As you become an expert at something…or at least a perceived expert at something, you’ll quickly find people asking you for advice. I know I certainly ask my SEO guru friend questions about SEO all the time. Which is why friends, family, and internet readers often ask me about what camera and gear they should purchase. I’m an expert, right? Yes, in some respects…I do know a lot about cameras, at least the ones I use. But in reality, the question “What camera should I buy?” is mostly dependent on who’s asking the question. I actually wrote a more philosophical answer to the question earlier in the year, I thought I’d try to be more specific this time around.

To answer the question, you need to consider a few things.
1. What do you hope/plan to use the camera for? Are you a mom wanting to take better photos of your kids playing? Are you an enthusiast looking to go pro in portrait and wedding photography? Or are you just looking for a nice camera to take on vacation?

2. How much money are you looking to invest? What’s your budget? $200, $1200, $2000?

3. How long do you see this purchase lasting you? Are you planning on upgrading again in a year? Do you want this camera to last you 4 years? Is this just a step towards bigger and better things?

4. What’s your interest in learning to use the camera’s settings? Do you just want something that only requires you to point and shoot? Or are you actually interested in learning how to use the camera’s functions?

5. Are there any must-have features? Do you want video capability? Face recognition?

Once you answer those questions, you can begin to narrow down what you need. I’ll give a few examples and answers to help you out. Just remember, technology is constantly changing, so what’s current today will be outdated soon. That’s not to say your camera will stop working though! Also, all my recommendations are Canon, because I am more familiar with their line of products. If you are interested in Nikon, just look up their equivalents on their site…they’re a great brand, too.

Example 1: Mom who wants to take better photos of her kids in action, has a budget of $600, wants to use the camera for several years, interested in learning settings, but doesn’t need video. I would recommend the: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS (a.k.a. 1000D) SLR Black Camera Kit with EF-S 18-55 IS Lens. If her budget was $900 and she wanted HD video capabilities, I’d recommend the: Canon EOS Digital REBEL T2i (a.k.a. 550D) SLR Camera Kit with EF-S 18-55 IS Lens

Example 2: Vacationer who wants a portable camera, has a budget of $300, plans to keep the camera around, not interested in learning settings, would like video but doesn’t need to be HD. I would recommend the: Canon PowerShot D10 Compact Digital Camera, 12 Megapixel, WaterProof to 33 Feet, 3x Optical IS Zoom. It’s even waterproof!

Example 3: Hobbyist who has a budget of $1500 is looking for several year investment, is interested in learning settings, but doesn’t need video. I would recommend the: Canon EOS-50D Digital SLR Camera Body only Kit (without lens) and purchasing the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens to get started. Honestly, though, I’d probably look for a good used original Canon 5D camera–you can find them for about $1000, but it won’t come with a warranty and you’ll have to do your homework. Or, if you’re looking for video and only have a budget of $500, I recommend the Canon PowerShot G11 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera. It’s not an SLR, but it will give you plenty of room for controlling settings.

Example 4: Enthusiast who has a budget of $2500, is looking for a long-term investment, is interested in learning settings, doesn’t need video. This is a tough one. You could blow all that money on the Canon EOS-5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera body Kit (without lens), but then you’d need to buy some lenses. In the long-term, good lenses will retain their value, while cameras are quickly outdated. In this case, I’d actually recommend looking for a good used Canon 5D camera (it’s full-frame…not cropped like the 5D and 7D), and then using the leftover $1500 to buy a good lens or two: maybe the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM Wide-Angle Camera Lens and the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens. Of course, that may take you over your budget, depending on what you pay for the 5D. You could also try finding those lenses used for a lower price.

So, as you can see, there’s not one answer for everyone. The key thing is to find out what you need/want and then do some research. Obviously, what you purchase will be constrained by your budget. Of course, if you have about $15,000-$20,000 lying around, you could just buy everything I’ve got….and this isn’t all of it.

But I’m digressing. Neither of those lenses are my new favorite. My new favorite lens is the Canon 35mm f1.4L lens. The story behind how I came to love this lens involves some minor tragedy. Well, an accident, at least.

I was at a wedding last summer snapping photos of folks dancing and enjoying the party when my Canon 24-70 f2.8L lens accidentally slipped off my camera (by me inadvertently pressing the release button and turning the zoom at the same time!) and came crashing to the floor. Amazingly, no glass was broken, but the focus was jammed and the lens was unusable. I quickly reached for my backup, the 17-40mm f4L lens, and went back out to the dance floor…

…And rediscovered my love for the wide, wide, angle. Soon after, I sold my 24-70 (fixed it first, though!) and my 17-40 and bought the Canon 16-35 2.8L lens to get those extra f-stops, vital for dim churches and reception venues. My 16-35mm lens and I became fast friends, and we remain so today.

Yet, I often found myself longing for more f-stops, since I was spoiled with the 85′s 1.2. At the same time, I realized I was using the 35mm length more and more often on the 16-35mm. So, after much thought and longing, I caved and purchased the Canon 35mm f1.4 lens. I absolutely LOVE this lens. It’s perfect for telling the story of the day, and I love it’s creamy bokeh contrasted with sharp focus. Now, my two lenses I use for most parts of the wedding day are the 85mm 1.2L and the 35mm 1.4L. Perfection.

But, the long answer (should you care to read it) is that my interest and passion for photography began and flourished while I was a student at Texas A&M University. At the time, I was really interested in international affairs, history, and politics–specifically all things Russian (I still am). I envisioned myself graduating and working for some NGO or the government, probably saving the world by the time I was 25. Simultaneously, I was also pursuing my love for horses by competing on my school’s equestrian team. I began to take photos of our events and found that I really enjoyed capturing the excitement, story, and moments of the day (the truth is, I was and am a much better photographer than rider).

Heh. I can laugh about it now, but I was a very serious and ambitious student with grandiose, albeit unrealistic, visions for myself. I think you have to be in order to apply (yes, apply) for a class called “The Academy for Future International Leaders.” Ironically, during the course of that class, I began to doubt my desires for world politics. When we had luncheons with “influential” people and had to stand up and describe what we planned on doing with our lives, I felt like saying “I want to be a really good photographer” instead of “I plan on working for the state department.” Don’t get me wrong–that class was one of my favorite experiences, and I am so grateful for everything I learned. I would not trade it for any photography class. After I graduated and moved to Pittsburgh with my husband, I slowly began to pursue my dream of being a wedding photographer, and I absolutely love my job!

So, while I never took a photography class at A&M, my college experience as a whole is what really helped me start my photography business. That’s the long answer to the question!

If you’ve ever taken photos in a dark room and struggled to get your lens to focus properly (using autofocus, of course), then you know just how frustrating it can be. There’s nothing like watching the perfect moment slip away as your lens painstakingly tries to focus on your subject. Or worse, you set yourself up for the best angle to get “the shot,” and as you press your shutter (or back button) to focus, the focus goes crazy and you end up with a nicely composed photo of blurry blobs. I feel your pain. I’ve been there.

So instead of fighting with my camera to focus, this is what I do when it’s just too dark for my lens. First, I set my aperture to f/4 or something close to that and I find a light or something that my lens can lock on, and I stand about 4-5 feet away (closer or farther, depending on how near I expect to be by my subject). I lock my focus on the object by using the back button, and viola–I’ve got my focus. Then I head out to the dance floor, hold my camera above my head, and fire away. I periodically reset my focus throughout the night, just depending on how far away I’m working from my subject. And if there’s plenty of light to where focus isn’t an issue, then I just shoot as I normally do.

Here’s some photos to show you what I get:

This technique also works well for cake cutting shots and such.

I love natural light. It’s beautiful, simple, and easy to use (mostly). However, more often than not, reception locations are rather dark, and it becomes nigh on impossible to depend on natural or ambient (available) light only. I know there are some photographers out there who are natural light “purists” and avoid using flashes like the plague, but I think there’s definitely a place for adding your own light–whether by flash or some other means. Even with recent advances in digital cameras in reducing noise at high ISOs, I still think using flash appropriately benefits the look of the photos.

So, with that in mind, I’m going to try to explain what I use to achieve the look in my reception lighting. First off, let’s take a look at a typical reception hall without any flash at all. This is at the Omni William Penn Hotel Grand Ballroom from Caitlin and Derick’s wedding.

My settings were as follows:
Camera: Canon 5D
Lens: 16-35L
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO 1600
Shutter speed: 1/60th

As you can see, the ballroom has lovely chandeliers and some nice lights up for the holidays, but all in all, it’s a dark room. I’ve also pretty much maxed out my settings. Sure, I could go up to 3200 ISO on the 5D, but then I’d really be worried about noise. I also don’t think it would increase the light such that my subjects would be properly exposed.

So, I’m going to use flash to help me light the room.

Here’s another shot I took while setting up my lighting. This is ambient light only. Pretty dark. (Settings are the same as above).

The first thing I do is have a flash on my camera’s shoe, in this case, the Canon 580EX II. I’ve set it to TTL mode, so I’m letting the camera and flash do the thinking for exposure, and I’m also bouncing the light. In other words, I don’t point the flash directly forward. Instead, I’ve got it turned to the right pointing up at about a 60 degree angle. Here’s what I get:

That’s not bad. Now I can at least see the cake. But, to me, the image looks a bit flat and still too dark. So, I now have an off-camera flash set up on a stand. I set the flash to manual exposure, and put the power at 1/16th. I use radio triggers to have the off-camera flash fire when my on-camera flash fires (I’ll list my equipment at the end of this post).

This is the result I’m looking for. The flash on the stand adds depth to the image, while the flash on my camera adds overall lighting. Later in the evening, I actually added a second stand with flash so that I would have two off-camera flashes firing. I did this because of the size of the room and the dance floor. If I want to move around and catch the action on different parts of the dance floor, I want to have my secondary flashes in different locations, too. Here’s what it looks like in action. All three flashes are firing…you should be able to see there’s one directly behind Caitlin and Derick and one over to their right, and then my own on-camera flash (bounced) is filling in.

I’m also not afraid to let the flashes show in the photos..in fact, I think it makes the dance photos look more lively.

Here’s a view from above. Only one of my stand flashes has fired, the other light is from the band’s lighting.

And here you can see what it looks like when my on-camera flash doesn’t fire. I still like the mood this creates, but it’s definitely not for every shot.

So, hopefully you can see how the use of flash has enhanced the look of the photos, not detracted from them. Here’s a list of the lighting gear I use to create the look:

2 Light stands (any sturdy kind will do) with hot shoe mount adapters to hold the flashes.
2 Canon 580EX II flashes (you could do with just one for the camera)
1 LumoPro LP120 Manual Flash. This flash is very reasonably priced because it is manual only–you can’t use it for TTL, which is fine for this purpose.
3 Pocket Wizard Plus II radio triggers to communicate with the flashes.
2 Canon CP-E4 Battery packs to enable the Canon flashes to recycle faster.

Of course, there are several ways you could create the off-camera lighting setup…different flashes, different radio triggers, etc, but the principle should still be the same. You’re using manual and TTL flash together to lighten up those dark reception halls.

I titled this post “Reception Lighting Part One” because there’s another key trick that I use at receptions that’s more related to the camera itself, so I’m saving that for another post. Stay tuned!

It all depends on what you intend to do with your photography. Shooting a sports event will require something different than shooting macro shots of flowers in your backyard. And believe me, I’m not an expert on every lens out there. I can only speak for what I’ve used. And Nikon lovers–I’m afraid I haven’t used Nikon at all, so I really can’t offer any opinions there.

However, if I had to choose just one lens to recommend that Canon photographers buy, it would be the 50mm 1.4 lens. This is for several reasons:

1. It’s moderately priced–right now about $400 on Adorama.
2. It’s incredibly fast–1.4 aperture means great for low light.
3. It produces clean, sharp images.
4. And it’s lightweight–an easy walk-around lens to keep handy.

Now, Canon also offers two other 50mm lens models. There’s the 50mm 1.8 II that sells for about $120, and then there’s the 50mm 1.2L, which sells for about $1,450.

I also own the 1.8, and there is a vast difference between it and the 1.4. The 1.8 is completely plastic (except for the glass), and it’s not nearly as sharp as the 1.4 when stopped down to 1.8 aperture. If you’re going to get a 50mm lens, I would really recommend just going ahead and buying the 1.4. (I bought the 1.8 first and later bought the 1.4). As for the 1.2, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it, but I haven’t actually used it. I’m sure you can find plenty of reviews about it on the web.

And, since a post isn’t any good without a photo, here are a couple of my willing model, Astin, taken with the 50mm 1.4 lens.

See the nice bokeh it produces?

Astin: “I’m sure I saw a cat out there…”

“How did you choose Birchtree Photography as your studio name?” Or some variation of that question.

The short answer is that I fell in love with birch trees while living in Moscow, Russia when I was a child. Yes, I lived there for 5 years when I was growing up–and no, my parents weren’t spies–at least, I don’t think they were. Since I thought “Mary Schwarz Photography” sounded boring (and was difficult to spell!), I decided on Birchtree Photography because I think birch trees are beautiful.

Four years ago this summer, I actually spent 10 weeks in Moscow as part of a study abroad program in college. Much had changed since I had been there in 1998, but surprisingly, much had remained the same.

At that time, I only had a point and shoot camera, but here are a couple of photos anyway.

Moscow has a number of great forests/parks located in the city. Birch trees are a common sight:

I’ve circled the apartment where I lived for several years. Note the drab concrete-slab architecture.

And a famous tourist spot–Red Square–with my twist on it.

You can actually find some more photos from that trip–and other places–here on my website.