A lot of the time people ask me what suggestions or recommendations I can give them when they look for a photographer. It’s usually because the person is not in an area I can get to, or it’s a family member or a friend that wants to pick my brain (even though it hurts sometimes! 🙂 ) When I get this question, I tell most people that choosing a photographer is much like choosing a house or real estate: It’s all about location!
What do I mean by this? Simply put: a photographer can shoot on-location. I see many photographers speak to their ability to shoot on-location, and this is an important aspect of many genres ranging from wedding photography, to band photography, and even architectural work. Heck, last week I did a maternity shoot that was “on location.” So, why is this such an important thing to be able to stake claim to? Three key things come to mind for me:
1. Adaptability – Being able to shoot on location means you can adapt. If the surroundings are beautiful, you can adjust your composition to include elements of the scene to give a sense of time and space to an image. If the surroundings aren’t so beautiful, then it equally means you are able to diffuse things so that you can’t tell where a shot was taken – only that it’s a beautiful shot!
2. Controlling – Yes, being able to shoot on location means you are adaptable, but it also means you can control for a number of factors, and of utmost importance here is the ability to control the light. You can bring flash to fill shadows, or scrims to bring shadows to harsh light. If a photographer can control for the light in a scene – the shot will improve by a factor of ten in most instances.
3. Fundamentals – Given the above two factors are in place, this also usually means that the photographer brings a certain set of fundamental skills to the table. He or she knows an aperture versus a shutter setting, and can likely tell you whether ISO 100 is better or worse than ISO 32000 (depending on the look of course!). Although many like to wax esoteric about photography in abstract terms (myself included), there are certain fundamentals that every photographer worth their salt would and should know. If you can shoot on location, you likely have these fundamentals.
These are just three of the factors that I think about when I see a photographer say they are an “on-location” photographer. Of course the proof is in the pudding, and while I certainly would not pick a photographer solely on whether or not that term is included in their online presence, the ability to back up statements with a solid portfolio (and yes, an interview if you have the time to talk to a potential photographer!)
While we all like to think we have these traits, and in enough of a capacity to “bring it” for any client – let’s face it…some photographers are better than others. Either they’ve got a natural knack for it where others have to work harder at it, or they’ve just simply been shooting a lot longer. Seriously…time means practice, and the more you practice, the better you are at anything! There are photographers who have been shooting for decades and some of us can’t hold a candle to them. Meanwhile, others have been shooting for days, and I often stand in awe of their work. So, consider the above three things when you decide to hang out your own shingle – because people will likely be looking for these traits. Do you have them? Do you have more? Less? Something different? Something new?
What traits do you bring to the table? Or better yet, what traits do you think are important for potential clients to consider when hiring a photographer? The above is just my opinion – but that doesn’t mean it’s the ultimate answer! Am I right or am I way off base? Sound off with your own thoughts as the conversation is always the best part about this blog! Can’t wait to hear what you have to say! Until next time, keep the comments coming – oh yeah, and keep on shooting!
The kind folks at Sigma have become quite the regular contributor to the review section here – as you keep asking for lens reviews, the Sigma brand keeps coming up, and they continue to be generous with my participation in the loaner program. Thus far the lens line-up I’ve reviewed from the Sigma Collection include:
Having compiled quite the list of review lenses, I am happy to announce the latest addition to this review series (some day I hope to have reviewed every lens Sigma has! 🙂 ) I give you the Sigma 70-200 f.28…
This lens is the comparable one to the Canon 70-200 f2.8, and while I’ve not had a chance to test the Canon equivalent, there are some optical similarities. I won’t go so far as to compare it to my own Canon 70-200 f4.0 simply because there are enough differences that it would be an apples to oranges comparison. So, here I’ll just share my own thoughts and shots on and from the lens for everyone to consider. Here is everything from soup to nuts:
The (Alphabet) Soup
This is the 70-200 F2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens – quite a mouthful, but all of these features are important. The EX signifies that this lens has benefitted from the now signature finish of Sigma lenses. It’s smooth but rugged, and hard to really explain, but denotes quality and professionalism while being also understated – it means business. I’ve raved about the finish that Sigma puts on their lenses and this one is no exception. Top Notch! The DG? That means it’s optimized for Digital use. To quote Sigma,
“These are large-aperture lenses with wide angles and short minimum focusing distances. With an abundance of peripheral illumination, they are ideal lenses for Digital SLR Cameras whilst retaining suitability for traditional 35mm SLRs.”
In other words, the f2.8 means the aperture is designed for the width and opening, optimizing the amount of light that comes in, and minimizing barrel distortion. The end result of all this means you spend less time in post fixing things. A definite plus in my book!
OS is the now easily recognizable label of optical stabilization. These lenses have built in mechanisms that counter your movement to allow for shooting at slower shutter speeds. Slower shutter speeds, wide open apertures all means you can shoot and get quality results in lower light! I’ll go into more details on their OS features later though.
HSM refers to the Hyper Sonic Motor, which means nearly whisper quiet movement as the lens picks up on the AF points. Less noise means less distraction. This is good regardless of whether you are shooting portraits, wildlife, or street photography. Remember, it’s not about the photographer, it’s about the photo, and the HSM is an added bonus to help achieve that end goal!
The Nuts
All the acronyms in the world won’t tell you a thing about lens performance though, and neither will my blathering about this or that, so let’s just get to the nuts. I went out with the lens to take some test shots and basically get a feel for the optical quality throughout the lens. I took some at short range (70mm), some in the middle (ranging from 120-150mm), and some at the long end (200mm). Shot groups also were mixed between simple test shots (a street) to portraits, and landscapes to get an idea of the focal range. Here’s said shots!
The 70mm shots
70mm Portrait
70mm Roadway
70mm Landscape
Dog Portrait @ 70mm
Mid-range Shots
Mid-Range Roadway
Mid-Range Landscape
Mid-Range Park
Long Range Shots
200mm Portrait
Long Range Landscape
Long Range Landscape (180mm)
Here, you can get an idea of both the optical quality and range of the optics as well as an idea of how it would perform in a variety of functions. I should also note that I have done literally no post production work in these at all. The only sharpening that was applied was on output sharpening from Lightroom, and that was set “For Screen” by default on all my images. In other words, nothing has been tweaked. Having said that, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of the optics overall.
Pros ~
I absolutely love the bokeh on this lens at long range. It compresses subjects nicely for portraiture, and throws the background nicely out of focus with some great treatment due to the optics. These shots were taken in afternoon light, and the sun was coming in and out of the scene – which could change the settings quickly. We were shooting on a monopod, and with IS on so the minor changes in shutter speed (these were aperture priority shots) didn’t really affect us. The f2.8 end came out nicely too, which was as expected though – that’s the whole reason for the f2.8 My excitement was primarily lent toward the bokeh at the long end which came out to about f4.5 Not too shabby!
I also was a huge fan of the OS – optical stabilization. It had two settings…OS 1 for shooting handheld, which counters both vertical and horizontal axis movement, and if you are shooting on a monopod (which is common with heavier glass), you can switch to OS 2, which turns off the one axis (horizontal I think). This allowed me to take some pretty decent shots at a hockey game a few weeks ago. You may recall seeing a gallery of those shots here on the blog. I was toggling between the OS1 and OS2 for that series so some shots did come out better than others – the ones with OS2 were the sharper in the set!
Another advantage here is that the collar for tripod or monopod mounting is included. I had to shell out an additional $50 for my Canon when I bought the f4, so seeing it included here was a happy surprise. I hate to go on and on here, but there was one other feature that bears mentioning and that is the smooth rotation I was getting from the lens as I worked it through the focal range. Either this was brand new, or had just been serviced because it was about the smoothest glass I’d seen from Sigma yet…and given the laundry list up top, that’s saying something!
And finally, the last big notch in favor of it, is – of course – the price. Coming it at $1700 this lens is certainly not cheap. However the savings is still there as it offers a s$200 over the Canon equivalent which comes in at at $1900! For the cost conscious (and who isn’t these days), that $200 can go toward many other accouterments in your shopping cart! And from what I can tell, the image quality is pretty darn good. (I got my prices from B&H Photo – the Sigma one is here and the Canon one is here)
Cons ~
This was much heavier and bigger than I anticipated. It was longer than my own 70-200 from Canon. Now I grant you my own is only an f4.0 and does not have the OS (or IS if you prefer – for the strict Canonistas out there). But I was a little surprised. I think that’s why my initial shots were a little oof – out of focus – because my arms just weren’t used to carrying the weight around. Lesson learned though – when moving into the fast glass category, at least shoot with a monopod, arm strain is greatly reduced!
The other big con was battery drain. All the time I could hear the OS kicking on and off as it would sense movement, even as I walked around. This caused some noticeable drain on my battery and I found myself swapping out after about 3 hours of shooting. Maybe this is typical of optically stabilized lenses and I am just not used to it, but the drain was something else that I had to take into account. I did have a spare with me, so it wasn’t that big a deal – but I certainly could not have shot all day on only two batteries with this lens.
While the collar was included, I don’t believe the lens hood is. Now the test unit I had did include a nice lens hood with the butterflies to avoid as much vignetting as possible, but that would likely add to the cost. Based on prices seen on B&H though, that’s only in the neighborhood of $25 (Direct link to Sigma marketplace here).
The Decision:
I would loved to have held onto this lens a while longer, and truth be told, will probably end up buying it. The Canon 70-200f4 may be working its last days in my bag, just because the faster glass and features are sure to see much more use from me. Coming up tomorrow, the results of the October contest giveaway – and announcing the November giveaway…make sure you stop in for that! Happy shooting and we’ll see you then!
There’s a great inspirational booklet called “Bits and Pieces” which issues a short magazine every month, giving you little nuggets of wisdom from past and present notables, stories and parables to inspire, and everything in between. On reading one of my recent issues, I came across a great quote from Howard Thurman, a Clergyman of the 1900’s. His quote: Continue reading “The Grain in Your Own Wood”→
As we start drawing into the fall, time becomes an increasingly precious commodity, I am hoping to sustain the full length feature podcasts, but in case timing doesn’t permit that, some podcast shorts will become available. These will be short audio commentaries on a number of topics, all seeking to encourage debate and discussion. Sometimes they will touch on volatile topics, other times, not as volatile, but hopefully equally interesting. Today, the first of likely many audio shorts expands on the lighting post from last week.
Okay, while everyone is salivating (or slamming) on the new 60D Canon just announced, let’s not forget that it’s not really about the body upgrades – it’s the glass we want to invest in. And, true to form, there are also a significant number of additions and upgrades to the Canon lens line-up that bear some discussion, so here we go:
Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens – Touted as the worlds widest fisheye zoom, it’s an impressive feat, but not many shooters really need such a lens. At $1400 price point, the price point will likely be too high for many to justify. Cool factor – high, Use factor – low.
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens – I believe this is the first L lens in this zoom range, and for that reason, the optical quality will likely see a market improvement. At a price point of $1500, the reach will appeal to many, but the price compared to the 70-200L f2.8 IS will deter more. You may lose a little reach, but you gain a stop of light. Not a lot of reach loss for IS gain!
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens – The 6th in the continuing series indicates that this is the go-to lens for the serious shooters…i.e. the pros of the sports circuit. The appeal? Drop in overall weight will reduce arm fatigue. The burden? $7 large! (Call your boss to see if accounting will approve it and best of luck!)
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lensThe best of the best – a fixed focal length prime and the bees knees of the profession, SI shooters, NFL, MBL, NHL, etc – if you are looking here for advice on whether to drop the $11,000 on this lens, I want to know why! Buyers of this grade of optics are the companies with budgets larger than my annual salary my many multipliers!
Canon Extender EF 1.4x III & Canon Extender EF 2x III At $500 a piece it’s really just improved optics. For each it also represents light loss – one stop versus two. if optics are important and light isn’t, the 2X is your choice. Add reach and minimize light loss – the 1.4X. A more cost effective approach – neither at this price!
*****
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Last night the DALPUG (Denver Area Lightroom Users Group) had their bi-monthly meeting and host Brian Reyman walked us through some of the features of the Lightroom 3 Beta. It was a gret seminar and offered an opportunity for many to get an idea of what to expect. I had not realized that there are many work flow options out there because when queried, the audience responded with quite the variety of software approaches. We didn’t officially count votes, but it seemed roughly along these lines:
40% Lightroom 2
40% Photoshop CS (no query here on version #)
10% Aperture
10% Elements or some other platform, including GIMP, Corel, and others…
If you think about it – the first software platform you learn for editing photos is usually the one where you really cut your teeth, grind your fingers to the bones, and once you know it, you just know it. So, for a new software application to come out and challenge the fact that you have this established work flow, suggesting that there is a better way can often be both disheartening and somewhat defeating. After all, some of us can even remember dodging and burning negatives in a dark room not too long ago.
It was quite an epiphany though to see people from such a wide variety of backgrounds – some younger than me (in their 20’s), many in my age range (30’s – 40’s), and others even senior to me (50’s and up) coming out to learn about this new-fangled technology of Lightroom 3.
What it brought to mind for me was a fundamental dichotomy in the way photography has transformed us. We have learned so much and in such a little time frame, yet there are always barriers to learning more, not the least of which is our own prejudices. We learn something, we know something inside and out, and then something new comes along that changes the paradigm. It’s no wonder there is still so much confusion over what “the best” way to work through images is.
One the one hand, if you have a flow, and it works – why change something that does what you want it to do, and it’s something you not only know, but are reasonably good at? Meanwhile, on the other – what if you are spending countless hours doing something much slower than you wish it could be and this new carrot is being dangled? Do you stick to your guns or do you lay that gun down and find a new one that fires better?
It’s a struggle to be sure, and while sticking to your guns can be a good thing in the face of a changing technology, for those of us that stick too long, we can ultimately find ourselves actually staring down the barrel of a gun. It’s all ammo in the armaments and the important lesson I learned is that while the principles may not change the tools to flex those principles are always changing.
So, the answer for me is to stick to my guns in principle, but be ready for a new rifle and prepare to adapt to meet the needs of that new tool, because odds are, the new one will ultimately do it better, faster, and cleaner than anything that came before it….eventually!
Sort of a philosophical musing for today, but nonetheless one I wanted to share, and hopefully get some feedback on. Are you an early adopter? Do you come out guns blazing with new technology whenever it becomes available, or do you stick with the rounds that you know how to fire until the proven replacement has been demonstrated and taught? Sound off in the comments, and come on back tomorrow for yet another round! 🙂
I’d been waiting for the time to put together all the videos, audio, and pictures for this review for a while and I’ve finally caught up on other projects so am getting this out for the listening and reading audiences to enjoy! For those that subscribe and read via RSS, sorry because this is a video-heavy post and you’re just going to have to visit the blog to get the content today! Trust me though, it’s worth it as I take a look at how the Drobo performs in a real world environment with hot swapping drives, and the perils and pitfalls that surround storage area networks…
In the most recent podcast Erik and I talked about several upcoming trade shows, including PMA, WPPI, PSW, and GPP to name just a few. Lots of acronyms though and it can leave many questions open about which ones to attend. While we tried to cover the nuts and bolts of each, one thing was not really discussed to a great degree, and I thought I would share my own thoughts on the future of trade shows here today. To do that though, there are two key news nuggets that tie into today’s post to kind of set the stage:
This year marked the first year that Apple declined to participate at Macworld…
This year Canon also decided to not have a booth at the venerable PMA Show…
This may be the tip of an iceberg or a coincidence, but my guess is that it is a hint of things to come. With technology changing more quicky than many can even keep up, the trade shows of yesterday are not going to be the trade shows of the future. I hate to sound like an old fogey, but back in the day, trade shows were the platform that vendors used to announce new products that spent years in R&D. Not anymore, as the window for R&D has dropped significantly, and tailoring your development to an annual trade show could lead you down many dangerous routes as a vendor…
Dangerous route #1 – Technology changes at a pace faster than you anticipate and when you launch that 8MP camera in a market where 18MP is the latest and greatest, all that R&D, marketing, and advertising money was pretty much burned for nothing.
Dangerous route #2 – You predict a pace of technology and make projected announcements on that prediction. Tech moves slower than anticipated and the 18MP camera you promised at next years show is only a 12MP. An equally embarrassing fiasco for the PR dept to deal with.
So why attend trade shows? I don’t think they will last much longer as venues to “pimp new products”. Sure there will always be secondary and tertiary players that introduce new gear, but I think the trade show will turn more toward a networking show where professionals can network with one another and with possible vendors. From a personal perspective, I’ve already talked to several contest sponsors from previous contests that have asked if I will be attending show X or show Y so we can talk about new sponsorships.
The face time and interaction between the working folks and the vendors is what gets deals done. Vendors get evangelists that talk up their products and pros get gear and software deals at pretty good discounts (and sometimes free). It’s a win-win situation for both, and the larger community can also put a personal spin on the gear they want and/or like. It also comes down to the 6 degrees of separation mentality that people associate themselves with. They associate with another photographer or a professional who uses a certain kind of gear, and they see the results of that, and it’s only natural to think that the gear may have something to do with it (and sometimes it does…). Here’s a few good examples of the line of thinking:
“Hey, I was at a Scott Kelby seminar and he talked up that Elinchrom light set…I should take a look at that…”
“What was that lightbox thing Jason and Erik mentioned on their last podcast?”
“Alex on the photo walk last month mentioned some book on workflow in Lightroom for photographers…gotta make a note of that…”
You get the idea…Scott Kelby is a pretty big name, and while we’re not as “well-known” as Scott, we do have an established set of followers or regulars that read our material. Photo walk leaders also carry weight in their messages too, and Alex is no exception. He is a great photographer, a super friend, and when he recommends a product, you can bet I will listen to what he has to say.!
So, I think the networking and social connection aspect of trade shows will really be the impetus for the future. It always has been to a certain degree, but not nearly so much as I think it will in the future. That’s just my two ¢ though, and you know what they say about opinions – they’re like…..haircuts (everyone has one).
Speaking of which, what are your thoughts on the next phase for trade shows? Will more big names bow out? Or is it just the economy and as soon as we’re back on solid ground they will come back into the mix? Having not attended any, I gotta say I am kind of guessing from the outside looking in, so if anyone has attended trade shows themselves, feel free to chime in here.
Which ones have you attended? What did you gain or get from the show? Positive experience or worst thing ever? Sound off in the comments. In the meantime though, there’s only a few days left in the Flickr contest for February, and the theme is Height!
Today’s post comes courtesy of a comment posted to Twitter from a friend (who shall remain nameless) asking about whether a particular camera was compatible with their computer.
Being the eternal geek, I jumped right in (figured the water was warm), and suggested that it shouldn’t matter because they are using a card reader…right? As it turns out, they were not, instead tethering the camera to the computer to transfer files. While this method is needed for instant viewing (see the tethering via Lightroom post using Canon here and Nikon here), it’s not recommended for transferring of your photos and video off a card that is in your camera. I tried to find a post on this to point the person to and realized that, son-of-a-gun, I had never really discussed this in detail. So… here we go! 🙂
There are a number of reasons why it is a good idea to use a card reader and not connect your camera to your computer for transferring images and video:
Data loss/corruption – The chances for losing data is so much higher because you are relying on the computer detecting the camera, and the proprietary interface between that and the computer (with drivers and software and all that jazz).
Battery drain – Unless you have an AC adapter, using your camera to transfer pictures to your computer can be a serious drain on batteries…even with rechargeable batteries. And, if you are transferring images to your computer and your camera batteries happen to die, guess what can happen…(see #1 above)!
Software installation – When connecting your camera to your computer, often times you will need to install software in order for the computer to recognize the camera. Easy enough sure, but do you really want to bog down your computer with unnecessary software? What if that software is written to preload whenever the computer turns on? Now computer performance is decreased, you have less space for other things. Sure, hard drives are increasing in size and decreasing in cost all the time, but consider whether you will ever use the software for anything other than image transfer. If yes, then absolutely, use it. But if not – why bother? From an IT perspective, if there is a way to do something without installing software, that is always preferred to adding another layer because adding that layer adds a breaking point (or point of failure), and it’s just another item that needs maintenance and updates. After all, let’s face it. Software is not as cleanly written as it used to be…
Transfer speeds – Seriously. Many don’t realize it, but data transfers happen a lot faster when you don’t have a camera sitting between you and the computer. What may taken upwards of 3-5 minutes with a camera acting as the medium can often take less than 2 minutes with a straight connection to the media card.
So, there you have it, 4 reasons to use a card reader! Need any more? Got any of your own? Think I’m wrong? Please feel free to contribute your own experiences and share your own thoughts in the comments. Until tomorrow, happy shooting all!
You knew it was gonna happen. A new camera body has hit the market from Canon. It was only a matter of time. The latest? The Canon 1D Mark IV! (That’s four in Roman numerals…) What’s it got going for it? Lots of features and functions. Everything is being discussed ad infinitum from Megapixels to frame rates, to video, to shutter speeds to ISO’s, and everything in between. In the end, I’ve come to one conclusion: the camera market is always changing, always advancing, and new gear is coming out all the time – from all the vendors. Want some proof? The Canon line-up of Digital SLR’s in its entirety is little more than 2 years old – with the oldest being the 1D Mark III which was introduced in early 2007. Take a look at the current active line-up of Canon DSLR’s and their dates of introduction (from Wikipedia):
EOS 1Ds mark III – Mid 2007
EOS 1D Mark IV – Two days ago
EOS 1D Mark III – Early 2007
EOS 5D Mark II – Mid 2008
EOS 7D – 2009
EOS 50D – Mid 2008
EOS Rebel T1i – 2009
EOS Rebel XSi – 2008
EOS Rebel XS – 2008
That’s a lot of cameras! And that’s only their active lineup! Others that have been “deprecated” (taken out of production) include the 40D, 30D, 20D, 10D, Rebel XT and probably more. It’s funny actually that the two SLR’s I have owned are the XT and the 40D – neither of which is in production anymore. And both of these cameras were absolute cutting edge on their release roughly 2 years ago and 5 years ago respectively. The XT marked a new era of consumer grade SLR’s and the 40D marked a significant advancement to the 20D which was the most popular camera for serious enthusiast shooters for many years. (Apparently, the 30D was only an incremental upgrade…)
A lot of people have been asking me: “Are you going to upgrade?” What does the new MP count mean? What about the video? Do we need to be concerned about this? Is it priced fairly? What about this? What about that?” Lots of techno-babble is going around, and to be honest, I can’t keep up anymore. For me it’s about one thing and one thing only: Does it take good pictures? In both the active and the deprecated line-up, the answer is a solid yes!
For what it’s worth, for me, I will continue to use my current camera until one of two things happens:
It breaks
My needs exceed its ability
Having said that, I am always interested in hearing what others think about the latest developments in the camera and photography industry. It’s always fun to talk gear talk, and prognosticate, and “oooh” and “ahhh” over the latest gagedtry. If I had a million bucks, then sure, I might look at all the stuff and buy every time a new one comes out, but until then…the above criteria fit the bill for me just fine. What about everyone else though? Does this make sense? Am I being curmudgeonly? Am I burying my head in the sand? Is there something I am missing? What are your thoughts on the “latest and greatest” in the camera world? I’d love to hear, so sound off in the comments and via email – who knows, you may get your name featured on a podcast! LOL
In the meantime, as always, Happy Shooting! 🙂 (We’ll see you back here on Friday with hopefully the latest podcast and some weekend nuggets (like a winner for the Flickr Monthly Giveaway!)
