Photography Magazine

One of the first things we notice about an image is its sharpness level. Sharpness is associated with the quality of lens, the aperture used and critically, the point of focus. The more accurately you have focused on the subject, the better will be the overall sharpness in the image. Ideally sharpness is something that needs to be taken care of at the shooting stage and not the post production stage. If certain information is missing in the raw file from the camera, nothing on computer can mimic it. However, we definitely can increase the apparent sharpness of images that are not of very low quality in the first place. Do not use the techniques mentioned in this article as a rescue tool when you have made a boo boo in the shooting stage. Rather, use it as a touch up before final presentation of your images. Again, there is nothing that can replace a quality lens, the right aperture or the critical point of focus. Alright, lets get down to the photoshop bit -

Check out the two image above. The second one appears much sharper than the first, if you look closely. Let us learn how to do this. As usual, open up the image in Photoshop using FILE-OPEN. Once the image is opened, go to the filters menu and choose SHARPEN, and further choose UNSHARP MASK in the sub menu. Here you will be presented with three options.

Well, once you have the Unsharp mask options in front of you, you can begin sharpening the image. The first option, AMOUNT obviously controls the amount of sharpening that is applied to the picture. Instead of beginning with this, we suggest you start with the second control option of RADIUS. This effects the radius of pixels that are effected with the sharpening procedure. The levels of sharpening that you apply – the levels of the 3 tools you see in front of you, will vary depending on the resolution of the image, as with most Photoshop tools. The larger the dimensions of the image, for example, the larger will be the required pixel radius for sharpening. When you alter the variables in the sliding bars, you resulting effects will simultaneously be visible in the opened image. Experiment with radius and amount until you reach the desired effect. Beware-do not sharpen the image to such an extent that it is obvious to the naked eye – you begin to see high contrasts when you over-sharpen, and this is to be avoided at all times. The 3^rd and final tool on the Unsharp mask palette is the THRESHOLD tool. Use this to soften the sharpening effect if it is overly obvious after you’ve adjusted the first 2 sliding bars. We usually leave this alone and work with just the first 2 options of amount and radius.

You could use the SHARPEN EDGES tool under the SHARPEN menu to sharpen only the outlines of the subject. However, the technique mentioned above will give you much more acceptable and natural results. 

Get into the groove with concert photography 

Photographing events and concerts of people that you admire and love is an exciting kind of photographic experience. Why, some even get so lucky as to have traveling jobs photographing their favorite bands and rock stars. We can’t promise you that you’ll land your dream job. But we CAN show you how to get better at photographing live concerts.

Use a High ISO

When photographing live shows, the best way you can capture the atmosphere of the moment is to use the existing lighting. Stage decorators and technicians go to great lengths to organize impressive stage lighting, probably coordinated with sound effects. It would be a pity to zap all that creativity away by using a fill flash or on-camera flash. So turn off your flash and turn up the ISO! Trust us; it’s worth the extra bit of grain at ISO 1600, than to have flat lit concert images that look like they’ve been taken by an amateur. While we do agree that lower ISO levels give the best quality, shooting concerts is more about getting the right timing than getting a high quality picture of a static moment…

Turn off the AF

Any auto focus mechanism requires a certain amount of minimum light level for it to work effectively. In concerts where the lights often flash, such as rock shows and dance events, this becomes difficult. The camera’s auto focus mechanism simply does not have the capability to focus when the lights are flashing on and off and varying in intensity as well. No camera in today’s market would be able to lock focus in such circumstances. This is why you could get off-focus images in low light conditions. The answer of course lies in switching the focus to Manual Focus. Many compacts apart from DSLRs of course, offer the manual focus feature. To make things even better, use as small an aperture as possible, so the depth of field is greatest. Again, read that as very high ISO levels to start with (out first tip).

Work to the music!

Say you’ve fired a few test shots in lighting similar to the stage at its brightest…and worked out an acceptable aperture-shutter aped-ISO combination…you are at the concert and ready to fire…how do you get your exposures spot on, how do you time your shots when the lights are constantly turning themselves on and off to the sound of music? Well…simple. Listen to the music! With a little bit of effort, you will quickly get into the groove of the music and start getting ‘in tune’ with it. Expect the lights to go brighter when the drum solo is approaching…for a shoot like this, it would be great if you already know the songs that are going to be played by the band on stage. One quickly realizes that it is very fulfilling to be able to shoot in rhythm to the music. You will probably walk away with the best pictures of the day, if you use these three simple tips to their best applicability.

Have you ever heard of the technique called ‘Painting With Light’ ? It is a classic photo technique, and you will be happy to know – requires little other than a camera and a prop. The word ‘photography’ literally means ‘a writing in light’ (photos + graph in Latin). The technique you are about to learn will show you exactly how this is so true. You will only need a camera capable of taking time exposures (the B setting). In fact the compact camera that we used to make this image is a Olympus C5000Z, which in fact does not support time exposures, but does however feature a slow shutter speed of 16 sec, which is adequate to at least learn this effect and use it to get some exciting results. Lets begin!

You will need a camera, a sturdy tripod, a still life subject to photograph, and a hand-held battery operated torch. The torch could simply be the ordinary flash lights (as in the UK usage) you probably already own…we used a miniature torch powered by a single cell. In fact it was a key chain light, and the light is emitted by a single bright LED (Light Emitting Diode). What you REALLY need to understand is something basic about photography – the areas where there is light are ‘exposed’ on the image, and those that do not receive light remain unexposed or underexposed. If you were to leave your camera shutter ‘open’ in a totally darkened room, the sensor (or film) wouldn’t register a thing on it, even if you used a time exposure of 8sec, 16 sec or even a minute or more. However, if you use a torch to expose certain areas of the subject during this time frame, ONLY those areas would appear in the photograph, since everything else would remain underexposed or not exposed at all!

Set up your camera on a tripod, and totally darken the room. We used a model of an engine for our shoot, as is evident from the image. We wanted the front of the engine lit up, and a gradual fade out towards the lower and rear regions. For this, we first shone the torch for a few seconds from the front of the engine, making sure the light source remained outside the frame of composition at all times…then, we quickly moved the torch around the top of the engine to create a unique effect. The torch was aimed directly at the camera during this stage , BUT COVERED WITH A FINGER, so as not to allow flare. The redness that you see on the light trail is thanks to the glow of the blood in the fingertip as the light shines through!

We used f/8, ISO80 and a shutter speed (not really affecting exposure) of 16 seconds, for this image. Experiment with different light sources, and incident (the light source within the composed frame) and reflected (the torch focused on the subject from outside the composition area) to get unique results every time!

Now that you’ve learnt what sound photography is all about (PART I), you are ready to take your first few sound photographs. You will need -

1. A Camera with the capability of long exposures, preferably a T option.
2. 2. The sound switch mentioned in the first article in this series
3. A flash unit with connector cable
4. The props – in this case, a glass of water and a few ice cubes

The most important stage in all studio photographs is the initial set-up stage. You get the set-up wrong, and theres no chance you will get a decent photograph at the end of the day. To set up the sound trigerred splash photo, lets start with the lighting. Keep the glass of water stationary with a black background. Make sure there is enough distance between the glass and the background, to get a totally dark black background on your image.

Now, place a light behind the glass, in between the glass and background. Place it so that it is lower than the table on which you’ve kept the glass, to avoid lens flare. Focus the flash towards the glass so no light falls on the background, fire a test shot to see if the lighting is ok – and if it is, you are ready to go to the next step.

You will be dropping an ice cube into the water, to let off the sound switch with the ‘plonk’ sound made by the ice as it hits the water/glass edges. Since this really isn’t a loud sound, you will need to ensure the microphone gets all the sound it can from the glass. It is great to connect the mike to a longer cable, to the circuit. That way you can place it next to or even under the glass, if the glass doesn’t topple over…now the switch should get triggered by the slightest sound in the glass. Try it out by gently tapping the glass with a fork. If it fires, you are ready to roll. If it doesn’t, check the position of the microphone and all the connections (flash to circuit and mike to circuit). Make sure the flash is ON!

Next, we set the camera to time exposure, and use the same aperture that you had for the trial shot. Remember, the shutter speed wont matter since you are going to darken the room. Go ahead and darken the room now. Fire the shutter. Drop the ice cube in the water. The flash should fire with the sound of the ice striking the surface of water. Once this is done, close the shutter. Now, check out the results! You may need to shoot a few images before you get the right splash effect…

We’ve just learnt a technique that allows you to shoot splash images with a cost-effective set-up, without an expensive strobe unit..

Did you know that you can synchronize your photography with a sound operated switch? This has many applications – some that are fun, some that are for scientific uses and some that find their applications in advertising photography. It is very interesting, and at the very least – something that you would like to try your hand at, just for the sake of the challenge. This project however, requires you to have at least a basic understanding of electronics if you would like to construct the apparatus required your self. On the other hand, you could always have it made at an electronics outlet or even but a ready made sound switch from something like Radio Shack (which would obviously cost you a bit more). Do keep in mind that this project is harder than anything we’ve covered so far, and is aimed at the advanced amateurs and professional photographers.

The Principle Behind Sound Photography

Have you ever considered the factors that influence your lighting when using a flash unit? Well, the main light source is of course the flash unit itself. It is true that when you use a slowish shutter speed to get a ‘mixed lighting effect’, ambient light does come into the picture. But, when you use a high shutter speed, say for example the flash sync speed of the camera, it is nothing but the flash that has a major effect on your photograph. If you are shooting in a darkened environment, or at night in the outdoors, it is solely the flash that will effect your lighting and nothing else, whatever the shutter speed, even if it is something as slow as 4 seconds or above. When you consider the fact that the duration of flash is much much shorter than the highest shutter speed on most cameras, it becomes quite obvious that this short burst of light can freeze a high speed action quite effectively. If the high speed action is accompanied with a burst of sound (for example, a firecracker exploding, a balloon bursting or an ice cube falling into a glass), the flash can be triggered using a sound switch; to capture the ‘decisive moment’ when the action is at its peak.  Let us look at the construction of the switch…

The Sound Switch

This trigger was constructed using a DIY ‘clap switch’ circuit (readily available with hobbyists). If you are making it your self, do mention at the hobby store that you intend to use it as a trigger and not as a power output circuit. Alternatively, you can get readily available sound triggers dedicate to photographic use, but they would cost you a bit more. In any case, the apparatus would have a microphone one one ‘end’, and a flash connection socket at the other. If your flash unit does not provide an output cable, you will need to invest in a hot shoe adapter and a connecting cable. Connect the flash to the circuit and test it by clapping your hands. If everything is as it should be, the flash should fire when you clap your hands!

One of the most common complaints that amateur photographers have is ‘blurred’ images. ‘Blur’ can be a result of two kinds of errors. One would be an off-focus lens, and the other reason is usually camera shake. Both these errors are commonly referred to by the layman as blur.

As far as off-focus images go, it is usually a result of wrongly set focusing ring on a manual focus camera. If you use a auto focus camera, and still find some images off focus, it is probably because of the fact that your subject was off-center. Most auto focus mechanisms take the center-weighted approach, meaning – they focus on whatever subject is found at the center of the frame. If your subject is off-center, try this simple trick for error-free and in-focus images – get the subject into the center of your frame, and half-press the shutter. When you do this, the lens locks on to the subject, and usually a digital camera will alert you of the fact that the subject has been locked in focus, with a beep. Now, DO NOT take your finger off the shutter button. Keep it half-pressed as you re-compose your frame to the desired composition. Now, you can fire the shutter and get a in-focus image. Alternatively, if you are finding it difficult to half-press the shutter to get the focus lock, switch over to manual focus mode and us your judgment to get the subject sharp and clear. Finally, the smaller the aperture you use, the more of a range would you get into focus (more depth of field). The final technique mentioned (small apertures) should only be used at times when you are in an absolute hurry, since it does not always give you the perfect results you can expect with the former two techniques mentioned.

Camera shake is another cause for blurred images. This is quite different from the former reason of off-focus, and is simpler to understand and simpler to correct as well. Typically, you would get an image with camera shake when the shutter speed was set to too low a value, and the picture taken hand-held. There are more than one ways to correct camera shake. For one, maker sure that your shutter speed is at least the inverse of the focal length used. If you re using a 300mm setting on your lens, your shutter speed would need to be set to 1/300 of a second at least. Next, you should use a tripod whenever and wherever it is possible to do so. Where a tripod is unavailable, use a wall or a tree to rest against, as you fire the shutter. In the absence of such, use your knee to rest your hands on. Also, never jerk down the shutter release but instead, squeeze it gently till the trigger fires, much like a gun is fired! Finally, rest the camera against the side of your face for support. This is critical especially with the heavy digital-SLRs.

Thinking of getting your self a professional camera? Well, you are reading the right article if you are, and you do not know much about the different kinds of professional cameras available on the market. Most people who are looking out for professional cameras would already have a fair amount of knowledge of them. On the other hand, you may have enrolled in a professional photography course, and want a camera you can learn the craft with as well as use it for your first assignments.

The most common professional cameras today, and the most widely-used are the Digital Single Lens Reflex (D-SLR) models. They are basically similar in design to the much-appreciate SLRs of the 70s and 80s. The basic difference between today’s D-SLRs and the SLRs of yester year is that today we use digital sensors instead of film. An SLR allows you to ‘see’ through the lens, thereby getting a first hand insight into the depth of field and composition. The most sought after D-SLRs include the Nikon and canon models. Nikon and Canon top the list of digital SLRs. In fact, Nikon’s D-700, recently launched, and also the D-90 are the talk of the town today. Canon’s EOS series is on par with Nikon, and Nikon therefore no longer can be called the sole market leader. Pentax, Olympus, Fuji and Konica Minolta are the other makers of digital SLRs. It is interesting to note that Fuji makes SLR bodies that are compatible with Nikon lenses, so if you are looking for an affordable switch from film to digital, and have a series of Nikon lenses, go for the Fuji S-Pro models (which are based on Nikon film bodies in part). Do keep your requirement in mind before you spend a lot of money on a new camera – if you are a hobbyist, you may never use some of the features such as extremely high shutter speeds, offered in the pro models. For instance, the Nikon D-40x, a 12 megapixel camera, is moderately priced, and more than adequate to learn photography with, as well as shoot your basic assignments with.

Did you know that film cameras are still not out of the race? In fact some professionals still swear by film. Digital cameras have more than matched the quality of 35mm SLRs. But what about the medium and large format films used for advertising etc? Fuji recently launched a film camera (photokina ’08), much to everyone’s surprise. This just goes to show there is still a niche market for its users. However, the users are largely made up of advertising photographers who need to make giant-size blow-ups of their images. Mamiya and Hasselblad medium format cameras have remained the favorite with such photographers, to this day. Finally, the large format – 4 by 5 inch sheet film is still the ultimate in resolution, that humanity is able to offer! Sinar rail cameras, coupled with 4 by 5 inch backs and Schneider lenses – an advertising photographer’s dream come true.

1. Don’t use the fill-flash unless absolutely required - it is a fact that in-built camera flashes tend to give a very flat and 2-dimensional appearance to photographs. Avoid using it unless the existing light just isn’t adequate. Try using longer shutter speeds instead. In case of automatic cameras, shutting off the flash (if possible) would automatically ensure longer shutter speeds.

2. Don’t pose people awkwardly - it is ridiculous to see people posed in awkward positions, especially when the subject is a shy person who doesn’t like doing so in the first place. With people like those, it is much better to shoot them candid, or give them a prop to distract their attention.

3. Don’t leave room for red eyes - when using flash, avoid the red eye syndrome. You can do so by ensuring that the eyes are not absolutely parallel and directly in fron of the flash. Try shooting at an angle to the face.

4. Don’t use high ISO levels. Well, not unless the existing light is too low. Remember, the lower the ISO value, the better would be the pixel quality in your files.

5. Don’t allow for cluttered backgrounds. A distracting background can take the charm out of the most pleasant of portraits. Make sure you throw the background off focus if you cannot reposition the subject. Also, you could zoom in as much as possible, to keep your attention (and the viewers’) on the subject’s eyes.

6. Never shoot strangers unawares. Thats what the paparazzi do, and that is why they often get into trouble! Of course, candid photographs are always a special something. But when shooting candid, it is better to do so with people you know.

7. Never jerk down the shutter release. Instead, squeeze it gently until it fires. This ensures you do not allow the camera to ’shake’ by the finger movement. In fact, it is also good to hold your breadth for the second you are firing your shutter, while you rest the camera against the side of your face!

8. Never leave your camera at home! If you are looking for winning images, you need to carry your camera with you everywhere you go. For example, this candid image was photographed on the spur of the moment when the photographer’s friend sat down to rest after a long bike ride.

 9. Never leave batteries in your camera for lengthy storage. It is a pathetic way to lose your camera’s functionality. All batteries leak after a certain period of time, especially the use and throw ones. So, if your camera uses something like AAA batteries, REMOVE them when storing your camera for long durations.

10. Never let your camera get damp. Well, not unless it is one of the more modern water-proof models. Dampness is one of the worst enemies of all cameras, digital cameras in particular. Use a water-proof case for your camera while transporting it.

Positioning and posing people is a vital aspect of every day snapshot photography as well as professional photography. It is true that seldom does the everyday ‘amateur’ photographer have the presence of mind, or the time to ‘wait’ for a natural photograph-friendly moment to occur. More often, we use the camera as a means to capture everyday moments on family picnics and get-togethers with friends. Here are a few tips on how you can pose people for your photography. We hope the article will be of use to you, and that you will soon be able to shoot more appealing images after reading this.

Many professionals feel that posing is more than half the ‘portrait battle’ won! Body language plays a vital role when you position the limbs and head and torso of your model(s). A chin held high spells out confidence. A chin held a little too high could, on the other hand, speak of pride. Similarly, a stooping posture could give the viewer an impression of sluggishness or depression, while a chest held out firmly tells the viewer that the model is confident and content.

Photographing and posing children is of course much more difficult than shooting images of adults, simply because kids do not respond to specific instruction as adults do. So, one needs much more patience and dedication to shoot a portrait like the one shown above. It is a great idea to ’set up’ everything other than the child, and wait for the right moment to begin clicking away. For the above shot, the photographer conveniently asked the child to lean her elbow on the bonnet of the family car, and then began conversing with the child. The hand on the bonnet forced a pose out of the child. Being the exceptionally boisterous child that Tanya is, she was not shy at all, as she laughed at all of the photographer’s jokes with zest!

Of course, it is much more difficult to photograph a child, or an adult for that matter when he or she is camera-shy. In such case it is best to pre-occupy the subject’s attention with a prop of some kind. For extremely shy people, it could well be their favorite book or magazine. In case of children, it could be their favorite toy…

A few things to remember in general - never let the background be too cluttered. Never let poles and trees ‘grow’ out of people’s heads and shoulders. Instead, it is better to lean them against the prop. Also, why not get the person’s hands to do something? Hands tend to go stiff when people are asked to pose for a photo. Again, in the above image, the child’s right hand was forced to get involved in the pose, by asking the child to take her hat off. Finally, shoot more images than you require, and select the best of the lot - to get the right expression on the subject’s face. The above image is one out of about 20 photographed one after another.

When photographing in the outdoors, one needs to work with ambient light as the main light source (generally). In such a scenarios you can obviously not have much of a control over the lighting conditions. You need to work with the existing light, which is affected by the position of the sun, the clouds and the relational positioning of the subject. Obviously we cannot have a control over the position of the sun or the clouds. That leaves us with positioning the subject as our most versatile tool.

The classic rule of outdoor photography tells us to keep the subject in front of the sun, meaning keep your back to the sun and position the subject in front of you. The subject would be well-illuminated in this case, and moreover you would eliminate the risk of lens flare (which occurs when the light source is in front of the lens behind the subject). This is a fail safe method to get good exposures. However, make sure that if you have a large area of the sky behind the subject, you lock focus on the subject by half-pressing the shutter before you fire. Also, the exposure can go haywire if the camera was focused on the sky instead of the subject. In such case, you would get a well-exposed sky and an under-exposed subject. To take things further, that is exactly what you should do if you want to photograph a silhouette!

If you wish to experiment with outdoor lighting further - well, wel need to break the rule we just taught you! Lets say we are shooting a portrait. Have you ever seen outdoor portraits where the sun creates a kind of halo effect in the hair of the subject - the classic ’sunshine in your hair’ look? If you want to shoot such a portrait, wait for the time when the sun is low on the horizon. Twilight is too late, around 4pm should do fine in most countries. The sunlight should have started to turn yellow by then, but still bright enough for a good exposure - and just NOT bright enough to create a lens flare. So - we have a light source-subject-camera arrangement here. Look through the viewfinder and position the camera-subject combo in such a way as to catch that light in the hair. This works very well for brown and blond hair. Also, zoom in as much as you can. Not only are longer focal lengths better for portraits in general, but they provide just the right effect for the sunshine in your hair effect.

If you wish to shoot outdoors at night, you have no option but to either use flash lighting, or long exposures. In case of the latter, you will need a tripod, or a support of some kind to place the camera upon. Using natural light in the outdoors, is however the best light source you can have. Just as long as you can either wait for the right time (for the right lighting), or position your subject to suit your photo idea.

A sunset in Goa, India