How To: Shoot Silhouettes - And a Bit About Dynamic Range

Before I start, I want to take a few lines to apologize for my upcoming blog post sabbatical. As I mentioned in an earlier post, whenever I'm at home, my limited internet access prevents me from doing much blogging. I'm currently sitting in Savannah, GA. and will be catching a flight back home to Virginia tomorrow morning (Sat. Apr. 25th). Instead of being back at work on Monday for more blogging, I will be taking my vacation next week. I'm headed to the Wyndham Nassau Resort and Crystal Palace Casino in Nassau Bahamas! I've read that internet access isn't free at the hotel, which blows my mind. What year is this?....1998? Anyways, I'll likely be shooting photos, relaxing on the beach, scuba diving, or finding some nightlife. I'll be back to work Monday, May 4th. Expect a new post shortly after with photos from my trip, and oh!....I'm also attending the Langley AirPower over Hampton Roads air-show this upcoming Sunday! Expect a blog post about how to photograph an air-show sometime on my return week as well.

As for my upcoming posts, the majority of the basics have been covered and I'll now be posting more specific how-to type posts. We'll start today with how to shoot silhouettes.

What is a silhouette? - A silhouette is a view of an object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. The term was initially applied in the 18th century to portraits or other pictorial representations cut from thin black card. The term has been extended to describe the sight or image of a person, object or scene that is backlit, and appears dark against a lighter background. Because a silhouette emphasises the outline, the word has also been used in the fields of fashion and fitness to describe the shape of a person's body or the shape created by wearing clothing of a particular style or period. - Source: Wikipedia

In terms of photography, the italicized bold text in the paragraph above describes a silhouette perfectly.

An important term when referring to a silhouette is dynamic range.

Dynamic range is the ratio of light to dark that the cameras "eye" can see. The greater the dynamic range, the more details you'll get in both the highlights and the shadows. Unfortunately the cameras dynamic range is nowhere near that of the human eye. The human eye can see a considerably larger amount of details in highlights and shadows of a scene. While this can cause a lot of problems with getting a photo to look the way you want it, it works very nicely for silhouette images.

All you really have to do for a silhouette is set your exposure for a bright light source behind your subject. The limited dynamic range of your camera will automatically lose all or most of the details in the shadows and retain all the details in the light source, or the highlights.

With that said, a great light source to use for silhouettes is a sunset or sunrise. This is because the colors are very dramatic, and if you have a lot of clouds in the sky, you'll get even more visual interest in your photo. A sunset or sunrise, however, is not required. You could stand your subject in front of a window on the inside of the building, expose for what is outside of the window, and your subject will be silhouetted against the background. (See the flip-flop photos below)

So let's break this down into steps:

1. Look for or create a subject with a strong visual interest. In other words, use something that will be very recognizable just by it's outline or shape alone.
2. Place your subject in front of a light source so that there is a lot of light behind the subject, and as little as possible falling on the camera side of the subject itself.
3. Ensure there isn't a lot of other items in the frame of your shot that will distract from the main subject or clutter the photo excessively.
4. Set your exposure so that the background (light source) is properly exposed and not blown out (a term for losing detail in the highlights) or underexposed (a term for losing detail in the shadows). With the proper exposure on the background and no light falling on the subject, the subject itself should be underexposed which will give you the silhouette you're trying to achieve. Remember...exposure is set by varying aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
5. Once you're photo is properly exposed, focus the camera on your subject. This will ensure the subject has a nice crisp outline, and isn't blurry. On occasion, there may be times when you want the background to be in perfect focus and the silhouette to have a blurry outline. For example, I had a shot of my pug, Fez, looking out the window at a girl on the street. I exposed for the girl on the street as well as focused on the girl in the street. I wanted the focus on the girl so you could tell what Fez was looking at. I framed the shot so both the girl and Fez were in the viewfinder and snapped the photo.
6. Once you've achieved your desired focus, and have framed the subject nicely, press the shutter button to take the photo.
7. Thanks to the digital camera age, you now have instant results on your cameras LCD screen. Review your shot and make any adjustments to exposure, focus, and subject framing as necessary and continue shooting. With a few repetitions, you'll find that you can now confidently shoot a silhouette image.

A few tips:

• Try using a wide array of aperture settings to see the different results. First try a very small aperture (large F number) so that the subject has a crisp outline, and the background is in focus as well. Then try a large aperture (small F number) so that your subject is crisp and the background is a nice smooth blur of color. Thinking back to an earlier post, if you change your aperture, you'll need to change your shutter speed to compensate for the addition or subtraction of light. This will keep your photos exposure the same, but change the artistic effects associated with aperture.
• Angle the camera a considerable amount to give your photo an unusual perspective and add interest to the photo. (See the photo at the top of this post)
• Don't use flash. By using flash, you'll light the subject even if the background is properly exposed. This is obviously the exact opposite of what a silhouette is.

When I first started this blog, I mentioned that the posts would be geared towards shooting photos in full manual mode. If you happen to be using a point and shoot on automatic mode, you can still shoot silhouettes. Although I won't go into the extra details, I wanted to provide a link to a site that does describe how to create the effect on automatic mode: Easy Ways to Shoot a Silhouette

Below is an example pertaining to dynamic range:

You'll notice in the first photo, the shoes are properly exposed, but the details in the background are completely blown out. If it weren't for the second photo, you'd have no idea such a vibrant background existed. The second photo is exposed for the golf course and water in the background. You end up with a silhouetted image of the shoes, but you lose almost all detail in the subject. The reason for this is because of the cameras poor dynamic range. When I say poor, I mean in reference to the fact that as I looked at the shoes against the background with my eyes, I could see the detail in both the shoes and the golf course that lay behind. In comparison to what you can see with your eye, a camera has a poor dynamic range. Getting both the shoes and water properly exposed in the same image would require either adding a light source to the shoes so it is more closely matched with that of the background light source, or a number of post processing techniques such as exposure blending or HDR (high dynamic range). We'll get into these techniques at a later date.

I'll close this post with one more silhouette shot that I've taken. The photo below is of a PT6 turboprop airplane engine against a setting sun. I shot this photo en-route from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Indianapolis, Indiana back in December of 2008.

This has been how to shoot a silhouette "From the Ground Up!"

View the full post here...

Did You Get the Shot?

You're driving down the road and all of a sudden you see the Goodyear Blimp landing in a local shopping center parking lot. I dunno, maybe it was an emergency, or maybe it was a scheduled promotional visit, but whatever the case...did you get the shot?

Time after time, the answer to that question for me has been NO! When something amazing happens, I never seem to have my camera with me. I've got a quick fix to this problem. BRING YOUR CAMERA EVERYWHERE!!!

This topic might not seem very instructional, and granted it isn't. I do however feel it's an important topic to cover.

Some of the best photographs that are taken aren't planned. When something rare happens, it's nice to have a camera with you, at least giving you the chance to capture the event. Whether you do a good job of taking the photo goes back to your ability to adjust settings on the fly and quickly find a good compositional location. A photograph can lack in quality to some extent, if the event is rare enough. The rarity of a photo can cause it to become an iconic image that will be widely viewed and known.

I know it seems stupid and tedious to carry a camera to the grocery store, the bank, to work, to lunch, etc....however, it's often these times when something amazing happens on the way. To get the point across, let me list a few things big or small, that I've missed by not being prepared:

• Air Force One flying right over my head multiple times as it did touch and go's at the local airport
• Extreme sunsets and sunrises
• A field full of hot air balloons lifting off
• A local business on fire
• Interesting looking people - photojournalism
• Lightning storms

Some things I've managed to capture at odd times by having a camera available:

• Bald eagle perched on a stick in the middle of a lake beside my hotel
• Bridge opening with a battleship passing through at night
• My brother's deployment (ok perhaps most people have cameras at these things, but the images I got were more than just the standard family images)
• A lot of aerial photographs
• Interesting paint schemes on aircraft

I understand that lugging a heavy DSLR with all the equipment can be tiresome and nerve racking so at the least, buy yourself an inexpensive point and shoot that will fit in your pocket, purse, or wherever. A camera phone is better than no camera at all.

Here's a shot I got by using a camera phone. If it weren't for that, I would have missed this relatively rare photo:

Coleman Bridge opening during the day with a battleship passing through

So here is a good tip for travelling! Always bring your camera in your carry-on. This serves multiple purposes. For one, you have your camera available if something photo worthy happens during your flight. Secondly, it will prevent damage or loss from being in checked luggage. As a pilot, I have my camera on me all the time. I never know where my job will take me. I do find it annoying to carry an extra piece of luggage for my camera equipment, but I've had the opportunity to fly to some unique locations and was very glad I had it with me. I recommend a backpack style camera bag. This is one less thing you have to hold in your hands, and most backpacks fit in overhead bins or on the floor in front of your feet.

Might I add that the other 2 things I really find to be useful, but not nearly as practical are a tripod and at least one strobe type flash. I feel like I miss alot of things after dark because of my inability to lug the items around the country with me. When I'm home however, I always keep them in my car.

I hope everyone takes the extra time and effort to pack a camera of some sorts on their future ventures, near or far! I'll close this post with a few of the photos I took at my brother's deployment, mentioned above.

"Rucksacks & Body Armor"

"Please Come Home Safe" - That's my brother in the middle with the orange thing on his rucksack

"The Buses Await"

This has been, how to not miss the shot "From the Ground Up!"

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How I Shot This - "In the Drink"

Today's post is a "how I shot this" post.

You've likely seen shots very similar to this one from many other photographers. Originality was lacking to some extent on my part. The main purpose of this shoot was to practice different lighting techniques and see what type of results I could draw without the help of others. Instead of searching online for how to shoot this type of image, I looked on Flickr for other examples of this type of shot. From there I looked at where the light was coming from and decided to start a process of trial and error.

What you'll need:

• Camera
• Tripod
• 2 Strobe Flashes
• Flash trigger system (pocket wizards, synch cables, etc)
• Clear Glass Tank
• Black Non Reflective Backdrop (or other colors depending on desired artistic effect)
• Water (Seltzer water for extra bubbles)
• Object to drop in water
• Focusing Object (something to set your initial focus with)
• Remote Shutter (optional)
• Aluminum Foil (optional)
• Lightstands (optional)
• Towels (optional)

The setup:

1. Start by setting up your clear glass tank (fishtank, cookie jar, etc that is free of scratches, scuffs, or fingerprints) on a table or other flat surface. I used a chair to set the tank on allowing me to put a black shirt over the back part of the chair. If you use a reflective surface for the black backdrop you will get flash hotspots.
2. Next fill the tank with water. If you want alot of bubbles, you can use Seltzer water (carbonated water). I used a mixture of both.
3. Next set up a flash on either side of the tank pointing directly at the sides of the tank. I chose to put the flashes flush against the tank. After much trial and error, I realized that if the flashes were to far away, they illuminated the front and rear plane of glass giving me more of a flat or hazy look. If you have lightstands, you can use them to support the flashes. I found that a stack of books I had closely available worked just fine. The room I was working in limited my floor space preventing me from adding lightstands due to the wider base.
4. Hook up your triggering system. I have the AlienBees CyberSync remote triggers and receivers. You can also use flash sync cables as a cheaper option.
5. Set the flash power to a lower power setting. My flashes lowest setting was 1/16th power.
6. Setup your camera on a tripod pointing at the jar
7. Insert an object into the jar, approximately in the center. The idea is to use an object that when sitting in the jar, will give your camera something to focus on . It needs to stay stationary as you move to your camera to compose the shot. I used the handle of a flyswatter to stick in the center of the tank.
8. Compose your shot and set the camera to autofocus
9. Focus the camera on the object in the center of the tank using the autofocus. Once focused, switch the camera to manual focus. (If your camera continuously tries to focus on the glass or the bubbles formed on the glass, focus in manual from the get-go to get the object in focus. Leave the focus on manual.
10. Set the F/stop to a small aperture to get the largest depth of field. I chose F/16.
11. Set the shutter speed to the maximum flash synch speed according to your camera user manual. For the Canon EOS 50D, this would be 1/250th of a second. This will prevent ambient lighting from adding unplanned light to your shot.
12. Remove the object from the tank
13. Set your cameras timer to somewhere between 2 and 10 seconds.
14. Use either a remote shutter release cable or just push the shutter button (if you can reach it) to start the timer countdown. Many cameras beep, so you can tell approximately when the shutter will fire.
15. A split second before the camera fires, drop the object from 3-5 inches above the water level. The further the drop, the bigger the splash.
16. Review the shot.
17. If you manage to get the ball anywhere in the frame, adjust the f/stop or change the flash power settings to get the proper exposure.
18. Repeat until you get the timing on spot

Things to consider:

• smaller apertures will give you the greatest depth of field. I knew from the start I would need to use at least F/14.
• If you have flashes that are capable of firing rapidly in succession, instead of using the timer, you can use the remote shutter to rapidly fire shots from the camera as the object drops. This will wield a lot less trial and error drops, and a lot more good captures. My flashes are older (and cheaper) which prevents me from firing flashes in rapid succession.
• Change the background to a color to add more vibrance to the shot. Remember, reflective surfaces will cause flash hotspots in unintended areas
• Keep plenty of towels on hand. As you fish your object repeatedly from the tank, you'll likely drip water all over yourself and the floor.
• Wipe the glass free of droplets above the waterline to keep it clear and free of unneeded water spots
• Add aluminum foil to the bottom of the tank to reflect some light up from the bottom helping fill the shadows.
• If you change the background color, it won't absorb as much light as a black surface, therefore reflecting some light back to the object.

View the full post here...

I'll Take My Photos RAW Please!

This entry is about how your camera saves a file to the memory card when you take a photo.

I'll try to keep this at the most basic level possible. This blog is intended to help new comers to photography, and I don't want to scare you away from the post with a load of technical jargon and somewhat unpractical information.

There are 3 basic options for saving your image to the card in most modern DSLR cameras. These options are:

JPG

RAW

RAW + JPG

What is a JPG(JPEG), and what is a RAW?

For starters, the image sensor in the average DSLR is gathering information in either 12 or 14 bits of data. Basically this allows the camera to save between 4,096 and 16,384 brightness levels depending on whether it's a 12 or 14 bit camera.

A JPG file is a standard image format that saves the file with lossy image compression. What this means is that of the 4,096 - 16,384 brightness levels available from your cameras sensor, the image is compressed to reduce the file size down to 8 bits of data which equivocate to 256 brightness levels. Additionally, all the saturation, contrast, white balance data, sharpening levels, and other camera settings are permanently assigned to the file.

The photo at the top of this post is a side by side comparison of what happens as a photo becomes compressed. The photo on the left is a JPEG file with some compression. As the photo is edited multiple times and re-saved multiple times, the compression becomes more and more apparent by artifacting (image quality loss due to compression) as seen in the right hand photo. Both versions of the photo show some compression artifacts upon careful examination, but the one on the right is far more degraded. It's easiest to notice the artifacts in the sky area of the photo.

A RAW file is an image format that saves the file with no compression or lossless compression (compression with no quality loss). RAW files save all the data originally taken from the sensor so that in the final file, one has the full 12-14 bits of data to play with. This allows you to change the exposure to a further degree after the image is already taken because instead of only having 256 brightness levels, you have up to 16,384 levels to play with. The settings you have in the camera at the time the photo is taken is saved to the file as well, but it doesn't save ONLY that information like JPG's. It saves all the other information available as if you had shot the photo with different settings.

For example, if you had shot a photo in JPG and the Shade white balance setting was chosen, you would be essentially stuck with that choice forever in the JPG file. If you shot the photo in RAW, you can go back and choose any of the white balance settings that were originally available to you at the time the photo was taken.

Let me interject that I'm not advocating using RAW as an excuse to not set the correct setting from the get go. I am saying, however, that if you do make a mistake, you have the chance to save the photo by changing the original settings slightly to salvage what would have been unsalvageable before RAW came along.

The more you get right on camera, the less work you have to do in post processing. When you shoot a wedding with 100-200 keepable photos, you don't want to have to edit every setting in post processing. This will add a lot of time to your processing work, whereas you could have saved loads of time by taking a few extra seconds at the time of the shoot to get the settings right.

The above options for saving a file are pretty self explanatory. If you choose JPG in your camera menu, the photo will be written as a JPG. If you choose RAW, the image will be saved as a RAW. The third option is to shoot in RAW & JPG, essentially saving 2 copies of each photo to the memory card, 1 in each file format.

Additionally, when you convert the RAW file into a TIFF file or a PSD file in photoshop or other image editing program, it is able to spread the 12-14 bits into 16 bits of information, or 65,536 brightness levels to work with.

A JPG file will often look just as nice in print as a RAW file converted to TIFF or PSD would have. The difference comes with the pros and cons listed below.

PROS & CONS

JPG PROS

• Smaller file size aka fit more files on memory card
• Shoot photos faster on camera because the small file size allows the images to be written to the card much faster
• If you don't like to do a lot of post processing to your images, the JPG file will eliminate much of the post processing work

JPG CONS

• Smaller file size from compression causes JPG artifacts (a noticeable image quality loss)
• Every time you re-save your JPG after editing it, the file is further compressed and the image quality gets worse and worse due to increasing compression artifacts.
• Lose most of the ability to recover under or over exposed photos.
• Can't change white balance after the fact, which can make a photo very unusable if you had a very wrong setting in camera.

RAW PROS

• Ability to bring change white balance after the fact
• Ability to recover detail from blown highlights and underexposed shadow areas
• No quality loss due to compression (no artifacts)
• Larger range of color data available to you in the 12 or 14 bit RAW file.

RAW CONS

• Larger file size
• Slower writing to memory card, therefore reducing how rapidly the camera can fire shots
• More post processing work

Different camera companies use different file extensions for RAW formats. For example, the Canon brand uses .CR2 file format in many of its cameras, whereas Sony uses .ARW. The RAW format has not been standardized into one file extension yet. The downside to this is that, one RAW converter (a program that converts your RAW to .JPG, .TIFF, .PSD, etc) won't necessarily be able to open up and edit all RAW file types. The good news is that your camera likely came with a converter for its associated file format. Additionally, Adobes latest Photoshop products like Photoshop CS4, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2, etc, have the ability to read and edit most RAW formats from across the board. The program built into these products is called Adobe Camera RAW. It is even downloadable for many of the older versions of Photoshop that didn't originally include the feature. It is also worth mentioning that even though there isn't one file format directly from the manufacturers, Adobe Camera RAW lets you optionally convert the original RAW file to a .DNG raw file(Adobe's RAW file format). This file format, similar to the .PNG file will likely maintain support by Adobe for many many years to come, whereas your native file format may lose support as new formats come out in the future.

To wrap this up, I just want to add that shooting RAW may not be the right choice for everybody. It sure can save your butt when you have a paid photo-shoot, and for whatever unexpected and unexplained reason, you botched the shoot and under exposed all the photos or had a terrible white balance setting. You'll likely be able to fix your mistakes and your customer will have a nice series of photos in there photo album for years to come.

I hope you have a better understanding of the common file formats as this has been RAW files "From The Ground Up!"

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Patterns and Colors

QUICK TIP!

Look around. Look for patterns, shapes, colors, angles, etc. In this example, I noticed a pattern and a wide array of bright colors. To add a bit to the shot, I angled the camera.

Btw, this was a dog collar booth at the 2009 Daffodil Festival in Gloucester, Va. I should have bought one for my dog Fez.

View the full post here...

Which Lens is Best For Me?

Today I want to talk about camera lenses, the effects they have, and hopefully help you choose which lens (lenses) you'll need for your photography.

I want to first start by giving an explanation of crop factor. What is crop factor?

Crop Factor - is the ratio from a standard 35mm film size to the size of a digital cameras image sensor (measured diagonally).

What this means is that a 35mm camera would give you a certain image with a certain lens. With a digital camera, many have what is called a crop factor because the sensor size is smaller than the standard 35mm film size. Pretend the circular image above is how the camera sees the scene. The example above is what the translated photo area would look like with a 35mm film negative as compared to a digital camera with a crop factor. This is assuming you stood in the exact same spot and use the exact same lens on both the 35mm and digital camera.

Below is how the resulting images would look:

35mm

Digital Crop Factor

Notice that the image taken with the same lens from the same spot appears to have more of a zoom effect. The key word is appears. While it appears to be more zoomed, in reality, it's just losing more off the edges. This works out well for images shot at a distance, but if you're a landscape photographer and you want a really wide angle, you're losing a considerable amount of image with a digital camera.

To make up for this, one can either buy a full framed digital camera (sensor is the same size as the 35mm film negative) or you can buy a wider lens. Since the introduction of crop factors, manufacturers have been producing lenses wider than normal to makeup for the crop factor. 28mm focal length for a 35mm film camera is considered wide. However, on a digital camera with a crop factor, it's not. Lenses with as low as a 10mm focal length have been developed to cope with the crop factor. Why not just buy a full framed digital camera? Well, if you can afford it, please do...however, these cameras are seldom found cheaper than $2500.00. A few years from now, someone may read this blog and think that price is to high, but lets just remember the price of consumer electronics drops considerably over time.

To figure out your cameras crop factor, the manufacturer has included a multiplier to give you an idea of what your lens is effectively producing on your digital camera. Below is a list of crop factors for common camera manufacturers:

Nikon - 1.5x

Canon - 1.6x

Sony - 1.5x

Pentax - 1.5x

Olympus - 2.0x

To use this information, just take the lens focal length and multiply it by the number associated with your camera above. My camera is a Canon EOS 50D. Therefore if I were to look at my 28-135mm lens, the crop factor would in effect give me a lens that appears to have a focal range of 44.8-216mm (28x1.6=44.8 and 135x1.6=216).

For the rest of this blog post, and likely throughout future blog posts, I'm going to just assume everyones digital camera has a crop factor.

So what types of lens options are available to me?

Wide Angle - Anything less than 24mm is considered a wide angle lens (less than 39mm full frame)

Normal - 25mm-37mm (40mm- 58mm full frame) On a side note, the human eye sees at approx. 32mm (50mm full frame)

Telephoto (Zoom) - Anything greater than 37mm is considered a telephoto lens (58mm full frame)

Macro - A lens that allows extreme short focus on the subject allowing for close-up photography.

Fisheye - Allows for a distorted and extremely wide angle view of the world up to 180 degrees

Teleconverter - A piece of glass that attaches between the camera body and another lens allowing you to increase the effective zoom range of your camera. A 2x teleconverter for example would double the focal length of the lens that is attached

Image Stabilized - Lenses with image stabilization use a series of gyros to detect motion from hand holding the camera, and attempts to stabilize the motion to produce a non blurry image.

all information in the definitions above are assuming you are using the 1.6x Canon crop factor. If your camera uses a different crop factor, you would need to adjust accordingly by dividing the provided 35mm film focal length by the crop factor for your manufacturer.

So lets start from the top of the list:

Wide angle lenses are great for landscape photography. They allow one to capture more of a scene into one single image. The problem with them is that the images will likely be distorted to an extent. For example, if you took a photo of someone with a wide angle lens and they were close the the camera, it will make there body look distorted. If it's a closeup of the face, the nose may seem extremely huge.

Wide angle lens - Photo courtesy of Will King Photography - All Rights Reserved

Normal lenses would be the focal range between wide and telephoto. Images in this range will be the closest to what the human eye sees. As stated above, the human eye sees at about 32mm (50mm full frame or on 35mm film). A great time to use normal lenses would be for portraits. This allows for the least amount of distortion.

Telephoto lenses are used when you can't get physically closer to your photo yet you have a need to make the subject bigger in the frame. An example might be if you were on an safari and you saw a lion in the distance. For obvious reasons, you don't want to get physically close to the lion. The telephoto lens will allow you to get closer to the subject via zoom.

Macro lenses allow you to focus extremely close to the subject. A true macro lens will have a 1:1 ratio. This means that the image is taken life size. With macro photography, you can get extremely close detail of something. An example might be the inside of a flower. You'll be able to see each piece of pollen with a macro lens.

Fisheye lenses are often times less of a necessity, and more of a luxury that is usable to give a cool creative effect. One example where they do prove very useful is shots of airplane cockpits. My good friend Michael Davis is a well known aviation photographer that sometimes uses fisheyes to capture the entire cockpit environment. You'll notice with fisheye lenses, the majority of the distortion is on the edges. The further from the center of the photo, the greater the distortion

Fisheye Lens - Photo courtesy Michael Davis AirTeamImages - All Rights Reserved

A Teleconverter allows you to add a multiplier to your current lens. If your teleconverter is 2x and you're using a 70-300mm telephoto lens, the effective focal length is now 140-600mm. With these lenses, you are reducing the amount of light reaching the sensor, thus requiring you to make up for it with a longer shutter speed, a larger aperture, or a higher ISO setting.

Image stabilization is a great thing to have on a lens. It helps prevent motion blur thus allowing you to handhold the camera at shutter speeds that are slower than previously possible. They say a good rule of thumb is to use the same shutter speed or greater for a given focal length to prevent motion blur. For example if you are shooting at 110mm, you should use 1/110th of a second. However, cameras don't use 1/110th sec, so you would round up to the next shutter speed of 1/125th. By adding image stabilization, one may now be able to handhold as slow as 1/80th of a second. This is all dependent on each person. If you naturally hold the camera steadier than the next guy, you'll be able to hold the camera at slower shutter speeds than him or her with or without image stabilization. This is a great feature if you have Parkinson's disease or some other disorder that causes hand shakes or tremors. Image stabilization will often greatly increase the cost of the lens. Often times the IS (image stabilization) feature of a lens will double its price to a similar lens without the feature. Different brands refer to IS using different terms. IS is the Canon term for the feature. Nikon uses VR (vibration reduction). Sony is a brand that includes the feature in its camera bodies, eliminating the need for it on the lenses. However, the Sony lens brand often costs more in general, so it makes up for the fact that you don't have to buy the feature on each lens.

So here's the deal: BETTER GLASS (lenses) = BETTER QUALITY

I'm not saying you can't take good photographs with lower quality lenses, but the quality of a lens definitely reflects in the final photo. Sharpness, color, fringing, distortion, etc will all be better with higher quality glass.

When buying lenses, it makes since to buy a lens first that you will use the most. If you're a nature photographer, you'll want to buy a wide angle first.

Some people don't want to lug around 3 or 4 different lenses for different functions. For this, they have designed lenses with greater focal ranges. For example, Sony now makes a lens with a focal range of 18-250mm. This lens gives you a nice wide angle, and with the turn of a ring, you can be zoomed into 250mm.

Another thing to note is to read a lot of reviews before buying a lens. Better yet, find a photo shop that rents out lenses. This will allow you to test the lens before investing the big bucks. Different lenses have different "sweet spots." A lens will usually be softer at its extreme focal lengths (18 or 250mm on the example above). This lens focal length sweet spot may be between 50 and 200mm. The other sweet spot will be in the lenses aperture. It will likely be softer at the largest and smallest aperture, and sharpest somewhere in between.

With that said, other things to consider are the lenses aperture, build quality, zoom type, color quality, distortion, color fringing, etc.

Some lenses have a fixed aperture. For example my 70-200mm Sigma lens will stay at F/2.8 throughout the entire focal range. My Canon 28-135mm on the other hand has an aperture range of F/3.5-F/5.6. This means that at its widest angle, the lens will shoot as large as F/3.5, but as you zoom, the camera changes the aperture so that by the time you reach 135mm, the smallest aperture achievable is F/5.6. The constant aperture is a great feature, but often cost more money.

Some telephoto zoom components are completely internal, meaning as you zoom, nothing happens on the outside. My 28-135mm on the other hand has external zoom components. This means that as I zoom, the lens itself actually gets longer.

All of these are factors to think about when purchasing a lens. I hope this entry helps with your future purchases. Hey! If you are photographing the Empire State building anytime soon, either stand close to it with a wide angle, or stand far away with a normal or telephoto, and you'll capture the entire building "From the Ground Up!" :)

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Hold Tight

Hey Everybody!

For those not familiar with my schedule, I work 2 weeks on and 1 week off. You'll find that you see less from me on my off week because I have photo-shoots and other things to take care. My job gives me a lot of free time during my 2 week rotation, so you'll see the more in depth posts during those weeks.

A little news from this week...

I've just returned from shooting engagement photos for a friend in Dallas, Tx. I flew down Monday, relaxed the rest of the afternoon, then did the shoot on Tuesday. It looked almost as if all hope was lost due to poor weather, but right in the nick of time, the weather cleared and the sun came out. The majority of my worries was the wind blowing over my umbrella and light stand. Anyways, the shoot was at the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Tx. The couple wanted to do a Southwestern theme. I think it went rather well. Above is one of the photos that I've finished editing for the couple.

A bit more news, I got to shoot senior portraits for six very beautiful women from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. this past Sunday. It was a challenge, for it was my first big group attempt. Similar to the engagement photos, I think it went rather well. 2 photos from that shoot below.

55 photos to edit at about 30 minutes a photo means alot of time spent editing. This and poor internet at home make blogging difficult on the off week.

Stay tuned for the next lesson!

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Photo of the Day, March 20th, 2009

In addition to the instructional entries that this blog is and will be based on, I've also decided to add a few other types of posts. Some ideas are "Photo of the Day," "Contests," "Featured Photographers," "How I Shot This" (basically there will be a photo I've taken, then I'll explain my thought processes, techniques, settings, lighting, etc pertaining to the photograph), and anything else I can come up with that will spice up the blog. Keep an eye out!

Today's post is a "Photo of the Day"

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The Quickest Way To Improving Your Photography!!! COMPOSITION!

Ok, so this post is one that will apply to everyone who uses a camera. That includes DSLR, point and shoot, camera phone, whatever. By following a few basic "rules" of composition, you can drastically improve the way your photos look.

1. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" - Leonardo Da Vinci

2. The Rule of Thirds

3. Level Horizons

4. Natural Framing

5. Lead-In Lines

6. Is that pole growing out of your head?

7. Diagonals, Curves, and Triangles

8. Fill the Frame

9. Look into, not out of the photo.

10. Odd Numbers

11. Break the Rules

1. Simplicity

• keep it simple, stupid (KISS)
• avoid distracting backgrounds
• we've learned that a large aperture opening (small F number) can help blur a background, therefore eliminating distractions!
• get rid of unnecessary elements in your photos (anything that distracts you from the main subject)

If you look at the very beginning of the post, you'll see my example for simplicity. There's no unnecessary distractions. It's very serene and simple. It's not cluttered with objects or subjects that prevent your eye from finding the main subject.

2. The Rule of Thirds

• perhaps the most important rule in photography
• divide your photo into 1/3 sections
• attempt to place your key subject(s) on a third line, or better yet on an intersection of the third lines
• the rule of thirds gives a photo alot more compositional strength and makes it more dynamic
• with portraits, the eyes should be on a third line
• with landscapes, the horizon should be on the third line
• with sunsets, the sun should be on a third line

As you can see, both the bird is on a third line intersection and the water edge is on a horizontal third line.

With the bird centered, the photo loses a lot of interest.

The bird on the third line makes for a greater dynamic photograph.

3. Level Horizons

• this simple compositional rule is one of the most often overlooked
• a slight slant of the horizon or major line of interest can take away so much from a photo
• if you're going for an off level, or diagonal look, go extreme.
• a slight slant shows you missed it in post processing, or can show laziness
• a big diagonal makes a statement and shows that you intended to do it
• it's not always easy to get a perfectly horizontal horizon in camera, however it is a very easy fix in post processing if you have photoshop, photoshop elements, lightroom, or any other basic post processing program

The below photo has a slightly slanted horizon

Even only a slight slant makes a difference

In the following photo, the slant was fixed and the horizon was leveled

4. Natural Framing

• when you have a natural frame, use it to your disposal
• natural framing brings your eye into the main subject
• examples of natural frames may be a window or door frame, the edge of trees, strong lines surrounding the subject
• basically anything that will surround your subject and draw your eye to it

The following photo gives an example of using many natural objects to frame the subject

The edge of the trees, the rock slope, and the fence frames the old broken down shack (main subject)

5. Lead-In Lines

• look for strong or dark lines that lead your eyes into, not out of the photo.
• look for vanishing points
• examples could be: a curvy stream that leads the eye off into the distance, a straight road that disappears into the center of the photo at a vanishing point, a sea shore that curves away into the distance
• if a strong line in your photo immediately shoots out of the edge of the photo, your eye follows it and distracts from your key subject

The below photo is an extreme example of using lead-in lines that meet at the vanishing point

This photo has a curving lead line that leads your eye from the foreground around the edge of the photo to the background area

6. Is that pole growing out of your head?

• it is always strange to see an object in the background that appears to be growing out of someone or something like a mutant appendage.
• an example may be a person with a telephone pole behind him or her that's lined up in such away that it looks like it's shooting right out of his or her head.

In this example the birds lined up in such a way that it looks like this guy (or girl...I'm not sure) has 4 wings.

7. Diagonals, Curves, and Triangles

• it has been said that diagonal lines make for stronger photos, compositionally.
• curves add a dynamic element to photo composition as well
• i can't recall the source of where I first learned this, but triangles are also very strong compositional tools

This photo has a nice mix of curves and diagonals

The following portrait contains a large number of triangles

8. Fill the Frame

• pretty simple...why have unnecessary empty space in a photo if it doesn't add anything to the photo.

Alot of wasted space with boring sky

The frame is filled with little wasted space. Greater detail can be seen in the aircraft.

9. Look into, not out of the photo.

• if your subject is on the left side of the photo, they generally should be looking to the right side of the photo and visa versa.
• if the subject is on the left and is looking to the left edge, your eyes tend to follow where there eyes are going. Your eyes then shoot right off the edge of the photo.

Looking out of the photo (try to stay away from this)

Looking into the photo (typically preferable)

10. Odd Numbers

• even number (2 or 4) are weaker compositionally
• odd numbers (1, 3, 5 etc) add to strong compostion
• for example, 3 candles in a photo would make a stronger composition than 2 or 4.
• this is partially why triangles make strong compositions

11. BREAK THE RULES

• rules are made to be broken
• there's a huge difference in breaking the rules intentionally and not understanding good compostion
• an example of when to break the rules is reflections in water. Instead of putting the main line on a third, symmetry will work better thus allowing for the line to be smack dab down the center
• extreme diagonals can be a good way to break the rules
• shooting down on children or up on adults you exaggerates their height (makes kids look smaller and inferior, and shooting up on adults makes them look far to large). However, this can sometimes be a fun one to break depending on the intended mood of the photo.

Here's an example of the main line down the center and a landscape being turned diagonally.

You are all now on your way to better photos due to your now never ending knowledge of photo composition (well maybe not never ending)

I hope you've enjoyed composition "From the Ground Up!"

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White Balance!------ Tungsten and Sunshine and Snow OH MY!

I'm hoping I can keep this entry shorter than the rest. Again, I'm going to snag my explanation of White Balance from the post about shooting Automatic vs. Manual.

White Balance - refers to the representation of colors in your image. Different light sources cast different colors on your subject. Lets say for example you had a piece of white notebook paper on the table and it was lit by a tungsten bulb (normal lamp). If there was no white balance adjustment, the image will appear to be very warm and orangey in color due to the color cast from the lamp. Your white paper won't look so white. Lets say it was under the light of a fluorescent lamp. These lights cast a blue color on your subject. The image will look cool and blue in color. Who wants blue or orange paper...or anything in between? Well you may want a color cast if you're going for an artistic effect, but by adjusting white balance whether automatically, or manually, the camera will warm up or cool down the image to bring that paper back to a nice white color.

Ok so lets start by going through some of the available white balance settings on many modern cameras.

AWB -Auto White Balance does it's best to detect what type of lighting is present and to correct for it. (ok for most situations, but far from perfect)

- then there's all the manual settings. I'll list the names of most and it should be pretty self explanatory. You're basically just telling the camera what lighting is present.

Sunshine, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Camera Flash

There is also a Kelvin option and a Custom W.B. option.

Kelvin is typically a measure of temperature. In this case how warm or cool the photo is measured in Kelvin.

With photography, the scale we use ranges from approx. 1,000 degrees kelvin (candlelight) to 10,000 degrees kelvin (north sky [blue light]). In between we have sunshine at about 5,500 degrees, household lightbulbs at about 2,500 degrees, early sunlight at about 2,000 degrees, and overcast daylight at about 7,000 degrees. These are just a few of the light sources and an approximation as where they fall on the Kelvin scale. So by choosing the Kelvin option on your camera you can manually set the color temperature of the photo. I typically don't use this, however there are times when I intentionally want to warm up or cool down a photo. You may want to warm up a sunset or sunrise or in the example below I wanted a unique color for my sky so I bumped up the Kelvin to I believe somewhere around 9,500k.

The option I use 95% of the time is custom white balance. To achieve a custom white balance, you first need a white balance target. The one I have is made by Photovision. You'll see a picture of it below. With this type of target you basically just take a photo of the target with the white side closest to your light source, set your WB to custom, then depending on your camera, go into the menu and choose custom white balance. It will likely bring up the last photo you took (of the target) and ask if you want to use this photo to set your custom white balance. You hit ok or whatever on your camera and presto, you've just corrected those incorrect colors with amazing accuracy. There are many other white balance targets on the market. For example, one you put over the end of your lens, aim at the light source, and proceed to follow the same instructions above.

Below is a before and after of a tungsten bulb in my hotel room. I've also included a relatively white sheet of paper to see the effects on white itself. It should be noted that the before photos were taken while using the Auto White Balance function, so as you can see, AWB is faaaarrrr from perfect.

White balance target by Photovision

Before W.B. adjustment

Target photo that we use to set our custom W.B. with

A shot of the target after setting the custom W.B.

After W.B. adjustment

I want to add a quick note about snow. If you're using AWB on snow, the combination of the snows reflectivity and the actual light can trick the camera into rendering the snow blue. In some cases this can be very extreme. If you don't have a WB target, you can point the camera at the whitest patch of snow (avoid shadows), take the photo, and then use it to set a custom white balance with. You're basically telling the camera that what's in the photo is true white. From then on, your snow photos should be much more color accurate.

And there you have it. White Balance in a nutshell. (or errr "From The Ground Up!)

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