Three Quotes For Dad's Day

Three Quotes for Father's Day:

The father becomes the son and the son becomes the father.

We are a part of everyone we meet.

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection. - Sigmund Freud

Happy Father's Day to all those great dads out there.

Rick

"Tough Love" is Now "Photo Makeover"

On-line, I've been helping photographers make better images for about two years with my Tough Love Portfolio Review sessions. 


On my live workshops and seminars, I've been offering photo advice to photographers for more than 20 years.


I'm still giving tough love during my on-line sessions, but after follow ups with the photographers, I see that the end result is often a photo makeover and a business makeover. So, Photo Makeover is the new name for my on-line sessions.

I offer these one-on-one photo sessions in your home via Skype. I can help you with your photography and Photoshop/Lightroom techniques – and of course the business side of photography.

I am very honest in these sessions. See the comments below to see just how honest I am with photographers.

Here's how it works: 
1) You shoot me an email and we set a time. I am on NY time. 
2) You prepay with PayPal. $95 for the one-hour, private session.
2a) PayPal account: ricksammon@mac.com.
3) You send me a link to your work.
4) You tell me your time zone.
5) You tell me your goals.
6) Half-hour follow up sessions are $40 . . . if you want one.

If you live in the U.S., I'll include an autographed copy of my book, Exploring the Light as part of the session. Shipping and custom forms makes international shipping difficult.

Why choose me to review your work? Well, I have been involved with photography since 1978, when I began interviewing some of the photography greats. I have also written 36 books and have 9 apps. Plus, I do lots of on-line training, lead workshops and give seminars. And, before turing pro, I worked in the an advertising/PR agency for 10 years, so I have some experience with marketing your work. I also teach social media marketing.

Explore the light,
Rick

6.19.12: Free Webinar Presented by Pocket Wizard

I had a blast today shooting the videos for my free webinar next week with Joe Brady from the MAC Group.

Info:
Tuesday, June 19.
1 PM Easter Time for about one hour.
Topic: Using one speedlite (in a soft box) triggered by a Pocket Wizard for creative portraits - indoors and out.

Here's the link to the webinar.

If you miss the webinar, it will be archived here.

If you want to get on the mailing list for future workshops, webinars and seminars, shoot me an email.

I created the opening image for this post using one of the shots I took during the session. I added the light burst in Photoshop using the Lens Flare filter.

We shot the indoor segments in my office. I don't have a studio, but we made it work – just as you can with a little photo know-how.

Our crew, from right to left: MAC Group's Rick Calvelli, camera and sound; MAC Group's Joe Brady; Donna Bradley, our model; and yours truly.

If my basic speedlite setup looks familiar, it's because it's the same one I used for my portrait, The Photograph of The Girl with a Pearl Earring.

I also teach this setup on some of my group and private lighting workshops.

After shooting indoors, we went outside and demonstrated daylight fill-in flash - and more.

We hope to see you on the webinar. Good learning. Good people. Good fun.

For more lighting tips, check out my apps: Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet and Light It!

Explore the light,
Rick


Gear I used for the shoot:
Canon 7D
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens
Canon 24-105mm IS lens
Pocket Wizard AC3 Zone Controller
Pocket Wizard Flex Transceiver
Pocket Wizard Mini
Canon 580EX II Speedlite
Lexar 16GB Professional 400X Compact Flash Cards
Westcott Apollo Soft Box
Westcott 6-in-1 Delux Illuminate Kit
Tether Tools Essentials Pack

10 Countries, 10 Days, 10 Tips: Day 10 - Cambodia

It's Day 10 (last day) of my travel series here on my blog. Thanks for following along. If you missed a day or two, scroll down.

Location: Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

Tip: Get on site early to photograph this archeological wonderland from the path that runs along the reflecting pond near the entrance. If you are lucky, you'll get a nice sunrise.  Because you'll be shooting into the sun, shoot HDR.

You can't miss the path, and neither can dozens of other photographers, some with tripods! That's why you want to get there early. Bring a flashlight so you can see where you are going and what you're doing.

Inside the temple, shoot wide and shoot HDR. You especially need HDR when your photograph has both sky and shadows in the frame. I photographed this scene with my Canon 14mm lens. I converted it to B&W using Nik Silver Efex Pro. All the plug-ins I use are on my Save on Creative Plug-ins Page.

Of course, photograph the buddhist monks. I found them ready, willing and able for a photo session.

My #1 people photography tip: The camera looks both ways; in picturing the subject we are also picturing a part of ourselves.

My #2 photo tip: light the eyes.

You'll find more people photography tips in my app, Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet.

I hope to see you on one of my workshops, in the US or abroad.

Explore the light,
Rick

10 Countries, 10 Days, 10 Tips: Day 9 - Peru

Rick  Sammon photograph.

It's Day 9 of my travel series here on my blog. Thanks for joining me.

Location: Machu Picchu, Peru.

Tip: Pack your wide-angle lens or wide-angle zoom. The wider the better.

Machu Picchu is breathtaking – in more ways than one.

First, at about 8,000 feet above sea level, the air is thin. Hiking around can literally take away your breath. Therefore, you must be in good physical condition for your trek to this 15th-century Inca site. In addition, you may get an altitude headache. Drinking coco tea can help.

Second, the site is, indeed, breathtaking. To capture the entire scene, you'll need a very wide-angle lens. I used my Canon 15mm lens to capture these scenes. If I go back, I'd take the new Canon 8-15mm zoom. It's the most versatile wide-angle lens available for landscape photography.

If you can't capture the entire scene with one lens, shoot a panorama.

Rick Sammon photograph.

Due to the contrast range in the scene (bright sky and deep shadows), you'll probably want to shoot HDR. If you are new to HDR, check out this article: HDR Must Know Info.

Both of these photographs have a good sense of depth, due to the foreground elements. When there is not an obvious foreground element in your frame, use the ground as your foreground element. For more composition techniques, see my Composition class on Kelby training.

Here's another tip: Don't look down!

I hope you can join me on one of my workshops and photo tours. Great fun, great photo ops and great people.

Explore the light,
Rick