Long time no post...sorry. I have let this blog slip away. Hopefully this can be the start of more regular postings.
I want to talk about senior photos, rant a bit, give some tips for photographers, and tips for those seeking senior photos:
Rant:
I just shot a senior session at a local garden. I arrived at 2:30 for a 3:00 session so that I could scout a bit. I had been there before but wanted to check the light and make sure that nothing had changed drastically from the last visit.
From 2:30 until I finished my session at 5pm, six other "photographers" had come through with clients. I couldn't believe some of the stuff that they were doing. It was obvious that they had zero control over their camera. Two of them I got close enough to them so that I could see that they were shooting on auto mode (you know, that wonderful green button on the dial [please don't miss my sarcasm there] that does everything for you). I didn't need to see the results to know that the photos were going to be snapshots. I define a snapshot as what anyone could do with a camera set to the auto mode. That is fine for anyone...except for someone taking money from a person and representing themself as a photographer. It drives me nuts. If I put a hose in my hand, am I magically a firefighter? If I get a hammer, am I a carpenter? Why is it that our society accepts this as a standard for photographers?
Rant done. Now some advice for those seeking photographers. Ask them a couple of pointed questions.
1. Do you shoot RAW or JPEG? Ask them why. The answer doesn't matter as much as that they know what you are asking and have a justification for their choice. Personally if they don't shoot RAW...I would move on but that is another story.
2. Do you shoot Aperture priority, Shutter priority, or Manual mode? Just check to see if they know those terms and are comfortable answering them. Again, the answer is less important than their ability to give a thoughtful answer.
3. What software do you use for post processing? If they don't use any, walk away. Dont fall for the "you don't need it if you shoot it right in camera" line. Ask any professional photographer (I mean a real professional photographer) and they all use software.
Just three questions will give you a good feel of how much the potential photographer truly knows about his tool.
Now onto my shoot that I did yesterday. It went from 3-5pm and she had two outfits. Her mother came along to be my assistant which was a huge help and I love it when someone is willing to be there to help. So in two hours, we had two outfits and as you will see we got several very different looks out of the same location by simply understanding how to use the camera to control the light. In fact, all but one of these images was purely natural light (and a cheap $20 reflector...this isn't about money). I did use a softbox for one shot.
Images: This was 100% natural light. The model is heavily backlit by the setting sun as you can see by the rimlight around her hair and her left arm. The color is coming from a bush that is filtering the sun. I basically had her crawl under the bush. I said "I know that this is going to sound odd but just trust me on this one". The light on her face is from her mother holding a reflector to bounce the sun back at her. I had her use the gold side of it to try to match the warm setting sun. Shot in Av priority
Next one:
Again totally natural light. Mom was aiming a bit of light back at her face with a reflector. The backlit sun highlights the right side of her body beautifully. This was a playful moment that came about as we were moving locations and she started dancing with the scarf. Having a client be comfortable is crucial. This model was amazing. On a side note: try taking this shot with a camera on the green auto mode and you would have a client basically in total shadow. I shot this in Av priority with a plus 1-2 stop and also in Manual mode.
Next:
Natural light from two sources. 1. the setting sun directly on her. The sun was low enough that it was a warm light and not harsh mid day sun. 2. the sun is reflecting off of the water in front of her and filling in the shadows beautifully. This was shot either Av or M mode
Next: This was a different look for sure but I liked it, showed it to Mom and the model and they did too so we went with it. This is sunlight directly from behind to outline her and a gold reflector feathered just to her face to create a real moody look. Once again, all natural light. Av or M mode
next:
This is shot in a very shady spot and I couldn't get the reflector into position to fill so I used a sofbox for this shot. It is a medium softbox from Paul Buff, a vagabond portable battery from Buff, and a syc cord to trigger it. Nothing fancy but another look for the session. Shot in M mode
Next:
Position was crucial for this one. This was the first shot we did. Full body, playful, and a great way to loosen up for the rest. The light was still pretty harsh at 3pm so I placed her in the shadow of the tree. We used the reflector to get some light back on her and I also had to push this a bit in post to bring the exposure up on the model. This, as all of my work, was shot in RAW which allows me that freedom to make changes like that. JPEG is much less forgiving.
So there were more images and looks but this should give you a good idea of what you should expect a relatively competent photographer to accomplish at a photo session. I am just moving into senior work so I am filling out my portfolio now. This type of shoot would start in the $250 range and up. You should expect to pay for good photos. If someone is doing them for free or $50 or some other ridiculous fee, expect to get that type of a result. Best of luck! Send any questions you may have and also visit my website at My photo website or check out my mostly sports images at My Flickr site
