Virtual and On-Location Photography

We're all selfie-obsessed!  My sister and I were doing selfies decades ago with film (huh!) cameras but had no way to share. The digital mobile phone has turned Selfies into a necessary component of socializing even to only to share online if you're sheltering in place. Over 17 million self-photos are uploaded to social media every week - with those individuals over-55 taking more pics than those aged 18-24. If that many pics are being uploaded imagine how many are being taken daily ~ badly! With summer NOW and Selfies an obsession we're in for quite a season of dropping our phones, bumping into people and falling over anyone in our way.  These 3 tips will help you take better Selfies and avoid walking into traffic when we eventually can walk around in traffic! These tips also work well with or without a mask.  1 - Make sure the light is toward or at least a 45 degree angle to your face. Note: Do not face bright sun without some sort of shade...

This is going to be short and sweet. PUT A HEADSHOT ON YOUR LINKED IN ACCOUNT!!!  Do I sound like I'm screaming? Sorry - I am. I'm a little edgy right now. Hope you understand. Do you follow or trust anyone on LinkedIn who won't post a current headshot on their account? Next worse thing to no headshot is posting a 20 year old photo but that's a different argument. Once you have a proper headshot how about filling in all the blue space? It's prime advertising space. Even just a logo is better than blue. I like blue but not on a LinkedIn Cover Image. Use these dimensions from the LinkedIn help page when you want to update your LinkedIn photos.  TAB MODULE MINIMUM IMAGE SIZE RECOMMENDED IMAGE SIZE Page Logo Image 300 (w) x 300 (h) pixels 300 (w) x 300 (h) pixels Page Cover Image 1192 (w) x 220 (h) pixels 1584 (w) x 396(h) pixels You may not be thinking about headshots, advertising, your job, your future - it's understandable. When you do decide to...

After spending a ton of money on equipment with a plan to make promotional videos for my photography business I was frustrated when I could not get all the equipment to work together. I know my photography equipment inside and out but when it came to producing video not so much, actually not at all! Out of frustration I did a search on line (of course) and found a simple, low cost option that includes what you already have. This hack is particularly for iPhone users but may also apply to other mobile phone cameras as well. This link will take you to a quick video  with the instructions as well that may give you a good visual way to implement the solution for yourself. I will outline here as well. Find something you can put the phone on that is stable. I have a mini-tripod which isn't very expensive and helps. You have a choice of many specifically to hold a mobile phone. Position the camera horizontally which is best for almost all uses. Take the headset provide...

We're all selfie-obsessed! The digital mobile phone has turned Selfies into a necessary component of socializing but definitely not an art.   Did you know that over 17 million self-photos are uploaded to social media every week - with those individuals over-55 taking more pics than those aged 18-24. If that many pics are being uploaded imagine how many are being taken daily. Astonishing. With a new year ahead of us and Selfies an obsession we're in for quite a year of dropping our phones, bumping into people or falling over anyone in our way to get that very special selfie.   These examples will help you take better Selfies and avoid walking into traffic. Photo 1 through 4 were taken in the same room within a 10 minute timeframe. You can see how direction can impact the resulting photo. Photo 5 was in a meeting room with overhead lighting. Photo 1 ~  Make sure the light is toward or at least a 45 degree angle to your face. Th...

The holidays are upon us and planning the season has kicked in. I took my vampire and witch Halloween 'dolls' out (they will enjoy the light until January 2), we're planning Thanksgiving dinner and hosting a comfort soup party on January 1. Between now and when the activities are in full swing many of us will also be planning holiday cards (hopefully with professional photography but that's a different story), event invitations and more. I'm currently scheduling mini-photo sessions for Saturday November 16 in DC Ranch, North Scottsdale. Get in touch to schedule your session and receive a FREE digital photo optimized for  your holiday cards or wherever you prefer.  There are several companies that do wonderful printing for reasonable prices. The labs I use have good quality paper, fantastic range of designs and great pricing. They're easy to set up - just drag and drop. Add a personal message and you're in good shape for the holidays. Vistapri...

How often have you taken a pic and at least someones's single eyeball is the only thing that shows up in the photo. Or you can see two eyes peeking out under the arm pit of someone who should be in the back row. Ha, happens all the time. Try these tips: Arrange short people in front! Little kids in front of them. It's OK to sit on the ground or front row chairs depending on how many you have in the group so you can get everyone in the photo. This sounds like a duh head slapper but people aren't always aware of if can or cannot be seen in the photos. Next time you're doing a group photo make this announcement... "If you can't see the camera, the camera can't see you!" ...then wait for everyone to reassemble themselves.  You'll get better group photos this way. Have fun at your next party. I hope this little tidbit is helpful.  If you enjoy my articles, I’d love to hear what you liked best. Please feel free to pass these tips on...

You may never need to know these things but for every budding photographer who has a smartphone and may transition to a point and shoot here's the  lowdown on some technical terms and what they mean.  At a minimum the next time you have a portrait taken by a professional photographer you can impress them with your knowledge of the terminology!  Definitions: Aperture Aperture (opening)  Think of the lens as a window—large windows or wide angles let in more light, while small windows let in less light. A wide open aperture will let more light into the image for a brighter photo, while a smaller aperture lets in less light. Aperture is measured in f-stops; a small f-stop like f/1.8 is a wide opening, a large f-stop like f/22 is a very narrow one. Aperture is one of three camera settings that determine an image’s exposure, or how light or dark it is. Aperture also affects how much of the image is in focus—wide apertures result in that cr...

This photo tip is a little advanced. I want to talk about clothing color balance which is a subtle detail that is often overlooked particularly in bestie selfies. When you take a photo of the family or friends think about where they should be placed in the group pose. A good start is placing people by height (remember the tip - "if you can't see the camera, it can't see you").   Next consider what they're wearing. Placement of color, tones, light/dark and patterned clothes can kill or enhance the photo. I did the Red Carpet photos in this blog for the Leukemia Man and Woman of the year. Observe how I placed people to balance the colors and heights. It won't always work to be this detailed, after all you want to have fun when you're using your smartphone to take pics. Take a few second when you're getting ready to take the shot. You'll be amazed at how this will improve your photos. Enjoy! If you enjoy the articles, I’d love to hear what...

Everyone is photogenic but many of my clients start out thinking that they aren't because they believe they have never taken a good photo. And maybe they haven't. With the standard in today's world of selfies and point and shoots it's impossible for most people to show off their best features. There's a lot that goes into being photogenic and what you see in photos of celebrities isn't always who they are off camera. “Even I don't wake up looking like Cindy Crawford.”   Cindy Crawford Cindy is being modest, but all professional photos have some retouching done without compromising who the person is in the photo. Photoshop is designed for that. So much of what changes an individual's look (the photogenic factor) in photographs is lighting and angles. Angles are affected by professional posing, camera and lighting placement. Then there's an inner glow that I can't explain but it's like a light switch.  Ugly? Never....

Photography may not seem complicated to the mobile phone clicker but there are a lot of 'rules' that can help you take better and look better in pictures.  I've compiled a few relaxed ways of making your pictures look terrific. (Of course there's always the option to hire a professional photographer but that's a topic for another blog!) Light is everything. Arrange for the light to be on either shoulder to a 90 degree angle No light in back or in front (make squinty eyes) Use light/bright surfaces to reflect light What you use to reflect will change the color of what you’re shooting Use your automatic settings based on what your light is…sun, shade, clouds – it changes the color of the final photo. Your camera!  Get familiar with it.  Unless you are comfortable using all manual setting to manage ISOs, aperture and shutter speed use the automatic settings for sun, shade, clouds, action etc. Shooting better selfies Please, no  cutesy  poutin...