In this episode, Exposure Control and the iPhone.  We’re joined by Joseph Ferreira. Subscribe to download our podcasts on iTunes.

What we talk about:

• Popularity of iPhone photography and Instagram
• The Haters
• Independent exposure, WB, and focus controls and locks
• Using a gray card with an iPhone
• Camera+, Camera Awesome
• iPhoneography, Androidography?

Related Links:

• Joseph Ferreira’s blog (for details on the gray card process)
• Instagram
• Camera+

I recently tried my hand at creating some intriguing photographic abstract art;  incense smoke photography.  Several of my friends at the About-Photography Group posted some of their own smoke images, so I thought I’d give it a try and came up with the images shown here.

The following is a short tutorial on how it can be done:

There is more than one way to do this, and some of this is optional.  You’ll need to work in an area that is free from moving air.  A little is ok, but you don’t want a fan or open window nearby, or anything that will prevent the smoke rising up from the incense to be blown away before it gets a chance to rise vertically for the pictures.

MATERIALS

Here is a list of things I gathered to create my smoke images:

• Incense
• Match (or lighter)
• Small table and incense holder
• Camera, normal or telephoto lens, and external flash
• Tripod
• Dark background material (black seamless, poster board, cloth)

NOTE:  Take precautions when working with matches, lighters, and burning incense so that you don’t start a fire.  You don’t want to work with these items around flammable materials.  As soon as you’re finished, make sure you douse the incense in water.  Don’t leave it out or throw it in the trash.

SETUP & SHOOT

1.  Setup the table or other support for the incense.  You can use a dark material in the background to help visually isolate the smoke in the shot.  Make sure there will be  enough distance between the incense and the background so that the background fades to black in the exposures.  For my setup, a black cloth was used and positioned about 4 feet behind the incense.

2.  Setup a camera on a tripod.  You’ll want this positioned in line with the smoke as it rises off the incense.  I shot the images shown here with a 50mm lens about 3 feet from the incense.  My camera settings were ISO 100, f/stop 16, and shutter speed at 1/250 (flash sync).

3.  Setup the external flash (off-camera).  I positioned my flash about 2 feet to the left of the incense and slightly behind it.  I did this so that it pointed slightly away from the background.  You don’t want to illuminate the background with spill off light from the flash, so you can also modify it with a flag or snoot.  I used mine without any modifiers.  You can trigger the flash any way you like (PC cord, TTL, radio trigger, etc.).  How you setup and use the flash isn’t as important as simply getting it to illuminate the smoke.

4.  Focus for the smoke.  If your camera is configured to autofocus whenever you press the shutter button, you’ll have to set it up for manual focus, or use an alternate focus button.  It can be hard to focus on the smoke each time you take a shot.  Hold an object just above the incense stick, where the smoke will be, and focus on that.  Leave the focus there for your actual shots.

5.  Take some shots.  Light the incense and wait for some interesting smoke to rise into the frame.  Experiment by disturbing the air around the smoke with your hand or your breath.  The idea is to create interesting smoke patterns and get some shots to work with.  When you’ve gotten several shots, preview them on your camera’s LCD.  If you’re happy with them, import them into your computer.

POST-PROCESSING

There are several things you can do to enhance the smoke patterns including mirroring and colorizing.  Here’s what you can do to create the effects shown in these images:

1.  Open an image in Photoshop and adjust contrast by using Curves or Levels in order to make sure the background is very dark or black and the smoke has the look you want.

2.  Create a Duplicate Layer of the image.  Then flip the duplicate layer with Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal.

3.  Change the blending type of that layer to Lighten or Screen.

4.  Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer above the other layers.  Check the Colorize box and adjust the color of the smoke.

5.  Slide the top smoke layer, left or right, over the original layer until you see a pattern you like.  Crop to your taste and save the image.

Again, this is only one way to approach this type of project.  For example, you might use natural light coming in from a window on one side of the setup.  If the background is dark enough, you should be able to isolate the smoke in the image.  Also, post-processing can involve different coloring methods (you can use multiple colors and blending types).  I’ve seen some beautiful inverted images, where the background can be turned white.  And you can mirror the original image with vertical flips and other variations.  Some original smoke patterns are so beautiful that they don’t need to be mirrored or colored at all.

More info on how to improve your photography, and use off-camera flash can be found in:  DSLR: The Basics & 100% Reliable Flash Photography

I’m very proud to announce that my latest eBook titled, DSLR: The Basics, has just been released!

If you’ve struggled with the fundamental concepts of photography, this eBook is for you. Maybe you’ve heard other photographers talk about shooting in Manual mode, or discussing settings that, quite frankly, seem a little confusing. The good news is that you can finally learn all the fundamentals and put them to work for you. DSLR: The Basics will guide you through the knowledge quickly and easily. In this new eBook, I cover:

• Basic DSLR Camera Features
• Understanding Raw vs. JPEG
• ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed
• The Fundamentals of Exposure
• White Balance
• Shooting Modes
• Flash Basics
• Evaluating & Improving Your Shots

Understanding these features and concepts will help you move to the next level with your photography. Find out more about it by clicking this link: DSLR: The Basics

• My friend, Lou, posted an interesting viewpoint about how he would like his images (perhaps most art) to be viewed on the internet.
• Are you trying to make pictures that everyone will love?  Another reason why that’s a mistake.  Seth Godin tells it.
• JimmyD talks you through a Pretty Girl shoot, lighting and all.
• And if you haven’t had enough of the Pinterest vs. Photographer’s Rights Debate (is that what it is?), there’s a selection of thoughts to ponder at APE.
• Joshua Chuang talks about Robert Adams‘ work on NPR’s The Picture Show.

Shutter speed affects ambient exposure. Model: Dina Massery.

A quick example showing how shutter speed affects ambient exposure.  Notice that in each shot, the only camera setting that changed was the shutter speed. The actual brightness of the lamp in the background was not adjusted between shots. The flash exposure remains the same.  The lamp appears brighter as the duration of the exposures increase.

In short, when you have your flash exposure set correctly (manually or TTL), all you have to do to increase the visibility of the ambient light is lower your shutter speed.

Chris Arnade has his inspiring project featured on the New York Times website.  Yes, there is humanity everywhere.

“The bar raised and didn’t automatically take us all along for the ride. We find ourselves again having to earn our position there. Some of us, I fear, will never again stand on the top rung where we hung out and got fat and lazy and belligerent and arrogant and slovenly and so set in our ways that we find anything that youth does to be abhorrent and inevitably evil. We owned it. We were there so long that we never noticed that it became… average.” — wizwow

You want to know how NOT to be afraid anymore?  Stop trying to earn a living at this, and just do it because you love it.  Set yourself free.

For all the rest, it’s a long, hard road that just might be worth it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Readers occasionally write in and ask for specifics about the camera, lens and settings I used for a particular shot.  Sometimes they want to know exactly how far from the subject I was when I took the photo, what the sensor size was, and whether or not I cropped the image after the fact.  At times I feel that some of the questions are overly concerned with the technical.  But I understand why people are curious about that kind of thing;  I enjoy the technical side of photography, too.  For many of us who’ve been doing this for a while, however, there’s a tendency to dismiss much of the gear and technical details as irrelevant.  They are not.  These things are important, even when they become so familiar to us that we take them for granted.

After all, even I enjoy behind-the-scenes footage showing a pro in action.  I paid enough attention to this video to know that Terry Richardson is using a Nikon D3X in such a manner as to get his trademark point-and-shoot style nailed.

He did this first with a Yashica T4, an actual point-and-shoot.  So, why use a $7k+ camera for the same thing?  Well it’s digital, dependable, and that wide angle Nikkor isn’t so bad either.  Tools and style are always linked but sometimes you can modify the normal use of a tool to make it your own.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Portrait Photography. An overview of a classic three-point lighting setup used in portrait photography.

Other videos >>

Always ready with some good advice, Pretty Girl Shooter’s JimmyD talks about getting good looks from your models, when they’re just not happening.  By the way, this advice can apply to clients, too.  I love the way Jimmy puts it, and it’s all from real-world, working experience.

“Directing a model’s physical presentation to the camera is the easy part: Move this, twist that, point your belly button over here, make your shoulders go back, drop your face, turn your head, arch your back, make your knees touch and all that kind of stuff.  Getting poses and expressions to come from within is another matter. One of the ways I do that is to ask models to mimic what they’ve seen or experienced.”

If you really want to get into JimmyD’s head and explore the Art of photography, check out his ebook, Zen and the Art of Portrait Photography.  More about it here >>

Also, the official PGS t-shirts are now available (graphic shown above).  If you’re in the market for a cool new photographer t-shirt, you can get one directly from JimmyD here >>

Click here to view the embedded video.

Portrait Photography. Using a reflector to create fill lighting and reduce contrast.

Other videos >>

Click here to view the embedded video.

Something to see and consider.  Filmmaker, Adam Wingard.  Videography is photography afterall.  What do you think?

Argus C3

An older gentleman who takes care of things around my building noticed my iPad the other day and seemed fascinated by the technology.   He remarked about its incredible ability to store thousands of photos in one small tablet.   While the magic is less of a miracle to some of us, even I can still remember how much space negatives, contact sheets, and prints took up in my earlier days as a photographer. A little digital tablet that could store and display my entire portfolio, while taking up less space than a spiral-bound notebook?  That would have seemed impossible when I was coming up.  But there it was, sitting on my coffee table.  Funny that my iPhone can do the same thing.

Knowing that my friend also spent a few years behind a camera (including an old Graflex 4×5) back in his day, I said, “Yeah, the iPad’s cool.  But check this out.”  I pulled my Argus C3 off my bookshelf and handed it to him.  “I love these old cameras.”  I knew he’d appreciate what he saw.  He popped the back open, clicked the shutter, and said excitedly, “It still works!”  This, of course, made me want to go out and blow through some 35mm rolls of film.   Yes, even though beautiful, sharper images can be made with my iPhone.

Central Park. iPhone, Camera+ app. without vintage/film effects.

Taxi. iPhone, Camera+, Instagram with vintage/film effects applied.

As I’ve often said, you’ve got to get back to your roots now and then.  Some of my favorite images are from my early days as a photographer.  They were shot on film, with bad lighting, pushed and expired film, and had plenty of technical imperfections.  Back then, I was just a kid who loved to take pictures, and had yet to hear of megapixels and superior lenses.  But the old and the new are never really far apart.  It’s great to be able to use a digital camera now and get film-like results, instantly and at almost zero per-image cost.

After taking it, I realized how funny it was that the first image above, of the old “vintage” Argus film camera, was shot with the new tech of an iPhone, published immediately to the world via a shared portfolio called Instagram, which people like for its ability to make hi-res digital photos look like they were shot on old vintage film cameras.  Kind of a “going full-circle” thing. If you like to post your Hipstamatic and Instagram and actual film and Polaroid images you probably get it;  there’s art there, everywhere.   Sometimes you just have to point a camera at it and filter away the “better quality” of digital.  The beauty can be easier to see without all that punchy detail getting in the way.

Yesenia, a favorite model of mine has been participating in several projects over the past year or so with well-known photographers including Nathan Appel and  George Pitts.  She’s also the model on the cover of my book, Taking Your Portraiture to the Next Level.  Recently, she posed for an excellent moving portrait clip (vignette) titled, “Room 1612″ by CafeGlow.  If you’re going to be in the New York area and have a project coming up, you might want to hire this rising star.

CafeGlow is an interesting and stylish site featuring provocative images and video clips that mix fashion and erotica.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More on the model:

• Yesenia featured in the article, The Nude:  Clients and Models Talk About Posing Nude
• See Yesenia in an experimental minimalist moving portrait video in the notes for Podcast #23
• ModelMayhem is the place to contact her for work

A couple of my favorite shots from a session in late 2010:

Yesenia by Ed Verosky

Yesenia by Ed Verosky

Another 365 Project.  But this one’s got some prizes, organization, and a good vibe.  I’m not a big fan of shooting for yourself on a schedule, but if you really want to try it, this looks like a great way to go.  Get involved before January 30th.

Other Good Links:

• Lessons for 2012.  Luke Copping brings us some good advice for the new year, including:  “Never be too prideful to learn something new – consume knowledge and media like it’s the air you breathe. I have seen veterans of this industry learn new skills from first-year students because they were open and excited about growing. Make study, experimentation, and shared mentorship a part of your regular routine to better understand how the world around you works. You never know where your next inspirational goldmine may come from.”
• Gifts For The Camera Lover.  The Holiday’s are over, but Valentine’s Day is coming up.  Send this to someone as a hint.
• Photographing Ice.  I’m going to see if ice inspires me this year.  Last year, snow inspired me to walk less, and write more.
• A Photographer on Self-Image.  Belinda McCarthy blogs about her feelings about being behind the camera and working with clients.  Pt. II is here.  This is a good read.

The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), or what some might call the free, open-source, Photoshop alternative, is inching toward the 2.8 version.  GIMP has been around for a long time and has a loyal and growing user base with downloads available for just about all popular platforms.  The newest available download (2.7.4) is touted as “finally going to be a first class citizen” on the MAC, too.  I’m admittedly only an occasional user of GIMP, preferring commercial applications like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom for most of my work.  But the truth is that GIMP is an ever-improving tool, with loads of plug-ins available.  It can handle many important pixel editing tasks, the least of which is creating web versions of your images.  If you’re into open-source software and want a high-quality tool but don’t want to spend $700 on Photoshop, or you’re just curious, give GIMP a try.  It’s free!

A non-scientific comparison of the lens distortion correction features of GIMP and Photoshop CS5:

I wanted to see what the difference was when using a feature/tool common to both applications.  I decided to try out the Lens Distortion filters each provide.  In my example, I shot this iPhone image of a group of buildings off Columbus Ave. in my neighborhood in New York City’s Upper West Side.  Here’s the original shot:

Original iPhone photo showing perspective distortion

You can see the common distortion caused by angling the camera up in this type of shot (above).  The lines of the buildings are not perfectly vertical as they seem to be leaning inwards.  First, I used GIMP’s “Lens Distortion” filter.  The screen shot below shows what the filter looks like.  I had to make adjustments to the Y-shift and Main sliders, to get the result shown below:

GIMP Lens Distortion filter

GIMP Lens Distortion filter after two passes

As you can see, there is some improvement.  But it’s not very impressive.  A second attempt at the filter resulted in the image below, which I was happier with.  The adjustments were not smooth, but definitely workable. I’d need more practice to get this right.

GIMP Lens Distortion adjutment, second attempt

But I moved on to see what a quick adjustment in Photoshop would give me.  Upon firing up the Photoshop Lens Distortion filter, I was surprised to see specific lens profiles for the iPhone 3 and 4 pop up.  That was a good start, but didn’t do much to correct this kind of perspective distortion.  For that I simply went to the custom tab, and dialed in some Vertical Perspective transformation.  All it took was moving the slider to about -50.  At that point, much of the image bleeds off the canvass so I used the Scale slider to zoom out so I could see the entire image.

Photoshop Lens Distortion filter - actual slider adjustments not shown

As you can see, altering the image with the perspective tool leaves you with an uneven rectangle which, when cropped, forces you to cut out much of the image.  This was true of the GIMP image, too, but the crop wasn’t as narrow because the perspective wasn’t altered as much.  If I had managed to get a good perspective transformation in GIMP, it would have required a tighter crop to eliminate the border caused by the narrowing of the bottom part of the image.  Here is the final Photoshop fix, with crop.

Photoshop Lens Distortion correction, cropped

Both applications do a good job when it comes to quick fixes for this type of distortion, but Photoshop made the job much easier and faster to produce good results.  This little experiment by no means suggests that Photoshop is superior to GIMP in every way.  I suggest you try out GIMP for yourself and see if you might find it useful for some, or all, of what you do as a photographer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Supportive film communities can exist outside of Manhattan, of course.  Cameras, enlargers, developing tanks and trays, chemicals and paper… they can all be found online and delivered anywhere.  Learning how to shoot and develop your own photos (especially B/W) is something you can teach yourself.  Be a lone wolf, or get together a small group of like-minded photographers and put an old-fashioned photography group together, based on film and prints.  Either way, you’ll enjoy a much deeper appreciation for photography.

Guest Post by Sheryl Warwick

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is a short video showing how you can take a simple image and add some zing with liquify and skin smoothing.  The whole process doesn’t take long and once you start editing with a tablet you can whip out edits in no time at all.  Boudoir clients run the gambit from a lot to a little on how much post processing they want in their pictures.  This video shows a good starting point for addressing clients who have areas or bulges that might warrant some digital plastic surgery.

This video tutorial shows the first part of my editing process that I often cover in my boudoir workshops.  I hope the tutorial is helpful and that these techniques can be applied on any photography not just boudoir or glamour imagery.

Read more about Sheryl Warwick’s Boudoir Workshop

I don’t care how creative someone might be. I don’t care how high-end their gear might be. If they don’t have the knowledge to transform their creative visions with that gear, the photos they’re hoping to create will not result unless Lady Luck smiles on them. Personally, I’ve never counted on Lady Luck to help me make my photographs. — JimmyD

And from David Hobby…

“This totally happened by accident, with someone else’s flash going off in the back. What do you think?”

Well, I can tell what you think, Philip. I think you like it, ’cause you were happy to claim it and stick a logo up on it. (Smart man.)

And any time a happy accident like this happens, bells should go off in your head. — Strobist

Nikon P7000 – My favorite walk-around camera

The Guggenheim, NYC

In this episode, TTL versus Manual Flash with Michael Zelbel.  Michael Zelbel is a photographer and editor of his own blogs, Zelbel.com and SmokingStrobes.com, based in Duesseldorf, Germany.   We talk about working with TTL flash. Subscribe to download our podcasts on iTunes.

What we talk about:

• Some professionals might not be comfortable with TTL
• What TTL is
• You still have the ability to adjust flash power on the fly
• Good reasons to use TTL over manual flash
• Different brands handle lighting “ratios” different ways
• What gear do you need to use TTL off-camera?
• Should I start off with TTL, or manual flash when learning?
• Canon or Nikon TLL flavors, which one does Michael use?
• Ed notes that Nikon links Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) to Exposure Compensation (EC)
• TTL Flash technology has improved recently

Related Links:  

• Zelbel.com
• SmokingStrobes.com
• RadioPopper
• PocketWizard
• Phottix (Odin)
• Strobist
• Joe McNally

Extra:  For some great instruction on getting started with off-camera flash visit: “How to Shoot Professional-Looking Headshots and Portraits on a Budget with Small Flashes.”

And, get my ebook, “100% Reliable Flash Photography,” available for instant download.

Commercial Portraiture with Luke Copping.  Luke Copping is a portrait, beauty, and commercial photographer based in Buffalo, NY.   He is also the Chapter President of ASMP Western New York
www.asmp.org.  We talk about his work and views on the industry. Subscribe to download our podcasts on iTunes.

What we talk about:

• Where does Luke’s inspiration come from?
• Luke’s blog and his Personal Records feature
• The “low barrier to entry” in photography
• Various personal and other projects
• Defined styles
• Does type of gear matter, even in commercial work?
• How to stay competitive in the photography industry
• Why do personal projects matter?

Related Links:  

• Luke Copping
• Rodney Smith
• Nick Knight
• Angus Rowe MacPherson
• Terry Richardson
• ASMP
• Previously in About-Photography.com

Photos by Luke Copping:

Lydia Dominick

Wall outside Luke's studio

Personal Record image

In areas with high concentrations of actors, dancers, and other performers, headshots are the bread and butter for many photographers.  You can easily create a professional-looking studio portrait like the one shown here with minimal lighting.  For this quick example, I placed a Canon 580 EX II on a stand high and to the camera-left rear of the subject, zoomed at 105mm and aimed down directly at her head.  The flash’s power was set to 1/32.

The main light was another 580 EX II at the 45/45 position, camera-right, with power set to 1/16, modified with a translucent shoot-through umbrella.  The flash units were set to manual and were triggered with PockeWizard Plus II’s.  Canon 7D, 85mm lens at f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

• Canon 7D
• 85mm USM 2.8
• 580 EX II
• PocketWizard Plus II

For more info on creating great lighting with small flash units, see Phil Steele’s excellent videos >>