focal length: 70 mm
shutter speed: 1/25
aperture: f/5
ISO: 1250
flash: none

I shot this in a room with low light so I had to use a high ISO because I wanted to use a smaller aperture at f/5 and because it was a hand-held shot I couldn’t go slower than 1/25 for shutter speed. Considering how high the ISO is, I don’t see much noise in this image. The Nikon D300 performs much better with respect to noise levels at high ISO’s compared to older models such as my Nikon D50. Yipee!

How did I hold the camera AND my glasses to take this shot? Don’t ask. Haha.

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

Now that you have a better idea about aperture and shutter speed, it’s time to take a closer look at ISO and how it affects exposure. ISO sensitivity refers to the “speed” of the film you use in your film camera. Because digital cameras use a sensor in place of film, an ISO equivalent is given.

Basically, ISO conveys how sensitive your sensor is to the light available when taking a shot. The higher the sensitivity, the brighter the exposure.

Depending on your camera, your ISO settings can start as low as 50 and as high as 25,600. Full stop values are usually 100 - 200 - 400 - 800 - 1600 - 3200 - 6400, doubling each time.

Click to read the rest of this article »»

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

focal length: 24 mm
shutter speed: 1/50
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 400
flash: none

I’m really enjoying the look of the wide angle. Although 24mm isn’t exactly wide, it does allow me to get in close and achieve a different look compared to shooting from a further distance away but zoomed in. You will also get a much different perspective. I’ll be sure to show you examples of what I’m talking about in a future post. I used the preset I created yesterday to process this photo. I’m liking the subtlety of the colours. What do you think?

Children are such curious creatures, which is what I think allows them to overcome such steep learning curves in the first few years of their lives. They start by knowing nothing except living in their mother’s womb to suddenly entering into a strange world while experiencing so many dramatic changes. They adapt so well that it’s truly amazing. I am in awe of our children.

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

focal length: 24 mm
shutter speed: 1/50
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 400
flash: none

I thought I should try giving my photos a different “look”. You know, shake it up a little. I started with a plain old black and white conversion then I played with the saturation to get a bit of colour, adjusted the tint for more pinks than greens and adjusted blacks while adding a bit of a vignette, all using Adobe Lightroom. I applied these changes to several photos and realized that I could save my setting changes as a preset. My very first Lightroom preset, and you can download it here. All you need to do it save it on your computer wherever you like and unzip the file. Once you have Lightroom open, just right-click on “User Presets” in Develop mode and import the file from wherever you saved it on your hard drive. If you try it out and like it, please post it somewhere and link back here so I can check it out.

The look she’s giving me says she did something she wasn’t supposed to do. Probably ordered a new MacBook Air online. I wish!

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

*click to enlarge*

I’ve been meaning to write up an article about the gear that I have acquired over the years and finally got a push to do it.

So here it is.

Camera bodies:
Nikon D700
Nikon D300
Nikon D50

Lenses:
AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED

Flashes:
SB-800
SB-600

Computers:
Apple Mac Pro 8-core 2.8GHz
Apple 12-inch PowerBook G4 1.5GHz

As you may know, I am open to any brand but I happened to have started my photography kit with a Nikon D50. Why? I wrote about that here, but if you must know, I liked how it felt in my hand, the sound of the shutter release and the build quality. In addition I preferred the skin tones that Nikons produced over the other brands.

So why did I upgrade to the D300? I’ll be writing a full article review about the D300 but to say it in a few words, I wanted a better auto-focus system and less noisy photos shot at high ISOs.

I also snagged myself some nice Pro “glass” as photographers like to call lenses. I was very happy with my 50mm f/1.8 prime lens and used it as my primary lens for about 2 years. I still highly recommend that lens to all my friends. I just felt it was time to seek the benefits of using professional zoom lenses. After reading countless reviews about two of Nikon’s best new lenses, I plunged and got them both. The 24-70mm f/2.8 and the 14-24 f/2.8. Again, I will write a full review on them in a future post but let me just say that they are absolutely excellent!

Due to the large constant aperture of f/2.8, the glass (actually the lens is made up of many pieces of glass) needs to be quite large and incidentally, the lens is quite heavy. Let me just say that I’m getting quite the workout with them!

I haven’t used my flashes extensively, but I really love the fact that I don’t need radio transmitters in order to use my flashes off camera, which is one of the benefits of having a Nikon system.

So there you have it! My gear list.

Let me just add this. I have seen so many amazing photos taken with entry-level DSLRs like the Nikon D40, D40x, D60 and the Canon Rebels (all models) using more affordable lenses. Don’t be disillusioned into believing it’s the gear that makes the photographer. They are just tools that help you capture your vision. You are the one that makes the images, not the equipment.

If you have any questions about camera bodies, lenses or accessories, please leave me a comment here or on our Flickr Dolce Pics Group. Some discussion has already been posted regarding gear so feel free to jump in!

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.