Tomas Mendoza Photography

Ever had your camera in front of you and no idea what to shoot, how to compose the shot or even the desire to shoot at all?
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges we face is related to motivation and consistency. In one word: Discipline
How do we refresh the ‘batteries’? How do we keep things fresh and interesting? How do we get inspired or how do we come up with ideas of what to shoot?

One of the pivotal elements in our Digital Photography Workshop is the weekly assignments. After discussing theory, creative application and how to make those changes on each individual’s camera, each week students get a specific assignment. The objective is for us to spent the weekend shooting with a concept in mind.

During class a couple of months ago I was asked what to do after the workshop was over. So, I suggested to cycle through the assignments we had and re-shoot them in the same sequence. However, I ended up making a list of projects to use acquired Phographic skills: PAD (picture a day), a Blog where you write then shoot to illustrate your point, document family history, dedicate the weekend to shoot someone’s hobby, shoot your valuables for inventory and insurance, shoot for online sales, and others

It was such an energizing meeting that when I got home I had come up with a new project of my own: Cleaning, organizing and sale as much online as possible.

In the past I had used my 10-foot backgrounds and lighting setup for product and commercial applications but I had the whole floor so space was not a problem. This time, however, as soon as I begun bringing all those unopened boxes (from the last time we moved) my home studio got cluttered. I had thrown my hat over the fence so I had to jump… I was not going to move those boxes again. So it became apparent that I needed a small setup to take pictures.
Frustrated and tired then I begun checking out accesories for table top photography. Some pretty cool stuff out there but despite their appeal (assuming I could decide on a model) they were not cheap and it would take a while for shipping. By midnight my cleaning idea gave way to a new project: I was going to build my own Table Top Setup.

Next day I begun sketching the requirements and specifications: Light yet sturdy, easy to setup and store, versatile and economic. I debated between wood similar to the posts I used to make some light stands but I settled on PVC because it was easier to cut and adjust without making a big mess (also cheaper). Originally, the table and the background ‘holder’ were going to be a single piece but I couldn’t decide how far back the background should be so it made sense to make two pieces to separate them as needed. I was having problems deciding how tall, deep and wide it should be but the hardware store made it easy for me.

for less than $20 bucks we got:
They sell Plywood in 2×2
Precut 2-feet PVC40
Plexi glass 24×18 inches
10 ft regular PVC for the cross bars and the backdrop holder
A roll of Banner Paper which is also 24 inches (thanks to my wife Kari)

The kids helped on this project and a couple of hours later we built a ‘table’ that is 32 inches tall and the background holder stands 62 inches

And here is the whole setup shooting sample pictures to use in my Digital Photography Workshop

Here is a shot posted on an online auction

What do you think?

An assumption we need to get out of the way is that in Digital Photography there is no Happily ever after. That’s right! Keep in mind that first you have a concept of a picture then you prepare and take the picture and finally you begin post-production
This last stage is as important (if not more) as the rest of the process. Post-Production covers pretty much everything we do with the picture once we release the shutter.
This is the Hardware and Software I use for Photography. On the hardware side: PC with Windows XP with dual P4 3.2 GHz CPU, 4GB of memory, Dell Flat LCD, Epson Printer and a bunch of External Maxtor One Touch Hard Drives. On the software: Photomechanic, Photoshop CS2, Fotofusion, Memories on TV, Genuine Fractuals, Panorama Maker, Tiffen DFX, JAlbum, Dreamweaver, Mcafee, Backup Exec, Nero and various recovery utilities.
Workflow has to be as systematic as possible so I use PhotoMechanic to ingest my pictures to the corresponding month/year. I do this every day or after I’m done with a ‘project’. I use Photoshop (and plug-ins) to edit pictures when needed making sure I keep the originals and work on copies ONLY. Most importantly, I have all my data on a separate Internal Hard Drive so if Windows get hosed I can re-install Windows and not loose a single picture. Also, I make backups to external Maxtor Hard Drives

Use a dedicated Drive and store by year

…then, store by month

How do I shoot Quality pictures? Once the frame is properly Exposed in terms of Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO Setting then the last element to consider is Composition.
At this stage it is you who controls and ultimately decides how the image will look after post-production. It is time to release your creativity and compose or organize the elements within the frame to convey the mood as you see fit. Keep in mind that Cameras don’t make pictures, People do.
We get to review and further discuss and practice composition techniques previously mentioned. We get to shoot practice shoots of the same subject from multiple angles and distances with ambient light, flash and using light modifiers

f6.3, 1/400 sec, ISO 100, 200mm, Overcast afternoon

f2.8, 1/30 sec, ISO 200, 75mm, Window lighting

ISO refers to the sensor sensitivity to light. On our sixth meeting we got to play with the ISO Settings on the camera and compared several pictures. A lower ISO number (or setting) reduces sensitivity to light hitting the sensor and helpful to create Quality Portraits. A higher ISO Setting increases the sensor’s sensitivity to light but also creates ‘noise’. Useful when shooting in low light such

f2.0, 1/160 sec, ISO 1600, 50mm

Film used to come color-coded or labeled as ‘Night’, ‘Sports’ or ‘Day’. However, once loaded we had to shoot the whole film before being able to shoot indoors or in low light. Well, those days are gone now that we have the ability to change ISO Settings from one frame to the next until we obtain the desired effect.
On our fifth meeting we get to review and critique our ‘Shutter Assignment’ and see what we can learn from this experience. We also define ISO and how changing the ISO Settings could improve some of the pictures previously shot. On the equipment discussion we review how the higher ISO sensitivity offered by a model can in turn make it more expensive.