1.  Focal Length – I’ve talked at length on the blog before about fixed focal length versus variable length zooms.  Their differences, both pros and cons of each are duly noted, and for the most part, I think we can skip the formalities of the technical explanations.  It’s an 85mm lens.  This means you are not going to be able to zoom with the lens, rather with your feet.  It also means that you will gain pros in IQ (See #8 below).  Normally I am shooting with either a 10-22 for wide angle landscapes or a 70-200 for portrait work, so this took a bit of adjusting.

When I did shoot portrait work, I kept on having to step further back to bring more of the subjects face into the scene, and with landscapes, I found myself rotating into portrait position (vertical) and instead of trying to get everything in one shot, rather capturing several shots, with the acceptance that I would have to stitch together in post production.

It’s not perfect for either, but a good compromise in focal length to try and meet the needs of both ends as much as possible.  If I had to choose my favorite focal length, it probably would not be an 85mm, but there are very subjective reasons for that, which probably aren’t as relevant here, so I will defer that for another post.  The focal length is what it is.  You either like the length or you do not.  I was middle of the road on it – sometimes I liked it, sometimes I didn’t.

In the end, I think the focal length was fine for most purposes.  Even

2.  F-Stop Range – This is the reason I want this lens.  Stopping all the way open to an f1.4 gives you amazing results from two key perspectives:

• Depth of Field – When you shoot with a low depth of field, the subject is very easily separated from the background.  This also brings up the subject of bokeh quality, and here I was quite impressed as I didn’t see any evidence of jagged lines or aperture opening sizes, which is often characteristic of cheaper lens builds.
• Low Light photography – Low light photography to me means shooting at or near dusk, or in an incandescent environment where you don’t want to introduce flash.  You don’t want to be a part of the scene.  The photographer wants to blend into the background and be as unobtrusive as possible.  Lenses with low f-stop ranges allow you to do this, and the Sigma 85mm f1.4 is no exception!

3.  Noise – The motor on this lens is as quiet as one would expect for current technology – whisper!  I never heard anything that would cause a distraction, and at this point I am actually considering upgrading the Sigma Macro for this reason – the quieter the operation, the easier it is to concentrate on what you are shooting!

4.  Size/weight – About what would would expect for this focal length and aperture.  Remember, the lower the aperture (f1.4) the beefier a lens will have to be, because elements will need to be thicker in order to have any sort of stability.  It made for near perfect balance in conjunction with the 40D.  On a larger camera like the 5D or 1Ds Mark IV, I could see where you might not have as much a balance, but for my purposes, it works!

5.  Build – Patented and as expected, the water resistant housing, and non-slip grip that is now almost a trademark feature of Sigma was present so no surprises there.  I always enjoy shooting with Sigma gear because the heft of it just feels solid in my hands.

6.  OS/IS/VR – There is no built in motion correction here, which is what I collectively use to refer to the proprietary features of Sigma, Canon’s and Nikon’s camera shake correction technologies.  ALthough I should probably share that OS = Optical Stabilization (Sigma), IS = Image Stabilization (Canon), and VR = Vibration Reduction (Nikon).  Since this lens doesn’t have this motion correction feature, there’s really not much to discuss here.

The one note I would have is that when shooting with this lens, the benefit is primarily in that you can shoot at f1.4 which lets in a lot of light.  To that end, the need for motion correction is probably not as needed, except for the most exceeding low light scenarios, but you’ll see in a minute, that’d have to be pretty darn low!

7.  Cost – For the benefit of shooting at f1.4, the price of admission is hefty indeed.  B&H Photo prices it out at $969.  Since this is a new lens in their lineup, you likely will not find it for much less than this, as there is no aftermarket yet to speak of.

8.  Image Quality – Here, as always, I like to let the images speak for themselves.  I’ve tried to include a few samples that demonstrate both the depth of field capabilities and the low light performance.  Keep in mind – every image here was shot hand held!

*Editor Note*  This review was done back in 2011, but still holds today after another rental session with this lens.  My review still stands!

One of my readers asked: “I know landscape is a prime subject for infrared photography but are other subjects, such as portraits, cityscapes, night city streets, and macro worth considering? The simplest reason for shooting digital infrared is that this technique has the power to transform mundane visual experiences into something unforgettable. Everyday scenes you might walk right by and never think of photographing, take on a dreamy look when seen in infrared. If you’re considering jumping into IR photography here’s a couple of suggestions.

First, used SLR bodies are often available at a substantial discount and I think purchasing one and converting it to infrared capture is a great idea. Another idea is after you’ve updated to a newer, more megapixels model have one of your older cameras converted. The most important think to remember is that after your camera has been converted; you will only be able to shoot monochrome infrared images with it.

Second, and to answer the question, everything makes a great subject for digital infrared photography! Nevertheless, digital IR photography is not for everyone. I have to assume that dark skies, snow-white foliage and increased contrast appeals to your aesthetic sensibilities and what the heck, it’s fun. Here are just a few of the possibilities:

Landscapes:

This is the classical application for either film or digital infrared capture because tree leaves appear to be almost white. This is a common effect produced by deciduous trees and grass because they reflect the sun’s infrared energy instead of absorbing it. Along with the black sky, the effect is dramatic but I shoot IR in the winter when there are no leaves and the grass is dead or snow covered.

Cars:

Regular readers know I’m nutty about cars and I used my IR-converted SLR to make the above shot that was later digitally colored in Photoshop. Infrared images don’t have to be strictly black and white and that’s why I also like to apply digital toning effects to IR image files.

Architecture:

Professional architectural photographers have long used infrared film to make images of buildings. That’s partly because IR photography cuts through any haze, adds contrast, and produces pure black skies—it’s even nicer when you’ve got some clouds—to make photographs of buildings look even more dramatic.

Portraits:

In my book on infrared photography, I show a few portraits using digital IR-converted cameras but not everybody agrees with this idea. Some think it adds a creepy “Twilight” (vampires ya know?) feel to the images because the subject’s eyes will look a bit odd but if you’re careful, aren’t too close, and have the subject looking off to the side, it shouldn’t bother you. If it’s doesn’t, then it’s time to move onto other subjects. And that’s what infrared digital imaging is all about, having fun with photography no matter what subject you decide to photograph.

Visit Joe’s Blog “Saving the world, One Pixel at a Time” (www.joefaraceblogs.com ) for daily tips on digital photography.

I like to keep reviews as objective as possible, so when looking at cameras, I consider four main areas:

Form Factor:

The first question I asked myself is: “Does the camera  feel good in my hand?”  Personally, I felt the form factor to be a little box-y.  The mirrorless lineups are great, but being used to an SLR, this thing felt like I was mauling it and my traditional gripping techniques quickly had to change.  The lack of a viewfinder also made some accommodations required in how I composed my shots.  I guess this would be an adjustment that needs to happen regardless of which brand though, as all mirrorless cameras are by design, a lot smaller, and most are moving away from the viewfinder mechanism.  So – here the answer is a neutral “meh”.

The next question I asked was “How are buttons and menus placed and positioned for access?  Is it intuitive and make sense on where to find different functions?”  The answer here is a heartfelt Yes!  While I may be something of a technophile, the menus were very easy to navigate and each and every button was easy to identify the function with only one minor exception.  When shooting in manual mode, the dial controls the shutter, but the aperture is controlled by a separate toggle above that.  In other small form factor cameras, a single dial controls both, and alternates from a function button.  It took me a bit of reading the manual to figure that out (and who ever reads the manual?).  I’d actually count this as a con just because I found everything else so well-laid out.  The bottom line for the look and feel of the camera is a +1 for me!

Accessory items:  Next up, I asked myself if this would be easier to pack than my SLR?  With an SLR also comes a spare battery, charger, tripod (or or gorilla pod), at least one if not to additional lenses, and memory cards.  The space ads up, and especially for someone who travels a lot for both work and pleasure – the accessory factor is a substantial one.  I was able to take the entire camera and lens, and stuff it in my cargo pocket of my pants.  So, any additional lenses, SD cards or anything else I’d like to bring (like a Gorilla Pod) could easily fit in my other pants pockets.  In fact, when I was working with the cumbersome EOS SLR, the J1 was tucked nicely in one cargo pocket, the gorilla pod in the other, and the Canon occupied all my attention.  When I had the J1 out and shooting, I had to always keep half my eye on the SLR to keep it from swinging all over the place, crashing into a pole, the ground, or a passerby.  An SLR is not easy to pack away, but this J1 sure was!

Image Quality:  The most important consideration for me was image quality.  Here, I was quite happy as well.  I could shoot in full manual, shutter priority, aperture priority, or any of the custom modes one would expect in an SLR.  I could also shoot in raw.  And while newer SLR’s are also incorporating video, the video funtion of the mirrorless was quite impressive as well, shooting in full HD – 1920×1024!  Let’s take a look at some sample shots from the J1 that I took when I was out shooting with a friend recently in Portland OR!

Let’s not forget the video quality too.  Here’s a fun short snippet I took as a train rolled literally two feet past our photo walk!

Cost:  After image quality, the next biggest consideration most people have is that of cost.  How much to buy into the system?  My additional questions here are the cost of accessory items.  After all, a new camera system ultimately means you are going to get new lenses, new media cards, and all sorts of other accessories.  With mirrorless cameras coming of age, I think this is going to be a huge consideration.  So, the base price for the J1 is $500!  You can get a traditional SLR for that price these days!  The trade-offs?  Well, let’s see…the mirrorless is smaller, has fewer accessories, and…what else?  The only accessory item that kind of made my eyes bulge out was the 10-100 lens at a whopping $750!  That’s on par with SLR lenses.  I wish the vendors would just make a converter mount for their SLR lenses to mount on these…and in all likelihood, if the vendor doesn’t, some third party supplier will ultimately fill the void.

*****

The final verdict?  I could be swayed into this as a second system…   I’ll never give up the SLR, but as far as travel cameras go…the Nikon J1 really packs a punch!  Thanks Ashton!

I’m coming out of silence for Wordless Wednesdays…primarily because so many people are asking me questions via email, Twitter, and FB to share details about the composition, post production, and other details.  Instead of just spitting out metadata and other information, I’ve got questions and answers from now on:

#1 – What rule of composition did I use and why?

I chose the Rule of Thirds for this shot, and specifically chose the lower left third to be the grabber.  I didn’t want this to be an overpowering shot, for the eye to just enjoy the plethora of tulips…but the little tiny yellow and red amongst the larger red ones struck me for some reason, so I framed it to the lower left – thus giving more space for the eye to expand out from there to the rest of the scene.

#2 – Are any rules of composition broken?

Here, I don’t think so – in general, the Rule of Thirds applies, and the Golden K also applies if you look at it for more than a second or two…see the K lines appear in the red tulips?  Kinda neat, eh?

#3 – What camera/lens combo did I use?

For this shot, I was on my trusty Canon 40D, and the lens mount was none other than the Canon kit 18-55mm (nonIS)!  I went with the 18-55 mm lens because this is a very good lens for approximating the equivalent of what the human eye sees, and for this photo shoot, I wanted that effect.

#4 – What lighting did I use?

Here, there were no lights…it was au naturale:  S=1/60th, f7.1, focal length = 50mm, and an ISO of 1250!  (Yep, ISO 1250 – I was hand holding and wanted to keep it bright!  The scene was actually much darker, because the sun was going down, and I really wanted the colors to pop!  Depth of field was also important to me, because all the flowers needed to stay relatively sharp. Since I was shooting light and on the fly (no tripod or monopod), my only option for getting the brightness in the scene that I wanted was to push the ISO settings up to maintain correct exposure.  

#5 – How did I process it?

I processed this in Lightroom 4, using just a few tweaks on the right panel:  I had under-exposed a little (especially given the fading lighting conditions), so upped that by .76.  I also set Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation to 50, +10, and +10 accordingly.  These settings helped bring out more of the color and vibrance that I was seeing but was not in the default raw file.  My sharpening and noise levels were also set to  +73 and +50…the sharpening was up that high because,w ell, we always have to sharpen at least a little, and a went a little higher to help define that depth of field.  Lastly, the noise levels were pushed up to help counter the impact of the ISO when I was shooting.

Hopefully this will help those of you who are interested in learning what I see with my eye and why I capture certain images.  If you have more questions, or thoughts on improvement, feel free to share those in the comments!

McKinney illustrates his point in asking the reader to answer the question:

“What is half of 13?”

He then goes on to show that there are many responses to this. The canned answer is always 6.5, and that’s what came to my mind too.  But in going “beyond the obvious”, he shows that if you think about it from the perspective of say, a deck of cards, and 13 cards in a suit.  Since the ten, jack, queen and king all are values of 10, then really, half of thirteen in that scenario is 5.5, not 6.5.  You could also say that half of thirteen is really “thir” with “teen” being the second half!  By illustrating that you can divide either numerically or semantically, entirely different perspectives, thoughts, and answers can be right at the same time!  Once I got on the mental plane of looking at things differently, my own result was that half of 13 could also be 1 or 3 – applying the semantic concept to the number…

That is such a great concept, and one I’ve always tried to help people understand here in many different ways.  The “half of thirteen” way is probably one one the most succinct I’ve ever seen though.  Let’s take that concept now and apply it to photography.  Go get your camera!  Right now…seriously!  Go get your camera, and pick some random object in your room, office, or where ever you happen do be.  I don’t care if it’s your SLR, P&S, or camera phone.

Now what?  Take 13 pictures of that object.  Make each one different!  Change the angle, change the light, change the object itself.  It doesn’t matter what you do, just do 13 different things.  I can guarantee you that at least one of those photos will be something new, unique, and even compelling.  Now, take the most compelling one, and post it here.  To get you started on the right mentality, if you’re not already, here’s my own set of thirteen:

The shots above come from the “Wreck of the Peter Iredale” – on the coast of Astoria, Oregon.  Now, granted, the setting sun, and the unique nature of the composition made my 13 shots a little easier, but there’s now reason you can’t do the same.  Take a speaker and shoot it from as many angles as you can.  Run out of angles?  Try a different tack and change the lighting!  What happens if you pop an on-camera flash?  Try throwing your hand up to act as a barn door of sorts.  There’s no end to potential…it just takes thinking outside the box!

So, while the video was masterfully compiled of all these snippets from Disney movies, and brings up good points about the current laws, the overall message is that copyright has gone overboard!  They say through the compilation that Copyright used to last only 14 years.  More recently, copyright has been extended to the lifetime of the owner +70 years and companies retain copyright for over 100 years.  The message given here is that “there seems to be no limitation on how long copyright can last.”  Instead, the message is that converting work to the public domain (free for use and derivative works) is an important .  A couple lines are rather interesting:

1.  Having to pay someone for use of their copyright protected work is all about money…”I prefer to think of it as capitalism”

2.  Hear that sound?  It’s the sound of your freedom fluttering out the window…

3.  The Public Domain is necessary for a living, thriving society

4.  Copyright seems to be getting longer and there seems to be no limitation on how long copyright lasts

I started shifting in my stance a little – because initially I was laughing quite a bit at the parody (and at the skill/time it took to produce the video), to realizing that some of the sentiments meant I would lose ownership of my own work if some of these ideas were to come to pass.  Conversely, it also struck me that I use a lot of Public Domain and Open Sourced content myself.  Is it fair/right to sit on both sides of this debate?  Something in me says no.  So, I asked myself the question?  How long should someone retain copyright over their work before it becomes available for public use without compensation?  Wow!  I’d never really thought about the number.  A couple numbers came to mind:  Does 14 sound long enough?  What about that other one – the lifetime + 70 rule?  Maybe something in the middle?  The lifetime of the owner?  Perhaps 50 years?  75 years? 25 years?  There’s no easy answer, is there?  What do you think?  How long should  copyright last?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

They say that the eyes are the window to the soul, and from an emotional perspective that may be true.  From a photographic perspective though, the eyes are always the key to a photograph.  If you are shooting portraiture, yes, the posing and lighting matter, but even with the perfect post, and the perfect light, if the eyes are are out focus, or the person is not really engaged with the photographer, the result is a flat or blurry shot that the viewer just will not identify with.  The eyes can be sparkling with laughter, a mischevious grin, or a smouldering seriousness that indicates something deeper to be found within.  Without some emotion in the eyes, then the photographs’ chances of success will be more limited.  Here’s a few examples of what I am talking about:

There’s lots of moods to a persons’ eyes, and each person has their own unique moods.  In taking portraits, the job of the photographer is to be able to both put your subject at ease, while also trying to find ”the essence” of what that person is about on some level that can bring emotion to the image.  Without emotion in your images though, the result can be flat…

That likely only raises more questions – how to bring out emotion in a person with a short window of time, how to find “the essence”, and get people to open up.  For so many of us, that is hard to do, and that is part of what makes portrait photography such a challenge!  Hopefully these tips can get you started, but in coming up with emotional images that draw the viewer in, you have to find a vision of your own and speak with that voice to bring out emotion from your models, and then to share with the world that vision.  Have you shared your vision lately?

The secret of making great photographs is simply “knowing where to point the camera” and that’s harder than it sounds, especially after schlepping a nine pound lens, monopod, and camera body around California’s Laguna Seca track all day. This shot was created at dusk at an ISO setting of 800 using a moderately priced digital SLR, the Canon EOS 20D. Sure, the EF 500 f/4.0 lens cost $5500, so (I hear you saying) “It ought’a take good pictures.” Well, it doesn’t always work that way.

Let me tell you a secret, I don’t own the lens. I borrowed it for a short time from Audi’s team photographer, the incredibly talented Regis Lefebure. You can always rent expensive lenses like the 500 f/4 that, when purchased, cost more than a new Chinese car. Out where I live, this lens rents for $50 a day. Is it worth it? You bet it is. And don’t even think about making racing photograph with any big lens without a monopod. The lightweight EOS body was a less than perfect counterbalance to this beast; my EOS 1D Mark IIN would have been a better fit, but where was it? It was tucked away in my equipment closet back in Colorado.

The first step in making any kind of racing photograph on a road course like Mazda Speedway is knowing where you should be located. If you’ve never been to a track before, talk to some of the other photogs but walk around during practice and, well, practice yourself. Decide where you want to be and what lens you might use. A good place to shoot at Laguna Seca is near the top of a turn called “The Corkscrew.” The cars have to break hard for a sharp left turn then go through a series of twisty turns gradually picking up speed as they do. The corkscrew, like at many other tracks has a protective fence barrier with “holes “ where you can poke your lens through, so your final choice of location may be limited and since only two or three photographers can fit a particular hole, don’t hog the space. Let others get some shots too.

As night began to fall, I gradually began inching up my ISO speed from it’s daytime starting point of 200 at the start of the race to finally 800 as dusk descended over the track. I follow the car, panning with the motion and instead of firing off long multi-frame bursts in continuous mode, keep squeezing the shutter in rapid succession short bursts with fewer and, I think, better images. I shoot racecars in Tv mode and in this case the best I could get was 1/320th at f/9.

Don’t forget your earplugs. No matter how many Janice Joplin concerts you attended as a flower child, nothing will prepare you for the unmuffled sound of a full bore racecar. Earplugs are cheap, so get a couple of sets for each camera bag; that way you can loan a pair to somebody who forgets there’s and as Emeril says ”make a friend.”

Visit Joe’s Blog “Saving the world, One Pixel at a Time” (www.joefaraceblogs.com) for daily tips on digital photography.

Kerry – Aerial Perspective

Jason’s Similar Shot

Kerry’s Horse Shot

Jason’s Horse Shot

Kerry’s Dog Shot

Kerry’s Building Shot

Jason’s Building Shot

Kerry’s Bridge Support Shot

Jason’s Bridge Support Shot

Kerry’s Union Station

Jason’s Union Station

Kerry’s Night Shot

Jason’s Night Shot

So, what we were taking into consideration for how we defined image quality includes:

Color Range

Tonal Range

Sharpness

Clarity

Not only does Nicole deliver on a subject that is timeless (and timely! ), but she does it so eloquently that I stopped the eBook I was preparing on the same subject!  Normally, being slow to the publish point makes me go “grrr”, but she did this so much better than I ever could have that I just gotta give some serious props here.  I love how she broke the topic of “finding focus” down in the eBook too.  Her areas of discussion range from:

Talk about complete coverage!  I was only going to talk about four things in my eBook – it’s now in my Recycle Bin, because Nicole covered each one, and did it perfectly!

So, naturally, I seem to be singing her praises here – and yeah, I kinda am, but with good reason:  this is a home run!  I don’t recommend reads often, and when I do, I usually find a couple things lacking or that I wish were done differently.  Here?  Nothing is wrong – it’s absolute perfection!  She taught me things I thought I knew and was wrong!  (Yes, I can admit when I am wrong…LOL).  Thanks to Nicole for putting together such a great eBook – and thanks to Craft and Vision for giving me a sneak peak at it.  For everyone that wants to learn more about getting tack sharp focus, this is gonna be the best five bucks you ever spent!

As if that’s not enough good news – the folks at Craft and Vision have, in typical fashion, launched this with some promotional good will - with 20% off (so it’s only $4)!  How do you get this wonderful deal?  Just visit the C&V website and buy the eBook now…or bookmark in your RSS and when you get to your iPad (this looks awesome in the iPad btw…if you read things on the go, this is the way to read it!)  So, how do you save?  Use promo code FOCUS4!  And if that’s not enough of a savings for you, tryFOCUS20to get 20% off a 5-book purchase!  It’s a win-win all around – you help Nicole out with a little coffee cup money, and you get a bucketload of knowledge in the process!  If you’re the money-saving type (and who isn’t these days), make sure you get the book before the deal ends on August 19th at midnight!

*****

One of the least understood areas of any SLR is that of custom functions.  Once you start getting into customizing the configuration of something already as complex as a DSLR, people quickly lose interest in the minutia.  The problem is that some of the configuration settings can be made to really help you improve your photography.  One of these is moving the focusing mechanism off your shutter release.  The shutter release really does quite a few things – it opens the sensor to the light, thus letting an exposure actually happen.  It also programatically tells the camera to immediately meter the scene to evaluate exposure values, and also by default starts to search for a focusing point.

That’s a lot to ask from one button, and often times when composing for an image, many photographers find that focusing for one item in the scene, then composing for another is very useful in getting a creative vision to life.  To do this normally, you have to press the shutter only halfway down, recompose while holding that delicate balance, and recomposing.  Yes, there are other ways to do this by picking a single focusing point, but why even do that when you can make focusing its own dedicated function?  Most DSLR’s these days actually have a spare button built in for you to program to one of many different options.

Nevertheless, people still fear the custom functions.  Something about the words “custom”…”function…”program”…makes people cringe and run quickly in the opposite direction.  It’s really not that difficult though, and easy to adapt to.  Once the adjustment is made, you can now use your thumb to focus and your finger to capture!  It’s such a seamless transition, many photographers don’t even bat an eye, and they almost always notice a greater sense of creative control – which is why we buy SLR’s in the first place.  Want to see how it’s done?  Watch my short 2 minute video here on the process.  You’ll be amazed at how easy it is!

For RSS readers, visit the blog – it’s a YouTube embedded one this go around!

So, how do you do it? The simple answer is Dropbox! This handy little app has made my life so much easier. No more pesky file limitations on email, data messaging or any of that rigamarole.  Check out the YouTube Video I put together to help explain this:

Guest Post by Joe Farace

The best way to improve your photography is practice. Shoot each week so you get to the point where you don’t have to think about how to operate your camera: You just use it to create images. Don’t worry about producing masterpieces each time you got out; use your camera as a sketchpad to explore possibilities and don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes these “sketches” will be successful, sometimes not, but learn from your analysis of the images.

1. Look for indoor locations where the best light is found.

Many portraits are made in locations where the photographer or their subject decide to make it. This works great for a outdoor locations but for indoor portraits place your subject where the light is best. Use with wide-open apertures to soften and blur the background and focus attention on your subject. In my home, my favorite place to shoot portraits is the kitchen where the walls are painted a soft white and a bay widow provides North light that can be modulated by opening and closing mini-blinds in each window section. You may have a similar location in your home.

2. Search for interesting locations.

While traveling I make notes about locations that look like they would be a fun place for a portrait session. Recently I went to a state park that has a large lake looking for a beach-like location for swimsuit photographs and while walking around the lake’s edge saw some spots that would produce interesting portraits.

3. Keep your lighting tools simple.

I prefer to work with as few light control devices as possible because the less time you spend fiddling with equipment, the more time you can spend putting your subject at ease. These days much of  my people photography is done with natural light using only a single reflector.

4. Watch the background.

It’s so easy to become so enthralled by the person that you’re photographing that you forget about the background where you’ve placed them. I believe that if you watch the background, the foreground will take care of itself. Busy backgrounds can be thrown out of focus by using longer lenses and wide apertures but it’s not uncommon to have to physically clean up an outdoor site before you can make a portrait. While you can always digitally remove beer cans and fast food wrappers, taking the time to clean up the trash before you make an outdoor portrait leaves it clean for everybody else too.

5. Talk to your subject

I’ll never forget the advice one of my mentors gave me many years ago. When I asked him what was the worst thing I could do when photographing people, I expected him to give me some tip on avoiding technical problems but his answer surprised me. “If you don’t talk to the people you’re never going make a good picture.” More than 30 years later, I’ve never forgotten that advice and would like to pass it on to you. Photographing people combines elements of psychology as much camera technology and how you personally interact with your subject will have more to do with the success of your session than the camera or lens that you use.

Visit Joe’s Blog “Saving the world, One Pixel at a Time” (www.joefaraceblogs.com) for daily tips on digital photography.

So, how does this relate to photography?  As luck would have it, the Canon G12 was still with me for the duration of this trip.  I did have an SLR with me as well, in case I started butting up against the limitations of the poster boy of the Powershot series camera.  Suffice to say, I did hit the limits, but only once, and that was during some flash testing.

What I liked

1.  Shutter Speed:  The bane of P&S cameras historically is response or lag time on shutter release.  The G12 was no slouch, offering a very quick response time.  Granted, it was not always milliseconds away from a great capture, leaving me with several shots that had to be thrown out due to blur, but otherwise, I was successful about 95% of the time.

2.  Image Quality:  I tried to reproduce several similar composition of years past (see those galleries here and here), and think the G12 stood its ground quite well.  While I could have shot in raw, the advantage of P&S cameras is to click and go, so I kept my settings to jpg for the duration of the trip.

3.  Video:  Let’s not kid ourselves, video is where things are headed, and the G12 was able to really stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any portable camcorder in the market today.

4.  Hot Shoe: A big reason why I had chosen the G12 to review is because of its ability to accommodate the Canon Speedlight series.  I took a 580EX II with me, and much to my delight, I was able to fire off several shots with both the flash mounted to the hot shoe, and using my wireless trigger set (more on that in a future post)

5.  Inter-valometer:  An inter-valometer lets you take shots at intervals, say every 5 seconds, 10 seconds, one minute, etc.  I liked that the G12 had a setting where you could set it up to take photos at several intervals over a specified period of time.  While I didn’t get a chance to use it on this short trip, it was something I learned about afterwards that made me think, “Cool!”

What I didn’t like

1.  Menus:  I know, I need to get over it, but the menu structure is different from the trusty rusty days of the 20D, 30D, and even 40D setups.  It took me about 5 more minutes to get the menus down because things were in different locations!  A small nit, I know, but I certainly know my 40D and 5D better than the G12!

2.  Lenses:  The other bane of P&S cameras is that you only have one lens to choose from.  This is why the SLR (and now the newest 3rd generation of cameras – mirrorless lenses) give more creative options.  I was limited to the focal range offered on the G12, which is equivalent to about a 28mm – 140mm range on an SLR (verified on several sources, but here’s a site I should be plugging more, Camera Source)

3.  Price Point:  Sorry Canon, but a price point of $500+ for a P&S camera?  I can get an SLR for only $100 more which opens up many more options, not only for lenses, but filters and many other acouterments like flash accessories as well.  $450 was the average price point and this just seems inordinately high for this breed of camera.  Now maybe the folks at Canon are trying to position themselves for moving into the mirrorless market with the announcement of their first in that line with the EOS-M series at $799, but that’s a nut I can’t crack! (More to come on the EOS-M line as well…)

*****

I could wax on endlessly, but you undoubtedly want to see the shots I came away with more than read my own prattling about the camera and all its features, so let’s just get to the goods:

Guest post by Joe Farace

One of the easiest ways to improve your images is to use camera filters but like so much in the photo world, life is rarely that simple. That’s because photographers seem to be of two minds about filters: Some purists don’t like them because they abhor anything coming between reality and the captured image. True filter fans worry less about resolution charts and just like to have fun with their photography. When buying filters there is one overriding concern to follow: Don’t put a $19.95 filter on a $1,000 lens. You should purchase the best filters that you can afford but if you are in pursuit of “The Ultimate Image” that shouldn’t deter you. Get a piggy bank and start saving those pennies!

A Polarizer can deepen the intensity of blue skies, as well as reduce or eliminate glare from non-metallic objects. Many manufacturers offer Warm Polarizers that combines a polarizer and a warming filter. Polarizers are available in traditional linear or circular versions. Take the time to read your camera’s manual to find out what kind you need for your specific SLR and purchase the proper one for your specific camera.

If you want to get the ethereal effect of blurring while photographing moving water and can’t select a slow enough ISO speed, neutral density (ND) filters placed in front of your lens allow you to use slow enough shutter speeds to photograph waterfalls or river flow over rocks. Neutral density filters absorb light evenly throughout the entire visible spectrum, effectively altering exposure without causing a color shift. ND filters are available in different densities of gray and are rated by how many f-stops they decrease your aperture settings.

One of most useful tools in my filter toolkit are graduated density filters that have a clear area at the bottom and somewhere around the middle, start blending into an area of increasing color or neutral density. Graduated density filters allow you to control areas of excessive brightness such as a sky and bring them into balance with the rest of a scene by darkening and possibly adding color. The colored area of these filters covers less than half of the filter, but the effect can be adjusted by moving the filter up and down vertically or by rotating the filter folder, so there is no pressing requirement to split the image in equal and perhaps boring parts.

Most companies make color graduated neutral density filters that take what you see and “kick it up notch.” The final effect of using graduated density filters will vary based on the distance of the filter from the front of lens and the density of filter used. The effect is more pronounced when a wide-angle lens is used at small apertures, with just the opposite effect is produced at wider apertures with longer lenses. Other graduated filters add colors ranging from mauve to brown and are in pairs of the same color, with one having a mild effect with the other, darker one, being used to create more dramatic effects.

Joe is co-author of “Better Available Light Digital Photography”

Visit his blog “Saving the World, One Pixel at a Time”

]]> http://www.canonblogger.com/building-a-basic-filter-kit/feed/ 0 http://www.canonblogger.com/2012/07/28/photographer-gets-sued-watch-out/ http://www.canonblogger.com/2012/07/28/photographer-gets-sued-watch-out/#comments Sat, 28 Jul 2012 05:59:42 +0000 Jason http://www.canonblogger.com/?p=8154 For those of you that may not have been hearing the rumblings in the photo community for the past several days (going on near a week now) – there is quite an uproar going on about a photographer that is getting sued for $300,000!  That’s right, three hundred thousand dollars!  it’s a litigious society we live in for sure, but this borders on ridiculous…a photographer shot a wedding, shared the images with the clients, and after sharing literally hundreds of them on Facebook and friends/family singing praises – the attorney father decided to sue the photographer.  It’s a crazy scenario, and instead of regaling you with all the details (which you can read and watch here, here,  here, and here), I’m just going to chime in with a brief heads up – this could all have been avoided with a simple contract!

It’s no big secret that I have had a DIY Legal kit out for a while and this kit has just that – a contract!  The photographer could have avoided a lot of headaches by using one of these.  Think about it – does $30 for a simple kit make sense to avoid a $300,000 lawsuit?  It does to me!  And the best part is that I’ve also done an update to address a great point that Gary Fong brings up about what constitutes an ”acceptable” photograph.  Short and simple enough of an explanation, but is it in your contract?  It’s in this one!  It’s a very small update, but does add the terms of an acceptable photograph.  If you already have the kit – it’s a simple set of text to add, and I include the full text in the YouTube video below, so make sure you check it out!

Are you protected?  Do you have an event contract?  If not, there’s no better time than the present to cover yourself and your assets!  Follow the link here to grab my own DIY Kit or find your own assembly of Legal forms on the interwebs to protect yourself and your assets – if you don’t no one else will!

This is probably one of the most classic lighting styles in photography. The light is off-axis from your camera to about a 45 degree angle. Your subject is still front and center, posed with a slight turn of the head to one side (usually toward the light). Some all like to use a bounce card or a reflector to bring a little bit of fill on the opposite side of the face.

The result is that one side of the face is solidly lit, and the other is in shadow, or almost completely dark. It’s a dramatic effect and while considered by some to be a “dated” technique, it works for many subjects and thus is still used often in portraiture.

Now, having learned two of the secrets in posing, try combining the two – turning the shoulders and  applying a Rembrandt Lighting style for some amazing effects, as shown above from a baptism shoot assignment!

Editor Note:  Thanks to the folks at Sylights for their cool app (which is free), from the iTunes store – in making setup shots and diagrams, this is the bees knees!

Guest Post by Joe Farace

One of the best things about photographing architecture is that your subject doesn’t move around but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be moving around to find the best possible angle. In fact, there are only two main considerations when photographing any kind of a building: The time of day and the camera placement. I think it was Ansel Adams who once said “the difference between a good picture and a bad one is knowing where to place the camera.” Sometimes you don’t have a chance to scout a building before photographing it but if you do it will be obvious that either shooting in the morning or afternoon will produce the best results.

Tip #1: To produce the minimum amount of noise in an image, I prefer to use relatively low ISO settings to minimize noise. To me that means using the lowest “standard” setting your digital SLR is capable of producing for the given lighting conditions. That does not include any expanded or extended settings that are possible to using the camera’s custom function, which can in many instances increase noise. For night architecture shooting increased shutter speeds increase noise, so it becomes a balancing act between ISO and shutter speed. You find the perfect intersection of the two by shooting some tests before shooting it “for real.

Tip #2: Try to keep the building’s lines as straight as possible. I divide my time shooting architecture equally between hand holding and tripod mounted exposures but when tripod-mounted I find a double level bubble accessory, one for horizontal alignment and another for vertical, slipped onto the camera’s hot shoe make its easy to keep all my lines straight.

Tip #3: Try to avoid Keystoning. If you’re photographing a tall (more than three stories high) building, don’t shoot too near its base. This will make the base of the building look too large compared to the top. Find a higher advantage point and if possible bring your own ladder to make your picture. But I realize that it’s not always possible. You can correct it in Photoshop using Edit > Transform > Perspective and that can save some images but it’s no substitute for a PC (Perspective Control) or TS (Tilt-Shift) lens.

Tip #4: Apply standard compositional rules. The ubiquitous Rule of Thirds states that an image can be divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines. Aligning elements in a photograph with these four points creates more than simply centering that element. I treat these kinds of “rules” as suggestions so let your eye be the final judge of what looks best.

Tip #5: Ignore some rules. The human eye sees parts of a photograph in the following order: sharpness, brightness, and warmth. The first thing the eye notices is the sharpest part of the photograph, next it gravitates to the brightest part of the image, then finally to the warmest. By placing your subject in accordance with these rules you get to control how people look at your photographs.

Some people call placing the subject of your photograph in dead center the “bull’s eye” syndrome and in many cases applying the rule of thirds to your photograph will produce a better looking photograph than might otherwise be the case but I didn’t think that rule is cast in concrete and other rules that govern how the human eye looks at elements within a photograph bear equal weight.

Visit Joe Farace at his blog “Saving the World, One Pixel at a Time” (www.joefaraceblogs.com)

On the other hand, if a book or workshop promises or promotes the idea that you are going to learn techniques and styles, then this is a different bag and can likely be a good place to cut your teeth.  To that end, this week I will devote some time to identify three basic techniques for posing and lighting your subjects.  More articles and pieces may be forthcoming on this subject if the responses are encouraging, but time will tell.  For now, let’s just jump right in and focus on the first of three tips for the week

Turn the Shoulders

While it may sound cheesy, there is a reason why we do these portraits repeatedly…first off, it presents a narrower view of your subject.  With less of the subject facing forward, the result is that they look skinnier.  Secondly, by turning the body to the side, and having your subject turn their head toward you, the neckline smooths out, and often, that dreaded “double-chin” can be eliminated.  Finally, by turning the head, the lines usually will lead the viewer to the visual cues we moisten often are drawn to – the eyes!  Give it a try in your next portrait session…

Check out these other posts whee I talk more about posing here, here, and here, with even a few photos thrown in for examples!

That being said, if you are willing to accept the notion that you will have to work to make money – the question is:  how to best utilize your time.  The bottom line is that the more you can earn per hour, the better your time is used.  Here’s a couple ways you can turn your passion into profits:

Stock Photography

Some people take the tack of churning out as many photos as they can to stock sites.  This is not meant to decry the practice.  There are some phenomenal photo portfolios over on Getty, iStock, and other stock photo sites.  I personally know of several people that have built up successful businesses through their stock photography work. Nicolesy is a great example of this.  She’s got an excellent portfolio over at iStock.  The caveat here is that stock photography is not just product photography.  Odds are, most products have already been captured in stock work, so what’s more in demand is stock work of people.  This means doing portrait work in studios, on location, and setting up a lot of shots.  Model expenses, MUAs (make-up Artists), and all the other associated stuff can decrease your ability to make money quicker than you can imagine, so you have to be organized, effective, and very careful if you want to be successful here.

Event Photography

Others like going the route of event photography.  Here the biggest game in town is wedding photographers.  The advantage is that it’s seasonal, so you have some down time to regroup and catch your breath.  The disadvantage is that…well, it’s seasonal.  That means you gotta run and gun non-stop for like 6 months straight because that’s your mone-making season.  I know a couple wedding photographers (David Ziser, Kerry Garrison, etc.) and most agree that the busy months are very busy and tiring.  It’s great for the Type A personality though, as you get to talk to people all the time.  It’s not a non-stop party though, so don’t go into wedding photography just because you like going to parties!  Other variants of this are portrait shots for the couples prior to the wedding (think engagement photos), baby showers (after you get married, you have kids, right?)

Corporate/Commercial Photography

This is a pretty wide gamut as some niches include portrait work (think head shots of CEO’s), while others are architectural (think photos for annual reports, flyers, brochures, etc.), and others that are more creative.  Corporate and commercial work can be a tough nut to crack, because it’s not just what you know but who you know, and working business deals out through lunches, conversations, and other more drawn out processes.  For instance, when I did the work for Rotors of the Rockies and did their fleet photos, it was about 3 months of planning, coordinating, and establishing parameters of the agreement.  Some of the more successful ones to aspire to include Chase Jarvis, Tyler Stableford, and Zack Arias.    These sorts of “gigs” can be profitable, but it’s certainly not like the quick buck you might make off of doing a simple headshot for a couple getting engaged.

Teach Others

A lot of well-known photographers have turned to education as a means of revenue.  Whether that education comes from writing books (or eBooks! ), leading workshops, holding seminars, or even one-on-one instruction (think tutoring) or even classroom instruction (colleges often bring folks in as adjunct faculty to teach classes) – these all fall under the rubric of teaching photography.  Just like any other niche though, being profitable here still takes many many hours of planning, writing, revising, editing, workshop planning, location scouting, advertising, marketing, promotion, curriculum development, syllabus planning, course material preparations, and much much more.  Guess what you’re not doing when you are preparing all these materials…shooting pictures!

*****

The list could go on and on about ways to make money, and each comes with its own set of pros and cons.  Regardless of which area interests you most, if you are serious about wanting to turn your hobby into a job – be aware of the pitfalls of doing so, because as another old saying goes – There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!