Tag Archives: Photography Tips

15 Must See Cheatsheets and Infographics For Photographers

Good day friends.

I hope that you have had as enjoyable a Monday as you could possibly have. It’s hard to ease back into a week after a gorgeous weekend-isn’t it? But we do what we can to make it better. For me, it is sometimes looking at pictures I took over the weekend or perhaps even reading through blogs and posts. When looking around, I usually find something that makes me chuckle, makes me mad, makes me sad, and sometimes ponder a question or think about a subject and contemplate on it.

Every once in a while, I stumble across information that is just incredible and must share (most of it not on this blog but through facebook or twitter). However, as you are keenly aware, I am very hesitant to plug anyone else’s products or services, or even their information for that matter on my own blog. I don’t want my blog to become a message board for others to peddle their wares or a cornerplace for spam and junk. But when I do find something that is worth sharing to my audience, I first wish that I had come up with it myself 🙂 but then I want to give credit where credit is due and share that information.

Such is the case with this tidbit of information: 15 Must See Cheatsheets and Infographics for Photographers. Click on the link below to go to it.

15 Must See Cheatsheets and Infographics For Photographers

There is a lot to know when it comes to photography, everything from color temperature to depth-of-field, from tonal range to the 3 elements to exposure, and everything in between. This post does a wonderful job of graphically illustrating some of those various topics.

I strongly encourage you to take a look and glean whatever information you can.

Blessings to you (and enjoy the remainder of your day),

Chris.

 

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Macro Photography Extension Tube Review

Back in April, I posted a tip about cheap macro photography. Well, I broke down and had to try it myself. Not owning a Macro lens, I purchased a series of extension tubes and some close-up filters for my 24-105mm Nikkor lens.  The results? Mixed.

This particular post is about the macro extension tubes I purchased: Vello Auto Extension Tube Set for Nikon cameras. You can purchase them at B&H Photo for $79.95 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/787224-REG/vello_ext_nd_auto_focus_ext_tube.html)

I am posting here a series of photographs that I took using my Nikon D800 DSLR camera and a variety of lenses. I used a 50mm, a 70-200mm, a 24-105mm (all Nikkor) and a Tamron 28-75mm. And for the most part, I tried to photographs flowers in the garden, which posed numerous challenges such as lighting and wind. Over the course of the 3 days I tried to photograph, I could not get the wind to cooperate–it would just not stop blowing. That is until I put everything away. Another challenge that I had was the precise aiming of the camera and lens while on the tripod. You see, my tripod is just not designed to fine tune height and direction.  And of course, I had to do this with all the extension tubes on the camera.

The next test was to remove two of the tubes and use just the 50mm Nikkor lens. These results were much more satisfactory, although I could not get the zoom I want. Exact focus is an issue that must be dealt with too. Of course, read any text on macro photography and focus and Depth-of-Field will always be an issue. The answer: focus stacking, that is taking multiple exposures with different focal points and then combining those photographs in Photoshop or another program (that subject is out of scope for this blog).

Now, keep in mind that I did not try just one of the elements on any of my other lenses, just the 50mm.

Light is another issue that must be considered. Even though I was shooting in full daylight, I had to pump up my ISO to 800. And even though Vello claims that the lens info will be passed onto the camera thus being able to I found that my camera’s metering got somewhat out-of-whack and I had to make adjustments to exposure.

I was pleased with the results-I mean what more could I ask for for $80. I would still like to try a true macro lens, but I think that I will wait a while before shelling out the bucks to buy one and just make use of these tubes.

So the photographs posted below, the flower photographs are with the combined use of the 3 tubes, while the remainder are with just the 12mm tube. The only adjustments I made to these photo’s are exposure, contrast, a bit of sharpening and noise reduction. I did not crop any of these so you can get a sense of the magnification.

Next blog post will be about the close-up filters.

Blessings,

Chris

P.S. The photograph of the dogs eye has the camera reflection of Lynette digging in the garden. Awesome!

Posted in Landscape and Nature Photography, Photography Tips & Techniques Also tagged , , , |

Fireworks 2013

So for years I’ve always posted and reposted tips on getting great firework photographs and have yet to post any of my own (that is without having to dig through the archives). This year was going to be different-a trip out to the big firework display with lots and lots of new and exciting photo’s to post. But, the dogs wouldn’t hear of letting us go away. If any of you are aware, the last 3 years have been especially challenging for us with keeping our animals under control during the days leading up to and following the holiday (they have escaped the yard the last couple of years and have been lost and gone for hours and hours). So once again we were forced to be at home.

Nevertheless, there are usually plenty of opportunities to get cool photographs of fireworks around your own house. The pictures I post here are just a few of the ones that I shot just around my own abode. Ok, they are not as spectacular as those you might capture at a large fireworks display, but still cool.

Anyway, enjoy and perhaps next year we can post some photographs from a larger display.

Blessings,

Chris

P.S. If you are an individual that likes to set off fireworks around your house, please be responsible and clean up your mess. Lynette and I took a walk around our neighborhood yesterday and both of us were disgusted at the amount of firework trash left to rot in the street. Do the right and responsible thing and clean-up after yourself please. Your neighbors will appreciate it

Posted in Event Photography, Photography Tips & Techniques Also tagged , , , |

7 Ways to Combat Photographers Block

I am stuck in the middle of some serious photographers block. Winter can do that to you! Not a lot of clients, gray and rainy skies, shorter days, etc. all leave one wondering what-in-the-heck to shoot. And if you live it in a city like I do-extremely boring-there is never anything going on around town to provide great opportunities to shoot (ok extremely boring city is debatable at a few times each year). So its natural to fall into the photographers equivalent of “writers block.”

I think that every photographer goes through this from time-to-time. It’s how you deal with it that separates us from the casual photo buff. For me, I fall into training mode and take the opportunity to brush up on the fundamentals or learn a new skill. This year, I am learning HDR photography and am excited to jump into spring and summer with this new skill (I’ll post a few practice photographs in a little while).

Well, when scouring the net looking for some inspiration, I found another blog post on this same phenomenon. I liked it so much, I thought that I would link to it to let you read it too. Click on the link below for that post.

http://500px.com/blog/553/7-ways-to-combat-photographer-s-block

In it, the author gives seven specific things to do to combat block. Those are:

7) collaborate with others;
6) go somewhere new;
5) shoot technical photography
4) shoot street photography
3) shoot feelings;
2) find a color;
1) Just go out and shoot.

I am not going to rewrite here what’s pointed out in that article, with one exception: Just go out and shoot. Many times, just walking up and down the street and seeing something interesting (or not) can inspire an idea. Shooting something random or within your line of sight, no matter how interesting or dull, can lead you to somewhere unintended.

And if nothing else, shooting gives you the opportunity to sharpen your skills.

Blessings and happy shooting.

Chris.

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What Makes a Photographer a Professional?

Is it just a nice camera? Or perhaps something more? This is a question that I have been asking for a number of years as I see more and more “amateurs” entering the market place and calling themselves professionals.

First and foremost, a nice camera does not make you a professional photographer. Just as a nice set of kitchen knives does not make one a master chef, buying a nice camera will not make you a professional photographer. Certainly, a nicer camera will take a better quality picture than a cheaper version, but I have seen some truly wonderful photographs taken by master photographers using the worst of cameras. Likewise, I have seen some absolutely horrendous photographs taken by amateurs and hobbyists using top-notch equipment. Therefore, it takes something more than just a nice camera.

Having said that, there is a place for proper equipment. Having the right camera, the right lenses, the right lighting equipment goes a long way to call oneself a professional. And a true professional will work withing the boundaries of their equipment and the circumstances to make their photographs the best. There is nothing worse than someone would doesn’t know the boundaries of what their equipment will do and won’t do and try to make a situation work regardless.

Several years ago, a couple buddies of mine were getting married (different weddings) and they didn’t want to pay too much their photography-so they sought out and found a “cheap” photographer. Both of these photographs had no idea what the heck they were doing and were trying to take their “formal” shots in a dark church using their little camera flash. The result-disastrous! The photographs were some of the worst formals I have ever seen. With the exception of central figures being overexposed in every photograph, the remainder of the subjects were dark and looked to be standing around in a dark room.

A professional photographer would have known what to do in this situation. The easy solution would have been to have the right lighting equipment, but excluding that they could have selected a better and more evenly lit area to take their formal photographs. Or using a tripod, these photographers could have adjusted their camera in a manner to make the formal shots more acceptable. (Note: neither of my buddies exercised their option to create an album of their wedding photographs since they were so bad).

A photographers eye is probably the single biggest fundamental quality that goes into making one a professional. Certainly, anyone can take a decent photograph. And as one of my mentors likes to say, “with today’s DSLR and the ability to “machine-gun fire” your camera, everyone is bound to take a good photograph now and again.” However, it is knowing when to press the shutter button, knowing how to compose (and sometimes pose) the subject, knowing details like your depth-of-field and how to make the adjustments to get that image out of your mind and onto the image sensor is what makes the difference.

“Chimping” is an expression that a lot of photographers use to describe one of two things: the instant review of a digital photograph on a camera viewfinder (followed by some verbal expression to express a positive emotion) or the action of an amateur following a professional around and shooting over the professionals shoulder.  It’s the latter that I want to talk about.  In this, the professional does all the work of composing the shot, posing the subjects, adjusting the light, etc. and then someone else steals a shot. First of all, this is not cool! If you are doing it-stop it! We’ve had more shots and many fun surprises ruined by people chimping, stealing shots and posting them on Facebook before we can deliver our finished photographs. Second of all, anyone can get great shot when someone who knows what they are doing sets it up. The real test of a professional is someone who can set it up themself.

Training is another key attribute of a professional. I am not going to spend much time on this as it is fairly self-explanatory, but even master photographers get themselves into workshops and seminars from time-to-time. The aim here is to make oneself better than they currently are-even if they have reached the apex of the industry.

Nothing can substitute for experience. This will include the time one is training to be a photographer, working with another photographer either as an assistant or second camera, and ultimately venturing out on their own. I know that everyone has to start from somewhere, and I don’t begrudge anyone getting a start in the business. Where I draw the line is someone claiming experience when they have none–and believe me, I see this a lot! This is not fair to the photographer, the industry, and most of all the client. That client is expecting someone who knows what they are doing, and it is a travesty to have their event marred by someone who claims to be something they are not.

Proper experience will put the photographer in many different situations, some of which will require quick thinking and problem solving. Proper experience will show a photographer their strengths and highlight their areas to improve. And proper experience will ultimately make that individual a true professional.

There is some debate in the photographic community as to whether or not product offerings should be part of the equation. On one hand, a real professional will have access to good printers, book and album binders, canvases, and other specialty products that others may not have access to (keep in mind I am not talking about the Costco or Walmart quality prints and canvases and such, but high-quality, professional level suppliers). And on the other hand there are/were many professional photographers that do not use these services to the general public (but could if they wanted). Either way, your garden variety amateur will not have the access to the types of products and services that professional will, so I leave it up to you to decide if that is an important factor.

Professional ethics, or a ‘code of conduct’ is an area that is often overlooked today. Many times, if one were to ask someone whom they are doing business with or intend to do business with what their own personal business ethics might be, more times than not you would get a blank stare or some non-thought-out answer such as “be fair, be courteous.” But ethics is something than that-something that everyone really needs to be concerned with-and we are! Our code is as follows:

  • We will conduct all business transactions with honesty and integrity. We will treat each customer with respect, making sure they fully understand the services for which they have contracted. I will regard fellow photographers and other trade professionals with respect.
  • We will strive at all times to produce work of the highest possible quality.
  • We will constantly advance and improve our skills as a professional photographers. Further, we will share our knowledge with fellow photographers, students, and others who aspire to become professional photographers, so as to attempt to raise the standards of the industry.*
  • Engage in fair and honest business practices, adhering to local, state/provincial, or federal laws and rules.
  • Use dependable equipment and accessories, which I will maintain in good working condition. I will also maintain and have available back-up equipment, wherever possible.
  • We will conduct ourselves with grace and professionalism at any House of Worship, or other facility, that we enter. It shall be our goal to establish a positive working relationship with other professionals and clergy. My attire and demeanor shall be appropriate to the dignity of the occasion.

So hopefully you can see that being a professional photographer is more than just owning a nice camera. As the saying goes, “owing a camera will just make you the owner of a camera-it doesn’t make you a photographer.” Certainly, equipment has a place, but knowing how to use that equipment properly, what your strengths and limitations are, how to think and successfully overcome obstacles, training and experience, and respectfully and fairly working with and within the photographic community are all factors that make one a true professional.

I hope that you found this posting helpful. If you are searching for a photographer, maybe it will give you something to think about before hiring “uncle charlie” for your event and if you are a photographer, aspiring or otherwise, my hope is that will challenge yourself and portray yourself in the marketplace as yourself and not as something you are not.

Blessings,

Chris.

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Learning to Shoot With Film Can Help Improve Your Digital Photography

I love this line: owning a camera will only make you the owner of a camera-it doesn’t make you a photographer! But how many people believe they are a photographer just because their digital image turned out good or that there actually is an image to begin with? Too many, in my opinion. They may be able to turn their camera on and push the shutter button, but that doesn’t make you a photographer in the “real meaning’ of what photography demands.

Possessing skills to become a better photographer requires a great deal of knowledge and the best place to start your learning may be learning about film photography. A good understanding of film will teach you about proper lighting, contrast, color balance, tones, etc. As a film photographer, you are required to think before you snap your shot and you have to get it right. If you don’t, unlike digital photography it could be days or weeks before you find your error. And the amount of money spent on film and processing, not to mention the cost and embarrassment of a blown photo shoot can be quite expensive. You have to get it right!

But if you are serious about photography and desire to become a better photographer, learning and studying film photography will help you become stronger. The more you learn, the better you will become. Your images will not only be stronger, but perhaps more creative and memorable!

Happy shooting,

Chris.

 

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Shooting JPEG or Raw

First and foremost, if you have to ask yourself which format then shoot JPEG! However, for those that need more information, hopefully this post will help explain some of the differences and you can choose from there.

RAW format is often a proprietary format of a particular camera make (Nikon will be different than Canon, which will be different from Sony, etc.). RAW files hold all the RAW data captured by the camera. RAW digital files contain raw data that is uninterpreted and unaltered. RAW files can be thought of as digital negatives and are a pre-production starting point.

The JPEG format compresses image data into a smaller file size. In theory, a JPEG file contains less data as it discards whatever picture information it deems as “not needed” (how much depends on the specified size and the compression/quality settings) than an equivalent RAW file. JPEG is able to closely reproduce an image once fully loaded.

So in determining whether you should use JPEG or RAW as your preferred format of choice, you need to ask yourself two key questions.

1. What are your goals as a photographer? Essentially, you’ll need to select the right file format to match the following: your output goals (i.e., are you printing your photographs or do they stay online), your available computer storage space, your computer and software capabilities, the amount of time you are willing to spend with each photograph you take, and your technical comfort level.

2. How comfortable are you with editing your images on a computer? Assessing your technical skill level behind the camera and behind a computer is a key factor in deciding your format. Many professional photographers are technically excellent and rarely need to make any edits to their photographs, while many new photographers will need to ability to correct exposure, white balance.

So what are the benefits vs. disadvantages of using either format?

Camera RAW file holds all the data captured by the camera thereby providing more data in which to apply any edits without sacrificing quality. RAW software allows you to make (some) adjustments to the images such as exposure, white balance, contrast, saturation, noise reduction (limited). And RAW can easily be output to various sizes without sacrificing image quality. However, RAW files take up much more space on your memory card and hard-drives. RAW files always require some post-processing in photo editing software. RAW files must be converted to a printable or acceptable on-line viewing format. RAW software takes effort to learn how to use. And finally, computer processing time is much longer with RAW than with other formats.

The alternative to RAW format is JPEG (JPG).

JPEG is a widely used format and is used in a wide variety of programs (including the ability to view online). JPEG’s take up much less space on your hard-drives and memory cards (thereby allowing for more pictures on a card than one that contains RAW files). JPEG’s don’t need to be converted and are easily loaded into all image editing programs. And yet, despite those benefits JPEG has some drawbacks. First, JPEG is a compressed format and thus certain data is lost when the image is captured (data lost can include color saturation, range, sharpness). JPEG’s are a one-time interpretation of the subject based on the current settings of the camera; it is not possible to change the settings and create a new file based on those as you can with RAW.  Creating larger prints than current settings allow for can create less than ideal results. Artifacting can be present in images because of compression.

So which format is better for me to use? Well, that comes down to a personal choice for you, even though some photographers may feel strongly towards using one format over another.  Personally, I use both depending on the circumstances and the camera I am using. For all my professional shoots where I use a DSLR, I always shoot RAW as it gives me some latitude in making adjustments and creative edits. For my daily snapshots, where I am using a point-and-shoot camera, even though I have the ability to shoot RAW I choose JPEG.

I hope that this helps you understand the difference between the two formats a little and helps you make a wise choice. If you are shooting JPEG, give RAW a chance provided that you have the software to process your images. And if you are shooting RAW and really don’t need to, switch back to JPEG and save yourself a little bit of time and money.

Blessings,

Chris.

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Understanding Exposure

When I talk to people about photography, most are confused by what exposure means. No, I’m not talking about getting your face in front of others like celebrities do, but rather making sure that your camera has correct amount of light passing through the lens to strike the film or digital sensor. Essentially, there are three pieces of settings on your camera that need adjusting to make sure that your exposure is correct: aperture, shutter speed, and camera ISO.

Now its not my intention to explain all three in this post-I will save that for future posts. But I wanted to turn you on to a book that I found a few years back that does a marvelous job of explaining it (I don’t normally plug others work but I found this book well worth it). It is called “Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with any Camera” by master photographer Bryan Peterson. Bryan does a wonderful job of explaining the three pieces of the exposure puzzle (including concepts such as depth of field and infinite sharpness) and challenges the reader to demonstrate mastery over the concepts with their own personal photo projects.

You can find Bryan’s book at most bookstores and online at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307061446&sr=8-1).

Happy shooting.

Blessings,

Chris.

P.S. I do not get anything from my endorsements of any product or service. I simply offer my thoughts and opinions based on my own personal experience.

 

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Using your Flash for Better Pictures

One of the most common questions that I’m often asked is how to I get better pictures with the flash on my camera. Well, my friends, I am here to say one thing…take your camera off automatic!

Automatic ExposureThe automatic setting on your camera is great for everyday brainless photography (such as snapshots or photos where you may not have the opportunity and/or time to make adjustments to the camera), but it’s a bad choice for taking better photographs than you would normally get with flash. That is because the camera will expose the sensor for the amount of light that the flash puts out, usually rendering all the surroundings underexposed, balancing the colors for the color temperature of the flash and making the photograph look one-dimensional and flat. The result is usually a relatively ugly photo (see the example on the left).

In this example, I took my Nikon D80 camera and set it on automatic (I used a Nikkor 50mm f/2.8 lens). I left the ISO at 200 turned on the lamp behind the subject and fired away. The camera set the aperture at f/4.8 and the shutter speed at 1/60 of a second. You can see that while it is not a terrible shot, it is not great either. The background is a bit underexposed and is balanced for the cool color temperature of the flash (giving it more of a blue appearance). If this were a photo of my kids opening their Christmas gifts I would be ok with it (that is a situation where I don’t have time to make continual adjustments), but as a portrait that I might want to do something with (i.e., put in a frame on my desk or hang on my wall), this photograph would be unacceptable to me. It would take me a long time to make the adjustments in Photoshop to this image to give it a passing grade.

The solution is to just take a better photograph. My recommendation is to take your camera off of automatic and set it into manual mode which opens up the options for capturing a better image.

First, increase the ISO in your camera. ISO is basically the sensitivity of the camera sensor to light. The higher the setting, the more light the sensor will capture relative to the other settings. Keep in mind that in most cameras a higher ISO will mean a slightly grainier photograph, but with today’s advancement in sensor technology you generally won’t have to worry about that too much. Next it is essential to open up your aperture (f-stop) to a larger setting usually a small number like f/2.8 (keep in mind that a small f-stop number means a larger aperture opening and a shallower depth of field; a larger f-stop number is a smaller aperture and a greater depth-of-field). Finally, you will need to slow down your shutter speed (something like 1/8th of a second with a tripod).

Now this might take a little getting used to and some adjustments on your camera to get your photo right. If at your settings your camera is blowing out your subject (overexposing the subject) but the background looks ok, then turn down the intensity of the flash a bit (see your camera manual). If your entire picture is overexposed, try decreasing your aperture and/or increasing the shutter speed).

In my example, I increased my ISO to 800, set the aperture to f/3.3 and my shutter speed to 1/20 of a second. The result is a photograph that has better dimension and is color balanced much better. The background is better lit, although my lamp is overexposed I am much happier with this photograph.

And like I said before, it may take some getting used to and some playing around with your camera, so leave yourself with plenty of time and a willing subject. I have attached a video from FroKnowsPhoto that might help explain these concepts a little better. Nevertheless, happy shooting!

Blessings,

Chris.

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Tips for Taking Great Halloween Photographs

halloweenHalloween is a great time for photography! Halloween parties, carved pumpkins, costumes and trick-or-treaters are just part of the fun that you will want to capture for posterity. So here are few tips to make sure that you get great Halloween photographs.

1.  Fall leaves make great backgrounds for Halloween photographs. If the weather is cooperative, make sure to capture the full array of colors in those photographs;

2.  Make sure to vary your shooting angles. Something unique may give your photo that extra something to make it fantastic;

3.  Get down to their level. If you are trying to take photos of small children, take the photograph at their eye-level;

4.  Taking photographs of people in costumes? Make sure you take them early when makeup is still fresh;

5.  Take a variety of photographs: some posed, some candids, some groups, and some individual. Make sure the background is appropriate for the subject (i.e., not putting the pretty princess in the “graveyard”);

6.  Play around with the “night mode” on your camera. Many pictures are ruined by harsh flash, try to turn off the flash (if area is appropriately lit), raise your ISO to 400 or 800, turn down your shutter speed, and put your camera on a tripod.

And above all else stay safe!!!

Happy Halloween.

Chris

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