What is a PROFESSIONAL Digital Camera and Lens

I've read many different articles about this subject, as well as having made my own observations, and my thoughts may be different than yours.  I think right now DSLR cameras are considered prosumer (also known as entry level), semi-professional, and professional.  The same can be said for the lenses you use.  For me to decide what is professional, I would base it on the results I get.  What I plan on doing with the image would determine how many megapixels I would need.  The larger the size, the more pixels.  

Years ago, I made a 24x30 print from a Canon 10D 6 megapixel image, and it was sharp, even when looking at it from about 9 inches away.  The following photos were shot with a Canon 10D, 40D, and 7D, with Canon 17-55mm lens, 50mm lens, and 18-135mm kit lens.  Various f-stops and focal lengths were used (on the zoom lenses).  If you look at ratings on the cameras and lenses, I think the 7D would be semiprofessional, and the other two rated lower.  But, can you tell which photos were shot with which combination?  If you were my client, would you really care which camera/lens combination I used, or would you care about the final result?

The bottom 6 photos are of the photographer doing self portraits.  Click on the images to see them in a larger size - they are still smaller than the originals for the purpose of posting here.

For me, it is not the camera or lens that is PROFESSIONAL, it is the photographer.  The best camera in the world isn't going to take a great photo without a great photographer.  And conversely, a great photographer will take great pictures with almost any camera.

Now, the better DSLR cameras may last longer, be more weather proof, and have a higher pixel count, perhaps more options, etc., but only with the right photographer will it take great photos.

Cropping, Resizing, Adjusting Photos

Before I get into the title, wanted to say that I hope you all had a happy and safe Thanksgiving, a good Black Friday, and have fun on Cyber Monday.

I was looking through an old hard drive and had forgotten I had taken some surfing photos with my Panasonic FZ30, set to about 400mm with the zoom.  Decided to see what I could do with it in Lightroom.  The results are below.

The above one is the original out of the camera.

Adjusted in Lightroom 3.6.

And, of course, cropped - not sure if you can see some facial detail in this one, as it was reduced in size for this post, but was visible in the original size.  With all the photo editing programs available, there are many more things you can do with your images, such as changing facial expressions, making them into watercolor, look like an oil painting, and on and on.  Take people out of a photo, or add them to it.  And you can fix those old family photos that have been torn, scratched, faded, etc., and return them to new or close to it.

Hope you enjoy the season.

Thanksgiving, Twinkies, and Ebay, and more

First, want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  Looks like it will be one without Twinkies - so just a little healthier than it might otherwise have been - YAY.  But did anyone check out Ebay prices for Twinkies?  Yikes - a few listings for a box of Twinkies for $10,000 - no, that's not a typo.

Today is "Breakfast with the Beatles" day on KLOS in Los Angeles, and they are just now playing "In My Life," which is one of my favorites.

But to continue - well, I am a beach person, had been a skater down at Venice Beach, so thought I would post some old photos of that time - I now play paddle tennis instead of the skating.  And still shoot lots of beach photos, as one never knows what one might see at Venice Beach!

Will be adding more Venice Photos as time goes by, as well as other newer things.  Have a great week.

Backgrounds & Locations for Photography

When you are planning a photo session, have you ever thought about what background would look best for you?  Or what location you would like?  There are infinite possibilities.  Because it may be difficult for you to picture what you would look like in a particular location or with a specific background, a good idea is for you to look through magazines, the internet, etc., for something that you think you would like (whether a pose, background, location, lighting, etc.), and then we can try to find and something similar, using that as only a starting point.  Why only a starting point?  Because you probably would not want the same thing as someone else may have - you want these pictures to be unique, to be you.

It is possible during post production to change a background, or to change the color of what you're wearing, and even to the face from one shot onto the body from another shot (assuming they are similar enough).  However, that would require a lot of work in post production and cost quite a bit more, so we try not to do that.  Some examples are below.  The first one was of Sidney Poitier at Kennedy Airport in 1970 - I couldn't ask him to move to an empty area, and all the other people were distracting, so many years later, I scanned the photo, and eliminated the other people.  The second photo is of Wilt Chamberlain - I didn't like that background, so changed it completely.

In this second photo of Mr. Poitier, notice, too, that the wall has been straightened.

Well, you can get some idea of what can be done with a photo.  In future posts, you will see some of the other options, and there are many.  Photos can be made to look like watercolors, oil paintings, you can look thinner (or heavier), happy or sad, sexy, or prim and proper, and much more - all from the same original photo.  That said, I prefer to do the absolute minimum in post processing.  I much prefer capturing you and your personality just as you are at the moment the shutter clicks.  I believe that whatever post processing is done afterwards, it is the moment the shutter release is pushed that will make or break the photo (I believe some have called that "the decisive moment,"  and I would agree).

Please Vote YES on Prop 37 in CA

Why should you vote yes on 37?  Here is one reason (for a more detailed story, just click the link in blue below - first lifetime feeding study):

All the safety studies submitted to approve GMO seeds were only short term. The world's first lifetime feeding study discovered that rats fed a diet containing 11 percent GE corn developed massive breast tumors, kidney and liver damage and other serious health problems in the 13th month of life. The average life span of a rat is about two years. Again, this was the FIRST study to evaluate the health effects of a GE-containing diet over the course of a lifetime. This despite the fact that the first GE crops were introduced into the US food supply in the mid-90's!

The fact of the matter is that the long-term health effects and safety of these crops have never actually been properly evaluated or affirmed prior to being approved for widespread planting. This information is absolutely critical for American families raising young children. Yet at present, they have no way of avoiding foods that contain GE ingredients, should they wish to do so.

To put the findings of this animal feeding study into human perspective, if the average lifespan of a person is 80 years, these health problems would start rearing their ugly head somewhere during the 43rd year of life, provided your diet contained just over 10 percent GE foods and you began eating them in early childhood.

Well, guess what?

Any child in the US who eats processed foods on a regular basis consumes at least 10 percent GE ingredients. The actual percentage is in fact likely to be FAR higher than that. According to a shocking report released by the Environmental Working Group on October 15, Americans are eating their weight and more in genetically engineered food every year—an average of 193 pounds of GE foods annually!

"'What's shocking is that Americans are eating so much genetically engineered food, yet there have been zero long-term studies done by the federal government or industry to determine if its consumption could pose a risk health,' said Renee Sharp, lead author of the report and the director of EWG's California office. 'If you were planning on eating your body weight of anything in a year or feeding that much food to your family, wouldn't you first want to know if long-term government studies and monitoring have shown it is safe?'"

Remember when they (the companies that produce the products) told us cigarette smoking was safe?  Then, after many years of use, people started getting sick - and after many years, we finally knew why.  My father was one of them.  He had been a heavy smoker for around 30 years, and although he quit in his early 50's, he still got lung cancer in his mid 70's.  They also told us DDT was safe - we know how that ended, too.  Now they tell us GMO foods are safe - but as  first lifetime feeding study shows, there are some major concerns.  Unlike cigarettes, which foods contain GMO's are currently hidden from your view.  Only organic food is GMO free.

This is why I hope you'll vote yes on 37.  Thanks!

Halloween 2012 West Hollywood, End of DLST, Prop 37

I went to the West Hollywood, CA Halloween Carnaval last night - took too many photos to post them all here, so am including just some of my favorites on this blog, and the rest you can see on Google +.  I will be providing a link to that as soon as I post them there.

 Lady in Red (mostly)

Lots of characters there - police, devils, catwomen, ghouls, monsters, and more.  But the pictures can speak for themselves.  Click on them to see larger size.

Don't forget, Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday morning at 2 a.m. - an extra hour of sleep (or partying), but it's going to get dark so early!!!!!!

Vote YES on prop 37 in CA - the ads asking you to vote no are misleading, and false.  The same companies that are against it were responsible for DDT and Agent Orange.  They told us not to worry about those.  By asking us to eat GMO foods, we are part of their experiment - long term results unknown.  Best thing you can do is go to Google, search for "GMO food," and see what comes up.  The ads tell you farmers are for GMO's, but search for "GMO food India Suicide," and you'll see the deception by those who produce GMO's.  Please do your research and due diligence on this one.  Your health and the health of your loved ones may well depend on what happens with this proposition.

Thanks, and have a great week.  Many interesting times ahead.