Sue Daniels Photography Blog

A lot of photographers don’t like to do formal portraiture.  Think – “stiff, boring.” And, they may feel uncomfortable with or are not knowledgeable about posing and lighting large groups. I must admit – it’s hard. For me, it’s the most challenging of any photography I do. Imagine trying to capture everyone in the  group with a pleasant and relaxed expression, eyes open and all looking at the camera.   And, it certainly challenges my interpersonal skills. I am not going to get a good picture unless the group likes me, feels comfortable with me and I make them laugh.  But formal portraiture does have an important place in photography – especially when it comes to documenting an important occasion or preserving a family’s history. Despite the challenges, I consider it an essential part of my work.

Here are some formals I recently did for a 3 generation family on the 50th wedding anniversary of the parents (grandparents). What a great milestone to acknowledge and celebrate!

I always try to walk away from a photo shoot with some new thing learned -  whether it be a new lighting concept, pose, business idea or workflow modification. This weekend I think it really hit home on how important it is to be extremely ORGANIZED. Especially when you have a lot of equipment and props and limited time. On Saturday I did a company shoot for Boulder Ballet. There were 8 company members all who required head shots and dance shots. And then there were (as always) the unexpected variables that popped up. The real skill is being able to handle these unanticipated events. And that is where organization is key. Here’s a list of resolutions I came up with afterwards so that maybe next time I can reduce the stress level a bit.

1 – Immediately after each shoot (same day or, at latest, next day), review the glitches and make the fixes. Can’t find the AA batteries during the shoot? Pack spare batteries in every single pack and bag you take with you. Out of tape? Proceed immediately to the computer and order 4 more rolls. The trick is to take care of it immediately after your shoot so you don’t forget.

2 – After each shoot examine and fix all equipment that acted quirky or didn’t function at all. For instance, during this session I couldn’t get my light meter to work. I think I just hadn’t used it in awhile and it was on the wrong setting. So the next day I sat down with it and refreshed my memory. Not that big a deal since I had a laptop tethered to the camera and could check the exposure on the screen. But still, it would have been easier and more precise to have been able to use the meter.

3. For everything there is a place! Make sure you return equipment back to the same exact place you took it from. When you are back at your studio, recheck all the packing as often times, in a rush to get out, small items are misplaced and even lost. If you lost something go right to the computer and order another. Even a missing screw can “screw up” the next shoot.

4 – Before every shoot – check/replace/recharge batteries on EVERYTHING.

5 – Before every shoot – check all connections that tend to slither loose and tape them securely.

Anyway, despite whatever mishaps I had ( and cleverly tried to disguise ) I was relatively happy with the results. (see below)

Ryan Seate

Matthew Helms

Working on backstage photos is one of my favorite things to do. I just get such extraordinary lighting and effects. And, the behind the scenes images are so interesting to me. So, if you’ve ever been curious about what’s going on backstage take a look at the slideshow I put together of Boulder Ballet’s 2011 Nutcracker production.

The Nutcracker (from a different perspective)

If you’d like to see more check out my online gallery

So in the mornings, when I am having my cup of coffee, I like to watch videos of different photographers. Today I was watching Zack & Jody Gray who are wedding photographers. They were demonstrating their lighting techniques for shooting a wedding reception. I was inspired!

Ask any photographer – “What is one of your biggest challenges?” and quite often the reply is “Shooting with flash”. It is difficult to get a natural looking shot when you use flash. And so, you have to become pretty savy with off camera flash techniques and manipulating the camera’s exposure compensation or dragging the shutter. You want to get a good combination of ambient light and flash light in order to get a natural looking picture. Normally, I rely on ETTL (through the lens metering) when I use flash. ETTL adjusts the flash power automatically. However, after watching Zack and Jody I am inspired to try using my flash in manual mode. It shouldn’t be that hard of a transition for me as I use studio strobes that I set manually. With manual flash adjustment I think I would have more consistent results – ETTL does not always work consistently. And I’d also be in more control of the flash output.

So, that is my new assignment for myself this year and now that I’ve blogged about it I’ve got to do it! I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Here’s a little cutie pie and her sister that I recently photographed.  I’m glad I saved some of my own kids’ toys. They come in very handy during children’s sessions. We got rather silly during this one -  I wonder what the kids thought of us 4 adults (me, Stephanie, mom and grandma) as we played peek-a-boo, sang songs, crawled around on the floor and made funny faces. Maybe they should have been taking pictures of us!

Hopefully, with every New Year comes new ideas. I knew I wanted to shoot Jacob and Jordan in a studio. But what to do, what to do. I had this pack of gels sitting around for years which I had never used. So I decided to try them out. Here’s some of the shots I got.

OK – I know this is a little late. But I just sent these pics to my cousin on Long Island and so I thought I would add them to my blog as well. We visited my cousin Rochelle and her (very shy and inhibited) husband Bernie in August 2011. My favorite part of the vacation was going to Jones Beach (of which I got no pictures at all!). We also spent a day in Manhattan, checked out some graffiti in Brooklyn, had Chinese food in Queens and a big family dinner at Rochelle’s house where I got to visit with some of my long-lost relatives.

Trying out a new Word Press template using Amy’s picture.

Opening Night! What fun. Boulder’s Nutcracker season has officially begun. Here are some shots from Boulder Ballet’s dress rehearsal of The Nutcracker.