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3 Creative Exercises for Using a Slow Shutter Speed

18 Jul

The reason I’m a big fan of experimenting with different shutter speeds is that the opportunities seem endless. By only using a fast shutter speed you’ll limit your photography and miss out on so many great images. In my opinion, shutter speed is the setting which allows you to be the most creative and to capture unique and visually interesting images.

By changing the shutter speed only slightly (let’s say from 1/120th of a second to 1/60th) the image can look completely different and tell a whole different story.

3 Creative Exercises for Using a Slow Shutter Speed

A typical use of a slow shutter speed.

If you are already somewhat familiar with using a slow shutter speed, you’ll know that it’s highly recommended to use a tripod for this technique. Doing so will lead to sharper images and you’ll most likely avoid camera shake (at least if you use a delayed shutter or remote trigger as well). I’ll be the first to say that I use a tripod for 99% of my images, but every now and then, I choose to break this rule as I know that leaving it behind will, in that case, be the best choice.

In this article, we’ll look at three creative exercises you can do using a slow shutter speed. They may not be typical or the most logical but the results can be stunning.

Creative Exercise #1 – Tilt and Pan

As I said, one of the main reasons for using a tripod when photographing with a slow shutter speed is to remove any vibration and movement from the camera, leading to crisp and sharp images. This creative exercise goes against those guidelines and instead of leaving the camera on a steady tripod, you’re going to tilt or pan it while taking the image.

The use of a tripod is not necessary for this technique and it’s easy to do without one. If you’re using a shutter speed slower than one second, I do recommend using a tripod though as you’ll most likely get a better result.

You’ll get the best results when your subject contains different colors and also has texture and patterns. When you’ve found the subject you wish to photograph, let’s say a treeline or a patch of grass, slow your shutter speed down to between 1/15th and 1/4th of a second. You can use an even slower shutter speed, but I’ve found that the best results are in this range, as you’ll still get some good texture and detail in the image.

Now, when you press the shutter button, quickly tilt or pan the camera in one direction – make sure that you’re quick enough though! As you can see, the result is an abstract image with lots of lines. This technique doesn’t work for all scenes though and I recommend zooming in on your subject to avoid including the sky.

shutter speed exercises

Photographed with a Nikon D800, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 lens at f/11, ISO125, 1/15th.

Continue repeating this technique and try moving the camera both slower and quicker, as well as making small changes to the shutter speed. You’ll soon see that even small adjustments will have a huge impact on the final image. It may take quite a few attempts before you get an image you’re truly satisfied with, so keep playing.

Creative Exercise #2 – Zooming

Exercise number two is similar to the first in that it will create an abstract image with a lot of movement. Also this time you will forget about the guideline of keeping your camera still when photographing and will deliberately create motion, this time by zooming your lens.

This is a technique you can experiment a lot with, as the results can vary greatly. You may also want to use a longer shutter speed than you did above. For a more detailed description of this method, you can also read: How to Create a Dynamic Zoom Burst Photograph

Let’s try this first. Set your shutter speed to five seconds and place the camera on a tripod. Press the shutter button and wait two seconds before you slowly start zooming your lens, continue until the exposure is completed. As you can see, it appears as if two images are put together into one. The background is sharp but the ghost-like lines going away from it creates a sense of motion and can add a lot of extra depth.

shutter speed exercises

Image courtesy of dPS Managing Editor, Darlene Hildebrandt.

Again, as with all of these creative exercises, trial and error is your friend. Don’t just do it once and leave. Try this multiple times with different settings, vary the exposure, try a different tempo of the zoom (go fast, then try slow), zoom in then try zooming out, zoom and stop at varying intervals, etc. After a while, you’ll hopefully capture something that has potential!

This method can result in fascinating images taken at night. By capturing two images (one where this technique is used and one that’s normal) and blending them together you can get a quite interesting result. The landscape will be normal while the stars look like their shooting out of the image. It’s all about trying the unknown and take a moment to disobey the “rules”. For more on this technique read: How to Create a Dynamic Zoom Burst Photograph or Intentional Blur- How to Create it and Why It’s Awesome

shutter speed exercises

Image courtesy of dPS Managing Editor, Darlene Hildebrandt.

Note: if you want to try this on a bright daytime scene you may need to use a Neutral Density filter to cut down on the amount of light. Otherwise, your image will just be overexposed. 

Creative Exercise #3 – Close-up

This last exercise for practicing using a slow shutter speed is quite different than the other two. For this one, you will use a tripod and delayed shutter or remote trigger to capture a sharp image. Then, you will be zooming in on some details in the landscape and using a slow shutter speed to capture it.

shutter speed exercises

For many years I rarely used anything other than an ultra-wide-angle lens, as I wanted to capture everything in the same image. As I became more experienced and my art began evolving, I realized that I found a much greater pleasure in viewing abstract and intimate shots. In many ways, these simple scenes result in more powerful images that better tell a story.

So, for this exercise, you’ll need to go outside and search for something that includes a moving element, such as a waterfall, river, or perhaps waves. The composition isn’t crucial yet as you’re mostly going to be experimenting with different shutter speeds but if you’re able to find a good one that’s a benefit.

Once you’ve found the subject you wish to photograph, set your shutter speed to 0.5 seconds. Capture an image and start lengthening the shutter speed until you reach somewhere between 5-10 seconds (you might need to use an ND filter and compensate with ISO/Aperture for this to work). By scrolling through the series of images you’ve taken you will see just how much it changes by making only small adjustments. I bet that the 0.5-second exposure looks nothing like the 5-second exposure, right?

slow shutter speed

What fascinates me with this exercise is that every now and then you’re going to find patterns or shapes in the image that you couldn’t see with the naked eye. The motion creates these shapes and in some cases, it can even be scary. Can you see all the screaming faces in this image?

Summary

So now it’s up to you to go out and try these shutter speed exercises. Share your results in the comments section below as well as any questions you may have.

Note: If you want more info, my eBook The Ultimate Guide to Long Exposure Photography, covers the basics of using a slow shutter speed and shares multiple case studies on how changing the shutter speed can affect your image.

The post 3 Creative Exercises for Using a Slow Shutter Speed by Christian Hoiberg appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse

18 Jul

On the afternoon of August 21, 2017, an event will take place in the United States that has not happened in almost 100 years. A total solar eclipse will be visible for a huge swath of the mainland population. While total solar eclipses aren’t an entirely uncommon phenomenon, it is highly irregular for one to be seen by such a large portion of the country and it won’t happen again anytime soon.

How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse

Image via Wikimedia Commons

In 2019 a total eclipse will be viewable for people in Chile, Argentina, and Uraguay and after that, the next one will not happen until June of 2020 which will be visible for a large chunk of Africa and southern Asia. This means that anyone who wants to get some good photographs of the upcoming event will need to spend time preparing, getting some essential gear, or even traveling to the USA if you live in another country.

Fortunately, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to get a good shot of the eclipse. This guide is designed to give you a good idea of what you will need without breaking the bank.

What is a solar eclipse?

To understand a bit about photographing a solar eclipse, it’s important to know just what it is you will be looking at on the afternoon of August 21st.

The moon orbits the earth once every 28 days, but the plane of the moon’s orbit is not quite even with the plane of earth’s orbit around the sun. Because of this disparity, the moon does not usually block out our view of the sun, except for once every few years. If the earth gets between the sun and the moon it’s called a lunar eclipse, but if the moon scoots between the earth and the sun it results in a solar eclipse which is rarer and, in my opinion, more spectacular to watch.

The fun part happens when you are lucky enough to be in the path of totality, which is where you will experience a complete blackout of the sun during the middle of the day. Keep reading to find out what gear you will need to photograph the eclipse, and how to locate the path of totality so you know where to be on this eventful day.

How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse - diagram

A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes directly between the sun and the earth. This diagram is most definitely NOT to scale.

How can I see the eclipse?

The most important thing to remember when viewing the eclipse of 2017, or any solar eclipse, is that you do not want to look directly at it unless you are in the path of totality – that is, unless the moon is completely covering the sun.

I need to make this abundantly clear: do not look at the solar eclipse with your naked eyes!!

Even if most of the sun is covered up by the moon, the light streaming out will be much too bright for your eyes to handle. NASA’s website has more detailed information, but suffice it to say if you want to watch the eclipse unfold in real time you will need something to protect your eyes like these solar eclipse glasses or a strong piece of welding glass. Sunglasses are far too weak to be effective and don’t ever just try to squint.

Protect your eyes properly, they’re the only ones you’ve got.

How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse - photo

Image via Wikimedia Commons

How do I take pictures of the eclipse?

Here’s where things get a little tricky since you will probably need to spend a bit of money, though hopefully not as much as you think. If you want to get the kind of close-up images you’ve already seen in this article, you will need the following camera gear:

  • A zoom lens, preferably one that has a focal length of at least 400mm.
  • A solar filter to protect your lens and camera.
  • Solar glasses so you can watch the eclipse unfold as it happens.
  • A tripod to hold your camera steady.
  • A place to view the eclipse, free of obstructions.

Here’s a bit more information about each of those so you can make sure to get the best photos possible.

Lenses and Cameras

Most consumer-level zooms such as the Nikon 55-200mm lens or Canon 18-200mm do a good job at covering a variety of focal lengths. But shooting at 200mm isn’t going to handle an event like the solar eclipse with as much resolution and detail as you may want.

That’s where a longer lens such as the Tamron 150-600mm (or the Sigma version) really comes in handy. It will allow you to get a much closer view and to take the kind of pictures you might see on blogs and magazine covers. The downside is that these longer lenses are quite expensive.

Fortunately, there are several places online where you can use to rent lenses from for a few days at a time, which I highly recommend. BorrowLenses, LensRentals, and LensProToGo are popular sites that all carry a similar lineup of lenses, but it’s also a good idea to check with your local brick-and-mortar camera shop too. Many of these stores will let you rent lenses for a very short period of time, which is good since you only need one day to photograph the eclipse.

Tamron’s 150-600mm lens is ideal for shooting a solar eclipse, and you can find it online at places like Amazon.com or  B&H Photo Video.

Alternatives

Another alternative is to look into buying or renting a teleconverter that will increase the focal length of your existing lenses. A 2x teleconverter can be rented for about $ 35 depending on your location. While the resulting images won’t be quite as sharp as if you were using a dedicated zoom lens it should be more than adequate to give you enough reach to photograph the eclipse with a lens you already own. (Note: Some point-and-shoot cameras have impressive zoom lenses but I would advise against using these for the eclipse because there’s not a good way to attach a solar filter to them, which I describe in the next section.)

Finally, it’s worth noting that crop-sensor cameras such as the Canon Rebel T6 Series or Nikon D3400, D5500, and D7200 are ideally suited for this type of event because they will give you more reach out of your lenses. A 200mm lens on a Nikon crop-sensor camera effectively becomes a 300mm lens, and the same holds true for Canon. Micro-four-thirds models have a 2x crop factor so shooting with a 200mm lens on the Olympus OM-D EM-10 is like using a 400mm lens on a standard full-frame DSLR. So for shooting the eclipse, if you have both crop-sensor and full-frame cameras you will be better off using the former instead of the latter.

You don’t need an expensive camera to get good shots. Even an older crop-sensor model like the Nikon D3200 will work great, provided you have a telephoto lens or a teleconverter.

Solar Filter

You wouldn’t look directly at the sun during an eclipse without proper protective equipment for your eyes, and the same holds true for your camera. If you are lucky enough to be in the path of totality you can look at, and take pictures of, the eclipse without needing any special gear. But if you are anywhere except the line of the complete blackout, or want to take pictures of the eclipse as it begins and ends, you will need certain equipment to keep your camera safe.

A special solar filter that attaches to the end of your lens is a great way to protect against damage to your camera. Not to be confused with standard neutral density filters, which are not at all strong enough for this type of situation, solar filters are specifically designed to photograph eclipses and other solar events. Make sure to find one that screws on, or fits over, the end of your lens and not one that goes between your camera and the lens. If it’s the screw-on kind it needs to actually fit your lens too, so double check that the thread size of the filter you get matches the thread size of your lens (look inside the lens cap for your lens, that is the filter size).

You will need a solar filter like this one from Amazon if you plan on pointing your camera at the eclipse at any point other than when the sun is completely covered by the moon.

Solar Glasses

These function much in the same way that a solar filter does, but are designed to protect your eyes instead of your camera. They are not expensive and look like the old style of 3D glasses you might have used in a movie theater decades ago, except these block out virtually all light except what comes from extraordinarily bright objects like the sun.

While wearing solar glasses won’t help you take better photos of the eclipse, it’s good to wear them as the Eclipse waxes and wanes so you can see it with your own eyes instead of through your camera’s viewfinder.

Solar glasses like these are required if you want to look directly at the eclipse as it begins and ends.

Tripod

Unless you have very steady hands or an impressive image stabilization system on your camera, a tripod is essential for shooting an eclipse. While you don’t need anything fancy or expensive, it will help to have a larger one that can keep your camera and lens rock steady. This is why I would recommend against small mount-anywhere tripods that you can find rather cheaply online.

If you are using a zoom lens with a built-in tripod mount, make sure to attach your tripod to that instead of your camera. Otherwise, you will put a great deal of stress on the mount where the lens attaches to the camera. Finally, any time you use a tripod make sure you disable your lens’s vibration reduction system because it can backfire on you and actually make your images more blurry when mounted to a steady surface.

A place to view the Eclipse

If you have all your gear ready, solar glasses on your face and your friends and family gathered to witness this historic event, it could all be for naught if you don’t put yourself in the proper location. The best spot to view Summer 2017’s Eclipse is by finding a location along the path of totality–the geographic line where you will see an entire blackout of the sun for as much as two full minutes. Places not on the path of totality will still see part of the eclipse, but the effect will not be nearly as pronounced.

Many towns and cities located on or near the path of totality have been taking hotel reservations for August 21st and are planning community events to promote the Eclipse. So if you haven’t started looking for lodging yet I would recommend making those plans now. This site has an interactive Google Map with all the information you need to get a good viewing location. Try to find a park, field, or another open area free of obstructions so that you can have a clear view of the eclipse. Though of course, weather plays a big role in this too and it’s entirely possible that your best-laid plans will result in rain or even just a lot of clouds.

Image via NASA’s Eclipse Map site.

Shooting Techniques

Finally, it’s important to keep a few essentials in mind so you can actually get the kind of pictures you are hoping for when the eclipse happens. Here are some tips that can make the difference between a blurry almost-had-it shot and a brilliant glowing halo that you would be proud to print and hang on the wall.

  • Use a fast shutter speed. It’s not about stopping the vibration of your camera, which is what a tripod is for, but freezing the motion of the moon as it travels across the sun. 1/125th of a second will be more than adequate, and going faster than that won’t really give you much of an advantage. Once again, make sure you have a solar filter or else you will damage your camera, and get a pair of solar glasses for your eyes too.
  • Use a small aperture, but not too small. Each lens is different, but in general f/8 or f/11 is going to give you a sharp image without much diffraction or chromatic aberration. Go much larger than that (i.e. f/4, f/2.8) and you risk getting an image that isn’t as sharp as it could be. Much smaller than that (i.e. f/16, f/22) will likely result in weird optical artifacts that happen as the light enters such a small opening and is reflected throughout the glass elements of your lens.
  • Shoot in RAW, not JPEG, and correct your white balance afterward in Lightroom, Photoshop, or another similar program
  • Use a two-second delay timer (if you’re shooting with a tripod) so you don’t get any vibration from your finger pressing the shutter, which can cause the image to appear blurry.
  • Use Live View to check for focus. Alternatively, you can use autofocus but make sure to check your pictures on the LCD screen right away to make sure they are properly in focus. However…
  • …Don’t spend all your time chimping, or looking at the LCD screen on the back of your camera after you take photos. You will only have a few minutes at most to take pictures of the total eclipse, and you will have plenty of time to admire them after it’s all done.

If you want to know more, PBS has a fantastic short video about the upcoming eclipse and you can find all sorts of information by searching online including NASA’s page dedicated to the event.

Do you have any other tips for getting photos of the upcoming eclipse? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to revisit this article after the eclipse to share your photos!

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6 Tips for Posing Hands in Wedding and Portrait Photography

18 Jul

One of the most challenging and misunderstood elements in posing hands and how to use them correctly. Hands are so important in an image because they can say so much. They can convey masculinity, femininity, strength, softness and between couples, they can show love and affection.

6 Tips for Posing Hands in Wedding and Portrait Photography

So the big question is what can we do with hands? How can we make them look elegant and soft? Where should they be placed to convey the most realistic emotion and feeling? Here are a few helpful tips and ideas to keep in mind for your next wedding, portrait, or fashion shoot that may help correct the most common hand posing issues.

#1 – Avoid showing the widest part of the hand

To help make hands look elegant, simply avoid having the back of the hand facing towards the camera as that is the widest part of the hand. This is important because the hands in proportion to the subject’s face can make the hands look larger than they actually are, or can make feminine hands look quite masculine. A simple twist of the wrist, so the smallest part of the hand is showing, is all it takes to change the look and feel of an image from average to wow.

Tips for Posing Hands in Wedding and Portrait Photography

#2 – Soft hands

Female hands need to appear soft, delicate, and elegant. To achieve this, it’s a matter of conveying to your bride or model to relax or soften their hands. A simple way of demonstrating how to do this is to hold your hand out then fully tense it up and then allow it to drop and relax slightly even wiggle the fingers so they are loose. Think of it like a big balloon, you’re just letting out a little air so they don’t look so hard and stiff.

Tips for Posing Hands in Wedding and Portrait Photography

#3- Bend the wrist

Bending the wrist (a slight bend so it’s not straight) is such a simple method to break a straight line and create more shape and texture in a shot. Remember the female form looks best when we can see beautiful natural curves, this includes the wrists.

Tips for Posing Hands in Wedding and Portrait Photography

#4 – Have the hands doing something that appears natural

People often ask, “What can I get my model or bride to do with her hands? I’m stuck for ideas.” This one is one of the simplest issues to address. You could have her holding the flowers, her veil, her dress, fixing her headpiece, adjusting her engagement ring, putting on perfume, touching her man softly, the list goes on. Just make sure it’s something she would normally do so it appears natural, otherwise, it may look a little posed and stuffy.

Tips for Posing Hands in Wedding and Portrait Photography

#5 – Posing hands with couples

When photographing the bride and groom, think about where you would place your hands if you were cuddling your wife, husband, boyfriend, or girlfriend. Have the bride’s hands touching the groom’s hand, forearm, chest, or face in a way that says, “I love you”.

Have the groom’s hands on the bride’s waist or on her hands while saying, “I love where your hands are”. This can really change the feel and emotion of your photos.

Tips for Posing Hands in Wedding and Portrait Photography

#6 – Don’t amputate hands or fingers

When you have two hands overlapping each other it can appear that a hand is missing due to your angle and/or crop. This can happen when the bride has her hands around the back of the groom’s neck or you’re shooting a portrait side-on (as pictured below). The hand closest to the camera is on the other hand making her look like she has no hands or the fingers are amputated. To avoid this just switch hands over so you can see finger tips from one of the hands.

Tips for Posing Hands in Wedding and Portrait Photography

Conclusion

With all these tips in mind, the most important thing to remember is that hands should be placed in a natural realistic location doing something they would naturally do. So I suggest getting a friend or model and going out and just practicing for an hour or so to see what works and what doesn’t. This way you’ll have confidence on your next the wedding day or portrait shoot.

6 Tips for Posing Hands in Wedding and Portrait Photography

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Happy Trails – 19 Adventuresome Images of Hiking

13 Jul

Summer is here in the northern hemisphere and a great activity that many participate in is hitting the hiking trails. It goes hand in hand with photography as hiking takes you to little-seen places and gorgeous vistas like this:

By Jeff Krause

By Justin Jovellanos

By Hernán Piñera

By citizen for boysenberry jam

By Nate Swart

By Ian D. Keating

By Douglas Scortegagna

By Deborah Lee Soltesz

By Ranch Seeker

By David Stanley

By Jeff Turner

By Marvin Chandra

By Adam Bautz

By will_cyclist

By Loren Kerns

By albedo20

By Patrick

By Tracie Hall

By veggiefrog

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Weekly Photography Challenge – Hiking

12 Jul

Time to hit the trails!

By Loren Kerns

Weekly Photography Challenge – Hiking

This week it’s time to get off the couch and get out into nature. Find a hike to do locally and go for a little trek with your camera. See what you find along the way to photograph. You don’t have to scale mountains or go somewhere exotic or far away. Look in or near your own area.

Bring a buddy or two and photograph your hiking pals. Read this for more help as well: Taking your DSLR into the Backcountry Safely

By True New Zealand Adventures

By Hugo Chisholm

By Paul Rysz

Share your images below:

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images on the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

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How to Use the Folders Panel in Lightroom

12 Jul

The web is full of articles about Lightroom’s Develop Module. It’s the flash part of Lightroom, making our images look so much better. It truly is the heart of Lightroom, but if you can’t find images when you need them, you may as well have never shot them. That’s where the Folders Panel in Lightroom. Because if Develop is the heart of Lightroom, then the Library module is definitely the head.

The Library module is all about managing your images. It uses a range of tools to do this. Key among these are Folders and Collections. In this article, we’ll be looking at the Folders Panel.

The Folders Panel

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The Folders panel shows a hierarchy that represents folders on your drive which have been imported into Lightroom, either directly, or created when importing images. Because it only contains imported folders, it may not include or show all folders or subfolders available on the drive.

Show/Hide Parent Folder

Don't Import Suspected Duplicates in the Import Dialog

Don’t Import Suspected Duplicates in the Import Dialog

The key feature of Folders in Lightroom is that they only allow an image to be located in one folder only. This is controlled by the “Don’t Import Suspected Duplicates” checkbox in the Import dialog. There are good reasons for this.

First, physical duplicates take up space on your hard drive, and in backups. Secondly, how do you know if you’re looking at the right file to export if there are only subtle differences between them? You can, of course, create different versions of an image using Virtual Copies (without duplicating the file). The beauty of this is the copy only exists as a preview on disk, taking up very little room, but still allowing a managed set of versions to exist.

With the hierarchy in the Folders panel, you can move up and down the folder tree by using two commands available on each top level folder (the folders in which subfolders reside). These commands are; Show Parent Folder and Hide Parent Folder. The former reveals more of the folder tree on your hard drive, while the latter hides it.

Show/Hide Parent Folder

Show/Hide Parent Folder

Add Folder/Subfolder

Click the + Icon for more Folder options

Click the + Icon for more Folder options

Generally, most of the folders in Lightroom are created outside Lightroom, or as part of Import, but there are also tools to create them within Lightroom. Click the plus (+) icon in the Folders panel header to access the Folders menu. From there you can create a new folder or even a subfolder inside the current folder. When creating a subfolder, you can include images to move into it after its creation.

Find Missing Folder/Update Folder Location

It’s important you remember that Lightroom is a database, so it depends on the information collected upon import to do its job. One important bit of information is the folder’s physical location on your hard drive. If you move a folder outside of Lightroom (or even rename it), Lightroom will lose track of it. You can relink the folder using the “Find Missing Folder” command, but it’s generally best to move single folders and images inside Lightroom. If you want to move an entire tree somewhere else, use the Show Parent Folder command until you’re at the top of the tree. Then in the OS copy the whole tree to the new location.

Click the + Icon for more Folder options

Click the + Icon for more Folder options

You can quickly get to the top folder on your hard drive by using the shortcut Cmd/Ctrl + R for Show in Finder/Explorer. Once the copy is complete, right-click on the top-level folder in Lightroom, and choose “Update Folder Location”. Browse to the new location and select the top level folder. Lightroom will now associate all the catalog information with the new file location. This is great for when you outgrow a drive but still want all your files together, as it allows you to move everything safely without losing any of your work.

Drives in Folders

Folders Drive Icon

Folders Drive Icon

Speaking of drives, each disk also has a tab in the Folders panel, showing the name of the drive, and information about it. A graphical LED shows a color to represent remaining space on the drive. Green means okay, orange means it is almost full. Red means critically full, especially for the drive that contains the catalog file. Black means the drive is disconnected, and the drive bar will be dimmed.

Video with More Info

To expand on this article check out my video on the Folders panel. It’s a pretty in-depth look at Folders in Lightroom and covers more than what I’ve gone through here. If you’re a visual learner, you’ll get more from watching. Check it out below:

If you’ve specific questions, don’t be afraid to ask in the comments below.

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How to Demystify Shooting Video With Your dSLR

12 Jul

It’s almost impossible these days to get a camera that doesn’t have a video mode yet I’m going to guess that you have either never pushed the record button, or you have and you weren’t happy with the results so never pushed it again. Or maybe you’ve avoided pushing the button simply because you don’t want to deal with editing the video. It becomes one of those things that’s easier to avoid than it is to try and possibly fail at mastering immediately. And while it’s true that the record button is red, you shouldn’t let that stop you shooting video.

shotting video - red button

If you are one of those photographers, let’s demystify some of the ins and outs of shooting video with your DSLR and open up a new string to your bow. The biggest tip? Just to get out there and shoot some video. Not all the footage will be amazing, but the more you do it the more you’re going to learn and the more comfortable you’ll get with it. Dare I say, you may actually have some fun learning something new as well.

Why bother?

But why would you want to add the shooting video to your arsenal in the first place? Let’s be honest, even if you aren’t making money from your photography, if you’re like most of us, you really like getting attention online and engaging with others. Video is a great way to get attention on social media and begin a dialogue. A fake survey that I am about to make up said that people are 800,000% more likely to stop and look a post if it includes a video.

On a serious note though, video can help improve your storytelling and it’s fun to learn new things. Perhaps if you find yourself in a bit of a rut, it could be just the thing to help get your creative juices flowing.

Smiling shooting video

Storytelling and video editing

Video, just like photography, is about telling a story.

The first thing to think about with video is that you will most likely have to edit it, not much, but at least just a bit. It’s important to have at least some idea of what your edit is going to look like before you shoot video. I’ve been working in the film industry for almost 20 years and even I have times where I get back to the editing suite and realize that I’ve forgotten to get a shot that would really help. The more you shoot, the more you’ll realize how many different angles and shots you actually need to tell the story.

Interview shooting video

A good tip is to always get wide and tight shots. Your close-up and medium detail shots are most likely going to be your beauty shots, artsy-fartsy if you like. Then the wide shots will help you establish your scene and let your audience know where your story is taking place, which is absolutely vital. Once you have those shots, just have fun and be creative. Take more shots and angles than you think you’ll need. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did!

Camera settings for shooting video

When it comes to the settings on your camera, you can go really deep but don’t let it stop you from starting! There are some basics to start with:

1. Select a frame rate

If you’re in North America or Japan, select 30 frames per second and if you’re anywhere else select 25 frames per second. There are a few other options and reasons for all of them, but this is a good place to start.

Frame rates are normally found in the “movie settings”, which is at the bottom of the “Shooting Menu” on Nikon.

With Canon, you may have to turn on Live View mode before the movie options will appear in the menu.

2. Aperture, ISO and Shutter Speed

These work exactly the same in video as they do when taking still photos, so that’s easy.

But shutter speed is slightly different. As a general rule, set your shutter speed to double the frame rate. This is so that movement in your video will look natural. If you set your shutter speed low – in video mode, most cameras won’t let you go under 1/20th – then any movement will be blurry. If you set your shutter speed higher than 1/60th or so, then things moving in your video may appear too sharp. Yes, too sharp can be bad in video – try it and see for yourself.

Here is a short video to help you with video settings:

3. Audio

Lastly but probably most importantly, think about your audio. Without realizing it, you’ll find it makes all the difference in your video. The built-in microphones on most cameras are not great, so a good way to get round that is… don’t use it.

So what DO you use? Well, microphones are a bit like cameras, the best one is the one you have with you. So just use music over your whole video to cover anything until you can get a better audio source.

Gear

What about gear, you ask? Don’t you need loads of different equipment than what you use for photography? What about external monitors, tripods, and video lights? Do you need a fancy rig? Sure, you can get a whole lot of new gear but you don’t NEED anything to get started. It’s too easy to let a lack of gear stop you but if you have a camera with a record button, you have everything you need to start.

record button shooting video

shooting video gear shooting video fancy rig

Conclusion

You just need to get out there and shoot – anything. Just press the red button, because this is one situation where red means go. Go shoot some video and have some fun like this!

The post How to Demystify Shooting Video With Your dSLR by Lee Herbet appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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dPS Writer’s Favorite Lens: the Nikon 16-35mm F4

12 Jul

The Nikon 16-35mm f/4 lens is the one I use the most – here’s why!

As a full-time photographer, you quickly notice that your camera bag is constantly getting heavier and heavier as you find new equipment or gadgets that you need want. I’m not nearly as “bad” as many other photographers when it comes to purchasing gadgets and gear but I do have two camera systems and several lenses and extra equipment that I use on a regular basis. My main reason for having two systems is to have a lighter camera (the Fujifilm X-T2) for hikes but it’s also comforting to have a backup system in case something happens.

Nikon 16-35mm lens

I frequently get asked about the equipment I use, but the one question that sticks out the most is, “What is your most used or favorite lens?” This question is slightly difficult to answer as I have more than one favorite and it really depends on the situation. For example, if I’m photographing abstract shots I often use a telephoto zoom, while during the night I heavily rely on my ultra-wide angle Nikon 14-24mm. However, by looking at which lens I use the most and have relied upon more than the others, the question isn’t that hard to answer – it’s my beloved Nikon 16-35mm f/4.

Admittingly, when purchasing a Nikon D800 a few years back (which was my first full-frame camera), the Nikon 16-35mm was my lens of choice. For more than half a year it was the only lens I owned for this system. The lens is by far one of the most popular for those who use a full-frame Nikon camera but trust me, it’s not without a reason.

Wide Enough

Nikon 16-35mm

Landscape photography is my main genre of photography. While I’m often attracted to smaller scenes and more intimate shots, the majority of my images are captured with a wide-angle lens as I love photographing grand landscapes. The 16-35mm isn’t the widest lens I own (you’d be surprised how big the difference between 14mm and 16mm actually is) but it’s more than wide enough for most types of landscape photography.

Since it is a wide-angle zoom and not a prime lens, it’s a good option if you’re only able to bring one lens. I often use this lens at 35mm, especially when I’m in the woods and I want to remove unwanted parts from the image. Such was the case with the image below where I zoomed in to remove the blown out sky and tops of the trees.

Distortion is also fairly low with the 16-35mm and even enlarged the image is more or less sharp even in the outer corners. This is something that’s been a common challenge amongst other ultra wide-angle lenses. Vignetting is also close to non-existent even at the widest aperture, which is great for the few times I actually need to use f/4 (quite rare with this lens).

Nikon 16-35mm

Technical Info

If you regularly follow my articles and photography you’ll know that I’m not the most technical person and I rarely spend too much time focusing on the technical aspects of the gear. I’m more focused on the images I can produce with the specific lens and image quality. Anyways, I know many of you are curious about some of these technical aspects so let’s quickly look at the specs:

  • Focal length: 16-35mm
  • Maximum aperture: f/4
  • Minimum aperture: f/22
  • Angle of view: 107° – 63°
  • Closest focusing distance: 0.29 m (1.0 ft.)
  • Filter diameter: 77mm
  • Weight: 680 g/24.0 oz.

Writer's Favorite Lens: the Nikon 16-35mm F4

With a 77mm filter size, this lens is compatible with standard sized square filter systems such as the NiSi V5 Pro Holder (100mm square filters). That means that you don’t need a new filter system in order to use them on this lens. That’s something which is valuable for me personally as carrying more equipment than is actually needed can be exhausting on longer hikes.

Focus and Sharpness

I really love that you can focus almost directly in front of the lens, making it possible to place foreground elements extremely close in order to add extra depth in the images. As a landscape photographer I mostly use manual focus but whenever I’m without my tripod and I use the autofocus on this lens, I’m very satisfied. The lens easily focuses and the image looks sharp even when using a semi-slow shutter speed handheld.

Writer's Favorite Lens: the Nikon 16-35mm F4

Did I mention that it’s sharp? It’s incredibly sharp. In fact, it’s probably the sharpest Nikon lens I have ever tried. Still, several years after purchasing it I’m blown away at times by how sharp the images are when viewing large (zoomed in or 1:1).

The Negatives

I’ve been sitting here for a while trying to think of things I dislike about the Nikon 16-35mm f/4 but there’s honestly not much bad I can say. It’s by far one of the best lenses I’ve ever used and despite it being released in 2010, it’s still considered to be one of Nikon’s flagship lenses.

Writer's Favorite Lens: the Nikon 16-35mm F4

My only negative comment is that f/4 isn’t always enough. For night photography, you want to use the largest aperture possible to capture as many details in the sky as you can. In that case, the Nikon 16-35mm is not the ideal lens. However, we can’t expect everything in one lens, right?

Conclusion

Even though it was the first lens I purchased for my first full-frame camera and is a relatively old lens, it still remains my most used. Unless Nikon comes with a mindblowing update to it, I can’t see myself replacing this lens anytime soon.

The Nikon 16-35mm f/4 will continue to be my most used lens in the time to comes. It’s a lens I highly recommend to anyone wanting to get started with wide-angle photography.

The post dPS Writer’s Favorite Lens: the Nikon 16-35mm F4 by Christian Hoiberg appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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What is Good Light and How to Use it to Create Beautiful Portraits

12 Jul

Two of the most commonly used and misunderstood phrases thrown around by photographers today are, “It’s all about the light” and “Look at that beautiful light”. But what does that actually mean? How can you use it to make beautiful portraits?

good light portraits

In my early years, I kept hearing photographers online and in person preach about the importance of light yet never clearly explain what good light is and how to actually use it to flatter or minimize a subject’s flaws. Here are a few tips to keep in mind on your next shoot to help understand light and how to use it to make better portraits.

Direction of Light

Before you pick up your camera, stop and look around the scene to see what direction the light is actually coming from which will help you decide what to do with your subject. This might seem really obvious, but once you understand the importance of the direction of light half the battle has been won.

direction of light portraits

For example, when you first walk into a room for an indoor portrait or bridal session the most obvious light source is likely from a window. With window light there are three common lighting scenarios you can create by simply changing your camera and subject position to the light.

Flat Lighting

In this scenario, the window is behind you (you have your back to the window) thus soft light is falling onto your subject. There is no light coming into the lens compared to if you were shooting into the window. Usually the lighting is even and flat with no shadows, provided, of course, that there is no direct sunlight coming through the window.

flat lighting - good light portraits

Here the light was behind the camera providing a nice even light across the groom’s face.

Back Lighting

A backlighting situation is created when you’re shooting into the light (the camera is facing the window). Shooting into the light will cause a lack or loss of contrast in your image, and the background will most likely blow out and be over exposed. You may also choose to shoot this way to purposely eliminate distracting details that maybe outside like a building or car that detracts from the scene.

This is okay if that’s the look you’re going for or you’re shooting a silhouette, but for a portrait it’s usually not the most flattering light.

back lighting silhouette - good light portraits

Here I chose to purposely backlight the bridal party. So the light wasn’t coming directly into the lens and to try and retain some contrast, I simply turned the blinds slightly so the light wasn’t coming directly through the window as much.

Split or Side Lighting

Having your subject next to the window and shooting parallel to it can be a good way to create some shape, tone, and texture by defining highlight and shadow detail in the face and body. It’s also a great way of hiding or highlighting certain features that might be prominent. For example, if your model has blemishes on one side of her face, to hide or minimize this simply place that side of the face in shadow and or crop it out entirely if possible.

side lighting - good light portraits

Here the light was coming from camera left, which also makes her the brightest part of the image compared to the darker back ground. The bride and I were standing parallel to the window.

Light with Intention

To highlight your subject’s face, rather than the torso or arms which are bigger in proportion to the face, simply turn their body away from the light source and turn their face back toward the camera.

Also if you can find a location where the background tone is darker than the subject it will help make the model stand out as the center of interest in your image. This could mean choosing a location in the house which has a darker midrange tone not a white or cream. It’s also most likely going to be out of focus anyway.

good light portraits

Here the light was coming from the window to the right of the bride (from camera view). I asked the bride to turn her body away from the light (to my left, her right) and then bring her face back towards the window. This is how I achieved the shadow detail on her left side of her face and body. I was also shooting from the shadow side or her face.

Quality of Light

Sun light, window light, reflected light, diffused light and back light all have a different quality of light. Direct light sources tend to be harsher and will show skin imperfections easier. Direct midday sunlight can create hard shadows in the eye sockets which can look like dark bags.

If you have to shoot during midday, remember that the light is coming from directly above. So wherever possible find poses to get the models to tilt their heads up towards the sunlight so their entire face is lit to avoid having horrible bags under their eyes.

Look at the quality of light and if it is too harsh like direct sunlight it may be a good idea to introduce some sort of diffuser like a scrim, or get into the shade.

quality of light - portraits

Here I was shooting indoors, but the light coming through the window was too harsh. So I asked my assistant to hold a scrim in the window which created a beautiful even soft quality of light.

Sometimes natural reflectors can be found at the locations where you’re shooting. So if you see a white wall or big white truck and the sun is hitting it, that is now a diffused light source and will be much softer than a direct light source like the sun.

diffuse light portrait

This image was taken outdoors before sunset using a translucent reflector as a diffuser. I asked my assistant to hold the reflector in-between the subjects and myself. This created beautiful, soft, non-direction diffused light on their faces filling in all shadows. The natural sunlight behind them added a nice soft highlight to her hair. You can even see the reflection of the reflector (catch lights) in their eyes.

Conclusion

With all these tips in mind, the most important thing to remember is that all light is not created equally. The best thing I can suggest is to go out and just practice for an hour or so at different times of day with varying light sources to see what works and what doesn’t. This way you’ll have confidence on your next the wedding day or portrait photography shoot.

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Do You Need a Photography Resume?

11 Jul

In the photography world, there is a lot of emphasis on having a portfolio, but hardly any attention is ever given to the photography resume. So do you even need a photography resume at all? The question is largely debatable and boils down to the type of photography you are aiming to do. In this post, I’ll highlight some scenarios when you might need a photography resume (along with what to include in it), and when you do not likely need one.

When You Might Need a Photography Resume

In my seven years of working as a freelance corporate photographer, I’ve been asked to present a photography resume only a handful of times. Each time, it was when I was being considered for a part-time or full-time photography role. If you’re applying for a salaried photography position within a company or being listed with a creative agency, this is when you might need a resume.

Do You Need a Photography Resume?

While it’s rare for any commercial client to require a resume for a freelance photography job, it’s still good to have one on hand just in case. But if your target client is non-commercial with a focus on something such as weddings or families, you probably won’t ever need to submit a photography resume.

When You (Probably) Don’t Need a Resume

For most freelance photographers, it’s rare that a client will ask for a resume in order to be considered for a gig. Typically, the emphasis for freelance photo shoots is more on your portfolio and how you handle your correspondence (i.e., email, phone calls, in-person meetings). This is true for both consumer (eg. wedding, family) and commercial (eg. corporate event, headshot) photographers.

Can you imagine a bride asking a wedding photographer for a resume? Or better yet, can you imagine what a wedding photographer’s resume might look like? Having a list of all of the weddings a photographer has ever shot doesn’t matter unless you’re aiming to be a celebrity wedding photographer.

Do You Need a Photography Resume?

Keep a Resume on File

The good news is that resumes aren’t terribly difficult to create, especially with the existence of LinkedIn. For all of the naysayers who don’t find LinkedIn relevant, I admit that it may be more or less useful depending on where you’re located. Here in Seattle, LinkedIn is a very active recruiting tool and social network where you can also store your electronic resume for anyone can see. As a full-time freelance photographer, I think it’s a good thing to have my professional resume seen by as many prospective clients as possible.

What to put on your resume

What should you include on your resume? There are a few staple items that should definitely be included, but the rest of the details depend entirely on why you’re submitting the photography resume in the first place. Personally, I have zero educational background or full-time employment that has anything to do with photography. Yet I still include my education and work experience to show that I have some.

As for my position as a full-time freelance photographer, I list that as my most current work experience. Writing the description for this position was rather awkward at first, but it actually became quite interesting when I put all of the skills I actually perform as a photographer into words. Consider every single part of your photo shoot workflow, from scouting and booking locations to post-production and delivering final photos to your client under tight deadlines. There are a lot of professional skills that go into being a photographer, so detail it out for both yourself and prospective clients. Include the following:

  1. Your name and contact info.
  2. Educational background.
  3. Any relevant experience you have.

Do You Need a Photography Resume?

Focus on Your Portfolio

Instead, what should matter to are these things:

A Curated Portfolio

As a photographer, your portfolio IS your resume. It should contain only your very best work that visually showcases your skills. How many images you choose to include in your portfolio is completely up to you, but generally, 15-20 images per category is a good amount.

Testimonials From Clients

Testimonials are basically your references. They should be short, accurate statements that reflect your process and what your client liked about working with you. Although it’s rare for anyone to actually call and verify your testimonials, they’re still important to include as they give the potential client a glimpse at what others think.

Do You Need a Photography Resume?

By James Royal-Lawson

Client List

Most consumer (wedding, family) photographers won’t need a client list unless the names of the couples and families are recognizable. However, commercial or corporate photographers may want to include a list of notable clients with whom they have worked. Typically, it’s okay to just make a list of client brand names, but you can also include tear sheets (a screenshot or copy of your published final product). This helps prospective clients get an idea of the types of clients and projects you’ve worked with before.

Case Studies

Consider taking your portfolio a step further than the average photographer by including a few case studies. Simply pick your top 3-5 photography clients that you’ve worked with, and include the best 5-10 images to showcase from each project. Use those images along with some personal written commentary that describes how you decided to tackle the photo shoot. Also, consider adding any behind-the-scenes photos or diagrams that show any setup details. Use these case studies to show off how you approach a photo shoot. After all, a prospective client wants to know not only that you can create an image, but what it’s like to work with you.

Do You Need a Photography Resume?

In Conclusion

Depending on your ultimate goal as a photographer, you may or may not ever have to create a photography resume. It depends entirely on what you strive to achieve as a photographer. What are your thoughts on having and using a photography resume?

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