I am working on a project for Keith Watson, aka “Watty”, head coach of the John Carroll Wrestling team (a private high school in Bel Air). Watty, who is sometimes referred to the P.T. Barnum of Harford County wrestling – he is always thinking of ways to market and promote his school and the sport — contacted me a couple months ago with an idea of wanting to create a poster that displays their 2008-2009 wrestling schedule along with a picture of the team on it. His first thought was to assemble the team on someone’s front porch and have some slogan referring to porch, big dogs, etc.

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Most people when they think of using flash, think of indoors in low-light. Well, outside in bright sunshine, flash can be your friend as well.

How many times have you been outside taking pictures only to find all your subjects faces dark and the background beautifully exposed? Sure, you could adjust your exposure to expose the faces better, but now you’ll have a background that is blown out. A better solution is fill-flash.

Below is an example of a shot I took without flash and another taken just a few seconds later using flash.

I set my camera exposure manually to the scene (bright sun on a deck at 3:00p in the afternoon). This turned out to be f/11; ISO 100 at 1/250s. Because I was going to use flash, I did not want to set my shutter speed any faster than my camera’s sync-speed of 1/250. Another alternative would be to set your camera to shutter priority (Tv in Canon) and set it to 1/250 of a second. I prefer manual settings, for I don’t want the the camera being fooled by the scene.

My daughter was in her pool where the sunlight was coming from camera right, casting a shadow across her face. The shot on the left looks like a snapshot taken by anyone with a P&S. Just by using my flash, and setting it in ETTL mode (Canon) with a Flash Exposure Correction (FEC) of -1 2/3, that same shot brings out much more detail in her face without that harsh flash look. The sun still overpowers the flash, creating it’s normal shadows. I may have even been better off using at FEC of -2 or even less (in negative territory here), but now, the picture has a much better look and feel to it.

Imagine if the sun was coming from behind her. That first image would really show a dark face, which would be completely in the shadow. So, next time you are out in the sun taking pictures of family and friends, don’t be afraid to experiment with a bit of fill flash.

I admit it, I am not an auto detail freak. I have neighbors and friends that wash their cars all the time, keeping them looking their best. I probably wash my car on average 8 times a year — and rarely between December and March.

Today was my Honda Element’s lucky day (Friday the 13th no less), for the old gal was getting a spring cleaning. I usually let Mother Nature do my dirty work, but with the windshield covered with bug guts and dust forming on my dashboard, I thought it was time to spruce her up a bit.

I’ve had this Element for just under 2 1/2 years, and I hit 50,000 miles on her last month. I really like this car and probably will buy another when this one is ready for retirement (around 150,000 miles). Many think it is ugly looking, but for hauling around photo equipment, it’s awesome. The fact that it does not have carpet is perfect for a non-auto detail person like myself. Just vacuum and wipe down with a wet towel. Good as new.

Photo Information: ISO 200; 1/125; f/4

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Last night my youngest daughter Keely, graduated from Kindergarten. When I was growing up in Illinois, there was never such a ceremony. Boy, let me tell you, what an emotional experience — for the parents. I’ve been to high school and college graduations in the past, but I have never seen so many mom’s reaching for the tissues as I saw last night. Even I got a little choked up, myself.

The ceremony started with a slideshow showing pictures throughout the year, of course to music that really moved you, as the kids walked in and up on to the stage. That was just the teaser to get the tear machine warmed up, for a bit later, up came another slideshow with music titled, “Let Them Be Little”, and showed pictures of each individual graduate, then a baby picture, followed with pictures of child and mom, plus child and dad. During this time, each child, one-by-one, met mom at the center of the the room, presenting her with a yellow rose. Boy, this was when the waterworks really was flowing.

Keely did a bit of a Michael Jordan impersonation, by sticking out her tongue when receiving her diploma. Making sure to shake with the right hand and accept the diploma with your left takes a lot of concentration, especially for a 6-year old.

Following the ceremony, refreshments were given and good-byes were spoken.

Keely made many good friends this past school year. With her best friend Kayla going onto her new school for first grade and Keely starting homeschool next year, they unfortunately will see much less of each other in the future.

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Sunday I had the pleasure of shooting headshots for Valeria, a Bel Air teenager who will be attending acting camp this summer. She needed to have some 8×10 headshot prints so she gave me a call to set up an appointment.

The headshots were all taken at her home (where her mother makes some delicious lemonade) in the family room / living room area. The home had a beautiful wood floor, and it made a great background as I shot from high above.

I think Valeria had a great time — once she got over a bit of nervousness in the beginning — and I hope I was able to help her land a great role in the future.

Lighting Information:

Clamshell lighting with two 43″ umbrella’s and 580EXs.

Top umbrella – 1/8 power
Bottom umbrella – 1/32 power

Hairlight from snooted 285HV at 1/16 power

Happy Memorial Day to everyone. Today is a day to honor those who have fought and served our country and to grieve those who died while serving.

Memorial Day also signals the unofficial beginning of summer and what do kids want to do in the summer … SWIM! The weather in Bel Air today is fabulous — bright sunshine and 84 degrees.

While the kids were playing, I also was playing with my camera. I thought I try my hand at shooting with my right hand while holding a flash in my left. The downside to bright sunshine is the harsh shadows that accompany it. To bring out some definition in the shadows, a bit of fill flash does wonders.

The photo above — of my daughter Keely, the ham — used my technique of underexposing the camera 2/3 of a stop to cut down on the hot spots, and pop a bit of flash from the shadow side at 1/32 power.

The flash is not for inside use only. It can really come in handy outdoors as well. Give it a try, you may like the results.

Recently I’ve been shooting a lot of headshots, and am finding myself really enjoying this type of photography. Perhaps it has to do with those windows to the soul — the eyes. Getting these tight headshots gives the person viewing the photograph an excellent view into those windows.

I had been using many off-camera strobes for lighting the previous headshots I’ve taken in the past, which generally means I must stop down my lens into the f/8-f/11 range and thus increasing my depth of field. Which is perfectly fine for a portrait or corporate headshot. With this photo session, I decided to try something different , using the giant softbox that Mother Nature provided — gray cloud-filled skies — and a white foamcore board just below the subject to fill in the shadows. This allowed me to use my 135mm lens at f/2, with a sliver of DOF, and really concentrate on getting the eyes tack sharp to draw the viewer immediately to the eyes.

I’m going to use this technique much more in the future.