2011: Come Out Swinging!

It's been a while since I last posted on here (I had the busiest fall of my career to date). I want to start off this year's first post, summarizing my journey over the past 13 months.

Over the last 13 months, I...

• Shot my first, second, and third solo weddings
• Landed my first commercial shoot
• Dedicated myself to learning off-camera lighting
• Committed to developing and creating my personal photographic style
• Started this blog, in an attempt to give back to the photography community
• Began to take Facebook seriously so I could connect with more of you
• Started a Twitter account, again to further connect with the Photography community
• Traveled over 5,000 miles shooting various events for one client
• Had work published in several newspapers from Washington state to North Carolina
• Had some of my work incorporated into a television show on the Outdoor Channel
• Started a new company called Restored Film (more on that as the year continues)
• And added over 30 new images to my portfolio on my Website

Keith m's Image Critique. . .

Alright let get back into the swing of things with another image critique. If you’re new to the blog, read the first few paragraph's on THIS post to see where I’m coming from concerning these image critiques.

Today’s image has been sent to us by Keith. Thanks, Keith, for being patient over the last several weeks while I was, **cough cough**, absent from posting. Okay, lets get into it…

First off, lets talk about the composition. It’s a well done headshot. Following the “rule of thirds,” the subject’s eyes are positioned on the top third of the frame. I really like the movement of the subject’s hair – very natural. The background is pretty good. I might have moved the subject a little to the left, getting rid of the black void tot the right of her head. But its not too bad; a mere nit-pick really. The lighting is well handled, and exposure is spot on.

There are a couple of aspects of this image that I think are simply golden. You absolutely nailed the subject’s expression. I love the pleasant eyes, the slightly open mouth – the entire expression is great. The eyes are perfectly engaged with the camera. The eyes are the single most important part of any portrait, especially a headshot, and even more so when they are looking into the camera. And you nailed it! If the eyes aren’t engaged, then you’ve lost it. Think of it this way, lets say you had this exact image, only the eyes were at mid-blink. The shot would be ruined. As the old saying goes, “the eyes have it” (or something like that). The expression and the eyes are what make this such a strong image. Nicely done.

Now lets discuss how the image might improve. As photographers, we should continually be stretching ourselves, looking for ways to improve what we create. So what could you do next time to improve on this image? I’ve already mentioned my nit-pick about the background, so I won’t go over that again. But the most distracting part about this image to me, oddly enough, also has to do with the subject’s eyes/face. They simply aren’t sharp. Now, depending on what you were going for, its not necessarily “bad.” The face/eyes have that sort of old-time, high-ISO film look. Remember when you’d shoot ISO 1600 or 3200 film, and the detail simply wasn’t there? No? Well trust me. When you shoot 3200 speed film, it lacks detail, no matter how dead-on your focus was. If that’s the look you were going for then great. Great except for one problem. As you look down the frame, you’ll notice the subject’s hair, shirt, and necklace all have more detail than her eyes/face. So, if you’re going for that look, creating it in post-production, then don’t forget the rest of the image.

On the other hand, if you weren’t going for that old-time film look, then the face and eyes simply need to have more detail. Though the “old-time” film look is nice, I would like to have seen sharper details in the face. I’m not sure what caused it, but again, compared to the shirt/hair/necklace area, the face leaves something to be desired. Is it horrible? No, not at all. In fact, its somewhat acceptable in my opinion. But, since we’re committed to our craft, actively looking for things on which to improve, then this is one area of this image we can look at and learn from. Actively scrutinizing our work, helps us hone our skills.

Overall, Keith, I think this is a well done portrait. A few minor tweaks, and you’d have a shoe-in for your portfolio.

Now a reminder to all of us, myself included. Getting out from under the keyboard, picking up our cameras, getting out there and shooting, messing things up, and evaluating what we create is the single best thing we can do to improve. Remember, YOU are the single most important aspect of your craft. Not your gear. Not your subject. Not your settings. Not your location. Not even your skill level. Its YOU. So have some fun, get YOURSELF out there and make YOURSELF better.

As always, in an attempt to improve the photography community at large, please feel free to post a comment and offer some constructive criticism. We all see things differently, and I am by no means the final authority on anyone’s work. See something different? Post a comment. Disagree with me? Post a comment. We’re in this together. Lets help each other out.

Alright, enough is enough,

now, go out and shoot something!

Welcome Back, Kotter...

For those of you who have no idea what the title is all about, click HERE or HERE (and realize how old I am). But I digress...

Its been a while, so I thought I rev up with a post showing a small portion of what I've been up to since last time. Below are some shots I've taken the time to resize and post on the blog. I've also been working completely revamping my website, which I'll be launching soon. Next week I'll be critiquing a photo from Keith. After that, I hope to get back to posting much more consistently than the last couple of months. So stay tuned, and as always, if you have any questions about the world of photography, please contact me. If you're new to the blog, feel free to take a look around and make yourself at home. My sole purpose in maintaining this blog is to offer what little I have to better the photography community as a whole. If you're interested in where I'm coming from, read THIS POST.

Here's some recent work, starting with a few more from Laura & Joel's engagement session (who's wedding I'm stoked to be shooting next month!), then a few from the Tusla Air and Space Museum:

Now, go out and shoot something!

Laura & Joel: a sneak peek...

Here's a sneak peek at Laura & Joel's engagement portraits. We had a great time this morning all over Kansas City. We started around 8:30 and shot for over 3.5 hours. And, as you can see, it was well worht the time we spent.

Congratulations you two! I can't wait to photograph your wedding!

Stacy F's Image Critique...

Hello everyone. Here we go with this week’s image critique. This one comes to us again from Stacy F. She sends us a shot of a fire-breathing, stilt-walking, back-alley dwelling, guy. So lets get to it…

Fist off, this image is very striking, very interesting. Immediately, I was drawn into the image, to figure out what’s going on. Nothing like an abnormally tall man spewing fire from his mouth to peak one’s interest. Love it. One thing that will always raise impact level is to shoot subjects seldom seen. I can tell you, with absolute certainty, the number of times I’ve seen a photograph of a guy on stilts breathing fire – three (counting this one). If it were a shot of, say, a squirrel at the park, then it’d be much harder to hold my attention (I saw enough squirrel photos the first week of photog school alone to last me a lifetime). So just by having such an interesting subject you’ve started off with a huge plus. And then there’s the scene. The creepy, decaying, dead-end alleyway is a great place to place your subject. It really gives it that “I’m-lost-and-went-the-wrong-way-down-a-dead-end-alleyway-and-there’s-bars-on-the-windows-and-a-creepy-fire-breathing-carney-in-the-shadows” vibe. It really works with your subject.

The exposure of the image is very well done. You have handled your flash very well. Wait…What? Flash?? That’s right. It may not have as short of a flash duration as, say, an SB-900, but the fire is acting as a flash, illuminating the entire scene. And you’ve exposed for it quite well. You were even able to underexpose the sky by a couple of stops or so, keeping it a dark, rich blue, which is very suitable to the overall image. I also love how the fire creates so much contrast and deep shadows.

Lets talk composition. Here’s where the image could use a little work. The position of the scene is placed nicely within the frame. The angle of the walls framing the sky, the dark shadows to the left and bottom right. So kudos for the composition of the scene. The placement of your subject could use a little work though. As is, its not too bad. But I think if you were to have placed him further into the corner, turned him 180° (facing to the left) and had him blowing the fire towards the left (at the same upward angle), it would have been a stronger image. That would anchor him in the middle of all those great leading lines the building is creating. We could also see his face, which would add some interest as well. Whenever I'm on a shoot like this, I’ll shoot my subject from several different angles and positions, exploring as many options as possible. And maybe you did that. But for this image, a little moving of the image would make it a bit more powerful.

Overall, I really like this image. It has a lot of interesting components. And there’s really only minimal tweaks that I think would help it out. Nicely done Stacy. Keep up the great work!

Now, go out and shoot something!

Your Questions Answered...

If you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time, it’ll come as no surprise that I really want to help other photographers improve. As much as my schedule allows, I’ve tried to pass on as much help/info as I can. For this week's post, I’ve been asked a number of questions that can be lumped into the same pile. I’ve gotten a barrage of “What blogs are you following?” “Who do you learn from?” “Who do you gain inspiration from?” etc. In other words, I’ve been asked “what do you do to keep up with the photography industry and sharpen your skills?” Well, here’s the skinny on this part of my photoggin’ leranin'.

Let me start off by saying, I put the greatest amount of effort on my family life. I strive to be the man, husband, and father that my family needs. If it were to ever come down to choosing between photography and my family, I’d leave photography in the dust and never look back. I carefully and consciously strive to daily guard my family life. Keep this in mind as you read this post. It can sound like I spend every waking moment reading, studying, and shooting. But I strive to keep a balance between what I do, and who I am to my family - and I tend to lean towards the family side of this balance. Having said that, here’s what I am currently putting into the learning side of my photography.

First of all, I read and ingest as much as humanly possible concerning our craft. I read and study constantly. The internet is a beautiful thing. There is so much good it does. And the proliferation of knowledge is some of it. Land a commercial job photographing custom leather baby shoes, and not know how to light it? Google it, and you’re overloaded with multiple lighting scenarios that’ll help. Get to shoot a model’s portfolio and need some pointers on how to use the only light you have? Search it on Youtube and you’re inundated with videos showing various ways to accomplish a fashion shoot with one light. I recently shot for a new restaurant that opened here in Tulsa. Having never photographed food, I first called a commercial photog friend of mine for pointers. I then quickly hit the web. After a short serf around the net and I was able to walk into the shoot with confidence and accomplished it with peace of mind. The client was ecstatic with the results. So the internet is an invaluable tool in my photographic arsenal. But what about all the other time, when I don’t have a “special” shoot coming up? There are several things I do to continue to learn.

There are several blogs I follow. I have chosen them because of 1) they offer so much in the way of learning, and B) they offer a great deal of inspiration to me. So what ones do I follow? Here’s a few who have made my RSS feed:

zarias.com ~ You’ve probably heard me talk about this dude before. Even though I went through a two year photography school, what I have learned from Zack has revolutionized my photography. School was great for the basics, but what Zack has given away on his blog allowed me to take what I knew and catapult me to another level. He’s one of the present-day lighting gurus. But the biggest thing he offers me is not technique, its inspiration. I’ll not retype his story here, but in short, early on he lost everything, and found himself working at a Kinkos, having to sell all his gear just to pay rent. But it was from there the dude pulled himself up, headed out with a borrowed camera and speedlight, and built a hugely successful career, all without going into debt. Just knowing there’s a regular guy out there who has successfully built a career doing what he loves, is able to provide for his family, and give back to the photography community, gives me a great deal of inspiration to keep going. So, I always read what he has to say.

pixelatedimage.com ~ David is another photographer that has a spot on my RSS feed. Talk about inspiration. First of all, the guy is doing exactly what I aspire to do: travel the world using his camera to work for non-profit organizations. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Indiana Jones when I grew up. I wanted to travel the world in grand adventures, fighting off bad guys. Now that I’m grown, not much has changed. Now I just want to have a camera in my hand. I would love to work with/for organizations like “For the Silent,” “Compassion International,” or “Voice of the Martyrs.” I want to create images that help them further their respective causes. And this type of thing is exactly what David is doing. He’s traveling the world shooting for some great causes. And his blog is constantly updated with very worthwhile posts, offering very sound food for thought on our craft. He has also written several books that I HIGHLY recommend. The most recent one I’ve read is “Visionmongers” ~ An absolute must read for every photographer trying to make a buck IMHO. If you haven’t already, check out his blog, its worth it.

jeremycowart.com ~ Relatively new to my RSS feed is this dude Jeremy. I don’t know much of his background, but he’s another that is very inspirational to me. Last year he is responsible for creating the Help-Portrait movement. This was a grass roots movement of photogs all over, volunteering their time and talents to take family portraits for families who otherwise couldn’t have any made. Around Christmas-time, there were something like 40,000 families around the world who received family portraits for free from photographers around the world. More recently, Jeremy traveled to Haiti to create his Voices of Haiti Project. While there, he created portraits of earthquake survivors. He is now selling these images and all proceeds are going directly towards Haiti disaster relief. It’s a VERY powerful collection of photographs. Plus, the dude is simply an awesome photographer. I love to look at his work.

noireblanc.com ~ I follow Beki’s blog for a couple of reasons. A) she’s an incredibly talented young photographer. By young, I mean, she’s only 17 years old. But, regardless of her age, Beki creates some of the more beautiful nature/macro photography I’ve come across. She’s also quickly become a Queen of Black and White. I have a lot to learn from her concerning BW photography. And 2) Beki is a friend of mine. Though I’m a little biased because she’s my friend, she really is an inspiration. At only 17, she is quite accomplished in her photography skills, is a very creative designer, and maintains a blog that is loaded with stunning images, photography techniques and design ideas. She is one to keep a close eye on. Her career is just starting to blossom. (did you catch the macro pun? Close eye... blossom... um, okay, moving on...)

scottkelby.com ~ Scott is the world’s foremost expert on everything photoshop. I could write forever on what he brings to the table. His blog is updated daily, loaded with tons of industry news, photography techniques, and of course, photoshop stuff. Scott has also written a plethora of books on photography and photoshop. He has another site called kelbytraining.com where members have access to a sea of online photoshop classes. He even has his own online "tv" station at kelbytv.com that airs webisodes teaching photoshop and technical camera stuff. If you’re not familiar with him, you owe it to yourself to get acquainted with what he does. He's like the Michelangelo of modern photography - he's everywhere creating impossible amounts of photography realted stuff.

Here’s a few more on my RSS, since you asked =)…

strobist.com ~ Everything you ever need to know about using hotshoe flashes.

joemcnally.com/blog ~ Joe is the Kung Fu Master when it comes to lighting.

digitalprotalk.blogspot.com ~ This one I just found out about… I haven’t spent a lot of time on David’s blog, but so far, it seems to be loaded with tons of great information, largely aimed at wedding photographers. If you’re into weddings, you may want to check into this one.

One other site I want to bring your attention to is creativelive.com. I’m just starting to learn about it, but I believe this will completely revolutionize the photography industry as we know it. Simply go to the site. Sign up for free. And then, you are able to “attend” live workshops FOR FREE. And there are some amazing workshops being offered. For instance, Zack Arias is conducting a three-day workshop in June. All you have to do is log on and participate. Catch that? Everyone who is “attending” the workshop is able to ask questions to the instructors, as they are conducted LIVE. Not available for the workshop you want to attend? No sweat. Once a workshop is over, you can purchase the workshop and watch it at any time. This is how they offset the cost of the website. In short, watch all the live workshops you want for free. Then, if you miss one and its worth it to you, you can pay for it. Its that simple. This is an amazing concept brought to us by the genius known as Chase Jarvis. I am pumped about it!

So there you go. There’s a short list of where I draw photographic inspiration and knowledge. Check ‘em out. Maybe they can give you something that will help you along on your journey. That’s it from me for this week. Have a good weekend everyone.

Oh, one more thing I want to add. Even though I spend a great deal of time studying, it doesn’t do any good if I don’t get off my backside and get out and shoot. There’s a deliberate reason I end every post telling you to go shoot. As much as I want you to learn something here, my goal is to get you out there and shoot. Do all the “book” learnin’ you want, but there’s no substitute for experience. Soooo...

Now, go out and shoot something!