Source: http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/11/27/night-photography-exposure-guide-free-cheat-sheet/
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Night Exposure Guide
Source: http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/11/27/night-photography-exposure-guide-free-cheat-sheet/
Monday, 17 March 2014
Learn photography faster: 8 tips, tricks, shortcuts and time savers
If you’re a relative newcomer to photography your probably itching to
learn more so we’ve put together 8 tips that will fast-track your
understanding and improve your photography.
If you currently shoot using your camera’s full automatic mode or one
of the scene modes then it’s time to take a bit more control. Switching
to full manual mode can seem a bit daunting and in many situations it’s
unnecessary as aperture or shutter priority mode let you take control
of the appearance of the image while still letting the camera handle the
exposure.
The first step is to decide what’s the most important feature to take control over for a particular scene. In aperture priority mode you set the aperture while the camera sets the shutter speed to give a correct exposure.
SEE MORE: Discover how Canon’s Project1709 platform can simplify your photo management
Conversely, in shutter priority mode you set the shutter speed and the camera selects an appropriate aperture.
With a moving subject, for example, you are likely to want to set the shutter speed manually ether to freeze the movement or to produce a nice bit of blur, so you should set your camera to shutter priority mode.
If you are shooting a landscape and want lots of depth of field, or a subject against a busy background that you want to blur, aperture priority is the best choice as it will allow you to set an aperture to dictate depth of field.
The primary aim of a lens hood is to shield the front element of a
lens from stray light in the same that the peak of a baseball cap
shields your eyes from the sun.
It helps prevent flare which can reduce contrast and cause aperture-shaped hot-spots in your image.
A lens hood also provides a little protection for your optic, preventing the glass from being knocked as you carry the camera.
In addition, it can shelter a lens’s front element from drizzle, saving you time wiping the glass between shots or cloning over blurred patches in an image.
If your lens was supplied with a lens hood use it, if it wasn’t, buy one to suit it.
In many situations the fastest way to get a subject sharp is to use a
camera’s autofocus (AF) system, but there are a few occasions when it’s
better to switch to manual focus mode and drive the lens yourself.
When you’re trying to shoot a near-by subject that’s moving around the same point, for example, it’s often quicker to focus manually at the point that you want to capture the subject and then wait for the composition to come good.
Imagine a clump of daffodils swaying in the breeze, for instance.
If you use your camera’s autofocus system the chances are that the flowers will have moved away from the position you want them in before the camera has finished focusing the lens.
However, if you focus the lens manually, you cut out any focusing delay and just have wait for the flowers to move into the correct position before pressing the shutter release home and taking a shot.
While some old-school photographers are a bit sniffy about composing
images on an SLR’s screen, live view mode can be extremely useful when
focusing manually.
For a start a camera screen is far larger than a viewfinder, so it’s easier to see, but it’s also usually possible to magnify the on-screen image so that you can focus on tiny details that aren’t as clearly visible in a viewfinder.
This helps you to position the focus point much more precisely than you can when using the optical viewfinder.
Users of compact system camera with an electronic viewfinder can enlarge the image in the viewfinder so they have a choice of where to compose and focus the image when focusing manually.
To get the best results when using live view and manual focus, mount the camera on a good, solid tripod to cut out camera movement.
In addition to the general-purpose metering system, often know as
matrix, evaluative or multiple metering, many cameras have a spot
metering mode.
When this mode is selected the camera measures the exposure for a very small section of the scene, often the centre point or the area under the active AF point (this can often be set via the menu).
It’s an extremely useful option in high contrast situations and when your subject is in different lighting to its surroundings.
Once spot metering is selected position the metering point over the subject (or the point you want to measure the exposure for), set the exposure and away you go.
Keep in mind that if the spot is over an especially bright or dark area the exposure will be skewed to under or over exposure respectively and you need to apply exposure compensation – or meter from a midtone.
Many cameras have a button marked AE or AEL (* on Canon SLRs) which stands for auto exposure lock.
It’s especially useful when used in combination with spot metering because it allows you to meter for a small area in the scene and lock the exposure settings for a few seconds while you recompose the image and take the shot.
To use AEL, set your camera to spot metering mode and place the metering area over the subject and press the AEL button.
Now, recompose the image and the exposure settings will not change when you press the shutter release button to focus the image and take the shot.
Most cameras lock the exposure for a few seconds after the AEL button has been pressed, but some have a menu option that sets it lock the exposure until it is actively unlocked.
If your camera doesn’t have spot metering, or the spot metering area
isn’t as precise as you need, simply move closer to your subject or zoom
in until it fills the frame and take a meter reading.
If you are shooting in manual exposure mode, simply set the exposure and then recompose the image before taking the shot.
Otherwise, press the AEL button to lock the exposure before recomposing and capturing the image.
If you move closer to your subject to measure the exposure take care not to cast a shadow and change the light that it is in or you will have an incorrect reading for your shot when you move back into position.
An aperture of f/8 is a nice safe option that gives reasonable depth of field yet doesn’t push the exposure and a shutter speed of 1/125sec is sufficient to freeze walking-pace movement and should produce nice blur of anything faster.
Opting for the automatic sensitivity setting means that the camera will select a value that gets the exposure right in most conditions.
Also, a low ISO value will be used in normal daylight so noise won’t be a major problem.
Some cameras allow you to set a maximum sensitivity setting and minimum shutter speed to use in auto sensitivity mode.
This makes aperture priority shooting a good choice as you can quickly vary the aperture to control depth of field knowing that the camera will get the exposure right without extending the shutter speed to far and blurring the image or using a very high sensitivity setting and capturing lots of noise.
Source: http://www.photoventure.com/2014/03/14/learn-photography-faster-8-tips-tricks-shortcuts-and-time-savers/7/
Learn photography faster: 1. Start using aperture or shutter priority mode
The first step is to decide what’s the most important feature to take control over for a particular scene. In aperture priority mode you set the aperture while the camera sets the shutter speed to give a correct exposure.
SEE MORE: Discover how Canon’s Project1709 platform can simplify your photo management
Conversely, in shutter priority mode you set the shutter speed and the camera selects an appropriate aperture.
With a moving subject, for example, you are likely to want to set the shutter speed manually ether to freeze the movement or to produce a nice bit of blur, so you should set your camera to shutter priority mode.
If you are shooting a landscape and want lots of depth of field, or a subject against a busy background that you want to blur, aperture priority is the best choice as it will allow you to set an aperture to dictate depth of field.
Learn photography faster: 2. Use a lens hood
It helps prevent flare which can reduce contrast and cause aperture-shaped hot-spots in your image.
A lens hood also provides a little protection for your optic, preventing the glass from being knocked as you carry the camera.
In addition, it can shelter a lens’s front element from drizzle, saving you time wiping the glass between shots or cloning over blurred patches in an image.
If your lens was supplied with a lens hood use it, if it wasn’t, buy one to suit it.
Learn photography faster: 3. Switch to manual focus
When you’re trying to shoot a near-by subject that’s moving around the same point, for example, it’s often quicker to focus manually at the point that you want to capture the subject and then wait for the composition to come good.
Imagine a clump of daffodils swaying in the breeze, for instance.
If you use your camera’s autofocus system the chances are that the flowers will have moved away from the position you want them in before the camera has finished focusing the lens.
However, if you focus the lens manually, you cut out any focusing delay and just have wait for the flowers to move into the correct position before pressing the shutter release home and taking a shot.
Learn photography faster: 4. Use live view
For a start a camera screen is far larger than a viewfinder, so it’s easier to see, but it’s also usually possible to magnify the on-screen image so that you can focus on tiny details that aren’t as clearly visible in a viewfinder.
This helps you to position the focus point much more precisely than you can when using the optical viewfinder.
Users of compact system camera with an electronic viewfinder can enlarge the image in the viewfinder so they have a choice of where to compose and focus the image when focusing manually.
To get the best results when using live view and manual focus, mount the camera on a good, solid tripod to cut out camera movement.
Learn photography faster: 5. Try spot metering
When this mode is selected the camera measures the exposure for a very small section of the scene, often the centre point or the area under the active AF point (this can often be set via the menu).
It’s an extremely useful option in high contrast situations and when your subject is in different lighting to its surroundings.
Once spot metering is selected position the metering point over the subject (or the point you want to measure the exposure for), set the exposure and away you go.
Keep in mind that if the spot is over an especially bright or dark area the exposure will be skewed to under or over exposure respectively and you need to apply exposure compensation – or meter from a midtone.
Learn photography faster: 6. Lock the exposure
It’s especially useful when used in combination with spot metering because it allows you to meter for a small area in the scene and lock the exposure settings for a few seconds while you recompose the image and take the shot.
To use AEL, set your camera to spot metering mode and place the metering area over the subject and press the AEL button.
Now, recompose the image and the exposure settings will not change when you press the shutter release button to focus the image and take the shot.
Most cameras lock the exposure for a few seconds after the AEL button has been pressed, but some have a menu option that sets it lock the exposure until it is actively unlocked.
Learn photography faster: 7. Move or zoom in to spot meter
If you are shooting in manual exposure mode, simply set the exposure and then recompose the image before taking the shot.
Otherwise, press the AEL button to lock the exposure before recomposing and capturing the image.
If you move closer to your subject to measure the exposure take care not to cast a shadow and change the light that it is in or you will have an incorrect reading for your shot when you move back into position.
Learn photography faster: 8. Be ready
If you set your camera to manual exposure mode, the aperture to f/8, the shutter speed to 1/125sec (depending upon the focal length of the lens) and the sensitivity to automatic you are pretty much ready to shoot anything in normal daylight conditions.An aperture of f/8 is a nice safe option that gives reasonable depth of field yet doesn’t push the exposure and a shutter speed of 1/125sec is sufficient to freeze walking-pace movement and should produce nice blur of anything faster.
Opting for the automatic sensitivity setting means that the camera will select a value that gets the exposure right in most conditions.
Also, a low ISO value will be used in normal daylight so noise won’t be a major problem.
Some cameras allow you to set a maximum sensitivity setting and minimum shutter speed to use in auto sensitivity mode.
This makes aperture priority shooting a good choice as you can quickly vary the aperture to control depth of field knowing that the camera will get the exposure right without extending the shutter speed to far and blurring the image or using a very high sensitivity setting and capturing lots of noise.
Source: http://www.photoventure.com/2014/03/14/learn-photography-faster-8-tips-tricks-shortcuts-and-time-savers/7/
Sunday, 9 March 2014
Photoshop - The 6 best Photoshop layers any photographer can use.
The 6 best Photoshop layers any photographer can use
Photoshop has many types of layers and adjustment layers available, but there are six that you’ll find you need to use again and again.
Learning how Photoshop layers should be used may seem a little daunting for beginners, but once you’ve got to grips with them, you’ll find they play a part in the creative process of almost every image you make.
Best Photoshop layers: 01 Levels
This should be the first layer you add to an image, because it fundamentally alters the tonal range of the entire image.Create a Levels adjustment layer, drag the Black Point slider inwards until it touches the left-hand edge of the histogram, and drag the White Point slider inwards to the right-hand edge.
This remaps the tones of the image to make more of the available tonal range.
Best Photoshop layers: 02 Curves
Curves is one of the most powerful adjustment layers. An S-shaped curve brightens the highlights and darkens the shadows, resulting in extra contrast.
Create a Curves adjustment layer and click the middle of the diagonal line to add a central control point.
Drag down on the lower part of the line and drag up on the upper part of the line to improve image contrast.
Best Photoshop layers: 03 Hue/Saturation
This adjustment layer is best used for altering the intensity and brightness of individual colour channels in an image – greens and blues in landscapes, for instance.
Create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, click the Master menu and choose the colour channel you’d like to adjust.
Small changes are usually the most effective.
Best Photoshop layers: 04 Healing layer
Most photos contain unwanted marks or blemishes. The Spot Healing Brush tool is effective at removing these.
The best way to apply the healing is on a new blank layer, so that you can easily tone down or remove selected healing work later without having to start from scratch because you healed directly on the background layer.
To do this, create a new blank layer, choose the Spot Healing Brush tool from the Tools panel and tick Sample All Layers on the Options Bar, then continue as normal.
Best Photoshop layers: 05 Dodge and Burn
One of the best ways to enhance a photo is by lightening or darkening selected areas of the image.
This can be done with the Dodge and Burn tools, but rather than use them directly on the image, a separate grey layer gives you greater control.
To create a Dodge and Burn layer, hold down Alt and click the Create a new layer icon in the Layers panel.
Give the layer a name, then choose Mode: Overlay.
Check Fill with Overlay-neutral color and click OK. Now use the Dodge and Burn tools (with Range set to Midtones) to work on the new layer.
Best Photoshop layers: 06 Selective sharpening
Once all other adjustments have been made, you need to sharpen the image for output.
The traditional way is to create a merged layer at the top of the stack, apply Unsharp Mask, then paint on the mask to remove the sharpening from those parts of the image you want to remain soft.
However, the Sharpen tool enables more control over the process by enabling you to build up the effect by brushing repeatedly with a low opacity brush.
Create a new blank layer, select the Sharpen tool, tick Sample All Layers and set a Strength of 50% or lower.
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