Friday, August 10, 2012
Photo Shoot | Duluth GA Headshot Photographer |
Looking for corporate headshots? You've come to the right place! And you have the option of coming to us or letting us bring the studio to you. Call to schedule your appointment - our goal is to make headshots as painless as possible.
Monday, August 6, 2012
SKP PhotoTips - Shutter Speed
In one of the SKP PhotoTips posts I talked about Aperture and how it affects the Depth of Field in your photo. Today we're going to explore Shutter Speed.
Contrary to what many people believe, shutter speed is not how quickly the shutter moves when it opens and closes; rather it determines how long the shutter is held open before it closes. And there are two things that happens when the shutter is held open: 1) more light gets in and 2) the risk of / opportunity for movement blur increases.
Wait - 'opportunity' for blur? Yes - when done well, blur can create wonderful photos. Think of images you've seen of recent Olympic track cycling events. The best ones will show the cyclists 'tack sharp' - as a clear, frozen image - with the background streaked. In this case, the more blurred the better as it gives a strong feeling of movement.
So how do you achieve this? By dialling down the shutter speed so that the sensors have more time to capture the image and 'panning' with the subject. This is also how photographers capture the silky effect on waterfalls (except for the panning part. That's a topic for another day). The problem with a lower shutter speed is that you run the risk of unwanted blur. There's not much point in a nice, streaky background if the cyclists are blurry due to camera shake.
The further you lower the shutter speed, the more you need to stabilise the camera and the most common way is to use a tripod. But you don't always have that option - some well-visited tourist attractions won't permit tripods, or you might not have one handy. When faced with this situation, find somewhere stable to place the camera, such as a tree stump or your car roof. Or, you could steady yourself: pressing the lens against the corner of a wall can stop movement just enough to deal with a slower than normal shutter speed.
Of course, there comes a point when it's simply too slow for hand-holding a camera. A safe rule of thumb is not to use a shutter speed that's lower than the length of your lens. Which means that if you're using, say, a 70-200 lens and you have it fully zoomed out to 200, you should set your shutter speed to a minimum of 1/200sec. Play with this to see what works for you - I've successfully taken photos at 1/15sec and then others that were blurry at 1/100sec. It depends on the situation - are you nervous about taking the photo or did you just run to catch the perfect spot? Then you're more likely to have shaky hands.
In addition to bracing yourself, there are other ways of keeping it steady. Shooting at 1/15sec is about where your heartbeat starts to cause camera shake. So the one thing you don't want to do (and which you should not do in any photography situation) is hold your breath. Because holding your breath causes your heart to pound and your hands move ever-so-slightly when your heart beats strongly.
So here's a tip you should use every time you take a photograph: breathe normally and calmly, then while breathing out, slowly and gently press the shutter. Continue pressing the shutter until after you hear both the open and close clicks, and continue to breathe out until after you release the shutter button. Practice doing this and you'll find you're doing it without thinking about it.
What are your thoughts? What methods do you use to prevent camera shake at slow shutter speeds?
Contrary to what many people believe, shutter speed is not how quickly the shutter moves when it opens and closes; rather it determines how long the shutter is held open before it closes. And there are two things that happens when the shutter is held open: 1) more light gets in and 2) the risk of / opportunity for movement blur increases.
Wait - 'opportunity' for blur? Yes - when done well, blur can create wonderful photos. Think of images you've seen of recent Olympic track cycling events. The best ones will show the cyclists 'tack sharp' - as a clear, frozen image - with the background streaked. In this case, the more blurred the better as it gives a strong feeling of movement.
So how do you achieve this? By dialling down the shutter speed so that the sensors have more time to capture the image and 'panning' with the subject. This is also how photographers capture the silky effect on waterfalls (except for the panning part. That's a topic for another day). The problem with a lower shutter speed is that you run the risk of unwanted blur. There's not much point in a nice, streaky background if the cyclists are blurry due to camera shake.
The further you lower the shutter speed, the more you need to stabilise the camera and the most common way is to use a tripod. But you don't always have that option - some well-visited tourist attractions won't permit tripods, or you might not have one handy. When faced with this situation, find somewhere stable to place the camera, such as a tree stump or your car roof. Or, you could steady yourself: pressing the lens against the corner of a wall can stop movement just enough to deal with a slower than normal shutter speed.
Of course, there comes a point when it's simply too slow for hand-holding a camera. A safe rule of thumb is not to use a shutter speed that's lower than the length of your lens. Which means that if you're using, say, a 70-200 lens and you have it fully zoomed out to 200, you should set your shutter speed to a minimum of 1/200sec. Play with this to see what works for you - I've successfully taken photos at 1/15sec and then others that were blurry at 1/100sec. It depends on the situation - are you nervous about taking the photo or did you just run to catch the perfect spot? Then you're more likely to have shaky hands.
In addition to bracing yourself, there are other ways of keeping it steady. Shooting at 1/15sec is about where your heartbeat starts to cause camera shake. So the one thing you don't want to do (and which you should not do in any photography situation) is hold your breath. Because holding your breath causes your heart to pound and your hands move ever-so-slightly when your heart beats strongly.
So here's a tip you should use every time you take a photograph: breathe normally and calmly, then while breathing out, slowly and gently press the shutter. Continue pressing the shutter until after you hear both the open and close clicks, and continue to breathe out until after you release the shutter button. Practice doing this and you'll find you're doing it without thinking about it.
What are your thoughts? What methods do you use to prevent camera shake at slow shutter speeds?
Friday, August 3, 2012
Blitz | Cumming GA Pet Photographer |
When I first met Blitz, I thought he was a very pale Golden Labrador. (Okay, in my defence, it was a couple of months before the photo shoot and he's grown in a crazy way since then!) But young Blitz is most definitely a white German Shepherd - which is very clear as soon as he lets out a bark. There is nothing Labrador-ish about that! It's a full-throated WOOF that commands attention.
Blitz didn't like me much at first, but when his mum and I spoke about doing a photo shoot, he decided I was the Best Thing Ever and was all sorts of lovey-dovey. And that was before the doggie treats came out.
Blitz had a huge amount of fun running around the park; so much so that he needed a water-break. And Blitz loves water. I mean loooooves water - total, all-out infatuation with the stuff. None of this standing to drink; he gets right down on the ground and savours every drop. Just look at that look of bliss on his furry face!
Now that we're in our happy place with water in our tummy, we're ready for the last part of the photo shoot.
What can I say? Blitz is living in clover. Okay so it was a bad pun, but you know it had to be said. Isn't he a great looking pup?
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Dawson Forest - One Heck of a Trek!
Dawson Forest, GA is a gem of an outdoor adventure, with an abundance of walking and horse riding trails. At about a 30 minute drive from Cumming, Dawson Forest is close to home, yet when you walk into these woods you'll feel miles away from the daily grind.
This week I had the strenuous and hugely fun task of photographing a group of over 300 kids aged 14-18 and youth leaders from my church as they re-enacted the pioneer migration across the US. Grouped into 'families', these folks spent three days in Dawson Forest, sleeping in tents and hauling handcarts loaded with a few essentials up and down hills. In the rain, the sun and the Georgia humidity, and complete with pioneer-style clothing.
Where will you be hiking this summer? Make sure you put Dawson Forest on your list. It's well worth a look.
This week I had the strenuous and hugely fun task of photographing a group of over 300 kids aged 14-18 and youth leaders from my church as they re-enacted the pioneer migration across the US. Grouped into 'families', these folks spent three days in Dawson Forest, sleeping in tents and hauling handcarts loaded with a few essentials up and down hills. In the rain, the sun and the Georgia humidity, and complete with pioneer-style clothing.
Where will you be hiking this summer? Make sure you put Dawson Forest on your list. It's well worth a look.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
New Zealand - Fox Glacier
And we're back with images from New Zealand! The last post in this series saw us leaving Franz Josef Glacier and now we're heading for Fox Glacier. We saw four glaciers while were doing our South Island tour; the other two being at Milford Sound and Glenorchy, but Franz Josef and Fox were the ones we saw 'up close and personal'.
The trail to the foot of Fox Glacier is more strictly set out, with plenty of signs warning against straying from the path and instructing you to keep moving. There's a good risk of rock fall so it's not a place to camp out for too long!
The photo below shows rock fall on the left. Fox has much steeper valley walls than Franz Josef, giving you a better feeling of how ice carved a path to the sea. To get a sense of scale, have a look at the people on the path at the right side of the photo.
Storms roll in quickly around this part of the country and when they come up like this one is doing, you start to realise why trampers (hikers) run into trouble if they're not properly prepared.
Here's the river coming out of the bottom of Fox, with the same milky glacial water as we saw at Franz Josef. Yup, those are chunks of ice - and they're not small - that's a huge boulder behind them.
And now we see Fox Glacier itself. There are two groups of people in this photo; one near the middle of the frame, halfway between the river and the two rock chunks that stick out, and the other about a third of the way down from the top of the glacier. They're pretty tiny so look hard!
Behind Fox is are more mountains - no snow at this time of year - which are shaded by the fast-moving black storm clouds. Some rain drops started coming down and we decided it was time to head back to the car. Even in summer, the temperature drops pretty quickly when the sun goes behind a cloud.
This will be the last of the New Zealand Series posts. Please visit the Southern Kiwi Photography website for New Zealand photos - check back often to see images as I upload them!
The trail to the foot of Fox Glacier is more strictly set out, with plenty of signs warning against straying from the path and instructing you to keep moving. There's a good risk of rock fall so it's not a place to camp out for too long!
The photo below shows rock fall on the left. Fox has much steeper valley walls than Franz Josef, giving you a better feeling of how ice carved a path to the sea. To get a sense of scale, have a look at the people on the path at the right side of the photo.
Storms roll in quickly around this part of the country and when they come up like this one is doing, you start to realise why trampers (hikers) run into trouble if they're not properly prepared.
Here's the river coming out of the bottom of Fox, with the same milky glacial water as we saw at Franz Josef. Yup, those are chunks of ice - and they're not small - that's a huge boulder behind them.
And now we see Fox Glacier itself. There are two groups of people in this photo; one near the middle of the frame, halfway between the river and the two rock chunks that stick out, and the other about a third of the way down from the top of the glacier. They're pretty tiny so look hard!
Behind Fox is are more mountains - no snow at this time of year - which are shaded by the fast-moving black storm clouds. Some rain drops started coming down and we decided it was time to head back to the car. Even in summer, the temperature drops pretty quickly when the sun goes behind a cloud.
This will be the last of the New Zealand Series posts. Please visit the Southern Kiwi Photography website for New Zealand photos - check back often to see images as I upload them!
Friday, July 13, 2012
12 Hour Sale!
Don't miss out on our
12 Hour Sale!
Monday, 23 July
9am - 9pm ET
75% off Session Fees
For more information, click HERE
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Roxie | Alpharetta GA Pet Photographer |
Here's a gorgeous goldendoodle for you - Roxie! She's an awesome pup, 9 months old and her feet are HUGE! She's already taller than your average dog and my guess is she's going to be pretty big when she's fully grown.
Roxie enjoyed every minute of the shoot - especially the end when she *finally* got to play in the water! I've never seen a dog have that much fun in water. She's a hoot!
Roxie enjoyed every minute of the shoot - especially the end when she *finally* got to play in the water! I've never seen a dog have that much fun in water. She's a hoot!
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