Thumbs Up Dude!

My connection is pretty week. Sometimes, it's just going to be. And I'm officially over it! Because of Brandi's black and white conversion, I had a tailor made excuse should I need a bailout connection. So here you go, Ethan playing soccer converted to black and white.

Canon 30D
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6
Aperture f/5.0
Shutter 1/800
ISO 100
Natural Light

I also chose this shot because I sometimes fall into the trap of trying to get the perfect shot when a shot that is "good enough" is actually more important. I say more important because the corollary for feeling pressured to do it perfect is a tendency to not take the shot at all! Case in point, today was Ethan's last day of soccer for the season and I had yet to shoot a single picture. That's just plain stupid.

I titled this "Thumbs Up Dude" because this is something I do with both of my boys. In this case, Ethan had just kicked the ball and turned to give me the thumbs up. It's just precious and I was lucky enough to capture it on film (uh...I mean digital). Thank God I wasn't fussing around with my camera too much. It's not a perfect technical shot, and yet it's perfect for me.

Never let perfection get in your way!

Scott

Happy Mother's Day from 3C1D!!!

What a freakin' fantastic day! Are y'all outside having a blast? I know we are! And that's how I got this shot:

Canon 30D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter 1/4000
ISO 400
Sunlight

After a morning spent gorging on brunch and sharing our presents for my bride, we all headed out to "Kick Ass Park" (aka Deicke park). It's truly a mansion of a playground, complete with the longest metal slide I've ever seen. Now my youngest son Brandon is a bulldozer of a boy, with very little fear. Ethan (pictured) meanwhile likes to really consider the risks before plunging down a slide. Once he saw Brandon flying down the polished metal, there was no stopping my E-man. Funny what a little sibling rivalry will do.

One thing I noticed as the boys slid over and over was how the metal was acting as a reflector for the sunlight. Normally, you would avoid underlighting like this at all cost, unless you're going for a special effect. But with my boys and the spirit of the day, added to the reflected face of my first born, I just couldn't help snapping off tons of photos.

A little hint for those of you that might try this. Switch over to manual focus and pick a spot on the slide. When the model begins their slide, you will already be prefocused on that spot, allowing for a sharp image. You only get one shot per slide, but atleast you have a decent chance.

Moving on, the latest winner of WW is Kristen! Kristen, if you're reading this, email us at 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com and we'll set you up with further instructions. Alright, I'm going outside. It might start raining for another month and I have to stock up on sunlight. Happy Mother's Day to the 3 chicks and to all you readers!

Peace!

Scott

A Bit of a Punt

Tonight we were hoping to feature Amanda, out latest guest poster. I happen to know she's feeling a bit under the weather as is her little one. I'm thinking it's got the best of her this evening and I look forward to when she's feeling herself once more.

Meanwhile our very own Brandi is dealing with issues in her home as well and is just plum too tired to post. So...you get me and a picture of my very fat first son Ethan.

Canon 30D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L

ISO 200

Aperture f/2.8

Shutter 1/120

Speedlight pointed towards the ceiling

I'm comforatble calling Ethan fat because he's only 5 months old and I happen to know he was fed very well. The connection is simply the black and white conversion. In my case, the color of the baby tub really distracted from Ethan himself. Additionally I hadn't thought much about the background, which was also full of distracting colors. So black and white it was!

By way of news, I'm typing this on my brand spanking new computer and I already love it. Now to learn Photoshop - piece of cake! Happy Tuesday everyone.

Scott

Friday Faces - How Did Tigger Drown in the Toilet?

He was looking for Pooh!!!

Canon 30D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L
Shutter Speed 1/200
Aperture f/7.1
ISO 100
Manual Mode
External Speed Light

I must start with a confession. When I made the suggestion to start shooting faces at least one day a week I was thinking of exactly what Brandi did here - taking shots of people we don't yet know. So far, all I've done is take a self-portrait and get a shot of my oldest son Ethan (pictured here laughing at my all-star joke). That's not exactly all that adventurous but the fact is today just wasn't built for me finding a stranger. Just couldn't do it, at this juncture (what the heck happened to SNL anyway? It used to be so good!).

Which leads me to this shot. As I was cleaning up dinner, Ethan says "Daddy! What a beautiful sunset!" After checking it out myself and totally agreeing, a light bulb went off and I thought about how I've always wanted to expose a sunset correctly and still get a well-exposed portrait. Eureka! Here was my chance!

If you're scratching your head, here's a bit more of an explanation. Cameras have light meters built into them. The purpose of the meter is to tell either the camera or the photographer how much light you have and what your exposure settings need to be. It is because of the light meter that your camera knows to keep the shutter open longer when there isn't much light and to snap it shut quickly when it's midday without a cloud in the sky. The camera might use aperture and ISO for the same purpose. Most of the time the camera does a bang up job (regardless of the make). However, there are situations that will just mess up your meter and need to be handled with a bit more effort. For example, a snowy field has got WAY to much white for your meter to expose correctly and will result in your camera thinking there is more light than there actually is. I imagine a black sand beach would have the opposite effect.

With this shot, it was difficult because Ethan was back-lit. Furthermore, I wanted the colors of the sunset to come through. Here's the issue - if I set up to meter Ethan's face, my camera would have kept the shutter open for quite some time in order to expose correctly. The result would have been a completely blown out sky and most likely a blurry face owing to the long shutter speed. If I set up to meter the sky, I would have ended up with beautiful colors but a face completely engulfed in shadow.

Here's the solution. You must meter for the sky and use a flash to illuminate Ethan's face. Bingo bango bongo, you have a portrait that most people can't figure out how to do! The only thing I wish I had is a gel to warm up the flash. Maybe next time.

So there you have it folks. I promise next time I will try to get a stranger. In the meantime, Ethan was a fantastic model and I got to try another new technique. TGIF!