Photography « 360Photography

RSS

Posts Tagged ‘Photography’

How to Understand Light and Color to Improve your Photography

05 Aug

The post How to Understand Light and Color to Improve your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

The morning sun shone through my kitchen window, catching the vase with a rose in it on the window sill. A low cross-light highlighted the texture on the rose, while the purple glass vase cast a pattern of colored light across the counter. The photographer in me studied the light, saw the potential for a photo, and went to get the camera.

Image: From observing the sun shining through a vase on the window sill to the finished image, this...

From observing the sun shining through a vase on the window sill to the finished image, this idea started with simply seeing the light.

A simple observation of light. That’s how a photo can start – learning to really see the light. Understanding its properties, knowing how to control and shape it – those are the things that will take you from a casual snapshooter to a creative photographer. It’s a matter of crafting photographs rather than simply taking snapshots.

George Eastman helped bring photography to the masses with his development of roll film, simple cameras, and readily available processing. You’ve certainly heard of the company he founded – The Eastman Kodak Company. Eastman understood the importance of seeing the light.

He put it like this:

“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” – George Eastman

The vase set-up led to experiments with glasses, colored water, and more exploration of light.

Harnessing the light

The rest of the photo session explored the interplay of light, color, shadow, texture, shape, and pattern. From shots of the glass vase and rose, I switched to glasses and vases filled with water dyed with food coloring. I experimented with different camera angles, positioning of the subjects, and different background objects. I shaped the light with cardboard “flags” and the Venetian blinds through which the sun was streaming to allow different looks.

The low angle of light also provided ways to cast shadows and projections of color.

How to Understand Light and Color to Improve your Photography

In this case, the light source was simply the early morning sun. I could have created other effects had I used artificial lights, say a snooted Speedlight to cast a beam of light right where I wanted it.

Studio photographers become masters of light manipulation by using their knowledge and a variety of lights and light modifiers. Their skills draw upon understanding the properties of light and how to harness it.

Landscape photographers may not be able to create their own light, but they also understand its properties. They know when, where, and how to make the most of the light presented to create the look they seek.

Light Physics – the properties of light

You need not become a physicist to be a photographer, but a little understanding of the properties of light can be beneficial to your work. So, a little science knowledge can help your art. Left-brain, right-brain – good photographers use both sides.

What is light?

Light is photons of energy. It has both wave and particle properties.

Electromagnetic spectrum

Human eyes can only see a very tiny portion of what is called the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Some photographers use Infrared photography to go a little further past the red end of the visible spectrum, and ultraviolet light sources can take us a bit further past the violet end. Specialized cameras can also capture X-rays.

How to Understand Light and Color to Improve your Photography

Human eyes see only a tiny portion of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, that portion we call Visible Light.

(transferred by Penubag (talk · contribs) on 05:04, 15 May 2008 [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)]

Properties of light

When speaking of light, we often refer to its properties. These are:

Quantity – (Also called Intensity or “Brightness”)

Quality – Photographers will use the terms “Hard” or “Soft” light.

Technically, these refer to the shadows cast, not the light itself. The hard or softness of a shadow (a place where the light is blocked), depends on the size of the light source relative to the subject. Thus the sun, which is, in reality, huge, can cast harsh shadows (hard light). This is because as a pinpoint of light in the sky, its relative size to the subject is small.

On an overcast day, the whole sky may be the light source – nature’s giant softbox – and the shadows are soft or non-existent.

Direction – Light waves travel in straight lines. They can be redirected however through Reflection or Refraction.

Reflection – Light hitting an object can bounce off that object. In fact, anything we see is a result of light bouncing off that object. The apparent Color of an object is due to what colors (wavelengths) are absorbed versus those reflecting. A red apple is that color because it absorbs all other colors in the spectrum and reflects only the red wavelengths.

With highly reflective objects, the angle the light hits an object will be the same angle it is reflected. The angle of incidence = the angle of reflection.

Refraction – Light can pass through some objects and be refracted or redirected. Put a pencil in a half-full glass of water, and you will see how the light is refracted differently as it passes through the air versus the water and the glass. Camera lenses shape light through refraction. The image projected on the camera sensor is actually inverted. It is the same as it was when view-camera photographers threw a cape over their heads to see the image on a ground glass before making their photo.

$Image: Dewdrops act as tiny lenses refracting the light passing through them.$

Dewdrops act as tiny lenses refracting the light passing through them.

Light waves can:

Pass through transparent or translucent objects.

Transparent objects – little if any light is scattered as the light waves pass through – i.e window glass.

Translucent objects – Some light passes through the object but waves are scattered and objects on the far side are not clearly visible.

Reflect or bounce off an object – We call highly reflective objects “shiny.” They will often produce Specular highlights. Objects which break up and bounce light in many directions have a matte quality and Diffuse the light.

Be scattered – Light waves are bounced in different directions

Be absorbed – As discussed, objects have color because they absorb some (colors) wavelengths and reflect others. Because light has energy, the more light energy an object absorbs the warmer it will be. This is the reason black, (which absorbs most of the light energy), warms faster than does white, which reflects most of the light.

Be refracted (bent) as light passes through. Denser objects refract light more (pencil in a glass of water shows example air vs water vs glass). Diamonds have a very high “index of refraction” and thus are sparkly.

Shadows – Shadows are formed where light is blocked. Photographers seeking to understand light can learn much by studying shadows as they will give clues to the other qualities of the light.

This abstract image is all about the light and shadows

Dispersion – Visible light can be separated into its component colors due to different degrees of refraction through an object. (This is how prisms work and how rainbows are formed)

Image: A rainbow is an example of white visible light being split into its component colors when the...

A rainbow is an example of white visible light being split into its component colors when the raindrops refract the light and disperse it.

The Speed of Light – Light travels faster than sound at approximately 186,000 miles per second (300,000 km/s). Sunlight takes 8 minutes, 20 seconds to reach us. From the next nearest star, Alpha Centauri, light takes 4 years to reach us. At night we see the light from stars that took hundreds of thousands of years to reach us. Currently, the most distant star observed by astronomers is over 9 billion light-years away.

Photography and light

We know that without light there is no photography. Building on the basics of light physics, we photographers have further ways to define light and how we use it.

Photography and color

General photography works within the visible light spectrum. We use the Kelvin temperature scale to describe the color of light. For example, a candle’s flame is 1,200K, which is towards the red-orange end of the scale, and a cloudless day is 10,000K, which is at the blue end.

White balance

The human brain is good at correcting colors under different light so that we usually see “correct” colors. Cameras need some help. Using White Balance, we can index the color we want to be white or neutral in color, and all other colors in the scene will use that as a reference and adjust accordingly. Thus images shot in daylight, with flash, or under tungsten or fluorescent lights can all be adjusted for “correct” color.

A huge advantage of saving images in the Raw format is you can correct this later when editing. Unfortunately, .jpg images lock the white balance in during the capture.

Image: The color of old tungsten light is quite warm, about 3200K on the Kelvin scale. This could ha...

The color of old tungsten light is quite warm, about 3200K on the Kelvin scale. This could have been white-balanced to be more neutral, but for this image, the warm light added to the antique look desired.

With light, all colors combined equal white. With ink, all colors combined equal black.

Color models

RGB

Your camera can interpret the world of color and reproduce it on a color monitor, but in reality, it really only “sees” three colors, Red, Green, and Blue (RGB). All other colors are created from these three. Use a magnifying glass to see the pixels on your monitor, and those are the only colors you will see.

Your camera sensor can also only capture those three colors.

If all three of those colors or light combine at full intensity, the result would be pure white. Because colors record by adding one to another, the term “Additive” is used.

Any of over 16 million colors can be defined using the RGB model, which has 255 steps of each color. So, white would be 255, 255, 255. Black is no light and therefore has an RGB value of 0, 0, 0. Pure red would be 255, 0, 0. A mixed color like pure yellow is 255, 255, 0, and something like a deep purple shade might be 113, 58, 210.

Image: Pure Red is a primary color in the RGB (Light) model with an RGB value of 255,0,0 but in the...

Pure Red is a primary color in the RGB (Light) model with an RGB value of 255,0,0 but in the CMYK (Ink) model it’s a mixture of Yellow and Magenta.

CMYK

The RGB model works fine in cameras and monitors where we add light to the blackness to create color. When printing, however, we are starting with a white piece of paper and subtracting from that white to create color.

Instead of red, green, and blue being the primary colors, printers use Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK) to create all other colors. (“K” is used for Black because it is the last letter of the word and not used by any other color, i.e. (B)lue). To save costs on ink, and to produce deeper black tones, unsaturated and dark colors are produced by adding black ink instead of just the combination of cyan, magenta, and yellow. So, while in the RGB model, pure red is defined as 255, 0, 0 the same exact color in the ink printing world of CMYK is something like 0, 100, 100, 0.

So as not to make your head hurt any further, I will not get into the complexities of color spaces, printer profiles, gamut and how we can be sure what we saw is what the camera captures and finally appears on a print. That’s a whole other and a quite complex subject. For now, know it is a lot of science and a perhaps a touch of magic.

Instead, you can read more about those topics here:

Color Management Can Be Easy
How to Prepare Images For Publication – Part One

How photographers control light

As photographers, especially in studio photo work, we have the tools and the means to control the light.

Here are the basic things we can do:

Transmit – Using lights of various kinds we can transmit light onto our subjects. We control the quantity, direction, and color of the light source. By changing the relative size of the light source to the subject, we can also control the hardness/softness of shadows.

Reflect – All objects reflect light to varying degrees (which is why we and the camera can see them). How that reflected light plays off of objects, or how we might use other objects, (reflectors) to bounce light into a scene is one way we shape and control the light.

Image: Many of the principles of light discussed in this article are present in this shot. Can you i...

Many of the principles of light discussed in this article are present in this shot. Can you identify them?

Diffuse –We can cause the light emitting from the source to scatter to varying degrees, (diffused), by shining it through translucent materials. This how softboxes and other light modifiers work.

Block – As light travels in a straight line, anything between the source and the subject blocks the light and creates a shadow. How and where we create shadows is as important as where we allow light to cast. Photographers use things like Flags, Gobos, and Cookies to cast and control shadows. An example, a “barn door” on a lighting instrument is a type of flag.

Image: This image is all about the light. The backlit leaves are translucent and pass a portion of t...

This image is all about the light. The backlit leaves are translucent and pass a portion of the light striking them, filtering out some colors and passing the golden parts of the spectrum through them.

When nature lights the scene – Landscapes – Landscape photographers and those using only natural light sources don’t have the same controls over the light, but they still need to understand it to become master photographers.

Learning how light works, how direct sun, diffuse light, time of day, season, angle, diffusing factors like fog, smoke, rain, and other “atmospherics” affect the image are all a huge part of becoming a student of light. A skilled studio photographer can create light. A skilled landscape photographer knows when and where to be and then very often, simply “waits for the light.”

Image: A smoky sky filters out many of the colors of the light and passes the warm yellow and red to...

A smoky sky filters out many of the colors of the light and passes the warm yellow and red tones. The side of the wheat facing the camera receives no light and so is silhouetted against the sun. Learning to see the light is key to becoming a good photographer.

Becoming a student of light

Sure, you can just get out some glassware, fill it with colored water, place it in the sun and make some pretty pictures. I encourage you to do that. It’s fun and you will likely make some nice images. You need not know the physics and terminology to make nice photos. But I encourage you to take it a step further. Use it as an exercise to further your understanding and become a trained observer of light because I really believe George Eastman had it right –

Know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.

The post How to Understand Light and Color to Improve your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Learn These 5 Elements to Capture Interesting Architectural Photography

04 Aug

The post Learn These 5 Elements to Capture Interesting Architectural Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jeremy Flint.

Architectural photography is an enjoyable genre of photography to shoot. It encourages you to visit and capture urban structures and environments, whether it be towns or cities, or whilst taking in views of majestic buildings, bridges, or interiors. Architecture can be present in many different forms from ancient to modern and both internal and external. If you have you ever wondered what steps to consider when shooting interesting architectural photography, this article will help you to identify some key elements to contemplate during the process.

Brasov, Romania

1. Choose a subject

The first fundamental aspect to consider when capturing interesting architectural photography is the subject. Your choice of subject can be anything from a streetscape to a city scene or famous landmark. Once you’ve found an object or theme to visit and photograph, think about what appeals to you about it. Think about what you want to photograph, such as the entire structure or just part of it.

Whatever you decide to photograph, be happy with your decision and take some pictures.

You can choose to focus on capturing wide shots and detail shots. A scenario where you may choose to shoot wide may include a prominent sky that adds beauty to the composition or a street scene that portrays many interesting buildings together. On the other hand, you may choose detail shots when there is a particularly striking facade or object on a building. For example, a statue makes a great feature on its own.

Bran Castle, Romania

2. Select your camera settings

The next thing you will want to do is set up your camera and choose your settings. In terms of architecture photography, you will need to select an appropriate aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. The aperture you choose depends on what you are trying to achieve with your photos.

If you are trying to achieve a narrower focus and render the front or back elements of the image out of focus, you will want to select a wider aperture (smaller f/number) from anything between f/2.8 to f/5.6. A scenario where you may choose to use a narrow depth of field is when you want to isolate an object from the background such as a doorframe. Alternatively, another scenario may be when shooting a single point of interest such as a statue.

However, if you aim to make everything in your image sharper, I recommend selecting an aperture between f/8 to f/22. A scenario where you may want a wide depth of field may include stunning cityscape scenes. Here, you may want everything in focus within the frame. A cityscape can include some monumental buildings and the night sky or people walking within a street scene.

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

A lower ISO is important to reduce noise in the final image, so I suggest an ISO of 100-400.

The shutter speed you choose depends on the overall look and feel you want to achieve in your image. A faster shutter speed of 100th of a second or more will help to keep moving objects sharp such as cars or people. In contrast, a slower shutter speed of one second or more will let more light into your frame and start to blur moving subjects.

3. Decide on a composition

Sibiu, Romania

One important step in capturing architecture is the composition.

Composition simply refers to how you arrange the elements in a frame.

When looking at pictures of famous icons such as the Taj Mahal, Houses of Parliament or Big Ben, you’ll notice these structures often photographed in similar ways. One thing I would encourage is to find new angles of familiar landmarks when doing architectural photography – something that stands out from the others. You can achieve this by changing your viewpoint or angle.

4. Shooting interior architecture

Sibiu, Romania

When shooting interior architecture photography and exteriors, there are a few fundamental differences to consider, notably the light and composition. You will need to take into account the fact there is usually less light when shooting indoors, so change your settings to accommodate. Due to low light, use a tripod and slower shutter speeds to allow more light into your image. This helps you to manage different types of light, including candles, lamps, and outside light projecting internally. You will also need to balance mixed artificial and natural lighting.

The other major difference is the composition.

You may find more restriction photographing indoors than outdoors. Restrictions such as limited space, internal structures or part of the building’s architecture that may restrict or limit your view and composition. As a solution, use a wide-angle lens or try to take a step back (if you can) to get more of your chosen subject into your frame.

Alternatively, zoom your lens in further to eliminate distracting elements.

Structures often provide interesting internal features which can vary depending on the type of architecture and the country you are in. Church interiors, cathedrals, and even modern and historic buildings can all house hidden gems from altars to pillars, delightful structures, and stained glass windows.

The best lenses for shooting small or large spaces are usually a 24-70mm lens or a wide-angle lens such as a 16-35mm.

5. Shooting exterior architecture

Shooting exteriors is one of the most popular and fun subjects in architectural photography. You will often see pictures of the exteriors of the most famous buildings around the world and in your local area in publications. If you choose to shoot exteriors, you may decide to focus on the whole structure, the roof or a particular aspect of the external building that is interesting.

Peles Castle, Romania

Photographing exteriors can be challenging especially in changing light and high contrast conditions but can result in some great images.

Conclusion

In conclusion, remember these important steps when shooting architecture including choosing a subject, selecting your camera settings, deciding on composition and choosing whether to photograph interior or exterior architecture.

Share any additional steps you have for interesting architectural photography and your images with us below.

The post Learn These 5 Elements to Capture Interesting Architectural Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jeremy Flint.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

The 5 Most Overused Photography Techniques [video]

04 Aug

The post The 5 Most Overused Photography Techniques appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video, James Popsys discusses what he believes are the 5 most overused photography techniques. Take a look and see if you agree with any or all of these.

1. Water photos using Long Exposures

James points out that photographers who always use long exposures whenever there is water around could be missing out on telling the true story of the scene. They could be missing out on the ripples, textures, etc. that are available in the true scene.

He also states how he likes to imagine himself within a scene, and finds that some of these long exposures all feel too unreal. He knows he could never experience that in real life.

What are your thoughts on that?

2. Panoramas

James loves panoramas and has done many of them himself. The problem he has with them is that he thinks some people who shoot them can’t decide on what their focus point should be so they just try and capture it all.

Do you agree with that?

He believes good photos are all about subtraction and taking things out of the shot to make the message stronger. So to shoot a good panorama, everything you are capturing needs to be of interest. Or else, you need to change perspective and your composition to get a better photo.

Also, they aren’t great for viewing on digital media.

3. Adding foreground interest

James states that always trying to have a point of interest in the foreground isn’t necessary and that sometimes it can dilute what is already an interesting photograph.

4. Golden hour

Jaymes isn’t a fan of shooting during Golden Hour as he believes the color overpowers the subject matter. The light becomes the story rather than the place. The light steals the show. Photos can also become quite similar because it becomes about light and not composition or story.

Shooting at other times of the day improves your composition skills.

5. Sky replacements

Jaymes isn’t a fan of sky replacements. They are becoming too obvious, and they look fake. He thinks it is outdated and disingenuous.

What do you think? Are there other techniques you think are overused in photography? Share with us in the comments below.

The post The 5 Most Overused Photography Techniques appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Weekly Photography Challenge – Texture

03 Aug

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Texture appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

This week’s photography challenge topic is TEXTURE!

Image by Glenn Harper

Go out and capture absolutely anything that includes texture. You can photograph anything that has texture, or you can overlay textures in post-processing to create a whole new work of art. They can be color, black and white, moody or bright. Just so long as they include texture! You get the picture! Have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Image by Rick Ohnsman

Image by Megan Kennedy

Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.

Tips for Shooting TEXTURE

How to use Texture to Improve Your Photos

10 Tips for Shooting for Graphic Textures

Texture as a Design Element in Photography

Working with Textures – 8 Ideas to Get You Started

How to Create Your Own Textures

Applying textures in post-processing

How to Add a Texture Overlay to Your Images for a Stunning Effect

Beginners Guide to Creating and Applying Texture Overlays Using Photoshop

How to Apply a Texture Overlay to Your Images to Create an Antique Look

How to Use Textures to Create Compelling Photographs

Weekly Photography Challenge – TEXTURE

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 #DPStexture 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 – Texture appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

How Poetry and Photography are Alike and How it Can Impact Your Photography

31 Jul

The post How Poetry and Photography are Alike and How it Can Impact Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

On the surface, poetry and photography may seem like completely different mediums. One deals with the written word, whereas the other creates images. But as two forms of artistic expression, poetry and photo-making have more in common than one might think. For example, both writing and photography rely on narrative and visual language to operate. Light and space are illuminating factors in both mediums too. Investigating these shared attributes (and many more) can affect our photographic practice. Let’s look at a few ways in which poetry and photography are alike and how the poetic word can impact your approach to image-making.

Image: An empty page is much like the blank canvas or camera sensor in that it holds unlimited artis...

An empty page is much like the blank canvas or camera sensor in that it holds unlimited artistic potential.

A poem without words

The idea that written language conveys something more than just meaningless scribbles dates back to at least 3500 B.C. However, it was an ancient Roman poet by the name of Quintus Horatius Flaccus (known as Horace) who said that “a picture is a poem without words”.

Poets deconstruct images to form cohesive perspectives. As viewers, we read an image as we would written language, piecing information together to determine a picture as a whole. Through the elements and principals of composition and design, a photographer works in verse, weaving impressions and notions that awaken under the eye of the viewer.

With the careful cultivation of detail, both photographers and poets gain a better appreciation for qualities like color, pattern, texture, shape and form. By being deliberately attentive to aspects like light, rhythm, narrative, and emotion, (aspects that are of great importance to both poetry and photography), we can actualize Horace’s observation with deeper, more metered imagery made up of layers of meaning and emotional range.

Image: Though devoid of written language, photography conveys an image that holds meaning – a...

Though devoid of written language, photography conveys an image that holds meaning – a poem without words

Creating a little picture

While he is best known for his novels The Dharma Bums and On The Road, Jack Kerouac was also an avid writer of westernized haiku. The haiku, a style of poetry originating in Japan, is a small poem traditionally based around images of the natural world.

Kerouac stated that Western haiku “must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and make a little picture…”. His statement likens the haiku to that of the photograph, encapsulating a moment in time.

Some examples of Kerouac’s haiku include;

The taste
of rain –
Why kneel?

Morning sun –
The purple petals,
Four have fallen

April mist –
Under the pine
At midnight

As a poem limited to three lines, only the most necessary information may be included in a successful haiku. This approach is not dissimilar to minimalist photography, where select aspects of a photograph are emphasized by the minimization or eradication of others.

Kerouac’s comparison between the haiku and a picture paints the photographer as a sculptor of imagery. By sacrificing superfluous details and conveying a very specific idea, both photographers and poets appeal to an audience with an efficacy that leaves the lasting impression of well-executed artwork.

How Poetry and Photography are Alike and How it Can Impact Your Photography

A change in perspective

Both the poet and the photographer study a subject through many lenses. As an example, here are two poems of Wallace Steven’s Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird;

I
Among twenty snowy mountains
The only moving thing
Was the eye of the blackbird

IX
When the blackbird flew out of sight
It marked the edge
Of one of many circles

These two ways of seeing reflect how perspective is malleable, shaped by individual experience and thought. The gaze of the photographer and that of the poet are both analytical, yet individual. And just as there are many ways to approach single subject poetically, there are as many ways to approach the same subject photographically.

Researching other photography can be useful in gaining insight into how to attempt a subject. Interestingly, having a look at a poetic perspective can prove to be a useful insight in the same way. Studying the observations of poets can help draw out unique approaches to an environment or scenario, revealing useful opportunities and perspectives.

How Poetry and Photography are Alike and How it Can Impact Your Photography

Transformation

Both poetry and photography have the ability to zoom in and isolate, re-framing a subject and transforming it into something of significance or beauty. Take this excerpt from The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot;

Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song.
The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers,
Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends
Or other testimony of summer nights.

T.S. Eliot paints a story through the listing of refuse that is often found in rivers. By focusing his literary lens on inanimate objects that hinge on human intervention, T.S. Eliot forges strong images in the mind, relating to the reader through simple and concise language. The more the writer lists, the clearer the picture of the water becomes. Yet at the same time, in a separate image, the viewer forms impressions of pollution and waste, an alternative landscape to that which the poet describes.

Poetry gives seemingly mundane subject matter a new significance. This same phenomenon occurs in photography. Under the scrutiny of the camera, a subject takes on a transformation. Through the act of photography, a subject is separated and elevated from the day-to-day, isolating a moment in time.

How Poetry and Photography are Alike and How it Can Impact Your Photography

Conclusion

The fact is that neither poetry nor photography is a complete reality. No art form is. Yet just as a photograph is a painting of light, the poem is a painting of words, and the experiences of both the photographer and the poet are entwined in their intention to express a version of reality that is both shared and unique.

The post How Poetry and Photography are Alike and How it Can Impact Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Do’s and Don’ts of Putting Together a Photography Portfolio

30 Jul

The post Do’s and Don’ts of Putting Together a Photography Portfolio appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

Are you having trouble landing a job? Do you keep showing your work but are not getting any clients? Maybe it’s time to review your photography portfolio. Whether you’re doing a digital or printed portfolio, here are some do’s and don’ts to improve the way you present your photography.

Travel photography example portfolio

Putting together a portfolio

It doesn’t matter what kind of photographer you are, a good portfolio is the most important tool you have to secure a job. The first thing to understand is that putting together a bunch of nice pictures isn’t enough. Your photography portfolio should be a sample of your work that showcases your technical abilities as well as your personal style.

Flower and nature portfolio

DON’T put watermarks

Let’s face it, if someone wants to steal your photograph, they will find a way to do so. A watermark can be cropped or deleted. Instead, it will make it more difficult for the viewer to appreciate your image. Also, watermarks give an amateurish look to your portfolio as a whole. See at the difference:

Watermarks can ruin a photo and don’t really protect your rights

To legally protect your images, you can have them copyrighted. To get familiar with this concept, read ImageRights – Finding and Pursuing Copyright Infringement. Another safety measure is to never publish or hand out high-resolution images. For this, I recommend my previous article on How to Understand Pixels, Resolution, and Resize your Images in Photoshop Correctly.

DON’T stick to one portfolio

Another big mistake is to collect all of your best photos and display them in one portfolio. You may think this shows quality, as they are a “best-of,” but it can make you look like a master of none. It is also a waste of time for your client. They want to see relevant examples that show how you would do their job, not how good you may be at other things.

You can specialize in different kind of photography

Take these two photos, for example – they don’t even look good together. And let’s face it, someone who needs a food photographer, doesn’t really care about how I can photograph a street fair and vice-versa. If you’re not convinced about limiting your practice, have a look at these 5 Things to Consider Before Deciding to Specialize or Not in Your Photography.

DO feature what you’re selling

I was talking before about the importance of having different portfolios. This means that each one should display a different specialty that you offer. It’s always important to be coherent and properly organize your work. For example, a portrait portfolio shouldn’t just include any kind of photography that features people. Let me illustrate this:

Different kinds of photography. Photography specialization

Take the two photos above, the one on the left comes from a photo-shoot I did for the press kit of a theater play. The one on the right is a behind-the-scenes job I was doing for a short movie. If I’m preparing a portfolio for a movie or theater producer I can include both. If I’m preparing a portrait portfolio then I shouldn’t include the one on the right.

DO ask for help

It’s always helpful to ask for opinions once you’ve shortlisted the images you want to use. If you can reach out to a colleague or an expert it would be great, but if you don’t, at least ask a friend. Often we have an emotional attachment to a photo we took that is actually not great. An external point of view can help you sort out your best images.

putting-together-a-photography-portfolio

Try putting two similar images from the same subject and asking them which one they prefer. A friend can also help you decide if you are putting too many or too few images in your portfolio. Keep in mind that you should never include something that is not good enough just to reach a certain number. Also, don’t overdo it – editors are busy people and have many portfolios to review.

Conclusion

To sum up, there is no specific formula for putting together a photography portfolio that is great, but I hope you found these tips useful and time-saving. DO remember that the most important thing is for you to have a strong body of work.

If you still need to work on that, here are some great readings to help you out:

How To Build A Portfolio Without Clients.
6 Easy Photography Techniques to Diversify Your Portfolio.
How to Use a Photography Project to Build Your Portfolio.

The post Do’s and Don’ts of Putting Together a Photography Portfolio appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Weekly Photography Challenge – Water

27 Jul

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Water appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

This week’s photography challenge topic is WATER!

Photo by Rick Ohnsman

Go out and capture absolutely anything that includes water. It could be waterfalls, seascapes, puddles, water splashes, people playing in water, etc. They can be color, black and white, moody or bright. Just so long as they include water! You get the picture! Have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Photo by Simon Bond

Photo by Jeremy Flint ©

Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.

Tips for Shooting WATER

8 Ways to Use Water in Photography to Add Impact

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

How to Create Silky Smooth Water Effects

How to Photograph Water Droplets on Glass

5 Fun Tips for Photographing Water

How to Create Colorful Artistic Images Using Oil and Water

Weekly Photography Challenge – WATER

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 #DPSwater 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 – Water appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

8 Micro Habits That Will Completely Change Your Photography in a Year

25 Jul

The post 8 Micro Habits That Will Completely Change Your Photography in a Year appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Do you want to become a master photographer…

…in only a year?

That’s what this article is all about.

8-Micro-Habits-That-Will-Completely-Change-Your-Photography-in-a-Year

Because in it, I’m going to give you 8 micro habits that will completely change your photography in a year. These micro habits are small adjustments in how you go about taking photos. They take very little effort.

But if you make a real effort to follow them, you’ll be a photography master within a year.

Sound good?

Let’s get started.

1. Check your settings every time you turn on your camera

This is such an easy way to improve your photos.

And yet photographers always forget about it!

All you have to do…

…is check your camera settings before you begin a shoot. And make sure you have the settings you need for the current situation.

Because here’s the thing:

Every photography outing is different. And you absolutely do not want to find yourself using the same settings from shoot to shoot. That’s a recipe for disaster.

But if you don’t check your camera before you start shooting, that’s exactly what will happen. Because you’ll forget about your previous settings, and you won’t realize that you’ve seriously messed up until halfway through a photo shoot.

(How do I know? Because I used to do this all the time! Until I started checking my settings, that is.)

So here’s what you do:

Get in the habit of choosing new settings every time you turn on your camera.

First, make sure you’re shooting in RAW, or RAW+JPEG. This is absolutely key. If you don’t do this, you’re sacrificing a ton of post-processing potential in your images. Fortunately, this can be a ‘set it and forget it’ feature, but it pays to be alert.

Next, think about your camera mode. Do you want to shoot in Aperture Priority mode? Do you want to shoot in full Manual mode? This depends on your shooting situation, but Aperture Priority is a good go-to.

Third, think about your ISO setting. It should sit at a default of around ISO 200, but feel free to raise it if the light is limited.

Fourth, choose your metering mode. I recommend leaving your camera set to evaluative metering mode (also known as matrix or multi-segment metering, depending on the brand). Evaluative metering takes into account the entire scene and determines the best overall exposure.

Finally, think about your focus mode. AF-S (One Shot) focusing is a good default because it locks focus when you press your shutter button halfway.

Checking your camera settings is easy. It takes 60 seconds, tops.

So you’ve just got to get in the habit of remembering to do it!

2. Check the surroundings before you take each photo

You’ve framed up your shot. Your finger is on the shutter button. You’re itching to capture a photo.

But you wait.

Why?

Because if you want to make sure your photo is a stunner, then you must check the surroundings.

In other words, you need to look all around the viewfinder, so you can be absolutely sure there are no distractions.

Notice how clean this photo is; it’s a flower, a stem, and nothing else. That’s what you want.

8-Micro-Habits-That-Will-Completely-Change-Your-Photography-in-a-Year-2

But if you don’t get in the habit of checking the whole scene before taking a photo, you’ll find that all sorts of distractions creep into the frame.

You’ll get stray leaves, branches, and other elements around the edges.

And you’ll get telephone poles, wires, and street signs sprouting out of your subject’s head.

These things are so easy to miss if you’re not looking for them. You get so excited about your subject, so fixated on it, that you miss what’s going on in the surrounding area.

Now, you don’t have to do a long check. It doesn’t have to take more than a couple of seconds. But just flick your eyes over the scene. And make sure there are absolutely no distractions.

Then you can take your shot.

3. Only get out to shoot during the best light

One of the easiest mistakes to make in photography?

Shooting during bad light.

In fact, bad light is probably the number one culprit of lackluster images. Because bad light can break a photo so easily. It can take a beautiful composition and make it into a muddy mess.

That’s why you should get in the habit of shooting only during the best light.

But what counts as the best light?

It depends somewhat on your genre of photography. But it’s pretty hard to go wrong with golden-hour lighting.

You find golden-hour light early and late in the day when the sun is low in the sky. The low sun casts a golden glow over the entire scene, giving you light that’s soft, warm, and just all-around beautiful.

This photo was shot with classic golden-hour lighting:

Golden hour is usually seen as the two hours after sunrise and the two hours before sunset. But there’s no hard-and-fast rule. Instead, just start shooting when the light becomes golden, and you’ll do just fine.

Now, there are a few other types of light that are worth pursuing.

First, just after sunset (and just before sunrise), you get something known as the blue hour, when the sun moves lower and lower over the horizon. This can be great for landscape photos, as long as you remember to bring your tripod!

Second, cloudy light is good for bringing out colors. That’s why macro and flower photographers love clouds; it allows them to capture deeper, richer colors in their subjects.

It took cloudy light to get these stunning red tones:

Here’s the bottom line:

If you can restrain yourself from shooting bad light, and get out to shoot during good light…

…well, your photography will move to the next level, instantly.

4. Shoot every scene from 5 different angles

It’s easy to get stuck in a creative rut.

One where you approach a scene and shoot it head-on, without ever trying different angles.

By doing this, you’re missing out on so many potential shots. So many possibilities for creativity!

That’s where this micro habit comes in.

Here’s how it works:

When you approach a scene, go ahead and take the standard, head-on shot. This can sometimes look good, after all!

But then get into unusual angles. Try finding a vantage point and shooting from overhead. Try getting down low down to the ground and shooting up.

Move around your subject, taking care to capture at least five unique angles, every single time you do a shoot.

And you’ll soon be taking unique photos everywhere you go.

5. Use the rule of thirds to begin every composition

The rule of thirds is a basic composition guideline.

It states that the best compositions put the main elements a third of the way into the frame, somewhere along these gridlines:

In particular, you should try to put your main subject at the power points, which are the four intersection points on the grid.

Here’s an example of a photo that uses the rule of thirds:

I was careful to put the two flowers along the gridlines, and the overall shot came out looking well-balanced (which is exactly what you want!).

Now, the rule of thirds isn’t a hard-and-fast law of composition. You can break the rule of thirds. And sometimes you can create truly unique photos by being willing to break the rule of thirds.

But the rule of thirds is an excellent starting point for all of your compositions.

So here’s what I recommend:

Get in the habit of using the rule of thirds to start off your compositions. Think to yourself: How can I align elements of this photo with the rule of thirds gridlines?

If you ultimately don’t use the rule of thirds for that photo, that’s okay. But if you at least consider the rule of thirds before breaking it, your compositions will improve fast.

6. Post-process all of your good photos

Here’s the thing about photography:

If you take photos, and you don’t do anything with them, they’ll look decent.

But if you do even a bit of post-processing…

Well, you can make them look amazing. Because a little post-processing can go a long way.

Which is why I suggest that you post-process every single one of your good photos, even if you’d rather be out shooting.

8-Micro-Habits-That-Will-Completely-Change-Your-Photography-in-a-Year-3

Now, you don’t actually have to do much to your photos. Take all of the photos from your recent shoot, and go through them quickly, selecting the ‘decent to good’ photos out of the mix.

Then go through these and do a quick processing job.

What should this entail?

You should at least do two very basic things.

First, you should adjust the contrast. Most photos can benefit from a significant contrast boost, so test it out on your photos to see how it looks.

Second, you should adjust the colors. Lightroom has a slider called Vibrance, and it’s amazing. It simply increases the saturation of colors that aren’t yet saturated, so it’s sort of a ‘smart saturation’ option. And it’ll really make your colors pop!

After this, you can go on to make other changes, do noise reduction and sharpening, etc. But you don’t have to. Just a bit of contrast and a bit of Vibrance can do a long way.

7. Take one image every day to increase your photography skills

Do you currently take one photo every day?

For a long time, I didn’t. I went out once a week, took a series of photos, then went home.

And then I decided to take photos every day for a month.

By the time the month was up, I had resolved to continue to take photos every single day, no matter what – because it improved my photography so much.

I started to see compositions where I previously saw none. I started to get a sense of the light that I had never had before.

And this didn’t require any extra learning. It was just from being…aware. From keeping my photography brain awake.

So I urge you:

Start taking photos every day. Even if you can only take one photo, even if you can only take it with a smartphone, you should still do it.

You’ll be amazed by how quickly your photography improves.

8. Look at beautiful photos every single day

Here’s the final micro habit that will drastically improve your photography:

Look at beautiful photos.

Every day.

You see, the more you look at good photos, the more you develop your sense of color, composition, and lighting. You’ll start to notice the way other photographers use the rule of thirds. You’ll start to notice how photographers use contrasting colors to great effect. You’ll start to notice how different angles give different looks.

And then you’ll start noticing how you can use these techniques in your own photography.

Plus, in this day and age, it’s not difficult to look at stunning photos. You can subscribe to the Instagram feeds of great photographers. You can subscribe to high-quality Facebook groups. Or you can join the email lists of top photography websites (such as this one!).

The key is to make sure you look at amazing photos every day, no matter what.

8 Micro Habits That Will Completely Change Your Photography in a Year: Conclusion

Now that you know about these game-changing micro habits…

…all that’s left is to start implementing them in your daily life so you can completely change your photography in a year.

None of them are hard. They take a few minutes, at most.

But look back in a year, and you’ll be so glad you started them.

8-Micro-Habits-That-Will-Completely-Change-Your-Photography-in-a-Year-4

Also, if you found these micro habits useful, then you should check out our course, 31 Days to Become a Better Photographer. Registrations close on 31st July, so make sure you don’t delay!

The course is full of useful tips and suggestions like the ones I’ve given here. And it’s guaranteed to improve your photography, fast.

So if you’re looking to take your photography to the next level, the course is exactly what you need.

View it here:

31 Days to Become a Better Photographer.

The post 8 Micro Habits That Will Completely Change Your Photography in a Year appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Weekly Photography Challenge – Opposites

20 Jul

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Opposites appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

This week’s photography challenge topic is OPPOSITES!

Anusha Barwa

Go out and capture absolutely anything from still life to pets, street photography, still life, landscape, and portraits. They can be color, black and white, moody or bright. Just so long as they have opposites! Opposing colors, opposing objects, light and shade, opposing shapes – You get the picture! Have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Daniele Levis Pelusi

Fabio Rose

Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.

Tips for Shooting OPPOSITES

How to Make Your Photos Stand Out Using Color Contrast

How to Use Shadow and Contrast to Create Dramatic Images

Five Tips for Creative Pet Photography

The dPS Top Street Photography Tips of 2018

The dPS Top Landscape Photography Tips of 2018

Weekly Photography Challenge – OPPOSITES

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 #DPSopposites 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 – Opposites appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

This Back-to-Basics Photography Exercise can Improve Your Photography

18 Jul

The post This Back-to-Basics Photography Exercise can Improve Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

The digital age has made photography easier, cheaper, and more accessible than ever before. Even people who wouldn’t call themselves “photographers” now carry a camera in their pocket in the form of their cellphone.

However, has the ability to snap a picture without skill or knowledge made photography too easy? Even for you reading this article who’ve come to this site to learn more about making better photos – has the ease of making digital photos with modern cameras robbed you of learning the basics?

Perhaps. Presuming you really do want to learn more, give the following exercise a try with the intent of improving your skills.

This Back-to-Basics Photography Exercise can Improve Your Photography

I’ll bet back when this grocery store was operating you could buy black and white film here. Now, both are relics. I shot all of the mono photos in this article with a 50mm prime lens during a photo walk, while conducting the exercise outlined.

Back to the film days

Some of you remember the film days, but with digital photography catching hold in the early 2000s, we already have a generation of new photographers who may never have loaded a roll of film. Others may never have had to manually focus a camera, calculate exposure without a meter, or made monochrome photos in the camera.

My first “real” camera – a 35mm Hanimex Praktica Nova 1B

As the risk of dating myself, here’s a little background:

Back in the “pre-digital days” (back in 1970 when dinosaurs roamed the earth), I was 16 and in high school. I bought my first real camera – a 35mm Hanimex Practica Nova 1B. It was an East German camera built in Dresden and imported to the U.S. The Oreston f/1.8 50mm Meyer Optik Görlitz lens was fast and sharp (though I didn’t know much about such things at the time). It was typically loaded with Kodak Plus-X film (ISO 125, previously called ASA) or sometimes Kodak Tri-X (ISO 400).

I learned how to process the film and later make black and white prints in a little darkroom in the corner of the garage. Working under the dim glow of a safelight, and watching the image magically appear as the photographic paper bathed in a tray of Dektol, is something young photographers today have likely not experienced.

This Back-to-Basics Photography Exercise can Improve Your Photography 3

The orange glow of a safelight and the smell of photo chemicals. Before Lightroom, there was the darkroom.

I can’t say I miss it.

Today’s cameras are far superior. Also, the ease of working at a computer using Lightroom, where you can dodge and burn with the click of a mouse instead of with physical tools, gives so much more creative freedom. I also don’t have a wastebasket full of failed paper prints, and money spent trying to master the art.

These were things I learned the hard way with no electronic assistance from my camera. Let’s see what you can learn. Set up your camera and take a photo-walk emulating the way it used to be.

Learning to focus manually takes some skill. Note in this shot the very closest weed at the bottom of the frame is focused, but the other portions are soft. You’ll also better learn the relationship between depth-of-field and aperture when you work in manual mode.

Camera setup

We’re going to want to go fully manual for this, putting you in charge of setting the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. So put the dial in the “M” mode. Turn autofocus off. You will be focusing yourself.

If you have a 50mm prime lens, that will better emulate what most of us had on those old 35mm film cameras before we could afford to buy a zoom. Composing with the “sneaker-zoom,” (that is, using your feet to move closer or further from your subject), is good practice, especially if you always rely on a zoom lens to compose.

Working with a prime lens will help teach you to compose without relying on a zoom.

Going Monochrome

Most beginning photographers, (and all of them in the pre-color era), shot black-and-white film. So to stick to the basics, we’ll be shooting monochrome as well.

Well, sort of.

The best option in a digital camera is to shoot in RAW mode, which will create a color image. Later in editing, you’ll make a monochrome image from that color file. Photographing for monochrome will also allow you to better concentrate on composition – another point of this exercise.

Photography Exercise can Improve Your Photography 4

It is thought the term “chimping” originated from the “ooh, ooh” sounds photographers made when reviewing their photos on their LCD screens, (not necessarily as in this case, whether the photographer had a simian-like appearance :-D. For this exercise, you will NOT be chimping. – Photo of/by Rick Ohnsman.

To chimp or not to chimp?

You’ve heard the term “chimping” which refers to the practice of some digital photographers to look at the playback on their LCD screen after each shot? Some scoff at the practice. Others, (count me in that camp), think the ability to immediately review a shot, check the histogram, make adjustments and reshoot is the best thing to ever happen to photography. Instant feedback, (rather than waiting days, weeks, months, whatever it was to get back the photos and only then discover your mistake?) – what a concept!

I still bow to the wedding photographers who shot film. Those photographers knew their cameras relying on skills and experience so they could trust they had the photo before ever seeing the results.

Many cameras will do this. This is a Canon 6D. Set your Picture style to Monochrome, but shoot Raw images. The Raw file will be in color but the LCD display, (both in playback and Live View) will be Monochrome.

So… a choice for you as you do this exercise – You have two options:

Option 1:

Shoot Raw, but set your camera so the image played back on the LCD (which is a .jpg thumbnail) is shown in monochrome

On a Canon camera, you will be using Picture Styles. On a Nikon, Picture Controls is the term. Look for Monochrome in the menu. What you’ll be doing is taking a Raw color image but forcing the camera to playback a monochrome image on the LCD.

Check your camera manual for how to set this up.

The advantage is being able to see a monochrome image in playback rather than having to previsualize what it will look like. Because your raw file will still be color, you will have more control in editing. Should you decide you do prefer the color image, you can stick with it and not convert to black and white.

If you shoot .jpg only, your image will be monochrome with no going back.

Flexibility – it’s just one more of dozens of reasons to shoot raw images.

Or …

If you set your Image Review to “Off”, the photo will not be displayed in the LCD after you take it. Film photographers didn’t have the luxury of image review in the field and for this exercise, you won’t either.

Option 2

Turn off or tape over the LCD screen

If you really want to emulate shooting film, (and get the most from this exercise), you will not chimp at all. There was no option to review your shots with film. The photographer had to trust their knowledge and instincts.

For those who’ve only made digital photos, (and even for those who may have used film but haven’t done so for a long time), this is harder than it might seem. The reward, however, will be learning to analyze the scene better, make necessary camera adjustments, and trust your instincts. You will make mistakes and not know about them until later, but lessons learned with a little “pain” attached will be those you’ll best remember.

I’m not suggesting you always work like this, instant LCD feedback is a beautiful thing. However, when practicing this exercise, see what it can teach you. (Don’t forget to turn your LCD Review back on completion of the exercise!)

With the Picture Mode in Monochrome, both Live View and Image Playback on the LCD screen will be Monochrome even though the Raw file will still record in color.

When more isn’t better

Another great thing about digital photography is how many images you can fit on a storage card. Depending on the camera and the card size that can easily be hundreds, even thousands in some cases. You also don’t have to worry about each shot costing you more. If you don’t like what you see, that’s what the delete button is for.

Cards are reusable. Once you buy one, you can use it over and over.

As the saying goes, “digital film is cheap.”

Monochrome will help you better compose and concentrate on line, shape, tone, and texture. Also, note how simulating a red filter when editing allowed the blue sky to render very dark.

Shooting film wasn’t cheap. There was the cost of the film, the cost of film processing, and the cost of printing. Nothing was reusable, and so all the shots, both the keepers and the junk, cost money. With digital, we also need not print if we don’t like a shot.

It was hard to view a film negative and judge what you had. Unless you were printing your own images, you’d almost always print everything and prints cost money. Some of us shot transparencies (slides). These were a little cheaper since you’d typically not print them. However, you had to get it right in camera as there was no editing a slide.

Beginning film photographers could spend lots of money learning with little to show for it.

There was also the limitation of how many photos could be made on a roll of film. The capacity typically measured in dozens, not hundreds or thousands of images like digital media. If you used 35mm film, you could typically get 12, 24, or 36-exposure rolls. With limited exposures and to save money, photographers wanted to make each shot count.

The downsides were making fewer images, (and thus reducing the odds of getting a keeper), less experimentation with new techniques, and a longer learning curve for a new photographer who’d be making fewer photos. The upside, however, (and this is a big factor), was photographers took more time to do it right – more time to think before pressing the shutter button.

Putting it all together

Are you ready to give this exercise a try?

I’d suggest not doing this in a session that’s important to you. If you are doing it right, you’re apt to make some mistakes. That’s okay, those will be mistakes from which you can learn.

Here are your settings and steps:

Camera in “M” – Manual Mode – You will control ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed

Autofocus Off – Focus with the focus ring. Learn to see and concentrate on what you’re focusing on. A mistake I often see new photographers make when learning to use an autofocus digital camera is letting the camera select the default center focus point when that may not be the spot they wanted in focus. Manually focusing puts you in charge of what’s in focus. Also, consider when you might need to use your aperture to increase or decrease your depth-of-field.

Determine your lighting conditions and chose a “film type” ISO – Choose ISO 125 for bright daylight (emulating Kodak Plus-X or Ilford FP4), ISO 400 (to emulate Kodak Tri-X or Ilford FP5). If you’ll be photographing in low light, try ISO 800 and emulate “pushed” film. The point here is set it once and leave it there for the entire session. It wasn’t possible to change ISO with film, you were stuck with your choice for the entire roll.

Use a prime lens if you have one – Learn to compose without a zoom.

Decide how many exposures you have – Pick 12, 24, or 36. Sure, film photographers often carried multiple rolls, but this exercise is designed to help you make each shot count. Once you hit your pre-determined number, you’re done.

Here’s what came in a box of Kodak Plus-X or Tri-X film. Can you use this to calculate exposure and not rely on your camera meter? Give it a try!

Calculate Exposure – By the 1960s, most 35mm film cameras had light meters, but they were primitive by today’s standard. A “match-needle” system where a needle could be centered when dialing in exposure and shutter speed was what many displayed. If you wanted to purposely over or under-expose a bit, you’d adjust until the needle was over or under as desired.

On cameras without meters, many relied on the chart typically found in a box of film. Often, these calculations were based on what was called the “Sunny 16 Rule.” It said that on a bright sunny day if you put the aperture at f/16, then the shutter speed should equal the ASA, (now ISO), film speed.

For example, with Kodak Plus-X ASA 125 film a setting of ASA 125, f/125 at f/16 would give you a well-exposed image. If you wanted to shoot at a different shutter speed or aperture, you could calculate from there. For example, f/250 @ f/11 (assuming you had the same ASA 125 film in the camera) would be an equal exposure.

If it wasn’t a bright sunny day, you were in the shade, or light conditions were different, sometimes the little printed chart could help. Mostly, it was the practice that taught a photographer what was “about right” for a given film and a given lighting condition.

That’s another purpose of this exercise; to help teach you what’s about right for a given lighting condition. See how you do without relying on the meter. At least pay close attention to what the aperture and shutter speed is for a given set of conditions.

Slow down

If this exercise teaches you nothing else, learning to slow down will make it worthwhile. With limited exposures available on a roll of film, the “spray-and-pray” style of photography was rare. Typically it was only sports and fashion photographers who had motor-drives (the mechanical version of what we now do with continuous mode).

Photographers took the time to carefully think about their composition, and what they wanted to convey with the image. What shutter speed choice might be best to freeze or blur the action? How much depth-of-field might you desire and what aperture choice would be best? Should you roll in a little exposure compensation?

All of these factors were given thoughtful consideration. Bracketing shots to be sure everything was right could be done but at the expense of more quickly eating up that roll of film. The difficulty of fixing anything in the darkroom was much greater too, and photographers didn’t have the attitude that they’d “just fix it in Photoshop.” Consequently, the concept of “getting it right in-camera” was the norm.

Getting it right in-camera is among the goals intended with this exercise. If you know you only have a minimal number of exposures available to you, each one has to count. You won’t have the luxury of shooting, chimping, adjusting, and re-shooting if you’re doing this exercise as intended.

So, slow down, take your time, think about each part of the process. And then make your best shot.

Later, you will have a real advantage film photographers didn’t have – the ability to review your images with attached exposure data.

In the film days, conscientious beginning photographers carried a notebook and wrote down their settings to recall later. Now, your digital camera keeps the notes. Chalk up one more plus for digital photography.

Why monochrome?

We briefly touched on why monochrome was the choice for this exercise. One, of course, is that it replicates what early beginning film photographers used and we are simulating the limitations of that time.

The more significant reason is without color, monochrome images rely much more on shape, form, line, tone, and texture. It is also much easier to concentrate on composition without the added distraction of color.

Working in monochrome can help a photographer better key in on those elements that make a strong image and practice those techniques.

If you’ve done much monochrome photography, you’ll likely already know this. If you’ve pretty much only made color images in the past, this part of the exercise will also be part of the process of improving your skills.

Back in edit

Film photographers typically dropped their film off at the lab, mailed it in, or sometimes did their own processing. (I love the smell of D-76 in the morning! It smells like… Victory. – Not! Sorry for the flashback, let’s resume).

You will come back with a few, (you limited your exposures as instructed, right?), Raw images on your storage card. They will be in color, but you’ll be converting them to monochrome. I will not spend the time in this article outlining the best ways to convert color to monochrome. You will find a nice collection of those tutorials here on DPS. You will find there are great ways to manipulate the tones in your monochrome conversion to create distinctive looks.

To complete the goals of the exercise, what you’ll want to give the most attention to is, were you able to make well-focused, properly-exposed, and nicely composed images with the self-imposed restrictions of the exercise? Without the electronic assistance of a modern digital camera (auto-focus, auto-exposure), what worked? What didn’t?

If this really had been film, what would you do differently next time?

The takeaways

This is a great time to be a photographer. The sophistication of our cameras and the ease with which we can do amazing things in editing is fantastic. The point of this exercise, however, is to teach you to use your brain as a photographer, to take full control over your camera, and not rely on a microchip to do it for you. I personally would never go back to film, have no desire to get back in a darkroom, and love every electronic aid my camera supplies.

The point is, I want those things to build on a solid foundation of photo ability and knowledge. That is the reason for this exercise.

The path to becoming a better photographer lies in using your brain, not a camera microchip, to do the thinking. Slow down, pre-visualize the image, and then use the camera as a tool to capture that vision.

I sincerely hope you give this a try. If you make great images, wonderful! If you struggle and make mistakes, fine – you will have learned something.

Either way, you will grow as a photographer.

Drop me a line in the comments and let me know how you made out. Best wishes.

The post This Back-to-Basics Photography Exercise can Improve Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography