U2 360 Tour Photos - Rice-Eccles Stadium

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.

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

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.

Lauren - Bridals at the Utah State Capitol

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

Amanda's "Field of Dreams" Bridals

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

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