Month: September 2018

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The Light Series: No Flash vs. Flash

So this is a topic near and dear to my heart. And let me preface this post by saying this is not to knock anyone’s photography, or to say that anyone is doing it wrong or that my way is the only way it should be done. That being said, the way I shoot is different. And that is completely intentional. People ask me all the time if the sky in my photos are fake. And the answer is NO! The skies are not fake. I have used one fake sky in my career and that was because the client specifically asked for it.

So why is this such a big deal? Well the main reason it is a big deal is because there has been an influx of “self-taught” natural light photographers with the availability of digital SLR cameras. It is relatively easy to have a nice camera and take “good” pictures. And that is completely ok. But, but, when you shoot only natural light you are not allowing yourself to capture the beauty that is around your client. Now full disclosure, when I started I shot predominantly natural light. But again, I wanted to be intentionally different, so I learned very early on how to use off camera flash. For those who don’t know off camera flash is a speed light, or strobe that is triggered by a transmitter attached to my camera allowing the flash to fire and illuminate my client.

Using flash in my case strobes, which are my preferred choice of flash, I am able to not only bend light to my will, but also able to shoot pretty much anytime of the day, even in the dreaded middle of the day when the sun is at it’s apex. Natural light photographers, for most of them, cannot do this. They absolutely could, if they were willing to learn how to strobe their client, as well as use it correctly.

The photos below are the same day same time, one is shot with natural light, one with two strobes. The angles are different but there is enough of the sky in the first photo to see that you cannot see any blue sky or clouds.

The second photo has two strobes set to full power, for you photographers ISO 200, F/10, shutter speed 1/400th of a second.

The first picture is a decent photo, but if you had to choose between the two, would you really choose the first one? I kind of doubt it. The sky isn’t fake that is really the way it looked and being able to capture that is only possible if you understand how to use flash.

Thanks for stopping by and until next time my friends be extraordinary,

Rob

 

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The Evolution of an Image

I wanted to do a post that addresses a very touchy yet important topic when it comes to digital photography…the evolution of an image. No image that a professional puts out, no matter how brilliant, is what we call “straight out of camera”, you know, what it looks like when you see it on the back of your photographers camera. If that were the case then the photographer is selling themselves and their client short.

Now there are numerous examples of over editing out there and yes I was even guilty of it when I first started shooting ten years ago, however understanding the tools we have at hand to take good images and make the extraordinary, ah what  gift.

And since this is such a hot topic I thought it fitting to show the evolution of one of my images from original to the color edit and then to through the first black & white edit to the final black and white image. So that you can see while it is a good photo originally, the depth of colors and shadows in the color image are so much closer to what our eyes see.

And the first black and white is a beautiful black and white image, but the final black and white image has so much more depth and warmth in it.

Original straight out of camera…

here is the color edit….

This is the original black & white…

And this is the final black & white edit….

 

I hope you enjoy these four images. If you have questions please feel free to email me at [email protected] or leave a comment.

Thanks for reading and until next time my friends be extraordinary,

 

Rob

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Begin Again, Again…Best Laid Plans…

We all have great intentions when we begin something. We start out full of vigor and emotions for whatever that project is, no matter who we are. When those intentions revolve around our paths, our passions, our purposes we attack them with so much enthusiasm that sometimes we become overwhelmed by the sheer size of our goals and dreams.

Tee Rage began a little over five years ago, and if you would have said to me five years later that it would be what it is today, that I would be who I am today, I would have told you that you were out of your mind. I am grateful in so many ways that life takes the turns it does. And I am honored to have built this studio, this brand, this experience into what it is today.

About eighteen months ago I purchased a domain name, found a host and had technical support help me build the foundation of a new webpage. My current page is great for uploading photos to and allowing them to be shared with friends and family. And it was the original vision that I had, but like so many things, visions change.

When I started I wanted to be a good photographer. I wanted my technical skill to be what my artistic vision was. I have never truly just wanted to be good. I want to be great! I want to impact people in a way that my portraits move you when you see them.

So today after a long hiatus of being so busy that I just did not have time to work on it, my vision for where Tee Rage is heading has come into shape.

A new website, a blog, that has been on the web for almost three years with very little effort put into it, my bad, and a gallery website where my client’s galleries will be posted so they can share them with friends and family. All the links will be posted below.

teerageportraits.com

will serve as the hub for all things Tee Rage. You can now navigate to the website itself, this blog, Tee Rage Nation, and my Facebook Page.

The Website is an information page, as well as a page about the Tee Rage experience.

 

This blog will be where I will post my thoughts, blogs about sessions and sharing things that I want to share with you!

The Gallery page, teeragegalleries.com  you will be able to see you session proofs via a unique link and password protected folder.

The vision and dream I have had for Tee Rage is here! So check back often, visit the website, check the facebook page, and if you haven’t previously “liked” my facebook page I would ask you to go do that, and also my instagram, Snapchat, & Twitter @teerage_photo

Be extraordinary, my friends,

Rob

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