Photo of the Day

I wanted to share some fall colors with you all. Send me your photos, small description of you and your passion for photography and a lil' detail about how you took the photo and your photo could possibly make the "Photo of the Day" on the blog!

Let's share!

ISO 100
1/250
F6

Feet Up approach to Portraiture Photography

Guide to portraiture photography- Joe Zeltsman’s Tutorial

 

 When I started my journey in photography, I was lucky to stumble upon Joe Zeltsman’s online tutorial about how to pose men, women and children and large groups. Its been some time ago and I can not find the tutorial online but KF Photography was able to find in an archive of his portraiture techniques and his original images that he posted to show examples.

 I do not in anyway own anything or make claims to the link I am providing for Joe Zeltsman's Tutorial.

 I read this online and ever since, I have used these techniques to photography portraits. I recommend to you all while you can still find his original words and photos to take time and read this!

 Thank you KF Photography for providing this information that we can pass along to other photographers, it’s those who arrived before us that help us continue teach the world.

 

I always, ALWAYS use the feet up approach to start posing my subjects. On location or in the studio, the technique stays with me. I have had coordinators joke and call this feet up position, “pageant feet”. I really wish you would all stop making that comment; it’s hard for my clients to take the next steps seriously. Tell a bunch of groomsmen “pageant feet” and watch them go into the biggest group of uncooperation you have ever seen! So, thank you wedding coordinators for making a bunch of men who already hate to be dressed up, feel even more uncomfortable.

 I have guys who seem to fight me on the “C” shape pose for men that fits them the best in showcasing masculinity. They seem to think standing stoic and square to the camera is the best way and only way. Then when I present the online proof album, their mother’s and brides choose the pose I created verses the one they wanted to do. This is just ANOTHER reason among many to choose a professional seasoned photographer for your photography needs.

 Why do I use the “feet up” approach to portrait photography? It allows me to keep my subject in one spot. It stops shuffling of the feet therefore, stops them from moving around and losing the composition. It helps tremendously in group portraits.

 

Why does this matter so much to me? Let me set up the scenario.

 

On location at a park or garden:

You have 1 person to photograph. Among you are obstacles. Trees, power lines, people walking around, cars and sunlight to name just a few. It is a good practice to always evaluate your background. You do not want a tree coming out of someone’s head or unsightly power lines or cars in the background. This will distract from your over all composition. It pushes the eyes of the viewer right to the object that isn’t appealing to the eye.

Sometimes you have a great background and can place your subject’s head in front of such obstacle to cover it up, like for instance a car. If you place your subject using the feet up technique you can then tell them to turn in any direction and they will twist at the torso and the feet stay in place, so will the general placement of the head, even using “C” Shape or “S” Shape poses for men and women.

 

In The Studio:

 You have to photograph a group, helps to use this technique to keep them from moving and since your lights (if you are using strobe, etc) are at angles. You want to keep the light the same, if a subject(s) shift; you will notice a difference in how the light hits everyone.

 I have a studio but I do not have as much room to work as I would on location. It’s about CONTROL!

 My opinion is, that it’s best to control what you can and make the things that you cant work for you or in most cases eliminate the problems.

 

What is “C” shape and “S” Shape? I have already covered this in an older blog post. You can find this section HERE.

“C’’ Shape is best to showcase masculinity for men. It keeps their shoulder in a firm male looking position with out their heads being posed femininely.

 “S” Shape is best for women, called the Aphrodite pose. It allows the curves of a woman to become more sensual. Women are physically shaped, regardless of sexual orientation to be the more vulnerable of the human species.

 

 These are the three things I start with always when it comes to posing men and women. I will not write another tutorial on how to pose men and women. I will after you have taken initiative to read this article, briefly go over why I do what I do, when posing children and big groups.

 Again, these are guides to help you find what is pleasing for you and your subject, art in any of its forms have no boundaries! Enjoy finding your own voice.

So, I’ll let you get to the article here about J.Zeltsman’s techniques for posing people in portraiture. I strongly urge you to read this in its entirety, I will benefit you tremendously.

 http://blog.kitfphoto.com/Zeltsman/chapter-01.html

Are your images tinted BLUE?

Color Temperature and the Kelvin Scale

Early all over my personal facebook page and business page, I ranted about open shade and the fact that uneducated photographers are still belting out blue cast images with out decent catch lights.

I decided to take a stand!

We have to understand color temperatures in order to know how certain lighting situation affects our images. Color represents many things. It sets tone to our images and sparks emotions.

I did post about understanding color in the emotional sense more than the Kelvin scale. You can find this section here.  

What is color temperature and this thing called the Kelvin Scale?

Color temperature is the characteristic of visible light to the eye measured in the Kelvin Scale. Kelvin is the measurement put into place by William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Lord Kelvin is widely known for realizing that there was a lower limit to temperature, absolute zero; absolute temperatures are stated in units of Kelvin in his honor.

 

Let’s move on for we are studying light temperature for photography only.

 

But let’s do look at the scale. Visual aids help me tremendously.

 

The scale shows us warm to cool color temperatures giving the examples. Candles to blue skies.

You can see electronic flash is warmer than daylight overcast. Applying warming anything, filters, flash and reflectors warms the scene back up taking off blue casted white dresses and skin tones.

 

You can also adjust your white balance setting in your camera to help.

 

White Balance

Our eyes have the ability to pick up color more than our cameras do, but there are presets in your camera that allow you to pick what balance you are needing in general.

These seem familiar? It should because it you can find this menu on your camera.

 

You see the options for AWB-auto white balance, custom and Kelvin, tungsten, florescent, daylight flash, cloudy and shade.

The camera is saying that you can custom to create your WB or Use the Kelvin scale to pick the balance.

The other presents are variations of what you can do in custom and using the Kelvin scale.

For instance, if you pick tungsten, your images will come out with hues of yellow orange. Tungsten represents your scale color 1,700 to 3,700 K temperatures.

 Each preset varies in some way according to each camera make and model. My back up camera is the same make as my main camera, but my back up camera runs a little cooler than my main camera. I played with the presets to find that open shade warms up my photos and looks most equivalent to the preset cloudy on my main camera.

 

Yes you could learn how to custom balance each camera if that is what you want. This tutorial is to help you with the tools you already have, the tools that the manufacture made with your camera to make it easier. It’s why we have run to digital and left behind most film cameras. When you bought your camera you paid for all the options. Isn’t it best to know what everything did? Why not? You have them.

 

Understanding color temperature helps us improve our overall colors and understanding presets helps you learn even more. I truly believe teaching this way helps you do a lot of things. It helps you learn your menus and makes navigation a breeze. Most of the time I hear that “I learn better hands on” I learn better that way as well. The more you navigate through your camera’s menus and functions the more you continue to learn where things are, how to get to it. Learning photography isn’t easy.

 Photography-

Photo- derives from a Greek word (phos) meaning light, Graphe’ meaning drawing of lines, there for the entire word means “drawing with light. You should always be studying what you do not know or studying on how to improve what you know.

 

Here are examples when I took my camera, at the time having preset of cloudy and using a gold and silver reflector.

You will see that adding/reflecting the light added warm colors to my photo even though my white balance was preset to cloudy. The presets help but when you push your subject into open shade you HAVE TO FIGHT the BLUE CAST!

 

First Photo with cloudy white balance setting with no flash or any use of relfection in light. Second photo is silver reflection and the third is gold reflector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naked Photography

Hello everyone, I hope you have all been well. I wanted to take the opportunity to post photos from the Alabama Crimson Tide football game against Ole Miss.

 This was my first time watching my favorite team play at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL.

I also wanted to show you that although not being allowed into the Stadium with a lense over 6" in length, how to make the most of your photography given the limitations of your equipment.

Of course I would of loved to take an 'L' series lens with a mono pod into the game and be on the sidelines,but unfortunately this wasnt the case. I felt NAKED!

In the photos below, I knew that my Canon's 28-135mm f4.5 would struggle in a low light situation given the fact that this was sports photography with out the use of flash and with out having the "sweet spot" to get the shots.

I used ISO 200-400 with out a tripod and a shutter speed ranges 1/20th - 1/50th of a sec.

Happy 4th of July!~Thunder on The Mountain, Vulcan Park, AL

Hope everyone had a safe 4th of July. This year, I photographed, Thunder on The Mountain at Vulcan Park.

Vulcan stands 56 feet tall, from toe to spear point, upon a 124-foot pedestal rising to a height of 180 feet and weighs 101,200 pounds. Vulcan is the largest cast iron statue in the world and the largest metal statue ever made in the United States.
http://www.visitvulcan.com/index.html

It was a great show. ISO 100/ f.16/ 2-3 sec open shutter

Vulcan, Thunder on the Mountain, July 4th, 2012

I like this shot, it shows you the actual set up and what I had to work with. The light on the left, right and wires.

Finale

Firework Photography- 4th of July

How to Photograph Fireworks.

You will need :
Camera with creative modes/Manual settings/Dslr
Tripod
Flash Light
Shutter Release Chord
A Great View

Sometimes you have to scout a good parking/viewing area, set up in the light if possible.

Set camera to Manual Mode, rotate the jog dial to "bulb" reads in the info screen.

Control aperture here as well.

When you click the shutter to release it will hold open for the burst of fireworks till you release it. I recommend a 3-5 sec exposure. Longer for Finale.

With out a shutter release chord, if you have a timer, use that to get your hands off the camera, but still use a tripod!

Cant wait to see everyone's photos! Be Good, Be Safe.

Happy 4th of July

Rockerman Wedding Part II

Hello everyone, Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I am enjoying mine even if Im working in the heat!

 As you all probably know, my model Lynnette finally was able to put on "HER" dress and get in front of my camera and have fun.

Her bridals were located at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Always a wonderful place , great landscapes and architecture.

Posting some bridals for now.

Thanks for reading.