Miami Photographer Tom Clark's Blog

Digital Macro and Close-up Photography for Dummies

2011-06-16T06:56:00.000-07:00

Master macro techniques and capture brilliant up-close photos

Macro photography uses specialty lenses and advanced digital cameras to capture stunning up-close images. This book helps you understand the nuances of macro techniques so you can take unique and remarkable close-up digital photos. Equipment recommendations, helpful tips, and coverage of specialized elements that are exclusive to macro photography all aim to make you more savvy and comfortable with macro and close-up techniques. In addition, the easy-to-follow steps and suggested exercises go a long way to make you more familiar with your camera's capabilities so that you can take fantastic photos.

* Introduces the techniques of macro photography and explores how to capture stunning close-up digital photos
* Reviews using macro lenses, extension tubes, reversing rings, and other camera equipment and accessories
* Shares tips for exposure and lighting techniques in the macro format
* Addresses depth of field, working distance, and framing when shooting
* Covers where to find subjects to shoot and setting up your macro studio

With full-color examples and technique comparisons, this fun and friendly book presents step-by-step guidance for taking your close-up photography skills to the next level.

To pre-order your copy visit dummies.com or check it out on amazon!

Thomas Clark is a professional photographer whose portfolio has landed him gigs with Sony, Nike, Puma, and Subliminal Records. You can view his image galleries on his website, tomclarkphoto.com.

Digital Photography Composition for Dummies by Tom Clark

2010-08-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Coming this fall... Digital Photography Composition for Dummies ...a thorough resource for information on enhancing photographic composition. Tom Clark is a photographer based in Miami who after receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Photography moved to Miami and began his career by assisting local photographers on fashion, editorial and portrait assignments. Tom also assisted some of Miami's top architecture and interior photographers, and worked on set with many of the top New York, Los Angeles, and European photographers for fashion, editorial, and celebrity portraiture. With the combination of his experience on set and his education Tom successfully made the move from photo assistant to photographer. Today he shoots for a number of local and international publications on a freelance basis, and provides commercial advertising services to clients of all sizes.

What are not discussed in Tom's commercial success but are possibly the root of his inspiration are the long trips into the wilderness, up mountains, and to the seas where getting the perfect shot is an exploration and nights are filled with camp fires, starry skies and long exposures.

To see Tom's online photography portfolios visit photographers in Miami.

tomclarkpromo2010.mov

2010-08-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

Busy Summer for this Photographer in Miami

2009-09-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I've posted a blog and that is because I have been keeping myself very busy (thankfully.) Now that I have some time I would like to share with you some of the photographs from the Summer.

One big job and opportunity for me was from Puma. They needed a photographer in Miami to shoot one of their store employees around town for a brochure that will be produced and given to people staying at the new W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

Another great opportunity I had was to be the photographer on a shoot inv0lving firemen from South Florida. The shoot was commissioned by Sperian which is a company that makes protective gear for firemen. It was a hot Miami Summer afternoon and the men were training in temperatures of up to 750 degrees.

I had a photo shoot with local Miami record label Point Blank City involving their top rapper Spoat...

and the label's CEO Danilo...

And I finally got some time to finish a photograph that was taken after my father had beaten throat cancer...

Fashion Portfolio Photo Shoot for Miguel in Miami Beach

2009-08-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

If you are a model looking to get signed, having some strong photographs to show the talent agencies is a step in the right direction. It gives them an idea of what you can provide as far as looks and themes. Let the photographer know if you are going for fashion, commercial, or both and have a few agencies in mind so the photographer can create the style that those agencies look for. Miami is a great location to have your shoot because there is year round beach access and a variety of diverse locations within a close range. Here is the latest fashion portfolio shoot done by Miami Photographer Tom Clark:

Omar Bain

2009-07-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

Tom's latest photograph of the week, from a fashion shoot in Miami's Morningside district...

Fashion Test Shoot

2009-07-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

Jacob Ashton Fine Menswear will soon be launching its online boutique and needed a photographer in the Miami area to test. I am pleased to be a part of the project and feel that this will unfold opportunities to expand the way online boutiques display their pieces. This photo shoot was a success in the eyes of Jacob and myself, however, we encourage you to stay tuned to see how the project progresses through the weeks to come.

For more Fashion Photography from Tom Clark visit his online portfolios.

Headshots and What You Should Know.

2009-06-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

There are many photographers out there offering professional headshots and that competition creates friendlier rates for the models and actors looking to be photographed. Finding a great deal is easy but the challenge is to find a great photographer.

When you are narrowing your search for a headshot photographer choose the ones who have professional quality work and get an idea of their price range so you know who you can afford and who you cannot. Once you have selected a few photographers who have great portfolios and fit into your budget ask them some questions about their techniques based on these industry standards:

- Retouching is necessary but certain rules apply to maintain the integrity of a Headshot.

"Retouching is 70 percent skill and 30 percent art," says master retoucher Sam Tabrizi, who works in the lab of Reproductions in Hollywood (the company also has an office in New York). "Every headshot needs retouching...

The Do's and Don'ts of Headshot Retouching / North America

- Nothing should take away from the character of the headshot.

No Glamour Shots. Don't use Glamour Shots, Olan Mills, Sears Portrait Studio or any other chain photographer for your headshots. While such photographers might suit your needs for family pictures, you won't be taken seriously if you show up at an audition with one of these in tow...

Eperformer.com: Starting at Zero - Headshots

- Black and white was the standard when color was too expensive to make sense. Make sure your photographer gives you color and b&w files. There is no excuse for them not to.

- Your headshot is all about you. If you get a different idea from a photographer, don't hire them.

The more information a photographer knows about your career goals and your personality the better. If they don't ask questions about that information they may not have your best interest in mind.

To book Tom Clark for your Headshots please visit Miami Headshots and go to the contact page.

Food Photography on the spot

2009-06-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

When it comes to editorial, magazine based food photography there are two things that a photographer is usually left without; time and money. Creative ideas and beautiful images have to develop on the fly. Here are some quick tips based on my experience so far...

* Choose your background wisely...

* Try to avoid converging lines...

* If the background is not so great, wash it out...

Great photographs with your point and shoot camera part 2...

2009-06-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

The techniques used to get great photographs from taking snapshots with your point and shoot camera in this blog are a bit more detailed than in part 1. However, once you have it figured out picture taking will be fun and interesting. This image was also taken at the Miami Biltmore on the night of my girlfriend's birthday. It was just after sunset when there was much color in the sky but everything else was turned dark.

I set the camera to the auto exposure mode with a setting of plus 1. The flash was turned on and set to minus 1. This way the flash fills in the subject without being too over-powering. With these settings the photograph is almost ready to be snapped but one more thing has to be taken into account. The sky will be washed out if the camera automatically exposes for the foreground. In order to expose for the sky I tilt the camera upward so that mostly sky is in the frame and press and hold halfway on the shutter release. This causes the camera to lock in an automatic exposure for the sky and then I lower the camera to the composition that I want and take the picture. The camera exposes for the sky and the flash fills in the details in the foreground.

For any questions on this technique feel free to email me at tom@tomclarkphoto.com.

Great photographs with your point and shoot camera part 1...

2009-06-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

I have been looking into some methods of capturing better images with my point and shoot camera since it is easier to carry it around and I would be uncomfortable pulling out my pro camera in some social situations. The point and shoot is smaller, more discrete, and people are sometimes more comfortable being in front of it. The example photograph used in this blog is from my girlfriends birthday in which we went to the Biltmore in Coral Gables. I wanted to capture some scenes from the night in quality images without disturbing the mood.

The first thing you may want to get rid of for more interesting lighting in your night shots is the use of on camera flash (except in some cases which I will explain in part 2 of this blog.) The flash causes flat lighting on your subject and does nothing for lighting the background. This image would have been black apart from the woman and the first few steps had I used my on camera flash to expose for the shot.
To shoot at night without the flash you must choose scenes that have some available light and then set the camera to a high ISO (this causes an increase in noise which I think is an acceptable sacrifice.) In an extreme low light situation the shutter speed is going to be very slow so be prepared to keep a steady hand or use a tripod. On this night I chose situations that mainly had multiple light sources so that I could maintain a snapshot theme and would not have to bring any equipment into the situation.
In this image the warm light from the tungsten bulbs lights her right side while the cool light from the twilight falls on her left side. I have attached a few more examples of shooting at night with no flash from this night.

Miami Street Fahion

2009-06-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

This week I found myself in Miami Beach on Lincoln Road asking strangers on the street to allow me to photograph them for a fashion story. The client needed 20 males and 20 females who displayed a unique or local fashion sense and it was my job to get the shots. Every so often I am pushed out of my comfort zone and encouraged to reach out to people at random. At first this makes me uneasy, but once the ice is broken I always find myself asking "why don't I do stuff like this more often?"

Sure, I received some cold shoulders but that is expected and can easily be brushed off. The people who allowed me to photograph them have my gratitude and the best of the bunch were posted online at Miami Fashion Photos.

Also, don't forget to check out the Miami Photograph of the Week.