LeggNet's Digital Capture

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

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

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

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

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

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

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

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.

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.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

It’s no secret to photographers in Utah (and many outside the state) that I’m good friends with Nicole Young. In fact, I’d like to think that my Canon 5D Mark II was influential in her recent switch from Nikon to Canon.

Last month Nicole began increasing the frequency of her blog posts at nicolesyblog.com, and I have been impressed with the quality of writing and instruction she has been providing. With that being said, I thought I’d take a moment and encourage my readers (whom I REALLY appreciate!!) to head on over there and check out what she has to say. I especially like today’s post and comments about whether or not using Photoshop makes you less of a photographer.

P.S. I know her blog is good, but please don’t forget about this one once you leave 🙂

It’s no secret to photographers in Utah (and many outside the state) that I’m good friends with Nicole Young. In fact, I’d like to think that my Canon 5D Mark II was influential in her recent switch from Nikon to Canon.

Last month Nicole began increasing the frequency of her blog posts at nicolesyblog.com, and I have been impressed with the quality of writing and instruction she has been providing. With that being said, I thought I’d take a moment and encourage my readers (whom I REALLY appreciate!!) to head on over there and check out what she has to say. I especially like today’s post and comments about whether or not using Photoshop makes you less of a photographer.

P.S. I know her blog is good, but please don’t forget about this one once you leave 🙂

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

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

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

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

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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)

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 promise one thing – it will be fun

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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!)

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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!

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.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

(image © Nicole S. Young)

Canon Powershot G11 – 1/80 second, f/3.2, ISO 400

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

(image courtesy of Jeremy Hall)

One of the top highlights of 2009 in my photographic life is the photography clinics that I was able to facilitate. In looking back at my calendar I see that I presented on over ten occasions to nearly 1,000 attendees. I can’t begin to express enough thanks to everyone who supported these events. I don’t profess to knowing everything about photography, but I truly enjoy sharing what I do know.

As we enter 2010, my plan is to continue the momentum of these free clinics. I will be warming up with a presentation to a group in Clearfield Utah next week before kicking off the 2010 schedule of clinics at the Salt Lake City library on February 11th.

If there are subjects you would like to see me cover in this years clinics, please feel free to either comment below or email me at rich(at)leggnet.com.

Canon Powershot SD780IS, 1/15 second, f/5, ISO 800

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

As many of you know, last year I began carrying a Canon SD780IS point-and-shoot camera with me everywhere I go. The reason I started doing this is to always have a decent quality camera with me to be able to capture shots that I would normally miss by not having my SLR or G11 nearby.

As is pretty evident, the camera’s auto functions did their best in adjusting the exposure and captured a pretty bland over-exposed image. After seeing this, I took a few steps to the right and knelt down at the edge of the beach. This alone would of created a better composition, but still would not overcome the poor exposure. Since the camera does not have any manual settings, I had to fool it into correctly exposing the image.

To do this I first composed with the center of the image near the bright horizon and pressed the shutter release halfway down to lock in exposure and focus. Continuing to hold the button down, I then recomposed the shot and pressed the shutter release the remainder to capture the shot.

The result is a much better exposure and quite frankly a very nice image especially considering it was taken on a sub $200 fully automatic point-and-shoot.

Canon SD780 IS – 1/320 second, f/3.2, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

One of my final stock photo shoots for 2009 was a police line-up/mugshot session I did in my studio. My concept was to create two different backgrounds in the studio, one for line-ups and another for mugshots, then use a varying selection of characters in the images.
The group of models I selected for the initial shoot did a great job, and I am pleased to see that the images are already beginning to sell in my portfolio.

Since I have created the backdrops in a way that they can stay in place for some time, this might be a concept that I will continue to add to in the coming months. Too see the growing collection, click here to view the lightbox on iStockphoto.

1. Add 2,000 images to my stock photo portfolio
2. Read 50 books
3. Lose 20 pounds
4. Up the production value of my stock photo shoots
5. Shoot more video
6. Take at least one college class
7. Travel outside of North America
8. Shoot a single stock photo with 100 recognizable models
9. Remodel/upgrade my studio’s interior
10. Teach 10+ photography clinics

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Today’s image is an example that it is not always the prettiest pictures from a photo shoot that will become useful stock imagery. When I am shooting images for my stock portfolio I think about creating unique scenes to go along with the “pretty” ones. I captured this shot of Kylee last summer as part of a series I did featuring dentists and patients in a dental office. The set of images has sold fairly well so far and should continue to do so into the near future.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canon Powershot G11 – 1/40 second, f/4.5, ISO 800

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Note from Rich: Today’s post is written by the talented writer Bryan Catherman as a special to LeggNet’s Digital Capture.

Into the Most Secret Place On Earthby Bryan Catherman
I’ve witnessed many spectacular things—NORAD, secret detainee holding camps, and other highly classified places—but nothing compares to where I went, and what I saw last month with my good friend, Rich Legg.

About six months ago, Rich Legg was contacted about doing a photo shoot. That in itself was nothing out of the ordinary given the popularity of his website and the broad range of his work. However, the subject matter and the stipulations were nothing he’d ever dealt with before. He was allowed to select one assistant, and after considering my background, he selected me over many of his talented photographer friends.

From there, we completed the necessary paperwork, provided blood samples, and underwent a detailed background check. Rich’s immunization record wasn’t as up to date as mine, so Rich also received a Polio vaccination, as well as the six-shot series for Anthrax. Then we waited. We were on the short list, being reviewed for the job.

Rich didn’t let himself get too excited. He’d been through this before when he was being considered to photograph Suri Cruise. “Don’t get your hopes up,” he’d say, “that way you won’t feel let down when we don’t get it. Trust me; I learned my lesson when I didn’t get the Cruise gig.”

But I couldn’t stop thinking about Ralph Plaisted. Plaisted was the last American to visit the most secret place on earth with his unauthorized entry on April 19, 1968; a day that changed is life.

On October 7th, we were selected for the job and on October 19th, we arrived at the private jet terminal of the Salt Lake City International Airport. Before us was a small, overpowered jet painted stark white. The windows were limo tinted and the aircraft was free of any other markings. No tail number, no warning or caution markers near the engines, nothing.

A brutish man with a stock face took our gear. He informed us that from this point, we were allowed no photography equipment, no recording devices, no GPS tracking systems, no paper, and no writing instruments. He confiscated our cell phones and for some reason, he took the electric keyfob from my key ring. “You’ll be given back your camera at the photo shoot,” he said to Rich. Something in his voice intimated me. I’ve looked into the faces of some evil men, terrorists and killers, but this man—a man who couldn’t possibly stand taller than five feet—scared the hell out of me.

I quickly realized that the terrifying little man that took our stuff was also our flight attendant. He served us a plate of cookie snacks. I had coffee and Rich had milk, and then the man disappeared. We never saw the pilots and the area of the plane where we were seated had no windows. As I listened to the engines roar, I started to wonder what I had let Rich get me into.

When the door of the jet opened, the cold blast instantly snapped at my face. It must have been 50 degrees below zero.

Then two young girls boarded the plane. Or I thought they were young girls; my mind was hazy at this point. They each carried a parka, a hat, and sun goggles. “You’ll need this stuff if you’re de-boarding the aircraft,” one of them said to me.

Stepping off the jet, I looked to the right and left. In all directions was nothing but snow and ice like a great white ocean. Looking behind me, I could barely see the plane except for the tinted windows.

Moments later, a toboggan being pulled by two caribou arrived. “Welcome to the North Pole,” said its driver, a three and a half foot cheerful man. He explained that we’d have to wear blindfolds until we entered the compound and we agreed.

As the sled came to a stop, I could hear signing and laughing. The sounds were confirmed when the man removed our blindfolds. Neither Rich or I could form words, but the reflection in our eyes said it all.

Before us was the biggest, brightest factory I’ve ever seen. Little people moved about like bees in a hive. Large gears turned and steam spewed from tall pipes. Conveyer belts moved toy after toy past us. The factory that surrounded us was alive.

“Come this way,” said the driver. “He wants the photos taken in his private residence.”

“This is amazing,” said Rich.

“Oh, this, right,” said the man. “I guess working here day in and day out you tend to forget. We don’t get many guests up here. Come on. This way, please.”

I had no idea how to address the big man, but when he firmly shook my hand, he said, “Hi, I’m Santa Clause, but some people call me Kris Kringle or St. Nicholas. What ever you’re comfortable with is fine by me.” He nodded. “This is my wife, Mrs. Clause.” His voice was like warm syrup and his smile like a child’s innocent giggle.

Handcrafted furniture filled his living room as the wood-burning stove packed the space with warmth. On a desk in the corner were little flags—the flags of the entire world. A large King James Bible rested on his coffee table. One end of the couch was near a small end table, and on the table were a candle lamp, some knitting needles, yarn, and a Beverly Lewis book with a red bookmark. I think it was The Brethren, but I couldn’t be sure. Three books sat on the other end table: Blue Like Jazz, The Kite Runner, and a title written in French.

Rich and Santa chatted about the photo shoot for a moment and then Rich instructed me to unpack the gear. (The equipment arrived unnoticed while I was meeting Santa and his wife.) We didn’t know what the photos were for and nobody ever told us, but for the next twenty minutes, Rich snapped photo after photo. I held a big disk and reflected light. At one point I held two flash mechanisms and pointed them as Rich showed me. Snap, flash, snap. I think Rich must have captured 400 photos.

Then, as we were packing up, Mrs. Clause served us sweet sugar cookies and hot chocolate. Santa retreated into his study and emerged with two wrapped gifts and a copy of Letters From the Front Lines. “Bryan,” he said to me, “war is the devil’s play and I’m sorry you had to visit his playground. Please thank every veteran you know, for me.” Then he handed me the book. “If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind signing it for me?”

“Brave Rifles, Santa. Brave Rifles!”

And as fast as we had arrived, we were escorted out. I don’t remember the flight home, other than the time I spent staring at the small Christmas gift Santa gave me. The box was wrapped in gold paper and a small hand-tied bow stuck up from the top. “Don’t open this until Christmas Morn’,” he said. At one point, I looked to Rich, who was staring at his gift, larger than the one Santa gave to me.

“Rich,” I asked, “how will anybody believe we were really there?”

His reply: “Don’t worry, I’ve got the photos to prove it.”

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 400

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/8, ISO 100

Last night’s Photowalking Utah event in Salt Lake City was a huge success. With over 130 photographers participating in the clinic and photowalk this year, the annual event continues to grow and is always one of the post popular outings during the year.

This year we added a winter clothing drive to the schedule. Participants were asked to bring winter clothing items to donate to a local shelter. I am pleased to say that we collected a fantastic number of items. I have spent time this morning sorting them in preparation for delivery and am blown away at the amount and quality of items donated. The picture above shows the bulk of the outerwear, but there is also a box of hats/scarves/socks not pictured.

Thank you everyone who came out and made the night a success. And thank you for helping Photowalking Utah help give assistance to those less fortunate. This group is truly about community and last night showed that in a big way!

We’ve had some really cool events in the two years that Photowalking Utah has been around, and last month’s Lensbaby Photowalk gets to take its place near the top of the list. Nicole Young shot some great video during the event and has compiled it together with footage shot by Jeremy Hall and Scott Jarvie to create this fantastic recap video. Thanks again to everyone who came out and supported the outing and especially to Pictureline and Lensbaby for sponsorship.

I did a studio session this morning creating stock images of Jane as a skier. During the hour-long session I spent a bit of time with the Lensbaby Composer on my camera in place of my usual Canon lenses. This is the first time that I have used the Lensbaby for a work shoot in the studio, and judging by today’s images I am pleased with the results.

Canon 5D Mark II, Lensbaby Composer Double Glass – 1/160 second, f/8, ISO 100

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

I spent a few hours on Saturday helping out by taking portraits at one of the Help Portrait sites in Salt Lake City. The time I spent doing this has to go down as some of the most rewarding time I have spent as a photographer.

The image of me above was taken by one of the children at the event. The 4 year old boy had just had his portrait taken with his family. While they were waiting for the portrait to print I let him and his sister take some shots with my camera. It was so cool to see their eyes light up when they saw the pics they had taken.

Huge thanks to everyone in Utah and around the world that worked on the Help Portrait project this past weekend. I am so glad I was able to participate.

This year Photowalking Utah has added something to our annual Temple Square Christmas event – a winter clothing drive.

At the event on December 17th we will be collecting winter clothing items (hats, coats, gloves, boots, etc.) in good condition. These items will be donated to The Road Home to help them in their service to those less fortunate.

If you are attending, please take a look through your closet ahead of time and see if there is anything you can donate. If you are unable to make the evening outing but would still like to drop off items to donate, we will be accepting them in the fourth floor conference room of the City Library between 6:15 and 7:00 pm on the 17th.

All items collected will be given to The Road Home on Saturday December 19th.

I know I speak for others as well when I say how blessed I feel to be a part of Photowalking Utah. Let’s now take our group to the next level and help to bless others in their time of need.

For more details on the December 17th photowalk, click here.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/4 second, f/4, ISO 3200

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/11, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

This past Saturday was the 4th anniversary of LeggNet’s Digital Capture. Over 1,200 blog posts and 700,000 visitors later it still feels like I’m just getting started. Thank you everyone who has contributed to this little project that I started in 2005.

Maybe, but this is actually a test shot I did yesterday for a stock photo shoot I’m putting together in my studio. Even though it was just a test, I figured I should “get into character” a bit for the image 🙂

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/11, ISO 100

This morning I sold today’s shot of Biker Dave as the 90,000th image from my portfolio on iStockphoto.com. Wow, it’s hard to believe that I’ve only got another 10,000 to go until I break the elusive 100,000 barrier.

Have a great weekend!

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/11, ISO 100

As I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, I recently spent time creating images to be used in the upcoming children’s book, Princess Amerah and the Magic Dress. My job was to create single images that would later be joined together with a background scene to illustrate the story. On most of the scenes, I was given a sample of the background image to work off of.

The designer is now working with the book’s authors on the arduous task of combining the elements. Today’s image is the book’s newly unveiled cover.

I was shown the background image and a sketch of what the authors envisioned for the scene. I then set up lighting and posed the model(s) before shooting each of them individually. Here are the three elements that were joined together to create the scene shown above:

I’ve got to hand it to the designer, Steve Diaz. He has done a very nice job in joining the elements together to create the scene. I’m excited to see the final product when it goes to print next year.

Canon Powershot SD780 IS – 1/4 second, f/4.5, ISO 400

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/160 second, f/18, ISO 100

Each year in December, I take some time to revisit the original RAW files from previous stock photo shoots and look for good images that I passed over the first time. Today I’ve been revisiting a photo shoot I did in the garden of Ann Torrence back in September ’08. A few of the images have sold quite well so I’ve selected another 10 or so from the originals to edit for stock. Today’s featured image is of the former Mrs. Legg working in Ann’s rose garden.

It will be interesting to look back at the newly edited images after a few months and see if the time spent was worthwhile.

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

It is time again for Photowalking Utah to make its annual trek to Temple Square in Salt Lake City to photograph the holiday lights on display. This year’s event will again be in two parts. The first part will be a mini-clinic on taking low-light photos held at the Salt Lake City Library. When the one-hour clinic ends, the group will make their way to Temple Square to photograph the incredible holiday lights on display.

Here’s the schedule:

December 17 – 6:30 to 9:00 pm

6:30 pm – Mini-clinic at the Salt Lake City Library (210 E 400 South) 4th floor conference room.

7:35 pm – Clinic concludes. Head downstairs to the TRAX station

7:50 pm – Ride the TRAX train (for free) to Temple Square

8:00 pm – Photography at Temple Square

This year we are adding a bit of giving to the December event. We will be collecting winter clothing to be donated to local organizations that help clothe those in need. Please bring any extra jackets, scarves, hats, etc. that are in good condition to the library. These will be collected and distributed to those less fortunate.

As always, there is absolutely no charge to participate in this event. Photographers of ANY skill level are invited to join in.

Head on over to the event discussion on the Photowalking Utah Flickr page if you have any questions or would simply like to say you’re coming. I hope to see a great group on the 17th.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/1600 second, f/8, ISO 400

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/1600 second, f/8, ISO 400

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canon Powershot G11 – 1/25 second, f/3.5, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canon 30D, Canon 70-200 f/4L with 1.4x Extender – 1/200 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

Canon 30D, Canon 70-200 f/4L with 1.4x Extender – 1/200 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Blog reader and fellow iStock contributor Dan Bachman was kind enough to send over a screenshot of an image of mine he found in use this morning. The shot of Kylee is in the footer of a few pages at the insurance website insweb.

While I quite like the implementation of my image in the website, it does bring to mind that this use likely would be considered a violation of the iStockphoto License Agreement. The problem is not using the image on the website, but the quote placed next to Kylee’s smiling face. By placing the wording there it implies that the model is actually J. Tindal of Jeffersonville PA and that she really likes the company’s product and website.

Here is the section of the license agreement dealing with this:

Standard License Prohibitions

As I said, I really don’t mind the usage in this context and I’m sure Kylee will be happy to see her face on yet another website. But this type of use is just one of many restrictions that buyers should be aware of when using stock images.

Blog reader and fellow iStock contributor Dan Bachman was kind enough to send over a screenshot of an image of mine he found in use this morning. The shot of Kylee is in the footer of a few pages at the insurance website insweb.

While I quite like the implementation of my image in the website, it does bring to mind that this use likely would be considered a violation of the iStockphoto License Agreement. The problem is not using the image on the website, but the quote placed next to Kylee’s smiling face. By placing the wording there it implies that the model is actually J. Tindal of Jeffersonville PA and that she really likes the company’s product and website.

Here is the section of the license agreement dealing with this:

Standard License Prohibitions

As I said, I really don’t mind the usage in this context and I’m sure Kylee will be happy to see her face on yet another website. But this type of use is just one of many restrictions that buyers should be aware of when using stock images.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

I’ve posted before about my policy insuring my photography equipment. I spent some time yesterday updating my ‘inventory list’ for the insurance company to make sure that everything is covered in case of accident or theft. This is something that I do a few times a year. By keeping a detailed list with model numbers, replacement cost and serial numbers (and providing this list to the insurance company) I feel confident in knowing what I am insuring and that I have sufficient coverage.

I thought I’d share this today to either serve as a reminder for other photographers to update their insurance policy to make sure all their equipment is covered or to maybe motivate those without coverage to look into getting it.

Obtaining insurance is relatively inexpensive to do. Taking into account the amount of my annual premium, I could easily pay it for over 25 years before having a loss and still come out ahead. Given the recent thefts of cameras in Salt Lake City, I think there is now more reason than ever to insure your gear.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/640 second, f/6.3, ISO 160

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/640 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

This past Tuesday I had the privilege of being the opening speaker at the Scott Bourne event at Pictureline in Salt Lake City. The topic of my talk was Giving Back as a Photographer. I ended by showing a short video highlighting a recent project by local photographer Dale Welcome. For those that didn’t attend, I thought I’d share the video here.
A big thank you goes out to Aaron Dodds for filming and editing the video and to Dale for sharing his thoughts and allowing us to eavesdrop on his sessions.