This year I am going to be making more of a focus on developing training materials and downloadable content for budding photographers. Over the last year I’ve been asked hundreds of times for tips, tricks, and general “how did you do that” ranging from specific images all the way to the how I interact with clients. I think its time I start making this available more publicly, and I’ll be launch a consulting and learning section on my site in the very near future. It’s long overdue.

I don’t think I could have planned a better sunset, nor do I think Tim here could have picked a better evening to propose to his girlfriend Nadia. I didn’t know them however until about an hour ago, and I’d like to give you an abridged version of how I went about getting to know them.

The couple was sitting there at their table as I arrived at the top of the hill at Mt Bonnell in Austin, TX. It was quite clear to me immediately that he had just proposed to her and I had just walked in on a moment, so I quietly tried to capture them while they sat there enjoying a very warm sunset.

I did not want to let them know that I was taking pictures of them, and I certainly did not want to intrude on the moment they were having so I sat back and fired of some test shots which I knew I would have to take home and process. A day later I had an image I was happy with, yet I had no idea who they were, and I really needed to start getting ready to leave for Florida to shoot the Mashable Connect conference.

I returned home and saw that the stats on my Flickr page looked pretty good for that photo, and I really was perplexed about how I was going to get this couple a copy of this photo.

Social Media to the rescue!

I posted the picture on Facebook asking if anyone recognized them. I posted it on my Twitter. I posted it on Tumblr. To my surprise people actually helped join in to spread the word and find this couple. I had a friend post the photo to Reddit with an explanation of what was going on, where a reporter for KUT Austin picked up the story and gave me a call. Another friend sent it to the local Fox news station from whom I got a call from.

This all happened within a few hours of asking for help. Thats awesome stuff.

I ended up shooting an interview with Fox News Austin on top of Mt. Bonnell in the afternoon despite the terrible weather and it aired a few hours later, but before it had a chance to air, a teaser for the news story caught the eye of a friend of the couple. They were contacted and verified that it was in fact them and I got a message on my Facebook about 30 minutes before the storied aired saying that they were the couple!

We found them. The power of social is amazing, and this is just one small example of something that probably would not have been possible otherwise.

I am giving Tim and Nadia an 11×14 print of this special moment for allowing me an incredible experience finding them and having the amazing photo that was as much their influence as mine.

Photographer Captures Proposal & Searches for Couple: MyFoxAUSTIN.com

Its been far too long since i’ve put up a post here on Dream In Pictures, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been right in the action, out there traveling, shooting, editing, more editing, more editing, even more editing….

I just finished up shooting for SXSW and after days of going through thousands and thousands of photos I finally made it through.  Triumph!

This is only the beginning however for this year.  There is much more slated for the near future and I just can’t wait to show you all the amazing things I’m going to be doing, but you’re just going to have to wait a little bit longer.  I know you can do it.

As a photographer, you have to understand your technical limitations, and those of your equipment as well.  You may know how to take a great picture, but you may not have the hardware to do it.  That is a limitation that you have.  If you have a camera which produces grainy images at high ISO and are using a slot kit lens, you have no business shooting someones wedding claiming to be a professional.

The same goes for people who have all the gear in the world, but have no idea how to use it.  You can have Canon or Nikon’s most professional camera, but if you don’t know what aperture, shutter speed, ASA/ISO, depth of field, chances are, you’re just popping off pictures with no idea about what the camera is actually calculating for you.

Sadly I had a woman email me about two months ago about a photographer who posed as a professional and then couldn’t deliver quality images of this couple’s wedding.  You can imagine the horror of opening up the proofs for your images, and seeing very grainy, dull looking pictures that have been overly photoshopped to try and compensate for how badly they have been shot.

Click on this image to the right that this poor girl sent me. I’ve cropped in the full size view a bit for you so you can see how out of focus and muddled the image is. Almost all of the images she send me were like this. This is just a shame because there are no do-overs for a wedding.

To drive my point across even further, you should really take 10 minutes of your time and watch this clip from Judge Joe Brown that was aired on March 1, 2010. I’m rather impressed with the judges’ knowledge of photography, and the complete lack of knowledge by the photographer.

I’m not even sure it was just the quality of the prints that was an issue here.  Also take note the unprofessionalism of this photographers behavior.

I have made one blunder in writing this post in that I have no idea who I’m really writing it for. I saw this video earlier today and it reminded me of the woman who approached me about retaking her wedding shots, and its just got me irritated. I guess it fits for anyone though.

If you’re a bride looking for a photographer, make sure they have more than some prints to show you, and don’t assume that because your friend knows someone who knows someone that they will be right for you. If you’re a photographer, and you’re guilty of any of this…. please stop and fix the problem.

I’ve got little problems telling someone when something is out of my scope of work, and if you approach me with such a project I will be glad to help you any way that I can. If I can’t help you, I’m sure I know someone qualified, and I’m more than happy to introduce you….

I’m back in the game

As anyone who knows me or who has followed me from this blog, you have probably noticed that I have not updated since I told you all about my camera equipment being stolen while traveling in Peru.  Its been a rather disappointing time for me considering my love for photography, but I’ve made the best of a bad situation and spent the last six months doing development work and shooting when I can get my hands on some equipment.

I’m happy to announce that no longer will I be needing to borrow or turn down large jobs because of lack of equipment.  I’m back in business, and I couldn’t be happier about it. A few friends already knew I had gotten an new camera, but I wanted to wait until I had a chance to do a bit of shooting with it before I let everyone else know. The quality on this 5D Mk II is far greater than what I previously had. The sharpness is out of this world. The low light shooting is freakishly good. Topping it all off is a video mode which rivals anything I’ve ever had my hands on.

Offers for the very best

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In an effort to kick start everything back up again, I’ll be offering some really interesting deals sometime after SXSW, but there is just one catch:  You need to sign up for the email list to be informed of any of it.

I know I know, another message getting delivered to your inbox, but the truth is I really want to know who you are, and this is a great way for me to offer you something for letting me know.  You give me a name and email, I give you the low down.  I think its a win-win.  This doesn’t mean I’m going to stop blogging, this just means I’m going to reserve a little extra for those of you who care. RSS is great, reading the blog is better, but signing up for the mailing list is just smart.

SXSW

Being involved with SXSW over the last few years has lead me to believe that I’ll never have another beach spring break again. I’m okay with that. In fact, I’m more than okay with that, because for 10 days I get to spend my time with some of the greatest people I’ve ever had the privilege to be associated with. My main involvement has been with the Interactive portion of the conference, but I always stay in Austin through the music as well. If you are going to be in Austin this year for the conference I’d love to hear from you. I won’t be shooting specific events this year, but I will be shooting press for the event. I’ll have more updates when I get them myself about what i’ll be doing for them.

I left College Station, Texas around mid Feburary and headed for Austin where I spent a few months and got the opprotunity to shoot a few events in the area.  I love the Austin area, and I’m sure I’ll be back sometime soon.

From Austin, I made my way to San Francisco by way of road trip through Phoenix and LA before arriving in San Francisco for two months where I spent my time attending different technology events and experiencing the culture that is so vibrant in the Bay area.  I’m in love with the area, but find it a difficult place to get a fresh start due to the cost of living here.

After my two months in San Francisco, it was time to leave the country so my friend Kristine and I headed to Peru for a month, where I spent my time exploring the natural wonders of a country that just blew me away.  If I didn’t have things to take care of back here in the United States, I could have easily just stayed in Peru, and may get the chance to go back there for more business related issues sometime in the near future.

I did however run into a major problem just this last week.  The majority of my camera gear was stolen while I was sleeping on a bus, so take note that when traveling by bus to litterally lock your gear to your body somehow or it will just walk away.  Its going to take me some time to replace, but I would never let this event take away from my experience of my trip.  I had a wonderful time while I was there and I’m glad to be back “home” for at least a little while.

I’ll get photos from the last couple months up as soon as I get a reliable and fast internet connection, and I’m in the process of typing up my personal travel journal that I kept while I was in Peru.  You can find my journal online at http://cummin.gs within the next two or three days.

Thanks,

Michael

See the Rest of the set on Flickr

See the Rest of the set on Flickr

See the Rest of the set on SmugMug or Flickr

See the Rest of the set on SmugMug or Flickr

Saturday, March 14th

Monday, March 16th

Tuesday, March 17th

Thursday, March 19th

Saturday, March 21st

If you are looking for a photographer to cover your event, feel free to give me a shout through my contact form or leave a comment.

I hope to see all of you in a few weeks and have safe travels from wherever you may be coming from.