Today I’m starting a photography tip series on keeping your photos sharp. I’m not sure how many episodes will end up in this series, but it should be fun.
daniel

Transcript:

Hey photographers, Daniel Roberts here for FreshEdgePhoto.com. Today we’re going to be talking about how to keep your photos really crisp and sharp, using the shutter.

Now, shutter speed is a… It’s just one of those things you’re going to have to get used to, to some degree, but I want to provide you with some tools that will give you a good guideline.

First, you want to make sure that your shutter speed is at least equal to the focal length of your lens. Now, that’s kind of for the old 35mm film days. A lot of the newer digital cameras are using crop sensors, so you’re going to have to multiply and do some math. Think 1.5 times roughly. So, if you’re using a 50mm lens… 75. So you wouldn’t want a shutter speed less than 1/75 of a second. My camera is full frame so with a 50mm lens you wouldn’t want it less than 1/50 of a second. A 200mm lens, like I’m using to record this with. It’s a nice long lens, so 1/200 of a second. Ok, so that’ll kind of keep your handheld shots from shake.

The second part to this is that at some point you’re just going to be shaky, so at that point it just depends by person. You’re going to get a feel for this over time, but try and keep it above 1/15 of a second. Somewhere in there is where most people start to get shaky. If you can prop up against something, that help. Of course there’s always monopods, tripods, and all that kind of stuff.

There’s your tip for the day. I hope you enjoy it. You can find more of me, Daniel Roberts, at FreshEdgePhoto.com. Thank you.

Transcript:
Hey brides, Daniel Roberts here for FreshEdgePhoto.com. Today’s video is a “Should Ask Question.” That’s something you should ask your photographer before the wedding, and today’s question is, “What will you be wearing on the wedding day?”

Now I’m a casual kind of guy, but I’ve seen photographers show up in t-shirts and jeans. Blue jeans for that matter, and that’s just not acceptable. On the other hand, don’t make your photographer wear a suit. Don’t make your photographer wear anything that’s so dressy that he’s going to be really concerned about getting it dirty.

Sometimes we need to lie on the ground. Sometimes, well… A lot of times we need to kneel to get that shot for you. So, try and balance that. Just try to make sure they’re not going to wear anything too tacky or too distracting.

Personally, I always wear a black dress shirt or something like that and either black jeans or slacks. (Actually, I always wear slacks to weddings.) Something along those lines. I try to keep it very low-key, very minimal, but course I’m willing to work with the bride to wear whatever she wants me to… within reason. No clown suits.

That’s the tip for the day. Hope you enjoyed it. I’m Daniel Roberts, and you can find more of me at FreshEdgePhoto.com Thank you very much.

About a week ago, I had the amazing privilege of giving back by shooting a group of people who protect the rest of us. Lt. Shane Cook of the Monroe County Fire Department invited me down to shoot a “training exercise.” Basically that means taking a dilapidated house and burning it to the ground in a somewhat controlled way.  They’d already spent months gutting all the nasty chemical containing insulation and such, so basically it was a wooden shell. It was an awesome way to spend the weekend, and the firefighters were so grateful.

Here’s their leader. He was a really great guy, and I could tell everyone really respected him. I love how this picture captures the seriousness of what they do. After all, they literally are “playing with fire.”

I learned that different helmets signify the rank. Black = Firefighter, Yellow = Leuitenant, Red = Captain, White=Chief, and Pink=?!?!? (Breast Cancer Awareness)

It’s really amazing how many pieces there are to their turnout gear and just how fast they can get into it. These people are absolutely fearless.

They light shipping pallets on fire and use that to simulate furniture and such. They send a team in, put it almost out, then rotate the lead person to the back while the fire builds back up. As long as they contain the fire from getting through the ceiling (done by the “attic team”) they can rinse and repeat for quite a while. Here a team is waiting on the fire to build back up.

I love this photo. It almost reminds me of something of a warrior in a sci-fi movie. This was taken standing on the porch. The heat was so intense I was actually worried about damaging my camera. Anything to get the shot though, right?

After they had done all the training, they “let it go.” That’s firefighter speak for “house-sized-bonfire” and “spray water in the air so it doesn’t melt the power lines.” Fun times.

Here’s a shot my intrepid side-kick Sarah got while the house was going up in flames. I’m not quite sure of the meaning of the word “intrepid,” but it sounds cool, and I hadn’t used it yet today. That’s Shane and me there in the foreground. That’s right, I got to wear one of his cool yellow lieutenant helmets.

Here’s what it looks like when they get through “training.”

I doubt I’ll be picking up a hose anytime soon, but I totally get why they do it. Firefighters are some of the most fearless people in the world, and I have nothing but respect for the jobs they do. Thank you.

Busy creating some video content for this website today. Yes, I’m still in the photography business, but what many of you may not know is that I perfected my lighting skills on the set of national TV shows. Sometimes in the past I’ve felt like a photographer that couldn’t seem to get away from a video camera. Now my photography “still” camera shoots 1080p video! What’s a guy supposed to do? Actually, I’m loving it. I’m looking forward to the day when the video and still camera market will be one in the same.

Why hire a professional?
I read an interesting conversation on one of the professional photography forums today. There’s a longstanding complaint by sourpusses that technology will do away with the need for talent and skill. At the rate technology is moving, in ten years why would someone pay a professional photographer thousands of dollars to shoot a wedding when their friend that does photography as a hobby can do it for free? One particular photographer made the outstanding point that as technology has made it easier for amateurs with next to no skill to make better pictures than the could have ten years ago on film, technology has also raised the bar of what is expected from a professional photographer. I know that my own craft has benefited greatly from things like digital and high ISO settings.

At the end of the day I’m excited for everyone in this situation. Technology is paving a way for both hobbyist and professional photographers to capture stories in more captivating ways. I have no doubt that the need for the professional photographer will still be here when the time comes for my grand kids’ weddings. After all, people don’t hire my camera, they hire me.

Welcome to my new photo blogsite. It’s a blog. It’s a website. It’s both. With the power of wordpress these days there’s becoming less and less reason to hand code websites. Just grab a template that’s got good bones, customize it to the moon and back using firebug, and presto! Your very own personalized website with a built in CMS.

So, what does this mean to those of you who have been following me for a while? While I’m starting from the ground up with pictures again (maybe I’ll stick my old website up someday if you’re looking for older pictures), hopefully it means that I’ll be posting more regularly so you’ll have even more of a reason to come here.

As I write this, I’ve got just one hour before I head to shoot a wedding for a long time friend. I was in the honor’s program in college with the bride, but actually got the job through the groom’s mother who I used to work with. Small world. I couldn’t believe it when the mother told me who the bride was. Those will probably be the first pictures on the blog. Keep checking back this week.

Grace and Peace,
Daniel