Photography Tip - shoot slowly after you push the shutter exhale and follow through

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Wait to do this until you have at least finished pushing the shutter!

I have noticed when people are beginning to formally learn photography they can be impatient with seeing how their shot came out.  I see this behavior when they are shooting.  It seems almost before they have even finished pushing the shutter they are already looking at the back of their camera to see how bad the shot came out.  I always discourage this behavior and encourage taking your time.  Pushing the shutter on your DSLR, and thus starting the action of making a photograph, is a lot like a swinging motion.  The follow-through is important too.  

So when you push the shutter, push it and follow through by holding the shot, by exhaling, letting thoughts flow through your mind about what you just did, and then review your shot on the back of your camera.  If you are so hastily looking at your shot after you take it then you were not ready in the first place to even push the shutter.  Prepare more before pushing the shutter so you know what to expect after you do.  

Festivals of Speed 2013 St. Petersburg Florida Vinoy Park Concours d'Elegance

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The car that greeted visitors at the Concours d'Elegance Festivals of Speed 2013 in Vinoy Park St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 7-exposure HDROn a very sunny day in Vinoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg Florida I strolled into the Concours d'Elegance Festivals of Speed 2013 with a media pass and my Nikon.  I spent as much time talking to people there about cars and their car related products and services as I did making photographs.  I already posted images of an orange Lamborghini and a chrome Nissan GT-R.  The photos below are a few car details that caught my eye.

1930 Cadillac hood ornament emblem at Festivals of Speed 2013 Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/4 ISO 200 1/800thI first thought this was a Rolls Royce hood emblem and had to do some research to identify it since I never made any other photos of the car.  I found out it was actually a 1930 Cadillac.  

Porsche Cayman bokeh look at Festivals of Speed - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/4 ISO 200 1/800thI like the lines of the Porsche Cayman very much.  I used a large aperture to show only the front fender in focus letting everything toward the back of the car start to disappear.

The Maserati logo on a Gran Turismo at Festivals of Speed Vinoy Park Florida 2013 - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1250The distinctive Maserati logo found on the side of a silver Gran Turismo at the Festivals of Speed.  Using a 105mm prime lens forced me to look for details as getting an entire car into the frame in a crowded car show was impossible.  

Photography Tip - Camera meter is only for ambient light with external flash on

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When using an external flash mounted on your DSLR's hotshoe, the camera's meter is telling you the exposure for the ambient/background light.  So if your subject is standing in the shade, then you should meter off of the background light to set your shutter speed.  The aperture setting and speedlight power will be the exposure settings for your subject.  Essentially, the camera's meter does not know you have a flash on and are going to use it to expose the foreground subject (person, etc).  In shade especially, the subject should not be metered off of for setting the shutter speed.  

So when setting up an an external flash shot with it mounted to your DSLR's hotshoe, even before the subject is in place set your shutter speed to expose the background light properly.  Now place your subject where you like and set the aperture and flash power to exposure the subject correctly, and your previously set shutter speed will take care of exposing the background properly.  Try this methodology the next time you use your external flash.  Of course, your DSLR should be set to manual mode, as well as your external flash.

Orange Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera HDR St. Petersburg Florida car photography

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An orange Lamborghini Superleggera on digital black background photographed in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRMy favorite Lamborghini is the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera because of why and how it was made (super lightweight to be the best driver's car possible).  At the Festivals of Speed Concours d'Elegance 2013 in St. Petersburg Florida I had the opportunity to photograph this orange Superleggera.  As is often the case with shooting at car shows, the background was less than ideal.

Original HDR image of this Lamborghini Superleggera at the Festivals of Speed St. Petersburg Florida 2013I had this in mind when looking for the best angle to photograph the Lamborghini.  I knew the background did not matter, I would edit it out.  What I looked for was minimal reflections in the car body.  To my surprise there were almost none the entire length of the driver's side, hence I setup my tripod to shoot it from this angle.  Choosing a black background also hid any imperfections in carrying over the shadow under the car.

Couples Model Portfolio Shoot in downtown St. Petersburg Florida

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Couples model portfolio shoot in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly foreground & SB-600 @ 1/2 power in collapsed shoot through umbrella in background

This shoot was with returning client Mark, but was by far the biggest contrast between photography services with the same client.  In November 2012 he reserved a car photography shoot for his Mustang Cobra and as you can see this time it was a model portfolio shoot, involving himself and his girlfriend too no less!  He saw some of my previous modeling shots at a brick wall and vintage door location and asked if we could use that same downtown St. Petersburg Florida spot.  

Using my favorite brick wall background in downtown St. Petersburg Florida model portfolio shoot - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly foreground & SB-600 @ 1/2 power in collapsed shoot through umbrella in backgroundFor the shoot Mark wanted some individual shots of himself, individuals of his girlfriend, and then also shots of them together as a couple switching between the brick wall background and the vintage door.  They also did a wardrobe change.  For the above shot I used the pinhole filter in Silver Efex Pro to create that shadowy black & white look.

Dynamic model portfolio shoot in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly foreground & SB-600 @ 1/2 power in collapsed shoot through umbrella in backgroundNot being professional models I suggested various ideas in addition to the ones they wanted to try too.  I always like to try and get a dynamic look shot, so I suggested a hair toss.  It took several tries and different starting points and remembering to smile even though she was flicking her head back, but in the end I got the result I envisioned for the shot.  

Urban model portfolio shoot in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly to frame right & SB-600 @ 1/2 power in 43" shoot through umbrella to frame leftFor their first model portfolio shoot they both did great and I am of course always happy to work with a previous client again.  I look forward to whatever type of shoot Marks wants to do next be it model, car or something else!

1-on-1 Sony A390 DSLR Photography Lesson in St. Petersburg Florida with Josh

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Josh focusing his Sony A390 DSLR during our 1-on-1 photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaJosh received a gift certificate from his wife for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson which he cashed in this past Saturday.  I met him in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida on a fine spring morning.  It was my first time to get hands on with the Sony A390 DSLR.  Josh had been using it mostly on auto-modes and as happens with such exposure modes was not getting consistent results.  From the start of our 2-hour photography lesson I had him shooting in manual mode to start to take control over his images and be able to get well exposed and sharp shots in any shooting conditions.

There are many things to learn about DSLR photography, from just very practical things like how to safely and properly change lenses.  Then there is how to review images accurately in the field and also how to simply hold a DSLR in the most stable position.  I teach all these things in addition to how to use make a photograph in manual mode.  We also packed in how to control depth of field (DoF) and how to make portraits in the shade.  It was a photography knowledge filled lesson!

Indian Rocks Beach 12 Person Candid Family Portraits in the afternoon

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Baby in the air on Indian Rocks Beach candid family portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power frame left & SB-600 @ 1/2 power frame right rearIt was an unusual family beach portrait session for me in two regards.  First, it was a large family of 12 people out on Indian Rocks Beach.  The more people the bigger the challenge of course.  Secondly, the client requested a 4pm start time since there were very young children in the shoot who could not stay awake for a more traditional sunset shoot which that day would have been until 7:50pm.  This latter condition though led to a new style shot I had not tried before (above) that I really like having one parent hold the baby in the air with the other parent looking on behind.

Afternoon on Indian Rocks Beach large 12-person family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightIn order to fight the power of the afternoon sun and still have the water in the background, I had to set my speedlights to 1/2 power to fill in the light on everyone's faces and also carefully angle everyone to get as much blue in the sky as possible.  That along with basically four babies in the photo made for a bit of a challenge!  I was very pleased with the result though.  It came out better than I thought possible for a middle of the afternoon portrait in direct sunlight.

This family told me they make this same photo year after year - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThey told me that they all make this same pose year after year and having many photos over time showing it.  I am glad to contribute the 2013 version of it!

Candid kids playing on Indian Rocks Beach - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/250th natural lightGetting all the babies close together was a no-go even with parents sitting them right next to each other, so leaving them to their own devices I had to do some moving myself to make this candid shot.

12-person family walking down Indian Rocks Beach candid portrait photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/500th natural lightA big action shot with 12 people on Indian Rocks Beach which was at least not crowded at that time of the day on a weekday afternoon!