Light is what you make it

Posted on by
Reply

Night time? No.I took this shot in open daylight, last Saturday during the Advanced Flash course Joseph and I taught at Mono, Ontario:

Scary Drive (Photo Michael Willems)

Scary Drive (Photo Michael Willems)

The lesson here is not how that is done (it is involved, and needs speedlites, pocketwizards, reflectors, light stands, and my SUV), but it is that it can be done. Daylight can look like a scary stormy night.

On the advanced light course we teach you the details – but even before that, you can start playing with flash. Right now. Using one or more external flashes (not the pop-up).

And you should. Because flash can:

  • Make flat surfaces round;
  • Separate subjects from backgrounds;
  • Make dull subjects sharp;
  • Make wrinkled surfaces flat;
  • Make cold surfaces warm;
  • Make blurry motion sharp;
  • Make day into night;
  • Direct the eyes where they otherwise would not go;
  • Give you nice catchlights in the eyes;
  • …even create cars where there aren’t any.

That’s why this blog is called “Speedlighter” – speedlights and other flashes can be the most useful tool a photographer has, after the camera.

So my advice:

  • Get yourself one or more speedlites;
  • Find a way to fire them off-camera: TTL, flash cable, or pocketwizards;
  • Get some modifiers;
  • Stay tuned here, take a course: learn how they all work;
  • And above all, keep shooting.

And your photos will go up to the next level of professionalism and creativity.

Why is my picture blurry?

Posted on by
3

Why is my picture all blurry?

I hear this all the time from both experienced and new photographers.

Well, here’s why.

Focus:

  • You have not focused properly. Solution: select ONE focus point; focus; hold it; and only then shoot.
  • You are using a shallow depth of field. At f/1.4, it is hard to focus.

Subject:

  • Your subject is moving fast. Solution: pan with the subject or increase ISO, open aperture, or shoot the subject at the apex of its jump, say.

Shutter speed:

  • You are using a slow shutter speed (slower than twice the lens length, say, so on a 100mm lens you are using a shutter speed slower than 1/200th second). Solution: open the aperture or increase the ISO).
  • You are using a long lens (say a 300mm lens). On that lens, fast enough shutter speeds are hard to obtain). Solution: Zoom out, increase ISO, open the aperture, or use a tripod.
  • You are not using a tripod when you ought to. Solution? use a tripod!
  • You are using a slow lens. An f/3.5-5.6 consumer lens will never do as well as an f/2.8 pro lens. Solution: need I say?
  • You are using a small aperture, like f/8, when you should be using f/2.8. Solution: open your aperture.

Miscellaneous technique:

  • Your subject is in the dark – where it is muddy and blurry. Solution: Light your subject well.
  • You are not using flash when you should be. Solution: need I say?
  • You are  not using IS/VR. These are great features: stabilized lenses are superb and give you several stops. Solution: get an IS/VR lens.

Equipment:

  • Your camera is faulty – this is very unlikely, but have it checked out.
  • Your lens is faulty – this is also rather very unlikely, but have it checked out.

Clear? (Pun intended). Try all these and you will see your images improve amazingly.  Yes, I know, there are a lot of them. Yes, it’s complicated. But yes… you will take brilliant images once you get all of these right.

Remember these tips:

  • Bright pixels are sharp pixels (that is Willem’s Dictum);
  • Flashed pixels are sharp pixels;
  • VR/IS works;
  • Use one focus spot;
  • Hold the camera right;
  • A tripod is a good thing.

Have fun – a crisp, razor sharp picture really is a joy.

Those funny aperture values – why?

Posted on by
3

Your lens’s aperture comes in those funny numeric values. You all know them:

1.4,  2.0,  2.8,  4,  5,6,  8,  11,  16,  22,  32…

Okay, actually it is f1.4, f2.0, and so on. With an “f”.

Actually it isn’t. Not quite. In fact it is “f/1.4”, “f/2.0”, and so on. The aperture number is a fraction: F divided by that number. That is why a larger F-number means a smaller aperture: when you divide something by a bigger number the result gets smaller.

So why the funny numbers? When I was learning photography I wondered why they did not just choose f/1, f/2, f/3, f/4… and so on.

Here’s why. I know you want to know.

First of all, the f-number indicates:

The f-number, or aperture number, indicates the diameter of the lens opening, expressed as a fraction of the focal length of the lens.

A 100mm lens set to f/4 would have an opening of 25mm (100/4). An 80mm lens set to f/8 would have a diameter of 80/8, or 10 mm.  And so on.

So why the funny numbers? Because those numbers are chosen to halve the light entering the lens with every larger number (or to double it with every smaller number).

To halve the quantity of light entering a circle, you would not divide the diameter of that circle by 2. That would give you a quarter of the light (area = pi x r squared). Instead, you would divide the diameter by the square root of 2.

And that is therefore the ratio between the successive numbers. The square root of 2. (approximately 1.4). Check the numbers: take 1.4 and multiply it with 1.4 and you get 2, which happens to be the next whole aperture stop number. 1.4 times that gives you 2.8. And 1.4 times that gives you 4. And so on.

So now you know why larger f-numbers give you smaller lens opening and hence less light, and you know what’s with the funny numbers. Aren’t you glad you asked?

Battery tips

Posted on by
9

A tip for photographers: batteries. For speedlighters like me, these are very important – so here are a few tips.

  • Camera batteries are Lithium-Ion (LiIon). A battery technology that is used in most of your cameras. LiIon batteries do not need to be “fully discharged before charging”. You can charge them any time, even after just using 10% of the batteries. So go ahead and charge them daily. Never leave home without a full camera battery.
  • Also, if you have not used a spare battery (you do have one, yes?) for a month, charge it (top it up).
  • Flash batteries are NiMH, and these do have a slight memory effect. So use them up fully at least once a month. Better, get a conditioning charger like a Lacrosse (these can fully discharge the batteries before recharging). Also, these batteries “self discharge” in a month or two (some “low self discharge” batteries take longer, but they still discharge!). So recharge regularly.
  • Light meter batteries are specialized. And they last a long time. And they run out when you need the meter… so, carry a spare.
  • Pockwizard batteries: here you do not use rechargeables, which self discharge. but you use quality Alkaline batteries (low self discharge rate).
  • Strobe batteries: (i.e. those heavy optional batteries for outside use of large flashes): These are lead-acid, like your car battery, and should be kept charged. No memory effect here, either. They must not be discharged fully.

And did I mention “always carry a spare set”?

Finally: when shooting an event or a commercial shoot, or anything else, even a family picnic: make it a routine to replace your flash batteries before you start each section. That way you will not run out.

Flash why?

Posted on by
Reply

Why do we use flash?

For “Uncle Fred” reasons? Those are the obvious reasons.  Like “it’s too dark”, “I need faster shutter speeds”, or for sophisticated Uncle Fred, “I want to fill in a backlit subject”.

All those are good reasons. but”for artistic reasons” is a better answer, if you want to make your images good. And The Speedlighter aims to make his images good.

Take this snapshot of model Lindsay at last Saturday’s advanced light workshop:

Model Lindsay, lit by available light

Model Lindsay, lit by available light

Okay, I guess. I guess. Not bad. But not great, either. Dull.

So let’s add a bit of light!

Add three small flashes set up the right way, and you get this:

Model Lindsay, lit by available plus flash light (photo Michael Willems)

Model Lindsay, lit by available plus flash light

Look at both images larger. The second one is much better because:

  1. She is now “bright pixels”. Willems’s Dictum says (yes I know that is double) that “bright pixels are sharp pixels”. When you light something with flash it is sharp, for reasons I have outlined on this blog before.
  2. Her face is well lit.
  3. The bike is now without too-dark shadow areas.
  4. She is separated from the background by the edge light
  5. The edge light adds contracts and interest.
  6. Instead of being dull, the bike has interesting and sparkling highlights (check both mirrors, and the rear mudguard).

That is better. And all that was needed was three speedlights, four Pocketwizards, and three Flashzebra cables. And a light meter. And lots of batteries. And the creative and technical knowledge to put it all together.

Oh and a model and a Harley. But those are optional: this light lesson applies even to your brother driving a Smart.

Thirds

Posted on by
Reply

You all know the rule of thirds. Yes?

Instead of putting your subject dead in the middle (Uncle Fred does this), you put it a third of the way from the right, the left, the top of the bottom. Or where those lines intersect. Like this:

Rule of Thirds, by Michael Willems

Rule of Thirds, model Lindsay Biernat by Michael Willems

Uncle Fred would have put the model in the centre, but we find images more pleasing when we use off-centre composition like this.

Love them. Love them not. Love them.

Posted on by
2

Large corporations, especially Japanese ones, can be hard to deal with. Customer Service tends not to be top of mind – dealing with these companies can be a little like dealing with the government.

They have only a vague understanding of the Internet. Their web sites are designed, it seems, to obfuscate. Long trees of site-to-site navigation, often having to chose between several options, none of which are right. “The interwebs”, for these old grey guys in suits, is, it seems, quite often just a way to get rid of those pesky customers who keep calling. (And I say that tongue-in-cheek: I am middle-aged, male, and wear suits quite often, and a tie even more often).

I use Canon equipment. The cameras are a 1Ds Mark III, a 1D Mark IV, and a 7D, and all the “L” lenses I need. Probably $45,000 worth of Canon equipment. And I love it all to bits of course, but I do rely on my cameras for a living, so I need good service when I need it.

Canon has CPS for that: Canon Professional Services. Pros get better service.

But here’s the catch.

Catches.

  • In Canada, CPS costs hundreds of dollars a year. It used to be free, and in most of the world it still is, but for Canada it costs. Much! We get a really bad deal. Why do photographers in other countries get reasonable service for free, and we in Canada pay $250 a year? After paying tens of thousands of dollars?
  • Well, at least in return, you get service. But wait. That service appears to have been downgraded from what it was, just last year! More money for more process, less service!
  • Emails from Canon about CPS have links, but the email is a graphic and you cannot click on the link.
  • The CPS program has no email. Their emails are signed by “CPS Services”. Who wants customers to email them? Not Canon, it appears. Makes me feel very unwanted: Canon goes out of its way to not be contacted by me. I am an annoyance.
  • Service? Well, I signed up. I got “approved” (ludicrous that you have to get approved, but anyway). I got a bill. Had a question. Called the person whose name and number was on the bill. She was on holiday (it’s OK for some!) so I left a message on her voice mail. This lady never called me back. I guess perhaps they have a “policy” against that.

As a result, I have not yet paid. And I doubt that I will. Maybe I’ll switch to another brand of camera equipment if I ever need service. Paying tens of thousands of dollars for less service, and getting no help? Doesn’t seem like such a good deal to me.

I cannot imagine treating customers this badly. Suppliers of any product or service should go out of their way to make their customers, who part with their hard-earned money for them, happy.I am delighted to work at midnight, or to go the extra mile in any way I can. I love my customers. I am grateful to them. I cannot imagine treating them badly!

So when my thousands of students ask me whether Canon service is like Apple’s, I can only sigh. And I doubt that Nikon is better (correct me please, if I am wrong!)

One thing I will say: retailers can be a very useful buffer.  Henrys (Canada’s largest photo store) are fantastic. (Disclaimer: I teach there. That said, I do not work for them, and I can say this independently). Any service issue at Henry’s is dealt with very well. They invite contact, instead of avoiding it.

And I am not just saying that: I take out the additional Henrys warranty on all my cameras. The only additional warranty I ever buy. Because it is worth it.

The summary of this post:

  • Large corporations can be good (Apple) or useless (you know who you are) at service.
  • Retailers can be a very useful way for customers not to have to deal with these corporations (just like insurance brokers).
  • Service is important: if your camera breaks, you are out of business!

Now back to photo editing, my job for tonight.

White Balance is/is not important

Posted on by
Reply

You know your camera’s White Balance setting. It should of course be called “colour balance”, but what with engineers doing the naming, science will trump understandability.

So this setting sets your colours properly for the available light. Is it important to set it? For instance, while taking portfolio pics like this, at Saturday’s workshop, do I set White Balance to anything, or do I leave it on Auto?

Biker chick, by Michael Willems

Biker chick - model Lindsay Biernat, 14 August 2010

Can you see how important the flash is, by the way? The edge light

Back to White Balance: is this important?

One possible (and valid) answer: If you shoot JPG pictures, yes, you should get the White Balance right in camera. But if you shoot RAW, no. White balance is set afterward, on your computer in Lightroom or whatever you use. It makes no difference what you set on your camera. Save yourself the time.

Another (equally valid) answer: Yes! Setting white balance is important when shooting JPG, but when shooting RAW you should set it too, because:

  • You get a much better impression while shooting of how the colours will eventually look. That saves you from many mistakes. It also makes you feel better about yourself and your abilities.
  • You save time afterward, because Lightroom will start off with your in-camera setting and you will have to correct less, and less often.

So when shooting with flash, set your white balance to “flash”. Especially if you use gels, avoid “auto” white balance.

So my answer: if the shoot is important and if you have a second, set it. If using flash, always set it (to flash).

Workshop

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday’s sold-out Creative Lighting workshop was a blast. Joseph and I took our students through a combination of advanced flash theory and creative practice. As always, using many techniques, and using speedlites and strobes, direct and modified.

Three direct speedlights (look carefully and you’ll see one) gives this:

Model Lindsay Biernat with Bike and Light, by Michael Willems

Model, Bike and Light, by Michael Willems

While a large softbox plus a direct speedlight as back light gives this:

Stranded, photo by Michael Willems

Stranded

And I now know that my driveway in Mono can take 14 cars easily.

Calibrating your screen: why?

Posted on by
4

I received the following question:

At the Henry’s Show, you made reference to the importance of calibrating your monitor. Would you mind discussing that one day on your blog?  I’m utterly clueless about it. Thanks.  Enjoy your daily emails immensely!

Welcome, and the pleasure is mine. Solet me answer your question.

What does “calibrating your monitor” do?

It ensures that the colours it displays are as accurate as possible. So that white is real white, and so on.

How does it work?

You buy a “spider”: a light sensor that you temporarily hang right in front of your screen. Like a “Huey”, or various larger spiders. The software that comes with the sensor then makes the screen flash all sorts of colours. The sensor looks at these and can tell whether, say, red is a bit brighter than green. It then adjusts the output of your screen accordingly tp correct for this, and creates a new “monitor profile”. That ensures your colour is accurate.

Why should I do it?

Ah, good question.  Well, to understand this, imagine your monitor shows a bit more green than it should. When editing your images, say with Photoshop, you would decrease the green to make your images look good.

Now you send that edited image to a friend. Or you put it on a web site. The viewer look at it – and thinka it looks red (the absence of green makes it look too red)! Or if you print it, it would come out looking too red.

That is the reason you should really calibrate your monitor. It’s important!