Exposure Photographic Art Studio » Robert Vanelli

Using Nikon’s Creative Lighting System

vanelli — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 11:52:40 +0000

After the 2010 Las Vegas Photoshop World, I was itching to try a with a few new concepts on lighting I learned from Zack Arias. A perfect opportunity fell into my lap when I received a call from my buddy Robert Wicker. He had an assignment for a Senior portrait. He asked if we could experiment with Nikon’s command mode and Nikon’s CLS (Creative Lighting System) with SB 800′s more efficiently. His goal was to use one, maybe two off camera flashes outside with very little set up. It was a simple request, but instead of simple, we wanted to see how far we could push these small flashes to get big results.

Using only the on-board pop-up flash, we triggered the SB 800′s that were as far away as 30 feet. We used a shoot through umbrella as the key light. In some cases, we used another SB 800 with a diffuser as a hair-light.

Keeping the SB 800′s in remote mode, we were able to adjust the power from the camera. This enabled each of us to to adjust the power of the flash independently from each other. We decided to use the main flash at 1/4 power. This conserved batteries and kept the light source a constant variable. A simpler solution; put the SB 800′s in TTL mode, but again we wanted to experiment.

Zack’s One Light Concept

Zack touched on the traditional Exposure Triangle ; ISO, Shutter and Aperture. He added two more variables when dealing with lighting; Flash Power and Flash to subject distant. He explained how Shutter Speed controls ambient exposure, whereas Aperture controls flash exposure. Using this concept, we narrowed down the variables and decided which would stay constant.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to take one of Zack’s classes either at Photoshop World or his One Light tour, I strongly recommend it! After you see him in person, a follow up would be his DVD on One Light.

Camera Settings & Flash settings

For most shots, we started our settings with ISO at 200, flash power to 1/4 power, and shutter speed at 1/160. That left two variables, aperture and flash to subject distant. Once we set the light in place, we adjusted our aperture for the proper flash exposure. During the shoot, we adjusted one variable at a time. If we wanted the background darker and more saturated, we would increase shutter speed. If we wanted more or less light on the subject, we would either stop down or open the aperture. Each of us could increase or decrease flash power from our camera without effecting each other. Rarely did we have to do this, but the fact we could was pretty cool!

Understanding these variables made it easy for us to focus on composition and interaction with the model. Not thinking about our settings allowed us to become more creative.

Command Mode (Nikon D300s, D300, D200)

First, turn on your camera.
Enter the menu mode by pressing MENU
Using the multi selector, navigate to the CUSTOM SETUP MENU (the “pencil” icon)
Navigate to the Bracketing/Flash sub menu (e)
Navigate to Flash cntrl for built-in-flash (e3)
Scroll down to Commander mode
Using the multi selector, change the mode on built-in-flash so “–” appears.
Change the mode on Group A to M (manual) Comp to 1/4 (quarter power)
Change Channel to 1 CH
The pop up flash must be up to send the signal to the flash units

* Note: these settings must be the same as the Flash unit.

SB 800 set up in Remote mode

First, turn on your flash.
Enter the submenu by pressing and holding the “sel” button for a few seconds.
Arrow right (the “single tree” button) to get the upper right square highlighted.
Push the select button again.
Scroll down (“-” button) until “REMOTE” is highlighted.
Push “sel” again to select.
Push and hold “sel” for a few seconds to get out of the submenu.
Your flash will now say “REMOTE.”

Setting the Channels and Groups

Pressing “sel” will toggle between Channel and Group.
With the CH highlighted, pressing the top or bottom arrows (“+” or “-”) scrolls through the numbers 1-4.
Push “sel” to select CH 1
Do the same for GROUP, selecting A

Your flash should read CH 1 Remote Group A

During the shoot, it’s easy to accidentally change a channel or a group. If the flash isn’t firing, double check your camera setting to ensure it matches the flash settings.

Tribute to a Father

vanelli — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 07:01:46 +0000

When times are tough and disappointments get me down, I can see your shadow next to me reaching out before I touch the ground. As a thank you is about to be said you disappear without a trace, you never look for glory or fame just a simple smile filling my face. You are my source of strength and your words of wisdom inspire, you have given me the gift of Life and a spirit filled with desire. As I journey through Life thoughts of you are etched in my mind, special moments we have shared will live in me until the end of time. -Robert Louis Vanelli

Fixing a bad photograph

vanelli — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 01:36:52 +0000

Objective: Using a combination of software and plugins, we will address common issues when we have to edit a really bad photograph.

Skills taught: Cropping, color cast, sharping, cloning, noise reduction and artistic interpretation.

Video Type Available : Novice to Advance-Speed Clinic and Beginner- In-depth (coming soon)

Click here to view the embedded video.

It all starts in the camera

While in Boston, a group of us went on a photo shoot of the city. I saw a father and daughter standing on the subway holding hands. I quickly took a shot. Sounds simple? Let’s explore the thought process and technical issues I had to face in a matter of seconds.

I was dealing with poor lighting, a moving platform, lots of people in the way and TIME. I calmly observed the situation and set the camera to ISO 1250, F/2.8 at 1/60 of a second using my 80-200 lens. Well if I were Joe McNally that’s what I would have done. Instead, BEFORE I entered the subway, Sandy Foster suggest I try a great feature found on most Nikon cameras, auto ISO. Now before you judge me, let me finish. On Pro and Pro/Consumer Nikon cameras you are able to dial in when to change the ISO. In my example, I programed the ISO to start at 200. If the shutter falls below 1/60 of a second, then the ISO changes but won’t go any higher than 1600. I kept the camera in Aperture Priority and steady myself against a pole. This feature is amazing. It let’s the photographer focus on composition while still allowing creativity by changing the aperture. A plus or minus EV (exposure value) can also be used.

You are probably wondering why not just keep the camera in the AUTO mode. Although you can, you are now letting the camera make ALL your creative choices for you. As a photographer, it’s always best if we can decide when to make a change to our settings. By using the method I just described, we would have come up with those setting IF we had an abundance of TIME.

This brings me to our tutorial, how to fix a really bad photograph. It’s always best to get the shot right in the camera. Under the difficult situation I was faced with, this was the best I could do. With a few tweeks in Photoshop, Lightroom and the help from a few plugins I was able to save this photograph.

Before the digital age, photographers were making incredible images. Don’t get caught up in the tools I’m using; Lightrrom, Photoshop, ect.., Try to focus on the concepts and work flow I’m demonstrating. Understanding these concepts will enable us to work faster.

This tutorial will be available as a video and written instructions Monday, April 26, 2010.

SmugMug Spotlight: Niceville High School

vanelli — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:42:30 +0000

This “East Coast” 2010 Photoshop World was held in Orlando Florida this year. I had the great pleasure of running into Shane and Christina Sauer again; along with their group of 26 9-12th grade kids. Yes, you read that right, 26 high school kids at Photoshop World! I met Shane and Christina Sauer at one of the Photoshop Worlds in Boston a few years back. Their dedication and love for kids made an impression on me. As most know, kids always have a strong place in my heart along with people that unselfishly help them. It gives me great please to present to Niceville High School a year of SmugMug!

About their Program

The Choice program at Niceville High School gives young students the chance to get their feet wet in IT with a graphic design and digital cinema like no other k-12 program. The thing that separates the NHS Choice program is the experienced faculty and the rigorous curriculums. It’s more like a college environment and strives to find instructors from the industry rather than from the education field. Its that real world knowledge that keeps the students on the cutting edge. In addition the ultimate goal is for students to learn a lifelong skill while earning industry-standard certifications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Motion, CEO, Cisco, CIW, and many more.

Shane and Christina Sauer

Shane and Christina Sauer head up the Digital Media & Cinema program. They are a husband and wife team who honed their skills in New York City and decided to settle down in the Emerald Coast. The Sauer’s teach 9-12 grade students, and strive to expose them to things that most kids would never experience. This is the second year the Sauer’s brought students to Photoshop World. Last year, they took 9 students to PSW in Boston and it was such a motivating and enriching experience, they took 26 kids this year to the Orlando 3-day conference. Not only do students get exposed to the best in the industry, taking classes such as Photography, Lighting, Photoshop, and Motion Graphics, they walk away from PSW refreshed and inspired to make a career out of what they love.

Rather than bring the standard parents as chaperons, the Sauer’s decided to bring former students from last years trip. The PSW alumni have the knowledge of how the conference is organized as well as get a chance to take classes and continue learning themselves. They get much more out of the conference than a parent would. Last year one of the many things that learned at PSW was to create amazing panoramas. The 180 degree shot shows the NHS Digital Media Mac lab, and the 360 degree shot shows the adjoining studio where they film, shoot photography, and have equipment checkout. This year they also built a website where students could send live photos from their mobile devices, and friends and family could watch as NHS CHOICE rocked their way through PSW 2010. Niceville thanks the NAPP & ADOBE for making PSW so much fun and can’t wait for next year!

How they are going to use SmugMug Pro

They are planning on using Smug Mug as an online portfolio for students and as a fundraiser. Students could upload their work and share it with one another, friends and family, other teachers, etc….In addition, they could use this as a fundraiser. Parents and family members would be able to purchase the students artwork. They also think this would be useful for students to share work with one another, it would help with brainstorming, feedback, and improve the overall quality of work that’s produced.

Eyes still twinkle after 53 years

vanelli — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:00:17 +0000

Kevin, a buddy of mine asked if I could help him photograph a Civil Air Patrol Wing command banquet. I figured sure, why not he’s a great guy. You’ll meet him at Photoshop World in Orlando in a few weeks and I’m sure you’ll agree. The only problem, I didn’t realize the event was the night before Vacation with Vanelli in North Carolina!

I rushed to get most of my projects done throughout the week. After packing for both events, I high tailed it to Orlando for the banquet that started at 6pm.. My mind was going a mile a minute thinking of the unfinished projects I had. I also dreaded t he 13.5 hour drive ahead of me that was going to start at 2am. I forced my mind to be still and focused on the event and how I wanted to compose the shots.

I set my lighting, dealt with on location dilemmas and made a few last minute flexible changes. I was feeling a bit like Joe McNally! The point I’m making; lots of chaos!
In the mist of all this turmoil, I spotted this couple looking at each other as if they were on their first date. When he spoke, she just smiled and held his arm tight. He was so proud to introduce her to anyone passing by. The banquet was about to start in 30 minutes so the staff didn’t have time to stop and chat. I was rushing myself. Then I thought of a favorite saying I have hanging on my wall.

“There is always music in the forest, but your heart must be quiet to hear it.”

I smiled at the adoring couple and asked his permission to lead his lovely bride of 52 years to my camera. His face gleamed like a little schoolboy. They stayed with me and posed for several shots as I tweaked my lighting. This was my favorite shot of the night.

When I finished the shoot, I torn down my lighting equipment and took the 1 hour drive back to Melbourne to get ready for my trip to North Carolina. Smiling all the way home, I thanked the big guy for giving me the opportunity to capture a moment in time that will live in my memory and now on my wall.

A good deed and a mystery woman

vanelli — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:20:02 +0000

This is an interesting story I just had to share. It’s all about a good deed and a mystery woman. Why am I including this in a blog post? I’m from the school of thought, everything happens for a reason and the reason results in teachable moments.

On my way home from work, I picked Alec up from youth group where he attends with his girlfriend Cindy. He asked what we were gonna eat. Told him it was up to him to pick and off we drove.

The conversation went back and forth on where we should go and then Mike Kubeisy called. I took the call and without realizing it, ended up at a Chinese restaurant. Finishing up the conversation in a the parking lot with Mike, Alec said dad you can’t eat here your still sick. I gave him the “just one more minute” look and told Kubeisy I’d call him later tonight. I apologized to Alec for taking the call and interrupting our conversation. Alec said no problem besides he wasn’t really that hungry he was just trying to figure out what I should eat. He took care of me all weekend when I was sick. He said he can make something at home for us. We drove to Publix, our local grocery store.

Heading into the store I noticed a sushi place. I said hey Alec do you see what I see. The smile on his face told me, “Hey I’m not that hungry but I always have room for sushi!“. He’s been eating it since he was 3 years old. Now here’s where the repayment of the good deed comes in. I said lets go!

I figured this would be a good place we can sit and talk; father son bonding time. Plus I’d be gone for a week teaching a workshop. Now the mystery woman enters the story. We see a woman rushing to the sushi door, we jokingly speed up trying to beat her to the door. She’s there way before us. Standing in line we could see she was stressed out. We both joked with her on how fast she sprinted to the door and she deserves to be seated ahead of us. She looked at us, but no comment. She said to the hostess she has been driving back and forth looking for this place and she was a little flustered. The hostess turns to us and goes to seat us. Walking to our table, I said to the hostess she was here before us and she needs to be attended to first. Not really understanding, she motioned the woman and she headed back with us. Alec joked and said sure you can eat with us. The woman said I’m sorry I’ve been driving all night and headed back to the front. It was then we realized she was there for take out.

Alec and I had our usual comedy chat about the events of the day. How he thinks it’s funny the waitress hands us a warm wash cloth with tongs. About 10 minutes later the mystery woman walks back in the door. She walks over to us and apoligied for being rude. She explained she just drove in from Texas and was rushing back to bring her son food. Driving away she said she felt bad so she came back. We assured her she wasn’t rude at all and we understood. She gave me a hug and left.

A man sitting alone in the restaurant (yes we offered him to eat with us too) looked over and said unbelievable, how did you do that! Alec chimed back and said yeah he makes it look easy. Then another woman comes in and sits with the guy. He looks and me and said stay away and laughs. As he’s telling his date the story, Alec said what the heck every one has girls coming in for them. I know he was wishing Cindy was coming in the door next!

This was a perfect teachable moment! I was able to share with Alec my favorite quote from Stephen Grellet. I read this when I was his age when my mother was sick with cancer. These are the words I wake up to everyday.

I shall pass through this world but once. Any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

Alec witness me apologize to him for what I felt was rude taking a phone during our conversation and now he witness a mystery woman doing the same. Teachable moments are always around us!

Lightroom Work-flow Enhancing eyes

vanelli — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:47:58 +0000

Part 2 of 4 Lightroom Work-flow, enhancing the eyes. Part 3 will cover skin soften.

Model Acknowledgment
Dina Pezzimenti
Melbourne, Florida

Model Mayhem # 1040336

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lightroom Work-flow Removing blemishes

vanelli — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:08:33 +0000

Part 1 of 4 Lightroom Work-flow, how to remove blemishes. Part 2 will cover enhancing the eyes, Part 3 will soften the skin and the final segment will teach face sculpturing.

Model Acknowledgment
Dina Pezzimenti
Melbourne, Florida

Model Mayhem # 1040336

Click here to view the embedded video.

Perspective Crop

vanelli — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:37:45 +0000

Perspectives can become distorted when you point a camera upwards to get the whole building in or if you are not quite square on – this is known as keystone distortion. This is a very simple tutorial explaining how to do a perspective crop in Photoshop. I was reminded of this from Trey Ratcliff when he gave a seminar on HDR in Tampa. Keep in mind, the best way to fix perspective distortion is to get it right in the camera. The second best is using Photoshop.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Photo Walk

Robert Louis Vanelli — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:37:00 +0000

Join the Exposure Photographic Art Team on January 9th, 2010 for a free Photo Walk event along the beautiful ocean front area of Indialantic Beach, Florida. We will meet at 4:00 p.m. in the parking lot next to Bizarro’s Pizza on 4th Ave and walk down the beach and through some of the shopping areas along the way. Bring a few dollars in quarters as the parking area does have parking meters. Space is limited, so please sign up in advance.

Get your FREE Photo Walk Ticket by registering today at eventbrite.com.

January 9th, 2010
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Indialantic Beach, Florida