First Year of College...

WAS AMAZINGGGG! yes so many amazing things happened. First off i had my Review Board (art final) and got all my credits. I also got into the Bacholers of Fine Arts Program at Tufts University! This year i got all my English classes done with and passes with soild B's and A's (mind you some of these classes had graduate students in them)! I am just so proud of myself for doing so well and making sure i have a solid future ahead of me. I know photography can only do so much so getting a Higher degree will give me so many more options in life and when times come to move ill have a steady job and will not need worry about getting a better job!

Future Plans: I really want to start a photography foundation that provides families with free to almost no cost photos! I feel it is important to cherish every moment in life and sometimes people just cant afford to get pro photos done or even afford a camera. With my further schooling i hope to learn a great new way to work with solid pay to have enough to put away to start this project and even be able to do it all free some day so i can help as many families as possible!

To My Fans and Supporters: You guys are amazing! Thank you to everyone who has helped me get this far and those who just support me! The more i get the more i give! I do not take anything for granted so keep watching and i promise to always give back!

Remember: Always Keep Being Creative! Get Inspired! and Make Some Art!

Mobile Update (Thanksgiving Edition)

Hey guys! If you saw my new news section on my website you know what I am about to say! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! :) (that was it)

My thanksgiving was full of fun and lots of food! My school had a thanksgiving lunch early so I got double the yummies!

Hope to hear more from fans and followers! I want to put up a FAQ on my website but that requires some more questions! Ask away on any of my pages or I might even have it right on my website for anyone to ask.

That's all for now!
-bina

Ps. I'm on the train suprise suprise! :P

Mobile Update (6)

Its been a while! I want to start off by saying that I had a wonderful 20th birthday! I feel old! Can you believe that 20?! How time can fly!

I have a lot to catch you guys up on! Ill do that in a day or so after I shoot with a local fashion artist! I have a lot of amazing shoots comming up you guys shouldn't miss!

-bina

Ps. I am always in need of an assistant so feel free to leave me a comment on my facebook page or email me if you want to help out! Minimal experience needed!

Pps. Thanks for the continuous support!

Mobile Update (5)

Its been a few days since I updated and I was going to about three time but never happened. But now I am and I have a few things to say.

One I got an external flash finally and am slowlyb learing how to use it.

Two I have working more with bulb mode on my camera. So along with that I have a funny story. As I was shooting yesterday, I was shooting from a parking garage looking down on a round about and about 10 mins into shooting someone stopped there and asked me what I was doing. I responded I was just taking pictures in which they started asking me if I had clearnce to do so. It was a public garage so I told them I was a student, which I am and they were apologizing and tried to tell me other nice places to shoot. It was random...haha

-bina

Shoot with Ryuu

Hey guys! So as i promised I am writing about my shoot a few weeks ago with Ryuu. Out of all my years working with photography you always have something that really helps you move to a whole new level you might not have gotten to without them. Truly in the whole world of photography Claudia and Mark were the first to get me moving but Ryuu was incredible on another level. Not many models are just as technical behind the camera as well. Ryuu had a natural interest from both sides of the camera similar to me and a bunch of creativity. This really brought out the most in this shoot.

First off i have to say right off the bat, i was nervous. Yes I admit it, i really do get nervous when i work with something outside my limits. I knew going into this shoot i had to shoot differently than i normally do. There was no product to be sold or money being made from this shoot it was purely artistic growth involved. I was seeing how far i could push my knowledge in a new direction. Looking at the photos it might seem like not much was changed, but the change was my mind set. I chose to go about shooting with Ryuu a very different way then normal. I had her chose the theme, outfit, hair, makeup and even the location and way she wanted to be shot. Normally every detail is up to the artistic director or myself, but not this time. It was very hard having so little control even though I was still the one in control of the final image.

This shoot was full of challenge as i said before, mainly the location. I am not a fan of shooting under heavy tree cover or woods like areas. I found my self stopping and checking the white balance alot. In the end i chose to process them in black and white so i did not stress myself over it. The weather did not help much at all. It was wet and rainy as well as bipolar with the sun showing itself here and there. I have to say every little complication just made me think that much more about my shooting and how i go about in different situations.

That is all i have the ability to type right now! Check out some of the images below!

Mobile Update (4)

Good morning! I hope you guys are doing good and have been looking forward to my work because I have a shoot coming up with a local musician for her upcoming CD! I won't spoil it for you guys but the concept is a good one! Hope you had a good week!
-bina

Ps. I always seem to update this on the train...hmmmm.

Mobile Update (3)

Hey everyone! As I said last update I was shooting new images and that went great! I shot with an amazing artist and model Ryuu. Long story short that I will talk about more in my next formal post is that Ryuu helped me step out of my comfort zone a lot within photography. So I want to give her a huge shout out and thank you for helping me expand my limits! I look forward to working with her more in the future!
That's all for now!
-Bina

Moblie Update (2)

Hey eveyone! I hope you guys checked out my facebook fan page and enjoyed my video tour of my studio! If you haven't checked that out yet its a treat so check it out!

I have been really busy with school so right now a lot of my updates will be from my phone when I get the chance.

Okay so in short here's what's coming up next. I plan to do some new photo this week before the weather becomes too cold, not that would stop me!

I will try to make some new posts soon but till then hope yoy understand and keep up with me both on facebook and here!

-Bina

"Why do you shoot RAW?"

While at the studio with Mark he asked me a question, "Why do you shoot RAW?" Seriously at first I couldnt think up an answer, then I just blurted something out. That night, because I am that much of a loser (haha) I asked myself that question again. I really didnt know why i shot RAW, i knew there was a reason i just couldnt put it into words. So I sat there reflecting on all the times I shot raw over JPEG or JEPG over RAW.

My conclusion? Simply, RAW is my safety net.

THis is what i mean. When I first got a DSLR I had no clue why to shoot in RAW until that fateful day when i was shooting JPEG and i forgot to change the white balance. Yes, all my beautiful landscapes where blue. I for some reason or another googled "RAW" format and there was my answer.
Shooting RAW has helped me catch my mistakes,fix them, learn from them, and hopefully not do it again.

My Style: Low Budget Outdoor Portrait

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: 50mm 1.8 prime
WB: flash
F-Stop: 2.2
Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec
ISO: 200

The image above is straight off the camera with no alterations. I will show you how i went about to get this results using my on camera flash and natural light.

Light:

First off this was shot late in the day around 4pm (summer season) under a good amount of tree coverage. Shooting durring this time the sun was at a good spot to be used as a back light for the photos.

For this to work I positioned the subject a few feet away from a large tree in its shadow so the sunlight only hit behind the subject not on it.

I used my popup on camera flash as a fill light balancing the amount of light behind the subject with the amount of light the flash gave off.

One Little Light

While having time off from my hectic photo life I have been spending time working on my technique. Now after saying that can I really call it time off? Anyways, I have gone back to my old style of lighting and worked with it a bit. You can never underestimate how many things already around your house can give you great photos.

Before i had any fancy equipment or my first DSLR there was one thing i knew would create great photos. All i had was my 4mp sony point and shoot and a wall mounted light. What did I need fancy equipment for when all i had to do was get a little creative and manipulate that one light i had to make it work. At that time I was also learning how to use the Manual setting on my camera so i was teaching my self two things at once. Although I did only have a limited amount of room for creativity, that didnt stop me from seeing what I was really capable of. I quickly started to see how shadows would fall according to the way the light hit the object and this opened up so much creativity. I started using makeup on my face to create new shadows, or move my hair to create movement in the photo. Just with that one light i opened my eyes to the endless possibilities some might not have even seen.

I always knew photography was more than taking a photo, it was having the ability to create a image as you wanted it to be seen. So as i go back to my original style I can always be confident a great shot will come out. Even with my D200 and many accomplishments there is no better feeling than going back to the way you began and having that same great feeling after. That feeling that there is still so much to learn and so many possibilities, all thanks to that one little light mounted on my wall.

Happy 4th Everyone!

Just a quick update to say Happy July 4th! I have been busy with alot of shoots these past few weeks and have more planned to come! I will have to tell you all the details of my awesome trip to LA when i have the time and tell you all about the amazing model i worked with there. Thats all for now! Check back soon!

-Bina

Summer 2010 Shooting Update

I am taking shoots for the summer of 2010 right now.

So far i am booked June 5th and While in LA June 19th. I still have slots open the first two weeks in june. Also i will be traveling to NYC the end of June so i can take shoots while im there as well.

Prices start at $60 for 10 high quality edited photos as well as all photos taken on a CD. Most shoots you will be able to view photos through out the shoot as well.

CONTACT: albina.sveda@gmail.com