Entries in Clearwater (28)
TownePlace Suites Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater commercial pool shoot
Monday, November 5, 2012 at 9:15PM Jason Collin 
Photographing the same subject matter in different seasons or just a significant amount of time later is a very good personal photography project to do. It is rare to have that kind of opportunity with a commercial photography shoot, but that is just what happened when former clients TownePlace Suites Marriott Clearwater called and asked me to come make a new photograph of their outdoor swimming pool. They had updated the furniture and needed a new photograph to highlight the changes to the pool area.
For me it is interesting to see the differences in angles I chose in 2011 and 2012. The tighter shot of the pool in 2012 was no doubt influenced by the client wanting to see the new furniture in the shot better.
Here is an insider photo tip for shooting pools: do not get the entire pool in the shot, thereby leaving the exact size of the pool unknown to the viewer.
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Professional Headshot for Businesswomen in Clearwater Florida on location
Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 3:27PM Jason Collin 
This morning I returned to a Clearwater business office to finish making headshots of the entire staff. I photographed a majority of the staff in August, as seen here. Having shot on this location before and having taken detailed notes, I was able to setup very quickly and produce a consistent business headshot like I had two months earlier. The staff were again great to work with, which makes shooting a headshot much smoother.
I used my same two strobe setup, a SB-600 @ 1/8th power with diffuser cap pointed at the portable background and a SB-800 @ 1/4 power in a 43" brolly to subject's left with camera settings of f/7.1 ISO 200 & 1/100th shutter speed on my Nikon D300 with Nikkor AF ED 80-20mm f/2.8D lens.
Professional business headshots are available to be made right in your office, home or in my St. Petersburg home studio. The headshots are available for individuals or an entire business staff.
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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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Commercial High Tech Equipment Shoot in Clearwater for Nordson March
Monday, August 20, 2012 at 1:13PM Jason Collin 
A real worker being the model for this Nordson March commercial equipment shot - Nikon D300 (tripod mounted) Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/3 sec Strobist: SB-800 to frame left in 43" shoot through umbrella and SB-600 in same setup to frame right - white background added digitallyLast week I had an interesting commercial photography job in Clearwater that on the surface would sound super simple--photograph a large square machine in a warehouse, no editing required as the company's graphic artists would handle that as they use the images I make in online and print media materials. Easy right?
Well, nothing really is ever as easy as it seems in photography. The machine itself was about the size of two refrigerators and an off-white color, meaning reflections from any lighting I may use would be an issue. I used two 43" shoot through umbrellas to produce maximum light surface area in order to try and minimize hot spots on the machine. It took me quite a bit of time to position the umbrellas so that the upper corners of the machine did not appear as hot spots. However, once everything was setup, and since I was shooting on a tripod, each shot after that was rapid.
The purple lighting is the result of plasma being produced! - Nikon D300 (tripod mounted) Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/4th sec - Strobist: SB-800 to my left in 43" shoot through umbrella & SB-600 in same setup to my rightFour minutes after turning the machine on, plasma is produced inside! Seeing the plasma up close like that was kind of a David Banner moment for me! To have no glare on the LCD screen I had some of the warehouse staff hold up a white background sheet over me and the machine to diffuse the light and make the screen readable (in another closeup shot).
The two 43" shoot through umbrella setup I used to make all the shots for the shoot.The above photo is the setup I used to make the top photo in this post. All other shots were made with a similar arrangement of the two speedlights in the shoot through umbrellas. I have to thank the workers in the warehouse for their help holding the diffuser sheet and for not minding the good amount of space the shoot took up in the middle of their work day.
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Office Staff Business Headshots on location in office in Clearwater Florida
Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at 9:19PM Jason Collin 
Part of the staff I photographed on location making business headshots for the entire office in Clearwater FloridaThis morning I drove to Clearwater to photograph nearly the entire staff of a business. It is actually a planned two-part shoot that will entail me returning on another date yet to be determined to photograph the remaining staff. It was my first time to make so many headshots in a row, all told thirteen different shots. It was kind of fun for someone to walk in for a few minutes, see how they choose to smile, and then move on to the next person. No one was really camera shy so all I had to do was tell there where to point their toes and then which way to twist and look.
camera settings for headshots: f/7.1 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 in brolly @ 1/4 power & SB-600 with diffuser cap at 1/8 power pointed at backgroundI was provided with a near ideal space to make the headshots in--a long rectangular room free of obstacles and even a large table for me to spread all my gear out on. I leaned the collapsible photography background against the wall, setup my lights, dialed in camera and strobe settings, then it was just a matter of getting the best smile out of each person. No mess, no fuss! Nice.
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