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10 Tips On Shooting Your First Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 00:31:00 +0000

While my previous entry on "8 Tips on Preparing to Shoot Your First Wedding" dealt with the necessary preparations for a photographer before the wedding, here are a few tips on actually shooting your first wedding.

1. Limit Flash Use

Your pictures will look more realistic if you limit your flash use so try to limit its use as much as possible during ceremony. A higher ISO or aperture value may be needed although sometimes you can’t get away from using Flash if there is really no light to work with. Try to be respectful once they are on stage but remember you are there to capture and document the wedding. Ask the bride and groom if there are any flash restrictions as some churches do not allow the use of flash.

2. Shoot in RAW Mode

I know I have said it before but shooting in RAW mode gives you a lot of room to tweak your images after the wedding. Just don’t give someone a DVD with the photos you took. You need to go through each one of them and adjust them accordingly for proper white balance or exposure or any other number of things. Maybe some of them will work better in black and white. Point is, don’t give them out without “developing” your photographs first.

3.    Know the Parts of the Ceremony

Most weddings have the same parts and last about as long, but discuss with the bride and groom to identify if there are changes from a traditional ceremony. This will allow you to know where to stand and take pictures and know what details to capture. You have to recognize when the end of the ceremony is coming so that you can move at the end of the isle.

4.    Shoot a Lot.

Shoot more than you think you will need. Each person that is included in the picture is another pair of eyes that can blink. You should set your camera for continuous mode or burst mode.

5.    D Is For Details

Don’t forget to capture the details. Some of those details may have been handmade and taken hours to create. The couple would definitely want to remember those. Also try to be creative you don’t want your photographs to look like Uncle Henry’s who just purchased an entry level DSLR.

6. Capture Emotions

This is what will get people to remember the moment. If they look at your photograph and can say.. “I remember what I was feeling at that exact moment.” You did your job. You are having someone re-experience their emotions on a specific moment in time and that is very powerful. Sometimes these moments last but a few seconds so you have to be ready and know your camera like the back of your hand.

7. Don’t Move Around During the First Dance

Exercise patience. They will eventually spin around and will give you different perspectives as they do.

8. Smile

If you are smiling you become more approachable and people will not fear you. They will also be more relaxed in your presence and you will be able to take more candid shots. Don’t keep the camera in your face all day. Weddings are supposed to be a party, have fun shooting and smile. Remember, it is an honor for you to be shooting at their wedding.

9. Lean on Me

Have the couple leaning into each other, touching or almost touching. Always try to have them leaning into each other to convey a sense of love. People who hate each other usually try to stay far away. You don't want that look in your photographs. Keep this in mind for any portrait work you do.

10. Leave in Good Terms

Always a good idea to contact the bride and groom before leaving and ask if there are any extra shots they would like. Aunt Edna may have made it to the wedding after all and she was not part of the shot list.

If after you are done the couple or one of the parents of the couple come up to you and tell you that "You were Awesome! You were all over the place!" or "You did a great job." Its great. They haven't even looked at the pictures yet but they saw you working all day. You had your camera in your hand and you were snapping away when you saw something worth capturing. Trust me, people will notice.

8 Tips On Preparing Yourself To Shoot Your First Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 22:08:00 +0000

Sooner or later is going to happen. If you are serious about your photography, a friend or family member is going to ask you to be a photographer at their wedding or even be a backup photographer. How do you prepare yourself for shooting a wedding? Below are a few tips that will hopefully help you get started.

1.    Check Out The Location

Churches and other wedding venues can sometimes present tricky lighting situations. If you’re an amateur photographer get yourself acquainted with the location and take some test shots weeks prior to the event date. You may notice you will need to purchase additional equipment that will help you in your shoot. A professional photographer can virtually walk into any room and within minutes know how to shoot in that specific location and they have plenty of equipment to meet and photograph in almost any situation.

2.    Create A Shot List

Sit down with the couple and decide on a shot list. With a hectic day it is easy for the couple to forget who they want a photograph with. It is up to you to remind them of a particular photograph with a relative they had previously requested. Here is a sample shot list.

3.    Early Bird Catches The Worm

Be at least an hour ahead of schedule. You can start taking pictures of details, of the venue and other ideas that you can use later. Plus it gives you a chance to set up and test out your equipment to make sure everything is working correctly.

4.    Take Extras Of Everything

For weddings you should take extra memory cards, batteries for both your camera and speedlights (flash) and even have a backup camera if possible. Have all your batteries fully charged. Remember this is someone’s very special and important day. If your camera runs out of battery how can you explain that to the bride and groom?

5. Get Familiar With The Couple’s Family

Early in the event you will need to know who the bride and groom’s family members are. You will then know which people to keep a closer eye on. You may ask the bride’s or the groom’s mother for information if you are unsure.

6. Dress Appropriately

This almost goes without saying. Try to fit in with the rest of the crowd and dress as the other guests. Use your best judgment. Remember you are selling a product and part of that product is your image.

7. Clean Your Camera's Sensor

If you've been taking pictures for a while, and have never cleaned your camera's sensor, chances are that your camera's sensor is dirty. Many DSLR's camera sensor will automatically shake now and then, when you power off the camera to try to clean itself but sometimes a little more help is needed. Cleaning the sensor is easy and takes but a few minutes at most. If you don't feel comfortable doing it take your camera to a professional to get it cleaned. A clean sensor will get rid of some speckles of dirt found in your photographs.

8. Research

The internet is an amazing place to look up other wedding photographers and to look at their portfolios online. This will give you some knowledge on common shots and poses as well as get you in the right state of mind to come up with your own. Wedding magazines are another good source to conduct your research. When you look at those photographs try to think on how the photographer took the shot. Where is the light coming from? Is it soft ambient light, like that of a window or flash? What made the shot? Why did you like a particular photograph?

What are some of your key preparations for a wedding shoot?

5 Tips On Shooting Engagement Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 01:31:00 +0000

Engagement pictures are usually taken several months before the wedding and are a great time to test the chemistry between the photographer and the couple. For the couple it is a good way to spend some quality time doing something fun and it allows them to practice in front of the camera, getting to know their photographer, hopefully calming some of the nerves down before the big day. For the photographer, it is a perfect way to engage with the couple and covey the trust they are seeking. The goal as a photographer is to make the couple feel at ease and comfortable during the shooting session.

The images from the engagement session are sometimes used by the couple for their "Save the Date" invitations or they can be printed for display at their wedding reception. So they are still important for the couple.

Here are my top 5 tips for shooting an engagement session.

1. Connect With The Couple

Being a wedding photographer requires you to have personal skills. You need to be able to connect with the couple and talk in a way that makes them feel comfortable. You will need to direct the couple to pose and work with you. Not too much directing, its more of you observing the light and if there is unflattering light, telling them to stand in a certain position, or look to the side and let them take it from there. Remember that these are not professional models. Encourage them by telling them that they are doing well and occasionally show them the LCD in the back of the camera so that they see for themselves.

One easy way I have been able to do this is by asking them questions. Ask them about their wedding details or how they met. How did he proposed? Keep the conversation going. They will start to open up to you.

2. Capture The Romance

Try to shoot images that have the couple heads as close as possible, leaning in towards each other, communicating and sharing with one another. Closeness conveys a deep emotional connection and it is this connection that you want to capture. You want to be able to capture the romance in the pictures.

3. Know Your Equipment

Have you read your camera's manual front to back? There is important information that is covered in that little book and you need to learn how to change settings in your equipment almost as a second thought. The amount of things your camera can do is truly incredible. Take the time to read the manual.

One setting that comes to mind is continues focus mode vs single focus mode. Most times, during an engagement shoot, the couple will be standing or sitting still, posing. You can break that by getting them to move and putting them into action. You may want them to be walking towards you or away from you on a sidewalk. One reason why you would want to have this kind of shot is because the couple does not have to think about posing and it gets them to engage in a different way.

The easiest way to accomplish this shot is to set your camera to continuous focus mode. You will need to change your camera's setting to shoot in continuous mode. In continuous mode the camera will need to focus on different planes of field very quickly. You can use this mode to let the camera do the work. In Canon cameras this is called AI-Servo and in Nikon it is called AF-C mode. I would also recommend the use of a telephoto lens where most often times the lens used is a 70-200mm lens. You also want a quick shutter speed, something about 1/200th of a second or faster, to minimize shutter blur. So again, you will need to change a setting in your camera.

4. Shoot in Continuous Mode (Burst Mode)

This is related to number 3 but I thought I would mention it here. Continuous mode will let you fire multiple shots when leaving the shutter button pressed. Depending on your camera the amount of shoots per second will vary. The reason for shooting in this mode is because people make facial expressions or blink. When shooting a couple that factor is now multiplied by two (either person can blink). The difference can be remarkable in snapping an image with just half a second a part.

5. Use Off Camera Flash

If you leave the speedlight on the camera pointing directly against the couple, you will have harsh light on their faces creating very unflattering light. Instead, bounce the light against a wall or ceiling if you can. If you are shooting outdoors bring an assistant to help you carry a light stand with a speedlight and umbrella or softbox kit. If you don't have someone to help, trigger the light kit setup using a wireless trigger.

The photograph above was shot using a flash attached to a light stand with a softbox located on the right side.

Bonus Tip: Always Shoot In RAW

Future brides have enough stress, your work can bring reassurance that they picked the right person for the job. A great way to do this is with exceptional post-processing of your RAW files.

There is so much more you can do after you snap your pictures in post-production if you have a RAW formatted file to work with than a jpeg file. A RAW file captures all image data recorded by the sensor when you took the picture. You will be able to adjust your images to a higher level of quality than you would be anle to with a jpeg file. Jpeg files are only 8 bits while RAW files are as high as 14 bits, so you can imagine the amount of additional information that is captured.

University Of Tampa Bay Photo Shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 02:59:00 +0000

Recently, I had the opportunity to photograph one of the most picturesque universities I have ever seen, the University of Tampa, located in the heart of downtown Tampa, FL.

The university used to be a hotel in the late 1890's. Class sizes must not be big as each classroom is the size of a normal hotel room.

Close up of one of one of the minarets. It is beautiful to see them at night when they are all lit up.

Here is a view of the lobby. They have several of these circular sofas with different statues.

It does have some beautiful gardens and different sculptures throughout.

I spent several hours photographing different areas of the university. It really is a very nice place to visit and shoot some photographs.

HDR Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 01:57:00 +0000

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and is a process used in producing an image that overcomes the limitations of today's digital cameras. It is not a new process. It was actually used as early
as the 1850s by a photographer called Gustave Le Gray.

It can be used during those times when the camera is not able to capture the full range of contrast in a scene. When taking pictures of a scene with a great dynamic range it is not possible to
correctly expose for both the highlights and the shadows. The problem is that if you expose for the highlights, the shadows will lose all the information as you might only see black and will add noise. If you expose for the shadows, your highlights will be burn out and you will lose information
as you might only see white.

What if instead you take multiple pictures, exposing for both highlights and shadows and merge them together? That is what HDR accomplishes. Through the use of software, HDR exposes for both highlights and shadows in a single image.

Cameras can only see and capture about 5-7 exposure values. Our human eyes can capture about 12. With HDR you can make your images look the way the scene looked when you were exposing the picture. Anyone can apply this process to their images. Keep in mind that you will still need to start this process with a good image. This is not a process for making bad images look good. A bad image is still a bad image but it can make a good image look its best.

HDR images are usually composed of three images. One at normal exposure (EV 0), one underexposed (usually at EV-2) and one overexposed (usually at EV+2). Some photographers take at many as 5 to 7 pictures with different exposure values. I find that most of the time this is not needed.
Below are the the three exposure images used to merge the HDR file at the beginning of the blog entry.

The Equipment You Will Need

To capture true HDR images you will need the following equipment. Later on I will show you a way to cheat and create HDR images with only one picture.

1. Camera - While any camera will work it would be easiest if it allowed you to shoot in manual mode and can also be set to use exposure bracketing.
2. Tripod - You want to capture multiple images of the same scene, therefore the use of a tripod is a must.
3. Cable release or remote - You want to avoid camera shake. Using a shutter cable release or remote will be best. If you don't have a cable release you can use your camera's timer.

How To Shoot Your Picture

STEP 1: If your camera allows it, set your camera to exposure bracketing. The camera will adjust the 3 exposure values for you. I normally set this to EV+2 and EV-2. If it does not, you will have to take the three pictures and manually compensate for the EV+2, Normal and EV-2 values.

STEP 2: Use the lowest ISO possible. The idea is that you want to try to minimize noise and since you will be using a tripod you don't need a high ISO. I normally set my to 100.

STEP 3: Use aperture priority (Av or A) mode.

STEP 4: Turn off auto focus. Auto focus has a gyro inside that is going to vibrate. The less vibration you have in your camera the better the images quality when merging together.

STEP 5: Turn off image stabilization. Since you are using the tripod this is not needed. In fact, having it on might increase vibrations.

STEP 6: Shoot in RAW mode. This will capture the most information in every image.

STEP 7: Shoot at aperture f/8. If you can, shoot at this aperture value to get a very sharp photograph. Most lenses will be sharpest at this aperture setting.

What To Shoot

- Shoot during the golden hour. That time during sunrise and sunset where the light is warmer.
- Another possibility is to shoot at night.
- Shoot objects with a lot of textures.

What Software To Use

Here is a list of the most popular software products used to create a HDR image.

- Photomatix Pro 4 - one of the most used software for creating HDR images at under $100.
- HDR Efex Pro - Another highly used software.
- Adobe Photoshop CS6 - I think this is a great software for HDR images. It really makes it look like no effect was added to the image. This is the last version that will come in a CD as now you will need to purchase an Adobe Creative Cloud membership. You can find more information about it here www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html.
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 - Same as Photoshop but without all the bells and whistles at a much lower price at under $65.00.
- Topaz Adjust - you can use this software to create psedo HDR images, where only one image is used.

Cool Trick for Creating HDR Effect

If I want to create an HDR image and I did not shoot bracketed images, I will create the additional images in Adobe Lightroom. With Lightroom, I will select the image I want and save it and then overexpose it by +2 and underexpose it by -2 and save both of those images as well. Now I have 3 images with different exposure values to create my HDR.

The Topaz software mentioned above does the same thing automatically. You simple select the image you want to use and it will automatically convert it to HDR. That is why it is called psedo HDR.

Here is a picture where I had to create the overexposed and underexposed images because the darn pelicans would not stand still, no matter how many times I told them not to move.

Obviously there will be times like these where your subjects will be moving and you will not be able to capture three images that are alike. You may see this if you are capturing an image of a tree for instance. Where the tree leaves will move due to wind.This is called ghosting. In software like Photomatix you can select the area where ghosting takes place and the software will choose only one of the exposures to use for that particular area. If you are using Adobe Photoshop or Elements you can select the photograph which you want to appear in your final image and just create a layer mask.

Enhancing A Landscape In Post-Production

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 01:58:00 +0000

Sometimes composition is not easy. You may not be able to take a photograph of your subject during perfect lighting conditions. Such is the case during a family trip to the mountains of Virginia. I was only in the mountains for a brief period of time on a overcast and rainy day. The light reflected from the gray clouds made everything look dull. Nevertheless, I saw an interesting looking house that had potential, but there was no good angle to photograph it. There was a road with signs on the left and a house on the right that took away from the rustic look and feel.

STEP 1: Post-Production In Lightroom
I played around a bit with the photograph in Adobe Lightroom and was able to add more warm colors to the original image, as it was a RAW file. I even added some fake clouds in the sky. I liked what I saw, it was a big difference from where I had started. The colors now popped but I was still not satisfied.

STEP 2: Finding And Adding Elements To The Photograph
I found an image of two trees online that more or less resembled the trees during fall that I saw during the trip to the mountains. I extracted the trees from their background using Adobe Elements, but this could easily be done in other image editing software like Adobe Photoshop or if you prefer in GIMP which is free. I then added the trees to the photograph to hide the white house in the background a little and the other one as a bush to hide the concrete foundation on the side. While I added only two tree to the final image, I did practice adding other kinds of trees.

STEP 3: Final Tweaks
Just small touch ups here and there to clean the picture. Removing the cables from the top of the house and the fence post from the side using the healing tool in Adobe Elements were a must. As well as getting the added trees adjusted in the right light.

Selective Coloring Effect Using Lightroom

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 01:59:00 +0000

One of the simplest way to add a little spark to a photograph that is highly popular is the use of selective color in a black and white photograph. You may have seen it on wedding pictures where the bouquet of flowers held by the bride is the only object colored in the image.

While there are countless of ways to achieve this type of effect, for this entry I will show you a quick and easy way to do it using Adobe Lightroom 4. The picture below shows the before and after the technique has been used and it only took a few minutes to achieve. The original image was shot at 28mm, 1/200 sec, F/8.0 and ISO 100. I took this photograph while sightseeing in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.
Lets get started..

Before and after pictures of selective color example

STEP 1: Lower Exposure Value
Open the image in Lightroom and under the Develop module select the Basic tab and lower the exposure to -2.0. I find that lowering the exposure for black and white images brings out drama in the photographs.

STEP 2: Add Vignetting
Vignetting is found in the Lens Correction tab. Adding vignetting will lead your viewers eyes to the center of the picture because it is lighter in the center. I set mine to -33 for this photograph.

STEP 3: Change Saturation Levels
Select the HSL / Color / B&W tab. From there select Saturation. With the sliders you can adjust your image to display only the color you want. In this case I left the Red and Orange sliders alone, since those are the colors used in the beams, and the ones for Yellow, Green, Aqua, Blue, Purple and Magenta I set to -100. After this step you are about 90% done. As you can see in the picture below there is red and orange colors in nearby bushes that I still had to remove.

STEP 4: Use Adjustment Brush for Corrections
For removing the color in the bushes I used an adjustment brush. Select the Effect desired to be Saturation and set that to -100. Brush over the areas that contain colors that you do not want to show. If you make a mistake, select the eraser mode and brush over the area.

STEP 5: Use Adjustment Brush for Dogging and Burning
From the early days of photography dogging and burning has been used to add accent and adding pop to black and white images. Dogging and burning simply mean adding highlights and shadows to your pictures. In this case I added a little effect on the sky by setting an exposure of +.50 to an adjustment brush and making lines across the sky several times. Less noticeable, there is also some effects being applied to the grass in some areas and some of the trees.

For taste, I cropped my picture into a square using a crop of 1:1. Here is the final image below.

Depth of Field

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 22:53:00 +0000

Depth of field is the portion of your image that is in focus. The field is the distance in front and behind your subject that is acceptably sharp and in focus and one of the most creative tools you can use as a photographer.

In the picture below the truck in the middle is the only thing sharp and in focus, inside the depth of field. Everything else, in front and behind, is outside the depth of field.

Example of Depth Of Field

The picture below shows the visual representation of the depth of field from the picture above.

Most photography beginners believe this is something complicated to understand and difficult to control. My hope is that after reading this entry you will have a better understanding as to how it works and that you will be able to apply it to your photographs.

A shallow depth of field is when your subject is in focus but the background is out of focus. Since our photographs are two dimensional, this is a way to create a three dimensional feel because you can see the subject forward in the image. You may have seen this effect in portrait photography. Our eyes are naturally drawn to the sharpest objects when looking at an image. With this effect you are removing all distractions in the background, guiding your viewer's eyes to your subject. You let the viewer know what you, as the photographer, consider to be the main point of interest.

A deep depth of field, normally used when photographing landscapes, is when everything in the image, from the foreground to the background is in focus.

What influences depth of field in an image

The depth of field is influenced by three factors: Aperture, focal length and the distance you are from your subject. Lets look at each one of these closer.

Aperture

Having a large aperture (small f-stop value) will have an impact on depth of field. The smallest f-stop value you can set in your camera is determined by the lens you are using. You can set the aperture value in your camera using either Aperture Priority Mode (Av on Canon, A on Nikon) or Manual mode. Don't be afraid to venture into these modes. They will make your pictures look better. For more information on aperture check out my entry on the exposure triangle here.

Here is an example of photographs taken with a large aperture at f/2.8 and another one taken at f/11. As you can see all distractions have been remove in the one taken at f/2.8, while the one shot at f/11 is very distracting with everything in focus. The beach was just as crowded in the second picture. To learn more on aperture read my entry on exposure basics here.

F/11 - Small aperture

F/2.8 - Large aperture

Focal length

You can create a shallow depth of field with a longer focal length, such as the ones used in a telephoto lens. A telephoto lens compresses the background making your subject stand out from the background. Wide angle lenses expand the depth of an image creating a deep depth of field so it will be more difficult to create a shallow depth of field with a wide angle lens. To do so, you would need to stand very close to your subject. This is why wide angle lenses are most often used for landscapes, when you want everything in the image to be sharp and in focus.

Below are two photographs taken from the same distance of 10 feet. One using a wide angle focal length of 24mm and the other using a focal length of 70mm. You can see the distracting background in the picture shot at 24mm, showing a deep depth of field.

24mm

Below a more shallow depth of field using a 70mm focal length. As you can see the distractions in the background have been removed. After the about half the neck everything becomes blurry.

70mm

Distance from your subject

Your physical distance will have an impact on the depth of field. The closer you stand to your subject, the shallower the depth of field. Take a look at the following images for example.

Below are two photographs were the same camera settings were used, aperture of f/5.6, focal length of 50mm and ISO set to 200. The only difference is that on was taken 10 feet away and the other from 3 feet away. As you can see the one shot from 3 feet away removes most of the distractions with a blurred background. Your eyes automatically focuses on the flower because it is the sharpest object in the frame.

10 feet away from flower, f/5.6, 50mm, ISO 200

3 feet away from flower, f/5.6, 50mm, ISO 200

Recommendations

When photographing people and want to create a shallow depth of field, use a wide aperture. Also make sure you focus on the eyes. If the eyes are blurred the picture will be no good.
When photographing landscapes and want everything in focus, use a high aperture value of f/8 or f/11. These are values where your lens will be most sharper.

Photography Exposure Basics

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Wed, 08 May 2013 03:04:00 +0000

Most beginners take pictures by selecting the creative modes on their cameras but few ever venture into any of the other modes like Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or Manual mode, perhaps based on fear.

Hopefully the following entry will help simplify things, remove that fear and help you in learning how to shot your camera in manual mode. You will need to know how to set your camera's ISO, shutter speed and aperture settings to do this and in doing so you will get better pictures.

The Exposure Triangle

Every picture you create requires an exposure that consists of three different adjustment settings, the ISO, shutter speed and aperture. These three things make up the Exposure Triangle. Adjusting one will have an impact on the other two.

ISO or ASA

ISO controls how sensitive your camera's image sensor is to light. It will also control how much noise or color grain it will have.

ISO ranges vary for different manufacturers but generally you will find settings that follow 100, 200, 400, 800, etc. The lower numbers being less grainy and less sensitive to light and as you move up being more grainy and sensitive to light. Always try to shoot at the lowest ISO setting possible.

At higher ISO settings you will be able to set faster shutter speeds or a narrower aperture setting. With today's camera makers improving sensor technology, you will be able to get an acceptable level of noise in a image at a ISO setting of 800 or above. Only noticeable when enlarging your pictures beyond 8x10. So don't be afraid to raise your ISO setting.

If the subject is not moving, and if I can, I will always try to shoot with a tripod to keep my ISO setting low. I will have to select a slower shutter speed but the image will have less noise.

Here are a cross section of a photograph of a barn taken at Sweetfields Farms in Masarytown Florida. As you can see the bottom photo has more color noise at 1600. Click on images to enlarge.

ISO 100

ISO 1600

Shutter Speed

Exposure time or shutter speed is the length of time the shutter is open allowing light to hit your camera's sensor. This length of time is measured in seconds or fractions of a second. Most often you will creating an exposure in fractions of a second.

What is the shutter?

The shutter is a curtain that is located in front of the camera's sensor. It is always closed, except when the shutter button is pressed. It is at that time when it opens and exposes the sensor to light and closes again.

What should the shutter speed be set to?

The answer to depends on what are you trying to achieve in your image. Do you want to freeze or blur the motion? Shutter speed is responsible for the blurring motion effect or freezing the action. A fast shutter speed will freeze the action at about 1/500th of a second but will require a wider aperture (more light) or higher ISO (more sensor sensitivity to light) to expose the image correctly. Slow shutter speeds will have more light captured by the sensor and will create an effect of motion blur. Depending on what you are shooting this might be a desired effect.

How do you stop a 90 plus mile an hour fast ball? Here is one of my favorite players from the Tampa Bay Rays, Evan Longoria. In the photograph below I wanted to show the player in action with the movement of the bat as he was ready to hit the pitch. The picture was taken at 1/125th of a second.

Evan Longoria from Tampa Bay Rays. 170mm, f/5.6, ISO 400, 1/125th sec

Aperture

The Aperture, consisting of a series of blades called the diaphragm, can be adjusted to control the amount of light that can pass through the barrel of the lens. The blades create a hole that can vary in size depending on the aperture setting selected by you or automatically by the camera.

Aperture settings are dependent on the lens used. These settings are called f-number or f-stop. You might see the following aperture settings on your camera: f/2.8, f/3.5, f/4, f/5.6, f/8. etc. In this case f/2.8 is the widest opening with all others becoming relatively narrower. These numbers are fractions. So you can see that 1/2.8 is larger than 1/8 for instance. The higher the f-number the smaller the hole created in the diaphragm. At f/2.8 more light will be able to pass through the lens than at f/3.6 because it is a wider opening. Since more light will be coming in through the lens, your shutter speed can be faster at f/2.8 than at f/3.6.

Some lenses are considered to be a "Fast Lens", meaning that they have a real wide aperture setting. For example they can be adjusted to f/1.2 or f/1.4. You can select a f/1.2 aperture with a faster shutter speed and still get a correct exposure. Usually, the lower this aperture value, the more expensive the lens.

The main reason to select the aperture is because it enables you to modify the depth of field. Depth of field is the area in your image that is in focus. Wide aperture = short depth of field. Small aperture = long depth of field. Your eyes automatically adjust to the areas in focus first when looking at a photograph. Controlling the depth of field will guide your viewer's eyes to what you want to highlight thereby removing distractions.

The picture below is from an evening trip to Tarpon Springs, Florida. Tarpon Springs is known for their sponge docks, festivals and Green Restaurants. I wanted everything to be in focus so I used an aperture setting of f/11. The f/11 setting created a broader depth of field.

Sponge Dock, 24mm, f/11, ISO 100, 1/15th sec

Another weekend, another trip to to a new destination. This time it was Sweetfield Farms. Very beautiful place and great place to relax with the family. I used f/3.5 in this photograph because I wanted the sunflower to be the main focus point. The f/3.5 setting created a shallow depth of field.

Sunflower, 72mm, f/3.5, ISO 100, 1/1000th sec

Recommendations

Practice what you learned in non-critical situations so that you can apply it when needed, which leads to number 2.
Become familiar with your camera's settings and know where and how to manually adjust the ISO, shutter speed and aperture.

How to set White Balance in Lightroom

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:16:00 +0000

There are several ways to set white balance in Adobe Lightroom. If you want to know more about white balance, read my blog entry about it here.

After you have opened your images in Lightroom, select the Develop module to change the white balance setting and use one of the options below.

Option 1

From the Basic menu in the right pane you will be presented with the "WB:" drop down menu when you click on "As shot". Then, select the white balance setting desired.

White Balance Drop Down Menu

Option 2

Select the Temp and Tint sliders, also found in the Basic menu. The Temp slider will set the temperature on the image, cooler to the left (blue) and warmer to the right (amber). The Tint will compensate the green and magenta in your image.

Temperature and Tint Sliders

Option 3

Also from the Basic menu, use the dropper tool to set the white balance of an image by selecting a neutral color. You will find a neutral color in your image when the values of the three channels (Red, Green and Blue) are almost the same.

Dropper Selection Tool

Dropper Tool

Example of How To Use Dropper Tool

When getting the correct white balance in your images is a concern, you can use 18% gray color cards to help you set accurate color temperature in all your images.

I took the picture below in a very poorly lit library during an engagement session.

Image looks to yellow without correction

Snap one shot with the color card near your subject like you see above.
Open Adobe Lightroom and import your image.
Select the Develop module.
Click on the dropper tool from the Basic menu on the right pane.
Move the dropper tool inside your image over the color card.
Click inside the color card when the numbers for Red, Green and Blue are almost the same.
That's it. Your image will have accurate white balance.

Image with white balance correct

The good thing about working with Lightroom is that, if you have more than one image with the same lighting condition from the same shoot, you can apply the same white balance setting to all of them by following these steps:

Select multiple pictures and press the "Sync..." button found on the left pane. You won't see it if you haven't selected multiple images.
The window below will be shown. I would suggest you first click the "Check None" button so that you don't apply any other settings aside from white balance.
Check the White Balance check box.
Click the Synchronize button. And Voila... All the images selected have the corrected white balance setting.

What is White Balance?

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 14:52:00 +0000

The term "white balance", in fact, refers to color balance. Balancing the colors in your image will allow them to be represented accurately. The process of creating white or color balance is a simple adjustment that requires very little time and leads you to a better image.

The picture on the left uses automatic white balance (AWB). The camera made the picture too blue because it was not able to determine the light source. This picture was actually taken indoors under tungsten light. The image on the right had the white balance setting set to Tungsten. As you can see, the colors have been adjusted to be accurate.

The Color Of Light

Colors are measured in the Kelvin Scale which, as it turns out, is a measurement of temperature not color. The Kelvin Scale, symbol (K), defines an absolute zero for temperature. And, because a specific temperature will consistently display a color, the scale is useful in determining how to modify or "balance" colors.

Here is how this is useful in photography. As light changes color throughout the day, it will vary from a reddish color in the early morning to yellowish at noon. If it is overcast, you'll have a bluish color because light is going through blue grayish clouds. Then, the late afternoon will bring those reddish hues again. The Kelvin Scale will help you determine how much yellow/red or blue to add in order to modify the image to the color tone you desire.

White Balance Adjustments

Amateur photographers sometimes have difficulty managing colors due to the brain's ability to auto correct color. Our brains will adjust what we see with our eyes. If you look at a white piece of paper using light from a bulb, you will still see the paper as white and you will not see the yellow light that it cast upon it because our brains will correct for the yellowish light. Our camera captures what we don’t see and may interpret colors differently because it is "seeing" different sources of light.

What you want to be able to do is get the right color temperature of your light source. As a photographer, consider where your subject is, not where you are standing when selecting a White Balance setting. If you are standing in the sun and your subject is in the shade, you will need to select Shade for white balance. Yes, it is that simple.

Keep in mind that this may change with each image you shoot. You may be taking a picture under the sun and suddenly clouds will roll in and then in a few minutes move away again. Look in the LCD screen of your camera to see how the image looks and adjust as necessary.

If your camera is set to auto white balance (AWB) most times it will guess correctly but what happens when it does not. It is up to you, the photographer, to take the camera out of auto and adjust it manually. The more work you do while you are processing your images the less work you will have to do in post-production.

How to Adjust White Balance?

You can set white balance with just about any camera now a days, from a small point and shoot to an expensive DSLR. White Balance settings can normally be adjusted in one of two ways (some cameras allow both). It can be found in your camera’s menu or, in other cameras, by pressing the WB button on the camera’s body. Look in your camera’s manual to see where the setting is located. Your camera can be adjusted to the following white balance settings.

Auto		The camera will analyze the light in the frame and take its best guess. Most of the time it will do a good job.
Tungsten / Incandescent		Is about 3200K. Normally used when you are shooting indoors where the main source of light is light bulbs. The camera will add blue color to compensate, therefore if you shoot outdoors your picture will look bluer.
Fluorescent		Is about 5000K. Your camera will compensate for the green light emitted and will warm up your image by adding blue but not as much as the Tungsten setting.
Daylight		Is about 5500K. Use under really bright conditions. Sometimes the Cloudy setting works better.
Flash		This will provide color balance when working with flash by adding amber color.
Cloudy		Is somewhere between 7000K to 8000k used for overcast or cloudy days. Your camera will add more amber color than in the Flash setting to compensate.
Shade		Is somewhere around 10000k. This setting will compensate for the blue light emitted and warm up your image by increasing the amount of amber color, more than on the Cloudy setting.

These settings go from cooler to warmer as we move down the list. As sources of light become warmer they have more blue color and as they become cooler they have more amber color. Your camera will add either blue or amber to compensate and balance the white color in the image.
There is another setting:

Preset		Normally used with a 18% gray card or some other color card but you can also aim it at any specific color in front of you. It will use this setting for all pictures you take afterwards so remember to remove it once you are finished. Reference your manual as each camera sets it differently.
Custom		This setting is used when working with strobes and you know what their light output is, but it can be use to set any temperature you like by dialing the temperature manually.

Recommendations

One thing I suggest is that you shoot in RAW mode. With a RAW file you can always tweak your white balance using post-production software.

Tip: If you absolutely need to have the right color balance in your images, I recommend you use the Optek Premium Reference White Balance Card - 3 Card Digital Color Correction Tool you see here to the right. They contain a black, an 18% gray and white cards. These cards are very inexpensive and easy to carry and usually run for less than 15 dollars.You can learn how to use these cards here.

Another thing I would suggest is to explore with different white balance settings. Don't be afraid of showing your artistic and creative side. Sometimes you will want a certain mood in your image. You may want it to look warmer, with more yellows and oranges, to have the viewer believe it is summer time and creating a happier looking image. Or you may want it looking bluish to show that it is winter or early hours of the morning. This last one will create a more mellow or somber feeling.

For the images below: The picture on top was taken with a Shade white balance while the image below was taken with a Cloudy white balance. I think the bottom pictures makes it look slightly more alive don't you?

The Subject in Your Composition

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 19:59:00 +0000

Photography is an art form and therefore can be interpreted in many different ways. Your goal is to make it pleasing to your eye. To get there, ask yourself these questions: Who or what is your subject? What captured my attention? Is this the best angle? How can I make this look more interesting?

Defining Your Subject

"If you want your pictures to be better, stand in front of more interesting stuff." - Joe McNally a National Geographic photographer.

Understand that photography is about capturing light. In a broad sense, light is your subject. No one shoots dark. If you do, remove the lens cap. What you need to be able to do is describe what your subject is. If you photograph an old lady walking down the street, consider the details that will be reflected in the image. Is the subject the old lady? Is it the way her hair and the way light is making it look in a particular way? Is it what she is wearing? Your photograph will also be telling a story that will make the viewer think. Is she walking in the morning or evening? What are her surroundings? Where is she going? If she is smiling, why is she smiling?

Angles Define Perspective

Take time to develop your imagination and make a connection to your subject. Observe your subject in different angles, lighting and learn how it may look best. What would make this picture look more interesting? Present the viewer with a different perspective. Portray something they have not seen before.

Here is a photograph of a structure I took that caught my eye. I am not showing the entire structure, only a section of it to make it look more interesting.

Also, consider getting closer to your subject. The closer you get the more likely you are to capture a more powerful composition. When you get close to your subject you will limit color, lines and shapes and will be getting rid of distractions.

The following picture was taken of the side of a stairway one evening. I took many pictures of the stairway and from different angles until I found what was pleasing to my eye. In this case it was just the vibrant blue color mixed with the white lines.

Seeing More Accurately

Seeing more accurately is to learn how to arrange the elements in the frame to direct the viewer's eye. If you pay close attention to your surroundings you will notice more and more opportunities to snap an interesting picture.

When I started out in photography and wanted to take better pictures, I began to see the world in a much different way. I like to run and during my morning or evening runs I would notice how the light made something ordinary look interesting. I had not seen this before because I was not looking for it. Later I would return to the spot and study the area from different angles and take pictures. Returning to an area will often get you better acquainted with your subject and you will find something new and interesting.

Practice constantly and if possible, walk with a camera at all times. What's even better is the fact that you don't need expensive equipment to do it. Any camera, including your smart phone will work.

This photograph was taken on a busy intersection but I was able to capture just what was interesting to me, removing other distracting elements like cars, people, sidewalks, etc.

Use Your Imagination

When you begin to see more acutely, your imagination will create new and more interesting ways to view your subject. Maybe you will like to present the subject in a particular mood or style. This will be reflected in your photographs over time and soon it will be something you will do automatically. You will have the ability to use an image to present the viewer with a story.

A book that has been interesting and helpful to me is The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression by Bruce Barnbaum. It talks about all of the topics described above and helps you focus on seeing, not just looking, which leads to better composition and better pictures.

How To Become A Better Photographer (Part 2): The Rule of Thirds

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:28:00 +0000

One of the better known rules of photographic composition is the Rule of Thirds. It is one of the first rules I learned when I was getting serious about photography because I wanted to be able to take better looking pictures. If you practice and master this rule, you will be taking better pictures in no time as you will have a more balanced composition. Of course, remember that this rule can be broken, just know when you are.

The rule of thirds is a guideline on how you, as a photographer, should visualize the image. It helps you compose it in a way that draws in your viewer to the areas and elements in your picture. You are to divide the image into nine equal parts with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. It is in these lines and or where they intersect, that you need to align the most important elements in your composition.

The horizon should not be placed in the middle of the frame. Placing the horizon in the bottom third (bottom line) can place the emphasis on the sky.

Placing the horizon in the top third (top line) can place the emphasis on other areas of your image. In the picture below, the ocean water and the detail of the pier is where I wanted the viewer's focus.

Remember that you can shoot your camera vertically also. In the picture below the lighthouse is on the right line while the horizon is not in the center but closer to the bottom. This creates a negative space and leads the viewers eyes from left to right.

The Tampa sign and billboard is close to the top line and the sax player is on the left corner, close to the intersection between the left line and the bottom line.

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To read part one of this series click here.

How To Become A Better Photographer (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:31:00 +0000

There is one secret to becoming a better photographer. Here it is... practice. There is no other way.
The good thing is that practicing can be fun and you dont have to leave your home. The question is, How do you practice? What do you take pictures of?

During the next couple of blog entries I will be discussing basic elements of composition. Composition simply put, is how to choose what you will shoot and how to arrange it, at which angle, and so on. Its arranging the elements in your picture so that it tells the story you want people to see. Your game plan for your shot. All good pictures begin with good composition but you have to learn what to look for. These basic elements are only guidelines and can be broken depending on what you intend to do.

The first composition element I will discuss is Patterns. Patterns such as those shown in the images below are all around us and the more you look, the more you will be able to recognize them.

This picture above is a bench in a city trolley taken on a nice day to sight-see. Remember that the best camera to practice is the one that you have with you. Your expensive DSLR does you no good if it is home. Luckily, we live in a world where there is a camera in every pocket... like the one in your smart phone.

I think spirals maybe a little harder to find but when you do try to take pictures from many angles.

Patterns, patterns every where a pattern.

To read part two of this series click here.

5 Tips For Shooting Night Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 23:03:00 +0000

These are some of the downtown Tampa area bridges permanently lit for the 2012 Republican National Convention.

When taking pictures at night there are some things you can do to make them come alive. Here are my top tips for getting great night time photos.

1. Get there early and bring a flashlight

You don't want to be setting up your camera and gear in the dark. Right before sunset is the best time to compose your shot and set your camera. You have probably heard of "The Golden Hour", that time of day when the light is just perfect. While you can definitely take advantage of this light and snap some shots, it is during this time when you should compose your shot and set your gear for a night shot. Get an idea as to what you think might work. The amount of time you take to prepare for your shot will be invaluable. And, remember your flashlight.

2. Select Aperture Priority Mode

The first thing to do after composing your shot is to select the Aperture Priority Mode on your camera. This will be the Av setting on a Canon Camera or the A on a Nikon. With the Aperture Priority Mode you control how wide or narrow you want the aperture on your lens to be, while the camera selects the shutter speed to match. This is known as the f stop. It is useful for controlling Depth of Field. For the photos of the Downtown Tampa Bay bridges an Aperture Priority setting of f/3.5 and f/13 were selected. Remember, the shutter speed will be controlled automatically by your camera.

3. Choose a low ISO

One of the things you want to be able to control is the amount of noise in the picture. ISO denotes how sensitive the camera's image sensor is to light. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive the image sensor will be, and the lower the noise you will get. Lowering the ISO to 100 to 400 will work. Ideally, you want your final image to have little noise if enlarged. The shutter speed will decrease for a night shot with this low ISO setting. This is why, along with setting your camera to a Aperture Priority of f/13 stop, you will require the use of a tripod.

4. Underexpose at least a half stop

Since it is almost pitch black, your camera will try to compensate and expose for the dark areas. I have seen where the picture will be blown up and look hot if you use balanced metering the way you would in almost any other situation. I recommend that you underexpose and stop down at least half a stop. Look at the LCD of your camera and if it still does not look right, then set a full stop down. If you forget to do this you can always do it after in your post-production software if you shoot in RAW.

5. Remember to have fun

Let's face it - we like to shoot and that is why we do it, but I don't like to be cold, hungry or thirsty when I am shooting at night. Bring a jacket, snacks and water, and wait for your perfect shot. This will let you have a great experience when you are out shooting. Always remember to compose, shoot and repeat.

Downtown Tampa Engagement Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Pena Digital Photography) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 18:45:00 +0000

These engagement pictures were taken in Downtown Tampa. This lovely couple's session lasted about an hour and a half. We walked the area and they chose locations from a variety I had scoped out days in advance. As a photographer you need to help the couple relax. Making them feel comfortable will yield the best photos. Showing them the LCD screen from the back of the camera after snapping a few pictures and telling them they are doing well will give them the assurance they need to be natural in front of the lens.