Working with animals can be the ultimate exercise in patience. They cannot take direction like a human model. Be patient and remember you are on the pet’s time. You have a very short window of opportunity to get the shot, so develop lightning-fast timing! Want to learn more? Check out this article, "3 Tips for Great Pet Photography" … [Read more...] about Quick Tip: Have patience when working with animals
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Pet Photography Tips
Editor's Note: This is a guest post from Adam Price from ACD Systems. They are the makers of ACDSee Ultimate 10 for Windows. Getting great shots of pets just requires thinking a little bit differently. Natural Light Try to avoid using the flash. Not only can it cause red-eye, but it may also startle your pet and make them nervous. Using a flash can wash out a pet with light-colored fur or feathers, and create glare with glass tanks. It’s best to use natural light whenever possible. Capture Their Character Some of the best … [Read more...] about Pet Photography Tips
Lens Review: Lensbaby Twist 60
This new Twist 60 lens from Lensbaby has my full attention right now. There are always new lenses boasting extreme sharpness or wide apertures or super telephoto, but Lensbaby steps aside from the sharper-faster-longer race and makes tools that actually help me be more creative. In short, it's a marvelous hunk of metal and glass, it's affordably priced, and I think you'll love it too. Keep reading for the reasons why. Petzval for the 21st Century Petzval was a scientist in the 1800's who created a new lens design, and it made big … [Read more...] about Lens Review: Lensbaby Twist 60
3 Tips for Great Pet Photography
After a long week at WPPI in Las Vegas, I joined fellow Photofocus author Mykii Liu, David Crewe and my new friend, Hair and Makeup artist, Dinah Raphaelle, for Korean Barbecue. I was exhausted from the week, plus we had just finished a 4-hour shoot. I wanted to go back to the hotel and rest; but they insisted I join them. I sat down to a full table of Mykii’s friends. We made our introductions and began to eat. During small talk, I found out the man sitting next to me, Darcy Evans, was a pet photographer. I have to admit, I found it odd a pet … [Read more...] about 3 Tips for Great Pet Photography
Reflected Beauty
When shooting a portrait or head shot outdoors or inside a studio, I always use a reflector or bounce card to add some sparkle to the subject. This is Emily, I first shot her without any reflected light indoors in my studio. Now, I will add some reflected light directly below her and just out of the bottom frame. Notice Garrett is holding the reflector. Some photographers will ask the talent to just hold the reflector because they have no one to assist them. Get a stand or something, never ask your subject to hold the reflector on … [Read more...] about Reflected Beauty
Cucoloris for Shadowed Texture
So often someone will take the time to light the talent to look great but forget to light the background and give the image some depth: One method is to use a Cucoloris. Some will refer to it a s a cookie cutter:The Cucoloris will create a shadowed texture onto your background depending on the distance the light source is from the Cucoloris. The general rule with light is that the closer the light the softer the light, the larger the light the softer the light. Allow me to show you this theory in practical application:As you can see in the … [Read more...] about Cucoloris for Shadowed Texture
C-Stands 101
One of the most used tools on a Hollywood set, oh heck on any set, is the C-Stand. C in Roman numerals representing the numeral 100 is how the C-Stand got its name, 100's of uses. When closed it's 53" high, it can be extended to 10'6", it usually is ordered with a 40" arm and Grip Head. The C-Stand is a very versatile tool in the photographer's arsenal. Allow me to show you how to take advantage of the C-Stand. One way is a reflector holder:You simply secure a piece of foamcore or any material that you're using to reflect light onto the talent. … [Read more...] about C-Stands 101
No Sippy Cups here, just Baby Plates
Some of the most used tools on a Hollywood set are C-Stands and Apple Boxes. Then there are these little babies, Baby Plates. What is a Baby Plate you ask? It's a 5/8 stud, about 3" tall, welded onto a 3.5" x 6" metal plate. It has many uses. Allow me to share a few of those that I've used on the set. One of the most common uses for a Baby Plate is a very low light stand:It has a very solid feel and is very stable for most strobe heads. As you can see in the picture, this Baby Plate has 8 holes in its base. Some will have 4. The purpose for … [Read more...] about No Sippy Cups here, just Baby Plates
Shooting Personal Projects
A great way to challenge yourself and enhance your skills is to shoot some personal projects. Here is an opportunity to stretch your imagination. Building sets, buying props, coordinating wardrobe, scouting locations and casting talent are all part of the process of shooting your personal projects. When you apply all these things, your ideas will come to life. I'll get an idea visually, and then I need to make it happen. Like this 30's Hollywood glamour shot:Once I cast the beautiful actress, Sarah Deakins, I needed to get hair and make-up. … [Read more...] about Shooting Personal Projects
C-47: The most useful tool you have in your laundry room.
Most people refer to it as a clothes pin; in Hollywood it's referred to as a C-47. They were named that way because back in the day there were 47 pins in a pack. The C stands for clamp, hence C-47. We'll take them and reverse the way they clamp so that they have more of a pinch tip to grab stuff better: I like using these economical tools for clamping gels to lights and softboxes. Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft stores sells them in different sizes and colors. I like using the medium clamps to secure gels inside small to medium softboxes: The … [Read more...] about C-47: The most useful tool you have in your laundry room.
Lighting with China Balls
Here is a great economical way to soften your light. They're China Balls: These were used on the set of Grey's Anatomy. You can buy these light diffusers from World Market or Pier 1 Imports. Here's a link to Filmtools. Filmtools is a great resource; however, on some items they are a bit pricey. They cater to the movie and television industry. They range in cost from around $3.75 for a 12" China Ball up to about $17.00 for a 30" China Ball. Most are made of paper; however, some are made of silk. You do not need the silk ones unless you're … [Read more...] about Lighting with China Balls
“What’s in Your Bag?” Stuff!
What's in your bag? Do you really think that the cameras and lenses that are in my bag are going to get you my job? Stop! I'm not being arrogant, however, how you shoot and I shoot are so radically different it doesn't matter if you use the same gear as I do. We are creative knuckleheads and do what we do as individuals. Wanna know about some of the "stuff" that's in my bag? Allow me to share with you my camera brethren:Altoids, gum, Mentos, or anything that will freshen your breath. I hate working around bad breath. Whether it is from food, … [Read more...] about “What’s in Your Bag?” Stuff!
Hot Hair Lights
I'm a huge advocate of creating depth in a photograph. One of the ways is to use a back light or at times referred to as a hair light when shooting talent. Some of the challenges I might have are when the talent has blonde or gray / silver colored hair. I'll lose hair detail in the hair light. I found a great method for helping gain back that detail without losing the depth that a hair light can create. First I'll spray paint the inside of one of my reflectors from metal to flat white. This will soften the contrast: The next thing I will add … [Read more...] about Hot Hair Lights
Camouflaging Shadows
"Your greatest curse could be your greatest blessing" Shadows, at times they are such a curse, but with a bit of creative manipulating they can be a wonderful blessing. When working on a Hollywood set there are times I'll will have the Grips (the guys who rig things, their name comes from old Hollywood "because you needed a strong hand grip to secure things") set up a diffusion panel for me. If its going to be a full length shot for one or more talent you might end up seeing the edge of a 6x6, or up to a 20x20 foot frame's shadow. Its a ugly … [Read more...] about Camouflaging Shadows
Printing is the Lost Art of Photography
Why are prints are so important? Printing is a part of many photographers business or workflow that can be improved. Most of us don't know how to print or even understand the basics of printing. Sure, the ease of going from one screen to another is often easy, while figuring out how to print at the right size and the right output can be daunting. Why Print? Printing can bring another level to your photography and client base. Prints obviously do not require hard drives, cloud storage, or a powered on device to view. A print is a tangible … [Read more...] about Printing is the Lost Art of Photography
Review: Hand Painted Photos from Pixelist
Not long ago, someone from Pixelist reached out to see if I would try out and review one of their products, a hand-painted oil painting created from one of my photos. I don't do a lot of reviews, but when I went to their website I have to say I was intrigued! What a unique way to "print" a photograph. So I said yes, and sent them a photo I took of my dog, Kodak. In about three weeks, I received an email from them saying that the painting was finished. They included a photo of it and asked if there was anything that needed to be changed or … [Read more...] about Review: Hand Painted Photos from Pixelist
Featured Photo by Michael Pachis
Thanks to our friends at or Google+ communities and feature it on Photofocus! Then each month well open voting from the community. The top vote getter will win a special prize from our partners at Drobo as well as a profile story here on Photofocus. Today's featured photo is by the talented Michael Pachis. I was at the Memphis Zoos Northwest Passage exhibit which has a Bald Eagle aviary for Eagles that have been too badly injured to be returned to the wild. I had been there many times before but the Eagles mostly sit in their tree … [Read more...] about Featured Photo by Michael Pachis
Volunteering For Mastery
Knowledge is not skill. Knowledge plus ten thousand times is skill. Shinichi Suzuki The idea of 10,000 repetitions as a path to mastery is not new. It has been a principle of Eastern thought for a very long time and has been made popular in business by Malcolm Gladwell and in photography by Steve Simon. It boils down to practice makes perfect. This principle is simple to understand. But, given our busy lives, it can be difficult to put into practice. And, too often, we tend to look for the perfect practice, particularly as … [Read more...] about Volunteering For Mastery
Featured Photo by Jason Zollan
Editors Note: Each week well be featuring members of the Photofocus community. Part of our New Years resolution is to focus on new and emerging talent. As such, Melissa Niu will personally select images from our readers and feature them here on Photofocus. Not a crazy story here, but I just wanted to capture Boots (that's the cat), with a quintessential shot of a cat playing with some yarn. I was playing with him and was able to catch him in action right as he pounced on the string. Photo was taken with a YN 560 flash bounced off the … [Read more...] about Featured Photo by Jason Zollan
Seth Casteel – Photographer of the Week
It's pet photography with an absolute twist that makes me want to stand and applaud this artist's originality. It's not your average photograph of fetch or the same old posing puppy portraiture. This artist has given his audience a whole new view of dogs with his approach of capturing a rarely seen moment in a dog's life...underwater. Meet Seth Casteel, pet photographer. Seth Casteel is an award-winning photographer and the New York Times Best Selling Author of Underwater Dogs, the best selling photography book of 2012, with over a quarter … [Read more...] about Seth Casteel – Photographer of the Week
John Keatley – Photographer of the Week
Many know him as a conceptual celebrity portrait artist. And others probably know him as one of the few photographers to ever take a portrait of highly esteemed photographer, Annie Leibovitz. Aside from his famous clients and numerous magazine covers and features, I know him as a friend, father and hard working talent that has a knack for bringing out true personalities and portrayals of his subject's inner character. I applaud him as a photographer that is giving of his knowledge in the photography industry but doesn't distract from his … [Read more...] about John Keatley – Photographer of the Week
Serena Hodson – Photographer of the Week
We've all seen those adorable children photographers that dress up their subjects in hats and costumes and put them in fun yet highly trendy and somewhat overdone props. Although the trend is vast, it still has clients begging. Now what if the same "prop" stylization was integrated into pet photography? Have you seen a dog in a fur coat? Or a Weiner dog in a wig? Or maybe a Boxer in a stroller? It's creativity at its finest and its people like Serena Hodson that stand out with her quirky and whimsical animal portraits. With creative … [Read more...] about Serena Hodson – Photographer of the Week
Eight Tips for Getting Pets to Stand Still For A Portrait
Post by Andrew Darlow For the photo above, I used the techniques described below in Tip #3 and Tip #4. I'm often asked: "How do I get my pets to stand still for a few moments so that I can take photos of them?" This can be challenging, especially if it is your pet, because many animals (especially dogs) want to express their love for their owners whenever they are together. The tips below are written with dogs in mind, but in many cases they can be applied to cats, ferrets, guinea pigs and even babies or small children. To encourage a … [Read more...] about Eight Tips for Getting Pets to Stand Still For A Portrait
