Phototuts+

Easy Tips to Get Great Travel Portraits

Simon Bray — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:00:05 +0000

For many of us, visiting somewhere away from home can feel like just that, somewhere that isn’t our home. There’s often so much for us to engage with, so much to take in, that it’s easy to forget that it’s someone else’s home. Travel portraits enable you to engage with the people that call that place home and can not only give you a greater understanding of the country you’re in, but also make connections with people who you’d otherwise have never had the pleasure of meeting.

Why Travel Portraits?

As a tourist, it’s very easy to get carried away with visiting attractions, photographing architecture and famous landmarks. As a photographer, I always enjoy trying to delve a little bit deeper.

To really try to understand a place, you need to be there for an extended amount of time, but during your short visit as a tourist, there are ways in which you can go further than just photographing the surface and actually try to capture the essence of the place.

For me, interacting and photographing the locals gives me amazing insight into the place I’m visiting. It gives a greater sense of what the place is actually like and helps to engage with the daily life to see it from the natives’ perspective.

Photo by Zigg-E

Facing the Fear of Asking

Getting past the fear of asking someone if you can take their photograph is a very important step to take if you want to succeed at taking travel portraits. If this is something you do at home anyway, then you’ll find it far less intimidating when abroad.

it’s all about having confidence and understanding that the worst that will happen is that the person will say no! It may be the case the person you’re asking is far more intimidated by you, being a stranger with a camera, than you are of them. If language is an issue, then simply smile, point at your camera and gesture taking a photo. It’s amazing how far basic body language, a thumbs up and thumbs down will get you.

Photo by Liv Unni Sodem

Getting Kitted Up

As far as equipment goes, there’s aren’t any requirements for anything in particular, as long as you have a camera that you’re happy working with. A DSLR will give you the greatest capabilities, but if you’re traveling light, a camera such as the new Fuji X-Pro1 would be ideal.

Lens wise, something like a 50mm prime lens is great for portraits, nice and quick, allows you to get nice and close to your subject and offers you the required shallow depth of field.

Some photographers also like to carry a flash or reflector, but again this depends upon space and personal preference. It’s also always a good idea to carry spare batteries and memory, especially if you’re traveling for days at a time.

Photo by geezaweezer

Portrait Technique

The usual portraiture tips apply. The most important thing being that you focus on the eyes, which will give you the strongest possible connection to the subject.

In some cases, it can be a good idea to use manual focus over autofocus to ensure that you do get the eyes pin sharp. Use depth of field to blur out the background to avoid any distractions behind the subject.

Photo by Daniel Gorecki

In Context

It’s important that you’re not overly intrusive into someone’s day. It may the case that you photograph the subject in a situation and then move on, in which case, there’s no need to over organize or stage manage anything.

Having them in context can often be the best and most natural way of getting the shot you want. However, in some situations it can be nice to work with your subject to photograph them in a specific scene or context. So maybe finding a nice textured background to stand them in front of.

Sometimes it works nicely to shoot your subjects head on, but don’t feel restricted to one vantage point, maybe side on or with a slightly tilted head will work nicely.

Photo by Jez D

The All Important Lighting

With travel portraits, it can be very difficult to get the ideal light for the shot you want. In most scenarios, it will be a case of utilizing the available light as effectively as possible.

Making the light work in your favor can be the difference between a good shot and a great shot, so take your time to assess your options before diving in with your camera. If you’re outside, avoid harsh direct sunlight. If you’ve got no choice, have your subject move so that sunlight is hitting them side on. If you’re inside, use light from a window or open doorway.

Photo by Dave Watts

Act Quickly

It’s important that with all the factors that I have detailed so far that you’re able to make quick decisions and think fast. This will come with time and practice, but in order to capture natural reactions, smiles, interactions and people working and living in context, you need to be able to make snap decisions in order to get the shots you want.

Show People the Photos

Photo by Silas Dich

Many of your subjects won’t have access to the photographic technology that you’re using, so the opportunity to see their faces on a screen will be a real novelty. If applicable, you can ask for an email address in order to send the subject the photo.

Be sure you take note of the shot number or time/date next to the email address, so you get the right person. However, ask sensitively, as in many poorer countries, email isn’t something they’ll have access to. Mailing prints is always a good move as well.

Photo by geezaweezer

To Pay or Not To Pay?

The customs regarding payment to subjects for having their photos taken varies from country to country. In places like Morocco, it’s seen as obligatory, where as others will be slightly less inclined to demand payment from you.

There is a line of thought that suggests payment encourages begging, so if you’re not sure, ask a guide or someone at your hotel. At the end of the day, it’s up to you. It doesn’t have to be much, just a few small coins will be a sufficient contribution.

Whatever you do, don’t agree to pay and then just leave after you’ve taken your shots, not only will this cause tension at the time, but it will teach the locals that they shouldn’t trust tourists and photographers.

Photo by Liv Unni Sodem

Over to You

So there we have it, a simple guide to taking travel portraits. A lot of the process comes down to confidence, not necessarily in your ability to take the right shot, but to grant yourself the opportunity to get the shot.

It may be worth trying it out somewhere closer to home, even in the local town centre, to gain a bit of confidence in asking people if you can take their photo. Some people will say no, some will say yes, but you’ll come away with some shots and hopefully feel far more prepared for the next time you’re on your travels and want to dig a bit deeper and capture some of the natives.

Photo by Dave Watts

How to Shoot With an Extremely Shallow Depth-of-Field

Cameron Knight — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:00:21 +0000

So you’ve saved every penny, and your piggy bank is full to bursting. It’s time to cash that in money and buy a new lens. And what better choice than a fast prime lens? These offer plenty of benefit’s, and we’re going to dive into one of those benefit’s today: that shallow, professional and silky shallow depth of field.

June of 2010

Getting In-Depth with Depth-Of-Field

I’m about to get all Mr. Wizard on you, so hold on tight. I’magine a lens in profile. It looks sort of like football or a pointy oval. If you cut that shape in half between those two points, you would have two shapes that look like triangles. Now think back to those early school days. What are triangle-shaped pieces of glass called? If you said “prisms”, you get a gold star and a extra five minutes at recess. Check out what I’m talking about in the illustration below.

Now think about what a prism does. It creates rainbows from white light. It essentially “pulls” light apart. That’s almost the opposite of what a camera is trying to do, it’s trying to focus light and keep it together.

Using a wide aperture reveals those narrower, pointy parts of the lens. When you’re stopped down, you’re only using the center part which isn’t shaped as much like prism. The more your lens looks like two prisms, the more things will be out of focus, and the less depth-of-field you’ll have.

And who doesn’t want that shallowness? In fact, we pay big bucks to get it. By understanding how depth-of-field works and the concepts above, you’ll really be able to handle that pricey lens. And you’ll be able to better understand the other topics we’re going to cover.

From A Distant Land

There are three things that affect your depth-of-field. The first is aperture, which we just talked about. The second thing is distance. If you have an old manual focus lens with distance markings on it, you’ll see that the short distance markings cover much more area than the longer distances.

The 1 meter marking might be two centimeters away from the 2 meter marking, but the 10 meter marking might only be half a centimeter away from the 20 meter marking. The reasoning behind this is hard to explain and involves a graphing exponential curves, but it’s connected with the fact that the further away you are from something, the more depth-of-field, you’ll have.

If you’re shooting a lens at f/2 and your subject is 1 meter away, the distance your depth-of-field is covering may only be 15 cm. But if you’re focusing on something 10 meters away, you might have a range of 50 cm. Basically, the greater the distance, the greater the depth-of-field. You can see an illustration of this concept below.

The Two-Thirds/One-Third Rule

As I hinted at above, depth-of-field is a definable range. At a certain distance with a certain f/stop, you might have 30 cm of depth in focus. Keep in mind that two-thirds of this depth extends behind your subject (the thing your focusing on), and one-third extends in front of it.

For example, lets say you’re focusing at 90 cm and, due to your lens, you have a depth-of-field of 30 cm. Everything from 80cm to 110 cm will be in focus. 20 cm behind of your subject, 10 cm in front. Two-thirds, one-third. See the illustration below to visualize this idea.

Sidenote

For those of you who have advanced degrees in physics, you may have connected the two-thirds/one-third rule with distance. You get less depth-of-field at closer ranges, which is why the depth-of-field doesn’t extend as far in front of your subject as it does behind.

This isn’t an important connection to make or understand, it’s just interesting. If you look at the chairs in the photos below, you can see how this idea might affect your images.

Length Matters

The last thing that affects your depth-of-field is the focal length of your lens. The longer the focal length, the less depth-of-field. If you have a 50mm lens set at f/1.4 and an 85mm lens set at f/1.4, and they are both focused on thing at the same distance: The 85mm lens will have a shallower depth-of-field. This phenomenon is related to how optics are set-up and again, physics.

It’s just important to note that a longer lens inherently has a shallower depth-of-field than a short lens. The image below was made with an 85mm lens set at f/1.4. I was pretty far away, and yet the depth-of-field was shallow enough to create a cool effect.

Chromatic Aberration

Back to the prism issue for a moment. Because lenses with wide apertures are shaped more like prisms, they are more likely to suffer from chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is literally the “pulling apart of colors that I mentioned early. Modern lens coatings and aspherical lens shapes help cut down on this, but it’s still a risk, especially in older lenses.

Chromatic aberration can make things on one color appear foggy or sometimes make them appear slightly shifted in position. The pinks of the flowers and the light green leaves at the top of this image have a slight haze around them due to chromatic aberration. They are not out of focus, but they are a much different color than the surrounding background color, which emphasizes the aberration.

Flare

Lens flare is a little more commonly encountered than chromatic aberration. Flare occurs when a light source is directly hitting your lens. It might not even be in the image, it might be just out of frame. It cause circles or streaks of light to appear in the final image. Point a wide angle lens at the sun, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

This problem is also related to the prism issue, and wide aperture lenses are much more prone to flare than lenses with smaller apertures. Lens coatings help, but the best solution for flare is a lens hood. While hoods dont help if the light source in your frame, they do a great job of blocking that light coming from just outside the image.

A completely unrelated benefit is that they protect you lens from unintentional bumps and drops as well. The images below has a huge amount of flare, this is due to the wide aperture of the lens, and the wide angle of the lens. Wide angle lenses are more prone to flare as well.

Focusing in Brackets

Focusing a lens at f/2.8 can be difficult. The ultra fast lenses, like the f/1.2 and f/1.4, can be so touchy that autofocus systems can have trouble with them. Autofocus works best in high contrast situations, so in low contrast scenes it might be necessary to do a little bracketing.

Most people know about exposure bracketing, and the perfectionists among us might even dabble with white balance bracketing. Focus bracketing follows the same process. This technique will only really work with stationary or mostly stationary objects. Just use your autofocus to start. Once it’s locked on, just turn it off. Manually back the focus up a little, shoot, and then go a little past where it was before, and shoot again.

We are talking about half a millimeter in both directions. Less is more with this one. If you look closely at this photo, the nose of the dog is in focus, but the eyes are just a little off. If I bracketed my focus, I probably could have corrected this.

What Do I Do With It?

There are many reasons for using a shallow depth-of-field. The most common is a compositional technique called selective focus. This brings attention to something in a cluttered situation by making it the only thing in focus. This can be used to clean up cluttered backgrounds. But using a shallow depth-of-field while it’s snowing or raining, allows you to essentially make the precipitation disappear.

Another thing is using a shallow depth-of-field when there are small light sources in the background like traffic lights or holiday lights. The depth-of-field will turn these lights into beautiful glowing orbs. But using a shallow depth-of-field can also give your images a dream-like quality or make them appear nostalgic like the image below.

Some Gear Recommendations

Most of the photos shown in this tutorial were shot with a Nikon 50mm f/1.2 and a Nikon 85mm f/1.4. These are both manual focus lenses and, needless to say, they are a pain to focus on a Digital SLR.

If I had unlimited funds, I would purchase a new ground glass screen for my camera. If you’re camera allows you to interchange these, you can buy one with split-screen rangefinder patch or other good focusing aides. If you have manual focus lenses, read through your manual to decide what the best settings for focusing your lenses.

When you purchase your lenses, I highly suggest getting the brand-name, dedicated lens hood. Most lenses come with them, but the high-end lenses always at least offer them as an accessory. An after-market lens hood will usually involve using your filter threads, which will make it hard to use filters.

So if you havent made the plunge, start saving your pennies, because it is totally worth it. And after reading this, you won’t be dummy about using shallow depth-of-field…

An In-Depth Look at Waterfall Photography – Tuts+ Premium

Andrew Childress — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:00:56 +0000

We have another Photo Premium tutorial exclusively available to Premium members today. In this tutorial, we’ll present an on-location shoot of a waterfall. Learn more after the jump!

Waterfall photography requires some special techniques to get the best results. Today, I’m going to show you all the tricks to get the best results. I’ll show you how to explore nature and look for some of the small parts of waterfalls you would otherwise miss. Finally, I’ll teach you all of the editing tricks to make your nature photos shine.

Tutorial Preview

Tune In for More

Didn’t hear about Photo Premium? You can find out more here. It’s an additional, in-depth article, published each week just for our Premium subscribers (on top of all our regular free content!)

Join Today!

Join Premium and Expand Your Photography Knowledge!

This is a really interesting technique to perfect, and you’ll be really pleased with the result! This Premium tutorial will help you get started with ease.

For those unfamiliar, the family of Tuts+ sites runs a premium membership service. For $19 per month, you gain access to exclusive premium tutorials, screencasts, and freebies from Phototuts+, Nettuts+, Psdtuts+, Cgtuts+,Activetuts+, Aetuts+, Audiotuts+, and Vectortuts+! For the price of a pizza, you’ll learn from some of the best minds in the business.

Become a Premium member and download this tutorial today!

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Is there a specific technical aspect of photography that you really want to learn more about? How about a very advanced technique that you could never quite grasp fully?

We really want to make our Premium content as relevant and useful to you as possible, so do send through your comments and requests to photo@tutsplus.com. Let us know what you want to see, and we’ll commission top-notch photographers to teach you!

90+ Beautiful Lomography Shots

Simon Bray — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:00:14 +0000

The growing popularity in the Lomography trend hasn’t come about by accident. The desire to capture fun-filled moments on color saturated film has now become a worldwide phenomenon and although many feel that it’s purely for amateur photographers, there’s a lot to be said for such large amounts of people engaging with film and photography for the first time.

The camera and film combinations on offer can also produce some extremely interesting and beautiful results with far more variation and artistic license than any app filter will allow you to apply to your photographs.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s all about enjoying photography and one of Lomography’s primary guidelines is to carry you camera with you everywhere, which I can recommend as having a camera to hand allows you to capture the moments in life when artistic vision strikes.

This collection of photos contains shots taken with a different cameras using a selection of films and hopefully highlights the diversity of Lomography as well as the ability to create eye catching images through the medium of film.

Photo Inspiration

Slim Jim

Andrea Marino

Leatherheart

Brian Auer

Buson

Nimtree

Leatherheart

Camkage

Justmeandthemoon

Gian S

Virgu

SlimJim

Izzie Whizzie

Nio_nl

Skene

Thum

Shahdi

Valerian Gaudeau

SouthBeachCars

Shahdi

Thum

Minodda

SouthBeachCars

Shahdi

Shampooplanet

Ganso-org

Camkage

Community Photography

Paparozzzi

Camkage

chachlate

SlimJim

emil2

Rayofsun

Hique

Turboalieno

inoportuno

Elkilla

bierlos

bourguiboeuf

SlimJim

srmarcus

RussellDarling

Jackazphotography

SlimJim

srmarcus

SlimJim

xtyler

SlimJim

love_e

Mikel Pierre

Romary

toddgeasland

SlimJim

Philippeleroyer

Hannah Gopa

Shahdi

Darren Riley

Rayofsun

Dollarside

Darren Riley

Aloshbennett

tuland81

muddanudo

xtyler/a>

Forty Photographs

dollarside

sfbness

the_weedman

Leatherheart

Mark Goodwin

SlimJim

srmarcus

SlimJim

Schoeband

Lucavioletto

SouthBeachCars

Schoeband

Humblenick

Leatherheart

Share Your Own Images!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the above photographs and that they’ve inspired you to go out and capture something amazing for yourself!

We’d love to see your favorite Lomography shots – just post a comment and link below. Also, feel free to link to any resources that you’ve found particularly helpful in this area.

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.

Quick Tip: 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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Things to Remember

Photo Critique #137

Quick Ground Rules

The Photograph

Photo Details & Inspiration

Handheld Panoramas the Easy Way

1. Take a Reference Shot