Capture Your Moments Photography 919-448-8352

Popular Photography Magazine

carpemoment — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:13:12 +0000

Popular Photography Magazine is the best photo magazine there is for all levels of photographers. They offer the technical details that some pros consume and also the non-technical how-to’s for hobbyist. Here is a recent article for those planning a trip anytime soon.

The15 most photogenic national parks

July 4th, 2011 Fireworks

carpemoment — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:22:57 +0000

Shooting fireworks is counter intuitive. It’s dark, you need to bump up your ISO (no, keep it low) and you need to open your aperture (no, stop it down to f11 or further). The only part about shooting fireworks that seems to fit is you need a slow shutter speed (3-4 seconds). AUTO on your camera won’t get you there unless it recognizes the scene and changes your settings appropriately. Some cameras do have a special scene setting for fireworks.

The other requirement is a tripod. You cannot hold your camera still enough without it. It also helps to use a remote. If you don’t have a remote, set your timer exposure to its lowest setting. Time how long it takes for the firework to travel and explode and push the shutter button that many seconds ahead of the explosion. This helps because when you push the shutter button, the camera moves ever so slightly. Using the timer features gives it a chance to settle back down before you open the shutter. Click on the image below to view my most recent images.

Capture Your Moments is on YouTube

carpemoment — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 04:29:09 +0000

BEA Portrait Shoot
First YouTube video. Click above to view.

Before and After

carpemoment — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:30:06 +0000

I was recently asked to take photos at my daughter’s year end bands banquet. I used my greenscreen as the backdrop. I decided to light with only two flash units and one reflector. My SB600 was mounted above the backdrop and pointed down to highlight the hair. I had to dial it down 3 stops and use a diffuser. I really missed the lightbox I have mounted from the ceiling in my studio. The main flash was shot into an umbrella (SB900). I used a diffuser over my on camera flash. Here is the original picture.

The theme for the night was Hollywood so I replaced the green background with an image reminiscent of Hollywood with its red carpet and limo. I had to resize the subjects to fit the perspective of the background image.

I sent them all of to the banquet with an American Idol-like, “You’re going to Hollywood!”

Birthday Moments

carpemoment — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:01:25 +0000

Moments come and go. Capture them for a lifetime. We recently traveled to Rock Hill, SC to join in the celebration of my great nephew’s 1st birthday. It seems like only a few moments ago that I was photographing him as an infant.

He is growing up fast.

The moments come and go and it seems like they speed up each year. Before you know it, they are headed off to college. Don’t let those moments go without being captured for a lifetime.

Hello world!

carpemoment — Fri, 20 May 2011 20:39:53 +0000

It’s time to howl . . .

and let everyone know about my new blog. I finally figured out how to integrate WordPress with my Photoshelter account.