were able to (comfortably?) fit on the bench. To make the image more candid and natural I had them actual swing back and forth, capturing this image as they swung farthest forward. This also helped solve a problem with shadows coming from the beams holding up the swing.
Trying out new poses during this family beach portrait session - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-600 to frame left & SB-800 to frame right
Using a handy new iPhone posing app, I showed the family exactly how I wanted them to arrange themselves for a more together looking portrait than if they were all just sidding side-by-side or even in a standard two-row pose. This was Angela's favorite photo from the session.
A 60's sitcom promo inspired shot - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/80th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame right
The above image is also an entirely new shot I never made before. I asked if everyone was willing to lie down on the sand. Everyone agreed and we were thus able to make this fun photograph that somehow reminds me of The Monkees or other such 60s era type of promo shot. Since they were wearing white shirts and the sand was off-white, I decided to convert the image to black & white as there was little color in it.
Sisters having fun on Honeymoon Island State Park - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 next to camera & SB-600 behind to the right
We had a theme going of giving piggy-back rides which the three sisters continued for their siblings only shot. This is yet another uniquely composed beach portrait staggering height rather than depth, creating a vertical look in a square framing.
Moon rising over Honeymoon Island State Park family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/80th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightAs we were finishing the family beach photo session, I noticed the moon rising and a great purple sky. Now I have made a shot very similar to this one before a few years back much further south near the Tradwinds Resort. Surprisingly similar as I myself look at them both side-by-side right now. I was glad that Honeymoon Island State Park provided such a variety of backgrounds for what I consider one of my very best family beach portrait sessions ever. I have to give a lot of the credit to Angela and her family for their relationships with each other and how well they all interact and can simply just have fun and be themselves, even though I am surrounding them with speedlights and pointing my lens at them.
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Vinoy Park Pet Portrait with Beth and Logan dog St. Petersburg
Monday, June 18, 2012 at 9:34PM Jason Collin 
Beth & Logan in Vinoy Park for their human & pet portrait session - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame right SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame leftOn a blustery evening I met long-time dog park friend Beth and her Australian shepherd Logan for a dog and human candid portrait session. As I have written about before, it is much different when working with a client you already know, in fact I would go so far as to say it is nearly totally different. We started out with The Pier and Tampa Bay as the background.
Candid pet portrait with Beth & Logan dog - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left SB-600 @ 1/4 power behind benchNext we went over to the bench with the best view in all of downtown St. Petersburg. From it you can see the entire downtown skyline with a fantastic sunset view on most evenings. Logan, however, was much more interested in passing inline skaters than the view!
Candid smiling pet portrait with Beth & Logan dog - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left SB-600 @ 1/4 power behind benchIt was way, way too windy to use any light modifiers besides a couple of diffuser caps on my speedlights. For this shot I placed one on a lightstand to frame left and the other on a tripod directly behind the bench. I used my trusty Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens for all these shots. The wind though did have one benefit, that being keeping temperatures very tolerable and actually rather comfortable, even for me shooting and scurrying about setting up the shots.
Beth & Logan all smiles in Vinoy Park - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame right SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame leftIt was a lot of fun to make these photographs for Beth and Logan. By nature a portrait session including a dog has to be candid so for me it was just a matter of getting my lights where I wanted them and letting Beth enjoy spending time with Logan and pushing the shutter.