Single Light Portrait

I've been working on single light portrait techniques trying to use what I've learned on Strobist and in "Light Science & Magic" by Hunter, Biver and Fuqua.

  

First off ... let's cover the equipment:

• Camera: D70s (ISO 200, WB Flash, Manual Mode)


• Lens: Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 (like using a 75mm on a film camera)


• Strobes: SB-800 & SU-800


• Modifier: 43" White, Shoot-through umbrella


• Stand: Westcott & Justin clamp


• Background: mottled, gray muslin

The D70s will sync at high shutter speeds (1/500) than most cameras so, I wanted to make sure that I took advantage of that. The way I came to the exposure was I started by setting the shutter speed to 1/250th and snapped some images without the flash firing until the image was completely black. (Note: that the normal room lights were at about 50%.

This gave me an exposure setting of 1/250th @ f/8. I didn't want the background to reflect much of the warmer ambient light if I could help it. Now, I knew that I didn't want to have the background in focus so I opened the f-stop up to f/1.4 and increased the shutter speed to 1/500th.

For those of you doing the math that would actually give me about a 2 stop underexposure of the background instead of completely black which was tolerated for this shot. Then I would chimp in the amount of flash power needed.

When I set up the umbrella, there were two things that had always concerned me. 1) is the flash set to the right zoom amount to fill the umbrella and 2) how can I get the flash head to point to the center of the umbrella. Previous attempts just didn't seem to get a nice soft, well balanced light even when I shot through the umbrella.

I set up the umbrella so that it would reflect the light instead of shooting the flash through the umbrella. Then, instead of using the flash shoe on the umbrella holder I put a Justin clamp on the post underneath the holder and positioned the flash head so that it pointed straight up the umbrella shaft into the center. I think that this was the first big improvement that I made to the setup.

Once the flash was positioned, I triggered the flash and moved the umbrella closer or further away from the flash until (at 50mm zoom) the light filled the umbrella without spill. That was the second big improvement I made to the setup.

After that, the setup was pretty traditional. I positioned the umbrella at a 45 degree angle to the subject camera left and raised it so it pointed about 30 degrees down to the subject. I made some further adjustments as I shot to get some light on the background in order to give some definition to the outline of the subject.

The SB-800 was set to remote and assigned to Group A/Channel 3. I was able to control it from the SU-800 that was on the camera. The group and channel combination are not that important here. The SU-800 and SB-800 allow me to use any combination of Group/Channel. Group A/Channel 3 just happens to be what I chose and had nothing to do with the only group/channel combination on the D70s to fire a remote flash using the built-in flash in Commander Mode. (See Strobist Style with a Nikon D70s). The SU-800 takes the D70s' limitation out of the picture.

The flash ended up being set to 1/128th power for the entire shoot and was positioned about a meter from the subject. The subject was almost 2 meters from the background, this gave a nice fall-off of the light but still added definition to the subject with just enough light hitting it.

Then, with my trusty ML-L3 remote, I fired away. I was really looking to get that triangle of light described in Light Science & Magic under the left eye in this case.

In the next session I'll compare this setup to a setup with the addition of a reflector camera right to lift some of the shadow from the unlit side of the subject.

Panning the Marathon

I was at the Twin Cities Marathon today with a bunch of family ... in fact, we tailed my brother-in-law along the whole course. We met him at the first five-mile marker and every subsequent five miles after that. It's a fun little hopping game with a bunch of family in the van squeezing through the narrow double-parked streets of south Minneapolis. It was a beautiful day ... hot, and we had a great time.

I spent the day with my D70s and the 18-70mm kit lens. I really like this lens. I think it's almost an insult to call it a kit lens. This lens is very sharp, focuses fast, is light weight and looks cool, too.

Besides the obligatory pictures of the pit crew goofing around, I had the opportunity to try some panning with my camera and show some motion with the subject. I was shooting in aperture priority so I kept the f/stop high around f/22. This meant that the shutter was hovering around 1/15th to 1/30th of a second using ISO 200. I kept the focal length of the zoom at about 50mm. That gave me nice distance between me and the subject as I panned perpendicular to the street.

Here are some of the results ...

In the next couple of months I'd like to touch base on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. I've been using it for almost a year now and have some things to say about how it has helped me. I'd like to find out what is hootnik on readers are using. Let me know. I'm not interested in starting big arguments just gather information and see what people think. Thanks all.

i shoot nikon

Custom Settings and other things D70

Speaking of custom settings on the D70 & D70s, a friend of mine and I sat down with our cameras this weekend and I introduced him to the many custom settings and some of the logic behind them. Some of the settings are pretty obvious ... turn that damn beeping off! Other settings need some insight and explanation.

Now, I'll spare you the dissertation here and just give you a "heads-up" on PlanetNeil. Photographer Neil van Niekerk publishes this great blog on his work. And he happens to have a spec sheet that describes all the D70/s custom settings, how he uses them and why.

It's a great little resource and saves me from having to type all that stuff out. Here's the link to Neil's custom settings page: D70 Custom Settings. And another link to Neil's great content: Nikon D70 wireless TTL flash.

Thanks Neil ... hope you don't mind.

i shoot nikon

Exposure: Don't be a DFU.

I've read a lot of posts ... users exclaiming the exposure is off by a couple of stops on a lot of new or newer DSLR cameras. Well ... I'm not buyin' it!!!

The civilized world successfully conquered the principles of automated production well over a hundred years ago! And have spent the time since perfecting manufacturing quality and consistency. You can't tell me that the great many users experiencing variations in the manufacture of their DSLR's accurately represents the reliability of today's manufacturing process. There has to be something wrong with the user. Stand up, shake it off crybabies! Take responsibility for your craft! Stop blaming the equipment!!!

Instead ... start to understand the source of your own misconceptions ... do the math.

Just in manual mode alone ...

Shutter from 1' to 1/8000 - 1/3 stop increments = 42 possible settings
Aperture from f/3.5 - f/32 - 1/3 stop increments = 24 possible settings
Metering - 3D Matrix, Center Weighted, Spot = 3 possible settings
Format - JPEG (B,N,F) or NEF(RAW) or both = 5 possible settings
ISO - 200 to 1600 = 10 possible settings on a D70s

That, my friends means for every single exposure you make you have to decide which of the 151,200 possible settings works best for your shot! And that doesn't count all the other variations possible when you start using the camera settings to process jpegs! Sharpening, contrast, color reproduction, saturation, and hue (just to name a few) pushing the possibilities staggeringly over half-a-million choices!

You have to develop a working knowledge about exposure that allows you to quickly narrow your choices and zoom into the one ... I repeat ... the "one" that is the best for your shot. Here's my advice ...

Keep it as simple as possible. Set everything to default. Pick one format (I use NEF(RAW) and Adobe Lightroom for processing), use manual mode and learn about exposure. If you have already learned about exposure ... re-learn it! And most of all ... use your camera a lot and use it consciously - before and after image capture!

If all you want to do is plug your DSLR into a printer and get a bunch of 4x6 prints ... you bought way too much camera.

One of the better books I've read about exposure is Bryan Peterson's treatise entitled: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera. This book was originally released in 1990 and updated to its present 3rd edition supporting the growing nation of digital photographers.

Most of what he writes covers exactly the same thing you may have read about in innumerable printings before his. Smaller opening equals more DOF (depth of field), stop action with faster shutter speed ... blah blah blah. But he frames his teaching in very simple, practical terms that are easy to relate to and apply when shooting.

For example, he divides apertures into three groups: Story telling, who cares, and singular isolation.

• 
  Story Telling: Great depth of field where the foreground and background work together to capture the story ... both subject and environment are important to the image (f/16 and up).
  


• 
  Who Cares: Essentially, images where depth of field is of little concern ... subject up against a building or backdrop. Somewhere in the f/8 - f/11 range where the lens is sharpest.
  


• 
  Singular Isolation: You need just the subject ... no distractions from the surroundings. The closer to the subject the larger the aperture opening (f/2.8 to f/5.6) keeping the background out of focus.
  

These are principles that are quickly learned and applied out in the field. It can take a while to get them into practice but well worth the time and attention.

He also describes some very helpful techniques that are almost always available to you even when you don't have your camera! My personal favorites being Mr. Green Jeans and the Sky Brothers. I don't wanna spoil the ending but instead tell you that his approach is easy to understand, easy to remember, worth practicing and quick to success.

Others of you may have similar recommendations and are welcome to comment enlightening the rest of us.

Note: for the uninitiated ... DFU is programmer and help-desk speak for dumb fucking user.

i shoot nikon

Strobist Lighting 102

Well ... i may not have many readers (if any) at this point but, I believe in supporting my neighbors if not the photography community ... so, get out to take a look at Strobist. It's a great blog about lighting using off camera flash setups ... cheap off camera flash setups. The Strobist motto: LESS GEAR • MORE BRAIN • BETTER LIGHT. I've learned a lot and definitely appreciate what David has been doing. Strobist is a daily read.



Anyway ... more importantly, Strobist is conducting its second summer boot camp, Lighting 102, starting June 4th. Photographers from all over the civilized world will be participating and contributing. It's very exciting.

Strobist summer boot camp, Lighting 102, Check it out! Call collect! Call direct! But, call today!

i shoot nikon

Macro Afternoon

Today was perfect. Nobody home. High, even cloud cover. Flowers in bloom all over the garden. Time for a little macro photography. Macro photography always amazes me whenever I look at someone else's work but, rarely sparks any true inspiration in me. It's more of a curiosity ... a passing fancy ... a great way to while away the afternoon.

The nicest thing about this opportunity is that I can take some time with the subject. Think about the shot. Play with the exposure. I don't have to worry about fleeting moments or shifting light. It's strictly for me and the subject ... as long as necessary.

• Equipment:


• Nikon D70s


• Nikkor AF 28-105mm f/3.5 - 4.5 D


• Bogen Manfrotto 3001N Tripod


• Bogen Manfrotto 3030 Head

The Nikkor AF 28-105mm f/3.5 - 4.5 D lens has a macro setting that I've found I'm fond of in this kind of setting. Usually, I'm far too impatient and forego the macro setting when it's hand-held. This has been a very good lens over the years, a little slow focusing and aperture but, then again, I'm not shooting for Sports Illustrated.

• Camera Settings:


• Focus: manual


• Exposure Mode: manual


• Meter: 3D Color Matrix


• ISO: 200


• Exposure Compensation: none

I need to digress for a minute and address a workflow issue that has been on my mind for a little while. I often exclude the practice of a pre-shoot routine when considering my workflow. That's a bad thing. I realize just how important it is but, it's really changed since I stopped shooting film.

Old way ... figure out what I'm going to shoot, go to my stash or purchase the film needed, make sure everything is in working order, put together my set up, load the camera and start shooting.

Here's the big change. When I would go to my stash of film I was making conscious decisions concerning the ASA/ISO as well as the White Balance (what filters might I need). Pop the film in the camera which sets the ISO automatically and then, the difference between natural and incandescent light was generally understood if not strictly paid attention.

Now ... I need to be aware that ISO and white balance are within my control and I'm responsible to make more than a decision about them. I have to set them myself! This is the part I need to rework into my pre-shoot workflow. Luckily, for this shoot, I had left my white balance set to "Cloudy" from a previous shoot but, don't always check it. I did remember to set the ISO so, I am making some progress. In case you're curious we'll talk more specifically about what I'm discovering of white balance in a later post.

Sample of the Afternoon Fruits

• Exposure: 1/30 sec @ f/16


• Focal Length: 105mm


• ISO: 200

• Exposure: 1/6 sec @ f/13


• Focal Length: 105mm


• ISO: 200

• Exposure: 1/15 sec @ f/11


• Focal Length: 90mm


• ISO: 200

• Exposure: 1/25 sec @ f/6.3


• Focal Length: 90mm


• ISO: 200

All the images I shot were in RAW format and none received any post-capture processing beyond cropping, Lightroom's interpretation of NEF and Lightroom's JPG rendering engine. Note: Nikon's version of RAW is NEF (Nikon Electronic Image Format).

i shoot nikon

Image Doctors Top Ten Eleven

For those of you who do not have connections with other Nikon shooters, there is a great community available on the web at Nikonians.org. One of the features I particularly enjoy is their bi-weekly podcast cast of the Image Doctors. Photographers Jason Odell and Rick Walker, ala CarTalk (without all the obnoxiousness that is charmingly CarTalk), chat about a lot of different topics involving photography ... specifically Nikon photography.

I was listening to episode #37 a few weeks back in which they presented their top ten photo tips which, in usual Image Doctor style, turned out to be eleven tips ... one louder. I thought that these tips offer good sense and wanted to share them. They explain that this list is prioritized from most important however, I'm not sure that you should prioritize this list. I think it could be delivered in any order without impugning the integrity of any one tip. Anyway ... here it is, enjoy!

1. Get a tripod ... use it!

You don't have to go out and buy a $500 Gitzo Carbon blah blah blah. Get something that can hold your camera equipment without flexing and that you will use. If you don't think your lenses are sharp enough, use a tripod. Your images will be much sharper!

2. Get to know your flash? ... use it!

You will get better quality images where ambient light just won't cut it. Get a flash, learn to use it and consider using it more often. For instruction on how to use it off-camera see Strobist

3. Learn the basics of exposure.

Learn the effects of shutter speed and aperture. Take your camera out of Program mode and use it in Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or better yet, Manual mode. You want to be making the decisions about how your images look not letting the camera make those decisions. Otherwise, your images will all look alike ... almost if made by a computer! doh! they are!

4. Bump up the ISO setting

You may think, "but my images will be full of noise!!!" ... well, that's true to a certain extent but a lot of that can be cured if you stop looking at your images zoomed into 100% on a 72 dpi computer screen. Which leads us to ...

5. Make some prints

A monitor is not necessarily the most useful tool on which to view a digital photograph. Viewing a photo at 100% on a computer screen is like looking at slide film using 50x magnification. Nobody ever does that. Your average loupe is only like 8x. Make some prints (or get some prints made) and let that be the judge of your photo's quality.

6. Learn to recognize good and bad light

Think about it consciously. Wait for good light or know how to handle poor light situations. If you recognize that the light is less than ideal, bring supplemental light and know how to use it.

7. Learn the Rule of Thirds

Don't "bulls-eye" your subject. The frame should be divided in three horizontally and vertically. Where the grid lines cross are the references where eyes, horizons, faces should appear in the image. Here's is a nice little reference on Wikipedia

8. Learn how to use the Levels function

The levels feature in whatever post-processing software you're using can have a profound impact on your images. Determine what is white, determine what is black and adjust the overall brightness. This can turn seemingly flat photos into crisp, deep images.

9. Get closer to your subject

Get in tighter and make your subject fill the frame. Pay attention to extraneous distractions in outside areas of the composition. Get in close ... you want to see faces. A good rule of thumb is: frame the picture the way you think it should be then, take one step closer.

10. Persevere ... don't be lazy

Getting good pictures takes perseverance. Do your homework before you shoot. Wait for the right light, compose with the camera away from your eye. Work at your craft it will payoff many time over.

11. Don't blame your equipment

If you're not getting the results that you like, don't assume that it's your camera. First, assume that you're not using it correctly. The reason why National Geographic gets the shots they do is because those guys know what they're doing with their equipment. They work hard to know their equipment before they take them on a shoot. Spend a lot of time with your camera ... experiment ... play ... take notes ... blog.

I thought those were very insightful if not just plain common sense, and hope that you find them useful. One of the things that I've been working on is using the camera in manual mode. Pick a subject that will let you think before you have to trip the shutter and experiment with the effects of aperture versus shutter speed.

One of my favorite resources for exposure is Bryan Peterson's book Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera. It's really a nice, up-to-date reference that really explores the principles of aperture, shutter speed, light, motion ... as well as give you some reference points that you always have with you. Check it out at Amazon here and check out his website here.

i shoot nikon