How to Capture Candid Moments This Christmas

The post How to Capture Candid Moments This Christmas appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.

Ever since I was a little kid with a 110 camera and little rolls of film, it’s the candid moments I love to capture.

At Christmas, that often meant the expression on someone’s face as they opened a gift. However, over the years I discovered that there is a lot more to Christmas than the excitement of opening gifts.

I’ll show you a few specific ingredients to use if you would like to better capture candid moments this Christmas.

Our living room window is a backdrop for candid moments to happen. Many times I have passed through the living room, only to stop and fumble for my camera to capture something interesting.

Why Candid Moments?

Taking candid photos is a fun challenge. You don’t get to direct the scene, and you have to take whatever the moment offers.

The benefit to this is that you really get to see what is going on. Many people complain that they miss out on a group or family experience because they’re always taking pictures. If you focus more on seeing than on clicking, you may find that you’re more in-tune to events than ever before.

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” – Dorothea Lange

Even though you’re not in control of the scene, you can still make the most of the moments given to you by:

1. Understanding the type of moment
2. Choosing the best angle
3. Paying attention to your background
4. Learning to write about your photos

When our kids were young they always napped over the Christmas holidays. The days were packed with activities and they were exhausted by the afternoon. My little girl fell asleep with an LED lantern. I couldn’t help but sneak in for a photo. I pushed my camera to its limits with this low light photo. 56mm, f/1.2, 1/15th, ISO 6400.

1. What kind of moment is it?

This first question I ask about a candid moment is whether it’s an action moment or an emotional moment.

What inspired you to pick up the camera? Are you anticipating a burst of excited emotion? Is somebody about to do something?

Action vs emotion is a quick way to understand the nature of the moment that is about to happen. This becomes more intuitive over time so you won’t have to overthink it.

I consider this to be an action moment. It is about my son playing with his model plane. Action is often about gesture. He is holding the plane precisely, and you can even see by the shape of his mouth that he is making the sound of the airplane. The plane is in focus so we likely look at it first, but then we’re led back to his face. His eyes are looking at the plane, so our focus is brought back to it as well. The more engaged a person is in an action moment, the more interesting the photo will be to you.

 

This is more of an emotional moment. It’s not a high energy moment like laughter or tears, rather it’s soft and subtle. It’s among my favorite portraits of my daughter. The only thing that indicates Christmas in this photo is the paper crown from her Christmas cracker, a tradition carried on for at least four generations in my family.

2. What is the Best Angle to Use?

There are five main angles from which you can choose:

• Bird’s eye view
• High angle
• Face to face
• Low angle
• Bug’s eye view

My favorite angles for candid moments are high-angle because it often makes the scene appear more dramatic, and face-to-face, because it’s such an engaging angle.

This is an action moment. My son was playing with his new helicopter. I went for a low angle because I wanted to be looking up at the helicopter. Normally, we see helicopters in the sky, so let’s go for a more dramatic looking angle. In this action moment, you can even see him lifting his foot for balance. When kids play, they get right into it!

 

High angles are great for looking over shoulders. Some moments are tough to define as simply action or emotion. Though my son is looking at the pictures in his new book, it’s not exactly what we think of as an action moment. We can’t see his face to detect any emotion. But this photo comes to life in my mind as I think of all the times I read him this book while he was tucked into bed or sitting on my lap. In that sense, I would call it an emotional moment.

 

I jumped up on the coffee table to get this bird’s eye view angle of my son. He had just tried crawling for the first time and collapsed after using all his energy trying to reach a can a play dough!

3. Pay Attention to the Background

Backgrounds can be a distraction in your photo if they are messy or cluttered. But they can also add to the mood or story of your photo.

I try for one of two types of backgrounds:

• Clean and simple
• Scenic

You can see that the photos above either had a clean and simple background or something more scenic, but not cluttered.

I love this humorous photo of my daughter, but the background is really cluttered and distracting. One thing I could have done while taking the picture is to get closer to her. That way she would appear larger and there would be less background. But another way to deal with a cluttered background is to crop it away!

 

This face to face angle draws me right into this photo. The background is clean and simple with no distracting elements. I find that black and white often draws out the humanity and emotion of the moment.

4. Journal

Many photographers understand themselves to be creative people. Creative people are often compelled to write.

Take time this Christmas season to write about what is happening in your life. You can write about your kids, your parents, or your traditions. Think of it as a way of preserving some of your family history. Write about the moments of days gone by and the new moments happening around you.

Christmas can be a very difficult season for people who struggle with depression or anxiety. It can be a very sad time of year when you miss loved ones. Many people have found that writing helps you wrestle with and take control of what you’re struggling with.

Inspired by photojournalists, take time to truly reflect this Christmas. Add words to your photos.

This Christmas

As you grab your camera to take candid photos this Christmas, think:

• Is this an action or emotion moment?
• Which angle would look best?
• Is the background clean or scenic?
• What will I write about?

I would be thrilled to see some of your favorite Christmas photos when you post them in the comments below!

The post How to Capture Candid Moments This Christmas appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.

from Digital Photography School https://digital-photography-school.com/capture-candid-moments-this-christmas/

BUTTER GRIP Offers 3D-Printed Grips for Classic Film Cameras

Shoot a classic film camera but wish it had better ergonomics? BUTTER GRIP is a new line of 3D-printed grip attachments designed specifically for a large number of vintage cameras.

The brand is the brainchild of photographer Ethan Moses, the guy behind the 3-printed Cameradactyl 4×5 field camera.

“So far I’ve modeled all the cameras in my personal camera graveyard and working collection, and my friends Canon collection,” Moses tells PetaPixel. “I think that I made the first ever RIGHT hand grip for a Pentax 6×7.”

Here’s a look at the grip for the Leica M series, which fits all M cameras except the M5:

You can pick from a wide range of colors, including color-changing grips that change from one color to another at 88°F (31°C).

Most of the grips start at $21, and you can browse the current selection over in the BUTTER GRIP online store.

from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2018/12/01/butter-grip-offers-3d-printed-grips-for-classic-film-cameras/

Sony a7/R III Firmware v2 Unlocks All AF Modes for Adapted Lenses

Sony has just released a new major firmware version for its popular a7 III and a7R III mirrorless cameras. Version 2.0 brings new features and improvements, including the ability for adapted lenses to make use of all the camera’s autofocus modes.

The update “Adds support for Zone, Expand Flexible Spot, and Lock-on AF focus areas when using the LA-EA3 mount adaptor,” Sony writes.

Sony specifically mentions the LA-EA3 mount adapter, which is designed to let photographers use Sony A-mount lenses on E-mount cameras. But it seems the new feature goes well beyond that use case.

“[W]e’ve tested it with adapted Canon mount lenses as well and can confirm it works with EF lenses via a Sigma or Metabones adapter,” DPReview writes. “Since Eye AF also works with adapted lenses, we’re really starting to see less and less of a downside to using third-party lenses on Sony cameras, save for a drop in performance at longer telephoto focal lengths.”

Here’s the full list of benefits and improvements in the latest firmware update:

• Adds support for the 400mm f/2.8 G Master and 24mm f/1.4 G Master lenses
  • Optimizes the optical image stabilization performance.
  • For the 400mm f/2.8 G Master lens only, adds support for new image stabilization mode (Mode 3) of the lens.
  • Adds the Function Ring(Lens) feature to the to the Camera Settings2 menu.
  • Addition of [Aperture Drive in AF] setting in the menu.
• New features:
  • Adds AF Track Sens as a selectable option for custom key settings.
  • Adds support for Zone, Expand Flexible Spot, and Lock-on AF focus areas when using the LA-EA3 mount adaptor.
  • Enables Bracket shooting to be available during silent shooting when the File Format is set to RAW or RAW & JPEG, and the RAW File Type is set to Uncompressed.
• Other improvements:
  • Improvement of the performance and the overall stability of the camera.
  • Better reproduction of the gradation of RAW pictures.
  • Improves dimming stability under flicker light conditions.
  • Improves managing continuously shot images as a group.

You can download the a7 III firmware v2.0 for Windows and Mac and the a7R III firmware v2.0 for Windows and Mac.

from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2018/12/01/sony-a7-r-iii-firmware-v2-unlocks-all-af-modes-for-adapted-lenses/

Learning Photography From a $90.3 Million Painting

Last month, legendary British painter David Hockney‘s 1972 painting titled “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” (shown above) sold for a jaw-dropping $90.3 million, the highest auction price ever for a living artist!

The painting depicts a male figure, the pink-jacketed painter, standing at the edge of a pool while carefully observing a man in trunks swimming underwater.

What on Earth made this piece of art so invaluable? There could be an entire book or thesis written on interpreting its elements. I see this painting more like a photograph and so found it interesting to dissect this masterful piece of art with a photographer’s eye.

Let’s inspect the composition of the painting by applying the “rules” of photography…

Timing

Ironically, this painting (or should we call it “photograph” from now on) breaks “the” most important rule of photography. Note the shadow behind the man in the pink jacket. It is sharp with distinct borders. That means this photograph was NOT shot during the golden hour, but well after sunrise.

This was quite bewildering for me at first. After a while, I realized, that one of the hardest tasks for artists is to depict water. How can you draw or paint water? Will you just paint a monochromatic blue region and show it as water? This is what separates Hockney from others. He is well known for discovering the art of how to paint water in its most natural form.

Here, he depicts the intricate details of the ripples against a relatively serene water surface. These beautiful features can be shown only when sunlight hits water and then reflects back. This is most probably why the shot was not taken at Golden Hour!

Lens and EXIF Data

If this were a photograph, what could have been the settings used? The field of view is neither wide nor too narrow. I would guess it to be a 50mm lens. As you can see, the image seems to have a good amount of depth of field. The hills in the background are kind of sharp. So, probably the f-stop was around f/16.

What was the shutter speed in this instance? The swimmer has absolutely no motion blur. Also, note the water’s surface has exceptional details. Which means the shutter speed was high? Maybe at least 1/400?

Now imagine trying to take this photograph at say 10 am to 11 am in the morning on a clear sunny day. You have your DSLR with manual mode on. You dialed in 1/400 and f/16. What do you think will be the ISO (assumed to be on AUTO) for the light meter indicator to be in the center? Wouldn’t it be probably around ISO 400?

Have you heard of the Sunny 16 rule? It is a method of guessing the correct daylight exposure without using a light meter. The basic rule states that, “On a sunny day, set aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to the reciprocal of the ISO setting for a subject in direct sunlight. That means if you dialed in f/16 and Auto ISO goes to 400; set your shutter speed to the reciprocal of ISO, i.e. 400 in this example. That gives 1/400! Woah! It’s spooky how right we were about the settings, weren’t we?

Rule of Thirds

The man in the pink coat is placed at the rightmost third of the image. By placing him in this third, we know that he is the primary subject in this photograph. Indeed, the title Portrait of an “Artist” reinforces the same.

Triangles and Leading Lines

It is often helpful to have as many triangles in your photograph as possible. This piece of art, in particular, is just heavily dominated by triangles. I can count at least twenty-five triangles here.

Notice carefully the several different triangles incorporated here: right from the most obvious ones formed by the blue water of the pool and its surrounding pavement, to the slightly less obvious triangles formed by the hills, the trees, the leaves in the far right and even the small portion of the visible sky, to the cleverly incorporated hidden triangles formed by the standing man’s shoes and even the swimmer’s head, upper body, hips, thighs and feet.

The swimmer’s hands and legs are also inclined in the shape of a triangle! Most of these triangles also form leading lines that draw our attention back to the two subjects.

The most striking of the triangles is that which is completely unseen: this is known as an implied triangle. Can you guess this implied triangle here? This one is formed by:

1. the line of sight of the standing man as he observes the swimmer,

2. the swimmer’s body itself, from his feet to his head as he reaches the edge of the pool towards the man’s feet,

3. the man’s stature itself from his feet towards his head and ultimately his eyes.

This invisible triangle just plays on and on in our subconscious mind as we view the image, and this is one of the things that keeps us engrossed. So, despite the large depth of field, our eyes are mostly focused and repeatedly drawn on the two subjects. This coupled with the calmness, tranquility, and peace implied by the blue and green in the rest of the image adds to the visual tension and thus generates profound interest.

Frame within Frame

Even though the swimmer seems the secondary subject here given his subtle coloring, the edges of the pool form a frame around him that prevents his importance being undermined from the image.

Color Scheme

I’m no expert in color schemes, but a basic guideline to follow when deciding complementary colors is to choose opposite colors in the color wheel (just Google Color wheel and you’ll find one). For example, the color opposite to Red in the color wheel is Green, hence the artist has contrasted the red (pink) jacket with lots of green in the hills and the trees.

Also, there seemed to be too much blue of the water in the pool. Hence there was a cleverly placed orange strip along one of the pool’s edges that the swimmer is facing. After all, blue and orange are opposites in the color wheel!

When I researched some more about this painting online, I was awe-struck on finding exactly how Hockney devised the painting. Turns out, he is a famous photographer as well!

Before starting the painting, he took hundreds of photographs of the man in the jacket by the side of a pool with a swimmer! Then he combined his ingenious painting skills (especially showing the splendid effects on the water) with the previously taken photographs and completed the painting in two weeks, working almost 18 hours a day!

The result: a well-balanced image with the perfect composition! A photograph of the same scene will look ordinary. Turning it into a painting made it not only extraordinary but also one of the most revered ones of the 20th century!

So try to get these rules in your composition exactly right. Who knows… perhaps even your photograph could fetch millions one day!

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About the author: Dr. Siddharth Shirsat (MDS Endodontics) is a practicing dentist (Endodontist) at Thane, MH, India. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. When not treating patients, Dr. Shirsat is an avid photographer as well. He can be reached by email on siddharthendo@gmail.com.

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Image credits: “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” by David Hockney

from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2018/12/01/learning-photography-from-a-90-3-million-painting/

How to Boost Your Creativity with Lightroom Presets

The post How to Boost Your Creativity with Lightroom Presets appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Stacey Hill.

There are many divisive points in the photography world – brand versus brand, film versus digital, and minimal editing versus Photoshop. The one that seems to have a fervent dislike is the use of Presets in Lightroom. Find any post on presets and people line up in the comments to judge and criticize anyone who uses them. People get told they are lazy, that their images all look the same ala Instagram filters and so on.

Up to a point they are right – anything overused becomes a short-lived fad. If all you ever do in your editing is use canned settings and don’t learn even the basics, then I agree with them.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that applying a Preset (or a filter) makes a bad photo better, but hopefully, Instagram has taught us better by now. Instead, think of Presets as tools to help you automate your process, make you faster and more efficient at editing.

Still, there’s a lot of potential and possibilities that presets offer us. Let’s explore that idea!

(Note:  While this article specifically addresses Creativity with Lightroom Presets, the same principles apply for any other program that allows presets, including Photoshop Actions)

This is the same image as the header but this features a preset which deepens the green tones and desaturates the image, toning down the yellow. I like this much more than the original which is true to life.

The Benefits of Using Lightroom Presets

1. Saves Time

You can spend hours on editing just one image if you want to. However, most of us don’t have the luxury of that much time. Nor do customers want to pay that much for their images.

My recommendation is you should do a basic edit for each image to suit its requirements. However, if you want a specific look or a consistent style to your images, imagine how much more time you have with just being able to click a preset to finish it off?

Some images take more time to edit. You can allow extra time for those images by utilizing presets on the easier ones.

Of the two images below, the top image is an unedited RAW File, while the second image is a processed image using Presets.

2. Easy and Fun

Why do people judge you for doing something that is easy?  Does everything have to be complicated and involved? Can’t it be fun too?

Not everyone has time to fully understand and master every setting and option within Lightroom (or any other program). Presets can allow you to quickly and efficiently apply complex effects.

It’s also fun to experiment with new styles.

3. Consistency

If you have a shoot where the subject/light/tones are all similar, you can achieve a consistent finish for the final image by applying a preset. You can also make one specifically to suit the shoot if required.

Besides, if you have done a series of tweaks to your image, do you remember exactly what you did and what the settings were?  Do you remember everyone to add to lots more images manually? Yes, you can write it all down or pull it out of the ‘history,’ but there’s no need.

Of the two images below, the top image is an unedited RAW File, while the second image is a processed image using Presets.

4. Customizable

You can easily create your own presets in Lightroom and save them for using repeatedly. Alternatively, you can create one that only works for a specific shoot. Presets are also available to buy pre-configured for all kinds of different finishes.

Once you have applied the preset, you can continue to edit and refine the look. Depending on the settings, you can stack multiple presets on top of each other for a unique outcome.

There are many different ways to use and apply presets, and you can get a sophisticated outcome quickly and easily even when you may not fully understand all the capabilities of the software.

5.  Different Functions can have Presets

For your editing functions, the primary use for Presets is in the ‘Develop’ module. However, you can create presets that apply to Metadata, or when you Import or Export images. This process can help you apply copyright information or customer information to images, or quickly change the export settings depending on requirements. For example, print versus web use.

Of the two images below, the top image is an unedited RAW File, while the second image is a processed image using Presets.

So, can I just use Presets for everything?

Presets are not a magic one-click fix. Each preset reacts differently with individual images. It is essential to understand the basics of your program because some editing is necessary.

However, if you only want to use presets, no one is going to stop you. Do you want to make that choice though?

Can people tell if you are not entirely in control of your editing software?  Yes. In general, experienced people can tell.

That said, I strongly recommend that everyone should have a solid understanding of the basic features their editing program has so they know enough to be able to edit without relying on presets. If you are using presets, you should understand how you can further tweak and improve the effect.

Please note that not all presets are created equal. Some are better designed and, when applied, provide a more polished effect.

Of the two images below, the top image is an unedited RAW File, while the second image is a processed image using Presets.

Freedom to be Creative

One of the most powerful things Presets can do is take us out of our comfort zone and show us new possibilities in the way we edit images. Humans are creatures of habit, so once we find the comfortable place that we can generate images of acceptable quality, we are likely to settle in there.

Maybe we don’t know everything the program can do? Perhaps we don’t understand how we can apply this feature here on top of that function there. For example, how many people fully understand Split Toning?

What if we didn’t need to understand absolutely EVERY function and feature in our software? Maybe we simply don’t have the time. What if we could understand enough to be able to use the necessary bits and then use the knowledge someone else has created to add that extra dimension to our editing?

What if we CAN try a new look with one click? Maybe a purple-toned one, then a matte-finish one, and a black and white one? We can compare a whole heap of different processes.

Maybe by trying out Presets, we can learn more about the software’s capabilities? Perhaps it can give us more confidence to shoot in a different style, taking advantage of the new editing prospects.

Breakdown of an Edit

In the screenshot below it shows the final edit of the clematis flower (Before and After images featured above).

As you can see, after Import, the next step is ‘Paste Settings.’ This is where I have copied the Preset and some adjustments made on a previous image in the shoot.

A further 19 steps have been taken to enhance and finalize this image to achieve the desired outcome.

Could I have stopped after the first ‘Paste Settings?’  Absolutely.

Was it the best that image could have looked?  Not in my opinion. So, I spent the time I had saved using a preset to do further fiddly little tweaks and refinements.

Using Presets Creatively

This winter landscape of frost-crusted rocks, icicles, and what I can assure you was freezing water, was already quite blue-toned. The blue tone was due to the 10-stop filter I used to achieve long exposure on the water.

I liked how the blue tone emphasized the cold crisp winter feel so I decided to use it to set the whole mood for this image.  A blue-toned, slightly matte finish preset helped boost that aspect of the process. It added more brightness on the whites, deepened the shadows a touch and added a bit of clarity for extra crispness.

I could have completely changed the color space to natural daylight, but seeing this blue tone inspired me to follow that direction further. I knew I had a preset that would do interesting things to the blue tones and it worked better than expected.

Of the two images below, the top image is an unedited RAW File, while the second image is a processed image using Presets.

I tend towards darker, moody edits. So, using Presets for an image helps me see different possibilities quickly. With a few clicks, I can assess what is suited to a high-key edit, a desaturated, matte edit, a neutral, natural edit, or perhaps black and white one.

Sometimes I strike gold and end up with something delightfully unexpected (like the green currants at the top of this article). It never fails to amaze me how much scope Lightroom has to do things I don’t fully understand yet. However, using presets has taught me a great deal, and I am slowly unpacking them, figuring it out and beginning to make my own Presets now.

Conclusion

Lightroom (and other editing programs) offer a lot of functions and scope for editing your images. Many people don’t have the time to learn all the features and capabilities in detail. It can be frustrating when you are learning how to use it.

Presets give you access to features within the software without needing to know exactly how to implement them manually.

Using Presets allows even novice users the ability to be creative and experiment with different styles and looks to their editing. More experienced users can create their own presets, or utilize purchased ones in their editing process. They save time and can make your editing process more efficient as well.

Presets offer you the opportunity to try a style that is different to what you typically create. Alternatively, perhaps you want to dabble and see how an image turns out with a range of edits. Using Presets can also help you learn more about the program by showing more of its capabilities.

While Presets can be overused, or not used to best effect, they also offer many advantages. Provided they are used as part of your process, and not as a magic solution, Presets can be a valuable tool.

Finally, playing with them is fun. Being able to experiment safely and easily with one click of a button gives you the latitude to be brave while considering new editing styles.

 

The post How to Boost Your Creativity with Lightroom Presets appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Stacey Hill.

from Digital Photography School https://digital-photography-school.com/boost-your-creativity-with-lightroom-presets/