Protecting yourself and your work as a photographer should be at the forefront of any photographer’s to-do list. Yet, many of us often overlook this facet of running a business. Contacting and working with a lawyer who specializes in business law can help you protect yourself from dishonest and disagreeable clients should a problem arise. Despite which genre of photography your work happens to fall in–perhaps you are a multi-faceted photographer–having a solid contract that is suited to your specific needs will take the guess work out of a job for both you and your client. Below, you can find an assortment of pre-made contracts which are available for use, free of charge.

“husband and wife” captured by Gagan Dhiman (Click Image to See More From Gagan Dhiman)

• Portrait Photography Contract – A plain language contract suitable for use when you will be taking portraits of clients either in the studio or at an event. Includes payment, copyright, and creative license terms.
• Contract for the Sale of Fine Art Photography – Covers the sellers terms involved in the sale of a piece of fine art photography including but not limited to price, insurance, framing, and a section for an in-depth description of the piece to eliminate any confusion.
• Gallery Contract for Sale of Photography – This contract is useful for the consignment of photography to a professional gallery and includes sections for sale and payment procedures as well as loss of risk terms.
• Model Release – A necessary document if you’re working with models and talent. Protects the photographer from potential remuneration claims made by talent.
• Minor Model Release – Essential model release for working with minors. To be signed by the minors parents or guardian.
• Licensing Contract to Merchandise Images – Useful for when you wish to sell your images to clients for merchandising rights.

“Fashion” captured by Naim Zion. (Click image by Naim Zion.)

While having contracts made specifically for your business by a licensed attorney is ultimately the safest route to protect yourself, the contracts from above are an excellent starting point. They can be altered to meet your needs and are available for use free of charge. Feel free to download and use the contracts as needed; however, these contracts may not be all inclusive for every type of situation. If at any point you feel they do not meet all your requirements, you may wish to have your own personalized contracts printed. The peace of mind a well written contract will give you is well worth the work.

Go to full article: Photography Contracts

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

An architectural photographer can create dramatic images of buildings that perhaps at first glance, do not seem to be all that photographic. Understanding architectural design and then selecting the angles that best portray the building, combined with critical lighting – which is determined by time of day – are all essential components in fine architectural photography. Many buildings can appear much more dramatic when photographed at either dusk or dawn.

“Lighting By Desing-Pool” captured by Greg Thompson. (Click image to see more from Greg Thompson.)

Outside lighting on the structure, landscape lighting and even the atmosphere of city lights, can separate the building from it’s surroundings and create a more visually exciting image than a daytime photograph might be able to do. Another added feature when shooting during this time is that the sky becomes a very deep cobalt blue. Twilight photography is also a good way for the architectural photographer to take control of an undesirable weather condition. If the light during the day isn’t optimum due to clouds or if the building faces north and it must be photographed at the time of year when there isn’t any north light, photographing at twilight (dusk or dawn) can save the day. It is also a helpful technique when one needs to make a mundane building look more dramatic or to clean up the environment; for instance, if the building has undesirable elements around it, or if the landscaping isn’t in yet.

A Hotel or Resort photographer will find this technique especially valuable to convey the atmosphere of the property, especially in heavy tourist areas where there is a “night life” with exotic landscaping, fire pits, lit swimming pools and Jacuzzis. These areas draw thousands of tourists every week and the hotels and resorts in such areas are very competitive. Photographing these properties in twilight will add an element of life and excitement that can give your hospitality client maximum visual impact for their marketing and advertising.

For the architectural photographer whose client is the architect, this technique of photographing at twilight is especially important when the building has a glass curtain wall, enabling one to see the interior from the outside. In this scenario, the interior becomes an important compositional element of the exterior view and it may be a much more dramatic way of showing the architect’s complete design. Sometimes the building may have it’s own exterior lighting, however, usually I add my own lights to creatively illuminate the exterior of the building in an interesting way which at the same time accentuates it’s design.

Architectural twilight photography must be well planned, because the optimum exposure time (when the interior exposure and the exterior exposure fall within an acceptable range) lasts only for 10-15 minutes. Depending on the circumstance, this may have to be done at dawn rather than at dusk; for instance, in a situation where there is heavy traffic or when photographing in a busy city. Shooting at dawn is a bit more inconvenient, because it will require a very early set up – at least an hour before the sunrise. It is also imperative that special arrangements are made with the building engineer in order to make sure that all the building lights, both inside and out, are turned on and that they stay on. New buildings are designed to be energy efficient and I am finding that I frequently need to have someone walking in the building, in and out of offices, in order to activate the motion detectors and keep the lights on.

“Lighting By Design-Front” captured by Greg Thompson. (Click image to see more from Greg Thompson.)

Dusk photography requires long exposures so a sturdy tripod is absolutely essential for the architectural photographer. If there are people or traffic in the view, one could use the longer exposures in a creative way by intentionally letting the moving cars or people blur. Be careful however, as the client may find the blurring effect to be distracting. Also, if you choose, or if the scenario dictates, that there will be blurred pedestrian or vehicle traffic, one must make sure that the blur adds to the composition in a complementary way and not over-power the visual impact of the building or interior space.

Architectural photography is a highly specialized field and twilight photography can be an effective and useful tool for the Architectural photographer and the Hotel or Resort photographer in making any building more dramatic; especially if it is fairly mundane to start with.

About the Author:
Paul Schlismann has been a professional architectural interior photographer (http://www.schlismann.com/), resort photographer and hotel photographer since 1980. Having established his career as a Chicago architectural photographer, he now has offices located in Arizona as well, and is working in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Chicago. His work is regularly published and many of his architectural clients have won design awards utilizing his photographs.

Go to full article: Architectural Photography: Shooting at Twilight to Add Drama

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

“Whitby Peir” captured by Ian Staves. (Click image to see more from Ian Staves.)

So what can I do, my composition sucks? Composition is subjective so there will always be someone out there who likes you work regardless of how bad you may think it is. Most non-photographers are not that discerning but to capture truly great shots composition is key. A well composed photograph just works, it’s pretty clear-cut but it is more a feeling than conforming to a set of rules.

Here are some composition tips to remember next time you go out to shoot. Keep them at hand and see if they work for you.

1. A painter chooses what to include in a painting, a photographer must choose what to exclude. Declutter compositions removing unnecessary components by selective framing. Use your legs, walk about looking for alternative compositions and use the cameras zoom to control what you want to include and more importantly, exclude.

2. The ‘rule of thirds’ is a well known compositional practice but doesn’t necessarily need to be strictly adhered to. The rule dictates that the main elements that make up the image should fall on or near imaginary vertical or horizontal thirds.

3. Check your horizon. For me the horizon should only ever be perfectly horizontal. Use the top of the window in the view finder as a reference. I often point the camera downward to align the horizon before re-composing.

4. Don’t leave large empty spaces. Leaving large holes in the composition such as uninteresting expanses of water or dark or very bright elements should be avoided. Change perspective by shortening the tripod legs to compress large gaps in the mid to near foreground. Conversely elements should not be cluttered, raise the height of the camera to increase the distance between elements.

“She Spins It Right Round” captured by Greg Thompson. (Click image to see more from Greg Thompson.)

5. Take a walk before settling on two or three compositions to shoot. Take time to refine them instead of shooting anything and everything.

6. Make both the foreground and background interesting.

7. Use leading lines such as rock formations or movement in water to lead the eye into the frame.

8. Check the edges of the frame for any distracting elements (half a tree, breaks in clouds etc.), and recompose if necessary. Make sure you are able to concentrate the viewer’s attention to the subject and try not to distract them away from it unnecessarily. Ask yourself, ‘what is this image about?’

9. Try to keep compositions balanced to some degree where possible. A protruding headland or building can upset the balance, eliminate it and look for an alternative composition.

10. Practice, critically reviewing your own work and looking at how other photographers compose their photos. Check out this landscape photographer for a start.

“Morning Reflections, Vermilion Cliffs” captured by Nathan McCreery. (Click image to see more from Nathan McCreery.)

Above all, get out there and enjoy, exploration of composition is a continuous learning curve.

About the Author:
If you are a fan of photography be sure to head over to Lee’s Landscape Photography website for more tips, education offerings and fantastic photography. Lee conducts both capture and post processing photography courses throughout Australia.

Go to full article: Composition: 10 Photography Tips for Amazing Results

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

While most of you know what a portrait photography catch light is, bear with me. At some point, it was a new idea for you, just as I’m sure it is for some of the other readers. In the interest of being thorough, in today’s photo tip, let’s have a quick look into the catch light.

Simply put, a catch light is the reflection of the portrait lighting source in the eyes.

“Untitled” captured by Taylor Hooper. (Click image to see more from Taylor Hooper.)

We generally just think of it as a specular highlight in the eye, but it can be (and is) a vital part of the image. Particularly in portrait photography.

While the old cliché that, “the eyes are the windows to the soul” may or may not be true… a catch light makes the eye appear brighter and more exciting. Eyes without a catch light appear dull and lifeless.

If you have catch lights in the eyes, they are generally not noticed. If you don’t have them, their lack can ruin a photo. Or not! If you want to make a person appear evil – why you’d want to I don’t know – an old cinematographer’s trick is to eliminate the catch lights!

Try it this Halloween, you may win a contest or two!

If you DON’T want your subject to appear evil, a catch light in both eyes is vital. So vital in fact that if photographers are using a lighting pattern where they are not getting a catch light, they will add a special “eye” light to their lighting setup.

Typically, an eye light will be of low intensity so it doesn’t affect the highlights and shadows of the overall lighting pattern. It just puts a little glint in the eye.

In learning how to create various lighting patterns or trying to determine what type of lighting the photographer used, it is often helpful to examine the catch lights.

The eye acts like a mirror and will reflect the light source(s). By studying the reflections, we can determine how many lights were used, what type of light (diffused or hard light) and their general location in relation to the model.

These are all good things…

“Jess Up Close” capture by Yuliya Libkina. (Click image to see more from Yuliya Libkina.)

A bad thing about the refection showing the type of light, is that sometimes that reflection is unattractive and takes away from the photo. Though purely a matter of opinion  if you’ve ever noticed the reflection of a “ring light”, it (to me) looks creepy and I think it is why ring lights are not more popular.

Btw, a “ring light” is an on camera flash that goes all the way around (rings) the lens.

So, bottom line, make absolutely sure you have a catch light – in both eyes – unless you have a specific and preplanned reason not to. This photo tip is one of the vital rules of portrait photography that should never be broken whether you are shooting people, pets or anything else with eyes.

About the Author:
Dan Eitreim writes for OnTargetPhotoTraining. He has been a professional photographer in Southern California for over 20 years. He philosophy is that learning photography is easy, if you know a few tried and true strategies.

Go to full article: Catch Light in Portrait Photography

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Whenever I return from a shoot, I go through this process every time with each camera so that they are ready for the next time.

1. Camera bodies off. This is to remind me that I use a variety of lenses and if I remove them, I have to select an appropriate one for my next shoot.

2. Camera batteries recharged after each and every shoot – no exceptions. I have lost count of the number of times when I am in the middle of a shoot that I get a battery warning. To this extent, I even take along a spare battery for each camera.

3. Flash off. Try and get in the habit of doing this as you don’t want to scare wildlife or pets by accidentally firing off the flash.

4. Flash batteries recharged after each and every shoot – no exceptions. I am paranoid about this aspect, in fact all batteries get charged straight away. Having rechargeable batteries is a must in my opinion.

“Untitled” captured by Keenan Butcher. (Click image to see more from Keenan Butcher.)

5. Check to make sure the memory card slot is empty and working correctly. This reminds me that I should routinely transfer my images to another storage medium like my portable hard drive. I also take spares along for each shoot.

6. Check spare memory card. I get in the habit of checking all my memory cards for damage, wear and if they can be read without problems.

7. Set quality settings to RAW/JPG. I use this setting as opposed to just RAW or just JPEG. If I want to process the images more I can, or if I am happy with the images, I don’t have to do much processing in JPEG.

8. Set ISO to 200. This is a good idea regardless of the weather or lighting conditions, i.e. sunny or cloudy. I don’t like highlights to be blown and this setting allows me some leeway in processing the images.

9. Set aperture to wide open on all lenses. This is the setting I most use for portraits etc as it blurs the background nicely while keeping the subject in sharp focus.

10. Set shutter speed to 1/125. This is a decent shutter speed for most of the lenses I use in portraits. As I usually choose a focal length of about 90mm, it helps prevent camera shake issues.

11. Set mode dial to Aperture Priority. I prefer to shoot in aperture priority as most of my portrait subjects are fairly stationary.

12. Set metering mode to spot or matrix. I find this gives me the best metering for the stable exposure conditions that I work in.

13. Set white balance to AUTO. I work with this setting the most; however, if I’m in my studio, I will normally do a preset with a grey card.

“Model Portfolio – Kat Alderidge” captured by Shaunna Marie Brunk. (Click image to see more from Shaunna Marie Brunk.)

14. Set exposure compensation to “0.” This prevents me from over exposing or under exposing since I was out last in daylight and had to adjust the exposure compensation.

15. Reset the focus point to the centre – single point. This is my preference for most shoots.

16. Set shutter mode to single. Most of the time I don’t use continuous shot mode unless I am taking fast action sports or wild life shots.

17. Set all lenses with focus stops to focus maximum area of focus. A good habit to get into. You can always adjust accordingly.

18. Remove any and all filters. This prevents you from leaving the polarizing filter or the neutral density filter attached. It’s amazing how often this happens and it takes a while to see what the problem is.

19. Check that the camera body and any/all lenses are set to autofocus (unless you just always use manual focus – in which case disregard.) This is a great tip as you can grab the camera for a quick shot in most situations.

20. Do quick visual examination of the camera to look for damage defects. I usually check lens surfaces, the screen, and everywhere else if I’ve been out in the rain or wind when sand is blowing about.

“Now That’s What I Call A Sturdy Tripod” captured by Jeff Laitila. (Click image to see more from Jeff Laitila.)

21. Finally, reset additional gear like tripods, light stands, etc. They all go back in their individual bags and covers. It also means that I don’t leave bits lying around – my greatest concern after a shoot.

About the Author:
Geordie Parkin is a photographer based in Forest Lake, Qld (http://photopress.in/brianparkin). For further information about wildlife photography, pet photography or general questions about digital photography.

For Further Training on Portrait Photography:

Professional photographer Edward Verosky has released two eBooks designed to help photographers with advanced portrait photography concepts:

These eBooks are now available through Edward Verosky’s website:

• Taking Your Portraiture to the Next Level II
  
• Taking Your Portraiture to the Next Level

They contain unique information on how to beyond the rules of conventional portraiture with creative ideas and guidelines for developing your own unique style.

Go to full article: Checklist for Your Camera After a Portrait Shoot

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

It’s easy to learn how to capture the moons craters and detail with your digital camera. In fact once you get a handle on why you must use these wonderful photographic methods, taking pictures of the moon will be pretty easy from now on.

Photo captured by Navid Qureshi (Click Image to See More From Navid Qureshi)

A cloudless night

The first thing to try for, naturally, is a clear night a night without clouds. Clouds can smear and smudge an otherwise sharp photo of the moons craters. A lovely, clear night provides the ideal circumstances to take photos of the moon. If there are clouds that butt in, then use that. Try a photo of a soft cloud streaking gently in front of the surface of the moon. This really does lay the foundation for superb images. So let’s have a look at precisely what you will want for your moon shots.

How close?

Lets examine what focal length works best. If you want to take pictures of the moon close up, use a four inch telescope. You can screw your digital camera on a mount and then the telescope effectively results in being your lens. It utilises the lens and you can get close images quite straightforwardly. Of course your camera will need to have the ability to interchange it’s lenses.

If you don’t own a telescope then you can use a telephoto lens. A telephoto photographic lens is a lens that is very long. You may have seen them before. It is used for wildlife photography and portraiture, like wedding photography for example. A good range of focal length might be something like 200mm to 400mm. These telephoto lenses are very expensive but get the loveliest shots.

What about the light of the moon?

Numerous people capture the moon the equivalent way as they would a dark night time city scene. If you do this too, you may experience a big ball of bright light against a black night sky, without detail. That may be okay if you are photographing the moon over a pond for example, but if you like to take photos of the craters, then this is basically not the way to shoot it.

Photo captured by Catherine Read (Click Image to See More From Catherine Read)

The moon is very, very bright, especially when it’s full. I suggest choosing settings that are used for brighter, daylight conditions. I know this sounds funny, so bear with me.

When I shoot the moon I put my settings at anything from 180th of a second to 60th of a second. If you are not sure which shutter speed is better to use then try few shots on a different selection of shutter speeds to get the best one.

Setting up

You will want a tripod when you take photos of the moon. This is since the moon is so far away, any movement of the digital camera and you may find you chance missing the gorgeous craters. Position your camera on a tripod, and if you have one, use a shutter remote cable to be in command of the shutter speed. We use these because we do not want to accidentally move the camera by pressing the shutter button down. And that’s right, even movement as light as a finger can put your entire photo out of focus.

Keep that camera still!

It’s essential to keep the camera fixed and immobile so you get everything in focus. I use manual focus so I can get the craters as sharp as I can. I occasionally find that auto focus can either have difficulties getting the correct focus or sometimes can’t focus in the least. It can be tie consuming and frustrating. Try moving the focus ring until you come across a position whereby the moons craters look razor-sharp.

Lighting sensitivity

ISO is a quality of your digital camera that controls how responsive the camera is to lighting. If you are photographing the moon as the major theme against a black sky, then you will not want a very high ISO.

Photo captured by Cristiano Frank (Click Image to See More From Cristiano Frank)

If you are shooting the moon as an addition to your shot, then this becomes a different matter altogether. The closer you get to the moon, the less ISO you require.

What about the camera’s aperture?

Since the moon is in the far distance I suggest shooting with a tiny aperture. In other words make use of a large f-stop number. I usually fancy F22 for the sharpest I images I can get. It’s better to get as much sharpness into the deepness of your scene as you possibly can. If you can go higher than F22, then by all means try it out. Just remember that the small your aperture the longer the shutter speed you will need.

Image quality

Shoot at the very maximum quality you can. I always select RAW for all my photos and shooting the moon is no exception. If you want excellent quality pictures then opt for the highest quality setting you can go. Even if you are not able to shoot in RAW, pick the largest Jpeg size possible. This might be displayed as Jpeg “L”.

Sharpening and Tweaking

Once you have taken your moon photograph, you may have to sharpen it a bit. Not for the reason that your photo will come out blurry, but remember, it is over three hundred thousand kilometres away. A little increase in the sharpening will help enhance some of detail in the craters. Try improving the darks and lights a little too by using your contrast tool in Photoshop or your favourite editing program. That naturally helps to give the surface more of a three dimensional look and detail, rather than having a large flat white surface. Increasing contrast, clarity and sharpness makes the moons craters look deeper and more interesting.

Photo captured by Tammy (Click Image to See More From Tammy)

Moon photography is so much fun and takes a precise type of photographic applications. Just apply some of these principles and methods that I use and you will pleasantly surprised at the lovely photos you get all the time.

About the Author:
Amy Renfrey writes for DigitalPhotographySuccess.com. She’s photographed many things from famous musicians (Drummers for Prince and Anastasia) to weddings and portraits of babies. Amy also teaches photography online to her students.

For Further Training, PictureCorrect Suggests:

Capturing star trails and other night sky scenes is truly one of the most technically difficult forms of photography. This new in-depth guide was released to help photographers thrive in these situations. Currently 50% off until Friday (simply use the voucher code PICTURECORRECT at checkout).

It can be found here: How to Photograph the Night Sky

Go to full article: Moon Photography Tips

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Photography sometimes confronts one with an almost Shakespearean dilemma; do I ask to take a picture of someone on the street or simply take the photo and move on? To risk rejection and the petty indignity of small-minded people or opt for the safety and anonymity of “shoot and scoot”?

Unfortunately there is no one right answer for either street or outdoor photography. As a photographer sometimes you just have to learn to read the situation and use your best judgement.

The good news is there is seldom a moral dilemma involved in taking pictures. There is no expectation of privacy in public spaces outside of areas that modesty would typically dictate there be no surveillance like bathrooms, public baths and changing rooms.

“Father’s Love” captured by Gagan Dhiman. (Click on image to see more from Gagan Dhiman.)

What makes this discussion surreal is that the modern world is jammed packed with cameras taking pictures and video of people in public constantly. Walk down any big city street in almost any industrial nation and you’ll turn up on dozens of surveillance cameras; some run by private companies, some run by the state. But those cameras are discreetly hidden from view behind watertight housings, one-way mirrors and dome enclosures. After a while people tend to forget they’re even there.

But they can see a photographer and that big camera and that sometimes triggers an overreaction in some of the world’s self-appointed picky-poo hall monitors and bored security guards. Almost every street photographer has at least one story about about being confronted by angry subjects, security guards or the police.

Your best defenses are a quick smile, calm demeanor and solid understanding of exactly what your rights are. It’s also wise to keep in mind that history is littered with sad stories of people who were dead right. A balance between all those factors will arm you with a good internal guide as to when to stand your ground and when to let it go and walk away.

When it comes to taking pictures of people in public places, sometimes it’s better to just get your pictures and move on. The less time you’re around, the less time for people to get annoyed or suspicious. If you find one subject particularly intriguing, then just walk up ask them if it’s okay to take their picture. You’ll be surprised at how many times people will agree, or agree with some minor condition. If you asked 10 random people on the street, probably 80 percent will not have a problem being photographed and the other 20 percent will have a good reason for not cooperating.

“Burma: Monk on Train” captured by Thomas Jeppeson. (Click image to see more from Thomas Jeppeson.)

Getting turned down is definitely not personal. Some people are in a hurry or were startled by the question. The world is full of scam artists and the predatory and suspicion is unfortunately understandable. Still, despite all that, you’ll be amazed at the people who will say yes.

Don’t be afraid to ask as it gives you a chance to interact with complete strangers. You’ll make new friends, broaden your social network, and get to know people, even if it’s just briefly, that you might not have met any other way. For many those positive interactions are worth more than the few missed shots from people who said no thanks.

About the Author:
Peter Timko writes on behalf of Proud Photography – which offers online photography courses on a variety of subjects.

Online Photography Courses Offered by ProudPhotography:

• General Photography Course
• Wedding Photography
• Photoshop for Photographers
• HDR Photography Course

Go to full article: To Ask or Not to Ask in Street Photography?

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

A camera’s metering mode generally refers to the way the camera itself decides which is the correct exposure for a picture. A cameras metering system is the brains behind how your camera determines the shutter speed and aperture, based on lighting conditions and ISO speed; in-camera metering is standardized based on the luminance of light which would be reflected from an object appearing as middle gray.

Today, digital cameras users have the ability to choose and adjust the wide range of metering mode, or how the camera measures the brightness of the subject. Understanding these can improve one’s photographic intuition for how a camera measures light.

Here is a brief introduction to the most common metering modes available.

“Untitled” captured by Alexei Jurchenko. (Click image to see more from Alexei Jurchenko.)

Spot metering:

Spot metering takes a reading from a very small part of the image and ignores the exposure of the rest of the scene.

• About 1 – 5% view finder area is measured.
• The readings are usually taken from very centre of the scene.
• This method of metering is very accurate.
• Spot metering is usually used very high contrast scenes.

Center-weighted average metering:

Here a metering is taken from the whole of the scene first, then the central spot an average reading is then calculated.

• 60 to 80% view finder area measured.
• It is usually possible to adjust the weight/balance of the central portion to the peripheral one.
• Less influenced by small areas that vary greatly in brightness at the edges of the viewfinder, more consistent results can be obtained

Average metering:

• Light information comes from the entire scene and is averaged for the final exposure setting.
• No weighting to any particular portion of the metered area.

Partial metering:

This is most common in Canon cameras.

• 10-15% of the view finder area is measured.
• Partial metering is used when very bright or very dark areas on the edges of the frame would otherwise influence the metering unduly
• Partial metering is found mostly on Canon cameras.

“Baby Tiger” captured by Lilia Tkachenko. (Click image to see more from Lilia Tkachenko.)

Multi-zone metering:

A type of metering first introduced by the Nikon, zone is a type of metering which takes readings from several different areas – or zones – within the scene to produce a calculated average.

• Also called Evaluative/Matrix (Nikon), Evaluative (Canon). This is the default/standard metering setting on a number of cameras.
• Light intensity measures from several points in the scene, and then combined to find the settings for the best exposure.
• The idea behind multi-zone metering is to reduce the need to use exposure compensation

About the Author:
Chas Demain writes for creativeslrphotography dot com, a digital photography site.

Go to full article: Metering and Exposure: Introduction

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

When it comes to taking professional quality wedding images the lens is much more important than the camera body itself. This doesn’t mean get the cheapest camera body that you can find, if you’re on a tight budget and you can’t afford to go full-frame, you should consider getting a semi-professional camera such as the Nikon D300. This article outlines different equipment used in wedding photography and the reasons why they are so important to have in your bag.

“Bride” captured by Alyona Arnautova. (Click image to see more from Alyona Arnautova.)

When you are responsible for documenting such an important day as someone’s wedding day, there is no excuse for cheap equipment, this simply won’t get the job done for the level of quality that is required, remember they will look back at these images throughout their entire lives! They’re investing a lot of money in your services as a wedding photographer, so don’t rip them off by using the cheap amateur equipment.

If you initially can’t afford to buy that 24-70mm zoom lens or that professional body outright, then rent it! Most professional photography stores have a rental department. This is a great way to cut back on your outgoings while still providing a high quality service. This will help boost your reputation for the future, and help you save towards that professional camera you have been drooling over. Figure out the best rental arrangement for you. You can save money if you hire it for a few days in a row, this isn’t a bad idea to hire it for an extra few days before the wedding day, so that you can master all of its settings, if you are proficient in using your camera this will boost your confidence on the day. Try to practice when there is no- one else is around, don’t leave it till the actual day remember you’ll be under pressure on the day, and It doesn’t look good when you are fiddling with your equipment and the couple is waiting on you, they are paying for your time. Another thing I would recommend is mastering manual use of your camera, this is so you can create images how you intended them to be. If you want to underexpose slightly to shoot a nice silhouette shot you won’t be able to if its in auto mode, as it automatically balances out the exposure.

Lenses with a wide apertures of f/2.8 up to as wide as f/1.4 or more are extremely valuable for weddings. These wide apertures enable you to use more available light, think about how dimply lit a church or reception hall can be. You don’t want to risk having to boost your ISO so much that you lose too many details. So remember that big apertures are a strong tool for the wedding photographer. Another great benefit of using wide aperture lenses is not having to fire a flash. I wouldn’t recommend shooting with a flash in the ceremony itself, its a very special moment for them so show them some respect. A lot of brides specifically request no flash in the ceremony or the location might have restrictions for flash photography. If you must use flash in the ceremony its always polite to ask the venue and bride just to be sure. I also see a lot of photographers firing a flash directly into a someones face which isn’t very flattering, there is normally always a surface around that you can bounce your flash from, using a white ceiling or wall to act as a giant soft box which creates a much better quality of diffused light. Although its best to try to use the available light as much as you can.

A lot of photographers prefer to carry only zoom lenses in their bag, this saves a lot of running around to position for their shot. I prefer with work with mostly primes, as prime lenses are available in wider apertures the end result is the subject appears much better separated from the background, this enables you to draw your viewers eye. This method of photography makes it easier for you to tell a story with your images. It creates more powerful images with minimal distractions.

For wedding photography lenses I would recommend covering a focal length from 24-200mm. 24mm is wide enough to provide expansive views of the ceremony and reception, and 200mm has enough reach to get a nice closeup of the bride or groom from the back of the church.

“Flare Dream” captured by Alyona Arnautova. (Click image to see more from Alyona Arnautova.)

Here are some different types of lenses used in wedding photography.

Wide-Angle lens

The wide-angle length typically covers focal lengths between 10-24mm. This lens is very important when it comes to wedding photography. They are wide enough to show the entire view of the church or ceremony location, wide-angle lenses also make it possible to photograph in confined spaces, such as the bride’s dressing room or a packed dance floor. The wide perspective creates a sense of expansiveness and grandeur by showing the entire church or ceremony location. Wide angle lenses on a full frame body provide the best results, if you have a cropped sensor keep in mind that a 10-20mm lens will give a similar view to a 24mm on a full frame body.

Wide-to-Telephoto Zoom

The wide-to-telephoto lens such as the 24-70mm or 17-55mm are considered the most important lenses for wedding photography. They are wide enough to take a group photographs, and also three quarter length portraits, if you had to choose just one lens to shoot an entire wedding this would provide you with the best coverage.

Image-Stabilized Telephoto Zoom

Telephoto zoom lenses have a focal length of 70-200mm. If your style of wedding photography is an unobtrusive, photojournalistic style, then this is the lens for you. Its a great for ceremony’s, as you don’t want to be in the way of the guests, you can still get a great portrait shot of the bride and groom at the altar from the very back of the church. You can also capture the bridesmaids or groomsmen as a group without having to swap lenses.

The f/2.8 maximum aperture of these lenses gives you the option of narrowing the depth of field, keeping the viewer’s attention on the in-focus subject while blurring the background, and the Image-Stabilization mechanism will give you razor sharp images when taking shots fully zoomed in and taken by hand. The only downside to these great lenses is that they aren’t cheap by any means.

“Wed” captured by Olesia Kliots. (Click image to see more from Olesia Kliots.)

Prime Lenses

I love working with wide aperture primes, they give a beautiful depth of field and an advantage when working with available light. You can shoot at f/1.4, which will cover even some of the darkest areas. Here are some popular prime lenses on the market.

• 24mm f/1.4 This lens was recently released by Nikon. It is an amazing lens, you can take great venue and ceremony shots, even though it is a wide angle lens you can still manage to get subject separation from the background and great quality ‘bokeh’ out of focus areas at an aperture of 1.4.
• 50mm f/1.4 An affordable lens. This lens is great for the bridal preparation shots, and detail shots such as bouquet, rings, shoes etc. It also covers closeup portraits, and small group shots.
• 85mm f/1.4 This is the classic focal length for portraits. It also provides a beautiful and creamy quality of ‘Bokeh’, which is how the out of focus areas appear.

These lenses perform at their best on a full-frame body, although you can still produce some great images on a small sensor camera. As I said before, the if you had to choose between getting a new camera body or a professional lens of the same value, I would recommend the lens hands down. You will notice a much bigger difference in the quality of your images.

A good combination of lenses for a wedding is a couple of fast primes such as a 24mm and an 85mm, and a 70-200 telephoto-zoom lens. The 24mm covers you for expansive venue and ceremony photos, and group photos. The 85mm produces great quality portraits and couple shots, and the 70-700 will give you the speed and length that you need for great candid photography, and ceremony shots at the altar and coming down the isle.

You might also consider getting a quality macro lens for amazing detail shots like wedding rings etc. 105mm is a good option.

“Sunset Bride” captured by Julius Sabelino. (Click image to see more from Julius Sabelino.)

If you carry all of these lenses in your kit you will be able to capture the day at its best. Of course you need to have an eye for photography and many will argue that its not the equipment its the photographer which is true, the reason I express that professional lenses are such a valuable part to carry in your kit, is solely for the image quality. These lenses will make a big difference as to how professional your portfolio appears to viewers.

Camera body

There are many advantages in carrying a professional camera body. Some of the main benefits are high ISO capabilities which will give you a higher shutter speed in low light situations, and some full frame cameras feature incredibly high megapixels such as the Nikon D3x, which is great if you get a lot of orders for larger wedding prints. For wedding photography I would say that a high ISO camera like the Nikon D3s is more beneficial, having this capability means that you will be able to capture every moment in any lighting situation without fail, and without having to constantly work with flash. Carrying a professional body for wedding photography also means higher shutter speeds, enhanced colour replication, quicker menu access using dials instead of buttons, and of course the benefits of a full frame sensor. Other benefits include wider range of view, reduced image noise, reduced lens distortion. Small sensors have a 1.5 ratio crop factor which artificially magnifies an image. The downside is that this magnification brings out all of the flaws in the lens, but there is a also a big advantage in having a 1.5 crop sensor. When you attach a professional full frame lenses you can potentially get the equivalent of a 400mm lens from a 200mm lens. A professional 400mm lens can cost you upwards of 8k.

When photographing a wedding, I cannot express how important it is to carry a backup camera. If you are unable to afford a full frame camera as a backup, a small sensor body will do nicely. Or considering hiring a backup camera.

Flashes and Accessories

“The Hillside” captured by Jason Lavengood. (Click image to see more from Jason Lavengood.)

Another important thing to consider with wedding photography is carrying an off camera flash. Whether it is on a stand or held by an assistant, you need to be very fast in putting it all together, its a good idea to practice the controls as home, and do plenty of testing so that when it comes the day itself you don’t have the bride and groom waiting on you. Speedlights with TTL in combination with wireless remotes such as pocketwizards are a good option. Speedlights are very portable, although don’t provide as much output as studio monolights. When using pocketwizard remotes you can attach 3 or more speed lights. They are triggered via a radio transmitter, this means that they don’t need to be in line of sight to your on camera transmitter/ reciever, so you can put one inside a building or around a corner for example and it will still fire via the remote. Its a very powerful tool but takes a lot of practice to master well. When considering a speed light you should make sure that it has a rotating the flash head. This is so that you can also use it as an on camera bounce flash, to bounce off ceilings etc.

An important accessory to carry when working with off camera flashes are diffusers such as soft boxes or umbrellas. I find soft boxes to be much better when it comes to location shooting as umbrellas blow over with the slightest gust of wind, you can get sandbags for them but this means its just more weight that you’ll be carrying throughout the day which just isn’t practical. You want to streamline your equipment as much as you can. Working with a small portable soft box that you can carry off camera is a good solution. Ideally you should have an assistant hold this for you, or use a flash stand. A single properly executed off camera flash with diffuser is more than enough to provide stunning couple portraits with a beautiful quality of light, that softly highlights them and ‘pops’ the subject from their background which creates a more dynamic image, this is a particular advantage when the weather doesn’t cooperate. You can still create great images when its a miserable and dreary day.

You can get great shots using just a single off camera flash, although you need to have perfect placement. Consider using 2 or 3 flashes. You can create so many great effects with off camera flash, including rim lighting, and highlighting different surfaces as well as the subject, there are also flash gels that you put over the flash head to output different colours like red or blue, flash gels are also used to balance the flash with ambient light, such as tungsten or flouresent.

“Untitled” captured by Evgeniy Lyaschuk. (Click image to see more from Evgeniy Lyaschuk.)

Camera bag/jacket

Consider a bag with wheels. Doing wedding photography is hard work, it doesn’t help when you are hauling heavy gear with around with you. You want to make this as easy on you as possible so you can focus on the job at hand. Camera jackets are a great solution, all of your lenses are readily available to you anywhere you go, you can fit up to 4 lenses in a single jacket!

With wedding photography you need to be confident and full of ideas on the day. So you need to make sure you know your equipment like the back of your hand before you take on the job of photographing someones wedding day. Take plenty of time to practice your new equipment and read the instruction manuals carefully beforehand so that on the actual day you are quick and ready to capture all of the special moments as they unfold.

About the Author:
Melissa Fiene is a wedding photographer based in Sydney Australia. To view her work please visit http://www.melissafiene.com. She produces high quality images, providing contemporary, and natural style wedding photography.

For Further Training on Wedding Photography:

Check out Simple Wedding Photography, it covers everything you need to know to photograph a wedding and the business behind it. From diagrams of where you should stand throughout the ceremony to advice on all the final deliverables to the client. This 200 page ebook will be useful to wedding photographers of any experience level. It also carries a 60 day guarantee, so there is no risk in trying it.

It can be found here: Simple Wedding Photography Guide

Go to full article: Must-Have Equipment for Professional Wedding Photographers

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

A digital SLR camera gives you the power to capture some amazing effects, once you know how to use it. You can develop all the skills of a professional once you understand your manual settings.

If you have grown up with a ‘point and shoot’ camera and have just taken the plunge with a new digital SLR, don’t just leave it on auto. That is a waste of good technology; it means you are still using your equipment as a point and shoot camera. The key to improving your photography is to learn to use your manual settings.

“The chat” captured by Alberto Roseo (Click Image to Find Photographer)

One of these settings is Shutter Speed. It is fun to experiment with and easy to see the results in your photos. Although we usually try to freeze our subject with the fastest shutter speed possible, you can get some great effects by using a slower shutter speed to capture movement effects.

To try this out, you can set your camera to Shutter Priority, in which case you can set the shutter speed and the camera will take care of the aperture for you. Or, you can go to fully manual and adjust both settings yourself. Just remember to keep your exposure balanced by compensating each movement in the shutter speed setting with a corresponding movement of the aperture setting.

Remember to always use a tripod for slow shutter speed photos.

Here are five ideas for great capturing great motion effects, simply by slowing down your shutter speed to capture the movement of the subject. If you haven’t tried this before, you will have some fun and be thrilled with the results.

Slow Shutter Speed Subject #1. Waterfalls. This is the obvious first choice. You have certainly seen the silky effects of flowing water in photos, but perhaps you have wondered how it is done. Just set your camera to a very slow speed; about one second or a half-second, and see the results. The silky slow-movement effect is not always your best option. For each waterfall you should try a few shutter speeds to see which one works best for that particular subject.

“San Francisco Airport” captured by Marion Wilson (Click Image to Find Photographer)

Slow Shutter Speed Subject #2. Cars at night. When doing night photography, you usually need fairly slow shutter speeds anyway. If you try shutter speeds of one second, two seconds, ten seconds, and even longer, you will see some amazing results. The lights of the vehicles will create streams of bright colour, stretching away into the distance. The more traffic you see, the more remarkable the effect can become.

Slow Shutter Speed Subject #3. Lightning. People often ask me how I take my lightning photos. Some people imagine it takes superhuman reflexes to snap the picture at just the right moment. The truth is, my approach is exactly the opposite.

First, I wait for a storm (at night) with lots of lightning; in particular, fork lightning that will appear well defined in a photo. I set the shutter to the ‘B’ setting, which lets me open the shutter for any length of time I choose. Then I wait for the lightning to flash. I can capture just one flash of lightning, or several flashes, just by leaving the shutter open for longer.

Slow Shutter Speed Subject #4. Waves. The movement effect of water in a waterfall can also be applied at the beach, although you don’t see it so often in photography. When you visit the beach, experiment with different shutter speeds. Sometimes you will find that soft movement effects are just as satisfying as freezing everything with a fast shutter speed.

“cycling-in-the-quarry” captured by Matt Sillence (Click Image to Find Photographer)

The misty appearance of fast moving water captured with slow shutter speeds can be most effective where waves are crashing over, or swirling around rocks.

Slow Shutter Speed Subject #5. Crowds Of People. A crowd of people moving in different directions can create a fascinating motion effect in a photo. You don’t need extremely slow shutter speeds to capture some nice results. Photos taken around 1/4sec will show substantial blurring, but of course you can exaggerate the effect by going even slower.

For a really impressive image, have a friend stand very still, while everyone around them is moving. Your subject will appear frozen in a sea of moving humanity. Very striking!

So there you have some experiments to go out and try yourself. If you haven’t done it before, you are bound to have fun and be excited by the results. And of course it will force you to get to know your camera a little better, which is guaranteed to make you a better photographer.

About the Author:
Andrew Goodall writes for http://www.naturesimage.com.au and is a nature photographer based in Australia. He manages a gallery in Montville full of landscape photography from throughout Australia.

Go to full article: Capturing Motion with Slow Shutter Speeds

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips