Category: Live Show

Posted on by

Live Show Recap: Best of 2016

Well guys, this was a crazy one. Justin is in California so the show is a bit… slapdash. We lose the stream a few times in the first 20 minutes, but once we realize Skype was to blame, it gets back on track and stays there.

This week we reviewed your best photos of 2016! And we got some awesome submissions. 

So we’re not sure if we’re doing the show next week, but whenever we’re back we’re taking submissions on the topic “Slice of Life.” You can hear Chelsea’s description of what that is here.

We get into your submissions here, and I’ll highlight Tony and Chelsea’s favorites below:

  •  “this looks like a wormhole or some futuristic anus, and I really like that”
  • happy baby
  • Kyle killin’ it, as always
  • lovely portrait
  • “oh my gosh, this is the craziest sea gull I’ve ever seen”
  • juvie praying mantis
  • single-light portrait
  • “drummers like to put blankets in the base drum in case they get cold”
  • Jefferson memorial
  • Horseshoe bend
  • great timing

Chelsea has a cool llama shirt.

Our photographer friend Max has a YouTube channel and is giving away a drone. Find him at sdp.io/Max. 

This insane underwater photo won the National Geographic wildlife photo of the year. Congrats to Greg Lecoeur.

Now to chit-chat! Our favorite segment where you make dumb/mean/funny comments on our videos and we reply.

  • “on our best gear of 2016 video, which was optional to view, by the way…” we’re the worst gear of 2016
  • dropping shits is funny, killing people with drones is not
  • DaddyPRyan, maybe we’ll come to New Zealand if you had a better name
  • Chelsea is always bored

Now we look at a viewer portfolio! LotaLove Photography. Good job with the “booking for 2017” header, contact page and pricing page. “I’m just mad as your wife now.” I would change the formatting so you see full screen images. Lovely shots, just need to display them better. Well done, Charlotte!

Now we get back to your photos, if Tony would stop jinxing the show:

I texted Tony some of your questions and Chelsea pulls some from the comments:

  • rainy day photography tips? Take pictures of your pets, make a mini studio and try product photography, try indoor projects like one of these.
  • what’s your photo management process? When do you delete photos? Don’t delete photos while you’re shooting wildlife, or you’ll miss a moment. It’s easier to do on the computer so you can see everything big, unless you have a 5DSR with those huge files.

More photos:

A big discussion of Ken Rockwell. Give the guy a break.

Some more questions from you:

  • any thoughts on an organized Instagram feed? Cool, but no.
  • are you self taught? What books did you learn from? Tony took some classes, but is mostly self taught. Same for Chelsea, but has learned a lot from art classes.

Ok, we glance through the thumbnails and pull out the ones that stand out at the end here:

Final questions?

  • can we make videos about real estate and product photography? Yes, Tony wants to work with photographers in genres he doesn’t usually cover.
  • when is the best time to use the different priority modes on your camera? Shutter for wildlife or sports, aperture for portraits, manual for shooting in the studio or when you have time to mess with your settings, but still using auto ISO.
  • we disappoint many dogs and many people

And that’s a show! Subscribe to our channel or periodically check sdp.io/live to see when our next show is, we’ll be looking at your slice of life shots. Thanks for sticking around! Happy new year to us all.

Posted on by

Live Show Recap: Night Photography with Kyle Wolfe

This show was a blast! Even though I’m quickly being replaced by Kyle Wolfe, I understand why. What a talented and well-spoken guy. If you somehow don’t know, Kyle is a 17 year old photographer from California. We met him through our Facebook group and the live show. We were blown away by his talent and dedication and got to watch him grow as a photographer over the past few years. And now we finally got him on as a guest! 

Also, please let us know if we should continue calling the show Tony & Chelsea Live or go back to our old name of News, Booze, and Reviews!

We got so many stunning submissions this week, sorry we didn’t make it through more. This show is worth watching all the way through for the tips and editing that the crew gives! You can see my attempt in my blog here. During the live show we also did a gift guide for people you hate, and everyone’s favorite topic, Chit-Chat. 

I honestly don’t know if they gave picks and stars this week, we were so focused on talking to Kyle. But let’s see! 

We started reviewing photos here:

  • beautiful southern lights, could use a UFO though
  • just watch all of this because there are so many good tips for shooting the sky at night
  • star trails over a lighthouse

Time for Chit-Chat! The part of the show where you say mean, dumb, or funny things in the comments on YouTube and we berate or celebrate you for it!

  • “but mooooom!” Chelsea said I had a dumb face and looked like the Ikea monkey. We’re best friends.
  • Chelsea deserves more laughs
  • News, Booze & Reviews is back!
  • totally not a green screen
  • so many sponsors
  • we set Kyle up for that one
  • but really though, back button focus is great

Let’s review a few Squarespace portfolios. First up, Roberto Jara. Gorgeous work! Pare down your portraits a bit. Maybe change your layout so that your images are full screen instead of  square thumbnails. 

Next up we looked at Simon Nicholson’s portfolio. First off, get rid of the cover page, people don’t click through often. Delete similar or images, keep the best ones. Make your formats between pages consistent.

Let’s get back into your photos:

  • incredible lines and great tips on how to capture them

Over to me for your questions and comments:

  • How’d Kyle get into photography? From our great teaching, mostly  😛
  • Sharky wants to know who of T&C, Matt Granger, and Sharky are in the ocean, who would Kyle let drown? This gets some serious thought.
  • Astrophotography, how you do it? Use your widest aperture and varying ISO. Generally f/2.8, ISO 3200 and 20 second exposure. Take multiple shots and use image averaging to cut out some of the noise. There also some crazy mathing to pick the shutter speed.

Now our holiday gift guide for people you hate! I thought of many of these, and it appears that this is my hidden talent.

  • GoPro Karma (which falls out of the sky)
  • Galaxy Note 7 (which catches fire)
  • Pebble smart watch (which was shut down and discontinue)
  • Bargain Lightosphere (disappointing and cheap!)
  • 5lb bag of  Haribo sugar free gummy bears (they give you explosive diarrhea. Read the reviews)
  • Hot dog toaster (because why?)
  • An empty Leica box (the pinnacle of disappointment.)

Ok, back to your photos:

  • Simon  again! Killin‘ it.
  • gorgeous sky
  • “this episode is brought to you by Quaker Oats”
  • moon rainbows?

Kyle is team I-S-O, don’t tell Tony.

Over to me for some more questions:

  • how to make the Milky Way pop,and reduce noise? Avoid the moon, avoid light pollution, stack images to reduce noise. A fast lens on a full-frame camera helps.
  • Kyle, who are you favorite Instagrammers? His dear Stunner friends, Iris, Fyn, Maya, Claire, Nick and Matthew. And these talented astrophotographers, Michael Shainblum, Ian Chen, Farhan Zaidi, and Martin K.

Back to your photos:

One last question from me:

  • What is your biggest photography related goal? For Chelsea it’s to do more creative videos and shoots. For Tony it’s working with talented photographers in other genres and learning from them. Kyle wants to get published and have a gallery show.

One last stunning photo here, and then we’re out! It was a great show, thanks for all your submissions. And of course thank you for our talented guest, Kyle Wolfe! Tune in next week with maybe a surprise guest? We’ll be reviewing your portraits.

 

 

Posted on by

Live Show Recap: Wildlife

Hey! I’m live in the studio this week and awkward as ever! If for no other reason, that’s a reason to watch the show. 

We reviewed wildlife again this week and as always we had some great submissions.

No live show until December 15th! Chelsea and Tony will be away traveling in Thailand for their photo trip. But once they’re back, Kyle Wolfe will finally be a guest on our show reviewing your night photography. Super exciting.

We have a huge sale right now in our store, so go check out our bundles and give gifts to yourself or your friends.

Okay, we get into reviewing your photos here:

  • foxy
  • “you’re running around in the park with your kids and there will just be monsters there.”
  • handsome tree frog
  • hedgehog!
  • great bison
  • “ugh, not today Roger”

Time for chit-chat! Our favorite part of the show where you make funny, dumb, great comments and we highlight them.

  • “I’m a certified photographer”
  • y’all are real conflicted about what it means to be a pro
  • Tony=Cliff Clavin
  • pro brothers

What is this. Why. No.

Back into your photos:

Over to me for some of your questions:

  • cold weather gloves good for photography? Mittens, or mittens with finger flaps.
  • how to wrangle family for portraits during the holiday? Drink! Jk. Threaten, use ultimatums. Use the matriarch or patriarch of the family as the instigator. Use dumb jokes.

Let’s do a portfolio review! JMB Photography. Stunning artistic work. If you want to be hired for portraiture, you should have a more professional site focused on what’s marketable.

More questions from you, via me:

  • what’s the most satisfying picture you’ve ever taken? For Chelsea it’s her bubble shot. For Tony’s it’s his osprey shot where it caught a fish. He’s vindictive.
  • what’s your favorite compositional technique? Depends on the subject. Tony’s least favorite is the golden ratio.

Back to photos:

Back to me for your q’s:

  • how many plates do you have? Like 50?
  • does shrinking an image size make it sharper? No.

Back to photos:

‘Nother question:

  • How do you keep a tripod from sinking in the sand? Are you in quicksand? Get out.

Back to photos:

How to explain AOL to children.

More questions:

  • any photography horror moments? Justin does. So does Tony. Don’t wear flip-flops.

More photos:

We’re speeding through now to get through before the end of the show.

Final questions from you all:

  •  how can I take pictures with a drone without looking like a drooling pervert? Don’t take pictures in windows. Wear a tie.
  • 1DX Mark II as an underwater camera? Sure?

We breeze through a bunch of photos at the end, so just watch those. White squirrel!

Alright folks, that’s our show! We’ll be off for a few weeks, so we’ll see you again December 15th with Kyle Wolfe. Don’t forget! 

Edited to add: Fyn made a list of every animal displayed during the show! Holy cow:

Fyn Kynd 

 
Fyn Kynd1 day ago
A complete list of all species viewed on this show. You are welcome 😉 -your resident naturalist <3 Red Fox American Alligator Northern Paper Wasp European Red Squirrel Cheetah Herring Gull Gray Tree Frog Osprey European Hedgehog Eastern Gray Squirrel Brown Pelican American Bison European Robin Caribou Great Gray Owl Mallard American Elk Common Shag White-tailed Deer Coyote Song Sparrow Eurasian Jay Glaucous-winged Gull American Goldfinch Red Kite Eastern Bluebird Mute Swan Common Raccoon Cooper’s Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Scarlet Tanager Canada Goose Sicilian Wall Lizard New Holland Honeyeater Northern Mockingbird Eastern Bumble Bee Western Bluebird Blue Tit Northern Cardinal Bengal Tiger Double-crested Cormorant Dingo Bald Eagle American Crow Japanese Sea Nettle California Sea Lion Black-headed Gull African Elephant Common Hippopotamus Great Spotted Woodpecker Nanday Conure Meerkat Moose Roseate Spoonbill American Robin Lion American Lady Wood Duck Magnificent Hummingbird Stellar’s Jay Great Blue Heron Ruby-throated Hummingbird American Flamingo Southern Giraffe Eastern Screech-owl Least Grebe Great Egret Downy Woodpecker White Stork Hoopoe Rook Laughing Gull Royal Tern Common Wood-pigeon American Black Bear European Coot Eastern Chipmunk Tree swallow Red-breasted Sapsucker Laughing Kookaburra European Eagle Owl Northern Goshawk Grizzly Bear Little Egret River Otter Glossy Starling Leopard Cope’s Gray Tree Frog Scarlet Macaw Ostrich Australian Pelican Eastern Rosella Small Tortoiseshell American Oystercatcher Galah European Nuthatch Mountain Goat Common Loon Tricolored Heron Wild Turkey American Bullfrog Black Swan Ural Owl Hooded Crow Rainbow Lorikeet Greater Roadrunner California Ground Squirrel Gray Wolf Red-tailed Hawk Bobcat Autumn Meadowhawk Tundra Swan Common Raven Sarus Crane Ring-billed Gull Black-capped Chickadee  
Black Vulture 
Posted on by

Live Show Recap: Wedding

 

Hey folks! This show was a blast. We reviewed your wedding photos and there were some lovely ones. ATTN: next week due to Thanksgiving, we’re doing our live show a day early. We’ll be doing the show on Wednesday at our regular time and looking at your wildlife photos.

We start right off with some chit-chat! Our favorite segment of the show where you say mean or funny or dumb things to us and we respond.

  • “your talking crap.” Get your “you’re”s right, Philip.
  • Tony did donuts, and he’ll never stop
  • indoor drone flying? Never.
  • Skip, no. Photoshop doesn’t make a photographer bad.
  • oops, there’s my handsome husband in a tub.
  • One circle only, Tony.

Ok, let’s get into your photos, but also talk about Westworld:

  • stunning shot
  • classic head shot
  • a well done kiss shot
  • “you just realize how dirty and banged up your whole life is”
  • expression
  • sassy lassies
  • “I get kissed all the time, you think I give a damn?”
  • “nooo, I’m not uncomfortable, I’m an adult”
  • so sweet
  • magazine worthy

Alright, let’s pop over to me for some Q&A:

  • what is your Hogwarts house? We’re adults. “You think they made a Disney theme park because it’s a crappy book?”
  • can you be a wedding photographer if you don’t agree with the institution of marriage? Probably not.
  • my child showed up behind me
  • what is with all the questions about Fuji raw files?
  • what’s the most reckless thing you’ve done in the name of photography? Chelsea married Tony. Trespassing, getting close to dangerous animals. Tony almost drowned with dolphins. “It turns out dolphins are like, really good swimmers.” “Very nearly drowned all the way to death.” Chelsea’s whole response to Tony’s story is amazing.

Okay, over to a portfolio. Beautiful photos. Be one of those Instagram people who makes lots of money by being cool. 

PhotoNews:

  • Nikon 70-200E f/2.8, Tony would pick the D810 with this lens over the 5DSR!
  • Phantom 4 Pro Batteries can be used for the original Phantom 4. “I just want to live my life as a drone.” #DroneLife

Okay, back to your photos:

  • “this photo’s nice because this man is like, handsome.”
  • perfect backlighting
  • is there anything Kyle can’t do? “This is like when your Furbys start talking.”
  • “I like this guy’s stance because he’s in it to win it.” This whole conversation is perfect.
  • Caleb!
  • I got a pick!
  • “look at you, you’re beautiful!”
  • a real ridiculous Captain Planet moment starts here
  • “maybe he’s gonna punch us, that’s the gag”

Back over to me:

  • Chelsea grills me about Captain Planet and then we sing a duet
  • what do you want the future to say about you? “Tony was helpful, but Chelsea made me feel bad about myself.” Tony wants to be remembered for his educational techniques. Chelsea wants to be accessible. “I just hope that they point out that one car circle would have been enough.”
  • this question was hella confusing, so we just run with it. Emotion, emotion, what?
  • Sigma 35 or 50mm Art lens?

Back to your photos:

Back to meeee:

  • tech q’s
  • iPhone 7+ portrait mode?
  • high price point of the 70-200? Not sharp enough to justify.
  • I got nothing. Your tech questions bore me.
  • what would you use to shoot protests? Street photography gear, 24-70, 70-200. Nothing special.

And that’s our show! Join us next WEDNESDAY at 5pm EST for your wildlife photos. 

 

Posted on by

Live Show Recap: Candid Family Photos

Hey there! This week we looked at your candid family photos and they were lovely. Chelsea is sassy on tequila this week and it was great. Justin was drinking sambuca and that is gross.

Tony chose a confusing password in reference to War Games. No more guessing!

Next week the topic is wedding photography because that works for me.

Let’s start off with some photo news:

  • sdp.io/LRPS $89 deal for Lightroom and Photoshop
  • Tony switched back to iPhone! Traitor. “Your old phone was like trying to hold a fish.”
  • Apple Drone!
  • GoPro Karma crashes!
  • Nikon D5600
  • Nikon headcount reduction

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

Over to me for some of  your questions:

Time to look at a portfolio! Beautiful photos, great eye. Include contact info, pricing, some way to hire you. But if you’re trying to market yourself, you’ll want to lead with your marketable work instead of your artistic photos.

Here’s my cat peeing.

Back to me for a question:

  • how to get started with bird photography without spending all the money? Get a 300mm zoom, a bird feeder and a bird blind. Here’s a few videos to help you get started. “The video has helpful information if you can get over my jacket.”
  • “Robots put me out of business again!”

Now to chit-chat! Our favorite segment where you say dumb or funny things and we enable you:

  • Chelsea’s camera strap is a guitar strap. She doesn’t recommend it.
  • Tony is the Mr. Rogers of photography
  • +1 for Tony’s chill
  • Tony was indeed there for the boudoir video
  • “old guy looking younger or a young guy looking older”
  • is Tony and undercover superhero?

Back to your photos:

  • our girl Brittney killing it again this week!
  • “I was reaching for the P myself”
  • “why didn’t you guys tell me my booty was so fly?”
  • “I wrecked that outhouse”
  • hotel del coronado
  • swim kids
  • bread makers
  • “In some cultures, when they dog is old they take it out to sea“
  • “babies gone wild”
  • beach punks
  • laughing
  • backlight
  • photo album
  • gross, gross baby
  • tree house
  • horse face
  • beach babes

Back over to me for some questions and comments:

  • dream feature for camera tech on a smartphone? Camera to phone transport. Telephoto lens capability. Aperture control.

And right back to photos:

  • “always keep your family photogenic”
  • too cool for school
  • sad baby
  • “this photo reminds me of Siobhan, because she wants white guys to stop talking”
  • musical family

Back to me for a question:

  • live show prep? Hahahahha no.

Aaaand back to photos:

Ah, back to me:

  • 6D Mark II next year? Finally a tilt screen? 

Back to photos:

I feel the need to point out that it was Tony’s idea to fly the drone inside. It is so loud. But no one died, so I call that a success.

“How are you gonna land it?” “I’m not, this is my life now.”

“That was stupid.” “I wanna do it again!”

We scroll through the remaining photos before we head out. And that’s our show! Next week we’ll look at wedding photography because I said so. Byyyyyye!

Posted on by

Live Show Recap: Spooky Shots

 

OoOooh, we reviewed your Spoooky photos this week and it was a blast. We’re so glad to be back at our regular drinking time.

 

*Attention!* Next week the time may be an hour off for you, as we have daylight savings time this weekend. So make sure to check sdp.io/live for the countdown next week. That show will be on “candid family” photos, street photography tips apply.

 

Shout out for my photo blog! I had a great spooky model this week and got a few killer shots.

 

Chit-Chat! Our favorite segment where you say dumb stuff and we respond:

  • “Have fun on snapchat and instagram you wrong-headed buffoon”

  • Responses to Chelsea’s boudoir video were… mixed

  • An Arnold Schwarzenegger!

  • Mona Lisa was shot on a film camera

  • Chelsea has a sharpened toothbrush

 

Kyle Wolfe! Our friend won an award in the USA Landscape Photographer of the Year contest for the youth category. He’s the best. But haters gonna hate.

And on that note: ignore the haters, y’all. They are a loud, cowardly minority.

 

Ok, let’s look at your photos:

  • Tragic teddy bear death

  • Ghost pumpkins

  • Mask

  • “This zombie has great bone structure”

  • “This guy is really committed to his Halloween costume.” “No, that’s his life, Tony.”

  • “You have tar in you?”

  • Jack Skellington

  • “It’s like the prostate exam from hell”

  • Blair Witch

  • “Beat it, dementor, I’m having a latte”

 

PhotoNews:

  • Adobe Photoshop update: finally a search bar

  • “OM-D, more like OMG, it’s $2,000”

  • Nigel Barker’s show premiered, you can see it at sdp.io/top

  • New FAA guidelines on travelling with batteries

 

Over to me for some viewer questions:

  • What would be your one vice if you could only choose one? Miami (vice). Alcohol, candy, sugar. Meth?

  • Any plans for the super, super moon on November 14th? Yes.

  • How long does it take you to become comfortable enough with a new camera to take it on a (paid, presumably) shoot? Depends on the shoot.

  • Favorite 4k camera? We use the A7Rii and the GH4.

 

Let’s look at some portfolios! Brittney Watson up first. Change your landing page, the Disney shots are nice, but not marketable. Your portraits are lovely! You could market yourself easily, so add a pricing page and more hiring info.

 

Next up, Martin Kynde. Delete the “Portfolio” header, just use your two sub-menus. Gorgeous landscapes. Bulk up your portrait page, separate any shots of repeated models. Great work!

 

Ok, back to your photos:

  • Condom head?

  • They had a fog plan

  • Not spooky owl

  • Black eyes, black water

  • Illuminati spot-colored cat

  • “It’s got a little crucifix. I bet this is called the Jesus spider. Oh, it’s a garden spider. I was spookily wrong.”

  • Headlights

  • “This breed is prone to hip dysplasia, that’s spooky”

  • Not today, zombie

  • “Old man in the sea, it’s a different kind of book.”

  • “This is like when I order chinese and I’m waiting”

  • “You know what’s going to be spooky? Their lighting bill.”

  • Light play

  • Black Widow

  • “Is this Jamie’s picture? Because we had a guy named Jamie who had a lot of feelings about that photo shoot.”

  • Award-winning photographer Kyle Wolfe

  • Colored contacts are HELL on your eyes

  • Ghoooost

  • “Low low, what the heck is that? Irish buttermilk.” “That’s what is bothering you?”

  • Nuh-uh, Pan

  • Great bike shot

  • Maya! Nice fish.

  • “She’s just like ‘what, this is what we do, it’s Wednesday!”

  • Horror at the Samsung store

  • Eyes wide shut

  • Black cats get a bad rap

  • Face paint

  • Creepy baby

 

I got fired while I was gone. Justin takes over.

Question from twitter: third-party batteries? Don’t do it!

Opinion on the new Macbook? Not really our thing.

 

Back to photos:

  • Shoutout to the few of you who sent in photos of angel statues a la the Dr. Who episode “Blink”

  • Free hugs!

  • “There’s me and you, still waiting for that delivery food.”

  • “That’s a lot of hands”

  • Modern witch

  • “Sexy giant” “is that what you’re into?”

  • Shadow

  • “When you’re dead but you still gotta take care of your baby”

  • Donnie Darko

  • Axe man

  • “Oh, computer problems”

  • Vampyre

  • Speed round! There’s some gems in here.

  • Murder face

  • Bloody kid

 

And that’s our show! Tune in next week for candid family photos, and make sure to check the time because we have daylight savings.

Posted on by

Live Show Recap: The Right Light

Hey y’all! We had an early show again this week, sorry if you missed it, but we’ll be back at the regular time next week (Thursday 5pm EST) reviewing your spoooooky photos. If you want to see what the next show is each week, check sdp.io/live or subscribe to our YouTube channel to be informed!

This week we covered “the right light” which were photos which capture the perfect light. We got a ton of great submissions and I’ll highlight our favorites in this post.

Only one bit of news this week, Kodak announced the Ektra, a smartphone that is made for photography. Tony is switching back to iPhones! 

Ok, let’s start looking at your photos:

Over to me for some of your questions:

  • will Chelsea sing a lullaby for a fussy baby? Nope.
  • why aren’t you drinking? Because we’re adults with jobs!
  • what cool gear did we see at the expos? Nikon 70-200, Sigma 85 Art Lens, radio triggered studio lights. Chelsea did try to steal some new Olympus gear, but they were just displays.

Ok, time for a portfolio. Add more pups. Great wildlife shots and portraits! But Robert, jeez. Lay off the drama in your artist bio. Add some pricing. “I’m slowly dying inside. Hire me.”

“I want to hear from Siobhan, remember her?”

  • shooting jpeg with the new X-T2? Nah, stick with raw.
  • blindfold your friends and make them try wine

Back to photos:

  • get a fog machine to make god-rays
  • orcas are crafty as hell
  • the hillllls are alive
  • creepy bus light

Back to me for some questions:

  • y’all aren’t funny
  • Profoto ocf flash systems? Yup. But Godox is cheaper.
  • what is the best tripod for self defense? Three-legged thing if you want to damage their ego.
  • favorite location for the perfect light? Ledgelight lighthouse.

Back to photos:

Last minute questions:

Blowing through photos at the end here, lots of good ones.

Ok, that’s our show! Spooky pictures next week, Thursday 5pm EST.

 

Posted on by

Live Show Recap: Wildlife

Wildlife, ya’ll! Regardless of my personal failure at shooting wildlife, you guys really showed up for this show. Great job! There are a ton of great tips throughout the show as T&C edit and critique the submissions. For sure watch through this episode if you need wildlife tips like I do.

This month’s schedule is a little wonky, T&C have been traveling a lot. Next week our show will be at 1pm EST on WEDNESDAY and we’re reviewing architecture photos. Then the whole crew of us will be in NYC for Photoplus! 

Oh hey, it’s my birthday in a few days. Thanks for your well-wishes!

Ok, let’s get into your photos and I’ll highlight our faves below:

  • right off the bat, this mourning dove is beautiful and Chelsea makes great jokes “#dovelive”
  • spidey

Here’s a question from you, the audience:

And back to photos:

  • laying eggs
  • kingfisher
  • “what does he have, a little letter?”
  • “you made Justin laugh, it’s that cute”
  • turtle doing pull-ups
  • pretty bird
  • fox’s day at the beach
  • omg baby boar “I would hug it and keep hugging it and then throw it in the bag and bring it home”
  • “this is one of those wrestling death matches between butterflies”

Back to me for some questions:

  • what will Tony and Chelsea be drinking next week during the show? Water.
  • how do you choose portfolio photos? Crowd source. See what does well on social media, take time to reflect back on your photos.

Now for a portfolio review! Pare down your photos, keep the eye-popping ones on the first page, maybe ditch the staggered layout. Otherwise great job! Keep watching to hear great tips about building a portfolio and looking at your analytics.

Back to your photos!

Back to your questions:

  • crop sensor or full frame for wildlife? Tony likes a crop, Chelsea doesn’t.
  • do you color calibrate your monitor? Nope, but it won’t hurt to.

Back to your photos! Getting speedy now, there’s a lot to get through:

Some last questions from me:

  • Chit-chat?
  • how did studying art effect your photography? Composition, adding meaning to your photos.
  • wildlife baiting? Bird feeders are okay, roadkill for eagles okay, otherwise no.

Chit-chat! What are we doing anymore?

  • POS
  • Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy
  • Does photography have to be complicated? No.
  • more weird-ass flat earthers

Photoshop book is now officially out! Buy it.

Let’s go through one last chunk of pictures:

We did it! Thanks for your great submissions this week. Well done. Join us next WEDNESDAY at 1 for architecture photography. Or spot us in NYC at Photoplus, bring beer.

 

 

Posted on by

Live Show Recap: Car Photography with Easton Chang

Killer show this week! Easton Chang Skyped in from Australia and he was an absolute delight. Great info, great photos, all around great show.

We connected with Easton when he submitted an incredible photo for our live show on light painting where he painted a car with a rope on fire as his light source! Turns out he’s an incredibly talented and successful photographer who happens to like us for some reason.

Quick reminder at the top of the show: NO SHOW FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. Tony and Chelsea will be at Photokina in Germany! You can meet up with them and Matt Granger if you’re around, sdp.io/meetup. But two weeks from now the live show topic is Street Photography, so join us for that.

Tony gets the boring question out of the way first: What camera do you use, Easton? The answer is the Canon 5DS-R at home. Though he says most car photographers use Sony! His favorite lens is the 24-70.

T&C got the Fuji X-T2 and they love it! So much better than the initial X-T1.

Now over to Chit-Chat, the part of the show where we highlight mean/dumb/funny things you say to us in YouTube comments.

  • Turns out Tony really is chill, he laughs at terrible things people say about him. “Fake-looking James Bond villain reject.”
  • Chelsea and Tony are as perfect of a couple as Corey and Topanga.
  • Justin gave some guy a “broner.”
  • Justin made a video! People loved it and were weirdly supportive for being on the internet.
  • Guys, don’t bring presents to T&C! Maybe chocolate though.
  • Some guy has a weird fetish.
  • Fire Jason!

Chelsea asks Easton his favorite settings for car shoots, he loves shooting in the Outback and he tells an awesome story about it, so go listen! Seriously, just watch this show again and listen to his insane stories.

Alright, let’s look at your car photos! You guys really stepped up this week, there were some great shots. I’ll highlight our picks below:

  • right off the bat, great advice from Easton: shoot headlights as a separate exposure, pay attention to tire position. So much awesome behind-the-scene tips and techniques of the pros.
  • Ron Wolfe!
  • ok really, they hardly give any picks this show. Easton gives great advice for pretty much every picture. Just watch them all.

Over to me for some of your questions:

  • what’s the most dangerous shoot you’ve done, Easton? Harness mistake on the back of a truck! 
  • he can’t tell us his favorite car
  • what market is there for professional car photography before you hit the pro market? Car dealerships, car accessories, editorial photography, PR and social media.

Let’s look at a portfolio! This guy is really talented. He told us in the chat during the show that he’s only been shooting for 5 months! Lovely portraits, beef up your miscellaneous category, add some contact info and a close-up self portrait. And pricing! You can go pro.

Okay, back to your photos:

  • this guy was in the comments and wasn’t happy about the fact that Tony always says his shots are HDR, because they aren’t
  • Aston One-77
  • light painting truck!
  • spot color, but it works?
  • what is this car?

Ok more questions from the viewers:

  • polarizing filters, yay or nay? Sometimes! You don’t want to eliminate reflections, just make them clean and smooth.
  • how did you start shooting cars? Started with IT, got a car he loved and wanted to do a better job photographing it! Got a job shooting for car magazines a year later.
  • they talk cars for a while, this is all Greek to me
  • Chelsea Ferris Bueller’s cars at her family’s dealerships

Back to photos:

  • nice light
  • this insane car in front of a Globemaster
  • BMW M3
  • good light painting, just needs some cleanup
  • oh hi, it’s me! Shameless self-promotion.
  • guys, no. What? Why.
  • “maybe you can’t own a Ferrari, but you can make a Ferrari”
  • good way to shoot at a car show
  • look at this fake-ass Delorian, taking Chelsea’s advice from 2 minutes ago

Back to me for some questions:

  • keep on the license plate or blank it out? It’s a personal choice or based on the job.
  • question from Tony about balancing the color balance and exposure when shooting from inside a car. No quick fix, apparently. Reflectors, interior light, or just blow out the outside.

Back into photos:

A few more questions for Easton before we head out:

  • how to shoot car interiors? Shooting mixed material is hard to light, getting lights and proper camera angles inside a car is also difficult.
  • what % of making great car shots is the car and what percent is the photographer? Technically, the photographer matters more. As far as social media likes and attention, it’s all about the car.

And that’s our show! Easton gave us incredible tips and info on shooting cars. 

We’ll see you in two weeks for street photography! Thanks folks.

 

Posted on by

Live Show Recap: Adventure!

Hey ya’ll! We looked at your adventure photos this week which was not nearly as popular as landscapes.

Folks: don’t somehow acquire Tony or Chelsea’s phone number and call or text them about photography. That’s terrifying.

We don’t have a live show next week, but the week after, September 15th will be on car photography with a guest.

SDP now has closed captioning on the videos, so if that’s something you need, there you go!

Some photo news:

  • Instagram now lets you zoom! Which isn’t great.
  • submit your “Stop It!” photos to us at sdp.io/stopit. We’ll make fun of your worst or most cliche photos.

“Bokeh that pepperoni.”

Let’s get into some Chit-Chat, Chelsea’s favorite segment where people say mean/weird/funny things to us and we give them positive reinforcement for some reason:

  • Tony should be the president because he’s nice
  • Annie Leibovitz, like Harry Potter, lived in a closet
  • this just in: men criticize talented women
  • Tony’s goatee makes him look like a crazy jazz musician
  • Smaakjeks is our favorite commenter
  • Also this just in: Tony is chill “I’ve never seen people rally so well to bust someone’s balls”

What should T&C do a video on with Chris and Jordan from The Camera Store TV? Give us suggestions. Chelsea’s is knife fight. “Canadian, too nice, learn to sharper a tooth brush.” “Cut me with your apologies.”

Ok, let’s look at some of your adventure photos! I’ll highlight some of our favorites:

  • “that’s the appropriate dog” “yeah, like if you bring a wiener dog to the top of a mountain, you’re out. Thumbs down.”
  • “oh no, this is a danger“
  • “was this taken by the front row of oxen?”
  • beach camping
  • “this is actually the devil“

Tony pauses to make everyone upset. He’s sciencing. He’s also B.F. Skinner’s kid.

  • efficient vacuuming
  • dirt run
  • flying kid
  • base jumper. Naturally, Justin knows what it stands for off the top of his head.
  • winner of the night! Cave diving.
  • lovely B&W
  • “I free dive now, wrestle a shark while I’m down there, get the bends eight times.”
  • “woah, this baby’s an adventure“
  • Krampus tradition “this is a true adventure, when your town dresses up like brooms.”
  • through the ice
  • poor bull

Over to me for some of your comments, questions, etc:

  • sun flare was real, diver was underwater

Now to a portfolio! Skip the landing page, put as much as you can on the front page. Ditch the watermarks, they don’t work. Someone called Annie a “rake.” “Is that a bad thing? Rakes have only ever been good to me.” Back to the portfolio. Pare down your images in the music section, focus your portfolio on what you’re trying to sell. Pick all your best photos and put them on the main page.

Back to me for your questions:

  • how can you add adventure to your photos if you live in a flat, boring place? Add an exciting element! Boring can be a good backdrop.
  • can you use a studio umbrella as a scrim? Yup!
  • setting the white point on photos; it can get too bright, should you sacrifice contrast? Depends on the image. You only need a tiny amount of black point and white point.

Let’s get back to photos! Tony was editing some while I asked questions:

Back over to me for some viewer questions:

  • the hay people are from Krampus celebration! They’re called Schab and they are holding whips
  • Chelsea seems to have made up a holiday tradition of beating your parents awake
  • Hubble space telescope focal length is insane
  • Photokina meet-up!

Bonus portfolio, ’cause all the cute animals.

Pre-announcement announcement! T&C are doing a photo trip to Thailand and you can join them! Stay tuned for info.

Tony flipped through the remained of your photos and highlighted a few:

  • down the barrel
  • train baby
  • swing chairs
  • pink sunrise
  • rodeo
  • desert sky
  • dunes
  • parasailing
  • “that seems unsafe” “they love hugs though” “no, that’s really not right”
  • was this one meant for Stop It? “I want this airbrushed on the side of my van.”
  • “horse in a shirt, what’s more adventurous than that? Dude’s fully dressed.”

And we made it through them all! (Except for the ones I didn’t let through.)

We’ll be back in two weeks looking at your car photos! 

If you were wondering, after the show ends and you hear Chelsea chastise Tony, it’s because of him breathing on the lens.