My Suggested Photography Reading List
The last several months I've been teaching several walk-around photography classes for beginners here in Las Vegas. One of the most common questions people ask me is what are some good resources to expand their knowledge of photography, whether it's as simple as taking better vacation photos or how to learn more about the different settings that are in the camera. Over the years, I've collected a wide variety of great photography books, some as old as the 1930s. So I started amassing a list for those interested whenever they asked me but then it's a matter of tracking down the books either online or at the local bookstore which may or may not have them all the time. To make things easier, I started going through my book collection and I've found some of my favorite resources for digital photography. These are books which will not only help those who barely know where the "ON" button is on their camera all the way up to the professional, working photographer.
The first series of books I suggest everyone look into are the Digital Field Guides published by Wiley Publishing. For many years these have been my first go-to books for learning about anything with my camera. While the manual that came with your camera is a great resource for specific technical information, you ultimately want to learn how to apply all that information into taking better photos. These Field Guides are an outstanding companion to your existing camera manual. The best part about them is they really present all the techie, nerdy information and put it into words that anyone can understand. So if you're using any major DSLR camera brand, this should be the first thing you buy for it.
Once you have one of these books specific to your camera, you might want to investigate some of the "Dummies" or "Idiot's Guide" books on photography. Don't be insulted by the name…the books in these series are written by outstanding authors and professionals in their craft. They explain the different common terms in photography such as exposure, shutter speed, ISO, etc. They explain the difference between types of cameras and lenses and give you an excellent starting point to understanding not just how your camera works, but how you can use this information to take much better photos. When you are just starting out in photography, you want to start here.
Once you have started to master the basic understandings of the photography vocabulary, have a good, working knowledge of the basics of photography, then you can start to move up to the more intermediate or advanced books. Some authors/photographers of these to whom I highly recommend are Bryan Peterson, Tom Ang, and David duChemin just to name a few.
Since my list is really rather extensive in all these categories, I'm going to save you a lot of time and give you a link to my personal, suggested reading list. I have personally read all of the beginner, Intermediate and Advanced level books I own all the books in the Intermediate to Advanced level books in my library.
To to go my personal, suggested reading list and order any of the books direct through Amazon, simply go to:
If you have personally read any of these books and would like to provide some feedback here or if you have any great photography books you would suggest, please leave a comment. Also, if you are ever interested in attending one of my walk-around photography classes for beginner to intermediate level photographers here in Las Vegas, please shoot me an email at adam@shotbyadam.com. I teach the classes once a month.
Las Vegas Graffiti for Photographers
There is so much more to Las Vegas other than the bright lights, glamorous hotels and casinos, nightlife and nature. As with any major city, you see your fare share of graffiti throughout the city and while some of it is just gang taggings, some of it is really quite artistic. Our mayor, Oscar Goodman, has a unique policy regarding gang taggers and this is to cut off their thumbs. His theory is that you can't hold a can of spray paint without thumbs. That theory aside, there is an older, industrial area of Las Vegas that has been transformed into a new "Art District". In the area of E. Charleston and Main St., you can visit incredible art galleries, vintage clothing stores such as The Attic, antique stores, and so much more. If you haven't had a chance to spend an afternoon walking through this area of Las Vegas, you're really missing out.
In this spirit of art, many of the city's top graffiti artists have arrived and began creating their unique form of artwork on some of the surrounding warehouses and abandoned buildings. The owners of these properties, rather than take it down, have decided to leave the artwork up which makes for an incredible opportunity for anyone interested in using these places for some wonderful photographic backdrops.
So a few quick tips about shooting in these areas before you grab your camera, pick a model to shoot, and start driving. First, you need to realize you are going to an industrial area. During the weekdays, these areas can be teeming with people who might not find your photographic adventures quite as interesting as you do. The best day of the week to visit these areas is Sunday and you need to be aware that most of your shots will be facing north or south. This means that shadows can be really quite harsh as the sun moves across the sky so you need to be aware of this. Be prepared to bring a good flash for your camera to provide a fill of light to help compensate for this issue.
Also, you need to be aware that while some of these areas can be seen from the street, some are more buried within the industrial complexes. Because some of these buildings are abandoned and others have been demolished, the ground is covered in pieces of sheet metal, rusty nails, and all sorts of other hazardous items so if you are planning to go walking in flip-flops, I would highly advise against. If there is anything I've learned over the years of being a professional photographer is that trips to the hospital is a real bad way to end a photo shoot. In addition, while I have never personally run into any problems with them, occasionally you might see some homeless people in the area so just beware.
So, based on all of this, I wanted to provide a really great starting point to get some great shots. Whether you are a tourist coming to Las Vegas and want some fun shots of something more "urban" or you are a professional or amateur photographer looking for a unique setting in which to shoot, here are some great hot spots. I'll point out their locations on the maps followed by some photos so you can see what the areas look like. The general part of Las Vegas I will be focusing on is the intersection of East Charleson and Main Street. This is a general connecting point between the southern part of Las Vegas and Downtown. The first location I want to show is the intersection of Main St. and Hoover Ave. There are many bail bond companies in this area one in particular has some awesome artistic graffiti!
You can see from the above photos that there is a LOT of color and wide open spaces to shoot. Due to the proximity of the buildings behind you though, shooting with a large telephoto lens is not going to give you enough open space to get the distance you need. The above was shot with my Nikon D700 and a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens.
About a mile away is where you will simply be amazed at the amount of variety of amazing artistic graffiti work. Off to 1st Street between Boulder Ave. and and Coolidge Ave.
Right on Boulder Ave., between 1st St. and Casino Center, you will see some parking areas for The Arts Factory. This is where you want to park and start walking around. The warehouse buildings to your north will be the bulk of your canvas. There are so many amazing backdrops to shoot against with a huge amount of color and variety. The first example below will show you a great example as to the results you can get when you use these backdrops creatively…
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Thanks to the awesome model, Ronnica Rabold, for posing for this very cool shot! So as we wander around these buildings on the north side of Boulder Ave., you'll start to see some really fantastic artwork. I shot these during the worst time of the day for this area which was right as the sun was setting so, again, prepare for proper lighting if needed. I suggest a slightly overcast day and plan on shooting in the morning if possible…
As you wander around the building on to 1st Street, you will want to look behind you and you can see some great painting work on the buildings across the street…
Heading back to where you parked, you'll see some great "darker" images…
Turn around 180 degrees and cross Boulder Ave. In some of the parking lots for The Arts Factory…
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The more you wander around the above areas, the more you will be blown away by how amazing some of this artwork looks. There's a lot of hidden gems in this area for sure, and I can tell you from experience that sometimes the street artists change their designs from time to time. So what you see above may be slightly different when you visit this area. The next stop is about 1/2 a mile south…
The Winfield Manor is a rather old, delapidated motel that is a bit off the radar. On the north and east sides of the building are some awesome artistic pieces…
So have fun, be safe, do some exploring, and you'll be sure to have an awesome day of scouting locations and getting some awesome photos of another side of Las Vegas not often talked about. Of course if you are a model or a group and want to get some awesome photos of some of these hot spots, be sure to pick up the phone and give me a call at 702-204-1740 or email me at adam@shotbyadam.com
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Las Vegas Sign Pictures
When people travel to Las Vegas, whether it's for business or pleasure, they often bring a camera with them. There are so many sights to see just on the Las Vegas Strip alone you could fill plenty of digital storage cards for sure. Of all the things people most want to be photographed in front of is the "Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas" sign which can be found on Las Vegas Boulevard ("The Strip") about a mile south of the Mandalay Bay resort, sandwiched between the Bali Hai golf course and the old east entrance to the McCarran airport. Built in 1959, it is, without a doubt, not only a cultural icon, but a true gateway to the fun and excitement that makes up Sin City.
The image above was shot in mid December just after Sunrise. It is a
5-shot HDR (High Dynamic Range) photograph composite and required
many hours of work in Photoshop to remove the numerous power
lines running through the background.
The key to getting a great photo at the Vegas sign comes down to a lot of factors so if you really want to get a shot worthy of hanging on your wall, keep reading! I've been living in Las Vegas my entire life. A Las Vegas native, I remember how difficult it was to actually get to the Las Vegas sign. In 2008, a renovation around the Sign began and in December of 2008, new ground turf was added as well as a parking lot constructed out of the center island in the middle of Las Vegas Blvd. Prior to this, getting pictures of the Sign was a real challenge. You had to either park at the Mandaly Bay convention center to the north or the Jack and the Box to the south and walk about 1/2 of a mile to get to the Sign. There was no real easy way to get there and when you were there, generally the police would often give you grief for being there if they caught you. If you were there doing a shoot, you had to fight with tourists who would drive up, park their car right in the middle of the street, jump out to get a photo and run back to their car before they were caught…hence, the need for a parking lot to alleviate this problem. Generally speaking though, if you got to the Sign in the morning or later in the evening you pretty much had the Sign to yourself.
Today though, you have to be a bit more clever to get a good shot of the Sign because you're competing for time and space with all the other tourists waiting in line to get their photo as well. So here are a few quick tips that will yield you the best results:
- If you are staying in Las Vegas for more than just a weekend, plan your shoot for mid-week. The busy tourist days for people getting photos at the Las Vegas sign are weekends, holidays, or when a large event or convention is in town.
- GET THERE EARLY! If you're planning your shoot for New Years Eve at noon, plan on waiting at least an hour before you get your shot and it won't be a good one at that. Even if the city is a bit busy, the earlier you get to the Sign the better. I can assure you that I'm not a "morning person" but when I have to do a shoot with a client or model, I always tell them to plan on shooting no later than 7AM. Not only will you get the best possible light for your shoot, but you won't have to be fighting with others for the same piece of real estate. With very rare exceptions, whenever I get to the Vegas sign early, it's like my own private photo studio. Remember, the more you procrastinate getting there, the worse your shot will be.
- It is important to remember that you still are in a very public place when shooting. You literally are in the middle of one of the most highly traveled roads in the country so if you're planning on shooting something wild or crazy, be prepared for some car horns and cat calls from the nearby drivers.
Shot of "fitness Diva" Christi Lee during the renovation period of the
Welcome To Las Vegas sign in November of 2008. Shot was taken at
7AM and the outside temperature was under 40 degrees. In the 15 minutes
of shooting, we heard over two dozen cat calls or car horns and two cars
stopped in the middle of the road to watch.
- Bring a tripod! OK, so you can't get to the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign early in the morning and others are there getting their photos too. So you think, "It's no problem, I can just give my camera to the person behind me in line and let them take a picture of my wife and I." Big mistake. It's all about taking control of your environment. Understand that the person behind you is more concerned with getting their photo perfect and not about getting your photo perfect. They don't know your camera as good as you do and, chances are, they take photos about as good as your pet cat you left back at home. So many times I've seen people wait 10 or 20 minutes to get their shot, the let someone they've never met take it, and as soon as they walk back and get their camera to see the photo taken, you can see their face go from one of fun to one of disbelief that their photo looks like crap. By this time, two other groups have gone up to take their picture and you either can wait another 20 minutes or just settle on a lousy photo. The bottom line, pack a tripod in your luggage and take it with you to your shoot at the Sign. This way, you can compose the shot exactly the way you want it and, assuming you are shooting with a digital camera, you can take test shots with other people before you so when it's your turn, you get the best possible results from your camera shooting off a timer rather than from a young couple still recovering from their previous night's partying.
- Always use a flash…always! Obviously if you're shooting people in front of the Sign at night you're going to want to use a flash on your camera but even if you're shooting during the day, turn your flash on as well. "But Adam, if we're shooting in the middle of the afternoon, there is plenty of light outside. Why should I use my flash?" Well, unless you want your subjects in the photo to look like a black-and-white cookie you get at the deli, you need to tell your camera that a fill flash is needed. By default, your camera's meter readings are going to tell the camera to turn off the flash but what it doesn't know is that the light you are using is very harsh light, which is really bad for photographs. The Sign faces south, which means you will be shooting to the north. If you are shooting during the winter months, the sun in Las Vegas will be traveling over the southern sky which is helpful, but during the busy tourist months of summer, it's directly overhead. Regardless of when you are shooting, unless you are shooting within an hour of sunrise or just before sunset, the sunlight will be your enemy. Your subjects will be either dark on one side and light on the other or will have such terrible facial shadows that everyone will look like an alien when you take their picture. The solution? Force your camera to use it's flash. If you don't know how to do this, read your owner's manual. The flash will compensate for the shadows and your subjects will look great instead of like Martians.
The last and best piece of advice I can give you when taking pictures out at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is to be patient. If you get there and others are there taking photos too, use the time wisely. When waiting in line, start taking test shots and get your camera settings read so when it's your time, you don't have to mess with your camera while others are waiting on you to get your shot and move along. Preparation is the difference between getting mediocre photos and getting a shot you will be showing with pride to your friends and family for years to come.
If you're coming to Las Vegas and want some awesome photos of your vacation or event while you're here, give me a call to book me as your own "personal paparazzi". Your event lasts but a moment, but your photos last a lifetime!
Product Photography 101
Before today's blog, I wanted to let you know that if you're on FaceBook, I just created a new fan page where I'll be posting all the latest photos from my most recent shoots and some photography quick tips too! To follow me, PLEASE CLICK HERE!
I’ve had the very fortunate pleasure of doing a LOT of travel these last few months. In 2009 alone I have logged over 250,000 miles to all over the United States and many exotic locations such as Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Auckland, London, and Dublin just to name a few. The primary reason for my travels is that I am a featured keynote speaker for Internet marketing programs all over the world. Of course, when I travel, I always take my camera gear with me, not that I have much time to shoot anything, but it’s the thought that counts.
Over the last few months I have been traveling with my good friend and eBay expert, Adam Ginsberg, helping him with his awesome 3-day eBay/Internet trainings. At his events I teach a 90 minute course on product photography and the importance of having good, quality imagery in your eBay listings. One of the most crucial elements of having powerful eBay listings is having excellent quality photographs of the items you are selling. The better the photo, the more professional your listing looks and the more professional your listing looks, the more likely it is to motivate a potential buyer into taking action and placing a bid on your auction.
So what are some tips for taking great eBay photos? Well, it’s certainly not rocket science and you don’t need to have thousands of dollars invested in camera equipment to get outstanding results. The first thing you need is, obviously, a digital camera. Choices in cameras these days vary more than they ever have before. You can go with a Digital SLR camera (Single Lens Reflex) which allows you to take higher quality photos, have more creative control over what you shoot, use interchangeable lenses, etc., but with those categories of cameras comes a higher expense and a higher learning curve to boot. To take great product photos for eBay though, this is the ideal and yet certainly not a necessity. In fact, many low-budget point-and-shoot cameras take wonderful photos and you don’t need to have a big budget to get good results from many of these cameras. You can even get great deals on used cameras on craigslist or eBay (how about that?).
So, when shopping for a digital camera, what are some things to look for? The current buzz word for digital cameras is “megapixel”. You’ll hear that word used a lot and while it is an important factor in buying a camera, it is way less important than many people realize. Again, it’s a buzzword used to sell cameras. Many people think more Is always better and that’s very far from true. There are many digital cameras that shoot in 10+ megapixels and their photos look like crap by comparison to some older, professional digital cameras that shoot in 3 megapixels. How many pixels your camera shoots into is not directly indicative of it’s quality. A megapixel is a term that is used to reflect 1 million pixels. A pixel is like one tiny dot on your computer monitor. To reflect a standard 3:2 format many digital cameras and computer monitors use, certain standard combinations have been established over the years. For example, you may be reading this article right now on a monitor that is set to 1024X768 pixels or even 1280X1024. One “megapixel” is determined when you add up all the pixels used so 1280 X 1024 rounds out to 1.3 megapixels.
Now, there are so many other factors that create image quality other than the number of pixels in a shot. Digital cameras use a digital image processor to interpret the shot nowadays as opposed to the film cameras of yesteryear. These sensors all respond to light and color differently so the quality of the shot is often determined with those factors, not just how many pixels are in it. It’s a combination of quality AND quantity so don't let the high megapixels used as a marketing tool be the sole, determining factor when buying a camera for simple product photography.
So what else do you need to take great photos for eBay? Well, you definitely want a tripod. This will help stabilize your camera and get you much more consistent shots. Plus, you will probably be shooting your wares without a flash so a tripod will be a big help. “Why no flash?” you ask? The reason is your on-board flash is designed for photographing people or subjects at around 10 feet. When you use your flash to photograph an object close-up, you will get horribly bad shadows that will make your beautiful products look terrible. So instead, you want to light your area with external lights off to the side of your object and angled slightly in front and slightly behind your object. This creates a fill-light for your object and also illuminates the area behind it to cut down on shadows. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on lights either. I suggest getting two swing-arm or desk lamps from your local office supply store. Your total budget for lighting should be less than $30.00.
As far as a backdrop is concerned, remember to remove any and all clutter from your area that you are using for product photography. Three options include using a roll of butcher paper, large flip-chart type paper, or even a flat, white sheet folded in half so it’s more opaque. The preferred color is always white as it makes virtually every product put in front of it really pop. There may be some instances where your product is mostly white so if that's the case, perhaps having a second color like gray would be good although most of the time, it may not be necessary. To create a mini photo studio, simply push a small table next to a wall in your home you plan on using long-term for your photography. Then tack the paper or sheet up on the wall, about 2-3 feet higher than the table top, and drape it down over the table creating a slight curve to the background rather than a hard edge. This will help eliminate any shadows also and makes your object really look great and stand out. If you set your area up like this, you’ll never use the flash on your camera but you’ll get awesome results. When you aim your camera, make sure it is angled slightly down to your product and the top of the backdrop is not in the shot.
Take a look at the example above. You will notice here that a simple piece of flip-chart paper is taped to the wall and draped over the table. A simple ceiling lamp is positioned directly over the subject to help kill shadows behind it and in front of it and then, to illuminate the product itself, a simple desk lamp from an office supply store is positioned so it is outside the shot. This simple setup will yield outstanding results, can be designed with a very low budget, and is easy to setup.
Another route to consider is using a small photo tent which can be purchased online or at any good camera store. I've seen kits such as this sell for around $75 or less complete with lights and backdrops. Here, the tent itself will diffuse the light coming into it, so you want to position your lights on each side, about 8-12 inches away. When setup, you take one of your backdrops (preferably white) and it will attach to the top, back wall of the box and drape down inside (usually, these are held up with either velcro or small clips). Just remember to add a little curve to the backdrop when draping it inside to the bottom. The lights will illuminate everything inside and give you outstanding results.
Here is a shot I took just this past weekend for a client's website (www.designsbylala.com) using a light box.
Lastly, if your camera has a “Macro” feature, use it. The universal symbol for macro-mode is a flower/tulip looking icon (as many people use macro photography for flowers) Sometimes this can be found by turning a dial on your camera, sometimes by pushing a button, or on some Digital SLR cameras, you may have to have a specific macro lens in order to use this feature.
Macro photography involves moving your camera as close as possible to your object yet allowing to focus clearly at the short distance. If you don’t know how to find the Macro mode in your camera, consult your user manual. Just like the human eye, a camera is unable to focus properly when an object is moved too close to the lens. Using a macro mode or a macro lens forces the camera to adjust it's focal range to an object closer to the lens and gain more clarity in the shot. As with most cameras or inexpensive lenses, the more you have to zoom into an object to photograph it, the less light the camera allows in (referred to as aperature or "f-stop". In a future blog, I'll be explaining this in greater detail. For now though, and for simplicity sake, just understand that if you are zooming into your subject from across the room, or from two feet away, you will see different results as the available light the lens will take in will be different.
With this basic instruction on product photography techniques, you should start creating awesome images right away and make all your listings look like the ones the big power sellers have. Pretty soon, if you stick to it, you’ll be one of those sellers too!
Learn From My Mistakes!
Author Rita Mae Brown once said, "Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment. I know for a fact I that I have learned more from my mistakes than I ever have from my successes and my photography work is no exception. Having been a professional photographer for over ten years now, I've certainly made my fare share and I thought sharing a few of them with new, aspiring, or even experienced photographers may be of some help so you can learn from my mistakes so here are just a few…
1. Communication, Communication, Communication. If you are doing a shoot involving models, talk to them frequently before a shoot and ask tons of questions. I've had models show up on shoots as a brunette but were blond in their portfolio. Now, before a shoot, one of my standard questions is, "Is your hair, complexion, tan, the same as in your current photos?" I ask now about complexion because TWICE I've had models show up to shoots with major zits that couldn't be covered. One time it was for a product shot where the model was in a bikini and she shows up with two MASSIVE zits on her cleavage. Ugh. One of the most common issues photographers have with models is the flake-factor and this one tip will help eliminate that dramatically…I now ask models the night before and the day before if they are going to make it, if they have transportation, if they know where to go and when to arrive. My flake rate has gone down considerably. I even email them a link to Google Maps so they have no excuse as to why they couldn't find the meeting location. One of my next blogs will be about how to never have a model flake on you again so stay tuned for that.
2. Get everything in writing. I've been bitten in the ass a few times because I didn't. Luckily nothing major but it's a lesson learned. I get agreements and releases signed in advance before I ever pick up a camera and, as mentioned with #1, I now communicate this fact with the parties involved in advance.
3. Charge up batteries before a shoot. Never "assume" that everything is charged just because you charged everything a week ago. Back in December I was the photographer for the grand opening of the Haze Nightclub inside the new Aria resort at City Center here in Vegas. The night before the shoot, I loaded up all my batteries and, much to my surprise, several of them had gone bad from leaving them in my car the week prior. Being prepared in advance gave me a 24 hour buffer to get replacements.
4. On any scheduled shoot, hope for the best but EXPECT the worst.
5. When it comes to dealing with other parties involved in your shoot, don't have a short fuse but do have a thick skin.
6. Never make a promise you can't keep. I've made the mistake of promising models touched-up images in a time line I knew was not realistic. Honesty goes a long way…there's no reason to bullshit people. If you think you are going to be late on your deadline, email the model and let them know. A model would much rather know his or her photos will be a few days late rather than think her photographer is a flake.
7. This is a biggie. Never put down your gear in a place unless you know it's 100000% safe. Don't put your new 70-200mm 2.8 lens on a rock you think is safe, take an extra step and put it in your bag you KNOW is safe. I've learned this lesson the hard way twice in the last ten years. My plan is to never have a third.
8. Similar to #7, never put gear down that is out of sight, even for a second…unless you want it to get stolen. When I shoot in nightclubs, I've had many times where I put something down, just for a second, and it wandered away because some patron, high on Extasy, saw something shiny and round on a table and swiped it. Now, I make sure I have plenty of pockets available when I'm doing a shoot regardless of where it is.
9. Make a check list in your computer of every item you will ever need on a shoot. Include batteries, lens paper, flash diffusers, LENSES, Storage cards, everything. Itemize EVERYTHING. The morning or night before your shoot, print it out and check off every single item. It may sound silly after doing this for a few years but I guarantee you'll never wind up on a shoot and say, "DAMN…I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT (fill in the blank). Other things that should be on your checklist are maintenance items such as cleaning the mirror and diopter on the camera, cleaning the front and back glass on all my lenses, dusting out lens caps, etc. I started deviating from my own advice on this for a while and it bit me in the ass bad. I had a shoot to do inside the Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace recently and luckily I got there early and realized that I left my SB-800 flash at home. After yelling numerous curse words, I had to call my wife at 10:30 at night, 30 minutes after she went to sleep, and begged her to drive my flash clear across town for me. Not cool. Because my memory sucks, I make lists.
10. Get there early! Don't expect to arrive at a shoot on time, expect to arrive 30 minutes early. If you get there early, you look professional and will have extra setup time you don't have to rush through. If traffic is bad, you're still on time and don't have to make excuses. One of my biggest mistakes of my youth was my inability to arrive on time and I KNOW it cost me respect and, more importantly, money. Now, you may be thinking, "Well, I'm only going to go shoot some flowers at a park at my own time…I'll go whenever". Bad advice. Here's the reason. In photography, timing is so crucially important to getting the shot you really want. Even if it's something as simple as shooting flowers in a park, plan a time based on the best lighting and volume of visitors who might disturb you. Then, when you have a time set, show up ON TIME. If you can get into the habit of showing up on time for yourself, you'll show up on time for other people as well. Plus, you'll me much happier with the photographic results you get when you plan your shoot more effectively as well.
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