Bristol Wedding Photographer - Albert Palmer

Find a different perspective at a wedding

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 1:35 PM.

One wedding photographer whose work I admire is becker. One technique he consistently uses is to capture the scene from a different perspective. Shooting at eye level works well for a variety of scenes at a wedding but shooting from a low or high position adds a certain dynamic to the shot. Using a different perspective adds a nice change of pace but another important reason is that it tends to simplify the background. One tip is to bring a stepladder with you, this can be really handy especially for group shots where people at the back can be blocked out. The other tip is to sit down on the floor, or at least crouch down. Finding a different perspective can really help make your images more interested and unique.

I received my Canon 5DMKII back from repairs today! I shot the above image with a 30D, and whilst it is a nice image it doesn't have the detail that a 21MP sensor gives you.

Labels: Techniques, Wedding Photography

Main website update - bertpalmer.com

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 3:58 AM.

I've always tried to work hard to ensure my site looks as good as it possibly can. I do have a lot of pride in my website, mainly because I invest so much time in learning html, css and flash and what I make is my own 'art' as if I were building a house. So what have I changed?

Mainly the menus. I have focused the site more towards selling my services as a professional photographer rather than a showcase of my work. So, my menus have changed in line with customers visiting my site rather than other photographers.

I have also changed my flash galleries so rather than using simpleviewer where the user can navigate through the photos I have used Adobe Flash CS4 to create a simple slideshow of images. I have a different slideshow for each category (weddings, families and models) and although this is a bit of pain to maintain and update with new photos I am please with the overall look. Certainly it looks a bit tidier than the last version. I have made the flash slideshow a lot larger and placed it in the header bar. Adobe Photoshop CS4 really came in to it's own in helping my stretch my photos without distorting them so that they fit in the super wide slideshow.

I like the clean look of my site and whilst I'd like to have the skills to make it even prettier I'm a photographer not a coder! I do find it strange how the look differs from mac to windows. On my Mac everything is aligned beautifully but when I boot Vista or XP using parallels things are not aligned properly so there has been a fair bit of tinkering to get that looking right. This was especially important as I imagine most of the people who visit my site will be using Vista or XP.

One other area I need help with is the text on the site. I'm not naturally great with words so I will continue to rewrite that until I am happy.

Any comments please share them!

Labels: Web

Shooting with two camera bodies

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 7:12 AM.

One tip to save time in post processing is to make sure that all of your camera bodies have the same time and date. Not 'about the same', but exactly the same.

Once you have imported your images from the different cameras in to your software program of choice you will simply be able to organise them by the time they were captured. If the cameras are a few minutes apart then the sequence of events can be totally out. This means a lot of manual organisation on your part and time wasted. There isn't really another way to organise your photos as you can't rely on the file number. Make sure that you add this to your list of things to do before each wedding and keep it in the routine just as you would checking your batteries.

Labels: Equipment, Guide, Techniques, Wedding Photography

Photographing babies and children

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 4:03 AM.

If you haven't photographed children before you might feel a bit of trepidation even if you're used to portraiture because there is a lot to learn.

First it's helpful to start the shoot at the right time of the day. This means avoiding meal or nap time. It's really hard to get smiles at these times, before a nap they are too tired, and afterwards can be bad too. Often food will help calm a baby down, but you need to be careful because it sometimes has a tendency to come back up! Most parents with a child of a few months know this, but just in case you don't.

Getting the attention of a baby is really important. A tripod and remote release are extremely helpful in getting posed shots because you can give your attention to the child and not have to be behind the camera. You can get really cute close ups when they're sitting alone, the trick is to get a smile.

For the 4 months - 1 year the tricks are setting up the camera where you want it. Try to frame the subject loosely since children have a tendency to move! Get a piece of cardboard in one hand and the shutter release in the other and play peek-a-boo using the cardboard. Sometimes I use the camera going behind it to check the framing while I'm playing. Another technique is putting a stuffed animal on your head and sneezing it off, but that usually works better for slightly older children. You can also use a stuffed animal to tickle the baby, but then bring it back towards the camera quickly to draw their attention towards the lens while they are smiling. Whatever technique you use the main point I'm making is that it's easier to get a smiling expression engaging with the child rather than behind the camera.

Taking pictures of newborns (up to 1.5 months) is extremely hard. In my experience the only cute pictures you can take are when they are sleeping! But if it is the parent's first baby they inevitably want a picture of the baby with their eyes open. Remember that they can't really focus their eyes on anything so they always look kind of dazed so you may want to hand hold the camera here.

2-4 months - Children are starting to be able to smile and you can often induce it with some of the methods mentioned above. They still can't sit up or do much on their own so posing options are limited but if you can find a basket you can put appropriate coloured blankets (blue or pink) and place the baby on them. This can look pretty cute especially when wearing nappies. Again you could use cushions to prop them up or have a parent support them with their hand.

5-6 month olds seem to be much more receptive to induced smiling so use the techniques above along with sound to get the child's attention. This is a great age for hand and feet shots. Don't forget to use mum to cradle the child's crossed feet, sometimes they will kick but at least you can't tell if they are crying!

7-9 months old is a great age to photograph children. They seem much more responsive to things and are starting to understand the world. Today I had a session where all I had to do with a 9 month old was smile at her and she smiled back at me, it made my job much easier, and much more fun, it really fills your heart when babies smile at you.

10 months 1.5 years old can be fun depending on the kind of day or hour the child is having. At this age most know how to walk. If you're using a hand held camera with no flash you might actually have an advantage over a tripod setup at times. Basically it's about getting the kid at the right time of day and figuring out how to get them still long enough for you to get your exposure. If you can distract them with some funny antics while a parent sets them up it usually helps. Don't forget you can always crop in post production because children are so mobile at this age so don't be afraid not to get too close.

1.5 - 3 years - The "terrible twos." This is the age of extremes, so either the child will love having their picture taken or be absolutely terrified. I haven't mentioned this yet, but if the kid is complaining about the prospect it's best to reschedule your photo shoot for a better time. This seems to be the time that children start learning about "stranger danger" so a minute or two in the shooting environment can help them get used to the situation. They're almost old enough to negotiate with (I'll give you a sticker if you do this) at the end of this age group, but not quite. Don't expect too much they can be really fun or really frustrating, it's all depending on how they warm up to you, so it's important to create a rapport with the child before you start pointing things at them. This is the age group that really finds the sneezing the stuff off your head hilarious!

4-7 year olds. They'll sit for you pretty well as long as you keep them engaged. You have to understand their personality like you would an adult to get them to come out of their shell. If mum or dad has been taking their picture then they are likely to be used to it by now. Try to avoid forced smiles though!

I hope this has been useful - in the next post I will talk about the best lenses to use.

Labels: Guide, Techniques

Prepare, plan, and prepare

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at 2:08 PM.

There are two good reasons to prepare, plan and prepare.

Firstly everyone has heard of 'pre wedding nerves.' This applies to the wedding photographer too. It's good to be on edge, you don't want to be too complacent about how good you are. Equally you don't want your nerves to affect your performance. An effective way to control your nerves is to PREPARE yourself as much as you can. You will need to adjust to the events of the day and if something within your control goes wrong you need to have a backup plan. What happens if your camera dies, you run out of memory or batteries for your flash. What happens if it rains outside where you planned to do the formal shots? What happens if the guests keep looking at their friends taking pictures of them rather than you. What happens if your camera can't get the right white balance between daylight coming through the windows and tungsten?

You need to have answers to these kind of questions. Preparing your gear and researching the location will make you feel more confident about the event and rather than being distracted by your nerves you will be able to 'focus' on the job in hand.

The second reason is that if your plans go wrong then you have a physical backup or a backup plan. This is not psychological but very real! Having a backup for everything may seem like overkill but let me assure you it is not. Weddings only happen once and you can't even think about photographing one without serious preparation.

This is why if you drop your main portrait lens you have an alternative. Obviously you don't need to carry two of every lens, but if you crack your 70-200/2.8 then you can whip out your 100/2.8 macro and shoot with that. In short, do your best to be fully prepared so that if something happens you can rest comfortably in the knowledge that you were as prepared as you could possibly be.

As I mentioned previously things rarely go to plan on the day and you have to expect the unexpected and go with the flow. Whilst you need to memorise your list of formal shots keep a note of them and check them at the end of the wedding. If you forgot to take a shot of the groom and bridesmaids then you can check your list before the end of the wedding and organise an impromptu shoot.

The schedule often changes. Don't be surprised if the bride arrives 15 minutes late for the ceremony. This will impact on your 30 minutes of allocated time for a photoshoot and you will only get 15. Get the important emotional shots during and after the ceremony make sure you explain to the organiser or bride what has happened. They will help you to organise people and explain what has happened and ease the pressure on you so you can do the best job in the circumstances.

Don't get irritable if things don't go to plan. This doesn't help anyone and it is so true that the person in front of the camera mirrors the person behind it. Joke and have fun with them. Provide positive GENUINE feedback, chimp and adjust your subjects as necessary so that they feel good about themselves. Remember the more practice you have the less stressed you will be. The less stressed you are the less mistakes you make.

Labels: Gear, Guide, Techniques, Wedding Photography

Master exposure compensation

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Monday, April 6, 2009 at 12:40 PM.

If you shoot weddings one skill that you need to master is exposure compensation. There's a good reason for this as you will generally find yourself shooting in many different lighting conditions. Ambient light, window light, door light, flash light are all factors to consider - when people exit or enter buildings you will have to manage your exposure and not rely on the camera.

There are a number of ways to achieve this - the first of which is to use fill flash, but you could also use centre weighted or spot metering. However if you try the last two methods you have to fiddle around with your gear wasting valuable seconds so for me a flash with -2 exposure compensation does the trick in providing light to the 'silhouetted' subject.

Shooting in RAW obviously adds greater flexibility in drawing out the shadows or hiding the blown highlights but you lose a lot of detail and clarity.

Labels: Techniques

Wedding photography camera equipment

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Friday, April 3, 2009 at 1:58 PM.

As a wedding photographer I know that it is essential to make the most of the tools you have. Better tools don't necessarily make better pictures, but they certainly give you a helping hand.

It may seem like a bit of an extravagance to photographers who are starting out but you MUST make sure you have a backup body. I always thought this was a bit of a luxury until one day I was out on a model shoot and my camera simply stopped working. Lucky we are almost at the end of the shoot and it wasn't a paid event but imagine if that had happened half way through a ceremony! No excuses, no explanation is going to work.

So make sure you have two bodies with you at a minimum! Although the more the better. That doesn't mean you have to use one and leave the other in your bag! Use both! I use one with the wide angle 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM and the other with the 80-200mm f/2.8 L USM

At least part of the wedding is held in doors, and in church's the light is very dim. If you can get lenses with Image Stabilisation it's a good start but you MUST make sure your body has good low light ISO performance. This makes the world f difference and being able to shoot without flash can open up new avenues as well as make things less complicated.

What is the most important lens a wedding photography should have? I would say a wide angle zoom lens. Really you need this for your group shots and the tight indoor shots such as inside the church.
For a crop sensor something in the 16-35mm f/2.8 range would be ideal, and for full frame, 24-70mm f/2.8 The big aperture helps you enormously in low light conditions as well as giving a pleasing depth of field.
For telephoto lens, 70-200mm range is adequate.
Prime lens or macro lens will be great in low light condition and also for artistic photography because it can create a beautiful bokeh (depth of field) try 30mm, 50mm, 60mm, 85mm or 100mm

Other equipment that you might want to carry includes a flash. If you have a body with good ISO performance, wide aperture lenses and even IS then this may not be a huge requirement - but yu never know - they can come in handy for when you don't want to shoot at ISO3200.

Lastly you need plenty of memory cards. You will probably take about 2000 pics a day, and when you shoot RAW you need a good 40GB of storage for a 21MP camera like the Canon 5DMKII. Whilst it is a lot of storage the good news is that it is cheap. Personally I don't buy big performance cards - I've never had a reliability problem with the cheaper brands and the camera's buffer takes care of the lot of the rapid fire shots so write speeds have never been a problem. Model shoots are a problem though!

Always take 3 sets of batteries for each body and flash unit as well as rechargers. Yes it sounds like a lot but the last thing you want to do is not be able to shoot because forgot to charge the batteries last night...

No amount of gear will ensure you get the best pictures, that's up to you. But preparing this stuff beforehand will take a whole lot of stress out of, what is a hugely stressful day. Knowing that if something goes wrong you can simply pull another camera out of your bag and be ready to go immediately will be a huge weight off your mind.

Labels: Equipment, Wedding Photography

The wedding photographer's formal shot list

0 Comments Published by Albert Palmer on Thursday, April 2, 2009 at 12:44 AM.

One thing that I have learned by shadowing wedding photographers and my own experience is to plan your formal shoot sequentially. What I mean by this is plan it beforehand so that each shot naturally runs on to the next shot. Stick to this for every wedding you do and it will become second nature and you will become more efficient.

Most couples want their wedding to be covered candidly but they also want formal shots. When I meet with the couple to discuss what they want and how they want me to cover the wedding the subject of formal shots always comes up. I make sure I take note of what they want then and leave them a copy so there is no confusion later on. Below is my 'set list' that I show to the customer - they can then add or remove any shots that aren't included or aren't applicable. Make sure you WRITE THIS DOWN because you can't afford to forget that special picture of the bride and her best friend.

Bride alone (full length and portrait)
Bride with Maid of Honour
Bride with bridesmaids
Bride with groomsmen
Bride with her parents
Groom with bridesmaids
Groom with best man
Groom with groomsmen
Groom with his parents
Bride & Groom together
Bride & Groom with bride’s parents
Bride & Groom with bride’s parents & immediate family
Bride & Groom with groom’s parents
Bride & Groom with groom’s parents & immediate family
Bride & Groom with both parents
Bride & Groom with families
Bride & Groom with entire wedding party
Bride & Groom with best man and mad of honour
Bride & Groom with officient

For me this is the best order as one shot runs in to the next. When you discuss the set list with the couple take note of the names and relationships so that when the time comes you can call people in to the scene. I highly recommend you memorise this list. It doesn't look professional to keep looking at a piece of paper in your pocket because you don't know what comes next! Don't forget, you NEED to gain the confidence of your subjects.

I also 'apologise' to the guests that I'll be a noisy and a bit bossy but we need to be quick so that people aren't standing around too long. They also appreciate a firm and authoritative but kindly voice so they don't miss being called. I suggest that if you have a crier, speaker or host at the wedding who is in charge of co-ordinates things - make friends with him and ask him to shout out your list. I have often found that he tends to have the kind of voice people listen to!

Labels: Guide, Wedding Photography

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