May 21, 2015

Being a great photographer does not always mean getting the perfect shot. Knowing what you need and sticking to your plan is just as important. Even if it means having to come back later. The best photographers have something to prove in their images and they don’t settle for second best.

Timing is everything and knowing when and where to be is key, no matter what type of image your making. This time of Photographic school I share some tough lessons in getting and NOT getting the shot that serve as a reminder to be prepared when the light moves.

— Seim

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October 17, 2014

The Light is What Matters.

I was sitting in the studio working away this week when I peeked out my window and saw this amazing light. Watch what was happening. I could not help but grab a camera and go out to chat about it.

While this was off the cuff and I didn’t have any models or scenes ready, the light is what matters. Any scenario can be amazing if we use it well, but some light is just magical and if we plan our sessions to work with that and understand how to mold it to our needs, anything can happen.

Sometimes the situations are bold like this one. It would have been perfect timing for a portrait session, though I would have had only minutes. Sometimes magical light is more subtle and you really have to think about where it’s reflecting, how the subject and camera is positioned and how we expose. I’ve learned this. If I just stop, breathe and take in the scene before I make the image, my perception changes and I see things I would have otherwise missed. Slow down.

Having a fundamental understanding of light itself is the foundation for our artistry. If you have not yes watched the EXposed workshop I highly suggest you take a look. It will change your perspective. From now on, each time you see unique light take a moment out of your mind to think about what the light is doing, how it plays off objects, faces, landscapes and shapes.

Once we know the light, we control the light. — Gav

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September 2, 2014

Our camera is just an instrument. It’s what happens in our mind that makes a great photograph. When we understand the tools, we focus on the artistry. Sometimes we fall for the scam that we can just fix it later and so we fail to expose well and never get that truly magical light. Today’s tip takes on a simple truth about exposure in the camera. I call it, Doubles and Halves!

Photographic exposure and simple math are one on the same. Don’t run away, it’s more elegant than it seems. F5.6 to F8 doubles or halves your light. ISO 200 to 400 doubles or halves. So does 1/50th to 1/100th and so on. Ditto for Zones and Exposure Value and Ratios. They are all connected. All tools to manage and understand the Stops (flow) of light. Just doubles and halves.

Understanding these terms helps you nail the light and focus on the vision. This video from the first chapters of my EXposed series explains in simple terms. EXposed also covers deeper aspects, so if you love understanding light, check it out here.

— Gav

 

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January 30, 2014

We’ve been making Apple Aperture presets here at Seim Effects since the beginning, but I realized we did not have a great video about using them. While installation is easy, it’s still faster to see it done for real. In this quick video we do just that, but we also go deeper and look at some tips and tricks for using and managing Aperture Presets. When you’re done head over and check out the LightrFlow and ColorFlow preset collections we’re using here.

Enjoy, Gav

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September 23, 2013

Solder Summit Utah, Gavin Seim
Solder Summit Utah, Gavin Seim

Click To Listen>> Photography Podcast. PPS #94

Direct Podcast FeediTunesPodcast Alley

Today’s Panel… Gavin Seim Bary HowellMark Teskey.

This week Gavin, Mark and Barry talk about the biggest things in photo news, take a look at some business ideas and talk about Fall color.

This episode brought to you by Power Workflow 4 and the HOT ONE award winning EXposed Workshop.

PPS #94 Forum Discussion HERE.

Main Time Indexes:

  • 00:00 Introductions.
  • 02:40 News and Stuff
  • 35:25 NOT a Photographer
  • 48:25 Showing at the Fair.
  • 51:30 The Main Crux
  • 1:05:10 The Favorite Season
  • 1:20:4- The Picks

LINKS…

Check out our SPEEDCinema Kickstarter project.

The PHOTOGRAPHICS miniseries.

Canon C100

VIDEO: Selling Photos as Fine Furniture.
Adobe Cloud exceeds 1M subscribers, stock rises.

Photoshop 14.1 – shake reduction improvements.

Updates to Canon Professional Services
D610 Nikon

Canon lens falling off

Kodak metallic inkjet paper

Photography Hall of Fame.

NOT a Photographer article.

Showing Wall Portraits at the Fair.

The Photography Teacher No One Wants.

Picks:

Barry,

Wall Sproutz Desks

Nikon WU1B Wireless unit.

Mark:

Cam Ranger

Still Motion Blog

EOS M

 

Gavin.

2TB portable drive

USB to SATA bare drive cable.

Sennheiser EW 112P

 

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