1974 Jaguar E-Type Series III V-12 Convertible Tampa Car Photography

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1974 Jaguar E-Type Series V-12 Convertible photographed for RM Auction in Tampa - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/200th tripod mounted with cable releaseIn June I was hired by RM Auctions to photograph a 1974 Jaguar E-type Series III V-12 Convertible.  I was not allowed to publish any of the photographs I made of the car until it went to auction.  I was happy to see that it sold for $82,500!

The interior of a 1974 Jaguar E-Type Series III V-12 Convertible in Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/40th Strobist: SB-800 in brolly above car & SB-600 in car facing dashboard

I was given a shotlist by RM Auctions of exactly the exterior angles that wanted photographs of.  However, with the interior I had a little more freedom for choosing details to highlight along with the required engine and ID plate shots.  Thankfully the car was in an air conditioned room to start with as I had to photograph the Jaguar around 1pm in the afternoon on a hot Florida Saturday afternoon.  

The V-12 engine of a 1974 Jaguar E-Type Series III Convertible in Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 in brolly above frame left & SB-600 under the right wheel housePhotographing an engine with lighting just from above, no matter how powerful, was not enough to bring out all of its details.  So I placed one speedlight right on the floor under the engine (beside the tire).  Again, it was nice to be in a climate controlled room as I worked out the best lighting setup.

Profile view of 1974 Jaguar E-Type Series III Convertible in Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160thMoving the car outside for the exterior shots of course very quickly became hot work, especially since the car was not in running condition and needed to be pushed.  Plus, there was a very finite amount of space to use so I could not simply just walk around the car in a 360 getting the angles RM Auctions requested.  For each shot the car had to be pushed around again, and the top taken up and then down.  

Steering wheel of 1974 Jaguar E-Type Series III V-12 Convertible Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 in brolly above right & SB-600 in passenger footwellI used three different lenses to photograph the Jaguar.  For this detail shot of the steering wheel, I put on my Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G lens to go for maximum detail and very shallow depth of field.  This was one of the shots where I had a choice on which interior features to highlight.

Trunk emblem of Jaguar E-Type V12 - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 in brolly to frame rightIt was exciting to work for a high profile client like RM Auctions, whom I have seen featured on car shows I watch regularly like Chasing Classic Cars.  There is not much I like to photograph more than a great car.  I hope they have more cars in the Tampa Bay area for me to photograph for their next auction.

Family Beach Portraits at Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Demiduk Family

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Watching the sunset as a family on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left rear & SB-600 to frame right frontOnce again I had the opportunity to photograph a client I already knew as DSLR Photography Lesson student Kristin booked a Family Beach Portrait session for Sunset Beach on Treasure Island.  As I have mentioned before, it is always a plus to photograph people you are familiar with, and of course as a pro photographer it is flattering that a client would give you repeat business.

Baby Naomi was in constant motion when not being held close by her parents!Kristin's nearly 2-year old daughter was a very talkative little girl, and as one might expect a very active one too.  I usually recommend that parents hold their child as the best means of keeping them in the frame!

Having family fun in front of tall beach grass on Sunset Beach Treasure Island FloridaThe whole family had a lot of personality which made it fun to photograph them as they were never at a loss for smiling in front of the lens.  A willingness to get a bit sandy allowed us to make the above shots in front of Sunset Beach's tall grass dunes.

2-year old preparing to be a ballerina - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 to frame center right & SB-600 to rear rightUsing a mound of sand that was the remains of a castle, Naomi practiced her ballerina moves as I framed her with the dusk sky out over the Gulf of Mexico.

Gliding down the shore black & white family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 500 1/400th natural lightKristin has two more photography lessons with me where I will help prepare her to be able to make her own family beach portraits in the future!

1-on-1 Nikon D7000 DSLR Photography Lesson St. Petersburg Florida with Tim

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Tim with his new Nikon D7000 with the St. Petersburg Pier in the background during our 1-on-1 photography lessonLike many of the people that take my 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lessons, Tim just recently purchased his first DSLR making a not insignificant investment in both the body, a Nikon D7000, and accessories and did not want to be stuck shooting in auto-mode.  Prior to our first of four lessons yesterday evening Tim had done a lot of reading and video watching so he was already familiar with the most common photography terms and settings.  During the lesson I helped him understand how all those things (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus mode) work together in order to produce a well-exposed and sharp photograph.

Tim's technical expertise from his job I believe also helped him understand things quickly, like how to read the histogram and which way to adjust the shutter speed in order to improve a shot.  We basically stayed in manual mode the entire lesson, a far cry from auto-mode!  

We also had a few other things in common like spending time in Japan to talk about.  For our second lesson we will focus on using his 50mm f/1.8 lens.

The Pier Trolley at St. Petersburg Florida Fine Art Image

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The Pier trolley in its own lane on The Pier causeway in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th on Induro CT214 tripod with cable release

Sometimes a shot just appears and if the photographer is fast enough, it can be captured.  Such was the case with this photograph featuring The Pier in the background and The Pier Trolley coming (very closely) toward me as I made this image from the narrow median dividing the causeway for public usage and trolley only usage.  The seagull in the shot I can take no credit for.  It was just a happy coincidence the bird ended up in the shot.

I was not out specifically to make images of my own as I was in the middle of teaching a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson, but after I helped the student set up her shot (same as above) I had a chance to quickly get my tripod into position to capture this scene too.  I already knew as we approached I wanted both of us to have our tripod legs fully closed so as to be as low to the ground as possible.  I wanted an exaggerated point of view.  At the time I had no idea any trolleys would be passing by.  I was hoping simply for a shot of The Pier using the curb as a leading line.  Again, when an opportunity presents itself it really helps to be quick with your photography gear to give yourself the best shot at getting the photo.

Induro CT214 Tripod 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson St. Petersburg Florida with Chris

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Chris at The Pier with her new Induro CT214 tripod with her Nikon D90 mounted on the Induro BDH2 ballheadTo my great surprise Chris showed up for our third of four lessons with an Induro CT214 carbon fiber tripod, the exact same one I have!  I gave her some tripod buying advice, but for a truly no comprimses tripod, I can only recommend the one I, myself, bought last summer, which was the Induro CT214 (reviewed in detail here).  After I got over my initial surprise I went about the business of showing Chris all the features of the Induro CT214 that I have amassed in a year of using it as well as good tripod practices in general, like making sure the lens always points out over a leg of the tripod.

She even had new Yongnuo speedlight radio remotes for triggering a flash off camera, but they can also be used to remotely trigger the shutter too, a really cool bonus feature.  This way she was able to shoot from the tripod without adding the risk of camera shake from physically pushing the shutter.  Now that we had all this exciting new gear to use, all we needed was a great location, and The Pier in the evening time always provides one.  There was even a nice breeze making the temperature almost pleasant.

We concluded the lesson up on the top of The Pier photographing the sunset as it dipped below the St. Petersburg skyline (example of the view).  Chris has ample opportunities to photograph the sunset and other great vistas so I look forward to seeing the images she takes between now and our fourth lesson.

Business Headshot St. Petersburg Studio with digital background - Carol

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Business Headshot made right in my St. Petersburg home studio for a client - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power in 43" brolly to frame right & SB-600 @ 1/8th power with diffuser cap to frame leftCarol visited my home studio this afternoon for a new business headshot.  She was an excellent client and knew how to get into position well.  Before we started shooting I showed her a few different lighting and background options.  Through the process of making the headshot we decided upon a slight shadow and a digital background for the image seen above.  The real background was a light tan wall that I removed and in its place inserted a gray-blue one.  

Making a portrait of any type is a collaboration between photographer and subject, and this time I involved the client in more of the process than I usually do as I was even able to show her on my computer monitor a rough sample of what the headshot would look like on a given background.

I offer business headshots both at your location or in my home studio (as long as you do not mind Kiki).

Use DSLR self-timer on a tripod photography tip

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Use the self-timer on a tripod to reduce shake after pressing the shutter on a DSLRLast week I wrote at length about the benefits of using a cable release when mounting your DSLR on a tripod.  What if you do not have a cable release?  How can you then eliminate camera shake from physically pressing the shutter button?  You can use the self-timer function on your DSLR.  By setting the self-timer to activate the shutter, the camera can come to rest again on the tripod after pressing the shutter to activate the self-timer countdown.  

I have read that some photographers do not believe that 2-seconds is long enough for a camera to completely stop shaking.  2-seconds is typically the first setting for a self-timer.  I have not done my own experiments to see if that is just some serious nitpicking or if shake does still linger.  Given that the next setting for a self-timer on a DSLR is usually 10-seconds, that is quite a long time to wait!  If your DSLR has an option for 5-seconds, that seems like the best choice.