Photography Lighting Tutorial

Here is a Photography lighting video tutorial, showing you how to best use a flash in a small studio setup. Some very good information for you budding photographers out there.

Learn Studio Photography Tricks

Whether shooting products or people, the whole reason for studio lighting is to be able to define the things you want to define and to minimize the things you don't want to see in the photograph. Practice these tips and improve your photography skills.

Here is today's instructional photography video with Jim Talkington as he explores various studio photography tricks you can master.

cheap Nikon 55 300mm f/4.5 5.6G ED VR AF S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Deal

Nikon 55 300mm f/4.5 5.6G ED VR AF S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR by
List Price :
Price : $304.17


From 5.5x zoom DX-format telephoto lens with high refractive index component. ED glass and VR II image stabilization, it is ideal for capturing distant subjects at sporting events, home photos, solarsets dramatic, and additional travel. Nikon AF-S Nikkor f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Lens 55-300mm images significant to the sample taken with Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR. Ideal 5.5x zoom telephoto to capture distant subjects to participate in sporting events, home photos, sunsets, go ahead and again and again. Angle of like what a 450mm focal two.5 eighty FX/35mm D-SLR format. Nikon VR II can Vibration Reduction image stabilization, designed especially for each VR NIKKOR lens, free hand shoot up to 4 speeds slower than would a shutter inconceivable in any other case, to declare significantly sharper still images and video capture. Tripod mode reduces vibration detection could result from shutter release when set on tripod. Horse Racing Ireland (high refractive index) element objective aspects of HRI on the vital goal to maintain compact lens offers high contrast even at maximum aperture. 2 Extra-low Dispersion (ED) elements reduce chromatic aberration effectively, even for the more open atmosphere. Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM) Enables fast autofocus, accurate and silent. Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC) improves transmission efficiency provides texture and a sweet shade and reduce more flare. Rounded 9-blade makes it look more pure shouted outside the focus areas of the image .. Read more Nikon 55 300mm f/4.5 5.6G ED VR AF S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR

Nikon 55 300mm f/4.5 5.6G ED VR AF S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Feature

5.5x telephoto zoom

Nikon VR Image Stabilization II tripod detection mode

Lens Element HRI (high refractive index)

2 Extra-low Dispersion (ED) elements

Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM)

Buying Information SalesRank :
Warranty:
LowestNewPrice:
LowestUsedPrice:
...Read more...

Related products

.

Make Money With a Digital Camera

by Michael Review

Making money like a photographer is simpler than ever having a digital camera. You no longer need expensive equipment and a dark room to turn photos into cash. Sure, most people have access to a digital camera, but not all of us have the skill to use one for profit. For those who have a knack for taking good photos, here are some ways to turn a hobby into a business.

1. Contact local used car dealers and ask if they need pictures of the current inventory for his or her website or newspaper ads. Used car dealers might not have the time or resources to take photos of the cars on their lot. If a dealer does not have a website with pictures of the inventory, offer to establish one for them. Those who sell their used cars or other vehicles through classified ads may not be able to take proper photos, which means you might be able to offer your services to them too.

2. Photograph people and their pets. Do it at their residence or rent a studio. People pamper their pets like never before, and several people can pay big bucks for a picture of themselves or their loved ones using their dog, cat or other pet. Invest in a photo printer and print out quality photographs following the session or provide the customer with a CD from the photographs.

3. Cater to tourists on vacation if you reside in or near a well known destination. Tourists want to relax enjoy yourself without worrying concerning the results of their quickly-snapped photos. Offer your photography services to people to your town or city. Tourists will be assured of excellent vacation photos for their scrapbook, you'll also find a thriving business.

4. Snap pictures of graduation ceremonies then sell the photos to graduates and/or their families. An expert photograph from the smiling graduate is really a welcome addition to any family's mantelpiece. You may make good money by offering quality photos to individuals who might not have the time or expertise to consider pictures themselves.

5. Begin a photo transfer business. Lots of people want their picture or pictures of friends and family members imprinted on T-shirts, coffee mugs, buttons, key rings, calendars and other items. You can purchase your own photo-transfer equipment to make items yourself or use services like Café Press.com or Zazzle.com to get it done for you.

6. Attend amateur sports events in your soul area and snap pictures of athletes or their kids for action. Everyone loves to have keepsakes of their children's athletic triumphs. Promote your services in community newspapers or church bulletins for greater exposure.

7. Work as a freelance photographer. Attend public events (and private ones if you're able to finagle an invite), after which contact newspapers, magazines and e-zines to determine when they would be interested in the final product. After you have a portfolio, send it to publications and they will offer you lucrative assignments when they much like your work.

8. Offer an insurance photography service for property owners who need a photo inventory of the house and belongings. Take photos of electronics, clothing, artwork and other what to catalogue them in case of theft or natural disaster. Transfer the photos to CD and give a list of the things and their dollar value.

The 6 best photo editors for Mac

You might think image editors such as Photoshop are the be-all and end-all of digital photography. But the more photos you take, the more the issue of organization rears its head.

You can file away a small amount of photos in named folders and be reasonably sure of being able to find them again. But when you run into thousands, filing problems take on a new dimension. This has led to a new type of all-in-one photo cataloging and editing app, with iPhoto at one end of the spectrum and Aperture at the other.

Here are the six best Photo Organizers/Editors for the Mac:

• Adobe Photoshop Elements 9
• Adobe Photoshop CS5
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.3
• Apple iPhoto '11
• Apple Aperture 3.1
• Google Picasa 3.8

Continue reading... http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/6-best-photo-editors-and-organisers-for-os-x-939384#ixzz1IljM0HYw

Spring Sky

Spring Sky
Originally uploaded by Rick Blythe.
Click photo to see larger version.

Here's a photo I took today that I was pleased with. It's a rural road in southern Canada on April 2, 2011.

My Canon G10 really pulled in those blue skies. I hardly did anything in post processing - added a little contrast is all. I love my G10. You can't get it any more but you can get the newer G12.

My wife was with me with her Nikon D90. I haven't seen if she got this same shot yet, but if she did I'll post a link to hers as well here.

Again, not a spectacular shot, but there is something about it I find pleasing.

What is Pixlr?

Pixlr is the creator of online cloud-based image tools. Currently they have two applications in their suite: one we call Pixlr Editor and the other is Pixlr Express. They are built in Flash and you need to have the Flash plug-in to get it to work, however, 98% of all computers have flash so you are probably set.

The pixlr services is built for both non-professionals and professional users with editing needs such as editing web images to be posted on social networks like Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, or image sites like Flickr, Fotolog, Photobucket etc.

It's also widely used by professionals for fixing images for news sites and blogs etc.

How about privacy?

From Flash 10 and later, images are opened direct and local in your browser (i.e we don't see them in any way and they don't leave your computer).

Files that are posted to us via the API or our add-ons are automatically deleted from our servers after 5 minutes.

How to photograph a sunrise

Photographer and author Rick Sammon gives you tips and tricks to get a great Sunrise photograph. Shot on location in St. Augustine, Florida. Rick demonstrates using a Canon EOS SLR camera.

What Is Hyperfocal Distance?

This is a good question! You know how sometimes you'll take a photograph and something in the foreground is in focus while the background is not? And sometimes you'll take a photograph and, magically, everything is in focus? That's all related to depth of field, or the distances from your camera that appear sharp in a photo.

Read more about what hyperfocal distance is all about...

How to use a Circular Polarizing Filter

Easy to follow introduction to the proper use of circular polarizing filters-


One thing to note is that some cheaper lenses rotate the end of the lens barrel when autofocusing, and some do not. If you carefully set your polarizer, then autofocus, you might have to reset the polarizer.

Pricing your photographs (tip)

This article deals with pricing images that you’ve already captured. The trick which I reveal to you can be successfully tweaked to give you reasonable price ranges for services also.

You've taken many photographs and you've honed your skills to the point that you think you could sell some.

Now the question is: what price exactly? Overprice your photo, and you will never hear from a buyer again; sell it cheap, and you are losing money.

How to find the right price?

In business terms, you would have to look into demand and supply forces and deduce the market clearing price. But we don’t want to over complicate things here; you certainly don’t need a business degree to sell a photo or two… What we need to do is what businesses have been doing for ages: to look how competition is pricing its products. I’m sure you knew this, but here comes the tricky part; this type of information isn’t freely available…

The Solution is simple!
Next best thing to a photographer’s price list is a stock agency website! (And when I say stock agency, I don’t mean micro stock agency, which is basically a rip-off, a type of slavery for photographers).
I’ve been successfully using: alamy.com
Procedure is easy. Use alamy.com to search for similar photographs, and look up prices based on the usage specified by the person who has inquired about images. Check multiple photos, so you can have a good average.

To make it work as intended, you will need to get following information from your customer: Image use, Details of use, Image size, Print run, Placement etc.

Let’s see it in action:



Brilliant isn’t it? To achieve same pricing simplicity you would have to buy $700 software – really!

Cheap 3-ring Extension Tubes

A friend was asking me if I had tried those $8 Chinese 3-ring extension tubes for Canon that are all over eBay? I've used the Nikon equivalent. They have some downsides-- I now have the more expensive, nicer, Nikon tubes (pn-11 and pk-13), which I love. They do seem expensive for what they are though.
This is, of course, depending on the fact that you're looking at the same sort of tubes as I was.

1. They're generally not coupled to the camera at all, that is, when you stop down the lens (which you have to do via the aperture ring), the viewfinder image darkens, since there is no coupling to the stop down lever on the tubes. This also means that you have to use manual exposure and lose metering, though I find that for high-magnification sort of work that a meter is more of a suggestion than anything else.
2. They don't have the same nice baffling/flacking on the inside of the tubes that the official Nikon ones have. The ebay tubes are basically just black painted metal on the inside, and hence in many cases (especially when working with flash) cause incredibly annoying flaring. This is the #1 reason that I didn't keep them (technically I kept them, but they're in a box somewhere and never get used). A lot of times, moving the flash a little bit fixes things, but I had flaring issues with every lens I tried on them, and never had these issues again when switching to the Nikon tubes.
3. They're really cheaply built. They just screw together with some pretty thin threads that I never really trusted to hold anything bigger than a short macro (like the Nikon 55/3.5, I don't know the Canon equivalents). I didn't like having my 105 on there, and it's not even the larger /2.8 one-- its the old /4 manual focus one. They also aren't machined to the same quality as a camera-brand lens, so in my case the mount to the camera felt a little looser than normal and the mount to the lens felt a little tighter than normal (to the point where it was hard to get the lens off in a few cases).

My advice: They're cheap as hell. If you aren't seriously interested in macro photography and just want to play around with them, there's no real loss in buying them. They're an easy way to see if you'd like the nicer ones, which have quite a few advantages (e.g. the big Nikon tube, the PN-11, has an awesome tripod mount on it). I had some fun with them, but was never really satisfied with the annoying moving-slightly-to-get-rid-of-flare or the build quality, so I caved and got the nicer ones.

In my opinion, you are better to stay away from the ultra cheap extension tubes on eBay. Amazon has some decently priced Macro Extension Tube Sets here that I would trust much more.

Top 10 Misconceptions about Photography and the Law

A Conversation with Attorney Carolyn E. Wright
By Martha Blanchfield
Carolyn Wright is an avid photographer, attorney and author of www.photoattorney.com, a rich resource Web site that covers a wide range of issues and topics of interest to photographers. In her 18 years’ work as an attorney she has worked on hundreds of cases—most of which have been resolved without formal litigation. The most common matter she handles is the unauthorized use of her clients’ photographs.
“Photographers have many misconceptions about copyright laws and intellectual property rights based on conversations they have had with colleagues and/or inaccurate information obtained from the Internet. My Top 10 List came about as a way to combat the spread of this misinformation,” Wright shares, whose areas of practice deal with intellectual property, including copyright and trademark law, rights of privacy and publicity, and contracts and licensing.
“Unfortunately, the services of an attorney are sometimes required to enforce ownership rights, but a photographer should do all that is possible in advance of engaging legal counsel,” she notes. “One of the most important things is to register the copyright to all of his or her images that have been distributed to others (especially those on the Internet) with the U.S. Copyright Office. A second task for photographers seeking to make money with their photography is to really learn how to run and proactively manage a business.”
Top 10 Misconceptions

1. You don’t need permission to photograph a work of art that is in a public area.
This rule is based on copyright law. United States Copyright Law grants exclusive rights to the copyright owner of a creative work, including the rights to: reproduce the copyrighted work; prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work; distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public; and/or display the image. (See 17 USC §106.)
When those rights are infringed the copyright owner is entitled to recover damages suffered as a result of the infringement. (See 17 USC §504). So even when a creative work is in a public area you may photograph it only if the work is in the public domain or your photograph makes a fair use of the work.


2. A news publication may use your photograph without your permission because it is fair use.
The answer is not so easy. Wright notes that some individuals claim that use of a photograph for educational or newsworthy purposes is okay under “fair use.” The doctrine of fair use means that copying will not infringe a copyright when it is “for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research.”
Four factors are considered to determine whether the use of a photograph qualifies for fair use:

• The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit or educational purposes.
• The nature of the copyrighted work.
• The amount and substantiality of the copyrighted material that is used.
• The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

3. You need a model release to use a photograph of a person on a book cover.
In general, the use of a person’s image on a book cover was considered to be an editorial use that would not need a model release. Recently, however, a New York court determined that a model release was needed for a cover of a fiction book. While this ruling has created an anomaly, it’s always safest to obtain a signed model release.
4. If you make money from a print, it is a commercial use.
Just selling a print or licensing a photo does not make the transaction a commercial use of a photograph. Instead, a commercial use of a photograph generally occurs when the photo is used for advertising, endorsement or trade.
5. You need a property release to use a photograph of a house for a commercial use.
No court or state has established a law—either by statute or through court rulings—creating a right to protect or prevent property from being photographed from a public area, or from that photograph being used editorially or commercially. Thus, no legal reason exists for a “property release,” except perhaps when photographing other copyrighted works or trademarks. Note that some stock agencies require a property release for fear of being sued.
6. You have no copyright protection for your photos until you register them.
Copyright exists in your photographs at the moment you click the shutter. While you do not have to register your photos with the U.S. Copyright Office for them to be protected by copyright, there are many reasons to register them. When a photo is not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office prior to an infringement (or within three months of the first publication of the photo), a copyright owner may recover only “actual damages” for the infringement (pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 504 (b)), instead of statutory damages. Courts usually calculate actual damages based on your normal license fees and/or standard licensing fees, plus profits derived from the infringement, if not too speculative.
Note also that to file a lawsuit in the U.S. for copyright infringement, the photo must be registered.
The U.S. Copyright Office now allows for registration of certain copyrighted works online using the eCO system. Currently, you may use eCO to register any number of unpublished images, a single published image and multiple images that were all first published in the same “unit of publication.” Registrations of a group of separately published photographs at this time must be submitted on Form VA only, with optional use of continuation sheet Form GR/PPh/CON. The Copyright Office expects that these group registrations will be allowed using the eCO system soon.
7. Statues and other works of art on federal or state property are in the public domain.
Works in the “public domain” are creative works that are not protected by copyright. Works are in public domain either because: (1) the author failed to satisfy statutory formalities to perfect the copyright; (2) it is a work of the U.S. Government; or (3) the term of copyright for the work has expired.
Item (1) refers to work published prior to March 1, 1989. The copyright notice had to be affixed to the work or it immediately lost protection (the copyright protection for some foreign works has been restored even if they were published without notice before that time). Works published without the copyright notice between 1/1/78 and 3/1/89, the effective date of the Berne Convention Implementation Act, retained copyright only if efforts to correct the accidental omission of notice was made within five years—such as by placing notice on unsold copies. The law has changed so that works published after that time do not need the copyright notice for protection, but it’s a good idea to use it anyway.
Item (2) provides that works of government employees, such as maps, charts and surveys are in the public domain from the date of creation.
Item (3) allows a certain time of copyright protection for the benefit of the creator. The time for that protection has changed several times over the years, so it’s difficult to explain when works fall into the public domain. The chart found at www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm is helpful to determine dates.
Sometimes, however, copyrighted works are created by non-government personnel for the government, such as when the government commissions a piece of art. The artist later transfers the copyright to the government. The “government works exception” then allows the federal government to hold the copyrights for those works transferred to it by assignment.
Some have argued that the government is using this exception unfairly and as a workaround for copyright law. So far, it has been used to prevent the copying or creation of derivative works from items such as a film series on early Supreme Court cases to the Sacagawea coin.
The Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation, Inc. (VWMF) has used the exception as a basis to sue those who have sold photographs of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. The Memorial is a bronze sculpture created by Glenna Goodacre of Santa Fe, NM. It resides on the grounds of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and depicts three women and a wounded soldier. Goodacre reportedly transferred the copyright for the sculpture to the VWMF, which has sued various entities that allegedly sold photographs of the sculpture.
8. Photographs of works in the public domain also are in the public domain.
Unless the photos are exact copies (often referred to as “slavish copies”) of the creative works that are in the public domain, they are entitled to protection under copyright law (see response to #1).
9. If a stock agency requires a model or property release, then it must be legally required.
In general, you may photograph people when they are in public. The use of those photographs, however, can be restricted due to certain privacy rights. Privacy rights are recognized in most states, but are different for each state. Since it’s tricky to know what you can do, the safest approach to follow is the most restrictive one.
One right of privacy—also known as the right of publicity—is the commercial appropriation of someone’s name or likeness. This happens when the name or likeness of someone is used without consent to gain commercial benefit, such as when a photograph of a person is used in an advertisement without the person’s permission. You don’t need a model release to use a photograph of a person for editorial purposes. Since it’s sometimes difficult to tell whether a use of a photograph is commercial or editorial use, it’s best to get a model release. Further, since stock agencies want to avoid lawsuits, they may require a model or property release in an abundance of caution, even when they are not needed.
10. If you take a photograph while working, the copyright to the photograph always belongs to the employer.
Section 101 of the copyright law includes one of the definitions of a “work made for hire” as: (1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment. Thus, while you may take a photo while on the job, if photography is not within your job description, then you, not your employer, own the copyright to the image. When the copyright belongs to your employer, it is as if you never took it and you may not use it for any purposes unless authorized by the employer or the law (such as a fair use).

For more reading, here is a selection of books on the topic of  Photography and the Law

Tell Your Friends About Shutterstock

It's probably happened to you. You're chatting with another photographer or illustrator and they ask for advice about stock photography.

There are plenty of reasons why I recommend Shutterstock with confidence.

 They're growing. Aggressively signing up new customers, their download counts are very high, and have earned respect as one of the top players in image licensing.

They pay competitive earnings. I frequently hear from artists who say we're their top earner. Recently an independent survey found more microstock photographers named Shutterstock their top earning agency in 2009 than any other site. They don't demand exclusivity, a huge point for most folks like you and me.

Uploading is easy. They have a new upload system that makes it simpler to manage your keywords, descriptions and model/property releases. You can even work on multiple images at once, and save or submit part of a batch and come back to it later. Plus the whole system is wrapped in a slick, streamlined interface. Shutterstock created the easiest upload system in the industry so you can spend more time creating content and less time editing.

And… make money by referring other photographers! If you sign up a photographer - that photographer will receive $0.25 on their photo downloads - and you will receive $0.03 on their downloads! You could make money by merely promoting the Shutterstock Submit Program!

Click now to start earning money today!

Baby Photography Guide

Are you eagerly anticipating the arrival of a new little family member? Amid the hustle and bustle of the baby preparations, it’s easy to forget to photograph all of the small details that you’ll want to remember later. From pregnancy through your baby’s first birthday, this workshop gives you tips for capturing the precious moments each step of the way.

Preserving family memories is important to you—whether you're a newly expecting couple or adoptive parents waiting to meet your new little one, or a grandma who is anticipating the arrival of a new grandchild. You can use the baby and family photo ideas in this workshop to help plan your photography sessions.

Babies can be tricky photo subjects, but that doesn't mean you need to break the bank to get great shots of your new little one. There's a digital camera to fit every family's needs, but first you need to figure out which features are important to you. Most new point and shoot cameras have a resolution of at least 10 megapixels, high enough to make 30 x 40 inch prints of your favorite snapshots. Here's a list of other options to keep in mind while you're looking:

• Optical zoom: It's easier to get captivating candids when you can step back from the action and use your camera's zoom feature to capture the important details. Look for optical zooms of at least 3X to 5X.
• Video recording: You'll want to record your baby's first giggle along with her first smile. If you don't already have a separate video camera, look for a camera that can also record video, and capture all the sights and sounds.

We also recommend that you get a handy pocket video camera that shoots HD-quality video that you can watch on your TV, share with family, or preserve to enjoy later.

• Shooting modes: Most point and shoot cameras have at least a few preset shooting or scene modes that optimize you camera settings for different conditions. Look for a portrait mode (for focusing on the subject and blurring the background), a macro or close-up mode (for close-ups of your baby's tiny features), and a sports mode (to catch quick-moving babies on the go).
• Manual controls: If you've really caught the photography bug, you'll want more control over your images. Manual controls allow you to adjust the aperture and shutter speed so you can fine-tune your photo settings.

• On-camera editing: Black and white photos are especially flattering for babies, who often have blotchy or uneven skin during the first few weeks. Look for a camera that allows you to take pictures in black and white or sepia. Some cameras even allow you to crop your pictures on the camera after you've taken them, so you can make sure you got the perfect shot right away.
• Pick which photos to share from your camera: Some cameras, like the KODAK M-series cameras, let you share with the press of a button. Simply mark the photos you want to share from the camera, choose where they go, and then plug in your camera. Your photos are sent automatically.

Don't Forget the Extras

Once you've settled on the right camera, you'll probably want to pick up a few extra supplies to round out your photo gear:

• Extra memory cards: Most cameras come with small-capacity memory cards that hold only a few photos. Since you'll soon be taking hundreds of photos of your growing family, you'll want to purchase a larger memory card right away.
• Extra batteries: Batteries always seem to run out of juice right in the middle of important events. Make sure you're prepared by putting extra batteries in the camera bag, or keeping another set of rechargeable batteries charged and ready to go.
• Lens cleaning cloth: Keep a microfiber cloth handy to wipe dust and fingerprints from your lens.
• Tripod: An inexpensive, flexible tripod like the Gorillapod can help you stabilize your camera and prevent motion-blur, especially in low-light situations.

• Photo-editing software: Whether you go with a user-friendly free download like KODAK EASYSHARE software, or a more robust program like Adobe Photoshop Elements, the right software can help you turn so-so pictures into frame-worthy prints.
• Storage system: Don't lose any of your memories! Make a plan for backing up and storing your photos, either on an external hard drive, or an online storage site like the KODAK Gallery.

 

Interested in reading more?  Check out these fine Books on Baby Photography!

How to Photograph Football

Getting good photos at a football game is very, very hard to do this without going out and purchasing the f2.8's (fast lens) as the High School football stadiums and gyms are notoriously dim - our eyes can adjust, but the camera don't lie.

The amount of light will be key or significant. Forty years ago I started out shooting nighttime football with film and now in this digital era here I still apply that film knowledge once the game begins at 7:00 pm. I set my camera to an ISO of 800, my f-stop at 2.8 and in the AV mode, which automatically selects the shutter speed, which is normally 500th and above. When the light fails normally at the end of the first quarter I reset the ISO to 1000, put the camera on manual mode with my aperture still selected at f/2.8 and set my shutter speed to 250th of a second and throw on a 550 ex flash unit set at 1/4 power. With the Mark II, the max flash synch speed is 1/250 second. However, the camera does offer high speed=flash sync with the EX series flashes. This allows flash at all shutter speeds (even1/8000 second where basically, the flash fires continuously). This function must be activated on the flash unit’ and is indicated by an H symbol on the flash unit’s LCD panel and also in the MKII’s viewfinder. Then if the smallest or largest aperture blinks (on the flash units LCD in or in the cameras viewfinder) I select another shutter speed.

Even then at 250th second it won't freeze the action but will gives me something to work with. I have used shutter speeds to 640th of a second, but like the lower shutter speed of 250th just to add a feeling of ambient light from the fields tower lighting units. If the lighting is really horrible, which it usually is, I shoot raw and compensate the exposure in post processing.
I've found that there are often pools of 'better' light on the field where the lights overlap. It can be worth camping out in one spot where you can take advantage of this. This is normally from the 20-yard line to the other 20-yard line, but that’s not the case where the lighting in the end zones are weaker. Also, pay attention to the game - that way you can be looking for the dramatic shot, rather than reacting to it. Football is way too fast a game for that.

If you are unfamiliar with the controls on your camera the aperture priority mode might be a good choice for you to practice with. Set your aperture your lowest aperture and your ISO to 800 or 1600 and let the camera set the shutter speed. You may get a bit of motion blur occasionally but it will help you get a feel for what setting the shutter should be on to capture what you want at that venue (lighting is different at every football stadium). Alternately, if you know the shutter speed you want (at least 1/250 of a second with your lens extended) you can use the shutter priority mode and let the camera set the aperture.
It is the combination of low light, fast action, camera motion (from panning) that makes focusing such an adventure. Focusing has to be dead on given the 2.8 aperture; as a result I use the center focus point exclusively - at least that way I'll have an idea of where the focus tracking the action will be.

If you don’t have one of the fast lenses here’s some helpful hints:

1. Monopod A must. Reduces camera shake
2. Lens Image stabilization. Turn it on to setting 2. Reducing horizontal shake (setting 1 on the lens) is ok, but using both axis gets better results.
3. If your stadium's light absolutely stinks, use the custom function and set ASA to 3200 ("H"). Set the camera’s se aperture priority, set it at the lowest f-stop, and let the camera dictate the fastest shutter speed.
4. Stand about 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. You'll still get full frame, but the action will be moving more toward you than left to right, so you'll get less blur. If you're trying to shoot defensive players, stand 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, to get faces and the occasional sack behind the line.
5. When the light gets REALLY bad (meaning we have a shutter speed of 1/250 or less) stop down 1/3 or even 2/3 of a stop. It keeps the shutter speed up, and you can always pull the brightness up in Photoshop. If you shoot at the highest ("L") setting, you'll have more data to pull out.
6. If you have a second camera with a flash, use it too. When the frame of your zoom fills at 70mm, stop shooting, grab your second camera and get the shots as they come to you on the sideline (if they fill THAT viewfinder, stop shooting and get the heck out of the way!)
7. Make sure you use your dodge and burn tools in Photoshop. You'll want to dodge the faces inside the helmets, especially for African-American players. Personally I lasso the face and use the curves to bring out the faces. Most photographers -- even newspaper photographers -- don't do this, and the mom's of our team's black players just love me because they can actually see the faces of their sons in the shots.
8. Burn lots of frames. I have a 4GB card and shoot about 370 frames per card to get 120-150 good shots. Bottom line: You paid for 8fps -- use it.
9. Adjust your metering according to the camera's owner's manual. Set it to center-weighted metering (where no eyeball icon appears on the top menu. This will help your camera get the right light, rather than letting a bright background light source or a super-dark night mess up the metering.
10. Keep tinkering. Every stadium's lighting is a little different. So shoot, look at your images and make adjustments.

The one thing that will make you a better photographer

I was certain to get your full attention with this title, wasn't I! We are always looking for the magic bullet that will suddenly turn us into the lovechild of Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier-Bresson and, when we find things to be a bit more complicated, we turn to our secret weapon: our wallet. Surely with the latest 2.8 zoom, or if we switch to a full frame camera, then our images will get better. Right?

Well, things don't quite work this way, and deep down, we all know the truth: there is no magic bullet. We can't buy our way into being a good photographer any more than we can buy our way into becoming a good writer. Talent might give you a head start, but in the end, the only way to become any good at creating images is, like for everything else, to practice it a lot. Nothing can replace hard work and shooting tens of thousands of frames, day in and day out. As brilliant as HCB, Adams, Weston and any of your photographic heroes might have been, they have worked very hard to become as good as they were, and they shot a lot of crap to get there, just as everybody else.



At this point, you might simply shrug, thinking that there is nothing new here and you would be right to find the title of this post misleading. Indeed, just accepting the reality and saying "I need to work hard" is great, but it isn't of very concrete help.

But I didn't lie: there is a thing, simple and relatively easy, that you can start doing right now and that is guaranteed to make you a much better photographer than any amount of money you could spend on gear or even workshops. I was lucky enough to discover it by chance when I started getting serious about photography, and I have no doubt that it was the main factor in making me reach where I am today (wherever that is). Continue reading...

Photographing Bands

I love this shot I got today of the singer for The Diodes, a Toronto punk band that had minor success in the late seventies. The trick is to be patient. Keep your camera trained on the lead singer and wait for those crescendos. Then PRESS!! It takes practice for sure to get photos that aren't blurred or ones where you've missed the timing.

Take a lot of photos when shooting concerts. You're going to throw away most, but it'll help you learn what works and what doesn't.

Background

Chickadee
Originally uploaded by Rick Blythe.

Here is a photo I took in my backyard with a 70-300mm zoom. It's an Ok shot of a bird, not special in any way, just a snapshot really.

What I would comment about this photo though is the background. When I was framing this photo my attention was very much focused on the bird. They move very quickly and I missed many shots before I got this one. But here's the point. I knew I had to un-clutter my background or else the photo would definitely be one for the recycle bin.

By consciously remembering to watch my background I got a keeper. The background in this shot is the distant and non-distracting brick of my home. Perfect.

Mamatus Photographs

Mamatus
Originally uploaded by Rick Blythe.

While I barbecued some chicken this evening some amazing clouds were forming overhead. Of course I had one of my cameras at hand. My trusty Canon G10.  These are color photos!

Mamatus-2
Originally uploaded by Rick Blythe.