Denny + June's Sneak Peek

A few months ago, my mom asked if I would take some new photos of her for Facebook, and of course I said yes. So, we decided on a photo session while she is in Phoenix for a few weeks this winter. My dad doesn't love having his photo taken, so I was really surprised when he decided to join my mom for the photos. But, I'm glad that he did! It was nice to take photos of both of them.

These photos were taken near Estrella Mountain, and the area was GORGEOUS!

This was one of the first photos we took, and it's one of my favorites...

My mom doesn't love black and white photos.  She says she lived through the time when there was no choice, and now that things come in color, she wants them in color.  So, I tried to keep the black and whites to a minimum, but I couldn't resist a black and white edit on this one...

The yellow/orange in this one was a huge round structure outside of a building.  It made a fun background for a few photos...

When I was a kid, I was always told that I look just like my dad, but as I get older I hear that I look more like my mom.  What do you think?...

Love their poses.  I think they look too cute! :)...

Gorgeous view, huh?...

One of just my dad...

It looks like they are in Florida, not Arizona, with the water and palm trees, doesn't it?...

I really like this one, too!...

My mom requested this one!  I have an engagement photo of Kevin and I in a pose very similar to this...

A little of the stunning Phoenix landscape...

And just my mom...

I think this one is my favorite from the session!  I love that they both look relaxed and happy...

Thanks to my parents for letting me take their photos! I hope I didn't torture you too much during the session, and you'll let me take more pictures of you in the future. :)

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Photography 101 | Depth of Field

Just joining in? Here's what you've missed:
Photography 101 | Coming Soon!
Photography 101 | Aperture
Photography 101 | Shutter Speed
Photography 101 | ISO
Photography 101 | Exposure Meter

Welcome back to my Photography 101 series! I'm so glad that you have decided to join me. Today the fun begins, as we learn about depth of field (DOF).

If all you wanted was to have properly exposed photos, you could just set your camera on automatic and most of the time your camera would do just fine. If you are taking the time to learn how to use your camera in manual mode, I’m guessing you want to have more creative control over your photos, and a large part of this control comes from understanding depth of field and how to use it in your images.

Depth of field is essentially the portion of your photograph that is in focus. You can use depth of field to isolate your subject from the background by keeping it in focus and making the background out of focus, like I’ve done in this photo…

Or you can use depth of field to keep your entire scene in focus, like I’ve done in this photo…

By learning how to control depth of field, you can choose what to focus on and decide how much of each photo will be in focus. To demonstrate this idea, the next series of photographs are photos I took during my Intro to Photography class, when I was first learning about depth of field. The instructions were to take four photographs of the same scene. In the first photo we were supposed to focus on the foreground, and blur the rest of the image. In the second photo we were supposed to focus on the middle ground, and blur the rest of the image. In the third photo we were supposed to focus on the background, and blur the rest of the image. In the fourth photo we were supposed to keep the entire scene in focus. I wasn't using a tripod, so my scene isn't exactly the same from one image to the next, but it still demonstrates the point...

So, let's talk about how how you can control the depth of field in your photos. There are 3 things that affect depth of field: lens aperture size, lens to subject distance, and lens focal length.

Lens Aperture Size

• larger aperture size = smaller depth of field
• smaller aperture size = larger depth of field

As you increase the size of the lens aperture, the depth of field gets smaller resulting in a smaller portion of your photo being in focus.  The flower photo above was taken with an aperture of f/2.8, and the first three photos in the DOF series were taken with an aperture of f/4.

As you decrease the size of the lens aperture, the depth of field gets larger resulting in a larger portion of your photo being in focus.  The mountain photo above was taken with an aperture of f/18, and the final photo in the DOF series was taken with an aperture of f/22.

Changing the size of the lens aperture is the only way to change the depth of field without changing the composition of your photo.  For this reason, lens aperture size is the first thing that I use to control the depth of field when I shoot.

As you can plainly see, the composition of the following two photos is roughly the same, even though what is in focus varies greatly between them.  The first image was taken at an aperture size of f/2.8 and the second at f/11.  As I decreased the size of the aperture I caused the depth of field to increase resulting in an increase in the the amount of the scene that is in focus.

You will notice in the first photo above that the yellow flower is in focus as well as the edge of the leaf down near the left corner of the image.  The reason these two things are in focus as the same time is because they are both in the same plane (or in other words they are both the same distance from the camera lens).  This becomes important when you are shooting portraits and trying to get multiple people in focus at once.

For example, take at a look at the image below, where I was trying to take a photograph of Lexi and Zoe.  I couldn't quite convince them to lay right next to each other, so Zoe was slightly farther away from my camera lens than Lexi was.  My lens aperture was set at f/2.8 which resulted in a depth of field too small for both of them to be in focus at the same time.  I was focusing on Lexi, and Zoe ended up out of focus.

While I prefer to adjust my depth of field using my aperture size, there are times when lighting conditions will not allow me to use my first choice for lens aperture size.  In those instances, one or both of the next two things will help me to achieve the depth of field results that I want for my photo.

Lens to Subject Distance

• shorter lens to subject distance = smaller depth of field
• longer lens to subject distance = larger depth of field

(As a side note, this also changes perspective, which I will talk about in a future post.)

Lens to subject distance is easy to change unless you are shooting in a confined space.  If you want to decrease the depth of field in your photo, move closer to your subject.  If you want to increase the depth of field in your photo, move farther away from your subject.  But keep in mind that as you move closer to or farther away from your subject you are going to be changing the composition of your photo.

I took this first photo, and then backed up about 5 ft and took the second one. You can plainly see the difference in how out of focus the back branch is between the two photos. By lengthening the distance between my camera lens and my subject, I made the depth of field get larger. I also changed the composition of my photo rather drastically.

Lens Focal Length

• longer focal length = smaller depth of field
• shorter focal length = larger depth of field

Lens focal length is usually the last thing I use to control the depth of field in my photos.  I don't always carry all of my lenses with me when I am out shooting, plus changing lenses can be difficult and time consuming depending on the circumstances.  So, I usually try to get the shot with the lens that is already attached to my camera body.  However, this can come in handy when I am using a zoom lens and have a range of focal lengths readily available. Again, changing the depth of field by changing the lens focal length will also change the composition of your photo.

The following three photos were taken using my 70-200 zoom lens.  The first photo was taken at a lens focal length of 170 mm, the second photo was taken using a lens focal length of 115 mm, and the third photo was taken using a lens focal length of 70 mm.  As I shortened the focal length, the depth of field increased for each photo resulting in more of the scene being in focus for each subsequent image.  Of course, the composition for each photo was changed, as well.

(Depth of field is also affected by the size of your camera's sensor.  However, you do not have control over this, with the exception of purchasing a new camera with a different sensor size, so I am opting not to discuss it in detail.)

One other thing to keep in mind is that the farther away something is from the subject you are focusing on, the more out of focus it will be. So, if you want to decrease the focus of the background behind your subject, you can simply move your subject farther away from whatever is behind it.

I would recommend spending some time with each of your lenses and practice changing the lens aperture size, the lens focal length, and the distance between your lens and your subject to get a feel for how all of these work to create depth of field in your photos.  Then join me back next week to learn about photographing motion.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

All Dressed Up with Somewhere to Go!

Please indulge me, as I share with you a personal post, and a few photos.

Recently, my husband's law school held a ball, where we got to get all fancy and pretend to have some class. I didn't want to end up taking photos all evening, so I didn't take my camera to the ball, but we attended a pre-party before hand and I did take a few photos there.

Isn't my hubby a cutie? :)...

Kevin took this photo of me. Not bad, huh?  I'm going to turn him into a photographer yet...

And a (very out of focus) photo of both of us, but I like that you can see all of my dress in it...

I did take photos of the other people at the party, but I decided not to post photos of anyone else without their permission.  However, I did post them in a password protected gallery on my website.  So if you were at the pre-party and want to see the photos, you can email me for the password.

Every time I take personal event photos, I swear I am going to invest in a decent flash, yet I never do.  Once again, as I was editing these images I was cursing the funky lighting and crazy shadows, and promising myself that I will buy a flash soon!  Since I don't shoot events for clients, and prefer to shoot all of my portraits in natural lighting, it's just never been a big priority. I think that is about to change!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Photography 101 | Exposure Meter

Just joining in? Here's what you've missed:
Photography 101 | Coming Soon!
Photography 101 | Aperture
Photography 101 | Shutter Speed
Photography 101 | ISO

Welcome back to my Photography 101 series! I'm so glad that you have decided to join me. Today I will be talking about how to use your camera's exposure meter.

If you want to learn how to take properly exposed photos while shooting is manual mode, you are going to want to make your camera's exposure meter your new BFF. This handy little instrument is going to help you determine which settings to choose for each and every one of your photos. (Please keep in mind that I'm using the word "proper" to mean that the photograph shouldn't be too light or too dark in exposure.  A lot of photography is personal preference, and I don't believe that there is only one right way to create images.  Each photographer develops their own style as they master the craft.)

Every camera's exposure meter display is going to be different, so you are going to have to dig out your instruction manual and read up on yours.  I shoot with a Canon, so the exposure meter on my camera looks very similar to the one in the photo below.  I have outlined the exposure meter in red. Underneath the 0, there is a small black bar, indicating that the current settings for aperture, shutter speed, and ISO combine to create a properly exposed photo.  If the settings weren’t set for a properly exposed photo, that small black bar would be on one side or the other of the 0.  The farther the bar moves from the center point, the more the settings need to be altered to create a proper exposure.  As the bar moves into the minus, it is indicating that there isn't enough light and the photo will probably be too dark (underexposed).  As the bar moves into the plus, it is indicating that there is too much light, and the photo will probably be too light (overexposed).

One important thing to keep in mind is that there isn't ONE combination of settings that will lead to a proper exposure.  Instead, there are several different options you can pick from, all of which will result in a good quality photo.  To demonstrate this, I laid my iPhone on my desk and snapped a few quick shots of it using different combinations of settings, which I included with each image (with a typo - the bottom right photo was shot using a shutter speed of 1/80, not 1/20).  I picked the different settings at random, and simply dialed in different combinations of Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO settings until the exposure meter showed a reading at the 0 mark. As you can clearly see, the exposure is the same in each image; therefore, they are called equivalent exposures.

This must mean that there are reasons other than exposure for selecting different settings, right?  That's the fun part of photography (which will we start exploring in coming weeks)!  The important thing to realize right now is that you can use your exposure meter to help you pick different combinations of settings to properly expose your photos.  See, it's not as hard as you thought!

OK, now hang in there with me as I get a bit more technical and talk about the different types of light metering options.

First, there are two different ways to take a reading of the available light for your photo: using reflected light and using incident light. A meter reading using reflected light measures the light coming off of your subject back towards your camera. Most built in camera meters measure reflected light. A meter reading using incident light measures the light falling on your subject from the light source. Most meters that measure incident light are hand-held meters that are separate from your camera.

Second, there are different ways that your camera can measure the amount of light reflecting off of your subject by changing which part of the scene it uses to take the light reading. The options available on my camera are Evaluative Metering, Partial Metering, Spot Metering, and Center Weighted Metering. Again I shoot using a Canon, so my options may be different than yours.  Your instruction manual should explain your options and detail how each one of them works.

Third, the light meter in your camera is designed to measure the amount of light reflecting off of your subject and to calculate the exposure that will result in an overall level of light in the resulting image that is equivalent to 18% grey. This assumes that each scene is made up of a combination of very bright, very dark, and everything in between, which can all be averaged out to 18% grey. Most of the time this will work out just fine, but there are circumstances where this assumption will result in your photos not being properly exposed. As you gain experience with manual mode, you will slowly start to realize the circumstances where this happens, and learn to compensate to get a proper exposure.

This week, start practicing using your camera's exposure meter to help you select different combinations of settings that will result in properly exposed photos. The more you get used to doing this, the easier it will be for you to shoot in manual mode all the time.

You have now learned the 4 most important things you need to know to shoot in manual mode.  Now the fun begins.  Next week we will talk about how to control the Depth of Field in your photos, which is the absolute best thing about shooting in manual mode, in my opinion!

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

And I'm Back in the Game {MWP is Open for Business!!}

I am so excited to announce that MWP is officially open for business in Phoenix!  This announcement is long over due, and I can't wait to start booking new clients.  If you are interested in scheduling a session, options and pricing can be found here.

I have decided that there are going to be a few changes for MWP as I once again begin shooting:

• First and foremost, Michele Whitacre Photography is getting a new look!  I am still in the process of working with the designer to put the finishing touches on many of the branding materials, but I just couldn't resist sharing a peek at my new logo along with my big announcement.
• In celebration of my grand re-opening, I will be hosting some fun contests, giveaways, and specials for the next few months.  I will be announcing many of these only on facebook, so if you aren't already a fan, swing on by and "like" my page to stay up to date on all the happenings.

I cannot wait to get back into shooting again, and I am so thrilled and excited to once again starting taking portraits.  I love being able to capture special moments for clients! :)

As always, thank you for stopping by, reading my blog, and viewing my photos.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.