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Photography Tips – Invest in Lighting

Tim Pannell — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:03:45 +0000

Here’s one of the best photography tips I can give you…..Invest in lighting. I know it’s expensive, I know it can be confusing when you start out with it, but trust me…..there is an entirely new world out there for you when you have lights and learn how to use them effectively.

There is only so much you can do with available light before everything you shoot starts to look the same. Sometimes, it’s nice to just mix it up.

It seems like the latest posts on this blog have been about shooting our kids once they’re older….it wasn’t intentional, but it seems to be what I’m mostly doing this last month. If your kids are still little…..enjoy them…..it won’t be long before they are heading off to college and you’ll be wondering where on Earth the time went.

I’ve spent the last couple of days shooting my oldest son for a potential job he’s up for in the sports media department at the University he attends. He’s in the Graphic Design major and this would be a dream job for him.

He played soccer this past summer with a bunch of buddies and one of them runs the department and mentioned that if he had a bunch of good work, he’d be able to get him in. That was all Blaine needed to hear and he was busy creating “mock” ads and needing great photographs for them.

I used to shoot him like there was no tomorrow when he was a little guy and it was almost like going back in time working with him again. We did a whole bunch of soccer images with his layouts in mind. It was so much fun to be shooting him again.

I was really happy with the lighting setup I used so I shot my 17 year old in his lacrosse gear as well. He doesn’t really like having his picture taken, but was a great sport and actually had a good time, even if he won’t admit it. He loves the finished images he’s seen so far.

I also grabbed the 6 year old next door and dressed him up in his lacrosse garb as well. What a blast!

These shots were done in the middle of the day, at f-16 and 1/250th of a second. I overpowered the sunlight with my strobes. I set up a paper background and shot my subjects against that knowing that I was going to “strip” them out of the image and put them into a different scene that I had previously shot.

I also went down to Cougar Stadium the other night after their season opener and shot the stadium lights to strip into the images as well.

I know this isn’t the typical stuff you’d shoot with your kids and for many if not most of you it’s overkill, but it was fun and it was a great opportunity for me to do something cool with my kids.

Not all of these images are finished yet, some are still works in progress. The main thing is for you to be able to spend quality time with your kids and then as a bonus have something to remember it by with the pictures.

These images are a lot more advanced than the vast majority of the images I’ve taken of these 2 over the last 2 decades. I just wanted to give Blaine the best chance I could to impress these guys and get this job. My fingers are crossed.

Owning a couple of strobes can greatly enlarge what you have going on in your photographic “wheelhouse”. They are nothing more than tools you can use however you choose. Maybe you’ll use them so subtly most people won’t even notice they’re there. Maybe you’ll push them to the extreme and create images that are way out there.

Perhaps strobes are too much for you, but you want to do a little something more than just point and shoot….look at getting some good reflectors to help you manipulate the light and better your images.

The point is that lighting is just one more part of the process of learning your craft.

Go out and play…..have some fun!!

Photography Tips – Shoot Concepts and Stories

Tim Pannell — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:48:29 +0000

Okay….I’m a commercial photographer that shoots concepts and stories for a living and that’s very different than just shooting your own kids, which is what this blog is about. So why should you worry about shooting a concept or story for that matter when it comes to your own kids?

Well……because I said so. How’s that for sounding like a parent?

It just makes things more interesting. I really don’t think it’s enough to just plop cute little Steven or Julie on the floor and crank out a couple of cards worth of images of them just looking at the camera and smiling. Sure they’re cute and adorable, but your images can be so much more if you just take a little more time to think things out.

When you add a concept behind the image it becomes so much more to look at….not only will little Johnny be cute, but the picture will be saying something as well.

I’m not saying to never shoot “grip and grins” with your kids….for heaven’s sake keep doing those shots to document the stages of your kid’s life at the very least, but every once in a while try to do something more with them.

Pick an activity that your kid enjoys and shoot the build up to it, then the event and then the “post” event or clean up. Why shoot the clean up? Why not shoot the clean up….lots of times cool stuff happens when you least expect it and getting little Tiffany to help with the garbage might be one of those situations.

So….the next time your little guy or gal has a bunch of friends over to go on the slip and slide, shoot the whole thing from start to finish. Don’t grab all the kids and make them sit still and pose with those cheesy glued on smiles they learn how to give because of “school picture” photographers that get some sort of oddball satisfaction from ruining your kid’s perfect natural expression.

Those photographers really cheese my cracker so to speak…….but that’s a different post for a different blog for another time.

Push yourself, expect and demand a little more from yourself and watch your images go to the next level.

Eventually Even the Littlest of Kids Grows Up

Tim Pannell — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 09:09:56 +0000

My niece is now 24 years old. I remember like it was just yesterday, her performing on the fireplace hearth and bowing to our thunderous applause and shouting “Thank you – Gentlemen!” as she jumped into what she believed to be a mosh pit on the carpet. She was 2 1/2 years old at the time and living in Long Beach…….cuter than crap!

These little kids that we love, nurture, protect, bandage and teach eventually do grow up and leave the nest to start their own life’s journey and adventure…….really cool ride, but it always puts a lump in my throat

She just got married a couple of weeks ago and I took the opportunity to take her and her, then, fiancee out to the Salt Flats to shoot them in their tux and gown.

What a blast we had! I left the house at about 2:30 in the morning to be able to pick them up in Salt Lake and whisk them off to the Salt Flats before sunrise.

We lucked out and had a beautiful day…….temperatures were in the 60′s and no wind. I would have preferred having a few more clouds than we did have, but after living in Utah for almost 7 months now, I’m grateful for any day that isn’t raining or snowing.

They’re a great looking couple and we got a bunch of great shots….they were troopers to get up so early in the morning, but I think they were more than happy with the results we got.

As parents, sometimes we’re guilty of not shooting as many pics of our kids as they get older. Their not quite as cute as they were when they were 2 and 3 so we don’t look for as many opportunities to shoot pictures with them.

The lesson today is to recognize that they’re ALWAYS cute and to shoot them even past their teen years. At least until they start cranking out their own kids and then they’ll have to take a back seat to their own kids as we shoot image after image of the next generation of “little ones”.

Have fun and enjoy the ride…..it’s the best one there is!

Just a side note – If any of you have older kids that are getting married up here in Utah…..one of the gazillion weddings up here every year…..and want great shots of them in their tux and gown just contact me and I’d be happy to set something up. I don’t shoot weddings at all, but I will spend time with couples that want one of a kind gorgeous images….just not on their wedding day. Trust me…it’s worth it. I hope to hear from you soon.

Have a great day!

Photography Tip – Take What They Give You

Tim Pannell — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:49:58 +0000

One of the biggest problems people have shooting kids is expecting them to act, behave and or pose a certain way. Once the shoot starts, many times that sweet little darling kid won’t want anything to do with your preconceived ideas to photograph.

I know what it’s like to have a picture in my head of what I want to get and not being able to get it. At this point, you have two choices….continue beating your head against a rock trying to get your unco-operative subject to pose exactly the way you want…..or to go with the flow and see what the kid will give you.

After being in the business for over 20 years, I can pretty well figure out what’s going to happen within about 5 minutes of working with any child. This is not the time or place to become the ultimate disciplinarian. You can coerce the child into submission, but it comes with a really heavy price. They’ll never want to shoot with you again. They’ll remember you as a bully.

In my opinion, it’s just not worth it to get a picture. I’ve learned that by letting go of the reins and relinquishing “control” I’m more likely to walk away with a great image. It will most likely not look like anything that I envisioned at the beginning of the session, but I can promise you that it’ll be a better shot than the one I’d get by forcing and imposing my will on a kid.

Many times I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the outcome and on several occasions I’ve been rewarded with shots that I am completely in love with. This shot was done of my nephew. He hated having his picture taken, but was so cute I insisted on him letting me photograph him. We got set up and were ready to shoot and he wasn’t going to have any of it. I shot him anyway ….I kidded around with him a little bit and just hung out for a while and I wound up getting this image. To this day it’s my favorite shot I’ve ever taken of Kai.

He’s 10 years older now and has become a great model on top of that. He’s let me do countless shots of him over the years and I’m sure there will be countless more to come.

Just remember to take what the subject gives you. If they can’t smile with teeth showing don’t insist that they smile with their teeth showing. It’s all a give and take….kind of an elaborate dance between subject and photographer. Once you get into a flow you’ll feel it and that’s when the magic happens. Enjoy the ride!

Photoblogs-The Art of the Copycat

Tim Pannell — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:24:19 +0000

I’ve been looking around at some of the “photo blogs” that are out on the internet lately and there is one thing that has really surprised me. Why do so many of the blogs use the exact same template with almost identical images to other “photo blogs?” Heck…..even some of the verbage is word for word the same as other blogs. The images almost always look like they were shot by the same person as well.

I’m disappointed that so many just go out and copy the work of someone that is basically already copying the work of Anne Geddes. Not only is that plagiarism, but it is as far as one can get from true creativity.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with getting inspiration from someone’s work or vision and using that as a starting point or jumping off point…….but to do the same shot and then call it your own…..that’s not what photography should be about.

My advice……try harder. If you want to recreate someone else’s work as an assignment to learn a technique…..that’s great…..just don’t promote it as your own work. Any self respecting professional photographer knows there are laws in place to protect against that and would never do this.

There is a big difference between owning a professional digital camera and being a professional photographer. I’m a little taken aback by all of the misrepresentation going on of late. My niece is getting married in August and gave me a list of several “wedding” photographers’ websites to look at.

To my surprise….they were all just bloggers. All of them did something else for a living and did photography because it was their “passion.” Each of these blogs featured ” fully retouched or “edited” images” awash in posteriziation, clipped highlights and clipped shadows. Many of the images were very beautiful. Interesting crops, interesting use of available light (only available light) very limited scenarios because of their inability to do anything other than just point their camera and shoot.

This is a recipe for a wedding disaster. If you’re looking for a wedding photographer….don’t hire a blogger……get a professional that knows what they’re doing….it’s worth the extra money.

They initially wanted me to shoot their wedding, but I declined because even though I’m a professional in the biz for over 25 years….I don’t shoot weddings. It’s not what I’m good at and it wouldn’t be fair to them to misrepresent myself.

If you’re learning photography……admit it. If you’re still struggling with Photoshop……admit it. Don’t promote yourself as a professional baby, teenager, wedding photographer when you are consistently posterizing every one of your images that happens to have red in it. It’s not honest.

That being said……we all start somewhere….just be yourself…..not Anne Geddes, not your next door neighbor, not me.

Learn your craft so that you can try new things and experiment. It’s when you experiment that you come up with images that can look unique. Unique is a lofty goal to aim at since seemingly almost anything worth doing has already been done, but I think you get the point.

I spent a couple of days last week shooting with an art director friend of mine from New York. It was a blast to be working together again. It’s kind of like this intricately intertwined photography dance we have going. She knows me well and I know her well and consequently its a joy to shoot together….she brings out my best.

We spent several hours on a neighbors porch. She had so many wonderful knick knacks all over the place that made for wonderful props for my kids and families to use.

It felt a lot like play time for me as well as the models. We wanted the images to have kind of dreamy whimsical quality to them. We chose specific colors in the wardrobe and props to achieve that.

My personal opinion is…..it worked.

In any case…..don’t copy other people’s work or websites or text……it’s not ethical.

Sorry I got off on a rant there…..ooops…..I’ve just plagiarized Dennis Miller……ahhhh crap!

Just go out and play, have fun……..try something new and different………and most importantly…….be yourself!

Photography Tips For Older Kids

Tim Pannell — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:59:51 +0000

Not everyone has a willing 2 year old subject at their disposal to use as an indentured “photo servant.”

My kids are all older now with my youngest being 12.

Older kids don’t always like to have their pictures taken, so how and when is the best time to photograph them?

By the way…..I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve been both very sick and very busy.

I’ve been sick off and on for over 4 months….ever since we moved up here to Utah.

I finally went in to see a doctor and he determined I have allergies. Who would have guessed?

I hadn’t had any allergy problems in Arizona in over 22 years.

I also had 2 photo assignments…..one that took me to LA 2 weeks ago and another that took me back to Arizona for all of last week.

I was shooting within 1/2 mile of our old home in Chandler and my daughter, who came along as my “digi-tech” assistant and I just wanted to hop over our old fence and go swimming one more time in our pool.

It would’ve been fun, but I decided to pretend to be mature…..so we didn’t.

OK, back to the subject…..I’m sure you’re not on here to hear me blather on about my personal junk.

Most teenagers, not all I realize, but most are involved in sports programs at some point during the school year and I’ve found that even the most uncooperative of my kids didn’t mind having their picture taken when performing.

My middle son really doesn’t care to have his picture taken….probably my fault for shooting him too much as a little guy.

He plays lacrosse and wanted me to shoot his team while they played in a tournament.

It was fun and a nice change of pace. No posing, no giving directions, just covering what happens in the game.

There are other activities where you might be able to shoot your older kids and still be involved in directing.

Maybe you have a daughter or son in ballet. There are lots of cool ways to shoot ballet.

If their instructor is amenable to it you might be able to shoot them at practice.

If your child has friends you can get a bunch of them involved as well and get shots that everybody’s excited about.

I shot all of these images in Orlando at a school for ballet.

The kids had a great time and were amazingly cooperative as well as incredibly talented.

As always….the name of the game is to have fun….it always shows in your final images if people had a good time or not.

Photography Tips – Find a New Angle

Tim Pannell — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:24:47 +0000

Here’s a really simple photography tip: try to find a new angle to shoot from.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve seen the same shot over and over again.

A little kid sitting in a chair on green grass, shot from an adult’s perspective.

The adult stands in front of the kid and shoots down on them.

The adult is between 5′ 3″ and 5′ 10″ tall.

They’re nice shots, but I’m amazed at how consistent they are from picture to picture.

The goal isn’t always attainable, but it’s nice when an effort is made to try to be a little different than everyone else.

Look for interesting shapes, light patterns, backgrounds, colors and angles.

Try getting down low with your subject. Shoot at their level.

Try shooting them from behind, you don’t always have to show their face to get a great image.

I did this shot for a client down in Fort Meyers, Florida.

This playground was in a fairly ugly area and the background was really busy with old buildings, bad colors and unkept landscaping.

I wasn’t happy with the location and I was struggling to get something nice that captured the freedom kids feel at the playground.

I shot her from the front and hated it. I shot her from the side and hated it even more.

She wanted to go higher and higher and eventually got to the point where she was really leaning close to upside down at the apex.

I got down pretty low to the ground so I could eliminate the ugly cluttered background.

This let me shoot into the treetops and sky.

Since I wasn’t shooting her face, I was looking more for interesting shapes.

I asked her to have a good time and have as much fun as she could.

Mission accomplished.

Photography Tips For Spring

Tim Pannell — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:50:59 +0000

One of the best photography tips I can think of is to not over think your shots.

Over thinking leads to overproducing.

Overproducing leads to frustration.

You don’t have to make a big production every time you go to take pictures of your kids.

You do, however want to control the things that you can control.

Just don’t try too hard to control your “subjects.”

Picture a scenario….the less contrived the better.

Pick good angles to shoot from so your background doesn’t detract from your images.

Be sure to shoot when the light is pretty – morning, late afternoon, open shade.

Have your kids and anyone else in the shots wear nice co-ordinated clothes.

Then, when you’ve got everything ready….go out and play.

Give people a basic idea where you want them and have them do their thing.

If you see something you really like give your kids some feedback and have them continue doing what they’re doing.

If it’s not working, don’t let them know it. Give them encouragement until it starts to look right.

Take your time, let the shot evolve. It doesn’t have to be “perfect” right off the bat.

Be playful, make it fun.

Springtime is coming soon…..even if it is snowing here in Utah…..ridiculous!

There are lots and lots of Springtime activities to shoot – gardening, water fights, picnics, playgrounds, parades, barbecues.

Pick something and shoot away.

Another good photography tip – you don’t have to make people look at the camera to get a great shot.

Shoot your kids interacting.

The kids will have fun no matter what their ages.

I take that back….if they’re 17 they won’t have any fun.

If they’re 17, find a different hobby. lol

Wind Sucks? Nah, Wind Blows

Tim Pannell — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:12:30 +0000

Ever have to shoot in the wind?

It sucks!

Well…..technically, it blows.

We’re in that in between stage of weather here in Utah when it doesn’t know if its still winter or Spring.

2 days ago it was almost 70 degrees and yesterday it was cold enough that it started flurrying snow.

I don’t really enjoy this in between time…..either snow a ton or get on with it and bring on the Springtime.

It’s no fun shooting kids in cold weather when there isn’t any snow for them to play with.

I went out and shot a bunch of scenics instead.

My wife called while I was shooting so I turned my back to my tripod (something I never use shooting people) and had a little conversation with her.

The next thing I know is the wind blows my tripod and camera into the back of my head.

I’m glad my head was there to keep the camera from hitting the ground, but it really hurt.

It was extremely windy that day and cold and rainy – sleety.

I don’t know why I was out in it…….low I.Q. I guess.

In any case…..it reminded of a much warmer day on assignment in Fort Meyers, Florida.

It was at least 90 degrees out and close to 1oo% humidity with 40-60 mile an hour wind gusts.

It was one of the most miserable days I’ve ever shot in.

I would lay on the beach to shoot and the wind would create these little mini tornadoes of sand that would blow into my nose and eyes.

The sand there is almost pure white, which is nice for providing fill, but causes snow blindness after a full day or working in it.

The other frustrating thing is what that much wind does to hair.

A little breeze is always great for getting hair to flow and move, giving your shots some life.

But that much wind just becomes a giant killer pain in the butt!

What should you do when this happens?

If you were smart and you were just out shooting for yourself, you’d bail out and head inside.

If you were on an assignment like I was or were as dumb as I am, you’d stay out and give it a go.

We pow wowed and decided to turn the day into “hair day”.

Most all of the shots we took that day focused on peoples hair in the wind.

It would have actually been a lot of fun if the wind and the sand hadn’t exfoliated at least 3 layers of skin from by body.

With the exception of the 2 year old we had with us, who had no hair.

She would have normally been my “workhorse” that day, but since she was 2 she ran out of gas pretty quickly.

Who could blame her?

The balloons in this shot with her only lasted for 3 frames anyway before they “Auntie Emmed” there way into the stratosphere.

We failed to explain the whole helium concept to her………ooooops.

It reminded me of all the times at Disneyland when there are always several balloon “escapees” at any given time in the air over the park.

We actually got quite a lot of great images that day in spite of the ridiculous amount of wind.

A couple of the images are still among my favorites.

I guess no matter what, it’s important to learn how to work with what the situation gives you.

In this case, we made the blowing hair the subject and quite trying to fight it.

It worked.

One More Photo Snow Day

Tim Pannell — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:57:17 +0000

Just when I had given up on getting any more snow to shoot in, we got 10 – 12 inches.

The forecast was for a whole week in the 50′s.

We’ve lived here in Utah for just 2 months and the weather has been accurately predicted about 4 of those days.

We heard for weeks and weeks in January about major snowstorms coming our way and then..poof….nothing…..no snow…..not even a flurry.

When they said that we’d see warmer, precipitation free weather for the next week……Blam!…..we get a bunch of snow.

Why do I bother listening to a thing these people say. Weather forecasters are the very definition of inept.

Sorry about the rant!

In any case, the snow came, we shoveled for a couple of hours and then went to work.

My youngest son stayed home from school and 3 of his cousins ditched as well.

It’s nice to know that I’m encouraging truancy in America and the non education of my family.

I just worried that if I didn’t shoot pictures that morning that even though we had a foot of snow outside, it would melt quickly once the temperature bumped up.

It was for good reason because that is exactly what happened.

By late afternoon 2/3 of the snow was gone.

Our snowman had bought the farm by 1 p.m.

We got the kids all dressed up and hit the ground running….literally.

I wanted to get images with a neighborhoody feel to them so we just shot outside our house.

It makes it real convenient to just be able to walk inside to download and edit.

If one of the kids gets hurt during the snowball fights, they can run in the house and get triage…..convenient, eh?

I just threw a tarp down on the ground in the snow, laid down and screamed action.

I shot the action shots with my Canon 70-200mm f2.8 set at f4 and 1/640th of a second.

I tend to underexpose my images just a little when I shoot in the snow in order to preserve detail in the snow.

I noodle around with curves later on in post production.

You want to pay close attention to your histogram as you shoot so you don’t end up with completely blown out highlights.

As usual, the key to getting great shots with kids is to make sure its fun for them.

Lots of encouragement with lots of laughter.

Don’t get uptight. Don’t make it life or death.

Be sure to notice when they start to get bored and change the action.

Move onto a different shot.

One more thing to pay attention to is color.

There are a lot of nice colors in this years winter fashions……thank heavens.

It’s nice to have a lot of scarves and hats to pick from as accents for the kids’ ski jackets.

Most places are completely picked over by now, but you may be able to find some killer deals for next year if you keep your eyes open.

You can find hats for 75% off or more in some cases.

If you can get a small arsenal of hats and scarves to use in your shots…..it’s totally worth it.

Find a bunch of colors that work together and have fun with it.

I don’t know if we’ll get any more snow this year or not.

I’m pretty ready for Spring at this time of the year.

Back in Arizona I’d be out golfing and seriously considering getting in our pool by now.

The key I guess is to appreciate the weather you have, when you have it.

Make the most of the photographic situation that presents itself and as always……..have fun!