PShizzy: The Blog

Yesterday, I spoke about how important proper white balance is. A well balanced image shows very good, true colors. But how do we figure out that proper white balance? There’s a lot of ways, actually, and each method has some positives and negatives to it. Let’s take a look at the image below.

I think I did a fine job with the idea of the image: An expectant bride, recently married, is waiting for her husband. The empty chair sells me on that vibe.

But look at the white balance. It’s this sickly yellow that envelops the entire image in its tint, and to me, it’s especially noticable on the dress, and on the brides skintones.

In this post, we’ll look at different ways to get a good white balance. [Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
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Last night, I covered the second game of the Phoenix Mercury season. Phoenix was 0-2, losing their home opener to the Sparks, and a road loss to the Silver Stars. Early on the Mercury really took the lead, going up by 21, but eventually the Storm came back and won 87-83. A link to the gallery is in the full post.

Last weekend I spoke about the key elements to covering an event. This time around, I’ll cover the bases on the technical side of an image.

What makes for a good clean image? What keeps the images looking consistent in their color, white balance, and exposure, not just from one image to another within one event, but from event to event (as an example, compare last weekends gallery to the one for last night’s game).

In this post, I’ll do an overview on things you can do to keep a consistent look and quality to your images.
[Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
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I’ve got a game tomorrow, which should make for a fun post, so today I thought I’d answer an email:

I will be shooting (for fun and some friends) at the Veterans Wheelchair games. I got a Canon 40D (with grip) from my hubby for Christmas (going from a Kodak Hybrid).I have been practicing, (not good yet too much rain everywhere we go). Anyway I end up laying on the ground, squatting, and everything you can think of because they sit instead of stand. I have the following Lens (most bought on sale). I don’t have any “L” glass since I want to be sure before I spend that much money. I have the following: [Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
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Earlier today I covered the home opener of the Phoenix Mercury against the LA Sparks. This would be only my 2nd WNBA game (my first being last week, a preseason game). While I have experience with the NBA, I knew that it would be different.

Covering a new event can be a daunting task. It’s something we all face, especially early on in our careers. In this post, I’ll speak about my experience with shooting something new, and what I did to prepare myself. [Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
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Before we begin, I explicitly asked permission to post the following message. I will not disclose the identity of the person asking the question, unless they ask me to. I plan to make this a series on my blog, where I offer my honest opinion and insight on a photography related question posed to me. Remember though, these are just opinions, not hard rules. Feel free to email me or contact me privately, and I’d be glad to answer your questions in a future post.

Without further ado:

Hi Max,

I see your work often and it’s spectacular. I shoot lots of soccer and lacrosse and have limited experience with basketball.

I’d greatly appreciate some advice from you.

My son is playing on an AAU Basketball team and the coaches want me to shoot games this weekend. I’ve done a few tourneys with my 1D Mark IIN using F/2.8L 70-200. I don’t travel with strobes and don’t see it practical at the U-15 level, especially if I’m not intending to sell images to families.

That said, are there any circumstances where you shoot any basketball games w/o strobes in dingy lit basketball gyms?

The noise is killing me. I do use CS3 and it helps, but still want less noise. [Read more →]

Tags: equipment, photography by PShizzy
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