Phototuts+

A Nine Step Guide to Being an Event Photographer

Simon Bray — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:00:37 +0000

The title of ‘Event Photographer’ might not sound particularly glamourous or exciting, but the role has far more to offer than simply shooting people holding awkward poses. Each event holds different challenges, so you need to think on your feet, and each client requires a different set of shots. Let’s take a deeper look at event photography.

Some clients may want a series of reportage style photos of the people and interactions, where as others will want you to focus on the setting. Here, we’ll look at some of the requirements of an event photographer to equip you to capture and represent the events you attend in the best way.

1. Getting the Gig

The first thing you need to do is to get your name out there. It can be hard to begin with as people are less inclined to employ someone with less experience, but as you build up a portfolio of work, you’ll find that people will be willing to take a chance on you.

This gives you the opportunity to show them you can do a good job and if you deliver, then others will begin to trust you as a photographer and look to employ you. If you’re clients are happy, then not only will they come back to you, but they’ll tell their friends. Don’t underestimate the power of word of mouth.

You also have options such as advertising, both in print and online, but I’d say the most important thing is to have a well structured and easy to use website to showcase your previous to act as a point of contact for potential clients.

Photo by Simon Bray

2. Building the Relationship

Once you’ve secured a gig, it’s important that you have conversations with the client as to what they want from the shoot. Some will have very clear thoughts on the types of shots they want. Others will be far less clued up on what to expect from a photographer, so it’s essential to be clear and concise from the start so that everyone knows what the expectations are from the shoot.

As an event photographer, there’s nothing much worse than delivering the photos to find that they’re just not what the client was looking for. Having conversations beforehand will clarify the shoot and reduce the chances of that happening.

Be honest about what your capabilities are and don’t make promises that you can’t honor, otherwise you’ll get yourself into trouble when you can’t make it happen!

Photo by Simon Bray

3. The Type of Event

It’s important that you gauge not only what is required of you, but also what type of shots are going to be appropriate for the type of event that you’re working at. The style required for a wedding is going to vary from that required for a gallery opening or drinks function. So have a think about the style in which you want to shoot and how to best represent the event’s atmosphere.

It’s also vital that you understand who the most important people at the event are. At a wedding it’s obvious, but at a corporate event it might not be so easy, so ensure that your client is able to point out who you should be prioritizing.

It may be the case that you need to get shots of certain people in a group or shaking hands, so again, have someone on hand to help you organize the right people in the right place.

Photo by Simon Bray

4. Get the Shots You Need

Before you start getting too creative, it’s important that you get a good bank of shots that capture the event. This could well include some wide angle shots to establish the venue, both inside and out. Get some detail shots of some of the more interesting aspects of the event and then also the key people involved.

Once you’ve got those in the bag, you can start thinking about creative angles and vantage points. I always find that I get more confident and creative as an event progresses, as I’m more comfortable with the surroundings and the guests are more comfortable with me. As the event goes on, feel free to revisit the shots you did at the start and see if you can try them in a different way.

Photo by Simon Bray

5. Don’t be Precious

So once the event is over, it’s up to you to convert and post-process in a responsible manner. By that, I mean that the majority of people will not want to see vast amounts of creative editing, filters and Photoshopping. They’d much prefer a set of clear and crisp shots that are true to life, so bear that in mind when working in Photoshop and don’t get carried away.

You have to remember that you’re working for the client. What you see as a great photo, they may not like. In the end, you have to deliver what they require of you. You’ve stamped your mark on the shots through the creative decisions made in camera, the exposure, composition and editing, so don’t get frustrated if they reject your favorite shot. It might just not serve the purpose they want it for.

Photo by Simon Bray

6. Delivery

The delivery of the shots is something that you should communicate with your client over from the start. They may want to view the files online first before selecting the chosen images, they may just want to receive a physical disc in the mail, they may even want to meet in person to discuss the images. It’s important that you do all you can to meet their needs and go the extra mile to ensure that you have a happy customer.

Photo by Simon Bray

7. Stay in Touch

If you’ve done a good job and the client is happy, that’s the first step towards being invited back next time. But sometimes people just need a gentle reminder to remember to get in touch to ask you back. A simple email or postcard will suffice, nothing over the top, just to inquire as to whether they have any events coming up that might require your services.

Once a client has built up trust with a photographer they’re likely to continue using them as opposed to taking a gamble on someone different, but bear in mind that you’ll need to make sure your prices are competitive!

Photo by Simon Bray

8. Everyone is a Potential Client

When you’re just starting out this can be easy to forget, but you never know who you’re going to meet and who might need a photographer in the future. It’s important to be aware.

Don’t be afraid to mention that you’re available for work. Having a business card in this scenario is essential, it will mean that the other party will remember that point of contact and will be able to get in touch with you if they need to.

Photo by Simon Bray

9. Over to You

Now it’s up to you to get out there and start capturing those events. Maybe start out with a friend’s birthday to get a feel for it and get the confidence you need to find paid work.

Try and work out the type of events you want to be work. Try to find a niche that you love, then you’ll find the whole experience extremely rewarding.

Photo by Simon Bray

Joseph Linaschke on the Business of Photography

Cameron Knight — Sun, 20 May 2012 14:00:56 +0000

Just because you didn’t get to go to that awesome photography conference doesn’t mean that you can’t learn something from the pros! Occasionally, we’ll be featuring a recommended photography lecture or interview on Phototuts+.

Today, we’re featuring Joseph Linaschke’s lecture on the business of photography. “When you’re a photographer, you’re in the business of licensing your images,” said Linaschke. He talks about licensing, contacts, taxes, insurance and much more. This is invaluable information for working photographers.

You can check out Linaschke’s excellent photography work at his website, www.photojoseph.com.

HDR the Canon 5D Way

Jose Antunes — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:00:52 +0000

The high dynamic range on the PowerShot G1X got me hooked. Now, I’ve played with the EOS 5D Mark III HDR, the first Canon EOS SLR camera to offer in-camera HDR shooting capabilities. And I’ve had a camera for the last two weeks, and I’m here to show you what this new feature can do.

When I recently reviewed the PowerShot G1X here, I mentioned the HDR mode, stating that the camera does HDR on its own and delivers images that look like good HDR examples and not the “art-garbage” some others are creating. I added that “I would like to be able to have more control on the HDR function, but those new to it will like the results.”

Well either Canon was listening, or someone up at the headquarters had the same thought.

The HDR Mode, a first for a Canon EOS, has five different options to use: “natural” and others shown in this picture.

HDR Natural and Art

This function has been requested by Canon users. I guess it’s the same in other brands too, so we will be seeing it coming down to more popular models. It’s interesting, though, that Canon as introduced it at the higher end of the scale.

This is in no way a substitute to HDR software that can do a better job, but for those that want HDR in a “fast-food” style, the EOS does the trick, offering a menu with five choices: Natural, HDR Art Standard, HDR Art Vivid, HDR Art Bold and HDR Art Embossed.

While not all the styles work with all subjects, I did some test shots, shown here, that give you a general idea of the possibilities. The Embossed option if not for me, I am afraid, but some will probably like it. It cuts down saturation and enhances edge contrast.

The rest is very usable, depending on subject. The bold and vivid options enhance color saturation, the first popping colors a lot. The standard art mode has less color, but is more aggressive in terms of contrast.

While the natural mode is exactly that. And that’s the one I like the most, because it lets you, with ease, shoot a HDR image to obtain the maximum detail in both light and dark areas, and see the result right in front of you instantly.

The user can control the type of HDR, the base exposure, and the variation between frames. The camera does the rest.

The Creative Photo Button

The new mode can be accessed by diving into the menus or using the new creative photo button on the EOS 5D Mark III (the paintbrush on the top left on the backside of the camera). This button also gives you the option to do multiple exposures, and many other things besides the type of HDR.

You can let the camera define the variation between exposures or choose one yourself (up to +3 EV). And you can just do a one shot HDR or, if you want to have a whole “HDR day” define that each shot in the camera will be done that way.

Three RAW Equals One JPEG

For each HDR the camera shoots three pictures in a sequence and then creates the final image. You can choose to discard or keep the three images taken to create the HDR: I advise you to keep them. It will give you the chance to use a HDR software to try your hand at it and see if you can do better than the camera. Or simply get another result.

The natural mode will give you results not obtainable in a single frame. The “vivid HDR” goes one step further.

Also, remember that even if you use RAW the final image is always a JPEG (full resolution, obviously), as the camera has no way to create a RAW HDR. Imagine the options, in terms of tweaking, if it could be done. It’s also important to remember that the camera does crop a bit of the original images, so leave some space around your subject, or you’ll lose some information.

Shooting HDR

When you choose the HDR mode you enter into a kind of automatic process. It does not matter if you’re shooting single-frame or continuous, the camera reverts to HDR mode, and will shoot three frames in fast sequence when you press the shutter.

How fast it shoots depends on the light conditions, so if you’re shooting with low light conditions get a tripod. I’ve done some 30 second long HDR exposures these last few days.

Remember, though, that if subjects move within the frame, you will have problems when the bracketed shots are assembled. Shooting at a fast fps rate will be the best choice many times. That also means that you can shoot hand-holding the camera, as long as you hold it steady so it does not move between shots. Canon’s Auto Image Align works nicely but cannot correct badly aligned images.

HDR is great for night photography. In this image, taken on the 5th of May 2012, you can see the perigee moon appearing over the roof.

Things to Remember

The HDR Mode cannot be used with flash, multi-exposure, Bulb or the bracketing modes (exposure or white balance). Also, being a process that depends much on the content, it can have variable results under different and mixed light conditions, vast areas of the same tone (I got banding in the sky in some pictures, for no apparent reason) and even show strange colors when shooting under fluorescent lights.

The implementation of the HDR Mode in the EOS 5D Mark III heralds the start of a new era in terms of HDR use by Canon users. I’ve no doubt that the option will be available in models for amateur use in the next generation of EOS DSLRs. It will open new horizons for many people, and let them photograph more under different light conditions. and in the process learn some more about photograph.

Photo Critique #137

Cameron Knight — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:52 +0000

Friday Photo Critique is our weekly community project, where we publish a photograph submitted by one of our wonderful readers, then ask you all to offer constructive feedback on the image. It’s a great way to learn more about photography, express your viewpoint, and have your own image critiqued!

Quick Ground Rules

Play nice! We’ve deliberately chosen photographs that aren’t perfect, so please be constructive with any criticism.
Feel free to offer any type of advice – composition, lighting, post-processing etc.
You can also link to photographs that you feel offer a great example of this type of image shot exceptionally well.

Without further ado, here is this week’s candidate for Friday Photo Critique!

The Photograph

Photo Details & Inspiration

Canon 500D
18mm
f/3.5
1/1250
ISO 100

For this photo I was trying to get a silhouette of the pier. At first, I was put of by the overcast sky, but soon realized that the clouds just added to the picture. At the time of taking the picture, I didn’t have much hope for it, but after a bit of post processing to the colour and contrast it is now one of my favorite photos.

Photographer: Anthony Howell

Please let us know what you think in the comments – how would you have approached the scene or taken the photo differently? A massive thank you to everyone who commented last week.

The most constructive and helpful comments will be featured on the site. Interested in submitting your own photo? You can do so here!

Handheld Panoramas the Easy Way

Jose Antunes — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:00:09 +0000

Confronted with a nice view they would like to take home, many photographers use a wide angle lens and get a single shot before moving on. More can be done to truly capture the scene.

Taking a landscape photograph, especially at places we rarely go to, usually makes us dream of having such the vista printed and framed hanging on a wall at home. A BIG PHOTOGRAPH! Most people will get a wide angle lens, the widest they can get, and shoot a single shot, horizontally, to get the scene. I’ve told this to people a lot of times and now let me write this down for you: DON’T!

This picture showing the relation between the Monserrate Gardens and Palace, in Portugal, would not be the same if I had done a single shot.

Some years ago I told a student of my workshops who was going on a once-in-a-lifetime trip how to get a big panorama, showing him also how easy it was. He never stopped thanking me for the tip, when I printed the result he placed on the wall of his living room: a mountain range in Switzerland capped with snow, showing the real dimension of the place.

The nearly two meters wide picture was taken on his simple DSLR with the kit zoom lens. When I tell people they can do the same and that I do it all the time, they don’t believe me.

A single frame can only cover so much of a landscape, as this picture taken at 16mm on a full frame EOS 5D Mark III shows.

Doing a panorama with multiple shots is easy, and even more easy nowadays, as lots of digital cameras have a wizard to assist you in stitching the image. But when I tell people they can do it with any camera, by hand, without any special tools, not even a tripod, and that the software can do the rest in the computer, they think I am making fun of them. Until I show them how to do it and the final result. It’s something I always challenge people to do at my workshops.

Let’s take various frames of the same subject, here also at 16mm but in a vertical orientation, gives you the chance to do a bigger image and cover more space.

To do panoramas with absolute perfection you do need a stable tripod, even specific heads and/or tools like those from Novoflex that will align the successive images. The idea of having to buy all that and to have to understand difficult words like nodal point and parallax makes people forget that it can be done other ways too. Especially with the software we’ve available today.

The process is simple: you just have to practice a bit in order to turn/move you camera in a straight line, from left to right (it’s easier that way) and shoot a series of photos, always covering about 30 per cent of the space of the previous image, so the software knows what to join when you make the panorama. Here is how I do it.

Always take a reference picture to check exposure and also use as guide to the different series you shoot.

1. Take a Reference Shot

Start by taking a picture of the view you want to create a panorama from. It’s a reference shot that will show the beginning of the series created to make the panorama. If you make more than one series do a reference shot at the beginning of each so you know when each collection starts. It will be confusing otherwise.

To expose this picture, set the camera to manual so you keep the exposure constant in the series. Check if the light is right and remember that you should try to not get a big variation between the different frames, so your panorama will be easy to assemble if you do it in an arch that keeps the sun out. This will make for a simpler post-processing work.

2. Small Steps First

Start by doing small panoramas, with two or three pictures, Once you get used to it you can easily get panoramas made from 10 or more pictures. Remember to always define anchor points beforehand along the way, to keep the camera in a straight line, for horizontal panoramas.

When using the technique, if you’ve difficulty focusing the lens for each different image, you can pre-focus in a point in the horizon or an element you define as important to keep sharp, and then disable AF.

3. Close and Far Objects

If you’re shooting a panorama with important elements closer to you, you have to be careful that they don’t get distorted within the different views. It can be done but you need extra care turning the camera. Remember this when shooting. And reshoot the whole series trying to place important elements closer to you within a single frame to get them properly represented. Remember that the technique explained here is to make things simpler and doable without any specific gear.

A series of six pictures from all taken to create the panorama, are selected in Adobe Bridge and sent to Photoshop to be merged. Note the images are vertical.

4. Panoramas Done Vertically

When you think of a panorama, you think of placing the camera horizontally. You did in the previous reference shot, but now turn your camera vertically. Doing this you’ve more space on top and bottom of the frame, and that is important because the software tends to cut bits of those areas.

Let me explain one thing here: usually you’re told to not use wide angle lenses when shooting panorama sequences, because you get distortion on the corners that the software cannot manage properly. Although that is true, if you shoot vertically with a wide angle lens it will be safe to work even at a wide setting, because you’re using the central area of the lens and there’s no evident distortion visible that way.

5. Select the Best Images

Even if you shoot a series of 10 or 12 images you don’t need to use all of them to create a panorama. In Adobe Bridge or your editing program select those that better cover the view you want, and send them to Photoshop or whatever program you use to merge photos.

Once you do that the program tries to, automatically, merge the images in order to get a larger picture than you could get in a single shot. That is the beauty of it all is that you can get a photograph that looks more like the scene you remember.

Depending on the size of and number of images, if you use RAW or JPEG, and the power of your computer, you’ll have time for a coffee break or nap. But believe me, Photoshop does a fantastic job these days – since CS4 – compared to versions from some years ago. It even corrects tone differences in areas usually problematic, like the sky.

After stitching, the result looks like this. An image that has rounded corners you need to trim to get the final photo.

6. A Strangely Shaped Picture

The resulting panorama always shows corners that seem to have been cut with a pair of blunt scissors. It’s time to frame the central area of the image and throw away the rest. Using a wider angle and letting space around what is your main subject gives you, at this stage, more options in terms of framing.

The panorama gives you more than a single frame could show and lets you make bigger size prints.

7. Look Ma, a Big Panorama

The image above, with a final size of 8600×4865 instead or the original 5760×3840 pixels from the single frame from the camera, tells the whole story. I’ve an image created by mixing 6 frames shot vertically (check the Adobe Bridge image above).

Besides having covered more space, I also have more pixels to create a larger print if I want to. In fact, although the system is often associated with panoramas, it can be used when you need to have bigger images from small cameras.

Twelve years ago, when I bought my first EOS D30, with a 3.1 millions of pixels sensor, I would shoot static airplanes in two or three images, in order to get a final shot that would let me create bigger size prints. You can do the same today and it’s much, easier, with the tools available.

When you have elements that are close to the camera you need to take care not to distort them when you stitch the different frames. Done well, the result can be fantastic.

8. Software to Use

I use Adobe Photoshop to do panoramas and I hope Adobe Lightroom will have an option to do panoramas in a future version, but you don’t need to use a commercial program to do your own panoramas, if you don’t have one. Even Windows has a program that does panoramas, the Windows Live PhotoGallery. And users of Canon cameras receive a PhotoStitch program in the software pack sold with the cameras. I’ve used Canon’s software for years and it works fine to create panoramas.

On the free front you can try Hugin, or Image Composite Editor from Microsoft, Panorama Plus from Serif, or even Pos Panorama Pro. There are also some online solutions that let you upload your images but I would advise you to get a downloadable program and try this at home in your own time.

In fact, there are lots of options in terms of software, some better than others, all promising to help you reach a wider view with your photography. Why not try some of them? You might find a new path to follow in your photographic adventures.

Capturing Simplicity in a Maternity Photoshoot – Tuts+ Premium

Grace Salzer — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:00:21 +0000

We have another Photo Premium tutorial exclusively available to Premium members today. In this tutorial, we’ll walk through a simple maternity photo shoot. Learn more after the jump!

As with anything, you can make a maternity shoot as simple or as detailed as you like. The outfits, the locations, the potential results could be endless! However, there are many excellent reasons for keeping it simple.

One reason may be that you don’t have much time carved out for the shoot due to the mother being busy preparing for baby’s arrival. Or maybe the mother is quite far along already and doesn’t have much energy for 2-3 hours of shooting. Maybe the mother wants to capture a few shots of her baby belly while on bedrest. There are numerous reasons to keep a maternity shoot simple and here I will outline ways to do so.

1 The Location

Choosing an outdoor location will all depend on how willing your expectant mum is on venturing out. Hiking out to a remote waterfall in the jungle might be out of the question! Do you have a beach nearby? Or a nice neighborhood park? Even somewhere as simple as the brick wall of a house can make for a fantastic outdoor venue with plenty of texture & contrast.

Your client might be one who’s on doctor’s orders to stay in bed. Your location is now chosen for you. You might feel ‘stuck’ creatively by being at someone’s home, but don’t let that get you down! There are many options at hand.

Think about using the nursery or a pretty window on the landing. Maybe it’s their house which has the nice brick wall! Or their garden, driveway, fountain, water feature, pond, library, kitchen.

2 Equipment

Most of the time all a shoot like this calls for is your camera and favorite portrait lens. If shooting inside, consider bringing your flash, a small spotlight (or use a lamp already at the house). If outside consider a reflector…and that’s about it really! Obviously, don’t forget all your back-up bits and bobs like a spare battery, next favourite lens, extra batteries for your flash, and all the rest.

3 The Outfit

This will most likely depend on what the mother feels most comfortable in. You can of course make some suggestions! Dresses would seem the most feminine and depending on the fabric used can give off different sentiments such as romance, love, beauty, nurturing, etc. The way dresses fall over the body shows the expectant shape wonderfully and will flatter any figure.

Some other outfits might include a men’s oversized shirt with buttons undone halfway down to show belly. Or for a more classy look go with piece of long cloth to drape over female form in various ways. For a more casual look, go with a tube top or bikini top with unbuttoned pre-pregnancy jeans to show off belly’s size & contrast. Think about jeans & a simple tank top, striking colour combinations, stripes/dots, lingerie or nothing at all!

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Using LumiQuest’s Fold Flat Softbox

Andrew Childress — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:00:23 +0000

The power of small flash units is really remarkable. From battery powered flash units, we can pull enough light for portraits, wildlife, and lighting entire scenes. However, sometimes that light can be harsh and unflattering to subjects. Modifiers are a fantastic way to soften the light and spread it more evenly, and today we’ll be looking at one of the best ones out there, the LumiQuest Softbox III.

Why a Softbox?

The entire purpose of a softbox is to soften the light from a flash source. If you’ve visited or checked out the setup of big photo studios, you might have noticed big flash units, often called monolights or strobes. You’ll almost always see some type of modifier attached to these unit, whether it’s a big umbrella, a softbox, or a more unique type of modifier such as a beauty dish.

The truth is that for flattering photos of subjects, direct light from these units is almost always too harsh and throws unsightly shadows on the person being photographed.

When we think of light, we should always keep in mind the size of our source. An example that I frequently use is the sun and clouds. If you’ve ever been out and taken pictures on a bright and sunny day, you’ll notice the harsh shadows almost anywhere you look. Portraits in direct sunlight will feature big shadows under the chin or around the eyes, depending on the placement of the sun.

Now, consider the quality of light that you’ll observe on cloudy days. Even if you can’t see the sun directly, it passes through the clouds and is softened. Shadows on subjects are almost unobservable when there are clouds to diffuse the sun’s rays. In some ways, clouds are the world’s largest softboxes. They increase the size of the light source (in this case the sun) from a tiny dot in the sky to the size of the entire sky. The light is then described as soft.

The relationship in size with flash units is much the same. If we use a bare flash, the quality of our light is going to be harsh. We are pushing a lot of light out of a relatively small rectangle, so harsh light is the result. You’ll see photographers bounce flash to get around this, but another great way is to use a softbox.

You might not consider overcast days to be great for portrait shoots, but the truth is the giant clouds act as great softboxes for the the sun. Photo by Claire Whitehouse.

The important part of my personal flash philosophy is mixing ambient light with light from flash units. If you aren’t familiar with the term “ambient”, it simply refers to the light that’s already in a scene. It can be something like the sunlight coming through the windows, or the lamp that lights up a living room. Sometimes, it’s not enough to light a scene, so we mix in flash with the ambient light.

However, flash can have a dominant effect. This is where a softbox becomes invaluable: softening the light introduced by the flash to appear more like ambient.

As you may have already learned with photography, there are rarely absolutes. Soft light isn’t what we are always looking for, but when we do, we look to softboxes as the perfect way to lose the harsh shadows and provide great light.

Meet the LumiQuest Softbox III

Awhile back, I began becoming interested in using flash in a less obtrusive way. I loved that I could manufacture my own light on location, but I wasn’t always pleased with the quality of light that my flash units provided me. I once told a friend that my goal with flash was always to make it seem as if I hadn’t used flash.

When a fellow photographer offered up this softbox as a solution, I took the plunge. It was inexpensively priced at under $40 and was virtually a no brainer. Additionally, it didn’t require any type of special connector or attachment to affix to my flash unit of choice, and worked with all of my flash units.

The LumiQuest Softbox III is fantastic because it folds flat and fits in the side pocket of my camera bag easily.

Another one of the things that attracted me to this product was the amazing form factor that it provides. It can fold down and fit flat in my camera bag and can spring to life in a matter of seconds.

The best modifiers are the ones that you will actually carry, so this softbox scores big in this category. I’ve got enough big accessories that stay at home because they’re inconvenient to carry. So when I add something, size is always important.

After receiving the softbox, I couldn’t wait to get started with lighting scenes. Setup was nearly instantaneous. The flaps of the softbox have the crinkly velcro that attached to the soft velcro on my 285HV. One thing that I might suggest is to pick up a Honl Speed Strap. This wraps around the flash and the softbox and keeps the connection tight. The softbox is pretty lightweight so it won’t fall off easily.

I affixed the softbox to my flash unit using velcro on the flash unit. The softbox has flaps with crinkly velcro to attach to the soft side of velcro.

The softbox does a great job of softening the light and increasing the area of your flash.

I used some metallic, reflective blinds to give you a better idea of how this softbox modifies the light. The top photo shows off the effect of direct flash, while the bottom shows off the impact of the LumiQuest Softbox III. As you can see, the light has a much greater spread and throws off far less harsh reflection in the center. The reflection from the blinds is different because the light is softer when you use the softbox. Harsh light throws back harsh reflections, so imagine the ways that a softbox will aid in providing high quality light in portraits.

In this photo using bare flash, some reflective glare appeared in the center of the image.

This photo used the softbox and the result is a much greater, even spread of light. (The vignetting was an effect of the lens and aperture being used)

The cool thing about softboxes is the fact that they can be used for so many different things and in so many different ways. I spent the afternoon making some shots with this softbox to show off the variety of things that can be accomplished with it and a small flash unit.

Studio Portraits

It doesn’t take renting space and furnishing a studio to get those great studio quality photos. With this softbox, all it takes is a flash unit and a large enough space to manufacture studio style portraits from anywhere in the world.

I again recruited my friend for what would appear to be a “studio” type black background photo. In reality, the image was made in the middle of the road using only a chair and the LumiQuest Softbox III with a flash unit. Adding in a simple reflector or another light could really complete the look and provide a “studio on the go” type setup.

Lighting Environments

One of my favorite tricks to light creatively is to apply gels. It can make a part of a photo really stand out. Gels are simply colored, semi transparent thin plastic that go over flash units to change the color of the light involved.

In this photo, I used the flash with a softbox and a yellow gel to light the mailboxes outside my apartment. It makes them stand out and appear unnatural in a good way, although the softbox makes it look perhaps as if I didn’t use a harsh flash. The effect here is to provide a light that appears from nowhere, yet doesn’t have the telltale look of bare flash.

Environmental Portraits

One of the most ideal applications for a softbox like the LumiQuest is to utilize it on the go in environmental portraits. When I use the term “environmental portraits”, this just refers to placing a subject somewhere outside a studio in the midst of any type of environment.

The truth of the matter is that you will rarely have ideal lighting for photographing a person. Although natural light works quite frequently, the truth is that only flash can provide certain lighting looks. If that’s what you’re looking for, the need to introduce flash arises.

However, with bare bulb flash (no modifier) we are somewhat tied to a look. Bare flash is harsh. Again, this isn’t always bad, but if we’re looking for natural yet unique lighting, introducing flash with the LumiQuest softbox III attached is the perfect solution.

That’s exactly what I applied when I ventured out for the evening with a friend. We were testing it and fired a test shot in the nearby woods in front of some train tracks. It was almost pitch black, but we used the softbox with our flash unit to provide simple yet effective lighting.

This photo used the flash with the softbox to the right of the camera to light the scene. Despite being almost completely dark, the softbox was an improvement over the rather harsh lighting of bare flash.

Wrapping Up

In all, I can’t recommend a softbox such as this one enough. It may sound cliche, but it’s truly a game changer when it comes to using small flash units. I feel as if I can get the best of both worlds, portability and quality, from the small flash units that have somewhat limited my lighting style in the past. Inexpensively priced and extremely portable, it’s not hard to justify a spot in your bag for it.

The examples above show just some of the applications of a softbox with a flash. However, these are just a few of the great applications for it. You can turn to a softbox any time that you want to subtly add in your own soft light. Bare bulb flash certainly has its place in my list of flash tricks, but I find myself turning to applying natural flash techniques more often that mimic the look of ambient light.

How do you feel about using modifiers on the go? Have you picked up something like the LumiQuest, or are you a bare bulb flash fan? Make sure to chime in with a comment to let us know.

Best Way to Learn About Exposure: Exposure Modes and Metering

Andrew Gibson — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:00:52 +0000

Today, we’ll build on out knowledge of histograms and exposure compensation and continue our exploration of exposure. You now may be wondering why your camera has so many exposure and metering modes, and which ones you should use. This article will help you understand the difference and select the best modes for you.

There are two more steps to taking control over your camera’s exposure controls:

Choosing Exposure Mode for More Control

Most cameras (with the exception of some semi-professional and professional models) have a range of fully automatic exposure modes. These are indicated by various icons and have names such as portrait, landscape and night.

If you use any fully automatic exposure mode, now is the time to stop. These modes are quite restricted and don’t give you much, if any, control over the shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings.

Why does your camera have so many exposure modes? The fully automatic modes are designed to help people who don’t know much about photography to use the camera right away. They are not aimed at photographers who can decided for themselves which aperture, shutter speed or ISO to use.

In my view, the fully automatic exposure modes clutter up the dial and create confusion. In practice, you only need four exposure modes. They are Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Program and Manual. Here’s how they work:

Aperture Priority

You set the aperture and ISO and the camera sets the shutter speed accordingly. I use this when I’m taking landscapes, as I normally set a small aperture to ensure front to back sharpness, or when I’m taking portraits as I often set a wide aperture (around f1.4 to f2.8) for a narrow depth-of-field.

I used an aperture of f/2.5 to take the photo of a flower above. My priority was to use a wide aperture to throw the background out of focus.

Shutter Priority

You set the shutter speed and ISO and the camera sets the shutter speed. I use this when I’m hand-holding the camera to set a shutter speed to prevent camera shake. Sports photographers may use this mode to set a shutter speed that freezes action.

Though in the landscape above, I used shutter priority to insure that the wave blurred. I set the shutter speed to 1/2 second and asked my model to stay still throughout the exposure.

Program AE (auto-exposure)

You set the ISO and the camera selects both aperture and shutter speed. Some cameras have an Auto ISO setting that lets you tell the camera that it can adjust ISO between two settings (say ISO 100 and ISO 400). This is a good general mode to use that lets you concentrate on composition while the camera takes care of aperture and shutter speed.

The photo above is the sort of scene you could use Program AE for. Neither the aperture or shutter speed is important for creative reasons, and it is be fine for the camera to select both.

Creative Exercise One:

Put your camera in aperture priority mode and take a series of photos where you decide which aperture to use, and let the camera take care of the other settings. If the shutter speed is dropping too low to hand-hold the camera safely, raise the ISO to compensate. This exercise works well if you use the widest aperture settings of your lens to take photos with a blurred background.

Portraits, like this one taken at f1.8 , are a good example. The out of focus background adds atmosphere and directs your attention to the girl.

Now put your camera in shutter priority mode and take some photos where you decide which shutter speed to use and let the camera take care of the other settings. This is a good chance to experiment with using slow shutter speeds to blur motion. Put your camera on a tripod to keep it steady while you do this.

I used a shutter speed of 30 seconds to take this photo. The long exposure has blurred the motion of the sea and the clouds.

Learning the Difference Between Metering Modes

Most digital SLRs have the following exposure modes:

Evaluative Metering

The camera’s most advanced metering system. The camera divides the viewfinder up into zones and compares exposure readings from each zone to come up with a suggested exposure setting. Gives good results most of the time. Exposure is weighted towards the active autofocus point (or points) as they are likely to be covering the main subject.

This diagram shows how Canon’s iFCL (intelligent focus, colour and luminance) evaluative metering sensor works. The sensor is divided into two colour sensitive layers and 63 zones. It is complex and sophisticated, but will still get the exposure wrong if the subject is lighter or darker than average.

This diagram shows Canon cameras with iFCL metering split the frame into 63 zones. Each zone is metered individually, with the overall exposure reading weighted towards the in-focus AF points.

Note: Evaluative metering is Canon’s term; Nikon uses “matrix metering,” Pentax and Sony “multi-segment metering.”

Center-Weighted Metering

Weights exposure towards the centre of the viewfinder. Works well if your subject is in the centre of the frame. If not, you have to point the centre of the viewfinder at your subject, hold the shutter button half-way down to lock in the exposure, then reframe. Evaluative/matrix/multi-segment metering were developed to make it easier to measure exposure with off-center subjects.

Spot Metering

Takes an exposure reading from where your focus point is. Some people use this if they base exposure on the Zone System. When I find it really helpful is when you have small bright subject against a black background. You’ll find this situation a lot during theater performances and the like.

Creative Exercise Two:

Try photographing the same scene with the different exposure modes. Do they give you different exposure readings? Is it easiest to get the correct exposure with evaluative or centre-weighted metering? What does spot metering tell you about the brightness range within the scene?

Results will vary according to what you’re photographing, so try this exercise with several types of subject matter.

Personally, I use evaluative metering the mowt, but it’s useful to know how the other metering modes work in case one of them suits your way of working better.

Using Manual Mode

One potential problem with evaluative metering is that the camera readings can change according to how you frame the subject, even though the ambient light levels haven’t changed. This is down to the balance of light and dark tones within the frame, and is quite common.

The above photo shows a situation where this happened to me. The girl is dressed in white and the camera’s suggested exposure settings changed as I framed the scene in different ways. Switching to manual mode stopped that from happening.

The advantage of manual mode is that, once you’ve established the optimum exposure setting, that the camera settings are locked in and won’t change if you reframe the subject. This works well as long as the ambient light is steady. If the ambient light is changing (for instance, if the sun is going in and out behind clouds), then you are better off using an automatic exposure mode.

I start off by taking an exposure reading in aperture priority mode. I transfer the settings to manual mode then take a photo and check the histogram. I make any adjustments required then take another test photo. Once the histogram is where I want it I can continue with the shoot.

Creative Exercise Three:

Go out and take some photos in manual mode, adjusting the ISO, aperture and shutter speed individually and checking the histogram to arrive at the correct exposure. This is a good way to learn about the relationship between these settings.

Additional Resources Here at Phototuts+

Phototuts+ Exposure Session – A series of articles about exposure.
Exposing to the Right – Learn about exposing to the right area of the histogram, what it means and if it works.
18% Grey Cards – Grey cards are a useful accessory for helping to determine both exposure and white balance.
Phototuts+ Quiz: Exposure – You should be an expert by now, so why not take the exposure quiz?

Books

These books (linked to on Amazon) explore the topic of exposure in more depth:

eBooks

These short eBooks will also help you get to grips with exposure:

Conclusion

Exposure is a surprisingly complex topic, but once you understand the underlying principles you should be able to cope with just about any lighting situation. The lessons and exercises in these articles are a good start, and the articles and books listed will help you gain an deeper understanding.

Ed Kashi on the Changing Face of Marseille

Cameron Knight — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:00:57 +0000

Today, we’re featuring a piece from National Geographic Live! Ed Kashi recently documented the city of Marseille, France. According to his website, “while the rest of Europe frets over immigration and its impacts, Marseille, France’s largest city, has built a peculiar cohesiveness out of diversity and difference. The population of nearly one million is the most ethnically diverse in France: a third claim roots in Italy; there are 80,000 Jews making it the third largest Jewish community in Europe; there are 200,000 Africans of which most are Muslim.

“This mlange of identities has created a distinct sense of belonging and pride though it has not been without its challenges. Still it remains strangely immune to ethnic violence. Once famous as a hang out of the Mafia and a highway for heroin it is on the verge of becoming a hip destination with its broad beaches, world music and international cuisine. And perhaps even a lesson in tolerance for the rest of Europe.”

Ed Kashi is probably one of the top ten photojournalists currently working in the world and a pioneer of new media journalism. Visit his excellent website at www.edkashi.com.

Which Tuts+ Site Should We Launch Next?

David Appleyard — Sat, 12 May 2012 21:12:29 +0000

We’re planning our next few Tuts+ sites, and would love your opinion and advice on which topics you think we should cover next! We’d be really grateful if you could take a minute to answer our quick poll and share your thoughts…

Have Your Say

We’ve been considering lots of different ideas for our next Tuts+ sites over the past few weeks, and wanted to also ask the opinion of our awesome community!

A selection of different concepts are included in the poll to the right, along with the option for you to submit your own ideas as well.

The important thing to note is that these are just ideas. Some of these are close to making our final cut, and others aren’t… We’d love to hear what you think, to help guide our decision.

Thanks for taking the time to offer your suggestion — I can’t wait to see what you have to say!

Win a 6-Month Tuts+ Premium Membership

Our poll will be running for the next couple of weeks, and we’ll be choosing one respondent at random to receive a six-month Tuts+ Premium membership!

To be entered into the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post to go into a bit more detail about your site suggestion. We’ll choose one comment at random to win the Tuts+ Premium membership when the poll ends.

Best of luck!