How to Shoot Super Macro Photos

In this post, professional photographer Yanik Chauvin from Yanik’s Photo School shows us how to take stunning super macro photos.

I’m a big fan of macro photography. So much so that when I chose my first ever digital camera, the Nikon Coolpix 4500, it was mostly base on its macro capabilities. And when I purchased my Nikon D70 with kit lens, the next lens in my bag was the Sigma 105mm macro.

After shooting lots of macros, I wanted to push the envelope and see if there was a way to get even closer to my subject (without the need for a microscope). Looking on the net, I found a photographer who did just that! Boy was I a happy camper. I have since been using this technique called “Super Macro” to take some pretty amazing photography.

Ok, before I get into the “how to”, let me first give you a brief explanation of what macro is. It’s basically close-up photography where the image projected on the camera sensor is relatively the same size as your subject. We give this term a ratio of 1:1. Most standard macro lenses give you up to 1:1 ratio. As for super macro, depending on your lens combination, you can usually get a ratio of 2:1 or greater. What this means is that your sensor sees closer than the human eye which leads to some unusual photography.

Equipment

Alright! Let’s look at what we need to achieve super macro photos.

• A macro lens (ideally a prime lens)
• A fast lens (ideally a prime lens with f1.8 or f1.4)
• A step-down ring
• A portable flash
• A tripod

The reasons why I suggest prime lenses is that they’re the sharpest lenses and when you’re staking that much glass in front of your sensor, things then to go soft very fast. The step-down ring should match your lenses’ respective diameters.

There are other ways to setup for super macros, some using extension tubes or teleconverters, but I wanted to keep it simple.

Setup

Now, let’s make it work.

Step 1: Put the macro lens on the camera (in my case it’s the Sigma 105mm)

Step2 : Make sure your lens is on manual focus

Step 3 : Screw the step-down ring onto the macro lens

Step 4 : Turn the aperture dial on your fast lens (in my case it’s the Nikkor 50mm) to it’s widest setting (smallest f-stop #). We need as much light as possible getting in.

Step 5 : Screw the front of the fast lens onto the front of the macro lens.

Step 6 : Put your camera on manual focus

This is what the setup should look like.

The reason I added the tripod and the flash in the equipment list is that, since there isn’t a lot of light making it to the sensor, you’ll either need a long shutter speed or more light.

You’ll notice that your depth of field (DOF) is extremely small (roughly 1 or 2mm) so things get blurry very fast. Make sure your subject isn’t moving or else you’ll be out of focus. If you insist on doing this hand held, exhale before you press the trigger… you might get lucky. ;-)

Being so close and having such a small DOF is a great combination for fun abstract photography. Use you imagination and have fun!

As for the flash, you’ll have to trigger it off camera because of the length of the combined lenses and the proximity of the subject to the lenses.

Here are some samples images as examples.

Morning frost on my canoe.

Orange Hawkweed

Daisy

Wolf Spider (if you look close enough, you’ll see my lens in its eyes!)

Key Ingredients for Black and White Images

Photo by Maurizio Polese

Digital Camera Magazine (UK) has a useful feature in their October issue on Black and White photography. It contains a lot of good information - but one of the topics that they cover was on how to ’see in black and white’.

In it the author shares 4 ‘key ingredients’ of that will help you to visualize whether a scene will work as a black and white image or not. The titles below are from the article - the thoughts are mine (and I’ve added one of my own tips too).

1. Look for Contrast

One of the elements that can give interest to a black and white shot is contrast. Because you can’t use color to distinguish one element of your image from another the tonal variances become all the more important. This doesn’t mean you need to look for stark contrasts in every shot you want to convert to black and white - the subject matter will come into play here - but you should ponder how the contrast will come into play when composing your shot.

2. Wait for the Right Light

Linked to contrast, the lighting in a black and white shot can be very important. For example - h3 or direct lighting will often add to contrast. Side lighting will reveal any texture that a subject might have (and in portraits will accentuate features) and light from any one direction will create shadows. All of these techniques can add interest to a black and white image - however they can also be distracting - so play with light with care.

3. Shapes and Patterns

Patterns or shapes that can sometimes almost go unseen in color (due to the color itself drawing attention) can come alive in a black and white shot. Black and White shots that rely upon pattern can often take on an abstract quality.

4. Capture Texture

I’ve already mentioned this above when talking about side lighting - but revealing the texture of a subject can add a new dimension to an image. The sidelight does this by creating shadows.

A Tip for Black and White Landscapes

Photo by Maurizio Polese

One more quick tip of my own for those wanting to try black and white landscape photography:

When shooting black and white landscapes look for ‘active skies’. I was given this advice by a photographer a few months ago who showed me some examples of his own black and white landscape work. The skies in his images were breathtaking with wonderful cloud formations and what often looked like storms about to break. Having skies with so much ‘action’ in them added mood and a really dynamic look and feel to his images. Without this active element the images looked rather empty and dull. I think the same principle could be applied to most types of black and white images that have large parts of them dominated by any one thing. If a large part of your image is all the same tone the image can look quite lifeless (unless of course you’re going for a more minimalist look.

Darren Rowse

Shooting Landscapes with Longer Focal Lengths

One of the simpler tips that I would suggest for those wanting to add a little variety to their landscape photography is to shoot with longer focal lengths.

Image by straightfinder - focal length - 300mm

While the majority of landscape photography is done with wide angle lenses (and rightly so - it’s a great way to capture to dramatic wide vistas) it can be very effective to take a lens with a longer focal length with you next time you set out to capture a scene.

Longer focal lengths can be particularly effective in those over-photographed locations where images can end up looking a little cliched. They’re also great for capturing patterns and layers on the horizon that often go unnoticed in landscapes shot with a wide lens.

A quick tip for those shooting landscapes with longer focal lengths - make sure you use a tripod. With longer focal lengths, any camera shake or movement will be amplified. The longer the lens the more noticeable it will become. So secure your camera and consider using a remote shutter release of some kind.

Image by Ivarth - focal length - 200mm

By Darren Rowse

11 Surefire Landscape Photography Tips

Photo by Auto matt

My first love in photography when I first got my trusty old Minolta SLR as a teenager was landscapes. There’s something about getting out in nature with the challenge of capturing some of the amazing beauty that you see. Perhaps it fits with my personality type - but I loved the quietness and stillness of waiting for the perfect moment for the shot, scoping out an area for the best vantage point and then seeing the way that the light changed a scene over a few hours.

While I don’t get as much time as I’d like for Landscape Photography these days - I thought I’d jot down a few of the lessons that I learned in my early years of doing it. I’d love to hear your own Landscape Photography tips in comments below.

Landscape Photography Tips

1. Maximize your Depth of Field

While there may be times that you want to get a little more creative and experiment with narrow depth of fields in your Landscape Photography - the normal approach is to ensure that as much of your scene is in focus as possible. The simplest way to do this is to choose a small Aperture setting (a large number) as the smaller your aperture the greater the depth of field in your shots.

Do keep in mind that smaller apertures mean less light is hitting your image sensor at any point in time so they will mean you need to compensate either by increasing your ISO or lengthening your shutter speed (or both).

PS: of course there are times when you can get some great results with a very shallow DOF in a landscape setting (see the picture of the double yellow line below).

Photo by hkvam

2. Use a Tripod

As a result of the longer shutter speed that you may need to select to compensate for a small aperture you will need to find a way of ensuring your camera is completely still during the exposure. In fact even if you’re able to shoot at a fast shutter speed the practice of using a tripod can be beneficial to you. Also consider a cable or wireless shutter release mechanism for extra camera stillness.

3. Look for a Focal Point

All shots need some sort of focal point to them and landscapes are no different - in fact landscape photographs without them end up looking rather empty and will leave your viewers eye wondering through the image with nowhere to rest (and they’ll generally move on quickly).

Focal points can take many forms in landscapes and could range from a building or structure, a striking tree, a boulder or rock formation, a silhouette etc.

Think not only about what the focal point is but where you place it. The rule of thirds might be useful here.

Photo by OneEighteen

4. Think Foregrounds

One element that can set apart your landscape shots is to think carefully about the foreground of your shots and by placing points of interest in them. When you do this you give those viewing the shot a way into the image as well as creating a sense of depth in your shot.

5. Consider the Sky

Another element to consider is the sky in your landscape.

Most landscapes will either have a dominant foreground or sky - unless you have one or the other your shot can end up being fairly boring.

If you have a bland, boring sky - don’t let it dominate your shot and place the horizon in the upper third of your shot (however you’ll want to make sure your foreground is interesting). However if the sky is filled with drama and interesting cloud formations and colors - let it shine by placing the horizon lower.

Consider enhancing skies either in post production or with the use of filters (for example a polarizing filter can add color and contrast).

Photo by hkvam

6. Lines

One of the questions to ask yourself as you take Landscape shots is ‘how am I leading the eye of those viewing this shot’? There are a number of ways of doing this (foregrounds is one) but one of the best ways into a shot is to provide viewers with lines that lead them into an image.

Lines give an image depth, scale and can be a point of interest in and of themselves by creating patterns in your shot.

7. Capture Movement

When most people think about landscapes they think of calm, serene and passive environments - however landscapes are rarely completely still and to convey this movement in an image will add drama, mood and create a point of interest.

Examples - wind in trees, waves on a beach, water flowing over a waterfall, birds flying over head, moving clouds.

Capturing this movement generally means you need to look at a longer shutter speed (sometimes quite a few seconds). Of course this means more light hitting your sensor which will mean you need to either go for a small Aperture, use some sort of a filter or even shoot at the start or end of the day when there is less light.

Photo by 3amfromkyoto

8. Work with the Weather

A scene can change dramatically depending upon the weather at any given moment. As a result, choosing the right time to shoot is of real importance.

Many beginner photographers see a sunny day and think that it’s the best time to go out with their camera - however an overcast day that is threatening to rain might present you with a much better opportunity to create an image with real mood and ominous overtones. Look for storms, wind, mist, dramatic clouds, sun shining through dark skies, rainbows, sunsets and sunrises etc and work with these variations in the weather rather than just waiting for the next sunny blue sky day.

9. Work the Golden Hours

I chatted with one photographer recently who told me that he never shoots during the day - his only shooting times are around dawn and dusk - because that’s when the light is best and he find that landscapes come alive.

These ‘golden’ hours are great for landscapes for a number of reasons - none the least of which is the ‘golden’ light that it often presents us with. The other reason that I love these times is the angle of the light and how it can impact a scene - creating interesting patterns, dimensions and textures.

10. Think about Horizons

It’s an old tip but a good one - before you take a landscape shot always consider the horizon on two fronts.

• Is it straight? - while you can always straighten images later in post production it’s easier if you get it right in camera.
• Where is it compositionally? - a compositionally natural spot for a horizon is on one of the thirds lines in an image (either the top third or the bottom one) rather than completely in the middle. Of course rules are meant to be broken - but I find that unless it’s a very striking image that the rule of thirds usually works here.

Photo by curious_spider

11. Change your Point of View

You drive up to the scenic lookout, get out of the car, grab your camera, turn it on, walk up to the barrier, raise the camera to your eye, rotate left and right a little, zoom a little and take your shot before getting back in the car to go to the next scenic lookout.

We’ve all done it - however this process doesn’t generally lead to the ‘wow’ shot that many of us are looking for.

Take a little more time with your shots - particularly in finding a more interesting point of view to shoot from. This might start with finding a different spot to shoot from than the scenic look out (wander down paths, look for new angles etc), could mean getting down onto the ground to shot from down low or finding a higher up vantage point to shoot from.

Explore the environment and experiment with different view points and you could find something truly unique.

By Daren Rowse

Don’t Delete Your Digital Photography Mistakes Too Quickly

A few years ago while on a tour in Morocco with a group of others I sat next to a fellow traveler on a tour bus. He was quickly scrolling through the shots he’d taken on his camera - deleting picture after picture.

I asked him what he was doing and he told me that he was ‘culling’ shots to make more room on his memory card. As I watched him I wondered how much he could tell about the shots he was deleting from his camera’s little 2 inch LCD.

While I understand the feeling of getting to the end of a memory cards capacity when you want to take more shots - if you do have the space on your memory card I would recommend that you don’t delete too many shots while you’re out and about and wait until you get back to your computer to do so.

The reason I suggest waiting is that quite often some of the ‘mistake’ shots can actually end up being some of your best (sometimes in quite a in an abstract sort of way).

When you look at images on your camera’s LCD the photo is obviously quite compressed and you can sometimes not see details that you would when you view it on your computer. There may actually be something quite useful tucked away in the details that you’ll never know about if you delete too quickly.

For example - the picture on this post was taken on the streets in Morocco on that same trip. It was taken on my first little point and shoot digital camera (A Canon Powershot A60). It was actually a complete accident that I took the shot (I thought I was turning the camera off when I was actually pressing the shutter). At first glance it is an out of focus and poorly framed shot (actually it’s that on a second look too) but there’s something about this shot that keeps drawing me back to it.

It won’t win any awards but it is a shot that means something quite powerful to me and which is something that evokes a lot of memories for me.

I’m glad I didn’t join my fellow travellor in his picture cull that day because I’d probably have deleted this one.

By Darren Rowse

5 Tips for Building Your Photography Portfolio

In this tutorial Hawaii photographer Natalie Norton offers 5 tips to building your photography portfolio from the ground up. Image by kk+.

Recently I walked into a friend’s house and saw, framed prominently on her wall, an image I took back when I was building my portfolio. Though the family is absolutely lovely. . .the image. . . yeah, not so much, and I was horrified to say the very least. I kept thinking, “Oh PLEASE NEVER, NEVER EVER tell anyone I took that photo!”

Here’s a type of “What I wish I’d known back then” guide to building your photography portfolio.

1. Shoot for free.

This is completely obvious, so if you haven’t thought of it, please knock yourself in the head with a hockey stick compliments of yours truly. When you’re working to build your portfolio, you need subjects to shoot. Chances are pretty good that you’re working to build said portfolio in hopes that you will be able to get more clients, meaning simply that you don’t necessarily have subjects knocking down your door at this point. So offer your services to select friends and family for free.

2. Charge a minimal fee.

Once you’ve started to get a little buzz around your work with all the probono jazz, start to charge a minimal fee. You’ll get to the point where you’re drowning in shoots because you are the right price. . . $0, and that is how you’ll know it’s time to charge.

Be prepared to feel slightly uncomfortable at first accepting money for your services. I had an exceptionally hard time with this for a million reasons. Just remind yourself that you’re worth it, and then prove yourself right. Now that my sitting fee is 8 times the fee I charged in the beginning . . . I get a big kick out of how difficult it was for me to accept that measly $50.

3. Do a hard edit.

Always, always, always edit down. This is the mistake I used to make. I’d shoot like a bat outa hell, determined to get at least a handful of great shots from each sitting, then I’d deliver nearly all the images to my client on a disk. Thus the hideoderous image framed on my friend’s wall. The image was poorly lit, poorly composed and just plain YUCK. It’s an image that never should have seen the world beyond my computer. Period.

Remember that once those images have been delivered, they’re out there. 10 years from now, when you’re the best photographer the world has ever known, those images may still be gracing people’s walls. . . a very poor representation of your work and perhaps a hindrance to gaining future clients.

Maintain control over your portfolio by remembering that it extends beyond just what you compile in a portfolio album, blog or website.

4. Keep files well organized.

I’m a mom with 3 small boys (yes, I had my third child a month after my first turned 3. . . you do the math, but no matter how you add it up it equals crazy). When you’ve got kids to bathe, meals to prepare, homework to check, laundry to tackle, errands to run and clients to shoot, you have to work very hard to keep things in order. A fail proof system I’ve found for organizing my portfolio goes as follows: from each shoot, pull the images that you feel may be portfolio worthy into a separate file and an external hard drive for back up. Label both the file on your computer and the external drive with the same name. Within the file on your computer (and the one on the external drive if you wish) have sub files categorized by type of photography, ie. portraits, family sessions, weddings, landscape, maternity. . . bla bla bla, you get the picture. Then when you’re ready to compile your best images for a portfolio. . . guess what? It’s done already. Imagine that!

I didn’t do this from the beginning. And trust you me, it is a huge pain not to have a favorites file. . . digging through thousands of files to pick your best work once it comes time to say build a website, does not equal a pleasing way to spend the weekend. And I don’t need to mention the terror and dismay you’d experience should your computer crash without you being backed up!

5. Get an expert’s opinion . . . then be prepared to throw it out.

It’s good to get another respected photographer’s opinion for 2 reasons. 1. They can help you improve by telling you where your images may fall short. 2. They can help you gain confidence because they may see things in certain images that you did not. They may love what you didn’t allow yourself to for whatever reason. It goes back to that whole “we are our own worst critic” thing. Be prepared for the criticism, and be prepared to process it in a healthy, productive way.

Yet, also be prepared to throw it out. I spent a lot of time vying for the approval of certain respected photographer friends, only to find that sometimes their well meaning criticism hindered my ability to identify and define my own style (which is still evolving every day). Now, I have aspiring photographers sending me their work all the time asking me for my opinion, and I always tell them the same thing. “It doesn’t matter what I think.” And ultimately, that is 100,000% true. I will still give photographers my opinion but I always always try to make sure that they understand that ultimately it’s their art. It’s their passion. No one else can define it for them.

So, in the end, it doesn’t matter what I think, or what Annie Leibowitz thinks for that matter, it matter’s what your client thinks, and just as importantly, if not more so, what you yourself think. Always ask yourself this question: “am I proud of this shot?” if the answer is “yes” then it doesn’t matter what anyone else says.

This list is just a handful of ideas from my own experience. Do you have tips for building a photography portfolio? Great, please comment below.

Good luck and happy shooting!

How to Present Your Photographic Portfolio and Get Photography Work

Many of our readers are looking to take their photography from a hobby to something that earns them an income. Today Jonathan Pollack shares some tips on using your portfolio to get photographic work.

You’ve built your photographic portfolio and you feel that you’re ready to present it to a potential customer, vendor, art director, or gallery. You’ve collected hundreds of photos that you think are great and representative of your style. What strategies can help you wow them with your work?

1. Research the person you will be meeting with and their photographic style and background. Think of their perspective when reviewing somebody’s portfolio and the type of photography they would like to see. A photo editor of a fashion magazine will want to see a different type of work than their counterpart at a food magazine. If you cannot reliably – and naturally – envision your style working out for them, you probably aren’t going to be a good fit. They’ll know it, and by the end of the meeting, you’ll know it, too.
2. Have a number of different portfolios that you shop around. An engaged couple is going to want to see primarily engagement and wedding photos, not newborns or corporate headshots. A band is going to want to see music- and band-related images. While I feel that it’s always fine to show some breadth to anybody you meet with, I make sure to show depth in specific areas in each portfolio.
3. You went through your portfolio, right? Good, now review it again. If you think an image isn’t perfect, either make it perfect or remove it from your portfolio. Spend some time grouping images into categories that make sense and present them that way.
4. Don’t forget to refresh your portfolio periodically with new photos. As you work more, you’re going to end up with new favorites, so include them and let less outstanding images drop out of the collection.

Balance in Photography

Photo by e-nikkos

One compositional ‘rule’ (principle) that we’ve not talked much about since starting DPS is ‘balance’.

While it’s a difficult thing to be specific about (it’s not like the Rule of Thirds where you can identify key spots on an image by imagining lines through it) it is a compositional factor worth considering when framing shots.

Perhaps the most effective way of learning about balance is by looking at photos that don’t have it.

We’ve all taken them - shots with strong points of interest on one side of an image and ‘emptiness’ in another area.

I’m not talking about symmetry - images don’t need to be the same on each side - but sometimes images can be improved greatly by having a secondary point of interest counter balancing the main focal point of an image and providing those ‘empty’ spots with a little weight.

Achieving Balance in shots is something that photographers learn over time. The best way to learn it is to scan through some of your older images, looking for those that could be more balanced.

Of course each situation will be different and getting balance in your shots might be achieved by a variety of techniques including:

• cropping (sometimes some post production processing will achieve a lot)
• altering your shooting view point (shooting from higher up or lower down
• zooming (more tightly cropped or wider angles)
• moving an element of your picture (sometimes scenes can be rearranged)

By Darren Rowse

Using Focal Points in Photography

Image by H@Ru

Next time you take your digital camera out and line it up for a shot pause before you press the shutter button and ask yourself:

“What is the Focal Point in this Picture?”

Some other ways to ask the same question might include - What is the central point of interest? What will draw the eye of the viewers of this picture? What in this image will make it stand out from others? What is my subject?

The reason a focal point is important is that when you look at an image your eye will generally need a ‘resting place’ or something of interest to really hold it. Without it you’ll find people will simply glance at your shots and then move on to the next one.

Once you’ve identified a point of interest or focal point you then should ask yourself how you can enhance it.

A focal point can be virtually anything ranging from a person, to a building, to a mountain, to a flower etc. Obviously the more interesting the focal point the better - but there are other things you can do to enhance it’s power including:

• Position - Place it in a prominent position - you might want to start with the rule of thirds for some ideas.
• Focus - Learn to use Depth of Field to blur out other aspects in front or behind your focal point.
• Blur - If you really want to get tricky you might want to play with slower shutter speeds if your main subject is still and things around it are moving.
• Size - making your focal point large is not the only way to make it prominent - but it definitely can help.
• Color - using contrasting colors can also be a way of setting your point of interest apart from it’s surroundings.
• Shape - similarly contrasting shapes and textures can make a subject stand out - especially patterns that are repeated around a subject.

Keep in mind that combinations of the above can work well together.

Lastly - don’t confuse the viewer with too many competing focal points which might overwhelm the main focal point. Secondary points of interest can be helpful to lead the eye but too many strong ones will just clutter and confuse.

By Darren Rowse

Nikon D200 Review

This review of the Nikon D200 was written and submitted by Randy McKown from New Image Photography.

The Nikon D200 made its debut just over 3 years ago and has since been replaced by the D300. However, this doesn’t mean the D200 is completely out of the picture. We’ve been using the Nikon D200 as one of our primary workhorses in the studio for almost 2 years and I can safely say it has proven itself to be a powerful asset. Since the introduction of the Nikon D300, prices on the D200, which was originally priced just under $2000, have dropped as low as $799. This makes the D200 a very tempting purchase for any photographer.

At a quick glance photographers will notice the following features:

• 10.2 million effective pixels
• 2.5-inch TFT color LCD monitor
• ISO range of 100-1600 plus three boost settings to a maximum of 3200
• Shutter speeds from 1/8,000 to 30 seconds including Bulb
• White balance with nine modes and manual fine-tuning
• 11-area MULTI-CAM 1000 autofocus system

First impressions mean a lot to most people. When you hold the Nikon D200 in your hands for the first time, you know you’re holding a top grade camera. With it’s high quality magnesium alloy body, professional design and weighing in at 2 lbs without a lens, you’ll be feeling like a pro before you even fire off your first shot. A heavy-built solid body has always been a major factor for me when purchasing a new SLR and the D200 definitely lives up to those standards.

Too often, photographers tend to overlook white balancing features when shopping for a new camera. As a working professional photographer, I don’t have a lot of time to waste on pointless image processing. I hear a lot of photographers complain about always needing to fix the blue washed out cast produced by their DSLR. Many of those photographers find it hard to believe when I tell them I spend less than 1% of my time correcting white balance. Nikons are known for reproducing vivid colors right out of the camera and the D200 is no exception. It actually uses the same advanced image processing engine as the D2x. This has saved me countless hours in photoshop, giving me more time to actually spend behind the camera.

Looking through the viewfinder, you will notice the D200 has two AF area modes. The Normal Zone (11 area) which is great for stationary subjects and a Wide Zone (7 area) which covers a wider area of the frame and comes in handy when shooting sports, action and any other moving subjects. The D200 has another feature, which has become popular in newer models, and that is the option of overlaying grid lines. This feature can be turned on or off but I recommend taking advantage of it. It’s a great tool to use when applying the rule of thirds, balancing a horizon, shooting architecture and overall composition of the scene.

I personally don’t have much use for high speed shooting in my professional work. However, the 5 fps high-speed continuous shooting did come in handy when shooting my kids during soccer season last year. The D200 allows you to capture high-resolution images at a rapid 5 frames per second in continuous bursts of up to 22 NEF (RAW) or 37 JPEG (fine - large) shots.

When it comes down to it, my main concern is that my camera produces sharp, vibrant, images for my clients. The D200 does just that. You don’t even need to spend a couple grand on a top of the line lens to get it. To prove this, take a look at the images below. Here we have the original image, shot with a cheap $150 Nikon 28-100 zoom. Viewing the image at 100% you can see how sharp an image the D200 can capture even without the aid of expensive glass. Note that this image also has not been given any post-process sharpening.

To sum it up, the D200 provides excellent quality and it’s built to last. I’m proud to say that after nearly 2 years of heavy full-time usage, the body used to take the image above still looks and functions like it did the same day it came out of the box.

If you’re looking for more detailed information you can find more specs on the Nikon D200 below.Sensor

• 23.6 x 15.8 mm CCD (DX format)
• 10.2 million effective pixels

Image Sizes

• 3872 x 2592
• 2896 x 1944
• 1936 x 1296

File Formats

• RAW (compressed / uncompressed)
• JPEG (3 levels)

Auto Focus

• 11/7 area TTL
• Multi-CAM 1000

AF Area Mode

• Single Area AF
• Continuous Servo AF
• Group Dynamic AF
• Closest Subject Priority Dynamic AF

Exposure Metering System

• Spot AF
• Variable Center-weighted
• 1,005-pixel RGB sensor 3D Color Matrix Metering II

Exposure Compensation

• ±5EV

ISO

• 100 - 1600
• Up to ISO 3200 with boost

Shutter Speeds

• 30 - 1/8000 sec
• 1/250 sec X-Sync speed
• Bulb

Mirror Lockup

• Yes

Continuous

• 5 fps
• 37 / 22 frames (JPEG / RAW)

White Balance

• Auto
• Six presets
• Manual preset (four)
• Kelvin temperature
• Fine tunable

Image Params

• Six preset looks
• Sharpening: Auto, 6 levels
• Tone: Auto, 3 levels, Custom
• Color: 3 modes
• Saturation: Auto, 3 levels
• Hue: -9° to +9°

Viewfinder

• Eyepoint 19.5 mm
• Frame coverage 95%
• Magnification approx. 0.94x
• B-type Bright View Clear Matte II

LCD

• 2.5 ” TFT LCD
• 230,000 pixels
• Removable protective cover

Timelapse

• Yes

Remote

• 10-pin remote terminal

Wireless

• Yes, optional WT-3 transmitter

GPS

• Yes, NMEA 0183 with optional cable

USB

• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed

Storage Media

• CompactFlash (Type I/II)
• MicroDrive

Battery

• Lithium-Ion EN-EL3e (7.4 V, 1500 mAh)

Vertical Grip

• MB-D200

Dimensions

• 147 x 113 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.4 x 2.9 in)

Weight

• 830 g (1.8 lb) without battery

The Nikon D200 is available at Amazon for around $800 USD.

Wedding Photography Tips: From a Celebrants Perspective

Wedding Photography Image by Mance

I’m one of those fortunate people who have been on both sides of the camera when it comes to weddings - as an amateur photographer, as an amateur groom, and as a professional officiant (in my case, clergy).

Putting on my clergy hat (yeah, sometimes the hats look more than a bit strange), I’d like to make some suggestions about how one’s shooting of the wedding can be a whole lot smoother.

First… I realize that you may not have much time… but it’s a really good idea to talk with the officiant before the wedding. Realize that - in churches, at least - the officiant has the final say about what can and cannot happen in the service. Introduce yourself. Find out what their rules are for photography and/or videography. If you can make this phone call or get this visit in before the wedding or the rehearsal, even better. This gives you the chance to explore the space, the lighting… and what photos the officiant will allow. It also gives you the opportunity to explore the possibility of… well… getting the officiant to expand what they will allow.

The rules can be really restrictive. In some situations, you may not be allowed to shoot at all during the service. You may be restricted to using “natural” light only. (”Natural” is in quotes because many worship spaces have a wild number of different bulbs in their fixtures, stained glass, frosted glass, dirty glass, clear glass and candles, all shining right where the bride is going to be standing.) With other officiants, you may be able to use a strobe.

With some, you can shoot at any time - others, not during prayers.

With some, you’re welcome to move as necessary to get the shot - with others, you’re welcome to take what you want, but you need to remain stationary.

A couple of suggestions…

• When you’re meeting with the wedding couple, ask them if they have had an indication of the rules around photography for the service. Whatever they tell you, check with the officiant… it’s a real pain as a photographer to have a list of photos from the couple like, oh, the Exchange of Rings, the Kiss, and the Blessing, only to find out on the day that you aren’t allowed to shoot during the service!
• Remember that, from the officiant’s perspective, the primary purpose of the marriage ceremony/service is for the bride and the groom to share their marriage vows. Everything else (including… and I know this is heresy for us photography types… the pictures) is secondary to that purpose.
• Remember that, from the officiant’s perspective, they and the witnesses need to be able to see and hear the bride and groom as they are speaking. Getting between the officiant and the couple, or the witnesses and the couple may get you a reprimand… or escorted off the premises.
• Remember that sounds… especially that of the mirror going up, the artificial or real shutter sound, various and sundry beeps and/or the motorized movement of film… are greatly magnified by the silent times in religious marriage services - like during prayers. In large spaces, or with couples whose voices do not carry, those same sounds can actually interfere with the congregation hearing the vows.
• Remember that those aisles are pretty narrow. You may not be allowed to set up your tripod. Or your monopod. Or your Gorillia-pod.

As a minister who has officiated at way too many weddings, I’ve got a stack of business cards from photographers. The ones who are willing to work within the bounds that have been set are the ones whose names I’ll pass on to other couples. They’re also the ones that I’m willing to see if I can give some lee-way to, the next time we work together. Sometimes, we’ve even been able to re-work parts of the service to give them a chance at an unobtrusive shot… or a chunk of time to “repeat” parts of the service for photos, afterwards.

I’ve also got a few cards of photographers who I will not allow into the worship space - because they’ve been unwilling to work within the boundaries that have been set to make sure that the couple’s wedding is uninterrupted. They’re the ones I have little difficulty suggesting that colleagues look out for, and stay away from.

A few Comments from Darren

Like Richard I’ve also been in the position of both wedding photographer, minister and groom. It is funny how different a perspective each of these roles have on the photographers job at a wedding.

As a minister I’ve not really had too many horror story with photographers - but have found that the day goes a lot smoother if there is as much communication as possible between all parties. As a minister I was more than willing to take a call from a photographer before an event and even to show them the church in advance of the wedding. I also had a few photographers show up to rehearsals to get the lay of the land and see how the service progressed.

I would also echo Richard’s advice that different churches and ministers have quite different ‘rules’ when it comes to photographers. Some are very strict while many are open to being creative and flexible if given enough warning and approached with respect and in a non pushy way.

I personally would ask photographers to feel free to move around the church as they needed but to remain off the front area and out of the main spotlight - particularly during key moments in the service. I would also put aside time during the signing of documents especially for the official photographer to get their shot and ask other photographers to stay in their seats until the official photographer had had a chance to get their shot.

The last thing I’d say is that many ministers will be able to help you get some great shots because they are the ones that know their church the best. Before the ceremony or in days ahead ask them where other photographers have taken shots or where they usually set up. This is particularly helpful for newer wedding photographers who are not sure at what angle to shoot from. Photographers who have gone before you might help you get some great shots.

I guess the main thing is to communicate, be respectful, allow the minister to do their job without getting in their way and ADD to the experience of the couple on the day. Do all this and I think everyone will have a good experience of your work.

From: digital-photography-school.com

9 Tips for Getting Backgrounds Right

Photo by igglybwiggs

Backgrounds present both opportunities and challenges to photographers. On the one hand they can put a subjects in context and make it stand out in a way that highlights it wonderfully - but on the other hand backgrounds can overwhelm subjects and distract from them.

Some of the common problems that photographers have with backgrounds include:

• Distracting Focal Points - we’ve all seen this happen - we line up a shot of a friend to take as a portrait and just as we press the shutter someone else pops their head up over their shoulder with a silly face. The result is that the real focal point of the shot becomes the face pulling person. This is an extreme example of distracting focal points in the background but it’s something that happens quite a lot.
• Protruding Elements from Subjects Heads - I nearly didn’t include this one but it’s so common that I just had to mention it. When shooting a portrait one of the common mistakes is for some background element to look like it’s sticking up out of a person’s head - like a horn. It’s often trees (as in the photo to the left) but could be anything. These shots can be quite comical but can also really throw the composition of a shot off.
• Competing Lines - if your subject has lines in it and your background also has strong lines they can compete in such a way that the image becomes busy or so that the lines clash with one another.

9 Strategies for Dealing with Distracting Backgrounds

1. Check your Background Before Hitting the Shutter Release

Ok - this strategy isn’t rocket science, in fact you’d think it almost goes without saying - but unfortunately it doesn’t and many of the mistakes that I see in photographs could have been avoided simply by checking the background before taking the shot and taking some sort of evasive action.

Always scan the background of your shots before taking a shot. Look for colors that don’t fit with the rest of the image, bright patches that might distract the eye, lines that clash, people that don’t belong etc.

2. Move Your Subject

This is once again a fairly simple technique but is probably the first thing you should consider. Quite often asking a portrait subject to take a step to the left or right will fix things either by putting the distraction behind them or by putting it out of frame.

Photo by alterednate

3. Change your Shooting Angle

If you have distracting elements in the background of a shot but can’t move your subject another strategy is to move yourself and shoot from a new angle. This might mean rotating around your subject but could also include getting down low to make the sky the background or even getting up high and shooting down onto your subject to make the background the ground.

4. Using Aperture to Blur Backgrounds

One of the most useful things to learn as a way to combat distractions in backgrounds (and foregrounds) is to use the power of your lens to throw the background out of focus using depth of field. What you’re trying to achieve with this technique is a nice blurred background where you can’t really make out what’s going on there.

The easiest way to do this is to use a wide aperture (the smaller the number the wider the aperture). The wider your aperture the more blurry your background should become.

The quickest way to see the impact of this strategy is to switch your camera into aperture priority mode and to take a number of shots at different apertures. Start with an aperture of f/20 and work your way down - one stop at a time. Once you get down to under f/4 you’ll start seeing the background in your shots getting blurrier and blurrier.

5. Using Focal Length to Blur Backgrounds

Another way to help get your backgrounds nice and blurry is to use a lens with a long focal length. Longer tele-photo do help a little to get narrower depth of field (although the amount is less than many think). In actual fact the impact is smaller than it seems and the main reason for the change is that with a longer focal length the subject actually takes up more space in the frame. Lots of arguements have been had over whether focal length impacts this - you can read more about it here and here - I’ll leave it to the experts to discuss the finer points but will say that using longer focal lengths does seem to have some impact and is worth experimenting with.

6. Place Subjects In front of Open Spaces

Placing your subject a long way in front of other objects will also help to make those objects more blurry. For example if you have the choice between shooting your subject standing right in front of a brick wall or standing in front of an open field - the open field shot will have a much more blurred background simply because the brick wall is just centimeters from your subject and inside the focal range whereas an open field stretches off into the distance where everything will be out of focus.

7. Fill your frame with your subject

One of the most effective ways of removing distractions from backgrounds is to remove the background altogether by totally filling the frame with your subject. Get up close and/or use your zoom lens to tightly frame the shot and you’ll not only remove distractions but could end up with a high impact shot as well.

Photo by Keith Morris

8. Make your Own Background

Sometimes there just isn’t any suitable background and so you might want to consider making your own. This could range from buying a purpose built studio background or simply buying some cloth to do the job for you.

I know of one keep photographer who goes out shooting photographic portraits and carries large colored sheets of card with him to put up on walls to act as a background.

The other thing to keep in mind is that in many instances you can move things around in the background of your shots (especially if you’re shooting indoors). For example I was recently photographed in my home for a newspaper and the photographer had me move a number of pieces of furniture during the shoot because they were distracting in the shots. It took a little effort but the impact in the shots was quite incredible.

9. Post Processing

I’m no expert in using photo editing software but there are numerous ways of editing a shot after you’ve taken it to get rid of distracting elements. These can include blurring techniques, actual removing of elements and replacing them and techniques such as selective coloring (ie making your subject stand out by making your background black and white (or at least sucking some of the color out of it).

from: digital-photography-school.com

How to Hold a Digital Camera

One of the common problems that many new digital (and film) photographers have is ‘camera shake’ where images seem blurry - usually because the camera was not held still enough while the shutter was depressed. This is especially common in shots taken in low light situations where the shutter is open for longer periods of time. Even the smallest movement of the camera can cause it and the only real way to eliminate it is with a tripod.

Adding to camera shake is a technique that is increasingly common with digital camera users of holding the camera at arms length away from them as they take shots - often with one hand. While this might be a good way to frame your shot the further away from your body (a fairly stable thing) you hold the camera the more chance you have of swaying or shaking as you take your shot.

Tripods are the best way to stop camera shake because they have three sturdy legs that keep things very still - but if you don’t have one then another simple way to enhance the stability of the camera is to hold onto it with two hands.

While it can be tempting to shoot one handed a two hands will increase your stillness (like three legs on a tripod being better than one).

Exactly how you should grip your camera will depend upon what type of digital camera you are using and varies from person to person depending upon preference. There is no real right or wrong way to do it but here’s the technique that I generally use:

1. Use your right hand to grip the right hand end of the camera. Your forefinger should sit lightly above the shutter release, your other three fingers curling around the front of the camera. Your right thumb grips onto the back of the camera. Most cameras these days have some sort of grip and even impressions for where fingers should go so this should feel natural. Use a strong grip with your right hand but don’t grip it so tightly that you end up shaking the camera. (keep in mind our previous post on shutter technique - squeeze the shutter don’t jab at it).
2. The positioning of your left hand will depend upon your camera but in in general it should support the weight of the camera and will either sit underneath the camera or under/around a lens if you have a DSLR.
3. If you’re shooting using the view finder to line up your shot you’ll have the camera nice and close into your body which will add extra stability but if you’re using the LCD make sure you don’t hold your camera too far away from you. Tuck your elbows into your sides and lean the camera out a little from your face (around 30cm). Alternatively use the viewfinder if it’s not too small or difficult to see through (a problem on many point and shoots these days).
4. Add extra stability by leaning against a solid object like a wall or a tree or by sitting or kneeling down. If you have to stand and don’t have anything to lean on for extra support put your feet shoulder width apart to give yourself a steady stance. The stiller you can keep your body the stiller the camera will be.

Gripping a camera in this way will allow you flexibility of being able to line up shots quickly but will also help you to hold still for the crucial moment of your shutter being open.

Another quick bonus tip - before you take your shot take a gentle but deep breath, hold it, then take the shot and exhale. The other method people use is the exact opposite - exhale and before inhaling again take the shot. It’s amazing how much a body rises and falls simply by breathing - being conscious of it can give you an edge.

Of course each person will have their own little techniques that they are more comfortable with and ultimately you need to find what works best for you - but in the early days of familiarizing yourself with your new digital camera it’s worth considering your technique.

One last note - this post is about ‘holding a camera’ in a way that will help eliminate camera shake. It’s not rocket science - but it’s amazing how many people get it wrong and wonder why their images are blurry.

There are of course many other techniques for decreasing camera shake that should be used in conjunction with the way you hold it. Shutter speed, lenses with image stabilization and of course tripods can all help - we’ll cover these and more in future posts.

from: digital-photography-school.com

Freelancing for your Local Newspaper–Tips to Get you Started

Photojournalism is one of the most challenging, exciting types of photography. As a result, it is also the most competitive fields to break in to.

By Peter Phun

So what do you need to start?

Reliable Transportation

This should be obvious, but it’s intentionally high in this list. All the skills and the best gear in the world without the ability to get on scene is pointless.

Decent Photography Gear

I consider these minimum requirements.

• 2 DSLR bodies is a minimum requirement. Though you may use one, the other is your backup. (at least 8 megapixels)
• a wide angle, a telephoto, a fast 50mm lens, and at least one flash. As to the exact focal lengths, that would depend a lot on what you plan to shoot. Sports shooters need upwards of 300 mm, sometimes even longer lenses depending on the sport.
• a good number of memory cards. If all you’re shooting is jpegs, then you might be able to get away with 4 to 6 4GB memory cards. They’re cheap compared to the past, so don’t sweat it. Exactly how many is hard depends on what you’re shooting. Again sports shooters will require more of this as well.
• a laptop with a WiFi card. The platform Mac or Windows doesn’t matter. Just like for your camera, Nikon or Canon, it’s just a tool.
• **optional Mobile broadband card for laptop**
• Photoshop Elements is a minimum, the full version is nice but unnecessary. Most of the time, all you have time for is saving your jpegs to the newspaper’s specs, attaching captions and then transmitting it to the paper via the internet by either an FTP client or emailing.
• cellphone for communicating with editors at the paper.
• Optional but not vital is a police scanner. I don’t advocate running off and chasing fire trucks and ambulances but sometimes being at the right place a the right time with a camera is all it takes. Ask bystander George Holiday when he shot the video of Rodney King.

One of my former colleagues at the newspaper was a UPS deliveryman. He always had his cameras with him and a scanner. He would “happen” on fires and other breaking news and over time built enough credibility and trust to become a stringer/freelancer and eventually land a job as a staff photographer.

Writing, Reporting Ability

Writing and reporting go hand-in-hand. You may not need to write a full blown news story, but you do need to be able to write accurate descriptive captions. So proper grammar and ability to gather accurate caption information like names and ages is very important.

If you consistently provide wrong information and the newspaper has to print a correction each time, they won’t be calling you back.

Good knowledge of current Events and Sports

If you’re looking to shoot sports, then good all round knowledge of a variety of sports is important. Since popularity of different sports are very regional, I’ll leave it to you to figure that out. Obviously expect to know Australian Rules football and cricket if you’re Down Under, baseball, hockey and American Football if you’re in the US and etc.

In sports expect to know quite a bit about all types of sports even if you’ve never played it.

If you’re covering a tennis match, for instance, do you know how the players change sides on the tie-breaker? And how do they score the game? If you don’t understand how the game is scored, how do you know when the last point of the match is coming up.

Keeping up with news is especially important. When big names come through your community and you’re on top of it, this is a great way to get your foot in the door.

The newspaper may or may not have the personnel to cover everything so your contribution may be welcome. Even if they don’t use your pictures, you’ve made first contact.

Realize these are highly simplified tips. It takes years of hard work and dedication to get into the business and there are college degrees offered in photojournalism.

In my next post, I’ll discuss how to get your foot in the door at a newspaper.”

From: digital-photography-school.com

5 Tips for Travel Photography in China

More images of my trip to China can be viewed here.

Tip 1: Be prepared for low light situations.

Many of the places you go won’t be keen on having a high-powered strobe continuously blasting. Not only is it distracting for everyone around, it also reduces the number of over-priced postcards venues like to sell you on the way out the door. For this reason I seldom travel with a flash for my camera.

Take the space and weight that would have been used for a flash and purchase an extra lens with a large aperture. 2.8 lenses are great and usually do a good job, but some small 1.8 prime lenses are better for low-light situations and can be found for around a hundred dollars.

Realize that the more lenses you have, the more hassle it becomes to pull out your bag in the middle of a situation or performance to switch glass. Do a mental cost/benefit analysis and see what will most benefit your style of shooting.

For this trip I narrowed it down to 3 lenses: 50mm 1.4, 105mm 2.8 and 24-70mm 2.8. In the end I found I could have gotten by with just the last lens mentioned, but there were a few shots I grabbed with the others that probably made it worth the energy required to lug them around.

When shooting the Chinese dancers above and below, even with a nice lens, I found I had to push the ISO all the way to 1000 before I could compensate for camera shake and their movement on stage. You’re images will start to get noisy at that level but you can tweak them a bit in post production with noise reduction software. If that doesn’t work out, noisy images often look great as grainy black and whites.

Tip 2: Keep an eye out for interesting detail shots

It’s easy to get caught up in the grandness of large structures, statues or landscapes, but don’t forget to look around for some interesting detail shots that often get overlooked because of their small size or unassuming nature. As everyone else was listening to a guide relate history lessons I grabbed a few shots of some door latches and handles.

By the end of the trip I had a nice collection of Asian style hardware for possible framing. Often times, the trinkets street vendors are selling, as in these paper Chinese fans, make interesting photographs. Since details subjects like these aren’t normally moving, take the time to experiment with different settings such as with or without the popup flash, changing aperture, shutter, and ISO settings.

Tip 3: Faces, faces, faces

Nothing can compare to a photograph that captures the beautiful emotions of the human face.

Try and get up close and fill the frame with your subject. Be bolder than you normally are — to get those special shots, you may need to step out of your comfort zone. Remember, you’ll never see these people again so don’t be afraid to ask if you can take their picture. (Or just shoot away and assume they are fine with having their picture taken.)

I look for individuals that have uniqueness about them. This old man standing on the side of a river loved posing for the camera and didn’t mind a little tip for his troubles. The two men concentrating over a complex looking board game, on the other hand, had no idea I was photographing them.

Tip 4: Schedule time for photography

Candid photography is great, but good photographs often take dedicating some time on the side.

If you’re traveling with a group, it may be hard to experiment without slowing everyone else down. Try and think of times you can go out exploring with no other purpose than taking photographs. For me this often meant going out after everyone was in their hotel rooms and trying a few night shots. Be creative.

On this image, I didn’t have a tripod but wanted to get a good shot of a police officer standing still as the cars were speeding by. I improvised by using my hotel towel to prop up my camera at the right angle on a nearby wall for a 5 second exposure.

The second image of an old man doting over his beloved pet bird was captured as I wondered down some deserted back alleys hoping to find interesting things to shoot.

Tip 5: Get a good gear bag

Before going to China I decided to get a good gear bag from DPS friends Crumpler. I opted for the Million Dollar Baby primarily for the compact size it offered, but I also liked the unique way the zipper only allowed the contents to be accessible when the bag is off your back.

I felt more secure traveling with expensive camera gear in crowded areas knowing no one could slip a hand in my bag with out me knowing it. There are lots of good options out there, some pricier than others. Try visiting a local camera shop to get a hands-on feel before making your purchase. Other things to look for are bags with built-in rain covers or water resistant zipper seals.

Making photography a key part of your vacations not only lets you come away with great images to remember your trip by, but you increase your skill set as a photographer along the way. Feel free to send DPS some shots taken from your recent travels.

Chas

Chas is a freelance photographer in the Northern Virginia and DC area. See more of his work at www.chaselliott.com.

from: digital-photography-school.com

7 Tips from Professional Fashion Photographer Adriana Curcio

1. Preparation

In my opinion this is the most important bit of advice I can give you. In fact, don’t just prepare, over prepare! I never walk on to a set without having a concrete idea of what I’m looking to achieve. I have books, and books of tear sheets of images of lighting, makeup, hair, styling, posing, editing, etc. It’s very easy to become burnt out as a photographer, but if you have these books of inspiring images to glance through, I can pretty much guarantee something will catch your eye, and a concept or story will begin to develop.

2. It’s Your Concept

Working in fashion, there is obviously a team of hair stylists, makeup artists, and stylists I work with, however, I’m involved in all of it from A-Z. I’m always open to suggestions, and ideas, and love to see what others can bring to the table, but I never hand over the reigns. You cannot let someone else take over your vision. If you do, it will read in your images. You need a very smooth execution of your story in order for your audience to grasp it, so be sure to take control of it.

3. Move and Move some more

I experiment from every possible angle when I’m shooting. I shoot and move, shoot and move. You can’t wait for the shot to come to you, you have to go find it.

4. Be a Director

I direct, A LOT. There are some models that don’t need a lot of direction, and I love to be inspired by what they bring to set, however, I don’t lose sight of my direction. Again, you can’t wait for the shot to come to you, you have to create it.

5. Break the Rules

Whomever said “rules are meant to be broken,” was on the right track. I was taught the correct way to light my subjects, and for a long time that’s what I did. After a few fortunate accidents, I realized there’s something to be said about high contrast, and dramatic lighting. Not everything needs to be lit just so, or be perfectly flattering. Bend and break the rules, and see what you find. You will surprise yourself.

6. Never Stop Shooting

Shoot whenever, and where ever. The second you stop shooting, is the second your “photographic brain” starts slowly disappearing and getting lazy. You start losing your creative energy, and second guessing yourself, then you begin to thinki maybe you’re not good enough, etc. If you keep on shooting, you don’t have the chance to fall into that hole. Once you’re there, it’s hard to dig yourself out! Shoot, shoot, shoot!

7. Confidence

You have to believe in yourself, and your work! The best way to learn is to completely throw yourself into it. You can’t be afraid to screw up! The reality of the situation is that inevitably, you will screw up! But it’s ok, it’s actually wonderful because it’s how you learn. Every time I make a mistake on set, I learn, and know better for next time. My first shoot with clients, I almost walked off set because I didn’t trust myself, and I was so scared of making a mistake, and embarrassing myself. I sat there running through all the possible disasters that could occur, then I shut it all out because I knew if I didn’t shoot then, I never would! The images from that shoot are some of my favorite images to date!

Do yourself a favor and check out more of Adriana’s fashion and editorial photography at www.adrianacurcio.com.

from: digital-photography-school.com

ISO Settings in Digital Photography

Grant (a reader of DPS) asks - ‘I’m confused about ISO. What is the best setting to choose? Should I always choose the lowest one?’

Thanks for the question Grant. Before I attempt to answer it let me give a quick definition of ISO:

What is ISO?

In traditional (film) photography ISO (or ASA) was the indication of how sensitive a film was to light. It was measured in numbers (you’ve probably seen them on films - 100, 200, 400, 800 etc). The lower the number the lower the sensitivity of the film and the finer the grain in the shots you’re taking.

In Digital Photography ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The same principles apply as in film photography - the lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds (for example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower light) - however the cost is noisier shots. I’ll illustrate this below with two elargements of shots that I just took - the one on the left is taken at 100 ISO and the one of the right at 3200 ISO (click to enlarge to see the full effect).

(you can see larger sized images of both shots here for the 100 ISO and here for the 3200 ISO)

100 ISO is generally accepted as ‘normal’ and will give you lovely crisp shots (little noise/grain).

Most people tend to keep their digital cameras in ‘Auto Mode’ where the camera selects the appropriate ISO setting depending upon the conditions you’re shooting in (it will try to keep it as low as possible) but most cameras also give you the opportunity to select your own ISO also.

When you do override your camera and choose a specific ISO you’ll notice that it impacts the aperture and shutter speed needed for a well exposed shot. For example - if you bumped your ISO up from 100 to 400 you’ll notice that you can shoot at higher shutter speeds and/or smaller apertures.

When choosing the ISO setting I generally ask myself the following four questions:

1. Light - Is the subject well lit?
2. Grain - Do I want a grainy shot or one without noise?
3. Tripod - Am I use a tripod?
4. Moving Subject - Is my subject moving or stationary?

If there is plenty of light, I want little grain, I’m using a tripod and my subject is stationary I will generally use a pretty low ISO rating.

However if it’s dark, I purposely want grain, I don’t have a tripod and/or my subject is moving I might consider increasing the ISO as it will enable me to shoot with a faster shutter speed and still expose the shot well.

Of course the trade off of this increase in ISO will be noisier shots.

Situations where you might need to push ISO to higher settings include:

• Indoor Sports Events - where your subject is moving fast yet you may have limited light available.
• Concerts - also low in light and often ‘no-flash’ zones
• Art Galleries, Churches etc- many galleries have rules against using a flash and of course being indoors are not well lit.
• Birthday Parties - blowing out the candles in a dark room can give you a nice moody shot which would be ruined by a bright flash. Increasing the ISO can help capture the scene.

ISO is an important aspect of digital photography to have an understanding of if you want to gain more control of your digital camera. Experiment with different settings and how they impact your images today.

from: digital-photography-school.com

5 Corporate-Style Portrait Techniques

This article exploring Corporate Style Portrait techniques is by Bryan Larson, Liam Richards, and Trenton Lepp from The Binary Crumbs.

Flash photography is a difficult topic to discuss as there are so many different stages where shooters might currently be at.

The process for most people I talk to begins by first learning how to shoot under ambient light, then starting to play with your camera’s built in flash. Soon enough, that special day comes around when you buy your first external flash, which is commonly followed by a long period of shooting with the flash firmly mounted onto your camera’s hot-shoe. A while later, the off-camera hot-shoe cable is purchased allowing the flash to stretch within an arms reach of your camera - most people never get past this stage. For the slightly more aggressive lot, however, the day finally arrives when the tethering bind between flash and camera must be severed.

Much like the severing of the umbilical cord, this will be the day when you are first born into true flash photography. Even here there is room to grow, as another process inevitably starts beginning with wireless, infrared flash communication, and growing into complex studio strobe setups fired by radio transceivers.

As photography exists merely as a byproduct of light itself, it should come as no surprise that the ability to control and manipulate light has grown so far, so fast. Light can now be hardened, softened, bounced, colored, directed, spotted, and widened using a variety of tools readily available in almost every photography store in the country.

If you’re ready to start playing around with multiple flashes, the best place to begin is portraiture as it allows for the most freedom to experiment. There are a lot of lighting guidelines out there that in many cases need to be followed, but I don’t want to rehash the same old setups that have been passed along now for years and years. Today I want to talk about controlling light without constraints; to use your flashes in accordance to your subject, not because a manual told you that that’s how it ought to be lit. To provide some structure though, I’ll narrow the topic down to corporate-style portraiture using two flashes.

Technique #1: The Simple Studio

If you’re using infrared flash communication, most cameras require you to have your master flash locked into the hot-shoe. Not a problem. There’s still a number of possibilities for portraiture that can be achieved by simply moving around your flash slave. One possibility is the ultra-clean, white-background head shot that can be done by bouncing or diffusing your master flash (1) onto your subject, and firing your slave (2) at the wall behind him/her. Paper backdrops are quite inexpensive and work great in these types of instances. The simplicity allows the shots to be easily integrated into promotional material, used on business card templates, for online profiles, and so forth. The example above is one of about 160 shots I took for a single business. The easy setup is imperative when you’re “hammering out” a large number of portraits over the course of days, months, or even years.

Technique #2: Exterior Spaces

Just because you start shooting with multiple flashes, doesn’t mean that your confined to interior spaces and studios. In fact, exterior flash photography can really make your subject stand out from the outdoor background. I personally like shooting at dusk or dawn as it makes for a darker background. Overcast days are good too. For the above sample, you could even use a off-camera shoe cord to pull your master (1) flash to the right with a secondary slave (2) to the left if you were relying on infrared communication. For this shot, two Nikon SB25’s were used - the master flash was angled down on the subject, and the slave was at about head level. If you want your subject to stand out, focus your flash in on them to avoid lighting the background. Alternatively, you could snoot one of your flashes if you really wanted to focus the light. Just expose your camera in accordance to your subject and let the background slightly underexpose.

Technique #3: People and Props

This shot was taken for photojournalism purposes which rely heavily on props and setting to more clearly tell a story. If you’re lighting a subject with a prop, use it to your advantage. Place your subject and prop together in a way that is aesthetically pleasing first and light second. In this case, a relevant scientific machine was used as a prop and placed at an angle to draw attention towards the subject. The master flash (1) was gelled (CTO gel) and reflected into an umbrella to saturate the shot in soft, warm light, while the slave flash (2) was diffused and fired through the machine to cast a slight shadow on the subject in order to further draw attention to his face. Both flashes were Nikon SB800’s and were triggered using Pocket Wizards (radio transceivers).

Technique #4: Confined Spaces, Multiple Faces

Again, this shot was taken for photojournalism purposes. The group was developing a “space elevator” for a NASA challenge. The space elevator couldn’t be photographed, so to further connect with the the story, the team was shot in a real elevator. Now we have a problem: it’s hard enough to fit five guys, one photographer, and a pile of camera gear into an elevator, despite trying to light it and frame it so it’s pleasing to look at. The camera was angled down on the group, and two Nikon SB800’s (1 & 2) were angled up to bounce light off the roof at very low power (1/32 and 1/64). The shutter speed was slowed down to generate motion blur in the background.

Technique #5 - The Close-Up

Corporate head shots don’t always have to be boring studio portraits, and they don’t always have to be head and shoulder shots. If you’re working with a photogenic model, and you have time to do some experimenting, move in for the close-up. In this example, the subject was framed using a fur-trimmed hood. For corporate portraits, I recommend incorporating the business whenever possible. For instance, if you’re shooting a portrait of someone who runs a chain of sunglasses stores, then by all means have them wearing a pair of sunglasses. For this shot, the master flash (1) was used as a soft fill camera right, and the slave (2) was also softened to highlight the subjects face. For close-ups, it’s always a good idea to soften the light as it also makes the skin appear softer and more flawless.

So these are five of literally an infinite number of flash setups. Overall, my intent here is not to explain photographic lighting down to the smallest detail, but to encourage you to think about lighting as something that’s modifiable, experimental and fun without rigid rights and wrongs. So embrace light, play around with it, make mistakes, shoot masterpieces - in the end it all goes to make you a better photographer who’s able to think outside the box. Learn from others, but always be willing to make your style your own. And of course, happy shooting!

from: digital-photography-school.com