Tips for a Young Photographer:Camera Settings, etc

I work with some ‘young’ photographers… some young in years, some just new to professional shooting. Here are some tips I just sent to someone to improve her skill set and to really get great shots at an event she is covering for me next week.

Shutter Speeds:

Try to get in close and experiment with shutter speeds: Faster to cut the effects of ugly florescent bleeding into your nice flash color (say 1/200th or 1/250th of a second)… to dragging the shutter a bit if they are in dimmer light with nice light behind them (say 1/30 or 1/15th of a second). That would be the Shutter Priority on your D200.

Ummm… check the display dude… better shoot a few more frames!

• Lots of Frames:
If you can do the playground, just shoot multiple frames of everything… A series for me is never less than 3 frames, and usually 6-8 frames… sometimes 20 frames as I watch a situation develop… looking for the right moment.

• Control the situation:
Don’t be shy to ask kids to look at you and smile for some.

And look for reflectors in the shot! Well, this is from a series of 32 images… I’ll find a good one.

• Camera Feedback:
Chimp and check your exposure and focus…

• Pre-check and Test:
Pre-check all of your settings to be sure they are decent… Test it once you get the camera out to be prepared. Test it at home the day before an event to be sure you instantly know where all of the buttons are, how each setting affects the image, etc.

• Bracket:
Take a few shots with different settings in the series. Use the feedback you get from chimping (checking the display… we look like chimps doing it…) to tweak the flash power or exposure… I’m always changing my + – settings on flash or ambient exposure (when not doing flash). To really nail the exposure.

Even with the color manually set to Florescent… it’s too Magenta. I’d tweak this manually to add some Green and maybe Yellow.

• Color:
Always set your color manually… I use cloudy for the average outside shot (sunny is too blue still). And Flash for flash shots. Auto color is awful on every camera I’ve ever touched or read about. Even with Flash, I think it must vary the Flash color to take into account a bit of the ambient color around the subject… giving poor color on the subject… Yuck.

For bonus points:
when you are in a consistent setting, tweak the color even more with your menus. Often I’m adding or subtracting a bit of yellow and in florescent lighting, I’m always set on the florescent tube setting, then adjusting it more or less Magenta… and sometimes more or less warm/Yellow.

• Image Quality Settings:
Shoot Jpeg Fine files. A normal file for me is like 1.2—1.8 megs.

• ISO Speed/Flash:
ISO around 400-500 is usually good for indoor flash, maybe down to 200 if you are in close and/or are trying to have your flash overpower some strong ambient light like tons of florescent or sodium vapor.

• Depth of Field:
Keep an eye on your focus and depth of field (how far in front and back of the subject is in focus). Focus on the nearest subject, or part of the subject you want in focus… Depth of Field is narrower in front of the subject, so if you back focus, you are pretty much assured of soft front subjects… if you focus on the front subjects (like in a group with a front and back row), you have a fair amount of focus *behind* the front subject to hold focus on the back row. And even if they are a tad soft, the perception is of a fairly sharp image with the front subjects tack sharp.

• Fast Fast Fast:
The only thing is to practice doing this over and over (and at home, at parties, on simple shoots… doing much more than is needed) to be able to in 10 seconds, get 3 fast shots, with chimping on one of them and tweaking the exposure, angle of the flash, watching the background, etc… Fast fast fast, so people don’t mind your standing there.

• Batteries:
Invest in a few sets of NiMH batteries around 2700-2900 miliamps. I’ve been happy with a set of Duracells I got recently, but that power level is cutting edge, so it’s been hit or miss on what brand is good. These batteries are so good now that I bagged using a Quantum Turbo pack (and my turbo was frying a flash every year from the power/overly fast recycle time). You should easily get 2-3 shots off with almost instant recycle with good batteries. And I rarely need more than 1 or 2 sets in a day of heavy shooting.

• Cats:
Get a cat. They are warm and make you feel better after goofing up all of the above

Unless you disturb their repose
(Cat photos by Colin Huth)

I Heart Canon

So one of the reasons I finally bailed on Nikon cameras was that their pitiful Pro Services. It was more like the ‘Professionally ignoring shooters’ arm of the Nikon business.

I had one repair into their ‘pro expedited service’ and after a few weeks I finally called, (after being on hold for a while) and they shuffled through some paperwork, found my lens repair and said they’d get on it… I’ve said before, one lens repair (on a $1500 lens), when looked at by the Non-NPS repair shop.. they said ‘Who repaired this lens last??!) It was so poorly done by Nikon Pro.

This Monday I sent our a flash repair to Canon , and today (Wednesday) I got the repair approval via e-mail (easy peasy) and since I pre-approved, it’s in process now. Should be done within 3 days.

This year Canon has switched to a tiered pro service setup, but I got the same great service on my last repair of a body under their old system. I do pay now $100/year for my (middle level) of service. There’s a free level below, and at my level, I get 2 free body cleanings a year, free return shipping and 30% off repairs… so it’ll pay for itself. The big thing for me is that Canon seems to be treating us pros like we need to be treated to keep shooting. And frankly, my Canon equipment has been holding up better than my Nikon equipment ever did. Ah, the joys of not having to re-glue my camera grips back onto a $5000 camera… bliss.

I’m not a famous national guy, but how many of them are there to all of us local working pros that need repairs done right and fast, and want to be taken care of just like we take care of our clients?

Oh, and they send fun things with the membership… a new, really nice Canon Pro CPS camera strap, etc. And the silly thing I love is the preprinted labels for repairs… nice job CPS.

Out of work and wanting to try photography?

Ah, so my friend just told me he’s been out of work for 7 months and he’s wondering about photography for money… but money is tight. (We’re just getting back in touch thanks to FaceBook).

If money is tight… start with the low end on cameras and make shooting earn the next steps… but you do have to start with something like the Rebel and lens and a flash, so still around $900-$1000. Too bad you weren’t around here, I could loan you some older stuff like I do with some of my young associate shooters.

No matter what you end up doing full time in the future, it’s great way to make money here and there…

For now, take any digital camera you have and shoot tons and learn lots online.

Here are a few good sites:

Strobist : Great lighting with inexpensive Flash

Tips From the Top Floor Podcast : Creative Photogaphy

Start to talk to people about wanting to get going and see what they say. If things are just right, maybe you can get the first couple hundred from a good shoot with someone that will prepay (like a family person needing some family portraits… or get creative and have like 2 or 3 families who have kids in little league pay for you to come to 2 or 3 games and you’ll give them all the photos… maybe rent a long lens.

There are lots of ways to start. BUT you have to have the eye and some talent. Also sign up for free online stuff so people can see your photos quick… like Flickr and a Wordpress blog.

Good luck man!

Buying a Camera to Make Money With

I have a friend from my hometown that asked me this:

I just found your blog and found that you are using a very expensive canon.Way out of my price for some studio and weddings.I am just starting toget back into this and I am starting my research.

I said:

Cool. You don’t have to worry about megapixels. They’ll all be fine. Any camera with the bigger body and interchangeable lenses will give you decent quality to start.

In the $800 area, you can get a decent Canon or Nikon and one OK lens… add a flash for maybe $150… or get a bit better one, since that’s so important if you want get pro looking shots.

If you can land a few good shoots and want to start right, the next step up cameras are built more solid, focus faster, etc… Like the Canon 5D Mark2, or the Nikon D300 I think it is… anyway… if it’s to make money often, that’s a nice entry camera and you’d never regret it.

Depending on what you want to shoot, you might need to save up for a decent long lens (Sports, etc) or a good light and umbrella (portraits).

But, you know… it’s not the equipment, it’s the shooter. I started in digital with a little Kodak camera, then a Nikon (and they were still about $1000 at the time!)… but I used really nice add-on flash, and that made all the difference to them not looking like snap shots.

And all you folks hurry up and get to be great shooters… I need the help!

Switching to Canon from Nikon

A client friend asked about this, and since it comes up so much, I’ll suggest you click on the ‘Canon Cameras’ in the Categories list and scroll down to the second page to read it all… but here’s my synopsis to get you started:

Now in 2009, it isn’t as critical for a choice between Nikon and Canon… the Nikon is much improved with high ISO, but at the time, I was getting uggo digital noise at 500 ISO with Nikons and Canon was beautiful at 1600-2500ISO in the dark tones, which is critical for me in theatre (I do Geva and Naz Theatre).
I also really felt that Nikon stopped caring about pros. They did a number of totally crappy repairs on my stuff, their rubber body molding would fall off of $5000 cameras and they couldn’t fix it, just stupid cheap stuff (the repair thing was really pointed out to me when an independent repair shop asked me ‘who fixed this last??!… it was so poorly done)
Little things like Canon just shipping me a little missing part as a favor to a pro, etc. made a big difference. Oh, and I don’t know about current cameras, but my Nikons never quite focused right, I was always babying them… and I just took it for granted until using my Canon and I was stunned at my fast, accurate focus.
So, who know’s today, but that was my reasoning 2 years ago before the Nikon D3 came out. And I’m still VERY happy with my cameras. Also now, I have had much fewer repair issues.

Soft Flash

A friend asked about my lighting, and here’s what I said…

Yup, on the Flash shots I’m using my Gary Fong diffuser.

I use the ‘Reporter’ Size of this .
But I don’t see it for sale, just the bigger ‘Studio’ Size, so I’m wondering if there’s an upgrade coming? The previous models would fall off too easily.

I was helped a lot at the GEH shoot by some natural light filtering in too.
This shot is probably the best example in a ‘normal’ situation.

I can leave it on my camera without using the PC cord I used to use and the light is pretty soft for relatively on camera direct flash (but the flash is aimed up for some bounce… but in this shot, the ceiling is too high to help). You can see the soft shadow casted behind them.

In the other shots in the theater, just nothing short of a totally off camera light is decent. That room is meant to be dark for movies and has yucky green walls… So that’s the Whaletale Reporter too, but there’s only so much it can do.
And you know I always try to bring up the ambient when possible with some shutter drag like 15th-30th second.

The best light was the God given stuff outside… like the Glinda and donor shots, just can’t fake that with flash, right (But I did help along the face shot of Glinda with some ‘glow’ effects…