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Lessons from the Masters: Imogen Cunningham

05 Apr

The post Lessons from the Masters: Imogen Cunningham appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.

It’s easy enough to develop the illusion that the legendary names venerated throughout the history of photography were somehow so different from ourselves. While’s it’s certainly true that the photographic climate has changed, we still share the same passion for the art as those who clicked shutters fifty years or even a century ago. Many of them faced the same challenges, inspirations, successes and failures as we do. Perhaps that’s why I love learning more about the giants of photography and applying lessons from their work to my photos.

In this installment of “Lessons from the Masters,” we’re going to take a closer look at the work of the estimable Imogen Cunningham. Her determination and herculean achievements placed her working alongside other formative photographers of the 20th century. The contributions she made to photography as an art helped shape the photographic landscape we know today.

Imogen Cunningham

Named after the heroine of the Shakespearean play Cymbeline, Imogen Cunningham entered this world on April 12th, 1883. Born to rather paradoxical parents (her father a spiritualist and her mother Methodist) in Portland, Oregon she was a self-described “ill-tempered” child.

When she was 18 years old, she saved enough money to purchase (via mail order) her first camera in 1903, a 4×5 type, along with a box of glass plate negatives. She then began teaching herself how to make photographs. Cunningham knew photography would be her life’s work although her path would not be a direct one.

Following her graduation from the University of Washington with a degree in Chemistry in 1907, Imogen worked with Edward Curtis at his Seattle studio. There, she honed her skills in the darkroom while printing his iconic images of Native Americans and the American West.

Two years later, Cunningham received a $ 500 grant which enabled her to continue her studies abroad in Germany. During this time she developed theories on photographic chemistry still practiced today.

On her return to the west coast from Europe, Imogen made a familiar pilgrimage which other notable artists of the time often made and ventured to New York City for a meeting with the legendary Alfred Stieglitz at his “291” gallery. Stieglitz introduced her to Gertrude Käsebier who was the first professional female commercial photographer at that time.

After this influential meeting, Imogen committed her energy to photography. She opened a studio in Seattle, Washington and soon made a name for herself through portraits.

It was this studio where Imogen made her living while finding time to delve into more personal work before relocating to California in 1917. Unfortunately for us, she left the majority of her photographs and negatives behind, so there isn’t a large wealth of examples from that period of her career. In 1929, the Film und Foto Exhibition in Stuttgart, Germany, included a ten-piece selection of Cunningham’s work. The fabled Group f/64 would form a few years later to which Imogen was a founding member. Other founding members included her friend Edward Weston as well as Henry Swift, John Paul Edwards, Sonja Noskowiak, Ansel Adams and Willard Van Dyke. Over the years, Imogen Cunningham’s body of work would be as eclectic as it was groundbreaking.

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After living an extraordinary life of photography, Imogen Cunningham passed away on June 23rd, 1976 in San Francisco, California at the age of 93.

Now that you know a little bit about the person, let’s dig a little deeper. We’ll look at a few of the many the lessons you can learn from the life, work, and attitude of Imogen Cunningham which can help to improve your photography.

Extend your range

Imogen Cunningham’s choice in subject matter was ‘diverse’ to say the least. From her earliest pictorial work to her self portraits and nudes, it’s safe to say that the idea of sticking to one subject or even one genre for that matter was not something that held back the creative spirit of Imogen Cunningham. She believed that photographs presented themselves to her organically.

She seldom went “looking for things to shoot,” instead preferring to allow the subject matter to appeal to her aesthetic awareness. I mean, come on, she was even one of the early practitioners of street photography before there was street photography!

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Many of Imogen’s most iconic photographs gravitated towards the use of light and shadow to present common scenes in an extraordinary way by accentuating texture and shapes. She could look past what a subject was to see what it could be. This beautifully simplistic aesthetic is one of the reasons so many Cunningham prints carry a timeless appeal.

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Sometimes we find ourselves concentrating so vigorously on obtaining a particular photograph that we overlook other opportunities to produce great work. While it’s true that we can and should visualize how we want the final image to appear, the process is often helped along if we remain flexible.

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Don’t allow yourself to be mired down by one particular subject or location. This is especially true for us today while bombarded by social media accounts producing visually similar photos according to a theme rather than personal expression. This leads to an almost unconscious dulling down of creativity.

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My own still life photo of lilies making use of light and texture to bring out the subtle elegance of a simple subject.

Photograph anything and everything that you please – even if might not fit with what you generally shoot.

Feel the fear…then do it anyway

One of my favorite quotes from Imogen Cunningham goes like this:

“…you can’t expect things to be smooth and easy and beautiful. You just have to work, find your way out, and do anything you can yourself.”

Without a doubt, Imogen was a strongly independent, capable and witty woman who pursued her work with an intensity of purpose. At the same time, she was human. She faced challenges, hardships, and fear just as we all do.

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The key to overcoming your self-doubt is to keep moving forward. I think that’s what Cunningham was getting at here. It’s not that we should strive to be fearless but instead work to be tireless in the face of fear or our lack of confidence.

When it comes to photography, there will always be areas where we don’t feel as knowledgeable or proficient as we would like. However, that shouldn’t reduce you to thinking you will always feel that way. Take it from Imogen. Work hard and accept that you won’t always find yourself in easy situations. But never, never, never give up.

Interface with other photographers

Surrounded by other photographers, like many other defining artists of her time, Imogen loved discussing all aspects of photo work. As a founding member of Group f/64, she understood the value of sharing ideas and concepts with other photographers who approached the medium with the same zeal as she did. They learned from one another and worked to further the craft.

One of the most enlightening and enjoyable things I have ever done in this regard was to start the ongoing ITOW (In Their Own Words) Project. This project consists of interviewing other photographers that I either know personally or interact with on social media. The insights gained through these discussions continue to help deepen my own appreciation for the way other people see photography.

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By Seth Doyle via Unsplash

Whenever possible, take the time to get to know other photographers and discuss photography openly and honestly. This doesn’t mean you have to strike up a conversation with anyone you see is carrying a camera, but it’s always interesting to examine how other people go about making their images and why.

Worldwide communication has never been more extensive or readily available. We have the capability of connecting with people whom we would have never known existed otherwise. One of the greatest assets we have for growth in our work is by interacting with other people who appreciate the value of photography.

Parting thoughts on Imogen Cunningham

Having been fortunate enough to view some of Imogen’s original prints, it’s easy for me to understand why she was, and still is, one of the most influential and accomplished photographers of all time. Along with other pioneering photographers, we owe a debt of gratitude to Imogen for helping advance photography to the incredible medium we know today.

The lessons we can learn from her work extend well beyond the photographic. She helped show that beauty is found in places and objects we see every day and that we can accomplish almost any goal – no matter how distant it may seem.

I urge you to learn more about Imogen Cunningham, her photographs and her wonderful example of living a full life.

Author’s Note: I would like to extend my immense appreciation to The Imogen Cunningham Trust for permitting the use of many of the photographs presented in this article.

The post Lessons from the Masters: Imogen Cunningham appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.

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7 Tips and Tricks to Learn From Commercial Photographers

04 Apr

The world of photography is an exciting one, and it is only getting more and more accessible as technology improves. Technically, anyone with a smartphone can be a photographer; whether or not you choose to be a “good” photographer is up to you. Commercial photographers are some of the most sought after image-takers in the world as they have to Continue Reading

The post 7 Tips and Tricks to Learn From Commercial Photographers appeared first on Photodoto.

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Mastering Color Series – The Psychology and Evolution of the Color YELLOW and its use in Photography

04 Apr

The post Mastering Color Series – The Psychology and Evolution of the Color YELLOW and its use in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

In her diary, Frida Kahlo once wrote, “Yellow: madness, sickness, fear (part of the sun and of joy).” As one of the oldest pigments used by humans, the spectrum of attributes associated with yellow makes it an enduring presence in art and design. In this article, we’ll look at the evolution and artistic impact of yellow from prehistoric to contemporary visual arts.

The psychology of yellow

As one of yellow’s oldest embodiments, the sun and yellow are inextricably linked, the qualities of the sun (warmth, energy, and radiance) reflected in human perceptions of the color yellow. Throughout history, the sun came to be viewed by many cultures as a figure of heavenly might. As a result, yellow has also inherited connotations of power, knowledge, imperishability, and status.

Many associations attributed to yellow originate in nature. For example, sunlight shifting the darkness of night has forged a relationship between yellow and joy. Spring-blooming flowers like daffodils, dandelions, wattle, and forsythia draw connections between yellow, rebirth and renewal. The yellowing of Autumnal leaves cultivates associations of change, balance, and age. Vibrant hues of lemons, bananas, and corn characterize yellow as a color of nourishment.

And in some cases, dangerous plants, insects and animals, exhibit yellow as a sign of warning.

Yellow has strong historical and cultural significance in China, where it is the color of glory, royalty, happiness, and wisdom. However, in many Latin American cultures, yellow is associated with death, sorrow, and mourning. Similarly, yellow is seen as a color of mourning in some parts of the Middle East.

In Japanese culture, yellow signifies courage, refinement and wealth. In Africa, yellow is worn to signify high-ranking members of a community. Saffron, a bright orange-yellow is considered sacred in India, representing selflessness and courage.

Yellow’s high visibility sees extensive use in safety equipment and signage. Due to its reflective properties, however, yellow can also lead to visual fatigue. Yellow’s associations with energy can be related to impulsivity and egotism. A close relative of gold, yellow is associated with money, wealth and sometimes greed. To be called yellow-bellied is to be called a coward.

The evolution of the color yellow

Yellow ochre

A natural clay earth pigment, yellow ocher’s availability and versatility saw wide-spread use from the prehistoric period. Gavin Evans, writer of The Story of Colour: an Exploration of the Hidden Messages of the Spectrum, states that “in the Bomvu Ridge area of Swaziland, archaeologists have found 40,000-year-old mines used to dig out red and yellow ochre, thought to be used for body paint.”

Ancient cave paintings made with yellow ochre pigments have been found at Pech Merle in France, Lascaux cave and at the cave of Altamira in Spain. The Aboriginals of Australia have painted with yellow ochres for over 40,000 years.

Today, artists continue to use yellow ochre in traditional forms and in modern paints.

Orpiment

Borrowing its name from the Latin word auripigmentum (aurum meaning gold and pigmentum meaning pigment), orpiment is found in volcanic fumaroles and hydro-thermal veins and hot springs. A richly colored orange-yellow arsenic sulfide, orpiment’s striking color captured the interest of both Chinese and Western alchemists looking for ways to create gold. Although highly toxic, orpiment saw use in Egypt, Persia, Asia, and Rome.

Indian yellow

Indian yellow was widely used in Indian watercolor and tempera-like paints. Noted for its use in Rajput-Mughal paintings from the 16th to the 19th century, Indian yellow was also used throughout Europe from the 17th to the 19th century.

Indian yellow pigments were said to have been produced in rural India from the urine of cattle fed solely on water and mango leaves. Today, a synthetic Indian yellow hue is manufactured using a mixture of nickel aso, arylide yellow, and quinacridone burnt orange.

Lead-tin yellow

Lead-tin yellow takes on two different forms. According to ColourLex, “the first and more frequently used is called Lead-tin-yellow type I and is a mixed oxide of both elements tin and lead… Lead-tin-yellow type II possibly contains traces of silica and also pure tin oxide.” The earliest occurrence of lead-tin yellow dates back to the 1300s. It was most frequently used in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Johannes Vermeer, Titian and Anthony van Dyck all made use of lead-tin yellow in their paintings.

Chrome yellow

When chromium was discovered in 1797 by French chemist Louis Vauquelin, lead chromate was synthesized and used as a pigment. In use by the second decade of the nineteenth century, chrome yellow’s toxicity and it’s inherent tendency to oxidize over time and darken on exposure to oxygen meant it was largely replaced by cadmium yellow.

Joseph Mallord William Turner made use of chrome yellow for highlights in his dramatic Romantic paintings. In aviation, the well-loved Piper J-3 Cub adopted chrome yellow as its standard color. Because of this, chrome yellow and similar equivalents are known as Cub yellow in aviation circles.

Cadmium yellow

Much of the cadmium produced worldwide is used in rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. However, a portion of cadmium goes to the manufacture of cadmium pigments, a family of vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges. First discovered in 1817, good permanence and tinting properties mean cadmium yellow has remained in use since it began production in 1840. Claude Monet’s Wheatstacks (Sunset Snow Effect) and Still Life with Apples and Grapes are two examples of cadmium yellow’s application in art.

Arylide yellow

Arylide yellow (also known as Hansa yellow and Monoazo yellow) are a family of organic compounds used as industrial colorants for plastics, building paints, inks, oil paints, acrylics, and watercolors. Discovered in 1909 by Hermann Wagner in Germany, arylide yellow became commercially available around 1925 and has been used predominantly as a replacement for cadmium yellow since 1950. Alexander Calder and Jackson Pollock employed arylide yellow in their artworks.

Yellow in visual arts

Yellow’s propensity to capture attention makes it a commanding presence in visual art. Ancient Egyptians used yellow ocher to paint women’s skin tones and depict deities. Yellow ochre was also a staple on the palettes of Roman artists, who used it to lay down backgrounds and paint flesh-tones.

During the Medieval period, Judas Iscariot came to be depicted in yellow. The exact reasons for this are unclear. Nevertheless, Judas’ portrayal quickly garnered associations between yellow and jealousy, unease, tension, and betrayal. Despite its negative associations, however, artists continued to draw on yellow as a color of life and abundance. As one of the first artists to use commercially manufactured paints, Vincent van Gogh’s famous fascination with yellow culminated in numerous artworks including A Field Of Yellow Flowers, Dunes and his study of Sunflowers.

Painted during his Golden Period, Gustav Klimt’s, The Kiss is structured around luxuriant yellows and gold leaf. Pier Mondrian included yellow within his bold compositions of color and line. Artists like Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning also used yellow to foster lightness and movement within their paintings and Andy Warhol used vibrant shades of yellow to add a blocky, surrealistic tone to his images of pop culture icons and everyday objects.

With the arrival of the 21st century came the rise of new artistic materials and technologies. Olafur Eliasson’s The Weather Project generates an atmosphere suffused with the breathtaking light of an artificial yellow sun. Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms, seemingly endless fields of yellow pumpkins dotted with black polka dots, play with the nature and psychology of seeing. And James Turrell harnesses the changeable quality of light through his Skyspaces, which hem the yellow light of the morning and evening each day.

Yellow in Photography

The evocative nature of yellow and its associations with treachery, betrayal, joy, warning, and nature remain just as poignant within the frame of the photograph. Street photographer Saul Leiter incorporated swaths of yellow into his street scenes, adding a palpable rhythm to his work. Mark Cohens’ image of a blond boy brashly smoking into the camera lens is punctuated by the boy’s bright yellow skivvy. Gregory Crewdson often incorporates yellow light emanating from lamps or house windows, juxtaposing homeliness with palpable unrest. Frans Lanting’s depiction of a leopard stalking in grass explores yellow in the natural environment. Kyle Jeffers uses yellow to accent architectural landscapes and Annette Horn’s yellow images trace the energetic properties of yellow on the 2-dimensional photographic plane.

Yellow can also be applied as a creative tool in photography. Golden hour, the period of daylight that occurs just after sunrise and just before sunset, has a distinctively yellow hue. During this window, daylight is at its softest and warmest, creating opportunities for dynamic portraiture and landscape photography. Generally the most subtle of colored filters, yellow filters are used in black and white photography to darken skies slightly, and boost the contrast of green foliage. In portraiture, yellow filters also deliver warmer skin tones.

Conclusion

Yellow’s vibrancy has resonated with artists and viewers for thousands of years. As the most vivid color on the visible spectrum, yellow reflects the dynamics of life. Charged with associations of joy, rebirth, renewal, change and energy, yellow’s use in art has also communicated portrayals of jealousy, betrayal, and greed. Yellow’s vibrancy, versatility, and accessibility connects to audiences through associations drawn from both visual arts and the world around us.

Do you use the color yellow in your photography? Feel free to share your images and thoughts in the comments below.

How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time. Part 1 – Seeing the Light

03 Apr

The post How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time. Part 1 – Seeing the Light appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Part One – Seeing the Light

Opinions about what a correctly exposed photograph is must be about as numerous as what people choose to take pictures of. Some opinions are more common than others.

‘Every photograph must contain an even range of tone with no details lost in the highlight or shadow areas.’ This is the one I encounter most frequently. It’s probably been learned from technical books and academics.

Durian How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time

Performing a quick Google search on this topic brings up the Canon Australia website with this:

“The act of having ‘correct’ exposure means your combination of settings between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO speed have produced a perfectly exposed image. When nothing is blown out (highlights) or lost in shadow in an image, it has achieved correct exposure.”

I’m not including this quote to get at Canon users or Aussies, (even though I am a Nikon user and a Kiwi,) but because it represents a purely technical approach to exposure choice.

How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time Flower and Moss

How can creative expression be judged as correct?

Photography, at its best, is a creative expression of how we perceive what we see. Our world view is unique. Each of us has the ability to interpret and convey our experience through the photographs we capture.

Freedom to expose our photos so some parts of our compositions have no recorded detail is a natural part of this art form. If our minds are boxed in by technical restraints such as are expressed on the Canon Australia website, our expression is inhibited.

I’m not suggesting we disregard technical quality – this would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I am recommending you reach beyond purely technical restraints to expose your photos so that they are more expressive of what they are about, not just what they are of.

Conforming to the opinion that photographs are best when no details get lost due to exposure choice can provide documentation of what you are photographing. This approach to taking pictures will not often infuse your photographs with much life, emotion, or energy, apart from what your subject may naturally provide.

Histogram bells taste like Vanilla ice cream

Vanilla ice cream – enjoyable sometimes – but plain nonetheless. You are likely to get bored with it if that’s all you eat. It’s not the most exciting flavor at the ice cream parlor.

A bell-shaped histogram indicates your camera has recorded a lot of mid-range tones and little or no extreme dark or light ones.

Striving for a bell-shaped histogram is not going to produce the most flavorsome photographs. At times you’ll make a great image that’s got a bell-shaped histogram, but not often.

I believe it’s a common myth that the ideal histogram is bell-shaped.

Even Exposure Buddha Statue How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time

You can see that the histogram for this image is reasonably balanced. There are no spikes to the left or right. This indicates we will see detail in the darkest and brightest parts of the composition.

I took the photo mid-afternoon on an overcast day. Because the light was soft and even, and the tones in my composition are all fairly neutral, I have obtained a ‘correct’ exposure.

How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time Contrast-Buddha-Statue

Subscribing to the ideal of the bell shape, you might look at this histogram and think the photo is extremely underexposed. You might even consider deleting such an image based on this information alone.

It is the same statue photographed on a sunny day in the mid-afternoon. It’s a much more appealing photograph than the one made on the overcast afternoon.

It was my intention to lose shadow detail. I wanted to isolate the statue from the dull background and add some drama.

Exposure choices are as personal as ice cream preferences

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Seeking to only create photos with an even exposure throughout the tone range is like choosing to eat just vanilla ice cream and always ignoring all the other flavors.

Great photographs express what the photographer sees and experiences. Sometimes they are technically correct, many times they aren’t. It all comes back to the intent of the photographer.

Choosing to let most of your composition fall into darkness is your choice. If you want to use the shadow areas to enhance your subject, then do it. If light streaming into your lens from behind your subject creates softness and depth of feeling, let it happen.

Don’t just focus on the technical details. You will usually end up with photos containing little or no feeling.

Before you bring your camera up to your eye, you need to see the light. Consider the brightest parts of a scene. Are they important? Do you need to show detail in them to convey what you want to with your photo?

Likewise for the dark areas of your photo – if there are a lot of distracting elements in the shadow areas – let them be buried in the darkness.

How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time Woman Tourist with an Elephant

Behind the woman and elephant was a large, open building casting a helpful shadow over its messy interior. By positioning myself so I could only see the shaded area behind my subjects, I knew I could isolate them. I set my exposure for the woman’s face, as it’s the most important part of my composition.

The fact that the background is dark and contains no detail helps make my photo stronger.

Understanding light and tone will help you make more interesting exposures. Knowing how your camera evaluates and records light and tone is equally as important. How to manage your exposure is the topic of the next article in this series.

What’s the most important element in your composition?

Recognizing your key subject is an important early decision in taking a photo. Most often it will be your first.

This will be what you focus on and what you want to expose well, (usually). If your subject has a wide tonal range – say a bride in a white dress and a groom in a black suit – be careful. Your camera will not be able to render detail both in the dress and the suit because the tones are extremely different.

Likewise, if part of your subject is in bright sun and part is in the shade, you will need to choose your exposure carefully. The contrast created by sunlight and shade is also extreme.

Discerning your primary subject helps you compose everything in your frame around it. Exposing it well helps make it the center of attention in your photograph.

How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time Fancy Kaftan

What mood do you want to capture or create?

To me, the answer to this question is more important to focus on than trying to obtain a full tonal range in my photographs.

The type of light you’re photographing in will influence the feeling in your photographs. So will your exposure choice. Is the light bright and hard, or soft and gentle? Should you set your exposure so you can see all the detail in the shadows or chose to let them become very dark and contain little or no detail?

Letting your camera make these choices for you, by not controlling your exposure, your photos may become flat and somewhat lifeless. By taking control and exposing your main subject well you can infuse story, drama, and imagination.

How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time Karen Grandpa

I have a mantra of sorts. Look. Think. Click.

Look at what you want to photograph. See what is before you. Your subject, it’s surroundings and the background. The light.

Think about how you want to portray your subject. What is your intention?

How much or how little do you want to include? What will fill your frame?

What quality is the light and how will it affect your photo?

Where will you stand or position yourself?

When will be the best time to take your photo?

Which exposure settings will you choose to best suit your intention?

Click. This should only happen once you have thought these things through.

How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time Chedi

It may seem a whole lot to do before taking a photograph, but this is what makes the difference between a snapshot and an image you may want to have framed and hang on your wall.

In the next article in this series, I will cover how to manage your camera settings to match your intent.

The post How to Make Well Exposed Photos Every Time. Part 1 – Seeing the Light appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

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Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Lens Review

03 Apr

The post Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Lens Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kunal Malhotra.

The 24-70mm is undoubtedly one of the most desired lenses because of obvious reasons. The focal length range in a single lens enables you to capture multiple genres of photography such as street, landscape, portraits, and travel.

Recently, I got my hands on the Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Lens, and I have been using it for more than a month now. I also made a comparison with the Canon variant, which I talk about at the end along with sample images.

This lens is available in both Canon and Nikon mounts designed for FX and EF format cameras. It can also be mounted on DX/EF-S bodies.

Build quality and ergonomics

Talking about the construction of the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 G2, it consists of 17 elements in 12 groups and 9 rounded diaphragm blades. This lens has moisture-resistant construction, and the front element has fluorine coating which protects against dust, dirt, and smearing.

The moment I held the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 G2, my first impression was that this lens feels premium. With the new SP series, Tamron has revised the design of their professional lenses and made them more sturdy. The AF/MF and VC ON/OFF switches are of superior quality, and the rubber grips for focus and focal length adjustment feel comfortable.

One thing that impresses me on this Tamron lens is the placement of the focal length ring. I have been used to the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens which features the focal length ring placed near to the camera. Whereas, the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 G2 lens has it placed near to the front element. After using both the lenses, I feel that the focal length ring placement is much more user-friendly on the Tamron lens.

In regards to technology advancements, the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 G2 lens is compatible with TAP-in Console (to be purchased separately) for fine-tuning focus adjustments and also to update the lens firmware.

Focus speed and accuracy

The lens features an Ultrasonic Silent Drive auto-focus motor which is designed to provide quick and accurate focusing performance. After using the lens for a month, I feel the focus is precise and swift, even with fast moving subjects. As a street and travel photographer, my priority is to nail the focus, and this lens compliments my camera very well.

I also took the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 lens for a spin in low light conditions, and I was happy to see how fast it locked the focus. Even in continuous focus mode, it hardly hunted for focus. Overall, this lens is a charmer in the focus speed and accuracy department.

After using the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens for almost 3 years, the Tamron lens did not make me feel that I was using a slower lens. It was almost the same experience for me. With the closest focusing distance of 1.25ft or 15inches (same as the Canon variant), I was also able to shoot some close up shots.

Sharpness and Image Quality

There is one highlighting feature in this Tamron zoom lens which the Canon variant is missing, and that is VC (Vibration Compensation) or Image Stabilization. VC helps in minimizing the camera shake by up to 5 stops, which can be effective in low light conditions.

The VC on this lens helped me shoot at slower shutter speeds such as 1/10th -1/15th sec and lower ISO values without introducing shake in the images. Practically, I was able to achieve 3.5-4 stops of Image Stabilization performance with this lens, which I could not from my Canon variant.

Canon vs Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8

From f/2.8 to f/4 the Canon is slightly sharper at the center and has better contrast performance. But as I tested, these lenses at f/4 and narrower, both started generating similar results in terms of sharpness and contrast.

Overall, the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens scores better in terms of image quality. Whereas, for me, the Tamron is a winner considering its price-to-quality ratio and the build quality.

LEFT: Shot at 1/15th sec with VC OFF. RIGHT: Shot at 1/15th sec with VC ON

Conclusion

At a good price point, the Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Lens seems like a great choice for travel, street, wedding, and even landscape photography. The image quality is superior, and the focus speed and accuracy is spot on. If you are looking for a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens which is slightly cheaper than the Canon//Nikon variant but still performs very well, this could be an ideal choice.

The post Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Lens Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kunal Malhotra.

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How to Use the Lightroom Transform Tool

02 Apr

The post How to Use the Lightroom Transform Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Erin Fitzgibbon.

Lightroom has so many great tools we all use to edit our photographs. No wonder it’s an essential editing program for just about every photographer. Let’s take a look at the Transform Tool.

The Transform Tool can be used to adjust the perspective in your images. Most know that the tool is useful for straightening horizons or fixing those pesky leaning buildings, but it can do a lot more than that. The Transform Tool can help you to adjust other types of photographs. It has a convenient application, but it can also be used to edit your images to create more dramatic looks. You can also use it to help you create interesting artistic interpretations of your shots.

I used the transform tool to help me edit this image. I made several small adjustments to align the perspective with my creative vision.

Let’s start with the individual components of the transform tool before progressing to using them in more creative ways towards the end of the article.

The Auto Function

The Transform Tool comes with an automatic option. In this case, it’s pretty simple. Push the Auto button and let Lightroom make all the adjustments to your image. For those who are unfamiliar with how to use the other features of the Transform Tool this may be the simplest option. The problem is that Auto doesn’t always do the best job of adjusting your images. I find that if the adjustment is straightforward like straightening a horizon, then auto works well. However, it has difficulty adjusting the more complex perspective issues. This is meant to be a quick and dirty type of adjustment for minor perspective issues.

Here’s an example of the Auto tool in use on Tintern Abbey.

Vertical adjustments

The Vertical Tool automatically analyzes and then adjusts the vertical lines within your photograph. This type of adjustment is particularly useful if you’re trying to fix a leaning building or leaning trees in your landscape because you’re using a wide-angle lens. At the same time, you will find that automatic fixes don’t always work correctly and that Lightroom may over-adjust the verticals and give you something that doesn’t look quite right. So this may not be your best option for using the Transform tool.

In this case, the vertical tool didn’t do a very good job of adjusting the perspective.

Level Adjustments

The Level Tool automatically adjusts your horizontal lines. This tool seems to work reasonably well for most landscape shots. Issues with the Level Tool may arise when you are working with a horizon line along with diagonal lines. Sometimes this combination of lines fools the software. Lightroom may choose to adjust the diagonal lines and skew the rest of the image. Keep this in mind when using the automatic adjustment.

I find the level tool works great for landscape images but in this case, it needs manual adjustments.

Full Adjustments

The Full Adjustment option takes into account all vertical and horizontal lines plus the features of the auto option. This particular tool doesn’t adjust my images well. It tends to overcompensate. This tool rarely creates a look I want to use for my photographs. That doesn’t mean it won’t work for you; however, be aware that it tends to be aggressive.

Some may like the adjustments that a full perspective tool creates. If you do, remember to leave a lot of room around your subject. As you can see here, the crop that needs to occur is quite severe.

The Guided Adjustment option

The Guided Tool is probably the best way to adjust perspective within your images. The problem with the other options is that Lightroom chooses which vertical and horizontal lines it uses to adjust perspective. The reality is that these may not be the lines that need adjusting. This is where the Guided Tool comes into practice. As the editor of your work, you know which lines need straightening so you can guide Lightroom to adjust the proper verticals or horizontals. It’s still a quick and easy tool to use. You are guiding Lightroom by telling it where to focus its efforts.

The tool is straightforward to use. Just choose the line you wish to adjust and then use your mouse to define the line for Lightroom. Once two lines have been selected, Lightroom automatically adjusts your image based on your guidelines.

In this case, the Guided Tool straightens the lines I highlight but the required crop is rather extreme.

The guided tool worked really well with this simple adjustment.

Using the sliders

You can always adjust your images using the Manual Sliders located below the automatic options. Sometimes it works very well to use the Guided tool and then to make minor manual adjustments to the image as well.

Just move the sliders to adjust your work for the desired look. Each slider will adjust a different aspect of the image.

Level – tilts the image and creates an angle of sorts

Vertical – adjusts the image by tilting either forwards or to the back
Rotate – twists the image on an access point (adjusting horizon lines for the most part)
Aspect – stretches the image horizontally or compresses it horizontally
Scale – allows you to zoom in closer or further out on an image
X offset – moves the image on the x-axis to the left or right.
Y offset – move the image on the y-axis up or down.

Used on their own you may find that these sliders do not achieve much. However, when used in combination and subtle amounts, you can easily adjust the sliders to obtain the perspective you see in your mind’s eye.

In this screenshot, you can see how the aspect slider works to adjust an image.

Using the Transform Tool creatively

You can use the Transform Tool to help you adjust perspective to create more drama within an image. You can also use it to completely change the perspective of an image for a creative interpretation of the subject you originally photographed.

In the case of the following image, I made the adjustments to create something that highlighted the foreground more, thus drawing the viewers eyes towards that area.

I used the vertical slider to adjust the image so the foreground plays a bigger role in the image.

Here’s the completed photograph exported from Lightroom:

Compare this to the original perspective of the shot.

In the image below the foreground plays a less important role in the image. You can use the Transform Tool to help you make creative decisions about your photographs.

This is the unedited jpeg of the file above. Consider how the change of perspective affects the visual nature of the image.

It’s a versatile tool

You can use the Transform Tool in very subtle ways to adjust perspective. It can either be used to make an image seem more realistic and more accurate to our understanding of the way the landscape looks in reality or can be used to make some more open to interpretation. Remember, there are lots of options out there when editing work.

Be creative. Give the transform tool a whirl and see what you can do with it. You may surprise yourself and create something extraordinary.

I’ve included a few more photos edited using the Transform Tool to illustrate how you can use it both functionally and creatively.

The goal was to make the foreground more important in this photograph.

My goal was to capture my friend as she took photos of the incoming waves on the beach in Borth, Wales.

The post How to Use the Lightroom Transform Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Erin Fitzgibbon.

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Making the Shot: Your Guide to Creating Stunning High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash

02 Apr

The post Making the Shot: Your Guide to Creating Stunning High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

1 - High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

The making of one of my most successful shots started with a little photo play on a hot summer day, and a try at some high-speed splash photography.

The image above, “Red Bell Splashdown,” went on to win first place in the Corel International Food Photography Contest.

Let’s take a look at the “making of” methods used to create the shot so that you too can have fun with this quite simple technique.

Freezing motion

There are essentially two ways to freeze motion with a camera:

Use a Fast Shutter Speed such that the “sliver of time” you are capturing is very short and the object being captured moves very little, if at all, during the extremely short duration the shutter is open, or
Use the very Short Duration of a Flash so that the object you are photographing gets illuminated for a very small sliver of time. The duration time of an electronic flash can be extremely short. For example, a Speedlight like the Canon 580EXII at 1/128 power is less than 1/19,000th of a second!

I’ve used the flash method, and indeed it can produce some dramatic results. I will perhaps show that process and the results in a future article. For my splash photos, however, I wanted to keep it simple and do it outdoors where water splashes wouldn’t require any clean-up or endanger my photo gear. When I did these shots, I was using my Canon 50D which has a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000th of a second. I figured this should be enough to get the job done.

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Let the sun shine in

Obviously, getting a proper exposure with a very high shutter speed would involve several possibilities:

Use a fast lens with a wide aperture – I was shooting with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, so a wide aperture was possible. However, I still needed a decent depth of field, so opening it up all the way wasn’t a good option.
Use a high ISO – Cranking up the ISO can aid in getting a fast shutter speed but at the penalty of more image noise. I didn’t want that if I could avoid it.
Shoot in very bright light. Normally, shooting under mid-day summer sun would not be something a photographer would do, but in this case, blazing sunlight (and lots of it) was the perfect solution.

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The set-up

I wanted to use colorful subjects for the shoot. Bell peppers – easily found at the supermarket in red, yellow and green – seemed a good choice. I also picked up some other colorful fruits – strawberries and limes. To accommodate the size of the objects and also give me a flat glass “window” to shoot through, a 10-gallon aquarium was just right.

Wanting to get light not just from above but from below as well, I put a large 5-in-1 reflector on the table where I wanted to shoot, silver side up. I placed the aquarium on top of that out in the bright noon sun. I filled the tank with water about halfway and allowed the bubbles to settle out while I set up the rest of the equipment.

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I put a pepper in the water and let it float while I took a look through the camera to frame the shot. I could see I would need a plain and preferably dark background, so I put a piece of black paper behind the tank. The paper was still too bright with the direct sun on it, so I used another reflector, black side down, at the back to the tank to shade the paper backdrop. I had my camera on a tripod and moved it to get as much of the front of the tank in the frame as I could, being sure I could focus that close.

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To be able to drop my subjects into the tank and also trigger the shutter, I rigged up a Youngnuo RF-602C radio trigger so that I’d be able to fire the camera remotely. A wired remote with a long enough cord could have also worked.

Camera settings

I put the camera in Manual Mode. To get a good combination of the fast shutter speed needed, decent depth of field, and not too high an ISO, I found that shooting at ISO 400, F/6.3 and the key – fast shutter speeds between 1/2000 and 1/3200th of a second was about right. Letting a pepper float in the tank where I anticipated it to be when dropped, I set the focus and then locked it in manual. I also put the shutter in high-speed continuous mode so for each drop I’d get a burst of about 5 shots.

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Splash-down!

So, good to go, I dropped the peppers, strawberries, and limes, trying to fire the bursts in synchronization with my drops. My wife Kathy came out to join in the fun and did some of the drops. We quickly found it was necessary to squeegee and wipe the front of the glass between shots to clean the drops off the front of the glass from the previous shot. So it went: drop, shoot, squeegee and repeat. For each drop, one frame of the 5-shot burst might be good, but often not. Timing is crucial. With practice, while we gained some skill, luck was still a huge element. There was lots of shooting to get the keepers. We tried it with the peppers and fruits in different combinations too. I easily made over 200 shots that afternoon.

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Cleaning up your act!

Straight out of the camera, the raw shots were less than impressive. Of course, Raw files look flat, and so I knew they’d improve greatly with a basic Raw edit. There were also more drops, splashes, bubbles and other particles in the water than I wanted. However, the important thing – the action – was properly frozen and sharp!

My Red Bell Splashdown image used settings of ISO 400, f/4.0, 1/3200th sec. The rest was using editing tools to adjust the exposure, get good rich color and deep blacks, and eliminate distractions. My editing tool of choice is usually Adobe Lightroom. With the Adjustment Brush and the Spot Removal Tool, I was able to clean up the image to create the impact I was after.

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Other considerations and possibilities

With any photo shoot, it’s always a good idea to critique your work and consider, “What might I have done better? Differently? What variations might I want to try?”

Seeing I had used a shutter speed of 1/3200th for my splash shots, I was curious how much difference there might be at the maximum shutter speed of my Canon 50D which is 1/8000th. I didn’t want to set up the fish tank and all of that for this second experiment, so I tried something simpler.

This time, I poured liquid into glasses in the bright summer sun. This process was simple enough. I clamped the glasses in a stand, put up a black backdrop behind them, set up the camera in a similar fashion to the previous splash shots, and did the pours. This time my settings were ISO 400, f/3.5, 1/8000th of a second.

When checking the shots afterward, it was apparent that the freezing effect was even more pronounced. However, at such a wide aperture, my depth of field was much more shallow.

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What might I try next time?

I’d like to give different color backgrounds a try. Using black made editing much easier, and when cleaning up the shots, it was simple to “black out” any distracting elements. I’m not so sure that would be as easily achieved with a color background. Trying it with a white background for a high-key look might also look interesting.

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Of course, using different objects for the splash photos is also fun. In fact, we did do that when during the splash photo session my Mini-Schnauzer, Schatzi, wanted to play and decided to bring us her favorite ball. Looking at the “face” on the ball, I thought it might be fun to try it in a splash drop as we’d done with the peppers. When seeing the result – which looked like the “creature” was exhaling bubbles during a dive – it made me laugh.

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So, give this high-speed shutter technique a try. Take it outside in the bright sun, crank up the shutter speed as high as you can and have some fun. It’s a great way to improve your camera skills, learn the relationships between ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed, and then test your editing skills when tuning up your shots. I’m confident you’ll get some images of which you’ll be proud.

The post Making the Shot: Your Guide to Creating Stunning High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

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So You Have No Model? Here are Ways to Practice Your Portrait Lighting With Toys

01 Apr

The post So You Have No Model? Here are Ways to Practice Your Portrait Lighting With Toys appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.

Portrait lighting can be tricky to learn.

After reading articles and watching tutorials about light, you’ll excitedly look for a person to practice on. Although, once you finally have a person in front of your camera your mind goes blank and nothing is as easy as those tutorials made it seem. You forget all that information you’ve been overloaded with and feel foolish in front of your ‘model.’ Worst case scenario, you’ll become discouraged and give up.

Superman was always my favorite.

But there is a way to practice basic portrait lighting techniques and build your confidence before photographing people. You can practice portrait lighting with toys until you feel comfortable enough to experiment with people.

You’ll learn how to position your subject and light source without the stress of working with a real person.

Once you understand the basic principles of portrait lighting your confidence will grow and you can keep learning new techniques and refining your skills.

Also, who doesn’t want an excuse to play with toys again?

Choosing the right toy

Choose a toy with a human figure so that what you learn can transfer easily when you photograph real people. Try to find one with pronounced facial features so that there will be realistic shadows created.

Your toy should have some texture too. This is important because it helps you to see how the light affects your subject. As light skims across a textured surface, it will create highlights and shadows, which will help your portrait to pop. Everybody who sits in front of your camera will be textured (hair, skin, and clothes).

This Superman toy has lots of texture and muscular looking features. His face has pronounced features that mimic a real person’s face.

Using a flashlight (hard light source)

Quality of light refers to the hardness or softness of the light.

A general rule is that the smaller the light source, the harder the light will be. This means that there will be deep, crisp shadows. The larger the light source, the softer the light will be. The difference between the shadows and highlights will be much less intense.

I’ll begin by using a flashlight as a hard light source. The basic lighting patterns will be easier to see with hard light.

In each of these sample photos, we’ll focus on the direction of light and what happens as we move the light around.

Front
Rembrandt
Side/split
Edge
Back/silhouette
Uplighting

I kept my Superman figure in one place and simply moved the light around it.

The first image is the lighting set up and the second image is the portrait.

Front light

The light is placed directly in front of your subject. It’s a little higher than his eye level.

You can see that he is evenly lit with a crisp shadow under his neck created by his jawline.

Rembrandt light

This is a classic lighting pattern named after the painter, Rembrandt. Reposition the light so that it hits your subject on a 45-degree angle. It’s still a little above eye level.

The left side of his face becomes shadowy, but there is a triangle of light under his eye.

Side light/Split light

The light has now been positioned directly beside him.

The light now only illuminates one side of him. His face is split between shadow and highlight.

Edge light

Swing the light around so that it shines over his shoulder.

The only light that we can see now is the edge of his face, shoulder, and arm.

Backlight

Put the light right behind your subject.

This is similar to the edge light effect except that the light is directly behind him now. If the light source were larger (perhaps a sunset sky) there would be more of a silhouette effect. But the dark background has created a very mysterious look for this low key portrait.

This is the exact same lighting situation except that I increased my ISO to make a brighter exposure.

Uplight

To achieve this dramatic looking portrait I placed the light at his feet and shone it up toward his face. Uplighting is sometimes referred to as ‘monster lighting.’