Lighting Techniques of the Portrait Masters

I was recently teaching Studio Lighting at Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai a few weeks ago with other PPSOP instructors and had the opportunity to work with the model Lenka. The goal of the workshop is similar to my online class here, to teach about learning to see light and sculpting your subjects with light.

There is not much difference between what a sculptor does in their art and a photographer using light. The sculptor uses tools to create a 3 dimensional work of art while the photographer uses light to sculpt their subject to appear 3-dimensional in a 2-dimensional medium.

For Lenka, I used a beauty lighting technique called over/under with one light above and the other under to create a key light and a fill light. This is a very nice way for photographing woman in a soft and flat light manner as it hides skin imperfections, blemishes, and wrinkles. In this image I then went further using skin softening and dream glow techniques to work on the eyes, nose, and mouth. These techniques and many more are in my class: Lighting Techniques of the Portrait Masters.

Charlie Borland
www.borlandphoto.com
Blog: www.thecommercialphotographer.net

Great Photography Tips (Flash Videos)

Photography Tips, covering different aspects of photography, are just added to PPSOP website. These great tips are in Flash video format, brought to you by Bryan F Peterson, the founder of The Perfect Picture School of Photography.

Photographing Upclose

One of the great things about photographing wildlife in Florida is not only the vast amount we have here, but just how close you can get to some of these beautiful animals. Many times I have heard from photographers from other parts of the country just how jealous they are of how tame some of our birds and animals are, which provide us with some amazing photo opportunities.

One such animal is the Florida Gopher Tortoise that can be found in many areas around Florida, and the best place we have found to see these rare turtles is on Honeymoon Island. One of the keys to getting great shots of these turtles is that you need to get down to their level, which means you gotta lay in the dirt and sand they live in.

I have no problem getting dirty to get a great shot, and if I ever come home clean, it means that I didn't try hard enough to get some amazing shots. By getting at your subjects level, you bring the viewer up close, and how they see their world around them. I love seeing these turtles in the wild, and they are so calm and gentle.

Dawn shot video of myself getting down and dirty to photograph a little one we found on a recent hike. This is a rare behind the scenes look at how photographers get some amazing shots, plus you also observe and learn how these creatures live in their tiny part of the world.

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Click Here To Watch Video Of Photographing A Gopher Tortoise
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As a side note, at no time was there any interaction between myself and the little turtle, for the number one rule is to respect your subject, and never place them in any danger or distract their normal behavior. After a while, they accept you in their world, and will go about their natural routine, paying no mind to you as you watch and photograph them. It's an amazing experience to say the least.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)



Robert La Follette
www.robertlafollette.com

Gone in the rain with the wind

By Danilo Piccioni
The Italian Eye





September 2006, I was assisting Bryan Peterson in one of his INCREDIBLE workshops. This one was in Venice and under constant rain, definitely not a September Italian kind of weather if you ask me!
Despite the weather, we tried to be inventive, we tried to be creative and make the best of the time we had together.
Sheltered from the rain standing under the colonnades in Piazza San Marco, I spotted an abandoned broken red umbrella inside a trash can, partially sticking out, looking as if it was screaming : Pick me! Pick me! Make me famous!
So I went and grabbed it and I said: let's do something with this.
In addition to the rain, there was a constant breeze that day and all the nearby cafes in the square were closed because of the unpleasant weather.What better chance for me to borrow one of the café’s chairs and place it in the middle of the piazza and ask one of the students to pose for the shoot?





Doug was either a very good sport or he wanted to show off his new expensive rain proof clothing gear, but either way he sat with his boots in the water and held the umbrella against the wind and waited patiently for us to set up our tripods.
The first shot here shows how the image would look from a normal point of view: Standing up at eye level it’s not very flattering; everything is squashed down because of the deformation due to the wide angle lens; these incredibly beautiful buildings look short and fat and Doug sitting in the rain is just one of many things happening in my photo, not the subject.




I immediately changed lens from wide angle to medium tele, a 70 mm did the job quite nicely.
I also shortened the tripod down a lot and noticed that people passing by where causing the photograph to be overcrowded and distracting. I needed to isolate Doug from everything else.
That's when I decided to use a long exposure to create a sense of movement among the crowd and use them only as a colorful brush stroke effect in the background.




Using a long exposure allowed me to keep Doug and the Doge’s palace pin point sharp and blur everything else.
In order to achieve this and not over-expose the frame I had to add a Neutral Density filter in front of my lens. My frame was still over-exposed, so I decided to add my polarizer filter on top of it and increase the time to an even longer exposure.
I couldn't believe my eyes when suddenly a group of colorfully dressed Japanese tourists came along and I triggered away.

The result image?
Breath taking! And it was chosen as the front cover for SouraMagazine’s Nov-Dec issue, an internationally well known Fine Art photography Magazine in the UAE and in the industry.
Thank you, Doug, for being such a sport and a great looking model!



Click HERE to read the article and watch my images.
The Italian Eye © 2008

New Classes Start Soon!

Don't miss out on the fun as PPSOP kicks off 2008 with a full menu of fun and exciting courses that will surely give you a wealth of information. In addition to our most popular course, Understanding Exposure, we also have a several new and exciting courses designed just for you.

Check out Architectural Photography, Street Photography, A View From The Top, Portraits Unplugged, CS3 Workflow, Understanding Exposure II, Lighting Challenges, Lensbaby Magic, and a fresh and creative approach to Creative Composition. To see these, and all of our classes, simply go to http://www.ppsop.net/courses.aspx!

We know you will enjoy these and all of the great courses we offer, and look forward to meeting you "online" at The Perfect Picture School of Photography.

HDR Photography

On a recent workshop with fellow PPSOP instructor Chris Hurtt, we started to talk about doing more HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography, especially when we come across some great landscape candidates. Chris showed me some fantastic software called Photomatix (http://www.hdrsoft.com/).

The software was really quite easy to use, but to get the best results, one needed to get some specifics done right while out capturing the scene. Over the holiday break, I decided to study some more in HDR, so I set out to see what I can find.

While hiking on the trails at Honeymoon Island, Florida, I came across a scene that I have seen a hundred times before, but never attempted to capture it, for I knew the results would not be as good as I saw them. This time however, I met the challenge head-on. Typically, when one tries to photograph a landscape that has a lot of detail, and if the light is not right, the results look like it was taken with a point-n-shoot that we all have seen.

Yuck! This is how the shot looked with just one exposure

One of the tricks to a successful HDR photo, is of course knowing what you need. So, in this case, I had several tools to call upon to get the shot I was looking for. Those tools of course was my camera, wide angle lens, tripod, bubble level and remote release. The next trick is to set your camera at f/22, ISO 100, and once I get everything set up and the lens focused, switch the lens into manual focus so that is won't change the focus point during your captures.

The reason for all this preparation is that you need to take at least 3 different shots, but the more the better. To do this, there are several different ways to accomplish this. The first, and perhaps the easiest, is to us your cameras AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) setting, whereas you will take 3 different exposures. Another way is to use your cameras Exposure Compensation, where when you take each frame, you expose the scene differently. Lastly, you can take the exposures manually. The end result will be one frame -1, the next at 0 and the last at +1 in exposure reading.

Here are all 5 exposures of the scene

Of course, a steady tripod so that each frame is exactly the same, which is also true for the focal length, so one you get everything set up, the only thing you need to do is expose each frame differently. Also, keep in mind the Rule of Thirds for your composition, for without it, the shot will not be as dramatic!

For my shot, I used 5 frames, -2, -1, 0, +1 and +2, for the more frames you have, the more data you have to work with. Once you take all your shots, you are ready to assemble them in Photomatix.

I took all 5 of my frames (which I shot as RAW files), and ran them through Photomatix. Here, you can tweak the settings to get the desired results, which after you play around with them a bit, you can get the hang of just what they do and how they affect the output.

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View The Result Of My HDR Photograph Of Honeymoon Island
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To learn more about how to use the software, here is a great tutorial on HDR photography that will explain everything. So the next time you want to try something new, give HDR a try, for once you see it's powers, you will be addicted for life!

Robert La Follette
www.robertlafollette.com

What's Inside Your Bag?

That is one of our most asked questions here at PPSOP, and honestly, it is something we really don't think about (unless we head out the door and forget to bring it!!!).

I have a tendency to carry most of my gear, regardless of what or where I will be heading for the day, for you never know what one will find. I know many others that only carry what they need for what they are shooting, but there has been numerous occasions where when I am done, or perhaps I didn't find what I was looking for, other opportunities will appear, and if I had not had the right equipment, that shot would of been lost forever.

So what do I usually carry? I shoot with a Canon EOS 40D, and I have an assortment of lenses from the 10-22, 17-40L, 24-105L, 70-200L, 60 Macro, Extension Tubes, 1.4x Converter, and sometimes my 400L. Also, I have an assortment of filters, extra batteries, several CF cards, wired remote, bubble level, bulb blower, lens hoods and plenty of business cards. It can be fairly heavy at times, but the trade off is well worth the effort to ensure I am fully prepared for the special moment!

Robert La Follette
www.robertlafollette.com

PPSOP Holiday Special-10% Off Any Class!

IN CELEBRATION OF THE AMERICAN HOLIDAY, THANKSGIVING, PPSOP IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE A THANKSGIVING PROMTOION ON ALL OF OUR FOUR AND EIGHT WEEK CLASSES THAT ARE BEING OFFERED IN JANUARY 2008.

SIGN-UP FOR ANY FOUR WEEK CLASS BEFORE DECEMBER 21ST AND SAVE $20.00

SIGN-UP FOR ANY EIGHT WEEK CLASS BEFORE DECEMBER 21ST AND SAVE $40.00

A BRAND NEW COURSE AT PPSOP!

As photographers, amateur and professional alike, we have all ventured down many a road, both literally and figuratively, and at one time or another, made the magical discovery of a hidden treasure and felt that intensely satisfying feeling of having just recorded a truly compelling image! These are the discoveries that certainly fuel our passion for image making.

As you move yet towards other hidden treasure's that lie in wait along life's many paths, roads, avenues, and streets, I want to strongly recommend that you also consider traveling down at least one lane and NOT just any lane I might add. The lane I am suggesting is truly an extra-ordinary LANE; a LANE that will in fact, lead you towards even richer roads, paths, avenues and streets!

The Lane I am speaking of is Bobbi Lane, one of America's greatest teachers on the subject of photographing people! Bobbi Lane is truly a gifted photographic artist and no one even comes close to teaching the art of Photographing People-Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere than Bobbi does with Portraits Unplugged! What amazes me most about Bobbi Lane is that she creates her stunning and often times mesmerizing people images WITHOUT benefit of any electronic lighting equipment. The entire class that she will be teaching here at PPSOP is based on nothing more than using available light and reflectors. (In this day of Global Warming, it can easily be argued that this is a "Green Photography Course" since no electricity will ever be used by you as you record what I know will be some truly electrifying images!)

Bobbi Lane is truly a Master of capturing available light and making the light that is available work towards flattering her subjects to the highest of levels. She is also a consummate professional in dealing with the often-complex nature of what some describe as the most difficult subjects of all, 'people'.

People photography, perhaps more than any other subject, is what all of us wish we could excel at but... Whether you wish to create compelling images of just friends or family or wish to gain the knowledge and courage to approach and shoot compelling images of people you hardly know, your wish can now be granted thanks to the genius of Bobbi Lane! PPSOP feels incredibly honored and lucky to offer a class taught by Bobbi who was recently handed the award for education on the 25th anniversary of the APA!

Bobbi Lane's course, Portraits Unplugged begins on Friday January 11th. Click here to learn more and to get to the sign-up page.

One final thought!

"Can our turkey jump higher than the Chicago skyline?"

"You bet it can! The Chicago skyline can't jump at all!"

November 2007 Photo Contest Announcement

We are thrilled to announce our October winners of PPSOP's monthly photo contest. The winners are:

1st Place - $500 - Rod Cordsen
2nd Place - $250 - Connie J. Bagot
3rd Place - $100 - Robert Hammar

Thanks to all that participated! Since a lot of us find ourselves in fall colors with winter fast approaching the November theme will be 'Orange'. Have fun with it and we look forward to seeing your entries. Contest will close November 31st. Good luck and happy shooting! Remember ANY current or past student can participate in the ONLY contest with cash prizes!

Happy Shooting!
Chris Hurtt
PPSOP

PPSOP Photo Contest Has Returned!

Where in the world will you find a photography contest that offers $850 each month in cash prizes? Only here at PPSOP! Beginning today, every current and former student of PPSOP can participate in our monthly photo contest and have the chance to win a cash prize of $500.00 for 1st place, $250 for 2nd place or $100 for 3rd place. And the contest theme for the month of October is FASHION/BEAUTY (No Nude). Just log in, choose "Contest" in your class list, upload your ONE image by October 25th, and on October 30th the winners will be announced and displayed for all to see! Good luck to all of you!

Want to stay informed about future contests? Sign up for Email Updates and not only get the latest news, info and happenings at PPSOP, but also stay informed about new courses, and our new monthly photo contest!