Equipment Purchase Recommendations - Event Photography

I have an acquaintance who has asked for recommendations for a basic list of equipment to start doing event photography.  This person will be working alone and budget is important so my suggestions will be for a basic kit that includes high quality equipment that will meet the needs of an event photographer without extras or unnecessary bells and whistles.

For additional information on working an event check my June posts and look for "Finding Your Mojo in Event Photography".

If you have been a student of camera ads over the years you would think that the most important features for a camera were the number of megapixels and the highest shutter speed offered.  I guess advertisers need something simple to shout about but please don't make the mistake of selecting a camera based on the number of megapixels in its sensor.  There are many much more important factors but unfortunately they are not simple to talk about so advertisers tend to focus on other things.

General advice on selecting equipment:

If you already have lenses from an older 35mm system that will work with a new digital camera then you probably should go with that system manufacturer.  If not, you can go with any manufacturer that has a system that meets your needs.  I lean heavily toward Nikon or Canon because they have the widest selection of lenses and accessories plus the used market has lots of their equipment that can be bought at a discount.  Buying used lenses can save you lots of money and let you get a much better quality lens for the price of a new low end lens.  Buying used backup equipment is also a great way to go.

Don’t’ worry about the ads blasting you with information on megapixels.  The megapixel count is not really very important as all of the newer cameras can deliver an image that is high quality and detailed enough for enlargement to any size normally associated with event photography.  The availability of lenses, accessories, the ergonomics of the camera body, and the structure of menus and control buttons is MUCH more important than the number of megapixels.  Another very important factor for event photography is how well the camera sensor handles low light situations.

Here are some of the important camera functions that should have a dedicated button or wheel on the camera body.  Hold the camera in your hands and make the salesperson show you where these features are.  If the camera is not comfortable in your hands or if you have to go into a menu system to control these features then you should not buy the camera for event photography use.

Shooting mode – Aperture priority, shutter priority, auto, manual
Exposure mode – Evaluative, Center, spot(optional)
Exposure compensation
White balance
ISO
Exposure and focus lock
Image review with easy access to histogram and highlights warnings – You don’t want to blow the wedding dress!! (Probably have to set this up in the menu, ONE TIME)
Focus auto or manual – could be on body, lens or both

There are other nice to have features but this list is the must have features that you will frequently use and will need to be able to access quickly.

Check the range of ISO offered by the camera body and do some research on how the sensor handles noise as the ISO is increased.  I do not do this type of research but I suggest checking www.kenrockwell.com.  He does lots of research on equipment and gives honest evaluations.  If you have one camera that can deliver noise free high quality images for printing up to 8X10 at an ISO of 400 and another that can do the same at ISO up to 1600, the second body is well worth a few hundred in extra cost.
  

I recommend staying away from camera/lens bundles unless you carefully determine that BOTH the camera body and lens meet your needs.  Many of the bundles contain low end lenses that are very slow or that don’t cover a very good focal range.  Many also do not have image stabilization and I think that this feature is critical for shooting candid events without a tripod.  In many ways I think that your choice of lens is more important than your choice of camera body so a bundle that saves a little money but gives you a lens that doesn’t meet your needs is no bargain.

Both Canon and Nikon make a “do all” lens in the 18-135 or even better the 18-200 range that has image stabilization.  These are not fast lenses but they are sharp, can be used hand held at events and they cover a very good focal range.  These lenses are sometimes included in bundles that can save you a little money.  Just remember that image stabilization helps with camera movement NOT subject movement so it really does not replace the need for a fast lens in event photography.

For a low cost fast lens I would look to the used market and get a fast fixed focal length lens in the 60-85mm range.  Both Nikon and Canon have an 85mm f1.8 that has been made for many years.  The new ones are about $400 but a good used one could be bought on Ebay or from KEH.com.  These lenses hold their value well but you could save a little.  The large apertures on these lenses create beautifully blurred backgrounds and they are great for portrait work and long enough and fast enough to work close-ups at an event in lower light.  For even less money you could get a 50mm f1.4 on the used market but I think the 85mm would be more useful.

You will also need at least one hot shoe flash unit.  I recommend buying a dedicated unit made by the camera manufacturer.  The cheapest units have a fixed head that will not meet your needs.  Make sure the head will swivel up and rotate to both sides.  You will also want a diffuser of some type.  Some of the units come with a small diffuser or you could add a diffuser made by a third party.  Gary Fong produces a line of diffusers that is widely used.  Consider used if your budget is getting stretched.

So….my recommendation for a bare bones event kit on a budget is:

Camera body with the right features (Nikon or Canon)
At least 2 batteries – 3 is safer
Several memory cards – I would use four 4GIG cards and change cards several times during the event.  The cards are cheap and reliable but if you use one big card and it goes bad…disaster!!
“Do all” lens in the 18-200 range with image stabilization
Fast 85mm lens - used
Dedicated flash with swivel head and some type of diffuser

As soon as money allows:

Add a second camera body purchased used and a second used flash.  It is handy to mount a second lens and use the body and if you have an equipment problem during an event, having backup equipment saves the day.  It is much more "professional" to arrive for a job well prepared.  There is no second chance to do it right and if you accept the pay you have a responsibility to do everything in your power to see that the job gets done well.  Cameras break, cards have errors, and batteries die, Murphy's Law is in full force during events.

A tripod.  An inexpensive one will work just fine for the more formal portrait work.  Used is also a good way to go.

You will of course need a computer and some image processing software.  I recommend Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 as a total package for an event photographer.  It has great organizational tools, excellent darkroom tools, and easy ways to link to web sites for uploading images for customer viewing.

Hope this helps!

Flowers - Up Close - EXTREME DOF Part 5

This is the fifth and I think final post about close-up photography of flowers, insects, etc...  If you haven't read the others you can live on the wild side and read this one first or go back and take them in sequence.  If DOF brings to mind Department of Finance and EXTREME makes you think we are headed for another bailout, then you really need to go back and start at the first post.

What I am going to talk about in this post is nothing short of magic.  Anyone who has worked in closeup photography knows that there are limits to what can be done with focus and DOF.  While writing the other posts I hoped that everyone understood that all I talked about carried an unspoken warning label "Within the physical limits of the lenses ability to focus".  There are definite limits to how much DOF you can get no matter how small the aperture and the limit increases as you move closer.  Sometimes the best DOF at f45 is not much thicker than a dime.

Here is an example and it is not even really extreme.  I am nowhere near 1 to 1 macro yet even at f22 the DOF will not carry across even the front flower.  Forget about sharp focus across both flowers.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, my point of focus was about half way into the front petals.  At f22 the best I could do was to get the front petal and part of the center of the first flower into focus.

Selective focus like this can result in very beautiful images and I do it on purpose often to create soft flowing images.  This shot might even work better with a more open aperture because as I stopped down to get greater DOF I also got more background clutter.

Too bad you cannot have it all, deep DOF to fully cover your main subject AND shallow DOF to keep the background soft and unobtrusive.  Well....welcome to the wonderful world of digital!  You really can have both with a process called focus stacking.

So what is focus stacking???  It is simply a procedure where you take a series of images with different points of focus then blend them together in post processing to create one image that has impossible DOF.

All you need to do this is a calm day with little or no subject movement, a camera solidly mounted on a tripod, and post processing tools.  I use Photoshop CS4 but if you don't have Photoshop you can purchase free standing packages that do the work for you.  Helicon Focus is one of the more popular ones but there are several others.

I took 8 images and blended them together in Photoshop to create this next example.

In the first image I got the tip of the closest petal in focus then for the next 7 I carefully moved the focus point back until by the 8th image I was well back into the second flower.

Notice two things, first all of the front flower and most of the second flower are in focus, second the background is soft, much softer than in the single image shot at f22.  The reason for all the softness in this second image is that all of the 8 images were shot with the lens open to f5.6.

In addition to no subject or camera movement there are a couple of other rules.  You should shoot the images in order front to back and input them into the software in that order.  You should also be very careful to leave no out of focus areas as you move back into the subject, make sure there is overlapping DOF.  If you do not overlap the DOF you will have bands or waves of focus and unfocus which look very unnatural.  Shooting at an open aperture makes it harder to overlap the DOF and requires more images and more processing power.



Here is an example of a flower I shot at f3.5 and blended 13 images to create the final image.  Take a close look at this totally impossible depth of field.

If you have Photoshop CS4 here is how to do this. 

1.  Open Bridge and select the images to be merged, in the correct order. 
2.  Click on "Tools" --> "Photoshop" --> "Load Files into Photoshop Layers"
3.  Photoshop comes up with each image in a separate layer shown in the right side panel for Layers
4.  Select all of the images
5.  Click "Edit" --> "Auto-Align Layers"
6.  Select "Auto" and click OK
7.  When that process is complete click "Edit" --> "Auto-Blend Layers"

Auto-blending layers may take a few minutes, LOTS of processing going on here.  This step reminds me strongly of waiting for an image to come up in the black & white darkroom.  You will have an out of focus image on the screen while the computer works and then, just like magic, the image will resolve itself into something beautiful (we hope).

After all that, you will have an image that probably needs some cropping to clean up the edges and it may have some ghosting that needs cleaning up, especially if there was ANY movement of subject or camera.  You will need to flatten the layers before you can do any serious processing to the image.

Just for fun, here is one more example of the power of focus stacking:

First image is soft and flowing.  I shot it with a Nikon 105 macro wide open to f3.5.  Not very much is in focus, just a very shallow area in the center of the flower.  Background is very soft and undefined.

This second image was shot with the same lens and camera position but the aperture was stopped down to f22 to get greater DOF.

This one has most of the flower in focus but the leaves in the background are also becoming more distinct.  I liked the softer background better so this final image was a focus stack of 8 images all shot at f3.3.

I left just a little bit of ghosting around the large petal that is front and center so you could see what it looks like.  Here is the best of both worlds, I have the flower totally and impossibly in focus with the background soft and unobtrusive.

Life is good......Later!

Flowers & Insects Up Close - Part 4

Well... I slipped in "& Insects" this time because I have a couple of great examples of using flash with insects.  If this is the first post you are reading, it is actually the fourth in a series on Close-Up Photography so go back a few posts to start at the beginning.  This post will deal with using flash.  I did a series on understanding light in early June so if you have never heard of the Inverse Square Law or don't really understand "fill light" then go back to the three part series I did on Understanding Light before tackling this post.  Here we go.....

In a perfect world the natural light would always be beautiful and we would never need to change it.  Too bad we don't live there.  You can OFTEN improve the lighting balance on your subject and background when working in close-up photography.  I think that close-up photography offers more opportunity to manage the light than any type of photography that is done outside the studio.  Remember the Inverse Square Law?  In the examples I gave we measured light travel in feet and talked about how it falls off as it moves out from the source.  In close-up photography we talk about measuring light travel in inches not feet but the same principles hold.  When you are lighting things that are inches from the flash it does not take much power and you have LOTS of control within arms reach.

So what do you need to get started?  Digital camera with a hot shoe flash that will work OFF the camera.  Yep, that is the first necessity - get the flash off the camera.  Many of the newer flash units work off camera wirelessly but an old fashion hot shoe cable will also work.  I find the off camera cable to be so easy to use that I still use it even though my flash and camera will work wirelessly.  Flash power is not a major issue because you are working so close to the subject.  Instead of looking for a powerful flash, be sure to get one that gives you lots of ability to control the power and to turn the power down.

Lets start with the easy stuff - fill flash.  How many times have you found a great subject, flower or insect, but had the light coming from behind.  With back lighting you usually end up with the subject underexposed and the background correctly exposed or the subject exposed correctly but surrounded by a badly overexposed background.  Fill flash to the rescue!!

I tried everything to get this guy to turn around and face the light but no luck.  The background looks great but the subject is underexposed by 2 or 3 stops.

Pop on a flash and place it about a foot from the subject and to the right of the camera.  Turn the flash down to about -2 stops using exposure compensation on the flash unit.  Set the flash mode to Auto TTL.  The result is dramatic!!

I shot this with a Nikon 70-300 zoom with a close-up diopter on the zoom for closer focusing.  The camera was about 3 feet from the subject and on a tripod.  The background was a pink azalea bush in bloom in early May and it was about 4-5 feet from the subject.

Lets first think about the lighting on the subject verses the background in both images.  The background lighting is the same in both images so the flash had no visible effect on the background.  One reason for that is that the flash was 1 foot from the subject but 5 or 6 feet from the background.  The Inverse Square Law states that every time the distance light travels doubles, light falls off by two stops.  Based on that, the light that the flash put on the background would be 4 to 5 stops less than the light it put on the subject.  Not really noticeable.

Why not just leave the flash on the camera?  Any flash is powerful enough to light this insect from 3 feet away.  I want the flash off the camera because I want more control.  I want to control the direction of the light.  I also want to control the lighting ratio between the subject and the background.  Here is the second big thing to think about - you control exposure for the subject with the flash, you control exposure for the background with your selection of aperture and shutter speed.  You need to think about the two as completely separate exposures taken at the same time.

Here is another example to illustrate the level of control you have using flash for closeup photography.

The first image was shot without flash at f22 with a shutter speed of 1/6 second.  It is badly underexposed for the subject.  The second image was shot at f16 with a shutter speed of 1/25 second with flash.  The flash correctly exposed the subject.  The aperture/shutter speed combination allowed for 1 stop less background light in the second image (aperture was +1 but shutter speed was -2).  Notice the difference in the background exposure?  You are making two independent exposure decisions when you use flash in closeup photography.  I held the flash less than a foot from the subject.  It was set to auto TTL mode and I dialed down exposure compensation on the flash to -2 1/3 stops.  The flash correctly exposed the subject then turned off.  The background was exposed based on the aperture/shutter speed combination.

Here is a more dramatic example of the same subject.  In this example I kept the flash set to -2 1/3 stops but changed the aperture/shutter speed combination to f45 for 1/13 seconds.  That is 3 stops less than the original exposure and 2 stops less than the second exposure.  Look at how much control you can have over the lighting ration between subject and background!

So here is the third thing to think about.  In both of the examples I have had a subject where the background was several feet from the subject.  I placed the flash a foot or so from the subject, exposed the subject with the flash and the flash had very little or no effect on the background lighting.  What happens when the background is closer to the subject as in 1 to 1 1/2 feet from the subject.  When the background is a foot or so from the subject you have to do something that very few photographers do.  You have to get the light VERY close to the subject, I am talking 3 to 5 inches!  When I shoot flowers I am always on a tripod.  I hand hold the light while looking through the viewfinder and put it as close to the subject as possible without getting the flash into the image.

Think about this - if the flash is 2 feet from the subject and the background is 1 foot behind the subject then the light on the background from the flash will be about 1 stop less than the light on the subject.  If I move the flash to 6 inches from the subject I can lower the light from the flash on the background to -3 stops.  That is lots of control!  Here is an example where the background is close to the subject and is brightly lit.

I think the background is a little distracting in this image.  My solution was to add flash placed very close to the flower.  The first image was shot at f16 with a shutter speed of 1/15 second so I increased the shutter speed to 1/60 second.  This darkened the background by two stops and made the flower stand out from the darker background. 

So go out there and play with you flash unit!  There is lots of potential for great images and you have a huge amount of control over light in closeup photography.  Have fun and experiment.

Here are a few technical notes that I should leave you with.  I am a Nikon user so most of what I talk about is based on my experience using Nikon camera and flash units.  The Nikon flash is set up by default to correctly expose for the subject without trying to manage the background.  If I want the system to try to balance lighting between subject and background I have to put the flash in a special "BL" mode.  My experience with Canon flash units is that they are by default in a balanced lighting mode so you may need to set them up differently to make all this work properly.  Check you flash instructions but you may have to put your flash in manual mode and set the power yourself.  I am sure that some of the other camera systems from Pentax, Olympus, Sony, and the list goes on....may also have different requirements.

For camera setup, I usually go to manual and set both aperture and shutter speed manually.  The flash is in Auto TTL mode and it handles exposure for the subject as I am selecting aperture and shutter speed combinations to get the look that I want for the background.  My selection is seldom what the meter system recommends for correct exposure.

Flowers - DOF, Point of Focus, & Backgrounds Pt. 3

Depth of field and point of focus are great tools for creative expression in flower photography.  Let's look at a third tool that can be just as powerful - camera position.  Sometimes I think the tripod is connected to the ground and once set it cannot be moved, WRONG!  Even a very small change in camera position can result in a major difference in the appearance of the background and the look and feel of the overall image.

The first trick is to actually see the background.  Attention is always on the main subject but don't let your mind get so focused that you fail to see the background.  The background is a very important part of the total image and can literally make or break the image.

Take a look at these two images for an example of how dramatic a small change in camera position can be.  The first image was shot with a Nikon 105 macro set to f5.6 for 1/8th second.  Even at an open aperture like f5.6 that background is cluttered and distracting.  Opening up probably would not solve the problem so if a less busy background is your goal, the next moves are change the lighting or change the camera position.  Lets focus on changing the camera position.



In the second image I made a very small change in the camera position by moving the camera to the left and slightly up.  I also moved in a little closer to the main subject.  The result is a dramatically different background and because of that, a very different feel for the image.

For an even more subtle background I moved again and selected a different flower that had more space between it and its background and less light on its background.

Once again a very different image in terms of look and feel, all from small changes in camera position and small changes in the relationship of the subject to its background.  This third image was actually shot at f8, a more stopped down aperture offering greater DOF.  The background is softer because it is farther from the subject

So....what do you do when you have moved the camera, tried various apertures, played with focus point, etc....and you still cannot get the look you are after?

I mentioned changing the light earlier, so that could be a possible way to move ahead.  Check out Part 4 of Flowers to see how to use a flash to darken the background.  Is that even possible????  Later....

Flowers-DOF & Point of Focus Part 2

As we saw in the DOF example, the area in focus plays a major part in how your final image feels and looks.  Having out of focus areas is perfectly acceptable and they can be an intentional creative factor in your image.  So.....are all out of focus areas acceptable or are there some guidelines to keep in mind?  Do I want out of focus areas in all images?

As a general rule of thumb, out of focus areas in the background are better accepted than out of focus areas in the foreground. 

In this image you can clearly see the focus fall off as you move back in the image.  I made a decision to keep the first flower in focus.  I set the camera to manual focus, and used DOF preview to find an aperture and point of focus that would give me sharp focus on the front of the first flower. 

I often use the technique of selecting an aperture then depressing DOF preview to manually focus.  This gives me the most complete control possible over what is in focus and what is out of focus.  In this case I selected f11 and my point of focus was about 1/2 way back on the nearest flower petals.  I know that my DOF extends about 1/3rd in front of and 2/3ths behind my point of focus.  The front petals and the center of the flower were the areas where I wanted sharp focus so selecting that point of focus gave me my desired result.

Many people have trouble using DOF preview and some cameras do not offer that option.  With digital cameras you always have the option of shooting an image and then looking at the result.  Examine the image, adjust and then shoot again until you get the look you want.  If you are having trouble seeing the camera display, purchase a camera loupe from Hoodman.  These 3" loupes are designed to shield and magnify the camera display so you can see your image.  You can also enlarge your image in the readout but when you do that you cannot see the whole image at once. 

You can really get the creative tools cooking when you combine your choice of point of focus with your choice of aperture.  With this subject I could use aperture to get all 4 flowers in focus but the price of that DOF is a cluttered background.  I choose to open up the aperture, hold focus on the front 3 flowers and gain a softer background at the expense of losing sharp focus on the back flower. 

Was I right or wrong?  Who knows?  I think so but what is important is the thought process that you go through as you create your images.  Take control of the process!  Pre-visualize your image and use the tools available to you to make the image that you see in your mind.

Another way to control the clutter is by working with the background....more later.

Flowers - Working DOF and Point of Focus

A favorite subject of mine to photograph is flowers. One of my workshop participants recently reminded me of why I love closeup photography so much.  Thanks Larry for your comments on how our eyes and the camera see the world differently.

For the past week I have been working in a local garden area where there is a patch of wildflowers.  Coneflowers, Butterfly Bush, Indigo, Blue Star, Aster, and many other local wildflowers of Arkansas are still plentiful even though it is already very hot and dry here.

When working flower closeups I find that managing depth of field is one of the most important creative tools that I have for showcasing the beauty of my subject.  There are always distractions and clutter around and behind my subject and how I include or exclude those elements has a major influence on the look and feel of my images.

Lets start by defining depth of field and examining how to manage depth of field (DOF) with the camera.  I define DOF as the area of an image that appears to be in focus.  Several factors influence DOF but the two that I will focus on are camera to subject distance and aperture.  In my work in this garden my camera to subject distance ranged from 1 to 5 feet using a Nikon 105 Macro lens.  The closer I am to the subject the more shallow the DOF and the more out of focus the background will appear.  The more I open up the lens aperture the more shallow the DOF and the more out of focus the background appears.

Here are a couple of examples of an image shot using different apertures.  The camera position did not change, I simply shot the two images at different apertures.

This image was made with the lens stopped down to its smallest aperture.

Nikon 105 macro  f40   .6 Seconds

This is the maximum DOF that the lens can deliver at this distance from the subject.  As you can see there is a lot of clutter in the background competing for attention with the main subject.

There are several possible solutions to reducing the background clutter but one of the most straightforward is to increase the size of the lens aperture, or "open up the lens". 

For this second image I opened the lens to its widest aperture.

Nikon 105 macro  f3.3  1/160 Second

The result is a very soft background where the flowers blend together to create a muted pastel background.  This background does not pull the eye as strongly and is much less distracting.

In photography, you constantly are making trade offs.  In this case I traded a cluttered background but the price I paid is soft focus on the main subject.  In the first image the main subject is sharp from front to back but in the second image only the front flower is sharp and focus quickly falls off making the second flower very soft.  This is the direct result of changing the lens aperture and is an example of the creative power you have in closeup photography.

Is soft focus on the second flower a problem?  There is no definitive answer to that question, only opinions.  I personally like the softness of the second image and prefer it over the cluttered background of the first image but neither presentation of the flower is right or wrong.  The power is in your ability to understand how to create a look with your camera and then using that knowledge to create an image that you visualize.

More later....

First Day in the Ozarks

My wife and I arrived in Mountain Home, Arkansas on Wednesday evening.  After two days of "settling in" we finally got out today to check out the Buffalo River wilderness area.  We spent all day today exploring the Buffalo and White River area near Mountain Home.  This was not really a photography day but I did get a couple of images at Blanchard Springs.

This creek emerged from a rock face about 200 yards farther upstream.  I was struggling with dappled sunlight on the stream which always makes shooting water difficult.  The contrast was very high so I shot a series of three images, one at the meter, one at -1 stop and one at +1 stop for each of these three compositions.  I combined the three in post processing to get a more balanced exposure.

I like the way the rocks in the foreground pull the eye into the image by creating a strong line that moves up the stream.  This one has one very bright, overexposed rock that pulls the eye.  I like the light in the foreground but the bright rock is just too much and I think it ruins the image.  Direct sunlight on scenes like this one is always a challenge.

I moved the camera position just a little and then waited until the light was cut down by a passing cloud and shot this image.

I like the exposure better without the bright rock.  Overall this image is a little softer in terms of light intensities.  When I moved the camera I also tilted it up a little and I think that was a mistake.  I like the lower camera position of the first image better.

Here is a third composition I took after moving upstream about 20 feet.  The waterfall becomes a much more dominate part of the image.  The strong lines of the overhanging limb stand out much more in this image and I think they become a distraction.  There is a little sun in the background, just enough for interest but not enough to create unmanageable contrast.

The rocks still lead the eye into the image but that effect is not as strong in this image as it was in the first two.

Of the three, the second is my favorite.  To me it communicates accurately what the area looked and felt like.  So what??

Is there a takeaway from this?  I think so.  The three images have pronounced differences in lighting and composition.  They "feel" different, yet they are very similar, were taken minutes apart, and the camera position was only slightly different between images.

The takeaway for me is that little things really do make big differences.  A small change in camera position, waiting for slightly different light, arranging the elements in the frame differently converts into big changes in the final image.  When you find a subject that you like, work it!  Try different camera positions, higher, lower, left, right, etc...  Far too often I see photographers set up their tripod at a location and work it for 20 minutes without ever moving the tripod.  Get mobile, move around, experiment.  Good subjects are not that common so when you find one that speaks to you, spend enough time with it unlock its secrets. 

My new website is up for viewing at http://www.robertpriddyphoto.com/, check it out.

Finding your Mojo in Event Photography

A recent student and new friend of mine (Linda) called to ask advice about shooting a wedding.  It seems that a friend has asked Linda to shoot the event and since she has never been the one solely responsible for getting it right, Linda contacted me to ask advise.  My best advice was given and rejected...RUN!!!!

In light of that refusal I will do my best to share my experience in wedding photography.  Here is the situation...Linda will be working alone with one camera and one hot shoe flash.  The wedding is indoors so the lighting may be poor to non-existent????  Linda shoots with Canon and has a variable aperture wide to short tele zoom and an 80-200 f2.8 zoom.

First advice - if you know anyone who has a camera and flash that is the same brand as yours, beg, borrow or steal it.  Murphy's Law is in full force at events so having a backup close at hand is always a good idea.  Make sure that both flash units have fresh batteries and have plenty more in your pocket.  Don't scrimp and get the cheap ones, I like and trust Duracell.  As the batteries begin to wear down the recycle time will get slower and slower.  Change out to a new set as soon as you notice the flash getting weaker.

Lighting will be a big issue and since you are working alone with only a single hot shoe mounted flash I recommend keeping it as simple as possible.  First, try to diffuse the light.  There are various types of diffusers available for hot shoe flash units.  Sto-fen makes some simple plastic diffusers that work well.  Gary Fong makes a line of larger diffusers and there are many others.  I think simple is better so I recommend the Sto-fen plastic snap-on diffuser.  When working close to your subject point the flash up at about 45 degrees to further soften the light.

Set up the camera in aperture priority mode and the flash in TTL mode.  Set exposure compensation on the flash to -1 2/3 stops to get a softer more natural look.  Look at the images and adjust from there but I believe that less is better as long as the overall exposure is OK.  Try to get the camera and lens handling the exposure so you can focus on composition and capturing the moment.  Timing is everything and you will miss many good shots if you are constantly working with camera setup and focus.

Get to the event early and look around.  Identify the best spots to do a bridal portrait or group portraits.  Look at the wedding facility and decide in advance where to position yourself for the processional, the ceremony and the walk down the aisle after the vows.  You should talk to the bride before the wedding day about photography during the ceremony.  Most want it but a few don't and a few wedding facilities will not allow it though this is rare.  A few will allow photography but no flash.  If you are unlucky enough to get one of those, get out the tripod and run up the ISO to the highest level that gives decent results.

Linda will want to use a mix of focal lengths, some wide overall shots that show the bride, groom and all the cast of characters, and some longer focal length shots to isolate.  In my experience the group shots and wide images are nice and a must have but the intimate close-ups are the stars of the show.

Since Linda has an 80-200 f2.8 I would recommend using it a lot and keep it open to f2.8 or f4 for most of the shots.  This will allow her to isolate people, faces, hands, etc...and to blur the background to further isolate.  You can also work at a comfortable distance from the subjects and get better candid images.  For any group work use a wider lens, 30mm-40mm, and close down the aperture to around f8.  If the group is more than 2 or 3 people deep you may need an even smaller aperture to carry DOF from front to back in the group.

If there is enough light to shoot without a flash, keep a close eye on the shutter speed and adjust the ISO up if necessary to get a shutter speed of 1/125 or higher.  I would shoot in JPEG fine large and use single point auto-focus for most of the event.

Tripods are too slow for good candid photography but they do come in handy for group portrait work.  You can put the camera on a tripod, frame the shot then step away from the camera to make final adjustments to the group.

Check the images often and adjust exposure as necessary to make sure that the bride's dress is not blown out.  Turning on the blown highlights warning on your camera is also a good idea.  If you hold detail in the bride's dress most other things can be corrected in post processing.  If you blow the dress you will have problems correcting for it later.  Remember, digital is cheap.  While I have never used auto bracketing at an event I have also never been afraid to shoot LOTS of images and when time allows I have shot various exposures of important shots.

Here are a few key moments to be prepared for:  The bride and her dad walking down the aisle, he may kiss her at the altar, the exchange of rings, the bride and groom kissing after the vows, new husband and wife walking down the aisle, the first dance, cutting the cake, and the toss of the bouquet.  Talk to the bride before the wedding day and find out what she has planned for the events.

Weddings are beautiful events so just relax into it.  They are not paying big bucks and should be appreciative of anything you do for them so shoot for yourself.  Enjoy capturing the expressions of joy and love that abound at weddings.  It really can be lots of fun!  Good luck.

The "Character" of Light

This is the third in a series of posts about light.  The first was on June 4th and titled "To Flash or Not to Flash" and the second was on June 17 and titled "Light and Earthquakes".  If you are just learning about light in photography you should start with the June 4 post.

What does "character" mean when we talk about light in photography?  Lets start by defining a few terms - "hard light" and "soft light".

Hard light occurs when light beams are traveling in a very straight line.  The most universal example is direct sunlight on a clear, cloudless day.  On a day like this, look at your shadow.  It will be very sharply defined with clearly defined edges.  The areas outside the shadow will be very bright and the areas inside the shadow will appear abruptly dark.  This is the classic example of "hard" light.  On-camera flash can also create this type of hard light

Generally, hard light is created when the light source is small and intense and far from the object it shines on.  We generally do not think of the sun as small but it actually is a small point light source.  This type of light often creates scenes that are beyond the cameras ability to record intensities of light.  The result is either highlights with no detail, shadowed areas with no detail or both.

Here is an example of a water lily shot in direct sunlight:

Notice how distinct the shadowed areas below the flower pedals are.  Those areas and the water are black without detail.  To me, the flower was the most important part of the image so I exposed to capture detail in the flower and let the shadowed areas go to black without detail.

In hard lighting situations you will frequently need to make exposure decisions like this.  Understanding these situations and taking control of them will result in much better images in this type of light.

Soft light occurs when light is diffused and travels to the subject from many directions.  The classic example of this is an overcast day.  Sunlight passes through a layer of clouds that cause the light to spread out.  Instead of coming from one spot in the sky, it comes from the entire sky from all directions.  On a day like this look at your shadow.  If there is a shadow it will be faint and there will be a soft transition from bright area to dark area.

On days like this your camera can usually handle the full range of light intensities in a scene.  When using flash, you can create softer light by diffusing the light from the flash.  You can do this by bouncing the light off a ceiling or by passing the light through some type of diffusion device that spreads the light.  Many flash units come with a plastic diffuser and a wide variety of units are sold as options.

I hesitate to describe one type of light as "better" to work in than another.  Understanding the character of the light you are working in will help you make better images by making better exposure decisions.  I personally prefer softer light for my work in nature photography and for portrait photography.

This flower was shot in very soft light.  There are no shadows and the camera easily handled the full range of light intensities in the image.

One disadvantage to light that is this soft is that there are no shadows.  Shadows can be a great compositional tool and they can add depth to an image or highlight shape or form.

Again, I don't think there is a right or wrong light.  There is only understanding the light and learning to take advantage of its characteristics.

The third "character" of light that I want to discuss is color.  In general, the color of light from the sun is affected by the angle that the light strikes our atmosphere and by dust, moisture, or pollution in the atmosphere.  The color of light can also be affected by altitude. 

Expect light to have a shift toward red and yellow early in the morning and late in the evening, sunrise and sunset.  When the angle of light is low, the light passes through more atmosphere and some of the blue is filtered out.  That is how we get the great sunrise and sunset colors.

Expect light to have a shift toward blue on overcast days, in shadowed areas on a sunny day, and at higher altitude. 

In film days you purchased film that was rated for color temperature.  By matching film rating to the light you would create images that had correct color balance.  With today's digital cameras you have the option of changing the color balance for every image if you want to.  This can be a very powerful creative tool that replaces the bag of filters that many photographers used in the past.

I like to think of myself as an honest and truthful person but I frequently lie to my camera.  How to make great images by lying to your camera about color temperature will be the subject of a future post.

I hope this series of three posts helped lay a foundation of understanding about how light works.  In the weeks to come I will try to build on the three ideas with information on how to make light work for you in your photography.

Light and Earthquakes

This post is the second in a series that started on June 4 so it is best to start reading there and them move to this post.

It has taken longer to get back to this than I expected.  A week of teaching photography at John C Campbell Folk school and moving to Arkansas for the summer has diverted my attention.  So...back to the topic of LIGHT!

The thought that light and earthquakes have something in common came to mind recently when two earthquakes occurred within a few weeks of each other.  One was a magnitude 8 and the other a magnitude 7 but it was noted that the magnitude 8 was hundreds of times more powerful than the magnitude 7 quake.  That started me thinking about how the power of light and earthquakes are measured and how both are non-linear.  When graphed, their lines are not straight but curved and in that way they have something in common.

In photography we measure light with a light meter and convert the measurement into "f" stop and shutter speed combinations for use on the camera to control exposure.  If we hold shutter speed and ISO constant, then as we measure brighter and dimmer light we will change the "f" stop to control exposure.

The most common "f" stop numbers are f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, and f.22.  I think of these as "whole" f stops.  Older lenses and some new lenses have these numbers marked on them.  Moving from one whole f stop to another either doubles or halves the amount of light that will go through the lens for any given length of time.

So what does all this mean to me for practical use as a photographer?  Well...it helps me visualize how fill flash works and I use that in portrait, event and close-up nature photography.

To make sense of this lets start by imaging a photo situation.  It is a little controlled so that I can reduce the number of variables and highlight how light works.  You are photographing the side of a building where the sun is shinning through a tree.  In some places the sun is blocked by the trunk of the tree, in others the direct sunlight shines through.  There are all levels of light in between where light is blocked by one or more leaves.  I might look something like this:

Not a GREAT example but good enough to work with.

You set up your camera so the lens plane is parallel to the wall of the church.  That minimizes the effect of the Inverse Square Law because the camera and your flash are essentially equal distance to all areas of the subject.

Set the camera up in spot metering mode, set ISO 100 with a shutter speed of 1/125 and don't change those settings for the rest of this exercise.  When you spot meter the wall you find areas that meter at all f stops from f2.8 to f22.

For purposes of this exercise we are going to assign a value of 1 to the light intensity in the areas that meter at f2.8.  Since the intensity of light doubles as you move from one f stop to the next, the area that meters f4 has a value of 2, the area that meters f5.6 has a value of 4, and so on to f22 which has a value of 64.

If we graph those values it would look like this:

When graphed, you get a sharply curved line.  Note that it takes a lot more light to move from f16 to f22 than it does to move from f4 to f5.6.

This non-linear relationship is what makes fill flash possible!

So...imagine that you fire a flash and the flash adds 4 units of light to all areas on the wall.  How does that effect the exposure?

  

 The same amount of light is added to all areas of the wall but visually the effect is not the same in all areas.  The darkest areas become much brighter visually but there is no noticable difference in the bright or highlight areas.

That is how fill flash works!  It adds visible brightness to shadowed areas with little or no effect to the highlight areas.  Fill flash adds light to the highlight areas, it is just that it is so little that it has no visual effect.



You now have the two biggest things to think about anytime you use flash.  The Inverse Square Law defines how light behaves as it moves out from its source and the non-linear nature of how we see light gives us ways to manage light on a scene.  If you have a good grasp of both of these concepts you are well on your way to using flash creatively and effectively in your photography.

Next topic is a little information on the "character" of light and a start to how you can control the character of light in your images.

Great Workshop at John C Campbell!

I just returned from conducting a workshop at the John C Campbell Folk School.  http://www.folkschool.org/  The workshop had 5 great individuals who were passionate about learning to be better photographers!  The group was Bad to the Bone!  Private joke but they will get it.

I don't know that I have ever had a group that was as tireless as this one.  They were up early and out late on most days.  We covered the Folk School campus plus about 500 miles of back and forth looking for the best locations and the best light.

Major topics for the week were exposure, composition, and light.  We worked at Winding Staircase Gap, Fires Creek, Perry's Water Gardens, streams and waterfalls around Highlands, and the Folk School campus.



Sunrise at Winding Staircase was excellent!

Sunset at one of the local locations near the Folk School was also outstanding!  Many thanks to Barbara for sharing.

Thanks to Perry's Water Gardens in Franklin for allowing the group to photograph in their gardens.  The water lilies and insects were abundant.  http://www.perryswatergarden.net/

This shot, taken right outside our classroom after a long day of shooting, says it all....its late, lets head for the house for some welcome and much needed rest!

Many thanks to the participants for making this such a great week.  You re-energized me!  You all did an outstanding job and I am proud to have had the opportunity to get to know you and see your photo vision grow.

I hope that you continue to create many beautiful images.  I also hope that our paths will cross again in the future.

Be well.

6/21/11 - Update - Just received a You Tube presentation from Merle, one of the students from this class.  If you are interested in viewing it click this link:  http://youtu.be/RTE3rTxQaCo

To Flash or not to Flash...Is that a Question?

Of all the topics in my beginning and intermediate classes, flash photography is the least understood.  In light of that I thought that a discussion on flash and some information on how light behaves might be on target.

I suspect that I might be able to illuminate you with several posts on this topic.  Lets start with some information on how light works.  After getting a handle on a few basic characteristics of light, we will move the discussion toward using a flash to take some pictures.

Lets start by talking about three key characteristics of light:

1. Light diminishes at a known rate as it moves from its source.
2. Light and earthquakes have something in common
3. The "character" of light changes based on the size of the source and its distance from the object it falls on.

OK, all you right brainers, don't run away, I am one of you and I promise to keep this pretty intuitive and as general as possible!

So...light diminishes at a known rate.  Simply stated, as light moves from its source it spreads out and as it spreads it loses intensity.  Think of getting blasted with a water hose.  If you are 3 feet away the hose will hit powerfully and all the water will hit you in a small circle.  If you are 20 feet away you will be hit with a gentle spray of water that covers your entire body and a lot of area around you.  It is the same amount of water, it just spreads out over distance.

Light works the same way and it does it at a known rate so we can easily visualize how it works.  It's called the Inverse Square Law.  What it says is that every time the distance from the source to the subject doubles, the light will be 1/4th as intense.  In other words it will lose two stops, one stop is half, two stops is half again or 1/4th.  Got it?  If not, take a close look at this illustration:

For example: If I take a picture of you and you are 10 feet from the camera and there is a wall behind you that is 20 feet from the camera, the light on the wall will be two stops darker than the light on you.

One word of caution, there is a BIG variable out there that can mess with your results and that is ambient light (the light that already exists on the scene).  In very bright situations your flash is too weak to overpower the existing light so the Inverse Square Law will appear to break down.  The Inverse Square Law works best for visualization of lighting when you are working in lower light situations were the flash can overpower the ambient light.

You will use this information to visualize results when you use your flash in people photography and in nature photography.  It is most helpful to me when I use flash in closeup photography.  I also used this visualization technique frequently when I was doing professional portrait work.  Much more about this later.

Enough for now!  We can talk about light and earthquakes in the next post.....Later 

Craggy Gardens Sunset

One of my favorite spots this time of year is the bald or dome at Craggy Gardens, especially at sunrise or sunset.  You can go in from the visitors center at about mile post 364 or from Craggy Gardens picnic area around mile post 368.  I like to go in from the visitors center side because there are several spots along the trail that often have Rhododendrons arching over the trail.

Well....my luck is running true to form.  I passed great Rhododendrons, Mountain Laurel and Flame Azaleas at about 4,000 to 5,000 feet but Craggy Dome is about 6,000 feet up and the Rhododendrons are just starting to bloom.  My guess is the week of 6-6 and 6-13 to catch them at the prime time.

Tried a few shots of the trees in the field but nothing to write home about.  Lots of haze in the air!  When the bloom reaches the bald it will be beautiful!

Plan on taking a split neutral density filter to help balance the bright sky and the Rhododendrons.  The other way is to shoot a series of exposures for HDR work in post processing.

Use a wide angle lens to capture the feel of the bald with the grass, the Rhododendrons, and the mountain peaks in the distance.  Also bring a longer lens to isolate the Rhododendron blossoms.  Plan on fighting with the wind, it is seldom quiet at Craggy Dome.

Be there if you can!

Dodging Sunlight

Here is another HDR image except this one was taken after the sun was well up and throwing very strong light across the middle ground of the image.  The foreground is in shadow and the mountain and clouds are strongly lit.  The exposure range in this image was very wide so I shot 5 images starting at -2 stops and moving up to +2 stops in 1 stop increments. 

My goal is to convey the golden light of early morning without the typical harsh shadowed areas and blown highlights that this type of high contrast light often yields.  With my eyes I could see the warm early morning light lingering in the clouds and even though the direct sun is bright it still held the warmth of early morning.

I still struggle with the idea of so much electronic manipulation but I know that this shot would be almost impossible on film or digitally without some type of layering to balance the exposure.    The best I can get without it looks like this:

The richness in the sky is lost, the yellow glow of the sunlight across the mountains is lost, and most of the details in the foreground are lost.

The elements that come out in the HDR image are what caused me to hit the brakes and set up for the shot as I returned from a sunrise shoot on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I have resisted HDR photography for years but I think the time has come to embrace it.  Camera makers are starting to include crude HDR capabilities in the new cameras.  I have read articles that predict that in the future each pixel in the chip can be a light meter that can be controlled by the computer in the camera.  This type of control will lead to HDR becoming the norm.

Getting Started!

Well....after 15 years+ of E-mail I am ready to inch ahead into the electronic fog with a blog.  I have been teaching photography classes and workshops for 7 years and a blog seems to be a great format to follow-up on questions and ideas that come out of the workshop experience.

A new web site is under construction and should be up in 30 - 45 days (Aug-Sept) at http://www.robertpriddyphoto.com/.

Classes and workshops are scheduled for the remainder of this year and the first half of next year.  Upcoming workshops are located at the North Carolina Arboretum and the John C Campbell Folk School.

     John C Campbell                   June 5-10            Photographing the Natural World
     North Carolina Arboretum       August 4-7          Introduction to Photography
     North Carolina Arboretum       Sept 18, 24, 25   Nature Up Close
     John C Campbell                   Oct 2-7               Nature Up Close

     2012

     John C Campbell                    April 8-13           Introduction to Photography
     John C Campbell                    June 10-15          Photographing the Natural World
     John C Campbell                    August 3-5          Image Making - Idea to Art

Check on classes at John C Campbell Folk School at http://www.folkschool.org/
Check on classes at the North Carolina Arboretum at http://www.ncarboretum.org/

Get more information on my workshops at http://priddyworkshops.blogspot.com/

Check back for information on such riveting photo topics as...well I promise I'll think of some soon.

Instead lets talk about a great place for photos!

I shot this image off the Blue Ridge Parkway above Graveyard Fields at sunrise last week.  Shot with a Nikon 300s and Nikon  17-35mm f2.8 lens.  Focal length selected for this composition was 20mm.  I took 3 RAW exposures: one at the meter, one at +1 stop exposure and one at -1 stop exposure.  The images were processed in Photoshop CS4 and then combined in Photomatix Pro 4 to balance the shadowed foreground with the bright background.

I used to think of this type of manipulation as cheating but after thinking more about it I realize that it is really no different from the processes that Ansel Adams is famous for.  Pushing and pulling film, dodging, burning, and all the chemical tricks were developed and used to create on photo paper what the eye could see in the real world.  HDR photography is the same thing with different tools.

More later...maybe