When I first started Steele Style Shots, I picked an arbitrary mile mark to measure my ‘success’. The goal was to simply have my photography Facebook page outnumber the followers on my personal Facebook page. In actuality, not much of a goal as my day job forces me to pick and choose my Facebook friends cautiously. I picked this goal to prove to myself that there are people out there that liked my work that were outside of my friends and family (and I knew my mom couldn’t create that many fake accounts to like my work). Over time though, my goal has changed. Now don’t get me wrong. It feels great when I stumble across my images on other sites (even without my approval) or when something is shared far more than I ever could have expected. That’s all great, but that’s also all just gravy (or the icing on the cake for those of you out there with a sweet tooth). By the time one of my images hits the internet, I am generally finished with it. If it garners likes, comments, and/or followers, that just makes it even better. The joy of an image starts with the conception of the idea, finding a way to make it happen, finding a model (if needed), transferring the image in my mind into a camera, and finally editing the image to make it the best it can be. From day one, I set out to make my sites a visual gauge on my photography over time allowing others to follow along on the journey if they wished. But something else has happened along the way. Something I honestly did not foresee or could have ever guessed would have flowed from my work. Connections. Because of my photography, I have connected with numerous individuals and moments in ways I never would have anticipated. I have been touched so deeply by these individuals and events that my life simply will never be the same. I have experienced moments that will last a lifetime. I have connected with star-filled night skies in a way that has profoundly helped me find my own unique place in the universe. These are some of the reasons I am so addicted to photography. One of these ‘connections’ has once again made a mark on my heart and soul. After a recent photo shoot with my good friend Alecia Earle, she pulled out a box and handed me a gift. This wasn’t the first time she has caught me off guard with something amazing. You can read more about the first time she made me cry, here. Covered in fake blood (a session for my upcoming Halloween album) I started to open the box until I realized this was more than just a gift. This was something far more. Alecia had reached out to an online photography equipment site and had inquired about a unique gift to fit my passion. Not only did she mention what type of photography I like, but she also gave the person links to my sites to check out my work. The owner of the site responded back with a suggestion and Alecia followed up. I am now the very proud owner of a Kodak No. 1 Series III camera. This camera was produced between April 1914 through December 1914 - an incredibly short production run. In addition to being in great condition, this camera is rumored to still be in proper working order! And yes, I do plan on purchasing some film and taking this camera out for a spin after some careful cleaning! This will be a test of my abilities in operating a camera in manual mode as this is just about as manual as you can get! No chimping at the screen to see if the exposure looks about right. No do-overs if it wasn’t spot on. I won’t know until the film is developed! It took me at least 30 minutes to figure out how to open the camera to put in film and probably another 15 minutes just to figure out how to open the front of the camera up. Thank God for the internet! As you can imagine, I was blown away. The gift is amazing but it’s the individual and the thought behind the gift that has etched a mark on my heart. Even without the gift, the connection I have made with Alecia, because of photography, is something that has made me rich beyond measure. Click on image to magnify I have captured tender loving moments at a wedding that still give me goose bumps when I look at the images. I have documented what a type 1 diabetic goes through day in and day out and that session was by far the most intimate photo shoot I have ever done. I have captured brand new faces of babies and proud parents. I have captured the shadow of Venus crossing between the sun and the earth – something that will never happen again in my lifetime. Even in planned model portrait shoots, I have captured amazing people in genuine smiles and laughs. And they in return, have captured a piece of me. Strangers have become friends, colleagues and friends have become best friends, and all because I have a camera and a few lenses. I couldn’t begin to tell you who or how many people liked one of my photos a year ago today, but I can tell you what made the bride cry. I can tell you who I was with during the Venus transit and eclipses. I can tell you why some of the individuals I’ve worked with got into modeling. I can tell you why my best friend switched from landscapes to portraiture. I can tell you why I have a hard-bound book of my astrophotography. And I can tell you why I miss one of my favorite models. Connections… Thank you again, Alecia Earle!
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I once heard a saying that ‘diabetics are naturally sweet’. After my latest photoshoot with Mattie, I couldn’t agree more. As mentioned in one of my previous blogs, my wife works at the Children’s Diabetes Foundation in Colorado. She has worked there on and off for a little over 10 years. She loves her job and loves helping the organization raise money for diabetes research and services for diabetic children. One of her co-workers, Mattie, is diabetic. I honestly cannot remember how the conversation started, but it ended with Mattie and I collaborating on some images that she could hopefully use on social media to further educate the general public on diabetes. Since I am not diabetic, I know nothing about diabetes other than what I might randomly hear on the news or from a conversation I might overhear at work. During our shoot, I learned more about diabetes than I imagined I would. But my intent is not to educate you on diabetes. If you are looking for that information, please visit the Children’s Diabetes Foundation. They are a remarkable source of information and support. In fact, you can follow Mattie’s blogs on their site as well. My intent is to show the never ending routines some diabetic individuals must deal with on a day to day basis. Although I hope the organization can use the images to further their cause, I think it’s also important to see the side of it most of us do not know about. What better way to do that than with images. I think when most people hear the term ‘diabetes’, they instantly think of pricked fingers and insulin shots. But as I found out during our shoot, there is far more to it than that. I hate needles, always have, and I’m willing to bet most people feel the same way. My intent was to get some simple diabetes related images first and to save the finger pricking for the last few images of our session so she didn’t have to endure the pain throughout the whole shoot. I would term my thought process now, as ‘diabetic ignorance’. She brought a lot of equipment we could work with for the shoot and she explained how everything worked, including pricking her finger right there on the spot! I was blown away! Something I was trying to protect her from until the end of the shoot, she had done in the first few minutes without hesitation or concern. Not only did I reaffirm in that instant that I am a whimp, I also learned the strength Mattie has discovered in herself from years upon years of dealing with diabetes. But there’s more…. She used the shoot as a time to document the entire process she goes through on a routine basis. She demonstrated how she installs monitors. Click on the images for larger pictures She also demonstrated how she installs her insulin pump. …and the foods she eats when she needs sugar. I also learned that she indeed can eat sugar, something I always thought diabetics were not supposed to do. Again, diabetic ignorance. Lastly, we ended with the quintessential finger prick and blood test. In all honesty, she wanted an image showing all of her fingers pricked but I wanted a more close-up and personal image just using a single finger. I can’t imagine purposely pricking one finger, let alone all of them. I simply had no idea what most diabetics go through. Mattie has a strength I think most of us will never know or understand. Hopefully through these images, those of us with diabetic ignorance can at least begin to understand what she goes through day in and day out. Most of my shoots are about trying to capture great images, and I think we got some great ones, but this shoot felt more like photo journalism – albeit a simple form. I was simply trying to capture the truth of the moment regardless of how it looked. Mattie is an amazing, beautiful, strong, and incredibly sweet individual that has changed how I personally view diabetes. Out of all of the shoots I have done to date, I am most proud of these images because of what they stand for – resilience and strength. Besides learning A LOT about diabetes and finding a new appreciation for those that have to deal with it, I may have stumbled across a new model that’s interested in some extreme ideas! Hopefully you’ll be seeing more images from my newly discovered photogenic diabetic, Mattie, soon! So you want to shoot a wedding? You better bring your ‘A’ game. Weddings are work. A lot of work. Typically I advise people that the equipment is secondary to being able to create good compositions and understanding light. Well, much like astrophotography, weddings are a different breed. If you’re lucky, the wedding you want to photograph will be outside on a nice overcast day, but if your wedding is inside, or both inside and outside, you better have the appropriate gear. I highly recommend having a full frame camera, or even a medium format camera if you can afford it. Although crop sensor cameras and micro four thirds cameras are getting better and better with low light photography, they simply can’t compare to the light gathering capabilities of a full frame sensor. Can you still get decent images with a micro four thirds or a crop sensor camera at a wedding? Sure, but you better have good glass. A wedding is not the time to discover you cannot get good images because of the lack of decent equipment. Most photographers that do weddings on a regular basis will typically carry two camera bodies and at least 3 lenses. A good macro lens is crucial for those detail shots, like the wedding rings or details on the cake. A good fixed focal length lens such as a 50mm or 85mm are good choices as well for some portrait type shots. For wedding venues that aren’t all that large, a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is going to be your workhorse. If your venue is larger and you want to get good close-up images from a distance, I would strongly recommend something like a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. I was recently asked by a very good friend to be the photographer for his daughter’s wedding. Weddings are not my first choice for a fun weekend shoot, but as anyone that follows me knows, I love a challenge and I try my best to stay outside of my comfort zone. Shooting this wedding was the furthest out of my comfort zone I have ever been. Since I did not have a decent constant aperture lens, I rented the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. I am hoping to do a separate review of this lens but long story short, it’s amazing! I knew this lens would give me the reach I needed because I visited the venue about a month before the wedding. DO THIS!! If you are going to shoot a wedding, especially indoors, go look at the venue before the wedding so you know exactly what you will need. Besides the 24-70mm zoom, I already had a prime 50mm lens and a macro lens as well. Roughly 90% of the wedding I shot with the 24-70mm lens, and almost exclusively closer to the 2.8 aperture. After having the fastest lens you can get, you’re left with two options to get the correct exposure; ISO and shutter speed. To avoid motion blur for moving subjects, you need to set your shutter speed to at least 1/125 of a second or faster. Even with a fast lens, this is a relatively short exposure time. You will have no choice but to bump up your ISO. This is where a full frame camera will pay dividends. The higher you set your ISO, the more noise you will start getting in your images. A crop sensor camera and a micro four thirds camera will have to bump up their ISO much higher to get the same exposure as a full frame camera at a lower ISO setting. At this point, you will simply have to experiment with your ISO and shutter speed to capture the best images possible. For an indoor reception, there is simply no getting around the need for a flash, either on camera or off. I know some photographers that will carry the flash in one hand and the camera in another to avoid those flat looking images you get with an on-camera flash. If you are going to use an on-camera flash, try every angle for bouncing the flash off of other surfaces before aiming the flash right at your subject. If you must aim the flash at your subject, at the very least, get some type of diffuser to aid in eliminating harsh shadows. Aside from equipment, a wedding is very demanding. It is a long day constantly on your feet and moving around. If you are thinking about shooting a wedding, volunteer as a second camera for a wedding or two before you go as the primary photographer. Do this not so much to learn how to get great images, but more for understanding the flow of a wedding and how fast they actually progress. By being a second camera for a few weddings before your own, you will learn some posing techniques and how other photographers lead couples and crowds, but the biggest benefit is seeing the flow of an entire wedding from the perspective of a photographer from beginning to end. I am honestly on the fence as to whether or not I will do more weddings, but if you are thinking about doing a wedding, properly prepare yourself – both mentally and with the proper equipment. Find a wedding photographer that doesn’t mind having a second camera helping out and get that experience. You never know. Simply volunteering for a wedding may help you make up your mind if it is something you really want to do. I can honestly say that, besides the chaos of the wedding itself, I found myself smiling far more during editing than I have with any other shoot. There are some really tender, touching, and funny moments during a wedding. Capturing those moments of time forever in an image is very rewarding. Read as many blogs as you want and watch as many videos as you can, but nothing beats personal experience. If you want to experience a wedding behind the camera, do it! Just be prepared. There are no do-overs! Merriam dictionary defines photography as “the art or process of producing images by the action of radiant energy and especially light on a sensitive surface (as film or an optical sensor)” – emphasis added. In essence, photography is about capturing light. Any photographer that has taken more than a few pictures can tell you that lighting is EVERYTHING. Photography is the art of understanding and manipulating light. For the most part, there are two types of light photographers use; natural light and artificial light. Natural light is the light you get from the environment, most often from the sun. Some people consider ambient light as natural light as well. Ambient light is the light you have available during a shoot that you don’t really have a lot of control over. Ambient lighting can include lamps, ceiling lights, or even candles. Artificial light is pretty much everything else that photographers use to control the lighting of a particular shot. There are great debates between photographers that prefer natural light versus those that prefer artificial light and which photographer is ‘more skilled’ based on their ability to use one exclusive to the other. I’m not here today to throw fuel on that fire – a debate I actually find ridiculous. Instead, I’m here to talk about a recent shoot I did where I fell in love with equipment I already own, and quite honestly, already loved. Out of all of my equipment, there is one item I repeatedly recommend to others that they should buy. If you are a photographer looking to break into the world of speedlight or flashgun photography, do yourself a favor and look at the Yongnuo flashes first – specifically the III series. They are simply incredible. These third party flashes are a fraction of the price of comparable Canon or Nikon flashes and perform just as well, if not better, in most circumstances. The only caveat to these flashes is that they may not be quite as powerful as some of the name brand models, but I have yet to shoot in a circumstance where I couldn’t get enough light from these flashes. Even if I do run across such a situation, I will simply use multiple flashes to increase the light output. Since I use Nikon equipment, I will use their products as a comparison. Decent Nikon flashes can range from about $150 to well over $500 for the more advanced units. The Yongnuo 560 III is currently selling for about $65. There is a newer model, the IV, that is slightly more expensive at $70. Even if you had a situation where the Yongnuo isn’t as powerful as the Nikon equivalent, again which I have yet to encounter, you could still buy several Yongnuos and still be at about the same price as one of the cheaper Nikon models. From a purely financial standpoint, the price alone makes these flashes the better buy. The 560 III I am reviewing here is not a TTL (through the lens metering) flash. For the type of off-camera flash photography I do, the camera typically gets it wrong with TTL so I shoot manual almost exclusively for off-camera flash photography. But the proof is in the pudding, as they say. How do they perform? I have had at least one of these flashes for several years now. In fact, I now own four of these flashes and wouldn’t hesitate a second on getting others should I need them. One of my first shoots with these flashes, I used four flashes, two of which were set to full power and the other two set at half power. And no, it was the composition of the shoot itself that dictated the flashes be set that high and not that the flashes were generally not strong enough. In retrospect, I probably could have dialed down the power on all of the flashes for the shoot and it still would have come out just as great. Aside from this shoot, I doubt if I have set my flashes higher that half power since. Simply haven’t needed to. Given the price of the flashes, I wholeheartedly expected the flashes set on full power to fail sometime during the shoot. You get what you pay for, right? The flashes performed amazingly – for that demanding shoot, and every shoot since. I have dropped a couple of flashes over time and they still have yet to fail me. If you want to get your flash away from your camera for some ‘strobist’ work, you have several options. I purchased the Yongnuo RF-603 wireless flash triggers. You simply slap one on the top of your camera and the Yongnuo flashes will trigger whenever you take a picture (when set in the right mode). The flashes DO NOT have to be attached to the camera. They are triggered by a radio signal from the flash trigger. I have yet to find a circumstance where the distance was too great for the flashes to receive the signal. I have tested the combo at a maximum of 50 feet and they still worked. These are decent wireless triggers. There are definitely better ones on the market but these do exactly what they claim to do without fail. The only downside to these basic triggers is that they only send a signal to trigger the flash(es). They cannot control the power level or zoom of the flash heads. For complete control of the 560 III, consider picking up the Yongnuo YN560-TX flash transmitter. This device mounts on the camera flash shoe and allows you to remotely trigger several flashes, again, wirelessly. Not only can you group flashes together and fire them separately from other groups, you can also control the flash power and zoom of each flash independently right from the controller. No more going back and forth to an off camera flash adjusting the zoom and power until you get the look you’re after. This flash trigger can be had for about $40. Rumor has it the 560 IV flashes have this built into them so you don’t need to buy it separately, but I have been so happy with the 560 III that I have yet to move to the 560 IV. Now on to the shoot that sparked this article! I recently had a motorcycle/model shoot where we took some images outside using some natural light and some images inside using artificial light. We started with the outside images because the weather was a tad cold and it appeared we might encounter some rain if we waited too long. After the outdoor session, we moved into a garage and I began to setup my lighting equipment. Much to my dismay, I could not find my YN560-TX flash transmitter to trigger my flashes. At first, I figured we would have to forgo the inside images until I realized I also keep at least one RF-603 trigger in my bag as well. But before I grabbed the RF-603, I toyed with the idea of using my flashes in slave mode. So, I gave it a shot. Slave mode allows me to place one flash on my camera and other flashes off camera wherever I want. When the flash on the camera goes off, the light emitted is ‘seen’ by the other flashes causing them to trigger as well. I set the power of the flash on my camera to its lowest power so that the light from it did not affect the lighting I wanted in the scene. After setting the off-camera flashes to slave mode, we started in on the shoot. The system worked great. There was a time or two that the remote flashes didn’t ‘see’ the light from the on-camera flash, but I quickly corrected that by increasing the light from the on-camera flash one level higher, or 1/64 power. The results were amazing and other than having to manually change the power setting of each flash, I didn’t miss the YN560-TX transmitter too much, but it still would have made it easier. I have yet to have a flash fail on me and they are continuously reliable. I run the flashes and transmitters off of rechargeable Eneloop batteries (which is another product I may review and highly recommend). If you are in the market to get into flash photography, or even if you are already doing flash photography and simply want to get some additional flashes, you cannot go wrong with the Yongnuo 560 III flashes. You can easily get 4 flashes and a transmitter and still be under the price of Nikon’s or Canon’s higher end flashes. They have models for Canon, Nikon, and other brands as well. I cannot speak to the newer 560 IV model as I have not tried them. A friend of mine did purchase a 560 IV and had to return it as it stopped working. However, I do not know if it was simply a bad flash or if the quality control has decreased with the 560 IV. Even then, should I need additional flashes, I still would feel very confident trying the newer model. Despite the fact that I still haven’t located my YN560-TX transmitter and may have to buy another one, I simply cannot recommend these flashes highly enough. My website and Facebook pages are coming up on the one-year anniversary mark - something in which I take a lot of pride. In previous posts, I have mentioned my sources of photographic inspiration and those that have helped me by simply being willing models. I want to take a moment to personally thank a few other individuals that have been instrumental in helping me get where I am today. And with all the negativity in the world generally, I believe we far too often pass on chances to just say ‘thank you’. I am far from where I want to be with my passion, but I can’t honestly say I would be where I am today without the help and encouragement of those around me. Mom! It all starts with her. A role model in so many ways, she has always encouraged my endeavors. Not only did she get me my first DSLR camera, but my first printed and framed image hangs proudly on her wall. She follows my work religiously and gives me positive feedback every step of the way. She has let me use her house and garage for some of my most outlandish shoots without hesitation. By far my biggest fan and strongest supporter. I simply can’t say enough about her. Thank you Mom! My wife! She puts up with my late night editing, photo shoots on the weekends, corners of the house full of photography equipment, and the occasional pestering to be a model for some of my ideas. She helps me come up with ideas for composition, props, poses, and helps me convert my images into calendars and wall prints. She is also incredibly handy in editing when I’m trying to match certain colors as I am sadly …..colorblind. When I’m out late at night under the summer sky in the middle of no-where doing some astrophotography, she’ll send me texts telling me to enjoy myself. Thank you Skittle! Christopher Decker! You would think simply being an amazing trial attorney that I have had the pleasure to work under, watch, and learn from, would be enough. But he’s far more than that to me. He has encouraged my creative expressions from day one. He has offered his house, swimming pool, himself, and even his gorgeous family for use in my creations. We even joined forces in the creation of Two Grasshoppers; a Facebook page that celebrates inspirational images and quotes. Chris sees my passion for my hobby and encourages me to follow it doggedly. Something I greatly appreciate. Aside from being an excellent attorney, a good friend, and a constant source of encouragement, Chris is the type of person I think we all want to be. Intelligent, kind, passionate, caring, strong, and always there for you, Chris walks the walk and leads by example. Thank you Chris! For everything! Paul Origlio! There would be no Steele Style Shots website or Facebook page without words of encouragement from Paul. “You are more than just another guy with a camera”, sums up Paul’s words of wisdom to me. Over breakfast in a quaint restaurant a little over a year ago, Paul encouraged me to at least try and make something of my photography. He quite plainly made it obvious I would probably regret not trying to do more with my passion. Before this breakfast with a good friend and another excellent attorney, I had no intention of creating a website or Facebook page for my work. I would post images on my personal Facebook page and that was about the extent of sharing my work. Paul made me feel I might be short-changing myself if I didn’t at least try. If I remember correctly, we had breakfast midweek and I pondered his advice the rest of the week. By the end of that weekend, I had my sites up and running with more determination and enthusiasm for my passion than ever before. Thank you Paul! We are due for another breakfast. Chris Terry! I can’t even recall how many years we have been friends. Frankly, I can’t remember any years that we haven’t been friends. Regardless, Chris has become my partner in crime when it comes to photography (actually when it comes to just about anything). For several years we kind of did our own things when it came to photography but lately we have been collaborating on ideas and photoshoots. The joy of any hobby is that much greater when shared with a like-minded individual. It is also fun to have someone to talk cameras and equipment with as well. Chris has recently started his own Facebook and website pages for his photography and I encourage you to check it out. Thank you Chris! And for more than just being a photography buddy – despite you being a Bronco fan! I know, I know. I’m making it sound like I’ve reached the pinnacle of my hobby and I am making an acceptance speech for some grandiose award. As mentioned earlier, I’m far from where I want to be with photography, but why wait to thank those that helped (and are helping) you along the way? And this is by no means an exhaustive list. Thanks goes out to everyone that has helped or encouraged me in some way, from assisting with shoots, to being a model, or simply sending me ideas through social media Frankly, too many to name. I’m excited to see what the next year holds for Steele Style Shots and just as excited to meet new individuals that will help shape my passion even further!
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