And now there’s a website that asks those insightful questions, does the thinking, tells you what to buy and everyone (er, you, not the website) is happy.

Measy.com is darnright awesome. I tried it out for myself and it recommended one of the Canon Powershot cameras…the same point-and-shoot line that we already use and love. Niiiiiiice.

Use it for point and shoot cameras, DSLRs, E-readers, smartphones, HDTVs and netbooks. Awesome.

(psssst, Michael, you might be out of a job!)

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I STILL remember shots that were perfect in my mind…and then I sat and naval-gazed (for a second…ONE SECOND), thinking about what a great shot it would be, and then it was gone. With no one to blame but myself….

Moments seized with two pint sized people, coming soon. Happy shooting from Vantage!

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Get up high

Get down low

Even if you look like a goof…

Happy shooting from Vantage!

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Histo-what?

The use of the histogram is certainly not unique to photography–it’s used widely in the field of statistics. In the most general terms, a histogram is a graph of bars, with the bars representing various frequencies of a piece of data. In photography terms, those “bars” represent how many pixels (in other words, how much of your image) are at various levels between full black and full white. Full black is on the left, full white is on the right. In other words, the histogram tells you how much of your image is exposed on the dark side, how much of it is exposed on the light side. More bars on the left means a darker image, more bars on the right means a lighter image.

When you take an image with your SLR camera (if you need a reminder on what an SLR camera is, read this post), take a look at the LCD screen on the back: it should show a black and white mountain-y (yes, that’s the technical term) looking graph somewhere on the screen. If not, scroll through your viewing options and you should come across it eventually. If you still can’t find it, drop me an email, I’ll help you through it. You will also see the histogram if you edit in Lightroom or Photoshop, too.

Let’s get practical: an example

Let’s take a look at an example of an image I took at a recent wedding to see the correlation between the histogram and the actual image. I’ve circled the area on the histogram that corresponds with the area on the image itself. The darkest part of the image (the womens’ hair and their dresses) are shown on the histogram as the large peak on the left. The brightest spot in the image, the burning birthday candles, shows up as a very tall peak on the very right hand side of the image. In this case, the highlights (the candles) have been blown out, meaning we’ve lost all detail in that area; that’s why you see the peak extend up rapidly at the end and not come down before the end of the graph. There’s also slight clipping of the black areas, meaning some detail has been lost in the darkest part of the image. Some photographers will say that’s a cardinal sin–me, I don’t mind a little clipping if it makes a more contrasty, dynamic image. Anyhoo, take a look:

Yes, it’s enough to simply look at the photo to gauge your exposure, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at that little LCD screen on the back of my camera, the exposure looked fine, and then I get the image onto my computer screen and realize that important parts of the image have blown highlights or shadows. No, you don’t need to live and die by your histogram results…but I like to think of it as another tool in my tool belt that will help me get the perfect image, for when it really counts. As Ken Rockwell says, “Use them as guides, not Gods.”
Happy shooting from Vantage!

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We started with the Rule of Thirds…and the Tuesday Tidbit was born. We talked about looking your best in photos, when giant photos ATTACK!, point and shoots vs SLRs, and the color wheel. We waxed philosophical on the power of empty space, amputated our subjects appropriately, and discussed the finer points of posing large groups. Man, we’ve had some good times.

A lot of you have been following this blog for awhile and are probably pretty darn skilled with your point and shoot camera. But lots of you have those new dangfangled fancy schmancy SLR cameras now and could use some help making those cameras do what they’re meant to do (which is go beyond a glorified point and shoot camera).

So this year is about depth. We’ll delve more into ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and shooting in (drum roll please) manual mode. We’ll talk about light and using your flash. We’ll talk about choosing lenses and changing lenses. I’ll do my darn tootin’ best to help you understand your camera and photography better, and I bet I’ll learn some things along the way too.

If you want to get a head start on your classmates, here’s some homework for you: some links from last year on ISO, aperture and shutter speed, and depth of field.

I’m excited for the next year! And, as always, if there are particular things you want to read about, you can comment directly on the blog and let me know or shoot me an email at info@weddingsbyvantage.com.

Happy shooting from Vantage!

Related posts:

1. Tuesday (Ok, Wednesday) Tidbit: What’s that flower for?
2. Tuesday Tidbit: Understanding Aperture and Shutter Speed
3. Tuesday Tidbit: Depth of Field

ANYway, today’s tidbit is short and to the point: people like to see things that utilize odd numbers. Visually, you can use this in a few ways: first, with the rule of thirds; second, by utilizing triangles when posing people; and third (don’t you love that there are THREE reasons to use odd numbers? I do.), by including an odd number of subjects in your image (three people instead of two, three columns instead of two, etc).

The most interesting explanation I’ve heard for this is that our brains naturally want to pair up similar objects and if you have an odd number of those objects, the brain can’t pair anything up; therefore our eyes keep moving around the composition, from one object to the next, in the attempt to find the pairs. Ultimately, it’s this eye movement that you’re after because it keeps the composition dynamic and engaging for the viewer.

Whether or not that explanation holds water in the scientific community….meh, doesn’t matter to me. All I know is I like me some photos that have odd elements in them…

Happy shooting from Vantage!

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1. Speak loudly enough that everyone can hear you.

2. Smile. Genuinely.

3. Introduce yourself at the very beginning (if you don’t know everyone there) and tell everyone that you’ll be asking them to stand in certain positions. I always ask people to “help me out” by paying attention if/when they hear my voice so that everyone can get to the dance floor/bar/wherever sooner.

4. Have your cameras settings figured out BEFORE placing people so you don’t have a group of 20 people staring at you uncomfortably while you play with your gear.

5. As you ask people to stand in certain areas, either point very clearly or place yourself in the spot to show them where to go. Regardless, the directions you give should be clear and concise. Mimic the pose if you have to.

6. If you must futz with people once you’ve gotten everyone in place, tell them what you’re doing. Even something like “Everyone can relax while I check the settings on my camera” will help people feel more at ease. Then when you’re ready to shoot, tell them you’re ready, have everyone stand up straight….and shoot.

7. Tell folks you’ll be taking a few shots to make sure there aren’t any blinkers. This will prevent the “smile, see the flash go off, relax completely” syndrome that seems to happen when group photos are taken.

8. Smile. Genuinely. Again.

9. When you’re finished, thank people for their time and tell them they’re free to go. If you need to keep some people for additional pictures, make sure to tell those people to stay BEFORE you tell everyone they can go.

So that’s it! Hopefully you’re feeling a little more confident about doing your next group shot. Practice practice practice. And don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Have fu!

Happy shooting from Vantage!

Related posts:

1. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part 1: Triangles)
2. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part 5: The blinking trick)
3. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part Four: Posture)

The anti-blink trick

First thing you have to do is tell everyone you’re going to ask them to do something that feels sort of silly but is going to help make sure to minimize the “blinkers” in the group. Second, ask everyone to close their eyes (you should have everything set to go at this point, don’t make them stand there with their eyes closed while you fiddle with your gear). Then tell them that you’re going to count down from three and say “open”. When they hear open, they should open their eyes and smile. About a split second after you say open, press the shutter and you’ve got a 99% chance that you haven’t got a blinker in the bunch. Take a second shot just to be sure.

That’s it. And it works. So say goodbye to those blinkers!

Happy shooting from Vantage!

Related posts:

1. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part Three: Color Balance)
2. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part 1: Triangles)
3. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part Six: You’re In Charge)

Start with a good base and then focus on the details

Both men and women should angle their bodies towards the center of the grouping (aka their shoulders should not square up with the camera frame) and place one foot slightly in front of the other foot with their weight on their back foot.  Ask everyone to stand up straight….and then relax their shoulders. People tend to bring their shoulders up towards their ears when given this “stand up straight” command so reminding them to relax their shoulders will give them a more natural look while maintaining good posture.

Once you have this base, you can look for more detailed posture issues, such as having a dad place his hand on his young son’s shoulder to include the child in the grouping more clearly or having asking individuals to turn slightly more inward or outward. A “detail” tip is to have everyone ever-so-slightly tilt their head towards the center of the group; that slight tilt gives a greater sense of connection and love throughout the group to the viewer.

What should I do with my hands?

It’s a common question you’ll hear from your subject as you’re getting them into position. Generally, I tell people they can keep their hands at their sides or put their hands in their pockets (having a thumb sticking out is generally understood to be an important rule but I don’t necessarily buy it…and therefore don’t always ask for people to do it). If keeping their hands at their side, remind people to keep a small bit of space between their arms and their body otherwise their arms will flatten out against their body and look bigger than they really are. If they are standing next to each other, you can also have individuals with special relationships (a parent and grown child, for example) consciously connect by having the person to the rear place their outer hand on the other person’s forearm lightly, or on their bicep if it makes more sense. As a rule, I make sure men aren’t standing with their hands clasped in front of their groin; the guys might feel more comfortable that way (it’s a very natural stance for men) but it generally isn’t very attractive as a posed portrait: it closes the men off from the viewer, when the real goal is to create connection and warmth between subject and viewer.

What if people are sitting?

Again, start with a good base. Ask people to perch slightly on the edge of their chair (automatically gives them better posture) and sit up straight (again, asking them to relax their shoulders). For women, ask them to tuck one foot behind the ankle of the other foot (pretty much every woman I’ve ever told to do this knows what I’m talking about) and for men, ask them to put both feet flat on the floor, with the outer foot slightly further forward than the other. For both, they can place their hands in their laps (although men like to put their hands on their thighs, which is also fine).

And remind everyone….again…to stand up straight and relax their shoulders. Because I guarantee that most of them have started slouching already.

Happy shooting from Vantage!

Related posts:

1. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part 5: The blinking trick)
2. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part 2: Build from the center and work your way out)
3. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part Six: You’re In Charge)