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Choosing Lenses For Wedding Photography

February 23, 2010 | No Comments | Featured, Photography

Choosing Lenses For Wedding Photography | By Jeff Walden

Wedding photography has gained popularity over the years due to the increased pressure on bride and grooms to host the perfect wedding. Wedding photography depends on perfect timing and having equipment that matches the needs of the couple.

However, once you have gained enough experience in the field, you should start thinking about getting the best and latest equipment for wedding photography. If you start to carry out research and speak to different wedding photographers, you will realize that different individual prefer different brands and consequently, different lenses- depending on their style and mode of working.

It goes without saying that if you want to excel in the field of wedding photography, it is essential that you purchase a good portrait lens. Portrait photography depends on the distance between the camera and the subject as well as the lens’ focal length. It is of common knowledge that if you take a close up of the subject with the help of a lens with a wide angle, the subject will practically protrude out of the photograph and its surroundings will look miniature. Therefore, if you want to achieve this kind of an effect, it is recommended that you use a wide angle lens and shoot from a short distance. This concept is called foreshortening and is very popular among wedding photographers.

However, in case the bride or the groom do not like close up and therefore, do not wish to see minute details of their faces- you cannot use these lenses. Therefore, it becomes necessary to involve the couple into your plans so that both the parties are happy in the end. You should explain how positioning the camera in a certain manner will add different angles to the photograph and make it look completely different.

A study was carried out recently which compared photographs taken from different focal lengths. The verdict was that portraits with wide angle lenses added a softer character to the photographs whereas photographs that were taken from a distance gave the subject a harder look.

While selecting the lens for wedding photography, you must first figure out whether you are on a budget or if you are willing to splurge on the best, that is, more than $1000 on a Canon lens. Even though these lenses are extremely popular, if you are on a budget, other lenses are made by Canon which are not as expensive. While choosing a lens for wedding photography, it is also important to figure out whether you will be using more than a single camera on the main day. Instead of wasting time changing lenses, a majority of wedding photographers carry two cameras.

A number of wedding photographers also rely on fixed lens solutions. These have gained popularity over the years because the quality of the photographs is enhanced and there is no need for the photographer to add color to them with the help of editing systems like Photoshop. However, fixed lens solutions lead to other limitations and therefore, hamper the photographer’s personal style. For those interested in these lenses, the 24mm F1.4 L, 85mm F1.2 L, and the 135 mm F2.0 L and the 50mm F1.2 L are recommended. However, one can also combine these for best results. Fixed lens solutions are generally popular amongst wedding photographers who have gained enough experience to develop a unique style.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Walden
http://EzineArticles.com/?Choosing-Lenses-For-Wedding-Photography&id=2800218

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Maximizing Depth of Field and Sharpness

October 14, 2009 | No Comments | Featured, Photography

Landscape Photography – Maximizing Depth of Field and Sharpness | By Brian T Davidson

Maximizing depth of field and sharpness when you’re shooting landscapes is not the black art that many people seem to think. There is a lot of confusion, misleading information and incorrect assumptions being made on the Internet when it comes to f-stops and focusing distance.

Common Mistakes

One common and misleading assumption is that to get maximum depth of field you simply choose an aperture of f16 or above and focus about one third of the way into the scene. This method may work to a degree, but you are not getting the maximum depth of field or maximum sharpness from your lens, particularly if you are using an ultra wide lens in the 10 to 24mm range.

Maximizing Depth of Field

If you look at any depth of field table, which incidentally are freely available on the Internet, you will notice that the depth of field increases as focal length shortens, which means that a lens with a focal length of 50mm will have less depth of field than a lens with a focal length of 17mm at the same f-stop. I highly recommend you to check your own focal length against these tables to get the approximate hyperfocal distance for your lens.

For wide and ultra wide lenses you will want to set your focus point to roughly four feet into the scene, as this is approximately where the hyperfocal distance will be for these type of lenses. This will mean that everything from about two feet in front of the subject to everything behind the subject will be in sharp focus. Remember, as you increase the focus distance you actually decrease the amount of sharpness in front of the subject.

Maximizing Sharpness

If you want to maximize sharpness, especially if you are planning on doing large prints then you need to ensure that you are using appropriate apertures. A common misconception is that setting the aperture to f22 will make everything sharp. Not true! All lenses, even the most expensive pro models suffer from diffraction. It has nothing to do with build quality but rather the law of physics! Diffracted light is light that is reflected off the edge of the aperture blades. At large apertures it is not a problem but at small apertures the amount of diffracted light increases to the point of affecting image sharpness quite noticeably. Therefore I would not recommend using anything beyond f16.

If you are doing very large prints at A2 and above then I would not recommend using even f16 but instead using f11. Obviously if you do use f11 you will not get the same range of depth of field as you would with f16 but what you can do in this instance is take two exposures. Take one exposure at the hyperfocal distance then take another at infinity. This will ensure you have maximum sharpness across the two. You can then blend them both together in Photoshop for a super sharp image.

Brian Davidson – landscape, macro and still life photographer

Stock Images and Fine Art Photography http://chasethelight.co.uk
Blog – http://photography-ctl.blogspot.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_T_Davidson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Landscape-Photography—Maximizing-Depth-of-Field-and-Sharpness&id=2427776

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Black and White Photography

September 23, 2009 | No Comments | Featured, Photography

Black and White Photography | By Daniel Sach

Black and White photography, it draws one’s self into the detail of an image rather than the vibrant color which is absent from their eye. A color photograph draws one to a specific color. A black and white photo can draw one’s self into the depth in which it captures. Depending on the style, a photo may encompass a shadow as the main subject or rather the lack thereof. Black and white develops into a pursuit of detail and majesty. I would like to share some tips on shooting the best possible black and white photos as possible.
I will refer to Black and White as B&W.

Tip #1 Shoot in RAW
It is obvious that most people are unaware of the now loved RAW setting on their cameras. All things considered I am aware that not everyone has a camera capable of shooting in this mode. Shooting in Raw offers more control not only in the post processing period but also when converting the picture to B&W. If your camera does support RAW, Use it! The normal JPEG format will work, though in the end RAW will produce a far superior photo. Once you become familiar with RAW you will never go back.

Tip #2 Do Not Use the Built in B&W setting.

Most people, when wanting to shoot B&W, flick their camera to this setting. Even though you are able to produce a black and white photo with no need of post processing, you lose the overall quality and control of the final outcome. If you do not have a RAW setting, shoot in color mode.

Tip #3 The Lower the ISO the better.

Turn your ISO down to the lowest possible setting. Most photographers understand the difference between 100 and 800 ISO. If not please stop and read my article “I don’t know my ISO”. This is an important step. B&W will show the grain and while sometimes a grainy B&W can be very stylish, it is not always wanted. B&W create more noise and grain. Turning down your ISO will make it less noticeable.

TIP # 4 Do not shoot when you would normally shoot a color photo.

LIGHTING ! LIGHTING ! LIGHTING !
A good photo is all about the lighting. Most of the time, a typical person would shoot a photo on a sunny day with a lot of light. B&W is opposite. For me, I choose to shoot when it is overcast creating a softer lighting effect. The best days to take B&W are the worst days to shoot color.

Tip# 5 it is all about the detail

When shooting B&W, one needs to understand that the goal is not to produce sharp bright colors but rather to capture intricate detail and ominous shadows. It is good to try different techniques and setups. Try shooting a scene at different times of day. A bridge that may seem plain and dull during sunrise may be a wondrous spectacle of lighting and shadows during sunset. Different lighting and shadows create different effects. A good way to practice is to pick an object outside and shoot it 4 times a day to find out what the best lighting is. Sunrise, early morning, late afternoon and sunset are a good starting point. Another element to and intrigue to your photo is shooting in different weather. A layer of fog can turn even the dullest of photos into a masterpiece of success.

Tip #6 Keep your focus on your subject

A common error in any form of photography is not drawing you viewer’s eyes to what you had intended to. An all too common issue is when shooting a photo of an object is when there is another object in the background which causes the viewer to drift away from the subject being photographed. If the subject being photographed is movable, try moving it for proper framing. If the subject is not movable the moving your setup would be the next step. The idea behind capturing an image is to capture what you envision and what y0u want the viewer to see.

Another key difference when shooting B&W is that you use detail, shadows, and focus to draw the viewer’s attention to the desired object rather than different color. Things to look at when shooting your photo are the different shapes, tones and textures. Be sure again to use the shadows and lighting available to create the desired image. Highlights may also be used as another source of framework for you image.

Tip# 7 Final thoughts to remember……
Be sure to be more thorough when choosing your subject matter to photograph. Objects which may look great in color will not necessarily look the best in B&W and may turn out dull or flat with no depth. One aspect of B&W is the ability to create and unexpected or dramatic portrait in that removing the color places the focus on the detail, lighting and shadows. When shooting B&W; remember that it is about the detail, not the colors

Daniel Sach

http://www.Sachphotography.us
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Sach
http://EzineArticles.com/?Black-and-White-Photography&id=2470393

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After Light It’s All About Composition in Landscape Photography

September 16, 2009 | No Comments | Featured, Photography

Landscape Photography – After Light It’s All About Composition in Landscape Photography | By Jamie Paterson

You’ve heard time and time again that landscape photography is all about the natural light that nature provides to you at the time of taking the photograph. This is extremely true, but even if the light is perfect your photo won’t stand out unless you composed it in the best way that you can.

Okay, so what constitutes great composition is always going to be extremely subjective and there are no 100% right or wrong answer and yes sometime you have to go against the norm to tell your story. However, there are four major things that I look for when I’m taking a photo.

The first thing I always try to follow is the rule of thirds, do a Google search to find out more but essentially try to avoid having your horizons going straight through the middle of your photos and definitely try to avoid putting your subjects in the centre of your photo. If you’re taking a photo of a really impressive rock then don’t put it bang in the centre of your photo. Perhaps you could take a photo with ¾ sky and the rock placed on the right hand or left hand side it would make for a different and interesting landscape photograph. Always try to think outside of the box.

If I’m taking a landscape photograph of something like a mountain range that is a little distance away I always ensure that I include something that qualifies as foreground interest. Here’s an example, I want to take a photo of a hill that is perhaps 500M away, no just taking a photo of that hill would look pretty boring. If I managed to include a nice rock or tree in the foreground then that adds depth to the photograph and makes it significantly more interesting.

Using the same scenario as above another composition trick is to add leading lines into your photo to literally ‘lead’ people’s eyes towards the main subject in your photograph. So how could we include this in the above photo? Well we’ve found our hill and we’ve found our tree, is there a fence for example leading up to the direction of the hill (this in itself is also foreground interest), is there a creek running down from the hill as this could be used as a leading line as well. Leading lines work really well if you get them right.

One of the last composition techniques when taking landscape photographs I employ is called framing. What do you think might be more interesting? Taking a photo standing on a beach or standing back in the tree line with a shot of a branch at the top of my photo ‘framing’ my photo? Again do a search on Google images from examples of this.

So using a combination of great light, the rule of thirds, foreground interest, leading lines and framing you’ll be able to produce some stunning landscape photographs. If you have a look at some of my work you’ll see where I have tried to use at least one of these techniques in each photo.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamie_Paterson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Landscape-Photography—After-Light-Its-All-About-Composition-in-Landscape-Photography&id=2462379

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