rocky, van nuys ca.
January 22nd, 2009Rocky is a total rockstar and incredibly professional model. He was so good at listening to his mama’s commands and really worked hard for our shoot. We met at one of my most popular places to shoot and had a great morning.
One of the most frequently asked questions I get asked is regarding lighting — Do I use flash, do my clients just have ridiculously well lit homes, etc etc etc. When I shoot indoors, I try to avoid using flash as my main light as much as possible. My tips for shooting indoors for are:
#1) Shoot with a fast lens, and shoot wide open.
#2) Try to find the best light in the house. Use windows as your light source. Good light trumps location.
#3) Shoot manual. Play with the ISO and crank it up if you have to. Blurry, out of focused images just stink and take the life right out of a potentially good portrait.
If you’re shooting outdoors and want awesome light:
#1) Try to avoid shooting in harsh sunlight. This creates ugly highlights and shadows. I generally only shoot when natural light is best, which is early in the morning or right before sunset.
#2) If you’re shooting outside and it’s super bright out, use a fill flash. I use a flash a lot when I’m shooting a back-lit subject and want the gorgeous sunflare from behind, but want to have a properly exposed subject.
#3) If you’re shooting outside and it’s super bright and you want to shoot a backlit subject but don’t happen to have a flash, try changing your metering mode to SPOT (it looks like a little dot) and expose for your subject. This tends to brighten up the subject so you don’t get a dark silhouette.
The second most frequently asked question I get (and I get this question nearly every blog post!) is what lens I use. 99.9% of my photos are shot with either the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens or the Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM lens. I really don’t need any other lens in my bag, and if I find myself in need of another like the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L lens (for when I’m at the beach or dog park) I just rent them from my favorite neighborhood camera store.
A lot of people who use the 50 mm f/1.4 lens are surprised to find out we’re shooting with the same lens. The trick to getting the most out of this beeeyoootiful piece of glass is learning to ABSOLUTELY PERFECT your focusing. I always try to focus on the eyes, unless I’m intentionally focusing on the nose, tongue, etc. I also don’t let my camera choose my focusing point for me. I always shoot with the focus set to the center point and reframe.
Whew this turned into a novel! I’m going to start a Photographer FAQ section on the blog to address more questions so stay tuned. Any more questions? Feel free to ask!
(Click on small photos to enlarge)
My client was a little shy about posing with Rocky but she’s just gorgeous! This is one of my favorite pet + owner photos to date.
Our photoshoot was to commemorate Rocky’s 1st birthday on January 30th. So happy early birthday Rocky! Hope you love the photos Sharyn!
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Not only are your photos always amazing, I love that you’re willing to talk photography!
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Great photos and great tips! I rarely use my flash outside - I will have to try that!
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Oh my gosh thanks so much for sharing. I was hoping you might answer my question from the last post, but a “novel” about lighting is way better. Thanks for taking the time to share your wisdom.
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Rocky is SO cute! I love them all. Especially the one where you can see the sand on his face, and the owner + pet shot is so sweet. Thank you for sharing the info… it’s so helpful!!
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 am
Your last 2 posts are really impressive - great light, but mostly the way you place things in the frame…your design skills really show through….The Canon 50mm f1.4 is a great lens for the money, in fact, it’s the bargain of the century! You’re so lucky having a lens rental store nearby…More photo-geek stuff please.
Question: How many shots do you usually take in a session, and how many of these do the clients get to see?
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:18 am
Looks like another fruitful sesison of great pics
I like primes too and am actually considering selling my 85/1.8 and gettting a 135/2 as I just got my 5D !
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:01 am
The photos are amazing as always! Thank you for sharing all your tips. You’re an amazing dog photographer (dare I say the best?)
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:07 am
Beautiful shots! I have a 50mm 1.4 as well and it’s like the love of my life. Although lately I’ve been finding it to be a little too tight for indoor shots. The lens I most frequently use these days is my 17-55mm 2.8 (I’m a Nikon girl). I had thought about the 24-70mm 2.8 but decided I wanted something on the wider end of the spectrum. Also, the 24-70 is a beast, twice as heavy. Even with the 17-55, I find myself prone to camera shake b/c it’s so heavy. Does this happen to you? How long are you holding onto your camera per shoot? Do you find your hands are on fire afterwards, or do you just get used to it?
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:11 am
Hey thanks for all the comments and feedback. I’m glad the tips are helpful! I’ll do another blog post to answer the additional questions separately.
Simon — thanks for the comment re: composition and design! I have a lot of fun shooting with small dogs as they’re like little puzzle pieces just begging to be placed in interesting places in frame.
Nick — woo hoo congrats on the new camera!!
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Oh my gosh, he is CUTE! He must’ve been so much fun to photograph! And thanks so much for sharing the lighting info, I’ve been wondering how you do it!
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Thanks for the information. I do a lot of shooting with the 50mm 1.8 and I have been considering trying the 1.4 for awhile. Now that I see that you use it I am going to get it. I agree, you are the best pet photographer!
You didn’t mention any of your post processing techniques, maybe in another blog post?
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Don’t give away all your secrets, Grace!
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:42 pm
ACE — I’ll be sure to include some processing tips in a future post!
Mark — Ohhh a lady doesn’t tell ALL her secrets
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I can’t pick a favorite - they are all just too awesome.
January 24th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Oh another eyes closed shot! My favorite!
January 25th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Hah, this is so funny. I had just asked about the 1.4. (I have the 1.8) and you answered my questions. Teresa had different answers. You should go check it out. Photographer’s FAQ is a great idea. I could turn all of those many email inquiries into a Q/A forum, instead of having Christina reply to all of them “jamie is up to her eyeballs in work”.
January 25th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
one other thing. Rocky has the coolest tag! it looks ginormous on him, which just ups the cuteness factor.
January 31st, 2009 at 11:56 pm
I love the contrast of the big grafitti monster with little Rocky sitting in front!
And thanks heaps for your tips, I’m off to try them all!
April 15th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Thank you for all the great photos and information you provide. It is very inspiring!
Just wondering if you used a full frame camera to take these photos of Rocky.
Thank you in advance for your reply!
Lynn
Ontario, Canada
April 20th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Hey Line, yes I used a full frame camera for these photos!
July 2nd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
[…] right, it’s little Rocky, the adorable Yorkie I photographed back in the beginning of the year. Yeah how funny is that - the photo was shot in […]