FAQ Friday: Lighting + Lens

We have a few anonymous questions to answer today!

Q: how do you find the perfecting lighting for your photos to make them look soft

and have no harsh shadow on their face?

A: I know it's really tough to find shade during the day, so the best time to photograph, right now, is anywhere between 4pm and 6pm. Those are honestly the best times to go out. Unless of course, you are in a very shady area. The only time that you can photograph at anytime during the day is when it is cloudy. I say cloudy, because I photograph in the shade and even if you have small piece of shade, just photographing in the shade will change your photograph from being in the harsh sun. Plus, it's a lot nicer to be in the shade versus the harsh sun! When you are in the shade, if you have your clients facing the sun, they will have the gorgeous catchlights in their eyes, so it's always great to practice, practice, practice! I know that I'm still practicing every single day to try and perfect my style!

So KEY points: Photograph in shade or on cloudy days. During the harsh sunny days, photograph between 4pm-6pm. I have had a similar question and here is a wonderful post from Michelle Moore!

And, again, I am not saying I know everything, because I don't. I just want to answer your questions in the way that I do things. Each and every photographer has their own niche, if you will. So, I just want to help out those who ask! :)

Q: Do you feel like your 28mm 1.8 is very sharp?

A: Yes, it makes the image very sharp. I will have my aperture down to 1.8 and it helps to solely concentrate on what you allow your camera to focus.

Q: Approximately how close can you get to your subject using the 28/2.8 and still have auto-focus work for you?

A: The closest I can get is about 2 feet and than the auto focus will struggle of course. If you want to get closer than you should, you can try getting a zoom lens! :)

Q: I checked out the link you posted about back button focusing. I set my camera up according to the directions, but I’m not really finding a difference between using it vs. pressing the shutter once….what am I missing?

A: When I did start using back button focusing, it made a huge difference for me, because

I had to constantly focus and re-focus my clients even when I shouldn't have to. I kept refocusing to make sure my photograph is sharp and clear. Once I switched over to the back button focusing, if I wanted to have my clients in one pose and they just moved within that same area they were in, than I didn't have to keep refocusing.

I hope these answers and questions help out! Seems like lighting

is a very popular question and my advice is just to put yourself out there

and practice as much as you can!

Happy Friday!

-Diana

Leave any feedback or comments or questions in the comment

box below! Or you can always leave any feedback or questions on

my facebook wall!

Jessica & Kyle l AZ Couples Session

[shot by Andrew]

[shot by Andrew]

Since I landed here in AZ, about a week ago,

I have been impatiently waiting for my 1st ever shoot back in Arizona!

The lighting is so different and a real challenge here in Arizona.

I had it way too easy back in North Carolina, come on.

I love challenges though and of course, I first started photographing in Arizona,

so I knew a thing or two about the harsh light here.

It's gorgeous here though and I couldn't have been happier

to have photographed Jessica and Kyle!

I had photographed them back in December and they enjoyed

their photos enough to come back to me! What an honor!

Seriously, they are an amazing couple!

You can see their previous post here.

This is also the first photo shoot that Andrew shot with me

and I couldn't have been happier with the results! He is truly talented :)

I'll show some of his wonderful shots as well throughout the blogs.

Happy Thursday!

-Diana

FAQ Friday is tomorrow!

Leave any questions you have or feedback in the comment box below,

or you can send it to my facebook wall!

Andrew and his Boring work day

Today was "Take Your Girlfriend to Work Day."

I accompanied Andrew to work and it's not the first time, but

the last time I had gone, was when I was still in school at cgcc.

So, it was a bit odd going and not having homework to do and only trying to come up with

something to keep my sanity going. Nah, it wasn't that bad, but hey...

who wants to go to school when they don't need too?

His job is pretty amazing though, if you sit there and think about it.

He has no supervisor breathing on his

back every single second that he is there. I despise working retail.

But hey.... that's not what I was meant to do in life. NOPE!

I know photography is my calling and thank goodness it is, because

I love it!

Happy Monday!

-Diana

Happy Easter From Us!

It’s that time of year again, and I can tell its Easter by

the amount of wind blowing outside. Diana and I went in the backyard to photograph our eggs; her hair looks like a

hot mess and I’ve been wearing the same shirt for the past 2 days,

(with that said, we are having a blast!)

It’s a tradition for my family to color eggs together, and Diana has been celebrating

with us for the past 2 years. She draws stick figures and I of course take it way to

serious with attempted Mona Lisa’s.

Diana and I would never shoot a deer, so the closes thing we ever

get to hunting is searching for eggs on Easter. I’m not going to lie, it got pretty competitive. It’s funny how holidays can make us do the most ridiculous things, (whether its finding eggs in our pj’s, decorating trees inside our house, or going to peoples homes and demanding candy).

I’m proud to say that I officially won the title of Easter KING, and that I found more eggs than Diana did. I was so good that I actually found a egg that we made last year but never found, (I wish I was just kidding….but its true. It actually exploded when I shook it.) What does a year old unrefrigerated egg smell like? Lets just say it was less than eggcellent.

Happy Easter!

-Diana and Andrew

FAQ: Getting Uncomfortable + Lenses

Courtney asks:

What's in your camera bag?

I'm a huge fan of fixed lenses, they have changed the look, feel, and style of my photography an I believe everyone should try a fixed lens sometime during their photo career.

- 50mm 1.8

-28mm 1.8

-55mm-200mm 3.5-4.6

- 18mm-55mm 3.5 (kit lens)

Personally, I don't use my telephoto lens or my kit lens anymore.

I'm looking to sell them, if anyone wants the telephoto. email me for more details!

info@simplydphoto.com

Anyways, currently, I have been using my 28mm for everything. I adore it

and the quality of sharpness it gives me! When I started out, I used my kit lens than bought the telephoto and I was like, "yes, seriously! This is amazing, I can be 100 feet away from my clients and photograph them, and hope they don't hear me!" Andrew would tell me, "no, Diana, you don't want that, trust me." Did I listen? Nope, I showed up to photograph him from 100 feet away and was like check out my amazing new lens!

Jasmine Star always says, get uncomfortable and that will get you far. When I did get my 50mm, I felt so weird, I couldn't zoom in on my clients, I had to talk to them? I was so shy! Beyond belief and it was quite sad. With my 50mm, I was forced to engage with my clients, oh yes, the horror.

I am totally kidding, it is not horrible, but it was at the moment, because it made me feel so uncomfortable and shy.

Having that lens did change everything, now I am all up on everyone's business, you know. Getting way too close for comfort and asking, is this too close? ha!

I know you didn't ask for a backstory, but I went through this and many others have too, so I hope this helps if you are in that situation.

Kelsey asks:

How do you get your clients to be so comfortable in front

of you and look natural?

This refers back to my first answer on here, kinda. Personally, I am naturally a dorky person and I love making people laugh, so when I do pose them I show them how I want to pose them, so they have a visual for what they should be doing and they understand what I am saying. Sometimes, I talk so fast that I am so incoherent at times. I believe, that showing your client and giving them clear directions gives you and your client the best results. As far as having them look natural, well like I said before I am fairly dorky and I say dumb things sometimes that gets me a few laughs here and a few giggles there and it's so much fun! My goal is to make them feel as comfortable as they can be. When I meet with them, I feel like I am hanging with my best friends and it helps me to be at ease with my clients. If you go in thinking the photo shoot will turn out bad, it most likely will.

Kelsey Asks:

When in the shade, do you face the subject towards the light or

have the sun behind them?

When I photograph in the shade, it does help to face them toward the sun, if the setting and situation is right. I try to make sure my background is shaded as well, so my background doesn't get blown out, with the settings I have. (I will talk about setting your camera in Manuel in a later post)! When you do have your clients in the shade and you have them face toward the sun, you will have gorgeous catchlights in their eyes and it makes every photo a lot more appealing.

After all, we all love looking at the eyes first, at least that's where our eyes land first when we look at a photograph. If you want to have a flare in your shot, than make sure you have your client facing you with their back to the sun. Sun flares can be very gorgeous and tons of fun!

Alicia Asks:

When you shoot in the shade, do you use flash?

The answer is no, but that is just my style and it doesn't mean it's right or wrong, it's just the style I prefer. When I photograph in the shade, I have the best possible lighting and don't need a flash. To be honest, the only time I use a flash is for wedding receptions and wedding ceremonies if they are during the night or the church is a tad too dark.

I would love to hear from you and know what you think of the posts, if they are helpful or not. I know I blab alot, so if you want a short answer, let me know. I just talk too much, so I like to write alot. So let me know what I can change or if you have other questions you want answered, I would love to help out in any way! You can send me questions through the comment box below, or through my facebook wall, or through email.

Have a happy Friday!

-Diana