FACES

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

This was a fun shoot for a local natural skin care company. We are blessed at our studio to have photogenic employees (the model)!


When photographing people in a light and airy manner such as the above photo, it helps to darken the hair, eyelids, eyelashes, etc. with the Burn tool in Photoshop. The subsequent darker areas provide needed contrast for a picture that otherwise would be too washed out.


Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

SKI MOUNTAINS

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

This shot was taken at Mount Tremblant, in Quebec Canada. It is a wonderful ski resort, with great restaurants and a good vibe. When out on the slopes try to take a decent point and shoot, or even better, a small consumer DSLR. Often unexpected photos present themselves due to changing light conditions in relation to the snow.



This shot is dramatic because the artificial snow stuck to all of the trees, and its brightness contrasts nicely with the dark forest beyond. For more drama, increase the contrast setting in your camera, and underexpose slightly. The result of slight underexposure and high contrast settings will be nice rich, deep black tones.

So in conclusion: wherever possible, take your camera! Most of my shots that were winners have been a result of being in the right place at the right time, with a camera in tow.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

ACTIVE D-LIGHTING

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

Newer Nikon D-SLR cameras have a function called Active D-Lighting. When I bought my D300 years ago, the manual said this about D-Lighting: "Active D-Lighting preserves details in highlights and shadows, creating photos with natural contrast. Use for high contrast scenes, for example when photographing brightly lit outdoor scenery through a door or window or taking pictures of shaded subjects on a sunny day."

I find the function works very well for interior architecture and design. The following shot was taken in a beautiful home in Mexico, during one of our San Miguel de Allende photo workshops. The scene was such that when I exposed for the house interior, the door light was blown-out. When I exposed for the door light, the house interior was far too dark. Normally this would be solved with strobes or multiple exposures, however this was not necessary due to the Active D-Lighting option.

Fortunately professional level Nikon features are now starting to find their way into sub-$1,000 camera bodies. The Nikon D5000 for example has Active D-Lighting, 720p HD Video, and the much appreciated ability to take time lapse footage, all for a price below $1,000. Now is the time to experiment with new photographic subject matter, especially as our tools are getting cheaper and more sophisticated each year.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURE

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

Most photographers know that one of the best times to get exteriors is after sunset when the sky has the same luminosity as the interior artificial light. In the winter months this is easy, because the sun sets early in the Northern hemisphere. I would also like to recommend photographing in the same manner with pre-dawn light. This method is harder because it means getting up very early, but the results can be excellent.

Morning pre-dawn light looks quite different than evening views. If the exterior job that you are doing is worth the time, why not do the same scene late evening, and early the next morning? Both scenes will have great light, but the two photos will have significantly different hues and tones.

I took this photo a few weeks ago for friends at the architectural firm Murdock & Boyd, of the E. & P. Senechal Centre in New Brunswick.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

BACKGROUNDS

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

An enjoyable client of mine is Happinez Wine Bar. Each month I am asked to do the Wine of the Month photography, which always stretches my creativity. This month's wine was a deep, dark bottle, and was perfect for a high contrast and graphic treatment.

This post is simply an encouragement to try various backgrounds that at first seem ridiculous. This bottle was photographed at our studio, on top of our ping pong table! For those who know ping pong, you will recognize the white line.

When trying various backgrounds for your subject matter, keep in mind that contrast adjustments will usually aid your photograph. In this instance, I set the camera to maximum contrast, for deep blacks and crisp whites.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

ABSTRACT PATTERNS

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

It is always wise to build up a collection of stock pattern/texture photos. This image is of a window drape with nice warm, late evening backlighting. As it is out of focus, it can be used within many different graphic design or montage experiments.

Look around your house, and when light is shining on a textured or patterned surface, photograph it slightly out of focus, and keep it for later use. The more stock images of this sort that you have, the more tools you will have at your disposal for interesting design or montage projects.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com

MAGAZINE WORK

Dear reader, if this entry or my other blog entries don't answer your specific photography questions, you can call me on the phone anytime for advice by clicking here.

Even though you may not be doing magazine work now, in the future you may need to know how to create space in your photo for text. If possible, it is wise to create a few variations of the same photograph to allow for magazine titles and other text. If creating various copies is not realistic, create your composition to allow for space around the subject for graphic design work. My photo below was composed in such a way as to allow for a text addition at the bottom of the image.

Composing is easy when you have a client who gives you exact specifications. When in doubt, however, choose a wider composition. In the television industry this is called the "TV Safe Area", whereby you compose wider than necessary to account for different viewing platforms.

Mark's photographic prints for your wall can be purchased at www.markhemmings.com
Mark can be hired as a photographer or filmmaker via www.hemmingshouse.com