kylie_black

<p>Anda,</p>

<p>I am really a beginner also particularly with regards to portraits and even moreso with my most recent gift of a shiny new flash!</p>

<p>So my advice more in how I have approached learning to look at light and using flash, particularly fill which I think is quite difficult as a beginner to feel more comfortable with. My suggestion is along the lines of what Rob advised, but really take it back to basics to get that 'feel' of the light.</p>

<p>Firstly, I would suggest finding some great blogs and tutorials (and photo.net threads) on how flash works and particularly how it translates to your camera settings. Then, grab a friend who will be patient and take Rob's advice. Outdoors, where there is both shade and full sun and start applying the knowledge from the blogs as you move around. Don't worry about the photo content or composition, just the lighting - use different settings and start taking photos, making mental note of what you're doing and using as many different settings even though it's the same photo - ie, if i add X amount of flash what affect is it then dial it up or down and if I move the person over here or there, facing the light, away from the light, angles of light etc. Then when you download them you will be able to see what gave what results. I'm a very hands-on person and for me, this approach helped me learn a lot about how my flash worked for me.</p>

<p>Another suggestion, something I learnt as an art student which has helped me in photography is to always look at shadows and highlights... a great way to practice that in your photography is to go and literally take photos of shadows! Not only do they look interesting and can give you great affects, you can start to see how the light & dark works on the objects and how that can affect the result of your photos.</p>

<p>Hope that helps!<br>

Kylie</p>

<p>Nadine - as a frequent reader of others' posts, I always find myself curious which suggestions were most helpful and don't feel this happens quite often enough. I'm sure there are many who, like me, don't post questions but are taking your advice on board and very grateful for everyone's help!</p>

<p>Popped the pics up on the web for my friends...</p>

<p><a href="http://www.kylieblackphotography.com/#clint%20&%20melissa%20engagement/1">http://www.kylieblackphotography.com/#clint%20&%20melissa%20engagement/1</a></p>

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>Just wanted to say thanks again for the advice. Engagement party was heaps of fun the scenery was amazing!</p>

<p>Stacy - thanks, I definitely took that into consideration and arrived early both to help my friends set up and also to take the time to photograph the details like cupcakes and flower arrangements.</p>

<p>William - thanks for suggestion to shoot with the kit lens at 55/6.3 - definitely used that advice and it certainly helped me achieve the result I was after in group shots and during speeches, cake cutting, etc. oh and raw+jpg of course!!</p>

<p>Nadine - I did have to navigate some challenging lighting - it was a very bright day and photos were in the shade, indoors, in full sun, under dappled lighting from all of the greenery and at various angles in the light (to capture the spectacular view in the background).</p>

<p>Just wanted to extend a big thank you to all for your advice as it was definitely taken into consideration in planning what I wanted to do and helped a very green photographer feel much more comfortable in approaching something new!</p>

<p>Great :) thanks guys!</p>

<p>I do tend towards the not-overthinking and was suddenly struck by maybe that is the wrong approach particularly as I also know that the groom is quite particular when it comes to photos. William, yes, by my comment on journalistic approach I did indeed mean just taking candid pics is my preference in general - certainly having not photographed an event other than as a guest with my p&s.</p>

<p>The general approach to lighting conditions & flash was probably my main concern. Thanks heaps Nadine for the link they were great and I'll be taking a lot of that advice on my practice run shortly!</p>

<p>Thanks again and I'm certainly looking forward to going and enjoying the day both as a guest and photographer!</p>

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I am after some advice in preparing for an engagement party shoot this coming weekend, which is being held from 12pm - late afternoon. This is my first time photographing an event like this and was hoping for any advice you can give me for approaching this so that I can get some great photos for the couple.</p>

<p>A bit of background before you all jump in advising "no! don't do it!".... Realistically, I am a beginner to photography and these gorgeous friends of mine have been convincing me to photograph them because, they say, they have faith in my artistic ability - which is sweet of them considering they are completely aware of my experience, or lack thereof. So, at their prodding and persuading, I have taken headshots for the groom for his work and had the pleasure of taking them up on an engagement shoot recently. They have been ecstatic with the results, which is fantastic, and hence the request if I could please bring my camera and take some photos at their engagement party.</p>

<p>There is no pressure from them in terms of quality or obligation as I am there primarily as a guest, however it's also something I would love to take on for the experience and, of course, do the very best I can. They will not be hiring a professional photographer for the event - it's a low budget, backyard event, not a large catered affair - so it would also be a favour to my good friends. </p>

<p>So, my question for you is - what should I be trying to do and what should I avoid doing? While it is a casual event, how do I avoid them looking like ordinary snapshots? My preference is a photojournalistic approach, but should I be expecting to take posed photographs as well? What equipment should I be using during the day and what should I be looking to practice before the event? In terms of equipment, I have a 40D with kit lens (18-55), a 50mm 1.8 and as of last week a 430EX II flash. As I haven't worked with the flash before, I'm going to take the time to practice during the week using it for fill. The party is being held in a backyard but overlooking a beautiful beach/bay area so there will also be a need to take photos of the scenery too.</p>

<p>Thanks for reading my long winded explanation! Kylie</p>

<p>I wholeheartedly concur with the comments about networking. I know that groups of my friends all use the same photographers, not only because of the photos (personally, one in particular I find completely ordinary) but moreso because they were excellent at building that relationship. They were accomodating and friendly and the couples were not only happy with their wedding album, but also happy with their photographer. I think that's a key thing to remember - relationships build businesses. The more avenues where you can build those relationships the better.</p>

<p>Also, agree with the idea to set up a profile for your company on facebook. I'm not sure of your relationships with the weddings you've shot previously, but perhaps you can ask past clients to join and recommend their friends to join your page also in support of your new business? </p>

<p>Wedding vendors also tend to work together, so second that suggestion. Particularly any venues that employ events/wedding coordinators (hotels, etc) who may be in a position to pass on your details to their clients.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>I'm also going to echo an earlier sentiment that you should spend some time on the 'wedding & social' forum, there's a lot of advice there both on suitable equipment for the event & many other considerations and helpful advice for taking on a wedding.</p>

<p>Hi Mario,<br>

I agree with Nathan on quite a few points. The website does take a long time to load, and then you only get to "enter".<br>

The design is really funky and unusual but it is difficult to navigate - I had trouble clicking on any images as it scrolls so fast!<br>

Personally, I really like the layout but it probably just needs a bit of tweaking to make it more consumer-friendly. From a business perspective, it's a bit difficult to know what exactly you're "selling" from the front page, particularly as the menu was difficult to locate in the pop-up and you need to be pretty controlled and patient with your mouse to get anywhere. I would personally make this part static so that a customer can easily get to your services and contact details.<br>

I would also recommend that you have someone look at your English section in 'Services', as this appears to be literal translation rather than an adaptation to English grammar.<br>

I really like it though :) Particularly love that the site adjusts to accomodate browser size too.<br>

Kylie</p>

Haven't got LightRoom yet, Bernie, but have been trying to find somewhere to buy it - looks like online may be the go.

 

Thanks for the link Michael, certainly giving me a few ideas of things to try.

 

Thanks again guys. Gives me some things to try out on my images and see what works.

Thanks, Daniel. Had a look at your photos and I see what you mean about the colours.

 

Dave - a Canon EOS 40D just with kit lens for now

Hi guys,

 

In the albums of the many talented photographers on photo.net the photos just scream off the page with really vivid

colours. How is this achieved? Is this effect generally done through post production or can you get close enough

directly through settings on your camera?

 

A few months ago, I switched my new dlsr to manual and am working my way trying to achieve the results I am after

using just my camera as possible but even through adjustments after the fact, eg, hue/saturation, I don't really think

the colour in the pictures compares to the images I'm looking at.

 

Thanks for your advice!