Thinking of buying your first camera? Congratulations! Upgrading to a DSLR or mirrorless camera is an exciting time, and will open up many opportunities for you to expand your photography. Maybe you’re thinking of upgrading from your camera phone –and are looking for a DSLR that’s up to the task. Regardless of whether you’re looking to take your photography to Continue Reading
The post How to Buy A DSLR Camera For Beginners appeared first on Photodoto.
Thinking of buying your first camera? Congratulations! Upgrading to a DSLR or mirrorless camera is an exciting time, and will open up many opportunities for you to expand your photography. Maybe you’re thinking of upgrading from your camera phone –and are looking for a DSLR that’s up to the task. Regardless of whether you’re looking to take your photography to Continue Reading
The post How to Buy A DSLR Camera For Beginners appeared first on Photodoto.
The post Easy Beginners Tips for Long Exposure Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Christian Hoiberg.
Learning about Neutral Density Filters and how you can use them to slow down the shutter speed was a big turning point in my landscape photography. I instantly fell in love with the soft and dream-like feeling I was able to achieve – it was like giving life to my not-so-interesting images.
I’ve learned a lot since that day, and while I don’t only do Long Exposure Photography anymore, it’s still an important part of my work and it’s something my students often like learning about. After all, it has the power to instantly transform an otherwise standard image into something more fascinating.
As with anything else, it takes a lot of practice to master a subject but I want to help you on the way by sharing some crucial tips that will make life just a little easier.
There weren’t a whole lot of articles and tutorials to study when I started exploring with Neutral Density filters. This meant that it took a bit of struggle to find a solution to some of the mistakes I made. One of the things I simply couldn’t figure out was why all my images with a 10-stop filter were blurry…
After some back and forth I understood that it was because I used autofocus.
Remember that a 10-Stop ND Filter is essentially a piece of black glass. Try looking through it with your eyes when the sun is low on the sky and I’ll bet you can barely see anything. This is the case for the camera as well. Most cameras aren’t able to properly set the focus when dark ND Filters are used – just as they aren’t able to automatically focus at night.
The solution is to switch over to manual focus. I know this sounds tedious to some of you but here’s an easy workaround if you prefer autofocus:
Since you switched to manual focus, the camera isn’t going to try to focus after you attach the ND filter; instead, it’s keeping the focus you set.
Note: Remember to repeat the process when you’re changing compositions and to switch back to autofocus when you’re done using the filters.
The biggest frustration I’ve ever had when working with long exposures was the mysterious purple glow that appeared in the center of my images.
It turned out that this is caused by light leaking through the viewfinder and the solution is quite simple: cover it up!
Some professional DSLR cameras have a built-in ‘curtain’ that you can close by flipping a small switch next to the viewfinder. If your camera doesn’t have this, I recommend using a piece of cardboard to place in front of the viewfinder.
It’s also possible to purchase covers custom made for your camera.
Now it should be said that these light leaks don’t always occur. It’s most common when:
I’d still make it a habit to cover the viewfinder whenever you’re using a shutter speed of 20 seconds or more.
One of the biggest challenges you’re going to experience when experimenting with Neutral Density filters and slow shutter speeds are getting razor sharp images. There are many factors that can result in the images being unsharp; one of the most common is camera shake.
The maximum shutter speed of most DSLR cameras is 30 seconds. In order to use a shutter speed longer than this, you need to use a function called ‘Bulb’. In Bulb mode, the image is being captured for as long as the shutter button is pressed.
You can imagine (and try if you don’t believe me!) that manually pressing the shutter button for one or two minutes is going to cause a significant amount of vibration to the camera. What does that lead to? Blurry images.
A remote shutter is absolutely essential in this case. You can find a cheap version but I recommend a remote shutter that has:
Long Exposure Photography is a lot of fun and it’s a great way to improve your understanding of how the camera fundamentals (ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed) work together. Since we’re working with shutter speeds of up to several minutes there are many factors that might result in failure but the results can be mesmerizing.
The tips I’ve shared in this article gives the solution to some of the most common obstacles and I hope they will remove some frustration for you. If you’d like to learn everything you need to know in order to capture beautiful images using slow shutter speed, be sure to take a look at my eBook ‘The Ultimate Guide to Long Exposure Photography‘.
The post Easy Beginners Tips for Long Exposure Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Christian Hoiberg.
The post A Short Introduction to Basic Photo Editing for Beginners appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.
If you’re a beginner, using editing software can be a daunting prospect. What if you can’t get a handle on the technology? What if it’s too complicated a process? What if it’s just too time-consuming? What if the images turn out horrible? So many what ifs! I get it; I’ve been there. In this article, I’m offering a very simple way of delving into editing if you’re a novice. These are basic principles that I hope will set you in good stead for more fancy editing in the future!
First things first.
You need to be able to see what is a good image and a bad image. The key is in your perception.
If you think heavily edited images are the perfect image, then your editing will lean that way and vice versa. If you think an overly-tinted image is perfect, then that would be your bar for perfection. We all have a bias towards something. However, for editing, I think we need to try and be as neutral as possible and leave our personal preferences for the moment.
To be able to see things objectively, we need to:
Once we have a basic grip of the above, then editing will be a breeze, and we can get more creative from a solid image base or what I’d like to call a clean edit.
The images below are the original RAW images opened in Bridge without any edits applied.
You can see there is a choice of Adobe color profiles. See the difference between the standard profile below left and the color profile used on the image on the right.
You can choose which profile you prefer.
To successfully understand the above, and make the edits towards them, it is important that you shoot in RAW format. If you shoot in JPEG, you are allowing the camera to process the image, discard pixels the camera deems unnecessary, and accept the color adjustments the camera has made. With a JPEG image, you have less control, are working on a great loss and compression of pixels at the very start and an already compromised image color.
You can read more about RAW processing in Bridge here.
Having said that, someone who is a really good, seasoned, experienced photographer may well shoot JPEGS and achieve the desired image they want. I am not there yet!
Secondly, the type of camera you use affects the original images you get.
A full-frame camera gives you the 35mm sensor – wider, more space, more light hitting the camera sensor and more pixels. What you see through the lens is pretty much what you get. A crop-sensor, on the other hand, works in the opposite way. The lens only allows you to use a portion of the sensor so that a 35mm lens mounted on a crop-sensor camera will only give you the point of view of a 52mm lens equivalent – a more zoomed-in longer focal length. You are losing some width, some light and some pixels.
Let’s dive in!
Correct exposure means getting the balance right between the 3 components of the exposure triangle. Namely: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Balancing all three correctly will give you a perfectly exposed image. That means no blown highlights or details are lost entirely in the shadow or darker areas of the image that should still be visible.
A most useful tool in determining whether your exposure is perfect is to look at the histogram when you are editing. Alternatively, you can view the histogram when you have just taken the photo as there is also a histogram on the LCD of many cameras these days. Simply put, a histogram is a representation of the tonal value distribution across your image in the form of a visual graph. Just by looking at a histogram (that graph on the top right corner of the image below), you can immediately tell whether there is an even spread of tonal values on the image judging from the troughs and crests on the graph or a stark contrast.
If the image you shot has incorrect exposure, then editing is your solution. You can move the sliders on your editing software to increase exposure if the photo is too dark or decrease your exposure if the photo’s too bright. You can usually recover some blown highlights in the case of overexposure.
Take a look at the image above. This is the RAW image opened in Bridge. You can see it’s a little bright with the histogram showing a tall mountain almost touching the right edge. When the histogram touches both left and right edges, this would indicate the dark and light parts of your images are clipped and therefore there is overexposure and underexposure in the image. This is an okay image as nothing touches the edges, but it is too bright for me.
The image on the left below shows an overexposed image with the exposure turned up and the image on the right shows an underexposed image with the exposure turned down. See what the histogram is doing in these images.
Simply put, white balance is the adjustment on your camera that reads the color temperature of the light you are shooting in in relation to neutral white. A perfect white balance should show white to be white as perceived in reality and there are no color casts that distorts the whiteness of white. You can, however, go for a warm white or a cool white by adjusting the white balance sliders. Generally speaking, what you don’t want is for white to look too yellow or orange or too cold like with a strong blue cast. Compare both photos below: too cool on the left and too warm on the right.
There is nothing rocket science about contrast in my opinion. It is simply to do with the strength of the blacks on the photo. After the adjustments above, our photo is still looking very flat. All that’s needed is a fiddle on the blacks, shadows, highlights and light areas. Just remember not to clip your blacks or whites or if you want a bit more contrast, not too much clipping. You can also use the curves tab (the one that shows a grid with a curvy line) for contrast adjustments.
I also played with the other sliders to get the result I wanted on the images above. Just do so gently – a touch here and there rather than extreme adjustments.
Remember, you are only after a clean edit at this stage. The images above show the same edits on the standard and color profiles. The results are different so deciding on your color profile matters.
If you click on to the third tab which shows two black triangles, you get to the panel where you can adjust noise and sharpening. Again, gentle adjustments are needed here.
It is vital to view your photo at 100% so you can see what the adjustments are doing to the image.
Luminance has to do with the smoothness of the pixels. You don’t want to go too much, or you lose definition.
Color has to do with how much the RGB pixels show up and extreme adjustments will either strip your image of color or make the pixels appear too saturated.
Now I have a clean edit, there is still so much I can do to this photo. The eyes are a tad soft so I will need to adjust that. I could add vignettes or change the appearance of the background. I could add sunflares or textures. The possibilities are endless. But most of that has to happen in Photoshop.
I hope this has helped you understand the basics of editing.
Please share your comments below or if you have any questions!
The post A Short Introduction to Basic Photo Editing for Beginners appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.
The post A Beginners Guide to Exposure When Mixing Flash and Continuous Lights appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.
Have you ever struggled with high contrast situations? Perhaps you’ve encountered shadows so dark or big that they steal the attention from the subject? That’s because sometimes you need to add a second light to your images. However, if they are different types of light, it can be difficult. Keep reading for a beginners guide on how to expose when you’re mixing flash and continuous lights.
Taking a photograph means to capture and register the light, so understanding how to do that is key to obtaining a good result. In this tutorial, I want to talk about continuous light and flash lighting, and how you can set your exposure to register both. First, I’ll explain what I mean by these terms.
Continuous light (also called constant light) is the light that is on for the entire duration of the photo. This can be natural light when you’re outside, but can also be window light when you are inside. It can also be artificial light such as a table lamp or even professional photography lighting. Basically, it ranges from the sun to a candle – as long as it is continuous.
Then there is flash lighting, which is only available for a quick moment when triggered. It can be from a professional strobe light, an off-camera flash, or the flash integrated into your camera. You can use these two different lights exclusively or together to complement your lighting. You can use them to create a special ambience or to achieve a particular effect. In this tutorial, I’ll explain how you can set your exposure when you use both continuous and flash lighting in the same shot.
I want to show you a situation in which I used continuous natural light as the main light and then filled in the shadows with an off-camera flash.
This first shot I took with only sunlight coming in from a window on the left and behind the camera. The camera settings used were ISO 2OO, f/8, and 0.3 sec. It’s enough to light the bowl of fruit; however, the dark shadows it has cast on the wall are not appealing.
Photography is about representing our tridimensional world in bidimensional ways. To do this, we make use of different things. One of them is shadows because they give depth. So we don’t want to eliminate all of the shadows – we want to control how many there are, how dark they look and their direction. If I slow the shutter speed to let in more light and try to ‘fill in’ the dark shadows to soften them, it overexposes the main subject.
If I slow the shutter speed to let in more light and try to ‘fill in’ the dark shadows to soften them, it overexposes the main subject. It happens here at ISO 2OO, f/8, and 2 seconds.
Therefore, it needs another source of light from the right. You can add this light source using either another continuous light or with a flash. I did this image with ISO 200, f/8, 0.3 seconds – the same settings I used for the correct exposure using only the continuous light. This solved the problem of one set of shadows but ended up creating new ones on the opposite side, so I need to fix the exposure again.
Since the flash is just a shot of light that lasts for a fraction of a second, it doesn’t make a difference how long your shutter speed is open like it does when shooting with continuous light. You can set your shutter speed as slow as you want or as fast as the synchronization limit allows you (in my case is 1/250 sec). The flash lighting exposure needs to be regulated by the aperture.
I used ISO 200, 1 sec, f/11 for this image.
In this image, I used ISO 200, 1 sec, f/16.
If you set the shutter speed to the light coming in from the left, meaning the continuous sunlight coming from the window, and set the aperture according to the light coming from the flash on the right side, you can control the complete illumination of the scene.
You can decide which shadows are good to keep and which ones to fill and by how much. In summary, have an image with depth and enough information both in the highlights and the shadows to either keep as shot or post-produce to your liking.
Exposure ISO 200, 1/250, f/8
As you may have noticed on the examples, every light has a different color temperature, that’s why some photos have warmer or colder tones. This is a broad topic that I can’t manage to cover in this one article, but I did want to mention it. When you’re mixing different types of lighting you may need to deal with this. Sometimes the auto-white balance of the camera does a good enough job. However, if it doesn’t, I advise you to do some more research about it.
The post A Beginners Guide to Exposure When Mixing Flash and Continuous Lights appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.
The post A Beginners Guide to Auto ISO and other Camera Modes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.
So, you understand how to interactively use Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO settings to achieve proper exposure. You know how to control things like depth-of-field and the freezing or blurring of motion. Perhaps you also understand the camera modes: Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual and know when using them which settings are fixed and which can fluctuate. But how often do you adjust ISO adjustment? The idea that you might let the ISO speed “float” with each shot is alien to many photographers. So what is Auto ISO? When and why might you want to use it, and how can you set it up to make better shots?
Fast action in changing light conditions is a good reason to use Auto ISO.
From the dawn of photography and the simplest pinhole camera to the most sophisticated modern DSLR, there have been three constants – Aperture, Shutter Speed and what we now measure with ISO – the Light Sensitivity of the media onto which the image gets recorded. All cameras are essentially boxes with a hole in them. The size of the hole (aperture), the length of time the hole is opened (shutter speed), and the sensitivity of the recording medium (ISO). When we allow light into the box to create an image on the sensitive media, we are making an “exposure.” It makes up the “Holy Trinity” of photography – The “Exposure Triangle.” Perhaps you knew all this? If so, feel free to skip ahead in the article, otherwise, keep reading.
From the simplest to the most complex camera, three things – Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO are the factors affecting Exposure.
There are two basic things to consider when making an exposure:
The first consideration is technical, the second creative.
A histogram shows us the 256 shades of gray for a given image. At the far right are the shadows, on the far left, the highlights. In theory, an image which stays “between the goalposts” such that none of the tones go off either edge is a “correct exposure.” In editing, we can redistribute the tones so long as they have not gone to “0” which is total black, or 255 which is total white. At those extremes there is no detail to recover; it is either totally black and “blocked up,” or totally white and “blown out.”
Learning how to interpret a histogram will greatly aid you in your growth as a photographer.
How to use the elements of the exposure triangle creatively brings in some secondary considerations of how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO affect our image. Aperture is the hole in our “box” while the f/stop is the term we use to define the size of the hole. A good way to remember which is the “bigger hole” is is to think about any f-number as a fraction. If you like pie, would you rather have a ½ pie or a 1/16 slice?
Therefore, the bigger f/numbers like f/22 represent smaller apertures (holes), while the small f/numbers like f/2.8 or f/4 represent the larger apertures.
Creatively, we can use smaller f/stops to increase depth-of-field and larger ones to limit it. In a portrait, we might want an unfocused, simplified background with a limited depth-of-field, so a large aperture would be a good choice. In a landscape photo where we want front-to-back sharpness, a small aperture may be better.
The shutter speed you choose also offers creative possibilities. Remember, shutter speed is represented in whole or fractions of as second. A shutter speed of 1/2 second is a longer time the shutter remains open than 1/250th of a second. You might think of the shutter speed as the “slice of time” we expose the light-sensitive medium to light. Short (faster) shutter speeds will help us freeze motion by capturing a “thinner slice of time.” Longer (slower) shutter speeds can allow us to “stretch time” and cause moving objects to blur.
Of the three components of the triangle, ISO choice has implications, but probably less so than the others. Like an audio amplifier, lower settings keep the background “noise” less while higher settings which amplify the signal also introduce more noise and distortion. ISO measures how sensitive we make the sensor in a digital camera. In the film days, film sensitivity was fixed. Put in a roll of ASA 64 film and that was what you lived with for the whole roll. It had less grain than did an ASA 400 roll, but it was also less light sensitive.
In the digital world, ISO can be changed whenever we like, even from shot to shot. Now making an exposure truly becomes a “three-ball juggling act.” We can change Aperture, Shutter Speed, or ISO with each shot if we like. We still must use those to make a “correct” exposure, but we can also better consider the creative implications of our choices. We can also choose which controls we want full control over and which we might relinquish to the camera. Auto ISO coupled with newer, better, and “less noisy” sensors has changed the ballgame. Let’s go back to our three-ball juggling analogy.
Which of the three “exposure balls” will you choose to “let float?”
Watch a video clip of a juggler throwing three balls, and you will see at any given time, one ball is in the air, and the other two are in each of his hands. He has “control” of two of them, and the third is in “float.”
Now, when you use Auto ISO, it becomes that “third ball,” the component you let be in “float.” Fortunately, ISO has the least creative potential, and with modern cameras, the least penalty of choice. So it often makes sense to let it be the “ball in float.”
Let’s bring this back to the practical. You’re shooting dancers on the stage in an auditorium. The stage lighting varies with each scene and even as the dancers move to different spots. They are not allowing flash here, so you must live with the lighting conditions.
You want a reasonably high shutter speed to freeze the motion and a moderately small aperture so you have sufficient depth of field. Which of the three “balls” makes the most sense to let “float?” Auto ISO to the rescue! Situations where lighting changes quickly and the action you’re capturing won’t wait while you manually adjust settings is perfect for using Auto ISO.
I shoot with a Canon 6D most of the time so I will use that as my point of reference and for the menu shots below. How, (or even if your camera supports Auto ISO at all) will vary between make and model so you will need to dig a bit deeper to learn that. You might even have to get out your camera manual! The method may differ with your camera, but if you can grasp the general concept, the rest is simply navigating your camera’s menus.
Setting up Auto ISO on a Canon 6D.
Usually, there will be a button or menu where you can set Auto ISO. If you go to the low end of the scale, past the lowest (smallest) numbers of ISO you will likely find “A” for Auto ISO. Set the camera there.
Now you will want to set some “boundaries” as to when and how Auto ISO will be implemented and how high you will allow it to go. You should know that the higher ISO settings may allow you to shoot in very low light but may also introduce more image noise. How much is too much noise and what settings are impractical will depend on your camera and you. Shoot some high ISO images and evaluate them, so you know how much is too much for your liking.
With this information, you will want to find the menu item where you can set the specifics for how Auto ISO behaves. On my Canon 6D, I tap the Menu button and then roll the small top dial to the third camera menu icon from the left. I then roll the larger Control dial down to the second item, ISO speed settings, and hit the Set button to get to the menu below.
Again, your camera may differ, but you will set several things here:
Setting limits on how Auto ISO operates.
For this last setting, whatever you enter here is the slowest shutter the camera will allow before jumping to a higher ISO setting.
You will note “Auto” is an option here. If you pick this, your camera will detect the focal length of your lens when the image is about to be made and use the formula 1/focal length to set the minimum.
The idea here is you should not shoot slower than this (especially if handholding your camera) if you want to prevent camera shake blur. For example, let’s say if you are shooting a 24-105mm zoom lens and are zoomed all the way in. If Min. Shutter Speed is set to Auto, your camera will start to increase the ISO if the required shutter speed drops below 1/100th.
So you have this all set up. Now how will it operate? It depends on what camera mode you are shooting in. Let’s look at each.
What you Can Adjust – Nothing, in Full Auto Mode the camera adjusts Aperture, Shutter Speed, and is in Auto ISO.
What the Camera Adjusts – Everything. This is a true “Point-and-Shoot” Mode with the camera making all adjustments.
Exposure Compensation Possible? – No
Pros/Cons – You are letting the camera make all your exposure and creative decisions. You are in Auto ISO and perhaps didn’t know it!
What you Can Adjust – Everything, but as you adjust one item, the others will change too depending on lighting.
What the Camera Adjusts – Everything. The camera will seek to maintain proper exposure.
Exposure Compensation Possible? – Yes
Pros/Cons – This can be confusing when used with Auto ISO. I don’t recommend it.
What you Can Adjust – Aperture. Lock in your Aperture setting and Shutter speed will adjust to maintain exposure. If the required shutter speed is lower than your minimum, ISO will increase up to the maximum you have set.
What the Camera Adjusts – Shutter Speed and then ISO
Exposure Compensation Possible? – Yes
Pros/Cons – If control over depth of field is your priority, this is the best option. Used in combination with the minimum shutter speed setting, it allows you to lock in the Aperture, set a base for the shutter speed, and have the camera adjust ISO increase when light goes below the shutter speed minimum you set.
What you Can Adjust – Shutter Speed. Lock in your Shutter Speed setting and Aperture will adjust to maintain exposure. If the required aperture is more than the maximum for the lens used, ISO will increase up to the maximum you have set.
What the Camera Adjusts – Aperture and then ISO
Exposure Compensation Possible? – Yes
Pros/Cons – If control over shutter speed is your priority, this may be the best option. Used in combination with the minimum shutter speed setting, it allows you to lock in the Shutter speed. The camera will adjust the aperture as needed and call on an ISO increase when you reach the maximum aperture of the lens used.
What you Can Adjust – Shutter Speed and Aperture. Lock in both your Shutter Speed and Aperture settings and ISO will adjust to maintain exposure. The exposure display will stay centered and ISO increase or decrease as needed to maintain proper exposure. If the required ISO exceeds the minimum or maximum set, the indicator will move off center showing an under or overexposure.
What the Camera Adjusts – ISO
Exposure Compensation Possible? – Camera Dependent
Pros/Cons – This gives maximum creative control to set both shutter speed and aperture and thus control both freezing/blurring of motion and depth of field simultaneously. ISO will “float” to adjust exposure up to the limits set. With some cameras, no exposure compensation is possible in this mode. However, with newer cameras, the “center point” may be adjusted thus supporting compensation.
When you have time to be a bit more leisurely with your image making, you can slow down and think through each of your settings. What are your objectives? Freezing action? Increasing or limiting the depth of field? Is the light changing?
When time permits, and you have a good understanding of each element in the exposure triangle, use full manual and set your ISO to the lighting conditions, staying as low as possible to limit noise. For landscape, portrait, still life, architecture, or other kinds of work where time permits and lighting is reasonably constant, Auto ISO isn’t much additional help. Ditto if you’re doing long exposures on a tripod where shutter speeds will be longer.
Shooting these ballet dancers under frequently changing stage lighting without flash is a challenge. Auto ISO helps tremendously.
Where Auto ISO really shines is in conditions where the action is fast, the light is changing or particularly low, and you are blasting away without time to think through each setting.
In that case, Auto ISO may be the helping hand you need. If lighting permits and your camera supports exposure compensation in Full Manual, this could be the ideal method. Lock in both Shutter Speed and Aperture where you like and shoot, counting on Auto ISO to handle any fluctuating exposure conditions.
Sometimes Auto ISO in combination with Aperture Priority will be a good choice. I work part-time at an auto dealership photographing cars for the web. Set up like this, I can go from shooting the exterior of the car in bright sunlight to the much darker interior with no adjustments, letting Auto ISO kick up the speed for the darker interiors.
Being able to move from a bright outdoor shot to a much darker interior shot and letting Auto ISO adjust the exposure speeds up my work in this situation significantly. On the older Canon 50D I use, I’m in Aperture Priority, my f/stop is at 4.5, and Auto ISO handles the rest.
Sports and Action can be an excellent time to use Auto ISO, especially in changing lighting conditions. It was a mixed cloudy day, and the light on the river where these kayakers were running was changing. I wanted to be sure my shutter was fast to freeze the action. Shutter priority plus Auto ISO was the ticket.
A mixed-light day with the kayakers moving from sun to shade, and fast action. With the need for servo focus, and shooting with a long telephoto in continuous mode… it was a challenge! I let Auto ISO handle exposure allowing me to concentrate on following the action.
Some photographers, especially those trained with the mantra “Auto Anything is Bad,” have a hard time invoking Auto ISO. Good photographers control everything, right? What if the camera goes up to a crazy high setting and all my images are too noisy?!!
It could happen. But, then again, remember you can limit the upper end of the ISO setting.
Also, newer cameras have such good sensors that your “upper limit” may be much higher than you think. Finally, what if you shoot at too slow a shutter speed and get blurry shots or don’t get the depth of field you wanted? There are many good noise reduction programs, but no apps I know of to fix a blurry, out-of-focus, shot with insufficient depth of field. I’ll take a noisy image over an out-of-focus image any day!
If you’re an old film guy like me and Auto ISO feels funny, or you’re worried about what it will do, or just haven’t been able to fully get your head around it, I suggest you relax and give it a try. Take your camera out on a non-essential shoot, turn on Auto ISO and just play. I’m going to bet you might just come away with a new trick.
The post A Beginners Guide to Auto ISO and other Camera Modes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.
The post DIY Photography Backlighting for Beginners appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.
Have you ever noticed how the subject stands out in professional portraits? How about the beautiful contours of bottles and glass objects in advertising photography? Do you wonder how they do it? You can achieve these and many more effects with backlighting.
Keep reading to learn what it is and how to DIY your way into it.
Backlighting means that there is a source of light coming from behind your subject and pointing directly (or almost) at your camera. This can be used as the only light source or as a supplement, and it can create depth in the image.
For example, in the above photo, I used backlighting to highlight the feathers and clearly separate the subject from the background. This is often used in portrait photography to highlight the hair of the model.
The sun can be an excellent source for backlighting even if you are indoors. Just by placing your subject in front of the window, you are already using this technique. Although, more often than not, it will need some form of manipulation. For example, if the view from the window is not the best backdrop for your subject or the sun is coming in too bright, you can add a diffuser.
A cheap and easy solution is to tape some oven paper, tracing paper or a thin white fabric to the window to soften the light.
The photo on the left doesn’t use a diffuser. The sun was so incredibly bright that I couldn’t blur the background with a shallow depth of field. The shadows were also very dark and distracting.
In the image on the right, I had a white, even background to showcase the subject, which also worked as a diffuser to soften the shadows.
This kind of lighting works well for transparent objects. However, you can always complement with another light, or you can put a reflective surface in front to bounce the light if your subject (or part of it) is opaque.
To show you how it looks, I used the same setting for this bottle but placed a hand mirror in front of it next to the camera.
Most locations are bound to have windows unless you find yourself inside a dark room or something with a specific use where daylight is not wanted. However, if you find yourself in one of these places, you can always use the screen of your computer or tablet. You can look for a nice booked photo, or just open a blank document to create a white background.
Narrow light sources such as small spotlights create a very bright center diffusing towards the edges, and it’s usually a hard light, so it creates strong shadows. To create this effect, you can use a lightbulb, a candle, a torch or even the LED light from your smartphone. Add a creative element into it, by putting some color in it, like this example:
To create the silhouette of this little coyote, I placed the figurine in front of the background, which in this case was a red semi-transparent folder.
Remember we are getting creative here. If you don’t have a folder like this, you can use other things as long as they are thin enough or transparent enough to let the light pass through.
After this, as backlighting technique dictates, I placed a smartphone which was my light source directly behind the red background pointing directly at the figurine and the camera. Also, I used clothes pins to hold everything in place and for standing them up.
Keep in mind that the closer you put the light, the smaller the light spot will be. So move the phone (torch or whatever you’re using) back and forward to achieve different results.
These DIY hacks don’t substitute professional lighting equipment. However, they certainly allow you to get some creative images, practice your photographic skills and keep your budget intact. And, the most important thing is to keep practicing.
Have fun and let us know any other tricks you come up with in the comments.
The post DIY Photography Backlighting for Beginners appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.
The post A Beginners Guide to Taking Portraits of Elderly Clients: Part 2 – Lighting and Posing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Clinton Moore.
Welcome to part two in our series on photographing older clients. In part one, we looked at rapport building and the practical aspects of preparing for your shoot. In this article, you’ll learn about lighting and posing techniques to enhance your photos of elderly subjects.
Lighting older clients utilizes most of the same lighting principles that you apply to younger clients, but there are a few extra tricks that will ensure a stress-free and flattering shoot.
For this article, we’re going to assume that you are shooting at the subject’s home – often a requirement when shooting older clients. This means that you won’t have access to a full studio setup and will have to improvise based on space.
If you’re lucky, your older client may still be in the old family home with beautiful high ceilings so you can set up and bounce light to your heart’s content. Unfortunately, many will have downsized and are often in smaller apartments. Others may be in nursing homes with less space than your average bathroom and have everything they own crammed within this space.
In tight spaces, the best bet is to try and get outside. However, this is not always possible for less mobile clients.
Also remember, if you’re doing a shoot in a nursing or retirement home, you’ll possibly need to gain permission from the village manager. There’s a lot of protection around older residents (and rightfully so), which means the home is not likely to take kindly to a stranger turning up unannounced and taking photos of vulnerable people.
This is not one of those situations where it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission first!
As a photographer, flash is probably your go-to for artificial lighting when outside the studio, but take a moment to consider continuous lighting. While a strobe is more portable and powerful than most affordable continuous lights, they can be quite disorienting for older clients – particularly those with dementia. The last thing you want is to distress the person you’re hoping to make a smile.
With the affordable price of LED lighting these days, continuous lighting is now incredibly accessible and has the added benefit of remaining cool for your client as opposed to older lights. Advances in chip-on-board LED technology also means you don’t have to worry about heavy and expensive HMI lights when you want that classic Fresnel look.
The aim of the shoot will determine your lighting style.
It’s going to be rare to hear an older person say “please make me look old and grizzled,” so your aim is likely to create a flattering image of your subject by leaning towards soft, highly-diffused light. You can achieve this by using light from large light sources such as softboxes and umbrellas. The bigger the source, the better! You want that light to wrap around their face.
Unless it’s the desired look, contrast is your enemy when photographing elderly people as it accentuates their wrinkles and any other parts that are sagging. This might be great for gritty street photography, but it’s unlikely an older person wants you to portray them like that in a paid portrait.
Think less George Hurrell, more Anne Geddes (but leave the flower pot at home).
Of course, the final decision should always come from a mixture of trying to convey your client’s personality and meeting the brief agreed upon in your pre-shoot consultation.
We’ll look at two classic lighting setups which aim to create a flattering portrait. While there are limitless portrait lighting options, not all will work with older clients due to wrinkles, sagging, and posture issues.
The classic three-point lighting setup provides you with a huge amount of flexibility to sculpt the subject’s face in a flattering light.
For older clients, aim to have your key light only a little stronger than your fill light. This reduces contrast and provide a more flattering light that wraps around the face. Fill light is your friend when it comes to older clients.
Short lighting (left) generally provides a more flattering photo for an elderly subject than broad lighting (right).
Although you’ll be using more fill than normal, it’s still important to be aware of the effects of short and broad lighting, as aging isn’t always kind to the face shape. You can use short lighting to make a wide face appear more slender. This is usually the more flattering option for older faces.
Broad lighting can add some width to a skinnier face, but it tends also add more emphasis on wrinkles.
For older clients, it can also pay to lower your lights a little more than you might with a young client. The shadows cast by higher lights emphasize wrinkles and sagging skin.
Placing the lights higher as you might do with a younger client can create shadows that highlight features such as wrinkles and crow’s feet.
By lowering the lights, the face softens, and you can fill in the eyes which tend to sink with age. It never hurts to throw a reflector under the subject’s chin to lift the shadows.
Dropping your key light by just a small amount can have a dramatic difference to the final image.
You will then get a final shot that creates a warm and inviting portrait.
Combining all the changes and tossing in a reflector under the subject’s chin creates a final image that presents them in favorable light.
Clamshell lighting can create a very dramatic look, but with large diffused light sources it can also light an older face in a flattering way while still providing a dynamic effect.
In this setup, we have a large softbox angled at 45-degrees acting as the key and an umbrella as the fill. You may also want to experiment with a beauty dish as the key light for a more striking look.
The clamshell is a simple setup and can be achieved with just one key light and a reflector to act as fill if need be.
While exposing correctly is a no-brainer no matter how you’re lighting, it goes double for a clamshell setup as excessive underlighting creates a ghoulish look like something out of a horror movie. A safe way to avoid this can be to use a simple reflector or bounce board as your fill if you’re not comfortable with setting exposure on artificial lights.
Failing to set your fill light correctly will result in underlighting that creates a scary look unlikely to be desired by your client.
As you can see, by reducing the fill light to a little more than half the exposure of the key light, you get a more balanced look.
Ensuring that you have your fill light set lower than your key light will create the classic clamshell look.
Combined with good posing, this lighting setup can provide a great option for taking a square-on image of an older person. The resulting shot can convey an introspective, but intimate feel.
By exposing correctly and positioning your client beautifully you will get a final shot that has a great introspective feel.
Although having a couple of basic lighting setups will get you 80% of the way to photographing elderly clients, there are still a few little hurdles to be aware of that may otherwise cause chaos on your shoot.
Glasses are the bane of your existence when working with elderly clients. A pair of spectacles loves nothing more than to capture the reflection of your lights. And God help you if you’re dealing with bifocals!
Glasses! Guaranteed to destroy any portrait without some planning.
You can always ask your subject to remove their glasses completely, but many will feel that they look wrong without their glasses after having worn them for so many years.
Managing glasses always requires a bit of compromise to bring your client’s eyes back into the image, but three of the best options are:
1. Tilt Down – Ask you subject to tilt their glasses down just a little. This can be combined with tilting their head down as well. Don’t go overboard with this unless you want them to look like Santa or a librarian.
You will largely remove the reflections by asking your subject to lower their chin and tilt their glasses down. However, be careful not to overdo it!
2. Raise Your Lights – Raising your lights a little higher reduces the chance of picking up a reflection. Of course, the trade-off here is that you will get more shadows. It can help to balance the change with a reflector.
Raising the lights resolves the reflections issue, but creates a new dilemma due to the heavy shadows that now appear.
3. Lensless Glasses – Possibly the best solution. Bring along a pair of glasses with the lenses removed. Hey presto, no more reflections to worry about. The issue here, of course, is that they may not be the style of glasses that work with your subject’s face.
Sure it happens to younger folks as well, but if you’re photographing older clients, you’re going to encounter a lot of bald heads. The issue here is that a bald head will act like a big reflective surface and create a hot spot.
To resolve this:
1. Lower Your Lights – by lowering the height of your lights you reduce the reflections on their head. Of course, the problem here becomes the balancing act that has to take place if your subject also happens to be wearing glasses!
2. Remove Rim Lights – When dealing with baldness it’s worth considering doing away with your rim light entirely. Find alternate ways to separate your subject from the background.
3. Powder – Having some neutral powder on hand is always handy to reduce the shine of a bald head. If you’ve got a particularly proud male that won’t wear “makeup,” take a photo without any powder applied and show them the attention drawn to their head.
Jumping back to the 3-point lighting setup, this all comes down to the rim light. As mentioned above, the rim light is the enemy of the bald head. However, it also wreaks havoc with grey hair. Be extra careful not to overexpose with grey hair as you will quickly blow the highlights much more easily than you would with colored hair.
Posing older clients is tricky because, as we discussed in part one, there is a range of what constitutes being “elderly.” People around 65 years of age will probably be able to do many of your standard poses with great results. However, significantly older clients may have restricted mobility and health issues that prevent them from standing for long periods.
Assuming you are working with a client over the age of 80, it’s best to consider basing your shoot around them sitting down. The first thing to do is turf that stool that you use with your younger clients.
Older clients need the back support of a chair and could fall off something as unstable as a stool. They also may not have the core strength to support themselves on a stool leading to some very bad slumping.
Clients over the age of 80 with mobility issues are also likely to have recliner style chairs that they can easily disappear into.
Shooting front-on with your client in a large chair or recliner will tend to make them look small and wider if they are allowed to sink back.
Shooting this image, particularly front-on, will make the client appear small and can have an unflattering effect on their thighs (which will spread when seated in this manner).
To remedy this issue prop your client up with some pillows to create a better posture. If the client is quite frail, ask a family member to do this so that you don’t cause any harm.
Place pillows behind the client or ask them to sit towards the edge of the chair to shift their posture.
By bringing the client forward and focusing on the head and shoulders framing, the resulting image is more flattering.
By moving the client forward they will be less likely to slump resulting in a more flattering image.
One of the major causes of injury in elderly people is falling over. Often they will be very used to everything being set up in their home a particular way. As such, moving furniture around and bringing in big gear can pose problems.
Firstly, only move furniture with their permission and, of course, put it back when you’re done! Ensure that you’ve left a clear path to the front door and the toilet in case of emergencies.
Secondly, secure your gear! At the very least put sandbags on your light stands and tripod. If you’re using anything that has cords, pull out that gaffer tape and stick it down.
Sandbag those lights and gaffer those cords so that you don’t end up responsible for a trip to the E.R.
An uninjured client is a happy client, so take those extra few minutes to make sure the area is safe.
Great, you’ve got everything setup safely, now it’s time to pose your client.
Again, assuming you are dealing with a client who is older than 75, posing is about compromises.
Few people look great square-on, so start by asking your client to turn their body slightly away from the camera. Next, ask the client to turn their head back to the camera with their body facing the key light.
It’s often best to avoid having older clients tilt their head as this can cause bunching of the skin under the neck. Instead, keep the head perpendicular to the body and focus on asking them to push their jaw slightly forward to stretch their neck.
If your client is really concerned about their neck wrinkles, it will be best to shoot from slightly above the client and ask them to angle their chin down. Similarly, if a male client is worried about baldness, shooting from slightly lower than eye level reduces the focus on their head.
For clients who are unable to shift their neck or body due to age, a front-on shot can still be flattering, but you will want to try and shift the weight forward.
Move your subject as close to the edge of the chair as is safe while supporting their back. Clients who struggle to support their weight may benefit from placing their hands on their thighs
Prop the client up with pillows behind their back and ask if they are able to place their hands on their knees to support their weight while leaning forward a tad. Experiment with placement on the knees and thighs to find the position that allows for the most natural shoulder alignment.
Photographing elderly clients is a great way to bring together all of your basic lighting and posing principles with a few extra challenges thrown in to boot!
Experimentation is always key as you will have to work with the physical restrictions of your client’s age and the practical limitations of their home. By having a clear idea of your client’s expectations, the two of you can find a way to achieve an image that makes everyone happy.
Moreover, remember that sometimes they’ve earned those wrinkles and are damn proud of it!
The post A Beginners Guide to Taking Portraits of Elderly Clients: Part 2 – Lighting and Posing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Clinton Moore.
The post A Beginners Guide to Taking Portraits of Elderly Clients: Part 1 – Preparation and Rapport appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Clinton Moore.
You often hear it said that outstanding photography is about storytelling. An image may not have perfect lighting ratios or razor sharpness, but if it connects with you that can be all that matters.
Working with elderly clients can be the ultimate storytelling journey as these folks have experience in spades!
In this first of a two-part series on working with elderly clients, we’ll explore the practical and rapport building aspects of creating a story through the click of a shutter. Part two focuses on lighting and posing techniques.
Remember that there is a spectrum of seniors. Most do not think of themselves as frail or grizzled. Get to know your stereotypes and your subject.
One place where your point of view can get in the way of a great image is generalizations around age. You’ve fallen into this trap the minute you conceptualize your client as “old” or “elderly.”
They tend to hate these terms. Can you blame them?
It’s important to step back and remember that there is a spectrum of the elderly. A 65-year-old is probably going to be at a different place in their life, both physically and mentally, to a 90-year-old. This includes everything from their health and mobility to their attitude about what they desire in a portrait.
Just try getting a 90-year-old to go for a brisk walk down the beach at dusk as you do in your standard family portraits.
Step back and remember that you need to get to know where your client is at before you even pick up your camera. After all, age is a state of mind.
Older clients tend to take a bit more time to photograph. They’ve been around the block a few times, and they want to get to know you a bit first. Also, they’re generally not trained models looking for a glamour shot for their Instagram feed.
For them, a photograph is an event, not an addiction.
Older generations may only have had one formal photograph in their lives. Don’t assume they will be comfortable around the camera just because they’re there.
You may be used to connecting through a world of emails and social media, but this isn’t always the case for older clients. For many older clients, their first instinct will be to pick up the phone (and we’re not even talking about a cell/mobile half the time!).
So be sure to place your phone number prominently on your website and any other form of marketing. This creates a sense of trust that you’re not going to just run off with their money.
Of course, many older clients do have email but may likely hold you to a higher standard of communication than you are used to on social media. Make sure you address them formally (i.e. “Dear John”), don’t use modern abbreviations or slang, and please check your spelling and grammar!
When shooting a portrait, comfort should be your number one priority regardless of your client’s age. However, for older clients, you may have to do a little more than just making bad jokes from behind the lens.
Take the time to meet with your client before the shooting date. Sit down with them and be willing to share a bit of your personal story. This means more than just your shooting style. Tell them about where you come from, your family, or your interests.
This old school type of business approach might seem a little strange if you’re used to more modern online interactions. However, for older clients, it builds trust.
Try to keep in mind that older generations didn’t grow up with cameras being thrust in their face every second of the day. So your first job is really to make them feel safe. It’s entirely possible that the photo shoot was the idea of their children, and the client themselves may not be entirely on board.
So be sure to make them feel comfortable. Communicate your process and timeline clearly, and then stick to it!
Sitting down with your client can be the most interesting part of the whole process. Take the time to do it right.
Who paid for the shoot? One of the tough parts about working with older people is that they may not actually be the client!
If their children are footing the bill, understand what they want from the session in addition to the older persons desired outcomes. Often this is going to be a case of compromise. This highlights the importance of communication and preparation.
Now assuming the older person is your client, the first step is to determine how they want to be portrayed. While this should be standard practice regardless of age, there are a few areas here that can trip you up.
If they’re quite old, this portrait could be the photo destined for the tombstone. No one will say it out loud, but people may be thinking it. As such, family members might have differing, but strong opinions about how things should look.
Keep in mind that some clients might want to be photoshopped back into their 20s, whereas others may proudly want their wrinkles on display. As always communication is vital!
Be careful about imposing your ideas of old age photography onto the session. Try to avoid the cliché shots of the serious or delirious old person. Instead, let their personality shine.
Avoid the clichéd shots and post-processing that portray older subjects as worn or child-like. Let their personality lead your images.
Want to make an 80+-year-old client feel immediately uncomfortable? Get right up in their face with a lens. Aside from the fact that it’s probably not going to give a very flattering look, it can feel intimidating.
They may also not be over the moon about being surrounded by multiple light stands, softboxes, flags, and reflectors.
During your initial consultation, find out what level of gear will allow them to feel comfortable. If that means just the natural light through a window, then work with that.
One of the most important initial questions pre-shoot is whether the client wants posed or candid shots.
While the client’s wishes should mostly steer this decision, you need to take a few factors into account.
Client’s who are experiencing dementia, particularly frontal dementia, may struggle with a posed photo shoot. Frontal dementia affects a person’s ability to plan and organize. So your usually simple instructions such as “open your eyes and smile on the count of three,” may quickly descend into chaos.
That said, if you’re doing a family shoot, a little bit of this chaos (provided no one gets too embarrassed) can be a great natural ice-breaker.
When in doubt ask yourself what style of shoot will best allow the client’s personality to shine through. A shot of grandpa tinkering away in his workshop might be infinitely more valuable than a stale headshot for the family.
Sometimes the best photograph won’t be the perfectly lit, composed and exposed image. A family snapshot can be infinitely more iconic if it captures your subject’s personality.
When shooting significantly older clients, keep sessions as short as possible.
The process of having to concentrate on a range of different instructions can be quite fatiguing. There’s also a good chance that their preparation for the shoot started well before you arrived.
As mentioned before, clients suffering with dementia can also experience a phenomenon called “sundowning” which is a tendency to become more confused towards the end of the day.
See again the importance of making sure you know your client before you organize anything?
Jot down everything you can during your pre-consultation to create a fleshed-out idea of your client and their needs.
Although a 60-year-old client can probably go anywhere you can think of; a 90-year-old client can’t. Something as small as a flight of stairs can pose a massive hurdle to a significantly older client.
Plan where you are going beforehand and give your client plenty of time to get there.
Asking them to cross a park to get to a beautiful spot you usually take your clients could end up taking more time than you had intended for the entire shoot.
As you can see, the minute you leave the client’s home, things get a bit more complicated. However, don’t let that discourage you from venturing outdoors. Just do the groundwork beforehand and make sure everyone involved is on the same page.
Be realistic about the areas an older person can access. A few steps may as well be a mountain for some. It never hurts to send your assistant to check it out first.
Working with older clients is a delightful experience. Their sincerity is hard to miss. To ensure you have the best chance at a successful shoot, take the time to prepare more than just your lighting diagrams. Focus on understanding the client’s goals and personality. Collaborate with the family where necessary, and make their comfort your number one priority.
Next time we’ll be looking at some ideas around lighting and posing older clients.
Do you have any other tips you’d like to share? If so, please do so in the comments section.
The post A Beginners Guide to Taking Portraits of Elderly Clients: Part 1 – Preparation and Rapport appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Clinton Moore.
The post A Beginner’s Guide to Stunning Close-Up Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Do you want to take incredible close-up photos?
Here’s the truth: Capturing incredible close-up photos doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, it can be extremely easy – if you know what to do.
In this article, you’ll discover the secrets to gorgeous close-up photography. You’ll learn about the required gear (Hint: You probably have everything you need!). You’ll learn the tips and tricks for stunning images (and you’ll love trick number 3).
Bottom line? I’ll make sure that you leave with the know-how to take truly beautiful close-up images.
Let’s get started.
First of all, the big question: Do you need expensive, specialized gear for close-up photography?
The short answer?
No.
You can capture incredible close-up images with almost any camera & lens combination.
Because here’s what you need for stunning close-up photography:
A camera (any modern DSLR or mirrorless camera will do just fine).
A lens that allows you to focus close to your subject (more on this in a moment).
That’s it.
You don’t need a tripod. You don’t need a focusing rail. You just need a camera and a lens.
Now: What counts as a close-focusing lens?
First, for a technical answer (that you’re free to ignore): I like lenses that give the subject a magnification of (at least) 0.20-0.25.
But here’s the thing:
Most lenses will actually get you pretty close to your subject – if you give them the opportunity.
So don’t worry too much about your lens choice. Just use what you have.
If you want to make sure you’re getting as close as possible, I recommend you test out a few of your lenses. Then pick the one that focuses closest.
Now, for a brief aside:
If you want to get especially close to your subject, then you can invest in a macro lens.
A macro lens isn’t necessary for close-up photography. But it does let you focus extremely close.
A great inexpensive option is the Tokina 100mm macro (for Nikon and for Canon).
Once you have a good close-up photography set-up, it’s time for the next step…
Close-up photography is thrilling.
And there are tons of subjects out there, just waiting to be photographed.
But if you’re a beginner, I recommend you start with one particular subject…
Flowers.
Flowers are easy to get ahold of. They’re not a super challenging subject. And you can capture some stunning close-up flower photos.
You can shoot flowers indoors or outside.
But I recommend you start outside.
This is for two reasons:
First: Natural light is stronger than artificial light. Which means you’ll be able to get brighter, colorful photos without much difficulty.
Second: Being out in nature is a great part of the close-up photography experience.
But, if it’s winter where you live? Don’t despair.
You can still take some great close-up photos of flowers.
Just buy a bouquet of flowers at your local supermarket.
Then you’ll be ready to do some close-up photography.
Is there a particular flower that you should start with?
I’d suggest you start with some bright, colorful flowers. I’d also suggest you start with flowers that are large.
Roses are a great choice.
Tulips are another option.
Once you have your flowers, it’s time for the next step…
You need to be careful about your lighting choices.
Because amazing close-up photography requires good light.
What do I mean by good light?
You want to portray the colors of your subject. And you want to portray some beautiful details (e.g., the curves of the flower petals).
This gives you a few lighting options:
First, you could use cloudy light.
Cloudy light is soft and diffused. This means that it will capture nice, saturated colors. You’ll also be able to portray some nice detail.
Just try to shoot toward the middle of the day. Otherwise, the sky might get too dark. And you need a lot of light for close-up photography.
Second, you could shoot on a sunny day. This will give you plenty of light for stunning close-up photography.
But be careful: The light on a sunny day can be very harsh.
So if you do choose to shoot on a sunny day, take photos in the early morning or late afternoon. That’s when the light is soft and golden.
(These times are often referred to as the “golden hours.”)
If you’re shooting inside, I’d recommend you go with the same set of options. Shoot on a cloudy afternoon or on a sunny morning/evening.
But make sure you place your subject near a window. Otherwise, you won’t have enough light to capture gorgeous details!
You know how to select the perfect gear. You know how to find the best subjects. And you know how to choose the best light.
It’s time for you to actually take some close-up photos.
But how do you get the best photos possible?
Here are a few tricks you can use…
In close-up photography, it’s important you choose a great angle.
You want to portray your subject in a way that shows off its shapes and colors. And you want to take an intimate portrait – one that brings the viewer into the subject’s world.
That’s why I recommend that you shoot on a level with your subject.
What do I mean by this?
Simply position your camera so that it’s ‘eye-to-eye’ with your subject. You want to feel like you’re looking straight at the subject.
Only then should you take the shot.
You’ll probably have to crouch down low to capture this angle. You might even have to lie on the ground.
But…
…It’ll be worth it, in the end.
The best close-up photos have simple, uniform backgrounds.
Simple backgrounds don’t take away from the subject. Instead, they emphasize it.
So here’s a trick for some nice, simple backgrounds:
Get down low, so that you’re on the same level as your subject.
Look through your camera.
Then scoot around the subject, paying careful attention to the background.
Does the sky appear behind your subject?
If so, then that’s the photo you should take!
If not, you can try getting even lower. But don’t go too low – you want to remain as level with your subject as possible.
This works best on cloudy days. Your subject will have a nice, white background.
But you can use the sky as a background on sunny days, too. Just be careful not to shoot into the sun (because that will cause unwanted flare effects).
Here’s your final close-up photography secret:
Use manual focus.
Why is this?
Manual focus allows for incredible precision when focusing.
And when you’re shooting at high magnifications, you need to focus as precisely as possible.
Here’s why:
In close-up photography, your depth of field is limited.
(The depth of field is the amount of the photo that’s actually in focus).
You can get the petal of a flower in focus, but then the stem will be blurry.
Or you can get the stem of the flower in focus, but then the stem will be blurry.
So you have to ask yourself:
What do I want to get in focus? What do I want to emphasize in this photo?
And then make sure you focus on that.
Unfortunately, lenses don’t autofocus well at high magnifications.
So you need to use manual focus, instead.
Start by switching your lens from autofocus (A, AF, or M/A) to manual focus (M or MF). There will be a switch on your lens body.
Then carefully roll the focusing ring between your fingers.
When focusing manually, don’t try to rush. Slow down. Glide from focus point to focus point.
You’ll quickly get the hang of it.
And you’ll be taking incredible close-up photos in no time!
If you’re looking to take stunning close-up photos, I have good news for you:
You’re almost there.
You have the gear.
You have the knowledge.
You know how to find good light.
You know how to find strong backgrounds.
And you know how to focus carefully.
All that’s left…
…is to get out there and start shooting.
Do you have any close-up photos that you’re proud of?
Share them in the comments!
The post A Beginner’s Guide to Stunning Close-Up Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
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