Photography While in Quarantine - Part 2

For some of us, it has been almost two months since the first of the stay at home orders were implemented and we had to go in quarantine. This year has been one of many surprising things and while things so far look bleak, there’s always a ray of light leaking from a corner of your life.

Many of you are running out of things to do during this quarantine. In my previous post, I talked about buying your first DSLR camera if you would like to take photography as a hobby or if you want to become eventually a professional photographer. Now that you have your camera you are wondering what to do with it if you can’t get out of the house. Well, there’s a lot of stuff that you can do and in this post I’m going to give you some ideas.

Photography related activities that you can do during COVID-19 quarantine and after:

1. Learn to use your camera in manual mode. You purchased your new camera and you would like to move away from auto mode. When moving from auto mode to manual, there are several parameters that you need to take in consideration to get a proper exposure. That’s where the exposure triangle comes in. It includes: aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. These three parameters influence how your final image looks. When you are in auto mode, your camera chooses the best parameters to create a proper exposure. When you move to manual mode, you decide what aperture you want to use and the same goes for ISO, and shutter speed. In a nutshell, the aperture is how big the opening of the lens is. The bigger the aperture, the more light comes in. But with a bigger aperture you also change the depth of field. When the aperture is wide open only certain areas of the images are in focus. For example, images in which the background is completely blurred and the subject is in focus have a wider aperture compared to those images that everything is in focus. An analogy to this is when you squint your eyes so you can focus your eyesight and get a sharper image. Many lenses have apertures that go from 1.4 to 32. But don’t be fooled by these numbers. To simplify things I won’t go into the math behind these numbers, but in summary the smaller the number the bigger the aperture. The bigger the number the smaller the aperture and less light hits the sensor.

   The shutter speed is how long it takes the camera to take a shot. With fast shutter speeds you can freeze motion, but also less light hits the sensor. A slower shutter speed allows more light to enter the sensor.

   The ISO is how sensitive your sensor is to light. As you increase the number, your sensor becomes more sensitive to light, but also introduces noise to the image.

   To familiarize yourself with these three parameters, you can also use some of the other modes that come with your camera. Most cameras have the aperture priority and shutter speed modes. When you use these parameters, you control one and the camera controls the rest. For example, in aperture priority mode you choose your aperture to be f2.8 because you want to blur the background. Then your camera chooses your shutter speed and ISO.

   This all seem like a lot of information at once. I only scraped the surface. But if you would like to learn more, I would recommend reading a book like Understanding Manual Exposure from Bryan Peterson or to take a class. There are many online classes that you can take. I really like the ones from Clickinmoms. The Clickinmoms organization is a great community and in their website there are many free tutorials that you can access once you acquire a membership. There are two types of memberships: annual and lifetime. Whichever one you choose, it’s worth every penny. They also have online classes that usually last 4 weeks. Each week you learn new information and there’s an assignment for which you will get feedback from your instructor and the teacher assistants. You can also go to their magazine website, Click Magazine, in which you’ll find many useful articles for free. No membership is required to access the articles in the magazine website.

2. Document your quarantine. During this quarantine, I’ve been documenting my kids’ activities. They have been doing online schoolwork, playing outside, painting our storm door, and we have also gone hiking.

When you are documenting your life at home keep your camera nearby with a lens ready to go. I usually keep my camera in the kitchen counter with my 50mm lens, and when I see a scene folding in front of my eyes I go grab quickly the camera and take a few pictures of what is happening.

Documenting your days is also about perspective. You can shoot from above, in front of you, from below, etc. Also, it’s important to document the details. Below is a picture that I shot of my kid painting the door As you can see, it’s from a higher point of view as I am standing and looking down to the floor where he is.

When you are documenting the details think about focusing on something small. For example, when my kids were painting the door I took a picture of their hands with the paintbrush. In the pictures below, you can see that I documented basically the same detail shot, but from different perspectives which gives you a different insight into what is going on. A lot of times, an image of a detail doesn’t include a face. Rather, the subject of the image is an inanimate object or any other area of the body that is not the face. To me these images are like little windows into what is happening and they make you feel closer to the action like you were there when it happened.

3. Create a memories book. Once the quarantine is over and the stay at home orders are lifted I’m planning to create a memory book. As I mentioned before, I’ve been documenting many of our activities during this time and I want to print these images in a format that is ready available to us to look at whenever we want. It’s very important to print your images and not leave them out of sight inside a hard drive somewhere. When you print your images and hang them on your walls you see them all the time and somehow having them in your hands make them feel real. Since I’ve been taken so many images and they all won’t fit on my wall, a photo book is the perfect format for us to have them available. I usually order my prints from high quality labs. When you order your prints from low quality labs like the ones from your nearby pharmacy store or wholesale club, the colors in the prints might not look like the ones from the digital file and the quality overall is not optimal. There are many good quality labs out there, but I like Printique as their prices are affordable and the quality of the prints is excellent.

4. Research a photographer. At any point during your photography journey, you should not compare yourself to other photographers. Each person is in a different journey and at a different stage and comparing yourself to somebody else is fruitless. Since each person’s journey is different, your images will never look like someone else’s. Many times we get disappointed because our images don’t look like the ones from a certain photographer, but what we don’t realize is that this other person might have been already shooting for a decade or longer, and I guarantee you that when he or she started, his or her images did not look at all the way they look now in the present day. That being said you can still look at other photographer’s work for inspiration. You can learn from them things like perspective, composition, use of light, editing style, etc. Some of my favorite photographers are Ansel Adams, Brooke Shaden, Caroline Jensen, and Elena S. Blair. If you look at, for example, Brooke Shaden’s work you will see that it is completely different from my work, but that doesn’t stop me from admiring her work. She shares her shooting and editing techniques so there’s always something new that I can learn from her. When I research other photographers I do it with the purpose of enjoying their work and learning from them. Some of the things that I learn from them I apply them to my own work, but many times I don’t. Many times I just like to watch their process.

I hope some of these ideas inspire you to go grab your camera and enjoy documenting your life.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means that I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you if you click on the link and buy something. All my recommendations are based on my own experience and that of fellow photographers that have shared their opinions with me. I only write about products that I believe in.

Photography While in Quarantine - Part 1

It has been a month since we started this quarantine. Many of you have completed several house projects, cleaned the house, baked as many muffins and cupcakes as your kids will eat, and cooked your entire pantry. If you are running of things to do or you just don’t want to do any more house chores now is a great time to start a new hobby or learn a new skill.

Photography is a great hobby, one that you can turn into a business or just keep it as a hobby. You are ready to move from your iPhone and you would like to learn to take better pictures by moving from auto to manual mode. But you have no idea where to start. That’s why I’m here to help you.

Before we can start taking pictures, we need to buy a camera. There are many options out there from point and shoot cameras to DSLRs and Mirroless cameras. But which one is the best one for you?

Here are a few questions to consider when you decide to purchase your new camera:

1. What kind of pictures do I want to take?

   Before you decide which camera to buy, think about what kind of images you want to take. Do you just want to take better pictures of your children? Do you want to take mainly landscapes photos? Do you want to become a professional photographer? Do you want to do macro photography? Are you going to be taking a lot of pictures at night or in low light situations?

2. What is your budget?

   I believe buying a camera is an investment. You want your camera to last you a long time so you want a good quality camera. There are many brands out there that can satisfy most budgets. Olympus, Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, Fujifilm, etc. are all good brands that offer cameras with different specs. I, personally, shoot with Nikon and I’m very satisfied with their performance. I know other photographers that prefer Canon. A lot of times the brand that you end up choosing speaks more about your personal preferences than about the quality of the brand.

3. Mirrorless or DSLR

   You are probably thinking what is the difference. In a DSLR camera, there’s an optical viewfinder through which you see the image that is reflected from the mirror. What you see through the optical viewfinder is not the final image and any changes or adjustments you make will not be visible before you press the shutter. In a mirroless camera, there is an electronic viewfinder that offers a live view and shows you how the final image will look. The electronic viewfinder is like a small LCD. Any changes or adjustments you make, you will see them through the electronic viewfinder. This type of camera also doesn’t have a mirror which makes it smaller and lighter compared to a DSLR.

Now, let’s take a look at different types of DSLR cameras and their specs.

1. Entry DSLR. There are many entry DSLRs in the market. My first camera was a Nikon D3300. I bought the camera with the lens kit. The latest model of this line of cameras is the Nikon D3500. The Canon EOS Rebel T7i have similar features to the Nikon D3500. You can always buy the camera without the lens kit and just buy a prime lens. A prime lens has a fixed length (i.e. 35, 50, 85mm, etc.) and you can’t zoom. One of the advantages of a prime lens is that they have larger apertures. I would recommend for your first prime lens what many people refer as a nifty fifty, Nikkor 50mm or from a third party company like Sigma Art lenses. Most of my lenses are from third party companies. They are high quality lenses, but with a lower price tag. While prime lenses offer larger apertures and usually the images are sharper, great pictures can be taken with the lens kit. I took the picture below with the 18-35mm lens that came with my Nikon D3300.

2. Semi-professional DSLR - If you see yourself outgrowing an entry a DSLR then a semi professional DSLR might be the right option for you. Once I outgrew my entry DSLR, I purchased a Nikon D750. This is an excellent camera that will allow you to take excellent pictures in all kind of situations. For Canon, a comparable camera to the Nikon D750 would be the Canon 5d Mark IV

But you might wonder, what are the differences between an entry DSLR or a semipro. When purchasing a camera, it is important to look at their specs. These include:

1. Sensor. There are different types of sensors. The two main types of sensors are APS-C and Full Frame. A full frame sensor is the size of 35mm film and an APS-C sensor is cropped which means that the available area is smaller. With a full frame camera you can capture more of the scene. This is specially helpful when taking landscape pictures. It also captures more detailed pictures and it performs better in low light situations. The Nikon D3500 has an APS-C sensor while the Nikon D750 has a full frame sensor.

2. Megapixels. The more megapixels in a camera the more details you will be able to preserve when enlarging your pictures. Cameras with 20 megapixels or more will allow you to enlarge your pictures beyond an 8x10. But the more megapixels the camera has, the larger the files will be. The Nikon Z7 (this is a mirroless camera) has 45.7 megapixels vs a Nikon D750 which has 24.3. The Nikon Z7 produces files larger than 20MB. I photograph weddings with the Nikon D750 and the quality is superb.

3. ISO Range. What is ISO? The ISO refers to the sensitivity of the sensor towards light. Many of today’s cameras have very high ISOs (i.e. 25000) that allows the camera to take great images under low light situations. But higher ISO also introduces noise to the images. So usually you want to keep your ISO as low as possible to avoid noise, but if you have to choose between a well exposed picture with noise vs an underexposed picture without noise always choose the settings that will give you the well exposed picture. Sometimes, the exposure (how bright or dark the picture is) can be adjusted in post processing, but if the picture is too dark or too bright you take the risk of losing details in those very dark and bright areas and they can’t be recovered.

4. Video. Most cameras now have the ability to record video with resolution of 4k and there are some cameras that can reach resolutions of up to 6k.

5. Image Stabilization. This feature compensates camera shaking. Most DSLRs don’t have image stabilization in their body. Instead, many lenses come with this feature. Mirrorless cameras tend to have in body camera stabilization.

All these factors, along with size, weight, and ergonomics, are very important when choosing your new camera. Feel free to post in the comments any questions and let me know which camera did you end up buying.

*This is part 1 of a series of posts for those that will like to learn photography and start moving from auto to manual mode.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means that I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you if you click on the link and buy something. All my recommendations are based on my own experience and that of fellow photographers that have shared their opinions with me. I only write about products that I believe in.

CHRISTMAS MINI SESSIONS PART 2

We are less than two days away from the New Year and I feel like 2019 just went in a poof. So many wonderful things happened this year. I got to meet so many wonderful families and below I want to show you some of my favorite pictures from their Christmas Mini Sessions.

First is this awesome family of six. They always like to include in their family portraits the star the little girl is holding. That’s such a great idea, having something that always looks the same throughout the years, but highlights how the family changes. I think it’s such a wonderful tradition.

This little boy’s eyes lighted up when he saw this book. He loved it. I have to say this book was a hit.

These three girls are so funny and cute and their matching outfits make the perfect family portrait for the perfect Christmas card.

I hope everyone had an excellent 2019 and that 2020 brings everyone so many good things. Happy New Year!!!

CHRISTMAS MINI SESSIONS PART 1

The holidays is one of my favorite times of the year. Not just because of all the festivities and the joyous atmosphere. But also because it’s a great time to be a Connecticut photographer. This year I was so excited to offer Christmas Mini Sessions. The sessions were done at Geer Tree Farm in Griswold, CT. It’s such a wonderful farm with beautiful views and so many gorgeous Christmas Trees. If you have never gone, please consider doing so. You won’t regret it.

I had the opportunity of photographing so many wonderful families. In this post and in a few more I will showcase some of my favourite pictures.

I love being a Connecticut family photographer. This family had the most gorgeous smiles and this baby boy loved to read, play with the ornaments, and being held up in the air by his dad. Every time Dad held him he just burst in laughter. Below are some of my favorite pictures from their session.

These siblings braved the cold and gave me the cutest smiles. It was so much fun to photograph them. They loved running around the farm, playing with the ornaments, and trying to decorate the trees. Big sister was so good with little brother and she also loved to pose for the camera. Below are some of my favorite portraits from their session.

Fall Session at Ledyard Sawmill Park

I can’t believe is December already. Technically, it’s still Fall, but it definitely feels like Winter when you go outside and feel the cold air and see the snow in the ground. This Fall season has been beautiful and there were plenty of places with beautiful foliage to do a Fall family session.

One of those places is the Ledyard Sawmill Park, one of the few remaining sash sawmills in North America. The Ledyard Sawmill Park started operating in 1877 under the direction of Israel Brown, the owner and builder. Eventually, the sawmill passed onto the hands of Harry C.W. Main, and stayed open and operating until 1938 when it was damaged by a hurricane. It sat unused until the town of Ledyard purchased it in 1966. The sawmill reopened in 1975 after it was restored. It is currently operated by volunteers that demonstrate to visitors how the more than a century old technology works http://www.ledyardsawmill.org/history/history-timeline.

With so much history and beauty, the Ledyard Sawmill Park was the perfect place for this gorgeous family’s session. The foliage, the pond, the sawmill, and the dam that helps power the sawmill serve as beautiful backgrounds.

As a Connecticut lifestyle photographer, I treasured the opportunity of capturing special moments for each and every family that I meet. I enjoyed so much seeing this smart and beautiful girl interacting with her awesome brother, seeing how much she and her mom love each other, and the love that her parents demonstrate to each other.

I feel lucky to have witnessed and captured so many beautiful moments of this family. And I’m happy to know that they can treasured these moments forever.

Fall Session at Gillette Castle State Park

Fall is a wonderful season that shows us how splendid and magnificent nature is. This is the season when all our senses get put to work with the beautiful sights of leaves changing colors, the feeling of the crisp air in the morning, and the tastes of apple deserts, and pumpkin drinks and dishes. Fall is also perfect for family sessions. The orange, red, and yellow colors on the leaves serve as a beautiful background along with the many beautiful places that we are lucky to have here in Connecticut.

One of those beautiful places is Gillette Castle State Park. A medieval looking castle located in East Haddam and that served as the residence of William Gillette. When Gillette died he left direct instructions that requested that the property didn’t fall into the hands "of some blithering saphead who has no conception of where he is or with what surrounded." (source) Hopefully, he would have been pleased knowing that his property is enjoyed and appreciated by many including me. So no blithering saphead here.

With so much beauty and history, Gillette Castle makes the perfect place for Fall family portraits. I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting this beautiful mom and daughter and taking her portraits with her family.

It was so much fun to photograph such a wonderful family. During a session, I love to capture the personality of all the family members, specially the kids. This little girl is adorable and she had so much love to give to her mom, her grandparents, and her uncle. She’s got such a beautiful smile, and her curiosity and laughter was contagious. Below are some of my favorites from this session.