Photography Tip - turn your flash off sometimes when shooting indoors

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I have recommended getting a speedlight (external flash) to many of my photography students who want to make photographs indoors.  In fact, I say it is a must have piece of gear for any photographer really.  Is use my speedlights off camera for portraits, and on camera for photographing events (where quick mobility is needed).  A speedlight is useful in so many ways for all kinds of shooting.  

That said, a photography tip to add to your memory banks is to not fall in love with exclusively using flash for indoor event photography.  Using a speedlight for indoor event photography will produce very consistent results, which is a good thing of course.  If you are photographing a business conference where there is no need for creative shots, then keep that speedlight on.  However, for getting the most variety out of your event shooting, turn the speedlight off sometimes.  

In the above examples, the exact same camera settings were used.  In fact, the bottom photo was taken only 4 seconds after the first.  Everything about shooting was the same, except no flash fired in shooting the bottom photo.  As you can see, the photos are totally different.  Using the speedlight we can see all details in the artist and in the background.  The ambient light of the room is all but drowned out.  In the second shot we see only the slightest details of the artist and the ambient light provides a cool backlighting.  The impression the photos give the viewer end up being quite different.

Now I must confess the second shot was not done on purpose!  My flash could not recycle fast enough and simply did not fire.  Many the time though in my photography experience I have learned something from a happy accident like this.  So now when I photograph events that do not all require the uniform flashed look, I turn my speedlight off and use ambient light to create an entirely different photo.  Give this a try the next time you are shooting indoors.

Attorney Professional Business Headshot in St. Petersburg Florida with Christine

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In my home studio I made this photograph of St. Petersburg Attorney Christne - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/160th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 in 43" brolly - digital background Another attorney visited my home studio this month for a professional business headshot.  Maybe it is the season for lawyer's to get a new headshot?  Even though a headshot shoot is relatively straight forward I find there is still quite a bit of room for variations and creativity.  There is the lighting style, the aspect ratio of the headshot, the kind of background and more.  So even though I use the same spot in my apartment for each headshot I do, there is always something I end up changing (or improving) from the previous shoot.  It is my practice to always try and out do the previous shoot I do of any kind.

Christine liked the blue-gray gradient background I used in another portrait, so I photographed her on a white background then in Photoshop "removed" her from that photo and placed her onto a digitally created background, as seen above.

Sakura Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo Japan means Spring has arrived

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Inokashira Park with sakura cherry blossoms in full bloom - Olympus 5060 digital cameraIt is the first day of spring, which in Florida does not have as much meaning as there is never really any winter so it's not a date to look forward to like it is in most parts of the world.  This is expecially true in Tokyo, where the end of March brought my favorite (and millions of others' favorite) time of year, cherry blossom season.  Sakura (the Japanese word, also a popular name for girls) bloom for about two weeks.  If things time out right, that means getting two weekends to enjoy the pinkish white blossoms.  Above is Inokashera Park, a place to see sakura in a more natural setting from land or water.  Many couples go out on small boats, but the legend of the pond is that any couple that does is then doomed to breakup!

The old & new of the Shinjuku area of Tokyo Japan with a river lined with cherry blossoms.This photo is from my neighborhood in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo and highlights the contrast of the ultra-modern, the traditional and the natural world all in one, which is why of all places I lived abroad, Shinjuku was the only one I felt a real connection with.  On this weekday, I had the cement river walkway all to myself.

Overlooking a pond in Shinjuku Gyoen during cherry blossom season

The pond and overlook temple above are in Shinjuku Gyoen, perhaps the most esteemed place to go to see sakura.  This park was within walking distance from my apartment and my favorite place to escape the city while still being in the heart of the city.  

1-on-1 Nikon D3200 DSLR Photography Lesson in St. Petersburg Florida with Al

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Al composing a shot with his Nikon D3200 in downtown St. Petersburg Florida during our 1-on-1 photography lesson.On a very sunny late winter Florida afternoon I met longtime networking friend Al for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson.  I have known Al for several years and we have referred business to each other (him more to me, thanks Al!).  He is the owner of Bayprint.  He got a Nikon D3200 a little while ago and has past photography knowledge from the film days, but like many people who book a lesson, just needed some help organizing and putting that knowledge to use in a very specific and exact manner.  That is exactly what my 5-step process for getting a well exposed and sharp shot in any shooting conditions is designed to do.  

After overcoming an unusual shutter action when having Al for the first time shoot in manual mode (quiet shutter mode activated itself!), we made our way around beautiful downtown St. Pete practicing how to control DoF to make the background be a non-factor in a shot and also how to photograph moving subjects.  The St. Pete Grand Prix is coming up this weekend and Al is going to be track side.  We practiced on far slower cars on Beach Drive, but the technique is the same.  We finished covering how to make motion blur shots in broad daylight.  I look forward to seeing Al's grand prix shots!

Photography Tip - use harsh sunlight to backlight your subject

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Photography Tip - incorporating harsh sunlight as a part of your photographIn Florida especially, there is often harsh sunlight to deal with when making outdoor portraits.  In the above example, I was working with a model on a portfolio shoot close to sunset time.  Having such an abudnance of light, I decided to make it an element of the photograph.  Putting the sun partially or entirely behind the subject can create a very strong, backlit effect.  Depending on your lens and position, some lens flare may be visible and add yet another element to the image.  I still used a speedlight off camera to frame right to help get enough exposure on the model then let the sun do the rest in the background.

Instead of fighting against the sun, try working with it to create unusual lighting effects in your portraits.  

Corporate Headshots for Wealth Management in Tampa Florida Photography

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Corporate Headshot for wealth management in Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 in 43" brolly each @ 1/2 power

After the longest period from first contact to actual shoot date (almost 6 months!) I was glad to finally head to Tampa to make corporate headshots for the staff at a wealth management company.  One or more are often out of the office so I was in contact about every two weeks in that six months period trying to find a date everyone was available on.  Following up is key sometimes!  

They requested my standard neutral gray background for their headshots, and a traditonal vertical rectangle composition.  I used two speedlights, each in a 43" brolly.  One about 45 degrees to frame front right and one half closed to the rear of frame left.  

Smiling for a corporate business headshot in Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 in 43" brolly each @ 1/2 power

I had each person sit on a small stool and lean forward a bit with their right elbow on their right thigh to create depth and a more natural look overall.  Shooting in this kind of controled environment using the existing background means minimal editing needs to be done other than a little touching up and contrast tweaks.  

Having fun on location in my portable headshot studio in Tampa Florida. Collapsible gray background used on a stand and clipped to the wall hanging and a 43" brolly left & right with speed lights inside.

My portrable headshot studio fit nicely right in their office lobby!  It was a fun shoot and everyone did a great job in front of the lens.   

Aston Martin Vanquish in Cobalt Blue in St. Petersburg Florida duPont Concours d'Elegance Car Photography

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Aston Martin Vanquish in Cobalt Blue a stunning supercar St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRThe highlight of going to the duPont Concours d'Elegance in St. Petersburg Florida last month was getting to see this Aston Martin Vanquish in person.  To me, it is the most beautiful car in existence, as seen here in a special Cobalt Blue color, although I think it looks its absolute best in Skyfall Silver.  I just stood next to this supercar and appreciated all the lines and details in the carbon fiber bodywork.  It was parked in the far back corner of the event space, but I would have put it right by the entrance!

The original image used to make the finished edit of the Aston Martin Vanquish above.As is often the case with photographing cars at car shows, the background was less than ideal.  There was also a Mercedes S550 right next to it limiting the angles the Aston Martin could even be photographed from.  To minimize distraction I cut just the car itself out and dropped it onto a digital black background in Photoshop (top photo).  This particular Vanquish as of this moment is still for sale at Dimmit Aston Martin!