Photo from a recent wedding shot by Ryan Forrester. Contact Ryan Forrester: (407)792-0601.
August 13, 2010
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Photo from a recent wedding shot by Ryan Forrester. Contact Ryan Forrester: (407)792-0601.
Prepare to be cuted to death.
This was my first attempt at an HDR, which ended up taking me back to a slightly more detailed version of my original image. But it was a great learning experience in understanding how HDRs work. I am going to try some more very soon.
Strobist info:
Camera right (behind me) Canon 430EX with a lightsphere pointed up in the air at 1/2 power
Camera right (in front of me) P7000M bounced off a white wall 5 ft away 1/2 power
Both triggered with cactus v2s system.
Reflecting on times spent with family and friends always brings me great joy.
A shot from a recent Hindu wedding I covered
The light is dim
the feeling is dark
the shadow protects me
it saves me from light
when i feel all alone
with no place to go
the shadow is there
it helps me find my way home
when the world has deserted me
when no one seems to care
i can always count on my shadow
i know it will be there
- Shadows
by Joseph Kling
Planning a wedding can be a logistics nightmare, and worst of all, often takes the focus away from the real reason behind the ceremony. Getting everything just right can be nerve wracking, and though family members and friends will undoubtedly appreciate all the hard work, it’s easy to forget that they are there to celebrate the union of two people and not to pass judgment on the facilities, decorating and catering.
Many couples are now choosing an alternative to the traditional wedding, one that is every bit as exciting and enjoyable for them as it is for the guests they include.
Orlando, Florida, is known for many things, especially fun-filled vacations and great weather year ‘round. As Kyle Collins, Director of Interactive Marketing for HotelsCorp.com, pointed out recently, however, “Orlando is also becoming the new wedding hotspot, and for good reason.”
So why wed in Orlando instead of in the city or town you live?
“Basically, an Orlando wedding is all about enjoying your wedding experience and leaving the legwork to the professionals,” asserts Collins. “You can customize your wedding to any theme, have an almost unlimited number of choices for the venue and probably spend less than you would at home. Before and after the wedding, a couple can enjoy all that the city has to offer, which takes them out of their element and away from the pressures of the upcoming nuptials.”
While a wedding should be centered on the future bride and groom, there’s no escaping the fact that weddings are best when friends and family are near.
“The best part of an Orlando wedding,” continues Collins, “is that guests will also have access to all that Orlando has to offer. They can enjoy not only the wedding, but themselves as well. Whether they come for a day, a weekend or a week, guests will be able to celebrate with the happy couple and still enjoy activities that are geared toward their individual tastes.”
Indeed, Orlando is a city like no other, and what better place for an event like no other?
“The sheer number of things to do, the great weather and the affordability of Orlando are all part of the reasons why it’s become so popular for weddings,” says Collins. “After all, weddings were meant to be celebrated and enjoyed, and there are few places better suited for celebration and enjoyment than Orlando.”
We live in a world where digital cameras have become something totally irreplaceable in our every day lives. We rely on them just like we do on mobile phones. We rely on them to take and store our pictures and precious moments in the camera memory cards.
However, what happens when these memory cards become damaged, corrupt or we accidentally format the sd card? If we delete these pictures from the memory card, is it all possible to restore them?
In most cases, you will be happy to know, it is highly unlikely that the files and data on those memory card is completely deleted and can be restored. Using some photo recovery tool, it is possible to restore your deleted or erased pictures with little fuss. You can even recover formatted pictures from sd card.
However, if you continue using your camera after formatting it and continue taking pictures the chances of successfully restoring ALL your pictures is slight. This is because the new pictures you have taken have now overwritten the older ones. Below are common situations you might find yourself in. You might want to restore deleted pictures if you have:
Accidentally pulled out the memory card while your digital camera is on
This is a common problem. You will find yourself in a situation where your memory card has become too damaged and corrupted. To restore your pictures, you will need a good picture recovery program.
“Media is not formatted would you like to format now?” or “Memory Card Not Formatted”
If you are getting this error, your pictures can still be recovered. This error again means that your memory card is corrupt. Don’t take any more photos and try a picture recovery program to get your pictures back. If you don’t need them, format your card and this should get rid of this error message.
Recover Pictures from SD Card after format
Even if you have formatted the card or used the Delete-All option, you can still retrieve your pictures after format if you act quickly. You can undelete your pictures because the digital camera wont overwrite that data immediately and just makes it available for use. If you have an Olympus camera that uses an xD card, once you re-format your xD card the pictures can’t be restored unfortunately.
As you can see, we are relying more and more on these memory card and digital cameras to record our special moments. However, it seems that our pictures are easier to get lost these days, corrupted or damaged than back in the film camera times. Memory cards can easily become corrupted and have a limited time span and there is always that dangerous “Delete All” button!
There is probably no type of photography that is more disappointing to the beginner than flash photography. Unlike natural-light photography, where what you see can often be what you get, it is difficult to visualize what the effects of using flash will be. Flash is shut off until the moment of exposure, and then its illumination is too brief to visually evaluate what it does to your picture.
The real learning process occurs over time, with trial and error. You should not expect to become an instant expert at flash photography, but persistence and observation (constantly comparing your pictures with earlier ones, and identifying not only the problems to overcome, but the successes you have achieved) will give you the experience you need to control flash and produce consistently-good flash pictures.
Generally, poor lighting conditions results in poor pictures. Usually you don’t need flash for normal daytime outdoor shots unless it’s very gloomy. Keep in mind that flash has a very limited range so it should only be used when the subject is fairly close. Use a fill flash to help lighten up a subject which in deep shadow.
It is best to avoid using flash indoors unless absolutely necessary: it tends to “burn out” subjects and can create harsh shadows. A better choice is to bounce the flash off the ceiling if your camera and flash support this option.
Another option is to let as much daylight in as possible and, turn on all of the lights. You have the option of using fill flash when there’s enough light in the scene but your subject isn’t well lit.
Under certain circumstances you might want to turn the flash off and let the camera deal with the low light condition by increasing exposure. This won’t work in very dim conditions, but can give better results than flash. Be sure to guard against camera shake.
Digital cameras are less sensitive to light than traditional film cameras. If you are shooting indoors or in a low-light situation, even with the flash, you should move close enough to the subject for the flash to be effective (no more than 10 feet away). If this is a concern, some digital cameras allow you to use accessory flashes or studio-type lighting.
If you set your digital camera on Auto, the camera will attempt to determine the need for flash based on the lighting conditions, but you still should use the manual setting when appropriate such as using the flash in bright sunlight to reduce intense shadows.
In typical indoor situations there will probably not be enough light to take a normal hand-held well-exposed photo. There are many indoor flash photo opportunities you may be faced with. You may want to cast light on a group of people for a portrait photo. You may want to throw light into a room for an architectural photo. Or you may just want to cast light on certain objects in a lighted room that appears too dark for an exposure.
If your camera’s auto-exposure settings say that the photo would require a shutter speed slower than 1/60 of a second then you probably shouldn’t hand-hold the camera or the photo would come out blurry. The reason it would come out blurry is because the shutter would be open long enough for any minor hand shake to distort the composition. The use of a tripod or faster film will probably be needed but many of us do not regularly carry a tripod. Most photographers simply use their flash bulb when they are inside.
In order to take effective indoor flash photos there are some techniques you should keep in mind. When using the flash do not point it directly at a mirror or glass that will create a lens flare or just ruin the photo. Stand close enough to your subjects so the flash is actually effective (four to ten feet). Try to make sure your main subjects are about the same distance away from the flash as each other or some that are closer to the flash will appear brighter than ones that are farther away.
Fill flash fills in the areas of a photo that would normally appear too dark. Fill flash can be used for sunny day portraits for shadows on a subject’s face or to fill any shaded area that is out of the sunlight. Fill flash can also be used to cast light into a room where there are no windows. Fill in flash is ideal for back-lit and side-lit situations.
In a backlit situation there will be a lot of light in the background but no or little light cast on the front of the subject. This would normally create somewhat of a silhouette effect, but with a fill flash it would balance the photo nicely. But in order for this technique to work, you must be careful to stay in flash range which is usually around four to ten feet. With common cameras in order to add fill flash to a photo just toggle the flash to go off when it normally would not be needed.
Many photographers also choose to bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling to get a softer diffused kind of light commonly sought after for portraits. This kind of flash technique requires a flash that can be aimed in a direction that the camera is not pointed. It takes practice to refine this technique and only a small percentage of photographers actually use it.
Practice using flash in your photos even when it is not necessarily needed and pay attention to your results. The best way to become better at flash photography is to analyze your photos and try to figure out what you could have done differently in order to create a better flash-filled exposure.
It’s always nice to know what you’re in for when you have your wedding photos done as this will prepare you mentally. Important questions to consider prior to your big day would be what style of photos you prefer as this can be either traditional, spontaneous, arty etc. Another question would be whether you’d prefer color, sepia or black and white photos; with or without frames or a mix of everything. This all needs to be discussed with your wedding photographer before the wedding day - besides the fact that he/she needs to know what your preferences and requirements are, the photographer can give you some guidance and advice on must-have shots so that the photos you imagine can take on real life form.
Although there are so many hair styles to choose from, keep in mind that you’ll have to look at these photos for ever, so I would advise against anything very different or extreme (the kids will probably just tease you about this later!). If you want your wedding photos to be timeless, go for a classic, simplistic hair style that would be easy to manage throughout your photo shoot and day.
Its important to have a trial run with your make-up to avoid last minute disappointment. You know what you feel comfortable with, again, this needs to suit your personality. You want to mingle with your guests feeling comfortable and self assured. Your wedding make-up should compliment you, not change you - rather keep it natural and fresh.
Keep the main thing the main thing - firstly you need to feel comfortable and most importantly be yourself so that your unique personality would reflect on the photos. But a girl needs all the help she can get and if a few props will help you to relax and have fun – why not! Take some props with or ask the photographer to supply some interesting objects that you can use during your photo shoot, for example a hat, colourful sarong (that will double up to keep your dress clean in case you have to get down and dirty), a wedding invitation, your garter, a cigar for the groom etc . Give your photographer some healthy attitude and the right tools to be creative.
We so often invest our precious time in things that won’t last – yes, its important that you look absolutely breathtaking but besides looking beautiful, the photo shoot takes priority as this is what you would take with you long after the champagne has lost its bubble. You can either shy away and lose out on stunning memories or you can forget yourself, go beyond yourself and have fun!
