Portrait Shoot with Stephanie B

Our portrait shoot with Stephanie yielded some very classy images (Aside from the Bloopers).
To see additional pics from this session, click HERE

Useful Camera Settings (Outdoor Sports)

Camera Settings

Depending on the sport you are covering and the weather conditions, outdoor sports will vary considerably.  For instance, if you're shooting auto racing on a bright sunny day, or your grandmothers lawn dart team on a cloudy day ;), the settings will be on opposing ends of the scale.  Most times I'll use an F2.8 to F4 depth of field, in order the have a nice "soft" background (making the subject pop out of the picture), and leaving myself enough margin to crank up the speed, to freeze the action, without having to boost the ISO too high, and avoid having too much digital "noise" in an image.  But keep in mind, if you're shooting a football/soccer match, and the conditions switch from daylight, to artificially lighted conditions, don't be scared to boost the ISO, instead of reducing the speed.  You want the ball to be sharp!  For boat racing, my settings are something like this...

Full Manual Mode, F5.6, 1/1250sec speed & 640 ISO

You may also like to try and accentuate the "Speed" effect by slowing down the camera speed, to create a panning shot.  Make sure you are as perpendicular as possible to the subject.  In this case, I was lucky enough to have permission to be in the water.  Auto racing yields better panning pics than boat racing, as there is no "up-down" motion of the subject, and they have a more fluid motion from side to side.

Full Manual Mode, F5.6, 1/40sec speed & 50 ISO

More examples of sports photography can be seen on our website, by following this link > HERE

Photographers Unwritten Rules of Conduct

Below is a list of "Unwritten Rules" that should be observed by any photographer that respects himself, and wishes to be respected by his clients and fellow photogs.  I'll even throw in a few, about people that deal with photographers, for good measure ;)

Some are serious issues, others less, and mostly about etiquette, but all of you will agree that common sense should prevail!  YES, I have witnessed all of these first hand, and NO, I won't be mentioning names. (Don't even ask)

1. Don't mix up Passion for Profession!
Having a DSLR camera and taking pictures doesn't make you a Professional photographer.  Making Photography your Profession and main source of income, gives you the right to title yourself as a "Professional".  If most of your "work" is taking images of your pets, family members, or accepting contracts free of charge, it makes you a hobbyist.  There's nothing wrong with being a hobbyist, unless you are offering your products & services for free, to people who should be paying.  Although you may be quite good, and very passionate about photography, you are still going against all rules of business.  Have you ever seen a plumber offering his services for free, because he was passionate about leak-free pipes?  Neither have I.  Respect the industry, and those who have been doing it as their main source of revenue, and charge a fair market price for your work.  PS... $59 for a 2-hour shoot with 6 touched-up images, is NOT considered to be a fair market price!

2. Blend in, and be as less visible as possible!

If shooting a concert from a pit, boxing gala ringside, or a team sport from the sidelines, you should acknowledge this privilege by respecting the artist/players, and dress to be as conspicuous as possible.  The crowd didn't come to the venue to see you.  Most importantly, the "Main Attraction" surely doesn't need the distraction of your brightly-colored or fluorescent shirt. Wear dark colors, and be part of the shadows.  Your clients, co-workers (and the talent) will appreciate you for it.  Wearing bright fluorescent color, when shooting ringing at a boxing gala, (with live coverage on HBO), is NOT a good way of blending in.  I'm thinking that possibly, our photographer friend, Herbie, hadn't gotten the memo! ;)

3. As an assistant or intern, don't distribute your business cards to the client!

This should go without saying, but personally, I don't have enough fingers on both hands, to count the times that my assistants or interns have given (or tried to give) their business cards to my clients.  Really, is that how you thank the guy that hired you?  What do you expect, the client to drop his supplier to deal with his assistant?  Be smart, play it low key, and you'll continue to get work, instead of getting a bad rap and putting yourself on the "Don't Touch" list.

4. Photo Credit!

If a photographer has provided you with images that contain a photo credit, logo or watermark, it was put there for a reason. Don't crop it out!  If you use a photographers image on a social media site, the least you could do to thank him, is make sure his photo credit and link is clearly visible.  After all, these are HIS photos.  I'm willing to bet, that the more exposure you give the photog in question, more perks or additional photos will come your way.  What goes around, comes around!

5. Closer is NOT always better!
When shooting a Press Conference, show a little respect for others, and bring a telephoto/zoom lens.  Being 4-feet away from the speaker with your arm in the air, using a wide angle lens might get you decent shots, but, it will also prevent anyone else in the room from getting any at all, (without parts of you in the frame).  Bring the necessary gear for the task at hand.  By the way, this is also true for you "artistic" photogs that stick a fisheye lens in artists faces during a concert.  If you must do so, try to make it quick.

6.  Accreditation should NOT be taken lightly!

Whatever the gig, if you've been given directions or a time-frame of what, and what NOT to shoot, follow these simple directions.  Example; If you're shooting a concert and were given the first 3 songs..., you shouldn't start shooting before the first note, and stop shooting on the last note of that 3rd song.  Trust me, if you don't have enough of 3 songs to get a few good pics, you have no business being there!  Worst... I've seen Photogs buy themselves tickets in the first 3 rows, and shoot the entire gig with their smuggled-in DSLRs, then create fake accounts, and posting them on their site, as if "Fans" had provided the images!  Yes, that's low, and it makes us ALL look bad.

7. Don't submit free images to another photogs client!
If you're covering an event for a media, don't go giving your shots for free to the end user.  First, you're prostituting the market, and killing the industry (in addition to not making a very good name for yourself).  Secondly, chances are, the end user has enough budget to pay for those images.  Let's all take a few minutes to think about why photogs were making more income 20 years ago than today.  Sad, but true.

8. If you're getting paid, pay those working for you!
This is especially true for MUA & Stylists.  As a photographer, you don't expect to work for free, so please, make sure that those who work for you, are also well compensated for the great work they do.  Without them, you wouldn't obtain the same results.

MORE TO COME...

Workflow...

We all agree that a photographers "Workflow" is as personal as it gets, but, that it's also project-dependent.  Let me explain;  In my case, I won't use the same workflow for a portrait shoot, as I would for a concert or a cultural project, and especially, a sporting event.  Although some aspects of it are similar, each have their own "twist". As the delivery time-frame and project type differs, so does the level of retouching.  But because several of you have asked politely, if I'd be willing to share some of my workflow "secrets", I've decided to oblige.  As such, I'll provide you with a brief description of a "generic" workflow that I use on a regular basis, that suits my needs, in this case... for a concert shoot.  Hope this helps!

1.     Capture Images
2.     Create folder on computer for the Event

3.     Open Photo Mechanic Software

4.     Download images to the Event folder

5.     Select images, starting with the ones I've tagged on the camera

6.     Rename selected images;  Event_byPatBeaudry_###   (001, 002, 003)

7.     Create a "Selected" folder and make a duplicate copy of the chosen pics

8.     Create a "Submitted" folder, that will later contain the processed images for the client

9.     Create a "Framed" folder, that I'll add my personal touch for Facebook, website, Blog, etc...

10.    Open Photoshop or Lightroom Software

11.    Open the 30-35 images in Camera RAW

12.    Treat the Contrast, Saturation, Exposure, Recovery, etc... to my taste

13.    Apply Noise Reduction, if needed

14.    Add 12% Structure

15.    Add 6% Sharpness

16.    Save in PSD Format in 8x12x300dpi

17.    Batch Convert to JPG File Format

18.    Batch IPTC information

19.    Upload image files to client via FTP
20.    Invoice client

21.    Add personal Frame/Signature

22.    Batch Resize to various sizes for Facebook, Blog, Fan Page & Website

23.    Post to various Social Medias and Networks

In the event of a modeling, Portrait or Maternity shoot, we send Contact Sheets of all images, for the client to make the selection.

Portrait Shoot with Mylene Lacroix

Our portrait shoot with the lovely Mylene Lacroix, yielded some pretty awesome pics (As you can see by these preliminary samples). 

A total of eight (8) different looks were completed in a record time.  This girl can model!

A few more select images from that portrait shoot, can be seen  HERE

https://www.facebook.com/patbeaudry   |   www.snapephoto.com

Useful Camera Settings (Indoor Sports)

Camera settings

I'm often asked about "typical" camera settings, and what should be used in various situations. As such, I've gathered a short list of what I use most, depending on the provided or adjusted light, motion, and overall conditions.

I'll discuss Sports in this post, and touch on Concert, Studio & Urban/architectural subjects, in later posts.

As most of you already know, photography is a  balance between three (3) key elements...
ISO (Sensibility to light), F-Stop (Depth of field), and Speed (stopping motion in it's track).
In challenging instances or settings, one might need to play the "compensation" card, in order
to achieve the desired result.

SPORTS

Depending if you're shooting an outdoor or indoor venue, most times I'll use an F2.8 depth of field, in order the have a nice "soft" background (making the subject pop out of the picture), and leaving myself enough margin to crank up the speed, to freeze the action, without having to boost the ISO too high, and avoid having too much digital "noise" in an image.

Example:  NHL Indoor hockey, my settings are something like this...

Full Manual Mode, F2.8, 1/800sec speed & 1600 ISO

BOXING, on the other hand, is a whole different story.  High speed action, Low light, warm color-cast lighting from above spotlights, etc....  This is a perfect example of "sacrificing" one of the above-mentioned elements, in order to achieve the best possible results.  In a "decently-lit" arena, my settings of choice would be something like this...

Full Manual Mode, F3.5, 1/800sec & 5000 ISO

If digital noise is a concern at this level ISO (camera body dependent) a good portion of it can be reduced, using appropriate software.

NIN Concert (Bell Center)

To see additional pics from that event, click HERE

It was in front of more than 10,200 fans, that Trent Reznor and the gang performed at the Bell Center