vacation portraits « Thoughts From an Island Photographer

March 19, 2010

March Madness – It Never Gets Old

As portrait photographers, we get to spend quality time with vacationers on a daily basis. We get to share their wonder and joy as they peel back the unique layers that make St. John such a special place. We love that. This is especially true in March, when High Season is at its peak and so many families are here for their spring break. Our island culture and all its quirkiness is on full display and it’s party time everywhere.

It’s hard to spend more than a few minutes in town and not want to smile at some small thing. Watching baby chicks scrambling around their mother in the middle of the road in downtown Cruz Bay is pretty cool to young city kids. And drinking coconut water for the first time – can seem pretty exotic too.

A hike to St. John’s Petroglyphs, a swim around Waterlemon Cay, and watching the Fire Eaters on Wednesday night at the Westin are all activities worth the effort.

Every boat trip we go on makes us feel like first-time visitors whether we are there to take vacation portraits for a honeymoon couple or are just sneaking off for our own family fun with anonymous tourists. The excitement of finding a school of parrotfish, or seeing dolphins swimming alongside, or spying a hidden beach from the water – it never gets old. Capturing those images in our clients eyes makes for a perfect day.

At night our island is alive with people out having fun this time of year – enjoying restaurants, bar hopping and catching some fun nightlife activities. Yes, that’s us you saw last week, with Bob taking photos of his dinner. [He’s incorrigible]. If we catch your eye, don’t be surprised if we

Blues Festival Details Here!

offer to take your photo gratis and email it to you. There are too many good causes holding fundraising events for us to be at them all, but when we can’t, we’re there in spirit.

There is music everywhere and this week that’s especially true, especially if you like the blues. The 8^th Annual Johnny Walker St. John Blues Festival is in full swing, with the Big Concert scheduled for 7 PM in the ballpark in Coral Bay (they chase the goats away). Many visitors have told us they’ll be there and so will we, having a great time and acting like teenagers. So, if you’re there, don’t be surprised if you show up in a local newspaper photo or in one of the many images we’ll be posting on our Facebook fan page next week.

This Sunday, we’ll be exhausted, but looking forward to another wild and crazy week. We invite you all to play on our little island this week or whenever you can. For us, it just never gets old.

Until later,

Bob and Karin Schlesinger
Your Island Photographers

Filed under: General — Tags: Cruz Bay, island activities, St. John, vacation portraits — Karin @ 4:48 pm

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February 19, 2010

Which Is Better – Morning or Afternoon Light?

We are often asked which is the best time for a photo shoot here in the Caribbean – in the morning or late afternoon. The answer depends on the makeup of your party and what you want your photos to look like in the natural tropical light.

In early morning, the light starts out cool and the contrast is low. Distant objects can appear hazy and soft or distant but crisp. Images of calm, contemplation, grace, and renewal are perfect for capturing during these moments. It is a serious time of day, but also a joyous one. As the sun rises above the horizon the light begins rapidly changing and warming. Think awakening, birth, new beginnings, and growth as concepts to capture.

Mid-Morning Sunbathing Light

Morning is a popular time for young couples having beach weddings. It is also a perfect time for families who want both formal portraits and picture-postcard fun-in-the-sun type photos. Sunbathers always look cooler in the morning sun. Just keep in mind the moods created by the fast-changing lighting, as the light moves from a calm peaceful glow to warm vibrant sunshine, plan your shots accordingly.

By mid-morning, the island’s blues and greens are becoming their most vibrant. As the bright Caribbean sun becomes sharp overhead, the light becomes hard. There are tricks to taking great photos mid-day – think diffusing the light and creative perspectives. Those photos can be difficult to capture, but spectacular when done well. (Hopefully we’ll cover this in another blog soon).

Mid-Afternoon Fun In The Sun

By mid-afternoon, the sunlight is very warm but lower in the sky, with the blues and greens more muted than the morning hours. The warm colors of the color spectrum have taken over. It is a perfect time for images of fun, family, friends, and high energy vacation portraits. With the sun moving closer to the horizon, the yellows, oranges, and reds of the light spectrum dominate. The mood changes as the day ends and the light softens even as the shadows grow. It is a time of gatherings, of happily ever after, of romance, and family bonding. Late afternoon is a time well suited for hiding fine wrinkles and age spots.

As the sun begins to set, the lighting changes quickly as reds give way to purples in preparation for nightfall. Tranquil reflections, intimate love, and timelessness are all easily captured in the waning light.

Here on St. John, every day is different. On one day a sunset might bring a fiery red sky, and the next evening might bring a pastel palette of tranquility. A crisp early morning with 50 mile view can be followed by one with a hazy start and distant islands gently receding out of vision.

Whatever your personal goals are in taking photos here in the Virgin Islands, there is always a perfect time to take them, or have them taken for you. At Tropical Focus, we love shooting photos every moment of every day.

Filed under: General, Weddings, portraits — Tags: beach wedding, Caribbean, natural light, photo, St. John, vacation portraits, Virgin Islands — Karin @ 10:02 pm

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December 25, 2009

Double Shooter?

bobdoubleshooter1
During wedding ceremonies or family vacation portrait photo shoots I am a part of, clients often comment on the two cameras dangling from my neck at the same time. They see me swap from one to another often, and I guess it may look rather strange to any bystander. Sometimes I may say one camera is for each eye but that is not exactly true. The dual cameras mean I do less lens swapping during the client session. Shooting primarily at the beach where even the gentlest gust can blow sand inside the camera and on the sensor can cause problems. See our 9/21/09 article Great Beach Photos Often Mean Dirty Sensors.

My two cameras are pre-set with different but complementary lenses. bobdoubleshooter Most often I have been using a Nikon D-700 with 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens, swapping that with a 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens when necessary and a Nikon D-200 with a 18-200 f/3.5 lens (and other DX lenses or lenses for a smaller than the full size D-700 sensor). This holiday season I got a wonderful gift from my wife, a 2nd Nikon D700 body where I now keep my70-200 lens. (What a great woman!) Using the two D700’s with these pro lenses allows me the luxury of not doing lens changes on the beach and reduces the amount of time I spend cleaning sensors. Most importantly, that means more time focused on my client instead of my equipment.

Having and using two different lenses is important to me. It allows both capturing a scene with a broad landscape, for example people with the expanse of beach and islands in the background with the 24-70 mm lens. And at the same time, by a simple swap of cameras, to capture a portrait, close-up or zooming in on the wedding ring being slid on a finger with wonderful depth of field only possible by using the longer 70-200 mm lens or standing very close by. Of course, when shooting an intimate wedding it’s always a good idea to give the wedding couple their space and the longer lens allows this to happen and still capture those perfect intimate moments that matter.

I admit it, I am a double-shooter and proud of it.

Filed under: General, Weddings, portraits — Tags: camera technique, island photography, Nikon D700, portraits, St. John photographer, vacation portraits, Weddings — Bob @ 6:14 pm

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September 21, 2009

My Island Is My Studio

I hope you will enjoy my occasional ramblings and find useful information you can use here. I have started this blog to share with you things I have learned over the years from photographing here in the Caribbean – everything from tips for clients wanting a very special vacation portrait or brides worrying about their wedding day, to my experiences of removing pesky water spots from my camera sensors. The island is my studio and photography is my life!