photography 201 - bouncing flash

Planet Neil has an informative tutorial on how to bounce flash. Essentially, flash produces a harsh light on your subject because it is a small source of light - by bouncing flash off the ceiling or the wall, you create a much larger light source, and more favorable lighting conditions. (NOTE - this tutorial is for those of you using an external flash unit). The article is great because it challenges photographers to think beyond the 45-degree-angle-flash-bouncing-off-of-ceiling approach. He uses some of his photos and describes the angles and settings he used in order to achieve no discernable flash shadow.

I learned a lot from this article, so I thought I'd pass it along - click here to check it out.

As for future Photo 201 lessons, I can't promise I'll get to them every other week like I'd hoped, but I do promise 1 advanced lesson a month.

Now go forth and bounce that flash!

meghan + tristan: the golden hour (taking it to the street)

In the spirit of keeping things easy around here, I decided to combine today's lesson with some more shots from the wedding. We've reviewed some basic concepts in the last few weeks, so now let's review one of the most basic lighting concepts for photographers - the golden hour. Or, golden hours is more accurate I guess.

This is the light that occurs during the hour after sunrise and sunset. The time of the day when the shadows are long and the sun is warm and golden, without being too harsh or bright. In essence, a fantastic time to photograph almost anything. Aperture, shutter speed, ISO - each of these is important to determining how much light enters the camera, but now we're talking about the quality of light and how the golden hour casts light on your subject.

At the wedding, the golden hour corresponded with the cocktail hour - a good time for photos. Not only did I work the golden hour, I experimented with using back lighting and lens flare in these series of photos. (There is an upcoming posts on back lighting - I promise...) Since the cocktail hour was happening in the same location as the wedding & reception, it was proving to be a bit hectic, so I suggested a stroll down the street for some photos.



OK, technically speaking, this photo is at the VERY beginning of the golden hour, since the sun sets pretty late here in the summer. But you get the idea - a lovely warm light. This photo is a combination of all three: golden hour lighting, back lighting, and a bit of lens flare.



I clearly have a love affair with lens flare. This is also a vintage effect I'm trying out - more of a blue-ish tint.



this is probably my favorite photo of the bride from her wedding day - the golden hour light made for a gorgeous backdrop.



See how everyone just looks so nice? I think I will only shoot portraits in this light from now on - it just makes everyone look so fantastic!



In the interest of "keeping it real" I included 2 not so great examples of back lighting and lens flare:



A little too much flare, not enough bride...



I actually like how this turned out - a lovely silhouette portrait. But it was not intentional - not at all. Point being: never stop trying new techniques or ideas. You never know what you might get...





The first dance - and a photo taken in the "sweet spot" of the golden hour. LOVE that light!

So the next time you're out after dinner and the sun is setting, grab your camera!

photography 201: distance and light

Last photo 201 lesson we discussed how light "sees" your subject, and how important it is to consider the lighting angle when composing your photo. This week we'll discuss (courtesy of Strobist) the relationship between lighting and distance. FYI - this is a more advanced lesson, in that it discusses off-camera lighting, such as an external flash or a strobe light of some sort.

Strobist explains this relationship using the Inverse Square Law - thankfully he does not actually provide any equations or proofs in this discussion (because I would have dozed off right then and there). Here is how he explains Inverse Square Law with respect to lighting:

• "The closer you are to the light source, the more powerful the light. Get real close and it gets really powerful. Get far away, and it gets weaker."

So far, this seems logical right? For example if you use your on-camera flash and you are 2 feet from your subject, the light will be MUCH brighter than if you were 10 feet away, or 20 feet.

On to the next principle:

• "The closer you get to the light source, the quicker the lighting values change as you move in. When you get farther away, small differences in distance (from the light) become meaningless."

OK, this statement made me reach for my 3rd cup of coffee. Thankfully there are several demos on flickr that help to illustrate these points, such as this one:


Looking at this photo diagram, you can see: (1) the photo on the left (light source 1 foot from The Bride, or Uma Thurman) produces a more intense light on the subject than the photo on the right (light source 5 feet from Uma). NOTE - both the camera and Uma NEVER move in this exercise - only the light source is changing. As the light source moves further from Uma, the flash output becomes stronger. Also in each photo the light source is moved further back from Uma.

You can see from this photo diagram that by moving in close to the subject (photo on the left), the wall behind Uma Thurman is almost black. The flash illuminates Uma, and very little of what's behind her. As the light source moves further back, though, the difference in the shade of the gray wall is minimal, and the photo is more evenly lit throughout.

So let's review the above statement:

"The closer you get to the light source, the quicker the lighting values change as you move in. When you get farther away, small differences in distance (from the light) become meaningless."

To paraphrase, the closer the light is to the subject, the more dramatic the lighting, however, as the light is placed further and further from the subject, the differences become less and less dramatic.

Strobist describes this concept as "lighting depth of field":

• Light Placed Closer = more powerful, and control of the depth of the correct exposure.
• Light Placed Further = less powerful, and a broader zone of even lighting exposure.
  

In other words, light placed closer to your subject is like working with shallow depth of field. Light placed further from your subject is less powerful, but provides a more evenly-lit photograph.

This is not an easy concept to grasp, but it's a pretty powerful concept once you understand it. Click here for the full lesson at Strobist - there are homework assignments to help you understand the lessons more fully. I'd like to do the "homework" for this lesson - I'll post the results as soon as I complete the homework (no promises on when that might be...)

photography 201 - 2 ways to improve lighting

Right now, the Photo 201 series of lessons is dedicated solely to my need to devour any and all information on lighting before I play wedding photographer (which is less than two weeks away...) Last lesson we discussed how light "sees" your subject, and how angles and light affect your photo's composition. Lately I can't go anywhere without really analyzing the light and how it creates shadows on various objects. This week's lesson is sort of a prelude to the next series of lessons over at Strobist. Some of you out there may be very comfortable shooting in natural light, but you wish you knew how to improve the lighting in certain situations. Here are two ways (the two I've been focusing on in preparation for the wedding...)

Light Reflector

You may have seen these at the camera store before - they look like the shades you put in your car window to protect the interior from sun. Now that you have an adequate visual...a light reflector can be used to capture available light and redirect it toward your subject. Reflectors help to minimize shadows and even out the lighting on your subject. There have been several instance where I wished I could eliminate the shadows on someone's face without resorting to flash - this is where a reflector comes in handy.

Here's a quick tutorial on light reflectors that I found over at youtube:



Anyone can use a light reflector to improve lighting - point and shoot or SLR camera owners alike - but for those of you DSL owners itching for some more camera equipment, read on.


External Flash Unit



The bad boy pictured above is one example of an external flash unit. It is a flash unit you purchase separate from your camera body (as opposed to the flash that is built into the camera body). The external flash unit offers much greater lighting flexibility - you can determine how bright the flash output should be and from what direction the flash should be coming from (when using your flash off-camera - another lesson for another day). You can even get fancy with it and create light sources from directions other than from the top of your camera - you can bounce the flash off a wall, off the ceiling, or you can attach the flash to a tripod and move the flash to the left or right of your camera.

Check in 2 weeks from now for another Strobist inspired lesson on lighting, using my external flash...

using fill flash to "brighten" your photos

I have weddings on the brain - my first wedding shoot is rapidly approaching and I am in full research and learning mode. Lighting at any wedding is crucial, so I will definitely be posting more and more on using your flash in photos.

Behold, today's lesson:

This is a problem I've encountered MANY times - where the background is bright or well lit, and the foreground is shadowed or dark, and my focal point is therefore too dark to see. In this photo, since the sun is behind the leaves, the leaves are too dark to see the beautiful green color.

In this situation, your camera's light meter will pick up on the brighter part of the image and decide the photograph is well exposed (when clearly it is underexposed). What's a photographer to do in this situation, you ask?

The simplest answer, applicable to both point and shoot and SLR users - is fill flash. In essence, you activate the flash manually, providing additional light for a better exposed photo. Fill flash helps with photos where your subject is backlit (see above), and also to eliminate shadows cast across your subjects face (for example, under one's nose or chin, or a face peering out from under a hat)

Most point and shoots (and SLRs) allow for the photographer to manually pop up the flash for a picture. Check your manual to see how you can force the flash to pop up. The key is to dial back the brightness of the flash so that you don't have flash blow out. Again, check your manual to see how you can lower the output of your flash - some cameras have a fill flash setting, while others allows you to lower the output in halves or thirds. I do this ALL the time with my point and shoot because my camera's flash is CRAZY bright...

Any questions? Leave a comment or email me.

Using Your Point and Shoot Like a Pro - Part 2

(photo by inertiacreeps via flickr)

Lens Flare reader Barbara gently reminded me that it's been a while since I started this series, and she has been patiently waiting for a part 2. Barbara, your wish is my command!

Part 2 of using your point and shoot like a pro - how to avoid flash blow out. I guarantee if you have used the flash on your point and shoot while taking a picture at night, you have experienced flash blow out - that crazy bright light that pretty much ruins the photograph. I mentioned in Part 1 of this lesson series that one way to take better photos with a point and shoot is to just turn off the flash entirely, but there are situations where no flash just won't work. The problem is that for most point and shoot cameras, the photographer doesn't have much say in how much light is used.

So, courtesy of Digital Photography School, here are 7 strategies for avoiding flash blow out:

1. Take a step back - put some distance between you and the subject of your photo
2. Try and diffuse the flash - place something opaque right over the flash to soften the light, such as tissue paper or vellum.
3. Redirect the flash - try using a card to bounce the light onto the ceiling or a wall near your subject (this will obviously take some practice, but this is what people with fancy SLR cameras can do with an external flash...)
4. Try "Night Mode" - some point and shoot cameras have this option, allowing for a slow shutter speed and flash to be used. Check your owner's manual.
5. Decrease flash output - again, you will need to check your manual, but many point and shoot cameras allow for you to dial back the intensity of your flash.
6. Add light - if possible, see if you can move your subject to an area with more ambient light, or just turn some lights on for the picture.
7. Experiment with shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings - another visit to the manual for this tip. I've previously discussed shutter and aperture on this blog (click here to review) so in a nutshell, slower shutter speed and/or a low aperture number (i.e. f4, f3.5, etc.) will allow you to take pictures in lower light situations, possibly without even using your flash. Also, a higher ISO setting can help with low light situations. Remember though - once you slow down the shutter speed you will need to hold VERY STILL to get a shot that isn't blurry.

As always, my dear readers - email or comment with any questions. Happy flashing (hahaha)!

how to take better landscape photographs

Some of you might be thinking "seriously, Melissa? Can't everyone take a picture of a pretty view? Can we move on to something more difficult, please?" Well, yes, most of us can pick up a camera and take a picture of a lovely vista, but is it interesting? Admit it, we've all seen our fair share of travel photos that are just so-so. I think it's actually more difficult to take a typical landscape photograph and make it not-so-typical. I know I personally struggle with this - many of my landscape photographs are just kind of blah (to me, anyway). I do like this photo of Mendocino but only because of the mistakes I made - the foreground is underexposed and there is lens flare in the upper left corner - but these make the photograph more interesting. (As an aside I actually like when lens flare shows up in my photographs, hence the name of this blog. But I digress...) I would like to deliberately take better landscape photographs, especially during my next trip to Kauai (which is hopefully sooner rather than later. We'll see...)

So here are some basic tips for better landscape photos:

1. find the light - this seems to be a consistent theme here at Lens Flare...The right light can bring about an amazing landscape photo. Advice on the Internet is consistent - the 30 minutes before and after a sunrise and/or sunset are the best light for landscape photos.
   
2. Choose different vantage points - oftentimes our landscape photos are from the same vantage point that anyone and everyone else has. Change it up - kneel down, walk around. See if there's another view that not everyone's seeing.
   
3. Creative compositions - remember the rule of thirds? Vary the horizon line in your photograph by placing it in the top third or bottom third. Perhaps look for interesting patterns or colors that you can focus on in your photo.
   
4. Pay attention to detail - make sure you're not photographing something you would rather not be in the picture - a trash can (which happened to me in Spain...), a power line, a person running into the photo, etc.
   

These tips apply to any photographer using any camera, but for those of you using SLRs:

1. Smaller aperture - the smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field. Try using f16 or f22 so your image is as sharp as possible. (Also try lower ISO settings, like 100 or 200).
2. Use a tripod - using such a small aperture may result in a very slow shutter speed where a handheld image won't be possible (meaning it will come out blurry).
3. Try a filter - a filter such as a polarizer creates saturated color and enhances skies. (In fact, I should do an entire lesson on filters...) I know many of you will edit your photos after the fact, but a filter allows you to see the possibilities of the landscape as you're shooting it.
   
4. Wide angle lens - I would love one of these lenses for the next time I'm in Kauai. Click here for a brief primer on wide angle lenses.

Here is a different landscape photograph taken on my trip to Spain a few years back. I probably have about 8-10 shots of this village, all landscape (i.e. horizontal). This one is my favorite, though. I thought the composition turned out nicely, with the repetition of the diagonal lines in the photo (see the clouds, the mountains, and the village). The fact that the image is technically "portrait" makes it more interesting (to me).

Have a landscape photo you'd like to share? Email me (see above) or leave me a comment.

Taking Better Pics of Your Kids - Look for the "Right" Light

Since last week's lesson was more technical, I thought this week I would keep it simple.

I remember my wedding photographer's rule of thumb: when photographing a wedding, always use flash - when photographing children, NEVER use flash. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but I admit that my favorite pictures of my girls were taken without flash.

A while back I bought How to Photograph Your Baby by Nick Kelsh. He writes that the "right" light to photograph your children can be found almost anywhere in your home. In a nutshell, you are looking for indirect light - light that pours in a window or an open door. Not the direct sunlight you find in your backyard or at the park in the middle of the day. If you can position your baby (or older one) so that one side of your baby's face is in the lght and the other is in the shadows, voila! You have a (possible) masterpiece.

Some examples of where to find this indirect light:

doorways
front porch
garage
car
window

I know some of these sound strange, but I have taken pictures of my kids in the car in the garage, and it was great light. Here's a couple of examples of getting the "right" light from my own personal photos:

I took this picture of my (now) 3 year old when she first woke up in the morning. I love the morning sun on the side of her face.


This is in an upstairs bedroom in the late afternoon. You can see the light pouring in from the window behind my baby girl. No shadows like the picture above, but I love the softness and the colors.

Extra Credit: Photographing Chrismtas Lights

I don't know about you, but I seem to have numerous Clark Griswold wannabes living around me. That, and I know of several friends that are visiting various "candy cane lanes" and the like this weekend.

So in the spirit of Christmas, today's extra credit is photographing Christmas lights. Last year we went to Disneyland around the holidays, and all of my photographs of the beautiful lights & decor at night were dull and boring. So I was excited to find this blog post specifically on the subject.

In a nutshell:

1) the best time to photograph the lights is around sunset, not when it's pitch black.

2) include as much sky as possible in your photograph (don't forget the rule of thirds!)

3) for those of you with digital SLRs - set your white balance to tungsten lighting, as the Christmas lights are "tungsten balanced." (FYI tungsten lighting = light produced by either photofloods or domestic illumination, it is warmer than normal daylight). Since we haven't really discussed specific camera settings, email/comment if you need help with this.

4) use something to steady your shot, like a tripod, a bean bag, or lean up/on/against something solid (wall, car, etc.)

I'm going to try it this weekend, and I'll post my results (good and bad...) - let me know how it goes for you!