keskiviikko 30. syyskuuta 2015

PictureCorrect.com: How to Use a Sun Bouncer or Reflector for Action Sports Photography

Using a reflector such as a sun bouncer is an effective way to light a subject. Photographer Leo Rosas explains how you can use this tool in a variety of ways; give your subject a warmer look, use a faster shutter speed and fill in unwanted or harsh shadows. It’s a great way to test your creativity and to really go the extra mile with the light that you do have:

For starters, you can try to adjust your white balance to suit your subject which is bathed in the warm gold-silver reflection from the sun bouncer. You’ll end up with a neutral-colored subject against a cooler-toned background.

portrait of athlete

Because the sun bouncer redirects more light towards your subject, you can shoot at a faster shutter speed which is very important when it comes to freezing the movement in action shots such as this photo shot at 1/3200, f/2.8. Had it not been for the additional light provided by the reflector, perhaps Rosas would have had to make do with a slower shutter speed and risk getting a blurry image.

action shot of professional skateboarder

Even from ten feet away, the sun bouncer is still effective at making the shadows appear less harsh. This can be especially useful when shooting in broad daylight, when the sun is directly above. The ‘money shot’ in action shoots can occur in a split second, so it pays to get your lighting just right so that you’ll turn out a well-lit set of images.

action shot skateboarder


Go to full article: How to Use a Sun Bouncer or Reflector for Action Sports Photography

What are your thoughts on this article? Join the discussion on Facebook or Google+

Article from: PictureCorrect



from PictureCorrect http://ift.tt/ZXYNZF
via IFTTT

PictureCorrect.com: Interesting Photo of the Day: Full Moon Rising Behind Chicago

Peter Dykstra knew the full moon was rising on September 27—he was tweeting about it before it even happened. At the ready with his Canon 7D, he snapped this gorgeously balanced shot:

chicago skyline

(Via Imgur. Click image to see full size.)

Dykstra isn’t a professional photographer—at least not by trade—but he clearly understands the craft, not to mention social media. He posted the image to Twitter, along with a work-in-progress sample of a lesser, untreated shot that missed the train rolling through, which provides an interesting glimpse into his process:

Later, on Reddit, he explained his technical settings in detail for a curious photographer who asked how he captured the moon in detail, rather than as an overexposed ball of light:

“Having a zoom of 85mm+ seems to me to be about the minimum for getting much surface detail. Setting the exposure settings correctly is the important part—when the full moon is just rising, there’s still light in the atmosphere from the sun setting. This helps keep the exposure differences between the buildings and the moon as close as possible (although still requires some light level adjustments to bring it closer). As soon as the sun is completely set and it’s bright moon vs. dark surroundings, you’re pretty much only going to expose one of those two things correctly.”

Attached to his 7D was a Canon EF 28-135mm lens. The camera was set to 1/50 of a second, f/5.6, and ISO 200.


Go to full article: Interesting Photo of the Day: Full Moon Rising Behind Chicago

What are your thoughts on this article? Join the discussion on Facebook or Google+

Article from: PictureCorrect



from PictureCorrect http://ift.tt/1FFPxCa
via IFTTT

PictureCorrect.com: How Focal Length Affects the Background of a Photo

The choice of lens for your camera can significantly affect two major aspects of your photos: the angle of view that you capture and the extent of background distortion. But hang on a second. Does changing the focal length only determine background compression? This eye-opening video proves otherwise:

Angle of View

Before we get into background compression and expansion, we need to understand angle of view. Angle of view determines how much of the scene you’re going to capture in your photos.

What is angle of view

Angle of View with a Wide Angle Lens

With a wide angle focal length, such as the Canon 24-105mm L lens set to 24mm, you’re going to get a sweeping perspective of the scene in front of you. Your subject, whether it is a human being, an animal, or a house, is going to look small. With a telephoto lens such as a 70—200mm, the subject will appear much closer and fill the frame.

Background Compression & Expansion

Background compression in photography

Wide vs. Telephoto. Shot from the same distance, no difference in background distortion.

In reference to the image above, what is to be noted is that the distance between the photographer and the model did not change while swapping lenses.

According to popular belief, changing lenses should have rocked the background perspective. As the comparison above suggests, that’s not really the case. The image one on the left was taken with the wide angle lens and the one on the right with the telephoto lens.

There is a significant difference in depth of field, but that is beside the point. So, why do professional photographers claim that changing the focal length can result in background compression or expansion? Because with changing focal length, something else also needs to be changed.

Camera to Subject Distance

The reason you would want to change the subject to camera distance is to keep the same framing. With a wide angle lens you have to get close enough to your subject to be able to do that. With a telephoto lens, you will have to step back to keep the same framing, and therein lies the mumbo-jumbo.

When you step in with a wide angle lens the background is pushed back. When you step back with a telephoto lens the background is sucked in.

Here are a series of images taken at various focal lengths and varying camera to subject distances to prove the point:

Background compression with wide angle lenses

Shot at 24mm

Understanding background compression

Shot at 50mm

Focal length and background compression

Shot at 100mm

Compressing background with tele-lenses

Shot at 200mm

Intrigued? Why don’t you go ahead and try this and see how it impacts your photos?

For further help: Topaz Lens Effects Professional Creative Filters


Go to full article: How Focal Length Affects the Background of a Photo

What are your thoughts on this article? Join the discussion on Facebook or Google+

Article from: PictureCorrect



from PictureCorrect http://ift.tt/1jyXyPd
via IFTTT

tiistai 29. syyskuuta 2015

PictureCorrect.com: Quick Macro Photography Tricks

If you delve into the incredible world of macro photography, with the aid of a few digital photography tricks, you can take photographs of insects that will blow your mind.

macro insect photography

“Summer Mantis” captured by Gary Vernon (Click image to see more from Vernon.)

A normal housefly may seem just annoying, but up close and personal, you can capture a macro image that reveals every single hair on its body and the millions of tiny dots that make up its eyes. You see an array of magnificent colors that you do not perceive with the naked eye. Once you have truly experienced macro photography, you will never see tiny creatures in quite the same way again.

macro photography

“Macro Fruit Fly” captured by Anthony Zeder (Click image to see more from Zeder.)

Macro photography works on ratios from 1:1 (where the image is true to size) up to ten times enlargement (10:1). In most cases, the larger the ratio, the more fascinating the final image. To successfully capture macro images requires investment in appropriate equipment–a decent camera and a specialized macro lens. I normally use a Canon EOS 50D camera and a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 macro lens. A vast range of lenses regularly come to market, so it is always a good idea to research the latest options before buying.

macro caterpillar

“Ooo lalala” captured by Saritha Saritha (Click image to see more from Saritha.)

Once you have spotted a bug you wish to capture, here are a few digital photography tricks to consider to ensure you don’t scare it off before you have had the opportunity to grab your winning shot:

  • Get up early. Bugs are still cold then and don’t tend to fly off so regularly.
  • Don’t block out the sunlight on the insects.
  • Keep low–as low or even lower than your subject–if at all possible.
  • Locate yourself near a popular plant or flower. Bugs may see you as part of the scenery if you are already there.
  • Look for smaller bugs. Smaller bugs tend to take less notice of you than larger ones.
  • Be patient. If a bug flies off, don’t panic. Give it a little while, and more often than not it will be back.
outdoor macro photography

“Damselfly” captured by Jack Houston (Click image to see more from Houston.)

A flashgun can also be an essential piece of kit, particularly if you are shooting in near-dark forests. This location opens up access to a wide range of interesting insects. You can use the flash in its normal position on top of the camera, but another idea is to use a flash extension cord. In this case, take a friend with you who can hold the flash to the side or to provide imaginative backlighting. You will find that a flash will also help to enhance the sharpness of your shots.

macro spider web

“Orange Spider” captured by Cathy Brown (Click image to see more from Brown.)

These are just a few digital photography tricks that will benefit your macro photography. It can be a challenging area, and trial and error is expected. Initially you may find yourself disappointed with results, but once you get the hang of it, you will be glad you persevered. It’s always a good idea to get some feedback, and a decent online photography course will give you guidance, as well as expert opinion on your work.

This articles was written by Paul Summers.


Go to full article: Quick Macro Photography Tricks

What are your thoughts on this article? Join the discussion on Facebook or Google+

Article from: PictureCorrect



from PictureCorrect http://ift.tt/1cDA4A8
via IFTTT

PictureCorrect.com: Advantages and Disadvantages of High Speed Sync

This video from The Slanted Lens demonstrates a secret that pro photographers use often. This is a trick that most amateur photographer would pay handsomely to know—how to use strobes in high speed sync mode on location:

Normal sync mode does not allow you to use a fast shutter speed of say 1/1000 of a second, due to the flash sync limitations of most cameras. High speed sync, however, allows you to do just that. With such high shutter speeds, you can shoot with a wide open aperture, get nice, soft shallow depth of field. To top it all you can bring the strobes into effect to create a nice highlight on the subject’s face.

Shutter speed controls the ambient light. A faster shutter speed will make the background appear dark. Aperture controls the depth of field and is also the primary connecting point with the strobe. Meaning, aperture should match the power output of the strobe.

Advantages of High Speed Sync

Flash sync

Normal Flash Sync

The camera shutter is actually a composite of two shutter curtains. The first one travels across the sensor and stops. As the shutter closes, the second curtain starts to travel. In between there is a clear window. This happens at slow shutter speeds. This gives ample opportunity for a flash to fire in between when the first curtain stops moving and the second curtain starts moving.

At faster shutter speeds, the second curtain starts moving even before the first has finished reaching the other end. So, for all conceivable purposes, only a small opening travels across the sensor. In other words, there is no clear window through which an exposure can be made in one instant when the flash fires. This is why in most high shutter speed situations, especially when using an off-camera flash in slave mode, you get a black band toward the bottom of the image.

advantages of high speed flash sync

High Speed Flash Sync

In the case of high speed sync, instead of firing a single high-intensity beam of light, a strobe fires rapid bursts of light over the course of the exposure, therefore eliminating the chances of black bands appearing in the photos.

flash sync mode
using high-speed sync
high-speed-flash-portrait

Is There a Downside to Using High-Speed Sync?

Unfortunately, yes. With high speed sync, you lose about a stop of light from your strobes. Instead of spitting out one full power burst of light, it actually spits out more than a few over the course of the exposure. That takes a toll on the power. Some strobes tend to lose more power. Plus, you also drain out the batteries more quickly than in normal sync mode.

The rest of the video gives some interesting insight into the actual process of shooting, the lighting arrangement, and also the camera settings.

More training: The Flash Photography Course


Go to full article: Advantages and Disadvantages of High Speed Sync

What are your thoughts on this article? Join the discussion on Facebook or Google+

Article from: PictureCorrect



from PictureCorrect http://ift.tt/1jwex4v
via IFTTT

PictureCorrect.com: Interesting Photo of the Day: Barefoot in the City

Photography is about atmosphere. Creating an emotional response is as important as creating a coherent image: shapes of legs, a street, cars, a dangling pair of high heels. Here, we see those things, but it’s their abstraction by silhouette and bokeh that emit a feeling of danger, seduction and mystery:

city rain walking alone photography

(Via Imgur. Click image to see larger size.)

Photographer Piotr Powietrzynski has made a name for himself with such abstractions of humanity. He rarely shows us the full body of his subjects, preferring instead to cloak them in shadows or behind curtains. Here, on top of that, he capitalizes on the recent rainfall to enhance his cityscape: the reflections and glare add to the image’s ambience in a way that dry concrete never could.


Go to full article: Interesting Photo of the Day: Barefoot in the City

What are your thoughts on this article? Join the discussion on Facebook or Google+

Article from: PictureCorrect



from PictureCorrect http://ift.tt/1FBGfXH
via IFTTT

PictureCorrect.com: Watch This Photographer Stand Firm Against a Charging Elephant

When Tor Bowling first saw the elephant, he froze. He tried to step aside, but the creature tracked his every move. After a few moments, his friend flipped on a video camera. Less than a minute later, the elephant began to charge toward Bowling, who was holding nothing but his camera. Then this happened:

Bowling has since been called incredibly lucky, a sorcerer, and an elephant whisperer. But in truth, the 27-year-old Thai engineer had just quit his job and was traveling around his country for a month, trying to keep a positive attitude and find a new direction for himself. His confrontation with the elephant—which took place in the Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Thailand in February 2015—epitomizes that Zen-like state of comfort, as he appears to dismiss the charging animal with a wave of his hand.

(Via PetaPixel)

elephant sanctuary photographer

Photographer Stands His Ground as Elephant Charges Him

For those interested in the science behind the phenomenon, elephants are known to mock-charge as frequently as they really charge—to test if they’re up against a friend or foe. When an elephant’s ears are relaxed and it screams and kicks up dirt, as the one in the video does, it’s faking you out. If its ears are pinned back and it lowers its head, it’s for real. Tor doesn’t sound like he knew this, but his intuition was right—he was never really in danger.


Go to full article: Watch This Photographer Stand Firm Against a Charging Elephant

What are your thoughts on this article? Join the discussion on Facebook or Google+

Article from: PictureCorrect



from PictureCorrect http://ift.tt/1KIMoA4
via IFTTT

maanantai 28. syyskuuta 2015

PictureCorrect.com: How to Hire a Model as a Photographer: Paid Talent vs. TFP

In case you’re not familiar with the term, TFP stands for Time For Prints, and it’s generally the way up and coming models and up and coming photographers eek out a toe-hold in the marketplace. The model is donating his or her time, and the photographer is supplying prints the model can use in their portfolio. It’s an arrangement that’s been around as long as photography.

hiring a model for photography

“Model” captured by Trandinhkhiem

It’s a fluid and dynamic relationship. At a certain point models stop taking TFP jobs and change their status to Paid Work Only (PWO). Photographers who gain some standing in the profession will likewise eventually stop scheduling TFP work and start charging new models for portfolio shots.

There’s also an expectation that if a model has done TFP work for a photographer in the past, that they will be considered first for paying jobs the photographer lands in the future. That’s an unwritten rule to be certain, but it’s a wise photographer who abides by it.

From the standpoint of the photographer, there’s a definite downside to working with TFP talent. Since they’re not being paid, there’s not always a lot of motivation to show up. In fact, depending on who the photographer is, the show rate can be as low as 30 percent. That means either two out of three times you organize a TFP project your talent isn’t going to show, or you have to invite three models and hope to get one who actually shows up. That also means being prepared to shoot all three in the unlikely event they all show up.

That’s the reality of TFP. For students in school, finding free talent is rarely a problem. Once you get out, it becomes more of an issue. Everyone is so busy these days, time is the commodity in chronic shortage. With the expenses associated with even showing up for a TFP shoot, it may be time to consider paying your talent if you haven’t done so before. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes in attendance and punctuality.

A good rule of thumb is if you need a model release for commercial use, then pony up a little cash for consideration. It will also make a difference if the job is for a publication where new models might get something called a “tear sheet” for their portfolio. Tear sheet started out as models tearing out the pages from magazines with their photos and has since grown to include internet articles, so don’t forget to print off a copy and send it to your talent.

how to hire a model

Photo captured by Vavinov Alex

Most name models have what’s called a “day rate.” The really big names will have a laundry list of extras they need at the time of the shoot. That may fly in New York or Los Angeles, but in most areas it won’t be that defined. You can post your jobs and the rate you’re paying in some place like Model Mayhem and see if the responses you get meet your expectations. You can always go higher on the pay rate until you start attracting the kind of talent you’re seeking.

Like with anything where other people are involved, there will be the occasional snub, personality conflict, or difficult shoot. Consistent success will be easier if you pay a decent day rate, are clear about your expectations, and insist on professionalism.

About the Author:
Peter Timko writes on behalf of Proud Photography, which offers online photography courses on a variety of subjects.


Go to full article: How to Hire a Model as a Photographer: Paid Talent vs. TFP

What are your thoughts on this article? Join the discussion on Facebook or Google+

Article from: PictureCorrect



from PictureCorrect http://ift.tt/1VnCren
via IFTTT