Behind the Lens

Last week, I had the chance to photograph a child for her acting portfolio. I’ve not photographed her before, and had met her prior for about three times. She’s one of the most energetic, vibrant, and expressive children I have ever photographed. The session occurred later then I normally work, and I’m quite sure both the child and myself were tired from the day’s prior activities. After getting comfortable with a few rounds of shots, we both started to have fun with it. She needed some photos which were able to showcase a range of expressions, and teasing them out takes a good deal of letting go and just being silly. I found myself often just aiming the camera somewhere in the general direction of her face while I was talking to her. Here’s some of the expressions I was able to capture:

Express Me

Of course we managed to get the more traditional posed shots and had some fun with those, “glamouring” a photo and being more relaxed as the next two pictures show: (more…)

When you photograph people, it can be an intensely intimate experience. Often the clients are nervous and apprehensive, especially if they are not used to being photographed. A synergy must exist between the photographer and the individuals being photographed to get the best possible pictures. Often, my clients will tell me that the experience was empowering and fun. What they might not understand as well, is that I learn every time I take a photo, and often receive something back from them as well. When I first met Leila and Naraine, I was nervous too! Within minutes we relaxed and had a blast. This couple showed me in a very tangible way, how deep and understanding their love was for each other. I felt privileged to be a witness to that. Thank you.

Below is a collage I made for them. Leila’s jewlery was remarkable, and exceptionally detailed. I wanted to capture that as well as the small gestures of affection and intimacy between her and her husband of 42 years.

Leila and Naraine

While they did not request the picture below, in one of the shots I asked them to stand close together and to hold hands. This is how they chose to hold each others hands and it reminded me of the interconnectedness between the two of them.

Love...Is all in the details.

I took this photograph from my driveway. I used a 200mm lens zoomed in as far as it would go. Within about 25 minutes, the moon had clouded over. I took this earlier on in the evening so the typical bright ring around the moon was not there as the sky was sufficiently light. I darkened the final image and corrected the yellow cast on the moon. I just love the fact that now I have my own moon image to insert in some of my pictures

Face to Face: Rick Sammons Complete Guide to Photographing People

“Picturing the subject, you are also picturing a part of yourself.” – R. Sammon

I think I got to about page twenty-eight when I broke down. I could not stand the anticipation any more, and quickly flipped through the book and looked at every photograph and read every caption. The images in this book will leave you breathless and wanting more. They will also make you want to take a photography trip to some exotic destination (oh, and if you’re interested in that sort of thing and can actually leave for a week or so, check out: Peter West’s Blog and the Photo Trip To Israel.) Sadly, my circumstances do not permit me to travel at this time, so until then, I’ll enjoy vicariously the images and thoughts of what I could do if I were there after I have read this book. (more…)

Photographing Your Family
, By Joel Satore with John Healey.

I originally picked up this book to help me get more creative with the day to day shooting of events in my family. Sometimes, the hardest pictures to take are with the subjects you see everyday. And for that reason alone, the book did not disappoint. The book is written by John Healey who acts as the voice of Joel Satore, who is a fantastic photographer. John Healey’s writing is captivating and pleasant to read.

The writing is strong and the photographer just as intense. This man takes his pictures very seriously. (more…)

You might know by now that I’m not a big fan of blindly adopting the use of plug-ins for Photoshop. A lot of the times, I find the plug-ins too expensive, and not as flexible as simply learning the steps to achieve the same effects within Photoshop. That being said, of course there is a time and a place for plug-ins just as sometimes, there is a place for the ‘auto’ function in your camera.

Another confession I have is that I’m not a passionate landscape photographer. I can be surrounded by incredible beauty of brilliant fall colors, glittering diamond encrusted waves crashing into the hard, dark unyielding cliffs and I don’t particularly feel like picking up my camera to capture it. Perhaps it is just that I haven’t yet figured out how to grasp that immense experience within a single photo. I find myself, in those situations more often then not, taking it all in as an ‘in the moment’ experience through only my senses and memory. (more…)

I’ve spent some time using the cut out shapes from black paper on my lens over the past few days. Also, in reading about the technique I’ve come across some different terminology regarding what exactly this technique is called. For me the most important thing at this point, is to try to get the images that I want out of the technique rather then worry about its exact name. I find a lot more references to this technique when I search under the key word Bokeh, then I do when I search under other terms that it has been called such as vignetting, or aperture shadow. (more…)

I’ve seen a few pictures where the lights had been transformed into fun shapes, and I became curious to see how you could do that. The following is what I came out with on my first night trying this effect.

These are the results of my experiments: (more…)

The other day, I was taking photos at my daughter’s school for Grandparent’s day. Some of the compositions were sweet and natural, with children happily working on their art work while their grandparents stood nearby. And because I can not resist the beauty of a child’s eyes, a good deal of the photos had the children looking right down inside my lens. One mom asked me to take a few photos of her child and father together. (more…)

1. When shooting random individuals on the street, give yourself extra time to chat with them. You’ll be just as fascinated with the tidbits of life handed to you verbally as you will with the images.

2. If you find yourself driving down a one way lane that ends with a sign “Private Property: Guard Dog on Duty”, roll up your car windows.

3. High heeled boots do not allow you to take steady shots while on mud soaked paths. Wear comfortable, appropriate shoes.

4. It is almost impossible to edit photos with a parrot walking on your keyboard.

5. It is even more impossible to edit photos with a parrot screeching because he wants to get on your keyboard.

6. If you’ve taken so many pictures that you find yourself getting bored with processing them and you don’t have a deadline….play with a parrot or go clean your mud soaked leather boots.

7. Children are an amazing source of unabashed critique.

8. The roof of a Honda Mini Van will not dent with a medium sized woman and one large camera standing on it.

9. The roof of a Honda Mini Van is a great spot to take pictures just over reach of your head. It also provides you with a wonderful vantage point to take unique shots of surprised individuals out for a stroll.

10. If you “Moo” at a cow, you can get their attention.