Cell Phone Photographers

I never really minded the camera phone until the other night.

I recently was hired to shoot some photographs for an art performance in Forest Park, The Springfield Spectacle performed by the Double Edge Theatre. It was an amazing performance, the crowd, not so much.

I was asked to not use a flash as it would distract the performers, understandably so. I did not use a flash, it was at night, after the sun went down, very dimly lit with action, not the easiest thing to shoot by far but I made it work.

The crowd was asked not to use a flash as it distracts the performers. I don't think one person heard that announcement.

Many people in the crowd were snapping away with the flash blinding everyone around them. Seeing it was so dark, one could not really see the actors on their cell phone so why not move to within a foot of the actor, that's not distracting, right?

Now I am generally courteous of people taking photos with their cell phones but this got ridiculous. I could not walk 2 feet without stepping in front of a cell phone photographer. So I finally lost my courteous demeanor and stepped where ever I needed to be.

In reality, what is that person going to do with that photo? (it's probably really bad anyway with the extreme low light) They will post it to social media sites and in 2 months will delete it off their phone.

I am not crying or whining. I don't need a whaaaaambulance. I am here to ask you to pay attention. When you see a photographer with credentials, or 2 cameras or looks professional, he or she is there to do a job. They are either getting paid to photograph the event or were sent there by the media. Be courteous of them and listen to instructions.

I actually had a women tell me at a recent wedding "The photographers are always in the way" uhhhh what? We are getting paid to capture that day. You bet I am going to get in your way if it means losing "the shot"!

So please, pay attention and be courteous to us photographers...I will.

Thanks for reading,

E

Kappy's Keepers

Look Around

Recently, I have been wandering around Springfield taking pictures. Did you know there is a Titanic Memorial in Springfield Massachusetts? I didn't.

I started by driving around and really paying attention to what is around. There really are some absolutely beautiful areas in Springfield.

Now I am wandering the main streets and side streets and the parks of Springfield after my drive around town to investigate areas.

It is pretty amazing what you see when you look around. Whether you are in a bustling downtown setting or a suburb or out in the country, look around.

There is some amazing architecture in Springfield, some stunning homes and some gorgeous views. A lot of very nice public art, paintings, sculptures, monuments can be seen all around the City.

Don't be scared, open your eyes and really look at things.

Beauty is everywhere!

Look up, look around pay attention to what is surrounding you and you may just see something you have never noticed before right in front of you!


That's all for this week...thoughts to ponder.

Thanks,

E

Kappy's Keepers

A Day In The Life Of A Photographer

My photography day usually starts the night before the shoot. I charge all my batteries, format my memory cards, and check my equipment such as cameras, flashes, and any other gear. Make sure I have everything I need (run out to Hunt's Photography if I don't) and it is where I put it.

I try to get a good nights rest but usually don't as I am already going over the shoot in my head as I lay down.

The day of, I pack all my gear, and head off early. It helps me relax a little more when I am there way ahead of time. I can walk around a bit and find a place to unpack.

Depending on the type of shoot, I either unpack all my necessary gear or just put what I need together and strap on my camera(s). When the client(s) get there I will than get down to the task at hand of capturing whatever it is that they may want. Pose the subjects, shoot, adjust, pose, shoot, adjust...you get the point.

The time goes by really quick, quicker than I expected. (unless it is an event, than my feet know how long it has been)

Once we are done, anywhere from an hour to twelve hours, I pack up and head back home. This is where the eye blurring work starts.

Depending on when I get home, I usually (almost always, as I am excited to see how the images came out) upload the images to an external hard drive.

I will then start the process of editing the images, anywhere from 100 to 1000 images depending on the length of the shoot. I have shot as many as 2000 photos in one day of shooting. That's not to say I used all 2000 images but that's a lot of images to go through. I will import all the images into the Lightroom photo editing software and take a look at all the images. I flag the images I want to edit and go to work. This is a long process. Again, I have spent as much as 8 hours sitting in front of my computer editing images from one shoot. I will say, that was the 2000 image shoot, the International Festival in West Springfield Massachusetts, which by the way will be back for Memorial Day weekend in 2017 and I will be back there again capturing the fun.

I really enjoy the whole process. I like to capture the beautiful images of any occasion and I do also enjoy the editing process. The little tweaks to make the image shine are something I look forward to.

There was one day I had when I was shooting a wedding as a second shooter in Agawam Massachuetts and a lightning storm kicked up after dark. Of course I wanted to grab some shots of the lightning but my job was to photograph the wedding. Once the wedding ended, around 11:00PM,(I started at the brides house at 2:00PM) I packed up and went out to my truck to find the lightning was still going on. I then changed, set up my tripod and stood at the country club taking photos of the lightning. I finally got home around 2:30AM. Needless to say I did not do any computer work that morning.

The days can be long but they are fun and fulfilling.

Thanks for reading,

E

Kappy's Keepers

Crop

Cropping...there are a few different thoughts on cropping a photo. "Don't do it", "Sure, crop away", "Meh"

I always try to get the shot right in the camera and not crop a photo in post production but sometimes you have to. When I do crop in post it is usually minimal. Also, when you crop an image you loose those pixels you cropped out therefore loosing detail. Today, with the sensors in most new DSLRs the loss is minimal but if you crop heavily and than print a large photo you might see the loss.

You must remember that most DSLR cameras capture the image in a 2:3 ratio where as an 8 x 10 photo is a 4:5 ratio. That doesn't work. When you print a picture from your camera, most likely it doesn't look exactly like what you see on either your camera screen or computer screen, some of the image gets cropped off. 

One way to fight the crop is to shoot "loose". Don't fill the entire frame with your subject. Leave some room around your subject to anticipate the crop. Another way to fight the crop is to simply print the photo in a different size. (4×6″, 6×9″, 8×12″, 12×18″) 

Now there are times when you have a project that you have to shoot for the crop. For example; I have a potential project where I need square image blocks for the photos. When I shoot the images I have to remember that the image will be cropped to a square and I have to compose the photo properly. So in this particular instance I will shoot "loose".

This here is how I want the shot to be printed;

This is how I took the shot

I composed the shot in a way to get exactly what I wanted when the image was cropped. This is a way to "cheat" the size constraints of the print.

As I said, I always try to get it right i the camera but there are always exceptions.

Thanks again for your support,

E

Kappy's Keepers

Adapting

Adapting.

In photography you are forever adapting to many, many things and if you can't, well you need to learn.

Lighting is the biggest thing you need to be able to adapt to. Bright light, low light, no light, sunny skies, cloudy skies, shadows, reflections, surrounding colors and I could go on and on with light. You need to be able to figure out what to do in any given lighting situation to get the proper exposure. Do I need to limit the light? Do I need to manipulate the light? Do I need to create light? Do I need to add light? Again, adapting correctly to the lighting will get you the right exposure. There are many different ways to deal with light. Shutter speed, aperture, ISO settings, f stop, light modifiers, reflectors etc. Adapting the right technique for the right situation will result in a quality product.

Every photographer has a "style". When you look at some of my images you might say, "That's a Kappy's Keepers shot". Yes, I do have a certain style to my photography but one must learn how to adapt to the client's style.

Perfect example, I recently started shooting an extremely talented magician, Nick Blais. (who absolutely blows me away I might add) He has a certain "style" to his magic and his look. The key is to adapt to his style and not intrude with my own. Nick has a darker, down and dirty, up close style of magic and I wanted to bring that through with my photos. Here are a few examples from Nick's rehearsals;

For the shots of Nick, I chose to shoot from the side as it creates shadows on him and adapts to Nick.s style.

Adapting to your surroundings is another one. Are you in an area or situation that does not allow flash photography? Are you in a tight location that does not allow you to move much? Is the ceiling so high you cannot properly bounce your flash? Again, I could go on an on. 

Basically, photography is all about adapting. I feel I am fortunate enough to be able to adapt and work through any situations I come across. In order for you to get a good shot you need to get the shot. If you don't shoot A LOT, and practice A LOT, you won't know how adapt to get the shot when a different situation arises.

I found I also need to adapt in various art shows. I had some of my work in a Pop Up Shop in Springfield over the Christmas Holiday and after the fact learned that most of the items that sold were in a certain price range. Next time I am in that situation I will adapt my pieces to fit the shop.

There is just so much that one has to adapt to in photography, I can't mention it all here. If you are shooting just keep adapting to your specific situation and get the shot.

Again, thanks for reading,

E

Kappy's Keepers

Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 Review

I have been using the Sigma APO 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG OS HSM large aperature, telephoto lens for quite a while now so I felt I could give you guys an honest real world review of this awesome lens.

This lens is basically my go to lens. It is a bit of a beast at 3.15 lbs but it is well worth it's weight.

I will start with some tech stuff. It has an Optical Stabilization (OS) system built in which helps with lens shake and also has Sigma's HSM (Hyper-Sonic Motor) auto focus. The minimum focus distance is 55.1 inches and it has a large 77mm filter size. It's about 3 1/4 inches wide and close to 8 inches long, it's big! It is designed for a full frame sensor and will work with a crop sensor but will translate to roughly 112-320mm.

This lens as I said earlier is basically always on one of my camera bodies. I have shot weddings, concerts, events, wildlife, action sports, portraits, well, just about everything with the Sigma 70-200. It has a very crisp focus in every type of lighting but really shines around f4. It does hunt for focus in very low light, but so do other lenses. The focus is fast and the motor is very quiet. This thing is a fantastic addition to my bag and I do not leave the house without it.

One of the things about using this lens is, I love to get the genuine reactions. This lens allows me to be far enough from the subject for me not to be seen and get the genuine emotion, not a posed shot.

So if you are looking for a good zoom, this is it.

I hope you found this review helpful.


As always, thanks for playing along,


E

Kappy's Keepers

Travelling

When I travel, I usually like to travel as lightly as possible. With camera gear that is not so easy.

I carry all my camera gear in a backpack, for now, with the possible exceptions being battery chargers and the GoPro mounts. I would suggest not to pack any camera bodies or lenses in stowed luggage as they might get broken or vanish. It really helps to have quality camera carrying equipment as it is specifically designed to do it's job

My gear usually consists of; Nikon D5300 body, Nikon D90 body, GoPro Hero 3+ Black, GoPro Hero 4 Silver, Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 lens, Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens, Nikon 50mm f1.8 lens and possibly a few other lenses, a QuikPod Selfie Extreme stick, 6 battery chargers, 2 Yongnuo Speedlights with diffusers, about a dozen AA batteries, 5 Nikon and 6 GoPro batteries, 6 Micro SD cards, 6 SD cards, both a Single and a double BackRapid camera sling, a Manfrotto tripod and cleaning supplies.

Believe it or not, most of this gear fits into a LowePro 400AW backpack. This pack is specifically designed to carry camera gear and has adjustable dividers to accommodate many different items..

Now for a family vacation, I will cull my gear down a bit to 2 bodies, both Sigma Lenses, both GoPros and the mounts, a single BlackRapid camera sling and the appropriate batteries. The theory behind the 2 camera bodies and 2 GoPros is if you need 1 take 2. If you have one body or 1 GoPro and it breaks down, you have none so as the Boy Scouts say "Be Prepared".

I know it sounds like a lot to tote around, but when I want/need quality images, that is what I have to do.

Well, that is all for now.

Thanks for stopping by,

E

Kappy's Keepers