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There is nothing that I hate more than not having all my camera’s time synced together. I have had this happen to me a couple times either with myself or when working with a second shooter. Maybe I was shooting with two different camera bodies or maybe I just got one back from a repair (they reset EVERYTHING on you BTW) but whatever the case may be, it stinks! It is also something that you can easily forget in the heat of the moment.

So here is what I do:
Go to www.time.gov and use that time to sync up your cameras… Yes all of them. Simply set the time on your cameras to the same thing and then hit the OK button when the time.gov website matches your cameras. Done!

When I am working with a second shooter on-location I just treat my camera like the time.gov site and have them sync up to my time. It’s very simple yet often overlooked.

If you have more than two cameras then have a friend help you our or do a couple at a time.

Now there are EXIF modifier programs out there but it can be a hassle. Do it right the first time and save yourself the headache!

Thanks for stopping by,
~Mike

Do yourself a favor and check to see if your camera has a feature called Auto ISO. It is really cool especially if you shoot in Aperture Priority (Av) mode.

So to backtrack a little bit, Aperture Priority mode means that all you have to do is select your desired aperture and the camera figures out what proper shutter speed it should use to give your a decently exposed image. Now I say “decent” because it isn’t always dead on. By default, the camera exposes for what it assumes is 18% gray. If you have a light skinned bride in a white dress then you want her to appear light or white in the image. That is where Exposure Compensation comes into play. If you need your image is under exposed (check the histogram) then dial the exposure compensation up to +0.7 or so. Vice versa if the image is too bright.

Now you still have to set your ISO but that can be a pain OR your shutter speed may end up getting set by the camera so that it is way to slow and causes camera shake or unwanted motion blur. This is where AUTO ISO comes in handy. When you enable Auto ISO on your camera, you also set a minimum shutter speed that you do not want to go slower than. For me, I toy between 1/60″ and 1/80″. You also get to pick what your minimum and maximum ISO should be. This is beneficial if your camera doesn’t have awesome files at higher ISOs. Simply set the maximum ISO to the best high ISO files that your camera can produce. For me, I have no problem going to ISO 6400 on my D700 as long as I can ensure my images will not be under-exposed even in the slightest.

So after you set your Auto ISO up then it is time to rock and roll. What goes on in the camera is that it takes your minimum shutter speed into consideration when it’s figuring out what value to use. IF the needed shutter speed is slower than your minimum then it automatically bumps up your ISO to let in more light for you and thus, allowing you to shoot at faster shutter speeds.

Hope this helps. Please comment below if you use Auto ISO and share your thoughts. Enjoy and be inLIGHTin’ed.

Today’s article is more advice than anything else. One thing I wish I knew when starting my photography business was “LESS IS MORE.” Now, what do I mean by this?

I always tended to show more images to my clients then what was really good for the both of us…

You are really doing both of yourselves a favor when you show less images. On one side, YOU don’t have to finish editing as many images and that means you can save yourself time which is huge. You can also take that extra time and do a real nice job on the images that you DO show. Now YOUR CLIENT doesn’t have as many images to choose from and it makes it easier for them to pick their favorites. Do them the favor of not having them juggle between two similar faces or poses. Get it done before the viewing session and your clients will spend more time buying and less time choosing.

You are also shooting yourself in the foot if you aren’t doing viewing sessions…. I will save that for another time though. That’s all I have to say for today.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy and be inLIGHTin’ed.