Monthly Archives: April 2012

How far will you go to Improve Your Photography?

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Briana Barela all wet in the shower at a Photography Workshop

Using two AB400's, one 22" beauty dish, and one 7" reflector bounced off the tiles.

I once had an photographer who drove overnight from Michigan to San Antonio, TX just to attend a one-day photography workshop.   I was skeptical when I first talked to him on the phone, but he assured me that he wanted to attend one of MY workshops.   And he paid, showed up, participated, learned, and took that knowledge and confidence back with him and applied it to his own studio and style.

More than a few have traveled from Laredo, Houston, and even Dallas.  But Steven has always held the record for ‘distance furthest traveled to attend’.  That is, until this month when I’ll be beating his record distance by travelling from Toronto, Canada  Lol.  But he’ll still hold the student record.

The point is, how far will you go to invest in yourself?   Are you satisfied with the photographs you’re producing now?   Have you ever looked at others photographs and wished you knew how to create them?

I used to be in the same boat.  I had all the gear (or so I thought).  I had bought a full set of studio lights, had 20+ years pressing the shutter; yet still I my studio photographs lacked that ‘ooomph!’ that I saw coming from photogs such as Tracy Hicks, and others.

So, when I saw Tracy putting together a workshop, I jumped on it!  Even though the 1st one I attended was 3 hours drive, and the 2nd was a 5 hour drive, I felt the ends justified the means.   And you know what?  It did.

And it was easy.   Once someone showed me how, and I got the hands-on experience.  I knew what gear I needed, I knew how to use it; I was confident in experimenting with new lighting recipes, etc.

Invest in yourself.  You deserve it.  And it’s easier than you think.  What have you done lately to improve your photography?

Photographers: KNOW your CAMERA

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One of the things you can do to make yourself a better photographer is to know your camera.  And the way to do that is to handle it.  When you’re idle, just watching a TV show or movie, sit with it in your handles.  Fiddle with the controls.  Flip through the menus.

Learn your camera like a soldier learns to assemble his rifle blindfolded.  This will prevent fumbling during tense situations (spot news for example) and help your overall confidence.  Being confident means being competent.

Years ago when I first got my Minolta Maxxum 7000 I sat with it whenever I could.  I knew the controls inside out.  In fact, if someone handed me that camera now, 15 years later, I’d probably still know how to adjust everything.

Knowing your camera is especially important while attending a workshop.  We usually shoot manually, using a shutter speed to sync with our flashes, and an f-stop to balance.  Sometimes we even change the White Balance (WB) to cool down or warm up a model’s skin.  It’s important to know how to do this ahead of time so that you can concentrate on what is being taught at the moment, and also not to slow down the class or distract the instructor.  Every camera has slightly different ways to set these and it’s likely the instructor may have to hunt and peck for your settings too.

Know how to adjust these controls without thinking:

  • Shutter Speed
  • F-Stop/Aperture
  • White Balance
  • Exposure Compensation

And know the relationship one has on another.  Do this and you will boost your confidence.  Boost your confidence and you’ll create better images.