Monthly Archives: December 2011

Beginner’s mistake

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I don’t make those, right?

Of course I do – but then I fix them.

At a recent talk at Seneca College I shot my “assistant-for-the-evening” Kim in a test shot, using the usual settings (ISO 400, 1/40th sec, f/4; and the flash on TTL, aimed 45 degrees behind me):

Kim Gorenko assisting (Photo: Michael Willems)

Uh oh, too dark. What?

Oh. (Hits forehead)! White or yellow bright walls, a white top: TTL metering will of course get this wrong and will underexpose (just like ambient metering would).

So let’s set FEC (flash exposure compensation) to +1 stop and let’s try that again:

Kim Gorenko assisting (Photo: Michael Willems)

That’s a lot better! (And then you can fine-tune from there). Notice how the ambient is the same (background), but the flashed part of the picture (her) is now brighter.

Often, when people say “TTL flash metering is unpredictable” they mean “I haven’t quite thought it through”, and this was such a case. Problem solved, and I should have done this even before the first test shot – but then, that is why you take test shots!

Interested in lighting? Consider some private coaching, where I explain all, you get to practice and take actual shots, and all will become clear. The December/January special is still on: 10% off during those months.

Michael’s Top Ten Dicta

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Legally speaking, a Dictum is “a statement of opinion or belief considered authoritative though not binding, because of the authority of the person making it”. More generally, it is “a noteworthy statement: as (a) : a formal pronouncement of a principle, proposition, or opinion; (b) : an observation intended or regarded as authoritative.” Google it if you want.

So, assuming you know me and trust my judgement, you may well be interested in my Top Ten Dicta:

  1. Bright pixels are sharp pixels. The more you make your subject bright pixels, the more it will be sharp and crisp. Noise hides in the darkness, like cockroaches. Light your subject and it becomes sharp.
  2. Go wide and get close. Wide angles combined with proximity to something introduces depth and perspective into y our images.
  3. Indoors flash: point your flash up, 45 degrees behind you. This gives you the correct light angle for close-by portraits, like in events.
  4. Indoors flash: Use the “4-4-4″ rule” as your camera setting starting point: Camera on manual, 400 ISO, 1/40th sec, f/4. Then adjust for brighter or darker rooms, to give average ambient exposure of around -2 stop.
  5. Turn baby turn. Feel free to angle your shots whenever you like. Composition, simplifying, energy: whatever your reasons. It’s cool, it’s allowed.
  6. You, and the lens, make the picture. Cameras are cool – I buy a lot of them – but the picture is made by you – even an iPhone can produce cool shots – and more technically, by the lens. A good lens on a cheap body is great. A cheap lens on a good body, not so much.
  7. Go Prime If You Can. Prime lenses lose on convenience but win in every other way. I love my 35mm f/1.4 lens.
  8. Use off-centre composition and the rule of thirds in your compositions.
  9. Get close: fill the frame. This so often makes your images better, it is worth stressing as a Dictum.
  10. Simplify! Ask yourself: is everything in my image the subject or the supporting background? If not, get rid of it. A circle has 360 degrees.

That’s my wisdom in a nutshell. Do you know, understand, feel, and above all use all ten principles above?

Learn about these and much more in one of my training or private coaching sessions. There is 10% December Discount – this is a great time to consider buying a friend a session with me: buy a Gift Certificate for the holiday season!

Ph(x)=Fn(p)

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In my nonsense shorthand, this means “photography is problem-solving”. And it always is.

Take the other night, when I shot a classical concert – Händel’s Messiah, by Masterworks of Oakville. Among my challenges were:

  • Low light!
  • The required white balance is non-standard.
  • No flash allowed.
  • Close-ups and long shots both needed.
  • You do not want to get in the way of the audience.
  • Finding the right position – be close.
  • The organizers had made it known that I was not to move around…
  • The conductor had asked me not to make clicking sounds! Ouch.

As you see, I had my work cut out for me. So how did I handle all this?

  1. I used the right equipment – only f/2.8 lenses. 16-35 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8 and I had primes and a small camera.
  2. I shot everything at 1600 ISO. f/2.8 and 1600 ISO gave me acceptable shutter speeds.
  3. I arrived early, so I was right behind the orchestra, about 30cm from the soloists.
  4. I had three cameras. My main cameras had a 16-36 wide and 70-200 long lens.
  5. I set these two big Canon 1D4/1Ds3 cameras to “silent” shutter (a little quieter than normal).
  6. I also disabled all beeps.
  7. But I shot all shots of quiet passages with my Fuji X100, which is totally silent.
  8. I shot RAW, allowing me to tune white balance afterward.
  9. I angle shots to ensure the size of the crowd is emphasized.
  10. Shoot detail.
  11. Show all angels – choir, soloists, audience, the works.
  12. Fill the frame!
  13. Shoot the right moments. Emotion is good…

A few of the resulting images:

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Final note: also shoot “establishing shots”: the venue, the show notes, and so on.

Shooting converts is fun if stressful – and using techniques like these, that stress can be handled.

 

SB-900 update

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Nikon has just announced the SB-910 flash. An update designed mainly, I imagine, to address the main problem that haunted both the SB-900 and SB-800 flashes: they readily overheated. The SB-800 would break; the SB-900 would shut down and beep.

So the SB910 will, I hope for Nikon shooters, do better.

But let’s say you are an SB-800 or SB-900 owner. It is relatively easy to avoid a flash overheating (which by the way my Canon flashes do not suffer from). Here’s a few ideas, and you can combine them:

  • Do not flash continuously. Build in a little pause between flashes.
  • Use multiple flashes instead of one.
  • If you have to, flash direct instead of via modifiers.
  • Use the flash in cooler temperatures.
  • Use lower power: get closer to your subjects.
  • Use lower power: increase your camera’s ISO.

Tip: Use the tools you have. Every tool has its limits. Know what those limits are and work with them, or work around them. Waiting for the ideal tool is not always the best idea: it will never arrive.

So if you now have, say, an SB-900: my advice is, keep it, work with it.