Little League again

I got a little bit closer to what I wanted out of little league photos.  This is the second team I've shot in as many weeks, but this time the weather was much more cooperative.  We started at 7 p.m. and the sun had settled behind some hazy clouds.  I need to photoshop that guy out of the background.  The one above is actually a little over-processed for my taste (and I did it :).

This is what the standard photos look like.


And here is the setup..  Softbox as key camera left (didn't have any lefty batters to shoot this time either).  Second light is an ABR 800 shooting through a Lastolite Tri-grip behind and right.

Putting light in a (very) dark corner

As is often the case, even proper planning can get thrown out the door on the morning of a shoot.  We had planned to use a nice open spot in a hotel breakfast area for quick portraits of ladies attending the first "Treasure the Moments Tea" put on by the Sharing the Love Foundation in Forney.  I had planned a simple clamshell type setup... beauty light that would work for all of the lovely ladies who would be coming through.

Upon arrival, however, I was told that that space would not be available and we were instead using a boardroom with a giant table that could not be moved, dark wallpaper and carpet, and about four feet of space to both light and provide access to the giant wicker chair we would be posing with.  Hmmmm....

The only real goal was to give the ladies a decent photo to remember the occasion with.  There were also a lot of hats to be used as props, so the light would have to get under those...  just basic portrait stuff, but stuck in a dark corner.

Here is what I worked out..  The space is tighter than it looks.


The key light is on the right...the big softbox closest to the chair.  The smaller softbox is actually aimed toward the reflector on the left.  It served as fill from the front and the left side, and under the chin.  I added another light (barely visible by the window) as a hair/separation light.

I initially tried to put the smaller softbox on the left side, but there was not enough room to walk past comfortably.  I wasn't sure if we would have anyone with mobility issues or possibly a wheelchair etc.

The view from the chair...


And, it worked reasonably well I thought...  The dark striped wallpaper was nice as a backdrop, even if the flower arrangement got distracting.  I probably should have removed them from the vase, but decided against it.  Did I mention I have a tendency to break things?



Tighter shots were generally better.


This was true with multiple people in the photo as well.  Not only was it a small space, the groovy chair's low seat and wide back and arms made posing around it a bit awkward.


Lessons learned... when you are stuck against a dark wall, you can bounce a softbox off of a reflector to make it work.  Also, don't be afraid of tight spaces.  It forces closeness in your subjects, which is generally good.

Thanks again to all of the lovely ladies for being great models and letting me be a part of the event!

Monday Photo Roundup - April 29

The Terrell High School Tigerettes put on a great show this weekend.  It is always nice to see great students doing good stuff.  Nice job, ladies.

Now this would be a fun gig.. shooting 'official' sportraits for a big college football team.  Great behind-the scenes video of how that works.

On the sports theme.. here is another great look at high quality work.  If any of you crazy motocross guys want to try for some photos like this, let me know. (via @fstoppers)

How about shooting in space?  I'd like to try that too, but... well... you have to be an astronaut.



Or.. maybe you don't really have to be an astronaut.  Chase Jarvis talks about false barriers and a guy flies a camera (almost) to space and back.

Digital darkroom - Figuring out how layer blend modes work can be a life changing experience ... I have only scratched the surface but it really changes how you can use the program.  Here is a great post explaining it. (via @thomasshue)

OK, one more from me.  Like journalism, being a photographer puts you all over the place.  With all kinds of subjects.  From beauty, as at the top, to...  not beauty, below.


Have a great week.

Monday Photo Roundup - April 8

Terrell Tribune Sports/Managing Editor Todd Jorgenson spends his free time as a youth basketball coach.  When his team comes to the Forney Sports Complex for a tournament each year, it is fun to experiment a little and give his kids some unique photos.  These shots were taken in the middle of the day with a single Alien Bees Einstein flash unit at the FSC loading dock.  Just adding a single light and some quick editing in Lightroom can give some fun results.





Picking a location that adds to the images you want to create is important of course...  Here is an article about location-picking for natural light portraits at Digital Photo School (via @resourcemag)

I am anticipating the day that someone calls me for food photography.  How about fancy ice cream sundaes? (via @fstoppers)

How do you show the population density of Hong Kong in photos?  Like This. (via @bhphotovideo)

Weather is warming up... Here is a bit of back-to-the-basics, but thorough post on photographing spring.

Working on your photoshop skills?  This post is a good place to start - 34 techniques to try.

If we needed any more evidence of the decline of basic family portrait studios, the operator of studios in  Sears and Walmart stores is going out of business. (via @ibarionex).   I would also opine that the print-sales based business model and minimal choices compared to even basic "location" photographers.

In case you missed out on last week's April Fools fun.. here is a compilation of photo-related foolin'

Have a great week.

Monday Photo Roundup - March 18

Some quick ideas for photo inspiration. (via @resourcemag)

Thoughts on losing your photo gear, and recovering from such a loss...

Personal projects are often the most moving ... like documenting 57 years of marriage.

Converting your digital images to black-and-white can be great, but to do it well involves a little bit of work and a keen eye...

One of my favorite photographers to follow is Jeremy Cowart ... here is a great interview in which he covers his career and such.

For the best smile, maybe you should say "Cheese Pizza" (via @jdblundell)

7 Tutorials for improved indoor portraiture.

It's a long watch but great info, 15 Photoshop things photogs should know...


Have a great week everyone.

Monday Photo Roundup - March 11

Spring is in the air.  Along with pollen and other allergens :)  If you think catching a good  photo of birds in flight is a fun challenge, try bees.  Even with dozens of them in the lovely wife's jasmine, I didn't catch any facing the camera.

Is photoshop ruining landscape photography?

For what it's worth, I have no problem with digital artists using photos.  Unfortunately, that also means that truly great photography falls under suspicion while something cobbled together from pictures found on the internet is seen as great photography.  With a photojournalism background, I prefer the less-is-more approach to post processing.

For you portrait people, here is a nice cropping guide.  Don't crop on the red lines.

There aren't many color photos from WWII .. Here are some nice ones.

More history in photographs... the 70's.

I love this list of Pixar "Rules for Storytelling."  If you can work that type of thought into your photography projects, you will have truly memorable images.

Pop some corn... and settle in for location portraiture education.

Have a great week!

Monday Photo Roundup - March 4

The "Walking Man" sculptures in Deep Ellum are common photo subjects around here, but I like to stop by there when time permits.  Something about the whimsical nature of them that makes me smile.

Further east, there is a nice photo contest going on in the "Texas Forest Trail Region."

Strobist reviews the sub-$100 PocketWizard Plus X.  Looks good to me.

Great shots from young photojournalists...

Yes, post-processing makes a big difference in the look of your photos.  Even if you spent thousands on a camera.  The "Look" from most professional photographers comes from good work with the camera, and more work after the fact in the computer.  Simple tweaks to white balance, color saturation and contrast make a huge difference.

Speaking of which, photoshop guru Matt Kloskowski's Lightroom presets are a lot of fun to play with.  And free!

It looks like Canon has some nice new low-light technology in the works.  Looks like it is video-only at this point, but still... it is great to see even more progress in sensor sensitivity.

Have a great week.

Monday Photo Roundup - Feb. 25

Almost two months into 2013 ... I hope that is going well for you!  Are any of you ambitious enough to do a "365" or photo-a-day project?  If so, I would be interested in talking to you for a blog feature.

With Valentine's Day just behind us, love is still in the air, and brides are (hopefully) getting plans together for the big May-July wedding season.  Photogs, it is worth the 5 minutes to read, then re-read this nice article on what brides really want out of us personally, not just the images. (via @fstoppers)

While you are there.. a nice set of looks for bridal portraits using a minimal setup.

I saw very little of the Oscars last night, but it would be fun to make movie posters.  Chase Jarvis put up a nice collection from this year's nominees. 
My thoughts..  The bottom two Django Unchained posters my faves, followed closely by Beasts of the Southern Wild.  Lincoln and Les Mis are nice photographically, but just OK as posters.  Amour is a nice set of posters as well, but you almost have to have them together, or know the premise of them movie for them to click.  Silver Linings Playbook and Argo posters look like typical DVD cover material.  The life of Pi posters are ruined by seeing them both together.  Did they only have one picture of the actor and the tiger to work with for both posters?  Also, have you ever seen the ocean so smooth?

Wednesday night will be another Circle Meetups event at Weld, this time with Dave Onkels ... "Double your Price."

Finally!  How to be a happy photographer.

If you must shoot silhouettes, make them good.

Geek-a-riffic... Slow-mo video of how your camera shutter works.  It really is kind of violent.

Monday Photo Roundup - Feb. 18

Having great subjects makes a  photo booth setup a lot of fun.  Especially if they are willing to play a bit.  It helps to have fun props to interact with as well.



Here is a great project ... Photos from Civil War reenactments done with large format pinhole cameras.  Makes for amazing and intriguing images.

Seems simple but ... Five things to make sure you have covered before a portrait session...

What makes 'professional' lenses superior?  It's all in the details.

Bad photography habits to break...  Guilty.

Lots of lists today ... Things to learn while shooting with your phone.

Photo inspiration for the week ... 2013 World Press Photo contest winners.

Strobist goes back-to-the-basics on balancing flash in a photo.

InFocus blog goes back 50 years.

And, photo fun in the car ... go out when it rains and focus on the rain drops on your windows.

Monday Photo Roundup - Feb. 4

A lot of Dallas press showed up for a U.S. Honor Flag ceremony honoring Kaufman County Assistant D.A. Mark Hasse, which presents a whole set of other photos to take, of local officials being interviewed.  I am glad to see that the story has received a lot of attention.  I also wonder how much of that comes from the current gun law debate.

Overheard ... "They can catch these guys and string them up right there on the flag pole."
Overheard dumb question from a reporter to the district attorney ... "Are you still actively looking for suspects in the case?"

Here are some tips on getting the most from older images (digital, film or print).

Do you have any subjects that you want to document for decades to come?  How about more than 30 years covering prisoner work details?

If you are trying to grow a photography business, this would be the contest to win.

Plot your spot to shoot the next full moon... it will be hard to top this.  Oh, and you will need some serious lens.


Also good... some tips for making your landscape images better...

Favorite SuperBowl commercial?  Mine was the Dodge Ram Paul Harvey 'Farmers' spot for a few reasons.  I am a sucker for sentimental sappy patriotic stuff anyway, but I was also a Paul Harvey fan.  The man simply knew how to tell a story, and he was an authentic and overwhelmingly decent guy.  Throw that together with some very nice still photos and it is golden.  Of course we find out that the concept was taken from a Farms.com YouTube video (obviously with a lower budget) post by ... I hope that the person who put together the first one is getting proper credit for it.  Here is the rest of the story about the ad.

And a few more from today...  I shot the event for the Kaufman Herald and assume they will put up a slide show of images at some point.

Translation - No one attacks me without being punished.




Have a great week.

Friday Featured Photographer - Robbie Rakestraw

This week's featured photographer is Kaufman County based Robbie Rakestraw.  I have had the pleasure of meeting Robbie on several occasions at sporting events and can confirm he is a great guy.  He was helpful with some tips on using strobes for basketball when I was first getting into shooting high school sports.

"I have two boys (13 & 18) that are both very active in sports," he said. "I found it very challenging to capture good images of active subjects, especially when they were in dark dungy gyms and nighttime games played in the great outdoors.  That challenge sparked a quest to capture the perfect action shot; proper exposure and white balance, no motion blur, and a compelling composition.  I’m still chasing that 'perfect image."

Shooting sports, especially high school night games, just getting a crisp action shot can be hard.  Robbie added the following tips to get the best shots possible.

"Shoot as low to the ground as you can get.  A low position makes any athlete look more majestic," he said. "If you don’t have long glass (big telephoto lenses) be patient and let the action come to you."

Like any good sports photographer, Robbie knows that there are great pictures to be had besides the athletes...

Sports photography naturally led to shooting portraits as well, but the sports influence seems to come through there as well.

"I started shooting high school seniors due to repeated requests by parents and students," he said. "This genre of photography allows me to be creative with natural and strobed (off camera) lighting.  I offer a combination of studio and outdoor locations.  I like to match the location with the subject.  If they are athletes we go to their field of play.  I always try to include action shots along with formal shots in an attempt to capture the true spirit of the subject."

While photography is his passion, Robbie manages to fit in another 'regular' full time job into his schedule as well.

"I do have a full time job that keeps me away from my photography more than I like, and I also shoot for MaxPreps (CBS Sports)," he said.  "My biggest challenge is finding time to process my images after a contest.  This past football season I shot 45 high school varsity games along with numerous varsity volleyball matches and middle school football games.  I’m currently shooting soccer and basketball and the baseball season starts next month."

Shooting one or two games in a week is time-consuming.  45 games in a season is a serious commitment of travel time, wear and tear on your equipment and carpal-tunnel syndrome in front of the computer.

As you might expect, sports photography requires a hefty bit of gear in the camera bag.

"I’m a Canon shooter, and I generally only carry one camera body, which is a Canon 1D Mark IV," he said.  "If I’m lucky enough to get a day game, I will carry a Canon Mark IIN as a second body.  My go-to lens for most field sports is the Canon 400mm f/2.8 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 on the second body.  I will also carry a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens for post game shots.  For softball I will use my 300mm f/2.8.  At volleyball and basketball games my primary lens is the 70-200 and sometimes the 300."

Robbie can be reached through his website, www.r2images.com.

He also posts a lot of recent highlights on Facebook.

A little flash on the side?

A little bit of dramatic lighting can go a long way, especially when you are shooting outdoors or somewhere that studio-style lighting is unexpected.

This is straight out of the Strobist playbook...

With the setup of a hay bale, a beautiful young lady and one excellent mom/assistant we came up with some nice shots.

Equipment was simple ...
Canon Canon 430exII flash fired with Elinchrom Skyport radio triggers
Canon EOS 5D
and for the shot above, a 40" diffuser/reflector .

The flash is on a stand about 7' away to the right of the subject.  You can see by the shadows that it is overpowering the ambient light for a dramatic look.

Here is a wider shot showing the placement of the diffuser...


Here is another pose with the same setup.  Adding the flash allowed the sky to be darker, although with some low clouds, it wasn't as dramatic as I would have liked.

Christmas circles....

With a severe (but short-lived) thunderstorm rolling through the area, I made preparations for lightning pictures on the front porch as usual.

It was not so good shooting because of low clouds, but there was lots of lightning in them.  Also, I did not do a very good job of prefocusing the camera..  this was about as good as I got...


But then I was going the the photos and noticed the look of an accidental shutter trip as I was picking up the tripod to go outside... the Christmas tree in all its trippy glory.

Sort of a magical weirdness to it.


The storm blew through in a hurry, so I was still plenty awake to play with more tree pics.  And I had the tripod setup.  Sooo.....    How about the angel on top, lit by a handheld flash during a long exposure, then spin the camera around while the shutter is still open?

This (and the pic at the top) were my favorites.  Not perfect, but a fun exercise anyway.


Have a great Thursday.

Fun with gifs part two

After yesterday's fun with some animated .gifs, I noticed another perfect opportunity for more.  Students performed with jump ropes and hula hoops at halftime of this evening's Terrell vs Tyler John Tyler basketball game.

To make these, I just fired a high-speed burst of the action, processed them, and joined them using an online .gif maker.  This one was very user friendly and allowed more images in the mix than some others (some limit to 3).  Google will find you many others if you search 'animated gif maker.'

And, for you Gosnells...

Have a great weekend.

Parade faces

We had a fun family outing to the Dallas Christmas parade.  Of course, the primary goal was to have fun with the family, but as a photographer, it was a fun exercise to catch expressions, try to use clean backgrounds and just have some fun with it.

As it turns out, the lovely wife does a pretty good job of that.  I handed her the camera while I held the 19-month-old, and she got this.


About the only clean background (using 24-70mm on a 40D) was catching folks against segments of the building across the street...






Lots of waving going on, of course.














Lots of girls with red dots on their cheeks...






Some bands only march, some go much further.




The youngest folks seemed to have the best time


And if you wonder what happened to Santa... well, he's stuck in the chimney.