Portraits

Portraits aren't exactly my gig, but for the last month I've been doing quite a few. I guess with the holidays everyone wants their portraits taken for Christmas cards, and I am more than willing to do my best to accommodate their needs. I love photography, but there are things I love and things I like to photograph. Portraits are one of those things I like to photograph. I've been lucky to photograph some amazing people that I admire and look up to. So my experiences have gone from nerve-racking to casual and fun. I feel like my approach to portraits is more casual and honest than anything. My experience in documentary work has given me the confidence to keep shooting when situations are more candid and not as staged. I think the best portraits come from moments like these anyway. 

If you're interested in getting your portrait taken (families, individuals, bridals, studio, outdoor...), give me a call: 801.232.2153. I am willing to negotiate price. Call or email me with inquiries (lindsaydanielsphotography@gmail.com).

Music: Brandi Carlile

Canon 24mm TS-E

I got the chance to really use my 24mm 3.5 tilt shift lens at the Salt Flats a few weeks ago. It takes a lot more time to set up a shot, but it can produce some amazing results! I actually love taking the time to set up and manually adjusting everything. I've been trying to utilize the tilt function of the lens so that the plane of focus is spread between the foreground and the background. Everything is in focus from the details in the near foreground of the salt to the ridges in the far mountains. Take the above photo for example. Taken at aperture 3.5 and still the foreground and background are in perfect focus. This technique is a bit difficult to master, but I have a feeling I'm going to be using it often. 

The Importance of Composition

Greg Laswell at the State Room singing "Landline" unplugged. 

There are several factors that go into producing great imagery, but some of the most elementary photo lessons, such as the "Rule of Thirds" or leading lines, remain invaluable. One question I ask myself before I even click the shutter is, "How am I leading the reader's eye to the subject?" Most often it will be because of the composition or how the light falls on a scene. In the photo above, Greg is obviously the main subject. He's the front man, on stage, with a guitar in his hands. What makes this photo engaging is the composition. Technically, this photo is subpar. It's noisy (high ISO), a bit fuzzy, and not in the best light. But what it lacks technically, it makes up for in composition and emotion. It captures a moment: the audience listening intently, trying to catch a photo of the man on stage, and Greg, humbly playing his acoustic guitar, unplugged. You can't always get the perfect light, or the perfect moment. If you go into a situation trying to capture something that just isn't there, use other tools in your bag. Reach for the fundamentals. Putting all your eggs in one basket is constraining. Have a back up plan. Adapt to your surroundings and you'll come home with winning imagery.

Using the "Rule of Thirds" and leading lines.

I'd love to hear your feedback. Do you think this image works? Does the composition or moment make up for the lack of technical details? 

Cataloging Photos with Adobe Lightroom

I've been reviewing old photos and came across several that I had dismissed initially but are actually some of my favorites in their own series.  Amazingly enough this happens quite often, which is exactly why I never delete photos, always back them up, and continually review old ones.  You never know what surprises you're going to find.  I catalog my photos to keep them organized and filtered.  I use Lightroom for this purpose and I find that it works wonders.  You have to keep up on it, but with the help of a regular routine you'll be thanking yourself later. 

As soon as I am able to sit down with my computer and CF card after a shoot, I plug in my card reader and start downloading images.  Ideally, I am near my external hard drive and can do a back up then and there and forget about it.  No matter when I get to it I will back up my photos.  Backing up your photos may be the most important step, so don't forget it!  I can do this automatically with Adobe Lightroom and kill two birds with one stone on one download.  I've preset mine so that all I have to do is plug in my external hard drive and press OK and it'll automatically back up to my selected hard drive.  If it's not plugged into my computer Lightroom will remind me.  After I get all my photos into Lightroom and backed up on external hard drives, I start to go through and weed out the good from the bad.  I use a 'flag' for the ones that draw an initial reaction and I know are good, and a rejection flag for any overexposures or out of focus photos I know I don't want to keep.  Then, I go through the flagged photos and narrow it down even further to the best of the best with a rating of five stars.  I can filter the photos so that only the flagged photos are showing and develop from there, eventually focusing on the five star images.

When I am satisfied with my selection of "good" photos I start to play around in the digital darkroom.  Does the photo tell a better story in black and white?  Will it look better cropped?  What can I change to express my vision?  Aside from correcting exposure, color correcting and removing dust spots I don't like to "correct" too much unless I'm trying to achieve a certain look.  The point is to try and capture it in-camera as best you can.  Photoshop, Lightroom or iPhoto will only take you so far.  Getting an image right in-camera is the best practice and will improve anyone's photography.  I try to take that to heart.  

Last but not least, I go through my images regularly.  If I missed a back up I get it done as soon as I can. If I haven't gone through and edited dust spots, I'll do it.  Most importantly, I'll look with a fresh set of eyes at all the captures and if there is a photo I think should be flagged or even starred that isn't I'll do it then.  It's amazing what a fresh set of eyes can see.  I often find photos that were initially overlooked and wonder why I hadn't flagged them or given them a better status to begin with.  The best practice is to review, review, review!

Occupy Salt Lake Protests

Nowell lit up his hand-rolled cigarette as he continued to explain his reasoning for protesting outside the Federal Bank Building on State Street and 100 South in Salt Lake City.  There's a handful of individuals at this site supporting the 'Occupy' protests around the nation.  Nowell stressed that getting the word out was his main purpose and the reason he's been sleeping and protesting at this location for the last two weeks.  Cars driving by honked in support, and the occasional passerby stopped with interest.  Others are not so enthusiastic about the idea.  One man confronted a protester by yelling and throwing his hands around.  I thought the tension might rise, but the protester stood his ground with an easy going smile on his face until the man left.  These protesters don't seem to be looking for a fight.  They just want their voices heard.  And as Americans, we all have a right, if not an obligation, to voice our opinions.

I've had to learn, as a photographer, that you have to keep an open mind.  It's best, in order to tell the story, to not take sides.  Sure, I have my opinions, but I don't think they are best spoken here or getting too wrapped up with my photography.  Take these photos as they are.  I'd much rather have my photos speak for themselves than for me to try to explain them, and hopefully they are able to do just that.

Photo Essay: Occupy Wall Street/SLC

Two men hold signs in support of Occupy Wall Street in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Tents set up in Pioneer Park for the Occupy Wall Street protestors.  Salt Lake City, Utah.

Unknown woman holds a sign at a rally for Occupy Wall Street.

Peaceful protestors gather to hear a young speaker in support of Occupy Wall Street. 

Unnamed man holds a sign in support of Occupy Wall Street.

Unknown woman writes out a sign for the Occupy Wall Street protests in Pioneer Park, Salt Lake City, Utah.

A band from Tennessee plays to support the protestors in Pioneer Park Salt Lake City, Utah.

Documentary: Carnival

I've read different articles in photo magazines about how carnivals and fairs are great places to photograph, but never really sought them out.  Last week I went to the Utah State Fair to see what all the fuss was about.  Initially, I thought the rides at dusk with slow shutter speeds was going to be the recipe for the night (which it partly was), but I found myself drawn to the small vendors and everyday carnies even more.  The first guy I spoke to was running a 100 shots for 5 bucks game.  Shoot out the middle of your target and you get to take home a giant stuffed Scooby.  I have to say I was tempted.  I gracefully declined but asked if I could take his photo.  He straitened up, took off his hat, combed his hair and smiled.  He told me he felt like a picture gave a person a kind of immortality, as a photo can last a whole lot longer than we can.  This stuck with me the rest of the night and I couldn’t help but thinking he was right.  He reminded me of the whole reason any of us really start taking photos.  For myself it was to document.  Every photo I take for one reason or another is to document.  And really that's what any of us are really doing when we take a photograph.  I took his photo proudly, hoping I had done him justice even if I had only spoken with him for a moment.  He tried one last time to get me to play his game but the sun was setting and pictures were waiting to be taken.  

Location: Seattle

Lightning Over Salt Lake

I have wanted to get a shot like this for some time.  It seemed every time I tried I was too late, or in the wrong spot.  A few Sunday's ago the west sky was full of lightning and I knew it was the perfect time for some shots.  I wanted to add more elements to the scene instead of just taking a picture of lightning so I went to a viewpoint I had scoped out some time before and composed as best I could for the unpredictable lightning.  It may seem daunting at first, but capturing lightning is actually pretty easy once you know how.  So I put together some tips below.

Capturing Lightning:

1. Use a Tripod.  This is a must for the length of time the shutter will be open.  To reduce any movement during the long shutter speed here are some other tips you should keep in mind*:
1. Turn off IS (Image Stabilization).  If you have your camera on a tripod it is still going to try to compensate for hand holding and make your image a little blurry.
2. Enable Mirror Lock on your camera.  Read the manual or search in your menu to find this.  One shutter click flips the mirror up inside the camera before taking the shot and a second shutter click will take the shot. 
3. Use a Shutter Release Cable.  Touching the camera will produce camera shake.
4. Use a low ISO.
2. Use a longer shutter speed.  Lightning comes and goes quickly, so make it easy on yourself, use a slow shutter speed and any time lightning strikes while your shutter is open (say during a 15 second stretch like the photo above) will show up on the sensor, and on your photo.
3. Find an interesting foreground/subject and work with the lightning around it.  It’s just a shot of lightning if there is nothing else interesting in the photo.
4. Take lots and lots of shots.  You’re not going to get it the first time.  Keep at it.  Find the best (safest) place and shoot away!

*These tips should be practiced any time you use a tripod.  

Photo Series: Bull Rider

When witnessing a "moment" through the viewfinder all you can do is keep shooting.  Emotion and shock are for afterwards.  Focus on the task at hand and you'll get the shot(s).  As I shot this series I couldn't help but think about the photojournalists I look up to and how they photograph what they do. 

Note: The rodeo clown ended up saving the rider from further injury by sitting on the bull's head, as seen in the last photo.  After the bull was corralled the rider got up seemingly unharmed.  

Story: The Bridge

Story: Street Dancing

A dance group enjoys a warm summer night at Library Square (Salt Lake City).  June 13, 2011.

Location: Yosemite

Canon 1Ds Mark II 17-40 mm f/4L

ISO 100 40mm f/22 1/4 sec

Favorite shot of the trip.

Yosemite.  Words such as grandeur, breathtaking, dramatic come to my mind.  A photographer's Mecca.  Ansel Adams' playground.  Rainy.  Crowded.  Snowed in.  On Memorial Day weekend?  Yes.  Unfortunately, everyone else decided to go to Yosemite for their three day weekend, too.  And the weather was good and bad, but mostly bad.  At first, the white cloudy skies were ruining great pictures of falls and El Capitan.  Being a little discouraged of the skies, I turned to the ground.  The mossy trees glowed green and water shots could be captured with a slow shutter speed without using a ND filter.

ISO 100 40mm f/7.1 3.2 sec

Long exposures give water a milky look often resulting in a more pleasing photo.  Note: a tripod is a must for long exposures.  

ISO 100 40mm f/4 1/8 sec

Using a low f number (large aperture) allowed me to really focus on the mossy tree in the center and leave the other layers of trees slightly out of focus, giving the photo depth and focus.

After a painful two hours of traffic, a hike to the nearest falls looked promising, and after a much needed pep talk, sledging through the rain ended up paying off.  The skies were breaking just enough to get some definition in the clouds.  Some clouds hugged the cliffs and skirted around the top just enough to give photos some drama.  Then the sun was gone and the rain poured on.  To be honest, Yosemite is the kind of place where anyone can take good photographs, even if only graced in it's presence for a few hours.

ISO 100 17mm f/10 1.6 sec

3 stop reverse graduated ND Singh-Ray filter

The 3 stop reverse graduated ND Singh-Ray filter holds back the bright clouds and actually gives them definition, the way they were meant to be seen in this magical scene.

ISO 100 17mm f/8 1/30 sec

I love how the clouds look like they are bursting out of the top of this peak.  The clouds bring an emphasis to the grand mountain peak and the trees keep it grounded.

More unfortunate events presented themselves the next morning when snow fall forced anyone without chains to turn back.  You never know what an adventure might bring, whether it's weather, traffic, or incident.  All we can do is roll with the punches and make the best out of what we get.

ISO 100 40mm f/7.1 1/6 sec 

A fresh dusting of snow on the Sequoias in Mariposa Grove.