…set your cameras’ clocks (all your cameras’ clocks) to winter time?
That is, if you live in Europe or North America or some other place where we use Summer and Winter time.
If you do, and you have not yet corrected your cameras’ time, then do it now. Otherwise your EXIF data will be wrong all winter. (Or summer if you live down under, but I do not want to hear about that).
Release Candiadate for Lightroom 2.6 (including 7D support) is avalable here:
http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Lightroom_2.6
I am using it.. and it seems better. And it now supports the 7D properly.
What ISO setting to use? High is good for shooting without blur or shooting in the dark but gives you noise (“grain”). What is optimal?
The following may help.
If you do not use AUTO ISO, my rule of thumb for starting points is:
You can vary from there of course, but you will not be far off.
Here’s an 800 ISO handheld image (it won me a media award):
Yes.. but what type of light?
One reason light is such a complicated subject is that there are so many ways of describing it; so many different aspects to light. You might think “it’s just photons”. Yes, but you can usefully talk about the light’s:
And also, in a picture, about such things as:
All these properties can vary, so all these are useful ways to describe light. “What is the light” should really talk about all six of the top ones… can you see the complexity yet? So we classify them together as “type”. This helps.. a bit. But it is an oversimplification.
In the coming months I will talk about these. For now, try to think in these terms and try to see how the property in questions changes your photos. As an experiment, you may want to do a high-low photo for each property.
When you are shooting flowers, it has to be on a spring morning after a spring rain has gently deposited soft, gentle drops of spring precipitation on every bud:
Or, bring a little plant water spray, with glycerine+water. Just saying!
These are the crowds I like when I speak – this was at the recent Henry’s Photo Show at the International Centre in Toronto last month:
That said – small classes also have their charm. Large groups make it easier for the speaker to see where the interest is – there is a “crowd spirit”, if you will – but small groups are much more individual in nature.
Either way, if you are interested in photography: today is a better time than ever for training. And it is more important than ever that you do it – a few hours’ training saves you years!
If you are new to digital photography, a course will teach you things such as:
The kind of stuff camera manuals will never tell you.
When you use AA or AAA batteries, like those in your flash, use rechargeables. But they lose 10% of their charge on day 1 and 2% each subsequent day. Worse, your batteries are NiMH so they have a “memory effect”.
The solution:
Problem solved!
I have three of these Lacrosse chargers.
I have bought a few new strobes: 400 Ws Bowens “Gemini” strobes.
They come with two light stands and silver/white reflective/shoot through umbrellas, which is good. And these strobes work wonderfully.
These replace my older strobes, most of which died. That brand shall remain nameless while the maker has a chance to get back to me: I emailed twice and await a response. Fully 75% of the eight lights from that brand that I have owned died or started acting strange (like flashing by themselves, or refusing to flash at lower power settings). We’ll see if there is any response – only fair to give them that chance before I comment further.
Bowens, meanwhile, are good.
This recent studio portrait I did of Robert the Real Estate Agent (see http://www.lofthunting.ca) neatly illustrates something: the importance of orientation.
Here’s the shot straight up:
And here, tilted slightly to the left:
Much more dynamic! Tilting, even slightly, gives pictures a dynamic feel.
Stop down if you want even brightness across your image.
Or, on the other hand, open your lens to the wides stop if you want vignetting – often, for instance in portraits, it is an advantage.
Here is my ceiling, shot with my Canon 7D, with the 35mm lens fully open at f/1.4:
And the same shot at f/2.0, just one stop from fully open:
Can you see how the first one is vignetted, meaning it is darker along the edges? Save both images and flip rapidly between them, if it is not obvious to you here. You’ll see the difference, I promise.
(Yes, and this is on a crop camera. Let’s debunk the myth that this only happens on full-frame cameras.)
So: want vignetting? Then open your aperture all the way. Or want even brightness? Stop down by one or two stops.