The SMUGS Blog

The Paducah SMUG held its July meeting at Casa Mexican Restaurant with a great turnout and each of us received a SmugMug mug!

Suzanne Roach, the Paducah SMUG co-leader, presented information on new upgrades and makeovers that enhance SmugMug’s usage. Suzanne is a professional photographer in Paducah, who specializes in portrait photography and has won national awards for her images. The evening also included an informal question and answer period with discussions on how each photographer would approach a specific situation such as wedding photography.

Some of the questions that were asked were:

As a female wedding photographer what do you wear to the wedding?

She states, “I always wear a black top with a non-revealing neckline and black slacks with deep pockets.  Also I wear black dressy shoes, comfortable ones, and ones, that I can move around quickly in. Wearing the color black helps you to blend in and become almost invisible. As the photographer you do not want the attention to be on you.”

Which lenses are most helpful at a wedding shoot?

“If there is low light during the ceremony, a wide aperture fixed focus lenses such as a 50 mm or 85 mm prime lenses and a 1.4 aperture.”

When you edit images from a wedding do you use Lightroom or Photoshop?

“Sometimes both.  However, most people we speak with use Lightroom as the primary editing software.”

Is it better to use auto or custom white balance?

“A custom white balance is the better answer. However, if you are in a hurry or the light is changing rapidly you can use auto, shoot in raw, then edit color balance in Lightroom or Photoshop.”

As a professional, doing a wedding photoshoot, which is more important: the camera or the lens?

“You need the best camera you can afford and then the best lenses.  If choosing between the two, spend the larger part of your equipment budget and choose the best lenses.”

Submitted by the Paducah SMUG Scribe: Caroline S. Roach

Caroline enjoys photographing nature with a special interest in macro photography of flowers.  Children are an additional photographic love.  The fellowship, friendship, and atmosphere of learning that the Paducah SMUG provides is something she looks forward to each month.