Yesterday I posted a few samples of the photography work I used to do before I began to specialize in weddings and family portraits.  Well in addition to sports action, I also have some experience in the commercial world, mostly with small product stock photography.  While it’s not nearly as glamorous, the work is incredibly challenging, mostly because the nature of this type of imaging is such a huge departure from the action world, or even the type of work I do now.

Action and news photography just happens, and you have to either anticipate what’s going to happen in order to make the image, or miss it, there are no “do-overs.”  Stock work is a bit different because there are as many do-overs as you like, and often the planning and setup of any individual photograph take infinitely longer than the actual photograph does.  Here’s a few examples:

I didn’t bake ‘em myself….I have my wife to thank for that one!  These were actually a lot harder to photograph than I originally thought because as soon as you get the plate completely cleaned off, any little bump of the table or plate would flake off a few crumbs onto the plate.

Anyone want to take a guess as to why this photograph of a mortgage document has been my best selling image in the last few years?

Anyone want to take a guess at the high tech lighting setup involved with this one?

I just noticed on this one above that the lower right slide image is a shot of my hands with my laptop from college….for those of you who are Apple historians, that was one of the first line of notebook/laptop computers that Apple rolled out in the early 90′s.  The super powerful PowerBook 140!

I don’t devote a lot of time to product or stock photography anymore, but I do use it as a way to practice different lighting ideas and techniques, and see if there might be a way to apply them to my wedding and portrait photography work.  Anything you can do to expand your creative horizons is a good thing in my book.

Every now and then someone will read my bio and ask about what it was like shooting sports and news.  And although it’s OK to talk about, it always seems a bit hollow to describe it without having any actual photographs to reference.  When I worked in that area of the photography world, everything was captured on film, and the bulk of my work catalog from that time is still held on file by my rep. Brian Spurlock of Spurlock Photography.  However I recently stumbled across a few scanned images on an older hard drive and thought I’d share a few here to give anyone who’s interested an idea of what I did before I began photographing children, families, and weddings.

I covered the Big 12 conference tournament two years in a row, I think this one ran in ESPN The Magazine.

Being a Bears fan it was a bittersweet feeling to have this one published, but since it ran in Sports Illustrated as part of the Packers’ commemorative edition the year they won the Super Bowl in 1997.

This one takes me back to my days at Vanderbilt University.  In between working for the school paper and going to classes, I also did a lot of work directly for the athletic department photographing the covers for several of the team’s media guides and schedule posters.

I’m honestly not all that sure what I was doing with these swimmer pictures.  The only thing I can remember is that we shot these at a pool in Lincolnwood someplace, and in order to make the bottom photograph, I was actually sitting up on top of the diving board while the swimmer came out from underneath me. Luckily neither myself or the 400mm 2.8 lens I used wound up falling off and going in the water!

Another from my days at Vanderbilt…..for some reason I always liked this image, which is probably why it wound up getting scanned and sticking around on my computer.

The years I was photographing NFL football, any time the Detroit Lions and Barry Sanders were on the schedule you knew you were going to get something good.  Far and away one of the most challenging but rewarding assignments back then because this guy seemed to move faster and cut quicker than anyone else on the field.  I think this one was part of the Sporting News year in review, or possibly another one for ESPN.

So that’s all I have for now.  Maybe if I can find someone with a slide/negative scanner I can dig around the basement and pull up a few more to share in the future.

The question comes up quite a bit:  “I need a new camera, and I’m not sure what to buy?”

It can be a bit frightening with all the different brands, makes, models, features and accessories available at any camera or electronics store.   However once you understand some of the major differences, you’ll have a much easier time narrowing down your options.

There are two major categories of consumer cameras:  DSLR, which stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex, and the ever popular “point ‘n shoot.”  Both have their advantages and disadvantages, depending primarily on how you want to use your camera and what type of photography you’re interested in.

The DSLR

This is the category that I’m the most familiar with.  I learned how to take photographs on an SLR (that’s a DSLR that actually used film), and have always used some format of an SLR in my professional photography life.  However while the SLR is the most appropriate tool for my line of work and the type of photography I specialize in (weddings and portraits), it might not necessarily be the best fit for everyone.

Pros:

• Interchangeable lenses provide a large variety of focal lengths, zoom vs. prime lens options, and fast lens “speed” that allows shooting in low light without a flash.

• Full manual control over image exposurem white balance, ISO rating, and flash compensation give the photographer complete control over how the image is created.

• All DSLR’s are part of an expandable system which in addition to the available interchangeable lenses, also includes interchangeable flash units, battery grips, changeable focussing screens, and even tethered shooting directly into your laptop or home computer network.

Cons

• Cost.  Although you can purchase a kit that includes a camera body and a lens, a complete system that includes a camera body and a variety of lenses can easily cost several thousand dollars.

• Portability.  While there is a whole section of the industry devoted to camera bags, backpacks, cases, and satchels, a DSLR and several lenses is not always the easiest kit to carry around.

• Learning curve.  DSLR’s give the user full manual control over their photographs, but they also provide fully automatic modes, as well as several modes that are a combination of input from the user and the camera’s automatic “brain.”  Learning the best application for these different modes can take some time to learn.

If you’re serious about being as creative as possible with your photography, and eventually want complete control over your images and exposures, the DSLR is going to be your best bet.  Because the interchangability of DSLR system’s lenses, you can easily start with a basic DSLR from any of the major manufacturers, and as you add lenses to your camera  bag, eventually upgrade your camera body, without necessarily having to purchase new lenses at the same time.

The Point ‘N Shoot:

If the thought of lugging a DSLR kit around,  mastering multiple exposure modes, or learning to use an external flash unit sounds like too much work, the Point N Shoot, or P&S, may be the better option.  While the imaging chips in the higher end DSLR’s will yield a cleaner image, if you’re primary concern is to document your vacation, kids birthday parties, and other family events, any of the modern P&S models will provide more than enough image resolution to produce fantastic enlargements.

Pros:

• Portability.  As mentioned above, there are no interchangeable lenses, and many of the popular models are small enough to neatly fit in a pocket, purse or small handbag.

• Ease of use.  The names says it all, “point and shoot.”  The camera takes care of all the decisions with one simple press of the button.

• Cost.  Some of the better P&S cameras cost less than even a DSLR camera body, without a lens.

Cons:

• Lack of lenses.  Whatever is on the camera is what you have to work with.  While most P&S models will feature a lens that covers focal lengths suitable for most situations, they usuallydo not provide much reach in terms of functioning as a full telephoto lens, nor do they provide a wide enough angle to include everything you’re seeing in front of you (think of the Grand Canyon pictures you took that just don’t show how big that hole in the ground really is).

• Speed.  How many times have you been ready to take a picture with your P&S camera, and you push the button, and wait for the camera to focus, then wait for the pre-flash or red eye reduction to fire, only then to hear the shutter actually click and see the image on the screen.  While the operational speed does seem to get better and better with the P&S cameras, they still lag behind the DSLR’s in terms of how fast the image is created once the shutter button is depressed.

• Lack of versatility.  This is a big one for me.  While  some P&S models like this Canon G9 picture above do offer a full manual exposure mode, as well as complete control over ISO rating and white balance, most P&S models leave much of the picture taking decision up to the computer chip inside the camera.  Thus, the “point ‘n shoot” tagline.  Also, while the G9 also has the capability to accept the more powerful flash units that Canon makes for its DSLR cameras, most P&S cameras limit the user to the onboard flash, which typically do not offer much in terms of control.

So if you’re thinking about purchasing a new camera, these are just a few things to think about which can hopefully help you narrow down your decision a bit.  I should note, that while I mention and feature Canon cameras in this post, Jay Crihfield Photography was not compensated, nor is endorsed by Canon in any way, shape, or form.  While I am very familiar with the Canon lineup, and have used Canon SLR’s and DSLR’s in my professional life for over 15 years, there are a number of camera manufacturers such as Nikon, Olympus, and Sony, which all offer very high quality DSLR and P&S camera lineups.

There WILL be more to come from this session on the blog, but I wanted to throw up one photograph from this past Sunday’s session with Nicole, Dave, Alyssa, and Lauren. Thanks guys, I had a great time, can’t wait to show you the rest of the pictures!

I guess Jack will be a good Boy Scout some day in addition to being a good big brother. His baby brother Conner spent a couple of nights at the hospital, so Jack decided to read up on the proper treatment of massive, explosive, big-bird yellow diarrhea and dehydration.  Fortunately the almost 3 year old was not called in to consult on the treatment of Baby Conner, and his baby brother is now doing much better after a couple of days of IV fluids.

Now if we can get him to read the “What To Expect:  The Toddler Years” chapter on temper tantrums and potty training, we’ll be in great shape!

Last year I shared how we display some of the pictures in our own home.  Rather than feature one large portrait, we’ve chosen to go the route of displaying a sequence or grouping of images in order to decorate the same amount of wall space that a large portrait would occupy.

Recently after Conner was born we decided to put together another grouping, this one in our foyer along the stairwell.  Since this area is a bit more public, we didn’t want to go with the unfinished “shelf” look of the square images we have in our family room.  So we made the decision to frame each image in a matching frame, that also compliments the color tone of our foyer.

One of the reasons we decided to frame these is while the frames will stay on the wall in the same place, we can easily interchange the portraits as the boys grow older, updating the display year after year without having to invest in new frames or display pieces.  Unlike the canvas gallery wrap that we just displayed in Conner’s nursery, we had to replace the entire piece because canvas images incorporate the display function.   All we have to do now is find a place to display the newborn portrait of Jack!

Stay tuned, new portrait announcement to benefit Flashes of Hope coming soon!