I wanted to talk a bit about Portrait Lighting today. I would like to illustrate this with a few images from a senior photo session I did last week. When shooting outside, I like to look for open shade which is very complimentary for portraits. What’s open shade?

Indirect light. It usually can be found, just like it’s name says, in shaded areas where the sun isn’t directly hitting. Behind a building, under a tree, you get the idea. Just look with your photo eyes and not your natural eyes and you will start to recognize tons of areas to make great portraits.

Back to our first example.

I placed my subject in next to an old brick church in downtown Fullerton. The direction of the light is from camera left. See the shaded area on the subject’s face? I also composed the image with the subject’s eyes in the upper right area of convergence. Let’s look at another image….

Here my subject is leaning against a white wall with the light coming again from camera left. I was teasing him about his hairstyle and how it resembled pop star, “Justin Bieber.” It seems that most high school age boys hate that comparison, but would love the attention that he gets from girls of all ages!

I like the relaxed look on his face and his body language. BTW, I was told by my subjects father, that he hates having his photo taken. Well, that’s always a great challenge for me. We talked about college, music, Justin Bieber and in hardly anytime, my subject was relaxed and very at ease with having his photo taken.

Patience and feeling confident about your photography goes a long way in comforting a hesitant subject.

Finally, I wanted to leave our little post today with an image that is composed with careful planning. I love the relaxed look and the smile that reveals who my subject is. His guard is down and he is just looking very natural. The black and white strips away any distractions and allows the viewer to just see the personality of the subject in this image.

In review, look for open shade, that indirect light that is so flattering for your portraits and you will find your images getting stronger. Portrait lighting doesn’t have to be sophisticated, you just have to “see” it before you shoot it.

Enjoy!

Laguna Beach engagement session
In this entry I’d like to talk a bit about personal style. I recently did this engagement session of this fabulous couple, Christin and Jarret, in Laguna Beach.
At the very end of the session, I walked around the backside of this couple. I always try to take one last look opposite of where I’ve been photographing. You never know what you might find. Today, I found a very cool silhouette just waiting to be captured.

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!!!

I photographed this portrait of model, Roxanna Redfoot, at a recent shoot in Hollywood. I thought it would make a great entry to talk about a few lighting tips.

Roxanna wasn’t even the model who I was photographing, but I noticed this awesome light streaming through the windows and Roxanna was conveniently standing nearby. Great lighting can occur anytime. You need to train your mind to look for it, to see it.

Here’s another version:
Notice how I have placed her head in the upper left convergence area to lead the viewer’s eye into the image. Also, the shadow serves as negative space to balance the model being placed on the left of the frame.

Here’s one last image.
Don’t forget when you have a great set-up, try another perspective like vertical vs. horizontal. Remember that digital doesn’t cost anything to make another frame. So, shoot, shoot and shoot.

Finally, this lighting situation was created by afternoon sunlight filtering through a window at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. The light is almost horizontal and is relatively soft, so Roxanna can look towards the light without it blinding her.
Morning and afternoon light are so much more complimentary than the harsh light that is created by the sun during mid-day.

So, today’s lighting tips revolve around:
1) Be watchful and look around for potential great light
2) Be really aware in the late afternoon and the early morning
3) Anyone can be a potential subject, even world-class models watching their friends work!

Enjoy!!!

I photographed seven seniors for their yearbook recently at the Fullerton Train Station. I’d like to share a few tips about Senior Portraits and photographing groups of people.

The first image shows life, fun and action. Without something for your subjects to do, you end up with a bunch of subjects standing around trying to look cool(even though they are).

Let’s see if we can find a better situation for our teens.

Finally, we have our last image…
I choose to show how a static pose can actually work. The inside of the pedestrian bridge works to enclose our subjects and draw the viewer’s eyes to the group. I carefully placed each subject where the camera could see them and asked everyone to stare directly at the camera to achieve a more confrontive pose.
The result is a cool and somewhat aloof image.

The next time you have a larger group to photograph, try having them do something to achieve an image that has action and great expressions. Enjoy!

In this image we have the jumping into the future etc. pose. The area really had busy backgrounds. I tried to use as wide open a depth of field as possible, achieving a very shallow depth of field. Or to clarify further, as little of the background is in focus as possible. Jumping in unison is sometimes the hardest part of this pose. Fortunately, this day the seniors were in rare form and jumped together.

The next image shows the guys. You can never go wrong asking boys to show how strong they are or to show off. I asked them to jump on each others backs and stay there as long as possible. A great pose with great expressions!

Moving on…..
How about choosing the tallest or smallest person in the group and doing something interesting with them?
Here I choose the tallest boy and had the entire group, or the majority of them, hold him up. It works for good expressions and the pose looks good, too.

The next pose or idea was to change my point of view. Having your subject lie down changes everything. The viewers perspective changes as does the perception of your subjects. It really is an all-around winning situation.

More portrait tips today!

If you have been reading this blog any length of time, you have heard me speak about the 3 building blocks that make a great photo.

1) Lighting

2) Composition

3) Moments

Without those components your photos are just not going to be that memorable to your viewers.

Here’s a few more examples from my daughter’s photo shoot that we did recently. We spent a total of about 15 minutes at each site, so we really didn’t spend that much time but, were able to capture some very nice portraits. Let me talk you through my thought process.

1. I was driving somewhere recently and came across a small portion of train track that was asphalted over on the street, but ran beside a warehouse near our home. Perfect for a quick location. One of my daughter’s favorite past time’s is to pick dandelion’s and blow the seeds away! Bummer for my lawn, but good for photos on location.

So, let’s reverse engineer this photo to see what makes it memorable. Lighting? Backlighting but nice even illumination from the camera. I just overexposed to make sure that the subject wasn’t turned into a silhouette. Composition? Her eyes are placed near the upper right area of convergence(the intersection of the upper horizontal third and the right vertical third). Moment? The look in her eye shows her personality which makes for a great and memorable image.

2. Our next image really showcases our subject’s personality. Moment? Totally at ease in front of the camera. For some subjects this takes forever. Most can be put at ease after just a few minutes of talking from the photographer. Ask about anything. The goal is to get your subject thinking about anything but having their picture taken. It really works.

Composition? There is something called an S curve that our subject has contorted her body into. It isn’t fake or posed looking. It places her face in the upper right area of convergence and takes the viewer’s eye from the top right to the lower left! Easy!

Light? Same backlight situation as the first. Which gives our photo beautiful light that highlights our subject’s hair and shows off the train rails.

3. I was able to put a special technique on this image, but the building blocks are still the same. A side-view put a rim light on our entire subject and her head is in the upper left area of convergence.

4. Finally, we have a change of venue and outfit. The lighting is ambient, non-direct that allows for a very soft light washing over our subject. The composition places the subject’s eyes in the left upper area of convergence. It takes the viewer’s eyes into the image and the placement of the subject’s arm takes the viewer’s eyes back into our subject’s face and vice versa.

Talk to your subjects to relax them.

Utilize composition to lead your viewer’s eyes to keep them invested in your image.

Look for lighting that will be complimentary to your subjects.

A few posts ago, I wrote about senior portraits. I want to re-visit that topic and add a few more tips.

Tip #1 Let their be action. Have your subject move around for more realistic images. Let’s take a look at the first image of the girl jumping. She really wanted to have her shoot have the look and feel of a model shoot. So…we talked a bit and showed her where and how to jump(holding her hands a certain way, etc.)I think the photo speaks for itself. She looks like a teen model at her latest model shoot. Yah for me! Her ease also spills over into her portrait in the next image.

Tip #2 Let them live out a fantasy. Our next set of images shows a subject that wanted to be a bit rock star/fashionista. We went to go look for a location that said cool/urban/fashion and found it in a place that had a wall that looked pretty dirty and smelled even worse. But, it was the perfect location for our subject and she slipped into character very easily. The place or setting you choose to shoot in will allow your subject to start feeling like whatever their fantasy is. She wanted to look cool and the urban feel really achieved that.

Tip #3 Props are good! This subject has a personality that can light up a room, but she needed some inspiration. Just like our subject in the previous tip, our subject in this tip needed some help. It came in the form of a playground. She was able to climb and spin around on the swings and her personality really came out during this portion of the shoot.

Tip #4 Help them to focus on doing something. Our last set of pics shows a male subject. They can be a lot more hesitant to pose and be real. But, after writing his name in the sand and having him play around a bit, our subject became a lot more at ease. Look at his portrait. I feel that his ability to not pose or mug for the camera left and he was able to let his guard down and actually reveal a real look at who he is.

To sum it all up…Senior portraits are a process of utilizing whatever you have at your disposal to help your subject relax and start to show a slice of who they really are. Keep shooting and enjoy!

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!

Family beach portraits have always been popular, but let’s try a few tricks to make them unique and memorable.

We are used to seeing a family all dressed in white sitting on the rocks with the waves in the background. Capturing a moment in a portrait can make a break your image. Would the Mona Lisa be so memorable without that tiny little smile? That’s a moment.

So how can we capture a real moment with a family on a beach?

Let them do whatever comes naturally!

The first image was the mom and dad  of the family just hanging out. Their body language tells the story of their love!

Same thing in the second image. A pretty basic pose, but I just let the couple get relaxed and show their real feelings during the session. In the group images we let the group pose and then had them run towards the camera.

So, instead of a stiff posed family, you have an image that shows the personalities of the family and a unique image.

Try to make your subjects more at ease with various techniques. To review, running, talking with them or even having them show their feelings for each other. Finally, you can even let your more athletic subjects go wild. Enjoy!

Hello from the soggy O.C., where it is pouring! But fear not, I was able to make a very nice portrait while staying dry and comfortable inside my house. Today I’d like to show you a segment about portrait photography and lighting.

Manipulating the available light is something that every photographer from beginning to advanced needs to have in their bag of tricks.

In the first image above is a portrait of my daughter, Tara.

I placed her in next to a bank of three windows in our living room that faces north. Very soft even lighting exists here, since the light is not directly striking my subject and due to the sheer curtains, the light is very diffused and soft.

Unfortunately, there is too much shadow on her left side of her face or camera right. A quick a simple way to fix this is with a reflector. Now you can run down to your nearest camera store where they will be happy to sell you a fancy-schmansy reflector for a bunch of money. But wait!

I have a quick and inexpensive solution that is almost always available.

Anything white will do. I grabbed an old poster out of the garage and placed it on top of the piano bench that my daughter is resting her arms on. Look carefully at the reflection in her eyes and you will see it in the lower half of her iris.

Since we didn’t have another assistant available and my labs aren’t very good at standing still, I just had my daughter use her left arm to bend the poster board up towards her face which nicely redirected some of the light from the window back into her face.Loo

See the huge difference it makes? You need to practice how close you need to bring your reflector in to work effectively, but in no time at all you should get the hang of this. Almost anything will work. Try a piece of paper, a napkin anything that will reflect the light from one direction back into your subject will work.

Practice makes perfect and is a lot less expensive than a store-bought reflector. Enjoy!

A lot of cameras were given and received as Christmas presents. Here’s an entry about children’s photography. Too many times in my earlier days, I tried to make the perfect portrait of my children. It usually ended with me being frustrated and my kids crying and a lot of bad photos.

Forget about the perfect smile and the kids looking directly at the camera. What works and is the best way to make photos is to just have fun during the portrait session.

Whatever the kids do is cute.  That’s the key. If they cry or run away or smile it will be fine.

In a nutshell that is the key or secret. Too many sessions are ruined by overzealous parents trying to make children do what they want.

You cannot reason with a tired or hungry three-year-old! However long they give you, consider it a gift.

The gallery photos that I have included are from a recent session for a 16 month old and his mom. I made sure that the timing of the session was after his nap and that he had eaten. Then we went to a local park and let him run around.

I utilized a lot of compositional techniques as he ran around and waited for various lighting situations to maximize my opportunities for the most good photos. Practice photographing a small child with your main subject in the areas of convergence. Don’t expect great results on your first session, but practice to achieve greater and greater results.

Enjoy and success!