Wednesday, September 03, 2014
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
How To Do Time Lapse Photography
http://digitalphotographysecrets.com/digital-photography-tips-techniques/the-secret-of-creating-beautiful-time-lapse-photos-of-water/
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
Monday, June 02, 2014
What is a Model Release Form and Why Do I Need One?
It's always important to get legal advice. The information I am sharing with you is not intended as legal advice, you need to do that yourself. this article is simply about my experience. In reading this, you understand this and will not
take this as legal advice, or advice of any kind.
take this as legal advice, or advice of any kind.
Lately, I've had the good fortune of shooting a lot of portraits. I've done
everything from shooting posed and staged portraiture to a little more candid. I have loads of them, a few hundred in fact, all sitting in my hard drives and backup system.
everything from shooting posed and staged portraiture to a little more candid. I have loads of them, a few hundred in fact, all sitting in my hard drives and backup system.
So where are they all? How come I am not displaying them for the world to see? They're my photos right? Can't I just post them anywhere I like?
No, I can't. It's not that straight forward.
Each time you shoot a portrait you are creating intellectual property in which two people are involved; you and the model. Yes, you took the photo, but without that persons consent, you can't do with it as you like. Before displaying that image for the world to see you need signed permission otherwise known as written consent.
People under 18 or 21 (depending on what the legal age is in your country) you need signed consent from that child's guardian before you go merrily positing the image on Facebook. That form needs to be understood by the guardians that will use it in your marketing, display on the public domain and where ever else you want to use it, (business cards might be one such example).
Sound like a lot of hassle? After all it's your photo. Well, yes it is, but there is a good reason you need to get permission first. I'll share a made up scenario with you as to why this form is important. lets say you take a photograph of a mother and a child in the park, playing. It's a beautiful image. The light was warm, the colour vibrant and the focus was sharp. You're proud of it and want to show it off.
to find that someone decides to right click and copy it on someones website. That website is seen by everyone and now is no longer in your control. No longer is it in your control but its been uploaded to a website that opposes the personal and spiritual views of the mother who's been photographed. Now, she and her child are associated with something she clearly doesn't like. You are now legally responsible for the distribution of that image.
Okay, it's a dramatic example, but you get my idea.
A Model Release form offers you distrubution protection. It usually explains that you own the copyright to the iage, and want to use it for marketing purposes. It also explains that out of common courtesy and respect to your model, you won't go posting on any non-reputable sites. A Model Release form offers the protection of their reputation.
A Model Release form also confirms copyright protection. Not only does it allow public display of the image but
that you retain full
reproduction and distribution rights of the image. Copyright is an important
part of image ownership. Just because the
image is of a person they don't own it. They can still own the print you made for them, but the rights to the image are yours. Make sure they know this before going into any agreement with you. I encourage you to consider using Model Release forms any time you do portraiture.
that you retain full
reproduction and distribution rights of the image. Copyright is an important
part of image ownership. Just because the
image is of a person they don't own it. They can still own the print you made for them, but the rights to the image are yours. Make sure they know this before going into any agreement with you. I encourage you to consider using Model Release forms any time you do portraiture.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Professional Food Photography Tips
Professional Food Photography Tips
Food photography is a lot more difficult than it seems. Not only do we have to work to get the perfect composition but we also have to produce the light perfect too. Once these elements are combined, we then need to style the look of the food in order to make it look tasty. Food styling is always done by a food stylist. In this guide I’ll give you specialized food photography tips.
Food photography lighting tips
It’s common practice to light food in a way that displays texture. Texture is an importantpart to the gross sales of food items. Showingor enhancing texture is done through side lighting. Side lighting indicates texture sinceit brings out the brighter areasand shadowson the food making it more interestingto the viewer.
Many food shoots are done using the soft, diffused light from a window.. Window light is diffused light that works to emphasize contrast without really having to do anything overly specialized. Many food photographers use a softbox to photograph that “clean and white” look, but they never flash the front of the food. I’ll clarify more in a moment.
Why food is never lit from the front
Beautiful food photography relies upon the angle of light for contrast to create texture. Even the most smooth surfaced foods like cheese will require side lighting to create some appeal. If the food is lit front-on we lose the texture that side lighting offers. Flat lighting can cause food to appear boring and unappealing.
You can also photograph very artistic images using food. You might have seen very attention-grabbing food photos that look extremely designed and carefully crafted. Innovative food photography is done with the help of food styling. Food stylists spend their working lives thoroughly designing the food and props in such a way that is easy on the eye. They employ design principles to style the image for marketable appeal.
There are a handful of food photography techniques you can utilise. Side lighting, using soft window or softbox light is a frequent way to light food. A gobo is a go-between. It's a portion of deep black fabric or cardboard that reduces the lighting in one part of the image. I use a variety of sizes of black pieces of cardboard that cost me only a few bucks from a stationery store.
You can utilise one light and gobo's for darker images that need a country or rustic feel. Soups, bread and veggies are common players in this field. Food images of country kitchens, wooden benches and old cutlery are things that come to mind when thinking of darker, dimly lit food photos. Many wholesome food products are photographed this way.
Alternatively you can use the "bright, white" method of shooting too. You may have seen brightly lit photos of breakfast cereal like cornflakes, sweet muffins and cookies that use lots of bright, white light. This method simply uses side lighting and another light to light up the background. Softboxes, white shoot through umbrellas and reflectors are ultilised in this style of food images.
Food photography is a lot of fun but very hard work. It’s very meticulous and fastidious at the best of times. If you like still life and being attentive to finer details then food photography might be perfect for you.
Food photography is a lot more difficult than it seems. Not only do we have to work to get the perfect composition but we also have to produce the light perfect too. Once these elements are combined, we then need to style the look of the food in order to make it look tasty. Food styling is always done by a food stylist. In this guide I’ll give you specialized food photography tips.
Food photography lighting tips
It’s common practice to light food in a way that displays texture. Texture is an importantpart to the gross sales of food items. Showingor enhancing texture is done through side lighting. Side lighting indicates texture sinceit brings out the brighter areasand shadowson the food making it more interestingto the viewer.
Many food shoots are done using the soft, diffused light from a window.. Window light is diffused light that works to emphasize contrast without really having to do anything overly specialized. Many food photographers use a softbox to photograph that “clean and white” look, but they never flash the front of the food. I’ll clarify more in a moment.
Why food is never lit from the front
Beautiful food photography relies upon the angle of light for contrast to create texture. Even the most smooth surfaced foods like cheese will require side lighting to create some appeal. If the food is lit front-on we lose the texture that side lighting offers. Flat lighting can cause food to appear boring and unappealing.
You can also photograph very artistic images using food. You might have seen very attention-grabbing food photos that look extremely designed and carefully crafted. Innovative food photography is done with the help of food styling. Food stylists spend their working lives thoroughly designing the food and props in such a way that is easy on the eye. They employ design principles to style the image for marketable appeal.
There are a handful of food photography techniques you can utilise. Side lighting, using soft window or softbox light is a frequent way to light food. A gobo is a go-between. It's a portion of deep black fabric or cardboard that reduces the lighting in one part of the image. I use a variety of sizes of black pieces of cardboard that cost me only a few bucks from a stationery store.
You can utilise one light and gobo's for darker images that need a country or rustic feel. Soups, bread and veggies are common players in this field. Food images of country kitchens, wooden benches and old cutlery are things that come to mind when thinking of darker, dimly lit food photos. Many wholesome food products are photographed this way.
Alternatively you can use the "bright, white" method of shooting too. You may have seen brightly lit photos of breakfast cereal like cornflakes, sweet muffins and cookies that use lots of bright, white light. This method simply uses side lighting and another light to light up the background. Softboxes, white shoot through umbrellas and reflectors are ultilised in this style of food images.
Food photography is a lot of fun but very hard work. It’s very meticulous and fastidious at the best of times. If you like still life and being attentive to finer details then food photography might be perfect for you.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Stunning Lighting Creates Stunning Portraiture
What makes a stunning portrait? Is it the friend being captured? Is it the colours and tonal range? Perhaps it’s a good photographic lens. Actually there are lots of factors to why a portrait turns out well. However, there is one main ingredient to success: lighting.
Lighting, particularly in portraiture, helps to outline and compliment a person’s face. Lighting sculpting, as this is known in professional terms, means that someone’s better features are enhanced. This brings us to the issue about the very best lighting setup for portrait photography. The “best” lighting setup for portraiture is one that carves out the beauty and charm of your subject’s face. Lighting setups for portraits depend a lot on the person and what you want to enhance.
Lighting techniques for portrait photography alter from broad to short, side lit and front lit. Beauty lighting is a term used to light from above and underneath a person, creating softness across a persons face. This is used for fashion and make up images. These are mainly used for women but can be used for men too.
One of the nicest portrait photography lighting styles is called profile lighting. This is a two or three light set up done in the studio. It involves a strip softbox (long rectangular softbox) and a small softbox, and a background light if you are using one. The person sits facing the main light. We need to direct the light to reduce the spread of light. Once that is accomplished we then place the fill light at approximately a 50-60 degree angle from ourselves, toward the person. We let the light to fill in the shadowed areas on the side of their face, without spilling too much on their body. The direction of the fill light is very significant. You may light the background if you wish but remember to position the background light low to the ground so it’s not in the frame.
This lighting setup is great for portraits because the lighting is simple. Once you find the right angle then everything becomes simpler. The light you use for this type of portrait photography are soft boxes mainly. I have not ultilised umbrellas in this situation simply because they splay the light too broadly. The whole design of this lighting technique is to direct the light.
Portrait lighting is a splendidly fun yet difficult feature of capturing people. It’s very tricky in the beginning as light sculpting is very specific and extremely precise. It’s a fine art and one shift of the light to the left or right can utterly change your photo. Once the light has been moved it may not yield the desired outcome.
Lighting setup for portraits usually calls for lights with stands and a complete series of tools to transform the light. Silver umbrellas for example are reflective and will help to create broad light. Shoot-through umbrellas are partially opaque fabric and will soften a broad distribution of light. Gobo’s are deep black pieces of cardboard, of varying sizes, that will block the light from certain reaching parts of your image. Studio lighting kits for portrait photography can offer many lighting accessories to create the desired result.
Lighting is emotion. In all portrait photography we light the photo a certain way to induce emotion in our viewers. Using lots of shadow and blackness will generate different feelings than if you were to light the whole scene. Based on how you create the relationship between the person and the light you can adjust the emotion of the photo completely.
In the most recent portrait image I did in the studio I have set up the main and fill light to emphasize my models profile. The main light is responsible for the light on the very front of her nose and, the shadows that fall on the side of her cheeks. This is due to the angle. The fill light is responsible for the light on the side of her face. I angled it in such a way where we still see a little bit of shadow but not enough to light the whole of her face.
Lighting is one of the aspects of successful portrait photography. Light your subject for mood. Place your subject in a way that enhances that story and don’t forget to tell them how great they look. A model who gets compliments from the photographer will loosen up and you will get better photos.
Sunday, March 09, 2014
How To Get Beautiful Colour In Your Photos
White balance is probably one of the most underestimated successful methods in photography. White balance falls under the category of colour management. Colour management is, in basic terms, a process used to explain attaining true colour in your photos. White balance is a vital part of your colour management.
White balance represents the colour hue or tone in your images. When you do not work to get accurate white balance the images may be tinged with an incorrect colour hue. This can be disastrous at weddings or when you are shooting portraits. Even a small modification of colour tone can produce unpleasant pictures.
White balance is important in portraiture due to the fact that it means precise skin tones. If you white balance is not set to an accurate setting then skin tones may look slightly blue, greenish or pink. It does not matter whether skintone is fair or dark. If your white balance is inappropriate for your shoot you will feel unhappy with your pictures.
There are various white balance settings on your camera. These are called white balance presets. These presets are intended to set your shots to a particular tone. For instance, there is a white balance preset called daylight. Daylight is designed to mimic the colour temperature at noon. The light at midday looks very different from the light in the late hours of daylight. If you want a colour temperature coherent with daylight hue then simply change the white balance preset to the daylight setting. If you like your images to look golden then you may select the cloudy or shade in your white balance presets.
Before I go on any more let me delve a little deeper. White balance is connected with colour temperature. Colour temperature is related to the certain type of hue in your shots. The light at different times of day will give you different hues. Some of these tones are suitable for particular subjects and not others. That's why, when you change your white balance presets, your entire image looks different to the one prior.
Colour temperature does not relate to Celsius or Fahrenheit. Colour temperature relates to the colour of light. When the light looks fairly white you can say it is reminiscent of daylight colour temperature. Camera suppliers made a white balance preset to reproduce this daylight temperature. White balance temperature simply relates to the colour of the light you are shooting in.
To simplify this let's take for example you are photographing a scene at 2.30 in the afternoon. You see that the light changes every few minutes due to the wind. One minute you are shooting in full sunlight. The next minute you are shooting in cloudy light. The colour temperature of these two lighting conditions is very different. So how can you get precise colour in different light? The answer is to do a custom white balance.
Custom white balance is a white balance setting particularly created for the unique light you are working in. This means that even if you have shifting light you can still have very true colour. Creating custom white balance is done using the colour checker reference tool such as a gray card. A gray card is simply a small card that tells the camera where middle grey is. Once the camera knows where mid grey is then it knows where all the other colours are. By photographing in this way you are telling it to set all the other colours around this spot.
The way to set white balance is to shoot your gray card. Once you capture the gray card you can then alter your white balance setting to custom. The camera will then ask you if you want to use that image as a colour recommendation for all the photos from now on. Once you select yes the magic begins. You will see authentic colour every single one of your shots.
Altering your white balance may differ from camera to camera. It's crucial to check your camera instruction manual to locate your white balance adjustment adjustments. I know where they are on the Canon 5D but I am unfamiliar with where they are on a Nikon. I trust that the process is reasonably alike from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Setting your white balance to custom, or choosing the preset yourself, is an essential part of your colour management workflow. Colour management is one of the unsung heroes of photography. It is essential with all the shooting that you do. You will be able to get correct colour in your brighter areas, mid tones and shadows. No longer will your white look off-white or your deep black look dark grey. If you do your white balance properly you will find that white actually appears like a sharp and crisp white. Once you find that your colour management has been done correctly gaining correct, clear and stunning colour will become as easy as pressing the shutter button.
By Amy Renfrey
The first image has incorrect white balance. You can see how much blue has been removed from the image. This is an example to show you how important colour management is.
The photo below is what accurate white balance looks like. This is done with a grey card. Simply photograph the grey card (fill the frame) under the same light as your subject. Then set the white balance to custom, using the photograph of the grey card as a reference. Check your manual to see how this is done. Each camera may be different.
White balance represents the colour hue or tone in your images. When you do not work to get accurate white balance the images may be tinged with an incorrect colour hue. This can be disastrous at weddings or when you are shooting portraits. Even a small modification of colour tone can produce unpleasant pictures.
White balance is important in portraiture due to the fact that it means precise skin tones. If you white balance is not set to an accurate setting then skin tones may look slightly blue, greenish or pink. It does not matter whether skintone is fair or dark. If your white balance is inappropriate for your shoot you will feel unhappy with your pictures.
There are various white balance settings on your camera. These are called white balance presets. These presets are intended to set your shots to a particular tone. For instance, there is a white balance preset called daylight. Daylight is designed to mimic the colour temperature at noon. The light at midday looks very different from the light in the late hours of daylight. If you want a colour temperature coherent with daylight hue then simply change the white balance preset to the daylight setting. If you like your images to look golden then you may select the cloudy or shade in your white balance presets.
Before I go on any more let me delve a little deeper. White balance is connected with colour temperature. Colour temperature is related to the certain type of hue in your shots. The light at different times of day will give you different hues. Some of these tones are suitable for particular subjects and not others. That's why, when you change your white balance presets, your entire image looks different to the one prior.
Colour temperature does not relate to Celsius or Fahrenheit. Colour temperature relates to the colour of light. When the light looks fairly white you can say it is reminiscent of daylight colour temperature. Camera suppliers made a white balance preset to reproduce this daylight temperature. White balance temperature simply relates to the colour of the light you are shooting in.
To simplify this let's take for example you are photographing a scene at 2.30 in the afternoon. You see that the light changes every few minutes due to the wind. One minute you are shooting in full sunlight. The next minute you are shooting in cloudy light. The colour temperature of these two lighting conditions is very different. So how can you get precise colour in different light? The answer is to do a custom white balance.
Custom white balance is a white balance setting particularly created for the unique light you are working in. This means that even if you have shifting light you can still have very true colour. Creating custom white balance is done using the colour checker reference tool such as a gray card. A gray card is simply a small card that tells the camera where middle grey is. Once the camera knows where mid grey is then it knows where all the other colours are. By photographing in this way you are telling it to set all the other colours around this spot.
The way to set white balance is to shoot your gray card. Once you capture the gray card you can then alter your white balance setting to custom. The camera will then ask you if you want to use that image as a colour recommendation for all the photos from now on. Once you select yes the magic begins. You will see authentic colour every single one of your shots.
Altering your white balance may differ from camera to camera. It's crucial to check your camera instruction manual to locate your white balance adjustment adjustments. I know where they are on the Canon 5D but I am unfamiliar with where they are on a Nikon. I trust that the process is reasonably alike from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Setting your white balance to custom, or choosing the preset yourself, is an essential part of your colour management workflow. Colour management is one of the unsung heroes of photography. It is essential with all the shooting that you do. You will be able to get correct colour in your brighter areas, mid tones and shadows. No longer will your white look off-white or your deep black look dark grey. If you do your white balance properly you will find that white actually appears like a sharp and crisp white. Once you find that your colour management has been done correctly gaining correct, clear and stunning colour will become as easy as pressing the shutter button.
By Amy Renfrey
The first image has incorrect white balance. You can see how much blue has been removed from the image. This is an example to show you how important colour management is.
The photo below is what accurate white balance looks like. This is done with a grey card. Simply photograph the grey card (fill the frame) under the same light as your subject. Then set the white balance to custom, using the photograph of the grey card as a reference. Check your manual to see how this is done. Each camera may be different.
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