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Do you use Art modes on your camera?
I recently upgraded my hardware from the Olympus OM-D E-M1 to its big sister the E-M1 Mark II. This machine is a true professional level machine and offers some awesome capabilities. One I had discounted (because, hey I make my own art) was the Art modes.
I love Noir Street photography which is essentially really high contrast, grainy, dark street photography where the people are lit only by the surrounding lights. It's actually quite hard to pull this look off manually. While on a photowalk recently at Victoria Night Market I wanted a b&w preview of my images. Believe it or not it escaped my brain how to do this on the new camera so I jumped into the Noir Art mode and to my surprise it simply does an amazing job of pulling off the very look that I really enjoy. Lesson learned for me that night.
Conclusion
Don't dismiss the "fancy" modes on the camera and utilise the technology properly.
I recently upgraded my hardware from the Olympus OM-D E-M1 to its big sister the E-M1 Mark II. This machine is a true professional level machine and offers some awesome capabilities. One I had discounted (because, hey I make my own art) was the Art modes.
I love Noir Street photography which is essentially really high contrast, grainy, dark street photography where the people are lit only by the surrounding lights. It's actually quite hard to pull this look off manually. While on a photowalk recently at Victoria Night Market I wanted a b&w preview of my images. Believe it or not it escaped my brain how to do this on the new camera so I jumped into the Noir Art mode and to my surprise it simply does an amazing job of pulling off the very look that I really enjoy. Lesson learned for me that night.
Conclusion
Don't dismiss the "fancy" modes on the camera and utilise the technology properly.
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The process to create bokeh is the same no matter what sensor you've got
I read something funny on the net today, a writer espousing that mirrorless small sensor cameras (e.g. Micro four thirds) can't do bokeh. He was saying it wasn't physically possible. I think that maybe he doesn't understand physics of light quite as well as he thinks he does. This image is taken with the Olympus EM-1 Mk II which is a Micro Four Thirds camera and it seems to have plenty of bokeh to me.
The secret to making bokeh generally has three elements
- a forground subject (in this case the wire)
- a background which is either backlit like the leaves on this plant - or small bright sources of light such as fairy lights or a christmas tree
- a wide open lens in this case f/2.8
Now interestingly his idea was based on a physical property that is true, on my sensor f/2.8 is the same as f/4 on a full frame camera for depth of field but not for light. For light f/2.8 is exactly that, f/2.8.
I read something funny on the net today, a writer espousing that mirrorless small sensor cameras (e.g. Micro four thirds) can't do bokeh. He was saying it wasn't physically possible. I think that maybe he doesn't understand physics of light quite as well as he thinks he does. This image is taken with the Olympus EM-1 Mk II which is a Micro Four Thirds camera and it seems to have plenty of bokeh to me.
The secret to making bokeh generally has three elements
- a forground subject (in this case the wire)
- a background which is either backlit like the leaves on this plant - or small bright sources of light such as fairy lights or a christmas tree
- a wide open lens in this case f/2.8
Now interestingly his idea was based on a physical property that is true, on my sensor f/2.8 is the same as f/4 on a full frame camera for depth of field but not for light. For light f/2.8 is exactly that, f/2.8.
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Rope & Learning
When you're learning photography (which btw is forever - I learn something every day) photo themes can be a great way to encourage you to share your images and get them out there. I often wonder how many people have natural compositional and photographic talent that we never find out about because they keep it to themselves.
This image is a contribution to #JoinInDaily +Join In Daily "Rope" curated by +Johnny Wills
The reason I like this image is the combination of the strong textures and framing of the man made foreground with the natural soft out of focus background which also happens to include a favourite shed #thatshed just under the tree.
When you're learning photography (which btw is forever - I learn something every day) photo themes can be a great way to encourage you to share your images and get them out there. I often wonder how many people have natural compositional and photographic talent that we never find out about because they keep it to themselves.
This image is a contribution to #JoinInDaily +Join In Daily "Rope" curated by +Johnny Wills
The reason I like this image is the combination of the strong textures and framing of the man made foreground with the natural soft out of focus background which also happens to include a favourite shed #thatshed just under the tree.
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Has your Done button and other develop tool bar items vanished in Light Room?
You've probably fallen victim to the Adobe every #$(&#$&( key does something mode change. Just hit T and your done button and toolbar will return.
Thought I'd post this since I just consumed a couple of minutes trying to find the answer.
You've probably fallen victim to the Adobe every #$(&#$&( key does something mode change. Just hit T and your done button and toolbar will return.
Thought I'd post this since I just consumed a couple of minutes trying to find the answer.
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The Basics - Controlling Light - Exposure
Photography is a triangle of settings for ISO (sensitivity), Shutter Speed, and Aperture. Each of them affects a different element of the triangle. Change one and it effects the others.
ISO controls how sensitive your camera is.
Shutter controls how long you expose the sensor to light.
Aperture controls how much of the available light comes to the shutter from outside the camera.
Photography is a triangle of settings for ISO (sensitivity), Shutter Speed, and Aperture. Each of them affects a different element of the triangle. Change one and it effects the others.
ISO controls how sensitive your camera is.
Shutter controls how long you expose the sensor to light.
Aperture controls how much of the available light comes to the shutter from outside the camera.
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Establish simple systems to help you
Following routines with simple systems means you're always ready to react the right way. That can be complex things like programming the custom buttons on your camera or it can mean really simple things like knowing at a glance if your battery is charged or not. This battery has a conveniently placed arrow which is visible through a window in it's case. If this arrow is visible I know the battery is charged, any other way I know it's not. How do i know? Because I put it in this way as a system of working when I take it off the charger.
Following routines with simple systems means you're always ready to react the right way. That can be complex things like programming the custom buttons on your camera or it can mean really simple things like knowing at a glance if your battery is charged or not. This battery has a conveniently placed arrow which is visible through a window in it's case. If this arrow is visible I know the battery is charged, any other way I know it's not. How do i know? Because I put it in this way as a system of working when I take it off the charger.
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Don't be afraid to underexpose at night
At night time, on the Oly EM-1 it's easy because I can use Live Time and simply stop shooting when I like the exposure. On other cameras I expose for the bright lights. That way I get a nice dark sky, the lights aren't blown out and the reflections on the water are nice.
At night time, on the Oly EM-1 it's easy because I can use Live Time and simply stop shooting when I like the exposure. On other cameras I expose for the bright lights. That way I get a nice dark sky, the lights aren't blown out and the reflections on the water are nice.
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How to photograph the sunset (or sunrise)
How often do you see sunsets and sunrises on social media. All the time, nearly every day is the answer in my stream. In my opinion the splash of colour is nice, but its not enough, a sunset by itself is like having whiskey on the rocks with no whiskey. I always try to include some foreground interest to give the eye something to settle on and usually expose so that is a silhouette. At the same time I reduce the exposure of the sky by a stop or two with exposure compensation. Why? Because it makes the sky just that much more colourful and dramatic without any distracting bright patches and blowouts. Like any landscape I focus about 1/3 of the way into the scene and use a reasonable but not deep depth of field like f/6.3.
As always comments and discussion welcome.
How often do you see sunsets and sunrises on social media. All the time, nearly every day is the answer in my stream. In my opinion the splash of colour is nice, but its not enough, a sunset by itself is like having whiskey on the rocks with no whiskey. I always try to include some foreground interest to give the eye something to settle on and usually expose so that is a silhouette. At the same time I reduce the exposure of the sky by a stop or two with exposure compensation. Why? Because it makes the sky just that much more colourful and dramatic without any distracting bright patches and blowouts. Like any landscape I focus about 1/3 of the way into the scene and use a reasonable but not deep depth of field like f/6.3.
As always comments and discussion welcome.
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Let go of the sharp... welcome to the unsharp
Something I've noticed since acquiring a Lensbaby Composer, when you let go of sharp you start to notice other things you only appreciated subliminally, form, colour, motion. A grand door is opened that changes the way you undertake your other photography because you start to notice the form, colour and motion in those shots too as you're composing them. A new dimension. If you've not travelled across the threshold with Alice I suggest you get hold of your own personal looking glass and go have a play. The unsharp isn't for everyone but I enjoy the outcomes and enjoy the struggle of manual focus coupled with manual lens alignment to get the sweet spot someplace interesting.
Something I've noticed since acquiring a Lensbaby Composer, when you let go of sharp you start to notice other things you only appreciated subliminally, form, colour, motion. A grand door is opened that changes the way you undertake your other photography because you start to notice the form, colour and motion in those shots too as you're composing them. A new dimension. If you've not travelled across the threshold with Alice I suggest you get hold of your own personal looking glass and go have a play. The unsharp isn't for everyone but I enjoy the outcomes and enjoy the struggle of manual focus coupled with manual lens alignment to get the sweet spot someplace interesting.
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This is the kind of thing I take for granted so I never remember to go back to basics. This is really well written blog from +Steve Boyko well worth a read.
How to Fix Backlit Photos in Lightroom
Backlit photo - before and after Here's a common problem. You see an interesting subject but the light is behind the subject. This is called " backlit " for obvious reasons. Maybe you can't move to a spot with better light, or the subject is a train that's ...
Backlit photo - before and after Here's a common problem. You see an interesting subject but the light is behind the subject. This is called " backlit " for obvious reasons. Maybe you can't move to a spot with better light, or the subject is a train that's ...
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