Rafael Sepulveda — Professional Photographer and Photography Instructor » Life through the eyes of a Rio Grande Valley photographer and who teaches photography classes

Jan 01 2012

2011 Year in Review

Happy New Year everyone.

Lot’s of BIG plans in store for 2012. If you haven’t subscribed to the photo-newsletter yet, please do.

I plan to showcase of a lot of cool new work this coming year and you don’t want to miss it.

This show is best viewed in full screen mode.

2 comments

Diana Adam - WisH I lived in McAllen to take your class!!!!

Laura Cantu - You are awesome, Ralph! 20 lbs lighter and I’m gonna have to book you for an a FULL 12 month calendar shoot…. and that’s a promise!! My diet begins TODAY!! I absolutely love your worka as always… It was great to see my daughter’s tea party in there as well. Thanks for your teachings and look forward to another year of learning!!! Best of luck for 2012!!!

Dec 30 2011

Photography Classes starting January 4th.

Levitating Magic Advanced Photography Class

*Image taken by Jaime Rubio, an advanced photography student.

Understand your camera and take better pictures.
You’ll finally be able to shoot pictures using your manual setting.

Wednesday January 4, 2012
Two time slots.

12-2PM

6-8PM

It’s a 3 day workshop and the class will meet once a week.
(January 4th, 11th, & 18th)

Tuition is $200.
Includes a photography workbook and my personal attention.
But wait! There’s more. You’ll also get typed-up notes of everything I taught during the course.

It’s lot’s of fun and you’ll never see the world the same again.

My studio, aka “The Classroom.”

1111 N. 10th St. Suite B

McAllen, TX
(Across the street from Lotus Inn and 2 blocks south of Shipley’s Donuts.)

I’m taking enrollment from now till the slots fill up.
Class is limited to 8 students per timeslot.

Please call with any questions. (956) 887-0558

2 comments

Orlando Mendiola - When do the next classes start?

rafael - Orlando,
My next classes start this Wed. January 25th, from 12-2 or 6-8.
Feel free to send me your email address to put you on the list in which I announce class dates.

Dec 15 2011

Trish’s Wedding Pictures Review (Part 1)

I took my Advanced Photography student, Trish Motheral, to second shoot a wedding with me a few weeks ago.

I am very impressed at how polished her work has become. As a mentor and friend, I’m quite proud.

I’m posting this review so that others can learn, and see the techniques she used in order to accomplish what she did.

Let’s begin.
Image #1

001

—Posing

Having the bride look back forces her face to pose at a 45 degree angle, a flattering angle in which the eyes are cutting to the camera.

—Composition

The red curtain has an even weight to the subject, providing a flattering balance to the image as a whole.
Also, notice the off-center placement of the bride using the Rule of Thirds.

Image #2

—The beautiful natural light in the back is slightly over exposed, providing a nice halo of light on the brides shoulders and head.
Trish overcompensated underexposure that occurs when you have a bright back-light by using her flash as a fill.
She also bounced her flash off the ceiling in order to diffuse the light coming from her flash.

—This image caught the excitement and nervousness the bride was feeling right before she headed to the ceremony.

Image #3

—I call this, NERVOUS LAUGHTER AND A PROUD MOM.

—Trish did a great job of capturing the moment and storytelling. This is one of several pictures that I’ll review in which the viewer can clearly see the “moment” of the shot.

—Notice the cleanliness of the background. Having no distractions helps the viewer to absorb the message of the image quicker.

—Note: Edges of wide angle lens cause a touch of distortion. Notice the lengthening of the bride’s elbow.
With catching moments in a small amount of time, with small spaces, minor things like this can’t be helped.

Image #4

—Symmetry, nuff’ said.
Posing the mom and daughter between the lamps is not an accident.

Image #5

—More storytelling in which the subject is an active participant.
I like how the bride is looking at the camera as if she’s “in on it” with the viewer.

—I would crop out the bridesmaid on the edge out.
Which brings me to cameras that aren’t full frame, if a camera is not full frame, there is more image in the digital file than your viewfinder shows. This is a reason for some unintended awkward cropping.

Well that’s it for today folks.
There’s many more of Trish’s images to review, but it’s getting late and I don’t want to overwhelm.
Later taters.

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