Getting the Most from a Point and Shoot Camera

Jul 092011
 
 July 9, 2011  Posted by Habenero at 1:24 pm How To, Photography, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,  No Responses »

With the advancements made in technology, point and shoot cameras are able to produce images that far surpass images made in the film world by what would be considered their equivalent! Often users of these cameras assume they are just a point and shoot device and never take time to read the manual or change the settings for optimal shooting.  This leads to pictures that are well made, but often could have been better.  Here are a few tips to ensure you get the best images possible from any camera without regard to make or model:

1:  If you can control the aperture, try shooting in aperture priority mode.  This allows you to control the depth of field.  A wide open aperture creates a shallow depth of field, which is often used for portraiture.  When only the subject is in focus, it will stand out and be notice better.  A closed down aperture creates a very wide depth of field with as much of the scene as possible kept in focus.  This makes for a better landscape image.

2:  By controlling the shutter speed, you can decide whether to capture single drops of spray from a fountain, or to create a milky texture from the water.  You may be able to stop the action of a race car, or let it blur a bit to indicate a fast object.

3:  In the days of film, ISO was set strictly by the film maker and could be manipulated through processing.  Modern cameras allow you to change the ISO on the fly.  The ISO determines how sensitive the sensor will be to the light hitting it.  A high ISO charges the sensor so that it responds faster and with more intensity and noise than a low ISO at the same light level.  IT is by manipulating the ISO that one can make the adjustments of aperture and speed fall into a range that creates a good image.

4:  White Balance is probably the most misunderstood adjustment modern cameras have.  In short, it adjusts the sensor’s idea of what white looks like.  The human eye can recognize a white object at many different light levels.  The films sensor can not do this.  A bright day with lots of sunshine has a color temperature of close to 5000 degrees kelvin.  An object that looks white in that light will look more yellow-red than white if viewed under tungsten light.  It might also appear a bit green under older style fluorescent lights.  A white balance control enables you to compensate for the lighting conditions at hand.

By taking the time to learn about these controls on your camera, you can start creating better images.

Camera Controls (Part 4, White Balance)

May 272010
 
 May 27, 2010  Posted by Habenero at 8:17 pm How To, Photography , , , , , , , , ,  No Responses »

White Balance is one of the least understood settings on a digital camera and one that can make the most difference in keeping colors accurate. Where our eyes are able to discern white objects as white throughout a wide range of lighting conditions, digital sensors have a problem. Film wasn’t good at it either. We used filters to compensate for shooting daylight balanced film under tungsten lights, or vice versa. With most digital cameras, you can dial in the color temperature that best matches the light at the time you shoot. If you are shooting in JPEG mode, it becomes a critical step, your camera is going to throw away the information that makes it possible to safely make the adjustment in post processing software. Some cameras use a simple pictograph of sun, clouds, lights, flash, and possibly other symbols to enable you to choose a setting that matches the condition you are shooting in. Better ones let you pick the actual temperature setting in degrees kelvin you are in, or let you shoot a target with a black, white and 18% gray area in the actual scene and set a custom white balance.

It is better to make a choice than to leave the white balance become determined by the camera. The primary reason for this is that when there is no true white, the camera’s pick may not be accurate. This is due to the camera checking for flesh tones as a second best target and you may not have anyone in the shot. Setting the temperature is fairly easy, normal sunlit scenes are between 5,000oK and 6,000oK. Lower light levels have a color temperature less than 5,000oK, and at those settings, blue is added to compensate for the overly reddish tones. Higher color temperatures add red to the mix to compensate for the deeper blues at higher temperatures. Then, again, there are further adjustments one can make to be a bit more creative. That permit one to increase or decrease the amount of enhancement done at a particular level. This is of great use when you wish to emulate some of your favorite film stocks. One word of caution, if you know that the fluorescent lights you are shooting are daylight balanced, do not set your camera for fluorescent lights. The old tubes used to appear too green to film and the setting on the camera attempts to take that into consideration.

For those who shoot in camera RAW mode, you may find it easier to set your white balance in the mid range and make your critical adjustment on your calibrated monitor within your software. It is just one of the big advantages you gain from not tying your hands prior to shooting.

Consider hiring a photographer!

Apr 202010
 
 April 20, 2010  Posted by Habenero at 4:43 pm General Notice , , , , , , , , , , ,  No Responses »

Cheap access to powerful camera equipment makes it so anybody that wants to call themselves a photographer does so. The big camera manufacturers, Nikon, Canon, Pentax, etc., have put a lot of effort into figuring out what and how most people shoot and their latest cameras are designed to enhance those aspects of photos. When a photo straight out of the camera looks good, the logical question follows, Why should I pay someone to take a picture I can do myself? Is there a reason to hire a photographer? Can’t everyone with a good camera take great pictures?

You should never hire a photographer to take a picture you yourself could do! You do not hire a photographer because his camera is better than yours, it may not be. You do not hire a photographer just because you need someone to push the button on a camera. You hire a photographer that has a particular style of work you like. The artistic vision of a photographer is his knowledge of what his camera can do, what types of poses fit the occasion, and the kind of post processing he or his lab performs. Photographers look not only at the subject, but also at the details in the background, foreground, and middle ground and use their choices of white balance, ISO, shutter speed, f-stop, and sense of timing to create their shot. You hire a photographer because you like what they create out of a scene.

Equipment is not capable of compensating for mistakes like; the lamp post growing out of Uncle Bob’s head, the garbage can just behind the banquet table, or the toilet seen in the mirror the bride is using to apply her makeup. Your photographer should see those things and adjust the shot to compensate (they will not be in his direct from camera shots). The most expensive camera when placed in the hands of a novice will produce pictures that look like they were shot by a novice. A good photographer, can take just about any camera and compose a shot that looks great.

The best photographers get great shots consistently right out of the camera, but will still have a bit of post processing done. Photoshop, Gimp or some other software will be used to ensure that skin tones will be correct in all shots, that minor blemishes not already concealed by makeup are hidden, and that the look of the images remains consistent. Be wary of any photographer that does not do any post production work.

Some photographers create works of art! Even if you know where a particular shot was done, and the time of day, you may not be able to capture a shot similar to the one done by a photographic master. Cameras set in “program” mode with auto white balance are by nature, going to give a good exposure for skin tones. Most great landscapes come out rather poorly when shot that way. Overly red or orange scenes throw off the camera’s sensor, similarly, so will overly dark or overly light scenes. There is far more to taking a picture than pushing a button. If you see a photographic work that you like, buy it! If it is one of mine, I will gladly tell you how I created it! I assure you, since all photos tell lies (if only of omission), telling how I created the image you see is the only way you will find out the truth the image conveys!

Raw or JPEG, choose your poison!

Apr 202010
 
 April 20, 2010  Posted by Habenero at 12:13 pm How To, Photography , , , , , , , ,  No Responses »

I often get to hear people say they don’t need Photoshop because they “GET IT RIGHT IN THE CAMERA”. When I do, I can be sure that it is most likely a novice, someone that does not shoot for a living, or a relative. Getting it right in the camera entails setting the camera to achieve the best possible exposure, the subject is properly lit, and the background is exactly what one desired. If all things are done to your ideal, you have it right in the camera. It does not imply that you do not need a photo editing program, because unless your pictures are going to be viewed in the camera back, some adjustment is in order. Shooting to get it right in the camera gives you a file (JPEG or RAW) that can be used “as is” or is easier to work with in your editing program. Mistakes made at the front end are not always salvageable, and should be avoided.

Very minor adjustments will be needed to make your images work on the web if your output JPEG file is set for SRBG. Color correction, contrast, saturation, and sharpening may or may not be needed to make the image its best. The program of choice for this can be made by your camera’s manufacturer (Nikon, Canon, Pentax, etc.) in which case they may preconfigure the out going file for you in a way that makes an average picture look very good but average, or let you make a few minor changes which will improve that average looking picture. Any program that is putting out a file that is viewable on the web is creating a JPEG image as its final output. Earlier camera software let you output a TIF file, but they are for print making and not web use.

More advanced photographers tend to want more control over the final image and tend to use the more advanced programs ala Adobe Photoshop or Gimp. These programs allow manipulation over the full range of the camera’s or scanner’s sensory input , 12 to 14 bit depth resolution vs. the 8 bit of a JPEG image. The input file generally used for these adjustments is a RAW file. RAW files contain the full information the camera sensor recorded. Photographers that are used to shooting JPEGs often have a hard time when they start manipulating RAW files. This is because the sensor image has not had the benefit of the camera maker’s tweaking applied and you have to start from a clean slate. JPEG images have not only had some tweaking applied, data has been thrown away in the creation of a JPEG image.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether you shoot in RAW or JPEG, provided you take time to learn the limits of your equipment and shoot to get it right in the camera!

Do you batch Process?

Apr 202010
 
 April 20, 2010  Posted by Habenero at 8:04 am General Notice, Photography , , , , , , ,  No Responses »

In the days of film, photographers that were not shooting with large format cameras (4 x 6, 5 x 7, 8 x 10, or larger), had to use consistent lighting and exposure for the entire roll of film in order to ensure quality negatives to print from. With digital cameras, no consistency is required for, but it does help your work flow if you try to maintain at least some sense of order to your shooting. Shooting using similar exposure and lighting enables one to make your pictures more uniform. If you are doing event, wedding, or commercial work, this will save time.

Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom enable one to “batch process” large numbers of images in short time. Batch processing is not the best way to produce quality work, but it does help speed up the work. I tend to see batch processing as building the infrastructure to a housing development. You don’t have to rely on it if you choose to live elsewhere, but when it is not there, you may find your car stuck in the mud. Batch processing is just another tool within Photoshop.

I do not batch process for color correction, sharpening, or creating my psychedelic work. I do batch process to add tags and key words to items that are going to be posted on the web.