DSLR Photography Lesson feedback from Rossie

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Rossie and I had our first DSLR photography lesson together last Thursday.  Using his great illustrator skills he sent me feedback about the lesson in the form you see above.  It is reposted with his permission.  

First I want to thank Rossie very much for taking the time to not only provide feedback, but also doing it in such an artistic way.  

To be honest, teaching DSLR photography lessons makes up only a very small percent of my photography income, but I do it because I really like to meet people with an interest in photography and help them anyway I can to expand their photography knowledge.  

I know when I started out with my first DSLR (Nikon D80) I thought it would be like a magic wand I could just wave around and produce National Geographic covers one right after another.  In reality, the first time I went out with it I could not even get a pigeon shot in focus!  I learned by going out every day on my own taking hundreds of shots and learning by trial and error.  So now one of my aims with the DSLR photography lessons I offer is to provide the opportunity for people to get a head start with 1-on-1 real world instruction, rather than to have to go through what I did the first few weeks after owning a DSLR camera. 

Of course I, myself, still often learn from more experienced photographers in the area and online and continue to try and teach myself new techniques and styles.  For example, in the past few weeks I started to use a two-strobe setup for portrait work (in the past I just used a one-strobe setup).  I will be posting some of those shots soon.

Thank you again to Rossie and for all the comments I have received from other past DSLR photography students.   

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    • Photography Tip - always be ready to shoot

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    My camera was at the ready, so I could photograph this streaking ska dude

    When you are out walking around with your camera in hand, both you and your camera should always be ready to shoot.  I like to have a distinct mindset of either I am out to make photographs or I am not.  If I am not, that usually means I am really not and have left my camera at home, like I did last Sunday when it was just Kiki and I quietly walking the paths of Sawgrass Lake Park.  However, when I do have my camera with me, the lens cap comes off as soon as I step out of my car and only goes back on once I am back in the car.  I never turn my Nikon D300 off while it is out of its bag.  DSLR cameras use virtually no battery while in standby mode, so there is no reason to turn a DSLR off until it is back in its bag.  

    I teach DSLR photography lessons.  Often when out on a first lesson with a student as we are walking to a different spot to practice something new, the student will not only have their camera off, but the lens cap on!  I will point out something interesting passing by and say I would shoot that.  However, the student will have no chance because her/his camera is not ready.  I use such a situation to show students that one should never miss chances for photographs while one's camera is out.  So I recommend that you always keep the camera on, the lens cap off, and your finger on the shutter.  

    You never know what might happen or who will pass by.  Someone told me that Cameron Diaz was wondering around St. Petersburg recently.  Imagine seeing her pass by but your camera is not ready!  Or, you, yourself are not ready to take a shot because even though you have kept your camera on, you have switched your mindset away from photography.  

    I was photographing something entirely different when I noticed the ska dude above streaking across the street.  He is not exactly Cameron Diaz, but if it had been her, I would have gotten the shot!

    Night Tripod Photography DSLR Photography Lesson with Mohammad

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    Long exposure portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1sec Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted in TTL modeEach time we have another DSLR Photography lesson together, Mohammad has a new piece of gear!  After our first lesson (which before he just bought a Canon T2i) he got a Canon 430EX II Speedlite that we used during our second lesson.  Now for out third lesson last night he had bought a nice Manfrotto tripod and joystick grip head.  It was my latest lesson, from 8pm to 10pm.  This allowed us to have a little light left in the sky for ideal night time cityscape shots conditions and to be able to practice portraits outdoors under completely dark skies.

    We met at the usual spot in front of the Museum of Fine Arts on Beach Drive then walked toward The Pier.  Along the way we stopped at a few spots to practice low to the ground shots.  A benefit of using a tripod is you can use the legs in their shortest length and get a very low, creative angle and turn an ordinary scene into a photograph.  No one usually lies down on the ground when out sightseeing, thus a shot made from that perspective will show the viewer something that cannot be seen by just standing at the same spot at eye level.  This to me, showing what cannot be seen by just standing somewhere at eye level, is one of the things that makes a photograph a photograph, rather than just a snapshot.

    We then made our way up to the top of The Pier, a 5-story open air patio, with a great panoramic view of the St. Petersburg skyline, though marred somewhat by a very high railing forcing one to use the center column on one's tripod thereby reducing stability.  When shooting at night or dusk, manual mode is best as controlling both the aperture and the shutter speed is necessary to produce the exposure one wants.  We mostly used shutter speeds in excess of 15 seconds.  

    Our final stop, after riding the trolley from The Pier to North Shore Drive and having an exciting elevator ride with a big group of European tourists, was in front of BayWalk for some long exposure shots of the traffic driving by.  However, the traffic at most consisted of three or four cars, so we did not have much chance to get those cool red and white trail lights from the cars' lights in our shots.  Still, the spot was good for long exposure portraits (see top photo), which we made by keeping our cameras tripod mounted and flashes hotshoe mounted (so they can sync with the long exposures).

    I really enjoyed this night lesson as using the tripods allowed for a slower, more methodical lesson pace and of course it was not as hot outside.  Plus Mohammad is a good student asking many questions and an interesting person who travels a lot.

    I wonder what piece of gear Mohammad will buy before our fourth lesson, maybe a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens?? 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson with Kathy & her Nikon D40

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    Camera was not harmed for this shot - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight handheld commander mode

    We had to reschedule Kathy's first DSLR Photography Lesson once already this week due to rain, and as thunder rolled at 5pm, I was worried we would have to postpone it until next week, but the weather could not have been better.  Kathy has owned her Nikon D40 for a couple of years, but relied on auto mode and at times her Panasonic point & shoot camera.  She took photography lessons at various places, but never like the one-on-one lessons that I exclusively offer.

    As always, I got Kathy off auto mode immediately and onto aperture priority mode.  When shooting out in daylight, once the proper settings are dialed in, there really is not much to change or adjust on the camera as long as one is continuing to photograph the same general type of subject.  For her kit Nikkor 18-55mm lens, I told her the only apertures you need to worry about now are just:  f/5.6 f/8 and f/11.  This can help to take some of the mystery of aperture out of the equation.  

    Then we ended with making some fun flash portraits at Vinoy Park with The Pier in the background.  All the while we talked about many other photography topics, but also sports cars, Japanese culture and Spanish culture.  It was a fun lesson for me and I look forward to our next lesson when Kathy returns from various business trips. 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson with Rossie & his Canon 40D

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    Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D lens @ f/8 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight handheld in commander mode

    I learned a little bit about Rossie's interesting career before we met for our first DSLR Photography Lesson this morning in downtown St. Petersburg.  He has worked as an illustrator for the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times and even lived in my old hometown area of Lee County.  He showed me some of his photographs and I was really impressed with the lighting, which he said he used his serious Photoshop skills to produce.  So in our lesson he wanted to start to learn how to make photographs using more photography skills, less processing skills.  He recently bought a Canon 40D from a friend and had been shooting in auto-mode, as many of my past students used to do.

    We remedied that immediately by shooting in aperture priority mode, Av on the 40D's dial.  Rossie already had many instincts for composition, but not much experience with a DSLR itself or specific shooting techniques for specific types of photograph.  For example, I noticed that Rossie really likes to photograph people, so as I had him practice on me I said make sure to always set the focus on the eyes when making a portrait.  He had not heard that before, and it is not one of those pieces of photography knowledge that widely floats around unless you specifically look for it, and how looks for something they did not know to look for in the first place?

    Despite the above serious portrait of Rossie, he is a very jovial person and I had a great time during the lesson listening to his stories and his thoughts on photography, etc.  I like people that speak freely, with candor.  I look forward to our next lesson, which will focus on shooting with a 50mm lens. 

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    • Robin & Ryan Gulfport Casino Florida Wedding

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    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/5.6 ISO 640 1/60th with Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted TTL modeMy friend and colleague Pedro contacted me on Friday asking if I could help him out with a sudden wedding he got himself for Saturday.  I already had my own wedding Saturday evening, but as luck would have it Robin and Ryan's ceremony started and finished just in time for me to be able to still comfortably make it to my wedding.  Also, I had already asked Pedro to help me out with a wedding in September for a couple that requested a second shooter for their ceremony.  So it all worked out very neatly.

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/8 ISO 200 1/800th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted TTL modeBeing the second shooter at a wedding, as long as the main photographer is cool, is one of the cushiest gigs one can get in professional photography.  Pedro is cool, hence I felt cushy and free to really look for peripheral and closeup shots as he was capably handling the main action.  The above shot was made in the middle of a large group shot.  Using my Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens I was able to get in close to highlight the bride's ring and bouquet, without interfering in Pedro's wide shot of the group.

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/5.6 ISO 640 1/100th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted TTL modeWhen working as a second shooter at a wedding, your main job is to stay out of the shots of the primary photographer.  As Robin and Ryan walked down the aisle as newly anointed husband and wife, Pedro was of course in front of the couple.  I was around back making sure that I could not see Pedro in my frame, meaning I would likewise not show up in his.  I used the groom to shield me from view.

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/8 ISO 200 1/800th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted TTL modeI also love working with my Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens, which I pretty much exclusively did as I was only photographing during the ceremony and Pedro was covering the close up shots.  The proud father of the bride seen above was again part of a large group shot.  The 80-200mm allowed me from a distance to get up close and isolate him in a shot without anyone knowing he was actually being flanked by several family members.  Why not crop in even closer?  I really like to use negative space, and I have a style with a propensity for landscape orientation portraits.

    Also, when Pedro said the wedding was at the Gulfport Casino, naturally I envisioned some Las Vegas style setting, but in reality it was just a large, historical looking ballroom.

    Thanks Pedro, looking forward to reversing roles and working with you in September.