PPS

Do you find yourself falling back on the same outdoor location to shoot your engagement sessions? Even worse, do you do the same two poses on the same boring backdrops in your studio? Do all of your engagement sessions closely resemble one another? One of the easiest ways to break out of this rut is to shoot a couple’s engagement session at the location they got engaged at. Not only is it a new location for you, these images will mean so much more to your clients.

Now it’s true some of the locations your clients got engaged at won’t be reasonable to travel to for a quick photo session. If that’s the case, why not suggest doing the session at the place they first met? If all else fails, find out what the couple’s interests are and go from there. What do they like to do in their spare time? Do they have any similar hobbies? Say they let on that they love riding bikes together around a particular lake or park. Perhaps they frequent the same coffee shop and sit at the very same table every Saturday afternoon. Maybe you discover the couple is really big into taxidermy…awkward. Hey, I never said you wouldn’t end up in some pretty weird places, just not your “safe & comfy” locations you tend to favor!

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The session was near Ritzville Washington. We were on a bridge that spanned this pond, and the lighting had been really flat thru the session, though we had still got some great shots. It was getting pretty dark however and I needed something dramatic to finish up with. The clouds had destroyed my dreams a stunning HDR sunset, and I knew I had to try something fast.

Looking around at the light, I got a plan. The car headlights on My Pontiac had gone on, and cast light and shadows across their path. I had the 580EX, but on camera flash was not what I needed here. I decided to try something I had never done before by parking the car across the road with the lights on Jacob. After editing with a few of my Lightroom effects I was able to get some pretty cool results.

There were birds flying all around the pond as well, and I decided to get a few shots with them in the background. It paid off! This shot was made with the “UBW Vintage” preset from my B&W set, plus a little tweaking. You can see a few more from this session on Jacobs Senior Portraits, over on my blog. I’ve decided to open up my mind to more alternative lighting techniques in the future and see what comes… Gavin Seim

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I shot an on location senior session Tuesday, and as I drove I found myself considering the light, and talking to myself about it. Maybe I’m crazy but if I record myself then suddenly I’m no longer talking to myself I had my G9 along so I decided to record a video via the steering wheel..

I always to try think when going to a shoot (note I say try). I like to look at other photographers work before I go to get inspired, and get my brain going. Then on the way I think of the information I know about the subject and the location and try to get a plan. Of course it doesn’t always go as planned so I try to have open ideas, and be ready for anything! HOW DO YOU GET INSPIRED? Gavin Seim

On the way video

Dropping this tip a little late today but happy W.T.W. everybody! With it being Earth Day yesterday, I thought I’d involve the object that swings us around once a year into this weeks tip. That’s right the Sun. Which, as the They Might Be Giants song goes, is “a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furness,” and obviously very important to us “light writers.” More specifically, when it sets. (more…)

So, you’re going shoot your first wedding. Maybe you’ve been hired, or maybe your doing it for a friend on a budget. Either way you want to get great results, have good referrals for the future, and make the clients super happy!

So what do you look for? What about wedding photography is so intimidating, and how should you take on this challenging but rewarding type of photography?

1. Don’t Oversell Yourself.
If your just getting started with weddings don’t pretend to be something your not. Chances are the reason your shooting their day, is because it’s not in the budget to hire someone who’s experienced with weddings! That’s OK, and an opportunity for you. If you feel it’s too much, then let them know and maybe get someone else to help. Chances are however that your thinking “I can handle it fine” That’s cool, but be realistic, and remember you can’t do a retake of a wedding.

2. Do your Homework
If you lack experience with weddings do some research. Take the time to read a few books and get a feel for what is expected of you at the wedding. A couple books you might check out are Digital Wedding Photography, The Complete Guide to Professional Wedding Photography, and The Wedding Photographers Handbook. There’s many more, just search around on Amazon.

If it makes you more comfortable, have the bride give you a list of shots she really wants, but don’t expect the couple to know everything you need to shoot. Once you know your way around you’ll probably outgrow lists for the most part, since you’ll already know what to shoot and when. Also take the time to look at great wedding pictures from other photographers and note what you like and dislike about their images. (more…)

Just wrote this up over on the Seim Effects blog… Gav

Personally as a photographer I get pretty into creative post processing. I make lightroom presets, actions etc to super speed that workflow a lot, and I still find myself in front of the computer even though I don’t really need to be. Do you deal with this?

What’s on my mind today is how much playing with post can take away from our creative photography if we allow it to. I literally have so many images that I could spend months behind the computer trying to make art out of them.

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