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New FTC rule will penalize companies making false ‘Made in USA’ claims on their products

12 Jul

On July 1st, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a new rule that will penalize companies making false or misleading claims about where their products are manufactured. As a result, marketing departments slapping the ‘Made in USA’ label on their products, and advertising them as so, will need to prove that they are ‘all or virtually all’ made in the United States.

This change could affect certain brands in the photography world, including drone manufacturer Autel, who proudly claims certain drones of theirs are ‘Made in the USA, with foreign and domestic parts and labor’ – many of those components being manufactured in Shenzen, China, the same region where DJI, who has received criticism and even been blacklisted for its ties to the Chinese government, produces its popular UAVs.

Even if this new ruling prevents Autel from saying its products are ‘Made in the USA’ on any level, their CEO Randall Warnas told us ‘this has not been something that [Autel has] needed for [its] success, and will be fine however the ruling turns out.’

Autel’s Evo II Dual drone, which it claims is ‘Made in the USA, with foreign and domestic parts and labor.’

There’s an important distinction to be made when labeling a product ‘assembled in America’ as opposed to ‘made in America,’ as this thorough article written by Jeremiah Karpowicz of Commercial UAV Expo explains. Historically, the FTC has struggled to uphold its standards, without being able to dole out consequences. But this latest ruling could change that.

In light of the ruling, we contacted both Autel and DJI for comment. DJI chose not to comment on the matter, but Warnas said:

‘The FTC is doing the right thing by making “Made in USA” mean something, and more clarity on how this can be accomplished is appreciated. Globalization over the past few decades has been accelerated with the Internet and cell phones that keep information at our fingertips at all times. As the world shrinks, we will surely encounter more blurring of these lines that the FTC is trying to address.’

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) initially took effect in 1994. Congress had given the FTC authority to penalize fraudulent ‘Made in the USA’ claims but it would take effect after the Commission issued an official rule. That last part never came to fruition as it turned out to be a bipartisan issue – some in Congress thought those making these fraudulent claims shouldn’t be fined.

‘The final rule provides substantial benefits to the public by protecting businesses from losing sales to dishonest competitors and protecting purchasers seeking to purchase American-made goods,’ said Commissioner Chopra.

The FTC released a notice of proposed rulemaking on June 20th and received over 700 comments—most of them in favor of of the FTC enforcing their ‘Made in the USA’ standards. Commissioners Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, joined by Chair Lina Khan, issued a statement outlining the implications of this new rule. Small businesses, who otherwise may not be able to afford legal recourse from imitators who manufacture products outside the U.S., but claim that they’re ‘Made in the USA,’ will have an advantage now that the Commission can seek civil penalties up to $ 43,280 per violation.

‘The final rule provides substantial benefits to the public by protecting businesses from losing sales to dishonest competitors and protecting purchasers seeking to purchase American-made goods,’ said Commissioner Chopra. ‘More broadly, this long-overdue rule is an important reminder that the Commission must do more to use the authorities explicitly authorized by Congress to protect market participants from fraud and abuse.’

In order to legally display a ‘Made in the USA’ label on a product, businesses must adhere to the following three components:

Final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States,
All significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States and
All or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States.

It’s unclear whether these new guidelines would prevent Autel from continuing to claim its products are ‘Made in the USA.’ Autel didn’t confirm whether or not this will change any of its plans going forward, but it will undoubtedly make Autel and others think more critically about applying the ‘Made in USA’ label going forward when global parts are used to manufacture the hardware, considering there’s now a financial penalty hanging over their heads.

The Made in the USA Labeling Rule, which will be published in the Federal Register, can be viewed here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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The RUHAcam is a ‘retro-style’ digital camera made with the Raspberry Pi HQ Camera module

03 May

When Raspberry Pi announced its 12.3MP High Quality Camera module in April 2020, it opened up a whole new world of photo-centric DIY projects. One such project that’s come as a result of its release is the RUHAcam, a ‘retro-style’ digital camera made from scratch by Ping-Hsun ‘penk’ Chen and Ruha Cheng.

The RUHAcam is built around a Raspberry Pi Zero W connected to a Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera module, which accepts C and CS mount lenses. Other features include a built-in 2,000mAg Li-Pi battery, a 2.2” TFT display that serves as the viewfinder and a 3D-printed case clearly inspired by SLR cameras from the past. The camera is still a work in progress, but is fully functional and captures rather impressive images when used with the 16mm lens ‘penk’ and Cheng attached to it for the following sample photos:

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In addition to sharing detailed instructions on how to make your own RUHAcam at home, ‘penk’ and Cheng published the 3D design components and software required to run the camera for free under MIT license. This means you’re free to build an exact replica of the RUHAcam or use it as a base to make your own DIY digital camera.

In speaking with DPReview, ‘penk’ said the duo ‘plan to improve more on the software side, to add controls to the UI using Pi’s libcamera stack, and to leverage Raspberry Pi more as a server to easily share captured images with smartphones.’ You can find all of the instructions and materials needed to make your own on the RUHAcam GitHub Page.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Halide’s deep dive into why the iPhone 12 Pro Max is made for ‘Real Pro Photography’

20 Nov

Sebastiaan de With, Co-founder and Designer of the professional iOS camera app Halide, has shared a deep dive blog post into the photographic capabilities of Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max, showing a technical breakdown of all three cameras packed inside the flagship device.

In many of the articles we gathered in our iPhone 12 Pro Max review roundup, reviewers said they didn’t actually notice that big of a difference in image quality between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro Max. This came as somewhat a surprise considering how promising the technology in the iPhone 12 Pro Max looked, but without having further information to work with — or a review unit in our hands — it’s all we could go off of.

As it turns out though, the cursory first-looks and reviews didn’t paint the entire picture for what the iPhone 12 Pro Max is capable of. Thankfully, Sebastiaan took matters into his own hands and has provided an incredibly detailed look into why initial reviewers didn’t notice nearly as big a difference as expected and provides a number of examples to showcase what’s actually capable with the new iPhone 12 Pro Max when you use it in a more advanced capacity.

Sebastiaan starts by revisiting the specs that set the iPhone 12 Pro Max apart from all the other iPhone 12 models: a 47% larger sensor, a faster F1.6 lens, improved image stabilization, 87% high ISO sensitivity and a new 65mm (full-frame equivalent) telephoto lens. As impressive as those specs are for a smartphone camera, they don’t mean much without context and examples to back them up.

To that point, Sebastiaan shares the above graphic to show just how much larger the new sensor is compared to the one found in the other iPhone 12 models. While the larger sensor should help with noise, Sebastiaan notes the difference is far less noticable during the day, compared to when the sun starts to set. He uses the below comparison shot to show just how well the iPhone 12 Pro Max (bottom image) handles noise compared to its smaller iPhone 12 Pro (top image) companion. As you can see when viewing the full-size image, it’s clear the photo captured with the iPhone 12 Pro Max (bottom image) holds much better detail in the shadows and doesn’t show nearly as much noise.

Click to enlarge.

Sebastiaan posits that the reason most reviewers didn’t notice the difference in image quality as much is twofold. First, many photos taken by reviewers were done during the day, when high-ISO and larger photosites don’t make nearly as big a difference. Second — and arguably even more importantly — most reviewers were using the stock iOS camera app, which uses various intelligent image processing technology to create the final image, which can soften parts of the image with noise reduction and other artifacts. To see how good the iPhone 12 Pro Max camera was without all of the image processing, Sebastiaan used Halide to capture Raw (DNG) images, which ‘omits steps like multi-exposure combination and noise reduction.’

Click to enlarge.

If you’re wondering just how much of a difference it makes when using the stock iOS Camera app versus a camera app that can capture a Raw image, such as Halide, take a look at the above comparison shot Sebastiaan captured in San Francisco at sunset. Notice the lack of detail in the distant buildings, the muddiness of the windows on nearby apartments and the overall ‘watercolor’ effect that happens when too much noise reduction is applied. Sebastiaan shows multiple other examples that highlight just how much of a difference it can make to use third-party apps capable of capturing Raw images compared to those captured with the stock camera app.

Also tackled in the deep dive is the improvement in image stabilization, which is now sensor-based rather than lens-based, as well as the new 65mm telephoto camera, which offers a slightly longer reach (65mm, full-frame equivalent vs the 52mm full-frame equivalent of other iPhone 12 models)

All in all, Sebastiaan concludes his breakdown by saying the ‘results [are] mind-blowing’ as the developer of a camera app. He summarizes it all saying:

‘It achieves images previously only seen in dedicated cameras, with sensors four times its size. It allows photographers to get steady and well exposed shots in conditions that weren’t imaginable a year ago. It captures low-light shots beyond anything we’ve seen on an iPhone. By a lot.’

That’s high praise compared to previous reviews, but the data doesn’t lie. To read the in-depth dive (which you absolutely should), head on over to the Halide blog using the link below:

The iPhone 12 Pro Max: Real Pro Photography

You can keep up with the Lux team — Sebastiaan De With, Ben Sandovsky and Rebecca Sloane — on Twitter and download Halide Mark II in the iOS App Store.

Image credits: Photographs/images provided by Halide, used with permission.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Nikon might just have made the best entry-level full-framer

25 Jul

It’s famously such a fine line between stupid and clever. And, for that matter, between a brilliant piece of product planning and a complete head-scratcher. History and sales figures may well prove me wrong, but I personally think that the Nikon Z5 makes perfect sense in a way the Z50 didn’t. And that might make it the most interesting entry-level full frame camera.

I criticized Nikon when it launched the Z50, because I didn’t recognize the Instagram-friendly camera the company claimed to have made. Instead I found a rather good enthusiast-friendly camera in a system with few obvious lens options. The Z5 looks a lot like a full-frame Z50, but the different audience that its higher price implies and the shift in sensor size makes all the difference.

A Z6/Z50 hybrid

Visually the Z5 looks like a Z6/Z50 hybrid, with the conventional mode dial from the Z50 grafted on in place of the Z6’s top-panel LCD. You could describe it as a full-frame Z50 or a slightly simplified Z6 and you’d still be right.

It uses an older, front-side illuminated CMOS sensor, which is likely to mean it doesn’t quite match its big brother in terms of image quality but the differences are likely to be small, except in very low light.

With its collapsible zoom and mode dial, the Z5 feels like a hybrid of the Z50 and Z6.

The Z5’s viewfinder is the same resolution as the Z6’s and its control layout is essentially the same. Its back panel is reinforced plastic, rather than magnesium alloy, but Nikon says the weather sealing is just as extensive and both the dimensions and weight are all-but identical.

Lenses

Whereas an APS-C sensor leaves Z50 owners with the choice of a couple of variable aperture zooms (and the promise of an 18-140mm in the works), the move to full frame and slightly more lofty ambitions of the Z5 are much better fit for the Z-mount lenses currently available.

To make a broad generalization, I suspect the kinds of photographers (and, according to Nikon, non-photographers) willing to spend $ 1400 on a Z5 will be more likely to want and buy the well-priced, though still pricey, F1.8 primes the company has introduced. And, by dint of being full-frame, the focal lengths of those primes are more likely to be useful on this camera than the Z50.

The most complete entry-level

Even with its more modest video spec the Z5 isn’t out-gunned by its entry-level peers. But you don’t need to look through its higher-res viewfinder for the Z5 to look like the most interesting entry-level full-frame mirrorless camera. You get a similar perspective if you look at the other cameras’ backstories.

The Sony a7 II was designed as a mid-range camera, but an aging mid-range camera isn’t necessarily better than a modern entry-level one. The distinction is even more dramatic if you compare the higher-end a7R II (which has dropped to the Z5’s launch price) the a7R II has a very good sensor but a very different shooting experience.

Sony has very much done its product development in the public realm: each model in the a7 series has been significantly better than its predecessor (first by adding stabilization, then by offering a larger battery, better AF and revised ergonomics). This leaves the now six-year-old a7 Mark II looking awkward: it’s a very difficult camera to use as soon as you’ve seen or experienced the improvements introduced with the Mark III, no matter how keenly-priced it is.

So it’s not the automatic bargain that getting a formerly $ 1700 for $ 1000 might appear to be. The areas in which it once excelled are at least matched by its entry-level peers and it hasn’t gained any of the ergonomic or interface improvements that have subsequently been developed. So it’s the only camera here without a touchscreen and it hasn’t got the usability improvements of the Mark III. By contrast, the Z5 includes all the AF improvements that the Z6 has gained in firmware over the past two years.

The Canon EOS RP is a really likable camera and the least-expensive full-frame digital camera yet launched, but Nikon has provided a lot of camera for a launch price just $ 100 higher.

Canon approached things from the other direction with the EOS RP: building what software developers might describe as a minimum viable product: the bare basic specs to deliver a credible camera. The result is actually rather likable: it’s not very fast at shooting, the video’s not great and it uses a sensor that’s never been considered particularly good, but the dials are in the right place, it’s easy to use and it produces attractive images. Only the battery life really detracts from the day-to-day experience.

With the Z5 Nikon has clearly started with the Z6 (originally a $ 2000 camera) and found a way to to offer it with a launch price 1/3rd lower. You even get the twin card slots that internet commenters suddenly decided were essential when Canon and Nikon didn’t include them on their mid-priced models (an argument that feels more convincing when it comes to the higher-end Z7).

So it’s not the full-frame Digital Rebel that Canon made, nor is it the tired-looking ex-middleweight champ that Sony offers. It’s not even comparable to the Z50, with its odd mixture of enthusiast-friendly experience and mass-market zooms. Instead the Z5 is a more affordable way to get most of a Z6, and it includes a great many of the improvements that Nikon has made on its Z-mount journey so far.

Now I just really hope it tests and shoots as well as it handles.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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A decade of sun: NASA captured 425 million photos of the sun and made a time lapse

30 Jun

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has been very busy capturing images of the sun over the last decade. From June 2, 2010 through June 1, 2020, the SDO captured 425 million images of the sun. Per NASA, the team amassed about 20 million gigabytes of images of the sun in the past decade and with that data, NASA compiled 10 years’ worth of images into the amazing timelapse video above.

Using three primary instruments, the SDO captures an image of the sun every 0.75 seconds. One of these instruments, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), captures images every 12 seconds at 10 different wavelengths of light. In the timelapse video published by NASA, we see photos of the sun captured at the extreme ultraviolet wavelength of 17.1 nanometers. This wavelength allows us to view the sun’s outermost layer, called the corona.

Generally, the hour-long timelapse video features a compiled image from each hour of every day for the past 10 years. Although, there are a few exceptions. There are dark frames caused by the Earth or moon eclipsing SDO as they pass between the spacecraft and the sun. There was also a week-long outage of the AIA instrument in 2016. Any off-center images of the sun are due to periodic instrument calibration.

As you can imagine, the SDO has witnessed many interesting events during its period of observation. In the video above, at 6:20, you can see a prominence eruption from the lower right area of the sun from June 7, 2011. At 12:24, you can see the transit of Venus across the face of the sun on June 5, 2012. This event won’t occur again until the year 2117. On July 19, 2012, a brilliant display of looping plasma showed a complex event in the sun’s magnetic field, this can be seen at 13:06. About six weeks later, on August 31, 2012, the ‘most iconic eruption of this solar cycle’ occurred, witnessed at 13:50 in the video.

Jumping ahead to 36:18, you can view Mercury as it transits across the face of the sun on May 9, 2016. It is more difficult to spot than Venus, but you can learn more about it here. Mercury appears again at 57:38, as it transited the sun again on November 11, 2019. This will Mercury’s last transit until 2032. A full list of interesting events you can witness in the video can be found in the description on YouTube.

‘An X8.2 class solar flare flashes in the edge of the Sun on Sept. 10, 2017. This image was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and shows a blend of light from the 171 and 304 angstrom wavelengths.’ Image and text credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

Scott Wiessinger (USRA) was the lead producer on the video above. Tom Bridgman (GST) was the lead data visualizer. Leading scientific writing was Mara Johnson-Groh (Wyle Information Systems). The music, ‘Solar Observer,’ was written and produced by Lars Leonhard.

If you’d like to learn more about NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, you can find a wealth of fascinating information by clicking here.

Earlier this year, NASA published a shorter video that covered 10 of the most important things scientists have learned during SDO’s first decade in space. You can check that out below.

Image credit: Images via NASA/GSFC/SDO

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Video: Six DIY smartphone camera rigs made from household objects

24 May

The Cooperative of Photography, better known as COOPH, has released its latest YouTube video showing how to make the most of your smartphone footage by creating six different smartphone rigs using materials you likely have sitting around at home.

As you would expect for these rather primitive homemade solutions, the DIY rigs aren’t necessarily aesthetically pleasing but based on the resulting footage, hopefully your video will be. The six-minute video covers how to make a DIY gimbal, a DIY timelapse rig, a DIY stabilizer, a DIY automated slider, a DIY ‘spinning’ rig and a DIY Gorillapod-style tripod.

It’s quite the adventure, but considering there’s a good chance you’re still on some sort of lockdown or stay-at-home order, these DIY projects might be just what you need to keep your creative spirit alive in seclusion. You can find more videos from COOPH on their YouTube channel.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Books that made a difference: Camera Lucida (Roland Barthes, 1980)

19 Apr

If you’ve never heard of Roland Barthes, congrats – clearly you were never forced to study structuralism, post-structuralism, deconstructionism or semiotics. Lucky you.

It was as a semiologist that Barthes (b 1915 – d 1980) was best known, and in simple terms, semiotics is the study of signs, symbols and their meaning. For obvious reasons, academic texts that deal with semiotics (and structuralism, and post-structuralism, and deconstructivism) tend towards the abstruse. When the king of the deconstructionists Jacques Derrida (of whose work ‘abstruse’ would count as a highly charitable description) passed away in 2004, satirical website The Onion ran a single sentence headline: Jacques Derrida “dies”. That joke (and variations on it) are, trust me, the only funny thing that has ever come out of semiotics, structuralism, post-structuralism or deconstructionism. Reading the work of certain semiologists is like trying to argue with a hungry 3-year old who has an MA.

The reason I’m writing about Roland Barthes on DPReview is that Barthes was fascinated by photography, and wrote one of my all-time favorite books about it – ‘Camera Lucida’, published in 1980. Photography didn’t attract much academic interest until the 1970s and 80s, and ‘Camera Lucida’, alongside Susan Sontag’s ‘On Photography’ is among the most influential (and enjoyable) books of its period to deal with photography as a cultural phenomenon, not just in the obvious way, as an art and practise. You do not need to know anything about philosophy to read ‘Camera Lucida’ and you might actually enjoy it more if you don’t.

Photography is an odd kind of art-form. You can’t ‘read’ a photograph like you can text (which is the kind of thing that annoys the hell out of semiologists), and being by its nature infinitely reproducible, a photograph doesn’t have the uniqueness of a painting. Consider also that to ‘make’ a photograph takes no training. In many circles, photography is still considered the poor cousin of ‘real’ art and it’s easy to understand why. Just remember Kodak’s famous slogan: “You push the button, we do the rest”.

As Louis Daguerre said, the photograph “gives Nature an ability to reproduce herself”

Barthes thought that photography is actually closer to theatre than to painting (because of its direct line of connection to life). He was not a photographer – “too impatient for that” – and had no interest in investigating photography as an activity. He wanted to get to grips with what photographs are and what makes them unique.

In perhaps his most famous statement on photography (made before he wrote ‘Camera Lucida’) he suggests that the photograph is a semiotically unique, paradoxical artifact – unique because it is a “message without a code”. It doesn’t need a code (or shouldn’t) because in theory, the message of a photograph is reality itself. This is the photograph as a purely representational artifact – the product of light rays, entering a camera from the surface of a tiny corner of reality. As Louis Daguerre said, the photograph “gives Nature an ability to reproduce herself”. And he ought to know.

That’s the theory, at least. The problem (the paradox) of course is that despite the fact that a photograph is a mechanically-created object, it’s very hard to imagine a photograph that isn’t highly coded. Everything from how a portrait subject is posed, to the photographers’ choice of background, or camera angle etc., can affect how we feel about a photograph, and ultimately what we take away from it. It’s actually very difficult to conceive of an example of what Barthes calls the ‘brute image’; a hypothetical photograph free from any kind of connoted meaning.

One of a collection of images taken by a relative of my grandmother and grandfather on a honeymoon trip around England in late summer 1939 (you can read more about the project and see more images here).

Because of when they were taken (just weeks before the outbreak of WWII) and how (they were shot on then-rare color film) they’re all rich in what Barthes called ‘Studium’. For me, the ‘punctum’ in this shot is my grandparents’ cat (bottom of the photograph, in front of the tent, facing the camera) which – apparently – traveled with them.

In ‘Camera Lucida’, Barthes suggests that there are two elements to every photograph. Borrowing from latin, he calls these the studium (‘study’ – think application or commitment) and the punctum (‘point’ – think puncture or prick).

In simple terms, the studium is all the information which can be gleaned from a photograph which derives from the cultural context in which it exists. As such, the studium is experienced according to the viewer’s personal, political and cultural viewpoint. A good example of a kind of photography which is rich in studium would be traditional western photojournalism. Assuming you’re familiar with the culture in which they were taken, such photographs are pretty easy to ‘decode’ when we see them in our daily newspapers. We know what they are ‘of’.

The punctum, on the other hand, is an element (or elements) of a photograph which don’t necessarily contribute to their overall meaning or intended message, but which grab or ‘prick’ us for some reason. Barthes gives the example of a 1924 photograph by Lewis Hine of a developmentally disabled child in a New Jersey institution, with a bandage on her finger. For Barthes, the ‘punctum’ is the bandage – an “off-center detail” which catches his attention and which provokes a “tiny shock”. The studium, in contrast, is “liking, not […] loving” – a “slippery, irresponsible interest one takes in [things] one finds ‘all right’ “. The bandage has nothing to do with the studium of the Hine photograph, but it interests him more.

Most of us take pictures of places, people and things, without spending a lot of time thinking about their content beyond whether it appeals to us aesthetically

This might all sound very abstract, but it’s actually a really useful way of thinking about how we take photographs. Try categorizing your own work by Barthes’ definitions. Are you someone whose photography is all about the studium? I suspect that most of us are. Most of us take pictures of places, people and things, without spending a lot of time thinking about their content beyond whether it appeals to us aesthetically. We can learn from photographs like this, but it’s generally (literally) surface-level stuff.

The punctum is more valuable, says Barthes, because it’s unexpected. Uncoded, and more interesting. And to return to the comparison with painting, a punctum of the kind that Barthes describes could only exist in a photograph, because of the unique way in which photographs are created.

By the time I was able to really know my grandparents they were old (and my grandfather died when I was in my early teens). For me, working on these images offered an amazing opportunity to encounter them them as young people. In Barthes words, I was “gradually moving back in time” with these people, both of whom are now dead.

Thanks to a DPReview reader, I even know what happened to the car.

Even in translation. Barthes is a great writer. He’s smart (obviously) but also funny. He’s wonderfully catty about types of photographs and photographers that he doesn’t like, and he correctly identifies one of the most creatively destructive traps that you can fall into as a photographer: thinking that just because you took a picture of something, it must be important. Ouch.

To me, the main appeal of ‘Camera Lucida’ is that it’s much more than just an academic dissertation – it’s a deeply personal, very emotional book. Less philosophy in many places, and more biography.

The latter part of the book, especially, contains some quite beautiful writing. This is highly unusual in a work of philosophy (trust me). Perhaps the reason for the switch to a less academic and more personal mode of writing is that while he was working on ‘Camera Lucida’, Barthes’ beloved mother Henriette died. And after she died he went looking for her. Not literally, but emotionally, hoping to find the essence of her in family photographs.

He talks about this process in terms of a “painful labor”, “gradually moving back in time with her, looking for the truth of the face I had loved”. He describes “straining towards the essence of her identity, […] struggling among images partially true, and therefore totally false”. What he was finding in the photographs, to his frustration, were merely “fragments”.

And then, finally, he made a breakthrough. He found what he was looking for in a single photograph of his mother as a young girl. Among a mass of pictures of Henriette as an adult, it was in this photograph of a five year-old child – a child of course who he never met in life – that he truly recognised the person he had known and loved.

Barthes doesn’t exactly admit defeat in ‘Camera Lucida’, but he does concede that maybe things are a little more complicated than he once thought.

In the final chapters of ‘Camera Lucida’ (it’s a very short book, most chapters are little more than a single page) Barthes revisits his central premise of the studium and the punctum, and revises it, suggesting a third element. Specifically, another type of punctum, not of form, “but of intensity”. This second punctum is Time.

In ‘Camera Lucida’, Barthes the famous philosopher gives way to Barthes the grieving son. Yes, much of the first half of the book is more or less standard fare for someone with his academic preoccupations (and indeed it picks up from his earlier work on the same subject, exploring the photograph’s potential as a purely representational object) but he’s not just flexing his intellectual muscles for the sake of it. Barthes is writing about time (he has a wonderful description of cameras as ‘clocks for seeing’), memory, and death. When it comes to the ultimate challenge of ‘penetrating’ photographs to find their meaning, Barthes doesn’t exactly admit defeat in ‘Camera Lucida’, but he does concede that maybe things are a little more complicated than he once thought.

A girl bathing by Stiffkey bridge, in Norfolk. August 1939. Looking at this picture I can’t help thinking who she is, what kind of life she had, and whether she’s still alive (if so, she must be in her late 80s or 90s now).

‘Camera Lucida’ may not make you a better photographer (it might actually make you pause before picking up your camera again!) but it will probably make you a more thoughtful one. There is a reasonably good chance, too, that it will make you cry. There’s a a lot of post-war Continental philosophy that might have the same effect, but for very different reasons.

I hope that after reading my incredibly shallow analysis of it, you do read ‘Camera Lucida’. And if you do, I hope that it will remind you of the unique role that photography has in our lives, and of its power. Photographs let us travel back in time, and in that way they enable us to maintain relationships with people that we’ve lost. In the end, it’s a book about love.

Is there a particular book which made a difference to your life as a photographer? We’d love to hear from you – and you might even get featured on the DPReview homepage. Leave us a short note in the comments and if you have a longer story to tell, send it to us, and we’ll take it from there.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Making Sense of the Exposure Triangle – ISO, Aperture, and Shutterspeed Made Simple

26 Feb

The post Making Sense of the Exposure Triangle – ISO, Aperture, and Shutterspeed Made Simple appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

Ever hear other photographers talking about shooting in manual mode, and using terms like ISO, aperture, and shutter speed and have no idea what they’re talking about? Then this article is for you. While making sense of the Exposure Triangle may seem overwhelming, you’ll learn everything there is to know so that you can get shooting in manual mode quicker!

Canon 6D, 28mm, f/5.6, 1/250, ISO 400

Everything in photography has to do with light

All three settings, ISO, aperture and shutter speed are collectively called the Exposure Triangle. They work together to allow more or less light to enter the camera depending on the light that you see with your eye in a given situation.

making-sense-of-the-exposure-triangle

For example, the brighter the light outside, the less you need to enter your camera to record the image. The less light around you, the more light you’ll need the camera to capture in order to make the image visible.

Each part of the Exposure Triangle works together to create a good exposure while controlling the camera fully to suit your creative direction.

What is ISO?

When making sense of the exposure triangle, you first need to understand ISO. ISO is the light sensitivity of the camera’s sensor.

So, think of this as your eye. When it’s really bright outside, your eyes tend to be less sensitive and need to strain less to focus, see, and look at the world around.

Image: When it’s particularly bright outside, like in this photo, use a lower number ISO. Cam...

When it’s particularly bright outside, like in this photo, use a lower number ISO. Camera settings: f/5.0, 1/800, ISO 200, 85mm shot on Canon 6D.

On the other hand, when you’re in a dark location with little to no light, your eyes strain and become more sensitive to any lights in the scene, helping you see better at night as well.

The same thing happens to a camera’s sensor. The more sensitive, the more light you’ll be able to pick up. The less sensitive, less light will enter the camera.

making-sense-of-the-exposure-triangle

ISO is measured in numbers ranging from 50 to 25,600 on some models. There is usually a button on your camera that is labeled ISO. This is where you’ll be able to change the ISO depending on the lighting situation.

Image: Here, we used auto mode to get an idea of the exposure we would need to take a photo of these...

Here, we used auto mode to get an idea of the exposure we would need to take a photo of these stuffed animals setting the ISO at 100.

The ISO also affects the quality of the image, so be careful when you’re using higher ISO numbers. They tend to record a lot of digital noise (or grain points) that you see when zoomed in.

As you can see in this photo, using a high ISO added more light than we needed.

Using a higher ISO can help you in low light situations when you want to keep a relatively fast shutter speed to avoid camera shake. However, you need that boost in light to help expose correctly.

Image: When you use a high ISO, your camera is more sensitive to light and causes digital noise – li...

When you use a high ISO, your camera is more sensitive to light and causes digital noise – little points on your image that make it look grainy.

Aperture

When making sense of the exposure triangle, you need to understand aperture next. Aperture, is the opening and closing of the lens. Measured in F-numbers, it affects both the amount of light entering the camera, and the depth of field in your image.

Camera settings f/2.5, 1/100, IS0 400, 50mm. In order to get the baby’s hand in focus and nothing else, we had to use an open aperture of f/2.5.

The depth of field is how much is in focus from foreground to background. A lower f-number will open your lens and let more light in, but it will also give you a narrower focus range (a shallow, or small depth of field). While a higher f-number will close your lens, and lessen the light entering, it will give you a wider focus range (a wide, or large depth of field).

making-sense-of-the-exposure-triangle

This is especially important to keep in mind when taking portraits so that you can determine how much you want in focus.

For an individual portrait, any f-number between f/2.8 and f/5.6 works great. You still have your subject in focus but you do get some bokeh (blurry background due to a low f/number).

Here we have a more open aperture and therefore less is in focus.

For groups of people, you’ll want a high f-number like f/8 or f/11 because, at a lower f/number, you have less depth of field. This means your plane of focus is narrower. If you have people standing outside the plane of focus, they will be blurry. Therefore, in order to have everyone in focus, a high f/number is best because it gives you a wider plane of focus.

Here we are using a closed aperture, allowing more to be in focus.

Again, opening and closing of the lens affects how much light enters the camera. Eventually, in manual, you’ll have to compensate with one of the other two settings to make up for the lack of light or excess of light entering your camera.

Image: To capture the bird and the landscape surrounding it, we used an aperture of f/9. Other camer...

To capture the bird and the landscape surrounding it, we used an aperture of f/9. Other camera settings are ISO 400, 1/250, at 28mm.

Use Av or A mode on your camera to play with aperture. The camera will set the shutter speed for you to maintain correct exposure. However, you’ll be able to see a noticeable difference in your depth of field and in light entering your camera.

Shutter speed

When making sense of the exposure triangle, shutter speed is the next thing you need to know. Shutter speed dictates the length of time that the shutter is open.

To get a silhouette, you’ll need a fast shutter speed. This image has a shutter speed of 1/1000, f/16, ISO 400, 28mm.

Shutter speed is measured from seconds to fractions of a second (slow to fast shutter speeds). The slower the shutter speed, the longer it stays open to capture light. The faster it opens and closes, the less light is captured to make your photo.

making-sense-of-the-exposure-triangle

For example, on a really bright afternoon, use faster shutter speed in order to create a good exposure. In a low light situation, like a nighttime scene or a dark cafe, a slower shutter speed can help capture enough light to make the photo.

In these two photos, we only changed the shutter speed and kept the other camera settings the same. You can see a significant difference in light.

Keep in mind, the slower the shutter speed, the more chance of camera shake occurring. Camera shake is an accidental blur due to the camera shaking, either in your hands, or due to some other force.

At slower shutter speeds, usually 1/125th of second or slower you are more likely to get camera shake. At faster shutter speeds this isn’t a problem as the camera opens and closes too quickly to register the shake.

Using a slow shutter speed can give you interesting images with movement. Camera settings f/6.3, 1/13, ISO 400, 50mm.

Shutter speed also allows you to show movement in your photos or freezes moments. Slow shutter speed will show more movement, for example, a child running or playing. While a faster shutter speed will freeze the moment or action that you’re capturing.

Manual Mode

Manual mode is where you have to set all three adjustments manually, therefore, giving you complete control of the light and look of your photo.

Think of these three as a pulley system, all working together. When one is moved, one or both of the other settings must also adjust and compensate.

making-sense-of-the-exposure-triangle

The photo on the left has a slow shutter speed, an open aperture, and low ISO. The slow shutter speed and open aperture help light enter. It also allows the camera to pick up the movement of the water.

In the photo on the right, we get more of an action shot of the water. This is because we have now changed the ISO to 1/2000 sec – a pretty fast shutter speed. With this fast shutter speed, we had to compensate for the loss of light from the fast shutter speed. So, we added light by using a higher ISO and a more open aperture. Even so, it wasn’t enough to get a correct exposure as the photo is a little dark.

The best way to get started in manual mode is to think about what kind of photo you want to make. Are you shooting still life? Is there enough light? Do you want to control your focus range? Is this a portrait? All of these things can help you to determine where to start.

making-sense-of-the-exposure-triangle

For example, you’re taking photos of your kid’s soccer game in the early evening, and there is still a lot of light left, but it’s not harsh. You want to freeze the action of the game, and so you’d start by setting a fast shutter speed first.

If you’re taking a portrait of someone, then you’d start with the aperture in order to control your depth of field. Then you’d adjust the other two settings accordingly.

Camera settings f/5.6, 1/100, IS0 400, 53mm.

For landscapes, you’d likely start with aperture and shutter speed. You may need a small aperture (eg f/11) to capture a wide plane of focus. Depending on whether there is water in your landscape, you may want to freeze the water or give it a silky look by slowing your shutter speed right down.

Knowing what you’re shooting and type of light will give you a starting point

Also, in manual mode, there is a built-in light meter. This meter looks like a tiny ruler either at the bottom of the live view or inside the viewfinder. It helps you determine if your photo is too bright (metering to the right), or too dark (metering to the left).

When the line is in the middle, or at zero, you’ve got what the camera considers a perfectly-exposed photo.

The ruler at the bottom of the live view, or through the viewfinder, can help you expose your photos correctly. To the right of the ruler your photo will be brighter, and to the left, it will be darker.

Aim to keep it in the middle as you practice in manual mode. Sett one of the adjustments and then move the other two to add or take away light accordingly until the meter is in the middle.

It’s all about practice and really getting to know what each setting does on its own before switching to full manual. This can feel overwhelming, so try using one of the other modes, like Tv/S or Av/A modes first. Doing so may give you a better understanding of the settings and more control over your photos.

Camera settings f/22, 30 seconds, ISO 200, 28mm.

Camera settings f/10, 1/640, ISO 400, 50mm.

Conclusion

The technical side of photography can sometimes seem overwhelming and it seems like there is always something new to learn before feeling confident. Making sense of the exposure triangle will set your creativity free and give you full control of your camera.

The post Making Sense of the Exposure Triangle – ISO, Aperture, and Shutterspeed Made Simple appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

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This 120 medium format camera and 4×5 large format camera are made from 35mm film cassettes

13 Feb

What do you do with all of the extra 35mm film canisters you have after getting your film developed? Well, if you’re photographer Alireza Rostami, you turn the film canisters themselves into cameras.

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For his latest project, Rostami took hundreds of empty 35mm cassettes and taped them together to create the structure needed to make a pair of ‘Unity’ cameras: a 4×5 large format camera and a 120 medium format camera that uses what appears to be a Mamiya RB67 lens and film back. Above is a gallery of the two cameras, both as a final product and in progress during the build. The below gallery shows off a few of the test photos captured with the cameras:

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In an email to DPReview, Rostami says the symbolic idea arose while dwelling on the idea of ‘peace and unity’ after reading through The Diary of a Young Girl, a collection of writings kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding with her family as the Nazis occupied the Netherlands. Because of this inspiration, Rostami says he dedicated the pair of cameras to the late Anne Frank and George Eastman, a man who’s inspired Rostami through his drive and innovation throughout his career.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Made in the Shade – Why Taking Portraits in the Shade Can be Ideal

07 Feb

The post Made in the Shade – Why Taking Portraits in the Shade Can be Ideal appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

You’re taking portraits, and it’s time for your subjects’ “moment in the sun.” If you really want them to shine, let’s look at why taking portraits in the shade is the way to go.

I can remember when the recommendation to photographers was to “always photograph your subject with the sun at your back, so the light is on their face.”

I think I read that many years ago on an insert in a box of film. Perhaps the idea was not to wind up with a silhouette with the bright sky tricking the camera into an underexposed subject.

There are no doubt circumstances where you might do it this way, but I’m ready to teach you why the shade is your friend and that of your subject as well.

Taking_Portraits_in_the_Shade_Unshaded_and_Shaded

Make a bad location with your subject squinting into the sun work by shading them. 1/160 sec. f/5 ISO 100. White reflector fill.

Why not to shoot portraits in the sun

Let’s list some reasons you probably don’t want to shoot portraits in the sun:

The light will be bright, contrasty, and the shadows will be hard and distinct.
Your subject will probably squint.
On a hot day, your subject will get hot, and cranky and both you and the subject won’t have much fun. The photos will suffer.
The extremes of the exposure range between highlights and shadows will make getting a good exposure difficult.

Taking_Portraits_in_the_Shade_Mixed_Light

Mixed, speckled, uneven shade…don’t do this!

Why taking portraits in the shade is better

The light will be diffuse, less contrasty, and the shadows will be minimal
Your subject will relax and open their eyes.
On a hot day you and your subject will be more comfortable, have more fun, and the photos will show it.
Getting a good exposure will be far easier and you will have less editing later to create a nice image.

Light direction

Obviously, when discussing taking portraits in the shade, we’re talking about working outdoors with the sun as your primary light source. Depending on the position of your subject relative to the position of the sun in the sky, the light can come from these basic directions:

Overhead

Most photographers know that the worst time for photos is mid-day when the light is directly overhead. This is especially true for portraits and even more so if you make the shot in direct sunlight.

Working in the shade has the advantage of allowing you to make portraits during midday since the overhead light is diffused.

Side

If the sun is lower in the sky, you can position your subject, so the light comes from either side. There might be circumstances where you’d want one side of the subject to brightly lit while the other side is in shadow, but generally not. Again, taking portraits in the shade is the answer.

Taken in an alley, the light in this shot was from camera right and above. A fill flash helped fill the shadows and put a nice catchlight in the subject’s eyes.

Front

With the sun lower in the sky, you could position your subject, so, as the film insert I mentioned suggested, the sun was at your back and on the face of your subject. Occasionally this works if the sun is not intense, you have the right background, and you don’t mind a more contrasty look.

Most often you’d still be better, that’s right…in the shade.

Back

If the sun is lower in the sky, sometimes you can make backlighting your subject work. With their back to the sun, their face will be shaded. Now it’s you and your camera that will be looking into the sun.

You will need to be careful with your exposure so as not to make your subject a silhouette or totally blow out the background. Sun flare can also be a problem.

This could be a time for spot metering. You may also wish to use a reflector or fill-flash (we’ll cover that in a minute). Properly done, however, you may get a nice rim-light look.

Open vs closed shade

You will hear the terms “open shade” and “closed shade.” Let’s define those.

The subjects are in a shaded area looking toward a brighter lit area. This is “Open Shade.” 1/250 sec. f/6.7 ISO 400

Open shade

Even with your subject in the shade, the light will still usually come more from one direction than the other. Your subject will be in “open shade” when in the shade, but the ambient light is strongest on their face.

If you can’t determine which direction this is, walk around your subject. Ask them to turn as you walk so as to keep facing you. The position when the light is at your back (and on their face) is the most “open shade” position.

One advantage of shooting in this position is the light will be brighter on their face, and the catchlights in their eyes will usually be most dominant.

The predominant light is from behind and the subject is looking into a more shaded area. Fill-flash is used to fill the shadows. This is “Closed Shade.” 1/200 sec. f/8 ISO 200

Closed shade

This is pretty much the opposite of open shade. Your subject is in the shade, but looking into a darker area.

An extreme example of this might be a subject standing just inside a doorway where they are in the shade, but looking inside toward a darker room or area.

Usually, this will not be as good because the background will be brighter than the subject, and the eye catchlights will be minimal if they are there at all.

Taking_Portraits_in_the_Shade_Closed_Shade_2

This is “closed shade” where the predominant ambient light is behind the subject and she is looking into a darker area. Fill-flash brightened her face and filled the shadows. 1/180 sec. f/7.1 ISO 100

Making it all work

It might be a fine idea to suggest you always take portraits in the shade. Usually, though, you also want to consider:

your location,
what you want in the shot other than just your subject
your background
where you and the subject can position yourselves
camera angle
and many other factors other than just where a shady spot might be.

If you want to pose your subject in front of that iconic landmark, and you’re there during the middle of the day, you may not have much choice where you position them.

So let’s discuss ways to use shade where you find it, make shade when you need it, and enhance the light you find while still making the portrait you want.

Let’s take a look at some examples.

Under the trees

It’s often pleasant in the shade of a tree, and sometimes even the tree itself works well in the shot. Depending on where the light may be coming from, you might be working with open or closed shade, and light coming from various directions.

We’ll cover enhancing the light you might find there in a minute, but here’s a couple of things to keep in mind when working in the shade of a tree or other foliage.

1. Light color

The leaves on most foliage are green (though perhaps other colors at different times of the year). Sometimes the translucent leaves will cast their color on your subject.

Kermit the Frog will tell you, “it ain’t easy being green.”

Green light and skin tones usually won’t be a good mix. Keep this in mind.

Shoot in Raw mode, and if necessary, be ready to tweak your white balance and tint slightly in post-production to back off the green color if it appears.

Taking_Portraits_in_the_Shade_Going_Green

With green foliage above and green grass reflecting from below, your subject may go green – not a good look. Shoot in Raw format, and you can tweak the white balance when editing. 1/60 sec. f/5 ISO 400 with fill flash.

2. Dappled light

When making portraits, deep shade is good. Dappled light, the kind where the leaves put a pattern of light and shadow on your subject is bad – very bad.

You can rarely fix this in editing. So when taking portraits in the shade, always look to be sure the shade is complete, and the light is not dappled and patchy on your subject.

This can be especially tricky with group photos where some subjects may be in the shade and others in the sun. See what you can do to have everyone in total shade or, if that’s not possible, find a spot where you can have the light coming from behind them so at least their faces are shaded.

Taking_Portraits_in_the_Shade_Find_Shady_Spots

Take advantage of shady spots that work with your composition. The object making the shade can sometimes work with your shot. 1/125 sec. f/5.6 ISO 200 with pop-up fill flash.

Other shady spots

Depending on where you’re photographing, there might not be trees but other ways to put your subject in the shade.

Buildings, structures, rocks and cliffs – whatever you might find that works with your shot and vision can be useful.

Something to keep in mind is that other structures or objects might be reflecting light into your shady spot. Your subject might be in the shade, but whatever else that is close by, even the nearby sunlit ground, could reflect light into the scene.

Sometimes you can make this work for you. Other times, particularly if the reflecting object has a strong color, it will reflect colored light onto your subject.

Taking_Portraits_in_the_Shade_Color_Cast_Reflections

With the surroundings painted in warm colors, as well as the opposite red brick, the reflected light is going to be warm as well. Shot in Raw mode, I could adjust as desired later in post-processing. 1/30 sec. f/4 ISO 100

Throwing shade

Most people don’t like it when you “throw shade” on them. However, in photography, this can be a good thing, especially when you want to photograph them in the shade, but the place where you want them to stand isn’t shady.

What to do?

Make your own shade!

Anything you can put between the light source and your subject is going to put shade, aka a “shadow” on your subject.

This could be a piece of cardboard, a 5-in-1 reflector (which we’ll discuss in a minute), an umbrella – you name it. If the object lends itself to the theme of your image, you can even include it in the shot. Just be sure whatever you use is large enough to shade the area you need completely.

If you’re making a full-length image of a person and your 5-in-1 can only shade their upper body while their legs are still in the sun, that won’t look good. You’ll either have to restrict your shot to the shaded area or find something bigger to shade them with.

Taking_Portraits_in_the_Shade_Throwing_Shade

Bad light where you want to make your shot? Throw some shade on your subject! Here, I’ve used the black side of a 5-in-1 to shade the subject. A fill-flash nicely evens out the light, also putting a catchlight in her eyes. 1/60 sec. f/6.3 ISO 100

A Scrim shot

The reason you will usually want to put your subject in the shade is that the direct sun is bright, harsh, and produces hard shadows. In the studio, photographers use diffusion to soften the quality of light. Photo umbrellas and softboxes use a translucent material, which scatters and diffuses the light. It also makes the light source “larger” relative to the subject.

This can work outdoors with the sun as well. Rather than use the pinpoint of intense light that is the sun, instead, put the translucent panel of a 5-in-1 between the sun and subject to make the light source larger relative to the subject. It will also make the light more diffuse.

Need something bigger? A translucent shower curtain or piece of white nylon cloth can work well if you have a frame or helpers to hold it.

Of course, there are commercial versions of this if you will be doing a lot of outdoor portrait photography and have the budget.

Taking_Portraits_in_the_Shade_Reflected_Fill

On a sunny day, you might be surprised on how much fill the silver side of a 5-in-1 will throw.

How about some fill?

So you put your subject in the shade, they’re happy, their eyes are open, you like the composition, but now you see the subject is darker than you’d like. What can you do?

It’s time for a little fill light.

There are several ways you can (and often should) add additional light to your subject.

Let’s cover a few.

Reflectors

I mentioned a 5-in-1 reflector above. This is a portable, and usually collapsible, disk typically covered with translucent fabric. Use it alone as a scrim, as we just discussed.

It then has a zip-on cover that is black on one side, white on the other, and turned inside out, silver on the inside and gold on the reverse of that.

Variations exist. So, 1) Scrim, 2) Black, 3) White, 4) Silver, 5) Gold = a 5-in-1.

You can use the colored side to reflect light onto your subject. Black is the side to use when you want to shade the subject. The white will give a softer, less intense light while neutral in color. Silver is the most intense and can be a slightly cooler light, while the gold will warm your subject.

For photographers doing outdoor portraits, I’d almost consider a 5-in-1 reflector mandatory. It is that useful. There are many brands, styles, and sizes. I have a 42″ (106cm) Interfit brand as well as a little 23″ (59 cm) version that, when collapsed, is just 9-inches (23 cm) and fits nicely in my photo bag.

One device, 5 ways to use it – a 5-in-1 reflector. I think all outdoor portrait photographers should own one, or even a few of these in different sizes.

Doing it “on-the-cheap” you can also use a piece of white poster board or foamcore. It has the disadvantage of being less portable, but the advantage of being available in very large sheets if you need that big of a reflective panel.

Fill-Flash

If the only time you use a flash is indoors, at night, or in dimly lit situations, you’re missing a real use of this lighting tool.

Shooting subjects in the shade and then filling the shadows with a touch of flash works exceptionally well, especially with most cameras doing a great job of balancing the fill light using ETTL (Evaluative Through-the-Lens) exposure control.

If you are a new photographer just getting into outdoor portraiture and have a camera with a pop-up flash, I’d strongly encourage you to shoot in the shade and use the pop-up flash for every shot.

Even on sunny days with plenty of light, that little extra flash will fill shadows and put a nice catch-light in your subject’s eyes.

Your portrait photography will improve tremendously. As you advance, a Speedlight is the next step, and beyond that, a fill-flash you can use off-camera.

Backlit/Golden hour/Rim light

Photographers love the “golden hour,” that time in the morning or evening when the sun gets low, and the light is warm. You can make beautiful portraits in such light.

Often you can pose your subject with the light behind them, and the golden glow will rim-light their hair with a beautiful look. (Visualize a model on the beach with the setting sun behind them).

To get some light on your model’s face and better balance the exposure between them and the background, it’s time for some fill light. A reflector or fill-flash will do the trick.

One advantage of the reflector is that you’ll be bouncing the same warm light back onto their face and so your white balance will be consistent.

If you use a flash, consider putting a warming gel on it to better match the color of the background light.

Taking_Portraits_in_the_Shade_Backlit_and_Filled

Here the subject is standing in full sun. With the light from behind, her face is shaded. I used the bright silver side of the reflector for fill. You may need to “feather” the reflection slightly by adjusting the reflector position as it can easily become too bright and make your subject squint. 1/160 sec. f/5 ISO 100

Nature’s Softbox

The average person would think a “nice day for portraits” would be that beautiful, sunny, cloudless “bluebird day.”

They’d be wrong.

On such days you’ll really need the tricks we’ve explored here and should be taking portraits in the shade.

If, however, the day you’ve scheduled to do that outdoor portrait shoot should be overcast, consider yourself blessed, especially if you need to shoot at midday. Now, instead of that harsh, pinpoint light source of the sun with associated hard shadows, the entire sky becomes your light source – “nature’s softbox.”

Taking_Portraits_in_the_Shade_Full_Shade

Made in the shade…This one was done in full shade and filled with flash. Note the catchlight in her eyes. 1/40 sec. f/4 ISO 100

Now the challenge might become working with light that is too flat. The effect of your reflector will be much less on a day like this, but your portable flash could perhaps now become your key light. It can give you just enough contrast to make your portrait more dimensional and interesting.

I’ve also just started exploring the use of portable LED lights for portraiture and purchased a Lume Cube.

This small and intense little light doesn’t immediately strike me as something I’d use for the standard portrait, but when taking portraits in the shade or on overcast days, perhaps it could work into the mix.

After I’ve had more experience with it, perhaps I’ll cover how you can use such a device in a later article.

Go do it and show us your work

It’s always great to see photographers putting new knowledge to work, so we’d love to see the images you make when taking portraits in the shade.

Post your images in the comments below and tell us a little about what you did. Best wishes!

The post Made in the Shade – Why Taking Portraits in the Shade Can be Ideal appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

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