STRENGTHS: The lovely back-lighting and the shallow depth of field created a nice separation between the background and the man’s head in this image; skin tones are properly exposed.

IMPROVEMENTS: Be careful about detail in white shirts: when shooting darker skin tones, we sometimes need to over expose a half to a full stop from the camera’s meter. However, avoid white clothing that can easily get overexposed; the man’s expression looks a little blasé…it would have been nice to see an expression of pride or joy about his new-coming baby.

STRENGTHS: I like the girl in the foreground with the other peering over her shoulder, however…

IMPROVEMENTS: By using a shallower depth of field and zooming in slightly, the focus could have been stronger on the girl’s eyes. This could be achieved by cropping the bottom a few inches. Additionally, it would have been nice to see either more of the girl’s face or only her eyes behind the shoulder. I would also caution against competing design elements and let the image stand on its own.

STRENGTHS: The use of a soft focus filter works effectively for sweet images like this. Giving a child something to play with, like the bubbles, was also a creative way to get a natural look to the child.

IMPROVEMENTS: Would love to see other images from this shoot where, perhaps, the child’s face shows a bit more expression.

STRENGTHS: Great use of the baby’s blanket as a vignette around the face.

IMPROVEMENTS: The exposures between the three images are inconsistent. The skin tones in the image on the right are flat, while the skin tones on the left side are slightly overexposed. As a spread, it’s always good to have consistent tonal values.

STRENGTHS: The back-lighting, composition, exposure, and use of filters are all excellent.

IMPROVEMENTS: The image is lacking expression. The children look bored.

STRENGTHS: These are adorable. The expressions are great.

IMPROVEMENTS: Again, watch the use of white clothing when you’re considering your exposures. The exposures are a little hot (is this overexposed, or just over-processed?). This layout might be stronger by eliminating the central image.

STRENGTHS: Great prop. The blue chair and tan sand are great complementary colors to the baby’s olive skin tones.

IMPROVEMENTS: None. Great job.

STRENGTHS: Both images are well-exposed and composed.

IMPROVEMENTS: The window frame coming directly through the top of the woman’s head is distracting. You can create an action in Photoshop to keep sepia consistency throughout your images (especially within a specific layout).

STRENGTHS: Great variety of images in this spread. It’s fun to mix B+W and color.

IMPROVEMENTS: Again, keeping sepia tones consistent is important. The upper right image is very cold, while the lower left is ‘too sepia’. The lower right color images are a bit overexposed. The spread would benefit from including a stroke or frame around each image to help separate them.

STRENGTHS: Exposure and expressions are great. These are great examples of what could be used for a head shot or album cover.

IMPROVEMENTS: An image shouldn’t cut off right at the hand… You could show the hand or crop from the bottom above the elbow.

STRENGTHS: Everything about this image’s composition and exposure (and expression) is fantastic.

IMPROVEMENTS: The mark (is it part of a flower?) behind her back on the right should be edited out.

STRENGTHS: Composition is good.

IMPROVEMENTS: Both images are blown out. Again, it would be wonderful if there was more feeling in the face (perhaps a more mischievous look).

CONCLUSIONARY REMARKS:

This photographer shows excellent use of composition, props, attire, and environmental settings.  Adjustments to exposure, expressions, and sepia tonal values will help transform this collection into a consistent, sleek, professional body of work.

I always share my truest feelings about my photography.  A lot of people ask me about my passion for film and assume I’m anti-digital. This couldn’t be further from the truth.  I have a passion for digital just as much as I do film, and I also enjoy apples as much as I do oranges.  It’s not about choosing one over the other; rather, it’s a question of selecting the right camera for the right situation.  My film camera is like a classic car that I might take for a spin on a Sunday afternoon in wine country, whereas my digital Nikons are like luxury commuter sedans that provide me with comfort, convenience and practicality.

While I always thought that only film images could make me slow dance, whisper in my ear, and seduce me to my knees, along came Nikon’s professional digital cameras.  Until recently, I didn’t feel that digital technology had the ability to record light, shadow, and depth in the way analog cameras could; but my D700, can see the romance of candlelight flickering in the eyes of two lovers in a way my film cameras never could—having to supplement with flash fill in a situation like this would be the ultimate buzz kill, destroying the magical subtle nuances of a warm candle-lit room.

For all my film enthusiasts out there, I would like to say this: we need to be careful not to miss out on some of the cutting edge advancements within the digital world.  If we could have the best of both worlds, shouldn’t we?

I shoot with the Nikon D700 and D3, both of which have changed my perception on digital cameras.  The D700 is fantastic for a variety of reasons, but hits it out of the ballpark in low light situations.  When it comes down to it, it’s lightweight, affordable, easy to use, and boasts incredibly low noise levels, thanks to the larger pixels in its 12.1-MP FX sensor. With its wide sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 6,400 (and even up to 25,600 in the Hi modes!!), I have total confidence and control in any low-light situation.  There is no film camera that could compare to this digital performance. My D3 gives me the added security of a second memory card slot, which I have programmed to make a copy of each image on my second card. With either digital body (or any, for that matter), the immediacy with which I, or my client, can review shots from a current shoot is simply invaluable.

Does my newfound love affair with Nikon’s digital cameras mean that I am going to toss out my film camera?  Absolutely not, there is still a time to shoot film, like on a Sunday afternoon drive in my 1966 230 SL Roadster.

I will always enjoy the rich grain and graceful highlights from film; however, this “novelty” is not always practical.

Cheers!

Elizabeth Etienne

As Photographers out job is to make any size wedding (and budget) look like a grand affair by finding just the light, composing each image in a perfect way and shooting spectacular images.

“Look for the light” I always say. Leave your artificial light at home and just grab your camera!Lighting is the photographers voice. It’s the lead vocal in the band, the main course in a meal and the rhythm in a song. The right lighting can make or break the quality of an image. Too many times I see photographers over lighting their subjects by flooding their subject with direct frontal light There’s nothing less romantic, less emotional, less moving than that.

I knew a wedding photographer who shot everything with a flash. It didn’t matter what the composition was he always blinded the subject with a brightly lite flash. My advice to him was shoot your next wedding with natural light only! He thought I was crazy.  I got a call a week later thanking me after her followed my advice that he made some of the best images of his life!

There are so many beautiful different kind of light. Shooting inside or out, I’m a firm believer you can shoot in any kind of light if you just look around you. There’s back lighting , (my particular favorite), side split lighting, Rembrandt lighting, flat front light, dappled patterned light and silhouette lighting. Once you understand natural light and what to do with it you’ll be able to emulate a particular lighting pattern in a studio setting using artificial lights if you have to. Below are sample images of these lighting styles. I used exclusively natural light for all of these images.

My assistants always bring a copy of my “Shoot Composition Check List”. This is a composition reminder list. My assistants or production manager keep a copy of this list in their photo vests. We also have one taped to the inside of the camera bag as a reminder. The list reminds me to shoot a variety of compositional versions of the same image set up. This will include: horizontal and vertical images, color and black and white images, center balanced and off balanced image compositions, and creative and traditional compositions. In my early days of shooting I was so eager to shoot my trademark, creative images I would forget completely about the simple, clean images of the couple looking INTO the camera smiling. These are the ones their parents usually order and frame.  Now my crew or production manager reminds me to make sure we shoot those “traditional” images first and then the creative ones second.

Obviously shooting the creative images is more fun. I like to do things like shoot the same shot but have the couple looking off camera instead of looking into the lens for a few frames. I might also shift the focus from their faces to an object like an iron gate or tree branch for variety. Having a wide variety of images assures me I’ll have the image the client might wants for a particular frame dimension or a magazine or stock agency might want for a particular layout.  I also try to remember to shoot some frames of balance leaving room for potential text for magazines or ad layouts. In the back of my mind I’m always thinking about how my images might be recycled beyond the present photo shoot. This is imperative to residual income sales. There is nothing worse than a stock agency loving and image and then asking if you have a vertical, left or right balanced or black and white version and you don’t.

SHOT COMPOSITION CHECK-LIST

REMEMBER TO SHOOT:

• Color images
• Black & White images

• Vertical images
• Horizontal images

• Individual portraits: creative and traditional
• Couple portraits: creative and traditional

• Fun/happy images
• Serious/intimate images

• Close-up – couple and individual portraits
• Mid-length – couple and individual portraits
• Far away – couple and individual portraits

• Detail shots including location details to tell the story – might include body parts (hands, feet, eyes, toes, lips, etc.)

I am presently interning for Elizabeth and am amazed at how much I have learned in such a short time. Elizabeth’s internship program has already made a huge impact on my life and my future career as a photographer.

Elizabeth’s unique mentoring style is giving me the direction and structure I need to help me achieve my business goals as a photographer. Being a great photographer is one thing, but being an entrepreneur is another and having the opportunity to be mentored by someone who is extremely successful in both areas is beyond invaluable in this industry.

Check out Christine’s work at:

http://www.christinemillsphotography.com

From location scouting, to working with clients, to finding my “style,” I learned an incredible amount of valuable skills in a very short period of time. Elizabeth’s passion for shooting film definitely rubbed off on me, and I started shooting film too. The images below are samples I shot using film. I’m now hooked and really love Kodak film!  I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to learn from the best!

Check out Laurie’s amazing work at:  http://www.lauriescavo.com

Working with her helped me understand all aspects of photo business, importance of keeping up with all industry trends, being constantly out there (taking part in competitions, doing exhibitions) and showed me countless possibilities I have if I work hard. I came out more focused, more confident about who I am as an artist and where I want to be…

During my studies I invested a lot of time, money and energy to built strong portfolio, but it all paid off -  I became published photographer/journalist with multiple photography awards while still in school. Right after receiving my degree, I got hired as an Editor-In-Chief and Art director of OK! magazine in Slovakia, where I got experience with publishing in

dustry. My niche is women lifestyle magazines and right now I´m building my business around it and working on two photo books.

Check out Diana’s amazing work:

http://www.dianamrazikova.com/