The Naked Truth

The Naked Truth About Jason Trayer

April 4, 2017
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3 Min Read

The Naked Truth About Jason Trayer

For those who are unaware, I had a ‘Naked Truth’ series going on my blog and you can see that I had hosted most of the influential bloggers in that series – Naked Truth. It was an effort to know more about the bloggers whom I followed and also to recommend their commendable work to my readers as well. The naked truth about jason trayer is a continuation of the series where I interview and put them in the limelight for all my readers.

I want to extend this series to feature some of the renowned and maybe upcoming photographers who have made it big with their unique skills and techniques. I do have my own photography site which I use to showcase some of my good pics. You can visit PhotographyStint to know more and follow my profile.

Photography is not something one can learn by spending a few hundred dollars on buying a Digital SLR camera and clicking away. It is a rare skill and there is a lot to learn and gather from many good photographers. I do hope I can bring out some of their techniques by featuring them here on my site and thereby helping my readers who are interested in becoming professional photographers.

                                            

The Naked Truth About Jason Trayer

Jason has been a friend and a photography-mentor for me over the past few years and has taught me several neat tricks and methods that he uses. We have gone out on a walk-and-shoot where we take random pics of people waiting in line at a cafe or just someone jay-walking down the street.

He makes it fun and has been very helpful and patient in allowing me to learn a bit more about the complexities involved and how to view a subject from the eyes of a photographer.

Welcome Jason. It is a great pleasure to feature you on my blog and to let everyone know more about you and your work. Tell us a bit about yourself, Did you go to school to study photography? What or who got you started in photography? How would you describe your style? DMC
No, I did not attend any school or training. I am a web designer and I needed stock images for my clients, and decided I should make my own. My work can be best described as Dark, commercial, personal, candid. Jason
What kind of gear do you use?DMC
Camera body – Nikon D7100 Lens – Nikon 17-55 f/2.8, Nikon 35mm f/1.8, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8, and a bunch of vintage lenses. Tripod – Manfrotto Filters – none Flash – Nikon SB800, Nikon SB900, and Photogenic Studio Strobes Camera bag – Standard backpack camera caseJason
DMCJason Trayer
Which is your favorite lens? Why? It depends, but I love the 70-200 for the bokeh
When you go on one of your travels, what all you take with you?SB800, 35mm, 70-200, MackBook Why? I can cover a lot of ground with this setup. 35mm for environmental, and 70-200 for portrait or street photography.
Among the gadgets that you own, is there something that you wish you hadn’t bought? Why?I like everything I bought, but realized I can do a lot of things with less gear.
In the field, what are your settings?
• Aperture – depends on the style of shooting I’m doing, but typically f/4
• Shutter Speed – depends on the lens but no slower than 1/160th if handheld.
• ISO – 400
• White Balance – Auto, Cloudy, or Shade
• Focus – Manual/Auto Auto unless I’m using a vintage lens
• Image Format – RAW/JPEG RAW
What kind of tools do you use for post processing? LR and Photoshop Explain your work flow. Bring everything into LR, then cull through photos by rating them with 1 star. That is my throwaway. Change filter mode to only show 1 star. Then delete all photos. Next rate with 3 stars and the best are rated with 5 stars. I then do another round again and trim down the amount of photos. Next I decide on the post process in LR. Then export to Photoshop for fine tuning.
How do you educate yourself to take better pictures? Practice, Practice, Practice. I force myself to use one aperture or lens or ISO or whatever for a few weeks and I have to make a photo. It’s a great way to learn your gear. It’s important to know your gear without thinking because you will miss a moment. I read about photography and cinematography often. I watch documentaries on photographers from 50s up to now.
What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos? The exposure triangle.
Which photographers influenced you, and how did they influence your thinking, photographing, and career path? Zack Aris, commercial photography and off camera flash technics. Joe McNally, commercial photographer and off camera techniques, Jay Maisel street photographer “Gesture.” And the list goes on. They all have a sense of commercial style photography and in the field gotta make it work mentality.
What is your favourite photography accessory, other than your camera? BlackRapid camera strap!
Can you describe how and when you use flash, video light, reflectors and natural light during a shoot? It depends on the shoot. The flash can be used with ambient light to create two exposures and balance the light on the subject. It can also be the only light too. Reflectors for fill light.
How important is Photoshop in your final images? Depends on what I’m delivering. Photoshop is pretty important but I don’t always use it.
What has been your most memorable assignment and why? I got to cover a live cover band and it was for a fundraiser. The band had a big stage and all the lights and lasers. It was outdoor and at night. It was just fun making photos with all these lights and loud music.
Where would be your dream destination assignment? Don’t really have one, but somewhere beautiful like Ireland would be cool.
What is your favourite image you have shot recently? Can you describe its creation in regards to location, lighting, composition etc., also your thoughts when creating the image and what it means to you? This is a tough one, but I do like the mood of an image of a girl, I didn’t know her, walking down the street and passing by a doorway at night. The street light was illuminating her and the doorway was light up with another color light. It was a random candid shot. She didn’t know I did it. I didn’t put much thought into it since I say, “find the light, and make the photo.”
Your readers can find out more about me: www.wbshade.com
Something you’re still learning? More patience and perfecting the out of camera photo so I have less post processing.
Something you’re saving up for? Either battery powered location strobes like Phottix Indra 500 or a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8
What advice do you have for somebody who wants to pursue photography? Learn the exposure triangle first! Don’t learn with the kit lens. Get a lens with f/2.8. Read about photographers from history. Shoot every day and don’t be hard on yourself, because the first 10,000 photos suck. HAVE FUN!
Is there one specific trick that you would like my readers to adopt which might change how they take pics? Learn several ways to make an exposure and understand why
Visit Jason's BlogWBShade
Facebook PageJasonTrayerPhotography
500PXJason on 500px
WebsiteJason Trayer Photography

Over To You

I do hope you found some interesting stuff about photography and techniques by reading this article. Do hop over to Jason’s website and blog to learn more about him and to see all his awesome pictures. Follow him on his social profiles and get a regular update of his most recent ventures. Do let me know if there is something in particular that you would like to hear or learn about photography skills. You can leave a comment below and I will surely get you some answers.

 

 

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About the author

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Praveen Rajarao

Praveen Rajarao is an Entrepreneur and in his spare time blogs on his website –http://www.dailymorningcoffee.com and http://www.pbgeeks.com. His topics range from blogging to technology to affiliate programs and making money online and how-to guides. Daily Morning Coffee is also accepting Guest Posts from Professional Bloggers at this time, take a look at “Write For DMC” page for more details on the same.

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