Author Archive for Chris

Bounce Flash - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

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Chris
on April 9, 2008
in Digital Photography Tips & Info
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Photographing people indoors often requires the use of flash for added light. Direct, on camera flash however often results in multiple problems, red eye, washed out or overexposed subjects and of course, harsh, unflattering light.

If you use the flash built in to your camera, you don’t have many options. However, if you use an external flash you can change the small, direct light source of your flash head to a large diffuse source by bouncing the flash off of the ceiling.

Most external flash units sold today have heads that swivel and tilt for directing the flash. Directing the flash at the ceiling makes the ceiling your lights source. In my tip Quality of Light and the Size of Your Light Source I talked about how the the size of your light source affects the quality of light, larger generally being considered better. In this case, the light reflecting off of the ceiling is significantly larger than your flash head. The resulting light on your subject is softer, shadows are not as harsh and the lighting is more even throughout the subject area.

To effectively use bounce flash, you need a ceiling that is not too high. The higher the ceiling, the higher the light loss (refer back to my tip on flash to subject distance). If the ceiling is textured your light will be more diffuse than if it is not. Bouncing your flash off of a coloured ceiling will introduce that colour into your photo so using this technique with white ceilings works best, however, ceilings with a slight warm tint may add a nice warm tone to your image. Your flash should be directed at about 45 degrees to the ceiling though the distance to your subject will determine the actual angle you may need.

Finally, use your histogram or image review on your camera. If you find your images are a little dark your flash may not have enough power to effectively bounce off the ceiling though you can increase your ISO to negate that effect.

The two photos below are images of my niece. The photo on the left was shot direct with flash. The flash was mounted on a bracket above the camera to help eliminate red eye and direct any shadows down and behind her. As you can see, the lighting is flat and unflattering. The image on the right was shot with the same set up but with the flash pointed toward the ceiling at about a 45 degree angle. As you can see the shadows are softer, skin tones are more appealing and she has gained a little bit of warmth compared to the first shot.

Being able to control your light is one of the basic steps to better photography.

Until next time, happy shooting.

The digital photography tip of the week is written by the PCIN Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Chris is a long time photographer and is currently the President of the Niagara Falls Camera Club. You can see more of his photography at his Photo of the Day website.
If you have a tip to send Chris, or a question about digital photography he can address in the newsletter, send it to chris@pcin.net

Optimal Lens Aperture for Sharp Photos - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published
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Chris
on April 2, 2008
in Digital Photography Tips & Info
. 2 Comments

Lenses have many apertures available for use.  Aperture is used to modify the amount of light entering the camera body and can have the effect of increasing or decreasing shutter speeds and depth of field. It also has an effect on the sharpness of your image.

Stopping down a lens (using a smaller f-stop / a larger f number) has the effect of perceived increases in sharpness.  Because of diffraction though, a lenses optimal sharpness occurs a few stops before minimum aperture, which for most lenses is between f8-11 and possible as high as f16.

Until next time, happy shooting.

The digital photography tip of the week is written by the PCIN Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Chris is a long time photographer and is currently the President of the Niagara Falls Camera Club. You can see more of his photography at his Photo of the Day website.
If you have a tip to send Chris, or a question about digital photography he can address in the newsletter, send it to chris@pcin.net.

Other options for Macro Photography - Choosing a Macro Lens Part 2 - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published
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Chris
on March 26, 2008
in Digital Photography Tips & Info
. 1 Comment

Last tip I talked about choosing a macro lens. There are other ways to do macro photography without a dedicated macro lens though. Bellows and extension tubes enable you to move your lens further away from the camera body which in turn enables you to focus closer and get in tighter to your subject resulting in increased magnification. Close up filters attach to the front of your camera like regular filters and also allow you to focus closer and get larger magnifications in your images. Reversing rings let you stack two lenses together, front element to front element. This procedure will also give you some level of magnification though at the cost of ease of use. The options listed here decrease in cost with the bellows costing the most money (without purchasing a dedicated macro lens) and the reversing ring being the least affordable. Flexibility and ease of use decrease in the same manner.  For a more detailed explanation of these items, visit http://potd.chrisempey.com/tips/archives/2008/03/other_options_for_macro_photography_choosing.php.

Until next time, happy shooting.

Choosing a Macro Lens - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published
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Chris
on March 12, 2008
in Digital Photography Tips & Info
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A friend and fellow photographer, Scott Simons, recently put on a presentation discussing early morning photography. During that presentation he was asked why use one macro lens over another. It was a good question and one that I will answer here for you today. This is for the most part, specific to people shooting with SLR type camera’s with interchangeable lenses. While other camera’s may have the ability to use screw on or accessory lenses in conjunction with the existing lens, I am not talking about that today.

First, why a macro lens. Macro lenses enable the photographer to photograph small subjects in great detail capturing up to life size reproductions the subject. 1:1 life size simply means that the images appears the same size on the film plane (or digital sensor) as it is in real life. Macro lenses are typically very sharp which help in capture fine detail of small subjects. They also allow for necessary, precise manual focusing.

For 35 mm digital photography, most macro lenses will be somewhere within the following set of focal ranges: 50mm, 60mm, 90mm, 100mm, 105mm, 150mm, 180mm and 200mm. Of course, not all manufacturers make all focal lengths but most will make three of them. The 50 and 60 are generally considered wide angle macro lenses, the 90, 100 and 105 normal macros and 150, 180 and 200 telephoto macro lenses. So what is the difference?

The difference between the focal lengths of any lens is field of view. A 18mm wide angle lens has a greater field of view than a 200mm telephoto. The same is the case with macro lenses. This is important because the wider the field of view, the more background will be a factor in your image. Generally you want to sufficiently blur the background to help bring emphasis to the subject but not necessarily always.

For comparison, I will talk about the lenses as used when photographing a subject at 1:1 (or life-size) that does not occupy the entire frame: a subject with a background.

A wide angle macro lens will incorporate more of the background than a medium or telephoto macro. At the same time, the working distance (the distance between the camera and subject) will be closer when working with a wide angle macro than with an medium focal length macro or telephoto.

Working distance is a factor because the more distance between the camera and the subject, the greater ability you as a photographer will have to use light modifiers to manipulate your image. Another advantage is that when your subject can move such as butterfly, you can help prevent them from being too skittish and walking away on you by staying as far back as possible.

Where is the advantage? Most people I know will say that the advantage lies with the longer focal length macro lenses. They narrow field of view and a greater working distance from your subject typically help to create fantastic images. The drawback is that longer focal length macro lenses cost significantly more money any are heavier. If you need to carry your equipment long distances, weight may be a concern.

If you are interested in macro photography, you can start with some less expensive alternatives. Extension tubes allow you focus closer than a given lens normally allows and close up diopters may help you as well. Next week I will talk a little bit about these and other options.

For a look at some of my own macro photography, visit http://potd.chrisempey.com/archives/macro/

Until next time, happy shooting.

Using Colour as Your Subject - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published
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Chris
on March 5, 2008
in Digital Photography Tips & Info
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On Monday night I had the pleasure of viewing several wonderful slideshows from members of my local camera club. One of those was a great presentation by Karen Fulham. Karen’s photos are full of colour which also happened to be the subject of her presentation.

Using colour as your subject is a good method is a great way to both practice your compositional skills and to add some new excitement to your photos. In order to capitalize on the use of colour as your main subject within your photograph, you must have strong compositional form with your photos.

Colour in strong compositional forms abounds everywhere. Capturing those colours and forms can lead to wonderful photographs.

Until next time, happy shooting.

Keep Your Eyes Open - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published
by
Chris
on February 27, 2008
in Digital Photography Tips & Info
. 1 Comment

For most people, it is natural when they bring the camera up to one eye, to close the other. In most situations where you may be taking a photograph, this works just fine. There are situations however where you may find it advantageous to keep both eyes open.

When photographing a subject where you are waiting for an event to occur, such as a baseball player about to hit the ball, there is a definite advantage to using both your eyes. Once you image is composed within your viewfinder, open your second eye. Through some practice, you will be able to see both what you have framed in your camera and also, through your other eye, what is happening outside your camera. In this case you might be able to see the pitcher wind up and release the pitch.

Keeping both eyes open can help prepare you to capture the best image you can.

I have mentioned in the past that I am a member of the Niagara Falls Camera Club, which in turn is a member club of the Niagara Frontier Regional Camera Clubs (NFRCC). The NFRCC holds an annual convention that is open to the public. This year we will be meeting the weekend of April 11, 12 and 13. If you live or will be in Western New York that week end, it is a great opportunity to hear some excellent speakers talk about photography. Our keynote speaker this year is George Lepp who is a wonderful nature photographer and a pioneer of digital photography. For more information visit http://www.nfrcc.org/convention.php

Until next time, happy shooting.

Magic Hour - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published
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Chris
on February 20, 2008
in Digital Photography Tips & Info
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I have mentioned in a past post but Graham pointed out that I haven’t really explained what Magic Hour is.


(Click through to view full size)

Magic hour is the first hour of sunlight after sunrise and the last hour of sunlight before sunset. During this time the quality of light is softer, more diffuse, producing more pleasing tonal transitions and shadows. The colour of the light is much warmer during midday and the directional quality of the light is a wonderful tool at enhancing texture. The soft light helps to prevent the chance of blown out highlights as the typical tonal range from darks to lights is smaller. The magic hour certainly does not always last one hour. Depending on your location it could be much longer or much shorter.


(Click through to view full size)

Between the two options of shooting in the morning or shooting in the evening magic hour periods, I believe that the morning provides better results. The air is typically calmer. There is typically less particulate matter in the air providing for clearer views. One of the other big factors in my preference to photograph in the morning light as opposed to the evening light is there are much fewer people around as sunrise to interfere with the photos. Most people simply do not have a tendency to be up at 4:30 am to watch a sunrise. I know I sure don’t …unless I am shooting!


(Click through to view full size)

Not to be overlooked either is the time before the sun rises and after the sun sets. There continues to be wonderful light in the sky that is useful for making beautiful images, so be sure not to put your camera away too early.


(Click through to view full size)

Until next time, happy shooting.

The digital photography tip of the week is written by the PCIN Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Chris is a long time photographer and is currently the President of the Niagara Falls Camera Club. You can see more of his photography at his Photo of the Day website.
If you have a tip to send Chris, or a question about digital photography he can address in the newsletter, send it to chris@pcin.net.

Identify Your Camera - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published
by
Chris
on January 30, 2008
in Digital Photography Tips & Info
. 2 Comments

Several of my blog feeds this week featured a story of how a couple in New York did some very impressive work and was able to track down the owner of a found camera based upon images contained within the camera.

Losing your camera is of course one of every photographer’s nightmares and we cannot all count on the great detective skills of those who find a lost camera. A suggestion was made over at photoborg.org to label your camera with your email address someplace unobtrusive such as the memory card door.

There is another option yet. Many cameras allow you to set owner information within the camera itself. The camera will then add this information on to every photo taken afterward as part of the EXIF information for the photograph. For those of you who have never used the software included in your camera, this might be a great reason to do it now. I typically include my name, email and website address in my camera EXIF information.

Read you manual and find out if you can embed owner information in your camera.

Until next time, happy shooting.

Rear Curtain Sync - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published
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Chris
on January 23, 2008
in Digital Photography Tips & Info
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Leanne, my wife, recently wanted to go rollerskating. There is a rollerskating rink about a 30 minute drive away, but we had never been. While looking up information,  I noticed the following photo on one of the pages and new what my next tip would be about. Rear or 2nd curtain sync.


The original and larger versions may be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/7199627@N03/2108070562/  and is from flickr.com user l3xh2k.

I think it is an interesting photo that does a great job of depicting motion, though changing one setting on the camera could have made it a much stronger photograph. This photo is being illuminated with two light sources, the ambient light from the roller rink and the flash from the photographer’s camera. The racers are moving fast enough that the 1/60 second exposure shows some motion within the frame. The flash has provided most of the exposure within the image which has provided a sharp image of the racers, effectively stopping their motion. In this image, the flash fired at the beginning of the exposure, front curtain sync. The results of first (or front) curtain sync are a static image with motion trails flowing in front of the subject. This of course is a little distracting.

Now let’s consider a similiar photo.


This photo and larger versions may be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/photos-martha/422029906/ and is from flicker user photos-martha.

In this photograph, the image is again lit by two sources, the ambient light of the roller rink and the light of the flash. The difference is that in this photo, the flash was fired at the end of the exposure. Using 2nd (or rear) curtain sync this way causes the motion blur of your subject to appear behind the sharp area of the subject in the photograph and enhances the effect of the motion.

In both of these images, the effects could have been exagerated by using an even longer shutter speed.

When I spoke to a few of my photographer friends about front and rear curtain sync, we could not come up with a good example of when you might wish to use front curtain sync. The best answer I could come up with was to use front curtain sync when you are trying to capture a specific point in time and rear curtain sync every other time. In other words, if you are capturing a subject that requires a highly critical point in time capture, then front curtain sync would be your best best as the flash will fire as soon as the exposure begins. Any other time you are going to get a more pleasing image with rear curtain sync. Read your manual to find out how to enable this feature with your camera.

Another note to consider, if your shutter speed during exposure is sufficiently fast enough to stop motion on it’s own, then neither front or rear curtain sync will make a difference either way.

I would like to thank flickr users l3xh2k.and photos-martha for the use of their images with this tip. If you have a question about photography or a subject you would like to see me cover, please leave a comment after the tip.

A few previous tips on using flash are:
Flash to Subject Distance - Controlling Light
Turn Off Your Flash
External Flash

Photo Recovery Software - Digital Photography Tip of the Week

Published
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Chris
on January 9, 2008
in Digital Photography Tips & Info
. 1 Comment

If you have ever deleted an important photo on your digital camera accidentally, you know what a gut wrenching feeling that could be, or even worse, accidentally formatted your memory card. We place a lot of faith in our technology and expect that our cameras will properly store our precious memories and let us retrieve them later on.

But what about the human error.

As a photographer, I have been called upon by friends and family when something has gone wrong with their photos and it has usually been because of their own mistake. Fortunately, I have not been in that situation…yet. When it does happen though, I will be prepared with a bit of knowledge and a few pieces of important software so that I may recover my photos.

The first thing you want to do when you realize that you have deleted photos from your memory card is to stop using that card entirely. Remove it from the camera, mark in a way that you will not reuse it and replace the card with a spare. This is the best thing you can do for yourself at this point.

Most cameras store images using the FAT file system. As an image is written to the card, the location on the card for that photograph is written to an index. When a file is erased, the information in the index is deleted the location is marked as available for more data to be recorded there. The original photo still exists, there is simply no index entry to point to the file. This is where the software comes in.

There are many pieces of software available, both free and commercially, to help recover lost or deleted files. Several brands of flash memory cards sell or include recovery software with their cards including Sandisk and Lexar. Along with the commercial software that I have received with my memory cards, I also keep a copy of Undelete Plus on my thumb drive for quick retrieval of lost photos.

The process is very easy. Using a card reader, insert your memory card into the card reader. Start your choice of file recovery software, choose the drive you card is represented by and start the recovery. Each piece of software will be a little bit different but the general idea is the same. Depending on the software, the erased images may automatically be saved to a location on your hard drive, or you may have to select which images you wish to recover.

Does this process work on every lost file? No. But if you follow my first instruction and stop using the card, you have a much better chance of recovery.

Every camera bag has it’s arsenal of tools and photo recovery software is one that should not be ignored.

Until next time, happy shooting.