Archive for the ‘Photography Tips’ Category

Using Canon 600EX-RT Speedlights with a 7D

May 20th, 2013

This is probably going to be a very boring post for my clients, but I wanted to share it since learning to use these flashes was an “A-ha!” moment for me! I recently purchased 2 Canon 600EX-RT flashes and was poring (I just accidentally wrote that as boring, and IT IS) through the manual to [...]


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This is probably going to be a very boring post for my clients, but I wanted to share it since learning to use these flashes was an “A-ha!” moment for me!

I recently purchased 2 Canon 600EX-RT flashes and was poring (I just accidentally wrote that as boring, and IT IS) through the manual to try to figure it out. I went to my best friend Google to try to interpret and I read several articles that stated you can only use the flashes in ETTL mode on cameras made before 2012. Which would definitely mean my current main camera body, the Canon 7D.

I was CRUSHED. Buying any piece of camera equipment is a huge deal to me. The way I typically use my flashes is my on-camera flash is ETTL, and my off-camera flash is in manual mode. I set up the off-camera flash at the reception, somewhere at the edge of the dance floor, and I put it in manual because I use it to backlight people dancing. That extra pop of light makes my images look two-dimensional instead of flat. Unfortunately when using ETTL, the off-camera flash would be blasting at full power, which is too strong to accomplish the backlit effect.

Fortunately, one of my photographer friends kept me from breathing in a bag and let me know you CAN control the second flash – you just have to do it through your camera menu.

First, you need to link your flashes. Turn both of them on, and make sure one is mounted on your camera.

  • Press the zig-zig button on the left side until Master displays on the flash you want as master flash. Make sure it says AUTO above C.Fn on the screen. This screen will be green.
  • Press the zig-zag button on the unit you want as the Slave unit until the Slave screen appears.  Again, make sure AUTO appears above C.Fn on the screen. This screen will be orange.
  • Press the 4th button at the top (below MENU 1) until the MENU 3 screen appears. Press ID and make up whatever 4 number combination you want, then hit the back button. Do the same on your slave unit.
  • Once you complete these steps, your flashes should be linked. You will know because the LINK light above the screen on both flashes will be green.

On Flash Set-up

Now, here is how you change the flash output on the slave unit:

  • Push the Menu button on your camera. Under the first camera settings screen, scroll down to Flash control, and select.
  • Scroll down to External flash func. setting, and select. (Note you can only do this if your master flash is on your camera, and both flashes are turned on. Otherwise you’ll get an error message.)
  • Select Flash mode and change to Manual flash. Under Flash output, select your desired output.
  • Note that if you look at your slave unit after making this change, you won’t see any change. Once you take a picture, the screen will reflect your settings.

Camera Settings

Another quick tip is sometimes I only want my off-camera flash firing, possibly for formals or for a different lighting effect on the dance floor. Obviously you need to keep your master flash on to send the message to the slave unit to fire. To turn off the master flash, while still keeping the unit on, make sure you are on the master flash screen (you can hit the zig-zag button to get there – note if you do this, the flashes will become unlinked until the proper screen comes up, and then they will light green again). Push the button under MENU 1 until MENU 2 displays. On the far left side, you will see mini flash images, one with lines coming out as though the flash is firing, and one without. Hit the button once – you will see the lines on the master flash display will disappear, which means it won’t fire until you change the setting.

Flash off

That’s it! Hopefully I’ve saved someone from a panic attack. Happy flashing! Er…you know what I mean.

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Getting Bokeh in Your Photos

December 11th, 2011

We put up our Christmas tree today, which prompted me to think about all those photos you see this time of year with the lights blurred in the background. It’s a pretty cool effect, but how do you do it? It’s fairly simple, but you need two things: a “fast” lens and distance. I shot [...]

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We put up our Christmas tree today, which prompted me to think about all those photos you see this time of year with the lights blurred in the background. It’s a pretty cool effect, but how do you do it? It’s fairly simple, but you need two things: a “fast” lens and distance. I shot the photos below with my 50mm 1.4; you could certainly shoot the photos with a lower aperture but the effect won’t be as extreme. In these photos, I used one of my favorite ornaments from my childhood and handheld it as I stepped a distance away from the tree (about 3 feet).

This photo was shot at f/1.8. Nice background blur effect.

I stepped even further back and opened up my aperture to f/1.4. You can see how the lights get even more blurred and how the circles are almost completely round.

I then stepped down to f//2.0. As you can see, the shapes start to get a little more square.

I put the photo right next to the tree in this last one – as you can see, even though I’m still shooting at a low aperture, the lights don’t blur. Distance is key!

Happy shooting!

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Bounce Flash

November 18th, 2011

There are many photographers that think flash is the devil. I would agree with that to an extent – I do not think direct flash is the most flattering for any subject, and prefer to bounce my flash, via the “black foamie thing,” which can be seen here. I thought I’d post a very quick [...]

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There are many photographers that think flash is the devil. I would agree with that to an extent – I do not think direct flash is the most flattering for any subject, and prefer to bounce my flash, via the “black foamie thing,” which can be seen here. I thought I’d post a very quick example of how flash can look so much better by bouncing it!

As a carboholic, I just love pierogies. Here is an example of how they look with direct flash. All photos were shot at f/8, 1/250 shutter speed, ISO 500. The exposure has not been adjusted in any of the files.

Not a bad picture. Nice sharpness. The subject is bright. But I find the shiny parts on the plate distracting. I was standing directly above the food and I bounced this flash into the ceiling, which means it came back directly at the subject. In some cases, this looks great, but in this case, I’m too close to the food for it to look subtle.

In the next picture, I turned my flash head to the right and bounced it off our white shutters. The color is important – if you are bouncing off, say, a red surface, your photos will have a red cast.

I think this picture is far more pleasing. The reason for that is the photo has dimension. There is an apparent contrast between light and shadows, which makes the food look more realistic. This mimics the look of soft, natural light, which is a photographer’s favorite light!

I then turned the flash head to the left wall that was about 10 feet away from me. Here’s the result:

Not so good, huh? The wall is too far away at my aperture, which means the flash can’t output enough light to properly expose the subject at this distance. You’ll also notice the image starts to look grainy. I shoot with a 7D, and it’s pretty darn good at handling grain, so long as my exposure is correct. If I were to increase the exposure of this picture in Photoshop, the grain would be really bad.

Now, I could have opened up my aperture to properly light this. I might have started at f/5.6 and work my way from there to find the proper exposure. But it turns out the closer wall worked a lot better for me, so I’ll stick with that photo :)

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Photo Mojo: Posing

June 24th, 2011

Posing is HARD. Heck, photography is hard. Sure, today’s DSLR’s take better photos in auto mode than the average point-and-shoot, but as a professional photographer, it’s so much more that pushing the shutter button. Looking for (and creating) beautiful or dramatic light is one topic; and posing is another. As a lifestyle photographer, my clients [...]
 

Posing is HARD. Heck, photography is hard. Sure, today’s DSLR’s take better photos in auto mode than the average point-and-shoot, but as a professional photographer, it’s so much more that pushing the shutter button. Looking for (and creating) beautiful or dramatic light is one topic; and posing is another. As a lifestyle photographer, my clients are NOT models, and having a camera suddenly put in front of you and your fiance is intimidating! It’s my job to look for the best light and backgrounds, as well as guide my clients into poses without them looking too stiff.

This freaked me out a little earlier in my career, but the longer you work with clients, the easier it comes to you, I promise! I am also always finding new inspiration by following other wedding photographer blogs. I have Design Aglow’s Inspire Me cards, which are very handy to look through prior to a session.

Another great source is magazine ads! Some of them are too high-fashion for me, but I’ll rip out ads and keep them in a binder. Here a couple examples:

This ad is a pretty good example. I like the closeness of the couple, and I like the woman’s hand placement. The only thing I don’t like is her downcast stare. I’m actually a fan of having one person look at the camera while the other looks away, down, or closes her eyes, but she doesn’t look happy! I try to go for the happy vibe if at all possible :)

This ad is gorgeous! I love the woman’s serene expression. The light is what really makes the photo, though. You can see the light is coming in from the right side, and the left side of her face is cast in shadow, although it’s a soft shadow. You can also tell the light source was large because the highlights in her eyes are large. Large light source = soft light.

I’m not a fan of this posing. Granted, this was a two-page ad and the pose DOES fit in with the ad campaign. But, this is not a pose I would use for an engagement session. Well, I would with modification. The fact that they’re looking in different directions makes for a huge disconnect. So I might have the man look at the woman, the woman look at me, and she could ditch her gargantuan purse and place her hand on his forearm.

This an exercise I do quite frequently, actually. I’ll take a look at a pose and make a lot of adjustments in my mind and see how many different poses I can come up with. Livin’ la vida loco, I know!

LOVE this ad! I love how they are tangled together, her hand on his chest, their relaxed expressions into the camera. Of course the fact that they are each roughly the same height as a giraffe doesn’t hurt, either.

Now pick up that Vogue and get your own inspiration! :)

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Photo Mojo: Good Reads

June 20th, 2011

As a “duh” statement of the year, photography is visual. The best learning takes place by doing, and I often turn to video education to further my knowledge base. However, I’m a bookworm, so naturally I’ve taken to a number of photography books. Here are a few of my recent favorites: Available Light by Don [...]

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As a “duh” statement of the year, photography is visual. The best learning takes place by doing, and I often turn to video education to further my knowledge base. However, I’m a bookworm, so naturally I’ve taken to a number of photography books. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

Available Light by Don Marr

One of the phrases I hate the MOST in photography is, “Find the pretty light!” Most often, this phrase isn’t followed by any detailed instructions. Just “look” for it. Um, okay. This book has really helped me to identify the best light to flatter my subjects. In short, it’s the best book I’ve read on finding good light in a myriad of settings, both outdoors and indoors.

Captured by the Light by David Ziser

This is my (dog-eared) wedding photography Bible! David Ziser is a brilliant technician, especially when it comes to using light skillfully in a variety of situations. I’ve had this book since it was first released and I turn to it time and time again. Stylistically, I think I have a very different photography style from David, but his photography skills are top-notch. If you’re just starting your wedding career, this is MUST buy. Even if you’ve been at it for awhile, this is still a valued book chock-full of great tips and advice!

Happy Monday!

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The Kelly Moore bag

June 17th, 2011

As soon as I heard about the Kelly Moore photography bag, I put it on order. I had looked at the Shootsac, but I really wanted a bag that could carry a LOT of gear. And I wanted something sturdy, that could stand up on its own when I set it down. I love this [...]
 

As soon as I heard about the Kelly Moore photography bag, I put it on order. I had looked at the Shootsac, but I really wanted a bag that could carry a LOT of gear. And I wanted something sturdy, that could stand up on its own when I set it down.

I love this bag! It’s very well-made. There are 3 dividers, so there are 4 sections to place your gear. However, with my camera in there, one of these sections is pretty small. Still, I usually get my flash and 2 lenses in there, as well my backup batteries, cards, and other small items. There are two pockets in the front, as well as pockets on the side, and another pocket in the back. This thing is lousy with pockets!

I can carry my stuff all day without problems. Of course, with all that gear, the bag is rather bulky and you have to be careful when moving around, especially covering events like the reception.

I have only one criticism of the bag. It only has snaps at the top to close the bag. This means your gear, most likely, is always exposed. This has been a problem for me at beach shoots, for instance. In one particular shoot it was drizzling outside, I set my bag down, and when I flipped it back up, sand got everywhere in my bag, and I almost freaked out when I saw sand all over the lens element of my (new) 24mm 1.4L. Another problem is I crouch down a lot, and if my bag is tilted, all my gear could spill out. I’m surprised a zipper top, at least, was not designed in the bag.

Overall, though, I don’t think this is a deal-killer. I just need to be aware of the bag, which in general you should be if toting around that much gear! Here are a few images:

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Photo Mojo: On-Camera Flash

June 13th, 2011

Flash used to intimidate me.  In some ways, it still does. I’m certainly not an expert when it comes to off-camera flash, for example, but you definitely learn how to use on-camera flash pretty quickly when you have to work at receptions! First of all, I use an external flash. The little pop-up flash that [...]
 

Flash used to intimidate me.  In some ways, it still does. I’m certainly not an expert when it comes to off-camera flash, for example, but you definitely learn how to use on-camera flash pretty quickly when you have to work at receptions!

First of all, I use an external flash. The little pop-up flash that comes with my 7D is good for a quick family photo, but I loathe using it in general. It’s very “flashy” looking, and quite powerful. I use a Canon 580EX II with PowerGenix rechargeable batteries. I always carry at least 3 sets of batteries with me to a wedding because you just never know how much you’ll be using your flash.

I have two flash modifiers of choice: the black foamie thing and the Gary Fong Lightsphere. Below is the Lightsphere:

The Lightsphere is my “easy” flash solution. I point my flash straight up, and attach the Lightsphere. It comes with a detachable dome, which I usually leave on if the ceilings are high. The point of a modifier like this is to diffuse the flash and make it appear softer. It does a pretty good job. The fact is, soft light is better, and the larger the light source, the softer the light. Your photos will still look “flashy” with a Lightsphere. But they’ll look better.

My favorite modifier is the “black foamie thing,” something I picked up from Neil van Niekerk. This is something you might spend $3 on total – you need some black foam from the craft store, and a hair tie.

This modifier is all about bouncing the flash. The black foam acts to “flag” the flash, so no direct light falls on the subject. Indirect light is best for making a subject appear to be lit naturally. The downside is this can be hard to use consistently if you’re moving around a lot. For instance, recently I was shooting a reception and going around various tables to get shots of guests. I was shooting in a tent. The center of the tent was high, and the sides were low. So depending on where I was, and how far away the walls were, my images ended up being rather inconsistent. Additionally, the further away the wall is from your flash, the more power you’re dumping for each image. The color of the walls also have to be considered. White is ideal. If you’re trying to bounce flash off a red wall, your images will be warm.

As for settings, I end up switching between manual and ETTL depending on the situation. If I’m moving a lot, ETTL is the way to go. If I can stay in one spot for awhile, manual is better. In either case, because the flash is illuminating the subject, my settings are usually around f/3.5, 1/60 shutter speed, and 800 ISO. The higher the ISO, the less power your flash is putting out (good for your batteries), and a lower shutter speed means you’re capturing more ambient light in the background.

Hope this helps!

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Photo Mojo: Flash

February 2nd, 2011

I don’t know what it is about flash, but it scares the crap out of most photographers. Just when you figure out how to manually meter to get great exposures, then you have to add flash and it’s like something short-circuits in your brain. Or maybe it’s just me. It has certainly taken ME awhile [...]
 

I don’t know what it is about flash, but it scares the crap out of most photographers. Just when you figure out how to manually meter to get great exposures, then you have to add flash and it’s like something short-circuits in your brain. Or maybe it’s just me. It has certainly taken ME awhile to grasp flash!

First things first: direct flash is evil. It rarely looks good. It hits subjects in a flat, cold sort of way that isn’t that flattering. Great for candids with the family – bad for professional photographers.

Well, that isn’t completely accurate. There are many flash modifiers you can use, such as softboxes and grids and Fong Dongs, oh my! But that’s an entirely separate subject.

So, the first bit of advice is to get an external flash. I’ve never used the pop-up flash on my 7D. I’m not even completely sure how to “activate” it, other than to put my camera in auto mode.

I use a Canon 580 EX II on my camera, Canon’s current top-of-the-line flash. I love everything about it, from the rotating head to the fast recycle time. I use PowerGenix high-voltage rechargeable batteries which I also highly recommend.

Okay, so if you have an external flash, how the heck do you learn how to use it? First, a few good free sources:

1. Melissa Jill’s blog – for a wedding photographer, these posts really opened up my eyes. I was still learning the basics and her posts (and her FAQ’s in general) have helped me tremendously.

2. Strobist – one of the best sources for learning flash. If you’re brand-new to flash, start with Lighting 101.

3. Neil van Niekerk’s blog – this is my favorite online guide for flash photography. This is where I first learned about bouncing flash and exposure compensation. He also has a book, which I have, although most of the information is online. I learn better by reading, but check out his website!

Now…I’m probably going to go off on a little tangent here that won’t make a lot of sense at first, so bear with me. There’s this concept of “rockstar photographers” currently; essentially wedding photography or photography gurus that have lots of workshops, command quite a bit for their services, and are very popular. It’s not something that I subscribe to, but if I were to consider one photographer a rockstar, it would be Zack Arias. He has a consistently fresh perspective not only with his work, but the industry in general. He’s also funny. This is one of my favorite videos (probably not funny if you’re not a photographer):

Zack Arias:  Sucksessful Commercial Photographer

Anyway, Zack is somewhat of a lighting god and I have always wanted to take his course. For lack of him coming by locally with a workshop, I picked up his OneLight DVD. This is SUCH a great DVD! I cannot more highly recommend it.

Oh! And it shipped with this!

YES, I actually kept the packaging! I thought it was really cool. Am I fangirl-y for doing that?

Anyway…happy flashing! In the photography sense, of course.

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