Tips - Aidilfitri

Mari saya kongsikan tipsnya:
#1. Cari tempat yang cantik bagi anda. Contohnya di sudut rumah anda yang telah dihias dengan cantik sempena hari raya ni. Ataupun di halaman rumah anda yang cantik.
#2. Jika di dalam rumah yang kurang cahaya, cari bahagian yang berhampiran dengan sumber cahaya seperti tingkap yang besar. Ini untuk mendapatkan gambar potret yang lebih natural dan cantik. Jika menggunakan flash, kawal kekuatan cahayanya supaya gambar lebih natural.
#3. Gunakan aperture kecil jika potret keluarga anda melebihi 1 baris. Ini untuk memastikan semua potret subjek adalah sharp. Lupakan sahaja aperture besar buat masa ini. Ingat ‘depth of field’ ye 
#4. Anda sebagai pengarah, susunkan dan arahkan subjek supaya gambar anda nanti seperti yang diharapkan. Beri arahan untuk senyum, pandang kamera atau free style. Ikut kemahuan anda.
#5. Gunakan tripod jika ada banyak kumpulan dan jika anda ingin masuk sekali di dalam frame. Untuk ini, gunakan ‘timer’ kamera anda.
#6. Untuk gambar outdoor (luar rumah) pastikan anda gunakan flash. Ada beza jika anda on flash dan off flash semasa shoot di luar rumah. Tak percaya, anda cuba 
#7. Buat ‘framing’ seperti mana yang kita kehendaki. Frame seawal dari viewfinder atau lcd skrin kamera kita sebelum anda tekan butang shutter kamera.
#8. Untuk gambar yang lebih cantik, pastikan anda dan keluarga memakai pakaian yang cantik-cantik. Hasilnya juga akan cantik 
#9. Anda baru beli kamera dan tak sempat belajar? Nasihat saya gunakaan setting Auto pada kamera. Ataupun pilih setting potret, biasanya setting pada kamera yang berlabel ‘orang memakai topi’.
#10. Ini penting, shoot lebih dari 3 keping gambar. Lebih banyak lebih baik. Mungkin gambar pertama tidak sharp atau kabur ataupun ada antara subjek anda yang belum bersedia. Lebih banyak anda shoot, lebih selamat untuk anda.

Gallery - Hari Raya

Aperture : f-4
Shutter Speed : 1/50 sec
ISO Speed : 400
Focal Length : 25 mm

Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/6.3
ISO Speed: 320

xposure: 0.167 sec (1/6)
Aperture: f/5
ISO Speed: 800

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)

Aperture: f/7.1
ISO Speed: 400

Group Portrait

Tips 1
You need to use a smaller f-stop if you're doing group photos in order to get everyone in focus. The 1.8 maximum aperture is more useful for portraits with a lone subject, as you can focus on the eyes and achieve much more creative results by experimenting with the shallow depth of field (if that is indeed your goal

Tips 2
I usually start my aperture out at f/8 for a relatively small group. I heard that when shooting larger groups, try to match aperture 1:1 w/ group. For instance, if you have 11 people in the group, f/11 is a good rule of thumb.
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Well, it's been a few months and I've learned some more about this and I have to agree with your statement, I did a shoot recently where at the end everyone got in the picture (10 teenage girls) and I shot it at f/11, everyone came out sharp. You just need powerful lighting, either strobes or flashes but you need strong lighting when you close it down to f/11 or have everyone hold very still with the camera on a tripod and slow down your shutter and crank up the ISO to where you can capture the image with the available light, then you might need to spend more time on PP but this is mainly a problem indoors in a studio setting when not enough lighting is available.
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Yes I agree but if you want to be safe f/8-f/11 works good in most group portraits and unless I had a need to blur the background I wouldn't bother with shallow depth of field for a group portrait, specially if you want to cut down on your PP which is very important to me due to the fact I only do this very part time, not my full time job.

Tips 3 Take Multiple Shots
One of the best ways to avoid the problems of not everyone looking just right in a shot is to take multiple photos quickly. I often switch my camera into continuous shooting mode when taking group shots and shoot in short bursts of shots. I find that the first shot is often no good but that the one or two directly after it often give a group that looks a little less posed and more relaxed.

Similarly – shoot some frames off before everyone is ready – sometimes the organization of a group shot can be quite comical with people tell each other where to go and jostling for position.
Also mix up the framing of your shots a little if you have a zoom lens by taking some shots that are at a wide focal length and some that are more tightly framed.

Tips 4

Gallery - Black & White

Step 01: Camera settings

The idea I had in mind for the final product was to have single faces nearly filling the frame with beautiful bokeh as the background. Before leaving my apartment, I fixed my camera settings for that portrait style.

ISO: 100 – I’m shot in the daytime, and unless it was unusually dark outside ISO 100 worked fine. And it allowed for a wide aperture.

Aperture: f/2.0 – I needed to keep my lens fairly wide open in order to achieve nice bokeh. I could stop down to f/1.8, but I would lose a tiny bit of depth-of-field. From experience, I know f/2.0 will give me enough DoF to cover the front of the model’s face.

Shutter Speed: 1/125 – 1/200 – I would meter all the models before shooting a frame. I’d simply set my meter to ISO 100, f/2.0 and see what Shutter Speed I should be at. Most shots during the day came out somewhere between 1/125 – 1/200.

WB: Auto – Even though I’m not a fan of Auto White Balance, I used it for these shots. I did that because one shot would be in shade while the next could be in direct sunlight. And the final product was going to be in black and white anyway, making white balance less important.

Lens: 85mm f/1.8 – I could have used my 50mm f/1.4 but I haven’t had a real chance to play with the 85mm for portraits yet, so I chose it instead. If you have any L-series glass, I highly recommend using it for these shots. The quality will definitely be worth the aperture sacrifice, if your lens is f/2.8+. 85mm-135mm lens (on a full-frame camera) are also traditional focal lengths for portraits.

Camera: Canon 7D – Camera doesn’t matter much for these types of shots, the priority lies on the lens when it comes to hardware. I’ll be using CameraRaw techniques, so if your camera doesn’t support Raw you will have to improvise a little.

Shutter Speed:10/600 second
Aperture:F/4.5
Focal Length:34 mm
ISO Speed:1600

Gallery - Kids - Outdoor

Nikon D7000 + 35mm (f/1.8) Lens + SB-700 Flash
F/3.5, 1/200, ISO 200, EC=0, WB: Auto, Flash, Aperture mode, Standard

.Nikon D7000 + 85mm (f/1.8) Lens + SB-700 Flash
f/2.8, 1/1250, WB: Cloudy, ISO 200, EC= 0, Flash: None
Aperture mode, Portrait Scene Capture
RAW + JPEG
Processed in Photoshop Elements 9

Shooting Under Shade of Tree

Nikon D7000 + 85mm (f/1.8) Lens + SB-700 Flash
Details: Aperture Priority f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 400, EC = 0. White  Balance set to Cloudy.

I placed Hannah in the shade of a tree with her back to the sun at Ft. Lowell Park. Shooting at f2.8 works okay for a 3/4 (left) or full length, but I think f4 works better for faces and head and shoulders. Note. To process photos, I adjust the levels and sharpened the image in Elements 6

 

SunShooting test photos in the sun,

Shooting in direct sun light is always a challenge.

Position the model with her back to the sun and watch for sun spill on the face and shirt. I used Lastolite white balance with fill flash. EC = +.7, Aperture Mode, Portrait Scene Capture, ISO 400, 1/4000 second, 85mm lens set at f/2.8. Nikon D7000 with SB-700 flash.

Note the nice smile and eye contact. (Shooting at 1.8 would blur the cactus more.)

The test photo was taken at Trails West in the Walking Park.
The young model is Remi, a third grade student. I was teaching Remi's mother how to take photos in shade and sun with her Nikon D3000 camera.

I grabbed this quick snap with my Nikon D7000 with 85mm lens at f/4 (Aperture Priority), 1/800, ISO 400, EC = +.7. White balance was set to Cloudy, A1. I often use the "Cloudy" white balance setting in both shade and sun. It warms skin tones.

Shooting test photos in the shade

I recommend shooting faces, tops, 3/4, and full lengths in the shade, adjusting Exposure Compensation as needed. I used Lastolite white balance in this set; however, I usually set the camera to the "Cloudy" white balance setting.

Position the model with the sun to her back and watch for sun spill. I added fill flash. Aperture Mode, Portrait Scene Capture, EC = +.7, ISO 400, 1/2000, 85mm lens set at f/2.8. Nikon D7000 with SB-700 flash.

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FAQ

What settings would be recommended to capture the picture instead of a blur while my son is sliding, swinging, etc.?

It depends what action you are trying to freeze. On a sunny day with kids on the playground I use Shutter Priority (TV) and set it anywhere from 1/500-1/1600 sec. and use ISO100-200; if less light then drop that to 1/250-1/640 at ISO200. It really depends on the speed of the action you want to freeze. The S3 does very well at action and technically goes all the way to 1/3200 sec - combined with a half decent f/3.5 lens at the 12x end it takes in a fair amount of light for action/sporting events. A little hint here is set the shutter and ISO then do a half-way press on the shutter button and on the LCD it will 'darken' the screen slightly showing you based on the Shutt/Aper/ISO combo what exposure you will have in the shot. If its to dark adjust accordingly, if well lit/exposed then take the shot. This is trial and error and sometimes takes 2-3 shots to get it right sometimes. BTW in good light in 'P' mode the S3 does well at picking the highest possible shutter speed/aper. combo to get the shot. I used this mode alot at Disney last summer.

The shot below was in bright sunlight as a result the water is over-exposed but the point is that the camera picked 1/1600s for the shutter speed in 'P' mode. If I would have used -EC this shot would have been better exposed - but still tough conditions no matter what you do.

1/1600s f/4.5 ISO100 at Spash Mountain in Magic Kingdom:

bright light in Shutter Prior. (TV) mode at 1/1250s f/3.5 ISO100 -2/3EC:

Usually you can freeze the children movement with 1/250 s. So get in the Aperture Priority mode and select the largest aperture available (f/2.7) and increase the ISO speed as needed to obtain at least 1/250 s.

If you have motion blur even at 1/250 s then try the speed that suits your kids. Disable OIS during this since it will not help you and maybe will cuse you problems. With ISO 80 on a normal day you should have about 1/800 s at f/2.7 more than enough. In bright days you may be forced to close the aperture at f/4. The problems would occur only if you try to make this type of pictures in the twilight time. No camera will help you with that since the ISO speed should be at least ISO3200 to get 1/250 s at f/2.8. For dSLR there are lens at f/1.4 and ISO1600 is quite good.

Gallery - Candid Portrait

Camera: Canon EOS 5D
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 165 mm
ISO Speed: 640
Exposure Bias: -1 EV

Gallery - Newborn

1. Use a Normal Lens (50mm or so)

While traditional portrait lenses (100mm and higher) can be more flattering to faces, they require a greater distance between the camera and subject. Since we are working in a relatively small area, 50mm gives us the best balance between image quality and ease of use.

Canon and Nikon both make affordable 50mm lenses which will dramatically improve the quality of your images over any kit lenses. Also keep in mind the crop factor which occurs on some digital SLR cameras. If you are using a non-full frame camera (e.g. a Canon Rebel or Nikon D60) the 50mm lens will act like an 80mm lens. You may want to look at a ~32mm lens to compensate for the additional magnification.

2. Use Large Apertures

A large aperture (small f number) lets in more light and reduces the depth of field. We typically work at f/2.8 to f/4.5 to help blur the background and keep the focus on our little subjects. The fact that larger apertures let in more light is an added bonus.

3. Consider Using a Macro Lens for Details

While the minimum focusing distance of a regular lens is usually around a foot or so, macro lenses let you get super close – an inch or so away – allowing you to fill the frame with the tiniest baby details. Nikon makes two: a 50mm and 105mm. The latest version of the 105 also includes their vibration reduction which isn’t as useful as you’d think. Also, keep in mind the depth of field on a macro lens is extremely shallow! You’ll want to seriously consider using a tripod since the slightest movement will blur your image

4. Full-frame Sensor

If you can afford it, get a camera with a full-frame sensor. The bigger sensor lets in more light, gives your better detail and less noise at high ISOs and eliminates the crop factor found on cameras with smaller sensors. No only will a 50mm lens work as designed, but you’ll get a bit more depth of field at a given aperture than you would with the same f-stop on a crop factor camera.

5. Use a Fast Shutter Speed

Try to keep the shutter speed at or above 1/250 of second. If you’re a steady shooter you can go lower, but since we’re shooting almost entirely hand-held, 1/250 sec shutter speed is fast enough to eliminate any potential image blurring.

6. Don’t Be Afraid of High ISO

You always want to keep your ISO as low as possible, but if you still don’t have enough light, consider raising your ISO value. Newer cameras can hit an ISO of 800 without even blinking, and the latest version of Lightroom/Camera Raw can work wonders on grainy files – they come out looking really great. We recommend raising your ISO before adjusting down my shutter speed because we’d rather have a sharp picture that’s a little grainy than a blurry picture without any grain.

7. No Tripod

When shooting newborns, we’re on their schedule and we need to be efficient shooters. Using a tripod gets in the way and can slows down a shoot. With careful attention to your focusing and shutter speed, you can get away without a tripod. Now, having said that, it can be useful for macro shots, but we would caution against it for everything else.

8. Set Your White Balance to Cloudy

We’ve talked about this on this blog before, but as a general rule, keep your white balance set to ‘Cloudy’ (Approx 5500° Kelvin) for nice warm skin tones. If it comes out too warm, you can always override, assuming you shoot in RAW mode…

9. Always shoot RAW

Always, always, always shoot raw. There’s no reason not to. You have complete control over sharpening, compression, white balance and it even gives you a little latitude if your exposure isn’t spot on. Lightroom, Camera Raw, Aperture and others can be tremendously useful to manage and tweak your raw files so they come out looking great with very little work.

10. Focus on the Eyes

When you’re dealing with a large aperture, the ‘focus and recompose’ method for framing your shot won’t always work. Your depth of field can be so shallow that even small camera position adjustments can knock things out of focus. A better approach is to frame your shot, then move the camera’s focus cursor over one of your subject’s eyes and take the shot.

BONUS: Use Manual or Spot Metering

If you’re comfortable shooting in Manual mode, you can skip this one. If not, use spot metering instead of evaluative (check your camera’s manual for information on how to switch the metering modes). This will let the camera meter off a small area (usually centered on your focus point) instead of trying to look at the whole scene to determine the proper exposure.

Keep in mind that if you’re shooting a newborn on a black background, the camera will try to turn your black background into middle gray, and ruin the image through overexposure. (the converse happens if you’re shooting on a white background). To minimize this, dial in exposure compensation. In other words, if you’re shooting on black, you can take the camera’s default exposure and add a -1ev to the camera. This will tell the camera to subtract a stop from what it thinks is the correct exposure.

To view more examples of these principles in action, click here to visit our newborn photography gallery. If you have any questions about any of these tips, leave a comment below. Good luck!

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