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sunnuntai 30. huhtikuuta 2017
PictureCorrect.com: Why a 50mm Lens Could Save Your Photography Life
Ok, this is quite a bold statement and may not be entirely true, but it could do a lot for your photography and maybe even get you out of that slump you’re currently in.
Firstly, I want to just say that I love zooms. As a photographer, I’ve used them extensively both for photo and video. Although people will say that the loss in quality over a good quality prime is significant, this is an entirely subjective standpoint.
A zoom lens, today
I’ve taken great photos with that iffy zoom which is a tad soft in the corners and I’ve taken average photos with the super sharp red ringed beast. We have to agree, that if the subject is strong, then generally so will the image, regardless of MTF tables and resolving power.
So back to the title, what exactly is so good about a 50mm? Well, 50mm to me means 50mm on a full frame body, so it would be a 35mm on a crop sensor, or 25mm on M/43—anything that is called standard/normal.
A 50mm lens, yesterday
You could equally go wider if you wish, and I would encourage it. Having a standard prime lens attached to your body allows you to get familiar with what it produces and its distinct characteristics.
While I can fill a head and shoulders within a frame the same with a 50mm as I can with a 28mm, they look different. Depth of field changes, distortion or lack of it becomes apparent. Lenses below 50mm have inherent characteristics that simply “zooming with your feet” can’t change, and understanding what these are, will allow you to understand photography and the impact it can create.
Which one was shot with the 28mm lens?
Certain photographers will only use an 85mm lens for their portraiture because they prefer the flatter profile it creates, whereas photographers like Bruce Gilden prefer to get within inches of someone’s face with a 28mm on the Leica because of the intimacy it creates.
Bruce Gilden, edging ever closer
So, Bruce Gilden with his 28mm, Cartier Bresson with his 50mm Sonnar—I often wondered why they used these specific lenses and stuck with them.
Was it because they couldn’t afford any others? No, it definitely wasn’t that.
Was it because they were lazy? Unlikely.
I think the camera became an extension of themselves, allowing them to immediately see a scene and know what it would look like frames within the frame lines of their rangefinder. This could have only been facilitated by spending a good deal of time with their chosen lens screwed onto their Leica.
What seemed like a limitation quickly gave way to a freeing vision of the world around them allowing them react without thinking of zooming or any other distractions that would take away from the scene they had composed in their minds.
Cartier Bresson was a master with the 50mm
This is not an anti zoom post, and I hope it hasn’t come across like that. There isn’t a rule as to who should use them and when. Ultimately, we will choose whatever is more convenient for us, what look we want and probably the one that drives most purchases: the cost.
However, there is a lot to be said for becoming one with a prime lens, nurturing your vision and almost instinctively knowing how whatever you choose to photograph will look within those framelines.
About the Author
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lauantai 29. huhtikuuta 2017
PictureCorrect.com: Capturing Motion with Slow Shutter Speeds
A DSLR camera gives you the power to capture some amazing effects, once you know how to use it. You can develop all the skills of a professional once you understand your manual settings.
“Railway light trails #2” captured by aotaro
If you’ve grown up with a ‘point and shoot’ camera and have just taken the plunge with a new digital SLR, don’t just leave it on auto. That is a waste of good technology; it means you’re still using your equipment as a point and shoot camera. The key to improving your photography is to learn to use your manual settings.
One of these settings is shutter speed. It’s fun to experiment with and easy to see the results in your photos. Although we usually try to freeze our subject with the fastest shutter speed possible, you can get some great effects by using a slower shutter speed to capture movement.
To try this out, you can set your camera to Shutter Priority mode, in which case you set the shutter speed and the camera takes care of the aperture for you. Or, you can go to fully manual mode and adjust both settings yourself. Just remember to keep your exposure balanced by compensating each movement in the shutter speed setting with a corresponding movement of the aperture setting.
Remember to always use a tripod for slow shutter speed photos.
5 Ideas for Long Exposure Photography
Here are five ideas for great capturing great motion effects, simply by slowing down your shutter speed to capture the movement of the subject. If you haven’t tried this before, you’ll have some fun and be thrilled with the results.
1. Waterfalls
This is the obvious first choice. You have certainly seen the silky effects of flowing water in photos, but perhaps you have wondered how it’s done. Just set your camera to a very slow shutter speed—about one second or a half-second—and see the results. The silky slow movement effect is not always your best option. For each waterfall you should try a few shutter speeds to see which one works best for that particular subject.
2. Cars at Night
When doing night photography, you usually need fairly slow shutter speeds anyway. If you try shutter speeds of one second, two seconds, ten seconds, and even longer, you will see some amazing results.
Photo by Ben; ISO 400, f/6.3, 4-second exposure.
In color photos, the lights of the vehicles will create streams of bright color, stretching away into the distance. The more traffic you see, the more remarkable the effect becomes.
3. Lightning
People often ask me how I take my lightning photos. Some people imagine it takes superhuman reflexes to snap the picture at just the right moment. The truth is, my approach is exactly the opposite.
“Windmill and Lightning” captured by Jeremy Weber
First, I wait for a storm (at night) with lots of lightning; in particular, fork lightning that will appear well defined in a photo. I set the shutter to the ‘B’ setting, which lets me open the shutter for any length of time I choose. Then I wait for the lightning to flash. I can capture just one flash of lightning, or several flashes, just by leaving the shutter open for longer.
4. Waves
The movement effect of water in a waterfall can also be applied at the beach, although you don’t see it so often in photography. When you visit the beach, experiment with different shutter speeds.
“Narrabeen Sunrise” captured by Nigel Howe
Sometimes you will find that soft movement effects are just as satisfying as freezing everything with a fast shutter speed.
The misty appearance of fast moving water captured with slow shutter speeds can be most effective where waves are crashing over, or swirling around rocks.
5. Crowds Of People
A crowd of people moving in different directions can create a fascinating motion effect in a photo. You don’t need extremely slow shutter speeds to capture some nice results. Photos taken around 1/4 of a second will show substantial blurring, but of course you can exaggerate the effect by going even slower.
For a really impressive image, have a friend stand very still, while everyone around them is moving. Your subject will appear frozen in a sea of moving humanity. Very striking!
“Judy at the British Museum” captured by DncnH
So there you have some experiments to go out and try yourself. If you haven’t done it before, you are bound to have fun and be excited by the results. And of course it will force you to get to know your camera a little better, which is guaranteed to make you a better photographer.
About the Author
Andrew Goodall writes for http://ift.tt/SHTHe0 and is a nature photographer based in Australia. He manages a gallery in Montville full of landscape photography from throughout Australia.
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PictureCorrect.com: Tips for Better Landscape Photography
The problem with most landscape photography is that not enough preparation is put into setting up the shot before it is taken. These tips are meant to give the photographer some things to think about before releasing the shutter.
Photo by Indrek Torilo. ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/250-second exposure.
1. Depth of Field
Most professional landscape photographers want everything in the shot to be equally in focus. This is done by increasing the depth of field (making it deeper).
Aperture controls the depth of field. The higher the aperture setting (e.g. f/16), the smaller the aperture opening will be. The smaller the aperture opening, the deeper the depth of field will be (although the smallest apertures such as f/22 can cause diffraction). F/8 to f/16 is a good range.
2. Use a Tripod
A deeper depth of field usually requires the shutter to be open longer for proper exposure.
The slightest shake of the camera while the shutter is open can cause unwanted blur. Using a tripod greatly decreases the chances of this happening.
3. Framing
We all have those busy vacation photos with so much in the shot that no-one can quite tell what the subject is. This is usually caused by distractions in the landscape. These distractions can be anything from people to dominant colored buildings.
These distractions should not dominate the shot. Use the viewfinder to crop out these distractions. If they are not in your viewfinder they will not be in the photograph.
Photo by Lenny K Photography.
4. Foreground
Foreground is often not given the credit it is due in landscape photography. It should be used to help guide the viewer into the shot.
Look around at a landscape that you are interested in and see if there is anything that creates natural lines that lead into the scene. The foreground should not dominate the landscape, though, unless it is the actual subject of the shot.
5. Lighting
Most people wait for a nice sunny day before they grab their camera and head out. The photographers that do this lose out on some great landscapes.
Clouds can greatly enhance the mood of a landscape. Clouds themselves can also be made the subject of the landscape.
Dusk and dawn are also great times to shoot landscapes. Shadows are sharper and create more contrast in the scene. The light may even be a different color and cast a golden hue over the land. After all, who doesn’t like a sunset?
Photo by Filipe Soares. ISO 200, f/5, 1/3200-second exposure.
6. Perspective
Sometimes it is possible to take a seemingly ordinary scene and create a dynamic landscape just by moving go a different spot.
Try changing the perspective of the shot. Kneel down low and shoot at an upward angle. Get on higher terrain and shoot down. Move the horizon around the viewfinder a bit.
7. Composition
Use the rule of thirds whenever possible. This is done by dividing the scene shown in the viewfinder into 9 equal parts (like a tic-tac-toe board).
Where the lines intersect is where the points of interest should be positioned. Horizon lines should be placed on the top or bottom horizontal line.
Photo by Carlos M. M. ISO 100, f/10, 1/200-second exposure.
Do not forget, the only thing that shows up in the photograph is what is seen through the viewfinder. So make that little area look as interesting as possible.
I hope you have enjoyed my 7 Tips for Better Landscape Photography.
About the Author:
Jonnie is a hobbyist photographer that helps new photographers learn the fundamentals of photography with his Landscape Photography Tips and more.
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PictureCorrect.com: Interesting Photo of the Day: Astronaut Photographs the Eye of a Deadly Hurricane
Astronaut Edward M. Fincke, a NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer, captured this incredible image as he orbited 230 miles above the storm aboard the International Space Station. He was using a Kodak DCS 760 camera set at 22mm, 1/500 of a second, f/2.8, and ISO 100:
“The Eye of the Storm” by NASA ISS (Via NASA. Click image to see full size.)
Many people who see this image admit to experiencing feelings of vertigo and unease, thanks to the disorienting perspective. In actuality, the metal panels pictured are ISS solar arrays, but let your imagination drive, and they quickly become skyscrapers beneath impending doom.
Hurricane Ivan ranked as a Category 5 storm with sustained wind speeds reached 165 mph and qualified as one of the strongest hurricanes on record. It caused significant tropical storm damage more than 170 miles from its eye in Grenada, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, the United States, and other areas.
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perjantai 28. huhtikuuta 2017
PictureCorrect.com: How to Reduce Glare in Glasses for Photos
As a portrait photographer, you probably shudder every time someone walks through your studio door wearing prescription eyeglasses. Perfecting the angle of the light on the subject’s face to ensure that your camera doesn’t pick up any glare is a struggle. But once you finish watching this video tutorial, you’ll no longer be fearful of photographing subjects who wear glasses:
The simplest technique to avoid glares in eyeglasses is to ask your subject to take them off. But what if your subject wants to have them in picture? The solution is surprisingly simple. We learned it in school.
What you need to solve this problem is an understanding of how light travels. Well, light travels in a straight line. We all know that part. The angle at which it strikes an object is known as angle of incidence. And the angle at which it bounces off of a surface is known as the angle of reflection.
Angle of Incidence & Angle of Reflection
As Joe Edelman explains, the angle of reflection is the same as the angle of incidence. All you need to do is keep your camera away from the angle of reflection (and therefore the glare). Remember this simple rule and you’ll be able to avoid the glare every time you photograph somebody wearing eyeglasses. Well, almost every time.
How to avoid the angle of reflection
Why almost every time? Because most eyeglasses are not perfectly flat surfaces–they’re curved. The curves mean that there are multiple angles of reflection for every light source. Relax, there’s a solution.
One solution is in using a broad light source. A broad light source is one that illuminates the side of the subject’s face closest to the camera.
Broad lighting can eliminate glare.
This tends to have a better result because the angle of reflection takes the glare away from the camera.
With light that is placed straight on, you can use the angle of incidence to place the light at a much higher angle to make sure that the glare misses the camera.
A light placed too low produces glare.
Light your subject from a high angle to avoid glare.
Using the same technique, you can avoid glare when shooting with two lights in place of one, when using reflectors or diffusers. Even bouncing a flash or a strobe to the ceiling does a nice job of cutting down glare.
Bounce the flash.
3 Solutions to Eyeglasses Glare
- Change the positon or angle of the light.
- Change the position or angle of the model.
- Change your shooting position.
The 80/20 Rule
Despite the knowledge, it’s perfectly normal to be nervous about glare if this happens to be your first time shooting portraits in which eyeglasses are involved. But don’t let that show through. Simply tell your client that you’re trying to avoid glare in the images and this is very important.
Follow the 80/20 rule in this case. Spend 80 percent of your energy looking after the subject and engaging them, and spend 20 percent of your energy actually making the images.
Now that you know how to tackle that dreaded glare, you no longer have to be fearful. You can walk into a shoot with lot more confidence.
“All great photography is an act of problem solving.”
For further portrait modifications: The 35 Photoshop Tutorials Offer
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torstai 27. huhtikuuta 2017
PictureCorrect.com: Low Light Photography Tips Without a Flash
It’s amazing how little is known about low light photography and why many pictures are ruined when the environment is too dark. Many folks in fact go on to buy a more expensive camera thinking the problem will be solved. No way! That won’t help you out.
Photo by Emanuele Toscano; ISO 400, f/2, 1/125-second exposure.
The most important thing is to first understand why pictures turn out bad under low light. In this article, I’ll help you understand the mechanics behind low light photography and then we’ll take a look at a simple solution to the problem. You’ll see that you can even take good pictures in low light even using point-and-shoot cameras.
1. Understand Why Photos Turn Out Bad In Low Light
Light is needed for photography. Do you realize when you’re out in sunlight and taking a photo of the kids running around, the pictures turn out pretty spectacular? Usually you don’t get those wrong.
But indoors, the pictures can turn out pretty bad. With the lights dimmed and the birthday cake taken out, snapping a photo in those conditions will most likely result in a fuzzy and poor picture.
Photo by Iain A Wanless; ISO 1600, f/4.
The issue here is that too little light gets into the camera. What you need is more light, which is why the first thing we do is to activate the pop-up flash unit and zap! You get more light and clearer pictures.
But wait… with that flash going off, what you’ll also see is that your subjects are lit very harshly. I always think that flash used full blown in low light ruins a picture because of its harshness.
So what do you do? Let’s assume you want to avoid the jarring harshness of the flash and turn it off. How can you can more light into the camera to get better, clearer pictures? Not sure? Well, there is a way… and it’s called ISO.
Photo by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes; ISO 100, f/8, 30-second exposure.
2. Understand ISO
Let’s understand what ISO is. ISO is a measure of your digital camera’s sensitivity to light. Back in the days of analogue 35mm cameras they had different films which had different light sensitivities. If you wanted a film that was more light sensitive, you literally had to switch out the camera film before your next shot.
Digital cameras overcome that. They allow you to just set the ISO as desired and are usually defined in the range of hundreds: 100, 500, 800, etc.
And here’s the golden rule to remember. A high ISO setting in your camera allows the light falling on the sensor to be amplified. The downside to that you get increased image noise. So your pictures may turn out a bit grainy. A low ISO reduces the amplification of light landing on the sensor, but you get less digital noise appearing.
Photo by Alexandre Normand; ISO 1250, f/2.
What does this mean for those taking photos in low light and not wanting to activate flash? Well, obviously, crank up the ISO to the maximum. You’ll get some digital noise coming into the picture, but nothing we can’t deal with (see below).
3. Other Tips for Low Light Shots
In summary, to shoot better digital photos in low light conditions without using a flash, set the ISO setting to the higher part of the range. Also, set your camera to Aperture Priority and set an f-stop that allows more light through (bigger aperture). It also helps to shoot in RAW mode so that you capture maximum detail in your digital shot (no compression in the captured image).
And here’s a trick to remove that digital noise that accompanies high ISO shots: use a software program like Noise Ninja to remove it. Noise Ninja is very effective in combating image noise and I practically swear by it when I have high ISO pictures to process.
You already know it’s tough to shoot good digital photos in low light conditions without a flash. The trick is really to get more light into the camera without using that harsh flash—and we can do that by cranking up the ISO and setting the camera to Aperture Priority mode. To combat the image noise introduced by the high ISO, make use of RAW image shooting to capture maximum detail and use software like Noise Ninja to remove the offending noise elements. Try out the high ISO shots in low light; you’ll definitely see an immediate improvement to your photos. Good luck!
About the Author:
Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on digital photography. Visit his website at Basic-Digital-Photography.com for tips and tricks on buying digital cameras, as well as shooting great photos.
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PictureCorrect.com: Interesting Photo of the Day: Fierce Baby Tiger Attacks Photographer
As the internet often proves, baby animals are just impossibly irresistible. Even when they are doing not-so-nice things, like lunging toward photographers. On closer examination, the photographer, who doesn’t necessarily appear to be in any particular hurry to get away from the tiger while photographing it in an enclosure, is taking the term, “anything to get the shot” to an all new level:
Too bad we don’t get to see the photographer’s shot. (Via Imgur. Click for larger size.)
Despite his juvenile stature, the young tiger could still cause serious injury to the photographer. Just ask anyone who has ever been “playfully” mauled by an innocent looking kitten of the domesticated house cat variety. Even their tiny little claws and teeth can inflict serious pain. Being on the receiving end of a baby tiger lunge is almost certainly more painful—not to mention horrifying—than our initial reaction to this photos inherent cuteness may lead us to believe.
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