unculturedswine

Okay, so I never made it out of UVCC.SC.U without a formal degree. I’ll be the first to admit that I wish I had a degree, but I honestly cannot stand that school and don’t really have any desire to try and get myself into another school and start the whole process again. I’m not saying I didn’t learn anything; in fact some of the best teachers I’ve ever known teach there. But it’s the politics and red tape and disgustingly overwhelming business approach that I saw at every turn that drove me away from the land of higher education. For those of you better than me and able to stick to it, I commend you!

Anyways, this isn’t a rant about that school. Yesterday I spent $300 to attend 8 hours of photography education, and it was money well spent. There is an incredibly talented international photographer that has chosen to live and finish out his career in Orem that has created what he calls The International School of Photography. Yesterday I went to his ‘Photographing People Part 1′ workshop and loved it. Kenneth Linge is amazing at what he does, and also has the gift to know how to teach; the perfect combination in education.

Most of the day was spent learning about lighting and how to use it to your advantage. Lighting is what will set you apart from the other half dozen ‘photographers’ that live in your neighborhood. Lighting has been something I’ve barely understood, but now I have a better knowledge of it and I’m so excited to go put it into practice!

One of the lighting props I’ve seen, but never really used is a reflector. I never realized just how important it is in outdoor lighting! The picture below illustrates my point.

These were taken at the exact same time of day, just as the sun was setting. In the picture on the left, she is facing the sun, taking advantage of the soft light a setting sun creates. This is a perfectly acceptable picture. But, overall the color is cold and gray. The picture on the right is her just turning around and facing away from the sun, and then using a reflector to bounce the light back to her face. Suddenly, the picture is warmer and much more inviting. Neither of these pictures have been post-processed at all. (You can click to see a larger image)

This is a picture I took of Ammon and Nicole last year for their engagements, and it’s a great picture. However, there is always something you can do. One principle we learned yesterday was about photography and the minority – your eyes will be drawn to the minority in an image. For portraits, you want that to be the face. We learned a cool tip in Photoshop that would allow us to pull faces out just a little more to add that pop needed to bring your eyes to them. Here is what I was able to do using a feathered marquee around their faces and applying an auto-contrast. Once again, click to enlarge.

We also covered shooting in mid-day with the sun an 12 o’clock, and how to best take advantage of that. That’s something I totally needed! All in all, it was a GREAT learning experience for me, and I’m excited to get out and use everything I learned. I ordered my first reflector and it will be here by Friday, just in time for some engagements that I have lined up.

About a week ago I decided to join up with Twitter, another of those social networking type sites. At least I think that’s what it is. I kinda don’t really know what it is, but I like it. It’s nice to be able to update your twitter, or tweet, as the lingo goes, and suddenly everyone following you knows what you’re up to. And if they have it setup to text them anytime someone their following tweets, then they’ll know instantly what you’re doing.

Think of trying to setup a last minute get together at your house and you’ve got a handful of friends to invite. Instead of calling or texting everyone to let them know, you can just send out one tweet with the details and you’re done! If they wanna come, they’ll reply or just show up. You’ll let everyone know that’s following you and no one has to be left out. How handy is that?

Anyways, I like it and I use it. I totally think you should join up and start following me so I can start following you! Just look how handy it can be for teenagers…

By the way, my name on Twitter is, of course – unculturedswine.

By the way, by name on Twitter is, of course – unculturedswine.

Finally, after months of searching and a handful of interviews… I have a job! I’m now working for a web company in American Fork called Only Websites, and I’m pretty excited about it. Pay is good, hours are good, and they have lots of work to do. Needless to say, it’s a HUGE relief for me. Doing freelance has been okay lately, but the sporadic payday’s just get too stressful, and I’m not one to harbor much stress.

It’s also nice cause I still get to work at home for now, until they find a place to move. Where they are is too full of employees. That’s good, right? And payday’s are a direct deposit so that’s also good, and it just seems like they’re on the ball. I’m way excited.

Time for the weekend!