Pug Puppy Photo found on flickr published in First Magazine for Women

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flickr pays! -- Published on page 94 of First for Women Magazine January 2011If you think posting photos to flickr is a waste of time, and paying the $24 annual fee for a pro membership to flickr is especially a waste of money, well, my pro membership for the next six years has been paid for by selling this one shot.  A person from First (for women) Magazine contacted me by e-mail asking to use the above pug puppy photo in an upcoming issue.  I replied, "possibly, depending on the price."  The person replied promptly with a price list that was acceptable to me, and I made the easiest money in photography I ever had before.  They mailed me the print issue this week (scans above).  

I posted the pug puppy photo to flickr on February 11, 2010, not so recently.  I do not really post photos to flickr with the thought that the ever might sell.  I use flickr to post my favorite shots of the moment, or shots I am not that sure about, and use the feedback I get on the shot to improve my photography skills.  I always find it interesting to see which shots get the most views/comments as compared to others.  The results are not always what I expect.  

So, making the effort to properly publish your photo to flickr, and by properly I mean giving your image an appropriate title, tagging the image with appropriate and creative key words, and writing a full description of the image with exif data and how to contact you for more images/information, if you do this, the results can be one day a nice little windfall comes in the mail for photography work you have long already done.

St. Petersburg Snell Isle Christmas Wedding

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Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 0.8s tripod mounted with cable releaseIt is always nice when you have the chance to photograph the wedding of someone you know, even if it is just tangentially.  For this Christmas wedding (day after actually) I had the shortest commute I think I will every have, literally just two minutes as it took place at a neighbor's* home here in Snell Isle, St. Petersburg.  I know the neighbor from the local dog park.  Our dogs have been fast friends since they were 4-month old puppies.  I met the bride-to-be at the dog park as well the week before the wedding as she and her fiance traveled down to Florida with their own dog.

Macro shots with Nikon D300 & Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro lensDue to my familiarity with all involved I had zero nerves before going to photograph this wedding.  Plus, I had done all due preparation by visiting their house and seeing exactly where the ceremony would take place and on the wedding day there was ample time to photograph the rings, wedding dress, etc before the actual ceremony.

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/80th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted in TTL modeAs you can see, there were water hazards involved in photographing the wedding ceremony!  Though I had to be very careful with my steps, this island setting allowed for clean views from all sides of the couple during the ceremony.  No human, dog or camera gear fell into the pool thankfully!

Nikon D80 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/2.8 ISO 400 1/200th natural lightThe atmosphere the entire afternoon was very lighthearted and full of laughter, even during the ceremony.  This further contributed to my lack of nervousness the entire wedding and made it just plain really fun to be a part of, even though I was working and my usual focused self while shooting.  

Nikon D80 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/2.8 ISO 400 1/200th natural lightThere were surprises during the wedding ceremony as the groom gave his bride a ring she had never seen before.  I was told later that it had significant meaning.  Before the smiles you see above there were hugs and tears at the sight of the ring. 

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/80th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted (straight up) in TTL modeAfter the ceremony the carefully selected wedding guests and family members got together for a formal portrait in the living room, though the laughs that first broke out during the wedding ceremony carried over to the formals as well, which was fine by me.  

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 320 1/50th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted in TTL modeThen the newlyweds and I were off for some outdoor shots on a very, very cold winter day.  I fear warm winters for west central Florida are now a thing of the past, and daytime temperatures in the 50s will have to be tolerated, or one must move to Key Largo.  I had the benefit of wearing my unfailing Mountain Hard Wear Windstopper Tech Jacket, and the groom at least had on his suit jacket, so the bride was the bravest of all showing no sign of freezing despite wearing a wispy wedding dress.  I worked as fast as I could to get the shots I wanted to at the gazebo in front of the Vinoy Country Club golf course, a location I had always wanted to photograph at.

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 320 1/50th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted in TTL modeFrom there we went to the waterfront near a famous (for Snell Isle residents) white bridge.  As twilight took over the area, the temps dropped even more, so I was very glad to hear the couple say they had actually practiced "the dip," a skill for sure that I recommend all future couples practice before the day of their wedding.

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/4 ISO 800 1/40th Strobist: SB-800 handheld "quick & dirty" styleThis was the very last shot I took of the entire day.  It was an extremely satisfying experience from a photography standpoint as I got to try many different shots I never had before.  This was as enjoyable as photographing a wedding gets.  Thank you to the bride & groom for their super cooperation and toughness, and for my neighbors hiring me to photograph their daughter's wedding.  See you all at the dog park!

--More from this wedding coming soon: bride series, black & white wedding 

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    *names not mentioned for privacy 

    DSLR Photography Lesson with Malissa and her Canon 7D

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    Malissa with her new Canon 7D and 28-135mm lens in Vinoy Park

    On a very sunny and crisp St. Petersburg mid-holiday week morning, I met Malissa (yes, spelled with an "a") and her new Canon 7D (present from her husband) for a from the very beginning DSLR Photography Lesson.  Malissa had a point and shoot digital camera previous to her 7D, so after realizing it was quite a jump between cameras, her husband again found my lessons and there we were.  

    Malissa was not even familiar with basic photography terms like aperture, ISO, etc, but that was ok because it is much quicker to learn what these things mean from me, and see how they work in the field, than by only reading manuals and how-to books on those topics.  I told Malissa that even though her 7D was covered in buttons, there are basically only four settings that need to be regularly changed, those being, along with the two mentioned above, white balance and focus mode as well.  

    Malissa has the Canon 70-300mm lens, which sounds like a long lens, but as I had her try to photograph a pelican in the water, she pointed out herself that the pelican still looked small in frame, despite our relatively close distance to her.  Then I had to break the bad news to her that to get any longer lens would cost several thousands of dollars for a 500mm or 600mm lens!  Hmm, at the time I did not think to mention teleconverters, but my limited experience with them has not impressed me.  

    I look forward to seeing what Malissa can now do with her Canon 7D and a lot more DSLR photography knowledge. 

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    • Big Family Candid Beach Portraits at Tradewinds Resort St. Petersburg

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    A Charlie's Angels inspired portrait on the beach at Tradewinds Resort St. Petersburg 

    Marillee's big family were all going to be in the same spot, St. Petersburg, Florida for just a few days.  Fortunately my schedule matched theirs and we were able to meet at the Tradewinds Resort for my biggest to date candid family beach portrait photography session.  There were eleven immediate family members and a few other friends of the family who lived locally as well.  Only one of these people was not yet old enough to drive, so managing so many people in a finite time (before sunset) to produce the best possible candid portraits was still a challenge, but not an overwhelming one.

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens natural lightAs is usually the case, the family only had a few requests, and left all the other shots up to me.  One request they did have was the above photograph of all of them, save for the baby, wearing their sunglasses.  

    The ever popular nowadays group jumping portrait on Tradewinds Resort beachWhile I had them all standing next to each other along the water they were very up for my suggestion of a group jumping shot.  However, getting all 10 people to jump at the same time was only a modestly successful venture due to differences in vertical leap and desire to touch the sky!

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8 natural light processing in Color Efex Pro 3 (tonal contrast filter)The action shots continued as I asked the brothers to show me who had the fastest forty time.  I would judge the results in this photograph to be unofficial as a good bit of tom-foolery was present at the start of the race, which is not unexpected in any form of brotherly competition.

    Portrait Tip: have a shy person engage with the others in the portrait instead of stiffly looking into the cameraWhile the brothers recovered from their sprints, I had the matriarch and patriarch of the family take up with the apple of their eyes, their lone precocious grandson.  Note the tip in the footnote of the photo.  If some one cannot just relax looking into the lens, the next best thing I find is to have them interact with the others in the portrait to at least get a natural expression, if not their entire face showing.

    Nikon D300 Tamron XR Di II 17-50mm f/2.8 lens B&W processing in Silver Efex ProOne final shot of the entire family in a panorama crop.  If you want to be able to see the faces of 11 people better in a group shot, cropping to a panorama orientation does the trick.  I also think it is very pleasing for a portrait to only include the upper torsos of a group of people.  

    Photo Tip #2 -- Use the youngest as a prop! He won't mind and everyone else will enjoy it.If you cannot get a toddler to stand still, well then hold him up!  There was just no getting all the ladies in the family to be composed and the family toddler as well.  So I asked if they could all hold him together, which resulted in lots of laughs for everyone involved and to me a quintessential candid portrait.

    Wedding Photography FAQ for 2011 Candid Wedding Packages

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    Want to know more about my Candid Wedding Photography Services?  

    Now available: 

    I have created a wedding photography FAQ in an effort to answer even more questions a prospective wedding client may have.  Basically, it is an attempt to help answer the question:  WHY should I hire Jason to photograph my wedding?

    To read more about Jason personally, please visit the ABOUT page.

    2010 Winter Solstice Moon Reflection Snell Isle Florida

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    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/8 ISO 200 13sec tripod mounted (knee high) with cable releaseI first saw the winter solstice moon as I was driving home from the dog park with Kiki.  It looked very large in the sky rising over the tower of the Vinoy Golf & Country Club.  I knew as a photographer this was something I should photograph.  I quickly fed Kiki dinner (Taste of the Wild dry dog food) then got my Nikon D300 ready for long exposure shooting, i.e. attach the cable release and mount it on the tripod.

    I was in time as there was still some light left in the fading twilight sky.  Without this light my shot would not have turned out as colorful.  The water of Smacks Bayou was very uncharacteristically like glass, but even the slight water movement can be seen in the shape of the moon's oblong reflection.  

    Did you photograph the winter solstice moon?  If so, please share your links in the comments below.

    DSLR Photography Lesson with Kevin & his Canon 60D

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    Kevin with his new Canon 60D in Vinoy Park at the end of our DSLR photography lessonAfter a one-day rain delay, I met Kevin with his new Canon 60D in downtown St. Petersburg for our first DSLR Photography Lesson, although again this morning there was some heavy mist in the air.  The weather could not stop us from having a great, detailed lesson though.  Kevin claimed to be only a beginner, but due to his initial in-depth reading about his 60D and digital photography in general, he was able to quickly learn how to change the basic settings on his camera, and more importantly knew enough to know which questions he needed to ask so that he could start making the kinds of photographs he wanted to.

    I often here people say when they see a nice photograph, "that person must have a really nice camera," which always drives me crazy as the camera cannot take photographs on its own!  As any first time DSLR owner will know, the illusion that just having an expensive camera means great photographs will start filling your flickr photostream, gets shattered pretty quickly.  This was true for myself.  My first day out with my first DSLR I could not even get a pigeon on the ground to come out in focus.  Thousands of shots and a few weeks later, I had taught myself how to get those pigeon shots in focus by learning what I had been doing wrong.  By taking practical photography lessons, especially 1-on-1 lessons, you can save yourself a lot of time in that initial major trial and error period.

    Kevin is eager to learn even more than what we covered in our first two-hour lesson, so I look forward to having lessons in the near future focusing on just using his 50mm prime lens, and also on how to make great night shots using a tripod.  Kevin also spent time in Korea and Japan, so in addition to photography we were able to swap Asia experiences stories.  It's always an amazing thing that in a small Florida town you can meet someone who spent time in the same far-off cities on the other side of the world you did.   

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