CL, Part II or Yay, Chicago!

Here are the 4 shots I liked best from the photo shoot. You will remember from yesterday's brief and ever so to-the-point post that this was a room with the heat turned up for the babies, fluorescent light not natural light, and 20 or so crazed photographers who had been told to make the best of the situation.

Oh yeah. bffC and I had just figured out we had the crappiest lenses in the room. So we had to "make do".

She got two shots I really liked. One in particular, I hope she will put up on her blog, because when it came to critique time on Sunday afternoon, Me Ra and Brian said she couldn't do it with the lens she had.

But oh yes she did. (bffC, did you catch that reference?)

The epiphany came on Sunday, when Me Ra was really encouraging everyone to shoot in manual because it allowed for full creativity and control of the light. And do you remember what we learned yesterday?

Yes. It's all about the light in photography. You can't handle the light! Ahem.

Step into the light. Join me in the light. They're hee-yer.

Ahem. Er. Oh. Excuse me. Forgot where I was for a minute. Extra points if you can name those movie references.



Anyway, metering is about reading the light. And not only reading the light, but reading the light in the place you want to feature. So that means you meter that space, make your settings accordingly, and then you can recompose your photo secure in the knowledge that the face or skirt or puppy nose you want to be the story will be just that.

What settings, you ask? Well, first you would check your exposure compensation meter. If you have a DSLR, you've probably noticed the little scale that ranges from -2 to +2 in quarter (I think) increments. You want to adjust shutter speed or aperture or--in dire cases like the photo shoot when there are no other options--ISO to have your exposure control meter in the right place for your camera/preference. And in the case of Canons, make your exposure control meter read +1 ish because Canons shoot a little dark.

I have wandered into the land of the tech-no-geek now, and without so much as a pocket protector, and I apologize. This was quite momentous for me because it was this precise combination of things that knitted themselves into a relationship in my mind. And while I need to practice, at least I get it now.

Because before, shutter speed, aperture and ISO were a jumble of statistics to be kept track of but not fully understood. Mumbo Jumbo - not unlike the # of quality jobs created in Atlanta vs. the total number of jobs created and neither is necessarily in direct proportion to the current job growth rate and how does all that all relate to square feet of absorption and available sublease space?

Now do you see why I need a hobby? Maybe two or three?

We've covered a lot of ground today, so I am stopping here. Visit tomorrow to see bffC's consultation on the correct lens for basketball photography and to experience MollyMath.

I'll give you a hint: MollyMath made an appearance in yesterday's post.