Instagram PixStoryteller – Wayne Moran Photography

Every person has a story to tell of how they capture the magic they see before them with their photography. We are celebrating this with our Instagram PixStorytellers. Each week, a new photographer will join us on Instagram sharing their ideas, tips, and tricks for getting the best shot. This week we introduce you to Wayne Moran Photography of Let There Be Light Fine Art aka @waynemoranmn on Instagram.

How did you start in photography?

I was born in Los Angeles CA.  I remember mom sending me to weekend art school when I was very young.  She knew I had the creative gene.  When I was in college, I had a camera.  I don’t remember how I got the camera, I don’t think I stole it. I do not remember if anyone gave it to me. I certainly did not buy it, I was a poor college student. But I was the guy that was photographing the events.  And all the people would respond, oohh or aahh that is so amazing!  After college, the camera went away because life got busy. In 2003, I bought my wife a point and shoot digital camera to capture the kids. Within a few weeks, I stole her camera.  So, wait, maybe I did steal that camera back in college?

How did you find your groove?

I stole my wife’s camera in 2003 and flickr.com came out in 2004.  I was blown away by what people were creating. And then I saw the work of Trey Ratcliff, (“Stuck In Customs”)  I was hooked. He was the first guy that was doing HDR photography in an amazing way.  I had to learn that skill and make it mine.  Multiple image merging has been a staple of my style ever since.

What’s in your camera bag?

I am the dude that purposely does not have the latest and greatest of all the gear. I pride myself in the ability to do more with less.  Meaning,  learn how your camera works and bend it to your will. I happen to shoot Canon, but I could do the same with Nikon or Sony or whatever.  I have a 5 + yr old Canon 5d Mark ll.  I have a billion shutter clicks on it.  I suppose I will have to upgrade it at some point. I will get a camera body that can hold my Canon Lenses.  I have 4 lenses that are my staple lenses.  I will rent special lenses if needed.
My 80% lens, the one that is on my camera 80% of the time is the Canon 24-105L.  I shoot a ton of landscape and cityscape images and this is my staple lens. It is flexible to do almost everything I need it to do.
My next lens which is an outrageously fabulous (read expensive) lens is the Canon 14mm L.  I use this baby inside amazing architecture like old churches etc. You can be in a relatively close space and still capture so much of the amazing architecture.
The next lens is a Canon 85 mm L for my portrait work. It focuses crazy fast and creates amazing bokeh.
My final lens is a not so great zoom lens.   It does not even focus automatically anymore but it is a zoom lens for those very few moments when I want to zoom in on something.   Oh, the other great part of this lens is the macro switch.  I can do macro work when the scene calls for it and it also creates amazing bokeh.

Advice for others starting out?

There are a few things I would share with those that are starting out.

• Get to know your camera. Read the manual and figure out every single feature that you would ever use and at least be aware of the ones that you may not use because when you least expect it, you will need that feature.  g. in-camera noise reduction
• Get closer, no closer, no closer. In general, get closer to your subject it will remove distractions and make most images more interesting.
• Learn to pay attention to all the light around you. Start seeing all the different sources of light and the way that the different types of light show up in your images.
• Keep in mind, your first 1 million images are going to be your worst so get out and get shooting.

Thank you, Wayne! Make sure to follow us on Instagram for his takeover. Click HERE to follow along!