Master Your Flash in Croton-on-Hudson, New York

April 27, 2012 in Master Your Flash

What's the key camera accessory? A flash, of course. And taking full advantage of your flash is the key to making good flash people pictures.

My next Master Your Flash one-day workshop will be on June 10, 2012 from 9 to 6 PM.

Where: Croton-on-Hudson, NY (one hour north of NYC).
When: June 10, 2012
Times: 9 AM to 6 PM
Cost: $250 (includes model fee)
Group: Limited to 10

We'll try to cover:
• Working with models
• Indoor and outdoor flash photography. (Outdoors only weather permitting)
• Daylight fill-in flash.
• Using gels and grids.
• Backgrounds
• Creative lighting with your flash on camera. Yes, that is possible!
• Taking the darn flash off the camera for even more creative lighting.
• Using reflectors and diffusers for flash photography.
• Using soft boxes.
• Using wireless transmitters.
• Portrait and environmental portraits.
• Processing your best pictures and group slide show.

We'll have lighting gear but you can bring some of your own.

Definitely bring your Canon Speedlite.

I have Canon Pocket Wizards. If you have another brand of camera/speedlite, you must know how to fire the flash remotely. I'll show you the techniques, but it's up to you to know your camera and speedlite.

You also need to know how to shoot on Manual Exposure.

Included with the workshop is an autographed copy of my book, Exploring the Light.

Shoot me an email for info. Space is limited - but the speedlite fun will be unlimited.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. If you can't make the workshop, check out my Light It! app and 24/7 Photo Buffet app. Click here.

Camera Awesome is Awesome

April 27, 2012

I'm in Seattle for my Canon Explorer of Light presentation tomorrow for Glazers Camera.

I'm also doing a photo walk later today with my several local photographers and my friends from Galzers Camera. On the walk, I will be using my favorite lens: Canon 24-105mm IS lens. My camera: new Canon 5D Mark III.

Tune in Monday for 5 days of 5D Mark III shots.

I took this shot this morning during my personal photo walk. I awesomized it using SmugMug's cool app, Camera Awesome. Then I used Shadows/Highlights in Photoshop CS6 to fine-tune the image.

You still have a few days to enter the Camera Awesome contest. Click here for info.

When I shoot, I look for creative composition. As Edward Weston said: Composition is the strongest way of seeing.

Quick composition tips:
- Name of the game, fill the frame.
- Try to create a balance in your photograph.
- Compose with depth-of-field in mind.
- Envision the end result.
- Always look up, down and back.

Click here to learn more about creative composition.

Explore the light,
Rick

Starting Monday: 5 Days of Canon EOS 5D Mark III Photographs and Tips

April 25, 2012

Starting Monday here on my blog, I'll be sharing my favorite Canon 5D Mark III photographs - along with tips - from my recent workshop for Light with Hal "Bull" Schmitt. I'd start sharing now, but I just got off the boat, the Northern Song. Then it's off to Seattle for photo walk and seminar for Canon and Glazers.

For now: the auto focus system on the 5D Mark III is simply amazing.

Stay tuned.

Click here to see my Alsaka gear list.

Click here to get on my workshop list.

See you here on my blog Monday.

Both of these photos illustrate good composition. Top: Separation between subjects. Bottom: Name of the game is to fill the frame. To learn more about composition, check out my class on Kelby Training: Composition, the strongest way of seeing.

Explore the light,
Rick

Orb or Softbox? That is a question for speedlite shooters

April 25, 2012 in Canon Speedlites, Master Your Flash, flash workshops, orbs, softboxes, speedslites

Soft boxes offer directional light. © Rick Sammon

I'm taking the weekend off from posting. Just finished five days of Alaska photos.

This was my most popular posts, so I'm re-posting it for those speedlite shooters who might have missed it.

On my Master Your Flash Workshops, I illustrate - among several other lighting techniques - the difference between portraits taken with softboxes and orbs. We place a speedlite in each flash accessories and get to work – and start to have fun.

Catherine Hall. © Rick Sammon

Basically, softboxes with recessed diffusion panels offer more directional light than orbs. The two illustrations above illustrate directional light from a softbox.

Above is a picture of me (taken in Dave Cross' studio) using a 28-inch Westcott Apollo softbox to light the subject from above, which was the same technique I used when I photographed Catherine Hall at the Google studio. Speaking of me: You can hire me as a voice activated light stand :-)

Artist Eddi Flemming. © Rick Sammon

Orbs with recessed diffusion panels produce a wider and softer beam of light than softboxes. They are nice to use when you want to light a wider area with softer shadows. I used my Westcott Orb for the photograph above. Orbs also wrap the light around a subject for softer light.

Umbrellas? I don't use them too often, but they are nice for large groups.

For more lighting tips, see my apps.

Explore the light,
Rick

Silver Efex Pro = Less Reality, More Creativity

April 23, 2012

When we remove the true color from a scene, we remove some of the reality.

When we remove some of the reality, our pictures can look more artistic and creative.

On my recent Fossil Rim Wildlife Center workshop, I used Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro to remove some of the reality from a few of my pictures. (Shoot me an email if you'd like to join my next Fossil Rim workshop.)

Above: Yellow 2 effect. Below: Neutral effect.