Bruises and Bandaids »

Do you want to learn how to use your camera on manual? There are only a couple more spots left for my workshop on Saturday, September 18th. This is likely the last workshop for 2010 due to the busy fall that is approaching. So, if you’re interested sign up now or read more details about it.

The details on where I took this shot:
This was taken inside with natural light. No studio lighting and no flash were used. The windows were north facing and the little boy was facing east. So the window light is coming from the right side of the picture. Therefore the right side (when looking at the picture) of the subject is lit up more and the left side of him has more shadows on it. Some people try to avoid shadows, but I happen to like them. They make images realistic. Flash filled pictures have no depth. Everything is lit up. When a picture has shadows it allows the face to look natural, like we really look… for real. I like that. :)

My manual settings on this shot:
ISO – 1600 (inside near a window)
aperture – 2.8
shutter speed – 1/160 second
camera & lens – canon’s fabulous 5D mark II and my 50mm 1.2L (my current favorite lens)

Do you have specific things you’d like to see on this bruises and bandaids blog? Do you have any questions or specific areas of confusion? If so, please leave a comment on this post letting me know what types of things you’d like me to cover on this blog. I would love for this to be a helpful place for you to continue to grow and learn your camera, it’s manual functions, composition, and how to see and use light. So…. leave a comment with a specific question. Too shy for that? Send me a private email message then through my contact page. If I don’t hear anything from all y’all people (assuming one or two people are actually reading my posts. Hee hee…hopefully) then I’ll just pick the topics myself and keep on going. :)

Until then, here’s a pic of my family on a little mini trip to the aquarium. I’ll let you in on how I chose my manual settings and why.

My manual camera settings for this shot below:
ISO – 320 (I chose 320 because it was inside the aquarium, but there was quite a bit of natural light coming through because it was essentially windows everywhere with a wave going over us.)
aperture – 4 (choosing an f stop like f4 allows all three of my boys to be sharply in focus and it also allows you to see a bit of what’s going on in the picture, expressions, some bubbles from the wave, etc)
shutter speed – 1/800 second (chose this shutter speed in order to make the exposure look right)
equipment – canon 5D mark II and my 50mm 1.2L lens

I blogged about this little girl’s pics previously but only when referring to the color and contrast. This time I’m going to focus on composition and my manual camera settings.

These shots were taken outside in the full shade of a building wall. Full shade is the best! Especially for those who are still learning. It’s much more forgiving and easier to shoot in than sun and other tricky lighting situations. Look at the composition of this shot below. She fits into the rule of thirds here.
My manual camera settings for all three of these shots were actually the same:
ISO – 200 (morning, but in full shade)
aperture – 3.2
shutter speed – 1/800

In this picture below the little girl is front and center. It’s all about her and her sweet little smile.

Same location, but pulled back a bit so you can see all of her. She’s sportin’ just a bit of attitude and I love it. :)

My manual settings:
ISO – 160 (sunny bright day, was shooting in open shade from a building)
aperture – 2.8 (love 2.8, love the focus and intensity it brings to the subject and the background is beautiful but seems less important, not super sharp)
shutter speed – 1/800 second (just compensating for the amount of light that needed to come into my camera, lower/slower shutter speed would have been okay for movement but wouldn’t been overexposed)
lens – 50mm 1.2L (can you tell this is my favorite?)

my manual settings:
ISO – 1600 (shot inside near a window, but with my macro lens I need more light)
aperture – 5.0 (with my macro lens I like it to be a bit more closed up so more of her face is sharp)
shutter speed – 1/250 second (again with a 100 mm lens I try to stay faster than 1/100 second for sure so there isn’t movement)
lens – 100mm macro 2.8L IS

I am loving teaching people how to use their cameras. So many people have purchased these fancy digital SLR cameras (you know the bigger cameras where you can change out the lenses) and well, they don’t know how to use all the fabulous buttons and functions on their cameras. Do you want to learn how to use your Digital SLR camera off of auto mode? How to compose a fantastic picture? How to look at light? If you’re interested, I’m doing some workshops focused on how to use your camera and it’s manual functions so that you can have more control over the images you capture.

To sign up, fill out this registration form.

Details
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 ……… OR  ……… Wednesday, August 18, 2010
9:00am to 3:00pm
$175
Registration and payment due when you sign up for class (your spot is not saved until your payment is received. spots are first come first serve)
limited to only 10 people or less per date
includes a workbook of notes, lunch at a nearby favorite restaurant, and lots of hands on knowledge

Here are a few comments from a previous workshop
“Thanks so much for the workshop Cori!!  I feel like I have a brand new camera!!  I would recommend your workshop to anyone!!”
~Kirsten from Orange County

“I would definitely recommend the class to a friend.  Cori made learning my camera fun and took my intimidation of it away.  By the time I left, I felt very confident in manual and I was very excited to go and experiment using the tools Cori taught us. Thanks so much for everything.  Its true–I am so excited to try now whereas I was just frustrated before!!”
~Kristy from Fresno

“I am so appreciative of your workshop.  It helped me to be confident with my camera (which I didn’t even know how to turn on before) and to not be afraid of trying.  I love that you gave me this spark inside to go out and capture every moment I can.  Now I’m not afraid to touch our “fancy camera” and I think I’ll actually be more likely to take it places instead of my little dinky point and shoot.  Thank you for helping me grow and learn!  Can’t wait for the next class… what can we learn next?”
~Amy from Fresno

“I would definitely recommend this workshop to someone else.  I loved that you limited the number of people so that each of us had  plenty of “one on one” time. Whether we were beginners or more advanced, there was plenty to learn and practice.   I also thought it was super helpful to have two live photo shoots.  It gave us the chance to practice what we were learning while receiving great feedback.  It was also really fun to practice with the different lenses. Great workshop!”
~Brooke from Clovis

To sign up, fill out this registration form.

Well, the August workshop is full. Thanks all! It’s so fun to see you all so interested in learning how to actually use your cameras on manual, how to see lighting and compose a picture. Excited to spend time with each of you and your cameras. Keep checking back here for tips that will hopefully help you head more and more in that direction.

And since every blog post is better with a picture here’s a pic of me and my littlest boy. :)

Wowzers…You lovely camera lovin people!! The June 26th workshop is FULL and there are only a few more spots available for the August date. Let me know if you’re interested in learning more about your camera on Saturday, August 7th. Click here for specific details.

Email me or leave a comment if you’re interested in signing up for the August one.

Just wanted to throw an example your way. This picture was shot with my fstop or aperture set at  2.5. Remember, those are the same thing, f-stop and aperture. Two different names, same thing. But anyways, do you see the blur in the background? That’s what you’ll get with 2.5

In case you’re interested, the rest of my settings were:
manual (M)
f-stop: 2.5
ISO: 800
shutter speed: 200
shot inside my house but below my sunroof

Oh and one more thing…..shoes are the cutest part of a little boys’ wardrobe….just in case you wondered. With girls you get bows, dresses, etc. With boys…you get shoes. :)

Get that camera on manual. Just go for it. Take the leap. Do it. Don’t mess around with Av and Tv and P and whatever other pictures are on there. :)  Put it on M. Well, okay you’re allowed to use the auto functions if there’s something important going on, like a first birthday party for your only child or something AND if you are just not getting any decent pictures with manual during those moments. BUT other than that and your brother’s wedding, get on manual. Here’s a quick picture I took of my little t-ball playing boys last week. I’ll share the settings with you so you can get an idea of a starting point.

I had the boys step into the shade. Definitely do your best to use shade when you’re learning. Don’t complicate everything. Learn one thing at a time if possible. Okay, so we’re in the shade. And my ISO is set at 250 because it’s a sunny day and I don’t need it to be any higher. Remember ISO? If not, check it out here and here. My aperture was at 3.5 (remember, that’s the opening in your camera). My shutter speed was 1/200 of a second.

Get out there and try shooting on manual. If you don’t know where to start, go in some shade on a sunny day and start with the settings that I used on this shot of my boys. Then adjust from there…

ISO – 250
aperture – 3.5
shutter speed – 200