Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Working on logo design

Here is my new logo design for an awesome friend and musician! Check him out at www.reverbnation.com/brandonlamarsimmons!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Shiny

Yep, I want you to take a picture of something shiny!  It is really harder than it may sound.  I will put an instructional post here in a little bit, but for now, feel free to just think about some shiny things for your photos.

I want 2 photos.  One of something metallic and/or reflective, and one of something else shiny (either a light in the photo or something that just sparkles).

This assignment is due Sunday, August 14 by 12 noon.  I know that is a long way away, but that is because I will be out of town and can't do much with the photos before then.  If you want to send them earlier, feel free!

Slacking

I only got submissions on my last assignment from ONE person!  Come on slackers!  Well, you will have an extra long time for the next assignment because I will be out of town for a while and I don't want it to be due until after I get back.

Action/Motion

I'm late posting this, it was quite a long week for me working and stuff.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Motion/Action Photography

There are a few ways to photograph something that is in motion.  One way is to completely stop the movement.  The other is to creatively allow the motion to blur.  Both of these are equally useful, however they may need to be used in different ways.  Generally, with many things, it is best to stop the motion or else whatever you are looking at looks like a big blur, but if you are photographing something to show motion or speed specifically it can be nice to see it blurred.  Below are a few examples of both.

To stop motion you are going to need a very fast shutter speed and a decent amount of light.  Remember that the faster the shutter speed, the less light hits the film or the camera sensor.  This means that the action will be quick but also that you have to be in a well-lit area to get much onto your camera.  Or you have to use a flash!  A flash is very useful, but be careful.  Depending on the object that you are photographing, you may not capture the "motion" if you freeze it (think about a car.  If you stop it, it will look parked...).

To allow motion to blur a slow shutter speed is best.  Remember that a slow shutter speed is generally less than 60 or so when it comes to motion.  When I say 60, that means 1/60 of a second.  Yes that seems very fast, but not when you are photographing something in motion, particularly at a high speed.  A person running may be able to be "frozen" at 125 or 160.  A car driving will need to be at 250 or 300 probably to be completely frozen.

A lot of these settings may be difficult or impossible to access from some cameras.  In this case, you should just remember that on the regular settings, the brighter the light, the more frozen your photo will probably be.  If it is darker and you want a frozen photo you will need to use the flash.  Otherwise it will be blurrier.


Click on Photos to Enlarge

These two photos show how motion blur can be used in a good way.  In the photo on the left, the cars in the background are almost invisible in their blur while the headlights are still visible.  This shows a good amount of movement.  In the photo on the right, while the people are a little blurred, it works because you can see how much fun they are having jumping in the air!  The movement helps the image to give the best possible mood.


Click Photo to Enlarge

Above is an example of how motion blur is done incorrectly.  The people's faces are completely blurry and it is very difficult to see even what is going on.  Bad motion blur...


Click photos to Enlarge

Here are a few places where the motion has been completely frozen, but still show exceptional motion.  There is no question that each person is in motion when their photo is taken.  I used very quick shutter speeds and either lots of sunlight or a flash.  


Assignment 5

This week I think we will focus on movement and motion.  I will post shortly a small instructional on photographing movement.  Feel free to email me at info@pbkpix.com with any questions regarding camera settings and such.

Please submit 2 photos.  It is going to be up to you as to whether you want to stop the motion or allow it to blur.  I don't mean to turn in a blurry picture just because it is easier, but take both and turn in the one that you think shows motion the best!

This assignment is due July 17.  After this one, the assignments may take a short break because I will be out of town for almost 2 weeks, or I may just make one assignment that will have more time.  Either way I will let you know!

Note:  Although the photos here are all people, anything in motion works.  I just happen to take a lot of photos of people.  Animals, cars, bikes, pool balls or anything else you can think of can be in motion.

Assignment 4 Submissions

Full-Length

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3/4 Length

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Headshots

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