Stoked to be teaming up with my good friend, John Craig, for a Beginner’s photography workshop in January. January begins the 3 month stretch where most of us hibernate and think of all the things we want to do and should be doing. The problem is that we just sit there on the couch or chair in front of the computer or tv instead of moving. We wanted to kick of 2010 with a wonderful learning experience, especially for those of you that will have just received new Digital SLR’s from Santa Claus or the like!

This is a cut and paste from John’s original post:
David Burke & John Craig
How To Everything (& More): PHOTOGRAPHY

In your gut you want to be a PHOTOGRAPHER. Or maybe you just want to learn how to use that expensive camera you just bought but you’re not sure who to ask. You have a great eye for composition but you just need some guidance, an advisor to help YOU fulfill your dreams. Make the jump from thinking, daydreaming and create great photographs…

Is this you?
-You take great pictures
-Everybody tells you that you take great pictures
-Your friends and family always ask you to bring your camera
-You bought an expensive new DSLR camera
-You have no idea how to use to it, except on AUTO
-The camera’s manual scares the bajesus out of you
-You love photography and want to get better

Who should take this workshop?
-If the list above is YOU
-You love taking photographs
-ISO, F/stop, shutter speed, and aperture are words that means nothing to you
-You have no idea what DSLR means
-If you want to able to tell your camera what to do
-If you want the mysteries of the photo universe revealed to you

What you will learn:
-Understanding exposure
-How to use your camera in manual mode
-How to take a photo “correctly” in camera
-Natural light techniques
-Understanding your lens
-Understanding White Balance
-Flash Techniques

Date: January 23, 2010
Location: 502 W. North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Time: 10 am-4pm
Cost: $175.00: includes boxed lunch
Class limited to 15 people
Contact Elizabeth Craig at 724.355.9079 or by email at craigphotography@mac.com for more information and to register.

Ah, the nasty word, critique. Actually it is not nasty at all. In fact, critiques are vital to our growth. It is easy to become complacent and lose desire to improve on the many aspects of what we do. Don’t fall into this ditch. If you are in the ditch already, why not start the climb with a critique from a trusted friend or colleague.

Recently I asked for some critiques from a few trusted sources that have lit a fire under my but and have ignited my “passion & skill flames” to grow, grow, grow. One critique from the Photography Side of things and the other from the Business Side of things.

Some topics of our discussions (in no specific order):

• Photographic Style
• Portfolio
• Blogging, Twitter, FB and Social Media as a whole
• Products
• Market Position
• Equipment
• Presentation
• Marketing
• Education
• Inspiration
• Branding

Each topic (and more) all come together for the big picture of what I am trying to accomplish. I cannot tell you the value that these critiques have added to me, but more importantly my clients and future clients I serve.

Things to keep in mind when receiving a critique:
1. Do you trust this person?
2. Does this person understand your vision?
3. Take heart and be prepared to eat some humble pie. If you are a know it all, then you will probably not benefit from a critique (actually you will, but you will probably become angry ). You must be willing to see outside of your bubble and understand what the person is telling you. If you do not understand, ask for clarification. Sometimes the truth hurts. I think this is very valuable to growth.
4. Set an action plan to put things in place.
5. Ask for a follow up critique to track progress.

From a photography standpoint, I do not think the person critiquing needs to have the same vision as you or even like your style. It is key that they understand what it is YOUR vision is. This will enable them to make good decisions to help you.
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Here is a made up scenario where a critique may help:
Seymour is a photographer. He photographs weddings, children and fashion. His website is a combination of all three. Seymour has a twitter, facebook and blog. Seymour wants to appear “high end” but his portfolio is a mish mash of these three items. By viewing we are not sure what his specialty is, because he “specializes” in weddings, children and fashion. He loves weddings most of all and says he is a photojournalist. His wedding portfolio does not display that he is a photojournalist, it looks more like a collection of portraits with many special effects applied to the images. He is disappointed from the quality of inquiries he is getting. He starts pushing other types of photography, because he needs money to pay the bills. He lacks heart and passion for the other types of photography and it is apparent in his portfolio. Random specials pop up about his other types of services that are really hurting his wedding business (though he is unaware). His fashion photography does not really look very fashionable. Some of it is a bit on the risque side. He regularly posts to his facebook and twitter accounts however most posts are very negative and fowl language is used frequently.

Critique from a trusted colleague:
OK, what kind of photographer are you? Wedding, Children, Fashion? – Specialize
What do you LOVE? – FOCUS
What style do you love? – Grow and improve upon this style, again comes down to passion, skill and focus
Who is your target audience? – Figure this out
How will you reach them?
If you want to focus on Children’s photography, be cautious about what you say on twitter and facebook. If I was a parent interested in your work, and read some of the things you say, I would definitely not hire you to photograph my child.
If you are a photojournalist, I would not hire you based on your portfolio. I would probably recommend you though, to another potential client that loves wedding portraiture and effects.
You are mixing Risque Fashion Porfolio images with Children Photography Images. Again, I would probably not hire you to photograph my child.
I respect that you need to make a living and may need money to pay your bills. I think it is a great idea to use your skills to do this. You should create a separate portfolio and business segment in order to achieve this effectively.
I would love to see you dial in your portfolio and cut the fat. YOUR BEST should be in there. Nothing less.
Figure out what it is you want to do and who you want to reach and pursue this relentlessly. You will be taking risks, but you will not achieve success without risk.
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This scenario and critique is totally random however this is how they work. I guarantee it will help you. It will be hard work and may be a bit painful, but you can do it! I want to see you succeed. If you do not know anyone that can give you constructive critique, please let me know. I would be more than happy to provide a critique for you. I may be slow to get to it, but I will. I promise.

Continuing our discussion of understanding digital exposure, lets move on to Step 2. Aperture.

If you ever hear someone talking about f-stops, shooting wide open, bokeh or depth of field, chances are they are referring to Aperture.

Aperture (AKA F-STOP) is the opening of your camera’s lens. This dictates THE AMOUNT of light (think How Much) allowed in to hit the camera’s sensor. Aperture also dictates Depth of Field.

Depth of field as defined by Wikipedia:

is the portion of a scene that appears acceptably sharp in the image

You will use the Aperture to dictate what areas of your image will be sharp and which areas will fall off out of focus. In the world of Digital SLR photography the visual difference is huge when you change your aperture from f/2.8 to f/8. In the Point n Shoot Digital photography world, the difference is not as extreme (in my experience).

Here is an example of different aperture sizes:

Image from Wikipedia

Aperture is a little tricky at first, because the SMALLER the f-stop number, the MORE light is allowed in. The LARGER the f-stop number the LESS light is allowed in. The SMALLER the f-stop number = SMALLER depth of field (less areas in focus). The LARGER the f-stop number = LARGER depth of field (more areas in focus).

Here are a few examples of how I use Aperture:

• Low Light situations such as when a Bride is getting prepared for her wedding, I do not like to use flash. To ensure a good exposure, I am using LARGE f-stops (f1.4 to f2.8) and a HIGHER ISO. I need to allow MORE light into the camera’s sensor.
  ISO: 1250 Aperture: 2.8
• When creating headshots, I like to use (f2.8 to f3.5) because I can focus on the eyes to really make them stand out from the rest of the subject’s face. The effect is beautiful as the eyes are tack sharp and everything else falls off out of focus softly. This also naturally softens the skin so less post production is necessary to artificially smooth the skin.
  ISO 400 Aperture: 2.8
• If I am creating a Scene Setting Shot, such as a reception hall that is being prepared by the venue’s staff, I like to Drag my Shutter (Explained in Step 3. Shutter Speed). I do this because I like to imply the hustle-bustle of the staff and it is not important to me that they are sharp. They are blurred from their movement and the slower shutter speed. My goal is just to document the environment. In order to do this, I have to use HIGHER f-stop numbers (ie, f/8 – f/11) which allow LESS light into the sensor. This enables me to use a slower shutter speed and lower ISO to acheive desired results. Each venue is different and a steady surface or tripod is necessary for these shots.
  Aperture f8 Shutter 1 second

So the relationship between ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed is THE FORMULA for you to achieve desired exposures. There is a difference between Correct Exposure and Creatively Correct for your given situation. We will talk about this later. For now, here is an exercise for you to try.

EXERCISE
1. Put your camera on APERTURE mode (Turn the dial to the BIG A or Av)
2. Set your camera’s ISO to the lowest setting allowed (probably 100 or 200)
3. Set your Aperture/f-stop to the lowest setting as well. **NOTE:: If you are using a Variable Aperture Lens, please keep in mind that you will need to stay at the lens’s widest focal length in order to use the Lowest f-stop setting. This is because when you zoom, the f-stop will automatically get smaller and there is nothing you can do about it. If you have a 18-70 f3.5-5.6 lens this means that to use f3.5 you need to use the 18mm focal length. If you zoom to 70mm the lowest f-stop you can use is 5.6.**
4. Place an object on a table, such as can of soup, a teddy bear, a book, etc… (Make sure the background is as neutral as possible, such as a wall. For instance do not shoot facing a sliding glass door that will heavily backlight your scene and throw off your exposure.)
5. Take a few shots of the object and view your exposure.
6. Adjust your aperture to f5.6 or f8.0 and increase your ISO to 400 or 800
7. Again take a few shots of the object and view your exposure.
8. Finally stop down your aperture to f11 or f16 and increase your ISO to 1600 or more
9. Repeat Step 7
10. Put the files on your computer and view the difference in the depth of field.

Because you are shooting in Aperture Priority Mode, the camera is making its best guess as to what shutter speed to use. Ideally you will have 1 correct exposure at each f-stop used. By comparison you should see the depth of field get greater and greater. You may notice digital noise and color degradation as the ISO increases as well. We will talk about all of this.

Questions for you:
What do ya think?
Was this helpful?
What can I do better?
What kinds of examples would you like to see?
What troubles you?

Please let me know in the comments.

I get a lot of questions about flash that I will definitely work on in the future. Firstly I want to help those of you that struggle with basic exposure. Flash is an entirely different beast that we add to the equation. When we add flash, we consider flash power, distance to subject, distance to background, balancing ambient light, killing ambient light, on camera, off camera, how many flashes, etc… etc…

Please keep the feedback coming. It has been extremely useful to us and the readers alike.

God Bless!

Previous Steps
ISO

Creative Rut, Burned Out, Spent, Stuck, etc… Call it whatever you want, when you are in the business of being creative it happens. Look around, the good thing is, that you are not alone. Zack Arias made a video (”Transform”) for Scott Kelby’s Guest Post Wednesday earlier this year that struck a chord with so many people. In fact to date, it is Kelby’s most popular blog post. If you haven’t seen it, please take a few moments and watch it below:

Well, what did you think? Each time I watch this video, it hits home, because I can relate so very well. He says,

When you are pushing 80 and lying flat on your back without the ability to speak… What will you be thinking? Shutter speeds, lighting, cool locations, that portrait series you made that was published in a magazine that no longer exists? Why is that so important now then?

Why is it so important now? I find that when I put things into perspective like this, it really makes my creative rut feel like such a little bump in the road. But then 10 minutes later I am stressed again about my creative rut. Such is life

So what do you do when you get into a creative rut? I don’t have a magic formula, but you are not alone. Here are a few things that I do when things are not going the way I want them to.

1. Stop Shooting. Yep. Take a break from all things photo. You determine the time period. Take time to breath, pray, build relationships and focus on others. I am never amazed at how inspired I become when I focus on others and not on myself. I think we are all selfish by nature (whether we admit it or not), so it feels great when you take the focus off of yourself.

2. Read. Whether it be for piece of mind or inspiration, it will do you a lot of good.

3. Slow down. Say no. Do not overcommit. I am so guilty of over committing myself and that does not do anyone any good, especially me. I have recently said “no” to a few things and it killed me to say it, but man did it feel good. I knew that I did not have to commit and it freed me up. Actually it re-ignited some ideas I have been working on, so I spent some time on them. Very inspiring.

4. Get yourself some Netflix. Movies are a great source of inspiration. Rent a few different kinds. The big thing that inspires me about movies is that they can only be captured Horizontally. See how cinematographers work within these constraints. It is quite impressive. Study how they shoot things that we may choose to shoot vertically. Then, challenge yourself to shoot horizontally only.

5. Learn something new. If you do the same type of photography all of the time, do the opposite. Shoot some portraits when you are not shooting weddings. Shoot landscapes. Create a personal project, produce it, shoot it, do the post production and share it with us to be inspired . If you are not so hot with file management, editing, or retouching, take some time and learn. I can tell you from experience that I would rather be shooting than sitting behind the computer, however I know that Capturing the image is only a fraction of the process. Being behind the computer and constantly honing my retouching skills makes me a better shooter. It really helps me with composition and exposure. When I am exposing for an image, I keep in mind what it will take in post to complete my vision.

6. If you have had a project in the back of your mind, that you never have time to do… DO IT. DO IT NOW. This will get your fire brewing.

The winter months are a time for us to get complacent. I am making a vow to keep hustling and make things happen. You with me? Please share some ideas, inspirations, encouragement in the comments.

My good friend John Pascarella of The Brand Studio, tuned me into another iPhone app today (yes, just what I need… Another distraction!) From Nikon. It is the Learn and Explore app.

Right off the bat, it is titled perfectly. There are How-to articles, images for inspiration, glossary of terms and videos. I have peeked around a bit and like what I see. Even if you are not a Nikon shooter, it is a useful little app worth a look.

Secondly, if you are a Nikon shooter and your camera body is the 1.5x DX Sensor (D40, 60, 80, 90, 200, 300), you need the AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm 1.8/G lens. This acts like a 50mm lens on the 1.5x sensor. It is super quick to focus, razor sharp all the way to 1.8 and the colors that come out of it are superb. The lens is $200.00, which is a steal if you ask me.

Yesterday, during the Steelers vs. Viking games, LaMarr Woodley had a beautiful fumble recovery that he ran into the end zone for a touchdown. It was gorgeous! I was excited for the game and it also brought back the memory of photographing LaMarr in my studio last year. He is a great guy and was fun to work with.

OK, so what does LaMarr have to do with Megapixels, Schmegapixels? I will show you:

LaMarr chose this image for use:

The image was captured with a Nikon D3 on White Seamless paper (3 light setup). The D3 is a 12-megapixel camera (pretty amazing camera if you ask me). Lots of folks (especially beginners) get caught up with megapixels and how large an image can be printed, etc…. In my line of work most images are rarely printed over 16×24, so my camera performs perfectly. If I were printing billboards, I may choose something larger, however I then found this image where my image of LaMarr was used on a billboard:

What amazes me is that the portion of the image used is such a SMALL fraction of the Entire Image. Up close and personal, it may not look amazing, but the viewing distance of the billboard looks pretty amazing to me!

So next time you start to fret about megapixels: a.) How large will your clients print needs REALLY be??? b.) Chances are if they are put on a billboard, they will still look pretty amazing at the proper viewing distance.

**UPDATE** This is great to add, from my good friend Terry Clark (excellent wedding and commercial photographer)

And don’t forget viewing TIME, too. If you’re driving at 60 MPH then you will glance up at that billboard for about one second whereas you might study a photographic print for several minutes.

Even better… Thanks Terry!

A good friend of mine referred me to some beautiful B&W film photography, so of course I peaked around a bit. I always love to learn more about the artist when I am drawn to their work. The photographer is Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai. Her B&W portraiture (especially the Short People Gallery) is so beautiful yet so simple. She really nails connections and gets natural emotion. I love it! She also has a blog. While browsing her blog I came across a post called “Advice” and enjoyed it very much. I gave a Tweet about it on Twitter but wanted to elaborate beyond my 140 character limit and direct you to Cheryl’s work and blog. I love how she describes herself :

I’m a dinosaur. I work entirely with B&W film and older (sometimes vintage) cameras. A film addicted photographer that doesn’t hate digital folk.

Wait, what? You don’t have the latest and greatest equipment? How do your images make such an impact? As Cheryl states below, “Learn that people photography is about people, not about photography. Great portraits are a side effect of a strong human connection”.

Here is the link to her post on Advice. These are a few of my favorites from the post:

• You cannot specialize in everything.
• Know your style before you hang out your shingle. If you don’t, your clients will dictate your style to you. That makes you nothing more than a picture taker. Changing your style later will force you to start all over again, and that’s tough
• Leave room for yourself to grow and evolve. It may seem like a good idea to call your business “Precious Chubby Tootsies”….but what happens when you decide you love to photograph seniors? Or boudoir?
• Remember that if your work looks like everyone else’s, there’s no reason for a client to book you instead of someone else. Unless you’re cheaper. And nobody wants to be known as “the cheaper photographer”.

<--AMEN.

• Learn that people photography is about people, not about photography. Great portraits are a side effect of a strong human connection.
• Embrace frustration. It pushes you to learn and grow, broadens your horizons, and lights a fire under you when your work has gone cold. Nothing is more dangerous to an artist than complacency.

That last point especially. I am not ashamed to tell you all that I learn and grow most through mistakes I have made and will continue to make. No matter if it is photography related, being a husband, father, friend, businessman, etc… Not proud of all the mistakes, but certainly better for making them. I have been frustrated to the point where I want to hang up the cameras and go back to being a computer geek (still a geek, just not making a living talking to them all day long…). Sometimes I look at other photographers work and think… “Who am I kidding? Why would anyone hire me?” Then I remember how selfish that is and to focus on THEIR needs not mine. They hire me for me to do a great service for them. When the focus is there you cannot go wrong. Does it get frustrating at times… You bet it does, but you can use the frustration as fuel to grow and succeed.

Thank you Cheryl Jacobs Nikolai for your words of wisdom and inspiration. Yes, when I look at your images I want to throw my cameras away again…. LOL.. Beautiful!

What do you shoot with – Zoom lenses or Prime Lenses?

Zoom Lens – Covers a flexible focal range, ie 14-24mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm
Prime Lens – Covers a FIXED focal Length, ie. 35mm, 50mm, 85mm

I think the majority of shooters choose zooms because of the flexible focal range. Today’s zooms are of an amazing quality, especially the higher end models with the Fixed Aperture of 2.8. (This means that you can use f2.8 whether you are shooting at 24, 30, 50 or 70 on the 24-70 lens)

Most “kit” lenses that come with cameras have a Variable Aperture. This means that if you have a 24-70 3.5-5.6 kit lens, you can use the larger aperture of f3.5 at the 24mm setting, but if you zoom to 70mm you are limited to f5.6. This is the downside of kit lenses. Kit lenses are MUCH lighter than the top end models, but they are not built the same. So when you splurge for the $1,500+ version you will DEFINITELY notice a difference. It is like a Honda Fit vs. Honda Pilot. You will pay lots more $$$ but the rewards are greater too.

I remember the first time I put a 28-70 2.8 piece of glass on my Nikon D100. I was blown away and made the decision at that point to only buy the best glass. If I could not afford it, I would wait until I could. Next step was higher end Prime lenses. Again, tried it with the 85 1.4 and was hooked.

If you do not want to spend $$ then do not put the good glass on your camera! LOL. You will have no choice. (I had the same change when I tried a Mac for the first time back in 2002. Been hooked ever since.)

So which is right for you – zoom or prime? That choice is yours. I own both, but primarily use Prime lenses 95% of the time. Here are my reasons for using Primes:

• They are sharper (IMHO)
• Have advantage of reaching apertures of 1.4 (1.2 on Canon). Talk about Shallow Depth of Field.
• The colors and contrast in my out of the camera files are beautiful
• Much Lighter than zooms (typically)
• They make a smaller footprint on the camera (typically).

Primarily I am a Documentary Wedding Photographer. What that means to me is to be as unobtrusive as possible. Prime lenses give me a better fit for being unobtrusive because they are smaller and lighter. I already have a Big Black Box that I put up to my eye when I see a moment. Sometimes it is hard for people not to notice that, in and of itself. When I put a Huge Zoom on the front of my Big Black Box it makes me that more noticeable. Also the primes I use have max Apertures of 1.4 – 2.0 so that enables me to avoid using flash. Flash for the majority of Documentary Wedding Photography is off limits (with the exception of the reception, which I will discuss in a future post.) Talk about being noticed… LOL pop a flash on your camera, start shooting and wa-la, you are no longer invisible.

Even when I do portrait shooting I opt for Primes the majority of the time, because of the Sharpness, Colors and Contrast. I do not worry about missing a shot because the Primes keep me accountable. I need to be intentional when shooting. I find that when I use a zoom, I tend to get lazy and spray more un-intentional shots. Zooms make me zoom for the sake of zooming and not intentionally compose an image. Primes make you use your feet to get close. Getting Close makes better pictures. There is an old saying, “If your pictures stink, then you are not close enough.”

I can tell you that I use zooms sometimes, if I want to have just one lens on me. My main zooms are the 12-24 f4, 28-79 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 VR.

My primes are: 20 2.8, 35 2.0, 50 1.4, 85 1.4, 105 2.8

Love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Andy raised a great question on the Focusing | Center and Recompose the shot or Use available focus points or that I wanted to share with you here, in case you do not read the comments on this blog.
Her question:

When I am following my 16 month old around, I keep the AF on continuous mode (C) and try to focus on one of her eyes. What I have found is that, when shooting in the range of f1.6-f/2.0 with my 50mm; the second eye goes a bit of out focus.

First off, kudos on your upgrade from the Nikon D40x to the Nikon D700! Excellent camera choice. Secondly, another kudos for braving to chase around your 16 month old with your camera! LOL… I know all too well what a challenge this is.

My suggestion: Using the continuous focus setting is the correct choice when your subject is moving toward you. For the out of focus eye, try shooting with a larger Depth of Field (smaller aperture) such as f/3.2-f4.0. Turn your ISO setting up a notch or two if you need too (D700 performs amazingly well at High ISO settings). When subjects are moving, it is going to be very challenging to get them sharp at 1.6-2.0, especially both eyes. If your subject is standing still and both eyes are on the same focal plane, you may get them both tack sharp… maybe. .

**UPDATE** Leann Marie brought to my attention that it would be kind of weird to chase around your “16 yr. old” with your camera. HAHAHA! This comment brought me to laughing hysterical. I have updated the text to 16 month old, as it should be. Thanks Leeann! You made my day!!! Nothing better than started off the day laughing your but off. Have a great day!

I want to thank you all for the wonderful feedback I have been given on the “Re-Purposing” of this Blog. I am so encouraged and driven to continue posting on topics that you find useful. Based on your comments, tweets, facebook messages and emails, I have quite an idea palette to choose from for future posts. I humbly ask you to continue to visit and share with friends and family that may find this site useful.

I thought that this would be a great time to ask you to share as well. We all have something to offer one another, so why not start now ? This one is easy. Here is my question to you.

What are your favorite photography websites to visit?

Preferably sites that not only inspire you but educate you as well. I think it is such a blessing for all of us eager to learn more about our craft, when we can share the work and insights of great photographers/teachers. Hopefully by you all sharing some of your favorites we will all pick up a few new educational sites to learn from.

So if you would be so kind as to leave a comment, tweet, facebook message or an email with some of your favorites, it would be greatly appreciated. I will put together a list and create a resource page on this site with links to all that are submitted. Thanks in advance!

On a final note, I want to share two images that I made recently while doing a fall family session.

Both images are portraits made in Open Shade with the objective to get Good Light in the Eyes:
Image 1

Nikon D3
85 1.4 @ 2.8
1/250
ISO 400

Post-Process
Camera Profile Nikon Standard
Strong Contrast Curve
Enhanced Brightness/Contrast of Iris
Standard Sharpening Applied

Image 2

Nikon D3
85 1.4 @ 3.2
1/200
ISO 400

Post-Process
Camera Profile Nikon Vivid
Medium Contrast Curve
Enhanced Brightness/Contrast of Iris
Standard Sharpening Applied

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