Canon 7D

Canon 7D 50mm DSLR Photography Lesson with Golda in downtown St. Petersburg

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Golda with her new 50mm lens attached to her new Canon 7D!!

Due to our previously scheduled lesson unfortunately being rained out, it was an extended amount of time until I saw Golda again for our third of four DSLR Photography Lessons.  In that time she has been very busy . . . shopping for great new photography gear!  She added to her camera bag a Canon 7D (upgrading from a Canon XTi) and a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens!!  I knew she had ordered the 50mm lens, but I had no idea she was getting such a high end DSLR as well.  She wanted to be able to make the best photos possible when she goes on vacation soon so along with improving her photography skills with our lessons, she now has the gear to match.

We both exclusively used 50mm f/1.8 lenses from 7pm to 9pm never lacking for light as we used apertures ranging from f/2.8 to when necessary wide open at f/1.8.  We also mostly stayed in manual mode giving us total control over the exposure of our shots.  The first thing I showed Golda was how the very shallow DoF a 50mm f/1.8 lens can produce can turn any ordinary subject matter into a very intersting one due to the ease of creating bokeh.  Then I showed her that all bokeh is not equal and that the background still matters even if it is all blurred out.  Having lights or complementary colors in the bokeh of the background is important in producing the best shallow DoF shot possible.

Well after the sun had set and the sky was dark, we still used our 50mm lenses to produce great shots ending the lesson with some motion blur practice on passing cars on Beach Drive.  

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    Strobist DSLR Photography Lesson with Teresa & her Canon 7D

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    In just ten short days Teresa took all 8-hours of her DSLR Photography Lesson discount package.  This afternoon was another strobist and digital photo editing lesson.  Teresa showed up from New Port Richey with all kinds of new gear that made things go much smoother than last time.  Now with a proper light stand in tow, as well as the same Yongnuo flash radio triggers I have, we were ready to get down to some more in-depth off camera flash photography practice.

    We shot exclusively in manual mode all day.  For strobist photography it is best to be in manual mode because there are only finite shutter speeds can use with the Yongnuo radio triggers anyway since they only sync up to 1/250th of a second.  In addition to using manual settings on her Canon 7D, now since we are using the aforementioned radio triggers we have to use her Nissin flash in manual mode too.  So now for the type of shot we were practicing today you have to manually set your aperture, shutter speed, and of course ISO, white balance and focus mode too, plus the power on your flash and then on top of all that think of how to best pose your subject for the given location!  There is also the matter of how to best position your light stand.  Therefore, it is good to have a good mastery of setting your DSLR for non-flash photography before moving on to strobist shots.

    Teresa did really well remembering and putting into use all the tips, knowledge, practices and advice I gave her over the course of our three lessons together.  She now has a fairly wide ranging skill set that she can build on herself with more solo practice.  We also got her established in a fairly seamless RAW workflow using Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop Elements 9.  I showed her the basic ways I edit a portrait by using the dodge and burn brushes especially.  

    I look forward to seeing the infant photographs Teresa makes in the future and her continuing progress as a strobist photographer! 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson #2 with Teresa off camera flash & editing

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    Strobist hibiscus photo with various Color Efex Pro 3 filters applied to it (original photo by Teresa)Teresa once again made the journey down from New Port Richey for our second DSLR Photography Lesson (the 1st).  One of the best benefits of the Canon 7D over its less expensive Canon family members is its ability to trigger a flash off camera with no additional accessories.  Now, perhaps setting the 7D up to trigger a Canon brand flash is easier, but with Teresa's Nissin flash we had a heck of time making it work despite having all the settings on the 7D and Nissin correct.  What we discovered is the 7D must be in manual exposure mode for it all to work.  This is strange, but actually ok since I prefer to shoot in manual mode for strobist photography anyway.

    We had to use yours truly as the model for the first part of the lesson, and used the covered walkway in front of the Museum of Fine Arts as the location.  I actually like that location a lot and have shot actual models there before.  Using the flash off camera allowed Teresa to use her favorite lens, the Canon 70-200mm f/4 because the flash could be positioned close to the subject (me) while allowing her to be the necessary distance away from me to use the 70-200mm lens at its full 200mm focal length.  I have spared you by not included the closeup shot of my face in this post!

    A hibiscus bush in bloom was our last subject matter for the day (see above).  After taking a few strobist shots of the flowers with me acting this time as the light stand, we went to the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce (of which I am a member) and used a conference room there for practicing editing.  Teresa had gotten my favorite filter editing app, Color Efex Pro 3.  I showed her the selected filters I use on almost every single photo I take, indoors or out (see this post for detailed info on my editing process).

    In this way the three-hour lesson went by very quickly.  We already have another three hour lesson scheduled for next week with more shooting and editing on the itinerary! 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson with Teresa & her Canon 7D

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    This week starts off with a DSLR Photography Lesson with new student Teresa and her Canon 7D.  As you might expect from a Canon 7D owner, Teresa already has photography knowledge.  What I helped her do in this first of four lessons she has already booked (which gets her a discounted price) is pull all that existing knowledge together and add to that my own process for dialing in the best settings that produce the exact exposure, DoF and sharpness I want.  

    Teresa is already entering into action pet photography and hopes to break into newborn photography as well, especially since a family member will be having a baby soon.  She has a nice assortment of lenses and a new Nisson external flash, so first it is a matter of finding out what gear is best for each type of situation.  Using her Canon 70-200mm f/4 lens we practiced photographing moving subjects in strong mid-day Florida sunshine, which she will often need to do in her pet photography work.  We started out using aperture priority to see what shutter speeds it would give us, and they were all over the map.  Varied results are exactly what one does not want.  Thus, we switched to manual mode.

    Knowing that to freeze most action a minimum shutter speed of 1/500th is required, we set the shutter to 1/640th to make sure we had enough, then adjusted our aperture and ISO settings to yield the best possible exposure given the non-ideal light conditions.  In this manner we locked in settings that consistently produced results we were happy.  Once one locks in the best possible settings, the photographer is then free to concentrate just on shooting, composition, etc with no worries about exposure or other technical aspects of shooting.

    Our next lesson will be how to make use of her external flash for portrait work as well as how to use Color Efex Pro to edit digital photos.  It will be a longer lesson than usual, but Teresa is a self-declared photography sponge right now, which makes having lessons fun for me as well.  I am looking forward to it since external flash and Color Efex Pro are two of my favorite photography related things! 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson #2 with Malissa at John's Pass Village Canon 7D

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    Malissa waiting for a great blue heron to show its head at John's Pass Village - DSLR Photography LessonFor my second DSLR Photography Lesson with Malissa (1st lesson) we met at John's Pass Village on Madeira Beach.  We started out having a review session on the four primary settings one needs to know how to set for making any given photograph.  This time Malissa brought a notepad and took detailed notes as I gave default settings to use for photographing children's sports, how to get a good exposure indoors, etc.  

    After our chat we walked down the long row of shops along the main street of John's Pass Village looking for a good palm tree to photograph to send to one of Malissa's friends who lives in a much colder climate.  This was a chance to show the decision making process for which lens to use (wide or long) and what surrounding foreground elements to include, or not include, in the composition.  

    We later had a chance to try some wildlife photography as there are many birds hanging out on the boardwalk and this time some dolphins playing just around the pilings also!  I suggested that Malissa zoom in tight on a great blue heron sitting on a rooftop, as showing it standing on metal would take the viewer out of nature thinking.  So if you can see only bird in the shot, even if you have to compose its feet out of the frame, that is much better than letting some humanmade object intrude.

    John's Pass Village on that afternoon provided us with a very good variety of subject matter to practice shooting with.  Now with this second lesson of knowledge and her notes I look forward to seeing some of Malissa's improved action and nature shots! 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson with Malissa and her Canon 7D

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    Malissa with her new Canon 7D and 28-135mm lens in Vinoy Park

    On a very sunny and crisp St. Petersburg mid-holiday week morning, I met Malissa (yes, spelled with an "a") and her new Canon 7D (present from her husband) for a from the very beginning DSLR Photography Lesson.  Malissa had a point and shoot digital camera previous to her 7D, so after realizing it was quite a jump between cameras, her husband again found my lessons and there we were.  

    Malissa was not even familiar with basic photography terms like aperture, ISO, etc, but that was ok because it is much quicker to learn what these things mean from me, and see how they work in the field, than by only reading manuals and how-to books on those topics.  I told Malissa that even though her 7D was covered in buttons, there are basically only four settings that need to be regularly changed, those being, along with the two mentioned above, white balance and focus mode as well.  

    Malissa has the Canon 70-300mm lens, which sounds like a long lens, but as I had her try to photograph a pelican in the water, she pointed out herself that the pelican still looked small in frame, despite our relatively close distance to her.  Then I had to break the bad news to her that to get any longer lens would cost several thousands of dollars for a 500mm or 600mm lens!  Hmm, at the time I did not think to mention teleconverters, but my limited experience with them has not impressed me.  

    I look forward to seeing what Malissa can now do with her Canon 7D and a lot more DSLR photography knowledge. 

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    • DSLR Photography Lesson with Deb & her new 430EX II Speedlite

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    Deb wielding her substantial Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens - photo: Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/320th Strobist: Nikon SB-600 Speedlight held off camera triggered by commander mode

    Once again my week started off with a fun DSLR Photography Lesson with Deb (lesson #1) in downtown St. Petersburg.  In the past week she got some new photography gear in the form of a Canon 430EX II Speedlite, which I suggested to her during our first lesson as the best piece of gear to get next, as speedlights are extremely useful.  She even got a bounce cap too, also very useful.  

    We started out shooting in the shade of one of the downtown condo towers to escape the heat and also because shade is better for making portraits.  The first flash shots we took were practicing bouncing the flash off of available walls.  Ideally there would be a nice, smooth white wall everywhere you happened to decide to make a portrait, however, one often has to make due with much less.  Still, in a few quick test shots I was able to demonstrate to Deb that even bouncing the light from her 430EX II off a rough, dark creme wall was better than pointing the light straight at me.  She was able to do this because the 430EX II has a swivel head allowing her to point the light of the flash in a different direction than her lens.  On camera flash does not allow one to do this.  Hence, an external flash, even used on camera, has a great advantage over the built-in pop-up flash.

    Sometimes there are not any walls around so we even practiced for that before finishing with making a portrait in direct sunlight, perhaps the least ideal situation.  However, using my tried and true settings (see photo description) serviceable broad daylight portraits are possible, when necessary.

    Next lesson we will be getting the flash off of Deb's 7D and out on its own for off camera flash to produce even better portrait results.  Deb is learning fast!

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