Can I take photos while the sun is out?

New York City is filled with a lot of attractions, The Empire State Building, Yankee Stadium and Coney Island to name a few. One of the most overlooked locations is Fulton State Park. Fulton State Park is located in the heart of DUMBO.

This park has one of the most beautiful views of the (Hudson/East River), as well as the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. There is a carousel for kids of all ages, tables and chairs for outdoor enjoyment, a dog park, rock climbing and a hospitality center equipped with restrooms. The location is very popular amongst photographers. If you are in need of a location with multiple scenarios, look no further.

I have used this location for many outdoor shoots because it is conveniently located via the "A or C" trains to High Street, or the "F" train to York Street. If you walk to the corners of Water Street and Adams Street, you will find yourself at the underpass of the Manhattan Bridge. It is a perfect location to meet your colleagues and guests. There are plenty of benches for sitting. There is even the "Lighthouse", a beverage stand that sells beer and wine. Every third Saturday of the month you can enjoy a free, live DJ party. Different DJ's are invited to spin records to the delight of people passing through. (April through October) If you want to do a photo shoot at DUMBO, keep in mind that you can take photographs at this location rain or shine. The underpass protects you from the elements. One of the things that you have to be cognizant of are the hundreds of tourists that visit this location everyday. It is not uncommon to see a bride and groom walk by, groups of artists, and visitors from all over the world taking photographs. Today we are going to examine some problems that might arise during your outside shoot. In the summertime, especially at the beach, you know that the midday sun can sometimes wreck havoc on your photos, especially if you are using your cell phones. The sun is usually positioned directly above your heads for several hours. One of the biggest problems is the shadows that are cast by the sun. You can get unwanted, unattractive dark circles under your eyes.

The photographer seen here is taking photos of his clients. He realizes that the suns rays are causing shadows under their eyes. he immediately tells his assistant to provide him with his external flash. He re-takes the photos using an external flash and he solves his problem.

In order to take the best picture, you may want to add additional light via the external flash, or built in flash on your camera or cell phone. If you're using a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, the external flash will over power the shadows on your subject. You will want to use a diffuser (A filter that is placed over the flash to soften the light that falls onto your subject) to make your subject look better.

Here is an example of Tia without the use of a flash.

Here is Tia with the use of a flash.

In the first photo you notice that the hat that LaShondra is wearing is causing shadows to her face.

When we add the flash, the shadows are replaced with the available light emitted from the flash. If you are a fan of natural light and you really don't like to use flash in your pictures, there are other options for you to use. An umbrella on the beach is usually reserved for that perfect spot at the beach when you arrive very early in the morning. In this case we are going to use the umbrella to protect Teshe & Aisha from the sun.

We are going to start off with some simple head shots. When we adjust our shutter speed, aperture, ISO and white balance settings accordingly, we can get a better photograph of our model. What if you want to get a full body photo of your subject? In this case we want to use our umbrella to block the sunlight that is falling directly onto our model.

We will still produce enough natural light to produce a better photograph, but if we're looking for something with more lighting, add a separate light. If you are not talking on your cell phone, you can bring up the "flashlight app" on your phone and use this light to illuminate your subject.

As a quick side note, if you're shooting in a very dim lit area (Night club, wedding reception that resembles a club or 2am outside of any club) and you are having trouble with your focusing beam on your camera, use your same flashlight app to light your subject. This light will provide more than enough illumination to have the focusing beam accurately track your subject for a clearer, better photograph.

Why We Need Good Photographers

In this day and age almost everyone has a cell phone. The latest phones by Samsung, I-phone, LG, Google and all of the other companies can do some pretty amazing things. Not to mention all of the apps that are out there as well. Recently, someone asked me the following question; “Do you think that cell phones will eliminate the need for professional photographers?” Without hesitation I answered; “No”. You can already guess what the follow up question was; “Why not?” Great question. To find out about the rest of my answer, visit my blog at http://metphotographytakingphotographs.blogspot.com

First things first. A good, knowledgeable photographer is priceless. When you are hiring a photographer to take pictures at an event, family portraits, etc., it is usually an event of great significance. For example, a wedding, a milestone birthday, a sporting event, etc. There is usually a lot of time and money spent on these events. What would happen if you didn’t have any photographs of the event? There are literally dozens of things that can go wrong at an event. Just try not to increase those odds by not taking the appropriate steps to secure a photographer.

Michael Lay, a professional photographer once said to me, “Darryl, the client(s) won’t remember what the food tasted like. They won’t remember what the place smelled like, but they will remember the photography.” You can look at your pictures over and over again once they’re taken. Once you leave the catering hall, facility, or wherever the venue was being held, that’s it! Yes, one will argue that the people in attendance will take photographs of the event and post them onto social media. However, were the photos the best photos taken at the event any good? Did someone get photographed with food in their mouth? Or their eyes closed? Or when they took that very nasty spill onto the floor? Are these the lasting memories that you were considering when you first planned your event?

For better or worse, I want you to think about the last few events that you attended. Can you remember the photos that someone captured on their cell phone or tablet? Were the photos blurry? Were the photos too dark? Did anyone or everyone blink? Let’s just say every photo that was taken during the event came out perfect. Did the person taking the photos send all of the photos to you? Did you have to wait a very long time to receive the photos? Did the person who was delegated to take the photos enjoy the event that they attended since they had to take the photographs? Did they capture all of the important moments?

Unfortunately, you don’t think about these things until the event is over. Countless times I have heard; “I wish that I would have hired you!” or “I wish that I would have hired a professional photographer.” It has gotten to the point where I do perform “Re-shoots”. There have been people wo have hired me to re-enact some of their most important life events (Weddings) because they could not get any decent photographs from their family and friends. Another phenomenon that is more and more common is not having enough storage, or battery power to take photos at an event. If you are attending an event in the evening and you have been on your cell phone most of the day, you probably don’t have a lot of battery power left. Even if you carry an extra battery supply, or you have your charger with you, you may be charging your device when that “can’t miss” moment takes place. You missed the moment because your equipment was in the charger. Or your memory card was full. Or you have no more storage on your device. Or, a combination of all of the above.

This is just a handful of “life occurrences” that I have witnessed over the last few years. One recent wedding trend called for all of the guests to use the disposable cameras on their tables to record the event. Candid shots, group shots, etc. This trend had several problems that included, but were not limited to the following: • The person at the table taking shots could not operate the camera properly. • The person at the table didn’t want the responsibility of taking photos at the event. “I’m not a photographer, I am a guest!!” • The disposable cameras were only equipped to take 24 exposures. The pictures were finished in 30 minutes. There were no more cameras to take the rest of the important moments at the event. • People took the cameras home, never to be seen again. • How are you getting the cameras back to the host and hostess? How were they carrying all of these cameras with everything else that they had to carry in the first place? Let me say first and foremost that I am not bashing “Do It Yourselfer’s”, I am simply reminding you that if you spend $26,000+ dollars on a wedding, or hundreds of dollars on a very important event in your life, why would you leave out/cut back on one of the most important parts of the event, the memories? (If you Google “Average cost of a wedding, that’s where the $26,000+ came from) There are some things that you can cut back costs on, life time memories just shouldn’t be one of them!

Consider the cost of not having the memories from a once in a lifetime event. If you have honestly had the following thought in your head; “I wish that I had some professional pictures taken”; or “Why didn’t I hire a photographer to photograph the event?”; then next time, don’t spend too much time second guessing yourself. You have enough things to worry about making sure that your once in a lifetime event is just that, a once in a lifetime event. Go hire a professional photographer and put your mind to ease! Until next time, have a great evening!

Green Screen Photography

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to “Taking Photographs.” Today we are going to take a look at "Green Screen photography". Green screen photography has many different uses. One of the most common uses is seen through news broadcasts. When you are watching the weather, or a news article that has different backgrounds, the backgrounds are usually created through the use of green screen technology. The main purpose of green screen is to change the background(s)

for the photos and videos that you are working with. Changing the background in a photograph is nothing new. Depending on the situation, changing the background can do lots of different things for the photograph. Today I will demonstrate the use of green screen technology and how it can enhance your own photographs. In the last few weeks I have taken several photographs with different models using green screen. I liked the photos but I didn’t like the plain, boring green background. When you change the background, the photograph comes to life.

In order to make green screen work, you will need the following items: • Good lighting • A green screen software program (This is the program that will remove the photograph from the green screen background and place it on the new background of your choosing) • A green screen backdrop (or a chroma blue backdrop) • A Photoshop software program In order to have a good photograph, you have to have good lighting. (We already know this so what does this have to do with green screen photography?) If you don’t have good lighting, your photos will come out dark. If your photos come out too dark, you could end up with unwanted shadows, or digital noise. Remember, if you are looking for a specific look to enhance your photograph, you must have good lighting.

A good green screen also program is needed if you intend on swapping out your boring, green screen images. Westcott makes a good software program that will help you learn all about green screen. FXhome PhotoKey is also a good software program to use.

You will also need a green screen backdrop cloth, or a green screen collapsible background, or green screen paper to help you get started. If you look at the third bullet, I wrote “chroma blue. Chroma blue is similar in color to “Dodger blue”. This color has the same effect as a regular green screen background. If you are shooting models, please remind them that some of their outfits will literally disappear from the photograph. (Please don’t confuse this with X-ray vision) The clothing as well as the body parts will disappear from the screen. The last thing that you will need is Photoshop. You can use either the latest version, or an earlier version. You can also use Photoshop Elements, also known as the “baby brother” of the larger programs. When you are taking photographs, sometimes a wrinkle will pop up in the green screen cloth. This wrinkle will also show up in your new background and photograph that you are working on. To fix this, perform the following steps: 1. Open Photoshop on your computer 2. Select the “Eyedropper” tool 3. Use the eyedropper to select a portion of the green background from the original photo. 4. Open up the “Brush” tool 5. Go to “Layer” and click “Duplicate Layer” 6. Go back to the Brush tool and select a brush that you would like to work with. (Use the brush tool slider to increase/decrease the size of the brush that you are working with) 7. Paint the area of the photo that has the wrinkles in in. (Photoshop tip: If you zoom in on the photo that you are painting, it will be easier to paint. If you are going to be working with green screen a lot, invest in a Wacom Tablet, A Wacom Pen, or if you are using the I-pad Pro, the I-pad Pencil. These items will make your green screen life last a lot longer!) 8. Save the image by renaming the image. (Make an additional copy or two just in case you want to use the same image with another background) 9. Open up your green screen software program. (Time saver: Take a copy of the image that you finished painting and the background and place them in the same folder) 10. Export your image to the folder that you are working with.

This is a basic introductory step by step green screen process that I teach to my students. When you get a chance, take some green screen photos and practice creating some masterpieces. Thank you for once again taking the time to read my latest blog. Stay tuned as we tackle another issue next week that will hopefully help you take better photographs. Until next time, keep taking great photos!

The Concept Photo Shoot

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Today we are going to talk about the "Concept Photo Shoot". The concept photo shoot is simply taking an idea and bringing together all of the things needed to make the photo shoot happen from beginning to end. Today I invited models Tia Richardson and Aisha Curtiss to participate in my on going photo shoot of a concept that I’m currently working on.

I have been working on a series of trading cards using swords, martial arts weapons and various costumes. The cards are being used to create writing opportunities for my middle school students. In order to make this work, there are several ingredients that you need to get your images right the first time. First we have to make sure that we have the concept. next, the models. After we secure the models, we want to make sure that we have the martial arts equipment. Finally, the costumes. I often get asked; “How do the images look so lifelike?” It’s not just one thing, but several things. When we are taking the actual photographs, the backdrop is very important. I tend to use black, white and green backgrounds. I also use Impact Studio lights (Available at B&H Photo in Manhattan) to photograph my models. These lights are very good and I am very happy with the final product.

Good lighting is without question the single most important element of a well lit photograph. You won’t find too many people disputing this fact. However, what a lot of people fail to ask is; “What is the second most important element?” This is extremely important. The second most important element is the pose? Why? If you take a photograph of someone and it lacks a good pose, story, or substance, the photo will be overlooked, or ignored completely.

My Professor, Robert Meyer of the International Center of Photography (ICP) taught us about lighting, and posing simultaneously. “You can’t have just good lighting without having good posing. The photograph just won’t look right.” he would say. When you look at the images above, it is easy to look at each model and see the expressions on their faces. Their expressions make you wonder what they're thinking about. What are their next moves and why? Why do they have these weapons? What are their intentions? Once you start to care about the people, places and things in the photograph, then the photograph works.

Usually you have a story line, or vision in your head before you push the shutter button. In this case, I want my students to use their vision to tell the stories. If my students can ask and answer all of the questions that I have listed above, then I feel confident in the images that I have taken. If you are taking time to really see the characteristics of the photograph, it has caught your attention. Once you have the viewers interest, you can create a good story. To sum everything up, your photographs must have several elements including, but not limited to, good lighting, and good posing. After these two main elements are established, then the backgrounds and models (Substance) are important. If you are trying to create a scene, the location (Or background) is very important. If you want to shoot a scene involving martial arts, the background should blend in with the overall situation to make the story complete. (I used very plain, generic backgrounds so that I would have the option of placing the models in a different setting relatively quickly) The models involved in the photo shoot should also be willing participants in the photo shoot and their attitudes should reflect it. (Expressions on their faces)

When it's all said and done, don't be afraid to try different things. I would suggest carrying a small note pad so that you can jot down any questions, comments, or concerns. Remember, one of the good things about digital photography is is that if you try something and it doesn't work out the first time, you can always "delete" it and start all over again. Just remember to have fun while your shooting! Next time we are going to look at green screen photography, and some of the special things that we can do with it. Until then, keep coming up with new ideas!