Digital Photography for Business

Use

Brought to you by

Wertman Photography

How to use Photography to help market

your Business

Following are some tips about what to do and what to avoid in shots if you do not hire a professional photographer to work for you.

Using photography for promotional materials has become essential in today’s market. Whether you create your materials in house or have them designed by a graphic designer, photographs of your services and products are better than stock photography.

Let’s take a look at the camera your business has purchased. In order to have any hope of getting decent shots of products, people and services, the camera needs to at least be a SLR camera.

What do those letters stand for anyway? S - Single L - Lens R - Reflex Any clearer? Simply put: your camera should have a reflective mirror inside and a lens that can be exchanged for a larger or different lens. Even the fanciest point and shoot cameras have neither and are therefore not a good choice if you want good looking results.

If you have a SLR camera in the company’s arsenal, you are on your way to be able to get some good results. By the way, if you have a DSLR it simply means your camera is digital.

Before we delve any deeper lets dispel a few myths. The more expensive the camera the better…….yes and no. Lots depends on who uses it and how much they know….. The bigger the lens, the better the picture……..this depends entirely on what you are shooting, sometimes a smaller lens is much better. The more Mega pixels the better……..yes and no. cameras come with a variety of sensor sizes, or frame sizes. Remember film? The sensor replaces film and the little rectangles we made enlargements from on the negatives. Point and shoot cameras have very small sensors and at some point more pixels just don’t fit. The same holds true for DSLR cameras. The larger the sensor, the more pixels can be packed into it, and the clearer enlargements will get. A professional photographer will have at least a full frame camera which translates to a 35mm film size. Larger sensors can be purchased (large format) at a very high prize and are not worth the expense if the intent to print will not exceed 24x30.

Using the built-in flash. Should you or should you not?

Now that’s a good question!

Did I hear a few groans? I am sorry to inform you that a separate flash unit will give you much better results and I will get into some reasons why in a few moments. Separate, shoe mount flash units can be purchased for under $100 for most average DSLR cameras. If your company owns a full-frame unit you are looking at at least $500.

Now let’s look at a few reasons why you should use a shoe mounted flash instead of the built-in alternative:

In most cases the answer is: NO

The built-in flash on any DSLR camera has a limited range because of it’s small light bulb and overall size. It will light what is immediately in front of it and not much else. Since the range is small, you will need to be directly in front of your subject, flattening and over-exposing it. The built-in flash is not capable of being adjusted to different lighting situations. It will always leave the subject bright and flat while leaving the background dark and impenetrable. The built-in is also stuck in one position, on top of the camera, and sometimes that is not the desirable position to have it in.

A shoe-mounted flash unit is much more flexible. Most of them put you in control on what brightness to set it on, where to position it and what to point it at…..

Let me show you what I mean: This is my camera and though it is a full frame model, it still comes equipped with a built-in flash. Have I ever used it? Guess

Here is my shoe mount flash unit. This little thing is one of the pricier ones and actually communicates with my camera. I do not leave home without it when I cover events.

This is my flash bracket. They come in a variety of designs and sizes and most can bend and move like this one. This is a must-have for shooting at events as it enables me to move the flash unit to the position that is most advantageous in any given situation. Let me show you what I mean by that:

I have touched on the flash units and the uses of them because, in the interest of time, I will concentrate on what to do and what not to do when you are using your company’s camera to record a company event for the years to come.

Following will be a few examples of shots I have taken at events

Never:………position someone in front of a pillar or post that is more narrow than the person’s head. It will look as if that object is growing out of your subjects head.

Do:…….if it’s not convenient to ask the person to move because you want to get a non-posed shot, move yourself and put the pillar either next to your subject or at the edge of the frame.

Never:……shoot into the light. It will either darken your subject, create a halo around your subject or both.

Do:……..move to avoid the light and put it behind you if you can or position yourself or your subject so the light is out of the shot or off to the side.

Do:…….move around the room and capture special moments as they occur, the posed shot is not always the best one.

Do:……Zoom in on your subject, just don’t cut them off at any joints, for a head shot, still show some shoulder, etc.

Do:…….Interact with your subjects, if you have a good time at the event, it will show in your shots, if you are bored, it will also show!

Events have a funny way of adding background to any shot and that background can not always be avoided. When that is the case, zoom in to what you want to capture as much as you can. The background will blur a bit, which helps with loosing undesirable detail. This works much better if the camera is not set to automatic everything.

Your Camera and Factory Settings

Your company’s camera was purchased somewhere and if it was in original packaging, it will be set to factory settings.

This simply translates to: Everything is set to automatic.

Since our time here today is limited, I will only be able to touch on a few things you may want to do to change the settings on your camera. Many of these things depend on the type and brand of camera your company owns and will need to be discussed individually, something I can be hired for.

A professional photographer such as myself will not have any automatic settings turned on, but control everything from shutter speed to white balance, ISO and F-stop manually as it gives me complete control over how each shot turns out.

Overwhelmed yet? Don’t worry I will explain what some of those terms mean and what they do and then help you learn how to control one of them manually today.

Shutter speed controls how quickly the opening behind your lens opens and closes to let light touch the mirror behind it which in turn throws the light onto the sensor.

F-stop decides how strong the light is going to be that is allowed to touch

the sensor.

Shutter speed and F-stop: These two are in direct relationship to one another and are well worth the learning, but require the most time to teach.

Here is a quick overview:

As you can tell this could get hairy, so it will not be what you learn today

Both also control depth of field depending on how they are set in relationship to each other

White Balance: This is something new and unique to the digital camera. If your company has you using a film camera, you will not need to learn this. Since we are in the digital age, let me explain what white balance is: Light has color, or rather the temperature of light has color. The hotter the temperature the cooler the color. White balance on the camera helps you get the correct color in your shots. Automatic white balance lets the camera’s sensor decide what light it sees and is not always correct. If the camera is set to the automatic setting in this, most shots will be a little on the cool side.

To manually control white balance, you need to understand what light falls into what temperature bracket. Here is a quick overview: Regular round light bulbs are Tungsten and warmer in color. If the room is mainly lit by that variety, set the white balance to the little light bulb icon. Fluorescent light is much cooler in color and the icon on your camera shows a long version of this bulb, choose it if the room is mainly lit by that type of light. The manual choices on your white balance dial include a cloud, a sun, flash, and shade. All appropriate for each situation.

There are times when a variety of light is present, and the best white balance choice will need to be determined with the help of grey cards. If a set of those is not handy, make the white balance choice fit the majority of the light present. In most venues one type of light is in the majority, so the choice is easy.

The easiest and quickest manual setting to learn is ISO and you will walk away from this meeting with a good understanding of it and should be able to handle going manual in your ISO choice. ISO is a term you should all be familiar with as it is a leftover from the film days and was a choice we had to make then as well.

ISO is simply the sensitivity to light. Back then it meant how sensitive the film was to light, now it means how sensitive to light the camera’s sensor will be.

Light sensitivity is measured in numbers, with 100 being the least sensitive and anything higher being more sensitive. Many cameras boast that they go to 3500 ISO with little grain and noise, but few deliver.

Here are a few examples of what ISO type is good for what situation:

ISO 100 and 200: Great for a bright sunny day with plenty of light flooding your camera. It helps ensure nice rich color as well as clear crisp shots.

Shot outdoors at ISO 200

Shot at ISO 400 on tripod, no additional light.

ISO 400: Great for indoor shots, especially when using flash or studio lighting. Also nice for interiors with the camera on a tripod and the shutter wide open.

Shot in studio at ISO 400

ISO 500, 640, 800, 1000, 1250, 1600 and above: Most cameras now will get relatively clear and noise free images in low light at those higher ISO settings. Use them if using the flash is not an option and you can not add additional lighting in any other form. Be warned however, that unless you are using a professional grade camera that has been tested at higher ISO settings such as 2000 and above, you should stay away from using them even if your camera shows these numbers, as these higher settings are prone to produce noise or grain.

Shot at ISO 800

I mentioned noise and grain. What is noise? What is grain? Noise happens in an image when a picture is shot in very low light and at a very high ISO. The sensor in your camera receives all the light available and if it can not read some of it correctly is creates random pixels that it adds to the image you shoot. Grain makes the picture look fuzzy and unfocused and is created in a similar fashion as noise.

Remember, you are using a computer as much as a camera! It does not act quite like film does but interprets what it sees and adds what it thinks is correct unless you stay in control.

Let’s take a closer look at what all this means to you and shooting at events.

We have established that you will use a flash and preferably a shoe mount flash unit, off camera.

The best way to stay in control when it comes to noise and grain is using a

lower ISO, some extra lighting, thereby producing a clearer crisper shot.

Set the ISO to 400 for any indoor shooting at an event as you will be using a flash unit.

Set the ISO to 200 or 250 if the event is outside and during the day, as long as it is not overcast.

If the event is outside on an overcast day, the ISO should be set at 400.

If you feel comfortable, set the white balance to the appropriate setting, on a sunny day choose the sun icon, indoors judge what lighting dominates the room and choose accordingly, either the right light bulb icon or the long fluorescent bulb.

Leave the rest of the settings on automatic and start working the room.

A note on the image quality you choose to set your camera on. The factory setting will be jpeg……. Jpeg is a compressed form of imaging and nothing much can be adjusted after the picture has been shot. Jpeg is the easiest way to handle photos if you are not familiar with Photoshop and are not planning on doing any editing.

The best image quality to shoot in is raw.

Raw is like the roll of film after it has been turned into negatives.

Editing in raw format requires thorough knowledge of Photoshop but gives you endless opportunities for post shooting editing……..

That said, unless your company has a graphic designer on staff who has time to edit photos, shoot in jpeg, especially if the event photos you have taken will be posted in online newsletters and other digital media.

A small note on formatting photos for the internet. Format images in 72 ppi, never bigger as they will take too long to load. What is ppi? ppi stands for pixels per inch. Monitors are composed of pixels, so formatting for viewing on monitors happens in pixels.

How, do you ask, can I format my images?

This can be done in two ways: You can set your image quality in your camera to jpeg basic and depending on what the manufacturer means by that you will be close to the internet standard. If your company has a photo editing program such as Photoshop Elements or the full version, the image quality can be formatted by opening the photo in question, and choosing save for internet under the file menu. After the photo loads you size the photo to no more than 400 pixels for the longest side and click save. It saves the photo at 72 ppi.

In closing I would like to give you some ideas on how photography can be used for your business outside of the obvious:

Photography for promotional materials such as brochures, client handouts, advertising in print and online.

Photography for use in proposals, personalizing your proposals by adding images of your products and services instead of stock images.

Photographs of staff, both for the office walls and in promotional materials.

Commercial photography, images of buildings, both exterior and interior.

Wertman Photography offers all of the above mentioned types of photography as services to you and can also be hired to teach everything touched on today in greater depth.

I will conclude this presentation with a list of Photographic services and instructional services I offer. These are also listed on the rack cards I handed out earlier.

Portraits for personal and business use

Engagements and weddings

Event photography

Pets and owners

Photography for promotional materials, including proper staging and lighting

Commercial photography

Photography for proposals

Model and glamour photography

Portraits of children both at the studio and on location, including childcare centers and pre-schools

Photo restorations and alterations

Basic use of camera classes

How to style and light for promotional material shots

Intro to Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign

Wertman

Photography Your one-stop studio for all of

your photographic needs.

Find us online at wertmanphotography.net

or call

301-693-3021