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Understanding the Power of Polarizing Filters in Photography

2023-11-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

Understanding the Power of Polarizing Filters in Photography

Introduction

In the world of photography, polarizing filters are an invaluable tool that often goes unnoticed by the average camera user. These unassuming pieces of glass can make a significant difference in the quality of your photographs by reducing reflections, enhancing color saturation, and improving overall image clarity. In this article, we will explore the concept of polarizing filters, how they work, and their practical applications in photography.

What Is a Polarizing Filter?

A polarizing filter, commonly referred to as a polarizer, is a camera accessory that photographers attach to the front of their camera lenses. It consists of a special optical material that can reduce or eliminate polarized light, which is light that vibrates in a particular direction. Polarizers work by blocking or allowing light waves to pass through in a specific orientation, based on the filter's adjustment.

How Does a Polarizing Filter Work?

Polarized light waves are caused by the reflection, refraction, or scattering of light. When sunlight hits a non-metallic surface, such as water, glass, or foliage, it becomes partially polarized. This polarized light can lead to glare, reduced contrast, and washed-out colors in photographs.

A polarizing filter works by selectively blocking polarized light waves, allowing the photographer to control the direction of light that enters the camera. When the filter is rotated, it effectively filters out unwanted reflections and glare, resulting in a variety of benefits:

Reduced Reflections: By rotating the polarizer to the correct position, you can significantly reduce reflections on surfaces like water, glass, and shiny objects. This makes it an essential tool for landscape photographers looking to capture clear and vibrant images of water bodies and cityscapes.

Enhanced Color Saturation: Polarizers can enhance the vibrancy of colors in your photographs, particularly in scenarios where the sky is a prominent feature. They do this by reducing atmospheric haze and making the blue sky appear deeper and more saturated.

Improved Contrast: Polarizing filters can add contrast to your images by darkening the sky and clouds while maintaining detail in the landscape. This increased contrast can make a photo more visually appealing and engaging.

Clarity and Transparency: In outdoor photography, polarizers can help improve image clarity, especially when shooting through windows, car windshields, or any other reflective surfaces. This effect can be quite handy for travel and architectural photographers.

Applications of Polarizing Filters

Polarizing filters have a wide range of applications in photography:

Landscape Photography: Polarizers are essential for landscape photographers to capture stunning, vibrant scenes with clear skies and water bodies.

Portrait Photography: They can help reduce reflections on glasses and enhance skin tones, making them valuable tools for portrait photographers.

Architecture Photography: When shooting buildings and interiors, polarizers reduce unwanted reflections and make glass windows appear transparent.

Wildlife Photography: Polarizers can help wildlife photographers capture vivid details in animal fur or feathers by reducing glare.

Automotive Photography: When photographing cars or motorcycles, polarizers reduce reflections on the vehicle's surface and windshields.

Product Photography: In this genre, polarizing filters are used to reduce reflections on product surfaces, creating appealing, glare-free images.

Conclusion

Polarizing filters are versatile tools that can significantly enhance your photography by controlling reflections, boosting color saturation, and improving image clarity. While polarizers can work wonders in various photography scenarios, it's important to remember that they are most effective when used in the right situations and properly adjusted. So, if you're looking to elevate your photography game, consider adding a polarizing filter to your camera kit and start exploring the world of polarized light.

Landscape Photography In Natural Light

2013-01-27T03:40:00.003-08:00

Landscape Photography In Natural Light

Along with composition, the quality of light is perhaps the most important factor affecting the success of a landscape photograph. Whilst composition can be completely controlled, good quality light on the other hand cannot. We can however control the direction of the light and therefore use the optimum angle of light to enhance the appearance of our main subject and ultimately the success of our landscape photograph. There are four main types of lighting; top, side, front and back lighting. Consider how your envisaged scene will appear under each type of lighting and then choose which type of lighting will best portray your subject and shoot at the specific time and in the specific position to capture your subject in this light.

Occurring during the middle hours of the day:

Top Lighting

Generally speaking for landscape photography, top lighting is to be avoided as it does not cast any shadows and therefore does not convey texture, form and shape which are so important to emulate dimension in a landscape photograph. The only exception to using top lighting is when you wish to capture water at its most turquoise colour which occurs when the sun is positioned directly above.

Occurring leading-up to sunset and a short time after sunrise:

Front Lighting

Similar to top lighting front light also does not produce texture, form and shape and even worse your shadow will more than likely appear in the scene. Try and avoid this lighting in any situation.

Back-lighting

Back lighting is difficult to shoot in not only because of the extreme brightness between the subject and background but also because lens flare becomes an issue. If you do choose to shoot in back-lighting conditions then it’s recommended to use a lens hood to shade the top of the lens in order to prevent flare. The only exception to using back lighting in landscape photography is when you wish to create a silhouette of your subject which is only possible using back lighting.

Side lighting

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Side lighting is the ideal light source to reveal a subject’s texture, form and shape as it casts beautiful subtle shadows to provide a sense of dimension of the subject and therefore creating a more ‘life-like’ image that the viewer can better relate to. As creating a three dimensional image is often one of the main goals of the landscape photographer, strive to capture your subject using side lighting.

To control the direction of light simply change where you stand and capture the image from!

Finally an interesting note is that shooting during the different times of year can actually produce different results under the same lighting conditions and angle. For example the colour of water is different depending not only on the angle of the sun but also the time of year. For example trying to achieve turquoise water is best achieved right in the middle of the day as the top light penetrates straight through the water. However the same image taken at the same time in winter compared with summer will result in the water not becoming as turquoise because the sun does not completely travel overhead during the shorter winter days and instead only rises up as far as ¾ during the middle of the day.

Author:
Ricardo Manuel Da Cunha

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Composite Portraits with a Mythical Creature

2013-01-16T07:14:00.001-08:00

Composite photography, layering together multiple images to make one, has long been used in the world of commercial photography as a way to produce perfectly composed photographs that would be too difficult to create in one shot. As more and more people are beginning to see the benefits of composite photography, the technique is finding it’s way into other styles of photography as well including portraiture. Composite photography opens up the door to creativity for many photographers, including this one who went so far as to build his own mythical creature to add to a young boy’s portraits. Take a look.

Bakster, the friendly mythical creature featured in the photoshoot was built using spray foam and faux fur. In real life, Bakster is only 3-feet tall; however, thanks to composite photography, Bakster appears to be much, much larger. In the video we see him towering over a building, an effect made possible by photographing him in studio then layering that image into the alley scene.

Capturing Bakster the Mythical Creature

Winter Lifestyle Fashion Photography

2013-01-16T06:54:00.001-08:00

Ever wonder what it was like to take a fashion photoshoot outside on a blustery, winter day? Below, you can take a behind the scenes look at a shoot that has done just that. Join photographer, Chris Lambeth, and his crew as they take to the snow covered streets with their model for the day, Mary. Take a look below and enjoy the outdoor photoshoot from the warmth of your home.

Lambeth captured a plethora of stunning portraits during the shoot. The following images are just a small sampling of the winter fashion shoot goodness:

Lambeth was able to get creative with his locations by keeping his setup rather portable and staying on the move with the help of his assistants. As you saw in the video, Lambeth used a simple speedlight/octodox combo and really made things easy by attaching the octobox onto a boom arm so that his assistant could quickly reposition the light.

Wide Aperture Clicks

2012-05-31T01:02:00.002-07:00

You should always shoot with your eyes wide open (at least, the one looking through the viewfinder). But often it pays to shoot with your lens wide open, too.

Wide apertures let in more light, so you can use a faster shutter speed in any given light level. This is handy for anything from low-light photography to action shooting.

Left: In this shot, selective focus directs the viewer's attention to the subject's eye(s). This was made with AF SLR, using a telephoto lens set at its widest aperture and closest focusing distance.
Right: If the background is considerably darker than the subject, you can use exposure to mask distractions. Photos byLynne Eodice

Another benefit of shooting wide open is very limited depth of field. If you're shooting a portrait, and the background is distracting, and you can't move the subject or camera, just open the lens to its widest aperture, and the background distractions will magically blur into insignificance. This effect is greatest when you use a longer focal length and shoot at a close focusing distance--shoot a head shot from 4 feet away with a 100mm lens wide-open at f/2.8, and background distractions will vanish.

You can use this limited depth of field for more than just making background distractions go away. Through the technique of selective focus, you can direct the viewer's attention precisely to where you want it in the image. The eye is drawn to what's sharp; focus carefully and throw everything else out of focus, and the viewer can't help but be drawn to the subject. For example, in a close-up of an animal, you can direct the viewer to the subject's eye(s) by focusing there and throwing the rest of the head out of focus.

This image takes advantage of selective focus and the lens-like properties of a glass of water. Noted pro Bert Stern made this "wine-glass" technique famous back in the 1950s with his great image of an Egyptian pyramid reflected in the wine, but you can produce the effect with plain water and any handy local subject. Move in close to the glass and focus on the image in the water, and use the camera's depth-of-field preview to select the aperture that provides the degree of sharpness or blur you want. For this image, the photographer just set the glass on the window sill of a high-rise office building, and recorded the image of the building next door. Early-morning sunlight provided warm colors, but you might try adding food coloring to the water in the glass for a different effect. Photo by Mike Stensvold

You can also spice up a flower close-up by including a foreground element and blurring it via selective focus. Just be sure the out-of-focus element enhances the image and doesn't distract from the main subject.

Photographing this Muscovy duck from close range with the lens wide open blurs the distracting background so it's no longer distracting (tight cropping also eliminates much of the distracting background), and the limited depth of field is adequate to cover the subject in profile, yet direct the viewer's eye to the subject. Canon EOS 20D digital SLR, 300mm f/4L lens, ISO 400; the exposure was 1¼1000 at f/4 (wide open). Photo by Mike Stensvold

Of course, there are drawbacks to shooting wide open. Limited depth of field can be a good thing, as just explained. But it can also be a bad thing, if you need great depth of field for a shot (in that case, use a faster film or set a higher ISO on a digital camera, and stop the lens down). And various lens aberrations are more evident when the lens is wide open, resulting in reduced image quality. But all in all, today's name-brand lenses perform very well wide open, and the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Give it a try!

In this shot, selective focus directs the viewer's attention to the subject's eye(s). This was made with AF SLR, using a telephoto lens set at its widest aperture and closest focusing distance. Photo by Mike Stensvold

Source: http://www.shutterbug.com

Aerial Photography - 5ive Tips

2012-05-31T00:59:00.002-07:00

The world looks different from the air, and aerial photography thus offers some unique photo opportunities.

If you're not a pilot, probably the best way to get aerial photos through a flight school at your local general-aviation airport. Training planes can fly fairly slowly, and the instructors will be familiar with the area's airspace, and experienced at flying from either front seat (with some planes, only the window on the pilot's side can be opened).

High-wing airplanes are generally considered best for aerial photography, because the wing is above the cockpit, out of the way when you're shooting downward. However, most high-wing planes have wing struts, and many have fixed landing gear, both of which can get in the way. You can work around wings, struts and landing gear--I've done nearly all of my aerial photography from a low-wing plane, by aiming the camera midway between the wing and the nose of the plane. Sit in the airplane you're going to use on the ground, open the window, and try different camera positions and lens focal lengths to see what will work best with that particular aircraft.

More important than wing configuration is that you can open a window in-flight, so you don't have to shoot through the plexiglass. Shooting through the plastic will result in reflections, decreased sharpness, and a color cast if the plastic is tinted. If you can't open the window, move the camera as close to it as you can without touching it, and shoot straight through the window, not at an angle to it. It's also a good idea to wear black clothing and use a black cloth to minimize cockpit reflections. Don't let the lens touch the window, frame or other part of the aircraft--vibrations will be transferred to the camera, causing unsharp images. And don't stick the lens outside the plane--the rushing air can pull the camera right out of your hands, and will almost certainly tear off the lens hood.

If you are a pilot, remember that your first job is "pilot." Fly the plane, and watch for traffic. When you arrive at the target area, slow the plane to a safe speed, trim it for hands-off flight at that speed, check the area for traffic, take a shot, check for traffic again, check airspeed and altitude, take another shot, etc. Don't get so involved in shooting that you stall the plane or forget to check for traffic.

I have the large advantage of being the pilot on my aerial photo flights, so I can just fly the plane where I want it for each shot. If you go up as passenger, discuss beforehand with the pilot what you want to do, and establish a communication system. An intercom with headsets is invaluable here--it's noisy in flight, especially with a window open.

Don't look through the camera for long periods of time in flight, especially while the aircraft is turning--you'll likely get airsick. When you spot a subject, have the pilot maneuver the plane into position, then bring the camera up to your eye and take the shot.

It can get cold aloft with the window open. Consider the temperature (it usually gets colder the higher up you go), and dress accordingly.

When photographing subjects on the ground, use manual-focus mode and set focus at infinity, then tape the focusing ring there so it doesn't accidentally move.

While I do most of my shooting these days with digital SLRs, I still prefer film for aerial work--generally Kodak Ektachrome E100VS or Fujichrome Provia 100F or Velvia 100F, all pushed a stop to EI 200 to provide faster shutter speeds and more contrast. Aerial photos generally lack contrast and color saturation, due to the haze between camera and subject--you'll be at least 500 feet from subjects on the ground (1000 feet in populated areas), and I'm often shooting from several thousand feet up during cross-country flights. If I need more speed, Fujichrome Provia 400F is the finest-grained high-speed slide film, and I also use Ektachrome E200 pushed to EI 400 or 800 at times.

A polarizing filter can help cut through haze (but not smog, which actually consists of particulate matter) and improve contrast, but I rarely use one.

1. The Best Time
As with all photography, lighting is a big factor. For aerial photography, the lighting is best early and late in the day, when the low-angle sun creates long, dramatic shadows. Ideally, you also want a clear and smooth day, because hazy weather makes for murky photos, and turbulence causes image blur and missed compositions. Unfortunately, clear days are generally that way because of strong winds, and strong winds make for bumpy flights. I've got a few good shots on bumpy days (also a lecture from air traffic control when I accidentally keyed the yoke-mount microphone button as a strong gust hit just as I shot, causing me to blow blew yet another composition, and I apparently muttered something untoward). If you're up there and see something good to shoot, by all means, shoot it; but I wouldn't deliberately set out on an aerial photo flight on a bumpy or hazy day.

Aerial photography is basically landscape photography, and the lighting is best early and late in the day, when the sun's light is warm and shadows are long (top). Midday sun

produces flat lighting that's good for record shots, but pretty dull (bottom).

2. Shutter Speed & Aperture
In aerial photography, the subject is almost always at "infinity." So depth of field is rarely a consideration. However, the camera is moving through the sky at more than a mile a minute, so motion-freezing shutter speeds are important, especially at lower altitudes.

For most aerial work, you want the fastest possible shutter speed, to offset the motion of the airplane (and camera), especially at lower altitudes. This shot was made with the camera pointed straight down at the ground for a vertical viewpoint. Remember to shoot some vertical-format images, too--don't shoot everything in horizontal format.

I shoot wide-open in aperture-priority AE unless except in cloudy conditions where the sun might suddenly come out--the camera's fastest shutter speed won't be fast enough to avoid overexposure with the lens wide open. For example, at ISO 400 (which I use for cloudy weather), the proper shutter speed for bright sun at f/2.8 would be 1¼12,500. In such conditions, I either closely monitor the light level, or switch to program AE mode. (Action mode would provide the fastest possible shutter speed for a given light level, but doesn't permit use of exposure comp, and I frequently use that--for example, most SLRs tend to overexpose greenery.)

A fast shutter speed is especially important when photographing nearby objects like clouds--even if you hold the camera perfectly steady, you are moving past the object at more than a mile a minute, and a slow shutter speed will blur it. Tip: Fly toward such subjects at an angle, rather than trying to shoot them when they are directly to the side--the relative motion will be less, and your chances of a sharp shot that much greater.

3. Focal Length
I like focal lengths from 28mm to 135mm for aerial photography (not coincidentally, I have a 28--135mm zoom lens). With wider focal lengths, it's hard to keep from getting some part of the camera plane in the shot; with longer focal lengths, it's hard to get sharp results due to camera shake (my 28--135 has a built-in image stabilizer). Sometimes it's nice to use a really wide lens and deliberately include a wing as a graphic element, but generally it's best to shoot "clean" aerial photos. With the "affordable" digital SLRs and their smaller-than-full-35mm-film-frame image sensors, any lens will have a narrower angle of view than it does on a 35mm SLR--my 28--135 frames like a 45--216 when used on my digital SLR with its 1.6X "crop factor." This still provides a good range of focal lengths for aerial shooting, but I also have a wide-angle zoom lens I use on both film and digital cameras.

Sometimes a lens outside the 28--135mm focal-length range comes in handy. It's a bad idea to fly near fires--smoke, turbulence and firefighting aircraft present hazards, and TFRs (temporary flight restrictions) make it illegal. This image was cropped from a shot made with a long image-stabilized lens from well clear of the fire area.

Why zoom lenses? Because it's a lot easier to rotate or slide a zoom ring than it is to change altitude hundreds or even thousands of feet to get the desired composition. Most pro aerial photographers work at lower altitudes--500--1000 feet above ground--because shooting from lower altitudes provides a more dramatic perspective (the higher you shoot from the flatter everything looks) and reduces the amount of atmospheric haze between camera and subject, but I also shoot a lot of images while en route to destinations, at much higher altitudes.

4. Circle
Those perfect moments when camera angle and lighting are just right are fleeting. Keep your eyes open, and when you see something good, have the pilot circle it, so you can get several chances at that perfect moment.

If you see something interesting, have the pilot circle it, so you can shoot from several angles, and get more than one shot at the best one. Be sure to keep the horizon horizontal, even if it doesn't appear in the frame. If you tilt the camera around the lens axis, the ground surface will look "off" and make viewers of the image uncomfortable.

5. Fear Not...
If you're afraid of little airplanes, you can still get some "aerial" photos by shooting from hilltops or tall office buildings. This also provides the advantage of a stationary camera, allowing you to study your compositions carefully before shooting, and you can get sharp images in dimmer light by attaching the camera to a tripod and making longer exposures.

source: http://www.shutterbug.com

Action Photography - Capturing the Moment

2012-04-25T10:06:00.002-07:00

This is an excerpt from the book “Sports Photography: How to Capture Action and Emotion” by Peter Skinner.

Australian butterfly swimmer Pierce Hardy of Caloundra, Queensland, powers to the end of the pool. Swimmers are best photographed as they burst above the water. Nikon D1X, ISO 200, 300mm f4 lens, 1/1000 at f5.6.

Virtually every day we see great sports action photographs in newspapers and magazines. As the term implies, the photographers who made these images have truly “captured the action.” Because we see them so often, it can be easy to overlook the skill and talent involved in producing these attention-grabbing photographs. While luck might be involved in making great sports shots, invariably luck favors the photographer who knows what to expect, and is well prepared to capitalize on that fleeting, never-to-be-repeated moment when something extraordinary happens.

Pre-focusing on a spot and anticipating the peak of action is part of a successful formula for Brian Robb. Here downhill skier Lindsey Kildow, USA, competes in the 2005 US alpine championships at Mammoth, California. Canon 1D Mark II, ISO 160, 300mm f2.8 lens with 1.4x extender, 1/1300 at f7.1.
© 2008, Brian Robb, All Rights Reserved

The dramatic image of a skier leaning into a turn after coming over a crest at break-neck speed was made because the photographer knew the exact spot where the move would be executed and was prepared for that definitive shot of a climactic moment. Just before it happened the photographer reacted as skillfully and professionally as any well-trained athlete who rises to the occasion at a critical time. In about the time it takes to blink the moment was over, but it was captured in a photograph.

When Texas Rangers second baseman Alfonso Soriano broke his bat, Ben Chen was quick to freeze the action. Canon 1D Mark II, 400mm f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/3200 at f2.8.
© 2008, Ben Chen, All Rights Reserved

In many ways sports shooters are not too different from the sports men and women they photograph. Athletes are competitive and so are top sports photographers. Being prepared, whether you’re an athlete or a photographer, is paramount. Nothing out of the ordinary might happen, but when it does you might miss it if you are not prepared.

Nobody knew this young Australian hurdler’s shoe would fly off his leading foot but Duane Hart timed it perfectly. Being prepared is vital in making shots like this. Canon D30, ISO 100, 200mm f1.8 lens, pattern metering, 1/1250 at f3.5.
© 2008, Duane Hart/sportingimages.com.au, All Rights Reserved

Location, Position, And Planning
There is no right or wrong way to shoot sports. It’s an individual choice based on your own vision, creativity, what you’re trying to portray, and to a large extent the access you can get to the action. Most sports are better photographed from specific spots or angles of view and knowing a sport will help you choose the ideal locations. If you’re covering a sport such as football, baseball, tennis or any other game where the boundaries are defined, positioning yourself is dictated to a large extent by the way the game is played and the area most likely to produce the shots you’re after.

Getting the ball on the racket is a key to great tennis shots like this one of Maria Sharapova powering into a backhand stroke. A long lens isolated her from the background. Canon 1D Mark II, 300 f2.8 lens, ISO 800, 1/2700 at f2.8.
© 2008, Ben Chen, All Rights Reserved

Presuming you are familiar with the sport and know the best angles to shoot from—or conversely, viewpoints to avoid—you still need to plan ahead. Some things might seem basic and logical but it’s surprising how overlooking details can sabotage your efforts. Covering outdoors events that are spread over a long course such as a cycling road race, a marathon, triathlon, cross-country ski race, white water kayaking and similar requires special planning. Scouting ahead of time is vital. And have a shot list for specific pictures. This can save you trying to cover everything. Other images apart from the ones you plan will present themselves—they are a bonus for sound preparation.

The intensity of kayak slalom racing is captured as the racer passes upstream through the gate and starts to look downstream to his next gate. Canon EOS 1N, 70-200mm f2.8 lens, Fujichrome Provia 100, 1/250 at f16.
© 2008, Bob Woodward, All Rights Reserved

Part II

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Action Photography - Capturing the Moment | Part II

2012-04-25T10:05:00.002-07:00

Know the course and the best vantage points. Keep in mind the time of day, the angle of the sun and how long that spot is likely to be well lit. Ask officials about the course layout. These people want coverage of their events and will probably do what they can to help you but don’t leave the approach to the last minute! Also, ask if and when access to any part of a course might be closed. Rushing to a great location only to find it is off limits would be frustrating, to say the least.

Once you’ve selected the best vantage spots get the approximate times that athletes will get there after the start and how many circuits will be made. An elevated vantage point can be handy and you can even take your own, such as a small, lightweight stepladder, an aid that Bob Woodward uses often.

Track events are bounded by lines and lanes, elements of graphic design that the well-trained eye can harness. Duane Hart has done just that in an overhead view of the start of a race at the 2000 Olympic Games. Canon 10D, 200mm f1.8 lens, ISO 100, 1/1000 at f4.
© 2008, Duane Hart/sportingimages.com.au, All Rights Reserved

The finish of an event is usually the most crowded part of the course—with spectators and other photographers. So, if you’re hoping for a shot of the winner crossing the line, be prepared to get there early and wait. If you want a varied diet of images, you are better off out on the course.

The Peak Of Action
Sports provide a multitude of great subject matter but perhaps most typical are the peak of action shots made at just that right instant—the decisive moment—when all the elements of a phase or play come together. Often this happens when the subject or a ball is between the rise and fall of a movement and can be caught with a slower shutter speed. For example, a basketball player momentarily suspended before slam-dunking the ball may be moving slowly enough to be photographed at 1/125 sec. A shot taken just before that, as the player rises to the net, might need a shutter speed twice as fast.

An overhead wide angle view and a wireless remote camera mounted behind the backboard were used to catch this brilliant shot at the hoop as California Baptist University player Pete Rajniak gets the two-pointer. A wide-angle lens ensured sufficient depth of field to maintain sharpness throughout. Canon 1D, 16mm f2.8 lens, ISO 1000, 1/400 at f2.8.
© 2008, Ben Chen, All Rights Reserved

The difference between that peak of action and a split second before or after it can be the difference between a good shot and a great one. Peak action shots usually are the result of several factors, not the least being the photographer’s intimate knowledge of the sport, accurate focusing, his or her sense of timing and anticipation, and having the presence of mind to press the shutter just before the action. Taking the shot as it happens will almost definitely result in an “after the event” picture—a good one, perhaps, but not the great one.

Essentials To Capture The Action
Be in the right position and use a focal length sufficient to isolate the principal subject matter. The shutter speed should be fast enough to freeze the action but some blurring on the outer part of the shot—feet or hands or a ball—can enhance the shot. Usually a shutter speed of 1/500 sec or faster is needed, especially if a telephoto lens is used. Use the widest aperture possible. This has two advantages: 1) the shallower depth of field of a wide aperture will help throw a potentially distracting background out of focus and 2) you will be able to use a faster shutter speed, reducing the chances of camera movement.

Being ready for any eventuality was key to getting the shot of tumbling ponies and polocrosse players hitting the turf. Nikon 801, 300mm f2.8 Tamron lens, manual focus, Fuji 800 film, 1/1000 at f2.8.
© 2008, Duane Hart/sportingimages.com.au, All Rights Reserved

Depending on the ISO setting—either the film speed or the ISO setting on a digital camera—you should aim for an exposure in the range of 1/500 sec to 1/1000 sec at f4. Of course, if you have an f2.8 lens, use that aperture and the corresponding shutter speed.

Timing, Anticipation, And Knowing The Athletes
These come with knowledge of the sport and being aware of what’s likely to happen. Photographer Diane Kulpinski points out that knowing the flow of the action, not necessarily all the rules, is critical to capturing good images. “That way you have a good idea of where peak action is likely to occur and what it will look like,” she said.

Duante Culpepper of the Minnesota Vikings valiantly dives for the end zone. Bruce Kluckhohn anticipated and captured the action. Canon 1D, ISO 800, 400mm f2.8 lens, 1/500 at f2.8, available light.
© 2008, Bruce Kluckhohn, All Rights Reserved

And it pays to know not only the sport but also its participants. Most athletes have habits or a style that make it easier to anticipate their next move. Team coaches and managers study films of their opponents ahead of matches to plan how to counter specific moves or players. Leading professional sports photographers do much the same thing, even if for different reasons. They want to capture the action of that athlete either succeeding with a typical play, or shooting the peak of action as the opposing team thwarts the play. Knowing the players’ style and habits gives them an edge. All athletes, Little Leaguers, high school players, Olympians, and even older sports men and women in the growing ranks of senior competitions have their individual style.

A great example of an overhead view adding another dimension to sports photography. Arms and hands flail and water boils as Spanish and Australian water polo players contest possession at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Canon 10D, ISO 800, 200mm f1.8 lens, pattern metering, 1/1000 at f2.8.
© 2008, Duane Hart/sportingimages.com.au, All Rights Reserved

And Bill Hurter, editor of Rangefinder magazine and a former sports photographer, advises that another good rule of thumb, in addition to knowing a sport, is to never take your eye off the ball or puck or action, especially when shooting sports such as baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey or tennis at the pro level. There’s always the chance you or your camera will get hit, as has happened to him.

USC Trojans tailback Reggie Bush hurdles over a UCLA defender on his way to a touch down. Background color strengthened the image. Canon 1D, 280mm lens, ISO 200, 1/2000 at f4.
© 2008, Ben Chen, All Rights Reserved

Back To Part I

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Still Life Photography - Four Tips

2012-04-05T23:55:00.001-07:00

Throughout the decades, artists have depicted still life scenes--arrangements of inanimate objects--in paintings and photography. Shooting still life subjects is one of the best ways to sharpen your photographic skills. You can take your time, and your subject remains stationary. Good composition, framing and lighting are all very important to translate your still life into a great photo.

Reader photo by Tom Reich, Tuscon, AZ

Study Good Photos
Every day we are bombarded with still life images of appetizing foods, shiny housewares and other appealing products in magazine ads, brochures and catalogs. Professionals spend a great deal of time setting up these shots and you can learn a lot just by studying the photos you find most appealing and unique. Notice how photographers use repeating shapes and lines to create patterns and use complimentary colors. Study the lighting that they use. One of the best things you can do before you shoot still lifes is to collect images that inspire you.

Reader photo by Kenneth A. Deitcher, Albany, NY

Keep It Simple
Simplicity is very important when composing still lifes. You don't need to collect a wide range of complicated objects to create an interesting picture. Instead, choose a few objects with a common thread. The arrangement of a still life should begin with the positioning of a single dominant subject. Then add other objects one at a time, and examine the arrangement through your camera's viewfinder. Experiment with your camera angle until the scene shows the elements in the most pleasing balance. Photograph the original grouping, and then rearrange or remove objects to see if it improves the composition.

Reader photo by Adele Collins, Plymouth, MA

Challenge Yourself
You can use any object or group of objects to create a still life. Flowers, fruit, and vegetables are popular subjects and easy to obtain. You can also create a good still life with some of your own personal belongings. This also allows you to make a personal statement. A cherished necklace, a favorite article of clothing, sporting equipment, or a collection of memorabilia can say a lot about who you are. Challenge yourself by gathering objects to create your own still life image--think about what interests you and use that as your theme.

If your hobby is photography, use your camera, a roll of negatives, some prints and a few of your favorite accessories as props. This self-assignment can be an experiment in light, shape, color, and composition, as well as
an opportunity to express your own imagination.

Reader photo by Jan Stadelmyer, Bellwood, PA

Equipment & Backdrops
Most pros use elaborate studio setups for their still lifes, but you can do this yourself on a smaller scale at home. Invest in a yard or two of cloth from a fabric store, or purchase backdrop paper (known as "seamless") which is available in many camera and art stores. This will give you a more-professional looking, uncluttered background. You may also want to shoot your subject(s) on a tabletop or another surface draped with fabric.

I recommend using light from a window or ambient room light instead of your camera's flash. You'll get much more pleasing light than with the harsh illumination that on-camera flash provides (unless you have a means of using off-camera lighting). A sheet of white cardboard or Fome-Cor can be used as a reflector to fill in the shadows.

Natural outdoor settings work well for some objects, like an arrangement of shells on a beach. When shooting outdoors, utilize the more-flattering illumination of early or late sunlight, or the soft light of an overcast day.

Four Tips In Brief
· Collect still life images that you admire.
· Assemble personal objects to create a unique still life statement.
· Keep compositions simple.
· Utilize backdrop elements and lighting to produce strong still life photos.

Enhancing Outdoor Portraits Using Fill Flash

2012-04-05T23:51:00.001-07:00

When the weather is nice outdoors, nothing beats an informal portrait. You do not want to shoot in the direct sunlight because your subject will be squinting. However, if you can find a shady spot under a tree, both you and your subject will be much happier.

So, how can you take the best portrait outdoors and still compete with the sun? The answer is usually right on top of your camera—the flash. You may not want to use the full intensity of the flash to combat the effects of the sun, but depending on your subject’s location, time of day, and hair color, you probably have more control than you think.

Grouping subjects by hair color, I’ll explain what techniques have worked for me on the warmth of a summer day and in the crispness of a colorful fall day. Beginning with brunettes, I usually have females sit under a tree and look up at the camera. They will be in shade because of the tree and the only ambient light is what is bouncing or reflecting off the ground. Knowing that dark colors absorb light (like dark hair) and lighter colors reflect light (blonde hair), I adjust my flash accordingly. Keep in mind the distance from your subject (I’m standing, she’s sitting) and their skin tone.

Here are a few rules to keep in mind: direct sun rarely works well; instead choose a shady spot and let your compensated flash be your fill light source. It provides the needed illumination plus benefits such as sparkling eyes, daylight-balanced skin tone, and less background/subject exposure variations.

I will always use the flash outdoors to fill in the shadows created by the sun, but in this case, I wanted to add illumination to the shot and make her eyes sparkle. This will be one of the few times I will use the fill flash at full strength. In this instance, the flash lightens her skin slightly, creates a twinkle in her eyes, and causes a mild shimmer to her hair.
Chris was placed in the shade of a tree with a much brighter background. Still using the flash as fill, I backed down the flash compensation to -1 EV. I don’t want the flash at full power because his skin tone is light and I want to avoid overexposure. The camera’s flash is daylight-balanced (5600?K) and an overcast day often causes a blue cast. The warmth of the flash added a little color to his light skin.

Abbie—Dark Hair, Brown Eyes, Olive Skin

Chris—Light Skin, Dark Hair, Light Beard

Amanda’s eyes and hair closely match that of Abbie’s but her skin is paler. In this instance, I would also set the fill flash at -1 EV because I don’t want to wash out her skin tone.

Amanda—Dark Hair, Brown Eyes, Light Skin

Jeana wore a darker top. Both Amanda and Abbie have white tops that reflect ambient light; Jeana’s dark top absorbs light much like her olive skin and long, dark hair. With this combination, the fill flash needs full power to better match the sunlit background.

Jeana—Dark Hair, Olive Skin, Dark Blouse

Meredith has the bluest eyes I have ever seen. Wanting this feature to stand out, she is also sitting in the shade, wearing a top that complements her eyes, and needs the full output of the flash to deepen the blue of her eyes.

Meredith—Medium Brown Hair, Bright Blue Eyes

In Ali’s case, her brilliant red hair demanded a unique background. Here, I chose an autumn-hued burning bush—a red rose color. Ali’s skin is very light and reflective with light blue eyes and fiery red hair. Too much flash would wash out her facial features. Using a -2 EV setting on the flash, I got just enough fill light to bring out the color in her eyes without overwhelming the lightness of her skin tone. If you display the histogram, the right side is lower because of the -2 EV flash compensation. You’ll also notice that the red bush is illuminated, but not from the weakened flash. Here, I had an assistant shade Ali with a piece of foamcore, but still allowed the bush to be sunlit.

Ali—Red Hair, Light Skin, Blue Eyes

Gabby also has very light skin and wore a dark top. I used the tree’s shade, allowing the background to blow out. I always take a reflected meter reading of the subject’s face and determine the proper flash output. With digital it’s easy—if you have too much light, reduce it; not enough, add more. My favorite setting seems to be -1 EV flash compensation because it works out most of the time.

Gabby—Blonde Hair, Light Skin, Dark Top

Sue wore a brightly colored top with her shoulders exposed, and her tanned skin was offset by her blonde hair. I wanted Sue a little less illuminated than the background, but she still needed that summer radiance. A full-powered fill flash was necessary because a light reading from Sue’s face showed very little reflected light.

Sue—Blonde Hair, Tan Skin, Bare Shoulders

Creative Look - Combine Your Images

2012-04-05T23:45:00.001-07:00

I had a thought (it happens!) back in the `80s. I was thinking how great it would be to create a portrait piece of someone that combined several images together to show the many facets of that individual. Let's take an example. Suppose you were commissioned to do a portrait of a young man. His interests may include playing football, swimming, sailing, playing guitar, etc.

"Morning Ritual"

The clients own a Coffee company so this brought on the theme. The image is composed of 8 separate photos, one of each client, the cup, the pot, and 2 separate hands. A plain Rembrandt background and several smoke photos were used; the rest was cut and pasted and blended in Photoshop.
© 2007, Craig Kienast, All Rights Reserved

My thinking was to photograph this individual while he was doing these activities, and somehow combine all these images together into one super image with all the individual ones. Great idea, right? Man, I thought, I could get paid a fortune for doing this kind of work! The only problem was, I couldn't figure out how to do it! Make a few small prints and tack them up and copy them? Not quite the elegant image I was going for. Print them on one piece of paper using masking techniques? Possibly, but not an easy task for someone not owning a color lab. Do a "brain shot" like at weddings, where you put the bride's face in the groom's head? Yuck! Oh well, nice idea, but just too complicated and time consuming. Time to move on.

This shows the 2 images to combine for the final result.
© 2007, Steve Bedell, All Rights Reserved

Fast forward to 2006. Film is fast becoming a memory, and anyone with image-editing software is capable of combining images to create spectacular effects. Of course, the key word here is capable, because the old computer axiom of "Garbage In, Garbage Out" is especially true of today's digital photographer. But in the hands of a skilled artist/photographer, wonderful things can happen.

This is the final image from the studio shot and some weeds blended together. (Model: Bridget Brunet.)
© 2007, Steve Bedell, All Rights Reserved

By combining excellent photography with Photoshop or other software skills, today's photographers can create multi-image masterpieces that were unthinkable just a few years ago. The most successful ventures usually involve preplanning with the finished image in mind before any photos are taken. Much like a video production, a "storyboard" is often made that lays out approximate images and image placement before photography begins.

"The Hunter"

This image was preplanned. The first step was to make sure the gun wasn't loaded! The two photos were taken then cut and pasted. Some blending was done in Painter also.
© 2007, Craig Kienast, All Rights Reserved

"Rose"

The head of the rose was photographed separately and brought in as the background.
© 2007, Craig Kienast, All Rights Reserved

Types Of Multi-Image Portraits
To my way of thinking, there are 2 main types of multi-image portraits, those that use several images of the subject and those that combine other random images that are good candidates for adding texture and depth to an image. Those that involve several images of the subject are self-explanatory. Examples of random images to be included with the subject include clouds, flowers, sand, rocks, marble, weeds, grass, etc. With random images, the goal is to enhance the subject or add interest, not compete with the main subject. And remember, with image-editing programs, you can change colors, contrast and opacity at will to find just the look you desire.

(Above) Shows the photos used for a combo. (Below) Final image from the outdoor session and a weed shot. (Model: Darci Morrill.)
© 2007, Steve Bedell, All Rights Reserved

Technical Considerations
My combos were done relatively easy. Once I picked two images I thought would work well together, I made sure they were the same size, such as both at 11x14" at 300dpi. That allowed me to drag one image on top of the other and have it all aligned properly. Before doing that, I ran each image through levels and curves as needed, and even desaturation in both these cases. Once I had the opacity I liked, I simply used the eraser tool at about 14 percent and erased areas I wanted to show through more. Once I had it the way I liked it, which is very subjective, I flattened the image and saved it as a JPEG for printing. I first saved it as a PSD so I could go back to the image in layers and make changes without starting over.

From Color To Black & White In A Few Steps - Plugins

2012-04-05T23:39:00.002-07:00

One of the reasons photographic purists usually refer to black and white prints as “monochrome” is that it’s a more precise descriptive term that also covers images produced in sepia and other tones. There is much more to black and white photography than simply an absence of color. Maybe we wouldn’t feel this way if the first photographs had been made in full color but that didn’t happen. Like many photographers, I grew up admiring the works of W. Eugene Smith and other photojournalists who photographed people at work, play, or just being themselves, all in glorious black and white.

One of the advantages of working with monochromatic digital photographs is the original image can come from many sources. Some digital cameras have Black and White or Sepia modes for capturing images directly in monochrome but more often than not they capture these photographs in RGB. Yup, it’s a color file without any color! You can also capture your images in color, then use any of the software that I’ll introduce you to and convert that full color photograph into a monochromatic one. As a creative medium, traditionalists may still call it “monochrome” while digital imagers may prefer the computerese “grayscale,” but, to paraphrase Billy Joel, “It’s still black and white to me.”

One of my favorite ways to convert a color file into monochrome is to use Photoshop-compatible plug-ins. You can always use the Black and White New Adjustment Layer (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Black & White) in Adobe’s Photoshop and it’s a pretty good tool as far as it goes, but this story is about monochrome conversion plug-ins.

Monochrome Conversion
Nik Software’s (www.niksoftware.com) Silver Efex Pro is a Photoshop- and Aperture-compatible plug-in that offers emulations of 18 different black and white films from Agfa, Fuji, Ilford, and Kodak, along with a grain engine that mimics the traditional silver halide process. In the Film Types area on the right-hand side of the stunningly designed interface, you’ll also find controls for Sensitivity and Tonal Curve, allowing fine-tuning of the conversion.

The plug-in uses Nik Software’s patented and insanely cool U Point technology, borrowed from Nikon’s Capture NX software, that allows selective control of an image’s brightness, contrast, and structure, adding another level of control. By placing points on specific parts of the photo you can control how much of the effect is applied to only those areas. When making the final monochrome conversions, Silver Efex Pro uses algorithms to protect against creating unwanted artifacts. The plug-in costs $199.95, and works with 8- and 16-bit images, RGB, CMYK, and LAB color spaces, and is compatible with Photoshop’s Smart Filters feature.

You can work with Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro on two levels: You can use the one-click presets in the Style Browser (left-hand side) or you can manually shift gears by using the controls on the right-hand side. Here you’ll find access to control points, color filters, specific film responses, and a stylizing menu that lets you tone and vignette. Style Browser provides an overview of all of the available styles, with thumbnails showing each style’s effect on the image. The interface also has a digital loupe, to let you check out specific image details.
© 2003, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved

Power Retouche’s (www.powerretouche.com) Black & White Studio ($63) includes a pop-up Control menu, giving you access to three different interfaces: Film, Print, or Zones. Film lets you apply the light sensitivity of specific brands of films (Kodak’s Tri-X, T-Max, etc.) as well as types (panchromatic, orthochromatic) to make the conversion, or you can create your own sensitivity curves and save them for later use. There’s also a Perceptual Luminance option in the “Filmtype Presets” pop-up menu that does a pretty good job if none of the included Agfa, Ilford, or Kodak presets work for you. The Print controls put the darkroom back in digital darkroom by offering sliders for Multigrade (variable contrast), Exposure, Contrast, and some interesting ones such as Saturate Blacks and Black Soft Threshold. Zones may not be a direct implementation of Ansel Adams’ Zone System but it’s close enough, allowing you to assign three separate Zones to an image and apply separate contrast, brightness, and balance to each one. Power Retouche’s Black Definition plug-in ($32) makes a wonderful complement to Black & White Studio and lets you adjust black as if it were a color channel. Before you finish with an image, try Power Retouche’s Toned Photos plug-in ($32) to add sepia, van dyck, kallitype, silver gelatin, palladium, platinum, cyanotype, light cyanotype, or silver toning using presets or its controls to create your own. All three plug-ins work with 8-, 16-, 48-, and 64-bit RGB, Grayscale, Duotone, or CMYK image files.

Power Retouche’s Black & White Studio turns Photoshop into a digital darkroom for black and white using the light sensitivity of specific films for exact grayscale conversion and contrast editing. Multigrade, exposure stops, and color lens filters have been exactly copied in this handy digital darkroom tool.
© 2005, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved

Conversion And More…
Alien Skin Software’s (www.alienskin.com) Exposure 2 contains two plug-ins: Black and White Film emulates a dozen different film stocks and Color Film not only recreates a film’s distinctive look as a more or less one-click operation but manages saturation, color temperature, dynamic range, softness, sharpness, and grain at the same time. These presets are the starting point and can be tweaked to suit a particular photograph or applied to a batch using Photoshop Actions. Exposure can add grain to an image’s shadows, mid tones, or highlights and models the size, shape, and color of
real-world grain.

The plug-in’s presets include high-level contrast and highlight and shadow controls that can be applied with just a click. Additional features reproduce studio and darkroom effects such as cross-processing, split-toning, push processing, and glamour portrait softening. Exposure even includes presets for cross-processed Lomo-style image shots with your choice of four different manufacturers’ films! In addition to a before/after button, the preview window includes an optional split preview and combines unlimited undo/redo pan and zoom using Photoshop-style keyboard shortcuts. Exposure 2 costs $249.

Alien Skin Software’s Exposure 2 can be operated simply by selecting film presets from the Settings tab from what must be the most extensive library of film tonalities available anywhere on anybody’s software. Even the Kodak HIE infrared film used here has eight subsets, letting you add just the right amount of halation. But you would be remiss if you did not explore the Color, Tone, Focus, or Grain tabs and use the controls to refine the final effect and maybe add a dash of toning. Infrared fans should also take note of the separate “IR” tab that can be used to tweak your faux infrared shots to produce the most realistic emulation available.
© 2005, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved

While it’s not specifically designed for monochrome conversions, Imagenomic’s (www.imagenomic.com) RealGrain Photoshop-compatible plug-in lets you perform conversions, but it does a lot more. This $99.95 Mac OS and Windows software offers methods for simulating grain pattern, color, and the tonal response of different kinds of black and white films to produce film-like image effects. RealGrain also simulates traditional toning effects such as sepia, platinum, and others, plus split-toning. The plug-in automatically adjusts grain size based on the image file’s physical dimensions and dynamically renders accurate color or black and white film grain patterns for varying file sizes.

Imagenomic’s RealGrain plug-in features versatile methods for simulating the grain patterns, colors, and tonal responses of different black and white or color (you can ignore that part, if you like) film types and lets you produce a truly film-like effect. For this portrait I applied the Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros preset, which is just one of the 20 film types from Fuji, Kodak, and Ilford that are available. Sorry, Agfa fans.
© 2008, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved

RealGrain has a library for many color and monochrome films and lets you fine-tune hue, saturation, and brightness, as well as use master saturation and hue sliders to manipulate saturation and hue levels for all color ranges. You can also control color toning for shadows and highlights, as well as for single tonal effects or to adjust the tint in color images.

PixelGenius’ (www.pixelgenius.com) PhotoKit ($49.95) shows up in Photoshop’s File>Automate menu tree and is a photographer’s tool kit that includes 141 effects, offering digital versions of traditional analog photographic effects. These range from burning and dodging to digital toning to adding black edges to your images. The Color to B&W Set doesn’t just convert to grayscale but mimics the effect of shooting with a color contrast filter on your lens. Each effect has a full and one-half option and you can run it several times, applying it by using layer masks. Tip: Remember to turn off (click the eyeball icon) before running it again.

The minimalist interface of PixelGenius’ PhotoKit belies the power that hides behind the two pop-up menus. The first lets you select which set (B&W Toning, Burn Tone, Color Balance, Convert to B&W, Dodge Tone, Photo Effects, and Tone Correction) while the second lets you pick a specific effect within that set. PhotoKit is optimized for images between 8-18MB and is useful on larger sizes, but some of the effects don’t translate to smaller web-sized files.

The B&W Toning Set includes nine different toning effects that are applied to a new layer. The tones themselves vary from merely great to amazing, as is the case with the Platinum Tone effect. A simple dialog calls up the PhotoKit tool sets, but there is no real plug-in interface, no sliders, and no preview window. The process may be off-putting at first but you’ll get used to it as you begin to love what PhotoKit does for your images.

onOne Software’s (www.ononesoftware.com) PhotoTools 1 and PhotoTools 1 Professional are a collection of effects accessible through a single interface that provides a wide range of effects, corrections, and automation. The Standard and Professional Editions reproduce camera filters like neutral density, color correction, polarization, as well as darkroom and alternative processes like solarization, cyanotype, and palladium printing. PhotoTools Professional includes 10 presets for monochrome conversions but lets you stack effects on top of one another and control the order of each effect and how they blend together. The entire package includes 150 different effects that can be applied to color or monochrome images, which mean the combinations and permutations possible are almost infinite when one or more effects are combined and layered.

onOne Software’s PhotoTools 1 Professional includes 10 presets for monochrome conversions but lets you stack effects on top of one another and control the order of each effect and how they blend together, allowing you to produce thousands of possible black and white effects.
© 2006, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved

Once you’ve created an effect, you can use PhotoTools’ batch-processing engine to apply that particular look to a folder of images and process the files using multiple output formats with different sizes, color spaces, and names. PhotoTools Professional is $259.95 and the Standard Edition is $159.95, and both accomplish much, much more than monochrome conversions. Author’s Note: onOne Software recently announced PhotoTools 2 Professional and Standard Editions that feature an expanded range of effects and an improved user interface, including a new effects library and additional new features. When it’s available, I’ll cover it in my Digital Innovations column.

Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro package combines B/W Conversion, B/W Conversion Dynamic Contrast, and B/W Conversion Tonal Enhancer into a single interface. You can use this filter to transform a color image into a black and white version, with control over the shadows, highlights, and relationships among the original colors and each method simulates the placement of a traditional black and white color filter in front of the lens.
© 2006, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved

Nik Software also offers a family of monochrome conversion plug-ins as part of the Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 package, which is kind of an oxymoron when you think about it. Among the more than 30 special effect filters in the Full Monty version, you’ll find a B/W Conversion plug-in that transforms a color image into black and white, offering control over highlights, shadows, and the relationship of the original colors by using sliders to adjust color spectrum, brightness, and contrast. Nik’s B/W Conversion Tonal Enhancer filter provides specialized contrast control, allowing you to increase detail in the image file that simulates the traditional black and white darkroom technique of using contrast control filters when printing. Nik’s B/W Conversion Dynamic Contrast filter has a unique Contrast Enhancer adjustment that creates an exaggerated dynamic range. The three filters share the same basic interface and access to each one is through a pop-up menu in the upper right-hand corner. Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro 3.0 filters are available in three filter collections, including Standard ($99.95), Select ($159.95), and Complete ($299.95). The B/W Conversion filters are included in the Select and Complete Editions.

PictoColor (www.pictocolor.com) has always been known for its affordable and easy-to-use color correction tools and iCorrect OneClick 1.5 not only works great but is a useful tool for converting color images into black and white or sepia tones. The iCorrect OneClick 1.5 is basically a color correction plug-in that automatically corrects white balance, exposure, and saturation. By clicking on any neutral color (black, white, or gray) in the image preview, you automatically correct the white balance, remove color cast, and correct tonal range. You can even fine-tune the exposure and recover extra detail by adjusting overall brightness a.k.a. luminance, shadows, and highlights or create more vivid-looking photos by boosting contrast and saturation. It’s available for Mac OS and Windows computers and costs less than $50.

PictoColor’s iCorrect OneClick 1.5 is a color correction plug-in that automatically corrects white balance, exposure, and saturation, but is also a useful tool for converting color images into black and white or sepia-toned photographs.
© 2007, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved

Curiously or not, depending on your plug-in IQ, Adobe Camera Raw, is a plug-in. Long part of both Adobe’s Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, the latest version of the plug-in also opens JPEG and TIFF files and the HSL/Grayscale tab includes a “Convert to Grayscale” checkbox for monochrome conversion. So when making decisions about which monochrome plug-in to use, don’t overlook one that you may already own.

All of the plug-ins that appear in this story are products that I use daily or have tested with Adobe’s Photoshop CS3 so I can attest to their functionality and usability. A list of CS4-compatible plug-ins can be found on Adobe’s website (www.adobe.com/products/plugins/photoshop).

Adobe Camera Raw, part of both Photoshop and Elements, and capable of reading TIFF and JPEG as well as raw files, contains a monochrome conversion feature that may not be as extensive as some of the other plug-ins but does a good job, as can be seen in these side-by-side screen shots.
© 2008, Mary Farace, All Rights Reserved

A Plug-In Primer
Plug-ins are software but they are not applications and must cling, remora-like, to a host application like Photoshop in order to survive. Clouding the digital waters is the fact that some of these products are available as a plug-in and an application, but a plug-in doesn’t have to be an application. Life was never simple in the chemical-based traditional darkroom and it isn’t for the digital darkroom either. Curious readers should pick up a copy of my long out-of-print book Plug-in Smart to read about the imaging plug-in’s origins in a Forward written by Ed Bomke, the programmer who created the very first plug-in for a program called, interestingly enough, Digital Darkroom.

Although Adobe defined the standard, you don’t need Photoshop to use plug-ins. Fully compatible plug-ins can be used with other image-editing programs, including Ulead Systems’ PhotoImpact and Corel’s Painter, PHOTO-PAINT, and Paint Shop Pro. But not all plug-ins work with Photoshop Elements and some monochrome conversion plug-ins, such as Exposure, are not compatible with Apple’s Aperture. Some companies offer Aperture-compatible plug-ins but they must be specifically designed to work with the program. Nik Software recently announced its Complete Collection for Aperture, bringing all of the company’s digital imaging plug-ins, including Silver Efex Pro (featured later), to Apple’s photo-editing and management software. The bundle costs $299.95, making it a bargain for Aperture users.
Companies have extended their technology to work with Lightroom, but its plug-in architecture is dissimilar to Photoshop. Adobe differentiates between plug-ins and external editors, and Lightroom 2 has the ability to define as many external editors as you want. According to Adobe, “onOne (Software) has offered editors for Lightroom as well as PictureCode’s Noise Ninja and the lens correction tool (ePaperPress’) PTLens.” onOne’s PhotoFrame works with Lightroom and by the time you read this so will Genuine Fractals, FocalPoint, and PhotoTools. Imagenomic’s Portraiture 2 with Lightroom via free automation techniques should be available by the time you read this.

The bottom line, according to Adobe, is that “image-processing plug-ins are best utilized through Photoshop…using Smart Objects to maintain access to the raw or nondestructive workflow.” When working with any of the plug-ins mentioned here it’s important to remember one of Farace’s Laws of Digital Imaging, that monochrome conversion, like all effects, is subject dependent. One effect may look great for portraits while another may work best with landscapes, so you may need more than one plug-in. Many, if not all, of the plug-ins are available in trial or demo versions, so be sure to visit the companies’ websites and download any that interest you.

Depth of Field - 4our Tips

2012-03-14T06:29:00.001-07:00

When you focus your camera's lens on a subject, the point focused upon is sharp. Objects in the scene closer or farther than that point appear progressively less sharp as their distance from the focused point increases.

Depth of field refers to the area in front of and beyond the point focused upon in which things appear acceptably sharp in a photograph. Depth of field is really an illusion: Again, the point focused upon is sharp; everything in the scene closer to or farther from the camera is less sharp. Depth of field is based on the fact that our eyes can't differentiate between dead-on sharp and almost-sharp until the lack of sharpness reaches a certain degree. Within depth-of-field limits, objects in the photo will appear sufficiently sharp at normal viewing distances for the print size.

Depth of field affects every photograph. So it's a good idea to put it to work for you, rather than just leave it to chance. You have three controls over depth of field: aperture, focal length, and focusing distance. Smaller apertures increase depth of field, while larger apertures decrease it. Shorter focal lengths increase depth of field, while longer focal lengths decrease it. And greater focusing distances increase depth of field, while shorter focusing distances decrease it.

Shooting at the lens' smaller apertures provides greater depth of field, handy when you have important subjects in the scene at different distances from the camera
Photo by Mike Stensvold

1. Great Depth of Field
Great depth of field is handy when you have several important subjects in a scene, each at a different distance from the camera. It's also useful when you want to get an entire three-dimensional subject sharp, rather than just a portion of it.

To produce the needed depth of field, the best strategy is to stop the lens down. You can also increase depth of field by using a shorter lens focal length, but this will also change the framing of the image. And you can increase depth of field by moving farther from the subject, but this will also change the framing and the perspective. So the best way to increase depth of field generally is to stop the lens down. Note that stopping the lens down will reduce the light transmitted by the lens, and thus require longer exposure times in a given light level. If shutter speeds get too slow, it's a good idea to mount the camera on a tripod, or use flash. (A good rule of thumb for when to put the camera on a tripod is when shutter speeds drop below the reciprocal of the focal length of the lens: For example, with a 200mm lens, use a tripod when shutter speeds drop below 1¼200.)

Consumer digicams rarely stop down beyond f/8, but still provide great depth of field because of the short true focal lengths of their lenses, and their tiny aperture diameters. While the lens on the Pentax Optio 750Z used for this shot is equivalent to 37.5-187.5mm on a 35mm camera, the actual focal-length range of the lens is 7.8--39mm. Thus, the f/5.6 aperture used to make this shot at the wide setting is only 1.4mm in diameter (7.8mm/5.6): very small. (If this lens stopped down to f/16, the aperture diameter would be just 0.49mm, and diffraction would be a problem.)
Photo by Ron Leach

2. Selective Focus
While we're more often concerned with increasing depth of field, limiting it can also be effective. If you must shoot against a distracting background (i.e., you can't move the camera or the subject), you can minimize depth of field by shooting with the lens wide open, and thus throw the distracting background so far out of focus that it ceases to be a distraction. Macro photographers often take advantage of extremely limited depth of field at very close focusing distance to concentrate the viewer's attention on a specific portion of a flower or insect or other small subject, focusing carefully on that area and letting all else go completely out of focus.

Top: Minimizing depth of field by shooting with the lens wide open can throw a distracting background so far out of focus that it is no longer distracting. This is especially effective at close focusing distances, which also reduce depth of field. Photo by Mike Stensvold
Above: Don't arbitrarily shoot all your photos with the lens either wide open or stopped all the way down. There are times when an intermediate aperture will produce the effect you want, as in this photo. Other times, a fast or slow shutter speed will be more important than a specific amount of depth of field. Consider what you need to produce the image you want, then set your camera accordingly. Photo by Ron Leach

Depth-of-Field Tips
1. Small apertures provide more depth of field, wide apertures less
2. Shorter focal lengths provide more depth of field, longer focal lengths less
3. Greater shooting distances provide more depth of field, shorter distances less

3. Depth-of-Field Preview
Some SLR cameras have a depth-of-field preview, which lets you see in the finder just how much depth of field you have. The automatic lens diaphragms in today's lenses stay wide open for easy composing and manual focusing until you press the shutter button to make the exposure. The depth-of-field preview stops the lens down to the selected aperture. This, of course, makes the viewfinder image darker. In dim light, you won't be able to see much of anything at smaller apertures, so the depth-of-field preview is mainly a bright-light aid. But it can be very handy when depth of field is a concern and the light level is sufficient.

Some SLR cameras feature a handy depth-of-field preview button, which stops the lens down to the selected aperture so you can see in the viewfinder just how much depth of field you have.

4. Hyperfocal Distance
You can maximize depth of field for any lens aperture by focusing at the lens' hyperfocal distance for that aperture. This is easily done with lenses that have a depth-of-field scale: Just set the focusing ring's infinity mark opposite the selected aperture mark on the depth-of-field scale. Depth of field will then run from half the focused distance to infinity.

Top: Many manual-focus lenses, and some autofocus lenses, have a depth-of-field scale. This gives you at a glance a good idea of how much depth of field you'll have at a given aperture and focusing distance. This lens is focused at infinity, with the aperture set at f/8; depth of field at these settings runs from 10 meters (about 30 feet) to infinity.
Above: You can maximize depth of field for a given aperture by focusing the lens at its hyperfocal distance: Set the focusing ring's infinity mark opposite the selected aperture mark on the depth-of-field scale (f/8 in this example). Depth of field will then run from half the focused distance to infinity (5 meters to infinity here, with the lens set at f/8 and focused at 10 meters).

Source: http://www.shutterbug.com

Compositions Simplified

2012-03-14T06:28:00.001-07:00

Good photographs needn't be complicated.

You can often make better pictures by thinking "simple."

Instead of trying to get as much as possible into the shot, try to include as little as possible. Ideally, you should include everything that adds to the picture, and nothing else. But that's a tall order for those new to photography (and for a few "old hands."). Thinking "simple" will help you learn to do it.

If you include too much in the picture, the result is confusing. It gives the viewer too much to think about. He or she probably won't even be able to figure out where to start.

A simple composition, on the other hand, allows the viewer to take it in quickly and effortlessly. Then his or her mind can find a starting point for his or her own "tour" of the picture, for their own questions: In the case of the bench photo on the next page, Why is this bench empty? Who is the bench for? What country is this? The viewer's adventure begins.

Negative space helps keep compositions simple, directing the viewer's attention to the subject--and providing room for heads and body copy in shots for feature articles.
Photo by Mike Stensvold

The photographer came across a weathered bench in front of a building with some shuttered windows. And that's just what he shows the viewer. He didn't try to include the whole building, or its surroundings. He simplified the photo by including only the bench and two shuttered windows. (He made this photo with an Advanced Photo System point-and-shoot camera, by the way--you don't need fancy gear to get good shots.)

The photographer also composed with the bench to one side. Why? Because the shot "felt" right composed that way. He could have done a symmetrical composition, with the bench centered in the frame, and that might have worked, too, depending on what was to the left of the bench. Perhaps there were distracting elements just out of frame to the left. The shot works wonderfully well composed just as it is.

Maybe there was a color just out of frame that didn't "fit." The colors in the photo work very well together. The colors and the composition give the shot a painterly effect.

Motion pictures are based on the fact that the moviegoer sees only what was included by the director and cinematographer. Everything outside the frame is irrelevant. In fact, if you saw what was just outside the frame in most movie scenes, it would take the magic away. You'd see reflectors and scrims and cue cards and lights and equipment....
One way to keep a composition simple is to use negative space. Negative space is the portion of the composition not occupied by the subject, and as a photographer, you ought to think about it when you shoot.

The photographer was inspired to make this shot because he liked the bench and two shuttered windows. So that's just what he shows the viewer. By simplifyng the scene to these few elements, the photographer makes things easy for the viewer of the image.
Photo by Ron Leach

Most photographers tend to over-concentrate on their subject, to the detriment of the rest of the image. When composing your images, consider first the subject's location in the frame. Then, examine the rest of the image area. Do the other elements in the picture add to it or detract from it? Are there distracting elements in the background? Perhaps moving the camera right or left (or up or down) will give you a better background. (You can throw distracting background elements out of focus by shooting with the lens set to its largest aperture, but it's better to eliminate the distracting elements from the background if possible.) When shooting action subjects, check the background area before the subjects arrives, and move to a better camera position if necessary to avoid background clutter.

The photo of the white bird has lots of negative space to the right of the subject. This photo could be run large over a spread in a magazine, since it provides lots of room for a head, subhead and body copy (text). When you shoot photos for publication, sometimes it's a good idea to provide some negative space for the art director to use.

When the subject is composed to one side of the image, it's generally best if it faces into the photo, to draw the viewer's eye into the picture rather than out of it. Of course, if this Great Egret were facing the other way (or if the camera had been aimed slightly to the left, so the bird occupied the right half of the image area), besides drawing the viewer's eye out of the picture, it could be construed as an editorial statement that the subject is not interested in (or feels contempt for) the text information inserted into the negative area.

Another consideration with off-center subjects is autofocusing. If the subject is located out of the camera's AF target area, the camera will focus on the background rather than on the subject. Some AF SLRs have wide AF areas that can handle off-center subjects (the viewfinder's AF target will show you the camera's AF area). If yours has only a small central AF area, aim it at the subject, lock the focus (generally, by holding the shutter button halfway down), then recompose the image as desired and shoot.
It's a good idea to try composing the subject somewhere besides dead-center in the frame--sometimes dead-center is most effective, sometimes off-center is better.

The red car adds a touch of color and interest to this otherwise monochromatic scene of a road in Washington's Olympic National Park during a wintry storm.
Photo by Lynne Eodice

Yet another way to simplify your compositions is to use just a touch of color. Although lighting and composition are perhaps the most important aspects of photography, color can play a very important role in some images. Learning to emphasize color is largely a matter of training your eye to recognize situations in which color stands out--whether it's selecting one color to predominate a scene, or by choosing particular colors and minimizing others.

When choosing a color, consider its psychological impact in your image. Perhaps more than any other design element, color can determine the mood of your photo. Generally, red, orange, and yellow are considered warm and exciting. Passion, heat and love are some of the moods that warm colors evoke. Warm colors stand out in a photo. On the other hand, colors on the other end of the spectrum--such as green, blue and lavender--are thought to be cool, peaceful and serene. These colors tend to recede.

Some pictures have impact because of the contrast between a colorful detail and a muted background; all you need is a splash of a very bright color or two. You can challenge yourself with a creative self-assignment by looking for scenes where you can isolate dramatic color against a neutral background. In the case of the photo on this page, the photographer used her red car as a touch of color in this monochromatic, wintry road scene in Washington's Olympic National Park. The eye is drawn to the bright car even though the leading lines that the road creates would normally lead your eye through the picture.

When working with color, don't be indiscriminate and assume that pretty color alone will carry the photograph. Wonderful colors are no substitute for good composition. So don't get so carried away with an interesting scene before you that you forget to pay attention to composing that great shot. Our eye tends to weed out distracting elements--the camera lens, on the other hand, is not as selective on its own.

Often, the key to a successful color photo is how you frame the image. Use a moderate wide-angle lens (in the 28--35mm range) to reveal the contrast between the background and the color you want to spotlight. Use a telephoto lens (perhaps 100mm) to isolate this color, or to minimize the background.

Zoom in on some bright patterns on a piece of clothing, or shoot a yellow umbrella on a gray, rainy day. Creative options are everywhere--you're limited only by your imagination.

In a nutshell, you are the director and the cinematographer of your photos. You decide what the viewer will see. Don't include too much, and thus take away the magic.

Source: http://www.shutterbug.com

Striking Sunsets- 5ive Tips

2012-03-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

The word photography literally means "painting with light." Thus, twilight is one of the best times to take pictures, as the light at that time is magical. You can capture colorful clouds at sunset time, silhouetted objects against a colorful sky, or the sparkling lights of a city at dusk. Even though you'll need to go to a little extra effort to obtain great results, it's worth doing this to successfully capture one of nature's grandest spectacles.
Camera Support
Because you'll be working under dim lighting conditions, you should invest in a good tripod or monopod. Some manufacturers have even created small beanbags to steady lightweight point-and-shoot cameras. There are also times when you can brace your camera against a rock or on top of a fence. In any case, avoid the blurred images that occur when using a slower shutter speed while hand holding your camera. Lacking a camera support, use fast film in the 400--1600 range, or use an equivalent ISO setting on a digital camera.

Reader photo by Sue Copeland, Cupertino, CA

Look For Silhouettes
It's always a good idea to scout a location in advance for subjects suitable for silhouettes. Look for simple, recognizable shapes, such as trees, mountains, or even a structure on a beach. It's also important that your subject be surrounded by the brightly colored sky. A fisherman on the beach at sunset is an identifiable shape, but fishing boats lined up too closely in a row may merge into a dark cluster. Any subject that you position in the foreground of a sunset sky will be silhouetted unless you use flash to illuminate it. The dark blue sky after sundown on a clear day, or the pink and orange clouds after sunset on a cloudy one, make great backdrops for silhouettes.

Reader photo by SHerrill Lynch, Countryside, IL

Use A Long Lens To Capture A Big Sun
You can render the setting sun as a large solar disk by using a long lens. Use the telephoto setting on your camera's built-in zoom lens, or use a long lens in the 100--500mm range if using an SLR with interchangeable lenses. Be careful to keep the sun out of the frame while you meter the sky at sunset. To meter correctly, focus on an area of the bright sky to the left or right of the sun itself, partially depress the shutter button to lock in the exposure, and then recompose your photo to place the sun where you want it. Haze and clouds enhance sunsets by diffusing the light and adding color.

Reader photo by Sharon Lacy, Williamsburg, OH

City Lights
To photograph a cityscape after sunset, find a good vantage point during the daytime and return later to capture the best light. Start shooting and watch how the light changes as the sky gets darker and the lights in buildings become more visible. It's a good idea to take lots of pictures, because there will be a point when the light in the sky and the city lights are more evenly balanced, and you'll get detail in both.

Look for other subjects that provide dramatic night lights, such as amusement parks, neon signs, bridges, monuments and statues. You'll get the best results by shooting before the sky gets totally dark.

Reader photo by Randy Finch, Florence, AL

Five Tips In Brief
· Use a camera support for optimum sharpness.
· Find simple objects to render as silhouettes.
· Use a telephoto lens for a large sun.
· Photograph city lights at dusk.
· Shoot lots of pictures.

Source: http://www.shutterbug.com

Tips for Photographing Mountains

2012-03-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

Anyone who loves shooting scenics probably enjoys capturing the grandeur of mountains. As with most landscapes, it's best to photograph mountain scenery very late in the afternoon or very early in the morning. Some of the best high-country photos are shot by photographers who get up before daybreak or stop shooting only after dark. You'll find that an otherwise dramatic peak can look a little flat and uninteresting during the middle of the day.

A panoramic view of a mountain range in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Reader photo by Mario Giannone, Buffalo Grove, IL

The low light at dusk and dawn lends texture, depth and form to photos of mountains. You can also get great shots in varying weather conditions--don't put your camera away simply because the weather has turned cloudy. Don't go out in a blizzard or heavy rain, but look for dramatic clouds building before a storm, or the sun peeking through clouds afterward. You can also get some dramatic pictures of mountain peaks disappearing into clouds or fog.

At high altitudes, a phenomenon sometimes occurs called alpenglow. This warm glow appears when blue and green wavelengths are scattered by the atmosphere and a little red light dominates, which briefly bathes a mountain in warm, reddish hues. Alpenglow can illuminate the clouds around mountains as well.

Jagged red-rock formations at Bryce National Park, Utah.
Reader photo by Leonard Rapoport, Hazlet, NJ

High altitudes can also result in a lot of atmospheric haze because of the excessive ultraviolet light. Sometimes this haze can be rendered attractively in photos, such as images of mountains that graduate from a deep purple to distant peaks that appear to become progressively paler shades of blue. But if haze becomes a problem, try using a polarizing filter. If you have a compact camera, you may not be able to attach this filter to the front lens element, but you can hold it in front of your lens and rotate it to get the desired effect. A polarizer will deepen the color of the sky, minimize haze, and generally enrich the colors in a scene. This filter is most effective when the sun is at a right angle to your camera. At very high altitudes, the sky can appear almost black when you use a maximum amount of polarization, so adjust the amount by turning the outer ring, and experiment by taking pictures with and without this filter.

Including people will add interest and scale to your mountain photos.
Reader photo by Cheryl Gosson, Ottawa, Canada

How many times have you traveled to a beautiful spot to photograph mountains, only to find that the majesty of the mountains has disappeared somewhere in the translation to film or a memory card? Sometimes shooting a picturesque scene of a snow-covered peak is not enough. Look for a visual clue that reveals the true magnitude of the scene around you. Showing scale can really add interest to your photos of mountain peaks and ranges. One way to do this is to set your camera's zoom lens to a wide-angle setting in the 24--35mm range, and include a foreground subject, like a group of flowers or a hiker. If you have a zoom lens, adjust it until you get a pleasing effect; sometimes wide-angle shots make distant mountains appear to be diminished rather than tall and grand. If you have a compact camera with a fixed-focal-length lens, you'll have to move around to find the angle and distance that work best for you.

A full moon over peaks near Mount Whitney, California.
Reader photo by Jeff Pedigo, San Francisco, CA

To make the mountains appear more grandiose, adjust your lens to a moderate telephoto setting, and find a middle-ground subject for scale, like a building or grouping of pine trees. Telephoto lenses used at a great distance compress the space in your photos and the apparent size of the mountains will be enhanced.

Last but not least, always protect your camera equipment when your mountain excursions take you to snow or other inclement weather. Put your camera in a plastic bag or a warm, dry backpack and bring it out only to take pictures.

This image of Mount Shasta, California, was taken from the cockpit of a plane this photographer was piloting.
Reader photo by Robert Wilbourn, Desoto, TX

Readers are encouraged to submit photos to our monthly Point & Shoot HomeWork Assignment feature. Please see the table of contents for the location of the entry coupon, which lists topics and more details.

Source: http://www.shutterbug.com

Morning Photography Tips - 6ix

2012-01-16T03:33:00.000-08:00

Morning conjures up thoughts of beautiful sunrises, the start of a new day, and perhaps brewing a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper. Photographers enjoy shooting early in the morning (and late in the day) for dramatic light. When shooting outdoors, the light is especially beautiful during the half-hour or so after sunrise. These early-morning hours can provide great lighting as well as the opportunity to photograph scenes before the crowds arrive. Additionally, industrial pollutants haven't had a chance to settle in, making scenes even clearer than at dusk.

The color of light changes throughout the day, and has a warm cast early in the morning.
Reader photo by Charlene Samsel, Nescopeck, PA

1. Color Of Light
Our eyes adjust to the changing color that sunlight provides throughout the day. Nonetheless, film and digital sensors record the color of light the way they're designed to see it. In the morning, the colors can range from a yellowish to rosy orange at sunrise. A neutral mix of colors occurs from mid-morning on a clear day, although shady areas will be tinged with blue. It's important to recognize the changing color of light in order to compensate for it with film, or with your digital camera's white-balance setting.

When shooting near dawn, you may want to bracket exposures to ensure good results.
Reader photo by Marie LaPlante, Springfield, VT

2. Use Silhouettes
If you're photographing a sunrise, try to utilize an interesting foreground element against a colorful sky. A sky with beautiful oranges and reds can often be striking alone, but a foreground element can take your photos a step further by adding a center of interest and revealing something of your location. At dawn and dusk, a foreground subject will usually be rendered as a silhouette, so look for simple and easily recognizable shapes. A single person jogging on a road early in the morning, for example, may be a good subject for a silhouette.

At sunrise, foreground subjects will be rendered as silhouettes.
Reader photo by John Matthews, Harrogate, TN

3. Metering
When shooting at sunrise, you'll find that several exposures will yield good results. Be careful to keep the sun out of the frame while you meter the light. Aim the lens at a bright area of sky just to the left or right of the sun itself. Hold the shutter button down halfway to lock in the exposure and then recompose your shot to include the sun if you want to.

4. Correcting Color Imbalances
Most film is balanced to give natural-looking results when used with daylight or flash illumination. Under incandescent illumination, daylight-balanced film (or a daylight white-balance setting) will record the orange bias of the light. If you photograph under incandescent lighting conditions, you can correct for this color imbalance by using a film balanced for tungsten light or set your camera's white balance to the tungsten setting. (If you don't have this particular setting on your digital camera, the auto-white balance will suffice in most cases.)

The rosy tones of sunrise can be effective in establishing mood in your photos.
Reader photo by Margaret Hildreth, Pensacola, FL

The warm amber or rosy tones of sunrise are effective in establishing a mood, but sometimes close-ups of people in this light may result in skin tones being excessively warm. There are times, however, when you'll want to use early-morning light to give a little warmth and intimacy when photographing a person. Sometimes it's just a matter of personal preference. Tungsten film--or a digital camera's tungsten white-balance setting--will work to correct the light in this case. A little flash fill when photographing portraits will correct a too-warm balance altogether.

5. Say "Morning" In Your Photos
You don't have to restrict your images to capturing the perfect sunrise. When taking pictures at dawn or during the morning hours, try to look for elements that spell out "a.m." A cup of coffee on the counter, children going to school while adults leave for work, or a foggy scene can distinguish a morning photo from one taken late in the day.

Look for symbols that spell out "a.m.," such as the morning coffee mug.
Reader photo by Jody Ward, Pleasanton, CA

6. Quick Tip
Use tungsten film, or your digital camera's tungsten white-balance setting, to correct color imbalances.

Source: http://www.shutterbug.com

Tips For Shadows In Your Clicks - 5ive

2012-01-16T03:30:00.000-08:00

Photography is all about light. But wherever there's light, there are shadows lurking nearby. And therein lie some great photo ops.

Exposing Shadows
Contrasty shadow scenes can fool reflected light meters, such as those built into cameras. A spot meter enables you to meter the most important highlight area, and determine an exposure that will give detail there (try two stops more exposure than the highlight reading calls for). It's generally fine to let the shadows go black; if you want detail there, too, you'll probably need to use the Zone System--or Photoshop's Shadow/ Highlight feature. With the multi-segment meters built into today's SLRs, you'll have to experiment to see how your specific camera handles shadow scenes--with some scenes, multi-segment meters work very well, with others they don't.

It's a good idea to bracket exposures when you start doing shadow images.

1: Shadows Add Impact
Soft light is easy to work with, primarily because it produces soft shadows. If you didn't get the main light in the right place, there are no harsh shadows to whump the viewer upside the head with that fact. But soft light also lacks impact. Harsh shadows--in the right place(s)--can add impact and drama to a photograph. The best source of harsh shadows is direct sunlight outdoors. But you can create strong shadows with direct light sources in the studio, too, such as direct electronic flash or tungsten lamps.

The contrast between sunlit fog and unlit trees adds drama to this early-morning scene.

1
All photos by Mike Stensvold unless otherwise indicated

2: Show The Subject A Different Way
For a different sort of image, make the shadow the main subject of the photo, or photograph only the shadow, without including the subject.

This self-portrait was "discovered" on the side of a store near the end of a hike. Keep your eyes open for such photo ops in your wanderings.

3: Get Artsy
Hey, nothing says you can't use shadows as graphic elements. Instead of grumbling when you encounter harsh shadows in available light scenes, try to work with them.

Existing shadows can provide lots of photo ops, once you become attuned to them. Look for interesting shadow patterns next time you're out searching for things to photograph.

3
Photo by Ron Leach

4: Silhouettes
Silhouettes offer another opportunity to use shadows. A silhouette is a shadow--an unlit subject. Thus, silhouettes work best when the subject is readily identifiable by its shape; subjects primarily noted for their texture or detail are not good choices for silhouettes.

Bird watchers will immediately recognize these silhouettes as great-tailed grackles, by their shapes and poses. Others might simply enjoy the overall picture.

5: Leading Lines
Shooting outdoors early or late in the day, you can use the long shadows produced by the low-angle sun to lead the viewer's eye into the photo.

Shadows extending toward the camera can create leading lines, too.

Penumbra?
Shadows are more than just black blobs that mimic the shapes of things casting them. At the center, known as the umbra, the shadow is very dark indeed. But at the edges is a lighter, softer-edged area called the penumbra. When conditions are right, you can record this in a photograph of the shadow. (If the light source creating the shadow is a true point source, there will be no penumbra. But few true point light sources exist in our daily lives.)

Soft Vs. Hard Light
Soft light is produced by light sources that are large relative to the size of the subject, such as an overcast sky. Hard light is produced by light sources that are small compared to the size of the subject, such as direct electronic flash. The sun is huge, but so far from the Earth that it acts as a hard light source. Hard light produces the best shadows for photos.

How Long?
Outdoors, the lower the sun is in the sky, the longer the shadows objects here on Earth will cast. A six-foot person will cast a six-foot shadow when the sun is at a 45° angle to it. When the sun is lower in the sky, the shadow will be longer; when the sun is nearly overhead, the shadow will be very short.

How Sharp?
The closer the object casting the shadow is to the surface upon which it is casting the shadow, the sharper the shadow will be. An airplane flying high overhead will cast a shadow so fuzzy you might not even notice it, while an object just a foot above the ground will cast a very sharp shadow.

Source: http://www.shutterbug.com

Tips To Get Point Of Interest Stand Out - Se7en

2012-01-16T03:24:00.000-08:00

What and how to get a Prominent Point of Interest in Photography

Point of Interest is the gravitating aspect that will draw the viewers to a certain point of the photograph. Ideally, there is one point of interest (POI) in a photograph to ensure its viewers are able to understand the message conveyed by the photograph. There are several techniques to ensure the photograph’s viewers comprehend the POI:

1. Fill the Frame
By filling the frame with the main object, the object will inevitably be the center of attention. There are several ways to fill the frame with the main object of the photograph. Some of these include:
- Photographing closer to the object.
- Using a telephoto lens or zoom.
- Cropping.

Point of Interest in Photography - Fill the frame

2. Depth of Field
By adjusting the Depth of Field (DoF), the main object will appear sharp while the surrounding environment becomes blurry in contrast. This ensures the clarity of the point of interest. To obtain a thin Depth of Field, the steps that can be taken are:

- Set the lens to its widest aperture (lowest digit).
- Use the farthest zoom range (tele-end).
- Distance the object with its background.

Point of Interest in Photography - Shallow Depth of Field

3. Position and Composition
The placement of the object in the photo frame will determine how much attention is drawn to the object or part of the object. The center is the most dominant point. The top part is more interesting than the bottom when using 1/3 composition and the intersections will provide more impact. For instance, placing the eye of the object at the top 1/3 of the frame.
Also, color and balance are also determining factors in defining a point of interest. Bright colors are more alluring. The color yellow grabs the most attention.

Point of Interest in Photography - Position and Composition

4. Lines and Patterns
By leveraging the converging lines and patterns around the main object, the attention can be drawn to a certain point in a photograph.

Point of Interest in Photography - Lines and Patterns

5. The Motion Blur Technique
This technique takes use blurs to isolate the main object. The surrounding objects, which are not meant as the point of interest, are blurred. This effect can be achieved on site or by using a photo editor.

Point of Interest in Photography - Motion Blur

6. Framing
Framing is the use of certain elements or objects around the point of interest to act as barriers. This will then ensure attention is directed at the point of interest.

Point of Interest in Photography - Framing

7. Editing
Editing is the last step done once the photographs are saved as a file in a memory card or hard disk. There are many things that can be done in editing to ensure that only one point of interest (POI) is prominent in a photograph. For example:

- Cropping or discarding any unnecessary parts of the photographs while also adjusting composition.
- Light and color setting, by decreasing light intensity around the object or adjusting color tone.
- Blurring the surroundings of the object, so the object seems more attention grabbing among the blurs.
- Sharpening, increasing the sharpness of the point of interest.
- Selective color, making the object in color while setting the background as monochromatic.

Source: http://oneslidephotography.com

Action Photography Tips - Three

2012-01-16T03:16:00.000-08:00

Photographing action is quite challenging, but can also be very rewarding. The keys to success are knowing your camera, knowing your subject...and LOTS of practice. You have to be able to set focus and exposure quickly (or monitor them quickly, if using an automatic camera). In short, you can't be fumbling around trying to figure out how to apply exposure compensation or switch from single-area AF to multiple-area AF or vice versa while the action is happening. Camera operation must become second-nature.

A fast shutter speed "freezes" motion. Here, 1/5000 even froze the water droplets.
All photos by Mike Stensvold unless otherwise indicated.

It's also very helpful to know as much as possible about your subject, be it an animal or a sport. The more you know about your subject, the better you'll be able to anticipate photo ops, and be ready when they occur. Learn as much as you can about your subjects from books, online, and other sources, and by watching them yourself.

There's a lot of luck involved, too, of course. But you'll find that the more you practice and the more you learn about your subjects, the more often you'll get lucky.
TIP 1: Shutter Speed
There are two basic ways to deal with action subjects: freeze them sharply, or blur them. Using a fast shutter speed will sharply freeze the subject, while using a slow shutter speed will blur it. How fast a shutter speed it takes to freeze the subject, and how long a shutter speed you'll need to blur it effectively, depend on the subject's speed and distance from the camera, the focal length of the lens you're using, and the effect you want. The faster the motion, the closer the subject, and the longer the lens, the faster the shutter speed you'll need to "freeze" the motion.

With the foregoing in mind, it's a good idea to try a variety of shutter speeds each time you encounter a new action subject, to see which one(s) produce the best results for that subject. You'll soon learn what speeds will produce the effects you prefer.

A slow shutter speed blurs motion, which can be an interesting effect.

Tip 2: Panning Techniques
If you use a slow shutter speed and keep the camera still, the subject will move through the frame and come out blurred. This is fine for subjects like hovering hummingbirds, where the body will be sharp and the wings blurred, but subjects moving across the frame will just be blurred. A better way to deal with such subjects at slow shutter speeds is to pan the camera--track the subject with the camera, moving the camera to keep the subject in the same spot in the finder. The result will be a sharp subject and a very blurred background, emphasizing the subject's speed.

Panning to track the subject while using a slow shutter speed will result in a blurred background but a relatively sharp subject.

Track your subject through the viewfinder, press the shutter button halfway down to activate the AF system, continue tracking the subject, press the shutter button all the way down to make exposure, and continue tracking the subject (follow-through is important: if you stop tracking the subject when you take the shot, the subject will blur and possibly even move out of frame by the time the camera makes the exposure). Like all action techniques, this one takes practice to master, but the results are worth the effort.

Shooting at the peak of the action, when an ascending subject briefly hangs motionless before starting back down, you can get sharp images even at slower shutter speeds.
Photo by Ron Leach

TIP 3: Composing Action Shots
Most action happens too quickly to allow you to carefully compose each image and check the background for distractions. But you can check the background (and lighting) before the subject arrives, and move to a different spot if background or light aren't good.

Check the background and lighting before the subject arrives. If the background is distracting, or the lighting unattractive, try to find a new spot to set up.
Photo by Karel Kramer/Dirt Rider Magazine

Focus Points
While it's easier to keep a camera's wide, multi-point AF area on a moving subject, most AF SLRs will respond more quickly if you use only the central focusing point. If your camera doesn't seem to respond quickly enough with action subjects, try using single-point AF instead of multi-point AF.

Swallows are very tough subjects: Not only are they fast, they're also erratic as they pursue tiny flying insects. This "mirror image" occurred when a swallow flew near the water surface, which glowed with sunrise color. Exposing for the color and letting the bird go silhouette also provided a faster shutter speed--all the better to catch a sharp image.

Prefocusing
If you know the subject will pass a specific point, such as second base at a baseball game with an expert base-stealer on first, you can prefocus manually on that point, and thus be ready to shoot as the subject arrives. This eliminates the time consumed by (and possible inaccuracy of) autofocusing.

With moving subjects, it's generally preferable to leave some room in the image ahead of the subject, so it appears to be moving into the picture rather than out of it.

Continuous Drive
Continuous advance (continuous drive with digital SLRs) lets you shoot a series of exposures at one touch of the shutter button. This can yield nice action sequences, but also use up lots of film rather quickly--a big advantage to digital cameras here. Bear in mind that with many AF SLRs, only the first image or two of a moving-subject sequence will be really sharp, so it's probably best to stick to 2-5-frame bursts.
Camera Lag
There is a brief lag between the moment you fully depress the shutter button to take a shot, and the moment the camera actually makes the exposure. With pro action cameras, this lag is very brief, but it's there nonetheless. You have to develop a feel for your camera's lag if you want to get great action photos. And that just takes some practice.

Source: http://www.shutterbug.com/

What To Shoot In Winter

2012-01-16T03:10:00.000-08:00

Winter brings with it some great photo opportunities. In many areas winter means snowy landscapes and snow sports; in others, it's just a somewhat cooler and slightly wetter time of year. Here are some winter-oriented photo tips that should help you add some nice shots to your portfolio, and have some fun doing it.

1 Sun Comes Up, Sun Goes Down . . .
If you're not an early riser, or you like to get to bed early, winter is your season for sunrises and sunsets. The sun rises nearly three hours later, and sets nearly three hours earlier, in mid-winter than it does in mid-summer. So you can sleep in and still catch those neat things that often happen around sunrise (such as the alpenglow on pre-sunrise lenticular clouds shown here)—or photograph the sunset and still have time to go out for dinner and a movie. You can also capture those sunsets over picturesque parklands that close at 5 or 6 p.m. (which is well before sunset in mid-summer). Photo by Mike Stensvold

2 Different Times of Day
As the sun "travels across the sky" (which it does more quickly during the shorter days of winter), the lighting direction changes relative to landscape features. So, schedule permitting, you should check out potential subjects first thing in the morning, in midmorning, around noon, in midafternoon, in late afternoon, and around sunset to see how they look in the different lighting. Not only does the lighting direction change throughout the day, but the color changes as well, from cool before sunrise to warm just after sunrise to neutral at midday to warmer near sunset to cooler after sunset. The combination of different lighting angles and different lighting colors can make a subject look quite different as the Earth does its daily rotation. So shoot a frame (or more) throughout the day, and you'll get some interesting shots.Photo by Lynne Eodice
3 White Is White
. . . but snow isn't, always. Snow in sun is white, snow in shade is bluish, snow under an overcast sky is grayish, snow near sunrise or sunset has a warm cast. To get great snow shots, first you have to learn to see the snow as it is, and second you have to expose it properly. If you take a reading off sunlit snow with your camera's built-in reflected-light meter, the resulting photo will show the snow as gray—too dark for sunlit snow. So you'll have to give the snow more exposure than the meter calls for. How much more? That depends on how you want the snow to appear—try one stop, and bracket exposures. Soon you'll develop a "feel" for how to expose snow to show it the way you want in your photos. (Note: If the snow occupies only a small portion of the image, your in-camera meter will probably expose it correctly. But it's still a good idea to bracket exposure whenever you're in doubt. )Photo by Mike Stensvold
4 A Touch of Color
Snow is very pretty, but photographically a little snow goes a long way. You can add interest and color to snow shots simply by including a colorful object or two in your composition. The colorful object can be incidental, or the main subject of the photo. Keep your eyes peeled for colorful items to include in your snow pictures.Photo by Ron Leach

5 Enroute
Getting there is half the fun, the old adage goes. And photos taken enroute to your winter destination can add interest to your slide show or portfolio. Keep an eye out for interesting formations you can include with the road as you drive toward your destination. Or photograph travel companions wending their way to the top.Photo by Ron Leach (top) and Lynne Eodice
6 Seasonal Holidays
Several major holidays fall during winter, and each offers many photo opps. Have your camera ready, with lots of film and some spare batteries, and keep an eye out for colorful subject matter.Photo by Lynne Eodice
7 Watch the Birdies
Many birds fly south for the winter. So, if you live in the "south," you'll likely have lots of birds to photograph that you don't have during the rest of the year. Unfortunately, many of them are in their winter plumage, which isn't nearly as colorful as their breeding (generally spring-summer) plumage. But they still make good photo subjects and give your bird photos some variety. This past winter, we in Los Angeles enjoyed a large number of vacationing American White Pelicans.Photo by Mike Stensvold
8 From Above
Clear winter days are generally pristine compared to "clear" summer days, as the winter storms temporarily remove pollution particles from atmosphere, and the cooler unstable winter air tends to provide better visibility than summer's warmer stable layers. The result is better photographic conditions for scenic and aerial photography, and any shots of distant subjects.Photo by Mike Stensvold
9 Bare Flora
Many plants lose their leaves for winter. So you can photograph branch patterns, something you can't do most of the year.Photo by Mike Stensvold (top) and Lynne Eodice
10 Moonlight on Snow
Moonlit landscapes can be very effective, but they're at their best on snow. The white snow won't be white in the photo (it'll take on a bluish tint), but it will reflect the dim moonlight and give you a landscape image containing far more detail than you'd get with the moon lighting dark ground. For this shot, the camera was steadied on an ice-ax "monopod." Photo by Ron Leach Source: http://www.shutterbug.com

Se7en Winter Photography Tips

2012-01-16T03:00:00.000-08:00

Winter is a wonderful time for photography. I thought I would provide a few tips to make photography in the cold more successful.

1. Keep your camera cold. Although it is tempting, don’t put your camera under your jacket. Warming and cooling your camera will cause condensation and render your camera unusable. It is easier to brush falling snow off a cold camera as well. Falling snow on a warm camera makes for first a wet, then a frozen mess. But don’t don’t try to blow snow off your camera with your breath! This too can cause a frozen condensated mess. I have learned all these things the hard way.

2. Keep your batteries warm. Your camera will work fine in very cold temperatures as long as it has functioning batteries. The cold can quickly zap the energy out of any battery, but warming them up can restore much of their power. If I’m taking extended exposures where I can’t afford to have my camera quit such as photographing northern lights, I use a rubber band and attach a chemical hand warmer to the battery compartment. Otherwise I keep extra batteries in a pocket inside my jacket where I can keep them warm. Sometime I put a chemical hand warmer in that pocket to speed up the process. I then rotate the batteries between my camera and my warm pocket.

3. Warm your camera slowly when you return home or in your car. If you walk into the house with a cold camera, it will instantly become covered with condensation. Anyone who has worn glasses in the winter will know exactly what I’m talking about. Some photographers will put their camera gear in zip lock bags and that works fine. I just leave my gear in the camera bag and make sure I don’t open the bag for an hour of two. The camera bag seems to be adequate for avoiding condensation. Be sure to remove film or cards from your camera before you bring it inside so you won’t be tempted to open your bag prematurely.

4. Keep your car cold. This is a tip you will rarely read, but I think it is a good one. Having a cold car will prevent any condensation on your camera as you come and go while shooting. This is really helpful when you are in and out of your car a lot, like when you are driving around chasing northern lights. I have found that if I’m already dressed for the cold, like you need to be while driving a cold car, that I’m more likely to stop and explore photo opportunities. If I have to stop and put on jackets, boots and gloves, I’m more likely to convince myself it really isn’t a good photo opp.

5. Watch your breath. I’m not talking bad breath, but you should watch that too One exhale at the wrong time and the back of your camera, and more importantly your viewfinder will become instantly covered in a film of ice. Once your viewfinder is iced over, it is very difficult to clear without warming your camera. I can’t tell you how many times I have done this over the years once I get caught up in the excitement of shooting. I raise my head to look over the camera and boom, in one breath the back is covered in ice. Because I forget this so often, I will often cover my mouth with the collar of my jacket to help divert my breath so that it isn’t a problem. I know of some fellow Alaskan shooters who have used snorkels to help direct their moist breath away from camera gear while working in severe cold. That probably would work great, but may look pretty funny to anyone passing by. I could just hear them; “Dude, you aren’t in Hawaii anymore – just let it go!”

6. Keep your tripod legs together in snow. If you push your tripod into the snow with the legs sprayed, you can easily damage them. I start with the legs just slightly apart, and then I will push the tripod into the snow which slowly spreads the legs as the tripod sinks further into the snow. Having the legs spreed as the tripod sinks helps keep it a little more stable as well.

7. Use chemical hand warmers. These are one of the best inventions. As a kid, I used to use hand warmers powered by lighter fluid – they were really a pain. Today’s chemical hand warmers are easy to use, they start warming the instant you open the package, and can last 6 to 8 hours. Warm gloves are also important, but gloves alone are not enough. The problem with photography is it seems you are always taking your hands out of your gloves to change cards / film or something. Once your hands are cold, gloves can’t rewarm them. It is kind of like a well insulated Thermos that keeps warm things warm and cold things cold – gloves work the same way. So for gloves to work with cold hands, you need a heat source, and that is where the hand warmers come into play. I keep one stuffed in each glove or mitten, and this way my gloves are always warm and toasty when I go to put them back on.

Some of the most unique photo opportunities are during winter, don’t let the cold keep you inside!

Source: http://www.my-photo-blog.com

Amazing Patings in 3D

2012-01-05T01:54:00.000-08:00

Marchal Mithouard (aka Shaka) is a French artist whose paintings literally pop out off the canvas into the world. To create his pieces, Mithouard first creates a bas relief of his figures on canvas, then paints them in his multi-colored, street art style.
Marchal Mithouard started as graffiti artist whose work gradually evolved from basic to a unique brand of three-dimensional street art. Using exaggerated perspective and realism, Mithouard aims for his human figures to jump out at the viewer. His paintings appear to have an underlying theme of revolt and rebellion.
His foremost influences, he says, include Vincent van Gogh, Le Caravage and Expressionism.

Things To Know About Autofocus

2011-12-18T02:56:00.000-08:00

The Auto Focus (AF) System in a camera found in the 1980′s is an important discovery in the world of photography and has had a major impact in bringing convenience to photographers. Without the Auto Focus, we would have to manually adjust the focus on the lens to really precisely focus on the objects we want to photograph (commonly referred to as manual focus). Now that the Auto Focus feature isn’t anything special anymore (except on cellphone cameras), do you really know the ins and outs of this most important feature? Check out the rest of this post to learn more about the Auto Focus.

Auto Focus vs. Manual Focus
AF, or Auto Focus is an automatic process of the camera that aims to find the correct focus. The opposite of which is the MF, or Manual Focus, where the photographer sets the focus manually. MF can be executed by rotating the focus ring on the lens (on DSLRs) or by pressing the designated button (on non-DSLRs). This manual process is generally used when AF fails to deliver results according to our objectives, or if AF isn’t possible due to technical problems.

AF by half-pressing the shutter button
Generally, all cameras will start looking for the focus when the shutter button is pressed half way. The camera will then beep when the focus is locked and the locked object is sharply focused. So avoid pressing the shutter button without first half-pressing, because this will force the camera to shoot without finding the correct focus.

About AF motors
The focus (or lack there of) of a resulting photograph is set by focal lens element that can move back and forth. If using the a AF mode, the camera will automatically rotate the AF lens by relying on the lens’ micro motor. That is why when the camera is focusing, you can hear (and feel) fine movements in the camera. On DSLRs, the AF motor is located inside the camera body, except entry level Nikon DSLRs like the D40 do not have an AF motor. As a substitute, this model needs lenses with AF motors.

Nikon D7000 AF coupling

AE-L and AF-L
In addition to half-pressing the shutter button, serious prosumer and DSLR-type cameras have AE-L and AF-L buttons which can be used to lock focus. AE-L stands for Auto Exposure-Lock and AF-L stands for Auto Focus-Lock. In further settings, these buttons can be customized into several functions, as well as exposure and focus lock, or lock exposure alone, focus lock only, and focus lock for the duration of shutter button being pushed (AF lock-hold). Choose the one that best suits your needs.

AE-L and AF-L button

AE-L and AF-L Buttons Menu

AF mode
The Auto Focus process was initially on able to lock focus on stationary objects. With rapid technological advancements, AF can now detect object movements and follows wherever the object moves to. Not that the default AF mode is generally set to the stationary mode, and if we want to be able to follow the objects’ movement then we would need to set the AF mode to continuous. Now the DSLRs can lock focus on objects moving from left to right or back and forth (3D-Tracking AF).

AF Points
Generally, the camera finds focus on the center areas of the photo, but sometimes we want to photograph objects off to the sides. For that, AF Points are available in which we can choose the desired focal points. On DSLRs, the amount of AF Points varies from 3 points to 51 points. The more AF Points there are in a DSLR, the more flexible and the less chance you have of misfocusing your resulting photograph. Modern cameras can detect whether the object Is in more than one AF point, and if so they can create groups of AF according to the condition of the object.

Canon EOS 7D AF points

Contrast Detect AF
This is the AF method present in this digital era of photography; starting from cellphone cameras, Micro Four Thirds cameras, to DSLRs with live-view. Contrast Detectadheres to the principle that the highest-contrast photos are photos that have the best focus. When the camera sensors attain an image from the lens, the camera will measure the contrast of the photo’s object (which we can view in the histogram) and then sets the focus and compare the contrast. Even though the principle is simple, the camera needs to run complicated calculations for this method and as a result, this process may take a while (about one second). If the object doesn’t have enough contrast, or are under dim lighting, the AF will fail.

Phase Detect AF
From the old SLRs to the modern ay DSLRs, phase-detect AF became a distinct feature because of its accuracy and speed. On DSLRs, the AF module especially receives images from the lens with the phase detect principle. The auto focus process is then conducted. The AF process with phase detect is fast, accurate, and is reliable even if the object is rather dark and low in contrast. Please note that the performances of the AF process with phase detect will decrease if the DSLR is fitted with slow lenses like the f/4 or f/5.6.

Cross-Type Sensors
Specifically for AF module on DSLRs, the AF points can be cross-type sensors. Such sensors are sensitive to differences in contrast both vertically and horizontally. AF points in the center is always a cross type, while others may not be. The more cross-type AF points there are, the more expensive and the more accurate the DSLRs are in locking focus.

Hybrid AF
Modern DLSRs with the live-view feature upholds two AF principles, both the phase detect concept and the contrast detect concept. Under normal conditions regarding speed and accuracy, the DSLRs would use the phase detect mode as their default mode. When using live-view with a stationary object (such as macro), however, we can use the contrast detect mode by taking advantage of the zoom feature on the LCD screen. Thus we can be more certain that the focus is precise.

I SHOOT RAW..! How Important Is That?

2011-12-18T02:55:00.000-08:00

Are RAW Files Important in Digital Photography

Many modern cameras feature the RAW file format. This feature may be one of the pivotal reasons why you’ve bought that specific camera, or you may be one of those who never use this feature. For professionals, photographing using RAW is a must. But for beginners, is this feature really that important? The short answer is yes. Find out the “why?” in this post.

RAW file format is the original file produced by the camera’s sensor that hasn’t been digitally processed by the camera. In short, these RAW files are literally the raw files that are substantially larger in file size and are not yet ready for consumption, unlike its JPEG counterpart. Not all cameras have this RAW file feature. Generally, they only provide the JPEGs. Because RAW files are produced directly from the sensors, every camera with different sensor technologies has RAW files that are different. Unfortunately, these different RAW files aren’t compatible with each other and processing them needs supporting RAW processing software for that specific type of camera.

RAW files contain brightness information captured by each pixel (in 12 or 14 bits) and has passed through the color filter (RGB). These files are usually sized at 10s of MBs and uses different names according to their producers. Nikon DSLRs uses NEF and Canons use CR2 as their file names. Having RAW files are like having the negative films from the camera and the post-process done in the computer is like the post-processing done in a dark room.

RAW files are original files that haven’t gone through the internal camera process of:

- Demosaicing (Bayer interpolation)
- Gamma correction (curve)
- White balance (WB)
- Sharpening
- Noise reduction (NR)
- Compression (lossy)

So you can do the above process manually as the photographer as you see fit using computer softwares. And yes, JPEG files can also be processed digitally, but JPEG files have high limitations because of the pre-process done by the camera.

There are many advantages in processing RAW-format photographs. Some of which are:

- Avoiding under/over exposures (exposure compensation is possible)
- Setting a more accurate white balance
- Freely setting basic settings such as sharpening, noise reduction, contrast, and curves.
- Getting a wider dynamic range.
- Adjusting levels of noise reduction as is needed.
- Freely experiment with color and saturation.
- Freely determine the level of JPEG compression ratio.

But with these advantages, there are also a few difficulties to note when using these RAW file formats. Some of which are:

- The large size takes up a considerable amount of disk space.
- Needs a fast computer to adequately process without lag.
- Takes a longer amount of time to process batches of photographs.
- Needs special softwares and plugins to read and process RAW files on a computer.

If you want to maximize the use of the RAW feature of your camera, start by finding suitable software for the post-process.