Tech Tips

Since I have been shooting a lot of portraits lately at F2.8 during bright daylight hours, I have had to shoot using high speed sync to get the right exposure.  The other day I photographed Tory, a model in town, and we were going for that selective focus look.  Exposures of 1/1000 and faster at Read More

Recently we did a shoot in a gym, photographed a table tennis player.  I really like playing, but when I learned the model, Chris, had a $300 paddle…well, I’d be happy shooting pics instead of playing against him.  I wanted to create a number of images, smash shots, static portraits, moody dramatic scenes.  We carted Read More

Just did a drive across the mountains in Colorado, and a lot of it was in a whiteout…hazard lights blinking crawling along the highway looking for the road.  But as soon as the snow started to slow down, I realized we were missing a great photo op with all the fresh snow in the trees. Read More

I’m always looking for new tools and techniques to use in creating images.  Sometimes it is learning a new technique, other times a new piece of gear allows me to do things I haven’t done in the past.  I recently bought a Nikon 45mm PC-E lens to add some selective blur to my shots.  Tilt Read More

A question that comes up everytime I teach a flash clinic is “what is the best kind of light for this subject”.  I think the best way to answer that is “what are you trying to say, what mood do you want to capture?”  At one end of the spectrum is hard edged non-diffused light, Read More

Had a great holiday weekend camping and climbing with friends in Penitente Canyon  recently.  Penitente Canyon is an incredible place to rock climb, a magical canyon with rock buttresses and….rattlesnakes, lots of rattlesnakes.  We had 6 young kids in our group, and almost every trip down the trail resulted in a rattlesnake sighting.  I had Read More

Just returned from a family vacation to the florida keys, nice after being on the road for more than a month.  I promised myself I wouldn’t turn this family vacation into a ‘family stock shoot’, and I’m happy to say that was the case.  That doesn’t mean I didn’t spend some time doing a little Read More

Somehow I seem to be shooting in or near the water for a lot of images…oceans, lakes and rivers…just can’t get enough time in the water.  Naturally electronics (think flash and cameras) don’t like water, so I have come up with some techniques to keep my flash equipment dry should it go into the drink. Read More

A question that comes up on workshops is can you use a lensbaby with flash.  The short answer is “Yes”.  I really like the lensbaby, love that mysterious feel you get from the selective focus.  I use the latest version, the Composer.  This version has multiple lenses you can use to give different effects, as Read More

Most of my shooting occurs on the road, sometimes in very exotic locations with stunning backgrounds, other times in dreary hotel rooms that can’t get any uglier!  So you learn tricks to come away with a decent image, even in uninspiring locations.  Show your client some photo magic, and you will be hired again.  I Read More