How Much Depth

Depth of field is another aspect of a photograph you should consider when taking one. Do you want a shallow or deeper depth of field to your photos. Depth of field refers to the range of distance that is in focus. The shallower the depth, the less things are in focus and as you get a deeper depth, more gets into focus.

Shallow depth of field is better for photos where the subject is the main focus and you don't want the background to be distracting. The shallow depth will blur the background, which draws less attention from the viewers eyes.

A deeper depth of field allows the background to be in focus along with the subject. You use this when the background is interesting and you want to incorporate it into the photo. The background should not so interesting that it takes away focus from the subject.

Three main aspects control the depth of field: Focal length, f-stop, and distance from the camera. The more the subject fills the frame, as with larger focal lengths or getting closer to the camera, the more shallow the depth of field with be. Doing the opposite will give you a more deeper depth of field. Finally, the f-stop number will control the depth of field. This is the easiest way of the three to control the depth of field without changing the composition or perspective. The lower the f-stop, the larger the aperture size and the shallower the depth of field.

f/4.5, 1/160 Alex Chi 2011©

Above, the depth of field is shallow with a blurred background. The f-stop could not be opened wide enough to blur the back sufficiently so I backed away from the subject and used a 200mm zoom lens to create an even more shallow depth.

f/22, 1/160 Alex Chi 2011©

In this one, the background is interesting for the photo but I made sure the focus was in the subject by darkening the background. This was done using flashes that made the subject brighter than the scene, then adjusted the exposure for the subject. The depth of field was achieved by an f-stop of 22.

Getting Up Close

Macro lenses lets you get the camera close to the subject while still being able to focus properly, usually within inches. These lenses are useful for photographing small things and filling the frame with it like insects, flowers, toys, etc. But unless you regularly take macro photographs, it can be hard to justify the purchase of a $600 lens that you may use occasionally.

This doesn't mean you can't take a macro shot with what you have. There is a way to trick your lens into focusing closer than its minimum focusing distance. By placing a magnifying glass in front of your lens, it turns the current regular zoom lens you have into a macro lens. Instantly, your focusing distance can go from a few feet to a few inches, allowing you to get much closer.

f/4.5, 1/800 Alex Chi 2011 ©

Above the lens is zoomed to 105 mm and is placed as close as possible to the coffee beans while still be able to focus. You can see that the beans are small enough to have a few hundred populate the image. After placing the magnifying glass in front of the lens, the camera is able to get closer and get a larger image of the beans as you can see below.

f/4.5, 1/2000 Alex Chi 2011 ©

Soften it Up

Bare flash often produces a harsh light with sharp shadows. This type of light would bring out details such as wrinkles and bumps on surfaces such as skin. To fix this, you can employ the use of a flash diffuser. Two popular flash diffusers are softboxes and shoot through umbrellas.

Initially, they may seem to do the same thing but they have their differences.

A shoot through umbrella spreads the light from the flash over a larger, translucent surface. The umbrella essentially turns a small light source into a larger one that scatters the light more efficiently. By scattering the light, it becomes softer so small details are lit evenly and does not show up as well in a photograph. Umbrellas are easier to transport and travel with as they can fold down quickly into a small size. [1-3]

Softboxes work in a similar way in that light has to pass through a translucent front before reaching the subject. The difference though, is that the light does not scatter everywhere and is a bit more directional. Light is trapped within the box with just one way out. This is good when you want to have more control of where the light goes. An example of this is lighting the subject but keeping the background dark. [4]

Sources::

[1] Hobby, D. (2006, March 23). Strobist: Lighting 101: Umbrellas. Strobist. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-umbrellas.html

[2] How an Umbrella Works. (n.d.). Helix Web Photo School. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://helix.webphotoschool.com

[3] Vorpahl, J. (n.d.). Another quick comparison: shoot through umbrella vs. bounced /w cover | Portrait & Family Photography - Jacob Vorpahl.One Bright Spot Photography - Portrait and Family Photography | Jacob Vorpahl. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://onebrightspot.com/blog/2009/02/02/another-quick-comparison-shoot-through-umbrella-vs-bounced-w-cover/

[4] Arias, z. (2008, March 30). zarias.com :: The blog of editorial photographer Zack Arias » Shoot Through Umbrella vs. Softbox.zarias.com :: The blog of editorial photographer Zack Arias. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://www.zarias.com/shoot-through-umbrella-vs-softbox/

Trigger the Lights

If you have been looking into flash photography, you will notice a term often used, off-camera flash. You may wonder how a flash not sitting in the hotshoe of your camera is to be triggered in sync with the shutter press. This is where triggers come into use. There are two main types of wireless triggers are optical and radio.

Optical triggers operate as their name suggests, optically. When the sensor inside the trigger senses an impulse of light, usually caused by another flash, a circuit is closed and the flash is triggered. Optical triggers are the most basic in wireless triggering and can be the cheapest. The triggers are limited in range, requiring the sensor to be able to see the flash from other flashes. Also, bright lights or other flashing lights could interfere with the reception.[1-3]

Radio triggers are the other usual option. They can get more range than optical triggers and you aren't limited by corners or out of sight flashes. Radio triggers can get a range of 1600 feet, giving you plenty of leeway. Because a radio signal is being sent between two units, they do require batteries to use. With many brands and options available, prices can vary widely. The lower end units are usually Chinese made triggers that work at about 30 feet. One of the more popular brands among the professionals are Pocket Wizards ®. They are one of the pricier options available but have great range and reliability.[4]

Sources::

[1] Fulton, W. (n.d.). How to trigger speedlights Off camera.Scanning Basics 101 - All about digital images. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://www.scantips.com/lights/trigger.html

[2] Smart Optical Slave Flash Trigger - Digital Photography Tips and Techniques. (n.d.).Digital Photography Tips and Techniques. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://dptnt.com/2010/03/smart-optical-slave-flash-trigger/

[3] Hobby, D. (2010, July 28). Strobist: Understanding Optical Slaves, Pt. 2. Strobist. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://strobist.blogspot.com/2010/07/understanding-optical-slaves-pt-2.html

[4] Hobby, D. (2006, March 21). Strobist: Lighting 101: PC Cords and Pocket Wizards.Strobist. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-pc-cords-and-pocket.html

Flash Bus

Two of the biggest names in off camera lighting (aka strobist) have started their tour across the United States right now [1]. The two photographers are David Hobby and Joe McNally. David Hobby is a former Baltimore Sun photographer and long time blogger. His blog, Strobist, focuses on teaching readers on his techniques of lighting with off camera flashes [2]. Joe McNally has made a name for himself photographing some of the most memorable photos out there. He is a staff photographer for Life and contributor to National Geographic [3].

These two are traveling across the U.S. and teaching seminars on off camera lighting using camera flashes. David Hobby is leading off with classes on manual in the morning followed by Joe McNally in the afternoon on TTL. Attendees will also receive a bag of various merchandise provided by sponsors [4].

Links::

http://www.theflashbus.com/

Sources::

[1] http://strobist.blogspot.com/2011/03/bolo-alert-flash-bus-has-escaped.html

[2] http://www.santafeworkshops.com/instructors/bio/david_hobby

[3] http://portfolio.joemcnally.com/#mi=1&pt=0&pi=4&p=-1&a=0&at=0

[4] http://strobist.blogspot.com/2011/01/road-trip.html

Dial it in

No matter which digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera you get, you will find a mode selection dial on the top of your camera. Since there are many camera brands out on the market, I will stick to the 3 most popular brands of DSLRs: Canon ®, Nikon ®, and Sony ®. On the dial, there will be four modes that will be on all most of the cameras available which are aperture priority, shutter priority, program, and manual.

Canon

• AV-aperture priority
• TV-shutter priority
• P-program
• M-manual [1-3]

Nikon and Sony

• A-aperture priority
• S-shutter priority
• P-program
• M-manual [3-5]

Aperture priority allows you to control the aperture of the lens while letting the camera adjust the shutter speed to correctly expose the photo. This mode is used to control the depth of field within the photo. Depth of field is the size of the range of depth that is in focus. Once you are in aperture priority, your adjustment wheel will allow you to change your f-stop. The f-stop indicates the ratio of the focal length of the lens over the size of the opening. A small f-stop will give you a larger aperture while a larger number will give you a small aperture. With a small f-stop, you can use faster shutter speeds and your photos will have a shallow depth of field, which will blur the background. Large f-stops will do the opposite [3].

Shutter priority reverses the controls of aperture priority. You control the shutter speed and let the camera choose the aperture. Shutter speed control allows you to control how motion is depicted in the photo. The slower the shutter speed is, the longer the sensor of the camera is exposed to the light. Slow shutter speeds will give you motion blur, meaning anything that is moving within the photo will become blurry. Fast shutter speeds are used to freeze motion [3].

In program mode, the camera will choose both the aperture and shutter speed settings for you. But it differs from auto mode because you are still able to adjust the settings that auto mode would lock you out from [3].

Finally, manual mode is for complete control of the settings. This is used when you might want control of the shutter speed and aperture without letting the camera adjust it for you [3]. Manual mode is best used when quick or constant setting adjustments are used.

Sources::

[1]Canon DSLR camera icons explained - DSLR Handbook - Digital SLR Photography. (n.d.). Digital SLR Photography - DSLR reviews, news and user guides for Sony, Nikon, Olympus and Canon digital cameras - Digital SLR Photography. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.digitalslrphoto.com/dslrbasics/dslrhandbook/13019/canon_dslr_camera_icons_explained.html

[2]Gibby, D. B. (2010, November 24). Digital SLR instructions for Canon, Nikon, 203040506090300 d digital camera. San Diego Wedding Photographer, Beach Photography Deals, 1000, CA. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.idmphotos.com/digital

[3]Brown, M. (n.d.). Shooting Modes, digital cameras, digital photography, photography, digital slr, camera recommendation, price comparison, photographic companies, camera companies, digital camera best prices,. Photo Review, digital cameras, digital photography, photography, digital slr, camera recommendation, price comparison, photographic companies, camera companies, digital camera best prices,. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.photoreview.com.au/guides/digitalslr/shooting-modes.aspx

[4]Rockwell, K. (2008, March 27). Nikon D80 Controls.KenRockwell.com: Photography, Cameras and Taking Better Pictures. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80/users-guide/controls.htm

[5]Sony Dslr-A200 Review: Camera Features & Controls (Cont.). (2008, March 26).Steves Digicams - Digital Camera Reviews, Camera News, and Photography Information. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/sony/dslr-a200/sony-dslr-a200-review-3.html