5.22 Friday Fun Photo

Hi All - TGIF

After teaching the benefits of using a reflector during one of my workshop (top photo), one of the participants came up with the idea for the bottom photo.

Here are two quick videos on how to use a reflector/diffuser kit. Just scroll down on that page and click the play arrows. One video for outdoors shooting, one for indoors.

Wanna jot down a quick caption for the bottom photo? All in fun! For ideas, see my Write a Caption post under Older Posts here.

Have a great weekend, pardner.
Rick

Each week I will try to post:
• Monday’s Inspirational Message
• Two Tips For Tuesday
• Where in the World? Wednesday
• Photo Thought for Thursday
• Friday Fun Photo
• Saturday Photoshop Mini-Session
• Sunday Speedlite Secrets

Subscribe to my blog and join the fun.

5.21 Photo Thought for Thursday - Watch the Hands


When photographing people, every detail is important – including the hands.

Compare these two photographs of a woman I photographed in Marrow Bone Springs, Texas. In the dressed-down photograph, the girl is gripping the pole with “man hands.” In the other photograph, she is holding the pole in a feminine manner.

By the way, the woman is a model, and is actually the person who taught me about “man hands.”

You'll find some more people photography tips/photos on the amazon.com page for my book, Face to Face. No! I did not take that picture of the nuns!

P.S. Yes, yes, yes! I know. Every detail is important in every photo. Also, here is a video clip from that same shoot. Post a comment on my video – but not on my skills at riding a horse, please.

Each week I will try to post:
• Monday’s Inspirational Message
• Two Tips For Tuesday
• Where in the World? Wednesday
• Photo Thought for Thursday
• Friday Fun Photo
• Saturday Photoshop Mini-Session
• Sunday Speedlite Secrets

Subscribe to my blog and join the fun.

Where in the World? Wednesday 5.20.09


One of my Rick Sammon On-Location Light Controller and Tote goes to the first non-professional photographer (in the US) who most accurately describes the location in which I took this photograph.

Post your answer here. Don't know? Take a guess. Who knows?

Good luck!
Rick
P.S. Packaging, postage, handling, tracking and insurance make shipping outside of the US too costly. Sorry :-(

Each week I will try to post:
• Monday’s Inspirational Message
• Two Tips For Tuesday
• Where in the World? Wednesday
• Photo Thought for Thursday
• Friday Fun Photo
• Saturday Photoshop Mini-Session

Stay tuned and subscribe to my blog and join the fun

Two for Tuesday 5.19.09

Welcome to Two For Tuesday – where you'll find two tips (one by a fellow pro and one by me) each. . . Tuesday :-)


Freeze It
Barry Zeek
www.barryzeek.com

I try to always plan my shots and not shoot from the hip. In this shot, taken on a bright, sunny day, my goal was to freeze the action.

My subject was traveling at 175 mph – pretty darn fast. Using my Canon EOS 1D Mark III, I chose a high shutter speed (1600th of a second) with the camera set to TV (time value) mode.

The reason to choose the TV mode is that if the light level changes, the shutter speed remains the same, while the camera changes the f-stop to compensate for the change in light level.

I set my camera on the AI Servo focus mode, which tracks the subject right up until the time of exposure.

And because the subject was moving so very fast, I set my drive mode to high speed, which gave me a series of pictures from which to choose.

To help ensure sharp, clean shots of fast-moving subjects, try the aforementioned camera settings. Also shoot with both eyes open, so you can see if any other subjects are coming into the scene.

_____________________

The Camera Looks Both Ways –
In Picturing the Subject, You are Also Picturing a Part of Yourself

Rick

When it comes to photographing people, the most important photo tip I can share with you is this: “The camera looks both ways – in picturing the subject, we are also picturing a part of ourselves.”

“Every picture is a self portrait” is another way of conveying that point. Let me explain.

When you are looking through your camera’s viewfinder, viewing and framing a subject, if you realize that the feeling, the emotion, the attitude and the energy that you project will be reflected in your subject’s face – and eyes – you’ll get a higher percentage of pictures that you like. That’s because by your actions, you are subconsciously “directing” the subject to mirror the way you feel.

In looking at this picture of the three school girls in Costa Rica, I don’t have to tell you how I was feeling at the moment when I snapped the shutter. Well, even though I don’t have to tell you – I was having a blast!

Pros: Share Your Business Philosophies

Calling all pros. Share your business philosophies here - help aspiring photographers.

Here are my top five:

1) It takes a lot of peanuts to feed an elephant.

2) The harder you work, the luckier you become.

3) When it comes to pricing a job: Lots of fun, I don't charge a lot; little fun, I charge a lot.

4) Devote time to social marketing: twitter, facebook, etc.

5) Never give up.

P.S. Here are two valuable business lessons.