The Photography forum

Exposure Digital Field Guide: Review

So, I finished reading the Exposure Digital Field Guide, and I give it a thumbs sideways.  It's not a bad book by any means.  However, I tend to find some of his methods a little strange.  For example, there's lots of times when the author recommends to utilize manual exposure mode and then underexpose or overexpose by 1 stop.  Why not stay in aperture or shutter priority mode and then use exposure compensation?  It takes some of the challenges out of the equation while still having full control of the scene.  Plus, if time is of the essence (when is it not in photography) time can be saved using the aperture or shutter priority modes.  I am not against manual mode, I just think there are times when it was recommended that I didn't see the need for it.

The other complaint I have about the book is that, quite frankly, the photos were lackluster.  Being this is about photography, I would have thought the photos to be more interesting or exciting.  Instead, with the exception of a few, the photos were rather dull and, in my opinion, sometimes underexposed/dark.  As these books are intended to excite the reader, I found my self not motivated to try the techniques.

I think this book has some very good points, but I think in the end it falls short.  I still found Bryan Peterson's exposure book to be the better bet.

More Alien Skin Exposure

Nancy (wife) has really shown me some of the power of the Alien Skin Exposure plugin.  She had used some of the ultra contrast filters on some of her work and I thought I would try it on mine.  The first shot is of a kwati using the ultra contrast 75% filter.  The second image (the monkey) is using an infrared fog-bright filter.  I think the first one is interesting because it starts to look almost like a drawing.  The second one really conveys a mood.

Exposure Digital Field Guide: Sports/Action Photography Tips

Some tips to keep in mind when shooting sports or action events:

• Know your sport - This will help you know where the best location is to take photos, whether it be at the endzone sideline or where the waves break on the shoreline.
• Watch the sport for a few minutes before shooting - This helps determine where the action really is.
• Anticipate the action - Watch the action through the viewfinder lets you be ready for the action as it happens.
• Watch the shutter speed - A minimum of 1/250 is necessary to stop action in most instances.  Using shutter priority may be the way to go to ensure consistent freezing of action.
• Shoot using the widest aperture possible - This ensures you are using the fastest shutter speed possible.  It also will keep the background blurry keeping focus on the main subject.
• Look to use different angles - Consider kneeling down to get a different perspective.  However, keep aware of the shadows and how they change as perspective is changed.
• Shoot through the fence - using a shallow depth of field (largest aperture) will make the fence almost seem like it is not there.
• Know the rules/ask permission - make sure you are allowed to take photos and have permission of the parents (in the case of taking photos of kids).

Alien Skin Exposure 3 revisited

I was thinking about a photo my wife had taken in Costa Rica of a howler monkey.  She had put it through the Alien Skin Exposure black and white conversion using the infrared effect and it looked amazing!  So, I thought I would give it a try with one of my photos.  Here's a shot of an egret I took then turned infrared courtesy of Alien Skin Exposure 3. I really like the softness of it and how the shadow brings out the s-shape the egret had.

Exposure Digital Field Guide: Landscape Photography Tips

Here's some basics to keep in mind when shooting landscape photography:

• Look around before shooting.  The best images may not be the first things seen.
• Look for patterns in nature.
• Identify the subject.  Make sure it doesn't have competition/distractions from other things around it.
• Try different focal lengths.  Remember that telephoto will flatten the image and a wide angle will make the image have greater depth.
• Check for distractions.  If they can be avoided, do so.
• Add a person for scale and reference if possible.
• Protect the gear from bad weather.
• Adjust the exposure to overexpose when shooting in snow.
• Watch the light.  Keep in mind how the shadows are falling.
• Use a tripod!  This allows  for sharper images with long exposures, is necessary for macro work, and helps keep the camera on the same plane when shooting panoramics.

 

Exposure Digital Field Guide: Panoramic Photos

Here's a step-by-step for taking panoramic photos that are intended to be stitched together later:

1. Set the camera in portrait orientation
2. Set the white balance to cloudy or shady.  This keeps the white balance consistent throughout the shots.
3. Determine the focal point of the shot and meter that spot.
4. Meter the focal point.
5. Set the exposure mode to manual and use the settings based on what was measured from the prior step.
6. Set the camera to manual focus and focus on the focal point chosen.
7. Take the series of images from left to right making sure to overlap your images by at least 25%.  This will help the software stitch the images together more successfully.

 

Exposure Digital Field Guide: Group Portrait Tips

Here are some tips for taking group portraits:

• Stagger the heads - make sure that every head is visible.  For example, don't let people in the first row to block the heads of the people in the second row.
• Group people around a center point - Group the people around a central item or person.  This works especially well with smaller groups.
• Light the whole group as evenly as possible - Be aware of any shadows or imbalance of light.
• Shoot intimate couples - When shooting a couple, have them come in close and not just lean in.
• Make sure the main subject is the center of attention - For example, if it is a wedding, put the bride and groom at the center of the group.

Exposure Digital Field Guide: Portrait Tones

When shooting portraits, they can be placed  into three tones or keys: high key, mid-key, low key.

High key images have an overall light tone.  The background is white or very close to it.  Usually this is done by overexposing the background and keeping the subject in proper exposure.  To do this, lights are used to light up the background and are made brighter than the lights that are used to illuminate the subject.  Using a white seamless paper helps in getting the high key look with the exposure being at least 2 stops over the subject.

Mid-Key images are images that have a background that fall into the middle grey or 18% grey reflectance.  In this case, usually the light illuminating the subject is the same light that is illuminating the background.  These images are made well using continuous light as opposed to strobes.

Low Key images use dark backgrounds and even dark clothing with minimal lighting to create a certain style of image that is very unique.  The model or subject should be far away from any backdrop so the light illuminating the subject doesn't illuminate the backdrop.  A faster shutter speed is recommended as well to reduce the capture of ambient light.

Exposure Digital Field Guide: Indoor Portrait Photo Tips

When shooting indoors, keep the following tips in mind:

• Diffuse the light - use some type of diffusion (a white bed sheet for example) to offer more control and consistent light.
• Avoid mixing light - d0n't mix sunlight and indoor light.  This will make for a mixed color cast that will be very difficult to remove later
• Watch out for reflections - be mindful of reflections from windows and/or table tops.
• Bounce the light - When using flash, bounce the light off of a wall or ceiling.  This will give more even lighting overall.
• Drag the shutter - use the flash with a slower shutter speed and then set the flash to rear curtain synch so the background is illuminated with natural light and exposed accordingly.

 

Exposure Digital Field Guide: Flash synch speed

When using strobes with photography, shutter speed should be limited to 1/250.  This is called flash synch speed.  This is due to the time between the first and second curtain of an exposure to open and close.  The fastest speed at which both front and rear curtain allows the sensor to be fully exposed is 1/250.  If the speed is any faster, only a slit of light will be made available to the sensor and will not expose the image properly.

If using flash in a situation where there is sunlight, then flash needs to be controlled either by stopping down on the aperture or utilizing flash compensation (reducing the power of the flash). 

When using a very slow shutter speed and utilizing ambient light to light some of the background, set the flash to fire at the end of the exposure.  This is known as rear curtain synch.