(Here are some common questions I get asked! I thought I would put them on a page for you all to refer back to. If you want to learn even more, I offer mentoring for different levels of photography; beginner to those wanting to do something bigger and better with their business.)
Ok, my question is about focus points. How do you choose where to set them? I’ve hear between the eyes. But what if you only like nine points and they don’t line up directly between the eyes? Or if you have more than one person where would you position it?
I put my focus point directly in the center of the eye, or as close as I can get to it depending on my distance from the subject. If your camera doesn’t allow you to manually choose your focus point, for some reason it doesn’t match up—you can always recompose your shot. Most cameras have an auto-lock feature, or back focus button. If there is more than one person, it depends on their body positions and how close they are to each other. If it is a couple, I will make sure their eyes are on the same plan and then I will focus on the inner eye so that that focus grabs both sets of eyes. If it is a large group of people, I got for the middle. If your aperture is set correctly for the number of people you are shooting you should have major focusing issues.
When shooting outdoors what do you have your camera set on? How do you get your pictures so crisp and clear? I always shoot in raw and on Manual. Any tips?
I have my camera set on Manual, raw, and with spot metering, and manual focus points. Part of getting clear/crisp pictures is having your shutter speed high enough to avoid camera/hand shake, or subjects moving. Shooting in manual takes practice, but is so worth it. You can do much more with light and you learn a lot more. Just get out there and practice—sit a subject in direct sun and practice exposing for different things.
What do you do for white Balance?
What camera do you use?
What is your favorite lens?
White balance is always set to auto—I never have problems there. I am currently using the Nikon D700. My favorite lens is the 50mm f/1.4, but I love my 35mm f/2 as well!
How do get such great exposure and saturation in your photos? Do you do a lot of bracketing or is it just practice practice practice?
You said it! PRACTICE x3! I never bracket for exposure- I just look at the back of my LCD screen and check out my histogram. It will tell you what you need to know! You can set your screen to blink when you have blown out parts in your pictures. Remember—once it is blown out, the detail is gone. But if you underexpose you are creating more color noise. So it does take time and practice to get it exposed well but not blown out.
How long do you take to prepare for a shoot? Do you spend time getting your creative juices going by doing anything special?
Do you like to shoot alone or with an assistant for weddings?
It depends on the shoot—but generally I take about 45 minutes to an hour gathering my things, packing the car and making sure I have a babysitter! Yes, I do spend time getting my creative juices going. I love to read my favorite photographer blogs for inspiration. I love seeing ideas, colors, beautiful lighting etc. I use other works of art as inspiration for me—and in turn I create my own art the way I interpreted it through my eyes. For weddings, I don’t mind shooting alone, but I love having an assistant that is still learning so I can talk, have fun and teach!
The photos I generally like are those shot at 2.2 or wider, yet when I try this I can’t achieve the sharpness/clarity that other photographers do. Any advice on how you get your photos to “pop?”
I make sure that when I do shoot wide open, I do have to be careful and make sure I am in the right conditions. I like to do it as much as possible, but with smaller children it makes it almost impossible! To get my photos to pop, if you are wondering about color or contrast—that is something I do in post processing. It’s all personal preference and learning what you think looks good.
Or you could tell us how you meter for portraits! I meter right off the face with spot metering.
What would you consider your shooting style? I mention this above… As in…what settings do you find yourself usually using? F stop? Shutter speed? My f-stops are always very wide with individuals and couples…anywhere from f/1.4 to 2.8. With families, it is much higher because I want everyone in focus!
So when I’m doing a portrait, I’m close to my subject and the metering is good, but when I back away further from my client, what should I do? Should I evaluate up close to see what my subject should be expose at, then back up to take the shot?
There is this really cool thing on our camera called Auto Exposure Lock J So when you are metering off someone’s face, or a landscape scene and you want to lock onto that exposure so you don’t lose it- hold down that button! COOL HUH!
Have I ever used that button? Nope! I frame my subject the way I want them, quickly ready off their skin (adjust my settings accordingly) then focus on their eyes and take the shot!
Also, I know how to read a histogram, but I still don’t rely on that cause sometimes the histogram looks good, but the exposure isn’t right on… do you rely on your histogram? Or do you rely on your screen to make sure your pics are good?
I do both. I also rely on ‘blinkies’! Usually my eye can see whether or not the exposure is fine, but sometimes the light affects your LCD screen so you do need to read the histogram. Let’s say- a combination of both!
What do you need to get to be all official with a photography business?
Well, I have 2 business license (one with the state and one with the county), a federal tax id so I can pay taxes, and insurance. I also have professional equipment, software, hardware and many other things I have invested in. I think once you are starting to charge people and take sessions- it is a must to have a tax id and a business license.
You can see another article I wrote on getting good skin tones here at the Maternal Lens.
Other things:
I buy all my equipment from Adorama. I also rent all my lenses from Borrow Lenses. Renting is a great way to see if you like a lens or camera body before you buy it!
