Taking Great Photographs

Taking Great Photographs

Whether you have been creating photographs for years, or only for few weeks, your goals and dreams are to create great photographs that everyone will admire. You may notice this is not an easy task, and I’m sure that most of the time you experience more disappointments than successes. But don’t worry, I have for you six essential steps that will help you speed up the process, and give you confidence on your journey to these elusive great photographs.

Step 1 – See
Seldom does a photograph succeed because of unusual technique or exotic equipment. Most of the time it succeeds for one simple reason – the photograph was well seen. So, to create great photographs we just need to learn to see better.

Unfortunately this isn’t as easy as it sounds. There’s more to seeing than just looking. It requires time and patience. Begin by concentrating on the objects before you; see how light strikes those objects; see colour, see quality and direction of light, see contrast, see texture, lines,forms and shapes, see details.

The strength of a photograph is directly related to how well, and how carefully you see things around you.

Step 2 – Feel
Feeling has to do with the emotions generated by a place or subject. Sometimes you need to just sit and absorb your surroundings. Listen to the wind and the birds. Smell the flowers. Feel the rough texture of the trunk you sit on. If you are photographing an animal, watch its movement and behaviour. If you are photographing people, listen to their words, and try to understand their feelings expressed by body language. You can’t photograph the smell of flowers, the sound of birds, or the feelings of a person, but the emotions generated by them can guide you in finding the essence of the scene or subject.

Step 3 – Think
This is the most important step in the process. Strong images begin in the mind, not in the camera. Before you begin photographing ask yourself, “Why am I about to take this photo?”

Think about how you will use that sensual input and combine it with your camera, the lighting, and the mood. Is the lighting the best? Would soft, overcast light work better? What about angle of view? High angle? Low angle? Which lens will give the effect you are after? What about shutter speed and aperture?

Answering all these questions is very easy when you have a clear idea of why you want to take an image. Your choices will be completely different when you want to just record your holiday, as opposed to capturing the warm glow cast over the scene by the evening light.

Step 4 – Isolate
Many good shots have been spoiled through poor composition. We tend to concentrate our attention on the subject of a photo, remaining oblivious to what is going on beyond. Make a habit of spending just a second or two before pressing the shutter, checking the viewfinder for any unwanted elements. Get rid of those chaotic objects in the picture. Simplify. Isolate only those elements that convey the message you are trying to express. Emphasize the strong lines, shapes, patterns, textures or colours – but not all of them at once. Be bold and decisive. Ask yourself why. What does it contribute to the overall image? Can you make it stronger by isolating even more? Would you hang that picture on your wall? If not, why not?


Step 5 – Organize
Having isolated carefully, you now need to organize or arrange the elements in the strongest possible way. Where should you place the subject in the frame? In the centre? If so, why? The arrangement may be too boring or static, or on the other hand, it may convey a sense of peacefulness. Or should you put the subject near the edge of the frame? What about the picture orientation itself? You have a choice of creating a vertical or a horizontal image. Which is best for the subject? Vertical orientation tends to emphasize vertical lines or the height of things. Horizontal orientation can give emphasis to sweeping panoramas or the movement of subjects. When you make these choices, always by guided by the message that you are trying to express.

Step 6 – Experiment
Digital photography makes it easy to experiment because you have instant feedback on the LCD screen. Look for new ways to portray familiar subjects. Don’t always photograph the same kinds of scenes in the same ways. Be creative, try different lenses or compositions or angles of view.

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Create a Delicious Blurry Bokeh Background

Create a Delicious Blurry Bokeh Background 

Blurry backgrounds are nothing new when it comes to photography. The technique of blurring the background to emphasize a subject in the foreground has been used by photographers for decades, and by painters and other visual artists for hundreds of years. Now thanks to the proliferation of digital cameras this phenomenon has exploded in recent times.


Many people like photos with a tack-sharp subject and a smooth blurry background, and even though some might say it’s more of an over-used trend, the truth is that bokeh is here to stay. The trick to using it effectively, is to learn how to use the physical properties of lenses and light to create the look you are going for. While some people turn to creative editing tricks like adding blurry filters or doing Photoshop gymnastics there really is no substitute for the genuine article. If this is something you have always wondered about or wanted to try for yourself, here are four easy steps to get you started.

50mm, f/4, 1/350th of a second, ISO 400

The term bokeh is a Japanese word that doesn’t have a precise English translation, but refers to the type and quality of the out-of-focus areas of an image. In other words, when the blurry parts of a picture look nice, you might say the image has good bokeh. While a thorough discussion of what bokeh is, what causes it, and what affect your lenses and lens elements have on the type and quality of bokeh could go on for several pages, this article is going to be a bit more basic look at how to create visually pleasing blurry elements in your photos. If you don’t want things to get too complicated, and aren’t quite ready for a thorough breakdown of aspherical elements or the circle of confusion, then get out your camera and follow along with these few simple tips to help you get the look you have always wanted.

50mm, f/1.8, 1/6000th, ISO 100

1. Shoot with a wide aperture
2. Put your subject far away from the background
3. Get close to your subject
4. Zoom in, waaay in

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Clever Solution for Shooting Shiny Surfaces

Clever Solution for Shooting Shiny Surfaces

Something strange happened. I was asked to do something I have never done before: shooting kitchen appliances and wash machines. This is also something that is extremely specialized in terms of lighting because of all the highly reflective surfaces involved.

The client was Electrolux and the brief made me feel a bit more at home since it was involving lifestyle with some models. The project was to promote their range of compact kitchen appliances. The images will feature in a trend report and on social media channels to highlight global urbanization and how this impacts sustainability and the effect on the size of our living spaces. This means that it is also a subject matter that I found interesting.





Profoto_Icons_No_Names
The creative director had seen my previous work with Cadillac and liked how I had lit the shiny surfaces. He felt I was the man for the job since he knows how I work with light. It was very important for him that the ground work was perfect in terms of lighting, especially since there is a fair amount of post-production in this type of work that involves composing of different parts of a single image. This is equivalent to what once used to be made with multiple exposures when shooting still life, in the era of analogue film.

I gladly accepted the challenge, albeit with some butterflies in my stomach because of the unknown factors, but extremely excited because I was about to start playing with light at another level, one with many obstacles to be crossed.

Challenge no.1
The first challenge with this shoot was that I had to lit certain parts of the images with precision and with very narrow light spread. That meant that these parts where best lit by hand on separate exposures. This is when the new and wonderful Profoto B2 came in extremely handy. I could just point the B2 Head to the object that I wanted to lit and because of the small size and light weight, I could hold it in my hand and get the light exactly where I wanted it and with the correct intensity.

 Challenge no.2
The second challenge was that I needed to shed some light inside the drum of the washing machine and inside an oven. I asked myself, how will I solve this challenge? I came up with a great solution! I could simply place the B2 generator with the B2 head inside the oven and in the washing machine! That gave me the exact light that I needed. You should have seen the client’s face when he saw me place the whole lighting system inside an oven!

Then I was just wondering one thing, being ignorant of how the experts of this type of photography solve this type of problems, how was it  done before the B2?

In order to light the front of the washing machine I used the B2 equipped with an OCF 2′ Octa Softbox with soft grids. This gave me a very nice and soft light with the right amount of focus and contrast. I also used it with a grid to create the right mood in the shot with the chocolate being melted on the stove.




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Between Ambient Light and On-Camera Flash

Between Ambient Light and On-Camera Flash

Some places in the world have a limited range of tones. Cloud cover and fog and even heavy smog tend to take the edge of the extremes. This makes capturing an image with a limited latitude much easier.

I have fantasies about living in such places. But then I also remember that I might have to wear a coat to stay warm. So I quickly dismiss the day dreams.

In times and places with limited contrast, a flash is used to add catch lights into the eyes, fill in subtle shadows or provide more volume with a stronger direction of light.

But in the harsh light of a dry, clear blue sky below (or above) the 40th parallel, you are going to experience the limits of your camera’s latitude regularly, and feel the challenge of lighting your shot just to balance the intensity of the light.

We took on this challenge by taking our bride and groom out into the city in the intense afternoon sun. During this challenge we compared a completely ambient shot to one using a simple on-camera flash set up.




With Ambient Light
Our first shot was taken without the assistance of a flash or a reflector. The camera was set to 1/60 sec at f 4.5, ISO 50.

We turned the couple away from the sun, so that their faces would be lit by the soft light of the north-earstern sky, while the direct sun acted as our hairlight.

With the image properly exposed for their faces, the couple is well lit. This could pass for a nice portrait.

But it could be much better.

With On-Camera Flash
In order to bring in the beautiful blue sky we needed to lower the ambient exposure by more than two stops  (1/200 sec at f 6.3 at ISO 50). But if we continued to shoot without the assistance of a flash, our couple would be extremely dark, in silhouette even. A flash needed to be added.

Of course, adding an off-camera flash would be ideal. But sometimes you just don’t have the luxury of an assistant or even a stand. So we wanted to see what this shot would look like with an on-camera flash.

Said and done. We put our Profoto B2 on our camera (with the help of a ProMedia Gear Boomerang Flash Bracket) and fired a flash in TTL Mode.

The resulting image shows a beautiful blue sky (thanks to our ambient settings) and a well lit couple (thanks to our on-camera flash).

Note that on-camera flash can be dangerously obvious. It can also flatten out your subject. So it is important to be as subtle as possible.

When I’m operating in TTL Mode with an on-camera flash, I will typically dial down the flash compensation by 2/3 of a stop. By doing this, the flash is not allowed to completely overpower the ambient light. In this case you can see that there is still a lot of shape to their cheek bones and to his forehead. This is all a result of limiting the power of the on-camera flash.

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Specular Background Assignment

 Specular Background Assignment

The trick: Stay close to the umbrella and don't push that angle too much because everything is doubled. Also, maybe find your specular reflection first and then just stick your person in front of it. As always, click the pic for more info, or to leave props to the specific photographer.

The takeaway from this technique-based assignment is that one small light can be stretched to create a nuanced, three-dimensional portrait if you keep your eye out for a background with the right tone and surface quality.

Leading off above is a self-portrait by h_oudini, who used his armoire as a reflective surface. He took care of the crack between the two doors by applying a frontal lobotomy crop to himself. This is always a great solution for hiding an imperfection, whether the offending area be in the background or on top of your subject's head.

   

  The surface quality of the background in this shot, courtesy Scott Campbell, is not as reflective as some of the others. This background results in a softer highlight being thrown back at you. It's more subtle and muted.

The expression is this photo is a nice bonus, too.

Since you can choose to include a specular highlight or not in these situations, you now have the ability to get two different tones out of any one dark, reflective background. If you are shooting in a fixed location (like a studio) just think of the range of background colors and tones you could have at your beck and call be keeping a collection of 4x6-foot pieces of cheap countertop laminate laying around. Seriously, this stuff is not that expensive.

Remember: After you nail the lighting technique, you still have to include some personality in the photo. 

Which is exactly what itsjustanalias did. If you don't believe me, check out this composite from the shoot. If you want to keep a model happily sitting for you, it is hard to go wrong with pie.

Most of the entries were horizontals. But this technique lends itself well to verticals. And those can be done with a much smaller piece of real estate for the background.

This is a great trick to pull out when you need a potential cover in a pinch. And aigi is a cowboy killer (love those aliases, folks) came in tight and vertical for a more pensive version for his effort.

Once you get that background highlight lined up, move in. Hit some tight crops. Play around with the internal geometry of your shot.

Finally is this rather ingenious solution, which a few of you figured out. Can't find a good specular highlight background? Maybe you are looking in the wrong dimension.

No, not the Twilight Zone. It's just that maybe you were concentrating too much on vertical surfaces as backdrops. How many of you have a coffee table (or some other kind of table) which would have worked, turned on it's side?

That's what Danny Kino did. Nice thinkin' there, Danny. 

Actually, one of the other shots pictured here used that same technique. Can you spot it?

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So, them's the shots for the specular background portraits. See them all here, and the selects here. Group discussion is here.

As for the ones on this page: Nice, simple elegant, tonally rich photos, all. It's just a neat look, and I hope you feel comfy trotting it out the next time you want to do more with less.

But for now, better rest up, get some exercise and eat your Wheaties before next week. Because that is when we jump back into the lighting controls. Next is light balancing, maybe the most complex -- and most useful -- of all of the lighting controls.

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create natural light with flash

create natural light with flash

Sometimes the ambient light is just perfect. But usually it’s not. It’s too bright. It’s too dark. It’s the middle of the day when you want a glowing sunset.

That’s why we use flash. With flash you’re in full control. If it’s too bright you use it to overpower the sun. If it’s too dark you light up your subject. If it’s the wrong time of day you add an orange color gel and create your own sunset.

The trick is to make it look natural. People should pay attention to the image, not the technique behind it.

Adam Angelides knows this just as much as anyone. His portfolio is a mix of images shot with flash and images shot with ambient light only, but they all have an equally natural look and feel to them. So what’s his secret?

“There are a few things to look out for,” says Adam. “As a general rule, you want to keep the lighting ratio between your available light and your flash well balanced. Not underexposing the available light will also help produce a more natural looking image. You should also pay attention to light direction. For example, if you have the sun showing to the left in an image and you add an equally powerful light source to the right, it will not look real. Naturally, every scene and concept is different. But if it doesn’t look real, it more than likely is not real.”

A recent assignment brought Adam and two young athletes to a disused airfield close to Norwich in the east of England. The harsh, derelict location was just right for what Adam wanted to achieve.

“I wanted to produce a series of images that showed movement, action, reality and life,” says Adam. “I wanted to create images that not only looked real but felt real.”

The weather, on the other hand, was exactly what you expect in early spring in the British countryside – cold, grey and windy. It didn’t quite fit the look and feel Adam was going for. So he had to create his own light.

To do so he brought a B1 Location Kit, the Umbrella Deep L Silver and the new OCF Gels. The tools were used in different ways depending on where Adam and his team were shooting and how the available light played along.

 

At one point, Adam shot outdoors on the airfield runway with the strong midday sun shining straight into his camera. Here he used Profoto High-Speed Sync to shoot at shutter speeds exceeding the maximum flash sync speed of his Canon camera, which in turn allowed him to control the strong sunlight. Using High-Speed Sync also helped him freeze the action. A prime example is the shot of the female athlete jumping. As fill, he used a single B1 equipped with the Umbrella Deep L Silver.

Needless to say, the lighting conditions were very different when shooting indoors. It was quite murky in the derelict buildings, meaning that Adam had to use his flash to simulate sunlight that wasn’t there.

The most striking example is probably the shots of the female athlete where it looks as if she was shot during sunset. She was not. There was no sun. The light you see was created using a B1 equipped with a full stop CTO gel from the OCF Color Gel Starter Kit. The B1 with the gel was positioned outside the building, flashing through a narrow set of windows, and remotely synced and controlled directly from Adam’s camera using the Air Remote TTL-C.

“If I had to pick just one favorite from the shoot, this would probably be it,” says Adam. “I just love the movement, narrative and lighting which all come together in great harmony.”

Last but not least, there was also a situation in which Adam used the B1 to create a flare in the image. The flare can be seen in the outdoor portraits of the male athlete, wearing a blue jacket while standing next to a concrete wall.

“At this point, the available light was just flat,” says Adam. “So I wanted to create a flare to warm up the image and reinforce the outdoor feel. To create this, I placed one B1 on a stand and positioned it high above the subject, making sure the light hit the lens. I used a full stop CT0 gel to create that sun look and warm up the light. With everything set up, I simply shot a series of images while maneuvering around, trying to catch different amounts of flare.”

All in all, Adam is very happy with the outcome of his day at the airfield. When pressed to say something he would do differently next time, he doesn’t know what to reply.

“Honestly, I can’t think of anything,” laughs Adam. “It might sound silly, but it’s the truth.”



The gear
1 x B1 Off-Camera Flash
1 x OCF Color Gel Starter Kit
1 x Umbrella Deep Silver L
1 x Umbrella L Diffuser
1 x Air Remote TTL-C

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Light Stands

Lighting Light Stands


So the idea is, you want the capability to light without breaking the bank—or your back. And as you'll soon see, your new portable studio is easier to cart around than even a pricey ultralight tripod.

Above is a (7.5-foot) LP605, which I consider to be the best compact light stand made today and which you probably by now already have on the way as a part of your starter lighting kit. Compact light stands like the LP605 generally have five sections (so they fold up very small—21 inches or so) and are ideally suited for photographers using lightweight, speedlight-based lighting gear.

The LP605 uniquely comes with folding spikes for extra stability when you are outside in the wind. Folded up, they will ride in a small roller case. Or you can add some O-rings and a strap, as detailed below, and throw a whole "portable studio kit" over your shoulder.

I love hacking or modding my gear to make it better, and this little trick is one of my favorites. Throw this strapped stand over your shoulder (with a compact umbrella attached, as you'll soon see) and it it'll ride just as comfortably as a camera. Seriously, you can hike five miles with this setup and bang out a kick-ass lit portrait when you reach your remote destination.

If and when you get further into lighting, you'll likely end up adding to your stand collection. Maybe some bigger stands, or a boom arm to float a light out over someone. But you cannot go wrong with a compact, 5-section stand for openers. This is the one you want to start with. I have a boatload of photo support gear and these things still get used more than any other.

To drill them, pivot one of the spikes (if your stand has them) out and drill a ¼ hole at each end of one of the legs. Then stick in some decent sized O-rings (this will take a little prying) and strap it up. If you carry it upside down, the natural forces will keep it closed nicely.

This piece of gear is not complicated. Essentially, a light stand exists only to do one thing: oppose gravity. It holds your light at a place in three-dimensional space. Pretty simple stuff.

For portability, solidity, price (and 5-year warranty) the $40 LP605 is tough to beat.
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Lighting A Beginner's Lighting Kit

LightingA Beginner's Lighting Kit



Getting started with a basic Strobist kit is surprisingly inexpensive. Even better, the gear is also small, light and very portable.

You can see it in use above. Just this much gear (and a little know-how, which you are in the process of learning) will allow you to do some very neat things as a photographer. How cool is that?

So here are the basics, i.e., just what you'll absolutely need:

1. A Light Stand



Budget about $45. This folds or extends, and holds your flash in the position where you want it. The main choice is compact or full-size. I recommend compact, as they will go from seven feet (extended) to about 19 inches (folded). These models will also hold your flash at about 21 inches off the ground, which is cool for low shots.

Full size stands typically go to eight feet, but only fold to about three feet so they don't travel as well. Plus, they cannot get your flash very low to the ground if needed. The vast majority of people go with compact.

2. An Umbrella Swivel

Budget about $15. This is a small bracket that attaches to the top of the light stand and holds your flash (and an umbrella, usually) and will tilt to any angle. They are small, cheap and rugged. With one of these you can also mount a flash to any type of a standard, 5/8" post (like a photo clamp) if you are not using a stand.

For this and the light stand above, I also recommend LumoPro models as they are inexpensive, well-made and guaranteed for five years. LP has built a great reputation as an off-camera lighting supplier, and for good reason.

3. An Optical White, Shoot-Through Umbrella

Just like in the photo up top. Budget about $30. It will be your very first light modifier. And even after 25+ years of shooting professionally, it's still a go-to choice for me. The most versatile umbrellas are those that open up in the 40" range.

I can recommend the Westcott White Double-Fold with removable black backing or a normal-fold white shoot-through version. This double-fold umbrella goes from 43" to just 15 inches when folded. Which, of course, makes it travel very well alongside the compact version of the stand listed above. 

Or you may well prefer the single-fold (standard) umbrella which is, I think, a little stronger and more durable but does not pack quite as small. If you haven't guessed yet, we are building a small, light kit that will sling over your shoulder (on in a small bag or pack) and let you take your new "studio" with you anywhere.

It's really kind of a pick 'em. Both work fine.

The only thing with lighting umbrellas is that they are just as fragile as normal umbrellas. If you use care they will last you quite awhile. But you can't be rough with it and expect to hand it down to your kids. 

4. A Trigger or Cord

Budget ~$40. This three-piece kit will marry your off-camera flash to your camera and sync it to your shutter. It consists of two Universal Translators (seen on previous page, one for the flash and one for the camera) with a 16-foot sync cord (fitted with a ⅛-inch plug at each end.)

You can go with wireless, and eventually you probably will. But shooting wired is the simplest, most reliable and cheapest way to start. It also becomes your backup (important) should you move to wireless later. Trust me, this is the way you want to start.

Two Very Good starter Kits

Below are two pre-packaged options for beginner kits as described above. This is them best modern iteration of the highly portablt lighting kit I carried for ~20 years as a newspaper photojournalist. 

I recommend Midwest Photo as a source because they are reputable, reasonable and carry the full line of LumoPro gear. (LumoPro's 2- and 5-year warranties are a big deal, and to my knowledge no other brands have that.)

Plus, when things do go wrong I have found MPEX to be responsive (to the point of bending over backwards) via phone, email or on Twitter. Life's too short to deal with needless stress.

Compact Kit (DOES NOT include flash: $113.37)

Kit WITH Flash (Includes the much-loved LP180 flash: $227.80)

Note: If you do not yet have a flash, for a long list of reasons explained here, I recommend the current model LumoPro LP180 Quad-sync speedlight. It is less than half the cost of the Nikon and Canon flagship flashes, twice the guarantee and, frankly, a better flash.

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