Any idea what this guy is using to get such sharp, clean images?

[Arkitech]

I just recently did photography for my first big event, a 30th wedding anniversary party. While doing research on photo compositions and shots to lookout for I came across the follow website:

http://www.nakaiphotography.net/

The photographer is Kenny Nakai, he does quite a few weddings. Anyway to make a long post short, his images are incredible. I was wondering what kind of wide angle is he using for some of his pictures and also what methods he is using to get such sharp and crisp images.


Any ideas?

 

[CuriousMike]

He has some very nice photos.
He has a contact email - I bet if you sent him an email he'd be happy to give you loads of details.

My guess:
Most of his photos seem to be in the range of the holy trinity; 12-24, 24-70 and 70-200.
He uses light.
He composes.
His post-processes.

While his photos seem sharp, I wouldn't say they are the sharp-est --- but certainly appropriate.

 

[Syborg1211]

I agree with Mike. In general, photography is so much about quality, quantity, and the direction of light. Learn how to recognize light in an environment and use it to your advantage, or learn how to introduce your own light to a scene (flash) and make it look natural.

 

[Sheep221]

Contrast levels in photos were modified by post-processing and he did use studio spotlight or flood light to illuminate the scene. What he was right about is color of this light because that can have significant impact on how rest of the picture will be processed. For night photos he probably used lamp that has around 3000K white color temperature, not too yellow, nor blue, similar to LED ceiling lamp. For the day shots, not much modification is required just to have good lens that handles contrast junctions in the picture well enough.
I must say however that modern DSLRs are really capable just by themselves, you can take night shots even without flash or spotlight and you still get almost no noise and good color retention, which is still significant problem in compact cameras, for example.

 

[shortylickens]

You need to spend more on your glass than on your sensor.

A thousand dollar lens is worth every penny if you're a professional.

 

[shortylickens]

BUT, I agree any SLR can get good results if you just use it properly.

Thats from a Nikon D40 using the kit lens.
All I did was make good use of available light.

 

[WHAMPOM]

Good light, a tripod and a remote shutter make good sharp shots on any camera.

 

[nerp]

He's doing a lot of composites. Take a slew of shots with and without flash then combine them into one super image using light where you want, removing light where you don't want it then puff it all up with some editing software and you're good to go. All that trickery won't fix a crap photo, so he has the advantage of being a good photographer as well as editor.

 

[Rifter]

He's doing a lot of composites. Take a slew of shots with and without flash then combine them into one super image using light where you want, removing light where you don't want it then puff it all up with some editing software and you're good to go. All that trickery won't fix a crap photo, so he has the advantage of being a good photographer as well as editor.

This is also the conclusion i came up with looking at some of his pics, hes a good photographer and a equally good editor.

 

[nerp]

Yep. A lot of people get a great camera and awesome software but they lack vision or talent. When someone is good at photography without editing, they can produce amazing stuff when they're good at editing too.

 

[turtile]

The difference between taking a photo and making a photo... It doesn't look like he is using any kind of special lens - just standard quality DSLR lenses.

 

[EOM]

Available light plays a HUGE role. Most of my noodling is after hours and not in natural sunlight and even on a tripod i think sometimes it's just not sharp enough..... but just before the golden hour i can get crisp shots...