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"INTERVIEW WITH JEFF ASCOUGH" Resumes Today


jeffascough

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Hi guys,

<p>

Mary has asked if I would do a Q&A session on this forum for you all.

<p>

I'm pretty much open to answer anything to do with wedding photography although

I can't promise to answer all the questions posted.

<p>

I know plenty of people already know me on here, but to give some of the

newcomers to the industry a little insight into my photography and me?.

<p>

I?m a pro wedding photographer from the UK. I've been shooting since 1989 and

have covered over 1000 weddings in my time. I shoot exclusively as a documentary

photographer on a wedding. 99% of my images are taken as they happen without any

prompting or interference from me. I am also passionate about shooting by

available light.

<p>

I was featured in the first "Masters of Wedding Photography" DVD. American Photo

has just voted me one of the ten best wedding photographers in the world. My

work has also been featured in the Washington Post, Professional Photographer,

the BJP etc.

<p>

More info can be found on my blog at <A href="http://www.jeffascough.biz">jeffascough.biz</A> and on my website <A href="http://www.jeffascough.net">jeffascough.net</A>

<p>

I?m pretty sure Mary will chime in to let us all know how this is going to work.

Please bear in mind that there is an 8 hour time difference between the US and

UK so you may have to wait a bit for answers.

 

<p>

 

 

Jeff

<p>

<p>

<em> Moderator note:<p>

PLEASE POST YOUR QUESTIONS UNTIL YOU SEE 4 QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN POSTED AND THEN

WAIT ;-) <p>

 

Jeff will answer and after that have those questions and follow-ups ready to go

we'll take another 4 questions and WAIT <p>

 

This is the only way I can see that this format can work. Otherwise we'll have

a list of 15-20 questions before Jeff can come back and look things over and it

will be overwhelming to answer everything. Furthermore, people will perhaps

then post a follow-up and Jeff will be answering follow-ups as well as

questions.. It could be a mess.

 

<p>Sometimes there may be 5 questions allowed when there is a case of multiple

people posting at the same time which may be ok unless the grouping of

questions are very involved. There will be times I will delete the question with

an explination asking the poster to re-post the question later.

<p>

Our Thanks to Jeff for giving us his time! <p>

 

One more thing. This is not a thread for debating raw vs jpeg. Jeff will tell

us how he works and it is not relevant to post your images or argue with his

methods. Look at this as an interview - not a debate or show and tell. Jeff,

however, will/may post images to illustrate a point in response to a question.

<p>Mary Ball - Moderator </em>

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What is the secret to capturing such wonderful images in a totally PJ style? Is it that you cature a huge number of images or you are better at anticipating the right moments or is it just finding a way (through composition) to make every shot count?
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My style is all about anticipation. Compared to others I shoot relatively few images at a wedding.

 

I like to see a picture, set the composition, my angle to the light, and then wait for something to happen within that picture. Then I may take several frames to get the perfect shot. If something doesn't happen I go and look for another image. I'm very deliberate and controlled in what I do - most of the time anyway.

 

If you ever get to see 'War Photographer' with James Nachtwey...the way he shoots is very similar to how I do things. Although I have less than 1/10th the talent that he has. What I mean is, he is very deliberate and takes his time over the image. I do the same.

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Hi jan

 

It depends what you mean by sufficient. In my world sufficient means enough light to get an image without too much subject movement. This could be 1/15th sec at 1.2 at 3200 iso for static subjects or 1/50th sec at 1.2 at 3200 for slightly moving subjects. However the light needs to be good as well.

 

If I'm completely up against it, I will use flash to either clean up the light or to freeze movement. However this is usually a last resort. The flash is always balanced for the background. The only time I've used flash this year was for the first dance on two weddings. As we move into the summer I won't use it at all.

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Hello sir,

I have followed your work with deep, deep admiration and iStrive to oneday, capture a portion of teh beauty you see! My question is, You seem to shoot in such grand venues/homes, with amazing lihting. What advice do you have for those of us you dont have that privilege yet??

How should we "see' are veents to capture all the beauty you manage to freeze?

thank you

Ewurama Hayford

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Hi Ewurama

 

Thanks for the comments.

 

Most of my venues are grand from the outside but mostly they are small and dark on the inside.

 

The lighting is there in any venue, you just have to find it.

 

The best advice I can give is to get to the venue early, and go around with an assistant. Find the rooms where the wedding will take place and look for the main light source. Get your assistant to move around the light source while you see how the light plays on the person. Look at the angle of light, and how it changes as you also move in relation to the light and the person. You will then hopefully get an idea of where to be in relation to the subject to take your pictures at a given time.

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Jeff -- as usual for sure you do excellent work and very nice for you to take some of your time entertaining questions.

 

I believe you are rather infamous for being a JPG Only shooter. Rightly and wrongly their is criticism of that approach. Obviously RAW gives you a little more exposure latitude and if you do Nail It on nearly every shot (98%?) you can still easly process the RAWs to JPG with simple automation.

 

Do you shoot JPG only purely to save time, space, and/or post processing time+? Or are you MUCH BETTER with the camera than image processing software and just do not want to deal with RAWs? (I'd figure you'd have staff handle that)

 

Also, do you ever use real woman as models to pose practice shoots or to teach? Pro models already know how to pose so they make a photog's life too easy. in any case, well done Jeff!

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Hi Jeff,

 

Thanks for taking the time. I have two questions.

 

1) Your brides all look lovely. Do you retouch your photos or is it just a careful selection of camera position/lens selection/lighting?

 

2) What are most important to you when visualizing your shots? Events to tell the story, interaction/emotions like love, happiness, pride etc?

 

Thanks,

Peter

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Hi Jeff

 

Great work. It is obvious that great lighting and composition are the keys to a great image. Given that, "processing" an image has become something we must now think about.

 

There has been a lot of developments in this area over the last couple of years. What is popular now is the super-saturated, somewhat blown-out, kind of photo that "pops."

 

What direction do you see image processing taking in the near future?

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Hi Ken

 

I wondered how long this would take to come up.

 

All I will say on the whole RAW/Jpeg thing is that you have to shoot what you think is right for you, your clients and your workflow.

 

There are some really successful jpeg shooters in the world that deal with bigger clients than you or I ever will. There are also other photographers that are equally successful and shoot RAW.

 

Shooting jpeg for me allows quicker post production.

 

Never had models to practice with as my work is based on observation.

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Jeff,

 

Again thanks for taking the time to do this interview.

What do you do when you are faced with a location that has maybe two or three areas of acceptable light? Do you pick the area that would have the most traffic and options? Or do you still search around even in the ultra low light sections for potential shots?

 

Jonathan Jones

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Hi Greg

 

Digital allows more artistic expression through post processing. Far more than film ever did. Photographers that do something different with post, will inevitably be copied, and then the post becomes a style. This is what is happening now.

 

For me, less is more. I personally like my colours to be real as I'm documenting reality.

 

As for the future. I think as RAW software becomes better at skin tones, and camera resolutions become greater with better highlight detail, I think there will be more emphasis on subtlety and true colour rather than the heavily saturated stuff that we see now.

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Do you discuss with your clients the fact that you may be directing them to conduct their actions in a particular, "good lighting" area? If not, what do you tell them to get them into the good lighting area--how do you ask them?

 

And, what if your ceremony takes place outside in blasting sunlight at high noon, as they often do here in California? How do you handle that, and if you go ahead and shoot it, do you then use fill flash?

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Hi Peter

 

I retouch blemishes in close ups only. I do a fair amount of work through actions on each image though. This is to emphasise different parts of the image though rather than trying to polish a turd....:))

 

Great light and composition is more important to me than anything else in a photograph. Cartier-Bresson (one of my heroes) always looked for the composition first and then waited for the decisive moment. He enjoyed the mathematics of composition. I'm the same. If we can get great composition and great light and we get something interesting within the image then I have the makings of a great picture. I always go for composition and light first.

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Wonderful work Jeff. Also delighted to see another Derbyshire based photographer here on p.net! I have to ask the inevitable question - what cameras / lenses do you use? I ask because selective focus & depth of field is a key part of so many of your images.

 

Thanks, Simon.

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Hi Jonathan

 

I go wherever the clients go. I simply look for the light within the environment they are in.

 

In some cases they may never venture into the best light. That's the way it goes. I won't ever ask them to move into better light, I'm not there to interfere.

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Hi Jeff.

 

I had the good fortune to attend a seminar by Jeff in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. The

notion of anticipation and having patience for the right moment in the right light is

difficult

for some people to grasp given the hectic nature of wedding photography ... until you see

just how he does it illustrated with specific images.

 

If any of you ever get the chance to attend something like this with Jeff, it's a few hours

well spent. It not only reinforced my own intuitive beliefs, it brought a new understanding

of them

.

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Jeff - Could you post two or three images that demonstrate a good example of the right light at the right time without flash and if

you remember the shot - the sequence of events that led to the shot?

 

Thanks Jeff!

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REMINDER -

 

PLEASE ONLY POST 4 MORE QUESTIONS TODAY now that Jeff is off line.

(in addition to mine). We'll resume tomorrow with those 4 questions

and as Jeff graciously answers - you can keep posting.

 

If you are in a time zone that makes it difficult to get a question

in (West Coast) - Just pop me an email and I'll post it for you

tomorrow.

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Mary, are we allowed a clarification on our question(s)? I am just trying to understand how Jeff might handle a bad lighting situation (such as the blasting sunlight at high noon) where one is forced to work with it and a) can't control subject placement and b) is of such dynamic range that the camera cannot handle detail on the extremes. If it is in post processing, such as using the highlight/shadow tool in Photoshop, then I would ask how Jeff exposes his frames--for the highlights? Because if photographing a processional, for instance, under bright sunlight at high noon, and if you exposed for the highlights and to keep white dresses from blowing, one would end up with dense black triangles for eye sockets. Again--just trying to understand the process...
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