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November 24, 2015 by PhotoKen

Bringing in the Horses – fairly High ISO

Sunset Photo - "Bringing in the horses" - Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 6400

Sunset Photo – “Bringing in the horses” – Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 6400

Sometimes you just need to use a higher ISO (in this case ISO 6400) to get the Shutter Speed you want…

Shutter Speed was set at 1/160 sec as I wanted the horses to be fairly sharply focused (and not motion blurred).

I did need to get fairly aggressive with the noise reduction in Adobe Lightroom (Luminance 52 and Color 36) – it results in a little softness – bordering on ‘painterly’ when zoomed in. I chose to have a little softness through noise reduction rather than a LOT of motion blur that would have resulted from a slower shutter speed.

Usually, I would keep ISO around 1600 or lower if I want really low noise on my images but that’s not always possible if light is low and subjects are moving.

When it comes to ‘ideal settings’ Photography is often a trade off in quality. What will result in the best possible image?

It’s also about removing the biggest obstacles in your photography. In most cases people can improve their images dramatically be removing the biggest photography hurdle first – the thing is – the number one hurdle is different for different people – Click here to find out Your # Photography Hurdle

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December 30, 2013 by PhotoKen

Eric Guggenheim – The new Managing Editor for DigitalPhotoCentral.com

Hi – Ken here!

I would like to introduce my new (well … first) Managing Editor for DigitalPhotoCentral.com. I have been wanting to add more useful articles to this website for a while but have found it difficult keeping updates coming. Eric has stepped forward to help with content as Managing Editor – I will let Eric tell you his story below. I know you will find his Photography insight useful and inspiring.

Eric Guggenheim

“I started taking photos as a young boy growing up on Long Beach Island; a small, barrier island off the south coast of New Jersey. My mother worked for The Sandpaper, an island newspaper with a cast of dedicated characters. I would go into work with her often and was immediately drawn to the focused calm of the darkroom and the conversation among the photographers. I took my first photographs with a discarded Nikon EM one of the photographers had on their desk, and learned to develop film and make B&W prints.

I attended Kansas City Art Institute and studied photography and painting, receiving a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in 1996.
Even with this intensive college experience, it wasn’t until I was in my thirties and digital photography began to emerge that my enthusiasm and interest in photography really took hold.  The accessibility, portability, and the immediacy of digital photography untethered me from the darkroom. It changed everything for me.

Although I was gaining a lot of experience with my camera and reading a lot about photography, I just never seemed to be able to focus and assimilate all that I was learning into mastering my craft. I finally realized there was only one solution to my problem: Shoot, Shoot, Shoot!  Stop dipping my toe in the shallow end of the photo pool and dive in already!

So I am embarking on this journey to understand how to master the modern DSLR camera and take better photos, right along with you. I bring my fundamental understanding of photography to the table, but am largely here as your representative! Your personal photography liaison, if you will. Whereas Ken is our professional photographer and teacher, I hope to ask the questions and seek out the solutions that we all face, as we embark on our journey to become better photographers. My goal is to compliment Ken’s lessons by eliminating the frustrations and stumbling blocks that keep us from fully understanding our cameras, and take photos that make our friends ask, “you took that!?”

I’m very excited to be a part of Digital Photo Central and EasyDSLR. Ken and I have been friends for years and share a love for photography. We look forward to working together to develop great ideas and teach fundamental tools to help fellow enthusiasts take better photos right away.”

~Eric Guggenheim

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November 8, 2013 by PhotoKen

Zenjoyable interviews Ken Schultz about Digital Photography

Ken Schultz interviewed by ZenjoyableI had the pleasure the other day of being interviewed by Chamira of Zenjoyable. I talked about Digital Photography and my life as an Accidental Photographer and gave some really important tips especially if you are an aspiring event photographer.

At 36 minutes and 40 Seconds into the interview Chamira asked me a really good question. The context was about doing event photography as a professional when more than a handful of people are around you snapping away with their very capable cameras.

Chamira asked “Where do you see photography heading, the state of professional photography? Where do you see that going (in the next 10, 20 years…) as this equipment becomes more accessible to everybody?”

A great question especially with DSLR cameras well under the $1000 price range. I gave her my biggest tip regarding event photography. A simple accessory that can give you the advantage over most of the crowd.

Jump to 36 minutes onwards and all will be revealed …

Click here for my interview with Chamira of Zenjoyable

It was a fun interview and I hope you get some good tips out of it – and please share with friends if you like it 🙂