What is “macro” photography? You will come across many different people talking about the real meaning of macro photography and there are very many senseless arguments as to what it means for the reasonable photographer.

Basically, macro photography is just close up photography. It means getting nearer to your subject and effectively making it look bigger in the viewfinder or on the screen.

But to get closer you need to be able to have a lens that will focus close. This can be achieved by buying a specialised macro lens that can be used as a normal lens but which will have close focussing. Alternatively, you can buy inexpensive add-on lenses that attach to the front of your lens or “extension tubes” which fit in between your lens and the camera body.

Irrespective of which you choose, you will be able to take pictures of bees on flower petals and raindrops on cobwebs and anything you want large and close.

But be aware of the problems of macro (close up) photography. The first is that focussing has to be more critical as the closer you get to an object, the shallower is the depth of field or depth of focus. Make sure you are accurate with the focussing and use a small aperture if you can.

The other problem is that lighting can be a bit tricky. Being so close means that ambient light is often obscured and indoors this makes things difficult. You can use a flashgun but the lighting can be harsh and directional so use little reflectors where possible.

Luckily, your pictures of bees on a sunny day will be easy. Try it.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com

Posted by admin as The Photographer's Way at 9:46 PM CST

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Never before has their been so much opportunity for all, regardless of age, sex and looks now virtually anybody with a little ambition and perseverance can be part of this exciting and developing industry.

The dictionary defines glamour as ‘making the eyes see things as fairer than they are : fascination : enchantment: groomed beauty and studied charm.

If you think about this then it is evident that glamour not only embraces those of us that are fortunate enough to have the looks to be considered glamorous but more importantly those who have the ability to project not only others as glamorous, but also locations, circumstances, clothes, makeup, magazines, TV and films, the list goes on and on.

Let’s look first at modeling, probably the most obvious glamour related activity.

Catwalk models, photographic fashion models, catalogue models, girlie magazine models, male models, exhibition and display stand models, nude models, outsize models and the sub categories who are employed just to model only their hands or legs or busts or faces.

In the category of glamour modeling alone the personnel needed to provide the infrastructure is extraordinarily diverse. Specialist glamour photographers, make up artists, hairdressers, set designers, location finders, dress and swimsuit designers and fitters, magazine and newspaper editorial and layout staff, advertising agency campaign creators, etc,etc.

In film and TV the actors and actresses, whether stars or extras, will hope to look as glamorous as their part will allow, it is as much a boost to their self esteem and confidence as it is in the hope of getting noticed to further their careers. Again they are aided by the back up teams of make up, clothes and hairdressers and by no means least the team that shoots their most glamorous camera angles.

You can make it as a model even if you haven’t got a fabulous figure. If you have just one glamorous feature such as great legs, lovely face, wonderful eyes, elegant hands, even if you feel the rest of your body is not quite perfect you can still enjoy the rewards of modeling and this applies to men as well. Male models make big money.

Think of the glamour that a sexy male or female voice over on a TV or radio advertisement evokes, another rewarding activity associated with modelling.

To get started, first consider your attributes and if you think you might have that certain something then start by seeing the top model agencies, they are always on the look out for the next talent. Otherwise choose from the many other careers in the glamour industry. Either way perseverance will pay off.

To sum up glamour modeling is a financially rewarding team effort with a vast number of career opportunities for both sexes irrespective of looks, as usual ability and perseverance offer the best opportunities to ‘ make the eyes see things fairer than they are’.

John Lloyd has been involved in the advertising and promotions industry for many years. He is married to an ex-model and his daughter has followed into the profession.

http://nude-model-photography.50webs.com.

Posted by admin as The Photographer's Way at 2:33 PM CST

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What does one need to do to get the perfect close-up of a wild flower? Set up a tripod, clip on camera, then snap, snap it’s in the bag, camera, chip.. whatever? Maybe… but consider a few unexpected impediments first. Finding the perfect clump of subjects (mostly the easy part), stopping suddenly or rather screeching to a halt (sometimes interesting along a busy highway)…parking and gathering up the necessary gear (easy) - then my least favourite part, lugging everything over hill and dale. Tripod, camera bag with several lenses which never seem to get any lighter and then fun, fun, fun…It seems, seemed a short distance across three fences to where the wild, gorgeous yellow number (nothing exotic - a simple daisy but a beauty!), nods in the gentle breeze..but…

Have you ever tried to climb over a fence with tripod in hand and weighty camera bag over shoulder? “Just pass them through the fence and follow”, you say! In theory perfect but as is often the case when I’m out ready to shoot I have tripod ready, camera clipped in, slung over right shoulder legs extended, spread ready to go (the fact that I look like a giraffe with ungainly neck protrusions goes unnoticed) and my camera bag is old, slightly smelly and large!. So, how do I climb through the first fence, let alone the second or third in pursuit of the perfect daisy without a lot of folding of legs pushing and shoving, and unclipping of my precious digital genius first? Simple answer - I don’t, I try to get through regardless. Result? The air rapidly turns blue around my head and expletives neither original nor inventive start erupting unbidden from my person. And then the final indignity as at least one part of my favourite jumper gets snagged by an ever vigilant barb! My alternative solutions: throw the gear over and hope for the best, find a gate (how many miles to the nearest?), or simply leave it all in the SUV…barring the digital genius and one’s favourite 1:1 lens of course!

My final decision? Leave tripod and bag in the SUV, take the necessary, and hope that the ravages of the previous night haven’t wrought havoc with traditionally rock steady hands. So then leaping like a gazelle over fences one, two and three, I stride toward the perfect clump of yellow. It’s late in the season, so all the white daisies are pretty much done - rich, golden yellow it is.

Selecting the perfect specimen is next. I need to decide what I’m trying to say in the pic. Perfection with clarity - nature’s form, sublime in its attention to detail or organic soft colour merging into more colour with shadowy bits - a bit of both perhaps. The magic of digital, the freedom of digital - the ability to try everything because one can! I love it. It’s a revelation, a deepening of the creative urge to explore new realms without cost… or end sometimes.

Sure, one can always argue that it leads to lack of direction, lack of planning but one can also argue in return that it extends one’s vision, increases one’s output and ability to see the world from different perspectives. I relish the challenge!

Back to the world of yellow! Perfection… mmmm. Unable to settle on which of the perfect choices is THE perfect choice I decide to shoot anyway, putting pen to paper or rather index finger to shutter button in order to get the creative juices flowing. As always seems to happen, I relax into it and my mind opens up to the possibilities: depth of field, front edge of a petal in focus back edge out and vice versa but mostly my mind is consumed by warm yellow. Kneeling on the ground head down intensely focused - the butt in the air angle would not be an attractive sight for any passing observer but I don’t need to worry about such considerations as this mild obsession most often leads to splendid isolation.

A bit of advice - bracket everything (1 either side in stops or thirds if you have the choice), shoot at the highest resolution you can achieve with whichever model of digital genius you possess and take at least half a dozen shots per chosen angle. Give yourself the best chance of capturing the one you really wanted - the perfect image, beautiful enough to grace your wall, a wall anywhere. One feels such an idiot when one has to declare it didn’t quite happen because of trigger finger meanness! Digital genius is defined by trigger finger generosity or put another way - repetition is the basis of professionalism. Whatever it takes I say. Get the shot! The satisfaction is immense.

More advice - check the first few images carefully on the preview screen just to make sure everything is working as it should. Don’t end up taking twenty splendid black and white shots of a gorgeous yellow daisy - do the greyscale thing in Photoshop! Slow down, check the first few brackets. Check that the ISO is set to 100 not to 1600 from last night’s fun and that all the exposure compensation overrides are back to normal (or leave the settings at 1600 over by two if weird and whacky is what you’re after). Little things but in my twenty years as a photographer these little things become mortifyingly large things if ignored!

So perfection captured, 0 and 1’s secured in the land of Flash wizardry it’s back across the three fences leaping not quite so enthusiastically now, the gazelle’s knees are a little creaky from kneeling on the damp ground - back to the ever patient, ever reliable SUV. Gear stowed, key in the ignition, we’re off …A glow of anticipation washes over me!

But never forget the first things to do on your return? Download and backup! Forget at your peril. DOWNLOAD AND BACKUP just in case you didn’t get it the first time.

Copyright 2005 Patrick Heathcock

Sometime commercial photographer London, fulltime flower art photographer and web designer living in the southern semisphere, soaking up the sun. Visit www.aflowergallery.com to view the yellow daisy and more!

Posted by admin as The Photographer's Way at 8:18 PM CST

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Tripod:
In order to successfully take a good photo, it is important you use a tripod. Tripods will result in sharp, clear pictures. Photographers who do not use a tripod will often experience blurred images.

Prepare:
Take plenty of batteries and film for your camera. Don’t rely on finding stores, it might be difficult to locate supplies on location. Even worse, you may loose precious time or keep others waiting while looking for supplies.

Shoot:
Take multiple shots, so you can guarantee the outcome of your pictures. Experiment: Adjust your camera settings, different lighting, different camera angles. Try to find what works for you.

Groups:
If you are taking a picture of a group indoors, and conditions are fairly dark, there is danger that the people near you will be overexposed and the people further away will be a little in the dark. If you can arrange the group so that they are all equidistant from the camera. That way there will be an even spread of light.

Lighting:
Avoid direct sunlight, as this can alter natural coloring. A bright but overcast day is perfect. Get up early and shoot the sunrise in the best location. Scout the area the day before or during the dead time during the high noon sun. During midday if you have to shoot, try using a polarized on the lens. Use the filter only at a 90 degree angle from the sun. You must open up approximately 1 to 1 1/2 stops or more sometimes in order to compensate for the diminished light coming through the filter. Meter a gray card and open up from that reading.

Also use the polarized lens at sunset for some great effects on landscapes. The best time to take the majority of night shots is shortly after the sun has set. This allows a small amount of natural light to work with. Set your camera’s resolution at or near its highest setting (largest file size). The last thing you want is a grainy photo. In the majority of instances it is usually best to have the sun behind you when you take a picture. But watch out for shadows your own and the subjects.

Framing:
Look for ways of naturally framing a shot. Framing accentuates the main subject. Fill your frame!

Closeups:
Move in close. When first starting out you will be surprised at the difference moving closer to the subject will make. Handheld close-ups are often blurry or overexposed. A tripod is essential for taking good close-up shots, especially smaller items. An image stabilizer in the lens is a huge bonus because it means you can handhold the camera in lower light conditions and not have blurring occur in the final picture.

Francesca Black enjoys photography as a hobby and manages content at Future Photo www.future-photo.com and Digital Photo Tips www.digital-photo-tips.com

Posted by admin as The Photographer's Way at 4:08 AM CST

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Scanners range in price from under $100 all the way up to $40,000 or more. Obviously there’s a lot of difference in features between these two price points, so let’s take a look and see what type of scanner is best for your needs.

If you only need to grab some scans to send by email or put up on the Internet, then you can get the job done with a scanner in the $100 price range.

If you are a professional photographer, or you want to print your scans to photographic paper or use them in commercial printing processes, then you’re shopping in the $800 to $2,000 range.

Functionality and specialization are the two price-drivers for scanners. Your first step is to determine which of the three basic scanner types is best for you.

Flatbed Scanner

A flatbed scanner scans photographs, clippings, book pages, small 3-d articles, etc.

Film Scanners

Specially designed to scan negatives, slides, and transparencies.

Combination Scanners

Does the work of both a flatbed and a film scanner.

Some film scanners are highly specialized so make sure that the one you are considering supports your preferred film format.

The major quality determinator for any scanner is the optical resolution rating. Not only does the resolution dictate the quality of the scanned image’s appearance, but it determines the maximum size print that can be produced from the scan.

Optical resolution ranges from 300 Dots Per Inch (DPI) up to 4000 DPI and higher. Anything below 600 DPI is not worth considering at all and an optical resolution of 2700 or better should handle most projects that the average photographer will encounter.

Make sure that the scanner’s DPI rating is the true optical resolution rating and not the “interpolated DPI rating” which requires software to achieve. DPI is one of the features that drives up the cost of a scanner but it is a critical performance item for you so it is worth spending time on.

Color depth, a measurement of the number of colors that the scanner is able to process, is another performance measurement that’s worth understanding. In scanners color depth is measured in bits. A 24-bit scanner is OK but 30 bit is better. Pro photographers may want to consider 36 or 48-bit models.

Another performance item is the scanner’s density range rating. Density range refers to the tonal quality that a scanner is capable of capturing. The higher the range the better the image quality. A good scanner will have at least a 3.2 rating. Ratings of 3.4, 3.6 and higher are even better.

Although you also need to consider hardware compatibility and bundled software issues, the last of the most important performance items is scan time speed which is measured in pages per minute or PPM.

What’s the perfect scanner for you? It’s hard to say but we’ve given you all the information that you need ot make the right choice.

Posted by admin as The Photographer's Way at 10:13 AM CDT

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A handbag is an item that is essential to many women. In fact, almost all women carry a handbag or a purse. There are many women who search multiples stores and catalogs just to find the perfect handbag. Selecting a handbag to purchase can be a difficult task, especially for those who are looking for something particular. What many women fail to realize is that they can create their own customized handbag. A photo handbag is one of the most popular customized purses on the market today.

A photo handbag is a handbag that displays a single image or a whole picture. Photo handbags are complicated to make. They can most easily be obtained by hiring the services of a professional. The photo handbag selection will all depend on the designer in question; however, there are some common photo handbags styles are in high demand.

Before selecting a bag style many individuals already have the photo that they would like to have constructed on the bag in mind. If you are interested in purchasing a customized photo handbag you will want to have a specific photograph in mind if you don’t already have one. Selecting the photograph before the bag will allow you to get a better idea as to how each bag will look with your photograph constructed on it.

Bucket and tote style handbags are the most popular types of bags that can be turned into a photo handbag. These handbags are likely to come in different sizes. It is likely that the larger the size of the handbag the more expensive it will be to have a photo constructed on it. In addition to the bucket and tote style handbags, it is possible to have a photograph constructed on a diaper bag or a beach bag.

It is also possible to purchase a smaller photo handbag. Petite handbags, also commonly known as coin purses or cosmetic bags, are a popular accessory among women of all ages. A cosmetic bag or a coin purse can be used to carry money, makeup, or other small items. Coin purses and cosmetic bags are often combined with a larger purse. As with all other photo handbags, you will be required to select the picture that you want your coin purse or cosmetic bag to display. It is not uncommon for a coin purse or a cosmetic bag to have a photograph constructed on both sides; however, as the purse owner you will have the final say.

No matter what style of photo handbag you select, you should be able to have your bag customized to meet your desire. This often allows you to not only select the photo to be constructed on the bag, but the exterior border and interior purse color as well. With the ability to design a photo handbag just about anyway that you want there is no reason why you shouldn’t at least consider owning one.

Joel Preston is a writer for Photo Blanket Gifts where you can find
more information about photo handbags and other personalized photo gifts.

Posted by admin as The Photographer's Way at 10:22 PM CDT

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So you have bought a camcorder and have shot some footage, but truthfully you don’t much like the results. Maybe I can help. My advice is based on ten years of looking over people’s shoulders at my business, the Video Kitchen in Louisville Kentucky, where people transfer old home movies, duplicate video tapes they’ve shot, and edit their raw footage. My staff and I see a lot of mistakes being made. Other times we see exciting footage shot by an amateur who claims to have no education in the art of videography. What makes the difference? Lots of things. I’ll cover a few of the biggest issues here.

Let’s start with a test: What’s the easiest thing to teach a kid to do? Is it to feed itself, to go to the bathroom in the toilet, to walk, to talk? . . . No, none of those answers are the one I am looking for. Here’s a clue: What do most kids do for more than 20-hours each week? Sleeping doesn’t count. OK, here’s the answer I’m looking for: The easiest thing to teach a kid to do is watch TV. As the kid grows up, how much time to we spend teaching him or her to create TV? How much time was spent teaching you how to create TV? Not much.

Many years ago, when I first started taking home movies, the firms, such as Kodak, that sold film came with instructions how to make good movies. Then, when you got your film back from the processing lab, you might find the dreaded “It’s not my fault” note telling you how you screwed up with advice how to do better next time. Not so with today’s video equipment — you’re on your own. Maybe a family member will suggest your video is lacking, but most likely everyone will watch in stunned silence and politely thank you for the experience as they excuse themselves to get some fresh air or go get a drink.

The learning curve for shooting video is similar to learning how to cook — rarely does a beginner produce a gourmet meal, but we all know what tastes dreadful and what is truly gourmet. This makes learning how to “cook up” great videos intellectually exciting. What looks trivial — just push the red button — really isn’t. There is much more to it than that, just as getting a great meal out without burning half of it and serving the other half cold and undercooked can be a huge challenge for the beginner (and even some of us who have been doing it for years).

Fortunately for the rebellious souls among us, the rules for shooting great videos are not cast in stone — you can do rude things and your audience may love it, just as a great chef may burn and over-pepper a fish and sell it as “blackened” to an appreciative audience. But you really should know the rules of the game before you start breaking them — you need to know how to use your tools and what happens when you push things to the limit.

Put a video camera in the hands of a teenage boy and one of the first things he will do is shoot a bunch of footage in near darkness. Put the same camera in the hands of his teenage sister and one of the first things she will do is turn the camera sideways and upside down. Such fun — just let me out of the room when we have to view this junk — it’s roughly equivalent to a child baking his or her first cake with it’s soggy middle and chocolate all over the kitchen.

Most of us struggled through 12 or more years of school where we were required to create essays for evaluation by our teachers. Back the papers would come with red marks all over them correcting grammar, spelling and suggesting that we didn’t really get our point across. A lot of years and a lot of essays later we might feel comfortable putting words on paper.

This isn’t the case for creating video. Some schools offer a course or two but rarely have the poor teachers been taught anything about the subject, so how are they supposed to pass much knowledge on to their students? At best the system turns out budding newscasters, great for TV stations who can pick the prettiest face from a huge oversupply of kids who want to chase policemen, but not really useful for all the other commercial and artistic opportunities that are showing up as video moves to hundreds of cable channels, shows up on PC’s and soon will be everywhere on the Internet. For examples, visit our web page at http://www.videokitchen.com

This booklet is not for those who want to shoot video commercially. Most people (by a huge factor) simply want to create good videos for fun and family just as many of us who aspire to be great chefs have absolutely no intention of ever darkening to door of the kitchen in a commercial restaurant. Unlike great or bad meals, however, a video will likely be around for many years and in some cases will be viewed by generations of unborn grandchildren who may judge you unfairly if your video-making skills are inferior.

So now I’ve scared you a little, I don’t want you to run from your video camera. Instead I hope you feel challenged to jump in and start to master the subject. Like any subject, your skills improve with practice, practice, practice. You are in control. You can (and should) throw away your junk footage. Plan on letting the world see maybe as little as one-sixth of what you shoot and you’ll have much more fun.

If you were making a Hollywood movie, you would need a script, professional actors, and a support team of dozens or hundreds of people to manage everything from lighting and staging to snacks and insurance for the crew. If you were shooting a documentary, you’d need a story line, a point of view, an argument that you’d want to show and prove. Much the same can be said for videos that sell, train or record for posterity a defined event or staged production. But here you are, you have a camera, want to shoot video, but don’t have any of this working for you. What are you to do, leave it in the closet? No, but you do need to go about your task with some “do’s and don’ts” in mind.

When your job is to watch days and days of old home movies and family videos, you understand the comment of one of my staff after a really busy period: “I think if I see one more Christmas tree, shots of kids at the beach, or a family eating a large Thanksgiving meal, I’ll throw up!” In the middle of this rush, a large order came in of 1940’s footage shot in and around a family summer home that was a total show stopper for my staff. My guys all said, “Wow, look at this!” and we did. For me, it was a time warp — return to a childhood era I knew, but for my young staff born 30 years after the footage was shot, it was completely fascinating too. What had this long forgotten uncle done right that so caught our eye, so interested us? Simple things, really, things that you and I can do with no great effort or planning.

Here you stand, camera in hand, with no story in mind. You don’t know how the day is going to unfold, nor do you expect anything unusual to occur. You don’t even know who your audience might be if you roll the camera, but you want to capture the moment, you want to play with your new toy. Where do you start? Here are some things to think about that may help.

Be selfish: assume that you will be the ultimate audience — that you are trapped in a nursing home with hard floors and hard walls surrounded by strangers, lonely, and no longer interested in a world that is spinning away without you. What would you want to relive and enjoy?

Create an imaginary pen-pal on the other side of the world: imagine you are exchanging “this is my world” videos with that person — someone you want to impress but whom you feel has no idea what everyday life in your world is like. Perhaps instead of a pen-pal on the other side of the world, you need to imagine that grandchildren 50 years from now will be watching and enjoying your footage — they need to see more than this year’s Christmas tree or a collage of unidentified faces all wedged together at the end of a table.

If traveling and touring about, consider being rebellious — don’t shoot a video that the travel industry would want to buy, don’t try to outdo the shots on the picture postcards, don’t come back with hours of footage of old churches and great overlooks. Instead, shoot the little things that are different: the tacky, the elegant, the ugly, the glamorous. Get kids at play, beggars on the sidewalk, strange trucks, painted front doors, signs that tell you that you are “going to hell . . .”

In other words, take great care in capturing what the trade calls “establishing shots” of a time and place. Get a picture of the neighborhood, the house, the rooms you know and live in. Capture shots of things that wear out and become obsolete: cars, telephones, stoves, TVs, clothes, shopping areas, airplanes, you name it.

Break away from your friends and family and get shots that put them in a time and place. I remember one morning looking at a home movie shot in the hills of Kentucky at a family funeral, probably 60 years ago. There were white frame houses, the family all dressed in black, old square cars, a white frame church and spectacular shots of a cemetery on the side of a hill on a green and golden fall day. I didn’t know are care about the family faces but the cameraman had so captured a time and place that I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It was a glimpse into an era that no longer exists, and it was caught very simply by a novice family member with movie camera in hand.

However, you and most of your audience will care about the family faces in your video, and this is where you really have to go to work. Some of the best shots occur when you behave like a fly on the wall — the actors in your video no longer care or know that you are there. It’s actually a lot of work. You need to shoot, or look like you are shooting so much that everyone starts to ignore you. You aren’t asking them to smile or say cheese. You aren’t interviewing them. You are simply making a fool of yourself standing on a chair in the corner, crawling on the floor chasing the cat, pushing in on the stove while someone tries to stir a pot, eavesdropping in on every conversation. You tell everyone to not worry, that you’ll probably throw 90% of what you shoot away, and you well might.

With the fly-on-the-wall technique you are hoping to capture real people in action. Twenty or thirty years from now you’ll want to know what grandma sounded like as a young mother, your kids will laugh that their uncle still walks just like he did when he was a kid, they’ll be amazed at how playful all the old goats were back then. These reactions don’t come if every shot is posed. A few interviews and testimonials may be good, but if they’re bad, what do you do with them — throw them on the floor and hurt someone’s feelings?

The fly-on-the-wall technique assumes you will follow up and edit out the junk and the boring but you don’t just want to leave the camera running endlessly. You want to get shots from different angles. You want to grab snippets and move. You need to hit the red button and stop the camera before you hunt for the next shot. Sentences have periods. Don’t be guilty of taking run-on videos.

If your subjects get busy and decide to do something interesting, grab the camera. Maybe the guys will tear into a car or motorcycle, maybe everyone will play a rousing game of Monopoly, perhaps the women will go shopping, how about a pickup football or basketball game, and certainly get shots in the kitchen. Get dad in his tool room, get mom picking flowers, film washing a favorite pet, capture a stroll through the park.

Let’s look at taking such videos from another angle. Suppose you find yourself with camera in hand at a deadly event you’d rather missed filled with boorish in-laws you really don’t like. Just for the fun of it you decided to record the event in the most hateful manner possible. Here are a few ideas. Start by shoving the camera in peoples’ faces while they are chewing on food and make them say something. Then move everyone to a cramped area and make them repeatedly say cheese. If possible, put a bright light in their eyes or put them outside in the sunniest place you can find. Make the parents feel guilty for their kids that won’t stand still and film their anger and frustration.

After that, hope everyone slouches down in a couch with a beer or too much dinner to watch a football game on TV. Stand over them like a regal king and shoot down on them making them look as slovenly as possible. If you block their view of the TV, maybe one of them will stick his tongue out, curse you or give you the finger, all of which you can happily record for future generations. One of my favorite shots occurs when you burst into a bathroom while someone is sitting on the pot. Wake someone up who is taking a nap. With luck you can so invade someone’s territory while they are having a serious discussion that they will stick the palm of their hand out to block your lens just like a good communist policeman might have as he was beating up on a kid.

Find the fat people and film them to show off their large stomachs. Find the old and shriveled people and go in tight on their bad skin. If one of the kids is a bully, film him persecuting his younger siblings. Capture whining and temper tantrums if possible. Pray for a big family argument that you can film surreptitiously.

That’s just a few suggestions how to make people look awful — it’s very easy to do, and most subjects will rise to the occasion without much prompting. In fact, if you are not careful, you will accidentally capture lots of such footage without really trying. We see it all the time at our shop.

If you have any other questions, please visit our web page at: http://www.videokitchen.com/

Mail us at:
1917 Blankenbaker Parkway
Louisville KY 40299
Call us at:
(502) 266-0905

That’s all for now. This is a work in progress and I’ve put the rough version up on the web hoping for some feedback. If there’s interest, maybe that will spur me on to finish it up.

Video Kitchen was founded in 1992 as a place to “cook up a great video!” Over the years over 25,000 customers have come through our doors to do everything from duplicating a tape for their family to production of sophisticated broadcast-quality videos for businesses, organizations and charities. We have grown from one to two closely integrated operations in Louisville Kentucky. The original operation is at 2323 Bardstown Road, Louisville KY, 40205, a mile and a half north of I-264 in the middle of the bustling Bardstown Road corridor. If you look at a map of the Louisville metropolitan area, we are very near the center of the map. In April 2004 Video Kitchen opened a second location to better serve you at 1917 Blankenbaker Parkway, Louisville KY, 40299. This is in Louisville’s east end, two traffic lights south of I-64 in the Blankenbaker Place Center.

Not only do you gain access to professional equipment, you’ll find a professional staff ready to help you create a superb video. If you need copies, one or thousands, we are the place to do that for you, six days a week.

Posted by admin as The Photographer's Way at 3:06 PM CDT

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Several years ago, I met a fellow photographer - albeit, he was an amateur, a very
good one (the difference is not the quality of the work . the difference is that one
does it for love, the other does it for money). He is now a new friend and fellow
photographer named Marco, an Italian. His day job is as a top children’s heart
surgeon. His passion for photographing people takes him all over the world,
seeking out that special face, interesting enough to be captured on film/file.

During our brief encounter in my brother’s hairdressing salon, we had found
common ground and a need to explore each other’s pictures. He asked me if I would
visit his photographic society to meet the other members and discuss the possibility
of me giving a talk about my fashion photography. I said to Marco, “Whatever will I
talk about?”

Well, first off, he said, there is something very magical in the expressions of my
models and in the atmosphere of my pictures that he would love to have in his. He
asked me how do you achieve this. Shocked at his remark, I said, “No, I can’t,
because I don’t know myself.” You have to find out he said because this is what you
should talk about. We spent the next couple of hours disgussing photography and
the feelings and techniques of managing your subjects whilst shooting.

During my visit to his camera club, we arranged for my talk to be done nearly 9
months later, so I had time to think about my talk and to get myself prepared.

For days, I looked at my work and examined myself whilst shooting assignments. It
was maybe 6 months later whilst photographing a bridal-wear collection for one of
my clients that something clicked. (No pun intended!)

I had decided that I would like to start shooting with wider lenses to change the
style of my bridal-wear pictures. I shoot for so many bridal-wear designers, so I
have to make them look and feel different to the each other. It also helps to use a
short zoom, because during most of my shoots, I can take a variety of images from
full length to portrait shots from the same distance, so my client gets much more
usage out of the shots.

While moving in closer to my model, I noticed a big difference in the expressions in
her face and her body language - they changed, as I got closer. I experimented
more and began to play with this for the rest of this shoot. Not only could I see
better, it also created a much better flow of the energy and communication between
my model and myself. For years, I have been shooting fashion pictures using
medium-length telephotos, at times so far away that my models could not hear me
directing them. An amazing thing had happened. I could see and control so much
more in my pictures. Not to say that I will never use long lenses, just that I prefer
the new results that I am getting with wide lenses. In fact, most of my recent
projects I have shot with a wide zoom.

I find that by doing the poses and expressions in my face that I want, my models
seem to mirror mine. If I act daft, they act daft. If I laugh, they laugh. If I pull a sad
face, they pull a sad face - which always makes them smile

Since this experiment, I have been adapting my directions to my models in much the
same way, obviously changing my energy levels to match the levels I want in my
pictures. If I want a nice soft and gentle feel, I express this in my voice and my
manor and my body. If I want high energy, I do high energy. If I want my model to
leap, I will leap.

Think about this as if you were a conductor. The next time you attend a concert,
watch him or her, and watch the orchestra. They mirror him - fast tempo, slow
tempo, and medium tempo. You can do the same with your models.

Fashion pictures for me have RHYTHM and TEMPO. If you want to express high
energy or tempo in a picture, the shoot has to be high energy or tempo, or visa-
versa.

I look at pictures and sometimes wonder how boring the shoot must have been. I
love to change the tempo up and down whilst I’m shooting, I would hate it if anyone
viewing my pictures did not feel this energy. This is why I strive to make my shoots
exciting for myself, my model, the other members of my team, and, most important,
for my clients.

As a photographer, you are the conductor, your models are your orchestra, and your
clients or viewers of the pictures are the audience. So you have to direct and
entertain. Your performance will reflect in your pictures.

I want you to try a little experiment. The next time you have people over to your
house or you get a moment with some people at work, pick a volunteer. Face each
other, one or two feet apart, don’t speak, and don’t look at each other. In fact, do
your best to imagine they are not there. Stay like this for 30 seconds and remember
how this feels. Stay in this position but hold each other’s hands, look into each
other’s eyes, smile at each other, don’t speak. Instead of imagining they are not
there, do the opposite. Try and send them all of your good energy. Stay like this for
30 seconds. Remember how this feels, and compare the feelings. Ask your friend or
colleague and the others to explain how it felt for them. The next time you are
shooting pictures, remember all of these feelings.

Bruce runs courses, master classes and workshops that give students an insight
into the fascinating world of fashion photography. Instructor and photographer
Bruce Smith teaches the fundamentals of preparing for a fashion shoot and
setting up and photographing a shoot. “Introduction to Fashion
Photography” is intended for anyone who wishes to shoot fashion images for fun in
order to impress family and friends or for those who have a burning desire to
become a professional fashion photographer.

Bruce’s objective is to helps young photographers, initially to produce single fashion
shots and eventually to produce fashion stories that would not look out of place in
today’s fashion magazines.

With a fashion photography career spanning 30 years, Bruce has shot projects in
many parts of the world from Alaska to Thailand. For the past 3 years he has been
giving workshops, lectures and talks in various parts of the UK as well as abroad,
teaching hands-on the skills and techniques he has learned during his professional
career.

There are several variations to the courses that photographers can take, from an
online 8 week intense practical asignments course to 5 day master classes in
beautiful settings in the South of France and Italy. Bruce teaches studio photography
on his fashion and beauty or Glamour and Fine Artistic Figure and Nude
photography workshops, held every month in fabulous studios in South West
London. Students can expect to learn a lot of the secrets behind Bruces amazing
fashion, beauty, glamour and fine artistic figure and nude photographs.

His work can be seen on his web sites:

http://www.brucesmithphoto.com

http://brucesmithphotoworkshops.bravehost.com/online.html

You can read the many letters of thanks from his former students. There is also a
students gallery where you can see the standard of photography his students are
achieving in a short period of time whilst attending his photography master
classes and workshops.

Posted by admin as The Photographer's Way at 2:47 AM CDT

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