the Freshest thoughts from two guys who love photography and chopsticks
Photography backup, storage, file delivery, point-of-sale, and so much more
I just took a bunch of pictures! ...now what?
By Mark (the other Chopstick Guy)
“I earn commissions if you shop through the links below”
If you’re like me you have way too many hard drives, and if you’re really like me then you know that sinking feeling in your gut that comes from a “failed” drive. “OH MY! I’ve lost all those images!” There has got to be a better way!
In this post, I’m not going to compare multiple platforms, trust me I’ve tried them all, I’ve been with Flickr for over 12 years, Google storage, Amazon, Dropbox, and a few more… I want to let you know why I have settled on and believe Smugmug is the right place to trust with and to backup your images.
Here is a quick comparison of Google ($100 per month for 10TB), Dropbox ($20.00 per month, unlimited), and Smugmug ($16.66 per month for Portfolio plan)
Cost Per Month
Face it, portable hard drives are not the best place to keep all your images. With that in mind, we start looking online for a solution. When looking to back up your images online make sure, whatever service you choose, that they can provide you with unlimited storage. Why? With each new generation of cameras, the file size just keeps getting bigger. I’ve tried so many different services over the years, they all work well ...until you max out on storage. Did you know Smugmug has truly unlimited storage!
The next thing I worry about is security, the security of my files as well as my personal information. SmugMug will never mine, sell, or share my data. Your photos are yours and yours alone, and you control who gets to see what with incredible privacy settings. I love the way they put it “Copyright is always yours”.
Here’s another problem I have run into over the years, hosting services always seemed to down-rez my images. With Smugmug, I always have access to my full-resolution photos, no matter what. Smugmug doesn’t alter or downsize my photos to save on space when I upload them. This means my clients get the right files!
I’m a desktop guy but I know everyone is different, some of you live on a laptop and others do everything on a phone. No matter how you upload or share photos or video Smugmug has you covered, their phone apps are beyond easy to use.
How many times have you heard about cloud storage? Cloud storage seems/sounds like a pretty unsafe place to store your images… Let me tell you, Smugmug has got you covered! Smugmug boasts the safest cloud storage possible, they are even backed up by Amazon Web Services! This means they truly are my photography backup service, more secure than anything I could ever provide at home.
Let’s talk about how easy others can safely access my images in a great looking and seamless experience. I can decide how much access I want others to have, I can disable the “right-clicking” download feature, as well as watermark images, limit download size, and create galleries with custom URLs. I can allow clients to download digital copies as well as they can order prints, canvases, albums, and so much more all by themselves through my favorite photo lab Bay Photo. Not only can they order printed items, but I can also choose how much profit I want to make from each item!
Smugmug has also become my photography storefront and they do all the heavy lifting, they collect payments, give 1000’s of product options, and pay me back 85% of the markup.
One last thing, believe it or not, things have changed. People are no longer looking for your website, they are looking for you on social media because that’s where everyone is. I’m not saying you don’t need a website, what I’m saying is we don’t need all the bells and whistles that we once needed. Clients want to view your work and find out how to contact you (they need to know you are real). All this to say, last year I got rid of my website and Smugmug has taken its place, one less puzzle piece to worry about. So now I backup, show off, give download ability to clients, sell print all on one platform that I trust. Don’t take my word for it, give Smugmug a try with their 14-day free trial! You have too many photos to lose not to try...
Click here for your own Smugmug account.
The Sea Raider - How StellaPro clx10 lights changed the way we shoot
Really? A larger-scale photoshoot only using LED lights, is it possible?
A little over a year ago we were introduced to the StellaPro line of lights by Light & Motion while creating portraits on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. On the Salt Flats, we encountered a crazy wind storm that shut us down, or at least the wind tried to… A friend that was with us pulled out his StellaPro lights and it was game on! (See video HERE)
Fast forward one year and we find ourselves on the beaches of southern Oregon creating a story using only 3 StellaPro CLx10 lights. We wanted to create a photo story about the Sea Raider, the Sea Raider is the female Indiana Jones, she is an adventurer, a free-spirit, and a treasure hunter. Nothing stands in her way to find the prize! Enjoy our interpretation of The Sea Raider. ( View the Sea Raider video HERE )
Our model Jessica takes on the role as the Sea Raider goes in search of the treasure of Secret Beach…
The Sea Raider climbs to a high vantage point to see if she can figure out if she has found the right beach. We lit Jessica with one CLx10 and took the photos from a long distance using a 70-200mm lens. Our choice of lens was not to close the distance but rather to compress the scene so that the rocks in the water would look closer to Jessica.
The Sea Raider searches her surroundings, she’s on the right track…
The Sea Raider hits the beach she’s on the right track… In this scene, we use two Stella Pro CLx10 lights, one lighting Jessica’s face as the key light and another CLx10 directly behind her to rim her out and better separate her from the background. This image was made using a Tamron 15-30 2.8 lens on a Nikon d810.
She’s on the right beach, the map looks right!
One last check of the map, it must be just over those rocks… This shot was also lit with 2 CLx10 lights. The sun was our backlight, one CLx10 was the key light to the face and one was set a bit less to light the map and her pants. This shot was made using a Nikon d810 with a Tamron 15-30mm G2 lens.
The map has led her to a rock wall, will she able to climb over?
The Sea Raider is no stranger to mountain climbing, nothing can stop her from her goal. During this time we took turns booming a single CLx10 onto Jessica while the other shot. We found this great spot where we could get her up into the sky so that it looked like she was way up a giant rock. This image was made using a Nikon 14-24mm 2.8 lens on a Nikon D850.
Jessica scales these rocks to her final destination!
She can’t believe it! She found it! The hidden treasure of Secret Beach. We used 3 CLx10 lights to light this final scene. The first light lit up the treasure chest, the second one was used as a key light with a Westcott Rapid Box Switch Octa-S (We love these lightweight versatile softboxes!), the final CLx10 was used to rim light Jessica to help separate her from the background. This shot was made using a Nikon D810 with a Tamron 15-30mm g2 lens.
She can’t believe it! She found it! The hidden treasure of Secret Beach.
Don’t take our word for it check out the StellaPro CLx10 for yourself! If you find them as useful a tool to have in your photo toolbox then use the code: panoptics30 at checkout for 30% off StellaPro CLx10’s are lightweight, rugged, water-resistant (You can shoot in the rain!) and the highest-powered, most color consistent LED photo/video lights on the market!!!
What were you thinking!
Dancer in San Francisco’s Chinatown
Tamron 24-70mm 2.8 G2 - f/4 1/200 ISO 640
What lens should I use? This is always the first question we are asked by our workshop participants as we get ready for a setup. Let’s face it, we all have our “favorite” lens and we get it. If we are trying for a specific vision (trying to get that one shot…), that closeup headshot, that ultra wide shot of the bride getting ready with her girls around her then by all means do what works for you. However, taking a couple out for an engagement shoot, senior high school portraits, family portraits and the like there is nothing like the portrait photographers workhorse the 24-70mm 2.8! During a workshop you might see us slip on an 85mm 1.4 but 9 times out of 10 it’s a 24-70mm 2.8 and out lens of choice was an easy one, the Tamron 24-70mm 2.8 G2.
Tamron 24-70mm 2.8 G2
Here is why we chose it, it gives great color, amazing contrast and is incredibly sharp. There are a lot of lenses that check those boxes, you say… Yes, the thing that put it over the top for us was the weather sealing, we tend to travel with our gear and put it in extreme locations that require not letting the bad stuff in and this lens does just that! Did we forget to mention that we LOVE the lens hood and the locking button?
Greatest lens hood ever!
Need a couple more reasons? The image stabilization is amazing, Tamron claims shake reduction up to 5 stops and we are believers. Many times we find ourselves in a situation where we are hand-holding under 1/20th of a second and getting tack sharp photos. We love our 85mm lenses for portrait work but the bokeh on this lens is wonderful.
Check it out for yourself at B&H Photo: https://go.magik.ly/ml/ksz8/
Always be ready…
Now back to the photo. While creating some fun images in San Francisco’s Chinatown we had our very talented Australian dancer Lily Rose posed up in some doorways getting some tighter shots when all of the sudden the door next to her opened up revealing this very nice 98 year old man coming to see what was going on! Her is the beauty of the 24-70mm, without missing a beat we could simply turn the lens from tight to wide and capture this great moment that could not be duplicated. Like Henri Cartier-Bresson said, “the decisive moment”...
Fortunately we had already set up our lighting and was ready when our special guest unknowingly arrived. At this point we had lit the scene with one Interfit Badger Unleashed battery-powered monolight with a 20” portable softbox to camera left. All we needed to do was turn the light slightly to the left and viola! Two subject lit with one tiny softbox.
Badger Unleashed
by Interfit
A couple of years back we might have been more likely to have said “Lily Rose, take a break while this guy comes out so he doesn’t mess up the shot”. Not today, life happens fast and a great lens allows us to capture those moments.
How to make great portraits in full sun!
Learn how we make great portraits in the bright sun.
Let me tell you, making a great photo in the middle of the day is not ideal, but so often it is reality. While many of you are professionals, most are not really “commercial” photographers, commercial photography is a specialty market done mainly through advertising agencies and art departments. Let’s not get hung up on commercial photography, back to portraits! While you will almost never see a commercial shoot being done in the middle of the day you will however see lots and lots of portraits being taken then. Why? It’s because portrait photographers work with the general public, with people,,, We try for the best time of day, but find we must work around our client’s work schedule, their family members, their activities, nap times, you know…. Life.
You might have noticed in the last video we did a while back that we used a great big umbrella, not it wasn’t one of the other chopstick guy’s patio sets. It was the Photek Sunbuster, they're not cheap, and they’re not crazy expensive either, right around 250 bucks. It even has a bracket so you can mount it on a light stand. We use a lot of things to scrim light, things like a 5 in 1 reflector or even our own shadows. We are here to tell you, the Sunbuster is our favorite scrim, it’s fairly light and easy to use. The biggest problem is overcoming laziness and just pulling it out! When we do, it’s magic!
Check out the Sunbuster here at B&H Photo: http://go.magik.ly/ml/aqqr/
So what are we doing with it? Why are we using it? We use it to take off all the hot spots on the model’s face so the light is even, it’s great because it is a diffusion umbrella and it creates a wonderful pocket of light. Sometimes we don’t even need to fill it back in with anything. It also allows your model to comfortably open their eyes in the bright sun (on now, the lack of) and you get better expressions.
At this point as I said you could just start shooting, or fill the face back in with a reflector. Our favorite method (90% of the time) is that we then use our Interfit S1’s to fill back in with beautiful directional light. This… is a recipe for a great photo in full sun. Scrim off the bad light and fill it back in with beautiful tasty light!
Here is the SunBuster on a light stand: http://go.magik.ly/ml/aqqr/
So, give it a try! Next time you are out in the full sun, even if you don’t have a SunBuster, find something to scrim off the bad light and fill it back in with the good. Your subject will thank you!
And don’t forget… Say Sushi!
Review of the Lowepro Flipside 400 AW II
If you could look into my office closet just 5 feet from me you would find 2 Lowepro backpacks (one took me around the world), 2 large Lowepro camera bags, 4 small Lowepro bags for my GoPros, Nikon ones, mirrorless camera. You will also find my Lowepro Passport bag and even a few Speedlight and lens bags. I think you get the picture, Lowepro has been my bag or should I say bags of choice for the past 20 years.
Have there been others? Of course there has, I’m a photographer and that is what we do, we buy too many things! Each purchase we believe will somehow miraculously make us a better photographer. My garage is a graveyard of old and broken gear, among the wreckage you will find the remnants of the times I strayed. One ripped (zipper exploded) backpack, a bag that I hand sewed back together and another that the handle ripped right off. These are reminders of the times I cheated, my photo walk of shame.
Let’s put all that behind us, today is a new day. Why do I really have so many different bags? Well, I find that a simple large bag works really well for me when I’m shooting on location, these allow me to overpack for the “just-in-case”. Backpacks are my “everyday” throw the gear in the car and take some pictures bag, the sling bags are perfect when working an event and I only need a few things. The smaller bags are great when I’m just taking the mirrorless for a walk. All this to say, I have so many bags because a do so many different types of photography and I bet you do as well.
For the last three weeks I have been putting the new Lowepro Flipside 400 AW II to the test and here is what I learned…
First off, yes it comes in black… But forget black, it also comes in a digital camo pattern with silvery-bluish accents. This thing looks awesome! I instantly saw myself walking through the woods, climbing mountains and making a fashion statement with my friends! So, it passed the first test, I think it looks great and I feel good wearing it.
The “Flipside” feature... That is, accessing your gear from the back seemed a little weird to me so I honestly never really looked at them that close. Boy, was I wrong? I had no idea that I could wear this pack and access everything without ever taking it off or setting it down! No. really! All I have to do is keep the waist strap in place, take off the shoulder straps, turn the pack around my body to the front and, voila! There are the zippers and behind them sits the tools that allow me to make a living. I have to say, the first time I tried this feature my heart jumped as the bag flopped open, I really expected everything to come crashing to the floor. But guess what, it didn’t. Everything was presented in front of me as if it was lying open on a table. Great job whoever thought of this design! We are now two for two.
The real test was how much could I put in the thing. Well, I was able to but my Nikon DSLR with my giant Sigma 85 ART lens on it, at 70-200mm lens, 24-70mm, a Speedlight, 5 batteries and charger, my SPF 100 sunscreen bottle (yes, I’m bald) as well as a bunch of filters and trinkets with room left over. At 21.5 liters this is the right size for everyday shooting! So, it passes the third test.
So how comfortable is this pack? I can tell you I have now taken it on two hikes with my kids and it not only comfortable but the way they designed the back padding to allow maximum airflow was the reason my back was never a sweaty mess. While the back was comfy I found that the side straps at my waist was the biggest improvement over every other pack I have used, this thing hugged my waist and felt both secure and soft at the same time. This truly is the most comfortable camera backpack I have ever worn.
The final test was not planned, while hiking into a waterfall with two of my kids we got into a little summer rain. Let me rephrase that, while hiking we were hit by a Northern California summer downpour, the temperature dropped from 95 degrees to 70 in less than 5 minutes, it was wonderful! The best thing was, I took out the all weather cap and placed it over the pack and walked about 40 minutes back to the car only to find every piece of camera gear… Bone dry! Home run!
Thank you Lowepro, you knocked it out of the park! We both give this pack our highest rating, 5 Chopsticks!
For more information on this pack as well as other products from Lowepro, you can visit their webpage at http://www.lowepro.com/
Mark Behrens - The Other Chopstick Guy
The Chopstick Guys take to the sky
Last week we took out the Interfit S1 lights and photograph two paramotor pilots on a beautiful Northern California evening. We had this idea of setting up two lights pointing into the sky and lighting up the pilots as they flew between them.
For the first hour, we tried as they were backlit by the summer sun, this proved difficult as we expected because the timing had to be spot on to get them close enough to the lights to overpower the sun.
Once the sun began to set it was game on! Timing was still an issue. While looking through a wide lens it is difficult to judge how close they really are and it's easy to fire too soon.
We had the pilots land and took 10 minutes creating portraits on the ground with them, we are very happy with the results
Take a look at the Interfit S1 lights:
https://interfitphotographic.com/
Use the code: CHOPSTICKS10 on any purchase at Interfit's website to receive 10% off your order!
Special thanks to Jack Armstrong for shooting and putting this video together!
What does it take ...To be a photo pro?
Do you daydream at work about shooting pictures for a living? What does it take to leave your day job and strike out as a professional photographer? Can you? Should you?
Anything is possible! Before turning in that resignation letter you might want to think long and hard. First off, if you are looking to make photography your full-time gig you must remember it is a job and requires a bit of business sense, your skill as a photographer almost has to take a backseat to the business of business.
With that said, if there is one thing that you need to master to become a professional then that thing is lighting.
Go grab your camera, get outside, and go take some photos!
If you are in Northern California on April 30th we have a live Photo Lighting Master Class in Granite Bay, CA view our Next Workshop section for details.