I was honored to meet and photograph Coach Wooden back in t 2003 after the Angels won the World Series. He was a big baseball fan and had even thrown out the first pitch at one of the home games during the series. One of the writers at the Register set up a meeting with Mike Scioscia at Coach’s condo in LA. Meeting Coach Wooden was a dream assignment! At the time, I believe he was 93. His mind was sharp and he was a gracious host. I felt like I was about 12 years old getting to meet a legend!

The writer even brought his rabbi! So, the manager of the World Champion MLB team, a seasoned sports writer and his rabbi and a veteran photojournalist are all crammed into an Encino condominium all acting like a bunch of giddy school boys because we are in the presence of the JOHN WOODEN!

The walls are lined with every award known to mankind. There are little knick-knacks covering every open space in the living room. Things that have been accumulated from a very long and full life. Their are photos of his many grandchildren, too. There are no handlers are bodyguards, just the four of us.

He tells the reporter and Coach Scioscia about his love for baseball and how excited he is for the Angels. After about 30 minutes the interview ends and I begin setting up my lights for the photo session. I bring a basketball for Coach to use in the photo, so I asked him to sign it with really large lettering. He smiles and says, “You’re going to keep this right.?” I said, “You got me, Coach.” (I sent the ball to his biggest fan, my father-in-law, for safe keeping)

After the photo session, I realize that I am all alone with the Legend and it feels like I’m hanging out with my grandfather! He asks if I would like to see something and invites me into his office.

There are even more paintings and awards and baseballs crammed into his little office than you can imagine. He hands me his Pryamid of Success flyer and tells me that this is a blueprint for life. He tells me about his wife, Nell, and how he misses her.

A lifetime of achievements and all that really matters is his family. More wisdom from the Wizard of Westwood.
May he rest in peace!

Beyond that, one of my favorite television shows on right now is, “Fringe,” it is directed by J.J. Abrams. He is the director on, “Lost, Alias, Mission Impossible and the latest remake of the movie, Star Trek.” His vision is amazing! He adds flares, lights, reflections and movement into almost every frame of the movie and it gives it his signature style. You see a clip and you just know it’s J.J.’s style.

I’ve been trying to incorporate flares into a lot of my work to give it some life. Not to directly steal from J.J.’s work but to honor it and make it my own.
When you see something you admire, take a look at it and try to figure out how to make it your own. Think American Idol and how the judges are always telling the poor contestants to sing a song and make it their own. Don’t just karaoke it, give it some personality from your soul.

Change it and make it yours. Now go out and try that and enjoy!!!

Click Here to learn more about my course.

If you were one of my test subjects who have already seen the CD or the downloadable files, please let me and everyone else know what you think by leaving a comment. This is going to be an exciting year with planned photo class webinars and a members only site soon to be unveiled.

Thanks to all my supporters!
Enjoy and happy shooting!
Michael

Hi, today I wanted to share an image that I made a bit ago. Digital manipulation starts with a plan. I’ve been a Star Trek fan since my parents let me stay up late when the original series aired back in the 60’s! So when I got an assignment to photography Brent Spiner from The Next Generation I was in heaven.

The story was about the man behind the make-up. I decided to make a composite of Brent Spiner out of character and in make-up as his character, Data, the android.

Mr. Spiner was awesome. He drove up to the Beverly Hills Hotel by himself without a publicist which is basically unheard of.

I had him cover up part of his face so that I could place him in character on his hand.

In the end, I thought the shoot was successful. Planning ahead was helpful to have him pose certain ways. It was my homage to one of my favorite shows. Enjoy!

Today I was fortunate enough to go to my sister’s home and celebrate my niece’s and my brother-in-law’s birthday’s. This is my niece and it’s her 9th birthday. I remembered my camera to document her special day and fished her out of the pool. She’s very accustomed to her uncle asking her to pose, so she dutifully followed me to the front porch where I made this portrait. I decided to write a bit about finding good locations anywhere, just about anytime. Here’s the front porch.

The light is somewhat dappled from a palm tree and the background is basically clean. There is also an area of ambient light on the lower area of the pillar. That way I can choose to have her stand and then sit down. Two different lighting situations within two feet! You just need to look with different eyes.

Here’s another couple of shots.

After a couple of shots where she smiled like her mom was taking her photo, I asked to just stare into the camera. I achieved a portrait of my niece that shows the real her, at age nine. It takes a little patience, but the rewards are great. Next time you photograph a younger model, let them do whatever they think is expected of them. Then just wait and you’ll get to capture a true portrait of them that let’s the viewer sneak a peek into their souls.

One last location: My daughter was with me, so I noticed a white wall on the area just inside the front door.
I asked my daughter to lean against the wall and made a sweet little portrait.

To recap, look for good light. It exists anywhere and look for nice clean backgrounds to place your subjects in front of. Lastly, remember that great portraits are made with pre-planning(bring your camera), a keen eye(look for potential backgrounds) and patience(wait for your subjects to reveal their souls).

These are cormorants which are very common in Orange County. I spied them one day while I was out looking for feature art for the newspaper I used to work for. Feature art is slice of life photos that could potentially run anytime.

I saw them all lined up, but every time I got close they would fly away. So, I crawled up on these fowls. A little bit at a time and in about 5 minutes or so I was close enough to nab this image.  When you want to make sure someone understands you, we often repeat ourselves.

When you want to make something stand out in photography, you repeat it. Thus, repetition! The birds create a pattern for the viewers eye to follow.

Here, I used the pattern of the window pane’s shadow to create repetition that is interrupted by the figures. Repetition  can be all about the pattern or the breaking of that pattern. For example, in the first image, it’s all about pattern. In the shadow image it’s about the breaking of the pattern by the figures. Either way, achieves an effect for the viewer.

Another example of breaking the pattern with the woman in the orange/red dress. The pattern of the signs really makes for a great repetition. This was taken before the last night at the 2000 Republican Convention in Philadelphia. I was able to take a look inside the hall before most of the conventioneers were let in.

Finally, I have an image taken of a student studying at Chapman University in Orange, CA. The pillars of the building exude strength, stability and all the things a university should. The tiny figure of the student gives context to the size of the pillars and dwarfs the human condition. Again, another example of breaking the pattern with the student.

Try incorporating repetition of image into your next photo shoot and you will be rewarded with another technique in your arsenal. Enjoy!

Today I’d like to talk a bit about Travel photo tips. Dreaming about some of the places that I have been fortunate enough to have visited.

I visited Paris in 2004 and really wanted to feature the Eiffel Tower in as many images as possible. One of my hopes was to frame the famed tower in a doorway. Although I searched tirelessly for days, I couldn’t seem to find the right doorway. But, I did stumble upon this little beauty.

Here is what I found near the Pont de Bir bridge which crosses the Seine river. It isn’t common knowledge that a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty can be found on the Seine. It’s really strange to be floating down the river and all of the sudden, Bam!, there she is.

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief and started shooting photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Actually on the bridge is this very cool sculpture:

The statue in front of the picture is “France Renaissante” by Holger Wederkinch, which was donated to the city of Paris by the city’s danish community in 1930. During the time I was first there the light was a bit muddy, so I went to dinner and came back just after sunset to see the statue and the tower looking very monolithic and placing them against the sky, achieved a very dramatic image. My tip?

Photograph the same image at different times if possible & the first rule of travel photography is the always shoot first, don’t ever think about coming back.

You never know when you might not be able to come back. This image was unique in that I was able to come back at two different lighting times. Very rare.

My next two images concern Jane Austen.

She is interned at Winchester Cathedral in the southern part of England. I was fortunate enough to spend an afternoon in the Cathedral where I stumbled into a tour that was stopped at the large tombstone of the literary giant.

Tourists were very reverent and tried not to step on her actual tombstone. The light was beautiful and dramatic. Happy accidents seem to happen to those who prepare and look for them.

Tip 2.

Do your homework. Winchester Cathedral is famous enough by itself, but I had done my research and was looking for Jane Austen’s final resting place. That way I was able to combine interesting images from one place. The Cathedral and Jane Austen!

Back to Paris!

I wanted my wife to experience the seeing the Eiffel Tower from as dramatic a viewing position as possible. So, we took a taxi alongside the Seine and emerged near the Embarcadero. Here’s the view as you get close to the tower.

It’s a great place to view from as you can see by all the people lined up to look. Here’s Tip 3.

Take your scenic photo, then back up and take a photo of everyone taking a photo or looking. It’s a great scene-setter, plus I love people watching. Notice all the different characters in this photo. I think my favorite is the lady with the wings. See if you can spot this angel.

Finally, we visit Trafalgar Square and Lord Nelson’s monument, especially one of the massive lion’s at the base of the 170 foot tall tower. My last tip is about patience.

The best thing about my travel editor at the Orange County Register, Gary Warner, was his trust in the photographers that he traveled with. He always allowed us as much time as we needed to wait for the perfect moment to make the perfect photograph.

For this photo , he brought a book and sat down as I waited about 10 minutes to see what these kids would do that were climbing all over one of the lions. When we arrived, kids were climbing over another lion, but I wanted to place Big Ben in the background. So, I waited!

I think Yoda said, “There is no try, only do,” So, get out there and do it!

Last time we looked at some portrait basics. I would like to go a little bit more in depth today at photography portrait tips. To let you into my thought process during a portrait session.

In our first photo our model is leaning against a wall in downtown Orange. It was a senior photo session, so I want my subject to have a variety of situations and outfits. The most important thing I want is for the subject to feel at ease. Keep your subject focused on you and the atmosphere that you are creating. That way they aren’t intimidated by onlookers etc.

Still looking at our first image, I used a long lens and a small f/stop to create a shallow depth of field. That way the subject pops out of the canvas and really captures the viewer’s eye. I’ve placed our subject’s head in the upper right area of convergence to lead our viewer’s eye right to her face.

The photos are shown in a chronological order to show our subject’s level of comfort at being in front of the camera.

In the second image, We have the same outfit, but my assistant suggested a pose from a popular singer’s CD. I always try to include input from my subjects. It’s just one more thing to put our subject at ease.

Her head is in the upper left area of convergence and I had her put her knees together for modesty and the lines that her legs and arms would make. Her pose is casual and playful and it matches her smile. The light is coming from higher up and from camera left. Let’s move to the next image.

A new outfit and location is part of our third photo.

A nice shaft of light coming from camera left set the stage for this 3/4 portrait. The light is strong, but pleasing and does not cast any harsh shadows. It’s dramatic light, so I didn’t ask my subject to smile. Instead she opted for a more calm and serious look. In our next and fourth image, I wanted to demonstrate that when you find good light, work it!

Don’t forget to try out different layouts, both vertical and horizontal. Sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised at how different your images can look just by changing the orientation of your camera. My subject is using her arm as a design element to lead the viewer’s eye right to her face.

The fifth image is where our subject really started to feel at ease. She put her jacket back on and I moved closer to capture her facial expressions. Her eyes are in the areas of convergence and that is what the viewer is lead to.

My last image really captured her personality and her ability to dance. I always ask about hobbies that my subject’s might pursue and might be an expert in. My subject had danced for years so I asked her to move around. Bu this time of the shoot she didn’t have any hesitation and didn’t mind the occasional passerby. It was fabulous! Her body is in the right vertical third with her head in the upper convergence area. The viewer’s eye will be lead to our subject making a much stronger composition.

So to review:

Help your subject to feel at ease. Be open to input from your subject and helpers. Look to match your subject’s mood with the surroundings and lighting. Try different orientations when you find good light. Once your subject starts feeling at ease really push for great facial expressions and poses. Finally, ask your subject about areas that they might have expertise. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

I taught a private lesson today and it made me re-visit the photography basics. Fundamentals are needed in every regime. Sports teams athletes drill the fundamentals almost on a daily basis. So, why shouldn’t photographers?

Let’s take a look at composition.

In the first image I’ve carved the canvas into thirds(give or take)both vertically and horizontally. Unfortunately, most photographers place their subjects dead center and composition takes a back seat. But, remember that a viewers eyes are drawn to the areas where the lines converge. So, look at the composition of the next two images. The subject’s head is placed in the upper left area of convergence in the 2nd image. The viewer’s eyes naturally are led to the subject’s face. The slight tilting also creates a diagonal that leads the eye from the bottom right area back up to the face, too.

The third image places the subject’s right eye in the upper right area of convergence. It’s a much more interesting composition than the dead on composition of most photographers.

Don’t forget to capture moments along with great composition and lighting(future blogs).

In the fourth image I composed with the subject’s head in the upper left area of convergence with the subject’s body in the left vertical third. It’s my oldest son and I threatened to reveal a horribly embarrassing story. The threat worked and he gave a reaction that I was looking for. I have pretty good lighting, good strong composition and a nice moment. Voila, a strong photo!

Finally, I have a simple photo of the full moon. I just placed the moon in the upper right area of convergence and the result is a strong composition rather than a center-weighted image that isn’t quite there. Enjoy!

The Rainy Day

It’s raining in southern Cal today, storm watch 2010! Wait that’s the old days!

Now I can talk a walk and look around for the small things that I might have overlooked in the past. Art Nature Photography is the listing for today’s post and I just wanted to take a look at the world that we normally cruise by at 45 mph while talking on the cell phone.

The first image uses traditional composition with the leaf in the upper right area of convergence and something called negative space which is essentially everything else that is in the frame (nothing) or the reflection of a gray sky. It’s there in the composition to balance out the leaf. Does that make sense?

Sometimes you can isolate your subject (like the leaf) to make a statement with your image. The lifeless leaf, isolated in a sea that reflects the lonely gray sky on a rainy day. See how that works?

The second image is similar. The rain drops in the upper part of the image are in the upper right area of convergence and the yucca leaves/spears are in the horizontal thirds. The background is simple but not as sparse as the first image. Still it isolates the water drops and let’s the viewer focus on them in the simplicity of the composition.

Finally, , the last image is from my garden. I love when it looks wild and inviting and I really like angels. If you look carefully, you will see a second one out of focus to the left side of the main subject.  I placed the white angel’s face in the upper right area of convergence (must be my day for that!) but I used another technique in this image.

The angel is placed “looking” out of the canvas of the photograph. Normally you would want to leave room in the composition for your subject to “look or move into” but in this instance I want to create tension in the image by having my subject look off into space.

Enjoy this rainy day we need the water here in the desert!