LeggNet's Digital Capture

Behind the Scenes - The Movie Pirate

2010-02-08T10:26:00.002-07:00

Here's a behind-the-scenes shot taken by Nicole at Saturday's movie theater shoot. The Movie Pirate image I was shooting was a great suggestion by Jeremy Hall to include in the set of audience pictures.

Theater Audience Photo Shoot: Thank You Everyone!

2010-02-06T14:07:00.002-07:00

I'm back in the office after a busy morning with the movie theater photo shoot in Salt Lake City. We had over 90 people participate in it and after a quick look at the images I can say I am extremely pleased with what we created.

I will write a more detailed blog post about the outing in the coming days but I wanted to make a quick one today to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated. From the check-in team to the lighting guys to the prop team to the audience members and everyone else, you all went above and beyond in making today a success.

Please accept a sincere thank you. I absolutely could not do what I do without help from great people like you!

Now go and have a great weekend :)

Milestone

2010-02-04T10:32:00.001-07:00

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/320 second, f/4, ISO 100

Eyelash Salon Photo Shoot

2010-02-03T16:44:00.002-07:00

I spent this afternoon capturing images for my stock photo portfolio in an eyelash salon. My desire in creating stock images is to capture real people in normal situations, and photographing a model getting eyelash extensions fit nicely with this goal.

I used my typical location lighting setup consisting of numerous softbox equipped monolights. Even though I brought along four lights, the combination of natural window light and small shooting space meant that I only used two of the lights. For the sample shot above, I have a 36" octabox just to the left of the camera and a 48" octabox placed to the right and away from the camera providing fill light. The window light is coming from behind the camera.

I've got a dozen or so images from today's session to edit and add to my portfolio. It will be interesting to see how much demand there is for eyelash extension photos.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/9, ISO 10

TV Time

2010-02-02T10:40:00.001-07:00

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/4.5, ISO 100

Intensity

2010-02-01T14:32:00.001-07:00

in⋅ten⋅si⋅ty [in-ten-si-tee]
–noun, plural -ties.

1. the quality or condition of being intense.
2. great energy, strength, concentration, vehemence, etc., as of activity, thought, or feeling: He went at the job with great intensity.
3. a high or extreme degree, as of cold or heat.
4. the degree or extent to which something is intense.
5. a high degree of emotional excitement; depth of feeling: The poem lacked intensity and left me unmoved.
6. the strength or sharpness of a color due esp. to its degree of freedom from admixture with its complementary color.
7. Physics. magnitude, as of energy or a force per unit of area, volume, time, etc.

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

Parka Girl

2010-01-29T10:26:00.002-07:00

After posting yesterday's rather dreary image of Alyssa, I felt I owed it to her to post a cute one today. These images are from last week's stock session we did in the studio. As I said before, it is great to be working with her again.

Have a great weekend!

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/8, ISO 100

Cabin Fever

2010-01-28T22:29:00.001-07:00

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/4, ISO 100

Image in Use: Davis Hospital and Medical Center

2010-01-27T23:31:00.002-07:00

Had a friend spot this ad today on a local television station's website. Since this is the image that I featured on today's earlier post, I thought I'd share it here.

Changing Styles: Revising My Stock Images

2010-01-27T17:02:00.002-07:00

One project I've added to my list this year is to spend some time re-photographing some of my successful older images in my stock portfolio. The reason I have been doing this is to have my images keep up with the ever-growing megapixels of images and changes in style.

The two images above are an example of this. The top image was shot in my studio back in January of 2008. Since it was shot with the original Canon 5D and cropped, it is only available at a maximum size of large on iStockphoto. The new image which was recently photographed, while still closely resembling the original, was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and is available in sizes up to XXL.

Another thing about the difference in the images worth noting, is that while Alyssa's 2008 hair style is not quite out of style yet, her current look is more current with today's style.

Lastly and a bit embarrassing to admit, the post-processing of the new image is much better in my opinion (especially the isolation) compared to the original.

It will be interesting to compare how the new image fares in the sales department against the very successful original. Since it has already sold in the first few hours it was available, it is off to a great start.

Attitude

2010-01-25T13:23:00.003-07:00

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

Welcome Back Alyssa!

2010-01-23T15:33:00.001-07:00

I spent this morning in the studio photographing one of my favorite models, Alyssa. I will forever hold a special place in my heart for her, since she was the very first model that Michelle and I paid to work with us on stock images back in '07. Her images have been very successful. In fact, as of right now she is featured in two of my top three selling images on iStockphoto.

Due to some geographic and life changes, we had not worked together since nearly a year ago. But things are different now and we are back creating stock images. We spent today's session revisiting some of our themes from '08 and shooting some new ones. While taking the pics was a lot of fun, what was even more enjoyable was catching up on life with a such a wonderful person.

Welcome back, Alyssa! I truly look forward to what we will create in 2010.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/8, ISO 100

Adjusting to the Beauty Dish

2010-01-22T10:29:00.001-07:00

After spending years using mainly softboxes for my lighting, I recently added a 16" Beauty Dish to my kit. Even though the modified light is fairly similar to what I get with my small octabox, it is just enough different to require some adjustment to my shooting.

Over the past few days I have done two studio shoots using the dish as my main light source, and I am learning what results I can achieve. Yesterday's post of Julie was captured with the dish placed 3' above the camera position and aimed down at the model. A hair light was positioned to the right and behind Julie.

For today's image of new model Richard, I placed the dish at just below the model's shoulder height and to the right of the camera. The reasoning for the placement was two-fold, first was to create a little bit of 'sinister drama' in the image (think "flashlight-under-your-chin") and secondly to get the light under the cowboy hat he was wearing.

After my first two shoots with the dish, I like the initial results. I look forward to continuing to learn this modifier and work it into my regular shooting.

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

She Moves in Mysterious Ways

2010-01-21T14:21:00.001-07:00

Canon Powershot G11 - 1/125 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

Casting Call: Models/Extras Needed!

2010-01-21T11:15:00.003-07:00

Wow, I've had a great response to Tuesday's blog post looking for audience members to be in my massive stock photo shoot. In fact, I've got firm commitments for over 60 people so far.

Since my goal is a minimum of 100 people in the audience, I am still looking for participants. This will be a lot of fun and when finished this will be the picture with the largest group of recognizable faces out of the 6,000,000+ image collection on iStockphoto.

Here are the details:

Date: Saturday February 6th, 2010
Time: 8:00 - 10:00 am
Where: Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City
Who: Anyone willing to participate (and sign a model release)

What I am looking for is models of all ages to be in the audience. Each person will need to fill out and sign (or if under 18, have a parent/guardian sign) a model release prior to the photos being taken.

For compensation, each member of the audience will receive a coupon redeemable for one free portrait or headshot taken by me in my studio in Draper. In addition, I will have numerous gift cards and prizes that we will be given away by random drawing during the shoot.

So, if you or your family & friends are in the Salt Lake area and are interested in participating in this photo shoot, please drop me an email at rich(at)leggnet.com or telephone me at 801.568.1000.

I'm really looking forward to this shoot :)

Happy Birthday, Elisabeth

2010-01-21T06:04:00.001-07:00

Wow, 15 years old. Where have the years gone?

Canon 30D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/30 second, f/4, ISO 100

Extras Wanted: Audience Members

2010-01-19T12:58:00.005-07:00

I have had a stock photo concept bouncing around in my head for several months and now it is time to execute that idea. What's the idea? A series of images for my stock portfolio portraying a large audience in a movie theater. And by large, I mean over 100 recognizable faces.

I have been putting the shoot together (securing a venue, ordering props, etc.) over the past couple of weeks and I am at the place now where it's time to ask for volunteers to be in the audience. So here are the details:

Date: Saturday February 6th, 2010
Time: 8:00 - 10:00 am
Where: Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City
Who: Anyone willing to participate (and sign a model release)

Honor: MLK Day 2010

2010-01-18T12:14:00.002-07:00

and on the seventh day, this photographer....

2010-01-18T11:38:00.002-07:00

For years, I have spent my Sunday mornings playing music in church. Yesterday my daughter took my G11 and shot some video of the band. Yes, it looks rather "home video-ish" (complete with her friend Brooke peeking into the frame), but I thought I'd share it here to show a glimpse of my non-photography life. Oh, and if you watch closely you can see none other than Nicolesy playing bass in the background :)

Teaching Photography to Children

2010-01-16T09:55:00.001-07:00

I spent Thursday morning teaching my Ten Tips for Capturing Great Photos class to a group of 35 homeschool students. I spend a fair amount of time standing in front of people talking about photography. No offense to everyone else, but the most rewarding group to speak to is children. Their curiosity and excitement about what I do is so cool.

The homeschool group was a lot of fun. I look forward to continuing to share my 10 Tips... talk to local groups this year.

(Photo and Video © Nicole Young. Thanks Niki!)

'Cause You Had a Bad Day, Part II

2010-01-15T11:26:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I know... "Another mug shot?!?"

I've spent this week wrapping up my series of stock images in the mugshot/line-up theme (see the growing set here). But now that I've got a mugshot wall semi-permanently painted in the studio, it's just too inviting to take fun photobooth type of shots like this in front of.

Have a great weekend!

Save the Dates: Two Studio Lighting Photowalking Utah Events

2010-01-13T16:31:00.003-07:00

The plans have been finalized for the February Photowalking Utah events and they are going to be great. Again this year we will be having two separate but related events. The theme is "Studio Lighting" and since it tends to be a bit cold this time of year in Northern Utah, both will be indoors.

FEBRUARY 11th - Mini Clinic

On the evening of Thursday February 11th, I will be facilitating a mini-clinic at the City Library in Salt Lake City. The theme of the clinic is "Posing and Lighting for Great Portraits". In the session, I will be demonstrating how to shoot portraits using various lighting techniques and get professional results. I will be using a model and shooting with a tethered camera so everyone can immediately see the results.

Date: Thursday February 11th
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Location: Salt Lake City Main Library - 210 E 400 South, Conf. room #4, 4th floor
Cost: Free

FEBRUARY 13th - 3rd Annual Studio Lighting Photowalk

In a repeat of the past two year's most popular Photowalking Utah events, we will again be doing an indoor "Studio Lighting" photowalk. The event will feature six different studios set up within a large conference room. Participants will be able to walk to each setup photography station and try their hand at shooting. Models will be provided along with assistance from the host photographer at each station.

This year we will be working to create a variation in the type of lighting setups provided. This will give the participants a way to work with a large variation of portrait lighting arrangements.

I have arranged with several models to help us out. Just like the previous event, we are suggesting a $3-5 "tip" given that will be put in a pool and divided up among the models after the event. This is purely optional but it really helps to have dedicated models available for the photographers to shoot and this is a great way to compensate them for their time. I've got a pretty diverse group confirmed so far including different ages / genders / looks.

For those photographers that aren't carrying around digital SLR's, don't worry. We will have a way to sync point-and-shoot cameras via slave to at least a couple of the setups. Everyone is welcome at these events regardless of skill or equipment. There will even be some higher end gear available to borrow.

Our friends at Pictureline have again donated a bunch of photography 'swag' to be used for door prizes at the "Pictureline Prize Table".

Here are the details:

Date: Saturday February 13th
Time: 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Location: Gateway Community Church, 584 E 12300 South - Draper
Cost: Free (though a suggested model tip of $3-5 is appreciated)

If you're planning on attending, please drop an RSVP into the ongoing discussion thread on the Photowalking Utah Flickr Group (link).

For any questions, please feel free to contact me at rich@leggnet.com or 801.568.1000.

Image in Use: Gallop & Ride Video Game

2010-01-12T10:17:00.002-07:00

It is always interesting to me to see my stock images in use. This morning I received a text from Kylee about one of her shots that was spotted in the wild. A friend of hers had noticed her riding a horse on a video game cover and told her about it at school today.

The thing about stock images is that the buyer has the ability to integrate the licensed image into their design as they see fit (within the license restrictions). In this particular case, for some unknown reason, they opted to place Kylee's head on the body of the horseback rider. We will never know what made them want to do the head-swap, but we now have a shot of Kylee on a horse.

It's kind of funny, actually. :)

Not Your Typical Bridal Portrait

2010-01-09T17:43:00.001-07:00

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/10.0, ISO 100