Things I've Learned from my Photograhy Mentor: Basic Flash and Studio Lighting

This post took me almost 2 years before posting so sorry for the long delay XD

Last January 22, I was the first one to arrive at the studio this time since I went straight to Sir Jo's Studio in Annapolis street. We had a small chit-chat while waiting for the others to arrive as well. By 2:00pm, Sir Jo started his lecture on Basic Flash and Studio Lighting. This is one topic I must learn perfectly so I could get better photo. 

Since I was the first one to arrive in the studio that day, I got a free autographed Canon 2011 Calaendar signed by no other than Jo Avila himself. I'll make sure to keep it as a souvenir after using it for this year. XD

Anyway, here are some things I've learned about Basic Flash Photography and Studio Lighting. I'd share 15 of them. If you want to learn more, you may check his facebook page. Sorry guys if it took me almost two years to post this =P

1. Observe how sunlight moves.
2. To modify quality of light, it should be diffused.
3. The sun at high noon is a point-light source (harsh).
4. Crumpled silver surface will scatter reflected light.
5. Don't shoot at high noon if there are no clouds.
6. Gold surface gives reflected light a warm glow.
7. Windows are your best friends when shooting indoors.
8. Light meter doesn't trigger the light.
9. Kelvin is used in color photography
10. Master the use of one light as if it looks like several light sources.
11. Learn to appreciate the quality of light than the quantity.
12.An umbrella and a softbox works differently.
13. The main light is not necessarily the brightest source.
14. Always worry about the distance of the light to the subject.
15. To master portrait lighting, learn to use window light.

There you go. Wanna learn more? Then I suggest to enroll at his basic photography classes. XD

Things I've Learned from my Photograhy Mentor: Composition

Note: This took me around 18 months to complete this XD

I was supposed to be the first one to arrive at his studio on the 15 of January (2011) but since it wasn't yet 2:00pm, I went to Yogurbud to have a quick bite. When I got inside his studio, I was the third one to arrived and waited for the rest of our classmates to come in before our second lecture starts.

But before Sir Jo started his lecture on composition, we submitted our assignments and have it critiqued by him and the entire class as well. My shot was the 3rd to the last that was critiqued.

Initially, I thought I did well on my assignment but I was wrong. There were some parts of the picture that needs improvement as well as with my composition. I guess that how my shot got critiqued by one of the best photographers in the country today plus I kinda noticed it just after Sir Jo gave his comments on my photo.

After the critique session, he gave us a lecture on Composition. I agree that to be a better photographer, you must gain ample experience for you to develop your vision as a photographer. To learn composition, there are no shortcuts to it and you only learn it through experience. 

Sir Jo gave us five simple rules. First is A cow eating grass isn't a pretty picture. This would be the time when you take a picture no one understands. The picture should be able to communicate with the viewer and it should have its story. Second is Fill the frame with your subject. This eliminates visual clutter in the picture which may cause distraction to the viewer. You may use your feet or your zoom lens when moving closer or away from your subject. Third is Get lucky. When you take a few shots, chances are that you may get only a few decent photos or worse, you won't get any decent photos at all. Try take more than one picture but try to vary your position from the subject and shoot from different perspective. Don't forget to check your pictures to check for any improvements. The more you shoot, the more chances you get lucky but don't overdo it. Fourth is The middle is often boring. Most beginners do fall for this thinking that every object placed in the middle would create a good image. Though this would be true for some, but for most images putting it in the middle makes it boring. Trust me, I've been criticized much because of this. You could put your subject above or below the center or to the right or to the left from the center to make the image more interesting. And Fifth is Never fall in love with the sidekick. What would probably insult any photographer is that the viewer would look at everything else on your photo except your main subject (the hero). The sidekick gives support for the hero to make the photograph more presentable. If the viewer cannot recognize the subject, the image would simply be wasted regardless of how much effort produced. 

Light is also important when taking a photograph as this is the most basic element in a photograph. This may make or break a photograph depending on your intention. But at times, available light can be ugly so good lighting should be recognized to produce good photograph. 

Visual elements was also discussed like color, shape, pattern, texture and form. But I'd leave the researching to you guys as this may lengthen my post if I include it as well =P. 

Anyway, here are 10 things I've learned for the day.

1. Take time to study wasted shots.

2. If its not good enough, you're not close enough. - Robert Capa

3. The quality of light is much more important than quantity.

4. Try shooting the same scene horizontally and vertically to see which is better.

5. Use active angles to your advantage

6. Never ask your subjects to say "cheese". Instead, have them say "A".

7. By getting the lighting right first, problems with composition will be solved.

8. Learn to look at the frame as a whole

9. Learn to recognize decisive moments

10. Always have a camera with you.

Want to learn more, enroll at his class. XD

Part 3 coming soon (I hope XD)

Things I've Learned from my Photograhy Mentor: Basic Theories and Principles of Photgraphy

I've been taking pictures for quite sometime now and I wanted to get out of taking only "chamba" (lucky) shots. I've been contemplating to whom I'll be taking my basic photography classes. I was choosing between three options until I found "The One" that I need.  

After attending a photo walk last January 8, I went straight to his studio and I was the 5th one to arrive. I got to meet Mr Jo Avila up close and personal as he introduced himself to each and one of us inside his studio. We waited for the others to come in before he started giving out his first lecture for our class.

On our first meeting, he discussed briefly the history of photography and its principles together with how to navigate your camera to maximize its use. One thing I've learned here that gave me a better perspective in photography is about the "Parallax Error". 

Taken from Google

Also known as “Parallax effect” - the viewfinder camera’s main disadvantage, making it almost useless for careful composition of close-up subjects. The scene viewed by the photographer through the camera’s viewing frame is different from the scene the lens will capture because the viewing frame is offset from the lens. We did a test here by using our partner's (classmate) hand and have it extend its thumb and pinkie and set out lens to make sure that both ends touch the edge of the camera's view finder. After a snap, we looked into our respective view finder, we instantly noticed our shots that the fingers did not touch the ends of the picture as we saw it from the viewfinder.

For me that was the biggest thing I've ever learned on my first Basic Photography lesson with Sir Jo.

But I'll be sharing 10 tips he shared to us. I'm sure this would help you get started. ^_^

1. If shooting JPEG, shoot with the least file compression.
2. Use sRGB for web/email/facebook attachment. Use Adobe RGB for pictures to be published.
3. Magic Combination (Shutter Speed + Apperture + ISO Combination) does not exist.
4. An under-exposed shot is noisier than a high-ISO shot.
5. Minimize/Do not shoot straight so that the picture won't look flat especially on a solid/plain background. 
6. The Ideal focal length w/o crop factor for portraits is between 85-105mm.
7. A high-noise picture can be caused by high ISO, longer shutter speed, under-exposed or over-sharpened in Photoshop. 
8. Exposure depends on ISO used and the amount of light.
9. Avoid Phottix/Sunpak filters. 
10 Technical Proficiency in Photography doesn't matter if it doesn't have a story.

Want more? Well better enroll at his class. XD

Second lesson coming soon. XD

Things I've learned from My Photography Mentor: Prelude

Its been more than a month since I've attended the basic photography seminar from Jo Avila. I must say I've learned a lot from attending the seminar which I should have attended a few years back after getting my DSLR on October of 2008. I've even asked myself a lot of times why take a photography class while you can get all the information you need online for free.

For me that's simple. First, you have actual interaction with your mentor as well as your classmates and know their thought on the spot. That would beat any online interaction that at times were not sure if they would reply or not. Second, we got his latest tricks of the trade that probably we won't get it anywhere. He personally follows these principles so I know he's good at what he does. Third, you get to meet your classmates and your mentor in person rather than just seeing them online. And last but not the least, his Coffee at the studio. Its much better than any coffee shop I've been to and its free-flowing too that's why I enrolled at his class XD. Also here are the lines that he usually says during his class. 

“The quality of the light is more important than the quantity of the light.”

“The worst picture you will ever take is a picture of a cow eating grass.”

“Read the camera manual.”

“You should drink more coffee.”

For the next few days weeks, months or even years, I'll be posting the things I've learned from him and sharing a few shots while I'm on my way back to the groove. Just stay tuned and I'll try to dissect the things I've learned in five parts.

My First Prison Riot Experience at Casa San Pablo

Last Sunday, I had to get up early to join Jo Avila's prison riot. It is an event where his former students and VA (voluntary assistants) meet up not just to shoot but also to gain further experience as well as to meet new friends. I made sure my wife would allow me since its just once in a while XD.

I got up at around 3:30am covered with excitement as I would be joining a group in an out of town shoot after a long while since my wife got pregnant. I left home at 5:00am and took a cab since there were no buses available that were bound to Ortigas (and there goes my 120 pesos XD). In 15-20 minutes, I got there and I wasn't even surprised that there were those who came earlier than me XD.

By 6:00am our group left the studio as advised by Sir Jo as we will be meeting at Petron in SLEX for a quick breakfast and some more reminders. Going to Perton SLEX was like a walk in the park as we didn't encounter any traffic (being a Sunday XD). We were only 2 in the car with the other two backed-out at the last minute probably.

We got to Casa San Pablo after 3 hours of traveling to the south. It made me reminisce the good old times that I used to go home to Batangas whenever we visit our relatives there. I haven't been there for the past year or two. Then Sir Jo gave a short lecture on Ambient Lighting and Strobist Photography by showing his photos and he explained how he lighted each of them. I was really amazed at his photos since light was not too harsh or too soft. Then he had to us group ourselves so we could go out and take pictures but we had to apply what he taught us earlier.

The owner, Mr Boots Alcantara gave us a tour at his home to check out its interiors and meet his mom as well. There were interesting subjects to shoot at and got some after a few minutes before heading out again to shoot for more

We settled ourselves first at room 18. It's Casa San Pablo's newest rooms to brag and I saw pieces of construction material within the place signaling that the place was under renovation. Anyways, our group started looking for interesting subjects to shoot at. I was able to try strobist photography myself and I think I need more practice here XD.

My only decent strobist shot XD

Aside from trying strobes, I explored the place and took some pictures of them hoping I would be able to capture them perfectly. Shooting in RAW was really challenging as I had to limit my shooting to avoid filling my memory cards to soon.

Lunch was served by 12:00pm as everyone of us got really hungry. I forgot too take some pictures of what I ate since I was really hungry that time but I like the food though. I felt shy to go back for seconds since I don't see anyone of us going back to the buffet table XD.

After lunch, we took a breather before going back to shooting again. This time, I explored the place by my lonesome to check out more. And I was able to see more than what I expected. I just practiced shooting using ambient light and compare it with my other shots.

I wasn't able to change lens whenever the need arises since our room was locked as most of us were outside shooting too and trying to apply what they have learned from Sir Jo.

Taken from Sir Jo's Camera

Then before we wrap-up, we had our meryenda at the pavilion. I was able to get seconds as I enjoyed their turon. Sir Jo gave out some of his printed shots to the group leaders for the day since they facilitated their respective groups. And finally, we had our usual group shot to serve as a remembrance for the trip.

It was really a fun learning experience for me and my fellow photographers as most of us were first timers to visit there. I'll make sure to go back there sometime soon but this time, together with my wife and our baby to relax and enjoy (and shoot again for me XD). Here are some more.