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Posts Tagged ‘yourself’

Tips for Photographing Newborns: Do It Yourself

21 Jan

The arrival of a newborn into a family is an amazing and exciting (albeit sleep deprived) time. You can find yourself in this blissful bubble of just you and your little family as you adapt to life as parents. Most parents will attest to how precious yet fleeting these days are and its why so many choose to capture them Continue Reading
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Treat yourself 2020: The ultimate photographers’ gift guide

27 Nov

A gift guide just for you

It’s been a doozy of a year but thankfully, it wasn’t all sour grapes. While many aspects of society ground to a halt, manufacturers still had cool and exciting products in their pipelines that they managed to bring to market.

And while opportunities to get and out shoot may be limited at the moment, we can still dream big. And what better way to do that than by ‘browser window shopping’. What follows is a rundown of the headiest products of 2020, the ones photographers really want. So pour a tall cold one and get ready to treat yourself!

Canon EOS R5

There’s no two ways about it, the gold award-winning Canon EOS R5 is our favorite mirrorless camera over $ 3000 and perhaps Canon’s most impactful full-framer since the 5D Mark II. And while the RF mount is still relatively new, there’s no shortage of fast aperture primes and F2.8 zooms available, including ‘the holy trinity’ of the 15-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm.

Well-suited to enthusiasts and professionals alike, the R5 offers outstanding image quality, excellent ergonomics, fast burst shooting and fabulous autofocus performance, not to mention lovely oversampled 4K. In short, if you really want to treat yourself to the best of the best, it’s the camera to get.

View our Canon EOS R5 sample gallery

Fujifilm X100V

Of course, not everyone wants or needs an interchangeable lens camera, for some of us, the simplicity and GAS-reducing nature of a fixed lens camera offers greater appeal. Lucky for folks in this camp, two new large-sensor, fixed lens cameras are featured on this year’s list including the glorious Fujifilm X100V.

Which begs the question: What do you get when you take a wonderfully designed camera and tweak it over the course of four generations based on user feedback, without straying from the original ethos? Why, the X100V of course. Building on its legacy, the ‘V’ bring all sorts of lovely refinements to the series including a newly designed lens with better corner/close-up sharpness, an updated sensor and AF system, better build-quality, a tilting touchscreen and more!

View our Fujifilm X100V sample gallery

Leica Q2 Monochrom

Another fixed-lens, large-sensor camera launched this year is a ‘Monochrom’ version of the Leica Q2, a staff favorite here at DPR. The camera’s B&W-only sensor offers improved dynamic range and noise performance over its color sensor counterpart. Plus, the super sharp 28mm F1.7 lens and moody monochrome output make it the perfect all-in-one option for street photographers, live music shooters and/or anyone who loves shooting after the sun goes down.

And while some may find 28mm a tad too wide, the camera’s 47MP full-frame sensor provides ample resolution for cropping. Plus the Q2 Monochrom handles just like the standard Q2, which is to say it’s built like a tank and both straightforward and immensely gratifying to shoot with. And immense gratification is what ‘treat yourself’ is all about.

View our Leica Q2 Monochrom
sample gallery

GoPro Hero9 Black

GoPro’s latest flagship, the Hero9 Black, is a seriously impressive piece of kit and easily the most compelling action camera to come out in quite some time. For filmmakers, it can shoot up to 5K/30p, offering room to crop in post, assuming you’re outputting 4K, or 4K/60p. And GoPro’s Hypersmooth video image stabilization is jaw-droppingly good. On the stills side, resolution has jumped from 12MP on previous models to 20MP on Hero9 Black.

The camera isn’t just capable though, it’s also well-designed: control/menus are accessed via the rear touchscreen and the whole unit is water/freeze/dust-proof without the need for a case. It also provides improved battery life over predecessors, a front-facing ‘live’ screen and even the option to attach an accessory wide angle lens. In short, it’s the perfect companion for anyone’s extreme lifestyle, whether that means leisurely bike rides to the park or free-climbing rock faces. Treat yourself!

iPhone 12 Pro & 12 Pro Max

iPhones, like GoPros, tend to see iterative yearly updates, but occasionally a new model drops with enough advancements that it’s impossible to ignore. The iPhone 12 Pro is that model and the ultimate ‘treat yourself’ device, not just from a photo/video shooting perspective but also when it comes to displaying and viewing your work.

Apple devices have been able to shoot HDR photos and videos for some time, but this new model (like all iPhone 12 models) can now display 10-bit Dolby Vision HDR on a beautiful OLED screen, right from within the photo app: an industry first!

The camera is also impressive. It consists of three 12MP modules, including standard wide-angle (with a 47% larger sensor than its predecessor), an ultra-wide and telephoto options. Additionally, the phone will make use of Apple’s new Raw format, ProRaw, in beta now and coming soon. And, as if that’s not enough, Apple claims the device has enough processing power to make it 50% faster than any phone currently on the market (not to mention, it’s 5G-enabled). Now that’s a treat!

View our iPhone 12 sample gallery

Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art

Everyone needs a good 85mm portrait lens and Sigma’s latest 85mm offering for mirrorless full-frame E-mount and L-mount makes a strong case for inclusion in your kit.

One thing that truly sets it apart from others like it, including 2016’s Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG HSM Art, is its compact and lightweight design. However, despite a comparatively smaller footprint, this lens remains optically outstanding, offering really good sharpness at all apertures (including in the corners), minimal chromatic aberrations and well-controlled ghosting and flare.

It’s also ‘dust and splash proof’ and impressively well-built. And at $ 1200, the Sigma is priced more affordably than the competition, too. Which is to say, it checks all the boxes for what make an outstanding F1.4 portrait lens – a difficult feat and a major treat.

Watch our video review of the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art

DJI Mavic Air 2

Have you been holding out for the right moment to spread your wings and treat yourself to a drone? Well my friends, the moment is now. DJI’s new Mavic Air 2 represents the most lust-worthy enthusiast drone to launch in some time.

The perfect balance of size and capability, Air 2 fits in the palm of your hand but can deliver great stills image quality from its 1/2″ 48MP CMOS sensor, including both Raw and JPEGs formats. It can also shoot up to 4K/60p video and offers a variety of accident avoidance technologies as well features like subject tracking, HDR video and a panorama mode. Battery life is a useful 34 minutes and perhaps most importantly, the Mavic Air 2 is easy and enjoyable to fly.

Read our DJI Mavic Air 2 review

Olympus 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x

I’ve tried my best to keep this year’s ‘Treat Yourself’ guide somewhat mount-agnostic, but certain new glass is just too darn difficult to ignore. Take, for instance, the new Olympus 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x for Micro Four Thirds bodies. It’s not for everyone, but for a certain type of photographer, this is the the ultimate optical treat!

I’m talking of course about nature and wildlife photographers. Olympus’ king of tele-s packs a whopping 300-800mm equiv. focal range into a surprisingly well-sized, well-weighted body. But that’s not all! A 1.25x built-in teleconverter bumps that reach to an impressive 1000mm (at the cost of 2/3 EV of light). And, as is the case with most high-end Olympus gear, this lens is sealed against dust and moisture, and built to take some punishment – just be sure to protect that big, beautiful 95mm front element!

View our Olympus 150-40mm F4.5 TC1.25x sample gallery

DJI Pocket 2

The second iteration of DJI’s pocket-friendly vlogging machine is a real winner. This little unit is easy-to-use, offers a nice wide 20mm field-of-view (wider than its predecessor) and shoots high quality, super-smooth 4K video. It also features an updated four-way directional in-camera microphone, capable of recording good quality audio without the need for an accessory mic. And did we mention it’s pocketable?

Basically, the Pocket 2 is the perfect no-fuss, all-in-one vlogging machine and the right piece of kit for sharing your adventures with the world. And while now might not be a great time to leave your house and embark on any adventures, the Pocket 2 will be waiting for you when it’s safe to travel again. So go on and treat yourself to this tiny wonder.

Watch our DJI Pocket 2 video review


There you have it, our favorite lust-worthy gear of the year. Here’s hoping 2021 has even more treats in store. Until next time, Treat yourself!

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Treat yourself 2019: 10 gifts for the most important photographer in your life: you

17 Nov

Treat Yourself 2019

You’ve worked hard and been good all year, it’s time to treat yourself.

Photographers are notorious for being difficult to please when it comes to gift receiving. We often have both brand-specific and/or expensive taste. So this holiday season, instead of leaving your holiday wishes up to the gift gods/friends and family, why not indulge yourself in the gear you actually want?

We’ve spent all of 2019 shooting, testing and obsessing over the latest cameras, lenses and accessories. And what follows are the items we, as the staff of DPR, most desire. For photographers, by photographers, we present Treat Yourself 2019. Happy shopping!

Peak Design Travel Tripod

Peak Design Travel Tripod | $ 350 (aluminum), $ 600 (carbon fiber) | PeakDesign.com

By far one of the hottest accessories to come out this year was the Peak Design Travel Tripod. Available in aluminum and carbon fiber, it’s quickly become our favorite tripod for on-the-go work thanks to its compact size (it breaks down smaller than the competition), high-degree of stability and well-designed, low-profile ballhead.

We obviously prefer the carbon fiber version, which is lighter and more stable than the aluminum one. But we’d still take PD’s aluminum model over just about any other travel tripod in the game. So treat yourself to the gift of stability, wherever you may go.

View our Peak Design Travel Tripod
hands-on slideshow

Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VII

Sony RX100 VII | $ 1300 | Sony.com

Sony got just about everything right in the RX100 VII, the ultimate do-it-all compact camera. The RX100 series has long impressed, but it wasn’t until this iteration that they really nailed down the autofocus implementation as well as the AF performance. Sony also made a series of much-needed usability improvements.

These upgrades help to better unlock the camera’s full potential, allowing users to make the most of a long, sharp, versatile zoom lens, super-fast burst shooting and class-leading stills and video quality. So treat yourself to the Swiss Army Knife of cameras.

Read our Sony RX100 VII Review conclusion

Sony TOUGH SD cards

Sony Tough Cards | $ 60 (32GB), $ 110 (64GB), $ 210 (128GB) | Sony.com

One thing we lost when the industry mostly abandoned CF cards in favor of SD cards is the structural integrity of the media. Like many photographers, I have an ever-growing pile of busted SD cards at my desk, some with missing ribs, some with cracks along their seams and others that have just disintegrated completely. Fortunately Sony has solved the issue of the fragile SD with their SF-G series TOUGH cards.

These cards are molded from one piece of composite material with no seams and no ribs around the contact points. They’re drop, crush and bend-proof far beyond that of a traditional SD card. And an IP68 dust and water-proof rating means they’re not going to let you down, even in the worst conditions. Plus they offer super-fast transfer speeds up to 299Mb/s and write speeds up to 200MB/s. Simply put, these are the most reliable cards we’ve come across. And there’s no better treat than peace of mind.

Read more about Sony’s Tough SD cards

Gnarbox 2.0 SSD

Gnarbox 2.0 SSD | $ 500 (256GB), $ 600 (512GB), $ 900 (1TB) | Gnarbox.com

Speaking of peace of mind, having reliable memory cards is only part of the battle. The journey from photos being shot, to being backed up properly is one with occasional bumps in the roads – bumps that can cause devastation.

The Gnarbox 2.0 SSD looks to smooth out some of these bumps by offering a rugged go-anywhere SSD solution meant for backing up files as soon as they’re shot, with the added ability to tag and sort images via mobile device. The Gnarbox has a built-in SD slot, USB-C connectivity and a Micro-HDMI port. It’s also weather, dust and impact-resistant. Batteries are swappable and it can even be used to charge another device. But perhaps most importantly, transfer speeds are super-fast (up to 350MB/s), plus integration with Photo Mechanic and Lightroom makes it an even more versatile tool for those on-the-go. It’ll even play nice with iPad Pro devices when connected via USB-C.

Read more about the Gnarbox 2.0

Olympus XA 35mm film rangefinder

Olympus XA | $ 65-120 (used)

We’ve long preached the values of shooting film as a photographic companion to your digital work, or vice versa. Both mediums offer benefits that will improve your photography. Seeing as this is a digital camera site, we figured most people around here don’t have analog on their mind. But let’s change that.

If you’ve never shot film, or haven’t in a while, the Olympus XA is an enjoyable and affordable entry into the 35mm medium. Released in the late 70’s, this pocketable aperture-priority rangefinder (one of the world’s smallest) offers a fixed 35mm F2.8 lens hidden behind a sliding cover. The lens is sharp, the shutter is very quiet and the camera itself is full of wacky charm, from the tiny rangefinder tab, to the big red square shutter release, to the four-bladed aperture. In short, the XA is both fun and capable, without taking itself too seriously. Just like you.

Read more about the Olympus XA and other film cameras we recommend

Leica Q2

Leica Q2 | $ 5000 | us.Leica-Camera.com

Speaking of rangefinders, what ‘Treat yourself’ list would be complete without a Leica product? Among the DPReview staff, the rangefinder-style Leica Q2 was easily one of the most lusted-after cameras of the year. And why shouldn’t it be? The combination of a seriously-sharp 28mm F1.7 lens in front of a high-res 47MP full-frame sensor in a beautifully-designed body with excellent ergonomics makes the Q2 the ‘créme de la créme’ of modern fixed-lens cameras. Plus Leica redesigned the Q2 from the inside out to add extensive weather-sealing. They also updated the EVF and improved battery life.

And if the price tag seems a bit steep, perhaps you can justify picking the Q2 up for that special someone (that’s you) knowing there will never be another lens to drool over for the camera. Owning one is an end in itself to one’s gear lust. Probably. Maybe. Whatever… treat yourself!

Read our Leica Q2 Review conclusion

DJI Mavic Mini

DJI Mavic Mini | $ 399 (drone), $ 499 (Fly More Combo) | store.DJI.com

If the idea of using a drone as a creative tool hasn’t hovered noisily to the top of your mind yet, now is the perfect time to consider aerial photography/videography. Most people think of drones as big, loud nuisances, zipping around like angry bees. But the just-announced DJI Mavic Mini is compact (palm-sized), lightweight and reasonably quiet. It’s also super easy to fly. And despite its comparably lower price tag, it offers many of the same features found in its pricier DJI siblings like an accident avoidance camera, return-home functionality and a 3-axis camera gimbal.

The camera aboard the Mini is relatively modest with a 12MP 1/2.3-inch sensor capable of JPEG-capture only and up to 2.7K/30p or 1080/60p video. But for first time fliers, it’ll easily give you just about the same image/video quality of a smartphone, with the advantage of a bird’s eye view. So go on and treat yourself to a fresh new perspective, courtesy of this tiny/fun drone.

Read our DJI Mavic Mini Review

RucPac Professional Tech Gloves

RucPac Tech Gloves | $ 40 | RucPac.com

Cold hands are a reality for many photographers, especially those passionate about landscape, wildlife and sports. Sacrificing dexterity for warmth is simply not an option when ‘the shot’ can come and go in an instant. We’ve used finger-less gloves in the past, but found they don’t keep our hands all that warm. And ordinary gloves don’t provide enough finger movement. If only there were a warm form-fitting glove with good dexterity. Oh wait, there is! RuPac’s Tech gloves.

This pair of hotties comes in two sizes with sticky rubberized grips along the palm and fingers. They’re made of a weather-resistant polyester material that’s thick enough to provide a good deal of warmth on a cold day, but not so thick that they’ll limit hand movement or tactile response. They’re not going to save your paws from an Arctic chill, but for reasonable cold, they’ll get the job done. Plus they offer touchscreen compatible material at the tips of the index fingers and thumbs. So treat yourself to some happy hands this winter.

CAM-IN camera strap

Cam-IN camera strap | $ 25-35 (depending on style) | Cam-In.dk or Amazon.com

Let’s be honest – the strap that came in the box with your camera works just fine. But if you’re looking to treat yourself to something a little more stylish yet highly-functional, look no further than Danish brand CAM-IN’s leather and rope camera straps.

These straps looks great, are made from high-quality materials and feature excellent craftsmanship. They’re also fairly affordable. Simply put, they’ll provide you camera support long into the future, while looking snazzy all along the way. What more could you ask for? Treat yourself.

‘Parks Project’ National Parks/National Geographic apparel

Parks Projects T-shirts, hoodies and hats | $ 35-70 | ParksProject.us

Photographers are not usually known as a well-dressed bunch, but all more reason to freshen up your look with some new threads. And why not support a worthy cause while doing so? Parks Project is a clothing brand that’s partnered with more than 50 non-profits to help restore and protect National Parks in the United States through donations and volunteer work. You can read more about their contributions here. As photographers, many of us have a special relationship with the outdoors: all the more reason to protect it.

Most of Parks Projects’ clothing features hip/retro designs related to specific National Parks like Yosemite, Yellowstone and Zion. They also recently launched a super cool National Geographic collaboration. If there’s a clothing line more appropriate for photo nerds, without being cheesy, we haven’t seen it. TREAT YOURSELF.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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What’s The Highest ISO You Can Use? How To Find Out For Yourself

03 Mar

The post What’s The Highest ISO You Can Use? How To Find Out For Yourself appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter West Carey.

Do you know the limits of your camera’s ISO?

By limit, I mean the point at which, egads!, it’s just too much noise. If not, or if you’ve never bothered to figure out your camera’s limits, I have an easy experiment for you to try.

Each camera model is different and camera manufacturers are improving ISO performance with every new release. This is why it’s important not to assume that Mark IV version is mostly the same as the Mark III.

What is ISO?

ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization. Do big, long governmental-style names make you fall asleep? I’ll make this quick.

The ISO group sets standards so 100 speed Kodak film is the same as ISO 100 Fuji or Agfa or any other manufacture. It’s good to have standards otherwise you wouldn’t know how to set your shutter speed and aperture.

Carry that concept over to digital and ISO is a measure of the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor. The lower the number, the less sensitive, therefore, you need more light to make an exposure. A higher ISO allows for less light in the same situation, which can result in a faster shutter speed or more optimal aperture setting.

Why should you care?

Increasing your ISO setting has one big drawback: the increased sensitivity can create unwanted artifacts called “noise.”

In the days of film, higher ISO meant added grain in an image, something some of us enjoy in our photos. Noise, on the other hand, is disliked by all. It discolors images, mostly in the dark and black areas. It muddles things.

Let me show you the difference with two shots, the first was taken at ISO 12,800 and the second at ISO 80.

Can you see the green and purple discoloration? That’s noise.

Use the lowest ISO you can

Knowing that a higher ISO can create this ugly noise, it’s a good idea to almost always take photos at the lowest ISO that still gives you a crisp image. For instance, landscape photographers in the days of film loved ISO 50 film and some still return to their film gear for the amazing smoothness that film lends to its images.

There are many DSLRs that can utilize ISO 50, such as the older Canon EOS 5D.

Machermo and the Moon – Nepal’s Himalayas – Canon 5D ISO 50

Unless you can’t

But what about dark situations? For instance, what about when you have a dimly lit auditorium or stage? Parents with kids in indoor sports or drama classes and school plays or holiday programs know this situation well. Here’s an example:

ISO 5000

In situations like this it is good to know what your camera’s maximum useable ISO is. It’s also a great idea to know how much noise you will encounter if you go above that self-imposed maximum, because sometimes the emotions and memories are more important than worrying about noise-free images.

Or perhaps you need a high shutter speed given the current lighting conditions and a flash would ruin the scene.

ISO 5000

A simple experiment

The experiment to find out the highest ISO you should use, without gaining too much noise beyond your tastes, is quite easy.

You will need:

  • Camera
  • Table or tripod
  • A variety of objects, with dark and black colors, maybe some shadows too
  • Ample lighting (but not overly bright)

  1. Set up your camera either on a table or tripod. You’re going to want it steady because some of the photos you take might have a slow shutter speed. Blurring will ruin the results.
  2. On the other end of the table set up your objects. I suggest objects without much gloss and as solid a field of black as you can find. Black fur on your kids’ stuffed animals might hide some noise and so will flecks of fabric in a shirt of the like.
  3. Make sure there is enough light in your scene.
  4. Set your camera to Program mode unless you have a favorite.
  5. Also turn off any in camera noise reduction options.
  6. Set your ISO to 100 or L if it goes lower than 100.
  7. Focus on your black objects and take a photo.
  8. Now change the ISO to 200 and take another photo.
  9. Continue moving up your ISO by one stop (a doubling of the number) while snapping an image each time.
  10. Stop when you reach the highest limits of your camera. This may be ISO 3200 or maybe ISO 512,000.

Examine the results

Transfer your images into a computer so you can pixel-peep the results. As your camera was in Program mode, the overall exposure of your images should be close to the same. If you’re using photo editing software like Lightroom, I suggest turning off any automatic noise reduction widgets.

Now zoom in on your images.

ISO 12,800

As the ISO gets higher you will notice more and more noise creep into the dark areas. As mentioned, it’s discoloration that is often purple and green in color. It doesn’t look right and it is not the grain that was characteristic of high ISO films.

At some point, and the choice is yours, the noise gets to be too much. Each camera model is a little different and in the 18 years I’ve been using digital cameras, the quality consistently gets better and better. This is why this experiment is one of the first things you should do with a new camera.

Examples

Let me give you a few examples of what looks like too much noise. These are just my opinion, but I hope the examples can help you get a better idea of where your camera has its limits.

ISO 12,800

ISO 12,800

ISO 12,800

ISO 40,000

Conclusion

Knowing the ISO limits of your camera is important in any type of photography. There are times that might warrant a higher ISO, such as shooting in very low light. How much noise is too much for your situation and camera is a level best tested before the situation arrises.

One additional note: This experiment does not take into account the wonderful ability of most modern photo editing software to greatly reduce the negative aspects of noise. That’s a whole other article!

The post What’s The Highest ISO You Can Use? How To Find Out For Yourself appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter West Carey.


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Photo Finishing – Challenge Yourself to Reveal the Personality in Every Image You Capture

21 Feb

The post Photo Finishing – Challenge Yourself to Reveal the Personality in Every Image You Capture appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Herb Paynter.

Many folks think that photography takes place in the camera, but that’s not the whole truth. Photography is a two-part process that involves 1) capturing the light from a scene, and 2) shaping that captured light into a form that matches what your mind saw when you took the picture. The capture process does happen inside the camera, but the shaping part happens on your computer.

The Capture, or Photo Process

We give the camera credit for things that it doesn’t actually do. Don’t get me wrong, capturing all the light in a scene is a monumental undertaking. Keeping track of millions of points of light is a very critical and specialized responsibility. However, the camera is not so much an artistic tool as it is a capture device with a single purpose – to accurately record the light from the surfaces of objects in a scene. While that purpose can get complicated with lighting challenges, the camera is still just box with a round glass eye and a single function: to record light.

When the light of a scene enters the camera lens, it gets dispersed over the surface of the camera’s image sensor, a postage-size electrical circuit containing millions of individual light receptors. Each receptor measures the strength of the light striking it in a metric called “lumens.” Each receptor on this sensor records its light value as a color pixel.

The camera’s image processor reads the color and intensity of the light striking each photoreceptor and maps each image from those initial values, producing a reasonable facsimile of the original scene. When this bitmap of pixels gets viewed from a distance, the eye perceives the composite as a digital image.

The real magic happens after the storing of light on the memory card. The image that first appears when you open the file is the image processor’s initial attempt at interpreting the data recorded by the camera’s image processor. Most times, the initial (JPEG) image interpretation of this data is an acceptable record of the original scene, though not always.

Presets

Your camera provides several pre-set programs that adjust the three settings in the camera that affect exposure: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

Three main controls determine your exposure: the shutter speed, the aperture, and the ISO. The camera presets (A, S, and M) allow you to determine the depth of field and/or speed with which the camera captures the light.

The A (aperture priority) mode allows you to set the size of the lens opening (f-stop) while the camera automatically sets the shutter speed. The S (shutter priority) mode lets you set the duration of the lens opening (shutter speed) while the camera adjusts the size of the lens opening. The letter P (program mode) allows you to determine the best mix of aperture and shutter speed while your camera retains the correct balance of light for the exposure. The letter M (manual mode) gives you complete control over all settings but requires to balance the overall exposure.

Your camera’s variable ISO (International Standards Organization) setting adjusts the light sensitivity of the camera’s image sensor, allowing you to capture scenes in dim or bright light; the higher the number, the more sensitive the light receptors become, allowing you to capture images in lower levels of light.

The Histogram

Your camera provides a small graph that roughly indicates how well the camera is set to correctly capture the light in the current scene.

This graph displays the range of light coming through the lens and approximates the current light distribution that captured under the current settings. By adjusting the three settings mentioned above, you can shift and somewhat distribute this range of light to best record the full range of light.

Color balancing the light

Every scene’s color cast is influenced by the temperature of the light illuminating that scene. When the scene is captured outside, the Sun’s position in the sky and the influence of cloud cover alters the color of the light. Your camera offers at least two ways to compensate for the differences in color temperature (Auto White Balance and Pre-set Color Balance).

Auto White Balance

The Auto White Balance (AWB) sensor in your camera seeks any prominent white or neutral subject in the scene and shifts the entire color balance of the scene in an effort to neutralize that element. But there is an assumption with AWB that you desire the current lighting to be perfectly neutral in color.

Any clouds interfering with the sunlight will have a slight influence on the neutrality of 6500° (natural sunlight) lighting. AWB takes that slight shift out of the equation. Most of the time, this is a great idea. However, to record early morning or late afternoon (golden hour) lighting accurately, AWB will neutralize those warm colors and completely lose that “warm” mood.

Pre-Set White Balance Settings

Your camera offers several pre-sets to offset any known color casts caused by specific lighting situations. These settings appear in every digital camera “Settings” display and may appear in a slightly different order or wording. Daylight sets the camera to record scenes under typical mid-day outdoor lighting. Cloudy/Overcast shifts the colors toward orange to compensate for the bluish cast caused by light filtering through nominal cloud cover.

Shade offers a stronger orange shift to compensate for completely overcast (stormy) skies. Flash provides a very similar color temperature lighting as Daylight and is intended to prepare the image sensor for artificial daylight or “Speed light” type flash devices.

Tungsten/Incandescent shifts the colors toward the blue end of the color range to compensate for the warmer shift of incandescent lights. Fluorescent attempts to compensate for the greenish cast of gas-charged fluorescent lights.

Kelvin/Custom permits the user to set a custom color balance setting, essentially teaching the camera what “neutral” gray color looks like. All of these pre-sets attempt to correct non-neutral lighting conditions.

The Sculpting, or Finishing Process

While the camera does capture the full range of reflected light in a scene, it has no way of knowing the best tonal curve to apply to each image. Many times the five tonal ranges (highlight, quarter, middle, three-quarter, and shadow) need to be reshaped to best interpret the light captured at the scene. This tonal contouring process is the magic of sculpting the light into a meaningful visual image.

This little fella perched outside my front door and caught me off guard. I didn’t have time to fiddle with the controls to optimize the lighting situation. My first click got his attention and the second got this expression. Fortunately, I capture my images in both jpg and RAW formats simultaneously. Doing so allowed me to post-process the tones and display to you what I actually saw that morning.

I use the term “sculpting” when talking about image editing because it best describes the rearranging of tones in a digital image. Only ideal lighting balance looks great when rendered as a “stock” JPEG camera image.

This sculpting or finishing process amounts to the clarification of tones and colors in a digital image; making the image appear in final form the way the human mind perceived it in the original scene. While the color balancing aspect of this process is a bit more obvious, the tonal recovery is actually more critical to the final presentation.

The digital camera cannot capture all of the dynamics of the visible spectrum on a sunny day, nor can it determine the best balance of those tones. The camera’s image sensor simply captures all the light possible and presents the data to the camera’s image processor to sort out. Under perfectly balanced lighting, this works out just fine, but occasionally detail hides in the shadows and gets lost in the highlights, requiring help from the photographer/editor to balance out the tones.

This is where the individual tone-zones come into play, and the sliders available in RAW processing software (Camera Raw, Lightroom, On1 Camera Raw, Exposure X4) are invaluable. The internal contrast of every image (Whites, Highlights, Middle tones, Shadows, Blacks) can be pushed around and adjusted in a very non-linear manner (in no particular order) to reveal detail that otherwise remains hidden.

Conclusion

Photo finishing isn’t complete until both color and tones are correctly adjusted for maximum effect, matching the emotion of the original scene. Only then is your image ready for viewing. Challenge yourself to squeeze the detail and reveal the potential personality out of every image you capture. It’s well worth the extra effort.

The post Photo Finishing – Challenge Yourself to Reveal the Personality in Every Image You Capture appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Herb Paynter.


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Challenge Yourself by Photographing One Object [video]

01 Feb

The post Challenge Yourself by Photographing One Object appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this great video from COOPH, they ask you to challenge yourself by photographing one object!

Will you do the challenge? If so, show us your results in the comments below!

?

Look for a versatile object that allows you to photograph it in different ways.

Take your object and try the following techniques:

Techniques

1. Get texture

Go close-up or use a macro lens to create different effects

2. Play with Colors

Add color using crayons, pencils or textas. Elevate your object to create bokeh with the colored background.
Experiment with color gels. Make contrast with color.

 

3. Experiment with Black and White

Use dramatic lighting.

4. Shoot Silhouettes

Cut some wire and attach to your object. Shoot in front of a bright light source. Bounce your side light with a mirror to create a glowing silhouette.

5. Cut and Peel it

Cut it into shapes. Use a whiteboard to reflect and a translucent surface to place your object on. Place your object on the translucent board, and backlight it.

6. Shape it

Make some creative cuts. Find interesting patterns that match and place your object onto it.

 

You may also find the following helpful:

How to Use Colored Gels for Creative Off-Camera Flash Photography

Tips for Fast and Effective Studio Product Photography

Reflections on Product Photography

How to Make Funky Colorful Images of Ordinary Plastic Objects Using a Polarizing Filter

Add Interest to your Background with Colored Gels

How to Backlight Translucent Objects for Dramatic Effect

10 Amazing Photography Tricks You Can Do at Home with Everyday Objects

How to Use Backlight to Create Incredible Images

 

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20 Ways to Improve Your Photography by Improving Yourself

07 Jan

The post 20 Ways to Improve Your Photography by Improving Yourself appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.

Photo: Guillermo Sánchez

Sometimes what holds us back in photography is not a lack of “know how” or new gear, but not growing anymore as people. Before you try to improve your photography with a new camera or lens, try working on some weak part of your personality. Once you’ve improved yourself as a person, you’ll make much better use of that new camera or lens!

Whether you’re an amateur or professional, here are 20 personality problems to tackle that can help you grow as a photographer.

Golden hour photography of kids sledding in the snow

Imagine if adults kept growing at the rate toddlers do. One day they’re watching the big kids play, and then suddenly they’ve figured it out for themselves.

1. Stop being lazy – accomplish something big

If you always have a nagging feeling that you should be accomplishing more, then now is the time to do it. Instead of letting half-baked ideas and almost-finished projects pile up, get something completed.

It’s so easy to be lazy. That’s the danger. Accomplishing great things takes work, but being lazy doesn’t.

You can spend hours scrolling through photos that other photographers have taken, always lusting over their projects. Or, you can get off the couch to finish one of your own projects.

Before long, you’ll look back and see a trail of finished work.

2. Don’t work so hard

Maybe you’re the opposite of lazy. Maybe you can’t stop working. Suppose you run a photography business and feel a lot of guilt about missing so much family time. You must stop working a bit and pay attention to the other important things in your life.

When you make more time for friends and family and a little bit of downtime, you’ll grow in your creativity and do greater things when you get back to work.

Expand your relationships and life experiences and you’ll bring a much deeper version of yourself to your work.

Cut back on the hours you work by eliminating tasks that are not essential to your projects or business.

Candid photo of a toddler reading books.

Workaholics could schedule some time into their week to relax with a book. Expand yourself with a thrilling novel or good “how to” book.

3. Get organized

Begin to de-clutter and simplify your life. For example, do you just dump all your photos onto a hard drive or leave them floating around the cloud? You need to get those photos organized.

Get all your photos into one place and get them sorted out.

If you’re a project photographer, them sort them by year and by the project.

If you take a lot of photos every day or every week, I highly recommend sorting them by date.

The system I use is simple.

  • All photos go into a monthly folder
  • The monthly folders go into a yearly folder
  • All yearly folders go into one main folder labeled Photos

When your photos are organized you can begin to sift through them, print them, and enjoy them.

When your photos are in one place it is easy to back them up and know they’re safe.

4. Embrace a little chaos

Perhaps you are so orderly in life that you can’t stand any chaos.

Maybe you’re a photographer who can’t stand dealing with toddlers or people with strong personalities. You need to get out of your comfort zone and embrace a little chaos. Let the toddlers run wild a bit, maybe you’ll notice some great candid moments when you’re not asserting so much control.

Instead of meticulously planning every detail of your life, leave some things to chance. Allow for surprising spontaneity and see where it takes you.

Candid photography of a toddler exploring

Those white pants were so clean when we left the house! Toddlers are agents of chaos. But they’re exploring their world and learning so much.

5. Be more kind

Does your mouth lack a filter? Do you boast that you don’t care about people’s feelings? Are you always annoyed with your clients and don’t mind telling them so?

I recommend you work on being more polite. It’s going to be difficult, but try biting your tongue once in a while.

Don’t be a troll, leaving nasty comments on photography websites. When you say things kindly, your words might help somebody to improve themselves.

Practice saying one thing to every client or photographer in your life that would build them up. When you learn to help others grow, you grow deeply too.

6. Don’t let people walk all over you

Don’t misunderstand the nature of kindness by letting people take advantage of you.

If you’re a photographer in business, you must make people respect your talent, time and prices. Your work is worth something (perhaps more than you think).

Sure, you’ve got a heart of gold. But wake up and see that letting people take advantage of you does nothing to help them.

When the kids get sick it always throws a wrench into our plans. But sometimes those sick days are gateways to something new. We discover something more of their personality or spend the day reading books or listening to stories together. Sometimes, when something ruins our plans it leads to something better.

7. Volunteer

If you know that compassion is a weak point for you, then you should volunteer your photography skills. Go out and work for free, blessing a family or charity who would be thrilled by your offer to help. You might even enjoy the experience!

8. Compassion has some limits

Many photographers suffer burnout in their photography business. One of the main reasons is that they charge too little for their services. When you charge too little, you have to work too much to make a decent living. You will burn out.

Charge a price that is fair to you and your client, not just fair for them. Don’t feel like you have to give everyone discounts. And don’t listen to those few people who will tell you your prices are too high.

Balance good business and your own photography pursuits with some compassion for those who are truly in need.

Toddler portrait with shoes on the wrong feet

Toddlers always put their shoes on the wrong feet!

9. Learn to accept stress without snapping

Do you find yourself constantly snapping in anger or wanting to cry about stress?

You need to learn to accept difficult things more gracefully. It might not be easy. When everything in you wants to snap, restraint takes strength.

Begin by understanding that not everything is worth freaking out over, even though you may feel like it. Often, your initial feelings tell you how to act, and snapping has become a habit.

When you feel volatile feelings rising up, stop and think about them. Is this the best response?

Walk away from dramatic situations and wait to respond when you are at peace.

You’ll find it much easier to deal with criticism of your photography, difficult clients and unruly subjects.

10. Recognize that sometimes your emotions deceive you

Do you feel like crying or throwing up when you think a client has ripped you off or somebody says they hate their photos?

It’s tough to get bad news. But what if you could receive that news without the flood of overwhelming negative emotions? You can make peace with those clients more easily when your emotions are not raging. Sometimes the situation isn’t even half as bad as your emotions are telling you.

Make yourself calm down before you talk with clients or people who upset you. You can overcome overwhelming emotions.

Get toddlers to engage with the camera by playing games with them.

Drawn to the camera in a game of peekaboo.

11. Go out and meet people

Being introverted is not a bad thing, but being very withdrawn is. Spending time on your own is fine, but hating to be around people isn’t a good thing.

You can’t make the most of life on your own. You’ll grow as a photographer when you spend more time with people.

If you’re awkward around people, try acting like an extrovert. Just pretend you love people. Strike up conversations and take an interest in those around you. Before you know it, you’ll be more confident and less withdrawn.

Even if you’re a landscape or wildlife photographer, you’ll benefit from friendships and relationships with other photographers. You can even expand your photography by including people in your landscape and wildlife photos.

12. Most people are not thinking bad things about you

If you’re always worried about what people think about you, you should know this; they’re not thinking about you!

Most people don’t think bad things about you and most people don’t spend much time thinking of you at all.

Resist whatever thoughts you have that scare you about people.

If street photography is your thing, don’t be afraid to actually approach people on the street for a portrait. You’ll be nervous, but your imagination is probably playing tricks on you.

Candid photo of a toddler hiding

13. Be more assertive

If you’re too afraid to take control of your portrait sessions then you need to grow in your assertiveness. Perhaps you love waiting for candid moments, but maybe you’re more afraid to step in and tell people what to do.

People like a certain amount of assertiveness. Most people prefer that you take some control.

14. Don’t be a control freak

Being assertive is a great quality unless you overdo it! You can be so assertive that you don’t let other people be themselves. Your portrait clients like knowing that you’re confident and in control, but they don’t like it when you won’t listen to them and work with their ideas.

Humorous toddler portrait

He thinks he’s so funny stealing my seat every time I get up!

15. Cheer up!

You will go through periods when you just don’t feel the love toward photography that you used to. That’s okay. But the best way to get out of that slump is to act like you love it. Go through the motions of loving it. Don’t act like your photography work is drudgery.

16. Don’t jump on every opportunity!

You can be way too enthusiastic about photography, jumping on every opportunity that comes along.

You can buy every piece of gear, accept every job, and take on every project. But committing to everything will be committing to too much.

Slow down and only commit to what you’re best at or what you want to learn about most.

Candid portrait of a toddler

Dropping fistfuls of sand on himself, he hasn’t got a care in the world.

17. Go explore

Do you feel so insecure about things that you avoid new situations? If you haven’t experienced anything new in a while, you need to go and explore.

Find new landscapes. Meet new people. Try a different art form.

18. Reflect on what you’ve explored

If you’re constantly exploring and discovering new things it might be time that you stop and do some reflecting. What are you discovering through all this exploration? What are you learning about yourself, other people and the world around you? How has your photography improved? How might you improve more?

19. Read a book about a photographer

Maybe you know everything about every photography technique out there, but nothing about the heart of photography. Maybe you know little about the deeply human part of photography.

Go to the library and grab a biography of some photographer to read. Learn about the life experiences that led to their work and techniques.

20. Flesh out your ideas in a photo

If you love ideas and are constantly reading, try bringing some of those ideas to life through photos.

Funny toddler portrait

Sometimes I’m not just capturing moments. I’m trying to capture moments that express something about my subject. What’s the nature of a toddler? What are the ideas about toddler-hood that could be captured in a photo?

Choose 2-3 ways to improve yourself as a photographer

You’ve just read 20 ways to improve yourself that will also help you grow as a photographer. Choose 1 of these things to work on over the next few weeks or 2-3 things that you can work on over the year. As you grow as a person, you’ll grow as a photographer too.

The post 20 Ways to Improve Your Photography by Improving Yourself appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.


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5 Ways to Challenge Yourself as a Wildlife Photographer

16 Apr

As a wildlife photographer, often it can seem challenging enough just to find your subjects out in the field, let alone get close enough to take that perfect image. However, to develop as a photographer, constantly challenging yourself is a key ingredient to learning and growing, helping you to tell stories in a more meaningful and creative way through your images.

In this article, I will give you a few ideas to explore when you next head out on a nature photography shoot, to keep you challenged and growing as a photographer.

1 – Take one lens

One lens - wildlife photographer

Restricting yourself is often a great way to encourage creativity. Working with constraints can help you to think outside the box and explore ideas or ways of working that you might have missed in other cases. As photographers, having a boatload of lenses at our disposal means we have options to capture the world in a multitude of ways. Yet still, within this, we often become restricted within our view, choosing to consistently work with convention rather than explore creative options.

For example, if you are going to work with birds you will likely select your long telephoto, whereas, for insects or flowers, the obvious choice is a macro lens. However, if you decide to restrict yourself to a certain lens or focal length you have to use that in order to explore and create a photograph. That means that sometimes you’ll have to work in a new way, choose a different composition, or go for a different type of image than you would normally attempt.

For example, taking a macro lens out for a full day of shooting you might feel restricted. But the 100mm focal length (common for most macro lenses) is actually highly adaptable for working with a variety of subjects from landscapes to tiny insects, or even people and street images. Prime lenses further enhance this restriction, forcing you to zoom with your feet.

However, after a number of days solely focused on each lens in your bag, you’ll have a much greater appreciation for the wide variety of subjects and images it can produce. Thus helping you to be more creative with your choices in the future.

2 – Work wide

Shooting wide two deer in a field - wildlife photographer

For most wildlife photographers, the long telephoto is our safe haven. We know that when using a 300mm, 500mm or 600mm lens we can frame up our subjects and get wonderful clean portrait images. Allowing us to concentrate on our subjects and not necessarily needing to worry about the other elements in the landscape.

The thing is that, although telephotos are fantastic for filling the frame and showing close details of distant creatures, they don’t give an impression of scale. Images show with a long lens almost seem less immersive than shots taken with shorter focal lengths.

Of course, one of the biggest problems is that shooting wildlife with a wide lens is often a lot harder, (depending on the subject) than your traditional long lens wildlife photography. But this is a great learning curve. Yes, the complexities of predicting animal behavior, working out positioning for remote cameras and triggering them at the perfect time without always being able to look through the viewfinder is difficult. But the struggles will certainly push you to be a better wildlife photographer in the long run.

Try working with a wireless remote in the garden to get started. A simple bird feeder or setup for urban mammals is a great way to hone your skills, to add another string to your photographic bow.

Remote camera triggers - wildlife photographer

Remote camera setup

Remote triggered wideangle

Remote-triggered wide-angle shot.

3 – Add movement

Often, I hear wildlife photographers talking about always getting the image tack sharp. But in reality, how much in nature ever freezes dead still? Adding motion to your images is a great way to explore and develop your shooting style, adding drama to images and also helping the wildlife you’re recording to come alive in your frames.

When working in the field it can be tempting to always have that 1/1000 of a second shutter speed dialed in. Learning how and when to slow your shutter to display movement is a great skill, but it takes practice to get it right.

Often I find that for large moving creatures, such as deer, a shutter speed of 1/15th of a second allows enough movement into the frame to make great panning shots. In contrast, birds with their fast-moving nature mean that often 1/100th or 1/60th easily provides enough movement within the frame for lovely streaking effects.

a deer running - wildlife photographer

Birds in flight - wildlife photographer

Of course, in addition to panning with slow shutter speeds, keeping your camera dead steady and allowing the creatures to move is another effective technique for creating unique and captivating images of nature’s patterns and movements.

4 – Pick a theme and stick to it

Another way to challenge yourself as a nature photographer is to set yourself a theme to work on. This could be a practical theme like birds in flight, animal portraits, or in the landscape images. Another option is exploring a certain location or place with a geographical theme or even delving a little deeper to explore emotions or feelings as a base for a set of images.

The reason for shooting around a theme is to train yourself how to showcase and express your ideas through images more effectively. As a photographer, you are a visual storyteller. So being able to draw from inspirations, ideas, and emotions and express them photographically helps you to tell better and more powerful stories through your images.

Aim to develop a couple of small bodies of work, maybe three sets of three images, each with a different focus as a training exercise. It’s a great way to focus on areas where you’re less confident and give yourself a mini-assignment to develop and shoot to keep you focused on improving your work.

Shooting a set of images (3 images of deer)

5 – Shoot like you have one roll of film

A final way to challenge yourself is to go out on a shoot and pretend that you only have 36 images or a single roll of film. This is to force yourself to be more critical and picky with your images, choosing the perfect moment to get a shot rather than just taking a number to be sure one will be okay.

Shooting with a limit slows you down and makes you consider things more intently, thinking through your exposure, composition, and technique before shooting. The idea is that you only shoot one frame per subject, aiming to get it perfect on every image.

You can do this even more strictly by getting hold of an old school 1gb or 2GB memory card, the modern equivalent of a single roll of film. You can pick them up cheap on eBay and they are great training aids.

Small SD and film

Of course, if you want even more of a challenge why not try shooting an actual roll of film. With each frame literally costing you money, you will soon focus your shooting in order to make sure you nail it out on location. It’s good fun and a really great learning tool!

Conclusion

So there you have it, a quick rundown of five ways to challenge yourself as a nature or wildlife photographer to help develop your photography.

By focusing on specific challenges and setting yourself goals and tasks, you’ll certainly see your photography improve. As well, you will have more confidence going for those creative images when you’re on your next shoot.

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How to Clone Yourself – Step by Step Tutorial

09 Dec

You have probably seen photos on the internet where the same person appears in multiple spots in a single photo. At first sight, you might not have believed it, and later you must have gone berserk looking for ways that effect can be achieved. Well, who does not want that superhero feeling where you can appear in 2-3 different places doing 2-3 different things as well in a single photo.

Let me tell you, it is not at all complicated or difficult to clone yourself multiple times in a single frame. You can achieve this effect by going through two simple stages, the execution stage (shooting) and the post-processing stage. By the end of this tutorial, I am sure you will be able to create pretty awesome clone photos, feel free to share them in the comments section.

How to Clone Yourself - Step by Step Tutorial

Part One – How to Clone Yourself – Execution

In the execution stage all you need is a:

  • A digital camera
  • A tripod
  • Shutter release remote or use the built-in self-timer

Step 1:

Mount your digital camera on a tripod. As you will be taking multiple photos you need to make sure that the frame in each photo remains the same and the camera doesn’t move.

Step 2:

Make sure that Manual Mode is selected as you do not want any aperture, shutter speed, or white balance variations in your multiple photos. This is to make sure that all your photos are consistent in exposure, depth of field and color temperature.

How to Clone Yourself - Step by Step Tutorial

Step 3:

Now focus on the point where you will be standing or sitting and switch the focusing mode to Manual as well. This is again to ensure that each photo is consistent in terms of depth of field and sharpness. An important suggestion is to use an aperture which is not too wide, something around f/5.6 – f/8 would be ideal to get good depth of field.

Step 4:

Switch on the 10-second timer on your digital camera so that you have enough time to position yourself in the frame and get ready for the photo. If you have one, you can also use a wired/wireless shutter release remote to click photos once you are ready and in position.

That’s it, now you are ready to take as many photos you as want to by positioning yourself at different spots in the frame.

How to Clone Yourself - Step by Step Tutorial

Here you can see the four shots I took. It’s important to take one of just the scene without you in it as well as you’ll need it for the next stage.

Note: It’s important to take one of just the scene without you in it as well as you’ll need it for the next stage!

Part Two – How to Clone Yourself – Post-Processing

Now comes the interesting part of this tutorial where you get to learn how you can clone yourself multiple times in a photo using software such as Adobe Photoshop. Let me take you through a step-by-step explanation of how I achieved this photo.

Note: you need an image editing software that works with layers to do this. Lightroom cannot do this.

Step 1:

Import all the photos into Adobe Photoshop and get them to a single workspace by going to individual photos, pressing CTRL/CMD + A (select all) and again pressing CTRL/CMD + C (copy). Now go to the photo where you want all other photos to be brought together and press CTRL/CMD + V (paste). Do this for all the other photos until you have all the photos in one workspace as layers.

Make sure the image without you is the bottom layer. If it is not, drag it there now.

Note: Alternatively you can open Adobe Bridge and find your images. Select all the ones you want to use (CMD+click on each to select more than one) and go to Tools > Photoshop > Load files into Photoshop layers. This will achieve the same thing as copy and pasting each image. If you work in Lightroom you can select them all, right-click and select Open as Layers in PS as well. 

How to Clone Yourself - Step by Step Tutorial

Step 2:

Now add a black layer mask (press and hold ALT and then click on Add vector mask icon as shown in the photo below) in order to start the editing process. Select the Paintbrush tool and make sure that black is selected as the foreground color, and then click once on the mask of the layer you want to work on first.

Note: Make sure the mask is selected not the layer. See the white bracket corners on the mask? That means it is selected. 

How to Clone Yourself - Step by Step Tutorial

Step 3:

Layer by layer, start painting (at 100% brush opacity)_ over the area where you are located in that frame to make yourself visible in the photo. Do this with all the layers in order to make yourself appear in the photo at multiple spots as shown in the image below.

How to Clone Yourself - Step by Step Tutorial

While bringing back one of yourself in the frame, if by mistake you erase your previous photo (your clone) you can bring it back by selecting the foreground color as white and painting back over it on the mask. So basically, painting with black lets you make the elements of the current layer visible, and the white color erases the elements of that current layer if you by mistake overdo it.

Black reveals – white conceals

How to Clone Yourself - Step by Step Tutorial

Finish up

Once you are done cloning all your photos proof check the final photo carefully, there is a chance that you might have erased a part of one of your clones by accident. Make sure you aren’t missing any toes or limbs.

So once you are satisfied with the final result, export it and start flaunting it on your social media channels and please share in the comments below.

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The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

08 Dec

If you do any photography for clients, either on a regular basis or whenever work comes your way, there can be a tendency to be somewhat creative when answering questions about your skills, abilities, and expectations. You might be asked to shoot a wedding when you don’t necessarily have the gear or experience to do what the client expects. Or someone might ask you to take product photos when your background is in portraits.

It’s not uncommon to be on location at a photo session and have things suddenly go awry or get strange requests from your clients. Even in the editing phase, you could very well find yourself dealing with a situation that you aren’t ready for. In times like these, it’s important to remember three simple words we have all heard since we were kids – tell the truth. You might not like the immediate results, but it will work out for the best for you and your clients in the long run.

The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

Set your client’s expectations

Not long ago I was asked to do a portrait session for a high school senior. I knew the family and we were all looking forward to the session. But about a week before we were scheduled to take photos, we hit a bit of a wrinkle. Her parents asked if their daughter could have her two dogs in the photos as well. I had a moment of panic because this was a situation for which I was quite unprepared.

After I thought about it for a little while, I realized I had two choices, neither of which was all that appealing. I could have said yes in which case I would be agreeing to something that I was not ready for. Or I could have said no in which case I would have run the risk of angering the client and maybe even losing their business to another photographer who would agree to take the photos they wanted.

The truth of the matter, though, was that I simply didn’t know the answer so I told the client just that. Rather than say yes or no, I laid my cards out on the table and hoped for the best. I explained that I would be willing to give it a try but I had no experience with this sort of situation, and there would be a chance the pictures wouldn’t turn out at all.

The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

This high school senior wanted some pictures with her dogs. I obliged but tried to be as honest as possible regarding my comfort level and experience with this type of photography.

Honesty is the best policy

Instead of being upset or angry, her parents were quite pleased with my response and told me they appreciated me being upfront about it. They felt more comfortable working with someone who was willing to tell the truth rather than spend money on a photographer who just told them what they wanted to hear and might not be able to deliver on the results.

On the day of the shoot, I continued the trend of being open and honest and suggested a couple options for photos, many of which the family quite liked. I even enlisted the help of the parents. Even though the photos aren’t going to win any awards or get printed in magazines, the family was more than pleased with the results. They liked the collaborative nature of the photo session as well. They felt like they could trust me and knew that I would do everything in my power to get some photos they would like, and in the end, that’s what really mattered.

The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

We enlisted her mom to help!

This type of honesty can go a long way towards making sure your clients know what to expect when they book your services. Getting everyone on the same page before, and during, the photo session can help make sure they know what they are getting and you know that you haven’t promised something you can’t deliver.

Work with a safety net

Being open and honest with your clients is a little tricky and can involve walking somewhat of a fine line because as a photographer you are getting paid to know what you’re doing and you have to project a certain degree of confidence. After all, people are paying you to know what you’re doing so you had better know how to do it!

That being said, if you are honest with your clients about what you can do, it can give you a great deal of wiggle room when out actually doing a photo session. It also helps build a relationship of trust with your clients.

I normally shoot photos on location at parks and open areas around town. When I was taking pictures for another high school senior the two of us met up at a local garden, talked about school and college, and then got to work on the photo session. I started by giving him some very specific directions to get some good shots in the bag – the slam dunks if you will. He politely obliged, and we took some pictures that turned out just fine when I reviewed the images on my camera.

The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

This young man was willing to try some new locations and poses for his senior photos. We got some good ones in familiar spots first, and then tried a couple of experiments just to see what would happen.

Get the safe shots then experiment

After that, I spoke to him quite plainly about some ideas I had and asked if he would be comfortable trying some pictures that might be different than what he expected. Instead of just barking orders I explicitly said: “I’ve got an idea and I’m not sure how it will turn out, but would you be up for trying something and see what happens?” This sort of talk put him at ease, and he told me he appreciated that I was straightforward and plainspoken with him, and he gladly agreed to experiment with some poses and locations that were new to both of us.

I don’t have quantitative data to support this, but I have a strong suspicion that if I had played the classic “fake it ’til you make it” approach I would have been nervous, fidgety, and a little on edge the whole time. Instead, my honesty about the photos we were taking helped make the session comfortable for both of us and we got some pictures that both he and his parents liked quite a lot.

The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

Neither of us had ever been to this spot before, but I asked if he was willing to try something new and he was all for it.

Be open to ideas – but be honest if you aren’t sure about it

Here’s one final example of how important honesty is when working with clients. Not long ago I was asked to shoot photos of a family in early November in time for them to get their Christmas cards printed. We discussed the details of the shoot beforehand and she gave me examples of the types of pictures she was hoping to get. I assured her that I could certainly get that same look and feel. (I really meant it too because I knew the location, I knew my own capabilities, and I was entirely confident I could get the shots she wanted.)

The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

During the photo session, one of the family members asked about some different types of pictures. Rather than blindly agree with everything she asked for, I slowed down and discussed the details with her on the spot. I knew the capability of the lenses I had with me, I knew the setting and the lighting, and I asked her several questions in order to make sure I was giving her honest and straightforward answers.

Soon enough I found myself standing atop an eight-foot ladder shooting straight down at a collection of hands on a tree stump. While it was certainly something I had not imagined beforehand I was able to set expectations with the client, build a safety net in case things didn’t work out, and ultimately get a shot that everyone liked.

The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

Not the type of picture I’m used to taking, but I explained that and the family didn’t mind at all.

Be honest with yourself

I want to make it clear that as a photographer working with clients you should absolutely possess a high degree of knowledge regarding your craft. You should understand lighting and composition, and know how to work with your subjects (even if they’re inanimate objects) to get the pictures you want. You should know your camera like the back of your hand and have a firm grasp on the fundamentals of exposure like aperture, shutter, and ISO.

But you should also know your own limitations, and understand what you can do as well as what you haven’t yet learned. Essentially you need to make sure you don’t over-promise and under-deliver when crunch time hits.

This is a mistake that a lot of new photographers make, myself included. It’s thrilling to get a new camera and some lenses and think that you can suddenly start taking on paid jobs. I know, I’ve been there! But if you take time to learn your own limitations and be honest with yourself about what you really should and should not be doing, you will find yourself producing better results while also having a clear idea of how you can improve over time.

Here’s a photo that illustrates what I’m talking about

The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

I took this picture without being honest with myself. When I look back on it now I notice so many problems that were plain as day if only I had been willing to see them. This mother and her girls look great, but as their photographer, I really should have known better before agreeing to do their photos.

I had gotten a DSLR and a 50mm lens about a year before this and I thought I knew everything there was to know about photography! But in reality, there was a vast chasm between what I thought I knew and what I actually knew.

  • I didn’t understand the relationship between aperture and depth of field, hence the reason the girl in the foreground is out of focus.
  • I didn’t fully understand the capabilities and limitations of my gear and shot at much higher ISO values than I should have in this scenario.
  • My knowledge of light, shadows, and composition was lacking.
  • I didn’t know how to edit my RAW files to get the final images to look how I really wanted.

The list could go on, but the lesson here is that if I had been willing to own up to my shortcomings I would have either waited to do the photo session until I actually did know what I was doing. Or I would have been more forthcoming with the clients about what I could do and what they could expect.

The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

This shot turned out okay, but there was a lot I didn’t know about using external speedlights when I took it. I should have taken more time to learn what I was doing first.

Do the right thing

One final note, or perhaps a bit of advice, is to be forthcoming with your clients about the limits of what is culturally and legally permissible. If you’re in this business long enough you might be asked to shoot photos at a spot where photography is prohibited by custom or by law. (Note: if you are ever asked to take photos on train tracks, do not do it. Not only is it dangerous and life-threatening, but train tracks are private property and you will likely be trespassing if you shoot photos on them.)

Alternatively, someone might inquire about taking pictures at locations that are particularly dangerous to themselves or you as the photographer. Sometimes even the subjects you are shooting might want to engage in risky activities or behaviors that are either illegal or, as your gut instinct might tell you, just plain wrong.

Trust your instincts

It’s best to be upfront and honest if you find yourself in these situations. Tell your contacts or potential clients, “Thanks, but no thanks.” and explain that you just aren’t willing or able to meet their request. “But my friend did it, and it was no big deal!” they might reply. If they do…stand your ground, maintain your integrity, and advise them to look elsewhere for their photos. Don’t compromise your integrity and professionalism to get pictures you know you shouldn’t be taking.

The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself and Your Clients

Conclusion

One of the best feelings in the world is when I see someone pick up a camera, get inspired, and start using it to create images with meaning, impact, and a sense of artistry. Digital cameras make photography easier than ever before but if you are working with clients whether it’s shooting weddings, portraits, products, real estate, or any other type of transactional relationship you have to be honest with them and yourself to build a rapport and sense of trust that can lead to long-term partnerships.

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