Category: Photography

5 Essential Shots You Need to Get for Street Market Photography
A favorite subject for many street photographers is the market. It’s no surprise either, as these places have a lot of life going on, and therefore many good photography opportunities. The best way to get the most out of your street market photography is to get organized.

That means going in with a plan, which for photographers means a list of photographs you intend to take. So in this article, you’ll get an idea of what those photos should be, read on to find out.

#1 – An overall scene-setting shot

A scene-setting photo that shows the scale of the market will often need to be taken from a high vantage point.

This is the photo that tells the viewer about the scale of the market. It’s the entry point for the viewer into all the other photos that will go into this set. There will be different approaches to achieving this photo, and depending on the location of the market some options might not be available to you.
- Bird’s eye view – To get this photo you’ll need to find a high vantage point of some description. The aim is to capture the whole market or as much of it as possible in one shot. You essentially want to show the size of this market before you present the more human photos. Your lens choice will depend on how far away from the market your vantage point is located. Typically you’ll want to use a wide-angle lens for this, although photographing from a distance means a longer focal length is always possible. A third possibility these days is using a drone (check the laws in your area first!), with this available you’ll not need to spend the time looking for a vantage point.
- Wide-angle – Assuming you’re not able to utilize a bird’s eye view, the next option is a wide angle photo from street level. You won’t capture the whole market, but a sense of scale is still possible. These type of photos will work best with an indoor location where you can capture interior architecture.
- The tunnel – Finally many markets will have market stalls along a road that seem to go off into infinity. The best method to capture this is to use a longer focal length lens to compress the scene. If the market stalls are on both sides of the road this may well give the effect of a tunnel.
Elements in the photo that give context to the scene are a good idea. Here you can see this is a railway market.

#2 – A staged portrait

Photographing strangers is a big part of market photography. In order to get a good photo of market vendors, there are several steps which you’ll need to take as a photographer.
- Gaining permission – As this photo is staged, you’ll first need to ask the person for their permission. In some cases, this will be a simple request, which is either accepted or refused. In order to increase your chances of getting a “yes”, buying something from a street vendor will help, you may even offer to pay cash just for the photo. Are you in a location where you don’t speak the local language? Learning the simple expression, “May I take your photo please?” is a great idea, and failing that body language can be surprisingly effective.
- Taking the photo – As you’ve gained permission for this photo, you’ll likely be standing close to your subject. The best lens for this is a prime lens that’s good for portraits such as the 50mm. It’s preferable that you spend time to build rapport with your subject before taking the photo, this will give you a more natural looking photo. Then take care of the usual things like a nice clean background, and light coming from the right direction to light up the person’s face.
Gaining permission to take the photo allows you to control the scene a bit more.

#3 – A candid portrait

Candid street market photos will likely make up the majority of your photos of the market. Getting good photos here will require quick wits, and an ability to blend in.
- The decisive moment – Capturing the decisive moment can make or break your photo. To increase your chance of getting this moment you need to position yourself in the right place. Look for spots where there are many human interactions, and anticipate the right moment. So this might be a customer interacting with a vendor, or perhaps a street hawker cooking some food.
- Hip photography – One way to be more conspicuous with your photography, and get natural looking photos is to experiment with hip photography. If your camera is not at your eye most people will assume you’re not taking a photo of them. So if your camera is at your hip instead you can get close to your subject, and take the photo from the hip secretly, without drawing attention to yourself. To get this technique right takes a bit of practice. Focus your camera to a set distance before taking the photo, and keep the camera in manual focus to prevent it from refocusing. Use a small aperture of f/16 or smaller, so you have a large depth of field.
This photo is a candid, the rail lines frame the vendor nicely.

#4 – Detail photos

The produce you’ll find at the market can make for some excellent detail photos to go in your street market photography selection. In theory, these photos should be the easiest to come by. Because it’s still life photography you won’t need to get permission from a person to take the photo. However, you are taking photos of someone’s stock, so ask permission to take the photo first.
- Repeating patterns – Items like fish or fruit make great subjects for repeating patterns. Often the vendor will have these lined up in an aesthetically pleasing manner, so as a photographer you just need to concentrate on good framing.
- Contrast – Look for color contrast, perhaps between fruits of differing color, or table backgrounds against produce. Colorful images will look good in your street market photography collection.
- Change the angle – The majority of detail photos are taken from the top down. Changing the angle can still give you an interesting detail photo though, but with more depth to it. If you use a low enough angle you may even get some bokeh background in your frame.
This is a detail photo, but once again context is inferred with the train track.

#5 – Something more creative

Finally, it’s always good to introduce a little creativity to your street market photography. These are the type of photos you’ll want to go for once you’ve bagged the other photos in this list.

There are many ways you can be creative with your market photography, below are a few ideas.
- Low key – Markets are great places to find shards of light, a gap in the roofing perhaps that lets the sunlight through? You can use that light to create a low key portrait. Simply expose for the sunlit area, and underexpose the background. You will likely be exposing at -2EV or -3EV to create a photo like this. Wait for your subjects face to be lit up by the sun, and take your photo.
- Blur – The use of blur can create a dynamic edge to your photo. Whether you attempt a panning photo, or put your camera on a tripod and expose for around 1/3 of a second to capture the motion of people moving about the market is for you to decide.
- Crystal ball – A versatile object that can be applied to many different genres of photography. If you’re looking for a photo with a fish-eye like feeling but compressed into the ball, then this is a great option.
Creating a low key photo is one option for more creative street market photography.

Now it’s time for you to do some market photography!

So do you enjoy street market photography? What’s your favorite type of photo to take while you’re in the hustle and bustle of a market?

What time of the day do you typically photograph markets? Do you like to go at the crack of dawn to see all the life at a fish market? Or do you go for the low light magic of a night market?

What tips do you have for getting the best results from this genre of street photography? As always please share your photos and ideas in the comments section of this article.

In this photo, the motion blur of a moving train can be seen behind the market vendors.

The post 5 Essential Shots You Need to Get for Street Market Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
July 26, 2018
Why You Should Avoid Shooting at Small Apertures Like F18 to F40
The bigger the number, the better, right? Wrong! The aperture is a strange thing and one you may find difficult to understand in depth. The first weird thing is that large numbers means a small apertures. It is very counter-intuitive.

In this article, you will learn a couple of quirky details about aperture and why you should avoid shooting in the top range of f/18 to f/40.

The aperture plays a significant role in two different equations. The first one defines the exposure and the other one controls the depth of field.

Changing the aperture will change both the exposure settings as well as the depth of field. In some cases, you can take advantage of that, in particular, if you are a landscape or cityscape photographer.

The advantages of small apertures

Two common goals for a landscape or cityscape photographers are:
1. To get everything within the frame in focus.
2. Get longer exposure times to blur moving objects like water or moving cars.
It happens so, that these two goals go hand in hand with aperture. If you set your camera to a smaller aperture (that is a larger f-number), you will get a greater depth of field. At the same time, you will also get longer exposure times.

The photo below is a photo of a mountain lake in France. It serves as a classic example of what you as a landscape photographer may experience in the field.

You want the foreground to be in focus as well as the mountains in the background. On top of that, you want the water to be smooth. It requires longer exposure times to smooth small ripples on the surface.

To get a longer exposure times, you can attach a Neutral Density Filter on your lens. If your filters are not quite enough, you can also lower the aperture to f/22 or whatever is the smallest your lens can do.

The depth-of-field is maximized at f/22 or smaller if your lens allows it. So this magically goes hand in hand and everything seems great.

However, a couple of things happen, when you stop a lens down all the way to f/22 or even lower.

Problem #1: Small apertures reveal dust on your sensor

The first problem that arises is that the dust spots you have on your sensor becomes painfully visible. Almost any camera, even with a freshly cleaned sensor, will have dust spots.

Dust spots clearly visible due to a small aperture.

Dust spots are annoying because you have to clone them out later in the post-processing and if you have many dust spots this is a real pain. For this reason alone, you may want to avoid f/22.

Problem #2: Small apertures lose sharpness

The other problem may a surprise to you. The dust spots are annoying, but not more that. At f/40 you can’t even shoot a sharp photo! But even at f/22, there are problems.

200% crop of a blurry image at f/22.

This is a 200% close-up of the unprocessed RAW photo of the French lake above, which was shot at f/22. As you can see the photo is not quite sharp. There is a softness to it and it is not a focus problem, but something entirely different.

This lens, a Nikon 16-35mm f/4, cannot produce anything sharper than this at f/22. You can work on this in the post-processing stage by applying some sharpness, and get something that seems reasonably sharp, but it is not really that good.

200% crop of the final processed image.

Some harsh post-processing has made the image seem sharper. But had the RAW photo been sharper in the first place, this would have been a much better result.

Below are some examples shot using a Sony 24-240mm lens at 240mm on a Sony a7R II body, shot from a sturdy tripod.

This lens is not the sharpest one in town, but for a superzoom, it is one of the best I have seen. At 240mm f/6.3 (wide open – it is no fast lens) through to f/40 (fully stopped down).

1/320th at f/6.3

1/160th at f/9.0

1/80th at f/13

1/40th at f/18

1/15th at f/29

1/8th at f/40

Have a look at this series as the aperture lowers. At f/9 the lens is at its sharpest and then sharpness begins to decline. Even at f/13, it is not super sharp, but still fixable. At f/18 the lens begins to lose details and at f/40 you can no longer tell the bricks from each other.

Why they even bother providing f/40 on a lens such as this, is a mystery. So what is going on? This is much worse than a few dust spots and it is NOT fixable.

Diffraction is the problem

What happens is that you run into the laws of physics and there is nothing you can do about it. When you stop down your lens, the hole the light passes through inside the lens becomes smaller and smaller. That’s why it’s called a smaller aperture.

When the hole gets small enough you run into trouble with one of the laws of physics which is called diffraction.

Shot at f/22 on a full frame camera. Sharpness is not optimal.

In layman terms, what happens is that the light spreads out a bit when it passes through a small hole. The light intended for one receptor (one pixel) on the sensor spreads a little bit to its neighbors. The result is an unsharp photo.

And the smaller the hole, the bigger the problem, which is exactly what you see at f/40 above. Diffraction begins around f/22, but even as the lens is closing in on f/22 the sharpness is declining.

What is the minimum usable aperture?

So what is the minimum f-stop or aperture you should use? Or phrased not be misunderstood, what is the largest f-number you should use?

All lenses behave differently, but the laws of physics are constant. Some lenses are sharpest at f/5.6 while others may be sharpest at f/9.0, as was the case with the Sony 24-240mm lens. This has to do with the design of the lens.

15mm at f/8 on a full frame camera.

What is common for most lenses, is that they produce the sharpest photos somewhere in the middle range, from f/7.1 to f/13 (called the sweet spot). What is certain for all lenses is that as the aperture gets smaller (bigger f-number) beyond f/13, the worse the lens performs in terms of sharpness.

Diffraction becomes a problem around f/22 and the lens will become increasingly less sharp. The Sony lens takes diffraction pretty hard while a Nikon 28-300mm I also own is less pronounced.

The title of this article suggests that you should avoid using f/18-f/40. Why do I say f/18?

It is a gradual change, but personally, I have stopped going beyond f/16, simply because I find the photos too soft. You can never make them tack sharp, and you have to process them pretty hard to get something fairly sharp and acceptable.

The best way to find your personal limit on your favorite lens is to put your camera on a tripod and shoot test shots at f/11, f/13, f/16, f/18 and f/22 or even further down if your lens has those apertures.

Look at the photos at 200%. Notice the sharpness difference and decide what your limit should be. Memorize that and just be sure not to go below that aperture.

The compromises

Photography is full of compromises and now you have a couple more you have to make. As I established at the beginning of this article, there are some good reasons why you want to go for small apertures, but they come at a price of lack of sharpness and dust spots.

You may want to reduce the dust spot problem, I know I do. If you stay around f/8 the dust spots will not be very pronounced. However, the shutter speed will be much faster than at f/16 and the depth of field much less as well.

You can affect the shutter speed by attaching a 2-stop Neutral Density filter, which will produce the same shutter speed as f/16 but shooting at f/8.

Another solution

You can solve the problem of getting everything in focus by shooting more than one photo. One having the foreground in focus and one having the background in focus and then blending these two photos.

This technique is called focus stacking. Whether that is easier than fixing dust spots is something you will have to decide for yourself.

This is a focus stacked photo shot at f/11 and 134mm on a cropped sensor.

In photography, there are always compromises you have to make. How will you overcome the urge to shoot at f/22 and beyond?

The post Why You Should Avoid Shooting at Small Apertures Like F18 to F40 appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
July 26, 2018
Copper, Prisms, and Orbs, Oh My! – 3 Creative Techniques for People Photography

Have you ever wanted to shake things up a bit when it comes to people photography? Stretch your creative muscles? Try something new and different? Then this article is for you! We’ll explore three easy and relatively inexpensive creative techniques for people photography that will help you step outside the box and have a little fun.

One of my favorite techniques – shooting a silhouette with a piece of copper pipe for a little extra added shine.

1. Copper Pipe

A small piece of copper pipe can create a huge bang for your buck when it comes to people photography! My husband is a plumber, and I always ask him to save me spare pieces of copper pipe in different diameters to put to use in my photography.

If you don’t happen to be related to a plumber, head to your local home improvement store, and they’ll be able to cut a piece or two for you. I mostly use pieces that are 1-2″ long, and 1/2″-2″ in diameter.

From there, things are easy. Simply hold the piece of copper pipe in front of your camera lens as you’re shooting!

Depending on where you and your subject stand in relation to the sun, you’ll create all sorts of different effects ranging from a warm glow to semi-circles that look like they’re on fire. When I use this method I typically prefer to shoot in silhouette, which tends to produce a more defined glowing light.

I use manual focus coupled with Live View mode to more easily adjust the placement of the effect in interesting ways.

2. Glass Orbs

Another fun and unique tool for creating interesting photos of people, is to use a glass orb or crystal ball.

These orbs result in a kind of fish-eye effect that can be really fun in certain instances! I enjoy using these with kiddos, especially those who might need a little help warming up in front of the camera. Because you’re pointing your camera at the orb rather than directly at them, it can be a fun way to ease nervous kids into being in front of the camera.

The final image is cropped and inverted as the image appearing in the glass orb is upside down.

Keep in mind that anything you photograph in an orb will be flipped upside down, so if you want the person to be right-side-up, you’ll need to adjust that in post-production. On the other hand, sometimes being upside down enhances the creative effect, so don’t be afraid to play around with the orientation to see which you prefer.

Some people prefer to keep the edges of the orb sharp and in focus, while other people prefer to shoot at a wider aperture to blow them out a bit. Again, when it comes to creative applications like this, there’s really no right or wrong way to do things, so feel free to play around and discover what you like.

3. Prisms

Yep, your favorite item from elementary science class can be a really fun tool to implement in photography too! Simply holding a prism directly in front of your lens and turning it as you’re shooting can create a whole variety of effects from subtle to intense.

Once again, I typically use manual focus and Live View mode when shooting with prisms.

If you’re new to prisms, it can take a bit of time to learn how to achieve the different effects. Those can range from reflecting your subject to different places in the image (above), projecting small rainbows near your subject (below), to even showing your subject and what’s in front of them at the same time.

I’ve even seen people utilize prisms to show both a bride walking down the aisle and the groom waiting at the same time.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, copper pipe, glass orbs, and prisms are all really fun options for creative techniques and effects in people photography. All three require a bit of a learning curve, so don’t be afraid to play around and try different things.

You’ll discover what your aesthetic preferences are in no time! Have you tried any in-camera photo effects that you really enjoy? Please share your ideas in the comments section below.

The post Copper, Prisms, and Orbs, Oh My! – 3 Creative Techniques for People Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

July 26, 2018
Avoid These 4 Post-Processing Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Images
Post-processing is a particularly sensitive topic and there’s always a certain amount of processing versus non-processing discussions that take place after articles on the topic. It’s not hard to understand since how you choose to process your images is your artistic choice.

There’s not necessarily a right or wrong way to go about it but, that being said, there are certain “mistakes” that I notice quite regularly, especially amongst beginning photographers who aren’t quite able to achieve the looks they want.

Some of these mistakes are obvious while others, not so much. What they have in common, though, is that they are mistakes that most of us are guilty of making or have made at some point. Let’s dive in.

1. Not Considering Color

Let’s start with a mistake that the majority of us are or have been making, and one which isn’t necessarily that obvious to all of us: failing to understand color harmonies.

Color harmonies might be easier to control as portrait or studio photographers but as landscape photographers, we have to work with the conditions nature gives us. Sometimes, our job is to find order in the chaos and highlight the most interesting aspects of the landscape. Indeed, it’s not an easy task.

In this image, I desaturated the blues to keep the focus on the person walking down the hill.

The discussions can quickly become controversial as we start talking about working with colors in nature. I’m not here to say what you should or shouldn’t do but I’ll give you a couple of ideas on how you can work with color in post-processing:
1. Use the HSL sliders in Lightroom/Camera RAW to adjust the hues of certain colors to create a better color harmony in the image.
2. Rhe HSL sliders can also be used to desaturate colors that are too dominant and take unnecessary attention away from the main subject.
3. Use techniques such as Luminosity Masks or Saturation Masks in Photoshop to selectively work on the brightness, saturation and contrast of specific areas within an image.
The goal when working with colors should be to only highlight those that are in harmony with each other. I often bring out a color wheel to check that the colors in an image are in harmony and if I need to desaturate (or saturate) any of them.

Notice how all the colder tones are slightly desaturated and darkened to enhance the focus on the glowing mountain.

2. Only Making Global Adjustments

This brings us to mistake number two: you only make global adjustments. In other words, each adjustment you make is applied to the entire image.

Let’s say that you want to increase the green grass in one of your summer images. The traditional way of boosting the color is by using the Saturation slider. However, that will increase the saturation of the entire image and will in most cases lead to an oversaturated image; which results in visual chaos rather than a pleasant experience when viewing it.

In mistake number one, I briefly mentioned using the HSL sliders for making adjustments. By using this panel you’re able to affect only one specific color rather than the entire image. By using the Green Saturation slider you can target only the green colors and make an adjustment to only those hues.

It’s not only when adjusting the saturation that you should work selectively though. Personally, I make selective adjustments (often through Luminosity Masks in Photoshop) when working with color, contrast, brightness and pretty much any other adjustment you can think of.

3. Clarity at 100%

You might not want to hear this but increasing Lightroom’s Clarity slider to 100% is rarely a good idea, especially when it’s added globally. While I agree that adding clarity can often give an extra pop to the image as it brings out a lot of nice textures and details, it does more harm than good when it’s applied to the whole image. It also adds a significant amount of noise and lowers the overall quality of the file.

Let’s look at an example. In the image below I have increased the clarity to 100%. (Besides that, no other adjustments were made). I do like how it brought out a lot of texture in the mountain but the foreground now contains just as much texture and it’s competing with the mountain to grab your attention. In fact, the moss in the foreground is the natural place to look as it’s both bright and crisp.

If instead, I only add clarity to the mountain by using a Gradient Filter you’ll see that it makes a big difference compared to the image above. There’s still nice texture in the mountain but the foreground is now less crisp and working as a natural leading line.

Note: I prefer to rather use a mask in Photoshop and add it to only the mountain, as a gradient filter adds it to more places than what I want. But you can now use the brush tools to edit your gradient filter in LR as well.

Clarity only applied to the mountain.

Keep in mind that you want the most important areas of the image to be the sharpest. Naturally, the viewer’s eyes are guided to the sharpest parts of the image. Also, there’s no point in adding clarity to soft surfaces such as a blue sky or silky water. These are often better left alone.

4. Leaving Dust Spots

Unless you’ve got a brand new camera or you’re a superstar when it comes to having clean equipment, it’s likely that you’re going to have at least a few dust spots on your images. This is especially true if you regularly photograph in rough conditions including wind, snow, rain, and sand.

Removing dust spots is super easy and takes no more than a few minutes, so really there is no excuse not to do so. You have to admit, it looks quite unprofessional if a beautiful image has a bunch of dust spots in the sky. Would you hang that on your wall?

Keep in mind that if you enlarge and print your images, even the smallest dust spots become visible. Therefore, it’s a good practice to zoom in 100% on the image to look for any possible dust spots. When you find one, simply use Lightroom’s Spot Removal Tool and move on to the next.

It can be tedious work if you’ve got an extremely dirt lens but it’s something that needs to be done.

Turn on “Visualize spots” to help you find dust.

Conclusion

To end this I want to say one final thing: the most important is that you’re happy with the images you capture and process. If you like highly saturated images, go for it. If you like tilted horizons, good for you.

Stay true to your style and vision and create the art you want – don’t let anyone decide what your images should look like.

Using selective adjustments I was able to darken only the brightest part of the image

The post Avoid These 4 Post-Processing Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Images appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
July 25, 2018
Simple Tips for Street Candid Portraits

Capturing candid portraits on the streets can be stressful. When you first go out with your camera and you decide to capture people’s reaction, you find yourself wondering how to approach this type of photography. First of all, candid portraits must show genuine expressions from the subjects. An inside look, an image, in the life of someone. Then, your best Continue Reading

The post Simple Tips for Street Candid Portraits appeared first on Photodoto.

Photodoto

July 25, 2018
9 Recommended Accessories for Your New Sony a7R III or a7 III Camera

The Sony a7 III is arguably the hottest and most popular full-frame DSLR on the market right now. It packs much of the power of Sony’s other full-frame powerhouses, the a9 and a7R III, into a camera that’s significantly more affordable.

If you’ve added the Sony a7III (or the a7R III) to your camera kit recently, here are 10 accessories you might want to buy as well to help you capture better photos and/or videos.

Side note: This article excludes specific lenses, flashes, and camera bags as recommended accessories since they’re hot topics in their own rights, but make sure you get some of those as well.

1. Screen Protector

Both the Sony a7R III and a7 III are certainly very solidly built. You probably won’t need to buy additional protective accessories to shoot in most conditions (unless, of course, you plan on shooting in extreme conditions).

However, it’s a good idea to invest in a screen protector for the rear LCD screen. They’re cheap, relatively easy to apply, and they let you use Sony’s limited touchscreen functions. Just make sure to buy a screen protector that fits your camera model.

2. SD cards

Make sure you invest in at least a couple of SD memory cards to store your images in-camera. If you have multiple memory cards, a memory card wallet or holder is also great to keep them organized.

Size-wise, bigger is better given the larger file sizes of these cameras, so consider getting 32GB or 64GB cards. If you plan to shoot 4K video or take advantage of your camera’s blazing fast frames per second shooting, make sure you choose memory cards with a high write speed, such as this SanDisk 64GB USH-II SD card.

3. Camera strap

Both the Sony a7 III and a7R III come with dedicated Sony camera straps. They get the job done but can be difficult to remove in a situation where you don’t want a camera strap in your way (ie. shooting on a tripod). Thus, many photographers opt to purchase third-party camera straps.

The Peak Design Slide camera strap is especially popular right now since they have the ability to easily connect and disconnect from your camera as needed. Also worth checking out are Black Rapid camera straps, especially if you have two camera bodies and need a Double Camera Harness.

Photographers looking for a more fashionable alternative may also be drawn to the HoldFast Money Maker camera strap, which is handmade from genuine or vegan leather.

4. Lens filters

Both the Sony a7 III and a7R III require detachable camera lenses that you have to buy separately. This article won’t discuss specific lenses, but no matter which ones you end up with, you should definitely have a UV filter for each of your lenses.

Not only do UV filters minimize atmospheric haze, but they also protect the surface of the lens from scratches, dust, and most other external damage.

Other handy photography filters include a polarizer and neutral density filter. These are especially applicable if you plan to shoot outdoors.

5. External hard drive

Today’s cameras are packed with more megapixels and high-resolution video recording capabilities than ever before. While this can be a great thing for creatives, it can be a bane on your digital media storage. This is especially true if you have the Sony a7R III, which is capable of producing massive 42-megapixel images.

To avoid filling up your computer, you’ll want at least one external hard drive, or ideally three total to make backups of your images after shooting. When selecting an external hard drive, consider getting a “tough” or version such as the LaCie Rugged Portable Hard Drive that will give you some extra protection, since hard drives can be notoriously easy to damage.

6. Spare batteries and a battery charger

It’s somewhat arguable if these two accessories are needed. In case you haven’t heard, Sony drastically improved the battery life in the new Z-batteries that ship with the Sony a9, a7R III, and a7 III.

In my experience with the A7rIII, these new batteries last as long as the ones that power the Canon 5D Mark III. I find that I rarely bust through a whole battery in a full day of shooting still photography. However, it’s always wise to carry a spare battery or two, just in case.

As for the battery charger, you will probably need to buy one if you have the a7 III since that camera is reportedly not shipping with a battery charger in the box. Or, you can simply juice up your camera using the next recommended accessory.

7. External battery charger

One of the most refreshing parts about switching from a DSLR to a Sony mirrorless camera is the fact that you can charge your camera without removing the battery. Simply plug your camera into a wall outlet or external battery via the USB-C port to start charging.

Best of all, you can operate your camera while it’s being charged! As far as external battery packs go, Anker makes stellar options such as this one that is slim and capable of charging not only your camera but also your cell phone.

8. Tripod

Most photography articles include a tripod as a definite “must-have” in your camera kit, but I think this is a very arguable accessory, especially as camera technology improves. If you plan to shoot architecture, real estate, products, or in low-light scenarios, you definitely need a sturdy tripod such as this beastly Manfrotto tripod that is huge, but rock solid.

However, if you’re more of a run and gun shooter or looking for a more minimalist camera setup, you can get away with something like the Manfrotto BeFree travel tripod series, or even a GorillaPod.

In particular, I’ve found the GorillaPod to be ultra convenient. It’s compact and flexible enough to throw into your bag and have it as an option to quickly stabilize your camera as needed (if at all). If you do get a GorillaPod, be sure to get the 3K or 5K option, as any smaller models are often not strong enough to support Sony a7 cameras, or DSLRs in general.

9. Timelapse trigger

If you’ve owned a previous model of Sony camera such as the a7R II or an a6000, you probably used the built-in Sony apps. These unlock a host of extra features such as built-in time-lapse.

Unfortunately, Sony removed those apps from both the a7R III and a7 III cameras. That means you can’t easily do built-in time-lapses anymore. Fortunately, there are other options such as the MIOPS Smart Trigger.

In Conclusion

There you have it, nine recommended accessories (besides lenses, flashes, and bags) that you should get for your Sony a7 III or a7R III camera. Would you add any accessories to this list? Please let us know in the comments below.

The post 9 Recommended Accessories for Your New Sony a7R III or a7 III Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

July 24, 2018
9 Recommended Accessories for Your New Sony a7R III or a7 III Camera

The Sony a7 III is arguably the hottest and most popular full-frame DSLR on the market right now. It packs much of the power of Sony’s other full-frame powerhouses, the a9 and a7R III, into a camera that’s significantly more affordable.

If you’ve added the Sony a7III (or the a7R III) to your camera kit recently, here are 10 accessories you might want to buy as well to help you capture better photos and/or videos.

Side note: This article excludes specific lenses, flashes, and camera bags as recommended accessories since they’re hot topics in their own rights, but make sure you get some of those as well.

1. Screen Protector

Both the Sony a7R III and a7 III are certainly very solidly built. You probably won’t need to buy additional protective accessories to shoot in most conditions (unless, of course, you plan on shooting in extreme conditions).

However, it’s a good idea to invest in a screen protector for the rear LCD screen. They’re cheap, relatively easy to apply, and they let you use Sony’s limited touchscreen functions. Just make sure to buy a screen protector that fits your camera model.

2. SD cards

Make sure you invest in at least a couple of SD memory cards to store your images in-camera. If you have multiple memory cards, a memory card wallet or holder is also great to keep them organized.

Size-wise, bigger is better given the larger file sizes of these cameras, so consider getting 32GB or 64GB cards. If you plan to shoot 4K video or take advantage of your camera’s blazing fast frames per second shooting, make sure you choose memory cards with a high write speed, such as this SanDisk 64GB USH-II SD card.

3. Camera strap

Both the Sony a7 III and a7R III come with dedicated Sony camera straps. They get the job done but can be difficult to remove in a situation where you don’t want a camera strap in your way (ie. shooting on a tripod). Thus, many photographers opt to purchase third-party camera straps.

The Peak Design Slide camera strap is especially popular right now since they have the ability to easily connect and disconnect from your camera as needed. Also worth checking out are Black Rapid camera straps, especially if you have two camera bodies and need a Double Camera Harness.

Photographers looking for a more fashionable alternative may also be drawn to the HoldFast Money Maker camera strap, which is handmade from genuine or vegan leather.

4. Lens filters

Both the Sony a7 III and a7R III require detachable camera lenses that you have to buy separately. This article won’t discuss specific lenses, but no matter which ones you end up with, you should definitely have a UV filter for each of your lenses.

Not only do UV filters minimize atmospheric haze, but they also protect the surface of the lens from scratches, dust, and most other external damage.

Other handy photography filters include a polarizer and neutral density filter. These are especially applicable if you plan to shoot outdoors.

5. External hard drive

Today’s cameras are packed with more megapixels and high-resolution video recording capabilities than ever before. While this can be a great thing for creatives, it can be a bane on your digital media storage. This is especially true if you have the Sony a7R III, which is capable of producing massive 42-megapixel images.

To avoid filling up your computer, you’ll want at least one external hard drive, or ideally three total to make backups of your images after shooting. When selecting an external hard drive, consider getting a “tough” or version such as the LaCie Rugged Portable Hard Drive that will give you some extra protection, since hard drives can be notoriously easy to damage.

6. Spare batteries and a battery charger

It’s somewhat arguable if these two accessories are needed. In case you haven’t heard, Sony drastically improved the battery life in the new Z-batteries that ship with the Sony a9, a7R III, and a7 III.

In my experience with the A7rIII, these new batteries last as long as the ones that power the Canon 5D Mark III. I find that I rarely bust through a whole battery in a full day of shooting still photography. However, it’s always wise to carry a spare battery or two, just in case.

As for the battery charger, you will probably need to buy one if you have the a7 III since that camera is reportedly not shipping with a battery charger in the box. Or, you can simply juice up your camera using the next recommended accessory.

7. External battery charger

One of the most refreshing parts about switching from a DSLR to a Sony mirrorless camera is the fact that you can charge your camera without removing the battery. Simply plug your camera into a wall outlet or external battery via the USB-C port to start charging.

Best of all, you can operate your camera while it’s being charged! As far as external battery packs go, Anker makes stellar options such as this one that is slim and capable of charging not only your camera but also your cell phone.

8. Tripod

Most photography articles include a tripod as a definite “must-have” in your camera kit, but I think this is a very arguable accessory, especially as camera technology improves. If you plan to shoot architecture, real estate, products, or in low-light scenarios, you definitely need a sturdy tripod such as this beastly Manfrotto tripod that is huge, but rock solid.

However, if you’re more of a run and gun shooter or looking for a more minimalist camera setup, you can get away with something like the Manfrotto BeFree travel tripod series, or even a GorillaPod.

In particular, I’ve found the GorillaPod to be ultra convenient. It’s compact and flexible enough to throw into your bag and have it as an option to quickly stabilize your camera as needed (if at all). If you do get a GorillaPod, be sure to get the 3K or 5K option, as any smaller models are often not strong enough to support Sony a7 cameras, or DSLRs in general.

9. Timelapse trigger

If you’ve owned a previous model of Sony camera such as the a7R II or an a6000, you probably used the built-in Sony apps. These unlock a host of extra features such as built-in time-lapse.

Unfortunately, Sony removed those apps from both the a7R III and a7 III cameras. That means you can’t easily do built-in time-lapses anymore. Fortunately, there are other options such as the MIOPS Smart Trigger.

In Conclusion

There you have it, nine recommended accessories (besides lenses, flashes, and bags) that you should get for your Sony a7 III or a7R III camera. Would you add any accessories to this list? Please let us know in the comments below.

The post 9 Recommended Accessories for Your New Sony a7R III or a7 III Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

July 24, 2018
How to Use Neutral Tones to Craft Realistic Edits for Landscape Photos
When you look at a white wall, how does it make you feel? Dingy? Cold? Warm and radiant? Modern? Sophisticated? Clean?

White and light gray, sometimes referred to as “neutral tones”, are some of the most powerful colors in the spectrum. We can distinguish many shades of white, and bounced light from a neutral source influences the tint of every other color nearby.

Neutral tones set the mood of an image more than any other colors. You’ve probably transferred a photo to your computer where the white balance was noticeably off: a night shot where everything was too green and cool, or an indoor photo that was orange. White balance is an easy fix in most photo editing software, but neutrals don’t end there: by tweaking them creatively, you can take your photos to the next level.

What are the sources for neutral tones?

It’s possible to have a photo without white and grays, but most of the time scenes are full of them. These are some of the more common sources in landscape photography.

Clouds

Those water-saturated cotton balls do a great job of reflecting light. On a sunny day they tend to be slightly warm, while storm clouds are a fantastic source for chilly gray tones. However, clouds are not a good source for neutrals when shooting after golden hour or before sunrise.

Overblown sky

When shooting after sunrise and before sunset, the sky will typically be overexposed if you properly expose the rest of the image. It’s not usually desirable, but in a few instances an overblown sky is a good source of white.

Water

Lakes and shorelines are my favorite method to introduce strong neutral tones to landscape photos. You can use bodies of water to reflect an overcast sky, and along the coast, you can shoot a long exposure to blur the white foam from the waves.

Both tend to create pure neutrals, so you can completely change the mood of an image with tiny adjustments.

Fog

The most powerful way to introduce mystery and dreariness, fog is often the largest source of gray tones in your image.

Snow

Winter photography enjoys the most magical source for neutral tones. Tinting snow just a bit cooler or warmer profoundly impacts the scene’s mood.

Moon and stars

When shooting astrophotography, the stars tend to cast a cold white light, and the moon a warmer light.

Architecture

Man-made structures that ought to be white or gray such as; lighthouses, white-washed brick houses, winding gravel roads, and expansive castles — are often the subject of an image. Consequently, they make a compelling neutral source.

Why are neutral tones important?

Out of the camera, even after editing, your neutral tones may not really be neutral. They may be heavily tinted. Introducing off-white into your neutral sources is an important technique for crafting compelling edits.

Keep in mind that the viewer will expect those subjects to look neutral, so if you push the white balance too far or don’t balance the warms and cools, it will begin to look over-edited. A tiny change in neutrals has 10 times the power of changing your colors and blacks.

So, in general, start with subtle adjustments and revisit the photo often under different lighting conditions. Some of the most common ways to pollute neutral tones are:
- Pushing saturation or vibrance.
- Over-saturating an image shot at a high ISO.
- Shifting the white balance too far from pure white to bring out colors in the sky or a dark foreground.
With those caveats in mind, here are four ways your neutral tones can support the rest of the image.

1. Neutral tones root an image’s color palette

With strong neutrals, viewers can believe almost any edits in an image: sunsets that pop, overly blue skies, or glassy teal water. But the moment you introduce color into an element that should obviously be white or light gray, the image’s believability disintegrates.

This is why split toning is rarely a magic pill for making a great photo. Toning the highlights and mid-tones often ends up tinting your neutral sources.

The foam in this shot of Spirit Falls (below) is pure white, but the rest of the image has been significantly warmed and tinted green to bring out the beautiful colors. The contrast between the pure white foam and warm greens creates the impression that the water is refreshingly chilly.

2. Neutral tones help you resurrect the colors you remember

After shooting a stunning sunset, it can be disappointing to open the RAW image in your editing software and find that the colors are missing. In most cases, the detail and colors are there, but it’s up to you to revitalize them. Neutral tones will help.

Start by identifying elements in the photo that ought to be white or gray, then adjust white balance and tint accordingly. This will give you a great starting point.

It may still be underwhelming, but now that your neutrals are about right, start selectively bumping the saturation, temperature, and tint on the colorful subjects in your composition. You might add a graduated filter to the sky portion of the image and warm or cool it to help them pop.

Sunsets create a powerful contrast between the warm sky and cool shadows. The image of Road’s End above is primarily cool since the most of the image is in shadow.

However, the sea foam reflects both the warms and cools, so in post-production, I played with the global white balance until both tones came out. Afterward, I introduced a strong magenta cast to bring out the pinks in the sky and foreground.

3. Neutral tones set the overall mood

In reality, neutral tones are rarely neutral. By slightly tinting neutrals, you can communicate aspects of the scene. Here are some examples.

Time of day

Night photography is typically cooled, while sunset or midday photos are warmed. This shot of Mount Bachelor was taken after during civil twilight, so the only source of warm light was the grass in the foreground and hints of alpenglow on the snow. Everything else was left cool.

Temperature

An overly warm image can communicate a hot day, and on chilly days, the overall white balance can be left cool. This is especially powerful if your image has a small, warm light source to draw the viewer’s eye.

Morning fog over this lake in Snowdonia introduced a neutral source and warming the color raises the perceived temperature.

Weather

Clear days can be tinted slightly pink to warm the scene, while an incoming storm should incorporate a greener tint.

Oregon is rich with various biomes, and Smith Rock State Park feels like a desert on a clear day. The strong magenta cast brings out colors in the rocks and reinforces the cloudless sky.

Clarity

When the fog rolls in, it tends to chill the image and evoke mystery. A hazy day adds depth and layers to an image and tends to warm the image at golden hour.

In this shot from Bavaria, the haze on the mountain range adds warmth and communicates just how distant the mountains are.

4. Neutral tones help to bring out or tone down a region

Neutrals don’t have to be the same color or white balance! They can help root the mood and color palette of a local section of the image.

For example, snow beneath some trees in the foreground should be cool, and snow on a mountain under sunrise should be warm.

The different white balances communicate the temperature contrast between the foreground and background. Furthermore, since cool colors recede while warm colors pop forward, the warm snow in the background entices the viewer’s eye up from the ice-covered lake in the foreground.

What if my image doesn’t have any neutral tones?

It’s not impossible to realistically edit images without strong neutrals. But since your viewer has no neutral reference to root the color palette, you will need a compelling balance of warms and cools to convince the viewer you didn’t artificially crank up the white balance.

This shot from the village of Brunate (below) doesn’t have any substantial neutrals. Although the fog could be considered a neutral source, it strongly reflects the colors in the sky. However, the overpowering warmth in the top left sky is balanced by cooler tones in the rest of the image, which keeps the white balance from being entirely warm and pink.

The contrast also draws the viewer’s eye from the village in the foreground to the beautiful sky in the background.

Conclusion

Crafting realistic edits in landscape photography is a subjective experience. But by carefully preserving your neutrals, you grant yourself almost unlimited creative liberties in the editing process.

So next time you want a fall photograph to feel like a shot from Rivendell, identify the sources of neutral tones in your image and apply these techniques.

The post How to Use Neutral Tones to Craft Realistic Edits for Landscape Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
July 24, 2018
What are your greatest fears as a photographer?

In light of two big losses in the creative space – first that of Kate Spade and then that of the much loved and idolized Anthony Bourdain, there are a lot of questions being asked in the creative industry around success and personal happiness.

Why did this happen? What could have triggered these terrible tragedies? How many more are silently suffering? Is there such a thing as too much success? And alternatively what does success truly mean to us creatives?

Before I go any further with this article I have to make some things very clear. This article is not intended to make light of the situation(s) that lead to the demise of either Kate Spade or Anthony Bourdain. If anything, I really want us, the creative industry, to really sit up and take notice of the challenges and difficulties we all face in achieving our own levels of success.

I still use my Kate Spade wallet. In fact, it was the first wallet I gifted myself when I landed my corporate job 15 years ago. There was something about the Kate Spade brand that really resonated with me at that time – it symbolized femininity, freedom, success, and achievement.

Anthony Bourdain inspired me to dream big dreams and instilled a love of travel and people unlike anyone else I had ever seen. The fact that both of these global icons were lost in such similar situations really pushes us to ask those difficult questions around success, hustle, and challenges that go hand in hand.

So let’s start by addressing some of the most common fears that we photographers face on a day to day basis.

Fear #1 – How to make money as a photographer?

Let’s deal with the elephant in the room – I don’t think there really is a correct way to answer this question. Just as there are hundreds of genres of photography – from the super-niche to the really broad – there are hundreds of ways to make money with your photography.

Some of the most commonly explored ones are around consumer photography services, photography education, product sales, commercial photography, visual branding, etc.

I am of the opinion that diversifying your portfolio to include a few different revenue streams is a smart way to do business as a photographer. Diversification not only gives you the creative freedom to explore different genres of photography but also encourages you to learn new techniques and skills.

Additionally, earning a steady income during the off-season helps reduce the anxiety around money.

Florals as images for digital screensavers as well as postcards and thank you cards are a nice way to sell prints and diversify your photography income.

Fear #2 – How to learn all the required technical stuff?

Photography is as much a science as it is an art form. If you don’t believe me just take a look at your camera user manual. To really get good at the art of photography you need to understand the technical terms as well as the soft skills like composition, posing, communicating, etc. There is a lot of stuff to learn and understand to really excel in this craft.

Luckily there are many online classes as well as in-person workshops that teach and train you in various aspects of photography. While you can really learn a lot from free courses, articles, and videos, there is a lot of value to be had in workshops and classes. Not only do you get to connect with professionals in the areas that you want to specialize in, you also get to meet others who are in the same boat as you.

Don’t view other photographers as your competitors. Instead, view them as your peers. These are the people who understand you and the passion you have for this field because they have it too. Focus on building your community of friends, peers, and people who you can connect with when you have difficulties and challenges.

Having a strong support system is really important especially in creative fields.

Fear #3 – That you don’t have the right gear

Let’s break this down into one simple question. What does one need to create an image? The answer is a camera!

It truly does not matter what camera you have. Just google iPhone photography and you will find some amazing artists who are creating phenomenal work with just their phones. Similarly, if you search for photographers who use entry-level DSLR cameras, you will find many great photographers who still work with a basic DSLR camera and a kit lens!

You don’t need the latest full frame or mirrorless camera and pro-grade lens to create great images. Focus more on learning and understanding the technical skills than on the gear.

When you are just starting out, experiment with different cameras and lenses to see which ones feel right. Rent or borrow gear from other photographers so you can become good at creating great images no matter the gear.

For the first two years of my business, I only had one camera and one lens. I rented the gear I needed depending on the job which helped me keep my costs low. There are many ways of being successful without going broke.

You will need different gear to photograph wildlife than you would to do food photography for a restaurant. But that does not mean you need to go buy all the gear out there for each and every genre. Use the basics first and then add on when you are ready!

Fear #4 – That your work isn’t good enough

In any field of work, the only way to produce great work is to do the work. There truly is no such thing as overnight success. You might look at someone who seems to have achieved a lot (which is really subjective by the way) and think that they have it easy.

But you don’t see the true reason for that success. You don’t see the late nights, the hustle, the constant planning and execution, the anxiety over money, the failures, the challenges and the struggles. You don’t see them because they are generally not talked about openly.

So before you question how to produce great work, go ahead and consistently do the work. Get out there and photograph even when you don’t want to. Photograph in different lighting situations to understand light. Work with different subjects so you know how to interact and communicate to get the look you want.

Reach out and connect with other creatives and collaborate on projects. Everyone who wants to make it big is willing to do the work, are you?

Great work – work that you are proud of – takes practice. So get out there and practice everyday.

Fear #5 – Not getting any clients, inquiries, and bookings

You can have the best portfolio, the best website and the perfect studio space. But it all means nothing if you are not getting a steady stream of inquiries and clients.

The only way to really get clients and bookings is to actively go seek them. One way to seek new clients is to put yourself out there as a photographer/creative artist. Network with people from different industries, pitch your work to your ideal clients, market your work effectively and the inquiries will come.

Sure this will take time but if you are in this industry for the long game then take the time to make a mark with your work.

Fear #6 – That your portfolio isn’t diverse enough

Look, we all start somewhere and there is no shame in that. I remember when I first started building my portfolio I had a ton of pictures of my kids and those of my friends and family. I would practice every opportunity I would get with people I knew.

Slowly I started getting confident about my work and made it known that I was an aspiring family photographer. I didn’t focus on the sale but instead on building a network of clients. I networked with other photographers via in-person meetings as well as online forums and learned as much as I could about the business of photography.

So when you are just starting out, put yourself out there. Ask friends and family if you can practice your photography skills on them. Reach out to others and see if you can collaborate.

There is no lack of ways to build your portfolio – you just have to get comfortable with asking.

Fear #7 – Not knowing how to market yourself

We live in a very different world now more than ever. Everything is online and everyone is online. Traditional forms of marketing like print ads, radio, and TV don’t do as well as online and social media marketing.

Since social media and online presence seems to be the new status quo, make sure you have an online presence. And remember social media is all about being social! So make sure you are being social online by sharing a little bit about you and not just your work. Work on building a relationship with clients and potential clients because people will only buy from brands (and people) that they know, like and trust.

Invest in social media marketing and advertising as well as traditional forms of marketing. A lot of my work still comes from word of mouth and referrals, so make sure you are taking advantage of those channels as well.

Sharing and promoting your best work as part of your marketing campaigns is a great way to grow your reach and your business.

Conclusion

I hope these tips were helpful and shed light on some of the commonly expressed fears that others including myself regularly experience.

Please remember that you are not on an island without any help and nor are you the only one going through all these emotions and feeling of anxiety around your work. We all face these same issues time and time again.

The key is to objectively work through them and come out strong. If you are truly passionate about photography and want to make it a career, keep up the hard work and the fruits of your labor are bound to be as sweet as can be!

The post What are your greatest fears as a photographer? appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

July 24, 2018
Tips for Better Results When Shooting in Low Light Conditions
Shooting in low light conditions can result in beautiful photographs. But it also presents plenty of technical challenges for you as a photographer to overcome.

The main issues with doing low light photography are:
- You may not be able to use a shutter speed fast enough to hand hold your camera without creating camera shake.
- If you use a high ISO, your photos can be very noisy.
- Shooting at a wider aperture might not give you the depth-of-field you need to get enough of the subject in focus.
- Your pictures can be underexposed and lack shadow detail.
- It may be difficult for your lens to focus in low light.
Working with a tripod can greatly reduce some of these technical difficulties, but what about situations where shooting handheld is usually a necessity, like street photography? Or in places where a tripod may be prohibited, like a restaurant or museum?

There are ways to take control of your camera to ensure you get the most out of these challenging situations.

Tip #1 – Use a Prime Lens

There is no denying that zoom lenses are convenient, but choosing a prime over a zoom lens can ensure that your images will be that much sharper.

Zoom lenses are constructed with extra glass elements that move in order to zoom. More elements within the lens contribute to lens diffraction, a phenomenon of optical physics that degrades the quality of an image. Lens diffraction is why a generic prime lens can often be sharper than a much pricier zoom counterpart.

Shot with an 85mm prime lens.

Tip #2 – Use Shutter Priority

We’re taught that the best way to get great photos is to always shoot in Manual Mode, but sometimes this isn’t the case. In low light photography, shooting in shutter priority mode will help you take better control of your camera.

Shutter Priority mode lets you set the ISO and shutter speed, while the camera will calculate the best aperture for the lighting conditions in which you’re working.

The shutter speed needs to be fast enough to prevent camera shake. Your settings will vary, depending on your focal length and the size of your camera’s sensor. A good approach is to start with the same number (as a fraction) as your focal length for a full frame camera, and then add a stop (double it).

For example, if you are shooting with a 50mm on a full frame camera, try 1/100th of a second and check your results. For a cropped sensor, double your focal length number and add a stop (so 50mm x 2 = 100 x 2 = 200 so 1/200th).

Keep in mind that this is only a guideline. It’s to be used as a quick baseline from which to start. Your camera, the lens you’re using, and the environment you’re shooting in are all factors that will influence your end result.

Tip #3 – Use a High ISO

Your images can be very noisy at a high ISO. Some cameras handle high ISO settings better than others, but the vast majority of DSLRs (and mirrorless cameras) these days have good ISO capabilities. At least good enough to give you a decent base file for post-processing.

Lightroom and Photoshop can fix noise effectively, but the best results can be had with a program called Dfine from DxO’s Nik Collection. (Note: Once available for free, this plug-in can now be purchased with the entire Nik Collection from DxO).

The software measures select areas of your image for noise and adjusts it automatically. You can also take control and selectively increase and decrease noise reduction intensity and type in different parts of the image.

Before beginning to shoot in low light, I recommend doing an ISO test to determine how far you can push it with your camera. Run a few images through your post-processing program of choice and analyze the results. If you need to do a lot of noise reduction, your images might end up looking too plastic.

Tip #4 – Use Back Button Focus

Many of us rely on autofocus these days, especially if we have less than 20/20 vision. Both autofocus and manual focus have their pros and cons.

For example, when using autofocus, it’s very easy for the camera to miss focus at wider apertures. Also, when a scene lacks contrast, which is often the case in low lighting scenarios, the lens may struggle to find focus. You can remedy this by focusing on the edge of a brighter spot in your frame and then recomposing.

You’ll need to use focus lock, or back button focus so your camera doesn’t attempt to refocus once you try to recompose. Back button focus moves the trigger for focusing from the shutter button to the back of your camera. When your focus is not set with the shutter button, your camera will not attempt to refocus when you take a shot.

I always have my camera set to back button focusing, whether I am shooting in low light or not.

Low Light Portraits

If you need to shoot portraits in low light without a tripod, try image stabilization if your lens offers this technology. Image stabilization counteracts any minor vibration due to shaky hands.

An image stabilizer can help you shoot at a slower shutter speed that you ordinarily would with a lens that doesn’t have this function.

When shooting portraits, shoot at the lowest (widest) aperture possible. It will give you a narrower depth of field, which will help you blur out a busy background by letting it fall out of focus. If possible, use a reflector to bounce some light onto your subject’s face.

This child portrait above was shot handheld, very late in the day, without a reflector. Despite using some of the tips outlined here, it still was underexposed. I was able to bring some brightness back by using Curves in Photoshop and lightened the right side of her face a bit to counter some of the dreaded raccoon-eyes you often get with low light portraits.

Post-processing can go along way toward counteracting some of the problems encountered in low light photography, but trying to get things as perfect as you can in-camera, will save you a lot of time and headaches later.

Low Light Landscapes

Shooting at the golden hour or blue hour, when the light is low, is an ideal time to shoot landscapes. But it also presents the same challenges. In this case, a good, sturdy tripod is essential.

Also, you’ll need a shutter release. Manually depressing the shutter button will cause a vibration that will introduce camera shake and cause your images to be less than sharp.

When shooting landscapes in low light conditions, use Manual or Aperture Priority mode and be careful not to underexpose, or you’ll end up with too little shadow detail.

Your aperture should be fairly narrow, such as f/8 or f/11. Stopping down to apertures such as f/16 or f/22 can cause lens diffraction, in either prime or zoom lenses, no matter the quality. Shooting at f/8 will give you a good depth of field and enough sharpness. Not to mention, most lenses function at their best around this aperture.

Bulb mode is also a great way to shoot landscape photography. This mode is mostly used for long exposures at night or in dark conditions and allows you to do an exposure longer than 30 seconds. You can keep the shutter open as long as required to get the shot in this mode.

If image sharpness continues to be an issue, taking three identical images with different focus points and blending them together using the focus stacking function in Photoshop is an excellent remedy.

Low Light Indoors

Sometimes you’ll need to shoot indoors in low light where you can’t use a flash, such as in a museum or a restaurant. You can choose to crank up your ISO and try Shutter Priority, as mentioned above.

For shooting subjects like food or still life indoors in natural light, shoot by a window and do a long exposure with the camera on your tripod. As long as you have some light, you can still shoot. Use reflectors to bounce some of the light back onto your subject.

In Summary

The key to getting consistently great results shooting in low light is understanding the principles as outlined above. Take some time to practice and take notes on what you observe while trying to get a well-exposed image.

After a while, it will become second nature for you to know what to do in any given low light situation.

The post Tips for Better Results When Shooting in Low Light Conditions appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
July 23, 2018