On Thursday 16 May I visited the annual Grain SA showcase for agriculture, the NAMPO Harvest Day, near Bothaville in the Free State.  Last year I browsed the halls and stalls and pretty much ignored everything outside.  This year I decided to look more at what was going on outside and grab some photos of those things which interest a farmer.

Photo Galley of NAMPO 2013 will be available until 31 August 2013

Exhibitions of Tractors, Trucks, Ploughs and various other types of farm equipment littered this huge show ground which takes one around and hour to circle on foot if you just stop here and there for a quick look.  The NAMPO show is big, very big.  I doubt one would be able to see everything there is to see outside in just one day, then there is still the halls!

If you are interested in some more photos, see the “Photo Shop” button at the top of the page, but note that the NAMPO 2013 photo Gallery will only be available until 31 August 2013.

It often happens that you come across some advertisements for products and you give it a skip because the products look “cheap”, but often the products are in fact of a very high quality.  On closer inspection you find that the product(s) appear “cheap” due to poor quality photography and/or lighting.  No matter how good the quality of your product, if the photos which your customers see do not represent this quality then the perception of the product is degraded.  Here is an example of an office chair as a product.  If you saw one of the following images in an advertisement, which would you consider the greater quality item?

Office Chair Product Sample

In the example the product on the left was correctly lit using 3-way diffused flash lighting to highlight detail and create a soft grounding shadow so the product does not appear to float in the middle of nowhere.  The example to the right is what you would normally get if you just use a flash on your camera, and results in a loss of detail and a harsh shadow shifted to the background which lets the product look unnatural.  If you are looking to advertise your product then consider professional quality photography to ensure your product gets the focus and attention it deserves.

Last week I had the pleasure of doing a couple photo shoot in Klerksdorp for Hilda & Riaan. I used pure natural light in the late afternoon for this shoot, so no reflectors, strobes or other lighting sources were used. The couple told me that they were very uncomfortable with posing in front of camera and that they needed a lot of help. Looking at the photos I got you would never guess that they have no idea how to pose.

Most people are uncomfortable in front of the camera and do not know how to pose to get those great photos they have seen of other couples.  Many photographers will just keep snapping shots hoping for a good shot while simply stating to the couple to try a different pose.  This process is hardly ever successful as your couple soon run out of ideas and become ever more tensed.  It is up to the photographer to find the pose and also to find the connection in the pose that make them a couple and not just two people next to each other.

Finding the Connection

I start off a couple session very traditionally with the couple facing each other and then start changing things and suggesting movements until I see them starting to connect.  I want the shot to appear as if a passer by snapped it in a moment of playfulness or sharing a special moment.  I shoot a number of photos for a pose I have created and I want them to move in that pose until I get that “connected shot” in which the couple looks natural and un-posed.  This may take a few shots, but find the connection before moving on without taking too long.

To find the connection there has to be movement.  I always get the couple to move a little and never ask them to hold still to try and capture a pose.  Rocking slowly back and forth or side to side releases tension in a pose and brings in a natural un-posed look which usually also connects a couple.  I will sometimes watch the couple through my view finder and snap a few shots while encouraging them to continue movement just so they think I am still taking shots while I am in fact waiting for the connection.  Do not try this in the same pose for too long as tension builds up quickly once they get bored with what they are doing.

The above shot came about naturally as I was moving them to a new spot.  As the grass in the field was long he simply picked her up to carry her to the new spot.  I asked him to keep her in his arms as I found my spot to get the light to fall right and they continued with their playfulness while I was getting great shots.  Once your couple has become relaxed then some shots like these just land in front of you and you have to be ready to snap.

Connecting  a couple for those great photos is not just about hundreds of photos of them kissing, but more importantly those moments which lead up to a kiss.  I see so many photographers with shots of couples kissing, but so few of those shots have any real emotion.  Connecting a couple if not just physical, but also emotional.  To create a moment you simply talk to the couple and ask them to tell each other little things as they would while watching a movie alone on a couch, etc.  I sometimes like to use “telepathy” as a moment creator where I ask them to telepathically tell each other how much they like each other.  This usually creates a moment as in the above shot which seems very natural and yet it was a designed pose I envisioned and prepared for.  I spent about 10 seconds explaining what I wanted them to do while keeping an eye on them through the camera view finder and when I saw the moment developing I snapped the shot.

You don’t need professional fashion models to get great poses, just a little understanding of how people interact.  For the above photo I had them standing on a tree that had fallen over.  I asked him to hold her on her sides with one foot backwards to keep his balance.  He then starts concentrating on her as he does not want her to lose balance as I asked her to lift her leg off the tree and lean towards him.  Without him supporting her she would fall over.   Asking her to move her leg up and down for a few seconds gave me the connection as they were concentrating on each other rather than me.  The point I am trying to make is to get your couple more interested in each other than you as the photographer by using what is available in the environment.

Do not forget that connecting a couple is also physical, but look for that something different.  When doing a “holding hands” shot it is often more interesting to separate the couple from each other a little further than they normally would be and then focus on the hands as the connection rather than full length shots.

The walk away photo is one I sometimes end a shoot with for completion of a set.  This shot can be done in a variety of ways, of which holding hands is the cliche.  I like to do something different such as getting the couple to just lean against each other.  In most cases they do not actually have to be moving, you just have to pose the walking motion.  Would you believe that the above shot was completely posed and that the couple was standing still in the same spot for about a minute as I set up to get that perfect shot?

I received this lens on 20 December and went out to do a couple of test shots. I am very happy with this lens as it is sharp and clear with great contrast.  This lens will be primarily used for detail work at weddings such as photos of the rings, jewelry, decorations and other detail items, but it does make a great portrait lens as well!
See more sample photos here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.501282016578416.117533.214908435215777&type=1

A horse enjoying a graze - Sony A77 sample

I have decided to now also add a wedding photo mosaic option to my packages.  Below is a sample of what a photo mosaic would look like.  These are best when printed at larger scale where, when you come closer, you can see the individual photos.  Suggested sizes would be minimum A3 size, but larger would be better.  The couple will have the option to pick their favourite wedding photo to have a mosaic don.  I will then use all the images from the wedding day to compile the mosaic.  Viewed from a distance the chosen image will be seen and when looking closer you can then see the individual photos.

Click the image below for a full-size version (image is 16Mb in size)

Wedding Photo Mosaic Sample

On 13 December 2012 Marilyn Ramos (21), Miss South Africa 2012, was welcomed back to her home town of Klerksdorp by friends, family and people from Klerksdorp at an event at Coobah in Klerksdorp.

On 9 December 2012 Marilyn was crowned Miss South Africa at the Sun City Superbowl.  Since her crowning people from Klerksdorp could not await her return to congratulate her and celebrate with her.  Marilyn is a very down to earth person and very sociable.  She was very patient with the very long queue of people who wanted to say hello and have their photo taken with her.  In the 2 hours it took for everyone to say hello and have a photo taken her smile never faded.  Klerksdorp is proud to have Marilyn Ramos as the new Miss South Africa for 2012.

Fitness Zone Shoot - Sony A77

On 20 September 2012 I was hired to do a photo shoot at Fitness Zone in Klerksdorp for advertising purposes.  One of the photos would also be selected as the cover for the October edition of WOW Magazine.  I had consulted with management of Fitness Zone earlier in the week to get an idea of what they were looking for.  During the consultation I was shown a few photos from various fitness magazines and I quickly found the look and feel they were after.

The gym has good lighting, but they wanted the background to appear darkened while having a good light focus on the subjects.  We would be shooting during normal, though quieter, working hours so members of the gym may appear in the background, but had to be darkened out.  To achieve the look they required I realized I would have to use rim and kicker lighting on small aperture and low ISO values and then use strong but diffused key lighting from a softbox.

Since I would be shooting amongst normal gym equipment I opted for a smaller 45cm X 60cm Single Softbox as key light and 2 bare flashes for kicker and rim lighting effects to the background.

I shot with the Sony A77 fitted with a Sony SAM 28-75 f/2.8 lens at f/8, Shutter 1/125 and ISO200 (full manual mode).  Shots at these settings with existing lighting (no flash) would be quite dark, which is what I needed.  I then went about setting up the key light first till I got the exposure I wanted and then did the rim and kickers individually till the effect resembled what they had shown me in the magazines.  When I showed the customer the first test shots they were immediately happy with the look and we continued shooting.  We did some group shots to create a shot for the cover of the WOW Magazine and then proceeded with some individual shots with various pieces of gym equipment which would be used in their advertising campaign.

The models were all great and the resulting shots showed great form.  Placing the key light at various angles and raised slightly above the models creates softened shadows which really brings out the toning in muscles and the body.  Posing gym photos was also much easier than I expected as the models simply need to use equipment as they normally would in any gym.  It is up to you as photographer to find the angle from which the model would look their best while using any of the gym equipment.

Details for the gym:

Fitness Zone
General Manager: Chris van Niekerk
Corner of Austin & Williams Street
Wilkoppies
Klerksdorp
South Africa
Telephone: 018 468 7744
Fax: 086 665 4140