How to HDR-

To create an HDR photo- You must bracket shots with minimum or zero movement between them. This means using a tripod and either a IR or cable release.
1.Set your ISO to the lowest possible (if you take my workshop you know that)
2.Set for a series of shots, three or more per second
3.Turn on Image stabilization
4.Set your camera to bracket exposures by 1 stop
5.With the camera stable and ZERO movement, take anywhere between 3 to 7 shots
6.Open the images in what ever software you use, PS, GIMP (File>automate>Merge to HDR) and blend the images

For superior results, shoot at lower sensitivities, shoot in raw, make 7 or more bracketing exposures.

Above all use a tripod, use either cable release or IR release.

Light

Being Selective - What makes a great photograph is not a great subject, its great lighting. No matter how interesting or spectacular the subject might be, you wont get a good picture with out decent lighting.

Light is the biggest difference between a typical tourist picture and a photo that make you say WOW ! The tourist usually shoots the scene in whatever light is available at the time. Where a Pro has the patience and perseverance to wait for the light to be right, sometimes returning to the location repeatedly in search of the best light -

Diopter ? What ? Huh ? --

This question came up in a recent class. Most people never realized this was a setting they could change. Some just assumed to set it at zero. Some said they always wondered, but were afraid to ask. Some thought that it was too obvious to ask.

The diopter control helps you focus on the viewfinder in the camera. If you wear eyeglasses you are probably familiar with the term diopter.

So...,what is it and how do you adjust it correctly ?

When asked the first thought is to look through the viewfinder and try to adjust it so that the image in the finder looks its best. You would be wrong if that's what you tried.

Remember, what you are want to do is adjust the dial so that the items in the viewfinder (the lines or squares) look clearest. Do NOT focus on the image you are pointing the camera at. Put the lens in manual focus mode, (you all should know how to do that, if you have taken my Basic Class) then point the camera at a plain white wall, turn the focus ring and make the image completely out of focus. Now you can concentrate on the view finder and the small lines. Look closely, does it have a circle on it? Or small boxes to show the autofocus points?

Rotate or slide your diopter control all the way at one end of its range. Look at those etchings on the screen and slowly move the dial until the screen is sharply focused. There might be one or two settings that look good. It's kinda like going to the eye doctors where the doctor asks #1 or #2... #2 or #3...? Which looks better? There might be a big difference. There might be very little difference. Pick the one that looks the best.

Setting the diopter will not affect autofocus. But it will affect manual focusing. If set wrong, an in focus image will look out of focus in the viewfinder.

I hope this helps you "see" what your shooting -

Winter Shots

Winter is the season when the snow covers the land in a blanket of white, turning ordinary surroundings into something more picturesque. During this time, people whip out their cameras and take a lot of photos. However, it is also a time of cold and sometimes freezing temperature, which adds to the challenge when taking pictures of winter scenes.
Here are some useful tips to remember when shooting winter scenes:

Make exposure adjustments – winter scenes are tricky to shoot because shots can easily be underexposed if the camera settings are not properly adjusted. The camera meter, which computes for the middle gray in the scene to balance exposure, will detect a lot of white areas instead and consider it a “wrong” exposure. It will then compensate by underexposing the shot. You could end up with lots of photos of dull gray winter scenes. To avoid this, you can also manually adjust the exposure settings if your camera has that capability.

Shoot lots of family photos – children have the most fun with snow as the world around them becomes a giant winter playground. Spend some quality time with your family while shooting loads of pictures of everyone having fun. The distant snow-covered trees and bushes can become a fantastic background while your children play in the snow. You can also go closer and capture great portrait shots that show their faces all aglow and grinning with joy.


Stay safe from danger – in your excitement to shoot the pretty and magical winter scenes off the beaten path, you might forget that the area where you are in may not be safe. Snow can hide sharp thorns, gnarled roots, holes, and jagged rocks which you might trip on. It would be best not to walk on unfamiliar ground.


Protect your gear from the cold –condensation can occur with sudden changes in temperature. Avoid moisture from damaging your camera by letting it adjust to the temperature change before using it. Placing it in a camera bag will help insulate it while not in use. If you are hiking to shoot some nature winter scenes, sling your camera strap around your neck and do not carry a lot of equipment. If you trip and fall, not only will you stand the risk of getting injured, but your gear might also be damaged.
Capture the mood – winter scenes often give off a distinct mood or atmosphere, especially when there is the presence of snow and mist. Snow can make the scenery look stark, clean, or bleak while mist exudes mystery, melancholy, or suspense.
Bring spare batteries – batteries drain faster in the cold weather. Be sure to have extra batteries in case the ones you are using drain out while you are in the middle of taking pictures.


CLICK here to signup for my newsletter with more information:

White Balance-What is it ?

White balance (WB) is considered by some, as one of the most important settings of a digital camera. Consider a scenario where you wish to capture a mountain lake along with the shore and you have an overcast sky as the background. If you don’t use the correct white balance setting on your digital camera, you will get a picture with colors different from the actual ones. So in order to produce a perfectly exposed image with true to life colors, you must learn to effectively use the white balance setting of your digital camera.

---

To understand the concept of White Balance, you need to first understand the concept of color temperature. Color temperature is a characteristic of visible light. It provides a method of describing these characteristics and is measured in Kelvin (K). A light having higher color temperature will have more blue light or larger Kelvin value as compared to lower light, which has a smaller Kelvin value. The following table shows the color temperature of various sources of light.

---

Why Change your White Balance ?

Because there are different sources of light that have different color hues, a picture taken with a normal white balance under artificial lighting conditions transmits the low heat to the camera’s sensor. This light touches the red bits of the spectrum, which results into dull yellow or orange shades in the picture. Though the human eyes can automatically adjust to different lights and color temperatures to sense right color, a camera needs to be adjusted to different lights for accurate color reproduction. By adjusting the white balance setting of your digital camera, you can alter the required light or temperature to produce the most accurate colors in a digital image.

---

Preset White Balance settings and there meanings

Auto – The Auto setting helps in adjusting the white balance automatically according to the different lighting conditions, but you can try other modes to get better results.

Tungsten – This mode is used for light under a little bulb like tungsten, and it is often used while shooting indoors. The tungsten setting of the digital camera cools down the color temperature in photos.

Fluorescent – This mode is used for getting brighter and warmer shots while compensating for cool shade of fluorescent light.

Flash – The flash mode is required when there is inadequate lighting available. This mode helps pick the right White Balance under low light conditions.

Daylight – This mode is for the normal day light setting, while shooting outdoors. Many cameras do not have the Daylight mode.

Shade – A shaded location generally produces cooler or bluer pictures, hence you need to warm up the surroundings while shooting shaded objects.

Cloudy – This mode is ideal for while shooting on a cloudy day. This is because it warms up the subject and surroundings and allows you to capture better shots.

---

I hope this helps you to acheive the perfect color balance in your next photos.

Right Place at the Right Time

Photography is all about being at the right place at the right time-

You have to wait sometimes for the light to be just right
Sometimes you will wait for just the right expression,
There will be times when you wait for the herd to pass in front of you -

Remember, sometimes to get the perfect shot you might wait -

Now "Hurry up and Wait"

Happy New Year

If you going to be shooting fireworks this New Years Eve there are few things you must keep in mind -

---

1. Tripods are mandatory - Because you will be shooting with very slow shutter speeds. Usually in the 3 to 4 second range. Your goal is to capture the light trails once the pyrotechnic has exploded. Its gonna be dark so make sure your ISO is correct, make sure you check your white balance.

2. Some distance is your friend with these shots - Too close and you wont be able to tell what your shooting, too far and it will be just points of light - You must know your subject, if your not sure where the fireworks will be, ask some of your party friends maybe they will know -

3. Because you will have some distance, this is the time to use your long lenses. Alot of you come to my classes and ask what can I use my long lens for. Well this is the time to dust it off ! But remember the longer your lens is the darker the shots will be.... Open up those apertures, smaller numbers mean bigger openings mean more light.

4. Remember these shows are only a few minutes long. Get to your location early, and get set up. Try some test shots to make sure your camera is set up properly. Once the show starts you only have a few minutes to make any adjustments, so be ready.

5. This is one of those time when you really need either a cable release or a rf shutter release. Because of the long shutter times any shaking of your camera will result in blurry shots.

I hope these quick tips will help you to capture some festive shots on New Years -

Happy New Year
May you capture some amazing shots in 2012

Peace -

Vist Cold Creek Studios

---

---