Planning Assignment 2

I am still thinking along the lines of still life for Assignment Two. Always up for challenging myself nothing in photography is ever "easy" but I want to make myself think hard about what I am taking photographs of and the technical side of producing the images. Having read parts of On Being a Photographer and On Looking at Photographs (Jay and Hurn) I wanted to have a clear purpose behind the reason for taking each image, I wanted each image to be personal to me but to also illicit some kind of reaction/emotion/recognition from my audience, even if that audience did not share the same experiences they should be able to empathise with them and have their own interpretation/memories kindled.

Gauntlet thrown down to myself! I am hoping to find enough objects/scenarios that will translate into still life images that can encapsulate stages in my life/the end of things/moving on as the theme. Hopefully the images will speak for themselves and require no explanations.

I've had a quick squizz through Minimalist Lighting Techniques by Kirk Tuck Copyright 2009 published by Amherst Media Inc, and whilst a lot of it does not apply, as I don't have the lights, soft boxes or the room size there are some interesting pointers about how to set up for still life within a studio and some techniques that I can duplicate with everyday household items...bring on the sheets, kitchen foil and clothes pegs!

'The studio is all about “making” and not just “taking” a photograph. Out on the street, all you need to do is react to whatever transpires in front of you. The whole point of using a studio is to be able to control every aspect of your photography. In the studio, you decide what background to use, what kind of lights to use, the color and character of the light, and so much more. Of all the decisions you’ll make, the most important technical choices will concern the lighting—whether or not to use hard, chiseled light with deep black shadows or soft, effulgent light that wraps around your subject and provides soft transitions between highlights and shadows.' (p24)

Section 2, Light and Lighting Explained covers points such as fall off which I found quite relevant, and how the use of silver reflectors can flood areas with reflected light. A brilliant series of shots of an orange with different lighting techniques (p39-45) showed how to make an interesting shape whilst not creating harsh specular lights or deep shadows. A diffuser was made by using tracing paper and an old picture frame, fill light to the other side of the subject was a simple white T shirt on a hanger. Things to bear in mind when I set up my shoot.

Thinking about Metering :o)

Obviously the last set of tasks have all been about colour casts and dynamic range, all link in to correct exposure. One of the tasks had me "spot metering" with my camera. The 400D unlike some of the later models does not actually have a spot metering mode so I had to investigate and find out which of the modes was the best to use on this occasion and what did the other modes actually offer.

Cameras measure the light reflected back from the subject to the camera. Reflective light meters assume that all scenes have an average distribution of light, medium and dark tones, the meter also assumes that the average of all tones in the scene is 18 percent grey. On the whole this assumption is correct and will produce a properly exposed image. But as we know not all scenes will contain average tonality, e.g. snow or large expanses of water.

The modes on the 400D are as follows :-

Evaluative Metering

This is the default setting and will analyse from virtually the whole viewfinder area, with the meter analysing the point of focus and automatically applying compensation is the surrounding areas are much lighter or darker. To calculate the correct exposure the camera analyses subject position, brightness, background, front and back lighting and camera orientation.

This mode produces correct exposure in average scenes that include a distribution of light, medium and dark tones. If shooting scenes already mentioned IE snow, water it can be useful to use exposure compensation to increase or decrease exposure by one or two stops. Evaluative metering mode in the default for all Basic Zone Modes.

Centre-weighted Average Metering

Centre-weighted Average metering makes use of the AF points but although there are nine AF points only the seven AF points in the centre are used, hence the name. Centre-weighted metering gives more weight to the area of the scene within the seven AF points in the centre of the viewfinder. The camera then averages the exposure for the entire scene. This is useful for backlit subjects and where the tones are not average and require exposure compensation.

Partial Metering

This mode meters from a central 9 percent of the viewfinder. Once again this is handy in backlit or side-lit situations when you want to make sure the subject is properly exposed.

Exposure Compensation

You can use exposure compensation to override the camera's default exposure. EC is set in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments up to +/- 2 f-stops. It can be combined with Auto Exposure Bracketing and be used in all Creative Zone modes except for Manual.

Auto Exposure Bracketing

AEB ensures at least one exposure in a series of three will be acceptable, one exposure will taken at the standard exposure with one lighter and one darker. AEB can also be set at 1/3 or 1/2 increments up to +/- 2 f-stops. However AEB cannot be used in some circumstances, i.e. with flash or Bulb settings. AEB settings are cancelled if you change the lens, replace a cf card or battery or turn off the camera.

AE Lock

Another handy feature if you don't want to set the exposure on the area where you set the focus, for example if shooting a portrait and the brightest spot is the persons forehead, in this situation you may wish to expose for the highlight but focus on the eyes. This can be achieved by using AE Lock.Once again this function is not available in Manual mode.

When thinking about exposure the issue of flash rears it's ugly head. To flash or not to flash that is the question! Built in flash can produce harsh or unnatural illumination on the subject and more often than not harsh shadows behind. Overexposure and red-eye are also a common effect. The 400D's built in flash and capability to use external flash units offer a greater control and help to avoid these problems.

There is a table in the Digital Rebel Field Guide which gives the Built in Flash Range with the 18-55mm lens

Built-in Flash Range with the EF-S18-55mm Lens
ISO	18mm	55mm
100	1- 3.7 m (3.3-12.1 ft)	1- 2.3 m (3.3- 7.5 ft)
200	0.7 - 5.3m (3.3- 17.4 ft)	1 – 3.3, (3.3- 10.8 ft)
400	0.7 - 7.4m (3.3 – 24.3 ft)	1- 4.6m (3.3- 15.1ft)
800	0.7- 10.5m (3.3 – 34.4 ft)	1- 6.6m (3.3 – 21.7 ft)
1600	0.7- 14.9m (3.3- 48.9 ft)	1- 9.2M (3.3 – 30.5 ft)

which made interesting reading. Not that I expect to remember all of it just like that ;o) Handy to note that whatever the focal length or ISO the closest you should be is approx 1m and using the highest ISO at 18mm you can reach up to 14.9m (though my brain still likes to operate in feet) Obviously upping the ISO will increase the range, I'll have to find a simple way to remember the increments but in general the longer the focal length the shorter the distance the flash covers and the higher the ISO the farther the distance the flash illumination covers.

The 400D also offers a red-eye reduction option and a Flash Exposure lock and flash exposure compensation. Now I have investigated FEC I will probably use it more :o).

Interesting review...
Canon EOS 400D Rebel XTi Digital Camera Flash - Full Review - The Imaging Resource!

Notes on Black and White

Advanced Digital Black and White Photography by John Beardsworth Copyright The Ilex Press Ltd 2007 is a book which contains 5 sections covering every aspect of digital black and white photography, Capturing the Black and White Image, Converting to Black and White, Fine-Tuning the Photograph, Creative Effects and Presentation and Output.

Dealing with the latest features in Adobe Photoshop CS3 many of these techniques can be applied to more up-to-date versions. Reading through the sections in preparation for Assignment 3 has helped me understand how I could use the most creative ways to convert my pictures to black and white, how to fine-tune the monochrome image, and how to emphasize a subject's qualities.

A quick summary of the sections would be to say 1) the best place to begin for a top quality Black and White picture is a correctly exposed and well composed RAW file with all the colour information still intact. 2) Conversion is all about tonal separation, distribution of greyscale tones and image balance. 3) Controlling contrast and adjustments to selective areas using dodge and burn and sharpening. 4) Creative effects but not manipulation in the realms of weird or offbeat, more to do with toning, simulating litho prints, solarisation, pinhole camera effects, infrared film etc. 5) Borders and techniques such as edge burning. Sharpening for print or web. Specialized black and white inks. Solutions for outputting entire shoots as black and white.

So what images lend themselves to black and white? Well, my first instinct is reply surely anything? When photography first came into being did people shy away from certain topics or subjects because they could only capture it in monochrome? Admittedly now scenes can be captured in colour would a sunset be as stunning in black and white? Conversely as Beardsworth points “Would Cartier-Bresson's images have been any less arresting if they had been in color? Or Mapplethorpe's  nudes any less striking?”  (p16) In conclusion it is probably safe to say, a well-composed picture, with interesting subject matter, will be great in black and white.

Within black and white all that is available to the photographer are shades of grey so it is very important to recognise tonal contrast, as colours that are very different when “in colour” appear the same tone when converted to monochrome. As touched upon earlier, shoot in colour, then you can exploit the colour differences.

There are several “quick fixes” to conversion, two being convert to greyscale and de-saturating but these are destructive conversions and also ignore the colour channels. Gradient Mapping gives slightly better results but only operates on the image luminosity, once again ignoring the colour channels. Other methods mentioned are Colour Match, Lightness, Calculations and Colour Blend. I have never used the last four but it maybe interesting to experiment just to see what results they actually give!

This book states that “today’s best black-and-white conversion techniques rely on adjustment layers” (p62) I can only make the assumption that this holds as true now, only several years after this book was published. Adjustment layers and layer masks have the advantage of allowing different mono conversions in different parts of the picture, using the channel values that are right for those areas.

I really enjoyed reading through this book and noting the many techniques contained within it. An example of a tool I never knew existed and I have never used before is the targeted adjustment tool. This will come in very handy with any image I wish to manipulate.I have only borrowed this book and will never be able to commit to memory everything it contains...it may be added to my wish list ;o)

Video tutorial on the TAT Adobe Photoshop CS4 Target Adjust Tool Demonstration on Vimeo

Another book I have had a flick through is Black and White in Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop Lightroom Leslie Alsheimer and Bryan O'Neil Hughes 2009 Elsevier/Focal Press.

This book bring home the need to think differently when photographing for black and white. You need to visualize and look for clues to create more impact in your B&W images. These would be texture, lines, contrast, shapes, shadows, patterns and silhouettes. It echos the advice given by Beardsworth with regards to needing to begin with a good quality RAW file and employing non-destructive conversion techniques using layers and blending. The authors explain the need for caution when making drastic contrast or colour corrections as this is when posterization can occur, poserization being the loss of tones which result in transitions that are abrupt (banding). A very good book for learning how to do B&W conversions.

Harold Davis' Creative Black and White Digital Photography Tips and Techniques Wiley Publishing Inc 2010 is yet another I could recommend, I haven't read it in depth as much of it covers the same issues as the previous other two, however there are some super images and ideas inside. He also details high key and low key shots and the use of HDR.

Am looking forward to this section :o) Hope I can do it justice.

Spending Money ;o)

Not a vast amount... but I felt it would come in handy. I have decided that some of my images will no doubt be some kind of still life. In fact there may be experimentation with still life for Assignment 2, if successful they will be submitted...if not there will be another topic chosen ;o)

Discovering over the years that playing with some of the papers/fabrics/card I possess don't always give the best results, the proverbial bullet was bitten and a couple of yards of black cotton velvet has been purchased...now all that needs to happen is the production of some decent images...it's the lighting that needs to be explored as well :o) Watch this space....I may even upload the disasters!

Years ago I was told about the virtues and properties of black velvet. Reading up online about it it seems to still be a recommended product, though some photographers use black muslin as a backdrop with success.

I found this tutorial for product photography which I thought would come in handy, although I don't have the impressive array of lights that he does!

What is Product Photography?: Tabletop Product Photography | eHow.com

Assignment 2: Digital image qualities

Produce a set of images, approximately six, with a common theme but it must include at least one each of the following lighting conditions :-

• A high-dynamic range scene
• A low-dynamic range scene
• Low-light conditions which require a high ISO setting
• Mixed lighting conditions.

Make notes of the technical challenges that each situation presented and how I attempted to meet them in the shooting, ie altering the composition, camera position/settings and in post production.

Exercise 10: Colour cast and white balance Part 2 Review

For the second part of this exercise I needed to find and shoot a mixed-lighting source scene. I chose to shoot an image of a local pub at dusk when the interior lights had been switched on. The sun was still out and shining onto the building giving a warmish glow, I think the interior lighting was incandescent. Three seperate shots were taken using three different white-balance settings, Daylight,Tungsten and Auto.

Daylight

file temperature read 5150



The image shot using the Daylight setting has given the white paintwork a slightly yellow cast, more than the dusky late afternoon sun was producing.The interior walls and logs have a warmer appearance than they should.

Tungsten



file temperature read 3250



This image has a very distinctive blue cast. This has a very unnatural feel about the exterior although the colour of the interior lights are more correct.

Auto



file temperature read 4550




























The auto white balance has provided the closest colour balance to the scene as perceived by the human eye. As the sun sinks lower in the sky the colour temperature alters to approximately 4000K The camera's automatic setting has read the colour temperature of the outside of the building producing a truer result and the interior colours temperature is not far off. If I had to choose one of these images without any post-processing I would opt for the Auto setting as it is closer to the scene as it was "seen". The interior is not that visible in this particular shot to have been overly affected by the white balance choice. Had the interior been more visible/ or had the shots been taken from inside it maybe that the results would have been different, with the camera taking it's readings from the interior lighting.

Compromise

As  the images were shot in RAW I could experiment with the settings and sliders to find a compromise shot. To be honest I think my final choice is quite close to the auto setting but possibly a little warmer. When shooting under mixed lighting conditions, if using the cameras built in white balance settings you will need to decide at the outset which light is the most dominant and which will affect the overall outcome and what you are willing to compromise on/perform post production with. If time allows you can set a custom white balance setting.

What Makes an Image not just a Snapshot?

Or....Merit, and Why it is so Rare.....chapter 3 from On Looking at Photographs *, David Hurn and Bill Jay also cover this topic which is of paramount importance to anyone who picks up a camera with a view to capturing something.

Taking photographs and looking at images is always subjective. I so often hear people say "I wouldn't hang that on my wall!" Well to be honest there are an awful lot of photographs that I wouldn't hang on my wall either but that doesn't stop me liking the image. Conversely there are images that I wouldn't hang on my wall, I don't like the photograph but it doesn't stop me appreciating the art and craft that produced them. Having said all of that there are also pictures that are raved over that I can't apply any of the former to at all!

Off topic but strangely relevant, last night I watched Educating Rita for the first time in ages, she wanted to be able to write educational essays, to be like the other students, comment on plays and books with the correct vocabulary. Her professor was reluctant to teach her because he liked her refreshing outlook on life, her honest approach to books and the fact if she thought a book crap she said so! I often wonder if in learning to "read" a photograph, to analyse it, apply a certain level of critique, appreciate the lines or composition we become too engrossed in the technical aspect and either lose sight of the image itself, either not seeing the beauty or the horror it is trying to portray, or even shock horror feel obliged to find something "good" about it while our inner self is screaming "actually I think it's crap!"

Some will argue that an image, which on its own is irrelevant, will take on a different meaning when part of a body of work. I guess this can be true, but I still have this little devil sitting on my shoulder whispering, "but why is that iconic? It's naff....say so...."

The meaning of images are malleable and can be manipulated in order to provoke the correct response, be that by titles or composition, but when contemplating the merit of a photograph, and why is it that one is seen to be better than another, it helps to be clear about the purpose behind its capture. As Hurn and Jay point out "a successful picture is not dependent on the size of the appreciative audience." (p43)

To help make this point they give certain examples IE. an x-ray finding an illness will be appreciated by a doctor and patient alike. It may then come to nothing or possibly could be part of some ground breaking medical advancement, revered by practitioners for years. Or they discuss a recent astronomical photograph which just looked like a "fuzzy white splotch in a black background" (p44) but transpired to be the first alien solar system ever photographed. As an image it was exceedingly poor, but the significance and interest generated by it was immense.

Their final example is that iconic shot of a young girl in Vietnam running away from her napalmed village. Not one of these examples had been dependent on the "aesthetic rightness of the image " (p45) and in fact "photographs are unique in that this lack of perfection may actually contribute to the power of the images by implying their closer relationship to real life, shorn of artistic pretensions." (p45)

Paradoxically the opposite can also be true, and this time they give an example of a family snap shot with a general appeal due to its interlocking forms and shapes; The Beach at Villerville 1904 Jacques Henri-Lartigue

http://www.oswaldgallery.com/artists/jacques-henri-lartigue

The ideal to producing a photograph of merit is the combination of a subject with wide appeal but containing a high degree of craftsmanship and visual design.

Going back to a point I made in my third paragraph with regards to the audience no longer actually seeing the image itself it Hurn and Jay also broach this topic and give the example of Don McCullin who returning from war-torn Biafra was frustrated when colleagues complimented his beautiful pictures and did not see what he had intended "That's not a great picture, that's an actual young mother who is starving to death in Biafra right now!" (p46)

Another lesson to learn; the best photographs can function in different contexts. Take for example a photograph by Timothy O'Sullivan White House Ruins, Canyon de Chelly, 1873 , originally taken to prove that the canyon was created by glacial scouring it now seems to symbolize the smallness of man against the towering power of nature and many trip out to this iconic site for that reason alone.

Thinking back to my original ponderings and the title of this chapter, it seems many things make a photograph of merit or a photograph "good", though no-one can absolutely put their finger on what elements they are as they can vary.

As Hurn and Jay point out ' "Good" is not the same as "Important" "Good" is not the same as "Useful" "Good is not the same as "Interesting" and "Good" is not the same as "Liking"' (p49)  A good place to start is to ask yourself the following three questions 1) What was the intent of the photographer? 2) How well has the intent been realized? 3) Was the intent worth the effort in the first place? (p51) Whilst not necessarily providing the definitive answer asking these questions and getting the answer is  the first step in understanding how merit "is rooted in a specific purpose....the picture can blossom, into something that transcends the original intent to become a more universal symbolic image." (p51)

Ultimately there is no rule book but the more you photograph something the more it feels right, you learn to recognise, before you even press the shutter that what is in front of you will not translate into a flat image.

I found this link which shows some of the iconic photographs that changed the world....judge for yourself if they are technically brilliant or just marvels.....we all aspire to maybe one day produce just that one shot......

http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0309/lm01.html




*On Looking at Photographs. Text by Bill Jay and David Hurn. LensWork Publishing, Portland, 1999