High dynamic range photo, it can be amazing, on the other hand it can be overdone, time to play with the balance

Many a winding turn.

There are times when the photography raconteur tells a story with just one shot. Sometimes it comes as a surprise, on occasion it will take a prop or two, on others you may have all the stars alligned and wham! There it is.

More and more I grow comfortable with this action when photographing weddings. I try my hardest to limit the surprise factor and opt for the anticipation and preparation, two skills that come with practice and patience.

Marla and Rob, getting married in May. What a beautiful couple.

Building a senior portfolio for the summer and fall of 2010.

I found this article and could not find a way to link direct so here goes.

1. The Rose by Jim Rohn

Lifestyle is style over amount. And style is an art—the art of living. You can’t buy style with money. You can’t buy good taste with money. You can only buy more with money. Lifestyle is culture—the appreciation of good music, dance, art, sculpture, literature, plays and the art of living well. It’s a taste for the fine, the unique, the beautiful.

Lifestyle also means rewarding excellence wherever you find it by not taking the small things of life for granted. With Valentine’s Day approaching I wanted to illustrate this with a personal anecdote:

Many years ago my lady friend and I were on a trip to Carmel, California, for some shopping and exploring. On the way we stopped at a service station. As soon as we parked our car in front of the pumps, a young man, about eighteen or nineteen, came bouncing out to the car and with a big smile said, “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” I answered. “A full tank of gas, please.” I wasn’t prepared for what followed. In this day and age of self-service and deteriorating customer treatment, this young man checked every tire, washed every window—even the sunroof—singing and whistling the whole time. We couldn’t believe both the quality of service and his upbeat attitude about his work.

When he brought the bill, I said to the young man, “Hey, you really have taken good care of us. I appreciate it.”

He replied, “I really enjoy working. It’s fun for me and I get to meet nice people like you.”

This kid was really something!

I said, “We’re on our way to Carmel and we want to get some milkshakes. Can you tell us where we can find the nearest Baskin-Robbins?”

“Baskin-Robbins is just a few blocks away,” he said as he gave us exact directions. Then he added, “Don’t park out front—park around to the side so your car won’t get sideswiped.”

What a kid!

As we got to the ice cream store we ordered milkshakes, except that instead of two, we ordered three. Then we drove back to the station. Our young friend dashed out to greet us. “Hey, I see you got your milkshakes.”

“Yes, and this one is for you!”

His mouth fell open. “For me?”

“Sure. With all the fantastic service you gave us, I couldn’t leave you out of the milkshake deal.”

“Wow!” was his astonished reply.

As we drove off I could see him in my rear-view mirror just standing there, grinning from ear to ear.

Now, what did this little act of generosity cost me? Only about two dollars – you see, it’s not the money, it’s the style.

Well, I must have been feeling especially creative that day, so upon our arrival in Carmel I drove directly to a flower shop. As we walked inside I said to the florist, “I need a long-stemmed rose for my lady to carry while we go shopping in Carmel.”

The florist, a rather unromantic type, replied, “We sell them by the dozen.”

“I don’t need a dozen,” I said, “just one.”

“Well,” he replied haughtily, “it will cost you two dollars.”

“Wonderful,” I exclaimed. “There’s nothing worse than a cheap rose.”

Selecting the rose with some deliberation, I handed it to my friend. She was so impressed! And the cost? Two dollars. Just two dollars. A bit later she looked up and said, “Jim, I must be the only woman in Carmel today carrying a rose.” And I believe she probably was.

Can you imagine the opportunity to create magic with those around you, and all for the cost of a few dollars, some imagination and care. Remember, it is not the amount that matters but the thought and care that often has the greatest impact upon those you love.

Fashion magazines, bridal magazines, web and blog pages, online forums, all ways for photographers to develop their skill. There is however still one way that for me trumps all of these. The live presentation and education seminar. Personally I glean so much more material here than elsewhere. May be the embarrassment of getting caught nodding off, one I do not have to worry about from a magazine or monitor. None the less, I seem to gain a lot from this form of education.

Mike Larson of www.mikelarsonphoto.com was in Detroit for a one evening seminar. What an insightful young man. His talk geared primarily at marketing, he did do a short photo session. As apparently a student of John Maxwell he delivered some very interesting points. The one that stuck with me that has had me considering my approach is ” You do not want to be a photographer known for his six favorite actions (quick photoshop fixes) capture the emotion in camera using timing, personality and technical expertise.”  So right, I am  guilty of taking mediocre images, over saturating and adding a vignette and passing it off as acceptable.  Sure these actions have their place, however not as a substitute for skill and ability.

What to do with this information? My solution practice practice and practice more. I can hear my daughters scrambling to get away, they know dads on a mission.

Great week with  fun folks.

An engagement session in Ann Arbor, where because of the dreary day I took the liberty of taking Noelle and Craig, a wonderful couple to a number of locations for their photographs. Why? you may ask, after all it is only an engagement session, I could have found one ideal location and worked it. A couple of reasons come to mind, first off the cold.  Honestly no matter how many times I shoot around the freezing mark, I am still in awe of the increased effort that I have to exert to produce quality work. Simple tasks become rather major as I massage my hands to get circulation going. Butterfingers would describe my movements. Add to that the difficulty of having a conversation to put my couple at ease and concentrate on the technical side of my profession , well in a nutshell it poses quite a challenge.  As I dropped my lens hood and whatever else for the umpteenth time I hear myself wanting to tell why my couple that in the  summer and fall my life as a photographer is a breeze by comparison.  So my tip to coping in winter engagement shoots, keep my couple engaged stimulated and moving, works for me and as the results show works for the couple. Besides I get to display some of the energy I consider my trade mark in my photography. (Even if it is just to keep warm at the time!)

A funny sideline, they both had glasses, so as I would ask that they move in close for the intimate poses, I could not see one or others eyes, yes, you guessed it, when they exhaled the lenses of the other would mist up. Talk about Mc Steamy.

Click this link.

John Edmond – Christmas In Rhodesia