Diane Jarvis-Schuller

On Monday I booked my first wedding. I’m both excited and full of anxiety — but more excitement than anything. Up until now I have had a firm policy that I will not do weddings. I tell people, and also have that statement on my website, that I don’t do weddings and strongly recommend hiring a photographer who specializes in weddings. Well, as you can tell, I was convinced to make an exception this one time.

If you, or someone you know, is getting married I have a great DIY tip to pass along. In these times of a depressed economy and job losses, some people may not even be in a position to hire a photographer for the wedding. If this is the case, I have a fun idea to share. It also doesn’t cost the bride & groom a dollar.

On a photography forum that I visit, there was a discussion in the tips area and this one caught my eye. We all know how guests bring along their point-and-shoots to take their own photos and that’s where the story begins. If the wedding couple won’t be able to afford a photographer, be sure to let the guests know (include it in the invitations) to bring their digital cameras and take as many photos as they like. The couple will arrange to have a digital “download station” for guests to download their photos for everyone to see — and for the couple to keep afterward! It’s as easy as having a laptop with a card reader (that way guests still have the photos on their memory cards but the bride & groom have a copy). It’s also imperative to have someone knowledgeable on how to download photos and using the laptop to ‘man’ the download station for several hours.

Back to where I heard about this in the first place. The person making the suggestion pointed to this wedding photographer’s blog post. I see there is also a suggestion about using Flickr for sharing all the wedding photos.

In this way, everyone wins! The guests still have all their own photos but the bride & groom get a wide selection of images to choose from for their wedding day – with no cost for a photographer. The newlyweds also don’t have to chase down and keep reminding (over and over again) their guests to send them copies after the day of the wedding. Sure, there may not be professional quality images but you’d be surprised how many really terrific images there will be to choose from with a variety of amateur photographers taking pictures through the day. The important thing is to document the day in photos and to save a few dollars as they set out on their new life together as husband and wife.

PS: If you have any additional tips for DIY wedding photos, please leave them in the comments below for others to check out as well! Thanks — I have the greatest visitors!

Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer based in Grande Prairie, serving northern Alberta + Edmonton and area. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

I can credit one book for helping me move from a rank amateur with lots of interest in photography, yet lacking in technical skills, to an amateur who finally understands how to get the most out of her camera. This one book slapped the reins in my hands enabling me to turn my little DSLR into a real workhorse.

I’ve loved photography since I was a little girl, mesmerized by the little Brownie box camera with the leather handle my parents used. Life moved forward and I focused my creative side on writing. Photography, though still a creative outlet I loved, got left behind. That changed a few years ago.

When I finally made the decision to get serious about improving my photography skills, there were roadblocks. Where I live I don’t have the benefit of access to professional photography workshops or classes though I did take an intermediate course that helped me more with post processing than anything else. I felt a void because my goal had been to become adept at maximizing my use (and understanding) of my camera’s controls.

I tried a few online forums but got absolutely nowhere because of attitude (I should KNOW those things, don’t you know). That was the whole point: I asked those questions because I was trying to learn and decipher how to fully understand the specific details about correct exposure. Someone with less attitude recommended a book that was sure to answer my questions, so I ordered it, and voila! That book made everything perfectly clear to me.

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera by Bryan Peterson was the single most significant tool that helped me better understand exposure and how to get the most out of my camera. By the time I finished the first chapter, the questions I had been asking not only were answered but he taught it in such a way that I had no more confusion about f-stops and lens opening (and determining the best exposure without it being guesswork). As I progressed through the chapters, I learned how to achieve certain effects with my camera and experimented more (while understanding what I was doing). Peterson also had suggested exercises in each chapter to encourage the reader/photographer to try out the different lessons and to expand your capabilities. With the positive reinforcement that came as a result of trying his exercises, there really was no place to go but forward! I highly recommend this book (now available as an updated version) if you wish to better understand exposure, to get the most out of your camera (whether it’s film or digital), and to improve your technical skills with any camera.

[caption id="attachment_1213" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="Copyright © Diane M. Schuller. All Rights Reserved."][/caption]

I still use the same entry level DSLR but I know I’m getting the most out of it. I’m still hoping to get a professional level camera like so many others have, but I’m comfortable that my little camera is like a little draught horse working his haunches off for me. The only reason I’m getting so much out of my little camera is due solely to what I’ve learned in an earlier version of Understanding Exposure.

That said, photography – like any creative art form – is a lifelong learning process. I still make mistakes but at least I know what I should be doing. We never stop learning and growing with the art.

Have you found a book that helped move you forward in any particular task or other part of your life? Or, if you are also an amateur photographer, what have you found to be the most helpful in moving your skills forward?

Diane is a lifestyle photographer serving Grande Prairie & Northern Alberta. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

Taking pictures of your dog, cat, or other pets are often similar to taking photos of your children. As promised here are a few simple, yet basic, aspects to keep in mind when taking pictures of your family dog(s). If there is interest, in future I can provide information to address more advanced approaches. These six tips will form a good base to get you started taking better snapshots of your family pet.

1. Have an assistant, whenever possible. If you have a friend or family member you can put them to work in playing with the dog or pup or by acting as a distraction with a toy, for instance. Squeaky toys are good for getting dogs to perk their ears at attention and for directing which direction the dog faces.
2. Turn off the flash and turn the beep feature off on your camera. Take your photos in a brightly lit room or outdoors so the flash is not necessary. Many animals become leary of cameras when the beep goes off every time the shutter is released. You don’t want your pet worried about the camera — you want him/her relaxed.
3. Forget about posing! Attempting to pose a dog, especially with the dog looking straight at the camera, most times is so lifeless and lacks personality. The best photos are those where you capture your dog (or your kids) at play, concentrating or showing curiosity over something, or even relaxing after a long run or playtime. As mentioned, if you have some toys or treats with you, you can toss it out to get the dog moving or playing. When you forget about posing and simply allow your pet to be itself, not only will you capture personality but you’ll also find you enjoy these the  most because the real essence of your dog/pet is captured.
4. Turn your camera’s setting to continuous mode. Whether you have a point-and-shoot, a DSLR or a 35mm film camera, you will have that capability. This allows the camera to take a continuous stream of photos while keeping the shutter pressed, hopefully so you don’t miss some unexpected shots especially if your pet is moving.
5. Take lots and lots of pictures! Don’t worry so much about perfection. Be more concerned about capturing special moments. If you have a digital camera, you have the luxury of taking all kinds of shots without having to pay for developing/processing. Simply delete the rejects after downloading them to your computer and hang on to the good ones (be sure to get them printed).
6. Get down! This one is key. When you get down to the pet’s level (again, this is important for photos of children too) and preferably the closer the better, your images will immediately improve. If you have a DSLR, you can get even better results by attaching your zoom lens. This will allow you to be further away (out of their face), less intimidating, and to still capture those close up shots. Ideally, you want to nearly (or fully) fill the frame with your subject. You don’t want your subject to be a blob or dot in the frame.

The dog’s face fills the frame, concentrating on his eyes. He’s not looking directly at the camera (distracted) and the camera is not in his face because a zoom lens was used. The only thing done to this was to sharpen it slightly after downloading to the computer.

It doesn’t matter that this dog is not facing the camera — the image tells a story: she is hanging back while the other two are off hunting (typical of this dog). Taken down at the dog’s level and she nearly fills the frame.

Here the dog is captured playing in the snow (with snow flying). It doesn’t matter that the other dog’s head snuck in — it shows curiosity. Again, the dog mostly fills the frame.

Here’s a shot taken after the dog had sufficient time to play and wear off energy. He’s keeping still yet his attention is elsewhere (a distraction) and has that ‘posed’ look.

PhoDOGraphy: How to Get Great Pictures of Your Dog

How to Take Great Pet Pictures: Recipes for Outstanding Results with Any Camera

Copyright © 2009 Diane Schuller. All Rights Reserved. It is illegal to copy any part of this post or the photos without the written permission of the author. You may link to this page from your blog or website.

Diane is an on-location dog, pet & livestock photographer serving Grande Prairie & Northern Alberta/BC. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

This post and all photographs on this blog are Copyright © Diane Schuller. All Rights Reserved. That means it is illegal to copy any part of this or to copy and use any of the photographs for any purpose whatsoever. If you wish to reprint this information, you must contact Diane Schuller to make a request. You are welcome to create a link in your blog or website to this page, however. Thank you for respecting my copyright.

As soon as we post one of our photos online, it is immediately at risk of being stolen and used in other people’s blogs or websites (often as their own), manipulated and posted who-knows-where for who-knows-what purpose. Some images are even used to make money for the person who has helped themselves to your photo.

I wrote a post on my previous blog about protecting ourselves against this type of theft and will reproduce it here for easy reference. The reprint of this post also explains to those who help themselves to photos (whether they realize it is illegal or they don’t realize that fact) the correct way to go about asking for permission or where to find photos that are open to be used with permission. This is not a definitive article by any means but is an introduction to the topic providing links to more in-depth articles for detailed information. Here now is the reprint from this blog:

As many of you know, once you put your images online, you risk having them stolen by people who seem to think they are free. Some of these people help themselves to our photos for their blogs or websites and others are making money from them. We need to know how to protect our images.

Thanks to Roberta of Uncommon Depth, she has shared information for those posting at Flickr who are concerned about people who help themselves to our photos. It’s such important and helpful information, I too am passing along this helpful article on protecting your images.

That article by Greg Cope spells out specific ways to protect your images and I encourage you to read it and take steps for protecting your images from theft. You’ll notice that I have begun adding a watermark and, in some photos, I include both a watermark and a copyright notice. Sure someone can still steal the image. With the small copyright notice on the bottom corner that many people use, it’s so easy for anyone to clip that off and use the photo. The watermark is a bit more difficult to remove but people can do it — if they want the photo badly enough. My hope is that most who steal photos will be discouraged when they encounter my photos with a big watermark (or two of them) appearing on the photo.

I’ve also begun to make the photos smaller in [resolution] size over at Flickr plus in this photo journal have disabled the right-click feature so it can’t be downloaded to start with.

This past week I deleted a bunch of my photos over at Flickr because they are real easy to steal plus Flickr is a hotbed for photo theft. No doubt you too have heard many stories of those who have experienced photo theft. I’ve actually had people tell me to my face that if they need a photo for their blog, website, (and a teacher who uses them for teaching tools) or other purpose the first place they go is Flickr! And you can bet your bottom dollar they don’t ask the artist for permission either. That is theft, pure and simple. So, I have decided that in the next month I will be removing a bunch more of my images from Flickr and the ones I plan to leave there will be replacing them with a duplicate that has my watermark plastered prominently in the image.

It has always astounded me that a person might see a neighbour’s tools in the backyard but they’d ask permission to borrow them yet the same person won’t think twice about helping themselves to a photographer’s photos (or a writer’s writings) and then slip away in the night.

If you’re on the other end however, as a person who is interested in using images found on the web, there IS a proper and legal way of doing so:

• If you see an image you are interested in using for your own blog or website, check the person’s website/blog or photo sharing site (such as Flickr) for information on their copyright or copyright policy. You’ll usually find this information on a page or sidebar such as the “about”, “copyright”, “permissions”, “profile”, or similar page/area.
• If the copyright notice indicates “All Rights Reserved” — they are definitely not yours for the taking.
• Now you need to contact that person (and that information is usually always available as well) to request permission to use their image. Don’t be afraid to do this; some people are flattered and will grant you permission. Some will ask for compensation. Don’t take it personally if they choose not to provide permission. After all, it does belong to them.
• If you don’t get permission and are really in need of a particular type of photo for your blog or website, use your search engine using keywords, “creative commons + [keyword for type of image you need]“. There are some people who have images available under licence as creative commons. Those are images where permissions will be granted for your use, yet you likely will be required to provide attribution (give credit to the specific owner). Flickr has a listing of their members who provide creative commons images as well as a simple explanation in the sidebar on what the particular type of creative commons entails.
• Not so difficult, right? And this way it’s legal.

Jenn and Karina over at Tiny Choices blog are a great example of the correct way to use other’s photos and how to give proper attribution. (Note that they use photos from Flickr that fall under “creative commons” and that they correctly provide attribution & a link directly to the individual; it is not correct to give attribution to Flickr because Flickr does not own the photos.)

I hope this is helpful in providing information on how to protect your images online. On the opposite hand, if you know of someone who may benefit from learning about the legal way of using online images, please share the link to this particular post. You are also welcome to link to this post from your own blog or website to share with others.

“If we know better, we do better.” ~ Maya Angelou

PS: I want to re-emphasize reading that article noted & linked to at the beginning of this post (the one by Greg Cope). My post is an effort to begin the conversation and to offer some tips and suggestions. Mr. Cope’s article is much more indepth and provides very specific how-to information in this regard.

Are you one of those who keeps wondering about Raw or what Raw is in terms of your camera and taking photographs? Does the thought of using Raw intimidate you? You’re not alone.

These days even the point-and-shoot digital cameras have the ability to shoot in RAW format. RAW is not just for the professionals; it’s just as relevant for the serious amateur photographer since it provides added control & editing adjustability producing richer, more vibrant photos. Raw mode does not compress the images (the way jpeg or tiff does, for instance) leaving them completely unprocessed.

Here’s what helped me fully understand the RAW format and how to take advantage of its capabilities.

For those wondering about camera Raw, this is a great source for learning about shooting raw:

Getting Started with Camera Raw: How to make better pictures using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements

In this book, Ben Long speaks to the photographer in simple terms, explaining logically all the way through. Nothing to be intimidated about. He covers the real basics progressing all the way to advanced editing in camera raw. You’ll learn what Raw is, how to choose a converter, image editing basics, workflow, and a great deal more. I’ll list the chapter titles for you so you can get an idea of the subject areas he covers:

1. Getting Started
2. What is Raw?
3. Image Editing Basics
4. Getting Started with Camera Raw
5. Workflow
6. Advanced Editing in Camera Raw
7. Shooting Raw

The book is geared towards both beginners and intermediate levels and covers camera raw whether you use a PC or a great Mac! You’ll wonder why you haven’t been shooting in Raw all along! Go ahead, click the book title text above to find out more about this helpful book.

{This is the first of a series of tips on photography that I’ll share here. To be sure to not miss any of them, please add this blog to your RSS feed (see right sidebar) or to subscribe click on the “Blog info” button up at the top right of the screen then click “Subscribe to blog”.}