I love photography! I love to talk ‘shop’ with anyone that might be the slightest bit interested in photography. Several people have asked me what kind of camera I own. I use a Canon 5d Marks II. My camera and the lenses I own are great tools for capturing creative images. I chose my camera because of it’s incredible high iso ability to capture images in low light conditions. I can crank that puppy up to 3200 iso and still get a pretty clear shot without too much grain. The fact that it’s a full frame camera (vs. a cropped frame) I’m able to take advantage of my lens’s full capability without sacrificing a crop factor. I own three lenses; 50mm 1.4, 24-70 2.8 L, and my 70-200mm 2.8 L. Each one allows me to create something a little different when it comes to creativity. My 50mm, with it’s 1.4 f-stop brings in an amazing amount of light when wide open and is perfect for those lower light situations. My 70-200mm has such incredible zoom and compression creating that creamy bokeh look that I love. And my 24-70mm is a perfect lens for portrait photography. Put that lens on a full-frame camera like the 5d, its wide angel ability is pretty impressive at 24mm. Do I have a wish list for additional lenses? Sure, I do. There are so many amazing lenses on the market and knowing the strengths of each lens will help in deciding which lens is right for each particular situation.
Sometimes People mistake the camera and lenses themselves for creating the final image. You may actually be surprised if you see an image straight out of camera (SOOC). I’ve included a few before and after below. Because I shoot in a RAW format I am not allowing my camera to process the image. Unlike jpeg format where the camera compresses and processes the image leaving little room for changes in post processing. Instead, I download the RAW files on my computer which acts like my digital ‘dark room’. I pull the images into a program called Lightroom. That is where I sort and organize my images and make initial edits to exposure, contrast, brightness, saturation and vibrance. I then take my images into CS5 (Photoshop). I use the image taken in my camera as almost a rough draft to my final masterpiece, if you want to call it that. I can enhance the image with vibrant colors, sharp features, touch-ups as well as crop and add a vignette to a photo to be pleasing to the eye. I personally like to add textures to enhance an image and give it either a vintage or edgy feel depending on what I see in my vision. Photographers each have a slightly different process depending on their own interpretation of a photograph. That is what makes us each unique. I think when choosing a photographer for your family or event it’s important to look at the photographer’s individual style and make sure it matches up to your taste.
I applied for my business license in late 2009 and made things official for Colleen Davis Photography. I have a passion for what I do. And as much as there is to learn out there, I enjoy every minute. The people I meet, challenges I give myself in creating images, and editing photographs to capture what I see - it’s all wonderful!
If you’ve read this far, I assume you’re interested in photography as well. If you ever want to talk ‘shop’ I’m always eager. Thanks for reading this post.
Colleen
