Fall 2011. We are the Sutterfields in Saratoga. The five of us, Mom, Dad, Matt, Katie, and myself, all have busy schedules with various things that keep us busy. Mom is a music teacher at several schools in the area, and she and Dad also participate in a couple amateur bands in the area. Dad works at Coulomb, a company that builds electric car charging networks. I’m a student at West Valley with a small photography business I’m working on. Matt also attends West Valley and works at a warehouse in San Jose. Katie is a student at Saratoga High, and she’s a stage and band technician for school shows.

Dad and I enjoy biking together when we can. He and Matt ride their motorcycles all over the place. Matt and I like to go shooting with friends. All of us are heavily involved with various parts of Saratoga Federated Church.

Just about every night of the week, at least some of us are gone, at class, or band rehearsal, or something. We try to all sit down for a family dinner as our schedules allow it, that happens once every week or two. I’d say we’re a fairly normal family, and we all have our own things we like to do.

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To Read the Photograph

Documentary photos show only what the photographer means to show. The photographer emphasizes certain parts of the image, he crops out the ugly bits with his lens and camera positioning, he puts us in awe of the beauty of an expanse of fall leaves, or he stuns us with a strangely captivating image of a burning village.

This was the case since the beginning of photography, since the beginning of all art, really. A creation will always reflect the views of its creator. Even without the aid of digital manipulation tools like Photoshop, the photographer has the power to say what he wants with his creations. And it’s never a complete truth.

Even when a photographer tries to be as objective and unbiased as possible, there is always more to know about a situation than what can be described through one or two photos. So this really isn’t to say that all photographs are always lying to you. You just need to be able to see what they mean, beyond the obvious.

1. Check the Source. This helps you put the photo in context and find out about other sources and opinions relating to the photo.

-Where are you seeing this photo?

-Do you trust that source?

-Where else does it appear on the Internet? (Try Google’s drag-and-drop image search)

2. Read the Text.
Read the caption. It should give you basic facts like who, what, where, and when.
Read the accompanying article. What does it tell you about the photo and what was happening? What context does it give?

-Remember that just like the photographer, the article’s author works under constraints and therefore will not be able to give you a complete, unbiased description of the story.

3. Analyze the Photo.
What appears to be the main subject?

-Why is that the main subject?

-Why did the photographer choose to make that the main subject instead of something else in the frame, or possibly something else we can’t see outside the frame?

Scan the whole photo for people and objects that may be important.

-What are some facts we can gather about each element?

-What can we infer or safely assume about each element?

-Which elements do you think are most important to what’s going on in the photo?

Look at the background.

-Where is the photo set?

-What do you know about that place or area?

-What can you find out?

4. Look Outside the Photo
There’s always more happening than what can be portrayed in one or two photos.

-What might be happening outside the frame?

-Why did the photographer include what he did in the frame but exclude everything else?

The photographer chose a specific instant to snap the photo.

-Why not another time?

-What was so important about this instant?

-What might have happened before or after this photo was taken?

5. Check Other Photos
If there are accompanying photos in the same series, analyze them like you did the first one.

-How are the other photos similar or different from the first photo?

-Do they seem to agree with or contradict one another?

-What can you infer from seeing two or more photos from the same series together?

6. Piece Together the Story
Step back and look at all the information you’ve gathered about this photo.

-What can you conclude about the photo?

-Does it look straightforward?

-Does the photographer or news source seem to be trying to twist the story?

7. Talk to Friends
Each person will come away with a different interpretation and opinion of a photo. Compare what you came up with to the ideas of people you know and trust.


Check a news source now and find a photo that you might want to find more about. The extra information might just be sitting right there!

A photograph is

A photograph is a collection of 1’s and 0’s on a hard drive somewhere.
A photograph is a memory of something that has happened and will never happen again.
A photograph is the result of some person pressing a button.
A photograph is the only realistic expression of life.
A photograph is a lie.
A photograph is the ultimate truth.
A photograph is a vision that a person had and decided to share.
A photograph is a look into the mind of another person.
A photograph is just another way of recording an event.
A photograph is truth only to its creator.
A photograph is the evolution of art.
A photograph is a waste of time.
A photograph is …

Where is the value in photography? Why do we continue to shoot photos? What makes a photo “bad?” What makes a photo “good” or “valuable?” Is it having a photo free of technical flaws? Is it following every rule of composition? Is it perfect lighting? Is it shooting photos of something that’s really important? Is it creating strong emotions and provoking deep thought about the universe? Is it being able to see every person’s face clearly in the group shot? Is it breaking all the rules but still coming out with a photo that somebody likes?

I can go on forever shooting photos. When have I actually accomplished something? Is it all for nothing, or is there some bit of value somewhere? What about when I capture an epic landscape that inspires millions of people to conserve that environment, or I shoot a photo of a man with his family that turns out to be the last photo of that man before he dies? Do I succeed every time I make a photograph that makes someone smile, or am I constantly trying to achieve the perfection I know I’ll never reach?

Last People

I’ve been working on a new project lately. Probably the biggest single photography project I’ve attempted, ever. The crazy thing is, it’s an idea that’s run through my head that I’ve been actively working on without running on to the next idea that comes along, for a month now! In my book, that’s a really long time to stick with a single idea. It may be working so well because it’s such a cool idea.

The concept is the story of the last people on earth after a global apocalypse. I’ll tell the story of the last surviving humans through a series of photos. Now, that’s about the only part of this project that hasn’t changed to some degree since I originally thought of this project. Ask me on any two separate days to describe this project to you, and you’ll get two different answers.

The photos will focus mainly on the people. I want to show their emotions, their thoughts, their memories, what is and was important to them. I want to tell the story of each individual character, and somehow tie it all together in a bigger overarching story of the apocalypse and the last bits of humanity. Maybe this project will connect with somebody, maybe we’ll stop and think a bit about our own mortality. Or maybe it’ll be something to point and laugh at, I have no idea. But it’s underway. Eta is a while. Don’t expect a lot of previews. But it’ll get done, and it’ll be interesting.

Photography at Night

Photography at night is entirely different from photography during the day, and not only because there’s not as much light! At night, scenes often look dramatically different than during the day. In the daytime, the sun is usually the main source of light in photos, (be it direct sunlight, shady areas, or even indoors) and that’s what people are used to seeing every day. When the sun goes down, the sky gets dark and all the smaller sources of light come into play: streetlamps, city lights, moonlight, and even starlight!

Night photography has to be one of my favorite things to do with a camera. You get to capture scenes in ways that people rarely see, and there are things you can do to capture things on camera that are impossible to see with your naked eye!

This scene in San Francisco was captured using a 22 second exposure. During the time of the exposure, some cars drove through the scene leaving streaks of light from their headlights and taillights. A few cars were also standing still for part of the time, and you can see them imprinted on the scene. The roads were wet from rain, leaving beautiful reflections of building lights in the street.


The orange glow illuminating the trees in this scene was from a small campfire behind the truck. During the three minute exposure, my friend shone a small red headlamp on the truck and the ground in front of it. This technique is called “painting with light,” and it’s a great way to add light to certain areas of a scene in a long exposure. You can use any type of flashlight, and use the beam to “paint” light onto parts of the scene.


In this 17 minute exposure, you can actually see the rotation of the earth in star trails, centering around the North star. To get a good star trail photo, you need to get far away from any city whose light would pollute the sky. Experiment with different exposures to get the right look in your photo. To get long star trails, it’s best to use at least a 10 minute exposure.


This photo was captured in three minutes near Salt Point State Park in northern California. This illustrates how in night scenes, the moon’s light can act as sunlight. Clouds that were moving slowly appear to be streaking across the sky. You can even see some star trails in the upper right corner.


To best capture scenes like these, you do need a bit of equipment apart from your camera. A tripod is the most important thing, as a single night exposure can easily be five, ten, or more minutes in duration, and your camera must not move at all the whole time.

If you don’t understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, take a look at this to get an idea: http://andysutterfieldphoto.blogspot.com/2010/12/reference-controlling-exposure.html

Since most night scenes have only a tiny fraction of the amount of light found during the day, you’ll need a longer exposure time to properly expose the scene. Most cameras with manually controllable shutters don’t have settings longer than 30 seconds. While you can work with this, it’s better to use the BULB setting. This means that as long as you hold the shutter button down, the shutter will stay open. You can buy a cable release with a locking shutter button online for $5-10 that allows you to set the camera and walk away from it while the shutter stands open indefinitely, or until you close it. If you want to try night photography, I recommend using a tripod and a locking cable release in addition to your camera.

So grab your camera, tripod, and cable release and go try some night photography! You’ll be amazed at the photos you can get with a little practice.

Surprises Happen

I was scheduled to work in the kitchen serving food and bussing tables at a surprise birthday party. The party was for a man turning 80, and he had relatives coming all the way from Texas to celebrate with him.

As I was being given instructions for kitchen duty, I overheard one of the party planners talking about a photographer. Due to a miscommunication, this photographer had no camera! I was shocked this could have happened. It’s sort of like a racecar driver showing up for a championship race without a car, or a soldier going off to fight a war without a rifle. (I’d better give my brother Matt credit for that last one.) Without entirely thinking the situation through, I spoke up.

“I have a bunch of photo gear.”

“With you now?”

“I can run home and get it really quick.”

“Do you have a camera?”

(Here I’m thinking, by whose definition of “a bunch of photo gear” does that not include a camera?) “...Yes, I have a camera.”

And so I got the job of photographing this man’s surprise 80th birthday party. I had maybe 20 minutes to plan, most of which was spent driving home and back to get my camera bag. That’s gotta be the smallest amount of time I’ve ever had between being hired and starting to photograph an event! It was cut so close that I got back to the location, put my stuff down, assembled my camera, and was walking out onto the event floor guessing the correct exposure settings while the lights were being turned off because the birthday boy was arriving!

My part in the party ended up working out surprisingly well. There were lots of things to shoot while the party happened. Everybody seemed to really love this man who they were celebrating with.

Partway through the event came the announcement: “The photographer doesn’t know this, but we’re gonna do a group picture now!” After a second of panic, I remembered shooting a similar group photo in this exact same room about a month back... I set my camera up about the same way, save the tripod and wireless shutter remote to get myself in the other photo.

To get everyone in the group well lit, well exposed, and sharp, I bounced my 2 most powerful flashes on full power off the high white ceiling. This made the ceiling act like a giant diffuse light source, making everyone look pretty. With both flashes firing, they gave me enough light that I was able to use a small enough aperture to keep everyone in focus without bumping my ISO up where I would get excessive noise in the photo. (In this case, it was f4 at ISO 400.)

What lesson should you take away from this? If you want to be a photographer, the #1 requirement is that you have your camera ready and available for whatever life throws at you!

With a little makeup...

I had an awesome shoot this week with a makeup artist and 4 different models, each with a distinct look. While I can’t say this is my favorite type of photography, or that I’m an expert in the world of fashion (quite the opposite), this was definitely a fun photoshoot. It’s something I haven’t done before, which automatically makes it exciting!

Anh Thu Tran was my partner in crime for this shoot. She’s a makeup artist able to do makeup for all occasions, as well as the super extravagant. She applied themed makeup to each of our four models before I photographed them. The day’s schedule for four models was turned upside down when our first two models didn’t show up to the shoot, but two of Anh Thu’s friends were nice enough to step up and fill their places.


It’s always fun when I get to shoot four distinctly different things in a day. Our first model, Mia, was a Victoria’s Secret model. I lit her with a beauty dish off to the side along with a fill flash on low power bouncing off the ceiling. The light reflected all over the place off the walls of the small white room, giving a relatively even light to the scene. The photos didn’t work out quite like I had hoped, but we still had 3 models to go!


Next up was Alyssa, who did a 1920s flapper style look. (Google it, it’s cool.) Anh Thu did her up in all the correct makeup, and the dress finished off the look. I researched portrait styles of the era and made notes on the poses and lighting. Lighting this portrait was pretty straightforward, using a beauty dish and a large silver reflector. (That beauty dish is quickly becoming my favorite light modifier, now that I’ve figured how to make it work right!) This is period-accurate lighting, using a one-light setup for simple yet attractive lighting. With the light down, Alyssa knew how to pose in her dress and hat. I later converted the photos to black and white and added a bit of grain for the complete 1920s look. We got several great shots from that set.


Then we had Vanessa, with a winter grunge look. I misunderstood what she was going for at first, shooting some dark grimy alley photos, kind of a “intentionally crappy” theme. With a better idea of the theme, I then moved to a different area and shot some slightly more traditional photos on a staircase. I put the beauty dish way up high to cover the whole staircase, and kept an umbrella light down low on low power to act as a fill light. Two majorly different styles of photo, but they both have their place.


Last we had Courtney, our second sorority stand-in girl. She got all dressed up in a great punk outfit, complete with fishnet tights, lots of necklaces and rings, and colorful makeup. Being the last shoot of the day, this is where we tried some more outrageous shots... sitting on a computer desk, perched on a bare metal couch frame, tossing around an 8-ball on a pool table, even with the camera peeking over a bathroom stall! It all definitely went with the punk-rebel getup.

Lots of things learned, cool photos produced, and new friends made. A very successful day.

Check my website for more photos from this shoot. http://andysutterfield.com/portfolio.html