Images, Stories, and Notes from Behind the Lens
Posted by Christine On September 2, 2014
Lillian is here! She was 13 days old when we photographed her–a little older than ideal for a sleepy newborn session. So we worked in a more fluid way. Less posing and more “going with the flow.” She looked around a lot, slept a tiny bit, and mostly wanted to cuddle and nurse with momma. Sweet moments, all.
Posted by Christine On October 28, 2013
Shooting events at night can be pretty challenging, and frequently I see students shy away from using flash to properly illuminate their subjects. Sometimes, the effect can be fun, such as when you get a graphically interesting silhouette. More frequently, shooting with high ISOs, slow shutter speeds and no flash can result in pretty low technical quality and disappointing imagery.
Next time you are faced with shooting a night event and you want to capture people shots, do NOT leave your flash at home or try to rely on your pop up flash!
Try something similar to what I did here at my daughter’s birthday party. First, get your camera settings straight to properly expose for ambient light (in this shot, that means the candles and the string of lights in the background.) In this case, it means I set my camera at ISO 2000, f5.6 and 1/15 second. But wait, isn’t 1/15 pretty slow for a handheld camera? Won’t you get motion blur or camera shake? Well, perhaps a little bit, but since I am using my external flash as the main light source here, that won’t likely be a problem because the speedlight will “freeze” the action. As many of you know, I am a huge proponent of bouncing flash in order to soften its effects and create a more flattering, professional looking light. But you may also have noticed that there is nothing from which to bounce the flash off of here. Enter the Gary Fong Lightsphere.
With this little gadget, which kind of looks like a Chinese soup takeout cup, I place it on top of my flash head (which is pointing straight up, BTW, and then I fire away. It softens and diffuses the light, still rendering a nice professional look. So break out your flash! You’ll likely be pleased with the results of your next night “people” shoot!
Posted by Christine On August 15, 2013
Ashley + Bryant August 10, 2013
One thing to think about when shooting portraits of couples or individuals is the approach you are going to take; are you going to pose your sitters or are you going to capture them candidly? One of the great things about having a background as a photojournalist is that I’m comfortable with doing both and always shoot both candid and posed portraits at weddings.
As a photojournalist, I love capturing moments that show true spontenaety and emotion, without posing for the camera–it doesn’t get any better than this! But frequently, demands of the job include client requests, time constraints, location issues and more which require posing and directing the subject in order to pull of the shot.
Frankly, I like it both ways and encourage my photography students to experiment with both methods of capturing storytelling portraiture. Below you see the results of these two different approaches from a recent wedding I shot.
The Ashley and Bryant really wanted a photograph with the cross behind them and so we planned to photograph them in front of it accordingly. A nice shot with a little fill light in the late afternoon speaks to their faith. And yet, the spontaneous moment after they exited the sanctuary was priceless–and it was unplanned and unposed–no direction from the photographer at all–just a lot of hustle.
Take advantage of all such methods of capturing the essence of your subjects and you’ll gather a diverse portfolio that shows that you can capture many looks from the same shoot!
Posted by Christine On February 28, 2012
It’s always fun to get to revisit a person you’ve met and photographed before. It was my pleasure and honor to photograph Birmingham Southern College president General Charles Krulak nine months into his presidency. It had been nearly a year since I photographed him as his appointment was announced. This shoot, for The Chronicle of Higher Education story about how Birmingham Southern College is faring since Krulak began his duties, was a blend of candid shots and portraiture. General Krulak is a “people” person. He is upbeat and friendly to everyone he meets; deftly maneuvering through a crowd, yet genuine and immensely likable. He is very hands on, and has hit the ground running on campus, greeting prospective and current students with enthusiasm. He attends every school sporting event, lives in student housing and doesn’t take a salary for his work. Astounding and inspiring. Here are a few images from the couple of hours we spent together. Thanks to BSC’s Bill Wagnon and The Chronicle’s Erica Lusk for their support on this project!
