Q+A Monday: Day-of Preparation

Q: What should a bride plan for so the wedding can be sure to go smoothly from a photographer's point of view?

A: I find that two of the most common things that brides and grooms forget to plan for are the amount of time it takes for transitions and the amount of time it takes for a receiving line.

For multi-location weddings, brides and grooms need to account for the time it takes to travel from one place to another. In addition, depending on the situation, a bride may need time to refresh her makeup once or twice during the day. Guests need time to transition from cocktail hour to the reception. Transitions need to be accounted for.

From my experience, it appears that twice as many guests results in 3x or 4x as much time that is needed for a receiving line. I surmise this is because the longer guests wait in line, the more they are compelled to say a few extra words to the bride, groom, and family. A few extra words from each person adds up! For 150-200 guests, plan for at least 30 minutes. It may not last 30 minutes, but it's better to have extra time than not enough!

Askers will remain anonymous, so please email questions relating to blog or photography in general to: travis@travisflynnphotography.com

Flashback Friday: Boca Swim

This is one from Boca Raton, Florida about three years ago. I love being able to photograph from a high angle. Even better when the subject's outfit blends with the background.

Flashback Friday: Beach Sunset

Here is another one taken with the Canon A80 back in 2005. It seems that everyone with a camera and a shutter finger feels the urge to photograph sunsets. Seriously, Americans alone must spend tens of thousands of clicks every clear night. Yet most of us are disappointed the first time we try. The sun is much, much, much, much, much, much, much brighter than everything surrounding it. It throws off the meter of the camera and everything else is severely underexposed. When adjustments are made, everything else may be exposed correctly, but a large, boring circle dominates and everything else loses detail. One day I realized that perhaps it's typically not in my best interest to include the sun in the frame when photographing sunsets. (As a good general rule, it's best not to include the main light source in the frame.)

This was my first photo to be published in a magazine: Milford Living.

(Click to see larger.)

Literary Thursday: Hermit the Peanut

I hesitated while trying to decide whether to include my past writings on the blog. They don't have much to do with photography directly. Yet I believe that photographs and pieces of writing share a similarity in that while they aren't typically created in order to describe something about the creator, they often do.

Let's start at the beginning and then jump around a bit. This first one I wrote back in grade school:


Hermit the Peanut

Hermit the peanut
Lived in my pocket
We were the best of friends
Then one day I sat down
CRUNCH!!!

Q&A Monday: Camera

All questions will remain anonymous in Q&A section.

Q: Hey Travis, I'm looking to buy my first digital SLR camera. What should I buy?

A: There are a lot of cameras out there, aren't there? As far as brand, both Canon and Nikon are safe bets. Each makes quality cameras. Each stands behind their products. Each has a wide selection of lenses that work with its cameras. I know there are professional photographers who go with other brands and love their cameras, but there is more risk involved. Canon and Nikon are committed to be at the top of the industry for at least the next few years.

As far as individual models, don't spend $3000 on a camera if your entire photography budget is only $4000 for the next year. The great majority of enthusiasts would be best off spending under $1500 on a D-SLR. Good used D-SLRs can be had for $500 or less. For instance, Canon has two "enthusiast" lines of D-SLRs: the Rebel series and the 20/30/40/50 D series. The resulting images from these cameras (especially 20/30/40/50D series) in good lighting situations will be similar to images taken with more expensive cameras. Instead of buying a $3000 camera, it is much better to buy a $1000 camera when starting out and have an extra $2000 to spend on lenses. Lenses affect image quality more than the camera in good lighting situations. Lenses retain their value at least 3x better than cameras. The knowledge of the photographer affects image quality more than camera or lenses and it retains its value better than either. $2000 extra is a lot of money to spend on the (distant) 3rd factor of what affects image quality. Invest in the other two and there will be more return.

Flashback Friday: Hand Abstracts

This one goes waaayyyy back. I think it was my first personal project with artificial lighting. My mother gave me my first camera (a compact digital: Canon A80) for Christmas 2003. These were taken in November 2004. It was a great camera for its time. The macro mode was outstanding for a compact. For this project, I used a 90-watt lightbulb inside of a common desk lamp in an otherwise black room. I used a tripod to steady the camera, but I had to hold my hand fairly steady to capture sharp images. Quite a bit of Photoshop was used during processing.

A fingerprint is capable of distinguishing between any two people, correct? A handprint must have at least 50x the information. That would mean there are at least 5 billion to the 50th power variations of handprints, right? If 1 billion to the 50th power = a '1' with 450 zeros after it, then 5 billion to the 50th power is quite the number. Any mathematicians here who can help out???

(click images to see larger)