Category: FAQ

2011-08-07

“I am constantly running into the problem of not having enough light,” my friend moaned in an e-mail. Join the club, dude. He asked a slew of questions related to what gear I use, or would suggest, to try to help combat that age old problem (ok…”age old” as far as photography is concerned anyway) of not enough light.

What are you using these days? I know you are very much anti-flash, which I basically agree with. But I am constantly running into the problem of not enough light. Are you mostly shooting with a 50mm f/1.8? Or are you jacking up your ISO? Or are you using a tripod? Which reminds me, my tripod recently broke, any recommendations on one (that is not in the crazy range, under $200)? Ok, so I am asking lots of questions, sorry. But one more, post production, what are you using? Lightroom? Photoshop? iPhoto?

2010-10-12

I have really fallen in love with the Ee-S focusing screen for the Canon 5D. This is not a review in the sense that I will try to cover everything, but it is in the sense that I am sharing my thoughts on Canon’s über-accurate manual focusing screen. I have been using it almost totally in conjunction with Nikon lenses. The why will come later, but I mention it now because using it with Canon or non-Canon lenses is actually quite a different experience, and the answer to this question will make a little more sense with that information in mind.

Basically, the matte screen from Canon is made to manual focus wide aperture prime lenses. Since almost all (if not all) cameras display (in the viewfinder) at about f/2.4ish, the depth of field you see is quite different than the actual depth of field on an 85mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4, or some such lens. Meaning, you never really know if you are crystal clear where you want to be crystal clear and you just have to trust that the camera focused right where you wanted it.

2010-05-26
doctor medical professional work portrait
A doctor you can trust

Meet Dr. Ophthalmos. You would trust this guy with your eyes, right? I would. Of course, I know him personally, so that is much less of a problem for me. What I was trying to capture was familiarity, compassion, and professionalism all wrapped into one.

Here was the assignment. The clinic where he will be moving to work after residency asked him for a photo they could put in the paper. It is one of those here-is-the-new-eye-doctor-in-town paper articles, but really it is just free advertising for the clinic and for him in particular. They wanted him with his equipment, something that said ophthalmologist, and they wanted a photo that was inviting.

I would like to say I am some hot-shot photographer that made all this happen in some kind of beautifully historic way, like Yousef Karsh’s iconic photo of Winston Churchill. Alas, my doctor friend made it easy on me.

2010-05-05

For a simple answer, I would say, choose a wedding photographer by looking at other weddings they have shot. If that work would satisfy your requirements, then you are done…assuming you can afford it. There are other details, for sure, and this issue can become quite complex and difficult, but if you have found a wedding photographer who has already consistently produced the quality and style of work you want, then you will most likely be very happy with the results.

I have one caveat to that. When checking out wedding photography, make sure you look through a full album from one wedding. A photographer’s “greatest hits” only tell you that they will have a couple keepers from each wedding. See how a photographer covered one full day. For something as important as a wedding, most of us want a professional who can consistently capture photos throughout the day.

2009-11-20

My wife insisted I post this. I wrote all this in e-mails the past couple days trying to help a technologically-challenged sister buy a camera for her starting-out-photo-student brother, and they are in different countries, so cannot shop together.

Here is the little background: because these suggestions are for a specific situation. The student-photographer-in-question will have access to loaner lenses through the photography department. So, one, he does not need anything more than a workable lens for himself. And two, all that glass is Canon. So, regardless of my opinions, he needs a Canon camera and should put most of the investment in the camera.

The sister almost bought a Canon 5D mark II and a lens for $2000…and that is about $1000 too cheap. Thankfully, the lens they ordered was an EF-S and would not work on the 5Dmk2, so they were able to cancel the order, which was most certainly some sort of scam anyway. Then, they started thinking about the new 7D or a 50D. And that is where we pick up the story.

2009-07-04

I have finally moved back to Lilliput, as my Dad would say (well, I guess as Jonathan Swift would say). My family and I made it back to the little county of Sanjiang, tucked at the juncture of China’s Guangxi, Guizhou, and Hunan Provinces. It is not much, but having been mobile for two years (we left just before the birth of our oldest), it is nice to settle back in.

Some kind of photographic lightbulb has clicked on in my head; somehow this place just feels right. So much of my experience in China has been in the countryside in these parts, and my archive reflects that. For the past two years, I have been shooting big cities, different countries, portraits for friends, and just about everything but that main interest.

2009-03-28

Want to move into the world of flash and do not know where to start? What flash should you buy? Where do you even start learning how to use the flash? Do you just clip it on and set it to automatic, or do you dare explore the beautiful and expansive world of off-camera flash?

A couple days ago, a friend of mine mentioned (just in an off comment, he probably did not think I would blog about it) that his next purchase was going to be a flash. For me, that set off all kinds of alarms. I know he is just an amateur working on a budget like many of us, and I also knew a little knowledge about flash photography could easily save him a couple hundred dollars.

2009-03-27

Ok, that is not exactly a frequently asked question, as I claim, but…well…it should be! There are way too many accidentally out of focus pictures out there. Out of focus can be cool, sure, but only if it is on purpose. Some of the great photographers had out of focus shots, but that was for very different reasons.

The basic problem is that most cameras are set, by default, to a multiple focus point setting, meaning, a pathetic, little computer in your camera is deciding what in the scene needs to be in focus. I personally think my brain is a bit more sophisticated than my camera, and I would much rather choose for myself what is in focus. So, here is how I do that.

2009-03-19

How many of us have looked at the numbers that represent our aperture and wonder what in the world they mean? Why those numbers? Why not something more simple?

Yes, the numbers given to aperture size can be a little confusing, so I will explain, because I do not want you ignoring your aperture just because the awkwardness of the numbers.

2009-01-15

Why should we even care if our camera shutter is loud or not? What is the benefit of a quiet shutter? Well, it all depends on your shooting style as to whether is makes a difference or not. Ok, that is not totally true. Let me say it this way, some people care, some people do not. Here are the issues as I see them, though.

Following a comment on a post of mine a few days ago, I have been thinking about shutter noise. I unashamedly like quiet and I really notice when a camera is not quiet, even though that statement is quite relative. I was all excited to see the Sony a900 (this is the camera that brought up the topic in the first place) in the store and I picked it up to give it a few test shots. Ergonomics, handling, buttons: good. Style: very Sony-ish, but I like it (I like it more than the other Sonys). Then, I pressed the shutter release. KER-PLUNCK! Holy cow! That sound alone would take lots of great features and a very low price for me to actually think about buying one.