Quick Tip: People Deserve Tripods!
If you’re a ‘people’ photographer, your clients deserve tripods!
I used to shoot with a combination of digital and film (although it’s mostly just digital these days). I would typically mount the large, heavy medium-format camera on a tripod, and hold the digital SLR in my hands. But I began to notice that my film shots, which were usually a small percentage of the total shots taken, seemed to have a much higher ‘hit ratio’ in terms of the subjects’ expressions and emotions. More real smiles, etc. I’m pretty sure this was because the film camera was mounted on a tripod!
The reason is not because the tripod steadies the camera, which of course is its primary purpose. It’s because if the camera is on a tripod, it’s not in front of my face. If clients can see my face, they can interact with me better, I can make jokes and they take cues from my smiles, and the result is a better image. Even when I shoot hand-held, I tend to focus and compose, and then move my face around the side of my camera slightly so people can see me. But with a tripod, it’s even better! I’m not some scary camera-robot with a human torso and legs, which might put some people off.
As an added side benefit, I’m not always worrying about low shutter speeds as the sun sets. The tripod allows me to shoot much longer before having to bump up the ISO (which results in having to change the settings on the lights, etc).
Using a tripod is most beneficial when your subjects are stationary, and you are shooting a more formal, composed image. Tripods are not much use when you’re trying to shoot small children running around on the beach for example, or when models are doing model stuff.
So lately I’ve been making an effort to use the tripod for many group shots. I was missing out on an aspect of tripod usage that wasn’t so obvious: that it’s a great client relationship tool.
So even if you’ve got the latest anti-vibration camera and a lens that opens up to f/1.4, I still say give it a try. Your clients deserve tripods!
Christmas Tree Trimming (with Off-Camera Lighting)
Just a little family-fun posting here, along with some nerdy technical lighting. Yes, that’s right, I bring joy to Christmas by hiding small flash units around the living room. My wife barely gave me a look this time…she’s used to this sort of thing by now. But hey, a little lighting takes even snapshots to a new level. For this impromptu group shot above, I even got the dog to look at the camera. A first!
A high-tech lighting diagram, and more family fun follows. And by the way, this is all out of the strobist handbook. I didn’t invent this. I just have a cuter family.
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Doppelganger
Last week I did a portfolio shoot with a model named Kerry. We shot at Gardens of the World, a place I had shot before for the first time a couple of weeks prior to this. Kerry is also an actress, and loved the idea of constructing a ’story’ for the shoot. It helped that she had an interesting wardrobe too…not one, but three Elizabethan dresses. And her own portable witch’s cauldron. Must be the years of theater…. One of the ideas we had was for a ‘doppelganger‘ shot. Good Sister/Bad Sister. The result is the lead shot above, with two versions of her combined to tell a little story.
Lighting for the above consisted of my Norman 200B in a 45″ shoot through umbrella, camera left. And a Sunpak 333 in a snoot as a hair light, hidden just behind the pillar at extreme camera right. The ‘evil’ version of Kerry was lit only by sunlight.
And then we took some more normal modern-day shots…
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Michael Ripoll (Studio Guitarist)
A few weeks ago I was asked by the music-media company Big Fish Audio to do a photo shoot for one of their upcoming releases. The company makes audio loops and samples that musicians can use in their own productions. Each product is a bit like a record company album release, although the content is more a tool for musicians…not something you’d put on your ipod. I did a shoot for them a few months back, featuring Hip Hop Producer Keith ‘Clizark’ Clark (blog link here).
This time around, the shoot was for an amazing studio guitarist named Michael Ripoll. He had just gotten back from touring in Japan with R&B artist/producer Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds when we did the shoot. He’s also played or recorded on projects with Carrie Underwood, Patti LaBelle, Stevie Wonder, India Arie, Vanessa Williams, Natalie Cole and The Pussycat Dolls, to name a few.
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Conejo Creek Park
This past weekend I had the pleasure of photographing a family of six in Thousand Oaks, CA. The location was Conejo Creek Park. It’s an interesting park…not huge, but it has some great trees, a big duck pond with a fountain, and an artificial stream with rocks and bridges. The actual Conejo Creek is almost an afterthought, hidden in the woods next to the park. I had scouted the location beforehand, as I hadn’t used it before. I’m pleased with the choice the client and I made, and I’d use it again!
The client had advised me that her four kids (including twins, age 2) were “active” and were going to be a challenge. So how’d it turn out?
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New Family
Last weekend I had a great portrait session with a young family. They have a six month old son, who as you can see is just about as cute as babies get. A real trooper too, because it got a little chilly. He kept smiling until the sun went down, and only started crying when we were done.
I’ll let the images do the talking…
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Gardens of the World
Last week I took the portraits for a family at Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, CA. This was the first time I shot at this small formal garden, which is owned privately but open to the public. They allow portrait photography there with a reservation, and apparently it’s pretty popular. And what a wonderful family to work with! Everyone was so sweet…one of the girls said to me “when we’re done I’m going to give you a hug.” And the little boy insisted on holding my hand back to the parking lot when we were done. It’s those little things that stick in my mind for a long time.
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Kristin at Port Hueneme (Model Portfolio)
I did a model portfolio shoot for Kristin last week at Port Hueneme Beach here in California. I must admit, the idea of a beach shoot was not my idea of a great location! Man was I wrong…
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Playground
I was hired by a company called RecWest to shoot some images of a playground they had just installed, at Oxnard Beach Park in the city of Oxnard. Originally they had envisioned hiring a lift truck to get me up high, so I could shoot the entire playground from above. However as we planned for the shoot, it became apparent that the city was going to ask too much in terms of permits and insurance. It quickly became impractical to use heavy machinery. The company was about to give up and cancel the shoot, when I hit upon an idea. Ever the DIY guy, I remembered reading about “pole-cams”…stick your camera on a pole and shoot from on high. Sure you can buy or rent super fancy versions of these, but that would have been as bad as the lift truck. So instead I set about making my own pole-cam based on this DIY version (link).
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Sunset, California Style
For awhile now I’ve known that sunset photographs are a dime a dozen. Heck, the sun sets just about every day around these parts. Sunsets are wonderful to experience in person. But to make a really good photograph, you need to put people in front of them.
Last weekend was a great opportunity for just that! I had taken this family’s Christmas portraits last year around this time, and we had a similar experience. Perhaps they’re lucky? This family didn’t bring their two australian shepherds this time, but that’s ok. Nice dogs…convinced me to get one of my own in fact! It’s great when wonderful people, nice light, and the right timing come together. And that’s what we had!
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