Megabytes Are Cheap

     We're not buying film anymore, and megabyte are cheap!  So take Lots of pictures!

     Whatever it is you're shooting- kids, flowers, birds, sports, animals, cars, models, or leaves..... take lots and lots of shots.  If you take a picture of a grasshopper, shoot it from 14 different angles.  Get high, low, closer, farther.. shoot vertical, horizontal, different crops and different apertures.  Same goes for portraits- I typically come home from a family portrait session with well over 300 images on my card.  I usually narrow these down to the best 25-30.
     Please understand- I'm not suggesting the "Spray & Pray" method.  This term describes those who choose not to bother themselves with all the hassle of learning, practicing, and improving their photography.  Instead they choose to aimlessly fire off frames in massive numbers and hope for a good one.  Not a good technique.
     We want to do our best to make every shot count.  But certainly the more options we have to choose from, the more great keepers we will get.  Wedding photographers will typically shoot thousands of frames in a weekend, and only a small percentage of the photos will be included in the wedding album.  World renown commercial and advertising photographer Chase Jarvis, says he often shoots many thousands of frames per day when on assignment.... and only One of those photos will ever be seen by the public.
     So get yourself a big memory card and some extra batteries, and shoot away!



Tim

 

It's Snowing!

     It's been a crazy mild Winter around here, but the snow is finally flying in Northwest Arkansas.  Seems like an appropriate time for a post on shooting photos in the snow.  If you've ever tried it, you probably already know that snow is tricky, getting good exposures can be a challenge.  Your camera's automatic metering system is very smart.....and it is also very very dumb.  The meter doesn't know it's Winter time, and it does not know that all that snow on the ground is suppose to be bright white.  The meter just sees all that white and thinks "too bright!", and therefore reduces exposure to darken the scene to a more neutral level.  This usually results in very dark images of drab, grayish looking snow.  Problem is we don't want our snow to be drab and gray, we want our snow bright and white as nature intended!

     Fortunately the camera companies are aware that their metering systems are not perfect, and they were kind enough to give us something called Exposure Compensation (EV Comp).  This allows us humans to "over-ride" the cameras automatic settings and easily tweak the brightness up or down as we see fit.  Snow shooting is the perfect situation for using EV Comp.

     So next time you are out shooting in the snow, try this.  Put you camera in "P" Program Mode, and dial in +1 stop of EV Comp.  This is a good starting point, you may need as much as +2 to get proper exposure.

     

Shot with 0 EV Comp.

(too dark and grey)  notice the histogram is heavy near the center of the exposure range-

For the next shot I adjusted Exposure Compensation..

EV Comp set to +1.3

(brighter and whiter snow!)  notice the histogram weighted far to the right-

     Ideally your snow will be as bright as possible without clipping detail (blowing out).  Use your camera's highlight warning to help you tweak your adjustments.  Increase EV Comp until the highlight warning is blinking at you, then reduce your adjustment by 1/3 of a stop or so.  With just a couple of test shots you can quickly get your exposure nailed down.

     Another consideration when shooting snowy scenes is White Balance.  Often your Auto WB will render the scene a little too blue.  Try setting your cameras WB setting to Cloudy.  You can also try bumping the WB slider in your post-processing software slightly to the right.

     

     Now, if you are shooting with a compact camera you have no worries.  Many compact cameras will have a menu setting for snow.  This setting will automatically bump up the exposure a stop or two, basically a semi-auto exposure compensation.  Look for this in your camera's scene modes.

    And Lastly-  Bundle Up!  It's Cold out there!!

photo jabber blog by tim wyler

simple digital photography tips and techniques

Magic Hour

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250mm f5.6 1/80 sec.

     Whether you're shooting landscapes or portraits, with a DSLR, a Polaroid, or an iPhone, this one simple tip is virtually guaranteed to always always dramatically increase the amazingness of your outdoor photos!  The Magic Hour (or Golden Hour) actually occurs a couple of times per day.  The first hour of daylight and the last hour of daylight are without question, the premier shooting times for nearly any type of outdoor photo.  Low on the horizon, the sun's light is softened and diffused by the atmosphere, producing a warm, soft glow that bathes your subject and makes images look awesome.
     Try this test - Take a photo at 1pm.  Then go back out and take the exact same shot just before sunset.  You'll be amazed at how much you're photography improved in just a few hours :)

photo jabber blog by tim wyler

simple digital photography tips and techniques

Unplanned Moments

     This is one of my favorite shots from a recent portrait shoot I did for some friends. The scene was completely unscripted. I had just finished shooting with one of the other kids on the staircase when I noticed that big brother had found a nice spot to sit and play. I loved the simplicity of the scene. The backlighting from the windows and the leading lines in the hardwood floor give the photo some nice depth. I was shooting with a 50mm lens with an aperture setting of f2.2. The wide aperture gives the image a shallow depth of field, resulting in the soft, blurred foreground and background.  Lighting was from my on-camera speedlight with a bounce diffuser attached.  I would have preferred to set up my off-camera flash with a shoot-though umbrella for this shot, but I knew I would lose the moment if I didn't move quick.
     Often the unplanned shots are the real gems.  We have to keep an eye out for those moments, and be ready to quickly change gears and get the shot.  When working with kids, the great moments never last long.    Many times I have wanted to say "WAIT!  I wasn't ready, now do that cute thing again!..."  By that point it's a missed shot :(  We just have to be ready next time.

Hope you like.
Tim

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