Why do band photos look so cool?  I think it’s rather funny to be a part of a photo shoot for a band or singer/songwriters.  What do I tell them?  Just look cool.  Ok, so how do they look cool on command?  Well, here’s a tip, if you’ve gotten to those questions/informatives on a shoot, you’re probably headed downhill from the beginning.  How do truely “natural” pictures look “natural”?  Here’s a little hint….   THEY ARE!

Whether you’re doing an interview for a video/film shoot or you’re taking band photos, wedding photos, or whatever, you need to take some time to get to know your subject/client/friend– make them feel comfortable working with you.  Even if you have a 1/2 hour, don’t tell them about the 30 different kinds of lenses you will be using, ask them how there day was.  Ask them what they like to do for fun.   Ask them about their dog, Buddy.  THEN, by the time you actually start snapping away, they feel relaxed and they LOOK RELAXED.  Learn to be relational while keeping all those crazy camera settings in line.  Your final photos will improve!

For the photography peoples, I used these settings (photos left to right)

Left:   F/8, 18mm, 1/40th sec, ISO 200
Middle:   F/8, 24mm, 1/100th sec, ISO 200
Right:   F/8, 55mm, 1/125th sec, ISO 200

Touch-ups in Adobe Lightroom.

Aslan

So, I was at the Madison Zoo taking some pics inside by the Lion’s Den. This little girl walks up to the glass and sticks her hand and face right up close. The massive lion strolls right over to her and matches his face up with her hand.

Photograph.

There was hardly any light in place, so I ramped my ISO up to 1600 and shot at 1/80th of a second with my Sigma Zoom Lens. There was so much grit that I had to bring the levels way up in post (Adobe Lightroom). I also reduced the saturation. It wasn’t until I was done that I looked at the picture and was like, “Holy Smokes!” That could be a book cover for “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” Every time I show someone this photo, immediately the response is, “Oh, it’s Aslan and Lucy.”

I hope that if someday people look at a picture of me and a ferocious lion, then would say, “Oh, it’s Jeff the Mighty Lion Slayer.” But if I marry a girl named Lucy, I probably wouldn’t kill a lion.

Mills is a wake-surfing genius

Since it’s summer, I thought I would post this throwback picture from last year. A little wake-surfing at Chris Mills’ cottage.

Chris (pictured) is a freakin’ stud when it comes to riding the wake. We cruised for about 5 minutes of him just chillin’ on the wake, throwing in a tasty trick here and there. I, on the other hand, made it up for about 30 seconds at best. I was a pretty rad 30 seconds though.

**For the camera enthusiats, I used a Canon Digital Rebel with a Sigma Zoom Lens. Color correction done in Adobe Lightroom.

Mackinaw Bridge

**For the photography enthusiats, I used a Canon Digital Rebel with a Canon zoom lens.

Location: Under a table

Theme: Two can play this game

Prop: Thermos

Line: “We’re paying you to sing, not share your thoughts on life.”

After a great evening, our film, “Smokescreen” took home second place and people’s choice award. There is a cool film vibe in the place each year. This year, the films were played at Celebration Cinema North and there were some notable guest judges, one of them being Ralph Winter. Anyhow, this is our film. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

For the film enthusiats, we shot with the Sony Ex-1 with a Letus 35mm lens adapter.

For the photography enthusiasts, I shot with a Canon Rebel XTi, with a 2.8 Tamron Zoom Lens. Color correction was done in Adobe Lightroom.