VIP EYE CARE St. Petersburg Customer Appreciation Event 2012

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VIP Eye Care boutique customer choosing new frames - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 1/10 ISO 800 zooming in while shutter pressed & Nikon SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedI have a long relationship with VIP EYE Care in St. Petersburg.  They have been both my source of eye care and also a loyal photography client (see here).  My lastest photography assignment for them was photographing their 2012 Customer Appreciation Celebration event.  

A packed boutique at VIP Eye Care - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 1/60th ISO 800 Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedI roamed around photographing candids of customers checking out all the fashionable eyeglass frame choices.  I learned that choosing a new pair of glasses is quite an involved decision.  In fact, I saw several people looking whan I arrived at 6pm and only finally decided just before I left at 8pm!

This pair or that pair? - Nikon D80 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/100th Nikon SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedI also started to pick up on some insider jargon, always something I like to do.  There are letter and number code names for specific lens shapes.  Not surprisingly, new designs are carefully kept secret I also heard from one vendor.

Even babies tried new glasses - Nikon D80 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/100th with Nikon SB-600 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedEven a baby got to try on some new shades during the celebratory event.  I am very thankful for the continued business from VIP Eye Care and highly recommend Dr. Henri if you are looking for a very good eye doctor.

Fire Escape black & white in St. Petersburg Florida

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Signs of the city, fire escapes -- Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 1/100th ISO 200Fire escapes clinging to the sides of buildings both tall and short always remind me of city life for some reason, in particular New York City.  As the above shot was made right here in St. Petersburg, Florida, fire escapes are not exclusively found in big cities.  I have never actually even been on a fire escape, but when I see them I always imagine making a narrow escape from a sticky situation, or covertly gaining access to a rooftop.

1-on-1 Nikon D90 DSLR Photography Lesson with Raegan in downtown St. Petersburg Florida

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Raegan with her Nikon D90 in North Straub Park during our 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson - St. Petersburg FloridaThe first true afternoon 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson of the fall was with Raegan and her Nikon D90, meeting at 3pm which would be unthinkable most months of the year in Florida.  She has had her D90 for quite sometime and had even taken other photography lessons in the past, but was still looking for a better way to tie together aperture, shutter speed and ISO.  Of course, that is exactly what my lessons aim to do from the get-go.

Since Raegan did have some photography knowledge to start with, and was already shooting in manual mode, I described to her my 5-step process for making a well exposed and sharp image in any chooting conditions in a bit more detail at first than usual.  In particular shutter speed limits, with those of course being in general 1/60th for still subjects and 1/500th for moving subjects.  Knowing those two limits is the key to eliminating blur and camera shake.  

We ended the lesson with a little flash portrait practice in North Straub Park along with a few composition tips that make a big difference in the final overall look of a portrait.  

I hope now that Raegan can confidently photograph her children in focus when they are sitting or moving, or both!

The Best St. Petersburg Florida Photography Locations

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LOCATION:  THE PIER ROOFTOP  (currently unavailable due to Pier closing, but base areas may still be open)

The single best spot to shoot non-beach sunsets in St. Petersburg.  Each evening offers a different kind of light and a different kind of shot.  You can get an unprecedented view of the skyline and cityscape, or use a telephoto lens to shoot individual buildings, to long exposures to get light trails of cars driving to and from The Pier.  It is simply the best spot to shoot from in all of St. Petersburg for any kind of shot.  The railing on the roof is high, so a tall tripod is required to be able to shoot over it.  Plus, The Pier is scheduled to be demolished in summer 2013, so get there while you can!


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LOCATION:  2ND STREET NORTH (BRICK WALL)

Need a good brick wall to photograph a model in front of?  Then right next to Jannus Live in downtown St. Petersburg is a great one on 2nd Street North between Central Ave and 1st Ave North.  The sidewalk in front of it is wide allowing for plenty of space to setup lights and still let passersby get by.  Bonus:  there is also a cool double-door at the end of it.


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LOCATION:  PASS-A-GRILLE BEACH

It may seem like all beaches along Gulf Blvd running north to south of Pinellas County are the same.  They are not.  Pass-A-Grille Beach is the very last of them, at the southern most tip of Pinellas County.  Such it is somewhat of a forgotten beach.  You can often find it empty, espcially outside of summer months.  The beach is long and mostly narrow allowing for super wide panorama images to be made.  Sea grass grows between the sidewalk and sand (see above) making for a good foreground subject, or a background in and of itself.


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Passport Photos for the entire family in your home St. Petersburg Tampa Florida

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NEED PASSPORT PHOTOS FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY?
  • At your location (or in my home studio)
  • As quick as 15 minutes start to finish
  • Family of four from $99*
  • Final images e-mailed directly to you
  • Make official prints online
  • Never have to leave your home!
CALL: 813-240-5357 E-mail: CONTACT FORM FACEBOOK

*additional cost may apply for outside of the St. Petersburg area; individual passport service available too

Holiday Photo Cards 2012 featuring your existing portraits (or new ones!)

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Now available for all past portrait clients of Jason Collin Photography is a very easy and convenient way to order professional quality Family Holiday Photo Cards using your already existing photo gallery!  Simply visit your secure portrait gallery (via Jason Collin Photography on SmugMug) and follow the steps detailed below to order either a traditional 5x7 folding holiday card or a stunning 4x8 flat holiday card.  If you cannot remember the link to your gallery, contact Jason for a reminder.

AFTER YOU VISIT YOUR GALLERY ON JASON COLLIN PHOTOGRAPHY VIA SMUGMUG

  • Click on the Buy button (it can be for any photo, all will show up in the card creator)
  • Click on "Create a Card" in the drop down menu (see screenshot above for reference)
  • You will be taken to the simple and fun card creator interface 

TWO CARD STYLE CHOICES:  4x8 FLAT CARD OR 5x7 FOLDING CARD

 

THIS IS WHAT THE CUSTOM CARD CREATOR LOOKS LIKE

The custom card creator has a simple drag and drop template along with text boxes you can add your personalized titles and messages to.  There are dozens of card styles to choose from in 5x7 folding card form or 4x8 flat card style.  Once you create your card simply choose how many you want and the order is sent to a professional printing lab and then delivered right to your door for the most convenient holiday photo card ordering process possible. 

High Contrast Red Filter turns blue sky to night in Silver Efex Pro

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Signature Place in downtown St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/320th with high contrast red filter in Silver Efex Pro appliedWhen teaching photography at night I often tell my DSLR photography lessons students that with long exposures you can turn night into day.  Well, with a high contrast red filter, you can do the harder reverse of that, which would be turning day into night!  It is actually not hard if you have the awesome Silver Efex Pro plugin, which I have been raving about for years.  

The Nik Silver Efex Pro interface with high contrast red filter applied to the imageFirst I went through my normal digital photo editing workflow on this architecture shot of Signature St. Petersburg.  I made a duplicate and sent it into Silver Efex Pro.  From there all that needed to be done to change the color image to black & white and the blue sky into a night one was to click on the high contrast red filter preset.  No mess, no fuss.