Inspire Me Friday Interview #2} with ALICE PARK

Let's be honest. Photographers are a dime a dozen, they seem to pop up faster than daisies! Some are veterans, they have figured it out and they have no intentions of telling you about it... Others are newbies trying to find the way and getting lost all the while. And than there are the few fabulous who share. It is they who make this industry better, it is by their influence that those selling themselves way to short will learn (that's been on my mind a lot lately!) Of those few photographers making our industry better; Alice Park is a most favorite of mine! She along with her wonderful husband are the founders of NAPCP. Alice has a fabulous story telling style with a strong enviromental feel (just meaning she really captures the environment her subjects are in)! Her work speaks for itself and interviewing her was truly an honor for me! Alice inspires ME for a dozen different reasons!

Tell us a little about you.

I'm a girl with with a whole lot of heart & love for people! I love meeting new people, talking about what I love and do, and running around in circles to make kids laugh. I feel very blessed to be able to do what I do with the person I love the most (my hubby we say that everyday at lunch when we eat in the park together. :)

Yes. They really are this dang cute!! Jealous much?!?!!

How long have you been doing photography?

I picked up my first camera when my younger brother was born at 15. I saw & witnessed all of the joy and love that came with having a new baby in your life....and I decided then that all of that was meant to be documented. My father gave me his old Nikon, a standard lens, and some film, and I began shooting away. My hobby led to taking online courses, which led to joining online forums, which led to getting an internship with a local photographer in town. After all of that, I went to school at Georgia Tech to pursue a degree in Engineering... It didn't take me long after starting my first job (about a year, to be exact), when I decided that this wasn't the life I wanted to lead. My husband and I started a photography business soon after, and everything has been gravy (well, lumpy gravy) since then. It's been 4 years, almost. :)

So you & your husband run the business together! Who plays what rolls?

He the business decision-maker, number cruncher, and financial planner. I am the photographer, designer and assist in implementing major projects. We are still finding that delicate fine line between business and life. Because we have such different rolls, it works. He's the dork, and I'm the artist :) At least, that's how I like to think it works!

What's in the bag?

My arsenal includes a canon 5d mk11 body, 85mm 1.2L, 35mm 1.4, 100mm 2.8 macro, 16-35 2.8L & lots of treats for the kids!

How many shoots do you like to schedule a week?

Six. I schedule one a day Tuesday through Friday, two on Saturdays. Sundays and Mondays are my "weekends."

You have a unique storybook aproach that I'm sure your clients love! How did this start and how do you remember?

I've always been a scrap-booker. My brother's first few years, my high school days... Piecing together family memories has always been a big part of my life, so naturally when I began this business with my husband, I knew I wanted to take this craft to another level. I call it professional scrap-booking... :) It's a way of telling a family's story through a journalistic lens and pen & paper. I absolutely love it, and they do too... My husband and I are very blessed in that my uncle handcrafts our folios book line for us! Yes, he's in the business of making books, and I'm not afraid to admit that we take every advantage of that for our clients!

What inspired you to start nacpp?

So many reasons! My husband and I are very passionate about our photographic community. We believe that setting high standards in our industry encourages us all to grow in ways we never dreamed of. When we began our business three years ago, there were so many things we had to learn the hard way... We yearned for a community of like-minded artists who were committed to pursuing their art professionally. It was an itch of ours that we talked about endlessly through the nights. What resources would have been beneficial to us when we began our business? What can help us grow, even after being in the business for years? This is what inspired us to start this organization...

Tell us a little about NAPCP and what you hope for it.

Our mission statement: The National Association of Professional Child Photographers (NAPCP) is a member-based association representing and promoting the community of professional child photographers. The NAPCP provides a valuable platform for seasoned veterans and rising professionals alike to share their experiences, hone their craft and raise their professional visibility. That is exactly who we are and what we hope for our members. :)

What are some of your favorite products?

Anything Design Aglow! I also love WHCC press printed products, finding unique finds & props on etsy, Paper Source cards & craft pieces, beautiful business cards and stationary, and all things pretty.

Alice is in process of changing offices so our peak into the office is some well organized boxes! ;)

What do you wish you'd known when you were starting out?

I wish I knew that participating in online forums was THE best way to learn about the business, network and grow as an artist. I wish I had known of the best workshops, of the best inspirational blogs & websites, the best vendors. I wish I knew the importance of client referrals and client loyalty. I wish I knew a lot!

Thank you to Alice for your constant willingness to share, teach and inspire! I told you she was fantastic! If you want to learn more from Alice and other amazing photographers who have definitely made it, the NAPCP forums are seriously awesome! I'm very proud to be a member and love the vendor discounts, forums, networking and having the exposure in one more place! Make sure you go look for yourself.

Portraiture Plugin

How often have you looked at another photographers work and thought to yourself, 'how do they do that?!?' I can't even count how many times I've seen an image and trying to think through how they finished it in post processing found myself drawing a complete blank! Well here's one little secret that makes a really huge difference! It's a plugin for photoshop called Portriature. Now the price tag is not cheap (around $200 if you only get Portraiture for CS) so this is something that you may not want to purchase until you really feel it's a must. There is a 30 day FREE trial, so thats a great way to play around with it and see what you think. Word of caution... You will get hooked. I'm not even joking. I tried the 30 day trial and was like, 'how did I ever do this with out it?' My next thought was, 'I can't go back, I just can't!' I know, I'm so dramatic right?! But seriously it saves me so much time in editing. So many steps that I was doing by hand I can now do with one click and still have complete control over the opacity or overall outcome. The night before my trial ended, I was up all night editing to finish up the 4 shoots I still had. Three days later, I couldn't take it and broke down and got it.

I'm no expert! And I haven't even had time to play with the FREE actions they offer to use with it (or even download them for that matter), but here are a few more before (SOOC) and afters. Just know that the afters have more steps than portraiture alone. The image and the top of the post has nothing besides the Portraiture filter followed by Lolly's Base Sharpen. If you already have/use Portraiture, I'd love for you to give us a comment with your own thoughts.

*Also remember that blogger does not do the coloring justice.

Q&A WEDNESDAY - 11/3/09

It is so great getting your questions, many of them really get me thinking! I'm getting lots of feedback that Q&A Wednesday is extremely helpful, so keep them coming! Here are a few from this week...

1. What is your dream lens?

Are you buying? ;) How about the whole collection, for a proper review of course! My dream lens... Hmmm. Well it was the Canon 24-70L. But I have since got it and absolutely love it, it's versatile and works great for my kind of photography! I use it 75% of the time! I guess maybe the next lens I'd like would be the 70-200. Often I wish I had a little more zoom capability so that I could step back while children are playing or get in closer when it's not reasonable (like at a wedding) and this is the next step up. Plus I always think the photogs with the white lens look so cool! It would be that or moving up to a higher quality 50 mm lens. I have the one in the $100 range (it was my first lens) and would love to see the difference between it an say the $500 range or higher!

2. Where do you feel you have learned the most from?

Hands down FORUMS! However not all forums are created equal! I was on 2Peas Forum a lot in the beginning but I started to find it wasn't quite what I was wanting. Don;t get me wrong it still has a lot of useful stuff and is worth checking out! My favorite forum is NAPCP, it's all professional photographers who I feel I can learn a lot from! The threads are extremely relavent and useful and it's been an awesome learning tool for me finding everything from what should I price at (and encouragement) to the turn around time for a new vendor I'm using. I guess I'm so in love with The NAPCP forums because it has got me thinking in great new directions to really build my business - and that truly equals value to me! The NAPCP Forum comes with your yearly membership.

3. When do you schedule your photoshoots? How close to sunrise/sunset is your favorite?

I don't shoot anything at sunrise! Neither I nor clients want to be part of that! ;) Sunset is a whole different story and I actually ONLY schedule engagements around sunset! I love the romantic, warm, soft (everything an engaged couple should be) light! In the summer I would start at about 4:30 to 5pm and end just after sunset, this time of year I would need to start around 3 probably. I have actually stopped shooting based on light and started shooting based on schedule more. Newborns are scheduled on Monday and Thursday only in the morning around 10, which just happens to work out for nice soft light. Families and kids are scheduled later Saturday morning or after-school on weeknights

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4. I always shoot on shutter speed priority. I've had situations where my ISO is up to 800 (which I hate going that high--how high to you allow yourself to go?), my shutter speed is barely making the 1/100th mark, and my apeture is too large to focus everybody. Is my only other option photographing out of the shade and into the bright sun?

I have no problem shooting at 1000 ISO. My own personal opinion is that DSLR's are made to go into high ISO now and can usually handle it. The real thing is this... You have every option, shade, sun, snow, whatever. It's all in that M setting! You have to switch to Manuel so that you have complete control! I shoot a lot in AV mode when I'm in nice even good light but often my camera sets the shutter speed unreasonably low where I'd need a tri-pod. Chasing a baby with a tripod is just not going to happen so thats when I need Manuel to dial it in myself!

5. What resolution of JPEG do you take your photos in. You know like what size of pixels L M or S?

I only shoot in L Fine Jpeg. (I wouldn't say that thats better than RAW! But it's just what I do). If you are not in RAW you really must be in L JPEG. The S, M, L represents the number of pixels:

"L" = 15.10 megapixels (4752 x 3168)
"M" = 8.00 megapixels (3456 x 2304)
"S" = 3.70 megapixels (2352 x 1568)

How awful to get an amazing image and not have the pixel res to do what you want with it! Remember that Raw+LJ is another option if you want to transition over to Raw but it will take a lot of space on the memory card.

7. Do you book sessions year round, or do you take a break during the cold winter months?

I do book sessions year round. The cold weather may seem intimidating but if your clients are willing you should be too. And you can crate the cutest all bundled up images with beanies and scarves. If they want pictures that bad, and if you aren't taking them, they'll find someone else to do it. I'm not willing lose that business. The great thing about winter months is the sun is in that perfect place aka Golden Hour, longer during sunset and sunrise, giving you more opportunity to get those perfect shots. One thing to know about your camera is that condensation can build in it when you go from a cold setting to a warm setting quickly. To prevent this before you enter into your house, car or other warm setting, put your camera in a sealed plastic bag. Then when your camera has adjusted to the heat you can take it out. If condensation has build up in your camera or lens, remove your lens and let them both air dry before you use it again. If the cold just does not sound good to you, think of places indoor that can give you the look you are wanting. A Candy shop, restaurant with barstools, someone's nice home, or maybe rent studio space. You don't need much space at all to make something fabulous happen! Get creative and don't let good clients go to waste!

Heather Ward already has snow and definitely knows how to embrace it!

7. I am struggling to use my flash in outdoor settings. I can't seem to get a very natural look. Do you have any pointers?

You can't alway shoot during the Golden hour so to get rid of those shadows underneath your subjects eyes you use your flash. The frustrating thing about using your flash is that you have an easier tendency to overexposure your photo. There are a couple of things you can do to prevent this. You can use a diffuser. Look for my post on my diffusers soon. I've seen people who will never buy a diffuser but will cut ketchup bottles or mayo bottles and use the bottoms to go over their flash. I've even seen a women use rubber bands to secure paper towels around her flash so it's not so harsh. And these people swear by their inventions. I've never tried any thing like that before so I can't tell you personally but if you're looking to save money, why not give it a try. Another idea is using a reflector. Again you must be careful with using a reflector to not overexpose even the tiniest bit. If you look at your photo and can tell a reflector was used, you didn't use it properly. I also tend to notice that the metallic ones, silver and gold, well do just that, reflect more of a metallic look. If you're leaning towards a reflector I would buy one that is soft and white. When you position it, put it slightly under and to the side of your subject. This is one of those tools you need to play with before hand. Get a friend that is willing to sit for you, and test it out. You may need to pull it back or put it to the side more depending on the light but know that reflectors add to the subjects catch lights. It's still more subtle than obvious. Next idea is to switch your camera to full manual. Then set your camera's meter to 'spot meter' mode. Next you're going to want to zoom in and meter part of the scene you want to meter for. A good idea would be to meter something lighter so you don't over expose. If you do meter something darker use your exposure compensation. Take pictures, take notes, and adjust accordingly. Sounds more complicated than it is but here might be a better explanation! The last option I'm going to suggest today is the most expensive and it's purchasing and using PocketWizard's wireless radio slaves. I'm not going to lie, I've used one once and it was yesterday but I hear you either like it or you don't. Here is a great review and I know there are a lot others out there. Practice, practice, practice and find what works best for you!

A reason to photograph my Converse

Lately I have been asked a lot about aperture. Pretty much, "What is it and what does it do?" After reading PostSecrets one day, where a person confessed to being a professional photographer and had no idea what an f-stop meant, I thought to myself, "Wow. I wonder how many "Professionals" really don't know a thing about aperture?" I'm definitely NOT judging! We've all been there and have all had to be taught at some point. So if you already know about aperture then I'm sorry. This is going to be a boring post, but for those who still have a question or two I hope this brief explanation helps.

Aperture is the hole in the lens that lets the light in to reach the camera's sensor or film. The aperture or hole can be set at different sizes measured as f stops. f 1.4, f 2.8 etc. You've all heard that before. The main thing to remember is that the smaller the number like f 1.4 the BIGGER your hole. The bigger your number f 22 the smaller the hole. Remember that and you'll be peachy. The aperture combined with the shutter speed are your two main controls for your exposure but lets not worry about shutter speed right now.

My pictures were taken with a Canon 5D MarkII and a 50mm f1.4 lens. So my lenses largest aperture is f1.4. This picture was taken with a shutter speed of 1/25 and at f 1.4.

This one was taken with a shutter speed of 1/6 and f 22.

Now that we have pictures to compare, lets compare them. You'll notice the top picture has blur or bokeh and the bottom picture is more crisp. The difference can be seen in how dirty my floor is. Embarrassing! The top giving you a shallower depth of field. Bigger f stop, smaller hole, more of an overall focused photo. Smaller the f stop, bigger the whole, bigger the blur. Getting it? The other difference is the bottom picture is darker. This is when your shutter speed comes in. Your shutter speed is measured in fractions of seconds. The bottom picture is 1/6th of a second, my shutter opened to let light in for 1/6th of a second. Don't get aperture and shutter confused. They are two separate mechanisms to let in light but they work together. The top pictures shutter speed was faster at 1/25th of a second combined with a large aperture, made for a really nice photo. The bottom photo set with such a small aperture needed more light so I made the shutter speed longer. Why didn't I set the shutter speed even longer for more light? That's when you start getting bad blur and camera shake. The next thing you can change is your ISO. Your ISO determines how sensitive your image sensor is to the available light. Turn your ISO higher if you're getting the shakes, lets in more light, and it may just be the difference between a blurry and crisp photo. Just be careful how high you set your ISO because the higher it is the grainer your picture will be.

So I know I said this was going to be about aperture and it kinda turned into a lesson about aperture, shutter speed, and ISO but I hope you realized they all work together for exposure. The easiest and best way to understand it is to turn your settings dial OFF of the green box and put it on manual. Then start with one non moving subject and play with your settings. What if you had a really fast shutter speed, with a medium aperture? Now go into a brighter room. What do you have to change to get the picture you want? How about in a darker room? Don't be afraid to learn how to use your camera. Play around, have fun and learn!

Macro aka The Finer Details - homework!

After Mondays post about macro (read it here) we put out an invitation to show us your own documentation of the finer things... Thank you to those who submitted an image!! It was so exciting for me to get your emails! We will have another lesson & homework assignment next Monday so you if you missed this weeks, be ready for the next one!

From Leah:

From Noelle:

From Alli (way cute blog - take a look)

From Kalli:

From Heather:

There are a million possibilities with macro... The mundane can suddenly become fabulous. A water glass becomes art, the insect no longer a pest but rather a wonder! Take your kiddos for a walk outside and explore what you find, show your kids your cool discoveries and document with a few macro shots. It's a great way to remember the details!

P.S. Sorry this came so late today. I spend the morning hanging out with the fab photog Brian McDonald (I'll share more later) and of course the weekend was just crazy with festivities and family in town!

Inspire Me Friday Interview #1 } JONATHAN CANLAS

Today we are so excited to start the first of weekly inspiring interviews with top photographers in our industry! As I mentioned in yesterdays post, we all start with that one photographer or one image that just moved us! We want to continue feeling the inspiration at Go{4}Pro by showcasing those photographers who have really made a mark in the industry and inspire! And we couldn't be happier to be starting our 1st Inspire Me Interview with photographer Jonathan Canlas!

Jonathan was first introduced to photography in Japan when a friend let him borrow an old Canon AE1. When he returned to the US he became enthralled in the photographic process and eventually graduated with a degree in photography at Brigham Young University. Jonathan is a 100% film shooter and hosts a workshop, Film Is Not Dead, and it's said to be simply inspiring. I think you'll agree that Jonathan himself IS simply inspiring!

1. What’s in your bag? Off camera flash?

A LOT J. I have a Contax 645 w/ an 80mm f/2 lens, (2) Nikon F5’s with a Nikkor 50mm 1.4D, Nikkor 85 1.4D, 50mm 1.4 Zeiss, and a Sigma 20mm 1.8. A Nikon SB80 + SB800 w/ (2) pocket wizards. (8) inserts for the Contax, bellows shade for the Contax, Sekonic L508, extra rechargeable batteries, a TON of film (enough for 2 events), and my liability insurance. I also started using some video lights with some gels to balance the tungsten. Oh, and gum J.

2. Tell us about Jonathan Canlas Photography.

I am wedding/portrait/commercial photographer based in Lehi UT. I travel all over the US for weddings and events. I am married to a wonderful lady named Callie and we have 5 kids, Isaac, Ila, Ruby, Lulu & Weston. I am a 100% film shooter. I don’t even own a digital camera, except for my phone. I started shooting weddings in 1999 and have been full time since 2000.

3. How do you market yourself?

Getting published, networking and word of mouth. I don’t do paid advertising.

4. You just finished your workshop Film is Not Dead in Park City, UT. Can you give us information when the next one will be and how it will benefit the digital shooter?

The next workshop is in San Deigo July 19^th-21^st 2010 and will be held at LunaPhoto’s studio which is an AMAZING space. The workshop is called “Film is Not Dead” but it so much more than that. I love film and I love keeping it alive however film is only discussed on day 1 and that’s it. We cover so many other aspects of the business, marketing to find your brides, refining your vision, learning to love family formals, how to sell more prints via Instaproofs, and becoming completely passionate about your voice as a photographer. If any of that is of any interest to you, film or not, then yes, it will totally benefit you attending the workshop. About half of my attendees are 100% digital and have no intentions of changing.

5. Describe your typical day at work.

Weekdays are spent answering emails, editing digital scans of images, processing orders, submitting weddings, networking, developing/scanning film (all done in house), and most importantly, spending time with my family. On the weekends I’m usually traveling and shooting weddings/events.

6. Tell us a story where you met a challenge while photographing a wedding and describe how you handled it.

Every wedding is a new challenge. Seriously. There is always something that does not go as planned but that is your job as the photographer to not only adapt, but perform at the highest caliber possible. Your clients put trust in you to perform no matter what the situation. My job is to make every wedding look like it fell off the pages of a wedding publication regardless of any situation that may come up.

7. Where is the farthest you’ve been commissioned to shoot?

I’ve shot in Paris, Curacao, MX, Singapore, Indonesia. The travel is really, really taxing and not as glamorous as it may sound. If I could, I’d shoot everything local but my fees don’t allow that as much.

8. Will you describe the business side of things when it comes to shooting a wedding internationally?

There is nothing really different business wise of an international wedding. I don’t EVER travel alone to somewhere international. I will always have an assistant with me regardless if that is a colleague, intern or my brother J.

9. What advice do you have for individuals who are pursuing a career in photography?

Find your personal voice in photography, refine it, and get out and shoot. Don’t expect it to come over night and realize this is hard work, not just a past time.

10. How do you find time to do it all with being a full time photographer, husband and dad?

It really is difficult but it is a personal choice. I run everything from my home so if my wife needs my help, I can stop and go help. Everything I do I do for my family. I manage my availability on how much time I want to be with my family. I am not shooting a ton of weddings. My job allows me to spend a lot of time with my family and be there for events that a regular 9-5 would not let me do.

Jonathan thank you SO much for this opportunity to interview you. I wish I would've asked you more questions because I truely loved reading your answers. For those of you who just can't wait to hear him at his workshop in July, Mr. Jonathan Canlas is also scheduled to speak at WPPI 2010 in Las Vegas in March, where he fits perfectly in with all the big names in photography. Jonathan is a photographer who has truly gone places.

I love me a makeover!

I saw a blog. It was the blog of an on-location photographer and I swear I didn't even know such a thing existed before that blog, (that was 2 years ago) and that was it for me. I was head over heels, love at first sight, positively smitten with natural light, on location photography! And as I sat at my computer late into the night looking at every image he had ever posted a little birdie whispered, 'you can do that.' And so I've done (well sort of), not really there yet!

I knew NOTHING. Thats saying it mildly, I had never taken a photography class, never owned more than a p&s. Had not really heard of photoshop, let alone seen it or recognized what it could do. The only thing I did know was that I wanted to know and would know! I wanted to be and would be. Each time I would learn a new tidbit it was like Christmas!! I would be so excited and go running to tell my husband the positively incredible piece of magic I had just learned (at least that how I saw each thing - he may not have agreed when I was waking him up at 3am). One of the great things, I've learned is that most of it is not as hard as I thought it would be and the magic of it is that you can start with the basics and improve for the rest of your life.

I created this blog because I knew I wasn't the only gal trying to go pro. I wasn't the only one trying to get it all sorted out and that there was someone else like me who when learning new bits of magic had the sense of Christmas morning over and over again. It means a lot to me to be able to give back, to offer what I learn to others and give them their very own "ah-ha!" moments! I feel very honored to think that every once in a while I'm the source of that. I'm excited as readership has grown! As you can see we have a new fresh look to go with our fresh, go-get-em' attitude. I feel like I was just introduced to the power of shiny lipgloss for the first time!

I have looked in on a lot of your blogs (if you have fanned this blog). It made me so happy to see some of you with new (tofurous wordpress) blogs and others using brushes I had told you about or free downloads we have found for you. I saw one with a logo I made and several other things that were Go4Pro... The point is, it's great seeing that this information is useful (nope, the point was not that I'm a blog stalker - shoot did I just admit that?)

Any how. Thank you for reading. Thank you for inspiring me. Go{4}Pro is taking some new turns and along with our new look we are going to be doing some new stuff too (yep, thats a we, not just a me)... So stay tuned!

Oh and FEEL FREE to take this cute little Go{4} Pro button and post it on your blog! If I'm blog stalking (I mean admiring from a far) your blog (you have to be a fan) and find it there, you will be getting a very cool surprise!