Waggener Photography Blog

The title of this blog post sounds way more glamorous than it really is. It’s just a quick behind the scenes look at how unglamorous a photo shoot can be.

You would be surprised to know what type of simple equipment and resources a many photographers work with. It’s not all big fancy lights and set ups . Sometime the set ups and ideas are rather simple. There are many photographers that take the DIY approach to photography. I do this DIY approach often since I am a PhD. student and my photography budget is quite limited. I alway ask myself why didn’t I choose a cheeper hobby like collecting leaves, watching birds, or running, something not so expensive like photography.

I wanted to take this time to show you how I created the cactus image I showed from the Texas post a few weeks ago. I feel that many of you will be surprised of the equipment used to get the final image. To create the white background I just used old white cutting boards. Yeah, they were a little stained and had some scuff marks on them but you can make them pure white by blasting a little flash on them. When shooting white backgrounds typically light them first so that they are generally 2/3rds to 1 full stop brighter than my key light (main light). I can see this in many cases because the highlight priority warnings on the back of my screen are blinking at me. If you are really fancy you can dial in the proper lighting ratio with a light meter. Since I don’t have an extra 400 bucks laying around I just wing it by checking the histograms and the back of the camera. You can see the background lights on either side of the cactus. If I remember right, they were set to about 1/16th power. The Key light (one lighting the cactus) was about 1/32nd power. Those power settings are for all of you camera geeks out there that like to know that kinda stuff. The key light which is sitting on a cooler was set up after I got the background lights set. It is alway easier to set one set of lights up at a time instead of turning them all on and trying to adjust all of them at once.

The reflection of the cactus was pretty much getto rigged out of an ATV windshield.  You can see the bottle of cleaner next to it to get all of the dust off of it. This smooth reflective plastic surface is what gives you that nice reflection you see. I am sure by now you are looking around the cabin seeing the bottles of alcohol and boxes of food and such. There might have been a little drinking going on while shooting these pictures. Maybe that is why I am still picking tiny cactus needles out of my hand. I never have set up pictures or pictures of me taking pictures because most of the time I am the only one with the camera. So it was nice of my father to snap a few pictures of me setting  this cactus photo shoot up.

Hope you all enjoy. Hit me up in the comments or email if you have any questions about the setup or how to set up a shot like this.

I just noticed I misspelled windshield. I am just to lazy to go back into photoshop and fix the spelling. I guess I forgot that whole i before e thing they taught us in grade school.

The final image.

As most of you know I am originally from Texas but moved to Virginia when I was a child. I still have lots of family and relatives down there including my Father. Since I have been a child I have traveled down to this gigantic state two to three times a year and my father comes up to visit my sister and I about the same amount. Since the age of 12 or 13 my father has had a 1,400 acre place in Llano, TX where we go to deer and bird hunt. There was a lot more hunting in the beginning now we go and just sit around and drink beer, shoot guns, and take pictures. Thats right take pictures we have moved from guns to cameras. My Dad gave me my first SLR in 2001. It was a 35mm Nikon (Nikromat) that was my grandfathers from the 70′s, this metal hunk of steal was nothing fancy, no motor drives, no auto, no hot shoe, and no auto-focus, just a full manual beast of a camera even with the 70′s camera strap. I burned through countless rolls of film shooting this camera in Texas and Virginia. I still to this day love the unique sound it makes when you move the aperture ring and when the shutter opens and closes. From here there were more cameras until I have the one I have now. I am fully digital and really haven’t looked back to the film days much. I like many others have books of negatives and prints still waiting to be scanned in and transferred to a digital format. This “deer lease” in Llano has really made me a much more observant and creative photographer over the years. This place is nothing special in the way of looks. Its no Yellowstone or Florida Everglades. Its just a shrubby, cactus infested, flat place. However, this place as a unique beauty to itself and I truly love it and try to capture it on my camera when I can.

I got an iPod touch for christmas that has one of these fancy cameras on it. Yeah yeah, I know you are probably rocking the iPhone4s or some other smart phone. I am still carrying a phone that has no internet but it has a texting pad so…. this iPod touch was pretty exciting. I have really enjoyed it. This new little device has kinda jumpstarted and pushed me to be a little more creative and bold with my art. I’m not saying it has turned me into Ansel Adams or anything but it has sparked some creativity with me. A great photographer once said, the best camera is the one that is with you. I truly believe this. I am taking this little thing everywhere with me now and not lugging my big DSLR around. Don’t get me wrong I am not going to show up to your house taking your family pictures with it but this little camera has almost turned into a visual journal for me. So in this long winded post you will see pictures shot from my new iPod touch along with pictures I took with the big camera from this unique part of Texas. I hope you all enjoy and have a happy New Year.

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Looking forward to seeing what 2012 has to offer.

Christopher

This is one of our close friends son. He has ben photographed on the blog before. This little guy just recently learned to sit up by himself. He is growing up and developing really fast. I really can’t believe he is already at this stage of development. He has one of the coolest hats in the planet. I wish I could  look half as cool in the lumberjack/cousin Eddie hat as baby J does. Not only is this kid decked out in the finest head wear he has some of the coolest jerseys as well. We got some pictures in his Noter Dame jersey for his Grandpa who is a die hard ND fan. I am sure this won’t be the last time you see baby J on the blog. Hopefully he will rock out some awesome new headwear next time. Hope ya’ll enjoy.

Meet the Stevens. I had the opportunity to photograph the Stevens at one of my favorite places in Richmond, Maymont Park. I have known the Stevens for many years. We met when I was teaching a Randolph Macon. Back during those days, they were just a family of two and now they are a family of four. It’s nice to see that these two boys have taken on their parents’ fun and easygoing personalities. Its always nice to photograph and catch up with old friends. Hope you all enjoy.

Meg and Brandon contacted me a few weeks ago wanting some photos due to their recent engagement. Meg asked if they could have their pictures taken at the family farm in Suffolk. This place was amazing. There were barns, outbuildings, hay bales, lakes, fields of cotton, and beautiful fall foliage. Every square inch of this place was an awesome backdrop to take pictures. I could go back there 10 more times and never take the same stye picture. As for the newly engaged couple, these two were great to work with. They made this a easy and fun shoot. Their love for each other is very obvious and it comes through in the photos. I wish you both my utmost congratulations and luck in your growing relationship.

I honestly can’t believe it is halloween. It just seems like yesterday was August 1st. What is truly unbelievable is that it’s less than a month away till we start to put up Christmas decorations. This fall has truly flown by. The Waggener pumpkin carvings went up a notch this year with three pumpkins and some fake eyes and teeth. We still had the good old traditional pumpkin also. The two smaller ones were Jennifer’s ideas and I think they turned out really cool. We are looking forward to some small goblins and ghouls showing up at our door tomorrow night. Here area some photos of the carving process and the nice fall day. Hope you all enjoy.

Meet the Launders. I had the pleasure of photographing this new family this past weekend at Sunday Park in Chesterfield. It was the first cold and windy day of the fall but these guys put up with it like champs. Their 14-month-old was a cheerful and bright girl who made it easy to photograph. Once again it was nice to work with a great family. Hope you all enjoy.

Meet the Borland’s. This young family contacted me a few weeks ago wanting some family photos. They have two beautiful children. This family was great to work with and I had a great time taking their pictures. Mrs. Borland suggested Chatham Manor to take photos. This was my fist time to this location and It probably won’t be my last. I am so glad she had heard of this place. This place was beautiful. We got there early in the morning and we had the place to ourselves. Thanks to the Borland’s for being so great. Hopefully you will see them again sometime.

I know it’s only September and people are still enjoying the warm weather but the next time you look at the calendar, it will be December and time to get those Christmas cards off to all the friends and loved ones. I am here to help you out and get your Christmas cards spiced up this year with a current portrait of your family. Speaking from personal experience, getting a Christmas card with a family portrait on the front of it is my favorite card to get. We proudly display them on the refrigerator or on the mantel every year.  This year, ditch the plain Jane card with just your signature and show loved ones and friends how your family has grown and changed during this past year with pictures.

When: Book now and reserve a convenient date and time.

Where: Richmond and surrounding areas in Virginia (outside of Richmond will require a travel fee).

Time: 1 hour photo shoot

Cost: $75 (gets you all edited digital files, and online gallery)

Contact: special@waggenerphotography.com (804) 239-2736