Canon Professional Network Website Resource

I don't shoot wildlife but if I did would want to make images like this, real.

Many of the Canon shooters I meet through my workshops are not aware of the CPN website, well they are missing out on something.

Here is the link http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/index.do

On the site are a heap of interesting and current posts from great photographers out there showcasing their amazing work.

Everything is covered from Fashion to Motorsport with a lot of useful information on how to use your camera gear to make the best images.

Really worth a visit.

Canon Speedlite, small light to big light

Canon Speedlite, small light to big light setups need not mean an over complicated setup.

Most photographers have in their kit bag two or even three lights, the mount below allows multiple units to be grouped together.

The key to a simple setup like this is the arrangement of the lights, none of them are having to work too hard.

A lot people make incorrect assumptions about the power gains to be had by ganging multiple speedlights. In truth, it's the second flash that gives you the bulk of the extra power.

So you can bump your output by a stop for more power when needed by adding just one flash. Or—and this is usually more important to me—you can trim your recycle time in half by using two flashes and dialing the power down in each.

Whether you do this manually of let the camera do the work via ETTL you choose.

WHY choose 1 to 1 for DSLR Video or Photography Training.

If you are thinking 1 to 1 training might be for you for either dslr video or photography training , I have been down both learning routes in the past early in my career. I can say that 1-1 worked best for me as both sides could prepare better, it was planned more and tailored to meet my needs.

Now my 1 to 1 day and hour sessions are available as a scheduled event, if a date listed does not suit you please don't hesitate to contact me so see if we can arrange an alternative date.

A one hour session is ideal for the photographer who needs quick answers on technical issues or some practical training. these typically run after one of my CALUMET workshops

1 to 1 training days can be held in any of the Calumet stores or at a location of your choice.

All of my training hosted at Calumet offers you the opportunity to test the latest equipment from the big brands. In addition to excellent training or advice anyone booking with me is entitled to 20% discount on Calumets own brand products, a nice gesture from them to help you.

To see my scheduled events with calumet
To see my scheduled dates on my site.

Mastering off Camera flash

The small flash systems offered by the likes of Canon and Nikon should be in every photographers kit bag.

Often they are under used, I suspect because their full potential hasn't been explored.

I was lucky enough to spend five days in Venice Italy with one of the world's highly respected users of the small strobe Joe McNally. Joe is a photography who routinely works with high end clients delivering demanding assignment's in extreme conditions.

Joe's first published book "The Moment it Clicks" explores the story and settings behind some of his best known images. it is a well written and produced book, I highly recommend it.

Big lighting systems are often the preferred choice, but when you want a quick setup with minimal fuss the small lights really are hard to beat. Their portability and extended functionality out perform studio lights in a lot of conditions.

The small strobes for me are the perfect partner to studio lights, get into the functions of the small lights and your on your way to better images and extended creativity.

Create video with your DSLR. 2013 workshop dates confirmed.

My DSLR video Workshops with Calumet have been confirmed for early 2013 below

February Thursday Friday 21st, 22nd  Belfast
February Thursday Friday 28th Feb, 1st March Drummond Street LONDON

March Thursday, Friday 7th, 8th Bristol
March Wednesday, Thursday13th,14th Edinburgh
March Thursday Friday 21st, 22nd  Glasgow
March Thursday, Friday 28th, 29th Birmingham

May Thursday, Friday 2nd 3rd Birmingham
May Thursday, Friday 9 and 10 Bristol
May Thursday, Friday 16 , 17th Edinburgh
May Thursday, Friday 23, 24th Manchester
May Thursday, Friday 30/ 31st Drummond Street LONDON

Day 1, Learn the basics.
Day 2, Advance your skills.



The workshop day starts at 10am, we aim to finish by 3pm.

DSLR video or Photography One to One sessions are also available as follows 9-10am, 3-4PM, 4-5pm for any DSLR training requirements, these are open to anyone whether you are booked on a workshop with me or not.

To see my scheduled events for dslr video and photography training with CALUMET
To see my scheduled events on my site

Bracketing Exposures, experiment.

Bracketing Exposures, experiment with the look.

First thing I do before a shoot starts is take multiple exposures of the scene to work out what is a maybe and what is a no go.


Experimenting is something that helps me grow, Jay Maisel a NY photographer routinely shoots his first frame on, one frame over and one frame under. He does this not to HDR the image, more to decide which file is the best as a starting point. What file is going to work best for him.

For photographers starting out  with a camera that has live view, use the function, if it looks good on the back of the screen and you trust that preview to be faithful, keep it, press the shutter release.

Make use of all the tools available in camera, to increase you chances of making good frames.

NEW Photographers, where do you start.

A few days ago I blogged about meet 40 new photographers from one of Manchester's Uni's.

Below were my key points, notes made in my phone before we met. On the day day we discussed more but in advance my first thoughts were as follows

Be a business from day 1
Get into the camera, know it inside out, master it
Follow international talent, trends that are in and coming
Get to print
Get your website up, .co.uk .com, get a blog, link facebook Linkedin
Get a following
Get a proper email address
Get a part time job
Master working on low light
Don't be a geek
Work with good in THE places
Aim for the top three, others will come
Your work should have a feel, don't copy styles, but copy the best 8:)
Train you eye to good taste
Allow five years
Develop yourself like a fashion brand, be consistent, consistently good
What's your rate/ fee whats your added value?
What sort of photographer do you want to be, whats the market?
Do what you do, make time for visual pushups

Well that was most of my thoughts before we met, not in any kind of order of importance.

Have a plan, be knowledgeable and good push push push

Add or take from this what you want, good luck.

Photography 101 Lighting the scene.

Lighting the scene starts for me with the first click, the first shot, what is the light in this space giving me right now.

Looking at the shot in camera, my thoughts are these conditions going to be positive or problematic, what equipment is required to fix.

Problematic are the conditions where the light needed to balance may be quite high, maybe the scene is too contrasty, most desirable are the conditions requiring minimal intervention.

From there on in the decisions made are about pushing light in, how you shape, how you control and the quality in terms of being hard or soft.

High ISO shooting with Canon 5D mk2, on the limits.

It's not often I am hovering on the comfortable limits with a Canon 5D mk2, at the weekend I was in real mixed low light soup.

Ambient light trickled into the scene carrying with it a red gel effect, mixed with this delight was a tungsten and a flash combo as required, yep this was a real yummy mix.

To capture the ambient dragging the shutter was order of the day. Shutter speeds on this occasion were as low as I generally go with a few shots at 1/4 sec and 1/6 sec hand held, burst shooting was the most sensible option as the miss rate did have the potential to be quite high.

Nothing is a given, and at times even experienced photographers will get thrown for a few frames, light can play some crazy tricks on you.

What the eye see's and the camera produces isn't always similar.

Using the high ISO setting camera side the recycle rate on the small flash was pretty much instant, the Canon 580EX II flash was not having to work too hard as I was shooting a wide aperture high ISO combo.

Protecting the delicate ambient that came from various sources was important, over powering this with flash produces images for me that are less interesting, so proximity to the subject was important.

Back to this low light soup shoot, knowing the best places to work were key to keeping control on the main subject, in terms of exposure and colour casts.

The battery's used in the Canon flash for this job were rechargeable Duracell, they haven't let me down on a shoot yet.

Grey Card, if in doubt create a custom white balance.

Grey Card, if you are in doubt about what colour the light source is, I recommend creating a custom white balance by taking a sample shot.

For those people new to photography from time to time you will create great pictures, but for some reason the colours look, funky.

Without going into the detail this can easily be corrected using a grey card.

Assuming your camera has the custom white balance function, all you need do is create a file of the grey or white card. Next step is to set up the custom white balance using this file.

The camera will look at the reference file and removing any colour cast from images using this profile when you camera has been set to this custom white balance.

Creating the sample file and setting up the custom white balance profile takes in total less than 30 seconds.

One last note, this profile will work only in the light your made the file in, if the light source or environment changes you will need to make a new file

There is another option, to sample from a neutral object in post production if you have this in your picture, that choice is upto you.

Professionals leave nothing to chance, I prefer to have a good starting point every time.

Burst shooting and multiple exposures mode.

Burst shooting and mulltiple exposure mode, lets talk about exploring image dynamics.

This option of shooting is about shooting multiple single images rather than discussing HDR.

This mode is where I go looking for a choice of looks, I am thinking what is the light giving me right now.

Is the light good with lots of options, poor, strong and harsh, where can I go creatively.

Using one of the latest pro camera's either the Canon 1DX or the cheaper 5d mk2 gives you greater creative freedom in low light, so this option cam be more of a deal in the newer pro cameras.

My three shot burst give me generally an under and over exposure image in addition to a default look to consider what happens next. These images I either quickly compare setting up a shoot or later deciding where the final look could go.

Most cameras now allow burst shooting in a multiple exposures mode.

Working close, controlling the light.

Some photographers prefer to work long, shooting with a 70-200 lens which for a full length shot means you need a long studio space, probably no less than 10-12 metres.

My preference is always working close keeping any artificial light tight to the subject. Controlling the light, lighting the subject with an equal emphasis controlling the spill of the light, the light you don't need or want in the picture.

Most lighting kits as sold do not help you do this.

Having a preference to how you go about your work means you get consistent looks, another benefit of working close is being able to work closely with the client.

Working close, control the light.

Workshop HD DSLR

Today's Workshop HD DSLR, "How to".

This workshops is at intro level which is grouped under my "How to" series.

Opening as always I like to gather from attendees what brought them to me, i.e. what do you need to learn today so you can go away and do this topic... better.

There is a common theme got the gear, need to know how do perform a specific task or use x function. 

All workshops have an outline for each day, throughout the day we work into the schedule the attendees own specific training requirements where possible.

So how do I  structure the days learning? Lets work through the basics of operation of x y and z with some background discussions, mix in some practical putting the new knowledge into practice. 

Throughout the day we review the output from the practical sessions. Then go again to reinforce what we have done.

My workshops offer all my skills sets  "How to" basic/ intro, "Advance your skills" more advanced and specifically commercially orientated and finally "Bespoke" which is anything you want to learn.

All of my workshops can be arranged for group or on a 1 to 1 basis.

Canon Professional Network CPN, a resource created for Canon users.

The Canon Professional Network is a resource create by Canon for Canon users "the website that provides a regularly refreshed mixture of inspiration, education, product information and news updates to deliver the definitive coverage for Canon professional photographers and videographers, as well as advanced enthusiasts, around the world."

In the CPN News section you can search and find out the latest news

The Product section has the definitive guides to Canon’s range of professional imaging equipment

The Education section includes Technical articles about the latest products and technologies plus regular blogs from Canon photographers and filmmakers who are shooting with Canon cameras, lenses and accessories.

CPN’s Inspiration section features exclusive written and filmed interviews featuring the world’s best Canon photographers and leading figures from the world of imaging; blogs, interviews and films about Canon’s ambassadors and a gallery that features the work of some of the world’s best Canon photographers.

Canon Professional Network website.

I have been a CPN member for a number of years now, when an email comes through I am always keen to read more, the updates are relevant, well informed and high quality.

Initially to join the requirement was 2 pro bodies and 3 pro lens, this may of changed.

The more support you have the better you can become.

TIP of the day :Canon 5d MKII ISO selection, (for the photographer)

TIP of the day Canon 5d MKII ISO selection.

While shooting you will want to shoot at multiples of ISO 160 (only available if Highlight Tone Priority is disabled) or the closest available number (as 1250 is not a multiple of 160, but the closest there is to 1280). 

I recommend this is because the 5D mk II uses digital noise to step between ISO’s. 

Technically, the camera is native on the ISO’s that are multiples of 100.  For the ISO’s in-between, the camera digitally pushes or pulls one of these native ISO’s. 

For instance, ISO 125 is really ISO 100 with a digital exposure push, and ISO 160 is really ISO 200 with a digital exposure pull.  As a result, 160 and its multiples look the "cleanest" because its really a native ISO rating with the exposure pulled down, which hides more of the digital noise.

Give this a try.

Photographer Training : Workshop thoughts

This week I ran a lighting workshop for a group of photographers it was a blast,I just want to post a few thoughts.

For your own sanity go spend time with a working professional to progress if you want to save yourself heartache and misadventure, save yourself the stress, go speed learning.

Learning this way will progress you more than you ever thought possible in a short time.

My advice 101 point 1

Get to understand the camera and the custom functions, at the very least work through the manual, I know they are not the best written and can be confusing. 

Find out what this and that function does, make time to experiment.

HDR Photography, what is it about.

HDR photography, what is it about, well all I can say is that if done wrong it is simply ghastly.

High dynamic range, which if pushed foo far  looks unnatural

Photoshop can do the process for you but this is where the look can be a little strange.

So what alternatives and why consider HDR anyway.

I sometimes shoot in bracket mode, the function can easily be set up in either M mode or AV mode with most DSLR's.

This setup is what I will use for street photography combined with a fast shutter speed.

When I get back in I choose the image that has the best starting point taking into consideration areas of the other two images I think work well too.

If I come across a problem where the base image could not be pushed into the final look then a partial image overlay is an option.

The reality of shooting and using RAW files means is this is very rare, more likely in low light high ISO situations.

For those who want to explore a partial image overlay, this is how I would approach the task.

With the original image open bring the new image in (Photoshop) to the same file on its own layer, working with a layer mask set to hide the new layer, then with a low opacity brush, gently bring in the detail you want.

Hope you find this useful.

Joe McNally The Moment it Clicks. photography book

Joe McNally The Moment it clicks.  photography book is a must read.

If you are after just one book to keep with you to help make sense of how to approach making great pictures, this is it.

This book is a great insight to the mind of his experiences as a pro shooter, his decision processes and honesty about how some of his images happened.

Preparation and attitude are everything, being open to go with you heart sometimes, knowing when to let go of the pre made plans to go for something better, and some of his mistakes.

HD DSLR Video Revolution

HD DLSR Revolution is here, and has been for a few years already.

If this is news for you then this will get you up to speed on what's happening.

The evolution of hand-held digital SLR cameras has been crucial to low-budget film making, but now the industry at large is catching on to this technology with HD DSLR being widely used on big-budget productions.

Many people are hailing the use of the new breed of Canon DSLRs to shoot beautiful ‘filmic’ looking video as something akin to the second coming, due to their incredibly large sensors, amazing low-light sensitivity and affordability. But what does it mean in the grand scheme of things?

This affordability is key to this revolution, as that is exactly what it is; a revolution. We now have cameras from Canon on the market that shoot full HD 24p and 25p video, with one as cheap as sub £1,000 to the most being around £5,000-although the key players (the 7D and the 5D MKII) are available for less than £2,000.

The new 5D mkIII is available at around £3,000 with greater ISO capabilities, new headphone mic and other noteable improvements

Of course good lenses are a necessity, as are accessories, which essentially turn the terrible ergonomics of the stills camera body into something totally usable. These do add to the cost, but we are talking under £10,000 for a very capable filmmaking package using 35mm optics and depth of field similar-and in a couple of the cameras even shallower-to what 35mm digital and film cameras can currently offer. 

The price revolution has given budget filmmakers, event videographers and weekend warriors tools which can, with the necessary skill, let you create images more cinematic than we could dream of.

But now these cameras are finding their way onto big-budget TV shows and even movies. True, most of the time they are being used for B, C or even D cameras. Not the main cameras, which are still generally 35mm, F35, RED etc, but now the ability to get that extra angle without the high cost of renting a whole camera is available. And, sometimes, it’s hard to tell in an edit which camera was used for which shot.

Photography Training : Visual Push ups.

Photography Training never ends, retraining and life learning are words most of us will be familiar with.

From time to time I do some street photography, visual pushups.

In the pursuit to become more specialised it is also possible to become somewhat stale and as time moves on and fashion dictates become dated.

Maybe last season look stayed there and this years new look is already here.

Visual pushups isn't about keeping up with trends more about some relaxed time venturing where your work maybe doesn't take you on a daily basis.

It was while out with one of my photographers last year we decided to make time to do some street photography.


I think we were maxed out with studio work at the time.

This image unfolded in front of me as I turned a corner.

Try it.