Shooting Headshots

One of my favorite seminars I went to at the PhotoPlusExpo was a popular photographer named Peter Hurley.  As a former model himself, he knows what it takes to be in front of the camera. I've seen his amazing work online and have been inspired by his YouTube videos especially the one from FStoppers.


Here is another video of his work:


Those of you wanting to learn more can be coached by Peter himself through his professional site.
http://ph2pro.com/

PhotoPlusExpo and Branding yourself

My Daughter in a candy store!

I remember watching closely as my children entered the CANDY STORE in New York (Economy Candy). Their eyes lit up and wanted to show me everything! They were SO EXCITED! Living in Asia for 17 years really secluded us from opportunities like this. 

I had that SAME feeling walking into the PhotoPlusExpo in New York this past week. It felt like a HUGE Costco lined up with TECHY stuff. A GEAR HEAD dream if you will. Venders giving away free things just to reel you in. I LOVED it, but at the same time my heart was torn...do I really need all this crap?

For a few, the reason of attending PhotoPlusExpo is not just for seeing new products, but to attend something that could be life changing. They offered Portfolio Reviews by Palm Springs Photo Festival. Some of you are wondering what is a "Portfolio Review"? A portfolio review is a place where you get to present your work to Magazine Art Directors, Galleries, Advertising Agencies, Reps and more.  Yes, it's a great place to get feedback on your own work yet get jobs and build what we say in China called "Guanxi" meaning connections.

During my time at the School of Visual Arts where I got my Masters of Professional Studies, we prepared well

"Connecting Ends" Thesis Exhibition

Connecting Ends is the name of our 2013 Thesis Exhibition. 

Location: SVA Gramercy Gallery 209, East 23rd Street, New York, NY

Reception: Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013, 6 – 8pm

On View: Thursday, October 23rd – Saturday, November 10, 2013

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday 9am – 7pm, Saturday 10am – 6pm

This is our thesis exhibition featuring my 19 other classmates and I. On the reception night we had many famous people come which was exciting. I have some very talented classmates!  Below you will find portions of our thesis projects.  I've included a summary of each of my talented classmates and a link to their personal websites. I hope you enjoy seeing the talent!

Two Beautiful Daughters Shelly Au

Two Beautiful Daughters is a series of images depicting how China’s rapid growth has ushered in the destruction of history and communities. The artist finds hope and courage through the chaos and brokenness of demolition.

Where has Shelly been?

Like many blogs plagued by busyness, they die! Over the course of getting my Masters in Professional Studies from the School of Visual Arts in New York while holding a full time job left me zero time for a blog these past two years.

Now that I have finished my degree with honors, that my first group show in New York is up, and I'm one of three finalists in the 2013 Adobe Design Achievement Award student contest in the photography category, I feel like I'm ready to launch this new blog.

My vision is to help those of you who have a passion for photography and don't know what to do with it. I'm here to help you!

You ask: Shelly, why are you doing this when the competition is SO great with everyone having a camera?

ANSWER: because I believe in giving back! I don't want to be the photographer that hides his secrets but to help push you forward! I want to help change the world, and I'm not going to do it by hoarding my secrets!

So if you have any questions for my blog posts, please email me at: Studio@ShellyAu.com

Shelly Au, Katrin Eismann (Chair of the program and Photoshop Diva), Alice Kivlon:
Alice and I received the Paula Rhodes Honors Award

Tomorrow: I will talk about my group show and the amazing talent in our group show.

Photographers that Inspire Me: My Final Project

For one of my classes I needed to research and chose 3 different photographers in the category of Commercial, Fine Art, and Editorial, with at least 2 different countries and both genders represented.  Then select one that inspires me.

Through my instructor, I found Stephen Wilkes.  Check this out:

http://www.stephenwilkes.com/

How cool is that?  He also raised 6 Million Dollars for the Ellis Island Effort below.

HDR (High Dynamic Range) Love it or Hate it!

Up unto a week ago I was not a big fan of HDR.  It was fake but cool to see.  However more interesting at times then looking at people's post cards.  So this week I'm supposed to shoot HDR images for class.  Okay, I'll give it a try.

Last night I spent all afternoon and evening catching the sunset that was hidden behind fog and was a little disappointed. So today I'm processing my images and was shocked what HDR did to this image!

For those of you who don't know what HDR is, it is basically taking the same shot of different exposures and combining them.  You see God created the human eye to adjust to light.  When you go into a dark room your eyes adjust, when you go outside they adjust.  But the camera is NOT that smart.  So by taking a series of images ( I took 7 at one stop each) and combine them in software, it will allow you to see something like this that has the right exposure all the way through.

This may be my new favorite image that I'll need to get a gallery wrap hung on my wall!

Click to enlarge!
Shot yesterday in the Nanjing on the wall.  HDR combined in Photomatix Pro and Lightroom Lens Calibrations.

So, do we love it or hate it?  I know I've changed my mind a little and this powerful.   What should I name this image folks?

How to know your slr camera needs a cleaning?

Q: The question is how do I know my camera needs to be cleaned?

A: If you have a SLR camera that has not been professionally cleaned, then you should probably get it cleaned if you still want to shoot with that camera.  Here is how you test it:

• switch your camera to manual mode.
• Change your f/Stop to f/22 or as high as that number goes.
• point your camera it up to the clear blue sky, make it blurry and out of focus.
• Then take a shot.  Try not to get clouds if possible.
• Then bring that image into a photo editor and look at every section of it at 100%.  This last step is REALLY important.
• Re-Test by shooting in the sky and reclean until you don't see any spots.

Here was my camera after I had it professionally cleaned.  Yes, even the professionals were not able to remove it all after two cleans.  This means 2 things.  It's not easy to clean, and yes, you probably have junk on your sensor.  Which means you should get it cleaned or learn how to clean it yourself.

See all the dots int he red circles.  This is at fit to screen mode:

This is at 100% mode:

So I took my camera back to Canon and they re-cleaned it for free since I just had it done last week.  You can see that all the dust spots were on once side which means when he cleaned it in the first place, in his attempt to clean it, he actually gathered it up on one side.

FYI, it will cost you about $60-100 to get your camera cleaned.  But imagine you have a great picture that is memorable and you have this black dust on your son's face while he is blowing out a candle.  Yikes!!!!!!

Here in Asia at the only official repair, he cleaned it for about $15.  Of course todays cleaning was free.

When was the last time you cleaned or had your lens cleaned?

One more tip my instructor told me, she said try to avoid cleaning your sensor in the winter where there is more dust in the air.

Today's Photography Quote

Of course, there will always be
those who look only at technique, who ask "how,"
while others of a more curious nature will ask "why."
Personally, I have always preferred
inspiration to information.

-Man Ray

Questions to Ponder:

As I look at tons of images for class I say wow, how did they do that lighting something similar.  However as we edit our own photos my instructors ask "WHY" did you take that photo?  What drew you snap that shot.  THEN you can edit it to the reason why you took it in the first place.  

So as you look to editing your own photos, remember the WHY's not the how's.  As you compose the scene on your next shot, remember to ask yourself WHY you are taking your camera out.  

Some of the most powerful images are NOT technically sound.  They are blurry!  -me :)