Equipment

What’s are the three most important pieces of equipment for available light, performance photography? Fast glass. Fast glass. And, more fast glass.

It’s that easy. In low or changing light, it’s best to use fast glass. Both Alan and Scott try to shoot lenses no slower than F/2.8. Each carries at least one lens in the F/1.4-1.8 range. So do I.

Why? Because we face a dilemma when shooting in low light. We want to get a proper exposure without running the risk of capturing a lot of noise. Although there have been great improvements in the ability of our chips to capture data in low light while limiting the amount of noise, the general rule of thumb — the higher the ISO the more noise, generally proves true.

Here’s the challenge: the three variables that control the amount of light to reach our sensor are: ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed. Because we are shooting hand held, often with long lenses and subjects that move, most of us want to shoot higher shutter speeds; Scott and Alan often shoot at 1/250. For sports and color guard performances (where they toss flags, rifles and sabers), I often start at 1/500. These faster shutter speeds are a must.

And, to avoid noise, with even the best cameras, most people want to shoot at ISO 1600, or less (although with the newer cameras, people are getting good results at ISO 6400).

So, starting with a fast shutter speed, and constrained by the ISO, the best way to avoid noise and get more light to the sensor is with a fast lens. An aperture of F/2.8 lets four times more light reach the sensor than an aperture of F/5.6. Assume for the moment that we can get a proper exposure at 1/250, F/2.8, ISO 800. To get that same exposure using a lens at F/5.6, we would have to bump the ISO to 3200. That’s a huge difference — one that with many sensors will introduce serious noise.

Zoom lenses play an important role. I wasn’t surprised to find that Scott and Alan, both Nikon shooters as am I, carry the same lenses I take to most performance shoots, the 24-70 F/2.8,  and the 70-200 F/2.8. In addition, we usually carry a faster prime lens — I carry the 50 F/1.8 which is an incredible bargain and can be purchased for less than $150. Sometimes, to capture something different, I carry my 16mm FishEye which is also a F/2.8.

Why the zooms? Because, when we are stuck in one place and cannot move to or from our subjects we rely on the zoom lenses  to frame our images. In the studio or in a space I control, I choose where on the lens I want to be, and walk to and from my subject to frame it. That does not work during performance photography. Zooms are helpful.

But, fast zoom glass, though nice, is not essential. The best camera and lenses to use are the cameras and lenses you own. Some of my best shots were made with my Canon G11 point and shoot; in fact, it’s so good that I sometimes carry it as a back-up instead of my Nikon D2x. Want to shoot performances? Do it. Don’t let your perceived lack of equipment discourage you.

And, fortunately, there are post-production/processing work arounds for equipment imposed limitations. For example, there is some excellent noise reduction software that is quite effective; I use both Imagenomic’s Noiseware and NIK’s Dfine.

Another technique I share with Scott and Alan is to “take advantage” of noise by converting to black and white. Voila! The noise becomes “grain” and gives the image a nostalgic, old world “film look”. There are a lot of great ways to convert to black and white. My favorite is Silver Efex Pro 2.

What you carry in your bag will be defined by your style. Unlike Scott and Alan, I carry two meters, a Sekonic 758, and a Sekonic C500R Color Meter. I’ll talk about using both in a moment. The key is to travel light and self contained; everything should fit on our back or belt. Large, dark, crowded venues are not the place to leave unattended gear cases.

My favorite equipment tip from Alan? Carry ear plugs — lots of them — ear damage is an occupational risk for concert photographers. Why lots of them? Alan makes friends of his fellow photographers AND the security folks by passing them out. Hard not to like a guy who comes with “freebies”. (Actually, Alan and Scott are two of the most likeable guys I’ve met on the “photo teaching circuit”; both are self-effacing and unassuming. It’s hard not to like them and I think that goes a long way in their getting and maintaining access.)

The oddest thing I carry?  Knee pads. Often, we have to stay low, on our knees, to stay out of the spectators’ line of sight. Do that for a few hours, or in the case of a tennis tournament for several days, and you will hurt. The pads may look dorky — but it’s hard to make a fashion statement draped in camera gear, anyway.

So much for what we carry — let’s talk about how we use it.

Step 1. Location Scout — Locking In On The Lighting

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. — John Wooden

Be it in a studio or on location, we all share a common goal — to get a perfect exposure, one that captures what we are seeing with our eyes. It’s a lot easier to do in the studio where we can control all of the variables. It’s much more difficult to do on location where we cannot.

So, to close the preparation gap, when possible, I scout a location before a shoot. Be it a stadium, church, auditorium or club, I want to know as much about the lighting as I can — particularly the quantity, quality, location and color temperatures of the sources of light.

More often than not, these venues  do not create  lighting schemes for each performance. They tend to have preset lights in place that they modify in intensity and change with gels and some times diffusion. By switching lights on and off, they control which parts of the stage are lit. However, there are situations where there is no one “switching” between lights — and the lighting pattern at the start of the performance is the same pattern that exists for the entire performance. Or, the exact opposite may occur; the lights may be programmed to randomly change, in every way — intensity, quality, color and duration. In either situation, with a couple of steps a performer can move out of the light, completely, or the light can change so significantly that we must adjust our exposures or lose the shot.

My protocol is simple: I draw the location, put symbols to represent the lights — their location, type (including color temperature for white balance purposes) and intensity. I also note how the light sources are modified — be it by barn doors, gels or diffusion.

To check the quantity of the light,  I use my light meter to take a series of readings — I walk across the stage, metering every couple of feet, marking my diagram to indicate every spot in which the light either increases or decreases by a full stop; if I cannot get onto the stage, I use the spot metering function of my Sekonic L-758 to grab my readings from a distance; the “spot meter” gives me a “reflective”  as opposed to the preferred “incident” reading. (“Reflective” reads the light bouncing off the subject and is less accurate than an “incident” reading which reads the light before it hits the subject. The meters inside of our cameras take reflective readings. So, one might do a scout metering with the camera — but it is a lot more difficult to get precise, consistent readings that way.)

To assess the quality of the light, I look at the modifiers; diffusion will soften it, bare bulbs will throw hard light, the closer the light to the subject, the broader the shadow transition line. More often than not, there is little or no diffusion on the lights; and, the light placement is controlled with something like barn doors which stay constant throughout the performance.

The next thing I do is figure out the White Balance setting for the shoot. This is usually the greatest challenge. Many venues mix light sources — we find tungsten, halogen and fluorescent and daylight all in the same space. This is particularly true in churches and reception halls. There are a couple of things I do to minimize the risk of color cast.

I take a reading with my Sekonic C-500R. This is by far the best way to deal with the situation. The meter gives me a specific color temperature reading, in degrees Kelvin. I then set a “custom white balance” in my camera to that number. Perfect.

Uh, except for the great Photoshop Gotcha. We cannot assume that Photoshop recognizes the Kelvin temperature settings we use in our cameras — either those that use a preset or those that use “custom” readings. For Nikon shooters, there appears to be a discrepancy at every setting. Nikon’s “Flash” setting is 5400K. When I use Photoshop, it opens those images in the 6000K range. It’s not a big deal; I simply batch correct all of the images to 5400; but if you don’t know to do that, you will have a color cast when none should exist. (As one might expect, Nikon’s own Capture NX2 reads the files, perfectly, and opens the images to the exact Kelvin setting used.)

If I can’t get a meter reading, I try to take a reference shot using a Gray Card or an X-Rite Color Checker Passport. This gives me an accurate starting point for post production. (And, when I can’t do that, either, in post production I’ll use teeth or the whites of eyes to set the WB point.)

OK, I’m a bit anal. I over prepare which may be especially foolish because I cannot control ANY of the variables I’m researching. But, it gives me confidence and, when necessary,  helps me make informed guesses.

Stadiums and gyms add another wrinkle.

When shooting sports, outdoors, in the early fall, we usually start in daylight and then must make the transition to artificial light when the sun goes down. For a time during the transition, we are in a mixed lighting situation — and, as the light changes, we have to adjust our settings accordingly.

Indoors, I’ve been running into some odd, off the chart lights — like those I found in a new, beautiful, high school gym in Bryant, Texas. Looking up at them, one would swear that they were tungsten bulbs. But, they were not. And, that became clear when I looked at images shot in “bursts”; adjoining images had different color casts. When the camera was set at “tungsten”, none looked good. So, out came the C-500R. I got a series of readings, all around 4150K. The set my D3 to 4170 for the shoot, which was the closest I could come. And, I shot bursts — figuring that some in each sequence would be right. It proved to be a good move. When I got home, I did some research on 4150K and found out that the lights were Xenon Arc’s — and that they “cycled” between two adjacent color temperatures at a very fast rate. With my custom setting, in post-production my starting point was close enough to make all of the images useful. Bottom Line: We cannot assume things are what they appear to be; there are all kinds of new, “green” lights out there and we’ll have to learn how to master them.

A. Virtual Scouting — We don’t always have the time or opportunity to do on site location research. Fortunately, there are great Internet resources to allow us to scout with our computers. One of my favorite online communities — The Texas Photo Forum — has a section in which lists gyms and playing fields and photographers set forth the type of lighting and conditions one can expect on a shoot. I’m sure similar resources exist elsewhere.

B. Thou Shalt Honor the Lighting Director’s Artistic Vision — In his Kelby Training session, Scott Diussa makes a very important point: Our job is to work to maximize the impact of the lighting director’s artistic vision. Our job is not to overpower or neutralize it. If the lighting scheme calls for a purple cast, our job is to get an exposure that best reflects that purple cast. Our job is not to neutralize it or replace it with a choice of our own — which we can easily do with camera settings or post-production.

(To me, it’s like a client taking one of my images into Photoshop and changing it. That may not bother some people, but it bothers me. That’s why I don’t “sell” my images, I “license” them; and, my licensing agreement makes clear that my images are not to be altered, in any way, without my written permission.)

At the end of the day, we are trying to get a perfect exposure. I find that I do a better job when I am well prepared, and scouting is a part of that preparation.

Winter Guard Concert: PrairieFire Productions, Inc. © 2010

Perhaps, the most difficult venue I’ve photographed was the stage upon which Jenny’s Winter Guard gave its annual performance. There just was not enough light. And, what light existed lit only very few small portions of the stage. This was one of those times where a performer would go from light to dark in a couple of steps. To make matters worse, group shots were almost impossible because some of the group members were in the black hole while others were lit. Why was it like this? Because the lighting was set to maximize the performance, not my photography. The performers were tossing things into the air; they had to look up to catch them and did not want to be blinded by the lights. To the audience, it looked great. And, that’s what mattered. Me? I got enough shots to fill in their yearbook.

Some times, that’s the best we can do.

Step 2. Camera Settings

A. Shoot RAW

This seems to be a universal practice amongst all sports and performance shooters. RAW gives us the ability to use post-production to overcome the limitations discussed above.

B. Exposure Mode

There are many people who choose to shoot in one of the Priority Modes — Shutter Priority or Aperture Priority. By doing so, they use the computing power in the camera to try to get a perfect exposure.

In low light situations, in an attempt to maximize the light to the sensor, many shoot in Aperture Priority mode; they set the camera to the greatest aperture the lens affords and tell it “Never stray. Stay here, no matter what”. And, the camera will. The risk in this setting? To get a shot in very low light, the camera will have to go to a very slow shutter speed — one that cannot be successfully hand held — thereby resulting in movement and out of focus shots.

Scott, Alan and I shoot in Manual Mode. We choose our shutter speed and aperture; they remain constant until we change them; the responsibility is ours, not the camera’s.

Our starting settings are discussed above. Scott and Alan are so good at doing this that they can get their initial settings by instinct and experience. They will look at the situation, tweak the shutter and aperture settings, shoot a frame or two, and then tweak again to optimize the exposure.

I’m not that good. I start with a meter reading from my diagram.

In manual mode, when the lighting changes — either because a performer moves to a darker or brighter spot, or because the lights themselves change —  we have to start twisting dials. To maintain proper exposure, we change either the shutter, the aperture, or both. With experienced shooters like Alan and Scott, this is fluid and seamless. It’s more difficult for me; I’m embarrassed to say that in the heat of the moment I’ve moved the wrong dial, or the right dial in the wrong direction; I am haunted by a series of flag performance images of Jenny, shot during a half time performance, that were so underexposed as to be unsalvageable, because I moved the aperture dial in the wrong direction.

There are a couple of “cheats” that help those of us who shoot in Manual Mode but are at risk of making mistakes.

First, even though we are in control of the camera, the internal meter continues to function. We can glance at it to make sure our settings are not too far off. To use it effectively, I set the camera to the “spot metering mode”; if I want to take a quick reading make sure to meter the face of the performer.

And, second, my favorite “cheat” — setting the camera to use manual settings while activating Auto ISO. As we’ve discussed, there are three variables we can use to get a perfect exposure — Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO. Most of the time, while shooting in manual, the ISO remains constant. We usually choose a value that gives us the greatest sensitivity while minimizing the risk of noise. Alan and Scott start with a very safe ISO in the 1600-2000 range.  I do, too.

However, in situations where I’ve not scouted, or in situations when I know that the light intensity will vary beyond a range I can control with shutter and aperture adjustments, I’ll use Auto ISO. In essence, I tell the camera to internally adjust the ISO to get a proper exposure using my selected shutter and aperture settings. In some ways, this is a “priority mode”; the camera can take some control away from me. But, I see it as an Negative Priority Mode. I’m telling the camera, “I don’t care about ISO, do what you want, but leave my shutter and aperture alone.” In the Nikon, I can limit the camera’s discretion. I can tell it that it cannot adjust ISO above a chosen setting — for me usually 6400.

Using Auto ISO has risks. One must be diligent because, like pure manual mode, we have set limits and unless we adjust them, when exceeded, we will not get proper exposures. And, if we set the ISO range too high, we will be be capturing noise. But, I don’t worry about noise. My noise reduction software takes care of it.

C. White Balance

Although most shooters, like Alan, use Auto White Balance, I do not. I prefer to use a Custom setting, as discussed above; if I cannot get a custom reading, I use the Programmed setting that most closely matches the source; most often, that is a “tungsten” setting. In the newer cameras, Auto White Balance does a very good job. However, I do not use it because one of my favorite instructors, Jim DiVitale, taught me that it is easier and more effective to correct the white balance of a batch of images all shot at the same color temperature than it is to run a batch process when all of the images have been shot in Auto — at different temperatures. Auto works and it’s easy. I’m stubborn. I never use Auto.

D. Continuous Servo Auto Focus Mode — Spot or Dynamic

There is a lot of movement in performance photography. Our subjects rarely stand still. Therefore, most of us use the Continuous focus mode. Once we initiate the focus mechanism (either with the shutter button or a programmable button on the camera), when the subject moves, the camera follows it and tries to keep it in focus.

Depending on the amount of movement, we have to decide how big an area we want the camera to read in establishing focus. We can use a Spot, or a Dynamic area. If the subject is somewhat still, or does not move too erratically or far, spot works well. If there will be greater movement, we can use more focus points in what Nikon calls a “Dynamic Area”.  Autofocus on modern cameras works so well that I don’t think the choice between spot or dynamic is critical in what we do.

E. Continuous Release Mode — Shooting Bursts

When I first started shooting sports, I had a film camera without an auto advance mechanism. I learned to shoot a camera the same way I learned to shoot a gun. One shot at a time. Aiming carefully, taking a deep breath, becoming still and at one with my tool of choice — making each shot count.

When I switched to my first digital camera, I retained my one-at-a-time shooting style. What a dolt. The failure to take advantage of the ability to shoot bursts, when appropriate, was just plain dumb. (And, a bit arrogant. I used to look down my nose at photographers who, at sporting events, were shooting bursts with so many frames that I thought they were shooting movies. My thought: if you can’t get it in frame with one frame, you don’t belong here. Arrogant. And, very wrong.)

Shooting bursts allows us to capture the nuance and subtlety that are the essence of an artistic performance. Things change in portions of a second and burst let us capture them.

For sports and color guard, I set my camera to shoot what Nikon calls “Continuous High Speed” (Ch on the dial) at 9 frames per second.

However, just because I can shoot 9fps, does not mean I use them all. I’m at my best when I use my film camera/gun training and use the trigger sparingly and carefully.

Final Thought: The most important thing to take on a performance shoot?

The answer is simple: Reasonable Expectations.

With so many variables beyond our control, it is unreasonable to expect that all or most of our frames will be keepers. They won’t be. And, we should not feel bad because of that.

The truth is that most of the great photographers I know throw a lot of images away. We see their work in magazines or winning contests and we assume that all of their images always turn out right. They don’t.

The key is to continually push ourselves to learn and get better — to increase our ratio of “keepers”. And, to never let unreal expectations take the fun out of what we do.

Thriller (©PrairieFire Productions, Inc. 2009)

This image was shot under some terrible conditions — strong backlight and movement made finding a shooting angle difficult. But, it is the strong backlight that makes the image.Images on either side of this one were not useable. But, this one was and, on that night, that was good enough for me.

But Wait! There’s More!

Kelby Media Group has graciously given me permission to incorporate a portion of one of the segments from  Alan and Scott’s Concert Photography course. I chose this sample because it represents a few of the things that make these guys such great teachers: (1) they are practical and to the point; (2) their images rock; and (3) they are really nice guys. I’ve watched these lessons a few times and have learned quite a bit from them. This is copyrighted material, to be used for personal use and not to be distributed in any way.

Note: Depending on the speed of your computer connection to the ‘net, you may want to allow a moment for the video to load before playing it; with slower connections, it will stop and “buffer” while streaming, only  to start up again; I find this very frustrating and prefer to wait until I can see that at least a third has loaded before I Double Click the arrow button.

Thanks, Kelby Media for allowing me to show this.

Note: My screen shots are captured in IShowU HD Pro. I tried several programs that capture screen action and found that this was both easy to use and offered  more bang for the buck. Although I have a YouTube channel, I don’t publish most of my  videos. I make a lot of them to capture “odd” things I’m doing in post production  so that if I later, if have a grey moment and can’t recall how I did something, I have a video that shows me each step. I’ll do a full review of iShowU, and explain more about why I got it, in an upcoming post.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2011)

But, from my friends and readers, I’m hearing that the most frustrating task they’re facing is creating and maintaining a powerful and productive web presence. At a time when many think a professional looking website is an essential component of a photographer’s business model, I know people who are spending more time on their sites than on their photography.

I empathize with them.

It took me three tries, and a lot of time and turmoil to get it right.

I created my first site in iWeb; it was easy, and looked OK — but it lacked the functionality and depth most professional photographers would find essential.

My second site was created in Dreamweaver by a graphic artist friend; it was beautiful, and powerful — but so complex and difficult that I could not make even the  simplest changes to it without invoking his help.

I needed something that I could master and control without spending more time on the site than on my photography and writing.

So, I put in a call to web developer, Nina Sossen, who turned me onto WordPress — and I’ve never looked back. Nina gave me a turn key site — one  that I can maintain and control on my own. She did the initial custom design work and set up, and I’ve done most everything else since then. Could I have done this site without her? No. This is a custom site.  Nina designed and implemented the “look and feel” of this site; she’s the reason this site looks the way it does.

R. C. Concepcion — The WebSite Novice’s New BFF

I’ve had this WordPress site for almost two years.

During that time, more and more photographers have been moving over to the platform. Unlike me, most of them choose a layout that is more of a “gallery”. Same platform. Different looks.

Many have made that move on their own with the help of one of my favorite teachers and WordPress evangelists — R. C. Concepcion. R. C.  has dedicated a great portion of his energy to researching the platform, pushing its boundaries to meet the needs of photographers, and developing a body of teaching materials that make the creation and maintenance of photography websites easy for most of us. For this, we owe R.C. a hardy “Thank You!”

You can find R. C.’s lessons on Kelby Training and/or on his DVD sets.

But, perhaps, the most useful tool for those of us who want to sit down and put our own sites up is his recent book: Get Your Photography On The Web: The Fastest, Easiest Way to Show & Sell Your Work (Peachpit Press ©2011) .

This is the fail-safe, step-by-step, skip nothing, follow these instructions and you will get it right, way to create, maintain, and expand a website. I wish it had been written years ago; it would have saved me a lot of struggle.

The book works for the following reasons:

First, it assumes that we know NOTHING. It takes tiny steps, which may be a bit frustrating for those of us who are not used to doing anything slowly. But, it is exactly this slow pace and attention to detail that protect us from the anxiety of sailing in the uncharted waters of website creation. Follow R. C. and you will not skip a step. Follow R. C. and you will understand how your site is put together. Follow R. C., and you will end up with a site you can use and control.

Second, R. C. eliminates the agony and indecision that often flow when we really don’t know enough to choose between too many “appealing options”. For example, one of  the first things we have to do is choose a domain hosting company. Should we choose FatCow, GoDaddy, bluehost, Hostmonster, or …. ? And, why? And, each host has a ton of different hosting plans and options. Without R. C., we could spend a week doing research so as to make informed choices.

If we are not careful, we will get hung up on these initial steps and NEVER get down to the business of putting our sites up.

R. C. understands the frustration that is the byproduct of too many good choices — what psychologists call “Approach:Approach conflicts”. And, in one fell swoop, he eliminates them. Like the infamous Soup Nazi, R. C. makes the decisions for us. Every time there is a choice to be made, he tells us something to the effect: “There are a lot of different ways of doing this. I’ve made the choice for you. And, here’s how to implement it.” Can we go our own ways? Of course. After all, this is America, the land of the free. However, R. C.’s choices are good choices and I strongly suggest that we all follow them UNTIL we have our sites up and running. At that point, we can always make changes and adjustments.

It seems that when making a choice amongst the potential options, R. C. has picked those that are “free” over those that are not. For example, when picking an “FTP client” (the program we use to move stuff to and from our sites) R. C. recommends FileZilla — because it does not cost a penny. He then shows us how to download and use it. (I have been using a different FTP Client — Cyberduck — for years; however, were I just starting out, I would honor R. C.’s choice. Doing so flattens the learning curve and speeds the plow.)

And, finally, the book works because R. C. followed the mandate of his good friend Scott Kelby — the book is practical, not theoretical. It is more about “how” than “why”. This is the book for those of us who just want a site and don’t need to fully understand all of the computer stuff that runs behind the scenes.

Why WordPress?

1. It’s Free!

Yes. Free. WordPress is what’s known as an “open source” tool, designed and supported by a community dedicated to creating a simple, yet powerful, platform for anyone who wants to make and maintain a website. There is no software to buy or load on our computers. WordPress resides on the servers of our domain hosts (which offers a lot of advantages not the least of which is that we can work on our sites from any computer including our iPhones and iPads), no matter where we are; if we can log onto our site, we can work on it.

And, it’s not just the platform that is free. At WordPress.com, you can get free hosting — albeit for a very limited site that probably would not meet most of our needs.

2. It’s Flexible

Originally developed as a blogging platform, WordPress has morphed into something much more powerful. In the words of my site developer, it is now a “Content Management System” — capable of managing and integrating all types of content, be it written pages, posts, images, sounds and videos.

What this means to photographers is that it can be anything from a pure “gallery” to a site that contains our images, writings, calendars, marketing materials, and more.

The importance of the flexibility cannot be understated. Many photographers are finding that in order to sell themselves and their work they cannot rely on a “pure gallery” — that they have to have something more so that their potential clients can get a sense of who they are and how they approach their work. At the end of the day, we often sell the “experience” of working with us more than the product. And, for a website to sell the experience, we have to have a way to interject our personalities onto it. Usually, that is done with some writing — the kind of stuff that once was called blogging but that has grown beyond “I had a burger for lunch, today” to something that is more focused on our work and how we approach it.

My site takes a different path — I’m far more interested in writing and teaching than I am in displaying my photography. WordPress has allowed me to write, show pictures, and incorporate video — easily and seamlessly.

One of the things I like most about R. C.’s book is that he includes 10 Case Studies telling the story of how a diverse group of photographers are using blogging platforms. Included are some of my favorite sites, those of: Joe McNally, David Hobby, and Scott Kelby.

To see how easily one can incorporate a dedicated “gallery” on a site built on a blogging platform, hit the “PORTFOLIO”  button on the left of Scott’s site. It will take you here. What we are seeing is a Flash portfolio linked to a WordPress site with a plugin; it takes a bit of work to set up but, once more, R. C. takes us through it, step by step — see Chapter 9 Creating a Flash-Based Portfolio. (As R. C. points out, one thing to note about Flash based portfolios — they cannot be seen on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod, all of which are becoming common ways to distribute and display our work.)

The flexibility comes, in great part, from “Plugins” — little engines that modify or enable WordPress to do many things. Created by a world wide community of developers, the choices are almost infinite. Many of these plugins are free; some are “shareware” — try it and if you like it, send a donation.

Want to add a function to your site? You can search from within the WordPress platform, find the plugins that do what you want, see the reviews of each option, and install it — without ever leaving what is known as your “Dashboard” or the place where you write and administer your site.

Here’s  what my Plugin management section looks like:

[Note: You can click on the image to enlarge it in most browsers.]

In the book, R. C. sorts through some of the plugin options, tells us which ones to use to accomplish specific goals, and then takes us through the process of loading them and putting them to work. Do I use only those things he’s vetted? No. But, they are a great place to start. With experience comes the confidence to experiment and find alternatives.

Before WordPress, I would not have dared to step off the path so as to modify my site. And, had I done so, I would surely have been lost. Now, I feel like I really “own” this site and I continually change it to meet the challenges I face in trying to keep my work current and interesting.

3. It’s Easy to Learn and Fast to Use

If you can work with a word processor, you can work in WordPress.

The best thing about WordPress is that you don’t have to know any HTML or web programming protocols.  In the “Visual” mode, WordPress does all of that for you, behind the scenes. With the push of one button we can go into the “HTML” mode — which sometimes one must do  to use some very advanced features and techniques; but, for most of us, working in WordPress will be not much different than working in Word or Pages. (In fact, there is a function that will allow us to write in Word and then paste the text into WordPress, where the text is instantly converted to web format behind the scenes; I don’t use Word anymore, I write in Pages, so I’ve not tested this feature. I’d probably not use it, anyway, because I find that the WordPress interface, supplemented by a few plugins, does all I need done.

When I add content to my site , I work in a window like this:

Looks a lot like a word processor, doesn’t it?

Inserting images is easy — one never needs to leave WordPress. Take a look at the “Upload/Insert” set of buttons right above the tool bar. By pushing the first one to the right, the one that looks like a picture frame, I open a window that will allow me to search my computer for the image, select it, import it to my site and store it in my WordPress Media Library.

Got it the way you want it? Push the “Insert into Post” and it appears. This works for one image or a bunch. It’s that easy. You can line them up like a gallery or place them in text The images can be set up to enlarge when clicked upon or set to run in a slide show. It’s all a matter of plugins. And, it’s all easy.

Not everything in WordPress is “push-a-button” easy, but most things are. For example, if you want to insert a video, like a diary of a shoot, or a sample of the video you shoot for clients — it’s very easy if you first publish it somewhere like YouTube or Vimeo. Most of the video’s I make that I use on this site are hosted on my YouTube channel, Studio 162. Embedding them, with a control window, is a simple matter of pushing the appropriate button on the tool bar OR simply including the channel URL in the flow of text one is writing.

However, there are some videos — created by others like Kelby Training — that should not be posted on our own channels because the copyright owners do not want us to do so. In those rare cases, it’s a bit harder to embed the video and a player. If you find yourself in that situation, send me an email and I’ll send you a set of instructions on how to do it.

The Bottom Line: Why WordPress — because it is easy and flexible.

The Bottom Line: Why R. C.’s Book?

Because it is the easiest and fastest way to learn to both put up, expand and maintain a WordPress site.

R. C. doesn’t stop with teaching us how to put up a site — he teaches us a lot more. For example, he spends a good bit of time making sure we know how to make our images look good online. What’s good for print is not always good for the web. There are major differences on how we should prepare our images — from color space to sharpening and sizing — we cannot use our print output settings.

And, R. C. makes sure we know how some of the little tips and techniques to do the little tweaks — like putting the right amount of space around our images — that take a site from ordinary to special.

Finally, at a time when many photographers are trying to master the use of “social media” sites, R. C. gives a chapter of instructions on Facebook, Twitter and affiliate relationships.

If you’ve  been struggling with creating a web presence, you might want to give R. C.’s book a try.

But Wait! There’s More!

With the kind permission of Kelby Training, which is generously allowing me to share this copyrighted video, here’s a portion of one of R. C.’s Kelby lessons in which he shows how easy it is to “enable” WordPress on a website. The lesson assumes that we’ve purchased a domain name and hosting plan — both of which are covered, in detail, in a previous lesson. So, here’s how to set up the WordPress platform:

[Note: To start the video, double click on the arrow. Depending on your Internet connection, it may take a minute to load.]

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2011)

Theme from Mission Impossible playing in the background. Cut to a pair of hands taking a cassette tape out of an envelope and placing it in a tape deck. (For those of you too young to remember  what a cassette tape is, it was the predecessor of the CD and DVD). Bring down the music and cut to reveal that we are in a photography studio. We see the photographer push the playback button. As the wheels on the cassette turn, we hear:

“Good morning, Photographer. Imagine a situation where you cannot control the placement, amount or intensity of the light, where you cannot add to or modify what is there. Imagine mixed light sources that are constantly changing colors — a white balance and capture nightmare. Imagine a very limited space from which to shoot — in a place so crowded you cannot move. And, imagine subjects that are moving quickly in a very dynamic situation; what you want to capture will happen once, and then, in a moment, it will be gone; there will be no retakes or do overs; get it right or go home. Imagine rigorous time limits enforced by troops known as Security. And, finally, imagine the ultimate restriction — do not interfere, in any way, with what is going on around you, or block anyone’s view or enjoyment of the proceedings.”

Cut Away to Tight Shot of Tape Recorder

“Your mission, Photographer, should you decide to accept it — is to capture a performance. As always, should you or any of your crew fail, you will be up S. Creek without a paddle. Good luck. This tape will self destruct in ten seconds.”

Cut Away to a Shot of the Tape Recorder Going Up in Smoke

Performance Photography — The Common Challenges

A while back, I set out to learn about “concert photography” — that magic blend of passion and energy that explodes when band meets photographer. I took some classes at Photoshop World from two of the genres best, Alan Hess and Scott Diussa, interviewed Alan personally, and watched their superb series of lessons on Kelby Training.

What did I learn? That the challenges they face are no different than those I face when I photograph sports, or when I did my daughter’s band and color guard performances. In fact, they are the same challenges many of us face in doing everyday events like dance, theater and weddings. In essence, we are capturing live performances — in venues that, though they may differ, share the same issues.

Of course, it’s those issues that get the adrenaline flowing, that get our hearts beating, that put us into “fight or flight mode” — that make this type of photography both exciting and rewarding. Doing it right is a rush, and that’s why most of us do it.

And, as Alan and Scott point out, most of the people doing it are in it for the “rush” for their love of music, for their passion for photography — because very few can make a living at it. The economics just don’t work. But, that’s an article for another time.

Drawing on my own experience and what I’ve learned from Alan and Scott, I thought I’d work through some of those challenges and write about strategies for dealing with them.

Getting In

When shooting performances, access is everything. Getting in. Getting the right to shoot. Getting the right to use our images. Those are the first challenges we face.

Although they differ by genre and venue, there are some common issues.

First, be it a concert, club, or athletic performance, to get to into the photo pit, or on the field, you need someone’s permission — usually in the form of a “pass”.

A. To get a concert pass, Alan and Scott tell us to look to the performers, the owners of the venue, and/or the publicists for both. With professional sports like football, I’ve gotten my passes through the teams. With auto racing, the teams and sanctioning bodies. With high school sports or performances, the passes, in my area, are controlled by the school districts — although the initial contacts are made through the schools teams or bands; getting to  know the coach, the band director, or someone on the staff is often the first step in getting a pass. Don’t know anyone? Make an appointment, introduce yourself, and show some of your images.

Some times, it’s easy to get a pass. Some performers and venues are flattered. Often, they will barter access for prints. The smaller the venue, the less known the performers, the greater the chance of getting our first chance to shoot.

B. Because “press pass” access is so cool, and so many people want it, with bigger events, it’s often much more difficult to get a pass. Big events have “press coordinators” who dole out a limited number of credentials to those who can prove they are “professional”. And, they don’t define professional by reference to the quality of our work. They want “working press”  – photographers whose images are being “published” in some recognized media — be it a newspaper, magazine, a stock photo house, or a strong online presence. Often, their applications for a pass require a letter from the media outlet for whom we are shooting.

It’s Catch 22. To shoot a concert or event, you need a publisher. And, you can’t get a publisher until you’ve shot enough concerts and events to prove your mettle.

PrairieFire Productions, Inc. © (2007)

I faced that challenge when I wanted to shoot The United States Men’s Clay Court Championships at a local tennis venue. The application for a pass was rigorous — I had to have a letter from the editor of a publication that was “commissioning” my work. Hmm. OK, the Houston Chronicle had a staff full of photographers; they wouldn’t need me. The tennis magazines used the same people tournament after tournament. So did the strong online tennis sites. None of them were going to sponsor me. I was having a hard time figuring out who was.

One night, the answer showed up on my front lawn — in the form of a “throw away” newspaper. You, know, the kind that deal with local stuff and a lot of advertising. The kind that we normally put on the recycling pile without first reading it. But, this time I opened it up and noticed that it had a sports page. Local school sports but sports none the less.

So, I called the sports editor and made him a deal he could not refuse. If he would sponsor me, I’d give him a license to use whatever images I shot — but I’d keep the copyright. It was a good deal for both of us; he got images he’d not normally get and I got in and got to keep my copyright. We met, I showed him a portfolio of tennis shots I had captured, over the years, as a “spectator”. (The access to practice sessions is often unlimited. Those times are great for capturing some portfolio shots.)

The sports editor signed on. With his support I filled out my application. The tournament sponsor demanded some “sample shots”, too. I guess mine were good enough. I got my pass. And, based upon my work at that tournament, I got a pass for the next one, too.

I got access to shoot for the Texans by working as an assistant to one of their regular free lancers. He generously told me to bring my camera and encouraged me to shoot with him. I gave him my images and he turned them over to the Texans. Why did I give him my images? Because, this was his job; I was not going to compete with him in any way; I was there and shooting because he was being generous. A year later, he could not make a game and suggested they use me; unfortunately, I had a scheduling conflict. But, they know who I am and where I am should they ever need me, again.

The bottom line is that for many of us, getting that first press pass is the toughest challenge we will face. Our photography is good. We just need the access to the events that will take us to the next level. Two things got me where I wanted to go: a portfolio of the types of images I wanted a credential to shoot; and, finding an “off the beaten path” sponsors willing to work with me to our mutual advantage.

Want to break in — get those first portfolio shots? Don’t forget small clubs, high school bands,  minor league or high school sporting events. They are a great place to develop skills and techniques.

I learned more about shooting performances by shooting under the Texas Friday Night Lights than I had shooting pro-football, big time auto racing, or the tennis tournaments. My access? My kid. For four years, Jen marched with the Memorial High School Band or performed with the Color Guard. They were thrilled to have me capturing their performances. Over those years, I shot thousands of images — learned to conquer the lighting issues, learned to cope with the speed with which things moved around me, and learned to hone my post production processing so as to do it right, quickly. And, there was something very special about being there. As good as the movie and TV series were — and they were very good — Friday Nights in Texas are bigger than life. You really have to experience it to understand it. And, if you can experience it, you should.

Staying In

So, now we’re in the door. How do we stay in? Three things — follow the rules, play nice, and use common sense.

Every pass comes with a set of rules. Depending on the venue and/or event, we are usually told where we can be, how long we can be there, what we can shoot, and how we can use the images.

A. It appears that the concert photographers like Scott and Alan are the most severely restricted. First, and foremost is the “3 song rule” — the rule that says “You can shoot the first three songs of the concert and then you must pack up and leave.” This rule is not always in effect — but it usually is. What it means is simple — you shoot the first three songs of the concert, pack up and leave. You do not try to stretch the time limit by one note. If you do, security will usually remove you and you will get a reputation that makes it difficult to get another pass.

Copyright: Alan Hess Photography (2011) -- Thanks Alan

When you are shooting a sports event, there are almost always strict “location” restrictions that keep you a set distance away from the playing field or, in auto racing, places on the track where you can and cannot be. Strict location rules are enforced for two reasons — first and foremost safety (yours and the players) and, second, protecting the audience’s view of the event. Similar rules apply in concert venues where photographers share a “pit” — a small area right in front of the stage.

B. Another strict rule — we can only shoot “available light”. No flash. No enhancement. Camera only. The reason is obvious — yet I’ve seen people using flashes shot directly at players’ eyes; fortunately, most are shot from distances so great that, with the “fall off” of light, they have no impact on the players (or the image). Mounting a flash on your camera usually sends the message “I don’t belong here” a message that will get one noticed and excluded. (That does not mean you should leave your flash at home — just don’t use it during the performance. If you get lucky enough to be invited back stage, or end up covering a press conference or interview, you may be able to use it.)

C. A “Gotcha”: We cannot assume that we own the images we shoot. Or, that we can do as we please with them. Alan and Scott make clear that to get access to shoot a concert, many photographers sign away all of their intellectual property rights to the images. And, sometimes the restrictions are more severe. It is possible to shoot a concert and walk away completely empty handed — without an image to post on one’s own website. So, it is essential to read all of the documents that are associated with getting the permit and to understand the promises you are making. Because, those promises are a binding contract.

Want to own the copyright and/or have images to use? Often, the smaller venues and less known performers do not have the more restrictive agreements. In those cases, we can use our own “releases” to create the relationships.

It is very important that we not confuse the right to “access” with the “releases” we need to use the images of people or places. The right to be there is different from the right to exploit the images. The person who controls the “pass” does not always control the performer, player, or audience members’ right to the exploitation of their person. Sometimes, the players/performers sign releases to the promoters who can assign them to us. Other times, they don’t. And, those crowd shots that we love? We may need releases to exploit them. Buying a ticket or attending a performance does not always constitute a release for our purposes.Finally, the club owners may have a right to control the exploitation of images of the venue. Actually, the right to privacy and to control the use of one’s image or property is a topic far beyond this post. But, I wanted to raise the topic. We all have to think about it and seek the proper advice before we start publishing our images shot at events.

D. So much for the formal rules. Perhaps, the greatest rule is Play Nice. Cooperate with the other people shooting the event. Scott and Alan make clear the concert ethic — work around people without interfering AND once you get your shot, move so that others can get the access and angle they need. One of the great things on their video is a segment where we see the almost dance like “choreography” as they photographers seamlessly work around each other — each moving to open a spot for another.

Nothing says “Amateur” more than someone who just grabs a spot and hogs it for the entire performance. One of my favorite Texas sayings: “Pigs get fat. Hogs get slaughtered.” This is a cooperative effort. If we are hogs, if we do not cooperate and play nice — we won’t get a chance to make the effort again.

Another part of “playing nice” is to make sure we do not become a part of, or interfere with, the event.

Inadvertently, I’ve stumbled a bit here. Jen’s band was in a district competition. I shot the “dress rehearsal” which was being recorded on audio tape. I tried to be as unobtrusive as I could. I found a spot that put me out of the line of sight of the kids and their teacher. I had my long lens — so I was an appropriate distance so as not to block the audience’ view. But, I didn’t look up. I should have. Because 5′ above my head was a one of the recording microphones. A chagrined Jenny told me during the break before their real performance: “Daddy, we can hear your shutter on the tape!” Ugh! My bad. Learned my lesson — whenever I’m shooting in an environment with recording equipment, I look for the microphones and stay away from them.

And, then there was the time that I was out on the field during the band and guard’s half time performance. Jenny told me that I got in the way of the drum line and made them break formation by a step to get around me. I did not make that mistake, again, either. How did I avoid it? Research.

Research and Preparation:

One of the strongest points that Alan and Scott make is that we have to do our homework.

They listen to the band they will be shooting — know the music, and how it is performed. They watch videos, read interviews, do whatever they can to totally understand how the songs will be played and how the stage will be used. One of the things I found most fascinating about their lessons was the detail to which they go to set themselves up to use those three songs productively. By knowing the music, they will know where a guitar player’s hands will be during a riff — which will often allow them to get a coveted “two hand” shot. The microphone is the enemy of most concert shooters. It blocks the face or casts ugly shadows. But, they’ve learned that some singers pull away from the mic when they hold long notes — a great time to get that close head shot; knowing when the long held notes will come, they are in position and ready to get the shot. How do they get so much done within the short time period delimited by the “three song rule”? Research and preparation. They know what they want and when they are likely to get it.

After my “Daddy! You made the drum line move!” event, I started doing the same thing. I had Jenny teach me the choreography — where people would be and when. From that point on, every time I stepped on that field with my camera I knew exactly what I wanted to get and where I could go to get it WITHOUT interfering with the performance. I got better shots and Jenny got to relax.

In a like manner, we have to prepare to shoot sports. It’s not by happenstance that the same photographers always seem to get the “money shots”. It’s preparation. They know their sports and the people who play them. On a tennis court, there are very limited places where we can sit or kneel to shoot. Knowing the players, whether they play a “net” or “baseline” game makes a huge difference. On most race tracks, there are very few places where cars can actually pass each other; to capture the excitement of that competition, one must be able to get those places in the frame. In football, knowing what a team is likely to do on a 3rd and 5 will improve the odds of getting a great shot. But, even with the best preparation, there is still a great bit of luck involved in being in the exact right place at the right time. Preparation narrows the risks but does not guarantee a result. But, I’ll go along with one of my trial lawyer friends who likes to say “Isn’t it funny that the people who prepare the most are always the “luckiest”.

Because this post is running long, I’m breaking it into two parts. Part II will focus on equipment and lighting issues. To get to Part II, click here.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2011)

That matter has now ended. And, I still cannot write about it. All I can say is that, pursuant to an agreement with the other side, a Federal Judge entered a judgment on my behalf; the terms and amount of the settlement are “sealed” and cannot be disclosed by either party.

It was a long journey to that judgment. Two important things shaped my path.

First, I had formally registered my image. Yes, we own the creative rights to our work whether registered or not. But, enforcement of a non-registered work is far more difficult. And, many lawyers will not take cases involving unregistered work. Register. I did my last batch of registrations online. It took about 10 minutes. And, there are plenty of tutorials and instructions to guide you through the process.

And, second, I had good lawyers — specialists in intellectual property law — leading the way. I learned that copyright law is somewhat complex — something that requires some specialization. I was lucky. One of my photographer friends, Jody Goldstein, is an attorney in a firm that specializes in intellectual property law. Were I to go down this path again, I would certainly start with a specialist.

Enforcement In Another Context

Intellectual property rights can be rooted in all kinds of work — including back drop art. So, I was not surprised to read that Denny Manufacturing Company had brought a lawsuit for copyright and trademark infringement against Backdrop Outlet; in the lawsuit, Denny alleged that the defendants had copied some of Denny’s artistic backdrops and that  Back Drop Outlet was using a trademark, Fautex, that was confusingly similar to Denny’s FlexTex mark.

Like many intellectual property cases this, too, was settled. The defendants, while denying any wrongdoing, agreed to an injunction that stopped them from selling the backdrops in question and the prohibited the use of the trademark at issue. Some money was also paid to Denny Mfg.

The key, in my eyes, is that Denny Mfg. had registered copyrights protecting the art on the backdrops.

Register. It makes cents.

OK, that’s a terrible pun. And, were there someone sitting over my shoulder editing me, that line would probably be gone.

Bottom Line: Register your work. You may never have to enforce your rights. I wish that for you. But, if you do, the registration will be critical to your being able to get a law firm to represent you and to your ability to win.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2010)

So, it’s time for me to make sure I turn the “that” into the “how” — time to put the techniques to use and actually master them.

I think that holds true for all of us who study photography. How many of us have attended a seminar only to “forget”, in a short time, what we’ve learned? Research tells us it’s a lot of us.

So, my mission is to use the techniques I’ve learned — and to write about them, here.

What I Learned in Class, Today

A. From the Amazing Russell Brown — Camera Raw and Smart Objects

1. Setting Workflow Options for Specific Cameras — Here’s something I did not know: The “Workflow Options” in Camera RAW are camera specific. Once you’ve set them for a camera, they will remember that camera and open up the image with the proper settings. Here is the window:

We get to the window by clicking on the line on the front page of the Camera RAW processor that starts “Adobe RGB …”.

We set this window to reflect how we want the images from a specific camera to be treated; once set up, all images from that camera will be handled with the set workflow options. These settings reflect how I treat the images from my Nikon D3. I always want them at 16 Bits and at the greatest resolution for the chip, 12.1MP.

Obviously, the trap here is that if, for some reason, we have not set the workflow options correctly, all of the images from a camera may be processed at less than optimum settings.

Lesson Learned: These settings carry over. Set them correctly and reap the benefit. Fail to do so, and we may be getting less from our cameras than they can produce.

2. Holding down the OPT/ALT key when opening an image from Bridge will hide Bridge. How cool is that? How many of us have a cluttered desktop when working with Photoshop and Bridge at the same time? No more.

3. A good reason to open a Camera RAW image as a Smart Object in Photoshop is that it will embed a copy of that image in the file. So, if we move the image to another computer, we will still have the original RAW image with us. Too cool for words.

B. From Dave Cuerdon

1. Here’s one I really like. When trying to place a drop shadow from the Layer Style window, most of us use the “Angle” circle with the little clock hand like dial. It’s really hard to get it just where we want it using that technique.

Dave showed us a better way. We can grab the shadow with our cursor and move it around so that we get it exactly where we want it. When we are moving it, the dial turns. Here’s a short screen-shot-video that demonstrates the point: Just click and watch.

But Wait! There Will Be More!!!

There are things that need to be done, before I can write about them.

One of my favorite teachers, Ben Willmore gave an amazing class on painting with light. Just as fine chefs carry around holsters full of knives, guys like Ben have gun belts full of flash lights and high powered, portable beams.

One tip from Ben — start with the face. Since your subject will have to be sitting still, get the face first. Once free to move facial muscles, most people can hold the rest of their bodies still.

I’m going to work a lot harder on mastering blending modes. Now that I’ve seen what they can do, I’ll pay more attention to them. I’m particularly interested in shooting a subject against a neutral gray wall and then using a blending mode to replace the backdrop. I’ll try it and if I can make it work, I’ll write about it.

And, I will do more self assignments. Once more, my favorite event at PSW was The Art of Digital presentation, moderated by good friend Jim DiVitale. Jim, Julianne Kost, Joe McNally, Joe Glyda, Vincent Versace, Jay Maisel, John Paul Coponigro, and Moose Peterson showed and discussed their work. Much of what was shown was shot on “self-assignments”. If the world’s best photographers take the time to do new things, to stretch, to scratch their creative itches, I will, too.

Final Thoughts

What an amazing conference! As I’ve mentioned  before, the only problem I had was choosing between very strong classes in competing time slots. My solution? I’ll probably go to both the East and West Coast versions next year. There’s no way to take it all in in one fell swoop.

Thank you to NAPP, Adobe, Kelby Training, and all of the incredible instructors who sent me home enthused about what I had learned and passionate about what I am about to do.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2010)

If I could have run away from Joe, I would have.

Most people would pay to have Joe photograph them. Am I some form of ingrate? No, I think it is cultural. As an academic I taught Native American law. I wrote about Native American legal history. I studied the culture. Strongly admired and identified with it. At one point in my studies, I told some elders about my having run away from the camera. They understood. They told me that in some parts of the culture, it was/is believed that a camera captures a part of one’s soul. Those of us with that belief choose to avoid being in front of cameras. But, this morning, I couldn’t.

The Upside: Some Quick Lessons from Joe McNally

Trauma or not, I learned a lot from Joe, this morning. I always learn from Joe. I’ve read his books, bought his DVD’s, attended his seminars, seen him at conferences, watched everything he has on Kelby Training, and written a lot about him on this site. No one has had a greater influence on the way I approach the use of “small” lights than Joe. I admire him as a teacher and I admire him as a man. If you’ve not seen any of Joe’s materials or taken his classes, you should; in fact, if you’re in or around Houston, he’ll be in town on September 18-19 — check out the calendar on my site for details. From Joe, we get inspiration and learn some important technical stuff. Here are some quick hitters from this morning:

1. When explaining why it is often better to use additive light rather than simply boosting ISO (which on most modern cameras allows us to shoot with very little ambient light), Joe responded, “ISO addresses the quantity of the light, not the quality of the light.”

Yes, we can get an image by simply boosting the ISO. But, by adding light we can create direction and/or control the color and nature of the light. Direction gives depth and dimension. Important lesson number one from the morning.

2. When an off camera light did not fire, “If something goes wrong, shoot it again. It’s often pilot error.” Or, it’s some random quirk. From Joe, I’ve learned to stay calm. To try another time, and if there’s still a problem to run through the variables. In my experience, the most likely cause of the failure of a light to go off when shooting TTL is that it’s not in the line of sight of the command unit. In Joe’s case this morning, one of the lights was not set in TTL mode. There’s always an explanation — we simply need to stay calm and find it — as Joe did in front of a class of a few hundred people.

3. Many of us have had clients who tell us “I’m busy, you have 5 minutes. Get it quickly.” We all panic. And, so does Joe. Then we get the shot. I love Joe’s internal response.

“I’m on a daily rate. I only have to spend 5 minutes with this guy? Hmm. My rate just went up quite a bit.” But, actually, because of his strong personal skills, and the fact that he is constantly engaging his subjects, I’ll bet Joe is rarely held to that 5 minute time limit. Joe lives up to his teachings — he does his very bet to make his subjects enjoy the session. He almost got me to like it. Almost.

4. And, finally, some very practical tips:

a. Joe often shoots at ISO 400 and around f5.6. Why? Because, with the increased ISO and lower f/stop, the speedlights have less to do — the situation demands less power. They will recycle faster and run cooler;

b. A camera in Manual Mode will ignore changes in exposure compensation — but the speedlights will recognize the changes. In iTTL, exposure compensation ALWAYS affects the flash setting. In the Priority modes, exposure compensation affects both the camera and the flash.

a. Crossing lights can drive iTTL nuts. If you’re getting wacky results, and you have lights that are throwing crossing beams,  the system may be going wacky trying to interpret and control them. Some times, you have to revert to Manual mode. It’s not that hard.

d. Both Nikon and Canon claim sync speeds of 1/250 BUT that speed only applies to their own flash units. So, if you are trying to sync to studio lights, Quadras, or a combination of  different lights, you will have to shoot at 1/200. I really didn’t know this. I’ve never run into the problem because I shoot at much lower speeds in the studio or when using my Profoto 600BR. But, it’s a very good thing to know.

OK. Even though I had to model, I’m glad I attended both of Joe’s sessions. I learned a lot.

A Few Other Practical Tips From the Day

1. From Alan Hess‘ class on Concert and Event Photography — perhaps, the most practical tip of the week. Always carry extra ear plugs. Offer them to the security guards — the guys who determine how long you’ll be able to shoot and where you can go; this simple gesture often builds trust, friendship and respect — all of which can lead to your being allowed to stay a bit longer or stray a bit outside the boundaries. Plus, you’ll be doing them a public service by helping save their hearing.

2. From Calvin Hollywood – perhaps, the most exciting speaker I’ve seen this week. Calvin is so out-of-the box in his approach to all things Photoshop that I’ve seen many of the most respected PS teachers sitting in his audiences with their mouths open. This guys stuff rocks.

One tip I’m going to try as soon as I get home: Some times we shoot someone knowing that we are going to put their image over a new and different background. Most of us approach the task by using some sort of selection tool to lift them off the original background.

Calvin demonstrated an easier approach. Shoot the subject in front of a neutral gray background. To substitute backgrounds, put the new background on a layer above the original. Set the blending mode to Soft Light. The gray will disappear giving way to the new background. Why? Because the Soft Light blend mode replaces the neutral gray in an image with the new layer. Because there may be something close to neutral gray on the subject, we may have to add a white mask and paint over the subject in black, blocking the upper layer’s impact on the subject.

I’ve got to try this. I deliberately painted my studio walls neutral gray because I didn’t want them throwing any color casts. And, now, I find out that, out of pure luck, I may be able to really make my compositing easier by removing the need to extract subjects from the original photos. I’ll try and demo this, soon.

–30–

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2010)

(And, now a quick apology: Usually I hyperlink my posts so that you can easily go to the web pages of the people, products and events I discuss in them; however, I’m writing on a very short deadline and can’t take the time to do so in these daily columns. Sorry. But, Google should get you where you need to go, easily.)

The Opening Ceremony — Rock and Roll — Great Humor — and Some Serious Awards

The opening ceremony at PSW is not to be missed. It is always a theme driven, creative extravaganza — highly entertaining and with great production values. With the quality of everything else NAPP does, you’d expect no less. This year’s theme was rock and roll. A fitting tribute to the 20th Anniversary of Photoshop. Not surprisingly, our favorite Photoshop Gurus are also musicians of some talent. So, after a very funny video about the fictional band “NAPP” — its genesis and break up, we had a reunion performance that brought the house down.

Odd Stuff From the 20th Anniversary Video: Would you believe that the original creators of Photoshop thought they’d sell maybe 500 copies a month? That one of the key developers, Thomas Knoll, spent hours creating the program because, in his words, he found it more fun “… than writing my thesis”?

But, to me, the highlight of the opening was not the glitz, glamour, humor and fun — it was the induction into the Photoshop Hall of Fame of a man who truly deserved the award, Peter Bauer. I’ve written, many times, about Peter — the guy I used to think was a computer, the guy who runs the NAPP Help Desk, the guy who answers all the hard questions, within hours. Peter has done more to help more people out of Photoshop jams than anyone else around. His patient counsel has guided many of us out of the sinking sensation of being stuck in quicksand. Peter, congratulations. And, thank you for all you have done for all of us.

From the Trade Show Floor

Something to look forward to — HDR Wars. For those who think HDR (High Dynamic Range) has had its 15 minutes of fame — it’s time to think again. Yes, the illustrative, grunge, and funky looks may have become so common as to have lost some of their impact, but the basic concept of HDR has not; simply stated, HDR overcomes the somewhat limited dynamic range of many of our digital cameras. At best, most of us can capture 5-7 stops. With HDR, we can greatly expand that by taking multiple images and combining them. I still go for the illustrative look. But, those who don’t probably rule the day. And, for all of us, there are some new alternative software solutions that will make this a very competitive and dynamic market.

NIK Software, is demonstrating it’s new entry into the field; one of the things that make it special is its use of U-Point technology. Photoshop CS5 incorporates a very improved HDR section. Rumor is that Photomatix has a new version in Beta form. And, I just saw a demonstration of two products from Unified Color that knocked my socks off — HDR Expose and 32 Float. More on all of these, later.

Random Notes From the Classroom

1. Pixel Bender has been mentioned in several classes. It’s a free download from Adobe that helps achieve a “painter” type look. You can learn about it and get it here.

2. Check out Calvin Hollywood’s blog site. Inspiration. And, free video tutorials on creating some unique looks. I took a class with Calvin and Russell Brown — dueling gurus. Superb!

3. For those of you who have Dave Cuerdon’s action set, either because you bought the DVD or because you are a member of Kelby Training — Dave has updated one  of the actions to make it run better in CS5. For a copy of the new action, and a Beta action he’s developing on skin retouching, email Dave. I reviewed Dave’s Kelby Training session in a previous post. If you have not watched it or bought the DVD, you might think of doing so. I highly recommend it.

–30–

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2010)

Why, is a bit hard to say. I’ve learned amazing things at Imaging USA. And, Texas School gave me the base upon which to build everything I do. But, at this time in my career, PSW is the place where my vision is enhanced and my horizons are stretched.

Perhaps, it’s because here, I’m a fish half out of water. I know a lot about the technical side of photography. And, I’m not bad in post-production. But, “not bad” puts me at the back of the class at PSW. There are people here who are incredible — what they can do with Photoshop spins my head.

Lest anyone misunderstand, PSW is not only for people who can spin heads. PSW is for all of us. There are classes at every level taught by people at the top level of what they do. This is my third PSW. At my first, I took a lot of “beginner” courses. I learned a lot. More than I thought I could learn in 4 days. Now, I’m taking some tougher classes — but I feel fully prepared. Since my first PSW, I’ve taken seminars, lectures, and joined Kelby Training. I’ve read books and watched DVD’s. I’ve hosted seminars featuring Dave Cross, Jim DiVitale and Janice Wendt. I’ve worked hard and when I look back at what I was doing before my first PSW to what I can do now, I feel like the guy who went from driving an old John Deere in the fields to a guy who drives a Ferrari on the track.

To me, PSW strikes the perfect balance between “practical learning” and inspiration. And, that’s what I’m going to write about this week — the things that will improve both my technique and my vision. I’ll try to post something every day. And, when I get home, I’ll do some in depth posts tips and tutorials.

One of the things I like most about conferences is that I get to see and spend time with my friends who don’t live in Texas.

Today, I had lunch with Janice Wendt. Janice is known to most of us as the “Nik Diva”. She’s the woman at all of the trade shows and schools who shows us how to use Nik’s incredible suite of software. She’s the go-to- Nik-woman — the best Nik teacher I’ve seen and one of the best retouchers in the world.

Janice has recently been on the road teaching at photo and art schools. Many of my friends who have been on the road teaching at conferences and trade shows have reported back to me that in this great “sea change” in the world of photography, there are many of us entering the profession with very little training. The demand for knowledge is everywhere. One would think that the key to servicing this new group of photographers would be to focus on the “nuts and bolts” of the profession. So I asked Janice how she was reaching out to this group and what her goals were.

Her answer — “I teach them inspiration. That’s the most important thing I do. I teach them to see how much better things can be. That what is good can be great.”

I think that is the right message for the times.

All over this web site are articles and comments about the current market for professional photography. A few themes resonate:

With cameras getting better and better, and capable of taking very good images, technical mastery is becoming a thing of the past; another way of saying the same thing is to say that it is easier to enter the profession, today, than it was before.

However, it is harder to survive.

The more photographers, the more competition we all face. Competition can be good. Or, it can be destructive. No one wins in a “price war”. Lower prices. Lower profits. No profits. Out of business. That’s the risk when we choose to compete on price.

But, we can all win in a “quality war” because it will force us to grow and do our best work.

To succeed in a “quality war”, we have to be better. We have to differentiate our work. We have to sell that difference. Our clients have to see it. And, they have  to be educated to the point where they are willing to pay more for better images.

And, that’s why Janice is right on track when she says that she teaches “inspiration” and “vision”.

Yes, it is important that we master our tools like those in the Nik Suite. But, according to Janice, the woman who knows them best, until we expand our vision, until we see that “good enough” never is, until we challenge ourselves and our software to go beyond what seems OK, we will not be great. And, great is where we must be. To be satisfied. And, to survive.

And, that’s why I’m here at PSW. To challenge myself. To expand my vision. And, to share the experience with those of you who could not get here.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2010)

I was up early watching the Tour de France. I’m an addict. Smack dab in front of my big screen, one of my heroes, Lance Armstrong, had an accident that would take him out of contention for the Yellow Jersey.

And, then, I got the phone call. My studio had been broken into. Someone had kicked in a large display window and ransacked the place. Storage room doors had been pried open, drawers and boxes emptied on the floor — and things had been stolen. Lots of things.

Not the least of which was my sense of serenity — the peace I felt in my “creative place”.

Since then, I’ve been trying to put my studio and that part of my life back together. This isn’t the first time I’ve been a crime victim. I’ve been car jacked — with a gun to my head and almost shot. I’ve had other things stolen.

Each time, two things happened. I searched my mind to figure out what I could have done differently, better, to prevent the crimes. And, I dealt with insurance companies, trying to replace the physical, tangible things that I lost.

In this post, I’ll write about both journeys — the critical analysis of my attempts at crime prevention, and what I’ve learned from negotiating the obstacle course that often makes a trip down the path of the insurance process difficult and unpleasant.

My goal is simple: To give you the benefit of the lessons I’ve learned.

Lesson #1 — There Is No Way to Prevent a Crime: At Best We Can Make It More Difficult

If burglars want to break in, they will break in. It’s that simple. We cannot stop them.

At best, we can try to deter them. We can make it more difficult. And, we can raise the risk that they will get caught.

But, if they are willing to break down whatever barriers we erect, and if they are willing to risk of arrest, there is nothing we can do.

However, that does not mean that we should not try. Many years ago, when my Pacific Palisades, California, neighborhood was facing a string of burglaries, we had a neighborhood meeting. The local police sent a representative. His message was clear — make it difficult, make it risky, and hope the burglars move on to another target.

Hide the “Given Objects”

Perhaps, the most important lesson I learned was “Don’t tempt them. Hide the ‘given objects’. Keep them out of easy view. Don’t let them know what’s behind the doors and locks.”

“Hide the given object.” Hmm. For many of us that’s kind of hard to do. We are photographers. We have signs on our studios. Pictures in our windows. Not  much of a secret about what’s inside. There’s a good chance there are cameras, computers, expensive things in there — whether they can be seen or not.

Actually, I had followed that advice — most of the time. My studio is in a Design Center — a place where there are showrooms full of expensive furniture and rugs. All of the tenant spaces share a common feature — our front walls are all glass, huge display windows that go from ground to ceiling. We live in a fishbowl. My front room is very plain and simple. Office furniture and computer equipment. Plain white walls — no prints (I know that’s weird but it’s me — I feel more creative in a blank space). All of the good stuff is in my camera room and a locked storage closet — neither of which can be seen from the outside.

But, on the night of the burglary, I left some “given objects” in plain view in the front room. On the previous day, my daughter Jenny was shooting some senior portfolios. When I shoot, I often wheel some of the lights and things I won’t be using out of the camera room and store them in the front room. That day, I put several lights on stands — replete with soft boxes, up front to get them out of the way. Since Jen was going to shoot the following day, I did not put them back. And, because I knew I’d be back the following morning, I left my MacBook Pro on my desk. (I usually take it down and home. Didn’t do it that night and I really kick myself, now. That day, while Jenny was shooting, I wrote two articles that I was going to post on this site, for the July “content”. I didn’t back them up. I’m unusually anal about backing up; but, that night, I let it slip. And, that’s why there has been a big gap in updating content.)

So, “given objects” in plain view. But, I don’t know. I’m not sure the stands, lights, and boxes were all that tempting. In fact they were not stolen. If anything “lured” them in, I think it was the computer. I’ll never leave one out, again. (Actually, that’s not quite right. I’ve got a collection of old Mac’s in the office — a virtual tour down Mac Memory Lane. I think they are funky looking. They are always in plain view. But, only the current and valuable model was stolen.)

Lock Things Up Tight

I did. And, it didn’t help.

The entry doors to my studio have a dead bolt. So, the burglars kicked in a display window. Why mess with a lock when one swift blow can create a huge entry way?

The door to my storage closet has a deadbolt. So, they pried it open.

One of the storage cabinets has one of those Kryptonite type bike locks on it; they didn’t try to break the lock; instead, they grabbed onto it, used it as a handle, and pulled the cabinet door off its hinges. (That’s the picture you see at the top of this article. I’ve diddled with the image; in its real form, the stark reality still upsets me.)

Yes, I could have used more dead bolts, stronger hinges, with better reinforcement — but I remain convinced that there is a way to break into most places, and the only thing we can do is make it so hard that they won’t take the time to do it.

And, that’s where the safe comes in. I have a large safe, bolted to my floor, in which I keep all of my most valuable gear. It has my Nikon cameras and lenses. They did not even try to get into it. What was bad could have been worse — but for the safe. If I could turn my entire studio into a safe, I would. But, I can’t.

Adding Insult to Injury

One of the things that upsets me most was also one of the hardest lessons to learn: the crooks used my camera bags and rollers to carry away my stuff.

First, they took my entire off-camera-flash kit that was thoughtfully and carefully organized in one large camera bag; 4 of my cherished, impossible to replace SB800′s, my supreme commander SB900 (not as loved but functional), dozens of batteries, several chargers and clamps, mounting hardware, and modifiers — all easily carried away because I had packed them in a bag. Frankly, I don’t think they knew what they were getting. It was just so easy to take that they did. More than anything, I’m going to miss that kit.

And, then, they took my Large Tenba Roadie, threw away the dividers and filled it. So, too several other bags.

Lesson Learned: I’m going to try to figure out a way to secure my bags so that they cannot be used against me. Maybe chain them up. Hang them from the ceiling? If you can think of a better way, let me know.

So, that’s the story of  Part 1 of the Journey — the burglary itself.

As painful as that was, more pain was to follow. I had to file and pursue an insurance claim. The burglars were in my studio for maybe 15 minutes; the insurance companies have been in my life for the last 6 weeks, and there is no end in sight.

Insurance: The Real Back Stop (?)

I think we all know that no matter what we do, we cannot stop a determined thief.

That’s why we buy insurance. We know bad things might happen. So, we get insurance to give us the peace of mind that should something happen we will be able to get back to where we were before the painful event.

Would that that were so. Although I’m sure that many of us have had very positive experiences with insurance companies, some of us have not.

Unfortunately, my experience with my carrier, so far, has not been pleasant. My claim has yet to be resolved. I am having a dispute with one of my companies as to the nature of the policy and the scope of its coverage. More on that later.

My goal in this section is to discuss insurance in broad terms — to raise some potential issues, to give you some things to think about as you insure your equipment.

Before I go further I want to make one thing clear:  Nothing in this article is to be construed as either legal or professional advice. Please, use what is written as the basis upon which you consult with your insurance agents and attorneys. Let them guide you. Each of us has different needs and only professional guidance will make sure they are met.

(And, therein lies my problem — and possibly yours, too, if you have a loss. I bought my policy through one of my professional organizations. I heard it described at a convention. I did not have an “agent” in the traditional sense of the word. I did not see the actual policy. I did not have a personal connection to the protection of my equipment.)

Before we start talking about the different kids of insurance policies, we need to talk about something that crosses over whatever type of insurance we get.

We Need to Keep An Up-To-Date Inventory of What We Are Insuring

Most insurance policies — be they special schedules or professional coverage — demand that we keep an accurate inventory of the equipment we want insured. And, they ask us to file that inventory with them on a set basis.

Most of us keep our receipts. I’ve gone one step farther. Several years ago, I created a database in Filemaker Pro that lists my equipment and keeps track of what it is, when I bought it, what I paid for it, and the serials numbers, when applicable.

Creating it took a couple of days. I carried my laptop around the studio and entered everything I thought should be insured. I did the same thing at home. It wasn’t fun, but it was essential.

Now, I have a ritual. Whenever I buy something, before I take it to the studio, before I start to use it, I enter it in the database.

Here’s a copy of the base form I use. This is the data entry layout:

To make entry easy, almost all of the categories have drop down menus so that I do not have to type in much data. Here’s an example of the drop down for the “Vendor” entry:

Most of the columns are self-explanatory. The “Total Replacement Cost” column keeps track of all of the items in the database. When I get rid of something, instead of taking it out of the database, I “retire it” from use and take it off the insurance policy. There are some things I do not insure or do so with another carrier — so I have a drop down “Yes” and “No” in the form.

Actually, my current database has more options. I have an entry that tells me what was stolen on July 11. And, to which insurer I am submitting the claim. I also added a column with a URL for the insurance company showing what the current cost of replacement is; all the claim adjustor has to do is click and the item and price pops up. The easier we make things for the claim adjustor the faster the claim will be adjusted.

Over the days following the burglary, I took a print out of the schedule to my studio and used colored markers to mark what was there and what was not. I then entered the data into the form and printed out the inventory of what was lost. That’s what I sent to the claim adjustor.

Whenever I want to update my insured inventory, I use a second Layout to send information to the insurer. Here’s what it looks like:

Without this database, I’m not sure how I’d have gone about proving my loss. I would have taken a lot of searching through old records — some of which are in storage.

For me, the maintenance of these records has been well worth the effort. I strongly suggest that you develop a system of your own.

One last point: Make sure to put everything on the schedule; if it is not listed, most companies will say it won’t be covered. I lost a hard drive and cable; the hard drive was listed; the cable was not; the cable was not covered. It’s a pain in the butt, but to be on the safe side we have to list every little thing that we want insured. And, that’s understandable. They need to know the nature of the risk they are covering. When filling out the inventory, pay attention to the details.

But Wait! There’s More!! Something Free!!!

To make it easier for those of you who don’t want to “program” a database, I posted a copy of my template for you to download. To use it, you’ll need Filemaker Pro which runs on both the Apple and Windows operating systems. From what I understand, but have not tried, you can import this template into other databases and spreadsheets. You can edit the drop down menus such as “Type”, “Manufacturer”, and “Vendor” by going to the bottom of the list and hitting “Edit”; you will be able to add or delete at will.

To get your free copy, click here. You will be asked for the password which is — FreeTemplate. Duh! Not too creative. But, it will work.

Choosing the Right Insurance Policy

Most of us have insurance on our equipment. But, do we have the right policies?

There is nothing worse than having an insurance policy only to find out, at a time of loss, that the policy we have is not the policy we thought it was. That’s where I’m caught right now. In “coverage hell”.

I bought a policy that I was told would pay for the “replacement” of lost or damaged equipment. In the world of insurance, “replacement” usually means that we will get something of “like kind and quality” — whatever the cost of doing so. My written policy was consistent with that representation.

But, when the claim was sent to an adjustor, the ground rules changed. I was told that I would be paid the “scheduled amount” of my loss or the cost of replacement — whichever was less. The scheduled amount was the amount I listed in the “cost” columns of my spreadsheet. When I told the adjustor that under that interpretation, one that I did not accept, I would not be able to replace all that was stolen, I was told something to the effect of “Well, you’ll just have to decide what you can do without.” In other words, the policy that had guaranteed that I would be able to replace whatever I lost had turned into a policy that would not.

With this type of policy interpretation, we, as photographers, face a scheduling dilemma. Our photography equipment often appreciates in value. That’s rare in the world of consumer spending; most of the stuff we buy goes down in value. However, for example, I paid about $100.00 less per SB800 than I will have to pay to replace them with SB900′s. Why the 900′s? Because I can’t get the 800′s anymore. Wish I could; in my eyes they are a far better unit. But, the 900 is considered the unit of “like kind and quality”. The same can be said about the prices of some Nikon lenses. They’ve gone up, not down, in value.

And, that’s why most of us want true “replacement value” insurance. If we buy a policies that pay the “scheduled amount”, we are forced, on a daily basis, to track the value of each piece of equipment to make sure it is listed at its current price on our database. In essence, our equipment becomes a commodity and we are tracking its value; it’s like following the stock commodities markets on a daily basis. And, with each move up and down, we have to file an amended schedule with the insurance company. We are in the photography business — not the scheduling business. With policies that demand daily updates, we are at risk because, most of us will not have the time to do it.

The “daily update policy” is a nightmare. And, one that both the professional organization that represents my plan, and the broker that sells it for the organization, claim is not what I bought.

But, today, as I write this column, that is how the adjustor is handling my claim.

To the credit of my professional organization, their officers are strongly and steadfastly working to clear up this coverage mess. I am confident they will do so. They want the best policy for all of us, the one that will give us true coverage, and I’m sure they will get it.

The Bottom Line Is: Most of us want to know that if we lose a camera or lens, we get it replaced by a camera or lens of like kind and quality. We want “replacement” coverage.

There are other types of policies. Some pay the “actual cash value” of the loss — which to most insurance companies means the market value of the lost item on the day it was lost; in most cases that’s a depreciated amount; we’d have to read the fine print, but I’m pretty sure the companies will not want to pay the “appreciated value” should that be the case.

One last note on “replacement policies”. Many pay you the actual cash value UNLESS  and UNTIL you replace the item. If you replace the item you get the replacement cost. Under this scenario: you lose a lens that will cost $1,000 to replace; it’s current value, depreciated, is $750; if you take the money, you get $750; if you buy a replacement lens and pay $1,000 for it, they give you the remaining $250.

I write this so that when you buy your policies, you will know to ask careful questions to make sure you are getting exactly what you want and need.

Important Lesson Learned: We have to do more than ask the right questions and listen carefully to the answers — WE HAVE TO READ A COPY OF THE POLICY BEFORE WE BUY IT. And, that’s not the way most of us buy insurance. Most of us talk to an agent and buy a policy without seeing the actual language of the policy we are buying. Later, we receive what is known as a “binder” or “dec page” — a summary page that commits the company to coverage and states the nature and limits of the policy; the “dec page” does not contain any of the fine print that sets the scope of the coverage. Later, we get the actual policy. In the best of all worlds, the policy we are told we are getting will be the policy we actually get. But, we don’t always live in the best of all worlds. Best Practice: Ask to see the actual policy before you sign the dotted line.

Here are some things to think about when you talk with your advisors and agents:

1. Household Insurance

Relying on your home owners or renters insurance carries some risks. Most policies will not cover “professional” equipment. I’m not sure how they define professional, but I do know that the more you have, and the better it is,  the more professional you look. For most of us this is not a safe insurance path. First, you run the risk that your loss will not be covered at all. And, second, even if it is covered under the general “personal property” coverage, you run the risk that the deductible will be so high that you will not be able to replace much of what is lost.

2. Business Policies

Most of us who rent space have liability policies that cover the premises and some of our belongings. However, once more, there are risks involved with relying on these policies to insure our equipment. These, too, are often limited to a percentage of the policy coverage. And, they, too, may exclude specific “tools of the trade”. But, most of these companies will insure our equipment if we “schedule” it.

3. Equipment Policies

Therefore, most of us will want policies specifically designed to cover photographic equipment. There’s nothing exotic about this coverage and many companies can do it. It’s simply a matter of finding an agent who knows what we have, understands it, and helps us get the right coverage. In almost all cases, a proper inventory will be essential to the process.

A Few Final Words About Insurance

We buy insurance to give us peace of mind. We buy it to know that if there is a loss, we have a partner standing beside us who will help us get back on our feet. Each year we go without a claim is a good year — for us and for the company. And, we think little about the relationship.

It is at the time of loss that we need that partnership to work. We need a company that takes our claims seriously and responds, promptly and diligently to perform the promises it has made to us. And, we need to do everything we can to facilitate the company’s handling of our claims.

The more prepared we are for a loss, the more we can give the claim adjustor, the more likely we will have a prompt and proper administration of the claim.

My claim has been delayed for other reasons. There is a dispute as to what coverage my association was selling and the nature of my policy. As soon as that conflict is resolved, I’ll update this article, name names, and give a bit more insight as to what I perceive the value of the policy to be. I will say that at this time, I’m investigating other policies. I’ll share what I’ve learned, soon.

In the mean time, it might serve all of you well to take a good look at your own policies and discuss them with your agents. If you want “replacement” insurance, make sure you have it. And, make sure what responsibilities you have in terms of tracking and updating the values of your equipment.

But, Wait! There’s More!! A Word About Alarm Systems!!!

I know it’s a little late. The cameras are out of the corral. But, I’ve installed an alarm system at my studio.

I did it with mixed feelings. Truth be told, I’m not sure how much it will help.

The idea is that if someone breaks in, an alarm sounds, and a call goes out to the police. The police come and arrest the bad guys.

In theory, that’s great. But, it’s all dependent on one thing — the response time of the local police, how quickly they get to the studio after the alarm goes off.

If they can get there in less than 5 minutes, the chances are that they will catch someone.

But, in most cities, response times are much slower — and burglars know that. I’ve been told that most burglars count on being in and out in less than 10 minutes and know, if they are that quick, they will most likely get away.

So why did I put in the alarm? To raise the risk of getting caught AND to give myself peace of mind (even if it is a bit “false”).

The burglars cannot count on a response time. They will not know if there is a car in the vicinity of my studio that will get there in a couple of minutes. When that siren goes off, they will either leave or rush their survey of my stuff, both of which are good for me.

I did a lot of research on alarm systems and have chosen one that I think best meets many of our needs. I’m in the process of testing it. If it works well, I’ll write about it. I’ve also negotiated a discount program for my readers. So, if I think it’s worth installing, I’ll do a complete article on my research, why I chose this system, and offer a discount code for all of you.

More on this later.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2010)

Update:

Obviously, losing my computer and a lot of my equipment has pushed the schedule of my “works in progress”.  Some of the tasks cannot be done before I get replacement equipment. But, I’ll get these stories done. In addition, I’ve started playing with the Topaz line of filters; I like them a lot and will be writing about them, too. And, finally, I expect to find a lot of stuff at Photoshop World that will stimulate posts. Sorry, for the delay on the promised articles — but they will be done — soon, I hope.

Off Camera Flash: Learning to Love Nikon’s iTTL System

I’ve run into a major detour in an article I’m writing about learning to trust and use Nikon’s i-TTL (intelligent Through-The-Lens flash system). Currently the article is code named “Hot Flashes”. Why? No, it has nothing to do with menopause. It seems that like many of you, I’ve run into some serious overheating/shut off problems with my new Nikon SB900 flash that I’m using as a “commander” flash on my D3. Before writing the broader article about learning to trust and love iTTL (which I do),  I want to get to the bottom of the overheating issue.

Is it operator error? Are we making mistakes using our flashes?

Is the speedlight “over engineered” and shutting off prematurely? Should we disable the cut out function?

Or, is it really overheating? If so, is it a hardware problem — one that remains unfixed by Nikon’s firmware update? Or are there external factors such as batteries that are either influencing or causing the problems?

My sense is that it is a combination of all of the above, made worse by people who shoot “too fast” (whatever that is),  and I hope to sort some of this out, soon.

There have been a lot of fingers pointed at batteries — claiming using the wrong ones is causing the heat build up.

Eugene Thomas, of Thomas Distributing, a one stop shop for all things battery, generously took a lot of time to explain “Battery 101″ to me. Using what I learned,  I’m going to run some battery tests —  Sanyo Eneloops v. the different brands of NiMh batteries I’m now using. Reader reports strongly favor the Eneloops; there is a body of users who claim that they help minimize SB900 overheating. And, the Eneloops can spend a lot more time on the shelf or in the camera bag without discharging.

I’m also trying to find people at Nikon who will share their wisdom and advice on the subject.

You, too, can contribute. I’d love to know your experiences and get your ideas as to what’s going on and how you’ve solved it. I started a very productive thread on one of my favorite websites, Nikonians. You can read it here. If you have ideas or answers, I’d love to know them before I write the article. Please use the contact section of this site to send them to me.

The SB900 is a great flash with many advanced features. I look forward to completing the article in which it plays a major role.

Little Things Enable Big Things

As I struggle to gain some traction on the “overheating issue” I do want to share with you some accessories that I’ve been using to make my off camera flash work more productive. There’s no reason for you to have to wait for these tips — which I’ll write about, in more depth, in the iTTL article.

From Joe McNally, and his buddy Syl Arena, and from my friends at TriCoast Photography, I’ve learned the importance of precisely placing the off camera flash and its modifier. When we work alone, most of us put the units on light stands or clamp them somewhere.

However, if we have an assistant, there is a better, more precise way, “the human, brain driven light stand”. Simply stated, we put the flash in the hands of an assistant and let him or her aim it where we want it. “Um, can you raise it up a bit?” “Now, a little more toward the side”. Instant control without having to put down the camera or move from the shooting spot.

But what do we do if we want the light placed where our human stand cannot reach? We put it on an arm extension — often known as a stick. Back on the farm, I learned to attach all kinds of things together with bailing twine and duct tape (known in our industry as gaffer’s tape.) The farm solutions worked, but they were not elegant.

So, leave it to Syl, Joe, TriCoast and a host of other people to figure out a more elegant solution for those who do not wander around in bib overalls with pockets full of twine.

Enter the “painters poll” — that extendable pole, upon which painters put rollers — used to reach places beyond arm length.

The poles are easy to find — just go to any Home Depot, Lowes, or paint supply store. Try them out — there are a lot of varieties. I chose the pole Joe and Syl use, a Shur-Line that extends from 4-9 feet. The thing I like most about it is that it has a trigger locking system that is both adjustable and solid.

But, because they were made for painters, not photographers, they share one characteristic. They have a “male” threaded fitting on the end. Most are 3/4×5 (the shaft is 3/4″ and there are 5 threads per inch); this is a wide, coarse thread — made for the threads on the female end of a paint roller.

So, how do we attach our flashes to the pole? Gaffers tape would work — but it is ugly.

The solution? The Kacey Pole Adapter sold by Midwest Photo Exchange. The Kacey threads onto the pole and converts the end to a 5/8 baby pin — the same pin we find on our light stands. Once the adaptor is in place, we can put our flash fixtures on it — just as we would on a stand specifically made for photography.

One IMPORTANT NOTE about mounting the Kacey on the painter’s stick — You must use a very strong thread locking compound like LocTite. If you don’t, the weight of the fixtures on the end will cause the Kacey to turn and loosen up because the threads on the pole are so coarse that they will give way easily. Keeping the threads from slipping is not difficult to do. I put #271 Red LocTite on the threads, mounted the Kacey and tightened it AND let it dry for 24 hours. I have a rock solid fitting that does not slip — even at extreme angles. (You can get small tubes of Loc-Tite at your hardware or auto parts store.)

In picking a pole and mounting the Kacey, think of one thing — you have some very valuable equipment on the end of that pole that you do not want to drop on someone’s head. That’s why you have to make sure you have a very solid connection between the Kacey and the pole and between the lights and the Kacey.

So, what do I put on the end of my pole? Either a single Speedlight or one of my favorite fixtures, the Photoflex DualFlash Adapter Kit. Here’s what I like most about the Photoflex — it is a turn-key operation. It comes with an “angle mount” with built in umbrella holder. It will take two Speedlights (actually 3 if you put one behind the pole) or two Speedlights and 2 Pocket Wizards should you choose to use them. Everything about the DualFlash is well thought out. A very nice touch is the way the flashes attach to the hot shoes; this is a precision fit mechanism AND there is a gap under the flash so there is no danger that the pins will touch metal (which can short out the flash.)

If I want to diffuse the flash, the bracket will let me mount one of my Creative Light shoot-through umbrellas, or a Matthews Road Rags diffusion panel.

One note about my dual flash set up: Le’t not get confused. If we are shooting iTTL, in Aperture Priority mode, the way Joe McNally usually shoots, using two Speedlights does not double the amount of flash. It gives you a bigger source of flash, will recycle more quickly, and may save battery power, but it does not double the output of the flash. Why? Let’s say we are shooting Aperture Priority at f/8. In iTTL, the camera is reading the light and telling the strobes to put out just enough flash to give a proper exposure at f/8. The amount of flash needed is constant. Whether we use one, two or three strobes, the subject only needs so much light. But, if you are shooting the flashes in their manual mode, not controlled by iTTL, that is a different matter. I’ll write more on this when I get around to writing my iTTL article.

Note: that fitting at the end of the pole — the one with the knurled handle — is the Kacey. Without it, none of this would be easy.

Finally, I’ve added my own wrinkle to the McNally/Arena set up: I bought a fish fighting belt to give to whomever is helping me by holding the pole. Why? Because the thing gets heavy. The more you put on the end, and  the more so as you extend it out, the heavier it gets; Jen tells me it has something to do with the law of “torque”. Take that sucker out 9 feet with a couple of strobes on it and the leverage  will make a strong person weak. After struggling with this, myself, I came up with a solution.

When I fished saltwater, as a small kid, we wore belts with little pockets on them. We stuck the rod ends into the pockets and gained control of the heavy load — rod, reel, and monster fish. So, I bought what is known as a “fish fighting belt”. Here’s how it works with the pole.

I’ll be back with the complete discussion of iTTL, soon.

Self-Assignment: Shooting What’s Around Me and Right Under My Nose

I’m a pretty serious fisherman. I’ve fished tournaments and have been a guide. Most of my fishing has been done at on a lake on which I have a cottage in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. What does this have to do with photography? You’ll see.

For the first several years I fished my lake, I’d get in my boat and go to the other side of the lake. Or, to the bays far to the south of me. Or the shore far to the north. In fact, for many years, I never fished in front of my own cottage and dock.

Why? Because, somehow, I had convinced myself that I had to go far away to get find the best places to fish.

Until, one day, I decided not to. I moved my boat 40 feet into the lake, held position with my trolling motor, and fished a weed bed that is directly in front of my cottage and one that I’d looked at for all the years I’d been there. Bang. A fish. And, another. And, another. Right in front of my cottage, I had found one of the hottest walleye spots on the lake. Over the years, I’ve caught and released several big musky from the same weed bed. And, after moving to Texas and learning how to “worm” — I took the technique up to Wisconsin and caught and released some great small mouth bass — in the same weeds.

These days, I still cross the lake to fish — partly because I like to cross the lake. But, I am also very aware of what’s around my home base.

Why am I writing about this now? Because of an experience I had a few days ago.

I left my studio, with my good friend and excellent photographer, Ed Bensen, in the car. Ed had seen a restored ’32 Ford pick up in a lot on a road I often travel — within minutes of my studio. I am so into photographing cars that I had to find this truck and its owner to see if he or she would let me shoot it.

As we were passing buildings I’ve passed at least a hundred times, on a whim,  I turned into one about which I had been curious, but had never stopped to explore. Eureka — a funky, covered courtyard with bright colors, stone work, odd sculptures, skylights that were diffusing the sun — a very different and interesting place to shoot. I’ve got the name of the owner and I’ll be calling to get permission to shoot there.

Invigorated by the find, knowing how Columbus must have felt, we got back into the car in search of the Red Truck.

But, on another whim, I turned off the road I “knew so well” but obviously had never looked at, and made a right turn onto a side street. Bang. Weathered metal buildings of once bright colors. Period architecture — a lot of it from the 30′s and 40′s (how it survived the gentrification of the area I don’t know, but I do feel its days are numbered). The exact types of locations I’ve wanted for a shoot. In my head, I’ve got a self-assignment I call “juxtapositions” — the mixing of elegant fashion and decaying industrial sites. Within a mile or so of my studio, I found a bunch of perfect locations.

My plan? To go back to the area to get permission from the owners to shoot on their property. When I’ve completed the project, I’ll write it up.

But, until then, I’m going to make sure to look around wherever I am, to really open my creative eyes. I’m not going to cross the lake until I’ve “fished my side”. Beauty is all around us. We just have to open our eyes to see it.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2010)