tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15848345191375300312024-03-13T20:40:50.910-07:00Just A Bloke With A CameraAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-11312799915566781072014-06-16T02:04:00.001-07:002014-06-16T02:13:46.192-07:00Being Brave Will Open New Doors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KyjzRuzPC8Y/U56uiaN1WxI/AAAAAAADWT0/7ib68w5E3-A/s1600/Being-Brave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KyjzRuzPC8Y/U56uiaN1WxI/AAAAAAADWT0/7ib68w5E3-A/s1600/Being-Brave.jpg" height="408" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of the most frequent questions I am asked about street portraits is how do I go about asking, there are a few more posts in this blog that covers this but I will explain the easiest/hardest part.<br />
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Its a case of simply being brave, or as I used to say growing some balls.<br />
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Many people can and do take candid shots, myself included but there is always something missing, that is a personal connection between the photographer and the subject. No matter how you try you will never get that from a candid shot, you have not spoken to them, you know really nothing of them apart from they passed you by.<br />
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You can only achieve that connection by stopping them and talking with them. When you do you find so much out it enlightens both your day and theirs, this will be reflected in the image, they are looking at you, they are making eye contact and therefor making eye contact with the audience of the image. That moment of contact you have with the subject is passed onto the viewer. Nothing will draw an audience into your shot more than a feeling that being part of it, some of the more powerful shots do just that and that's the reason they work so well.<br />
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But it does not come easy, you have to be able to make that first contact and be prepared for rejection but rejection I have found is far and few between and all the contacts you make far outweigh the no's.<br />
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So sometimes its a case of taking a deep breath and stride forward and just do it, I can guarantee the first time will be the worse, the more you do it the easier and more comfortable it becomes. I also guarantee that it will open new doors and you will make so many new friends, even if it is briefly.<br />
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Take this shot, I was walking through Liverpool and he walked past with his wife, I turned and gently tapped him on his shoulder and said excuse me but I just love the way you look. From that point on I went on to have a conversation with John and his wife, he is 59 years old, not only with multiple piercings but covered in tattoos with his Keith Flint hairstyle. I asked if he had been an old school punk such as myself as there is only 6 years between us, to my amazement he said no, three years ago he just decided he wanted to be different and set out altering his body.<br />
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Now that simply made my day, we all talked for a little while longer and I asked if I could take his portrait. The eye contact, that very slight smile and his body adornments just made this image for me.<br />
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Step out of your comfort zone and go make a friend even if it is only briefly.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-52282602373948051162014-03-21T10:42:00.001-07:002014-03-21T10:42:42.065-07:00Growing Up Without HDR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fJJTJPgF6JQ/Uyx2BoZJNoI/AAAAAAADSIw/hLW6VGqaB7g/s1600/Morning-HDR-Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fJJTJPgF6JQ/Uyx2BoZJNoI/AAAAAAADSIw/hLW6VGqaB7g/s1600/Morning-HDR-Blog.jpg" height="460" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Is HDR becoming outdated and as photographers can we survive without it?</b></h3>
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I recall when I first got into photography in 2006 HDR was one of the new editing tool to hit the market, I saw images created by others and wanted to know how it was done. I found one of the programs and started to use it. It was at the time amazing, the way you could play with details, light shadows and so was wonderful. I jumped in with full gusto, everything went through the HDR route, no matter the subject.<br />
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Then I noticed some of the issues we had, noise, halos, harshness and seeing these in both my own images and others I set about trying to refine the whole editing process, I used HDR was an editing tool along with others not a stand alone This gave me results that differed from others and I was asked on several occasions if the images I produced were HDR or not. At that stage when people were no longer sure I figured I must be getting something right.<br />
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Over time though other things start to change, other editing software such as Nix Color Efex and the rest of their plug in within CS, OnOne Photo Effects, PhotoTools Pro to name but a few more came along and were all game changers in their own right. They could do more than simple HDR conversions and if used right the subtle changes to an image made that image extraordinary.<br />
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Over time I changed as well, I got fed up of harsh course HDR images produced and so my reliance on this editing software has reduced to the point I now rarely use it.<br />
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Why? Because with time I learnt what my camera can and can't do, the importance of the right lenses, the right time of the day to get the right light, where to position the light in regards to the subject. I looked at my ability to post edit, my capabilities in making more subtle changes but more of them to bring the extra depth to an image I craved.<br />
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HDR became a lazy way out, for me and so many others, take an image but don't worry about it too much, we can shove it through any HDR post editing tool and make it stand out. Some worked, others though stood out for the wrong reasons.<br />
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If you are going to use HDR then find a way of incorporating it into your work flow, don't make the mistake of making it the be all and end all of everything you do, it simply does not work.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-56335070122035071622014-01-19T07:03:00.002-08:002014-01-19T07:03:35.538-08:00Photographing The Homeless, Why And How<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zBuuk75hSb0/UtvfE42o9NI/AAAAAAADOdw/TyX6Fj-0cpw/s1600/Kevin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zBuuk75hSb0/UtvfE42o9NI/AAAAAAADOdw/TyX6Fj-0cpw/s1600/Kevin.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div>
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Why?</h2>
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A question I get a lot but lets tackle the one issue most talk to me about the why.</div>
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The Morality Of It</h3>
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This is where a lot of people struggle and I did myself, for a long while I used to simply watch the homeless going about their business but doing little. Then I began to interact, at the end of the day they are no different to me, all that has happened is that somewhere something went wrong. When I spoke to many of them I began to realise that so many had stories to tell but very few if any would give them the time of the day to listen. </div>
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So I had to question the morality of it and the morality of myself and don't get me wrong it was not an easy resolution to come to. But someone needs to document these people, someone needs to show they are as human as you or me, just because they have no home, sleep on the streets, ask for money does not give them a lower standing in our species nor does it give those that walk blindly by the right to feel they are superior.</div>
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So I talk to them, I spend time with them, if they are sat on the pavement I sit with them, I help with anything I can. I show them I am no different to them, shaking a dirty hand does not bother me, its only dirt, the smell of someone who has not been able to wash does not make me adverse to them, it only saddens me. </div>
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The morality is, it has to be done, it has to be shown, we have to come to terms that just maybe we are not as civillised as we think we are. I will not allow these people to be forgotten, its as simple as that.</div>
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How?</h2>
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Safety</h3>
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Its the first thing you have to think of, your own safety, do not ever put yourself in a situation you cannot get out of. I have spent a lot of time in my life simply people watching, I have spent time with the homeless too. You get to know when its OK to approach someone but if you are unsure watch from a distance. If there is a lot of erratic behaviour then you have to be aware there might be more going on than your realise. Simply if you are not sure then don't.</div>
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Your Approach</h3>
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Smile, it can open most minds if you simply smile at someone, its disarming and although they may still be wary of you the first contact of a smile will start the ice breaking.</div>
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Say Hi, how are you? and they will respond, if they are sat low such as on the ground then get low yourself, hold out your hand and introduce yourself. I have never had anyone refuse to shake my hand yet, its human contact its something they miss and its such an easy gift to give to them. </div>
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Don't have your camera in full view, that will make overly cautious and maybe unresponsive, but don't try and completely cover it up as they may have the same effect. Be casual about the fact you even have it. </div>
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Don't jump right in and ask for the image, to me that is immoral, chat with them, ask their name, ask them why they are on the streets and how long they have been on the streets for.</div>
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Ask what you can do to help, do they need something warm to eat or help finding a hostel, (yes I have done this a few times). Depending on their answer as to why they are on the streets be wary about the offer of money, if its drink and drugs go down the route of warm food and a drink but at the end of the day who are we to say they should not be numbed from what they are living through. </div>
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The Photograph</h3>
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You cant just ask, you have to have a reason as I will guarantee they will ask you why so you need to have an answer. I have people ask me if I am the police, a weirdo and more, I explain that I think its morally wrong that people in this day and age are living on the streets. I tell them I use their portraits and their stories to make those that live in ivory towers realise this is still happening. They want people to know what they are having to live through, they want them to know they don't want to be on the streets but they just cant seem to get off them.</div>
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Do make sure your camera is set up before you even approach them, nothing will frustrate them more if you start mucking about with it too much in full view of the public.</div>
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I personally ask them to look at me, that way when you the viewer see their portrait you can see them, the way I see them. </div>
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Once you have taken the portrait don't just say thanks get up and go, once again that's morally wrong, this person has just shared part of their lives with you, as stated before a lot of time they miss human contact, give them that and sit and spend some time with them. I have sat and eaten hot dogs with them, I have laughed when some go on to tell me jokes or some of the things they have gotten up to. I have read a book with a very learned well spoken gentleman, I have gleaned more from them than I did any teacher I ever met.</div>
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Ask if they would like a copy of the image, some will, most won't, they don't really want to be reminded of this time in their life and who could blame them?</div>
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Before you go always thank them, always shake their hands and wish them well, I never say I hope to see you again, I don't want to see anyone like this again, I hope if I ever do see them again they are sorted but I can only hope.</div>
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So, first and foremost when you go off in your quest to photograph the homeless you are not dealing with subjects, you are dealing with human beings, get this right and it will show in what you want to show the world. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-11006247961264286092014-01-09T06:58:00.001-08:002014-01-09T06:58:42.354-08:00How Make It As A Social Media Photographer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uWp_KLscvYY/Us6yJ288kNI/AAAAAAADNls/TYJ8s8lCdb8/s1600/Lothorien.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uWp_KLscvYY/Us6yJ288kNI/AAAAAAADNls/TYJ8s8lCdb8/s1600/Lothorien.jpg" height="434" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm not an expert, in fact I'm not even a professional photographer, as the saying goes I work for a living ;) but for some reason I have become both successful and well known as a social media photographer. This has meant over the last few years I have been fortunate enough to amass a fairly large following after being picked up buy both Google+ and Facebook.<br />
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After the initial rush things began to settle down and I have managed to maintain the following I have but I have a few rules that I abide by and I think that has helped me. I'll share these rules that I work by and its up to you if you want to use them or not, I'm not here to teach granny to suck eggs!<br />
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<b>1/ Don't Overdo It</b></h3>
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There so many social sites out there and a lot now offer the ability to showcase your work, join them all and you will spend the rest of your time bouncing from one site to another trying to keep track, eventually you will burn out. Your a photographer, yes you need to showcase your work but you need to be able to get out there and take the images first, you cant do that sat in front of your PC screen all the time. See what each site has to offer, join if need be and use that as a place marker in case that's the site for you. Limit yourself though to a few, I myself predominantly use G+ and Facebook and link my Facebook posts to Twitter.</div>
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2/ Limit Your Posts</h3>
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Some feel they need to flood social streams with as many images as possible everyday, others will simply get fed up of seeing your work. I limit myself to one, maybe two and every now and then three posts a day but rarely more than one to two images a day. Keep them wanting more, over saturate the market and your audience will simply become blind to your work.</div>
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3/ Be Consistent</h3>
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While you limit yourself as above try though to post on a regular basis, I try to post once a day at least, as above where your audience gets fed up of seeing your work, if though you fall of the face of the earth for too long they can soon forget your work too. Stay around as long as you can but not to the detriment to your real life.</div>
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4/ Like What You Post</h3>
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If you like it then nine times out of ten others will too, we are our own worse critics and we do at times need to listen to that inner voice, don't post it up just for the sake of posting something. Post it up because you are proud to do so.</div>
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5/ Give Your Images A Title</h3>
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I talk a lot about the images I take, its just the way I am, not everyone is that way, some prefer for the images to speak for themselves and I enjoy that as well. At the very least though give the image a title, I see so many images that have been uploaded with nothing but the date it was taken, tells me nothing and if I'm honest, I'm inclined not to bother looking. </div>
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6/ You Cant Answer Everything</h3>
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So don't try and don't beat yourself up over it, I tried and failed miserably but be polite, I leave a thank you post in each post I put up to those that have taken the time to look, share and respond. I would be here for too long and photography would end up on the back burner.</div>
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7/ Expect The Trolls</h3>
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They will come out from their humpty backed bridges and poke you and everyone else near you with big stick because, well its just how they get their kicks. Leave them to it, they want a reaction and if you sully it they will feed off it and starve you of the will to live. The beauty of most social sites now is that you can self moderate. Don't be afraid to use it, get a troll, delete the post, they come back, delete the post again and block the user, can you image how maddening that is for them :D Be aware though in the cyber world we have many different cultures, someone may say something without really understanding what it means and may well mean no offense. </div>
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So that's it, fairly simply and it seems to work for me, take from this what you will and remember, be safe out there!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-19901910332202235952013-10-23T06:46:00.000-07:002013-10-23T06:46:03.790-07:00What Will Make You Different?At present we have a world population of just under 7.2 billion people and growing so fast you cannot keep up with it. Just so you can get a grip of it that's 7,200,000,000 people of which you are one.<br />
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Next there is the fact that the number of active mobile (cell) phones will exceed the world population by next year, estimated to be 7.3 billion, or if you like to see it this way 7,300,000,000.<br />
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That means every man woman and child may have the capability to be a photographer! Of which you are one!<br />
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If we take into account say only 1% of those consider themselves to be serious about photography that means there is estimated to be 72,000,000 serious photographers in the word of which you are one!<br />
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What is going to make you different enough to stand out?<br />
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Being a photographer is easy, we all do it, we look through a viewfinder at a subject and hit the shutter button and hey presto, you are a photographer, even phones make that nice little sound of a shutter movement even though its only part of the program and has nothing to do with the function, we just like to hear it.<br />
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Being different is were it gets harder.<br />
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Most are happy to take snapshots of their lives and families and cherish those memories they have but others want to do more than take snapshots, so they move on, they can chose to become one of hundreds of different genres within photography.<br />
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All the time though you are vying for position with others working within the same genre and the wealth of talent we have makes that a tough game to be in at times. So we have to be different enough to stand out.<br />
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But how?<br />
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You have to be able to see more, the most important tool you have is yourself, too many times photographers get bogged down with the need to have the right kit when they forget they were born with the right kit. We have to see what is hidden within the mundane and to feel it before we see it. Only by using all the senses we have can we make what we create stand out. Life will throw little nuances at you and you may glimpse them from the corner of your eye but you have to be ready to capture those nuances before they go.<br />
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I do this by looking at the world around me as if I am looking through a viewfinder and I want to frame it, this way I see the composition in everything and even if I am not taking photographs I am rehearsing for the times I will. So I see the movement of hair on people in the street, I see how the light reflects upon the faces. The dew upon the grass at my feet will catch the early morning sun and I need to catch the dew as it does.<br />
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If you want your work to stand out then use what you already have, you, yes its nice to have all the right kit but if you only use both it and yourself in auto mode then you are only using 10% of its and your potential.<br />
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Look deeper, look longer, understand more.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OerhfIXvzZA/UmfSSSS5-_I/AAAAAAADIKY/7i-JUgLsM3M/s1600/Differences.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OerhfIXvzZA/UmfSSSS5-_I/AAAAAAADIKY/7i-JUgLsM3M/s320/Differences.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<ul class="article_slides current_article" data-article-id="" data-article-image="" data-article-title="How do you write 7.2billion in number form" data-article-url="How_do_you_write_7.2billion_in_number_form?" id="a1" style="border: 0px; color: #002233; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; height: 500px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 728px;">
<li class="slide current_slide" data-blurred="show" data-image="http://img.answcdn.com/view:limit/answ-images/087f6c16/54823d9d75e2f384304da0ea422ce5d376752b80.jpg?&w=480&h=360" data-order="2" id="s2" style="border: 0px; color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; height: 500px; left: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 728px; z-index: 99;"><span class="body" style="border: 0px; bottom: auto; font-family: inherit; font-size: 35px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; left: 90px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 90px; top: 200px; vertical-align: baseline;">7,200,000,000</span></li>
</ul>
<ul class="article_slides current_article" data-article-id="" data-article-image="" data-article-title="How do you write 7.2billion in number form" data-article-url="How_do_you_write_7.2billion_in_number_form?" id="a1" style="border: 0px; color: #002233; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; height: 500px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 728px;">
<li class="slide current_slide" data-blurred="show" data-image="http://img.answcdn.com/view:limit/answ-images/087f6c16/54823d9d75e2f384304da0ea422ce5d376752b80.jpg?&w=480&h=360" data-order="2" id="s2" style="border: 0px; color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; height: 500px; left: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 728px; z-index: 99;"><span class="body" style="border: 0px; bottom: auto; font-family: inherit; font-size: 35px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; left: 90px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 90px; top: 200px; vertical-align: baseline;">7,200,000,000</span></li>
</ul>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-60383352448702177452013-10-19T01:01:00.000-07:002013-10-19T01:02:40.110-07:00Being A Social Media PhotographerSo, what the hell am I rambling on about now?<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-duHX1r_adK8/T-k-cC4qqBI/AAAAAAACYrg/36sHMxEzMcQ/s1600/Ghost-II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-duHX1r_adK8/T-k-cC4qqBI/AAAAAAACYrg/36sHMxEzMcQ/s320/Ghost-II.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have been going through a lot of changes of late, one is on how to take my photography to the next level but I'm not sure how to do that, one thing is I have been told time and time again I need to expand my online presence. But why do I have to expand it that much I can no longer control it.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NVM2j3d9-4M/T8MlCLruHyI/AAAAAAACTaM/4JthfaTdcZk/s1600/Stephen-III.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NVM2j3d9-4M/T8MlCLruHyI/AAAAAAACTaM/4JthfaTdcZk/s320/Stephen-III.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have in the past been a member of a lot of sites but in the end I had to pare them down as I simply could not keep track of everything going on. So I remain with the two big social sites were I upload my images and I find it easier to interact, it works for me but may not for everyone.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EkwruY9Rcfk/TxrduLlZijI/AAAAAAACTZA/p0B8K8kXXxY/s1600/Tradgedy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EkwruY9Rcfk/TxrduLlZijI/AAAAAAACTZA/p0B8K8kXXxY/s320/Tradgedy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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But whats wrong with being very active within the social media as a photographer?<br />
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Nothing, when Google+ came onto the scene just over two years ago it really upped the game, certainly were photographers were concerned. Their lightbox for images was not seen before on any other social media site and it attracted photographers en mass, me included. When G+ realised what they stumbled upon they geared themselves up for the artists of social media world.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BTugBbYMlvU/T27rxnztDJI/AAAAAAACW4o/oZQ8C3tuMxo/s1600/Somethings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BTugBbYMlvU/T27rxnztDJI/AAAAAAACW4o/oZQ8C3tuMxo/s320/Somethings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Why?<br />
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Because we attract audiences, people want to see images, the web was designed for it in one way, whether it be for the users that wanted titillation through online porn or the more serious viewer that wanted to see art. Social media was and has been a great way of getting exposure for those of us that practice our art.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_j01-0GiO8g/UkOZzo_2kgI/AAAAAAADFVk/PKoVhUCYaUY/s1600/Dear-London.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_j01-0GiO8g/UkOZzo_2kgI/AAAAAAADFVk/PKoVhUCYaUY/s320/Dear-London.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since G+ arrived Facebook has had to up its game too but has a long way to go to beat the lightbox of G+, quality of uploads is still an issue with Facebook but its still a valuable tool in regards to social media so it cannot be written off, I remember when G+ first came out a lot of people thought it would be the death knell for Facebook buts its still going strong, goes to show there is a place for two big hitters as each delivers something different.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EWy1o7LwJbY/TxtE8EZqxRI/AAAAAAACTZE/bdCxGKJ0r-o/s1600/John-III.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EWy1o7LwJbY/TxtE8EZqxRI/AAAAAAACTZE/bdCxGKJ0r-o/s320/John-III.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Do not write off social media, its a stronger tool than you realise, it has the potential to change not only your outlook but that of the people that see your work, use it to its full potential and it will reward you tenfold. Yes I still need a personal website and its being sorted as we speak but no personal web site is ever going to bring the exposure social media can, ignore it and you are losing out, big time.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-27131377026228218462013-10-07T08:52:00.000-07:002013-10-07T09:02:03.155-07:00Patience Is A Virtue.<br />
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Or so they tell me, I am probably the most impatient person alive, I refuse to get on public transport unless I really have to as its just too slow.<br />
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One thing that has taught me about patience is photography, more so street photography, why?<br />
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Under normal circumstances you don't really need patience to take most street shots, you have to be quick thinking as most of it can pass you by before you know it. So once you are set up it can be a case of spotting something and firing off a succession of shots of the subject.<br />
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There are times though such as this image when you have to learn patience and slow everything down. I saw him walk up to where I was sat, I spied the pipe in his hands and watched where he was heading, fortunately he chose to sit on the same bench as me. Now I don't smoke but I know if you are carrying a pipe in your hand and you have just sat down there is a good chance you will smoke it.<br />
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I stood up and walked to a point where I was close enough to take some shots but far enough away so as not to influence anything he may do. I watched as he started to light his pipe and fired off some shots but I knew I could get better shots so I waited a little longer, he fired his pipe up again, something common with pipe smokers is that you have to keep relighting. I got down a little to get on his level then as he was puffing away I waited. There was going to be that one moment when everything fell into place. How did I know, simple gut feeling and from doing this so often before.<br />
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Then it happened, with one mighty blow he surrounded himself with smoke and click I got the shot I wanted. It did not matter what happened for the rest of the day I knew I had my shot.<br />
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By simply watching what was happening around me I saw him and saw an opportunity and then by taking my time and waiting for that right moment I feel I managed to capture one of the best street portraits I have taken in a long while.<br />
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Patience can really be a virtue at times. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-38119751361229436052013-10-03T14:40:00.001-07:002013-10-03T14:40:45.221-07:00What Makes A Street Shot Stand Out?Most people can wander out with a camera, there are nearly as many cameras in the world now as there are people with the upsurge of smart phones. So you can get a lot of people shooting street images.<br />
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With a lot of street images there becomes the issue of what makes one different?<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wPSXMDnmfP4/T5JsI7EYAwI/AAAAAAABv1c/iKj7JncIero/s1600/Tears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wPSXMDnmfP4/T5JsI7EYAwI/AAAAAAABv1c/iKj7JncIero/s320/Tears.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Street life is ordinary, its people going about their business much like they do everyday and for the most part that is what you get to see.<br />
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What makes the difference is what you see that others don't, there are many fleeting moments that happen in front of you, as a photographer you have to capture those moments.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-duHX1r_adK8/T-k-cC4qqBI/AAAAAAACYrg/36sHMxEzMcQ/s1600/Ghost-II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-duHX1r_adK8/T-k-cC4qqBI/AAAAAAACYrg/36sHMxEzMcQ/s320/Ghost-II.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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But they are fleeting, from the children playing to that man that passes you by, they happen so fast that you could so easily miss them. So you cannot take your eyes off what is going on around you, you have peripheral vision but so many fail to use it. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8HCkfAoJoRY/Tm-3vYBX_gI/AAAAAAAAF_g/9v5ttWog7w8/s1600/Hard-Rain-II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8HCkfAoJoRY/Tm-3vYBX_gI/AAAAAAAAF_g/9v5ttWog7w8/s320/Hard-Rain-II.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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It might as simple as someone walking past you but learn to turn around and look again, a whole new perspective may just open up in front of you and you have to be ready.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bPEr00N_SGU/UkVg_zakE5I/AAAAAAADFbc/___VWkN9AjY/s1600/13+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bPEr00N_SGU/UkVg_zakE5I/AAAAAAADFbc/___VWkN9AjY/s320/13+-+1" width="320" /></a></div>
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But where so many fail is not being set up, your camera needs to be in your hand, it needs to be set how you want to take the image, the most you need to alter is your exposure which is just a turn of a dial, so when you raise the camera to your eye its ready to fire, it only takes a nano second to try and make a big alteration and you have missed your shot.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dfr3eSPIUio/Ujaz1fx-44I/AAAAAAADEhw/EFpv_dYInOE/s1600/Fellin-Blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dfr3eSPIUio/Ujaz1fx-44I/AAAAAAADEhw/EFpv_dYInOE/s320/Fellin-Blue.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Your eyes and senses are the most important piece of kit you carry around, what makes a street shot stand out?<br />
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You do.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-17494240405457050482013-09-27T12:50:00.000-07:002013-09-27T14:07:35.820-07:00Olympus OM-D E-M1<br />
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I have just returned from Castle Leslie In Ireland after being invited across by Olympus to look at their latest mirror less camera the OM-D E-M1.<br />
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Now I have been brand loyal to Canon since I became serious in photography, it was the market leader and was an easy decision to make and to date I have never been tempted to change brands, until now!<br />
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I went in feeling a little skeptical as I thought most "smaller" cameras would struggle to give me what I get from the Canons I use. So when I saw the size of the camera I felt as if maybe some of my suspicions would be justified. The size of the camera is around one third smaller than my 1D, loaded with a lens and a battery grip it weight almost half of my street kit.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pl5bjWaNbbM/UkXVOP9LShI/AAAAAAADFdY/-8rk7CH9rP8/s1600/Camera-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pl5bjWaNbbM/UkXVOP9LShI/AAAAAAADFdY/-8rk7CH9rP8/s320/Camera-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now most people that know me also know I'm not technically savy, I'm a self taught photographer that just kept hitting buttons until I stated to get things right. So If your looking for a whole pile of technical information then you are at the wrong blog. What I can give you is my opinion on how I felt when using the camera. </div>
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The first thing I noticed that even thought I am used to the Canon 1D and 7D the amount of buttons on this piece of kit seem somewhat overwhelming when you first look at it but with a little direction I managed to find my way around but I did struggle from time to time. Given more time with the camera I feel though it will become as intuitive as the kit I already use. One feature it had that I did not really like is a touch screen on the rear display. The screen is simply too small to be able to manipulate with your fingers, an improvement would be an introduction of a stylus incorporated in the camera you can take out when needed. Either that or I need smaller fingers. </div>
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Another I was not that sure about was the Art Modes where you could do in camera editing, normally this would be something I would run a mile from but as I was there I gave it a try, a bit of fiddling to set it up we then went on to do some model shots.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HM0r6NmnmZw/UkXYAy2vOTI/AAAAAAADFds/YRKziEVnQAA/s1600/Model-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HM0r6NmnmZw/UkXYAy2vOTI/AAAAAAADFds/YRKziEVnQAA/s320/Model-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I was surprised by how well it worked and I have to admit I liked the finished result (The fog was curtsy of a fog machine not in camera processing) Would I use this feature? Maybe but I prefer to do my own editing but all the original information is retained in the raw file so its handy to have. Work for a client that you want to show them how the finished image will look there and then, you will love this feature.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xMzq-UEHFo4/UkXYIiACUWI/AAAAAAADFeI/IgMqvowviTg/s1600/Model-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xMzq-UEHFo4/UkXYIiACUWI/AAAAAAADFeI/IgMqvowviTg/s320/Model-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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On the second model shoot we shot in ambient light, the intention was to try some other Art Modes but if I'm honest I turned it off just to see how the camera dealt with with shooting in this light, most of if not all of my work is done using natural light and ambient light. Did it handle it? Oh yes, in bucket loads. </div>
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Now something dear to my heart, clarity, I needed sharpness in my images unless I want to take it out, Can this camera deliver sharpness? To test this they took us to the lake on the estate, with a little help setting the camera up they had two riders on horseback gallop through the lake at speed so we could shoot in rapid mode. The first thing you notice is the speed of the camera, one of the advantages I suppose of having a mirror less system but it blew me away. So I managed to fire off the images but what about the clarity? I think I would struggle to find a camera that can deliver sharpness of image at the speed it gave me like this one.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yC4YL8oXubs/UkXYFHdnc9I/AAAAAAADFd4/28fGnQqmAK8/s1600/Horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yC4YL8oXubs/UkXYFHdnc9I/AAAAAAADFd4/28fGnQqmAK8/s320/Horse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another feature that way beyond cool was LiveView Mode when using Bulb for long exposures. Once again with a little help setting the camera up we were ready to go. They brought a light painter in and after a count in we hit the start button, then as he painted you can see the progress of the shot taking place on the back screen of the camera, it shows you depending on the way you set it up (In my case every 4 frames) what is happening in the camera, its like watching a stop motion happening before your eyes. If you shoot long exposures do you need this camera? Very much so, no more spending a lot of time hoping the image will work, now you can see it as you do it, no more guessing or calculating the time required to get your shot, just hit the button when you see how you want it.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oVNRIsoOeVs/UkXYFvCXl8I/AAAAAAADFeA/9TMqoX5e5WA/s1600/Flame-On.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oVNRIsoOeVs/UkXYFvCXl8I/AAAAAAADFeA/9TMqoX5e5WA/s320/Flame-On.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Its not all sweetness and light though, the noise you do get (show me any system that does not give you noise and I'll buy it tomorrow) is "irregular" I'm used to seeing noise/grain in images that resemble film but the noise here is chaotic, the upside is though is its only noticeable when you really enlarge the file.</div>
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Would I buy one? If not for the amount I have invested in the kit I had now then yes I would. Why? I would like to see how this camera fares in the street, due to its size I would not stand out like a sore thumb and I think its capable of delivering everything I have now with a much larger camera/lens, if not more. Would I recommend you buying one? Go look at it, get used to it and see what it can do and make your own mind up, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.</div>
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All the images are direct from camera, the only editing is reduction in size for web and the horse image has been cropped.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-41431857875910361832012-03-06T14:45:00.001-08:002012-03-06T14:50:49.942-08:00Do's And Do Nots Of Street Portraits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-itlWy-H1-S4/Tm539ainnOI/AAAAAAAAF6s/7kH61YzaXmw/s1600/Peter-II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-itlWy-H1-S4/Tm539ainnOI/AAAAAAAAF6s/7kH61YzaXmw/s320/Peter-II.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I get asked a lot about getting street portraits so here goes:<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Grow some balls and ask ;)</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The first and probably the biggest step is this, it can be hard and yes you will get some rejection but if you do not ask then you will never know. I work on a 10% rejection rate and for me that's good. If I ask 10 and only one says no its a good day but if I'm honest, its much less than that.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Be prepared</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Have your camera set up before you ask, all you need to be fiddling about with is the exposure compensation, its no use asking and getting a positive reply if your subject walks off after getting fed up waiting.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Talk</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Speak to the person, get their name and something about them, they are going to ask you the one question everyone asks, "Why do you want to take my image?" and that my dear friends is your cue. Have a reason ready, I usually say because they have life in their face and I love the way they look. When here expand on it and get some background to them and chat to them, you will be surprised just how much they will talk to you and how much they will tell but be prepared to give some information about yourself back. Its a two way street. Say nothing, don't converse and it will show in your final photograph, a person not at ease does not make a good subject.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Be polite</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Good old values such as thank you, please and on approach a simple disarming "excuse me but" will open so many doors when doing street portraits. Be rude and you will have the door slammed in your face.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Give them information</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The majority will ask what will happen with the image, tell them, have a card handy with your contact information if needed, offer a copy of the image if they want it but be open and honest with them. If they ask and you do not say they are going to walk away and I would not blame them.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Be aware</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Look at your surroundings and where your subject is, do you want background clutter? if there is too much you move, not your subject, if they have agreed and you need them in a different position walk around them, they will instinctively turn to face you. If they look at unease while you do this then explain what you are doing but you have to do the work, not them, no one likes being told to stand here or there and so on.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Smile</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Its the easiest thing you can do and yet so many don't bother, someone who smiles immediately disarms others. Most people will go along with a friendly face, look at salesmen and advertisers, they have been using smiles for centuries, they know it works.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Enjoy what you do</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">If you do it will shine through in your work and you will get to meet some wonderful people in the bargain</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-21019556360442996892012-03-06T14:42:00.000-08:002012-03-06T14:42:18.378-08:00Do You Stop Looking?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IljCU4KilhI/Twd4dK2PibI/AAAAAAAArds/RWlX7Z5xQyI/s1600/Echo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IljCU4KilhI/Twd4dK2PibI/AAAAAAAArds/RWlX7Z5xQyI/s320/Echo.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">So what makes a good photographer?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">So many discussions have been had over the years, is it the kit, is it the eye, is it the ability to post edit well? For me you need a little of all the above, to a point but they are all useless if you decide to stop looking.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">You have to train your eye to see things most do not look twice at and you can only do this by continuously look for what others just don't see. Most people look at were they are heading, its a way of staying safe so we look in the route we are travelling in, now and then we cast a glimpse around but back into the direction we head. Its like walking with blinkers on, so we can focus on the job in hand and get from A top B as safely and as quickly as we can. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The only problem with that is what we fail to see, its the details of life that we overlook and by overlooking them we miss so many opportunities. You have to take off your blinkers and look around, even when you don't have your camera, divert your eyes from your course now and then, see what is there and if need be veer off course to look closer at something that catches your eye. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">How many times have you walked through a forest and missed the fine webs floating in the breeze that have been woven by spiders that use the wind to get around?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">How many times have you walked to work but never noticed the patterns displayed by the cracks in the pavement under your feet?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">How many times have you missed the reflection of life cast back in a puddle?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The best tool you can have to become a good photographer?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Its your curiosity, trust it, it will show you more than you will ever realise, go where it atkes you and see the details of life.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-69058977014025956122012-03-06T14:36:00.002-08:002012-03-06T14:36:59.165-08:00The Composition Of An Image Starts Long Before You Press The Shutter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TDkIgodhXQE/TibQePDhnbI/AAAAAAAAAnI/e4MhSSf70w4/s1600/Freedom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TDkIgodhXQE/TibQePDhnbI/AAAAAAAAAnI/e4MhSSf70w4/s320/Freedom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I want to talk about composition and I will use this shot as an example to what I am waffling about.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Most people believe you compose a shot at the time you put the viewfinder to your eye and press the shutter, you should have gone through this process long before you even held your camera to your eye.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">This was a shot I composed on the way home from work after a night shift, I saw the sea mist roll in up the estuary, I saw it hit the town of Runcorn as I passed over the bridge, I saw it roll toward the church, I carry my camera back and forth to work as I catch early morning light after a night shift. I knew were I had to park up, I knew I had a run to get here but I knew from the quick glance I took over the bridge as I drove over there were pigeons flying in and around the belfry. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Once I had gotten to the location it was a question of two aspects of the image coming into play, the mist being deep enough to be seen but not too deep you lose detail from the town structure, the second was in the hands of the birds, I wanted a single bird flying from the church, if need be I would have used the flock but the composition in my mind wanted a single bird, I struck lucky. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The composition though took place in the car, on the drive home, watching the mist, some 10 to 15 minutes before I hit the location. How is this possible?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I knew from that spot on the bridge I could look over the town, one of those times when passing you log a spot in your mind for a shoot that might happen, this was one of those times. The composition of the shot took place several weeks before when I noted the location, how is that possible?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I knew from past experience you get fog and mist that rolls in, its a late winter early spring shot, the sun is warm enough to start to burn off low lying fog, as the land and water start to warm up the mist rises with the warmth, remember all those lessons you had in school about how rain is made, this is it only emphasised. The composition of the shot took place several months before when I decided to Google the question "what causes sea mist"</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">All the elements of the shot were there, it was a case of waiting for that one moment when I press the shutter button, a lot of things here you have no control over whatsoever, if its going to happen it will happen. What you do have control over is the ability to be ready for when it does happen, stage one is knowing your locations, sometimes the rest just slots into place but what might appear as a lucky shot may take a lot more preparation than first thought.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-85211773934911393272012-01-09T09:48:00.000-08:002012-01-09T09:48:47.773-08:00Long Exposure, When, Why And How<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kNNvFAJB0uA/TwsoV04H1PI/AAAAAAAAuEc/PFIQCq_5Bf8/s1600/Long.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kNNvFAJB0uA/TwsoV04H1PI/AAAAAAAAuEc/PFIQCq_5Bf8/s320/Long.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Not intended for professionals ;)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">In this post I would like to talk about long exposure and when and why to use them.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">In this example I am using the image I posted yesterday called "On The Shoulders Of Angels" : https://plus.google.com/u/0/102518365620075109973/posts/3SLuWh4Ry1J as one of two examples with a long exposure and without. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">*When*</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For myself I like to use long exposures in certain conditions, moving water and winds strong enough to move clouds, early or late light so its not too harsh. Sunrise and sunsets for me give the best results due to the colour mix. You want to try and get a combination of both, I find it rarely works without both as with only water or only sky there is a certain something missing but that is just my opinion. There are times it will work in urban setting such as an angled shoot at tall building where the sky has moving clouds overhead.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">*Why*</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Long exposures give a very ethereal effect to an image, when the clouds and water are turned to mist through the blurring of movement the effect can be stunning, they can take a course landscape/seascape and smooth it out, its a more gentle image and easy on the eye for the viewer. It can also create and show so many beautiful lines that would not normally be seen by the audience, there is a fantasy feel not normally seen in photography.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">*How*</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Unfortunately you need a certain amount of kit to be able to do this. I use a Lee Big Stopper filter http://leefilters.com/index.php/camera/bigstopper with their foundation mounting kit, a wide angle adapter that I couple this with Hitech soft ND grads, I have three in total, the 0.9, 0.6 and the 0.3.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I couple these with the Sigma 10-20mm 1:4-5:6 DC HSM wide angle lens mounted on a Canon 7D (you really need a wide angle lens if you want to take landscapes) a tripod and the Canon TC-8ON3 Timer remote controller (something that is essential for long exposures) </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Once you have set up the position on the tripod you want you load on the adapter ring to hold the foundation kit, I load in a soft ND grad filter, on this occasion it was the 0.3ND as it was early morning and the sky was not over bright, even with a big stopper you are at risk of overexposing the sky while trying to keep the exposure of the land right. I use the grads to compensate for this and keep the sky exposed to the right level while maintaining the level on the ground/foreground. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">As the Lee Big Stopper is so dark you will not be able to focus through it so you have to set up as you normally would before making some changes. I set up in manual mode with my focal point set some 30 feet into the shot and the f-stop at f/14 and the ISO at 100 to keep the noise to a minimum. This is with the focus set in auto, once I am happy with how the shot is set up I take it out of auto focus and into manual, I change from manual mode to bulb, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">once you change from manual to Bulb you have to re-enter your aperture setting that you originally had in Manual mode as this is a different dial setting, in this case it was re-set to f/14</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> (The canon has a limit of 30sec exposure unless in bulb mode) and only then do I gently slide the Big Stopper into place. I set the desired time on the remote controller, on this occasion it was for 480 secs with 6 seconds added to get the right exposure and then I pressed the release. Its a case of leaving the camera to do what it does, I went beach combing while I waited. There is a graph that comes with the filter giving you guides on how long to set the shutter speed but I find that you get the best results through trial and error.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Some things to note, the Big Stopper will give you a colour cast on the image, you can take this out during post editing (I used some of it as I like what it did here) or convert to black and white. It will also offer up a lot of vignetting even with the wide angle adapter, this too can be taken out in post editing. You are not really going to get away with SOOC shots doing long exposures, you need to understand that you will have to invest time in editing as well as taking the image but the results will speak for themselves.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-68145951732499933532011-12-14T06:16:00.001-08:002011-12-14T06:16:42.757-08:00Understanding Your Subject<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nT4gAxLbPbI/Tig1gs07ZlI/AAAAAAAAA1c/Py5XeV3QNro/s1600/My-History.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nT4gAxLbPbI/Tig1gs07ZlI/AAAAAAAAA1c/Py5XeV3QNro/s320/My-History.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">In this one I want to talk about understanding your subject.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Choose well</b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">One of the points I have always brought up about portraits is you want someone that will stand out. In this case Patrick was being wheeled about in his wheelchair by three women (they turned out to be his daughters) I could see in his face so much character that I knew he would make a good subject. If the person stands out in a crowd they will stand out in an image, the issue you have is so many people simply don't look at the older generation and its so many opportunities missed.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Set up</b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Once you get the OK to take the photograph you need to make sure you have set your camera up well, for this image I used the canon f2.8 70-200mm at 70mm and with the f point on 2.8, I use such a high f/stop to ensure it softens the background and the focus is on the face and not any background clutter.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Framing</b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">This was a deliberate close shot, the top of the head is cropped from the image, this gives the effect that the subject is closer to the viewer. A technique started by David Bailey in the 60's when photographing celebs and it works well. If you look at most of my street portraits you will see I use this a lot. It creates a more intimate image that the viewer feels more drawn to.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Expression</b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">This is what will make or break and image, I ask anyone I photograph to simply look straight at me, this gives me direct eye contact with the viewer and myself. I find what happens they will ultimately show an expression that they are either comfortable with or they will do something else that will make the image. In this one Patrick looked at me over his glasses and raised one eyebrow, his expressions says "What are you up to sonny boy" and coupled with his pursed lips it made a great expression.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Angles</b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Get this right, how you point your camera will make all the difference, if they are shorter that you try and get lower, if taller stand on tiptoes, you want to try and and get on the same eye level as your subject. There are times thought when you want it to work the other way, if they are very tall you might want to show this and shoot more upward. In this case because Patrick was in a wheelchair I had to get low but when he gave me this look I wanted it to look as if he is looking down on the viewer so I had to get down just that bit lower.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Light</b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">As in my previous post I spoke about the importance of light, it still stands when doing portraits, he had the light coming over his left shoulder that could have masked his face so I moved slightly to the right and he followed me to face what I was doing, this lit his face up and gave me the right amount of light.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Editing</b><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The last thing to consider is what end result you want, I knew at the time of taking this image I wanted a black and white image simply to show the character in his face. There are times though when colour is better but this can be a personal choice, you need to go the way </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">you</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> are comfortable with.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-7078145994296444852011-12-14T06:13:00.000-08:002011-12-14T06:17:45.919-08:00Understanding Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DmR_tecwovM/ToDMUS73hoI/AAAAAAAAILk/a3m9MuxlYb0/s1600/Lazy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DmR_tecwovM/ToDMUS73hoI/AAAAAAAAILk/a3m9MuxlYb0/s320/Lazy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">How to make the best of light.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I think when you first pick up a camera there are so many variables in taking an image it can at times confuse so many people. The one variable you always have to be aware of is light and its effects. </span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The right time</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">You will hear so many photographers talk about "The Golden Hour" for taking outside images, whether its landscapes, urban etc these is always a right and wrong time. You do not want to be out in bright harsh summer sun, all you will get is harsh images, over exposed skies and deep shadows. Try and get out early, before the sun comes up and use the light before the sun is fully risen, the light is much more gentle. If early rising is not for you then work toward the end of the day, be out and about as the sun starts to set to get that same gentle light.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Reflect and rejoice</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Sunlight on water is wonderful, get it right and you will get a beautiful cast of the sunrise/set colours over the water that will add another dimension to your image. Use reflections too, both the clouds and the boat in this image are reflected back on the water and the details can be seen as there is no harsh light in the image.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Exposure</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Try and expose for the sky, if you meter for the land there is a good chance you will over expose the sky. One way to combat this is through filters, I use soft ND grads which allow me to expose for the land and keep the sky from over exposing. They also allow me to shoot more toward the sun without blowing it out. If you are serious about landscape photography I cannot recommend them enough.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Aware</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Be aware of where your light source is and its role in your images composure, get it wrong and it will throw the whole image out. In this shot its not central, it sits to the right and the boat to the left to give the image a sense of balance but it also casts a hue throughout the image that gives the colour balance too.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Shadows</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Never lose focus of the shadows too, they play as vital a role as the light does. In this image I was very concious of the dappled sand in the foreground when I took this image. I got down low to ensure it was there and the fact the shadows added texture to the image. They sit in contrast with the clouds that add a dappled counter in the sky/background to the foreground.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">This image only works because of the light, its taken in the golden hour and the warm tones give a warm feeling to the viewer. Coupled with the fact there is no harsh light or dark then the details of the image can be seen and with that the viewer wants to look around the image. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Light is the biggest ally you have in photography but it can also be your worse enemy if you dont use it right.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-37174106362482418592011-11-18T00:59:00.000-08:002011-11-18T00:59:08.436-08:00This Land Of Mine Walk Through<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMT_mBVfjxc/TiQAqad1HvI/AAAAAAAANlI/WTGtNO5vtJM/s1600/This-land-Of-Mine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMT_mBVfjxc/TiQAqad1HvI/AAAAAAAANlI/WTGtNO5vtJM/s320/This-land-Of-Mine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sorry this has been so long coming but it’s a complicated image and I need to make sure I get it right.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Location: </div><div class="MsoNormal">This is Wastwater based in the Lake District UK, its held by the National Trust and they have done a wonderful job in making sure its stays as intended, no shops developments and so on.</div><div class="MsoNormal">More information: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/wastwater.htm">http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/wastwater.htm</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Equipment:</div><div class="MsoNormal">Canon 7D (gripped)</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sigam 10-20mm 1:1-5.6 DC HSM lens</div><div class="MsoNormal">Big Stopper Filter</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hitech ND0.9 Soft Grad Filter</div><div class="MsoNormal">Lee Foundation Kit with SWA Adapter </div><div class="MsoNormal">Snorkel view finder attachment</div><div class="MsoNormal">Canon TC-80N3 Remote Timer</div><div class="MsoNormal">Tripod</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The set up:</div><div class="MsoNormal">The location was vital, I wanted to be able to have a full sweep through the image from the foreground through to the sky, at one point it was a case of getting into the water to see if it was better. Trouser rolled up and in, its one of the reasons I only use average price tripods as I tend to be brutal with them. On this shot I am just in front of a small river that feeds into the lake to break up the foreground but close enough to the river to be able to see the smaller rocks and pebbles in the water.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Camera is set up with the tripod at half height, using the wide angle lens its opened the image up, if you are serious about landscape photography then you have to be serious about a wide angle lens. I wanted a long exposure so it was a case of using the Lee Big Stopper filter in conjunction with the Hitech ND 0.9 Soft Grad filter. The Lee filter is 10 stop filter that allows you to really slow down the shutter speed so I could see movement in the clouds but you can as in most landscapes over expose the sky while trying to keep the land at the true level. The Hitech filter allows me to expose for the land while keeping the sky at the right level. AS the camera is low to save me having to bend down I attach the snorkel to the viewfinder, this simply allows me to stand upright while looking through the finder at the image. </div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the issues with the Lee Big Stopper is because it is so black you will not be able to auto focus the lens, nor will you be able to hold the shutter open more than 30 seconds (Canon default) in manual mode. To get around this you have to set the camera up in manual and do a few alterations before taking the image, its done thus.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Set your shot as normal through the viewfinder, in this case I used hyper focus to get the whole image in focus. To do this I use Manual Select AF Point Expansion set at the lower part of the grid. I focus some 30 foot into the frame at a low aperture rate and it will bring the image into full focus, more information here: <a href="http://www.great-landscape-photography.com/hyperfocal.html">http://www.great-landscape-photography.com/hyperfocal.html</a> Once you have set up the shot you need to change from auto focus to manual (You need to be careful to disturb little with the camera at this stage) and from manual to bulb. Double check were your aperture is set when in bulb mode to ensure it matches what you had in manual, remember your camera will retain the last settings used. Once done you slide the Lee Big Stopper into place in the filter holder, set your remote timer and press the shutter and keep still.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The camera setting for this shot are: </div><div class="MsoNormal">F-stop: f/20</div><div class="MsoNormal">Exposure Time: 100 sec</div><div class="MsoNormal">ISO: 100</div><div class="MsoNormal">Focal Length: 10mm</div><div class="MsoNormal">Metering: Spot</div><div class="MsoNormal">Bulb mode with manual focus</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once you have taken the shot it’s a case of reviewing what you have done and then set up again, you have to go through this each time but the end results justify the work involved. Image as normal is saved in RAW as is all images I take. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Post editing:</div><div class="MsoNormal">To begin with the image is opened as a raw file in CS5, one of the issues with using the Lee Big Stopper is you do get a blue colour cast and even with the SWA adapter you will get some vignetting, the colour cast you put right in CS5 RAW by simply adjusting the white balance sliders along with the recovery, fill light on the basic setting and the tone curves until you get it back to were you need them. At this point you need to save the file as a DNG file as we want to tone map it a small amount. I use Photomatix, I know there are other plug ins in CS5 etc but I am comfortable doing it this way, you can though use whatever program you prefer. The issue with vignetting is dealt with after tone mapping. I open the DNG file in Photomatix (I only ever use single files to convert to HDR) The vital setting I use here are:</div><div class="MsoNormal">Strength: 85</div><div class="MsoNormal">Colour Saturation: 73</div><div class="MsoNormal">Luminosity: 4.1</div><div class="MsoNormal">Micro-contrast: 10</div><div class="MsoNormal">White Point: .07</div><div class="MsoNormal">Black point: 0.03</div><div class="MsoNormal">Gamma: 1.30</div><div class="MsoNormal">Micro-smoothing: 10</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The rest are down to yourself, even theses can be tweaked but please don’t use pre-sets, you doom all your images to look the same if you do.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once done the image is put through CS5 once again to deal with the vignetting, once in CS5 open the image in Color Efex pro and we are going to use darken lighten centre mode but we are going to flip it, using the slider we lighten the outer edges and if need be darken the centre, we will also alter the centre size to get it right. This is one of those stages you just have to play with until you get the levels right. From here I take the image into Lightroom 3 so I can adjust individual colours in HSL mode and I have increased the saturation and luminosity on both the greens and the blues of the sky to make the image pop, I also play with the clarity and temperature in here, I take the temp slightly toward the warm side as its more appealing than colder tones. Apart from a few minor tweaks that’s about it. Keep an eye on noise and adjust to suit but if you keep your IS) level to low when shooting it should not be too bad.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-59781092243499133502011-10-30T03:06:00.000-07:002011-10-30T03:06:34.792-07:00Last days Of Summer Walk Through<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rtsoL6-zVcY/TmRvruxL89I/AAAAAAAAE3Y/Rq-JmelJRhA/s1600/Last-Summer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rtsoL6-zVcY/TmRvruxL89I/AAAAAAAAE3Y/Rq-JmelJRhA/s320/Last-Summer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Last Days Of Summer.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Please be aware, this is inteded not for professionals, I have no intention of telling you how to suck eggs! </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">As promised this is the first of two walk through's, this will concentrate on landscapes the second will be black and white street portraits.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For this landscape I knew in advance what image I wanted as I pass the fields when I travel back and forth to work, sometimes you are spontaneous in your approach, other times you will know. When you find yourself in a position to plan a shoot do just that. Check the weather prior to going out, for this I also checked the sunrise times. I knew I had only a short window of opportunity as between the time of finishing work and the full sun rise was only short. I also wanted the bails of hay in the shot and knew they would not spend too much time in the filed due to the wet weather we have been having. Farmers check the weather more often than photographers, the bails were taken to storage later the same day as this photograph.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">So I knew what I wanted to photograph, I knew the location and I knew of the most important part, the light. From here on in it was a case of preparation.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The kit I carry with me is:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Canon 7D (gripped)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Lenses I take most of the time:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM II</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Canon 28-135mm F3.5 IS US</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Sigma 10-20mm EX F4.0 </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Canon 50mm prime F1.8</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">(I have others but these tend to be the lenses I carry) </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Tripod (nothing too expensive as I have a tenancy to kill them)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Lee Big Stopper Filter and foundation kit</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">0.3, 0.6 and the 0.9 soft ND grad filters.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Remote shutter release (TC 80N3)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For this shot I used the Sigma wide angle lens with the foundation kit mounted and the 0.6soft ND grad. The camera I set up as:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Manual mode in Landscape setting , I have mine set up with the sharpness taken up by +1, the rest set on 0. F stop was set to F13, ISO at 100, White balance set to auto (I find it easier to adjust white balance in post production if needed rather than play with the manual mode on the camera) Metering was set up on spot metering (more on that later) and I had a manually selected single point AF. Auto light optomizer set to low.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For the shot I was going to use hyper focusing, for those not aware of this, its something like this.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Using a single AF point at bottom centre I focused on a point some 30 feet into the frame, with the F stop set at anywhere between f11 to f18 the image should be focused and sharp from the foreground to the background, more information here:</span><a class="ot-anchor" href="http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/hyperfocal-focusing-photography-tips/" style="background-color: white; color: #3366cc; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/hyperfocal-focu<wbr></wbr>sing-photography-tips/</a><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I knew the sun would be rising behind the trees and I wanted to use that, we rarely get good results from most images shooting into the sun unless we find a way to defuse it, on this occasion I was going to use the tree to do just that. Combined with the soft ND grad I knew getting the right exposure without blowing out the lighter part of the sky would be easier. I was also using spot metering, I chose a lighter grey cloud in the sky to set my exposure to with the spot metering, using this I knew the rest of the image would be balanced. Once I had the exposure set it was a case of bringing the focal point to where I wanted and simply waited. Once the sun hit the right part of the tree I took my image, the long drawn out shadows were a bonus. The focal length was 10mm (widest) and the exposure time was set at 1/15 secs, because of this I could take the images hand held.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I now had my image and the next stage was post editing.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">For this image there was not too much editing but what I did was:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Raw file converted in Photomatix to be tone mapped. The RAW processing options were set up prior to the conversion as, Noise reduction set at 80%, Reduce chromatic aberrations selected, white balance as shot and colour space set at sRGB.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Slider setting within Photomatix were set as:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Strength: 80</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Colour Saturation: 60</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Luminosity: 2.9 </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Microcontrast: 10.0</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Light Mode: Max</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">White point: 0.276%</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Black Point: 0.333%</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Gamma: 1.50</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Temperature: 2.1</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Saturation Highlights: 0.9</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Saturation Shadows: 1.5</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Micro-Smoothing: 30.0</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Highlight Smoothnes: 6</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Shadows Smothness: 0</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Shadows clipping: 0</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Image was then exported to CS5, using Nik Softwares Colour Efex pro a Skylight filter was added at 12% to give more warmth to the sunlight and the image was globally sharpened. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Remember though, no amount of post editing will make a poor image a good image, you have to get the basics right, set the camera up as much as possible to give you the best staring point, the more you have right in camera, the less post editing you need to do, unless of course your like me and simply enjoy the fiddling about with it ;)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-76391347475687965052011-10-16T00:44:00.000-07:002011-10-16T00:44:13.363-07:00Wolfman Walk Through<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In this post I have added a set of images that show you the step by step route to edit a black and white street portrait. I shoot in RAW so it does not really matter if you shoot originally in black and white or colour as the RAW file saves all the information. I just prefer to shoot in colour.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z1ppVl7EHD0/ToNmbsHSclI/AAAAAAAAIrA/Yl6w0iKLkEA/s1600/Part+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z1ppVl7EHD0/ToNmbsHSclI/AAAAAAAAIrA/Yl6w0iKLkEA/s640/Part+1.jpg" width="636" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-__VAUNofL7Y/ToNmbbriXSI/AAAAAAAAIq8/DZbVKPIz6jw/s1600/Part+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-__VAUNofL7Y/ToNmbbriXSI/AAAAAAAAIq8/DZbVKPIz6jw/s640/Part+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hHmCuhVo1mM/ToNmbakTQJI/AAAAAAAAIq4/q9unsXqnQNU/s1600/Part+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="492" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hHmCuhVo1mM/ToNmbakTQJI/AAAAAAAAIq4/q9unsXqnQNU/s640/Part+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B8TyTpJRis4/ToNmc14cyzI/AAAAAAAAIrE/7eBf1pW19k0/s1600/Part+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B8TyTpJRis4/ToNmc14cyzI/AAAAAAAAIrE/7eBf1pW19k0/s640/Part+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dMoDQ1k83FI/ToNmdIBPwRI/AAAAAAAAIrI/Ww4qGJjyNdE/s1600/Part+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="474" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dMoDQ1k83FI/ToNmdIBPwRI/AAAAAAAAIrI/Ww4qGJjyNdE/s640/Part+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5uQx-FW_dVM/ToNmdWsdRtI/AAAAAAAAIrM/bneQuGcNZKU/s1600/Part+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="442" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5uQx-FW_dVM/ToNmdWsdRtI/AAAAAAAAIrM/bneQuGcNZKU/s640/Part+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qjtB8Th5xls/ToNmdkBlwEI/AAAAAAAAIrQ/sgfK-c4rIRc/s1600/Part+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qjtB8Th5xls/ToNmdkBlwEI/AAAAAAAAIrQ/sgfK-c4rIRc/s640/Part+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QanUCr3V5MM/ToNmeFnlhPI/AAAAAAAAIrU/bwQmNoy8m0o/s1600/Part+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QanUCr3V5MM/ToNmeFnlhPI/AAAAAAAAIrU/bwQmNoy8m0o/s640/Part+8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1584834519137530031.post-76293854752418974262011-10-11T05:39:00.000-07:002011-10-11T05:39:50.414-07:00How To Edit The Ages Of Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oRtNbiqoH4o/TiQCm__BDDI/AAAAAAAAAHc/PeX3PoyBl84/s1600/Age.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oRtNbiqoH4o/TiQCm__BDDI/AAAAAAAAAHc/PeX3PoyBl84/s320/Age.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
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This is not intended for professionals as I have no intention of teaching you how to suck eggs but if you gain anything from it then all the better.<br />
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The original image was shot at mid afternoon using a Canon 7D with the 28-135mm lens attached, the rest of the details are:<br />
F-stop: f/4.5<br />
Time: 1/250sec<br />
ISO: 100<br />
Focal length: 60mm<br />
It was shot in RAW format (if your camera can shoot in RAW then you should, the information retained in the file is invaluable)<br />
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1/ The images is opened as a raw file in CS5 and the clarity and the sharpness is tweaked. Contrast is also tweaked while still in colour to give a stronger contrast, needed later.<br />
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2/ The image is then opened in CS5, it is then cropped to focus on the face and remove some of the background clutter.<br />
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3/ Using the plug in Slver Efex Pro it is converted to black and white, once again here the contrast, brightness and structure is tweaked, stronger contrast and more brightness added and structure increased by around 20%.<br />
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4/ At this point there is still some clutter behind the subjects head, so I set about getting rid of the background using the burn brush, set at a round 25% to 35% exposure I darken both the highlights and mid tones first, I then move onto the shadow and set the exposure to around 50%, at all the times the brush is kept small when working near to the face with the hardness set at 30% A lot of this technique is how you use the brush, as you work around the face you need to sweep it gently as each pass will darken the image, be aware of where the brush is falling within the frame. You also need to understand the lighting of the image, for this I wanted it be lit toward the face so I darkened the back with stronger strokes, more delicate to the front.<br />
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5/ The image is then exported to Lightroom, in here I use the Tone sliders, I both lighten the image with the fill light and darken the blacks with the black slider. I also use post crop vignetting to really darken the edges of the frame but I use it in highlight priority mode to retain the highlights were needed. I also sharpen the image in here looking also to reduce any noise. Once happy I export back to CS5<br />
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6/ The last stage is to use the brush tool with a soft edge set on black to tidy up any areas, with this image I also increased the structure again in Silver Efex to bring out more of the detail in the finished image.<br />
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Its sounds complicated but it is easier than you think, make sure you have the right image to begin with, it does not work on all portraits and less so on a subject that is looking directly at the viewer.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FvmYhaok7dM/Tk4J2ich80I/AAAAAAAACS8/iBMespRcuE8/s1600/How+To.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FvmYhaok7dM/Tk4J2ich80I/AAAAAAAACS8/iBMespRcuE8/s320/How+To.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15556347571295153947noreply@blogger.com11