Shoot N Learn - February

Hey Everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the Steeler's 6th Superbowl win!!! I know that I have :-)

This is the time of year where (if you live in Pittsburgh) it is easy to fall into "Seasonal Depression", because it is so darn gloomy out there. It takes a little extra effort to be motivated and to stay focused. I think it helps to surround yourself with positive people and great relationships to keep going.

I would love for this month's Shoot N Learn to be just that. Let's have a round table discussion about everything and anything - (photography related of course ;-) ). Would you please join us:

• When: Tuesday February 24, 2009 @ 7:00 PM


• Where: Bado's Pizza Grill and Ale House (Click Here for the Map)


• Limit is 20 people, so please let me know ASAP david@davidburkephoto.com

I really look forward to these gatherings! We will all take new things away from this meeting.

Also, please stay tuned for my first Full Day Workshop I will be announcing soon!

Of course I cannot complete a post without an image. I had the pleasure of Second Shooting for Beth McHenry this past weekend. We documented an intimate ceremony and of course enjoyed ourselves. Keep your eyes out for Beth, as you will be hearing a lot more about her...

I love the anticipation of the Bride, peaking over her Matron of Honor's shoulder.


Hope to see you there!

shoot n learn

shoot n learn january

Hey everyone! I am ready to kick off 2009 with this month's shoot n learn. I have been thinking about a lot of different things we can talk about. Lately, though the topic that has been on my mind the most is Connecting With Your Subject.

It's one thing to be technically savvy in the way we approach a photograph. Great Lighting, Correct Camera Settings, Memory Card with free space :-), Composition, Clothing, Setting, Temperature, etc.... The "tech" list goes on and on. I see many good photographs every week, however I think that these "good" photographs have the potential to be great! My photographs included, of course.

I wish I could create a great image/portrait with every snap of the shutter, but lets be real. It doesn't happen that easily. There is an ingredient that is often missing from a photograph: a connection.

I thought we could kick off the new year with discussing this essential ingredient. How are you connecting with your subjects? Whether you are creating portraits or shooting journalistically, this ingredient is VITAL.. Let's talk, share, shoot and learn and see if we can make it improve this for all of us!

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and new faces!

Here is the skinny:

• When: Tuesday January 20, 2009 @ 7:00PM


• Where: My studio 633 Washington Road Pittsburgh, PA 15228


• Who: YOU! If you want to create better pictures, c'mon out!


• Why: So we can help each other and make new friends!


• RSVP by 1/16/09: David Burke

Shoot N Learn - December - POSTPONED!

I hate to postpone the Shoot N Learn at the last minute, however due to my workload and priorities, I have no choice. I will reschedule and post soon for after the New Year. We can start Fresh and catch up! I have been thinking a lot about future SNL's and have a lot of ideas to share. I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season!

In the meantime, here is an objective for you. Commit to shooting with a different camera a few times over the Holidays. A point n shoot digital, Film camera, Polaroid, Holga, etc... Try it. It is so much fun and can reignite creativity and ideas. I have been using my little Nikon Coolpix L18 that I picked up for $100 at Target (over the summer). I am also going to pick up some polaroid film before it is all gone and take some with my polaroid as well. I have been shooting with my iPhone camera too. It really pushes you to get a good exposure!

Here is one of my recent favs with my point n shoot.


And one from the iPhone


I want to see pics too. Upload them to my Facebook group David Burke Photographers and share.

Shoot N Learn #3 Recap

What a great time we had last night! I think we had 16 people here, which was awesome! We had a very productive evening discussing off camera lighting.

My inspiration for wanting to touch on this subject comes from none other than Zack Arias founder of OneLightWorkshop. Zack is an incredible human being that happens to be an incredible (and giving) photographer. I took his workshop in Atlanta last year and it blew me away. The best investment I have made in my career, as far as fundamental/practical knowledge. If you have not taken his workshop, DO IT. You will not be sorry. Incidentally, he also has released a DVD of his workshop! I am eagerly awaiting my copy. Thank you for the inspiration Zack!

So last night, I had the opportunity to share a few tidbits just to get people thinking differently and not fearing their flash so much. It was so much fun setting up the shots and seeing people say 'Ahh, that is sweet!'. I am hoping that everyone shares some images that they grabbed of Kristen, Beth and me.

Thank you to all that came out to have fun and learn! Hope to see you at the next one!
Here are a few of my own shots. (All shot using Nikon D3, Nikon SB-800 off camera, Pocket Wizards, 60" or 45" umbrella adjustments made in Lightroom Only and then sharpened for web)

Shoot and Learn #3 - Off Camera Lighting

**Update - THIS SHOOT N LEARN IS FULL - Please check back for the next one**We are having our 3rd Shoot and Learn Next Tuesday August 12, 2008 @ 6:00 PM here at our studio. The topic of discussion will be:

"Off Camera Lighting" - You have more options!

I will do a mini-presentation covering the concepts followed by us moving to the alleyway for some shooting. All you need to bring is your beautiful self and a camera! I will have the light setup and Pocket Wizards for you all to share. Please email me and let me know if you will be attending with "Shoot N Learn" in the subject line.

I am really looking forward to this one and hope to see you all here!

Here is an example of Available Light vs. On Camera Flash vs. Off Camera Flash. Thanks to Beth for modeling ;-)

Fast Track Photographer - Dane Sanders

My friend Dane Sanders is a photographer/entrepreneur based out of Orange County, CA. He is a wonderful soul, husband and father of 4. Recently he released his first book entitled "Fast Track Photographer" that is aimed towards the budding photographer eager to take the leap into the profession of wedding photography. I can recommend this book to Pros as well. I have only gotten through Chapter 3 so far and can tell you that it is LOADED with nuggets that make you think (yes actually use your brain) about where you are and where you want to go. Dane talks about discovering who YOU are as a photographer. It is so easy to get caught up in the commodity we sell (prints, books, files) instead of the experience and being the best YOU possible.

Dane also has the Fast Track Photographer Founder Membership that comes with all kinds of perks. I am a member and have been blessed with many friendships through this experience. If you are looking to get the ball rolling I suggest jumping on board to jump start your success.

I can't say enough good things about Dane Sanders and what he stands for. He started Simple Photo Minute, which morfed into CutFrameTV.com. CFTV is an online video community, much like YouTube, but specifically for photographers. Individuals share tips, stories, fun clips, etc.. Check it out!

I love what I do and cannot imagine doing anything else. The relationships that I have made and continue to make are absolutely incredible. I have never been in an industry quite like it. We are all in it together, so lets continue to make it a wonderful place to be!

PS - We can only accomodate 3 more people for Next Weeks Shoot N Learn, so please let me know if you want to come ASAP. :-)

Shoot N Learn

**Quick Update**
I was unable to schedule a Shoot N Learn for July, however we will be back in August Full Force! I am sending out an email to all on the list as well. I will put the new date and topic on here ASAP. Thanks all and I can't wait for the next one! We have some great ones lined up for the next few months.

David

Shoot n Learn #2 Recap

Tuesday evening, I had the honor of hosting Heather Lahtinen. Heather is a sweet soul. Period. She is a wonderful photographer and teacher. Man can she teach or what??? I know the attendees can vouch for that!

We had a great time going over the basics of a Lightroom workflow. One attendee shouted "You are changing my life!" :-) It was awesome to see the lightbulbs going off. Heather showed us some of the new features in Lightroom 2.0 Beta. For me, I am thinking that Photoshop is going to be a thing of the past. Only to be used for Very detailed retouching (that does not happen too often). LR 2.0 is going to be THE BEST software for a photographer. Amen.

We are working on Shoot n Learn #3 and it looks like we are going to hone in on using Off Camera Lighting with One (1) Light. I attended a great workshop last fall called the OneLight Workshop and it blew me away. Zack Arias is extremely talented with lighting techniques. I am putting together a VERY condensed version that will give you a head start when using off camera lighting. Stay tuned for details. Here are a few snaps from Tuesday. We need to start videoing! Any videographers out there want to volunteer??? LOL

Shoot and Learn was a blast!

We are behind on blogging some fantastic shoots. I promise they will all get here eventually. This past week has been a whirlwind of excitement. New Studio, LifExpo and our first Shoot N Learn workshop. I am about to run out and shoot the engagement session of Jill and Joe so I have to make this quick.

I thought I may get 2 or 3 folks out for the workshop, but we had 10! I was blown away. The people that came were awesome. I made some new friends and cannot wait to do it again. We are brainstorming on what we can do each time to make it super useful. We are putting together a survey to send out to see what you all think. Thanks to everyone that came out and look forward to seeing you again!

Here are a few of my snaps from the night. We did Available Light Portraits. Fun!!

My beautiful Wife, Bridget, was our model. Bray Bray made an appearance too.

(these are from my flickr page, sorry for the small size)