Photo Tips

I get asked all the time for camera advice... People of all experience levels want to know what the best camera is for the money.

Recently, I have recommended this Canon body and lens to many people, as it seems to suit the widest variety of users (from amateur stay-at-home DIYers and small business owners to semi-pros).

Here, a great deal on a great starter camera from the always great amazon.com:

*For specific questions on how to adapt this gear to your personal shooting situation, please contact me via my photography website, www.leiajobe.com*


Purchase this camera:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-T3i-Processor-Vari-Angle-Body/dp/B004M170YC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334754410&sr=8-2

With this lens:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camera-Lens/dp/B00007E7JU/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1334754499&sr=1-2

And you are all set to start photographing almost anything. (High speed professional sports and wildlife, however, might be a bit out of this camera's "range"... but you know, sometimes incongruities are awesome. So just keep shooting.)



Color

Hi everybody!!

Today's photo tip involves one of my favorite things: COLOR! It's my personal opinion that the world looks better when it is very colorful, bright, and a little out of focus... which brings us to these photos:

These photos were posted today (by me!) on www.dailythanks.org, a gratitude project website. The first is a close up of a glass vase, taken with a handheld Canon 50D, indoors, at noon, with only window light. (Settings 1/10 second at f5, iso 100).

The abstract shine of the window light on the textured surface of the vase reminded me of a nebula, so I shot handheld and got a little camera shake to add to the "galactic" feel. I imported into Lightroom, ramped up the vibrance about 35 points, added text in photoshop, and voila... Gorgeous, darling.

The second (red/orange/purple) photo is shot similarly using a different glass mosaic vase, as is the third photo... The only difference being that I added a few light paintbrush stroke starbursts in yellow to the final shot to imply raindrops.

So that's my color tip of the day: Find something bright, gorgeous, and shiny; Shoot it slightly out of focus; Ramp up the vibrant color. Done.

Grab shots

One of the best tips I've been given is to never leave a shoot without taking at least ONE random, artistic, hurried, "grab" shot of something other than what you were hired to shoot.

If it's a portrait session, this means taking a picture of the lone yellow daffodil blowing in the wind beside your car in an empty parking lot. I grabbed this shot right after a family portrait session last week while I was putting my gear into the trunk of my car. No light testing, no reflectors, no color balancing, no calculated framing or composition, no photoshop... just a quick press of the shutter button. That's all.

Frequently these grab shots won't amount to much more than filler in your Lightroom catalog, but I can often use the colorful ones in abstract, unexpected ways that surprise and delight my clients. I often use flower photos like these to mat individual portraits or add a little artistic flair to a textured wall... usually the client will say something like, "Oh, I'm so glad you captured that beautiful flower on film... I noticed it as I was leaving, but just didn't have the time to stop and look at it!"

Honestly, as a photographer, you have the rare opportunity to stop time, if only for a moment, and the one spontaneous image you grab could just be the one your client will remember forever.

This particular photo will be used as a background image to enhance an amazing set of eyes, but I also kind of like it all by itself.... Funny how that happens, eh? :)

Cute Baby Portrait Ideas

I'm a huge fan of mixing bright colors for a happy pop of contrast... it adds a little pizazz, especially when used wisely as a cute baby portrait background.


Here is baby Claire in a fresh mix of pinks, greens, and yellows... add that to the perfect blue of her perfect little eyes, and you've got a fresh, modern little headshot.

The Cost of Perfect Portraits

I recently stumbled across this short note written by a fellow photographer. So many people wonder why professional photography costs so much... Here is a spot-on explanation of why it is WORTH so much. Please read. 

http://www.ajatonjoki.com/index.php/2010/06/17/are-all-photographers-the-same/

Camera Pricing Guide


http://www.dslrphoto.com/dslr/space.php?do=ranking&view=all