Ok, so this one is a cheat. I didn’t go out shooting this week, we don’t have a live show and I couldn’t come up with a subject. So I decided to go through old shots and edit some, and turned up a bunch of street photos of dogs that I never had any use for.
I was shooting street photography in San Francisco at the time, so I had my Olympus E-M10 with me, using live view on the flip-out back screen to conspicuously take shots. But you don’t really have to be conspicuous with dogs, because they have no shame. So when possible, I got down at their eye level to shoot them. Like standard street photography, I tried to get some context to their surroundings and often went black and white to eliminate distractions.
Here’s a great video from T&C on shooting street photography:
I realized editing these shots how far I’ve come over the past few months. I had NO idea what I was doing when I shot these. My settings are insane and the shots came out noisy even though I was out in natural light. My f/stop and ISO could have been much lower.
And here are some pups:
Sadly, I cut off his front feet which is a no-no, but look at that face!
f/5.6, 1/80th, ISO 800
I love their bodies pointing different directions but looking the same way, and the cool owner leaning against his car.
f/6.5, 1/250th, ISO 200
It is hard to expose for a white ball of fluff, and to focus on it’s eyes.
f/4, 1/50th, ISO 200
So there’s some dogs! Do they make up for me not shooting this week? Maybe.
Next week’s topic is “lines” which I’m excited for. I love abstract topics and I look forward to seeing how everyone interprets it, myself included.
what do you think Nikon will do for it’s 100th anniversary? Maybe a new DF? Maybe have a beer and relax?
what’s up with Tony’s new aerial photography business? Nothing yet, need FAA certifications first.
Now to review a portfolio! Vanexus Photography, absolutely stunning landscapes. Another husband and wife team! Keep your interface consistent between your main page and your categories, also change your store page so they can order directly. Otherwise, it’s lovely.
new years resolutions? Nah, not really. Justin has some, I do not.
how old is too old to become a professional photographer? Never.
a review of sharpness tools in PS? It’s in our Photoshop book.
what’s the best sandwich? Reubens for Tony, Thanksgiving turkey sandwich for Chelsea or a lobster roll, pulled pork for Justin, chicken cheesesteak for me.
Back to photos, Tony sped through them and picked some out:
tips on shooting a model for the first time? Watch a shoot on YouTube to learn how to direct a model. If you have an experienced model, follow their lead, if not, look up posing. Pay attention to the overall aesthetic and mood. Take time to interact and develop a rapport first.
are all crop sensors of the same brand equal? No, close but not exact. A bigger sensor or faster lens will make a lot of difference.
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.
Thailand! First and possibly only photography workshop.
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.
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”
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!
Hey there! This week the topic for the live show is “candid family photos” which is right up my alley. So, this isn’t really a formal genre, but it certainly follows the rules of some other more established topics like street photography. It’s all about capturing the mood and expression of your subjects, giving the viewer a “slice of life” view.
You’ll notice most of my photos in this post are black and white. That’s because I’m photographing children, who tend to wear bright colors, and I’m shooting in my house and outside which have distracting elements. Converting photos to black and white helps to focus the viewers attention and eliminates distractions.
While most of my family moments would realistically include the TV or cell phones, I managed to capture my daughter goofing around on the couch, and her and my stepson outside playing with my neighbor’s grandkids. It’s hard for me to objectively know which of these images are successful. This topic is more sentimental than many, and I can’t help but judge these images on my feeling towards them and the emotions they elicit more than the technical aspects. These certainly don’t have the sharpest focus, but I tried to capture movement and expression above all else. I used low f/stops (which aren’t actually that low since I’m using a micro 4/3 camera) and auto ISO and shutter speeds.
My regular weekend view.
This is pretty much the essence of Eloise; pretending to be a cat.
I love this one. The expressions, the movement. The car and post make an unfortunate background though.
Gleefully collecting leaves to throw in the air
Rule negotiation.
So how’d I do? What could I have done better? I wish I’d gotten some sharper images of the kids throwing leaves (I didn’t post any here because they weren’t great) but I still have trouble balancing my shutter speed and exposure. Time to revisit the basics!
Can’t wait to see what you all come up with this week!
Hello again! Guys, guys. Guys. We are still having a hard time with the new studio set up. Please give us your patience. I am muted for the first few cuts to me, just as you’ve always wanted, but we get it fixed. Look how awesome the color looks! Tony and Chelsea aren’t vampires! You heard it here first.
We’re looking at your candid photos this week and you had some good ones.
The Photoshop book is underway! If you bought it already you can download the first few chapters at sdp.io/psowners. If you haven’t bought it yet, what are you waiting for? Come on. Really. And we have all sizes of the shirt back in stock! Your wishes were granted.
PhotoNews: not much this week because of CS last week.
register your drone! sdp.io/faa. What did you name your drone? I would name mine Air Bud.
Ok, photo reviews start here, but the sound drops out a few times. I warned you.
Over to me for your questions, but you can’t hear me when I’m on camera:
How’s Windows 10? I don’t know, because I don’t have it
Canon 80D, ADD? “I’d like a camera that does what it says it does. How bout that, camera manufacturers?”
Now a portfolio review. Change your name, it sounds like the hardcore band you were in in high school. Otherwise, great port! Pare down a few shots, lead with your best.
Chelsea on spot-color, “it was fine in Sin City and Schindler’s List, but I’ve yet to see it pulled off again.”
“Dude, you’re nowhere near deep enough to need to hike your pants up. So just chill with that.” Keep an eye out for Tony’s show on pant length.
“Everyone thinks we’re biased towards Kyle Wolfe-” “we are! He’s a great person. So sue us. Is it our fault his parents made a great human. God. Be more like Kyle Wolfe”
