After posting about exposure triangle and how blurring water means decreasing aperture, I got a few questions about other ways to blur the water in your composition. So, here you go.
It seems that water always seems to attract attention in photography…whether it’s an ocean at sunrise, dew on a flower, or waterfalls gushing through a mountain stream, the impact that water can have on our imagery is very powerful. Harness that power to your own creative ends by recognizing 5 ways to blur it to your advantage:
Slow Down!
1. Slow that shutter speed down! Your shutter speed is the best way to blur water…taking things down to at least 1/4 of a second, if not longer. This is what I did in my last post about the exposure triangle. It’s still my favorite way of blurring water to a creamy smooth texture in photography.
Use a Tripod
2. Steady those shots – even without slowing your shutter speed, to seconds, keeping the camera stable to prevent shake when hand holding is near impossible, so please take and use your tripod! Of course, it goes without saying that when shooting at slower shutter speeds, it helps immensely to be solidly mounted on a good set of legs. Without getting into the pros and cons of various features and qualities of various tripods, if you are shooting a 10 second exposure of a beach at sunrise, you need legs!
Palmetto Statue
ND Filters
3. Sometimes even with slowing shutters and using tripods, it’s just not enough. So, you need to find another way to control the light. ND filters are the answer. I’ve seen a lot of people run into an invariably brighter exposure… and to combat extra ambient light in the scene, they use ND filters. These filters essentially prevent those extra rays of light from hitting your sensor. Polarizers can work too, but they are less effective as they can have some downsides to them including elimination of reflections, casting a specific tone on your entire image, and more. When in doubt, always use ND filters.
SC Pier at sunrise
As always, there’s more than one way to skin a can (or blur water)! More involve shutter dragging with fill flash, and lots of others. What ways do you use to blur and control waters’ appearance in your images? Sound off in the comments with tips and tricks of your own! Happy shooting all, and we’ll see you back here again next time with more photo goodness!
When we look at the elements of composition, the three that everyone constantly considers are shutter speed, aperture settings and ISO (or ASA in the old days of film). These three factors make up something called the Exposure Triangle.
Readers of the blog have seen this before, in my post about The Future of Photography. The rules of the exposure triangle (such that there are rules in photography…) state that if you want to keep the lighting the same in your shot, as you increase one factor, another must decrease proportionally, while the third is kept the same. What does that mean? Simple – let’s take scenario I encountered when on a photo shoot with some friends touring the waterfalls of South Carolina. While shooting, I saw a perfect scene to demonstrate how this would be manifested.
For our first example, let’s set set up our camera and take a picture of a waterfall. In order to hand hold, and easily compose things, we have the following settings.
A shutter speed of f 1/250
An aperture of f 4.5
And an ISO of 100
Fabulous – but in looking at the photo, we’re not crazy with how the photo looks. Something is off, and we want to change one of our settings to make for a better composition. I’d like to see the same photo but with some blurred water. Now in your own photography it could be something else, like a flower to be sharper throughout the entire depth of the frame, or the background of a portrait to be completely blurred. So, how do we accomplish that? This is where understanding what each factor does to the composition:
Shutter speed
Shutter speed controls how quickly the shutter opens and closes. The higher the setting, the faster the “action” is – so you can freeze something like a speeding bullet, a blade of a moving helicopter, or the wing of a hummingbird.
Aperture
The aperture is the size of the opening on your lens. Think of it like a hose that controls flow rate. You could use a really skinny hose that only lets a teensy bit of water through, or a fire hose that just gushes gallons and gallons. Now, as you open the aperture wider, and let more light in, you also do something called creating a shallow depth of field. And the more shallow your aperture is, the less focused things will be in the foreground and behind your subject.
ISO
The ISO is the noise or sensitivity setting for your camera sensor. This changes how sensitive the sensor is to light hitting it. Lower ISO settings make it more sensitive to light, higher settings make it less sensitive. Back in the days of film, this was done by using films of a certain ASA value (which ironically was referred to as film speed, but I digress…) But the fun thing to consider is that once you inserted film in a camera, you were stuck with that film setting until you finished every frame, so ISO adjustability in digital cameras was a HUGE advancement.
Okay, so now, back to our example photo. Now in our example, we want to make the water more blurred, so we have to slow the shutter down, not speed it up. Okay, so let’s do that:
New shutter speed = 0.5″ (one half second)
So, what’s going to happen? Well, because we are now letting the shutter stay open a LOT longer (0.5 seconds is HUGE, but we need that to really blur water)! As a result, more light is going to hit the sensor, and make it way too over-exposed, so we need to compensate for that by adjusting the other two controlling elements – aperture and ISO. Now in this example, our ISO is already as low as it can go, so our only option is to make our aperture opening much smaller:
A shutter speed of f 0.5″
An aperture of f 29.0
And an ISO of 100
See how we did that? Now, this shot is going to have much more blurred water, and our exposure stays consistent. But, we’ve effectively made the same shot with a different composition!
See how the shutter speed and aperture will change the entire composition? Yes, I blurred the water, which was my primary goal, but look at the log in the foreground. Now it’s a little out of focus due to the shorter depth of field. Pretty fun stuff, eh? I should also mention now that since I slowed the shutter speed to half a second, there was no way I could hand hold that, so I mounted it to a tripod in order to prevent camera shake.
As a reminder, for a strict metadata comparison, that’s what happens when you account for the exposure triangle:
Shot 1
Shutter speed = 1/125th
Aperture = f 4.5
ISO = 100
Shot 2
Shutter speed = .5 seconds
Aperture = 29
ISO = 100
Happy shooting!
Author note: I was going to post this article in response to a question that came to me from Quora. Imagine my surprise when I realized I had never written a post in 10 years on something as fundamental as the Exposure Triangle! It may have been written and lost in the server crash from a few years ago, but thanks to Quora for giving me the reason to re-create it now!
A while back I was doing some testing of new software for displaying larger panoramas on the blog here and came across a site called Momento360. Has anyone heard of this company before? I bet there are some truly spectacular photographs on display there but I’ve not uploaded enough to try to start finding others and sharing! So, in a lame attempt to see how well my photographs convert and then show up when shared, I thought I’d give it a try:
This photograph was taken a few years ago when I was down in Panama going from the one side to the other, and we hit the lake at the top between the locks. It was an amazing trip, but am not sure the photograph really conveys it well enough. That said, what I am more interested in right now is the user experience.
Did this work for you when you viewed it? If so, did you view it on a desktop computer, a laptop, or a mobile device? Were you in an app or on a browser like Safari, Chrome, or other? Let me know your experiences here…
Additionally, do you have any particular software programs that you have used for photographing and then sharing panorama photos in your social media streams? What has worked (or conversely, not worked) for you?
One of the worst moments in photography is when you get things back on the computer from a shoot to see that dreaded blur! If only you had been able to stabilize the camera more. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been confidant enough in my own abilities to think “I can hand hold that shot”.
The truth of the matter is, most of us can’t! So, avoid the blur whenever possible When trying to capture images where light is low, a sense of movement is desired, or any other scenario where shutter speeds drop perilously low, getting that camera stable is critical! Here are eight ways to make that happen:
1. Use a Tripod – Shots taken with tripods are inherently more stable than their handheld counterparts. Nothing stabilizes things like an inanimate object!
2. Use a Monopod – With the tripod police out in force more and more, they are being allowed less and less in a number of areas. If a tripod isn’t permitted, a monopod may be an alternative worth considering.
3. Use Your Surroundings – Okay, so the tripod wasn’t allowed, the monopod you forgot, but there’s still a chance to catch that shot. The answer lies in using your surroundings. Brace the camera against a tree, a fencepost, a car, or whatever is available. They key is to make your camera stationary.
4. Bump the ISO – As much as I try to avoid increasing ISO, the newer cameras available do a great job of smoothing, and even then, software post production options are also pretty advanced at cleanup afterward. So, if you have to, go ahead and bump the ISO settings to shoot fast and still retain exposure accuracy.
5. Hold that Camera – I know some shooters who claim to be able to hand hold as slow as 1/30th of a second, and one of their “secrets” is a secure grip on the camera. Make sure you’re holding your camera right and not flapping your arms out beside you, all fingers around the edges (like a camera phone), and you can get better shots.
6. Shoot between Breaths – Yup, you can shoot between breaths. It’s key to remember not to hold your breath, but rather inhale slowly, exhale slowly, and that momentary gap between breaths is a moment when your body rhythms are not moving at all, heartbeat included!
7. Slide that Finger – No, not that one! Your shutter finger is what I am talking about. So many people tend to jab the shutter, but that pushes the camera and can introduce movement. Make it a slow slide with increasing pressure, almost as if the shutter release is an afterthought.
8. Watch Your Feet – Standing with your feet together like a ballerina is never a good idea when shooting. Your center of gravity rises, and you are unstable. When you are unstable, so is your camera. The same holds in the opposite extreme, so keep your feet about shoulder width apart when shooting.
If you like these tips, keep in mind, there’s 90 more tips just like these in my eBook Combo Kit where you get both 49 Photo Tips, Volumes I and II, as shown at the top of the homepage. On sale for a limited time, this combo kit is going for $10, so get it now while the savings are available!
There are, of course, other tools and methods to help make your photos better, but these 8 ways to add stability are just a primer to get you on the right track to making the most of your time behind the lens! Know of any other ways to help stabilize a shot? Anything I missed or that particularly speaks to you and your own techniques? Sound off in the comments or via email!
One of the questions I’ve gotten since releasing the DIY Legal Kit surrounds the sometimes confusing matter of photographer copyright protection versus licensing, and model releases. As the Legal Kit is designed to be the forms needed to cover each of these bases, the delivery was intended for those with a solid understanding of each principle.
However, soon after launch, I realized that the “solid understanding” was not necessarily present, so figured a bit more background would be helpful. For those of you who already purchased the kit, an upcoming supplemental will be released to you free of charge. For those of you who would like to get the primer separately though, that will also be made available to give you the primer you need to understand all these nuances. For now though, I thought it might be helpful to give a bit of an introduction to the concepts here on the blog. It’s a confusing issue for sure, and one that does warrant a bit of discussion.
Copyright Protection
Copyright protection refers to the rights of an artist to control the distribution of works they create. Whether you are a painter, a writer, a sculptor, or a photographer, you have the right to control distribution of your own work. Registering your work with the federal copyright office entitles you not only to the protection of copyright, but also to legal remedies for damages in the event someone tries to use your work without your permission. The supplemental will cover the process for registering your work with the Federal Copyright Office and answer some of the more common questions there.
Model Release
A model release means a person is signing over the right to produce the image they have been captured in to the photographer. A photographer may own the copyright to a photograph, but a person also has the right to control their own likeness. If you do not want a photographer to produce your image in any commercial setting, simply do not sign the model release. If you are a model, you probably want your image to be used to gain notariety. So, to do that, you need to release the right to produce images of you to the photographer.
There are always circumstances that can raise questions though. For instance, does an attendee at a wedding inherently give the photographer the right to use their image? It was only the bride and groom that hired the photographer, not the attendees! What about someone who is out on the street taking portraits for $5 a pop? If you buy the photo, does that grant the photographer the right to use your image? Not necessarily! The supplemental answers these types of questions too.
Licensing Your Photos
Probably one of the biggest misconceptions I see around the field of photography, is that clients (and some photographers) see the product as what they are selling, not the service. The truth of the matter is that as a photographer, it’s more common to get compensation for the service than the photos themselves. Obtaining a photo, or using a photo afterwards is what’s referred to as licensing.
So, the question naturally comes up from wedding and event photographers – does this mean a couple needs to also pay for the photo album? The answer is – (as always) “It depends!” If your pricing structure includes a CD to re-print then no. If your pricing includes a photo album, then yes! What about Facebook and Twitter, along with a host of other social media sharing sites? Are those included? How does this differ from corporate or studio sessions for head shots or architectural and fine art prints? These are all great questions and the answers to these and many others will all be included in the forthcoming supplemental.
Hopefully this has helped answer some of the basic ones that people have had regarding the Legal Kit forms. The last question you may have at this point is what is included in the DIY Legal Kit itself. Here’s what you get in the Basic Legal Kit:
Both an adult and minor model release forms (and is accepted at most stock agencies, including iStock, Getty, and Alamy)
A standard event contract
A standard licensing agreement
Schedule A (which itemizes the list of photos included in the agreement)
Schedule B (which covers the terms of usage).
The thing that’s super cool about these forms in the basic kit is that they are designed so you can add your own logo, company graphic and other design styles to the forms to suit your personal preferences. They are in standard Word format so you can easily modify them as needed for your locality if desired, rather than the more difficult PDF format that is more common with other Legal Kits of forms.
These all were created by a licensed and practicing attorney here in Colorado, with the intent to make them as applicable as possible in most municipalities. If you do have concerns though, feel free to consult with an attorney in your own area. As an aside, it’s always cheaper to review existing forms and documents than to have them create ones from scratch for you!
*****
So, if you haven’t gotten the Legal Kit yet, feel free to pick up a copy now: https://canonblogger.com/education/ebooks/
I’m coming out of silence for Wordless Wednesday…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, 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!
A while back I teased about a forthcoming lens review (nearly 3 months ago actually, in the Teaser Alert), and after several project shoots, the holidays, and scheduling delays, I am finally getting my act together to bring you the latest gear review…that of the Sigma 50-500mm. As a word of caution, you should be forewarned that the Sigma line-up of lenses that I have reviewed has become quite extensive. Right away this should tell you two things:
Sigma has been quite generous with me in terms of making a variety of lenses available. They likely are doing this for a number of reasons, but primarily because they know that I will give a fair, honest, and 9 times of out 10, a positive review of their equipment.
I like Sigma lenses! It should be no secret by now that I do like their lenses. They are optically on par with what one would expect from lens manufacturers by todays standards. Heck, sometimes I think the optical quality even exceeds that of the main brands out there (of course here I mean Canon and Nikon). The price is almost always right on – sometimes the price tag is a little high for my taste, but the advantage that Sigma has is that they are what is considered a “third party lens”, and because of that designation, their pricing is a notch below comparable lenses made by either Canon or Nikon for equivalent glass.
So, when Sigma came calling (actually I called Sigma), with the 50-500, the game face was put on. Right off the bat, here Sigma has been more than generous because I have now had this lens in my possession for nearly 3 months! I’ve posted a few photos from this lens over the past three months, so you may see some repeated images here, but they serve the purpose of demonstrating the various settings that I have used to shoot and test this glass. Having set the stage, let’s get started with the review. In the past, I’ve talked about things in terms of Pros and Cons, listing first the things I like, then the things I was not as much a fan of. While it has worked to a degree, I am trying to make things more uniform in the review section, so will start adhering to some more concise points and then indicating whether it is a pro or a con. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the
Sigma 50-500mm f4.5-6.3 Review
1. Focal Range: The focal range is how lenses are most commonly identified, and this is the measure of how much “zoom” there is in the lens. Here, the description says it all. This lens ranges from a widest point of 50mm to an impressive “zoom” of 500mm. On a crop sensor camera, that means you are looking at a range of 80 to 800mm! By any standard, this is a pretty wide range, encompassing a difference of nearly 700mm in focal adjustments. I am going to call this one a Pro.
2. F-Stop Range: The f-stop range is the measure of the minimum (or maximum depending on your way of thinking) aperture the lens can handle at various lengths. When dealing with a zoom lens, as you move further out, the elements have to compensate for the change in the length by increasing the size of the opening of the aperture, so you will see adjustments as the lens “zoom” increases. The Sigma 50-500mm is dialed in to a minimum aperture opening of f4.5 to f6.3. So, at the widest zoom of 50mm, the lowest aperture setting you can get is f4.5. Likewise, if you zoom this all the way out to 500, the minimum aperture is f6.3. So, don’t be misled by the numbers, shooting this lens at 500mm will not afford you the f4.5 that is capable at the widest setting any more than the f2.8 is available on a 70-200 at the longest zoom. When you have zoom lenses, there is a compromise in aperture capabilities that must be met when zooming out, and such is the case here. I did some experimenting at various focal lengths, and here are some apparent limits at different zooms:
Focal Length
Minimum Aperture
50mm
f 4.5
70mm
f 5.0
100mm
f 5.0
135mm
f 5.6
200mm
f 5.6
250mm
f 6.3
300mm
f 6.3
400mm
f 6.3
500mm
f 6.3
Given the technology of aperture limitations in zooms, I would say that the Sigma is on par with what the expectations would be for this range. To build this lens for any lower aperture settings would make the lens both heavier and longer. I don’t even want to think about what it would do to the price either! It’s not the greatest in aperture abilities, but it’s no slouch either. I’m going to have to thrown an “Even” flag on this.
3. Noise: I brought in the noise consideration based on my first Sigma lens I ever purchased, the 70mm Macro (f2.8) which did not have HSM. The inclusion of HSM in almost every lens since has been a Godsend. This holds true for the 50-500mm as well. It’s super quiet and has convinced me that I will never stray off the Hyper Sonic Motor (or USM on Canon glass, ever gain! ‘Nuff said. Pro
4. Size/Weight: My last big lens I reviewed here was the 18-250. It was a respectable weight, but this is by far the heaviest lens I’ve ever tested. Weighing in at a shade upder 4.5 lbs (that’s 1970 grams for you Metric folks), it can cause some serious arm strain after extensive shooting. I would recommend using either a monopod or a tripod for this lens whenever possible. It also bears mentioning here that due to the weight of the lens, you want to support it in the provided collar. Supporting the rig by the camera can result in some serious shear force, which can rip the lens right off the camera. Other size considerations involve the length of the lens both fully closed and fully extended. This will draw some eyes at either end…whether it be the short side (8.5″) or the long side (12″)! Here’s a comparison shot with it next to several other lenses so you can get an idea of its relative size:
Another consideration to take into account about this size is the filter required. For those interested in using the ND filters to protect front elements, you will need a 95mm filter to cover this – not a cheap thing to purchase by any means. Ultimately the size/weight considerations really will depend on your personal ability to handle it effectively. For me, most of the time it was not a factor, so I’ll acquiesce and call it a Pro.
5. Build Quality: In line with expectations, the Sigma quality showed here. Their now easily recognizable textured exterior exudes professionalism, and just feels good in your hands. Given the weight of the lens, you don’t want to hold this gingerly, but at the same time, if the body took a slight bump from another lens in your bag, the “other lens” would likely bear the brunt of it. No questions here. It’s a Pro.
6. OS/IS/VR: Due to the limited aperture range, and the weight, the presence of OS is invaluable. Using the OS allows you to keep your aperture value low, allowing for bother faster manipulation and shorter shutter speeds, as well as some nice bokeh in the background when your distances are good. What was extra nice about this is the ability to toggle between the vertical and horizontal planes to control vibration in different circumstances. When I was on a monopod, I switched to OS 2 to help control vertical (or up and down) vibration. When shooting handheld, I was on OS 1 most of the time, under the premise that my own face, body and camera holding helped to minimize the vertical and thus needed more help with horizontal. When I was on a tripod, I turned it off per normal procedures for when using OS/IS/VR. In my book, having versus not having OS/IS/VR is definitely a Pro.
7. Cost: The average retail market for this lens is approximately $1500. Given the focal range, the aperture range, and other considerations thus far, it seems to be pretty competitive. The Canon lens with the longest zoom range is their 100-400 and that factors in at $1800. Nikonians can salivate over their 80-400 for $1850. Both price in over the Sigma lens, and it still gives an extra 110-150mm of variable range. For my own personal budget, that’s a tougher call because while I would love to own this lens – I would have to sell something else to do so, and am not sure I want to dispose of anything else in my camera bag at the moment…the jury is out on this for me personally, but for those interested in purchasing any time soon: Pro
8. Image Quality: Image quality is always subjective to the viewer/shooter, so here I will just let everyone defer to their own tastes by sharing a few sample images taken over the last few months:
Kissing Squirrels
Chopper Series
Miscellany:
Other features that bear mentioning here include the locking mechanism and the focusing rings. I thought about including the latter in the build quality, but decided to bring it in here for discussion. First, the locking mechanism is a handy feature to have for keeping the lens locked in place to prevent lens creep. The idea is a good one, but for this particular lens, it would not lock in the “zoomed” position, where I would have thought lens creep would be more of an impact, than in the “closed” position. Having said that, from the lunar shots I did (as shown above), the fully extended lens did not experience much, if any, creep. This could be because the lens was recently brought back from a service stop where knobs and buttons and toggles were all tightened and such.
This brings me to the focusing rings. The rear focusing ring is the one used for fine tuning and the front ring is for zoom. This was an adjustment for me as my other zoom lenses have these rings reversed (where the zoom is on the back ring and the focus is on the front ring). it forced me to change my style of shooting a little, but since I was working off a lens-mounted setup most of the time rather than a camera-mounted setup, my shooting habits were already being adjusted anyway. The last part is that the zoom ring did seem a bit tight to move. Whether this is by design or because of the recent factory adjustments, I am not sure, but it was just a tad stiff to adjust.
Summary:
All in all, the Sigma 50-500mm is a great lens. It stood up for the challenges of both wildlife and aerial photography, as well as lunar and even a portrait shot of the canine companion. The compression it exhibits at the far end (which is characteristic of these long zooms) is to be expected, but I would probably not be using this for landscapes unless I was in a pinch and had no other lens with me. Still, it could be done, depending on what kind of landscape you are trying to capture. The zoom really had no noticable effect on image quality without going into some serious pixel peeping, and thus, meets or exceeds all criteria that I can think of. I would definitely make a positive recommendation on this lens for either a wildlife or sports shooter where distance from subjects is often greater than 10-15 feet. (The minimum focusing distance at 500mm is something like 6 feet!)
That does it for today – I hope you enjoyed the review and photo gallery from the Sigma 50-500. Here’s the final results/scores I give the lens:
Category
Score
Focal Range
8
F-Stop Range
7.0
Lens Motor Noise
8.5
Size/Weight
7
Build Quality
9.5
Optical Stabilization
8.0
Cost
7.0
Image Quality
8
Have you shot with this lens? Share your own thoughts in the comments or with me via email. Likewise, if you have a lens you would be interested in having me review, feel free to drop me a line or share your requests through the comment area as well. Special thanks to Sigma for giving me such an extended testing period to review the lens, and we’ll see you here again soon! Happy shooting!
After a while, landscapes are really just a matter of metering your light, exposing correctly, and composing to position lines in appealing perspectives. The same goes for many other types of photography too. Whether you are talking about candid street photography, event photography, and even architecture – it’s all about timing, composition, and exposing for the light.
Portraiture though, brings a unique set of circumstances to the table though. The timing is much more controlled, lighting is managed more strictly, and little is left to chance. Yet, even in these controlled environments, many photographers have trouble because of the fears associated with guiding and instructing people on how to pose. It’s understandable, considering all that goes into posing your subjects, as well as the fact that some subjects aren’t the best at being guided.
To those ends – here’s some basics to start with in posing your subjects. For starters, focus on the face – it’s what we all gravitate toward anyway, and body posing can be very complex depending on a persons body style. By focusing on the face, you can really highlight that which we all look at anyway. Here’s the simple secrets to posing a persons’ face: Continue reading “The Basics Behind Posing Your Subjects”→
As with most things, your camera needs maintenance too – and I’ve waxed here periodically about establishing a maintenance schedule, cleaning schedules, and the whole schmear – but I’ve never addressed the specifics of cleaning that most important piece of equipment – the sensor in your camera. As I dive in here, it bears mentioning that I am not advocating any one of these over another – just sort of laying the foundation on the various ways that are available:
1. Having someone else do it – Most camera stores offer this service for around $50, so if the idea of getting anything near your sensor just gives you the heebie-jeebies, by all means, this option is a good one for the nervous Nelly.
2. Air Blowers – These are rapidly becoming one of the more popular options as they are relatively cheap, easy, and don’t require messing around with chemicals. You simply put your camera into the cleaning mode, insert tip of the air blower near the sensor and puff it a few times remove and you are done. Some claim fantastic results with these while others say stubborn dust won’t come off from this method. The advantage of this approach is that you never have to touch your sensor (technically the filter in front of the sensor) with anything! The downside is that results may not get everything off.
3. Sensor swipes – Certain swipes are made just for camera sensors that use hydrostatic charges to remove dust from your sensor. It’s got an advantage in that it’s a dry cleaning approach so requires no chemicals. I have heard of some who are reluctant to use this as foreign fibers and materials can get in the swipe which could scratch your sensor.
4. Chemical cleaning – Pec Pads, Eclipse alcohol and sensor swipes all combine in this method to give the most thorough cleaning, virtually guaranteed to remove even the most stubborn dirt from your sensor. The risk – doing it wrong can permanently damage your sensor and the cost of buy-in is a lot higher than other methods. Once you buy-in though, the long term cost drops rapidly!
Since I only mentioned it briefly at the beginning, I should also clarify that the idea behind cleaning your sensor is actually a misnomer – all of these solutions are cleaning the filter in front of the sensor – the sensor technically never gets cleaned unless you use option 1 – sending it in for a cleaning. All the camera vendors (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, etc.) offer this service, but the downside there is multi-faceted in that it’s usually more expensive, you have to go without your camera for a period of time, and there’s shipping involved!
What methods do you use? I know some people that combine multiple approaches, while others simply just shake it out once and a while (heck, I read a story once of a guy that used his t-shirt! – not sure how valid it is, but you get the gist). Sound off in the comments with your own cleaning products and approaches!
