Author: SiobhanKyle

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Beginner Photography: Animal Interactions

Oh, hubris. I really thought this subject would be easy. I have animals! I can interact with them! How wrong I was. First, taking pictures of animals is difficult enough. They are generally fast moving, unless you know a sloth. Also, taking pictures of yourself is hard. Selfie+moving animals? Near impossible. I attempted to at least photograph my hand petting said animals, but even that is unwieldy using a DSLR. So then I tried to enlist my daughter, who, apparently, is only a good model when she has to stand very still and be creepy (see here and here and here.)

It has also been in the 90-95F degree range the past few days, so we have all been sluggish. Which resulted in either a very sad looking dog and cat or a very sad-looking child. 

I’m going to tell you now, this project was a failure. I missed focus a dozen times, I cropped the dog’s feet, my daughter’s shirt is wrinkled. I captured a few sweet moments, but they are still technically terrible. Here’s a funny video to make up for it:

So as usual I shot in aperture priority, but using a higher aperture to attempt to get Eloise and Hungry both in focus. Somehow that still often resulted in missing focus. I shot outside in natural light which worked fine, but my cramped back yard resulted is some busy backgrounds. I almost never got both of them looking at the camera. Ah well, this is what I wound up with:

 

f/3.5, 1/80th, ISO 200

 

f/5.6, 1/80th, ISO 200

 

f/5.6, 1/80th, ISO 640 (?!)

 

f/5.6, 1/60th, ISO 500

 

I don’t know. Looking at them now, I’m quite fond of them, but I just see everything about them that’s wrong. I need to work on manually choosing my settings and probably give back button focus a try.

Do any of these shots work for you? How would you have done things? I look forward to seeing so many animals on the show this week (and I’ll be there in studio!)

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Live Show Recap: Old Meets New

Welp, we had a false start, but we made it! This show was a quick one as Tony and Chelsea had a kickball tournament to go to. This weeks’ topic was “old meets new” which some of you nailed! Some of you phoned it in.

Next week’s topic is “animal interactions” which should be fun. I want to see all your dogs. The week after that, we have Chris Gampat! That’s super exciting. Chelsea picks on him a lot so that’ll be fun.

Support our Patreon, please! You can vote on the live show topic each week and see videos early.

We get started on your pictures right off:

-photo inception

-solar powered bike?

-we asked for this

-dwarfed building

–watches

Over to me for some questions:

-do you keep your old, bad photos? Yes, depends how bad.

-I don’t know why I sound like I’m in a can

-Chelsea, what’s your skin care regimen? Soap. Caustic acid.

-Justin, are you wearing a Bowie shirt? No.

-do wide-angle lenses always get soft on the edges? Yes. You can shoot to combine into panoramas to fix it.

Time for a portfolio! Jason Richardson. Nice, simple layout. Beautiful work! You have a great eye for light and shape. We want to see your design site!

Time for chit-chat! The part of the show where you say things and we say things back?

-you’re welcome for the laugh

-why are we so dead

-we’re the dark Mr. Rogers

-we should absolutely not teach acting

-Tony for president! Like if you agree! (no likes)

Okay, back to your photos:

–Google

-“they are ready to math”

-pup face

-tourists are the worst

-“you’re pulling a Chelsea and I don’t like being the voice of reason!”

–cameras

-first of many jets

-digital and analog

–bikes

-“it’s a human-milk truck, Chelsea, those were banned”

–backlighting

-spot color got a pick!

–Cuba

-old and new architecture

Over to me for more questions:

-thanks, Gaston!

-do you know what helicopter tour service you used in Montana? Nope.

-error on the 5D Mark III? Nope, sorry.

-have the photos submitted to this show gotten better over time? Absolutely. We have to do so much less leveling, adjusting their exposure, and cropping than we used to.

-going from a sling strap on a telephoto lens to a tripod? Tony doesn’t do it, he just handholds. 

Back to your photos:

-such a cute baby

–flowers

-so many shots of this air show!

-“you brought them together and you ripped them apart”

-this cool old lady

-old building in new windows

And that’s our show! Join us next week for “animal interactions.”

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Beginner Photography: Old Meets New

Hey y’all! This topic is a weird one, you guys are getting real abstract with your subjects. If you want to vote on the live show topic each week, you can become a Patreon donor!

I really didn’t know what to do for this week. The first idea I had was old and new architecture, but I thought that was a bit obvious. I am also lazy, so I decided to shoot something at home. I might have stretched the theme a bit, but bear with me. 

I decided to take some shots of my antique engagement ring on my hand, as I also have a tattoo of a diamond on my ring finger. It seemed like a nice contrast of tradition and a more contemporary trend. I also enlisted my husband to hand model for me, holding a pair of his baby shoes. That kind of subverts the subject, as baby shoes would indicate newness and his hands are… not new. But they are, in fact, the same age.

Turns out taking pictures of my own hand is hard, positioning it is weird and not blowing out my skin and ring is pretty difficult. I shot on aperture priority and did some post processing to adjust the exposure. I then used an adjustment brush to bring out the clarity and contrast of the ring and my now-faded finger tattoo. I also broke this rule a bit to keep from losing detail in the ring:

Here’s what I came up with:

f/3.5, 1/80th, ISO 200

 

f/3.5, 1/80th, ISO 200

 

f/3.6, 1/320th, ISO 200

 

f/3.6, 1/640th, ISO 200

 

So, not the most challenging subjects, but I like them. Particularly the ones of Eric. I find hands very aesthetically pleasing, and his worn hands with the old, tiny shoes are pretty great together. How did you interpret this week’s topic? Did mine meet the criteria for you?

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Live Show Recap: Unexpected Beauty

Hey folks! We looked at your “unexpected beauty” shots this week which were… not always on theme. But it was a tough one.

Chelsea was not insulting carpenters last week. We just want to see your non-photography portfolios. Submit them next week! Sdp.io/link for that. 

Donate to our Patreon to vote on our show topic each week and to see videos early! Also, our t-shirts are on sale for $18.99! Get one at sdp.io/shirt.

So we start looking at your photos here, but we have some trouble at the top with Lightroom re-importing photos constantly:

–post

–silhouette

-fancy fly

-hey, hey guy? Don’t be jerk.

-“I’m very sensitive to poop!”

–balloons over Bagan

-misty tree

-eagle attack

-building shadow

-hubba-hubba!

-funeral march

-oh! I got another pick.

-flooded beach

-double exposure

Over to me for some questions:

-where to shoot landscapes in/around Dallas? Not really. Your plan of going to New Mexico is good.

-Rob Tillitz! I am Wonder Woman.

-alternative to Paul C. Buff Einstein strobes? Godox!

Back to your photos:

-egg shells

–wildfire

-just listen to Tony’s dog-saving story here, mostly for Chelsea saying “I would have gone Anchorman on that little shit” and “you can’t save a Pomeranian for the thanks, Tony. You just have to do it for the face-biting.”

-oil and water

-“I’d say that’s unexpected ugly, did you think a baby could be that ugly?”

Back to me for questions:

-a tutorial on the Mavic Pro? Someday.

-when you look at your older photos and think they were horrible, is it artistic growth or were they horrible? They were probably horrible. “Your first 10,000 pictures are your worst” -somebody. Getting mocked is part of success.

-*I DO NOT LIKE NICKELBACK.* “I should take up the fake recorder” “we should start a band, I’ll play air guitar”

Ok, photo news!

-FAA regulations have gone weird. “Our government is crazy”- accurate

Chit-chat! The part of the show where you say some things and we maybe respond.

-u r doing overacting

-Chelsea, are you related to Gina Linetti? Yes, she is related to a fictional character.

-live in your car!

-flip-flop sandals? “Pain don’t hurt” “A thong is also underwear with no butt cheeks.”

-this is a weird thing to say and do, Jude

-y’all related? “Traditions were meant to be broken” “that’s not a saying”

Back over to me, where I screw up my camera a dozen times:

-thanks for all the money, friends!

-what will we photography when our country turns to barren scrubland?

-it was pounds

-Rob is single-handedly funding our live show. You need to practice on that drone!

Time for a portfolio review! Dustin Rosenburg. Don’t lead with your about me page or with that enter screen, lead with your work. Also take out the heading of the work page. Take out duplicate shots, and similar shots. Maybe make each category a menu at the top instead of making people scroll. Your shots are nice, just work on your set-up!

Okay, back to your photos:

-Chelsea is trolling hard

–covfefe “it doesn’t matter, we’re all gonna die in a flood”

–cemetery 

-oil stain is perfectly on theme

–Maya is so talented

–dandelion

-pencil trash

-the dinner

–stairway

-“this is very Addam’s family”

-old coal crane

-frozen flower

-“Alan Branch took a picture of a branch?”

–ruins

-“sunsets are beautiful. And you expect it, because they happen every day.”

–reflection in geometry

-crazy weather panorama

–refinery “makes me want to play Matchbox cars on it”

Over to me for more questions:

-follow up on Rob’s question about drone video. Slow down the rudders to keep the drone smooth.

-can you remove AA filters from low-budget filter? Need no AA filter to shoot textures for video games. Almost all base-level Nikon cameras don’t have them, or entry-level Sonys.

-Kyle Wolfe won’t be on #TClive for the next year or so! Teaching photography at a national park and taking college courses. Congrats Kyle!!!

-what to do with a teenager for a photo tour? Ask her what she’s interested in. See what she shoots on Instagram already. Show her how to connect her camera to phone to internet, because that’s what she’ll probably want to do.

Back to a few last photos:

-that car is not a Pantera

-ballet through bars

-fog plan!

-“ninja baby!” “oh yeah, the photographer died shortly after, just got his butt kicked to death”

-get our books, y’all need editing help. sdp.io/l for Lightroom and sdp.io/p for Photoshop

And that’s a show! Thanks for all your submissions. Next week our topic is “old meets new” which is a fun one. See you then!

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Beginner Photography: Unexpected Beauty

Hello! This week’s photo topic is a weird one. I’m pretty sure by definition you should not be able to seek out “unexpected beauty” it’s just something that happens, but I did my best. I thought this tied in pretty well with last week’s topic of “abandoned.” I love abandoned buildings, especially at the point where nature starts to take back over. Living in a big city, there are a horrifying number of abandoned buildings, but seeing nature reclaim a space is pretty satisfying. Last week I added a human element as the subject, but this week I just went searching for something beautiful in what many people just see as decay.

I’m not sure if there’s any way to teach something like this, it’s just a matter of training your eye to find something to focus on in the midst of some amount of chaos. Finding a specific object, or a pattern, or the right light. Also some willingness to get close and get dirty. I for sure climbed into some places I wasn’t meant to be.

As usual, I shot with an Olympus E-M10 on aperture priority. I shot the same things multiple times from different angles to find what looked the most pleasing to me, and did some post-processing in Lightroom to crop, straighten, adjust the exposure, etc. 

  

f/5.6, 1/500th, ISO 200

Not sure why my shutter speed is so fast. The colors and pattern of these windows are so beautiful to me.

 

f/4.5, 1/80th, ISO 320

The vines growing through this piece and the natural framing of the leaves immediately caught my eye.

 

f/3.5, 1/160th, ISO 200

Ornate columns on a stunning abandoned home.

 

 f/3.5, 1/320th, ISO 200

 

So that’s what I came up with. Beauty is subjective, so I’m not sure if these will appeal to everyone, but since I was a teenager I have taken shots like this. I’ve always loved capturing age and wear on objects and seeing them change over time. 

So what do you think? Do these fit the criteria? How did you interpret “unexpected beauty”? I look forward to seeing your submissions this week!

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Live Show Recap: Abandoned

We’re back! This week’s topic was “abandoned” and it was great. Chelsea keeps repeating things Tony says at the beginning of the show and it cracks me up.

Next week’s topic is “unexpected beauty” which should be fun!

Support us on Patreon! You can vote on the live show topic each week, get videos early, and other perks. Patreon.com/northrup. For $100 you can carry Justin around like a backpack for a day!

First off, photo news:

-FAA regulations, you don’t have to register your drone. “Hi, is this Todd? Did you fly into a bald eagle?”

Time for your photos, I’ll highlight our picks below:

-Chelsea parkour-ed a baby deer over a wall once

-“it’s like us, romance in the madness, amiright?”

–windows

–left behind

-abandoned photographer

-matte ceiling

-child’s dress

-nobody abandoned that Jordan. “For real? Did god just make this Jordan right now?”

-high dive. “Yeah, this is what they called the killing pool.”

-insane building

-“you don’t know what people are going through, they need that front tire money.” “Maybe that guy took his tire inside with him and died at work” “Way to find the bright side, Chelsea!”

Over to me for your questions:

-ethics of abandoned photos? Are they legal or safe? No and no. Not if you go inside! “You breathe all deep like you want to get asbestos or something.” “Dangit, I gotta find a new husband? I liked that one.” “I’ve done it, but I’m also really cool.”

-photographing sharks from a cage, should I use a selfie stick? Put on a meat suit and get in the water. Shoot from inside the sharks mouth. Sharks have soft rubber teeth. *don’t listen to anything we say. Also, your phone probably isn’t that waterproof. You could use a selfie stick to get yourself and the shark in the shot? Maybe bring a teddy bear for the shark.

–GH5 or a7R II for concert photography? a7R II for sure, great low-light capability.

Okay, back to your photos:

-symmetrical abandoned house

-abandoned silo 

-peek inside

-stadium seats

-through grass

 Back to me for some questions: 

-do drones qualify for AMA insurance? They don’t know, but yes.

-advice on doing real estate photography professionally? Be social, make connections, befriend realtors.

-have any of us gotten in trouble doing a photo shoot? Tony’s been yelled at my security before, they’ve been kicked out of abandoned buildings. Nothing serious though. Tony being a white man with white hair helps.

Time for a portfolio review! Connor Moriarty. Use a simplified text. Maybe don’t lead with a photo that’s not marketable. Your work is lovely! Maybe fix your pricing page to make it clear which point is which price. Remove any pictures or subjects that won’t get you work. Your work is wonderful though! Just make a few tweaks.

Time for chit-chat! The part of the show where we respond to your dumb or mean comments on our videos.

-no one actually proves our crop factor videos wrong with proof

-most boring couple ever!

-Tony is not a Fuji hater

-down with leaf blowers! 

Okay, back to photos:

-don’t abandon your dog!

–stairway

–tree takeover

-abandoned in a hillside

-model in a pen

-lonely lady

-church bus

-abandoned innocence

–bear

-oh, I got a pick!

Time for money comments!

-thanks Juan!

-Rob Tilitz, you’re a crazy person and we love you.

-Tony never checks his messages anywhere

 Back to photos, and some were picked during the comments:

-lady laying on doors

-stair car (plane)

-table in the water?

-“ooh she’s brave! Be careful!”

-“that’s what you do when your homework is just too much”

-dark angel

And that’s our show! Join us next week for the topic “unexpected beauty.”

 

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Beginner Photography: Abandoned

Hey folks! We’re back! The theme for the show this week is “abandoned” which is a pretty interesting subject. I love these more abstract topics and seeing the creativity they inspire.

If you want to vote on the live show topic each week, among other perks, please consider donating to our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/Northrup.

I knew exactly where I wanted to shoot this week. Philadelphia has no shortage of abandoned buildings, but there’s one in particular that I love and is near my neighborhood. What I wasn’t sure of at first was what I wanted my subject to be. But if you’ve been following my photography journey so far, you’d know that my most successful projects have been creepy and featured my daughter, Eloise. So my idea was to place her in the midst of these ruins, and I’d already made her up to look like a ghost child before, so this time I went with more of an ominous, shrouded figure.

I dressed her in a black lace dress of mine and fastened it at the back, then used a sheer black shirt of mine over her face as a shroud. My husband chauffeured us there and we sprayed our legs with bug spray before venturing into the overgrown space (I grew up in Connecticut, my tick fear is justified.)

I used my borrowed Olympus E-M10 with a Lumix 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 as always. I had my camera on aperture priority at a low f/stop and everything else on auto. I placed Eloise throughout the space in doorways and on a staircase. I wanted her to just be a small part of the space, not necessarily a prominent focal point. 

I converted all the shots to black and white in post. The greenery and the graffiti were too distracting and took away from the eerie quality I wanted in the shots. I adjusted the exposure on them all for the white and black points:

And then used a radial filter to lighten up Eloise in some of the shots where she was a bit lost in the frame. It also gave her a bit of a glow around her. I also added some post-crop vignetting to make the shots look darker even though we were shooting in the daytime. Here’s what I came up with:

f/4, 1/250th, ISO 200

 

f/4, 1/200th, ISO 200

 

f/4, 1/250th, ISO 200

 

f/4, 1/200th, ISO 200

 

f/3.5, 1/320th, ISO 200

 

I really enjoyed this shoot. I wish I’d directed Eloise to do some more with her body language, it wasn’t until the end of the shoot that she pointed at something and I realized how good of a creepy pose that was. I’d love to shoot in this space again at the golden hour or the blue hour, but I didn’t want Eloise to have to be out there that late.

How’d I do? What would you have done differently? I can’t wait to see your shots this week.

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Live Show Recap: Night Photography

Hey y’all! We reviewed your night photos this week, and they were delightful as always. Tony and Chelsea will be away next week, so we’ll see you in two weeks with the topic “abandoned.” If you want to vote on our topic each week, donate to our Patreon!

You cannot, I repeat CANNOT, donate $50 to call me or $100 to snuggle with Justin.

Let’s get into your photos. I’ll highlight our picks below:

Over to me for some questions/comments from the viewers:

  • Tony is making someone’s weird list of hot silver-haired men

Okay, back to photos:

  • “Rubin! Oh, that makes me hungry”
  • “I think you’ve watched more horror movies than done camping”

Back to me:

  • how would you expose for a campfire portrait? Expose for your subject, clip the highlights a bit, do a lot of work in post.
  • opinions on funeral photography? If it’s cultural, that’s cool. If you’re doing it as a weird exploitative thing, don’t? “It’s my art, violating everyone!”

Back to photos:

Time for a portfolio review! John Shedwick, that sheep got us. Gorgeous landscapes, the GPS coordinates are a really cool feature. T&C are trying to adopt you, or slap you. Your portfolio is wonderful! 

Time for chit-chat, where you say things and we say things back. 

  • stick to your hair color videos
  • oh, men make violent comments about women in videos on the internet? Maybe manage your anger better.
  • do you ever fight about whose name is mentioned first? No, we just constantly swap them, confusing everyone.

Back to  me for your questions:

  • Thanks so much, Jerome! If you own our book, Stunning Digital Photography, you can join our private Facebook group and get help from thousands of other photographers.
  • any particular photography genre you don’t like to shoot? Weddings for Chelsea, nothing for Tony. Justin hasn’t done enough to know. I don’t like shooting landscapes.

Back to photos:

Back to me with your questions:

  • how to get great photos when it’s overcast? Take portraits!
  • how to keep your camera stable on a boat? Freeze the water, literally. Or use a faster shutter speed.
  • how do you pick your photography style (genre)? You don’t have to! Unless you go pro, the market will decide for you.
  • how’s the G5 holding up? And what is your favorite lens for it? It’s doing great. The Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 and a Metabones speedbooster.

Back to your photos:

Back over to me:

  • I’m the ballerina’s allegro
  • what techniques do pro photographers shy away from? HDR, fake solar flare, too much clarity.
  • would you review some of the new camera phones? We’ve thought about it.
  • Tony’s hot bod

Back to your photos before we wrap up:

  • lighthouse
  • “I thought maybe it was fake” “you’re fake”
  • “oh, she’s gonna eat it. I’d rather have a cheeseburger”
  • Top Gun!
  • Tony Soprano!
  • Eiffel Tower is killing it tonight
  • this one would work for next show’s topic

We did it! 

Here’s one last question from you all:

See you in two weeks for “abandoned”!

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Beginner Photography: Night

Night photography! I kind of had to phone it in this week, guys. We had one clear night and I was carless and home with my daughter, so I couldn’t go out when it was properly dark. But I knew of a lovely church within walking distance that I’ve been meaning to shoot for a while, so we trekked out there with my camera and tripod.

I’ve done night photography before, you can see my shots and my process here.

This week I tried to shoot panoramas since I was close to my subject (can’t get too far away without a road and cars in the way) but it proved to be pretty difficult. The tripod I’m working with isn’t the best and I was having a hard time panning smoothly to capture multiple shots in a row. I wound up hand-holding the camera for most of them. I shot on aperture priority with the aperture wide open to gather as much light as possible and at ISO 100, but that left parts of the scene blurry. I didn’t take enough shots of the scene to get the detail I wanted when stacking my images.

Here’s an incredibly helpful video on image stacking and panoramas, which I should have watched before I went out:

I’m not thrilled with how any of my shots came out. I really wish I’d taken more time and captured more shots of each part of the building to stitch them together.

f/3.5, 1/20th, ISO 100

 

f/3.5, 1/40th, ISO 100

f/3.5, 1/30th, ISO 100

 

I also chose to center all of these shots to make the building feel as impressive as it is, but none of them are perfectly symmetrical which just makes it feel off.

The first and third shots I made virtual copies of, then edited one to expose for the sky and one to expose for the building, merging them as HDR. I’m afraid I was a bit lazy and have some haloing around the building now that I look at it. 

Are any of you shooting on the theme each week? How are you finding it?

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Live Show Recap: Self-Portraits

Self portraits! We love seeing your faces. Next week’s subject is night photography. If you want to vote on our live theme each week, donate to our Patreon! You get to see videos early, vote on our live show topics, and more.

First up, photo news:

  • don’t be a thief, you turkey. Especially from an incredibly famous photographer. Souvid Datta, you’re on blast.
  • B&H is still being shady as hell, they settled their latest lawsuit and moved their warehouse

Let’s look at some of your photos:

Over to me for your questions:

  • Bev Miller is the VIP of the night
  • as people are getting used to smart phone focal length, should you use it for wedding photography or avoid it? It’s not that flattering for portraits and the style won’t be timeless. Avoid the common.
  • Chelsea is the selfie master of the two
  • any tips to avoid distortion from the atmosphere when shooting over long distances? Dehaze. Shorter exposures and timing.
  • best way to take self portraits? Use a stand in to focus, use a timer or remote trigger with the intervelometer. Use the wi-fi app for your camera and use the remote app on your phone!  And use a higher f-stop.

Time for a portfolio. The Light Majestic, Natasha Haggard. Stunning landscapes, great light and color. Add a photo of yourself to your about me page! You have a few duplicates you could take out, but otherwise you are killing it.

Time for chit-chat, where you say things and we judge you:

  • Tony was genetically engineered to be a medical ad
  • this photo always shows up in ads for boner pills
  • staged fake lighting, shills
  • fafin’ about
  • but we’re also Sony bashers
  • sorry, our stream died for a few minutes while Chelsea ranted about ISO
  • the cure for G.A.S. is F.A.R.T

Back to photos:

And that’s our show! Join us next week for night photography.