People

Aloha, I decided to switch gears today and talk a little bit about photographing people. I enjoy travelling and at first I turned my camera to the beautiful landscapes and architecture of the places I have visited. But, I ignored the fascinating people that you are sure to encounter. Now different cultures have varied views on the acceptance of taking photos. It is best to check ahead of time to get an idea. And if in doubt, ask the person if you can take their photo. Most people don't mind and it is a great way to meet people. Canon makes an excellent 24-70L lens that is a great piece of glass. It is fast (2.8) and I often use it as a walk around lens. But I have also been using my 100-400L lens lately. At 400mm, you get great out of focus backgrounds (bokeh) when wide open which draws attention to your subject. And at 400mm, you don't need to be right up to the person, which makes it a great lens to photograph cultural performances. I use a monopod with this lens (it is heavy) but being an L lens (best of the canon lenses have L designation) it is very sharp. Now as a guideline, I have found that 1/500th of a second will freeze the movements of performers quite well. I find that at a slower shutter speed, you may get a slight blur of a hand or other body part (depending on how fast people are moving). Again, just a guideline but works well for me. If I have to shoot slower, I try to anticipate when they will stop (if even for a second). AND, shoot bursts (especially if shooting digital - it is free). It increases your chances of getting a sharp photo and an expression you like.

Now getting that out of focus background is determined by a couple of things. 1st, the larger the aperture, the greater the out of focus the background will be (shallow depth of field means you need to focus more carefully though). So all things being equal, at f2.8 you will get a much shallow depth of field then at f16. Also, the longer the lens, the shallower the depth of field (again at 400mm, you get a more shallow depth of field then at 100mm). The most important thing to have in focus is normally the eyes, so I generally try to put the focus point of my camera on the eyes. Depending on your camera, you will probably be able to pick one of the focus points. Practice so you can change the focus point on the fly. This will help improve your people photography.

Hope this helped.

Alternative Views

Okay, you got that photo of the waterfall you wanted, but don't stop there, explore downstream if you have the chance. You may be able to get some photos of the smaller pools, which can make for a great photo also.

Now for this photo I wanted to go for the orton look. Michael Orton was a landscape photographer that created some beautiful photos. Although he used slide film, you can create the same look with digital. Here is how:

1. Open your original file in Photoshop

2. Go "Image" "Apply Image" and change the blend mode to Screen and opacity 100%. Click Ok.

3. Go "Image" "Duplicate" and when the box opens, click ok. This opens up your duplicated image.

4. On this new image, go "Filter" "Blur" "Gaussian Blur". Set the radius between 10 to 50, the higher the radius you set, the more dreamy the look (which can easily be overdone). I use around 25 for the most part. Hit ok.

5. Now go "Select" "All" and then "Edit" "Copy", Minimize or close this photo (which brings you back to your original photo.

6. On the original photo go "Edit" "Paste".

7. On your layer pallete, change the blending mode from "Normal" to "multiply". If you like it you are done, or you can change the opacity.

Once you got that, you can go ahead and play with your curves etc. to get your final photo. I hope this was helpful. It doesn't work for every photo, but give it a try, you might like the results.

Creative Exposure

I wanted to start off this blog by talking a little bit about creative exposure. There is always more than one correct exposure (which is a combination of aperture, shutter speed and ISO) but one creative exposure based on what you want to accomplish. Take a waterfall for instance. How many of us have seen a nice waterfall and snapped a photo with the camera in auto mode? The photo probably came out with the correct exposure, but the water was probably frozen. Not the best for a waterfall. To get the correct creative exposure for this scene, you need a slower shutter speed. That means a tripod. The longer the shutter is open, the more silky the water. But this can be overdone. I suggest you bracket your exposures (try different shutter speeds). Try between 1/2 second, 1 second and maybe even 2 seconds. If you are using digital, bracket, bracket and bracket. Also remember with a longer shutter speed, other things moving (due to the wind etc) will also be blurred. In the shot below, I used a shutter speed of 1 second. It was a windy day so I needed to cut out the bushes/trees as they would be blurred with this slow shutter speed. I also had a day that was bright with clouds rolling through so I waited for some cloud cover to cut down on the contrast (eliminates the harsh shadows). Another tip, I bring along a trash bag. Put it over your camera once you got you shot composed. Rip a small hole for the lens to fit through. This protects the camera from the mist. I used a shutter release to avoid camera shake. A couple of tips:

• Bracket your shots




• Use a polarizing filter (cuts glare and allows for a slower shutter speed)




• Use a tripod and a shutter release




• If you have ND filters bring them as you may need them to get a slow shutter speed




• Watch your composition. If it includes trees etc. that could blur during a long exposure, compose so they are not in the shot




• Try different compositions, both vertical and horizontal




• Cloudy days are generally better (depending on how much of the sky you want) or early morning, later in the afternoon




• I use a poor person's cover for my camera. A trash bag I put over the camera and rip a hole for the lens




• Don't forget a cloth to wipe mist from your lens (watch for smears)




• I bring tabi shoes (do a search) that have these spikes on the bottom. It allows me to walk on the slippery rocks without falling

Next time I will discuss alternative shot ideas. Stay tuned.