Nikon D3200 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson Honeymoon Island State Park Florida with Karin

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Karin framing a shot with her Nikon D3200 during our 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson at Honeymoon Island State ParkI had not been to Honeymoon Island State Park for awhile, but on a Saturday back in November I had first a 1-on-1 DSLR Photo Lesson with Karin and her Nikon D3200, then a maternity shoot with a former photo student.  I met Karin at the park's visitor center which provided a comfortable place to first discuss my 5-step process for getting a well expososed and sharp photo in any given shooting situation.  

After that the grounds around the visitor's center itself provided enough variety to put into practice how I had instructed Karin, step-by-step, to shoot in manual exposure mode.  The variety of shady mangroves and bright sky provided a good contrast for learning how to quickly change between shooting conditions.  About 7 to 10 seconds (or faster) is the time range I set for students to get to for changing all 5 settings as need be between shooting conditions, and then even less than that for adjusting in the same conditions.  Of course I do not expect such quickness during the first lesson!  In time with experience and becoming more familiar with the Nikon camera body, Karin will be able to minimize the time getting settings right allowing her to maximize the time to get a shot in the first place and then compose it as desired.

Photo Tip - put a major subject focal point in a third and a third

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Many of my hundreds of photography students start out always centering the subject in the frame during our first lessons.  That is understandable as they are busy learning my 5-step process for making a well exposed and sharp photograph in any given shooting situation.  Once the technical apsects of photography take up less of the process of making a photo, then one can begin to focus on being creative, and the first step in that is composition.  

The rule of thirds is a good way to start getting more appealing composition, but I like to think in two dimensions with the rule of thirds as well.  By that I mean putting a major feature of my subject in a vertical thid and a horizontal third.  In the above example of a model at the Dali Museum, the upper third and left third interset right by the model's face.  Then the lower third and left third intersect by her hand and the melting clock.  There is still a good amount of negative space in the frame, but that is put to the far upper and left parts of the photo.  I would not want a lot of negative space on both sides of the subject (as in if I had centered her with no focal points other than along the midpoint of the photograph).

So the next time you go out shooting, especially a portrait, try putting a major subject focal point at a third and a third in the frame.

The final version of the photo putting a major focal point at a third and a third

Crown Jaguar F-Type Client Event at Dali Museum St Petersburg Florida Photography

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Guests arrive to pose in front of the new Jaguar F-Type at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg event photography - Nikon D300 tripod mounted with cable release Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly

The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg was host to an event put on by Crown Jaguar for guests to come and see some of its cars, including the stunning new Jaguar F-Type Coupe (see above).   This was my second time working for Crown, as I photographed the Audi A3 premiere event back in April too.  This time they hired me to photograph all the guests as they arrived in front of a F-Type.  This was my first time doing this kind of arrival portrait photography actually.  The shooting began just before sunset so early arriving guests got a colorful background like in the above portrait.  Soon night came and the background became just a few distant lights.

My setup for making guest arrival portraits a speedlight in each broody and my camera tripod mounted so I got the exact same framing and background for each shot - photo made by iPhone 6

This was my setup for all the portraits.  My camera was on a tripod so every shot was in the same framing.  I advised people to stand in front of the front wheel of the Jaguar F-Type Coupe to further insure similar photo results.  I had two speedlights each in a brolly and kept the one to frame left constant, but as night fell moved the one to frame right to also light the car more.  Unfortunately, the provided lighting for the car was not very bright at all.  I compensated for that by moving one speedlight and tweaking a few camera settings.  I ended up pleased with the results of night portraits using just two speedlights with a large background object (the car).  

Some guests at the Crown Jaguar F-Type Dali Museum event arrived in costume - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/60th - tripod mounted with cable release - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly

Some guests wore costumes as Halloween was just three days away.  It was interesting to look up and see who might appear before my lense each shot.  Many people joked asking if this photo was their opportunity to win the car or something like that.  I only ever replied simply, "umm, no."  

From dusk to night shooting guests arriving in front of the Jaguar F-Type at the Dali Museum St. Petersburg Event Photography - Nikon D300 tripod mounted with cable release Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/30th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly

The Jaguar F-Type Coupe received universal praise for its looks by everyone.  As of the time of shooting, Crown Jaguar did have this particular F-Type for sale!  

The Jaguar F-Type coupe made for a stunning backdrop for portraits at the Crown Jaguar Dali Museum in St. Petersburg - event photography - Nikon D300 tripod mounted with cable release Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 320 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly

It was a fun and challenging evening of photography, my favorite kind, and I got to stare at a beautiful car the whole time too.  Two Crown Jaguar employees helped make sure each guest would receive their print of the photos I made by writing down the photo number as I shot, thank you ladies!

NFL Player Professional Business Headshot Michael Clayton Tampa Florida

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Michael Clayton former NFL player creative headshot Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 in collapsed brolly to frame right

I received a phone call from a networking and St. Pete Chamber of Commerce friend I had not seen in a long time.  She is now working for former NFL player Michael Clayton.  She asked if I could come out to his private residence and make a variety of headshots, from full body standing, to three-quarters to the classic head and neck only.  While showing them some samples of past headshots, they both liked the deep shadow style seen above.  I shot in a bright room, but just used a very fast shutter speed and concentrated a single speedlight on Michael not letting any spill light bounce off walls, etc.

Full body style headshot of Michael Clayton former NFL Player Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly

To make the full body standing headshot on a clean white digital background, I put a white cover over my expandable standing background to make it easier to "cut" Michael later out of the shot.

Three-quarter style headshot of Michael Clayton former NFL player Tampa headshot photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/80th - Strobist: SB-800 and SB-600 both in a brolly

This was the most challenging shot of the session, the three-quarters view, in particular how to place Michael's hands and arms.  The above pose was the last we came up with and I think works well.

Modern square orientation digital white background of NFL player Michael Clayton Tampa headshot photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in a brolly

I recommended square orientation for Michael's more traditional business headshot as that is what is used on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  I think square orientation makes a headshot look more modern as well, and the lighting is more in a modern sense too with some highlight and shadow areas.

It was a fun and challenging headshot shoot and a chance to try a variety of styles in a single session.  Thank you Michael and Janice!

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

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Dan sets up a shot at Lettuce Lake Park during our 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in Tampa FloridaDan recently moved to Florida and wanted to make sure he can have great photographs of the sunshine state right away with his newly acquired Canon T3i.  So I met him at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa, Florida for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson.  Dan was an enthusiastic learner with some previous knowledge of photography.  By the end of the 2-hour lesson he had a lot more photography knowledge!

We went out onto the boardwalk in the park where the sun was darting in and out of clouds.  This would be annoying most times for photography, but it allowed us to practice getting the best exposure while standing in one spot as after almost every shot, the light would be different, and something would need to be adjusted to get the best exposure again.  

I am looking forward to seeing what Dan photographed being a newcomer to Florida during our next photography lesson and helping him continue to grow with photography knowledge and skills.

Kool & the Gang perform at Vinoy Resort St Petersburg Florida PARC Sapphire Ball 2014

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Kool & the Gang horn playing at PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D90 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 1250 1/200th

Concluding the festivities at the PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball at the Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida was a performance by Kool & the Gang.  This gave me an opportunity for live concert photography after several hours of general candid event photography.   

Kool & the Gang rocked the small stage at Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/30th

They played over an hour set of their hits making it seem like it was the 1970s, even asking the crowd, what were you doing in the 70s?  Many in attendance were similar in age to the band so they could very well have been dancing to Kool & the Gang back then at one of their first concerts. 

Kool & the Gang still have dance moves on stage at Vinoy Resort PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 1600 1/100th

Kool & the Gang still had all their trademark dance moves and seemed to hold nothing back jumping in the air, cavorting around the stage and giving a max energy performance for those attending the PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball.

Kool & the Gang still feeling it during Vinoy Resort performance St. Petersburg Concert Photography - Nikon D90 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 1600 1/320th

I used a variety of lenses to get different shots of the members of Kool & the Gang.  It was not really possible to get right in front of the stage due to the crowd and lack of barrier between them and the stage, so I mostly shot from the sides.

Kool & the Gang reflective moment on stage PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 1600 1/500th

There was pretty good lighting during the concert which I tried to use as best as possible to enhance the concert photographs I made.  

Kool & the Gang bathed in sapphire light during PARC 45th Sapphire Ball concert at Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 1600 1/320th

This low sapphire lighting seemed to glow like a fog on stage, a very cool effect.

Kool & the Gang taking it to heart performing at PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Florida Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 1600 1/200th

I kept wondering where one can get a Kool & the Gang style sequin animal print shirt?  Is there like a 70s rock star store one can go to?  Are they custom made?  Do they travel with hundreds in a case?

The crowd was very into it as Kool & the Gang performed at PARC 45th Sapphire Ball Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ 5.6 ISO 800 1/25th SB-800 speedlight hotshoe mounted

Though many in the crowd matched or surpassed the ages of Kool & the Gang, the dance floor was packed and they were getting down on it, celebrating and keeping it too hot.

Photography Tip - Slow your photography down

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The fastest way to get better at photography is to slow downOne of the fastest ways to improve your photography is to slow down.  I have taught hundreds of people 1-on-1 in the Tampa Bay area and often I see an unnecessary sense of urgency in trying to get a photo among people new to DSLR photography.  It is true, when I am on a job shooting, I defnitely have a sense of urgency to produce in a timely manner, but this is not the case for someone out learning photography.  There is no pressure to produce for a client, and certainly no money on the line when you press the shutter!  So why not slow down and take the pressure off of yourself?  

There are a number of ways to slow down your photography.  One way is to use a tripod.  Attaching your camera to three long legs, having to carry that larger system around, and most significantly being able to set the camera on a stable structure so you do not have to support the weight of it while shooting, all naturally slows things down.  Shooting with a tripod is very relaxing.  You can frame the shot exactly how you want adjusting the tripod head.  You can stop and think as the physical burden of holding the often heavy-ish DSLR and lens is removed.  Picking up, moving, and re-setting up a tripod takes time that you can use to really think about what you would like to photograph next.  

Another way to slow down your photography is to give yourself a shot limit.  When I got my first DSLR in 2008, I took a lot of shots, but at least I was grinding through self-teaching myself photography.  However, even after establishing my 5-step system for shooting in manual mode, I would go to a park or some place and come back with 300+ shots.  That is a lot of shooting when not on a paying job!  There is no way I could have really thought out each of those shots.  So I recommend giving yourself a shot limit.  The next time you go to a park, pretend it's like the film days and give yourself only 24 presses of the shutter, or 36, just choose something less than 50.  Mistakes count as one of those shots.  When thinking of making a photograph you will start to develop a more critical eye and decide is this really something I want to shoot?  What is the subject matter?  What is the story this photograph will tell?

Slowing your photography down by using a tripod and/or giving yourself a shot limit will allow you to answer those questions.  You will also have far fewer shots to go through to find the gems you want to edit and keep.  Try slowing down your photography as you learn and even after you have become an accomplished shooter.  Did you come back home with a higher number of keeper images?