Tuesday’s Guest Blogger with Andie Smith

Charles Showalter — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:00:27 +0000

Back to the Very Basics

Do you hold your camera correctly? Do you think about your camera settings? Do you make pictures on auto pilot? (it’s okay to admit it) I know I had gone into auto pilot recently. After years of school and shooting, my camera was just an extension of my hand… I had no idea if I held my camera correctly. I never thought about it. Why? I was in auto pilot. That’s a good thing, right? I’d gotten to the point where Mr. Gatz (my principals of photography teacher) voice was no longer in my head every time I shot. I saw the light, saw the shot, fingers set the camera, and fired. My images were good…clients loved them.

Then it happened…I was at a workshop, and the speaker was telling everyone how to properly hold the camera. Mmmmm….how do I hold my camera?? I go to grab my camera to see how I hold it, and the speaker stops; “Andie, what are you doing?”, “Getting my camera to make sure I hold it correctly”, “You do. I know because I’ve never corrected you”. I grabbed my camera to make sure (If you care…I do!). Then he went on about composing them focusing…mmm I know I am guilty of focusing and then recomposing…bad Andie. By the time the speaker was done with his talk (one I had heard so may time I can regurgitate it…and this was a watered down version) I was questioning myself on a lot!

I made a deal with myself that night. “Self, you need to go shoot this week and slow down. Think about the basics when you shoot”. I made sure to check all my settings, including my custom picture style (kids this is how I get the bang of color in my images!). Double checked my composition, then moved my focus point with the “joystick” (because we compose then focus)…and shot. Asked myself through out the day, “if I turned this image into Mr. Gatz for a grade, what would I get?” I know if I would give it an A, he wouldn’t even give it a C! Wash, rinse and repeat through the day.

MMM guess what happened?? My keep:toss (no i don’t really toss them!) ratio went up…WAY UP!!! I’m not just talking ”yeah its okay lets keep it” images either. I’m my toughest critic. Some of these images made my heart beat a little faster…some of them made me want to send the file to a lab and ask “how big can I make this?!” Don’t get me wrong I love photography, and I enjoy the images I take, but….going back to the basics made things click (yes, pun fully indented) again. Made me re-think how I was “seeing” and shooting things.

Did going back to the basics make me a better photographer? Maybe. It re-energized me, and made me re-look at images. So the moral of the story: Don’t be afraid to go back to the basics and slow down….no matter how long you have been shooting.

Tuesday’s Guest Blogger with Andie Smith

Charles Showalter — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:01:06 +0000

Andie Smith’s Bio
Andie Smith is a Dallas-based photographer. She realized photography was more than just a hobby while studying graphic design at The Art Institute – Dallas. Andie knew she had the skills to succeed as a photographer, so she jetted off to southern Florida where she studied photography at The Art Institute – Fort Lauderdale. She claims she spent more time in the darkroom, than on the beach. The majority of Andie’s work is in commercial and fine art photography. Her commercial clients include publications such as Better Homes & Gardens and Midwest Living. Andie’s favorite photography subjects is Americana (especially main streets) and aircrafts. Beware if you meet up with her at an air show, she knows her warbirds! (the pretty camera bag she carries is a decoy!)

Her non-photography skills include talking like Donald Duck and baking a mean chocolate chip cookie.
Andie’s work can be seen at www.andiesmithphotography.net and www.eight18photography.com

No video for me please!
Last September I was sitting at the Canon offices when the 5d MkII was announced. Once I saw the specs I turned to the local Pro Market Specialist, and said “Video?? Really?? Couldn’t give us more focus points? How about more frames per second?? I don’t need or want video?!?!”. (Apparently shooting with the 1Ds MkIII, had completely spoiled me.) In turn I got his famous “stare and smirk”, this is usually a good sign that I am wrong, and I needed to listen for a second. So I shut up and listened to his argument…well kinda…I remember the words “ This is the way the market is going… cameras from now on will have video.. you need to learn this”. See I kinda listened..

Did the lack of focus points keep me from ordering a new 5d? No. I ordered it right then and there. Fast forward to December 1st, I picked up my new camera, and started shooting until the battery ran out of juice. While the battery was charging, I sat down and read the manual. Yes I read the manual…its that book in the box….pull it out, take off the cellophane and read it if you haven’t. I did skip over the parts that referred to video…because I didn’t care.

Sure I saw Vincent Laforet’s short film, Reverie…and was impressed (but it is Vincent…and he has a tendency to impress me). I still wasn’t turning on the video. NOPE..WON’T DO IT AND YOU CAN’T MAKE ME! If I wanted to shoot movies I would have studied that in school, and bought a video camera. I like to shoot stills, and I already know how to edit them. If I am to learn video, I have to learn to shoot it, and edit it. Like any of us have time (okay the market is a little slow and we may actually have time to learn a new trick..but do I want too? not really!). On top of that what other accessories will I need? a stedicam? microphone? Final Cut Studio? Shooting video is like opening Pandora’s box…well, more like opening my wallet.

February came around, and the said Pro Market Specialist asked if I had shot video, yet. I returned the “stare and smirk”, and replied “Nope, but I can shoot at ISO 6400!”

April rolled around and the said Pro Market Specialist asked again if I had shot video yet (in front of a entire room of fellow pros). NOPE! This time not only did I get the “stare and smirk” but a “You really need to shoot video”. my reply “But why??”.. don’t worry he listed several reasons, one being able to grab stills from the video.

July rolled around and I turned on the video. YES you read that right..after 7 months of protest, I shot video. I knew I would be running into the said Pro Market Specialist multiple times that month, and honestly I was running out of excuses. Sure I could shoot at ISO 6400, shoot sports (okay the 1D MkIII was easier but I could shoot hockey with the 5d mkII if needed), but the arguments from Canon were overwhelming…and I was a little tired of the “stare and smirk”. Plus I had stumbled on some great videos shot with a 5d MkII on Vimeo and SmugMug.

I started off by reading the manual again…mmm….okay, lets play. Well I found it a lot harder than I thought it would be. 1st I hate looking at live view! HATE HATE HATE IT! I found it really hard to keep the camera steady when I am not holding the camera correctly. No one gets this right the 1st time, right? oh yeah Vincent did…thats okay he has years of experience on me, and a Pulitzer Prize. I won’t give up…I’ll try again.

Scott Kelby’s Photowalk came around and I joined a bunch of photographers in downtown Dallas. I told myself I would shoot some video, no time like the present to practice. Well out of the 4 video clips I shot, one was usable. That is better than none!

If you know me at all, I am not going to give up. I am going to try again, and again, and again, and….well you get the point. What can I shoot? Oh….Dallas at night!! Great movement, and great lights…okay…who wants to go play with me? I can’t go downtown alone at night…my mother in law would kill me if I did! Three of us ended up shooting that night. OH BOY! SWEET BEANS! OMG! No I didn’t create the next Reverie, but this set of videos was better than the last. Not only was it better…it was fun! Yes…IT WAS FUN!

Dallas Lights from andie smith on Vimeo.

As a photographer it is my job to tell a story through still images. Now I can tell these stories with movement and sound!!! WOW…yeah I see the appeal…I see why every camera will now have video…I see why a certain Pro Market Specialist was hounding me for 7 months to turn the video button on. Lets just say the video bug bit me.

My mind started racing… what I could shoot next? I asked my husband if I shoot his day at work (he has a cool job!) and was denied with out a second of thought. Mmmm…thanks for being supportive. I was like a drug addict, after 48 hours of not shooting video I was twitching (don’t worry you wouldn’t notice it if I use a tripod) I came up with nothing and I didn’t have any shoots scheduled. I was desperate…so I shot my day….a very boring day no less. It was practice, and was something I don’t usually photograph.

Day #11,556 from andie smith on Vimeo.

Will I be spending time in Hawaii shooting surfers? NO! Will I be called to shoot the next award winning film? NO WAY! Will I offer my clients video along with stills? Sure, well…after some more practice. But the more I learn and the more I practice the better I get. I can now tell the story with more dimension by adding video and sound with stills. There are so many possibilities with the added HD video feature on my 5d MkII. If your camera has HD video (Canon 5d MkII, Rebel T1i, Nikon’s D90, and soon the D300s, or D5000) turn it on and play.

Do you need a steadicam, a microphone, and Final Cut Studio? Not to play and learn! I am not using any of the above…I use my regular tripod, no microphone, and imovie. Sure, I will eventually add these tools to my arsenal, but while I learn and explore this new technique, what I have works. Do I realize this is a technique I will need to know? After 7 months, of kicking and screaming, yes I do. This is going to be part of our industry. Will we go kicking and screaming?? Some of us will, just like some didn’t want to give up film for digital. Go play, have fun….turn the video on. Don’t worry you won’t be killing any radio stars.

Charles Showalter Photography » Andie Smith

Tuesday’s Guest Blogger with Andie Smith

Tuesday’s Guest Blogger with Andie Smith