Technique Tuesday: Top 10 Hits of 2011

Good Morning Everybody,

I’m a little light on my report from Imaging USA today.  I was in meetings most of the day and attended the tradeshow late in the day.  I plan to be there all day today so I hope to have more to report tomorrow.

At the beginning of a new year many sites will report top 10 lists on about everything.  Hey, DigitalProTalk is no different ;~)  This is the week for my listings of DPT’s top 10 lists.

For today’s post I spent quite a bit of time reviewing ALL the Technique Tuesday posts from last year, checking the stats, and arranging the posts in order from most viewed tutorials. 

The topics range from off-camera lighting with small speedlights, lighting in lousy locations, my favorite wedding images, Lightroom tips and tricks, and more.  All told, these videos give you about 4 hours of great information. I sure hope you enjoy revisiting each of the links listed today.

TOP 10 Technique Tuesdays For 2011

1 . Trigger Happy Budget Flashes -

2. Impossible Location - Amazing Portraits

3. Supercharge Your Portable Speedlight's

4. You Won't Believe Your Eyes

5. 5 Steps To Better Wedding Portraits

6. Oh, The Lightroom Auto Mask Feature – I Love You, I Hate You!

7.  Light Painting With Lightroom 3

8. 5 Of My Favorite All Time Wedding Images

9. I Just Feel So Vibrant Today!

10. Super Bowls & Weddings

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  The programing starts early this morning and I need to hit the road to get to the show. I still have nearly half the show to cover and hope to share with you the more interesting happenings from the show tomorrow.

How about I plan to see you same time, same place tomorrow.  Have a great one and I’ll see you then.

Keep your pixels smiling -David

"Man of the Year"

"Man of the Year"
©David A. Ziser

Is this a great example of leading lines or what!  Look at how all the structure in the ceiling lead you right to our subject.  Look too how the line of the railing brings your eye directly to the subject.

I still remember making this image years ago, back in my film days.  I was a huge fan of the 40nn Distagon lens on my Hasselblad.  It’s super wide angle field of view did wonders to the composition in many of the locations I worked in.

The main challenge was not the composition, it was the lighting.  The wide angle lens was showing too much of the “space”.  That meant having an assistant holding the light was out of the question – remember, no Photoshop back then.

I solved my problem by placing my radio controlled Metz CT-1 strobe on one of the steps of the stairway you see on the left.  My  low camera angle – I was on the lower stairway framing up the groom – was just low enough to hide the strobe firing on the left.  The wall was still illuminated but I didn’t think that detracted from the image.

And speaking of lighting, notice too the accent light on the back of the groom’s face and neck.  That's obviously is coming in from the strong window light pouring in from behind the groom.

All in all, we have a very dynamic portrait of the groom framed against the wonderful architecture of the building with all lines leading directly to him – I think a very cool image.

Camera specs: Hasselblad 500 CM fitted with 40mm Distagon lens, F 5.6 @ 1/30 second, Kodak Vericolor 800 film.  Enjoy!  -David

Quick Hit Monday: All The Latest News; Lots Of Inspiration: and Photoshop Freebies!

Good Afternoon Everybody,

I'm back home today and sticking around for about 4 days before we head off to New Orleans for the big Imaging USA Convention on Friday.  It was kind of nice to come back to all the Christmas decorations still decorating our home. Heck, I even caught a whiff of the pine scent still lingering from the main Christmas tree.  Alas, the job of taking it all down begins today. 

As usual, it's a busy week.  I'm finishing up guest blog posts for Rick Sammon, B&H, Datacolor; working on my Digital Newsletter which goes out this week, and trying to keep DigitalProTalk on schedule.  AND, on top of all that, I'm continuing to push the word about our PhotoPro Expo happening in only 3 weeks!  WHEW!  Let's get right to todays news.

The Latest News From PhotoPro Expo!

One of the main events at PhotoPro Expo this year is the juried print competition [link] where you can win part of the $5,000 in prizes and trophies being awarded. Every year photographers will submit their favorite images to be judged by our esteemed panelists.  It is truly one of the best ways to improve your photography. I can remember my first print competition many years ago  – I selected my four favorite images, printed them up to 16x20 perfection, and submitted them to the jury panel. I was pretty disappointed when my highest scoring print only scored a 79, just to point shy of a 80 score blue ribbon print.

I continued submitting prints year after year in the early days of my profession and within four years was taking the top awards at the state and regional conventions. In fact, one of my images scored a perfect 100!  That was quite a thrill. It is an excellent way to compare your work to others in the photography profession. You can get all the details of this year's PhotoPro Expo Print Competition right here. 

Why Print Competition?

Anyway this year's PhotoPro Expo Print Competition is a wonderful opportunity for photographers to see how their images stand up against their peers. We all think we are so good until we see our work compared to other really great photographers. The excitement this year begins on February 2, the first day of our PhotoPro Expo. It's exciting to watch the prints being scored and hear the judges comments. It's easy for me to sit there for hours and just hang on every word.  I did an earlier blog post discussing what the judges are looking for in print competition [link].  If you are seriously considering entering the print competition, I suggest you give it a read right here.

Bet On The Print Scores & Win CASH!

At this year's PhotoPro Expo Print Competition we have a brand-new treat for all photographers who enjoy the judging process. This year we are hosting our Clubhouse Print Lounge where you'll be able to bet with the judges.  The photographer most closely guessing the judges’ scores has a chance to take home $50-$100 in the process. We have my good friend, Ralph Romaguera, flying all the way in from New Orleans to moderate the event. It should be a great time and a lot of fun.

Win The LexJet Award & $200 Gift Card!

Also this year we are offering a brand-new print award sponsored by LexJet. Any photographer submitting their entries on LexJet media will be eligible for the LexJet award which includes, not just a beautiful trophy, but also $200 in LexJet media. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for someone to take home a great prize. Lexjet has available an outstanding blog post on just what is involved to win the Lexjet award. You can find that link right here.

To be eligible to enter PhotoPro Expo Print Competition, you need to be a member of the PhotoPro Network. The cost to join is only $49 a year and there are a ton of membership benefits just for joining including being able to enter the PhotoPro Expo Print Competition. You can get all the details about PhotoPro Network VIP membership right here.

Seriously, Wedding Photography

Hey gang, I've got three great links for you today pertaining specifically to wedding photography. I found all three excellent reads. 

Denis Reggie: The State Of Wedding Photography 2012

The first is from a post [link] from my good friend Denis Reggie who photographs the top weddings in the country. Denis, like myself has seen wedding photography change dramatically over the many years we have both been in business. I've certainly blogged about the state of affairs here DigitalProTalk many times. Here is another great article on that topic right here from one of the industry leaders – highly recommended.

BTW, Denis will be offering complimentary portfolio reviews this Sunday afternoon at PPA ImagingUSA in New Orleans at 2:00 p.m. along with Joyce Tenneson. Please come by the Canon trade show booth with a selection of your images... laptop, iPad, or an album is fine. We hope to see you in New Orleans.

History Of Engagement Rings With 40 Wedding Ring Photography Ideas

This second link discusses the history of wedding rings.  As a wedding photographer, I've always been this interested in wedding customs not only in the United States but also around the world. I encourage you to give this quite interesting article a read right here.

In addition to picking up a little bit of history on weddings, the article also includes 40 very creative wedding ring ideas that you just may want to incorporate in your next wedding shoot. Some of these images are off-the-wall, some are quite beautiful,  but they all get the creative juices flowing  when looking for new ideas on how to photograph the wedding bands.

Winter Wedding Light Painting
I found the image below and this third link really interesting. Years ago I was photographing a Fourth of July wedding and the bride and groom asked me to find a way to use sparklers in one of my wedding photographs that illustrated the Fourth of July holiday. I set the camera on a tripod and held the shutter open while they traced the heart through the air with the burning sparklers. As they touched the sparklers together at the bottom of the “heart” I fired my off-camera flash, had them kiss, and got a great image.

The photographer featured in this post, Danny Turcotte Jr., used something completely different – steel wool. Yes, that's what I said steel wool. I didn't even know that you could set fire to a piece of steel wool but apparently you can. Anyway he came up with this great wedding photograph – why not give a read right here on exactly how he did it.

So What Have You Done Lately – A Little Inspiration 

One of the highlights of my week is to peruse Zite on my iPad and find interesting sources of photographic inspiration and then share that information with you, our DigitalProTalk readers. This week I have three great links that I think you'll really, really enjoy. 

Top 20 Young Photographers 2012

The first features the top 20 young photographers of 2012.  Check out the link right here to see what some of these new top guns, like 21 year old Faye Thompson above are accomplishing photographically. As I look through the list, and yes, you will recognize a few of the names, it sure puts me in awe of the talent these young photographers exude.

As you review this list of wonderfully talented photographers, I also want to point out that PhotoPro Expo’s very own Lindsay Adler is featured in this list. Yes, Lindsay is one of the speakers presenting at our PhotoPro Expo in just three weeks. Her fashion work is truly amazing. She has an eye for color and composition that rivals the best of the best. I sure hope you can check out her program here at PhotoPro Expo in three weeks.

44 Beautiful Eyes Photography

I also enjoyed looking through the images of this link. You know, a person's eyes other Windows on the world. How we photograph a person's eyes is important in capturing the essence of our portrait subject.  Each of these images [link], captures something truly special in each one of the subjects featured in this post.

10 Beautiful Landscape Photos From Chip Phillips

And finally, some of the most inspirational links that I find feature landscape photography. There's a lot of great landscape photographers but the images featured in this post are just absolutely amazing. I always enjoy making landscape photographs myself as we tour around the country and the world. I just wish that when I press the button that occasionally what I capture is something similar to these incredibly beautiful images featured in this post today.

Photoshop Freebies

I got some great Photoshop freebies for you today. Just consider it is my New Year's gift to all of our DigitalProTalk readers.  All kidding aside, I think there's some great resources  that we can all use on or 2012 projects. Enjoy!

• 30 Free Photoshop Actions Which Never Fails To Amaze: [link]
• 25 Useful Dirt Texture Collection: [link]
• 80 All-You-Need Photoshop Brushes: [link]

Thanks to H.W Capps, one of our DPT readers, for sharing the link with me to share with you.

One For The Road; 20 Mile High Flying, and Dropping iPads

I don't know about you but I'm just not a huge fan of watching lots of YouTube videos. But, every now and then one comes along that captures my attention.

iPad Survives 100,000+ Foot Fall From Space

This YouTube video posted by Mashable [link] shows how they used a weather balloon to carry an iPad about 20 miles in the air just at the edge of space then pop the balloon and let the iPad drop 20 miles back to earth.

It's a fascinating video because they filmed both the accent and the much more rapid descent of the iPad. Their entire balloon apparatus also included  GPS devices that they could use to track where the iPad finally landed.

It was amazing to me that after rising nearly 20 miles into the air and then dropping 20 miles back to earth, that the iPad landed only about 70 feet from where they had released it.  To have such little drift over that 40 mile iPad journey the wind sure must've been nearly non-excitant.  Anyway, like I said, I don't watch many YouTube videos but the scientific aspects of this one  piqued my curiosity, hope you enjoy it too.

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Hey gang that's it for me today. I have Tom Nickell, CEO of Delux Gear, stopping by for a visit. Delux Gear is a brand-new company and is producing some very fascinating photography gear for the wedding and portrait photographer.  I can't wait to see what Tom has to show. I'll fill you in on our visit in tomorrow's post.

Have a great rest of the day and I'll see everybody tomorrow for a brand-new episode of Technique Tuesday: 5 Fabulous, Fantastic, Fun Ways To Super Cool Backgrounds.

See you then, David

"A Majestic View"

"A Majestic View"
© David A. Ziser

This image was made at the St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Covington, Kentucky. It is one of the most beautiful sanctuaries in the region.

When photographing a Catholic service, I always check beforehand with the priest asking permission to take a few shots from this location - it's never been a problem but it's a simple, courteous question to ask.

From this side aisle location, with a very wide lens on my camera, we can capture and unbelievably dramatic view of the architecture of this historic cathedral. It makes a great addition to any wedding album.

Camera specs; Canon 5D fitted with Sigma 12-24mm lens at 12mm, F4.5 @ 1/30 second, ISO 1600. Enjoy! --David

Business Day Thursday On Friday: Make BIG Money Being A Shoot and Burn Photographer!

Good Afternoon Everybody,

It has been quite a week.  Even though we’ve been in Orlando for the week, we certainly didn’t see much of the mouse. It was great to visit the gang over at Kelby Training and appear on the GRID on Wednesday.

A quick update, my latest video is in production right now and should be on line before you know it.  It’s all about composition – never pointed my camera at a bride once ;~)  I really enjoyed shooting the video and I hope you enjoy it too.  I’ll let you know the minute it goes “LIVE”.

Also Sarah Petty’s “I Do” wedding webcast featured me as one of the presenters – hope you got a chance to catch that too.  There is still one more 4-speaker session scheduled for next week, January 11, 2012 so you’ll want to get registered for that one too. Here is the link right here.

Make BIG Money Being A Shoot and Burn Photographer

OK, do I have your attention?  Even mentioning this topic raises the ire of most seasoned wedding photographers.  Add to that the fact that the “shoot and burners” hate the flack they have been taking in the wedding profession. 

The Reality

The REALITY of the matter is that the “Shoot and Burn” wedding photographer is not going away.  I want you to think iTunes Music Store here.  Steve Jobs turned the music industry on it’s collective ear with the launch of the iTunes Music Store in April 2003.

The music labels saw their sales dropping rapidly with music sharing sites like Napster and Kazaa dominating the internet. Jobs major insight was that people didn’t necessarily want to steal their music, they just wanted a convenient way to get it.

At a $1 a pop, the iTunes Music Store became an instant hit serving up it’s 16 billionth song in October of 2011. Guess what, the recording companies are happy once again. Sales may not be on CD’s but the volume of sales through the Apple Music store offsets that decline nicely.

This is the same kind of REALITY wedding photographers have got to come to grips with – the “Shoot and Burn” photographer is here to stay!

There’s No Money In Wedding Photography Anymore!

OK, I’m playing Chicken Little here claiming that the sky is falling on the wedding photographer – but it is to some extent. 

Problem #1

The real problem is this; Most photographers simply can’t make a living as a full time “Shoot and Burn” photographer.  The math just doesn’t work. 20-30 weddings a year at $1000-$1500 after expenses and taxes will net you about $25,000/year – an income level pretty darn near to the nation's poverty level for a family of four! 

No money here folks unless you hire a slew of stringers, more expense, and plan to shoot a gazillion weddings a year. The REALITY is that most “Shoot and Burners” are doing it for what I call “BEER MONEY” – extra income so they can indulge their photography addiction and maybe even have a few extra bucks left over for a vacation or to purchase their latest toy…whatever – not a bad thing either.

Problem #2

So the REALITY again is that most (all) “Shoot and Burners” are part time photographers and I have no problem with that either. But the REALITY of this situation is also that the average amount of money spent on wedding photography has dropped precipitously over the last 5 years.  And most of the “main street” studios are out of business because if this situation.

Problem #3

The problem also centers around today’s buying public.  They hire a photographer and think they are ENTITLED to the images. Why? It’s because of the evolution of how we share images these days.  Rarely does someone pull out a wallet picture to show a friend.  All the image sharing is done on-line. And, the customer WANTS those images to share with family and friends.

Any Hope In Site?

I said it a million times at DigitalProTalk.  The “Shoot and Burn” photographer talks the “home run” out of play. A “home run” is when you client reviews your images via more traditional methods, like a studio review, exactly how I have conducted my business for years, and orders about everything you show them.  A few years ago I had a client order 1,200 images to be placed in 6 leather bound albums.  Then she ordered three sets! Yes, nearly a six figure sale – now that’s a home run!

And that is NEVER going to happen for a “Shoot and Burn” wedding photographer.  The REALITY is that the “Shoot and Burn” photographer leaves too much money sitting on the table because there is NO upsell. The photographer just delivers the disk and is done with the client.  Again, this is the way to the “Poor House” photographically speaking of course.

This REALITY certainly points to the problem and also indirectly at the solution. If traditional wedding photographers want to compete with the “Shoot and Burn” photographers, they better offer a “Shoot and Burn” coverage for their clients.  Yes, I’m saying, “If you can’t beat them (and you can’t) then join them. “YIKES, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  I said join them.

“Then that means we’ll all go broke!! Ziser, you’re crazy!!!!”

Is There Solution To The No Money “Shoot and Burn” Dilemma

Folks, if you look closely the title of this section contains the solution. Don’t be a “Shoot and Burn” photographer. “OK, Ziser, now I’m really confused – you just told me to be a “Shoot and Burn” photographer.  What are you talking about?”

What I say folks, and I’m saying that the solution is same for the traditional photographers offering a “Shoot and Burn” coverage and for the died in the wool “Shoot and Burn” photographer.  You’ve got to expand the purchasing options for the wedding customer.

Years ago, back in the film days – does anyone even remember them anymore – all of us wedding photographers had big film/lab bills.  Mine hovered around $41,000/yr. for film and processing! The film and processing costs evaporated with the advent of digital cameras, hence the “tsunami” influx of new shooters, the advent of the “Shoot and Burner”, and the big drop in wedding averages. But look closely, therein lies the solution too.

It’s Time To Rethink The Options, It’s Time To Jump The Sales

The day before we left for Orlando, I got a call from one of our DigitalProTalk readers, Michael Andriacco.

Michael was home on leave from the Air Force and was in the process of setting up a part time photography business and wanted to pick up a few Zumbrellas and a few other items from our Digital Resource Center before he headed back to Guam. He was being redeployed stateside and his life in the Air force was going to settle down after his tours of duty in Afghanistan and Guam.

I asked him to stop by – we talked for a couple of hours about his photography in Afghanistan, Guam, and his new business. It was a great visit not just because he was a nice guy, but because of the insight to the “Shoot and Burn” dilemma he offered.

He confessed he was a “Shoot and Burn” photographer but he threw a different twist on his wedding offerings. It’s all in how he is packaging his “Shoot and Burn” coverages.

Here’s what Michael is doing:

1. Charge for the wedding coverage itself – say $1,500.  That coverage includes the DVD delivered to the client.

2. Charge a processing fee to cover all the post production time to really polish the images before they are delivered to the client, let’s say $1,000.  That, BTW, was about my cost for wedding proof processing back in the film days.

His analogy was simple.  Back in the film days we had processing fees from the lab to make our proofs look their best. We need to charge for the time we invest in our own post-production – genius insight!

3. Charge an Album Design fee too, say $500.  Hey, if you are spending time on the process, you need to charge for your time! Me, I would do a quick design with LumaPix just to show the client how cool an album could be for them.

4. Charge for the album too – that’s a no-brainer.  Give the client a choice of press printed albums all the way up to a beautifully bound leather albums from Zookbinders – $200 to $2,000 depending on album selection.

The Conclusion – Almost

As you can see, even being a “Shoot and Burn” photographer you can finally get the price of your coverages up to a fair price for you, your clients and still remain competitive. Charging the “processing fee” differentiates you from the “fly by night” competition who are delivering junk to there clients – and there is a lot of junk being delivered these days.

It shows that you are a true professional who is committed to his/her client and wants the best images for them. Heck, does the client want to put a crummy picture of themselves on Facebook?  Not if they hire Michael, because he is going to make them look good before he ever delivered the images to his client.  It reflects positively on both he and his client.  It’s the difference that makes the difference and the main reason to choose “Shoot and Burn” photographer, Michael Andriacco, over the competition!

I plan to continue this discussion next week on Business Day Thursday.  I sure hope you’ll chime in with your remarks on this.  It’s a HOT topic – how about being part of the conversation.

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  The weather has turned nice and after yesterday’s super long day, I promised LaDawn a little time in the sun or at least away from my computer.  Have a great weekend and I’ll see you back in good ol’ KY next week.

Have a good one everybody,  David

Business Day Thursday: Do You Really Need A Professional Wedding Photographer These Days?

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Sorry for the very late post.  I’m up to my eyeballs working on all the last minute details of our fabulous PhotoPro Expo convention coming up in only four weeks.  I’ve been working the phones since  8:30 a.m. this morning, non-stop, hence the very late post. Our Expo Trade-show is about sold out with nearly 60 vendors setting up shop in nearly 100 booths in our 19,000 sq. ft. exhibition area – yea, it’s BIG!

Soooo…. that means what I had planned to post today is going to be postponed till tomorrow.  I think you’ll like the topic: “Make BIG Money Being A Shoot and Burn Photographer”.  OK, I know the title should “stir the broth” just a bit but be sure to tune in tomorrow for the rest of the story.

The GRID: "Do You Really Need A Professional Photographer These Days?

I sure hope you get a chance to check out the re-broadcast of the GRID yesterday.  It was certainly a lively discussion.  The topic - "Do You Really Need A Professional Photographer These Days?” You won't want to miss the conversation between Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski, and myself.  Check it out right here.  It’s also a kick to be on the show – hope you enjoy it!

On that note gang, I’ve got to split.  Here we are at 5:00 p.m. in sunny (but chilly) Florida and I’m still at the computer.  LaDawn is going to “kill me” if I don’t catch some of this sun ;~)

Plan to stop back tomorrow for Business Day Thursday on Friday.

See ya’ then,  David

Just Breezin' By The Bridge

"Just Breezin' By The Bridge"
©David A. Ziser

I made this image at a seminar a few years ago.  We captured many great images during that shooting session but this one with the wide-angle lens is one of my favorites.

The setting sun and the wide angle view certainly adds to the dramatic feeling of the photograph.  But also look at my composition. Look at the bride's positioning in the frame. The fact that she was placed forward in the composition adds to the visual interest of this image. It almost seems as if the bridge is pushing her into the viewer's eyes.

Lighting was accomplished with my off-camera flash coming in from the right to give me the loop lighting pattern on the subject's face. I cheated the sync so I could manipulate the sky darker than usual to add the dramatic impact.  The puff of wind at the moment of the exposure was an added bonus.

Camera specs Canon 40D. fitted with 10–22mm, F8 @ 1/320 second, ISO 200. Enjoy! – David

"Looking to The Future"

"Looking to The Future"
©David A. Ziser

I thought I’d begin this year’s image post with an image taken last year at one of my favorite educational shooting sessions.  This image was taken during my Dave Cross Workshop class in October.  Our bride was beautiful and our locations were amazing!  This was one of the first images from that session.

OK, why do I like this image so much? For me it’s all about the lines.  Look how the lines created by the branches of the trees seem to surround the bride.  Part of that effect was created by how I positioned her within the composition too. The branches on the left all lead the viewer’s eye directly to the bride. And, the trees on the right constrain the image forcing the viewer’s eye to stay within the image. The interplay of these many lines offset by the simple S-curve line we see in the bride’s pose makes for a striking wedding image.

Lighting was simple – my strobe at 1/2 power coming in, from just out of the frame, camera left  shooting through my light softening Zumbrella . The proper balance of the ambient with the strobe illumination made the bride to “pop” out of the scene. I think this style of an image is still one any bride would love to have in their wedding collection. What do you think?

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 135mm, F5.6 @ 1/125 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy!  -David

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p.s. Here is a little compositional test for you today. As I mentioned above, I flipped the image in Lightroom.  Hit the “Read More…” link below to see the original.  Which way looks best to you?

Amazing how a simple change of perspective can effect how one feels about the image, isn't it?

-David

Technique Tuesday: PhotoPro Expo Only 4 Weeks Away! & No Flash Pizzazz

Good Morning Everybody,

Welcome to a brand new year at DigitalProTalk.  Today I’m hailing to you from sunny, yet a bit chilly, Orlando, Florida. That’s right, after the holidays LaDawn and I head south for a little recharge before we launch big time into the new year. We have a few friends in the area, including my son, Aaron, who we plan on catching up with this week.

Still Working Hard Though

Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m still working hard every day – the BIGGEST item on my plate being our PhotoPro Expo with is now only four weeks away!  We have photographers attending from 22 states around the country, including Canada, so this is going to be a truly international event.  And, one of the best learning experiences happening  in the Midwest for 2012!

I sure hope you plan to attend. Our room block is filling fast at the 4-star Marriott on the river so if you’re planning to come by, be sure to book your room right away before they sell out.  Hit the link to the right for all the info.

Over the next few weeks I’ll keep you posted about all the special activities we have planned for the convention. I think you’ll be amazed!

No Flash Pizzazz! Or How To Make Wedding?Portrait Images Exciting Without Flash!

There, I said it.  Can you believe it? Ziser talking about getting great wedding images without using a flash.  I know my mantra at DigitalProTalk is nearly always about off-camera flash, creating highlights next to shadows, going for the loop lighting pattern – you know the speech.

But, all joking (and preaching) aside, I know you can still create some terrific images with nature’s own wonderful light.  I think the secret to creating outstanding images without flash, particularly wedding and portrait images lies in the fact that you as the creator of the image have a decent sense of color, composition, timing, and lighting skills.

In today’s lesson I’ll walk you through about two dozen images discussing why I think these images stand on their own without any use of extraneous additive lighting.  In this tutorial you’ll get a peek as to how I compose my images, what I’m seeing in the camera before pressing the shutter button, and how I utilize all the elements of the scene to get exciting images without secondary light sources.

Why not hit the PLAY button and enjoy the show.

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today. I’ve got a few hours of work to complete before we head to Ormond Beach, Florida to spend the day with my son, Aaron.

Have a great rest of the day and I’ll see you tomorrow, same time, same station.

Adios, –David

"Summer Serenade”

"Summer Serenade”
©David A. Ziser

This image is from a year or two ago and has been featured a times  in my Technique Tuesdays and other lighting/composition discussions. I made it while photographing one of my favorite brides. She wanted some really nice outdoor images and the park across the street from the wedding venue filled the bill nicely.

The larger aperture isolated her nicely from the background. The lines of the canopy structure lead the viewers eyes right to her face. Lighting is from the left - Quantum T5d shooting through my Zumbrella which gives the very soft quality of lighting on the bride's face. The summer colors give a really nice feel to the image as well.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark II fitted with 70-300mm IS DO lens at 265mm, F5.6 @ 1/125 second, ISO 200. Enjoy! -David

"Vegas Girl"

"Vegas Girl"
©David A. Ziser

This image was taken in the Mandalay Bay Resort as part of a training session I was doing for Photoshop World a few years ago.  I'll tell you, put a pretty girl in a fabulous location and it's hard to go wrong.  Notice she is in the bottom left quadrant of the scene.  This positioning worked very well with the dramatic light fixtures you see in the ceiling.

I love the striking architecture of the background which I enhanced even more with a wide angle lens on my camera.  Overall, this is a straight forward shot with lighting coming in from camera right with my off-camera strobe firing through my Zumbrella. 

Slowing down the shutter to pick up the detail of the surrounds added to the warmth of the shot.

Camera specs; Canon 5D fitted with 24-105mm IS lens at 24mm, F5.0 @ 1/20 second handheld, ISO 800. Enjoy!  -David

"Baby, It's Cold Outside!"

"Baby, It's Cold Outside!"
©David A. Ziser

In keeping with the holiday spirit and our wintry weather I thought I would post one of my favorite candid wedding images of years past.  This image was made nearly 12 years ago during my digital debut of shooting my very first digital wedding with my very first digital camera.  I was a little nervous about shooting digital for the first time. You can bet that I had my medium format Hasselblad gear in the trunk of my car – just in case. The fact of the matter is that I didn't resort to film at all on that December 30, 2000 date.

I don't exactly recall in what mode I was shooting but I suspect I was in, dare shall I say it, “P” for “professional” mode ;~) I remember it being quite cold and blustery that day. I still love this image of the bridesmaids rushing up the front church steps trying to get inside where it was warm and cozy.

I love how the patches of snow throughout the scene accent the girls’ petticoats peeking out from under their dresses as they scurry up the steps. It's a fun, storytelling moment that easily represents the winter nuances of this particular wedding day.

Camera specs; Fuji S-1 Pro fitted with Nikkor 18-35mm lens at 18mm, F 4.0 @ 1/70 second, ISO 400.  Enjoy!  -David

Technique Tuesday: Print Competition; The Winners Please, Re-Broadcast, and More!

Good Morning Everybody,

I’ve got one heck of a post for you today and it’s jammed packed with some great images!.  Fasten your seat belts – HERE WE GO…

Last Thursday we conducted our first amazingly successful PhotoPro Network HOT SHOTS FALL 2011 Image Competition and review.

We had a much larger turnout than expected all at the last minute, of course. So lots of folks were able to submit images before we could close off the registration.  I think that’s a good thing though.  The viewing audience got a chance to see a much larger body of work judged and evaluated.

Print Competition The Rest Of The Story

First of all, my sincere THANKS to the more than 10 volunteers who put in collectively over 50 hours of their time to pull off the technically complex and most exciting image competition ever!

We had people monitoring the event in Florida, Kentucky, and Cabo, Mexico.  There were also a total of 10 devices - 4 computers for viewing, judging, and monitoring, 3 iPods for scoring, and  3 iPads for monitoring remotely – all were used to pull off the most technically complex print competition ever and to make it the  success it was.

We had 45 photographers enter from 22 states around the country with one entry from Canada which made our competition an international event!  Here are the top 10 images in order submitted for the event.  Enjoy!

Here are a few of the comments from our “LIVE” studio audience:

“Its was great. I started competing this year and it was so much fun…"  John V.

“I am learning SOOOO much.  Thank you!”  Cindy S.

“I enjoyed the presentations and the judges comments on the images.  Thanks for all the hard work for this wonderful learning opportunity.”  Chuck C.

“This is great!  I think I'm going to look into the master photographer classes on PPA.” Mary D.

“This is the first time I've experienced anything like this. GOOD to hear/learn what the judges look for.” John D.

“…Thank you…  Seeing the images and listening to the judges comments was invaluable and educational.” Jammie . G

“Judy and I really enjoyed the Webinar. We learned a great deal from reviewing the photos and then hearing the experts comments. We appreciated your hard work in support of photographers all over the globe.”  Judy and Chuck H.

A Test Drive For A Bigger Event

This was the “test drive” for the much larger event scheduled for next year’s PhotoPro Expo 2012 Print Competition [link] with $5,000 in prizes and awards!

We have several viewers tuned in via our live webcast watching the entire competition “LIVE” as it happened.  I was moderating the event and answering as many of the submitted questions as fast as I could.

What Makes A Great Image?

The Professional Photographers Of America have been conducting Print Competitions for many years. Judges go through rigorous training to learn how to distinguish a great image from one that is close to great.  I was a print judge for many years and it is an exciting and extremely educational experience.

The judges are looking for 12 main aspects of an image and basing their score on that criteria.  The Twelve elements listed below are in accordance to their importance:

Impact, Technical excellence, Creativity, Style, Composition, Presentation, Color Balance, Center of Interest, Lighting, Subject Matter, Technique, and Story Telling.

You can read the long version right here.  It goes into much great depth about each aspect of what the judges are looking for.

And The Winners Are…

We selected three winners from last Thursday’s competition. They are listed as follows:

Highest Collective Score for 6 Images: This award is the most difficult of all the awards a maker can receive.  It demands extremely high quality and consistency across all 6 of the makers entries. Our winner this year is Jessica Edwards with a scoring total of 483, nearly an 81 average for all 6 of her images entered! Congrats! Jessica!

Here are Jessica’s six fabulous entries:

“Lipstick And Leather” scoring 83

“Modern Day Goldie Locks” scoring 82.

“Dance Of The Black Widow” scoring 79.

“Gridiron Great” scoring 80.

“Heartbreaker” scoring 79

 

“Changes are Coming” scoring 80.

Jessica’s Prize: OnOne Software’s new Perfect Photo Suite 6.0 which has been receiving “RAVE” reviews everywhere.

Highest Overall Print Score: Electric Arch

This award is always a crowd favorite. It goes to the maker of the image with the overall highest scoring image of the competition. Our winner for this competition goes to Eric Shalita for his image “Electric Arch” which scored a phenomenal 88 from the judges.  This was also the judges favorite image too.

Eric’s Prize: NIK Software’s new and highly acclaimed Color EFEX 4.0

Best In Category:

These are the top scoring images in each of the six categories.  Each winner will receive a copy of my 2011 Success Collection.

Highest Scoring Artistic (Photoshop,etc.) Image: “Electric Arch”. Please see above.  It was also the top scoring image in the competition.

Highest Scoring Landscape Image:

”Docked” by Jill Davidson scoring 85.

Highest Scoring Portrait Image:

“Old Boys Club” by Jonathon Burton, scoring 84

Highest Scoring Wedding Image:

“Rooftop Romance” by Rosemary Cundiff-Brown scoring 83

Highest Scoring Sports Image:

“Riding The Wave” by Peter Tucker scoring 82.

Highest Scoring Wildlife Image:

“Water Drops On Wings” by Amber Pulse scoring 81.

Congratulations to all our winners.  Hope to see you at PhotoPro Expo 2012. We’re giving away $5,000 in prizes and awards next February!

Now For The Re-Broadcast Of The PhotoPro Network Image Competition and Review

Hit the PLAY button below and enjoy the images and judges comments one more time! Enjoy everybody!

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  I’ve been at the computer too long these last two days with these lengthy posts.  We’re hitting the sunshine early.  I’ll plan to see you sometime tomorrow for another great post from the sunny shores of Mexico.

See ya’ then, David

"Standing On The Corner Watching All The Boys Go By”

© David A. Ziser

Here is another image captured from that great Dave Cross Workshop I gave back in October. Our model was just beautiful and the park we worked in was to “die for” photographically speaking of course.

This image was made in the middle of the road.  Yes, we were dodging the cars, but the background from this vantage point was just amazing!  Look how the tree branches camera right lead your eye directly to the subject. That, BTW, is why I brought the light in from that direction too.

This is an easy natural pose that really flatters our bride – notice the smooth S-curve line running through her body from head to toe.

Lighting was easy – just my strobe through my Zumbrella coming in from camera right at 1/4 power.

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 120mm, F5.6 @ 1/125 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy! –David

Quick Hit Monday: Print Competitions; Wedding Photography; Photoshop Freebies & More!

Good Early Morning Everybody,

I sure hope everyone had a great weekend. LaDawn and I got a chance to hang out with many good friends we haven't seen in a long time over the weekend. It was truly a blessing to revisit and was a nice break from our, too often, chaotic rush. The break didn't last long though. We are utterly swamped these next two days trying to get the last of our projects completed before we leave for Cabo, Mexico on Wednesday morning.

Join The Fun – Print Competition Coming Your Way!

One of the big things I spent a lot of time on over the weekend was organizing our online HOT SHOTS Print Competition & Review coming up on Thursday, December 8, 2011. I sure hope you got a chance to read my complete post on it over the weekend. [link]

The print competition is being hosted by PhotoPro Network and gives all the photographers in our association a chance to submit their images to see how they might fare in our full-fledged print competition coming up in February at our PhotoPro Expo.  We've opened up the competition to all photographers around the world. You can submit up to six digital images for the very small entry fee of only $25. And, the good news is that you have a chance to win up to $1000 in prizes. Those prizes include software from NIK software, OnOne software, Graphic Authority, and many more.

We're limiting the number of total prints submitted to only 200 to be sure that we can get them all judged in our allotted two hours. You can do the math – with a limited number of entries you have a great chance to win some of our great prizes.

In addition to the print competition, we also have arranged to do a Worldwide Webcast of the competition and critique of those images. The webcast is FREE and open to everyone. Were all set with our three-judge panel of experts to judge the prints on December 8 and we already have a few entries with my quick announcement on Friday.

I'll be moderating the webcast from San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico; the three print judges and print moderator will be near Lexington Kentucky: Our tech support person is in Atlanta, GA and I'll have my staff standing by to monitor everything at my studio in the Greater Cincinnati area.

So, I hope you'll be able to join us by both entering your prints into the competition and also following along during the webcast. Oh, one more thing – even if you can't tune into the webcast, you will be instantly notified of your image scores via text and e-mail. It's all part of the new technology that we are test driving during our HOT SHOTS Print Competition & Review. It should be very informative as well as great fun. You can get all the information right here.

Update on PhotoPro Expo 2012

I am so stoked that our PhotoPro Expo 2012 Convention is coming together so well. Today I'm working with a web developer to put the finishing touches on the website and it should be live by the end of today.

Once I know everything is ready to go, I'll amend this post later today to show the new link. I sure hope you'll check it out, and I sure hope you'll consider joining us here in the greater Cincinnati area on Super Bowl weekend, that’s February 2nd through the 5th.

We are so excited to bringing to the Expo 16 world-class speakers including Scott Kelby, Jerry Ghionis, Sarah Petty, Kirk Voclain, Joel Grimes, Vincent Laforet, and nine others which should make it one of the top photographic convention destinations for next year. As I said, I’ll give you the update to the link as soon as I know everything is working smoothly. I sure hope you'll check it out and join me in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area for this outstanding opportunity to learn form the best.

Quick Hit Monday – Here We Go!

Those were two of the most important tips I wanted to get out to you today but, I think it's now time we get to our Quick Hit Monday. I've scoured the Internet looking for the most scintillating links to include in today's post. They cover wedding photography, inspirational photography,  Photoshop and Lightroom tutorials and freebies, and even a few iPad centric links for you too. Let's get right to it.

Photography At It’s Best

Anna Kuperberg’s Best Piece of Advice Ever for Wedding Photographers: [link]

Anna Kuperberg is an extremely talented wedding photographer. In this post she gives some concrete advice on how to capture great images at your next wedding. If you're a beginner ready to explore photographing weddings, you don't want to miss this post.

Extreme Architecture: [link]

Along those same lines, check out these architectural images as well. If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know that I'm a big fan of line, shape, and form when it comes to composing my images. That's one thing that really turned me on about this post – all the elements that make a great image represented in this series of images. Check it out and you'll see what I mean.

Tiny gadgets: World’s Smallest Functional Digital Camera: [link]

OK, it could be said that I am sort of a gadget freak. That's why I like this post about the world's smallest functioning digital camera. In my early days of photography, I was always interested in small cameras and owned one of those very small 16mm cameras of many years past. If you're kind of a geek freak like me, check out this post… just kind of fun.

When Too Much Photography is Barely Enough: 126 Amazing Links:  [link]

Just when you thought I was giving you way too many links to check out, this link right here will keep you busy through the New Year.  126 amazing photography links and many of them are pretty cool. Take your time and enjoy the browse.

Photoshop Tutorials and Freebies

How to Replace a Face in Photoshop in 6 Easy Steps: [link]

When I first looked at this tutorial, I thought another “head swap” tutorial. But then as I reviewed it more closely, I noticed that this tutorial was going into much greater depth in using some techniques for face alignment that I had never even thought of. That's why I'm including it in today's post. If your wedding or portrait photographer looking for a better way to do your “head swaps” then this post is for you.

Use the Black & White filter in Photoshop: [link]

I'm a huge fan of black and white and always enjoy a post that shows me how to obtain a better result. This is a great post that explores that topic.

Craft Great Black & White Images in Lightroom: [link]

And, since I'm a huge Lightroom fan, I'm also interested in how I can achieve the best black-and-white image result in Lightroom. This tutorial will give you some good insights into how to make your black-and-white images better in Adobe's great software.

15 Photoshop Effects To Add Life to Your Photos: [link]

Everybody wants their images to look their best. This post shows you 15 ways in which you can enhance your images in many creative ways. It's worth a look.

Weekly Freebies: Flourishes and Ornaments: [link]

Now on to the Photoshop Freebie section.  This is one of my favorite links that I found over the weekend. LaDawn's put together a great collection of swirls and twirls for use in the LumaPix:PhotoFusion software [link]. The swirls and twirls featured in this post looks like were going to have to convert them for use in LumaPix as well. There are some really good enhancements – check it out.

Ultimate Collection of 220 Free High Quality Fabric Textures: [link]

On that same thinking - LaDawn loves using textures in her LumaPix:: FotoFusion software projects and this is one of the best collection of fabric textures I've seen in a long time. It's a definite download for us.

Top 20 Creatively Designed Grunge Fonts: [link]

I'm not huge font family – it's like, just how many fonts do you really need. But every now and then I'll read about a new set of fonts that looks quite interesting. I think these fonts fill the bill. One should check them out right here – their free.

40 GIMP Photo Manipulation Tutorials for Designers: [link]

With all the evidence of our Nation’s economic down turn, and Adobe's new upgrade policy on its future releases of Photoshop as outlined in Scott Kelby’s open letter to Adobe [link], you just might want to check out the open source image manipulation software – GIMP.

I been following the development of GIMP for several years and it has really matured into a very robust product. Many of you may not even know what I'm talking about but check out these photo-manipulation tutorials right here using, not Photoshop,  but GIMP which is free.  More GIMP tutorials right here.

iPhone/iPad Anybody

7 iPhone and iPad Apps For Business That Have Just Been Made free: [link]

The world is a big fan of Apple's iPhone and about 30 million people  are huge fans of the iPad. That said let me point you to seven iPhone and iPad apps that went from costing money to free overnight. These apps are not photography centric but business centric and I think there's a few gems in the listing. You can check them out right here.

Turn Your iPad Into A Flash Drive and Awesome File Manager! [link]

And for the iPad geeks out there, I thought this was an extremely interesting post.

16 Incredible iPad Apps For Any Photographer: [link]

I think there is an amazing number of iPad apps available for photographers. My favorite to date has been NIK Software's Snapseed. But, check out these additional 16 photo apps for your iPad. These look kind of fun.

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Hey everybody, that's it for me today. We are utterly swamped and it is going to be one full day. I still plan to get a brand-new Technique Tuesday online sometime tomorrow.

I hope things are good in your part of the world and that you were able to share many blessings with family and friends over the weekend. Have a great rest of the day. I'll plan to see everybody again tomorrow, same time - same station here at DigitalProTalk.

See you then, – David