Recent cover the Sacramento visitors guide.
The art director didn't want to show the museum and asked me to make it look like it was an exterior location.
The train is located inside the California rail museum. The art director didn't want to show the museum and asked me to make it look like it was an exterior location. First I didn't have enough lights to light the whole train. So I ended up using one light on a stick and making 18 separately lit exposures. Then I combined them in photoshop for the final image.
2019 marks the sesquicentennial of one of the most pivotal events and achievements in the history of the United States, the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Check out all events, activities, exhibits, throughout April, May & June.
Final VistSacramento cover.
Train in existing light
Models, Cars & Lenses
Last Sunday I had a great outing with the group from Action Camera and Sigma. They hosted a photo get together at the California Automobile Museum.
Last Sunday I had a great outing with the group from Action Camera and Sigma. They hosted a photo get together at the California Automobile Museum. It was such a great change of pace for me to get out, talk with other photographers, and share ideas. Action Camera thought of everything, LED lights & strobes, as well as a few models to work with. I Kinda felt spoiled with all the toys. I did bring along my friend Juliana as an extra model. Not only is she beautiful, but she has an extensive vintage wardrobe and puts together amazing looks. Her look combined with the vintage cars at the museum made for a fun evening.
I was also able to play with some of the other AMAZING lenses that Lew Held from Sigma brought. The lenses are SO sharp, the only problem now is my other lenses look terrible in comparison... I guess it's time for some new glass.
It's December and we just finished playing in the championship game.
The football season came to a close on Saturday, December 1. It was a very long, but rewarding season. The team started conditioning on January 30 at 5:50 AM and continued training every morning until late November. This season was special to me for many reasons, the biggest being that it was my youngest son's last season in high school.
I’m so happy to have these times with Ryan. Photo by @s.kip
The football season came to a close on Saturday, December 1 for the Casa Roble RAMS they ended the season with an 11 wins and 2 losses. It was a very long, but rewarding season. The team started conditioning on January 30 at 5:50 AM and continued training every morning until late November. This season was special to me for many reasons, the biggest being that it was my youngest son's last season in high school. I have spent the past 16 years working with my kids in all of their athletic endeavors. From coaching volleyball and track with my girls, to football and track with my boys. One thing I told my wife when our kids were young was, I would never miss any of their sporting events or activities. When I was a kid, my parents were always there to pick me up after a defeat or pat me on the back after a win. I had teammates that never had a parent go to a game and I always felt bad for them. Having family support meant so much to me. I feel fortunate that photography as a profession has allowed me to control my schedule so I could coach and be a part of everything my kids have done.
Ryan- all 4 years of football, starting with Freshman year.
If you know me, you know that I loved playing football! Football to me is a brotherhood, it's given me the tools that I've used throughout my life. I wanted so much for my boys to have a similar experience. I have to say that this season exceeded all of my hopes and expectations. Sure they were very successful and won most of their games, but they ultimately lost the championship. The season was more than wins and losses. The lessons the boys took from this season will help mold the rest of their lives.
I am so proud of my son Ryan. He faced a big uphill battle during the first part of the season. He had a significant quad tear in his left leg that occurred during track season, it took months of therapy and rehabilitation before the season even started. He was fortunate that it only affected the first few games and by the end of the season, he was playing his best football. Ryan really took training and preparation seriously and the results showed. He was the fastest, strongest combination on the team and was able to take the punishment of the season and stay relatively injury free. He is physically and mentally ready to continue playing after high school if he desires.
6am workouts 4 days a week since January.
My involvement with the team started with me helping with weight training and conditioning in the mornings. I was more than happy to give my time (5:50 am) and knowledge for the betterment of the entire team. As the season approached I took on the additional responsibilities of handling the technology and operations needed to help make Friday night games happen. Let's just say, it is like putting on a mini-concert every Friday night. I also helped with minor bumps and bruises after game days to help get them ready to play the next week
Getting Ryan stretched before the game. Photo by @s.kip
Over the years I've been able to watch different groups of coaches work with my kids. I have to say that the coaching staff that Chris Horner put together was the best I've ever been part of. I believe that one of the marks of a great head coach is to assemble great assistant coaches and let them do their job, this is certainly what Chris did with his coaches. I've spent a lot of time these past three years with Chris, and one thing that is totally clear is his desire to develop outstanding men. Sure he cares about wins and losses, but he cares more about how his players are doing. He makes sure that they make good choices, are good citizens at school and good citizens within the community. I know these boys will look back with nothing but admiration from their time with Chris.
Chris congratulating Ryan after a big sack. His enthusiasm was contagious!
Ryan's team was a great group of boys! I have been able to watch many of the kids grow up, in some cases from elementary school. Watching how well these kids got along and how close they all are, was really special. To watch them all play on Friday nights was just icing on the cake. The time they spent with each other working out, practicing, and playing will mean a lot to them later on.
Ryan and some of his teammates.
There is certainly going to be a hole in my life with no more high school football, but I'm excited to see what is next with all my kids!
Pre game runout. Ryan carried the Navy flag at each home game.
Football Life
I've been photographing my boy's football teams for the past six years. It's totally a labor of love. Watching them on the field is about as good as it gets!
I've been photographing my boy's football teams for the past six years. It's totally a labor of love. Watching them on the field is about as good as it gets! I try to create images that I wish I had when I played. My youngest son is in his senior year and the last season he'll play football in high school. I've really been trying to the document this season in different ways.
On a recent away football game, I rented a Sigma 24mm art lens from my local camera store (Action Camera). I really wanted to get into the boy's space and not artificially. What do I mean by artificially well we all have a personal space that's probably an arms distance from the other person. If you enter the space with the zoom lens from a distance it doesn't feel as intimate, when you physically move into that space something changes and the image has more connection. It's something I try to do in my portrait work and wanted to bring that over to some of my sports images. I think is something that has roots in my early days with newspaper photography.
I have to say the Sigma 24 mm lens was a dream to work with it was very fast and I'm extremely happy with how it rendered the colors and tones. I think it's a lens that'll add to my bag permanently in the next year.
Cars & Gels
I had a fun photo outing with a local group on Tuesday. The location had some vintage sports car. Now I am NOT a car guy and don’t really shoot many. My plan was to take 1 light and blast it from behind the car and see how the light played.
I had a fun photo outing with a local group on Tuesday. The location had some vintage sports car. Now I am NOT a car guy and don’t really shoot many. My plan was to take 1 light and blast it from behind the car and see how the light played.
For the lighting, I used 1 Phottix Indra 500 with a 7” reflector and a 20-degree grid which I had from my Paul C Buff lights. The gels are from the ROSCO “Photo Lighting Kit” #23 orange gel.
Portrait Shoot Progression
Over the years I've developed a rhythm which allows me to get to know the model, as well as what type of lighting works best for them. This week was a prime example; Emily was in my studio for a portrait session, and while I've worked with her in the past, this was her first portrait session with me. My normal progression is what I like to call, “no make up, makeup, and lighting.” For the no makeup look, I normally just use natural light from an open door. Typically I shoot these on a black background. This allows me to really focus on the subject’s face and learn what lighting and lenses are a good match for them. Once I get these shots done, I have the makeup artist begin the model’s first makeup look. By the time I get the last image, it's typically something a little more complex with the lighting.
I receive many questions regarding my workflow in photographing new models and faces, so I thought I would address some of them. This post is only about photographing models from talent agencies or bookings directly with a model.
Over the years I've developed a rhythm which allows me to get to know the model, as well as what type of lighting works best for them. This week was a prime example; Emily was in my studio for a portrait session, and while I've worked with her in the past, this was her first portrait session with me. My normal progression is what I like to call, “no make up, makeup, and lighting.” For the no makeup look, I normally just use natural light from an open door. Typically I shoot these on a black background. This allows me to really focus on the subject’s face and learn what lighting and lenses are a good match for them. Once I get these shots done, I have the makeup artist begin the model’s first makeup look. By the time I get the last image, it's typically something a little more complex with the lighting.
First image made with no makeup. For this I used the Sigma 35mm.
In the progression of Emily's images, I photographed her with no makeup for the first set. I loved how her freckles showcase the natural beauty she possesses. Next, I have the makeup artist add to her look while still keeping it simple. I work fairly rapidly throughout all the different looks. For each set up, I may only spend about 10 minutes. My goal is to get 3 to 4 really strong images from each look.
During last round of makeup, I normally let the makeup artist do something they've been dying to try. It's always good to allow collaboration with your team. Having the hairstylist or makeup artist use their creative juices can inspire me as well. There are times that this collaboration has produced some of my best images. All the looks put together in this type of session typically take about a three and a half hours.
For this image the makeup artist did minimal makeup. I want these as close to there real look as possible.
Finally, the equipment I use stays pretty consistent. I use my Nixon D4 & Nikon D810. The lenses I shoot with 85% of the time are the Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art Lens and the Nikon 85mm f1.8. For the lighting I use Phottix Indra 500 with various modifiers.
If you have any questions, I’m always open about how I do, what I do, so please drop me a note.
Happy Clicking!
Tim
Making The Most Out Of Your Location
For the past few years, I’ve been working with Sacramento Magazine photographing the area's top attorneys. This is a yearly supplement, and on average I have about 25 firms I have to photograph in a 45-day span.
For the past few years, I’ve been working with Sacramento Magazine photographing the area's top attorneys. This is a yearly supplement, and on average I have about 25 firms I have to photograph in a 45-day span. I genuinely enjoy meeting the different attorneys, and visiting their offices. There are several challenges that come with this type of assignment. If it’s a group shot, it’s very difficult to get everybody to one place at the same time for very long. Often I only get about eight to ten minutes with the full group. And in some cases, I have to photograph the group missing someone and add that person in later. If I know this ahead of time it is definitely workable, and I can leave spaces in the group for the missing person.
The location of choice..
Another challenge is to find the best location for my client. People are always looking to have a fresh image, and for years attorneys have used their libraries, and bookshelves as a background. This has been done time and time again. I try to steer them away from this, providing them with a background more suited for their personality.
When photographing individual attorneys I try to have two locations I can work with quickly. Again these individuals are extremely busy and I often only get between eight and fifteen minutes with them. You have to assess the environment, and lighting quickly to create your plan. A few years back I started having the images sent to my iPad as I shot. This has been a huge help in selecting the final image, ensuring my client is happy with the product that I’m producing.
This week presented all of these challenges. The attorney I was photographing wasn’t going to be available at first, but then found the time last minute, giving me only a short time to get over to the firm and determine my plan. It needed to be outside at twelve noon, which is difficult light to work with. After walking around the perimeter of their office I discovered a wonderful wall, that had aged black marks on it.
Using my scrim overhead I found it created a very nice light as my base layer. I then added in my Phottix Indra 500 light with the wide-angle diffuser and grid attached.
I got the exposure that I wanted on the wall first. Then I adjusted the output of the light to match the ambient exposure, giving me the illumination desired.
I was able to make 27 images in about five minutes. From an equipment standpoint, having my lights on my portable battery pack is tremendously useful. If I had tried to find plugs for my lights it would’ve taken me much longer, and I might’ve lost time photographing the attorney.
Here is the final image of Sacramento Attorney Eric Ratinoff