San Diego Photographer – Blog Page

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Some of us just have the body of a Venus (or Adonis). I actually have the body of a malnourished Kenyan sprinter (minus the athleticism). If you’re anything like me, you’ve looked at a picture of yourself in the back of a camera and immediately said “man, I’m getting old!” or “EWWWW!, insert self-deprecating comment here”. That little 3″ LCD screen can really screw up your day!

So I set out to write a short, sweet post  both for photographers and subjects. I’ll include some basic tips that can help you pose, primp and shoot well to maximize your best features and disguise the errr…. other ones.

Looking Skinny

If looking slimmer in photos is your objective, here’s a few tips that can get you there.

1. Turn sideways. Don’t overdo it, or it can look a bit silly. A popular position is to place one foot in front of the other and point it straight at the camera. Place the other behind and pointed about 45 degrees off camera. Your shoulders should naturally fall a little off center and give a slimming effect. Turning too far sideways can make your arms look big, so experiment to find that perfect position.

2. De-emphasize the chin. Bringing your chin down slightly will take the emphasis off of it. If your photographer is shooting from above, all the better. “Down angle” photos are popular for female subjects for this reason.

3. Get low. Being lower than the camera will make your face appear a bit larger but can make your body appear smaller. Photographers can gain a unique perspective and make their subjects look slimmer by toting a small stepladder to the session and trying a few from a high angle.

4. Split it down the middle. A popular strategy with group shots is to conceal part of the larger person behind a smaller person. If your photographer is not doing this, you can take it upon yourself. Be careful not to overdo it and look like your hiding from the shot completely! This can also be done with a curtain, doorway or post.

Photographers can benefit from “split lighting” when trying to slim down their subject. Split lighting simply means that most of the light comes from one side of the subject and the other half of the subject remains in relative darkness. Fill in the dark side slightly with a reflector or bounce card. This can give a nice dramatic look and slim your subject considerably.

5. Dress skinny. Black can be a “slimming” color outdoors. Horizontal stripes tend to emphasize width while verticals tend to emphasize height (length). I usually encourage my subjects to avoid patterns and prints altogether, since solids make for a cleaner looking photo. Most of all, wear something that makes you feel both confident and comfortable.

It puts the Lotion on its Skin or Else it Gets the Hose Again!

So, unless your Hannibal Lecter, you’re kind of stuck with your own skin. But here’s some tips to get the most out of your epidermis:

1. Add some foundation. Closeups and directional light can bring out blemishes a lot more than you’ll notice in your makeup mirror. Typically, its advisable to wear a bit more foundation than you normally would when getting your picture taken. Nearly everyone on television has some sort of makeup on for this reason. If you’re doing a serious shoot, it is generally worth the extra money to hire a pro mobile makeup artist.

2. Go for the shade. Soft light on an overcast day is generally more flattering for skin. If you’re not working with a professional photog, head for a naturally lit, but shady area. Harsh midday sun and straight on-camera flash are some things to avoid.

Photographers can tame skin blemishes by shooting with soft light and filling in shadows with a reflector or second light. For subjects with deep eye sockets, some fairly direct soft fill light is a good idea. To preserve good natural skin tones, calibrate your white balance with a grey card.

Act Natural (for subjects)

1. Try to think of the camera as a mirror, not as a photographer. Sounds silly but it will help you envision the final result.

2. Make yourself laugh. Its hard to fake a smile. Some can do it convincingly, some can’t. To evoke your most natural smile, try forcing a laugh. It forces you to get all of your facial muscles into the process rather than just showing your teeth. Photographers with the best portrait portfolios are often good stand up comics.

3.  If it bends, bend it! Loose joints and limbs generally look better than straight, locked knees elbows and fingers. Try bringing your hands up to your pockets, tilting your head slightly, bending your knees while sitting, etc. All of these will get your joints bent and your photos looking looser.

Think Big

If you’re like me and have to grab onto something in a stiff breeze, here are a few tips for that “larger than life” look.

1. Shoot up. Photographers can choose an up angle to make their subject appear larger than life. Many photos of rock bands are done this way. It emphasizes the chin/jaw line and stomach.

2. Face the music. Turning the body slightly sideways can make a photo look more natural, but if you want to appear larger, rotate your shoulders to be almost exactly square with the lens and pull your shoulders back.

3. Avoid side lighting. If the light is coming only from one side (“split lighting”), turn so you are fully illuminated.

4. Rim light. For body builders and athletic people with good natural curves, lighting from behind will help create an outline or “rim light” that defines good features.

Hire a Pro

Ok, so I am a little biased on this one. Pros know lots of tricks like the ones above to help you look your best. If your photog offers a pre-shoot consultation, take advantage of that so he will know what to expect on the day of the shoot and you can get to know each other and be comfortable when its time to get your picture taken!

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Special thanks go out to Jean and Mark for letting us shoot their wedding on January 30th. Working with a great laid back couple on a relatively brief wedding shoot was a wonderful way to kick off our 2010 wedding year. Chris was a a huge help, on both the engagement session and doing some second shooting and assisting on the wedding day. I feel like I am finally coming into my own a bit more as a wedding photographer. For this shoot, we were able to mix flash and available light more seamlessly as well as come in with a few more ideas. The shot above was done using the almost made-for-photography makeup lights above the mirror.

One thing I always try to capture is the groom reacting to his bride as she enters the ceremony. Most everyone else is focused on the bride. Mark was overjoyed. Maybe “euphoric” is a better word.

As Chris was busy setting up some lights, I rattled off a silhouette or two. The Little Chapel of the Roses in Bonita is a great location and easy to shoot. Lots of pretty stained glass, some window light leaking in here and there and plenty of white surfaces to bounce light off of.

For the two above, we staged some “fake” window light by blasting some radio-triggered flash through a big white curtain. On the second one, I left my aperture alone and just slowed the shutter down to bring the background in more. This is where it really pays to have an assistant, aka “Voice Activated Lightstand” (VAL) with you!

Looking for natural “frames” within the frame can be a great way to give photos some interest. Its a technique I’ll be pursuing more and more in the coming months. Thanks again Jean and Mark! If you’re planning a San Diego area wedding and need a photographer, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Thanks for looking!

-R

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Last week I was in Vegas doing some “grip and grin” type photos for a knife show and I noticed a  photog from a Japanese knife magazine using just a single speedlight off camera and a disc diffuser to shoot knives. I decided to set one up on the table at home and give it a shot. But….I wanted to do an even cheaper setup for the blog here using some common household items, so I set up a trash bag diffuser, a single light (430ex II), and some reflectors made out of tin foil to bounce some light back in on the knife handle. (scroll down to see the setup).

It was done at ISO 200, f9, 1/30 with the flash set at manual and 1/2 power. I normally would choose a faster shutter speed but I wanted to show that if flash is your only light source, you could shoot this hand held and still have sharpness and detail.

I think I found a new cheap way to make photos of ebay items and quicky product shots. I’ll definitely be throwing some foil and a couple white trash bags into my camera bag. Its cheap, easy to improvise with and takes up very little space. The trash bags can always double as a rain cover for my gear.

So there you have it. I mounted my light to the chandelier using a Manfrotto “Justin Clamp” which is a really cool toy. The trash bag serves to turn a small directional light source into a big soft one. You do need a way to get your flash off the camera and trigger it. I prefer Pocket Wizards, but there are lots and lots of cheap radio triggers out there nowadays, including the 8-channel ones sold at the Backdrop Outlet.

Some household diffusers/reflectors you may find interesting:

-white trash bags
-foil
-shower curtain
-white bed sheet
-makeup mirror
-tracing paper
- and of course don’t forget to bounce your flash off of white walls or celings for that nice soft “window light” look.

I promise you’ll like these better than the straight flashed “deer in the headlights” look!

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Do you want to make your midday portraits more AWESOMER??!! You have come to the right place my friend. Lately, I have been doing some studio work in “artificial light” (is there such a thing?). This has inspired me to scrounge natural light a bit more carefully for outdoor portraits. You probably already know that harsh midday sun tends to make “less than desirable” photos.

Shooting in open shade is a trick you learn very quickly and it can give you better results right out of the box. But knowing precisely what to look for in a shady area can kick your portraits up another little notch.

What to Look For in Outdoor Portrait Lighting

1. Catchlight in your subjects eyes (white light, preferably reflected, or indirectly hitting your subjects eyes).

2. A good amount of indirect light coming from above.

3. Some “fill light” leaking in from the sides.

Shade to Avoid

1.  Try to avoid all types of shade where you are completely sheltered from a view of the sky, IE under a massive tree, bridge or overpass. Natural-looking light tends to come from above. Look for some diffused light leaking in from above and from the sides.

2. If you do need to use tree shade to escape the harsh sun, get your subject out a bit, just beyond the branches instead of completely under the canopy. This prevents bird “mishaps” as well.

Shade to seek

1. Courtyard shade. Ahh yes, the highly coveted courtyard shade. The kind you find at fancy hotels and restaurants with courtyards. Often, you can get your subject in the shade and you will have some nice light leaking in from above and from the sides. The sky or a white building wall can be your reflected catchlight.

2. Between condo-complex garages (see below). Its classy and the light is exquisite. Bring your clients here!!

Here is the exotic location in which the shot above was taken. This is almost my ideal shaded midday portrait situation. The subject (my kiddo) is in the shade but there is still some light leaking in from above and from all sides.  The garages across the way, which are in full sun, will create a beautiful catchlight in the left side of her eyeballs. It almost looks like the catchlight a softbox creates in a photo studio. Zoom in tight to crop out the dilapidated garage doors, or pull it back for that  “urban” feeling.

Here is a similar shot I made for some actual paying clients. We were shooting in beautiful La Jolla Cove (north of San Diego). On the way down to the water we paused  in a similar location between two sets of white garage doors. Ironically, the shot by the garage doors was one of my favorites of the day.

Lastly, don’t be shy. Grab your subject and pull them into the “good shade” if you need to!

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Have you ever felt scatterbrained, spread out or just not sure where the heck you are going? Lately it feels like I am along for the ride rather than driving my work life (both music and photography). The truth is I like it all. Do you like to shoot weddings? Yah. Products? Yah. Studio or natural light? Yah. Yah. Yah. I am happy when I am shooting. Playing music is similar. Sometimes you’re creating on the fly, sometimes creating a plan and sometimes recording your best stuff for the world to see and hear.

Every now and then, if you take a gig that is way over your head, you get humbled in a flash. If you nail it, you can hang the trophy on your wall, if you fail, you’ll live to work another day. Can you play Indonesian Gamelan music?? Uhh sure…what time is the downbeat?

Both music and photography have thickened my skin this year considerably. I got some educational and humbling gigs in both categories.

I just added a “recent work” category to my site. (I am not sure if this was the best business move ever). It is representative of the joy I have felt landing some pretty cool photo jobs in 2009 and also the scatterbrained spread out nature of my stuff. I could have twenty categories on my site with very few images in each one. Or I could just focus on shooting weddings or newborn babies and become the “San Diego Newborn Baby photographer”. But I like it all. It is hard for me to turn down an assignment which I view as a potential learning experience.

Lately I have been getting into lighting a lot more. Toting speedlights around with Justin Clamps and light stands has become the norm for me. Reading Joe Mcnally’s work and discovering the strobist blog took me to this point. Check them out if you want to be truly hooked on off camera flash.

Some other gems I came across in 2009 include MichaelFreeman’s Book, and the website of Davide Jackson, of which I am slightly envious Check out his “personal” category.

Looking back on the highlights, the jobs I have enjoyed most have been the commercial assignments and my personal experiments shooting my family and friends. In 2010,  I’ll be adding a “commercial photography” focus to my website as my portfolio grows. I’ll be increasing my wedding portfolio by sheer brute force. The wedding industry here in San Diego is simply too big to ignore. But I’ll still making time to shoot my family and friends, for which I am eternally thankful. Perhaps in all this, I’ll find a single niche I want to immerse myself in completely.

Maybe one day I will only shoot dwarves on green seamless paper lit by antique flashlights on medium format film. Until then, I’ll enjoy the variety of the work you have thrown my way and look for sub-stories within that work that guide me to my favorite niches.

To those who have hired me this past year, a heartfelt thank you is in order. Not just for your support, but for the lessons it has taught me in art, business and personal relations alike.

To my beautiful and **patient** family (above), thank you for putting up with me. You are my inspiration and best friends.

Have a safe,happy and productive 2010!  Click here for the “recent work” gallery. Thanks for reading.

-Rob S.

Stuff for photogs:

Top Photo: clamshell lighting with two snooted speedlights as rim lights from behind. Setup by me, button pressed by my wife. Post production is basically a high pass layer set to “color” for shaprening, then dialed down to adjust the amount of desaturation.
Second Photo, Same lighting setup with no post production.

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This week I spent a few hours with a portrait client at one of my favorite photo haunts, Balboa Park in San Diego. After we got some nice pretty natural light shots in the can, I asked Ally if she’d be game to indulge me in a few lighting setup experiments. “Rembrandt” lighting is not something I usually try to achieve because the light is directional and even a bit harsh, but my model is young and her face can take some hard lighting without a problem. Keep in mind that hard, directional light is not for everyone.

Basically, to achieve Rembrandt lighting, look to create a small triangle of light under your subjects eye on one side of the face (her left eye, in this case). This means your light needs to be off camera,  up high, and at a 45 degree angle to your subject, roughly. Rembrandt’s name is often associated with this type of lighting since it turns up in many of his paintings.

At this point in the shoot you can tell she is getting angry at me due to spending so much time tinkering with lighting. Seriously, I asked her to be a bit moody for these shots to match the dramatic lighting.

For these shots I placed a 430ex II high up on a lightstand and attached a homemade cardboard snoot to make the beam of light even narrower. Because she is seated on the steps, I had to use the entire ten feet of stand to get it up high enough. So if you’re going to try this, be smarter than me and keep your model at ground level. I triggered the 430ex with my on-camera 580ex.

The flash looked about right at f3.5 and the background was dark, so I simply dialed down my shutter until the background started to come in, underexposed, but visible. I was able to shoot as slow as 1/20th at f3.5 ISO 100. The flash burst is fast enough to freeze her even if I shake the camera a bit. You could do this easily with manual flash, but I usually use remote ETTL so I can dial up or down with the flash comp button on the camera.

Special thanks to the Strobist, David Hobby, who has such a great wealth of information on his website and has fueled so many of us with his ideas. If you’re not reading strobist yet, GO DO IT.

Thanks for reading!

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Exposing a single frame of film twice was, and is, a developed art form. On digital cameras, multiple exposures are usually created in post production, using Photoshop or some other software for manipulation. But here is one way you can create multiple exposures right in the camera without Photoshop manipulation.

It involves the use of stroboscopic flash or multiple flash mode. For most camera brands, this means you’ll need a hot shoe accessory flash or “speedlight” with a multi feature. These two frames were created on a Canon 580ex flash unit set to “multi” (held off camera with a TTL cable). You can set the frequency  (HZ, or flashes per second), the number of bursts desired and, of course, the flash power.

When you are in multi mode, it seems that the power has to be set manually. This is logical since the output will affect the number of possible flashes. For these modest examples, I was simply setting the shutter speed to 2 seconds (at f11), and the flash frequency to 1hz, number of flashes to 2, power to 1/32. So I got one burst per second for 2 seconds. One shot, two exposures.

Another related tip- you can get away with slow shutter speeds without blur if flash is the only thing lighting your subject. The flash burst is quite fast and will be enough to freeze even my dancing daughter.

Some tips I learned whilst blowing a lot of shots and subsequently correcting myself:

1. Stop down to a small aperture so as to mute the ambient light and make precise focusing a non-issue

2. Choose a dark background and/or make sure the flash hits only your subject (test the darkeness by shooting a few at the desired shutter speed with your flash off).

3. Start with a simple ratio like 3 flashes per second at a 3 second shutter speed.

4. Set a low power and give your flash a rest between takes to avoid burning up your flash head!

Thanks for checking in and happy shooting!

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Congrats to Jean and Mark! Can’t wait to shoot their wedding in January. Chris helped me out with their recent engagement shoot at Swami’s beach in Encinitas, CA. The weather was surprisingly good for a  November evening and they were a cool and laid back couple to work with.

My favorite was shot at the lawn above, not at the beach. Kind of funny but that’s usually the way it goes for me. Hard to get away from simple and clean.

For this one, Chris was standing just a few feet outside the frame holding a big nylon diffuser panel to diffuse the direct sun.He pulled it back just an inch to get some natural light on Jean’s hair. One of the benefits of working in the buddy system.

We had actually planned on doing lit shots that evening with a small softbox but got some pretty nice silhouettes due to me forgetting a pocket wizard, a happy mistake I guess

Thanks for looking!

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A few weeks back, I was hired to do some editorial/lifestyle type photos for the Marine Corps, under direction of one of the largest and oldest ad agencies here in the U.S., JWT. The young crew from JWT were a breeze to work with. Chris (aka James in work circles) was a perfect fit to join me on the job with his Marine Corps experience.

One of the primary Marine demos is the MAGTF show. Marines repel from helicopters, drop off vehicles and of course, what Marine demonstration would be complete without some good old fashioned “blowing stuff up”?

I rented a gargantuan Canon 300mm f2.8 lens and monopod to do some of the aircraft photography, but it barely came out of my bag, since our primary assignment was to get photos of Marines interacting with each other, the general public and military equipment. Nonetheless, we were able to get some use out of it for Harrier shots like the one above as well as some other aircraft photos.

Achieving a motion blur on prop planes and helicopters can be a challenge in midday sun. Need to get my hands on a two stop ND filter next time around.

Probably the most enjoyable part of this job was having media access to a long standing San Diego event. I have seen air show from the audience many times but being on the runway and “centerline” was a great experience. The Marine PAO’s were very accommodating.

A special thanks goes out to the PAO’s who helped me locate my car on Saturday night. Apparently I used the South Gate entrance which is at the very very far reaches of the flight line in a remote dirt lot. Lets just say Marines have a more advanced way of driving golf carts then most of us civilians.

Thanks again to all at JWT for an enjoyable job and to the USMC for helping us out with great access and transport. We hope to work with everyone again soon!

Coming up next, some product photography in Phoenix, some holiday portrait sessions, and then a much needed Christmas break.  Thanks for checking in.

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What’s goin on? Feels like a while since I posted. It feels good to say its “because I have been busy shooting”. Got some portrait sessions in this week as well as model Kelli Lessie (above), who did some head shots and helped me produce some stock. It was nice to get into the Carlsbad photo studio again.

“White on white” is a tricky one but I really wanted to try and get it. We used 4 lights to get this one (two on her, two on the background).

Liz and Dave met Lisa and I down in La Jolla cove and got some portraits done. They were a cool and patient couple as I made them wander all over to different locations. Props to Chris for this posing idea above. I have to admit I bit it, and it works.

Chris helped me out with Jess and Marc’s portraits down in La Jolla cove as well. Ironically, with all the beauty of nature around, my favorite was a “garage door portrait”.

I hope to do  more extended posts later, but for now its processing all the images and getting ready for an exciting gig photographing the Miramar Air Show over the weekend.

Thanks for looking!

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