LeggNet's Digital Capture

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/160 second, f/4, ISO 100

One of the challenges of doing last month’s movie theater audience stock photo shoot was keeping track of what models were in each particular shot.  To help me do this I took several “Index Shots” once the models were in place.  Each person was assigned a number which corresponded to their model release.  They then held these numbers up for the index photo.  When it came time to match the model releases to the individual images and put the index shots to work, I noticed that more than a few of the models added their own unique touch that made me smile.

It appears that the mugging mainly falls into three categories:

1. The Model Face
2. The Sad Clown
3. The Grinning/Twisted/Open Mouth

oh, and then there’s Scott’s (#47) always changing take on number placement.

Now that the editing is done and the images are making their way through inspection, I want to say another THANKS to all the great folks that came out early on a Saturday morning to make the shoot happen.  We had a great time!  To see the images (as they become available), check out my “At the Movies” collection on iStockphoto by clicking here.

I’ve been hearing about my top-selling image of Alyssa appearing on billboards in Davis County for the last month or so, but until yesterday I had not seen one of them.  Blog reader and fellow photographer Scott Smith (check out his blog at ScottOSmith.com) remedied this when he took time out of his commute to capture an image of the billboard.  Thanks Scott!

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/5, ISO 100

Here’s a quick panorama I stitched together from 5 G11 images of Friday night’s University of Utah gymnastics meet.  Since my seat was nowhere near the caliber of Ann Torrence’s front row throne, this is about the only image I created at the outing (click the image for a larger view).

How about an “image in use” for this Sunday morning?  Long time blog reader (and my good friend) Mark spotted this shot of Andrew and Katie while doing some morning reading.  Thanks Mark!

There are a few pivotal events in my life that I can single out as instrumental in my transition from a khaki and polo-shirt wearing real estate broker (not that there’s anything wrong with that) to my current life as a full-time professional photographer.  At or near the top of that list is my introduction to Kenneth Linge.  I met Kenneth several years ago when Michelle presented me with an anniversary gift of paid tuition to his 3 day Wedding School.  It was during this class in 2007 that the light turned on for me (both figuratively and literally) in my approach to photographing people.  Kenneth is an extremely gifted and award winning photographer and freely shares his years of experience in his teaching clinics.

Roll the clock ahead to 2010, and not a day goes by when I am creating imagery that I don’t use some of the skills that I have learned from Kenneth.  In the years since our first introduction I have had the opportunity to take several more of his classes as both a student and an assistant.  I will forever be thankful for Kenneth’s friendship that began on that fateful Monday in 2007.

The reason for today’s post is to say that there are still a couple of spots left for tomorrow’s Photographing People Part I class that Kenneth is teaching in his Orem (Utah) studio.  I have been involved in this class numerous times and can say that it is a great starting point for any photographer that wants to improve their photography when it comes to people pictures.  Capturing great images of our fellow human beings can be a struggle for many shooters.  I have known some great wildlife/landscape/still life photographers that literally freeze up with fear when it comes to shooting a portrait.  This class can be a great step in overcoming that anxiety.

The class isn’t cheap at nearly $300, but as the old saying goes “you get what you pay for”.  The combination of small class size and Kenneth’s years of experience create a great learning environment.  And guess what?  As an added bonus the students to this weekend’s class will also receive a highly-desired-and-heavily-sought-after ticket to this year’s sold out Photocamp Utah.  I know – wow!

To grab a last-minute spot to tomorrow’s class, click here or visit the International School of Photography website at http://intsop.com.

And yeah, I know this post looks kind of like a long-winded advertisement.  Rest assured, I receive no compensation from Kenneth – I just believe in his product and want to help a good friend succeed.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 100

This video of Judge Joe Brown has been making the rounds today on more than a few photography related websites.  What is apparent to me in watching his honor berate the (so-called) professional wedding photographer for things such as using inexpensive equipment, poor exposure and inferior image quality is that the judge appears to have more than a passing knowledge of photography.  I would go as far as guessing that Judge Joe Brown has spent a considerable amount of time behind his camera.

Be sure to watch until the very end to see what Judge Joe rules as the judgement.  Wow!