brad smith photography

(Straight out of camera above; edited version below)

There’s nothing too earth-shattering going on in this image of Katherine Quinn at The Fete Club in Providence, but I wanted point out the difference in a “straight out of camera” image and one that’s been touched up to be the best that it can be. The image straight out of camera is a well exposed image, a little cool color temperature-wise, but otherwise pretty good. I warmed up the white balance a bit in Lightroom, increased the black levels a bit, and cloned out a few imperfections in the red cloth that I found distracting. I added a touch of grain to give the image a little more depth – I felt as though it was sharp looking. (I don’t know how else to describe it, but the added grain takes that edge off a little bit)

So, what do you think? Do you like it, do you hate it?

I photographed a past bride back in December and we finished with a couple of shots in more of a studio setting. I wanted to share quickly how I made it work.

The studio was actually in her living room. What’s nice about a seamless backdrop is it removes all the clutter from a background and allows the viewer to focus just on the subject of the image. I used a dark grey background color. (“Thunder Grey”, as a matter of fact) It’s really the opposite of what I’m usually looking for in a photograph. I generally look to bring the environment into my images when I’m shooting, but in this case I think the simplicity really lets the subject stand out that much more.

The lighting was simple, as you can see below. I used my Elinchrom Quadra through a very large (60″) shoot-through umbrella. I like the directional light that it gives off – and the way that it creates highlight and shadow on the subject. The umbrella is just one tool I could have used, but I chose it for the quality of light it gives off. A soft box would have focused the light more on the subject, and the background would have been darker. The flash head with nothing over it (referred to as bare-bulb) would have created very hard, harsh areas of light and shadow on the subject, which would take away from the look that I was heading towards.

It’s really the simplest of lighting setups, but a very effective one for studio work. I had my subject stand where she was directly lit by the light, but far enough away from the background so that the light would fall off a bit before hitting the seamless. That lets the background get a bit darker rather than looking like it’s lit as the subject is lit.

The image above was taken at ISO 200, f/8, and 1/160 of a second.

I get asked every so often about what equipment I use at weddings and other events or sessions. Sometimes it’s other photographers, other times it’s just a curious guest. I thought I’d put together a blog post detailing some of my favorite lenses and other goodies that you’ll find in my bag that helps me every day I’m shooting. We’ve all heard that the equipment doesn’t make great photographs, but the right equipment will help me get the shots I see in my head. It helps to know my gear inside and out, which is important especially at weddings, where changing settings often needs to be done quickly and in little or no light.

^Canon 5d Mark II
I love this camera. It’s the perfect camera for me as a wedding photographer because it’s got great low-light performance and the full frame sensor that helps create the beautiful separation between the subject and the background that helps define my style. I don’t ever use the video function of this camera, but it’s fantastic from what I understand, and film-makers from all over the world are using this camera to create some very impressive short films.

^Canon 7d
My ever-trusty backup camera. I use this camera quite a bit with the Canon 10-22mm lens attached as well as the Canon 70-200mm to get that extra reach I need during a wedding ceremony. Because the 7d has a crop sensor, it allows my longer lenses to get even closer to the action.

^Canon 10-22mm f/3.5
Mostly used for sweeping church shots, tight dressing areas, and reception crowd shots. It’s very wide. It lives on my 7d.

^Canon 50mm f/1.2
Probably my most used lens. It’s locked onto my camera 85% of the time. The 50mm lens (any version) is a great normal-view lens and is one that I’d recommend to anyone starting to build their lens kit. (check out the 50mm 1.8) It’s got great depth-of-field, and really isolates the subject of the image. Prime lenses contribute heavily to my style of photography, and this lens is the best of the primes as far as I’m concerned. I could shoot an entire wedding or engagement session with this lens if I had to. I love it that much!

^Canon 24mm  f/1.4 II
A newer lens to my lineup, this lens is very wide, but also very sharp. This lens is wonderful to use to get dancing shots – it allows me to get in real close and really get a good feel for the action and emotion. It’s also a great lens for a reception venue or church set up shot – a nice wide shot of the way the room looks before people fill in.

^Canon 35mm f/1.4
This lens quickly became a favorite of mine! It’s probably my second most used lens, and it really shines during the entire wedding day, from getting ready through the reception.  I also use it heavily for engagement sessions and portraits where I want to bring the environment into the image with the subjects. It’s great for seeing the bigger picture. It’s tack sharp and focuses lightning fast. I love it!

^Canon 85mm f/1.8
Probably my least used lens at weddings, but I can’t bear to get rid of it because it really is a beautiful piece of glass. It’s better suited to senior portraits or corporate head shots because it really allows the face to be the star of the image. It’s got fantastic contrast and color for such an inexpensive lens.

^Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
This lens is very sharp for a zoom lens. I use it predominantly during the reception, because things can change so quickly with regard to where people are within the frame. I will also usually have this lens on when the bride and groom turn and walk down the aisle after they are married because it allows me to get in tight, then take a nice, sweeping shot of them exiting the church or ceremony venue.

^Canon 70-200mm f/2.8
I normally use this lens during the wedding ceremony only. It’s got a great reach on it, and stays nice and sharp at a distance. I will also sometimes put this lens on my camera at the beginning of engagement sessions to photograph the couple without being right in their faces. Later in the session I’ll get closer with another lens to make it a little more intimate.

Canon 580ex II Flash
Not much to say about this piece of gear, just that it performs as advertised, consistently ever time.

^Vivitar 285hv (2)
These ridiculously cheap flashes once were the backbone of my off-camera lighting kit. They’re reliable and packable, but made rather cheaply. They allow me to add another dimension to reception lighting or a little punch of light during the couples portraits when needed. They can be hidden in the smallest of places. It’s nice to have these tools in my bag.

^Elinchrom Quadra Ranger
The most powerful light in my kit, the Quadra bridges the gap between small speedlights and studio strobes. It insures that I can light just about any situation I could find myself in over the course of a wedding day or other assignment, and it’s still small enough to pack in my bag. It’s completely battery powered like the speedlights, but is rated over 4 times as powerful as my Canon 580 exII. It makes it easy to kill the ambient light in just about any situation, including some of the brightest portions of the day.

^Pocketwizard (5)
The under-appreciated tool. These guys are more expensive than their off-brand counterparts, but they always work. Always. If a flash isn’t firing, it’s the cord or the flash(or me!), never these guys. The pocketwizards connect my camera to the flashes placed around the reception hall, or to light the subject during portraits, and they provide the necessary link to firing those flashes. They also allow me to hide a camera (and fire it remotely from my other camera) where a person would be distracting, say, behind the priest during a ceremony.

^ LitePanels Micro LED Video Light
This tiny light allows me to throw a little splash of light into a scene in a “what you see is what you get” kind of way. A lot of times I’ll approach the bride and groom later in the evening after dinner has started to see if they’d be up for taking a few more images outside. Most times I’ll bring just this light or maybe this light and a small speed light to light the scene.

No photographer’s gear bag would be complete without all the little extras that come along with doing what we do. Gaffers tape, random connectors, batteries, business cards, iPad camera connector kit, flashlight, ball bungees, A-clamps, color gel kits (for changing the white balance of a flash), and so on. It’s all in the name of being prepared for anything that this job can throw at you.

What IS my bag?
My current main bag is a Think Tank Airport International rolling bag which gets me in and out of most spots I’ll find myself working. Occasionally I’ll pull out my old LowePro MiniTrekker backpack for a smaller kit that’s far more portable. For engagement sessions and other times where I only need one camera body and a couple of lenses, (with cards and extra batteries) I’ll open my Think Tank Retrospective Lens Changer 3 for a shoulder bag that is super portable and comfortable for long walking trips.

If you have any questions on any of the gear I carry with me – please leave a comment below!

Here’s another look at a before and after image. This image was taken the other day at Ashley and Kyle’s Engagement Session. I started by changing the perspective a little bit. I suppose I didn’t notice it as I took the picture, otherwise I would have fixed it before pressing the shutter. If you look at the panels on the garage door, they’re not square within the frame. It’s maybe a little ‘thing’ I have about lines being straight, but I really feel like either they’re straight or they’re not, and when it’s this close, I feel as though I have to fix it to make it work.

I brought the image into Photoshop and removed the scratch on the door that ran into Ashley’s face because I thought it was a tad distracting. Then I tweaked the color of the garage door a bit to be a little more blue, and a little more dramatic than the actual color. To finish the image, I applied a vignette to draw the eye towards Ashley and Kyle. The final image (in my eyes) is far more dramatic than the original.

What do you think?

If you know me, you know that it’s no secret that I’m a big proponent of all things Apple. Their products just work. Apple products run my business day to day and I use my iPhone when I’m not in my office for taking calls, emails, checking and making appointments, etc. It’s a fantastic tool for running a small business. The iPhone is also a fantastic way to carry a camera with you at all times. Having a camera with you means you can capture spontaneous moments or fun scenes where ever your travels may take you.

If you don’t buy into the Apple fanfare, that’s alright – many phones on the market today come equipped with cameras that are perfectly capable of taking and making decent images as well. It’s all about the camera that you have with you. For the sake of this post, however, I’m going to talk about the iPhone. In 2010, I documented each day with an image, and the majority of the images taken were taken with the iPhone. You can see the project HERE.

Some tips to get the best images out of your iPhone

Hold it steady
The iPhone (and other camera phones) often use a pretty slow shutter speed. If your intention is to have sharp images, then you’re going to want to hold it as steady as possible. Hold it steady with two hands on either side of the phone, and slowly press the shutter button to take the picture. You don’t want to jar the phone just as you press the shutter – it could result in a blurry image. Also, take more than one image if time allows. I’ll generally take a series of images of whatever I’m photographing, that way if the phone exposes weirdly or if the image is blurry, the odds are better that you’ll get a passable image.

Focus on simple compositions
Camera phones are not on par technologically with the digital SLR’s that we’re all familiar with these days. They’re fairly low-fi in comparison, and shouldn’t be expected to be able to capture the fine details that DSLR’s can. That being said, the iPhone is fantastic at capturing simple compositions. Look for lines, shapes, shadows and highlights in your images and focus on creating a strong composition from those simple elements.

Edit each image
Like any camera, the images as they are shot don’t always have that ‘pop’ that you expect to see in a good image. To counteract this, download a couple of photo apps to help you get the image looking a little more lively. I posted a blog post about some of my favorite iPhone apps last year, you can check it out HERE. At very least, you’ll want to tweak the color and contrast a little bit, maybe add a vignette or convert the image to black and white for maximum effect. Play a bit, don’t get caught up in making a technically perfect image, just make an image that looks good to you.

Use it’s size to your advantage
Because the iPhone doesn’t have the physical size that a digital SLR has, you can put it many places that a digital SLR cannot go. Play with angles, reach over your head to capture a different perspective, or place the phone on the ground to get an ants’ eye view of the world. It’s all about seeing things differently.

It’s so important to print the pictures you love.

We seem to be stuck in this sad rut this day in age where we generate tons of images with our digital cameras, but we never seem to print many of those images. I’m as guilty as any, although I’m trying to be better about printing the pictures I love.

It is so important to print the pictures that are made during your wedding day, engagement session, or family session. It all goes back to the basic reason why you hire a professional photographer in the first place – to preserve memories for years to come. If in years to come, you aren’t able to open a CD on your computer (remember 5 1/4″ floppies?) then what value do those images have? The point is, you’ve got to print your pictures to fully enjoy them. Make large prints, put them on your walls and display them proudly! It’s a peek into a moment in your life the way it is right now.

I’m excited to share a few new printed products that I’m offering in 2011 with you.

The first isn’t a new product at all, but one I’ve never shown on the blog. The canvas gallery wraps are a wonderful way to display your images. It’s an art piece out of the box, and looks great on the wall framed or unframed. I prefer them unframed – they just pop off the walls. The canvas gallery wraps are made up of beautiful high quality printing directly onto canvas then stretched around a 1.5” wooden frame. It rivals the best art. They come ready to hang.

These bamboo mounted prints are the newest addition to our line of mounting materials. They are made from carbonized vertical grain bamboo, bamboo panels are a sustainable, FSC certified material. With a pre-drilled keyhole on the back, Bamboo panels are ready to hang as soon as you receive them. Bamboo Panels are 3/4” thick. Ask to see a sample, they are stunning!

High quality printing directly onto sheet metal! These are cutting edge and will make your images pop off the wall like nothing else will! The images are stunning and really shine with engagement session images as well as senior portraits. Ask to see a sample.

If you’ve already done a session with me and haven’t ordered prints yet, now is the time! There are some really fantastic ways to print your art, there really is no better time. If you haven’t yet done a session with me, what are you waiting for? Email me today at info@smithbrad.com to set up an appointment!