Posted by Scott Carl on November 17, 2009 · Leave a Comment
- Scott Carl
With November comes the beginning of the Holiday Season. OK, OK, I’m sure many of you are trying to remind me of Halloween that has just passed. Don’t think I don’t get the irony of what you are trying say…
I’m also sure that many of you – because of your interest and skill level in photography – have become known as the “official photographer” for your family, just as I have. That’s not always as annoying as it seems, actually. If you’re willing to do so, I encourage you to take as many images of your family members as you possibly can. Be the family photo historian! As uncomfortable as it is to discuss, we just don’t know how long we have with each other. And if you don’t capture those who might be lost, you’ll never forgive yourself.
It’s a small price to pay for the memories captured. And, it can be very fun and fulfilling to learn how to shoot portraits. Even if you don’t care to do it for a living, or for anyone besides family, I encourage you to try out your skills.
And what better time than during the Holidays to make these images? Your family is all together and, hopefully, in a pretty good mood! Should be a piece of cake, right? Weeelll…
Here are a few tips to help you succeed at obtaining the best possible images of your family:
1. Watch your backgrounds! It’s always a good idea to move people away from windows and cluttered shelves and cabinets. A Christmas tree makes a fun backdrop if you use a shallow Depth of Field.
2. Have them toss on a coat if they’re prone to wearing “loud” holiday sweaters. Or encourage them to bring a solid colored top. You don’t need to shoot full body shots, just try to make a nice head and shoulders portrait.
3. Watch those reflections in eyeglasses! If you’re having trouble creating an image without glare or flash flare, have your family member slightly lift the arms of their glasses (back by their ears) slightly up. This will put an angle on the glass that shouldn’t be noticeable and will reduce or remove any glare/flare.
4. When shooting groups, try to arrange heads in triangle patterns. Again, don’t worry about getting full body shots. And make sure you have ample room to pose them. Regardless of how close your family might be, photographs of cramped people are seldom flattering. And don’t forget to keep an eye on the background!
5. When using a flash, try to diffuse the light. Using tissue paper, bubble wrap, or commercially available diffusers, you’ll want to reduce the harsh shadows produce by many on-board and attachable flash units. It sometimes doesn’t take much.
I could probably go on and on with tips, but these few should be enough to get you started. Really do give family portraiture a try, you’ll be glad you did!
And let’s not forget the beauty of nature as it sleeps! Get out there and capture great shots of bare trees, snow, rain soaked flowers and the like. Expand your horizons and give Christmas lights a try.
But remember the most important part of all of this: enjoy yourself. Because if photography becomes too much work, or you lose your enjoyment of it, you’ll quickly become depressed – if you’re anything like me!
I’m looking forward to the opportunities to shoot with more of you this year. We’ve assembled a great Field Trip Committee! And we have lots of wonderful plans for the trips this season! Look for workshops within the Field Trips. You’ll have a chance to learn something new, and then put it to immediate use. That’s a fantastic way to learn, if you ask me!
And remember, if you have an idea for a Field Trip destination, please let us know! We’re here for you, but YOU are the ones who give us guidance!
Have a great time continuing your photographic journey. May you and yours be blessed this Holiday Season!
Scott Carl
YVCC President
Posted by Scott Carl on November 15, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Well, here we go with another wonderful year in the Yamhill Valley Camera Club! You’ll note that we have a brand new format and look to our newsletter. Hopefully, this will allow for content to be added without worrying so much about filling a certain amount of pages. With this online, digital version we can experience extremely short newsletters, or very long ones with the usual accompanying images. I’m sure we’ll get better at it as we go along.
I would like to take a moment and welcome our newest officers. Congrats to Glenn Zander and Connie Painter! Also, Julie Carl, Tom Cattrall, Gene Davis, and Larry Kurtz all return to their respective positions. I’m excited about working with you this coming Club year! And lastly, the Club members apparently haven’t had enough of me yet. I am happy to return as your Club President and will do my very best to continue along the path of enriching your Club experience. With the help of the other aforementioned members, I’m sure this year will be a terrific one! So, once again here are your officers for the 2009-2010 Club year:
President – Scott Carl
Vice President – Glenn Zander
Secretary – Julie Carl
Treasurer – Connie Painter
And our volunteer Chairs:
Competition Chair – Tom Cattrall
Clinic Night Co-Chairs – Gene Davis/Larry Kurtz
Julie and I are also returning on the Field Trip Committee and are happy to be joined by Ron Petersen! I’m sure he has no idea what he is in for! 
Thanks, Ron!
We will also be looking for volunteers to sign up for our other committees. Currently, we have the following committees available:
Yamhill County Fair Committee – Julie Carl, Chair Fund Raising Committee – Larry Kurtz, Chair
Field Trip Committee – Scott and Julie Carl/Ron Petersen, Co-Chairs
If you’re interested in volunteering for any one (or more) of these committees, please contact their respective Chairs. I’m sure there’s room for plenty of volunteers!
I would like to remind the Club members that we are in need of a new 4C’s representative. Someone who is willing to make as many of the 4C’s meetings as possible, or at least able to devote their time in keeping in contact with the 4C’s and making our Club’s presence known. If you think you might be able to do this – even for a little while – please let me know. We might be able to make this a committee and have several people involved.
Also, I would very much like to thank Larry Kurtz for his service as our Vice President this last year. Larry put in quite a bit of time to help make this Club be as successful as it has been. I’m glad he has agreed to continue on in his roles as Co-Chair of Clinic Night and Chair of the Fund Raising committee. Do me a favor and walk up to him at any Club function, shake his hand, and thank him very much for his service!
And in no way is this the least of my thanks for someone who devoted many, many hours to our Club. I wanted to take a moment to give our very own Gary Werner an enormous pat on the back and a multitude of thanks for his service these past few years as our Club Treasurer. It’s not an easy job, and takes plenty of personal time – behind the scenes – to wrangle the Club coffers and financial duties. From the bottom of my heart, and with much gratitude, I wish to thank you, Gary. Your dedication to the Club and unselfish service is so greatly appreciated and respected by all of us who are fortunate enough to have had the pleasure of working with you. I know you will continue to involve yourself in the Club, and am thankful for that as well!
Hopefully, we’ll be able to provide many opportunities for entertainment, education, and fellowship in the coming year. But as I have said many times over, this Club is YOURS. YOU are responsible to make it what it shall be. Without your involvement, ideas, and assistance, this Club cannot function. Please consider becoming more involved – even if to just make anonymous suggestions. We really do need you!
Feel free to contact me anytime to discuss our Club, photography, or anything else that you would like to. I’m excited and looking forward to another GREAT Club year!
Scott Carl
YVCC President