Wanted to get a few shots from today posted before I crashed.  Today was one of those days where everything was just clicking.  I really had a blast working with Theresa & Arielle, both NOT first-timers.  Kat was back rockin makeup and Erin (the intern – I’ll have a post introducing her soon) and Allie helped keep things moving and easy going in the blazing heat and drenching humidity.  It’s always nice working with a rad crew!  Thank you everyone for helping make images like the ones here.

BIG day tomorrow!

Rock On!

Had another chance to run down to StudioOz in Philadelphia on Monday for a long day of shooting and catching up.  DanO, owner/photographer of StudioOz and I both quit our day jobs (at the same place no less) to do photography full time within 2 weeks of each other back in the fall of 2005.  In those 5 years he’s has been an integral part of our lives and our business.  I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to pay him back for what he’s done for us, but we’ll keep trying.

The first 6 images here are from Monday down at DanO’s – his studio is in a huge complex that makes my brain swim with ideas, often WAY more than I can cram into one or two shoots.  The second series of 6 are from yesterday.  My hat is off to all of these awesome ladies for putting up with long days and crazy uncomfortable shooting weather.  You all rocked out some great images.  Thanks for making life fun!

Rock On!

Man, 2010 is racing by!  June is here, the summer weather HAS BEEN here for quite a while already and the calendar for the remaining 7 months is filling up fast!  It’s all work, technically.  I have a pile of things to post in the coming weeks:  Shots from next week’s www.300AlmostNakedPeople.com project shoot; more band/musician promo images; there’s probably a wedding or 6 to blog about; and perhaps just a general image wrap up on most of 2009…I realize we’re almost 1/2 way through 2010…better late than never, right.

These images are from our Winter Blues Promo.  Had a blast with everyone involved!  Thank you to all these great ladies for keeping life lighthearted and fun!

Rock On!

Just taking a quick second to say thanks again to Carla & Billy for having us out last fall to cover their big day.  Connie and I had a blast with both of them, their families and their great wedding party.  A little different than the normal post, but quite a few of these are Connie’s shots.  She doesn’t shoot a lot, but when she can it’s always a treat to see what she does.

This is a wedding party that knows how to ROCK!  Sun up to sun down they made sure this was Carla and Billy’s BIG DAY!  THIS is the kind of wedding party you want!

Obviously this is from a a bit back.  My hat is off to everyone involved for their patience while I got these done the only way I know how.  Thank you! Congrats & ROCK ON!

Also, thank you again to everyone that has emailed, txt’d, facebooked and otherwised me about the photography classes.  Your responses and enthusiasm have been very inspiring!

OK…here we go!  This might be all over the place, but I’ll try to keep it together.  And I’ll put this out there right now; this is my first foray into trying to show someone how I shoot, so if it feels like I’m shooting (pun #1) from the hip, I probably am.  And, an even more important point – these classes will be based around what I know about image making, which is limited to what I’ve been able to teach myself in the last 6ish years.  I’m still teaching myself photography, and I hope these classes can show you how to do that as well.

We’ll lean HEAVILY towards DSLR shooting, particularly in the 1 on 1 sessions.  If you’re more comfortable with, or only have, a point-n-shoot, we can definitely discuss that more as well.  And, if those last 2 sentences didn’t make any english sense to you, please ask…I’ll be happy to explain.

Small Group Classes:

These classes will be limited to 5 people per class, on a first come, first served basis.  To reserve a spot, the course fee will need to be paid in full.  If you’re thinking about attending any of these, get a hold of someone at the studio ASAP.  We can’t reserve a spot until the fee is paid.  And on that note, each class is $75 and will be held at the studio.

The dates are:

• Wednesday April 28th 6-9   –   Camera Control – ISO, aperture, shutter speed
• Wednesday May 12th 6-9   –   Digital Darkroom – file management, workflow, editing
• Wednesday May 26th 6-9   –   Lighting – natural, on-camera, off-camera, mixing

Camera Control

To me, this is where it all starts.  If you don’t know what the camera is doing, you’re never going to get any better at making images.  ’P’ mode works in very few situations.  Actually taking control of the camera is essential to getting YOUR creativity into the image.  And seriously, it’s easier than you think.  MOST of the ’stuff’ on your camera can be ignored…understanding ISO, aperture and shutter speed, and how each plays into your image will allow you to make better images, more often, in more situations.

Digital Darkroom

This should actually be first, but I realize most people just want to shoot and might not KNOW that they SHOULD care about this part…by the end of Camera Control, I’ll have you convinced at just how important this part is, particularly to digital photographers.  Don’t skip this class just because it might sound boring on the surface – I promise it wont be!

Lighting

Oh baby, do I love me some light!  I can’t stop looking at, analyzing, playing with or talking about lighting.  Ask Connie…it’d be a problem if it wasn’t a passion!  :D (ooh…that was good…tweeted!)  Understanding lighting and how YOU are in CONTROL of it will make for better images instantly.  From simple to complex, we’ll talk about it all.  Class note – if I jump around like a monkey trying to make my point on lighting, toss me a banana and wait for me to calm down…I like it THAT much!

I’m going to focus (pun #2) on having fun in these classes –  cause seriously, has anyone ever picked up a camera with intent of irritating themselves?  It’s about creativity and sharing with the world how you see life happening one frame at a time.  I can’t tell you too much about the class setting itself, cause THAT’S one of the surprises for attending.  I will say this however; I’m going for MORE than you’re expecting!

Alright…so that brings us to the 1 on 1 classes…a tad less info here as these are going to be specific to each person.  But here are the details:

1 on 1 Photo Classes:

• Scheduled almost any time there’s an opening for your schedule and mine
• First class is a 2 hr intro class at $75.  The intro class is designed to help me better understand your needs so I can tailor future classes accordingly.
• After the intro class, sessions are $50/hr, booked in 1-3 hour blocks
• You can also schedule a batch of classes for a reduced rate – 6 session hours for $250, scheduled however you’d like.
• Most classes will start in the studio – we’ll decide together where were headed from there if location work is the order of the day
• I have a basic plan for how I’d like these to go, but it’s YOUR PERSONAL class.  We’ll work on whatever you’d like.

Definitely one of the coolest parts of this gig is talking to people about not only the images we’re about to work on for them, but also about the images they may want to make on their own.  DLSR camera’s have made it easy and affordable to make better images.  The feedback, either instantly from the back of the camera, or shortly thereafter on a computer screen, give you a chance to make adjustments and corrections, reshoot and see first hand the results of those changes, usually immediately.  At least for me, this is a GREAT way to learn.  It’s linear and just makes sense.

The question I get asked most often is probably ‘what does it take to be a professional photographer?‘  The quick answer, a business degree!  I get the feeling most people don’t want to hear that, but it’s all but true.  That said, it doesn’t take a degree of any sort to make better pictures; just the desire to do so.  If the image is pleasing to you, you’re good to go.  Everyone has opinions, preferences, likes and dislikes, all of which can help you see things from different points of view.  In the end however, being comfortable with yourself and what you’re doing with a camera is all that really matters.

When I get into a conversation about gear, particularly with someone new to photography, I bring up the lens in the image here; the 50mm f/1.8.  Both Nikon and Cannon make it, as I’m sure many other camera and lens manufacturers do as well.  In the ‘bang for your buck’ category, this lens stands alone, BIG TIME.  Nikon’s runs about $120, Cannon’s is about $10 cheaper.  When lenses regularly go for $1500.00+, the 50mm f/1.8 feels nearly free!  It’s durable (the one in the image here is from my dads old film Nikon…its been beaten, dropped, tossed, shipped and forgotten about by various members of my family for 20+ years, and still takes a razor sharp image.).  It’s feather light, awesome in low-light situations and IT DOESN’T ZOOM!  I’m not going to get into the ‘prime vs. zoom’ argument here, that’s for someone else’s blog…but the fact that this lens is fixed at 50mm is WHY I like it so much.

This lens (and all other primes) remove the ability to zoom in or out at the the lens in your attempts to make a better image.  Often, and I’m hella guilty of this myself, you’ll snap an image that looks NOTHING like what you were going for.  With a zoom lens on, who hasn’t just zoomed in or out and reshot the same image?  There are definitely times when that really might be all the fix you need, but I’m willing to bet in most situations you’re just closer to or further away from the same cruddy picture.  The 50mm doesn’t give you that option.  The only thing you can do is change YOUR position relative to your subject.  Once you start moving all sorts of new possibilities open up.  It forces you to open your minds eye to different approaches to your shot.  Move left, move right, get on a ladder, hug the ground; different scenarios for making something awesome start to materialize quick.

I can go on all day about this rad little workhorse.  Mine’s seen greener pastures, but still does what I ask of it.  I use it almost every day and wouldn’t think of putting a gear bag together without this lens.  If you’re looking around for something that will invigorate and inspire your shooting, give this little guy a try…

Rock On!

More blogs on the way:

• 1 on 1 and Small Group Photography Classes
• More Recent Shoots

Stay tuned…

Getting ready to order the next set of ads to hang down at Fuel Fitness here in Berwick.  Seriously AWESOME people to work with – Marc, Kevin and the rest of the team rock!  Julie, Andrea and I have 2 more shoots planned in the coming months to round out a series of ‘active lifestyle’ images I’ve wanted to shoot for some time.  In March or April we’re going to move the looks outside and get a little gritty with it.  Some time in June (there’s not much time left in that month with some of the other things we have planned for then) we’ll be heading up to the Appalachian Trail for some backpacking/trail hiking radness…can’t wait!

Rock On!

One of these days I’ll figure out a proper way to post one of these polls…until then, I hope this sloppy layout doesn’t give anyone a migraine…

Kat sent over her designs for Lindsey’s chocolate cookbook cover early this eve.  So cool…really diggin how she incorporated the feel of the shoot right in to the layout.  Thanks Kat for doing such a rad job on hair, makeup and covers.  This was a true team effort from start to finish!

If you have a second, case a vote for your favorite, and thanks for playing along…

Wanted post these quick before heading out for the day.  Had a great time on each shoot.  All the ladies here rock it awesome for the camera.

Thanks ladies!