The 4 Ps – Tips for Improving Your Wildlife Photography

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Outdoor Photography, Portrait Photography, Printing and Framing, Nikon, Travel Photography, How to avoid photography problems, bad mistakes, photography, video. Photography tutorial for beginners, photography, photography tips, photography tricks, photo tips and tricks

By: Richard Beech 

Check out our new Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography.
Taking photographs of wildlife can be one of the most exhilarating photographic experiences you can try. Spotting an animal in the wild can be thrilling, and being able to record that moment can be highly rewarding. However, wild animals can be a particularly challenging subject matter, so wildlife photography can often prove frustrating.
To help you get the most out of this compelling type of images, here are some tips to improve your wildlife photography.

#1 PREPARATION

No matter what type of wildlife you have chosen to photograph you will need to spend time getting to know its behaviour, routine and movements. Read up about your subject in advance, or search online for video or audio files, that can help you learn more about spotting your chosen subject. If possible, talk to experts in the field who know where, and when, to spot wildlife. If you are heading to a nature reserve or national park to take photographs, staff and volunteers are normally very willing to let you know of recent sightings, or give you some handy local advice.
Because you may only get a limited time in which to take wildlife photographs, getting to know your camera settings is extremely important. Familiarize yourself with how your camera and lens work before you get to the location so that you don’t miss an important shot by having the incorrect settings.
Before setting out, make sure you have packed all of the required gear, and you have spare memory cards and charged batteries. For wildlife photography, a telephoto lens is probably going to be essential, but do not overlook packing a wider angle lens to capture your animals as part of the landscape. Some of the best wildlife photographs show an animal in its environment and are not necessarily frame-filling portrait shots. If you are using a telephoto lens, a tripod or monopod can also form a useful part of your kit to minimize camera shake. A monopod offers greater flexibility of movement than a tripod when you are tracking wildlife on the move, but can still provide adequate stability for your camera to get sharp images.

Check weather reports for the day you are going to shoot wildlife, but do not necessarily be put off by bad weather. Animals do remain active during rainy or stormy days, and it is possible to get some dramatic shots in such conditions. You can buy special covers to protect your camera and lens in wet weather but, often, a durable plastic bag fixed in place with elastic bands can work just as effectively.
As with all genres of photography, lighting is key, and the best light for wildlife photography tends to be around sunrise and sunset. Animals also tend to be more active at these times of day, often searching for food. Therefore, make sure you get up early to be ready to take photographs in the golden light as the sun rises. Shooting into the sunset can transform a mundane subject into something special, so look for opportunities to capture dramatic wildlife silhouettes as the sun goes down (see image below).

#2 PRACTICE

As with all types of photography, composition can make the difference between a good image, and a great image. When composing wildlife photographs, remember basic compositional guidelines such as the highly effective Rule of Thirds. If your subject is looking to the left or right, leave an appropriate amount of space in the frame into which they can look. The same guideline applies if a moving animal is being captured – always leave room in the frame for them to move into.
Getting down to eye-level (or lower) with an animal can produce dramatic images. Taking a shot of an animal from a standing height looking down on it will usually lack any Wow Factor as this is the angle from which we are most used to seeing wildlife. Laying down on the ground so that you are at eye-level with, or looking up at, the animal will make your chosen subject seem large and powerful, and can add an element of drama to your final image.
A fundamental rule of wildlife photography is that the subject’s eyes must always be in perfect focus. However, the autofocus system on your camera can easily be tricked into locking onto another part of the animal. A helpful way around this is to set the camera to One Shot mode (AF-S for Nikon users), select the centre focus point in the viewfinder, lock the focus on the eyes by pressing the shutter release button halfway down and then, without releasing, recompose your shot. In addition to being perfectly focused on the eyes, the most compelling wildlife images have a catch-light in the eye. A flash, or speedlight, in your kit can be extremely useful for adding light to dark eyes when taking close-up animal portraits.

Getting the right focus becomes even harder when shooting an animal in motion. For moving wildlife, select a continuous autofocus mode such as AI Servo (AF-C) and select a single focus point in the viewfinder. Track the action by keeping the single focus point on the subject to ensure that remains in focus at all times, rather than the background or foreground.
Shooting in Aperture Priority mode can be extremely useful for wildlife photography. By using the widest aperture available (such as f/2.8) you will be able to use the fast shutter speeds necessary to produce sharp images. The narrow depth of field from using a wide aperture will also help to blur the background and, therefore, will isolate your subject and really make it stand out in the final image.
Do not be afraid to increase your ISO settings a little in order to keep the shutter speed fast, particularly if shooting in environments where lighting can be difficult, such as in a thick forest. A little bit of noise in your image is more acceptable (and easier to correct if you so wish) than an out-of-focus, or blurry image.

#3 PERSEVERANCE

While there is no denying that a certain amount of luck definitely comes in handy, the real key to taking better wildlife photographs is patience. Not necessarily the patience required for your chosen subject to appear, but the patience to capture the perfect shot that you have envisioned.
When you do find an animal out in the wild, watch it for as long as possible and not just from behind the viewfinder. Spend time with it and learn its ways. While observing the animal, try to capture some form of behaviour that is unique to that species. Documenting such behaviour can produce compelling wildlife shots. Most importantly, enjoy the experience of wildlife watching as much as taking photographs.
One quick tip is to keep all noise (as in be quiet, not camera noise) to a minimum when you are shooting in the wild. Dress appropriately, tread carefully, and possibly most importantly, switch your phone to silent mode. There is nothing worse than framing a shot and having your subject scared off by a ringing phone.

There may very well be some periods of waiting and watching. Try not to get too focused on one particular subject, take a look around while waiting for your subject to return. You never know, there may very well be something more interesting waiting just around the corner.
If you want to put in more practice with your wildlife photography but don’t have much time to spare, a public park can be a great place to visit on a lunch hour or after work. Parks attract a range of wildlife such as geese, swans or deer and often you can get a little bit nearer to the action. A duck pond can produce many opportunities for action shots and is a great place to practice your skills at close range.

#4 PASSION

To take your wildlife shots from good to great, you need to be passionate about the natural world you are photographing. Take the time to appreciate nature and wildlife in all of its forms, wherever you find it. You do not have to go to an exotic location to do great wildlife photography. For example, macro photography offers a range of wildlife opportunities including spiders, beetles and flies. As someone who was once highly arachnophobic, I can now appreciate the beauty of spiders and, since photographing them, I do find them more fascinating than scary.

You could even make a few simple changes to your own garden to encourage more wildlife to come to you. Making your garden wildlife friendly can be relatively inexpensive and highly beneficial to local wildlife. Adding a pond or wildflower patch is both good for the environment, and may provide you with photographic opportunities.
Most importantly, take great care when photographing wildlife. Do not put yourself, or the wildlife, at risk and do not disturb their natural habitats in the process of getting your shot. Respect all wildlife, get to know your subject well and you will be rewarded with some great images to share with others, to inspire them to care as much about the natural world as you do.  Share this article.




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How to Choose the Best Lens for Wildlife Photography

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Wildlife Photography, Ambient Light, Portrait Photography, Printing and Framing, Nikon, Travel Photography, How to avoid photography problems, bad mistakes, photography, video. Photography tutorial for beginners, photography, photography tips, photography tricks, photo tips and trick

By: Shreyas Yadav 

Before you select a lens for wildlife photography, first ask yourself – what are you passionate about photographing? Do you love exploring the forest and chasing big cats on a wildlife safari? Perhaps you love photographing birds flying around? Maybe you love to explore reptiles and amphibians?
After you have figured out what you are passionate about, think about how many of those subjects are available and whether you can access that location. For example, if I am passionate about exploring forests full of tigers, leopards, and elephants, I have to see if those subjects – and the location – are accessible to me at least once a month.
Alternatively, if I am passionate about colorful birds, I have to check if I can access those locations at least once a month.
If you can access the location and subject of your choice, you are lucky. It will make your lens selection an easy decision. Since you will be using that lens every month, it makes complete sense to own the glass.

Homecoming : Baya Weaver Bird in Flight

On the other hand, if you love birds and African Big five. If you live away from Africa, then it is better to buy a lens that is perfect for birds – which you are more likely to shoot every weekend. Whereas, you may only visit Africa once every three years. Hence, think about it before you purchase a lens.
The most crucial factor is the budget. How much cash you can allocate to the lens. Keep aside some money for the camera body, accessories, and most importantly for travel, as wildlife photography involves a considerable amount of travel. While travel is sometimes hectic and a bit expensive, it is an awesome experience!
Key factors to consider while selecting the lens for wildlife photography
To summarise, below are the key factors to consider while selecting the lens for wildlife photography:

1. Personal liking
2. Subject availability
3. Location accessibility
4. Budget

Technical factors to consider when choosing the best lens for wildlife photography

Let’s start with the technical factors you should consider while choosing the best lens for wildlife photography.

1. Focal length range
2. Maximum aperture
3. Focusing speed
4. Controls and ergonomics
5. Compatibility with Teleconverters
6. Weather sealing
7. Low light performance

The King – Power, Dominance, Calmness and Royal presence

1. Focal length range

The range of focal lengths is essential to photographing wildlife images. You need longer focal lengths to photograph birds and mammals. For photographing birds, you need a focal length of at least 400 mm. And it can go up to 600 or even 800 mm.
If you are photographing mammals, the required focal length is from 200mm up to 600 mm. The longer the focal length, the better reach you will have.
However, there are exceptions in some of the cases.
When you want to show wildlife in its habitat or if you can approach the wildlife at a close distance, you can use shorter focal lengths, such as 12mm or 14mm.
But in most of the wildlife cases, there will be a distance between you and the wildlife you photograph. Hence longer focal lengths are useful.

2. Maximum aperture

Lens aperture determines how much light passes through the lens to the camera’s sensor. Larger apertures help to capture maximum light.
Large aperture lenses focus faster than smaller aperture lenses too.
In wildlife photography, the action is fast, so to capture fast action, you need a quicker focusing lens. Hence, it’s preferable to use a lens with a large aperture in Wildlife photography.
The maximum aperture can be f/2.8 and f/4. The lenses with a fast aperture (smaller number) can focus fast.
Image quality, depth of field, and sharpness are superb for lenses with a faster aperture.
Select the lens with an aperture value of f/2.8 or f/4. The smallest aperture you can go up to is f/5.6. Try not to choose lenses slower than f/5.6.

Sony FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS

3. Focusing speed

Focusing speed is critical for wildlife and bird photography.
The best lens should focus fast and accurately and should be able to focus precisely – even in the low light as well.
Focusing speed is mainly dependent on the maximum aperture and lens construction.
While looking at the lens construction, we will not be able to figure out the focusing speed. But, based on the maximum aperture number, we can get an idea of lens focusing speed.
A lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or f/4 focuses fast and accurate.
In general, a fixed focal length lens performs better than a zoom lens because of less moving glass elements. (There are exceptions. Some of the zoom lenses focus fast; we will discuss it later in this article)

4. Controls and ergonomics

Controls and ergonomics determine how you can handle and use the lens.
Lens zooming and manual focus rings should be smooth and accurate.
The lens should zoom with optimized ring rotation, so you don’t have to rotate the zoom ring by 360 degrees.
Autofocus and manual override (A/M or M/A) is a great feature. It means you can autofocus the lens. Further, to fine-tune the focus, you can manually focus it.
Vibration reduction/image stabilization helps to compensate for any camera movement. This feature helps to capture a sharp image at low shutter speed.
The weight of the lens is a significant factor in choosing the lens too. Less weight is always preferred because you can carry the lens while hiking or traveling. Similarly, smaller size lenses are right for traveling and packing.
Most of the wildlife and bird photography lenses are a bit heavy and bigger. Of course, there are exceptions. Some of the lenses are equally great in terms of image quality at a much lower weight and size. But the price of those lenses is higher. We will evaluate those lenses as well in the next sections.

NIKKOR AF-S 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR

5. Compatibility with teleconverters

As you will be using the lens for many years, compatibility with a teleconverter is essential.
The lens should be compatible (in terms of Autofocus performance such as accuracy and speed) with the teleconverter.
Teleconverters help to expand the range of the lens. For example, a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens with a 2X converter will be 140-400mm f/5.6. It doubles the focal range of the lens and reduces the maximum aperture of the lens from f/2.8 to f/5.6.
For any lens brand, generally, there are 1.4X, 1.7X, and 2X teleconverters. If the lens is compatible with all 3 teleconverters, it’s excellent! But at least it should be compatible with either one of the teleconverters.
If your lens is compatible with teleconverters, you will be able to extend the focal length of the lens.

6. Weather sealing

The right lens for wildlife photography should be able to take beatings from outdoor weather.
The lens should withstand against rain drizzle, temperature extremes (both hot and cold temperatures), and dust.
Weather sealing should be good enough to stop raindrops and dust from entering into the lens.
The weather sealing of the lens depends on lens construction, protruding lens elements, type of seals at zoom/focus ring, and at the camera mount.
With that said, while photographing outdoors, take care. It is always better to clean the lens after each photography trip. Cleaning of lens contacts, lens mounts, front elements, zoom/focusing rings, and protruding parts is good enough.

A graceful walk of a Tusker

7. Low light performance

Low light focusing performance is dependent on the lens and camera as well. Both camera and lens play an essential role in low light focusing.
Most of the wildlife action happens during early dawn and late dusk. During this edge of day, light conditions are poor.
Good lenses should be fast and accurate enough to focus in low light.
A lens’s low light performance depends on the maximum aperture and moving glass elements. Larger apertures of f/2.8 or f/4 and less moving glass elements mean the lens focuses fast. (Assuming your camera is having excellent low light autofocus performance.)
Now you are aware of what technical factors to look for, let’s learn what types of lenses are available for Wildlife photography.

Different lens types for wildlife photography

• Prime Lenses ( Fixed focal length )
• Telephoto zoom lens
• Micro 4/3rd format lens
• Micro Lens

Oriental White Eye Birds

1. Prime lenses

A prime lens has a fixed focal length.
Prime lenses are best for birds and wildlife at a distance.
Because of fewer moving glass elements and maximum aperture, autofocus performance is excellent.
Image quality, sharpness, low light capability, and focus response is excellent for a prime lens. Prime lenses are compatible with teleconverters too.
One caveat is, if the wildlife approaches closer to you, you cannot zoom out and take the picture. Instead, you are stuck with a fixed focal length. In this case, you may want to take a portrait/close up image.
Compositional flexibility is limited when using prime lenses.
Prime lenses are higher in price and can be a bit heavier as compared to zoom lenses.
However, buying the best prime lens is the most significant investment you can make in your photography. These lenses last more than a decade and keep making beautiful images.
Out of your budget, try to spend the maximum amount of money on buying the best prime lens.

Some of the best prime lenses are:

• Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR
• Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II
• Nikon AF-S 500mm f/4E FL ED VR
• Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4E FL ED VR
• Sony FE 600mm F4 GM OSS
• Canon EF300mm f/4L IS USM
• Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM
• Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM
• Canon EF600mm f/4L IS II USM
• Canon EF400mm f/5.6L USM

Red Munia

2. Telephoto zoom lens

A telephoto zoom lens is a variable focal length lens. You can change the focal length of the lens by rotating the zoom ring on the lens.
Telephoto zoom lenses are best for birds and wildlife at long and short distances.
As compared to prime lenses (fixed focal length), Zoom lenses have more moving glass elements. This affects the focus performance.
However, there are exceptions.
Some of the Telephoto zoom lenses are as fast as prime lenses. We will see which of those lenses are in this article.
Telephoto zoom lenses are compatible with teleconverters. However, teleconverter compatibility is limited. Telephoto zoom lenses are fully compatible with some of the teleconverters, while only partially compatible with other teleconverters.
When choosing a telephoto zoom lens, check the teleconverter compatibility as well.
The main advantage of a zoom lens over a prime lens is variable focal length. Variable focal length helps in photographing farther as well as closer objects. Zoom lenses give freedom in image composition as well.
The size and weight of zoom lenses are relatively manageable as compared to that of prime lenses. Most of the zoom lenses are hand-holdable and travel-friendly.
While selecting the telephoto zoom lens, look out for aperture numbers such as f/2.8 and f/4 (for particular lens you can go up to f/5.6). Try to get the largest possible aperture for the telephoto zoom lens. This helps in autofocus performance, low light capability, Image sharpness, and smooth bokeh.

Some of the best Telephoto zoom lenses are:

• NIKKOR AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR
• NIKKOR AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR
• NIKKOR AF-S 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR
• NIKKOR AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
• NIKKOR AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR
• NIKKOR AF-S 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II
• Sony FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS
• Super telephoto Zoom 100-400mm G Master lens
• Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
• Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM

Raindrops and Green Vine Snake

3. Micro Lens

Micro-lenses are a prime lens (fixed focal length).
If insects, snakes, butterflies, or small creatures are your interest, then micro lenses are for you.
The most popular lenses among the photographers are 105mm f/2.8, 180mm f/2.8 and 90mm f/2.8. Among all 105mm f/2.8 lenses are the right balance of image quality, range, size, weight, and price.

Here are recommended micro-lenses from popular brands:

• Nikon 105mm f/2.8
• Canon 100mm f/2.8

There are additional micro-lenses from third party brands such as Sigma and Tamron.

Sunbird in Flight

4. Micro 4/3rd Format lens

Micro 4/3rd format lenses are a bit different. The cameras with the Micro 4/3rd system have a smaller sensor size.
For example, a full-frame 100mm lens will become 150mm (1.5 X) on the crop sensor (small camera sensor body). Whereas on the micro 4/3rd system cameras, a 100mm lens will become 200mm (2 X).
Micro 4/3rd systems have their benefits such as size, compactness, weather sealing, and convenience. With a small sensor, as compared to a full-frame sensor, there is a compromise in terms of image quality and dynamic range. Lenses for the Micro 4/3rd system are built well. The quality of the glass, weather sealing, and ergonomics are excellent too.
In wildlife photography, weather conditions will be hostile. You have to hike along with your gear. Size and weather resistance of the equipment matters.
Hence specifically for wildlife, photography Micro 4/3rds is an excellent and unique option to consider.

Some of the best micro 4/3rds lenses for wildlife photography are:

• Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150mm F2.8 PRO
• Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO

Elephant Scape

Process for selecting the best lens for wildlife photography

As you are now aware of what type of lenses are available for wildlife photography, let’s look into the process of lens selection.
These steps will help you to select the best lens for wildlife photography.

Identify your photography requirement

Find out what your area of interest is and identify what you want to photograph. You may want to photograph birds or big animals or small creatures. The key is to find out your objects of interest.

Evaluate the lens

Once you have found out what do you love photographing the most, select the lens accordingly. For example, if you love photographing birds, then select a telephoto (prime lens). If you like photographing butterflies, insects, and snakes, then select a micro-lens.

Rent the lens

Before you buy the lens, rent it. Also, try renting similar options in the lens. For example, if you are looking for a telephoto (prime) lens for birds, then rent and use the lenses such as 600mm f/4, 500mm f/4, and 400mm f/2.8 and see which lens you find comfortable while using.
If you want to photograph wild animals, try using lenses such as 70-200 f/2.8, 300mm f/4, and 200-500 f/5.6. By using the lens, you will be able to evaluate it better.

Buy the lens

Once you have evaluated and tried the lens, it is time to buy the lens. Generally, there is no discount for good lenses. Also, it is better to buy the new lens as you are going to use the lens for a long time (likely, more than a decade). Once you buy the lens, make sure all the functions work correctly.
Make sure you have a lens warranty in place, and you are good to go!

Now it’s your turn

What is your favorite object? Which lens have you selected?
If you have any questions regarding lens selection for wildlife photography, please let us know in the comments below.  Share this article.


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What is Ambient Light in Photography? An Explanation for Beginner Photographers

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Ambient Light, Portrait Photography, Printing and Framing, Nikon, Travel Photography, How to avoid photography problems, bad mistakes, photography, video. Photography tutorial for beginners, photography, photography tips, photography tricks, photo tips and trick

By: Lily Sawyer 

Have you ever wondered what ambient light in photography means? You may have heard phrases such as “capture the ambiance,” “allow ambient light,” and have wondered how to do that. This article explains exactly that!
So let’s get started.

f/5.6, ISO 3200, 1/60th

Simply stated, ambient light means the light already available in the space before you add any other lighting. Yes, any light already available and that could be many types!

Types of ambient light in photography

1. Natural light from outdoors

The first type of ambient light in photography is natural light from outdoors. This is the daylight that comes through side windows, ceiling windows, and open doorways.

f/5.6, ISO 6400, 1/60th (This was shot on a very dark and overcast winter day in a north-east facing kitchen)

Compare the two images above and below. The image above was taken using purely natural light from outdoors whilst the image below incorporated neons, lamps and spotlights.

f/5.6, ISO 4000, 1/60th

2. Natural light from indoors

Candle lights and the glow of light coming from fireplaces are natural lights that can already be indoor sources rather than the natural sunlight coming from outdoors.

f/5.6, ISO 1600, 1/60th

f/5.6, ISO 1000, 1/60th

3. Artificial lights in the home

This is a range of lights commonly seen in homes and spaces. It includes ceiling down-lighters, spotlights, ceiling pendants, chandeliers, table lamps, floor lamps, neon lights, lights from mirrors, fluorescent lights, and wall sconces.

f/5.6, ISO 6400, 1/30th

Which light/lights do you require?

In photography, the question is, what light is needed to achieve the image the photographer wants to capture? I dare say there are no hard and fast rules as the success of an image depends on getting the correct lighting combination required, regardless of the type of lighting.
Let’s explore some lighting scenarios in various spaces.

Portraits

Just like any type of lighting, whether it be natural or artificial, ambient light is just one option for photographers.

Left: f/2.8, ISO 1000, 1/100th  Lens 24-70mm Right: f/4, ISO 400, 1/125th with off-camera flash

In portraits, ambient light could be purely the sunlight coming through a side window. To shoot this, a photographer would only need a camera. And, if it helps to achieve the image, a few accessories such as a reflector, a diffuser, and a backdrop – or use an existing wall.

Left: f/2.8, ISO 1000, 1/100th  Lens 24-70mm Right: f/4, ISO 400, 1/125th with off-camera flash

Conversely, the photographer may choose not to use ambient light at all and solely utilize electronic flashes or vice versa in the same space above.
Sunlight from windows is not usually strong (depending on the size of windows and the position of the sun). It’s definitely not as strong as electronic flashes can be, so sometimes there is no need to block it out fully. Electronic light can cancel out any natural light from the windows or can add a touch of light to any ambient light where needed. The outcome depends on the settings used by the photographer.
The images on the left above have been shot using natural light filtering through the diffused window and a reflector to increase the shadows. The images on the right have been shot using electronic flash in a softbox. Here is an article on how to achieve both set-ups. My typical settings for portrait shots are around f/2.8 – f/4, ISO 200 – ISO 400, SS 1/100 – SS160.

Events

Ambient light is your best friend when it comes to events. Weddings and parties are often busy and buzzing with people. Here in the UK, space for large equipment at such events is not always available and often the photographer has to rely on just a camera and a speedlight to capture these events.

f/2.8, ISO 3200, 1/100th  Flash power 1/32 Lens 24-70mm

Letting the ambient light in is key to capturing the ambiance of the room and the atmosphere of the party. This means allowing background lights such as fairy lights, festoon lights, wall sconces etc to seep into the image.
The resulting look has depth rather than a flat dark backdrop. My typical settings for events range between f/4 – 5.6, ISO is rather high especially indoors in dark areas around 3200 – 6400, SS rather low around 1/60 – 100.

f/5.6, ISO 3200, 1/100th  Lens 70 – 200mm

The last thing a photographer wants to do is to kill any ambiance by using a strong flash to mitigate low light – especially in events where dry ice is used to create smoke effects and various colored lighting for a party atmosphere.
You don’t want to completely obliterate these just to light your subjects’ faces.

f/8, ISO 2000, 1/30th, Lens 24-70mm, off-camera flash

Balancing speedlight flash power and shutter speeds is key to achieving images like these as well as incorporating existing ambient light.

f/5.6, ISO 3200, 1/125th, Lens 24-70mm with off-camera flash

You can read more about dragging the shutter here, a technique used often to produce these images.

f/5.6, ISO 2500, 1/60th,  Lens 70 – 200mm with off-camera flash and on-camera flash

You can use ambient light in the background to create silhouettes.
In the photo below, there was no light whatsoever on the balcony. I used the light inside the building to create a silhouette of one of the guests. This was an unposed shot so it was a rather hasty one.

f/11, ISO 2000, 1/200th,  Lens 24-70mm

Interiors

Most photographers and magazines require natural light only in the interiors images they use.
Most often this would need a tripod and the use of slow shutter speeds to mitigate dark areas in the space that need capturing. But if the space is characterized by light features such as neon and lamps that make the atmosphere of the room, then I’m for capturing these with the lights on too.

f/5.6, ISO 2000, 1/100th,  Lens 24-70mm

In my opinion, it is necessary to be selective with the amount of artificial ambient light to allow in a photographic composition to ensure a harmonious and natural-looking image.
More importantly, it is a must to edit out the lights that are unnecessary in the space for the image you want to achieve. Below are three different lighting set-ups in one space. All three dramatically change the look and feel of the same room.
My typical settings for interior shots depend on the time of day and how much natural light the room gets but range between f/5.6 – f/8, ISO is quite high around 2000 – 4000, SS usually really low around 1/30 – 60 or 100 depending on light availability.
On the photos below, the top photo utilized only natural light. The photo in the middle had all sorts of lights going on like festoon, lamps, fairy lights, candlelight, and neon but without the main ceiling chandelier, which is very bright. The third photo had the chandelier switched on on top of everything else, but because it got too bright, it killed the ambiance in the room.

f/5.6, ISO 3200, 1/80th,  Lens 24-70mm

f/5.6, ISO 4000, 1/80th,  Lens 24-70mm

f/5.6, ISO 3200, 1/60th,  Lens 24-70mm Highlights taken down in editing.

I lean towards a selective mixture of lighting in my interiors.
Some areas are so hard to capture. For example, really dark areas where there is no ambient light at all and using a long shutter speed will overexpose the areas with light and correctly expose the unlit area.

f/5.6, ISO 2500, 1/60th, Lens 24-70mm

Of course, this can be rectified by bracketing and compositing in Photoshop. But I don’t always want to be doing that! Besides, I think adding some form of ambient light brings some charm in. Take these photos above and below, for example, illustrating this point.

f/5.6, ISO 6400, 1/30th,  Lens 24-70mm

Color temperature

One of the most common problematic issues when using mixed lighting, especially when including electronic flash into the mix, is color temperature disparity. Natural light from sunlight is usually around 5600K range, while tungsten lights indoors are usually around 3200K.
This means that when shooting outdoors, you need to set your white balance to around 5000 – 5750 Kelvin. That way, the resulting image looks similar to what you see with the naked eye. If you were to set the white balance to 3000K, for example, everything will look very blue (nothing worse than a white wedding dress looking blue!).
The same is true when shooting indoors with tungsten or incandescent lights on. The temperature required to shoot this image is around 3200K, but if you shoot it with the white balance set at 5650K, you will end up with an image looking very orange.

f/5.6, ISO 3200, 1/80th,  Lens 24-70mm

The most important thing to remember is to shoot with the correct white balance setting.
However, when using mixed lighting, you will still get color disparity. Here are three ways to solve this, depending on what you require for your images.

1. You can adjust the white balance in post-production (shoot with a gray card or specified color temperature in your white balance)
2. Use gels for your artificial lights to match the ambient temperature
3. Change the bulbs in your indoor lamps to match the sunlight temperature and then adjust everything evenly in post-production if required.

As for me, I try to match what I see in real life to the outcome of the images. Then they are warmed up in post-production for a natural color with the added touch of a film look to best capture what my eye sees.
I hope this little article has helped you in your understanding of ambient light in photography as well as balancing color temperatures when dealing with mixed lighting.
If you have any tips to add about ambient light in photography, do share in the comments below.  Share this article.


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The Best Camera Settings for Portrait Photography

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Portrait Photography, Printing and Framing, Nikon, Travel Photography, How to avoid photography problems, bad mistakes, photography, video. Photography tutorial for beginners, photography, photography tips, photography tricks, photo tips and tricks

By: Craig Beckta  

In this article and video, you will discover the best camera settings for portrait photography for taking photos in natural light and for flash photography. Whether you are brand new to portrait photography or a seasoned pro, you will benefit from these helpful photo tips.
If you prefer watching videos to reading, I have also included a video that will walk you through these photo tips for taking photographs in both natural light and for using fill flash.
Taking photos in natural light is the most common so we will start with those camera settings first.

#1 Best Camera Settings for Portrait Photography

I suggest you set your camera to manual mode to give yourself more creative control of your exposure. Sure, it will take a little extra time to capture your images but you are a much better judge of how you want the final image to look than your camera.

ISO

First choose your ISO, which is usually the lowest setting in natural light, ISO 100 on most cameras. Some Nikon cameras have a lower ISO and allow you to you choose a native ISO of 64. Set your ISO as low as possible to avoid extra noise and that grainy look you will get if you use higher ISO settings.

Aperture

Step two, decide which aperture you would like to use. For an out of focus background use an aperture like f/1.4. If you would like more of the background in focus or a sharper image, in most cases using an aperture that is two to three stops higher than the minimum aperture will be the sharpest point of the lens.
For example, an f/2.8 lens will be at its sharpest point at around f/5.6 to f/8. If you are a little confused by that, feel free to post your questions in the comment box below this article.
Read more here: How To Find Your Lens’s Sweet Spot: A Beginner’s Guide to Sharper Images

Shutter Speed

Once you have set your ISO and decided on your aperture your next step is to refer to your in-camera meter and adjust your shutter speed until you get a center reading. Then take a test shot and have a look at your camera’s LCD screen and histogram.
Make sure your histogram is as far to the right as possible without blowing out the highlights in your image. Refer to the video above for some examples of how the histogram should look on your LCD screen.

A general rule is to set your shutter speed two times the focal length of your lens. For example, if you were using a 100mm prime lens then you would set a minimum shutter speed of 1/200th to avoid camera shake and image blur.
There are exceptions to this rule. If you are using a tripod or you have in-camera stabilization, like some mirrorless cameras have, or you are using a lens that has built-in image stabilization, then you can photograph at lower shutter speeds.

Step #2 Best Camera Settings for Portrait Photography Using Flash

When it comes to using flash photography there are a couple of different strobes that are in common use today. There are smaller speedlights that fit on your camera’s hotshoe mount and there are larger studio strobes.
There are also strobe units that function differently. Some strobe systems do not allow you to shoot at a shutter speed faster than 1/200th (the camera’s sync speed). Other strobe setups will allow you to use something called (high-speed sync mode) to shoot with flash up to a shutter speed of 1/8000th.

If a majority of your portrait photography is going to take place outdoors, then I would consider a strobe like the Godox AD600 Pro which is what I used to take a majority of the images in this article. The Godox AD600 Pro allows you to use high-speed sync and flash at shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th.
If your current strobe does not allow you to take photos at above 1/200th, you can use a filter like a B+W 3-stop ND filter which will allow you to shoot at a shutter speed of 1/200th but also at an aperture 3-stops larger than you could without it.
For example, with a 3-stop ND filter, you can shoot at f/2.8 instead of f/8 for the same exposure.

Another important thing to keep in mind if you are shooting outdoors is that you will achieve better results if you shoot closer to sunrise or sunset when the sun is less harsh.
The image above was taken one hour before sunset in the shade and provides a nice even light on the subject’s face. If you would like softer light, then avoid shooting in the middle of the day or move to the shade if you do not have the luxury of shooting just before sunset.

Step #3 Practice These Tips and Explore Your Creativity

One last tip I have for you is to set your camera’s LCD screen brightness level to 4 or 5 and to leave it there. Make sure your LCD screen brightness is not set to auto. That is because it will be difficult for you to gauge your exposure level if your LCD screen brightness is constantly changing.
Check your camera’s settings and set your LCD screen brightness level manually and keep it at the same setting for future photo outings.

If you are new to shooting in manual mode it may seem a little difficult at first. But with a little practice, you will be shooting like a pro.
If you have any questions about the best camera settings for portrait photography that were covered in this article, feel free to ask in the comment box below this article. I look forward to hearing from you.  Share this article.



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Best Camera Settings For Portrait Photography DSLR And Mirrorless

ioSafe N2 – Your own Private Muscly Cloud

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ioSafeN2,  Dropbox, Printing and Framing, Nikon, Travel Photography, How to avoid photography problems, bad mistakes, photography, video. Photography tutorial for beginners, photography, photography tips, photography tricks, photo tips and tricks

A Post By: Sime

Introducing the ioSafe N2 NAS

Having (had!) an IT background and experiencing first hand a number of times people losing their data – sometimes LOTS of data – and being completely overwhelmed at the thought of not knowing what they had saved somewhere else and what was “gone forever*” I wanted to make sure that wasn’t the case for me.
At the same time, I wanted to be able to get to “stuff” from wherever I was. I do use multiple “online” storage things, Dropbox is my main online storage space, I’ve also just started using COPY who give much more free space.. Why multiples? Who puts all of their eggs in one basket? But we’re talking 20gb here and 30gb there… If I wanted to have an entire copy of my computer online just incase something really shoddy happened like theft, flood, fire, or something else… The ability to get to my digital life (as I like to call it) is crucial. I work from home, I have client data (As a photographer, I have photographs obviously, but they’re covered with my other NAS, the DS1512+) and I need to be able to access that data at all time.
There’s also the whole “would I walk up to someone in the street and hand them all the photos of my kid, all of my important business data” that Robb touches on in the video below… I’m sure you’ve heard of businesses folding – well, it has happened to online storage companies too [READ THIS this is from 2009, but there’s nothing to say it can’t happen today] and with this firmly in mind, I smile about my N2 sitting securely in a cupboard in my house, out of line of sight, quietly backing up all of my precious digital stuffs…
That said, having this NAS packed in a cupboard out of harms way, I don’t get to use the SDXC slot on the front of the unit, but it is there if you want to use it – simply take photographs on an SD card, pop the card into the front of your NAS and it mounts up like a little external drive and you can copy all of the images across. Very handy.

Lets hop around a little.. I run my own business, but it isn’t large and I don’t have co-located servers with my data replicating across multiple sites – if I wanted to make sure I was 100% safe, I’d do that, but it is cost restrictive for me right now, so I needed to be able to trust what I could afford** The ioSafe N2 is sort of like a baby army tank that stores data.. It can withstand fire, water, three year olds etc… 1500 degrees f. for half hour – you’d want to hope the fire brigade had put your house out in that time!, Under ten feet of water for 72 hours… This is no ordinary NAS (Network attached storage) device. There’s also the included one time data recovery service – ioSafe will recover your data up to $5K worth of DRS included with every ioSafe product… that is pretty rad if you ask me! (read more on that here)
I’m using the WD Red NAS specific drives in the N2. They are more efficient, and with a 35% MTBF (mean time between failures) increase as well as dedicated 24/7 support, they’re pretty much the only choice for home / small office NAS. I also use them in my Synology DX513 – I’ve certainly noticed that they run cooler than any other brand drives I’m using.

You can see above (and below) where your data is stored, on those two disks in the middle… Then there’s a solid metal plate that goes on the front of the disk bay, then a plug that is the front of the unit… There is airflow around the sealed unit that has heat dispersion wings on it, so your disks maintain a normal working temp, too.

Lets jump back to where I was talking about accessing my data remotely shall we… The ioSafe runs Synology DSM (I’m currently running the 4.3 Beta on my ioSafe with great success) DSM pretty much turns the N2 into a fully fledged cloud (cloud simply means server that can be accessed remotely in this case.. sort of) and there are some very handy iPhone and Android and (even haha) Windows phone apps that you can use to get to your data.. You can log into your server via FTP too.. (It also works as a web server, print server, ftp server, media server… this thing can’t make a decent espresso, but then I can, so we’re good!)
My ioSafe N2 is setup using the Synology Hybrid Raid, I use two 2TB disks in (basically) raid one so I have a one disk fault tolerance.. My stuff is essentially safe unless Godzilla comes along and eats my N2..

I use my N2 in conjunction with my other ioSafe drives.. I have a Solo G3 and a Rugged Portable (That my brother has borrowed to take around the world!!)
Who is the N2 for? 
Anyone that is serious about keeping their data safe but maybe not quite ready to buy a serve in a datacentre. (You can also bolt the N2 to your floor / hide it in a cupboard and access it wirelessly!)
Pros

• Life proof.
• Connectivity.
• Massive feature set via DSM.
• Small footprint by comparison.

Cons

• Errr? For the market this beast is aimed at, there are none.

I want to leave you with a video from Robb Moore, he’s the guy that started ioSafe when nothing else would suit his needs… I’m very glad he did because right now, for me, nothing else does what this N2 does.

I was provided with the N2 for review, I was already an ioSafe user… I use product I love, I don’t have time for rubbish that doesn’t work – who does. I give this N2 a total of 10 out of 11 gold stars, I only deduct one because I know I’m going to need more space soon and there’s not a 4 disk model – yet.
Please feel free to share your questions in the comments below.  Share this article.  


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