One “detector’ that you should train yourself to have is the “curve-detector”. Curves lead gently through the picture, like a gentle slow journey. Two samples, picked from many:
Both taken on the same day in Gamla Stan: Old Stockholm.
If you want portraits to have that dreamy look, use a lens with a wide aperture (a small F-number, like 2.8).
I took this picture yesterday, using a prime 35mm lens (the Canon 35mm f/1.4L) on a Canon 7D, at an aperture of f/2.5 and a shutter speed of 1/50th second.
That 35mm on a 1.6 crop factor camera is like 50mm on a traditional full frame camera. So it’s a “Nifty Fifty”.
A that focal length, I was able to go quite close to Mr Pumpkin without much distortion, as you can see.
That gives you a very nice look. The close proximity combined with the f/2.5 aperture gives me nice soft bokeh (the creamy quality of the background blur). Even the back of the head is soft.
Beautiful: reason for a smile.
I love black and white, so I thought you might too – in which case you might be interested in the following Quick Tips:
As an illustration, here is an image converted automatically:
Here, I have butchered it (and me – ouch) by dragging ‘orange’ and ‘yellow’ down:
Here, I have done more of an appropriate conversion:
See what I mean? This is equivalent to the old red-yellow-green filters. Except much more interactive and much simpler.
This is what the cat looks like, when shot using my 7D, hand-held using the 35mm f/1.4L lens in available Tungsten light, slightly cropped, at 3200 ISO:
I am not going through the trouble of showing the full crop because I want to make a point. And that point is: we often over-analyse. As you see here, indoors, low light, 3200 ISO with a fast lens, and you get images that look great at 1200 pixels wide and in a moderate-sized print.
So I am planning an “Advanced Flash” workshop in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 3. Read more about it, and sign up for it, here:
http://www.cameratraining.ca/091203-Phoenix.html
If you are a pro or emerging pro in Phoenix, and flash is not your cup of tea- you need to spend this evening with me to hear why flash, and in particular TTL flash, is great once you have mastered it. And to hear that it is not difficult!
Beginners often ask me “why should I buy those lenses with the low F-numbers? Why not buy the standard lens with the 5.6 on the front? They say the lens with the 2.8 on the front is better but I see it takes the same pictures: it’s just more expensive, right?”
Not exactly. The low F-number means the lens has a larger maximum aperture. This means two things: it lets in more light, meaning faster shutter speed; and the ability, should you choose this, to create blurrier backgrounds.
Here’s my hand at F/11. Recently in Scarborough, while the other instructor, Christine, was explaining the effects of the Aperture setting. My hand is as close as the lens will allow while still achieving focus. I am in Aperture mode (“Av”) and have set the camera to a setting of F/11:
Now the same at f/5.6: a much blurrier background, see:
And now, since I have an expensive lens, I can go even farther, to the extreme end of this lens, namely f/1.4. Meaning very wide open. Meaning very blurry background – and when you look carefully, even foreground:
So that is why people buy these lenses with those low F-number – i.e. “fast”lenses. If you want to blur the background dramatically. Or if you want to have the resulting faster shutter speed (at the same ISO, f/1.4 gives a shutter speed four times faster than f/2.8, and 16 times faster than f/5.6).
Whew, what difficult light.
And what a pleasure when you get it right in near-impossible conditions..
Annie Leibovitz shot the official Obama family portrait. You can see it here:
Discussion centres around how truly awful people think this picture is.
I think that is harsh.
The family group composition is good – background, not so much. That background could be more out of focus. And the picture right behind the younger daughter’s head is bad. The cut off picture frames at the top, too. Cut fingers, also. The verticals not being vertical on the right bugs me. Older daughter’s hair is not separated from the background. But awful? The family is nicely positioned. Expressions are good.
All in all, a nice picture that could be better but no doubt Annie had little time and no choice in the location. And the secret service men probably intimidated her. Unless you know the background: easy on Annie, everyone!
What do you think?
I shot an event yesterday, as said. In a club. A challenging environment.
More pics coming soon, but here’s one more, just to give you a taste of what a good camera and good glass can do.
TRIBE. 400 ISO, f/2.8, 1/60th, at 110mm (70-200 2.8L on a 7D), bounce flash
I shot with two cameras:
And they did fine.
The 7D produced some wonderful images – to be posted here with technique tips in the next little while. I am very happy with it.
To start you off, some tips for club shooting:
And of course: have fun.
Shot a club event last night. Wow, that was tough. No light and no bounce options, and inconsistent flash as a result. In the end, I used:
1Ds MkIII, 1600 ISO, f/1.4, 1/30th, Lightsphere
That is:
That finally gave me the light I wanted. Without the 35mm f/1.4L lens I would have been dead in the water. The other shooters were having to aim their flashes straight at their subjects.. brrr.
Biggest problem all night by far: I could not see any of the controls on my camera. That is how dark it was. Rule of thumb: if you cannot see the camera controls, pictures will be difficult.