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Archive of ‘Photography’ category

Personal, Photography, Technology, Travel | 0 comment

Washington Monument at Sunrise

Washington Monument HDR - ©TimeLine Media

Frozen Reflecting Pool

We have traded the cold for rain! With this in mind, I have not been able to get out there to make more photos in the early morning. Overall, it has been too overcast and rainy to get me out there. I should have made the effort, however, I am backed up with other work . Additionally, I would need to gear up with rain repellent gear for me and the cameras. Needless to say, I got lazy this week. There is still a backlog of other images that I have not posted about on the blog. These are images of the Washington Monument at sunrise from the reflecting pool that is situated at the front of the Lincoln Memorial.

Washington Monument - out of camera exposure - ©TimeLine Media
Washington Monument – out of camera exposure – ©TimeLine Media

Washington Monument

This is one of the images taken straight out of the camera. In this case, I took a bracketed series of photos around this exposure to combine into an HDR final image. From this file, you can make edits right in Lightroom to bump up the Exposure, Shadows and contrast, then adjust the vibrance to make this image:

Washington Monument - out of camera adjusted exposure - ©TimeLine Media
Washington Monument – out of camera adjusted exposure – ©TimeLine Media

HDR image

I was surprise to see how much data you can pull from one Raw file! Processing the 9 different exposures into HDR Efex Pro 2, I adjusted the sliders in that program to get something similar. My goal was to bring out more detail in the monument face and trees lining the pool on either side since those areas were so dark.

Washington Monument HDR - ©TimeLine Media
Washington Monument HDR – ©TimeLine Media

When editing in HDR Efex Pro 2, I was able to use control points to directly edit the face of the monument. Sunrise is not the best time to photograph the Washington Monument from this angle. It loses a lot of the luster and shine with the backlight from the rising sun. I tried to pick HDR treatments where I could bring back the light color of the monument bricks. I already have some places in mind that are situated better in the early morning light to photograph next. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! Stay tuned-

Washington Monument HDR - ©TimeLine Media
Washington Monument HDR – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Ballroom Dance, Event, Photography | 0 comment

Big Expiration Day on Monday!

Baltimore Dancesport Championships - ©TimeLine Media

Dance Photography

This upcoming Monday, there are 9 past 2013 events that will be removed from the proofing website. It has been fun to go through these old events to find some exciting images to post onto the blog! I meant to come back to these images sooner, but had so many other photos to share throughout the year, that I did not find a slot for these until now. If you want to see the expiration dates and events, please visit the proofing site here:

http://proofs.timelinedc.com

USA Dance Mid-Atlantic Champisonships - ©TimeLine Media
USA Dance Mid-Atlantic Championships – ©TimeLine Media
Marsha Bonet Showcase - ©TimeLine Media
Marsha Bonet Showcase – ©TimeLine Media

It has been great to have so many photos to share, and lots of content to write about in these posts. Writing it down in this format has made me more accountable as a professional photographer. It has given me a push to keep shooting photos, to keep improving each time I make images, and importantly, to give me a concrete goal to work for every day.

Proofing Site Expiration

Baltimore Dancesport Championships - ©TimeLine Media
Baltimore DanceSport Championships – ©TimeLine Media
Marsha Bonet Showcase - ©TimeLine Media
Marsha Bonet Showcase – ©TimeLine Media

Undoubtedly writing the blog has made me a better editor! I try to limit the amount of photos in each post. I could just throw up 10 images in each post and write a few sentences. There are a few blogs that I follow in which this is the case, so I wanted to do something different. Also, limit the amount of photos so that only the very best are featured. That is one of the secrets of pro photographers – if you only show the best of the best, it makes it seem like EVERY photo you take is amazing! The also helps me to home in on the best images when I’m shooting, so there is not a huge number of unusable photos that need to be edited after the event.

Salsa Bachata Throwdown - ©TimeLine MediaSalsa Bachata Throwdown - ©TimeLine Media
Salsa Bachata Throwdown – ©TimeLine Media

I think there is progress from doing this blog so far, and I already have a list of ideas that I want to do this year with my photography. Some will be done at events, and some I will have to schedule outside of these. It will be interesting to see a few months from now how many of these I will complete! Again, visit the proofing site before the expiration of events.

Baltimore Dancesport Championships - ©TimeLine Media
Baltimore Dancesport Championships – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Photography, Technology | 0 comment

Flash basics – Tech Thursday

Flash with head in position to bounce off ceiling - ©TimeLine Media

Testing with a Statue

Today, I have been reviewing previous posts about a new camera, or perhaps a flash. I have been making these posts from the side of what advice would I give to someone that just received a new DSLR for Christmas and what would they do with their new toy. After the first few weeks of just taking photos, getting comfortable with how the camera feels in the hand, and being confident that it would not lose any of the photos that you take with it.

One of the first accessories that people use frequently, but often incorrectly, is the flash. Going around the tourist areas, or looking at the crowds at sporting events, there are so many people that use their flash. This is because the photos from their camera using their default settings are too dark for the situation. Indoors under artificial light, or any photo taken at night, the flash will pop on your camera to brighten the scene. You will definitely make your photos brighter with the flash, but a lot of times, the light will be ugly! Here is the reason why, and how you can make it better.

Flash with head pointed directly at subject - ©TimeLine Media
Flash with head pointed directly at subject – ©TimeLine Media

This first image shows the default direction for a speedlight flash mounted on a camera. The thinking here is what you want to brighten is right in front of the camera. So, firstly, point the flash directly in front of you. This will get you a sharp, bright photo. Likely, only whatever is right in front of the camera will get the light. There will be a dark, harsh shadow right behind your subject if you pose them against a wall. To make this light better, you can take your speedlight and point it straight up to the ceiling. Doing this will “bounce” the light from the ceiling back down to your subject.

Bounce Light

Flash with head in position to bounce off ceiling - ©TimeLine Media
Flash with head in position to bounce off ceiling – ©TimeLine Media

The result is that the light becomes very soft against your subject because you have made the light source much larger. Instead of coming from the front of the flash before hitting your subject, the light is spread out across the ceiling and surrounding walls. By the time it hits the subject, it is much larger in area, which makes light much softer. Easy!

Flash with head in position to bounce off ceiling - ©TimeLine Media
Flash with head in position to bounce off ceiling – ©TimeLine Media

Some speedlights have a little white card inserted at the front of the flash. Pop this little accessory up to direct just a little more of the light forward if you are photographing a person. This will brighten their faces nicely with not as harsh a shadow behind the subject and keeping the overall light in the scene soft. If you are in a place with very high, or no ceiling, you can even point the flash directly behind the camera to bounce off a wall in back of you. It can give a similar result to bouncing off the ceiling. There are many other tips on using your speedlight flash, this is just the beginning. If you have any more questions on how to use your flash, let me know!

Flash with head in position to bounce behind wall - ©TimeLine Media
Flash with head in position to bounce behind wall – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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