February, 2010
© Tim Pannell Photography
We’re still adjusting to the weather up here in Utah.
I have to admit that I get a little bit homesick when I watch the news and see that it’s 75 degrees back home in Arizona.
February and March were always my favorite months back home……the weather was usually perfect.
It snowed all day long yesterday. Much of the day it snowed with big huge fluffy flajkes.
I was hoping to get shots of the kids making snowmen this morning, but no such luck.
The snow never accumulated at all. It just landed and melted.
This morning there’s a light dusting on the grass, but that’s it.
Snowmen will have to wait.
© Tim Pannell Photography
I did get to shoot some 6th and 7th graders with my son sledding a couple of weeks ago, so I’ve posted a couple of shots from that shoot.
Same story as usual for me. Take your kids, or anybody’s kids for that matter and just get them playing together in the snow.
It just kind of happens. Once you see something that catches your eye, you can massage it a little bit.
Give them a little bit of art direction and then, let them cut loose.
It doesn’t always work as easily as you hope, but it can be a lot of fun, and the pictures that you do get should be wonderful.
For this kind of stuff, it’s really all about the energy.
© Tim Pannell Photography
Get them laughing, yelling, running, falling, sledding, crashing. Just shoot whatever happens and have fun with it.
The other great thing about shooting in the snow is that it acts like a built in reflector.
You don’t have to worry about being overly controlled in your setup.
It’s nice being able to shoot around without being overly worried about lighting, just be sure to watch your backgrounds.
Don’t make the mistake of going into “auto-pilot” mode.
In any case, if you live in the snow….take advantage of it while you can….eventually Spring will arrive.
© Tim Pannell Photography
So you got a new DSLR for Christmas and you’re super excited, but when you’ve used it so far there hasn’t been as much magic in your pictures as you hoped.
It’s not so surprising. Many people think that all you need to take great pictures is a great camera.
They save up their money and buy that great camera with a jillion megapixels, start snapping pictures and experience great disappointment.
Their pictures with the great camera look the same as the pictures they took with their crappy camera………only a little sharper and perhaps with better color.
There are so many variables involved in creating a great photograph….where do you start?
When learning photography………..simplify.
Pick a subject……pick one subject.
Many times people have a hard time deciding what their subject is. Is it your child, is it what your child is wearing, is it the location you’re shooting your child, is it somebody else in the picture with your child, is it their relationship with your child?
My point is this…..great photographs have one subject.
© Tim Pannell Photography
For starters, separate your subject from the background, either with depth of field, color, lens choice or composition.
Simplify your image. Don’t try and do too much with it or put too much information in it.
Take your child to a spot with pretty light, either in your house or outside, it doesn’t matter.
Avoid direct sunlight – it’s too harsh and unless you really know how to use it to your advantage, more often than not it will bite you in the butt.
Don’t be afraid to open up your lens and shoot at F2 or F2.8 even F4 if that’s as open as your lens goes.
See what limits you come up against when shooting at those F-stops.
Do you struggle keeping your subject sharp?
© Tim Pannell Photography
Many people will insist on shooting at F8 or F11 because it’s much easier to keep your subject in focus.
What most of them don’t realize is that they are settling for a less than great image because of that Fstop choice.
At F11 the background of your image will be pretty sharp and will compete with your subject for attention – yielding a very hum drum, boring image.
There are always tradeoffs wherever you set your aperture and shutter speeds.
You have to learn what your individual comfort zone is.
This will also help you discover your weaknesses and strengths.
If you have camera shake when you’re shooting at 1/125th of a second you know you will have to work on that.
If you can’t keep your subject sharp when you’re shooting at F2.8 then you know you need to work on setting the focus sensor a little more precisely.
As with any learned skill, be it musical, sports related or artistic in nature - it takes lots and lots of practice to get good at something, expecially something new.
It takes even more effort and consistent practice to master something.
The wonderful thing about photography is that you’ll get some amazing photographs before you actually master the craft or even before you’re really good at it.
The first time you get an amazing image is an incredible event that you’ll never forget.
Have fun with the learning process. Embrace the mistakes that you’ll make along the way. Learn from them.
Sometimes the best shots you’ll get will be the result of happy little accidents.
Shoot like crazy – it’s digital for crying out loud – it doesn’t cost you a penny to try new techniques.
It’s all about discovery – discovery of your subject as well as discovery of your self.
Enjoy the ride!
