Become Better Photographer: Taking Family Photos FAST with Vanessa Joy

*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with Vanessa on Instagram  @VanessaJoy.

In this episode amazing Vanessa Joy (via her awesome show “Breathe Your Passion” highlighted by AdoramaTV) will teach you how to take those dreaded but sweet family photos FAST during a wedding shoot!

Vanessa shares with us: “family photos can be the most annoying thing that you do on a wedding. I don’t know any photographer that likes family photos! I’m pretty sure my favorite photographer Joe Buissink.. think he paid other people to do his family photos for him, and he was the main photographer! “

According to Vanessa, family photos – “is your time to shine, this is your time to get in front of people that are going to be your clients, and impress them! You need to nail family photos… you need to make everybody look good! But more importantly they need to be fast! You have to know how to deal with families. When we can’t find mom… the mother of the groom thinks it’s all about her! Aunt Suzy is behind you with her cell phone taking pictures, and she’s snapping away and everyone has to look at her, and look at you, they look at her, they look at you… “. Sounds like one crazy shoot!

Vanessa continues: “Make lists of the family photos that you need to get done! Don’t walk in there like an amateur… you look like an idiot! If you’re just saying so… what do you want next? What do you want next? What do you want next? Do you think the bride knows what they want? No she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to have. You know when she knows what she’s supposed to have, three months after the wedding… When she’s complaining to you about the shot that she didn’t get with her aunt! Whose fault is that? Your fault! You should have made a list beforehand of all the photos that the bride has to sign off on. “

Here is Vanessa’s tip – ” Ideally you want people moving as little as possible… build them up …break them down, build ’em up.. take them down, put people in, but you put them in strategically, so you just adding people to the existing pose of what is going on! ”

Take a look at the progression of pictures as an example below.

“You’ve got bride-groom, mom and dad.. Then we add to this picture… no one moves… we just added that sibling on the right-hand side, and then from here we took out the bride… and from here we took out the sibling… and from here we took out dad switch to mom, switch to the sibling BAM! We’re done! That’s all the groom side, then you just repeat on the bride’s side and… …that’s it So you just build up and break down… that’s how it’s done! For example: Bride and groom together.. Bride and groom with bride’s mom and dad.. Brian agree with bride’s mom and dad.. add the siblings… then add the sibling spouses… then add grandma.. then you take the groom out, and then you have the whole family photo without the groom… then you take your in-lass away… families. Done”

WANT TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – “Studio Lighting 102 : Portrait Photography Lighting” Workshop!

will take place on April 10th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch the full episode with Vanessa Joy and Adorama TV:

Become Better Photographer: Numbering Your Bodies with David Bergman

*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with David on Instagram and Twitter @DavidBergman. LATEST UPDATE: David opens up new IGTV episodes where you can ask him questions live! find out more at http://www.AskDavidBergman.com

For some it might seem like an overkill but for those photographers who deal with multiple cameras on a daily basis these tips might be really helpful! In this episode with photographer David Bergman Adorama TV he will show you why it is important to keep track of cameras on an example of his own!

David states: “… even if you don’t shoot with two bodies there might be times when you’re working with other photographers at an event, like a concert or a wedding, and you need to differentiate the images from each camera. So this is what I do. I number all of my cameras, I use my initials, and then a unique two digit number like DB 10, DB 11, and so on.”

…”I put a small piece of gray or white gaffer tape on top of the body, so I can easily see which is which, when it’s inside my camera bag. “

Mr. Bergman continues: “In addition with most cameras you can change the default file name for the images. It’s normally 8 digits with the first being ING or some random 3 or 4 digit code. I change it to match the cameras name, and the last four digits are always sequential numbers. In my case it’ll be DB10001 DB 10002, and so on. “

So why to do these markups in the first place? what are the benefits? According to Mr. Bergman – “first, if I’m shooting with other photographers, it’s really easy to see whose images belong to who. All of my pictures are the ones that start with DB, but also I really like to know which camera each image came from. This allows me to easily identify any issues that might come up. For example if I’m seeing dust spots in my images, I know that the sensor needs to be cleaned. I don’t like to unnecessarily deal with the sensor, if I don’t have to. But which camera did it come from? Well now I can just look at the file name, and know which one has the issue. If I see anything else that might be caused by a hardware problem, I can immediately identify which camera needs to go into the shop.”

WANT TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – “Studio Lighting 102 : Portrait Photography Lighting” Workshop!

will take place on April 10th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV:

Zuz’s another amazing submission is breathtaking!

One of our “Hard To Clean Material” photographer interview episodes was dedicated to this amazing Polish photographer – Zuz. Hew style is definitely eye catching and visually very well balanced. Another great job from a master!

A quick excerpt from Photographer’s bio:

“I’m a polish born photographer specializing in people. my work is between Europe and US but I’m always down to take my camera anywhere else in the world. Telling a story through images, evoke emotions and imprint a piece of soul in photographs is what it’s all about for me. In art, I value creativity, composition, mood and style, and I strive for exploration of these aspects and their strong stand on my set. ”

This session’s crew comprised of:

photographer: Zuz | Instagram | Website

model: Kasey Landol | Instagram

mua: Sophia Bawany | Instagram

At the location:

Stage Hill 4 is one of our largest and brightest stages. Advantageously positioned with the windows facing west and north, this stage gets plenty of sift indirect sunlight in the first half of the day and lots of direct sunbeams in the second half. Hill 4 is furnished with several comfy and photogenic couches of cream and and golden/brown leather color. As with any our other stages a standard package of three basic backdrops and three lights is available within the stage already. For more information visit stage Hill 4 on our website.

Artistic Portraits By Sham

Quick and simple yet attractive and cool shoot happened with this productive trio, when a photographer, a model, and a hair stylist got together…

Check out participants of the project:

photographer: Sham | Instagram

model: Patrick | Instagram

Grooming: Dominique | Instagram

The stage:

Stage B is a benchmark blackout stage designed to provide complete control over the strobe light. Painted all black and with shut off windows this stage preserves complete darkness for your photo and video projects. As any of our stages, B comes equipped with black, gray, and white background paper, three strobe lights and numerous modifiers for your choice. To check the availability for this stage as well as find more helpful information about our rental please see the WEBSITE.

What Can A Photographer Present For His Gf’S Brithday?

Well, John Wu’s Birthday present for his girlfriend Kim Trinh was this beautiful photo shoot in none less beautiful stage Art 3 🙂

About Photographer:

The shoot was for my girlfriend’s 23rd birthday. I shot my girlfriend and her two friends.

I primarily shoot landscapes and cityscapes. One of the models, Stephanie Vu, is also a photographer. She has a strong focus on portrait photography.

Stars of the show!

John Wu (Photographer): www.lifeofwu.com Instagram: @johnmwu

Kim Trinh (Birthday Girl/Model): Instagram: @kimitastics

Stephanie Vu (Model/Photographer): www.stephanievuphoto.com Instagram: @vuracious

Jacquelyn Tran (Model): Instagram: @jacquelyntrannnn

Stage Art 3
is one of our most popular stages. Featuring shot perfect props such as an elegant white-and-gold chair with a mirror as well as a luxurious bathtub, this stage is always on a high demand. Art 3 now also presents a gorgeous rose wall for your unrivaled, outstanding background setting. Besides, this studio is supplied with a seamless backdrop paper of black,grey and white color and studio lighting found in all of our spaces, promoting it as a very flexible creative space. For pictures and more information about stage Art 3 check out our WEBSITE.

Angel B “Like A Boss”

Awesome single cover shots were submitted by musician and dancer Angel B, from city of Angels. Beautiful pop of light brings out the model instantly!

A snippet of the artist’s story:

“Angel B, Brazilian recording artist and Dancer based in Los Angeles. New single “Like A Boss” available in all digital platforms”. ”

Members of the crew:

model: Angel B | Instagram | Website

Photoshop: | Instagram

The stage:

Stage Art 1, a long-time FD Photo Studio favorite, was used for this shoot. With the high-key white industrial design that FD is notorious for, Stage Art 1 is a clean setting that can be manipulated to fit all kinds of projects. This space has its windows facing South and West and gets beautiful direct light during the PM hours, and great open-shaded light in the morning. Take a look at Stage Art 1 HERE to see what equipment is included in the hourly rate, as well as its availability and pricing.

Gd Tango Video Project Was Sure Fun!

The theme photo of the submission is definitely a perfect shot of what 50-60s would look like in the movies in your mind. Nice art work by Zhenya Gershman complements the picture greatly!

Quickly about the shoot:

“This project is a collaboration directed and performed by Argentine Tango Dancers Giovanna Dan and Guillermo De Fazio. The video will be the coming together of dance, inspired by, and including the paintings of Zhenya Gershman, and the filming of Jose Infante. ”

This session’s crew comprised of:

photographer: Jose Infante

models: Guillermo and Giovanna

GD Tango: Instagram Website

At the location:

Mary Haber + Whitney Mercy In Art 1

You would not even tell that these stunningly dark portraits taken by Mary Haber are shot within very well lit Art 1 stage. Very nice light work and just great shots!

This session’s crew comprised of:

photographer: Whitney Mercy | Instagram

model: Mary Haber | Instagram

The stage:

Stage Art 1 was a choice of location for this session. Adorned with features like white grand piano and three step podium this stage is a tool of versatility, provider of great natural light, benchmark of industrial Downtown minimalistic design. This space has its windows facing South and West and gets beautiful direct light during the PM hours, and great open-shaded light in the morning. Using strobes? No worries, we include 3 strobe lights in the hourly rate along with black, white and grey background available. Take a look at Stage Art 1 HERE to see what equipment is included in the hourly rate, as well as its availability and pricing.

Stage UPGRADE: Black Platform In Stage B!

blackout stage available for photo and video rental in Los Angeles

One of our first stages in Los Angeles, renown stage B at the Main location was in the same blackout condition for years. And what could have been better? Well, how about a new black platform of 34″ height and a wall blocking the window, making it basically two shooting rooms within one?

Despite its simplistic nature that provides sufficient space for photo and video shoots, both big and small production, this stage still offers few unique prop pieces. This gorgeous leather chair is one of them.

Check out stage B on our website for more information on included equipment like 3 strobe lights and grip gear !