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Images Jason Lanier

Portraits of a Cuban Tobacco Farmer using the Sony FE 100mm STF and 70-200mm G Master Lenses by Jason Lanier

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Portraits of a Cuban Tobacco Farmer using the Sony FE 100mm STF and 70-200mm G Master Lenses by Jason Lanier

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Cuba for the first time.  Like many folks from the United States I was very excited to do so since it has been closed off for visiting for the last 60 years. One of the main things I wanted to do was to visit some traditional Tobacco Farms.  It isn't because I'm a smoker, because I'm not.  It's because Cuba is world famous for their Tobacco and I just had to visit the farms that create this product that is coveted the world over.

So my Assistant Brenda and I ventured into the beautiful countryside of Vinales on horseback where we found some beautiful people and locations to shoot.  I really recommend watching the video above to get a real feel for the shoot.  I also did a voice over in the video to explain everything going on and why I decided to use what lenses.

Below are the images taken during the shoot and I'm separating them by the lens used.  Both sets of images were taken with the lenses shooting wide open at 100 ISO with the Sony A7Rii.

Images taken with the 70-200 G Master Lens

Images taken using the Sony FE 100mm STF lens

***Links to Gear***

*Sony A7Rii-  

*Sony 70-200 G Master-  

*Sony 100mm STF G Master-  

I really hope you enjoy the video and this complementary blog post.  I invite you guys to subscribe to both my Youtube Channel and my blog and thank you for visiting today.

Adios!

Jason

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What Pro Photographers Images Look Like Raw, Unedited or with Lightroom Edits Only

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What Pro Photographers Images Look Like Raw, Unedited or with Lightroom Edits Only

So I get asked a lot about my images and work.  People wanna know how much of it is editing vs. what I capture in camera.  While I'm not opposed to photographers editing their images, I do take great pride in what I'm able to capture and create in camera vs. relying on post processing wizardry.  There's something so old school about creating it in camera.  I personally feel it's more gratifying and is also a greater challenge.

Maybe I get this attitude due to the fact that my roots are based in being a landscape photographer.  That's why I've always incorporated so much of nature into my work.  So from time to time I'll create posts and videos where I not only show my finished work, but also my completely unedited raw and straight out of the camera work as well.  Now for those wondering I won't be posting my raw files onto these posts.  Why?  Because I don't want other people taking my work and editing it for their use or pleasure.

Sometimes folks post raw shots for others to see.  But those are for the viewer to get a look at how a lens or camera performs for example.  Or the shot is posted so people can download it and try a certain photoshop technique.  This isn't that kind of a post.  This post is about showing how much I capture in camera vs. what I create afterwards and I hope it helps to shed some light on what I do.

To start off I pretty much use Lightroom for ALL of my work.  This is largely in part to time.  I'm not opposed to Photoshop in any way and kudos to those who choose to use it for their work.   But with a full time photography company and full time Youtube Channel, I just need the streamlined workflow of Lightroom to get my work done quickly.  The only times I would use Photoshop would perhaps be for images being submitted to a competition etc.  The work you see on Youtube and on my website is all Lightroom only.

So I did this shoot with a beautiful model named Jazmen Parker in Oceanside, California.  I used the Sony A7Rii with the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens.  I used the Flashpoint Xplor600 in High Speed Sync for off camera flash.

To be able to illustrate how my shots look in Raw I did screen captures of select images from the shoot while open in Lightroom.  These shots are seen in the gallery below:

I then exported these same shots as shown in the screen captures as completely unedited (SOOC) jpegs.  This gallery is below:

And here are my shots that were edited using Lightroom only

I truly hope this post helps to shed a little light on what images look like out of the camera for a professional photographer.  Links to gear are included below:

**Links to Gear:

*Sony A7Rii-  

*Rokinon 14mm f/2.8-  

*Flashpoint Xplor 600-  

*Westcott Rapid Box XL-  

Jason

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Using Rotolights at my workshop in Nevada by Vanden King

This image was taken at my workshop in Nevada by Vanden King.  I love using these Rotolights because they give me such a great catch light in the eyes of the people I'm shooting.  I can't wait to share how awesome the lights are when I see you at one of my workshops!

Next Workshops:

www.funphotoworkshops.com

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Shadow Figures at the Eilean Dolan Castle in Scotland

This is my shadow shooting at the Eilean Dolan Castle in Scotland.  I shot this by using the backlight from the castle lights to light my shadow, and yes I did pose the shot...I look sexy for a shadow don't I?  Well, this was shot on a self timer with my Sony Handycam, and yes, I do set the exposure levels on that little thing as well.  

The Eilean Dolan Castle is located near the Isle of Skye and the whole place is just amazing.  Hope you like it!

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Jason Lanier Shooting at the Eiffel Tower in Paris France

This is a production shot of the unbelievable shoot I did at the Eiffel Tower yesterday in Paris France.  It was so amazing because it had been raining in France and Germany for a week straight.  The minute I arrived in Paris, the clouds parted and I was given an amazing canvas to paint with.  I can't wait to share it will all of you!  Thanks to my two amazing models Ashley and Farrah and my Parisian Assistant Jean Christoff!

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Bridals by Jason Lanier

This image was taken at my wedding for Sako and Alvina in Los Angeles, CA earlier this month.  This shot was developed with Lightroom, but no photoshop was done at all.  I tilted the shot because I loved how it went with the branches of the tree in the room.  Hope you like it!

Next Workshops:

http://www.eventbrite.com/org/1864370877

Camera settings: Nikon D700, 1/125 sec at f/4.2, 45mm at ISO 2500, flash fired.  Taken at 2:13pm on November 17, 2012 by Jason Lanier.

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Pin Ups in Hawaii

This is a production image from my very short trip to Maui earlier this week where I was able to shoot a pin up shoot with the amazing Summer Sweetzer.  It was such a great time, and an awesome location!  Nothing better than pin ups in Maui!

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Jason Lanier (no liquify) with Sako and Alvina

This is a shot of me with my AWESOME wedding couple Sako and Alvina at their truly amazing Armenian wedding last Saturday in Los Angeles, California.  It was the longest wedding of my career for a single day which included 17.5 hours of shooting and 22 total hours of working once you include travel without any breaks...You can tell I was tired when I had this picture taken (taken during the 17th hour) because I forgot to suck in my stomach for this shot.  I could liquify it but I refuse to do that even on myself....lol.

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"It's not HDR...get over it" by Jason Lanier

This is a production behind the scenes shot from my wedding yesterday for Sako and Alvina.  So many times people accuse me of shooting HDR.  There's nothing wrong with HDR, but I DON'T shoot it.  Not because I don't like it, but because I've developed my Signature Collection Style and I don't need HDR.  Simply put, if you know how to shoot without using HDR, why in the world would you use HDR?  It's just more work...

This shot is illustrative of how I shoot.  One of the reasons I get accused of shooting HDR (High Dynamic Range) is because people can't figure out how I expose for multiple different exposure levels within the same shot.  Well, this is one way I do it.  For this image I set my camera exposure for the bride (Alvina) who was outside, and then I used my off camera flash to expose for my groom (Sako) inside.

If you want your images to look great....do something different.  Stop relying on Photoshop or Bracketing to get the results you're seeking.  I posted this image and an explanation of how I get some of my results to put to rest the discussion over me using HDR.  If you still don't believe me, then there's nothing more I can do to show you...

Thanks to my assistant Joyce for grabbing these shots of me shooting...I really appreciate it!

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Workshop Stills from South Carolina

This is a production still from my workshop yesterday in South Carolina.  We are having an amazing time and had to battle the COLD yesterday here in Myrtle Beach.  It was worth it though as we did a shoot at the Atalaya down in Murrels Inlet.  It's an awesome place!

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Jason Lanier Shooting in the Tracy Arm Fjord in Alaska

This is a shot actually taken by one of my sons (don't know which one they are triplets) of me while I was shooting in the Tracy Arm Fjord in Alaska.  My boys loving grabbing my cameras and taking shots...usually of each other or me!  My little guy did this with my Nikon D7000, while I was shooting with my D3.  It's never too early to get a camera in their hands!

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