5 Tips for Underwater Photography with a GoPro

By: Ian Johnson 

Jumping from a cliff. Diving with whale sharks. Documenting a road trip. The compact, rugged technology of the GoPro has created incredible opportunities for capturing the action of events like these. And while the GoPro is known mostly for its video capabilities, improved senor technology means it’s also a camera capable of high-quality imagery that can withstand harsh conditions such as water and dust.
And being able to shoot in adverse conditions opens new opportunities for creative photography.
In the past few months I’ve been experimenting with a GoPro Hero5 to shoot underwater photography. Although shooting underwater is a new realm for me, I’ve found that by applying generic photography knowledge I’ve grown quickly and made the GoPro work for me.
I hope you can learn and adapt what I’ve learned for your own purposes with these five tips for underwater photography with a GoPro.

I used a GoPro under water to capture the behavior of these breeding salmon in Alaska.

1. Know the Minimum Focus Distance

You may already know that the GoPro has a very wide field of view (FOV), which lets you frame a subject with the contextual scene around it. When searching for an image, focus on your desired foreground element and then get as close to it that foreground element as you ethically can. Place your camera close and take advantage of the GoPro’s 12-inch (~30cm) minimum focus distance. Placing the foreground element about 12 inches from the camera will emphasize it while still providing surrounding context.

I kept the minimum focusing distance in mind for this coral. The image was taken from very close while snorkeling.

2. Pre-set your Camera Field of View

Following in line with the minimum focusing distance, be sure to pre-set the FOV for your GoPro before entering the water. Even though GoPros are waterproof, I use a third-party housing to further protect the camera. And if you use a housing you can’t engage the touch screen, so you need to set the FOV first.
If you can’t get close enough to your subject, set the field of view to “Narrow”. This will require you to aim your camera precisely, which can be difficult if snorkeling or swimming. Of course, you can keep an eye on the back screen to help you compose the shot.

I used a narrow field of view to capture this image of this large trigger fish in Hawaii.

3. Set Your Camera Defaults to Maintain Image Quality

Setting your default settings ahead of time will help you capture quality photographs. GoPros have pretty good image quality in well-lit conditions, but the image graininess (noise) will increase quickly as the camera adapts its ISO to low-light conditions. You can control the image quality by setting a maximum ISO setting. With your phone connected to your GoPro, go into your settings and change the maximum ISO to a value of 800 or less. While you’re there, you may want to set the default mode to “photo”. Doing this will ensure you can quickly take a photo if your GoPro shuts off while underwater and you need to turn it back on.

Underwater conditions can be very murky and may cause your camera to boost the ISO, which will result in greater image noise.

A slower shutter speed due to low light caused some of the darting herring in this image to blur.

4. Stabilize Your Camera

If the water is cloudy or the day isn’t sunny the camera will shoot at slower shutter speeds, which may result in blurry or non-sharp images. This will be particularly noticeable if you can’t keep the camera  stable. If you’re hand-holding the camera, keep it as stable as possible. You can also mount the GoPro to a tripod and place it in a suitable location. This is more useful when a phenomena or animal is predictable, such as salmon in a river. Just as it does on land, using a tripod will help stabilize the image.

I captured this image from a tripod. This was necessary because this salmon was wary of any movement in the river that reminded it of a bear.

If you’re out of the water and photographing something near you (think of tide pools) you can keep the camera stable by mounting it on a extension pole. You can buy one, or even build one relatively easily. A long pole will help you photograph something far away, and if you have a long pole (say 12 feet) the top of it will help counterbalance the GoPro at the bottom. If you’re using the pole in shallow water try bracing it against the bottom for further stability.

I used a long pole and a GoPro to capture an image of this sponge during a low-tide cycle in Alaska. I braced the pole against the bottom to take this image.

This image combines a couple of the concepts discussed in this article. I kept the camera on a pole and maintained the minimum focusing distance to capture the image of this octopus in a tide pool.

I used a pole and a GoPro to photograph these colorful tube worms and anemones under a dock.

Another camera setting useful for stability is the time lapse mode. Set the camera to time lapse (say, one shot every second) and start taking images. Compose your shot underwater, and then hold the camera in place while it takes pictures. Since you won’t have to fumble for the trigger button it will be easier to keep it still and ensure your images are sharp.

I used the time lapse mode to capture this school of fish in the clear waters of Hawaii.

In some situations you may be able to trigger the camera with your phone. The GoPro’s wifi network will cut out under deep water, but if the camera is on a tripod with only a small covering of water you can trigger the camera remotely from a distance. You’ll need to experiment with how much water is too much for the wifi network. Remotely triggering the camera may help you ethically and safely photograph wildlife.

I remotely triggered this image of a large coastal brown bear moving up a river in Alaska.

Although I don’t use underwater lighting, you can avoid blurring by using strobes or other versions of underwater lighting. These will help keep your shutter speed up and your ISO low. But use them with discretion depending on your subject. In some circumstances they may be detrimental to wildlife.

5. Use a Housing for Split-Level Photography

Split-level imagery is a way to help give an image context and tell a story. To create the effect, use an underwater housing with a convex dome and then place the dome half-in and half-out of the water. By doing so you get to observe both the underwater world and the terrestrial world. I use a housing by GoPole to create split-level images capturing the streams and local salmon runs of Alaska. You can use this technique anywhere to create compelling images. You can create split-level images by hand-holding the camera or using a tripod as I mentioned earlier.

A GoPole dome housing was used to create this split-level image of a large coastal brown bear.

The split-level shot helps tell the story of these spawning pink salmon under a large log in Alaska.

The Takeaway

I want to reiterate that I’m not an expert at underwater photography. But I’ve enjoyed extending my capabilities and skills to that realm. The GoPro is a fun way to learn underwater photography techniques without breaking the bank. And since GoPros are naturally waterproof, the likelihood of destroying gear is lowered substantially.
As I like to say, “pixels are cheap,” so I hope you make a lot of pixels while shooting photographs underwater with your GoPro.

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The Best Entry-Level Flatbed Scanner for Film: Fstoppers' Long-Term Review of the Epson V600

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Epson V600

by James Madison

 

For photographers looking to get into scanning their own film, the Epson V600 is the perfect first flatbed scanner.

Still made new, the Epson V600 is available for $230 from most retailers that sell camera equipment. It doesn’t have the best reputation when compared with its more refined and expensive sibling, the Epson V850. It does, however, come at a much lower price tag at one fifth the price. It’s true, the V850 has many updated features that would result in sharper images, but for all intents and purposes, the difference is minimal unless you’re making a fairly large print. 

Example scan of 35mm (Kodak Gold 200)

For those that are debating whether a scanner is right for them, the V600 is the perfect way to get into home scanning without spending more than $1,000. So, how much experience do I have with this scanner? I am nearing scan number 3,000. Since I started, I’ve learned a great deal about how to get the best scans, and even now, I still debate every now again re-scanning some of my old negatives because the conversion software that I prefer to use (Negative Lab Pro) gets updates, but that’s neither here nor there. The Epson Scan software that comes with the V600 is very disappointing and is not capable of distinguishing the difference between frames, so now, I have to manually select the frames myself and crop later (which is fine, just a slight annoyance). 

How does the V600 compare to digitizing with a digital camera and a macro lens? For color negative and color reversal film (slide film), a flatbed scanner provides a substantially better workflow, particularly as it pertains to dust removal. For black and white film, on the other hand, scanners cannot do dust removal, so there is little benefit to a flatbed scanner compared with digitizing with a digital camera. When it comes to the quality of the scan, I would argue that the difference is primarily driven by the film, format, and the amount of under/overexposure. For astrophotography specifically, I cannot stand the use of a flatbed scanner. Perhaps I just need more practice or some good advice, but my scans always come out really grainy and with minimal detail. Using my Sony a7R II and a macro lens, however, makes a world of difference. When it comes to the colors, assuming the conversation is about the color negative film, I have limited experience comparing the results side by side, and for those particular examples, I couldn’t tell any substantive difference between the two methods on the colors alone. The sharpness was substantially better on the Sony, though for 6x4.5 negatives, an 8x10 print would not show any difference. For 35mm, there seems to be a pretty big improvement, but with the slower workflow, I still wouldn’t use it the majority of the time. Perhaps if one day I buy the Mongoose automatic film scanner, I will change my mind, but for the time being, I use my V600 for 35mm to 120. 

Example scan of a 6x4.5 negative (Ilford Ortho)

What I Like

• Affordable relative to other quality flatbed scanners
• Very easy to use
• Capable of using DIGITAL ICE for pretty high-quality dust removal

What I Don’t Like:

• It cannot scan large format, so I’m relegated to digitizing my 4x5 with my digital camera
• It’s slow and takes a long time to warm up
• The conversion software is pretty terrible
• The scans are not as sharp as you'd get from a digital camera

Do you own or have you ever used the Epson V600? If so, what are your thoughts on this particular scanner? Do you have any thoughts on the V600 compared to other scanners or other scanning methods? You can get yours here: Epson V600.

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Cheap Film Cameras

9 Tips for Aspiring Young Photographers

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Photography, Flash

By: Simon Bond 

Photography is an amazing way to express yourself and see the world around you. It’s therefore not surprising that photography is a favorite pass time for young people. Recently I was asked to give my tips for aspiring young photographers (and those of any age!).

It’s such a great subject that sharing it with the dPS community seemed like a great idea. Even if you’re an old hand at photography, it’s always worth remembering the path you took to becoming a great photographer. We were all young and aspiring once!

Let’s look at some tips that will help you succeed whether you’re new to photography or not.

Learning to use off-camera flash is a key lesson for aspiring young photographers who want to take 

portraits.

1 – Be patient

In today’s world, we all want everything at once. To quote the lyrics from a song “How soon is now?”

As with anything that’s new to you, you’ll need to show patience. Learning a new vocation is a marathon, not a sprint. While it’s true some people will have a natural eye for photography, they also won’t succeed without patience and application.

You also need to figure out what success means to you. There are many who will see that as a large following through social media. While it’s a measure of success to have a large following, it’s certainly not the only measure. In fact, the approval of a huge number of likes through social media can stunt your development, as it may well blind you to some of the mistakes you make when taking photos.

So take your time, accept the fact that you’ll make some mistakes along the way, and allow your photography to grow organically.

Photographing with friends is a great way to gain experience. This is of a local music band.

2 – Look for places to get feedback

Feedback is an important part of your development. You can’t always see your blind spots, that’s why seeking out advice from others is a good idea. The type of feedback aspiring young photographers look for is important, it can have a big impact on your growth.

• Thick skin – You’ll need thick skin, or the ability to accept constructive feedback. Then you need to be able to apply it to your future work which will allow you to grow.
• Seek feedback – The choice of the word feedback over critique is important here. Critique is a negative word, where feedback is neutral. In addition to being given advice on areas a photo needs improving, the feedback giver should also be telling you the things you have done right. All too often people see the word critique and will then only look for the faults in a photo.
• Stay true – As a photographer, you will develop your own style, so you need to remain true to this style. Feedback should be fixing technical faults, not seeking to change a photographers style. Photography, after all, a creative pursuit, and the wrong feedback has the potential to stunt the growth of aspiring young photographers.

It’s always a good idea to get feedback on your work but choose your sources carefully. 

3 – Choose a niche to master

Photography is a broad area, and there are so many different types or genres of photography. The old saying about being a “jack of all trades, and master of none” rings true here.

Every photographer will eventually gravitate to a particular type of photography. Of course, it’s great to try out new genres from time to time, and in the early day’s it’s worth trying out different techniques to see which is the one for you. But sooner or later though you’ll need to decide whether you’re a portrait, landscape or food photographer.

Each of those photography types has many skills you’ll need to master before your photos really stand out from the crowd. There again you may wish to be a travel photographer, in which case, you’ll need to be good at just about everything.

Crystal ball photography is one niche, will you choose this or something different?

4 – Identify a mentor

Every field of photography will have its masters. In most cases, there will be more than one person you can approach as a mentor. Once you have decided on the genre of photography you wish to become good at, find someone who is already good at that, and approach them to be your mentor.

In today’s digital world it’s much easier to do this online. Remember the photographer you approach will be a busy working professional, and you may need to pay a fee for their time. Of course, if you pay a fee you will expect results, so set some clear parameters and goals for your sessions with them.

Your mentor will teach you the ways of The Force. Well okay, the ways of the camera.

5 – Join a photography group

One of the best things aspiring young photographers can do is join a photography group. This can either be online or in person. The majority of photography groups or clubs have a mixture of levels and abilities, and it may well be you’ll find your mentor by joining such a group.

There are so many benefits to hanging out with other photographers. The ability to bounce ideas off others, gain feedback on your work, and grow as a photographer within the group are all positives to joining a group.

Joining a group is a great way to learn about photography and make new friends.

6 – Learn your craft in your locality

Now hopefully you’ve joined a photography group, and you know which style of photography you want to pursue. It’s time to really put the time into learning everything there is to know about it.

Now, of course, you might happen to live in an amazing location like New York, or you have easy access to Angkor Wat because you live in Siem Reap. Those living in less glamorous places nevertheless need to learn the techniques and tricks needed to make the best photos they can, and in turn, put the glamour in their local area. Everywhere has its point of interest, and training your photographer’s eye to see that will help you become a better photographer.

• Landscape photographers – A great technique to learn is digital blending. You can learn how to do this in your local area, and then when you visit one of the world’s iconic landmarks you’ll be ready to make the best photos you can.
• Portrait photographers – Learning how to use off-camera flash will really lift your game, you can do this with friends and family as your models. Then when the chance for that big photography gig comes along, you’ll be ready.

Practicing your photography skills close to home is a good idea.

7 – Visit locations that will help your photography shine

Having built your knowledge in photography, and picked out a style, it’s now time to pick out a location where your photography will really shine. This will involve some form of investment in you traveling to a specific place that best suits your photography.

This is obviously not something you want to rush into, the key to success here is good planning. As an aspiring young photographer looking to establish yourself, getting some amazing portfolio photos is important. These are some of the steps needed:

• Location research – Use websites like 500px as a resource to find the locations you’d like to photograph yourself. Time spent on these sites will also give you inspiration for new ideas and directions you could take your photography.
• Equipment – You’ll need the right equipment to get the best photos, so consider carefully what you’ll purchase.
• Logistics – Think about the logistics. How much will your trip cost? Are you going at the best time of year for the light and weather? Is where you’re staying going to give you easy access to places you want to photograph?

This photo is of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur is iconic. Earlier photos were taken to practice 

the techniques needed for this photo, such as digital blending.

8 – Invest time learning post-processing

Photography is a two-step process. First, you’ll need to take the photo, but then you’ll need to process it on a computer or perhaps even in a darkroom. There are lots of things that can add to your photography with post-processing, below are just a few areas that you should focus on for landscape or portrait photography.

• Landscape – Learning how to use digital blending, sharpen your image, and how to remove unwanted elements from your photo.
• Portraits – Learn how to soften the face, but sharpen the eyes. Learn about compositing your photos, so you can blend studio portraits with other backgrounds.

9 – Set limits

A great way to push yourself, and learn more about photography is to set limits. In the days of film photography, you’d be limited to 24 or 36 photos per roll of film, though you could, of course, carry additional rolls with you.

The point is you were limited to a finite number of photos, so you’d have to consider your shot selection carefully. This is an example of a limit or parameter that can make you grow as a photographer. The following are a few others which you could try:

• Focal length – Take photos from only one focal length.
• Aperture – Choose only one aperture for the whole day.
• One color – Take photos of only one color for the whole day.

What tips do you have for aspiring young photographers?

Are you an aspiring young photographer? Which of these tips will you follow, and have you learned anything new that you can take into your photography?

Have you ever mentored someone else who was new to photography? What was your experience with that? As always we love to hear from the community, so please leave your replies in the comments section below.  Share this article.

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The Path to Better Photography

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Camera, ISO

Ed Verosky is a professional photographer and author based in New York. In this article, Ed presents his recommended path to learning photography.

If you’ve ever wanted a little guidance when it comes to learning photography from top to bottom, this  post is for you! There’s a lot of information out there, and tons of books, tutorials, workshops, etc. to learn from. But it’s not always easy to know where to start, or where you should focus your efforts when it comes to really improving your knowledge of the art and craft of photography. With that in mind, here’s a “learning road map” I’ve put together for you that has helped many of my readers. I hope it helps you with your quest to become a better photographer.

Getting Started

First of all, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this. You’re probably looking at this right now, excited about the possibility that you might actually learn something new, something that will elevate you as a photographer in some way. Whether you are a beginning photographer, or someone who’s been at this for a few years, you probably have the desire to improve on this thing that you love.

Photography means something special to you; it’s a kind of magic that allows you to express yourself. It’s your way of communicating and sharing with the world. Whether you’re doing what you love to earn extra income, or simply for the pure excitement and enjoyment of it, that’s reason enough to want to keep improving and learning and growing. It’s not only the technical skills, but the psychology and artistic sensibility of what we do as photographers that keeps us constantly in the need to learn and adapt to everything from new gear, to new people/clients, to our own ways of expressing ourselves.

How to Use this Post as a Guide

Print this post out. It’s your guide and starting point. It can serve as a road map to learning the basics of photography, helping you to build a solid foundation from which to grow and become really good at what you do. I encourage you to use this road map and seek out multiple resources, like DPS, to further your understanding of each topic that follows. My blog, newsletter, video tutorials, and ebooks will also definitely help you learn about these things quickly and in great detail. But I routinely direct people to outside resources as well, because I think it’s important to learn from more than one teacher in order to really drive home the knowledge and principles of photography.

I’m very excited about this journey you’re on, and it’s my goal to do everything in my power to help you get everything you want out of your photography. I’m obsessed with teaching and demonstrating what I’ve learned and all the new things I continue to learn. I’m sincerely happy that I have another person I can share this excitement with right now. That’s you!

Now, we’ll begin our discussion of the four topics that I feel are most important in your development as a good photographer: the camera, the lighting, the subject, and post-processing.

The Camera

The first part of becoming a complete photographer is knowing how your camera works, inside and out. Your camera is the main mode of communication between you and the outside world as a photographer. Like your voice, your photographic vocabulary is extremely limited without some good understanding of how best to tell a story. Put the effort into learning everything about your camera and and it will pay off, big time. Plus, you’ll be able to speak intelligently about your craft, and be able to ask the right questions when it comes to the topic of lighting. The camera and the lighting; knowledge of one topic supports an understanding of the other, so you need both. Start with your camera.

Good resources will provide numerous visual examples to help you understand how exposure works. The sequences above are just a few that I use in my eBooks to illustrate the interdependent nature of exposure controls on the camera.

———————–

Here are some of the most important things you should learn about:

• Raw and JPEG. The differences between Raw and JPEG file formats. Learn what the differences are and why one is not always better than the other. For example, I strongly recommend that people shoot in the largest Raw format their cameras produce. But that’s not always the practical choice, nor is it always necessary. In general, however, Raw will provide you with the highest quality file from which to work with. From there, you can export out to fine-tuned JPEGs that are sure to produce prints and web display images of excellent quality. But this isn’t the whole story, and you should probably investigate what these file formats are capable of, and how they work with your post-processing software, so you can make the most informed decisions according to the demands and limitations of your schedule, software, and client needs.
• ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed. These are the fundamental components of exposure and a huge topic for photographers. Our cameras are able to keep these three components in check for us in automatic shooting modes, but the auto-metering and exposure mechanisms don’t always get it right. Understanding exactly how ISO, aperture, and shutter speed interrelate will give you complete control over exactly how your exposures turn out. You need to understand this topic in order to make educated decisions about how to adjust exposure even when using automatic shooting modes. There are shortcuts to learn, too. But I cannot stress how important it is to get a real, rock-solid, understanding of exposure.
• How to do the math of photography. It’s easy once you get the hang of it, and it’s an essential part of working with all aspects of exposure and lighting. What is this “math” all about? Well, it comes down to how light is measured in photography; we talk about light in terms of “stops” which are traditionally full increments of camera and lighting adjustments. Each stop either doubles or halves the amount of light you’re working with. For example, when working with apertures (often talked about in terms of f-stops), moving from one full f-stop of say, f/5.6 to f/8.0 cuts the light entering the camera by half. Likewise, changing your shutter speed from 1/500 sec. to 1/250 sec. allows twice as much light to expose the camera sensor. ISO works the same way; ISO 200 makes your sensor twice as sensitive to the light hitting it as ISO 100. Lighting has a similar math with a few good rules you can follow. Knowing all of this and putting it to use will put you in complete control of your lighting and exposure.
• White Balance. Light comes in many different colors, even when it looks white to your eyes, a light source can reproduce as blue, green, or orange. Learn how to control and fix it both in-camera and during post-processing. When you’re using different types of light sources together like flash and household incandescent lamps, you’ll have to make some decisions about how to handle the difference in light color, if at all.
• Shooting modes. Which camera mode do you typically shoot in? There are several to choose from including full automatic, program, aperture priority and shutter priority. There’s also manual mode which is very important to know how to use. In fact, for studio-type lighting, manual mode is usually the best choice. Learn what each camera shooting mode does. Each one has a real purpose and knowing how to choose the right one is crucial.
• Manual mode. Understand how to use it and gain total control over every aspect of exposure. No, you don’t have to shoot in manual mode all the time to be considered a “real” photographer, but for many situations, knowing how to use your camera in manual mode will save you from disaster. Manual mode is also important in studio work and anytime shooting conditions require you to do the thinking when your camera’s auto modes aren’t cutting it.
• Understand all the metering, focusing, and drive modes on your camera. It’s easy to find one thing that works and simply stick to it. But sometimes you need to switch things up to get better results as conditions change. Learning what your camera’s capabilities are is going to come in handy.
• Evaluate and fix your shots. Know how to most effectively use all the tools available on your camera to properly evaluate and adjust your exposures as you’re shooting.

Ok, remember the broad list of things you need to learn: camera, lighting, subject, and post-processing? Well the list above is just the CAMERA part! Trust me, I know that part alone can seem overwhelming, and that’s why most people never bother to learn it all. That’s a real shame, because it’s the first part of becoming a complete photographer; you need to know everything about how your camera works.

Fortunately, you don’t need to know everything from the start. If you’re using your camera in a way that’s working for you right now, keep doing that. There’s no reason to give that up. But in the meantime, start building on your current understanding and usage of the camera and learn a little bit more as the weeks go on. Soon, everything’s going to start coming together and you’ll find that you have a total command of the camera. That’s the goal. Read the best resources on using your DSLR, and just commit to wanting it. It’s going to happen, I promise!

Lighting

Although setting your camera to one of the auto exposure modes is a great way to solve the immediate problem of getting a properly exposed image, it won’t solve your lighting concerns, and it’s your lighting that really makes the difference. Many photographers soon realize that what separates their images from better work is the application of good lighting techniques and different types of lighting sources. I would say that the ability to skillfully use lighting is the number one technical skill a photographer should seek to acquire in order to produce good work. Unfortunately, this is also the number one place photographers tend to drop the ball.

Learning how to control your light will allow you to easily create effects like overpowering daylight (above). Here, the right combination of camera settings and flash power create a nighttime effect, even though there is actually bright window light coming into the studio.

———————–

Sure, lighting isn’t easy at first, and maybe that’s why so many photographers just give up on learning how to do it properly. It takes time, experimentation, and a good teacher to help you get to where you need to go with photographic lighting. Good books and tutorials can help you with that. When I teach, my goal is to show readers how to use natural, constant, and flash lighting in a way that really gives them a handle on it quickly.

In order to really master lighting for photography, you should learn the following things:

• How light actually behaves. By learning the properties of light, you can easily control the way it can be directed, redirected, and modified to suit your needs.
• How light is measured in photography. There’s a very easy and powerful math to photographic lighting (which I touched on earlier). It’s been around for a long time and has served photographers well. Learning how to measure light is crucial to good lighting and good exposures.
• How to use strobe/flash lighting. This is one of the most powerful and convenient types of lighting you can learn to use. Knowing how to use both on-camera and off-camera flash is what separates many photographers. While it’s ok to feel comfortable being a “natural light only” photographer, it’s also limiting.
• Lighting for portraiture. Using your knowledge of lighting will transform your portraiture work to a new level. There are five important lighting patterns you should absolutely know. Starting with a single light source, you can apply these patterns and build upon them to eventually create portraits that take advantage of multiple lights.
• Mixing and matching light sources. Make sure to understand how different light sources (although many appear to look white to your eyes) will cause major color shifts in your exposures. You can handle these problems in-camera with good white balance techniques and also during post-processing.

The Subject

I believe in teaching portraiture in a semi-traditional way; instructing on the fundamentals and quickly moving to a more freestyle approach. An appreciation for traditional lighting patterns and contemporary portraiture will give you a good foundation for all of your portraiture work. But in today’s marketplace, the old traditional portraiture isn’t the only game in town. Working photographers should look beyond typical portraiture to find ways to differentiate themselves from others. One of the main things I like to stress is that you should start thinking about unconventional posing, directing, lighting, etc. eventually developing your own style.

Great subjects can inspire you to get creative with your posing and lighting techniques. This type of experimentation will help you develop your own unique style.

———————–

Again, this all begins with really knowing the fundamentals of lighting, and getting very comfortable with your gear so it becomes an extension of your vision and not something that gets in the way of the creative flow. But simply knowing how to use the tools and basic techniques of your craft isn’t enough. You need to let go of the things that hold you back from creating your best work and explore new ways to look at and create portraiture. Yes, the soft skills like working with subjects and clients are important which is why it’s one of my favorite things to teach.

Here are some of the most important themes and topics I tend to discuss on a regular basis:

• Classic Lighting. The basic traditional lighting patterns are classics and always look great. Even if you’re the type of photographer who doesn’t like to do things the traditional way, get to know the classics because they come in handy and the principles they’re based upon apply to ALL types and styles of lighting.
• Creative Lighting. I strongly encourage you to go nontraditional, too. Working with your subjects in a way that encourages creativity includes bending and breaking the rules of traditional lighting.
• Developing Your Own Style. It’s imperative for working photographers to do this in order not to drown in a sea of competition where so many are producing work absent of any unique style or vision. Amateurs have even more reason to explore the artistic areas of portraiture since it is a part of the amateur heritage to do so, and also because they don’t have the burden of producing work according to the tastes and needs of paying clients. When I talk about developing your own style, I don’t necessarily mean that you can, or should attempt, to do it deliberately. I don’t think you can create a true style as much as you can identify it by looking back at your work as time goes on. But in the meantime, take this as a cue to work in a way that is your own.
• Portraiture Projects. One of the best ways to expand your body of work, as well as come up with new imagery that you otherwise might not have thought of, is to start a photo art project. Starting with just a simple idea or theme, you might find yourself discovering many different ways to express it. Even a very general concept has a tendency to build on itself as it becomes, at the same time, more defined and diverse. This process of creation and discovery can only enhance your artistic vision and technique.
• How to Find Great Subjects. Good models are everywhere, you just have to know how to find them. This is another thing I talk about in my books, but the main message here is that family, friends, and strangers can all make great subjects. You don’t always have to look to “model” directory websites to find great people to photograph. I’ve gotten some of my best results through other means.
• How to Direct Your Subjects. Whether your portrait subject is a client or a collaborator in your next artistic vision, it’s very important to get them excited and on-board with your ideas for the shoot. They are the actor in your drama, the star of your movie, even if your “theater” is only an ad-hoc studio setup, your subject’s confidence and enthusiasm are key ingredients for a successful shoot.
• Make Your Work Personal. This is very important. No matter what, or who, you photograph, if you invest something personally in your efforts, it will show. Your work will be less generic and more substantive. It’s often said that all portraits are really self-portraits. While it’s not always that evident, the truth is that the best portraits happen when you recognize something special as you click the shutter. And what you recognize most often comes from a very personal place.

Post-Processing

It can be argued that post-processing happens the moment a digital camera processes the data off the sensor, and certainly when a file is converted, via some programmer’s algorithm, for view in a RAW conversion engine common in most digital workflows. Why not make the absolute most of the tools available to you, just as photographers have always done? It used to be darkroom tools, like various ways of developing film and selectively exposing photographic paper during the printing process, which allowed the photographer to enhance or correct problems with an original negative. Now it’s digital. Of course you can ruin any photograph with overdone effects or cheesy gimmicks. But used thoughtfully, post-processing techniques can help make a good picture an outstanding one.

• Raw Conversion Software. I recommend that you learn how to use Raw conversion software which powers and comes built-in to Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom products. Working with Raw files has gotten to be a rather seamless part of the normal workflow.
• Image Editing. Software like Lightroom and Aperture make organizing and basic editing a breeze. Adobe Photoshop is the standard professional editing (retouching) tool of choice, however, the less expensive Photoshop Elements might have just enough features to allow you to do the type of post-processing you’re interested in.

Try out these products for free by clicking on the following links. You should see a “Trial” link on each product’s information page:

• Adobe Lightroom
• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Photoshop Elements

Of course there are also other fun and effective ways to post-process your images, including using some popular mobile device apps. This is one of my favorite topics to cover as I’m a big fan of iPhone photography and mixing DSLR photography with phone photography editing and sharing technologies.

Some of the things you might be interested in learning include:

• Retouching. Using Photoshop tools like the clone tool, liquify, and healing tools to remove blemishes, tighten up body parts, and otherwise improve the overall look of your portrait subjects. “Photoshopping,” “airbrushing,” or retouching is so prevalent these days, it’s almost expected that you offer this to paying clients as part of the service. You can learn to do at least the basics by watching a few tutorial videos on YouTube, but I suggest you also invest in some basic detailed instruction from books like the popular ones by Martin Evening. Once you get that under your belt, you’ll be ready to tackle more advanced topics.
• Effects. There are several effects that are popular with photographers these days, including texturing, compositing, and alternative color processing and black and white conversions. Some effects can be purchased as presets and actions making them simple to apply. However, I recommend you also learn how to create and manipulate images directly so you’ll know exactly how to get the looks you want and make them unique.
• Image Preparation. You’ll also want to know the best ways to prepare your images for use in various applications like prints of specific sizes, on-line web galleries, distribution and presentation on the web, etc. Knowing the ins-and-outs of image resolution and quality settings will help you make the most of your photography. After all, what good is all the work you’ve done up to this point if you don’t know how to best present your images in the end?

This Is Just The Start

I realize there’s a lot of information in this post. At the same time, it’s not complete, just one general outline based on my experience and teaching methods. But I strongly encourage you to find your place on this map and start navigating your way through it. It will take some time, but that’s one of the best things about photography, the discovery.  Share this article. 

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Understanding Natural Light Part 1: Quality of Light

 Tags: Photography for Beginners, Light

 

By: Oded Wagenstein 

Light has different qualities, and by understanding those differences and using them in your favor, you can become a better image maker. From my point of view, the best place to start improving your ability to work with light is by learning its most basic form, which is natural light.

Therefore, this article is the first of a series that will focus on understanding how to work with natural light. We will:

• Explore the difference between harsh (hard) and soft lighting and each of their pros and cons.
• Understand how to use color to serve the visual story we want to portray.
• Learn how the direction and intensity of light affects the final image.

Even if you are a studio photographer, who wishes to work exclusively with strobes and flash, this article is crucial for you. If you manage to understand how to work with natural light, this knowledge can be later applied to any genre or style of photography. As a portrait photographer, in my explanation and examples, I will focus on working with natural light in portraits. However, as mentioned, once you understand the concept, this can be applied to any genre or subject.

George Eastman, the American entrepreneur that founded Kodak (and who probably knew a thing or two about photography), said, “Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. However, above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.”

What do you think that Mr. Eastman meant by “know light. Know it for all you are worth.”? From my point of view, he meant that as photographers, light is our raw material. It is like letters to the writer and notes to the musician, and as photographers, we must understand how this raw material works and behaves under different conditions.

Quality of light – Understanding hard and soft light

In this first chapter we will:

• Understand the differences between soft and hard (or harsh) light.
• Explore the concept of “Good Light” versus “Bad Light.”
• Learn about common challenges faced when working with natural light, and how to overcome them.
• Suggest exercises that you can use to practice the explained concepts and techniques.

Soft lighting

Soft light is characterized by low levels of light, lack of shadows, a small and gentle difference between dark and bright areas.

Soft lighting situation is characterized by the lack of shadows and (as you can see in this image), cold hues during cloudy weather, which fit the greens and blues in this situation.

When does it happen? Depends on the weather and your location on the globe (it won’t happen at the North Pole, during winter), but you will usually encounter a soft lighting situation, at the edges of the day (also referred to the Golden Hours), just after sunrise and just before sunset (how much time before and after, is again dependent on your location). Besides the edges of the day, you can find soft lighting conditions under a cloudy or overcast sky.

Challenges: Soft light is not suitable for every portrait, it all depends on what you wish to evoke (in terms of emotion and mood) in your image, as I will describe later. Another issue is the level of light, which may be too low. So, it is very important that you pay attention to your shutter speed and increase it manually, to avoid blurriness.

Hard/harsh lighting

Hard light is characterized by strong levels of light, long and deep shadows, a big difference between dark and bright areas (high dynamic range). Because of contrast, harsh light will strengthen the current situation in the field, in terms of color. Saturated and rich colors will seem even more intense, and dull colors will seem even more so.

In harsh light, there is a huge contrast between the dark and bright areas in the image and details might get too bright or too dark – but this is perfectly fine!

When do you have hard light? It also depends on the weather and location, but usually, you can encounter harsh lighting situations during the day, about two hours after sunrise, until one hour before sunset (middle of the day).

Challenges: the main problem with the harsh lighting is the huge difference between the dark and bright areas (also known as contrast). Contrary to our sophisticated eyes, the camera is (still) not able to cope with this difference. So, the result will be the loss of details in your image, as they become too bright or too dark. For example, you might get a great exposure on your subject while losing detail in the background or vice versa.

Some photographers mistakenly think that this condition (the loss of details) is due to an error they made in operating their camera. So, the first step to the solution is to understand the problem. If you are shooting under harsh light, that lost of details is something that you cannot change (unless you use flash or post-process the image), because it is due to the contrast between the dark and the bright areas. So, changing the aperture, shutter or ISO, won’t help correct it.

“The artist vocation is to send light into the human heart.” – Robert Schumann

Forget about “good” lighting

Due to the challenges I have mentioned, most photographers avoid shooting under harsh lighting condition. They prefer to work under soft lighting, which is usually referred to as more pleasing to the eyes. However, it is not always the right choice for your portrait.

That day in the streets of Havana was extremely hot. So, I used the harsh light to evoke that sense.

The thing to remember is that you want to match the light to the visual story you want the portrait to tell. As we just learned, each lighting condition has its own qualities and characteristics. While the soft light from a setting sun might be best for a romantic couple’s photoshoot, it may be less suitable for a portrait of a hardworking man outdoors. Let’s stop using the concepts of good and bad lighting, and start thinking in terms of more suitable, or less suitable lighting.

Planning

To work under the most suitable lighting conditions, you should plan for it instead of just wishing for it. Check the weather forecast, as well as the sunrise and sunset times. For example, if you need soft lighting for your project, you should know exactly where to be, and what to do around sunrise and sunset every day. Do not waste even a minute on sleeping when there is suitable light out there.

1. Matching the time of day to desired mood – You should choose the most suitable time to go out and work, according to your desired results.

2. Matching the visual story to the given lighting conditions – I often choose the visual story, according to the available light given to me on location.

Flexibility

Sometimes even with careful planning, the weather changes and therefore, so does the natural lighting condition. That’s what happened to me when I was working on an assignment in southern Thailand. In a place known for pristine beaches and postcard-like islands, the mighty monsoon decided to make an appearance and show everyone who’s boss. At first I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to provide the images that I had in mind to my editor.

However, I know one thing for sure: you cannot fight the light. So I changed my plans and headed to the small village of the Chao Leh (Sea Gypsies) community. This visit (which ultimately became a seven-year project), allowed me to discover a different, much less touristy side, of that area. I discovered a story about a struggling community of sea drifters, that never fully recovered from the tsunami of 2004.

The Chao Leh (Sea Gypsies) community in southern Thailand. The stormy weather, with its soft, 

low, blue-colored light gave the images a sense of “cold winter,” which was a perfect match to 

the feeling I wanted to evoke in that story.

A few days later, the clouds gave way to the sun and I was back to my original shooting list. When I sent the images back to my editor, she was thrilled with the new direction and decided to run a full story about this community.

“What makes photography a strange invention is that its primary raw materials are light and time.” – John Berger

In conclusion, do not limit yourself to working exclusively under soft light, as both harsh and soft light summon great challenges and opportunities. As a visual storyteller, aim to always try and match the story you are trying to tell, to the light you are using, to bring that visual story to your viewers. The key element is planning, with a bit of flexibility, and some room for serendipity.

Practice working with quality of light

Exercise #1 – using over exposure compensation while working with a harsh light condition.

• Time: A sunny afternoon.
• Location: Any outdoor location – from your backyard to the local park.
• Step one: Place your favorite model (it can be a friend, a family member, your partner, or a beloved dog) under the midday sun.
• Step two: Take a moment to understand how the light illuminates your subject’s face. Do you notice the high contrast between dark and bright areas (lit forehead versus dark eyes)?
• Step three: Work in Aperture Priority mode (A in Nikon and AV in Canon), and use exposure compensation (overexpose), until you manage to bring more light to your subject’s eyes. Don’t panic, as you will probably burn out (lose details) the background, and parts of the subject’s face. It is okay. This exercise is about being able to stop reviewing your images through the histogram tool and highlight alerts, and start thinking in terms of story, and if that story is working or not.

Harsh light helped me to create a sense of “roughness” in this portrait, which I felt that support the visual story I wanted to tell.

Exercise #2 – switch to black and white while working under soft light conditions.

• Time: A cloudy day or the edges of the day.
• Location: Any outdoor location – from your backyard to the local park.
• Step one: Approach a stranger and ask his or her permission for a portrait. Perhaps you can send the final image by email as a token of appreciation.
• Step two: Switch to Monochrome mode, which is black and white photography (under Picture Style in Canon and Picture Control in Nikon).
• Step three: Take a close-up portrait (torso and face only). Note how the light gradually illuminates the subject’s face, creating soft pockets of shadows that evoke a sense of depth.

 

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Anatomy of a Subject

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Silhouette

 

By: Jeff Guyer 

So much of what we do is defined by the elements that embody the concept.  The three elements of the exposure triangle help us understand “proper” exposure.  Every light source has three distinct qualities (color, quality, direction).  Even the physical tools at our disposal can be broken down to a simple trifecta– light, lens, and camera.  Being able to break something down into its components helps the beginner by giving them a road map– a series of steps that simplifies the process and makes it easier to understand.  With enough repetition, that same road map becomes a mental checklist for the more advanced photographer.  Over time, that checklist hopefully just becomes second nature.  That photographer might not actually be thinking “foreground, subject, background” each time they compose an image in the viewfinder, but the elements are present, both in the planning and execution of the shot.  Taking this concept of breaking down composition a step further, we can even break down the subjects in our images into distinct visual components.

SHAPE or OUTLINE

Perhaps one of the most fundamental of these components is shape.  Regardless of whether we are photographing people, buildings, landscapes, or any of the other endless possibilities, every subject has shape.  Definition.  It can be subtle or dramatic, but everything we photograph is defined to a certain extent by its outline.  The most graphic representation of shape comes from a back-lit silhouette or underexposure, either of which draws less attention to individual features and more to the overall shape of the subject.  While this photo of a boxer is very brightly lit from the side, the high contrast lighting and black background combine to engage the viewer with a strong emphasis on the shape and outline of the subject.  In a more classic silhouette, the sax player was lit completely from behind.  The soft, wraparound quality of the light does bring out a bit of detail in the instrument, but the visual emphasis rests primarily on the shape and outline of the musician, creating an entirely different overall feel to the image.

Obviously, high contrast and silhouette are not the only ways to illustrate the shape of a subject.  As noted, everything that comes in front of our camera has shape.  How and to what extent you choose to highlight it relies on how you choose to place it in your frame.  The photograph of the staircase was taken for an ABC project entirely because of its shape, while the radiator grill of the 1938 MG has multiple shapes and lines which draw the viewer’s eye into the photo from top to bottom.

COLOR & TONE

While color often grabs our attention first, sometimes we take the extra steps to actually plan for it.  Bright and bold.  Soft and muted.  Contrasting or Complementing.  In the portrait of the boy with the football helmet, the bright red obviously grabs your attention and draws you in.  In the low-key portrait on the right, however, it was the darker tones and color palette that caught my interest.

FORM & TEXTURE

When we start introducing light and shading across a subject we produce various qualities of shape, shifting lines, and intensity of color.  While our silhouette primarily emphasizes a subject’s two-dimensional  shape, it is “form” that best describes the three-dimensional qualities of a subject.  Form gives substance, depth, and definition to the silhouette– bringing it out of the shadows and into the foreground.  Here is where the combination of light, color, and shadow combine to create texture in our images.  In each of the images below, the form and textures are created and accentuated not only by the composition, but also by the way the light falls across the subject.

As is the case with things like the exposure triangle  or characteristics of light, the extent to which each of these is emphasized in any given photo is going to rely heavily on the photographer and how they express their personal vision and individual style, as well as the mood they are trying to convey and the story they are trying to tell.  In virtually every situation, however, one of these components plays a huge role in making a photographer stop in their tracks and say, “I need to photograph that.”  Share this article.

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5 Secrets to Create a Perfect Silhouette Portrait Outdoors

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Silhouettes

 

By: Alana Orth

1) SHOOT LOW AND HEAD TO TOE

Place the subject’s entire body, from head to toe, against the sky. In order to do this, you will need to be lower than the subject. You can do this by laying on your back, or stomach, while taking the shot.

If you are unable to get low enough, you may need to have your subjects get higher, such as on the very top of a rock, small hill or sand dune. This will hopefully allow you, in most circumstances, to get an angle that places the subject’s entire outline against the sky. You can see a variety of landscapes utilized in the examples below.

Hint: It’s so, so, SO important that their feet are against the sky! Legs in a silhouette portrait that are cut off above the feet look like weird, short stumps. If you can’t find a suitably spot at a location, you can play with silhouettes of a closer composition.

2) IT’S ALL IN THE TIMING

Silhouettes work best around 20-30 minutes before sunset. However, it does vary with the angle you are able to achieve – the greater the height difference between you and the subject(s), the earlier you will need to take the shot.

If you wait any longer, the sun will be hidden behind whatever your subjects are standing on, and the sky might not be bright enough to make a silhouette. If you do it too early, the sky’s colours can be a bit boring and you will be dealing with other issues, such as sun flare.

Tip: Silhouettes can be taken earlier before sunset if the sun is partially blocked or filtered through strong clouds.

3) SILHOUETTE SETTINGS ARE SIMPLE

Set your camera to Aperture Priority (AV) mode, with an aperture of f/2.8, and ISO of 400. Have Evaluative Metering selected, which means that the camera will take into account the whole scene when deciding how to find a balanced exposure.

If you fill the frame with your subjects’ faces or bodies, then the camera will expose for their skin, even with a bright background (see example below).

If you fill the frame mostly with a very bright sky, than the camera will expose for the bright sky, brining out the natural sunset colors and making everything else in the photograph dark.

So, if you place your subject directly against the sky (bright), than the subject (which is darker) will be heavily underexposed. The result – a silhouette!

Both photographs were taken on the exact same setting mentioned above, only seconds apart. The difference? Composition, and what is filling the frame – subject or sky.

4) SILHOUETTE PORTRAIT POSING IS SPECIFIC

Silhouettes are very forgiving of poor facial expressions (simply because you cannot see them), but very harsh when it comes to outlines. After taking each shot, check to make sure that nothing looks odd in the photograph.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when posing subjects in a silhouette:

1. Hugging poses do not work – A hug silhouette looks like a great big blob monster. All subjects need to be clearly defined, which means they need to be at least a couple of inches apart from each other. It’s nice for subjects to still be connected, through holding hands, or kissing, but their bodies should still be defined.
2. Have your clients look away from camera – It’s much nicer and more natural to have poses where the faces are profiled.
3. Watch the clothing – Very baggy clothing will not work as well for a silhouette, as the shape can become unflattering. It is best for females to wear dresses or skirts in silhouettes, as it brings a feminine shape and helps clearly define them against the male’s figure. – Very baggy clothing will not work as well for a silhouette, as the shape can become unflattering. It is best for females to wear dresses or skirts in silhouettes, as it brings a feminine shape and helps clearly define them against the male’s figure.

5) SILHOUETTES SELL

Try to capture at least one silhouette at every photo shoot, whether it is a family portrait, maternity, engagement or wedding. Why? Because they sell!

Here are some reasons why clients love to purchase silhouettes:

• Silhouettes add variety to your shoot. Silhouettes are so different in nature, in their colouring and style, that the variety they give instantly makes any shoot more interesting and saleable. As the silhouette is quite unique from all other photographs, it also makes it easy to sell individually as a unique piece of artwork.
• Silhouettes are perfect for shy clients. Some clients hate the idea of their faces hanging up on their walls, making silhouettes the perfect objection handler. As the focus of the photograph is not on the subjects’ faces at all, it can be marketed to them as the perfect piece of personalized artwork, without battling their self-conscious nature.
• Silhouettes look better bigger! If you capture silhouettes on a wide composition, it’s all too easy to sell them as very large piece of artwork. Because the subjects are relatively small within the frame, silhouettes can encourage a larger, more impressive piece of artwork for the client and a more profitable sale for you.

We hope this guide gives you the confidence to go out and try your own silhouettes.  Share this article.

 

 

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