Exhale and pull elbows in for steady shots: Especially if you're not rocking a vibration-control lens on a DSLR rig, this body-steadying practice can make all the difference for no-flash shots.
Use the Unsharp Mask/Smart Sharpen for crisper shots: Photojojo explains how to use Photoshop (and similar photo editing tools) to get finer contrast on digital camera pics. Our commenters wisely point out, however, that the Smart Sharpen tool in Photoshop CS1 and later is the way to go.
Deal with shooting in direct light: Because you, and your subjects, can't always get up at the hour just after dawn, Digital Photography School explains how to work with, and around, a hard sun.
Get behind something to shoot more candidly: As Rick pointed out (taken fromDigital Photography School's tips), it's hard to walk around with a lens pointed and not be noticed. For more candid shots, try shooting over someone's shoulder, or shooting through or around something that you don't mind being in the actual photograph for a voyeuristic effect—tree branches, window frames, and the like.
Get a cheap, DIY lens hood or flash filter: A lens hood—like the kind you can print yourself—prevents glare, flare, and other light tricks beaming in from just around your lens edges. Similarly, a piece of white coffee filter can work wonders for diffusing your flash, giving bar shots and other low-light situations a much mellower light.
If you had only one tip to give a newcomer to digital photography, what would it be? Step up the chalkboard in the comments.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Photographs At Sunrise - Dawn Photography Tips & Tricks
Location, Location, Location
Look for places with spectacular east-facing vistas, from hilltops to lakesides. Where can you best take advantage of the fabulous display of colors that dawn offers? Think places that display as much as the sky as possible, and places where the light will reflect.
Don't forget, the sunrise is more than just a pretty skyscape. Dawn also provides beautiful ambient lighting in shades of gold and rose, and is often accompanied by diffusing mist. Think of things you might want placed in such lighting conditions, forest silhouettes, a lovely model, skyscrapers fading away upwards into the sky. Be creative with the lighting that dawn affords you! Otherwise photographically unstriking objects can be transformed by the sunrise, and there may be things happening at this early hour of the morning that you were previously unaware of. Take a walk downtown and take a shot at early commuters sipping their coffee with the sunrise, or by the lakeside and see the birds.
Another consideration: distance from wherever you'll be lodged. The closer, the better, as that means less driving you'll have to do. You may be an excellent driver, but that doesn't mean that rolling out of bed and into a car is necessarily the best thing to do in the dark before dawn—between poor lighting conditions and grogginess, accidents can happen.
Dawn Skyscape Examples
Technical Considerations
Dawn involves some complex lighting situations, which make certain demands on your technical skills as a photographer. Particularly early dawn, before the sun has come up, the low level conditions may require longer exposures, for which a tripod or other stabilizing device comes in particular handy.
Manual exposure is really a must, as getting exactly the right metering can be difficult in these conditions. Even so, with the sun right on the horizon, it may be impossible to get both the sky and the land both exposed correctly. There's a few things you can do here. Use of a graduated ND lens filter may help, or you could try HDR techniques by taking multiple exposures of a single image and putting them together later. Extensive editing of the image afterwards may also allow you to create an image where everything appears to be correctly exposed.
There's no single good approach to aperture, ISO and focus for dawn photography: it entirely depends on the particular shot. ISO and aperture may be adjusted for available light accordingly, though you might want to keep a large depth of field if you're taking landscapes. Focus, chances are you'll want it out to infinity for those skyscapes, but again, there are other things to shoot than the sky!
Taken At Dawn: Misty Scenes
Important Gear
As previously mentioned, sunrise means low light, which means a tripod is especially handy, and high contrast, for which a graduated ND filter might be useful. If you have one, a wide angle lens might help you take advantage of an expansive skyscape that will open up before you at dawn. Otherwise, with a little stitch-assist, you can still take panoramic views of the dawn.
Don't forget about taking care of yourself, either. You know the phrase, “it's darkest before dawn?” Well, it's also the coldest, and having shaking, numb hands will not lead to good photography. Make sure to wear warm gloves that still allow your fingers to nimbly access your camera's buttons and dials. If you're in a place that tends to frost and dew heavily, wear stiff, closed-toe shoes with good traction.
Before You Leave
There are a few other things to consider as well. Check the weather forecast the night before: there's no point in getting up that early if all you'll see is the same gray drizzle you'll see all day. If you're going further afield for your shot, make sure you know the route to your area so you aren't puzzling it out while also racing the sunrise. Check sunrise times for the area in question, and make sure to be there at least fifteen minutes before the actual sunrise, and plan to be there at least a half hour afterwards: the shifting play of lights makes for a constantly evolving show for you to photograph. Preparing coffee and at least a light snack is also a good idea: a cranky photographer is not a good photographer! So that the morning goes smoothly, try to lay out your photography equipment and everything else in advance the night before.
So, all that being said, set an alarm, and good luck
Look for places with spectacular east-facing vistas, from hilltops to lakesides. Where can you best take advantage of the fabulous display of colors that dawn offers? Think places that display as much as the sky as possible, and places where the light will reflect.
Don't forget, the sunrise is more than just a pretty skyscape. Dawn also provides beautiful ambient lighting in shades of gold and rose, and is often accompanied by diffusing mist. Think of things you might want placed in such lighting conditions, forest silhouettes, a lovely model, skyscrapers fading away upwards into the sky. Be creative with the lighting that dawn affords you! Otherwise photographically unstriking objects can be transformed by the sunrise, and there may be things happening at this early hour of the morning that you were previously unaware of. Take a walk downtown and take a shot at early commuters sipping their coffee with the sunrise, or by the lakeside and see the birds.
Another consideration: distance from wherever you'll be lodged. The closer, the better, as that means less driving you'll have to do. You may be an excellent driver, but that doesn't mean that rolling out of bed and into a car is necessarily the best thing to do in the dark before dawn—between poor lighting conditions and grogginess, accidents can happen.
Dawn Skyscape Examples
Technical Considerations
Dawn involves some complex lighting situations, which make certain demands on your technical skills as a photographer. Particularly early dawn, before the sun has come up, the low level conditions may require longer exposures, for which a tripod or other stabilizing device comes in particular handy.
Manual exposure is really a must, as getting exactly the right metering can be difficult in these conditions. Even so, with the sun right on the horizon, it may be impossible to get both the sky and the land both exposed correctly. There's a few things you can do here. Use of a graduated ND lens filter may help, or you could try HDR techniques by taking multiple exposures of a single image and putting them together later. Extensive editing of the image afterwards may also allow you to create an image where everything appears to be correctly exposed.
There's no single good approach to aperture, ISO and focus for dawn photography: it entirely depends on the particular shot. ISO and aperture may be adjusted for available light accordingly, though you might want to keep a large depth of field if you're taking landscapes. Focus, chances are you'll want it out to infinity for those skyscapes, but again, there are other things to shoot than the sky!
Taken At Dawn: Misty Scenes
Important Gear
As previously mentioned, sunrise means low light, which means a tripod is especially handy, and high contrast, for which a graduated ND filter might be useful. If you have one, a wide angle lens might help you take advantage of an expansive skyscape that will open up before you at dawn. Otherwise, with a little stitch-assist, you can still take panoramic views of the dawn.
Don't forget about taking care of yourself, either. You know the phrase, “it's darkest before dawn?” Well, it's also the coldest, and having shaking, numb hands will not lead to good photography. Make sure to wear warm gloves that still allow your fingers to nimbly access your camera's buttons and dials. If you're in a place that tends to frost and dew heavily, wear stiff, closed-toe shoes with good traction.
Before You Leave
There are a few other things to consider as well. Check the weather forecast the night before: there's no point in getting up that early if all you'll see is the same gray drizzle you'll see all day. If you're going further afield for your shot, make sure you know the route to your area so you aren't puzzling it out while also racing the sunrise. Check sunrise times for the area in question, and make sure to be there at least fifteen minutes before the actual sunrise, and plan to be there at least a half hour afterwards: the shifting play of lights makes for a constantly evolving show for you to photograph. Preparing coffee and at least a light snack is also a good idea: a cranky photographer is not a good photographer! So that the morning goes smoothly, try to lay out your photography equipment and everything else in advance the night before.
So, all that being said, set an alarm, and good luck
Tips and Tricks for Spring Photography
Flowers in Bloom
Flowers are one of the most popular photography subjects in the spring. They provide photographers with beautiful colors and shapes to capture and the photos can make wonderful artwork in your home. Make sure you keep your flower photography interesting with these simple tips and tricks:
Utilize natural light and don't use a flash. Typically, flowers are photographed in full sunlight. Try taking pictures at dawn or at dusk to get a new perspective on your flowers.
Master your depth of field. To create a shallow depth of field, use a large aperture on your camera.
Shoot your subjects close-up. Combined with a large aperture, this will blur out your background, leaving only your flowers in focus.
Look for flowers that haven't bloomed yet. Make your photos stand out by capturing the steps leading up to a fully-bloomed flower. Find seedlings just popping out of the ground or closed buds. These objects can be just as beautiful as a colorful bloom. Plus, these photos are more representative of what spring is all about: new life and growth.
To learn more about photographing flowers, check out the article series called Flower Photography Tips, Tricks & Mistakes.
Rain and Reflections
With the wet weather that accompanies the spring, photographers have plenty of opportunities to capture photos of falling rain and dewy flowers. If you do plan to shoot in the rain, make sure you have a hood for your camera to protect it from getting wet. Keep plastic bags and towels handy for keeping things dry, including your hands for when you are touching the camera. When you go to shoot, leave your shutter open for a little longer to capture the rain falling; this will result in long streak so of rain fall that look like strands of silver falling from the sky. Take pictures of the rain hitting a river, stream or lake for a uniquely textured effect.
Another opportunity for photographers takes place right after a rainfall. Take pictures of the rain-soaked environment afterwards for a springtime look. Make sure you capture the unique, pale light that follows the rain in a landscape photo. You can also go for close-ups after the rain. Puddles and other bodies of water provide excellent opportunities tocapture reflections. Challenge yourself to create a ripple-effect photo by blowing on or touching the water in the puddle right before you take the picture.
Springtime Portraits
When it comes to photographing people in the spring, get outside in the cool weather for a few portrait shots. This weather often makes for nice portraits because the light is a crisp, blueish hue during the spring. Because the light is a cooler color, considering having your portrait subjects dress in similar colors to match - pastels are good for children, while whites, blues, greens and purples are better for adults.
The best time to take photos of people in the spring is once some of your natural surroundings have started to bloom again. You don't need to wait until the leaves are fully-grown on the trees - in fact, trees look beautiful in their temporary state when they are dotted in tiny green buds. If you wait until things begin to bloom, it will add a pop of color to your photo and it will demonstrate to other people who may see the photo that it was taken in t
Change the Tone of Your Photo to Cool Temperature
Subject Matter
The easiest and surest way to create a photograph filled with cool tones? Your subject matter. Look for icy winter days, or a model with cool blue eyes and a pale complexion. While sometimes you just don't have a whole lot of choice at this stage, taking deliberately cool subjects will cut down on any post processing work you plan on doing later.
Subject & Lighting Examples
Lighting Conditions
The next best way to give your photograph an overall cool cast? Use of cool lighting. While again, you don't always have a whole lot of choice on the matter, especially if you're working outside, there are some things you can do. Predawn lighting tends to be a beautiful shade of blue if you can get up that early, as well as late twilight. LED lighting if you're working indoors also tends to be quite cool.
Camera Lens Filters
If all else fails, you can still change the tone of your photograph through physical means through the use of color filters attached to your lens. These tend to be expensive, as well as nonadjustable, so they aren't a good solution for everyone. However, you can make your own DIY color filters for relatively cheap, so this is certainly still a possibility for those with less well endowed wallets.
Use of White
Using a lot of white in a photograph tends to give it a more cool feel. While this should be used in conjunction with other cool tones, the neutrality of white coupled with at the very least a lack of obviously warm tones can really add a subtle cool feel to the photograph.
Temperature Contrast
A great way to make a photo feel more cool is by slipping a little warmth into it for contrast. It's easy to overwhelm the subtlety of cool tones by adding too much warmth to a photo, so be careful in your composition. Bright flowers for instance, even if there aren't too many of them, tend to steal the tonal focus away from the cool colors.
Contrast & Filter Examples
On-Camera Digital Filters
Your camera comes pre-equipped with many powerful means of altering your photos, including a number of preset color filters. Many filters also let you create custom color balances on-camera, providing you with even more flexibility. Experiment with your camera to understand the nuances of its preset filters, and how they affect the coolness of your photos.
Lighting Condition Filters
Of course, your camera also comes equipped with some filters for certain lighting conditions. But who says you have to use them for the lighting conditions they're intended for? Indoor lighting tends to be very cool compared to outdoor lighting settings, and sunny day settings relative to cloudy day settings. Play around with using settings one step cooler than the environment technically requires and see where it takes you.
Preset Color Filters
Digital image editing programs allow for a number of very basic color filters that you may apply to your photos. Depending on your program of choice, some offer a number of presets for particular white balances, including for cool tones. This is a quick and easy way to add coolness to your photos, though not a particularly nuanced one.
Levels & Color Balance
Want the most manual control you can get in color temperature? Play around with adjusting color balance directly, or levels. While this takes some practice to get the hang of achieving the effect you want, the sheer level of control you have is deeply gratifying and allows you to accomplish many more effects than you could otherwise.
For the flip side, check out an article on adding warmth to photos, and another on general color filter and color temperature.
The easiest and surest way to create a photograph filled with cool tones? Your subject matter. Look for icy winter days, or a model with cool blue eyes and a pale complexion. While sometimes you just don't have a whole lot of choice at this stage, taking deliberately cool subjects will cut down on any post processing work you plan on doing later.
Subject & Lighting Examples
Lighting Conditions
The next best way to give your photograph an overall cool cast? Use of cool lighting. While again, you don't always have a whole lot of choice on the matter, especially if you're working outside, there are some things you can do. Predawn lighting tends to be a beautiful shade of blue if you can get up that early, as well as late twilight. LED lighting if you're working indoors also tends to be quite cool.
Camera Lens Filters
If all else fails, you can still change the tone of your photograph through physical means through the use of color filters attached to your lens. These tend to be expensive, as well as nonadjustable, so they aren't a good solution for everyone. However, you can make your own DIY color filters for relatively cheap, so this is certainly still a possibility for those with less well endowed wallets.
Use of White
Using a lot of white in a photograph tends to give it a more cool feel. While this should be used in conjunction with other cool tones, the neutrality of white coupled with at the very least a lack of obviously warm tones can really add a subtle cool feel to the photograph.
Temperature Contrast
A great way to make a photo feel more cool is by slipping a little warmth into it for contrast. It's easy to overwhelm the subtlety of cool tones by adding too much warmth to a photo, so be careful in your composition. Bright flowers for instance, even if there aren't too many of them, tend to steal the tonal focus away from the cool colors.
Contrast & Filter Examples
On-Camera Digital Filters
Your camera comes pre-equipped with many powerful means of altering your photos, including a number of preset color filters. Many filters also let you create custom color balances on-camera, providing you with even more flexibility. Experiment with your camera to understand the nuances of its preset filters, and how they affect the coolness of your photos.
Lighting Condition Filters
Of course, your camera also comes equipped with some filters for certain lighting conditions. But who says you have to use them for the lighting conditions they're intended for? Indoor lighting tends to be very cool compared to outdoor lighting settings, and sunny day settings relative to cloudy day settings. Play around with using settings one step cooler than the environment technically requires and see where it takes you.
Preset Color Filters
Digital image editing programs allow for a number of very basic color filters that you may apply to your photos. Depending on your program of choice, some offer a number of presets for particular white balances, including for cool tones. This is a quick and easy way to add coolness to your photos, though not a particularly nuanced one.
Levels & Color Balance
Want the most manual control you can get in color temperature? Play around with adjusting color balance directly, or levels. While this takes some practice to get the hang of achieving the effect you want, the sheer level of control you have is deeply gratifying and allows you to accomplish many more effects than you could otherwise.
For the flip side, check out an article on adding warmth to photos, and another on general color filter and color temperature.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)