To Flash or Not to Flash...

Whenever possible at a wedding, I will leave my flash turned off - or better yet... in my bag (which is at least 80% of the time these days). Some photographers like to say, "You can have my flash when you pry it from my cold dead fingers." I know where they're coming from. I learned the ropes from a guy who flashed everything at f8. He even hot-glued his cameras' aperture rings so they wouldn't slip out of f8 because he didn't want mistakes. It took me almost 3 years to unlearn how to use a flash and learn how to use my head in it's place.

I think the problem most photographers have with shooting only available light is that it can be extremely difficult to get consistent exposures and accurate color especially in low light situations. It's far from safe. Wedding photographers have an even bigger issue with leaving their flash in their bag because they know that there is no such thing as a re-shoot. So how does one free himself from the flat, shiny, amateur look of on-camera flash? How does a photographer bring herself to lay down that little black shadow-killer during an assignment where her reputation is at stake and there is no redemption if she blows it?

The answer is sacrifice. You have to give something up in order to get results that excite you and inspire the artist within. You must give up perfection! Perfectionism only provokes fear and fear is what holds us back in pretty much every area of our lives. I love the way Joe Buissink puts it when he says "There is no such thing as a perfect image, only a perfect moment". He is so right. If we allow our creativity to be tied up by the "rules" of photography, we'll find ourselves bored; creating those mediocre images that look just like everyone else's.

I'm not saying to do things just to be unique. There's an old saying that goes something like "always remember you're unique... just like everyone else." It's true, so many people are out there trying so hard to be different that they end up looking the same. What I'm saying is, be yourself, and don't let fear hold you back. Forget all the rules you learned in school or from your mentors for a while and get out and shoot the way you've always wanted to shoot. Do something YOU like, not what you think your clients expect. Choose images from your shoots that speak to you on a different level even if they are out of focus, motion blurred, or break all the rules of composition. Remember, photography is subjective and you are the boss so take advantage of your position and have fun with it.

Using a flash can be fun too. Try turning it to the side and bouncing it off a wall for some side lighting. Or set up some off-camera wireless strobes to preserve those cool shadows and get consistent exposures too! Image directly above was taken using off-camera strobes for a natural look.

To flash or not to flash... it's your choice. Just make sure you avoid boredom at all costs.

descriptions for images above:
1. blurry hand in the frame shows motion and reveals the ring, hair in the face is fun, cute, and makes me feel relaxed (55mm f2.8 1/160sec 320iso, no flash)
2. stylish, fun couple on the dance floor, lots of motion, slight turn of camera while shooting in very low light with no flash (10.5mm f2.8 1/125sec, 800iso)
3. bride wearing Elizabeth Fillmore gown - love the shadows showing off the detail in this very cool gown, flash would have killed it (98mm f2.8 1/160sec, 500iso, no flash)
4. bride walking in NYC in a gown by Reva Mivasagar - love the movement in her hair and arm, shot after dusk in very low light while she walks, no flash, VR turned on, hand-held; street lamps created the natural shine on her eye make-up and lips (80mm, f2.8, 1/40sec, 400iso)
5. girl holding drink throwing some kind of sexy attitude - perhaps a bit intoxicated (55mm, f2.8, 1/80sec, 400iso, two off-camera strobes)

Since I'm laying low this year at WPPI (well sorta), I thought I'd use some of my free time to do a mentoring session. To make this interesting, I'm listing the session on ebay starting at $1.00 with no reserve. I'm looking forward to seeing who is the winning bidder! Fifty percent of the proceeds will go to Thirst Relief International.

***CLICK HERE FOR EBAY LISTING***

It's 2:45am and I'm here in front of my MacBook doing my very best to stay focused on the "important" things I'm supposed to get done before I go to sleep tonight. One of which is an email interview for an upcoming magazine feature with questions like..

"Update me a little bit on what you’ve been doing since we last spoke in 2005. Anything new you’ve implemented into your wedding workflow."

and...

"How would you describe your particular style in shooting weddings? What makes you stand out from the rest of the wedding photographers?

It's always hard for me to answer interview questions. Maybe because I know that hundreds of peers will be reading my answers or more likely it's because I sometimes forget what sets me apart from other photographers out there. I mean... all of us are just making it up as we go right? We somehow have a vision in our heads of who we want to be and where we want to go and we just move forward with one eye open hoping we don't trip or run into a wall along the way.

An ex-employer asked me a question once when I was getting ready to leave his studio to start my own business. His question went something like this, "Mike, what makes you think you're any different from the hundreds of photographers out there trying to make a living? What are you going to do that isn't being done already? How are you going to succeed? Have you ever stopped to think about that?"

I don't exactly know why, but I've always had a quiet (maybe false) sense of confidence. I like to think I've found favor in the eyes of God but I don't know that for sure... it's just a result of so many things going right in my life that I can't really take credit for. My mom told me once that I have the Midas touch and everything I touch turns to gold. I love my mom ;) I'm sure she told that to my brother and sister too! Well, I couldn't answer my soon-to-be ex-boss's question without sounding like an idiot so I just kept my mouth shut and shrugged my shoulders. If I didn't care what he thought of me, I would have said what was so obvious to me at the young, know-it-all age of 22, "It's me. I'm different. There's only one of me so that makes me one of a kind. Isn't that enough to be successful?"

I remember how confident I was. There was nothing that was going to hold me back from pursuing and realizing my dream of owning my own photography business and making a decent living doing what I loved so much.

Looking back, my expections weren't exactly in the clouds. All I wanted was to be able to do something fun as a career, afford to drive a new (or at least newer) vehicle instead of my 10 year old small pick-up, and eventually be able to move out on my own so I could start a family.

I never actually thought that I could take this so far. I didn't put a cap on my dreams but I never expected to find the kind of success I've found. God really must have a plan for my life because I can honestly say that I don't know what I am doing here or how I got here.

That reminds me of a song that I must have heard a thousand times while folding Levis at Miller's Outpost in the Buena Park Mall when I was sixteen. It was a song by Talking Heads called "Once in a Lifetime" . The lyrics went... "And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile, And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful Wife, And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?

I ask myself that question every day. Can't help but wonder when this dream will end and I'll wake up to find myself back in my little apartment in Fullerton living with my dad.

Is it bad to have an ongoing feeling that I'm due for some kind of tragedy in my life? Is God setting me up higher so I can fall further just to build character in me? hmmm... deep thoughts, I must be overly tired. Logan is to blame. I can hear him starting to stir and make the funny noises he makes when he's getting hungry. uh oh

There's a sign near the entrance to the 73 toll road at Jamboree that says in big letters AIV (all in vain). I read it every time I get on the toll road to go to a shoot. It reminds me that I don't want to be 80 years old and thinking about how I never made a difference. I want to be used by God in whatever way. It may just be to take care of my family and point my kids towards heaven or I might end up in on the other side of the world preaching the Gospel to fifty thousand heads. I guess God knows right?

Ok, now back to the "important" stuff. It was fun rambling. Thanks for reading :)

Oh, the moral to what I originally started this post for was something along the lines of - You have no competition because there is only ONE of you on this earth. Embrace that fact and let it carry you in your art, your business, and your confidence!

Logan Stephen Colón
Born: 8:33am on Thursday 1-11-07
Weight: 9lbs 7oz
Height: 21.5"
Cuteness Percentile: 1000%

God is good! Thank you Lord for...

giving me life
my beautiful wife Julie
our adorable son Aidan
our gorgeous new healthy baby Logan (photos coming soon!)
our loving families
my mom's latest promising scan results
our health
our amazing friends
your generous provision
your forgiveness

Without you Lord, I am nothing. I know some day I may lose one or more of the above things (except the last). Please help me never to take them for granted!

This is a special "belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" to my buddy Ray Santana. Looking forward to many more good times this year Ray! This image was taken by Ray's super cool wife Anna in Menton, France. I used ParkerJ Moody Blues B/W filter on it for fun :)

Wow! Time flies when you're having fun! I can't believe it's already the 9th of January 2007! So this is what I've been up to since my last post...

Crash Course in Aperture 1.5
4 weddings edited
15 albums delivered
Cover shoot for Bride & Bloom Magazine (Thanks Rita!)
More unpacking & organizing stuff in new home
Meeting new neighbors (they brought us cookies!)
Some basketball with the kids next door
Website make-over launch
Install home theater and house music
Lots of drywall repair from two Plasma installs
Christmas sale on DVDs - lots of boxing and shipping
Kim Raver photo session in Hollywood
Lots of cooking and cleaning
Christmas shopping
Christmas parties at friends houses
Two Christmas parties at our place
The blur between Christmas and New Years
Stayed up all night cleaning up the Garage
New Year's Eve Party at our place
Watched movies all day with my family
Furniture Shopping
Meetings with Clients
More editing and retouching
Last date night with Julie for a while
Three days of assembling new promo kit (thanks Shyla and Krystin!)
Shoot in LA for a national event planner convention
Pack for hospital
Get ready for the newest member of the Colon family to arrive
Try to get some sleep while we can

I'll get some images/videos up when our second little boy is born in just a few days.

Please say a prayer for us for a healthy baby and safe delivery. We love you all and wish you as much happiness and excitement in your lives as we have had lately in ours!