Lighting 101

Blog Entry 4 (Flash Photography)


Project Outline
This portfolio will focus exclusively on flash photography and will include: strobe, speedlight, head, body foot, shoe, contact points, sync, electrical trigger, optical trigger, radio trigger, PC connections, sync cord, light stand, umbrella, adapter, male stud, flash shoe, diffuse light, reflect light, block light, filter light, snoot, grid, gel, flag, cutter, cookie, cucoloris and gobo.

There will be examples of: On-camera bare flash, off-camera bare flash, off-camera bare flash with reflector, diffused flash, snoot, grid, flag, cookie, gel and multiple flashes. 


Class and Research Notes

Flash = strobe = Speedlight

Speedlight is a brand name.

There are electrical contact points at the foot for trigger circuit contacts. The head can swivel and contains the light. The body contains all the electrical components as well as the battery compartment.

Nikon and Canon have different configurations, so you can’t put a Nikon flash on a Canon camera. The configurations are in the trigger configurations.

The top of a camera has the same configuration as its light. It’s called the hot shoe, which the foot of the flash goes on to. The big contact point is the actual trigger point. Light meters can be used to measure the amount of light.

You need to synchronise the flash and the camera. The process is sync, controlling the flash. There are electrical, optical and radio methods of communication between the flash and the camera for synchronisation.

PC sync chords can be used so that you don’t need to have the flash on the camera. The idea is that you don’t really want the light coming in the same angle as the lens will capture the image. You could use this for putting different angles of light like for portraiture or others. This is an electronic sync. You could need a hot shoe to PC adaptor if your camera doesn’t have a chord entrance.

Optical trigger uses a flash of light to set it off. There’s almost no delay so it doesn’t really matter and is very sensitive as well so you could have multiple optically triggered flashes.

Remote triggered flash is the most expensive one. A transmitter mounted to a camera sends a signal to a flash elsewhere and triggers it to flash. It doesn’t need an optical line of sight. You could put the remotely triggered flash anywhere and not be in the line of sight of the flashes and still set it off while you take photos. Works up to about 100 feet away.

Now, mounting flashes.

You need a stand.

Parts: flash shoe, male stud, stud bolt, etc…

The umbrella stand is needed. It’s called a lighting umbrella, used to diffuse light. A white one creates a nice defused light. A black one is a reflected type of umbrella that reflects the light back at the subject. The inside is silver. This is where we become fussy with the swivel of the umbrella stand.

The smaller the light source, the harder the light is. The bigger the light source, the softer the light would be. This is relative because the further away the light source is, the harder the light is. The closer, the softer. This all depends on perspective because the closer the light source is to the subject, the bigger it is relatively to the subject.

A snoot can be quite expensive. It creates a tunnel that restricts the light. To further restrict light with a snoot, you can paint or tape the inside edge of the snoot black. A grid does the same with a structure similar to honeycombs. They force light to go in a very straight line.

Gels are placed over the flash to change the colour of the flash. You can use them to create special effects or contrasting colours. You could even use an orange one to make any picture you take look like a sunset picture.

Flash photography is not rocket science. It’s rocket art. It’s not easy, but it’s an art form. You can do almost anything you want with them.

Flags are used for blocking light. They can be used to take away flare. Big ones used in studios are called cutters. Barn doors are also used (can open and close in all directions).

The cookie, or cucoloris, can be used to change lights to be textured or patterned and also cast a shadow on the subject.

strobist.blogspot.com

“Lighting 101”

Flash Photography Vocabulary

Strobe, Speedlight, Head, Body Foot, Shoe, Contact Points, Sync, Electrical Trigger, Optical Trigger, Radio Trigger, PC Connection, Sync Cord, Light Stand, Umbrella, Adapter, Male Stud, Flash Shoe, Umbrellas, Diffuse Light, Reflect Light, Block Light, Filter Light, Snoot, Grid, Gel, Flag, Cutter, Cookie, Cucoloris, Gobo

Aperture controls the flash light. Shutter speed controls the ambient light. The flash light’s intensity can be controlled not only by aperture, but also by dialling down the flash intensity. Each dial is exactly one stop with the aperture. How far away is extremely important in the flash intensity as well. Distance changes the relative size of your flash and the intensity.

Shutter speed

Aperture

Reflect light

Distance

Move it closer

Diffusor

Reflect light

The following are images that I took to explore the basics of flash photography and its various elements.

 On-Camera Bare Flash

This was a simple shot. All that was required was that the flash was attached on top of the camera and a simple straight on image was shot, producing this rather dull and flat image.

 Off-Camera Bare Flash

Similar to the previous shot, this was very simple. The difference was that the flash was removed from the top of the camera and a radio trigger was attached so that the flash could be held to the side while the image was shot. The flash was held to the right of the camera at an angle, producing the angular shadows in this image.

 Off-Camera Bare Flash With Reflector

This shot was done by having an unattached flash pointing at a reflector umbrella which then bounced the light back at the camera. It diffused the light somewhat and the light is not as strong as direct light at the same intensity.

 Diffused Flash

This shot was done by using a diffusion umbrella (white umbrella) and putting the flash behind the umbrella so that the light emanating from the flash diffuses over the surface area of the entire umbrella and is softened as a result. The result is an image with relatively soft light which is spread out and not as intense.

 Snoot

The snoot in this image was used to direct the light more, and the shadow behind the camera turned out sharper than with normal flash or diffused flash.

 Grid

The grid in this image produced a very concentrated and low flash of light and resulted in quite a bit of darkness in the majority of the image.

 Flag

With the flag, the light was basically blocked from hitting one side of the image and was instead focused on the opposing half. This resulted in the dark left and bright right.

 Cookie

Also called a cucoloris or gobo, the cookie created texture shadows in the flash in this image. This particular image made use of a basket case as the cookie through which the flash would be shined.

 Gel

Gels are more or less used to affect the temperature or tint of the image and in this case, an orange gel was used and it resulted in a particularly warm image, as if it were sunset (although the shadows are too hard to really get the sunset feel).

Multiple Flashes

This is quite self-explanatory and simply made use of multiple flashes from multiple angels to light up every bit of the image. This resulted in the blown out image above.

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The following preliminary notes are from strobist.blogspot.com

Lighting 101

Intimidated by the idea of off-camera lighting? 
Don't be.
We are pretty much starting from scratch, so no worries. The first posts will be about what kind of gear you will need to do the minimalist strobe thing. 
When we are done having our way with your wallet (remembering that light gives you far more bang-for-the-buck than does fast glass or the latest digital camera or 300/2.8) we'll move into basic technique. And after that, we'll keep it going with periodical essays and ideas on how to improve (or refresh) your lighting ability.
When you've worked your way through the basics of designing your light kit and learning how to use it, make a point to browse some of the examples in the "On Assignment" section. Those will be updated constantly, too. So keep checking back.
You will likely have some questions along the way. Sadly, it is not possible for me to take the time to personally answer all of the one-to-one lighting questions that pop up. So try to resist asking them in the comments section. The only people reading this behind you are the people who are, well, behind you. 
You will find the one-to-one knowledge bank you seek in the Strobist Group on Flickr. There, you can ask away and get the diversity of response that you need. These are the lighting grad students, so to speak. They know this stuff, and are very enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge. 
But please do your part and be considerate enough to search the Flickr group threads for relevant keywords in your question first. You are probably not the first person to ask. Or the tenth. Just sayin'.
Most of all, remember to have fun and learn to make some cool light.

This introduction links to a series of sites on specific flash photography information. The links are:

Two Things Your Flash Needs to Have

Traveling Light
Light Stands
Super Clamps
Ball Bungees
Umbrella Stand Adapters
Synching: PC Cords and Pocket Wizards
Building a Pro PC Cord, Pt. 1
Building a Pro PC Cord, Pt. 2
Soft Light: Umbrellas
Soft Light - Wall/Ceiling Bouncing
Bare-Tube Style Lighting
Hard Light - It's Better Than You Think
Balancing Flash Intensity With Ambient, Pt 1
Balancing Flash Intensity With Ambient, Pt 2
Using Gels to Balance Light Color
Cereal Box Snoots and GoBo's
Textural Lighting for Detail Shots
Cross Lighting
Back Light as Main Light
Headshot in a Corner
Lighting for Glasses
Long-Throw Hard Light
Reverse Engineering Other Shooters' Light
Know The Flash
See The Flash
Be The Flash
Don't Let Good Light Ruin a Photo
Keep a Lighting File

Here is an example of professional photography utilising flash (it is fashion photography):

This image was shot by Bill Cunningham. The light illuminates the bottom of her face, her arms and chest, but the background is mostly left alone. The bracelet is blown out in a strip, so there should be some kind of direct light coming at the model. A speck of light is seen reflected in each of the beads of the necklace. This, I feel, is a very good example of the extent to which flash can be used in professional photography.

Contact Sheet
This contact sheet is the simple container for all classwork on flash photography, distinguishing between one type of flash and another.

This contact sheet contains original prints from my photoshoot of my chosen model for flash photography. The photoshoot was done with her express approval and knowledge of what it would entail. The name is not disclosed. The first images are pre-shoot test shots to get the exposure right for the shoot and set a good background for the artificially lighted subject.

Final Selection

The following shot is my final selection. It comes from my photoshoot.

Whilst I am satisfied with the result, I believe there are improvements that could have been made. The hairlight, for example, was positioned incorrectly and ultimately not incorporated into the image. Otherwise, I am happy despite the rather plain background. My outdoor shots did not turn out as good as they should have, thus their exclusion from my final selection. There are still highlights and I feel that the reflection in the model's eyes are especially attractive in this image.

Description of Learning

I learnt a lot about flash photography in this unit although there was a special focus on shooting models and using studio techniques or big flash techniques to control the environment. I spent quite a large amount of time with Mr Tahan trying to fully understand the techniques associated with model shooting and environmental control. It was quite a fun experience and the photoshoot I did with my model was great and the 45 minutes that I spent doing it passed by quite quickly. I am still a bit disappointed with my failure at hairlights, though.

Development Options

As I've now discovered that flash photography is great fun and the ability to manipulate the environment with only light controls, I think I'd like to for my independent work, go into shooting more people with either studio techniques or outdoor techniques and especially pursue some kind of mastery of getting the hairlight to work properly without producing at the same time, refraction, flare or glare in the shot.

Blog Entry 3 (Chosen Theme)


Project Outline
Class Notes
Researched Notes and Images
Contact Sheet
Final Selection
Description of Learning
Development Options

Blog Entry 2 (Depth of Field and Motion)


Project Outline:
This project was assigned with focus on depth of field and motion. For this project, I undertook attempts to capture and shoot images that follow the central focuses.

The material that will be included in this entry's notes are: composition and what makes good composition, the potential distractions and attractions of an image, focused on base material on depth of field and movement.

Class Notes:
Depth of Field
Depth of field controls how much of an image is in focus (or acceptably in focus). The definition is the amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear acceptably sharp in an image. The keyword here is "acceptably", because although a small aperture may create a deep depth of field, there is still in reality only one point in the image that is sharp and the others are only close to it. The things that affect the depth of field of an image are: aperture, focal length and the distance from the subject. It's commonly used to create interesting compositions, mainly with macros. A commonly held belief is that when an image doesn't look that great, get closer - and this is where depth of field becomes useful.

A large aperture creates a shallow depth of field. This type of depth of field is normally used when the photographer is trying to focus exclusively on one subject in the image and blur everything else so there are less distractions. It could, for example, be used for picking out a single person in a crowd and blurring out the rest. A small aperture creates a deep depth of field. This type of depth of field is typically used when the photographer wants most or all of the image in focus. A common application of deep depth of field is landscape photography. There are some problems, however, because a small aperture means less light is being let in. The result may be that a photographer is forced to up either the ISO or slow down the shutter speed. Upping the ISO means grainier images (especially undesirable when blowing up large landscape photography) while slowing the shutter speed sometimes means unwanted blur. A tripod is almost necessary for this type of photography.

There is something we call the Reciprocal Rule which helps us keep things in focus with the right amount of light. The deeper end of acceptable focus after the point of focus is behind the focal point at 2/3 whereas there is roughly 1/3 in acceptable focus in front of the focal point.

Motion
Motion in photography is an area that allows for the feeling of movement in an image. Although there is obviously nothing moving in an image, the flow or direction of subjects or composition in an image can make it feel like there is something moving. Whereas most images appear static, images can do this. Photography that incorporates movement typically utilises slow shutter speed, such as with water or some object moving with a trail behind it. On the other hand, a fast shutter speed can still produce an image that incorporates movement. This type of movement, however, is different - it relies on direction and gravity more than the flow or trailing of composition.

Certain techniques for motion in photography are: panning - rotary panning and radial panning. It is of note that these techniques are impossible in bright light because the slow shutter speed required for them will produce an overexposed image. An alternative is to use a filter that neutralises the exposure. In rotary panning, a very common technique for sports or fast moving objects, the camera is turned while focused on one subject in the centre. Everything else becomes a blur whereas the centred subject stays relatively in focus. It is near impossible to do this without keeping the subject in the centre because it becomes too difficult to keep the subject in focus anywhere else. In radial panning, the camera can be zoomed in or out during capture or alternatively by walking to or from the subject. It creates a sort of ring, zooming effect in the image. This technique is not as common as rotary panning.

Researched Notes and Images:
For this, I used the exemplar to reach a site that calculates the near, far and total distance of focus in depth of field. The site URL is: http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

There is also a Wikipedia page that gives a nice broad, general explanation and information on depth of field. It's a given though that, since it's a Wikipedia source, it should be taken with a grain of salt. The site URL is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

Here is a beginner's guide on using motion in photography: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/a-beginners-to-capturing-motion-in-your-photography (I also found the moving headlights image, the last of the 4 following images, from this site)

The following are images I found to represent each compositional feature.

This image incorporates depth of field. As with all portrait photography (admittedly this is animal portraiture), the eye is the focal point. From there, the near and far limit of acceptable focus will typically include the face and the features. This image is a good demonstration of that. The focus is so that towards the back, the feathers lose focus and by the time the background is reached, it is completely out of focus. This focuses the viewer onto the owl itself, the clarity and vibrance of its eyes and its general facial/feather features.

On the opposite hand, this image demonstrates a deep depth of field for scenic/industrial photography. At the same time, there is also evidence of slow shutter speed as shown with the car headlights on the bridge. This image is a good demonstration of all the features associated with deep depth of field. Because there is not enough light when using a small aperture for deep depth of field, the shutter speed was slowed and as a result the headlights became blurred into lines. This, of course, doesn't actually detract from the image and actually adds to its allure. Meanwhile, the entire image is in acceptable focus as well and the focal point is likely one of the closer ships or the first arch on the bridge - an inference from the 2/3 behind and 1/3 in front focal rule.

This image illustrates the effect that a slow shutter speed has. It creates, like the image above and the image below, a trail that we can see as movement. It is the result of the light of the object that used to be there and then the tracking trail of light as the object moved through the plane of the image. These two dice a simple demonstration and don't hold too much value as pieces of art, but are quite effective. It may even potentially link into flash photography because the dice are in focus where the trail ends - a trait of end-sync flash photography. I'm not particularly fond of this image, though, and I would not deign to hang this up. Anyways, despite its lack of artistic or aesthetic value, it's a good demonstration of basic motion photography.

This image uses just as the two above images a slow shutter speed to create motion. The lines of light originate from car headlights. The result is the trail of light, although in this case, there is no flash and no trace of car, but the lights are there because they hold a much higher intensity of light than the cars, which move by quickly and leave little trace of light. Notice that the rest of the background is in focus.

Contact Sheet:

In this contact sheet are my attempts at shooting images using depth of field as the focus on compositional change. This set of shoots was done over a course of 3 hours, setting up and inking a rose black and then sprinkling the ink over music sheets. Images were taken every 15 or so minutes, to determine if the level of shine had gone down enough or if the image looked better a certain way. In the end, the best images were those of a dry rose but with wet and fresh droplets of ink on the music. Many of the changes in rose position were a result of slight camera movement, different levels of zoom and focus adjustments.

In this contact sheet are my attempts at shooting images using movement as the major compositional change. This set of images was taken over a course of about an hour, although there aren't many images to show for it. For all of these, I focused on using long exposure times - up to 6 seconds of exposure. In the end, the lack of a stable surface to anchor my camera to forced me to give up on using too long an exposure. Even now, there is a slight overlapping of background (unintentional) with the quicker exposure times. I am satisfied with my variety of traffic shots, however.

Final Selection:
These are my final selections. There are two for depth of field and one for motion.

This selection is my proudest image. I took over 2 hours to prepare this setting, inking a rose black, setting up music sheets and sprinkling black ink over them. I had no tripod, and had to rest the camera on top of a surface that could still move (and was placed on a carpet, so there was actually a degree of compression and extra movement). Still yet, after shooting and deciding better of it, my end result is this after post-processing. The image is different from those in the contact sheet, mostly because the blacks and the contrast have been enhanced greatly. There is little to no detail left in the rose itself, and is more silhouetted than textured. The bubbles of ink still sparkle, which I found quite nice. This image I first settled with naming Melancholy Melody, although I eventually settled on The Transcendentalism of Suffering, as a reference to the hardships that people have to face in life. The failures, trials and successes - I believe this image speaks to all of them.

This selection was based on showing deep depth of field. I don't like it as much as my other images, but it's a good example of deep depth of field where basically everything in the image is in acceptable focus. In this image, I made the focal point the mounds of dirt in the foreground. This decision was based on the 2/3 behind and 1/3 in front rule for small apertures.

This selection was one of my motion images. It was taken at roughly 9 PM on a Saturday night on one of the many floating walkways above the roads. Both of these roads are one-way, which is why there are two sets of them separated by a line of trees. I rather liked this image not just because of the motion evoked by the blurring headlights and taillights, but also because there is a wonderful juxtaposition of the red taillights and the white, blue or even yellow headlights that we see on the closer road. The road looks like there's a sheen to it, lit by the many passing cars over the length of exposure I used for this image (4 seconds).

Description of Learning:

In this unit, I learnt about incorporating motion and depth of field into photography and its application, rules and compositional guidelines. I did already know quite a bit about depth of field although I hadn't focused on its application prior to this project. I think with depth of field I was able to explore more styles of artistic manipulation with scenes and imagery than I had before with other compositional features. Motion, however, was difficult for me. It took me a while to figure out what to do because I didn't fully understand how to show my understanding. What's more, I had to make do with resting my camera on mostly unstable surfaces when trying to use long exposures and it make it very difficult for me to keep things I wanted in focus in focus. It was fun anyway, and I enjoyed making city photography part of my focus for motion. It was quite cool to take something I normally hate (traffic) and turn it into something that is more aesthetically pleasing.

Development Options:
If I were to do this project again, I think I would keep my depth of field section the same. I would, however, focus on changing my motion shots. I'd prefer water shots, despite their difficulty, over traffic or cityscape shots that use motion and blurring. For further enhancement of my motion shots, I think I would not only use water motion, but also put in warm colours - hopefully with the sunset.

Blog Entry 1 (Texture and Warm Colours) & PASM, Metering, Histograms

Project Outline

This project was assigned with a focus on composition. A choice was given to choose two of texture, colour (hue, value, intensity, monochromatic colour, analogous colours, complementary colours, warm colours and cool colours), line, shape, and form. For this project, I chose texture and warm colours as my focuses. To represent my chosen elements, I’ll attempt to take shoots that consist of the desired composition – texture and warm colours.

The subject material that will be included in this entry’s notes are: PASM camera modes, metering, histograms (with personal examples at the end) and also the composition elements I chose. In addition, I added notes on RAW vs JPG photographs.

Class Notes

(from notebook): PASM camera modes

PASM are the main modes on a DSLR. P is Programme, A is Aperture priority, S is Shutter priority and M is Manual.

The setting “programme” is the default setting the camera should always be on. This is in case something sudden ever happens and you don’t have time to adjust any settings yourself. To achieve this instant effect, the camera adjusts the shutter speed and the aperture by itself so that the photographer doesn’t have to fiddle around. Professional photographers will not use this setting very often except in aforementioned emergencies where there is no time. Generally, journalists will use this setting – such as war journalists or photographers that don’t have time to adjust settings. We keep our cameras on programme when not in use just in case. Not particularly good for artistic intentions.

The setting “aperture priority” allows the photographer to adjust the aperture although the camera will adjust the shutter speed itself. This isn’t the best way to take photos because it’s not all in your control (a theme common with PAS). Metering will be unpredictable as well, and thinks can turn out fuzzy if there are fast moving objects.

The setting “shutter priority” allows the photographer to adjust the shutter speed but the camera will adjust the aperture itself. This isn’t the best way to take photos because not everything is under your own control. You also can’t fiddle with depth of field and the setting will constantly change.

The setting “manual” is the best setting for artistic purposes. The photographer can adjust any and all settings by themselves without the camera changing anything. The photographer should always meter the selected area for the intended photograph first.

(from notebook): Metering

“Spot metering” should be used 45% of the time. It meters the dot in the middle (5% of the centre of the selected region). It should be used for specific objects that are not moving. To meter with spot metering, zoom in and adjust until the bar indicates the colour you think is right.

“Centre-weighted” metering should be used 45% of the time. It meters roughly the centre of the area, though wider than spot metering. It should be used for moving objects that you can’t keep a spot on.

“Matrix” should only be used 10% of the time. It meters the entire photo and results in changed metering each time you take a photo. The camera will attempt to grey everything into a neutral colour with matrix. You should only use this setting when the lighting is changing very frequently. Similar to the programme mode in concept.

(from http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml): Understanding Histograms

Possibly the most useful tool available in digital photography is the histogram. It could also well be the least understood. In this article we will look at what a camera histogram tells the photographer and how best to utilize that information.

Virtually every digital camera, from the simplest point-and-shoot to the most sophisticated digital SLR has the ability to display a histogram directly, or more usually superimposed upon the image just taken. (The Hasselblad H1, the latest generation of film & digital capable cameras, can display a histogram on the camera grip’s LCD while the image is separately displayed on the digital back’s LCD.) On most cameras though the histogram display takes place on the rear LCD screen, and most cameras can be programmed to do this both on the image that is displayed immediately after a shot is taken, or later when frames are being reviewed.

The 21st Century Light Meter

When I teach my landscape and wildlife field workshops and am using a DSLR (which I usually am these days) I am frequently asked why I frequently look at the LCD after taking a shot. The answer is that I’m barely even aware of the image on the LCD, it’s the histogram that commands my attention.

In Bloom. Costa Rica — February, 2003

Canon EOS 1Ds with 16-35mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm. ISO 200

This histogram shows an almost perfect distribution of tones covering about a 4 stop dynamic range — from deep shadows on the left to just short of bright highlights on the right. This fits comfortably within the approximately 5 stop dynamic range capability of most digital imaging chips.

A light meter reading tells you what exposure will render a standard 18% grey reference card as a mid tone. This reading may have been made because the camera read a variety of areas of the scene and averaged them out, or because you read the highlights, the shadows and some other areas and decided that a particular setting would yield the best compromise exposure for that scene.

This setting, like every other that you or your automated camera makes, is a compromise. In most real world situations there is no such thing as an ideal or “perfect” exposure. There is simply one that places the tonal values found in the scene most appropriately within the capability range of the camera’s imaging chip. And "most appropriately" means that the mid-tones found in the image fall roughly half way between the darkest and the brightest values. Hold that thought while we digress for a moment and look at the concept of dynamic range.

Dynamic Range

The digital imaging chip in your camera is very similar to colour transparency film when it comes to its sensitivity to light.

Like slide film, if a part of the image receives too much light it becomes burned out, and if too little light it is rendered as black. A recognizable image is only recorded if the light hitting the chip falls within a range of about 5 F stops. (Remember — each F stop is a doubling or halving of the amount of light hitting the film). With digital things are much the same and even the dynamic range is about the same as for slide film; about 5 stops. Also keep in mind that the total range of brightness values encountered in the real world is only about 10 stops — from the dimmest light that you can read in to the brightest beach or snow scene in which you might find yourself).

Surf & Turf. Big Sur California — February, 2003

Canon EOS 1Ds with 135mm f/2.0L lens @ ISO 100

In an image recorded in 8 bit mode (we’ll ignore 12 , 14 and 16 bit modes for this tutorial) there are 256 discrete brightness levels between absolute black (0) and absolute white (255). 18% grey (the point that all exposure metering measures) has a numeric value of about 128, half way between black and white. If you think about it this is fairly logical. This means that if you are exposing for an average subject, say something like a scene with people, trees, grass etc, these subjects will be exposed at about the mid point of the camera’s dynamic range. Why is this important?

This is because if a subject is exposed too close to either extreme you will run into the limitations of the chip’s ability to record the image. Too close to 0 (absolute black) and there won’t be an image at all, or it will be very dark and noisy, and too close to 255 (absolute white) and there will be nothing there except oversaturated pixels with no image information.

The Histogram

This is where the histogram comes in. It is a simple graph that displays where all of the brightness levels contained in the scene are found, from the darkest to the brightest. These values are arrayed across the bottom of the graph from left (darkest) to right (brightest). The vertical axis (the height of points on the graph) shows how much of the image is found at any particular brightness level.

Note that I somewhat arbitrarily labelled each of the five zones (or F stops) containing the dynamic range recordable by the cameras as Very Dark / Dark / Medium / Light / Very Light. But each of these 1 stop ranges contains within it just over 50 discrete brightness levels. (5X50=250 not 256, but who’s counting?) Seriously though, it’s a good idea to consider about 4- 5 points at the very bottom (black) and another 4-5 points at the very top of the scale (white) to be so close to the extremes as to not really be part of the image-forming segment of the graph. (NB: This is an oversimplified explanation. For how the data is really distributed please read my tutorial Expose to the Right.)

This view of the rear LCD on a Canon 1Ds shows a histogram for a particular shot and also the dotted vertical lines that Canon has engraved on the display separating the 5 stops of dynamic range that are available. As you can see this image has most of its content either in the shadows, or the highlights, with little in the mid-range.

Scanning The Scene. Costa Rica — February, 2003

So now things start to become clearer. The histogram shows us quite a bit, and just as a glance at the hands of an analogue watch instantly tell you the time without your even being conscious of the exact numeric values, similarly once you become proficient at “reading” a histogram you’ll be able to almost instantly evaluate the quality of the exposure that the camera is making. This is especially true when the histogram is superimposed on or just next to the image itself, making the graph that much more meaningful. Lets look at some examples.

Examples

As mentioned earlier, with the exception of a histogram that is very heavily bunched up to the right (overexposed) there really isn’t such a thing as a “bad” histogram, or for that matter a “good” one. The histogram simply shows you the way things are, and its then up to you to decide if what it is telling you needs to be acted upon. Here are some examples.

Here we see the same photograph taken with exposures about three and a half stops apart. Both were at an aperture of f/9. The one on the left was shot at 1/2000 sec and the one on the right at 1/200 sec. The histogram of the one at the left is bunched up at the dark end (underexposed) and the one on the right is bunched up at the light end (overexposed).

There wasn't an exposure with today's digital (or transparency film) cameras that could encompass the full dynamic range of this photograph — which is about 8 stops. You therefore have to make some decisions on how to handle such a scene. To stuff 8 stops worth of dynamic range into a recorded image that can only handle 5 stops your choices are....

— use balanced fill flash on the foreground

— use a graduated neutral density filter

— take multiple exposures and merge them digitally

— go home

Fill flash wouldn't work in this case because the foreground subject was too large and too distant. I didn't have any graduated neutral density filters with me (I no longer use them), and going home wasn't what I had in mind. Instead I shot the two frames seen above at about 3 1/2 stops apart and merged them digitally using one of the processes described in my tutorial Digital Blending. The image below is the result. Not great art, but it illustrates the point.

Histograms Just "Are"

As mentioned earlier, with the possible exception of showing badly blown out highlights there really is no such thing as a bad histogram. They just are.

This low key shot's histogram shows that almost all of the data in the image is down in the lowest areas (darkest) with just a small amount of data showing the bright moon. But since the dark areas aren't right up against the left hand side and the light areas aren't up against the right hand side of the histogram, the subject falls within the dynamic range that can be captured. The detail in the moon is what "makes" this shot.

In this "high key" image we see just the opposite. Almost every value seen is toward the right side of the histogram, in the highlight area. That's where I wanted it to be to properly reproduce the brightness found in this snow scene. Yet, since it doesn't bump up against the right hand side of the histogram I know that none of the highlights are blown out.

Not too long ago a histogram was something mysterious. Today it has become a valuable tool for the photographer who wants to gain mastery of their digital camera’s image quality. I hope that this tutorial has helped remove some of the mystery for you.

Start using the histogram review feature of your digital camera. Set your camera to display a combined thumbnail and histogram for 5-10 seconds after every frame. Get in the habit of glancing at it. It's the greatest invention since the built-in light meter.

My Own Examples of Histograms and Photos

In this photo, the histogram shows the exposure as being smashed into the left – meaning there is a lot of black and there are parts of the photo that are going to be too dark to have detail. It looks fine on the display, but I’ve learnt that trusting your histogram is much better than trusting a display that shows your photo – you don’t know if it’s really showing you what you should be seeing or what you will ultimately see when you print it. Luckily, histograms just “are” if they aren’t overexposed and smashed into the right, so having blacks is okay.

In this photo, the histogram indicates colours being smashed into both ends of the histogram, meaning there will be parts of the photo that are so bright, they have no detail. Conversely, there will be parts of the photo that are too dark to have detail. This was one of my failed attempts to get warm colour photography right, especially because it’s so overexposed especially where my focus was (the warm colours that should have been emanating from the horizon).

(from http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/raw-vs-jpg.html): RAW vs. JPG

If you've been doing your digital SLR homework, you've probably read some debate about the merits of RAW vs. JPG.

While it sounds like it might be the final match in an evening of professional wrestling, it really describes the two different ways you can capture photos with a digital SLR.

Let's simplify the issue for a moment.

There's really only one basic question you need to answer: do you want the camera to process your images or not?

In the paragraphs that follow, I'll explain why having an anwer to this question will help you select the right format to use.

RAW? JPG? What ARE these?

RAW and JPG refer to the two different file types your camera can produce.

Whenever you use a computer program, it creates a file type that can often only be opened by that program.

For example, MicroSoft Excel creates XLS files, while Word creates DOC files. Adobe Photoshop saves files called PSDs.

All acronyms aside, it's sufficient to understand that RAW and JPG are two fundamentally different file types.

RAW Defined

RAW files are aptly named in an odd sort of way, since most of us are more familiar with another definition of "raw": uncooked.

A RAW file is the unedited image data that you digital SLR camera captures every time you take a photo.

So you could say that a RAW file is an "uncooked" digital photo.

The camera does not manipulate the image in any way before it is saved on the memory card.

A RAW file is a pure capture, and is equivalent to a digital negative - an unprocessed image that you can adjust to your heart's desire before you make a print.

JPG Defined

Unlike a RAW file, a JPG is a processed image. All of the processing takes place inside the camera before the camera saves the photo onto a memory card.

Here's just some of the processing that takes place:

•    Color Saturation - an increase or decrease in the intensity of colors

•    Sharpness - can make the image either looks crisp or soft

•    Contrast - affects the range between shadows and highlights

When you capture digital images as JPG files, it's as if the camera has "developed" them first. This comes with a drawback:

The processing that an SLR applies to a JPG image can't be undone.

This doesn't mean that you can't make further changes to your photo in an image editing program after you take it - you certainly can.

It just means that any color or exposure settings applied when the photo was taken can't be altered after the fact.

Image Compression

A digital image is made up of millions of tiny dots called pixels and a camera has two options when it comes to the color of these pixels:

1. Leave them the way they were captured by the camera's sensor

2. Adjust ones with similar color so that they are identical

When pixels that are very similar in color are all made identical, this reduces the overall file size of your digital photo.

This is the effect of mild compression - severe compression can drastically reduce the overall quality of the image, producing photos that look unsharp and blocky.

Image compression is applied to every JPG file in some amount (you control the severity of the compression using camera settings) — by contrast, no compression is used for RAW files.

The Differences

Now the real fun can begin.

We're going to talk about the pros and cons of each file type, and why you might be more inclined to use one or the other.

Pros and Cons of JPG

Pros	Cons
1. Small file sizes maximize memory card and hard drive space 2. Easy to view and edit with any image editing program 3. Easy to modify to e-mail to friends 4. Easy to upload to online galleries	1. Less control over the way the final image appears 2. Compressed files lose some image data 3. Harder to correct mistakes of color and exposure

JPG is by far the easier format to work with.

Since JPG is a standard file format on every type of computer (even really old ones), JPG files can be viewed by anyone.

Even if you don't own an image editing program, you can still view your JPG images by using standard utilities already built into your computer.

Since every JPG is compressed, it doesn't take up as much space — this also means that it takes significantly less time to upload a JPG to an online gallery to share with friends.

All this ease of use comes with one major drawback that - in the end - may be of no concern to you at all.

When set your camera to capture photos as JPG files, you are letting the engineers who put your camera together decide how your final images are going to look.

Decisions about the color, tone and clarity of the photo are not under your direct control - that's all decided for you.

If you take a portrait and decide after the fact that you don't like the skin tones or capture a beautiful sunset but the colors don't pop quite as much as you'd like, there's little that you can do about it. The image is (somewhat) set in stone.

Pros and Cons of RAW

Pros	Cons
1. No image data is lost 2. Provide you with plenty of flexibility when deciding how the final image looks 3. Allow you to correct mistakes made at the time of exposure	1. Uncompressed images create very large files 2. Require special programs to convert into the JPG format 3. Require powerful computers to view and edit 4. Can't be instantly e-mailed or uploaded to online galleries 5. Require time and effort to "develop"

The long list of cons is the primary reason why most folks avoid RAW files completely and just stick with JPG.

First, RAW files are huge: relative to JPGs, they eat up a lot of memory on your camera's card and on your computer's hard drive.

A RAW file can use up to 4 times as much digital "space" as a JPG.

Example: a very high-quality JPG image might use up 6.4 MegaBytes of space. The same image captured in the RAW format can take up to 24 MegaBytes of space.

These enormous file sizes can impact those who want to work with RAW:

1. You need memory cards with more storage space (if you want to take any reasonable number of images per shoot)

2. You need plenty of clear hard drive space

3. It takes extra time to transfer images from memory card to hard drive

4. You need a pretty powerful computer if you want to view and edit these huge files

On the plus side, memory today is very cheap. You can pick up a nice big 4 GigaByte Compact Flash card for about $40 while an 8 GigaByte SD Memory card will run you about $20.

You can also get a 500 GigaByte hard drive (which would allow you to store about 25,500 RAW files) for less than $100.

Getting a new computer just so you can edit RAW files can be the most expensive part of this equation, but if you've purchased a new machine any time within the past 2 to 4 years, it should be able to handle the load.

Once you've got all the storage space set up, you're going to need a special program to even see what your RAW photos look like.

RAW image files are unique to each camera manufacturer: so a RAW file produced by a Canon digital SLR won't be the same as a RAW file produced by a Nikon.

Since each camera produces a slightly different file format for RAW, there are only a handful of programs that can interpret them:

•    Adobe Elements ($80)

•    Nikon Capture ($110)

•    Bibble 4 Pro ($120)

•    Apple Aperture ($160)

•    Adobe Lightroom ($280)

So: RAW files are huge AND they require specific software to view and edit.

What's the point of all this? It's actually pretty powerful: you can manipulate any part of your digital image AFTER the photo has been taken.

Don't like the exposure? Change it. Not happy with the color? Change it. Feel the image is too sharp or too soft? You get the idea.

You can even fix flaws in the image that are created by the lens that you have attached to the camera.

The image editing possibilities with a RAW file are virtually endless, and this gives you an immense amount of control over how all your photos look.

The best part: you can correct mistakes you make at the time of exposure (but you NEVER make mistakes, right?).

Let's say that you've been fiddling around with your camera's exposure settings, and are suddenly faced with a prime photo opportunity. You don't pay attention to the settings and over-expose a few key frames.

If you were taking photos as JPGs, those images would be lost: there would be no way to correct the over-exposure.

But with RAW files, correcting an over-exposed image is a simple as moving a slider to adjust the way the image looks.

Take the following two photos: the image on the left is the exposure as I captured it (way over-exposed and too far away). The image on the right is the exact same photo, only with corrections applied using a RAW image editor. Big difference.

The Professional's Choice

Many professional photographers only shoot RAW files and would never dream of using JPG images.

Keep this important fact in mind: photography is their job.

Since it is a full-time job, they can devote the hours it takes to process and edit RAW images so that they have complete control over the photo from start to finish.

They already have special software that allows them to process RAW files, and the computer power to manipulate them. They also understand how levels, curves, color saturation and hue can alter their photos and can make minute adjustments to each one of these.

If all those terms I just listed sound like jibberish to you, you'll have a lot to learn when it comes to processing RAW images.

In the end, using RAW files is all about control.

If you're the sort of person who always dreamed of developing your own film, then RAW is the perfect choice. You can make each photo look exactly the way you want it to.

On the other hand, if you enjoy taking photos much more than manipulating them after the fact then JPG is a much better option.

(from http://panthernet.isb.ac.th/file.php/216/composition.pdf): Composition

Colours

Warm colors include: yellows, red and orange we associate these with blood, sun and fire.

Sunrise behind a popular tree at Writing-on-Stone has a warm fire like feel to it.

Cool colors include: violet, blue and green because of our association with snow and ice.

Banff Springs Hotel with light blue filter emphasizes the coldness of winter (Monochromatic color)

Colors are called warm or cool because of our association with various elements in our surroundings. Red, yellow and orange are considered warm colors whereas blue, green and violet are considered cool colors. These contrasts are relative since yellow-green are cool next to red, orange or yellow, but would be considered warm next to blue-violet. Photographers can position different colors in an image to maximize contrast between them and also to provide perspective. Perceptually, cool colors tend to recede into the distance whereas warm colors appear to advance (see image below).

Texture

Texture refers to the surface quality or "feel" of an object - smooth, rough, soft, etc. Textures may be actual (felt with touch - tactile) or implied (suggested by the way an artist has created the work of art -visual). Texture is often emphasized in oblique lighting as it strikes the objects from one side. 

Composition

Organizing the various elements within the frame of the viewfinder in order to create an effective design is more challenging than it might seem at first. A painter can position the elements where they want, whereas a photographer must search, find and organize visual elements within the camera viewfinder. Although a photographer can sometimes "arrange" objects in a natural environment such as leaves, this often results in a contrived looking picture. Nature is not perfect and variation within organization leads to greater interest. Effective composition of natural images is always a balance between arranging elements within the view finder and allowing a certain amount of disorder.

The decision-making processes we make when taking a photograph starts first with being able to see possibilities. What we see depends on what we are interested in, what we are looking for and what our minds are prepared to show us. Seeing, in short, involves the mind and our memory as much as it does our eyes. Improving our visual sensitivity requires quieting our minds, relaxing, and preparing by learning as much as we can about our preferred subjects. Once we see things that are of interest, then we need to isolate parts of the scene, and organize the important visual elements within our viewfinder to effectively convey how we feel about them.

Researched Notes and Images:

This particular photo uses warm colours very strongly. The sun is smack in the centre of the photo and the orange light bathes the rest of the picture. The water in particular is bathed an orange and the sky near the horizon is a very rich, dark orange. The sand of the beach has turned red and the light from the sun glares out the man doing the handstand in the centre, leaving only a reddish-black silhouette. This photo was taken by Adrian Alconcel of Toronto, Canada (an amateur photographer). It’s likely the photo was taken at sunrise as the light was spreading (the warm colour looks like it’s spreading to take over the cool colours of the sky). The nature of warm colour photography to me seems to predominantly made up of scenic photography with very narrow apertures and deep depths of field (which will be the focus of the next portfolio blog entry as well!). This explanation makes a pretty good transition into the next photo by Morgan (also an amateur photographer) I selected for demonstration which happens to incorporate one of my favourite perks of photography – night photography.

Again, the colours are warm though it’s likely the light was artificial in this case because the setting is almost certainly at night – the shadows are nearly black and with no detail whilst the orange light bathes the side of the house. Even the leaves on the tree to the right are somewhat orange as well as the brick wall near the front. This type of photography – night-time combined with warm colours – almost gives off a feel of cosiness or safety. The light seems to be coming towards the camera and the source may be the sphere of light behind the fence, though this might simply be a natural effect of warm colours to appear as if it’s reaching out. Still, however, this is likely because the back of the house on the left is not lighted. My next selected photograph moves into my other project focus – texture.

This photo was taken by Philippe Gautrand in 1980. Although old, the picture is very well done and a large part of the composition can be texture. The cobblestone road emphasises the texture while the light filtering down through the trees in a sort of halo creates an impressive effect. If the picture only had texture, the subject or the picture itself wouldn’t be that interesting. With the halo effect and the wisps of smoke, the photo is very interesting and striking.

The texture here, for me, focuses on the hull of the boats, which is scratched up, old looking and ridged. There’s also the hint of warm colour which I’d say actually makes this picture a combination of my two focuses. It could probably branch out into both, but I chose texture over colour. In addition to the texture of the boat hulls, there’s the grass in front of it and the wooden blocks behind it – both of which offer great texture and contrast. The colours go together very well, I’d say, and the hulls offer a sort of vintage feel given by the texture. This picture, to me, almost wants to take me back in time to rowboats and lumberjacks. This picture was taken by Christophe Gilbert, a professional photographer.

Contact Sheet:

 

In this contact sheet are several of my attempts at shooting a sunset in the richest and least distracting way. I attempted at first to create a very rich effect but through a narrow view but wasn’t pleased. All of this took place either near, or in a construction side (I had to get permission to cross into the site). All the pictures except the last four are near the site. The last four are inside. After my first four attempts, I lowered the shutter speed some as well as increased the aperture. This almost completely negated the rich, warm colour effect I was going for at first. Dissatisfied, I walked across the bridge that leads to the construction side and tried to experiment with reflections of a sunset through glossy black tiles and tinted windows (an insurance centre). I was even less satisfied than before and eventually just walked into the construction side as I had before for other shoots, but this time for a sunset. I wanted to go for a panoramic shot that would incorporate the colours and silhouette the foreground – I succeeded, though my first shot of the four displayed was best. I did have to crop a portion of the foreground and increase the clarity on the warm colours on Lightroom, but my attempt succeeded.

This contact sheet documents my progressing attempts at finding a good way to compose a good photograph for texture as well as incorporate an interesting subject. The first few attempts with my laptop in a purple case was somewhat of an experiment to combine analogous colours with texture, but the subject never turned out interesting no matter what I did. I progressed to creating my own subjects with some geometric manipulations of the (innumerable, seriously) coins I had with me (really, my wallet feels like paper without the coins). The shoots were done in direct sunlight, close to 2 PM. As a result the shadows were very hard and I had to take care in avoiding throwing my own shadow across the picture. I tried a few different angles before settling on the 5^th to last photo as my desired one (after some exposure-decreasing and recovering).

Final Selection:

Texture

Focal length: 36 mm

Shutter speed: 1/640 sec

Aperture: f/6.3

ISO: 100

I wanted something that was interesting and provocative and the first thing that came to mind was a cross. Admittedly I did not immediately think of the impact it could have as a spiritual photograph, but I did realise later as I was looking over it again what it could do. I think I can explain my delayed reaction to my tendency to take the cross for granted as an adherent of Christianity. This photo has both spiritual meaning and the simple appeal of geometry and texture from the track and the coin surface. The band was meant to add bordering to the photo. As a note, part of the photo was cropped because much of the left side of the photo was plain track and not of interest. The texture of the track is rough and sharp, almost painful to rest your skin on for prolonged periods of time. On the other hand, the coins are grooved and smooth and although they were bathed in heat by the sun, are cool to the touch in the figurative sense. The band is somewhat rough yet smooth on the inner folds and offers a criss-crossing of the coloured leather. I believe this came out successfully, or at least adequately, for an attempt at texture.

Warm Colours

Focal length: 34 mm

Shutter speed: 1/50 sec

Aperture: f/13

ISO: 400

I rather enjoyed the panoramic view this photo gives of the scape and the clouds in the sky. Since this photo was meant to focus on warm colours, I feel I succeeded adequately. The orange can definitely be richer and the photo may have worked better a little later in the evening. The foreground from the original photo was cropped so that the photo has a more panoramic view and the silhouette of the foreground is not as distracting or dominant. The sky has a reaching effect the light almost spreading against the clouds, which look like they are moving away or receding. The effect of the clouds was unintentional, but I believe they add to the picture in a very significant way.

Description of Learning

In this unit, I learnt about metering, using the histogram, composition and of the main camera modes. Histograms, I discovered, are far more reliable when trying to get an idea of what your picture will really look like rather than simply looking at it on a display that may not be displaying the picture accurately. I’ve also learnt to try and develop pictures through successive attempts at the same subject matter. One such example would be to take multiple pictures but from different angles for something like a book until the best or most interesting picture has been taken (pursuit for perfection, in other words). I’ve also learnt how to meter correctly and manipulate it along with the use of manual mode, which I now use almost exclusively. If someone were to tell me to use P with matrix or any of the other modes over M, I’d almost certainly frown upon the idea unless the situation, such as one that happens too quickly for manual usage, calls for it.

Development Options

Were I to try again, I would probably aim for a later time in the evening for my colour shots. I also would have liked to get a time with less direct light for my texture picture. I’m happy with what I’ve done in general, but more so for the warm colours than with my texture work.

I’d like to do more work on warm colours and landscape with work on depth of field. Having done landscape and seen how beautiful it can be, I want to shoot more of the genre and gradually get even better. If my shot now as a beginner photographer appeals this much to me, I want to see how much my shots as a learnt and advanced photographer will compare to my early shots. Landscapes with rolling clouds and silhouettes is definitely on my to-do-list. Fortunately, depth of field is the next project and I think I am going to go ahead with the plan and improve as much as I can, while including more variety.