Ribbon Cutting Event with Mayor Bill Foster at Office Depot

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St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster (3rd from left) helps with a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new Office Depot on 34th Street NOn Tuesday I was able to continue my great photography relationship with Office Depot in St. Petersburg by photographing a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new store on 34th Street North.  This was also another chance to photograph St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster helping cut the ribbon on a new local business.  I am starting to get familiar with who in the local government attends these events, like Council Chair Leslie Curran (4th from right) and Council Member Bill Dudley (5th from right).  

Office Depot handed out "big checks" to several local non-profit groups and donated 200 backpacks for school children.After I photographed my first Office Depot event in December I realized how a large corporation like Office Depot actually reaches out to be a helpful member of the local community by investing in local non-profits through donations of both cash and goods.  They continued this custom handing out three more checks and 200 backpacks filled with school supplies to be given to local school children.  Being able to photograph and be a part of an event like this is a satisfying experience.  Office Depot has earned my business, which is mostly the purchase of printer ink, but still, in my mind through their charity work they have established a very positive image.  It was also my second time to meet some of the regional management and they remembered me as well.  I hope to continue to be able to photograph future Office Depot events showcasing their community work and new stores.

Nikon D700 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson St. Petersburg - Kasia

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Kasia with her brand new Nikon D700 during our first photography lesson in downtown St. PetersburgOn a humid evening in downtown St. Petersburg after a sudden rain fell, I met Kasia for our first 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson.  She is just getting started in the DSLR world, but enters it with the powerful Nikon D700.  That is plenty of DSLR to grow into!  Her D700 was brand, brand new.  We started the lesson with me helping her just setup the camera itself (date, time, file naming system) and then I showed her some of the more in-depth settings that I use from years of experience shooting Nikon.  We followed that with a basic tour of the camera body giving a name to each part (finger dial, thumb dial, D-pad, etc.) so that she could understand my instructions for changing settings.

The rain stopped and we began practicing how to get the best exposure by setting aperture, shutter speed and ISO and determining when using Aperture priority mode is good enough, and when it is much better to just use Manual mode.  

We concluded the lesson with me giving Kasia some lens buying advice.  I look forward to our second lesson once Kasia gets in a new lens next week.

Business Headshots done in St. Petersburg Florida - Brian

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Corporate Business Headshot for St. Petersburg Florida professionals - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm lens @ f/8 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power through 24" softbox to frame right & SB-600 @ 1/16th power with diffuser cap to frame left; background digitally addedBrian and I connected via Linkedin back in the fall of 2011.  I noticed that he did not have a profile photo and I asked him if that was on purpose or if he was in need of a business headshot to use on sites like Linkedin, etc.  He said he was so this morning he came to my apartment where I did my first photography work in home!  I warned him attend of time that beloved puppy Kiki is a very enthusiastic greeter and of my Asian custom of removing shoes upon entering.  He said he was fine with both and Kiki (mostly) behaved very good during our headshot session.

Like many non-models, Brian does not necessarily like to have his photograph taken.  Part of my job as a professional photographer besides getting lighting and strobist things correct, is to make the person feel relaxed and confident so that a flattering headshot can be made.  In this regard Brian was very cooperative in following my suggestings for positioning himself and showing his smile in the shot.  Hopefully this experience will make him more comfortable the next time he has his portrait made.  

Canon T3 DSLR Photography Lesson 1-on-1 in St. Petersburg Florida with Monica

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Monica with her new Canon T3 during our DSLR Photography Lesson in downtown St. Petersburg North Straub ParkMonica's parents bought her a 2-hour DSLR Photography Lesson gift certificate for Christmas which she used for our first lesson this evening.  She has a Canon T3 along with a trio of lenses:  Canon 18-55mm, Canon 55-250mm, Canon 50mm f/1.8.  We had a chance to practice using all three during our lesson in donwtown St. Petersburg, along with her tripod.  

Monica had a lot of photography knowledge already from self-study, reading photography websites, etc.  During our lesson I helped her organize that knowledge into practical ways of making a variety of different photographs from single subject shallow depth of focus images to bird-in-flight shots to natural light golden hour portraits.  Our lesson was for sure one of the most information and gear packed 2-hours I have ever taught!

We ended the lesson using her Canon T3 on her tripod to make light trail shots of the little traffic that cruises down Beach Drive on a Monday night.  I expect Monica to be able to quickly build on all we covered in our first lesson and begin to be able to "self-teach" herself.  I look forward to seeing the results.

Nikon D5100 DSLR Photography Lesson with Joe in St. Petersburg Florida

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Joe with his new Nikon D5100 during our photography lesson in downtown St. Petersburg, FloridaOn a beautiful March afternoon in St. Petersburg I met Joe and his new Nikon D5100 for our first DSLR Photography Lesson.  He had previously owned a Nikon D40 and also had film SLR experience.  During our lesson he wanted to convert some of that past knowledge into the DSLR world, along with what I could show him from my years of experience using Nikon DSLRs.  Sometimes small things like just showing how to move the focus point from the center to anywhere in the frame can really help out.  My experience with virtually every DSLR made in the past four years allows me to show people how to do practical things like moving focus points with their specific camera, part of the benefits of taking a 1-on-1 lesson.

Joe has an 18-55mm lens and a 55-200mm lens, the standard kit lenses.  For such lenses I told him that with the 18-55mm I would want to use f/11 as much as possible and for the 55-200mm f/5.6.  Often subject dictates lens, lens dictates aperture, and aperture is what I base all my other settings on.  In this way one can have a starting point for making a well exposed and properly focused image.

We ended the lesson with using Joe's 20-year old speedlight, which amazingly worked just fine mounted on the D5100's hotshoe.  Using the speedlight in a neutral light setting the benefits of having fill light, even on camera, could be seen.  

I look forward to seeing Joe's photos from his Nikon D5100 as he continues his DSLR shooting skills.

Treasure Island Sunset Beach St. Petersburg Florida - why we live here

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Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, St. Petersburg, Florida - my favorite beach - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 2 sec tripod mounted with cable releaseIt seems to me Florida is a very specific place to live.  It is warm and its extremely long coastline is all beach.  These two things are why we live here.  Being a specific place to live, it lacks certain things, most notably mountains and four seasons.  Instead of mountain views there are amazing sunset and twilight sky views that fluctuate in color throughout the year.  Intesad of four seasons there are essentially two, the humidity season (April through September) and the dry air season (October through March).

I value being able to go swimming at the beach in February.  I like wearing shorts 362 out of 365 days per year.  I pay a price in sweat for those things though.  Therefore, in the remaining days of the dry air season, I savor each one, like today.  

Why do you live in Florida?

Business Headshots done on site St. Petersburg Florida - John

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Business Headshot down on client location with dramatic lighting - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/13 ISO 200 1/250th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame right modified by shoot-through umbrellaI was very glad to get a call from John, whom I met through the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce a few years ago, asking about business headshots.  I had not seen him in awhile, but I remember from photographing him from at various events that he had a great smile and would be a very fun person to work with on making a business headshot.

The headshot above is actually the last one we made during the session done right in his own home.  I asked him if I could create a headshot with dramatic lighting and a black background (result of small aperture & fast shutterspeed, the wall behind him was actually white!).  This is not the traditional look for a headshot, but I thought it would be interesting just to try.  We both were pleased with the results and he selected the shot as one of his included photos with my business headshot package.

Business Headshot made right in front of a wall in a hallway in John's homeThe shot above (same image in color and B&W) was made in a more traditional headshot manner, though in a very non-studio setting.  I offer on-your-location headshots for maximum convenience to the client.  John cleared some space in front of a wall in a hallway and with just one speedlight shot through a shoot-through umbrella the results are seen above.

It was great to have a chance to photograph John again and catch up with him on what is happening in St. Petersburg.