Photography Lessons

DSLR Photography Lesson with Kathleen & her Canon 5D Mark II

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Kathleen wields her full frame Canon 5D Mark II during our DSLR photography lesson in St Petersburg

My DSLR Photography Lesson with Kathleen was the first time a student had a full frame DSLR.  Her Canon 5D Mark II did not look that much different than past students' Canon 7D DSLRs to my surprise.  I thought it would have more buttons, etc.  Despite having such a powerful camera, Kathleen was still shooting in auto mode! (I was also surprised the 5D Mark II even had an auto mode.)  So we definitely had to remedy that right away to help her start getting the most of her full frame DSLR.

Kathleen also had a very nice L series Canon f/4 17-40mm lens.  No limits with gear!  To get Kathleen off auto mode I explained how to shoot in aperture priority mode, set ISO and white balance, and choose the correct focus modes for a variety of shooting situations.  She had accidentally produced shots with bokeh in the past, but I taught her how to do it on purpose.  

We ended the lesson with flash portrait practice.  I look forward to seeing the improvements in Kathleen's shots, as well as to our next lesson. 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson #6 with Rosa at Westshore Mall!

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    Rosa wanted to practice indoor shooting, so we met in Westshore Mall

    Rosa is the second student now to take six DSLR Photography Lessons with me (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th).  She had some trouble photographing friends and family indoors, despite getting a very nice new lens, a Tamron 17-50mm VC f/2.8, the successor to a lens I use myself.  So to simulate indoor shooting conditions we came up with the idea of shooting in a mall.  I was a little concerned about breaking out DSLR cameras in a mall, but early in the lesson a security guard walked right by us and paid us no attention at all, which was a relief.  

    We started out trying to get the best results from the new fast lens she bought by shooting at f/2.8 with no flash and a somewhat high ISO of 800.  These settings, combined with firm camera holding technique, allowed Rosa and I to get acceptable sharpness in our shots, like the one featured above.

    Photo by Rosa, editing by me.This lesson was also a first for teaching photo editing also.  Rosa brought her laptop and set it alongside my MacBook Pro on the table above and I showed her how I would go about editing some of the portraits she took.  She had Adobe Photoshop Elements.  It was my first time to use it, but since I am experienced with the full version of Photoshop, I was able to figure things out eventually.  As important as it is to learn about aperture, ISO and white balance, I think it is equally important to learn editing skills too.  I look forward to having another hybrid shooting/editing with Rosa soon. 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson with Indre in downtown St. Petersburg

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    One thing most students need to be reminded of is to shoot in portrait orientation too!

    Evening DSLR Photography Lessons are becoming more common as Florida's temperatures increase.  Thus I met Indre in downtown St. Petersburg at 6pm for our first lesson together.  She has owned a Nikon D40 for about six months, but had mostly been shooting in the pre-set modes, something one definitely does not want to do with a DSLR camera!  They are very poor in those auto settings.  After our two hour lesson finished, Indre had the knowledge to shoot in aperture priority mode in a number of different situations and if she is brave enough will not have to use auto modes again!

    At Vinoy Park I thought we would have a chance to photograph some dolphins feeding and intensely splashing around.  I had a feeling though that by the time we walked over the dolphins would be gone.  Of course, as soon as we got within range, the splashing stopped and the swam off into Tampa Bay.  Of course.

    Indre is a very interesting person, originally from Lithuania (I have also been having more international students lately) with family across Europe actually.  So in between photography talk I enjoyed hearing more about her life.  She is taking a trip to the Smoky Mountains soon so I look forward to seeing her landscape and others shots when she returns. 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson with April in St Petersburg

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    April and I had a very relaxed DSLR Photography Lesson in St PetersburgThe new late spring time I start my DSLR Photography Lessons at is 9am, in an attempt to beat the heat.  So that is when new student April and I met in downtown St. Petersburg.  Thanks to a decent breeze and low humidity, the weather for our lesson was almost pleasant.  

    April is a new DSLR owner, a Nikon D5000, a great budget choice for entering into the world of DSLR photography.  She had some exposure to a pro photographer in her past so she was familiar with photography terms and knew her way around her D5000's menus pretty well already.  In our lesson we focused on learning how to set the right aperture, ISO, white balance and focus mode for various typical shooting conditions.

    While we walked around the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront park area, the third largest in all of North America, I had a very good time getting to know April better as we shared a few stories about non-photography topics as well.  

    We ended up in Vinoy Park practicing how to compose landscape portraits, i.e. do not put the horizon across the person's head, get the person's head above the horizon actually, and while you are at it keep that horizon straight!  I look forward to more lessons with April in the near future. 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson with Libby at Florida Botanical Gardens

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    Macro photography especially requires you to check and change your settings constantly

    My second DSLR Photography lesson with my youngest student, Libby (1st lesson), was my first time to have a lesson at the Florida Botanical Gardens, which turned out to be an excellent location.  We focused exclusively on macro photography this time, in particular, flowers.  We must have photographed ten different kinds of flowers in two hours, as well as different colors of some types.  We ran out of time before we ran out of subject material.  

    Now with a DSLR you really need to have a dedicated macro lens to get the best macro photography results.  Unlike point-and-shoot digital cameras that are jack-of-all-trades, if you simply turn the settings dial on your DSLR to its macro mode (if it has one), this will not magically transform it into a camera capable of making a macro shot.  Therefore, I have no idea why camera makers have these "presets" on lower-end DSLR cameras.  

    Libby did not have a dedicated macro lens, but we made due with what she had (17-50mm kit lens).  Besides having a macro lens, to be able to make a macro shot like you see in magazines you need a sturdy tripod and excellent lighting, like a ring flash of some kind.  Macro photography is hard.

    However, it is great for getting a photographer to become obsessed with checking and changing settings, which I always tell my students to do.  You might be photographing a white flower in shade and next trying to photograph a purple flower in direct sunlight.  Significant settings changes are required to shoot in such varied conditions.  I bet Libby's thumbs were getting sore from changing aperture, ISO and exposure compensation so much!

    I had a very good time exploring the gardens with Libby during our lesson and look forward to bring more students to this exciting new DSLR photography lesson location.   

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson with Mohammad at Vinoy Park

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    Mohammad and his new Canon T2i with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens at Vinoy Park

    Mohammad is the first DSLR Photography Lesson student of mine to have the Canon T2i camera.  Before the lesson we talked several times on the phone discussing which one he should buy.  He was also considering the Canon 7D, but as the body alone would have eaten up most of his budget, I recommended he get the T2i and invest the rest in a good lens, which he did, the Tamron XR Di II 17-50m f/2.8, the same lens I use for a majority of my paid work.  

    As we walked around downtown St. Petersburg ending up at Vinoy Park, we discussed the usual DSLR photography basics, like how to make a shot with bokeh, how to photograph a moving object, and how to compose a landscape shot, but we also talked a lot about traveling.  I found out that Mohammad is also a world traveler and we have been to several of the same places, least of which was the island of Koh Chang in Thailand.  It seemed a heck of a coincidence to talk about such a not so popular Thai island all the way here in St. Petersburg (my experience at Koh Lanta).  

    We were treated to another great evening of spring weather Florida-style for the lesson.  

    Once Mohammad returns from a trip to Mexico I look forward to hearing all about it in our second lesson. 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson #3 with Carmen at Fossil Park

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    Fossil Park provided a surprisingly nice backdrop for our 3rd DSLR Photography LessonIt was three months since our last DSLR Photography Lesson together, so for this our 3rd lesson Carmen (1st, 2nd) had quite a few questions and photos to show me at the start of the 2-hour lesson.  I am always pleased when students are at least out practicing and getting good use out of their DSLRs.  That then gives us something to build on during subsequent lessons.  For example, Carmen photographed some of her family in the evening time wanting to get a water backdrop.  I was able to look at the settings she used for those shots and specifically tell her what she could have adjusted to improve the shots.  Then we actually practiced the same type of landscape portrait shots together to try and build "photography muscle memory" so she could remember on her own for the next time she photographed her family.

    Another focus of this lesson was on exposure compensation, the +/- button on your DSLR.  I was the model and first stood in direct sunlight, facing the sun, Carmen with her back to the sun as the photographer should be.  The portrait came out with me looking very light and harsh shadows under my eyes, basically making my eyes invisible.  How to correct this?  Move me (the subject/model) into shade.  We kept all settings the same.  The photograph was greatly improved, although a little underexposed.  The final step was adjusting her Nikon D5000's exposure compensation to +0.7 which produced a very pleasing natural light portrait that was night and day different from the two before.  If you do not have an external flash, adjusting your exposure compensation and placing the subject in shade can still produce some good looking outdoor portraits.

    I look forward to seeing Carmen's improved portraits! 

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