You asked, I’m doing my best to answer.
You submitted your photography questions and below you will find my answers + examples. I truly hope it helps but you can always reach out for more information!
(I think it’s important that we all remember that these are simply my answers to these questions, but photography is an art form and as such, is quite subjective.)
How do you take such beautiful self portraits?
First of all, thank you! There are a couple of different ways to take self portraits. I personally use a remote and either my tripod or whatever I can find while we’re out riding to prop my camera up on (a rock, a stump, a piece of driftwood). I set my camera to AI Focus which I find works a lot better than trying to set the focus in one place and hoping me/my horse stays in the correct spot. I take a test shot to adjust my ISO and shutter speed correctly and then I maneuver myself/my horse into the frame. I usually set my remote to “repeat” when I’m ready (which will continuously click the shutter) and then hide my remote for a couple of shots before switching my remote off “repeat” to stop the shutter. In the photo above, my remote is hiding in the weeds behind me. My horses get to take the credit for the “beautiful” part though, they’re the best models!
How and when to go professional?
There are so many opinions on this topic, beginning with “what is professional“? Is it when you start charging? Is it when you quit your day job?
I think you should have a pretty solid understanding of how your camera works, your photos should be clear and in-focus, and you should have a clear plan of how you are going to accept payments, deliver images, and have a contract in place that protects you and your clients before you start charging.
As far as how…? I imagine that will look different for everyone. When I launched Briana Shae Photography, I started by reaching out to particular segments in my target market and offering free mini-sessions (with contract in place!) in exchange for them tagging me when they shared their images on social media. This got my images and my name front and center in people’s minds when it came to photography needs. However, a lot of photographers hate this answer because they feel when people offer free sessions it devalues the industry as a whole. To each their own.
How do you get that soft lighting in the corner of photos? To capture the sun ray.
Well you hit the nail on the head… it’s all about the sun. First of all, where you choose to take your photos and the time of day you take your photos will play into this answer. Having the sun behind your subject, lower in the sky, and diffused in some manner (by trees, dust, fog, etc) is key to achieving this look. Then you’ll need to maneuver yourself/your camera until you get the desired effect. As you maneuver around, you’ll quickly notice where you don’t want the sun rays (screaming at you and obscuring your image completely) or, on the flip side, completely hidden behind a large branch so you don’t get the “glowy” effect at all. It takes some playing around to get the hang of it.
Also, sometimes the sun isn’t able to be diffused enough for your camera to focus on your subject. When this happens, I use my left hand to block the sun while my camera gets focused, hold my focus and remove my left hand from the frame.
(This is another self portrait, by the way. If you look closely, you can see the remote in my left hand – Spur was still pretty worked up from seeing alpacas earlier so I didn’t want to take the time to hide my remote and risk Spur doing something silly.)
Is there a big difference between the Rebel T6 and the Canon Mark 5D?
I am admittedly not a gear nerd. But, in a nutshell, yes. To start with, the Mark 5D is a full-frame, while the T6 is a crop-sensor. The Mark also has a larger resolution capacity and the ability to shoot in lower light situations.
Is this your first camera? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with starting on a crop sensor like the T6. Then you’ll (theoretically) have more money to invest in a quality lens or two (just make sure you get ones that are compatible with full-frame bodies so you can use them when and if you upgrade). Your lens and overall knowledge will play a much bigger part in the quality of your images than your camera body will.
What do you consider to be a successful photo shoot?
For me, it’s pretty simple… “is my client happy?” And I mean this to be while I’m there, on location, is my client happy? Are they relaxed and enjoying the experience? If the answer is yes, I know my images will turn out and my client will be excited to see them and that makes the shoot a success in my book.
What’s the biggest factor in achieving this? Not to sound self-centered or anything but… I am. I need to make my client feel confident and I need to let them see that I’m excited to be there, photographing them. And when I’m leaving, they need to see that I’m excited to see their beautiful photos and that I can’t wait to deliver them.
What is your go-to lens? And what is your favorite time of the day to shoot portraits?
My go-to lens depends on the situation. Before you go thinking that this is a terrible answer… I only have three lenses: Canon 50mm 1.8 (commonly called the “nifty fifty” and is $125), Canon 85mm 1.8 ($370) and Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS ($1,800 new, I bought mine used). (The Canon 24-70mm 2.8 is on my wish list.)
That’s it! That’s all I have.
I put my nifty fifty on my camera when I go riding because it is compact and I’m often trying to take landscape photos as well and the wider focal length is nice for that. I also use this lens on occasion for portrait sessions that don’t include horses.
Most of my portrait sessions I use my 85mm or 70-200mm. Anything smaller than an 85mm distorts horses and while this doesn’t bother me/isn’t super noticeable in my personal/adventure photos, I wouldn’t want to risk it with a paying client so I don’t use my nifty fifty for horse sessions.
I schedule portrait sessions only during times of soft lighting – early in the morning or later in the evening (generally within two hours of sunrise or sunset).
What two lenses are your favorite?
My 70-200 is my favorite because of it’s capability… it’s designed for sports/action shots so it’s a lot of fun to use when the horses are feeling frisky or when I’m shooting things like rodeos. And then I’d have to say my nifty fifty is my favorite because if I’m using it, it generally means I’m on horseback.
I’m afraid to take my Canon riding with me, how do you take yours and protect it?
You can see in the above photo (courtesy of @loki_toki) how I take my camera riding. I wear it across my body, off to the side. I can put pressure on it with my elbow at the trot or lope if need be, or hold it in my right hand. If it is raining or snowing, I tuck it inside my coat.
I think it’s all about perspective more than the exact “how”. For me, I spent a lot of money on my camera equipment because photography brings me pleasure and joy. It wouldn’t bring me as much pleasure and joy if it were tucked away safe at home while I was adventuring.
I get it though, I was nervous at first, too… especially because Spur was just a three year old when I got into photography. Accidents happen and I’m sure at some point my camera will take a spill and need to be fixed or replaced, but until then just look at all of these photos I have gotten to capture on our adventures!
How do you design your composition, since you can’t control the elements in it (like animals and nature)?
Ooooh, composition, you fickle beast. I am constantly trying to improve/master my composition to tell a better and more intriguing story.
When I’m shooting on a ride, I often have even less control due to the fact that I’m trying to sit a horse and take a photo at the same time. For a lot of those shots, if I’m not in a place where I can dismount and focus on my photo, I rely on post-processing cropping to get my desired composition.
If I am able to dismount and focus on taking a photo, I rely on what I can control – me. Often we just need to adjust where we are taking the photo from (not adjusting our subject).
How do you photograph mountains without making them look way smaller?
Like so much in photography, it’s all about the angle/position! I took the above photo while crouched down, shooting evenly at my subjects so as not to make them huge and the mountain/trees small. It also helps that they are able to be further away from both me and the backdrop (thank you, big open meadow!).
In my opinion, composition is one of the more difficult aspects of photography.
Best lens to use on people & wildlife? Currently switching from 50mm to 400mm.
I’m no expert, but I would say if you’re looking for one lens for both wildlife and portraits, you probably want something that zooms but still has the capability of f2.8 or so (like a 70-200). Otherwise, I image the 100-400mm is fantastic for wildlife shots!
