Digital Camera Symbols 2.

What are those symbols on  your camera?  What do they mean?  Let's look at a couple more.  Let's begin with the   the Auto mode Symbol.  Basically on this setting the camera will do the thinking for you.  You simply point and shoot.  Perhaps the easiest way to use your camera.  Using this usually stops you from making minor adjustments with your camera, and certainly can lead to out of focus shots if your focus sensor doesn't hit the right part of your subject.  Certainly this setting makes your camera easy to  use.  Yet has it limits.

the "S" mode  that stands for shutter priority.   This is the best mode for shooting action, or where you wan to control the shutter speed for effect.  The shutter speed is chosen on the menu and the other functions automatically adjust to compensate various light by automatically changing the aperture.  You can use this to intentionally blur a picture or freeze a scene with action.  All by controlling the shutter speed in the "S" mode.  

Got a new digital camera and not sure of the symbols?

 This is the macro symbol.  It means that you are taking pictures close to your lens.  That is usually small objects close up.  Most point and shoots have this symbol.  Check your manual, to understand your camera's limitations in this setting.  Use this to shoot flowers, butterflies and anything you want a very close up picture.  The depth of field will be more limited as you are closer and holding the camera steady may require a faster shutter speed, or very steady stance.

A  refers to Aperture Mode:  Aperture is the width the lens opens when the shutter is released.   The guide numbers are also called F-Stop, the  focal ratio which technically is a the focal length divided by the aperture.  What it means simply is that on most SLR"s including digital SLR's your fstop is the number on the lens or on your display represented in numbers such as 1.4, 2, 22, etc.  It is a representation of how wide the shutter opens the aperture when the shutter is released and therefore how much light enters the camera.  The smaller the number the bigger the opening the more light that comes in.  The larger the number the smaller the opening and less light comes in.  Shooting inside, the f stop would be in the low numbers such as 1.4 or 1.8  on a bright sunny day it would be higher such as 22.   Some basic issues with fstop is that the smaller the number the less depth of field you will have in your photo's the larger the number the more depth of field you will have.
So when the camera is on A the priority is the aperture, size the shutter opens the lens or fstop, is set and  the adjustment point then becomes the shutter speed.  So if you have your camera set on A the aperture stays static and the shutter speed is adjusted to compensate for different lighting.  This allows you some level of control on the sharpness or lack of sharpness of the images in the back ground of your pictures.   

My new Favorite Point and Shoot

Model Highlights: 16.2-megapixel, Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonar T lens with 30x optical zoom, Full HD 1080/60p movies, "Exmor R" CMOS sensor, Hi-speed Linear Focus, 3D stills and Sweep Panorama  
Model Sony HX100v  sells for 449 currently on sale at BB for 399.  A very functional camera,  I would recommend for almost anyone who wants to take great stills, video, or do panorama.  Sure it is a small sensor,  it will still do a great 16x20.  With a 30 time zoom it is a great value.  My wife has ordered one for herself.  Don't mean to sound like an advertisement, I am really that impressed. 

The Spirit of Photography

Capturing the images with the right lighting is fun.  And just the beginning of photography.  Getting the clients to step out and be themselves and capturing the spirit of their relationship is much more difficult.  I find most wedding and portrait photography falls some where between event photography and art photography.  Event photography is capturing the flow of events, group shots and individual shots.  Art photography is capturing the spirit or personality of the people involved.  Approaching a wedding as art will change the photography significantly from one wedding or portrait to another.   As the art of a person is unique to each individual and the photography of that person or group will be individually approached as well.   www.jackartphotography.com  See the Adam and Bee gallery.  Not the most technical pictures but most filled with their personality.  

Camera's For Real Estate Agents.

 Before your go a lot further stop and read this article by Ken Rockwell.  The title is "Your Camera Doesn't Matter".  If you are having difficulty getting great shots of your listings you may find it is not  your camera it is you.  There is actually a talent to taking pictures.  Certainly you can learn and apply the principles of photography, but if you find this is not enough then you may consider more specific training.  See Ken's article here.... http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm

The equipment you need to shoot real estate is more available than ever.  Just 20 years ago to accomplish what these cameras can do, would have required an expenditure of well over $2,000 dollars.  Today the right point and shoot will do much more for under $400.

What I have found, is that when homes are well represented with strong photographs they get shown sooner, and if priced properly more frequently.  Since most folks begin their home search on the web, you will find the better representation you have there the more attention  your listing will receive.   I shoot high end homes for several agents.  To really capture a high end home is NOT just a camera, it is the lighting, and sometimes some strong lens correcting software found in programs such as DXO or Photoshop CS5 and a lot of "seeing" the home before it is shot.  for Photoshop CS5 or DXO, unless you are going to really, really, really get into photography, I don't recommend the time it takes to learn these programs.  Today we talk about Camera's

The camera I have most recommended in the last year has been the Sony Hx1 it has been out for at least a couple of years, shoots great shots, does panorama by shooting several shots and stitching them in the camera to give you a pretty cool panorama shot.    The Camera also shoots 1080p video.  So over all a good choice. The Hx1 has a 28 mm wide angle lens with up to a 20x zoom.  For shooting  homes the 28mm wide angel is most helpful.  For wider angled shots, Sony had relied on the sweep panorama for this.  I like this camera, it will certainly serve you well and at the same time it has some drawbacks that competitors have capitalized on and now there are some strong alternatives.

In February of 2011 Nikon released the Coolpix 500  it does the sweep panorama and it has a 22.5 wide angle shot up to a 36 x zoom.  The extra 5 mm in the wide angle is significant.  It also shoots 1080p HD movies so you can add video.   The reviews have been good.  Certainly this is a new camera and has not been tested and I have not yet seen one as they are just hitting the stores.  I do trust Nikon and know they make a strong product.  Based on the early reviews this looks to be a strong camera for shooting real estate.

Canon also has an interesting entry into the mix.  the Power Shot SX30is has a 24mm wide angle and zooms upto 34x.  It does shoot video it is only at 720p.  And it does not have the panorama zoom.  This makes it less of a contender, but because of the 24mm wide angle I did include the camera.  I would have to consider the Sony or Nikon, if I were choosing.

All three camera's have a pop up flash that will help with most shooting.  You can also soften the flash with some translucent (not clear) white, non sticky plastic shelf liner. * I will do an instructional video on this soon.

If I were choosing I would have to most strongly consider the Nikon at this point.  I have experienced the Sony and certainly like the camera,  I like the extra wide angle on the Nikon, and since it also does the sweep  panorama it is a strong contender.

What do I shoot with?

I do professional photography along with my real estate.  I shoot with a Nikon D200 Dlsr with an 18-200 zoom.  I also use some portable Alien Bees Lights to add light in tough situations.  The lens alone costs almost twice as much as the camera's I am discussing here.   The difference is simplicity of use.  The cameras I am recommending above will  handle 80% of your needs for shooting real estate.  The 20% of the time you need something more, I would suggest a good professional photographer with the right equipment.
Keep in mind photographers,  like real estate agents, you will find a wide variance of skills and equipment among those who call them selves professional. So choose carefully.  If you have more questions let me know. And good shopping...

Jack 

After the Wedding

One of the giant differences between wedding photographers is the amount of editing.  I have seen no editing just a disc, or light editing, and then some charge as much as $40 dollars per picture for full editing of the photographs.  Needless to say you will need to know what you are purchasing.  Certainly you can take hundreds of pictures during a wedding or event.  And it is not cost effective to completely edit all the pictures. However you should have some indication of the number of pictures that will be fully edited for the price of your package. Editing will require color correction, to as involved in changing eyes, or  faces, removing obstacles in the pictures, repairing blemishes etc.  So as you consider a photographer for any services, ask how many pictures will be fully edited for the fees, or is that an extra fee and if so how much.   As a professional photographer I like to give my clients a clear price, so they have no surprises.  I may lose some potential clients because my initial price may seem larger than others, who do little or no editing of  the pictures.  On the other hand I don't lose any friends by surprising them with hidden fees.  

Jack

Follow up on Bagging Your Camera

Wow a year goes by fast.  In December of 2009 I posted some information about bagging your camera.  Later that month I purchased a Kata 3n1 20 bag.  After a year I have fond it to be a well built bag that protects my camera well.  It can be used as a sling or as a back pack bag.  The padding is great and I have hiked a couple of times in the rain and my equipment stayed safe and dry. Where the bag falls short is when I carry my 4 lens, and  my filters and then want to take my Fong light diffuser, it gets crowded.  Currently I have a Nikon d200, 700300 nikon lens, 105  Tokina 2.8 lens, nikon 18-200 lens and nikon 50mm 1.8 lens, nikons 600 flash, battery charger, extra battery, memory cards, 3 lens filters, and my Gary Fong, diffuser for my flash, an extra pair of glasses, and a very small flash light.  There is not room for more.  I would recommend the bag and the newest version with a couple of cool improvements can be found  here http://www.amazon.com/Kata-KT-D-3N1-20-Sling-Backpack/dp/B001BP7YFM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297371343&sr=8-1 or http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&Ntt=Kata+3n1-20&A=endecaSearch&InitialSearch=yes&Q=&N=0 

Jack 

Wedding Photography2.... The Relationship in the Room!

Most of the focus is making the wedding day perfect.  The challenge of creating your dream wedding within a budget can be daunting.  What to keep, who to invite, and which vendors to use can feel like an impossible juggling act. Before you make these decisions, take some time to identify the essence of what what is really happening on your wedding day. There is a new entity that is created when two people come together in marriage - the relationship. If done right, it becomes bigger than the individual partners, and this is what couples truly celebrate with their wedding. So as you design your wedding be sure to allow the personality of this new entity, your relationship, to be revealed.   As a photographer, I work to help couples identify this unique personality  and capture it in their wedding photographs.  For me, it is the difference between good technical photography and great photography.  A photograph where you don't see "the picture"; instead you re-live the moment, you see the emotion, the power of the two about to become one. So choose your flowers, venue, brides maids, groomsmen and the decorations, to reflect the personality of the relationship the two of you are building. 

Jack Art Photography.

We Photograph Relationships

Choosing a Wedding Photographer Part 1

I am often amazed at how people plan their wedding.  Most give great detail to the dress, the flowers and the setting.  Often the photographer is the last consideration.  I suspect this has happened as many wedding photographers simply show up, take some shots, leave, provide proofs or a disc and move on.  Many so called photographers will shoot a wedding for virtually nothing.  So how should you choose a photographer?  What should you look for when looking at photographers.  

First let me explain, there is a wide range of services offered in "wedding photography"  and you generally get what you pay for.  Some simply shoot the wedding and provide an unedited or poorly edited photography on a disc.   And you have a slight step above snap shots of your wedding.    A good photographer will come in with a well planned approach unique to your wedding...(more on this in a subsequent blog)

Bare minimums:

Equipment:
Should be at least digial slr, 10 mp or higher, cameras.  A  minimum of DX format cameras in the semi professional to professional level with a preference for FX format sensors.  Then there should be more than one.  What is the primary equipment?  and  What back up equipment is available? Just in case the equipment is stolen, or an accident happens.   Most quality photographers will list or display their equipment in some form.  
Lighting available.  The days of shooting a wedding with a flash are quickly becoming a thing of the past.  Actually having lighting to shoot with will increase the quality and assure a good photo.  So a review of the lighting, is important.
Video, if you want a video of the  your wedding, review the video equipment the resolution, and ask if there is a back up camera.

How many photographers?  For a simple wedding a photographer with an assistant should be adequate.  For a wedding with more than a few guests (60or more) with larger plan than a wedding march, solo, vows and exit,  you will want to be sure two photographers are available and shooting to  be sure you don't miss anything.




More to come....