Jon Woodbury Photography Blog

2012-01-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone.

This will be the last post on this blog at this location! I've moved my blog onto my own server and given it a bit of a makeover. If you haven't already made the move with me, the new address is http://jonwoodburyphotography.com/blog. You can subscribe to the Jon Woodbury Photography blog with google reader here.
Frankly, I'd love your thoughts on the new digs, both look and feel. Blogger's been a great home but it's time to move to Wordpress so there's a bit more room to grow. Catch you on the flip side!

Finally, head over to the new Utah Wedding Photographer Jon Woodbury

Portraits Are People Too

2011-12-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

Portrait can be a loose term. Is ANY photo of a person a portrait? For all you literalists, here is the definition on Dictionary.com.

I think that photographically speaking, a portrait is any image where the person is the main point of interest in the photo and the subject knows he/she is being photographed. If they are unaware, it becomes a candid or street photograph. That line is easily blurred (and arbitrary at that) but I think it's an important distinction for the photographer in one respect--candid is easier. It's much easier to catch a subject doing something interesting when they don't know a camera is around. As soon as people see a camera pointed at them, they get all stupid and awkward. This shifts the burden almost fully to the photographer to work with the person in order to create an interesting image. Both types of photography are lots of fun and perfectly acceptable, just know that as soon as that person sees you, it is left up to you to make a portrait.

The Rules:
I would really say that I only have one: If the subject is making eye contact with the camera, the eyes should be focused. That's it, and it's really just a rule I've imposed on myself after a lot of attempts to the contrary. I simply can't think of a single time in 500,000 images that it worked so I've decided to make it a rule. The rest are just helpful techniques, the goal being to create an image that tells a story of that individual, their relationship to the world, and your vision as a photographer.

So here are a few things to think about.

1. The eyes
The eyes are important, they really ARE the window to the soul. You certainly don't have to have the eyes in the frame or in focus, just make sure that you know WHY you don't have them there. One of my favorite portraits ever is a LIFE Magazine image of Marlene Dietrich by Milton Greene in 1952. Greene wanted to turn the person into a pair of legs that have a life of their own.

The second example is a wonderful street portrait of a young boy with a patch over one eye made by Vivian Maier. It's impossible to know what she meant to do but by having eye with the patch lit and the good one obscured by shadow, she created an image that has continued to fascinate me because you simply don't see a single eye, even though you know he's looking right at you. I feel like he should have some sort of mystical powers.

Remember that the main technique that gives a person that spark of humanity and really engages you with someone is the spark in their eyes known as a catchlight. A catchlight is a reflection of something in the eyes of the subject. It can be sky, flash, building, whatever is reflective--the bigger the better. The image below has a reflection of the window creating a great catchlight. It adds life and vitality to a portrait.

2. Lighting
Softer is more flattering. The harshness of the light is related to the size and material of the light source. The sun is a teeny, tiny light source, therefore the shadows are deep and the transitions from light to dark are sharp and unflattering. A flash head is the same. In the next image, look at the sharp shadow to the left of her nose. This was lit by a single flash off to my right.

As a comparison, the image below is a very simple portrait shot using just a large window off to my left. You see no harsh shadow lines. It's much more forgiving of wrinkles and blemishes. You can also see that because the window light was not as strong the contrast between it and the ambient light filling the room is much lower, where above there was no ambient light leading to very strong contrast.

Remember that there is ALWAYS direction to light. On an overcast day, there will be stronger light coming from the sun, even when it's covered by clouds. It is more subtle but it's there. Overcast days usually mean nice, soft light, but also can make for odd color to skin tones.

Case in point is the portrait below, shot on an overcast day with light reflecting from many directions. The sun was above and behind her, hitting the back of her head, therefore it doesn't figure into the lighting scheme on her face. Another tip is when you are cropped in tight, adding the subjects hands do wonders in adding interest to the frame.

The next image was shot with one flash to my left in a 24 inch softbox, giving it a nice, large spread. The rim light down the subject's left side is the sun, low on the horizon where it's much more diffused by the atmosphere so it's not as powerful. It does a beautiful job of separating the subject from the background. His suit is a similar value to the background and would have been lost without the rim light. You can shoot a natural light portrait this same way but you'll have to expose for the ambient light which is much dimmer making the sunlight stronger in comparison.

3. Posing
This is where your vision as a photographer can really create a unique style. Do whatever you think will look interesting but here are a few things to keep in mind.

Watch where you frame. As a general rule, don't chop of a limb or a body at a joint or natural break. It feels like an amputation, the brain doesn't automatically assume that the limb continues! If you crop in the middle of a body structure, the brain assumes that the second half is there. So avoid cropping right at the wrists, elbows, waist, knees, and ankles.

If you want a comfortable expression, allow the subject to be comfortable. I know, it sounds obvious but the "best" angles don't look good on many people because they require uncomfortable twisting and turning of limbs. If you want a formal portrait, use formal rules, if you want a relaxed, candid-feeling portrait, allow the subject to do what comes natural then make them hold it when you see something you like. Don't be afraid to ask them to do it again. We shot the image below 5 or 6 times to get things to come out right.

Don't be afraid to tell people what to do with themselves, unless they've modeled before, most people don't have a clue what to do in front of a camera. Make suggestions but allow for their personal preferences. If they're uncomfortable with large, demonstrative poses, they won't pull them off well, find a more sedate, comfortable place and focus more on their inner self.

Whatever you do, encourage people! Tell them they're doing a great job. It will relax them and they'll open up more to your vision and direction. People will do some pretty crazy stuff if they know they'll look good doing it!

Remember that there is always a little bit of perspective involved. If you want to minimize hips, have her shift her weight to the back foot, that will shift the hips away from the camera. It's subtle but it works.

Wide angle lenses typically create more depth while long lenses flatten depth. If a nose is prominent, flatten it a bit by shooting longer. For someone with a flatter, wider face, you can bring more depth by shooting wide.

I could go on forever but in the end, you have to get out there and shoot! Remember that while people resist getting their picture taken, if you're honest with them about your purpose, ask them politely, and smile, most people will let you practice your art! Here are a couple of images of random people I met for the first time through the lens.

Have a great time, I can promise, you'll never get bored shooting people!

If you want to look at incredible portrait and people photographers, here are some of the ones that inspire me:

Vivian Maier - Street photography
Richard Avedon - Fashion
Joe McNally - Editorial
Greg Gorman - Fine Art
Dan Winters - Portraiture

Engagement Session Teasers - Little Cottonwood Canyon - Chase and Kat

2011-10-13T23:09:00.002-06:00

I have been so busy that this blog has kind of gotten shafted. I'm determined to fix that. Here are some teaser shots from my engagement session tonight with Kat and Chase. They are one of the most photogenic couples I've ever shot. (All of these are treated with my personal collection of Lightroom presets.)

Three Wedding Workshop Spots Available! - October 12th 2011

2011-09-26T16:36:00.002-06:00

I am excited to announce that I will be putting on an all-day workshop on October 12!
I have a bride who has graciously consented to allow me to use her actual wedding as a teaching situation. We will be shooting photos outside a temple in the morning, followed by an early afternoon bridal shoot (This shoot will be with models, not the actual bride) then finishing off the day with the evening reception.
The cost will be $500 and I am limiting the workshop to just four people so there will be oodles of very personal attention throughout the process.

Topics of discussion will include:
Posing
Natural lighting
Off-camera lighting
Dealing with less-flattering light
Working the crowd
Tips and techniques for shooting the details
Photojournalism vs. set-up situations
General wedding ebb and flow
How to find/define your style
...and anything else you'd like to learn!

The workshop also includes one hour of one-on-one editing/workflow instruction, (your place or mine,) my custom personal collection of Lightroom presets.

If you want to be fully comfortable with the arduous process of shooting a full wedding, this workshop is for you.

The basic theory and workings of your camera will not be discussed in depth so you should know your camera and basic theory. Obviously questions and clarifications will be discussed in the process but there won't be time to lay out basic theory or camera functionality in a classroom situation.

Bring any gear you'd like to learn to use and we'll go through it.

Email me or call me at 801-949-2044 for availability or with any questions. One spot is gone already!

Looking forward to it!

Jon

U2 360 Tour Photos - Rice-Eccles Stadium

2011-08-23T14:29:00.000-06:00

Yes, I suck.
I am slow posting anything this summer, I've been so busy with weddings I haven't spent much time on the old blog. I've had project after project that has kept me from doing much here. I aim to repent.

Lori and I went to U2 at Rice Eccles Stadium and it was the best U2 show I've ever seen. I loved the set list and their stage is always an act in and of itself!

With the obvious limitations of my seat being so far away and the fact that they won't let you in with a professional level DSLR, I like these images a lot. The Canon G11 performed like the incredible point-and-shoot camera it is, even at high ISOs. The image stabilization worked VERY well, allowing me to get clean, sharp shots at speeds as slow as 1/6 sec. A main reason for buying the G series from Canon is the exposure compensation dial. I used it a bunch here because if left to its own devices, a camera meters the entire scene and inevitably overexposes the subject at a concert. I shot almost all these at -2 stops which helped out with shutter speed. It worked very well. I think it's important to occasionally shoot with inferior equipment, it brings out the creativity and allows a photographer to test their ability to get good images within limitations.

We had a fantastic time. Here are some images from the point of view of an every day U2 fan with average seats.

Lori with Andrea Hanks. We met John and Andrea before the concert for dinner.

Everything I need to know I learned at the U2 concert.

This is the look you get when you have a screen that flips around and you can see what you're shooting. Bad idea.

The crowd at a concert is almost as interesting as what's going on onstage.

Composing Awesome Portraits - Adorama TV

2011-07-05T08:48:00.001-06:00

I've been MIA for a month or so and haven't posted anything! I'm working on some pretty amazing projects (you can see the genesis of one here: http://www.furiousjourney.com) including a new home for my images.
I wanted to share this short instructional video from Adorama with some good tips on how to frame better portraits. There are some good tips.

Memorial Day: Pulitzer Prize Winning Military Project

2011-05-30T12:54:00.002-06:00

Happy Memorial Day! To celebrate those who have always helped keep us safe, I'd like to point your attention to this Denver Post project.
Photographer Craig Walker followed Ian Fisher from his high school graduation through basic training, and finally home from his first two years in Iraq. It is a fascinating personal look into the military and the individuals who comprise it. It won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize.

Go through it once and just enjoy the photos, then go through it again with the captions on. It's truly amazing work.

Photojournalism at its best.

Vintage Cameras...The Top 50 Cameras EVER?

2011-05-12T13:06:00.000-06:00

A fun article. You have to be a pretty geeky photographer to love this...which I am.
It's a list of the top 50 cameras of all time. Like any list, it's subjective and will skew towards the inclinations of the times and this is no exceptions. I find it hard to believe that in the more than 150 years of photographic history that 11 of the top 50 models were made in the last 5 years. I guess if you're simply talking about sheer power and ability that might be right but I think the determination has to be based on innovation and impact. I love my 7D (#21) but there really isn't an argument that it has had more impact on the world of photography than the Graflex Speed Graphic that shot every Pulitzer Prize winning photo for about the first 25 years of the prize--and was left off the list.

I definitely agree with #1, it's hard to argue against the camera that put photography into the hands of the masses for the first time, but the Nikon D300s? It's a good camera that fits well in the current Nikon line but it will hardly be remembered as anything innovative or remarkable. The D3s at #2 can't possibly match the immense 40-year contribution of the Hasselblad 500CM at #3. In lieu of the Canon 7D, how about including the original Canon Digital Rebel which brought digital to the masses in much the same way as the Brownie, Rolleiflex, and Pentax Spotmatic (also overlooked) were landmark cameras of their time? The original Digital Rebel is STILL the highest selling digital camera of all time--who did it need to sleep with to get a mention?

Regardless of your thoughts and loyalties, enjoy some of the more obscure models on the list like the Minox spy camera and the Ilford Witness and take some time to look up the models with which you're not familiar and let all the vintage gear goodness wash over you! (The * is next to the models I own.)

Here's the original list url, I certainly didn't compile it so I can't take credit for it.

http://www.photographymonthly.com/Magazine/2010/50-Greatest-Cameras-of-All-Time

50 Yashicamat 124The Yashicamat 124 is a twin-lens reflex (TLR) that is based on the much more expensive and iconic Rolleiflex system of medium-format cameras and was first introduced in 1957. It’s a capable camera with a good lens and the perfect low-price introduction to shooting square-format images.

49 Nikon D300sAnother big favourite with our readers. The D300S is a 12.3 megapixel DX format model launched in 2009. It replaced the D300 as Nikon’s DX format flagship DSLR by adding HD video recording (with autofocus). It has similarities to the Nikon D700, with the same resolution, but has a smaller, higher-density sensor.

48 Pentax K1000The K1000 was produced from 1976 to 1997 and if you went to art school during this period it was probably the camera you were given to use. They are still being handed out today! The K1000’s longevity makes it significant, despite its ordinary design. It was already technically obsolete in 1976, but its inexpensive simplicity made it a popular workhorse.

47 Sinar Norma Invented in 1947 asa large-format camera ofhigh precision and simple operation, with a system of parts that were readily interchangeable. The name Sinar is an acronym forStudio, Industry, Nature, Architecture, Reproduction, which sums up the versatility of the system. The Sinar Norma, made from 1947 to 1970, is a technological and industrial design icon.

46 Nikon D90The D90 is a 12.3 megapixel model launched in 2008 to replace the D80 and it is a firm favourite with our readers. The updated model includes live view capability and automatic correction of lateral chromatic aberration. It was also the first DSLR to offer video recording, with the ability to record HD 720p videos, with mono sound, at 24 frames per second and has a high resolution rear LCD screen. A built-in autofocus motor means that all Nikon F-mount autofocus lenses (except for the two rare Nikon F3AF) can be used in autofocus mode. The D90 was also the first Nikon camerato include a third firmware module, labelled ‘L’, which provides an updateable lens distance integration database that improves autoexposure.

45 Canon F-1The Canon F-1 was producedby Canon from 1971 to 1976 and was the model that saw the introduction of the Canon FD lens mount. The F-1 was Canon’s first truly professional-grade SLR system, supporting a huge variety of accessories and interchangeable parts so it could be adapted for different uses and preferences.

44 Pentax Auto 110Launched in 1978 the Pentax Auto 110 and Pentax Auto 110 Super were single-lens reflex cameras made by Asahi Pentax. The Auto 110 was introduced with three interchangeable lenses. A precursor to today’s compact camera systems it claims to have been the smallest interchangeable-lens SLR system created made to professional quality.

43 Pentax K20DThe K20D body was developed by Pentax while its CMOS sensor was manufactured by Samsung, which became Pentax’s partner in 2005. Until 2008, the K20D held the record for the highest resolution sensor in theAPS-C image sensor format,at 14.6 megapixels.

42 Hasselblad 503CWThe Hasselblad that brings old school to new ways. The 503CW can deal with analogue and digital capture thanks to the range of digital backs available. The perfect option for those unwilling to give up film.

41 Sony Alpha 900The α900 is Sony’s current flagship digital SLR, introduced in September 2008. As well as a hostof pro features it includesa massive 24.6 megapixelfull-frame CMOS sensor which makes it an obviousinclusion in our list forthat reason alone.

40 Canon T90 A lot of you still seem to be very fond of the Canon T90, which was first introduced in 1986, as the top of the line in Canon’s T series of 35mm SLRs. It was the last professional-level manual-focus camera from Canon, and the last professional camera to use the Canon FD lens mount. Although it was rapidly overtaken by the autofocus revolution and Canon’s EOS (Electro-Optical System) cameras after only a year in production, the T90 pioneered many concepts seen in high-end Canon cameras up to the present day, particularly the user interface, industrial design and high level of automation. Due to its rugged build, the T90 was nicknamed ‘the tank’ by Japanese photojournalists. Many photographers and retailers still rate the T90 highly even after 20 years as it is considered by many to have been the best slr Canon ever.

39 Nikon D2X The D2X is a 12.4 megapixel camera which was launchedby Nikon in 2004. The D2X was the highest resolution flagship in Nikon’s DSLR line until June 2006 when it was supplanted by the D2Xs and later by the Nikon D700 and Nikon D3, both using a newFX full-format sensor.

38 Olympus OM-1 The OM-1 really is one of the most loved and highly regarded of film SLRs. The first model was launched in 1972 and was called the M-1. Thirteen years earlier, the release of the Nikon F had made the 35mm SLR the standard choice for professionals accustomed to using Leicas and other rangefinders, but it had driven the market towards heavy and bulky cameras. The Olympus M-1 changed all that and with it began a reduction of size, weight and noise of the 35mm SLRs. Since Leica’s flagship rangefinder cameras are known as the M Series, the company complained about the name of the M-1, forcing Olympus to rename it theOM-1. The OM-1 is an all-mechanical SLR with a very large viewfinder with interchangeable screens but a fixed prism. It also featuresa through-the-lens exposure meter and, quirkily, has the shutter speed dial around the lens mount rather than on the camera’s top plate. It’s not fashionable but it is brilliant.

37 Nikon D40Despite having been on the market since late 2006, the D40 still has some benefits over its newer rivals. Because only six megapixels are fitted on to the standard Nikon DX format sensor, the sensitivity of each pixel is higher. The default sensitivity is ISO 200 and it adds an ISO 3200 speed (listed as ‘Hi1’ in the camera menu). The D40 has a very fast 1/500 flash sync, useful for daytime fill-flash. This compares to the typical 1/200 sync speed of other entry level and even some semi-pro DSLR cameras. But the D40 lacks a built-in autofocus motor, so only Nikon lenses with AF-I, AF-S or compatible focus motors can be used in autofocus mode.

36 Canon EOS 5DThe EOS 5D, launched in 2005, was a landmark camera. It was a 12.8 megapixel DSLR and the first with a full-frame sensor at an incredibly low price which made professional quality digital images available to all. The professional market changed overnight and despite what are now considered low ISOs, the 5D remains amuch-loved industry favourite.

35 Mamiya RZ67The RZ67 is the mediumformat workhorse of the pro industry and a modularsystem, meaning that lenses, viewfinders, ground glasses, film winders and film backsare all interchangeable. The RZ67 is designed primarily for studio use, but is often usedon location as well.

34 Panasonic DMC-LX3The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3, or LX3, is a high-end compact camera launched in 2008 as a successor to the LX2 and continues to be oneof the best high-end compact point and shoots available.

33 Nikon D700 Another much-loved recent model from Nikon, the D700 is a professional grade dslr launched in 2008. It uses the same 12.1 megapixel FX-CMOS image sensor as the D3 and is Nikon’s second full-frame digital SLR camera. The D700’s full-frame sensor allows the use of non-DX F-mount lenses to their fullest advantage, with no cropfactor. The D700 bearsa physical similarity to the D300 and has a built-in autofocus motor for all Nikon autofocus-lenses, includes CPU and metering for older Nikon F-mountAI/AI-S lenses, and supports PC-E lenses.

32 Canon A-1 Launched in 1978 the A-1 is historically significant because it was the first SLR to offer an electronically controlled programmed auto-exposure mode. Instead of the photographer picking a shutter speed to freeze or blur motion and choosing a lens aperturef-stop to control depth of field (focus), the A-1 has a microprocessor programmed to automatically select a compromise exposure which is based on light meter input. Virtually all cameras today have at least one program mode.

31 Nikon FM2 The FM2 was designed notfor budget minded snappers who would never take the time to learn to use shutter-speeds and aperture settings, but instead to appeal to serious photographers who demanded a tough, rugged camera.At the time of the FM2’s launch in 1982, Nikon believed that advanced photographers were not interested in every latest technology, but instead favoured high quality and precision workmanship.The FM2 is very mucha photographer’s camera.

30 Pentax ME FThe ME F was the first autofocus (AF) 35mm SLR camera to reach production. It had a built-in through-the-lens (TTL) electronic contrast detection system to automatically determine proper subject focus and drive a lens to that focus point. Although it auto-focused poorly and was a commercial failure, the ME F wasa milestone in camera technology, pointing the way to present-day AF SLRs.

29 Rolleiflex TLRThe Rolleiflex medium-format TLR (twin lens reflex) film cameras launched in 1929 were loved for their compact size, light weight, superior optics, durable and simple mechanics and bright viewfinders. The mechanical wind mechanism was robust and clever, making film loading semi-automatic and quick. A wide range of accessories made this camera a more complete system, allowing close-ups, added filters and quick tripod attachment. Still much loved and used, particularly by art photographers.

28 Nikon SP RangefinderThe SP is a professional level, interchangeable lens, 35mm film, rangefinder camera launched in 1957 as the culmination of Nikon’s RF development which began in 1948 with the Nikon I. It is considered the most advanced rangefinder of its time.

27 Bronica EC-TLIIOften unfairly seen as the poor man’s Hasselblad, the ‘Bronnie’ was many people’s first medium-format camera. A reasonable price combined with a huge range of lenses available made the ‘Bronnie’a great enthusiast’s choice.

26 Hasselblad 500ELIn 1964 Hasselblad started production of the motorised 500EL. Apart from the housing that incorporates the motor drive and the batteries, the EL was similar in appearance and operationto the Hasselblad 500C and uses the same magazines, lenses and viewfinders.

25 Leica M9The latest in the legendary rangefinder M series from Leica and only the second ina digital format featuring an 18.5 megapixel sensor.

24 Holga 120NFew cameras create their own aesthetic but the Holga definitely has. It is an inexpensive, medium-format 120 film toy camera, made in China. The Holga’s low-cost construction and simple lens gives pictures that display vignetting, blur, light leaks and other distortions, all of which have led to the camera gaining a cult following.

23 Kodak Retina IIICThe Retina, launched in 1936, was a compact folding camera which pioneered the 135 film format. The IIIC first appeared in 1957 and was the fifthand final development ofthe original model.

22 Olympus Pen E-P1 Beautifully designed and named after Olympic’s original half-frame 35mm Pencameras launched in 1959, the E-P1 is another of the cameras leading the way in the compact system revolution.

21Canon EOS 7D Just as you were saving up for a 5D MkII, Canon brought out the 7D and made many of the qualities of the MkII available at an even lower price, even adding a host of facilities new to the EOS range.

20 Olympus TripThe Trip 35 was introduced in 1967 and discontinued in 1984. The name referred to its intended market, people who wanted a compact camera for holidays. More than ten million were sold. This point and shoot model had a solar powered selenium light meter and just two shutter speeds. Although the Trip is coming back into fashion due to its quality and ecological credentials, you can pay as little as £10 for one.

19 Gandolfi The maker of one of the greatest handmade large-format cameras ever made. Based in London, ithas been making and repairing cameras since 1885.

18 Pentax 6x7A fond favourite of any pro who worked with it throughout the seventies and eighties despite its weight and tendency to spend more time being repaired than used. The Pentax 6x7 looks like and is operated like a regular 35mm SLR camera but is loaded with either 120 or 220 roll film, which produces 10 or 206x7 format exposures. You have to love this camera with its wooden handle attachment and tank-like construction.

17 Rollei 35 The Rollei 35 is a 35mm miniature viewfinder camera launched in 1966, when it was the smallest 135 film camera ever. Even today the Rollei 35 series remains the smallest mechanically working 35mm cameras ever built.

16 Zeiss Contaflex Super BC The Contaflex SLR, introduced in 1953, was one of the first 35mm SLR cameras equipped with a between-the-lens leaf shutter. The Super, launched in 1959, is easily recognisable by the wheel on the front plate for setting the aperture.

15 Leica III This quirky rangefinder launched in 1933 used a coupled rangefinder distinct from the viewfinder. The latter was set for a 50mm lens and to use other lenses required an alternate viewfinder on the accessory socket.

14 Olympus Pen The Pen half-frame, fixed-lens viewfinder cameras were made from 1959 to the start of the eighties. The original was one of the smallest cameras to use 35mm film in 135 cassettes.

13 Polaroid SX-70 The original SX-70 was beautiful with a folding body finished in brushed chrome and tan leather panels. It had a whole array of accessories, including a close-up lens, electrical remote shutter release and a tripod mount.

12 Ilford Witness The Ilford Witness was a rangefinder with interchangeable lenses announced in 1947, but not released until 1953 because of manufacturing difficulties. A true industry secret due to its quality and rarity.

11 Panasonic GF1 Released in 2009, the GF1 has a strong following among pro and enthusiast photographers as a compact system camera which can change the way you can create images. Great quality of build and image.

10 Canon eos 1D MkIV The 1D has always been the peak of Canon’s camera range in all its different forms. However, the MkIII didn’t make many friends and took a little of the shine off the 1D for some. The MkIV has converted those doubters. It’s a solid piece of pro kit that gets everything right including making the 1D first choice again.

9 Nikon FIntroduced in 1959 and an instant classic, the Nikon F introduced the concept of the modular 35mm single-lens reflex camera (SLR) and changed the way in which photographers could take pictures, from the fashion studios of swinging London to the war zones of Vietnam.The F-bayonet mount isstill in use today, andremains essentially unchanged, except for some minor refinements to keep pace with technology.

8 Leica M4A classic within the legendary M series, the M4 was introduced in 1967 and is the direct successor of the M3and M2. Three ergonomic modifications were introduced in the M4: A different, angled film advance lever, as well as slightly different rewind,self-timer and frame selection levers; a crank for rewinding the film, replacing the telescopic knob of the M3;and a faster loadingsystem that did not needa removable spool.

7 Mamiya 7IIThe Mamiya 7II is a medium format 6x7cm rangefinder camera with interchangeable leaf shutter lenses but is no bigger than top 35mm SLRs. Quiet, compact and lightweight, the 7II has a panoramic adaptor accessory that can also be added for true 24x65mm panoramic images.

6 Canon EOS 5D MkII The camera which brought about the birth of convergence between photographers and filmmakers. The 5D MkII has become a landmark camera which is being used by pro photographers and Hollywood film-makers. The final episode of the US medical drama House was shot on a 5D MkII.

5 Contax RTS-3The RTS (short for Real Time System), was created by the Porsche Design studios and was the beginning of the new Contax line of SLR cameras which brought 13 different models. The RTS-3 became an instant hit with pro photographers the moment it was launched due to its looks, build and image quality.

4 Minox Minox is famed for its subminiature cameras. Originally launched as luxury items, they gained notoriety as a spy camera during the Second World War. Production moved from Latvia to Germany after the war. Minox continues to make miniature cameras today. Just keep it secret!

3 Hasselblad 500CM The professional’s first choice medium-format camera for more than 40 years. The 500 was the second generation of the Hasselblad 6x6cm format film and was launched in 1957. Strong build, high-quality lenses and ease of use have made it the professional photographer’s friend, whatever they are shooting.

2 Nikon D3s The latest top pro offering in the Nikon range. The D3s has broken new ground with its incredibly high ISO capability and super tough build and construction. Designed to meet the needs of the most demanding of pro photographers, it deliversand then some.

1 Kodak Brownie The Brownie, launched in 1900, popularised low-cost photography and introduced the concept of the snapshot. The original cardboard box camera took 2.25in sq pictures. The 127 modelsold millions from1952 to 1967.

18 Thoughts on Breaking Creative Blocks

2011-04-25T13:38:00.000-06:00

A great article about what 18 creatives do to overcome creative block.

http://lukecopping.com/blog/index.php/18-creative-thinkers-break-your-artistic-stall/

This Lens is Soft...and Other Myths

2011-04-13T12:42:00.000-06:00

I consider this article the definitive statement on lenses/bodies being soft.
It is a phenomenal article and I recommend you follow the link at the end and read the rest. You will never look at lenses the same way again. This is not an article I have written and I claim no credit, I just liked it so much that it needed to be reposted.

“This Lens is Soft”...and other Myths

CR Introduction
Welcome aboard Roger Cicala from LensRentals.com. He has been kind enough to allow us to republish some of his fine technical articles. You’ll find his writing easy to read, often humorous and generally right on the ball.
I chose this article first because I am constantly asked about this phenomenon. It’s also talked about quite frequently on message boards.
So sit back and enjoy the read.

Part 1 – Written in 2008

One of the most common examples of anti-logic we see at LensRentals is the statement The lens is soft/frontfocuses/backfocuses. Now don’t get me wrong, there are bad copies of lenses out there, as best we can tell ranging from 3% to 7% of lenses. And we know, despite our checkout procedures, that 1 of 400 lenses or so will be damaged in shipping and arrive not functioning. Sometimes there’s actual damage or misalignment of an element in the lens, although the vast majority of the time that’s not the case. Usually the subject of the photograph is soft because the lens is not focusing precisely.
Three to 4 times a week we have the following conversation:
“The lens you sent me frontfocuses, its not good.”
“OK, we’ll overnight you a replacement.”
Then the first lens comes back and its perfectly fine when we check it out. But the customer is very happy with the replacement lens, it worked great even thought the first one didn’t. So what has happened? Its rather simple, actually, and like most examples of anti-logic it stems from a wrong assumption: the customer knows his/her camera is ‘fine’ because it works with fine with their other lenses—none of them front focus or back focus.
The key to the puzzle is the definition of ‘fine’. Most people assume that ‘fine’ means ‘perfectly calibrated’. In reality cameras are like any other manufactured item, calibration is within a given tolerance range. We don’t have privvy to what the actual tolerance range Canon, Nikon, or the other manufacturers (except Zeiss and Leica) consider acceptable, so lets arbitrarily say the manufacturer will consider a camera or lens to be ‘in specifications’ if its + or – 3 ‘focus units’ from perfect. We can assume they reached this number because anything within + or – 3 focus units will be within the depth of field of a wide aperture (probably f/2.8) lens.
Lets consider that I have a camera body that is -2 focus units from perfect, and a lens that is +2 focus units from perfect. Both are considered ‘fine’ according to the manufacturers definition, although they certainly aren’t perfect. However, the combination of a +2 lens on my -2 camera will be absolutely perfect, I’ll love the lens on my camera . After my experience with this one lens on one camera, I will write Sonnets on the various online forums about how great it is, and will tell anyone who doesn’t like it that they must be a bad photographer. I will have become the most dreaded online lifeform, a FLAO (Fanboy with Loss of All Objectivity).
But what if the lens was -2 focus units from the theoretical perfect and I put it on my -2 focus units from perfect camera? Well it depends. If the lens is say an f/4 maximum aperture, probably not much: the depth of field from an f/4 aperture lens may well mask a bit of front focusing or back focusing. You might notice the lens frontocuses 3 feet in front of the subject at 20 feet if you pixel peep, but since the depth of field is 10 feet the subject is still in focus and the lens seems fine. I will probably describe the lens as very good, but not descend to complete FLAOdom.
But if its an f/1.4 lens with a very shallow depth of field, the front focusing will be noticeable: the subject will be out of focus and soft. If I know how to do a front/backfocus test I may have figured out the problem, but here’s the kicker: if I sent the lens in to the manufacturer to fix the problem they would check the lens out, say it was fine (because it is fine, its within specifications) and send it back. Ony if I send the camera and lens together to be calibrated would the fact that the two together are out of focus be apparent, and then the manufacturer would be able to fix the calibration...

Follow the link below to read the rest of the article.
http://www.canonrumors.com/tech-articles/this-lens-is-soft-and-other-myths/

Sometimes It's an Accident

2011-03-31T14:08:00.000-06:00

What was supposed to be a happy, fun, quick shoot with my Hannah (basically documenting her prominent shiner) produced a photo that has been very powerful for me. It makes me think of all the children who are the subjects of domestic abuse and simply have no voice. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't like to be a downer but sometimes an image touches you and that's art is truly doing its job. The impact of this image is almost entirely due to the post-processing. Hannah was certainly not in pain or even upset. I'm not sure why she was covering her mouth but somehow in post when I darkened and desaturated, it brought out this image.

{Photo IQ: The simple lesson of this image is to play around. Allow yourself to explore and experiment with images in post. You just never know what you're going to get! In this case, I desaturated and upped the contrast. It really wasn't too much, but it brought out the black eye and the higher contrast made the catchlights stand out more, giving the impression of nearly crying.
I've posted the original image below so you can see the real differences brought on by allowing some fun in Photoshop. What are your thoughts? Can true art happen accidentally?}

Ryan & Andrea - Lomond View Gardens - Ogden, Utah

2011-03-24T15:33:00.003-06:00

Ryan and Andrea are that couple that I really love as clients. They have their own style, their own vibes, and their own opinions but they trust me as an artist. With that combination, great things happen!
Their beautiful day started with some of my favorite getting dressed photos ever--helped out by the beautiful mirrored furniture in the brides room at Lomond View Gardens.

They did their First Look and we spent some time shooting the formals, and let me tell you, these two can shoot some formals! Ryan looked every bit as studly as Andrea was ravishing.

The wedding party joined us and we shot the whole group. They wanted classic, timeless posing for the group shots but the bridesmaids and groomsmen were so much fun that the images are far from traditional.

The ceremony took place in the beautiful pergola jutting out into the pond. It was short and sweet.

Since the wedding party was all done, photographically, following the ceremony we only had to shoot the families and then the bride and groom were ready to pile into their vintage Corvette Sting-Ray and head over the the luncheon and reception.

..and what a reception it was! Simply put, it was a party! Funny toasts, great food, a tender first dance, and they were ready to dance the night away.

I got to work with a WONDERFUL videographer in Crayton Hammer of Hammer V Productions. He was a seriously entertaining cohort.

All in all, a fabulous affair. Thank you to Andrea and Ryan for making me a part of their day!

Here is the info straight from the bride on her choices, vendors, and feelings from her day:

I was trying to go with a more fall themed wedding, even though it was still summer time. I love the fall colors, so I wanted to use them in my wedding. I used branches, twigs, and grasses to keep with a more nature type of theme. I used reds, oranges, greens and yellows as my colors. I wanted to keep everything very naturey (if that is a word), so we got married outside by a waterfall and all of our pictures were based in the garden area. I brought the tall branches inside to go with the nature theme inside the reception hall as well. I wanted a low light feel, very comfortable and calm for all of our guests to feel like they could relax and let loose. So we turned the lights down low and lit all of the candles on the tables to make a better mood for a conference room. The chocolates on the table were a little something for the guests to take home, and everybody loves chocolate. Again, with the candy in the vases and the candles on the table, we stuck with a fall color scheme.

Lomond View Gardens was the perfect place because of the scenery, the location, the individual rooms for the bride/groom, and the price.

The major decorations were all made by me and my family. We had centerpieces that we made with vases, bird seed, twigs and big fake flowers. The shorter vases had bird seed, candles and photographes of ryan and i in them. We also wrapped tall branches in white icicle christmas lights, put them in paint buckets filled with gravel and wrapped them in a deep red material. Everything else was candles, vases with candy, and branches.

Other Vendors

Cake - Jennifer Vesper from Layers of Love - jenvesper@gmail.com.

Jennifer was great. I gave her an idea and she came up a few sketches for me to look through. From those sketches I could pick and choose what I liked best about each and she made my cake from that. She was amazing and had great insight on exactly what I was looking for. I would recommend her to everybody!

Flowers - Ashlee Dent - Linger Floral

The bouquets’, boutonniere’s, and corsage’s were all Burnt Calla Lilies, green's for accent. The kissing balls that the flower girls held were orange roses. The kissing balls that were hanging above the gazebo were made from white and green carnations. Ashlee was pretty good to work with, and she did a great job...her prices were reasonable, she used beautiful flowers and her designs turned out really good.

Videographer - Crayton Hammer - Hammer V Productions - creepymouse@comcast.net

Crayton did an awesome job. He was very easy to work with, his prices were very good, and he really caught everything that we wanted from our wedding day. We really liked him because he did interviews with our guests and we thought that added a lot to our video. I would recommend Crayton to everybody!

Photographer - Jon Woodbury Photography - me@jonwoodbury.com

We loved him! He got every angle and shot that we were looking for. We absolutely loved our pictures and couldn't have asked for any more from him. Pricing was good, pictures were amazing, our book was great, communication was awesome, and we loved that our guests could sign our canvas picture!

Dress: Crushed organza, pearl white, by Maggie Sottero from The Bridal Corner in North Ogden, UT.

Tux: They were just a simple black with a double breasted vest with white shirts, and Claret vests and ties. The pattern was paisley. We put Ryan in a black shirt to distinguish him from the groomsmen.

Bridesmaids: The bridesmaids each picked their own style of dress to fit their body type. The color of their dresses were Claret, each cocktail length, tube top but with some differences to them. They were all Alfred Angelo dresses.

SLIDESHOW

{PHOTO IQ: I think with how long this post already is, I'll write a separate Photo IQ post on it in the future.}

For those of you who can't see the slideshow above, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Pictage User Group - Salt Lake City

2011-03-17T15:02:00.000-06:00

I am the speaker at the Pictage User Group on March 30!
The program will be unique and a lot of fun. I have extensive experience with improv comedy and have noticed some very strong ties between the creativity required to do improv and the creativity of photography. We will entertain, inform and inspire, don't miss it!
It is sponsored by Pictage but everyone is invited.

We will be meeting on March 30th at 6:30 p.m. in the Salt Lake City Library. The program starts at promptly at 7:00 p.m.
210 East 400 South
Salt Lake City UT 84111

Please join us. It is free for anyone to attend and any experience level is welcome! If you have questions you may email andrea@andreahanksphotography.com or call her at 801-349-0718.

Wedding Math: 80's + Elementary School Nostalgia + Theme Wedding = Awesome

2011-03-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

First off, this is NOT one of my weddings.It was shot by Kate Triano, a wedding photographer in DC.
I just thought it was a sweet way of bringing the innocence of love into a wedding. Go to the blog and check it out to see the full event.

Eyes vs. Cameras--The Grudge Match. What is the ISO of the Human Eye?

2011-03-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today we're crossing into Photo Nerd territory. This is a warning, there will be science content in this article!
It is, however, fascinating! It asks the question, what IS the ISO of the human eye?

Click here to read the article on Pixiq: http://www.pixiq.com/article/eyes-vs-cameras

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! -- Photography Policy Near Federal Buildings

2011-02-16T11:13:00.002-07:00

A very interesting and useful article from the New York Times on January 27, 2011. I printed this out and I show it to people who question my rights to shoot in public. Truth-be-told, it doesn't even matter what it says, nobody wants to read it anyway!

"The public has the right to take pictures of public buildings from public spaces.
In an ideal world, there wouldn’t be anything exceptional about this statement. But nothing has been ideal for photographers since 9/11. The mere invocation of “security” seems to trump every other consideration, including logic and the law.
That’s why the New York Civil Liberties Union was so pleased with the settlement it reached in October with the Federal Protective Service of the Department of Homeland Security. (“You Can Photograph That Federal Building,” Oct. 18, 2010.) In the settlement, the agency pledged to inform its officers of the public’s general right to photograph the exteriors of federal courthouses.
Now, the civil liberties group has received a redacted version of the directive that was sent out last year. Significantly, it embraces federal buildings — not just courthouses — nationwide.
You might want to print out this version and tuck it in your camera bag in case you’re challenged in the future.
“Given the many reports of harassment, we encourage photographers to carry this directive with them, particularly if they intend to take pictures where they’ve had problems in the past,” said Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the N.Y.C.L.U.
The three-page bulletin reminds officers, agents and employees that, “absent reasonable suspicion or probable cause,” they “must allow individuals to photograph the exterior of federally owned or leased facilities from publicly accessible spaces” like streets, sidewalks, parks and plazas. Even when there seems to be reason to intercede and conduct a “field interview,” the directive says:

Officers should not seize the camera or its contents, and must be cautious not to give such ‘orders’ to a photographer to erase the contents of a camera, as this constitutes a seizure or detention.

The bulletin was actually issued last August, before the settlement was formally reached, evidently in anticipation of the final terms. But a copy of it did not make its way into Mr. Dunn’s hands until last week. He was still happy to receive it.
“This directive is important,” he said, “not only because it recognizes that the public is entitled to photograph federal buildings from outdoor public places but also because it orders federal officers across the country not to interfere with that photography.”
About the document itself, Mr. Dunn explained that any language overruled with red strike-through was effectively negated. Note, for instance, that the distribution ban — “At no time is any of this information to be provided to the general public or any individual or organization associated with a media affiliate” — has been stricken.
On the other hand, several sentences and sections have been obscured by the government. Mr. Dunn said he did not know what was under the white redaction patches.

Here is the original document- I have printed it out to show whenever I get approached about it.

Here's the link to the original article.

Top 10 of '10 - The Dress

2011-02-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

The Wedding Dress. Many a bride has been stuck for direction until just the right couture rears its head. As most former brides would attest, finding the dress is even less scientific than finding the groom...it just has to feel right and they know it when they find it. So here are my Top 10 Wedding Dress Images of 2010:

Fager's Island Resort - Ocean City, MD

Cottonwood Market Street Grill

Montebello, California

Ogden, Utah - Lomond Point Gardens

St. George, Utah - The Opera House


St. George, Utah - Social Hall

Krista + Brett - Angel's Gate Park, California

2011-02-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

From their ceremony at the breathtaking (albeit windy) Angel's Gate Park with its interesting pagoda to their reception at Hesse Park filled with people who can only be described as riotous, Krista and Brett planned a memorable and downright enjoyable wedding.

The wind made for some very fun moments!
The wind mayhem:

The kite attack was probably my favorite moment of all!

On a side note, the above basketball court was the location of a TV commercial with Kobe Bryant.

{PHOTO IQ: My setup for the above shot (tossing the bouquet) was the key to its clarity and timing. I usually set up two or three speedlites around the room, one on the bride, one on the catchers, and one to give a general lift to the room. With so many light sources around, you can set the power lower, giving you shorter recycle times and faster bursts to stop action. Hit me up with any questions, either with comments here or on my facebook page! }

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Incredible, Breathtaking Time-Lapse

2011-02-08T14:18:00.002-07:00

Time lapse footage shot by Tom Lowe at Timescapes Inc. I can't wait to see the full film! Absolutely incredible.I'm so inspired by people who go out and pioneer new techniques and push the boundaries of what we can do with a camera.

Comments from the filmmaker:
"TimeScapes," a modern portrait of the American Southwest. I used Canon and Red MX cameras.
Follow the production of the film at: http://twitter.com/timescapes
Also here: http://timescapes.org and here http://timescapes.org/blog

Music is by the film's composer Nigel "John" Stanford: http://johnstanfordmusic.com Make sure to turn the volume and bass way up!

A small behind-the-scenes video with the crane:

New York Street Photographer Interviews

2011-02-03T16:20:00.012-07:00

I haven't done a lot of street photography but it's a new goal of mine. I have always wanted to do it. I have some vintage cameras that I've been shooting with a little and I'd like to take them out for a spin.
Here are a couple of snippets from an interesting project on New York street photographers. (Thanks for the heads-up, Raji!)
These are part of a project called Everybody Street that you can see here: http://www.everybodystreet.com/.
(There is one more clip on the site but since I like to keep this blog family-friendly, I left it out.)

So enjoy short interviews with a few of New York's finest street photographers:

Bruce Davidson

Mary Ellen Mark

Bruce Gilden

John Meyerowitz

Top 10 of '10 - Anticipation

2011-02-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Probably my favorite part of shooting weddings is the anticipation of the event. I LOVE shooting the preparations. There's an electricity that is contagious. You'll notice a lot of black and white. I'm not sure what it is about the BW that really brings out the emotion but it does. (Well, to be honest, light is often horrific in these rooms as well so the monochrome takes bad light colors out of the mix.)

My Top Ten Wedding Preparation Images from 2010 are:

Emotion. That is what weddings are all about. You can do all the crazy, artistic techniques you want (and I do,) but in the end, it's the connection between people that makes an image priceless. That honest, candid emotion is why I love this image.

Let's get that dress on! What could possibly tell the tale of The Dress better than the bride using the doorway as leverage to pull the corset tight?

Can you spot the bride in this image? Wedding photography is about documenting, in interesting ways, the uniqueness of the day. A blond bride with an all-brunette supporting staff was a fun detail. The real question is: Did she have more fun?

Just a cool shot that I saw and snapped on the fly. Love it.

Natural light and a little slower shutter speed gives the feeling of movement to this shot.

Different is interesting. The shot from above with the heart-shaped tub, the mirror, and a fish-eye created one of my favorite getting-ready shots ever!

I like the childlike innocence and the anticipation that this image portrays.

Weddings are all about details...like cuff links...and Brett Brown.

The focus on the groom's hands makes this shot a little more manly. Sometimes there is a tendency to shoot the girls and the guys the same way. It's nice when a prep shot is decidedly manly.

I loved this whole set. I shot probably 15 frames of Andrea reflected in the mirrored furniture. They turned out so wonderfully. I really should include the whole set as favorites.

Locations include Log Haven (Millcreek Canyon) - Salt Lake City, Utah; Fager's Island - Ocean City, Maryland; The Historic Opera House - St. George, Utah; Market Street Grill - Cottonwood, Utah; The Lighthouse - Ocean City, MD; Lomond View Gardens - Odgden, Utah, Private residence - Los Angeles, California

Daguerreotypes and their incredible resolution!

2011-01-26T15:35:00.001-07:00

If you think that modern photographic equipment is the best ever created, think again. Here's a fascinating article from Wired Magazine on just how cool photography was in the mid-19th century. Each image is the equivalent of 140,000 megapixels!

Click below to go to the article.

1848 Daguerreotypes Bring Middle America's Past to Life
By Julie Rehmeyer July 9, 2010 | 3:41 pm | Wired Aug 2010

Lots and Lots of Logos - Branding and Rebranding Examples

2011-01-21T17:30:00.001-07:00

In starting a couple of new companies, I've been thinking a lot about branding and logos lately. As an extension of that I've been doing a lot of researching. Here is an interesting collection posted on www.identityworks.com.

They compare a whole bunch of logos and branding transformations and give their thoughts. I found it very fascinating! I've posted a couple of examples but click here for the whole article -- I want you to read it there because I certainly can't take credit for the content.

	Launched: December 13, 2010 Design: Pentagram (Gericke and Bierut)When this college sports league added its 11th member, it buried an "11" in its wordmark. Now there are 12, and it's time to drop that game. The Michaels' solution, "you'll always be the big 10; say it in a fresh way." (But there's a backup; see basketball court.)	was...

	Launched: September 14, 2010 Design: SS+K, NYC This rebranding of the Democratic National Committee by chairman Tim Kaine is visually effective, verbally oversimplified (what democrats? who claims to speak for them/us?). The D-mark evokes the 'authenticity' of the ® symbol, as well as "Drive forward (and let the Republicans own Reverse)," a favorite Obama analogy.	formerly



	Launched: November 22, 2009 Design: Wolff Olins (NY)The letterforms are the mark; the fish is a stand-in for "ever-changing images," still and animated. Official launch is December 10, when AOL common stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange. For some history on "dynamic branding," see Roger van den Bergh on Identity Forum	2004 by Desgrippes Gobé

Original article appeared here: http://www.identityworks.com/also_noted/index.htm

Top 10 of '10 - Family Portraits

2011-01-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

Today's Top 10, Family Portraits.
I shot more family portraits this year than ever before and I shot families from all over the USA. I really focus on personalizing the shoot to create something that tells a story of who they are, not just what they look like. I really enjoyed shooting families more this year than I ever have, maybe it's because I had so many amazing people to work with! This was a VERY difficult category to narrow down to ten images but I finally did it. (Some of you whose shoots weren't processed fully til 2011 will have to tune in next year--I cut it off early so I could narrow it down.)
(There were so many more that could easily have been a part of this post but I had Lori help me choose so blame her.)
I think that the biggest discovery I made in putting together this post was how FEW of these amazing shoots I have actually posted on my blog! I will have to remedy that!

The Top 10 Family Portraits of 2010:

The Croft Family, Farmington, UT
I love this image. There is a formality to it that belies its casual pose and dress. I think everyone looks great, the natural light blends seamlessly with the added lighting, and the props fit naturally into the composition. It's got personality and sophistication. Overall, it's one of my top favorite images of 2010 all the way around.
See more of this fun shoot here!

The Schroeder Family, Harrisburg, PA
One word describes why I like this one: Verticality. I could honestly shoot all day in downtown Harrisburg, PA and not get bored! (Anyone else out there looking for a photographer?) I can't believe I haven't blogged this shoot! (My next three choices for this blog post were all from this session.)

The Cottams, Ivins, Utah
I love this one for many reasons. First off, I adore the Cottams with my whole soul. Secondly, they live in Ivins, Utah and LOVE the view of the red rocks from their house. We came up with the idea of using their view as the backdrop of the photo but framing it as a piece of art on their wall. Just cool. The lighting was interesting and deceptively difficult!
Here's the link to the full post.

The Debry Family, Las Vegas, NV
This is one of my favorites of all time! What a fun image! It allows for individual personality and still has a congruity to it. I absolutely love this family! You guys are so much fun!!!

The Jensens, Indianapolis, IN
You really can't go wrong with a little boy and a slingshot, can you? The INCREDIBLE sunset doesn't hurt either.
Click here for the full post.

The Bangerter Family, West Bountiful, UT
I just love this one. I love the framing, the background, the poses, the processing. I loves me some vintage. What a good-looking family! Another one that I can't believe I haven't posted.

The Jensens, Indianapolis, IN
I love the personality in this one too. I also like the timeless nature of it. (Truth be told, I think it would be a bigger challenge to shoot the Jensens WITHOUT personality.)
Click here for the full post.

The Johnsons, Bountiful, Utah
I actually would like to more of this kind of merging of art and photography. It was fun shooting with the end results in mind. We had a really good time on this shoot and I think that the Johnsons loved this images as much as I do.

The Hanks, Syracuse, Utah
Love these. Perhaps the two-year old was a bit small for this concept but she did well and they are definitely memorable images! I wish we would have ended up with a warmer day!

The Lindsays, Evanston, WY
Color is good. Big fan.
Not all families could pull off this shot but the Lindsays wear it like a goomba in a track suit. I love that these guys were up for whatever. The clouds gave us a brief respite and we cranked it out.

Top 10 (or so) of '10 - One-A-Day Android Phone Photos

2011-01-14T09:40:00.001-07:00

As you may know, I spent 2010 doing a project I call The One-a-Day Photo Project. The goal was to shoot an image every single day of the year, with the equipment limited entirely to my Android phone and the apps contained on it. I has so much fun doing it and the blog got worldwide attention.

So here they are, my faves. I know, there are more than 10. I simply couldn't cut it down any further!

LOVE Chicago architecture.

My favorite self-portrait.

Yeah, my daughter is a princess, with or without the crown.

This image is just so clear and colorful that I can hardly believe that it came from a cell phone camera.


I love this one because I'm a huge MAS*H fan and saw this Korean War era ambulance just sitting in a driveway one day.

Definitely one of my favorites. Its makes the shopping cart seem like a person to me. I know what it's thinking.

The kind of sky that doesn't come along all that often and I was just thrilled that I had a camera. It was breathtaking.

The console of my car, labeled.

Ocean City, Maryland.

The Utah State Capitol building.

Macro Photography on a Budget - Thank you, Pringles!

2011-01-13T14:38:00.002-07:00

The image below is a half-burned match shot with a jimmy-rigged lens made out of a Pringles can!

I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I will, oh yes, I will.

Go catch the whole article at: http://www.pixiq.com/article/macro-photography-on-a-budget
Here is a gallery of photos shot with this very setup: http://professorbikeybike.com/fotos/macro

Top 10 of '10 - Portraits

2011-01-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

Number Two in my series of my favorite images of 2010! I'm looking at individual portraits.
Portraits are at the same time very easy and very difficult. It's much easier to get good lighting on one face as opposed to the interplay of light and shadow on multiple people, but the challenge is to capture the essence of someone in two dimensions when they are on the spot.
I love shooting environmental portraits. I love capturing someone in their element and including that context in the story of the image.
This year, I shot everything from an east coast Jewish hip hop artist to my very own grandma's 100 year-old portrait. The common denominator is a fascination with capturing what is inside someone and make is show in an image.
So here are my favorite portraits of 2010:

I'm counting the above two images as one because I want to include them both. My Mom retired this year as a third grade teacher at Meadowbrook Elementary. I went over and did a portrait session at the school to celebrate the occasion. Frankly, I think more people should take retirement photos. First off, very few people of retirement age have recent portraits because by that point they have usually decided that they don't want photos of themselves. I am so glad that we did it because I think they will be special images for her grandchildren that will show them where she worked and poured her heart out for those kids for so long. I love these photos because they really show who my Mom is. She is a loving, caring, happy person who genuinely loves teaching and honestly believe that nice matters. Enjoy retirement, Mom!

My favorite portrait of the year, hands-down is this one. This is my grandma, Phyllis Spencer, just weeks before her 100th birthday! I took this self assignment very seriously because it may be the only chance I ever have to take a century celebration portrait. There was really only one choice for a location for this one, right in her own home in front of her piano. There are two things Grandma loves more than anything, her family, and the hymns. Since she keeps all the pictures of her large family on top of her piano, this was the logical backdrop. I didn't shoot very many frames, (she couldn't do a long shoot,) but this frame was exactly how it looked in my head, the perfect balance of the age of her body coupled with the inner strength and spark that has pushed that body through 100 years of experiences. I feel like if this were the only portrait I ever took , my career would be worthwhile. Click for the full post.

To be honest, I'm not sure why this one stuck out to me. Obviously, Chelsea is beautiful and it was a very fun shoot, there were many great images from it, but I think it's the serene, confident smile in combination with the blues from her eyes, the sweater, and the cross-process effect that did it. Click for the full post.

I LOVE vintage. I love classic poses and treatments. I study vintage photography so I can better capture that timelessness that all great photos have. This was definitely one of my favorites.

The two images above are from a shoot of hip hop artist Kosha Dillz that I did with Andrea Hanks of Andrea Hanks Photography. Kosha is a fantastic photography subject because he has a quirky imagination and basically just performs for the camera. He is a very genuine person and what you see is truly what you get. (The top image is going to be the cover art for his upcoming album.) Click to see the full post.

This photo was an assignment for Aastrom Biosciences. It is one of my favorites for two reasons. 1. I got to meet Patty, a true medical miracle. 2. She told me this was the best portrait of her ever taken. Yup, flattery works, kids.

The bright colors and big smile just make this image fun to look at! Click to see the full post.

Steve is a stud. When I grow up, I want to be Steve Jensen. It's looking like a big part of these favorites is how well they portray the subject--call me Captain Obvious. Click to see the whole shoot.

I LOVE this image. It was for an ad for Modest Couture by Elizabeth. I shoot a lot of stuff for her. Her dresses are really fun to shoot. They have a lot of personality and they feed my vintage cravings. This is also one of my favorite models, Katy. She has one of those faces that the light loves.

Top 10 of '10 - Bridal Portraits

2011-01-06T14:24:00.002-07:00

2010 was a wonderful year! I had the chance to make so many interesting images and meet many, many incredible people! I was thinking of how I wanted to reflect on the year and this is what I decided.
I'm starting a series today of my top ten images from 2010 in different categories.The criteria are simple. They're MY favorites. I'm excited to break them down and figure out WHY they're my favorites, it should be informative for me at least. I will comment on some and tell you my thoughts as well.
Up first, BRIDALS!

Bridals are a lot of fun to shoot because it mixes the technical aspects of lighting and posing with the more creative aspects in a nice little package. I really like helping women realize how beautiful they are. All of these shoots could have had multiple entries into this top ten, the brides were simply amazing!

So without further ado, here are my 10 favorite bridal portraits from 2010!

Oh, it was hard to choose one from this session! Janna wanted classy vintage. The Ogden Union Station was the perfect venue for the style. She pulled out every stop in making the look her own. Classy.
Click here to see more from this shoot.

I love the way she looks and moves towards the fairy tale steps. The color temperature is cooler than what was shot. Go check out the highlights of her session so you can actually see her from the front, Lauren is stunning!

In one of my favorite shoots ever, Andrea Hanks took Las Vegas by storm in an original couture dress. She took the over-the-top feathers and makeup and made it feel like a comfortable pair of jeans. She pulled it off like no one else. We shot mostly with her husband, John, but this is one of my favorite images of just her.
Click for the whole Vegas tour with Andrea and John.

There is nothing as fun as being told by the bride that she's not photogenic and then watching her transform and own the camera and project the kind of confidence and grace that burns right out of the image. Sorry, Samantha, you are photogenic!

To be honest, I'm not sure what it is about this image that I love. It just feels right. You really can't beat Thanksgiving Point as a location.

Amanda. I knew she was going to be a fun bride when I used a baseball analogy and she not only got it, she did the pose perfectly! I love this image because it feels like she has taken charge of the situation and is posing on her own terms. I also love the lighting. It's one umbrella up-left and a 1/16 speedlite from behind to make the veil glow. I just dig this image. Click here for the whole shoot.

After a crazy string of events ate up most of our time and moved us down to about Plan F in the list of locations, Mindi brought it from the very beginning of the shoot, allowing us to get everything we needed in the short time we had. I love this image because it has a candid, natural feel and demonstrates that you can shoot amazing images in ANY location. This was a vestibule between two sets of doors.

I LOVE images with a mood. We were out of light and done with our shoot and walking back, hoping not to get rained on. We saw this tree and figured we'd do a couple more. Sarah jumped in and despite basically zero light, she worked it. We ended up with a dark, mysterious, magical mood. Love it.
The location was Red Butte Gardens.

This image is technically not a bridal as much as a product shot but I love it anyway and I shot it like bridals so I'm putting it in here anyway. This was a shoot in Las Vegas for a dress line for Modest Couture by Elizabeth. I like this one because you simply have to smile when you see a bride running in a nice poofy dress, in Vegas pretending to be Venice. You just have to!

I like this image because it's a simple, straight-up portrait. Zenya looks stunning, and that's the point. Some people want something crazy artistic, some people don't. Portrait photography, beyond lighting and posing and whatnot is about connecting with your subject. When it all comes down to it, I love that you can see what an amazing person she is inside as well as how stunning she is on the outside. The little wisp of a smile is just coy enough to hint at a complex, interesting person.

Olivia's Birth Story - LDS Hospital - August 2, 2010

2010-12-31T21:51:00.000-07:00

It didn't take me very long to decide what to post as my very last blog of the year. It has to be the birth of my second baby girl, Olivia Erin Woodbury.

We named her Erin after all of the amazing people we know named Erin who exemplify the type of woman we want her to be. This time was different than our first, with Hannah we had the adrenaline-fueled midnight speed to the hospital while this one came in August, right in the middle of a busy wedding season so Lori was induced.

Since we had plenty of time, I set up several flashes around the room in order to get the best light. It was a lot of fun and the nurses were pretty impressed with the radio slaved speedlites and my big camera documenting every detail. I will show the flash placement in a Photo IQ post at a later date.

See out the slide show below for a full photo story of the event, or go to the full album on Facebook.

Billboards, Buses, and Beer--and That's Just The First Three! - Some Truly Creative Advertising

2010-12-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

Creativity of any kind inspires me and pushes me. Here are some examples of advertisers who are earning their money and creating art along the way. I wish it were more common!

(Post originally from www.theberry.com.)

1.

The original post is from The Berry.com. They do all sorts of fun stuff so go check them out!

Click HERE for a slew of fun signs

Chelsea Lindsay - Head shots

2010-12-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

Chelsea is a music student at the University of Utah. In preparation for some upcoming auditions, she came to me for some headshots. Operas are not known for their wild and crazy head shots so she wanted something low-key and professional. We did pretty standard lighting for the first set, then went a little more glamorous (lighting-wise) on the second half. Chelsea is an incredibly talented vocalist but she also has a thing for pop culture We had the time of our lives spouting movie lines and trading obscure factoids. In the end, I feel like we got a traditional head shot feel and she looked amazing! Thanks again, Chelsea, for sharing your awesomeness!

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

{PHOTO IQ: Using rim light in portraits. The rim light/back light/separator light is one of the most important pieces in a portrait. it gives it depth and shape, helps the subject stand out, and allows the photographer to sculpt the face in the best possible way. I played around a lot with the back light in this shoot. Some have it, some don't. In the example below, you'll see how much more pop there is in the top image with the background light bringing out her shoulders and shaping her hair against the black background. The back light in this set was a speedlite with a Honl gird on it to reduce flare. As you go through the images, pay attention to the role of the back light. Try to pick out the angle at which it's hitting the subject and whether that angle works for Chelsea's face and for the feel of the shots.}

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Lauren Betts - Baby Girl

2010-11-23T08:39:00.026-07:00

Lisa and Scott have a nice sized family. For several years the happy bunch consisted of mom, dad, and three boys. Three boys. Poor Lisa. Lisa, the lone woman in a house of men. Trucks, blocks, and action figures littered her life.

Surprise! This year, little Lauren came along! Lisa finally has a chance to buy pink, tie bows, and capture the fun of the first little girl in the gang. I was thrilled to be able to capture some classic photos of sweet Lauren, both on her own as well as with mom and each of her big brothers. I have a feeling that this gorgeous little girl is going to be well loved and protected as she grows. Heaven help the boy that comes to the door when she turns 16 when she has bodyguards like these! What a great family!

{PHOTO IQ: A couple of tips for shooting babies that I would pass on. First off, turn up the thermostat so it's nice and warm. You'll get happier babies. Secondly, be prepared to deal with messes. It's a simple equation, babies eat, cry, and poop. Since you aren't feeding them, and you don't want the crying, you have to be prepared for the third alternative. We had a couple of covers for the basket and plastic underneath. It was not enough. Little Lauren still projectile pooped across the room. Of course, her mother was embarrassed but we reassured her that it was common and we'd prepared for it. It only delayed the shoot for a few minutes and we had a good laugh!
So to recap: Warm and poop.}

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

17 Unique Wedding Cakes

2010-11-22T17:24:00.001-07:00

Click to see if they're cool or not. You decide. (Does anyone else get a really geeky vibe from their choices?)

Jamison & Amy Part II - Fireworks, the Salt Flats, and the State Capitol

2010-11-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

After shooting their engagements, Amy and Jamison changed clothes and modes to a more formal style. We made use of a dramatic sunset, some balloons, and their names in the salt (carved by Jamison with considerable effort.)
The next day of our shoot-a-rama weekend was the 3rd of July. We did a session at the Utah State Capitol then hurried up to Eaglewood Golf Course for a KILLER fireworks show and some pretty amazing images. We had every possible problem with equipment but we went to Plan D and pulled it out.

{PHOTO IQ: Like I mentioned, I had a total tech meltdown while shooting with the fireworks. The entire show lasted 10 minutes or so so we knew we only had that long to get the images we wanted.
Some of the challenges:
1. Knowing in advance where the fireworks will be.
2. Focus, The subject is not lit while the fireworks are like focus magnets.
3. Very little time to figure out settings
4. Posing in total darkness

The solutions need to be thought out in advance with several backup plans, this is a situation where if you don't know what to do should a piece of equipment go out, you lose. You simply won't get the images.
We didn't know and although we were set up when the show started, we were facing the wrong direction. They had moved the show more south than it had been the year before so we had to pick up and flip directions.
Focus was tough. I had an assistant holding a laser pointer on them but it ended up being too faint. Plus, the radio receiver wasn't triggering the back light. (Oh cruel irony!) I had to change tactics. I don't know that I've ever changed tactics quite that fast. I had been set up with two off-camera speedlites, (flashes) a main light up and left with a Fong Bong directed up, and a back light straight behind. Both were set on manual with Cactus V4 radio triggers. I didn't use my Pocket Wizard TTLs because I simply couldn't afford for them to crap out like they tend to do at the least convenient times (Ask me about my abusive relationship with my Pocket Wizards), plus, this was no situation for TTL flash. Since I had no flash on-camera, there was no auto-focus help . I feared that I was missing focus since my camera kept hunting for focus, and I couldn't take the chance. I quickly switched to the Canon slave mode on my 7D--the only Canon camera that can trigger speedlites with its pop-up flash--and used the focus assist option to make sure I was hitting. This worked well after some adjustment of the flash position--triggering via infrared requires that the speedlite sensors be pointed towards the camera--more time wasted. The other disadvantage is that because there was no line of sight between the back light and the master, it couldn't fire. I made sure I got some good, focused shots with just the main light before I jumped up to try and get the backlight firing again. Sometimes you just have to get something. I didn't know how long the fireworks would last so I didn't want to spend so much time fixing the setup that we missed it all. Once I knew I had SOMETHING good I jumped up to make the adjustments.
Fortunately, the back side flash was a cheaper, lower tech model. You see, the Canon 580 ex II doesn't have a photo cell to trigger from another light source. A HUGE oversight in my mind since it solves a lot of problems by working into any system. I jumped up and set the backlight to trigger from the flash of the main light. Finally the perfect setup, just in time to get about 5 frames of the finale. Fortunately, I think we got the RIGHT 5 frames. They turned out great.
The moral of the story is, no matter how prepared you think you are, learn how to do the same things several different ways. That knowledge is what makes someone a professional, the knowledge to get the shot no matter WHAT goes wrong with the equipment or situation.
Another thought, I never changed the output amount or settings on the camera or flashes. They had been set beforehand and were right on. That left me the time to solve problems without trying to figure exposure first.

It's been a long rambling Photo IQ but I hope, worthwhile. I'd love to hear your thoughts, either here or on my facebook page!}

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Jamison & Amy Part I - Salt Flats Engagement Session

2010-11-10T08:17:00.058-07:00

Jamison and Amy came up all the way from Las Vegas to have me do their engagement session and a formal session (That one's next.) It's a shame I couldn't do their wedding but these sessions allowed us a lot of freedom and creativity. We basically spent all weekend together and I felt like I became like a member of the family, especially after watching fireworks with them on the golf course.
I loved the ideas proposed and I love the images that came out of them.

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

{PHOTO IQ: I went with the obvious subject on this one--wind. There's not much you can do about it in most cases so just go along with it! You'll notice lots of poses with Amy's face into the wind to keep her hair out of her face. Sometimes the wind and the light simply don't agree, you have to take your pick. (Notice in the closer poses sitting down, good light, bad wind direction.)
Other ideas are to:

- Pose less formally so the wind feels like a natural part of the shot instead of something breaking up the "perfect" pose. I would even advocate a desperate measure, the dreaded camera tilt...hey, everything comes in handy at one time or another. In this case, it works to make the shot feel less formal.

- The more movement you use in the shots, the less out-of-place the wind will feel--Have fun!

- Have someone hold the hair as a natural part of the shot. (See this Salt Flats engagement session as well.)

- Shoot more. The wind will change all the time. I try to shoot 5 or 6 shots at a time and most sets I got one with hair will work.

The bottom line is that anything you can't control, embrace!

Cue cheeseball wind joke of your choice.}

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Lauren - Bridals at the Utah State Capitol

2010-11-03T08:21:00.005-06:00

Since I'm done processing their wedding and it will be going up soon, I thought I'd post Lauren's bridals.
Lauren is beautiful, both inside and out. She wanted something elegant and striking. The Utah State Capitol was the perfect location with its white marble and stone pillars and stairs.

For those of you who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

{Photo IQ: For the tip today I'm going to diagram the lighting for the shot below. I wanted dramatic and striking which usually means bringing in extra lighting.}

There were three speedlites in this shot. The main light is from high camera right, diffused with a Fong Bong. It's at 1/8 power. The back-light is directly behind the bride about 5 feel high, pointing at the camera. It was at 1/16 power. The third is a bare flash behind the pillars on the right side hitting the stairs. I wanted the stairs to really trail down on her. I don't remember the power but my guess is probably 1/2 or so. I liked the shadows it cast, creating a kind of cross-hatching in the background.
It's important to use a slow enough shutter speed to still get the color in the background but not so much that it takes focus off the bride. It was shot at 1/125 at f5 and 800 ISO. See below for the lighting diagram.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Will Your Grandchildren Be Upset With You?

2010-10-21T15:30:00.002-06:00

It would be a shame for them to miss out on THIS!

Originally Posted on October 20, 2009 at http://www.photopackaging.com.
Author: Fred Molesworth, Salem, Oregon

I’m willing to bet your grandchildren will be upset with you. Here’s why. Imagine, 50 years from now, as your grandchildren or great grandchildren are going through the boxes in the attic. They are enthralled with the treasures and keepsakes they find and how they tie into the story of your life.

Amongst all the old items, they find a number of round silver objects. Some have writing on them, some are blank, but they resemble some kind of a small platter about 4″ across, with a hole in the middle.

Puzzled, they take them to their parents. “What are these, Mom?” they ask. “Oh, I think those are all of grandma’s photographs. Yep, here’s one labeled ‘My Wedding’. Here’s some more labeled ‘Family Photos,’ and some more labeled ‘Vacations’.”

“How do we look at them?” they ask.

“Well, I’m not sure we can. First of all, no one has the device that reads these anymore. Besides that, I doubt after all these years that they’re any good anymore. Being stored in the attic, the heat and cold probably ruined them.”

The kids are very disappointed. Nowhere amongst all the treasures are any actual prints. All that history is lost. Their connection with the past and all the wonderful stories that might have gone along with all those photographs are gone as well.

Along with all the wonders of our digital age come some significant problems that most people have never thought of.

Did you know that over 90% of all images taken on today’s digital cameras are NEVER PRINTED? I’m guilty of that myself. I have gigabytes of personal photographs that have never been seen other than on a computer screen.

In the old days, film went to the lab and everything that was printable was printed. Even if it was a bad photograph, it still was a hard copy, a part of your family history and it had permanence. Even if they never went in an album, they at least went into a box, to be discovered as treasures years later.

The same problem exists in professional portrait studios today. Many people are simply asking for the images on CD. “I’ll print them later” or “I’ll design my own wedding album” are common phrases. Usually this is done with the thought that they’ll save some money by doing it themselves.

But you know what? Most never make it into any kind of an album. Life gets busy and 20 years later they’ll be looking for some way to read those disks.

I bring this up only to point out the importance of what we, as a professional studio do. Our job is not just to create the images, to create wonderful story telling photographs about the people in front of our camera; it’s to create a final product, whether it be a professionally retouched and printed single image, a family heirloom wall portrait, or an incredible storybook album using a collection of the images that were created.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a wedding, a newborn baby, a senior or a family. Having the final product created for you is important. To do less is to leave the job half done and to short change the customer.

So, if you’ve asked for a disk with all the images “so I can print them later”, that’s fine, just make sure you understand that if not printed, the conversation their grandchildren will want to have about their family history may never be able to happen.

In addition to running a full time portrait studio in Salem Oregon, Fred Molesworth is a small business teacher and advisor, and the author of the Portrait Studio Marketing blog (www.portraitstudiomarketing.com). He’s also a nationally known business and marketing speaker in the portrait industry, and past president of the Professional Photographers of Oregon.

Jensen Family Photos 2010

2010-10-18T12:23:00.001-06:00

I've been busy but I FINALLY got my butt in gear to do a blog post. There will be tons coming but I hope this will tide you over.
The Jensen Family live in Indiana while Steve attends law school at IUPUI in Indianapolis. We had a small window in which we could shoot their session so we basically just hoped the weather would cooperate. I had a location I'd wanted to use for a long time so with the real possibility of rain and an ominous sky, we drove out to the old farmhouse hoping to get at least a few frames. What we got was one of the most incredible sunsets I've ever seen, and correspondingly amazing family photos.
Steve has already constructed a frame out of reclaimed wood to match the location and these images should be a worthy fit for his home-made frame.

{PHOTO IQ - I used this concept for almost the entire shoot so I thought I'd show the difference between shooting with high-speed-sync flash and using natural light. There's a huge difference in the background because of limited dynamic range in the camera's sensor. For the subject to be exposed correctly along with the background, you need to light the subject to bring it more in line with the amount of light in the scene. In the day time, there's no way to get the proper background exposure other than a really small aperture, ie f/16, or a high shutter speed, ie 1/1500 or so. With a small aperture it makes your power requirement on the flash so large that a portable speedlite (flash) simply can't put out enough light. That makes shutter speed the only other option. This is where the new PocketWizard TTL radio transmitters are a must-have. They allow you to synchronize your shutter at much higher than the typical 1/250 sec that is built in to the system.
The natural light image was shot at 1/250 of a second at f/5 and iso 400. With the hss on my Canon 580exII I was able to light Steve and Tracie about the same amount but up the shutter speed to 1/1600 of a second. That gave me 2.5 stops less light from the sky (about 1/6 the amount of light) bringing it into the range the camera could capture. I love it.}

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Lucky People Are...

2010-10-09T16:10:00.000-06:00

I have been a godaddy.com customer for a lot of years. They have been controversial at times but I have never had anything but an amazing experience with them. The founder and CEO, Bob Parsons, has a videoblog where he publishes tips for success in business and life. They're typical GoDaddy fare, irreverent and, well, buxom, but they're also very good. I thought I'd post this one. The humor is juvenile but the advice is solid.

Capturing the Moment - Interesting Sports Photography

2010-09-22T09:59:00.000-06:00

Be it heroic, crestfallen, funny, painful, or just plain awkward, sports photography shows humanity at it's best and worst.

http://www.bezbrige.com/index.php/WoW/top-100-funniest-sport-photos.html

Jon Woodbury Photography Fine Art Prints and Canvases!

2010-09-14T12:18:00.001-06:00

I am so excited to finally announce my Online Photography Gallery!
After literally years of work, I have collected many of my favorite and most popular images into an online gallery where you can browse, share, and purchase your favorite images.
You'll notice many images from my trips to Europe as well as many locations from around the United States.
You can share your favorites on Twitter and Facebook or comment right there on the site. I'd really love to hear your feedback!
Enjoy it, it's been years in the making.

PS. If you follow my photography page on Facebook or Twitter you can get a code for a discount on purchases through the end of September!

{Photo IQ: I'm going to talk about the image of the leaves for the instructional part of the post. Sometimes the most important aspect of photography is simply being in the right place at the right time. I went out for a walk with my camera on an autumn day after a frost and saw these leaves trapped in ice on the pond near my house. It's a rare and beautiful phenomenon and only lasted about 30 min before the pond melted again and the leaves sunk to the bottom. The tip for today day is simply to SHOOT! Get out there with your camera and make images. Take photo walks, either by yourself or with a friend. If you're in Utah you can go to http://www.photowalkingutah.com/ or organize your own. I'd LOVE to go shoot }

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the video below, click here to be whisked directly to the album.

See more at www.jonwoodburyphoto.com

Rock Star Lighting

2010-09-10T15:10:00.000-06:00

"Rock Star Lighting". It's one of my favorite setups. It's really quite simple but has amazing impact.

It's basically using remote flash firing directly at the camera to throw a separator halo around the subject. I often use it the during the first dance at weddings to really pop the couple away from what usually is a dark background.
It's also a fantastic way to pull attention off of a less-than-ideal background to the subject.
Cautions are that it shows every single hair and speck in the air but it's amazing for shooting exits with bubbles.

{Photo IQ Info: I usually shoot the backlight on manual at about 1/16 power, it really depends on just how much Rock Star you want. The second light is either on camera or off but should be pretty close to the axis for a dance. For single portraits I almost always shoot off camera and up-left or up-right. The key flash can be TTL and I usually set it at between -1 and -2 stops. These were shot with no key so they would feel more dramatic. The closer your rear light is to the subjects, the more light will creep around to the front to light faces, etc.}

This wedding was for Eliani and Oswaldo Samaniego.
I'll post more Rock Star lighting examples in the near future.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Best Political Photos Ever

2010-09-03T13:02:00.000-06:00

Some really funny political photos. Highly entertaining and worth a look!

"Shooting the Moon" Deconstruction - Photo IQ

2010-08-31T13:13:00.001-06:00

A little while ago I posted a shot of the moon and promised a deconstruction post. As you wish.
Here is the original image:

The HOW-TOs:
The lens I used was a Tamron 70-300. The moon is a long ways away and to get anything of value you need a nice, long lens. The one I used is a very inexpensive lens that I've owned for a long time but held on to because of the reach. I rarely use it as the quality is not great but in a case like this where I am stopping it down to the sweet spot it is usable.
That said, 300mm (equivalent to 486mm on a full-frame) still only got me this close:

I used a little bit of what the camera makers call "digital zoom" to bring it in "closer". The rest of us call it cropping. The final image you see on the web is actually full-sized pixel for pixel. It wouldn't make a great print but it is plenty big for the web. I shot it with my 10mp Canon 40D, if I had used my 18mp 7D I could have cropped it even closer and would have had more resolution in the moon itself. It's also worth noting that the night I made the image was the largest moon of the year. So it really doesn't get much closer than this.
With that much zoom a tripod is important.
The biggest problem people have when trying to photograph the moon is using the auto-exposure metering. The camera meter will average the amount of given light and always over-expose. You need to go manual on this one unless you have enough lens to get much, much closer so the moon is a more significant percentage of the frame. Even spot metering generally gets me too much light. The moon puts off far more light than you'd expect.

The image was shot at ISO 200 and exposed for 1/200 of a second at f 8.0. You can see that there is plenty of light to make a good exposure. I started at f 8 and 1/60 and just dropped the exposure til the moon had the amount of detail I wanted and I could see a nice range. (I really wanted f 8.0 because that's the point where this lens is the sharpest. With a higher quality lens I could have shot much more open and perhaps even got enough shutter speed to hand-hold it.)
The other important feature to consider is the mirror lock-up.
Using such a long zoom means that every small movement of the camera is amplified. I had a good shutter speed so I probably would have been okay but if I were shooting something dimmer, camera shake could really be a problem. That's where the mirror lock-up feature comes into play.
In a DSLR camera, you are looking directly through the lens via a mirror that covers the sensor then flips up as you press the shutter release. If you are shooting at slower shutter speeds. even on a tripod, the tiny amount of shake from the mirror flipping up can blur the image.
Mirror Lock-up is exactly what it sounds like. It locks the mirror up so that when you trip the shutter, there is no movement at all inside the camera aside from the shutter itself.
Canon puts the feature in the menus as a custom function but more and more it's becoming easier to do by simply switching your camera to live view. In order to have a live view setting (where you can see through the lens on the lcd screen on the back of the camera) the mirror must be moved out of the way. If your camera has that feature-as do more and more dslrs-it accomplishes the same thing.
That's all for today, leave me a comment if I forgot something or you have suggestions for future posts!

As autumn comes in and it gets more and more pleasant outside, take some time to go out and shoot the moon!

Amanda's "Field of Dreams" Bridals

2010-08-28T08:35:00.008-06:00

Amanda has such a lively personality that we couldn't HELP but have a good shoot. Her looks ran the gamut from sweet and demure to downright vixonian. (Yep, made that up. Vixonian: adj. Having or showing the qualities of a vixen.)
She ran, jumped, sat, and pretty much brought it til the sun went down.
I have to admit, in some of these images she reminds me of Ingrid Bergman and that's about as big a compliment as you can get!
A fun tidbit about this shoot is that I used a baseball metaphor to describe a pose and Amanda understood perfectly! Pretty rare bride, if you ask me!

{Photo IQ: Simple tip on this shoot. Watch what you wear! I did this shoot in a red shirt--then wondered in editing why all my closeups had this weird red tint on her face and dress! Yes, you can fix it in post, but why? Now I try to wear something more neutral. If you wear something in a nice white or gray you can use yourself as a fill reflector.}

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

The Croft Family

2010-08-17T15:01:00.001-06:00

I love this shoot! When we were discussing who they are as a family, they mentioned that they do a lot of reading together. So we decided to structure the shoot around that! (I LOVE that Brian brought his Kindle.)
They're also big Harry Potter fans so we incorporated the series of books.
I love this shoot! When we were discussing who they are as a family, they mentioned that they do a lot of reading together. So we decided to structure the shoot around that! Everyone brought the book they were currently reading and we started there. (I LOVE that Bryan brought his Kindle.) They're also big Harry Potter fans so we incorporated the series of books.

{Photographically, I shot almost everything with a single speedlite to fill and bring out eyes. most of the time it's just a kiss of fill from a Fong Lightsphere, covered and pointed away from them. As the natural light waned and we got into the Harry Potter stuff I had one speedlite camera left and up and another triggered remotely from directly behind at about shoulder height to backlight the trees and separate them from the background.}

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Brian + Young Ha - Wedding Day - Salt Lake Temple

2010-08-14T19:23:00.001-06:00

Brian and I have been friends for a long, long time. We met in the 4th grade and have been friends ever since. We have traveled the world together and been through a lot. I have often wondered who the girl would be that nabbed my good friend. Young Ha is the perfect choice! Brian needs someone who gives him a lot of guff because without me there to do it, who knows how easy his life would be! I loved Young Ha from the moment I met her and I can not tell you how happy I am that they finally found each other. I was privileged to be a part of their wedding.

Brian and Young Ha were married in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple then followed up with a reception, (complete with delectable food from the bride's native Korea) at their local church building.

{Brian and Young Ha are bright and vibrant so I wanted that same feeling in the photos. I lit their reception with two Strobelite studio strobes firing into the huge white ceiling of the church. Both were fired by Cactus V4 triggers attached to both of my cameras. I shot on manual all night and had basically perfect light everywhere. It worked beautifully.}

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

To see the photography of the entire wedding or purchase prints, click here.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Defending +1 - Wedding Invitations

2010-08-05T10:09:00.000-06:00

A little bit of wedding ethics for you on this fine day!

http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/browbeat/archive/2010/06/24/in-defense-of-1.aspx?obref=obnetwork

How to Budget for a Wedding - Weddings by Percentage

2010-08-02T11:21:00.001-06:00

How important is the wine?

The national average for a wedding is about $20,000. I'm not sure how accurate that number is but I've heard that figure fairly often so I'm good with it.

The averages show a couple will spend their money in the following way:

51 percent on Reception, including reception hall, catering, cake and alcohol
10 percent on Photography
8 percent on Videography
9 percent on Ceremony
7 percent on Attire
6 percent on Rings
4 percent on Flowers
3 percent on Music
2 percent on Limo and transportation

That means that the average photography budget is $2000. If the photography is more important, you should probably spend more, and vice versa if it's not important. The other things to consider would be whether you are spending money on some of the other items. If you're not getting a limo or having an open bar, that gives you more leeway to either add to another area (I vote photography) or simply save some money.

The original article on Virtual Photography Studio doesn't say where they got their numbers from but it seems pretty close in my experience so take it for what it's worth.

Here is the original article on how the average bride apportions her budget.

Sunbrook Country Club - St. George - John + Maree, Part 2

2010-07-26T09:27:00.001-06:00

I know how often I say that I work with awesome people, but I really do!...and I can certainly prove it when it comes to John and Maree. When we first met to talk about the photos they dreamt about, we all thought that we could combine forces and create some great images. We all had some inspiration and some innovative ideas to add to the collective pot, and we were proven right. Their engagement session on the Salt Flats has been a portfolio piece I adore, and Maree's bridal session at the Union Station in Ogden was some of my best work, and both shoots make up some of my favorite memories as a photographer. Add in a fantastic wedding day in Manti with a follow up reception in Riverton, and how could we go wrong? With such wonderful photos and so much time spent together we all grew to like each other and trust each other implicitly.

The final reception for these amazing kids was at a fantastic golf club in St. George, Utah. The course looked out at the red rocks in the background, and as the sun started to set it was too beautiful for me to pass up. I knew that I only had about ten minutes tops to capture the light, but I was able to run inside, pull John and Maree out of their receiving line, and take some of the most amazing photos in my portfolio. I trusted that they knew it was important. They trusted that I was going to give them something awesome in return for those ten minutes away from their guests, and they followed me out onto the green without hesitation. Through our entire relationship, in the choices we made, I think we've been proven right at every turn...but I'll leave it to you to decide.

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

I'm mentioned in the same blog with Alyssa Milano?

2010-07-23T16:13:00.002-06:00

My endeavor to document the world around me with a picture a day using only my phone has caught the attention of a Chicago based PR company specializing in Social Media! Don't know what Social Media means? You Tube, My Space, Facebook...all of these sites are focused on networking the world for social and noteworthy purposes, and they present media to the world and a whole new light...Social Media. So many advertisers and public relations jobs today require an intimate knowledge of Social Media and how to use it, on top of having experience with traditional commercials, magazine ads, and more.

Cision is a Chicago based company bringing PR specialists together with insight and information on how to use media in an ever-changing world of advertising. Between viral videos, click rates, and more, I'm so flattered to be compared to Alyssa Milano...even if it's to weigh the pros and cons of her fame vs. my as-yet, non-famous work. Check out the blog for the comparisons!

Up-Inspired Engagement Session

2010-07-14T14:28:00.001-06:00

Just too fun not to post!
This couple took a theme that represented their love and went all out. Their engagements echo the elements in the Disney/Pixar movie UP.
I LOVE it and had to share it!
The photographer is WildFlower Photography. Here's their website.

Click below for parts 1 and 2 of this cinematic session.!

Part 1

Part 2

The LDS Bride, Killer Videography, and My Wedding Photography

2010-07-10T19:12:00.000-06:00

I am the focus of the world! ...or at least the focus of The LDS Bride Blog...for a day or two...but still pretty cool. Jason and Kylee's wedding has been one of my showcase weddings for a long time and I'm thrilled to see it on the LDS Bride Blog. Spencer Hale of Giant Brothers Films did an unbelievable job, as always. You should also go see Kylee's Bridal video, he won major awards with that baby too, because it kicks butt.

Jon Woodbury Photography on Utah Bride Blog

2010-07-05T11:41:00.002-06:00

Utah Bride Blog featured a couple of weddings I did last fall for two amazing sisters, Britnie and Blayr. I love those girls' style and personalities, so different but both classy and unique.

Random Image

2010-07-03T13:33:00.000-06:00

On our recent jaunt back east to shoot a wedding in Maryland (Shout out to Chris and Kristen!) We dropped in on the National Natural History Museum in Washington DC.
Can you really go wrong with a prehistoric elephant butt? I think not.

Vows in Vegas, Baby! -- { Las Vegas Wedding...kind of }

2010-06-29T14:26:00.002-06:00

Andrea Hanks has become one of my best friends.I will refrain from calling her my bestie--because it's lame--but I am grateful for her friendship. She and her studmuffin husband John eloped to Vegas 14 years ago and deep down she's always wanted some wedding photos...especially now that she is a wedding photographer herself. So we hatched a plan. John was a really good sport as we dragged him around and I think it's possible that he even had a good time...but don't quote me on that. We had a blast and the images are killer. Take a look for yourself.

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Chase Jarvis Gives Advice on Success

2010-06-28T12:03:00.000-06:00

Chase Jarvis is as successful as they come as a photographer.
That is what makes this post either maddeningly hypocritical or dead-on target.
You can decide for yourself.

World Cup Fever!

2010-06-25T16:30:00.000-06:00

I LOVE the World Cup!

I'm so excited for the USA and Slovakia (I lived there for a year and speak Slovak) to have both gone through and all I have to say is USA! USA! USA!

Well we had the amazing opportunity to go to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. We saw the USA vs. Czech Republic game in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. I wanted to push my own juju in a South African direction by posting some photos from that amazing experience.

No seats on the train but that didn't stop this guy from getting to the game in place of someone's luggage.

I cried when the Star Spangled Banner was played. {Pride.}

Who says Americans don't like soccer!?!

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

How Adults Kill a Good Image

2010-06-16T10:22:00.000-06:00

Whenever I am photographing families with children the first instruction I give is the adults look at me. I will watch the children and shoot when they are looking forward but I can't watch the adults and kids all at once. I just trust that the grown-ups exercise self-control and keep their faces forward. Here is why.
After about 15 frames of struggling to get this adorable little princess to look at the camera, she FINALLY looked forward, and...crap...mom is looking at her. I remind mom to look at me then the other adults take turns watching to make sure she's looking. Yeah, yeah, I can photoshop it, but it's so much easier for everyone to just look forward. Now you know.

*T-Shirt Wars - More Stop-Motion Animation

2010-06-15T08:45:00.000-06:00

More really cool things photographers are doing!

McDonald's and Coke loved that video so much they asked the filmmakers to shoot a commercial for them. Here it is: (Am I delivering today or what?)

Photo IQ - Week 6 - "Jpeg" is a 4-Letter Word..."Compression" is Not.

2010-06-11T08:23:00.052-06:00

This is the final of the six Photo IQ posts! Thanks to everyone who has read these so far and I hope the posts have established a good foundation. I will continue to write tips and instruction going forward but I intend to break things down into smaller pieces and build upon what we've laid out so far.
In case you missed them, here are the 5 previous posts in the series:

Week 1 - Sensor Size and You

Week 2 - Lens Quality

Week 3 - Photography, Exposed!

Week 4 - White Balance...not racist.

Week 5 - Focus and Focusing --Too Important to be Pithy?

Click here to send me your thoughts and/or questions.

Just about everyone has heard the term "jpeg". (For those of you who have recently awoken from a decades-long slumber, it's the thing that comes out of your camera now instead of film.)
What does it mean and how does it affect your photography?
JPEG is an acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group but that's not important right now...and don't call me Shirley. (Thanks, Paco, for putting the Airplane! references into my head. Now they're stuck there.)

When a digital camera "takes a picture" light comes in through the lens and hits the sensor. The sensor converts the light into data. Then the processor in the camera takes all that raw data and interprets it according to predefined rules to create the actual usable image. The pre-assigned parameters tell it what data translate to what colors, noise reduction, how much contrast, etc.
Some cameras--mostly DSLRs--give you access to that RAW data and the ability to process it yourself later on. This gives you the flexibility to shoot first and ask questions later. This flexibility is why many professionals choose to shoot raw. The trade-off is the fact that there is no actual image file until you give the program (Lightroom, Aperture, Bibble, or the included software from the camera manufacturer)the parameters so it can create an image file, making the whole process more time-consuming.
Raw files have had nothing done to them so they look boring. They appear dull and unappealing. You must process them as the camera would in order to create a jpeg image.

Raw file, totally untouched is on the left, processed file on the right. (From a shoot I did for Modest Couture By Elizabeth in Las Vegas.)

The difference in the above images is that in the second I defined a white balance as warmer than what was shot, added some sharpening, and some contrast, and voila, a better image.

So how to decide when to set that "Quality" setting on your camera to Basic vs. Super Fine?

The two factors of your decision are file size vs. quality. Remember that this is NOT the physical dimensions of the image itself, it is the amount of memory the image takes up on your memory card or hard drive and the image quality.

Below is the exact same image, one saved at a low compression (240 kb) and the second at a higher compression (80 kb).
You can see the glitches and inconsistencies in the second image although it is not as distinct as it has been in the past. (These were both saved in Photoshop CS4. Some programs compress better than others.) The transitions from color to color are more abrupt and blockier.

Compression accounts for the difference in the size of the file.

When you choose a lower quality image compression (again, not size--quality is usually listed as fine, medium, super fine, etc.) on your camera, the processor lumps together similar colors in order to save space. So where there would normally be a gradual transition across 100 slightly different colors of blue, all of which must have separate data information, the processor decides to convert it instead to 10 different colors of blue. The only data then necessary is one piece of color data then the number of consecutive pixels that are that color. You lose the information for 90 colors of blue. It saves space but instead of getting a nice gradient you get banded lines that have abrupt changes from one color to the next. If you ever see these lines (usually in a nice, blue sky) you know your compression is too high. Change the quality to super fine or live with the banding.

In the first image below, the transition is smooth from the oranges into the purples. In the second image (with higher compression) you'll see big blocks of color that instead of being many shades of purple have been lumped into a single color.
If the side by side comparison is too small to see the concept keep scrolling. I have included both files in a much larger size after the post.
(Note, this is a somewhat difficult concept to illustrate on the web because most blog platforms automatically reduce the compression on whatever you upload to save space. There will be some banding on the first image because of that. I tried to exaggerate the concept in the second image so you can see the difference.)

So there you go. Remember that once your camera creates a jpeg, it throws all the unused data away. Once you have tossed the transitional colors in this scene, they are gone. The image on the right is the best image you will get. My advice? Memory cards are cheap. Always set the highest quality possible and buy a few more.

Hopefully this little photographical tidbit has explained the mysteries of the universe.
This has been a fun series for me to write. I have tried to be thorough without being overly technical and/or long-winded.
I will keep it up as long as you all keep coming back, deal?

Some Heavy Light Violence After Lunch?

2010-06-09T16:13:00.002-06:00

Painting with light...cool. Stop-motion animation...cool.
Combining the two? AWE-FREAKING-SOME!

Photography and videography continue to merge. Stop-motion animation has had a major resurgence with some pretty big commercials and projects. It's very time-consuming to make and just fun to watch.

The first video here is the how-to. Watch that then watch the final product. This is just cool.

The final product. So many people doing so many cool things with photography!

Shooting the Moon

2010-06-05T11:22:00.003-06:00

January 29, 2010 was a crisp, clear night. It was also the time of year when the full moon is the very closest to the earth.
On the suggestion of a friend, Maddie, I went out and played around. It turned out much better than I expected.
I am working on a post with the how-to of this image so keep an eye out.

Photo IQ - Week 5 -- Focus and Focusing

2010-06-03T09:22:00.010-06:00

Focus, people! We are getting close to the end of the series!
We are on part 5 of my 6-part series on what makes up Image Quality. Photo IQ.
Why, you ask, did it take this long to tackle something so basic as focus? I'm blaming global climate change.
Why bother talking about focus at all? It seems fairly obvious that when your subject is out of focus it will not be a quality image. True. But there is more to focus than just pushing the shutter button halfway down--although that is baffling enough for many.

How focus works:
The auto-focus system in today's cameras works on a simple principle. It evaluates the scene and finds areas of high contrast. By comparing the line between the light and dark portions it makes a decision on the point where the object has the highest contrast. Point and shoot cameras use the sensor to determine the focus of the entire image while DSLRs evaluate on a much smaller scale at many different points in the frame, that is why they are more accurate. If you want more detail on how these work, this is a great article.

This method typically works well until the light gets low and the camera can no longer discern between two different areas of value. At that point, the camera begins to hunt for focus and may eventually just stop.
In the dark when there is no contrast, your camera should have an option to fire a focusing flash. It may fire automatically or you can trigger it yourself. It fires a rapid succession of small flashes that allow the camera to find the contrast it needs.

Types of auto-focus:
Single Frame: The camera focuses when you push the shutter halfway down. It's the best option for subjects that probably won't be moving since when you reframe the shot the focus will already be fairly close and your chances of consecutive shots being focused correctly are higher.

Servo: The camera tracks the subject through the frame. It is one of the main reasons to upgrade to a more expensive camera since a truly effective servo focus is expensive and technologically complex. If you are going to shoot sports or anything that continually moves, you are a prime candidate for expensive cameras.

Hybrid: The different camera companies call it different things but it is typically single frame focus mode but the camera reserves the right to refocus if it detects that the subject moves. I rarely use the hybrid focus (AI Focus on my Canon) because I don't want the camera making the decision on what the subject is. If it's moving, I'll use Servo, if it's not, I don't want it switching focus on its own.

Auto focus options
Typically there are a couple options for autofocusing: Fully auto, and manually choosing a point.
It's typically more effective to choose your own focus point since the camera doesn't actually know what you want to focus on. It will typically focus on the front and center. If you're shooting past something you will almost always miss focus when you let the camera decide.
In a point and shoot you have much deeper depth of field because of the small sensor but the same concept applies. Most have a focus area of the screen that you can move around if you want to focus on something off-center. These days most p&s cameras have face-detection too, which is awesome. It searches for anything it thinks is a face and focuses there. It's quite handy and typically works very well. (My G11 even finds photos of faces that are minuscule.)

As far as Image Quality goes, focus is crucial.
Take the time to stop, brace yourself and squeeze the release. There is a lot of resuscitation you can do on missfire images in Photoshop but focus is not one of them. Trying to focus a missed image in software is mostly an exercise in futility. If your original file is big enough you can probably make it passable for web use but you simply cannot focus an unfocused shot after the moment is gone.
If you miss something, don't let it get you down. We all miss focus sometimes, especially when shooting with faster, riskier apertures. (At 6 feet away, f 1.8 and 50mm, the total depth of field is under 4 inches vs. about a foot at f4.)
If you are consistently frustrated with your focus, there are a few things you can do.
First, check your shutter speeds. A little bit of motion blur looks an awful lot like missed focus. Typically, if the focus missed, something in the frame will be in focus. If you can't find anything, perhaps you or the subject moved. I have seen a HUGE rise in the percentage of usable images since I started paying a little more attention to my shutter speeds. Often times we switch to aperture priority mode and just leave it while the light fades. Before long we are shooting at 1/30 or 1/20 of a second and the images end up blurred.
Second, same concept, different issue. The general rule is that you can hand-hold (not use a tripod) at shutter speeds equal to your focal length (lens zoom.) If you are shooting at 100 mm (3x zoom on a point and shoot) your shutter speed needs to be 1/100 sec or above. Don't forget to take into account the lens crop factor! If you are shooting with a standard aps-c sensor in a dslr (Canon 50d, 7d, Rebels, etc. Nikon d40, d60, d90, d300, etc.) you need to be at 1/150 for the same zoom. Image stabilization helps a lot so experiment at different shutter speeds to find out what your IS/VR will do.
Third, check your lenses for front or back focus. Sometimes a lens or a lens/camera combination isn't quite calibrated correctly. When your autofocus consistently misses there are ways you can test to see if it's a hardware issue. Some cameras allow you to actually adjust the focus plane to make your autofocus more accurate.
Here are a couple of methods to check out:
The complicated way
The less-complicated-yet-still-somewhat-complicated way
The second involves this graphic and the moire of your screen. Don't worry, it explains that too.

So what If you DO screw one up? Nothing can really fix bad focus but my method is pretty simple. Make it relative. I will often use a motion blur or lens blur in photoshop to put the REST of the image so out of focus that in comparison to it, the subject looks okay. It's not a perfect solution but it's about the only option I've found.

As always, I will delve more into these concepts as time goes on. Thanks for reading.
Feel free to let me know what subjects you'd like discussed in the future!

End of Line on week 5.

Think all the Action is in Photoshop? Meet the Bronte Sisters!

2010-06-02T14:04:00.001-06:00

Finally! Action heroes for the kids that stay in from recess to read!

Elegant Bridals in Utah Valley - Blayr - Provo Castle Park

2010-05-26T16:08:00.032-06:00

Blayr is one of the two Holmgren sisters I photographed last fall. I realized that I never posted her bridals on my blog and they are some of my favorites!
Click here to see her awesome vintage-inspired wedding.
Blayr wanted a mixture of the classic sweet with the modern sassy. With her graceful dress and feminine curls in contrast to the hot pink Steve Madden heels and cheeky daisy bouquet, it was so much fun to find locations to shoot that met the needs of both sides of her personality. Castle Park in Provo proved to be the perfect space. The stone castle overlooks the entire Provo valley and offered beautiful views, impressive structures, and even a lake where we shot on the dock. It was a beautiful setting for a gorgeous girl!

Photographically speaking, most images have a -1 ev fill from an off-camera speedlite in a Gary Fong Lightsphere.
In processing, I also played around with the Indian Summer filter from Nik Software. Way cool. It turns all your leaves into fall colors.
She had great shoes, too.

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Kosha Dillz - Hip Hop vs. The Great Salt Lake

2010-05-24T14:25:00.001-06:00

Hip Hop artist Kosha Dillz came through town last week and did a session with Andrea Hanks. I went along for the ride and got a chance to shoot a few frames myself. We had a great time and Kosha was down to earth and a true gentleman. (He even had the time to save three starving kittens during the shoot!)
If you're not familiar with Kosha Dillz, I've embedded his video on VH1, "Cellular Phone" below.
Go see Andrea Hanks Photography's portfolio at http://www.andreahanksphotography.com Rocks.
Kosha's site:
http://www.koshadillzworld.com/

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

This is NOT a Racial Post! - WHITE BALANCE - Photo IQ -- WEEK 4

2010-05-20T09:23:00.204-06:00

I am going to start out this way, if you want the cheapest, easiest way to make more professional-looking photographs, THIS is it. White balance is extremely important in quality images.
I hear people all the time lamenting their out-dated cameras and low-grade lenses, wishing that if only they could get better gear, their photos would look better. To all of you I say, don't upgrade until you master white-balance. It will give new life to your images.

What IS white balance and why do I care?
White balance refers to the color cast given off from different light sources or picked up by light reflecting off various surfaces. It is measured in degrees kelvin. Typical temperatures of light are as follows.

Color Temp. Light Source
1000-2000 K Candlelight
2500-3500 K Tungsten Bulb (household variety)
3000-4000 K Sunrise/Sunset (clear sky)
4000-5000 K Fluorescent Lamps
5000-5500 K Electronic Flash
5000-6500 K Daylight with Clear Sky (sun overhead)
6500-8000 K Moderately Overcast Sky
9000-10000 K Shade or Heavily Overcast Sky

There is a range given because white balance is a very imprecise science when it comes to photography. It changes all the time with clouds and different colored light bulbs...in fact, very few lightbulbs are yellow enough to fall under the traditional tungsten range.

With film white balance was a matter of choosing indoor or outdoor film then using filters to equalize colors and remove a cast.
Digital is easier because we can switch whenever we want, set custom white balances, and in mid to higher-end dslrs custom-tune the temperature.

Why white balance?
Just pay attention to the photographs that really move you. They will very rarely have odd color casts. Our eyes are very good at compensating for white balance differences naturally so we don't usually notice it. That is why so many amateur photographers don't pay attention to it. But it is an elements that when it is done right will elevate your images even if viewers can't put their finger on the reason.

RAW vs. Jpeg
Shoot Raw. Okay, just kidding, you can choose what fits your style better, there are still a few photographers that shoot jpeg out of the camera (See Jerry Ghionis) but more and more the consensus is to shoot raw.
If you don't get it right on location, any editing you do later on is simply photoshop's guess as to what it should be. I prefer to shoot raw so the original data is preserved. Then in editing the program knows exactly how the color should be rendered with each tweak of the white balance slider.
If you are a jpeg shooter, white balance should be your obsession, if you shoot raw, it is still a time saver since getting it right saves time in editing but you can miss or forget to change it and there is no harm done.

I went into the last couple of weeks of shoots to find examples of white balance shifts so you can see the difference between an average white balance and a good white balance.

Below is Christian Burridge at the Salt Lake County Democratic Convention. The convention was held in a large multi-purpose room lit entirely with florescent lights. You can tell they're florescent by the characteristic green tone in the auto white-balance example on the left. It's not bad, per se, but you can see the difference in skin tone when the compensation was introduced. It's a much more pleasing, more professional-looking image. I love shooting men in suits and white shirts because white shirt collars are just about the best sample for white balance. They are minimally reflective and are near the face so they are almost always included.

The next example comes from an underwater set. Again we see the influence of the mostly florescent lighting. The corrected image (right) is much crisper and cleaner.

The next example is from a set I did with hiphop artist Kosha Dillz. I was there to assist the amazing Andrea Hanks but she let me do a little shooting on my own as well.
The cloudy, twilight sky (oooh, he said Twilight!) gives a naturally blue cast but I was mixing in a daylight-balanced flash. I actually wanted to warm up the skin tones so I moved the white balance towards yellow by shooting on the Cloudy setting. The goal was to warm up the whole scene and really pull out the yellow in the little sunlight left. I think that "true" white balance is not always the ideal. I like things a little warmer than normal. "Correct" white balance means neutral--and neutral is, well, neutral. It can feel very clinical and unemotional. I almost always cheat a little warm, especially when it comes to portraits. Typically, "correct" skin tones on men are too pink for me. Skin tones look much better warm than cool. The corrected white balance is on the right so you can see the difference and judge for yourself.

So how do you set white balance?
Every camera is different but typically you go into your menu and choose the one that is closest to your conditions. Some preset white balance settings are good. some really aren't. Auto white balance typically works pretty well and is a good choice most of the time but will be fooled by scenes where there is one dominant color, such as a frame full of autumn leaves. The camera will see an overall red/orange color so it will compensate by moving the temperature towards blue. I keep my camera on daylight/sunny balance most of the time. By NOT using auto white balance I at least have consistency in my images and if I need to correct them I can often apply the same correction to many images, saving me time. That only works in a situation where the color cast is consistent. I will go to auto if the white balance is changing often.
The Kelvin temperature comes into play when the preset values don't work. For me, this is almost always in an artificial incandescent situation. MOST tungsten/incandescent presets are too blue because they use the same temperature settings that have been used for years and years. The problem is that we aren't using the same bulbs we've used for years and years. Light bulbs have moved closer to daylight temperatures so often the tungsten setting will be overkill and be too blue. I keep my Kelvin selector at about 3100 degrees so I can flip over to it when the tungsten setting doesn't work.
Custom white balance is set by shooting a frame of a neutral colored subject then telling the camera that whatever is in that particular frame is the base neutral color. The camera then calibrates that color as neutral and bases all the other colors on that neutral example. For setting custom, gray is actually used more often than white.
I will cover using custom white balances for creative effect in a future Photo IQ post. It's really fun.

In this Photo IQ series I have tried to give a general overview of concepts that contribute to Image Quality. I can't cover everything and have tried to keep them like a woman's skirt, long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep things interesting. I will expand on some of these concepts in future posts. Feel free to comment or email me with question or suggestions for topics. I've already gotten some great requests!

I hope you're enjoying the series! I have had a good time writing them and have had amazing feedback so far. Thanks for reading!

Next week's Photo IQ: Focus.

Young Love...Fashionably Late -- Janna + Dave, Manti Temple

2010-05-17T15:50:00.006-06:00

To see the full event or purchase images from this amazing, artistic, classy wedding, click right here.
Janna and I have been friends for a very long time. She was one of my best friends in high school and we have stayed good friends through many, many good times and a few bad. She is one of my favorite people on the planet.
Dave and Janna met at Snow College in 1994 and actually dated clear back then! They both went their separate ways only to have everything come full-circle 15 years later. They are live in the Washington DC area and having the time of their lives.
I was honored and privileged to shoot their wedding. I loved everything we did and just had an amazing time. Janna has an incredible family and we had a great time. I was also excited to be able to shoot the reception with the incomparable Andrea Hanks. Congratulations, Janna and Dave!
Janna's Bridals at the Union Station in Ogden.
Dave and Janna's Engagements in downtown Salt Lake City.

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

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The Camera of the Future TODAY...and there's a STAR WARS Edition!

2010-05-15T13:46:00.000-06:00

The new Canon SD4000.
PDN reported on a special edition of Canon's new killer ELPH point and shoot camera.
It's a significant step forward in point and shoot cameras because it uses a CMOS sensor instead of the older, lower quality (and universal) CCD so the low-light performance improves right off the bat. It also shoots over 8 frames a second! Between that and the blink detection, you'll definitely get the shot of your kid you've been missing.
The SD4000 also shoots 720p HD video with stereo sound and has a maximum aperture of 2.0.
The camera will retail for $350--frankly, I thought it would be more.
The Storm Trooper Edition will be limited to 200 and will be available only at the Canon E-store (www.shop.usa.canon.com) at the end of May. Shouldn't they have launched it on May the Fourth?
Click here for the official announcement and product pages on CanonUSA.com.

See my portfolio at www.jonwoodbury.com

Photography--EXPOSED! - Photo IQ - WEEK 3

2010-05-13T16:22:00.011-06:00

Yet again, I have bitten off a huge chunk of photographic goodness and I will chew it up and hand it back to you in nice, pre-masticated, understandable bite-sized pieces.

How does exposure affect image quality? That is the question of the day...or the week.
Exposure, simply put, is the amount of light that the digital sensor (or the film) absorbs. It is determined by three things:

1. The length of time it is exposed to the light. Measured as Shutter Speed
2. The amount of light that comes in at once. Measured as Aperture

3. The sensitivity of the sensor (or film.) Measured as ISO

The Analogy:
Imagine your sensor (I'll stop saying film every time, you know who you are.) is a bucket. Like this one that my wife Lori uses to put flowers in before she builds the most beautiful wedding bouquets on the planet. (How was that for a shameless plug? You really should go to her website, though.)

Your light meter/camera meter gives you the proper exposure, visualized by a line on the side of the bucket. We'll say that it is 2 liters. That is the correct amount of light/water for the scene. You have two factors that go into filling the bucket. How much water you pour in at once, and how long it takes you to pour in the water.
In the end, it really doesn't matter whether you dump the entire 2 liters in at once or whether you run a hose and fill it up slowly. In the end, you still have 2 liters of water in the bucket.

Think of the amount you dump in at one time as the aperture and the length of time it takes you as the shutter speed. Keep the analogy in mind as we go over the parts.

How do you measure light?
We do it in "stops". Stops are not nearly as difficult as most people make them out to be. One stop up is double the amount of light and one stop down is half. Pretty simple.

1. Shutter speed is measured as a fraction of a second, 1/8, 1/60, 1/1000. Half the amount of time, is one stop different. It's one stop brighter (double the light) when you move from 1/125 of a second to 1/60 of a second. The standard stop measurements go from 1/60 up and down, ex 1/30, 1/15, 1/8. 1/4 and 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, etc.You can see how each is either double or half the amount of light of the one above or below it. Modern cameras allow either one or two increments in between each full stop--it can be more confusing, many photographers don't even know what the official stops are.
There are no absolutes with shutter speed because how much light you get in that amount of time is based on how much is available and how much is coming in at once.
Shutter speed affects Image Quality mostly by controlling movement. If you shake the camera or your subject moves while the shutter is open, the image comes out blurry. Both the camera and the subject will move much less in 1/500 of a second than they will in 1/8 of a second. Typically, faster speeds will yield crisper, sharper images. With image stabilization on lenses photographers often just make a blanket statement that now that camera shake is minimized they can shoot at very slow shutter speeds. True, but you have to be aware that your subjects, be it people, animals, or even trees, move.

2. Aperture is measured in f-stops. It's a complicated equation (and a whole different blog post) to get the numbers but it boils down to each number being double the size of the one below it--therefore letting in twice as much light. (starting to get the pattern?) The traditional standard stops are 2.8, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22 etc. Each is one stop different from the one next to it. Again, modern cameras allow you to choose whether you want one or two options for apertures in between these standard ones.
The difference between aperture and shutter speed is that an aperture is always the same amount of light. So 2.8 on my 7D is the exact same amount of light hitting the sensor at one time as 2.8 on my G11 point and shoot. Remember that, it makes using flashes MUCH easier later on.
The main effect on Image Quality from aperture is depth of field. It's an amazing artistic tool but if you want a 3-foot-deep object entirely in focus and you're shooting at 1.8 and 50mm, you're looking at about one inch that will be in focus. Typically it takes 5.6-8 to focus an entire group of people 3 lines deep.

3. ISO is not really reflected in the bucket analogy. If you have ideas on how to use it, let me know. I toyed with using it but it just complicated things.
ISO is basically the measurement of the sensitivity of the sensor or how quickly it absorbs light. In the good old days of film, ISO was determined by the film you used. It was difficult to change film in the middle if you were outside using 100 iso film then went inside where you would need 800 to get any light at all. Digital is awesome. Now all you have to do is switch the sensitivity to wherever you want it.
ISO effects Image Quality with noise, mostly. The higher your ISO, the faster shutter-speeds you'll get, but with that extra speed you pay the price in noise. Not all noise is bad. I actually like the texture you get from a little noise, the question is what kind of noise. Vast improvements have been made in the look and feel of noise at higher isos. For example, I hated anything above 800 iso on my 40d but even though there is still quite a bit of it at 6400 on my 7D it is more pleasing and I actually mind it less. It doesn't interfere with the shapes and lines in the image like the ugly digital-looking noise did before.
Frankly, images will almost always look better at higher isos and correct exposure than they will under-exposed at lower isos.

That's basic exposure. The simplicity is maddening. I will expand on all of these as time goes by.

Next week: White Balance...my arch nemesis.

The Sinister World of Dingbats and WhingDings or This Font Smells Funny

2010-05-12T14:57:00.002-06:00

We all have our favorite fonts, I know I do. I'm partial towards Georgia and Myriad Pro. (Can't we all agree to stop using Papyrus? You know who you are.)
But some fonts are just trouble...

Christian Burridge for County Council - 2010 Salt Lake County Democratic Convention

2010-05-10T11:20:00.003-06:00

A good friend of mine, Christian Burridge, ran for county council. He is a good man. (I was going to add, "despite being a democrat" but I'll just leave it at good man.) I went and covered the convention. He didn't make it through the convention but I'm sure he will rise again like the phoenix he is.
Photographically, this was fun. No pressure for certain shots an I got to really see what my 7D could do. All of the inside images were shot at least 3200 ISO--some at 6400! I LOVE the high-iso on this camera. It still has noise at the higher settings but the noise looks good. 1600 iso on my 40D looked awful. It felt digital and forced. 6400 on my 7D feels more like film grain. it doesn't affect the overall quality and usability of the images. It's great.
Aside from that, florescent lighting is always awful but with a custom white-balance and not adding flash (mixed light is worse than bad light) they look good.

For those of you on smart phones who can't see the slideshow below, click here to be whisked electronically to the facebook album.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com

Lens Quality - Photo IQ - Week 2

2010-05-06T09:21:00.231-06:00

There are a lot of lenses out there...a lot. How do you decide which to buy and what the heck the difference is?
Famed wildlife photographer and prolific podcast czar Scott Bourne always says that photography is about compromise. Nowhere is this more evident than when dealing with lenses.
THE perfect lens, doesn't exist but YOUR perfect lens might.
(Scott Bourne also says that 99% of lenses are better than 99% of photographers but I digress.)

Lenses for Digital SLRs range from about $100 all the way up into the thousands of dollars. For the most part you get what you pay for but there are options no matter what your budget.
The main goal of any lens is sharpness. You want to get a lens that will be sharp at the sizes that you are printing. The smaller you print, the less you need something ultra-sharp.
For quality, I would definitely choose a more expensive lens with a lower cost camera than vice-versa. Think about it. If you have a $7000 camera but put a $100 lens on it, your photos can only be as sharp as the lens is! The other advantage to investing in lenses is that they can move up as you upgrade to a better and better camera.

So let's dive in.

The factors that contribute to price are:
1. Build quality
2. Complexity
3. Size
4. Features

1. Build Quality.
Professional grade lenses (with Canon it's the ones with red lines around them) are built tougher. That doesn't necessarily mean durability, although that factors into it too, cheaper lenses are often made of plastic versus metals and other composites.

Mechanically, higher quality lenses have internal focus and internal zoom. When a piece moves in and out it is difficult to seal effectively so there's room for dust to invade the internal workings of your lens. The push and pull also tends to suck the dirt in. Internal movement means that all the physical movements are encased in the lens. It doesn't physically expand outwards either to zoom or to focus. It's more complex to build (That's number 2) so that makes it more expensive but it also allows for better sealing. If you often shoot in dusty or dirty environments you'll ruin less sturdy lenses by getting sand inside them. Even with normal wear and tear you'll most likely get dust in your lenses if they have external movement but that isn't necessarily a problem for casual users since it typically doesn't have a great effect on the quality of the photos you're taking.
The other factor of build quality is the simple quality of the glass used in the lenses. Here again, you can't really fake it--better is better.

See how the barrel moves out of the body.

Where this lens stays the same size regardless of the focus or zoom.

2. Complexity.
The more parts and engineering it takes to create a lens, the more expensive it will be. This is an area where you can REALLY get quality for a steal.
At the consumer level, you often see lenses with huge zoom ranges like 18-300. It's really handy to not have to switch lenses but mechanically, it's impossible to have the same quality with that kind of complexity. In the move from a wide angle like 18mm to a long telephoto like 300mm it is very difficult to control the refraction of light. You'll rarely see pro-quality lenses with those ranges because you simply can't maintain high quality throughout the length of the lens. There's more leeway in a zoom from 70-300 because it doesn't have to pull double duty as a wide-angle as well. So just know that with the convenience of a single lens comes a sacrifice in image quality. Which leads us to...primes.
This is where you can really leverage your money and get high-quality glass for a much lower cost.
A prime lens is a lens that doesn't zoom. It is a single focal-length--a common choice is 50mm. With no mechanics at all for zooming, you get a much simpler, cleaner lens with fewer elements driving the cost of design and manufacture down considerably. Many high-end photographers use nothing but primes because the light is so much more controlled and less diluted...and in a prime lens you can get much, much better lenses for so much less $$$! Most pro series zoom lenses run about $1000-$3000 while quality primes run $300-$800.
Even at the low end you'll get much better lenses for less money.
When I first started, I bought two $100 lenses, the Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 and the Canon 50mm 1.8 prime. Both were made of plastic.

I used the 70-300 zoom for about a month before I realized that the quality simply wasn't good enough while the 50mm never left my bag until a few months ago when I was shooting with it for fun and the camera was stolen. (I have missed it.) You simply can't make a 70-300 zoom with any quality for $100 but that prime was sharp as a tack! (I won't go in to f-stops now but you also get 4 times more light at the same shutter speed with the prime.)

3. Size
Size matters here too. The bigger the front opening, the more light that gets in at once. You'll see consumer lenses with diameters of 52-58mm. You can only get so much light in those at one time. As you get larger, (77mm is standard for most pro lenses), you get much more light but you also get much more expensive, larger pieces of glass. It also becomes far more expensive for filters.
Size doesn't have a large impact image quality, just cost.

4. Features
Features definitely affect image quality. Image Stabilization (Nikon calls it VR, Sigma-OS, etc.) is a very common feature these days and can be a huge help in controlling motion blur, especially in low light. IS basically uses a gyroscope and tiny motors to compensate for your shaky hands by moving the lens elements the opposite way of the shake. It helps.
Other features include:
- Lens Coatings: layers of stuff coating the lenses to control lens flare and that ugly purple, blue, and red fringing you get in high-contrast situations. Definitely affects the quality of your images. It's not fun to take out and higher-end lenses give you much less of it.
- Ultrasonic Focus Motors: Uses vibration to auto-focus instead of moving motors. Doesn't really affect image quality directly but quieter, faster, more efficient auto-focusing is definitely going to get you better photos, especially of moving subjects like children and athletes.
- Tilt-shifts: Lenses designed to change the plane of focus to compensate for perspective, usually used in architecture but also can be very creative and dynamic for portraits. For examples of tilt-shift in portraits check out Julie Parker. She's great.
- Auto-focus override: Typically used in sports, it allows you to manually move the focus and override what the camera chose without changing the focus mode to manual. It's quite complicated mechanically. Personally, I never use it but I'm sure it's indispensable for somebody.

So there you go. Hopefully this info will help you make an informed decision on what is really one of the biggest factors in Image Quality.
Next week's topic? Exposure.

10 Reasons You Need an Amazing Portrait - Portrait Photographer

2010-05-04T09:52:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about how powerful a great portrait is. I've had people hire me for so many different reasons it often blows my mind. As I thought about the past few years as a photographer I got all choked up with emotion remembering the different individuals and families that have changed how I see myself and the world. With cameras all over the place and 50% of the planet opening photography "businesses" it is an ever-growing privilege to be asked to create art with incredible people.
It made it easy to come up with 10 reasons that it's worth it to get a really amazing portrait.

See more at www.jonwoodbury.com