Related Posts

• 
  Pure Lighting Tips--Edge of Shade for Flattering Portraits

  
  

   

  We are often asked how we can light whole groups so effectively.  This is a really easy thing to do.  It is especially useful for families.   When we shoot families we like to have areas where we can get some good shots in safe lighting.  Sure, we can play around and experiment, but getting a shot that we know the family will love in flattering light is our bread and butter.

  When we are shooting families we suggest places that we know will have areas of shade with backlight.  So, this is usually accomplished by light filtering through trees or bushes or in alleyways, etc.  The trees create a lovely area of "open shade."  The backlight filters through the trees and gives lovely hairlight and a beautiful and interesting background that helps the group to separate from the background.  

  The important thing to remember here that we NEVER situate our subjects deep in the shade.  There are a few reasons for this.  One, the further from the background our subject's can be, the better bokeh we will get.  And two, at the very edge of the open shade, there is beautiful reflected light that bounces onto the family.  So they will have backlight and a reflected front light.  We never use reflectors for family shoots, but it looks like we do, because this is how we set up the shoot.

  Below is an AMAAAAZING drawing I made.  (It sucks.)  But it shows how they are positioned.

  

   

  Ignoring the fact Rachel has NO art skills, you can see that we have the sun behind the trees, the subject in front of the trees at the very edge where there is no sun in the frame of the camera.  (I might actually be standing in the sun!)  The light from the non-shaded area then reflects back onto the family/group/subject.

  It is quite simple.  Once you set an exposure and white balance, this light stays the same, so you don't need to change settings much.  It is a very easy way to get your groups to pop out of the background.

• 
  Setting Yourself Apart with Professional Lighting

  Shooting weddings is so much fun, isn't it?  All the giddy anticipation of shooting all of those fabulous wedding moments.  A beautiful bride in her stunning dress.  A dapper groom gazing lovingly at his new wife.  All those well-thought-out details.  It's enough to make a photographer's heart skip a beat.

  The other thing that can make a photographer's heart skip a beat is talking reception lighting.  Only this time, it is usually in fear.  A lot of photographers are very comfortable working in natural light, but when flash is added to the equation, their hands go clammy, their mouths go dry, and they get hives.  Even if they don't fear the flash, they might be stuck in a bit of a lifeless style of lighting.  But it doesn't have to be that way.  

  We want to walk you through our four flash set up for receptions.  It makes lighting much simpler and gives your images a very polished look.  Brides and grooms spend a lot of time and money planning their receptions, so we believe in capturing those moments in the best way we can.

  Here is a pullback of our flashes towards the end of a reception.  If you look, you can see where all four are placed. 

  

  We personally use 2 580exiis in this set up and 2 430exiis.  We have an arsenal of about 10 flashes, so we can set up almost anything, but we really like this set up.  We alternate the flashes so they go 580, 430, 580, 430 and we start at about 1/8 power and adjust to get the light we want.  Why do we alternate the lights?  Well, the power output of the 580 and the 430 are different so we get a nice lighting ratio with this, so the images are not as flat.  Also, depending on where people stand and their angle, we will get different variations of key and fill and hairlight and kicker.  The variation is not strictly needed, but it is a nice nuance.

  

  The great thing is we can get this clean, textured light with very little effort on our part throughout the entire wedding.

  We get a lot of questions about this lighting, so let me give you the rundown on what you will need.  

  We point the flashes up to the ceiling and diffuse the light.  We usually diffuse the light with collapsable Fong diffusers.  They work very nicely for throwing the light over the venue and also for canceling out any colored ceilings.  The diffusers will also help the spread of light if you are working outdoors at night with no tent.  Fongs are ideal for large event photography.  The omni-directionality of their light makes for a very pleasing lighting pattern for receptions.

  

  Our first preference is to use Manfrotto Justin Clamps (see above) for attaching our lights to the corners.  It puts them up and out of the way of accidents.  But if there is nothing to clamp the lights to, we will use a regular light stand, above the heads of the guests in the corners and usually behind something (so the legs are behind something and the flash head is above the crowd.)  People who have not seen this set up in action worry that the flashes will bother guests. Actually, having the flashes away in the corners is less distracting than having a flash on camera and going off in people's face.  The light is high up to avoid unwanted shadows.  

  To trigger the flashes, we actually prefer to use the Cactus V5 triggers.  I know they are not one of the industry-standards, but we have spent THOUSANDS on another system and we were so disappointed with that system.  It was delicate and SO finicky.  The slightest thing would cause misfires.  The Cactus, ironically, have been the most reliable and the price can't be beat.  

  We don't shoot with a flash on camera as well.  We find that unless we do a VERY wide (i.e. 16mm) shot, we don't need the extra fill.  

  When dancing starts, depending on the size of the room, we will turn off 1 or 2 flashes to give a more dramatic feeling.  

  

  As you can see, the polish that having that hairlight really make the image.  The dimensionality of the light also gives wedding dresses and all of their texture a chance to shine.  

  Based on how you set your camera, you can also capture the colors of the lights a DJ brings (having a lower shutter speed and letting that ambient light enter the camera) or drown it out a bit, if it is causing a significant color cast to your guests (by raising your shutter speed to allow less ambient light to enter your camera.)

  

  The great part is that when moments happen, you can capture them very easily and stylishly, because your lighting is all set up beforehand.

  Which leads to another question.   Many people fret that they just don't have time between the wedding and reception.  If that is the case, just bounce the flash for the grand entrance and then while people are getting settled in for dinner, etc. set up your stuff.  It takes about 10 minutes total.  It is not hard to do.  We also recommend (even if you DO decide to just bounce your flash) having a battery pack and/or spare batteries for your flashes.  We have a few large battery chargers that charge 16 Eneloop batteries at a time.  We load it up and then change out the batteries and let the charger keep refreshing our batteries as needed.  It keeps our recycle times very short.  If your flashes are getting sluggish, swap out the batteries for new ones.  If you have notice before big events (cake cutting, bouquet toss, etc.) swap the batteries preemptively.  (Do this with any flash, really.)

  For a smaller venue, 3 lights or even two will work very nicely to give more dimension and professionality to your reception flash set up.  We recommend using a flash off camera whenever possible for these events, because it will set your work apart and more effectively capture your client's wedding preparations.

  And finally, even if your venue is not the Four Seasons, this can really let your clients' reception shine.  This image was take in the church gym which often doubles as a basketball court at times.  It was a beautiful, well-decorated wedding, but sometimes the gym can overpower even the more carefully detailed wedding.  But good lighting let the lovely planning shine.

  One last note:  Having good quality, clean, consistent light will make editing your reception images a breeze.  Usually I can just apply one of our workflows (most often for me Basic Workflow from Pure Presets 1) and I can simply tweak it to fit the lighting and then apply it to most of the reception images with very little changes.  THAT is a HUGE timesaver.  

  

   

   

• 
  Birthday Traditions

  Traditions are the bread that hold the peanut butter and jelly of childhood memories together.

  Every year the night before a birthday, we sneak in and put balloons in the birthday girl or boy's bedroom.  We've done it for each child for the last few years and it is one of the things that they look forward to each year.

  Even when it is not their own birthday, everyone knows that the Birthday Fairy comes on a birthday and they go off looking in the morning.  It is one of my favorite traditions we do for birthdays.  It costs about $20 for all of the supplies, but it starts their day off in an amazing and wonderful way. Even my almost-thirteen-year-old loves it!  Everyone loves to be the center of attention and feel special on their birthday.

  Today Aspen turned 6 years old!

  
  

  So last night I got the helium tank and balloons from Walmart/Target and got to work. :)

  You can find the tank usually somewhere in their party section.  It comes with a bag of multicolored balloons and string.  I use the string, and sometimes I buy separate balloons (one pack of 15 balloons in each color... so 30 balloons total and $2 for the balloons).  The tank runs anywhere from around $19 to $24, depending on your location.

  
  

   

  Then I get to work. :)  Sometimes I get the little doorway streamers, sometimes not.  It really depends on what I have on hand or what I can find when I go to the store.

  These were all edited with Basic Workflow from our First Lightroom Preset collection. 
  

  Here are a few cell phone shots from the last 3 birthdays in our house. :)

  
• 
  Top Ten Things Pure Can't Live Without

  There are thousands of things out there for photographers to consider purchasing.  A lot of them are fantastic.  But for Crystal and I, these are Pure's Top Ten things we CANNOT live without.  

  In no particular order:

  * means that the link is an affiliate link.  At no additional cost to you, if you purchase something from that link, we get a small commission.  We ONLY recommend products we use and love.  NONE of these companies have asked us to write about them or post their products.  In fact, I am sure most of them don't even know who we are.  ;) We are only posting about them, because we use and love their products weekly, if not daily.

  1)  Pixieset.  Delivering clients images is easy and stylish.  We upload to Pixieset, and the client can easily download their sessions or share with family members and friends who might want a photo or two also.  We can set print prices, and we can easily sell prints that way.  Digital images are critical for wedding photography and Pixieset delivers.  Their price is excellent too.  We use the paid version so that we have total control over the settings for our clients and have enough storage, but there are even free options for you to try out first.

   

  2)  A Black Rapid camera strap--*  Having our cameras hanging around our necks was quickly out for long weddings.  Neck and shoulders ached by the end, and it was not practical for shooting two cameras.  Enter the Black Rapid (especially the DUO strap.)  The camera slides along the strap on both sides of the body and hangs on the hip.  Practical and convenient.  Do make sure that you check the D-ring for tightness often.

  

  3)  A Good Camera Bag (or two)--So sometimes we just need a couple of lenses and one camera body (births are a good example of having to travel light and not be a significant presence), and sometimes we need the WHOLE kit.  What bags to Crystal and I use?  For small bags, we love both the JoTote line of bags (we have some that are over six years old and are still in perfect shape, despite being dragged to every wedding stuffed with flashes*, Gary Fong Diffusers*, and triggers and batteries*) and the Copper River Bags.  Copper River Bags are almost bullet proof with thick leather and a more rugged design that works for men or women and have a lovely and unique styling.  (Mine doubles as my purse and has for over 5 years and it still looks almost new, and it is my top travel/vacation camera bag.)  

  For a larger bag, Rachel uses the ThinkTank Airport*.  It is small enough to stand up in the overhead bin, so travel is simple.  Crystal has the slightly larger LowPro that fits a few more flashes and nine lenses.

  4)  Cactus V6 Flash Triggers--*  We have used almost EVERY radio flash trigger on the market.  We have spent thousands and thousands of dollars, so you don't have to.  We moved up from Cactus v2 to Cactus v5, and now we just started moving up to v6, and we are obsessed.  We have used other brands of triggers between each version, thinking that with the higher price tag, we would be getting more reliability.  However, we found we got less reliability compared to the Cactus triggers.  We use a four light wedding reception set up, often a light or two for bridal sessions, and trigger strobes in the studio, so we need reliable triggers.  The V6 allows you to use groups, set flash power from the transmitter, set channels, etc.  They are transceivers, which means you can use them as triggers or receivers as needed.  This is so fantastic.  Another amazing perk is that they work with both Canon and Nikon.  Crystal and I shoot Canon, but sometimes our 2nd shooters, shoot Nikon.  We can pop one of these babies on their cameras, and they can trigger our Canon flashes!  How cool is that?!!

  We were able to get eight triggers for a little over $400.  Fantastic for getting all of our reception lighting and letting both Crystal and I have a trigger or two.  These little babies make us look awesome with our light control.

  

  5) Fong Light Diffusers--*  Particularly the collapsible ones.  We use these on our four flashes at receptions.  They are small and easily carried, excellent for travel.  They throw the light out and if there are color casts on the ceiling the cap keeps the flash from spreading that color to all the wedding guests.  While it does eat power (and by extension, it eats batteries faster), we feel the way it makes out light look is a worthy trade-off. 

  

  6)  Millers--We adore Millers for prints and albums.  They make us look GOOD.  Their turnaround time is so fast you'd swear they were are printing your stuff in your backyard.  The deep matte prints are so beautiful they make my soul ache a little. It is wonderful to see your image prints the way you see it captured in your mind.  Their customer service is top-notch.  Millers is printing done right.

  7)  A good large reflector/diffuser--*  These suckers are not your typical round affairs that are maybe a foot or two tall.  No, these are big oval monsters that are taller than we are.  They unzip and have a fantastic diffusion panel inside that allows you to temper harsh sunlight, which is critical during noon formals for sunny summer weddings.  They also make amazing fill light in the studio, reflect beautifully indoors and out, and are pretty legit impromptu changing booths if Crystal and I each hold one or two around a client.  SO much multitasking.

  

  8)  A great contract--We love the contracts from Rachel Brenke.  Having a good solid contract gives your client an understanding of what to expect from you (managing client expectation is critical to a good experience), and it protects both you and your client from legal issues.  It will outline what you will provide and what your client will give you in return.  It outlines what you will and will not do.  Going to a session or wedding without a contract is about on par to going without clothes.

  9)  Lightroom/Adobe Camera RAW--Post-processing photos is just what happens.  In the film era, you would not hand over your rolls of film to your client and call it a day.  Rather, you would bring them to the darkroom and choose chemicals and processed to develop them.  You would dodge and burn.  You would bring your vision alive even further with your post processes.  It is no different in the digital age.  Processing the RAW files is important.  Making sure you lift the digital haze of your images, correct any possible faults that happened during capture, and then putting your spin on the images is a critical part of being a Photographer.  Lightroom and Adobe Camera RAW allow for quick edits, batch processing, and quick export and file renaming.  This is a critical step for the efficient photographer.  (Bonus points for OUR presets to get you from point A to done in record time!)

  10)  Photoshop!--Cloning, healing, and specialized edits require Photoshop.  Lightroom/Camera RAW/Photoshop all go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly.  Editing skin in Lightroom is a tricky process at best.  Removing unwanted items is liable to make a saint curse.  But Photoshop makes short work of all of the above and allows your creative vision to shine through.  And again...we're pretty partial to our actions.  

   

  
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• 
  Lighting Quick Tip-Same Set Up, Different Look

  
  

   

  The softbox is a Westcott 50x50.  In the box is a 580 exii speedlight at 1/4 power, triggered by Cactus V2 triggers.

• 
  How Batch Renaming in Bridge Can Save You Headaches - Pure Photoshop Actions Photoshop Tips

  As we are moving content over from Facebook that we have shared over the last few years, we came across this gem that we talked about back in 2011!  Can't believe it has already been 3 years since we shared this!  We do this a little differently then we did 3 years ago, so here it is, updated and current! 

  We've probably all had it happen.  You have an amazing session.  You deliver a disk full of amazing images.  You eagerly await the client's enthusiastic email response and you get, "Wow!  We love ALL the images you gave us.  But we save IMG_0255 and IMG_0259.  Where are the ones in between?  We'd love to see them all!"  Ugh.  Maybe the ones in between were duplicates.  Or blinks.  Or REALLY wonky expressions.  Or out-of-focus.  But for whatever reason, you don't want to have those images out there associated with your brand.  But once the door is opened and the client thinks there are adorable images of their child that you're withholding, it can be a tricky situation to tactfully avoid (without sounding like you made 4 duds of images either.)

  So, we avoid this by renaming our images in Bridge.  (We also do from Lightroom, and we will be creating a post outlining the Lightroom steps for Lightroom too!)  This means your images will simply go from 1-whatever your last image is.  It doesn't suggest to the client that there are images floating around that could be AMAZING that they do not have and will never see.  Instead it looks like you delivered a great set and they are excited.  

  Afterall, drama avoided is the very best way to deal with drama.

  • Open up Bridge.  It is part of the Adobe Photoshop Program.  
  • Navigate to your folder of images.  We only batch rename photos, after, we have culled and edited the session.  That way if we find more images to edit, or we decide that an image we had chosen to edit, wasn't up to par, we don't have to rename. 
  • Select all the images that you want to rename.  I always add a star rating to my images that I want to keep when I cull my sessions, and then view by star rating of 1 or greater.  That way I only see the images that I have edited.  (As I only edit the images I have giving a star rating too)  You can select them all by choosing the first one, holding down the shift key and selecting the last image, and it will choose all the images in between.  We will go into culling, and how we cull a session in just minutes and a wedding in about 30 minutes, in another blog post

   

  and now you are only viewing the images you have marked with a star. 

  • Go up to your menu and choose Tools > Batch Rename

   

  • For the options, you can choose what you feel is best, however I just choose to rename in the same folder.  That way I am not taking up any more hard drive space.  I then choose the options of Text and that is where I enter the name of the client and date of the shoot.  That way I can search easily if a client has a question later on.  I then start my sequence at 01 or 001 depending on how many files I am renaming.  If it is a portrait session, I usually delivering under 99 files.  If it is a wedding I usually am upwards of 3 digits sometimes even 4 digits. 

  • If you need to add more information to the name, you can add option boxes but clicking the plus sign next to one of the options already present, and then choose one of the options from the drop down menu. 
  • Then hit rename.  Viola, you have all of your files renamed, and the client will never know how many images you took, or that 16 images are missing between shots due to duplicates, out of focus, bad expressions, bad lighting etc. 
  • Save your images as JPEG files, and either deliver to clients, or finish your Photoshop work on the files that need more touch ups and then save, or if you are renaming your JPEG files, Viola, you are done!