Inside Sacred Heart Church Tampa Florida Wedding HDR

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The interior of Sacred Heart Church in Tampa Florida during a wedding - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRWith all the news this week coming out of Rome regarding the Catholic Church and a new pope, I dug into my unedited archives for these HDR images of Sacred Heart Church in downtown Tampa, Florida.  These images are from a wedding I photographed in the church back in May 2012.  The exterior of the church is very beautiful and elaborate, and as you can see the inside is even more so.

View from the balcony in Sacred Heart Church in Tampa Florida during a wedding - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRI was up in the balcony for all these photographs gettings a bird's eye view of the wedding ceremony.  When I see such architecture and detail I always think about how much work must go into building and creating something like this.  How much planning ahead of time is needed??

Stained glass windows of Sacred Heart Church in Tampa Florida during a wedding - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRThese windows are high up and in the back of the church.  Only up from up in the balcony with binoculars could one get a good view of them.  

Photography Tip - using leading lines in composing your shots

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The lines of the curb act as leading lines to the main subject, The Pier - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/500thUsing leading lines is one of my favorite composition techniques.  In the photograph of The Pier above, everything points to the main subject drawing the viewer's eye across the full length of the frame.  The entire foreground of the photograph uses the curb as a leading line to the focus of the image.  If there was no curb and just black pavement, then having such a large empty foreground would be a waste of space in the frame.  However, using the curb as a leading line adds another element of interest to the photograph besides The Pier itself.  

Additionally, I used a titled axis composition style to add yet more interest to an oft photographed St. Petersburg landmark.  

Nikon D7000 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson at The Pier in St. Petersburg Florida with Patricia

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Patricia aims her Nikon D7000 at a pelican out on The Pier during our second DSLR photography lessonFor our second of four 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lessons I met Patricia on a pleasant Florida winter Saturday morning and headed out to The Pier to photograph pelicans and whatever other surprises we may find there.  For this lesson Patricia used her Nikkor 70-300mm VR lens exclusively on her Nikon D7000.  I recommend having all your gear setup and ready to shoot as you approach a location, so even before we got to The Pier I went over the recommended settings to use with a 70-300mm lens for birds & other small, distant subject matter.

During this second lesson we also focused more on composition, in particular not necessarily always framing things at right angles.  Sometimes, a tilted axis composition style can added much needed pizazz to an otherwise common shot.

Great Egret looking awkwardly straight on St. Petersburg Florida Fine Art Photography

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Great Egret looking straight at the lens in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/1000thBirds are often seen photographed in profile view where their long beaks compliment their vertical necks.  This is especially so for the great egret who has a very long and slender white neck.  However, when photographed from straight on, such birds lose their elegant appearance and take on a more awkward, comical look as seen above.  I had the chance to get very close to this great egret right at the same eye level as well out on The Pier in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.

Eye-to-eye with a great egret at The Pier in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/1000thEven just a little bit less straight on is much more of a flattering look for this great egret!

Manual Mode shooting tip - read the meter first then the histogram after the shot

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If you are hesitant to use manual mode on your DSLR because of concern over getting the exposure right, you DSLR has the tools you need to help you!  Before you push the shutter you can use your camera's meter to get an idea of what it thinks the exposure should be.  Then after the shot read the histogram to see how the exposure really came out.  After using these two tools you can then adjust your exposure settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO) to get the results you want.

Shooting in manual exposure mode is greatly simplified if you use the meter before pressing the shutter, then read the histogram after pressing the shutter.  Try it out and let me know in the comments below how it worked for you!

Custom Classic Van HDR at Madeira Beach Car Show St. Petersburg Florida 2013

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Classic Custom Van Photography at Madeira Beach Car Show 2013 - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR digital background

I went to the Maderia Beach Classic Car Show this past Sunday on a cold and blustery afternoon.  Apparently custom car owners do not much like that type of weather as there were only 8 cars there total!  Of those only one really caught my eye, a custom van that with the hood open, looked like the roaring mouth of a dragon or vulture or similar creature.  I wanted to make a shot to accentuate that feature of the car.  As is often the case at car shows, the background was not great and there was only a tight space to shoot in.  So even as I was making the shot that cold afternoon I was already thinking I about how I wanted to edit the shot and I knew I would just remove the background.

The graphic below shows what a single exposure would have looked like, a 9-exposure HDR, then the final image with all edits and digital background added.

Sunset Beach Engagement Session Treasure Island Florida Candid Portraits

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Engagement portrait session on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThis past Saturday I photographed one of my family members professionally for the first time!  My cousin whom I have not seen in over a decade due to living in different parts of the country moved down here to the Tampa Bay area.  She got engaged and contaced me about an engagement shoot on Sunset Beach in Treasure Island Florida.  I said sure, sounds great, you bring the romance and I will take care of the rest!

Candid portrait during an engagement shoot with my cousin on Sunset Beach Treasure Island - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame right front & SB-600 to rear frame rightThey did their homework and had several photo ideas they wanted to try out, which is fine with me as I am always looking for new shot ideas myself.  It was a frigid day, actually the coldest of the year, but they dressed Florida style anyway and were real pros!

Sun melting engagement photo on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightAs requested, they brought the romance allowing me to make candid portraits like the one above.  I wanted to have the sun melt through the couple in this shot adding to the impact of the overall image.

Dramatic sunset background engagement shoot on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: see setup in photo belowBesides being cold, it was incredibly windy, but at least Mother Nature also provided a classic dramatic Florida sunset to use as a background in the photographs.  I prefer there to be clouds in the sky as well, as I feel it adds more interest than if the sky were cloudless.

My unique two strobe setup for making my signature sunset portraits on Treasure Island FloridaI remembered to make a quick shot of my strobist setup this time.  As you can see, I use two speedlights in my off camera flash technique for sunset portraits.  There are just diffuser caps on the strobes as it was far too windy for an umbrella or anything like that.  

Getting a kiss from their dog during our candid portrait session - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightMy cousin and her fiance brought their dog, Bear, who was a good boy and watched patiently until it was his time to be in front of the lens where he immediately started dishing out big kisses!

Engagement shoot in Florida, but wedding in Rhode Island! - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightMy cousin, like me, was born in Rhode Island and will have her wedding actual up in the Ocean State.  It was great to reconnect with her, and her mom (my aunt) made a surprise visit too!  It was a real reunion and a very fun engagement portrait session.