Portrait Photography Workshop by Mr Ejun Low (6 & 8 August 2010)

Although my favorite subjects have always been food and landscapes, it is also one of my wishes to learn portrait photography. I have truly benefited from the 2-day workshop; I now understand the importance of posture work. Posing is one of the key components in portrait photography as it helps to accentuate the lighting, composition and makes a 2D looks like a 3D.

Ejun gave us many guidelines on posture. In fact, we spent the entire first day mainly on this. Examples of posture works include:-

1) Ensure hands and fists are stepped. I never realized how much this could make such a big difference in a picture until Ejun did a demonstration.

2) Avoid resting on the chin as this distorts the jaw line.

3) Avoid the ‘alien eyes’ by understanding the maximum angle of shoot. I myself have always been making this mistake!

4) Avoid blocking the chin and jaw with shoulders.

5) Avoid cropping directly on joints as it gives an amputated effect.

Besides the theory session, we also spent 2 hours on practical. (Refer to my practise works below!) Kudos to the model, Christine. Can you recognise her from the Koka noodles commercial?

The five general levels of shooting portraits

(1) Head and shoulders

(2) The 1/2 body

(3) The 2/3 body

(4) The 3/4 Body

(5) The full length 

Quote from Ejun : Portrait Photography is about focus, not the sharpness.

If the subject just stand with his hands by his sides, this probably will not make up a good picture.

Some suggestions on striking a pose

1) Have the subject tilt his/her head slightly.

2) Talk to the subject while you are taking his/her portraits to create natural expression.

3) Have the subject fold his/her arms or cross his/her legs

4) Have a subject bend a knee and put more weight on the back leg when standing up.

5) Place the subject off center in the frame

Food Photography

I have a penchant to take photographs of food! When food arrives, the first thing I pick up is the camera, not the chopsticks. I can only do this when I am in the company of good friends; this is definitely a 'no no' for business lunches and company dinners.
While I understand that the best lighting for food photography is natural light because it reproduces the colors of the subject most faithfully blah blah blah. But more often than not, we are unable to get natural light. In restaurants that are dimly lit, I have no choice but to abuse the ISO in order to get a faster shuttle speed and we always ended up with grainy photos (who will actually bring along a tripod to dinner?)

Useful tips that I have picked up from the workshop
1) Positioning the light
One of the best places to photograph food is by a window where there is a lot of natural light (but not direct light)! Natural light is best in the morning or late afternoon.

NEVER use a direct flash.

2) Composition, "Rules of third" and Focus Point.
It is not necessary to capture a full shot of the dish. Try to free the background from clutters. Be creative, try out new ideas and shoot from different angles.

3) Color Temperature
Avoid fluorescent lights as they cast a blue color on the subject. Quote from Dr Leslie – nobody likes to eat blue food!

Lens : EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

Settings : f/5.0, 1/25 Sec, ISO3200, 45MM, WB Auto, Flash Off

IMG_2330, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

The best encouragement is when friends tell me that they have a craving for this dish after seeing my food photos!

Food Photography by Dr Leslie Tay

I AM attending!

Date: 8 May 2010, Saturday

Time: 2.30pm to 5.30pm

Venue: Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant

Fee: SGD 40

Calling all food photography lovers!!

Back by popular demand, our Food & Makan Photography Workshop with renowned food blogger Dr. Leslie Tay from his famed blog - http://ieatishootipost.sg/ is back! Dr. Tay will share with you his food & photography passion during this 3-hour session. He will be using a DSLR set-up and also a digital compact camera like the Canon PowerShot to demonstrate his skills. In addition, you get to eat what you shoot, and we’ve prepared Chinese Tim Sum (non Halal) cuisine for this workshop.

(Nice..... I love Tim Sum)

Singapore’s First Bloggers’ Symposium

Yours truly is feeling 'emo' now. I have been selected to attend the Symposium organised by Nuffnang. But I have to travel to Taiwan on 3rd April and it is a 8AM flight! So, I can't attend the Symposium anymore.

Dear Registrant,

Congratulations! You have been selected to attend Singapore’s First Bloggers’ Symposium sponsored by Canon and you have earned your place in….. *drum rolls*…. IEATISHOOTIPOST’s workshop!This is your chance to meet them in flesh as these top bloggers gather together to share with you their experience in blogging and photography! So gear up and you’re ready to go! Do note that this RSVP system is based on a first come first serve basis, so don’t miss it!

The Symposium will be held on 3rd April 2010, Saturday at Singapore Management University, School of Accountancy, Level 2, Kong Si Auditorium from 12.30pm to 5.30pm.

Gig Photography 101 By Aloysius Lim

We are attending!!

If you have ever dreamed of wielding a heavyweight DSLR with extra large zoom lens among the best of photographers in a concert arena, this is where you start.

Learn the basics of taking good quality pictures of live-playing acts in a session with experienced shutterbug Aloysius Lim. He will take participants through the do’s and don’ts of gig photography: from recommended camera equipment to technical tips and tricks for shooting concert performances.

The session will also include a segment on live music etiquette and a critique of participants own photographs (limited to five works each). Tickets are on sale from Sistic.