Portraits- Start with your Family

I have not been keen on photographing people since the beginning of my photography addiction.

Those images I did take did not stand up to my standards so I was hesitant when one of my nieces asked me to take some shots for her portfolio.  I don't have a studio or lights so we decided to have the "shoot" early in the morning at the beach on the East Coast.  We were lucky as there was a great sunrise.  My sister became my light stand as I gave her a gold/silver reflector that I showed her how to use to get the shadows off her daughter's face.  

We moved around and used several different backgrounds and a couple changes of clothes to get some variety.   The three of us ended up having a lot of fun.  In between the "keeper" shots, I had her make faces and act silly to keep her from being tense.

I spent some time in Lightroom and Photoshop softening her skin and brightening her eyes a little as the reflector did not give me all the light I needed.

After seeing these and the other images that she used for her portfolio my other sister and niece asked to have some shots done.  I started with some inside shots using my Speedlight off camera.  We are looking forward to better weather when we can get some outdoor shots.

 

So use different types of light, different backgrounds, a variety of clothing and have fun!  

Using your family and friends (who tend to be a bit less critical of your work than strangers) is a great way to start taking portraits.   Also, there are always aspiring models who can't afford to pay for a portfolio so that is another avenue for getting started and getting practice shooting portraits

That's all for now. 

Turn that camera on!

Lynn

Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA - A Photographers Garden

Back in October I had the opportunity to visit the Washington, DC area.  I had first heard about Longwood Gardens from photographer, Tony Sweet.  So I decided to drive up to PA and take it in.  I took my Nikon D200 and Nikkor 105mm macro lens and a Nikon D700 and Nikkor 14-24 lens that I rented from Lens Pro To Go  so I could quickly go from a close up of a flower to a wide angle shot of the glorious fall colors.  

I was there during their annual Chrysanthemum Festival.  They had so many varieties it was overwhelming.  Some of the flowers were outside in huge gardens and others were in the hot houses & conservatory.

They had great fall displays of pumpkins and gourds.

They have meadows and formal gardens.  The Conservatory is so large it is incredible.  The different rooms feature different types of plants including the Orangerie with a lawn that was so big!  

This is a great place for HDR, too.  There are many subjects that work well with technique due to the details and light extremes.

 

 I have many more images from Longwood Gardens  on my website so please check it out.   I highly recommend taking the time to make images at this beautiful place.

 

That's all for now.

Turn that camera on!

Lynn

HDR Weekend

Trey Ratcliff and Scott Bourne ( Photofocus ) were in Tampa, FL this weekend showing the tech/scientific and artful sides of HDR (High Dynamic Range).   They shared many of the great HDR (multi and single) images they have made.  Their two different styles of HDR shows that "right" is in the eye of the photographer.  At the Saturday session we had a limited amount of time to actually get out and shoot with the group but I did get a few series that worked out with processing.  These were all shot in and around the Tampa Convention Center.

HDR is one of those techniques that can be a lot of fun.  Not every subject lends itself to HDR but things with details and/or an extreme in lighting seem to work the best.   One of the tricks I learned from Trey was that you can use a single RAW image for subjects that are apt to or are moving.  Animals and people fit this category.  Processing is a little different but you can still get the details you want from most RAW files.

Trey also went through his post processing workflow which he has outlined in his recently published book "A World in HDR".  He also has tutorials on his blog StuckinCustoms. 

Scott added his sage advise on a number of issues plus kept us going with his wit and prizes.

It was really great to have both of these well known photographers come to Tampa and share  their ideas & knowledge.

I have been making HDR images for over a year now (see my website) but I am looking forward to even better final images as a result of this workshop.

Thank you Trey & Scott.

That's all for now.

Turn that camera on!

Lynn

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

This is my first blog post. Hope to add something at least once weekly. Please enjoy!

Last weekend we made our annual New Year's weekend trip to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, FL. This year it was very cold and windy! Last year we were very lucky and had a mild and calm day which resulted in thousand of birds in the bodies of water along the refuge's Black Point Drive. This year the birds that were there, were very far from the drive and very clumped together. We did find a few in the waterways along the drive and in the smaller ponds that weren't being whipped up by the wind.


For next several months this will be a good place to see & photographs many water birds. There are ducks, herons & egrets. The Roseate Spoonbills are always a great sight to see.



This is a great place for bird photographers as you can shoot from your vehicle or get out and use a tripod. Many times they are close enough to get shots with a 200-300mm lens. So if you are in Florida you should check out Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.


That's all for now!
Turn that Camera On!

Lynn