Archive for the ‘technique’ Category
7March2010
SCL Photography Podcast 87 – 20 Tips
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: podcast; technique.
Twenty photography tips I’ve borrowed from all sorts of sources….
Subscribe on Itunes. (Will open Itunes, then you need to click on the “subscribe” button.) (Free)
Subscribe with other Podcatchers. (Google Reader, etc) (For Free)
Download / listen to the mp3. (Right-click then “save target as” / “save link as”.) (Did I say it was free?)
Download / listen to the LOW BANDWIDTH (small file-size) mp3. (Right-click then “save target as” / “save link as”.) (Again, free!)
Jeff Curtos History Of Photography.
Cheers, Rob.
12January2010
Pre Photowalk Bag and Camera Checklist – Canon EOS 350d / Digital Rebel XT
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: articles; technique.
W – White Balance. Are you set to AUTO?
I – ISO. Have you returned your camera to its base settings? (Normally 100 / 200).
F – Focus. Is your lens set to auto-focus? Are you using single shot or continuous focusing?
E – Exposure. Are you in the right mode? Are you at an aperture or shutter speed that will be right as soon as you turn your camera on?
Also check that you’re shooting RAW, you’ve formatted your card, your batteries are charged, and you’ve got spares in your bag.
Cheers, Rob.
8October2009
HDR Settings For Canon Eos 350d / Digital Rebel XT Video Tutorial
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: hdr; technique; tutorials.
Camera-shake and subject movement are the enemies of clean HDR Photographs, we need to keep our cameras as still as possible, and take the bracketed images as quickly as possible to get the best shots.
In the video I’m setting the exposure-bracketing on my Canon EOS 350d / Digital Rebel XT to plus and minus 2 e.v’s – but to be honest you don’t always need to be that extreme. In more even light you could find + or – 1 ev is sufficient.
Which software you’re using also really affects how your Tone-Mapped HDR comes out. Photoshop and others aren’t that good at dealing with subject movement – whereas Photomatix is fantastic. Even quite extreme differences can be dealt with. You’ll still get the odd ghosting effect, but that can be sorted out by painting in different layers in Photoshop or Elements.
So, in conclusion, use a low ISO, switch to Aperture Priority Mode, turn on Automatic Exposure Bracketing and Continuous Shooting to get the best HDR shots out of your 350d / Rebel XT, and remember, and if you want really good shots use a tripod!
Cheers, Rob.
22June2009
Macro Photos From The Canon EOS 350D / Rebel XT, Pentacon 50mm F1.8, Extension Tubes… And Flash
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: technique.
It’s that time of year when the opportunity to play around with Macro photography becomes irresistible. The flowers are in full, glorious, bloom, and I’ve got a new camera, the Canon 350d / Rebel XT to play with.
I switched to the Pentacon 50mm F1.8 lens that I got from the car boot last week-end, using my M42 lens mount adapter on the 350D, and a few extension tubes. The extension tubes allow you to focus really close, but the depth of field is minuscule, so camera shake doesn’t just lead to movement blur, but also the subject actually moves out of the zone of sharpness.
Instead of digging out my tripod, I decided to try something different, and activated the pop-up flash on my camera. Dialling in some exposure compensation to darken some of the shots, the results were alright for a first try with this lens combination. For really sharp shots I’ll have to set up my tripod and tighten up the aperture a bit.
All these photographs were shot in RAW, and processed in Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop. Although still dipping my toes into the world of uncompressed files, I have to say that the flexibility of RAW is amazing, especially when it comes to white-balance. Just flicking through the White Balance options in Adobe Camera RAW gives the same photo some different looks, without adding the noise and artifacts that sometimes happens with .jpg.
Thanks, Rob.
6January2009
Simplifying Composition By Learning The Rules
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: technique; the course; tutorials.
I’ve had some interesting emails from Nugroho discussing composition. Nugroho (also known as Shade) is an event photographer where he works, but was having trouble coming up with other types of photographs.
Rather than simply run through and talk about the usual Rule of Thirds / Leading Lines type stuff, I thought I’d illustrate my ideas with some really simple diagrams.
Remember, I’m no expert, but if you’re having a little trouble nailing down your compositions, take a look and it may help.
