Two Reasons Why I Always Bring My Camera With Me

      Why do I always have a camera with me, or atleast in my car?  Simple, you never know when an image might present itself.    Take the photos below for example, my 2 reasons,   I captured the sunrise this morning on my way to drop my boys off at school.  I had the camera right next to me and could see the colors starting to become more vivid as the sun was rising.   I always go the same route, passing a grass farm field, and every morning (well school morning) I get to watch the sunrise.   Sometimes its dark and eerie, or foggy, or rainy, but not today.  Today was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't resist to pull over on the side of the road and take, literally 2 minutes: 1 min to get the settings right, and another to capture a couple images.   

       It's that easy and simple, so remember don't leave home without your Camera, and make sure your batteries are charged, your card is formatted, and lens clean: I will be talking about that in an upcoming post, possibly a video, so check back for that in about a week.  

f/9.0  1/15th sec 800 ISO,  focal length 35mm, Av Mode

f/9.0, 1/20th sec, 800 ISO, focal length 37mm, Av Mode

‘Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future.’    - Sally Mann

Quick Tip - Format Your Memory Cards Before a Shoot

      Formatting your memory cards may not be a top priority on your list of things to do before a photo shoot, but it's an important and necessary step in order to maximize the efficiency of them.   Even though you may delete the photos from your memory card, it's still using memory from them and robbing you of the full storage capabilities.  Most, if not all DSLR and I believe even Point&Shoot Cameras offer the option to Format your card in the menu section.  Check your particular Camera's info guide to see how to do it.    On Canon Camera's (Like the T3 I'm currently using)  it's in the menu section under the first yellow tool icon.   Make sure your images are saved somewhere other than the memory card before you format it, as formatting erases all the left over junk left behind.  

This is the memory card I'm currently using:

    

'The best images are the ones that retain their strength and impact over the years, regardless of the number of times they are viewed.'

                                            - Anne Geddes

Processing Images in Lightroom

      Today I am going to be writing about image processing and the way I personally do it.  First of all before I start, I'd like to give a shout out to Jared Polin from FroKnowsPhoto for introducing me to Lightroom and the editing process, and well basically everything I know about photography.  (P.S. - Jared if you happen to see this post, send me a RAW shirt so I can feature it on here.)   Speaking of RAW, as he puts it, always, always, always shoot in RAW mode, if you have the capability.   

       If you are shooting in jpeg just so you can get the photos too the client faster, I guarantee they aren't as good of quality as they can be and if you are having the issue of taking too many photos too process, then you need to focus on better quality images, and less quantity.  
      Mind you I am not a pro, nor do I make a living from photography, but would one day like too, I am a very enthusiastic amateur photographer, for now.  

     As I said earlier, I use Lightroom (Currently LR4), to process my images.  After I import them, I quickly go through and weed out the ones I don't like, at this point I'm not too critical because if I capture the moment, but the lighting is off, I can always bring it back in the editing process.  Once I narrow it down, I go through them individually and process each one.  I will eventually be putting out a video on this and let you watch as I process some of my images.   

       I always make sure the camera settings in LR match the camera and lens that I used.  I then start from the top and work my way down the sliders on the right hand side, starting with exposure.   I almost always bump up my contrast between 30-50, sometimes higher for black and white images.  Everyone is different and will process their images differently, but this is the way I like to do it.   

       The best thing about shooting in RAW mode is that I can tweak an image anyway I want too and always be able to revert it back to the original, or export it halfway through, or if I process it, print it, don't like it, I can go back and make the correct changes without ever affecting the original file.    And always make sure you have a back-up for your back-up!!

Below is a screen shot of a before and after, left is original and right is processed.
This is just an example of how you can make an image pop with color, without over doing it, check out the levels of the sliders on the right for how I processed this image.

'Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communication, offer an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.'   - Ansel Adams

Youth Soccer Slideshow

     I absolutely love making memories with my children, so I put together this slideshow of their first 2 soccer games.  At the end of the season I am going to pick the best of the best of the best pictures of each child and create a stunning sports video of each of their seasons.  So stay tuned and keep checking back for that video and more!!!



"Capture the moment, and it will capture your heart"
                                                                    - Michael Tesar

Youth Soccer Slideshow

Capturing Marina Jacks, Sarasota, Fl

      The other day was so gorgeous down here, I couldn't resist going down to the local marina and create some stunning images.  I was there for about an hour before the sun became too harsh.  I took over 200 images, ended up with about 50 that I imported to edit, and out of those I ended up with 18 that are worthy of sharing.  The following are the best out of the 18.  If you would like to purchase a full resolution professional grade photo, you may do so by clicking the following link: http://pixels.com/profiles/michael-tesar.html  

      All photos were taken with a Cannon EOS RebelT3 with a cannon lens 18-55mm IS, always shot in RAW mode and imported to Photoshop Lightroom4 on a MacBook Pro via internal card slot.  Location was Marina Jacks - Sarasota, Fl (Home of the #1 Beach in the US rated by Trip Advisor - Top 25 Beaches in the U.S.) 


"You don't take the photograph, you make it" 
                                                             - Ansel Adams


As always please feel free to like, comment, and share these posts.

                                    Marina Jack, Sarasota, Fl -   01/12/2016

                                                         

Paradise in Sarasota, Fl

                  f4.5              1/1600th sec              200ISO                             Purchase                

                         

                                                            Ringling Bridge, Sarasota, Fl

f5.0              1/800th sec              200ISO                       Purchase

Sunrise at Ringling Bridge

f4.5              1/2000th sec              200ISO                      Purchase

                                                                   Sailor's Dream

f8.0              1/100th sec              200ISO                       Purchase

Paradise

f4.5              1/640th sec              200ISO                        Purchase

Boater's Paradise

f8.0              1/640th sec              200ISO                         Purchase

Sunrise at the Bay

f8.0              1/400th sec              200ISO                         Purchase

       

Beginner Real Estate Photography Tips

Even with the recession, real estate is a billion dollar market in all the major developed and developing countries. What do you think is the first thing people see when scouting around to buy property? The answer would be the pictures of the property in question. Human beings respond better to visual stimulation. Therefore, quality and interesting photography matters a lot and if you are a real estate photographer you should take it seriously. Why? Because your livelihood depends on it! If you are trying to sell real estate photographs to realtors and they are not worth the dollars the realtor pays, your effort goes to waste. Real Estate Photography Tip #1: Capturing the Best Images The intention is to sell the property so your photography should definitely be appealing to the people who view them. Try to highlight the best features of the house; the features that potential buyers will like to see matter the most. The photography also depends on the nature of the property - residential or commercial. Actually the pictures should showcase your talent and skill. While searching for realtors to see the images, sometimes you need to provide samples so capturing the best of images will greatly help to clinch the deal. Real Estate Photography Tip #2: Selling the Images To earn a living in real estate photography professionally, give yourself 1-2 years of time for creating a solid base of clients. You can set up a professional website with your portfolio, current projects (if any), specialization, skills, and lots of high-definition clear pictures for prospective buyers to see. Of course, you need to do a lot of marketing for getting the clients. Begin by scouting the area you are living in and any others that you have easy access to. Contact the realtors in the area, show them sample images and if luck is on your side, you will land your first deal soon! Real Estate Photography Tip #3: Getting High Profile Clients Getting high profile realtor clients who will buy your pictures is not easy because there are always better photographers around you and also you lack experience in the beginning. So after working for a year or two with local realtors, think of migrating towards getting high profile clients. The pay rate is definitely higher but you need to have real skill and knowledge to get an edge over others. Question yourself - what is there in you that sets you apart from other real estate photographers? Once you answer this, build on that aspect for better projects.