3-28, More Lighting Fun

Yes, I said "FUN".  Photographers are nerdy like that.  A photographer friend of mine gave me insight into a new lighting approach, and of course I just had to try it.  "Oh, kids....." LOL...... I even got my husband on board and got a rare few pics of him as well.  I'm so excited because with this new technique, I can actually have 2-3 studio set-ups at the same time.  How efficient this will be!  Oh yes, sleep did not come easy for me last night..... my mind was buzzing with possibilities.  Thank you, Photographer Friend (you know who you are!), for sharing your tricks of the trade!!

3-15, Silhouettes

I'm posting a little out of order today.  My first attempt with silhouettes occurred with my hot light set the week before I purchased my new strobe lights.  I was not happy with these images, so I didn't bother editing them until after I'd finished my other post "All About Me".  I wasn't happy with the lack of lighting control and thus the new light set.  But as I was browsing through these original silhouette photos, I realized that some were just too cute to keep hidden.  I am a fan of black and white images (though my NYIP advisor suggests I scrap all my black and white work in favor of my eye for color), so I made this sequence black and white.  The first three photos were for me.  I wasn't sure how much side lighting to work with for the silhouette image I was aiming for.  These are not true silhouettes, but I can't help but love the detail I got with some of the side lighting included.  The fact that she's wearing Sandy Puc's hat is the icing on the cake.  She took to that hat like a bee to honey.  So cute.  

A little less side lighting and a subject just a little less excited.  At least silly sister was keeping him occupied as evidenced by his subtle smile.

After a little experimentation and work in Adobe Lightroom, I achieved these silhouettes.  They're a unique way of looking at things!  This won't be my new trademark style, but I think I will be throwing them into the mix every now and then.  Why not, right?!

When shooting for a silhouette, these are the basic components:

bright background
underexposed subject (meter for the bright background and this will leave your subject in shadow)

Those principles leave the options limitless:  a bright window, a bright sky, anything bright that can provide the contrast for your subject.  Go ahead-- give it a try!

3-23, All About Me

That's what I feel like when I'm on a photography binge.  And boy, have I been on a binge lately.  It all started a few weeks ago when my husband and I headed to Sandy Puc's studio in Littleton.  If you haven't heard of Sandy Puc then you're really missing out.  She's a very talented, well-renowned photographer who just happens to be a local as well.  A friend had shared the news that Sandy was selling off some of her stash.  I went with the intention of buying a few accessories for photo shoots (which I did), but in the long run was inspired to revamp my entire lighting system.  How can you not be inspired in the presence of greatness?!  I've since been rereading her books and watching her videos in hopes of understanding how she gets inspired.  It's the common love:  photography.  The same friend who told me about the sale will also be my first maternity session next month.  Her biggest request?  A silhouette image.  New lights?  New approach?  No problem!  Ok....one small problem--  no assistant.  It took some running around to accomplish this silhouette selfie, but here it is.  Me and my new lights had a great afternoon of experimenting in preparation for the upcoming session.  The only 'bump' I have is that good ol' Van Blaricom nose.  Never in a million years did I think I would intentionally post a profile photo of myself.  Love can make you do funny things....

3-10, Paisley Puppy

Most parents probably wouldn't be too thrilled when their child comes home from school with a puppy.  Yesterday, however, was an exception.  Our son brought home a puppy-- and its owner!  How about that?!  A puppy play session AND the puppy goes home?  You bet!  That's just our speed-ha! This little cutie's name is Paisley.  She's a 3-month old mini Australian Shepherd.  She's absolutely adorable.  It took her a little time to warm up to the new faces and new place, but then she was like a little firecracker bouncing around in the snow.  This little girl is welcome in our yard any time!  What a treat it was to meet her and watch her play.

Photographing her under the conditions was a little tricky.  Some of the yard was covered in snow, other parts bare grass.  The afternoon sun left shadows on the ground as it was filtered through the trees above.  In situations like this, you want to expose for your subject, the puppy in this case.  If you let your camera auto expose for the whole scene, your camera will try to darken the snow to a gray which will then leave your subject very underexposed.  In order to compensate, you need to expose for your subject thus causing the snow to be over-exposed. In an ideal world, there's not so much contrast between your subject and its surroundings.  In this situation, however, you just have to do your best to  find the happy medium between details in your subject and snow that isn't so bright it's blinding.   On a camera with full manual control, the exposure can be adjusted by changing the ISO (the camera's sensitivity to light), the shutter speed (how quickly the action can be stopped), and the aperture (is everything in the photo clear or has the background been blurred out?).  Playing with these settings can give you an  array of results. This little gal was quick, so I had to use a fast shutter speed (about 1/250, I believe for these).  I could have used a faster shutter speed, but then I would have had to compensate for less light by changing the aperture and/or ISO.   

I started photographing with a shorter lens, and then switched to a longer zoom.  I needed the zoom to capture her moments of stillness during play.  Since we were unfamiliar to her, those moments happened at a distance that was farther away than my shorter lens could reach.  She was most at ease in the comfort of her own space-- and then she was off again!  What a character.  I thought photographing my 3-year old daughter at play was challenging.  This little girl has her beat hands down!  What better way to work on your photography skills than challenging light and a subject who is in constant motion?  And what better way to spend an afternoon than watching children laugh in delight at the antics of a puppy?