Camera Samurai

Some great photography enthusiasts came to this past weekend’s workshop on portraits, product photography and home studios. I had encouraged them to bring a selection of things to photograph for the product photography part of it and they got very creative. One person brought tulips and another brought jewelry she had just purchased.

Somebody got the idea to put it all together and thus we have the tulip wearing an earring. Other things we had to photograph included wine and various knick-knacks from my own shelves. All that stuff I tote from one home to another has to be good for something, right?

Getting to see people be creative like this is really quite inspiring. I love to see the energy and spark of genius that comes from simply playing and having few rules about what to do. I pretty much set up the lights, we worked on how to adjust them, how to use strobes with the camera and then let them go be creative. I poked around and answered questions, gave the occasional bit of advice for how to do something, and enjoyed watching the process.

The portrait section was good as well. I had two lights set up but encouraged the participants to try using just one to get some experience with bouncing lights and getting a really good ratio lighting effect. Another purpose to using only one light was to simulate the small, at-home studio setup, which might include only one light. How do you deal with that? The same way you deal with everything else in photography – through creativity and working within your constraints to achieve the best possible outcome.

Unfortunately, I do not have photos to share from the portrait sessions, as I spent almost all my time playing teacher and photo assistant. It’s good to step out from behind the lens from time to time to see how someone else does something. The teacher-student relationship is one inherently set up to have a one-way stream of knowledge, but it just takes observing how someone else does things to see that we all have much to learn from each other.

Want to stay on top of the latest goings on with Camera Samurai photo tours and workshops? Subscribe to my newsletter and you will hear everything that is going on.

Technorati Tags: home studio, photograph, product, photography, inspiring, ratio lighting, teacher, Camera, Samurai

Hi, folks. Come on down, learn new skills and hone the ones you already have. Carl Weaver is conducting a workshop on portraits, product photography and building a home studio. These may seem like very different topics but come to the workshop and see how I weaver them together. We will have plenty of time for both instruction and practice.

You will be able to use professional studio lights, as well as see how you might improvise to create your own lighting systems on a smaller budget or even just a smaller footprint. A studio does not have to be a huge space, just a good space for what you want to do. My studio is outfitted with both my newer, fancy professional strobes as well as my older, lower-budget lighting equipment, so you will get to see a range of different types of setups.

What: Photography Workshop
When: February 23rd, 12:00-3:00
Where: Carl Weaver Photography, 5407 36th Street North, Arlington, VA.
Cost: $35 per person
What to bring: Digital camera, flash, tripod, and any other equipment you might have.

In addition, if you plan to do some product photography, bring something interesting to shoot. We will be feeding off each other’s creativity and having a good time. The point is to have fun and build skills you can take home with you. Let’s be creative, have a good time and practice photography!

Please RSVP so I can know how many people to expect. I look forward to seeing you here. And hey – help a fella out. Tell your friends about the workshop. Bring any new people to the workshop and earn valuable discounts on future events like this, or on photography services for yourself and your family.

Technorati Tags: workshop, portrait, photography, studio, Carl Weaver Photography, creativity

This picture was taken at the Clarendon Metro station in Arlington the other night. Notice the ghosting effect the people have, due to the long exposure. Eight seconds will certainly do that! In addition, I set it to ISO 100 and f13, so I have the best sensitivity and an okay f-stop. I would rather have gone to a smaller aperture to get a better depth-of-field but this turned out pretty well, I thought, for a spur-of-the-moment shot as I was waiting for someone.

Does all this mystify you? Do you want to learn nighttime photography? Just let me know. Also, sign up for my email newsletter so you can learn more about upcoming classes, workshops and fun educational events. I have a workshop coming up about nighttime photography and all the variables that go into a great photograph.

I know you are dying for a preview, so here are some of the necessary ingredients:

• Stability – A tripod is essential if you are going to be out shooting at night. For the picture above, I improvised and used a newspaper box. Hey – sometimes you have to improvise.
• Depth of Field – Know how to adjust depth of field so you can get the photo you want.
• Remote Control – This keeps the camera from moving as you press the shutter release. This little tool, likely just a few dollars, can save you the headache of getting home, only to find that your pictures are all blurry.
• Creativity – Bring an open mind and the realization that there may be more than one way to get the photo you want. Again with the improvisation.

Please come join me. Like I said, sign up for my email newsletter and you can stay on top of everything that is going on. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Technorati Tags: picture, Clarendon, Arlington, long exposure, nighttime, photography, photograph, picture, photo

Having consistency both in your methods and in your final product is very important in all aspects of your operations, whether you are a professional like me or if you are an amateur simply interested in getting great shots.

I used to do youth sports photography and later children’s portraits in schools. While doing these jobs I got a really good lesson in the importance of consistency. It not only allowed me to have a good looking product but also allowed me to work quickly. Photographing 300-500 people in a day, especially children, really helps a person appreciate being able to work efficiently! The most important thing is that, on the customer’s end, the final product looks best when all the pictures look the same, especially when displayed near each other in a yearbook or directory.

Look at these pictures, for example:

These are officers of a Cherrydale #42 Masonic Lodge in Arlington, VA. I shot them all the same way, one after another, with the same pose, same lighting, etc. Seeing them all neat like that makes the pictures look much better than otherwise. Imagine if some shots were cut at the waist, some at the chest, some with lots of headroom, others uncenetered. That would be a very messy display.

One way I got them to all look the same was by setting up the shot the same way every time. In addition, I adjusted the lighting very slightly for height differences to have a consistent exposure and minimize shadows.

This does something more than make the portraits look great. With so many digital tools available to us nowadays, we can easily make pictures look just fine and consistent with each other. However, as a photographer, I want to be out and about taking more pictures, not spending my time in front of the computer. Consistency enables me to spend less time messing around with the product, or at least allows me to do the same thing to every picture, often by way of a macro in Photoshop.

Remember – do the same thing the same way every time and you will get consistent results.

Technorati Tags: youth sports photography, children’s portraits, consistency, Photograph, Cherrydale, Masonic Lodge, Arlington, lighting, exposure, portraits, photographer, Photoshop

Come learn more about portrait photography, including equipment, hardware, lighting, posing, technique, personal dynamics and more. We will discuss both posed and unposed portraits, capturing meaningful images, headshots and more.

Where: Here at Carl Weaver Photography / Camera Samurai headquarters in beautiful Arlington, VA
When: December 16^th, 3-6 p.m.
What to bring: Your camera, a notebook and pen, an open mind and your creative spirit
Cost: $30

Sign up now by sending payment via PayPal and guarantee yourself a spot. Space is limited, so act now, while there is still a spot.

I look forward to seeing you at the workshop here next Sunday!

Technorati Tags: portrait, photography, lighting, workshop

Do you live and work in a completely dust-free place? Neither do I. Dust is a photographer’s worst enemy, as is a bad job at the processor’s shop. I used to get all my slides scanned at E.B. Luce in Worcester, MA. They did a great job, but around the time I left Worcester I also stopped shooting film. I have not been back but I do recommend them if you need some work done, no matter where you live.

As I was scanning my slides a while back, I noticed that E.B. Luce had boogered up one of my slide mounts. This picture of Wat Suthat in Bangkok, Thailand, while it looked great through a projector, did not look so great as a digital image:

Notice the black bar along the top on the right side. The film had been mounted crooked in the frame. That’s an easy mistake to make and also an easy one to fix, but I was not in the mood. I simply opened my copy of Photoshop and took care of it with the cloning tool:

A five-minute investment of time with some software made it look fine and kept me from having to open the slide mount, reseat the film, rescan it and still probably do something to tweak it in Photoshop.

Another common problem is dust. At first I did not notice it, but there is a little speck of dust above and to the left of the spire of the main chedi at Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai:

I hoped it might be a bird high in the sky but upon further investigation it did turn out to be dust. Even if it were a bird, it would be a distraction in the blue sky and would be a good candidate for getting cropped out. Again, I used the cloning tool to fix it:

Remember tips like this. Often we cannot easily go back to a place and reshoot the scene, especially if pictures are of an event or travel location but often, if we are creative enough, we can figure out a way to salvage the image. When was I going to get back to Thailand to take photos of Buddhist temples again? Well, maybe that’s not the best example, but the point stands. The cloning tool is just one of many weapons in the photographer’s arsenal. We will look at others in future posts.

Technorati Tags: photographer, slides, Bangkok, Thailand, Photoshop, dust, chedi, Chiang Mai, travel, Buddhist, temples

I just used Lulu.com to create a calendar from some photos I did in Thailand when I was there in 2003 with my lovely wife. Go check it out!

This was a lot of fun to do, as it had me looking at the pictures quite seriously, remembering places and people and in general putting myself back into a country that is half a world away. What an incredibly beautiful country it is in many ways!

Here are some samples of the pictures:

Technorati Tags: calendar, photos, Thailand