Tag Archives: Photography how to

Vacation pictures of my own family, and photo tips for photographers / Philadelphia, main line family photographer…

January 5, 2010 – 10:11 am

Well, I’m back from vacation and really wondering why I live in such a cold climate? Aside from the obvious enjoyment of spending some time in the tropics in the middle of the frigid winter, spending time with family, catching up on some reading, and not having to cook anything for anyone, my favorite thing about vacation is getting to turn my lens on my own kids for a change. Every winter break we go away with out brother and sister in law, and niece and nephew, this year we chose Jamaica. It’s great for the cousins to get to spend a whole week connected at the hip, it is really a special time for them. I also enjoy getting to experiment a little with new lighting techniques, and my children are willing subjects (NOT) once I bribe them accordingly. This year the bribe was allowing them to buy new apps for their itouch.

PHOTO TIPS, FOR PHOTOGRAPHER FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS… I get about 8-10 emails per week with technical questions from other photographers and photo enthusiasts
For all my photographer friends out their, one of my new years resolution’s was to give some photo tips and insight into how I shoot more often on my blog so this is for you… My mission was to balance the gorgeous sky at dusk with the proper exposure on my subject so several nights I went out at around 6pm to take advantage of the setting sun. I exposed my camera for the sky( very slow shutter speed) and used my flash on manual mode (set at a very low output level) to expose the subject properly. One of the biggest obstacles was getting the focus right, when I could barely see them. Obviously the camera couldn’t focus at all so I had to manually focus, what I ended up doing was using my iphone to light their face so I could achieve focus and then asking them to pull it away so I could take the shot without the obvious iphone glare. An example of my settings on the moonlit image is, ISO 1000, aperture 2.8, shutter speed 1/30 (I have a pretty steady hand) and my focal length was 100, my flash set to manual also was at 1/4 power. [caption id="attachment_1119" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="sunset and very windy"][/caption][caption id="attachment_1122" align="aligncenter" width="655" caption="a chip off the \"old\" block"][/caption][caption id="attachment_1124" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="gorgeous ruins at sunset"][/caption][caption id="attachment_1129" align="aligncenter" width="655" caption="my jungle boy"][/caption][caption id="attachment_1131" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="a local fisherman with the catch of the day"][/caption][caption id="attachment_1134" align="aligncenter" width="655" caption="awesome sky"][/caption][caption id="attachment_1136" align="aligncenter" width="728" caption="undercover niece "][/caption][caption id="attachment_1137" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="local trying to see my son\'s face through all the hair, now if I did that..."][/caption][caption id="attachment_1138" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="cracking up on \"the rave\" out at sea"][/caption][caption id="attachment_1139" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="He came shooting out of this tube slide like a speeding bullet!"][/caption][caption id="attachment_1140" align="aligncenter" width="655" caption="My nephew and future tennis star"][/caption][caption id="attachment_1141" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="I swear I feed him..."][/caption],

By Sandy Edelstein | Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Your questions answered…

April 27, 2008 – 10:21 pm

I’ve been getting many e-mails lately asking specific questions on my gear and or shooting techniques.  Keep them coming, I am so flattered that you find my work inspiring.  I shouldn’t admit this, but it was a very short time ago that I was just starting out in this business and their are a few people who gave so freely of themselves with both their time and knowledge that to be able to give some of that back now makes me feel great!  So I got an e-mail comment on my blog from a Mom who is starting out and I thought rather than answer her individually I would do it here in case it might help someone else too.  Here we go:

I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I am starting out in the business (I’ve been doing photography as a passion for many years), and when I find someone’s work who really knocks my socks off, I like to pick their brain, if that’s okay with you.. What kind of camera are you using for these incredible shots? Aperture?  ISO?  Shutter speed?  I have a Canon EOS SLR (not digital), and a Fuji S700 Digital.  Which would you suggest?  Can I get this incredible intense color with a Fuji digital?  

Thank you so much for your time~please know that you are helping a mommy of two get started contributing to the family income… thanks again!

and my response:

Hi Marilyn,

Thanks for the huge compliment on my work!  I think you seem to have the most necessary ingredient for this line of work and that is a passion for it.  I believe my passion for people and for preserving memories is my biggest asset.  I personally shoot with a canon 5D, but really believe that any decent camera with decent lenses will produce great results.  Some of the vibrant colors you see are because of lighting choices I make based on trial and error experience, and some of it is post production in photoshop.  I adore high apertures (low f stop numbers) best when shooting individuals, but for groups I loose focus on the other family members too quickly (unless of course that is my intent).  I use fast shutter speeds when shooting kids because they just move to fast and all I’m left with is a blur.  For ISO I prefer to keep this low if possible, but that is one area my camera does excel in, the 5D can handle higher ISO with little noise.  In terms of your 2 camera choices that’s tough (I don’t know either camera well) I believe you have more control using your film camera of settings etc.. but I do love the flexibility of digital as far as post processing etc…
 I think the one thing that has helped me the most and it has taken me a long time to really get a handle on (and I still have a long way to go) is understanding how light effects things.  Where the light is coming from in relation to the subject and what to do to make it better, what the quality of light is and how I can best take advantage of it.   I learned from reading everything I could get my hands on, lots of on- line photo forums and tons of trial and error with my own family and friends.  What you did today is also key, when you see something you like go out on a limb and ask I have found most photographers actually enjoy sharing their knowledge with others who share this passion.  
Ok, that was fun so I think I will make this a weekly thing and pick one of the e-mails a week to answer right here in my blog!
By Sandy Edelstein | Posted in children's photography, family photos, personal, questions and answers | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (1)
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