So I revisited this, this morning at around 9:30 am, in open shade, hazy blue-grey sky, Hanoi, Vietnam., October 19, 2011.
The quality of light could most be describe, in the shade as, “Cool Blue.”
So I set up in my courtyard, which is walled on three sides and semi-walled on the fourth…
…Placed a 18% Grey Card on a laptop, for support only, and the camera on a tripod. Using a normal lens I then filled the frame with the grey card and took a series of shots at f/8 and ISO 100. I repeated this for ISO 400 and ISO 800. At ISO 800 I needed to increase the f-stop to f/16. AWB setting, Manual focus, Av mode for the 18% Grey shot and the Manual mode for the rest. and fired away.
On loading the images into the computer and collating them into a strip, I couldn’t help notice a distinct blue cast to the images.
Even whilst in camera when each image was examined, the histogram showed a distinctly separated blue channel, right shifted well clear of the red and green channels which were more closely aligned. Significantly different from last night’s efforts under artificial light.
Studying online, I don’t really have access to my own Prof. Julius Sumner Miller to prompt me with a, “Why is it so?” So, I have to do the job myself. The issue here is one of white balance and it is clear that the Canon 7D, in this situation is not so good at guessing the correct lighting arrangement.
It took a correction of color temperature in Lightroom, and a minor tint tweak to bring all three channels in line with each other. I then applied this correction to all images taken this morning and this was the result…
I’m sure you’d agree that this is quite a difference. Now, I’m not new to this stuff. I’ve listened to Dean Colins on Lighting; watched Photoshop Cafe‘s “Perfect Exposure for Digital Photography” – The Zone System for metering and Shooting; and read through George Seper’s study notes for The Photography Institute‘s, “Professional Photography Course,” an a myriad other books, online sources etc. but I’ve never really “Got It.”
It wasn’t until I did this experiment, see the results under differing lighting conditions and make the connection with how my camera was actually functioning and why the images, sometimes were not what I wanted. Sure I’d post correct WB as a matter of course, but, it’s always so much better to get it sorted in camera before moving onto post production. the, “Ah ha!” moment has finally hit.
Moving onto ISO 400 and ISO 800 did not reveal any noticeable artifacts due to noise, or appreciable shifts in color, although Zones II and IV seem lighter than at ISO 100 and Zones VI-VIII seem somewhat darker, especially Zone VIII. Here…
This leaves me then with the following thoughts about my camera. The usable dynamic range is 10 stops from black with no detail to white with no detail. The camera favors, detail in shadow, but is fairly unforgiving with the details in the white zone, so highlights an bright detail needs to be carefully considered, whilst the shadows, will pretty much take care of themselves. the other thing that come to mind, is that I need to be mindful of how images might reproduce on paper, especially in print, which means that I may need to shift white with detail into Zone VII as opposed to Zone VIII due to the reduced latitude that paper has compared with camera/screen display.
Lots to think about, lots and lots. But the good thing is that now that I have a better grasp of this, revisiting the above mentioned luminaries means I’ll more fully understand the advice they are giving.
For today, that’s what’s in my
Line of Sight.
Was playing around tonight with a grey card and decided to mock up a Zone Ruler. This is what I came up with for my camera. Canon EOS 7D, EF 35mm f/2.0 Lens, ISO 100.
What’s interesting about this is that 18% Grey, Zone 5 is 4 stops from White with no detail and 5 stops from Black with no detail. The dynamic range is apparently 10 stops, nice.
Interestingly enough, looking at the RGB numbers, there appears to be a slight colour cast. I wonder if that is an artifact of AWB’ing artificial light – a mix of CFL and Tungsten. I guess I’ll have to try this again tomorrow with natural light and see if there’s a difference.
For today, that’s what’s in my
Line of Sight
This week we’re gong to take a look at Image Quality, from the perspective of varying each element that makes up the Exposure Triangle and then observing the impact.
Now, the Exposure Triangle is a concept that allows us to understand the interaction between ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed.
Change any one of these and the others have to compensate in order to produce an equal/equivalent exposure. As a result this has some desirable/controllable impacts on image quality and some less desirable impacts, and that is what we’re going to explore here.
In the days of film, we’d basically work at one ISO setting and just vary the shutter speed. More light faster shutter speed, less light slower shutter speed. Simple. Nowadays, we can also hold the shutter speed constant and vary the ISO (light sensitivity) less light, more sensitive, more light less sensitive. We could also hold the aperture (Depth of Field) constant and then vary the other two elements, can you guess? More sensitive, faster shutter speed, less sensitive, slower shutter speed. but none of these conveniences of choice come without their pros and cons. So, what are they? You take a look.
Aperture (Depth of Field Control)
We know that if you open up the iris of the lens, more light comes in, and if you stop down, less light is allowed in. As a result, less or more of the picture is in focus. That is, with regard to image quality, image sharpness and detail is strongly influenced by Depth of Field.
Take a look at these shot of my son, standing two meters away from my APS-C camera on which I had a “35mm f/2″ lens mounted. What do you notice in these images as I stop down from f/2 to f/22?
ISO (Film/Sensor Sensitivity) – Day Light
ISO Numbers are the current way in which we rate the sensitivity to light of a particular film or sensor. In general, the lower the ISO Number, the more detail, and colour contrast is available. The higher the ISO Number the more artifacts, like grain in film, or pixel noise in the sensor (hot pixels) star to appear. This generally results in a loss of sharp detail and reduced contrast, flatter or muted images.
Take a look at the following outdoor scene as I shift from ISO 100-12,800. how do the images change? What happens to their overall image quality? At which ISO would you say that my camera works best?
ISO (Film/Sensor Sensitivity) – Low Light
OK, same exercise, but this time in low light at a long slow shutter speed, 30 sec. Do you notice any difference in image quality due to the slow shutter speed? Does this compound the noise at higher ISO settings?
I suggest you go out and try this for yourself with your own camera. By exploring this, you will gain a greater understanding about how your camera reacts under various lighting conditions, better understand the quality of images your camera produces, and be able to select optimal settings for different lighting conditions, rather than just let your camera do it for you.
Just for today, that’s what’s in my
Line of Sight.
I’ve been having a bit of a think about film, and the way I used to approach exposure. As a result I’ve come to realize that Digital has given us so many options that were not even available with film.
When I was a lad, the typical range of film that was available to me, ranged in ASA (now known as ISO) thus,
ASA 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Much of the time, ASA 64 and ASA 1600 were waaay outside my budget so basically I had four choices of film speed, in either colour or black and white. A total of 8 film choices.
my camera was an Asahi-Pentax Spotmatic SP500 which ranged in shutter speed thus,
B, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500
these being the denominator in fractions of a second, e.g. 1/125 sec, 1/2 sec etc.
Lastly, the other options available for exposure control was aperture and this basically depended on the lens. My favorite lens was the Super Takumar 55mm f/2.0 lens which had a range of F-Stops thus,
2.0, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8.0, 11, 16
A total of 23 possible exposure control choices for either, black & white or colour film.
The first choice I’d make, like any other photographer of the day was, “Black & White or Colour?” Next, I’d decide, “What ASA am I going to shoot at and do I want to Push it, Pull it, or use it as rated?” Having made these choices before even picking up the camera I’d then go to the pharmacy and buy my film, one roll, two rolls etc. if I hadn’t made the choice over the free roll of film, at the time when picking up my developed photos. Our pharmacy used to send the film to the Kodak Lab in Coburg for development.
Having sorted my film out, I was left with selecting a combination of 7 Aperture settings or 11 shutter Shutter speeds. Thats 77 different combinations of which there are only seven equivalent exposures, e.g. ASA 100: 15@f/16, 30@f/8, 60@f/5.6, 125@f/4, 250@f/2.8, 500@f/2.0
From the Sunny Sixteen Rule, if I set my shutter speed for ASA100 to 1/125 sec and aperture to f/16 then, as the light faded off or tended to Patchy Cloud, Overcast, Rain, Night then all I had to do was Open Up the aperture, something like this:
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Seashore or Snow Scenes under Bright Sunlight
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Bright Sunlight
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Hazy sunlight
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Cloudy Bright
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Overcast or Open shade
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Rain or Street Light
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f/16
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f/11
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f/8
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f/5.6
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f/4
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f/2.8
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ASA100
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So basically, all all these choices reduced down to evaluating the light and deciding change the aperture in line with the Exposure Table advisory, or change the shutter speed and adjust the aperture accordingly. i.e. Av mode (mentally) was the default shooting mode even though the camera was fully manual. Tv mode was a mental shift, in order to deal with fast moving subjects.
The only questions left to answer then were, “Is there enough light?” and, “Is this scene to troublesome to shoot?” All in all for most scenes I had 7 choices,plus the option to change speed if warranted. Almost all my attention was directed towards, Depth of Field issues. At the time, for me, film was that simple.
Nowadays, with Digital, all these choices are in the camera. This is great for flexibility, ISO settings from 100 to 12800, shutter speeds from 30 sec. to 1/8000 sec plus a Bulb option, aperture setting depending on the lens but on my ‘Normal’ lens (35mm, f/2, on APS-C) it ranges from f/2.0 to f/22 with 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments.
ISO, Aperture & Shutter Speed form the points of an Exposure Triangle and an in-depth understanding of their interelatedness is essential to just getting the that damned camera thingie to work. Added to this the camera’s exposure meter has four distinct exposure modes for determining exposure, unlike my old Pentax that only had a match needle exposure metering that relied on an “Average” metering method.
So, all these options, the choice to change aperture or shutter speed in 1/3 or 1/2 increments, ISO up the wazoo and four different ways of measuring light makes “Digital” conceptually, far more complex than film ever was.
So, these musing have got me thinking about how I might be able to decomplexify “Digital Photography” at least for me with regard to approaching the camera as a photographer that needs to use it as a creative tool.
One way to clear all the clutter is to minimize the options. With the Canon 7D, Exposure and ISO can be custom set. I’ve set this to Half Stop Increments for exposure and full increments for ISO as well as disable ISO expansion. Next was to set the high ISO in-camera noise reduction to strong, and the long exposure noise reduction also to On. The idea here is to get the best possible exposed image in the camera before going to post-production/digital development.
Hopefully, this will force me to think more carefully and deliberately about exposure and how I use a camera.
For today, that’s what’s in my
Line of Sight
We all pick up and/or develop little tips and tricks that help us to visualize image creation.
Occasionally, I go on photography walks with people who have joined The New Hanoian Photography Group. On these walks, I usually prefer to use a Canon EF 35mm f/2.0 lens on my Canon EOS 7D. This gives me roughly the equivalent of a 55mm lens on 35mm film.
Back when I used to own an old Asahi-Pentax SP500, my favorite lens was a Super Takumar 1:2/55 Prime. So the look and feel is very familiar to me, like an old friend, and I think it is not so intimidating, when doing street photography.
One tip I discovered for myself on that day was to hold my hand near my eye and peer with one eye through the gap made by spreading my index and middle fingers apart.
Portrait View
Landscape View
This gave me a very good approximation of what would be captured by my camera when using a normal lens.
Now, you might be justified in saying, “So what? Why not just look through the viewfinder and you’ll get the same thing?”
But, therein lurks the danger of only looking at the world only through the narrow vista offered by the camera’s lens, rather than seeing the whole world, direct on, in periphery, and in full context.
The second reason this works well is when doing alternative photography. Now, I like to do digital pinhole photography from time to time, and my particular body cap pinhole is rated at around 43mm, f/94 on an APS-C sensor.
Cups: Canon EOS 7D, Body Cap Pinhole 43mm f/94; ISO 3200
This approximates the same coverage as my Canon EF 35mm f/2.0 lens.
Cups: Canon EOS 7D, EF 35mm f/2.0 @ f/5.6, ISO 1000.
However, except on very bright days, it is almost impossible to compose a shot by looking through a dSLR camera’s viewfinder. So what to do when you don’t have a 40mm or 45mm hot-shoe viewfinder?
Fingers work well!
For today, that’s what’s in my
Line of Sight
I’ve decided to undertake The Photography Institute‘s Freelance Photography Course, to test my knowledge and to refresh my skills. I believe that it is essential for any photographer to periodically revisit not only the basics, but to also check their current knowledge in this ever changing business.
Along the way, I’d like to share my thoughts on each of the assignments that I encounter. Hopefully, you may find my musings useful. Feel free to agree or disagree. You are more than welcome to discuss my musings at my Facebook Page in the Discussions Area.
So, onto the task at hand, Assignment One.
Imagine if you will, that you only have the following equipment at your disposal:
Note: Follow the links above to understand more about what each of these items are best used for.
Now, consider that you’ve been asked to shoot ten different jobs, and you need to make an equipment list, selected from the above, for each job and justify why you have selected each item.
Job One: A large art gallery would like you to photograph every individual framed painting in the gallery for an upcoming exhibition and that they require color accurate copies of the artwork for use in a catalogue.
My Choice of Equipment: Tripod, 2 x dSLR, 24mm TS lens, 90mm TS lens, Studio Kit, Polariser
My Reasoning: Firstly, I’d prefer to shoot outside of opening hours rather than progressively close and reopen segments of the gallery as equipment is moved around, because of the inconvenience that this might cause to gallery visitors as well as the risk of clumsy persons potentially stumbling over my equipment.
Next, I would definitely need a tripod for camera stability stability. If much of the framed paintings are of the same size then it becomes easier to set up the camera at the same distance from each picture and then tweak the perspective using a tilt/shift lens.
I would need the Tilt aspect in order to correct converging diagonals particularly when trying to shoot very large images. The Shift aspect would be needed to assist in removing any camera reflection in glassed artwork.
Gallery space can vary from large to cramped so, a Wide angle lens would be required for large works or for shooting in more cramped conditions. The studio kit is essential for even, soft illumination of the artwork It would be needed to be set up to provide 1;1 illumination of the art pieces and ideally would come equipped with remote triggers.
The polarizer is required in order to manage stray reflections that might occur in glassed images and to reduce the impact of reflective highlights that might on textured oil paintings. This helps to maintain correct colour rendition. Another aspect that helps with colour reproduction is to white balance each of the dSLR’s for each series of shots taken.
Lastly, it is always a good idea to carry two cameras. This allows for backup if one camera goes bad. It also allows for the mounting of different lenses to streamline different lens choice options, rather than constantly changing lenses and risking dust contamination of the camera’s sensor.
Read More: Sinar p-slr, Photographing Paintings, Do my homework for me
Job Two: An advertising agency would like you to photograph individual “pack shots” of a range of packet soups. The soups come in small rectangular boxes, which have a glossy finish. They want the pack to look heroic and important.
My Choice of Equipment: Tripod, 2 x dSLR, 100 mm macro lens, Studio Flash Gear, Polarizer
My Reasoning: Firstly, the client wants an ‘heroic and important‘ look. What is heroic and important? In my mind this suggests larger than life, compelling and attention grabbing. That is, within a picture it needs to be the dominant element, so I think I’ll need to control the environment in which the packed is placed, and to minimize and blur out any possible background, i.e. I would need to make the soup packet appear big in the image and not have any distracting foreground and background detail.
Now, the soup packet is glossy so there is a risk of flaring and reflection. So, I may need some flags to control light flares, and possibly might need to use a vaseline wipe over the box to soften the gloss. The polarizer would also help to control glare and stray reflection.
I prefer to use a tripod so that I can set the camera up in one spot and then not have to worry about it’s position while I fuss around with setting the lighting and flags. Flags are basically gobos that can be cut to shape and placed between the product and a source of flared light or cause of reflection. I’d also take a number of shots with the pack oriented direct on and at an angle and with the camera level with the product and slightly below center. Shooting Down onto the Pack especially with a 100mm lens would tend to compress the pack and make it look, “Odd.”
Read More: Product Photography, Over my head
Job Three: A men’s magazine would like you to shoot an action outdoor fashion feature of a male model in the centre of a large city wearing various business suits. They want lots of movement in the images and are happy with some motion blur.
My Choice of Equipment: 2 x dslr, 300mm lens, 35 mm or 50mm lens, ND Filter or Polariser, Monopod
My Reasoning: Depending on time of day, year, and geographic location, filters may not be necessary. If I used filters, I’d use an ND filter in bright sunlight in order to slow the camera down to assist with getting some motion blur. Similarly, if the model could hold still enough, using an ND filter could help introduce some additional vehicular and pedestrian motion blur, or even render the city street more or less empty.
As for a polaraizer, I’d use this to control spot reflections in the event that water or shiny objects were causing some issues aspecially if the AD had a particular prefference for a particular location.
I’d use a monopod to support the 300mm lens and either have a runner or walkie talkie (I love using these and they’re a part of my regular camera kit whenever I go out) to communicate instructions to the model and assistants. A 35 mm or 50mm lens would be essential for some up close shots that capture also some of the location and to assist with developing a sense of place.
Read More: Shoot Outdoor Fashion
Job Four: A sports magazine would like you to photograph an afternoon football game. They will provide you a press pass, which will allow you access to the playing field. They want high contact physical shots with frozen action.
My Choice of Equipment: 2 x dslr, monopod, 300 mm lens.
My Reasoning: “…high contact physical shots with frozen action.“ This is football. It’s fast action and requires a good sense of game play and predicting ability to pre-visualise good shots involving physical contact. Because I can’t run around on the ground, I’ll need a long telephoto lens and monopod to support it, hence the 300mm lens and monopod.
Frozen action shots need a higher speed shutter speeds. Depending on the lighting situation, I’d establish the minimum ISO and Aperture settings I’d need to get the sharpness, detail, and depth of field I want, at the minimum shutter speed necessary for freezing the action, then I’d increase ISO by the equivalent of one stop to take into account, fading light and to give more latitude with the selection of fast shutter speeds. This, of course, is a trade off, especially where noise at higher ISO settings may become an issue.
The second camera is primarily a backup, but perhaps it might be useful to also have it coupled to a 50mm lens, in the event that the play comes particularly close to my chosen, “off field,” boundary area.
Read More: Sports Photography
Job Five: A lifestyle magazine would like you to shoot a cover shot of a woman in a large, bright, modern city apartment. The woman is to be the main focus, but they would also like some of the atmosphere of the apartment to be evident.
My Choice of Equipment: 2 x dslr, 20mm lens, 50mm lens, portable flash.
My Reasoning: This is a typical Interview Documentation task. Treatment will mostly depend on any initial direction from the AD as to particular stylistic expression for the images. If none are given, then it’d pay to have a look at past issues to see if the magazine has any particular, ‘House Style.’
The shoot is in a large, bright, modern city apartment, so natural lighting would be best with some bounced off camera flash as fill especially if shooting the subject with a window background.
Many would choose a medium telephoto lens like the 90mm or 100mm lens for portrait work, I don’t particularly like the length of these, especially for indoor work. The choice of 50mm for close ups here, is one of my personal favorites, as this ‘normal lens’ arrangement usually renders nice head and shoulder, ‘head shots‘ with little distortion. However, unless there’s a lot of space to back up in, getting full body seated shots or atmospherics become hard to do. As such, a 20mm would give the broadest options for capturing people in a room shots. There is a risk though that with closer shots the possibility of physical distortion of the subject may occur. For this reason, some may prefer to use a 35mm lens instead.
Lastly, I’d mount each lens on its own camera and trigger any fill flash wirelessly.
Read More: Photographing People at Home
Job Six: You have been asked to photograph a wedding in a church. The light is bright enough to avoid having to use a flash and the minister has allowed you access to all areas.
My Choice of Equipment: 2 x dslr, 135mm lens, 50mm lens, 20mm lens.
My Reasoning: [Hand over to assistant and head to the pub until its over...]
Alright, I’ll admit it! This is a bit flippant, but, I don’t particularly like the whole, Wedding Photography bit. That’s just me. However, the purpose here is to look at equipment choice and validate that choice. Bright Church, All areas access. there’s a lot that happens during a wedding, before church, in church, and post church. It’s important to have a very clear plan and running sheet of what is going on, when and where.
Two cameras, essential. You’re messing with someone’s important day, or at least, their significantly important hour or two, and you can’t afford any equipment failure.
Entry of the Bride, Exit of Bride and Groom, front of church shots of the seat family and congregation, Priest, Bride, Groom, maids of honor best men, atmospheric shots of the church, detail shots of things like the rings. Lots to do in a short amount of time.
50mm lens mounted on one camera for roving, vox pop reportage-style shots. 20mm lens mounted on other camera (and interchanged with the 135mm lens) for wide angle, ‘get the building’ interior shots. 135mm lens (perhaps the 100mm Macro would be a better choice here) for candid portraiture and detail shots.
Read More: Wedding Photography
Job Seven: You have been requested by a gossip magazine to shoot “social” shots at a gala movie premier one evening. The location is inside a dark Rococo (ornate) cinema and you have a press pass and are free to mingle with the “stars”. The editor requires a collection of posed and candid shots as the crowd parties through the night.
My Choice of Equipment: 2 x dslr, 50mm lens, 35mm lens, portable flash
My Reasoning: Basically, this is a Vox Pop, walk up, chat and shoot activity. What’s required? Posed and candid shots in a relatively dark, ornate cinema. So, I’ll need to bring some light to the shoot. It needs to portable, flexible and small, thus I’ll need off camera flash, hand held with cable connector (better still, wireless trigger), sync’d on second curtain for some funky movement shots, and normal sync for candids.
Depending on space availability, I’ll need either the 35mm or 50mm for posed, individual and small group shots. For candids, a 50mm lens and ‘street style’ approach ala Bruce Gilden would probably do the job. Alternatively, a longer lens with long through bounce flash would also give access to candids from across a room.
Read More: Event Photography
Job Eight: A book publisher would like you to photograph Italian food in their studio for a new cookbook. The studio has large windows along one wall and lots of working space. They want the entire book shot from above, looking down on the food with an “aerial” perspective.
My choice of Equipment: 2 x dslr, 90mm TS lens, 100mm Macro lens, Tripod.
My Reasoning: The primary requirement from the client is that the photos be taken from above. So, I will need a tripod. A studio stand, or large copy stand would be better, or an extension bar mounted on the tripod would be helpful. Failing that, hopefully the tripod has long legs and the head can be reverse mounted, so that it can be used much like a copypod. A ladder may be necessary for assisting with setting up the shoot, and the camera would be best triggered remotely and tethered to a computer or laptop.
With large windows, natural lighting could be a bonus, but I may reqire some reflector fill to help balance and even the lighting of the plate. the choice of 90mm t/s lens allows for ensuring that the camera plane and table are parallel to each other so as to minimize any distortion. Ideally, there’d also be a macro focusing rail to assist with fine tuning the camera in relation to the plate.
The 100mm Macro lens give additional choice such as capturing fine detail. An additional lens that might be considered is a 50mm lens and a camera spirit level.
Read More: Food Photography, Aerial Food Photography
Job Nine: A book publisher would like you to travel through France to take photographs for a book on wine. They want farm and regional images, as well as shots inside the cellars and manufacturing areas. They are on a tight schedule and have a limited budget, so you will be traveling alone in a small rented car without an assistant. You have only three weeks to cover all viticulture areas before the autumn harvest.
My Choice of Equipment: 2 x dslr, 20mm lens, 35mm lens, 135mm lens, ND Filter, Polariser, tripod, portable flash.
My Reasoning: Small car, limited time, and a lot of places to visit. Risk of equipment damage and/or theft is a possibility, which dictates, to me at least, to take only the minimum I think I can get away with. Choice of shots range from closeups, interiors, exteriors, vines, fields and landscapes, i.e. my lens choice should cover from wide angle through to short telephoto. thus, 20mm for wide angle indoor shots, 35mm for wide angle landscapes, (Oops! I forgot my normal lens – Damn! I was thinking in APS-C again), a 50mm for general purpose shots, and the 135mm lens for details, closeups, or candids. An alternative to the 135 might be the 100mm Macro, but I’m not so sure it’s 1:1 macro capability is sufficient reason for inclusion.
Lighting would range from natural, outdoor, lighting to indoor brightly lit, e.g. restaurant, to indoor poorly lit, e.g. cellar. Thus, an off camera flash that can be triggered wirelessly would be a good inclusion.
As for the filters, Because we’re heading into the Autumn Harvest season, an ND filter (or GND might be better) would be useful for controlling contrast between sky and ground in early morning landscape shots. In brighter light, the polarizer is very useful for removing reflections from foliage in landscape shots, thus allowing the distant ‘vines’ to look greener, and the sky to look bluer.
Read More: Wine Travel Photography, Viticulture Images
Job Ten: A fashion magazine would like you to photograph the latest trends in makeup. You will be shooting female models in a studio and they may be accessorized with the latest earrings and other jewelry, but the makeup is the star. They are looking for striking, close-up images with vivid color and texture.
My Choice of Equipment: 2 x dslr, 100mm Macro lens, 135mm lens
My Reasoning: As I’d be shooting in a studio, I’d want to check first if the studio had existing lighting solutions and that it worked, before making a decision to bring my own portable strobe kit, but it is an option that should be considered, seriously.
The cameras will need to be white balanced for the strobes being used in the studio. I’d perhaps increase in camera sharpening a little, select a low iso setting, use a medium to low aperture for depth of field,and a fast shutter speed to freeze any model movement.
For lens choices, I’d use the 135mm lens as it’s a great lens for detailed portrait work especially since we’d be concentrating on capturing mainly the model’s face, with minimal distortion. As I’d also be required to take some detail shots, particularly of jewelry being worn by the models, I think the 100mm Macro lens would be the best choice in this case rather than something shorter and lacking the capability of 1:1 macro reproduction.
Read More: Photographing Makeup, 100mm Macro Photography
For today, that’s what’s in my
Line of Sight
I decided to give this competition, sponsored by Canon Asia, a bit of a go. It’s been a while since I took the camera out and competed against others in a shoot out. unfortunately I forgot the first rule of the game, “Make sure you follow the rules.”
The results of the competition have been reported here.
The competition was a little unusual for me, very few guidelines, and very little guidance as to indicate what the judges would be look for. Turns out that they were looking for hardcore, photojournalistic images with an Heroic bent. I guess that’s what creative means in Vietnamese.
The images that won, are really good images, and some of them definitely needed a team or cooperative group in order to produce them. Well done to those who made the grade.
There were three Themes for the day, “Busy,” “Joy,” and “Fly.” All images needed to be in jpg format and direct out of the camera, with no post-production treatment.
Here’s my Competition ID and submissions. With each submission, I’ve provided here, the actual camera image, reduced for display on this blog, and an edited version that shows how I would have post-processed the image for my normal use.
Canon PhotoMarrathon Competition ID
Busy
Submited: Pinhole bodycap image of a construction storage site. The mess and jumble looked busy to me.
Edited
Joy
Submitted: When I came to submit this, I’d left my ID at home and I took a guess at my number, ummm… HN-1783? Doh! Last two numbers around the wrong way. Disqualified! I guess.
Edited
Showing this submission on the big screen…
Fly
Submitted: Same issue with the number for this one. This was quite a test. I used fishing line to tie up the pig and suspend it from a tripod. I guess this would have been more compelling if I’d used a bicycle instead. but I like the final result, especially in that I was able to make the fishing line dissapear.
Edited
For today, that’s what’s in my
Line of Sight
As a photographer, the question of light is always a primary concern, too much? not enough? how to use it? how to modify it? etc.
However, it is quite easy to lose sight of what light might mean to others, especially those who are the poorest of the poor who live in the slums, with limited or no access to basic infrastructure, such as water, gas, electricity. Sometimes, the infrastructure is there, but the ability to buy in and pay for its usage is not.
To day I saw a brilliant idea, being reported on BBC World. A Litre of Light. A simple idea, using a PET bottle filled with water and sanitised with bleach to control algae growth, pushed through a sheet of corrugated iron, as flashing, and put through a hole in the roof of the tin shacks that make up people’s homes.
Using refraction, this solar light, creates about 50W of illumination within the shack during daytime, thus allowing people to work within their homes and not be left mucking away in the dark.
This is simple idea, and its impact, fantastic!
For today, that’s what’s in my
Line of Sight
This week I wanted to share a couple of online courses with you. I’m not advocating that they are be all and end all, but something for your consideration.
Why take an online course?
There are many resources available on the net for budding photographers and for, “lost that lovin’ feeling,” older ones, such as myself. So, from time to time it’s good to go back to the basics to test yourself through a course to see just how much you think you now or think you’ve forgotten.
Of course you can do a two year full time course, or study through Brooks etc. and get the Bees Knees in photographic training, mentoring, and buy (oops earn) your way into that prestigious “Alma Mater” if that’s what floats your boat.
But for many others, doing an online course is a way of dealing with day to day realities and testing oneself through guided study with externalized feedback.
Some courses:
The Photography Institute
New York Institute of Photography
Academy of Art University
Free digital Photography Course
…and for today, that’s what’s in my
Line of Sight
“Rullo 3″ – Three Roll, Motorized Studio Backdrop System
Rullo 3 Studio Backdrop System
Comes with: 3 x 3m aluminum cores and 3m x 6.5m, heavy duty, backdrops in white, black and grey* and can be wall or ceiling mounted.
Condition: Backdrops – moderately used. Roller system – In very good, serviceable, condition.
Buyer will need to demount unit from wall and take away, as is. No warranty implied or offered.
Price
3,000,000.00 vnd
*There are two other colours (Chroma Green & Chroma Blue) which are available from Minh Tuyet, 11 pho Van Duc, Hanoi
