I love learning about black history and would definitely attend this event, but alas I live in Texas. But for those who are in the area, you have to make this one of your stops. This is why I enjoy photography. It gives you the opportunity to freeze a moment in time and save it to share with others. Some of the people photographed in the exhibit include The Jackson 5, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Louie Armstrong, Nat King Cole, a young Muhammad Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For more information visit http://www.csun.edu/artgalleries.

The biggest issue was the sun. No matter where I positioned them, the shadows were covering up their face. I tried using the flash for fill, but it didn’t do much to add light. I ended up facing them towards the sun (which explains the squinting). Getting both of them to participate and look at the camera was challenging, buy my oldest son, as usual, took to the camera and I got some good shots of him. As an added bonus I even got one of my wife.

Enjoy!

Now to the technical stuff. I used my SB600 flash with a stand and umbrella and a black sheet for the background. The flash was setup directly behind my Nikon D7000. The lighting was simple, but it worked. The only thing I’d change for next time would be to add another flash on the side. During post-processing I had to lighten up my face a little. Other than that, we had a good time.

The kit comes with:

• Three (3) High Quality Tripod/Light stands
• Two (2) High Quality MonoLight (3 Options: 110 Watt/s, 160 Watt/s, 180 Watt/s)
• One (1) 40 Watt Flash Strobe
• One (1) AC Adapter/Light Socket
• One (1) 12 ft Sync Cord
• One (1) Wireless Trigger
• Two (2) 16″ x 24″ Softbox with Spring Ring
• One (1) 33″ Black/Gold Reflective Umbrella
• One (1) 33″ White Translucent Photo Umbrella
• One (1) 24″ 2-in-1 Gold/Silver Reflector
• One (1) Small Barndoor with Color Gels
• One (1) Snoot
• One (1) Huge Padded Carrying Case

I’m no pro and am new to studio lighting, so I didn’t want to go all out with an expensive setup. But after adding a couple of additional accessories, this one fell right in my price range. Plus it came in a nice compact bag that will help me keep everything organized.

I just purchased it last week, so I haven’t had the opportunity to use it much. But I was able to convince some of my favorite models to help me out before going to bed. We had a small area to work in and once again the main issue I had was focusing in low light situations. I posted some of my favorite poses below.

All in all, I’d have to say I like my new kit. I did have to buy two additional receivers because the main strobe wouldn’t trigger the slave strobe when the softbox was attached. And if I touched or moved a light the flash would sometimes misfire (not sure if it was the trigger’s fault), but it wasn’t a big deal to me because they produced more than enough light for me to photograph my subject.

As I get more photos, I’ll post them here. And as always I’d love any comments or tips you have for taking good studio photos. Shout out to Evan for letting me know about this store.

Jaclyn is a photo enthusiast like me and was pleased to help us out. She would get a little experience in taking some outdoor family portraits and I would get some family photos (a win/win situation for the both of us). For it being a first time assignment, I think she did a good job. After doing some post-processing, I’m finally getting around to posting some of the pictures. Enjoy!

I purchased Lightroom 3 a couple of weeks ago and decided to give some of my FREE presets from onOne Software a try. I think presets are great because they allow me to quickly create some nice photos and inspire me during those times when my creative juices aren’t flowing. While they’re a big help, I still feel it’s important to know how to use your post processing software because presets don’t work with every photo.

There was a lot of shade, so I used my SB600 flash to fill the area with more light. The one thing I need to watch out for next time is glare and shadows. A goal of mine within the next couple of months is to do a photo walk and class that focuses on getting the flash off the camera (strobist).

Since hosting my own site wasn’t an option, I started a 14-day trial of Smugmug and Zenfolio. Both hosting options were similar in a lot of ways and I’d heard some good things about both services. I liked the fact that I could upload RAW files directly from Lightroom 3 and it was easy to set up special galleries for clients and the general public. I also liked that I could upload as many high resolution photos as I want, without having to worry about file size.

I set up some public and private galleries on both and test a lot of the features that both offered. It was a difficult decision and both were really good products. But in the end I chose Zenfolio. What set them apart was the fact that I could get rid of the Zenfolio branding a lot easier than at Smugmug. For the annual price you pay, I just thought it was only right that I would have the option to hide their branding. Sure, if you’re familiar with their web templates you’ll be able to tell it’s hosted by Zenfolio, but with Smugmug it would have been too obvious. And despite how much I liked Smugmug, that wasn’t something I couldn’t overlook.

So “The Gallery” at theojohnson.net is open and ready for business (I might also start selling prints soon). Let me know what you think and leave comments. If you’ve used any of these services, let me know what you think of them. And if you’re looking for a place to host your photos and choose Zenfolio, use my referral code DYM-CAB-HB4 to get a discount.

http://thegallery.theojohnson.net

To prepare I picked up some books and hit the Internet. I viewed all types of wedding photo sites and spent time in the wedding discussion areas on Flickr. I even looked through some of my old wedding photos (before digital) to get some ideas on the poses my wife and I did. I made sure to get out and practice taking outdoor and indoor shots with my flash to see the difference in camera settings. I was also fortunate enough to get some pro advice from some friends of mine who had experience with wedding photography.

As the big day approached, I met with the bride to get the list of shots they wanted and got my equipment together. The day before the ceremony, my wife and I attended the rehearsal to scope out the venue and finalize our plan of action.

The day of the wedding we got there early and got to work. It was non-stop the whole day because I wanted to make sure we got everything on the list. Afterwards we packed up and went home. The next day my whole body was tired. I didn’t realize how much work went into photographing a wedding and I have a real respect (not that I didn’t before) for those who do this on a regular basis.

I took over 800 photos, but only about 300 made the final cut. Post-processing took a while and since this was a special event I downloaded the trial version of Lightroom 3. I have to admit, I’m really impressed with it and I really may have to consider buying it after the trial is up. After getting used to it, post-processing was a lot faster and I can see why people are willing to put down the money for it.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the wedding. I mentioned before that they are a very photogenic couple, which made my job a lot easier.

Last week I gave the newly married couple their photos and they liked them. This made me happy because in the end, that’s all that matters. I enjoy photography because it’s a way to capture those special moments in life. It gives me a chance to get out, have fun and be creative.

The big question I think about now is whether or not I’d do another wedding if asked. Probably. The stressful thing about them is that you only get one chance and a missed or messed up shot is gone forever.

Here’s some lessons I learned and hope to improve upon in the future:

• Be ready for anything. I had to alter the list of outdoor shots I wanted to take because it was getting hot. We decided to take the family photos indoors which slowed down the set up for the reception. The wedding planner was great and it all worked out in the end.
• Watch your camera settings. I had my indoor settings still set when I started the outdoor photos. I caught it early so, I was able to adjust and redo those shots.
• The list is your best friend. Know the complete flow of the service and plan your shots according to schedule. I studied this list to the point where I was able to set it down and photograph without looking at it. My wife helped keep me on track by checking off the shot as I took them and made sure I was where I needed to be when the time came.
• Focus, focus focus. I blew some cool shots due to focusing issues. I used my Tamron 17-50mm 2.8, so it tends to be soft on focusing when indoors or low light. But I can’t blame it all on the lens. I hope to be able to one day go all manual and get away from relying on auto focus so much.
• Enjoy yourself. I was nervous up until I took my first shot. I didn’t want to mess up anything, but realized that worrying wouldn’t solve anything. I had fun and made sure I captured the event as if it were my own.

As always, I’m open to advice and would like to hear any additional tips/advice. Enjoy the photos!

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Prevent Walmart Printing of Your Facebook Photo Albums

It was the first time, I’d been able to attend a photo meetup. The class was made up of pros and enthusiasts, so it was cool to see some of the gear the pros were carrying around. After about an hour class, we started taking photos of a local area model. The weather was nice, but we had a slight overcast, so I really didn’t get to practice taking outdoor portraits in direct sunlight. It was good that we were able to practice right after the class, because the information was still fresh in our heads.

I used my Nikkor 50mm 1.8 and the Nikkor 55-200mm for the photos below. I shot in RAW which came in handy because the original version second photo was extremely overblown. I tried a couple of things to save it and came out with the high contrast black and white.

Overall, I have to say I’m pleased with the results. It gives me a little confidence to go out and find more people (other than my kids) to photograph. As time permits, I’ll definitely be going to other meetups and will post the photos here.