» Fro Knows Photo Blog
5 Min Portrait up on the ROOF
My long time friend Nick Perri who builds custom electric guitars asked if I would photograph his latest creation “25″.
I thought it would be great to do the shoot up on the Roof of the Loft. This was the first time I walked around up there and I have to say I have a ton of space to capture images.
The Light at the end of the day is just amazing and I would assume that the light at the very beginning of the day is just as nice.
This is the first 5 min portrait where I did not shoot video of the photo shoot. The reason I did not was I was focused on capturing images and did not want to have the distraction of rushing or playing up to the camera.
Like I say in the video I will attempt in the future to capture more video of these 5 min portraits.
CLICK HERE to download 3 RAW FILES from this Photo Shoot.
To Purchase one of Nicks custom Guitars including this one #25 Please go to PerriInk.com
Click Here to see the FULL RES images from this shoot.
Why I Shoot RAW
This article was originally released only to people on the e mail list. If you would like to sign up please use the orange box above to get direct emails from me.
If there is one question I get more than any other, it’s “Why do you shoot RAW?” Let me take you back to 2003 when I picked up my first DSLR – the Nikon D2H. The online photo community was very different at that time, and we certainly didn’t have as much access to information as we do now. Coming from the film world, there was never a question of file formats, only what type of film to use. Suddenly with digital, there was a slew of file formats to familiarize yourself with – JPEG, RAW, TIFF and RAW + JPEG.
I made phone calls to as many photographers as I knew who were shooting digital and asked what they shot. Some of them said they were shooting JPEG and others were shooting RAW, but they did not know why. At that point, I really did not know a lot about file formats and I started to ask questions to form my own opinion on what I should use.
Here is what I learned from talking with other pros: JPEG was all about compression and smaller files, which meant I could capture a large number of images and fit them on my memory card. (Here’s another fun blast from the past – my first 1GB memory card cost me a whopping $279.) Regardless of the storage possibilities, I knew that if JPEG meant compression and RAW was uncompressed, I was better off sticking with RAW. It just made sense to me that if JPEG files toss away information in the hopes of larger quantity, and RAW kept all your information, I was better off going with the quality option.
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GigaPan Epic Pro Unboxing
I got an e mail from someone over at GigPan asking me if I would like to test it out. Now thats an offer I am not going to turn down, mind you I do not get to keep it, it must go back in two months.
I have heard of and seen GigaPans ever since that amazing one from the first Obama inauguration. For those who don’t know what a GigaPan is or what it does please let me explain.
The GigaPan is a computerized unit that allows you to capture images that then are stiched together to create one large image. The benefit here is you can zoom in on all the areas of an image to see what is going on. Check out the test image below that is comprised of 25 images.
I have been testing out the GigaPan for a few days now and will come up with a full review for you in the future. It is pretty amazing what this unit allows you to capture. Mind you the price tag is $895 which may sound expensive but this unit should make you money.
If you are an interror photographer you can create 360 degree images that can be used for walk throughs. I can also see using these for large sporting events and creating amazing posters of landmarks.
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Feisol Tripod and Ballhead Unboxing
One of the most essential pieces of gear for every photographer is a tripod. There are so many different choices out there and many of these choices are based on what you shoot and where you shoot. I do a lot of location work and travel with my gear, so for me, it’s important that my tripod be lightweight, yet sturdy. Also, I’m 6’1″ and need a tripod with good height. I want the legs on the tripod to be extended to a height that meets or exceeds my height with the camera attached and don’t want to rely on the center column for that additional height, I want to use the legs for stability.
Belive it of not, up until now, I never really made the “investment” into a proper tripod system. I have a decent pistol grip head and carbon fiber legs, but they’re decent at best and were just not cutting it, so I finally decided to bite the bullet and make the investment. I looked at a ton of brands, but my buddy Peter Hurley couldn’t stop saying great things about Feisol, so I checked them out and wow, am I glad I did.
I ended up getting the Feisol Elite Tripod CT-3472LV, which is a carbon fiber tripod that has a self-leveling center column. I paired that with the Feisol Ball Head CB-50DC which also is carbon fiber and seems ideally suited for the tripod. I actually even reached out to Feisol to consult them about my decision and they were so helpful and responsive.
I have relationships with the companies that make most of my gear and feel this is very important as a professional photographer. I want to deal with a company that not only makes good product, but is also responsive and supportive of their core customers.
I’m not sponsored by Feisol, so I have nothing to gain by promoting their product, however I really believe in their product and company and wanted to share my thoughts with you guys. Buying a tripod is a long-time investment. A good tripod system will last for years, hopefully decades, so buy right the first time. And remember that the tripod is holding your precious camera equipment, so definitely not worth skimping on a tripod if you value your gear.
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Digging into the Archives – 3/28/2006
Nothing like digging back into the archives to pull out this image of Walt Lafty of Silvertide from 3/28/2006.
It was shot with a Nikon D2H at 1/20th of a second F-2.8 ISO 640 with the Nikon 17-55 2.8 Lens.
Yup, I was at a really slow shutter speed because pushing the D2H much higher would have resulted in a ton of noise and grain. But its tack sharp and exposed properly even with Walts back to the window.
Amazing to go back into old RAW files and re process them today.
