by Elsa Jensen | Oct 22, 2014 | Blog-category, People, Photos
The best thing about taking portraits for people is that its usually during a time of their life that is exciting – and that’s true of graduates and senior pictures! Graduate photos is a growing market in the photography industry and utilizing all different types of lighting and poses for graduate portrait photography is an important key skill that I’ve learned. Having a sharp focus and a focus that draws the right attention to the subject is always essential, so a shallow depth of field with a fast shutter speed is important. I’ve been experimenting with using a f/2.8 to create a shallow depth of field and it’s been really fun to see how they turn out. Graduates and seniors are one of my favorite things to photograph because of the variety and energy – I hope you can tell! ...
by Elsa Jensen | Oct 22, 2014 | Blog-category, People, Photos
Using studio quality lighting can transform a portrait and take it to the next level! For most of my photography career and experience, I have been what I would call a ‘natural light snob’, only accepting photos and clients that were natural light. While we were in the Sky Mountain Lodge, we got the chance to try some high quality professional studio lighting that were provided to us and it definitely changed my opinion of portraits that are taken with studio lighting. These lights give the ability to creating lighting patterns that you want, give a soft light, and brighten any area that you use. With a higher aperture, fast shutter speed, and low ISO, it can create a perfect mix for a beautiful studio lighting...
by Elsa | Sep 26, 2014 | Blog-category, Photos, Places
I was really excited about the things that I could do with this assignment. While it sounds simple enough, the task was pretty fun and got me to try new things with photography that I never have before. Take an ordinary spot and take an extraordinary shot, showing the place in new light and with new vision. I was inspired by classmates and decided to use this assignment to try and practice my abilities with night photography. I’ve noticed the beauty and change that night can bring to a scene lately and I thought it would be a fun and interesting way to not only take an aspect of a place that is extraordinary, but to also show it in a different setting. And here is the finished...
by Elsa | Sep 26, 2014 | Blog-category, People, Photos
When I first heard the abbreviation SQIBB, I thought we were talking about the Harry Potter term for a non-magical person trying to learn magic on their own, but that’s definitely not the case! A SQIBB portrait is an incredible way of creating a Studio Quality Invisible Black Background in any lighting, any setting, with just your camera, a speedlight flash, and a flash bender. So I set up my models in my living room during the height of the sun and bright light and set up my flash with the rogue flash bender – I made sure to partially ‘snoot’ the flash bender to direct the light and I also used the diffuser to diffuse the flash just a little bit. I then tested my settings and flash until I found a good exposure with a f/9, 250th exposure, and an 1/8 on my flash. I was trying to accomplish a dramatic, but also soft light to accentuate the different styles of dramatic lighting....
