Welcome to this 5 Min Portrait Studio Flash Edition where I attempt to Photograph a toddler for a holiday card. This is a pretty RAW look at exactly what happened during the shoot. We chose to keep this as real-time as possible so you see exactly what happened during the shoot.

Click Here to download 2 FREE Adobe Lightroom Presets.

Download SAMPLE RAW Files from this 5 Min Portrait.

Keep an eye out for how much time I actually had when little Dan decided to look at the camera. But if you looked at the final results and never saw the real-time footage, you would never have known what a task it was to get him to sit there.

Download MyGearVault https://mygearvault.com/#download

The post STUDIO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIAL | Attempting to Photograph a 2-yr-old (5 Min Portrait) first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

NEW FroPack 1 Lightroom Presets https://froknowsphoto.com/presets/ (40% off)

Click Here to see all 6 Degree Photo Stories in this first line.

This is the final episode of this line of 6 Degrees Of Photography. It’s really amazing how I ended up on stage photographing James Blunt at the staples center in LA.

At the end of the day, you never know who you will meet and where you will end up in the world. Remember, it’s not the Nikon, Canon or Sony camera that you use. It’s you, the photographer who captures and tells the story.

The post Nikon, Canon, Sony, DOESN’T MATTER! It’s the Photographer & the Photo Story first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

The challenge is can I get quality street photos in only 24 minutes with only 24 shots?

RAW Files from the Leica MD
Zip 1
Zip 2

The post $10,000 LEICA Photo Challenge 5 Min Portrait (SHE YELLED AT ME) first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

Download the FULL RES exported Jpegs right here.

Get my FREE 11 Days to Better Photography Mini-Video course right here.

Order from B and H Order from Amazon

The challenge for this “5 Min Portrait” / “Real World Review” was to use the Nikon D5600 and only the two kit lenses that are packaged with the camera (if you purchase the package). The two lenses are the Nikon 18-55 kit lens and the 70-300 kit lens which does not have VR.

The scene was Pam Cakes, a Philadelphia Cupcakery. There wasn’t a lot of space, not a lot of light in the back, but at the end of the day, the results speak for themselves.

Once again this video proves it’s the photographer not the camera. Yes the right tools help but if all you have are kit lenses, you can still get fantastic results.

The post Nikon D5600 “5 Min Portrait”: How to Take Professional Pictures with Only Kit Lenses first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

These RAW DNG files seem to be extra bloated at 80 megs each and have been split into four zip files. File 1 / File 2 / File 3 / File 4
Click Here to access the full res exported JPEGS for your viewing pleasure.

Fujifilm X-T2 5 Min Portrait

The post How To Edit RAW Digital Photos From The Fuji X-T2 In Adobe Lightroom CC: Tips For Photo Editing first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

Download the FULL RES exported JPEGS right here.

Order the Nikon 105mm F1.4 from Amazon / B and H / Allen’s Camera

When Nikon announced the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 105mm f/1.4E ED Lens I was a little surprised. I never expected or even considered that Nikon would come out with a pro lens like this.

Right off the bat you are hit with the price tag which clocks in at just shy of $2,200. On top of the price tag you have the weight which is 2.1 pounds.

Putting the price aside, I think this is the BEST portrait lens I have ever used. The sheer sharpness, contrast and color that I am capturing with it is amazing. Even when shooting wide open at F1.4 on my Nikon D5 I am able to get tack sharp images. As many of you know i’m not the biggest fan of shooting at 1.4 for the sheer fact that it’s much easier to miss your focus if your subject moves or you move slightly.

Keep in mind, just because you have the ability to shoot wide open at 1.4 doesn’t mean you should. Let’s take a look back at why these 1.4 lenses existed in the first place. When you go back 20-30-40 years you have to look at the speed of film we had access to. In the past the film speeds were much slower which meant you needed a way to let more light in. One of those ways was having faster glass. But with faster glass shooting wide open you ran the risk of missing your focus.

Nowadays we have pretty much infinite ISO possibilities which renders the need for shooting wide open almost obsolete. Don’t get me wrong, there are creative reasons to shoot wide open and I tested that out as well during this review.

Part of the testing was to shoot some portraits at F1.4 and see what I would get, would I nail focus? Once I got the images back home I could see I was mostly tack sharp at F1.4 which created an insane background bokeh. It basically obliterates the background beyond recognition thus isolating your subject.

One thing I noticed once I got the RAW files into lightroom is the amount of vignetting there was wide open. Sometimes I like the natural vignette as it draws me into the subject more. In some cases this time I used lens correction inside of Adobe Lightroom CC to remove it and I must say it made the image POP that much more. This all comes down to personal preference as well.

Another test I was interested in seeing was how far from the wall do you need to be to blow out the bricks. I had Josh put his back against the wall and I shot two sample images, one at F1.4 and one at F4. At 1.4 you would think he’s 10 feet away from the brick because of how much it’s obliterated. At F4 on the other hand you can clearly see how the brick is more prevalent.

If you ever find yourself in a tight situation with background distractions that you’re right up against shooting this lens wide open will make your day and image.

Who should own this lens? This lens is first obviously for anyone that can afford the $2,200 price tag. If your job revolves around capturing portraits of any kind from weddings to head shots to special moments it may be for you.

Keep mind being that it’s a prime lens it will be much harder to capture perfect composition when it comes to moving subjects. It’s not ideal for action photos where the subject is going to be all over the place. Yes you can still get great results with the lens as long as your subject is going to be a little more predictable in there movements.

Prime lenses are limiting in the way that you must move your feet opposed to simply turning a zoom ring. But that’s what makes a prime lens so awesome, it doesn’t zoom which means the only moving parts become the focus mechanism. This will lead to what will seem like much sharper images. The images out of the lens at all apertures are tack sharp.

How is the focus speed? On my Nikon D5 the 105 F1.4 focused quickly. What I can say is focus speed never became an issue during my shoot. I didn’t find myself waiting for the focus in order to take the image. The focus was locked on and accurate quickly and efficiently.

If you were to compare the focus speed of this lens to the Canon 85 F1.2 you would see a WORLD of difference. The Canon is uber slow when it comes to focusing, it spends a lot of time hunting and searching. With that said it is a F1.2 which means it has even more glass to move around.

How close can you get to your subject to focus. The close focus distance is 3.2 feet or around there. I was able to get really sweet horizontal portraits that are usable and tack sharp. Sometimes lenses minimum focus distance don’t allow you to get good compositions but that does not apply here.

A word of warning for people with small hands, this 105 may be a little harder for you to handle since it’s extremely thick compared to other lenses. It’s not awkward in my hands but I could imagine if you had smaller hands it may be a little more difficult to mange. It does add some heft to your body and I know some people are sensitive to weight when they are shooting.

At the end of the day this lens is one of the sharpest I have ever seen or used. The focal length is perfect for portraits from tight head shots to tighter more detailed shot. This lens will be my first choice when it comes to portraits where I have time and freedom to move over the Nikon 70-200 2.8 VR II or NEW 70-200 2.8 VR III.

If you consider yourself a portrait photographer, can afford it and shoot NIKON I could’t recommend this lens any more.

Order the Nikon 105mm F1.4 from Amazon / B and H / Allen’s Camera

The post Nikon 105mm F1.4 Real World Review: The BEST Sharpest Portrait Lens I’ve Ever Used first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

What can I say about the “Reveal” other than it’s one of the scariest but most rewarding parts about being a photographer. For those who don’t understand what I mean by the “reveal” I mean when you deliver the final photos to your client and get their initial reaction.

The Photo Book was made at AdoramaPIX.com using there layout tool.

You never know how the client will react, some are boisterous others are quiet and on rare, I mean very rare situations they are not happy. Knock on some wood but I haven’t run into that situation just yet.

I never thought Adam would be speechless but he was after seeing the pictures. He even said when photographers tell them they’re good he doesn’t beielve them until they prove it.

I am ecstatic at how this entire shoot played out from the photos to editing to the final prints.

If you missed the 5 Min Portrait you can check it out right here.

The post The Moment Of Truth As A Photographer, “The Reveal”: Delivering the Nikon D1X 5 Min Portrait Photos first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

If you missed the Nikon D1X “5 Min Portrait” you can see it right here.

Everyone asks me how do I edit my photos? Well, after the recent “5 Min Portrait” with the Nikon D1X I sat down at the computer to edit every single keeper image in Adobe Lightroom CC.

I screenflowed the entire process from start to finish over a 1hr 35min period. This way you get to see my exact style and hopefully can learn something from my edits.

The post How I Edited RAW Files From The 15yr Old Nikon D1X In Adobe Lightroom CC: Tips For Photo Editing first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

Download Nikon D1X RAW Files: Click Here
Access all the FULL-RES exported JPEGS Right Here

A Fro reader sent in his Nikon D1X and thought it would be a good idea if I used it for a “5 Min Portrait.” I wanted to come up with something that was challenging and push my skills to the limit. Not only did I decide to do the photo shoot at a motorcycle garage that was dark. I challenged myself to use only of the era glass (2001 and prior). This means that none of my current “Hebrew trinity” lenses could be used.

I had to go to Allen’s Camera to hopefully find some used authentic-era glass to use on the shelf. I was able to pick up a bunch of lenses that would have been in a professional bag around 2001.

Lenses I Grabbed:

Nikon 17-35mm F2.8
Nikon 35-70mm F2.8
Nikon 80-200mm F2.8 AF-S
Nikon 85mm F1.4
Nikon 60mm F2.8 Micro

Keep in mind the first Nikon DX lenses were not released for another two years. I personally still had two lenses that were authentic-era in the way of the Nikon 50mm F1.4D and 16mm F2.8 Fisheye. The only lens I wish they had used would have been the Nikon 14mm F2.8 prime. This was one of the widest autofocus lenses that Nikon made. Keep in mind, the Nikon D1X is not a full frame sensor so every lens is multiplied on it’s body.

I chose to reach out to Adam at Liberty Vintage Motorcycles in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia to see if he would allow me to come in and shoot. He was on board as soon as I said FREE photo shoot in exchange for being our subject.

Here’s the scene: an old pretty dark garage with no air conditioning and hundreds of vintage motorcycles and parts. My challenge? Use what I brought to get professional photos.

Let’s take a look at some of the top level specs of the Nikon D1X:

Released in 2001 for a price of around $6,000
5.4 Megapixel CCD Sensor, not CMOS like today’s cameras
ISO 125-800, expandable two more stops but not recommended
2-inch (not very clear) monitor
3 Frames Per Second
5 Focusing Points
1.5x crop factor
1 Compact Card Slot

What you need to understand is back in 2001 this was revolutionary technology. In an era where film was still king, to be able to take a photo and instantly be able to see it was amazing. By today’s standard, we would say 125-800 ISO was limiting, but people generally did not shoot color film beyond 800 ISO (3200 black and white was common). Furthermore, having the ability to change the ISO each shot as the light changed was a god send. Prior to this, you would need to select a roll of film with the film speed you wanted to shoot and you were stuck with it until you finished the roll or decided to burn the rest and rewind it.

The Nikon D1X offered a 5.4 megapixel CCD sensor which for the time made it one of the highest megapixel DSLRs on the market. It was designed for portrait/studio shooters as well as wedding photographers. That of course doesn’t mean it could be used to shoot anything. Nikon also offered the lower 2.74 megapixel D1H which was meant for more high speed shooting. If you noticed, Nikon no longer uses the CCD sensors and has long-switched to the better-at-handling-noise CMOS sensors.

This camera was built similarly to the Nikon F5 which was the top-of-the-line film body at the time. You shot these cameras pretty similarly to how you would have shot film. The reason I say that is it wasn’t exactly easy to see the LCD screen to determine if you got the shot or not. Yes, on the 2-inch screen you could see that you captured an image and look at the histogram but it was fairly difficult to determine sharpness even when zoomed in 2x on the RAW file.

Here were some of my main concerns entering the photo shoot: Will the batteries hold a charge or would they die after five shots? Will I have enough ISO to shoot in a low light situation? Would the LCD give me a proper representation of the image I took? Would 126 shots on a 1GB card be enough to get what I was looking for? Will I hit focus or miss, being that I had only 5 focus points? Did I have the right lenses for the shoot?

As you can see there were a lot of challenges facing this shoot but the old rule is you work with what you have and it’s your job as a professional photographer to get professional results. That’s exactly what I set out to do and after a while you fall into a rhythm where the limitations of the gear float away and you focus on capturing the images in front of you.

One of the first issues I had was I thought the front command dial was broken which meant I would need to old school change the aperture on the lens. This meant I was stuck using full stops (2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22). I am used to having 1/3 stop increments like F3.2, 4.5, 6.3, so on and so forth. Luckily after digging around the old-school menu, I saw the front command dial was actually off and with one quick change I was in business.

I relied heavily on the wider 17-35 F2.8 early on during the shoot. It was the widest lens I had with me and allowed me to showcase a large portion of the garage as well as step in a little closer with some zoom. The problem was I couldn’t tell on the 2-inch screen if I was in focus most of the time. Even back at the computer it was hard to tell if I was sharp or not sharp but in the end I think I was sharp most of the time.

Did I shoot RAW, why yes I did. On a 1GB memory card you could get 126 RAW files which is close to 3-and-a-half rolls of 36 film. That was a huge deal back then but it came at a price. A 1GB CF card in 2001 would have cost around $800. The card I used for this shoot was the first CF card I purchased for my Nikon D2H and cost me $279 at Allen’s Camera back in 2003.

One of the main takeaways from this shoot is how you have to mentally slow down when using this gear. For one, the gear is slower, and two, you have to unlock the part of the brain you used to use back in the day shooting film. You have to think how can you cheat the system in order to compensate for lower ISO that’s not expandable. I talk about cheating the system all the time, underexposing–aka using a faster shutter speed–to insure sharpness only to bring back the RAW file in post.

I could go on for another 1,000 words about the challenges and success I had during the photoshoot but that’s why we filmed the process, so you can watch it in real time.

I do want to discuss the editing process and final images though. Being that I shot RAW I was able to import the files into Adobe Lightroom CC without a problem. Back in 2001 there really weren’t many programs that allowed you to open RAW files, thus why many photographers chose to shoot JPEG. Beyond that, we know storage was a concern as it was expensive to buy flash memory.

Once I started to tweak the RAW files I was surprised at how much leeway I had with them. If my exposure was off by a stop I could still bring it back and the quality of the image would hold up. This would not be the case if my exposure were not pretty close to being on. Like today, if I attempt to bring back a poorly shot, you will have a difficult time.

Something I had to remind myself of as I zoomed in 1:1 on my 27-inch iMac is people editing these files in 2001 would have been working on 13 to 15-inch CRT monitor. Pixel peeping was slightly different back in the day–it wasn’t as easy to do.

I did find myself zooming in on wider shots and questioning whether or not I failed at this shoot or not. I kept asking myself if I hit focus or I didn’t, I was getting stuck pixel peeping. The more images I edited the more I saw I was pretty much spot on with my focus. On a few occasions I did have some blur in the images which was caused by using a longer lens and attempting to hand-hold it at a shutter speed slower than my focal length. It’s one of those dances you need to tip-toe around when dealing with lower ISO’s.

The true test in my mind as to whether or not the quality holds up is to make physical prints. I used the Canon ImagePROGRAF Pro-1000 to unleash 17×22 prints into the world. As soon as they finished printing I said “WOW.” I said wow because they not only held up, but they looked fantastic. If I had someone look at the prints and ask what I took it with they would never have known it was a 15-yr-old Nikon D1X.

I can not express enough how important it is to look at actual prints and not get stuck zooming in on the computer and thinking your “camera” sucks. Once I saw the prints I knew I did it, I knew what I captured were winning shots and I knew I succeeded at passing this latest challenge.

I decided to see how a 24×36 metal print would look from AdoramaPIX. When I opened the box and flipped the print over, the first thing I saw was vibrant color and I said “WOW.” After taking a closer look at this HUGE print, all I could think was a 15-yr-old camera did this, yet no one would know if they looked at the print. No one could stand five feet away and tell me this wasn’t shot with the latest and greatest.

That’s the point guys, it’s not always about the camera or the megapixels, it’s about the person using it. I am proud to say I think I crushed this challenge and I look forward to the next one.

Download Nikon D1X RAW Files: Click Here
Access all the FULL-RES exported JPEGS Right Here

The post Nikon D1X “5 Min Portrait” Photo Challenge: Using A 15-yr-old DSLR On A Professional Photo Shoot first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

If you have not seen the “5 Min Portrait” with the Canon 80D you can check it below or click here.

What can I say about the “Reveal” other than it’s one of the scariest but most rewarding parts about being a photographer. For those who don’t understand what I mean by the “reveal” I mean when you deliver the final photos to your client and get their initial reaction.

The Photo Book was made at AdoramaPIX.com using there layout tool. If you would like to get a photo book made use code “FROBOOKNP” to get 21% OFF until the end of August 2016.

You never know how the client will react, some are boisterous others are quiet and on rare, I mean very rare situations they are not happy. Knock on some wood but I haven’t run into that situation just yet.

Mike from Norman Porter is a quiet guy to begin with but you can tell from his smile how excited he was to get this book and the BIG ASS PRINT.

The post The Moment Of Truth As A Photographer, “The Reveal”: Delivering the Canon 80D “5 Min Portrait” Photos first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

Order a Canon 80D Kit: Amazon / B+H / AllensCamera.com

Be sure to check out the FULL “5 Min Portrait” with the Canon 80D and Kit 18-135mm Kit Lens right here.

This is an 1 hour 35 min video where you get to see my exact process for editing each RAW file from the Canon 80D “5 Min Portrait”. You get to see the keepers and the not so keepers. Not many photographers will share everything they took.

I am using Adobe Lightroom CC to manage and edit all my RAW files. I think Adobe Creative Cloud is the way to go especially when you get the Photographers bundle which includes Lightroom and Photoshop CC.

This is a long video but if you always wanted to know how I edit each one of my photos without using presets you might want to dedicate some time to watch it.

Playlist of Videos Related To The Canon 80D “5 Min Portrait”

The post How To Edit RAW Digital Photos From The CANON 80D In Adobe Lightroom CC: Tips For Photo Editing first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

The Challenge: Use a Canon 80D and kit 18-135 lens for a “5 Min Portrait” at Norman Porter Jean Company. Similar to past “5 Min Portraits” I had never done a photo shoot with the Canon 80D or kit lens. This is honestly what photography is all about, it’s all about being able to pick up any camera, any lens at any time and get professional results.

Watch me edit all 360 RAW Photos from this photo shoot Right HERE.

Order a Canon 80D Kit: Amazon / B+H / AllensCamera.com

I tend to worry about every photo shoot I set out to do and I am sure you guys are the same way. Now it’s not a worry like I don’t know what i’m doing it’s more the not knowing what you may encounter and if you’re going to come home with keepers. I think it’s that aspect of it that worries me the most, the being able to come home with keepers and not let everyone down including the subject. On top of it all I not only need to get winning photos but I have to perform on camera while doing it.

The Canon 80D follows the very popular 70D and 60D all of which were great little cameras for stills and video. The 80D is not a major progression over the 70D but some of the new video features really make it shine. I will tell you I was never pleased with the quality of the photos I got from the 70D when I tested it out many years ago.

The kit Canon 18-135 USM lens is the newest lens of it’s kind and offers a large zoom range along with image stabilization and some electronic contacts on the bottom side to allow you to attach a power zoom module for zooming during video. We all know I rail on kit lenses but if it’s all you have you might as well do the best to get winning shots.

Lets look at some positives for this lens. It allows you to get a fairly wide angle at 18mm as well as giving you nice reach all the way out to 135 all with image stabilization. It’s not too heavy, it has a nice feel to it and seems to be well built and quiet when it comes to autofocus during video.

The cons are that it’s a variable aperture lens. What that means is at 18mm it’s a F3.5 as you zoom out towards 135 the aperture closes down all the way to 5.6. What is happening is you are losing light the more you zoom. This makes it more difficult to shoot in manual as your exposure will change automatically as you zoom. It’s a fun little challenge to wrap your head around.

If you’re stuck in the auto modes and looking to take your photos to another level be sure to check out the FroKnowsPhoto Guide to Getting Out Of Auto. This guide is going rapidly teach you how to understand the exposure triangle, master composition and send you on the way to capturing great photos.

How did this shoot come about you may be asking. Simple, I got in touch with Mike at Norman Porter via instagram and said I would like to offer you free professional photos in exchange for allowing us to film the photo shoot and share it with the world. Like I have said time and time again, there are no more gatekeepers, you can get to anyone you want to with a little work.

My goal with this shoot was to capture Mike going through the process of sewing a pair of jeans. This means capturing the wides, mediums, tight and detail shots that make up a photo story. You know I am all about the photo story, the more images that work together to paint a picture as if you were there, the better.

On top of getting solid photos we wanted to make sure we put the camera through it’s video paces. We made sure to finish doing all the stills before switching into shooting video. I love this little guy for shooting video. The touch screen is ace for moving focus points around with ease. The dual pixel af works extremely well though we didn’t leave that on full auto most of the time because we wanted focus to be in a specific place.

One of the coolest features of the 80D is the ability to wirelessly connect it to a phone or tablet. From your phone or tablet you can control all the functions from focus point to exposure to the big one, starting and stopping recording. Most people think their cameras can currently do this but they can not. The Canon 80D is one of the only cameras out there that lets you start and stop recording video from an application.

How did the camera handle for stills? Honestly, it was very happy with how it handled. For me, once I got my exposure to a good place I was able to focus on shooting all while keeping the fact that I had to worry about the variable aperture lens at the front of my mind.

The camera feels fine in the hands, the buttons are in the places you would expect them for a Canon and the touch screen is one of my favorite things on a camera. Get this, the Canon 80D lets you touch the menu as well as swipe / pinch and zoom your images where as the Canon 1D X Mark II does not. Personally I love having the ability to touch the screen not only to look at images but to change my settings.

For the value this is a solid starter kit. It’s fine to start with a kit lens to get your shooting legs but over time you will see that the kit lens is holding you back. When you’re ready to step up your glass game for this camera be sure to check out something in the range of 17-55 2.8 as well as a 70-200 2.8. Don’t forget that Sigma is making some nice fast glass as well these days.

Am I happy with the results? Yes, I am 100% happy with how the photos turned out from the large 24×36 print to the photo books. Going into these shoots I always think to myself if they don’t look good i’ll come back with my D5 and all my lenses to redo it. In the end the images look fantastic, the colors and tones are very nice, my focus was really good and the final products both stills and video are extremely professional. That’s what it comes down to, did I get the shots, the answer is a big YES!!!

Canon 80D RAW DNG Files:Zip 1 (143 megs) / Zip 2 (120 megs)

Are you looking to use your DSLR or Mirrorless camera to capture video like a pro? If so check out the FroKnowsPhoto Guide To DSLR and Mirrorless Video. RIGHT HERE.

Access all the FULL RES Exported and Edited JPEGS Right Here.

Canon 80D Playlist of all videos from this “5 Min Portrait”

The post How to get Professional Photos with a Kit Lens: “Canon 80D” 5 Min Portrait first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

Do you want to learn how to edit video like a pro? Check out this FREE Preview of the FroKnowsPhoto Guide To Video Editing.

I had a few goals with this photo shoot. One of course was to start to test and push the Nikon D500 to see what it could do. The second was to push myself to become a better video editor. The team encouraged me to film with multiple angles so I could come home and do a multi cam edit in Final Cut. I set up a Nikon D5, D750 and used a GoPro as my third angle on top of the D500. I also edited the video with a few pointers from Todd.

The Nikon D500 surprised the world when it was announced back in January of 2016, no one was expecting it. It packs some pretty amazing features and an ISO range that has not really been seen in a DX Cropped Sensor camera before. I wanted to see just how far you could actually push the ISO and that’s what I set out on this shoot.

Download sample RAW DNG Files at the following three links. RAW Sample Files #1 | RAW Sample Files #2 | RAW Sample Files #3 Each ZIP file is roughly 180 megs.

Click Here to download the FULL RES Exported JPEG Files

The two tests I ran were shooting the ISO ranges with the Nikon 24-70 2.8 VR and Nikon 70-200 2.8 VR II. Let me point out that I had issues with the 24-70 2.8 VR with it missing focus whereas with the 70-200 the images are tack freaking sharp.

ISO 51,200

I have never seen a DX Cropped Sensor camera shoot at such High ISO’s. The files hold up thought the range and are even usable at the upper most echelons. Is there noise/grain of course, did I use noise reduction, nope. I am not a fan of noise reduction. I rather see the grain then a smoothed out fake plastic looking image.

The question I keep getting asked is should I buy the D750 or the D500. The D500 surpasses the ISO range of it’s full frame sensor brother. This is not an easy decision to make as it depends on what you will be shooting. As an example a reader asked me which they should buy. After a few quesitons he told me he plans on using it to photograph his kids playing sports and for nature photography. At that point I simply said D500 because you will get more bang for your buck in terms of reach.

All and all I enjoyed doing this test shoot and 5 Min Portrait. The D500 is not a D5 so if anyone tries to tell you it’s better you might want to ask them to have their head checked. With that said you can purchase three D500’s for the price a D5.

1.6 Million ISO

The post “Nikon D500” 5 Min Portrait: The BEST High ISO Cropped Sensor Camera I’ve Ever Used first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

Click Here to access the full-res exported jpegs.

I decided to take the Nikon D5 over to the FroFactory along with the Nikon 70-200 2.8 VR II and the massive 600mm F4 VR which is a $12,300 lens (Borrowed from BorrowLenses.com/fro)

Generally speaking you wouldn’t use a 600 F4 VR indoors for a portrait but I figured since I had it I might as well put it to use.

For this 5 Min Portrait I set up the Nikon D750 with a Nikon 14-24 2.8 on a tripod and had a GoPro Hero 4 in my hot-shoe to get the First Person Shooter perspective. My goal with this shoot was to simply let you join me as I captured these portraits.

Here is a video showing you how I edited these files in Adobe Lightroom

The post How To Take a Portrait ANYWHERE with Natural Light: Nikon D5 + 600mm F4 “5 Min Portrait” first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.

This was my first time shooting out of a helicopter with the doors off, yes the doors were completely open the entire flight. The good news was that I had a harness on just in case I fell out.

Click Here to download FOUR RAW DNG Files from this shoot. If you don’t have Adobe Lightroom you can get a 30 Day FREE trial right here.

Click Here to access the FULL RES exported Jpegs.

Thank you to Canon and UBUprints for taking us up in the helicopter. You can find out more about UBUprints right here.

Thank you to Maverick Helicopters for an amazing experience. Check them out the next time you’re in Vegas. http://www.maverickhelicopter.com/

Gear used in this 5 Min Portrait
Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 11-24 F4
Canon 24-70 2.8 II
Canon XC10
GoPro Hero 4
GoPro Hero Session

What an experience it was to have the opportunity to fly in a helicopter over the Las Vegas Strip at sundown to take photos all while the doors were open. Luckily for me I was harnessed in just in case I leaned a little too far out and fell out. If that were to happen I probably would have been dangling but still safe.

Like I said above, this was my first time getting to shoot photos out of a helicopter let alone without the doors closed. I was shooting with the Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70 2.8 II and the Canon 11-24 F4.

Here’s what was going through my mind in regards to camera settings before the flight. I like to get into shooting mode and pre-visualize the situation I will be shooting in. In terms of settings I knew we would be flying fast and their might be some vibrations. This meant I would want a higher shutter speed to counteract any vibrations or fast movements. Because of this I would probably need my ISO to be a little higher.

In terms of lenses, I wasn’t sure wether or not I should go with the 24-70 or the 11-24 starting out. I started with the 24-70 but quickly decided I wanted to go wider. You have to be extremely careful when the doors are open and you’re changing lenses for obvious reasons.

To be completely honest, I am not sure ultra wide was the best choice for most of the flight. I did get some awesome images but felt at times I would have liked to have a 70-200 to get tighter images. This is where having two bodies on board would have been helpful. With that said and having the chance to live with the images for a little while, I a was very happy with the results.

One thing I encountered while flying was getting the propeller in the shots since I was shooting so wide. The way I counteracted this was to snap off multiple frames a second to make sure at least one of them wasn’t ruined by the prop.

In the future if I were to do this again I would like to be flying as the only photographer. Reason being is I would be able to direct the pilot more. I could hover over a specific shot until I got it or quickly move to try a different angle. While up there it’s all about time, if you can think and focus you can capture even better images.

If you are considering shooting of a helicopter be sure to follow the quick tips in this video so you can learn from my mistakes and successes while on my first flight.

Here’s how I edited each of the photos from this 5 Min Portrait.

The post I HUNG out of a Helicopter & Survived: 5 Min Portrait first appeared on Fro Knows Photo.