It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. Tons of shooting, Punta Cana for vacation, more shooting, lighting workshop, working on a painting commission… whew…
Had a fantastic time at Don Giannatti’s workshop in Baltimore, we had some great brainstorming on a portfolio revamp. So that’s my next project! (more on the workshop in a separate post)
Now it’s just a matter of wrapping everything up, finishing up some processing and getting ready to start all over again! Oh, and round 2 of my 1×120 project will be starting up as well!
Without further ado, here are a few images from the past couple of weeks (in no particular order)
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Epic Skies appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
This week’s weekly photography challenge – EPIC SKIES!
Dramatic cloudy sky by Caz Nowaczyk
Capture some epic skies, either in a close up of dramatic clouds or a dramatic sky in a landscape vista. It could be a stormy sky, the northern lights, a dramatic sunset or sunrise, or the milky way. You get the idea!
Play with post-processing too, if you like.
The choice is yours! I look forward to seeing what you share
Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.
Tips for photographing EPIC SKIES
6 Tips for Capturing Dramatic Skies in your Landscape Photography
3 Simple Steps to Make Your Skies Pop in Lightroom
Tips and Tricks for Night Photography of the Starry Sky
7 Tips to Improve Your Skyline Photos
How to Use a 10 Stop Neutral Density Filter to add Drama to the Sky
Beginners Tips for Night Sky and Star Photography
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.
Share in the dPS Facebook Group
You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.
If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSEpicSkies to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Epic Skies appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
been doing a lot of personal work lately, a good amount of new portfolio shooting. Felt it was about time for a portfolio overhaul… check the galleries for new work…
For those not familiar, Lighting Essentials are a series of workshops put on by Don Giannatti (you may know him as “Wizwow” on flickr). I am a big fan of Don, not only is he an excellent photographer, with years of commercial experience under his belt, but he is also a fantastic teacher – which is just as difficult a skill unto itself. He’s also a really down to earth guy with a low tolerance for BS and fools, which I find refreshing, particularly in the online photo community which can often turn into a bit of a hive-mind circle-jerk at times (you know what I’m talking about)…
Anyway, I got to go to his workshop in Philly in ’08 and it was awesome – definitely kicked my work up a couple of notches. At the time I was already somewhat experienced with lighting, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was blown away; it was amazing to watch Don demonstrate things that I already “knew” lighting wise, and still be able to pick up something new – a new way of thinking about it, new ways of analyzing and constructing and deconstructing light.
A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to attend the advanced lighting essentials ‘shop down in Baltimore. Different than the standard workshop, this one assumed a baseline familiarity with lighting to begin with – getting a baseline exposure, balatncing flash/ambient, ratios etc… This was fantastic, as we were able to jump right into working with little “catch up” required. The format was well done. Don split us up into groups, with various assignments/challenges – in the morning we worked “in studio” talking about and working on precision lighting techniques for still life/objects. I gained a whole new respect for product photographers – it’s a lot more difficult than you’d think. One light, and lots of carefully placed white/black cards/diffusers etc… I particularly appreciated this as it really made you focus on analyzing and constructing light carefully rather than the “throw some strobes on it till it looks good” approach which many lighting novices seem to take.
In the afternoons we worked with models, but instead of the standard “how to light/balance” we focused more on creating a mood or complex lighting schemes – sometimes using 4, 5 or more lights – little accents and subtleties to construct a meaningful lighting scheme. Now I tend to be more minimalist in terms of my own lighting (I tend to favor zero, one or two lights – rarely more) but even so it was valuable to concentrate on the subtleties of the lighting scheme as a whole.
One of the things I like the best about Don’s workshops is that it’s all hands-on. There’s no “sit around and listen to the instructor talk about how great he is” for 6 hours, as is the case with many “workshops” – Don has everyone jumping right in and shooting right off the bat. It’s simply “talk about technique -> apply technique”. Good stuff. We also spent quite a bit of time talking business. Don has been a full time photographer as well as designer and creative director for many years, so he has a fantastic amount of the experience in the industry and shares freely. There are few things more valuable for a new photographer than the lessons of experience from someone who has “been there and done that”. It’s like going through the school of hard knocks without having to take the knocks.
To sum up, aka the TL;DR version: if you get a chance to attend one of Don’s workshops, go for it – it’s worth every penny. What boggles my mind is that folks who will drop thousands on a new camera body or lens, are so hesitant to spend money on education or workshops. I can say without reservation that the couple of hundred bucks for the LE workshops improved my work far more than any gear purchase I have made (and yeah, I’m also guilty of chasing the latest and greatest toys when it comes to gear).
This Sunday 8/4/2010 at 9pm EST (6pm pacific) Don Giannatti has been kind enough to do a live portfolio review with me on the air. We’ll be talking about making the final cut of images, and finalizing a portfolio. Maybe a bit about design and branding and style as well. Should be fun – tune in at:
The post Great Fruit and Vegetable Still Life Photography Ideas appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.
Before there was photography, artists used paints and brushes to record their visions onto a canvas. Fruit and vegetable still life images were common subjects for many. Even today, in art schools, a fruit bowl might be an early subject. Learning to reproduce shapes, tones, color, and replicating the way light, shadow, smooth reflective objects, and dull matte objects look in the light – all those things would be part of your training.
We, as photographers, would do well to take a similar approach to our photography. We have it easier in many ways; not needing paints and brushes to create our images on a blank canvas. However, learning about light, composition, and technique are still foundational lessons.
If you are stuck at home, this could be a good opportunity to slow down, work on the kitchen table, relax with a slow-paced style of photography, and learn some new photography skills. A fruit and vegetable still life project could be just the way to spend a quiet day at home.
Putting these kiwi slices on an inverted glass pie plate, and then putting an LED flashlight under the plate, so the light shone through them, was the key to making this photo.
Subject selection
There are several reasons why fruits and vegetables make good still life subjects. They have interesting shapes, textures, colors, and details. As they are food, we can work to make them look especially appetizing, selecting the freshest and best subjects to be our “models.”
People who specialize in food photography will often use the talents of “food stylists” who carefully pick just the right subjects. They then use tricks, much like a fashion makeup stylist would use, to make their “models” as flawless and stunning as possible.
If you have access to choice fruits and vegetables right now, by all means, go seek such subjects. On the other hand, if being restricted to home means you need to use that somewhat sad-looking collection of carrots from the bottom of the refrigerator, just take your photo in a different direction.
If all you have is some sad looking carrots from the bottom of the refrigerator, go with what you have. Note the “wood backgrounds” here are actually printed sheets from a craft store.
Types and styles
In the early-to-mid 1600s, the Netherlands saw the rise of a collection of artists we now refer to as the “Dutch Masters.” A realistic style, emphasis on dramatic directional lighting, and the play of light and shadow are earmarks of the look. A good example of a Dutch Golden Age still-life artist is Willem Kalf. See his image below, “Still Life with Lemon Peel.” Now, as a photographer, how might we emulate that look?
Still Life with a Peeled Lemon – Willem Kalf (Dutch, 1619 – 1693) 1664 Oil on canvas * Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection * Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
A favorite technique of mine for emulating the Dutch Master’s look is light painting. I discuss this at length in my DPS article, “Learn these Two Techniques for Dramatic Light-Painted Photos.”
A distinct advantage of still life photography is that shutter speed is not critical. If you need a multi-second exposure, no problem. Work from a tripod so your camera is rock-steady, lock up the mirror on a DSLR to minimize vibrations, and use a cable release or perhaps the 2-second timer to trip the shutter. Go to full-manual mode. Keep your ISO at the lowest setting to minimize noise. Select an aperture based on how much depth of field you seek, and select a shutter speed for however much time you need for the “painting.”
Grab your flashlight and paint away.
Seeking to emulate the style of the Dutch Master’s paintings, I made this light-painted shot using just the illumination of a small flashlight and a 10-second exposure.
A favorite photographer I follow now on Instagram is Carlo Denino. Often with just a single fruit, vegetable, or other subjects, he produces exquisite light paintings. I encourage you to give his images a look and see if you can then emulate his style. I know from personal experience it’s not nearly as easy as it might look!
Lighting
Light Painting
Light painting is just one way you can go when doing fruit and vegetable still life images. Natural lighting can often be great and will require nothing more than your camera.
Dutch Master’s images were typically painted to look like they were illuminated by a single light source off to the side.
Find a window where you can place your subject and see if you can create the look. If you need a little fill to reduce the shadows, a simple reflector or even a white card can do the trick.
Always keep an eye out for photo subjects. Both of these were done outside when I just happened across the scenes. The shot on the left was done with my LG V30 cellphone. The one on the right, when I happened to have my camera one day on a neighborhood walk.
Non-conventional lights
Explore how other lights that would be considered non-conventional for photography, such as LED-flashlights, can work. Yes, they will not usually be as bright as standard photo lighting, and their color temperatures can vary. But they do have the advantages of being cheap, small and portable, and perhaps something you already have on hand. Use long exposures to compensate for their lower light output, and when you shoot in Raw mode, finding a good white balance will be much easier.
When working close to small subjects, an LED flashlight might be all the light you need, especially when with still-life, your shutter speed can be as long as you want.
Flash
Speedlights can be another option. You will typically not want your light to come from the front of your subject, so your pop-up flash or hot-shoe-mounted Speedlight isn’t the best way to go. If you can, get the flash off the camera and fire it with a remote trigger. Or perhaps use a flash cord to get it away from the camera. If not, try bouncing the light off the ceiling, a wall or a reflector to redirect the light and soften it.
Bright sunlight and a shutter speed of 1/3200 second was the trick to freezing the motion of these shots. Splash photography with fruits and vegetables is a great combination creating a “freshness” look.
Tricks with conventional photo lighting
If you have dedicated photography lighting, that’s great. Give it a try and perhaps use your fruit and vegetable still life subjects to explore some new lighting techniques. Try different ways to modify the light with snoots, reflectors, flags, diffusion, gobos, colored gels, or whatever else you can think of.
Unrestricted by time or pressure to get it right quickly will open you up to experiments you might have never tried. If you fail twenty times but come up with a new and exciting technique just once, you can consider your experimental lighting play a great success.
Lighting direction
With their interesting colors and sometimes translucent nature, fruits and vegetables can lend themselves to some interesting lighting techniques. Rarely will you want to light from the front of the subject as this will produce rather flat and uninteresting light.
Instead, try side lighting to emphasize texture, backlighting to perhaps create some nice rim-lighting, or if you want to get some really creative looks, lighting through your subject.
Fruits and vegetables that can be sliced thin work great for this. For example, I made thin slices of a kiwi, then made a platform from a glass pie plate under which I placed an LED flashlight. The light shining up and through the slices really emphasized the color and detail. Citrus fruits work well for this technique too.
Experiment and see what you can create.
Citrus fruits sliced thin make great subjects for backlighting as the colors and textures are so interesting. We also expect to see them in drinks and scenes like this.
Backgrounds
As with any other photo subject, carefully consider the background when you stage your fruit and vegetable still life image. You will want a background that complements and doesn’t interfere with your subject.
Quite often, the best background will be the simplest. Consider using a completely white or black background if that works for the image you’re trying to create. Lightroom makes it very easy to blow out whites or totally blackout shadows with the adjustment brush aided by other tools like the clipping indicators and Auto and Range Mask. Paint out what you don’t want to keep the focus on your subject.
The fruit here is more the “supporting cast” in this shot of a raspberry lemonade cupcake. However, all the elements of this shot were carefully chosen. The background is a piece of scrapbooking paper from the craft store.
Of course, the other option you always have with photography is blurring, and thus simplifying, your background with a limited depth of field.
If you are a new photographer just trying to get your head around how depth of field works, the slow and deliberate nature of making fruit and vegetable still life images is a great way to experiment and understand the relationships of apertures, focal lengths, and their effects on depth of field.
Spritz things up
A favorite trick of food photographers looking to make their fruit and vegetable still life images look fresh and also add interest is to use a spray bottle to spritz their subjects with water. Sometimes to create larger droplets that hang better and last longer on the subject, they will add a bit of glycerine to the water.
Macro
The structure of living things is often fascinating, and being able to explore fruits and vegetables up close can reveal some really interesting things. Whether you use a dedicated macro lens, extension tubes, bellows, close-up filters, a reversed lens, or a combination of these, macro work is just the thing to divert your attention from your troubles while you focus on the unseen world.
Working inside in a controlled environment with no wind and complete control of the lighting will also help you learn macro techniques.
Get close and explore the detail with a macro shot. Often my LG V30 cellphone rivals even my dedicated DSLR macro lens.
Tell a story
When making fruit and vegetable still life images, it can enhance your photo if you add other objects to help “tell a story” about your scene. Rather than simply take a photo of an apple, slice the apple, add a cutting board and a knife to invite the viewer to consider what might have been going on. Add props that enhance the theme and avoid those that distract. Consider what makes sense in that particular scene and things you would naturally find paired together.
Add other items to your fruit and vegetable still life images to help tell a story.
High and low key
Fruit and vegetable still life photography can sometimes lend itself to high and low key renditions. To briefly define the terms, high-key is a lighting and exposure style that is very bright and contains little or no shadow. Contrast ratios, that being the difference between the lightest and darkest tones, are minimized. High-key photos will often have an “ethereal” look to them.
Two high-key images done very differently. The raspberry shot used a fast 1/1000 second shutter speed, the onion a slow 1/13 second shutter speed.
Low-key images are the opposite and typically quite dark, often with shadows that are totally black. They will often be quite contrasty with few mid-tones. Sometimes a low-key shot will use highlights in certain places to emphasize shape and form. Back and rim-lighting can lend itself well to a low-key look.
Here’s an exercise to try; take a fruit or vegetable, compose your shot, and make a “normal” exposure. Then, without moving the camera or subject, change the lighting and exposure to give it a high-key look. Now change the lighting and exposure again and see if you can get a low key look. This is a fun way to explore lighting techniques and understand the dramatic difference lighting can have on a scene.
Still life that moves
We call it “still” life because, most often, the subject doesn’t move during the exposure and is static. But need it be that way?
Fruits and vegetables can make great subjects for some dynamic images. In my article “Making the Shot: Your Guide to Creating Stunning High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash,” I show some fun ways to make some really exciting images. You’ll note that almost all of my subjects were fruits and vegetables.
Still-life doesn’t have to be still. The short duration flash of a Speedlight froze the action in these shots.
There’s also this image from my “How to Use Multi-flash to Capture Compelling Action Photos” article. The orange pepper stood out nicely on a dark background and allowed me to make the stroboscopic image as it flew through the air.
Mom may have told you not to play with your food, but here, it’s entirely appropriate and a whole lot of fun.
Mom might have told you not to play with your food, but for photographic purposes, you have my permission to go crazy.
Conclusion
Many of you may be homebound and looking for creative ways to keep up your photography practice. Making fruit and vegetable still life images has some advantages;
It uses subjects you may already have at home.
It lends itself to a variety of different lighting techniques.
Macro photography is a possibility.
You can explore all kinds of new techniques.
If you get some really good shots you may be able to sell them as stock images.
After you’re done, you can eat your subjects!
Get back to your roots. A shot one day when visiting a farmer’s market.
Have fun with your fruit and vegetable still life photography, and post some of your great shots in the comments below.
If you’d like feedback, critique, and have a question about how to do something better, post that too. I try to answer all comments and look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes and be well!
The post Great Fruit and Vegetable Still Life Photography Ideas appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.
I am quickly becoming a big fan of Northern California. I first went out last year for my birthday, had a blast, drank lots of wine. This was my second trip up to SF/Sonoma – Hung out for a day or two in the city, then drove up to the wine country. Only carried my GF1, but it served me well. (although my buddy who isn’t a photographer himself had an old Hasselblad 503cw from his dad, which we took out for some shots!) Early winter seems the perfect time to go as well – the countryside was a rainbow of reds and yellows… the vine covered hillsides were shockingly bright, especially when viewed from afar – the highly maicured vines created an almost solid carpet of color across the rolling hills.
Lots of pictures, lots of wine… what more could you ask for? (slideshow below)
So here’s my challenge to you: look at your work on your site. Do you love it–all of it? Does it make you smile/get you excited/make you want to do more of it? Be honest–don’t look at it from its technical side and definitely do not ask “Do I think buyers will want this?” If you do, then look at your marketing.
If you don’t, then get off your creative butt and start making the work that you make out of love and that weird compulsion that makes you do this and not be a 9-5 “normal” person.
Words of wisdom indeed. I have been working on a major portfolio overhaul, with just this in mind. You know the saying… Show what you wanna shoot!
I don’t differentiate between work and play. I think my time is spent in either excellent, good, okay, or bad fashion. If too much of my time is just “okay” or “bad” – I’m doing something wrong
I think most freelance photographers, painters, writer, and pretty much anyone in a non-“standard” 9-5 job can relate. Kinda reframes the whole “wasting time” thing – instead of trying to stop wasting time, just aim to increase the amount of time spent in excellent fashion!
The post Pgytech OneMo 25L Backpack Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.
When Pgytech first got in touch about doing an Onemo 25L backpack review, I wasn’t familiar with the company. So whilst I waited (not so patiently) for the bag to arrive, I set about finding out a little more about them, their origin, and ethos. Pgytech was formed by a group of young, enthusiastic, and like-minded photographers to create pioneering products that link together seamlessly with photographers’ existing kit. Besides this bag, they have created a load of products for other photography and video equipment such as drones and action cameras.
OneMo 25L Backpack Review: bag specifications
Capacity – 25L expandable to 30L and a 5L removable drone pouch.
Size – 480mm x 320mm x 230mm for the main bag and 270mm x 180mm x 120mm for the built in pouch.
Color – Black or Olivine Camo
Weight – 2.5kg total.
Material – Polyester fibre material which is water, scratch and tear resistant.
Initial thoughts
When the Pgytech OneMo 25L Backpack first arrived, I was really impressed by the presentation straight out of the box. The bag comes in a really nice branded, recyclable bag. As cool as this was, I’m not going to lie, I tore it off pretty quick so I could take a look inside. The bag itself is sleek and stylish with great quality finishes and a nice all-round feel.
Who’s it for
The OneMo 25L Backpack is designed to meet the needs of drone and photography enthusiasts. The bag will comfortably hold your DSLR or mirrorless camera along with two or three lenses (depending on your lens inventory) in the top compartment. It will also hold a few accessories such as batteries and memory cards.
The bottom section that houses the drone pouch has more than enough space to hold a Mavic 2 Pro, and it’s accessories. If you remove the drone pouch, you have plenty more room in the main bag for more lenses, clothes or general items you may need for the day. The OneMo 25L backpack has targeted the needs of the modern enthusiast and meets them efficiently.
In the field
No camera bag review is complete until you’ve spent some time using it and walking around with the bag. So I hit the trails to get a better idea of how the bag holds up for this OneMo 25L backpack review.
I was out shooting all day with my camera, a 14-30mm lens, 24-70mm lens along with all the accessories I needed. I chose to keep the pouch in the bag and placed the drone and extras in there as I wanted to have only one bag with nothing else getting in the way.
The bag was really comfortable to walk with. There was no noticeable movement from within the bag, which is always reassuring. I use a fairly heavyweight Manfrotto tripod, and I did find the top-mounted tripod holder to be a little cumbersome and awkward for a tripod of this size. But then this bag isn’t realty designed for this type of equipment.
Once I strapped one of my smaller tripods to the bag, it was not a problem. In the field, the bag was effortless to access. I really like the suitcase-style flip lid that joins down the long side of the bag as opposed to the bottom. This does away with the issue of getting straps and leads caught up with your equipment, which I find to be an issue with lots of other camera bags.
Cool features
During this Pgytech OneMo 25l backpack review, there were a couple of cool little features I discovered. I haven’t seen these before, and I thought they were a great idea for photographers.
Like many camera bags, this bag has dedicated pockets for your batteries. In one of the side flaps, there are three camera battery sized pouches with a little toggle that switches from green to red depending on the condition of your battery. This can be really useful if you have multiple batteries so you know which need charging and which are ready to use. I also thought these could be quite usefully adapted to the same end with your memory cards to know which are used and which are cleared and ready to use.
Customizable dividers. The Pgytech OneMo 25L bag can be arranged to suit all needs, but the dividers are what really make this great. They can be molded to any position and have this great little flap that can come down to support the lens and allow you to use the dead space for additional equipment.
Two of the exterior pockets have anti-theft loops that are really easy to set and incredibly hard to gain access to quickly for any would-be thieves.
Pros and cons
Pros
Lots of neat little design functions
Comfortable
Unassuming (doesn’t shout cameras inside)
Good ergonomics
Removable drone pouch
Stylish-looking
Water, scratch and tear-resistant material
Cons
Tripod holder not very big
A little more protection around the main shell would be nice.
Conclusion
This bag is a really great camera bag for any outdoor photographer.
Whilst more serious professionals might need a bigger bag for all of their equipment, this is more of an everyday bag that would be perfect for a travel photographer like me.
Whilst sometimes I may want to take a bigger bag. Generally, when I’m shooting in a place like a city, smaller bags are much more convenient. There’s less weight to carry, and they are much easier to get in and out of busy places.
Overall, I was really impressed with the OneMo 25L backpack, and it will be a welcome addition to my set of camera bags.
Note: The author was given the bag for free for this OneMo 25L Backpack review. He was not paid or given any incentives in exchange for a positive review. This review is an honest account of his experience and opinion in using the product.
You may also be interested in:
Peak Design Everyday Backpack Zip Review
Gear review: 3 K&F Concept Camera Bags Put To The Test
ThinkTank Vision 15 Camera Bag Review
The post Pgytech OneMo 25L Backpack Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.
http://www.vokle.com/events/4284-editing-a-portfolio-with-don-giannatti-and-ed-zawadzki
