lifestyle family photographer - central newfoundland 709.235.1884

Please join me over at my new home on the web!

2011-08-16T01:53:00.000-02:30

Hey everyone! Well my brand new site has been live and well for the last couple months now, so I'll officially not be posting or maintaining this site any longer.

I welcome you to join me at www.trevordeanphotography.com to check out the all new look and layout!

The blog, website, gallery, etc.. is all completely integrated into one fantastic site and I would love to see you there! Don't be shy, feel free to leave a comment or contact me using the contact page to let me know what you think!

PS.
I'll be leaving this site up for a few months to give everyone a chance to bookmark the new page. See you there!

ARRGH! Technology is a pain!

2011-07-02T00:50:00.001-02:30

I just wanted to stop in and leave everyone a quick note... For some reason, my brand spanking new website, decided to wipe itself out! I have know idea how it happened, or why it happened for that matter, but I am working dilligently to get it back up and running.

All I can say is thank God for backups!!

I'll be busy tomorrow with a wedding but I'm hoping to have the site back up by tomorrow evening at the latest. I thank you for your patience and I look forward to a return visit ;)

Trevor

Just a quick hello!

2011-05-25T03:19:00.000-02:30

Hey everyone! So sorry things haven't been super active around here in the last few weeks. I've been completely consumed with this intersession semester of Business Management! It's an entire semester of classes jammed into only 7 weeks, so the workload is pretty intense.

I'm getting pretty excited to be heading into Wedding season though, and I can't wait to share some images of all the fantastic people I'll be photographing this year!!

As per the new site... As usual, the deadline I set for myself has been extended a tad, but don't worry, I'll definitely be launching soon! I can't wait to share all the new fantastic goodness of the site and new brand.

Oh, and I'll try to pop in here a little more often to keep ya'll up to date :)

Hope everyone had an amazing long weekend!

Party Animal! {Central Newfoundland Family Photographer}

2011-05-10T16:15:00.000-02:30

I can't believe it! In two days from now, my little girl is going to be turning 2 years old!

I'm sure many of you have had the chance to watch her grow from the day I started this blog, so I thought it would be appropriate to share some of her birthday party photos (we celebrated early).

We had a fantastic time, and what made it so special was that we got to celebrate, for the second year in a row, with her two little hospital buddies. The three of them were born within days of each other, and have been pals since the day they met :)

So join me in wishing the little girlie a big happy birthday!! and believe me, you'd all be invited if I could fly everyone out here ;)

PS..
I actually made the cake and cupcakes myself... I chickened out last year, so I had to at least attempt this time around. The cookies you see pictured below, were made by my wife. She won ~~brownie~~ cookie points with my father who is celiac, by making them entirely gluten free. They were delicious I might add!!

Oh, and I guess you might imagine who gave her the t-shirt ;)

{ Mike & Julianne E-session } - Central Newfoundland Wedding Photographer

2011-04-28T23:03:00.000-02:30

You may remember this gorgeous couple from a post a little earlier in the year :) Well the weather has finally been good to us lately and we had the chance to get out and spend an afternoon getting some stunning engagement photos!

We had an absolute blast... Enjoying the sunshine and having a great laugh!! I Can't wait to shoot their wedding in August! Here's a few of my favourites from the session.

Creativity on Demand... or Demand for Creativity?

2011-04-21T22:23:00.000-02:30

As many of you probably know, at least if you follow me on twitter, Facebook, or have an iPhone... I post a regular daily photo of my daughter using an app called Instagram. I've basically been using it since the day I got my phone, and I seriously love it!

After a great twitter conversation with a couple photographer friends, both of which have created some stunning art with their phones, I decided I would dedicate a post to my favourite iPhone snaps. Once you've had a look at the series below, be sure to head over to theirs and have a look!

Whatever medium you use, be it paper & pencil or a $10,000 Hasselblad.. Just get out there and create!!

Note: Not all of these were processed with the Instagram app... but they were all shot & processed with the iPhone only.

Be sure to leave a comment with your username if your using Instagram! I'd love to connect with you!

And also head over to Sachin's Post here... Instagram love - 'the best camera is the one that's with you'

And Jeremy Cowart's great series here... iPhone - Haiti Series

Cheers!

"The times they are a changin' "

2011-04-20T00:28:00.000-02:30

I just wanted to update everyone on what's been happening around here lately... To say the least, it's been BUSY!

By the way, this is just a recent photo of the little one.. I know it's been a little while since I posted one :)

For one, ~~I'm just rounding the corner~~ I've just completed my first semester of Business Management! Whoo Hooo! I've learned so much in this program so far, and I can't wait to learn more... but it sure does feel good to have the first part down.

Number two, I've been busy "cooking" up a new project (pun intended)! I asked around a little, and have received some amazing support to start compiling a new cook book. For those of you who don't already know, before my days of photography (at least photography as a business), I was an Executive Chef for a small Bistro here in Central Newfoundland. Since the closing of the restaurant, I've had numerous requests to divulge some of the secrets! Enter - The Bistro's Top Secret Recipe book! Probably not the official title, but you get the idea ;)

I'm planning to have this completed in time for Christmas ordering, but I can't make any promises. Although I will keep everyone up to date on the progress!

In other news, I've also been working on another totally top secret project! I'm getting sort of close now, so I figure I'd let the cat out of the bag. For the past while I've been working on a brand re-design (or should I say, a brand design, as I don't know if I've ever fully communicated my vision with what I've got right now).

We're talking a brand spanking new website, new logo, new galleries, everything! The website will have everything accessible in one spot, including the blog, galleries, and main site.

I feel that after really trying to hone in on my vision and what I want, I've finally started to find something that really works. I want people to feel relaxed when they interact with my brand. I want to be approachable, playful, and fun. I think you'll see where I'm going with this when I launch!

I'm planning on a mid-May launch of the new site... I'll be hosting a "housewarming" party at that time, and everyone will be invited to stop by the site, have a look around, and enter to win some really awesome Goodies!

If you want to stay up to date and be put on the invite list, just leave me you email in the contact form and I'll be sure to let you know!

Can't wait to share, and thanks again for everyone's continued support!

Oh, and did I mention... for all the photographers who follow this blog, I'll be starting my own podcast in the near future. It will basically be an extension of the blog, but more focused on the craft and business of photography. Feel free to send me questions via the contact form if you'd like to have them answered in the podcast!

Dana & Tim {Wedding}

2011-04-11T12:51:00.000-02:30

Dana & Tim were my first wedding of 2011. They were married on March 26 at the Gander Pentacost Church in the middle of what would prove to be (hopefully) our last major snow storm of the season! These two met at youth camp in 2009 where they were both volunteering as security. Shortly after, Dana had to drive into St. John's for a work conference and after meeting up with Tim (and getting lost) she didn't make it back for her conference! Instead they headed back to Tim's for coffee and totally hit it off. Two years later, here they are as Mr. & Mrs. Hann!

These two were both super sweet, and there family was some of the most hospitable people I've met. They were an absolute joy to work with! Although, I think I can safely say that Tim probably had enough photos taken of him to last him a very long time ;) He was a sport though and his dedication to Dana was very apparent, with his willingness to pose for all their portraits!

So without further delay, here are some of my favourites from their big day!

Flowers were provideded by Peyton's Flowers of Gander and I must say, they were absolutely beautiful!

Also a big thank you to Alexandra Stead of Alex Stead Photography who assisted me during the day! She was awesome and even for the small size she is, she had no trouble lugging around my giant roll-aboard suitcase full of equipment!

My photo will be held by thousands!

2011-03-23T21:21:00.000-02:30

This was just such exciting news, I had to share it with everyone! Sometime last year, probably around the end of the summer, I submitted a few photos to Jones Soda. I asked some of you to vote on them and I appreciate everyone who did!

Turns out, the staff over at Jones Soda liked my photo too! I received an email from them about a week ago, stating that the staff had chosen my photo as one of their top pics (pun intended) and they will be running it on one of their upcoming labels!

I have no idea where these bottles will end up, and even if I'll be able to get my hands on one, but I think the coolest part of it all, is that thousands of people will see MY photo!

As a photographer, my goal is to provide people with lasting memories, and to document their special moments in life. However, as an Artist, my goal is for people to see my work! Sometimes that medium may be in a gallery, but I have to say that I'm pretty excited in this case that it will be on a bottle of pop!

There's no prize involved, no monetary compensation, not even a free bottle of pop... but to me, knowing that my photo will be viewed by all of these people is pure satisfaction :)

Thanks again to anyone who voted for the photo, and if you happen to find a bottle with the photo on it... please pick one up! Take a photo of yourself with the bottle and send it over :)

Bottoms UP!

P.S.
the coolest part of the story, is that this building may not even be standing any more. I spoke with one person who thinks this little fishing shack may have been taken down in the recent months. What a cool way to document it's legacy!

Emily's Saturday - {video}

2011-03-13T19:15:00.000-02:30

I thought it would be so fun to share with all of you, via the blog, instead of just posting some random link. This would count as my first ever attempt to actually record and produce a short video using a DSLR.

Everything was shot totally handheld, and absolutely bare bone camera, so no fancy view finders, jibs, dollies, etc.. :)

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out! I love the control of the Depth of Field when shooting with a prime lens and the 24 frames per second! It definitely gives it that buttery cinematic effect.

So without further ado... Please enjoy!

Emily's Saturday from Trevor Rideout on Vimeo.

Watch Em Grow!

2011-03-08T00:51:00.000-03:30

You may recognize this little fella from a recent new born shoot that was showcased here on the blog. Well over the weekend, I was invited to his dedication service and managed to get some really great moments.

Also featured below is his big sister, who I've also had the opportunity to watch grow from the time she was his age! Probably one of the most rewarding things about photographing families, is the ability to document these stages and provide them with valuable memories.

Needless to say, I was honoured to be a part of this special event, and I'm so happy with these images! These kids are so darn cute though, I don't think it would be possible to take a bad photograph!

New Product for 2011!

2011-03-03T01:38:00.000-03:30

I just had to share this new product I'm carrying for 2011! These are the most adorable little albums I've ever seen and they're a great way to show off your favourite images from your session!

The albums are printed with a laminated metallic front & back cover and the pages are printed on a pearl paper that will stand up to the little ones and their little fingers!

Each book also comes with a frosted slip cover, so you can throw it your purse and have it anytime you want to show off your fabulous photos!

They come in sets of three so they are perfect for sending to the grandparents as gifts. They would also make amazing Christmas gifts to share with the family.

Oh, did I mention that they've even got magnets in both the front and back cover to help keep them closed!

Anyway, the photos will speak for themselves as to just how sweet these little albums are... Enjoy!

Book your family, maternity or newborn session before March 31 & with a qualifying print order I'll throw a set of these in as a gift! ($75.00 value)

{Camping In}

2011-02-28T02:13:00.000-03:30

I just had to share a little series of images from today... Emily's "Pappy" came over for a visit today, and this a big event! Emily loves her pappy as much as she loves swimming, and she's been asking for both all week!

As much as I love being a father and spending time with my little munchkin, there something so special about watching her hang out with the man who raised Me. Watching her interact and play, and imaging what it must have been like to be that young, it just invoked a lot of emotion. I truly felt honoured to have the opportunity to document the moment, for her sake and for mine!

I think sometimes we get so caught up in the busy-ness of life and we forget to soak in the little moments. These moments pass so quickly and there's absolutely no getting them back! So tomorrow as you go about your busy day and I go about mine, let's take a second to stop and reflect on the blessings we've been given in life. And, remember, life is short, soak it in for all it's glory!

{Julianne & Mike}

2011-02-26T23:44:00.003-03:30

Well today I had an amazing opportunity to get to know one of my wedding couples for the 2011 wedding season. These guys are absolutely adorable and both have such incredible personalitites. I had told them that I would be happy to squeeze in a mini-engagement session in time to have a beautiful photo to adorn their invitations, but with Julianne attending school out of town, trying to get something on the books would prove to be a bit of a challenge. Turns out the only day are schedules could align was on a day which Environment Canada and the Newfoundland Fire and Emergency services had dubbed a "severe weather emergency"! But these guys are troopers, and I'm never averse to a little challenge, so we decided (later in the day when the freezing rain had died down) that we would venture out and grab some stunning engagement portraits.

Between a few frozen fingers and some bitter cheeks, we were able to rock some really gorgeous portraits! These guys were awesome, and I totally swear that this was not Julianne's first time in front of the camera. I'm super excited to be working with these guys again and can't wait for their big day in August!

So here they are... Julianne & Mike!

Tea Party

2011-02-25T22:37:00.000-03:30

So as most of you probably know, I share a lot of my favourite images of my daughter once in a while on this blog. So I felt like sharing some recent ones that I grabbed today. Parenting has proven to be one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. It definitely has it's challenges and sure I've wanted to pull my hair out everyonce in a while, but oh my... Those goodnight kisses, the late afternoon cuddles while watching strawberry shortcake, and oh my favourite the fresh out of the bath smell! All those things and more have proven to be the most amazing experiences and I love that I'm able to document her growth. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these images as much as I do taking them. Have a great weekend!

Study Study Study!

2011-02-21T01:02:00.000-03:30

Just wanted to drop in and say hello to everyone. Felt like I needed to come up for a breath of fresh air amidst all the accounting, math, HR... etc! As most of you probably know I have been working on a Business Management program, and my schedule has been pretty hectic! I've got a very full course load of 7 classes this semester and while I've been fortunate to stay on top of it, I haven't a lot of time to blog. So in case your wondering, I'm still here, and I will continue to at least try to keep a weekly schedule to the blog, but I make no promises. A big thanks to everyone who's been supporting me, and a huge thank you to every single reader who continually makes this blog worth writing!

Anyway, here's a little glimpse of my world recently! Full of Coffee and Sweets to keep me going!

Deep Blue Eyes and the Cutest Cheeks Ever!

2011-02-09T15:08:00.002-03:30

The other day I had the opportunity to document the new life of our very close friends. It was sort of un-planned in the sense that we didn't really book a session, but let's just say that I had my gear with me and the batteries were fully charged :) Of course, it's not very often that I ever leave the house in any other form! The only thing I forgot to bring was a light stand... So, Dad got to participate as my voice activated light stand! It definitley sped things up, and I think Dad got a bit of a workout :)

Anyway, needless to say, this is very likely one of the cutest kids I've ever photographed. Betweeen the cutest baby cheeks ever is probably a pair of the deepest blue eyes you've ever seen! I have a sneaking suspicion that mom and dad will be telling the girlies to get away! He's a fantastic baby and I am so happy for them to be blessed with such an amazing new life! So without further ado, I introduce you to Cruz!

Contact Me Home Portfolio

The [b] School 2.0 is Here!!!

2011-02-05T00:51:00.001-03:30

Alright folks, remember last year I was droppin some hints about the amazing social hang out for photographer called the [b] school... Well, Becker just launched the totally rad new site!

For anyone who has never heard about this place of learning and networking beyond your wildest dreams, here's a little rundown of what happens around there...

The [b] school is a place to grow your business. Grow your network. Learn your craft. Get advice. And generally just make new friends! The team over there has spent at least the last year and bukoo dollars to totally re-vamp this site, to make it Fast, enjoyable to use and just about one of the sweetest spots your gonna find on the web.

As a professional or even aspiring photographer, the amount of collaboration that happens on this site, would be un-heard of in any other form. Seriously, ask a question and within minutes, people like you who have been down that road, are willing and ready to help you out with advice. There's even other's who might chime in, as they are going through the same experiences as you.

The community is made up of a vast and diversified range of photographers. Those who just started, those who are shooting their first weddings this year and those like Becker who have been at it 10 years or more! Everyone you encounter in there is friendly.

The community *ahem* Tribe/movement is about helping other photographers. I'm sure you've heard the saying before " a rising tide, raises all ships"... Well this commmunity is that rising tide!! People from all over North America.

There are also some pretty sweet benefits to being a part of the [b] school. It's a great way to find photographers in your area to share referrals with, and the new site is gonna make that super simple. Each b school student will have two profiles. One private and one that is publice. You can send your bride a public link that she could see your buddies photos and info and vice-versa. Plus with the amount of traffic this site sees, your bound to be gettin more hits from the search engines!

Becker and his team have spent so much time creating this site from total scratch and the work they put in is paying off. The atmosphere in the school is absolutely ELECTRic right now. They have combed over every detail of this site to ensure total satisfaction. And truly, if you're not satisfied, there's in no obligation to stick around whatsoever. You can sign up now for just $10 a month. That's like what, the cost of 2 Starbucks? maybe 4 or 5 Timmies if your from Canada :) Or a lame photography magazing that's full of ads... and last time I checked, magazines don't interact and they sure don't send referrals!

You can sign up on a monthly plan, and can cancel your subscription at anytime. I guarantee personally that your gonna be super stoked about this place! Seriously, if your a wedding, portrait, family photographer of any kind, go sign up right now. The $10 bucks a month won't last. But if you sign up now, your rates will never go up.. EVER... So even if your aspiring or not really sure how much you'll use the site yet, I suggest getting your price locked in right away! Like I said, if your not happy you can cancel.

I'll make you a deal, if you sign up and feel like you totally wasted your 10 bucks, send me your link to your blog or website and I'll give you 10 dollars worth of promotion (via twitter, blog, wherever.)... That's a pretty good guarantee, and a no lose situation for you!

See you in the [b] School! http://bsch.co/igz4E8

Making portraits in the Snow!

2011-02-02T21:26:00.000-03:30

Okay, because I always feel if one person asks a question, there are probably many more asking the same question; I've decided to share an email response to close friend who asked about my techniques for shooting in the snow.

I am forewarning you, that is a long response and you must have a good grasp of your camera before attempting to shoot in the snow, but here is my response...

----- So here is my process for metering in bright environments *when taking portraits*.

Go into your camera menu and or the shortcut command button located somewhere on your camera body (depnding on the make and model) and there should be funtion to change your metering. There are, I believe, three settings. Matrix (or evaluative) metering. This takes a reading from the overall scene and tells you what the best combination of shutter/aperature are. Then there is center weighted, which takes the majority of the reading from the center, but then also reads from about 30 percent of the rest of the scene. Lastly there is spot metering. This takes it's reading from the center of the viewfinder area (basically where your center focus point is in your viewfinder). This is the setting I suggest for portraits in bright environments.

Now you don't have to be restricted to manual mode to use this method. In manual, basically all your going to do is look through the viewfinder while pointing that center point right at the skin on your subjects face and then dial your settings until get the meter to sit in the center (all those bars at the bottom of your viewfinder.

On the left, I left the lens cap on so that the scene was completley black, and it's telling me that my settings are f1.4 and shutter speed of 1/125sec... on the right, set to spot meter I have pointed it directly at my computer screen (it was not nearly as white, that's the iPhone not being able to handle the contrast)... It's telling me that f1.4 and a shutter speed of 1/500sec I am exactly where I need to be in order to produce "neutral gray" for that little area it's surverying. When I say neutral gray, cameras don't meter for pure white or pure black, so in order to get pure white or pure black, (like photographing a black car) you would need to over or under expose. This is just a matter of adjusting your settings until that little meter goes left or right.

Now if you want to shoot in Aperature priority, you can omit some of these steps. In Ap or AV depending on your Cam manufacturer, you will not see the meter at the bottom of the screen. It's not there, because the camera is adjusting your shutter speed to sit exactly at center of the meter according the aperture you've selected. If you want to over or under expose your photo, you use the "exposure compensation" dial or buttons. You can then set the compensation to a little higher if you want to blow out the whites or set it a little lower if you want to make the scene a little darker.

I suggest for the creamy skin tones, that you'll want to overexpose by a 1/3 to a half of an fstop. But it totally depends on the situation and environment and will take a little experimenting. My suggestion is to interact with your subjects and start taking a few shots to nail down your exposure. While your looking at the Histogram/LCD talk with your subjects and make them feel a part of the process. There is nothing worse than a photographer staring blankly at their camera controls and not saying a word.

Also keep in mind, if your using a priority mode, whether it be Aperture or Shutter priority, every time you move that little meter point to somewhere else in the scene, it's going to adjust accordingly. To combat this, you need to point your center point of the meter at your subject, and at the point your going to focus on... So in other words, point at the eye of your subject, then press down on the button that reads, "AE-L/AF-L" ... This means Auto Exposure/Auto Focus Lock. This will lock in those settings, and now anywhere you point that camera your exposure (in the priortiy mode) is going to be locked in. I only suggest using it when you are slightly re-composing your shot. So in essence, point at the eye, press the AE/AF-L and then (while staying in the same focal plane - don't move back or forth, just up down & side to side) arrange your composition... Where you want the subject to be in the frame. Doing this, will lock the exposure to where you metered from, and keep the eye in the focal plane of the lens which is what you are aiming to have in focus.

As far as off Camera flash, if you don't have a light stand to get your light nice and high, or a softbox/umbrella, you will need to be super careful about how your postion your light as to not create to harsh of shadows. But, using an off camera flash, actually allows you the opportunity to make your background/foreground ambient light dimmer. When using off camera flash, your shutter speed controls the ambient light and your aperture controls the light how bright the light from the flash looks in the final exposure.

Your shutter speed is how long you leave the shutter open (as I'm sure you already know) so when you have that cranked down, you are allowing less light by shortening the period of time it can hit the sensor.

Aperature (which controls the size of the opening inside the lens) controls how much light actually passes through the lens. Since a speedlight usually completes it's burst of light as fast as 1/200 of a second, the shutter only needs to be open for that amount of time... The light is so fast that it's going to enter no matter what. If you close down your aperture (make the number bigger) you are allowing less of that light to by-pass the lens to the sensor.

So then in a situation like being in the snow, you could actually shorten your shutter speed to make the snow and the background darker, but use your aperture to light your subject with a flash to a more appealing exposure (i.e natural skin tones).

This process can be a little tricky if you haven't done it before and I don't suggest it, if it would be your first or second time. Experiment on family or friends until your comfortable setting it up.

Other than that, snow can be a beautiful reflector of large soft light on your subjects faces. So my BEST suggestion is to find a shadow very close to brighter location. Utiilize the light from the sun, being reflected from the snow onto your subjects (who are in the shade) to create very soft portraits. I also suggest mixing up lots of full frame portraits with lots of environmental shots. That way, if all your environmental type portraits look like garbage, you full frame portraits should be fine, as your only exposing for their skin and no other ambient variables. Also don't be afraid to do some indoor shots during the session. Find some large windows as your light source and position your subject so that they are facing the light source at about a 45 deg angle and shoot away. You will get beautifully large catchlights in the eyes and nice soft light that wraps around them. The larger the window the softer the light.

I know it's cliche to say, but most of all have fun! If your worried the whole time about your settings, and your fumbling with your camera, you will inevitably carry those emotions right into your subject and you will not get nice comfortable, relaxed portraits. Remember, if you totally don't get anything that looks good, you've got two options. Provide the client with a free make - up session (just explain to them that the conditions were not ideal and your standards are too high to deliver the photos you have. Tell them you would rather make it up by doing a re-shoot and providing them with the absolute best you can offer). Or you can convert to black and white... that's just a joke.. Although it will work in some cases, but your way better off not having to "sacrifice" to give them good photos.

My last piece of advice... Shoot in RAW... and expose further to the right (meaning your better off exposing a little bright than too dark). Shadows hold little to no information in the file, while even whites that are close to clipping, have a lot more information that can be used to reduce the exposure. Although, if you blow out a highlight (clipping) there is no information to recover and it will just become pukey gray if you try to darken it too much.

I know this was a very long response, and my fingers are now numb, but I hope this gives you a lot more comfort while you prepare for your weekend shoot. Please let me know how it goes!

Trevor D. Rideout
Trevor Dean Photography -----------

Happy Shooting!

Challenge yourself!

2011-01-25T02:57:00.000-03:30

So I had my head buried in Financial Math (Just one of my many favourite courses this year) and I decided it was time for a little drive. I haven't picked up the camera in about a week and I felt one of those creative slumps coming on. I haven't really shot anything for myself lately, or really challenged myself to shoot something different. In part, probably because I have my iPhone with me at all times and it's a total snap to whip it out and take a photo.

Anyway, the moral of the story, is when you start feeling that creative slump coming on, create a challenge for yourself. Something you have never shot before, or something you've always wanted to shoot. In my case, right now I'm usually up pretty late working on assignments so I decided to try and take advantage of the town being pretty quiet.

Seriously, if you want to challenge yourself, here ya go! Put on a prime lens, drive around at night (in my case 1:30 a.m), don't get out of the car and don't bring a tripod! Needless to say, I did not have major success and didn't come home with a 100 images. In fact I had 2 that I didn't mind.

I definitley plan on doing this more, as it challenged so many aspects of my creativity. I had to shoot in what was mostly, very limited light. I was restricted to my vehicle; and I had to be creative as to where to anchor my arms to get a steady shot with long shutter speeds. I do think that next time I will attempt to leave the vehicle (if it's not -20 deg Celsius with 60km/hr winds) just because it would give you a little more freedom in what to shoot, but nonetheless... If you want a challenge, get out there and try it!

Feel free to leave a link in the comments to a photo or two that you create on such a journey. Or tell us what types of activities you do, to help get those juices flowing.

PS. be sure to bring a business card with you, in case you get stopped by the police. At least if they want to know who the nut is out taking pictures in the wee hours of the morning, you can show him/her.
Disclaimer: I do not condone taking pictures of private property at this time in the morning. Don't park in front of someone's house and start snapping away. Keep it to the public buildings or places.

Guest Post on tiffinbox.org - 3 simple ways to elevate your photography

2011-01-20T20:15:00.001-03:30

I was asked recently to write a guest blog post for Tiffinbox.org and somehow between starting my first semester of college and trying to keep up with this blog I was able to squeeze one in! I want to send Seshu a big thank you for the opportunity and I really looking forward to writing more for him. He runs a fantastic blog for photographers that encompasses everything from tips to improve your craft to techniques to improve your business. Sehsu is a documentary wedding photographer in Conneticut and works tirelessly to keep a constant flow of really great information pertaining to the industry!

You can check out the post here http://tiffinbox.org/3-simple-techniques-to-elevate-your-photography/

Be sure to bookmark Tiffinbox.org and you can also follow Seshu on twitter @PicSeshu

Choosing a Wardrobe for your next Family Session

2011-01-13T01:09:00.000-03:30

I haven't written anything "informative" lately, so I thought it would be about time. Just wanted to offer some quick advice when shooting family portraits or consulting the family on wardrobe selection (pre-shoot).

Typically advise to choose from a pallette of about three colours. This doesn't mean they all have to be the exact colour spectrum, just something fairly close. If you need inspiration you can check out all kinds of kids fashion sites to see what's in style and what type of colour combos work well.

Always opt for solid colours when chosing a wardrobe for family photos. Patterns and massive logos or prints can be very visually distracting to the viewer. This doesn't mean that your clients have to dress "out of the norm" to what their everyday attire would be. In fact I highly suggest not doing so, because when your taking family photos they're supposed to be memories of years past. If you don't normally wear suits everyday as a family, then it would be a mis-representation of your life.

Dress comfortably. You never know where the crazy photographer is going to take you :)... You know, in the woods, out in the bog, against a concrete wall - whatever it takes to get those fantastic shots!

Also keep in mind, if it's a Mom and Dad and one or two children, you may want to consider dressing the kids in something a little contrasting to the parents. Whether the parents are wearing light colours and kids in darker colours or vice versa. This will help to add a little contrast and depth to the finished product.

One way to really add some depth to the images is by adding accessories. Scarfs are fantastic in the winter and in the summer you may want to consider some simple jewelery. A simple pair of earings or a tasteful bracelet will do the trick.

If you have some time before the shoot, get some information about the places they may want to hang their enlargements, or wall collections. What type of decor do they have in their home, wall colours, furniture colours, and so on. This will help you to advise of a few colour pallettes that would be complimentary in their home. Remember, were not just making photographs, your job as a family photographer is to help create artwork that your clients will proudly display in their home.

I know this wasn't an in-depth look at wardrobe selection but hopefully it will help when planning your next family shoot. As always, if you have any more questions, feel free to leave a comment here on the blog and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

Have a happy Friday and a great Weekend!

Building a Community

2011-01-03T01:08:00.001-03:30

Well 2011 has been here for a couple days now and it's been a bit of a rocky start to the new year, mainly due to this terrible ear infection/flu (not really sure which it is) but hey... If that's the least of my troubles than I'm in good shape!

I just wanted to wish everyone the best in the coming 12 months ahead of us. My hope is that we will all make the most of this year and really strive to be more positive. I feel like 2010 was a difficult year for everyone. From recessions to some pretty major disasters it has been challenging for all of us. Unfortunatley during years like that, many of tend to lose the drive to accept new challenges and we become complacent in our thoughts and actions.

I hope that everyone will at least strive to complete one goal this year... It really doesn't matter what that goal may be but setting a realistic goal for yourself will give you an opportunity to achieve success. I am not saying that failure is not an option and I've spoken about how failure can actually drive us to become better but little successes throughout the year tend to motivate you to continually strive for more.

My goal this year may be a little lofty but I welcome everyone to follow me on my journey to complete it. I want to see the community of photographers, here in Newfoundland, working together and helping each other. I recently became a part of what is called "the [b] school", an initiative started by Christopher Becker in California. His hope is for the same but on a international scale. What I have noticed, is the amazing success it has brought to all of the participants. If you haven't checked it out, I highly reccomend it! For the cost of a few coffees a month you gain a whole wealth of rescources and an entire network of like minded professionals in this industry to interact with. He also hosts a weekly study hall on Thursdays that is free for anyone to watch.

I think if we could expand this to smaller regional levels in conjuction with the international network that Becker has created, we would be doing a great service to our industry. My plan this year is to start building the network here in Newfoundland. I have plans to start a social club here in Central, where photographers can get away from their studios, interact with other photographers, go on photowalks and even have group critiques. I feel that since we all share a passion, why not collaborate and enjoy the company of others who we share it with.

I also plan to start some sort of referral network for local business. Meet with the caterers, banquet halls, hotels etc... and really educate them on the services available from so many amazing photographers in the area. I'm even hoping to arrange a small exhibition, where local photographers could showcase their work and gain a little exposure for little to no cost.

If you set yourself a goal this year that you're truly passionate about, you Will find the time and rescources to complete it. So get out there this year make 2011 a banner year for yourself! I would love to hear the goals your setting for yourself this year, so please feel free to leave a comment here on the blog.

Check out "the [b] school" here and be sure to also follow on twitter @thebschool for updates on study hall. You will thank me! Also Becker is launching a whole new [b] school site in February that will blow your socks off, so keep your eyes out!

PS
being a photoblog, I felt I should put some eye candy up. So here is a recent photo of the little one wearing what I'm referring too as her thinking cap!

A few from the Holidays

2010-12-28T00:24:00.000-03:30

Surprise! I know I said the last post was my last for the year but I couldn't help share a few photos from Christmas of some of my favourite people in the world! See you in 2011!!

Final Post of the Year - Tips for Christmas Photography

2010-12-23T21:41:00.000-03:30

Well it's just about that time again! I just got word from NORAD that they will be tracking Santa in just a few short hours. Soon all over the world, children and families will be awoke from their slumber (mostly parents having ears tugged and eyes poked) with great excitment and anticipation as to what may wait under the tree!

I would easily venture a guess that this is the time of year that your camera/videocamera see the most use in a single sitting. So my Christmas gift to all of my readers is a quick list of tips to make those images great and ones that you'll cherish forever.

1. This is probably self explanatory but it never hurts to be reminded.... Charge your batteries, clear your memory cards and throw a fresh tape/disc/SDcard into that video camera.

2. Be sure to plan your light source. If your a professional you may want to check out The Strobist's blog for an excellent tutorial on using a couple speedlights to create some great cross lighting that'll be sure to please... Don't fret though if you don't! Most of our living rooms have some great sources of light. Try to position yourself so that your main light source (i.e a giant living room window) is illuminating your subjects face. Typically window light is very pleasing and flattering and most times will create some great catch lights in the eyes of your subject.

3. Get Closer! I believe Mr. Cowart quoted recently; "the least utilized tool in photography is your feet!"... This is very true and many of us get a little on the lazy side with our zooms. But don't be afraid to move in, fill the frame with your subject and remember to focus on the eyes. Don't be afraid to crop some of the head or neck, just keep the crop somewhere around the start of the hairline.

4. If your using video... Don't shoot 2 hours of footage of the entire christmas morning. Shoot little clips of some of the most important parts. This could vary for everyone but as a child I can re-collect that these would include the initial un-veiling of the gifts, opening the single item that I put on my wish list or even making a few calls to family. Don't be shy of some of the great built-in software on PC and MAC to take all that footage and edit it into a great seemless video that you burn and share with family.

5. If you're like me, I enjoy driving around on Christmas Eve and checking out all the lights. You may even feel inclined to snap a few shots of your own or your favourites that you see in your travels. A couple quick tips - Use a tripod if you have one and slow your shutter speed down, if your using a DSLR then try playing with your aperature values to acheive different effects... Stop way down to get some really cool starburts effects on the lights, or open up really wide and focus on a subject in front of the lights. This will give you a really nice out of focus lit background. Don't be afraid to experiment, it can be pretty tricky. Same goes for your Christmas tree; but instead of taking a photo with all the living room lights on, try setting the camera on something stable, turn on a few small living room lights (in addition to the tree lights) and use a longer shutter speed to get a more ambient light feel to your image.

6. If your capturing some group shots keep these tips in mind... Watch your perspective; if everyone is seated at the table, get down to their eye level. Keep an eye on your background; you don't want any christmas trees growing out of family members heads. And finally, take lots of photos; If it's a group of 5 or more people you'll want to take at least 3 and maybe more photos in a row to be sure to capture a single one with everyone's eyes open.

7. Don't be afraid to try a little post processing. Even if your not a professional and don't have lots of fancy software... Go out and download a free copy of google picasa. You can use it to fix red-eye, crop your photos, convert them to black and white and even add a little punch of contrast. Be careful about adding too much, a little goes a long way.

8. Finally... Be sure to pass the camera off to someone else. As pros and amateurs alike who tend to always be on camera duty, there are never any images of us to adorn the family album. Be sure to get in a couple before snagging the camera back :)

Hope all of you have a wonderful season and I truly hope Santa will be good to all of you!

Wishing you and your families a Merry Christmas from Mine!

Growth is a part of Life

2010-12-22T23:38:00.001-03:30

Growth is inevitable and it is up to us to take advantage of it and learn from our Failures.

No matter what struggles we have thrown at us in life, we must overcome them; learn from them; accept them with open minds and open hearts; and hope we survive to see the fruits of our toils. It's funny, I've heard so much this year about some truly successful people and the amazing struggles they've had on their own path. Maybe it's the industry I'm in but I'd like to think it has more to do with wanting to surround myself with people who are not afraid of failure.

Without risk we will never experience life to the fullest. We will never pursue our wildest dreams and for the most part will probably live life without ever really experiencing what it is to truly LIVE.

Some of the most successful people have undergone strains and struggles even beyond my own comprehension. Divorce, bankruptcy, breakdowns, etc... Luckily I have not had to experience these but I have come close.

My point to this whole post is that I would like for everyone who reads this to really challenge themselves. Look back over your year and for every hard time or failure that you've experienced write down what the positive was that came from it. This is not to share with anyone but yourself. If you cannot think of a positive, then come back to it when you can. If you haven't found a positive, go out and make it positive.

Life is too short to dwell on the things that anger us, or upset us. There are too many amazing people in this world that have overcome things that we as very priveleged citizens of earth will never come close to comprehending and they made it through.

Forget your grudges... Move forward. If you feel like you've made an enemy, make it right. This is a call to action for everyone who reads this to make their own lives better simply by thinking positive. Without negative thoughts you will open your mind to so many opportunities that otherwise may just pass you by. I also challenge you to make new friends and contacts this year.

As creatives we tend to keep to ourselves, not wanting to share our methods for fear of them being copied. I say throw that thinking out the window! If you're a professional photographer, go out and find another local photographer who is starting out and Mentor them this year. Don't be shy, I know when I was starting out I would've loved for someone to show me the ropes. Do not be afraid of a loss of business or market share. Look at some of the great photographers of our time like Chase Jarvis, Scott Bourne, Bambi Cantrell, David Duchemin, Christopher Becker... Too name a few! Sharing their knowledge through video, workshops, podcasts, critiques etc... They have not lost business! In fact they have probably gained!

Mentoring someone and helping them to learn and master their craft can quite possibly be one of the most rewarding things you could do as a photographer. This industry is under constant "renovations" and is ever changing. Equipment, style, techniques, you name it. By helping someone else you will learn how to open your mind to learn yourself.

To be successful as a photographer, one must accept that this industry changes and must be willing to learn when it does. You must accept failure as a learning experience and grow from it and You must be open minded! For a little perspective when it comes to our craft... Look back at images you created when you first started out or even in the past year. Notice the growth? Without all those failed attempts to make something truly remarkable we would never grow and never learn.

So I will end this post with a wish that all of you have an amazing new year and hope that it is Positive, prosperous and full of new friends!

Cheers to all of my readers and everyone in the industry!

Winner of David Duchemin's ebooks

2010-12-21T00:48:00.000-03:30

I want to thank everyone who participated in my holiday contest! Between blog commentors and re-tweets I had some great support!

I am happy to announce the winner this evening... The lucky winner was Robert who commented on the blog post. You can check out his work over at http://rob214page.blogspot.com/

I really wish I could give every single one of you a copy of these books as I know all of you would find them useful and helpful on your own photographic journey. I would highly reccomend to anyone who particpated in the contest to head over to the craft and vision site and purchase them anyway! http://craftandvision.com/authors/david-duchemin/

David is a wonderful writer and these books are packed with information and insight that no doubt will offer some guidance on your journey of finding your vision.

I wish all of my fantastic blog readers and twitter followers a wonderful holiday and wish every single one of you a memorable and prosperous new year! Thank you all for your support and for continuing to stop by this blog. It makes my efforts to continue totally worth it!

Thank you again and Happy Holidays to All of You!

T-Shirts IN December!!

2010-12-14T23:07:00.000-03:30

Ok, I know what your thinking... While the majority of this continent is suffering from a cold snap and some areas are in a state of emergency due to snow... There is no possible way I could be out shooting and my client be dressed in a t-shirt here in this beautiful province of Newfoundland!

I can't believe it myself either and I have to say all the delays and back and forth email between Jenay and I have paid off! When we originally planned this session, it was too cold to be outside in a sweater.

Jenay and Elmo (that furry thing she's holding) were awesome to work with! We started at 2:30 in the afternoon when the sun had started it's decent and we were wrapped at 3:30 on the nose!! Her and Elmo rocked the whole session and made my job soooo easy.

I truly enjoyed photographing both of them. Jenay has some of the most striking eyes I've ever seen... I'm sure we'll be getting together again for another session with Elmo!

Here are a few of my favourites - I had to limit it... There were a ton of images that I would've liked to share but these are my tops. Enjoy!!

Holiday Giveaway! Win your copy of David Duchemin's 2 recent E-books from Craft and Vision

2010-12-08T22:08:00.004-03:30

A big Hello and Happy Holidays to all of my fantastic Blog Readers!! Since I can't send everyone a personal holiday card (as much as I would love to!) I thought this would be the best place to share.

In the spirit of the Holidays I have decided to give back to one lucky reader! The rules are simple... All you need to do is insert this link "http://up.vc/craftandvision" and @trevordeanphoto into your tweet - If you do not use twitter (I don't see why you wouldn't) but you may also leave a comment on this blog post for your chance to win this fantastic prize. I will be holding a random draw on December 21st to choose the lucky winner. This is a great chance to either pick up a copy for yourself or a family member who thirsts for knowledge and vision in their own photographic journey!

David is an amazing photographer, Visionary, Creative and Writer! I own these myself and they are packed with information that will help guide you in finding your own way in this amazing world of photography.

Good Luck to everyone who enters and I will look forward to the draw. If you are the winner I will be contacting you on the 21st of December and will require your email address at that time in order to send you the instructions for downloading.

Happy Holidays to All!!

Experimenting with Light - Inspired by the Jeremy Cowart Workshop

2010-12-03T23:49:00.000-03:30

So I will preface this post by saying this is absolutely personal work. Please don't think that when I show up to shoot your holiday photos this Christmas season, I'm gonna bring out an axe and get you to do something crazy :)

I just finished watching Jeremey Cowart on Creative Live teaching his Master Class called "Experimental Portraiture". If you have never seen his work, please go and check it out when you finish reading this post! He is a visionary among the world of photography and imaging and has done amazing things in what has really been a short time. This guy is still young and I am soo excited to see how he grows and what he will bring to the world.

The workshop was hosted by Creative Live which was founded by Chase Jarvis and Craig and the entire team there has done some pretty ground breaking work. Currently they offer Master Classes in photography, videography and a whole lot more. They stream all these workshops LIVE to the entire world to watch and learn for free. After the course is over, they edit all the best content and offer it to buy for an Extremely reasonable price. The info that is offered during these courses is invaluable if you are in this industry!

All that to say, that I was totally inspired by Jeremy to start "experimenting" a little myself. I have to say, the little self portrait session I did, was totally FUN! It was so freeing to just shoot something abstract and basically just play :) If you are a photographer, I highly recommend trying this on your own and if you didn't have the opportunity to watch Jeremy Cowart on Creative Live, go purchase and download the workshop. You will not regret it!

Here are a couple photos that I came up with. By the way, if you have access to models, friends or even a coat rack... Trying to shoot self portraits in this manner is a huge challenge. For the shots with me actually using the axe, I had to trigger the self timer, time it exactly so I could throw some bark and dust in the air just before my strobe fired, then grab the axe let the shutter open... Grab the flashlight make the stroke in the air and then hope for the best lol... I wish I had a couple more strobes to play with but I did this with what I had.

Here are my faves...

{Sugar and Treats} with DC's on my Feet

2010-12-01T21:21:00.000-03:30

Wow! Where did the time go? December 1st already! It seems like the last quarter of the year always sneaks up behind me and jumps out at the last minute. Christmas shopping is almost done, lights are up on the outside of the house and we've got a spot picked out for the tree :)

In what I hope will be a continuing tradition for My little one, we decided that being December 1st we would build her Gingerbread house... Ok, maybe not so much build as just decorate. Fortunatley nan a pap bought her a kit this year and the walls and roof were already put together. Call it lazy but when your pressed for time... This was one sweet surprise :)

Here's a little mini series of the process... Oh, and Emily's shoes that she is very proud of. Thanks to her great Aunt and Cousin (I'm sure the boys didn't have a lot to do with it) she was given these last year for Christmas. She's just now fitting into a size 5. Although I don't think she gets her feet or her height from her daddy!

Hope you enjoy and I would love to see some photos of your own Gingerbread projects. Please feel free to leave a link in the comments!

Children's Photography - Video Blog

2010-11-30T23:58:00.001-03:30

Hello All! Today I am debuting my first ever video blog! You'll have to bare with me on this one :) This was more or less a trial by fire and I wanted to run through the process so I could start refining my system for video blogging. Hopefully there will be more to come!

In this quick video, I am chatting a little about techniques I use to help draw a child's personality out during a photo shoot. I hope you find the tips helpful, I welcome any comments or feedback!

Thanks for all your support... and by the way, that's my little one in the back, trying to peek over Daddy's shoulder. I told her she was gonna be on TV and she wanted to say "Hi Mom" haha. Take Care!

Btw... I have to apologize for "uh's" ... This was kind of an impromptu opportunity to shoot this blog and I actually planned on talking about a different topic... Like I said, 1st video blog ever so either watch and maybe somebody can give me a count on the "uh's" or don't watch and wait for a more eloquent written blog :) Thanks again!

Video Blog - Children's Photography from Trevor Rideout on Vimeo.

A "mini" holiday session

2010-11-20T00:35:00.000-03:30

I should preface this post by saying... I do not consider myself to be a pet photographer. Yes I do have some photos of pets and I shoot them every once in a while but there are photographers out there who would do them much more justice.

That point aside, when a friend asked me to get some holiday photos of her baby (a tea cup poodle) and yes, very much her baby :) I couldn't say no. This little pooch is spoiled rotten and I must say is a pretty great little dog with a huge personality! She's well behaved and even modelled for me a little during the session.

She definitley presented a challenge - being smaller than a typical DSLR and lens but hey, I'm always up for a challenge! Here are a couple of my faves... (by the way, in #3 she's not actually growling, she's just finishing a yawn... but I thought it was pretty cute in a Mini Grinch sorta way!)

Shooting Pets

2010-11-11T23:10:00.000-03:30

Ok I probably got your attention... Especially if this is your first time to the blog and didn't know it was all about photography :)

To all my regular blog readers, I apologize for the lack of posts but I have been deeply submeresed in the middle of a move and am just starting to get settled. Still no office but I've been making do with the just the laptop... Although I have to say I am way less productive.

I thought, since I am currently looking after a good friends Tea Cup Poodle (believe me, tea cup is a well suited classification) this thing weighs about 2 pounds, I thought I would share a few tips for taking great photos of your furry loved ones.

Many of the same rules when shooting kids apply to shooting pets.

1. Get down to their level. You can tell a whole different story by getting eye level with the animals. Tell the story that they see. There is nothing less flattering than a photo of your pet from 5 feet above. You can showoff much more of their character as well when shooting at eye level. In the case of an animal that only stands about 6" off the ground, prop them up on a couch, chair, table etc... This will make it a little easier to get eye level.

2. Find good light. Unlike people, pets are typically less "contrasty" when it comes to colour, definition and typically clothing... Although I know many animals who are better dressed than me! You want to get decent light to help define their lines. If using flash, try to get it off the camera or at least bounce it off the ceiling to get the largest possible light source. If outside, try using the bright sun reflecting a little light while shooting in shadows. There are many techniques for this that can be found around the web.

3. Photograph them in their element. Pets, just like kids, will respond much better when they are in a familiar environment or participating in familiar activities. Get them playing with their favourite toys, or take them to the dog park for a good run.

4. If the above fails to yield any spectacular results, try photographing them when they're asleep. It will give you lots of opportunity to make nessacary adjustments to light and exposure and will easier to nail your focus.

5. Although most photographers love to shoot at nice wide open aperatures when shooting portraits for that creamy blurry background, try closing your aperature down a little (by a stop or two) lets say from 1.4 to 2.8. This will give you a little more leeway in your depth of field, as most likely you will be focusing on the fly.

6. The same I would say for childrens photography... Be patient and have fun with it. Trying to get that perfectly posed photo of your pet should be thrown out the window. Go for candid shots that are full of energy. Not only will it be less frustrating, you will end up with a host of photos that show off your pets personality!

Enjoy! If you have any other questions or have some of your own tips, be sure to share them in the comments below!

The Coles {Family Session}

2010-10-31T23:10:00.000-02:30

I know I probably say something like this everytime I post a new session but I feel so fortunate to work with such amazing clients! The Coles are a wonderful family and the kids were so easy to work with. From the moment I arrived their daughter was ready to be in front of the camera. Every time I pointed the lens at her, she gave me a cute modeleque pose and a brilliant smile! And their son was so full of energy, I had a hard time keeping up. At one point I was trying to get ahead of them so I could shoot back as they walked towards me and Ben took it as a race! He definitley kept me on my toes but it was so enjoyable to be surrounded by such a loving family.

I was even invited in for a hot cup of delicious coffee when we got back out of the cold before I got some indoor shots. I'll say it again... I am blessed to work with some of the most amazing families! This was such a fun session and I will look forward to working with the Coles again.

As always, I hope you enjoy the photos!

Jade, Richard & Allie {Family Session}

2010-10-27T20:49:00.000-02:30

I know it may seem strange to be posting summer photos in the middle of my fall sessions but these photos have been long anticipated. Back in August I covered an after christening party for this family along with some gorgeous family photos. Unfortunatley during the shoot I had catastrophic failure of a flash card. I posted about this a while back if you missed the whole story. I did manage to keep shooting and got some really great photos that they already received but was missing some of my favourites.

Long story short, this family was very understanding and were extremley patient while I had the flash card shipped off to Germany to have the files recovered. The company was expedient in getting the files recovered and shipped back and Voila!

Here is the long awaited sneak peek of the rest of the photos! Enjoy :)

Amy + Brad + Zoe {Family Session}

2010-10-23T22:02:00.000-02:30

I was so excited to hear them ask for me to take their Fall photos. I've been friends with this lovely family for exactly the age of my Daughter, minus 2 days :) We spent the first few days of both of our children's lives together in the hospital and we've been close ever since. Amy and Brad are two of the most beautiful and hospitable people you will ever meet. I always feel welcome in their home.

We had been planning this shoot for a little while but work schedules only permitted that we do this on what would seem like the coldest day of the Fall yet. They were troopers though and we kept my vehicle running to keep warm. Zoe didn't enjoy it much either but she hung in there for at least a few very cute snaps! Below are my favourites from today... Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

By the way, the very last photo is my absolute fave!! Mom may not be so happy about it, but it sums up life with an 18 month old :) Trust me I'm there!

International Help Portrait Day 12.04.10

2010-10-15T15:57:00.001-02:30

Help Portrait Community "Photographer's of Newdoundland" Group Page

Facebook Page

December 4 is international Help Portrait day. This is not the only day you can go out and change someones life but it is a great motivation to get out and do it. I am looking for any photographers from Newfoundland & Labrador to help me make this a HUGE movement here in the province. Jeremy Cowart has done an amazing thing with this project and I firmly believe in what he stands for. So sign up on the community page, join the gorup "photographers of Newfoundland" and be sure to stop by this fan page to report in on what you've been up to. I would love for anyone willing to post photos from their shoots and I'll put them all into a seperate ablum! Can't wait to see what kind of initiative there'll be here in the province!

I will also do my best to keep everyone up to date on the movement here in Newfoundland. This is so exciting to be a part of and I look forward to networking and creating with all of YOU!

The Moyles Family

2010-10-11T23:30:00.001-02:30

Let me first say... The Moyles family were a pleasure to photograph. Although I'm not sure if Mom (Kim) and Dad (Keith) were too excited about the kids running around instead of sitting for a nice family portrait, it made for some wonderful opportunities to get some great candid shots.

The location was actually their Family farm and it was such a perfect place for Fall photos! Lots of land, lots of trees, a few very cool buildings and whole ton of room for the kids to run! It made for a wonderful way to end my thanksgiving weekend.

Here are some of my favourites! This is also a little sneak peek for Mom and Dad so I hope you love them!

What defines Success??

2010-10-07T21:48:00.000-02:30

OK so this is the first time - that I can remember - that I am at a lack of something to say. I've been trying to think up something to write this week on the blog that would be intelligent, engaging, humorous, etc...

I'm also one who doesn't believe in just regurgitating some information for the sake of staying on a weekly blog routine, although maybe that's what I am in the middle of doing right now. Oh well you don't have to listen if you don't want to :)

Recently I read something on Twitter from somebody who I consider to be a role model in this industry. He said "Broke doesn't mean out of business. Broke doesn't mean lack of success. Money isn't the only standard to set your life too."

This got me thinking a little... OK maybe it got me thinking a lot. So many of us these days set our standards based on monetary gains. I don't know if it is due to the ever changing economy/society or if it is just an inherent sense of material worth.

Whatever it is, it is the wrong way to go about life. As human beings I think it is easy and probably instinctual for us to always want more and to have everything our little hearts desire. It is much more of a challenge to look past this and deep down find inner peace with what we have.

I am not saying that we shouldn't strive for more. But what matters are the things we are striving for. We need to strive for beauty, creativity, peace and an over-all sense of well being. These are things that have taken me a long time to see and still I'm sure many more years to understand fully.

They are not things that are possible through monetary gains or fame. They are found deep deep within our hearts. They are found through a child's laugh, a warm embrace from your spouse, or just a sense of thankfulness when you walk into your warm home and sit down at your dinner table to nourishing home-cooked meal.

How many people out there don't even have these blessings in their life. I can imagine if you were to ask them what they hope for next year, the first thing out of their mouth would not be a wish for fame or fortune.

All this to say... Finally I have some small sense of understanding of my goals and where I see my own success. I did not decide to take up photography so that I could become a millionaire or so I could become the next Ansel Adams. I did not chose photography, it chose me. It is something deep within my heart that drives me to pick up a camera and try to capture beautiful images. It is a passion, that admittedly, sometimes feels extremely hard to do sometimes.

That said, how many things in this life are actually rewarding if they are not challenging. The things that come easily are rarely treasured and usually soon forgotten.

Whether you take anything away from this or not, I am not trying to tell anyone how they should live their life. We all have different views and ideas of how we want to go about finding success. But to me, in my opinion success is not about the fortune. If you find something you love to do, or something that brings joy to others and you find a way to do it, day in and day out, then you are successful.

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How I love Technology! (Part Deux)

2010-10-02T00:28:00.001-02:30

Well I have some wonderful news to share with all of my faithful blog readers! I no longer feel the need to give the camera the old Heave Ho into the Salty Atlantic ocean

Some of you may remember a little while back I wrote a post about losing close to 150 images from a family shoot. I gave some tips to help prevent this from ever happening to you (or to me again) and mentioned that I was sending the card out to try and have the images restored.

I just received an email yesterday from RecoverFab saying they received the card and would start the recovery process. They quoted me about 8 days to complete the project. Not more than 5 hours later I received another email with a link to view samples of all my images recovered from the flash card. Whoo Hoo!

These guys are super quick and did a wonderful job of recovering these images for me. The slowest part of the process was shipping the card to Germany. Now after payment, they will either send the files on DVD or FTP them to me. My choice.

I can't say how relieved I am to hear this news! I have to say I wish it never happened in the first place but what a relief to know that there is a service out there that can do this kind of work.

If any of you ever experience the same problem I highly reccomend using their service. Their prices are very reasonable and the service is very fast. You can check out their site at this link http://card-recovery.biz/us/service.php

I hate to say it but I would reccomend bookmarking their site. Hopefully it will just take up space in your bookmark folder but it's nice to know they will quickly be at hand if you ever need them.

If you missed out on the original post with lots of tips to help mitigate some of the risk of losing your files you can check it out here How I love Technology (Part One)

Thanks for all of your continued support and making me feel like it is worth my while to keep writing this blog. I actually broke 1500 page views this month! Keep checking in for - photos from recent shoots, tips & tricks and just life lessons in general.

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Minolta Maxxum 5000

2010-09-26T20:12:00.001-02:30

Ok, call me a nerd but I am super excited about my newly aquired photo gear. Recently my father came across his Minolta Maxxum 5000 35mm Slr and he asked me to check into pricing for him in the used market. Well unfortunatley/fortunatley (depending on who you ask) they don't go for very much.

He decided to forgo selling it. Whoo hoo! So I now have (on loan) a 35mm SLR in near mint condition! I am totally stoked because

1. I have been wanting to find myself a great personal project to work on (so now I have two... more about the other one later)

2. I have had a serious itch to shoot a few rolls of film in the last couple months.

This Minolta is a sweet little camera. Equipped with a 35-70mm f/4 lens with a macro switch to shoot as close as 1 foot. Unfortunatley my father lost at least 2 if not 3 other lenses when we got flooded with Hurricane Opal in 1995. I know there was a 50mm 1.7 and an 80-200. Oh well, we'll see what's available in the used market.

The camera was purchased in December of 1986 (according to the original warranty card) and you can tell by the writing in the manual this is the era it came from. It's actually quite amazing to see how far the technology of making pictures has come in 24 years.

Anyway, I plan on picking up a grab bag of some expired film and I'm sure at least a few rolls of black & white. I can't wait to get going! I am not promising that my scanner will do any justice to the photos but I will do my best to at least upload a few of my favourites.

I'll keep you all posted on how my journey of revisiting film goes. Should be pretty fun, this is the camera that I used as a kid when my dad wasn't looking haha... The same one that used to get me in trouble for taking exposures upon exposures of the same things :)

More to Come...

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Extreme Weather Photography

2010-09-21T23:15:00.000-02:30

Ok so a little out of the realm of the usual content on this blog but nonetheless...

If your like me, when extreme weather hits, the first thing that comes to mind is Photos! Now I mean within reason, there is no sense in putting yourself in danger to grab a pic but during major weather events there are some great opportunities to capture some very rare images.

There are a few downsides to photographing in the middle of a Hurricane/Tropical Storm but I am going to give you some tips to overcome these in a safe and (reasonably) comfortable manner.

Of course number one (at least in my books with the kind of investment in my gear) is protecting my equipment. Different situations will call for different measures. In today's case with 100km/h wind and driving rain, the obvious would be some sort of shelter for my camera. I have not purchased one, so I decided to come up with a quick homemade solution. That, may I add, worked very well and I only got a few weird looks :)

I used a mostly clear (blue) recycling bag. It is about the size of a standard garbage bag. Stick your camera, with the lens you intend to use, down into the corner of the bag. Then use a pair of scissors (or in my case my teeth) to cut an opening about half the size of the lens element. Proceed by stretching the bag over the glass. I then used a screw type filter to secure the bag to the lens and voila! I could easily get my hands inside to control my settings and the bag being blue allowed my to look right through the bag into the viewfinder. Also the bag was big enough to protect my camera from being hit with any of the driving rain.

Just keep in mind, once your back in shelter, turn the bag inside out over the camera so that no sweat/condensation builds up inside the camera. Also it was handy to have a cloth to just dab the water off the lens element and get it ready for the next lashing.

Second and probably equally important as the first, is to keep yourself comfortable for the elements. This includes dressing for the elements. Out in a tropical storm? Be sure to wear good rain gear and even more importantly good rain boots. Unfortunately I forgot the latter and came home with some pretty damp feet. Good idea to keep an extra pair of socks with you as well. Your feet are very important when it comes to extreme weather.

If you don't have a scanner or portable VHF radio that you get a NOAA weather report from, be sure to at least have access to an FM radio that you can keep yourself updated to any important changes or warnings pertaining to the weather.

If you are working in an extremely cold or hot environment it is important to acclimatize your gear. Don't take your DSLR out of your super warm vehicle straight into 30 below. Leave in the bag for a good 15 minutes to let it acclimate. If you don't, you will end up with a foggy viewfinder/lens element and possibly even worse, condensation inside the body or lens.

If this happens, get your gear into a dry warm spot and let it air out naturally for at least 12 hours before using it again. It's also not a bad idea to keep some silica packs in your gear bags to help absorb any moisture from your gear. Same goes if you drop your Cam in the snow... Brush it off and follow the same procedure as above.

Vice versa, if your shooting a super warm environment, try to limit the use of your camera. If possible, use it for short periods of time and then get it into a cooler place for a while before shooting again. Not only will your sensor thank you for the break your image quality will arguably be better. The hotter the sensor is, the more degraded your photos can become. Probably not super noticeable in 4x6 prints but if your aspiring to have your photos showcased in National Geographic, you may want to do everything you can to get the best images.

Most of all, just use common sense. If it looks dangerous, it probably is. Don't sacrifice safety to get that once in a lifetime shot.

Below are a few images from today's Hurricane Igor that rocked Newfoundland. There was major storm surge and some pretty sever flooding. More than most expected.

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Blog up and running

2010-09-17T04:21:00.000-02:30

Ok everyone... I know its now ~~4 o'clock~~ 4:30 in the morning out here and there are probably not many people out and about reading blogs at this wee hour of the morning.... But what can I say, I'm dedicated :) I've got all of my files hosted on a new site and the blog is officially up and running again. Apparently there was a fire in the area where "bluehost" is located and they had to shut down their power. If you missed my most recent post you can find it here http://trevordeanphotography.blogspot.com/2010/09/little-inspiration.html

A "little" Inspiration

2010-09-16T22:35:00.003-02:30

Well it has officially been over a week since my last post. I was on what you might call a blog hiatus. I can't really put my finger on it, wether it be the shorter days, the cooler weather, or just a simple refresh. I think that all of us can relate to that time of year, when (especially for creatives) we just don't feel that motivation like we do in the beautiful sunny days of summer. I've spent the last week really trying to reset my brain and focus in on my vision.

To paraphrase from another photographer, who has travelled this road and experienced so much more than I have - who only through perseverance, determination and passion has come out on top

Where do I want to be as a photographer... What are my goals... Who do I want to be known as, in the ever expanding world of photographers (which with the accesibitly of the medium is growing at an exponential rate)... And finally, what exactly is my creative vision that I want to convey through my images.

Not exactly his words but you get the idea. If you have ten minutes to spare (after reading this post), check out this video from Zack Arias. It is truly moving and I think many of us can relate. "Transform" - Zack Arias

These are questions that I know for sure are not going to be answered over the course of a week, or even a year for that matter. The answers to these questions will probably change numerous times and very likely will never be truly answered.

I think what I can offer from my week of contemplation is this... As humans our needs and wants are ever changing. No matter what we do in life, we should do it, because it makes us happy. We need to adapt to these changes and embrace them, as these changes are what defines US.

Sometimes we need to take a step back from what we are doing, and ask ourselves what it is that we expect to accomplish from our journey in life and really try with all of our power to ensure that we do it for the love.

I`ve learned through this thought process that photography is not only a passion of mine but that nothing else makes me more happy then to create beautiful images. Images that tell stories, invoke emotion (in myself and others) and most of all excersice my creative mind.

I am sure that I will never know, beyond doubt, the answers to all of the question listed above... but because I have found something to be passionate about and something that makes me happy (most days) I do not need to ever fully understand the answers.

Whether it be photography, painting, fishing, running etc, etc... Find something you enjoy, embrace it and learn from it. Challenge yourself to improve and when you can do this... you will then learn to apply this attitude to every aspect of your life and define YOU as a human being.

Here are the first few images I took after not picking up my camera for over a week. Thank God for a "little" inspiration in the household :) Enjoy!

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Phun with your Fone!

2010-09-08T22:31:00.004-02:30

Ok... so this is a post that I really never had any intention of writing. I am not against the idea of using a camera phone (especially if it's all you have with you) - In fact I embrace the fact that typically at any given point in time, I know I have a camera in my pocket, if that once in a lifetime opportunity comes along.

What gets to me, is that people get lazy with a camera phone... I'm not saying they just use the phone instead of pulling out a camera, but the thought process while taking the photo falls to the wayside.

Just think, back in the day (maybe a little understated) if you wanted to create a lasting image, you might of had to spend hours chissling away at some wall of rock to forever archive what you felt, or wanted to remember. Nowadays we just reach in our pocket & Click... Done!

I challenge you to make better images... In fact I challenge you to spend the next week capturing your best images with your camera phone. They can be of whatever you would like, but they must be meaningful, invoke emotion & tell a story. These are the qualities that make a Great Image!

You are not going to get perfect exposure or super close up macro shots that are highly detailed and printable to 3 feet wide... But you can capture life with images that will move your viewer.

Here is my best advice when using a camera phone. I am by no means an expert on the subject. If you really want to see someone who has taken this to the next level, check out Chase Jarvis (world renowned photographer) & his book - "The Best Camera is the one that's with You".

Tip #1. Wait for the shutter lag! I dont' have a new Iphone, my ~~camera~~ phone is pretty antiquated as far as these things go but the little click sound effect is about 1 second ahead of the actuall shutter release. How many times have you snapped your picture, only to find it's totally blurry? Hold the phone in place for a second or two after you hear the sound

Tip #2. I remember somebody said (let me know if you remember who it was) "A professional photographer knows what NOT to include in their photos"... Your phone may not have an incredible zoom but if your taking a photo of someone, get closer! Try to remove any of the distracting elements in the frame and fill it with what you want.

Tip #3. Use both hands... this may be counter intuitive, as we normally handle our phones with only one hand but it will greatly help in sturdying the camera and eliminate some of the camera shake.

Tip #4. Show ME the Light! As any photographer will tell you.. show me great light and I'll show you great photos. Keep your eye out for flattering light. Camera phones are also severly limited in low light situations due to super tiny pixels & little or no flash.

Tip #5. Composition is key! Because your photo is not going to win any awards for technical achievements in image quality and colour, you need to focus on composing your photo to tell the best story. You can do quick search of the blog or web to find some of the golden rules of composition.

Tip #6. This one's a no brainer... Have Fun!

I would love to see some of the images you come up with... Please feel free to leave a link in the comments below or head over to my Facebook fan page and submit your photo via the comment box.

Don't forget to check out Chase Jarvis and his book "The Best Camera is the one that's with You"

Chase is a brilliant photographer & is constantly featuring live Video interviews with other photog's from around the world. Take some time to look around his site & if you haven't found yourself a mentor yet... He's a good place to start! If you would like to help Chase continue to do what he does - Bringing a whole wealth of information to the world via creativelive workshops, treat yourself at B&H photo http://www.bhphotovideo.com/?BI=6220 Every purchase helps to support his free projects!

Here is my best attempt at using a very old camera phone to capture a sunset on the way home from Gander, NL


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Nip & Tuck

2010-09-08T00:42:00.000-02:30

Got you with the title didn't I!

I apologize ahead of time for ~~not having any photos in this pos~~t :)

Just wanted give all of my readers a quick update from the bLoG... Yes you have arrived at the right page. I have spent the last little while working on refining the site and making it easier to access everything straight from the homepage.

It's also now a great alternative to my flash website if you have a slower internet connection.

The content of the blog will not change in anyway, sorry if this is dissapointing to any of you ;) I will still be updating on a regular basis with tips/tutorials, recent shoots & life lessons.

Take a minute to browse the new site and feel free to drop me a line using the contact form to let me know what you think of the changes!

Have a great one!

Ok... I couldn't resist not posting at least one photo. Here's a rare photo of my buddy Jake. He typically runs when someone even brings out a camera phone :) Luckily I was able to reach out and grab him with the 200mm without him knowing what was going on!

Stay tuned this week for some tips on taking photos with your camera phone... Should be interesting!

Daddy's Girl

2010-09-04T21:15:00.002-02:30

Well as we awaited Hurrican Earl to make landfall here in the Canadian Maritimes, we had the pleasure of some beautiful summer weather (a last hurrah I guess you could say) being the last weekend of the season.

After watching Jasmine Star on Creative Live, who let me is say is a fantastic photographer and a wonderful human being, I was still feeling so inspired to just get out and shoot! I decided to take the opportunity to capture some great images of my little girl, soaking up the sun and enjoying some playtime with family.

Also I've decided to start teaching my Wife how to shoot... I think she would be invaluable as a 2nd shooter for weddings (also a little inspiration from Jasmine Star as she shoots with her husband JD). With a little help from hubby to set the exposure ;) She took the 1st photo in this series and I think she's gonna be a natural! Kinda wierd though seeing myself in a photo, doesn't happen very often :)

Fall is in the Air

2010-09-03T20:50:00.000-02:30

Fall brings many things... Beautiful natural backdrops of colour, cooler evenings (perfect for going out for an evening stroll) & as my good friend at Vue Photography pointed out Pumpkin Spice Lattes... I usually just stick to Grande Americannos' myself, but that's just because I'm not a fan of pumpkin and I normally need the extra Caffeine :)

So in light of the fact that the cool air is just around the corner I thought I would post some of my favourite photos from a day at the park last weekend with My little girl and her hospital buddy (she was born the day after).

Before I get to the photos, if you are looking to have your family portraits done for the fall with all of those beautiful fall colours, you can use the Contact form to book your session.

How I love Technology!

2010-08-30T21:52:00.000-02:30

I'm sure that everyone reading this blog can relate to some point in their lifetime that technology has reared its ugly head and turned full circle to bight you in the *cough*... You know where I'm going with this.

Well just recently technology decided to give me a little reminder of why never to trust it. No I never lost my entire photo library or anything like that (I have many counter-measures to keep that from happening) but I did probably lose about 150 photos during a family shoot. None of which are replaceable, due to that it was family get-together after a Christening.

I went to adjust a couple settings in the camera and when I looked down I had a nasty error message saying the card was Damaged! I don't think I have ever felt so sick in my life! After ejecting and putting the card back did not yield any different results, I switched out to a new card and kept shooting. I didn't want to spoil the whole shoot and I knew I could still get some great photos. Hoping the whole time that somehow the card would magically come back to life when I plugged it into the reader at home.

I can honestly say this is the first time in my entire life of shooting that I felt like giving the camera the old Heave Ho into the Salty Atlantic ocean. Why did it have to happen now?!

After contacting the client and making arrangements to make this up to them, I still feel sick when I think about it. The card is currently on it's way to Germany to ca company who specializes in recovering lost data of this type. We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, why don't we discuss countermeasures to be sure this never happens again and hopefully never to any of you.

1. Every time you reload your card back into your camera - Reformat the card!
This ensures that even after you delete all the files, the card will be refreshed and will not have any residual information left over, that can lead to corruption

2. Never, never, ever do anything to the camera while the card is writing. You should allow the Camera to process the information, then carry on with your business. This is the same principal behind properly ejecting your card before removing from your computer

3. Don't delete photos in the camera. Not sure where the validation for this one comes from, but I have heard it enough to never do it. Always transfer your files to your computer and then selectively delete from there. Besides, would you rather decide if a photo is good by looking at a 2.5" screen or a 15" plus screen? :)

4. And finally always handle your cards with care. I know there small and easy to just throw in your pocket, but those little gold leads on the card are very fragile and susceptible to dirt. Try to always put the card in a case when your not using it.

And even after all of the above measures have been taken, once in a while something terrible will happen. My only advice that I can offer here...

Try a recovery program if the card can still be read (this would be classified as a logical error)

or

Send the card to specialty shop to try and have them actually remove the memory itself and recover the images. This is what is known as a Physical error and can be caused by something like a sudden voltage spike in the camera or excessive heat. This is what happened to my card :(

The only way to prevent catastrophic failure in this case is to buy smaller cards and if your on a paid shoot (ESPECIALLY a wedding) switch to a new card often. Maybe a little retentive but hey, if you lose a card your only losing maybe 1/10th of your photos from the shoot, instead of maybe 1/2.

Hope this helps some of you to avoid a moment like this!

Processing Black & Whites

2010-08-26T22:29:00.000-02:30

I have totally fallen behind on the whole photo of the week, so I figured it was about time for another. This is going to be a short tutorial on how I process some of my B&W's and hopefully it will give you a little inspiration to try your own.

Let's start with the camera settings. This was shot at 1/200s F/5.3 ISO 100 with an sb-600 speedlight set to -0.7 and bounced off the ceiling to fill in some of the dark shadows on the right hand side of the subject.

This was shot about 2 feet away from a 6ft wide glass patio door with tons of sunlight entering on the left side, hence some of the very bright light along the arm and face. Typically you may not want this kind of harsh light, but I really liked the effect it had in this image. In a colour image it probably wouldn't work so well, but remember with B&W you are dependent upon contrast of light and texture and not colour. Keep this in mind if you are shooting with the intent of converting to B&W later.

If you have Adobe lightroom it will make your process very straight forward and remember if you have the ability to shoot in RAW, it would be very good idea, because you will have much more flexibility over your exposure and white balance while post processing.

Lightroom comes with some great presets that can help you to get started with your processing. In this photo I chose to use the B&W high Contrast preset to get a good starting point.

Typically I won't be happy with just whatever the preset throws at the image so I will fine tune it until I'm happy. This is a quick list of the final adjustments that were made. They are others that weren't kept so I'm not going to include them. Just keep in mind that this is a process that will be different for every image but you'll get an idea of how to play with it!

1. Convert to preset B&W high contrast
2. Change WB temperature to 4400k
3. Adjust exposure to + 1.06
4. Adjust brightness to + 71
5. Contrast set to +72
6. Vignette to -26 (adds a darker vignette, go to a postive # and it will add white)

You'd be surprised how changing your white balance on a Black and White RAW negative can effect the way light looks in your photo. You can actually brighten or darken the light just by adjusting the WB.

One thing you will need to keep note though, when bringing up the exposure or brightness (or fill light for that matter) you can un-avoidably add noise/grain to the photo. Luckily most B&W's don't look too bad with a bit of grain, because it has the added effect of making it look a little more vintage. If you want to rid the noise you can use LR but I would suggest a program like Noiseware (which has a free version) because they are much better at keeping the sharp detail in the photo.

All in all, like I said, the process can be drastically different for each photo and it will take some experimenting to get the look you want, but PLEASE... refrain from just taking your photo into photoshop or any other program for that matter and just hit the "desaturate button" and be done with it. It just makes for very flat un-interesting B&W's. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Here is a screen shot of the original RAW file next to the finished B&W in Lightroom, with the history bar on the left and some of the adjustments on the right. Remember you can use other programs to make these changes but LR or Aperature will definitley speed up the process.

Hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to leave comments below if you have any questions or input as to how you make Your B&W conversions :)

Going Pro!

2010-08-19T22:14:00.001-02:30

Ok this post is by special request from a fellow photographer, who let me add has a wonderful eye and is developing her craft well! I was asked recently to give some input as to how to name a photgraphy business.

BUT... I have to get something out of my system first. As you all know this is first and foremost a photography blog and entails everything within the field, but every now and then I feel the need to write about something else.

I can't get my recent trip to Woody Point in Bonne Bay Newfoundland out of my head, and there was one thing in particular that still remains close to my thoughts. "The Loft" restaurant is this quaint little place situated right on the water and I feel the need to rave a little about this wonderful place.

Let me first say that you will never taste fresher seafood (whether it is pyschological or not) when you are sitting 15ft above the source of your main course. They have a beautiful little patio attached to the back of the restaurant that literally sits right above the atlantic ocean.

The service is very friendly and the food is unpretentious and uncomplicated. Simply put it is great food cooked very well. On my first visit my wife and I were just looking for a quick lunch. I always stand my belief that you can judge a restaraunt like this by their club sandwich and that is what I decided to have. It came after only about 10 minutes and I must say, if that is how to judge a restaurant they scored an 11 out of 10! It was neatly pieced together on homemade multi-grain bread and layered with Ham, Turkey, Bacon, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and the absolute perfect amount of mayo (not too much that it's dripping, but enough to keep every bite moist and flavourfu). Of course it was adorned with a nice thick slice of bread and butter pickle. MMM MMMM MMMM!

As you probably have read on my last post, the second meal I had, again, was a bit of a snack while I was catching up on some writing. The mussles were not overcooked and not drowned in flavour masking the true beauty of just a simple fresh mussel. They were served with a perfect portion of salted garlicky butter simmering away over a tealight. If you're a dessert person head downstairs and sample one of their many flavours of ice cream in a waffle cone while perusing their beautiful shop. Adorned with the perfect amount Newfoundland Craft such as knit hats, gloves, slippers and some beautiful artwork from locals in the area.

Let me not forget the perfect little coffee shop next door called "Galliot Studio". If your a fiend like me for a great shot of esspresso or a perfectly blended Americano, then this is spot for you. You can also enjoy your coffee while sitting on their warf that literally floats on the Atlantic ocean! Don't forget to check out their great little studio that offers some very unique crafts for the kids, including painting your own ceramics, and having them fired right there at the studio. By the way, the owners of this little place whom I had the pleasure of meeting, are wonderful people. Steve Galliot is a brilliant musician and his wife is an amazingly good hearted and sweet woman to chat with. There daughter, who served us, was accomodating and a pleasure to talk to. The building that houses their studio is actually the original fishing stage that belonged to Steve's father.

So if you're in the area, be sure to check out these awesome spots and send me an email to let me know what you thought!

On to naming your business, which was the original thought for this post. I am going to keep this short and simple and offer a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

Let's start with the name of my business. "Trevor Dean Photography", it's simple, easy to remember, easily brandable and shows ownership for the business. Obviously when you start a photography business it is not with the intent of selling the business down the road... You are branding yourself as an artist! So it is definitley OK to use your own name.

Another example and maybe a hint to one of my readers as to what would make a great, simple, brandable, and very easily remembered name would be "Photos by Marsha". 25 dollars for the design fee, if you use the name! (just kidding).

As you are branding yourself as an artist and not as a company, using your own name makes your business easily recognizable, and also makes it easy for people to find out more about you "the artist".

If you are interested in creating a more unique, flashy name, then here are a few quick example of my favourites.

"VUE photography" is absolutley brilliant in my mind. I actually went to school with one of the photographers in Florida. Genya (who started the business) and Wesleyann have done an amazing job of branding this business. Check them out here With a name like this, you allow yourself to grow as a business, especially if you have the intent of having more than one photographer actually contributing to the work.

And another one of my favourite names (which actually epitomizes the craft of photography) is "Light Stalking". They are not photographers but actually host a site dedicated to showcasing photographers and teaching more about the craft. Their name definitely catches your eye when you see it on any site! Check them out here and if you haven't done so already Sign up for the newsletter! It is always extremley informative and never overwhelming to the Inbox.

If you want to head outside the realm of using your own name, try to think of something that pertains to field of photography that you specialize in, come up with a name, tell it to your friend once, and see if they remember it in a week when you ask them again. Unless they have a terrible memory, this will be a good judge as to how memorable the name is.

Also one more thing to keep in mind. Whatever you decide to use, make sure it is what you will want to represent your business 10 years down the road. Branding takes time and A LOT of energy. After spending a whole bunch of time on one name, you will not want to start all over!

Hope this helps some of you in your quest to find the perfect name for your business and I wish all of you the best of luck in not only naming your business but in all of your efforts to grow as a professional photographer.

Next week maybe we will dabble a little in logo design and how it can affect your brand. Cya then!

Magnetic Bonne Bay!

2010-08-16T20:31:00.001-02:30

As I write this post, I am sitting 15ft above the atlantic ocean on a small wooden patio situated on the back of this quaint little restaurant "the Loft". It DOES
NOT get any better than this. It's actually about 7:45p.m. and the sun is slowly sinking behind the mountains around me reflecting off of the giant of them all
Gros Morne.

Boats skirting along not even 100 feet from the patio, as the deep water starts when you leave shore, allowing for monstorous boats to make
their way in close enough to the warfs and stages to unload their days catch.

This place is Electric! A photographer paradise... I have spent 3 days here so far and by tomorrow I may very well hit the 750 photo mark. I know you're
probably thinking I'm nuts right about now, but keep in mind there was a wedding reception included in that mix. I don't know if I've ever worn out my eye
socket before but I think I'm getting there.

This afternoon we had a little spare time so headed up to the top of "Berry Hill" which if I'm not mistaken was about 200m above sea level. I'll confirm that
with the GPS when I get back up to the house.

The house we are staying in, by the way, is one of the most significant pieces of architecture in this town, when it was one of only a couple that survived a great fire many years ago that wiped out the town. It has been owned by the same family since and to this day is talked about when the tour boats meander past the warf.

This town seems to be almost magentic, I will definitley be back in the fall to spend some quiet time capturing some beautiful images of the West Coast of
Newfoundland in all it's Glory, but for now, my Fresh Cooked Newfoundland Mussels with garlic butter (simmering in a porcelain dish over a tealight) and cold beer just arrived. Here are some of the pleasureable images I've had the opportunity to create this weekend! Enjoy.

More when I get home!

Bonne Bay Newfoundland

2010-08-12T12:45:00.000-02:30

Well what I treat this weekend. I am headed out to Bonne Bay Newfoundland on Friday afternoon. This is located in Gros Morne National Park and I can't wait to check out the scenery. I promise I will bring back lots of photos and I will post a few of my favourites when I get back.

I know I have already fallen behind on my Photo of the Week promises, but I am going to hold off until I get back. Not that I haven't taken any new photos lately, trust me I have taken plenty. Just that in between all my Daddy Duties, marketing, editing and now packing for the trip, time is Extremely valuable.

Also some more good news to come next week. Don't want to give anything away at this point but I will let everyone know more by the middle of the week. Check back to see what's on the go!

Oh, by the way, the little one decided she knows how to walk now! I think she could all along and just didn't want to put the effort into it :) Here's a quick snap of her enjoying her new found skills!

Oh, did I mention that along with the new found skills for walking, also came newly found skills to climb!

"Becoming a photographic Magician" pt. 3 of 3 - Equipment

2010-08-09T22:21:00.001-02:30

So you've made it this far and I haven't bored you to death yet... Let's conclude this series with a short post about basic equipment and their uses.

Why don't we start with the most obvious. You're camera itself. This could be a Point and shoot, a hybrid or Prosumer digital, DSLR, or even film.

No matter what you use, you can create compelling and though provoking photographs, but the more you know, the more you will benefit from having more tools to get the job done easier.

Point and Shoot (a.k.a P&S) have come a long way even in the last 2-3 years. They have been given more feature rich interfaces, better optics, and of course more MEGApixels.

Although I am not planning to get into the nitty gritty and science behind this... Do NOT I repeat DO NOT get consumed by the race of the megapixels. P&S cameras are inherintley small, therefore the Sensor (i.e digital film) has to be smaller. The more pixels that you try to cram into these tiny sensors, the more distorted by Noise they can become. This is mainly due to the smaller pixels being less sensitive to light.

I'm quite sure you've probably noticed those photos you took indoors or let's say in a more extreme situation (a concert) you've ended up with photos that look dotted with red, green, and blue specks. All I will suggest for this matter, is do your research! You will most likely never need a camera with more than 8mp and 10 would be pushing it in a small P&S camera. There are plently of websites that can tell you more about how to chose the right camera based on your needs.

Recently to the market are Prosumer digital cameras. These have been equipped with larger sensors, longer zooming lenses, and feature rich interface that allows you basically the same control over exposure as do the DSLR cameras. They are a great option if you would like a lot more control over your photos without spending A LOT more money on everything else.

Than the DSLR system. Referred to as a system because the camera body is only one part of the package. Aside from the body you will be looking at buying lenses and even flashes. Typically whichever brand you decide to use will be the brand you stick with. This can be a "religious topic" for many DSLR users, but you need to pick what feels right for you. Go to the store and pick up the camera, ask a friend to borrow theirs, or even go to a camera shop and rent one. If you buy Nikon or Canon you will be buying what most of the pro's use. Although Sony & Pentax also have some very competitive products.

For your first DSLR you may decide to buy just a standard entry level body, but keep in mind you'll want to buy what you plan to stick with. Most hobbyist and weekend photographers will change their body every 18 to 24 months, but will use their lenses for 10 or more years.

Another thing you'll probably want to invest in at some point is an auxillary hotshoe flash. These can range from the cheapest being Ebay knock offs going for $40 all the way in to the hundreds of dollars.

What you buy on ebay typically are not engineered to work with your camera, and the really cheap ones, just use a light sensor that fires the flash when your built-in flash fires. You will also have to set everything manually on the flash itself.

My reccomendation for this purchase would be to stick with the manufacturer's brand. They are specifically designed to work with your camera's system and you will not be dissapointed by the ease of use and the results.

When buying lenses there are some key things you will need to know, in order to help identify what your looking at.

One is the actual length of the lens. This could be fixed (such as 50mm) or could be a zoom lens (such as 18-70mm). Fixed length lenses (also known as Prime Lenses) can be great for their sharpness as there is limited moving parts and less glass that needs to be engineered to make the lens work. Although they will require you to move forward or backward to compose the photograph the way you want.

"Wide Lenses" are lenses with a lower number and will help you capture more of your scene in a single shot. They can range anywwher from 10mm to 24mm. Keep in mind though if you are making the switch from 35mm Film SLR to DSLR, because of the smaller sensor size and the crop a 24mm lens on an APS-C (jargon for smaller sensor than the size of 35mm film) will actually be equivelant to 38.4mm on a 35mm camera.

Wide lenses also tend to give your photos depth. (note the photo at the top of the post) They can almost have a 3D look in some situations and are great lenses for capturing landscapes, mainly because the amount of the scene that you can capture.

And finally Telephoto lenses, and I use this term very loosley as a true telephoto lens is much more than just a lens that zooms to 200mm. But for illustrative purposes, using a zoom lens in the range of 200-300mm will definitley benefit when you want to shoot candid photos without being noticed and having people "Strike a pose". They are also great when shooting wildlife or even Macro.

These lenses also have another effect on your image. They tend to flatten it! This can be great if you are trying to get a beautiful portrait shot of your partner or child or whomever & there's a distracting background. My advice here would be step further back from your subject, zoom in, and try to fill as much of the frame as possible. This will give you a beautifully sharp portrait and a backround with gradients of colours. More often than not, even the most distracting of backgrounds, when blurred out, can make a great backdrop for a portrait!

If you want to find out more about whether making the switch to DSLR is for you, check out these great articles. 10 Reasons to Buy a DSLR Camera & 10 Reasons NOT to Buy a DSLR Camera

Alright well this post has already well surpassed what I had in mind when I said it would be a short post, so I will reserve the rest of the information for later posts. Bookmark the blog and check back for more posts including using a single flash to create dramatically different photos & taking better landscape photos.

As always I hope you enjoyed and Hope that this was in some way informative or enlightening! See you soon!

"Becoming a photographic Magician" pt. 2 of 3 - Image Composition

2010-08-06T22:59:00.001-02:30

In the last lesson we learned about the exposure triangle. If you missed it you can check it out here.

In part 2 we are going to learn about the basic rules of composing your photo. This could include using the "rule of thirds", "rules of odds", "rule of space" & "Viewpoint/POV". These are the most basic rules for composing a photo and are directly related to art and design.

By no means am I saying that these rules cannot be broken, but before you can understand HOW to break them, you must fully understand how to use them in your images.

The "rule of thirds" is probably the one you will hear most often when starting out in photography. It is generally accepted as the most widely known rule among photographers. Basically this rule implies that visually appealing images will have the main subject lie along one of the lines marked in thirds. If you took your photo and drew 4 lines (two vertical & two horizontal) you would end up a grid made of 9 squares.

Most consumer point and shoot cameras have a feature built in to overlay this grid on your screen while shooting and many DSLR's are being built with this option right in the viewfinder. I'm sure you've probably seen it before and asked yourself, what the heck are these annoying lines on my screen?

Here is a photo that clearly demonstrates how to implement this rule when photographing your subject. Remember that if there's a horizon in your photo, don't line it up dead center of the image, put it along one of the horizontal lines. Depending on if you want emphasize the foreground or sky. Secondly, align your subject along one of the vertical lines.

The second rule "the rule of odds" states that images that have an odd number of subject will be more visually appealing. This is widely used in the design field when arranging decorative items and furniture. I don't think I really need to get in depth with this one, I'm sure most of you probably get the point. If your shooting a still life of, let's say apples, put three or five of them together instead of 4. I've read recently that people feel more at ease when viewing things in odd numbers, but I'm not totally sure on the origins of this.

Here is an excellent example of the rule of odds

Image courtesy of Digital Photography School

The third rule is the rule of "Space" or "Negative Space". This how you give your subject either room the look into, or run into, etc.. etc... If you were to photograph a plane in flight, you would place the plane at the opposite third of the area it is flying into.

Photographing a person? Give them room to look into, walk into. It basically eliminates the boundaries of your images and allows the viewer to question what is to come, or what are they looking at? Most times with portraits you will want to adjust to the direction of the eyes. If your subject is looking to Camera Right, then frame their face to the left side of the image.

Again these rules CAN be broken, but try to fully comprehend the basics first. Just for an example, you may sometimes frame your subject almost center of the image looking directly at the camera, but this needs to be done in the right context in order for it to be effective and dramatic, without it just looking bland and posed.

Here is a great example of using negative space

And Finally the rule of "Viewpoint or POV - Point of View"

This is probably the easiest rule to understand, but sometimes the hardest to use effectively. Most often because it is not something we consciously think about.

I'm sure you've seen many people & probably more often than not, done yourself... hold your camera at arms length, point your camera directly at your subject & "ClicK". There is nothing wrong with this if all you want is standard run of the mill photos, but what would the photo look like if you knelt down on one knee? Or tried moving to the side and shoot at a slightly different angle. The most often I see this rule go Unoticed, is when shooting kids.

I am sure the same way most children draw adults with super long legs, because that is how they view us. It's the same way most adults spend most of the time looking down at children (and I mean that strictly in the sense of adults typically being taller). So normally you see your child doing something cute, you grab the camera and you take your shot.

But wait, now you have a photo that depicts dominance, is probably not well framed, and has a sterile look to it.

Change your angle and shoot again. This time get down at eye level... Lay down if you have to. This is the area that I see could be most improved in children's photos and I am totally 100% sure that if you keep this in mind the next time you take a photo of your child, you will be sooo much happier with the results.

Same goes for shooting animals. If you really want to depict an image of your favourite pet looking at the lushes grass they can run in, or their favourite ball... Get down and shoot at eye level; it will give your image a totally different look.

Experiment with this, I can guarantee it will make taking photos more enjoyable when your rolling around the ground trying to get that perfect shot of your baby!

Remember to bookmark the blog so you can easily get back here to wrap up this series with Part 3 of 3 "The tools of the Trade"

"Becoming a photographic Magician" pt. 1 of 3 - The Exposure Triangle

2010-08-04T22:15:00.001-02:30

If you missed the intro to this series you can find it here!

So the first thing that you need to learn on the long road of learning to become a great photographer is the "Magic Triangle" of exposure. This can be controlled via 3 seperate modes. Tv (shutter speed priority) Av (aperature priority) and M (manual mode)

The three elements of the triangle are "Aperature" "Shutter Speed" & "ISO". Centered among all of this is your camera's light meter. This will be your guide to help determine what to change in the triangle.

Quoting from an unknown source, Aperature could be related to a set of Drapes on your window. When you change the aperature you either Increase or Decrease the amount of light that will enter the lens. This is measured in F/Stops and most consumer lenses will range from f/1.8(being the largest opening) down to f/22 (being the smallest). That's Right, no typo here! The higher the number the smaller the opening... I will not get into the science here, that is what Wikipedia is for, but for the purposes of learning, the smaller the number referred to a specific lens means it is a "faster lens". All that needs to mean to you at this point, is that you can capture more ambient light through the lens while shooting in darker settings.

Aperature also has another affect on what your camera sensor records. You probably have seen the acronym DOF before. This stands for depth of field a.k.a depth of focus. When you use a larger aperature - smaller number = "Shallow DOF - the image will be sharp on whatever subject you have focused on (within the depth range) and blurry in all the areas that are not in the focal zone (front and behind the range of focus). This is a great technique when shooting portraits because you can bring your subject into crisp focus and blur out the distracting background. Ideally using a zoom lens and stepping further back from your subject will give you the shallowest DOF. Vice versa to create a deep DOF, bump up the aperatue to at least f/8 and for the sharpest of Landscapes you might even notch it up to f/22.

However here's the tricky part... Because your decreasing the amount of light that is entering the lens, you will need to compensate by increasing the Shutter Speed. When shooting in the range of f/22 you will more than likely want to have a tripod handy!

Shutter Speed, again quoting from an unkown source, could be related to the shutters on the window. The longer you open them, the more time that light can enter the window into the room (or camera Sensor/Film in this case). Typicall shutter speed will vary from 30 seconds all the way down to 1/4000 of a second. Unlike the aperature being directly related to the lens you are using, the range of shutter speed will depend on the camera body you are using. Also most DSLR cameras are equipped with "Bulb Mode" which will allow the shutter to stay open as long as you hold the button down.

As you can probably guess by this point, shutter speed also effects the amount of movement in the image. The shorter the shutter opens the less movement you will see. Hence the shutter speed correlating with "motion blur". The longer it stays open, the more motion you will see. In regards to sharpness, if using an Image Stabilized lens, it would not be recommended to shoot "hand held" at anything slower than 1/60th of a second with a short lens to achieve a nice crisp image. Even then, unless you have robot arms, any sort of enlargement will not benefit from maximum sharpness. Also keep in mind that the further you are zooming the more shaky the image will be. If you have one lying around, grab a laser pointer and stand at one end of your hallway. Point it at a single point on the furthest wall and see how steady you can keep it centered on that spot... Your probably starting to get the picture!

On the contrary, if you have a tripod handy you could open the shutter for say 15 to 30 seconds for shooting various scenes. Im sure everyone has seen those beautiful light streaking photos of cars passing by. This effect is achieved by using long shutter speeds. Keep in mind that when your using shutter speeds in this range, the camera will become very sensitive to movement. Steps should be taken to minimize movement, such as, using a self-timer mode or remote to trigger the camera & even resting a soft weight on top of the camera to minimize movement from wind. If movement/motion blur in your image is not acceptable for the particular scene that you're shooting, such as shooting people (depending upon your artistic vision for the photo), consider increasing the ISO and decreasing the shutter speed.

ISO is the camera sensors Sensitivity to light. Typically the lowest ISO setting will be ISO 100 or even ISO 50 on newer point and shoot cameras. With conventional film, the more sensitive the film is to the light, the grainier the image would be. Same goes for Digital, the more sensitive the sensor(think of this as your film for digital cameras)the more noise you will see in the photo. Camera makers are finding new ways to control this noise and some high end cameras will effectively reduce this noise all the way up to ISO 1600 but if your shooting with a Point and shoot you will probably notice undesirable noise at ISO 400. DSLR's handle the noise a little better because the sensor is substantially larger, therefore the pixels are larger and the more light they can capture. But that's a whole other blog series.

What you need to know... Firstly, turn off the automatic mode for ISO which will boost the ISO whenever it feels it is needed (low light situations) and start controlling it yourself. Start with the lowest setting (100) and adjust by reading your light meter. Take a few shots to determine the minimum ISO you can use to achieve the proper exposure for your scene. Then leave it for the period you spend shooting in that environment.

Of course this all ties in together and you may not need to increase the ISO.

Think of these three elements as a balancing act. When you change one setting you inherently affect 2 others. You need to ask yourself some important questions when deciding to make your changes to these settings.

Do I want an extremley sharp image? Do I want to show motion in photo? Can I use the flash to compensate for a lack of light instead of bumping the ISO? Do I want the background to be in focus or just the subject?

When you give to one of these settings you may have to take from the other. If you want to shoot a beautiful portrait with a nice blurred background than your probably going to opt for a Large aperature. Say, 2.8 and remember that your DOF will be quite shallow so keep in mind {Manual Focus on the eyes} to get them pin sharp and let the rest of the image fall where it may. If the rest of the face is too soft, then bump up the Aperature.

If you use a setting of f/2.8 chances are that you will need to decrease your shutter speed. If there is a lot of ambient light (let's say a sunny day) you will want to bring it down significantly. You may even find that you can't even expose your shot properly at your fastest shutter speed.

This would be typical if you were using flash for fill light and your "maximum sync speed is 1/200th of a second. All this means is that flash could not fire fast enough to be effective at any faster speeds. So then in turn you would need to decrease your aperature (make it a higher number). If your shooting in a house or shade you will find yourself needing to slow your shutter down or open your aperature wider.

Assuming your shooting in Manual mode so that you have total control over all of these settings simultaneously, you can use your exposure meter to decide which way you need bring the settings. If your not familiar with using it, the simplest way would be using "matrix or evaulative metering mode". Look through the viewfinder and point your camera at the subject your photographing. Notice a little bar with a +/- and some vertical lines? Adjust your shutter speed or aperature until there are no bars to the left or right of the center. Take a shot and if you see shadows that are too underexposed than increase your settings incrementally. On the other hand, you can also shoot in "Tv" or "Av" mode. "Tv" (shutter priority) will allow you to control the ISO and Shutter speed and the camera will take a light reading on the scene and adjust your aperature. Same idea for "Av" aperature priority. In these modes you can also change your Exposure Compensation. All your telling the camera here is that it did not expose your photo the way you wanted, so either make it lighter/darker in typically steps of 1/3 of a stop. It will change the aperature or shutter speed accordingly, depending upon what mode your shooting in.

Well this was quite the longwinded post and I still have not even scratched the surface of exposure. If you would like to learn more, there is an excellent book available by Bryan Peterson called Understanding Exposure"

Part 2 of 3 "Image Composition" now available here

If you know of anyone who would enjoy or benefit from this series, please pass it along!

Here a few more diagrams to help understand Exposure

Diagrams courtesy of Silverstrand Photography

Becoming a Photographic Magician {intro}

2010-08-04T13:48:00.000-02:30

Photography & Magic... Hmmm, your probably wondering what the heck I am referring to here but read on to better understand my comparison.

I recently drew a conclusion about the art of photography. Obviously like anything you do, the more you know the better you can be, but it's much deeper with photography. If you've ever watched a magician (I'm talking a really good one) let's say David Copperfield, you're contantly drawn to not take your eyes off what they're doing, and typically can't stop asking yourself the famous question "How did he/she do it?!".

Well the same goes for photography. Instead of a wooden box and a fake saw, our tools for performing "our" magic would be our lenses, lighting, camera bodies, exposure, etc... With these tools we can create compelling photographs that make people stop and stare.

I would relate the sleight of hand to the photography world as understanding the settings on your camera. Without understanding how to make changes to Aperature, Shutter and ISO we cannot fully control the outcome of our photographs. Although speed is not quite so important when shooting Landscape or still life photography, but the faster you can make changes to these settings and the better understanding of how they correlate, the more opportunities you will have to WOW your viewers.

Stage presence is all about composition. The same way a magician lures his audience with costumes and capes, the same you can draw your viewers in to your photograph with great composition. There are a few basic rules for composing a photo and I will get to those in the posts to follow. Using lines, colour, blur, contrast and even clutter can all help to draw your viewers eye to where you want them to look (and I don't mean just at your photograph) but at certain elements of your photo that help to tell the story.

Smoke and Mirrors? Well this is where our material tools come in to play. Lenses, strobes, reflectors, filters... Think about these as the behind the scenes tools that, at least conventionally, nobody see's when viewing your photographs. By adjusting the positions of lights you can create dramatic differences in the way your subject might look. Lenses and filters all can accomplish different tasks and this will depend on the effect you need to acheive your vision. For example, a long zoom lens will typically give a flattened look to your image, while a short (wide) lens will add an almost 3 dimensional look to your image. I was reading a blog about food photography and saw a pull back shot from a renowned food photographer and was amazed at how much went into just lighting a pizza!

SO, you want to become a great magician of photography!? Well over the following days I will post a 3 part blog series explaining some of the most relevant photography techniques that will help you WOW your audience. I am in NO way proclaiming to be a great magician of photography myself, but I can offer some insight into the basic techniques of setting exposure (the magic triangle...f/stop, Shutter Speed & ISO), general rules for composing a photo and the uses of on camera flash/strobes and choice of lenses.

Hopefully you will find these posts insightful and will give you a better understanding of how to achieve the results of your vision! Most importantly is to have fun... But keep in mind, just like magic, the more you learn about the process of "getting there" the more it will take to impress you when looking at even your own photos!

Stay Tuned!

Go to: Part 1 of 3 "The Exposure Triangle"

-Pull Back Shot of Pizza compliments of Mike @ FoodPortfolio.com

Photo of the Week

2010-07-31T23:39:00.000-02:30

F-stop f/6.3, Exp. 1/125sec, ISO-100, Focal Length 145mm, Flash -1.0

Well thanks to my Wife for this photo of the week. I had a couple self portraits that I was going to use for this demonstration but I don't make the greatest model :)... This photo of the week is more or less a tutorial on how to use minimal equipment to achieve studio(ish) results. Kind of a proof of concept, if you will, that you at home can create stunning photos without spending a whole lot of money on equipment.

Below are a few photos to demonsrate the setup (oh and one self portrait.. hopefully not too scary haha)

This photo was shot with very few pieces of equipment. The gear list is as follows: 2x Tripod (optional), dark room or hallway, lamp with adjustable head and 150 watt Compact flourecent bulb, light reflector (in this case a white door)and a dark wall or curtain for backdrop

The tripod will make life a lot easier for composing your shot and then playing with settings while keeping the same composition. The second tripod in this case was for when I was shooting self portraits, I rested a ball cap on the top of it to set my focus point.

When shooting this kind of setup you ideally need to have a full manual mode equipped camera. This will allow you to set your shutter speed (at least 1/125 up to 1/250), aperature (f/5.6 to f/8.0) and ISO 100. The faster your shutter, which controls how much ambient light will be recorded to the sensor, the darker your backdrop. If your camera would allow a shutter speed with flash of 1/250 or higher you could shoot this against a white wall with no problems. The F stop controls how much light from the flash. You can then adjust your flash compensation to adjust how bright your subject is.

I chose the settings (next to the photo above) mainly because my light source was not tightly focused on the subject, I needed to account for some of the light spilling into the background of the shot. I had the lamp seated on a bar stool so that the light would be mostly focused at eye level to eliminate shadows around the eyes.

For post processing, I used my levels sliders in lightroom to adjust the "blacks" to eliminate any remaining background. Also I brough the clarity down to smooth the skin and brought the exposure up just a hair to brighten the face. The eyes have got the usual (model) treatment with a touch of brightening and sharpening to make them really stand out.

Again, this is just a very basic setup that you could try at home. It takes a little creativity and definitley more patience when trying to use minimal recsources but in doing so you may find yourself learning much more. I would encourage anyone who reads this post to give this a shot at home and see what you come up with! You don't have to use the equipment specified in this post, try out different things. If you have some speedlights, set 'em up on tripods instead of continuous light. If you don't have a model to shoot, you can use self-timer or like a friend and fellow photographer suggested "a hat rack" works very well. As he said "they don't move, don't need breaks, and never complain about how long your taking to learn different settings"... Good luck and I hope you continue to enjoy reading and learning from this blog!

Photographer quoted in this post was Rob... Check out some of his work by visiting his page here

Editorial Photography

2010-07-28T22:58:00.000-02:30

Well somewhere between all the inherint tasks of being a stay at home dad (i.e changing dirty bums and reading bedtime stories) & trying to stay on top of all the other household duties, I somehow find time to write this blog and stay on top of my websites. Recently I even found a bit of time to write an article to go along with some photographs that I snapped during our Fire Department training night. Well what a cheerful surprise to open the paper today and find my article along with six of the photos, adorning a full page, in Colour for that matter! This would make my first official published editorial content. The article was about recruitment and retention being the most common problem that Volunteer Fire Departments in Canada are faced with. If your from the local area, it was published in the Lewisporte Pilot Newspaper for the week of July 28, 2010. If you get a chance it's worth a look!

A few things to remember if you plan to take photos that you wish to submit as editorial content. First, autonomy - In what way can I show respect for a person's right to decline or consent to photography? Anytime you are taking photos in public try to get at least implied consent that it's ok to snap a few pictures. This could mean as little as nod and a smile from someone while you have your camera in plain sight, gesturing that you would like to take their photo. A standard rule is that you do not need consent for editorial content but it is never harmful to ask. Also if faces of people are visible, the paper is going to ask for the names of people in the photograph.

Second, Do No Harm - Am I creating and using photos in a manner that will do no harm to persons appearing in photos? Do not take a photograph that will harm a persons reputation or may mislead the viewer to thinking that they are involved in something malicious. Also ask yourself - What is my intention or purpose for taking this photo? How can I use a photo to promote a good cause while ensuring that I do no harm to individuals in photos?

And finally - Am I using photos in a context that fairly represents the real situation, subject identity, or physical location of the image? This includes post processing your photos before submission. Do not under any circumstances alter the photo to change the context of the situation or the people in the photo. Editorial photos must fairly represent the acutal location and event that you are photographing in the first place. By all means (especially if shooting in RAW) make your adjustments as far as white balance, colour, exposure... but do not do so beyond the point that the photograph does not represent the original image.

Keep in mind that summer time can be somewhat slow for your local paper when it comes to filling the pages of their paper. This is a great time to submit your content and possibly even have it published. This also mean keeping your camera at the ready... You never know when that compelling editorial photo might just come your way!

Now featuring "Photo of the Week"

2010-07-21T22:06:00.001-02:30

At least I am going to try my best to post 1 photo per week, with the Camera (exif) data and how/why I composed the photo the way I did and what post-processing was done. Hopefully this will inspire everyone to get out and shoot! Please Enjoy...

1st photo of the week pictured below

F-stop f/5.6, Exp. 1/125sec, ISO-100, focal length 24mm

This is an old United Church on Fogo Island, Newfoundland. It is actually in need of some serious TLC, but I remember reading an excellent article about Urban Decay Photography that inspired me to take this photo. The writer specifically wrote about taking what everyone else may walk by or look at and say "wow that's in rough shape", and capturing an Image that highlights the hidden beauty.

Keeping in mind what I had read in this particular article I started to pick out the lines of this church that really showcased it's architecture. Also paying attention to where the light was being cast I decided to set up camp right at the front right corner. The first shot I took, I realized there was a white post in the Frame right that was distracting, so I moved a touch more to the left and zoomed in a hair (18mm to 24mm).

Post processing was quite simple... I bumped the exposure up .05 of a step. Brought the contrast up about 25% and increased the sharpness, to highlight the pattern in the stones. I also took down the luminosity of the blue channel to darken the sky a touch, and added a slight vignette to draw the eye to the centre of the image.

At a close look this church has old broken windows, rusty doors, and cracked concrete. But step back and look at the architecture and lines of this magnificent building. When taking photos like this look for the "inner" beauty of the subject and try to highlight that in your image.

Portrait Photography

2010-07-20T22:43:00.000-02:30

When you look at most professional photographers portraits, you will soon pick up on a trend in the photos. When taking images of people it is (in most situations) for portraits, best to fill the frame with your subject.

When doing so, if your using a zoom lens or your camera has zoom function... Step back and zoom until you fill the frame. This will make your DOF (depth of focus) narrower. Thus you will end up with a nice crisp image of your subject and a beautiful blurry background. This technique can be used in other situations, aside from portraits, if you don't want or need the background in your photo to help tell your story. It can have an especially beautiful effect when there are some contrasting or even solid colour lights in the background. This will create a mysterious look of octagan shape colours (known as Bokeh). This is great when you really want to draw the eye of your viewers directly to your subject.

Another thing to keep in mind... You don't always have to have your subject totally in the frame. When taking portrait shots, focus on the eyes! If you set your focus zone directly on the eyes, the rest of the image will fall into place. Often the emotion of your subject will be seen quite vividly by keeping the eyes the focal point. Don't be afraid to cut off a little of the top or back of the head, just remember that whatever direction your subject is looking in, frame the head to opposite side of the photo. This will allow your subject to have negative space to look into and tends to also have a mysterious effect, as the viewer will question what the subject is looking at.

Keep in mind, there is a time and place for those posed portrait shots, with the great big fake grin staring at the lens of the camera but most often you will capture the true emotion when you shoot while your subject is not concentrating on you. Below is a great example to help you better understand these concepts. Although the subject in the photo is looking at the camera, I captured this photo at a moment when she was not paying attention to having her photo taken. Take more than one and wait for the moment when your subject looks natural or smiles at something you said!

Take that Shot!

2010-07-14T11:32:00.000-02:30

Well another early evening trip to Twillingate Newfoundland has yet again rendered some beautiful photos. BUT, what about all the ones that I missed. I specifically remember driving past an old cladboard sided house right on the harbour with a beautiful reflection on the water (in which the windows were reflecting the clouds) Absoulutley Amazing! Sorry though, I've got nothing to show for it...

Why? Because when I drove by I said to myself, WOW, I'll be back through in like 20 minutes, I'll get a shot of it then. Nope... By the time I got back it had been not more than 25 minutes and the sun had gotten lower and tucked in behind the clouds and now to my demise, there stood this grey old flat looking building with no character. So, there are two lessons that I want to portray from this story.

One, is to always take your camera with you (with fresh batteries and a fresh memory card!). You can't stop to take photos if you don't have your camera. Even if it's a bulky DSLR just get a simple case and throw on standard zoom lens to keep your gear light. Another option is take your point and shoot and keep it with you. Nowawdays you can get some really descent photos with your P&S as long as you've got good light. Number two is Stop and take the photo when you see it. Sometimes a matter of 15 minutes can change the lighting on your scene or subject and you may never get the chance to take that photo again. Especially if it's while travelling abroad. Light can be manipulated to an extent but when the sun is hitting that old grey building at just the right angle, take the 5 or 10 minutes (depending on how picky you are) and grab yourself a photograph that you will now remind you of that beautiful scene for years to come.

Here are a couple photos that I did happen to get while the gettin' was good!

Post Processing

2010-07-08T22:31:00.000-02:30

I know this is a hot topic that touches the hearts of beginner photographers all the way to the most experienced. The point I would like to make for anyone new to photography is DONT over do it. This is something that I think everyone of us learns on the Very Loonnnggg road to becoming a great photographer. You buy your first copy of Photoshop or Download a free software such as GIMP and you go to town. All of the sudden the grass looks as green as fresh crayon from a crayola 24 pack and your subjects look they could use a very long break from the tanning salon. Sound Familiar? Photoshop, lightroom and other such software suites can be extremley helpful and almost impossible to live without in these days of digital photography. The secret to it all is don't go overboard. When your shooting RAW take a good look at the photo. Is it well exposed, maybe a slight tweak in either direction. Is the sky a bit greyish blue, maybe bring up the vibrance just a hair to add a little more blue. But while doing so, pay attention to the rest of your photo. Is there anything un-pleasant happening with other areas of the photo. I've read so many times and experienced it for myself that making your adjustments in the camera at the time of shooting will do you far greater good in the long run. Don't rely on RAW to just fix everything after. If your photo is severely under or over exposed you may end up with a bunch of artifacts left in your photo after processing. The other thing to remember, if you want to enter your works into contests, is that judges will be looking for natural colour. More importantly they will be looking at sharpness, compostion, exposure, etc.. etc... Unless you are trying to develop an image that is art-like try to keep the processing to a minimum. There a lots of great tutorials on the web to learn some of these subtle techniques and I am positive if you start to look more closely at the actual vision of your photo and not all the cool things you can do it, you will become very pleased with your work!

Take care for now!

Father`s Day Weekend

2010-06-20T23:57:00.001-02:30

Hello all,

First of all welcome to the blog of Trevor Dean Photography. This weekend was father`s day and my special request this year was a day trip to the beautiful town of Twillingate Newfoundland. I love the drive to Twillingate, mostly due to the fact that you have to pass through about 15 towns and cross about 7 bridges in the span of a 45 minute drive. The scenery is beautiful and when un-hurried the trip usually reminds me of just how beautiful this country really is and how fortunate we are to have it. Of course a trip to Twillingate is not complete without a stop into the Newfie Fog Cafe for some absolutely delicious pizza and a grande Americanno Coffee. Needless to say it was a great little trip and little Emily was happy at the end of the day to enjoy some of the best homemade ice-cream on the island!

Wishing all of the father`s out there a memorable day :)