A common mistake I see a lot of people make that are new to photography is their technique when photographing people outside during the day…or lack of. If you do not thinking understanding and controlling light is essential to photography…stop, put your DSLR on craigslist and go find a nice point and shoot.

Photography is light.

When you look at a photo all you are seeing is how light is reacting to the subject you are shooting. This biggest improvement you can make to your photography is understanding it. If you do not understand anything else about photography except controlling the light source then you are already a head of the game. When you are using studio lighting or off camera flashes you can understand the source of light and evenmore so have all of the control of the source. 

READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

Continue reading

>r

>r

>f

>f

>g

>g

>Setting Up Your Newborn Photos

>I have had some people as me (and I asked a million people before me) how certain shots are set up. The lighting, the lenses, the editing, etc. So I thought I would start to share these set ups on my blog. If anyone knows me they can tell you I love three things; talking, photography, and tech-nerd stuff (my wife will vouch for this…)

So in one of my first of many installments on how-to’s I wanted to share how I set up a certain newborn session I did for my friends Kristin and Matt with their newborn twins Gia and Luca.

Below is a comparison shot of how I set my Alienbee’s AB800 light shot through a large softbox and the resulting shot that the lighting provided.  (click image to view larger size)

Do you need a studio light, a softbox and triggers to take newborn photos? of course not and I actually recommend using natural light as much as possible. But you don’t always get a choice and this tutorial will show you some examples of how I did this shoot in particular on a cloudy day in a house without a large source of light from beginning to end.

READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

>Hangin’ with Baby Drew

>Baby Drew is my new nephew courtesy of my sister in law Jaymie. (Well and her husband David too who as well had a part in his creation.) A couple days after he was born I had to leave the state on business for a week and by the time I got back he was already out of his super brand new baby phase. (did I mention his dad is 6’6″? Diaz boys dont stay small for very long)

Like most people I stick my camera in front of, Drew really wasn’t all that stoked to meet Uncle Ryan and his 24-70mm face. I tried to explain to him that he will get use to it and his face will automatically smile some day anytime someone brings out a camera. But like most baby’s he wanted to be held and cuddled and feed and his butt patted to sleep. Which I don’t blame him for. I have been trying to get my wife to rock me to sleep at nights with no success to date.

>Sweet Baby Jordan

>First and foremost a HUGE congratulations to my friends Jen and Chris on their new baby girl. She is just as precious in real life as she is in the photos. Since I am a father of two amazingly wonderful handfuls I always get asked by new parents if “we are done.” Instantly I always answer with a “God Yes.” That is until you are around something so new and so innocent. Until you hear the little cry and you put you hand on their back and shush them back to sleep.

Then hmm maybe I would want another little one in the house! Come on Amanda we can do this right? oh wait what? Mason pooped his pants and Preslie is eating an ink pad?
” We are done.”

>Christa Maternity Photos – Orfila Vineyard Escondido

>Christa is not only a good friend, but the best kind of client you can ask to work with. She comes with ideas (the vineyard) and a certain look she is aiming for in a shoot, but also lets loose and gives me the time to try some ideas that maybe I normally wouldn’t try to pull off. Being able to sit back and develop a shot and just be completely focused on the photography is as rewarding as you can ask as a photographer.

We decided to meet up at the Orfila Vineyard in Escondido. Since neither of us are wine makers we didn’t even think of the seasons for the grapes. When I pulled up I noticed that the fields were just sticks and fence post. What I didn’t expect was that the shots I think actually came out better without the grapes in full bloom. I am a huge fan of dramatic photography, so the bare vineyard and Christa’s awesome chose of clothing for the shoot really came together well.

here are a few shots from the session. I will probably post more for this is just a small sample of the shots we were able to get.

>Karel Maternity – Chrystal Pier in PB

>I realized I was falling into a funk of shooting maternity photos at the same location over and over. Its nice to have a “go-to” location I guess but shooting the same shots over again with different clients just wasn’t cutting it for me. I think in anything you do, especially art, if you are constantly challenging yourself then you are just fooling yourself. So when I got the chance to shoot maternity photos for friends Laura and Jeff at a location of my choice I wanted to do the exact opposite of “cliffs and waves.” When I use to play in a band a long long time ago I remembered the Chrystal Pier hotel being located next to a venue we would play in PB. (remembered as in blackout subconscious)

>Jenni & Brent – Seagrove Park Wedding

>