Lovely tummy - maternity newborn photographer Ballito Durban

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: pregnant women are just beautiful. Having been pregnant four times, I can say, with all honesty, that you don't FEEL that way!

But that's one of the reasons I love taking maternity photos, because then these beautiful moms-to-be get to see themselves how I see them... And how, of course their hubbies see them... Which is beautiful, of course!

After having had weeks of on and off rain, I was nervous that we'd have rain for this shoot. This mommy-to-be liked the outdoor shots, so rain would have, well, rained on my parade! But the weatherman played nicely, and we had the perfect weather. Gorgeous fluffy, slightly moody clouds, with blue sky in between. Making me one happy photographer... And helping add to these lovely photos.

Here's a sneak peek on what we got up to:

Tip #5 - Using Aperture Priority

I'd say, given the nature of what I do as a photographer, that probably 95% of the time, I have my camera set to Aperture Priority. Aperture Priority is the AV (Canon) or A (Nikon) on your camera.

As I have mentioned before, photography is all about light. Effectively your aperture is how wide the opening is to the camera's sensor, and therefore controls how much light is hitting the sensor (along with, obviously, the speed of the shutter as discussed in last weeks tip). Apertures are expressed in f-stops (said just like it's written... it is not short for "full stops!). I'm not going to explain f-stops and how they work... it's really quite technical.

Again, remember this simple little rule:

The WIDER the aperture = the "smaller" the "number" (f-stop) = the shallower the depth of field (the less in focus) = the faster the shutter speed.

Ok, so you're saying... so what? What does that MEAN for me, and why would it matter? As I have mentioned before, sometimes you want to control how much is or is not in focus. As a portraiture photographer, I often like to blow out the background.. I particularly love lots of bokeh.. oh, beautiful, beautiful bokeh! And what about that wedding photograph of the bride in focus, and the groom a few paces behind NOT in focus... or the other way around? That, my friends, is controlling the aperture.

But, it gets better.

Look at the line above (have you memorised it yet?): aperture and shutter speed, as you know, are related. Perhaps you have a fast moving toddler? You need to up your speed, right? Well, widen up your aperture, people. Set your aperture to f5.6 (or higher), and your speed will be faster than at say, f11. What does this do? Well, if your speed is fast enough, you'll freeze motion. Sure, you're gonna have to remember where your focus is.... because again, if you're widening your aperture, to increase your speed, there's a chance, if you're not careful, that you're going to focus on the wrong thing. But swapping between modes constantly- well, not always practical, particularly if you're chasing after a fast moving toddler. So 95% of the time, I keep it on one mode, and adjust the aperture based on how much detail I want in focus, what the light is doing, and the speed at which my subject is moving.

Effectively, what using aperture priority will do, is when you widen the aperture, you allow more light in, meaning that the speed at which your shutter opens and closes will increase. Likewise, when you "stop down" to a smaller aperture, this allows less light, which will in turn slow down the shutter speed.

But likewise there are times you HAVE to have more in focus. If, for example, you have a large group of people, and they're all at varying distances from you. If you set your aperture really wide open, you're not going to get all of them in focus. Great, if you're going for that look. Not great if Granny wants a picture of all her grand kids on her wall, in a group... she's not looking for your creative genius, she's looking for all of her grand kids to be in focus, so that she can ooh and aah at her great gene pool.

But it's more than just speed and focus. For example, on a really bright sunny day, on a wide aperture, you could overexpose your image (that's the nasty bright white image). Stop down a bit to a smaller aperture. This will allow less light, equating to a better exposed image.

So try this example:

1. Line up all your kids about a metre apart, one behind the other. Take a photo down the line (so all kids are in the picture), first with a really wide open aperture (say f5.6, or f2.2 if you have a lens that is really wide open); then secondly with a small aperture of say f16. Be warned, for the second you'll need a tripod. If your kids won't stand still, try the same example using chairs.
2. On a bright sunny day, at the beach, take a picture at the widest aperture you can, of a bright subject, like your child. Blow outs? Stop down the aperture only, and see at one point there are no longer blow outs, and your picture is correctly exposed.

When you're taking pictures, watch what the speed is doing in relation to the aperture, and visa versa. You see, it's not enough to simply SNAP AWAY. A hit and miss scenario is never going to make you a better photographer... it just makes you lucky when you get a great shot.

This takes time, and it takes practice. And be warned: you're going to get worse before you get better. But in the end, it will be worth it!

Tip #4 Using Shutter Priority

There are various manual modes on the camera. For simplicity, I am only going to speak about two of them being Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority.

For this week, we'll chat about Shutter Priority. This is the TV on your Canon or S (I believe) on your Nikon. There are lots of great books on the technical aspects of these modes. This is not the place you'll find technical info. I really want to keep these tips simple.

Here's what you need to know to start experimenting in this mode:

1. This is basically the speed at which the shutter on your camera opens and then closes.
2. Because your camera is all about light: the shorter the shutter is open, effectively the wider the aperture is required to be:

In short:
The faster the shutter speed (= The bigger the number "after the "1") = The wider the aperture (= The smaller the aperture "number")

So, to give you an example, a shutter speed of 1/1000 (One one thousandth of a second) is really fast, vs  a speed of 1/4 (a quarter of a second) which is relatively slow, and would elicit camera shake if your camera was being hand held.

Probably the most important "rule" to remember is that anything slower than 1/60 requires a tripod.

I tend to favor Aperture Priority as a general rule, because I do portraiture photography, but there are times when speed is of paramount importance.

An easy example is if you were shooting a rugby match. Think of it like this: the faster the shutter speed, the quicker the photo is taken. Therefore, if you have something moving at high speed, but your camera's speed is slow, the subject will be blurred. More often than not, particularly for those "mommyographers" out there, you want your subject in focus, particularly if its Timmy kicking his first soccer ball. So, you pump up your speed, and the fast shutter speed, freezes motion. Remember though, that a fast shutter speed will require a wider aperture, meaning less will be in focus... So make sure your focus is on Timmy, and not the field behind him, meaning he will be a blur, but the green grass around him will be beautifully in focus.

But, as with all things, sometimes rules are meant to be broken, and slowing down your shutter speed can help create a sense of motion.

Look at these two examples below. In both pictures, my sons were riding their bicycles, and in both, their bicycles were actually MOVING, probably at not too dissimilar a speed. And yet, in the first, he looks like he is simply standing, relatively still, on his bicycle, and his bicycle isn't moving. In the second, you get the feeling of motion. No, everything isn't perfectly in focus. But I wanted the audience to FEEL the motion in the second picture. It should be added that in the second photo I was panning, hence why it isn't a complete blur.




Try these examples:

a. Put your camera on a tripod, set your speed to 10" (10-seconds), and take a photograph of water running and splashing. Look at how it blurs the water, creating a sense of motion.
2. Try panning: set you shutter speed to around 1/40, have your son ride his bicycle, as he rides past you, take the picture, and follow him with your camera. It takes some playing/ practice to get this one right (particularly the focal point, which you have to set either before your subject is in front of you, or while following the subject)... But the reward is wonderful!
3. Set your shutter speed to 1/500, and take a picture of someone throwing leaves in the air. Do the same picture with a slow shutter speed (on a tripod) and look at the difference.
4. Take a photo just as the sun has set, on a bridge overlooking a highway (please make sure it is safe to do so, and preferably do so in a group), at a really slow shutter speed like 30" (30-seconds). See how the lights and different colors blur. Play with this, it can create amazing images.

Do you see that sometimes the need to create a sense of motion, exceeds the need for perfect focus?

Remember that really, photography is an art form, and it's more than just taking a picture: what is it that you're trying to tell your audience? What is the feeling you're trying to evoke? Nice pictures are fantastic. But photographs that make you FEEL something are quite magical!

Start playing!

And, if you have any questions, or want to share some of your excitement, I would LOVE to hear from you. Mail me at taryn@tarynvanrensburg.co.za.

{Baby E} - Child Newborn Maternity Photographer Ballito Durban

Girls girls girls!! I love taking pictures of girls. The curls, dresses, and sweet girly smiles make me happy happy happy!

And this little girl had a thousand expressions. Here are a few for her sneak peek:

{DB family} - Newborn Child Photographer Durban Ballito

And then there were 5!

Having had four children of my own, I like to say that every mother should experience a third child. Yes, I know it's not ideal for world population and global economy... but being a mother of a third child is wonderful. You're past the "first-time-I-don't-know-anything" stage, and past the "oh-my-goodness-what-was-I-thinking-doing-this-a-second-time" stage, and, well, it's just wonderful. It's just... so.... well.. easy!

This is an amazing family. Such sweet older kids, doting over their baby brother. And he's a little fighter this one! Welcome baby {C}.

{H Family} - Child photographer Durban Ballito

I had so much fun with the {H family} yesterday. Little {E} is just adorable. He was coy with me at first... and although remained somewhat cautious with me, I still got some smiles... and most of all we had fun! Plus he got to take home some balloons, some bubbles, and a new found interest in Peter Rabbit.

I am also trying something new on the blog with these storyboards.

{L & A} I hope you love your photos. Here's your sneak peak:

Win a free photo shoot for you and a friend

With Christmas just around the corner, I am feeling very generous, and have decided to give away not ONE but TWO photo shoots. That's right. TWO. One for you. And one for your best friend, or your granny, or your sister. Whoever... but you both have to take part... it's so easy....

This is how it works:
1. Go along and 'Like' the Taryn van Rensburg Photography Facebook page, if you haven't done so already.
2. Come back and tell me here that you have liked my page (even if you ALREADY liked it), and WHO SENT YOU, under the comment section of this post on my blog (if you sent yourself, and you're a nice friend, you could nominate a friend as the person "who sent you").

Additional entries:
1. Tweet the link to this competition on your Twitter page.
2. Post the link to this competition on your Facebook page. 
3. Blog the link to this competition on your blog.
4. Like the link to this competition on my Facebook page.

For every additional entry, remember to come back and post a comment telling me what you did! That gives you up to 5 entries... making it even easier to win. Plus, if your friend nominates you, that'll give you... oh, I dunno... LOTS of entries!!

The prizes:
One person will win a free photo shoot, plus the CD of a minimum of 20 custom edited high res images.
PLUS
The "person who sent them" will ALSO win a free photo shoot, plus the CD of a minimum of 20 custom editted high res images.

Rules:
1. The prize is valid for 3 months (expires end February), and is for a maternity, newborn, child, couple or family shoot only (maximum of  two adults, and three children, thereafter a fee per person will be implemented).
2. The shoot is between 1-2 hours in duration, and winners will be required to travel to my studio (Ballito) at their own expense to take advantage of the prize.
3. The prize cannot be exchanged for cash.
4. Additional entries are just that: additional chances to win, but are not a pre requisite for entry.
5. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
6. Please be nice. Any nasty comments or the like will be immediately removed, and your entry disqualified.
7. The competition runs until 30 November 2011. Competition winners will announced 02 December. Please check back on the blog to see if you're a winner. You will be required to email me in person within 48 hours of prize winners being announced, to claim your prize, or the prize will be forfeited.
8. Winners must 'like' the Taryn van Rensburg Photography on Facebook to qualify for the competition, including the 'person who sent you' (if they're simply nominated).
9. Should the prize winner have booked and paid for a photo shoot during this competition (the month of November), and provided the photo shoot was/ is due to take place before the end of February, their money will be refunded in full, so that they can take advantage of their prize in full.
10. The winner will be selected by random.org. The second prize winner will be the "person they sent"- this must show under comments, or the second prize is forfeited.

Tip #3 The relationship between aperture and speed

When I was first learning about photography, and they kept throwing things like f-stops and apertures, and speed priority, and depth of field... well, I found the whole lot so darn confusing.

Now, I could make this a really technical post. But I'm not going to.

Instead I am going to explain it in a way that I found made sense to me when I was first learning. It's probably not the best way to learn, but it worked for me, and my hope is that it works for you. It's a starting point, anyway.

And this is it:


The bigger the aperture = the smaller the number = the smaller the depth of field = the faster the shutter speed.

An aperture is represented by an f-stop. A typical DSLR camera's f-stop range will be between f/5.6 - f/22. My two favourite lenses are my 50mm/ 1.8 and my 90mm/2.8 Macro. On my 50mm, my largest aperture is f/1.8. I love using the lens wide open at around f1.8-f/2.2. But, because it's so wide open, what happens is the depth of field is REALLY shallow. Meaning, that the focal point is small, and everything else blows out of focus. Focal point becomes everything at a really wide open aperture, because if I'm really close to the subject, I can have a nose IN focus, and the eyes OUT of focus. Not great for portraiture unless it's intentional.

So, it stands to reason then, that your aperture is important when deciding HOW MUCH you want in or out of focus (depth of field). But, there's an important symmetry here: Because aperture is about how wide open the shutter is, it basically then allows either more or less light to enter into the camera. A big aperture (small f-stop) allows a lot of light to touch the camera's sensor. Great. But as you stop down, or in other words, as the aperture gets smaller (aka the numbers get "bigger"), there is less light touching the sensor, and therefore the shutter speed slows down, to allow enough light to touch the sensor. Not enough light = no picture (or at very best an underexposed picture).

There's a rule with shutter speed: anything under 1/60 and you'll get camera shake. Some of the newer cameras can do alright on a slower speed, but as a rule of thumb, this speed is the best one to work off for your average DSLR. So anything slower than this, and you'll either need a tripod, or you'll have to bump up your ISO (this on another lesson).

Here's an example to illustrate the point. Not the best photos, but you will at least see the relationship between aperture (f-stop), speed and depth of field. Note: I was using a tripod, hence why there was minimal camera shake. Again, not the best example (nor quality), but it illustrates the point:



See how at f/11 everything was mostly in focus? (Bit of camera shake here- I should've used the timer). And how at f/1.8 only the front dude is in focus? And how at f/11 the speed is REALLY slow? I should add here that the light today is quite dull, and it's late in the afternoon- hence the slow speeds.

For now, what you need to remember is that there is a relationship between your aperture and your speed. If you move one, you compensate with the other. And this directly effects the overall look and feel (and focus) of your picture. If it helps- just keep saying it over and over again. That really helped me.

Next week, we'll talk a bit about some of your modes on your camera, and then hopefully you can start practicing.

Tip #2 - Get out your manual and get manual

The digital age of photography has made photography so accessible, and, well, so possible for everyone. But it's also made us extremely lazy.

You buy your first DSLR, and think yay! I'm going to be the next Ansel Adams or Annie Leibowitz! But here's a little secret for you: they're not using that little green square button setting on your camera, nor the pretty picture settings. Yes, technology has made today's cameras very clever, and the higher the pixels, the better your pictures, right? Film was (still is for those purists), a wonderful way to learn photography. There wasn't enough allowance for sloppy learning. Every picture.. Every error... Came at a cost.. A real, hard cost. The result was that you could tell, very quickly, the great photographers from the average. Great photographers got to KNOW their cameras. What each setting did, and what that would translate into in the final picture. Great photographers had an end result in mind. They weren't simply snapping away.

Your camera, whether an entry level or heavy duty DSLR, has both automatic and manual settings. I like to think of it like this (for those pros out there, this description may horrify you. So stop here): what average gives, average gets. Your automatic settings take an overall reading of light coming into the camera, and make decisions on speed and apertures based on the overall ("average") light.

An example of the problem with this is that sometimes the focal point of your picture, is not basked in light (as your very clever eye can see), but the sky behind the face is. The result? A beautiful blue sky, and a dark (underexposed) skin. What your manual settings will allow you to do, is TELL the camera that you want it to note the light on the face rather than the light surrounding the face. In other words, you are exposing for the face and not the sky. What you will get then is a well exposed face. There are downsides to this example, in that you may blow out the sky, but to illustrate the point, what the manual settings allow you to do is take control of what the camera is "seeing".

Another example of important utilization of manual settings, is focal point (or depth of field). An example is illustrated in the picture below. See how the bottom one pops a little bit more? It's a subtle difference- but sometimes that's all you need. This example works particularly well for portrait photography- to blow out the background more. You will see in the top picture, which was the camera's automatic setting, it didn't automatically select the largest aperture. But that's what I wanted, so I told the camera what aperture I required in the below picture.


When your automatic settings come into play, they will always decide on the best possible scenario given the amount of light coming into the camera. But the manual settings will put the control in your hands. The manual settings are where the magic begins!

I will go into some detail on what some of the settings mean, and how you can use them, as well as some examples. But for now, get out your cameras manual (that's the little white book that came in the box when you bought your camera), and get reading. And then practice practice practice! There is not better way to learn.

{Toddlers} - Child Photography Durban Ballito

I took this little girls first professional photos. It was a privilege then, and is a privilege again to take photographs of this very special family.

It was a baker of a day, and we were running around trying to catch open shade wherever we could. Little {A} was really quite obliging... and it paid off.

Hope you like your sneak peak, my special friends.

{Grungy Girls} - Child Newborn Maternity Photographer Durban Ballito

Seriously, there is nothing that makes me happier than some broken down walls, old machines, and pretty girls. What a combination!

These gals, and their folks and I had lots of fun. At one stage, I got so excited with all these great colours (rusted red, bright worn blue), that I, literally, fell on my... er... bottom! It was quite the laugh.

I do really enjoy photographing children. And ore than anything, we get to have so much fun. And this is how I believe photoshoots should be: fun! None of that yes and no nonsense! For the kids, it's their chance to shine (and take advantage of their parents while the photographer lets them get away with just about anything!). It's worth it in the end.

Special family. Great photographs. Happy photographer.

I hope you enjoy your sneak peak.