[NIKON D4, 85.0 mm f/1.8, Mode = Manual, ISO 50, 1/60, ƒ/2.8, (35mm = 85)]

When shooting headshots/portraits, I have found that when using a zoom lens, I tend to move back and forth too much, distorting the person’s face.

A few years ago, I ran a test with my lenses to see which lens I preferred, and here is that test.

Now I don’t always shoot it wide open at ƒ/1.8. Often when I get close enough to fill the frame, this is too shallow.

If I back up and get a 3/4 photo of a person, then the ƒ/1.8 can work well. You see, the closer you get, the depth of field shallower. So, if you back up, you increase that depth-of-field.

It does well to help isolate your subject, like this couple at their wedding, but I still get a sense of mood with the background out of focus.

Now I can tell you the best thing to come along for Nikon was when they started making full-framed mirrorless cameras. I love the combination of the Nikon ƒ/1.8 and the Nikon Z6.

The Nikon Z6 has eye tracking that helps get your subject’s eyes into focus.

Hopefully, you will run your test. Shoot a portrait of a person like I did with my daughter, keep the head size the same throughout the frame, and then pick your favorite lens.

[NIKON D5, 120.0-300.0 mm f/2.8, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 4500, 1/4000, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 360)]

I wanted to open with a photo of a young baseball player at bat.

A batting average of 300 or higher is considered excellent, and a standard higher than .400 is a nearly unachievable goal. Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox was the last Major League Baseball (MLB) player to do so, with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting championship.

So in baseball, you will strike out 7 out of 10 times at bat if you are perfect. When you start out playing, that number of times of failure is more significant ~ you are learning.

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure.”

~ Abraham Lincoln

In every business model, you must make some cold calls to get business. This means you will pitch your product or skills to people who do not know you.

This classic study from Kenan-Flagler Business School finds that “cold calling has only a 2.5% success rate.” This 2.5% success rate means that an experienced sales guy can make one appointment or another good follow-up per working day.

When you start in business, you start with your network of people who already know you. Cold calling is made with a referral; the rate jumps to 40%.

“Remember that failure is an event, not a person.”

~ Zig Ziglar

In a nutshell, I have learned through more than 20 years of running my own business that too many quit just before their big break. If we know that the percentage of success in cold calling is around 2%, and you have spent the last couple of months contacting 98 different sources, the numbers say that # 99 is most likely when the break happens.

Since I was in college, I was always doing freelancing. Most of this was on the side until 2002 when I did this 100% of my income—full-time freelancing.

In 2002, I showed 35mm Slides and 6×7 Slides to get jobs.

When I lost my job due to layoffs in 1990, I sent out slides to get jobs. I had around 200 identical sheets of 20 slides that I sent out all over the country with cover letters. Not one job came from all that work.

I decided to return to school and work on my M.A. in Communications. I found a few jobs working in a portrait studio and later as manager of a one-hour photo lab.

When I finished my master’s in 1993, I sent out another round of portfolios. This time I got my job at Georgia Tech.

I believe that from the time I lost my full-time job with The Commission Magazine in 1990 till 1993, I must have sent out [Cold Calling] on more than 500 jobs.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

~ Michael Jordan

Here is a great commencement speech made by Denzel Washington, which he said to “Fall Forward”

Today be like Thomas Edison and experiment. Try something, and if it fails, try something different.

Like Denzel, pray daily for the strength to continue.

Any marketing campaign can take three months to see the results of those efforts. Until then, if anything, you may see a slight decrease as the changes take effect.

“If you don’t fail, you are not even trying.”

~ Denzel Washington

[NIKON D750, 35.0 mm f/1.4, Mode = Manual, ISO 640, 1/30, ƒ/1.4, (35mm = 35)]

Why would I like this lens so much? I believe it is mainly because I can do with it what I could never do with a smartphone camera–Shallow Depth-of-field.

It is a great way to isolate a subject.

Bokeh is “the effect of a soft out-of-focus background that you get when shooting a subject, using a fast lens, at the widest aperture, such as f/2.8 or wider.”  Bokeh is a photograph’s pleasing or aesthetic quality of the out-of-focus blur.

Most of the time, I want to add the context of a person in their environment. Shooting with your lens closed down to ƒ/5.6 or greater gives you context because more is in focus.

However, the shallow depth-of-field allows for some context, often keeping something out of focus yet still discernible, like this of a lady working out with her trainer.

One thing that affects your depth-of-field is how close you are to the subject. Getting close will give you the shallowest depth-of-field. Sometimes if you get too close to some microlenses, your issue will appear out of focus because it is too shallow.

In this photo of the bud on the plant, you can see the “Circle of Confusion.”

In optics, a circle of confusion is an optical spot caused by a cone of light rays from a lens not coming to a perfect focus when imaging a point source. It is also known as a disk of confusion, a circle of indistinctness, a blur circle, or a blur spot.

I love my Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 and love it even more on the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera. What a great combination.

When shooting in a restaurant kitchen, you don’t always want to show the working kitchen, but I still wanted to feature the team members. Shooting at ƒ/1.4 and getting close to the model helped me achieve a feel of the kitchen and keep details from being seen.

[NIKON Z 6, 35.0 mm f/1.4, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 1400, 1/1000, ƒ/1.4, (35mm = 35)]

The above photo was taken with my Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera and the Sigma ƒ/1.4 Art lens.

The flowers were a gift to us. The Orchids were given to us by Katie & Tyler of Nail Turbo in Roswell, Georgia, on our 25th wedding anniversary on January 6th, 2021. We started the day off pretty good, but as you recall, this was the day homegrown terrorists overran the United States Capitol. We decided to take a break from the news and get spoiled.

By the way, in 1996, when we got married was the year of the snow/ice storm that kept my family around Atlanta for a few days while Dorie and I got off to Cancun, Mexico.

The photo I took before this was with my Samsung Galaxy S10 on the portrait lens.

Now, some phones use software to create a shallow depth-of-field look. You can do this with many of the apps.

The problem is that when something is simulated, it can be close to the actual mechanical process, but I prefer to see what I am getting in real-time.

The other cool thing about shooting with a “Real Camera” is I can change the aperture with more choices.

Photos with different Apertures

Most people these days will not buy a camera if they have one of the latest smartphones. However, if you are serious and want more than possible with your phone, consider getting a mirrorless camera like the Nikon Z6 or the Z6 II.

This is Jo Fahringer who is a seasoned teacher in Kona, Hawaii with YWAM. [X-E2, XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 6400, 1/70, ƒ/5, (35mm = 83)]

Just the other day, I talked about this rule of communicating. The 7-38-55 rule is a concept concerning the communication of emotions. The rule states that 7 percent of meaning is conveyed through spoken word, 38 percent through tone of voice, and 55 percent through body language.

Now I work hard to see these gestures and listen for tone and word choices when photographing.

Time for 180º

I want to say right away that I am a lot better at watching and listening than I am with how I come across to others.

Speech difficulties, such as a lack of rhythm, an odd inflection, or monotone pitch, often affect children and adults with Asperger syndrome, which I have. Frequently they cannot modulate the volume of their voice according to their surroundings, so you’ll sometimes hear them being very loud in places like churches or a library. 

Right away, I struggle with the 38% tone of my voice in communicating. To make up for it, I often ask, “Does that make sense?” I know I have a problem and work hard to see if my message is clear and not lose anything.

People with Aspergers will gather enormous amounts of factual information about their favorite subject. They will talk incessantly about it, but the conversation may seem like a random collection of facts or statistics, with little or no point or conclusion. They may attempt to befriend or socialize with other people but make normal conversation difficult by eccentric behaviors or wanting only to talk about their particular interests. 

Over the years, I have become quieter in mixed groups because I know if I am not careful, I will talk about what is important to me and not aware that others don’t care.

I was almost always seen playing GI Joe and riding my tractor when I was young. I did this ALL THE TIME. I think it was easier for my family to let me go and play than to try to get me to have other interests.

Today I have a few topics I have spent far more time understanding than the average person.

When I am in the midst of thought, it is almost super crucial that I finish it. It is mainly because if we move on and I don’t finish it, I will not remember later what I was thinking, which can make me beat myself up. The problem with this is then the conversation is all about me finishing my thoughts.

When you speak, you hear yourself very differently from how others listen to you. This is because the sound waves travel through your head to your ears, where they are detected.

If you record your voice and listen to it, you will hear your voice very close to what everyone else does. Which is typically very different from how we hear our voice directly when we speak; the vibrations from our vocal cords reach our ear and change how we interpret the sound in our brain.

We all have different hearing abilities, so even when a bunch of people listens to the same recorded voice, it will probably not be the same sounds for all.

One of the best things you can do is to record yourself using video. This will let you hear your tone and see your body language. It is awkward to do but is one of the best ways to correct your behaviors.

I was privileged to spend a few days photographing Alan Alda in July 1995 while he was filming his show on the Georgia Tech campus. The Aerial Robotics Competition was before GPS would be used as we do today with drones.

What fascinated me all week was watching Alan Alda ask questions off camera and then realize he needed that comment for the TV show. He then asked the film crew to capture him, questioning the expert. What was wild is Alan Alda asked that question with the exact words, tone, and body language than helped him elicit the same response.

He did this over and over again. He also knew where I was standing, and the people next to him asked which lens I was using. Then he helped put the people around him in a better position than I could have ever instructed him to do. Why could he do this? Well, he was not just an actor but a director.

Time to Evaluate

In business, you need to hone your presentations to clients. It would help if you also listened to them as well as yourself. You don’t want a canned speech that cannot be altered to the situation.

Have you taken the time to evaluate yourself and know what you might have done wrong and how to correct it in the future??

That is the point of this blog. Here are a few tips that can help you.

First, ask your friends to tell you how you come across and what you could do to improve. Good friends will want to help you improve.

Try recording yourself doing your pitch with someone. Encourage them to ask questions or do whatever to see if you can meet the challenge of picking the right words, using the best tone, and helping you with your body language.

Watch it with them. Get others’ feedback.

[NIKON D4, 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6, Mode = Shutter Priority, ISO 200, 1/500, ƒ/8, (35mm = 82) Alienbees B800 off to side fired with Pocket Wizard Remote]

In 2012, my uncle Knolan Benfield helped me on a stock photo shoot in Hamilton Mill, GA. He took some of these photos of me working. You can see some of my setups using lights to help improve the images.

Here you can see I have four Alienbees B1600 hanging from the ceiling. Here is another photo without them firing.

Now by using those strobes, I got photos like these here.

The biggest problem with all restaurants like Chick-fil-A is there are windows everywhere, which makes everything backlit and can cause problems.

Even when shooting outside, I wanted good skin tones, and as you can see in the setup photo, the guy is backlit as well.

Using the Alienbees B800 off to the side as fill light, I help reveal the face of the buy and better color on the cow.

These are the clamps I used to hang the lights from the ceiling. They are called “Scissor Mount for Drop Ceilings”.

Call me if you want a class for one-on-one training to do this as well.

Shooting sports was where I always compared what I got to other photographers at the same event.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I want to modify it a little and say, “Comparison can be the thief of joy.”

I have never met a photographer who is not looking at the competition and comparing themselves at some time or another.

Comparisons can be Beneficial

Suppose you compare yourself to others to measure your personal development or motivate yourself to improve and, in the process, develop a more positive self-image. In that case, this is a good thing.

David Sutton posted his survey responses to the question, “How many photographers does it take to change a lightbulb?”

• What is it’s colour temperature? What operating system is it running on?
• This whole question is just another ego trip.
• The real problem is that the lightbulb reacts badly to criticism.
• It’s the tone of the lightbulb I don’t like.
• Nothing personal, but what do you know about lightbulbs?
• My mother’s aunt had a lightbulb just like it, and it didn’t need changing.
• It’s NOT the bulb you utter and complete idiot, it’s the person switching it on.
• None, anyone can fix it in Photoshop.

I am sure you have your list to add to this. If you need to procrastinate, then Google this for your amusement.

The problem with comparison is when it is no longer used to improve oneself but to tear down another person.

If you want to get better and have a good healthy attitude about your work, you can look at others’ work and not just learn from them but admire them.

Looking to others for inspiration (without comparison) is admiration. When we admire someone, we respect, appreciate, and feel inspired by their accomplishments. We are filled with encouragement and hope.

Prioritizing approval over feedback, learning, and growth will keep you stuck. You have to understand that each person has their path. What I have learned about this is that everyone has unique opportunities afforded them by things outside of their control. Face it, how you look had more to do with your parent’s genes than something you did. You do have control over how you take care of that body.

It took a while before learning to celebrate other photographers’ work. Unless the person was right next to me, we could not honestly compare our work.

One of the first places I started to understand why the comparison wasn’t possible was when another photographer was on the opposite side of the field, and the play was in front of them with no obstruction. I didn’t have a chance to get that same photo. However, just a moment later, I may get something they couldn’t call for the same reason.

Over time I started to learn how to look at others’ work and not just learn from it but admire it.

During the pandemic, I thought it would be great to use Zoom for FOCUS [Fellowship Of Communicators Uniting Socially]. Above is a compilation of all but the first few meetings.

I don’t think this would have been as successful if I had done this early in my career. I had to learn through the years that EVERYONE had something to share that I should listen to and learn from.

This has been an excellent year for me because of this group. I made it a point that anyone participating would be asked to be a presenter.

After the meetings, I often get emails and phone calls from people on the ZOOM call, and what is most interesting is they are talking about people’s work that didn’t have a reputation before the call. We have been blown away by people no one knew that well.

We have had many shares who have been guest speakers at national photography conferences, and even they surprised us.

Joanna Pinneo & Robin Rayne both shared about the struggles they encountered in doing stories. WOW! Usually, people with this type of experience show how successful they are with their work. Both of them shared how hard it was and how often they felt they were in over their heads with the assignments.

Here are three stories from the Bible to remind us how comparing to others only leads to real problems if we don’t exercise some humility.

• Jacob and Esau
• Joseph and His Brothers
• Cain and Abel

As Esau said to Jacob, “Let us start on our journey [together]” (Genesis 33:12), and may it lead us to trust, hope and peace.

Joseph, the most beloved of Jacob’s sons, is hated by his envious brothers. Angry and jealous of Jacob’s gift to Joseph, a splendid “coat of many colors,” the brothers seize him and sell him into slavery. However, Joseph had also learned about forgiveness. At the death of their father, his brothers feared that Joseph had been treating them kindly out of respect for Jacob. So they sent a message to Joseph saying that Jacob wanted him to forgive his brothers. Joseph wept, and the brothers fell before him, offering to be his slaves.

Friendly competition is highly effective in pushing people. Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Here are some questions that I ask myself when looking at another colleague’s work.

• Why is their work so effective?
• What did they do to make this happen?
• What circumstances allowed them to do this that I don’t have?
• What should I take away from their work that could improve my work?

If someone’s work moved me and made me take notice, did I tell them? Take the time to encourage others. We all need it.

While asking if a person has advantages that I do not, I am using this question to set up one for myself. What can I do that others don’t have the same opportunity?

If you are a professional communicator or want to become one, all this self-improvement can be excellent, but one last thing must be central for you to grow.

Everything you are doing is actually so that you disappear. To be the very best communicator is when people are so moved by the work emotions take them over. They are connecting with the story of the subject.

The best question to be asking yourself is, “How can I do a better job of telling the subjects story more effectively.”

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Many people fall into positional bias, comparing “up” more often than “down” relative to their standing.

My goal with the FOCUS group has been to lift others and not to lift myself. “Paying it forward” requires us to realize how blessed we are with all the gifts that God has given us and celebrate those gifts in others.

… “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”

John 3: 27 – 30