What difference does using a professional lab, correct exposure, and accurate color make?
I just received a nice text message from a client.
“I received my order and it was great. I got multiple prints of Travis and one of both children together (younger sister came along for senior portrait session).
Liked so much might order a couple more 8x10s of Travis. The quality of the prints and the color is wonderful. Very pleased with them. Thank you capturing my children in such a beautiful way.”
Here is their gallery: Travis Senior Portraits
Riding Fever
It’s been a while since I have posted anything here.
Winter has been exceptionally long this year with snow arriving well into April. For my many horsey friends (people who own and love their horses), riding fever is starting to kick in. One such friend is my lovely wife, Patty. “Help me bring in the horses, Peter” , “Can you hook up the trailer?”, “I think I will go to Twin Creek or Hueston Woods.” It’s one of the nicest days so far this April here in Dayton, Ohio with temps breaking in to the 60′s for the first time this season.
Are you suffering from Riding Fever?
The signs are an overwhelming urge to ride your horse. Sometimes it manifests itself in cleaning your horse tack or even want to shovel horse manure. It culminates with you tacking up your horse and getting on his back for a ride.
Is it time for equine portraits yet?
This is also when I start getting requests for equine portrait sessions. But, here is the problem that I usually run into. Right now the horses have their winter coats on. For the next three or four weeks you can brush and brush and brush and still winter fur will be in piles all over your barn. It is also gray and dull outside. We are a full three weeks delayed this spring in having trees and shrubs coming forth with foliage. The grass is starting to green up today, but would have normally been ready for the first mowing in the first week of April.
It is time for equine portraits when everything is right. 1) horse is shedded out. 2) leaves are on the trees and bushes. 3) grass is green and mowed.
The other problem that I encounter is that these folks with Riding Fever, then forget they wanted portraits until it gets to dam hot to ride. By then (July and August) the grass has turned brown. All I am saying is that there are ideal times to take equine portraits outdoors (a horse would not fit well in my studio where I can control the backdrops and lighting). It’s when the horse has shedded out, the grass is still green and lush, and there are leaves on the trees an shrubs. As the days get longer it also becomes easier to schedule your session when you are off work and the light is ideal (Early evening and just before the sun goes down). Call me soon or call me later to schedule your equine portrait session.
Teachers love snow days too when they can ride their horse in the snow
The infamous “SNOW DAY!”
My wife Patty is a teacher and like her students she just loves a snow day. It’s relished because it is completely unplanned and spontaneous. Another teach who is a Facebook Friend has created a list of things that her young children do when they are hoping for a Snow Day. They have to wear their pajamas inside out for one. And this week she had them run in their front yard and yell “SNOWWWW DAYYYYY!” as loud as they could as the snow was falling from the sky. Patty said that she tells the kids to put ice cubes in the toilet.
It’s all in fun, but what do you get to do on a SNOW DAY?
In Patty’s case she recruited her husband and photographer to take some pictures of the beauty all around us (that would be me!). Tell me what you think of what God did here in SW Ohio and how I was able to capture it in images.
Tired of dark snow pictures? Check out these tips for better snow pictures!
With a blizzard warning throughout the mid section of the country just after Christmas, first I want people to be careful driving. Whatever you do, being in a hurry is not as important as being alive. Take your time getting where you need to go and get there safely.
For others, people who love photography, for people who just got a camera for Christmas, you are going to want to go outside and take some great snow pictures. Here are some tips that will help you get great snow pictures.
1) Before taking your camera directly outside, you need to let it acclimate to the outside temperatures.
Why do you need to do this? If you walk outside with your warm camera into a very cold environment, moisture will condense on the camera and fog up the lens and the eye piece so that you cannot take pictures or even see what you are pointing at.
To acclimate to the outdoor temperatures, if you have a camera bag, just put the camera in the camera bad and take the camera bag outside. In about five minutes the camera should be cool enough to avoid the problem above. If it is really cold out, unzip the bag just a little to let the cool air in slowly.
If you do not have a camera bag, you can use a bag of some sort or perhaps wrap it in a towel. What you are trying to do is to keep the frigid cold from immediately contacting the warm camera and lens. You just have to slow down the process a little bit to keep from having problems. Once you are outside for about 5-10 minutes slowly bring your camera out into the cold. Since the change was less sudden, you should not have a fogged up camera and you should be able to start shooting.
2) I hate my snow pictures because they turned out all dark and muddy looking
With Facebook you will frequently see people sharing their snow pictures and you will see gray snow and people who you can hardly see because they are so underexposed. Why is this and what can I do about it? Here is a link to a post from 2010 about the same questions with a guide to taking better snow pictures. Taking Better Snow Pictures.
3) If your camera is new to you, you may just need to read the operators manual
As a professional photographer, I have read the operators manual many times. In addition I have tried out many features of my camera so that I have a working knowledge of all its features. If you have not read your manual yet, you may have to read about using Manual Mode or about Exposure Compensation. My favorite method of dealing with the problems associated with snow pictures is to use the Histogram to determine which Exposure Compensation is best in a given situation. If this paragraph is confusing you, perhaps you did not click on the link above. You’ll need to do it now: Taking Better Snow Pictures.
Now that you have read that, there should also be some additional links at the bottom of this post about the same subject with lots of sample photos. Click on any of those that capture your attention as well.
Review of 2012 photo sessions starting with horse and rider portrait of Patty and April
With my studio not yet open and my camera off at Canon Service for a once over and focus tune up, I have been posting a few pictures from each session on my Facebook page. But I have neglected my website.
