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Tips for Dealing with Your Frustrations as a Photographer

12 Sep

Feel stuck? Frustrated? Feel like you want to hang up the camera, or that you’ll never make it as a photographer? Those feelings are terrible I know, you feel like you’re in a prison from which you will never break out. But take heart, here are a few things to help you when dealing with your frustrations as a photographer.

Tips for Dealing with Your Frustrations as a Photographer

The thing you most need to hear – it’s normal

The thing you probably need understand the most if you are frustrated as a photographer is not that it is going to be okay (it probably will), it’s that it is NORMAL. It’s always useful to remember that every artist/photographer had these feelings before you and others will have them after you. It’s just a normal part of the creative process. Doubts, frustrations, those “what’s the point?” feelings are all normal stuff.

So you just need to understand that it’s okay. If you want to have a dog, you’ll have to deal with feeding it, cleaning it, dealing with the brown stuff. If you want to be a photographer, you’ll have to deal with feelings of self-doubt, frustrations, and all. It’s all part of the deal.

Tips for Dealing with Your Frustrations as a Photographer

Can you imagine that one of the greatest artists of all time, Michelangelo, wrote in his diary, “I am no painter”? He did, and let’s face it if someone like him could be frustrated with his art, it makes it pretty normal for you and I to have those feelings too.

But why am I telling you this? Because sometimes you may feel bad for feeling frustrated while it is a normal part of the creative process. Don’t worry though, it’s not quite your fault if you have felt that way. It is because you’ve been fed a lie.

The lie you’ve been fed

One of the biggest reasons for frustrations is because expectations do not match reality. And most of our expectations are pretty much warped because we’ve been fed a lie. So it’s not quite your fault.

Tips for Dealing with Your Frustrations as a Photographer

What lie am I talking about? You see it everywhere on TV, movies, newspapers, pretty much everywhere. It’s the lie of the edit, and it destroys anyone who believes it.

What is it exactly? You are fed selective pieces of life and believe them as true, warping your expectations, completely dismissing the process behind everything. Take this famous example:

A middle aged woman walked onto the stage of Britain’s got talent. She looked like your typical next door old lady that bakes cakes. She’s about to sing. The cameras zoom in on smirks, one of the judges tries not to laugh at the contestant. She opens her mouth and you can hear gasps. That woman has a stunning voice, the world was introduced to Susan Boyle. An instant star, an overnight success.

Tips for Dealing with Your Frustrations as a Photographer

Boy oh boy do we love those stories. But they are not true. Susan Boyle has been practicing most of her life. You can’t just take her 5-minute viral video and call that an overnight success when she’s been putting in the work since she was little.

The process is part of the story

The reason why the lie of the edit is destructive is that it bypasses the most important part of all – the process.

Look, I’m not saying that it’s a media conspiracy or anything, but the fact is that everywhere we turn, we see the edit of someone’s life. Then when we start looking at our life, and how can we not feel frustrated with where we are?

Say you want to be a travel photographer. You check out Instagram and you see that this couple quit their job and now travel the world full-time. That’s the edited version. Then you look at poor old you and the only travel you can afford is to your job every day. How can you not feel frustrated?

But what was the process that couple had to through to get there? They scrubbed 150 toilets, spread 250 kilos of cow dung, among other things. That is a true story by the way.

I’m not suggesting that to travel the world you need to scrub toilets, but always remember that everything that you see has been edited. It’s only the tip of the iceberg. What you don’t see – and the only way to get where you want to be – is whole the process.

Tips for Dealing with Your Frustrations as a Photographer

Know the whole story and don’t compare yourself to others

It’s my numero uno critique of certain photography gurus by the way. They sell you the edit. Quit your job, become a photographer, live the dream. They never tell you about the process of finding clients, being worried you can’t pay your bills, etc.

What I am saying is this: It’s okay to be frustrated. What you see out there of everyone living the photography dream you want to live is an EDIT. Don’t compare your life with someone else’s edit of their life. It warps your expectations, and when expectations don’t match reality, that’s a recipe for frustration.

Harnessing your frustrations

So far I’ve said it’s okay to feel frustrated, and it’s usually because your expectations have been warped by unrealistic expectations (thanks, media!). But what if you are *still* frustrated? Good news, you can use your frustrations as fuel. How so? Just realize one thing:

Tips for Dealing with Your Frustrations as a Photographer

The universe works a certain way, and the system is rigged so that only the most dedicated people get through. If it was easy, everyone would do it. So things like frustration, self-doubt, discouragement are good because it’s trying to weed out those who will press on from those who simply don’t want to do so. Once you realize that it’s a built-in obstacle to weed out those who are not committed enough, it can empower you to press on.

I’ve been around for a few years now. A month or so ago I started to click on the sites of photographers that I knew started around the same time as I. All I got was 404 errors, meaning their sites and their presence are not there anymore. They’ve been weeded out by the system.

Tips for Dealing with Your Frustrations as a Photographer

All those frustrations and feelings are like fuel that can either block your vision or you can use them as fire to get you going. Whatever you want out of your photography, it’s a game that only the determined and steadfast win. Let those frustrations knock others out while you know it’s just an obstacle to go through to test your own resolve.

The resolve

I interviewed a photojournalist once for my magazine, and one part stood out to me. He went to see an editor, and after some brutal comments went home and put his camera up for sale the next day. He was done with photography. Was that the end? No. He went on to be the photojournalist he wanted to be and to make some jaw-dropping images.

The moral of the story is that you as a photographer need to have resolve, the resolve to continue the path of photography until success. Whatever that may be or mean for you. Because every photographer you look up to, they had all of the same frustrations you have, but they are where they are because they pressed on.

Tips for Dealing with Your Frustrations as a Photographer

Name any feeling you have, they had it too, but they just continued. Because it’s only failure when you give up. I’m glad the photojournalist got back in the game, but how many photographer’s careers were ruined that way? Resolve to do the work needed to achieve your photography goals. Keep your eye on the prize, but put in the work.

For Micheal Phelps, the most decorated Olympian, that meant going to the pool 7 days a week. What does it mean for you? Read interviews every day, shoot as much as you can, learn as much as you can. It’s different for everyone but the principle is still to focus more on the process, the very thing that is always edited out in the media.

Conclusion

There you have it, folks. Because I have a lot of experience with this stuff, it’s pretty much ingrained in my mind. But thinking about these points mentally always leave me with a state of renewed empowerment and I hope it will do the same for you. Be yourself, stay focused and keep on shooting.

The post Tips for Dealing with Your Frustrations as a Photographer by Olivier Duong appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Tips and Tricks for Night Photography of the Starry Sky

04 Sep

During the last year, I’ve become a big fan of night photography and the night sky. I’ve always enjoyed it but my hometown in Norway doesn’t have the most interesting landscape. So I rarely bothered to go out during night – unless there was a rare show of Northern Lights or meteorite showers. After packing up my stuff and moving to the north of Spain, however, I’ve found myself spending more and more time photographing the stars. What appears pitch black to the naked eye can be beautiful scenery through the camera.

In this article, I’ll share some tips and tricks on how you can photograph the various states of the night sky including The Milky Way, new moon, or northern lights.

Camera Settings for Night Photography

Light is the most important part of photography; without light, there’s no picture to be taken. During the night it is dark and the light is sparse, making it challenging to photograph. In fact, in order to capture an image during the night, you’ll most likely have to sacrifice some image quality – forget about using a narrow aperture and low ISO.

Unlike regular landscape photography, night photography requires less than ideal settings in order to capture enough light to properly expose the scene. Since there’s not a lot of available light, that means opening the aperture, increasing the ISO and lengthening the exposure time (shutter speed).

Tips and Tricks for Night Photography the Starry Sky

There isn’t one correct setting for each and every scenario as it depends on many factors (such as the brightness of the moon). But as a rule of thumb, you want to use the widest aperture your lens allows in order to get the sky as detailed as possible. Lenses with an aperture of f/2.8 are widely popular amongst nighttime and astrophotographers and if your lens allows for such an open aperture, this is where you should begin.

ISO and shutter speed

The ISO also needs to be increased quite a lot for night photography. For regular landscape photography, I always stress the importance of shooting with the lowest possible ISO. Even though we still want to shoot with the lowest possible setting we’re now looking at an ISO of at least 1600 at night. It’s not uncommon to use an ISO of 3200 or 6400 during the night. Still, to maintain as much quality as possible, try to use the lowest possible option.

Tips and Tricks for Night Photography the Starry Sky

Choosing the shutter speed is slightly more challenging as it depends on the focal length of your lens, but I recommend not going longer than 30 seconds unless you want to photograph star trails (I’ll come back to this later in the article). The 500 Rule is a good guideline when choosing the shutter speed. Basically, divide 500 by the focal length of the lens you’re using and you’ll know the maximum shutter speed you can use (to avoid star trails). If you’re using a crop sensor camera you’ll need to calculate the equivalent focal length of a full-frame lens (for example 20mm on crop sensor = 30mm. 500/30 = 16.6 seconds).

Remember that a tripod is essential for night photography in order to get a sharp image. It’s simply not possible to hold your camera still for several seconds!

Planning to Photograph the Night Sky

Scouting can be hard during the night so it’s often beneficial to have familiarized yourself with the area before going there in the dark. I know this isn’t always possible but the very least use an app such as PhotoPills to learn the phase of the moon, its position, as well as the time of sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset and anything else related to your shoot. The more you’ve prepared, the higher the chance you’ll get a great image.

Tips and Tricks for Night Photography the Starry Sky

Let’s summarize what you should know before going out photographing:

Time of twilight
Time of Nautical and Astronomical dark
Phase of the moon
Moon’s position in the sky
Time of moonrise and moonset
When The Milky Way is visible (if applicable)
The Milky Way’s position (if applicable)

All this information is easy to find in an app such as PhotoPills or by doing a quick search online.

General Ideas for Night Photography

If your goal is photograph stars and the natural night sky, I think it’s fair to guess that you want to see as many stars as possible. In order to get the best possible view of the stars, you’ll need to position yourself at a location that’s away from larger cities and light pollution.

Tips and Tricks for Night Photography the Starry Sky

A subtle display of Northern Lights in Lofoten.

Website and maps such as DarkSiteFinder are great resources when searching for areas with less light pollution. If you live close to a major city you’ll probably have to travel a little further than if you live near a small town. There are filters, such as NiSi’s Natural Night Filter, that help reduce the light pollution but it won’t magically remove it all and give you a starry sky – it simply neutralizes the color of the light pollution.

For the most detailed night sky, it’s also ideal to avoid the weeks closest to a full moon. During that period, the sky is brighter and there are fewer stars visible to both the camera and the naked eye. However, that doesn’t mean that you should stay home; there are many interesting subjects during the full moon as well.

The Milky Way

Norway is known for Northern Lights, dark and starry nights, as well as the overall beautiful landscape but what we don’t have is The Milky Way. Let me be a little more specific; the Galactic Center (the brightest most visible part of The Milky Way that you see in most photos) is never visible in Norway – we only see the edges of it. So, you can imagine my excitement every time I get a chance to photograph the Galactic Center and The Milky Way in its most beautiful display.

Milky Way photography - Tips and Tricks for Night Photography the Starry Sky

The techniques for photographing The Milky Way are mostly similar to other types of night photography. You’ll want to use an open aperture, high ISO and a shutter speed of no more than 30 seconds. I find that a slightly higher ISO and a shutter speed of around 25 seconds (when shooting at 14mm @f/2.8) gives the highest amount of detail when photographing The Milky Way. By using a slower shutter speed, the camera starts picking up slight movement in the stars (due to earth’s rotation) and it begins to get blurry.

It’s also best to photograph The Milky Way during the new moon or before the moon has risen. The darker the sky, the more stars you see and the more detailed The Milky Way becomes.

Photographing a Meteor Shower

Whenever there’s a meteor shower, such as the recent Perseids Meteor Shower, I keep my fingers crossed for clear skies. There’s nothing more magical than being outside in the pitch black, looking up at dozens or even hundreds of shooting stars during a span of several hours.

Northern Light Meteorite - Tips and Tricks for Night Photography the Starry Sky

Since most the shooting stars last for only a second or two, it can be hard to capture them in an image. In order to capture as many of them as possible, I set my camera to interval shooting and I let it go continuously. To pick up even the smaller shooting stars I increase the shutter speed slightly to approximately 15 seconds (depends on the brightness of the night).

Photographing the Northern Lights

Northern Lights is a phenomenon that we’re lucky to have in the northern hemisphere. It’s unlike anything else and I can guarantee that once you see it, you’ll want to witness it again.

The challenges when photographing the Northern Lights is that it often moves quite quickly and it can be rather bright. In order to freeze the motion, you’ll need a quicker shutter speed such as 1-10 seconds. Exactly how quick depends on the intensity of the lights. Just keep in mind that if they’re moving quickly, you should use a quicker shutter speed.

Northern Lights Iceland - Tips and Tricks for Night Photography the Starry Sky

Also, pay attention to the histogram as it’s easy to blow out the highlights. Since it’s a bright phenomenon in the otherwise dark night, the contrast can be great. I recommend always exposing for the highlights and if needed take a second exposure for the landscape that you can blend in later during post-processing.

Slow it Down and Photograph Star Trails

Due to the rotation of the earth, your camera registers movement in the stars once the shutter speed becomes too long. This creates a blurry and soft sky and can be quite displeasing to watch.

That being said, every now and then this is something you want to use as an advantage rather than viewing it as a problem. By lengthening the shutter speed to several minutes or even an hour (this lets you use a low ISO and narrow aperture but may result in hot pixels) you’re able to capture what’s known as star trails. This effect can be really interesting but make sure that the shutter speed is long enough so that the stars don’t just look blurry.

Stars over the Sahara desert – image by dPS Editor Darlene Hildebrandt. Series of 30-second exposures over 45 minutes, stacked using StarStax, blended with a couple of light painted images of the tent.

Alternatively, you can capture a series of images using a shorter shutter speed and merge them together in Photoshop or a software such as StarStax.

Full Moon and Bright Moon Phases

As I’ve mentioned previously, nights, when the moon is small, are best for night photography as it’s during this period you’ll see most stars. However, when the moon is up there are still many interesting images to be captured.

moonrise in lofoten - Tips and Tricks for Night Photography the Starry Sky

First of all, since the moon is a bright source of light, you can get away with using a slightly lower ISO or narrower aperture. It can also be easier to find a composition as the landscape is brighter. Use this light to your advantage and pay attention to the shadows in the landscape. Perhaps the moon lights up a mountain? Perhaps it creates a nice reflection in a lake? During this period, it can be wise to compose your image to include more landscape than sky as that’s where the most interesting things are happening.

Personally, I prefer to photograph the moon when it has a low position in the sky as I find the shadows to be slightly more interesting during that time. Note: This is for the same reasons shooting at sunrise and sunset are best for daytime landscape photography.

Conclusion

Have you tried night photography before? If not, grab your camera and tripod (and maybe a buddy for some company) and get out and give it a go. Share any other night photo tips you have in the comments below as well as your night sky images. We’d love to see them.

The post Tips and Tricks for Night Photography of the Starry Sky by Christian Hoiberg appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Tips to speak english fluently pdf

28 Aug

When I moved to Seattle from the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan to study journalism through the State Department’s Northwest Community College Initiative — In a nutshell, I won’tips to speak english fluently pdf be able to do as you wish. I want to speak like americans; I am Nigerian and love to speak American […]
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10 Quick Tips for Travel Photography

27 Aug

Here is a really quick video for you from the gang over at COOPH (Cooperative of Photography) with 10 tips for travel photography.

Enjoy, and check out the links to stuff mentioned in the video below it.

Links to things mentioned in the video

For more a more detailed tutorial on how to remove tourists check out: How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop

For sharing prints with people when you travel you might want to consider a Fuji Instax printer. Portable enough to take with you, prints photos from your Smartphone or tablet.

For backing up your images on the road, read the following:

How to Backup and Manage Your Photos When Traveling Without a Computer
Step by Step Plan for Backing Up Your Images While Traveling

Then grab one of the G-Technology drives shown in the video (the tough black and blue ones)

Shoot at sunrise: 4 Reasons Shooting at Sunrise and Sunset Will Help You Take Better Photos

Lastly, more on using framing in your compositions: Tips for Using Natural Framing to Improve Your Composition

Your turn

Do you have any other good quick tips for travel photography you want to share with us? Please do so in the comments below.

The post 10 Quick Tips for Travel Photography by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Video: Six lighting tips for flash photography newbies

22 Aug

If you’re taking our advice from this morning and buying your first flash soon, a few beginner tips on mixing flash with ambient light will really help you take advantage of your new gear. Enter Mango Street’s Daniel Inskeep and Rachel Gulotta, who teamed up with photographer and filmmaker Daniel DeArco to share just that.

Mango Street is known for their simple tutorials targeted at beginners, but they mainly use natural light for their photography. So when the topic turned to artificial lighting, they asked DeArco to come on and share some advice. Over the course of two videos, DeArco offers six different tips for getting great results when you mix artificial and natural light.

Video 1

Keep it Simple: Prioritize one light source first. In this case, DeArco prioritizes the natural light.
Have a go-to hard light and soft light setup
Experiment: Knowledge of studio lighting will make you a more well-rounded photographer

Video 2

Use a strobe + reflector as a fill light on your subject to avoid blowing out your background
Look for sun reflecting off buildings to provide a hair light and use your favorite strobe and modifier as a fill
Use a blocked or just-out-of-frame strobe to fake a sunset if you miss golden hour

If you found the tutorials helpful, you can see more from both Mango Street and DeArco on YouTube. And if you’re inspired by these techniques, check out our OpEd from this morning on why your next gear purchase should be a flash, not a new lens:

Don’t buy another lens, buy a flash instead

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Tips for Using Off-Camera Flash at Weddings

21 Aug

Over the past eight years of shooting weddings, I have slowly evolved in how I work. I believe that’s normal for most photographers. Most will start as “natural light” photographers. I actually began a little ahead and was using one on-camera flash, bouncing it off of the ceiling. Next, I dabbled in some off-camera flash very lightly and steadily grew my skills over the years.

I will say, that life is so much easier for me now, and I can create so much more with off-camera flash than I could when I began. I’m not sure where you are in your journey, but I’m here to help you speed up the process. In this article, I’m going to share all of my different off-camera lighting setups for weddings.

Off camera flash weddings 02

Use flash when needed

Let me start off by saying that I don’t use off-camera flash the entire day. I still use natural light when I need to and I’ll use on-camera bounce flash when that’s appropriate. These on and off-camera flashes are just tools that I use to create, just like a painter uses different brushes and paints. I can’t necessarily tell you when to use them; that’s up to you and your personal preference. My suggestion would be to keep an open mind, practice these ideas, and see what works best for you.

Photographing details

I start using off-camera flash pretty early in the wedding day when I’m shooting details. For most situations, I try to keep it simple and use one flash at a 45-degree angle to the subject. To keep light from going everywhere and to create a more dramatic photo, I usually use a MagGrid from MagMod.

Off camera flash weddings 01

I’ll use this setup for ring shots, a few of the dress, flowers, possibly shoes, and other details. It works really well for the ring shot because I’m usually shooting at such a high aperture that I need a lot of light. I also make sure to take some with natural light or a bounce flash just in case the couple doesn’t like the dramatic look.

Off-camera flash for portraits

The newest way I’ve been using off-camera flash, and I just love it so much, is for creating portraits. If you really want to create something cool and different for your clients, this is the way to do it. There are many ways to do this (too many to mention here), but I’ll share some of my favorite setups.

Off-camera flash setups for wedding portraits

The groom usually doesn’t get much attention on the wedding day. He is just along for the ride. I try, though, to give him the spotlight and create something fun. This setup is basically the same as the detail shot. I’ll use one single flash with a MagGrid. The big difference is I lower the ambient light so the flash is really all that is seen.

Tips for Using Off-Camera Flash at Weddings

One light dramatic setup for the groom.

To do this, start off without the flash. Adjust the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture until the photo is pretty dark. Then, bring in the flash. Try to position the off-camera flash at a 45 degree angle, in relatively close to the subject. The further away the light is the more it will spread. I try to keep most of the focus on his face.

Another fun trick is to do this with all the groomsmen and put it together later in Photoshop. I did this recently with a group that all had super hero shirts under their suits. It created a very dramatic, fun photo. All you have to do is move your flash to one person, take a photo, and then move to the next one. Either put the camera on a tripod or try to keep it in the same position and height. Then, later, you just line them all up and use layers to hide and reveal the parts you want.

Tips for Using Off-Camera Flash at Weddings

The bride and her dress

The bride is the star of the show, so you need to make sure you create lots of photos of her and the dress. I will usually spend twice as much time with the bride as I do the groom. I also use a few different lighting patterns with her to give her more variety.

I don’t do it often, but you can actually use the same lighting setup that we did for the groom, with the bride. It’s going to create a dark portrait, but one thing I do differently is I make sure there aren’t any crazy shadows on her face.

Sometimes I have the bride turn her head toward the light or I rotate the flash more to light her entire face. It’s good to try this out occasionally, but make sure you give her some other options.

Tips for Using Off-Camera Flash at Weddings

One flash dramatic lighting setup.

In most cases, I use a much softer light with the brides, to open up shadows instead of creating something dark. I use my small flashes for some situations, but when we are outside I usually go to my larger flash, the Xplor 600. This gives me more power and I can put a softbox or octabox on it to soften the light.

My go-to bride setup is to put the sun behind the bride and then light the front of her. A lot of wedding photographers will do it this way without adding the light to the front. This can work, but you are left with a blown out background and possibly deep shadows in the eyes.

With my lighting setup, you can have the background exposed correctly and remove those nasty shadows. I still place the flash at a 45 degree angle but there are a few other things that make the photo look completely different. One, using a softbox or Octabox softens the light and allows it to illuminate most of the subject while the MagGrid kept the light pretty hard and focused.

One flash off-camera balanced with natural light.

Also, the exposure is going to be different. Turn off the flash and get a proper exposure for the background instead of it being pitch black. Then, turn the flash back on to light your subject and adjust power as needed. As far as setting the background exposure, I prefer bumping up the shutter speed versus bumping up the aperture. You can only do this, though, if your flash can do high-speed sync.

Off-camera flash setups for group photos

Another tough situation to light is the family portrait setup. If we are outside that isn’t really a problem, but if we’re indoors, the light is usually pretty bad. To keep everyone in focus, I also use a smaller aperture, which just makes matters worse.

I’ve used a few different off-camera flash setups for family portraits, and honestly, I’m not sure which I prefer. If you only have one flash, I’d put it at about a 30-degree angle.

If you have two flashes, there are two different ways to set it up. You can put both flashes, at equal power, at opposite 45 degree angles. This will cover everything, but it can make some weird shadows. The other option is to keep one light at 45 degrees and bring the other closer to the camera and lower the power. This is the basic main light and fill light setup.

Family portrait lighting with two flashes.

Tips for Using Off-Camera Flash at Weddings

The problem I’ve run into with this is that the people further away from the main light don’t get as much light. The last thing to consider is whether to bounce it or use direct flash. Bouncing is going to create a more even lighting, but it uses more power and doesn’t work if the ceilings are dark or if you’re outside. Direct flash takes less power, but the light tends to be harsher and create darker shadows.

Sometimes I will try one setup and then quickly switch to another if things aren’t working. You might find yourself doing this as well.

Off-camera flash at the wedding reception

Creating lighting for the dance is one of my favorite things to do. You really can create some amazing shots. My general setup is two off-camera flash, opposite each other, with MagGrids attached. This really creates a moody effect, but you can get some dark shadows.

Tips for Using Off-Camera Flash at Weddings

Dance lighting setup, two flashes.

With this setup, I keep a flash on top of my camera, and sometimes I’ll use it to bounce some fill light into the scene. When I’m done with the first few dances and the big groups get out there, I remove the grids so the light will cover a larger area. As far as my position, you can move around with this light setup and get some really different looks. For the most part, I try to keep one light beside me at a 45-degree.

One quick warning: make sure your lights are secure and out of the way. People will run into them and knock them over, and you don’t want broken equipment and/or injuries and a potential lawsuit.

Off-camera flash for creative wedding portraits

The last scenario that I use off-camera flash at weddings is for doing creative portraits with the couple. I really enjoy taking them away from the action once it has gotten dark to create something special. These are more of a creative, artsy portrait, and they are often my favorite shots from the wedding day.

Tips for Using Off-Camera Flash at Weddings

Two-light backlit setup with blue gel on the background.

The possibilities are pretty endless with this, so I’m just going to run through how I do it in general. The first thing I do is find an interesting background. This could be the front of the venue or some place with an interesting structure and hopefully some kind of lights. Next, I figure out where I want to place the couple. I like to have them be part of the environment, so I position them where I can do a full length shot and still capture the background.

Now we are ready to figure out the off-camera lighting setup. My go-to setup is a front light at 45 degrees with a grid and another flash behind the subject. With the backlight, I’ll either have the light aimed at the couple to give them a glow, or I’ll aim it at the background to show off the structure more. If you want to get a little funky or artsy, throw a colored gel on the backlight. After I’ve done that, I usually remove the front light and just aim the backlight at them and make a silhouette. If you know what you’re doing, you should be able to pull these shots off in less than 10 minutes and send the couple back to the party.

Off camera flash weddings 05

Tips for Using Off-Camera Flash at Weddings

One light backlit setup.

Conclusion

I know that was a lot of information and you may be overwhelmed. If you are feeling confused, reread each section and look at the diagrams. If you’re still confused, feel free to comment, and I’ll help you out.

Also, don’t feel like you have to try all of these setups at once. Remember, weddings are a once in a lifetime event, so avoid going in there if you aren’t confident in what you are doing. Practice at home and start by trying one of these setups. Practice some more and then try out other setups. Do this for one year and at the end of that year, I bet you’ll be in a whole new level, and you’ll never go back to your old way of shooting weddings.

The post Tips for Using Off-Camera Flash at Weddings by Bryan Striegler appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Tips for the Creative Use of Grain in Lightroom

21 Aug

Nobody likes a grainy photo, right? The majority of the time we want less graininess. In the digital world, we see grain as the enemy. But is it really? I’ll tell you now that grain isn’t always bad. I’ll go even further than that and say that grain can actually be something that adds to the strength of your photographs.

Film grain gets a bad rap because it’s often confused with digital noise. The two are, in fact, entirely different. In this article, I’ll talk about the difference between noise and grain. Then I am going to show you how to use Lightroom to purposefully ADD grain to a photo. Get ready. Be bold. Embrace the grain.

It’s grain…not noise

The difference between digital noise (sensor noise) and grain comes down to the light sensing properties of each. Digital sensors convert light into an electronic signal using an array of photosensitive diodes. These are the “pixels” or “picture elements” of the sensor. Digital sensors carry “noise” based on a number of things such as the size of the sensor, its temperature, and the ISO setting.

Tips for the Creative Use of Grain in Lightroom

Digital noise at ISO 5000

Film, on the other hand, uses light sensitive silver crystals which are embedded in the emulsion of the film. The physical manifestation of these crystals is what we perceive as film grain. The higher the film’s ISO, the more crystals are present, hence more grain.

Agfa Vista Plus 200 ISO 800. A cropped section of an image by Akio Takemoto

Grain is an organic characteristic of the analog film process. It’s almost like a fingerprint exclusive to the type of film you’re using. Perhaps that’s why film grain is gaining a growing acceptance among new photographers in this digital age of imaging.

This notion hasn’t been lost on the developers at Adobe and they have given us a way to simulate the grain patterns present in film with our digital images. Depending on your photo, adding some creative film grain can impart a vintage feel of earthiness to your digital image. And you’re about to learn how to do it in Lightroom in…3…2…1….

I hope you enjoyed the dramatic countdown.

Adding Grain in the Effects Panel of Lightroom CC

You can find Grain in the Effects panel of the Develop module in Lightroom CC. It’s where you can do a number of things but for this occasion, we are going to focus on the grain section. You’ll notice there are three adjustment sliders; amount, size, and roughness.

Tips for the Creative Use of Grain in Lightroom

This is how you will essentially replicate those light sensitive crystals found in film emulsion I mentioned earlier.

**Note, it’s wise to apply grain (like most effects) as the last part of your final steps in post-processing.

Amount of grain

The amount of grain is controlled by, you guessed it, the “Amount” slider. Think of this as the number of crystals you are adding to your image. The higher the amount, generally the higher ISO look the effect. Here’s a +40 grain amount on an image shot at ISO 640.

Tips for the Creative Use of Grain in Lightroom

It is a good idea to use a large increase in the amount of grain while adjusting the next two sliders and then back it off from there until you reach the desired amount.

Size of grain

The size of the grain plays a big part in how apparent it will be in your final image. Larger crystals will be more noticeable even at low amounts. It’s virtually the same concept as high and low “grit” sandpaper. Now here’s a +40 boost in grain size from the last image.

Tips for the Creative Use of Grain in Lightroom

Keep in mind that the further to the right you move the slider the larger each grain will become. This can diminish small details in your photo so use with caution.

Roughness

Grain roughness is closely related to grain size. The difference is that the roughness slider controls how raised the grains appear to be from the image. Essentially how rough or smooth their surface appears. The next image shows the same +40 amount of grain with the size set back to the +25 default. This time I increased the roughness to +70.

Tips for the Creative Use of Grain in Lightroom

Think back to the sandpaper analogy. The more raised the grain the rougher the overall texture and thus the texture of the final grain effect.

Here are a few more examples of using simulated grain in Lightroom. Black and white images have always loved grain.

Black and white image with Grain set to +50 Amount, +71 Size, +50 Roughness

Grain set to +30 Amount, +66 Size, 0 Roughness

Grain set to +60 Amount, +18 Size, 80 Roughness

Final thoughts on grain

Never forget that grain is completely different than noise. Grain is, in some ways, the signature of film. Adding it to your digital images can sometimes, not always, give your photos a non-mechanized flavor that hints back to the organic appeal of analog film.

You can control this effect easily in Lightroom by adjusting the amount, size, and roughness of the grain. The combinations are virtually limitless. Just remember, as with all processing effects, use them up to, but never past the point they were intended. That being said, never be afraid to experiment and “go against the grain”…sorry, I had to say it.

The post Tips for the Creative Use of Grain in Lightroom by Adam Welch appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Tips for Doing Concert Photography like a Pro

21 Aug

Imagine being a concert photographer and getting the chance to cover loads of concerts. Imagine standing just feet away from your favourite artists as you capture so many shots of them. Doesn’t that just sound like the best thing? As opposed to other genres of photography like portraiture, fashion, etc., we have little to no control over lighting, the artists, and tons of other factors in concert photography.

So what are some of the best settings and tricks to capture those perfect shots at concerts? Images which will make you proud, make the artists and the viewers sat “Wow that is indeed one brilliant capture.”?

Tips to capture concert photos 7

Use a fast lens and shoot wide open

Using a fast lens is highly important and is a basic requirement for concert photography. Almost all concerts happen during evenings or night, or indoors under low lighting, which is why your camera sensor requires more light to enter through the lens opening. Moreover, the performers keep moving around the stage so you need to use faster shutter speeds to freeze their motion.

A fast lens is one which allows shooting at wider apertures such as f/2.8, f/1.8, etc. By using lenses like the 50mm f/1.8 or 135mm f/1.8 at the smallest aperture value, you can capture a well exposed shot by keeping the shutter speed fast enough. Another reason for using a fast lens is because usually the distance between the backdrop and the subject is minimal, so to create a shallow depth of field with a bokeh effect, a smaller aperture value would have to be used.

Tips to capture concert photography 5

Shoot in Aperture Priority Mode

Using Aperture Priority Mode to shoot concerts allows for more stress-free shooting. You simply tell your camera the aperture you want to use and it automatically sets the corresponding shutter speed. For many newbies shooting their first few concerts and even for many pros, using aperture priority allows for hassle free shooting.

Also, since the your mind is not all occupied by technical settings, you have freedom to look around at the artists, the crowd, etc., and end up shooting something really creative.

Shoot in aperture priority, with your f-number set to the smallest available on your lens, usually f/1.8 or f/2.8.

Crank up the ISO

Tips to capture concert photos 1

Concerts usually take place in low light settings and for many reasons, using a tripod is not possible. So you can resort to the one setting which you have control over and can easily use, the ISO.

Before the concert really gets going, fire off a series of test shots at different ISO values to judge after what point the noise becomes unacceptable. (Usually ISO 3200 or 6400). Some noise is actually okay and is far better than having a totally underexposed or blurry shot simply because you didn’t increase your ISO value.

The noise generated by the high ISO values can be used creatively to capture something unique. A monochrome shot with some noise would lend a really cool film grain effect to your shot. High noise can be fixed later on in post-processing too. So don’t think twice before cranking up that ISO, it’s far better than having no photo to show.

Avoid using your flash

Tips to capture concert photography 2

MOST important- Avoid using your flash at concerts. It is looked down on and frowned upon a lot. Imagine that you are firing your flash towards the performer(s), and there are 10 others doing the very same. That is surely going to annoy the artists, not to mention almost blind them.

Another important aspect of concert photography is photographing the audience, and no photographer would like to distract the audience from the artist who is performing for them. Repeatedly firing the flash at their faces while capturing their photos can easily annoy audience members.

Also, if we are aiming to capture candid photos of either the artists or the crowd, then firing a flash at them surely is not the right way to do that. And yes, a majority of photos using the built-in pop-up flash simply aren’t worth it. They look flat and uninspiring.

Move around

Tips to capture concert photography 4

You are not there to stand at one place and shoot the same picture 10 times. As a concert photographer it goes without saying that you will have to move around. Move with the artists, move as the lighting changes, etc., to capture those standout moments. (Note: unless, of course, the venue or artist has put restrictions on photographers moving around.)

If you find people blocking your view, you have to move. After all, they have paid to watch their favourite artists perform. If the lead singer moves to one side of the stage, then you have to follow him over there.

The lights too will change from time to time, and it is important to know when which area of the stage will be illuminated to capture the performers properly with adequate lighting.

Tips to capture concert photos 6

Moving around will always get you some really creative shots. You could capture a shot of the lead guitarist under the spotlight, a shot of the lead singer standing isolated from everyone else, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Wait and anticipate

Waiting for that perfect moment is as important as learning to anticipate it. This is a habit which can be developed easily, and is only fine tuned over time. Observe the artists and you will notice certain habits of theirs.

Moments such as a guitarist bending backwards during a particularly intense moment, a DJ waving his arms in the air, a singer grabbing the mic in a particular manner, etc., are all moments which would make for a perfect shot. It is important to know when these moments are around the corner so that you are ready to fire your camera when they come.

Tips to capture concert photography 3

Conclusion

These are just a few tips to help you do better concert photography. Please share any others you’ve learned as well as your concert photos, in the comments below.

The post Tips for Doing Concert Photography like a Pro by Kunal Malhotra appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Tips For Drone Photos and Videos

17 Aug

As we move forward in this current era of drone technology innovation, drone cameras are becoming much more advanced and feature- rich which allows you capture stunning images every time you fly your drone high in the sky. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com The question arises why drone photography when we already have all the high end cameras and equipment on Continue Reading

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Lonely Planet unveils Instagram-like Trips app for sharing travel photos and tips

11 Aug

Lonely Planet, the world’s largest travel guide book publisher, has just launched an Instagram-like mobile app called Trips that allows anyone to share their travel photos and create their own travel guides. The app, which is only available for iOS at the moment, serves as a platform for users to catalog trips they’ve taken and publish guides for the places they’ve visited. The guides include text, photos and captions, though the app’s main focus is ultimately on sharing photos.

Lonely Planet describes its new app as “a beautiful, simple and intuitive way to share travel experiences.” Each user has their own timeline, and their content can be shared with both other travelers using the app as well as family and friends.

Speaking to Engadget, Lonely Planet CEO Daniel Houghton explained, “We don’t expect people to abandon other photo-sharing apps.” Underscoring that there is an option in Trips for users to link to their Instagram account and show off the photos they have shared on that platform.

For travelers, though, Trips offers a way to share content that is more trip-focused than what’s possible on photo sharing services like Instagram. In addition to being able to arrange photos chronologically in trip reports, users can also add a map to their report, better enabling viewers to see exactly where the adventure took place. Plus, Trips can be used in conjunction with Lonely Planet’s popular Guides app, which offers travel guides from experts for regions around the world.

Trips is currently only available on iOS. An Android version of the app will arrive later this fall.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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