The Shops at Wiregrass Wesley Chapel Car Show Event Photography July 2014

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SLS AMG Mercedes at a car show at the Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseI was surprised that such a suburban, strip mall kind of place like Wesley Chapel would be the site of something like an outdoor car show.  It seems the Shops at Wiregrass are more than just a place to buy things, but a sort of community event center home to car shows, firework displays and all other manor of outdoor events.  

A good crowd came out to the Shops at Wiregrass to see a car show on a typically hot and humid July in Florida afternoon - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseIt was unusual though to have a car show only start at 12pm and go to 4pm, the hottest time of the day.  Usually they start at least by 9am, which is important as Florida is not exactly an balmy place in July!  Despite the weather, I made a walk up and down the long rows of cars and stopped to take a few photos.  There were no cars I had not seen before, and the only supercar was the SLS AMG Mercedes in the top photo.  Still, it is always nice to have a local event to attend and be around other car fans.

Canon T3 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with Kristen in St. Petersburg Florida

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Kristen points her Canon T3 out at Tampa Bay during our 1-on-1 photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaOn a very humid, but thankfully overcast, Monday morning I met Kristen in downtown St. Petersburg for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with her long owned but never used Canon T3.  She received it as a present for Christmas, in 2012.  With an upcoming trip to Iceland planned, she decided she wanted to learn how to use it.  I am always glad to help someone make use of a long owned but little used DSLR.  There is a learning curve of course to manual photography, but it is not an overly steep one and with my 5-step process, I can actually teach someone theoretically all they need to know in less than 2-hours!

Kristen was a very careful notetaker during the lesson, something I encourage because even though I send a PDF photo guide of the things we cover during the lesson, having notes in your own words can really help.  She also asked questions too, which actually showed me she was grasping things very well about how to go about getting the exposure right and when to adjust aperture, shutter speed and ISO in the correct order to maximize image quality and exposure.  I look forward to seeing her results with all the knowledge she now has to shoot in manual mode with her Canon.

Nikon D7000 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson at Lettuce Lake Park with Mike

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Mike framing a shot on the boardwalk at Lettuce Lake Park with his Nikon D7000 during our 1-on-1 photography lessonIt was a return to Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa for me to meet Mike for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with his Nikon D7000.  He is going on a trip to Italy in a couple months and wanted to learn how to get the most out of his photography gear.  Having real photography skills I think is extremely valuable, not just for a pro shooter, but for any enthusiast photographer as his/her photos of family, friends and vacations will be at a whole different level than photos from years past.  

After going how to use his Nikon D7000 camera body in the visitor's center, we wandered out onto the boardwalk to put the 5-step process I had detailed to him to practical use.  This 5-step process allows one to make a well exposed and sharp photograph in any shooting conditions.  The boardwalk takes us from bright sunshine (see above) to deep shade such that even though it was day time, we found conditions where the limit of aperture and shutter speed were reached and the ISO needed to be increased.  We only used one of Mike's lenses, so when we meet again it will be on to longer focal lengths!

Canon T3i 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson at Lettuce Lake Park Tampa Florida with Mary

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Mary looking like a pro with her Canon T3i during our photography lesson in Lettuce Lake Park Tampa FloridaOn an increasingly warm Saturday morning I met Mary in Lettuce Lake Park for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with her Canon T3i.  We met in the visitor's center to sit in air conditioned comfort at first as I introduced her to both her Canon DSLR and also my 5-step process for making a well exposed and sharp shot in any shooting conditions.  Mary took notes during this time (which I recommend) as I spoke about the default settings I start out with for daylight and also indoors.  

After this we moved outside and onto the boardwalks that are the best feature of Lettuce Lake Park.  There was no lack of wildlife to be seen starting with a good-sized alligator, then a cottonmouth snake on a branch and of course a few turtles and fish.  There were rumors of a very large banded water snake, but we never saw it ourselves.  The shadows and changing light out on the boardwalk allowed Mary to practice getting the exposure correct in manual exposure mode.  I taught her to use the meter in her viewfinder to help get the correct shutter speed, and then when necessary to increase aperture in really shady spots.  

We never got a chance to use her 75-300mm lens, so we will be meeting again soon to see the world more close up through her telephoto lens.

Nikon D3300 Commercial Jewelry Photography Lesson in Seminole Florida with Mark

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Mark sets up jewelry at his office to be photographed with his new Nikon D3300 in Seminole Florida

I traveled to Seminole to meet Mark in his office where he runs a jewelry business.  He wanted to learn how to make his own products shots, so this was a commercial photography lesson, different than the usual hobbyist/enthusiast photography lessons I teach.  However, we began the same as most other lessons with me detailing my 5-step process for making a well exposed and sharp shot in any shooting conditions.  In the past Mark did work with film cameras, but found things to be a bit different with digital cameras.  

I also gave Mark some buying advice and clarity on the lenses and gear he could use to make the best product shots possible.  He told me he had bought a 50mm macro lens to go with his Nikon D3300, which I was unaware of Nikon making.  It turns out it was just the usual 50mm f/1.8G lens Nikon sells.  He was told by the salesperson at Best Buy it was.  Let that be a warning to everyone shopping for proper photography equipment at Best Buy, do not rely on the staff there to know about photography!  

Still, using the photography equipment he had, we were able to practice a product shot on a very small pendant all the way through the digital editing process on his desktop.  With that practice and experience during our 2-hour 1-on-1 commercial photography lesson, Mark can now better decide if and what he would like to invest in for making better product photographs.  

1-on-1 Canon T3i DSLR Photography Lesson low light practice in Tampa Florida with Sara

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Practicing low light photography in a parking garage in Tampa Florida with Sara and her Canon T3iFor the second Thursday morning in a row, I met Sara in downtown Tampa in Curtis Hixon Park.  Since our first lesson seven days ago, she has been practicing a lot and had some questions.  She found out that making photographs indoors is not as straight forward as it is out in broad daylight.  She showed me a few photo situations that were causing her trouble via sample shots still on her memory card.  I then told her of my default indoor settings of f/5.6 1/60th and ISO 800 and how that would have allowed her to get the kind of exposure she wanted, along with using flash too of course.  

Then to put this in practice we stepped out of the bright sunshine and into a parking garage that had as little ambient light as any home or event space gets.  First I showed Sara how to get acceptable results without flash by cranking the ISO up to 3200!  Next I had her use the built-in pop up flash which allowed for a more practical ISO of 800.  I do not recommend relying on the pop up flash, but it can make due until an external flash can be invested in.

We finished our time in the parking garage with a few fum motion blur shots by zooming in and out while we pressed the shutter (see above photo).

1-on-1 Canon T3i DSLR Photography Lesson in Curtis Hixon Park Tampa Florida with Sara

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Sara lines up a shot with her Canon T3i in Curtis Hixon Park during our 1-on-1 photography lesson in Tampa FloridaI met Sara on a bright sunny Tampa morning in Curtis Hixon Park for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with her newly acquired Canon T3i.  She has always taken a lot of photos with a point & shoot camera and her iPhone, and now wanted to build on her photography resume with learning how to shoot with a DSLR.  She was enthusiastic about learning my 5-step process for making a well exposed and sharp photograph in any shooting situation.  Despite not having any photography term knowledge previously, she was able to remember the 5-steps from memory by the end of our 2-hour lesson.  Well done!

Curtis Hixon Park provided us a very good variety of spots all within a small area that had plenty of subject matter to practice on from controling the background DoF, photographing moving subjects to making portraits in the shade.  It was my first time to have a lesson at that park and probably will not be the last for students wanting lessons in Tampa.  

I may be meeting Sara again before she heads off to college at the end of the summer.  I look forward to continuing to help her improve her photography knowledge and skills.