Pythagoras Today

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I am often asked: “why do you tilt?” in some pictures?

For many reasons, as I have pointed out before here: to get a more dynamic picture; to move the important subject into the Rule of Thirds areas; and so on – but also, very often, for a simple and alomost “pedestrian” reason: Pythagoras.

What I mean is this: the hypotenuse of a right-angle triangle is longer than either of the other sides.

Take a photo: a rectangle with 3:2 ratio of the sides. Pythagoras teaches us that the hypotenuse is the longest line in that square: if the long side is, say, 3 units long, and the short side is 2 units long, then the length of the hypotenuse is the square root of (3 squared plus 2 squared), or the square root of 13, which is about 3.6.

So if the 200-400m f/4 lens a friend was buying does not fit and I can neither zoom out or step back, then I turn my camera diagonally – and now it fits.

Simple, and a very valid reason to turn and tilt. And often, a more dynamic and artistic photo results – and that is added bonus,.

And yes, the sail boat too was a case of deliberate tilt.

 

Fear nothing but fear itself.

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Certainly, on new pro cameras (and soon on all), do not fear ISO.

Here’s a shot at 51,200 ISO (with a little Lightroom noise cancellation applied):

So now we can shoot handheld on the freeway as a car gets to exactly 250,000 km… no worries, just go to high ISO, find a brighht spot to focus on (or use manual focus), and away you go. (Be sure to expose well: pushing the exposure will result in more noise; pulling it will reduce noise).

 

Photography is drawing with….

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…light!

And to once again explain how important this is, let me show you a few images of two toonies ($2 coins). All I changed between them was the direction of the light.

Neutral:

Aimed behind:

Backlit:

Dull:

As you see, a small change in the nature or direction of the light makes a huge difference.

And the same is true in any photo ytou make. So always ask yourself: where is the light coming from? How is it hitting my subject? How contrasty is it? What colour is it? And so on.

I bet that just asking that question will make your photos better.

 

Tardy Tuesday

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A late post today – but since I have no boss, late is OK.

A quick tip for beginners: always make sure your lens is set to allow autofocus! (Set the switch on the side of the lens to “AF”, or “A/M”. If you set it to “M” or “MF”, you are disabling the autofocus system. A very common beginner’s mistake… and all your images are blurry. So, every time you change lenses, ensure you are set to autofocus. And if the camera refuses to focus, check the switch. And on some Nikon cameras, also ensure that the switch on the side of the camera is set to AF-S (usually) or AF-C (action).

 

Miscellany Monday

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Miscellany Monday, here on speedlighter.ca!

First: I am selling my Canon 1Ds Mk3. See the ad here: http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/oak/pho/3277248183.html – if you are interested, contact me!

Second: The next few weeks, I am teaching my workshops at Vistek Mississauga – there are spots open, so take them right now!  Book here now.

  • Sep 22: DSLR Basics plus DSLR Advanced
  • Sep 29: Exposure and Composition, plus Basic Lighting for portrait and table-top photography
  • Oct 13: On-Location Mississauga Walk

Third: helping a student with his T3i Rebel the other day, I realized I need to point out something. Namely, metering, and in particular flash metering for shots where you use a flash as well as ambient light.

  • On a Canon 1-series body, evaluative metering is biased heavily toward the focus point. So if I compose a shot with the subject on the side, and I use a single focus point on the right to achieve that, metering will be biased towards the subject.
  • But on lower-end Canon cameras, evaluative metering is often biased toward the centre. So the camera in the shot above would try to light the centre, and would overexpose the subject.

If you see this phenomenon, you have several options.

  • You can set metering to average (centre-weighted) – this may just help.
  • Or you can put the subject in the middle and press the * button (flash lock), then recompose and shoot.
  • Or you can use flash compensation.

The thing is not to necessarily attempt to memorize what each camera does. The important lesson here is to realise that metering can make or break a shot, and that you have several options to solve issues that arise from this. As long as you know the fundamentals, you can solve any issue.

 

Scenes

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Sometimes you tell a story by not making things clear.

Like here, from yesterday morning, and what is happening:

Transformer Bumblebee visited Mississauga for three days, courtesy of GM and Dan Bodanis of the Dan Bodanis Band.

The kids lovingly admiring the car are emphasized not by them being sharp, but by the onlooker (that’s Dan) being large and sharp. Your eye goes where his are looking. Then you see the story.

I used a 50mm prime lens on the 1Dx – my 24-70 is in for repair (the moving lens element is loose). Manual mode, 200 ISO, 1/500th second at f/5.6, meaning I used high-speed flash for the fill flash.

Here’s Bumblebee again, still using the 50mm lens:

Wide angles give much more depth of field: f/5.6 again, showing Dan’s wife and son, and using the same storytelling technique:

So today’s lesson: ask what story you are telling, then decide how to tell that using foreground subject and background, and the interaction between them.

 

Golden

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The Golden Hour: when the light turns a beautiful golden colour.

Like Wednesday night on Lake Ontario, while sailing:

Apart from the fact that I used the right lens (35mm on a full frame camera) and the right time of day (the “golden hour” is around sunset), you may want to notice a few things here.

  • First, the composition. Rule of thirds left-right, but symmetrical up-down, because of the reflection in the water, and the boat on the left.
  • Second, I used fill flash, or the boat I was on would have been black.
  • Third, as explained in yesterday’s post, I underexposed the background – or rather, I exposed it correctly to get the correct saturated colours.
  • Fourth, and very importantly: I waited for exactly the right moment. The Decisive Moment, in Cartier-Bresson’s words. The sail is exactly in the middle of the setting sun.

A photo turns from a snapshot into a photograph when you apply a little thought.

 

Open Wide…

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…I mean the lens angle – wide is good.

I have gone sailing the last couple of Wednesdays, and here is an image from last week:

How did I take this dramatic image?

  • I used a wide angle lens: 16mm on a full frame camera, i.e. like using a 10mm lens on a crop camera. On a 33ft boat this is essential to get it all in, but also to create depth.
  • I underexposed the background by a stop or two. Manual mode, 1/80 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100. That’s where I start, with the background. I underexposed it in order to get drama, to get my subjects to be the “bright pixels” once I light them up with flash, and to get deep, saturated colours.
  • Since 1/80th second is well below the maximum flash sync speed, I did not need to use high speed flash, and the flash has its full power output available.
  • And I used the wide angle adapter on the (on camera) flash, to ensure the light goes as wide as the lens is looking.
  • I compose to avoid unwanted shadows.
  • I also aimed up, and I tilted the lens. The latter for three reasons: for “rule of thirds” composition; to get everything in; and to get rid of stuff that does not belong in the image. Simplify, simplify, simplify!

That’s how. You too can produce dramatic images with simple equipment (you do not need a 1Dx!) once you learn how. Keep reading!

(And once you really want to put it all together, come to one of my courses, e.g. at Vistek; but also, consider some one-on-one training. Give me a call to learn how easy that is – you owe it to your photography).

 

Macro fun

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Winter is approaching here in Canada. Yes, soon.

So this winter, take some macro shots. Macro (or close-up) photography is fun because you can engage in it all winter. In your own home. Even a $20 note can look interesting.

To do macro shots you need either a point-and-shoot with a mini tripod, or better, an SLR with a macro lens (a “micro” lens, says Nikon), a tripod, and perhaps wire release. Use manual focus, perhaps in Live View. Avoid wind – that is why inside is good. You may need to shoot at f/16 to f/22 or even beyond if you want depth of field.

And then see what you can come up with. Any object takes on a life of its own when viewed close-up: worlds we never normally see!

(And yes, you can use macro “filters” on top of normal lenses – much cheaper than a lens, but interior quality.)