No Flash Photography
August 22, 2008
Often times when you are at a public event, you will hear someone announce, “no flash photography, please.” A lot of people assume that they just can’t use their cameras because their flashes usually fire automatically. This is especially true when you’re indoors with low light.
Last weekend, I enjoyed an acrobatics show on the General Jackson. Before the show began, we were reminded that flash photography was not allowed. I grinned to myself, picked up my camera, and made a few adjustments that I knew would allow me to take great photos without using a flash.
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Beginning Photography Tips – Intro to ISO
August 20, 2008
ISO, otherwise known as film speed, is the foundation of the key elements of exposure. Your ISO setting determines how fast your digital sensor reacts to the light that hits it. The settings for both aperture and shutter speed are based on your sensor’s sensitivity to light.
ISO stands for–yep, you guessed it; International Organization for Standardization. Fortunately, we don’t need to remember this. For our purposes, “ISO” is just a short way of referring to film speed.
Off Camera Flash Photography Tips – Quality of Light
August 15, 2008
As we continue learning more about off-camera lighting, we need to examine the beam of light coming from the light source. How big is it? How close it is? Which angle is it coming from? How much did I pay for it, again?
Let’s first tackle the size of your light. It’s important to keep in mind that you should judge the size of light as it relates to your subject. If you’re shooting full-length portraits of someone, there’s going to be a difference between a “big” light source for that person versus what you’d need if you were taking product shots of cell phones, for example. This boils down to apparent light size; that is, the size of light from the perspective of your subject.
Photography Advice – From Beginner to Novice
August 13, 2008
Earlier this year, two separate things happened in my life that made me want to learn more about photography. First, my wife dropped the handy point and shoot camera that we’d had for a few years which rendered it useless. Second, this very same wife became pregnant with our first child.
So there I was, camera-less with our first child on the way. I couldn’t stand it. I talked it over with my good friend Bo (the guy who writes all the great photography and Photoshop articles for this site) and decided that I should get a nice digital SLR, a Canon XTi to be exact. That is how it all began; I had a nice camera, a strong motive, and practically no photography experience. I knew that I wanted to take nice photos of our baby girl (it’s a girl!), not to mention all the upcoming family gatherings, but I didn’t really know where to begin. The following is a brief overview of the steps I took to go from an absolute beginner to a novice photographer.
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Off-Camera Flash Photography Tips – Where to Mount the Flash
August 11, 2008
This article is a continuation of the previously discussed how to trigger your flash article. Once you have your flash and are able to trigger it remotely, now you have to figure out where to put the darn thing! This is a great question and you have many different options here. The method you choose will depend on the type of photography you’re wanting to pursue…oh, and how fat your wallet is.
Lightroom 2 – Better External Hard Drive Support
August 1, 2008
The release of Adobe Lightroom 2 is packed with tons of useful new features and capabilities. One note-worthy addition is the extended support for external hard drives.
If you’re like me, you probably have at least one external hard drive used as a back-up device or for additional photo storage. In Lightroom 1, all imported photos were visually clumped together in a often-confusing folder list. Version 2 of Lightroom gives us a much more meaningful and informative view of our photo folders and attached devices.
What is Focal Length Multiplier
July 28, 2008
If you spend any time reading through photography forums or blogs, or if you actually cracked open the manual that came with your camera, you may have come across the term Focal Length Multiplier. While this term does sound intimidating, the concept is fairly straight-forward.
Before digital cameras came along, 35mm film was a popular format. The majority of consumer-grade digital cameras available today have sensors that are smaller than 35mm film. The majority of these smaller sensors align themselves with the Advanced Photo System type-”Classic” (APS-C) image format, which measures smaller than traditional 35mm film (36×24mm). Therefore, by nature, these digital sensors are only capable of capturing a portion of the image that 35mm film is capable of. This is where the term focal length multiplier (FLM) comes into play.
Capturing Catchlights in Photography
July 18, 2008
Catchlights in photography are simply the specular highlight (reflection) of the light source in the subject’s eyes. This highlight helps give life and that extra spark to a portrait.
Catchlights can be achieved using any light source, even ambient light; though, you will have more control when using a flash or strobe. In these cases, the size and shape of the catchlights will depend on your light source and light modifiers.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II – Nifty Fifty
July 15, 2008
As I mentioned earlier in my Lowepro Slingshot 200 review, I’m really getting into the photography scene. My wife and I are expecting our first child, so I want to be able to take really nice photos of all the special moments we have ahead. Well, I recently picked up a new lens: the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, otherwise known as the “nifty fifty”.
Since I’m still quite the amateur photographer, I didn’t want to drop a lot of money on a new lens, but, of course, I wanted the results that a nicer lens can provide. My good friend Bo, who has written most of the wonderful photography and Photoshop posts for this site, recommended this Canon 50mm lens. I’ve had some time to learn some of its strong points and quirks; the following is a few of my thoughts.
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Exposure Techniques for Backlit Subjects
July 9, 2008
If you’ve ever taken a picture of someone standing in the shade with the bright sunlight highlighting the scene behind them, you’ve probably been disappointed with the resulting photo. The background will be correctly exposed, but your subject will be too dark.
This happens because, when your camera is taking its automatic meter reading, it’s programmed to make the midtones of the photo 18% gray to avoid clipping the highlights in the scene.
