Lighting

I had a double wedding-weekend, and I just got to the dancing photos of Friday's wedding, and remembered that I took a couple photos for a blog post....so here it goes!!

Lighting.

It's scary, intimidating, amazing and can make or break a photo.

I REALLY believe that my career took a drastic turn for the better when I came out of my hiding spot, and faced the fear of light head on. There are a lot of fantastic resources out there, and I read books, watched videos and purchased classes on-line to learn as much as I could.
Zach and Jody Gray are absolutely fantastic. Here is a video explaining their choices of lighting and some technique. I'm sure there are a ton more out there, I specifically purchased their class on Creative Live that covered weddings, and it CHANGED MY GAME! So worth it.

I feel like I have a million more miles to travel before I'm completely satisfied with the technique, but I can tell you that I'm confident I can handle nearly any situation come wedding/reception day.

I started off with my speedlights and umbrellas. But like any photographer I WANTED more. :) So I purchased a Flashpoint with a 24x32 soft box. This set up requires a vagabond mini battery pack, and all together, it's quite heavy, so an assistant is extremely helpful.

During the first dance, I use the flashpoint, with a beauty dish (not sure the dims) and then a speedlight on a light stand (with no modifier). Not sure of my settings, I usually just wing it! I think that my flashpoint was at 3/4 power and my speedlight (canon 580exii) was at 1/4 power. My camera is on manual at iso 320, 1/125th and f5.6. Depending on the reception, my shutter speed will go up or down. If there are a lot of really cool lights in the background, I'll drop my shutter speed down a bit to get them in there too.  Here are three photos from Friday. Can you tell which one I took without the lights? And WHY it's so important to learn to use lighting to your advantage?? :)

(these photos have minimal editing in lightroom, otherwise they're straight out of camera)
Happy Shooting!

Overcoming false confidence as a photographer

As a self-taught photographer, I’ve learned many things over the last 5 years. Some because I had questions and actively researched the topic, some because I made a mistake on the job and realized I needed to do things differently.

The most important lesson of all? NEVER believe you’re done learning.

This is an incredibly difficult, yet humbling lesson to embrace. Difficult, because as artists, we want to own our artistry. Sit comfortably in our little slice of photographer heaven where every time we click the shutter button, we’ve created a masterpiece.

Humbling, because the reality is that doesn’t always happen. And we should be able to accept that and push ourselves to achieve greatness, knowing that greatness doesn’t truly exists as a tangible thing. That we will forever search for the next best subject/project/light source/angle/landscape/whatever….learning new things along the way. And NEVER thinking “okay, now I’m the best I can be.”

As a newbie, my false confidence got in my way. And I’ve seen it in the industry many times. Photographers who have recently started out, or have been in business for many years but can’t seem to get “there” (wherever there is). They have what I had. That sense of “I can do this, I am good enough, you have hired me because you like my work, and you can’t complain, because I’m a professional!” These ideals come from many sources, forums, blogs, photography articles and motivational speakers. YES this can be true!! BUT only if you have the experience/consistency to back it up. Because behind closed doors, I (you) shouldn’t be stalking every other photographer out there, thinking of reasons why I’m better, or not understanding why I don’t have as many ‘likes’ on facebook, or why I don’t seem to have the volume they do. This sure does take A LOT of energy, energy that could be put to better use such as:

What is it about “so and so photographer’s” work? Is it the editing process? The way they pose their subjects? The way they use light?

More importantly….how can I apply it to my work? How can I achieve that greatness? (the greatness that isn’t tangible but will get you out of the false confidence and into a comfort zone which will make you soar.)

It is okay to open your mind, let down your guard and be willing to learn new things. No matter what stage you’re at in your photography. You aren’t doing it because you suck, you’re doing it because you’re awesome and you want to be even more awesome. Change is good.

More importantly, in this industry, change (or at least flexibility) is necessary.

Happy shooting!

Chicago Wedding Photographer :: Stephanie & David are married!

Revisiting a wedding from the summer of 2014, I just have to share a few images with you all.
This wedding was absolutely stunning! Stephanie and David were such a pleasure to work with, and their attention to detail and organization made the day go perfectly smooth, despite the heat!

Starting off at the Hotel Lincoln in downtown Chicago, I was able to spend a few minutes with David and his boys in the lobby for some fun and awesome shots before moving on with the girls in their hotel room. The lobby is a photographer's dream come true, and we lucked out with our timing. For a Friday in August, we had little to no traffic for our shoot.

Moving on, Stephanie planned a beautiful first look. They each held a bouquet of helium balloons in front of them for a countdown release so they could see each other at the same time. The very moment they began the countdown, the Chicago air show flew overhead making it impossible to hear...and making it a laughable memory for both. No worries though, David was breathless when he saw his bride to be.

We spent some time with the bridal party, walking through Lincoln park and hitting up all the beautiful landmarks it has to offer. Finishing up, we made it to Cafe Brauer for the ceremony.  Cocktail hour on the rooftop and reception in the gorgeous ballroom rounded out a wedding day to remember. Stephanie hand picked the play-list for dancing - which was awesome - and the couple danced the night away with an enthusiastic group of friends and family.