Category Archives: Photography

Photographing the Lights of Christmas Holidays

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Kelowna-Tree-2014

Kelowna tree 4

Kelowna-5

Kelowna tree 2

Kelowna-tree-3

Well, it has been a wonderful Christmas holiday and I have enjoyed everything about it; the bright colours, gaudy decorations, the sentimental music, silly TV programs, and I especially like the Christmas lights in the city.

A drive this time of year through any town or city neighbourhood is an exciting visual presentation of festive bright lights and another opportunity for, at least a few weeks, to have fun experimenting and photographing the season’s sparkling subjects.

Photographers that want to make pictures of Christmas lights usually wait until dark and end up exposing for only the lights, and the resulting photographs show lots of colours, but don’t say anything about the location or environment; and a photograph in daylight doesn’t show the lights at all.

The photographer’s goal should be to balance an exposure for ambient light (existing environmental light) to and the electric lights. So to provide help and clarification to my readers here is my quick holiday how to for photographing their city or town’s Christmas lights.

As I suggested when I wrote about photographing the CP Holiday Train, begin by choosing the location well in advance, before it gets dark, and prepare to begin when the electric lights are first turned on, when there is still some light in the sky, yet dark enough for the lights to be bright.

Place the camera tightly on a tripod so it’s nice and steady because the exposures can be long. I like using a cable release, but if you don’t have one available, use the camera’s self-timer. The idea is to stop camera-shake.

Photographers can experiment by setting the white balance to “tungsten”. That setting will correctly balance the different lighting types; and as a bonus it will deepen the blue in the sky. I then control the final intensity with PhotoShop.

The composition should also include reflective subjects in the foreground like snow, sidewalks, cars and anything else that adds to the viewer’s attention.

Expose for the sky or buildings and make several test shots and keep checking the camera’s LCD. The lights will become more and more exciting as the sky light fades and as pictures are captured. There will be some length of time between your first images just before the sun sets and the last when everything gets very dark. I also do this in reverse, starting before the sun comes up in the morning.

Dress warm, so you aren’t uncomfortable and rush things. I expect the whole “shoot” should last less than 15 minutes if one is prepared. When the images on the camera’s LCD look too dark everything is finished and its time to rush home, excitedly transfer the images to the computer and have a warm drink.

Most importantly, the quality of light in a photo comes down to balancing the light; it creates the whole look of your photo and now is a good time, with all the added decorative illuminations, to learn about controlling the light around us. If your goal is a black and white image you will need an exposure that shows detail in all the subjects.

In summary, select the correct time of day just before everything is too dark or too light for a composition with sky, foreground, and bright lights. And be sure to leave enough time to experiment. Readers should be able to successfully photograph their own towns, or any favourite location.

I look forward to any comments. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com

Photographing the CP Rail’s Holiday Train at Day’s End

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Holiday Train 1

Holiday Train 3

Christmas Train 4

 

This past week I viewed a photograph made by a photographer at night that was not much more than a dark, featureless, long block with a string of brightly colored electric lights on its surface. The person that made that photograph commented that she was disappointed with what the result.

I suppose the photographer didn’t know there wasn’t much that could be done with a subject that has no light on it. She might have thought a high ISO would work, and like many others new to the medium of photography, didn’t understand that surfaces that don’t generate light, must have light reflecting off the surface it if we are to see or photograph it.

I thought about that frustrated photographer as I set up my tripod alongside my wife, Linda, and our friend, Nancy. We were preparing to photograph the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train that would be rolling along the railroad tracks that followed the wide South Thompson River a short distance from our home in Pritchard, British Columbia. We had read on the Internet about the train traveling through Chase and Kamloops on December 16 and had estimated the time it would come through Pritchard that is nestled between the two locations.

We positioned ourselves on the beach on the other side of the river so we could photograph the train passing on the opposite side and we would have a wide shot of the engine and all the brightly lit, Christmas box cars.

We arrived an hour in advance while there was still plenty of light and made test shots of a passing freight train. The schedule put the train in our location just at sunset, giving us plenty of light to define the train from its surroundings even with the declining light.

We set our cameras at ISO3200. That allowed my wife to set her camera at 1/250th second with her f4 lens, and with my f2.8 lens I could use1/400th second. Even at that we were both under exposing our images, however, in my experience, a stop or two under exposure when making exposures in the last light of the day usually works pretty well.

I prefer shooting just at sundown when there is still that cool, blue light illuminating the sky. It is easy to select out and brighten up the subject without affecting other elements in the landscape, whether making the final image in a traditional film darkroom, or using a program like PhotoShop.

I wrote that we were using tripods. Tripods are the best way to keep one’s camera still, but with our tests on the freight train that we photographed in advance of the Holiday Train we found that quickly releasing the camera from the tripod as it passed, handholding and panning worked best.

I like to preplan, so we had gone down to the river a week early and selected our observation site. In addition, on the day of the train we arrived an hour early, and that gave us time to test, to move about and experiment with our location a bit, so that when the train rolled by we were ready.

There was a strong, cold wind blowing down river directly at us. But we parked our car at the edge of the riverbank just above us with a good view to see the approaching train. After we had set up our tripods and camera, we sat in the car bundled up in blankets and drinking hot chocolate until the moment arrived. Suddenly exclaiming, “There it is!” we ran laughing and hopping down the sandy riverbank for three exciting, adrenaline filled minutes of photography.

My favorite times for scenics, and for the Holiday Train that was my center of interest for this scenic, is the hour just after sunrise and the hour just before sunset. I am sure one can find great light any time of the day and night, but these two hours are the most predictable when it comes to workable light.

Please don’t hesitate to comment. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com

Photography at the Christmas Party

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Tree Planter's 009 Tree Planter's 040

Tree Planter's 076 copy Tree Planter's 255

 

The Christmas season is here and that means photographers, digital cameras in hand, will happily begin filling memory cards with all the photographic opportunities as they join family, friends, and co-workers at all this month’s festive events.

I have the feeling that for many, it is more about the process of picture taking than it is about making memorable photographs, or even documenting the party.

The act of picture taking has become easy and so much fun as a process as photographers rush over to take a picture, look at the LCD, and quickly slide back to show others those tiny images. And seem more interested in that quickly snapped candid than what is actually happening at the moment.

Most images made in this fashion never become more than files stored on computers and tucked away on hard-drives with good intentions, but after that initial viewing, most photos loose their value because there are too many, and very few are good enough to give to others anyway.

What is my advice for photography at the next Christmas party? Yes, continue to make candid photographs of people having fun, but, perhaps, think about making pictures that tell a story, capture an exciting moment, and importantly, flatter the subjects. Most people don’t mind seeing a picture of themselves being silly or having fun, but they don’t like pictures that make them look stupid or unattractive.

My approach is to take a moment to look at the room in which I intend to make photographs, make a couple of test shots using longer shutter speeds (my favourite is 1/60th of a second), to include the room’s ambient light when making exposures using an on-camera flash (I always use a flash) so as not to end up with brightly lit faces surrounded by a black environment.

I suggest taking group shots with two or three people. Get them to position themselves so they are squeezed together with a tight composition, and include only a little background or foreground. Don’t shoot fast, steady the camera, and select a shutter speed that includes the ambient light, and use a flash. Fortunately most modern DSLRs easily allow ISO sensitivity that can be set to 1600, and some can go a lot higher.

Shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second, or less, doesn’t always work for children playing in the snow during the day because moving subjects will be blurry, but, with limited indoor lighting, moving subjects will only be properly illuminated when the flash goes off.

Lighting everything with complicated studio equipment would be great, but that would ruin the party for everyone. The occasion would become more about the photography than about the fun and festivities. I use a hotshoe mounted flash and make adjustments as I go. I want to join in on the fun, blend in, and not act like a photojournalist.

Family and friends don’t mind having their pictures taken as long as it’s enjoyable and I want pictures that show them having a good time. So, along with those quick candids I make posed portraits with smiling faces, and if I select some pictures to give away later I want people to like, not be embarrassed by, the pictures taken of them.

I always look forward to your comments. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com

 

Your Photographs Make Great Christmas Cards

Posted by enmanscamera on
Xmas

My favourite from last year

 

Horse sleigh ride

enlarger ghost 3

xmas chickens

Another favourite

 

The Christmas season is a perfect time for photographers to give friends and relatives some photographs. That could mean a framed photographic print, but personally I like to give Christmas cards.

Last year, at this time, I wrote about an early December visit that my wife and I spent in San Francisco, California, and the scene we were greeted with when we decided to spend an afternoon on a picturesque beach at John Muir Park. There were three young people involved in what we assumed was the production of a Christmas greeting card for a barefoot young woman that stood at the water’s edge wearing a long dark skirt, a billowy white shirt, a red vest, and a Santa Claus cap. She posed and smiled as she supported a gangly four-foot Charlie Brown Christmas tree at her side and her friends laughed and photographed her as the surf rolled in. What a great idea for a card!

There are stacks of generic greeting cards being offered at stores, but for photographers it’s a perfect excuse to give people photographs. Personally, I want people to see and enjoy my photography, even if it’s only as a 5X7 card. I go through the many images languishing in my hard drive, add some festive greetings and voila! I have some cards for the Christmas season.

It is rare that we give the same picture to more than one person. And not all our cards say Merry Christmas. To me, it doesn’t matter; Happy Holidays, Season’s Greetings, a good New Year, and anything else I think fits a particular picture.

It doesn’t even need to have a Christmas look at all. (Actually, they rarely do and are usually pretty silly) What matters is the picture and it’s important that the card is unique. And I really don’t care what they do with the card I sent. I hope people like what I give them, however, if it gets thrown out with the gift-wrap after the holidays it doesn’t matter either, they had the opportunity to see a photograph taken by my wife, Linda, or myself, and that’s what’s important.

Don’t be a Grinch and hide your pictures away. Just showing some picture on your iphone or facebook isn’t enough. Print it, make a card, put it in an envelope, and give it to someone. And it’s easy, just get a 4×6 print and glue a photo to card stock or construction paper and write something festive on it. In my opinion Christmas cards don’t really need to be just about Christmas. Call them greeting cards, holiday cards, or whatever you want. That way if it’s a bit late for Christmas they can be sent or delivered anyway.

I enjoy all comments. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com

Thoughts on Photography in Low Light and Camera Noise.

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Musicians 1

Musicians 2

Musicians 3

Musicians 4

 

Musicians 6

Musicians 7

Dancers

 

A friend dropped by my shop to show me photographs he took of some musicians performing at a local evening event. As we looked at his images, we talked about how successful they were and how he had to push his ISO higher and higher for lighting conditions he was forced to shoot under.

He began by rating his camera first at ISO 800, then later, higher than that because of the low mood lighting. He didn’t want to use a flash because it would have disturbed the ambiance of the musicians and for the audience. The only illumination was a couple of little spotlights that had been redirected towards the musicians. In compensating for the low light, his only concern as he prepared to shoot was image noise.

Digital image noise is noticeable by the presence of coloured speckles where there shouldn’t be any. For example, instead of clear dark or coloured background, there might be different colour speckles in the background. Noise is closest to the “grain” one used to see when using high ISO films, except with film it was more about those areas that didn’t expose correctly.

Photographers have always struggled with the effect of high ISOs and I remember when 400 ISO was considered a pretty grainy film. In the days when film was king there were all sorts of special chemicals to process film to try to get fine grain and allow for pushing film to a higher ISO than 400. Photography magazines had article after article discussing ISO grain.

If photographers asked my advice ten years ago I would have suggested they use Ilford’s Delta 3200 ISO black and white film and to rate it at 1600 and process it in Ilford Perceptol, but these days some camera sensors are amazing in their ability to “see” light. Modern camera companies control the way images are processed in their cameras, and there is a lot of marketing based on beautiful images to encourage buyers to spend money on whichever new model they are promoting.

When selecting higher ISO today, the signal from light photons is amplified, and with that the background electrical noise that is present in a camera’s electrical system is also amplified.

Without enough light for a proper exposure the camera’s sensor will collect a weak signal and more background electrical noise is also collected.

This isn’t the place for making recommendations for which is the best camera for low light shooting. I’ll leave that to others. I suggest readers do some research on different manufacturers and tests on the cameras they own. There are also programs like Noise Ninja, Neat Image, Topaz DeNoise, and NIK’s Dfine that can reduce the effect of high ISO, and those that aren’t in the mood to follow the herd of photographers that purchase a new camera every year just to reduce digital noise, might try one of those programs.

For me, it comes down to the purpose of the photographs. If I was photographing a college basketball game and the images would be used in brochures or magazines, I would want the cleanest, lowest noise images I could get; but if they were going to end up as pictures in an on line album, or just stored in a computer’s hard drive for friends’ viewing, I wouldn’t be too concerned about noise. Therefore, I suggest that photographers determine the purpose in advance of any photos taken in low light.

There is a lot of information on the Internet about specific cameras and their abilities regarding sensor noise. I suggest doing some research and checking out other photographers’ comments regarding what they own, or may be thinking of upgrading to, and as I said before, do some experimenting with the camera they have.

I enjoy receiving comments. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com

Photographing a Christmas Concert.

Posted by enmanscamera on
There is nothing like a well lit photograph.

There is nothing like a well lit photograph.

The Yule Log Fireplace channel is now available on TV. That must mean Christmas is coming. My wife and I also just received a call from my son to tell us the date of our granddaughters’ school Christmas concert. And with that festive event, it’s final – Christmas is on the way!

Last year my wife and I joined what seemed to be about five hundred parents, siblings, and, of course, other grandparents in a large hall. We had arrived early because my daughter-in-law said the seating would be limited and as it turned out, it was standing room only for those who arrived late.

There were many people holding their cell phones or little digicams, and I think I saw someone with a DSLR away in the back, but mostly they just sat in their chairs waiting, hopeful their cameras would make wonderful photographs of the childrens’ concert. I heard a parent near us complain she hadn’t charged her batteries.

I had a centre isle seat near the back that was perfect from which to move around. And before everything started I made several exposure tests so I would know my exposure and where to stand to get the best shots.

When the audience lights were lowered and teachers positioned themselves to coach (and coax) the children as they sang I remember looking around watching people holding out their cell phones and digicams at arm length to photograph those on stage.

Flashes on those tiny devices only have a reach of approximately 15 feet, and even if the small figures on the stage were visible in the pictures, everything in the foreground would be extremely over exposed. The person with the DSLR was at the back of the audience with a telephoto lens, but no flash, foolishly relying on her camera’s high ISO. I expect the resulting images were much the same as the digicams with inconsistent exposures.

As the concert began, and before my granddaughter appeared I stepped into the isle and made some shots and as I expected, they were not to my satisfaction. Yes, I could see the whole group with their teacher, back to me, gesturing, but the children were too far away, and although some parents may be interested in their children’s classmates, I selfishly only cared about getting good pictures of my granddaughter, so I moved up close. My technique for being in front of other people is to select my spot, kneel down out of everyone’s view until I am ready, then I stand up, take my picture, and kneel down again.

With my camera and lens pre-set, I only needed to work around several parents sitting on the floor holding their digicams at arms length above their heads, and the one grandparent kneeling and wildly waving.

The concert was fun and my granddaughter was excellent (in my opinion anyway) and I took lots of pictures of her while she was on stage, and downloaded the image files from my camera to my computer when I got home. I edited, re-edited, then edited again for a final selection that I liked, and finally was down to a couple that I really liked. My opinion is that anything but the best is just wasting space and I never want people to see anything but my best photographs.

As I left the concert I could hear people saying they wish they could have got better photographs, and of course they blamed their equipment or other people, but not themselves. Soon the season will be upon us and for photographers the decision should be easy; every photographic opportunity should be thought out and they should always take the time to produce quality images. At last year’s concert most people had inadequate equipment or poor locations, whereas I had a DSLR with a flash attached and had spent some time preparing and selected the best position I good get in that overcrowded hall.

I really enjoy everyones comments. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com

 

 

The Lens – The Most Important Part of the Camera

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Lenses

The Lens – The Most Important Part of the Camera

Ask any experienced photographer whether to buy a new camera or a new lens and the answer will usually be, “it’s all about the glass,” or, “a good lens is more important than a good camera.”

A bad lens on a good camera will still make poor images, but a good lens on a poor or average camera will most likely give the photographer good results.

I listened to several friends talking over coffee about reviews they had read about the latest camera offering from Canon. The discussion began with questions like, “why does a photographer that doesn’t shoot sports need a camera with 7 or 8 frames a second” and “I really don’t spend much time shooting in low light situations, so why would I spend extra money on a camera because it is capable of a high ISO.” However, as expected, it wasn’t long before the talk easily turned to an exchange of views on lenses. Remember, because after all, “it’s all about the glass.”

The conversation easily moved from a difference of opinion between those that preferred prime (fixed focal length) lenses, and those, like me, that chose multi-focal length (zoom) lenses. We talked about the importance of wide angle and, of course, wide aperture lenses.

Just because you can change the lens doesn’t mean you have to, but I don’t know many photographers that are that sensible. Mostly we are willing to change lenses as soon as we have extra cash in our pockets, more emotional and impulsive than sensible.

I know very few are content with the short zoom that came as a package with the camera any more than they are with the tires the manufacturer installed on their car. Yes, the lenses, just like the tires aren’t high quality, but that’s not my point. What I mean is that changing lenses is like changing the visual personality of the image, and most photographers I know are engaged in, what I’ll call, a search for a perspective that fits their personality and personal vision.

The camera might capture some subject’s personality, but the lens, in my opinion, says more about the photographer than the subject.

Several photographers standing on a picturesque hillside using the same camera and lens will probably produce much the same image, but give them each a different lens and the resulting images will be diverse, distinct, and individual.

Yes, it is all about the glass, and there is such a pleasing and very exciting diversity of lenses out there waiting for each photographer to choose, discard, and choose again as they explore and create within this stimulating medium of photography.

As I wrote those words I wondered if there were others that I could use that were more applicable than stimulating. I could have used, intoxicating, invigorating, or even compelling. They all fit and, I think, could apply to some of the feelings I could see and hear from those photographers lounging around my shop drinking warm coffee on a cold November day as they talked about the lenses they used and would like to use.

A new camera is a lot of fun, but it really is “all about the glass.

I appreciate any comments. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com

Depth of Field

Posted by enmanscamera on
I have included a few examples that show the technique.

I have included a few examples that show control over the technique.

D of F 2

hoodo and fence 3

Plowing the field

Shoot'n the sunrise 1

A smaller aperture for more depth of field.

Shoot'n the sunrise 2

A wider aperture for less depth of field.

Heron

Blue Freighter Frog

Brewster copy 2

Truck in the meadow copy

River Sandon BC

 

A topic that I recently discussed in my classes, that I repeatedly explain to photographers that come to my shop complaining about what they believe are lens focusing problems, and have written more than once about is “depth-of-field”, but it still seems to be an elusive concept for many. However, it is really important and photographers should make the effort to grasp it even though it appears difficult.

I pondered this last Thursday when a local photographer showed me an image she had made during a wedding. She showed it to me proudly and commented that she has chosen that lens because it let in more light when photographing in low light, but complained that the expensive lens she had didn’t seem all that sharp.

The image showed a view of the central aisle of the church with pews left and right, leading up to the bride in the distant centre, approximately 20 feet from where the photographer was standing. The overall exposure shot at an aperture of f/2.8 was fairly good. However, what that photographer saw was the lack of sharpness everywhere, except for the bride standing in the aisle.

The definition of depth-of-field is “that area around the main subject, in front of, and behind it, that is in acceptably sharp focus”. In application the wider the lens’ aperture is set the less will be the depth of field, or that area of sharp focus, around the main subject will be.

Wide aperture lenses are very popular these days and using a lens at a wide aperture like f/2.8 when making a portrait isolates the main subject and produces a soft, out-of-focus background referred to as bokeh by reducing the depth of field. Bokeh is a pleasing soft blur produced by a wide aperture lens in the out-of-focus area directly behind the subject.

In this instance the photographer was relying on the wide aperture to increase the exposure in limited lighting conditions. That additional light allowed a faster shutterspeed for handholding, but along with the benefit of additional light reaching the camera’s sensor the resulting effect was to reduce depth of field.

Using that wide aperture created a field of focus in front of the subject of a couple feet and only a bit more behind that would be fine in a portrait, however in that photograph of the church aisle with pews on both sides, that included lots in the foreground and much of the background, looked out-of-focus.

Many photographers unwittingly rely too much on their photography equipment to (magically?) make good images, and blame faults in their photographs on that same equipment. Understanding the basic concept of depth-of-field would have made that photograph more to the photographer’s liking.

The smaller the lens aperture number is the less the depth-of-field. I prefer using a small aperture (larger number) for scenic photography and, as in this instance, interiors. The answer to that photographer’s low light problem would be to increase the ISO and use a smaller aperture. (I would be surprised to find a modern DSLR that wouldn’t shoot noise free at ISO1600 or even more)

Assuming the lens isn’t sharp when the real problem is with photographic technique is expensive if the photographer goes so far as to replacing a lens. My recommendation is to spend time learning the basics of depth of field instead of blaming equipment when problems occur.

 

I appreciate reader’s comments. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com

The Photographic Composer’s Score and Performance

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Spring storm

A storm o the prairie

 

Wind power

Windpower

October Infrared

October walk in Infrared

Trans Canada trucking

Trans Canada Highway – Infrared

River bluffs

Infrared of Thompson River

 

I taught photography in the 1980s and 90s for the University College of the Cariboo (now Thompson River University) when the only way to make a photograph was using film.

In my lectures I informed students that as well as learning about their cameras, they must become proficient in negative development and printmaking. I would emphasize that those serious about the medium of photography would come to realize that what they did with the camera and the negative it produced was only the beginning, and that it was their final print that would set them apart as a photographer. And I would quote famous photographer Ansel Adams, “The negative is comparable to the composer’s score and the print…its performance…”

Film has now been discarded by most serious photographers, although I expect artists will use film creatively for years to come, nevertheless, even with advancing photographic digital technology Adams’ words from the past are still significant.

The digital camera isn’t making a picture in the sense of light permanently imprinting itself with different intensities on a chemically sensitized surface like film. Instead there are sensors and in-camera computers processing light from thousands of photosites that are transferred to computers as data files for conversion into countless pictorial possibilities. I have become, more than ever, of the opinion that like the negative, the RAW image file, is now the “score” to Ansel Adams – the photographic print.

I know there are those that haven’t bothered to move their camera selector off JPG (Joint Photographic Group). However, choosing JPG files means those images are pre-processed in-camera and the photographer loses control. I prefer shooting RAW (not an acronym like JPG, RAW is unprocessed data) and choosing RAW is like having the negative Mr. Adams discussed, affording us total control over those data files or, more importantly, allowing a personal vision of how the final photograph will look.

A young photographer that came into my shop last week got me thinking about this when, with some kind of misplaced pride, he announced he would never use PhotoShop on any of his pictures because he was only into true reality. Although I didn’t comment, I thought about the manufacturer’s presets that were applied in-camera to his image files, the sensor’s dynamic range of only about five stops from black to white and the very limited number of colour spaces his tiny JPG files gave him.

Some years ago I attended a print-making lecture during which one of the speakers said in the past he would get up early and drive to some scenic location hoping to capture an impressive sunrise, after which he would package up his film and send it to the lab and leave all decisions to an unknown technician’s personal vision. However, now he shoots RAW and transfers his image files to his computer and the decision has become his to control how his photograph will be processed for viewing.

As in the days when I processed and altered negatives in special chemicals and manipulated prints by adding and subtracting light, I now use computer programs to process my RAW images in my quest to perfect my vision of each. And I expect the same thing is true now as it was with my students all those years ago, that what they do with the camera is only the beginning, and to repeat Ansel Adams, “The negative is comparable to the composer’s score and the print (is) its performance…”

I look forward to all comments. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com

Lighting The Portrait Workshop

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Class Participants

Bart&Sarah&wind Machine

Sarah

French poet and art critic Charles Baudelaire once said, “A portrait! What could be more simple and more complex, more obvious and more profound?”

Last weekend I led an interactive studio session with students that covered off-camera lighting for portrait photography. My goal was to leave participants with enough knowledge and skills, that with additional practice and experimentation, they would be able to produce pleasing and creative portraits of friends, family, and clients.

Learning to take better portraits, or as I emphasized in my workshop, portraits that flatter the subject and which shouldn’t just be a flat documentary of a person, involves understanding lighting techniques and posing.

In this one-day course participants experienced several aspects of portraiture including directing both male and female subjects, as well as an introduction to light modifiers and their application.

My teaching experience has now expanded to over three decades. That experience has taught me (yep, I have learned lots too) that, rather than acting like a star or celebrity standing on a stage demonstrating what I know, I can be much more effective standing by their side leading photographers as a participant into new territory.

My job was to present information on the subject at hand and keeping things going. I’ll admit that wasn’t hard with last Sunday’s group. I stood back and could see what progressed from a spark to a wildfire as each photographer started getting the concepts and began excitedly making the kind of portraits future clients would definitely pay for.

Building bridges between what those photographers already knew and what had eluded them regarding portrait lighting was fun for them and, of course, for me and I enjoyed their enlivened interaction and creativity.

As with most of my current workshops this was held in a well-equipped studio filled with an assortment of lighting gear, complete with a drawer full of wireless senders for participants to use. There are soft boxes, umbrellas, diffusion screens, reflectors and a great selection of wall-mounted backdrops.

All equipment and setups I employed for this workshop could easily be added to any photographer’s kit without a large outlay of cash and could be used in a basement studio.

As the day progressed I included an assignment for participants to make a “business” style portrait of each other. That added to the fun and gave our overworked model some respite. My intention was to get photographers thinking about being creative and complimentary in their directing, posing and lighting.

Our model came made-up and ready to be photographed, whereas the rest of us, well, we intended to be behind the camera, not in front of it. So this was a perfect way to get photographers thinking about how that not so willing portrait client might feel.

By now regular readers know that I really like quotes. So I’ll end with this one by photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson that fits the mindset I hoped to impress on participants. He said, “Photography is not like painting. There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life offers itself to you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative.”

I always enjoy and respond to comments. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com