13 Places Take Beautiful Motion Blur Shots

While many of us spend a lot of time getting rid of ‘blurry’ shots – one of the best ways to add interest to play around with capturing motion blur. Here are 13 places that you might like to start experimenting with capturing motion blur in your photos.

1. Trains

Image by Extra Medium

The shot of a passenger waiting on a subway platform for a train with moving train behind is always a fun one to experiment with because it contrasts the speed of a train with the stationary passenger (often being buffeted by wind of the train).
These shots are all about making sure your camera is completely still (tripods are key if you can) and anticipating the moment. It’s also about framing your shot so that your subject is well positioned.

2. The Coast

Image by Timbo Don

Coastal areas can be a landscape photographers dream and are great places to capture motion blur. One place to start is by the waters edge where waves rolling in over stationary rocks, piers or sand can create a mystical foggy effect when shot with a longer shutter speed.

Image by Matthew Stewart

Don’t forget that wherever there are people – there is movement! So don’t just focus upon the water.

Image by camil tulcan

3. Spinning Children

Image by shoothead

My kids would be spun around like this all day every day so if you have kids around you’re likely to have willing subjects for this one – just be careful with smaller children as I do have a friend whose child dislocated their shoulder doing this – no photo is worth that!
To get the shot you’re going to probably need a couple of people – one to hold onto the child and the other to hold the camera around that person’s waist (or over their shoulders) in front of the child.

4. Playground Shots

Image by Soundman 1024

A variation of the spinning child shot above is to head to your local playground where there is usually a variety of equipment which is great for motion blur shots. Swings, merry go rounds, slides or pretty much any equipment that gets those on them moving are fun to experiment with.
You can either position a camera on or off the moving equipment to get different types of effects.

5. Bikes

Image by fabbriciuse

Bikes present all kinds of opportunities whether they be street shots (above), competitions below or actually getting ON the bike with your camera!

Image by Mariano Kamp

If you’re going to experiment with taking photos of bikes one technique to try is slow sync flash which will give the effect of movement while also capturing a split second in time.

Image by Pörrö

6. Cars

Image by Rob Overcash Photography

As with Bikes – moving cars are an obvious place to look when you’re wanting to capture motion blur. They also present many opportunities whether it be photographing the car from the inside (above), attaching a camera to the outside of your car or actually photographing cars moving by you from outside.

Image by Ricky Flores

Image by m4r00n3d

7. The Fairground

Image by joiseyshowaa

Fairgrounds present all kinds of exciting opportunities. Many rides have both elements of movement and stationary components which can create a wonderful effect. They also often have another exciting element – light – which makes twilight photography perfect.

Don’t discount daytime action at the fair though – there are still plenty of opportunities – particularly those to perfect your panning technique.

Image by Express Monorail

8. Dance

Image by bichxa

Whether it be in a performance, on the dance floor at a party or in a studio – dance is about movement and therefore presents us with opportunity to capture some nice motion blur.

9. Birds

Image by Danny Perez Photography

Bird photography is very popular in our forum area and among some of the best examples that I’ve seen are those that manage to incorporate a sense of movement into their shots. The key in many places is to choose a shutter speed that is slow enough to get wing movement but fast enough to keep the rest of the moving bird sharp.

Image by Midlander1231

10. Star Trails

Image by Andrew Stawarz

Stars are perhaps one of the last things one would think about when presented with the challenge of capturing motion blur – but they can also be some of the most spectacular images.

11. Escalators

Image by Gerrit Wenz

I have a number of friends who just LOVE photographing escalators and who have spent many hours capturing the smooth movement that they create. Many of their shots have the camera on the escalator and include a subject to give a point of interest – they’re often taken at night so as to capture colorful ambient light in the tunnels around their favorite escalators.
Also consider shots of those passing by on escalators with the camera position off the escalator.

Image by sinkkd

12. The Umbrella Shot

Image by Digimist

This is an oldie but a goodie. To add a little interest to a portrait have your subject hold an open umbrella over their shoulder and behind their head and then have them slowly twirl it.

13. The Street

Image by Digital Pimp

If I’m ever at a loss for subjects to photograph I just head to the most busy street corner I can find in what ever city I’m near. The hustle and bustle of the street is a never ending supply of movement to capture.

Image by gaspi *yg

Image by quas

Image by Steve Webel

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                      TOP TEN PHOTO TIPS FOR WEDDING GUESTS

                       Photography Rule of Thirds

                      

TOP TEN PHOTO TIPS FOR WEDDING GUESTS

How can you let your guests get great shots at the wedding while helping your wedding photojournalist get his or hers as well? Fortunately, the two goals are not mutually exclusive. A few WPJA members weigh in with professional tips and techniques that your wedding guests can use to kick their personal photos up a few notches, while ensuring that their efforts will not detract from the “official” photos produced by the hired photographer.

10. FLASH ON/FLASH OFF

Do you know how to turn off the flash on your personal camera, or change its settings to best suit the lighting at a given moment? What about your guests? Encourage them to get to know their cameras if you know they’ll want to play shutterbug at the wedding.
“I often turn my flash off; it kills most pictures,” says wedding photographer Porter Gifford, who is based in Massachusetts. “And just taking a minute or two to learn your camera can result in some great, unusual shots.”
For an outdoor wedding, however, flash is the way to go. In the light of day, your camera will turn its flash off. Become familiar with the settings and turn it on. This can help decrease shadows that are visible only once the picture is developed. At nighttime, the flash is of course necessary to garner the best results.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania-based WPJA photographer Scott Lewis agrees that knowing your camera is the best solution to all “flash-worthy” situations. “Depending on the time of day, flash may help your picture or hurt your picture. If you’re trying to capture the light of a late summer afternoon, for example, or take photos of people out on a dance floor, your goals may be very different.” In the former situation, flash might ruin the natural light; in the latter, a lack of flash could give you a dark, blurry shot. “Knowing your goals in the shot and knowing your camera makes a huge difference.”

9. FLATTER YOUR SUBJECTS

We’re speaking aesthetically, of course! Yet it can’t hurt to compliment them, as wedding guests who feel confident in front of the camera make better subjects. While their self-assuredness isn’t something you can control, you can control where you place them. It’s best to capture your subjects in a soft light. There’s a reason you notice how lovely your partner looks from across the table at a dimly lit restaurant. While you may think it has to do with the martinis you’ve been drinking (and to a degree, it may), it has more to do with the lighting. Though you don’t want the light to be too low, a nice soft glow is ideal. Try to stay out of direct sunlight. Sunset is the perfect time to capture people at their best.

Photo by Scott Lewis

Consider the mood created by the lighting and location in the award-winning photo taken by Lewis of a couple posing for a guest’s camera in front of a twilit ocean.
“It was a really beautiful setting along the beach with a lot of candles, and I was waiting as the light went down to capture the contrast between candlelight and twilight,” Lewis remembers. “I’d been photographing more of a setting photo, the table and the sky, and saw the couple getting their picture taken out of the corner of my eye. The light on their faces is the red-eye reduction light from the person’s camera and gives a nice warm contrast to the blue. It was a great shot!”

8. DON’T COMPETE FOR A SHOT

There are some moments at a wedding everyone wants to remember, but even as an amateur photographer, you don’t want to jostle someone and ruin their shot for the sake of your own! While you may want to capture those picture-perfect moments as badly as the professional photographer, he’s the one the B&G have hired. Try to be conscientious of him. Know where he is standing and how your flash may affect his work. If you are flashing away at the same subject as the professional photographer, the light from your camera may throw his off. If you find yourself shoulder to shoulder with him, simply ask if you’re in the way. A little courtesy can go a long way.

7. RESPECT THE FORMAL PHOTOS

Although hiring a wedding photojournalist means expecting a very different style from typical formal wedding photography, the posed family photos are still an important part of the day for some. So as a guest, this is the time to step back and allow the professional the room he or she needs.
When it comes to the formal shots, “I’ve promised the bride and groom that I will get those done as quickly as possible, so they can get to do what they want to do,” says Lewis. “If guests say ‘let me get in there and get a picture after you,’ it drags out the time.” Guests should recognize and respect the fact that couples typically want to stay on schedule, and should adjust their photo-taking agenda accordingly.

6. GET CLOSER

“The problem I notice most of the time is that people are not close enough to what they’re trying to photograph,” Scott Lewis notes. “Seventy percent of most people’s wedding photography-related issues stem from that problem. You’re standing way far away, take a shot, and then you find all this stuff in the picture you didn’t want.”

5. BE READY FOR ANYTHING

“Most good photos depend on a little bit of luck,” says Porter Gifford. “The pleasure of photography is you couldn’t plan on everything; you just have to be there and be in the moment.” Plenty of surprises happen during a couple’s big day. Just keep your eyes open, try to anticipate what may happen next, and you’re bound to capture some of them!

4. TELL A STORY

A lot happens during the course of the wedding day. There are countless moments to capture a “story.” Look for them. Place yourself in the mind of the storyteller, watching events as they unfold. Find those opportunities in which the guests of honor and their guests interact in interesting and exciting ways. For instance, a great photo may be of the B&G leading their guests in a particular dance or the ring bearer who’s lost his direction down the aisle. Be prepared to capture those moments that stand out.

3. CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE

“One of the first assignments you get in Photography 101 is to shoot without looking,” Gifford notes, “because you’ll get nice surprises that way, an image framed in an unusual way. And with a digital camera, that kind of experiment doesn’t cost you anything.”
Of course, at a wedding you might want to keep your eye on the events of the day. In that case, Gifford has a less drastic suggestion.

Photo by Porter Gifford

“Change the level of the camera! Bend down, hold it up above you or off to the side. Change the vantage point and see what that does for your picture.” Gifford took his own advice in his award-winning photo featured in a recent WPJA contest. “As you can see, this was during the Horah at that wedding, an event I’ve photographed many, many times at this point. This time I said ‘I’m going to do this differently.’ I usually stand in the middle of the ring of people but I decided to go outside of it and shoot with a longer lens. I wanted to get away and get some more perspective, have more people in the shot.”
The result? A happy bride in a sea of jubilant arms, with a wedding guest’s camera punctuating the scene in a burst of light.

2. RESPECT YOUR SURROUNDINGS—AND THE WEDDING PHOTOJOURNALIST

Often, guests will get caught up in the moment and forget that the purpose of the wedding is not for them to capture the perfect shot. “People get aggressive and excited, want to photograph their friend or cousin,” says Lewis. “Look around the room, especially during the ceremony. If you feel like you want to step out into the action and take a picture make sure you’re not getting in the photographer’s way. It’s something you can check out with some easy, non-verbal communication.”

1. BE CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN!

“Often wedding photos taken by guests end up as one straight shot after another of the bride and groom and other folks present,” says Gifford. “I’d suggest it would be more fun to experiment, try a different tactic than another photo of smiling faces—that’s what I do as part of my job all the time.”
Lewis also believes that experimentation is key. “As a guest, taking pictures at a wedding should be about experimenting and enjoying yourself in equal measure. If the picture makes you happy, it’s a good picture!”

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WHO ARE YOU SHOOTING AND PRESENTING FOR – CURRENT CLIENTS OR FUTURE ONES?

Couples hire wedding photojournalists for their narrative approach to photography, but they’re also expected to get the more formal shots; portraits of the wedding party, family and friends. Balancing those competing expectations— pleasing our clients while producing unique and timeless images— is an ongoing challenge and a somewhat tricky proposition that not only permeates the wedding day, but also spills over to your web site design and public portfolio.
How do you present your images in a way that pleases portrait-centric clients while staying true to your esthetics and attracting new business? Some of our award-winning members share their strategies.

EDUCATED CLIENTS MEANS GOOD MATCHES

What present and future clients expect from you, and how they react to your style, can be greatly influenced by some informative communication on your part.
If you can impress potential clients with your style before any initial contact, that’s a great start. This is why web sites are so important to a mutually successful wedding day assignment.
“From what you present on your web site via the portfolio and FAQ page to how you present yourself during the interview, it's important to sell yourself and your style,” notes Iowa-based WPJA photographer Mark Kegans. “If you're professional and, even better, successful, then they'll trust you to document their wedding in your style rather than feeling the need to dictate or script your work.”
Chris Moseley, a WPJA photographer who works out of Texas, also uses his web site to assure good matches. “I want my web site to convey my goal of photographing weddings in a documentary and artistic style,” he says. “I love sharing a collection of photographs from weddings that tell the whole story of the day or of the wedding weekend.” He has recently added a blog feature to his site, found through the WPJA directory, which gives him the ability to “publish more new work quickly, featuring my favorite images.”

PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE IMAGES

During a wedding you may find it necessary to gently remind your clients why they chose you, a wedding photojournalist, over a traditional wedding photographer. Separating your photos into public and private galleries on your web site can give you a lot of leverage in making your case. Remind them of the images they’ve seen on your web site, which motivated them to choose your style over other options. This can help you avoid any prima donna antics that would spoil the mood during the wedding, and still get your message across.
Tracy Turpen, a wedding photographer from South Carolina, explains that if a couple develops portrait fever, “I will take the photos they want and remind the couple that the time spent on portraits will take away from the time that could be spent creating images like they see on my web site. While working down a shot list I make suggestions so that the final product has a flavor of my own.” After the day, she continues, “I present the work from that wedding which reflects the vision we talked about prior to the wedding day.”
Moseley tackles the portrait issue by providing specialized areas on his site for clients. To keep the focus on wedding photojournalism, he prefers to “provide our guests a slideshow of our favorites and a link to the rest of the photographs, including group portraits.”
Turpen also offers her clients private galleries on her site to ensure that its overall focus remains on the photojournalism style she works in. “All of the galleries are password protected,” she says, while “the featured weddings on my web site show work that reflects my style. This shows potential clients a more accurate sense of my work,” while still providing her past clients access to the full array of photos taken, portraits included.

Photo by Tracy Turpen

Her close-up photograph of an older woman in the midst of preparation for her daughter’s wedding is an impressive example of how to visually present your photojournalistic chops while capturing portrait-style images. “I was only hired for a couple hours to photograph the ceremony and a few formals afterwards,” she notes. “When I arrived, the women were in a small room getting ready for the ceremony. As I stood outside the door I could sense that there was a lot of emotional energy in the room. The woman in the image was at the center of that energy so I focused on her.”
Turpen reacted to the golden opportunity and came away with an image that received first place in a WPJA contest. “I was standing next to a table and her daughter was helping her get ready. They were having a conversation and a moment together. I went on instinct and got the image. The moment was there and then it was gone, it happened so quickly I was able to capture just the one image!”

Photo by Mark Kegans

Kegans also waited for a moment free of his clients’ expectations for his award-winning WPJA photo, of a couple kissing in a vintage car with the church and wedding party in the background. “The couple was sitting in the car waiting to drive to the reception and I knew there was an opportunity for a nice image with the great vintage cars and church on the hill. As it usually happens, at first the couple noticed me so I waited for them to turn their attention back to each other.”
His patience paid off, and even gave him time to plan the shot. “While waiting I thought through how to light the inside of the car and balance the exposure outside. Then, as young couples are wont to do, they started making out. I tucked my flash inside the open window, made a couple of quick frames and retreated.” The result is a shot that pleases the couple and makes a great addition to his web site.

GIVE YOUR SITE PERSONALITY

Your web site is not just an advertisement for any couple looking for wedding photography— it obviously should reflect your style first and foremost, and it can serve as an important tool for individualizing your portrait sessions.
“On my site, I only present the type of portraits that I truly enjoy and want to sell couples on,” Kegans says. “The only traditional, formal portraits I might present are what might be called the ‘bloopers’ or ‘outtakes,’ where the ring bearer is picking his nose or the group is laughing.”
For Kegans, his site is about more than simple advertisement. “I try to nurture the idea that photography should be fun, not just in my galleries but on my contact and FAQ pages as well as my blog. After a couple has combed through dozens of web sites and portfolios and albums, I feel like personality is frequently the deciding factor.”
Turpen agrees that your web site should reflect your take on wedding photojournalism. “I feel like every photographer's web site should reflect what is unique about their work. Usually, this is the images themselves. I like my site to be clean so that the focus is on the images and not on the web site.”
Remember, the presentation of the day is as much the choice of the photographer as of the clients— which is why you work together. As Chris Moseley says, “Even on a big portrait day, the portraits are such a small portion of the day's photographs that we still end up coming with dozens of documentary moments that the clients will love.”

Photo by Chris Moseley

For example, he shot a photo of a bride and groom, beaming and waving from the inside of a car. “Having jumped in the old Rolls Royce, I made a bunch of photographs that were more posed, more how the bride felt she and the groom should look. Since I was turned around backwards, I could see the bus with the wedding party behind our car [before the couple could]. If I had directed by saying, ‘Look, there's your wedding party...’ the clients would have become more camera aware.”
Instead, he waited for them to react naturally, resulting in a photo full of spontaneity and more joy than most traditional portraits can possibly convey. Moseley combines this patience with some web site savvy— his site features individual shots like the one above as well as “wedding stories” which take future clients through past clients’ day. In this way, a wedding photojournalist with a strong focus and a watchful eye will find the spontaneous moment, capture it, and present the image with preference on his or her site to better attract future clients.
In other words, take advantage of your web site and don’t let the portraits get in your way!

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Controlling Light in Photography

Control the Light and You Control the Shot!

Controlling light in Photography - The term "photography" comes from the Greek "phos", meaning light, and "graphis", which means to draw or write. If photography is defined as "the art and science of altering images on a sensitive surface through the action of light", we see that there is at least in principle, some understanding of the nature of light and how to control which is fundamental to one's success as a photographer.

In Part 1 of this article, the behaviour of light which concerns the portrait photographer is addressed.

We shall begin to explore methods used by portrait photographers to control the behaviour of light when rendering artistic interpretations of their subject, living or otherwise. There are many aspects involved when manipulating light for the purpose of portrait photography.

One fundamental aspect is always exposure. The degree of sensitivity of light (photosensitivity) on the surface to which an image is to be fixed, whether film or digital, dictates the required intensity and length of exposure.

The aperture of most modern camera lenses is designed to allow control over the intensity of light falling onto the film (or digital image sensor). In layman's terms, the aperture is a hole or opening through which all light reflected by the subject is admitted into the camera.

The intensity of the reflected light being allowed to expose the film (or image sensor) is mostly controlled by the size of this opening.

The size of the aperture opening or hole is commonly regarded in f/stops. F/stops can seem confusing at first. The f/stop numerical value represents a fractional opening of the aperture in the lens. So a decrease of one f/stop actually results in the intensity of light being admitted or allowed into the camera to approximately double. So an increase by one f/stop will result in the intensity of light being cut by half.

One may prematurely conclude that proper exposure is simply obtained by adjusting the size of the opening or aperture until the intensity of light admitted in is just right.

However, the depth of field or DOF (range of distance both in front of and behind the subject which is in focus) is also a useful function of the size of the aperture opening.

In general, depth of field or DOF increases as the size of the aperture opening decreases and vice versa.

Controlling the exposure is also achieved by adjusting the duration of the light hitting the film (or image sensor). To control the length of the exposure, most modern cameras employ a shutter. The shutter may be thought of as a metal curtain with an opening (or slit) that passes in front of the film (or image sensor) at a pre-controlled duration or speed.

Shutter speeds are expressed in minutes, seconds and fractions of a second.

So, a shutter speed of 1/100th of a second allows twice the duration of exposure as a shutter speed of 1/200th. The resolution of an image is in part, determined by the length of exposure in capturing the image.

A standard approach in portrait photography is to set the aperture size to give the desired depth of field, and then to set the shutter speed to obtain an acceptable exposure level.

The third fundamental parameter that is adjustable when controlling exposure of an image is the film speed (or ISO/ASA number). Film speed is a quantitative description given to the "chemically derived" photosensitivity of any material used in the film.

The higher the ISO or ASA number, the more photosensitive the film or sensor is. Faster film speeds will enable quick action shots and low light images to be more easily captured.

However, faster film speeds normally also result in increased graininess or "noise" in an image with decreased sharpness and detail. Similarly, the ISO or ASA number on most modern digital cameras can be adjusted to manually control the sensitivity of the digital image sensor, with a similar effect.

All light is controlled from within the camera by manipulating the duration and intensity of exposure, and by choosing an appropriate film speed for the light conditions at hand, or by adjusting the sensitivity of the digital image sensor.

These methods will work very well to control the overall or average exposure of the composition.

For a finer degree of controlling light in photography to enhance spectacular highlights, falloff, and softness of shadows, this is best achieved from outside the camera.

There are many methods used to accomplish this. In Part 3 of this article, several such methods will be discussed. Until then, have a good day and happy clicking.

Related Books for Controlling Light in Photography:Digital Photography 4 The Creative Eye

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Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance

Cleaning Lenses, Sensors, Mirrors...

Digital camera cleaning and maintenance is something many photographers (including myself) neglect to do with sometimes costly consequences.

It is too easy to come home after a days shooting, whip out the memory card, have a play with your new images and forget all about maintenance of your kit.

If you are like me, anything new that I buy over time (car, motorbike, watch, glasses etc), get cleaned immaculately at least once a day. Then after a few weeks it falls to once a week or so and then just "on the odd occasion" or when they look really dirty.

Because photography is my livelihood, I have to physically make myself grab my camera bag, go and sit somewhere quiet and take a good half an hour to an hour after a shoot to clean every piece of equipment that I have used.

This kit has cost thousands and its cleanliness has a direct bearing on the quality of my images and the longevity of its use. Not only that but as I upgrade my equipment, I may want to sell on my old cameras at the best price.

These are the checks that I make;

Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - Lenses

Obviously take great care when cleaning the glass, it is what makes the lenses so expensive and costly to repair or replace. Use only fine tissue paper and alcohol solutions that are designed for camera optics. Clean both the front and rear elements using a blower brush first to remove any dust particles.

The last thing you want to do is scrape even the smallest piece of dust across your lens.

I also use the bristles of a blower brush to clean in between the moving parts of the external barrel. This prevents a build up of dirt over time and maintains smooth operation whilst helping to prevent dust from entering the internal optics.

Make sure you clean the brush or replace it often too otherwise you simply end up smearing minute particles of grease and dirt onto the lens.

Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - Camera Sensor

The most talked about and asked about issue with Digital SLR maintenance is the sensor and the accumulation of dust. If you are altogether unsure of how to go about it, wait until any sensor dust is at a point where it is unbearable (most specs are easily and quickly removed in editing), and then take it to be professionally cleaned.

Damaging a sensor is expensive...

If you intend to do it yourself, just be careful. Set the camera to manual with a 30 second exposure. You will need time to clean the sensor but using the bulb setting ("B") could be a mistake.

If whilst cleaning the sensor, you accidentally close the shutter you are in danger of damaging the mirror, shutter, sensor or all three. Even if you use a remote release set to "B", the batteries on the remote could give out and close the shutter prematurely.

With a fully charged battery in your camera and a 30 second delay, you know where you are.

Once the shutter is open, hold the camera up so that the sensor is facing down, and use the blower (without the brush) to blow any dust away from the sensor.

N.B. The camera is held this way to allow any dust to fall out of the camera and the brush is removed in case it touches the sensor and adds grease smears or dust to it rather than removing it.

If the sensor is really dirty, you are able to buy cleaning kits with swabs where you physically touch the sensor to "swipe" away dirt. Again, you need slight of hand and great care to do this so if unsure, seek professional help.

Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - Mirror/focussing screen

Unless I can barely see through the viewfinder (exaggeration), I tend to leave the mirror and focussing screen alone apart from a quick blow/swipe with the blower brush. The only time I would give it more attention is if it were to run the risk of transferring dust to the sensor.

Dust on the mirror or screen has no effect on the final image so any dust you see on these through the viewfinder, won't affect the photograph (although excessive dust on the screen "may" affect the accuracy of focussing).

Once again, be careful as the mirror in particular is extremely sensitive and easily scratched.

Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - Outer casing

Even though it is mostly aesthetic, it is still important to try and keep the external workings clean. The dirt on the outside can easily make its way inside, particularly if you change lenses often with dirty hands.

I give it a quick once over with the blower brush first and then a quick rub with a lens cloth or dustcloth. I usually do the outer parts before the inner. This reduces the chance of dirt transferring itself inside.

Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - Accessories

Most accessories have mechanical or electronic workings so it is just as important to keep these clean to help with their longevity. For example, the battery contacts in a speedlight or remote switch need a quick clean now and again just to prevent any build up of dirt or even rust.

A failing accessory can be as disastrous as a failing camera in certain situations, especially paid ones.

Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - The Bag

This is something that many people wouldn't consider but the quickest way for cameras, equipment and accessories to become dirty is if you have a dirty camera bag or holdall.

Dust, dirt, sand and even bits of Mother Nature (leaves, grit etc) are easily accumulated when out and about.

Remove all equipment once in a while and just Hoover/vacuum the bag thoroughly inside and out.

All of this seems a bit tedious but once I have done it I feel surprisingly good and happy with myself. I also know that when I go out shooting or turn up to a paid job, the equipment is in tip-top condition.

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A Private Wedding Portrait Session Study

I Don’t Want to Miss My Cocktail Hour!
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One of the more popular questions I am asked is, “how much time do I need to allow for wedding photography?” The answer to that question hinges on what you wish to achieve with your photography, and how much you are willing to collaborate with your wedding photographer.
While the candid, unobtrusive style of wedding photojournalism still remains popular, the wedding photos that my clients respond to the most are the stylized, directed shots. The “artistic shots” as the brides and grooms often refer to. These shots involve private time alone; away from the family and friends.
The photographic environment is utilized as a stage setting. This setting creates an atmosphere for the wedding couple to step into a fantasy world where they become whoever they wish to be. The couple is often directed through various poses and creative ideas at the gentle coaxing of the wedding photographer. Soon the camera is forgotten about and the magic happens.
Pure emotions emerge that bring out the sexiness and playfulness, the glamour and sophistication, the serenity and mystery, or the love and passion between each couple. Not only do these wedding photographs yield beautiful shots, they also provide a moment of quiet time in the midst of a busy day that races by so quickly.
The price however, is time. If you want these images, be forewarned that you should allot at least an hour specifically for this style of work. In other parts of the world, it is normal for the couple to take a couple of hours during the wedding day to go to one or several exciting locations for their portrait time.
If these images matter the most to you, consider when you could devote the extra time. Do you meet before the ceremony? Do you miss your cocktail hour? Do you take time off at some quiet point during your reception? Perhaps it necessitates scheduling some portrait time on a different day. Keep in mind, it is your day and the scheduling and timing is in your control. In my experience, I have found the minimum of one full hour to be extremely beneficial.

Common Scenario – All in One Wedding Location

Couples often had their wedding ceremony and reception in one location which enabled us to spend one solid hour doing photography. The scheduling is straight forward, and no extensive planning was required. We were able to do intimate portraits as well as utilize the setting that drew them there in the first place.

The Adventure – Embrace the Offsite Scenery
In one of my experiences, the reception was a forty-five minute drive from the ceremony site. During our drive, we made a few stops along the way. Not only did we manage to get some wonderful shots at a local train station and park, we also had a great time doing it! Because of the unobtrusive manner in which I shoot, the additional benefit to the couple was some quiet time together before regrouping for the social activities of the night.

Go with the Flow – Prepare for Hard Pressed Wedding Photography

On the other hand, some wedding couples prefer not to invest a specific schedule dedicated for portraits, or to prepare for wedding photography in general. In this case, I advise my clients to allow five minutes per grouping for the “traditional” formals and an additional fifteen minutes for shots of the couple alone. If time is crunched, I will often photograph the family first and then request about fifteen minutes with the couple privately at a quiet point during the reception.
The flow of this type of photography arrangement demands the ability to adapt to situations, and often presents great challenges for the wedding photographer. At one particular wedding I had a window of thirty minutes before the ceremony to photograph the bride and groom, wedding party and family members. As the minutes ticked down with no key players to be found, a growing congregation of family members began to appear. As I started to photograph the family, the list seemed to grow rather than recede, and still without a full wedding party or bride and groom. When the bride finally arrived, we were down to ten minutes before the ceremony time. Ten minutes to go and a bride and groom greeting guests that arrived from out of the country, we were very hard pressed to accomplish what was requested. In the end we had to schedule some additional time during the reception to finish shooting.

Conclusion When you are looking through samples of photojournalistic work, or viewing wedding portrait of other couples prior to your wedding day, be aware of what you are drawn to. Feel free to show samples to your photographer and discuss how much time would be necessary to achieve the images you like. The more communication you have between yourself and the photographer, the happier you will be with your results.

05 Wedding Day Photography Tips for the Rest of Us

Guide on How to Improve Your Wedding Day Photo Results
(Article by Wedding Photographer: Glen Johnson)

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There is truth to the saying "Leave it to the professionals", but professional wedding photographers are limited to work around your wedding day shooting schedule, locale, and weather. Even with their own assistant, wedding photographers often admit they could still use your help from time to time. You might be surprised at how much contribution you could provide to improve the final outcome of your wedding day photo quality. Throughout my professional wedding photography career, I've compiled a "Top Ten Photography Related Tips" of all the little things you could on your wedding day to assist your photographer to get that photo-perfect result.

1. Organizing Your Guests Getting everyone into the shot takes planning. While you're thinking about groups and portrait sessions - make a list of who is in each shot. Tell all your relatives (in advance) that they should be there at a certain time. Create a wedding day shooting schedule sheet, email it to your party days in advance, and pass it out again at your reception. Leave contingency reserve for potential late comers (yes, you know who they are).

2. Choosing Outdoor Location If you wish for an outdoor shot, do your research and scope out the area. If you can’t do it, assign a trust worthy friend or relative for this task. Choose a location with sufficient shade to cover all the members.
This is especially true if you are getting married in a location that has a variety of different locations for the photographer to move about and experiment. Dramatic backgrounds are great for this type of photo shoot, but many things will work.... a forest, field of flowers, old buildings, barns, rocky riversides, meadow, city streets, college campus, city park, etc.

3. Decorate the Bride's Dressing Room This almost always gets overlooked in the planning and decorating phase. First start by picking a room with enough ROOM; one with lots of natural light. And use light gauzy fabrics over the windows instead of thick curtains or shutters that obstruct illumination.
Don't keep it too neat! Natural is the way to achieve the a documentary style look. Decorate appropriately. Cover up any unpresentable objects with curtains or drape cloth. Messes are ok if they are wedding messes. Empty boxes and bags should be placed somewhere outside the dressing room. It looks wonderful to have all the dresses hanging and shoes lying around on the floor, but they look awful if they are still in the boxes or if they have piles of plastic wrappers and cardboard boxes lying next to them. Flowers also look better in a vase instead of the cardboard boxes the florist packed them in.

4. General Photography Lighting Tips

• Indoor Window Lighting
  If you want to have an indoor shot, warn your photography days in advance. Keeping your wedding photographer well informed will ensure he/she brings the necessary extra lighting equipment.
  Avoid direct sunlight streaming into the windows. If you have direct sunlight, keep some curtains at hand that are a little thicker to diffuse it. You can assist your photographer to put light cotton cloth over the outside of the window in order to cut down the direct sun. Or better yet, pick a room location with windows facing north.
  
• Reception Lighting
  Think romance! Get creative. Try lots of candles or little Christmas lights placed on and under things. Christmas lights, hanging bulbs, and rope lights all look good in the background especially if you hang them just above head high.
  If you are having an outdoor reception, placing your dance floor under a tent will make a world of difference. Your wedding photographer can bounce the flash up into the tent roof, and provide a much more even lighting condition than direct flash. A tent also gives you a structure to hang the small lights in the roof which create a mellow warm background.
• Moving Light Concerns
  If you hire a DJ who uses moving spot lights, every place the spot light hits will be much brighter than the rest of the area. Due to this rapid moving nature, light becomes near impossible for your photographer to calculate the correct exposure. Translation: this leaves no options for the photographer but to shoot a strong flash to overpower the disco lights, which results in a missing black background.
  The solution? Ask the DJ in advance about their lighting setup. Inform them you wish to cut the disco lights at moments notice, or ask them if they could use constant stationary colored lights instead. Lights that throw colors or patterns on the wall or roof are great, but ideally you would not let them hit the crowd directly.    MORE>>>>>>>>

5. Photographing in the Dressing Room

This is a touchy subject, especially if your wedding photographer is male. If you are self conscious or modest, you may ask your photographer to leave the room whenever you ask. However some of the best images from the entire wedding happen in the dressing room, especially when the dress is going over the bride's head while all the bridesmaids are helping to get it on.
If you have your photographer wait outside when this is happening, you will miss out on one of the most spontaneous photo opportunities of the entire day. Remember, with photography, it’s easy to delete things later, but it’s impossible to turn back time and do it again.
Under professional photography ethics, a wedding photographer would never show inappropriate photos in his/her portfolio, or on the web. If you are concerned about this issue, be sure to review and discuss the contractual obligation and portfolio usage rights with your photographer. Also pay keen attention to your intuition, and trust your instincts.  The Best selling wedding Photography E-Book in 2010/2011 :-
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Dinner Time! Capturing your Wedding Meal

I don't usually take pictures of people eating at a wedding. Most people don't want a camera pointed at them when they are enjoying the food and the pictures are…well, often not flattering. On the other hand, brides work hard to provide something nice. So generally I still feel compelled to do something with food. Food itself, of course, can be pretty photogenic. Plus it's an important part of the complex ritual of a wedding. Food at a wedding, from the hors d'oeuvres at the reception, to the dinner, the cake and the late night snacks, are present a good portion of a marriage day. And that doesn't count rehearsal dinners.	Often your food choices will provide the center piece for everyone's socializing. The conversation starters and excuse to talk to strangers. You'll spend a lot of time figuring out what to serve, when to serve it, what people might want, etc. Since it will all be gone the morning after, you might want to have your photographer capture this center piece of your planning. Equally important, since food is such a pervasive a part of your day, you really can capture the 'flavor' of your day (pun intended) with a few shots of what everyone will be enjoying.
A friend of mine Gourmet magazine once told me people "eat with their eyes". Don't know that I totally agree but it's certainly a key part of the gastronomical experience. The best caterers know this. So do you or you wouldn't have spent some much time thinking about it. What's more eye friendly than a nice photograph of great food?
Besides, it often is something very personal. These cup cakes were made by a family friend. The little boxes were a very special favor, individually made and packaged by a very special aunt.
Pictures evoke memories. I remember this steak. I eat a lot of wedding dinners but these little gems were served at a Maine inn famous for it's fine food. It was the best steak I've ever eaten . . . and I remember what it tasted like.
However, not every wedding has gourmet food. That doesn't matter. While not everybody has a "Bubba" cooking at their wedding, you'll probably have something equivalent. Bubba's as perfect as the great steak above . . . and sets the tone for this backyard bash. Remember my "flavor" comment?
Food can be serious or whimsical. So tell your photographer to pay attention to it. However, have him/her avoid the chewing part. I concentrate on the fun that happens with and around food. People are usually relaxed and concentrating on what they are eating. Makes for good photographs. So with a little care your photographer capture the fun without the mess.
Now I haven't talked about the wedding cake. That's a complex tradition which continues to be a major ritual in today's weddings. Even the simplest approach to a cake can be lovely. However, if you want a great picture of your cake, put it where it has beautiful light. A competent photographer can capture a pretty cake in most any light but great light makes for more memorable pictures.
Oh yes, while a formal picture of a pristine cake is always part of the coverage, a little 'after the ritual' shot is often very poignant reminder of what has gone before.
So the take away thought here is that after you've given your photographer your "must have" shot list, gently remind her/him that there's lots of planning gone into whats being eaten and you want some of it memorialized. # 01 Photography E Book Wedding Photography Secrets