Lightroom 3

Lightroom 3.  My first thoughts.

I’ve only been using Lightroom 3 for a couple of weeks now, but I thought I’d write a quick first impression.  Previously, I had been using Apple’s Aperture program.  The color adjustment tools are definitely better in Lightroom, but I find that they are more straight forward in Aperture.  The healing tool is a mess.  I still don’t know how to dodge and burn, and file management makes no sense to me.  I’m used to Aperture’s approach with libraries.  But I find that the colors are coming out a little better in Lightroom.  Adding or removing a vignette is a lot better too.  And I love how you can add presets.  Overall, I still like Aperture better than Lightroom.

However, this is an image I wasn’t able to reproduce in Aperture.

Am I an artist?

Am I an artist?  Or do I just get lucky?

 

 

This is my secret.  Sometimes I don’t really have the final image in my head.  I have an idea of where I want the final image to go, but sometimes I only get there in post.  The picture above is a great example of that.  This looks nothing like the original image. I wouldn’t call myself a creative.  And I wouldn’t call myself an artist.  I just get lucky sometimes.

 

Original Image

 

A different fee lensing technique

First, to all my  non photographer friends, free lensing is a technique where you basically shoot with the lens off the camera. Got it?  I noticed quickly that the further you pull the lens off the camera the more of a macro lens it becomes.  But there’s one problem.  The further you move it away the more light will enter within the gap. This ruins the photo.  So here’s my solution.  For this example, I’ll be using my 85mm and an awesome subject.  The only tool you will need is a koozie. I use an Ed Hardy koozie cause I’m cool like that..

Here’s a normal shot with my 85 on camera.

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It’s the closest I can get.  But by cutting the bottom of the koozie and placing it between the lens and the camera, I can now get much closer to my subject.  And no light gets it.

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This is the result.

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BOOYAH!!!!   Have fun.

Breaking the rules

Photographed for Lynn Michelle Photography

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Nothing about this picture is within the guidelines of a well composed image.  But it’s the moment that really counts for me.

I’ll start blogging again soon, so this is just a teaser.

A concert experience

If I could photograph concerts for a living, I’d be the luckiest Hugo in the world.  The ambience is incredible.  There’s so much raw emotion too.  It’s almost primitive.  I’ll try and give you the concert experience in the way I saw it.  Enjoy.

Aidan Bagaidan….

A while back I received my first request for a paid shoot.  A mother and son portrait session.  Oddly enough, it was eventually scheduled after I had shot a few weddings already.  I wanted to shy away from this one simply because I don’t know how to shoot families.  But I quickly realized that it’s not the “how.”  It’s the “who.”  I wanted to show Aidan’s personality.  I wanted to try and show his relationship with his mother Kim.  I’m happy with the results.  And Kim and Aidan were super fun to work with.  Although I did place Aidan where I wanted him, he came up with the poses all by himself.  What a little personality he has.  These are a few of my favorites.

New Lens…..

This week I made a new lens purchase.  The Sigma 24mm 1.8 Macro.  The macro was a bit of a surprise.  I wasn’t expecting this.  But it’s a feature I am definitely going to enjoy.  After about 400 images shot with it, I figure I’d write my first impressions.  IT’S SHARP.  I have no fear of shooting at 1.8 as long as I am confident I’ll nail my focus.  And focus tracking works really well.  I don’t do it that often, but I was able to get good results.  I wasn’t disappointed.  The colors are just what you would expect from Sigma’s line.  Real contrasty. This, I like.  I don’t have to play with color balance too much in post.  The bokeh seems nice an smooth.  No issues there.  I have noticed that the focus is a little slow in lower light, but what lens doesn’t have this issue.  Overall, I’m very satisfied with this lens purchase.  I’ll have the opportunity to run it through the paces this weekend, so I may do an updated post.  Here are some pics I’ve been real happy with so far.

I’m risking failure

I’m risking failure.

This is exactly how I see things.  It’s just my nature.  And it’s with EVERYTHING. I’m risking failure in life, work, photography…….super size.  I try not to let this stop me.  I can’t help but wonder if it ever has though.  I always do things that “feel right.”  I trust myself in that completely.  But sometimes the decisions are a bit overwhelming.  It’s fear.  I fear that I am going to fail in my own expectations.  I’m afraid of dealing with that reality.  This year has started off great and there will be opportunities for great success.  And great failures.  I must have “no fear.”

And because blog posts are always better with pictures, here’s a picture I’ve never posted before.

The camera feature I depend on the most

For me, the most important feature on my camera is Auto ISO.  Nikon has a really great Auto ISO system.  With this feature turned on, I really don’t need to worry about quantity of light.  Because the Nikon D700 can go to 6400 ISO and coupled with a prime 1.8 lens, I can shoot in near dark with good results.  I’ve even pushed the ISO to 8000 and have been surprisingly pleased with the quality. The picture above is a great example of the kind of moment I could have missed if Auto ISO was turned off.  Now you may be asking, “Why not use flash?”  Well, it’s simple really.  I want to be discrete.  I don’t really want you to know that I’ve taken a picture.  These girls had no idea a picture was ever taken.  NINJA!

Biggest Compliment

One of the biggest compliments you can ever give me is just hitting that “Like” button on a picture I’ve posted on Facebook.  Or hitting that “Add to Favs” button on one I’ve posted to Flickr.  It seems like such a small thing I know, but I really appreciate the support.  It wasn’t that long ago that I seriously considered not taking photographs at all and selling my old D70′s that was collecting dust.  Without the support/encouragement I received here and there, I never would have continued to shoot. I’ve learned that not only do I love taking photographs, but that I love sharing them just a much.  So thank you for your support.  It means a lot.