How High Dynamic Range saved the Tidal Basin and 6 tips to use HDR on your photos

The Washington Monument across The Tidal Basin My iPhone just did not want to take this picture. On our Cherry Blossom Photo Tour, we came to a point where we saw this view. The late afternoon light and reflection on the Tidal Basin created a scene that was simply breathtaking.

Naturally, I reached for my iPhone to snap a quick reminder. Yuck! The Washington Monument was overexposed. Easy fix. I’ll get my iPhone to expose for the Monument. Yuck again. Now the Cherry Blossoms were underexposed.

Why can’t I get a shot like that with my iPhone? Well, I can. A technique called HDR allowed me to better portray what my eyes saw. Luckily, my iPhone has an auto HDR feature.

What is HDR, and why is it important? The range of light to dark that your camera sees is significantly less than what your eyes recognize. For a full tonal range, many photographers will shoot one photo at settings the camera suggests, another overexposed, and a third underexposed. Blending the best of these three images using software is what we call High Dynamic Range, or HDR. It allows you to capture more of the highlights and shadows than you might normally record in a photo.

Ready to try it for yourself? Here are six HDR tips to remember:

• Choose the right subject. Look for a greater range of highlights to shadows. Make sure everything is relatively stable in the image, since you’ll need to merge the photos. Good choices include landscapes and architecture. 
• Use a tripod. To get all three images closely aligned, you will need to keep the camera in the same place. A tripod will help you do that.
• Use your camera’s auto bracketing feature -- That is where your camera takes three shots in rapid succession that vary in exposure compensation.
• Adjust the shutter speed, not the aperture.  If you take three pics at three different aperture settings, the depth of field changes each time. You will get three very different photos, which will make them hard to blend.
• Shoot in Raw format. Raw images capture more information in the range of colors. You might even be able to create the three files based on one raw file.
• Choose the right software. The three leading software apps have very different approaches. Here is a review that could help you understand the differences. The right software depends on your subject, the time you have to invest, and a host of other factors.

 If you don't have time for all that, many cameras’ auto HDR feature will do it all for you. Just like my iPhone. Try it out for yourself.

Brycia's story: How to break into stock photography

It wasn’t long ago that Brycia Kiewlak was learning how to use her new Nikon DSLR and heard about stock photography.

The topic came up during a discussion at a Shutterbug Excursions Meetup group and piqued her curiosity. Since then, she has taught herself the art and business of photography, applied to become an iStockphoto contributor, and recently celebrated her 500th download. She did this while building a portfolio of almost 500 images.

In stock photography, people shoot generic images that advertisers or designers can license for use. Rather than hiring a photographer to shoot an image for an ad or brochure, the designer purchases a license to use a stock image that conveys a specific theme.

In this interview, Brycia shares the stories of her journey to become a stock photographer and what she’s learned from her successes and frustrations.  Among the many things she discusses are:

• The biggest mistakes photographers make when shooting stock images
• The best kinds of images to submit when you are applying to become a contributor
• Training resources that helped her most and those she wishes she’d known about when she started
• What kinds of images sell best and how that surprised her
• Tips for using model releases
• The best way to process images for stock agencies
• The editing workflow for her photographs
• Her thoughts on iStockphoto vs other microstock agencies
• Advice for anyone wanting to get started in stock photography

After our interview, Brycia sent me this note with more information to share:

If you want to add some links to your blog post, here are some of the food photography sites I like:

• http://www.learnfoodphotography.com/
• http://www.mowielicious.com
• http://www.laraferroni.com
• http://souvlakiforthesoul.com/
• http://mattikaarts.com/blog

Neel at LearnFoodPhotography.com does some audio interviews with food photographers and stylist that I really enjoy. I follow him on Twitter @NeelLFP.

Also, if you want to see the most successful micro-stock photographer in the world and DROOL over his studio, check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYkNKP96b84

Taking Stock, by Rob Sylvan, is the book Brycia references. Naturally, it is in the PhotoTour DC Amazon Store.  :-)

Four steps to creating a blurry background in your photos

Shallow depth of field portrait

You can create blurry backgrounds in your portraits with a very simple process.

When you are photographing people, a soft focus background can help rid your photo of any potential distractions. This effect is called a shallow depth of field.

With a shallow depth of field, just the face would be in focus and the background would be progressively blurry. In a longer depth of field, your subject and everything in the background is sharply in focus.

Here are the four ingredients to consider when creating a dramatically shallow depth of field:

Wide aperture: One of the first things we learn when manipulating exposure is that the size of your shutter opening controls your depth of field. The larger the shutter opening for each shot, the smaller the amount of your photo will be in focus. Choose lower numbers, like f4 - f2, to get the most dramatic effect.

Distance to your subject: Getting close to your subject is a great composition principle anyway, but it is even more important when you want to knock out your background. If you are 10 feet from your subject, it is much easier to create a shallow depth of field than if you are 50 feet from your subject.

The amount of zoom: When you zoom in, you compress the elements of your photo, so everything behind your subject becomes more dramatic. A wide angle lens might not create a shallow depth of field, but if you zoom in a telephoto lens to 100 mm to 200 mm, the results become far more dramatic.

Size of your sensor: Your sensor size will impact the final quality of your image in many ways. Making your background blurry is just one of them.

Don’t try to get this shallow depth of field effect with a camera phone. The sensor is so tiny, you won’t see much effect. With a compact camera (point and shoot), it is possible but difficult. With a DSLR, you can start to see really dramatic effects because the sensor is much larger. Use a full frame digital sensor camera, and the results will be incredible.

For this photo, I used a lens that let me zoom in to 200 mm with an f 2.8 aperture. When I got relatively close to my subject, the background blurred out beautifully.

Model credit: Tricia Homer



Rent cameras and lenses for your next vacation or photo shoot

Let’s say you are getting ready to take off for the African Safari of your dreams. Naturally, you’ll want to make sure you have a great camera and lens to capture all that spectacular scenery, but you don’t want to blow you budget before even checking your luggage.

Here’s a suggestion -- try renting the equipment rather than purchasing it. That’s the advice I gave to two clients this weekend. Both were bound for exotic vacations. Neither offered to take their instructor. (Sigh.)

Renting is a great option for high-end camera items you want for vacation or a freelance assignment but don’t really need to own.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you wanted a telephoto lens for the safari. A zoom that brings the animals closer to you will require a bit more power than you have in your camera bag.

Nikon has an 80-400 mm lens that is not super fast, but it will get the job done.

Buy that lens, and be prepared to part with $1,599. You can rent the same lens from CameraLensRentals.com for $97 for two weeks. RentGlass.com will let you borrow it for $88 for two weeks.

If you prefer the local option, Penn Camera will also rent for $40 per day. That’s a bit more expensive than the others, but Penn will let you apply half the rental fee toward the purchase of a new item. That might be a good option if you think you might want to buy the lens at a later date.

How does it work?
The BorrowLenses.com process is fairly typical.

“You choose what you want and how long you want it, and we ship it to you on the date specified with a return label inside the box. When your rental is up you put the lens back in the box it came in, affix the return label and drop it off at FedEx. Once we receive the equipment we inspect it and assuming there's no damage your rental is complete.”
Now that’s simple.

What about security?
You’ll want to inquire about security requirements, as that can vary. For instance, LensRentals.com requires a short process to verify the identity of first-time renters. They say it can take a few minutes to 48 hours to give you the green light.

On the other end of the spectrum, Penn Camera asks for a deposit to cover the cost of the item. In the example of our 80-400 mm lens, Penn will require $1,000 either in cash or on a credit card, which is returned at the end of your rental.

Still a great alternative
You can’t beat the opportunity to vacation with a $1,600 lens for less than $100. That’s why renting is always a great option for lenses you won’t use often. I’d get the great shots with my 80 - 400 mm rental and use the other $1,500 to find some other cool things to shoot.




In their own words

Borrowlenses.com:
“We are one of the largest photography gear and lens rental stores in the US, and we will do everything we can to make your rental experience go as smoothly as possible. We are photographers ourselves and want nothing more than make sure you have the gear you need, when you need it. We serve everyone from budding amateurs to seasoned professionals. The next time you need gear for a special event, or just want to try before you buy, try our services.”

Rentglass.com:
You can rent lenses for your digital or film SLR camera shipped to you via FedEx or USPS mail!

Lensrentals.com:
We’re a family-run business of used-to-be semi-pro photographers. Roger Cicala, the founder and CEO, was located in a mid-sized city far from the major camera stores. There was nowhere to rent a top quality lens locally (actually nowhere locally to even buy a good quality lens). He couldn’t find a mail order rental house that met his simple needs: get me the equipment I want, when I want it, in great condition and at a fair price. Since no one else was doing that, he decided he should and started LensRentals as a “Photographers Co-op” in June of 2006 with about 30 lenses so he gets credit for the idea.

In the last 4 years Lensrentals.com has grown from startup to the largest photographic equipment renter in the U. S. We’re convinced we accomplished that in a very simple way: by offering better selection and customer service than anyone else. Our mission for 2011 is to focus on improving both of those areas even further. We believe if we do that everything else will take care of itself.


Cameralensrentals.com:
Camera Lens Rentals offers a wide range of Canon, Nikon, and PENTAX series lenses and bodies to rent for your film or digital needs. We rent some of the finest lenses and bodies that each has to offer. Whether you're a professional, amateur, or someone just looking to try a new lens or body, you have come to the right place. We offer all types of lenses and bodies for all your rental needs.

Penn Camera:
Penn Camera has the largest inventory of rental equipment in the Mid Atlantic. Through our "Try Before You Buy", we'll even put half of your rental fee towards the purchase of the rental item.


What color is my white? How to take great snow pictures

Korean War Memorial in the snowOne of the first questions you ask when shooting on a snowy day is "what color is my snow?" When things are supposed to be all white, that's precisely the time you should worry about color.

My snow is gray -- This is a common problem. Your camera is designed to average all the bright and dark and expose for 18 percent gray. That works for most shots where you have a wide range of light to dark colors. When your scene is all white, it confuses your camera, and your photos show your whites as gray. To make sure you get true whites, overexpose your image by one to two stops. In many cameras, you can select +1 on your exposure compensation dial.

My snow is blue -- Sometimes your camera will record snow with a slight blue tint. If you shoot in raw format, this is usually not an issue, but if you are shooting in jpg format, you might find that you need to adjust your white balance settings. Try daylight or shade settings, but for best results, use a custom white balance.

My snow is white -- Excellent. You've captured the perfect blanket of white. Now it's time to find some bright colors to contrast against the snow. Color will add more life to your photos, as well as provide ingredients for powerful composition.

Other things to remember.

Keep your battery alive -- Batteries die quickly in colder weather. Keep spare batteries in your pockets or near to your body where they will be warmer. Swap them out frequently to keep them 'still going.'

Go for Golden -- Here's another color tip: Early in the morning and late afternoon are the best times to shoot because the angle of the sun casts longer shadows and adds more contrast than in the middle of the day.

Chances are on most snow days, you will look out your window to admire the pure blanket of white. Who knew that once you grabbed your camera, there would be so many other colors to consider?