Category Archives: SJP’s Tips & Lessons

How to Photograph Up Close – VI: Creative Techniques

By admin | Published January 12, 2012

Hello everyone,

If you have been reading the steps on, “How to Photograph Up Close” then you should know how to process your photographs and have some basic knowledge on macro equipment. Did you do your homework and photograph in natural light? Did you notice that the closer you got to the subject, the depth-of-field shortened (less in focus)? Did you also notice that when you used apertures that ranged from F14 – F22 gave you more depth-of-field (more in focus) and that you had to let more light into the camera by making your shutter speed longer? Also, did you notice that the auto focus on your lens doesn’t work well with macro photographing… setting the lens on manual gave you more control of what you wanted focused in your picture? Now that you have practiced… let’s have some fun with some creative macro techniques. If any of you reading this haven’t done your homework…no worries just click here and start from the beginning.

First I would like to give you some basic art terms so you will understand what I’m talking about in the future posts. One of the main design techniques I learned in school was the, “Rule of Thirds”. Trust me, this rule works… be creative and photograph on all intersecting areas to see what you like. All of the photographs below have the focal point on one of the intersections.

The photographs above may not be exactly on the intersections, but they are close and do make an impact on the photograph.

I would like you to also read up on Color Theory. It’s important to understand how colors work together, you will use this more when I talk about advanced digital darkroom techniques. Today, I want you to pay attention to complimentary colors. When you see the color wheel (click on Color Theory), whatever is opposite to the color you’re looking at always works well when you combine them in a photograph. This is why, I believe, sunsets and sunrises are such beautiful pictures.

I have mentioned this before and will again, Depth of Field (DOF) is important when photographing Macro. Take a look at this photo of an eye (below). We see eye photos all the time but when you tell a story in the photo like this one, showing us that this person is dreaming about something….makes this photo powerful, DOF made this possible.

Let’s talk a bit about telling a story. Most photo editors, art reps, etc… say that we must tell a story. I agree, but…when you first begin to photograph Macro, I feel you should photograph anything anyway, use a variety of views and techniques. Once you understand the basics of exposure and composition, you will then start to look at your photographs differently. Play, play, play…this is how you learn. Yes, reading books, magazines, and my blog help, but to really learn you must photograph up close to understand the whole process of Macro photography. Ok, now that I have lectured you again, lol…let me show you some creative techniques using natural light.

Because we are focusing up close, water drops can be a lot of fun! The viewer can enjoy the photo composition and then a whole new composition in the drop of water. Definitely play with water drops!

Another creative technique is photographing a variety of textures.

Pay attention to the repetitive lines and shapes. Not only are you having fun playing with this creative technique you also will have the fun of seeing what our eyes normally cannot see.

Let’s end with my favorite technique, back lighting. Macro back-light is really exciting…especially when you focus on leaves and flowers. You can see the details in the life of the subject. You can also silhouette your subjects just be careful of lens flare but try it, you’ll be happy with your capture. I found this great site that talks about back-lighting, check it out for more info.

: Backlight using Natural light.

Today I talked about some of the various compositions of visual arts; Rule of Thirds & Color Theory. I also would like you to shoot waterdrops, textures, and play with back lighting. I would like you to read a great column that photographer Harold Davis posted, “Focusing on What Matters”. He has various projects for you to work on but what I like best about this post is that it will help you think about what you are photographing. Have fun playing with natural light this week.

Cheers,

Janice

10 Quick Tips for Professional Macro Photographing (sullivanjphotography.com)
10 Reasons to Turn off Your Autofocus (digital-photography-school.com)
Interview: Magical Insect Photographer (mymodernmet.com)

Also posted in Depth of Field, Flowers, How to Macro Photograph, Lighting, Photographing in Natural Light, SJP's Tips & Lessons | Tagged back lighting, color theory, compostions of visual arts, creative techniques, depth of field, dof, focusing on what matters, How to photograph up close, lens flare, macrophotography, natural light, photography, rule of thirds, texture, water drop | Leave a comment

How to Photograph Up Close – V: Digital Darkroom Basics

By admin | Published December 29, 2011

Today I will talk about basic digital darkrooming.

When you received your DSLR camera you most likely received software to fix your photographs. Before digital cameras, we would process our photographs in a darkroom. I had so much fun playing with the photographs back then. Because of digital photography, the craft has changed, I now process my files using Adobe Lightroom and to detail the photo I use Adobe Photoshop. I always photograph in RAW format. Shooting RAW gives you more flexibility to change your picture. I will show you later how to batch process but today is an introduction to correcting your photos with the CD/DVD you received with your camera, so let’s start…

Your steps may be different if you do not use Canon but what I discuss in this post, 3 basic ways to fix your photos, should be on the software you received. You will be fixing your color, spot removal, and sharpening the image.

(If you want to see the images below up close click on them, when you want to go back to the blog, use your back arrow key.)

Open your software…I did from my computer clicking on the CameraWindow:

from my computer to upload canon software

Next, I downloaded my photographs to a file in my computer:

Canon download options.

After the completion of my download the Browser window came up:

Canon Browser Window

This is where you view your images. You will have other options to play with, depending on your software. Once I have the photograph I want to process, I will go to my Digital Photo Professional file (see first image above) and start working on my photo:

fixing photographs

It’s time to fix your photographs… Click the white balance icon at the top and double click the photo you want to work on (see above). Once you’re in this area click around all the goodies your program has to offer. You wont mess up your original, just don’t save it until you’re happy with what you have done.

Here is an example of what the canon software looks like when I white balance (color correct):

view of white balance info

Next, it’s time to clean up the photograph, remove dust, scratches, or any other areas that you feel need to be cleaned. Under my tools area there is the image stamper…basically, it’s a tool that you can use to fix your photo. See below:

for canon it's called stamp tool to clean up photo

What I did is click an area that I want to copy (holding down my alt/option key at the same time) and then stamp it to the area that needs to be cleaned, and wala…it’s perfect!

canon's stamp tool

Now sharpen your image:

I had to leave my photo and start up again later to fix it. I saved my changes but left it RAW, so if you don’t have time to finish your project, no worries… just keep your file in the RAW format. When you open your photo, click on the upper left to change, ” main window” to “edit window”.

After you have sharpened your image, you need to save your file:

save your file to a tiff

I always save my photo to TIFF’S to preserve the quality of the photograph. See above to view the screen that I used. You can change the name of your file here and make other adjustments…play with your software to learn it.

So today we discussed how to view your photos, color correct with white balance, and clean dust and scratch marks from your photos. I recommend you save your file as a TIFF to preserve the quality of the photograph. JPEG files depreciate every time you open and re-save them. If you want to get a jump start on our future discussions on digital dark-rooming, read this book, “Digital Macro Photography” by Ross Hoddinott.

With the techniques I discussed today, see the before and after pictures below:

lily before I fixed with software provided by canon

after color correction and spot removal

I went drastic on the color correction because I wanted you to see what you can do with the basic software you received with your camera. To tell you the truth, I would change more on this photograph, but I don’t want to overload you just yet. One thing I want you to remember, always, always, sharpen your photographs when you’re done, or at least before you print or post on the web.

Your homework is to play with the digital darkroom software and read the book on Digital Macro Photography. My next post will be about creative techniques to achieve an awesome Macro Photograph.

Cheers,

Janice

Also posted in Flowers, SJP's Tips & Lessons, Software | Tagged basics on photography, digital darkroom, JPEG, photography how to, RAW, software, steps on basic digital darkrooming, TIFF | Leave a comment

How to Photograph Up Close – IV: Basic Macro Shots using Natural Light

By admin | Published December 15, 2011

Hello,

Did you have a chance to read your manual on your camera? If not, you should, because to photograph a great macro shot you really need to know your camera.

Read up on F-Stops and Shutter Speeds so you understand what you will need to do to make adjustments to the camera to get what you want. The F-Stop is one of the most important aspects of photographing up close.

Today my post will be about basic Macro photographing in natural light. My next post will discuss software to process your photographs.

I would like you to play with your camera for the next couple of weeks and focus on the various f-stops and shutter speeds to see what is in focus and what is not in focus. When you shoot, for example an f-stop of F8 compared to F1.4 you can see that the F8 has more in focus, see below:

FYI: A variable to remember is that the closer you get to a subject with your lens the harder it is to achieve a sharp focus from edge to edge.

If you want your photograph to be more in focus change your f-stop to F22 and see what it does. Be careful to not increase your f-stop more than F22 because of the Reciprocal factor. Just be aware that anything above F22 may have a dark ring around the outer edges of the photograph. Of course you will need to make sure your exposure is correct. An easy way to check your exposure is to set the aperture to your liking, move your shutter speed so the exposure guide in your viewfinder is in the middle (read your manual if you don’t know what I’m talking about) shoot the photo, if the photo is too dark slow down your shutter speed (say from 160 to 100) if the photo is too light speed up your shutter speed (say from 160 to 200) each time looking at your photo to see how it looks. Again, later in our posts we can talk about more detailed info on exposure, but for now play with this and USE YOUR MANUAL MODE.

I like to shoot with an ISO of 100 in natural light. You can read about ISO here. Basically, the lower your ISO the better the photograph. If your light is limited go to an ISO of 400 or use lights. I rarely use an ISO higher that 400 because of the grainy look to the photo.

When you photograph with natural light, pay attention to the light hitting your subject. Try not to have too much shadow on your subject, for now… when we talk about lighting (later) we can play with shadows. I begin my macro mode by photographing the subject in full – no macro. I guess for me it’s getting to know the subject with the camera. See how the dog is in the light and the background is in shadow. This drawes my attention to the dog – so cute isn’t she!

: Pay attention to the light hitting your subject.

Ok, I’m going to confess! I am handholding the camera on the dog shots, but I’m not getting really close to her so I can wing it. The next two photographs I want you to see the difference in the aperture setting. This is what defines the photograph’s depth-of-field.

This photograph was taken at F8 @ 1/160 of a second:

: F8 @ 1/160

The photograph below was taken at the same speed but with an F-Stop of 2.8:

: F2.8 @ 1/160

Notice that her eye is in focus and the face is out of focus on the second photo (F2.8). Remember, you have the control! Just change your f-stop to achieve what you want. Take a look at the two photographs below with the same F2.8 stop. The first flower is flat to my camera, notice that the flower is more in focus than the other flower. I moved my camera to view the side of the flower (second photo) to show you how drastic this stop (F2.8) is. Yes, I had to use my tripod, cable release, and focusing rack, for the flower shots. I had fun playing with the focusing rack…you can determine what you want the viewer to see in focus. It’s a perfect toy for creativity!

: front view f2.8

Side view:

: side view F2.8

So your homework is to play with your apertures. Remember that an F22 will be in more focus than F2.8, but because of the small amount of light coming into the camera at F22, you will need to slow your shutter speed to add more light into the camera to get the exposure. The next post I will have photographs with F22 and some details about processing your photographs.

One more thing….because you need to slow your shutter speed…you may need to wait for the wind to stop blowing if your subject is outside. I had to wait until just the right time to achieve a sharp focus on the flowers below. I also suggest that you read up in your manual how to lock your mirror on your camera and use your tripod and shutter release cable.

Two more photos…can you tell which one has the f-stop open more?

: Used a tripod and waited for the wind to stop for a sharp focus on flower.

: Used tripod and cable release for a sharp focus on flower.

Remember, the f-stop is one of the most important parts of macro photography. Play with it so you understand how to create awesome macro photographs. A great book to read is, “The Complete Guide to Close-up and Macro Photography” by Nicki Wheeler.

Cheers,

Janice

Shirley Says ~ Part Three: ISO and shutter speed (mrshutchison.wordpress.com)
Exposure (darkroomadventures.wordpress.com)
What is shutter speed in photography (wiki.answers.com)

Also posted in Animals, Depth of Field, F-Stop, Flowers, How to Macro Photograph, Photographing in Natural Light, SJP's Tips & Lessons | Tagged closeup, fstop, how to, macro, photography, shutterspeed | Leave a comment

How to Photograph Up Close – III: Fun Gadgets for Macro Photographing

By admin | Published December 1, 2011

~
Hello everyone,

One of the many reasons I enjoy photography, is the gadgets you can play with while you photograph. I love a new toy! Most women love diamonds…I like diamonds but LOVE photography equipment. Today my post will be about some of the toys you can purchase, but I want to make it clear to you, these gadgets are not needed to photograph up close, they help you enjoy the process while photographing.

Before I start talking about what toys I like, check out Really Right Stuff’s info on macro photography.

So, let’s get started… Of course I want to talk about my favorite tool first!

Focusing Tool - My favorite macro tool!

The Novoflex focusing rack is one of those tools that until you use it, you think you don’t need it. When you want detailed focusing, this helps tremendously. When we talk about depth-of-field (what’s in focus and what is not in focus) I will be discussing this tool. The focusing rack is attached to your ball head (at least my ball-head) on your tripod. The mini quick release is attached to your camera. It’s so nice and easy to work with!

Mini connect release.

Ok…I like to show you a wonderful ball-head from Really Right Stuff. Again, you don’t need a ball head to connect to your camera but I can maneuver my camera much easier with one:

This is a great ball head!

Remember, if this is too expensive for your pocket book, I showed you a great buy from B & H in the last post (#2).

This is another cool toy that I like to use, it’s called an angle finder :

Great tool to view subjects at an angle and magnified.

If you need to be at ground level to view your subject (I have outdoors) or adjust your camera in a weird position to get the shot, the angle finder is excellent for this! It also has a magnifier that I love, which helps with sharp focusing. For more details check this tool out at B & H.

Another good gadget to have is a cable release (see below). When photographing macro I want you to remember that if you keep the camera steady your image will always come out better. With that said…I like to use my cable release (all the time) so I don’t touch my camera. Yes, I purchased this at B & H

This helps my photogs to be sharp!

The last tool I want to talk about is lighting. Below is an expensive tool that you will love if you get into the macro thing. I will have a post just on lighting in the future, but for now…this is on gadgets that I love, so here is one of them. Again, if this is too expensive, you will be surprised on what a flashlight can do

Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Lite Ringlite Flash (Guide No. 72'/22 m)

This twin light attaches to your lens to get up close to your subject. You can adjust the intensity of the lights and move them around for some fun exposures. Save your money for this toy…it’s worth it!

Macro photographing is fun! I love the photograph below because we can see the unique view of the bubbles in the liquid. Be creative… I have photographed body parts, products, bugs, and of course flowers (my favorite subject). I now look at things differently…I remember my professor telling us that he wanted us to see photographically. At first I didn’t understand, but now I do, and I’m grateful that I have added this sense of sight to my life… The more you Macro the more you will pay attention to the details around you.

So for now check out some gadgets and send me questions if you have any? Our next post will be the basics of photographing macro. I’ll give you the steps I take while I photograph in natural light. Your homework is to read your manual on your camera or google your camera…there should be a blog out there you can refer to. There is no such thing as shooting auto to achieve a professional macro image…so learn what an F-stop and ISO is and what the shutter speed does. I will briefly discuss this in the next post but would like you to understand the terms. One more thing…A good book I suggest is John Shaw’s Macro and Nature. I found it on Amazon. It’s a good starter book on Macro Photography. Its’ a bit outdated and discusses film more than digital but whether you’re photographing digital or film the concept is the same.

I’ll post the next Lesson/Tip Thursday, December 15th.

Cheers,

Janice

Photographing Insects and Other Small Creatures (nikonusa.com)
20 Spectacular Macro Photography Examples (digital-photography-school.com)
Macro photos of explosions of color and liquid (lostateminor.com)
Stunning and Inspiring Macro Photography (techie-buzz.com)
Closer Still (pronghornwildlifephotography.wordpress.com)

Also posted in Angle Finder, Ball Heads, Cable Release, Focusing Rack, Lighting, SJP's Tips & Lessons | Tagged angle finder, cable release, focusing rack.ball head, twin macro light | Leave a comment

How to Photograph Up Close – II: Cameras, Lens’ and Tripods

By admin | Published November 17, 2011

Hello all,

Before I get into the post I wanted to let you know that I have various links for you to go to if you want more technical information on what I’m talking about. So here we go….

Welcome to the 2nd post to our, “How to Photograph Up Close” series. I would like to share with you the various tools that you will need to start your macro mode. I personally use Canon products and the reason I am even telling you this is that you will be investing money on your equipment and I feel that your camera and lens’ should be the same brand (they work excellent together). I have been frustrated with off brand equipment… try to keep the same brands at least for your lens and flash purchases. So research the various cameras and choose the one YOU like. My suggestion is to research Canon, Nikon, and then Olympus, they are wonderful cameras for macro photography. Below is an excellent start. The camera should be a D-SLR (which means Digital Single Lens Reflex).

This Rebel is an excellent starter camera:

Great starter camera!

Some of the various views from B & H:

Back of the camera.

Canon EOS Rebel

Check out this article on “D-SLRs Buy Now” it’s a great article on why you will be happy with your investment. The reason, I believe, that a 35mm D-SLR is a better camera to use for Macro Photography is: 1. I don’t like point and shoot cameras because you can NOT interchange lens’. 2. Medium and Large format cameras are bulky + pricy.

Once you have your camera, play with it…the more you know your equipment the better you will photograph. Don’t worry if your photos turn out bad, it’s o.k…that is how you learn. If you’re confused with the manual you received with your camera, check out Amazon.com, they usually have used books you can purchase at a discount. I found this book for the Rebel camera above. I personally use a Canon 5D and LOVE it!

I recommend B & H to purchase your equipment…they stand by their products! Just check out various camera shops in your area to feel and touch the equipment… if you want to purchase at the time, go for it, but I bet you that the costs will be more expensive than B & H. I have learned to be patient…it’s hard when you want your products NOW but trust me…you can buy more goodies if you shop logically

Now you have your camera…let’s check out some lens’. Go for the MACRO lens’ (please click this link and go to equipment it’s important). If you took the time to read the link I gave you… you will understand why a macro lens is the best for what we want to achieve. Also, the link gives you information on the various focal lengths you can purchase (we will discuss focal lengths in more detail in another post).

My favorite lens is the Canon 100mm macro lens:

My favorite Lens 100mm Macro Lens

Yes, I bought this lens at B & H :)

Ok, now the tripod…In order to have your subject sharp and photograph looking professional, you really need to set your camera on a tripod. I’m going to take you away from B & H and send you to another company I like, “Really Right Stuff”. They really do have some really cool “stuff”, lol! We will be visiting them next week with more goodies to check out but for now let’s just look at the tripod system. Now, before you say, “This is way too expensive for me!” Remember, I am giving you info on quality equipment. Read up on it and if you can’t afford it, that’s ok…. I found you a starter tripod below I do have to say that my husband always tells me that if you buy crappy stuff you will get crappy stuff and he is correct. I have never been unhappy with my equipment until I went cheap. So learn from me before you waste your hard earned $ and read Thom Hogan’s article about wasting money with regards to photography equipment. Ok, now read up a bit about tripods but don’t get discouraged about the price, remember I found a starter tripod for you at B & H.

Good starter tripod kit.

What I like about my tripod is that it’s sturdy, I can adjust the legs to go flat to the ground (which I have used outdoors), and I can adjust the neck to a horizontal position, when needed. I have the ball head, which is excellent for Macro Photography. I plan to talk about this in more detail on my third post…I would also like to show you some other fun gadgets for macro photographing on the next post. So for now, research and ask me questions on your camera, lens’ and tripods, okay

Of course, I need to put up a macro shot…