Photography Techniques - Outdoor Photography How Tos RSS Feed
| Solutions: Big B&W Prints Made Easy | |
When he was working in a black-and-white darkroom with glass plates and later with film negatives, Ansel Adams frequently made very large prints. His dramatic scenes of the American landscape, rendered in black-and-white, called for prints that could show every razor-sharp detail. For Adams, the printing process was both art and craft. The art lay in determining how to render each aspect of the image while the craft was translating that vision to the light-sensitive, emulsion-coated paper. Today, it's easy to become complacent about the craft side of making a print. We have tools that are both immensely powerful and easy to use. You don't have to be a good craftsman to get a pretty good print, but if you're not satisfied with pretty good, we have some tips to get you on the road to gallery-quality. 1 It Starts With The Image File. If we were still shooting film, we'd be saying it starts with the negative, and that's how you should be thinking of your photograph from the moment of initial exposure. Having the most detail and the best possible exposure from the outset puts you on the path to top-echelon prints. Otherwise, you're always going to be fighting against shortcomings and trying to coax detail where it has been lost. Take care to get the exposure perfect. If possible, bracket in the field to give yourself options down the road. You may have met photographers who say they never review images in the field and who say they can tell the proper exposure without the use of a light meter. Maybe they can, but if you have the DSLR on a tripod and you're shooting a landscape, chances are, you have the time to do a quick check of the composition on the LCD screen and call up the histogram to be sure you aren't clipping. 2 Shoot In Color. We always suggest shooting in color and converting to black-and-white in the computer. This gives you the most image information in your image file. A number of DSLRs do an excellent job in monochrome mode, and we like using that mode in the field for getting a quick look at how a scene will render, but when it's time to make the critical exposure, do it in color. 3 Shoot In RAW. This one is a no-brainer. If you're looking for the most detail and best tonality, you have to shoot in RAW. As good as JPEG compression is, it's still compression. If you want to make Adams-esque prints, start with a RAW file. 4 Convert To Black-And-White. There are lots of options for doing the conversion. Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom have sophisticated controls, as does Apple Aperture. Our favorite choice is Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 for its combination of power and a simple photography-oriented interface, and the fact that it gives you a layered file, which gives you even more control over the image as you proceed to printing. 5 Set Your Image Resolution To 300 dpi. There's no shortage of opinions about this point on the Internet, but we prefer to keep it simple. Set your image resolution to 300 dpi, and if that doesn't leave you with as large of a print as you'd like, up-res with a program like onOne Perfect Resize (this is the new name for Genuine Fractals). Boosting resolution isn't ideal, but if you start with a large image file that has a lot of image data, the resizing algorithms do a very good job. We prefer this to resampling in Photoshop most of the time. 6 Print In Color Or Monochrome Mode? This one is a little more subjective. Printer drivers and inksets do a very good job in pure black-and-white modes, but for the best possible prints, we still like to print in full color. For most images, this gives you added depth and dimension. It also lets you give the image a warm or cool tone, if you'd like. 7 High-Quality Paper. The printer manufacturers make excellent papers that have been designed to give you optimum image quality with their printers. There are several third-party paper manufacturers who make a variety of alternatives. Ultimately, this is a subjective choice. A glossy paper will show detail better, and it will make incredibly rich black areas. Satin and matte papers give a slightly softer effect. Watercolor paper is much softer still. For highest impact and an Adams-esque look, we suggest glossy or possibly matte papers. | |
| Solutions: On The Slide | |
The recent trend in jerky, handheld, rapid-fire, jump-cut TV defies this rule, but novice filmmakers would do well to start with less nausea-inducing techniques. As DSLR filmmaking has taken off, camera movement has become more common. The small, light cameras lend themselves to handholding and other motion, so talented cinematographers have found ways to make good use of the mobility without necessarily resorting to any kind of crazy movement. Handheld shoulder rigs from Novoflex, Redrock Micro, Zacuto and others are popular mobile options for some situations. Steadying rigs from VariZoom, Glidecam and Steadicam give a different look—smooth while allowing a camera to move big distances without any of the telltale bouncing of a shoulder rig. On a tripod, pan/tilt fluid heads always have been popular for small movements, and they remain so for DSLR filmmakers, as have full-blown dollies that let the camera move on a cart. A device that has taken off with DSLR filmmakers is a sort of hybrid between a dolly and a pan/tilt head: the slider dolly.  There always has been a general rule that when you're shooting video, the camera should record motion; it shouldn't create motion. Slider dollies are also useful for time-lapse shooting. As time lapse has exploded in popularity, people are looking for ways to add interest to theirs. Incorporating some camera movement can make a dramatic impact. Check out time-lapse videos on YouTube and Vimeo that show a camera breaking through cornfields and tree branches or that look up at the night sky and have the camera moving throughout the shot. Compared to basic nonmoving time-lapse, having the camera on a slider dolly will make yours stand out. Some of the most popular slider dollies for DSLR shooting are made by Kessler Crane and Cinevate. The Kessler CineSlider is made for heavy rigs, and it's overkill for most DSLR work. For DSLRs, the Kessler Pocket Dolly, Kessler Stealth and the new Philip Bloom Signature Series Pocket Dolly are solid options. Cinevate makes the Atlas 10, Atlas 30, Atlas 200, Atlas FLT and Pegasus Carbon sliders. To see individual specs and prices, go to their respective websites at www.kesslercrane.com and www.cinevate.com. | |
| Double Process Your RAW Files | |||||||
 Many photographers double process RAW files to create images with detail in both the shadows and highlights where otherwise, a single capture would sacrifice one or the other. A bright version is optimized for shadow details and a dark version for the highlights. The result is two photos, each with a different exposure. With both files open in Photoshop, one is dragged on top of the other using the move tool. A layer mask gets added to the top layer and the "bad" part of the top layer gets erased which reveals the "good" part from the bottom layer. Here's how to do it.
Step 1: Open the original in Camera RAW and process the file so the shadow areas look great. Then open the file in Photoshop and leave it on the desktop. Step 2: Re-open the same file in Camera RAW but this time process it so the highlight areas look great. Open that file in Photoshop so you have both the good shadow and highlight files ready to blend.
Step 4: In the layers palette, you'll see the brighter version appear on top and the darker version disappears from view, but it's still there.
If by accident you paint into the sand and it's too dark, change the foreground color to white and paint over the area that needs correcting. Be sure to use a very soft edge brush if you want the effect to look gradual. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | |||||||
| Create Motion | |
 Depicting movement in a still image has challenged photographers since the advent of photography. After all, we're shooting "stills," not "motions." In order to portray motion, some sort of blurring and movement of the subject needs to occur. If we think of fast moving objects, words like, "It happened so fast it's all a blur," come to mind. Ironically, we're taught that blurry photographs are not good ones. So how can we successfully marry the concept of blur and motion?
STATIONARY/ BLUR COMBO: A very powerful way to portray movement is to integrate action and stillness in the same image. Look for situations where key elements of the composition remain motionless while others show lots of movement. A classic example that comes to mind is a train entering a station. A slow shutter portrays the movement of the train, yet the people waiting for it remain stationary. DASHBOARD EVENING: Get yourself to a city at dusk. The reason for this specific time is there's a good balance between ambient and artificial light. Rest the camera on your dashboard and point it out the windshield. Drive around with the shutter open. Ideally you'll want a shutter speed of a few seconds. The longer the shutter is open, the more streaks you'll pick up from headlights, taillights, and buildings. PANNING: Follow the motion of the subject to blur out the background and create a sharp rendering of the subject. The slower the shutter the more the subject's movement is shown. To perform a successful pan, follow the subject before it gets to the predetermined location. Release the shutter and continue to follow the movement using a smooth and fluid action. If you're new to the technique, passing cars make great subjects to gain practice. Pick a location where the speed at which the cars move is consistent and repeatable. Glean the information you get from the shoot and apply it to future ones regarding shutter speed and the speed of your subject. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | |
| Long Lens Landscapes | ||
 Fill in the blanks using word association: UP / _________ BLACK / _________ APPLE / ________ CONTINENT / ________ LANDSCAPE LENS / _________ Here are my answers - down; white; computer; North America; and finally, minimum of 200mm. "Minimum of 200mm - have I gone nuts? Everyone in their right mind knows to photograph landscapes with a wide angle lens!" This is exactly my point. You don't always want your landscape photos to look like everyone else's. Allow your images to stand out and be different. Try something different. By no means am I telling you stop capturing landscapes with your trusty 28mm. My goal is it to get you to think out of the box and find something to make your photographs distinct. .
COMPRESS PERSPECTIVE: Telephoto lenses compress perspective. What this means is foreground and background objects appear much more compacted than they actually are. This can be used to your advantage if you want the compositional elements to appear flattened. The quintessential example is receding mountain layers that seem to be very close to each other, but in actuality are separated by miles. There are many other situations where you can take advantage of this perspective distortion. Buildings can be made to look closer in a cityscape, traffic can be made to look more congested, and crowds of people can look more dense. EXTRACT: Every year I return to the same locations when I run my photo tours. It’s my goal to find at least one new shot at each location for my participants so they go home with something fresh. While in Bryce Canyon, the standard lens with which to shoot is a wide angle zoom. Shifting paradigms, I decided to photograph an entire sunrise with a long telephoto. Shooting exclusively with my 80-400, I began to extract portions of the wide angle landscape. I slowly scanned the canyon with my eye to the viewfinder and I stumbled across an image of a solitary tree hidden amongst the hoodoos. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | ||
| Use Contrast For Impact | ||
 The word "contrast" refers to the range of tones from the brightest highlight to the darkest shadow. With black-and-white, it relates to the range of gray shades from pure white to rich black. The more extreme the range, the higher the contrast. Conversely, if all the tones are close, the contrast is low. As with any photographic concept, it can be used creatively. I offer you the following ways to use the word "contrast" beyond its traditional definition. I also challenge you to take the ideas further on your own.
RELATIONSHIPS: When I think of the word contrast, I associate it with the word "opposites." Divergent subjects make great photographic subjects. I was photographing a hot-air-balloon ascension in Snowmass, Colo.. Having a number of traditional hot-air balloon photos, I wanted to capture something with a different twist. Seeing the already launched balloons become smaller as they rose, I decided to juxtapose one with its sister balloon that was just being inflated to create big to little contrast. SILHOUETTES: Silhouettes make wonderful contrast images, as they rely upon a bright background in conjunction with a foreground in shadow that becomes an outline. Dawn and dusk provide numerous opportunities to capture them in that the sky is bright but not enough to cast ambient light on dark outlined objects. The gauntlet has been laid, and the challenge is for you to think of more ways to depict contrast in non-traditional ways. Once you feel you've exhausted your creativity making photos that illustrate Contrast, choose another word, grab your camera and hit the trails to capture its significance.. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | ||
| Wide-Angle Distortion | |
 Wide-angle lenses are wonderful tools that allow a photographer to take in large areas in tight quarters. Their angle of view exceeds sixty-five degrees and can go as wide as one hundred eighty. For this reason, they’re a popular choice with landscape photographers as large expanses of land can be included in the frame. They’re also popular with photographers who work in cramped spaces and need to include the entire area in which they’re located. This same quality that makes these lenses so effective also allows photographers to take advantage of their distortion.
Intentional distortion is best achieved with lenses wider than 24mm. I prefer the effect a 20 or wider produces with respect to a full frame sensor. With APS sized sensors, the lens needs to be wider. If I want to really distort a person’s facial features, I get very close to my subject's nose and make it the focus point. It becomes very pronounced with the sides of the head receding into a round ball. The effect is a favorite with kids. At one of my son’s birthday parties, I provided all the kids with a souvenir photo using a 17mm lens creating intentional distortion. They loved it. Try it with kids in their Halloween costumes and you’ll be the hit of the neighborhood. Seeing the world with wide-angle distorted eyes is very different and unique. It’s fun to play with wide-angle distortion. Experiment with it photographing cars, people, sides of buildings, and even your pet. It may become addictive. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | |
| Enhance Your Landscapes | ||
One of the greatest challenges in outdoor photography is properly exposing for contrasty lighting conditions. It often can be difficult to capture detail in both the highlight and shadow portions of an image because digital cameras are limited by the dynamic range that the camera sensor can record. With landscape photography, it's common for the scene being photographed to exceed the tonal range that the camera can record, and exposure often is a compromise between exposing for detail in either the lighter or darker portions of the image. This ultimately causes an underexposure in the shadow portions or an overexposure in the lighter portions of an image. Traditionally, landscape photographers turned to graduated neutral-density (ND) filters to help tame the broad tonal range of a scene. Many times, using a graduated ND filter was the only way to create an exposure that would hold detail in both the highlight and shadow portions of an image. Graduated ND filters have potential drawbacks, though. A full set of quality filters and a specific filter holder are expensive, and the filters are time consuming to set up, which can be frustrating when lighting conditions are rapidly changing. Also, graduated ND filters don't work well for all scenes and may darken portions of an image that don't need darkening, sometimes leaving signs of filter use. While the graduated ND filter always will be a staple in a landscape photographer's bag, digital technologies have made great advancements with regard to image processing and the ways of handling scenes with high contrast. Today, landscape photographers have many options when it comes to handling high-contrast scenes. We've all tried HDR, double-processing RAW files and manually blending exposures in the digital darkroom, and these techniques all produce excellent results when used properly. Often, the results are better than using a real graduated ND filter in the field. One drawback, though, to using these techniques is that they're sometimes overly complicated for images that only need slight tonal adjustments. It has been said, "Just because you can doesn't mean you should." Do you really need to double-process a RAW file or manually blend two exposures, which results in only in a one- to two-stop change in the lighter portions of the image? You can use a more simple method to achieve the same effect and spend less time in front of your computer monitor. In this article, I'll show you how to use the Layer Style and Layer Mask features in Photoshop to simulate the effects of using a graduated ND filter, which will darken and intensify specific brighter tones in your images. While not overly complex, the technique is flexible and has a subtle, yet dramatic impact on your images. Easy Mask Selection Before starting, I should mention that I use a Windows-based computer, so if you use a Mac, substitute the Command key when I mention the Ctrl key and the Option key for the Alt key. | ||
| Intensify Your Landscape | |||||||||||||
 There's a time for subtle, and there's a time to punch things up. Extra intensity is usually associated with punched-up saturation, but that only works when you have a shot that's strong to begin with. In fact, all of the techniques we discuss here are about bringing a photograph that's a nine up to a solid 10. Taking a weak shot, then leaning on the saturation slider, won't suddenly make it into art. But when you do have something special opening up in front of you, try some of these tips to take the shot to the next level. Think Wide 1) When faced with wild, vivid sunset skies like this, many photographers pull out telephoto zooms and try to capture a small portion of the horizon, sun and sky. Instead of taking that approach, Steve Perry used a wide-angle lens and composed a shot that brings in a huge expanse of sky. He also got low and found a boulder to add interest in the foreground. The wide-angle perspective makes for a much more intense photograph. Also notice how the water has some motion blur in it. By using a tripod, Perry was able to choose a slower shutter speed, which gave the lapping waves just a hint of motion and a perfect blurred splash on the rock. Telephotos are very useful for many landscape situations, but when you have a sky with a lot of detail, color and drama, go for the wide-angle to intensify the shot. Also, look for a foreground element to add some visual interest and balance to the overall image. Miners Beach, Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan Nikon D3X, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm ƒ/2.8G ED, Gitzo 3-series tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead
2) Rich, colorful fall foliage is always a favorite for nature photographers, but dealing with the vibrant and often contrasty scenes is a challenge. HDR photography has revolutionized the way you can get the most out of a landscape like this one. To get the best results, you need to plan for the HDR capture. Here, Don Biresch made a series of five exposures one stop apart, ranging from two stops under to two stops over normal exposure. In the computer, he applied HDR software to combine the images. The result is an intense image that shows the vibrant autumn hues without looking overdone. Austinburg Road, Tioga County, Pennsylvania Nikon D3, Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm ƒ/2.8G ED, Gitzo tripod, Really Right Stuff ballhead
3) In this scene of Yosemite's Bridalveil Fall seen from Tunnel View, the play of shadows and light positively makes the shot. Michael Warwick took the dramatic lighting a step further by choosing a 300mm telephoto lens on his Mamiya film camera and eliminating the horizon and sky from the frame. The result is a dynamic, graphic composition that makes it a photo to frame and hang on the wall. Notice, too, the sharpness in the shot. A sturdy tripod is a necessity for this kind of image. The sharpness down into the trees in the lower-left corner invites the viewer to explore the whole photo. Bridalveil Fall from Tunnel View, Yosemite National Park, California Mamiya RZ67, Fujichrome Velvia 50, 300mm lens, Bogen 3021 tripod and 3028 head, dual cable release
4) We always advocate getting things right in the field rather than relying on a "fix it in Photoshop" mentality. Using filters while you're shooting and seeing the effect they have becomes part of the creative process. Ya Zhang employed a combination of a polarizer and a split ND filter to make this shot. The polarizer cut the glare, helped darken the sky and intensified the red color in the sand. The split ND helped Zhang to balance the contrast above and below the horizon. Anytime you shoot with filters, it's a good idea to take at least one shot without the filter. Monument Valley, Arizona Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 17-40mm ƒ/4L USM, Benro C-328 tripod, Arca-Swiss Monoball Z, Hoya HD PL-CIR and Singh-Ray ND 3G filters
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| Action-Sequence Panoramas | |||
We see action before us as a blur of movement that often passes by in a linear progression. The spectator standing on the sidelines of a horse race watches his favorite charge by and turns his head from one side to the other in concert with the animal's passage through time and space. How do we tell this story in photographs?
What if you want your viewer to follow the action over an uninterrupted, extended time and distance, all visible in one panoramic image? That's what I call an Action-Sequence Panorama, but others may have different names for the technique. Here, the camera is panned with the subject and fired at specific intervals, capturing the movement and the changing background at the same time. The overlapping captures are stitched together to portray the subject in a series of stop-action images moving across an uninterrupted panorama. The Action-Sequence Panorama technique isn't particularly difficult if planned out ahead of time. Several factors are critical to success, however: 1 The subject should be sharp and the action frozen in each frame. 2 The subject should be portrayed at regularly placed intervals across the sequence and not overlapping. 3 The background must stitch together in a seamless panorama. 4 As always, composition counts. The Capture You want to stop action, so attain a very fast shutter speed by choosing a large ƒ-stop such as ƒ/2.8, ƒ/4, ƒ/5.6 or a higher ISO, which will help to capture the subject crisply at each position. Combine this with a steady panning motion, achieved either with a panning head on your tripod or with good hand-held technique, and the action should be frozen in every capture. A large lens opening also will offer the possible benefit of rendering the background out of focus due to a shallow depth of field. | |||
| Tips For Cold-Weather Photography | |
 There are many advantages to shooting in cold weather. During the winter, the sun remains low in the sky, which provides a more favorable angle of light. It also hovers closer to the horizon at sunrise and sunset, extending the time at which you can shoot with warmer light. Finally, there are no bugs to eat you alive at dusk or dawn. Most cameras handle cold weather well, but when extreme temperatures exist, there are considerations that need to be addressed. Always carry lots of spare batteries, and keep them inside a shirt pocket to maintain warmth. After they're changed, warm the cold pack in a pocket in case the swapped set runs low. Lithiums handle the cold better than alkalines. NIMH rechargeables do fairly well in cold weather. When I'm cold and miserable, I stand about as good a chance of coming back with creative images as kids in the Sahara have of building a 10-foot snowman. I dress in layers of breathable, moisture-wicking fabrics, starting with thermals. These fabrics lift away any perspiration from the skin and lessen the chance to get a chill caused by dampness. I peel away a layer if I get too hot to maintain a specific level of warmth. Most heat loss is through the head, therefore a hat is a must. I also cover my hands and feet with waterproof, breathable materials. Pocket and toe warmers are highly recommended. To keep the battery pack in the camera warm, wrap a hand warmer around its location.
CONDENSATION: Another big concern when shooting in cold weather is the build up of condensation on the camera and lens when you bring the system indoors. Put the camera into a zip lock plastic bag and let the moisture form on the plastic. Let it sit a few hours before removing it. An alternative is to put all your gear into a camera bag that acts like an insulator and lets it gradually warm up to room temperature. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | |
| Basic Indoor Lighting | ||
 I love the great outdoors—the smell of a pine forest, the wind on my face, the chill of a frosty morning, and the feel of an impending storm all get my adrenaline pumping. All inspire me to fill many CF cards. But now that the weather coaxes me to remain inside, I turn on my "interior switch" and get equally as excited as I target my list of indoor images. Use the following tips and techniques to create some great indoor photographs.
DIFFUSE IT: Bright overcast conditions are superb for photographing people. Light from the sun is softened and it creates an even and easy light with which to work. In that light from a flash is harsh and contrasty, placing "a cloud" over it softens its quality. This is accomplished with the use of an auxiliary diffuser. They attach to the front of your flash and are available at most camera stores. They come in different sizes to fit different flashes and are fairly inexpensive.
MIX IT UP: Window light, flash, and tungsten light each have their own characteristics. Experiment and combine any two or all three. At different ratios, the results can be quite unique. A portrait shot with window light as the primary source can be combined with light from a tungsten lamp to produce a yellow, orange fill. Play around and have fun. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | ||
| Solutions: Video Fundamentals | ||||
For most photographers, the biggest hurdle to getting into video with a DSLR is taking the first step. That's because the first step isn't all that simple. In this short Solutions article, we'll cover the basics so you can get started with some confidence. The allure of video, obviously, is the ability to capture moments instead of single images. There are two fundamental classes of video: narrative video and motion snapshots. As a nature photographer, you're likely to be most interested in the latter, at least until you get some practice. The narrative video has a story that unfolds, while motion snapshots are snippets of action that are better suited to a few moments of video than a single frame.
The first thing you need to do is make sure you have sufficient memory. A 4 GB memory card might be able to hold a few hundred high-resolution JPEGs, but it's only going to hold a few minutes of video. And if you're shooting still and motion to the same card, which is common for still photographers, you're going to run out of space quickly. Consider investing in a 16 GB or even a 32 GB memory card. Be sure the card is UDMA 6 or higher (check your camera's manual for specific recommendations and requirements). UDMA 6 and higher means the card is rated for the higher data rates encountered with motion. Lower-cost cards may not be able to handle full motion, and you can get annoying frame dropouts. Camera Setup A sturdy shooting platform makes a huge difference. If you're trying to handhold while shooting video, you'll find that you end up with bouncy motion that's almost unwatchable after a few seconds. Anchor your camera on a solid tripod for the best results. Also, your standard ballhead, while outstanding for still capture, isn't well suited for motion unless you're going to keep the camera completely motionless. If you're thinking about any sort of panning or tilting, a proper video head is important. Video heads allow you to make these camera movements smoothly. You can get a video head quite inexpensively, and it will do the job well. Large, very expensive models are geared to professionals with heavy movie cameras and lenses. As a DSLR video shooter, you can get a much lighter-duty model that will do everything you need it to do. When you're ready to shoot, you usually have a few options as far as the look the camera will generate. If you're just starting out, you may like the look of the normal image settings. Like a standard JPEG, these motion clips will have slightly enhanced color, contrast and sharpness. Once you get used to shooting motion, you'll probably change to a more muted look that will give you more options in postproduction. Don't stress too much about this at first. You're just getting your feet wet. There will be plenty of time to find a picture style that works best for you. | ||||
| Solutions: Time-Lapse Quicktips | |||||
Time-lapse photography and videos have exploded in popularity. During the recent Sony Art of Expression contest hosted by OP, several of the finalists in the video category were time-lapse videos. It's easy to see why time-lapse is so hot—the effect is positively mesmerizing. Whether you're shooting clouds moving over a mountaintop or a busy street crossing, time-lapse gives you a unique look at the world. It even makes watching the grass grow interesting.
Fundamentally, a time-lapse video is a series of still images seen in fast sequence. Video typically gets played at 24 frames per second. If each of those frames is captured at around 1⁄30 sec., one capture immediately following the last, they play back looking like the normal passage of time. The capture-to-playback rate is about 1:1. This, more or less, is how movie cameras work. If, on the other hand, each of those exposures is made a minute apart and played back at 24 frames per second, the capture-to-playback rate is 1440:1. Every 24 minutes you create one second of playback. When you play the video, you're seeing the world sped up dramatically. That's all a time-lapse is. Tools To do it, you need a few essential tools. A sturdy tripod with a good head is critical. Once you start shooting, you need the camera to stay perfectly still (we'll cover how to make a moving time-lapse in a future issue of OP). Some DSLRs have built-in intervalometers, which let you program the camera directly. If your camera doesn't have the intervalometer built in, you'll need an accessory intervalometer. Most Nikons have intervalometers while Canon models require an accessory unit. Either way, they're easy to set and use. A capable image-processing program and software to compile the still frames are also requirements.
1 Set up your camera and tripod and find a suitable subject. Moving clouds always make for interesting time-lapse. Shooting the night sky is another good choice, but it's a bit more complicated, so we'll focus on daytime shooting here. 2 Once you're set up, you need to program the intervalometer. First, decide how long you want your movie to be. Multiply 24 frames per second by the number of seconds to get the overall number of frames you need. For example, a 15-second time-lapse requires 360 frames (24 x 15 = 360). Most experienced time-lapse shooters suggest that you "drag the shutter," meaning set a shutter speed that's on the slow side so elements moving through the frame will streak instead of blip in and out of existence; 1⁄15 sec. usually works well. | |||||
| Balance the Family Vacation and Photography | |
 As readers of Outdoor Photographer, I’m sure many of you struggle with how to balance your photography while spending time with the family during the one big vacation you get a year. Many budding photographers use family vacation time as an opportunity to add stunning images to their files. New locations translate to new and different images. In a perfect world, spouse A, spouse B, and and all the kids are avid photographers. Every minute of every day is spent hunting down the perfect image that captures the essence and grandeur of where you visit. But more than likely, the reality is spouse A is the photographer, spouse B wants to kick back and relax, and the kids have had so many pictures taken of them by spouse A, the last thing they want to see is a camera. So how does one juggle prime photo time, family happiness, romantic sunset dinners, and keep the kids happy all at the same time? MORNING LIGHT: As photographers, we know that sunrise provides warm tones, soft light, and opportunities to see locations without crowds. All these factors dictate the need to shoot at this time. We also know that the kids and spouse B like to sleep in while on vacation. With this in mind, work out a plan where you shoot in the AM and agree to be back at the motel by an agreed upon time to do the family thing around the pool, to sight see, visit the museum, or any other choice made by the non photographers. I encourage you to suggest sight seeing as it creates an the opportunity to scout locations for other AM shoots.
SUNSET DEBATE: Sunset light is gorgeous. It just so happens that it coincides with dinner time. As dinner time means family time, something has to give. To keep the peace, set up a schedule and rotate family nights and photo nights. If your family is understanding, keep the schedule loose and try to base it on the weather. Think about the option of having a picnic dinner at a prime sunset location. The bottom line is to make sure you have fun with your family while taking advantage of every photo opportunity you get. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | |
| Work Your Subject | |||
 Prior to leaving any subject, eliminate all variables of how to improve the capture. This may mean choosing a different lens to change the perspective, getting down low or up high to get a different angle, waiting for better light, augmenting the light with flash or a reflector, softening the light with a diffuser, using a filter for an effect, etc. As you can see from this list, there are many strategies that can be applied to change an image and the list goes on. When used in tandem, a plethora of variables can be applied. Learning to use them should become part of your photographic repertoire.
In the series of images that accompany this article, the first was made when there was a big cloud blocking the sun. I liked the composition, so I waited patiently for it to pass. The second image was made when the sun fully illuminated the foreground ripples and yucca in the background. In that the composition was approximately ninety degrees to the sun, I attached a polarizer to bring out the dramatic clouds in the sky. It also brought out a bit more pop to the foreground ripples The idea of working your subject while in the field is to be able to decide which version is best when working the images on the computer. If all the options in the field aren’t applied, you don’t have the luxury to choose. Granted that image optimization software allows a photographer to greatly improve digital files, but there’s no substitute for getting it right in the field. Computers have expanded our possibilities of how we post process our images, but I prefer to make sure I do everything I can when I make the image to make sure I come home with the best raw data with which to work. A great task for you to do right now is sit down with a pen and paper and generate a list of different ways you can change the way you capture a picture. Use the ideas I shared in paragraph one as a basis from which to start. When you’re done, make some copies of the list and place one in your camera bag. Refer to it often and apply the techniques when you’re out on your next shoot. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | |||
| Combine Two Or More If The Action Doesn’t Unfold | ||
 Wildlife photography is a challenge. It requires lots of patience, dedication, trips to the animals and time. But quite often, no matter how much time you spend, how patient you are, how many trips you take, and how dedicated you are, the animals don't cooperate. The light wasn't right, the animals never showed up, they appeared but displayed little behavior, their head angles were wrong, etc. This is where image processing can rescue you from your dilemma of not getting “the shot” no matter how hard you tried. I use Photoshop to create an illustrative wildlife image to combine two or more files into a single photo. I use the word illustrative in that I don't want to give the wrong impression that the photo was made as a single capture. This is where digital processing gets a bad reputation unless the maker of the photo comes clean. For the sake of those who want to maintain the integrity of every photographer, if you do create composites, please don't to pass them off as single captures.
In the illustrative image I composited for this How To, I used the same bird from two frames, but because of the way he positioned himself in each, it gives the impression that one is chasing another. In actuality, the bird that was doing the chasing didn't cooperate, and I completely left him out. | ||
| Wet The Wood | |
 Saturated colors have more impact than those that are washed out. They possess a greater richness and tonality adding to the success of an image. This is one of the primary reasons photographers shoot during the sweet- light hours of sunrise and sunset. The warm, rich light adds dimensionality and has a luminosity that can’t be replicated in mid-day. Some photographers add a bit of Vibrance or Saturation to their photographs in Photoshop, Lightroom or other RAW converter. Some pop the colors through the use of a polarizer to eliminate glare and allow the richness of the colors to show through. All of the above techniques or tools are common ways to increase color saturation in a photograph. But there’s an often overlooked one that I’d like to share with you. I love to photograph trees, I love macro work, and I love to impart saturation to both. Over the years, I’ve come up with a great way to marry all three. The following technique came about as my photography evolved. I’ve made many close-ups of bark patterns satisfying my love of tree and macro photography. I’ve learned that using a collapsible diffuser to soften the light allows me to shoot at just about any time of the day. Bright highlights are tamed and the overall softness of the image makes me thankful for the tool’s discovery. Still, something was missing. Even with the use of added saturation in postprocessing, the colors didn’t have the richness for which I longed.
Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | |
| Capture Better Wildlife Photos | |
 Wildlife photography is rewarding and a challenge. The reward is gratification knowing a special moment occurred with a wild animal. It may also provide notoriety, as great animal shots are always in demand. The challenge comes in being able to make the image in the right light, capture the decisive moment, have a clean background and encounter a good specimen. 1) RESEARCH YOUR SUBJECT: First and foremost, find out where and when the animals you wish to photograph appear in the greatest number. For example, snow geese and sandhill cranes are found in the thousands during the winter months at Bosque Del Apache in New Mexico. Going there in the summer and expecting the same turnout would be disappointing. Learn what behaviors the animals display. Learn what conditions the animals favor. The more you know, the better you’ll be able to anticipate the animal’s actions. 2) SUNRISE & SUNSET: Schedule your main shooting times around sunrise and sunset. The quality of light is far superior to mid-day. The color is much warmer and the light is softer. Not only is the light better, the animals are more active due to cooler temperatures and their desire to feed.
3) LOOK FOR A UNIQUE ANGLE: Rather than just aim your lens at an animal from a standing position, do something different to make your shot unique. Lay down on the ground to get on the same plane as your subject to produce a better shot. Shoot through an out-of-focus foreground to produce a wash of color to frame the animal. A skylined effect whereby the animal is set against a clear blue sky provides a clean background and great angle. 4) CARRY A LONG LENS: Long lenses get you closer to the action. Additionally, they’ll keep you safer and stress your subject to a lesser degree as it won’t feel as threatened by your presence. Don’t feel as if you need to spend thousands of dollars on a super telephoto in the 500-600mm range. A 200 or 300mm lens will get you great shots of species that are more tolerant of people. Ducks and geese in city ponds make wonderful subjects and are often approachable. Let your equipment dictate what types of animals you photograph with the telephoto range you own. 5) PHOTOGRAPHER’S COMFORT: Make sure you’re equipped with the proper gear and clothing to maintain your comfort. Dress for the elements. Layer your clothing if shooting in the cold weather. Wear sturdy, yet comfortable shoes so your feet don’t ache. Bring rain gear, insect repellent, snacks, and plenty of water. The more comfortable you are, the longer you’ll stay in the field and increase the chance of getting a great shot. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | |
| Auto HDR, Quicker, Faster And Better? | ||||||||||||
Camera designers apparently didn't think this was easy enough, which explains why there are now Auto HDR modes in several new DSLRs from Nikon, Pentax and Sony, and we expect the trend to continue. At the push of the shutter button, these cameras shoot a quick burst of exposures and then use their powerful image-processing engines to merge them into an HDR JPEG image. As a bonus, several Pentax and Sony models can correct minor camera movements that occur between frames in the burst, allowing you to create HDR images without a tripod! The Auto HDR function cuts out the postprocessing time and effort, but many HDR purists and photographers who prefer to have the option of controlling their images more down the road cringe when they learn that all current Auto HDR modes create an HDR JPEG file (8-bit) from the exposure sequence and not RAW or TIFF files (16-bit). On top of that, Auto HDR modes in the Pentax and Nikon cameras discard the entire exposure sequence used in the process, so there are no "redos" or adjustments possible after the creation of the HDR JPEG. The Sony models store two images—a normal exposure JPEG and an HDR JPEG—so you can quickly compare results. If you don't like what you see on the camera's LCD monitor, you'll be forced to change modes or HDR settings and shoot again.
The only Auto HDR controls that exist allow you to select the exposure range between the images in the sequence from a 2-stop range to about 6 stops, as well as choose the resolution and quality of the final HDR JPEG file. You also can select full Auto HDR, which tells the Sony models to select an appropriate exposure range based on scene contrast, or in the case of the Pentax models, set the camera to a 2-stop range: -1 stop, Normal and +1 stop. | ||||||||||||
| Chasing The Aurora Borealis | |||||||
 They're back! After five years of relative quiet, the Northern Lights—the Aurora Borealis—have been on fire lately. This past year has witnessed a dramatic spike in the solar activity that ignites auroras, and this winter may offer the best viewing, and photographic opportunities, in nearly a decade.
I've had the aurora bug since a memorable trip to Arctic Canada in 2002 when we saw more clouds than we did Northern Lights. But, finally, after five days, the weather broke, revealing an all-night light show—shimmering curtains of light and color danced and skipped overhead, sometimes slow and undulating, while at other times snapping like a celestial whip. The lights were mostly emerald green, occasionally tipped with violet and utterly breathtaking. Beneath a dancing sky, we enjoyed a New Year's Eve I'll never forget; that night has lured me back north every chance I get. For the past five years or so, however, things have been pretty quiet in the northern skies. Blame the sun; for reasons that baffle scientists, auroras run on an 11-year cycle, corresponding to the activity level on the solar surface. The low ebb of that cycle—the solar minimum—was in 2008, and activity, which is measured by the number of sunspots and accompanying solar flares, has been building since then. The good news is that there already have been dozens of spectacular aurora events since the beginning of 2011, and there are almost certainly more to come. Needless to say, I'm pumped for the coming season, and I'm gearing up. So if seeing, and photographing, the aurora is on your Bucket List, this may be a great year to go. The following tutorial is designed to provide you with what you need to know, where to go and how to bring back some of the most amazing pictures you've ever taken. Just don't ask me to predict the weather!
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| Capture The Gigascape | |||||
Naturally, I wanted the same capability with my digital SLRs and full range of lenses, so using parts from Really Right Stuff (www.reallyrightstuff.com), I rigged up a complicated system of sliding rails and meticulous degree calculations while I manually applied the GigaPan concept to my landscape and macro photography. Results (like my math grades in school) were mixed. But now a new automated system, the GigaPan EPIC Pro, helps me to achieve ultra-high-resolution composites on pixel-packed sensors coupled with sensitive lenses, from macro to long telephoto. It's as if I were using a digital 8x10 view camera, which, if it existed, would cost more than $50,000. The GigaPan EPIC Pro works with most DSLRs and runs $895 from GigaPan (www.gigapansystems.com).
The GigaPan EPIC Pro is a computerized camera mount that holds a DSLR and lens combination up to 10 pounds. The computer is connected to the DSLR's cable release input via a supplied cable. The photographer sets the exposure time and angle of view of the camera/lens combination, and follows the EPIC Pro's prompts to set the parameters of the total image to be captured, from upper left to lower right, within a maximum vertical range of 155º and a horizontal range of 360º. The robot then moves and fires the camera precisely through a grid of columns and rows (the photographer can choose the order), overlapping the images as necessary to facilitate reassembly in the GigaPan software. The composited file is very, very detailed, with the kind of optimum resolution and color fidelity large-format film photographers sought with their 4x5 and 8x10 view cameras. A typical "gigarama," for me, using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a 200mm lens, might cover six rows and 24 columns, resulting in an approximate finished file of about one gigabyte at 8-bits. Now you know why it's called a GigaPan. RAW files captured with longer telephotos can easily reach two gigabytes in size at 8-bits. What does that really mean? Divide your finished 8-bit file size by three to determine the megapixel count of the equivalent camera. I calculated a recent capture of Mount Rushmore at 473 megapixels. You might think that managing these kinds of file sizes requires some serious computer power, but I processed the Mount Rushmore GigaPan on my MacBook Pro with 4 GB of RAM. First, I bring all of the RAW images captured by the GigaPan into Lightroom, then select one image from the sequence that's representative of the exposure range of the entire scene, typically a section at the edge of the horizon that includes both sky and foreground. Using the sharpening, contrast and color-enhancement tools, I optimize the single frame; then, using the Lightroom Sync function, I apply the same changes automatically to all the other frames in the series. Next, I convert all the RAW files to 8-bit TIFF files; then I use the GigaPan Stitch software, much improved and faster in the latest version, to composite all of the frames into one large file. Finally, I go to Photoshop CS5 to crop, clean and otherwise fine-tune the composited image. CS5 will work with TIFF files up to 4 gigabytes in size, while earlier versions will manage a maximum 2 GB file in TIFF format. You can reduce your file sizes by making your initial captures in JPEG format, especially if you don't intend to make gigantic prints from the finished file. Anyone can upload a GigaPan to the GigaPan.org website, where viewers can zoom into the image Google Earth-like and tag particularly interesting features. Look around the site to enjoy tours of Paris and Dubai to see how amazing this software is. | |||||
| The Art Of Travel Photography | |
Ever since early photographers began capturing images of faraway places in the mid-19th century, travel photography has enthralled people with tantalizing glimpses of distant lands. Even before the dawn of air travel, photography was shrinking our world by transporting us to foreign countries. Thanks to an assortment of intrepid photographers who roamed the globe looking for the unusual and the exotic, magazines like National Geographic brought the outside world to living rooms across America. Today, many of us travel with cameras in search of evocative images. But as pictures from around the globe flood the Internet and publicize many of the world's photo hot spots, it's harder than ever to find unique shots. When was the last time you saw a fresh composition of Yosemite Valley or the Taj Mahal? Are there really any new ways left to depict lions while on a Kenyan safari? How do we find compelling images without slipping into cliché? As a working travel photographer, my approach to shooting a destination begins even before I pack my bags. My pre-trip planning includes compiling a thorough shot list for the location. Beginning with specific requests from the client, I find more ideas from browsing stock photo sites to see how a location has been covered by others. Bookstores and the library carry photo books covering diverse locales, and tourism websites often feature regional photo galleries. These potential shots become the foundation of my itinerary as I organize them by location, best time of day to shoot and proximity to other shots. Intimate slice-of-life shots are another way to bring the viewer closer to a culture or an area. A shopkeeper with her wares, a close-up of flowers or local cuisine, and architectural details enhance the visual story begun by grand panoramas and sweeping cityscape shots.As I move down my list and tick off the standard shots that identify the destination, I also look for new ways to interpret those icons. Leaving well-trodden routes to wander backstreets, climb hills and search for rooftop views gets me seeing in different ways. Some of my favorite shots happened only because I veered away from the familiar. Intimate slice-of-life shots are another way to bring the viewer closer to a culture or an area. A shopkeeper with her wares, a close-up of flowers or local cuisine, and architectural details enhance the visual story begun by grand panoramas and sweeping cityscape shots. Every destination has something that distinguishes it from others. Spend time walking the streets or trails, and sooner or later those elements will reveal themselves. | |
| Add People For Impact | |
 When it comes to photographing people, portraiture is often the first word that comes to mind. This brings thoughts of face shots, head and shoulder images, and even full-length body photos. But people photography doesn’t need to be restricted to these criteria. Strong images can be made where a person is secondary in size to the overall composition. So much so, great images can be made where the person takes up less than five percent of the photo yet is an integral component. I like to incorporate people into my landscape pictures as they tend to be better sellers. Before I decide whether or not I want to do this, I first determine if the composition is strong enough as a standalone image. If the answer is yes, I study it to decide upon a strategic placement of the subject. This often turns out to be one of the power points or what's referred to as the Rule of Thirds. Power points fall at intersecting lines of an imaginary tic-tac-toe board drawn over the viewfinder. Place the subject at one of these intersections to add strength to the image and prevent a bull’s-eyed center of interest.
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| Send In The Clouds | |
 Clouds can be integral components of landscape photographs. They provide dramatic color at sunrise and sunset, they take a featureless blue sky and add interest, they add shadows and highlights to the environment, and they impart mystery to impending storms. As nice as clear sunrises and sunsets can be, there's nothing like the drama of colorfully painted skies or carefully placed cumulus or lenticular clouds. They can often be as important as the key element in the landscape. FAIR WEATHER: Fair-weather clouds add interest to blank blue skies. As mornings progress, fair weather clouds begin to billow. It's at this point when they make the best subjects. When they get too thick, they cover too much blue and result in a lack of color and contrast. When using them in a composition, be patient and wait for the wind to carry them into areas that help balance the composition.
RISE + SET: When I run my photo tour to the Oregon coast and there are no clouds in the sky, my tag line is, "The coast is clear." Yet I'd prefer to talk about a magnificent cloud-filled sky. Shooting into the setting sun with nothing to diffuse its brightness causes flare. It's also associated with a lack of color or drama in the sky. When the right amount of clouds is coupled with clear skies below the horizon, the sky can go electric. It's situations like these that make the color equally as important as the foreground subject. EQUIPMENT AND TECHNICAL ASPECTS: There's no magic lens or focal length to use when shooting clouds. Let your pre-visualized composition determine how you frame the image. With regards to filters, use a polarizer to punch up the contrast of the sky and cloud patterns. When shooting sunset, use a filter that adds warmth. With regards to exposure, take a meter reading to the left or right of the sun. If you include it, you'll end up with dark photos. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | |
| Close-Up Wide-Angle | |||
Very early on in my career, I heard a "rule" in photography: "Don't use wide-angles up close." The conventional wisdom was that you shouldn't use a wide-angle lens up close because it would distort the subject or make it unflattering. At first, I paid attention to that alleged rule. I certainly didn't want to go against photographers who seemed to know a lot more than I did. And, to be honest, I couldn't afford very wide-angle lenses because, in that pre-zoom era, you had to buy a separate lens for every focal length you wanted to shoot with.
Ever since then, I've always wanted to push what can be done with wide-angle lenses up close. I'm not talking simply about true close-up and macro shooting, though that's part of it. I'm interested in any shot that brings me close to a subject, whether I'm shooting a flower or a landscape. Yes, wide-angles up close can give a look that appears distorted, but technically that's usually not true distortion. What you're seeing is an extreme rendition of perspective because of how close you are to the subject, and that extreme look can be dramatic.
1 Perspective. Perspective is the way that objects change size as they recede in distance from you. The classic example is a line of telephone poles going off into the distance. The poles get smaller with distance, and that's perspective. Perspective changes when those size relationships start changing, and that occurs when you get close with a wide-angle lens. It's not the lens that's causing the perspective change, but your position relative to the subject or other objects in your photo. The lens allows you to see a wider view from that position, which changes how we perceive perspective. The foreground gets big and the background gets small. This allows you to change the size relationships of objects in your photo. Photographers often think about using less depth of field to make a background softer so it doesn't compete with the subject. With a wide-angle lens up close, you can make the background much smaller, which may help the subject stand out better, and you can also make it so small that you can get a big area of sky to put behind your subject, also helping the subject stand out. | |||
| Solutions: Beat The Blur |
 The most frustrating occurrence in nature photography is returning home with a card full of images and finding that your prized shots are soft. It happens far too frequently, and it's positively demoralizing. You might think that the ability to instantly review on a DSLR's LCD would have long since prevented this from happening, but small LCD monitors, with their glowing screens and rich, saturated colors, can, in fact, give you a false sense of security about the sharpness in your images unless you zoom way in to examine the detail. Softness occurs when either the lens isn't focusing properly or the camera or subject is moving and thus creating a blur. In this brief article, we're going to look at motion blur that's introduced from the camera and how to avoid it. Of all the potential elements of nature photography that can result in softness, camera shake is among the easiest to avoid. What's required is attention to detail. Minimum Handholding Speed The minimum handholding speed rule says to take the reciprocal of the equivalent focal length that you're shooting at and make that the shutter speed. For example, you have a 70-200mm lens on an APS-C DSLR and you're using it zoomed to 150mm, you'd have an equivalent focal length of about 225mm, so 1⁄250 sec. would be the minimum handholding speed. However, this is really more like a guideline than a rule because everyone is different, and some can hold a camera steadier than others. Using this guideline, it's a good idea to do some tests to see what works for you and be aware that, as you get to wider-angle lenses, things break down. We've never seen anyone who could get a sharp handheld shot at 1⁄20 sec. even when shooting at 20mm. Also, at very long focal lengths, things break down, as well. Handholding 800mm is nearly impossible. Be conservative. The Tripod Or Other Support This is a no-brainer. A tripod will hold the camera steady, so use one. Everyone knows this, and yet the tripod is always the piece of gear that gets left in the car. Besides using it, to be effective, your tripod and head should be sturdy enough to properly hold your rig. Also, beware of overextending the legs or center column. If there's a breeze blowing, you'll want to bolster the tripod by adding some weight, like your camera bag, which you can hang onto a hook or wrap around the legs. Even on a tripod, though, you need to be aware of your shutter speed, which leads us to the next point. Mirror Lockup You can still end up with camera shake even if you're using a solid tripod and head on a day with no wind. When you trip the shutter on your DSLR, you're doing two things that can kill sharpness. First, you're depressing the shutter button, and second, you're making the mirror flip up and out of the way. Both of these actions can create a surprising amount of camera shake even when the camera is on a good support. There's a limited range of shutter speeds where this kind of camera shake is most noticeable—from about 1⁄8 to 1⁄30 sec. Within this range, use your mirror lockup function and the camera's self-timer to avoid blur-inducing camera shake. |
| Let It Evolve | ||
 As your ability to create better photographs evolves, you shoot fewer frames, as you don't recreate mistakes you made in the past. Within this concept of evolution lives a mini world of wanting to capture the best image for every situation you encounter. As your skills grow, you become more selective before you make an exposure. And when you edit, you keep only the best.
Study the LCD, and ask yourself what you can do to improve the picture; perhaps a touch of flash to open up the shadows; perhaps the addition of a warm toned reflector would be beneficial; maybe zoom the lens to add a creative twist. The next time you choose to "click and run," refrain from leaving your subject too early. Review the image on the LCD and ask yourself how you can apply the above tips to wind up with a winner—let it evolve! Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | ||
| Use Flash In Manual Mode To Control The Background | ||
 Flash has to be the most under rated piece of photo equipment on the market. Most people associate flash with taking pictures at night or indoors if the light level is insufficient. Its uses go far beyond these reasons. So much so, flash has evolved into a complete system. Books, DVD’s and workshops are specifically devoted to the topic. A technique I’ve incorporated into my flash repertoire is to put my camera in manual-metering mode, set a specific shutter speed and aperture, attach a flash to the hot-shoe, and let the camera and flash technology provide me with perfect exposures.
Step 2: I wanted to tone down the bright sky spots as I found them very distracting. I accomplished this by setting my shutter speed to 1/125 of a second. In essence, I underexposed the background by two stops from the original image made at 1/30th. Manual mode enabled me to do this as the shutter speed and aperture work
The reason this works is the shutter regulates how long the camera’s sensor sees the light. The aperture dictates the amount of light the flash puts out. In that I kept the aperture constant in the two exposures, the flash output remained the same. In that I changed the shutter speed from 1/30th to 1/125th, I created a two-stop differential in how long the sensor saw the ambient light. This resulted in the darker background. The same effect could be achieved in Aperture priority by dialing in two stops underexposure, but depending on your custom settings, you’d also dial down the power on the flash. Rather than change my custom settings, I find it far easier to go into Manual mode and let it rip. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | ||
| Start Selling Your Prints | |
 Part of the natural progression of becoming a better photographer comes the thought of how to make money with it. Shooting portraits or weddings, entering the world of stock and submitting images to calendar or card companies are all options, but they’re highly competitive. A good way to start producing income is by selling prints of your best work. Chances are, you won’t be able to quit your day job, but when someone acknowledges your work as art, it provides motivation to continue the pursuit. Start Small Most photographers’ first sales come from a friend or family member. Depending on your benevolence and relationship with the buyer, it may mean you provide the print at cost, but once the image is hung, it’s free advertising. If Aunt Barbara is having a holiday party and 50 people see your image in her home, it may lead to sales down the road.
When visiting restaurants, pubs, banks, coffee shops, etc., make a point of looking at the walls to see if they’re in need of art work. Speak with the manager, and ask if he or she would be willing to have you provide photographs to decorate their walls at no cost to them. The give-back is you would receive 100% of the profit from image sales. It means you’ll need to develop a portfolio to show the decision makers your work. It also means an investment in time and money, but the amount of traffic each location receives should pay off in the long run. Be Your Own Toughest Critic Display only your BEST work. Emphatically eliminate pictures that are even slightly out of focus, have distractions or lack impact. It’s better to hang five great prints than 15 average ones. Many fine-art photographers introduce only one or two new pieces each year out of their entire 12-month inventory. Think quality rather than quantity. Website Many photographers host their own website and sell their work through it. If you decide to pursue this route, keep the site simple and make the ordering of prints easy for the buyer. Potential purchasers don’t want to navigate a multitude of pages to get price, size, shipping, etc., information. Start small but think big! Visit www.russburdenphotography.com | |
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| Core Knowledge: Working With Remotes |
 There are two things you should always remember about radio remotes:One, radio can be fickle. This is true whether you are using your time-honored PocketWizards or a brand new Chinese offering. Two, radio waves -- and success with your remotes -- are all about the physics. So a little knowledge can go a long way toward ensuring good range and reliability. Some basics that every lighting photographer should know, inside. Read more »   |
| Tyler Stableford: Dispatches From the Underground |
 Aspen, Colorado-based photographer Tyler Stableford generally shoots action and adventure, most of it aboveground. But this shoot for Timberland PRO would send him a half-mile deep into the earth. That far down, before adding light it is absolutely pitch black. As in, you cannot see your hand in front of your face. And the lights the miners use while extracting coal there aren't much friendlier -- low-level, and a mix of tungsten and fluorescents. So Stableford shot the entire campaign working on the edge of the quality envelope, and lighting with only a few speedlights. Read more »   |
| Q&A: Dealing with Glare from Dark Wood Backgrounds |
 Reader Jefferson, from California in the US, asked via Twitter:"How do you deal with glare on dark wood in background for portraits? Is this covered in Lighting 101 or 102?" Actually, it is covered in L102, if a little obliquely. And yes, pretty much any time you light into dark wood as a background you are gonna get some blowback. But rather than look at this as a problem, I prefer to think of it as a feature… Read more »   |
| Ono Shouichi: The Spirit of a Century |
 Photos © Ono Shouichi  By Irwin Wong -- Multi-light setups, gear reviews and lighting tricks are all worthwhile food for thought. But when people are looking back at your life’s work, will you be remembered for your lighting or for what you tried to tell the world with your camera? In a long-spanning portrait series, Tokyo-based editorial photographer Ono Shouichi has (to date) photographed two hundred Japanese centenarians. The lighting, while there, is subordinate to the message. As it should be. Read more »   |
| QA: Down the Phase One Rabbit Hole |
| There were a few misconceptions (and a LOT of questions) that popped up in the comments after I wrote about ditching the D4 for a used Phase One camera and back. Videos, answers to Q's and some specific things that convinced me to make the jump, inside. Read more »   |
| Kodak Files for Bankruptcy |
On the day when just about every photographer over 30 pauses to consider Kodak's filing for bankruptcy, a poignant video. The once-dominant company obviously knew it was already in trouble at this point, but still came out swinging in a refreshing appeal to the future. Considering this was made in 2006 (and how quickly things have happened since) the video was pretty darn prescient. In the end, all of these things did happen. Just without the need for Kodak. -30-   |
| On Assignment: Dude for LumiQuest |
 I shot the original ad for the LumiQuest Soft Box III back in 2008, using a pre-production sample. I love that light mod, and use it all of the time. So when Quest Couch asked me to shoot a second version for the bigger LTp and left the subject matter up to me, I eagerly started looking for a subject. Read more »   |
| Gulf Photo Plus 2012: See You in Dubai |
 The best part about facing the oncoming winter in Maryland is knowing I am gonna bail for a week of 80-degree days in Dubai at Gulf Photo Plus. It's my favorite annual photo event of all, and the only teaching gig I am planning for the whole year. Heisler's coming back. Dave Burnett is coming. Martin Prihoda, too. And of course many of the regulars will be there. On top of that, I'm especially excited to be teaching a completely different set of classes this year. Read more »   |
| A Few Pointers on Beauty Photography |
Ed. Note: For obvious reasons, do not try this at home without using extreme care. I'll say it again: do not try this at home without using extreme care. Seriously, kid. You'll put your eye out. -DH Photos ©Ludovic Taillandier  By Sara Lando -- Paris-based photographer Ludovic Taillandier (NSFW-ish) specializes in advertising, fashion and beauty. (And occasionally, apparently, novelty electronics.) Today, a look at the making of his futuristic Tronized Beauty series. Read more »  |
| BTS: Time Magazine's Protesters |
 Seldom do we get such a long-form look at the production of what is quickly becoming an iconic group of photos. The BTS video below is of Peter Hapak's assignment to cover the world-wide protester phenomenon in 2011, for the Time cover story in which they were collectively named Person of the Year.I have watched it several times now -- as a journalist, a photographer, a lighting guy and certainly as a human. There's a lot to learn. Read more »   |
| Bailing on the Nikon D4 |
Apologies for slightly off-topic post. But given my gear path to date, this is not exactly one I was gonna slip under the rug. I think every long-term photographer has an interesting and very personal journey leading to their current gear bag. Here's mine. It was almost 30 years ago, but still remember the first day I stepped into the Nikon pro flagship line. At the time I owned a Nikkormat FTN, a 50/2 and a 200/4. And then I saw the ad in the classifieds of the Eustis News. Some guy was selling a Nikon F, with a full bag of pro lenses, for like $600. I couldn't afford it. But my friend and fellow photographer John Ashley was also a young Nikon shooter, having gotten a job at the local Leesburg Daily Commercial right out of high school. And he was looking for some gear, too. As luck would have it our needs were almost complimentary. So we pooled our money (mine from mowing lawns) and bought the bag together, divvying up the spoils. I forget all of the split details, but I think I walked away with a 24/2.8, a 105/2.5, a 300/4.5 -- and a Nikon F body. It was the happiest day of my life up to that point. I now owned a Nikon flagship camera and bag of lenses -- if only the 13-year-old versions. Since then I have worked as a photojournalist with the F2, F3, F4 and F5 before switching to digital. Then it was the D1, the D2 and D3. So the decision to switch horses rather than go with the D4 was a big deal for me. Read more »   |
| Layer Slayer Dave Hill Peels the Onion at Valio Con |
 More than a few of you can kiss your productivity goodbye for the next hour. From a tech/creative conference last summer comes this long-form video of a presentation by LA-based photographer Dave Hill.It's a straight video grab from the conference room, so there is no contrast in the images. But still, great stuff. In the full-length vid after the jump, Dave talks about bootstrapping, five-finger optical discounts at prop shops, hand drawing curly beards on dudes in Photoshop and even his very first composite portrait. Read more »   |
| Lighting in the Wild |
 Living at the edge of the woods is like living next to a zoo. We get a nonstop stream of animal visitors, perhaps none more majestic than this eight-point white-tailed deer. Mature bucks are notoriously very crafty and skittish. That's how you live long enough to be a mature buck. But this guy visits us regularly, and has become a little more acclimated to the sound of my shutter release. Enough so, that I am starting to plan how I am going to light him … Read more »   |
| Another Year Passes in a Flash |
 The last week of the year is special, and one to be taken advantage of. I spend it balancing time between family/friends and looking back at the past year while preparing for the next one. There are some cool things lined up for 2012 already, but today's post is about looking back. Herewith, the favorite posts of 2011 -- mine, and yours... Read more »   |
| Shooting Holiday Lights, Redux |
 A lot of you have been tweeting or otherwise sharing the 2006 post on How to Photograph Christmas Lights (thanks!) so I thought it merited a refresh. Included are updated photos, tips on dealing with LEDs and a video that should totally make sense to your your point-and-shoot friends. We are hunkered down and in full-bore holiday mode -- including, as seen above, a trip to cut down our tree the other evening. Strobist will be back the day after Christmas with the traditional end-of-year B.O.S. post. Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays to all. -30-   |
| Making a Case for the Beauty Dish |
 When posting on my four favorite soft light mods, I included a beauty dish but lamented the necessity of a dedicated case to keep it from getting scuffed up. Dishes aren't cheap to begin with, and neither are decent cases. Problem solved... Read more »   |
| Five-Digit Studio Flash Catfight: Broncolor vs. Profoto |
 As Profoto and Broncolor battle for supremacy in the high-end studio flash world, things are getting all like, "Rawrrr, nice sweater. Does it come in your size?" And just like Lexus and Infinity luxury car ads, they each want to point out their being better in some measurable way. Witness this Broncolor-produced "real-world shootout"… Read more »   |
| Brad Trent's In-Camera Digital Man |
 I didn't see this on Damn Ugly Photography (sorry Brad) until it was picked up by the Profoto blog, in itself a Damn Good Blog. (Especially when you consider it is run by a buncha tie-wearin' corporate weenies…)Brad Trent's "Digital Man" was created in-camera with a mix of surprisingly simple lighting, some crucial on-axis fill … and a $10,000 light mod. Definitely worth a few minutes of lost cubicle productivity on a Wednesday. :: Brad Trent's $10K Digital Man :: and... :: How To Do This for Less Than $10k :: -30-   |
| Rewind The Flash Bus: Now on Video |
 Above: Flash Bus Busted, Phoenix, AZThis spring, for reasons still largely unknown to the logical side of my brain, I signed on to a 42-day, 12,531 mile road trip. It was not a decision taken lightly. On the one hand, we'd be getting up at oh-dark-thirty every morning after sleeping in a coffin-sized bunk on a moving bus. On the other hand, I'd get to hang out up-close-and-personal with one of the true legends of the photographic community. I am speaking of course of McNally's first assistant, Drew Gurian. On April 6th, we pulled into the Pennsylvania Convention center in Philadelphia. By then we pretty much had our stuff together, and the bad jokes weren't getting any better. So we figured we should film it. Read more »   |
| Q&A: Controlling the Sun When Using Flash - A Comparative Guide |
| After Monday's post lighting a soccer player into the sun at a wide aperture, several questions came up via comments and Twitter about the relative benefits of doing this in different ways. Yes, there are different ways to do it -- namely ND, high-speed sync and special-chip cameras. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. The full how-to and scorecard, inside. Read more »   |
| Read Strobist on Google Currents |
 With a dozen SB's and a shoe box full of AA's, Strobist is all about being mobile. Google has just launched their answer to Flipboard, and for those of you mobile readers who choose to download the app, the site is available on that platform.The app is free for iOS or Android users, and you can download it here. Once installed, hit the magnifying glass search icon at the bottom right of the app and search "strobist". It is only US on launch, but that should change soon enough. -30-   |
| Soccer Through Sunset |
 Any time I am shooting an outside portrait and the start time is up to me, I am for an hour before sunset. The reason is simple: You know the light is gonna just get better and better until it is time to wrap it up. That's exactly how it was with a shoot last week of local soccer standout Zach Johnson. But this time we veered away from the normal afternoon/sunset game plan a little. Read more »   |
| Speedlinks: 'The Office' Edition |
 I'm still an old-school guy when it comes to developing projects. I like to keep my ideas on physical surfaces. And without whiteboards in The Cave, we revert to stickies. Like, everywhere. Today's speedlinks are office-themed; one an actual shoot-in-a-boring-office solution and another to show what can be done with … a lot of stickies. Read more »   |
| Dean Bradshaw: Putting the Pieces Together |
 Photos © Dean Bradshaw"Photography has taken me to some amazing places and allowed me to meet people I would never have had the opportunity to otherwise meet," says Aussie transplant Dean Bradshaw, who now works in Southern California. "For me it has been a lifestyle and a way of interacting with the world more than just something I do to pay the bills." Bradshaw said that he likes to think of photography as the intersection between art and real life. But that intersection doesn't always happen spontaneously. Usually it takes perseverance, serendipity, bootstrapping and an ability to pre-visualize the pieces of a photo before they ever comes together. Case in point, the process of creating the image of a San Diego breakdancer, above. Read more »   |
| Giving Back With Your Camera |
 It's Thanksgiving, a day when many people in the US will eat way too much food and then collapse on the couch to watch the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers on the teevee. (Heh.) But thoughts of giving thanks often prompt thoughts of giving back. And there is a lot of collective talent among the readers of this site. So today, a bit of an open thread on ideas for giving back with your camera. I'll start off with a few specific suggestions from my own experience, but I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Read more »   |
Last Updated: July 6, 2010