Citadel Wedding Edmonton "teaser shots"

Hey Everyone!

I am part way through editing a wedding I shot for Laura and Darcy and couldn't resist posting a few on the blog.  I will continue to edit and post as time goes on :)

Feel free to click on the pics to make them a bit larger for better viewing.

Take care,

Kurt

Iphone photography

Hey,

I finally got a new I phone and have already started seaching 'apps' for the Iphone related to photography.  There are tons and tons but so far I have found a favorite and thought I would let you in on it.  It is called "TiltShiftGen".  Basically this app automatically applies a tilt-shift effect to photos which can then be adjusted to your liking in a radial or linear fashion.  If you don't know what tilt/shift photography is, it can be best explained by... hmmm... selective blur vs focus?  It is another way to emphasis certain things in photos.  

You can also add vignette, adjust color sats etc etc.  I found it to be handy and definitely something fun to play around with and keeps things interesting and forces you to get creative with that little 3 Mgpix camera!

I currently upload most of my I phone photos as a blog style format to Facebook or Twitter for ease of use.  If you would like to follow me there please search username:

Stenberg Photographyblog (Facebook)  or...

Stenbergphoto (Twitter)

Take care!

Kurt

Canmore Valley East From Heart Mountain Panorama

I took this panorama earlier this summer while out scrambling Heart Mountain.  I was not quite at the summit yet when I looked north and saw the vast landscape and Hwy 1 winding its way through the valley.  I ended up shooting 5 pictures in total to create this 1!  I did it all handheld and stitched them together in  PS post-production.  Camera right you can see Highway 1 towards Calgary heading East.  Eventually the hwy drains, camera left, just outside of Canmore.  If you look closely at the image or zoom in, you can see the cement plant among other things.  This image is in a 12 x 36 Panoramic format which can be printed custom or even at your local Costco ;)  If you are interested in a print please contact me at 403.307.LENS or stenbergphotography@shaw.ca

Kurt

Sydney's 2nd Birthday party

Hello family and friends.  I have posted an online photo-share that Sydney's family and friends can look through and download if they choose.  They are a bunch of casual shots I took while at her party.  The password for the photoshare is Sydney's last name.  Please CLICK HERE.

Please contact Niki if you would like larger file size to make any prints.  However the downloaded file online should be good enough to print 4 x6's and maybe 5 x 7's.

Take care and Happy Birthday Syd!

Kurt

Tolsma Family Group Outdoor Portraits Edmonton Area

I recently spent a couple hours with the Tolsma family out near Spruce Grove on their acreage taking a few family photos to mark the moment.  They were having a family reunion and had not taken any family pictures in a long time.  Everyone had a lot of fun and we kept things pretty casual.  Thanks again to Joe for all the help with keeping everyone organized and together.  It is a lot of work trying to arrange people especially if you just met them!  So again, Joe, thanks.

The Tolsma Family, friends, and relatives can view their photos by clicking here.  

Like all of my Portrait sessions, whether its for a couple, family, kids, pets or whatever, I always include a DVD of all creatively edited images in web and print formats.  I charge $250 for a portrait session that lasts 1-2 hours at your location.  Please contact me for more info :)

Kurt Stenberg

stenbergphotography@shaw.ca

Stenberg Photography | Graduation Oregon

This summer I was down in Oregon, specifically in Salem, shooting a graduation.  Graduations in the US seem to be a 'big deal' compared to up here in Canada.  It's not that they are not as important or have any less significance, there just seems to be a lot more graduates and everything is on a larger scale.  Bigger venues, more people, big families!  It was a pleasure to have this experience and take part in my first event outside of Canada.  I was faced with many challenges, some I had not experienced especially in the morning of the shoot in the salon.  I took a few set-up shots of what I was up against and how I used my equipment.  My next post will have behind the scenes shots and more tech discussion.

Kurt

Children's and Family Portraits Edmonton

Looking for a few pictures of the family this fall?  I know you hate the Portraits studios at the department stores and would like something a bit more original, casual, and not so "posed".  I offer portrait packages that can be customized to suit your needs.  For a couple hours shooting time, we can get individual pics of the kids, pets, and even the whole group.  We can meet on location at one of your favorite places or even near your home.  Its great to get pics of the family doing something they love and interacting with each other.  These make the BEST portraits.  Give me a shout and we can exchange ideas :)  

Estimated cost for a session is $250 for approx 1-2hrs of shooting.  This includes ALL creative editing, and rights to all of your digital negatives on DVD.  I provide pictures in two formats for print and for displaying on the web.  I can also setup on online gallery with or without password for viewing and download by family and friends.

Talk to you soon!

Kurt 

STENBERGPHOTOGRAPHY

stenbergphotography@shaw.ca

780.238.0678

BIG Aperture = Soft, Professional Portraits

Hey there,

I finally returned from holidays and began to edit some photos from a graduation I shot down in Salem OR.  I came across these two portraits and thought they would show a good example of what aperture can do to your photos.  

When using a DSLR and you have a lens that can shoot as low as F 2.8 you get a very very shallow depth of field (DOF).  This means you have to be very precise and quick were you focus and must realize that everything in front and behind your focus point will blur very quickly.  This means 2.8 can be great for portraits giving skin and background noise a very soft look while keeping the eyes sharp.  It is important when shooting portraits to always focus on your subjects eyes for obvious reasons.  A sharp nose and blurry eyes will not have the same impact and will leave the viewer uninterested in the photo.

The color photo and the monochrome picture were shot with almost the exact same settings as follows : F2.8 ISO 400 1/160th second.  The color photo was with a length of 70mm on my 24-70 lens.  The b/w photo was almost the same at 67mm.  This means that I was "zoomed" in as much as I can with my lens.  Zooming in and using a lens of at least 70mm creates the best portriats as well since it helps to further blur the background and tighten up the DOF focus point.

Although the b/w photo isnt my favorite composition for a portrait or nessessarily what I would desire for soft focus, I thought it was unique and shows a great example.  The one eye and lips show some nice sharpness but falls a bit too quickly into blur to the farther eye.  To improve this I could have used a slightly smaller aperture of 3.5?  This probably would have dont the trick.  However, it is subjective and sometimes something out of the ordinary makes the best photos.

PS:  I uploaded both photos in a large size so you can click on them and see up close where the sharp vs blur interacts on the photo.

The color photo is what most photographers would consider more desirable since both eyes are in focus and the blur quickly falls to the background.  Her face was more square to the camera (90 deg) where as the other photo was on a sharper angle.  Please click on both photos and compare the difference.  It is quite noticeable.

Anyways, hope you enjoy and feel free to comment

Kurt