That’s the lens with hood attached. It’s a two piece hood which helps with packing, some. I’ll get to that.

Who is this lens for? Someone who:

• Has decent strength (it weighs about 6lbs/2.7kg)
• Has room in their bag (it’s big, see stats)
• Wants an awesome range of zoom
• Is thinking of going on safari in Africa
• Has a tripod or monopod
• Shoots sports in ample light

Specifications

From Sigma’s site

• Lens Construction – 22 Elements in 6 Groups
• APO Tele Converter  -1.4X MF 2X MF
• Angle of View – 46.8-5.0
• Number of Diaphragm Blades -9
• Minimum Aperture -f22
• Minimum Focusing Distance – 50-180 cm / 19.7-70.9 in
• Filter Size (mm) – 95
• Maximum Magnifications – 1:3.1
• Dimensions -(Diameter x Length) 104.4×219 mm/4.1×8.6 in
• Weight – 1970g / 69.5oz.
• Fits Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax

In Real Life

So the lens is big an impressive on the outside, but what is it like to use? First, the lens is big, have I mentioned that? Using a tripod or monopod will be advisable for most. I was silly and used the lens mostly handheld except for a few shots from a tripod. I often braced myself against something. Thankfully the lens comes with Optical Stabilization (the OS in the name) and it works fairly well.

The lens is not cluttered with a lot that isn’t needed. On the side are switches for automatic/manual focus, different Optical Stabilization modes and one more switch to lock the barrel so it will not creep forward while being pointed down, such as when walking with the lens. The two rings control manual focus and focal length. The lens has a rear focusing element, meaning the barrel will not rotate when focusing. This helps when attaching filters to the long end of this monster. Speaking of filters, you will need a 95mm filter, although a step-down adapter to 86mm is available.

The lens comes with an attached lens mount which can be removed when the lens only when the lens is not attached to a camera. Otherwise, the mount can be rotated to a position above the lens and the formed top of the mount actually makes a decent carry handle (see image on left). While the collar moves easily and locks tightly, I would have liked a detent or two to know the lens is dead-on with a 90 degree angle.

As you can see from the image above, the lens is intimidating when looking straight down the barrel. The lens has 22 elements in 6 groups and that creates a lot of the weight. I was able to hand-hold the lens and camera (tested on a Canon 7D) for only short periods without bracing. I’m not a body builder, but I regularly hefty a Canon 28-300mm L lens and am used to shooting for hours with it. This lens is a step above in weight and was found on my shoulder often.

I found the focus speed to be adequate and once within range, it was fast. But with the range involved, it would often take a ‘while’ to get a lock. ‘While’ means there were a couple of times when I took over focus to speed up the process, especially if it missed the mark and then hunted all the way in the wrong direction. I was satisfied with the speed with which it locked on elk and other large targets and the rate at which it held focus on flying birds and planes.

Chromatic Aberration was present in what I found to be acceptable limits. It could be improved but I also know with this many elements and the range it covers, that is part of the compromise. Take a look at the samples below to judge for yourself. I was overall satisfied with the results. While I am not comparing it to a 500mm prime lens (which would be unfair) it is a lens I would like to own and I was not happy having to send it back to BorrowLenses.com.

The zoom function was quite smooth and my lens seemed to be fairly new, which would certainly have an influence. Along the barrel are minimum focus distance listings as well as magnification ratings. These are both useful to take guesswork out of certain aspects of shooting in a controlled manner. The manner in which they are laid out is also uncluttered.

On the downside for this lens are its size and weight. I have covered the weight but the size is also important. I use a f-stop Satori EXP as my main pack and for carting around this lens I used the large insert. Along with my Canon 7D with the Canon 28-300mm L lens attached, this lens was not the easiest to fit in along side this setup. The main reason was the diameter of the lens. It is wide and takes up just a bit more than normal space in a camera bag. It’s not a lot, but if a bag had two spaces, side by side, and you placed two of these lenses in, there would be friction. If your bag space is limited, see if you can borrow a copy to make sure it fits in with your set, so you know what you’re getting yourself into.

Samples

All sample shots were shot handheld, except as noted. I have not edited the images to give an accurate representation of what came out of the camera. Click on each image to download a full size JPEG version (all images are Creative Commons Non-Commercial Copyright Peter West Carey). Photos were taken in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Langley, Washington; Everett, Washington and Point Reyes National Seashore, California.

ISO 500, 413mm, f/6.3, 1/800

ISO 100, 500mm, f/7.1, 1/800

ISO 100, 500mm, f/7.1, 1/160

ISO 100, 500mm, f/7.1, 1/500

ISO 100, 413mm, f/10, 1/125

ISO 100, 203mm, f/29, 1/8

ISO 100, 287mm, f/32, 1/6

ISO 100, 500mm, f/6.3, 1/200

ISO 100, 500mm, f/20, 1/10

ISO 100, 75mm, f/11, 1/250

ISO 100, 500m, f/13, 1/40

ISO 100, 50mm, f/8, 1/800

ISO 100, 203mm, f/14, 1/1000

ISO 100, 500mm, f/14, 1/1000

ISO 100, 500mm, f/6.3, 1/100

ISO 100, 203mm, f/13, 1/200

ISO 320, 373mm, f/6.3, 1/3200

ISO 100, 50mm, f/5.6, 1/2000

ISO 640, 500mm, f/9, 1/800 (Tripod used)

ISO 100, 500mm, f/10, 1/200 (Tripod used)

Conclusion

The Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM is a capable lens that fits a niche. It’s not for everyone but if you shoot outside and are looking for a longer lens to capture wildlife or distant subjects, this lens is well worth your consideration. I enjoyed using the lens even when it was a drag on my shoulder. Life is compromise and I would gladly carry this lens if I knew I had the subjects to shoot with it.

My copy of the Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM was lent to me from BorrowLenses.com for the purpose of writing this review.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM [REVIEW]

I don’t consider myself to be a blogger, but I’ve found that my business blogs are my most powerful marketing tools. This may be quite a strange concept in the digital world, with the likes of real-time website analytics, visitor tracking and such, but in my business we don’t measure the success of our web presence by the number of page views we receive or the number of comments posted. Instead, I measure its success by the type of clients that we book and how educated they are about our products and services when they approach us.

About Us

I own and operate two successful Melbourne-based photographic businesses. The specialty of both businesses is photographing people in a relaxed manner, which illustrates their own personality and style. Lizzy C Photography primarily shoots weddings, while Commercial Focus was established to serve the commercial and corporate photography market.

Educating the Client

With two busy photographic studios, it can be hard to stay on top of the constant stream of enquiries. Our blogs help to illustrate our photographic style and show potential customers the type of clients with whom we typically work. As a result, most potential clients are already educated as to our products and services before they ever contact us directly. We don’t need to do a hard sell; they’ve seen the images and heard the story. They contact us because they know that we are right for them and, in many cases, know exactly what they want and how we can help them achieve it. A result of this we do not need to spend time that we don’t have responding to tyre-kickers.

The blog helps us to attract like minded clients

It’s Hard to find the Time – But it’s Worth it!

As a photographer, it can be difficult to find the right words to accompany the images; however the overwhelming positive feedback I get from my clients, both current and future, tells me that it is all worth it. Even potential clients love hearing the inside story, so much so that they often feel like they know them and mention them by name when they come in to meet us!

How it Works:

Lizzy C Photography

After we have finished photographing a wedding, we publish a selection of the best images in a story format on the blog as a special sneak preview for the couple, their friends and their family.
As many as a 100 images are carefully selected to both represent our style of photography and to tell the story of the day. I assemble this collection of images and write the accompanying words, which tend to be my thoughts and personal insight into the couple and the wedding itself. This is one job that I don’t feel that I can outsource, because I feel that it’s the personal touch of someone who was there on the day that makes it so effective. (That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to hand it off sometimes; some posts can take a whole day of work to put together!)

We find storyboarding the images in a blog post illustrates to our clients what we do much more effectively than one hero image in a web gallery.

It Helps get the Word Out

I encourage couples to send the blog post to their family and friends. We often receive heartfelt comments from people close to our clients.

The following lovely comment was posted on our blog by a family member:

As Jessie’s aunt living in England viewing these very special photos was as good as being there with all the family and friends for a very unique day. The photos capture a real sense of the day’s fun and beauty with everybody looking happy and relaxed.

It Helps with Sales

When the couple eventually visits my studio for a viewing session to see all the images from their wedding day, the images featured on the blog tend to be their favourites because they’ve had time to develop a connection to them, and because they are usually the images that best capture all the highlights of their special day. As a result, the blog images are often the ones that make it to the wedding album. As an added bonus for us, many wedding suppliers such as venues, florists, caterers, and so on, send the blog post to their client base to showcase their involvement in the wedding. This leads to a strong referral base for our business and has been a big part of our success.

We have found that many of our clients spent time browsing through the weddings featured on our blog before making contact with us. This is good for us, because helps us to attract new clients that are similar to our past clients. (In other words, clients that we enjoy working with!)

Commercial Focus

Our blog for Commercial Focus isn’t actually called a blog anywhere on the site. We refer to it as our featured clients or client showcase to fit with the style of language used throughout the site. In spite of this, it works pretty much the same way as the Lizzy C Photography blog. Potential clients get the opportunity to see what we’ve done for other clients. We typically display multiple images from the same client job, along with a short written brief and feedback from the client, to provide a detailed overview of the shoot and the finished product. Most of our current clients are excited at the idea of being featured on our site. (It certainly doesn’t hurt their brand awareness!)

We encourage clients to visit the “featured client” post throughout the site with thumbnails and descriptions on the front page and the gallery page.

Elizabeth Bull has established and built two successful Melbourne photography brands through her unique shooting style for her wedding and commercial/corporate clients. Connect on with Elizabeth on Facebook and Twitter.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

I Don’t Do any Advertising; All I have is a Blog

Photo by Scott Bourne – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

One of the most enduring themes in art is the concept of harmonious balance. Balance is something the human eye just naturally gravitates to. It’s something that is automatically pleasing to most people.

When you’re composing a shot, look for ways to introduce this concept. It can be done using many of the traditional “rules” of photography such as iteration, repetition, rule of thirds etc.

In the image above, I introduced simple balance into my composition by shooting the two birds perfectly juxtaposed against each other – side-by-side but facing away from each other.

It’s no Pulitzer-prize winning photo, but for the purpose of this brief tutorial, it should give you some ideas on how you might introduce balance into your next image.

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With the comeback of film over the last few years, many digital photographers are questioning whether or not to make the switch.  This is a decision I had to ponder myself as well.  Is it worth adding a Contax 645 to the arsenal and shooting weddings on film?

I would like to present my honest view of film vs. digital within my own field of expertise as a pro digital and hobbyist film photographer.  I own a Nikon D700 plus 2 film cameras, a vintage Nikon FM2 and a Nikon F100 – on these, I have shot both Kodak Portra 400NC and Fujifilm Pro 400H.  I have not had a fabulously great lab develop any of my film work, only a local lab (with mixed results).  I have never shot film for any of my professional work, only my personal projects.  But I am an ardent admirer of a few great pro film photographers and a continuous student of photography – both in the film and digital arenas. 

Film | Nikon FM2 | Nikkor 50mm 1.2 @ f/1.2 | Fujifilm Pro 400H

I realize that there are different camps within the film vs. digital debate.  There is Camp A who only shoot film and claim that you simply can’t reproduce the look, feel and colors of film on any digital camera.  Then there is Camp B who only shoot digital and claim that film simply isn’t worth all the hassle and expense.  Then Camp C who use (or at least tolerate) both, and admit that both formats have strengths and weaknesses.  Speaking in terms of my professional work, I would define myself somewhere between Camp B and C.  After playing around with film a bit myself and studying the work of other photographers, I can definitely acknowledge that film has several advantages over digital – mainly, the dynamic range (or, ability to retain details in highlights and shadows over a wide range of stops), and also the forgiving nature of film when you overexpose it.  It’s very difficult to blow out film even with overexposing by 2-3 stops – and the highlights with film roll off beautifully.  In that regard, you can relax a bit when you’re shooting film (especially if you have a great photo lab to develop and scan it, but that’s another topic altogether.)

Film | Nikon FM2 | Nikkor 50mm 1.2 @ f/1.2 | Kodak Portra 400NC

However, there are weaknesses with film, too.  One is the ongoing expense of the film itself and the time and expense of developing/scanning.  Another is the availability of your favorite film (look what happened to Portra 400NC…)  And you simply can’t take as many images if you have to continuously change rolls of film as you can when you have a 32GB CF card in your camera.  Another disadvantage?  You can’t back up film; if something happens to your rolls between shooting and developing, that makes for a very unhappy photographer – and an even unhappier client.

Then there’s the issue of the lab.  These beautiful colors that many people see in professional photographers’ film work are often simply the result of a very good lab developing their film and applying specific color profiles in the scanning process.  If you cannot afford a good lab or don’t live near one (and are too nervous to mail 50 rolls of film of a client’s wedding), you may find yourself frustrated that you cannot reproduce these results even with the exact same camera, lens and film combination that your favorite pro uses.  

In my opinion, I think digital has only one major weakness when compared to film, and that is dynamic range.  Your digital camera simply will not handle light as well as film does, and the light will not look as soft and even as it does with film.  But I think this problem will improve over time with digital cameras, as newer models with better sensors are developed.  You can already compensate this weakness by shooting in RAW format to maximize the recovery of details in highlights and shadows, and by working on improving yourself technically so that you achieve more consistently precise exposure.  I always shoot in manual/RAW and spot meter, which is a huge help.  I know before I press the shutter if I still have enough details in my highlights and shadows where it’s important to have detail.  This is the result of lots of practice – and I’m still always working on improving my exposure.

Digital | Nikon D700 | Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8 @ f/2.8

Exposing properly, and shooting in RAW, already has you well on your way to better results (and let’s hope that digital camera manufacturers will pay attention and give us better dynamic range in the near future!).  But what about those beautiful filmy colors?

This is where post-processing comes in, and where I personally found my tipping point that made me stick with digital.  

Digital | Nikon D700 | Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8 @ f/2.8

First, it’s important to understand that digital images need to be developed just like film images do.  Many people confuse a film “sooc” for being truly unprocessed, but that is not the case.  Every film image is processed by the lab that develops it, and is color corrected during the scanning process – and sometimes also in the initial developing process (for example, push or pull processing, or cross processing).  Digital images need developing work too, in order to get optimal results.

Digital | Nikon D700 | Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8 @f/2.8

I love the colors and soft, “matte” feel of film.  But for me, it isn’t about the look of any one film – I’m not stuck on replicating one particular set of tones, like the tones in pushed Fujifilm Pro 400H for example (which are indeed beautiful!).  I simply love this overall “filmy” look – the bright, clean colors, the pastels, the soft muted tones, the subdued highlights, the grain – all of it.  And with a bit of post processing, I find that I can replicate or interpret this vision with some of my digital work, where it suits.  It might not look identical to one particular film (although, I can get it pretty close if that’s the goal).  But with a bit of Lightroom or Photoshop I can capture the essence of what I love about the looks of film in general, with my own artistic stamp.  And for me, that’s a very important part of how I express my work – through my post process.  I enjoy having creative control over how I want my colors to look for each individual session that I shoot, rather than handing that control to a lab.

One of the most important steps in post-processing a digital image to replicate film is to carefully control the light and the highlights.  In my normal workflow, I first develop my RAW file in Lightroom, either with a preset or with individual tweaks (such as highlight recovery and exposure correction).  I usually finish my images in Photoshop with actions.  Overall, filmy looks should have lower contrast, reduced saturation, softened and controlled light, subtle creamy highlights, and a matte finish.  If you know your way around Photoshop and can produce these effects, you can put together interesting combinations to give your images a filmy finish.  If you need a hand with achieving those effects, there are a good many professional products that can help.  Many of my own presets and actions are specifically designed to create this look.

If you are interested in how I achieve some of my film-inspired looks for my digital images, I share some of my post-processing recipes on my website, www.rebeccalily.com, under the “Tutorials” section.  

Digital | Nikon D700 | Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8 @ f/2.8

So, what’s the conclusion?  I think that’s up to you.  Film will always have its place in the world of photography, and so will digital.  What you decide for yourself depends upon what’s important to you. 

Or maybe, like me, you’ll find that there is a place for both.

Digital | Nikon D700 | Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8 @ f/2.8

Rebecca Lily is a professional wedding and commercial photographer under Bondshots, which she founded with her husband, Johnny Patience. She is also a designer of Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions, which can be found on her website. Johnny and Rebecca make their home in beautiful West Cork, Ireland.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Film vs. Digital

I guess when you are a wedding photographer with clients to keep, clients to find, shoots to edit and albums to create, it’s easy to take the art of photography for granted. This trip I forced myself to slow down and just enjoy being a photographer again.

I wanted to share some of these lessons with you:

1. Sometimes you have to watch and wait for the perfect opportunities

Sunset at the Eiffel Tower is beautiful. But it wasn’t until we were walking away that I turned back after the sun went down and saw the exquisite dark clouds creating a gorgeous canvas for the Tower lights.

2. The great moments in life are the ones worth shutting off the noise

Visiting the Castle at Angers, my friends and I went from room to room finding beauty. When inside this chapel, I sat down on the floor as the others walked away. I knew I wanted to capture the stunning stained glass windows as the colors fell on the wall. I couldn’t create this shot until everyone was gone.

3. Every day scenes are inspiring

The grandiose isn’t always the most inspiring. Sometimes being a photographer is more about showing others something they have always seen before- but in a new way.

4. Away from the chaos, you remember the things you truly enjoy

Many individuals check out the sites that are “famous”. But surrounding these places are lovely little settings like this bench scene. I am in love with benches, and was inspired by this quiet scene away from the noise.

5. Be ready for the unexpected – and don’t be too busy to seize it

I was photographing this sunset on the Cliffs of Dover with limited time to catch the last train out. The longer we waited, the less time we had to run back a couple miles to the station. But the longer we waited, the more the sunset intensified. I have to admit, we never expected the explosion of color that occurred here.

6. Life itself is an art; sometimes we just need to be reminded of this

In Oxford everywhere you look is a photograph. But I realize that I’m also deliberately looking for photographs when I’m in the unfamiliar. I was walking along the Oxford canal behind this woman, and was inspired by the setting – she is just along her every day path in the middle of beauty. I love this shot for that reason.

7. There is wonder all around us waiting to be captured

I visited many churches during my trip. This is one of my absolute favorite photos from my trip. In the middle of a large church, with grandiose scenes, is this little room tucked away from plain sight. There is so much wonder in this setting and it draws me in again every time I look at this photo.

Ultimately my lessons through this journey come back to one thing: Being an artist takes intentionality. Invest yourself and your heart in creating, and there is no limit to the beauty and inspiration you can capture…

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

7 Photographic Lessons Learned Traveling through Europe

Charis Wilson – Photo by Edward Weston – Public Domain

This is the third in my “Photographers That You Should Know About” series - the first was Lange, the second was Strand.

His work spanned nearly six decades and he was primarily known for shooting landscapes and natural forms such as shells and rocks. His work often received attention from Ansel Adams who said Weston was one of the “few creative artists.”

His photography world included a successful portrait studio in California but his work really took shape when he started shooting simple forms, landscapes and nudes. He also photographed for the WPA and was the first photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1937.

One of the things I particularly admire about Mr. Weston is the fact that he battled Parkinson’s disease but still tried to make compelling images. I have had recent medical challenges of my own so I understand just how big an impact illness can have on your desire to make serious photographs. In Mr. Weston’s case, it did eventually stop him from making images, but his sons Brett and Cole went on to be very successful photographers in their own right and helped to protect the legacy of their father.

Some of his best work was done at Point Lobos, Ca. He also made amazing images of one of his muses – Charis Wilson.

To give you another reason to research the work of Mr. Weston, read one of his more famous quotes and one that has always intrigued me.

“Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual. Edward Weston”

I have no doubt that a serious study of Edward Weston’s photography will help improve your own.

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A Guest Post by Michael Agliolo.

• Lens: Tamron 18-200mm zoom F/3.5-6.3 lll VC – model B011
• Review Camera body: Sony A Nex 5k – Digital Camera

Got a chance to take a test drive with the new Tamron 18-200mm zoom F/3.5-6.3 lll VC – model B011 Lens.

I like to think in terms of 35mm equivalent when shooting with these format cameras, so this, all in one, zoom lens plays out at from wide angle 27mm to telephoto 300mm. With that in mind I was surprised as to how compact and light this lens felt. Weighed about the same as an orange (1 lb). The zoom action was smooth with a nice tight feel, no extra movement, very precise. You’ve got a pretty fast telephoto lens at f/3.5 in the wide mode, and with the VC (Vibration Compensation) built in, I decided to do all my testing hand held. I shot everything in high res jpeg. All images are straight out of the camera with no Photoshop adjustments.

I had a bright sunny morning with the sun at about 45 degrees. Blue skies with the temperature in the 40’s. I wanted to test this lens under difficult lighting situations, with strong highlights right next to deep shadows. This is where a lens shows its “stuff”.

I wanted to see if this lens could hold detail in both extreme lighting areas in the same exposure. I got everything packed up in my car and started heading for a location to do the testing…… as I’m pulling out of my driveway I notice my home address sign with light coming through the trees lit exactly like what I was looking for. So I never made it off of my property. There’s a good photo lesson there about “seeing photographically”, but that’s for another time.

Take a look at this image (#1).

You can see it has all of the elements that are a true test of a lens’ capability. There are deep blacks in direct sunlight as well as in deep shade, and at the same time bright whites in both lighting conditions and all of it with lots of texture for detail comparison.

These images do the talking. Picture #2 is a zoomed crop at 200%, in an area that contains deep shadows and bright highlights, again with a textured surface.

This is a tough one for any lens. You can see good detail in every area.

I then wanted to test the quality of the lens zoomed in at maximum, and zoomed out at its widest angle. I moved closer and further back to keep the image the same size for quality test at both ends of the lens’ zoom capability. Again the shadows and highlight details were excellent.

I am impressed by the results. We’ve got good detail in all of the areas in both bright sunlight and deep shade. I shot this in the jpeg setting. With these results I doubt that I would have made any adjustments if I had shot this image in RAW.

The lens, on auto focus, is fast and quiet The lens has the capability of manual focus, but since there is no viewfinder on this camera it would be tough to do critical focus just through the LCD viewer.

The lens macro capabilities were impressive. Here is a shot of an almond blossom.

I was standing three feet away from the flower and zoomed in all the way. Check out the detail of the white flower petal in direct sunlight.

This lens, for the Sony mirror-less interchangeable camera, is perfectly suited for anyone wanting a compact, lightweight, high quality zoom lens for just about any photo situation.

Get a price on the Tamron 18-200mm Zoom F/3.5-6.3 lll VC at Amazon for the following brands of cameras:

• for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
• for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
• for Konica Minolta and Sony Digital SLR Cameras

About the Author: Michael Agliolo Photographer, Mike Agliolo Productions, www.agliolo.com COO for StudentStock.com.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Tamron 18-200mm Zoom F/3.5-6.3 lll VC REVIEW

Photo by Scott Bourne – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

As a photographer, I struggle with being creative. All my life I’ve been good at the technical side of the transaction, but never felt like I was truly creative. I realized that most creative people fall into one of two camps.

1. Those who are natively, organically wired as creatives. I’m not in that bunch but I do envy them.

2. Those who are good at “connecting” ideas in order to become creative. That’s me. I connect things well.

Here are some examples. I started studying Ansel Adams’ work in the mid 90s. I mean really study it as in I wrote a masters-level thesis about him. During that process I started connecting why his photos worked. There were many reasons but a couple that popped out quickly were his willingness to isolate the background from the rest of the scene and/or his willingness to add depth to a scene by including a strong, close, foreground object – relative to the background.

I then started looking at paintings, movies, television shows, etc. I started connecting the fact that the background played as important a role as the foreground or the subject. Hence, years later I began to get more creative in my use of backgrounds to isolate subjects.

This is a very hard topic to explain, and I don’t know if this makes any sense to anyone but me, but I wanted to share it just in case. Creativity can be nothing more than a series of connections and the application of those connections to a photograph.

These days, when teaching a field workshop you might hear me say 100 times “background, background, background.” That’s me trying to get you to think differently about the background because for me, that started a whole new phase in my career. Something as simple as connecting the importance of the background to the rest of the shot eventually helped me develop the simple wildlife portrait style that has served me well.

I hope this helps. I thought trying to break down the thought process I used to get there might make it easier to understand.

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Burning and dodging are two darkroom techniques used when printing a picture. A negative is placed in a projector and then pointed at a piece of photo paper (much like a slide projector projects an image on a screen). That photo paper is not like the paper you might be used to printing on at home now. It is light sensitive, just like film, and that is the whole reason for creating a darkroom; to control the amount of light hitting the paper which will expose it.

Now then, light from the projector passes through the negative and then hits the paper. The timing of the light exposure is controlled to certain tolerances just as the original exposure of the scene onto the negative was controlled. Light hits the negative evenly and then hits the paper evenly. This works well if the scene is even balanced. But what if there are areas that need to be lighter or darker? That’s where burning and dodging come in and they are simple.

The key to these terms and understanding them is to remember that the paper is white. Dodging is the process of covering over part of the light hitting the paper, creating a shadowed area that does not receive the same light exposure as the rest of the scene. Because this decreases the amount of light hitting the paper (remember; light hitting the paper = darker exposure), it lets more of the white paper show through, effectively lightening the image in that area. Burning is the opposite, it is only allowing light into one area of the image to increase the exposure time in that region and create a darker image for that area.

Both employ various methods of covering, from simply using a hand or piece of paper to creating custom templates. Further, the edge of the dodge or burn can be softened by moving the covering slightly as the paper is exposed.

All of this allows a photographer to create different exposures throughout one frame, which can more closely mimic the scene as it was when shot, or to use artistic expression to alter an image to one’s liking.

Now then, how can you use these techniques for your own gain in the modern age?

I’m going to show these techniques in use on Adobe Lightroom but they can be practiced on any program which allows for selective masking and exposure changes.

First, the image from a recent review of a Sigma 50-500mm lens (click on any image for a larger version).

The shot was taken with an iPhone and exposed for the lens with gray, overcast skies. I want to highlight the lens and diminish the background. The first thing I do is choose the Adjustment Brush and the Burn feature as such:

For this photo, the Burn setting is not dark enough for me, to be honest. I take the Exposure for this mask to -1.17 and this is the result:

The camera and lens are now darker, helping them stand out better against the background. I now want to do the opposite with the background. I want to dodge it to lighten it, further highlighting the lens. I start by painting a mask of the background:

Again, the Dodge is not to my liking and I instead change the exposure for this mask to be lighter.

With these masks, I can also change contrast or brightness (done away with in Lightroom 4) to further highlight my subject if I liked. In this example I am keeping things simple.

The result is slight, but can be more dramatic if need be.

Before:

After:

Burning and Dodging have been around as long as making prints has been an art form where the photographer wished more control over their medium. The techniques are still highly relevant in today’s modern, digital era and I now hope you have a better understanding of where the terms came from and how best to use them.

Thank you for reading.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

What Are Burning And Dodging And How They Can Help Your Photos

However, there is a world of difference between being able to take decent photos and getting really outstanding shots. Here are a few tips to help you make the best of your underwater photography:

1) Macro shots are by far the easiest to get right

Taking closeups makes lighting easier and reduces the effects of water that isn’t 100% clear. Shooting through a lot of water will tend to wash out colors even if it looks pretty clear to the naked eye, so the less water there is between the camera lens and the subject, the more vivid the images will be.

2) If you don’t have to use a flash, don’t

Although a flash can be used restore washed-out colors, artificial lighting is hard to get right underwater. First among the problems is backscatter. Light from the flash bounces off tiny particles suspended in the water and comes back to hit the lens, and shows up as a sprinkling of white dots across the image. You might be able to get rid of backscatter in the editing phase but it’s never easy and it’s best avoided. Sometimes natural lighting is all you need.

3) If you do have to use a flash, pay careful attention to angles

A flash coming from off to one side or above your camera will mean that reflected light bounces away from your lens rather than coming right back at it. In this way, you can eliminate backscatter by moving from an internal flash to an external strobe.

Most pros recommend using two external strobes, one on each side of the camera. Aim them both so that the edges of the beams just hit the subject rather focussing on it.

4) Side lighting can also bring out textures

This tip is particularly good for corals, which tend to be richly textured. Either extend your flash as far to one side as possible or get a buddy to help you out and hold your light source a few feet away. Experiment with the angles and you should be able to get all kinds of interesting shadow effects.

5) Check your setup on the surface

From time to time every photographer runs out of power or memory space. Usually that means nothing more than switching to a spare battery or putting in a new SD card, but when you’re shooting underwater, it’s impossible to do either without going back to dry land and towelling off. A 30 second check before you get wet could save an irritating half hour later.

Jess Spate is a scuba diver, a surfer, and an underwater photography enthusiast. She writes for Mozaik Underwater Cameras.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Introduction to Taking Great Underwater Photos