Tip: Photographing a Dance Show

photo by Gabre Cameron

In 2010 I covered a dance show for the University (of the West Indies) Dance Society at Phillip Sherlock. At the time I had a kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5) and a very small memory card (8GB) which impacted how many photos I could take. I limited myself to 5 photos a piece, with a few exceptions.

Last month, however, I covered another dance show, this time for Praise Academy of Dance, with a faster lens (17-50mm f/2.8) and a larger memory card (32GB). I was like a kid in a candy store. I ended up with 900+ photos. Most of which were repetitive.

After the fact, I realized I should have applied what I learned from UDS's show to Praise Academy's show. I should have:

1. Sat through the entire dress rehearsal to familiarize myself with the various dance pieces.
   
2. Done some test shots from various locations, during the dress rehearsal, to see where gave me the best vantage point(s).
   
3. Restricted the amount of photos I took for each dance piece.

Though I forgot to take into consideration the 3 points stated above I never forget that dance shows, and the like, take place in dimly lit auditoriums.

The Business of Design and Offering Discounts

A few weeks ago I read "10 Mistakes Designers Make with Clients" by Preston Lee. Preston was extremely insightful and covered several areas. One of which hit me for 6 - Offering Discounts. He says "Discounts are for grocery stores with rotting produce... Your design isn’t old. It isn’t rotting. It isn’t yesterday’s hot item...It tells your customers that you are not in high demand and you are desperate for some business."

I mused on this for a few days. I even discussed it with my Accountant / Financial Advisor and friend and he agreed. Preston Lee was right, when supermarkets sell products at a discounted rate they still make a profit. When I give a discount as a designer I make a loss.

Very often I'd give my customers discounts but couldn't understand why they kept asking for more, even when my rates were below my competitors. I was sending the wrong message.

No DSLR, Just an iPod Touch for 28 Days

Day 16 of 28: Little Farmer Joe

Photography has been a hobby of mine since 2006, though I never actually own a camera. When I got married I started using my wife's point-and-shoot. She gave me tips and mentioned things I'd never heard about, like the rule of thirds - things she learned at art school. Before you knew it we were competing.

It's now 2012 and I now have access to a Pentax K10D and a Canon Rebel T2i. However, the camera that's always with me is my iPod Touch. Inspired by Chase Jarvis, I decided to do a 28 Day iPodography Challenge in February, of this year.

Here's what I learned...

28 Days of iPodography

Last year February I did a challenge called 28 Raw. It was a 'straight out of the camera' (SOOC) challenge, where I had to take at least one photo each day of February. Unfortunately, I missed a few days.

This year I've decided to do another 28 day challenge. However, this time it's with my iPod Touch and not a DSLR. I must confess that this challenge was inspired by Chase Jarvis' book "The Best Camera is the One That's With You: iPhone Photography."

The aim of this challenge for me is to help me develop my eye as a photographer and not become bogged down with the desire to have the latest gear.

Get the story behind each photo at pxjunkie.tumblr.com. And be sure to follow @pxjunkie for updates or visit flickr.

Tip: What's the Score?

A few years ago I did a workshop with a videographer David Ho, of Minds Eye Studios, and ever since then I’ve been dabbling with videography. One of the things David said in the workshop was that we should watch commercials, occasionally, with the sound off. The point of this exercise was to examine if the footage, we see regularly, was strong enough to convey a message on its own. You should try it and let me know what you think…?!?!

Anyway ...! On the flip side choosing the write score for your video can either detract from or enhance your footage. I remember shooting some test footage with a Canon HV30, which I posted and one comment said, in jest, that “...Foliage never before seemed so dramatic...”. Lets take a look!

Tip: How to Get the Most Out of 24hrs

photo by: stocker

If you’re like me, today is one of those days that you have a “million and one things” todo. Which poses the question “How do I get all these things done in 24hrs?”

We’ll first we must come to terms with the fact that we wont get everything done and will have to prioritize our todo list, strategically.

Burning the Midnight Oil vs The Early Bird

Instead of planning to stay up all night and burn the candle at both ends, go to bed earlier than you would. Set your alarm clock, or cell phone, an hour or two earlier than you would normally wake. Nothing beats a fresh start!

I’ve spent many nights working late and found myself rendered totally useless the next day, even if I get up later than usual. When you start late out of the blocks the odds are always against you.

Mid-week Inspiration: Simple Logos

I've had a few logo projects to complete over the past few months and I needed inspiration. Here are a few simple logos that helped me to get my creative juices flowing.

Mid-week Inspiration

Unfortunately, last week because of my schedule I was unable to post our mid-week inspiration... Well, this week I have a video to get help "stimulate the pupils"

Cassius, I Love you so from WE ARE FROM L.A on Vimeo.

Tip: Shooting an Event in Low Light with Kit Lenses

photo by: Gabre Cameron

A few months ago The Gist sponsored the artwork for an event, my wife and I were invited to the gala night. While at the show I couldn't help but notice the photographer, with a monopod, all the way in the back. Being a skeptic I thought "those photos aren't gonna come out good". I did get a chance to see some of the photos and those taken from the back of the playhouse came out just as I expected. Why? The photographer was using kit lenses in a low-light setting but didn't know how to get the best capture.

I am a hobbyist photographer and found myself in the same situation, in the exact same play house, with only kit lenses for the DSLR I use. Not all my photos came out perfect either but I learned from the experience ( click here to see samples ).

When shooting an event under low light conditions and you only have kit lenses here are some things you can do:

1. Get a seat in the front row
2. Use the kit lens that gives you the largest aperture (this is usually the wide-angle lens)
3. Increase your ISO
4. Set your camera to "aperture priority" mode
5. Set your auto focus to continuous (since the subjects may be moving)
6. Set your shutter release to continuous
7. Use a tripod/monopod if you have one (try not to impede the movement of patrons)
   

It's a great thing to be able to afford a prim lens but until that day comes one has to learn how to use what he already owns to give the best results possible.

Tip: Recording An Event with One Camcorder

photo by: Fry2k 

Here's a tip you may find useful if you've ever been asked to record an event, like a play, dance/variety show over an extended period and only have access to one camcorder. Especially, if renting or borrowing an additional camera is not an option.

Try and attend the event, 2 to 3, times while it's running and record from different angles. Remember that the footage being captured may be viewed by individuals who weren't present at the event and by having different POVs you engage them more.

Also, take into consideration that on each staging of the event the cast/players may change and you want your footage to be as consistent as possible.

What if the event is being staged only once?

Attend as many rehearsals as possible, scout the venue and look for opportunities to move from one position to the next between scenes/sets or find a good location and record from there for the duration of the event.

Quote of the Week

Me: “Here’s the invoice for £400, thanks”
Client: “Ok, thanks.”

Three Days Later…


Me: “You only paid £300, I think you probably made a mistake?”
Client: “I know, I gave myself a discount.”
Me: “I never gave a discount?”
Client: “Well, we won’t be using the design anyway.”
Me: “Please complete the invoice, people do not do business this way.”

Client never paid up. 
via Clients from Hell

Quote of the Week

"So it turns out you were right about me wanting a colon instead of a semi-colon. But since we’re on the subject, I’d like you to revisit the copy and include more semi-colons. I want people to think we’re smart." 
via Clients from Hell

Wallpaper: All Day I Dream of Macs

Since my iMac was stolen I've been playing catch-up on almost all my projects. Especially, since I didn't back-up the last 3 months of work. Though my workload is crazy, out of sheer idleness and wanting a lil break I decided to change my Facebook profile photo... this eventually lead to this desktop wallpaper - iDream of Macs. I really do! I work on a Window XP computer now and I can't stop day dreaming about macs.

Download iDream of Macs Wallpaper

5 Steps to Take Before Your Computer Gets Stolen

A few weeks ago my home office was broken into and several items were stolen. Two of which were iMacs. My wife and I were privileged to assist law enforcement to retrieve some of the items, one of which was a 20" iMac. In light of this, I have a few tips that will help you if you should suffer the same fate.

Eye-candy for the Hobbyist Photographer: 5 Flickr Photostreams

At this ripe age of 28 I find my self being abducted by various desires frequently. Among the culprits is photography. It has become a regular habit to ski over the mountainous pages of the internet looking for ideas and inspirations... things I can try, even though don't own a DSLR (the camera I use belongs to my Father-in-law. Thanks Mr. A!).

I like Columbus wanted to prove that my world isn't flat, 2 dimensional and boring through a viewfinder... but before I could set sail I had to learn from those who have gone "to infinity and beyond!"

Freebie: Google Nexus PSD

I had some spare time on my hands and attempted to recreate the Google Nexus in Adobe Photoshop. My wife challenged me to do it in Adobe Illustrator - she is crazy good with Illustrator, a guru! - but I had to call it quits. I'm more comfortable with Photoshop than with Illustrator.

What the heck do you get in the layered psd? The phone body (flattened), screen and glass/reflection. Hope you find the file useful!

Download Nexus PSD

I found INSPIRATION downtown

I’m working on a project that beckons me to design a myspace and it’s been a minute since I’ve designed a myspace page, especially since myspace went web 2.0.

In an attempt to sharpen my tailoring scissors, I flipped through a few web pages to find a suitable concept, that would spawn inspiration. I observed a few well known myspace pages - Kanye West, John Legend, Lil Jon, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys - just to name a few and nothing assaulted my attention, though the all had elements I liked. Therefore, I resorted to many popular web 2.0 template sites and galleries. But again, nothing!

Sell wholesale templates and get out of the rat race

A few weeks back I played a board game, Cash Flow, created by the author of ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’, Robert Kiyosaki. To me, the game is a warped version of Monopoly. The concept of the game is that we are living in a world filled with expenses, budgeted and unexpected. The ‘Rat Race’. And the only way to get out is to have a passive income that is more than your current expenditure. Then and only then can you chase your dreams.

After playing the game I was desirous of applying some of these principles to my life. But the thought of making a passive income from designing website templates did not seem feasible. Until I saw this:

“Since joining ThemeForest I'm making enough passive income a month to cover my mortgage and its afforded me to buy a new BMW M3”

- Contempoinc (from ThemeForest)

10 Really Cool WordPress Templates

I've always had a craving for beautiful web designs, so much so that I've would spent hours just salivating over other designers artwork, they inspire me.

Over the last few years I haven't spent much time savoring the designs of others but I managed to chisel out some time recently and I came across a few website I like.

All the sites I'm about to list use WordPress; the use of WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) has been growing over the past few years. I'm fairly new to WordPress (I normally use CuteNews or Joomla), but what I've observed is that a lot of the designs are similar (and tend to be monotonous or boring). Now the websites I've included below have elements that may be similar to a lot of websites you've seen. However, what you will notice is that their layouts - use of colour & graphical elements and content structure are slightly different - which makes them stand out among the rest. Lets take a look!

Freebie: YuuuMovie Email Template

I've been designing for 5+yrs and recently got my first template, iConstructive,  on ThemeForest. In celebration of that I'd like giveaway an e-mail template, YuuuMovie, inspired by the newsletter I get from my DVD rental store, Movie Express.

I did 2 versions of YuuuMovie and they are now yours for FREE! In the zip files you'll find a valid HTML file, Layered PSD and documentation on how to edit the files.

Enjoy!

Preview: YuuuMovie v2
Download: YuuuMovie v1 | YuuuMovie v2