Feeling fuzzy

I'm not feeling so well today.  In fact, the whole world looks like the picture I put here.  Except I'm indoors now, and its not very bright in here.

But I do have a point besides complaining.

I'll make out of focus pictures sometimes so I can peek at the screen and see how light is falling without being distracted by details.  This one let me know that the sitter's face was bright enough to compete with the blown out sky (faces have more visual weight than almost anything else in an image, so it is okay that it is a little less bright than the sky), and and the light behind her should be enough to make it appear 3D.

This works for flash exposures, or available light.  This particular example is done with available light.

Change your clocks!

No, not the clocks on your wall, life will tell you those are wrong soon enough.

Change the clocks in your cameras! If you don't do it right now while your thinking about it, I bet your Christmas pictures will have the wrong time recorded in the EXIF data. If that happens, and you are like me, you will be irritated enough by that you will need to find a utility to correct it. Save yourself the headache and do it now!

I just set the times in our 3 digicams. My two SLRs, and our trusty but ancient P&S are now correct. I also checked our little Flip Mino HD camera, but it only has a setting for the date.

UPDATE: I just saw Ken Rockwell said basically the same thing! He was first. Rats, and I thought I was so clever too.

Backups Revisited

A while back I mentioned backing up your picture files.

If you haven't done so, do it now. Please.

Why am I pleading?

I was in the grocery store and saw a $500 reward posted for the safe return of a laptop that was stolen out of a car. The flyer stated the machine had irreplaceable pictures of a recently deceased child.

Ouch.

Please, please, please safeguard your stuff. I hate seeing stories like this, and they are becoming more common.

Phototip Quickie : Just make a picture

Last year I got in the habit of carrying my gear on weekends and evening events. But that didn't mean I always used it.

This year I am learning to use it, almost always, I carried it afterall. Funny thing is, there is always a picture to be made if the camera is out.

I feel the change came from two forces. First, because I now habitually make pictures with my cell-phone whenever I see something interesting, its not a huge step to use my real camera when I have it with me. I am not worried, or embarrassed to make pictures. The second part is, I realize no matter how good I think my memory is, it is terrible. I also find it hard to describe things I have seen in interesting ways. Detailed, yes, even vivid perhaps, but its nothing like a picture. Its nice to have little moments caught in good images to share.

What benefit have I seen? First, I have more pictures, which is always a good thing. Second, I know I'm getting better. I suck at this a bit less every day, because I am practicing.

Some maybe reading this wondering how to get better pictures. First, make sure you are taking pictures. First you have to make a picture, before you can get better at making a picture. So... go make a picture. Any picture. To steal from Nike-- just do it. After you start making pictures, then worry about how to get better ones.

Phototip Quickie : Learn to use Manual Mode

Almost every camera I have encountered recently, including my old digital P&S, has a manual mode. Most of the people I know have never used it. Everyone should try at least once! If you have no other reason to use it, remember you paid for it, get your money's worth!

Why is this important? Am I some elitist snob who only uses Manual mode and thinks everyone else is Doing it Wrong? No, far from it!

But, learning how to set ISO, aperture, and shutter speeds independently of one another is helpful. It shows you how the camera meter sees things, shows you the intertwined relationship between those three settings, and will cause you to slow down, and hopefully think about your pictures in a different way.

Since this is suppose to be "quick" I cannot get into details on how to use your camera in manual mode. Instead, here is how I suggest you try it. First go to the library and get a copy of Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure, then go to your camera bag and scrounge out your camera manual. Understanding Exposure will show you the ideas you need for reading your meter and making settings, your camera manual will show you the details specific to your model of camera.

If anyone cares, I typically use aperture priority w/ matrix metering for ambient only shots. However, for flash work, I run full manual and use "guess" (i.e. shoot and look at the LCD) metering.

Phototip Quickie : Know your gear

Recently I got a new camera body.

For all intents and purposes it is exactly like my old camera body. Buttons are basically in the same place. It feels very similar. I can use either now without thinking about the camera.

This means it works exactly the same right?

Wrong.

I was playing around with headshots and a clamshell lighting setup at home, you know, before taking my new camera out on a "real" assignment.

Like normal, my lights were being fired with Skyport (I'd link to the product on the manufacturer's site, but the site seems designed to "encourage" only front page links) radio triggers. I had my shutter dialed to maximum sync speed (1/250), again this is normal procedure for me indoors. I noticed the pictures looked dark on the right side of the frame in portrait orientation, and dark on the bottom in landscape orientation. I didn't think much about this (I did think-- "oh, I am picking up the curio cabinet", or "oh, I must have aimed a little low and picked up the softbox material") . When I got to the computer I saw motion blur.

I then realized I was seeing the shutter, the camera wasn't syncing with the flash!

A quick Google search later my suspicion was confirmed. It is "well" known Skyports will not allow full frame cameras to use their maximum sync speeds with monoblocks.

I didn't know! Thankfully, I was doing "due-diligence" with a new camera. I didn't mess up something for others.

Phototip Quickie: First Post (Read your manual!)

This is the very first phototip post I will make. I feel a bit pretentious in handing out tips, but I have seen and heard enough questions in the real world to know these can help someone.

The first tip I have is extremely boring and fundamental, but very few people actually do this!

Read the owner's manual for your camera(s)!

One way to make getting good pictures easier is to know what your camera can help you do. It will give you confidence, prevent you from fumbling around while your picture goes away, and will help you enjoy use your camera to its fullest.