Foto Friday...errrr Saturday #9- Be Inspired

Once again, my apologies for my tardiness in the Foto Friday post!

I started to write this post but then decided to change it up a bit, so here it is.

The above image was taken out in Palm Springs where Cory and I took our vacation in December. There was a golf course at the hotel where we were staying (I'm pretty sure that ALL hotels in Palm Springs have golf courses attached. I think the Motel 6 is next to the miniature golf course). We took a late afternoon stroll alongside the course and strolled out to take a few photos when there was nobody coming and it was really quite enjoyable.

I was perusing back through these images while thinking of this post (I just got my camera back from the shop yesterday so I haven't had anything fresh to post) and it made me think of golf. Golf has been a big part of my life, even from the time when I was six and was kicked off the golf-course for making divots in the green with my five iron. Golfing has been a Blakey family tradition (at least for the boys) for many years and as I was editing this image (just for fun) I was thinking of my dad.

My folks were out for dinner this evening (Wood Ranch es muy bueno) and I guess that's why I thought of him. But I think I also thought of him because in the area of golf I have been continually inspired by my Dad. My dad is, as members of the football team in college would say, "Just a guy," but if you've been with him for 18 holes, you'd know he's anything but "just a guy" at golf.

When my dad steps up to the tee, he has to radio air traffic control because when he hits a drive, the ball literally takes off. Many a time in recent years have I stepped up to the tee and felt like I absolutely crushed one, only to see my dad, with a nice, smooth, swing outdrive me by a good 30 yards. Playing a round of golf with my dad is usually downright inspirational.

I can remember many times as a younger lad watching my dad on the practice range and trying to swing like him. While I never was quite able to swing exactly like him, I think it really helped me develop a rhythm to my swing and improved my game.

Photography is very similar to golf in this respect. Seeing the work of the other photographers who are more experienced or in some cases- more talented than you, can really help your photography to improve. Seeing great photographs, studying them, and in some ways trying to emulate them is one of the best ways to develop your "eye" as a photographer. Some say that it is wrong to try to "copy" other photographers work, but I say that it is actually kind of impossible to do so. You may try and try to swing like another photographer, but you'll never quite be able to duplicate their swing. However, in the process of trying to swing like them, you'll develop your own swing.

THIS WEEK'S TIP- BE INSPIRED. I have photographers whose work inspires me and whose handle on the business of photography I aspire to. Someday I might share the list, but I don't think that's the point of this evening's post. The point is to encourage you to find other photographers whose work you really enjoy and be inspired by them.

Thanks for those of you who have written in with other questions to be answered by future Foto Fridays. I'm looking forward to tackling them soon!

Foto Friday #7- Great Photographs, For Rent

Yes. This Foto Friday post is actually posted on Friday. I apologize for the bitter disappointment that many of you must felt when you visited last Friday.

A great photograph is kind of like a stew. All the ingredients have to cook just right or else it's just soup.

One of the main ingredients to a great photograph is the choice and use of lens. Given the situation, the lighting, the background and the effect and feel of the photo that you are trying to achieve, the right lens can make all the difference.

One of the ways a new photographer can take their photos to the next level is to use great lenses. Now, while these lenses don't always have to be expensive (see my blog post about a few that aren't here), it's no question that the more expensive lenses are better than the cheaper ones. That poses a problem for new photographers, because the lenses are a substantial investment.

THIS WEEK's TIP- RENT Lenses. That's right, rent. Of course, work to purchase your own lenses and have a base of a few choice ones that you can work off of so you aren't always having to deal with renting, but renting lenses is a great option to add the feel of a certain lens to your repertoire for a shoot.

For those of you located in SoCal, a great option is Samy's Camera. Just this past weekend, I rented the Canon 85mm 1.2L lens for a couple of shoots I did this past weekend. It's a lens that would cost me nearly $1900 to purchase and I rented it for the weekend for $40! While I would love to have it, someday, for now, renting it is a good option.

Another option that I have not personally used but hear great things about is the website BorrowLenses.com. You can reserve lenses and they are shipped out to you and you ship them back. A little bit more expensive than Samy's, but if you factor that in to your costs, you can definitely make it work.

I'll leave you for now with one of my photos from the engagement session of Rob + Jolinda this past weekend. Shot with the 85 1.2. Look forward to the full post coming soon, real soon.

Have a great Friday!!!

Foto Friday #6- Give your images some luvin...

Well, I posted it pretty close to Friday...
I am hoping all of you are enjoying a blessed and joyous New Year and I thought that I would take this evening as an opportunity to get this year's installments of Foto Friday up and running.
THIS WEEK'S TIP: GIVE YOUR IMAGES SOME LUVIN...
And to do that, I mean using post processing to give your image a little something extra. Sure, you've worked hard, you've taken some great shots, shot wide open, had fun, mastered manual mode on your camera, and you've come away with a pretty good image. Now what?

Take that image, that image that you've carefully cultivated like a good tan, and give it some more luvin. Photoshop luvin.

Photographers have misconceptions a' plenty regarding photoshop, here are just a few.
PHOTOSHOP FALSENESS #1- Photoshop can take a bad photo and make it good- after all, it's photo magic. FALSE. While seasoned photoshop users may be able to take a bad image and make it palatable to the viewer, it will forever remain a slight improvement on a poor photograph. You can't take photographs that are of poor quality, not properly exposed or composed and expect to push the magic photoshop button and, presto- a "put it on the fridge" quality image results.
Photoshop, or post-processing in general should only be used to take good photographs and to give them that something extra, that pop, that cherry on top of a Neopolitan milk shake. Don't expect photoshop to give you good photos, expect it to take your already good photos and make them better.

PHOTOSHOP FALSENESS #2- Photoshop is hard. It's not. Really. Many may think photoshop is too difficult for them or that it is too complex in a similar way that many people think accounting to be too complex or difficult.
Yeah, I'm a nerd. But serious lee, Accounting is difficult to most people only for the reason that they haven't had a context for interacting with it before. The math used in accounting is incredibly easy. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, perhaps even some division, but not long division. If you were to study accounting, once you grasped some of the fundamental concepts (i.e. debits on the left, credits on the right) you would actually be able to do quite a lot with accounting.
It's the same with photoshop. Once you understand some basic concepts (layers, layer opacity) there is actually quite a lot you can do with it. Of course, becoming a photoshop master will take effort, but you don't have to become a photoshop guru to use it effectively.

PHOTOSHOP FALSENESS #3- to get great looks from my photos, I need to have all of the latest and most expensive programs- such as Adobe Lightroom, Apple's Aperture and CS4 of Adobe Photoshop as well as all of the latest sets of actions for photoshop. (For those of you unaware, Actions are buttons photoshop buttons that you can either purchase or make yourself that shrink what can be a long series of photoshop steps into pressing a single button).
The truth is, you can use a very simple version of photoshop (photoshop elements) to be able to do basic enhancements to your photos and to take them from good to great. Programs like Lightroom and the use of Actions can greatly reduce the amount of time used to process your images, but more on that later.

SO WHAT'S THE TIP?????
Whether you have CS4 or Photoshop Elements, you will be using layers. Photoshop is all about the layers, baby. Once you understand how to use layers effectively, you can go very far by adding layers to your image that will make it pop. If you don't know how to create a new layer, it is as simple as right-clicking on the background layer in your layer palette on the right and selecting "make background copy." Once you have done that, you're in the ballgame.

Once you have a copy, simply adjust the layer style of the copy layer. "Soft light" and "Overlay" are two of my favorites. Upon switching the layer style, you may find it a bit too extreme, a bit too "photoshopped." Don't worry, simply adjust the opacity of the copy layer downward to your liking (I typically adjust downward to the range of 30% opacity). And then your done. Below are a few edits from a family shoot I did a few weeks ago. Meet Madison Burns.

This first image is SOTC (straight out of the camera). Not too bad. But let's make it better.

Watch it pop.

Put it on the Fridge.

Anthropologie. Just a little different and it gives the image a different feel...

Simply having this basic knowledge of how to use layers effectively can greatly help in moving your photos from being good to photos that are great. I'll be posting more photoshop tips in the future, including how to use some sweet actions effectively, but even if you already use actions, take some time to learn and play around with layers yourself.
I think you'll like what you see.

Foto Friday #3- Have Fun

Straight off the bat, I must say I have been enjoying Foto Friday. I look forward to posting these and hopefully they are helpful, or at least mildly amusing. Thanks for those of you that have sent in topics that you would like addressed in future Foto Friday posts, I'll be getting to yours in the coming weeks.

THIS WEEK'S TIP- HAVE FUN. While this may seem so common sense that perhaps some of you are rolling your eyes and moving the mouse toward the X on your google reader, hold your proverbial horses. There are many different types of photographers out there- some most enjoy taking landscapes and beautiful scenery, others enjoy taking product shots, me?- I like people. In photographing people- whether senior portraits or engagements or families or weddings, I cannot over-emphasize how important having fun is.

The concept of fun and photography goes way back for me. When I was a kid, I didn't view photos as fun. My experience with it was primarily when a photographer was telling me to tilt my head this many degrees and angle my body that many degrees. I'm playing with G.I. Joes and you're busting out geometry on me? Bless my parents for their patience with me during those days. If you peruse back through the Blakey photo album from earlier in my childhood, the pictures that don't include me making a goofy face are few and far between.

Why did I make goofy faces? It was my way to make the process of having my picture taken fun. And the fun has stayed with me...

But here's the deal- I believe fun to be so important to my photography that I've included it in my slogan- Classy and Fun. Why is it important- the photographs you take of people will be absolutely superior if the people that you are photographing are enjoying themselves. Like so many things in life, it's a concept that's easy to agree with but not always implemented. As an up and coming photographer, you may think the MOST important thing is your equipment or knowing your camera settings or marketing and branding yourself (if you're in business). I would contend that all those things are important but if you have all the technical knowledge but your subjects are uncomfortable and feeling awkward, your images aren't going to be very striking.

The most important thing for me these days at the outset of a photoshoot is to get the people having fun. Having fun relaxes them, having fun makes their expressions genuine, having fun makes them have fun.

So when you're photographing people, find the way to get them to have fun. It may be having them make goofy faces (works for me), or taking a picture of them jumping, or playing tag with a child, or telling a guy to whisper a joke into his fiance's ear. If you are going to be shooting a wedding, think about setting up an engagement session with the couple where they can get to know you and have fun in front of your camera, that way when the wedding day comes, you won't be an added point of stress, but rather a portion of their day that they will look forward to and enjoy and remember fondly as they look back at the pictures.

This week's tip- get out there and have some fun with your people. It will make your photographs better.

Until next week, stay Classy and FUN!!!

Foto Friday #2- It's All About the Glass

First off- Happy Thanksgiving! I'll be posting photos from the Blakey Thanksgiving here shortly but I wanted to maintain true to form and post another Foto Friday today! This Friday I want to talk about the glass- that's right, the lenses.

FACT: Your lenses are probably the most important part of your photography equipment. I have heard it said by other photographers that Camera bodies may come and go, but the lenses you keep, and I would have to agree. The right lens is really everything for getting the right look and feel to a shot.

MYTH #1- I can skimp on lenses by purchasing an off-brand lens (i.e. sigma/tamron) that has the same technical specs. Some might enjoy these other lenses, but I think there is a reason that the best photographers out there are using the same brand of lenses as their cameras. They are simply better. I started out with a Tamron lens and noticed a SIGNIFICANT increase in quality, color, sharpness and overall "pop" to my photographs once I purchased my first canon. Since then, I haven't looked back and probably never will. The only lens that I have heard recommended above the "brand name" lenses is the 50mm Sigma 2.8 macro- I hear it's killer for ring shots.

MYTH #2- To be able to get great images, I have to spend a buku of dollars on lenses. While the best lenses will cost you a pretty penny, you don't have to have them to create images that are, shall we say, Classy and Fun. Don't let yourself be focused on the lenses that you don't have, master the lenses that you do have and save up for upgrades.

Canon has some FANTASTIC lenses that you won't have to borrow against your house for that I would like to recommend.
50mm 1.8- $90- you can tell this is a cheap lens by holding it in your hand but it was my first Canon lens and it takes really sharp, clean pictures! Anyone just starting out on the Canon system should DEFINITELY purchase this lens!
50mm 1.4- $350- If you have the dough, I would upgrade to this lens. It is much sturdier and being able to go down to 1.4 on the Aperture make it a fantastic portrait lens! I love it!
35mm 2.0- $200- this lens is my newest purchase and I absolutely could not be more thrilled with this lens. The pictures are sharp, color is awesome and I love the angle without distortion on the sides of the image! If you look back to the engagement session that I previously posted- 80% of the images were taken with this lens and they came out not too shabby. I think it is a great lens where you want to be in close but still be able to get the interaction between a couple.
I also own the 24-70 L Series 2.8 which is also a great lens that costs just a tad more than the others. It is very useful at weddings when you want to be able to grab a variety of shots/angles without changing lenses very often.
For weddings, I ALWAYS rent the 70-200 L Series 2.8 IS lens. It is a must have for during the ceremony and at receptions where you want a front row seat on the action without snuggling up next to mom and dad. I love the DOF on that lens and it is a must have for low-light situations. I rent it from Samy's Camera and it really isn't that expensive.

My Wish List (hey, Christmas is coming...)
70-200mm IS 2.8L 85mm 1.2L 35mm 1.4L

Today's tip boils down to this- MASTER YOUR LENSES- know how to make the best use of them in certain situations and be creative. Don't always be caught up in the equipment that you don't have, learn to be a great photographer with the equipment that you do have in the mean time.

Until next Friday, stay Classy and Fun....

Bill

Foto Friday #1- It's the Photographer, Not the Camera

Aren't you glad it's FRIDAY? While Fridays have always been an enjoyable day for me, since I have started working for my church, they have become even more enjoyable. Why, you may ask? Because they are my day off. And I for the most part get to hang out with my lovely wife on these days!!! Tonight we are going to Disneyland and it is the first day of Christmas time there. Yeah, we are pretty excited.

All that to say, I wanted to be able to share my excitement for Fridays will all of you. Lately I have been getting a lot of requests from up and coming Photographers who would like me to help them take their photography game to the next level. While I can't help out everyone individually, I thought that Foto Friday might be a good way to share photography tips that have helped me become a better photographer.

You may not know this but I have NEVER taken a photography course and have learned 100% of what I have learned from fellow photographers, 1 book and the internet. So now I am giving back.

FOTO FRIDAY TIP #1- It's the photographer, not the camera.

When I say that, I must instantly qualify that statement by saying that if I was given the chance to have a point and shoot camera vs the Canon Mark III 1ds- I would choose the latter every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
But here's what I am getting at with this post- the more decisions that you take away from your camera and make yourself, the more creative and higher quality your photographs will be. Many people buy a fancy SLR (single lens reflex- or detachable lens) camera and put it on fully automatic mode and assume that they will get amazing photographs simply because they have an expensive camera. Not true. A photographer who really knows how to use a Canon Rebel XT will get pictures that are far superior to a novice photographer who puts the $7000 canon camera on auto and snaps away.
So what does this mean- Photography takes some effort! It is like many other things in life where you will get out of it what you put into it. So, two things to take away from this post-

#1- Manual Mode- I shoot 95% of the photographs I take in manual mode because that is where I have the most control over the settings for my shot. If you don't know what you are doing, manual mode will yield you stinky pictures (yes, they may actually smell) but if you do- oh so good. Manual mode is incredibly intimidating at first with trying to understand shutter speed, aper-what? and ISO? However, there is a book that incredibly helped me to understand the nuts and bolts of photography in general. You can get it for about $17.11 on Amazon. Understanding Exposure. The author uses pictures to demonstrate everything and reading this book will definitely not make you feel like a photo nerd. Not that there's anything wrong with being a photo nerd... Read this book and practice! Get comfortable with manual mode, because your photographs will be better when you do!
#2- Know how to adjust the settings on your camera. Plain and simple, you may have to crack open that manual to learn how to adjust the aperture, shutter speed, ISO and a few other things on there. Obsessive reading of the manual may just make you a photo nerd, however. Read the first book to teach you about how to do photography and use the manual to help you apply that to your camera.

Well there it is, the first Foto FRIDAY! I will be endeavoring over this next year to be posting a helpful photography hint EVERY Friday so bookmark me on your google reader or check back on Fridays!

And if you have a photography question that you are dying to get answered- email me! I would love to be able to be inspired by you for a future Foto Friday post!
bill@billblakey.com