Photography Tips Guide

Posts Tagged ‘From the Forums’

Weekly Assignment

This week we wanted you to show us your Collections. We were surprised with the varied things that people collected, but our winners this week pulled off photographing their collections in a way that really made them stand out. Our winner this week was eBomb’s collection of Chuck Taylors. The shot was quirky and amusing and it had a nicely balanced composition as well as making good use of the square format. The bare feet added some additional interest as well. The colours really stood out. Our first runner up was summernc22’s brush collection. What we liked about this one was that it had a nice abstract look to it. As painters know, it’s entirely possible to collect brushes and the abstract nature of this one really gave them a new look. And last, but not least was multilane’s elephants. Although the colours were simply and understated, the background that was used gave it the illusion that the elephants were walking around outside. It was also clear that a lot of work was put into arranging the elephants in a pleasing way. Well done everyone!

We also started a new assignment this week. Our current assignment is Bokeh. A quick reminder of the assignment rules for those of you who are new to the assignments or who are wondering what they need to do to participate. First, your photo must have been taken between 30 September - 14 October. Next, your post must include the words “Assignment: Bokeh” and the date that the photo was taken to show that it is a valid entry. And last, but not least, your EXIF should be intact and it’s helpful if you can include the main points in your post (e.g. camera, lens, aperture, ISO, shutter speed). Next week’s assignment will be Windows. This is another challenge where it’s up to you do make an ordinary object into something extraordinary.

Hot Threads

• Winter is coming. How is cold weather shooting different?: As wintery weather makes its way to the Northern hemisphere, it raises the question of what you need to do if you want to use your camera in cold weather. Come share your tips and experiences with photographing in the cold over in the forum.
• Are film and digital SLR lenses interchangeable?: One question that comes up now and then is whether SLR lenses are compatible with DSLR bodies. The answer is sometimes. If you’ve wondered or you know some information about using older lenses on digital bodies come join in the thread on our forums.
• In praise of primes: The nifty fifty, the cream machine, the plastic fantastic. Maybe you’ve heard of them, maybe you haven’t, but they’re some of the nicknames that prime lenses have. Some people love them, some people hate them, but if you love your primes share your thoughts with people who won’t think you’re nuts for using lenses that don’t zoom.
• Photography workshop. What would you want to learn?: One of our forum members, RexK_Cozumel was offered the chance to teach a 4 week photography course at the university in Cozumel. There’s going to be a whole range of people there, so he’s looking for some suggestions for what to teach in the course. Come over to the forum and give him some ideas of what you would want to learn in a short course.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (4-10 Oct ‘09)

Weekly Assignment

This week we made use of Shadows in our assignment. The use of shadows can add depth and dimension to a shot, or even an entirely new element. Our winner this week was fbroschart’s Eggs and Whisk. This shot was an easy favorite among the judges this week. The way the shadows on the eggs mimicked the shapes on the plate, combined with the curves of the egg created a great shot. But not only that, the shot made great use of depth of field, contrast, and composition. Our first runner up was duna’s Fabric Ceiling. While the shot nearly has the look of leaves, it was actually a fabric ceiling at Denver International Airport. The shadows really helped to add dimension to this image and create an almost abstract shot that focused on shape and tone. And last, but not least was tj6016’s Killer Shadow. We’ve all seen the horror movies where you see the shadow coming up behind the victim, well tj6016 put that theme to good use and used the shadows to create a story, showing just how effectively shadows can change a shot.

We also started our Collections assignment this week. Most of us collect something, whether it’s seashells, coins, or dust, we want you to show us your collections in a creative and interesting way. As usual, a reminder of the assignment rules. First, your photo must have been taken between 23 September -7 October 2009. Second, your post must include the words “Assignment: Collections” and the date that the photo was taken, otherwise we will not include it in our considerations. Finally, the EXIF should be intact and it’s useful if you can include some of the main points (e.g. camera, lens, ISO, shutter speed, and aperture) in the body of your post. Next week’s assignment will be Bokeh which is the out of focus area in your image when you use a shallow depth of field.

Hot Threads

• Is Adobe the only way to go?: Adobe’s Photoshop is one of the most well known graphics / editing programs. It’s generally considered the industry standard. But is it really the only way to go or are there other options even when you are a professional?
• From old to new: Photography has been around for a long time. But sometimes when you try to digitize older media you can run into problems. One forum member has been scanning slides and has wound up with a distinctly blue cast on them. If you have any tips on how to avoid this happening or how to fix it in post-processing, come share over in the forum.
• Help shooting hot air balloons: Hot air balloons can be a tricky subject to shoot, but they can also produce some great shots. When shooting hot air balloons, you may be dealing with early morning and dark conditions, and during the day there may be sunlight and backlighting on moving subjects. So come share your tips on how to shoot hot air balloons over in our forum thread on the topic.
• Family of 11 - How to achieve sharp focus with each subject?: When photographing a large group of people you want to have everyone in focus, but how do you achieve that? If you’ve struggled with this before, this thread has some advice on the matter. And if you have your own tips you’d be willing to share, come join us in the forum and share your advice.
• What would you do: Come join in the fun of our weekly post-processing thread where you get the opportunity to edit another forum member’s photo. Whether you’re new to post processing or can create a photo-realistic scene in Photoshop, you’re welcome to join in the thread.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (27 Sep-3 Oct ‘09)

In this post Nyani Quarmyne talks about getting the shot – catching that moment in a show that captures the essence of a performer and the emotion they’re expressing.

Much of what I’ve seen written on concert photography centers on gear and the technical aspects of shooting (there are a number of good tips on this site). Of course, gear and technical know-how are important, and I’ll touch on a couple of salient points. But there are other equally important, more esoteric concepts at the heart of stage photography.

1. Get the Exposure Right

Stage lighting can be tricky, so you have to get your exposure right or you’ll wind up with beautifully composed, crap shots.

Evaluative metering can’t be relied on in the high-contrast and variable lighting conditions that are typically found on a concert stage. Spot metering off your subject or a mid-tone can be useful, but when you have bright lights in the background it can result in a correctly exposed subject and ugly blown highlights in the background. The optimal exposure is often something of a compromise, so I personally prefer to leave the camera set to evaluative/ matrix metering and then get a feel for how much over- or under-exposure is needed for different parts of the stage through estimation and some trial and error. With practice you’ll begin to guesstimate the right settings.

You’ll generally be shooting wide open, except when you may need to stop down to get multiple subjects at different distances from the camera in focus, so often it’s your shutter speed and ISO that you’ll be playing with. Once you have a sense of how much over- or under-exposure is needed, you can vary your aperture/ ISO/ shutter speed relationship while keeping the optimal exposure in mind. For example, say you’re getting sharp, correctly exposed images of a guitarist at 125th/s, f/2.8 @ ISO200. Then a singer joins him in the frame. You need a little more depth of field to keep them both in focus, so you leave the shutter speed as it is to keep your shots sharp, stop down two stops to f/5.6 to increase the depth of field, and raise the ISO two stops from ISO200 to ISO800. Your exposure is identical, but now you have the depth of field you need. Just remember to revaluate your exposure when shooting a different area of the stage, or when the lighting conditions change.

A camera that allows for clean high-ISO images is a huge advantage as higher ISO settings allow you to keep your shutter speed relatively high, reducing camera shake and better allowing you to freeze action.

2. Use your Histogram!

The viewfinder preview is too small to give you a sufficiently detailed view of over- and under-exposed areas of your image. The highlights view will show you where you’ve lost highlight detail, but it doesn’t show you what you may have inadvertently sacrificed in the shadows. So if you don’t already, learn to use your histogram – it’s an invaluable tool for evaluating exposure, particularly in tricky lighting conditions. I have my camera set up so that pressing the centre button on the 4-way navigator flashes up a full screen histogram. That way I can use my preview to check sharpness and focus, and then push the centre button to do a quick histogram check before I go back to shooting.

Don’t obsess over checking your shots – if you’re looking at your screen you’re missing what’s happening on stage. Do enough checks to fine tune your settings for a given set of lighting conditions, and then focus on shooting.

3. Watch the Performers

Now that you’ve got your exposure sorted, watch the performers. No, I mean really watch the performers. Analyse their performance. How do they move on the stage? Where are their favourite places to stand? What are their idiosyncrasies? Facial expressions? Favourite postures? Signature moves? How do they express emotion? It doesn’t take a long – just watch for a while once a band has hit its stride and you’ll begin to see that each performer has little habitual movements, facial expressions, individual quirks, that are unique. Identifying these is key to capturing the individuality and expressiveness of a singer or player. If you have the opportunity to watch several performances by the same artist you may also find that there are events that happen at particular points in a set – pyrotechnics, a leap off a speaker stack, entry of a stage prop – and you can plan for these, too.

4. Anticipate

Once you know what you’re looking for, anticipate it. If you’ve noticed that a guitarist bends a certain way during emotional moments in his solos, anticipate it, compose for it, and be ready when the moment comes. If a singer leans away from the mike a certain way during soulful pauses between song lines, pre-visualise your shot, get set up for it, and execute it when the elements come together. Of course, you also have to be ready to react instantly to capture a spontaneous moment.

5. Compose for Form

People, instruments, objects on stage and even the glow of stage lights create shapes and lines in the frame. The beautiful lines of a guitar, for example, generally look better from some angles than others, as do the combined lines of the guitar and its player. Try and see the shapes that the elements in your viewfinder create and use them in your compositions. Take into account things like whether a singer holds the mike in their right hand or left, whether a guitarist is playing a right- or left-handed guitar, and then move around to position yourself to get the right angles for your shots.

Work with the stage lights – move around and use them to rim light, sidelight or silhouette your subject. If there’s a background light flaring into your lens, see if you can make the flare work for you.

6. Watch for Foreground Clutter

One of the challenges of concert photography is the clutter that is generally found on a concert stage – microphones and their stands, monitor speakers, amplifiers, cables, and even roving videographers. Clutter detracts from your shots. Try and position yourself to get shots that are as clear of such distractions as possible. In particular, watch for microphones that obscure a singer’s face (their mouth in particular), and watch for the shadows microphones cast too. In general, avoid standing directly in front of a singer as more often than not you’ll end up with a microphone where their mouth should be. Drummers are particularly tricky to get clean shots of, as they are surrounded by all kinds of ‘hardware’ and are usually also far back on the stage. Try and get shots of them from the side if you can.

7. Watch for Background Clutter Too!

Perth photographer Rob Miller likes to say, “Forget about the subject, it’s the background that makes your photo.” Of course he doesn’t mean that literally, but a fantastic moment captured against a messy background will ultimately be a messy shot, while a fantastic moment captured against a fantastic background will be a fantastic shot. Watch out for elements of the background that you want to avoid, like stage scaffolds, lighting rigs and even other performers, and try to compose for those that you can use to your advantage. Remember that on a well lit stage you can use the glow of stage lights, or even the lights themselves, as your background. If there’s nothing going on in the background, if possible, try and set your exposure so that your subject is correctly exposed but the background collapses to black.

Fast lenses help with background clutter, too, as not only do they allow you to make the most of what light you have available, but the shallow depth of field produced by a wide aperture helps to blur out background distractions. Accordingly, I rely primarily on a 70-200 f/2.8, a 50mm f/1.4 for very low light and for close shots in small venues or to take in more of the stage, and occasionally a 17-35mm f/2.8 for close work and for stage, crowd and venue shots.

8. Be Nice

Remember that while you are trying to get a job done, everyone else is trying to enjoy a show that they have paid to see. Be nice. Think about the people behind you - get your shots, but try not to block anyone’s view for too long. If you’re in a crowd and need to get right in someone’s face for a moment to get a shot, do so politely. I often find that if you’re nice to people they’ll actually help you get the shots you need by encouraging other people to let you get to where you need to be.

I try to avoid the use of flash as it’s distracting for performers and annoying for the people around you (and often also not allowed). Flash can also look unnatural, as it typically casts light of a different colour to the stage lights onto your subject. The exception to the no flash rule is when I need to lift shadows over a performer’s eyes, for example when someone is wearing a hat.

I also ensure that the autofocus assist beam on my camera is off so that it’s not poking performers in the eye, and I turn my viewfinder preview off so it’s not a blinking distraction to people around me. (This also stops people craning over your shoulders to check out your business.) It’s a simple matter to press “Play” every now and then when you need to check a shot. If your camera allows, create a custom settings profile so you can set your camera the way you want it with a couple of button pushes, rather than having to go wandering through the menus every time you need to get set up.

9. Show Your Appreciation

Anyone on a stage likes to know they’re being appreciated. Show your appreciation. You don’t have to jump up and down and scream (it’s difficult to take steady shots while jumping and screaming…), but make eye contact, show your appreciation with a smile, give a nod of thanks when a performer looks down your lens. Sometimes you’ll find a little appreciation earns you your own little mini performance, when a performer heads over to where you’re standing, looks down the barrel of your lens and pulls some moves just for you.

Nyani is a Ghanaian/ Filipino/ Australian photographer spending 2009 travelling around North America with his family working on a personal project. Find his work on his website and blog at www.nqphotography.com, and follow the family’s travels at www.YearInAmerica.net.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Rock Concert Photography – 9 Tips on How to Get The Shot

Weekly Assignment

It was sins abound this week with all the participation in the Seven Deadly Sins assignment. I have to say, this assignment had a lot of really high quality entries and it was great seeing the level of creativity. Our winner this week was Nathan deGargoyle’s Seven Faces of Sin. He didn’t just show us one, but all seven in a striking, imaginative, and slightly scary approach to this week’s theme. Our first runner up was Ali QJo’s photo for pride, when your love of self becomes more important than anything else. The crisp black and white along with a good use of negative space created a really effective shot. And last, but not least was mseigafuse’s wrathful film noir shot. This shot had nice lighting and a good depth of field and successfully combined the film noir style with the theme and we could tell that a lot of thought went into crating the shot.

We also started our Contrast. Contrast can be used in a number of ways to create an effective image. It can be used in contrasting colours, contrast in the image, or contrasting elements. As usual, if you would like to participate in the weekly assignment, there are a few rules to note. First, your image must have been taken between 9 - 22 September 2009. Next, your post must include the words “Assignment: Contrast” and the date the photo was taken. If these are not included your photo will not be considered in the voting phase. Finally, your EXIF should be intact and it’s useful if you can include some of the main data from the image (e.g. camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO). Next week’s assignment will also relate to contrast, but our next assignment is Shadows, which we often try to eliminate through the use of extra lighting.

Hot Threads

• Sharpness in Landscapes: Often times when shooting a landscape we want to get as deep a depth of field as possible. But how do you achieve the best sharpness in landscapes? What settings do you use in camera? And what do you do with your picture afterwards? Come read the advice and suggestions in this thread and contribute your own thoughts.
• Nikon D3000 vs D60: As camera manufacturers continue to release new cameras it can become difficult to tell what’s changed between similar models. Especially when those release dates seem to come closer and closer together. So how do these two cameras compare and which would you buy?
• One thing you really want to photograph: What is the one thing you would want to photograph if you had the chance? What if there were no limits of time, money, gear, distance, etc. What would that one thing be?
• What Would You Do: This is our weekly post-processing thread where you get the chance to edit another forum member’s photo. You use the photo and show us how you would edit it. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, you’re welcome in this thread.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (13-19 Sep ‘09)

Weekly Assignment

In some parts of the world it’s time for students to head back to school. Which is why our assignment this week was School Days. There are a lot of different things that we associate with school and a lot of different ways that this assignment was interpreted. Our winner this week was JeremiahX’s little girl waiting for the bus. It was a sweet shot, and there was something about the way the bag was nearly as big as her and she stood there ready to take on the new year that really made it stand out. Our first runner up was Lady Blackice’s university tunnel shot. It wasn’t actually a tunnel, but symbolized the tunnel of thought you can get sucked into when studying. This was an instance where breaking the “rules” really worked for a shot to make it a little more abstract and conceptual. And last, but not least was rt80639’s bullets and crayons. Does it symbolize the growing violence in schools or the destruction of creativity? Nope, according to rt, destroying stuff is just fun, and let’s face it, it can yield some great results.

This week’s assignment is all about the Seven Deadly Sins. Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, envy, wrath or pride, show us one of these sins. Stretch your imagination, get creative and show us some sinfully good images. If you want your image to be part of the mini-contest to be featured on the blog, there are a few things you need to do to ensure that no wrathful moderators descend on your post. First, your photo needs to have been taken between 2 - 16 September 2009. Second, your post must have both the date the photo was taken and the words “Assignment: Seven Deadly Sins” in the post. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main points such as camera, lens, ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. Next week’s assignment will be contrast.

Hot Threads

• You own the world’s last roll of film…: What are you going to shoot? What would you shoot if you had the last roll of film? No digital camera, just 24 exposures.
• Newbie Lens Help: Being new to photography can seem overwhelming with all of the jargon and technical terms. But how do you learn what these terms mean? And how do you decide what lens to use in a given situation?
• Digital Noise in Blue Skies: One of the places that digital noise can frequently show up is in blue skies (this is also where you’ll often find out if you have dust on your sensor). But how do you avoid noise in your skies? Upgrade your camera? Fix it in post-processing? Just ignore it? Come join in the discussion over in the forums.
• Tips for Wildlife Photography: Wildlife is one of the more difficult things to photograph. First you have to find the wildlife you’re looking for, then you have to make sure it doesn’t run away when it sees you, then you have to actually take your shot. But how do you get up to step 3 and what do you do when you get there? Share your wildlife photography tips in this thread.
• What would you do?: Time again for another post-processing challenge where you get to edit the photo of another forum member and show us just what you would do.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (6-12 Sep ‘09)