I'm not even finished with the Class of 2011 senior picture orders, but I'm already thinking about new and different products I can offer to the Class of 2012. I came up with a new twist on wallets…sort of a design-meets-functionality kind of thing. More for girls; unfortunately most guys don't really care. I learned this year that many guys don't trade wallets, but their moms still buy them for relatives and close friends. I'd love to hear what you think of these two designs!
Senior Moms Night Out
Plans are full speed ahead for the open house I'm holding at my studio on May 13 for the moms of the senior class of 2012. They'll have a chance to meet me, see examples of my senior photography, sample some tasty treats, meet other moms, and win fabulous door prizes! There will be event-only discounts and bonus senior package add-ons. Plus, I'll be taking free photos of each mom for emailing and social networking! If you are a class of 2012 senior mom or know one, spread the word! Come experience the radical hospitality you'll receive when your son or daughter comes to Gold Leaf for their senior portraits. We are going to have fun!
Here's the next segment in your photo training series…
On Target Photography Training: Exposure Defined
Here is where the rubber meets the road and where most amateurs (and more professionals than you might think) fall apart.
Exposure…
It can be a very scary concept that most of us would rather deal with by leaving our camera on programmed automatic. After all, exposure is exposure, right? If the camera can do it for us - why not let it?
Unfortunately, it's not that simple and in the vast majority of cases, we could get a far better, more creative shot if we decide on the exposure settings ourselves, rather than letting our camera do it for us.
Here is a classic example of what I mean…when you are using the automatic or programmed settings, your camera's internal light meter looks at the scene you are photographing, takes the total amount of light available, averages it out and sets it to 18% gray.
Don't worry if you don't understand how all that works. At this point, you don't really need to and we will cover it in full in a later lesson.
Just understand this - all the available light is averaged and set to 18% gray. That's basically how your camera determines the proper exposure.
So, we have a winter scene and we are out there trying to create our own version of a Currier and Ives Christmas card.
We carefully compose our shot, getting all the elements perfectly in place. We note everything in our notebook…we say the mnemonic BASE and check our background for extraneous junk, etc.
Now, we've pre-visualized and this photo is gorgeous in our minds…. But, we don't want to mess it up with the wrong exposure (all that white is confusing) so we set our camera on automatic.
When we get our prints, we notice that the snow is a dingy, lifeless gray. Not the vibrant white we saw in the viewfinder.
Why? Your camera's meter got fooled by all that white. When it set everything to 18% gray, it was really underexposing the shot. By a lot!
Now let's go to the opposite extreme. You are trying to shoot a bin of coal. Why someone would want to shoot a bin of coal, I'll never understand, but anyway…
Again you take all the right steps, again all that black is confusing so you set the camera on automatic and again your prints from the lab that are a dingy, muddy gray! Not the intense, crisp variations of black you saw in the viewfinder!
Everything being equal as to the quality of your meter, printing and etc., BOTH the snow AND the coal should be exactly the same color in your prints! An 18% gray!
Obviously, if you want your photography to go to the next level, you need to turn off the automatic settings. Your camera just isn't up to the task.
It's like the choice between vanilla ice cream and the whole world of other flavors. And no, that is not an overstatement.
What do I mean by exposure?
Simply put, a properly exposed photograph has enough light striking the film (or the digital sensors) to produce a correctly lit, appealing picture with adequate detail in both the highlights and shadows.
Photo Exercise
Take a white piece of paper and a black piece of paper, go outside and set them side by side so that they both get the same light.
Put your camera settings on automatic and shoot a photo of the white piece of paper. Be sure that the paper completely fills the frame - nothing else can be showing.
Next take note of the settings your camera used, then take your camera off automatic, and shoot the following series of photos… Starting with the same settings the camera automatically used, shoot photos in half stop increments up to +2 stops and down to -2 stops. (So that's 4 shots on either side of the automatic settings.)
Do the same thing with the black piece of paper.
Be sure to note all of this in your notebook.
Take your film or CD to a photo lab and ask them to print your photos - WITH NO EXPOSURE ADJUSTMENTS.
How did they turn out? Which one was the closest to the correct color?
Tape this series in your notebook. It's a truly valuable lesson.
Happy Mother's Day
Hope all of you moms and grandmas have a very Happy Mother's Day on Sunday! I'll be having dinner with my family at an Asian restaurant, my favorite. Yay--no cooking! Hope you have a very special day, whatever you do and wherever you are.
As always, thanks for reading. Take care and have a great weekend!
Mary Kay
Gold Leaf Productions
www.goldleaf-art.com
513-877-2995
Here's the next segment in your photo training series…
On Target Photography Training: Exposure Defined
Here is where the rubber meets the road and where most amateurs (and more professionals than you might think) fall apart.
Exposure…
It can be a very scary concept that most of us would rather deal with by leaving our camera on programmed automatic. After all, exposure is exposure, right? If the camera can do it for us - why not let it?
Unfortunately, it's not that simple and in the vast majority of cases, we could get a far better, more creative shot if we decide on the exposure settings ourselves, rather than letting our camera do it for us.
Here is a classic example of what I mean…when you are using the automatic or programmed settings, your camera's internal light meter looks at the scene you are photographing, takes the total amount of light available, averages it out and sets it to 18% gray.
Don't worry if you don't understand how all that works. At this point, you don't really need to and we will cover it in full in a later lesson.
Just understand this - all the available light is averaged and set to 18% gray. That's basically how your camera determines the proper exposure.
So, we have a winter scene and we are out there trying to create our own version of a Currier and Ives Christmas card.
We carefully compose our shot, getting all the elements perfectly in place. We note everything in our notebook…we say the mnemonic BASE and check our background for extraneous junk, etc.
Now, we've pre-visualized and this photo is gorgeous in our minds…. But, we don't want to mess it up with the wrong exposure (all that white is confusing) so we set our camera on automatic.
When we get our prints, we notice that the snow is a dingy, lifeless gray. Not the vibrant white we saw in the viewfinder.
Why? Your camera's meter got fooled by all that white. When it set everything to 18% gray, it was really underexposing the shot. By a lot!
Now let's go to the opposite extreme. You are trying to shoot a bin of coal. Why someone would want to shoot a bin of coal, I'll never understand, but anyway…
Again you take all the right steps, again all that black is confusing so you set the camera on automatic and again your prints from the lab that are a dingy, muddy gray! Not the intense, crisp variations of black you saw in the viewfinder!
Everything being equal as to the quality of your meter, printing and etc., BOTH the snow AND the coal should be exactly the same color in your prints! An 18% gray!
Obviously, if you want your photography to go to the next level, you need to turn off the automatic settings. Your camera just isn't up to the task.
It's like the choice between vanilla ice cream and the whole world of other flavors. And no, that is not an overstatement.
What do I mean by exposure?
Simply put, a properly exposed photograph has enough light striking the film (or the digital sensors) to produce a correctly lit, appealing picture with adequate detail in both the highlights and shadows.
Photo Exercise
Take a white piece of paper and a black piece of paper, go outside and set them side by side so that they both get the same light.
Put your camera settings on automatic and shoot a photo of the white piece of paper. Be sure that the paper completely fills the frame - nothing else can be showing.
Next take note of the settings your camera used, then take your camera off automatic, and shoot the following series of photos… Starting with the same settings the camera automatically used, shoot photos in half stop increments up to +2 stops and down to -2 stops. (So that's 4 shots on either side of the automatic settings.)
Do the same thing with the black piece of paper.
Be sure to note all of this in your notebook.
Take your film or CD to a photo lab and ask them to print your photos - WITH NO EXPOSURE ADJUSTMENTS.
How did they turn out? Which one was the closest to the correct color?
Tape this series in your notebook. It's a truly valuable lesson.
Hope all of you moms and grandmas have a very Happy Mother's Day on Sunday! I'll be having dinner with my family at an Asian restaurant, my favorite. Yay--no cooking! Hope you have a very special day, whatever you do and wherever you are.
As always, thanks for reading. Take care and have a great weekend!
Mary Kay
Gold Leaf Productions
www.goldleaf-art.com
513-877-2995
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