A Cinderella Wedding

As a wedding photographer, every wedding I shoot is pretty much magical in its own way, but for Allen and Karen; magical had a literal meaning.

Not often do I find myself photographing a wedding meant for a real life Cinderella. At Disneyland Hotel, however, they have a Cinderella wedding complete with Cinderella's horse and carriage. It was a beautiful sight to say the least. It was even more fun to spend a day at Disney photographing such a nice event.

I had the fortune to meet Allen and Karen through a referral from DJ Buddy, a Los Angeles based DJ who I had the honor to work with at a wedding in Huntington Beach in 2010. Needless to say, I highly recommend his turn table skills to anyone looking for a DJ for their special day.

 Here's just a few highlights from the a fun filled evening at a very magical place!

Point Dume: March 24th

This evening I took a brief trip to one of my favorite spots in Malibu for a photo session; Point Dume. This evenings trip was not about a photography though. I went there to see if I could catch a few grey whales making there annual pass by. No luck on the whales, but as always I took my wide angle lens and my camera and enjoyed the sunset. It wasn't a spectacular sunset, not by Malibu standards, but a Malibu sunset is always a beautiful thing regardless. I only shot a few photographs but I got this one at least.

Leading Lines...Train Your Eye.

So far I’ve discussed a couple of my favorite types of composition tips; Framing and The Rule of Thirds.


Coincidentally, they happen to be the most basic composition tips in the playbook. I’ve always felt that less is more in photography and none holds true when it comes to composition.  But there are a couple more composition tips that are much more advanced that can really bring your level of photography up. You just have to train your eye. 


Leading Lines:


Leading lines are basically lines within the photograph that lead to your subject. It can be one line or a group of lines or patterns that will naturally send your eye to the subject.  If used right, leading lines can make a good photo a great photo.


Can you see the leading lines in the following examples?

Leading lines are plentiful in this image. When you combine framing, the rule of thirds, and leading lines together, it creates a  great composition.

In this image, the pier is the leading line. This image combines the rule of thirds with leading lines.

Leading lines are something that can be a little more difficult to utilize in the field. That’s because when you use leading lines you have to aware of mergers. What is a merger? A merger is a line, or element in the photograph that comes out of the subject head within the photograph. It can ruin any photograph. A merger happens to be a pet peeve of mine when I see them in portraits or photographs taken by professionals. 

Notice the repeating lines in this image. This is a little more complex composition. You will also see in this image the placement of the Bride's head. This was done to avoid any mergers with the lines.

Training your eye to see leading lines, isn't necessarily hard. The only challenging part of using leading lines is that you have to be very aware of your subject placement. But once you train your eye to notice the lines that can converge with the subjects head, you will be able to recompose your photo to use those lines to your advantage rather than letting a line create a merger on your subjects head.

Golden Hour...an Evening Shoot

This evening I took some time aside from actually writing part 2 of my previous post to go outside and do what I love.   There is a tree at the end of Kanan just before you get to the I-101. I pass this tree every day on my drive to my office, yet have never actually gone there to take photos.

So this evening I photographed Dori there. It's nearly a perfect spot for my favorite type of light. The golden hour light that occurs during the last hour prior to sunset.

"The Golden Hour," as it's known, is the best time to take portraits. It's a warm tone of light, that when metered right and balanced, can lead to amazing portrait results, especially in Malibu. For some reason the light here is surreal in the evenings.

My advice for anyone planning to do a photo session outside is to always have the "golden hour" at the top of the list for when to plan a portrait session.

Here's some results using the tree and the golden hour....-cg

Sunsets and the Rule of Thirds...

In my last discussion, I spoke about composition and the use of framing, which happens to be my favorite compositional element. So while on the topic of composition; I really believe that sunsets (or sunrises) are a perfect subject for a discussion of The Rule of Thirds. Sunsets are my favorite thing to photograph. They are all unique it their own way and for some reason they are all challenging in their own way too.  But for any photographer, sunsets are a prime opportunity to practice with the Rule of Thirds.

What is the Rule of Thirds? For most practiced photographers, this is a very basic compositional guideline (remember there are no rules in art).  But for the average photographer or for someone that is just getting started, it is a concept that must be understood. Unfortunately it's most often overlooked.

The Rule of Thirds is simple. It advocates that the subject or any major part of the image should NOT be placed in the center of the photograph. Instead, it should be placed in one of the areas dividing the photograph into thirds. 

The red dots are the ideal locations for subject placement.

Here are some recent images I took with it in practice. You should be able to place the diagram above over the photos and and the main subject will be on one of those red dots.

Notice subjects are in the upper right hand dot.

Main subject on the left lower red dot. 

Mix it Up! In the image below, notice the use of Rule of Thirds combined with Framing that I discussed previously.

Breaking the Rule....

Now there are times when the subject can be centered in the middle, but you as the photographer have to experiment to see when you can deviate from the Rule of Thirds. 

For the image below, I placed the subjects in the middle, obviously breaking the rule.

Subjects in the middle sometimes work. For this image the reflection, the framing and the overall "California" feel were captured with the subjects in the middle. I shot one in the middle and one using the Rule of Thirds. In this case, the centered image worked. 

Using Rule of Thirds to improve your Sunrise and Sunset photos:


Now back to sunsets and sunrises. Hopefully, with the explanation and examples above, you have a better understanding of the Rule of Thirds. Applying it to sunrise and sunset photography is good practice.


Here are technical tips for great sunset/sunrise photos:
1. You should be using Manuel Mode, but with sunset and sunrise you can also use Aperture (A on Canon) or Shutter Priority (Tv on Canon) mode.  These modes all allow you to set your ISO to a low setting, which brings me to my next tip. 


2. Set your ISO! A low ISO number is vital. Since the sun has plenty of light to expose onto the sensor a low ISO will insure that “noise” will be minimal. “Noise” is the equivalent to film grain. So the higher the ISO, the more specs or grain will be visible. The only modes that allow you to control your ISO manually are those modes north of the “automatic” modes (Tv, Av, M or P on a Canon).


3. Meter not only for the sun, but for different areas of the sky. You will surprise yourself.


4. Be patient and don’t leave once the sun goes down. Stay late! During a recent shoot in Yosemite I noticed many photographers left once the last rays of light hit Half Dome. I am usually always the last one to leave. Why? Because as the suns hides behind the horizon, light bends in the sky; this bend often creates some dramatic colors that I would have otherwise missed if I would have left.


5. Don’t be afraid of clouds! I often won’t even go shoot a sunset if there are no clouds in the sky. That’s how much I love clouds. I love clouds, they add depth, and many times I’ve been lucky enough (patience) to capture some very dramatic colors in the clouds, especially after storms.


Sunset Composition Tips. 


I live by these when I shoot sunset/sunrise.


1. Of course, my first tip is to use the Rule of Thirds.


2. As a guideline, try to avoid placing the horizon directly in the middle of the frame.  Now I bend this guideline all the time, when I see fit. Generally, the human eye prefers photographs that are NOT cut in half. Place emphasis on something. This goes along with the Rule of Thirds. If you include more sky than land, the sky will be dominate, and the same for vice-versa. Many times I find myself on the beach wanting to emphasize reflections in the water. This is when I raise the horizon to the upper third of the frame to emphasize the water.


3. Keep the plain level. A horizon that is slanted appears unnatural. So as a guideline I suggest balancing the horizon.


4. Try to place objects in the foreground that will silhouette. This can make any photo more interesting.


5. Mix up your shots with vertical and horizontal compositions.


Below are some sunset/sunrise images that hopefully inspire you to go practice! Enjoy! -cg

Notice the horizon doesn't split the photograph in half. 

Become a Framer. Improve overnight.

People often ask me what one thing they can do right now to improve their photographs. So before I answer, I think about what aspect of photography a person, regardless of skill level, can control to yield immediate results. My simple answer is composition.

In the next few weeks I will be talking about composition, but for now I want to talk about my favorite element of composition. The one element I tell people can improve their photography almost immediately.

That element is framing.

Now framing is one of many types of composition you can utilize to make your photos better, but before I go into why it’s my favorite, I want to list the most common types of composition.

Here are the basic types of composition I use most (all of which I will be discussing in the future):

• Leading Lines
• Rule of Thirds
• Patterns
• Frame Balance
• S-Curve

FRAMING:

My favorite. It's my favorite because it's not only easy, it's fun to look for frames. They add depth to photographs and since photographs are not three dimensional, any depth you can add will be appealing to the eye. It’s the one element that I tell people can vastly improve their photography. Regardless of whether you shoot M-mode or Automatic mode, this composition technique is most noticeable immediately and you will see results immediately. It’s also the easiest to explain. 

Framing is exactly what it’s called. It’s basically framing your subject within the frame of the viewfinder using both natural and man-made elements.  The best way to explain it is simply by looking at images.

Here are some images I've created using both natural framing elements and man-made elements. 

The man-made element I used for framing my subjects in this image are not only the window, but the frames within the window. Windows and doors, in fact, offer the best opportunities to use framing in a literal sense. It's very effective. 

Again. This is an actual doorway I used to create the element of framing within the viewfinder. It is a very effective technique for fine art as well.

Now the biggest challenge for framing is training your eye to spot "natural" framing elements. Again, with practice, you will begin to see frames just about everywhere you look. As you become accustomed to using frames in composition you can begin to experiment with the concept.

Here's a such example from a photo I took of Half Dome in Yosemite recently:

For this image, I used the natural frame of the pine needles in the foreground to create a natural frame. Many times you can always find natural subjects to frame your main subject in. Here is where experimenting comes into effect. For this photo, I wanted something different. Since Half Dome in Yosemite is a main attraction that I've seen in photographs countless times, I approached Half Dome with the idea that I wanted to create a different prospective of the Half Dome. That prospective came true when I used framing. 

Another example: You should certainly be able to see the "frame" in these examples by now. Incorporate it into your work!

I love to frame using windows. Simple, but effective. 

So why is framing such a power element that can make your photography better overnight? It has a little to do with the science of our vision. But I have my own little theory. Our eyes are naturally attracted to frames that surround us constantly. As a photographer, I think it's my job to magnify frames to share with other eyes (in most cases, people just don't realize there are frames around them). That's how I see it anyway.

So use them in your own photography and train your eye. You will surprise yourself, I guarantee it, with the amount of frames you can create using what is out there! -cg

Silhouettes...Tips for success.

Some of the most beautiful photographs in the world happen to be silhouettes. In my opinion, a silhouette is also one of the most fun creations a photographer can make with his camera. That’s why with nearly every portrait session I shoot, every wedding I shoot, and every landscape opportunity I get; I always incorporate a silhouette into my work.

Quite frankly, taking a silhouette photograph is not all that hard. You can also do it just about any time of the day, however, evenings and early mornings are best.

Of course, I always encourage everyone to use Manuel mode on their camera, but you can also use some of the other modes such as Av (A on Nikon) and Tv (S on Nikon). Remember, to disable your flash. Quite simply, you want as little light on the front of your subject as possible and the flash does opposite of that, so disable it. 

My biggest suggestion is to NOT use the Automatic settings on your camera. The biggest reason you don’t want to use the Automatic modes is mainly because if you have a backlit subject, the camera in most cases, will use the built-in flash to light the subject you want to be in silhouette. So basically, my suggestion is to use the modes “north” of the green automatic button on your camera (See image below below).

On a Canon Camera; the modes below the green square are the automatic modes. The green square is the general purpose fully auto mode. 

Here are my suggestions for taking silhouette photos.

1. Most photographers have a different view on this, but I suggest pre-focusing on your subject before metering for the sky. So hold down the shutter button (don’t let go) to focus on your subject.
2. Then point you camera at the sky (not the sun) in your frame and read the meter. (In general, metering for the brightest spot in the frame, will naturally make the object in the foreground appear dark and in silhouette).
3. Once you've done this, use your meter (if you are shooting in Manual mode) to determine the proper exposure for the sky. By the way, shooting a silhouette will give you the opportunity to test out your “spot” meter I discussed in a previous blog.
4. Make sure and light your subject from behind using good composition. Remember, you can create a silhouette at any time of the day or with any type of light, you just have to backlight the subject and expose for the background.

Now here are some tips that most photographers just forget to give when it comes to silhouettes.

• Pay attention to your horizon! Remember, for images that involve the sky, your sky will be the bright spot that will create the outline for your silhouette.
• My favorite tip. Lower the viewfinder and get some prospective! Shooting from a low angle will lower the chances of having “mergers” that will sometimes ruin your silhouette. Remember that a silhouette will take the shape of all the subjects in the foreground.  
• Think about your subject. You don’t want to confuse anyone or have people guessing what your subject is. You may notice that most all my landscape or water-scape silhouettes are taken from a low angle.
• Try aiming at your subject with the sun directly behind it for that magical glow.
• Don’t be afraid to break the Rule of Thirds. I’ve found some of my favorite silhouettes were with the subject centered.  Experiment a little.

Remember, there isn't an exact equation or formula to taking a great silhouette.  Like everything else in photography, it takes practice, experimentation, and maybe even a little luck.  But that’s what makes it so fun! -cg