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Is manual mode dead? 1-2-1 training shooting winter portraits on Whitstable beach
Posted on November 28, 2011
After a cold start, rain and some strong winds, I spent some time on Sunday morning on the beach at Whitstable for 1-2-1 training on shooting in variable light. My client had brought some of her family as willing subjects and one of things that came up from a different photography course provider was the idea of manual mode being redundant because of AV. I hadn’t heard this before as for me manual mode is simply brilliant. If the lighting conditions are constant, or you keep your position to the subject and light fairly constant then manual exposures won’t change. They’re locked in, unlikely to fluctuate the way Av can when it gets confused by elements of light and dark being picked up as you move around, zoom in and out etc. With rapidly changing conditions Av has many benefits but it still requires a degree of exposure compensation. Manual of course is my preferred mode for working with off-camera flash.
The pictures below highlight a couple of things and they were taken against very string directional light one minute and then cloudy skies the next. Here’s a couple of observations.
- Back-lighting - great for portraits with reflected light to front
- You can shoot into the sun but the risk is lens flare and a washing out, low contrast etc. You can put contrast back in afterwards. Into the sun can also give a retro feel.
- Shadows can be fun as long as they are not from you!
- The subject doesn’t always have to face the camera
- Neutral and unchanging backgrounds mean that you can shoot in manual mode without too much trouble
- Meter, set your exposure, frame it, shoot it!
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One camera / one lens – photography camera skills training in London
Posted on November 20, 2011
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I was in London today running a 1-2-1 camera skills training session and decided out of the blue to stick to one camera with a 50mm lens working at f1.8 to 3.5, but mostly at 1.8. Do you remember when film SLRs used to come supplied with a 50mm lens? It’s probably one of the most over looked fixed lenses in my camera bag but I used it at a couple of weddings recently and had forgotten what a great lens it is. You have to get used to using your feet again to “zoom” in and out but that’s why there’s something cinematic about it – a fixed frame like an old super 8 camera. A shot a few frames for fun which I’ve included here. Hazy sunshine on a crisp November day.
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Winter Photography Training – Course Dates
Posted on November 20, 2011
Winter Training Dates
November-December dates including The Complete Wedding Course.
For 1-2-1 sessions, Camera Cafes or a full day Camera Skills Course there are the following possible dates:
Saturday 5th November 9.30am-12.30pm FULLY BOOKED
Sunday 27th November 9.30am-4pm FULLY BOOKED
Saturday 10th December – 12.30-2pm PLACES AVAILABLE
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Location lighting with Bill Turnbull – contact sheet critique
Posted on October 20, 2011
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Editorial photography usually involves little or no time to photograph your subject. Typically you arrive not knowing where you can photograph, whether the person is running late / has time / is in the mood to be photographed so your decisions have to be quick and flexible. This week I had 8 seconds to photograph Professor Robert Winston – that’s 3 frames and enough time to say “please sit here”. With the shots of Bill Turnbull I had 6 frames and so I thought a critique of the contact sheet might be helpful to look at why I rejected 3 of the 6 frames and how the shot was done.
4.30pm, the sun is low and falling away but thankfully lighting the cathedral. I rejected an earlier position against a metal gate and went for the stone post. This was completely in shadow so I could control the lighting. A small softbox camera left and then a second light behind Bill. I wanted it to look more like an August afternoon than a cold October evening. The first shot or two (one light firing) was good but a bit moody. The second light really brought things alive, adding definition to neck and shoulder line. The shots that I rejected where to do with expression – teeth were better than just a smile. Note the post production to remove the distracting ironwork, cones and people! Kit – 2 x Canon 580EXII, Pocketwizards x 3, Lastolite Ezybox and 2 lightstands (my standard kit). Canon 5D + 24-105L.
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Working in the shadows – when the light isn’t there for photographers
Posted on September 28, 2011
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There’s a real mixture of pictures in this section because I wanted to talk about the importance of shadows (not ignoring the role of highlights too). The key image above was taken in a lounge full of furniture and soft light from some large windows. Directional light produces shadows and it’s the shadows that do the work in that picture. But without shadows, life can get difficult. The architectural shot of the New Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury is as flat as a pancake because there is no sunshine, no shadows to really make the excellent design come to life. The stage shot of opera singer Rosie Aldridge from Glyndebourne testing the acoustics on stage in the main auditorium relies on a shadow cast by a speedlite hidden in front of her (in the absence of stage lighting!). Again, the shadows do the work.
The shot in the church – the darkest church I have ever been in – is a speedlite faking the direction of the window light and thus creating shadows. The shot of the groom on the steps at Mount Ephraim is packed full of interesting shadows – a speedlite creating a harsh light and the ambient lifting the shadows.
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Nice day for a wet wedding Part 1 – lighting for photographers during a Kent summer
Posted on September 15, 2011
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I’ve always been keen to recce a portrait location or wedding venue prior to a shoot for practical reasons and to get some ideas on where to shoot certain sequences. More and more I find that having a plan “B” is not enough, and the changeable weather of this summer has made me glad to have had back up plans, creative alternatives and studio lights in the car! If you check the position of the sun prior to the day (imaging beautiful back-lit veils and long shadows) what do you do when it’s overcast and raining? So my approach these days is more free and works around a simple three point plan:
1. Natural light – look for where the light is painting the picture already and follow it:side light, rim light etc.
2. Reflected light – where are the plain surfaces that will work for you, placing your subjects close to them
3. Flash light / artificial light – don’t be afraid to use them to boost the natural light or be the dominant light
So, using examples from the last few weeks – (i) flat lighting and a cluttered background meant shooting a couple on the running board of the car, subtle side lighting against the deep tones of the paintwork; (ii) at Knowlton Court intense sunshine meant looking from diffused cross lighting and rim light, some fill in from flash; (iii) at Winters Barn, Canterbury and Salmestone Grange – overcoming rain by showing some of the outdoor location under cover; using natural wrap around lighting from a window and white table cloths as giant reflectors; closing curtains to make light directional and also a zoomed speedlight to create shafts of light or accent light for shoes, flowers and veils. If you’re looking to become more consistent in your photography or would simply like some refresher training, do please get in touch.
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Kent wedding photographers – what is reportage anyway?
Posted on September 7, 2011
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There are numerous ways of describing wedding photography – contemporary, traditional, reportage etc. Reportage is sometimes used as shorthand for “relaxed” and “informal” or “documentary” with no intervention from the photographer. Where there is absolutely no intervention you are really looking at wedding photojournalism. For now I’m going to stick with reportage for a moment. Some photographers prefer to rely on capturing the moment only and there’s nothing wrong with that. But sometimes there needs to be a little nudge here and there to make something come together where it might not have done so and this is what I call “styled documentary”. This is a subtle difference but doesn’t rely on hoping that everything will just happen in front of you. More often than not it will be looking for where the light is and moving something or someone closer to it. It might involved tidying something up – from flowers, table decorations to where hands are placed. It might mean choosing a different background to avoid something out of place. It’s helping to tell the story but not writing it for you. If you would like to get in touch and look at some portfolios of this style of wedding photography it would be great to hear from you.
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Mixing your lighting for portrait sessions – Whitstable beach portraits
Posted on August 29, 2011
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Here are some examples below of how to get different pictures by modifying your lighting (the portraits are on Whitstable beach and seafront). Natural light can produce vibrant colours and long shadows (depending on the time of day) but makes for a harsh direction light. You can place your subject into the shadows but think about what you’re doing next. Is it to fill in with some reflected light or to fake the sunlight and build the picture up from scratch? Both are valid in different situations. Do you want a kicker light that is the sun itself or fake it with off camera flash? You’ll decide what’s best for you depending on the look you’re trying to achieve.
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Lighting on location – Kent commercial photographers
Posted on August 23, 2011
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Where I think where we as photographers work for and earn our money – particularly in commercial photography – is where you have to control the situation and environment, regardless if the weather or how much time you have. When a shoot is booked and there’s no light, you make the light. When it’s raining you have to adapt the style or look you were thinking of when it was sunshine. So, as you heard me talk about before, it’s about lighting. The selection below from a location shoot used mostly a softbox and reflector to fake sunlight and try and make highlights where they were missing under flat, dull diffused light.
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One for the pot – Food photography in Kent
Posted on August 13, 2011
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It’s not everyday that a lobster that was meant to be sleeping (after being in the freezer) decided to wake up mid-shot, thrashing it’s tail around knocking the ice off the table. All in a day’s work! This was during a location shoot of a series of images for Le Petit Poisson. Although you can shoot some types of food with just natural light and reflectors – editorial style – it’s not always the brief to have shallow depth of field and a styled rustic kitchen location and boho chic crockery. These shots were with 2 lights and a number of layers of diffusion with no natural light at all – high contrast for a new website.
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Tim, is the market open again? Last time I dropped in with my camera I was disappointed as there was some major refurb going on and virtually all the stalls were closed? A great place to get some fantastic shots although I got moaned at by the guys on a fish stool the last time I was there – prob fed up with photographers… If its all open again I’m gonna make a point of going soon
Umm, I was there on a Sunday (which doesn’t help you!) but it looked like there had been a market as usual on the Saturday judging by the mess)
SEE – http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/
I once got threatened in New York’s Chinatown by a guy with a meat cleaver (I was taking shots of a meat counter). I was talking just the other day about documentary photography feeling much harder to do / get a way with than it was 10 years ago.