Here is a clue to your photos having more impact. Find a perspective that the audience rarely will see or has access to.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 400, ƒ/4, 1/100
How often does the audience ever get to see the coin used in the coin toss to start the football game? It is even rare for them to see the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl coin.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 450, ƒ/4, 1/100
You are probably curious about what is on the other side once you see the coin.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 9000, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
Using long glass like this 600mm ƒ/5.6 allows you to help isolate the flute player in the pregame show. Even if you were at the game, you most likely never will see this except if the television captures it and puts it on the jumbotron.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1000
I had to share this photo because that is a former player for East Carolina University Pirates, Jeff Blake, and the famous coach Lou Holtz who were both honored as inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame. My alma mater is ECU.
Now many of the other photos I shot from a kneeling position in the end zone. Here are some for you to see.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1000
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1600
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1250
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1000
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1250
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
These are all from a perspective that, even in the stands, you cannot get to see. So even those in the stands would want to see these later, giving these photos more value.
Now, remember those first two photos in this post. What if I shot the same lens from a different perspective?
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1250
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1600
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1000
You might have seen this perspective if you were at the game and had binoculars. You might have seen this perspective if you were at home watching the game on TV. But many online galleries forget to show this perspective.
Tip
Look for a different perspective and then look for another one, and so on until you have a more well-rounded coverage of the event.
I shoot wide open with the Micro‑Nikkor Macro 60mm f/2.8 D lens. Since I am as close as the lens will let me focus, which gives me a 1:1 ratio, the ƒ-number gets more extensive due to the lens extending and getting further from the sensor.
Notice how much Charlie Brown’s sister Sally is out of focus at ƒ/4.8 vs. ƒ/1.4 in the two photos. The depth-of-field is even more shallow in the closer photo. How close you are to the subject has as much impact on depth-of-field as your aperture.
Now just to let you see how your distance impacts the depth-of-field here, I just backed up a hair in the lower photo of the ornament with the Micro‑Nikkor Macro 60mm f/2.8 D.
Since I backed up, the aperture opened up a little, so you would think the depth-of-field would shrink, but the opposite happened. Again this is due to the distance to the subject.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 12800, ƒ/4, 1/160
Last night we decided to drive around our community to see the Christmas light decorations.
The Nikon D750’s Highlight-weighted metering mode nailed the exposures. I didn’t have to adjust the EV [Exposure Value].
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 12800, ƒ/4.5, 1/80
I shot everything in RAW and then opened them in Lightroom. Minor adjustments were done more for the look and feel than exposure adjustments.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 12800, ƒ/4.5, 1/80
Now, if you shoot these scenes with most cameras that don’t have the Highlight-weighted metering mode, you will have to dial down the EV, or you will not have any details in the highlights. You could have shot them in RAW and still not had recoverable details in those highlights.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 12800, ƒ/4.5, 1/125
A bonus last night was seeing the Coca-Cola Santa Claus. My grandmother had one of these on the front porch every year that we went home for the holidays.
Certain types of lights helped trigger good memories for me as we drove around. Lucky for me, the Nikon D750 let me enjoy and have memories rather than spending all my time trying to get the correct exposure.
I hope all the new Nikon cameras will continue to have the Highlight-weighted metering mode in the future.
Nikon D750, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/200
The backlight also called a rim, hair, or shoulder light, shines on the subject from behind, often to one side or the other. It gives the subject a rim of light, separating the subject from the background and highlighting contours.
Not having this light, you can see the difference here in this second photo, where the lighting crew forgot to turn on the backlight.
Nikon D750, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 4500, ƒ/2.8, 1/80
In one of my master’s classes I took at the Maine Photography Workshop; the instructor always started first with their backlight to create the separation in all his photos. This technique was crucial when he had mixed lighting.
Nikon D750, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 10000, ƒ/5.6, 1/250
While in theater, you can see it because often there is a black background; using a backlight helps create depth in your photos. In addition, it helps make those layers from front to back in photographs.
Nikon D750, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM, ISO 360, ƒ/2.8, 1/80
In theater and most photography, a 3 – point lighting setup is relatively standard.
The backlight can be on the side or directly behind the subject. It is different from a kicker light that catches the sides of the face, for example, in a photo.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/8, 1/60 – 2 Alienbees B1600s for main light
The sun is the backlight in this photo. The Alienbees studio strobes are the primary or critical light to the camera’s right. The open sky is the fill light.
If you want to create depth, layers, and separation of your subjects from the background, then be sure and use a backlight.
I suggest that is the first light you consider adding to any scene.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 1600, ƒ/4, 1/80, 0 EV
You might get more out of your camera if you read the manual. But unfortunately, I didn’t read everything in the manual about my Nikon D750 and only stumbled across the tip about the Highlight-Weighted Metering Mode.
Highlight-weighted metering is a new metering mode that is offered in select Nikon DSLR cameras including the D810 and D750, in which the camera meters the highlights to ensure that they are properly exposed and not blown out or overexposed. Use highlight-weighted metering to meter highlights when your subject is in motion, and to meter subjects lit by spotlights or colored lighting.
Highlight-weighted metering is the go-to choice when you’re photographing a spot lit bride in her wedding dress, a dancer or singer on stage, or whenever you’re faced with uneven lighting and a background that is much darker than the subject.
To select highlight-weighted metering, press the metering button on the far left dial on the camera body, and while holding it down, rotate the main command dial until the highlight weighted metering icon is displayed.
Before I used this mode, I often used spot metering, which required me to use a single square that I moved around until it was on the actor’s face. Very hard to do when they are moving around the scene.
The other way, I compensated by using the EV in the matrix metering mode.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 11400, ƒ/4, 1/250, -2.7 EV
So this same play with similar lighting, I compensated by -2.7 EV to do what is automatically done with the Highlight-Weighted Metering Mode.
Nikon D750, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM, ISO 1600, ƒ/2.8, 1/80, -0.7 EV
I noticed a little white face on the LCD for this scene that I shot using the Highlight-Weighted Metering Mode and dialed a -0.7 EV, which I probably didn’t need to do. There was enough detail without having to underexpose it more.
Nikon D750, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 9000, ƒ/5.6, 1/250, -3.0 EV
Earlier performance, I shot it with -3.0 EV.
Custom White Balance and proper exposure are essential to shooting theater and having excellent technical images. However, getting the exposure in the highlights proper is extremely difficult when often majority of the frame is usually black in theater productions.
You want the exposure to have some details in the highlights. If you underexpose just a little too much, then the image becomes very flat, and even in post-production, you will struggle to match the dynamic range had you exposed it perfectly.
If you slightly overexpose, you cannot put detail back into the image. With theater, this often means over-exposure will wash out the people’s faces.
I think Nikon is the way to go when shooting these tricky situations like theater. The camera does all the thinking I used to do to get technically sound images.
I just created this setup to show how putting lights in front of these nutcrackers and using the Christmas tree in the background gives a great use of perspective.
Nikon D750, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM, ISO 2500, ƒ/2.8, 1/80
I think I liked the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM shot at 200mm the best.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 4000, ƒ/4, 1/80
I was at an event lately, and another photographer noticed my lens. The first thing he asked was how the BOKEH was on that lens.
I just wanted to see the BOKEH on three of my lenses. I am showing you the 1) Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 DG Art, 2) Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, and 3) Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens to compare the BOKEH.
Click on the image to see a bigger
So this is the closest I could focus the Sigma 35mm, and then I just shot it at each aperture so you could see what the BOKEH looks like at each aperture setting.
Nikon D750, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 100, ƒ/1.8, 1/400
This is the Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G lens, and as you can see, I cannot get as close to the pocket watch as I could with the Sigma 35mm. This is very important in how an object looks with a lens. If your subject is tiny and you are trying to fill the frame, you can see that some lenses with great BOKEH create a problem because now you must crop the image to load the frame with the subject.
Look at how the aperture affects the BOKEH with the Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G lens.
Click on the image to see it larger.
You can already tell you are getting less width of the background than the 35mm.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, @24mm, ISO 100, ƒ/4, 1/200
I am focusing on the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens as closely as possible. I am shooting a wide-open aperture of ƒ/4. The shallow depth-of-field isn’t there like with the 35mm or 85mm prime lenses.
Click on the image to see the larger
The aperture does not have a massive difference since starting 4 ƒ-stops less than with an ƒ/1.4 lens.
Another thing is the closest focusing distance with the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens is 17.7″.
Closest Focusing Distance for the lenses
11.81″ – Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 DG Art
17.70″ – Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens
2.62′ – Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G
The 85mm is measured in feet versus inches with the other lenses. However, when you are shooting primarily headshots, that is a reasonable distance.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, @105mm, ISO 100, ƒ/4, 1/100
Now, when you take the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens and zoom to 105mm at the closest focusing distance, you fill the frame more with the subject and get a lovely BOKEH at ƒ/4.
Click on the image to see it larger
Conclusion
Know your lens. You should know what look your lens will give you with a subject at a certain distance and aperture before you shoot a job because you have taken the time to do something similar to what I have done here. I now have a baseline from which I have a pretty good idea of the look these three lenses give me at their closest focus distance with a subject.
The question is simple. Do you know what your lenses will give you before your next job?
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 900, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
The weather in Richmond for the football game was between 48º and 57º F and sunny, which was great fall football weather.
This was the 125th meeting between the University of Richmond and William and Mary making this the oldest football rivalry in the South.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 750, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
The sun was so bright that on this pass play the receiver was looking straight into the sun and therefore missed this well thrown pass.
Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/8, 1/125
While I wanted to surely capture some action shots of the historic game I also realized that photos like this with former Spiders Coach Dal Shealy with some former players and staff was just as important to commemorate the day.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 220, ƒ/2.8, 1/2000
Richmond’s #1 Jacobi Green leaps over his offensive lineman during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against William & Mary, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015 in Richmond, Va. Jacobi Green ran for 217 yards on 36 carries with a touchdown to help lead Richmond to a 20-9 win over William & Mary on Saturday, clinching a share of the Colonial Athletic Association title in the process.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 250, ƒ/2.8, 1/2000
Jacobi Green’s third quarter touchdown gives him 15 rushing touchdowns on the season, which rank atop the CAA. Green stands alone in third on the single-season rushing touchdown list.
Equipment I flew to Richmond to use for the game.
2 Nikon D4 Camera Bodies
1 Nikon D750
Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S
Sigma TC-2001 2x
Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens
I did take more gear that is always in my Thinktank Airport Security™ V2.0 rolling camera bag, but this is what I took onto the field throughout the game. 95% of the time I just shot with Nikon D4 and the Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S and the Sigma TC-2001 2x which gave me a 240-600mm lens.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 1000, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
I kept the 2X converter on most of the time until the team would get past the 20 yard line and then I would take it off and shoot with the 120-300mm range.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 450, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
I was always facing the Richmond Spiders. Either I was covering their offense or defense where I could see their faces most of the time.
This way when they had those break away plays like this one of Jacobi Green I could capture it.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 360, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
By covering the game from the endzone I was able to capture the defensive play of the game where in the fourth quarter defensive back David Herlocker makes on interception. He returns it all the way back to the Richmond 30.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 360, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
Remember when covering sporting events they are much more than just the game action.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 640, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
Capture all you can from the sidelines to the stands.
Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 1000, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000
I even was able to catch a photo of Sports Illustrated’s rates top 15 college athletes of all time Brian Jordan.
So keep your eyes and ears open and you never know all you can capture. Just remember there is more than just the action during the play taking place at a college football game–especially one with a tradition of 125 years.
Getting this photo of Truett Cathy at the Original Dwarf House in Hapeville, GA wasn’t as simple as just pulling out the camera and shooting it at ƒ/1.4. Here is what you get if you do that alone.
I put two Alienbees B1600s on light stands. I used the Vagabond Mini™ Lithium to power each light. To trigger the lights I am using the Pocketwizard Mini TT1 with the AC3 on the camera and using the TT5 with AC9 on the flashes. This lets me shoot using Optimized High Speed Sync.
I would not been able to shoot with the flashes at ƒ/1.4 with flash that limits me to the sync speed of 1/200 due to the limits of the D750 and most flashes. I was already at ISO 50 which is as low as the camera will go.
I put a CTO gel on one of the Alienbees Strobes and position this a little behind the statue so I would make it look like the sun lighting the scene. Then I put the other strobe straight on acting as a fill light.
I just turned the power up and down on each flash using the Pocketwizard AC3 to control the flashes. This meant I could just take a photo and look at the back LCD and then make changes, rather than having to walk over and dial the power up and down on the back of the Alienbees B1600 flashes.
Former Mayor Shirley Franklin is the keynote speaker at the Islamic Speakers Bureau “Building Bridges Awards Dinner” a the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta on Saturday, November 14, 2015. [Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 2800, ƒ/5.6, 1/100]
I wrote this as a post on a forum for predominate journalists who are being laid off and having to find a new job. I just thought after writing this, it would make for a good blog post here.
Finding one purpose in life is figuring out your Plan for Life. For those of us growing up where our parents could follow a well-worn path of those before them that others clearly understood, you are thinking more about things as a Plan B episode.
However, if you grew up with your parents’ lives coming apart due to layoffs and job losses, you are not looking at those ruts in the road for a path to success. You are the generation that is not bound by the golden handcuffs of corporations that kept their promises, which kept you employed and taken care of like generations past.
You are the generation that understood that you were called to a profession, not an industry. Your age is not looking to be committed to a corporation but rather to the profession’s ideals. For example, you may pursue being a nurse rather than working at a local hospital.
Journalists are one of the professions that have followed what other industries like textiles, car manufacturing, and other trades went through in the 1970s and 1980s when factories shut down, and those jobs disappeared.
Many of those trades were very specific, and with some training, these people who were gifted in problem-solving found their core gifts and then learned how to apply them in a different industry.
I believe storytelling is at an all-time high and growing by leaps and bounds. Storytelling is the core skill of a journalist.
For many journalists, their “Plan A” was to be employed as a journalist, which meant being part of the journalism profession.
If you can examine those core gifts and discover you are a storyteller, then there are many industries where you can serve and offer your talent.
Here are some storytelling things I am doing for places other than my roots in photojournalism at a newspaper.
I am doing a series of “Getting to know you …” multimedia packages where we interview an employee of a company, and in 2 to 3 minutes, we capture what they do for the company and what is unique to them—a great example of all those feature packages I did for newspapers.
I have covered many natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy, Moore, Oklahoma, and Joplin Tornadoes for a company that goes to those communities and volunteers to help them rebuild. Very similar to those breaking news events I did in my newspaper days.
I have also covered multiple hurricanes and tornado destruction for nonprofits responding to disasters.
I have been covering sporting events for corporations for many years, just as I would have done for wire services and newspapers.
“Now, where do I find these nonprofits and corporations that will hire me?” is the question I am often asked.
Former President Jimmy Carter taught Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, GA, on August 23, 2015. Many are like Carter in that they needed to have a job for the ability to do their next job then. Many say Carter used the job as President of the United States as a stepping stone to more incredible things. [Nikon D750, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 7200, ƒ/5.6, 1/500]
The answer to this question is most likely your “Plan B” that you will need to pursue. If you are coming from working as a journalist, then you need to put on your investigative hat. This is where you are ASKING QUESTIONS. You are not TELLING PEOPLE WHAT YOU DO, AND PLEASE HIRE ME.
The most significant fault I see in many journalists is their tendency to think of their work as MY STORY. It never was your story. You just helped someone else tell THEIR story better than they could.
Ask questions about what a company is doing or what a nonprofit does. Ask them how they get their funds to run and who their audience is. What problems are they solving for our communities?
Then don’t ask them as much as ask yourself, “What can I do with storytelling to help them connect their solutions with their audience?”
Do the best journalists’ question for almost any organization you are used to asking is WHY?
Your Plan B should have been your Plan A, which is your ability to ask those questions and uncover the truth. You are a storyteller that continues to shape our communities. You will do it through another industry. Once you understand that your skills are still needed, but the problem has been that you focus too much on an industry rather than your core profession, you will start to see the possibilities around you.
The answer to Plan B is your ability to ask the question WHY?
Ray is always sharp dressed and in a tie. Each time I visit through the years I catch up on Ray’s life with his family.
I used to hear about him planning trips to see his mother in Dominican Republic. Today Ray is excited about shutting down the shop over Thanksgiving and taking his family to the Georgia Aquarium. “I haven’t taken a weeks vacation in the past three years,” said Ray. “I am going to close up shop for four days and enjoy time with my family.”
I love catching up with Ray and will do so again before Christmas.
I enjoyed shooting photos of Ray with my new Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 DG Art lens. I did some research before buying it. One of the websites I went to was DXOMark.
I have learned through the years that today Camera manufacturers don’t always make the best glass in their class. DXOMark is a great place to see the research someone has already done on a lens and most likely not just the lens but on the camera body that you own.
Price is not the first thing I am looking at when buying a lens. If the price is majorly different and the quality is close I may buy the cheaper item.
When I did my research for my 85mm I found Nikon to be the best scores and the difference between the ƒ/1.4 and the ƒ/1.8 was more about $1,100 than any other aspect. So I pocketed the $1,100 and bought the Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8.
I can tell you I am loving getting really close to items and shooting wide open with the Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4.
If you fill the frame with the same subject you will end up with more background with the wide-angle. If you are trying to show silky smooth BOKEH then the wide angle lends itself more so to this style.
