[tweetmeme]A few weeks ago I was called upon to fill in as a real estate photographer. It’s something I’d never done before and with basic equipment I was a bit hesitant. Nevertheless I gave it a shot, and with a bit of experimentation I found a way to ‘fake’ having a wide-angle lens.

In this guide we’ll go through a makeshift method to taking wide-angle photographs with even the most basic equipment. In a few simple steps you can be taking incredibly spacious real estate photographs or expansive wide-angle panoramas with a standard camera and a stock lens.

1. Take 3 portrait photographs

This is probably my favourite ‘trick of the trade’, normally reserved for panoramic photography. Instead of taking one single landscape oriented photo, flip your camera to the portrait orientation and take three successive photographs just like below.

Indoors, this technique works remarkably well. With a normally oriented photograph you’d barely get the walls in the frame. In portrait though you’re extending your viewing angle by 50%, capturing the walls, roof, floor and everything between them.

Here are a few things to consider when taking these photographs:

Avoid clipping significant objects: If there’s a window beaming with light in your scene or a complex object, try to keep it all in the one frame. This way when you stitch your photos together you will have seamlessly blended edges.

Switch to manual to keep your exposure consistent: Having a consistent exposure will again allow your photos to be seamlessly blended together. The aim is for these photos to look like a single wide-angle photos, so if any join lines can be seen it will damage the effect.

2. Photomerge in Photoshop

You can use Photoshop to automatically stitch your three photographs together to create one seamless, well blended landscape photograph. To do this:

- Open up your three photographs in Photoshop

- File > Automate > Photomerge…

- Select the ‘Auto’ layout, click ‘Add open files’ (or browse for your photographs) and hit OK

Photoshop will tick away and stitch your photographs together and present you with an incredible wide angle photograph.

3. Crop and tweak!

Once the photomerge is complete, simply crop your photo into a landscape orientation. Most times the photomerge blends the photos together smoothly, but if not you can use the healing brush and stamp tool to remove defects and smooth out the joints.

Admittedly this method takes a little bit more effort than just fitting a lens and taking a photo. With this technique though you can capture incredibly wide-angled photographs with anything form a phone camera to an SLR. Better still, as you’re joining multiple photographs together, the resolution of your end photograph will be over double that of a single photograph.

Below are a few of the spacious real estate photographs I took using this technique. Feel free to share your own makeshift wide-angle shots or leave tips in the comments!

Flower image taken with Nikon D300S using a 90mm macro lens, 1/40s at f13

[tweetmeme]What is macro photography?

There’s quite a debate about just what constitutes macro photography these days. In the purest sense of the term, it’s taking a photograph where the size of the object being photographed is as big or bigger on the negative/sensor as it is in real life (that’s to say, it’s life-sized or even magnified).

According to Wikipedia (my final arbiter in all matters of debate!), macro in the modern day simply means any image where the size of the object in the final printed picture is larger than life. That feels a bit like cheating to me, but there you go.

If that’s not confusing enough, then some people simply mean “close-up” when they use the term macro.

I’m not a big one for getting hung up on definitions, so for this article I am just going to write about taking images really close-up. If there’s enough interest, I might do another on “official” macro photography, but many of the principles are the same.

Why do close-up work?

I end up doing quite a bit of macro photography in my day-to-day work, especially in nature photography, and most particularly in garden photography. Proud gardeners love close-ups which really show the perfect detail of what they have cultivated, or the depth of colour of a rich bloom.

Artistically, I find close-up work really satisfying too. For me, one of the joys of photography is learning to see the world in a new and more attentive way. Close-up photography takes that to a whole new level – when you shoot close-up, even a tiny patch of a suburban back garden can contain a multitude of possible subjects.

It’s great for the winter, when you don’t want to venture far from home, and you discover there are days and days of photographs just waiting in your backyard.

I also believe that close-up photography can help you become better at taking other types of image.  At that level of detail, control of composition (especially framing), exposure and depth of field become much more acute. Spend a few days doing close-up work, then switch back to landscape, and see just how differently you work.

Do I need an expensive macro lens?

There’s good news and bad news here. The bad news is that the official answer is yes. If you want to do “official” macro photography (at life size or bigger), you will need a macro lens and that is likely to set you back a few hundred dollars.

But the good news is that you can start learning, and get some great results in general close-up photography, without one. I started shooting close-ups with a 17-55mm kit lens that came with my first SLR, and although the results were not as polished as with my macro set-up, they were still good enough to use and to learn from.

And even better than that – and here other professionals will no doubt chastise me – even some compact cameras are starting to get quite good macro settings. So give it a go.

Flower image taken using a kit lens on a Nikon D50 using an 18-55mm kit lens, 1/1000s at f5.6

What do I need to remember?

Like most photography, the best way to start is to play. The advantage with close-up is that you don’t have to go far to do so – pop into the backyard, take a few shots, come in and look at them on PC (assuming you shoot digital), see what’s worked, pop back out and try again.

I’m by no means setting myself up as a macro-master, but I’m happy to share a few hints I’ve picked up along the way

1. Watch your light levels like a hawk!

Be very conscious of light – with your lens so close to the subject, there is a risk you will block out a lot of light especially if you are using a lens hood, so set your exposure carefully. And be mindful of the lens casting ugly shadows across your picture.

2. Use flash with care, or not at all

Unless you have a ring flash or some other form of macro flash set-up, it’s probably best to work without flash at all. Again, as your lens is so close to the subject, the flash will likely cast a shadow across your otherwise beautiful image. This may just be one of those times when, if you cannot get the right exposure, you may just have to crank up the ISO. Of course, if your subject is still you could use a tripod and increase the shutter speed – but again remember that so close-up, still really means “still”, as even the slightest breeze will blur the shot. It’s not just a matter of keeping the camera still – the subject needs to be still too, and annoyingly flowers and insects won’t always oblige.

3. Don’t assume that the widest aperture is best

It’s really tempting to set your aperture to its widest setting, both to increase exposure and to blur out the potentially distracting twigs, leaves or whatever else is around your subject. That’s all fine and dandy, but just remember that at close quarters, a narrow depth of field can leave part of your subject in focus and part out of focus. Do you really want just the stamens of that flower in focus, or would you like the petals too?  You may want to select a slightly narrower aperture.

4. Use manual focus

Focussing can be tricky– you may well need to switch to manual focus either because your camera cannot focus, or because it focuses on the wrong thing. If you are manual focussing a good tip is to get right up close to the subject, set your manual focus to the closest setting you can, and then slowly move the camera physically away from the subject until it comes into focus. This is normally easier than fiddling endlessly with the focus ring, and also guarantees you will get the closest close-up your lens is capable of.

5. Be creative in what you shoot

Finally, don’t assume all close-up work has to be naturalistic pictures of flowers and insects. Some of my favourite close-ups are abstracts. In fact, one of the first pictures I took in close-up was the fine plastic mesh on the seat of a garden chair.  Not a masterpiece by any means, but a sufficiently intriguing image to make we want to pursue it further.

Above all, enjoy yourself. And if you have hints and tips of your own, please, please post them up in response to this.

Mesh on a garden seat, taken with a Nikon D50 with an 18-55mm lens, 1/160s at f7.1

Cactus plant, taken with a Nikon D300S with a 90mm macro lens, 1/50s at f9

[twitter]While I did start college as a photography major, I graduated with a BA in English so now I’m more writer than photographer but the advice I give to newbies in both arenas is similar. A photographer or a writer is serving as the audience’s eyes since they’re not onsite. Your job is to give your audience the complete essence of the event, to make them feel like they were there, that this is real.

How? Enter it. Look into the thing, don’t just look at it. Think about it. See what you’re seeing and understand it. The more you do this, the faster it will happen. Soon it will be second nature. It will happen so fast, it will only be after the fact that you will understand all the elements. In a sense, you’re operating as a good portrait artist. A portrait reveals character. A snapshot reveals nothing.

What does this have to do with food? Food photography can be conveying the commercial aspect of food. Or it can be revealing the essence of the food like a good portrait artist would. Your final results depend on what your intention is.
Here is an image of cherries.

It tells you about the shape of the fruit, the curve, the variations in color, the stem, even the imperfection. You know something about the cherryness of cherries by looking at the very simple image.

Why did I crop so the one stem is off the frame? Because I liked the motion it suggested. Cropping is your friend, but use it wisely. It can make your image more successful than the original or spoil it.

Composition should be mentioned somewhere so I’m choosing here. I don’t know if there’s a rule that holds in a majority of cases but my feeling is you’re generally better off not taking a photo of anything straight on. Or if you do, crop it so that the center of the attention is high or low, left or right. Just being off a couple inches/degrees/pixels will improve almost anything. I like negative space, it points to what you want the audience to pay attention to. Feel free to argue this point with me; I probably won’t argue back since I have violated that rule even in this article.

Here’s another image of food with motion. Caramel.

I thought about this a lot. How do I tell the story of caramel? How do I express its thick consistency, the speed at which it pours?
I set up my Nikon D7000 with the 55-200 VR zoom on my tripod. I created the tableau on top of a bookcase, set the timer and took about fifteen shots standing there with a spoon letting the caramel flow. This happens to be f/4.0 at 1/200 sec., ISO 250 but it really had nothing to do with me. The camera was in autofocus because it was so dark in the room, I trusted the Nikon could figure it out better than I could. Yes, I was using the flash.

What made me choose this image over the others, which were excruciatingly similar, were the tonalities of the caramel on the spoon as well as the flow. I tried pouring from a variety of heights, thinking or imagining the higher the better. But that wasn’t true. The longer the stream, the less essence of caramel was present.

As it happened, the background I was using did me no favors, and wound up turning the foreground into a PNG file and pasted it onto a vintage horse liniment label. It works, don’t you think?

Inside or outside. Some people have a little photo studio carved out of their living space. I have shot in the house without lights using a tripod but prefer natural light. It’ll work fine either way. Be creative. Set up a background and a foreground and you’re set. Having some choices of background is helpful. They should be easy to interchange while you’re working. Depending on your mood and your needs, outside you’re probably better off on an overcast day or in the shade. That you can fix a wide range of lighting issues in Adobe Lightroom is your safety net.

This shot was taken in my faked-up studio on a bench on my deck. I stood on the bench and shot downward. The only real intention was to convey the deep coloration of egg yolks. No lighting effects were necessary.

I want to mention the importance of the fork to the composition. It’s at an angle, giving the eye flow and motion to look at. The black handle gives you contrast to rest of the image, which is quite light/bland. It may be said that your eye is pulled to the eggs by their intense color and being pointed to by the fork. There is natural movement.

This is another image I did outside with flat light. Yes, it was starting to rain, you can see the raindrops on the spoon.

You can probably tell by now I like my colors saturated and dramatic. This is another PNG that I placed on a vintage spaghetti advertisement. I especially like the echo of the sweet potato crisps in the glass with the color of dress in the background.

Yes, I used Photoshop and the Gaussian blur filter for the background. First I tried a white layer and adjusted the opacity of the background image but that didn’t work nearly as well as just blurring it a couple times, retaining the deep colors but little detail.
Here’s a little progression so you can see where I was going with another recipe.

The book is about layered food in glasses. I made some ice cubes of fruit juice —I don’t always know what I’ll do with things, but once you have them, ideas come to you.

I went outside with the glasses full of colored ice cubes. I looked at that and said “I really need some sparkling water.”

I thought Wow this is really great. The light was right, the lowering sun was hitting the glass perfectly imparting a warm tint. The dark grass in the background was blurred so set off the lighter colours. Then when I got into Photoshop, I cropped it and chose this as the image to use in the book.

Why did I crop it that tight? I’m not selling soda or fruit cubes. I wanted to convey the heat of the summer, the sparkle of the water, the beautiful combination of orange and red. All that said to me “This is a refreshing drink.”

To end, here are two images that show how natural light can be used to great success. Try to shoot either in the morning or in the late afternoon when the light is softening.

This peach was taken in the morning and the sunlight did me a lot of favors. I love the shadow of the leaf and the light blushed the fruit in a way that would take effort to achieve in a studio.

This next one was taken later in the afternoon and between the condensation on the glass and the color of the light, this image just glows on its own. I didn’t do anything but the most rudimentary 2 minute tweak on the image to bring out what was already there. I didn’t highlight the leaves, or mess around with the contents of the glass.

No, I’m not bothered by most of an image being in shadow if there’s something in the composition that rewards the eye.

You can do food photography in a cold and detached, photorealistic manner which offers a perfect representation of a piece of pie. But does that photo make you want to eat that pie? That’s the question you should ask yourself as you attempt food photography.

[tweetmeme]The best camera is the one you have on you when you need it the most.

There have been many moments in the past when I’ve wished I had my camera on me to capture an amazing moment such as a cloud pattern I noticed when I suddenly looked up,  the way light reflected of a window pane,  the shadows cast by a street lamp. I have always  wanted to constantly capture those simple fleeting moments which make my life come alive.

I have fulfilled this craving by becoming an “Iphonographer” (a term loosely used to describe someone who uses an iPhone as a camera). My camera is my phone, and my dark room, the plethora of apps I use to process my photos on the go.

It’s not just me, thousands of others are taking to using their mobile phones as their primary camera. This is supported by the fact that  the most popular camera on Flicker the leading photo sharing site is the iPhone 4.

Here are some helpful hints to get you started in the world of mobile phone photography. Although these are more iPhone centric, you can easily adapt them to any phone with a good camera and an app platform.

1. It’s all about timing

You definitely can’t carry your DSLR every time you go to work or for an evening stroll but it’s easy enough to slip your phone into your purse or pocket and keep it handy. The moments you see an interesting subject just reach for it and start clicking without wasting a breath.

I captured this amazing photo of lightning striking between New York City on one of my evening runs across the Hudson waterfront.

2. Notice the small wonders

Instead of just walking with a purpose to go from point A to point B, enjoy the journey. Start noticing the small things of wonder:  leaf lying on the boardwalk, the bird on the tree, the flowers swaying in the wind, the smiling people, and the plastic bag stuck in the tree. There are numerous possibilities just waiting to be discovered and captured.

Simplicity in chance arrangement, a leaf on the boardwalk, shot while I was walking to work.

3. No one is bothered by a guy wearing headphones staring at his phone

People get conscious and at times offended if you walk around with a huge DSLR or even a point and shoot, but no one cares about someone with his ears stuffed with headphones who is  innocently starring in to his phone. Take advantage to get candid shots of people and events in their truest sense (but respect privacy and don’t offend anyone please)

4. Composition makes up for the quality

Photos captured using an iPhone don’t in any sense match the quality of photos from a DSLR, but you can make up for the quality by composing your shots very well. The fact that the phone is on you when you need one, is power enough to use it as a tool to capture the raw, emotional, unquantifiable elements in the moment.

5. It’s all about instant gratification

Good things are for sharing, and a camera phone makes it infinitely easy to shoot and share a lovely moment while you are on the go. Nowadays most of the phones and apps have apps which allow you to post pictures on your social networks, for your friends and family to see and enjoy . Isn’t it a nice feeling to see “likes” or comments on your photo before you even go home?

6. Use Apps to your advantage

It’s a great idea to retouch or process your photos before you share them or store them for you own viewing pleasure. Apps allow you to correct some abnormalities, play with the color, contrast, or brightness and almost everything else you dream of, such as the ability to cross process and add numerous filters.  The possibilities to be creative are just unlimited. Most of the Apps are free though some of the good ones come at a small price, usually below $ 5.

Here are my top 5 favorites for starters:

• Camera+: Amazing app for cleaning up photos using filters, adding amazing effects and borders . Worth every cent spent.
• Instagram : A great community, fun filters to put on your photos and lots of inspiring images to look at. Look me up, I’m “gr8buddy” in Instagram.
• Adobe PhotoShop Express with noise reduction filter: This is a great app, especially with the noise reduction filter, which does wonders on any picture shot in low light or that has come out a little grainy.
• Hipstamatic : Digital photography never looked so analog. The Hipstamatic brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras of the past!
• ColorSplash : This iPhone app will convert any photo to black and white even while allowing you to keep specifically chosen details in colour.

7. Let the whole world “say AW!” At your creativity

Don’t limit your photo sharing to your social circle, go beyond, start a photo blog. It’s easy:  you can take a picture, process it using your favorite apps and blog it all from the comfort of your phone while you take that  bus ride to work or wait  at the Laundromat. Most of these blogs automatically post your content to all your social networks and have rich communities which will both inspire you and get inspired by you.  Two of the platforms I personally use are Posterious and Tumblr as they have great apps

8. Enjoy the moments

At the end of the day it is not just about what others think or how many times your photo gets “liked” or retweeted, but about the smile it will bring to your face, and the joy of capturing a fleeting moment which you would have missed if not for your handy phone camera. Enjoy the journey.

Share your own iPhonography on the PhotoGuides Forums!

To see more of my work visit www.shotwithmyphone.com

Follow me on twitter @gr8buddy

Know more about.me

[tweetmeme]There are few things that I take photos of that bring me more joy than a sweeping landscape photograph. I don’t know why, but there is just something fulfilling and beautiful about being able to forever capture the feelings and emotions that I felt while at a landscape location. Some of you may feel that you don’t “have that eye”, and that taking rich, powerful landscapes is difficult. Well, I am here to (hopefully) help you develop that eye that, in my opinion, you already possess.

One thing that I must say before I go any further in this article is this: you can still create amazing landscapes and panoramas even with a point-and-shoot camera. Look at this picture below:

This was created with a 5 megapixel Canon Powershot SD20 in 2007. While the quality of the image certainly isn’t anywhere near the Canon 1Ds, it still looks pretty amazing, doesn’t it? The techniques in this article can be used with basically any camera out there. So don’t be dismayed if you don’t have a big DSLR to play with; you can use even your phone for landscapes!

Now, for the rest of the article! Creating a landscape photo is actually not very difficult, especially if you have software that can create panoramas out of multiple photos. Oh, and try not to skip any steps! Each one builds upon the other, and it leads to a climax that reveals my secrets to awesome landscapes!

1. First, decide why you want to take the photo.

I say that because you will probably not be satisfied with your results if it does not achieve your desired purpose. If you want to take a photo for your own personal enjoyment, then it really doesn’t matter where you go as long as the place is a place of significance to you. If you want other people to enjoy the photo, then think a little more about a place near you that could impress those you know.

2. Make sure your camera has the highest quality settings on.

If your camera has a RAW+Jpeg option, go for that. Whether or not you’ll show this to anyone other than yourself, landscapes are best enjoyed when they are tack sharp, big, and bold. Don’t skimp on the quality on your camera. Push the quality and size to the maximum! You’ll be thankful for it 20 years later if the site is drastically altered for the worse, and you’ll never be able to get that photo again.

3. Enjoy the moment before you start taking photos.

Don’t start setting up a shot the moment you get to the spot. Just enjoy it for a while. Whether that’s 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or even a few hours, just enjoy your location. Walk around, look all around you at the beauty of where you are. By doing that, you will enjoy the experience even more, and it will help you set up a shot more easily. The reason I say that is because I have found through personal experience that my best photos I’ve ever taken were right after I had just immersed myself in the subject matter (this is a universal principle, by the way, so take note of it). When you walk to a subject with your camera out and ready to take a photo, you’ll be thinking about the composition, camera settings, and what to include in your photo. All of that can impede the creation of a landscape, and you’ll see why I say that in the next steps.

4.  Composition is King.

Don’t take the photo yet, or even worry about the settings. Composition is the most crucial part of a landscape photo. The “science” behind my method is that you naturally find the best photo to take while you are “in the moment”. Because landscapes are supposed to capture the beauty and power of a surrounding, it will be easier to capture such feelings when you yourself are immersed in such feelings. In fact, one goal you should have in mind when taking a landscape photo is to make people want to see exactly what you saw. Achieving that goal is easier when you are seeing with the eyes of someone who is enamored to be at the location.

When composing your landscape photograph, the rule of thirds can be very handy. Position your horizon along one of the lines, or your focal point on one of the golden means.

5. Use a low ISO and a small aperture.

Take it from me: using a wide aperture is not usually the best thing to do when taking landscape photos. The reason is that wide apertures (f/1 – f/6) have a very small depth of field. When you take a landscape, only a few feet will be sharp if you use an f/3 aperture. It may allow you to use a faster shutter speed, but you sacrifice sharpness and focus for such a thing. Make sure you use a very small aperture (the ideal would be no lower than f/16).

As for ISO, always aim for a low ISO. I would not go more than 300 if possible. There’s really no science to that other than the lowest ISO = higher quality image.

6. Capture at least ONE panorama while you are there

Panoramas are probably the easiest way to capture a powerful landscape for a two reasons:

1. Panoramas are just simply awesome. They are long, and have lots of photos stitched together. That instantly makes the photo cooler to look at.
2. It captures more detail with less distortion than a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses tend to curve the horizon, but a panorama at a normal focal length captures even more detail than a single wide-angle photo, and with less distortion.

If you can, make at least one panorama when you take landscape photos. Panoramas can achieve a level of awe and power that a single exposure usually cannot achieve. In fact, out of all my landscape photos I’ve shown my friends and family, all of them liked the bottom photo more than the one above it. Panoramas have this expansive effect and can wrap around the viewer. They can immerse the viewer in the scene and for that reason they tend to be preferred.

7. For Panoramas, photograph in a portrait orientation.

A great panoramic photograph will wrap itself around the viewer. If you photograph in a portrait orientation you will be able to capture so much more in a single panoramic photo, resulting in an expansive photograph that immerses the viewer in the subject. Also, as you will need to take more photographs in portrait to cover the whole scene, the resolution of your end result will be significantly higher.

Valley of Views by Ashley Davies

8. Know if your location looks best at sunrise, midday or sunset.

It goes without being said that lighting will make or break your landscape. Some settings will look better during sunset, some during sunrise, and some in the middle of the day. If you can, come to your location 3 times before taking your photo: once about 30 minutes before sunrise, once in the middle of the day, and once about an hour before sunset. Here is an example of a photo that would look rather dull and uninteresting if it were taken in stark daylight, but it is made much more powerful with the sun setting behind the mountains:

Make sure you come at the best lighting possible to achieve the best results.

9. Play with the clouds. Experiment with shutter speed.

You can do some really cool things by messing with shutter speed. For photos of the ocean, with fast-moving clouds and the breaking water, it may make your photo even better to be exposed for a second or two (or ten). Doing so will make the clouds and water look silky smooth and, in some cases, surreal.

It is implied you will have to adjust aperture and maybe even ISO to compensate for what shutter speed you’d like, but try and stick true to an aperture f/16 or narrower, and ISO from your lowest setting available to 300.

10. Let lines guide the eye.

Lines such as the horizon or the flow of the clouds in a landscape photo can direct the eye to a focal point. Move around your scene and experiment with the angles and lines seen throughout the photo. Throw away your ruler. Your photograph doesn’t have to be uniform and line’s don’t have to be straight.

11. Shutter speed amplifies ISO.

Try not to take a photo with a DSLR for more than a few minutes. Because DSLRs use digital sensors, ISO noise will increase over time. A one-hour exposure at ISO 100 will look similar to a 1/300 second exposure at ISO 12800. Check out the metadata on this incredible photo for some guidelines: http://www.flickr.com/photos/feanor77/2105315993/meta/

Conclusion and Example Photos

Hopefully, with these tips, you have new (or renewed) confidence in taking awesome landscapes. Also, practice does make perfect. If you feel that your landscapes are not that great, just keep taking photos. After a while you will just notice that your photos are amazing, and the feeling you get once you see that is one of the best in landscape photography.

Here are some more landscape examples from me. The first two were taken with a compact Canon SD20, and the rest with a Canon Rebel T2i.

All Photographs © Zachary Konecki 2011

Photographer by Ferran

[tweetmeme]I’m always being asked for tips on photography and I often find myself answering with exactly the same tips. So below I’ve compiled five of my best tips to help any beginning photographer step up to the next level. They aren’t complicated or even that radical. They are five very simple ideas and qualities that every great photographer needs to follow.

If you have any tips of your own then please do share them in the comments or over on facebook or twitter!

1. Switch to P and say goodbye to Auto

This is the first thing I say to anyone who asks how to improve their photography. The truth is, on Auto mode a big fancy SLR will be no better than a point and shoot. P mode is still automated so taking a photo is still as easy as pressing a button. However this ‘Programmable’ mode provides you with the flexibility to adjust your white balance, your ISO, colour settings and a few exposure settings. Having this level of flexibility in a mode that is still automatic will allow you to optimise your camera for the environment so that the colours and exposures of your photo really help the photo pop. On Auto mode your photos are always out of your control but on P you can work with your camera to capture a photo, and that is the only way to improve.

2. Never use Auto White Balance

The name ‘Auto White Balance’ is deceptive. It’s not actually an ‘Automatic’ option. Your camera doesn’t choose it’s white balance settings depending on the environment. Instead, it maintains one single setting that is generic for the broadest range of lighting environments.
White light looks white to the eye, but to a camera the light from a light bulb and light from the sun is seen in a vastly different spectrum of colours. The camera then needs to know what environment you are shooting in so that it can accurately capture the colours. Otherwise your photo may be too yellow, too blue or too dull. Auto White Balance will always appear too grey. Vibrancy is lost on Auto mode because it’s the safest way for your camera to read any lighting environment. All you have to do is change your white balance and you’ll instantly notice that the colours of your photo come to life.

3. Go out specifically to take photos

Make an event of going out to take photos, rather than just take your camera with you to places. Keep an eye out for landscapes or scenes you’d like to photograph and dedicate an hour or two to exploring the scene. If you focus entirely on taking great photos and switch between a few modes in the process, you’ll develop immensely as a photographer and capture some stunning results in the process.

4. Explore the Wonders of Glass

One of the best ways to step up as a photographer is to invest in the world of filters and lenses. A polarised or an ND filter can allow you to play around with the light that goes through your lens, capturing crisper colours or long exposures in bright conditions. A macro or a prime lens (that being a lens with no zoom but with a stunning aperture) will allow you to explore new categories and styles of photography, or simply unlock more of your camera’s potential. Lenses and filters cost money, but they’re worthwhile investments if you’re eager to explore the world of photography.

5. Learn to Love Critique

Sharing your work and asking questions is one of the best ways to improve your knowledge of photography. You’d be amazed how much knowledge there is out there and how many people can help! The PhotoGuides forums are designed to help you out and answer your questions so head over there anytime to share your work and let photographers around the world lend you a helping hand.

Top Tips from Twitter:

@suzanbond suggests photographing in black and white to train your eye around lighting and composition.
@brendazzle recommends photographing every day and each time focusing on one different technique or aspect of photography.
@lynoth suggests reviewing your photos after every shoot and taking note of specific things that need improvement.

Hopefully these tips help you out. If you have any of your own then please do share them in the comments or over on facebook or twitter.
Otherwise, good luck!

Lion by safari-partners

[tweetmeme]Animals can be an incredible photography subject. Everything from the sleekest of birds through to the tallest of giraffes can present you with the most stunning photo opportunities. Due to their unpredictable nature though, animals (especially the exotic sort) can be incredibly hard to photograph. Here are a few tips to help you out whether you’re on a safari or in your own backyard.

1. Capture Life.

Photographs of cats and dogs sleeping are incredibly common. The photos that really stand out are of the animals in their element, playing, running or whatever action defines their species. If you are photographing a dog, take it outside and play with it. Or if you’re photographing a lion, try to capture it roaring.

2. Capture the Expressions that would Embarrass a Human.

Some of the best animal photos capture an obscure look or an inquisitive stare. Focus on the animal and then as soon as it opens its mouth to yawn or turns its head to scratch, start snapping away. By looking for unusual expressions you can capture a unique photograph every time, and more often than not they’ll be interesting.

3. Late Afternoon is the Best Time for Safari.

Animals can be lazy sometimes. I’ve found that exotic animals in game parks spend most of their time in the shade. Between 3pm and 5pm though are two golden hours. Wild animals tend to be most active at this time and the sun is also in its optimum position – It’s to the side casting a warm glow right across the land.

4. They’re More than just a Pretty Face.

They have feet too, and sometimes wings and tails. Look beyond the face of an animal and you might find beautiful textures or hidden patterns, like the feathers on a birds wings, the scales on a reptile or the spots on the back of a leopard.

Giraffe Pattern by PsiberTek Photography

5. If you’re on Safari, you’ll need a Monopod.

Monopods are tripods with a single leg. They act as a pivot point for your camera, and when you’re on Safari this steadiness and maneuverability can be a life saver.

6. Don’t just take Photos of Animals.

Look around you and see what else your scene offers. Try to incorporate the animals surroundings into the photo. If a dog is resting under a tree, stand back and include the tree as well. Or if there’s a stunning horizon or a sunset, try to photograph this with the animal. Use the animal to compliment a beautiful landscape photograph. They don’t always have to be the main focus.

7. Zoom Zoom Zoom.

Sadly, on Safari, you aren’t allowed to pat the lions. Sometimes the best view you can get of an animal is from 50 meters away. If you’ve got a zoom lens or a camera with high zoom capabilities then you’re in luck. If you haven’t then your only option is to jump out of the car and walk up to the lions for a closer look.

8. Savor the Sights. Use your Eyes as well.

Safari expeditions present you with some astounding sights. Just make sure you don’t see it all through your viewfinder. By all means photograph the experience to your hearts content, but be sure to appreciate the sheer beauty of these animals.

All this and more in The PhotoGuides Guide to Photography

With Camera by Pitrisek

[tweetmeme]When hired for a photoshoot you do not want to forget anything.  When going on location you have a higher risk of not having something you need.  Here are a few things that I always try to bring that are not always necessary, but I have found from experience these things can help a great deal.

1. Have a backup!

If you have multiple SLR bodies or can borrow one, bring it!  Bring extra batteries for anything that is battery powered, and extension cords and 3 prong adapters for things that plug in to the wall.  Don’t forget battery chargers for your laptop or camera either.  You should bring all of your memory cards even if you only plan on using one.  Things like this can be a life saver when the unexpected happens.

2. Music

I always try and have music playing during most photoshoots.  Sometimes it may not be appropriate but when you are working with a model for the first time, or someone with little experience it often helps to have music to keep the atmosphere fun and easy going. Play up beat music or offer for the client or model to play there own ipod.

3. Computer

Weather it’s a laptop or a desktop sometimes it’s nice to be able to instantly view your photos on location.  I prefer my desktop because of it’s superior speed and larger monitors. For some shoots I’ve been hired for we spent all day in a Hair salon taking pictures, professional models were prepped there and I shot in the back room which I temporarily turned in to a studio.  Having my desktop computer was invaluable.  The  models and clients were able to easily see the photos as they were taken and I could easily show them examples of editing.  Sometimes this is not a practical option, but when possible it can make a real difference.

4. Mirror

Many people are uncomfortable being photographed without first knowing exactly how they look in a mirror.  The mirror can be used for last minute makeup and hair fixes.  Not only will the mirror help your client or talent to feel more comfortable but with your subject focused on physical perfection you can focus on camera settings and other technical details.  Mirrors are obviously fragile and heavy so are not always ideal.

5. Business cards

You would be surprised how often people like to just stand and watch a photoshoot in progress.  Throw up some professional lights hold a big camera and point it at a pretty girl in a busy area and you will have a small crowd watching in no time.  Hand out a business card to the crowd and those who come and talk to you and you might have just booked 5 more clients.  But be careful to be professional, the photoshoot you are currently working on should always come first. Talk to on-lookers during clothing changes, or other times when you don’t have a paying customer waiting to be photographed.

Well these are just some of the things you could need on a photoshoot, leave a comment with some of the things you like to have with you!

‘Photographer’ by jj8rock

[tweetmeme]A new year is in the loom and throughout the world people are deciding what they want to change for the year ahead. So what should us photographers aim to change? Here are 10 resolutions that can help us all become better photographers in 2011.

1. Never use Auto mode.

One of the first steps involved in improving your photography is taking control of your camera. P mode is great as it automatically controls your exposure but it lets you meddle with white balance, ISO and a great range of other options that can help bring your photos to life. In 2011 I will never use Auto mode.

2.  Shoot more in RAW

I personally believe there is a time and a place for RAW. Lately though, I’ve been neglecting the format. RAW is an uncompressed file format that retains all of your photos information. As a result you can continue to adjust white balance and other camera options when you’re back at your computer, and your photo retains details that otherwise would have been lost in JPEG. In 2011 I want to shoot in RAW more often.

3. Take control of your flash.

Your camera’s built in flash can be a bit unkind sometimes. On Auto Flash mode the burst of light can drain the colour and vibrancy from your photo. Most camera’s these days have multiple flash modes that can help you to use your flash creatively. In 2011, if I’m ever using flash, I’ll consider what flash mode will best do the job and switch it off auto.

4. Take your camera with you more often.

I’m often complaining about the size of my camera. It’s too big and heavy to lug around sometimes, and I often opt for a small point and shoot when I’m on the move because it’s more portable. In 2011, if I’m ever going anywhere even slightly interesting, I’ll take my camera with me. It may be a hassle at times but I’m sure the photos will make up for it.

5. Shoot more in the rain.

I think photographing in the rain has a great deal of potential. Usually people are scared off by the rain and tend not to use their cameras in fear of getting them wet. Heck, most sane people avoid even getting themselves wet. This though means that the world in the rain is an unseen world. Grab a raincoat and a plastic bag or some other form of camera protection, head out in the rain and see what you can capture. In 2011 I won’t let a storm scare me off. I’ll head out and photograph the sights that people wouldn’t normally see.

6. Never use the camera’s Black and White mode.

If you select the black and white mode on your camera, your camera simply desaturates your image and discards colour information. Typically, the end result is a flat image. If you want stunning black and white photographs you need to photograph in colour and then play around with the colours in photoshop or Lightroom. Here you have an astonishing amount of control with your black and white transformation because it retains colour information. This means that if you want the sky to stand out in your black and white photo, by adjusting the hue or saturation of the blues in your photo you can make your sky pop. The photograph will still be black and white but these programs remember your colours to give you full control over lighting, shade and the texture of your subject. In 2011 I will never use the camera’s black and white mode, and I’ll do it all myself in Photoshop or Lightroom.

7. Develop a photography series.

Pick a subject or topic, get out there and create an amazing collection. It could be bikes in the city, people’s hands, the contents of people’s handbags or some other idea I haven’t thought of. A photography series can be a great thing to share and look at, as well as a fascinating insight into the abstract qualities of life. In 2011, I’m going to pick a different, fascinating subject and photograph the hell out of it.

8. Stop the car.

Every now and then while driving along I spot a stunning landscape that just begs to be photographed. I always think ‘that would make a great photo’ but I never stopped for a closer look. In 2011 I’ll be sure to stop at any opportunity, get out of the car and photograph that stunning landscape. Don’t let these opportunities pass you buy.

9. Use filters.

Filters really can transform your photos. Whether it’s a polarised filter or an ND filter, putting another piece of glass in front of your lens can provide you with a world of new opportunities and some pretty stunning results. PhotoGuides can of course tell you all about the three essential filters. In 2011 I’ll invest in ND filters and other sorts as well, and I’ll see just what filters can do for my photos.

10. Don’t forget the people.

As a landscape photography enthusiast it’s often easy to ignore the people and go for the stunning scenes. In 2011 I’m going to try and take more photos of the important people in my life. Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, great photos of people are always the ones you’ll cherish and remember. If there’s one resolution that we all take on board, I think it should be this one.

Happy new year everyone! What are your new years resolutions for photography? Feel free to share them in the comments below.

Juliet Simms / Automatic loveletter

I knew very little about music photography in general when I first started, I knew that I loved the rock show and I loved photography.  I was also always captivated by the images I saw in The Rolling Stones, Spin and AP magazine.  But one question was left unanswered, “What gear do I need to successfully take photos at concerts?”

We’ve all seen (and probably taken) photos at shows with point-and-shoot cameras or even our cell phones.  But as we all found out, our pictures turned out incredibly dark, incredibly orange, and or incredibly noisy.  Each “genre” of photography has its own obstacles, some more than others.  While I might be bias, I believe concert photography has some of the hardest elements to deal with on the job.

The following list is here to help you get on the right path and to start you off with the essentials.  While this list is not a be-all-end-all, concrete decree sent down from the photography Gods, it will give you a good idea of what you need (and what I personally prefer).

The Camera Body

First off, let me say that I am a Canon lover, so if I name a camera or piece of gear, its almost always going to be Canon.  However, do not fear, Nikon has the equivalents to every Canon body (you just need to compare the specs).  Now that that is taken care of; one the most important aspects when choosing a camera body for concert photography is the  shots per second the camera can shoot, since your subjects will be moving around a lot and jumping off of amps, fast firing of shots definitely helps capture the “decisive moment”.  Another important factor in my opinion is how many focal points the camera has.  Obviously for this last one, the more the better; the more focal points your camera has to choose from, the more creative options you have and the finer/more accurately the camera can capture the subject.  The body I chose was the Canon 7D.  While it is a cropped sensor, it has everything I mentioned here and performs amazingly, I highly recommend it.

The Lens(es)

Your camera body is nothing without an adequate lens.  You can have a six thousand dollar camera, and a crappy lens (in regards to concert photography) and your six thousand dollar camera might as well be a six hundred dollar camera.  Because of the nature of concerts, you are going to need a lens that can handle the low light conditions as well as being able to quickly (and accurately) autofocus.  In my experience, to get high quality photos, you are going to need a lens with at least an aperture of 2.8, but if you can, go with something like 1.8 (or 1.4 if you can).  If you get a lens with an aperture of 4 or more, you won’t be able to shoot the low light without A LOT of noise (which is obviously bad).  Also, the lens needs to be able to quickly autofocus because your subject is going to be moving around and will hardly ever stay in one position for more than a few seconds.

Now this is where people differ, some LOVE prime lenses, others (like me), prefer the zoom capabilities.  While primes offer lower aperture (usually around 1.8) and most of them are easier on the pockets, you are stuck with one focal length.  With zoom capabilities, sure you are going to pay more, but think of how many primes are covered with one lens.  To me, it makes the most sense, you save space in your bag (need to carry less lenses) and you are able to zoom in for more dramatic shots.  Personally, my go-to lens is the Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 lens.  It has everything I need.

The Flash

Alright, the flash is an odd thing.  First off, if you are going to use it, do not use the one that pops up from your camera unless you absolutely have to.  The reason that this is a tricky topic is because not many venues allow flashes, and for good reasons (if you were on stage I am sure you wouldn’t want one going off right in your face either).  However, if you are able to use one, it makes ‘freezing’ the action a whole lot easier and can solve some horrible lighting situations.  Personally, I recommend (and use) a Canon 580EX II; this lens offers a powerful punch and a whole lot of options.

Memory Cards

I used to use a 16 GB CF card for my Canon 7D, then it got stolen.  Now I use what was my back up, 8GB CF card.  I have found that 8 gigs is more than enough for most concerts (the exception being all day festivals).  Most venues have a limit as to how many songs you can shoot, the limit is usually the first 3 songs of each band.  8 gigs is plenty for around four bands and should give you some room to spare.  But if you ever find yourself running short, use the time between sets to go through the images and get rid of the ones you know you won’t be using.  If you can, always carry a spare memory card as well.  You never know what could happen and the last thing you want is to be left out on the side-lines while a kick-ass show is going on.  Personally, I prefer the Sandisk Extreme series; it offers amazing write speeds, and has never failed.

Summary

When choosing your kit, make sure you get the right body and lens.  While most bodies have adequate shutter speeds, make sure it has enough focus points and the options you want it to have.  For the lens, this is the most important piece of gear you have.  If you can, splurge and treat yourself to something nice.  You first need to decide whether you want to work with Primes or zoom lenses.  And always aim for a lens with an aperture between 1.4-2.8.  As for the flash, never use the one that pops up from your camera unless you have to, go out and buy one that can attach to your hotshoe.  I suggest the 580 EX II or the 430 EX II.  As for the memory card, you really don’t need anything more than 8 gigs if you are shooting RAW and are only shooting around 4 bands.  But, if you can always carry around a spare memory card.

[tweetmeme]A simple leaf holds a great deal of photographic potential. Photographing leaves is an amazing way to meddle with lighting, composition and the world of macro photography. Here’s how to try it for yourself.

What you need:

• A camera with a macro lens or a reasonable wide angle lens. Macro is preferable,
 but you can still zoom in and crop with a normal lens.
• Some leaves. Look for leaves with an interesting texture, nice patterns or 
 interesting colours.
• Some sticky tape.
• A window and some sunshine.
• A tripod (Optional, but it can be handy).
• A sprayable water container (Again, optional, but it can create a nice effect).

The Setup:

• Sticky tape the leaf to a window that is exposed to the sun. Try and use the tape
 to expand the leaf so that it is flat against the surface of the window. This isn’t 
 essential, but it can really help with capturing the leaf’s symmetry.
• Use an aperture of around F8. This will allow sufficient light to enter the lens 
 and the broader depth of field will ensure that all of the leaf is in focus.
• Use an ISO of around 200-400. If the shutter speed in this range is too slow and a
 blurred photo is the result, use your tripod. Otherwise try and photograph 
 freehand as this allows you to experiment with angles and composition.
• For added excellence, spray some water onto the leaf.

Photographing Leaves:

Photographing leaves is remarkably simple. With this setup the light through the window will expose the texture, colours and hidden veins within the leaf.

Play with symmetry and patterns in your composition. You can always crop your photo in the post processing phase to perfect the composition you’re trying to create. While you’re at it, fiddle with the ‘hue’ and colours of the leaf as well as the black and white levels to highlight the lines and textures of the leaf.

If photoshop isn’t your thing though then don’t worry. When taking your photo you can experiment with different exposures and your white balance to capture the leaf’s colours and textures in their most stunning form.

All this and more in the PhotoGuides Book >

[tweetmeme]Camera Toss Photography is an amazing new trend that captures light in its most abstract form. As the name suggests, it involves throwing your camera in the air while taking a photo. Here’s what to consider when trying it out for yourself.

• A camera with the ability to adjust the Shutter Speed and Aperture.
• A hint of bravery and a quality catch.
• A dark room or some night time.

• Set the shutter speed to around 1 second.
• Set the camera’s Aperture to around F5.6.
• Find some lights. 1 to 3 lights work best as they leave you with a nice simple
 photograph. Also, these lights should be evenly spaced. If there are too many lights or if they are unevenly spaced you could end up with a cluttered, messy photo. Mounting a few christmas lights to the roof works well.

There are a few different ways to throw your camera. Spinning, as the name suggests, involves spinning your camera in a clockwise or anti clockwise motion to create a beautiful spiral pattern with the lights. Flipping involves flipping your camera end over end either forwards or backwards. The third method is a combination of spinning and flipping whereby your camera is tossed in a random fashion. This type of throw creates the most abstract shapes, but the simple, uniform nature of flipping and spinning can also produce stunning results.

If you find that the lights are not bright enough, simply increase the size of your aperture.

Camera Toss Photography can produce some stunning results. Experiment with different colours of light, or be creative in your throwing method. It’s a simple concept to grasp, just make sure you don’t drop your camera.

All this and more in the PhotoGuides Book >

[tweetmeme]Photographing people and portraits is one of the greatest challenges in photography. People have a tendency to dislike photographs of themselves, so you need to make it your mission to photograph people on their best side in their best light whist still showing their true personality. Here are a few tips to help you out.


When you photograph people and use a shallow depth of field, they are almost separated from their background. This effect looks astounding in portrait photography, so be sure to use a wide aperture such as F2.8 to create this shallow depth of field.


The eyes are what everyone looks at. When photographing people, be sure to focus on their eyes. That way, when people look back at the photo they will see people’s eyes as crisply as they would expect in real life.

Candid Photography refers to photographs which are taken informally without the person knowing about them. When people have a camera in their face, they tend to put on a fake photo-smile or they act differently. By being unobtrusive you can capture the true side of a person.

Candid Photography isn’t always the best thing to do. Sometimes you capture a person’s true side when you interact with them and play with the camera. If you’re photographing children then getting involved is the best thing to do. Interact with them and let them play with the camera. They’ll smile, they’ll laugh and your photos will capture genuine happiness. Older people can also be immensely childish when there’s a camera in their face. Make them laugh and tease them with the camera. Every now and then you’ll come across a gem of a photo which captures the true side of a person like nothing else.


When you zoom in the depth of field is highly amplified. This will allow you to create photographs with astonishingly shallow depths of field. Also, standing back and zooming in will allow you to capture properly candid photographs. If they can’t see you they won’t be distracted by the camera, so you’ll capture photographs that reflect their true personality.



Just don’t do it. Standard flashes are not flattering. It’s like throwing a ball of light at someone’s face. Blemishes show up, skin can look rough and you’re often left with sharp and unnatural shadows. Furthermore due to the excessive light being thrown onto your subject, the background can be left unnaturally dark. I accept that using the standard flash is sometimes a necessity such as when you’re at a function or in a dark room. If you don’t need the flash though then don’t use it. Your subject will thank you for it.



Studio photographers can spend thousands of dollars on flash equipment that casts soft even light on their subject. In the shade, nature tends to do all this for you. If you’re outdoors then you’ll find that softly shaded areas provide you with the best lighting. You may also find this to be the case indoors.

Where a person is standing or what a person is doing can add new dimensions to the photograph. If you’re photographing the locals in a different culture, try to capture the environment around them in the photograph. Also look to capture the colours and the feel of the environment. If the background is dark and gloomy, work with the settings to capture a dark and gloomy photograph.



This is a term I’ve coined myself, and it’s one of my favorite things to do. If you’re at an event and you’ve got a camera, more often than not people will ask you to take a picture of them and their friends. They will then proceed to stand awkwardly and put on fake smiles. I find that some of the best photographs come from when they’re preparing for their photo. Start snapping early and you’re likely to capture them laughing and talking in their true element.



Don’t discard a photo if the lighting or composition isn’t perfect. People photography is all about the smiles, the character and the relationships. If you’ve captured this, keep it.

[tweetmeme]Black and White photography has the incredible ability to reveal things that would otherwise be lost in colour. These photos can share emotions or reveal abstractions in the world that normally go unnoticed. Here are a few tips to help you get the best out of your black and white photography.

1. Think in Black and White.


Colours aside, black and white photographs are generally very different to colour photographs. In order to take a successful B&W photograph it helps to think in black and white. Be on the look out for different angles and different views that capture the shapes, textures and other elements of a photograph that would be lost in colour.

2. Texture, Patterns, Lines and Shapes look lovely.


By taking the colour out of a photo we are accentuating features that otherwise would be ignored. The most incredible black and white photographs focus on an objects texture, or the abstraction of the lines that flow throughout it. Wrinkles on a person’s face for instance can appear beautiful in black and white. Aim to take a photo that reveals and boasts these fine details.

3. Photograph in Colour.


Don’t limit yourself by photographing with the Black and White setting. This setting will tend to just desaturate your photo, and a simple discarding of colour will often cause your photo to appear flat. Retaining the colour information with your photo gives you a great deal of potential through the editing process. It will allow you to adjust the shades and intensities of individual colours. For example, if there is a sky in your photo, you can adjust the blues to have a high level of contrast. The resulting strength of the sky in your black and white photo can be stunning. Photographing in colour gives you full control, and also gives you a backup incase the black and white version doesn’t work out quite like you’d hoped.



4. Photograph in RAW.

RAW is an uncompressed and lossless photo format. By retaining all of the information that the camera detects, we can manipulate the fine details in the editing process. Shooting in RAW can give us more potential, as well as more control over our photo.

5. Photograph Emotion.

Black and White has an incredible power to reveal emotion. Love, loss, pain or the simple wisdom of age can be expressed with incredible power in black and white. In particular, portraits can take on new dimensions in black and white and can reveal a hidden character of a person that is otherwise lost in colour.

6. Poor Lighting is Great!



If it’s overcast or if the sun’s hiding, start to think in black and white. Lighting with high contrast is perfect for black and white photography because it reveals those powerful textures. In black and white, this poor lighting can stand out and really give your photo a third dimension.

7. Use a Low ISO.



If you use a high ISO then the noise can leave your photo with an unwanted grain. This noise can be far more obvious when you discard the photos colour. Whilst this film-like grain can be nice, you’re better off adding this grain in the editing phase. Going for the lower ISO will give you a smoother image and the option as to what kind of photo texture you’d like.

[tweetmeme]We’ve all been there and seen it. You’re on holiday or just happen to be taking a drive out into the local mountain range (if you happen to be lucky enough to live in a place like that) and there it is, the most amazing view! You have your camera on you, however the wide-angle lens is just not wide enough, not to mention that it happens to be dusk so a hand-held exposure will not give you a sharp enough image.

Here’s a guide on how to fuse panoramic and HDR photography that should help you to capture that astonishing scene.

What Equipment do I Need?

As for the camera, any digital SLR will do, however I strongly suggest to purchase a Manfrotto 303 QTVR (Quick Time Virtual Reality) Pan Head which will run you around $450. Attached to a sturdy tripod, this pan head will allow you to achieve greater accuracy in digitally stitching together your final image by enabling you to accurately position the camera over the panoramic axis of rotation and thus adding greater accuracy to nodal point positioning. For a detail explanation of finding your nodal point for a specific lens and setting up your Manfrotto 303 QTVR Pan Head on your tripod, check out this link.

Time and Location

OK, so now that you’ve done your bit of shopping, you’re ready to get started. Once you’ve selected your location, check with your local weatherman for a clear, low humidity day. Light and clarity are the key factors when shooting panoramas. Aim for that early morning or late evening (dusk) shoot to capture that warm light.

The Setup

Finally you have the perfect evening and you’re on location. No time to waste as that you’ll loose the light in 20 minutes and one must allow for a good 10 minutes to shoot all the required HDR (High Dynamic Range) images.
To start, set up your camera to shoot between 5 and 7-bracketed images set 1 F-stop apart. Most pro or semi-pro digital cameras will do this automatically. Don’t forget a little foreground to give depth and composition to your art.
Find your nodal point and set your camera on a 2 second shutter release delay (allowing camera vibrations to steady) in continuous shooting mode and depending on the focal length of your lens (I generally recommend picking a 24 to 50 mm lens) set your QTVR pan head between 15 and 30 degree increments so that each image overlaps adjacent images by a minimum of 25%. Now, gently press the shutter release and allow your camera to complete the entire sequence of exposures before rotating your QTVR pan head to the next position. As long as the nodal point of the camera/lens is correctly set in line with the center of rotation, you will avoid parallax effects during image stitching. Repeat this procedure until you have captured all the required images to complete your panorama. If you plan on shooting more than one sequence of images, save each sequence within a different folder on your CF card.

7 Images taken one Fstop apart (-1-2-3 0 +1+2+3)

7 shots above merged in Photomatix “Fuse exposures”

Putting it All Together

Back in front of your computer, download your raw images using your favorite software (my preference being Adobe Lightroom 2). Each 5 to 7 images (depending on how many bracketed images you chose to shoot) will need to be processed within Photomatix Pro (which has a plugin within Lightroom) or HDR in Photoshop. I prefer Photomatix Pro since it has a function called “fuse exposures” which results in a more photo-realistic result. Now depending on the width of your panorama and the degree increments used, you have around 5 to 7 HDR images showing detail in all highlights and shadows in the image. If using Photomatix Pro plugin within Lightroom, these images can be directly exported from Lightroom into ‘Merge To Panorama’ in Photoshop. You can then select “auto” under layout and Photoshop will then automatically stitch together your HDR images. Depending on the file size and computer RAM, this can take from 5 to 30 minutes. Once the stitching is done, crop your image to desired format. And voila… you have your perfect panorama!

The resulting 7 HDR angles (using “fuse exposure” command in Photomatix) ready to be stitched into a panorama:

Final photoshop stitched (8,319 x 4,737 pixels) and colour balanced panorama from 7 HDR shots above:

Film Camera by theREALantimaster

[tweetmeme]A traditional time lapse involves a stationary camera snapping away at some moving objects. It can look cool, but it’s a bit lifeless. A while ago I had an idea for a time lapse of photos that travelled the world. No photo was planned and the camera was never in the same place twice. What it tells though is an incredible story. It’s the perfect depiction of a snippet of my life, and in this guide I hope to inspire you to create your own, as well as show you how to create it. The best thing is, you’ve probably already got every photo you need to do it.

Here’s some Inspiration

About a year ago while I was flicking through some of my photos I had a realisation. We may take thousands of photos on a holiday or journey, yet we leave it up to a select few to tell the story. We sort through them and pick the prime of the bunch to tweak and share. Probably 95% of the photos we take go to waste and this is a real shame. After all, if the moment is interesting enough to photograph, it should be interesting enough to share.

I realised this during my trip to South Africa on The Simunye Project while I was scrolling through photos on my camera. I hold so many memories from that experience – memories of the children, the people, the animals, the country and memories with my friends – and each memory was coming back as I flicked through my photos. For some reason though I was mentally filtering through all 4000 of them and picking the best based on their artistic qualities. These select photos may have told a story, but it was almost impossible to share the whole experience through a select bunch. A picture may say 1000 words, but in some cases, that’s really not enough.

And then I had this idea.

Why not share all of them? The only real way to understand the experience is to see each and every kodak moment together, because every photo from the start to the finish tells the whole story. So, after finding even more inspiration in a song, I put together this time lapse. If you’re a PhotoGuides regular or if you’ve delved deep into the archives, some of you may have seen this before. It’s called Simunye 3096 (that being the number of photos in it) and I’ve found it to be one of the only ways to tell the whole Simunye story.

It’s one of the few films I never get tired of watching, partly because it’s sentimental, but also because every time you watch it you’ll spot something new.

As I later found out, I’m not the only one who’s played with this concept. One particular film that stands out is ’30 days’ by Michael Mistretta. He bought a Nikon D90 and took over 2,700 photos in the first 30 days with the camera. This film is an incredible display of what he did over those 30 days, as well as of the people in his life. The majority of the photos are of the people around him, and even though you have no idea who anyone is, you sort of get to learn about Michael.

Hopefully you now see the story telling capabilities of Time Lapse photography. Michael probably didn’t even plan to create this. I assume he had a similar epiphany to me when he realised that those 2,777 photos held the story of his 30 days.

Here are some Tips

Photograph Everything and Keep Everything.
If you’re taking a photo of a person and it turns out blury or poorly exposed, keep it because it’s these photos that add to the character of the film. The same applies with photos where you have about 10 of the same thing.

In the edit, Duplicate Photos you want to Emphasise.
In my Simunye 3096 film I doubled up my favourite photos or photos of a significant event. They then stay on the screen for just a split second longer, and this means they’ll always be noticed.

Pick a Good Song.
The song tells half of the story, both through its words and through its rhythm. Michael Mistretta’s film speaks of memories, and the fast piano acts as a conductor for the photos. It’s the same for my Simunye film. The song ‘Any Other World’ by Mika is so relevant to the nature of South Africa, and its piano beat is perfect for the film. Pick your song wisely because it’s probably the most important part of the film.

8-12 Frames per Second
It may be a personal choice, but I’ve found this to be the optimal range of speed. It’s quick enough so that the viewer doesn’t focus on individual photos, but it’s also slow enough for them to recognise just what’s going on.

And Here’s how to Make your Time Lapse.

FrameByFrame (Mac): This is a cool piece of free software that lets you compile all your photos into a video and set the frame rate. Just drag in your photos into the editing window, slide the frame rate to between 8-12 and click play.

Final Cut: If you’ve got Final Cut Pro or Express then I highly recommend you use it. The best way to create your time lapse is to open up a new project, go into the ‘User Preferences’ menu (press option+Q), select editing and then change the default still/freeze frame duration to 00:02 or 00:03. This means that your photo will be displayed for either 2 or 3 frames out of 25 or 30 (PAL or NTSC dependent). Once you’ve done this, simply drag in your photos and they’ll automatically be set to 2 or 3 fps.

QuickTime Pro: If you’ve got QuickTime then you’re in luck, because it’s got an excellent feature for creating Time Lapse films. You’ll first need to put all your photos into a single folder containing nothing else. Then you can open up QuickTime and click file, ‘Open Image Sequence’ and select the first image in that folder. It should then ask you the frame rate (choose around 10fps), click ok and then it should create your time lapse for you.

VirtualDub (PC): As a Mac user I’ve not been able to try this program out, so I can’t offer any tips on how to use it. It’s been recommended to me by others, so I presume that means it works.

Windows Movie Maker: As much as I hate to admit it, Windows Movie Maker can make a fairly good time lapse. You can drag in all of your photos and then set a duration for each image. There’s a pretty good tutorial for it over here.

Finally, Share your Time Lapse Story.

If you’ve created a time lapse, then I’d love to see it, so if you’ve uploaded it to youtube or vimeo then feel free to share the link. If I like it, I might even pop it up here for everyone else to see.

Time Lapse photography of this nature is very simple. It involves no planning and can only take a few minutes to put together. The story telling capabilities though are astounding, and this form of time lapse can revive memories and tell stories you may otherwise have forgotten.

Good Luck!

[tweetmeme]When taking portraits it is often a great effect to have a clean black background. With a flat black background the viewer can focus more on the subject of your photo. Backgrounds and stands can rack up a high price quick, but who says you need a professional and expensive background to get professional results? In this article you will learn how to set up a working background on a budget.

Items Needed:

• Black Fabric
• Clips or Tape
• An open Wall
• Lights (preferably remote flashes)

Steps:

• Take your Black Fabric and secure it up high on the wall you are using
• Place your lights
  • If possible the one of the best lighting set ups would be having 2 lights on the right and left, and one lighting the hair from the back. This will help separate the hair from the backdrop. This is especially useful if your model has dark hair.
• Have your model stand at least 3 feet away from the background to avoid lighting the backdrop.
• Take a few test pictures and adjust your lights until you get a image you desire.
• Once you are happy with the setup snap away!

Example light setup

[tweetmeme]There are two types of motion blur pictures. The first type is where you keep your surroundings static and bring out motion in the subject. This works pretty well with pictures where only a part of the subject is moving, like the arms or legs. The other type of blur is where you keep the subject mostly in focus and get a motion blur effect on the background. This works well when the entire subject is in motion, just like the bike in the image above.

Here are a few quick pointers for taking some cool motion blur shots.

1. Be alert and Ready to Shoot

The most  important tip that you have to remember when shooting a moving object is to be alert and ready to shoot. You must be aware of whats going on around you, have your settings ready well in advanced, and always anticipate the next step. That way you’ll never miss that perfect shot.

2. Look at your surroundings

Concentrate on your surroundings. What’s going to be in the background of your photo? Remember the background can make or break a picture.

3. Two Kinds of Motion Blur

For the first type of motion blur, keep the camera still so that the subject is blurred. Alternatively you can track your subject with the camera so that motion blur is applied to the background.

4. Use the Shutter Speed Priority Mode

Motion blur is all about shutter speed. To bring out the motion in the backdrop and keep the subject in focus, start with a shutter speed of 1/200th of a second and slow down gradually depending on the results and the speed of the subject. This will help you to determine the optimum shutter speed for motion blur in those conditions.

5. Trace the Moving Subject

Start tracking the subject before you press the shutter, and don’t stop until the photo has been taken. This will help in capturing sharp subjects. Also, using the cameras viewfinder rather than the LCD helps a lot. It helps to keep the camera steady and allows your pivot to be far more accurate.

6. S-AF or Servo Focus

Set the Focus to S-AF or Servo. On this mode, the camera will continue to focus regardless of whether your finger is on the button. This helps in tracking the fast moving objects because it saves the time spent focusing before a shot. It was built specifically for this reason, so why not use it if you have it.

7. Use a Low ISO

Set the ISO to the lowest possible setting. If you cannot prepare for a test shot then set it somewhere between 200 and 400.

8. One Thirds Always Works

Select the focus point off the center. If you don’t have the ability to do this, select the center focus and crop it during post processing. The One third rule almost always works. Again photography is all about breaking rules. Break them when you feel they work.

9. Steady Hands and the Perfect Pivot

Try to keep hold the camera tight. This will avoid some unwanted blur. A great tip this is to use the viewfinder instead of the LCD. By doing this your pivot will be far more accurate because the camera is following your eyes, not your arms.

10. Practice Makes Perfect

Practice, practice and practice. This is the key to success.

Keep visiting back for more tips and techniques.

[tweetmeme]

Smoke photography has gained lot of momentum in the recent years. There are some photographers out there who come up with amazing smoke photographs. The setup for smoke photography is relatively simple. Here’s a quick recipe for  successful smoke photographs.

Items Needed:

• A power controllable flash/strobe light
• A DSLR
• A good lens (preferably macro lens)
• An incense sticks
• Tripod optional
• Black background
• Two small black sheet
• Wireless flash trigger or wired trigger

Steps Involved:

• Attach the black back drop to the wall.
• Place the incense stick a foot away from the back drop.
• Place a table lamp on the right to help with focusing.
• Place the flash/strobe on the left side of the incense stick, half a foot away from smoke.
• Place the black sheet on either side of the strobe to avoid unwanted spill and flare.
• Start with 1/16th of the power and go up or down depending on your strobe.
• Now light the incense stick, switch on the table lamp.
• Focus on the edge of the incense stick where the smoke arises. Don’t open your aperture wider than f8.0
• Keep the shutter speed below your sync speed. 1/200 is preferable.
• Click away and get some great smoke pictures.
• Slightly blow the smoke to get some dramatic shapes of smoke.
• Try placing 2 or 3 incense sticks to form a pattern.

Easy post processing techniques:

• Open the picture in Photoshop.
• Select the entire image by clicking Ctrl A or Cmd A
• Go to Image>Adjustments>Inverse. This will make the background white.
• Use Hue and Saturation to adjust the color of the smoke.
• Also try the colorize option under Hue & Saturation adjustment to get some dramatic colors of the smoke on a white background.

Follow these steps and end up with some artistic pictures. Last but not least always remember to practice, practice and practice. That’s the only way to be perfect.

Sydney New Year’s Eve Fireworks by Christopher Chan

[tweetmeme]With Christmas just days away and with a new year in the loom, fireworks displays are going to be seen and heard all around the world. These incredible celebratory displays are not only spectacle for the eye though, they’re also a fantastic subject for photography. In theory, fireworks photography should be difficult. After all, bright explosions that are scattered around a smokey night sky seem like a difficult subject to photograph. In actual fact though, fireworks are quite easy to photograph, and with a bit of practice you’ll attain stunning results.
Here are some tips to help you capture fireworks in the best possible way.

1. Use a Tripod

It’ll be dark, so you’re going to need to use a long exposure. Because of this, any slight movements will result in a blurry photo. In order to capture these fireworks in crisp motionless clarity you’re going to need a tripod to keep your camera steady.

2. Set the Shutter Speed to ‘Bulb’

In order to capture the true essence of the fireworks display, you’ll want to try and capture the motion of the firework traveling through and exploding in the sky. As a result, a long exposure will be needed. However, because fireworks are spontaneous, it’s tricky to guess just how long to keep the shutter open for.

Using the ‘Bulb’ setting is an easy way to get around this problem. Represented by the letter ‘b’, the bulb setting will hold the shutter open for as long as you have your finger on the button. Press the shutter button just prior to the firework being shot into the sky, and release it when the explosion begins to fade away. This way you’ll have the control to capture only the light that you want to.

3. Use a Small Aperture

Despite the night sky, fireworks displays are deceptively bright. Because of this, using a large aperture could cause your photo to be overexposed, or the light trail of the fireworks to be too powerful. The smaller aperture helps to control the brightness of the fireworks and ensure that the colours and light isn’t overpowering, as well as helping to maintain the exposure of your photo. If you’re a long way from the fireworks then I suggest using an aperture of F8, and if you’re close to the action use a smaller aperture of around F16.

4. Use Manual Focus

Due to the dark sky and the speed of the firework, it’s nearly impossible to focus your shot automatically. Thus, a manual focus is required. Depending on the distance you are from the fireworks, you might like to try infinity focus to ensure you capture the whole scene in clarity.

5. Keep the ISO Low

Using a lower ISO will allow for a cleaner image, and will also help to prevent the bright, powerful firework explosions from overpowering your image. An ISO of around 100 should do the job.

Fireworks by mk_xena

6. Turn the Flash Off

Due to the distance of the fireworks, your flash won’t do anything. All that it will do is light up the objects close to you, and having a person’s back or a tree well lit could potentially ruin your photo.

7. Use a Remote

If you’ve got a remote, now’s the time to use it. Because we’re using the ‘Bulb’ setting, we’re going to need our finger on the shutter for quite a long time, but any movements, knocks, or even the process of pressing and releasing the button could cause a blurry photo. The remote will allow you to have full control over the shutter without running the risk of moving your camera.

8. Be Ready to Shoot Early

As the fireworks display goes on, the sky will become riddled with smoke. This can become annoying when you’re trying to capture the crisp clean colours of the fireworks. To get around this problem, it’s best to be prepared early, with your camera and equipment set up to capture even the first firework.

9. Framing Your Shot

Try portrait, try landscape, try shooting directly at the sky, try zooming in, try a wide angle shot, try just about everything. The fireworks don’t necessarily have to be the feature of your shot. If the display is over a lake or a bridge, be sure to include it. Perhaps even try and include silhouettes of people. Alternatively, aim to capture the fine details of the fireworks. Zoom right in so that you can see the colours and the smokey tail of the explosion. Perhaps even point the camera directly at the sky. Experiment with all the angles and focal lengths possible, keeping in mind that the most beautiful fireworks photographs are the ones featuring the scenes around them.

10. Bring a Black Sheet or Cap

A black sheet or cap can be very handy when you’re trying to capture multiple fireworks explosions in a single shot. As soon as the first explosion is finished, cover the lens of the camera with the black object. This will allow you to keep your shutter open, without letting in any light. As soon as the next firework is launched, remove the black object and allow the light to pass through the lens.

That’s all there is to it. In theory, fireworks photography should be difficult, but provided you apply these basic settings and implement these simple tricks, you’ll be walking away with stunning fireworks photographs.

Merry christmas, happy new year, and good luck!