This week I found an article about a sports photographer and his competition with mothers that get their hands on nice DSLR cameras. It was interesting to see how much people pay someone to come to a football game and take pictures of their children. The guy in the article made a career out of high school parents wanting him to come shoot their child in action.
But the article was focused on how there are many people getting into photography and just giving their shots away so you have to find ways to compete. He has an interesting business venture. At the football games he takes the shots and then sets up a trailer where parents can come in and choose pictures that they'd like to purchase on the spot.
In the end when you are competing with soccer mom's and cameras it's all about the creativity and budget crunching you can do to get your product on the top.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/pdn-online/e3id4b973c6ccee64b49cf392379b2bf88e
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Here are the shots that I used to portray deep depth of field, shallow depth of field, long exposure (with movement), and short exposure.To the left is Zach walking, this is portraying the long shutter speed with movement. It is extremely hard to pan with moving objects, I have found.
Pic Info:
Cannon Rebel XS (all shots with this camera)
f-stop: f/5.0
ISO:100 (all shots with this ISO)
Shutter: 1/5
Next is the picture of the orchid. It is used to portray shallow depth of field.
Pic Info:
f-stop: f/5.6
shutter: 1/13 sec
Above is another picture of my Orchid. It is displaying the deep depth of field. The pictures uploaded do not portray it as well as the originals.Pic Info:
f-stop: f/25.0
shutter: 8.0 sec
Lastly is the picture of the football game. This picture is used to portray short exposure or short shutter speed. Any picture taken this day was almost guaranteed to have a short shutter speed due to how bright it was.
Pic Info:
f-Stop: f/8.0
Shutter: 1/400 sec
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Accomplishing the Shot
For the four shots narrow depth of field, wide depth of field, short exposure, and long exposure with moving I have many different ideas.
For the narrow depth of field it is most often used for macro subject matter or for having one object stand out in a shot with the other details blurred. A narrow depth of field is accomplished by opening up the aperture and focusing in on the particular subject in mind. This will keep the subject (how much depends on how far the aperture is open) in focus and the surrounding area blurred. For this type of shot, if shot in daylight, it is important to make the shutter speed quite fast so that the colors or image is not washed out.
For a deep/wide depth of field the aperture is raised so that the opening is smaller. This increases the focus field. It is important to increase the shutter speed so it is not as fast as a narrow depth of field. Since the aperture is smaller more light is required to get the intended shot.
A short exposure requires a wider aperture in most cases since the shutter is not open for long light needs to be let in in some other way. A shorter shutter speed is signified by 1 over a large number. These are used to freeze motion.
And lastly a longer shutter speed with motion may require the panning motion. With a longer shutter speed the aperture should be smaller depending on the light. If it is late in the evening the aperture must be relatively wide open with a long shutter speed in order to allow as much light as possible into the shot, especially if it is shot at a low ISO. The longer shutter speed is good for running water shots.
For the narrow depth of field it is most often used for macro subject matter or for having one object stand out in a shot with the other details blurred. A narrow depth of field is accomplished by opening up the aperture and focusing in on the particular subject in mind. This will keep the subject (how much depends on how far the aperture is open) in focus and the surrounding area blurred. For this type of shot, if shot in daylight, it is important to make the shutter speed quite fast so that the colors or image is not washed out.
For a deep/wide depth of field the aperture is raised so that the opening is smaller. This increases the focus field. It is important to increase the shutter speed so it is not as fast as a narrow depth of field. Since the aperture is smaller more light is required to get the intended shot.
A short exposure requires a wider aperture in most cases since the shutter is not open for long light needs to be let in in some other way. A shorter shutter speed is signified by 1 over a large number. These are used to freeze motion.
And lastly a longer shutter speed with motion may require the panning motion. With a longer shutter speed the aperture should be smaller depending on the light. If it is late in the evening the aperture must be relatively wide open with a long shutter speed in order to allow as much light as possible into the shot, especially if it is shot at a low ISO. The longer shutter speed is good for running water shots.
Yellowstone National Park
This weekend I took a trip to Yellowstone National Park with Mark Moak's photography class. It was a very fun and exciting weekend full of opportunities for shooting. It was frustrating at times though because it was hard to get some of the shots you wanted when you don't have access to telephoto lenses. I was able to figure out the silky water effect and the long exposures used to capture stars and lightening which was good practice. Here are a couple of the shots from the shoot.The frustrations I faced during the trip were due to the clarity of the shot and focus. I was wishing for most of the trip that I could have filters, telephoto lenses, and a better tripod. But I suppose that will all come in time :)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Exposure
Exposure in digital cameras has three components to potentially change the exposure. These three components are aperture size, shutter speed, and ISO.
First it is good to understand aperture size. The aperture is simply how big the opening is for light to hit the sensor and collect an image. If all other settings are constant and the aperture is the only component being changed, the lower the aperture the bigger the opening and thus more light. If this blows parts of the image out you are able to raise the aperture number thus making the opening smaller and letting less light through to the sensors. Just remember the bigger the f-stop (what aperture is measured in) the smaller the hole. It is also important to keep in mind that aperture changes depth of field. This is why we have three components for exposure so we can find the right balance.
Next is the shutter speed. The shutter speed is the timing of how long light will be allowed through the size of hole (or aperture/f-stop) that you chose. Once you think about it, it is easy to figure out the longer the shutter is open the more light that will hit the sensors. And the opposite, the shorter the shutter speed the less light that will be allowed through the aperture.
Finally we have ISO. This is basically the sensitivity of the pixels. Most photographers stay in the lowest ISO settings as much as possible because it has less noise. Yet the higher ISO settings are good for night shots and picking up the small details. You just have to remember that the higher the ISO the more noise will enter the shot.
It is best to see if you can get the shot by fluctuating the aperture and shutter speed before you choose to lower your ISO. You'll be much happier with your shots and how sharp they are. The best way to get these things in your head is to take your camera out and practice. Sit in one spot and take the shot with changing all of the settings. You'll figure it out pretty quick :)
First it is good to understand aperture size. The aperture is simply how big the opening is for light to hit the sensor and collect an image. If all other settings are constant and the aperture is the only component being changed, the lower the aperture the bigger the opening and thus more light. If this blows parts of the image out you are able to raise the aperture number thus making the opening smaller and letting less light through to the sensors. Just remember the bigger the f-stop (what aperture is measured in) the smaller the hole. It is also important to keep in mind that aperture changes depth of field. This is why we have three components for exposure so we can find the right balance.
Next is the shutter speed. The shutter speed is the timing of how long light will be allowed through the size of hole (or aperture/f-stop) that you chose. Once you think about it, it is easy to figure out the longer the shutter is open the more light that will hit the sensors. And the opposite, the shorter the shutter speed the less light that will be allowed through the aperture.
Finally we have ISO. This is basically the sensitivity of the pixels. Most photographers stay in the lowest ISO settings as much as possible because it has less noise. Yet the higher ISO settings are good for night shots and picking up the small details. You just have to remember that the higher the ISO the more noise will enter the shot.
It is best to see if you can get the shot by fluctuating the aperture and shutter speed before you choose to lower your ISO. You'll be much happier with your shots and how sharp they are. The best way to get these things in your head is to take your camera out and practice. Sit in one spot and take the shot with changing all of the settings. You'll figure it out pretty quick :)
Goth Photography
This week I decided to type in photography into google and see what I came up with. Turns out I was taken to photography.com that happened to have very interesting articles. The article that caught my eye was called Goth photography. It explained about the Goth subculture and how it effects the Goth style of photography.
I found the subject matter really original. It most likely would not be my subject matter of choice but it makes me think about the possibilities. It also opened my eyes to just how much there is out there to photograph.
Here's the link if you're interested:
http://www.photography.com/articles/types-of-photography/gothic-photography/
I found the subject matter really original. It most likely would not be my subject matter of choice but it makes me think about the possibilities. It also opened my eyes to just how much there is out there to photograph.
Here's the link if you're interested:
http://www.photography.com/articles/types-of-photography/gothic-photography/
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Anne Geddes
I read an article about Anne Geddes for this weeks blog. It was quite interesting. I have only ever known Anne for her calendars and pictures of babies in flowers. But it was interesting to find out that she knew her passion of photography from when she was a teenager and she went with it. She did work in many different areas of photography until eventually finding her niche in photographing children and making "fairy tales" with her pictures. It was pretty interesting and I enjoyed seeing where life can take you before you actually get to a place where you want to be, or a place where you really thrive.
supertelophoto
It was good to read the super telephoto section in the book. It has some very good tips that you wouldn't get when you were out to purchase a lens from a store. It was also good to see it reiterated that it is good to camouflage your big lenses in order to draw the least amount of attention possible.
I also appreciated the tips that he gave as to some of the common issues that people have with their super-telephoto lenses. It takes work to get a good shot, and it's good to hear some of the things that pros do to get the best possible shot with their resources.
As for what lens I would purchase, I think I would choose the 500mm lens. Tim explains that the 500mm focal length is good if you are willing to get off the beaten path and search out a shot as apposed to just sitting and waiting for something to come. I'm all about the adventure of a shot and if I purchase a lens that is good for that then it would work out just right. I would also like the 500mm because my camera body is cropped frame and Mr. Fitzharris said it is a good lens for those cameras.
I also appreciated the tips that he gave as to some of the common issues that people have with their super-telephoto lenses. It takes work to get a good shot, and it's good to hear some of the things that pros do to get the best possible shot with their resources.
As for what lens I would purchase, I think I would choose the 500mm lens. Tim explains that the 500mm focal length is good if you are willing to get off the beaten path and search out a shot as apposed to just sitting and waiting for something to come. I'm all about the adventure of a shot and if I purchase a lens that is good for that then it would work out just right. I would also like the 500mm because my camera body is cropped frame and Mr. Fitzharris said it is a good lens for those cameras.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Section 1 Thoughts
This next part of section one that we were to read was very interesting to me. I really appreciated all of the tips on gear and packing. I especially liked the explanation as to why Tim prefers the vests and belts as opposed to using a pack. It makes me want to invest in a vest and a belt for carrying things. I found it a little funny that this weekend I went out to take pictures and I had my things in a backpack and it was inaccessible and really annoying. I could relate to what he was talking about. In addition to his talk on gear for packing I enjoyed the tips on dressing for cold weather. Here in Montana it's good to hear what other people do in order to stay warm when you do want to shoot in cold weather. I especially liked the garbage bag tip to protect the inside of your camera from the extreme changes in temperature.
The last part of the section just added to the fire that burns inside of me and pushes me to travel all that I can. Though I have been many places there are so many more places I have added to my list because of the beauty they provide for shots. I'm excited to get out there and see where it leads me.
The last part of the section just added to the fire that burns inside of me and pushes me to travel all that I can. Though I have been many places there are so many more places I have added to my list because of the beauty they provide for shots. I'm excited to get out there and see where it leads me.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Tripods
I have a tripod on the way... At least I think I do. I asked my mother for one for my birthday so we'll see if it's the truth.
As for which kind of tripod I would like I prefer the tripod over the mono-pod. I tend to try and be so still that I cause myself to shake the camera. In the Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby he talks about the awesome benefits of a ball head tripod. They are pretty expensive but maybe some time down the road I'll get enough spare money to invest in one. Until then I will use what I can get, this may be a phonebook on a rock or creative placement of the camera. ;)
As for which kind of tripod I would like I prefer the tripod over the mono-pod. I tend to try and be so still that I cause myself to shake the camera. In the Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby he talks about the awesome benefits of a ball head tripod. They are pretty expensive but maybe some time down the road I'll get enough spare money to invest in one. Until then I will use what I can get, this may be a phonebook on a rock or creative placement of the camera. ;)
Here are some of the pictures I was talking about on the first day that we were talking about our favorite shots. On the left is the tree of wonders that I was talking about... I wish I could have captured the large live branches that were coming out of this tree. The live branches had wonderful pears on them!
Next we have the pictures of Buddy. If I he was a human he'd be a jock, he never stops running and playing even if he is dying of thirst. Not to mention he is about 300% muscle. But I caught him finally taking a break (to the left) and then again looking like he's the boss of the entire house (below). I'll be excited to get back home after I have completed these photography classes and can capture these things in more detail.
This week I checked out one of the articles on Luminous-landscape.com by Peter Cox. It was an article on perspective. It was interesting to read that perspective is often a key asset that is missed when photographers set up a shot. It kind of makes me think of all of the different projects that I could do with various perspectives. I like reading about various aspects that other photographers pick up on because it helps to spark my creativity and sets my mind running on ideas for my next shoot. Here's the link...
http://luminous-landscape.com/essays/changing-perspective.shtml
http://luminous-landscape.com/essays/changing-perspective.shtml
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