RAW vs. JPEG

Here is an embarrassing fact, I have never, until this day, shot in RAW. OK, fellow photographers, go ahead and laugh or gasp in horror but the truth is that until this day I really didn't grasp the huge difference in quality between the two and shooting in RAW just sounds so complicated. Like the egg roll wrappers, it scared me. I need to really get over these unreasonable fears.

Now, the above comparison shows two images, 1 edited in camera raw 6.0, the other edited in photoshop CS5. I edited the RAW file first and then tried my best to mimic the finished product with the JPEG copy of the image. As you can see there is a huge difference!! The RAW file is more detailed, and for lack of a better term, you can differentiate between the colors better. Look at the tag for example, in the jpeg the tag is dark blue but in the RAW file you can spot a few different blues.

In addition to overall appearance RAW is super easy to edit, it takes 30 seconds max per image and you're done. Not to mention you've got a heck of a lot more freedom with editing. It's pretty much amazing. Also, depending on your camera you may be able to take both a raw and jpeg file simultaneously, meaning for every raw photo you take you have a jpeg copy of it.

So for all of you photographers out there who are afraid of RAW, don't be. Go ahead and give it a try, but maybe bring an extra memory card with you on your first RAW photo shoot because the files are large, especially if you're taking jpeg copies, that card will fill up fast!

Not so Wordless and Wow Wednesday

A fellow blogger posts a wordless and wow wednesday post every week where she just posts an amazing picture. I admire her, but I have issues with not writing, I don't think it's possible for me to post a photo without words. But I will do my best to keep those words limited in honor of wordless wednesday. I think I've already failed though. Here we go:

Wow, those are some cute Spurs fans!

Wow, that's a shallow depth of field!

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...

Or in this case if you give a photographer a really big client that accounts for 85% of that photographers income, she's going to cry if she thinks she lost that client. Then rejoice and thank God when that client calls and schedules the session. Then silently freak out when she is told the session is in less than 24hrs. Then freak out some more, not so silently, when she realizes she has no childcare because the CDC is full.



I think this stopped being anything like that mouse/cookie scenario a while ago.

In other news we just got back from San Diego where we stayed at MCRD, went to Coronado island, I ate a sea salt chocolate truffle and did not care for the salt, then we went to Coronado Naval Base. We like to go to other bases and see what they've got to offer. So far 29 Palms is the worst in terms of retail on board the base (MCRD has a wine store!!) but strangely I found myself missing home. I was sitting on a beach, on an island in the Pacific (albeit an island only 1/2 a mile from the mainland ) and I was missing my desert home. Something is not right about that. We also ate Mexican food and it truly irritates me that California severely under estimates the power of a freshly made flour tortilla. Fresh tortillas are amazing, truly amazing and they're so easy to make so why do these restaurants buy mass produced tortillas? I think I'm just going to give up entirely on California Mexican food. Maybe one day I'll open up a Tex-Mex diner and show them what it's all about. Yes, a gringa running a Mexican food place, it could work.

Beautiful Girl

This girl amazes me with her ability to pose for the camera. She somehow knows exactly what to do and when I take her out to 29 Palms Inn for her annual photo session the session is always in her hands. I let Haley do her thing and I just simply push the shutter button. Every single one of her poses is her idea. Of course I'll direct her into the right lighting, or suggest she grab a buttercup, or twirl in the sunshine, etc.

The other two photos of Haley and her friend are kind of sentimental to me. When I was a kid I had a friend named Mirna and we would pick buttercups every spring and laugh at the way the pollen turned our noses yellow if we sniffed them. I have always told Haley stories about my friendships as a kid and how close I was to my best friends and although she loves hearing the stories she was always a little sad afterwards because she's never had that kind of friendship. But now she's got a very good friend and the two of them can laugh about buttercup pollen together.

50D Review

The 50d is such a great camera. It's super easy to use and Canon does a great job of making it easy to transition to from one canon to the next. On the dial you have your basic camera modes in auto and manual but Canon has added three new dials, CA, C1, and C2. I haven't dabbled yet in CA but C1 and C2 allow you to save custom settings. So if I know that when I shoot in studio I need my camera set a certain way I can just save those settings on C1 and turn my dial to C1 every time I have a studio session. Aside from the obvious boost in image quality from my rebel the 50d just feels like a better camera. My rebel could be described as dinky and puny in comparison. The 50d is noticeably larger, more powerful, and it makes a really beautiful shutter sound. I seriously love that sound.

As far as image quality goes, click on the photo above and view it large to see how grain looks. My xti has noticeable grain if viewed large and the light is not evenly distributed, it's a darker photo all around. You can also see a noticeable difference in white balance. Overall, I am so so so glad I upgraded. Oh, and in case your wondering (Mom and Dad) SOOC means straight out of camera, no editing or enhancements.

Camera

I recently purchased a new camera, a canon 50d. Back in 2006 when I began pursuing my dream of taking my photography skills from a hobby to a professional business venture I bought the Canon Rebel XTI, a good beginners camera. Nick and I talked about it and we agreed to upgrade once things really started taking off. At the time I felt like that would never happen but now things are different. I'm confident in my work, I have a steady stream of clientele, repeat customers, and I things are very routine now. I have a system and that system works really well. So, I decided it was time for an upgrade and guess what I found? A canon 1d mark II camera used for about $3,000 less than the cost of a new one. This is the Mark II:





Yeah, it's big. It's a monster. It dwarfs the lens. It would look fabulous in my hands. So I ordered it. But there was something about it that concerned me, it's only 8.2 mega pixels and my rebel is 10 or so. But it was just so pretty, and big, and normally expensive, I HAD to have it. I needed to have it. I ordered it on Easter weekend and spent the entire weekend looking at photos taken with it on flickr.com and my concern over the mega pixels grew. First of all I could not find many portraits taken with it. Second of all, the portraits I did find seemed slightly out of focus and amateurish. So I did some research which you're probably thinking should have been done in advance, yeah I know but b&h photo video is an excellent company and they're really nice about returns and exchanges. Anyway, it turns out this camera is best for action shots. So if you're a wildlife photographer it's fantastic, if you shoot sports, it's amazing, if you take portraits, it's lackluster...but it looks fabulous in your hands. So I sulked for a few minutes, then I exchanged it for a 50d which is a really nice camera, and much more suitable for my needs. It's 15 mega pixel, handles high ISO extremely well. You can go up to 3200 ISO without noticeable grain, and the camera is capable of 12,800 ISO, but you probably suffer substantial image quality reduction, but it's there if you need it. Here it is:

It's nice. It won't amaze people when they see it, they won't look at me and think "oh, now there is a photographer" but it's nice, and it will take amazing photos. Plus it has a digic IV processor. That is the best part. A digic IV processor allows finer detail and better color reproduction. It's also capable of taking 6.3 frames per second which means if I do find myself in a situation where I need to take photos of wildlife in motion I can do that easily. So there you have it, my new camera. It might come this afternoon and if it does I will compare it to my rebel by taking identical photos with the same lenses on both cameras, then comparing the photos side by side. I will post those tomorrow possibly.

Whitney's Website

In an effort to revamp my business I decided to purchase a flash website. I've had it up for only 2 1/4 days and already it's been bringing me business. I am so thrilled! The only thing I'm not thrilled about is that I'm not fully done "revamping" and I wasn't going to unveil the new me until after I returned from Texas this summer. It doesn't do any good to become a popular photographer and then leave the area for 2 months.

Here it is for anyone that wants to take a peek. The site has music just to let you know. Turn your speakers up, as my mom likes to remind everyone who looks at it.

Family Photos

Yesterday we had our family photos done by my friend and fellow photographer, Shaunna Barry. I made a few storyboards out of my favorites. Feel free to copy these and make your own prints, they are both size 20x10. I can also change the text easily to something less personal and then email them.

These are awesome because they are so versatile. You can frame them or you can mount them on styrene and display them on a plate stand or hot glue a cute ribbon to the back and them on the wall. I'm ordering both but the one of just Haley and I is going to be hung in her room.

Photography Studio

I am so incredibly excited! I am finally, after nearly 2 years of being a professional, getting my studio put together. Yesterday Nick and I went to home depot where we got a 4'x4' section of laminate flooring, a couple pieces of plywood, and a piece of molding in order to create this look:

The wood flooring is a very popular look right now, it's supposed to look as if the subject is sitting on the floor in a room with a painted wall. I like it because it's portable since the wood planks just snap together I can easily unsnap them and put them back into their box.

Then I decided I needed some props for my studio so I went antique shopping and found an incredibly cute bench/stool for $15 and a red step stool for $10. I figure they will be good for having little kids sit on. I have been feeling really creative lately and a very popular photo prop right now is tutus however these can run $40! Instead of paying that and waiting a week for them to arrive I went down to walmart, spent $8 on materials and 2 hours later I had this:

Now I'm waiting for my lighting kit and my seamless paper backdrops and I am all set! I can't wait to be able to photograph in studio!

10x20 Storyboard of Miss Haley

The other day Haley and I went out and had a photo session at the beautiful 29 Palms Inn (of course) and today I made the story board pictured above. It's 10x20, so it's a good size and it comes mounted to styrene and has a ribbon attached so it can hang on the wall. If you're not into ribbons you can choose to display it on a plate stand. As much as I would love to make one for everyone in the family these bad boys cost $18 to make, so instead I'll take orders or you can copy it and print it yourself. You can get it with or without her name displayed at the bottom. Also, if you don't order the storyboard it's ok, I'll be ordering regular prints to distribute to everyone soon.

The finished product will look something like this http://www.flickr.com/photos/ambernorris-photography/2825432669/