One of the greatest benefits of hosting workshops is the unique ability to connect with other photographers. To talk, to share, to look in their eyes and know we're marching to the same tune. I always walk away inspired from my peers and they continue to push the industry forward…I love it!
Today and tomorrow I'm in Sydney teaching two workshops and I'm looking forward to learning and sharing with such awesome groups of photographers…and overall amazing human beings. In light of sharing, here's another installment of FAQs and I hope it helps at least one person.
And because posts are always better with a picture, here's on JD captured from the New Zealand workshop…
Jodi asked:
You said you “find the right iso” –I'm curious about this process. How do you know it's the right iso?
I'll admit that learning iso came easily to me. Not because I'm a genius, but because I loooooved buying film as a kid. I'd sit at SavOn (my local drug store as a child), and I'd stare at all my film options. Each roll of film was identified but it's iso (ranging from 100-1600). The roll of film labeled with 100 iso had an icon with a sun on it, to be used in bright sun. The roll of film with 1600 had an icon of a crescent moon, to be used in low-light situations. What ISO denotes is how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor and therefore the possibility to take pictures in low-light situations. That's pretty much your spectrum.
I usually use 200 iso in a shaded area with reflected light, 400 iso in a moderately illuminated room, and 800 in a poorly lit room with little available light.
This is a very loose explanation, but–trust me–the most you practice, the more you'll find the right iso for the right situation. And remember, the lower the iso, the less noise (grain) you'll see in photos so try to keep iso low when possible.
Aleks asked:
I was wondering if you shoot with two camera bodies when you are at a wedding? What about at an engagement session?
I shoot with one camera at all times. I started this way and I've just grown into this style of shooting. I'm not comfortable using two cameras and I swap out lenses rather quickly. I'm able to do this by keeping my lenses in my Shootsac without caps, so I simply pull from the bag and swap in a matter of seconds. This also helps with my workflow as it's easier to work with one camera from me, and one from JD, as I'm reviewing my images after a wedding.
Nikki asked:
I love in your pictures when you have a close up of someone looking nice and crisp and then the other person is blurry behind them. I can kind of do it when I am really close up to something but then there is not much in the background and everything is so close&& you are able to do it and get a full person or 5 in the shot. How do you get your camera focus like that?
This depends on a few things, but I'd suggest starting with two things: 1. Shooting manually and; 2. Using lenses with wide apertures (anything wider than a f/2.8 would be a great place to start).
1. When you shoot manually, you can control your f-stop, also known as aperture. If you're shooting in Auto or P mode, the camera has a tendency to favor mid-range apertures, like f/4 or greater. In order to really push your lenses, you have to be in total control. At least I think so! 😉
2. The wider your aperture (the smaller the number, the wider the aperture) the more bokeh (the blurry effect) you can produce in the background. I use lenses that have very wide apertures (as wide as a f/1.2) and this makes it easier to achieve crisp images with a distinctly blurry background. To break this down a little more, if I shot a photo at 1.2, a person would be very sharp and the background would be blurry. If I shot the same photo at f/22, a person would still be in focus, but plenty of things in the background would be in focus and the depth of field is not as distinct. Most kit lenses (lenses that automatically come with digital cameras) only get as wide as f/4.0. This is a fine aperture, but it makes it harder to achieve drastic depth of field.
Danielle asked:
What is your advice for shooting in full sun, besides looking for shade? Do you use reflectors? I know practice is the key here, but I hate feeling like if it's not an overcast day that my shoot doesn't have the possibility of being as good.
To be honest, if I can get away from shooting in full sun, I will definitely try. If a photographer looks hard enough, there's always a spot tucked away that can act as an alternative to shooting in full sun. If I have to shoot during full sun, I first look for open shade. This is always the best option in a pinch. Secondly, I'll look for natural reflectors to help off-set the strength of the sunlight. Shooting in the sun can be beautiful and radiant if a photographer can find a brightly illuminated wall to equalize the lighting in the situation. I wrote more about using natural reflectors in this post.
Happy Monday and don't forget about the upcoming SmugMug meeting to be on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at Mesa Verde Country Club at 7pm. I won't be able to make this month's meeting, but I hear great things are in store! 🙂
