Photography Tips

Photography Lesson with Dayna & her Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

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A first, a non-dslr photography lesson . . . Dayna & her Canon PowerShot SX130 ISThis morning's DSLR Photography Lesson was a first, in that it was not actually a DSLR lesson.  Visiting from Pennsylvania I made an exception for Dayna who has a Canon PowerShot SX130 IS point & shoot camera.  It actually had more manual controls than I thought.  The reason I do not offer photography lessons for P&S cameras is that they do not have enough (or any) manual controls, but most of all they are all so different it is impossible for me to know how to change settings on them in any kind of timely manner.  In contrast, I am familiar with all Nikon & Canon DSLR models, and also several Pentax and Sony DSLRs too.  

For anyone that thinks a photography lesson can begin with teaching composition or photography theory, when the student does not already know about aperture, ISO, WB and focus modes, well that cannot be done, or at least the student will get nothing out of it because they will still be hungup on what aperture they should be using, etc, not if they used the rule of thirds properly.

This was reinforced today with Dayna's lesson.  I thought I would just be teaching her how I look for and make shots, as we discussed via e-mail before, but I could not do that without first teaching her how to properly use aperture, ISO, WB and focus modes.  I firmly believe any potential photographer must first learn how to make a properly exposed, sharp image before even thinking about trying to produce the next National Geographic cover.  

So in this way Dayna and I largely had a typical lesson.  I taught her my settings progression (see above) and which settings to use in a variety of situations.  I also showed her the limits of her camera, so she knows if her hometown newspaper asks her to go photograph sports or any other type of moving subject, the camera they have supplied her with is not capable of it (due to 1 frame per second or slower drive speed).  More importantly, I helped her learn what her camera is capable of doing when used in manual mode, especially regarding getting that all important correct exposure.  The P&S's Av mode (aperture priority) was not good at all.  However, when we took over choosing the shutter speed it could produce solid images.

I hope Dayna enjoys the rest of her Florida visit and goes back and impresses her editors with her new photography knowledge!

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    DSLR Photography Lesson with Sherri & her Canon T3

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    St. Petersburg DSLR Photography Lessons - Sherri & her brand new Canon T3For a person who is new to the DSLR world, all the possible settings and just all the buttons and dials on the DSLR itself can be overwhelming.  That is why I try to simplify the shooting process by breaking it down into four main things in this order:  aperture, ISO, WB, focus mode.  So I proceeded during my first DSLR Photography Lesson with new student Sherri.  She has the Canon T3, a DSLR I had never even heard of being released until she inquired about lessons.  It is a very light and compact camera which seems well suited for travel, which is good since Sherri will soon visit China!  However, like all Canon DSLRs, I still find the ergonomics and button designations to be nonintuitive and overly complicated.  

    Sherri said she had been trying out and using all the presets on the exposure dial.  Right away I advised her to just paint over them with a black marker as the only two you will ever need are Manual (M) and Aperture Priority (A, Av).  Sherri has some legacy knowledge from her past experience with 35mm film cameras, so I helped to refresh her memory about what is a large aperture (f/2.8) and which focus mode to use when shooting moving subjects (AF-C, Ai-Servo).  

    It was a jam-packed 2-hour lesson of photography knowledge.  I advised Sherri to now go out and shoot at least 100 photos every day before her China trip to better familiarize herself with how to change settings on her T3, what settings to change to, and to know when it is best to use her 18-55mm lens or her 70-300mm lens.  

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    DSLR Photography Lesson with Kamila & her Nikon D90

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    Kamila practices using off camera flash with her Nikon D90; her friend modeled for us during the photography lesson.North Shore Park along the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront was the location for my first DSLR Photography Lesson with Kamila, who wanted to learn off camera flash (strobist) techniques to use in her own portrait and wedding photography work.  We used the Commander Mode of her Nikon D90, part of the Nikon CLS (creative lighting system), along with her Nikon SB-600 Speedlight as our strobist setup.  To use Commander Mode on your Nikon (D80, D90, D300 and up) in the Bracketing & Flash menu you have to set the built-in flash to Commander Mode.  Then on the speedlight, for instance the SB-600, one must hold the "ZOOM" and " - " buttons simultaneously until the menu comes up to then set the speedlight to Commander Mode as well.  

    Kamila brought one of her friends to model for her during the lesson.  At first we focused on dialing in the correct settings for the best exposure and lighting of the model.  For this we had to use Manual Mode exposure, which Kamila was hesitant about starting to use, but I reassured her that Manual Mode is nothing to be afraid of and really not much more difficult than using Aperture Priority Mode.  We ended the shooting portion of the lesson with a little posing advice and flattering composition style practice.  

    The remainder of the lesson was back at Kamila's house for training on how to use Photoshop CS5, perhaps the least intuitive program in existence.  Kamila had already downloaded and printed out my list of keyboard shortcuts.  This helped her follow along as I showed her my CS5 workflow.  We even had time for a quick tutorial on how to add a texture overlay to a photograph.  It was basically a jam packed 3-hour lesson!

    It was nice to get to meet Kamila's family and dogs while at the same time sharing with her my photographing techniques and philosophies (i.e. editing gimmicks = fail). 

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    DSLR Photography Lessons with Models - St. Petersburg Tampa Clearwater

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    LEARN DSLR PHOTOGRAPHY WHILE PHOTOGRAPHING A MODEL 

    • 1-on-1 photography lesson with Jason and one model -- Nadina, Nancy
    • option to use Jason's strobist, off-camera-flash setup (extra fee required)
    • locations in & around St. Petersburg (other locations available with travel fee) 

    Photography Tip - take the camera back out of the bag

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    Madeira Beach twilight sunset - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/4 ISO 800 1/60th handheld

    • use this image on your business website or decorate your office with a print -- contact for pricing 

    I had just finished an hour-long portrait session on Madeira Beach and already packed up my camera and all photography gear.  My hand was on the back hatch of the Lexus to close it shut.  Yet I could see through the windshield a beautiful twilight sunset . . . but I was tired.  All my camera was already back in its bag.  I just had to close the hatch and get in the comfortable driver's seat and head home to shower and dinner.  Then I told myself in my mind what anyone who thinks themselves a photographer should think: 

    • Don't be lazy, a REAL photographer would make the effort to get the shot 

    I took my hand off the back hatch, pulled my camera bag to the edge, opened it, took out my Nikon D300, took the lens cap off and was now once again ready to shoot.  You may note one lingering laziness, I did not use my tripod.  I handheld the above shot, but at 1/60th a second that is not hard to do if using proper DSLR holding technique.  

    After taking about a dozen shots of various composition, I felt satisfied that I had both not been lazy and got the shot I wanted.  The portrait session was for my client and my business, the last sunset silhouette shots were just for me.  Even if you have already put your camera back in your bag, do not hesitate to take it back out and get a shot if you see one.  That's what a real photographer does.

    DSLR Photography Lesson Furniture Product Shots 3 light setup

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    Three continuous light sources made for easy lighting setup with no undesired shadowsEach new DSLR Photography Lesson with Karin we add a little to the complexity of product shot we practice.  This time we needed a setup much larger than that for the pillows we previously photographed.  After some office space rearranging we used all three of her continuous lights for getting only the wanted shadows on a large, stuffed chair to be photographed for use in her website catalog.  This was surprisingly easy as the strobist techniques for photographing people largely apply to continuous light product photography as well.

    Yours truly demonstrating classic remote trigger techniqueKarin now has all the photography tools to make product photography like this very simple with no mess, no fuss.  Putting her new Nikon D5100 on a tripod, attaching the cable release and using Live View mode to see the image right on the back on the camera, plus using continuous lighting, means once we got all settings locked in and all lights positioned, the settings could be noted on paper and the light positions marked on the floor with tape so that consistent results can be produced shot after shot week after week.  This is the benefit of shooting in studio-like conditions.  

    For our next lesson, we may add tethering to our setup so that the images appear instantly right in Aperture 3 for preview on Karin's MacBook.  Exciting! 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson with Rose and her Canon 50D

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    Rose with her Canon 50D Vinoy Hotel in the backgroundMany of my DSLR photography students have abruptly gone from a regular point & shoot pocket digital camera to plunging into the DSLR world.  Then the DSLR sits on a shelf somewhere for a few months due to the initial hurdle in learning how to use it.  This is the exact situation my 1-on-1 private DLSR Photography Lessons are designed to remedy.  I met Rose on a pleasant Monday morning in downtown St. Petersburg for our first lesson.  She was a beginner not even knowing basic photography terms.  By the end of the 2-hour lesson, I had her using her Canon 50D in manual mode!  

    Now, I do not expect Rose to stay in manual mode from here on out, but she took thorough notes (recommended) throughout the lesson carefully noting what aperture, ISO, WB and focus mode we used for the various photography situations we practiced.  Therefore, she does not have to rely on her memory alone the next time she wants to make a shot with bokeh or freeze a fast moving subject.  She can refer to her notes and at least have a starting point for getting the type of shot she wants.  

    Rose, also like many other students, was surprised to learn that buying the DSLR itself (and accompanying kit lens) is just the start of the expense that is actively doing photography.  She was a bit shocked to learn the price of software (she asked about full Photoshop) for editing digital photos, plus that before she heads to New York later this week she really should buy an external flash if she wants to get the best results of photographing her friends & family inside restaurants and other dimly lit places.  I always advise the best value for money solutions, but even those are often several hundred dollar options.  My top advice is learn how to use the gear you have now as best as you can, so that you can clearly see where you have outgrown that gear making it also very clear what you should purchase next.  

    I look forward to seeing Rose's photographs of New York and to helping her use her new external flash! 

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