High Tea and sorts...

MOMS & DAUGHTERS OF ALL AGES:

We are planning a very fun High Tea group photoshoot! This is something very different and new to us, so we are soooo excited to get to work.

Here's how it works:

There is a limit of 5 pairs (10 people in total)

Each pair contributes R150-00

We set up and provide eats, props and the location

We will have 2 wonderful and excited photographers there ready to take pictures.

There will be lots of group shots and plenty individual shots of each pair.

After the shoot we will go and edit all the beautiful photographs and upload them to Facebook and a personalised dropbox folder for you to have UNLIMITED access to!

You can take, keep and print as many of the photo's as you want! They are all yours! 

Make sure you book your spot now, as like i said earlier, spots are limited!

And don't worry if you haven't had a photo shoot before, we will be there to guide you all the way! And don't for get to enjoy yourself! 

Here are some of the pics you can expect to see: 

Product Photography tips

Get Lots of Light

Natural light works best for any type of photo and should be used whenever possible. Typically, shooting your photos during the day will grant the best results. What matters is not only the quantity of the light, but the uniformity of distribution as well.

Hard shadow vs. soft shadow- Hard shadows are created when the size of the light source is small compared to the size of the subject. Conversely, soft shadows are created when the size of the light source is larger than the subject. For your needs you want to aim for soft shadow.

As demonstrated in the example below, the more diffused the light is, the better its spread on the object you photograph and the more smooth and whole its appearance.  To avoid a hard shadow, use a flash diffuser. A flash diffuser can be created by taking a white tape or a white plastic bag and attaching it to the flash of the camera. In turn, the light will be distributed in a softer, more even way in all parts of the object, rather than be centered in one spot.

White Background – Create the Infinity Curve

Often in product photography, a clean white background looks best since it creates a focus on the object itself. The “Infinity Curve” enables photographers to shoot products against an endless white background that reveals no horizon in the back, only a clean and pleasant view. To create this type of background, place a piece of white paper or fabric and bend it to create a curve. Your product will be the center of the photo and the only item to capture the viewer’s attention.

Find the Unusual Point of View

No one knows your products better than you. However, nothing is better than a product photo shoot to bring out special features of your product that may surprise even you. As you take photos, go for unusual angles, get close ups and look for unique points of view. Tell a story with the images you capture, while you accentuate particular angles. You never know what angle will end up revealing the most impressive or attractive tale, so test different options.

Use a Tripod and a Timer

As you take a picture, even the slightest vibration or movement can cause motion blur. Moreover, the closer you get to an object the more obvious the motion blur becomes. A tripod will assure you remain stable as you take the photo. Even an inexpensive tripod will make a big difference in the sharpness of your images. Additionally, you can use the camera’s built-in timer to minimize camera shake and maximize accuracy.

Sense of Scale

Some products may not be easily recognizable by viewers. This is where giving a sense of scale can be very helpful. If you include an item in the image that people are familiar with, it can really help to visualize the size of the product. For example, if the product is a miniature doll, you could place an object like a standard sized pencil next to it, and give people a sense of scale.

Show the Product in its Natural Environment

Take pictures of your product next to an item that will help people relate to it in real life. Moreover, the use of props can help to bring out certain features in the photo. For example, if you take a picture of a watch, show it on someone’s wrist. If you are selling a coffee table book, take a shot of the opened book on an actual table with a small fruit bowl next to it. If you are selling jewelry or clothing, having at least one picture of your product on a model is great. Potential buyers will get an idea of how the item will look on them and also, it could show the type of target audience you’re aiming for.

We Sell this Shirt in Red, Green and Grey

You may offer a particular item in a selection of colors. In this case, don’t spare any visual details, bare it all in the photo! On many site images, people display a single item and then write under it “also available in blue and green”. A set of photos showing the variety of colors will make the product look richer and more attractive. Don’t just tell them about it, let people see for themselves.

Don’t Delete from Camera

Don’t get tempted to make quick verdicts about your pictures when you review them on the camera. Be patient and wait until you download the photos to your computer. Images look very different on a bigger screen and this is the way to decide which photos make the cut and which will move on to photo-heaven.

Taking a Detailed Photo? Use the “Flower” Setting

Most cameras have a “close-up” setting that you switch it to when you are taking a closer than standard photo. The “flower” setting is really called “Macro” and it appears on most cameras as a tulip-like icon. This is often used when your subject is a small item like a piece of jewelry or a flower. The result is a narrow depth of field and a different perspective.

Pro tip- If you’d like to take a picture of something very small, and even the “macro” feature is not enough, use an extension tube – it gives a focus for the tiny details. The extension tube is typically a tool used by photography pros but as you advance with your photo shoots you may find yourself developing an appetite for advanced tools and other photo instruments.

Editing Is Important

Taking a shot is often just the beginning, next comes the editing and the touch ups. As you prepare images for your site, make sure they are approximately the same size. Choose 1-3 different sizes from large to medium and small. Edit your photos to fit one of the pre-selected sizes so that you won’t have too much variation.

You don’t have to be a web designer or even computer savvy for this one, just upload your pictures into any photo editing software, and get to business. Things like cropping and color correction can make a world of difference in a photo

5 Tips for photographing your home...

So you have a house you’re proud of and would love to share on online but you find yourself putting it off because… A. You don’t have a nice camera or a photo editing system. B. There are homes out there that are much prettier than yours. C. It’s usually not that clean and you don’t want to feel like a phony. D. (insert your excuse here).

Here are five tips that have helped me take better photos of my own home and given me the confidence to share them online.

Tip #1 One room at a time.

If you want to share these photos as a house tour you’re probably going to want to tidy up any space that is going to be photographed. Think of it as the equivalent to taking family portraits. Sure, your home probably doesn’t stay that clean all the time but you wouldn’t show up to a portrait studio wearing your yoga pants and yesterday’s make-up.

Kids, pets, or messy roommates may thwart your plans to keep your place spotless for more than twenty minutes so I suggest photographing one room, or even one wall, at a time. If your studio is a dump but you want to showcase your favorite corner, de-clutter and style it to your heart’s content. You may even keep it that way!

We usually spread house tour photos out between two or three consecutive afternoons. It helps us feel less overwhelmed and works better with our family’s schedule. It’s also a short enough time frame that nothing gets rearranged.

Tip #2: Look at your home through your lens.

Make a list of all the spaces you want to photograph. As you go through your home, casually take a photograph of the space you want to feature and then see how it looks in your camera.

Do you like the composition of things? Would a vertical shot look better than a horizontal shot? Are there cords poking out of things that might distract from the rest of the shot? Do you need to edit any clutter?

Looking through your camera may help you to notice these things and change them before you take photos. Once I’m happy with the set up of things and have moved the hand weights from under the sideboard, etc., I like to experiment with angles and distances. Just like taking self-portraits or outfit photos, you may have to take a lot before you find the most flattering one.

Tip #3 Shoot in natural light.

If your studio has giant windows but they don’t let a lot of light in being at the back of the house or whatever the case - If you want to take photos in there you will probably have to pull all the shades up, move the curtains back, and shoot before 4 p.m. so the sun isn’t too low.

If you're still learning how to use your DSLR - most of your shots are in automatic mode. Here's a tip: changing your ISO to a higher number helps when taking photos in low light. You can also change your shutter speed but if you haven’t gotten that far, experiment with your ISO. It’s amazing how much brighter your photos will be set at 800 than 200.

Note: "On my Canon I make sure my dial (the part where you choose portrait, landscape, up close, sports, or no flash settings, etc.) is set to AV, go to my menu, and then hit the ISO button on the top of my camera near the dial. This pulls up my ISO settings and I can choose how high or low. Low is better for bright, natural light such as outside on a sunny day and high is better for your dark rooms inside. You’re welcome."

Tip #4 Bend over and watch out.

Unless you’re about 4′ 5″ you’re probably not taking photos of your space at an optimal angle. I had Brett (6’1″) take the photo above to show how different a vignette can look when you’re standing upright to how it can look when you’re at eye level (see below). When taking wider room shots, getting a bit lower can make your room look bigger and keep things focused on what’s interesting.

Watch out for mirrors or other reflective surfaces when shooting. Stand a little to one side or bend down enough that you’re shooting up at an angle. If you’re looking especially cute that day, disregard.

Tip #5 There’s a time to shoot wide and a time to shoot vignette.

When photographing a room take some wide shots that share a whole space, or chunks of a space that are well-defined, and then take some vignette shots. A vignette is a focused grouping such as the items on the top of the shelf above. You can tell it’s there in the first photo but it’s lost in space and I’m not really sharing anything else worthwhile. 

Whether you’re shooting wide shots or vignettes, try to avoid eye sores such as ceiling fans or cords. You can always edit out nail holes in Photoshop or another editing service. If you’re looking for something to start with, check out Picnik. It’s free and covers a lot of territory.

Your home is unique because it’s yours so think about your favorite elements as you plan your home tour. You may not be the only one in the world with a collection of vintage globes but the way you’ve displayed them may inspire someone. Your use of color in your living room may be exactly what another home owner was imagining for their space but couldn’t quite execute the first time around.

You’re out of excuses now! Pick a date to share your space online and then plan in time to get it tidied, shot, edited, and written up. I can’t wait to see!

No MACRO lens? NO PROBLEM!!!!!

images courtesy of alexbeadonphotography.com

15 Everyday Items That Belong in Your Camera Bag

If you spend any amount of time shooting on location (as opposed to shooting in a home studio) you have probably found that there is always something that you left at home that you wish you had brought. If you are new to photography, here is a list of a few things, both photography and non-photography related, that will help make sure you stay prepared!

Camera and Gear:

1. If possible, a back up camera - This may sound absurd, but you never, never know what will happen! Imagine how devastated you would be if you showed up to shoot a client, or a wedding, and your camera died. Even if you only have a backup point-and-shoot, it’s better than arriving at a shoot and not having any form of a Plan B!

2. Memory cards galore – Again, memory cards are sometimes known to stop working for no apparent reason, so having an extra one or two on hand can save you a lot of embarrassment and stress. The night before your shoot, make sure to format your memory cards, which will ensure they work properly.

3. Extra batteries, both for your camera and your flash. Also, make sure to charge your batteries the night before! I know, this seems completely obvious, but sometimes we overlook the little, yet extremely important, details when we are getting ready for a big shoot the next day.

4. Lens/filter wipes

5. If you use a film SLR from time to time, make sure to have a light meter handy. The light meters in older film cameras can, and will, give out, due to age and battery life. If you have a smart phone, there are free light meter apps available to have on your phone.

6. Tripod – If you are shooting in low light (even if it is cloudy outside!) and do not have a full frame camera with a high ISO, you can easily use a tripod to prevent camera shake, rather than chancing it by shooting hand-held.

7. A small reflector – Having a reflector handy can be a life-saver. If you are shooting in uneven light, or even low light, a circular reflector can make a huge difference.

Non-Photography Related Items:

8. Hairspray – Those tiny, flyaway hairs can be very time consuming in your post-processing. Go ahead and eliminate them on the spot with a tiny bit of hairspray.

9. Lint brush – Same idea as the hairspray, because lint spots on clothing are not fun to edit out of your photos.

10. Hair pins

11. Spot removing wipes for fabric

12. Makeup remover wipes

13. Scissors

14. Safety pins

15. Tissues – These are especially handy if you photograph weddings. Bride, mother of the bride, and bridesmaids have a tendency to cry, so having a tissue handy for runny mascara is a handy item.

Now, these are just a few items out of many that you may need to bring with you, but based on my own experience, they are items that I can’t live without on a photoshoot. You may even have a few items that you would like to add to the list, so let us know if you have any ideas for items that no photographer should go without!

5 Crafts to try this weekend

Okay so this is a little off topic for us, but we love DIY, hand made and all things rustic so we came across these 5 quick little DIY projects to keep us busy this weekend...

And with Spring - literally just around the corner - we thought it would be fun to give some of our stuff a "facelift"

How very excited did we get when we saw these gorgeous DIY projects that are perfect for Summer Dining. You may be thinking.. What do robe baskets have to do with summer dining? Well, we thought you could fit some blankets or outdoor pillows in there for carting about the place! We do like the rope baskets. We may infact be a little bit obsessed. Every basket or box that comes into our home always always always ends up holding washing that needs to be ironed!

1. DIY Blocked Paint Charger Plates Make sure that you use non toxic paint if you plan to eat off these plates. They're great for wall art too in your kitchen or dining room!

2. DIY Mason Jar Straw Lids from Thats what Che said! A genius move and so easy as long as you have a drill and drill bit.

3. Outdoor Pillows from Martha Stewart. The link doesn't hold a tutorial so I have found a tutorial that will help. I have found that when you sew oilcloth you should attach a piece of washi tape under your foot because it will catch! A page from Sew Mama Sew to help you with sewing oilcloth

4. Using the Easy Rope Baskets Tutorial you could also make a Sissal chair for the kids as long as the bucket was left on and sturdy enough for their tiny bottoms. Original Project from Martha Stewart

5. Painted Berry Baskets from While Wearing Heels blog. Super Easy and could be beautiful little boxes for nibbles at a dinner party outside

5 Killer ways to shoot into the Sun and get beautiful sun flare....

Shooting Into the sun….flare baby!

We believe that every little trick you have up your sleeve as a photographer can give you an advantage in your market.  Do you feel like sometimes all your work starts to look the same?

You know…vertical…….even tones…..smiles………50mm….you get the point!  Shooting into the sun is not rocket science, and neither is flare, BUT it is one more tool that you can add to your bag of tricks to offer a different perspective to your photo shoots.  (Hopefully I can do a post one day about perspective… because we love to talk about it  , but for now, we’ll just stick with the sun.)

It’s so important to constantly change things up, give your viewers and your clients something new to look at and hopefully something unexpected.  Flare is technically something that is incorrect.  The people who make our lenses do everything they can to prevent us from getting flare!  What do you think those horrid lens hoods are for??  (And, no, I do not use them…We always say, they are for men who want to make their lenses look bigger☺) When used correctly, flare can be a beautiful thing that adds romance and mystery to your images!   Flare is also a great technique when you are in situations where the scenery isn’t ideal.  The sign of a great photographer is being able to take a terribly ugly place and transform it into something  magical just by using creative lighting.

Below are 5 killer tips that will hopefully help you to master flare and shooting into the sun.

1.  Exposure:  The number one question we get when talking to people about this technique is how to correctly expose for your subject.  It is really important that you shoot in Manual mode to achieve this look.   Many people say they shoot manual, but actually don’t.  If you are using manual, but you are still determining your iso, shutter speed & aperture by the meter in your camera….you are still letting your camera tell you what to do!  You’re camera’s meter is great, but not always correct, especially in a backlit situation.  When you are pointed into the sun, you’re camera thinks you are overexposing, so if you set your settings by your meter, you’re subject will be grossly underexposed.   In this situation, ignore your meter and just go by you display and histogram.  I always expose for my subjects skin.  To achieve creamy, beautiful skin, I am just a stop or 2 below overexposing their skin.  Make sure that you are using your camera’s highlight indicator.  I just make sure that my subjects face is not blinking.   In a backlit situation, it is ok for your background to be completely overexposed.  This is actually what gives you the dreamy look you are going for.

2.  Focusing:  Focusing when you are shooting directly into the sun is close to impossible!  Again, you are asking your camera to do something that it’s not meant to do.  We go ghetto…I use my hand to help me focus.  We always center focus, so we will put the red focus area on my subject, then I use my hand to cover as much of the sun coming into my lens as possible.  This should get rid of the flare for a second.  Once we’ve locked my focus, we remove our hand, recompose, and shoot!  Works every time…well not really….Another trick is to use a higher aperture in these situations than you normally would.  This allows you some wiggle room if you’re focus isn’t dead on.

3.  Time of day:  When we first started experimenting with this technique, we pretty much ended up mad a lot.  We, for the life of us, couldn’t figure out how to get that blasted sun behind my subjects….duh.  We finally realized that for us, we get the best flare when it’s later in the day.  If you wait until an hour or so before the sun goes down, you don’t have to lay on the ground to get the sun behind your subjects.  I’ve said this before, but the sun seems to have a softness about it as it moves down on the horizon.  Of course, we don’t always follow this rule.  I will lay on the ground at 3:00 to get the sun behind my subject if need be.  One more thing:  remember that you don’t necessarily have to be outside to use this technique.  You can be inside and have a person’s back to a window or door.  

4.  It doesn’t have to be perfect:  Remember that the fun of this technique is not knowing what will happen.  As you can see in some of my sample images below, it’s not always necessary to see a person’s whole face.  Don’t analyze this too much!  If it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, go with it.  When you shoot into the sun, and get crazy flare, your image might not be perfectly sharp….who cares.  Again, this is about creating something fun, and pushing yourself into unknown places.  Don’t get caught up in wondering what your clients mother might say if she can’t see her son’s whole left eye!  Relax, you gave the 567 perfectly exposed smiling images.  Being a photographer is not only about pleasing your clients, it’s about shooting for yourself.

5.  Different lenses, different flare: Keep in mind that different lenses produce different results.  I’m not an expert on this, but It seems that the nicer the lens, the harder it is to get good flare.  I’ve also found it almost impossible to get it from my canon 85mm 1.2.  I usually stick to my canon 24mm 1.4, and my canon 50mm 1.2….and if you really want some sweet crazy results, throw on a tilt shift!  I’ve been able to get a really neat rainbow effect.

Our Photo of the day... Happy Birthday Madiba!

Happy Birthday Madiba! You are truly and inspiration to the whole world.

We wish you well on your 95th birthday and hope for more to come!

Louise 21st Birthday!

Just a short & sweet collage of all the fun they (and we!) had on Saturday night at Louise's 21st Birthday Party! We just wish we could she you all the photo's

If you would like to see all our Fancy Photobooth pictures please Click here...

If you would like us to do your next function please contact us on:

kayleigh_zettler@hotmail.com OR tlzettler@telkomsa.net

7 Tips for Photographing Newborns...

Newborn babies are the coveted prize in photography. An adorable sleeping creature that would look cute no matter what? Sign us up! Let’s put that baby in a stockpot! In a basket! Wait! –A headband that looks like a flower! In a field of flowers! With butterflies! And maybe a big gift box bow!

Then I realized that Anne Geddes is the landlord of that entire market. And that it’s rare for a portrait client to actually want a picture of their baby in a stockpot. What people do want is a picture of their baby, that looks like their baby. Because in about 5 minutes their baby isn’t going to look like this anymore.

Set the Scene

In an ideal situation, you are photographing a newborn that is less than two weeks old (when they tend to be more “mold-able”), in the morning (when they tend to be a more willing participant), just after being fed (when they tend to be a little more tolerant), and in a warm room (where they tend to be a little more comfortable).

Having everything ready to go before shooting a single shot is taken will serve you well: various blankets for background and warmth, cloth diapers for when someone pees on you (let’s hope it’s the baby), any clothing you plan to use and back-ups of every possible thing. We prefer minimal clothing on newborns, but this is just personal preference. Amble natural light is important because even if you do usually shoot flash, it’s often disruptive enough to wake a newborn and rule number one in photography, parenting, and life is: Never wake a sleeping baby. If there is anything I’ve learned, it’s that.

Be prepared to work fast because babies can be ticking time bombs, but slowly because they are delicate ticking time bombs. You are methodical. You are confident. You are patient. You are the baby whisperer. Because we are speaking in ideals. And if you’re us and we are still speaking in ideals, you also have on your cute jeans and are having a great hair day. Because, why not?

Find the Purpose

Photographing newborns is one of the few times we make a point of asking clients what they are planning on doing with the end result. Often it’s for use in a baby announcement or just as “baby pictures” documenting this time. But if it’s going to end-up as a 24″x36″ canvas above a fireplace, I want to know beforehand. Or if I’m going to need negative space to create an announcement card, I’d rather shoot with that in mind then trying to backtrack later in post.

Another thing to think about is the ratio of images of the baby alone and the baby with parents or siblings; there is no right or wrong answer here but knowing what you or your client is wanting in advance is key. Newborn shoots are not (usually) guided by a free-spirited toddler and therefore require more of a plan from you than shoots with older children. And you never know when a baby will decide that pictures are just not what he wants to do today and let’s you know this in a very unsubtle and loud way.

It's in the Details

And why shouldn’t it be? Baby details are sorta amazing. I mean have you seen a baby toe recently? Talk about something I’d like to dip in butter and call a snack. We have all seen baby parts photographed in the same boring ways: wedding rings on toes, close-ups of belly buttons and umbilical cords (ew), tops of bald heads in big grown-up hands. We are guilty of doing every one of these, multiple times over. We now see that the shots that will stand the test of time will be very simple close-ups that highlight just how small newborns are: tiny hands holding a parent’s finger, brand new feet that have yet to see wear, yawns and other adorable expressions that only look adorable on a baby.

As Cute as they are Awkward

Oh sure, we all know they are adorable, but what are you supposed to do with them? They are flimsy and tiny and often naked. This is where I think we get into trouble and put them in baskets and stockpots. Because we can. Instead of creating scenes, it’s better to just think of “positions”. Babies can only do about two positions unassisted—laying down this way or that way. Work with that.

They may just lay there, but the beauty in this is that they often let you adjust them however you want. Tuck legs up under bodies, pull flailing arms into blankets, curl them up into someone’s hands. The baby is the star of this show and is plenty cute to pull off this role without a big supporting cast of props. A key to getting the position you want and having it stay that way long enough to get the shot you want is to keep your hands on the baby longer than needed after positioning them.

Think of it as long hug—you don’t need that extra ten seconds at the end, but it feels nice. Get the baby settled and then stay there for a bit longer. The warmth of your hands and the consistency and reassurance is often exactly what the baby needs to “hold” the position you are seeking.

Got extra arms? Use them!

We like to include siblings as often as I can, no matter the age. This gets tricky because the very definition of tricky is a two year old holding a newborn while exhausted parents watch the situation go down. Enough pillows and promises of lollipops though will get you a shot or two and a little variation in the final images. Interaction is the name of the game here—look for whatever the emotion is that’s happening and play on it. If it’s pride, comment on it to instill confidence and document a sweet moment in sibling history. If it’s indifference, engage the older child so they forget there is even a new addition in the photograph and are happy to be your star for a moment.

Stop Worrying

We all love a good worry and consider ourselves to be quite good at it. But as jobs go, photographing newborns is about as close to shooting fish in a barrel as you are likely to get. It’s easy to feel the pressure given that babies are so fragile and grow every single second. The truth is any picture you take of a newborn is a gift. Just as any time spent getting to photograph a newborn. We don’t get sappy often, but newborn babies are pretty special. Enjoy it.

Especially if the newborn belongs to someone else and you get to walk out of there without a crying baby and go home to a bed where you’re permitted to sleep through the night.