As an International Corporate Event Photographer, I get to shoot in some very nice venues. The images above are from the Indian Wells / Palm Dessert area of California where I spent 5 days covering a conference.

Although I did not have a chance to get in the gorgeous pool or play on the beautiful golf course, I did manage to take some extra pictures of more than the conference. Seeing the images above helps remind me of how fortunate I am to be able to see places like this as part of what I do for a living. Although it is not a vacation, it’s still nice to be able to go to places like this courtesy of the client and be able to photograph people in and around these types of settings.

My guess is that many travel photographers may not be able to spend as much time enjoying what they photograph as they do photographing it. But it’s still awesome to get paid to do what you love whether there is a lot of down time to actually enjoy it or not.

Whether you are photographing a family at the local park or happen to be fortunate enough to travel around the country or the world in with your photography career, be sure to take some time to capture some images for yourself beyond the subject matter that you are photographing. In other words, take time to smell the roses.

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Lighting Techniques Interview with Karl Taylor – Part 2

Lighting Techniques Interview with Karl Taylor – Part 3

The post Photography Lighting Techniques – Karl Taylor Part 1, 2 and 3 Videos first appeared on .

Fill Flash Plus 5-in-1 Reflector

The details in this post are not meant for the beginner. A photographer that is familiar with his or her camera and using a flash should understand the details just fine. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me David [@] dwppc [.] com … coded to avoid SPAM.

The image on the right was shot outdoors in the shade, but thanks to fill flash and a 5-in-1 reflector, it has a bright dynamic that it would not have had without the flash and the reflector. If this shot had been taken under the natural conditions that the model was in, it would have been a far different image because she is in solid shade and the background is very bright. Don’t get me wrong, solid shade is nice and can still work well; however, when possible, I choose to use a fill flash outside which I do most of the time. In this case, I had an opportunity to also use a 5-in-1 reflector as well.

I chose to put the subject in front of a bright outdoor background but wanted her in the shade to avoid squinting and harsh sun. I set my f/stop to f/5.6 on my Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens so that I could get the shallow depth of field you see (out of focus background). Although my flash has high speed sync which is often good for outdoor shooting with fill flash and will allow the camera sync with the flash beyond 1/200th, I wanted to be below 1/200th. So I made sure my ISO and the f/5.6 helped me achieve a shutter speed of around 1/100th. My Canon 600 EX-RT TTL flash was attached to the camera with a small rogue flash bender. I turned the flash head upward because I shot in a vertical position. The bottom line is that I got my camera reading to where I wanted it and let the TTL (communication of flash and camera) work it’s magic. I do tend to shoot a little overexposed, so my camera was likely set 1/3 higher than the meter and my flash was likely set a little stronger as well. In addition to the fill flash, I had an assistant hold a 5-in-1 silver reflector at waste level to reflect additional light back up on the subject… All Done!

5-in-1 Reflector – Click The Image To Visit Amazon

The 5-in-1 reflector pictured on the right can be purchased for under $30 on Amazon. If you don’t own one it would be a nice addition to your equipment at minimal cost.

The reflectors are called 5-in-1 because there are many ways that it can be used. There is a silver and gold reflective option. When you reverse that, you’ll have black on one side and white on the other which you can find many uses for. The final option which is very nice is to take the cover completely off and have translucent white which can help you create your own shade in bright sun by holding the reflector above the subject and letting the sun shine through the white.

The post Tips For Shooting An Outdoor Headshot Using Fill Flash And A Reflector first appeared on .

The model was in a shaded walkway area between two office condo buildings.  I wanted the bright light that you see behind her to help make the image pop.  The daylight reading was f/5.6 which I adjusted the camera via ISO and Shutter Speed to get.  Although I was on manual, you could set your camera for aperture priority at f/5.6 or on manual at f/5.6 and get the meter to even out based on the f/stop by adjusting your shutter speed and potentially ISO if needed.  I purposely slightly over exposed the image, so my meter was NOT exactly even at f/5.6.

I used a C-stand with a boom arm mounted with an Einstein strobe and a 22 inch beauty dish.  I used two sand bags on the C-stand to keep it from tipping over.  I adjusted the strobe manually instead of using a light meter.  With the adjustment on the strobe, I shot a few images until the light looked like it was balanced.  If I had of used a light meter, I could have adjusted it to f/5.6 to match it with the daylight.

***Equipment List…
Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 70-200mm F2.8
Pocket Wizard
Paul C. Buff 640 WS Einstein (Strobe)
Paul C. Buff 22 Inch Beauty Dish (White)
Paul C. Buff Vagabond Mini (Outside Power)
C-Stand with Boom Arm and Sandbag
Visit Paul C. Buff

***As for equipment, depending on where you are with your photography, you may not have most of the items listed and you may not be shooting with professional gear. That’s OK! You have to start where you are and use what you have. If you have a camera, a lens and a flash, you can still try to balance daylight and strobe together to create a similar shot.

The post Outside Photography Tip: Make Your Outside Images POP by Balancing Daylight and External Strobe first appeared on .

Kevin enjoys any opportunity to share his story and inspire others to make life changes. “I’m passionate about PASSION!” says Kevin. “You have to love what you do—because when you don’t, it shows. Of course, when you do, it shows as well. My purpose as a speaker is to help individuals reflect and identify their passion and get connected to their source of authentic happiness and desire. When you have passion, you find a way to make things happen.”

Kevin was a pleasure to work with. To keep the big smiles going that you see in his images on this post, we played a game. We started making up stories about people we both know.

Here’s what Kevin had to say about working with me:

Headshots are essential for my business. As a keynote speaker, clients need high quality photos for promotional purposes and I need them for my website and in my own personal marketing. My business is who I am, so my brand and image matter. Having someone help me look good is a must, especially on a bad hair day! J

I called David because I wanted to look better than I do in person—and I needed a way to bring out my personality that would come across in a photo. David has a unique way of making you feel comfortable in a setting that normally wouldn’t feel comfortable. I’ve had three photo-shoot sessions with other photographers in the past that resulted in possibly 2-3 photos worth keeping. With David, there were dozens—he does a fabulous job using humor when necessary, but he also knows when to get serious.

The photos I enjoy the most are the ones that seem natural. You can tell a fake smile many times, so a genuine and transparent smile is most important. During my shoot with David, we got extremely creative and took photos from all over the room, high and low, near a window, along a wall — each picture was unique in its own way. From the shoot, I had over 50 photos I wanted to keep. David did a great job.

If your company is seeking a speaker that can engage an audience and help them achieve more in less time, Kevin appreciates your consideration.

 The hyperlink in this post is NO FOLLOW.

The post Spotlight: Kevin Snyder, Author and Speaker first appeared on .

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2. It’s Official: The First Instagram From Space Has Been Posted http://petapixel.com/2014/04/08/its-official-the-first-instagram-from-space-has-been-posted-and-its-a-selfie/
3. LOCAL Spotlight: Wendy Gates Corbett with Refresher Training https://www.rtpphotoandvideo.com/local-spotlight-wendy-gates-corbett-with-refresher-training/
4. Researchers Find a Way to Show 80 Years of Aging by Morphing a Single Photo http://petapixel.com/2014/04/10/researchers-find-way-show-80-years-aging-morphing-single-photo/
5. CorporateEventPhotography in Raleigh NC – Choosing The Right Photographer https://www.rtpphotoandvideo.com/corporate-event-photography-in-raleigh-nc-choosing-the-right-photographer/
6. Striking Hyperlapse Captures Construction of the 100ft ‘Kelpies’ Sculptures in Scotland http://petapixel.com/2014/04/12/striking-hyperlapse-captures-construction-100ft-kelpies-sculptures-scotland/
7. Aerial Photography Shows Pilot’s Perspective http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/photos/aerial-photography-shows-pilots-perspective-23259736/image-23260253

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Here’s the story behind this shot that will hopefully encourage you to try something different with your lighting:

About 50 feet away from the subject, I had 53 inch white seamless set up with 3 softboxes pointing to the seamless.  1 of the 3 softboxes was boomed in on a C-stand. All the light was focused on the seamless background which was set up for some simple product shots.

So while I was waiting, this guy was putting some cords together and I thought…hmmm… why not take a shot with the lights 50 feet away in this high ceiling, 20,000 sq. ft. warehouse and see what happens?  Well, I was quite surprised when I balanced the strobes to the light in the warehouse.  I just love the way the lighting filled this area from so far away.

The smaller image on the right was shot in the same general area without the strobe lights on and it just doesn’t have the POP of the image to the upper left.   Looking at the image on the left and the one on the right far larger than you see here, there is a noticeable difference in image quality because of all the fill light vs. only using NATURAL warehouse lighting.

So the next time you think about shooting with NATURAL light or just popping the shot off with on camera flash, you should consider lighting the scene up with some BIG light instead.   Notice how the guy in the distance is well lit also in the image to the upper left.

I hope this post inspires you to step outside of your comfort zone and try something different with your lighting.

The post Toying With Light In Photography – Try Something Different – It Might Just Surprise You! first appeared on .