Just a thought…
As I was outside today taking pics of our cute little kitty, Oreo, I realized I had the white balance set on my camera for incandescent light sources. As I was reviewing the images I laughed, thinking that we used to get the same results shooting tungsten film in daylight. The results of my mistake were not unpleasant as it gave them an overall cyan wash, and it really accentuated the blue in Oreo’s eyes. However, the images I had already shot of the woodpecker singing as he hopped up a nearby tree were not very pleasing.
Now, I could spend hours trying to re-balance the images but then I recalled that Adobe Lightroom has the option to adjust tones, white balance, etc. In just a few clicks, the corrections were made.
If you have not tried Lightroom, it might be worth checking out. It can quickly and easily create catalogs which are like albums. It can export with copyright watermarks, export as Digital Negative files (.DNG), allows you to quickly and easily apply corrections to a quantity of images, add/append metadata and so much more.
I have not really explored all the possibilities, but Adbobe continues to amaze me at how it can deliver for the professional photographer. Workflow tasks are whittled down to size with no problem.
Another tool which you may have discovered is Adobe Bridge. This existed prior to Lightroom and allows you to quickly and easily view your images before you even import them into your workflow. If you shoot in RAW, you can view and edit through Bridge and then bring it into Photoshop. These are two very similar products from Adobe but you may prefer one over the other, use both or neither. As with everything, we each must find the path that works best for us as an individual. As I tell my photo students in every class, what works for me, may not work for you.
This is the end result of our precocious Oreo…
Christmas comes but once a year…
Just like fall, the lights, colors and photo ops during this joyous (and stressful) time of year can be very rewarding. I love to take detail shots- ornaments on trees, presents, ribbons and bows. The lights especially can be fun to shoot. Numerous yard displays all aglow just waiting for you.
Ornaments
Lighted snowman display
Prima dona Missy under the tree
Ornaments and lights with flash
Family time can be especially challenging. Everyone moving at the speed of light, ripping through paper and tearing open boxes before moving on. It is during these fast paced encounters that shooting with bent flash head with a reflector card and a manual flash setting can really prove worth while. For those who have never tried a bounce flash technique, the benefits are two-fold.
Flash bounced off the ceiling
First, the flash is not a direct light source. It bounces off the ceiling and the reflector card giving a broader, softer, dual-light source. The reflector card is not absolutely necessary however. Just bouncing off the ceiling alone will give a more pleasing light overall. Second, the manual setting gives you complete control over how powerful the light source will be. If you are in a room with very high ceilings, a higher maual setting will be needed. Your individual settings will vary depending on the ISO, how far away your subject is located and what focal length/zoom you are shooting. Remember, with a bounce flash technique your flash-to-subject distance is the distance from the flash head to the ceiling and back down to the subject NOT from the photographer to the subject.
Bounced flash is more flattering to subject
Granted these are not priceless to anyone but me, but there is nothing I hate worse than direct, harsh flash. It is well worth the few extra minutes it takes to make a few test shots to ensure your manual flash settings are correct. Try shooting in Shutter Priority- usually designated by S or Tv on your camera dial, and set the shutter speed for 1/60 of a second. If you are really brave, you can lower it to 1/30 but any movement by you or the subject will blur.
I understand that TTL is meant to take the guesswork out of shooting photos, but your camera is fallible. By having complete control over the camera and flash settings, you can accurately reproduce your results. TTL does not allow that. You are solely at the mercy of the internal workings of the machine in your hands and therefore powerless!
Happy Halloween my pretties…
I LOVE Fall! The colors are warm and bright. The light starts to change after Daylight Savings time (which, hello, is TONIGHT). I don’t have to wait until later in the day to get the beautiful long shadows and gorgeous warmer light temps.
I also have lots of opportunities to use one of my favorite pre-sets…Night Portrait/Night Landscape mode. The nice thing about this preset is that I can quickly get slow shutter speed and flash combination without fumbling with the controls or menus.
If you haven’t tried this setting, now is the time! Here are just a few of the great ambiance pics you can shoot…
The only thing you have to worry about is how slow the shutter speed is. The slower it is, the harder it will be to hand-hold and shoot. The flash will freeze anything that might be moving in the foreground, but the background might be too blurry because of the motion. You can eliminate some of this by using a tripod, bracing the camera against your body and relesing the shutter after exhaling.
Another way to achieve this type of ambient light/flash combo, is to use Shutter or Time Priority. This method allows you to choose an appropriately slow shutter speed (try 1/30 or even 1/15 of a second) coupled with your flash. Experiment with lower power on your flash in Manual Mode to achieve the best combination. You don’t want the flash to over power the ambient light!
PHOTOS FROM 2009
