Greetings, volks. Welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place! I hope everyone is doing well.
Here’s a little compositional tip, straight from Clyde Butcher- Close 1 eye when you approach the camera. Because an image is 2 dimensional and we see in 3 dimensions, you can get the feel of your composition before taking the shot. 3D sight requires both eyes open, you see this when you switch between your left eye open to your right eye open. It gives us depth perception. It really works, try it.
Speaking of composition, adding depth to your image by using shadows and the perception of light falloff with increasing distance can make for some great mood in your photos. It can lead the eye to your intended subject when shaped, and increase the 3D feeling when light falls off. Things will seem to pop right off the page. Of course, DOF and sharpness play a role in this, too.
With careful subject placement and light effects, you can create some real drama, or make a powerful scene seem serene. Crafting light and depth are a big part of giving your image life!
Here’s hoping the rest of the week brings you some great shots!
Is there anything you’d like to see here? Do you have a question? Share your thoughts here or at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too! Don't forget, we're on Google+, too!
Showing posts with label depth of field. Show all posts
Showing posts with label depth of field. Show all posts
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Shooting What You Eat
Greetings, volks. Welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place! Things have been rainy here, but that gives us the chance to show the stormy side of Hohenfels and our surrounds. I trust you’ve bagged some cloud shots!
One of our Facebook readers, Lili, asks “For those of us who don't own an external flash unit, or simply can't afford any sort of lighting equipment; what are the tricks to making food look more appealing and vibrant, and not so flat and 2 dimensional?” We’re addressing that in tonight’s post, so bring your appetite and let’s get going.
The first thing to know is that flash, while an important part of your kit, isn’t necessary for all types of photography, nor at all times. Flash can help by adding light, allowing the use of faster shutter speeds, and by allowing us to shape the feeling our images evoke by shaping the light. There are other ways to accomplish this, though. Let’s look at how we can achieve that.
There are multiple ways to shape existing light. Let’s start by moving your food toward an area that has plenty of the light you’d like. From there, you can modify that light with everyday household items. A pillowcase can be used to soften and spread the light, covering a larger area with nice gentle light. You can use it to shape the light by varying your angle and position. In a previous post, we mentioned the inverse square law that says doubling the distance between a light source and subject gives ¼ the light level. You can see that by tilting the angle between your pillow case diffuser and subject creates the illusion of distance and depth.
Another way to add or shape light is to use a reflector. You can use foil or a 5 in 1 kit to bounce light in from outside the immediate area. This allows you to concentrate your light where you want it, and increase your luminance levels. Again, tilting and angling your bounce can shape the light. A nice little thing to try is bringing your light in from about 45 degrees above your subject, illuminating the top and side. This allows the light to taper, and when you add the softness of the light, creates some depth. You can use a large white piece of gator foam, a piece of matting, or even a cookie sheet.
Another thing you can do is use your pop up flash. I never thought I’d say that, but with a little ingenuity, some foil, and a diffuser, you can add some depth. The trick to this is bouncing the light in from off the lens axis. I’ve used my external flash on camera to bring in lighting from 45 degrees to the side before, just with a piece of white mat. Remember, though, that bouncing your light costs you some of its power and range.
Now we’re going to move on to the best way to add some detail and vibrance. The big secret is DOF, depth of field. Using a longer focal length at a very wide aperture will give you a limited DOF. If you are shooting at 50mm, f/5.6, and focus at 2 feet, your DOF runs from about half an inch in front of your focal point to about the same behind it. You have a little over 1 inch of depth. Anything outside that range will become progressively out of focus. Taking into account the angle from which you’re shooting, you can create some nice little focal points within your scene. I like to think of it as pools of focus. When you place these at locations other than the center, you get some nice depth and intensity. Shooting outside in open or semi-open shade can also give more light and add elements of interest. The key to this is distance between the background and subject. You also want to make sure your focus is spot on where you want it, allowing your subject to leap out from the background in the finished image.
An easy thing to do is set up some Christmas lights or other small lights several feet behind your subject and shoot focused on your subject at your widest aperture. Do this in lower light, bringing in light with a flash or reflector. You’ll see some small circles of light that are incredibly out of focus, adding immediate interest to the scene if done right.
To boost the intensity of your color, shoot at about 1/3 to 1 stop lower that you meter for. By slightly underexposing your scene, you improve color density, saturation, and vibrance. It makes for less time spent editing and more time shooting.
Here are 2 images that show how using DOF can create an interesting sense of the meal or food.
ISO 800, f/5, 1/30, 44mm
Notice the DOF on this. By focusing toward the center of the ribs and allowing the highlights to fall higher than normal, interest is added in the meat, even though the pepper would seem to dominate. The pepper is diminished in strength through a shallow DOF, and the sharply blurred foreground end of it.
ISO 800, f/5, 1/60, 41mm
By focusing on the back edge of the meat, sharpness is retained along the kabob, while bringing down the interest in the cucumber and tomato through minimizing DOF. The spices and browning on the meat hold quite well. Having dominant, complimentary colors, such as red and green, can decrease interest in the main subject. By decreasing their dominance through either DOF or lighting values, interest is brought back to YOUR subject.
Thank you, Lili, for the great question. I hope this gives you some ideas and helps you shoot what you eat the way you like it!
Is there anything you’d like to see here? Do you have a question? Remember, I'll try to answer all your questions. Share your thoughts here or at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too! Don't forget, we're on Google+, too!
One of our Facebook readers, Lili, asks “For those of us who don't own an external flash unit, or simply can't afford any sort of lighting equipment; what are the tricks to making food look more appealing and vibrant, and not so flat and 2 dimensional?” We’re addressing that in tonight’s post, so bring your appetite and let’s get going.
The first thing to know is that flash, while an important part of your kit, isn’t necessary for all types of photography, nor at all times. Flash can help by adding light, allowing the use of faster shutter speeds, and by allowing us to shape the feeling our images evoke by shaping the light. There are other ways to accomplish this, though. Let’s look at how we can achieve that.
There are multiple ways to shape existing light. Let’s start by moving your food toward an area that has plenty of the light you’d like. From there, you can modify that light with everyday household items. A pillowcase can be used to soften and spread the light, covering a larger area with nice gentle light. You can use it to shape the light by varying your angle and position. In a previous post, we mentioned the inverse square law that says doubling the distance between a light source and subject gives ¼ the light level. You can see that by tilting the angle between your pillow case diffuser and subject creates the illusion of distance and depth.
Another way to add or shape light is to use a reflector. You can use foil or a 5 in 1 kit to bounce light in from outside the immediate area. This allows you to concentrate your light where you want it, and increase your luminance levels. Again, tilting and angling your bounce can shape the light. A nice little thing to try is bringing your light in from about 45 degrees above your subject, illuminating the top and side. This allows the light to taper, and when you add the softness of the light, creates some depth. You can use a large white piece of gator foam, a piece of matting, or even a cookie sheet.
Another thing you can do is use your pop up flash. I never thought I’d say that, but with a little ingenuity, some foil, and a diffuser, you can add some depth. The trick to this is bouncing the light in from off the lens axis. I’ve used my external flash on camera to bring in lighting from 45 degrees to the side before, just with a piece of white mat. Remember, though, that bouncing your light costs you some of its power and range.
Now we’re going to move on to the best way to add some detail and vibrance. The big secret is DOF, depth of field. Using a longer focal length at a very wide aperture will give you a limited DOF. If you are shooting at 50mm, f/5.6, and focus at 2 feet, your DOF runs from about half an inch in front of your focal point to about the same behind it. You have a little over 1 inch of depth. Anything outside that range will become progressively out of focus. Taking into account the angle from which you’re shooting, you can create some nice little focal points within your scene. I like to think of it as pools of focus. When you place these at locations other than the center, you get some nice depth and intensity. Shooting outside in open or semi-open shade can also give more light and add elements of interest. The key to this is distance between the background and subject. You also want to make sure your focus is spot on where you want it, allowing your subject to leap out from the background in the finished image.
An easy thing to do is set up some Christmas lights or other small lights several feet behind your subject and shoot focused on your subject at your widest aperture. Do this in lower light, bringing in light with a flash or reflector. You’ll see some small circles of light that are incredibly out of focus, adding immediate interest to the scene if done right.
To boost the intensity of your color, shoot at about 1/3 to 1 stop lower that you meter for. By slightly underexposing your scene, you improve color density, saturation, and vibrance. It makes for less time spent editing and more time shooting.
Here are 2 images that show how using DOF can create an interesting sense of the meal or food.
ISO 800, f/5, 1/30, 44mm
Notice the DOF on this. By focusing toward the center of the ribs and allowing the highlights to fall higher than normal, interest is added in the meat, even though the pepper would seem to dominate. The pepper is diminished in strength through a shallow DOF, and the sharply blurred foreground end of it.
ISO 800, f/5, 1/60, 41mm
By focusing on the back edge of the meat, sharpness is retained along the kabob, while bringing down the interest in the cucumber and tomato through minimizing DOF. The spices and browning on the meat hold quite well. Having dominant, complimentary colors, such as red and green, can decrease interest in the main subject. By decreasing their dominance through either DOF or lighting values, interest is brought back to YOUR subject.
Thank you, Lili, for the great question. I hope this gives you some ideas and helps you shoot what you eat the way you like it!
Is there anything you’d like to see here? Do you have a question? Remember, I'll try to answer all your questions. Share your thoughts here or at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too! Don't forget, we're on Google+, too!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Reviewing the Basics
Greetings, volks. Welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place! Brrr. That’s our word of the day!
Today we’re going to review some of the basics of photography and exposure. This can all be found on our Introduction to Photography page. We should all have a good idea of this stuff, but it always helps to refresh the cup, so to speak.
First, we’ll address our exposure triangle. The triangle consists of 1- ISO or film speed, 2- shutter speed, and 3- aperture. To change exposure, you change any side of the triangle. To keep the same exposure, you have to change at least 2 sides. For instance, we set up on a sunny day at ISO 100, f/16, and 1/100. According to the “sunny 16 rule,” we’re good to go. But we want less DOF, so we need to increase our aperture. We go to f/4 to give us a shallow focus. If we don’t change another side of our triangle, we overexpose and create a mess. We have a 4-stop increase in the amount of light coming in, so we need a four-stop increase in shutter speed or 4-stop decrease in ISO. Since we can’t bring our ISO lower, we need to change our shutter speed to 1/1600. At 1/1600 at f/4, that gives us the same as 1/100 at f/16. If we want to increase our exposure, we can change any 1 side and either decrease our exposure or increase it depending on our new settings. For instance we want to increase our exposure on ISO 100, f/16, 1/100 2 stops, so increasing our aperture to f/8, decreasing our shutter speed to 1/25, or increasing our ISO to 400 will do just that. Remember, when we meter something, or a scene, the meter gives us the exposure for 18% gray, which is zone 5. Knowing this allows us to place the item we meter into different zones or exposure levels.
Next up, we’ll look quickly at depth of field, or DOF. This is a product of our focal length and aperture. The longer our lens’s focal length is, the shallower our DOF. The wider our aperture is, the shallower our DOF. This can be a good way to remove or minimize distractions. A 100mm lens at f/16 has about the same DOF as a 50mm lens at f/4. Focused at 10 feet, both give a DOF running from about 9.17 to 11 feet. Seeing that, you can deduce that a shorter lens has a wider DOF.
Remember, these 2 topics we’ve reviewed go together. By adjusting your aperture for a shallower DOF, you’ll have to change something else to maintain your exposure. If you wish to move into a new zone, you’ll change your DOF if you use your aperture to move zones.
We’ll review composition and inspiration in our next talk. Remember to vote and get your pics in early. I hope you’ll all participate in this week’s theme, solitude. We’re aiming for more votes for our theme, so get involved and let’s enjoy the journey together!
Don’t forget to post any of your images you’d like to see here at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too! Don't foget, we're on Google+, too!
Today we’re going to review some of the basics of photography and exposure. This can all be found on our Introduction to Photography page. We should all have a good idea of this stuff, but it always helps to refresh the cup, so to speak.
First, we’ll address our exposure triangle. The triangle consists of 1- ISO or film speed, 2- shutter speed, and 3- aperture. To change exposure, you change any side of the triangle. To keep the same exposure, you have to change at least 2 sides. For instance, we set up on a sunny day at ISO 100, f/16, and 1/100. According to the “sunny 16 rule,” we’re good to go. But we want less DOF, so we need to increase our aperture. We go to f/4 to give us a shallow focus. If we don’t change another side of our triangle, we overexpose and create a mess. We have a 4-stop increase in the amount of light coming in, so we need a four-stop increase in shutter speed or 4-stop decrease in ISO. Since we can’t bring our ISO lower, we need to change our shutter speed to 1/1600. At 1/1600 at f/4, that gives us the same as 1/100 at f/16. If we want to increase our exposure, we can change any 1 side and either decrease our exposure or increase it depending on our new settings. For instance we want to increase our exposure on ISO 100, f/16, 1/100 2 stops, so increasing our aperture to f/8, decreasing our shutter speed to 1/25, or increasing our ISO to 400 will do just that. Remember, when we meter something, or a scene, the meter gives us the exposure for 18% gray, which is zone 5. Knowing this allows us to place the item we meter into different zones or exposure levels.
Next up, we’ll look quickly at depth of field, or DOF. This is a product of our focal length and aperture. The longer our lens’s focal length is, the shallower our DOF. The wider our aperture is, the shallower our DOF. This can be a good way to remove or minimize distractions. A 100mm lens at f/16 has about the same DOF as a 50mm lens at f/4. Focused at 10 feet, both give a DOF running from about 9.17 to 11 feet. Seeing that, you can deduce that a shorter lens has a wider DOF.
Remember, these 2 topics we’ve reviewed go together. By adjusting your aperture for a shallower DOF, you’ll have to change something else to maintain your exposure. If you wish to move into a new zone, you’ll change your DOF if you use your aperture to move zones.
We’ll review composition and inspiration in our next talk. Remember to vote and get your pics in early. I hope you’ll all participate in this week’s theme, solitude. We’re aiming for more votes for our theme, so get involved and let’s enjoy the journey together!
Don’t forget to post any of your images you’d like to see here at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too! Don't foget, we're on Google+, too!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Ride Along Shot- The Snowy Track
Greetings, volks. Welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place! A sunny Monday greeted us with a chilling embrace. –15 is no way to start the day!
The winner of this week’s poll is The Fortress (For the Superman Fans). Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Well let’s outline it for you!
In the Superman movies, Superman had a place where he could go to be alone and recharge. It was called the Fortress of Solitude. You guessed it; our theme for the week is Solitude, with a kick. Your shots should show the positive aspects of solitude, not loneliness or a single thing, but something positive, in solitude. It could be someone enjoying a moment alone, or someone escaping the world, any image showing something positive about solitude. Maybe your image will even contain more than one person, but will show solitude in a positive light. Remember; get your images for last week in tonight! We’ll feature them here.
Now on to our Ride Along Shot.
ISO 400, f/16, 1/500, 50mm
Tracks in the Snow, winter has hit Hohenfels!
While out and about, I noticed an old road. After approaching the road, I saw some tire tracks, as well as tracks from animals. Rather than isolate one or the other, I chose to highlight the road and have both sets of tracks in the shot. While the tire tracks feature more strongly and lead the eye through the frame, seeing the signs of animals, possibly a fox and a rabbit, adds a little dimension to the shot.
Given the time of day, I had to use a fast shutter speed and tight aperture to keep the snow in the range of zone 6-7. That allowed some texture and detail in the snow, and allows darker trees and surrounds that provide nice depth and contrast.
Having the tire tracks curving up through the frame, the eye, as mentioned, is led through the image, but it also creates some tension that brings it to life. Where are the tracks leading? Who was here? Where’d they come from? Several questions can be raised that add that little bit of drama, while preserving the serenity of the scene. Keeping the tracks from being dead center allows them to become the leading line, and add some grace and sweep to the shot.
I thought black and white was the only way to go with this scene. Color distracts from the snow and tracks, and it makes the image somewhat less appealing. Keeping the classic monochrome allows the tones to wander from nearly blown highlights to some slightly clipped shadows and increases the range of the image. I shot this set to monochrome and added a red filter. Putting a red filter on black and white darkens blues and greens, while brightening reds and oranges. This can add some crispness to your shots. Shooting at f/16 allows for both limiting the light, and increasing the DOF.
Remember that when making your photo, visualizing it is the key to getting your image. Take the time to view the scene, absorb what you're seeing, and find the light that allows you to make that magic with your camera. Sometimes, you stumble upon something, sometimes, you have to take what you find and make it work. Ansel Adams said “Sometimes I arrive just when God's ready to have someone click the shutter.” This seems to have been one of those times for me! Find someplace and keep going back, get to know it during all kinds of conditions. You’ll start seeing all sorts of images you can make with it, and one day, you’ll find the one you’ve been seeing.
Well, that’s it for today. Keep seeing the light and your shots before you take them. Keep shooting, and remember this week’s theme on solitude. I hope your week is a great one!
Don’t forget to post any of your images you’d like to see here at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too! Don't forget our new Hohenfels Volks Google+, too.
The winner of this week’s poll is The Fortress (For the Superman Fans). Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Well let’s outline it for you!
In the Superman movies, Superman had a place where he could go to be alone and recharge. It was called the Fortress of Solitude. You guessed it; our theme for the week is Solitude, with a kick. Your shots should show the positive aspects of solitude, not loneliness or a single thing, but something positive, in solitude. It could be someone enjoying a moment alone, or someone escaping the world, any image showing something positive about solitude. Maybe your image will even contain more than one person, but will show solitude in a positive light. Remember; get your images for last week in tonight! We’ll feature them here.
Now on to our Ride Along Shot.
ISO 400, f/16, 1/500, 50mm
Tracks in the Snow, winter has hit Hohenfels!
While out and about, I noticed an old road. After approaching the road, I saw some tire tracks, as well as tracks from animals. Rather than isolate one or the other, I chose to highlight the road and have both sets of tracks in the shot. While the tire tracks feature more strongly and lead the eye through the frame, seeing the signs of animals, possibly a fox and a rabbit, adds a little dimension to the shot.
Given the time of day, I had to use a fast shutter speed and tight aperture to keep the snow in the range of zone 6-7. That allowed some texture and detail in the snow, and allows darker trees and surrounds that provide nice depth and contrast.
Having the tire tracks curving up through the frame, the eye, as mentioned, is led through the image, but it also creates some tension that brings it to life. Where are the tracks leading? Who was here? Where’d they come from? Several questions can be raised that add that little bit of drama, while preserving the serenity of the scene. Keeping the tracks from being dead center allows them to become the leading line, and add some grace and sweep to the shot.
I thought black and white was the only way to go with this scene. Color distracts from the snow and tracks, and it makes the image somewhat less appealing. Keeping the classic monochrome allows the tones to wander from nearly blown highlights to some slightly clipped shadows and increases the range of the image. I shot this set to monochrome and added a red filter. Putting a red filter on black and white darkens blues and greens, while brightening reds and oranges. This can add some crispness to your shots. Shooting at f/16 allows for both limiting the light, and increasing the DOF.
Remember that when making your photo, visualizing it is the key to getting your image. Take the time to view the scene, absorb what you're seeing, and find the light that allows you to make that magic with your camera. Sometimes, you stumble upon something, sometimes, you have to take what you find and make it work. Ansel Adams said “Sometimes I arrive just when God's ready to have someone click the shutter.” This seems to have been one of those times for me! Find someplace and keep going back, get to know it during all kinds of conditions. You’ll start seeing all sorts of images you can make with it, and one day, you’ll find the one you’ve been seeing.
Well, that’s it for today. Keep seeing the light and your shots before you take them. Keep shooting, and remember this week’s theme on solitude. I hope your week is a great one!
Don’t forget to post any of your images you’d like to see here at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too! Don't forget our new Hohenfels Volks Google+, too.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Tech Talk: Hyperfocal Distance
Greetings, volks. Welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place! Today we’re going to learn about hyperfocal distance.
What is hyperfocal distance? It’s the distance you focus your lens for to have a maximum DOF. When you focus at this distance, everything from about half that distance to infinity is in acceptably sharp focus. To accomplish this and to define acceptably sharp focus you need to know your circle of confusion (COC.) COC is the largest size that a point or spot can be without appearing out of focus. For an APS-C size sensor, which most of us have, that number is .019. The smaller your COC, the greater your sharpness. Although, for different sensors and films that number is different. For 6cmx9cm film, it’s generally accepted to be .07, and for 35mm or full frame sensors, it’s about .03.
Things get mathematical here, so you may want your calculator. You can calculate the hyperfocal distance for a given lens and aperture using this method. Take the focal length of your lens and square it to get variable a, next take your aperture or f/stop and multiply it by the COC to get variable b. Divide a by b, and there you have your hyperfocal distance. Here’s how it looks in mathematical terms
H =F²/(f x C)
In the equation above
H = hyperfocal distance
F = focal length
f = f/stop
C = COC
As an example, your lens is 50mm, you wish to focus on something 10 meters away, use f/11, and you’re using an APS-C sensor. 50x50/(11x.019). This gives us 2500/(11x.019) or 2500/.209, and finally approximately 11.9 meters. If you focus at infinity on your lens, your DOF will run from 11.9 meters to infinity. If you focus at 11.9 meters, your DOF will run about 6 meters to infinity. By focusing at your hyperfocal distance, you can maximize your DOF in an image and get that winning shot. By using this calculation on a variety of focal lengths and f/stops, you can see why smaller apertures (bigger f-numbers) give you greater DOF.
There are 2 other ways to figure it out. Both are much easier, if you are using a higher end lens with a scale on it, you set the infinity symbol on your lens to line up on your f/stop at the far scale, then everything from the matching f/stop on the near scale to infinity will be acceptably sharp. That allows for Maximum DOF and zone focusing. The other easier way is to look it online. There are so many sites that you can find on Google just searching for hyperfocal distance, that you’ll never be at a loss. I prefer using DOF Master, as they have some great stuff there and it’s too easy. You just enter your info and away you go!
I hope this gives you some idea of how to use your focus for maximum DOF and how to get that extra bit of oomph to make your image stand out. Next time we’ll be calculating DOF, more math so keep that calculator handy!
Don’t forget to post any of your images you’d like to see here at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!
What is hyperfocal distance? It’s the distance you focus your lens for to have a maximum DOF. When you focus at this distance, everything from about half that distance to infinity is in acceptably sharp focus. To accomplish this and to define acceptably sharp focus you need to know your circle of confusion (COC.) COC is the largest size that a point or spot can be without appearing out of focus. For an APS-C size sensor, which most of us have, that number is .019. The smaller your COC, the greater your sharpness. Although, for different sensors and films that number is different. For 6cmx9cm film, it’s generally accepted to be .07, and for 35mm or full frame sensors, it’s about .03.
Things get mathematical here, so you may want your calculator. You can calculate the hyperfocal distance for a given lens and aperture using this method. Take the focal length of your lens and square it to get variable a, next take your aperture or f/stop and multiply it by the COC to get variable b. Divide a by b, and there you have your hyperfocal distance. Here’s how it looks in mathematical terms
H =F²/(f x C)
In the equation above
H = hyperfocal distance
F = focal length
f = f/stop
C = COC
As an example, your lens is 50mm, you wish to focus on something 10 meters away, use f/11, and you’re using an APS-C sensor. 50x50/(11x.019). This gives us 2500/(11x.019) or 2500/.209, and finally approximately 11.9 meters. If you focus at infinity on your lens, your DOF will run from 11.9 meters to infinity. If you focus at 11.9 meters, your DOF will run about 6 meters to infinity. By focusing at your hyperfocal distance, you can maximize your DOF in an image and get that winning shot. By using this calculation on a variety of focal lengths and f/stops, you can see why smaller apertures (bigger f-numbers) give you greater DOF.
There are 2 other ways to figure it out. Both are much easier, if you are using a higher end lens with a scale on it, you set the infinity symbol on your lens to line up on your f/stop at the far scale, then everything from the matching f/stop on the near scale to infinity will be acceptably sharp. That allows for Maximum DOF and zone focusing. The other easier way is to look it online. There are so many sites that you can find on Google just searching for hyperfocal distance, that you’ll never be at a loss. I prefer using DOF Master, as they have some great stuff there and it’s too easy. You just enter your info and away you go!
I hope this gives you some idea of how to use your focus for maximum DOF and how to get that extra bit of oomph to make your image stand out. Next time we’ll be calculating DOF, more math so keep that calculator handy!
Don’t forget to post any of your images you’d like to see here at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Blurry Lines...
Welcome back to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place! Another rainy and cold Hohenfels Monday brings shivering into the new week and a new theme.
Our new theme for the week is “Blurring the Lines (Not in Polite Society!).” It won with 2 votes. So onward we ride toward a description.
For centuries, societies have been stratified. You had the upper class, the middle class, the untouchables, the eta, and numerous ways to keep societies organized. Today is not much different. Only instead of class per se, we have things like employer and employee, service persons and the served, leaders and followers. The list is limited only by your vision.
The purpose of this week’s theme is to show interactions between the “classes” or groups. It could be a waiter serving a meal, a shoeshine in progress, or simply a store clerk ringing up a customer. It could be something that shows the transition from one level to another, previously unattainable. Create an image perhaps showing a graduation or promotion, or someone preparing to begin their day at work. We all transition several times a day from server to served, from leader to follower, etc.
No longer are we limited to one layer of society and that, in itself, could be an image. Hence, we have the blurring the lines part. Here’s the kicker, sharpest focus or concentration should be on the interaction or transition, not the people involved. This highlight could come from high contrast lighting or sharpness, perhaps from compositional elements like color, or even a shallow DOF. Explain the contrast without words, using just your image. Remember, there are also many societies within our society. Gender roles, marital roles, workplace roles, the options are as limitless as your ability to see how the roles and layers within a society can be crossed or transitioned.
Don’t forget to get your images for last week’s theme in tonight. I didn’t do one, as I was too busy trying out some old cameras and trying out my skills. I won’t have any results until all the film is developed next week! I’ll be shooting something this week for the theme, though; as I’m back on schedule and hopefully time will be slightly more available.
Don’t forget to post any of your images you’d like to see here at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page and to get your vote in for next week’s theme. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!
Our new theme for the week is “Blurring the Lines (Not in Polite Society!).” It won with 2 votes. So onward we ride toward a description.
For centuries, societies have been stratified. You had the upper class, the middle class, the untouchables, the eta, and numerous ways to keep societies organized. Today is not much different. Only instead of class per se, we have things like employer and employee, service persons and the served, leaders and followers. The list is limited only by your vision.
The purpose of this week’s theme is to show interactions between the “classes” or groups. It could be a waiter serving a meal, a shoeshine in progress, or simply a store clerk ringing up a customer. It could be something that shows the transition from one level to another, previously unattainable. Create an image perhaps showing a graduation or promotion, or someone preparing to begin their day at work. We all transition several times a day from server to served, from leader to follower, etc.
No longer are we limited to one layer of society and that, in itself, could be an image. Hence, we have the blurring the lines part. Here’s the kicker, sharpest focus or concentration should be on the interaction or transition, not the people involved. This highlight could come from high contrast lighting or sharpness, perhaps from compositional elements like color, or even a shallow DOF. Explain the contrast without words, using just your image. Remember, there are also many societies within our society. Gender roles, marital roles, workplace roles, the options are as limitless as your ability to see how the roles and layers within a society can be crossed or transitioned.
Don’t forget to get your images for last week’s theme in tonight. I didn’t do one, as I was too busy trying out some old cameras and trying out my skills. I won’t have any results until all the film is developed next week! I’ll be shooting something this week for the theme, though; as I’m back on schedule and hopefully time will be slightly more available.
Don’t forget to post any of your images you’d like to see here at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page and to get your vote in for next week’s theme. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
In the Zone- Zone Focusing
Greetings and welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place. I hope you’re ready, Hohenfels, to learn about zone focusing. This is something that can make getting some of those passing moments in the can, as it were, quicker and easier.
First off, let’s explain what zone focusing is. Zone focusing is using a combination of focal length, aperture, and distance to allow for enough depth of field to make a usable print. That’s pretty straight forward, right? Well, there is more to it than that, including knowing your equipment.
Zone focus developed as a way for photographers to focus their equipment, as most older cameras had no viewfinder or way to check your focus. Many of the old time greats used zone focusing to maximize the sharpness and detail in their works. Given the nature of early lenses, high f/stops were often required to get good detail and enough DOF to be worth printing. Remember, sheets of film, and rolls, were costly to purchase, develop, and print, so lots of effort went into taking each shot. Zone focusing grew from the concept and practice of hyperfocal distance, which you use to give you the maximum DOF for each lens focal length. We’ll have more on that in another post.
The technique works best with lenses that have markings on them. A distance scale for focusing opposite an aperture scale with DOF markings as shown in the photo below works best. It’s quicker and easier. Unfortunately, most lenses today are auto-focus, and kit lenses generally don’t have such marking. Higher end lenses do have them, as do pro and manual lenses as a rule.
ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/30, 32mm
Notice the f/stops on the front of the ring. They go out from the diamond marking focal distance, to give you the range, or zone, of acceptable focus.
Referring to the image above, you can see that there is a diamond. That is the distance marker. On the focus ring, there are markers that aren’t shown, that tell you your focal distance. Line up the desired distance, then using the f/stops that radiate out from the diamond, identically on either side, determine your needed aperture and distance. The distance covered will line up with the marks for the desired aperture. It’s that simple, anything in that range will be in sharp enough focus for decent size prints, including 8x10 and 11x14 if your camera has the resolution.
If your lens has a focusing distance scale, much like Canon’s 28-135mm, you can figure out your DOF with a little legwork online. The key when using zone focus, is to turn off your auto-focus. The second factor is to shoot either Aperture Priority or Manual modes only! Any other mode nullifies your efforts!
Know your location, and what’s happening there, and you can figure the ranges you will need. Let’s say for our purposes you’re shooting in a decently lit area at ISO 400 and you need to cover 3 meters and 6 meters, with room to spare. You get you’re framing, that will give you your focal length. You know it’s decently lit and you can get by with f/5.6-f/8. Going with a 55mm focal length, as most kit lenses like to go from 18-55mm, you should be focused at 4 meters for f/5.6 and 3.5 meters for f/8, although 4 meters is adequate, and has the advantage of allowing you to switch over to f/5.6 without losing too much DOF. If your lens doesn’t have a focal distance scale, measure off 4 meters, focus your lens, and mark it. An easy tip for marking your focus, is take 2 fat rubber bands and wrap one around the zoom ring of your lens at the focal length you wish to use, then wrap the other around the focus ring. Mark the one on the zoom ring at the top, focus your camera, then make a mark that lines up with the first mark you made. As time progresses and your lens drifts over the course of events, you always have your focus marked and can return to it in a snap. Then set your aperture and you’re cooking with gas!
A great online DOF calculator that just requires your focal length, camera model, and scale used (feet or meters) is DOF Master's DOF table. They also have some great information on hyperfocal distance and some nifty little software to play with!
If your shooting with a flash, your f/stop will be dictated by the flash when you use manual flash. TTL and E-TTL are great for using flash, but to use it right, you need a sync cable that’s designed for your camera maker or line to get it off camera. You can get a good one that’s about a meter reasonably priced. Add in a Flashbender or Sto-fen to diffuse the light some, and you’re off to the races. This allows you to hand hold your flash off camera and get some directional TTL or E-TTL light in your images that just adds to the quality.
Zone focusing is great for street photography, event photography, candids, and may other things. Try it out in your works and see how it can help you! You can also use it for this week's theme, as it will allow you to appear less obtrusive when shooting work getting done!
Enjoy the rest of your day, and remember to cast your vote for next week’s theme. Get yours in to have a say! Don’t forget to get your pics posted at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!
First off, let’s explain what zone focusing is. Zone focusing is using a combination of focal length, aperture, and distance to allow for enough depth of field to make a usable print. That’s pretty straight forward, right? Well, there is more to it than that, including knowing your equipment.
Zone focus developed as a way for photographers to focus their equipment, as most older cameras had no viewfinder or way to check your focus. Many of the old time greats used zone focusing to maximize the sharpness and detail in their works. Given the nature of early lenses, high f/stops were often required to get good detail and enough DOF to be worth printing. Remember, sheets of film, and rolls, were costly to purchase, develop, and print, so lots of effort went into taking each shot. Zone focusing grew from the concept and practice of hyperfocal distance, which you use to give you the maximum DOF for each lens focal length. We’ll have more on that in another post.
The technique works best with lenses that have markings on them. A distance scale for focusing opposite an aperture scale with DOF markings as shown in the photo below works best. It’s quicker and easier. Unfortunately, most lenses today are auto-focus, and kit lenses generally don’t have such marking. Higher end lenses do have them, as do pro and manual lenses as a rule.
ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/30, 32mm
Notice the f/stops on the front of the ring. They go out from the diamond marking focal distance, to give you the range, or zone, of acceptable focus.
Referring to the image above, you can see that there is a diamond. That is the distance marker. On the focus ring, there are markers that aren’t shown, that tell you your focal distance. Line up the desired distance, then using the f/stops that radiate out from the diamond, identically on either side, determine your needed aperture and distance. The distance covered will line up with the marks for the desired aperture. It’s that simple, anything in that range will be in sharp enough focus for decent size prints, including 8x10 and 11x14 if your camera has the resolution.
If your lens has a focusing distance scale, much like Canon’s 28-135mm, you can figure out your DOF with a little legwork online. The key when using zone focus, is to turn off your auto-focus. The second factor is to shoot either Aperture Priority or Manual modes only! Any other mode nullifies your efforts!
Know your location, and what’s happening there, and you can figure the ranges you will need. Let’s say for our purposes you’re shooting in a decently lit area at ISO 400 and you need to cover 3 meters and 6 meters, with room to spare. You get you’re framing, that will give you your focal length. You know it’s decently lit and you can get by with f/5.6-f/8. Going with a 55mm focal length, as most kit lenses like to go from 18-55mm, you should be focused at 4 meters for f/5.6 and 3.5 meters for f/8, although 4 meters is adequate, and has the advantage of allowing you to switch over to f/5.6 without losing too much DOF. If your lens doesn’t have a focal distance scale, measure off 4 meters, focus your lens, and mark it. An easy tip for marking your focus, is take 2 fat rubber bands and wrap one around the zoom ring of your lens at the focal length you wish to use, then wrap the other around the focus ring. Mark the one on the zoom ring at the top, focus your camera, then make a mark that lines up with the first mark you made. As time progresses and your lens drifts over the course of events, you always have your focus marked and can return to it in a snap. Then set your aperture and you’re cooking with gas!
A great online DOF calculator that just requires your focal length, camera model, and scale used (feet or meters) is DOF Master's DOF table. They also have some great information on hyperfocal distance and some nifty little software to play with!
If your shooting with a flash, your f/stop will be dictated by the flash when you use manual flash. TTL and E-TTL are great for using flash, but to use it right, you need a sync cable that’s designed for your camera maker or line to get it off camera. You can get a good one that’s about a meter reasonably priced. Add in a Flashbender or Sto-fen to diffuse the light some, and you’re off to the races. This allows you to hand hold your flash off camera and get some directional TTL or E-TTL light in your images that just adds to the quality.
Zone focusing is great for street photography, event photography, candids, and may other things. Try it out in your works and see how it can help you! You can also use it for this week's theme, as it will allow you to appear less obtrusive when shooting work getting done!
Enjoy the rest of your day, and remember to cast your vote for next week’s theme. Get yours in to have a say! Don’t forget to get your pics posted at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Elements of Composition: Negative Space
Greetings and welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place. As we begin another workweek here in Hohenfels, let’s take a moment to reflect on what we’re working for. I extended the deadline for submitting to last week’s theme due to the holiday. I hope everyone gets submitting.
Today we’re going to talk about NEGATIVE SPACE. There’s a lot of ground to cover, it’s a wide topic, and there are a variety of views on the subject. We’re just going to touch on some of it today, with more about it another time. Of course, if you really want to, you can Google it for loads of information.
NEGATIVE SPACE is basically the area around the subject of your photo. NEGATIVE SPACE is used in all forms of art, from photography and painting to music and gardening. They even use it when designing logos and trademarks.
When we make photos we place our subject, generally following guidelines, where we feel it will create visual appeal. This subject becomes our positive space, for want of a better descriptor in today’s context. The remaining areas are your NEGATIVE SPACE used to balance the positive space, or to add context to an image. It's generally used in conjunction with other "rules" of composition, like the rule of thirds.
In the minimalist approach, NEGATIVE SPACE often refers to space that carries minimal detail, yet allows the image to work. Much like the photo below. Notice how the background is blown almost totally white or light shades of gray. Another side of this approach is not just monotone, but lacking detail. When most folks see NEGATIVE SPACE, they tend to think that any detail detracts, so like to blur it out. Bokeh comes from this, and makes for great images. You can use blur for effects, for subjects in and of itself, or to add context.
ISO 320, f/5.6, 1/60, 85mm
Notice the white NEGATIVE SPACE around the princess.
Another great use of NEGATIVE SPACE is to carry minor detail and add to the context of the image. In my Christmas shot, you can see the NEGATIVE SPACE is the background. It’s just a Christmas tree, but too little information creates a blurry mess, and too much creates a distraction. By selecting my f/stop and focus to allow enough detail to show up, it shows a time, Christmas, and creates a sense of being at home. Due to decorations on the tree, and their size, blurring beyond this becomes a distraction, as does greater DOF. You see now how NEGATIVE SPACE can convey time, place, and themes. Using snow-capped mountains would have felt like a ski lodge, a Christmas market would have left one with the feeling on being Nurnberg.
ISO 100, f/5.6, 2 seconds, 55mm
Merry Christmas, Hohenfels!
In both the images above, NEGATIVE SPACE has been used to create a composition that makes the image work. Don’t overlook the importance of your NEGATIVE SPACE when visualizing and composing your shots. Think about your intent and how to use NEGATIVE SPACE to aid your subject in fulfilling your intent. By knowing how to use NEGATIVE SPACE and how it affects your image, you can use it to carry some information or use it outline your subject creating an interesting image. If you use it to create a silhouette, remember the silhouette is generally your subject, not NEGATIVE SPACE.
Enjoy the rest of your evening, and remember to cast your vote for next week’s theme. Don’t forget to get your pics posted at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!
Today we’re going to talk about NEGATIVE SPACE. There’s a lot of ground to cover, it’s a wide topic, and there are a variety of views on the subject. We’re just going to touch on some of it today, with more about it another time. Of course, if you really want to, you can Google it for loads of information.
NEGATIVE SPACE is basically the area around the subject of your photo. NEGATIVE SPACE is used in all forms of art, from photography and painting to music and gardening. They even use it when designing logos and trademarks.
When we make photos we place our subject, generally following guidelines, where we feel it will create visual appeal. This subject becomes our positive space, for want of a better descriptor in today’s context. The remaining areas are your NEGATIVE SPACE used to balance the positive space, or to add context to an image. It's generally used in conjunction with other "rules" of composition, like the rule of thirds.
In the minimalist approach, NEGATIVE SPACE often refers to space that carries minimal detail, yet allows the image to work. Much like the photo below. Notice how the background is blown almost totally white or light shades of gray. Another side of this approach is not just monotone, but lacking detail. When most folks see NEGATIVE SPACE, they tend to think that any detail detracts, so like to blur it out. Bokeh comes from this, and makes for great images. You can use blur for effects, for subjects in and of itself, or to add context.
ISO 320, f/5.6, 1/60, 85mm
Notice the white NEGATIVE SPACE around the princess.
Another great use of NEGATIVE SPACE is to carry minor detail and add to the context of the image. In my Christmas shot, you can see the NEGATIVE SPACE is the background. It’s just a Christmas tree, but too little information creates a blurry mess, and too much creates a distraction. By selecting my f/stop and focus to allow enough detail to show up, it shows a time, Christmas, and creates a sense of being at home. Due to decorations on the tree, and their size, blurring beyond this becomes a distraction, as does greater DOF. You see now how NEGATIVE SPACE can convey time, place, and themes. Using snow-capped mountains would have felt like a ski lodge, a Christmas market would have left one with the feeling on being Nurnberg.
ISO 100, f/5.6, 2 seconds, 55mm
Merry Christmas, Hohenfels!
In both the images above, NEGATIVE SPACE has been used to create a composition that makes the image work. Don’t overlook the importance of your NEGATIVE SPACE when visualizing and composing your shots. Think about your intent and how to use NEGATIVE SPACE to aid your subject in fulfilling your intent. By knowing how to use NEGATIVE SPACE and how it affects your image, you can use it to carry some information or use it outline your subject creating an interesting image. If you use it to create a silhouette, remember the silhouette is generally your subject, not NEGATIVE SPACE.
Enjoy the rest of your evening, and remember to cast your vote for next week’s theme. Don’t forget to get your pics posted at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!
Friday, December 23, 2011
A Ride Along For the New Year
Greetings and welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place. Aside from the cold and wet, it was a wonderful day here in Hohenfels. 2 days until Christmas and things are looking bright!
Today we’re going to stay in the living room for another ride along. This time we’re shooting my annual New Year’s Toast shot. Every year around this time, I like to shoot a wine and lights shot that I’ll use to greet friends and family for the New Year. So break out your flash, some wine, and let’s get working.
ISO 100, f/32, 30 seconds, 49mm
Here's the image.
As you can see in the photo below, I’ve included my set up. Out of the frame, camera left about 3 feet is a flash on a tripod, shooting through a 42” umbrella at 1/32nd power, at about chest height. The flash provides light for the tree and to capture some detail in the scene. By placing everything on some black card stock, we can minimize glare and reflections, or at least control them to an extent.
Here is the setup I used for the above image. A few more feet between the tree and the subject would have rendered some magnificent starbursts.
Having the white card to the right provides some bounce from the flash and provides a little bit of detail and edge enhancement for the wine bottle. On a side note, LBV Port is great for a toast, and while sweet, is perfect to ring in the New Year. Port wine developed a series of traditions around it, especially in naval circles, which is part of the joy of it.
I didn’t want too much detail and lighting, as the bottle has no paper label. The label is painted on, increasing the chance of huge glare and direct reflections. I knew that I would have some glare from the candlelight, as well as some reflection of the candle itself. It actually looks a lot better than I thought, as the candle looks like a thin taper, not a ball.
Shooting at f/32 allowed some great starbursts on the lighting. I thought it was a little much, and the bottle looked a little off being set apart so much. I re-did the shot with the bottle closer and shot at f/22. This allowed a small amount of starburst, but nothing overly intrusive, while keeping a long exposure. It also took out the reflection of the candle. Another nice effect is the diminishing of the bounce to a level that retains the edge of the bottle while adding just enough fall-off to create a mystery about the wine.
Here’s the final version. I think this is the one I’ll go with, even though I’ll try several more versions.
ISO 100, f/22, 30 seconds, 45mm
I think this one better captures the message and adds a bit of the old world to the image. Overall the depth of field provides detail that enhances the shot, and the composition just seems to welcome you into the scene.
I have my shot for this week’s theme in the can. How about you, have you done yours? This week’s theme and the tree allowed for several days of playing around with lighting and thought patterns. What is my reward? How do I enjoy it? I toil and work to enjoy something, but what? How do I light it? The list is endless, but I think I have something that is rewarding for me and may even interest you! It follows a pattern similar to today’s shot, if you like spoilers. How’s your shot coming along?
Here’s wishing you a very Merry Christmas. May this weekend be blessed with joy, love, family, peace, and true rewards! Remember, there is so much to life, that we haven’t even begun to measure our gifts.
Remember to cast your vote for next week’s theme. Don’t forget to get your pics posted at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!
Today we’re going to stay in the living room for another ride along. This time we’re shooting my annual New Year’s Toast shot. Every year around this time, I like to shoot a wine and lights shot that I’ll use to greet friends and family for the New Year. So break out your flash, some wine, and let’s get working.
ISO 100, f/32, 30 seconds, 49mm
Here's the image.
As you can see in the photo below, I’ve included my set up. Out of the frame, camera left about 3 feet is a flash on a tripod, shooting through a 42” umbrella at 1/32nd power, at about chest height. The flash provides light for the tree and to capture some detail in the scene. By placing everything on some black card stock, we can minimize glare and reflections, or at least control them to an extent.
Here is the setup I used for the above image. A few more feet between the tree and the subject would have rendered some magnificent starbursts.
Having the white card to the right provides some bounce from the flash and provides a little bit of detail and edge enhancement for the wine bottle. On a side note, LBV Port is great for a toast, and while sweet, is perfect to ring in the New Year. Port wine developed a series of traditions around it, especially in naval circles, which is part of the joy of it.
I didn’t want too much detail and lighting, as the bottle has no paper label. The label is painted on, increasing the chance of huge glare and direct reflections. I knew that I would have some glare from the candlelight, as well as some reflection of the candle itself. It actually looks a lot better than I thought, as the candle looks like a thin taper, not a ball.
Shooting at f/32 allowed some great starbursts on the lighting. I thought it was a little much, and the bottle looked a little off being set apart so much. I re-did the shot with the bottle closer and shot at f/22. This allowed a small amount of starburst, but nothing overly intrusive, while keeping a long exposure. It also took out the reflection of the candle. Another nice effect is the diminishing of the bounce to a level that retains the edge of the bottle while adding just enough fall-off to create a mystery about the wine.
Here’s the final version. I think this is the one I’ll go with, even though I’ll try several more versions.
ISO 100, f/22, 30 seconds, 45mm
I think this one better captures the message and adds a bit of the old world to the image. Overall the depth of field provides detail that enhances the shot, and the composition just seems to welcome you into the scene.
I have my shot for this week’s theme in the can. How about you, have you done yours? This week’s theme and the tree allowed for several days of playing around with lighting and thought patterns. What is my reward? How do I enjoy it? I toil and work to enjoy something, but what? How do I light it? The list is endless, but I think I have something that is rewarding for me and may even interest you! It follows a pattern similar to today’s shot, if you like spoilers. How’s your shot coming along?
Here’s wishing you a very Merry Christmas. May this weekend be blessed with joy, love, family, peace, and true rewards! Remember, there is so much to life, that we haven’t even begun to measure our gifts.
Remember to cast your vote for next week’s theme. Don’t forget to get your pics posted at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Ride Along Shot
Welcome to Hohenfels Volks. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. The day is chilly, but the sky is blue, and the light is there. Today we’re going to try something new based on a suggestion by my friend Darris. We’re going to look at a photo and go over how and why it was made, and what kind of thoughts went into it.
I’m going to use a photo taken in Bamberg at the Residenz.
Here’s the image and the settings
ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/60. Canon EF 28-135mm IS
The imperial hall is a magnificent room, from which you start your tour. It’s also the only room where flash photography is allowed. I wanted to capture something of that grandeur without taking it to the point where there is too much of the room,
Choosing something that would be pleasing and have a point led to this image. Visualizing something with the windows leading to the door gave several possibilities. I liked having something lead to an interesting and mysterious item or subject. The door was the way to go, as it increased interest and curiosity.
By moving around the room, and visualizing several ways of getting the picture I thought placing the door at one of the thirds, and leading in with the chairs would be a great way to draw the viewer in. I set my flash to cast a small amount of light to toward the entry into the main part of the palace. I thought that including some of the windows would be a nice touch, but realized that closing in the window frames toward each other added another way of leading the eyes into the door.The contrast between window light and the dark chairs creates more interest in where they lead.
Creating diagonals with the chairs, I’ve created one set of leading lines. By closing the windows together, the converging parallels created another set of diagonals. All the diagonals converge at the door, leading one into the apartments. What’s in there, what is the light, and where does the door lead? These questions can be created with placement of the subject and leading lines. Keeping it in glorious color helped show the glory and majesty of the hall and increase some curiosity and tension.
The short focal length allowed me to shoot at f/5.6 and keep the DOF needed to bag the shot I visualized and keep the shutter speed high enough to handhold the camera. I knew that a large aperture would be need to get the light from the flash to record properly, and somewhat slower shutter speed to get the ambient light. 1/60 allowed the ambient to record at the desired level, while f/5.6 allowed the flash exposed areas to match the ambient levels.
When shooting manual with a flash, your shutter speed controls the ambient exposure and the aperture controls your flash exposure. This will allow you to adjust either part, as ambient lighting often cannot be changed, and running between your flash and camera can make things tricky.
Remember, with shots like this, you have to include the negative lighting and added lighting in visualization. Include the impact of your counters to the poor lighting, and see the end result. If you know your camera and your exposures, you'll get the shot you want.
Painted beautifully with wonderful scenes and colors, I’ve included a pic of the ceiling.
ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/60
I love the color, detail, and majesty of this painting.
I hope this post can be of some help. Enjoy your weekend. Today’s golden hour begins at 4 pm, so get out and get shooting! That golden light will make your shots, and you surely can find any number of subjects to photograph in it! Remember to share your pics and post your questions at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page, and or by commenting here!
I’m going to use a photo taken in Bamberg at the Residenz.
Here’s the image and the settings
ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/60. Canon EF 28-135mm IS
The imperial hall is a magnificent room, from which you start your tour. It’s also the only room where flash photography is allowed. I wanted to capture something of that grandeur without taking it to the point where there is too much of the room,
Choosing something that would be pleasing and have a point led to this image. Visualizing something with the windows leading to the door gave several possibilities. I liked having something lead to an interesting and mysterious item or subject. The door was the way to go, as it increased interest and curiosity.
By moving around the room, and visualizing several ways of getting the picture I thought placing the door at one of the thirds, and leading in with the chairs would be a great way to draw the viewer in. I set my flash to cast a small amount of light to toward the entry into the main part of the palace. I thought that including some of the windows would be a nice touch, but realized that closing in the window frames toward each other added another way of leading the eyes into the door.The contrast between window light and the dark chairs creates more interest in where they lead.
Creating diagonals with the chairs, I’ve created one set of leading lines. By closing the windows together, the converging parallels created another set of diagonals. All the diagonals converge at the door, leading one into the apartments. What’s in there, what is the light, and where does the door lead? These questions can be created with placement of the subject and leading lines. Keeping it in glorious color helped show the glory and majesty of the hall and increase some curiosity and tension.
The short focal length allowed me to shoot at f/5.6 and keep the DOF needed to bag the shot I visualized and keep the shutter speed high enough to handhold the camera. I knew that a large aperture would be need to get the light from the flash to record properly, and somewhat slower shutter speed to get the ambient light. 1/60 allowed the ambient to record at the desired level, while f/5.6 allowed the flash exposed areas to match the ambient levels.
When shooting manual with a flash, your shutter speed controls the ambient exposure and the aperture controls your flash exposure. This will allow you to adjust either part, as ambient lighting often cannot be changed, and running between your flash and camera can make things tricky.
Remember, with shots like this, you have to include the negative lighting and added lighting in visualization. Include the impact of your counters to the poor lighting, and see the end result. If you know your camera and your exposures, you'll get the shot you want.
Painted beautifully with wonderful scenes and colors, I’ve included a pic of the ceiling.
ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/60
I love the color, detail, and majesty of this painting.
I hope this post can be of some help. Enjoy your weekend. Today’s golden hour begins at 4 pm, so get out and get shooting! That golden light will make your shots, and you surely can find any number of subjects to photograph in it! Remember to share your pics and post your questions at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page, and or by commenting here!
Friday, September 23, 2011
FOCAL LENGTH
Welcome to another post!
Our topic this time is FOCAL LENGTH, and covers more than just lens sizes.
Let’s start out with the basics; FOCAL LENGTH refers to the length of your lens, usually in millimeters. A 300mm lens is 300 millimeters, but crop factor can change the apparent FOCAL LENGTH of the lens. Crop Factor refers to sensor size on a digital camera. Most of us use cameras with an APS-C sensor, which provides a 1.6x crop factor, or 1.6 times the magnification of the lens’s FOCAL LENGTH. Unless a lens is made for the specific crop factor, for instance Canon’s EF-S lenses, crop factor must be counted to provide the correct focal length. Therefore, a 300mm lens at 1.6x crop factor has an apparent FOCAL LENGTH of 480mm. Since most of us now use the digital lenses that either came with our camera, or we purchased later, I’m not going to make too much of crop factor, that’s for another post.
A large number of folks believe that the perceived change between two FOCAL LENGTHS is caused entirely by magnification. This is actually not entirely true. When you zoom in closer, your lens covers a smaller area of the scene. It doesn’t really magnify it, just shows less in the same amount of space, although there is some magnification from the optics. If you look through a toilet paper tube and take note of what you see, then look through a paper towel tube of about the same diameter, you’ll notice this effect.
Another effect of FOCAL LENGTH, is longer FOCAL LENGTHS, compress the distance between objects in your scene, making them appear closer together. This is great for a portrait with a shallow DOF, as it can blur out and compress the background for a nice effect. It’s something to pay attention to, as the effect can make a great picture look somewhat flat and plain.
For more the rest of this article about FOCAL LENGTH, check out our Intro to Photography page, which contains our full intro series posts so far. And for a great article about the effects of FOCAL LENGTH, check out Photo Tuts+. You can also get into the maths of it at Wikipedia!
I hope this article will be useful on your photographic journey. The knowledge really helped me! Enjoy the weekend folks, and keep your eyes open for more articles, tips, and Hohenfels Volks photo goodness!
Our topic this time is FOCAL LENGTH, and covers more than just lens sizes.
Let’s start out with the basics; FOCAL LENGTH refers to the length of your lens, usually in millimeters. A 300mm lens is 300 millimeters, but crop factor can change the apparent FOCAL LENGTH of the lens. Crop Factor refers to sensor size on a digital camera. Most of us use cameras with an APS-C sensor, which provides a 1.6x crop factor, or 1.6 times the magnification of the lens’s FOCAL LENGTH. Unless a lens is made for the specific crop factor, for instance Canon’s EF-S lenses, crop factor must be counted to provide the correct focal length. Therefore, a 300mm lens at 1.6x crop factor has an apparent FOCAL LENGTH of 480mm. Since most of us now use the digital lenses that either came with our camera, or we purchased later, I’m not going to make too much of crop factor, that’s for another post.
A large number of folks believe that the perceived change between two FOCAL LENGTHS is caused entirely by magnification. This is actually not entirely true. When you zoom in closer, your lens covers a smaller area of the scene. It doesn’t really magnify it, just shows less in the same amount of space, although there is some magnification from the optics. If you look through a toilet paper tube and take note of what you see, then look through a paper towel tube of about the same diameter, you’ll notice this effect.
Another effect of FOCAL LENGTH, is longer FOCAL LENGTHS, compress the distance between objects in your scene, making them appear closer together. This is great for a portrait with a shallow DOF, as it can blur out and compress the background for a nice effect. It’s something to pay attention to, as the effect can make a great picture look somewhat flat and plain.
For more the rest of this article about FOCAL LENGTH, check out our Intro to Photography page, which contains our full intro series posts so far. And for a great article about the effects of FOCAL LENGTH, check out Photo Tuts+. You can also get into the maths of it at Wikipedia!
I hope this article will be useful on your photographic journey. The knowledge really helped me! Enjoy the weekend folks, and keep your eyes open for more articles, tips, and Hohenfels Volks photo goodness!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Depth of Field
Welcome back!
This time we're going to explore DEPTH OF FIELD, commonly referred to as DOF.
Have you ever noticed that some photos are extremely sharp all the way through the whole range of the image and some stop being sharp with only a small range truly sharp? This range of sharpness in a picture is DEPTH OF FIELD.
How can we control this? There are several tools at our disposal. One is controlling the distance between subjects, another is focal point (an upcoming post), but the most valuable to us, and the one we will discuss here, is our aperture or f-stop.
You might remember that aperture is the size of the "window" in the lens. You might ask, if it controls how much light gets in, how can it control the DOF?
With a narrow aperture, basically, the light becomes more tightly focused, making the DOF wider and allowing an increase in sharpness.
A couple words of caution on this:
1) This is not the cure all for poorly focused or blurry images. One negative side effect of a very small aperture, or large f-stop, is diffraction blur. The bending of light as it squeezes through the aperture causes this, and can make blur more noticeable.
2) This will require longer shutter speeds. Sometimes beyond your ability to hold a camera steady. Camera shake is really bad at long exposures!
So, if a narrow aperture will increase DOF, it makes sense that a wide aperture will decrease your DOF.
Now, it's time to break out your camera. Play with your DOF; adjust your aperture and your focus to get some images with a shallow DOF and some with more depth, or wider DOF. A great way to start is taking 2 items and placing them on your table at different distances from the camera. Shoot at the range between f4 and f16 and examine the results.
Don't you feel more artistic already? I did when I first tried it!
For more information on DEPTH OF FIELD, check out our Intro to Photography page and don't miss out on Cambridge in Colour's excellent in-depth tutorial.
That's it for this post. Here's hoping you have a great week and get some good shooting in this week-end!
And remember, if you have any questions or comments feel free to share them here or on our Facebook page.
This time we're going to explore DEPTH OF FIELD, commonly referred to as DOF.
Have you ever noticed that some photos are extremely sharp all the way through the whole range of the image and some stop being sharp with only a small range truly sharp? This range of sharpness in a picture is DEPTH OF FIELD.
How can we control this? There are several tools at our disposal. One is controlling the distance between subjects, another is focal point (an upcoming post), but the most valuable to us, and the one we will discuss here, is our aperture or f-stop.
You might remember that aperture is the size of the "window" in the lens. You might ask, if it controls how much light gets in, how can it control the DOF?
With a narrow aperture, basically, the light becomes more tightly focused, making the DOF wider and allowing an increase in sharpness.
A couple words of caution on this:
1) This is not the cure all for poorly focused or blurry images. One negative side effect of a very small aperture, or large f-stop, is diffraction blur. The bending of light as it squeezes through the aperture causes this, and can make blur more noticeable.
2) This will require longer shutter speeds. Sometimes beyond your ability to hold a camera steady. Camera shake is really bad at long exposures!
So, if a narrow aperture will increase DOF, it makes sense that a wide aperture will decrease your DOF.
Now, it's time to break out your camera. Play with your DOF; adjust your aperture and your focus to get some images with a shallow DOF and some with more depth, or wider DOF. A great way to start is taking 2 items and placing them on your table at different distances from the camera. Shoot at the range between f4 and f16 and examine the results.
Don't you feel more artistic already? I did when I first tried it!
For more information on DEPTH OF FIELD, check out our Intro to Photography page and don't miss out on Cambridge in Colour's excellent in-depth tutorial.
That's it for this post. Here's hoping you have a great week and get some good shooting in this week-end!
And remember, if you have any questions or comments feel free to share them here or on our Facebook page.
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