The Digital Photo Guy

Fun with Flash

Most hobbyist photographers never take full advantage of all the bells and whistles in their fancy external flash, aka Canon Speedlite or Nikon Speedlight (I guess Nikon has a better spell checker!) Here are three things you might do with your flash.

A Canon 550EX and Canon 7D was used for all these photos but this can be done with most any modern digital camera and flash. Caveat: most advanced features are only available on dedicated flashes (made by the camera maker.)

Bounce the Light: If you’re just blasting light straight ahead, you may as well get closer and use the pop-up flash on your camera. Of course, with the greater power of an external flash, you might be able to get some really cool redeye effects. To soften the light and cast shadows that add depth, texture and character to your photos, bounce the light off a (low) ceiling or a handy wall. The bounce surface should be white to reduce odd color casts unless you’re into that look!

The flash in the first photo below was bounced off the 10 foot ceiling in my office while the second photo was with the 550EX pointed directly at the subject. Notice the harsh shadow directly behind the subject. Regardless of whether the subject is 6 inches or 6 feet tall, there will always be a harsh shadow. The bounced photo has a soft shadow that is less objectionable. If the subject is 6 ft tall, the shadow will be barely perceptible. For small subjects/objects, read on for a tip near the bottom.

2nd Curtain for Motion Effects: Many people have read or heard about 2nd curtain sync but haven’t quite figured out the purpose. In the default 1st curtain setting, the flash fires as soon as the shutter opens. This is usually of no consequence when the shutter speed is brief (<1/30 second) or the subject is static. However, if the shutter speed is >1/30 second, subject movement may show unnatural aberrations.

The first photo below shows a moving car captured with 1st curtain. The flash fired as soon as the shutter opened so the body of the car is to the left of the frame while the headlights extend forward as if the car was firing photon torpedoes. In the second photo, setting 2nd curtain caused the flash to fire just before the shutter closes. Now, the headlight trails are behind the car, a more natural image. These were handheld since the crowded sidewalk wasn’t conducive to deploying a tripod and I actually like the blurred lights. For a more traditional 2nd curtain image of automobile light trails, use a tripod and a stronger flash output.

Freeze Frames: This last photo is an example of Multi or stroboscopic flash where the flash is fired repeatedly at a set rate. In this photo, the Canon 550EX was set to fire at 4 times per second. The camera was set to 2 second shutter timer and the toy was released shortly after the timer was tripped. As the toy swung in front of the camera, the shutter opened for 1 second and the flash fired 4 times.

Now, remember in the first part where I described bounce? The small size of the subject showed a large, albeit soft, shadow. Here’s a previous Monday Morning Tip where I describe using Multi Mode to produce small product shots without a shadow.

Photography Classes at Palomar College

Did you know you can register for my Palomar College classes regardless of where you live? Even if you’re in Moosebreath, Montana, you can attend my classes via webinar. Check out Digital SLR for New dSLR Owners on Tuesday and Thursday, September 13 and15 from 7PM to 8:30PM Pacific Time or Photoshop Elements for Digital Photographers on Tue/Thu, Oct 11 and 13 at the same time. All you need is a PC or Mac, high-speed Internet and $59. Register today to get the most out of your digital photography.

Last Pin-Up Model Shoots

Since the Monday Morning Tip about the reader who unsubscribed due to, “Too many under-dressed female models…” I’ve had a huge spike in hits on this site. Today is the last of the series for a while because one can only photograph underdressed female models so many times.

The 2012 Cuties for a Cause Calendar launch party is Friday, October 14 at the Lafayette Hotel in San Diego. It’s only $10 so I encourage all my readers to attend if you can and, at least, buy a calendar. Proceeds go to the San Diego Animal Support Foundation, helping to improve the welfare of animals.

The following photos were made at the Lafayette Hotel which was featured in the movie Top Gun. The famous clamshell stage will be the backdrop for a fashion/swim suit show.

I also did a Cuties shoot at a private residential pool in Escondido, surrounded by tropical palms and ferns. Here are some of the best. The last photo is Melissa, the 2nd shooter/assistant at both shoots. Her photo of Tina number 7 (ignore my signature.)

Computers as Modern Necessary Evils

I started my life in computer engineering. This was back before geek was chic. Geeks wore white shirts, black ties, crew cuts and carried slide rules. In case you’ve never heard of a slide rule, here’s my original student slide rule (top) and my “professional” slide rule.

Last week, my HDR Webinar crashed and burned when the Screen Sharing plug-in died. For the first time in a long time, I had to cancel a webinar due to technical issues. The webinar service shrugged and said, “Stuff happens.” Just as there are no ex-Marines, there are no ex-geeks. I discovered a workaround but that wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted to fix the problem, not just add a patch like an old British sports car.

In the process, I found a tool that appealed to my inner geek. TweakNow PowerPack (TNPP) is like the Swiss Army Knife of PC utilities. Like a Swiss Army Knife, it is small and elegantly designed. Like a Swiss Army Knife, it is full of surprisingly useful tools and accessories. Like a Swiss Army Knife, you can hurt yourself if you’re not careful.

The main tools I needed were a registry scanner/cleaner and a temporary Internet files remover. Think of registry files as recipe cards. As you use them, they become splattered with tomato paste, Worcestshire sauce and canola oil. It becomes harder to decipher and errors creep in. Eventually, the cards need to be cleaned or replaced. In a PC, the registry becomes cluttered with info about old programs that you’ve removed, upgraded or somehow changed. In most cases, you never even realized the registry was modified. Eventually, the registry is too damaged and something fails.

Repairing the registry is not for the faint of heart. One slip of the keys and your PC can be rendered deader than the proverbial doorknob. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of registry cleaners that claim to make your PC well again. Some are outright scams while others are ineffective. Good ones tend to be expensive for a tool that does just one thing. TNPP is amazingly effective (based on my short tests) and, best of all, it’s free. I thought it was good enough that I donated $50 via the donate button on the TNPP site.

TNPP will clear out all sorts of accumulated junk and, in general, help make your PC run faster using fewer resources. But (you knew there had to be a catch,) I seriously recommend users stick with the default settings. DO NOT adjust settings like you might increase or decrease amounts in a recipe. If removing 10GB of junk is good, don’t assume removing 20GB is twice as good.

If your PC is more than 2-3 years old and your grandmother can add 2 + 2 faster, it might be useful to download TNPP and give it a whirl. After all, it’s free and can’t hurt as long as you don’t get stupid.

By Popular Demand

Subscribers come and go on my site all the time. Many don’t give a reason for unsubscribing, some lose interest in photography, others are satisfied with their current skills and some have progressed beyond the beginner level material on this site. Last week, I had a first. A person unsubscribed because, “Too many under-dressed female models…” Well, today’s post is dedicated to that former subscriber.

Next week, I’m shooting Tina and several other pin-up models for the launch of their 2012 calendar for Cuties for a Cause. This year’s cause is the San Diego Animal Support Foundation, a private, volunteer organization dedicated to improving the welfare of animals. So, if you’re an animal lover, buy a calendar to support their cause. And, if you’re offended by pin-up models, this is not the site for you. (I feel so much better now. )

Restore Old Photos – 30 Minute Webinar, Wed Sep 14

If you have old, ratty, torn photos with dog-eared corners, creases, coffee/water stains and “goop” of unknown origins, you’ll want to register for this 30-Minute Webinar. In 30 minutes, you’ll get a quick overview of restoration techniques to make your photos useable.

Combined with tips and techniques learned in other 30-Minute Webinars such as levels adjustment, color balance and layers, you’ll be able to confidently fix badly damaged photos. As always, 30-Minute Webinars are on Wednesday evenings at 7PM Pacific Time and, currently, just $3. Later this year, prices will increase to $5 per 30-Minute Webinar or $50 for a dozen.

Lightroom Tips – 30 Minute Webinar, (TBA)

If you’re new to Lightroom and want to get started on the right foot, this is the 30-Minute Webinar for you. Because LR is totally different from Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, it takes a few moments to figure out where to start. Heck, if you just climbed onto the bandwagon without really knowing about LR, you might not even know what LR does. Don’t laugh, many people buy LR simply because “it’s on sale at a killer price!”

In this webinar, we’ll cover what LR does and demo some basic tips for making the best use of LR’s powers. As always, 30-Minute Webinars are on Wednesday evenings at 7PM Pacific Time and, currently, just $3. Later this year, prices will increase to $5 per 30-Minute Webinar or $50 for a dozen.

Learning Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Lightroom

Think back to when you learned to drive a car. If, like me, you’re older than dirt, you may recall watching work the clutch and shift the tranny. It seemed so simple. Give it gas, release the clutch, wait until the car is up to speed, depress clutch, shift, release clutch, repeat. However, doing it, nothing worked quite as you imagined. Lightly depressing the gas pedal made the engine roar like an Indy racer. Releasing the clutch either stalled the engine or made the car jump like a toad with a hotfoot. Shifting was an exercise in futility, second was nowhere to be found! It was only with lots of practice that you finally started, shifted and stopped smoothly.

Learning Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Lightroom is much the same. Watching others isn’t going to get you much more than frustration and badly edited photos. To really learn something, one has to practice repeatedly. It also helps to have an advisor who can help when you’re at wit’s end.

Last week, I decided to print some black & whites. Lately, I’ve seen some great BW and thought I’d rework a few old photos. The first print was a disaster. The blacks were completely blocked and there were  no details anywhere.

After three days of hair-pulling frustration, I conceded defeat and asked the printing guru at my local Calumet store. He showed me some techniques on the 3880 in the store and that’s all I needed. Within hours, I was printing great BW.

My success can be attributed to hours upon hours of practice with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Lightroom coupled with several dozen classes plus knowing the right person to seek out for advice. Finally, it really helps to know how to frame the questions.

That’s why all my classes come with after-class support. I know most students will never remember everything from a class. It would be surprising if students remembered 25% of the class. But, anyone who diligently applies themselves can always get help from me.

Back to Wild Animal Park with a Plan

I went back to Wild Animal Park this past Sunday prepared to photograph large birds. Before I went, I had three large birds in mind. As always, Fred the Shoebill Stork was at the top of my list of favorites. Next, I wanted a good photo of the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill and, of course, the Secretary Bird.

The hornbill has such black eyes that I wanted a photo using fill flash to add a catchlight. As luck would have it, the hornbill was not in a mood to pose. Most times, he perches on a log in the middle of the enclosure but, this time, he kept pacing directly in front of me, behind a set of barrier cables. I had to wait patiently for him to make several runs through the tall grass before I finally managed to fire three frames. This was the best.

I used a Canon 7D with a 300/2.8 at f/2.8 and 1/80 second. My Canon 550EX was set to Manual at 1/4 power. The camera was on a Gitzo 3530LS with a Markins ballhead and a Wimberly Sidekick gimbal mount.

The Secretary Birds weren’t much better. Their interesting running behavior of the previous week was gone and one sat on the ground, just out of sight, while the other paced in front of a chain link fence, a distracting background. On a few occasions, it ran past us and I was able to make this photo.

For this, my Canon 7D with the 300/2.8 was set to f/2.8 at 1/250 second and the Canon 550EX was in Manual Mode at 1/4 power.

The White Egyptian Vulture was a treat. I had’t noticed him before so it was fun to make a photo. Again, his eyes were so black, it was difficult to get a catchlight unless he was looking in just the right direction. Shortly after I made this photo, he was chased off by a brown vulture. Here, I used f/8.0 because I wanted to dial back the light off the white bird. A 300mm at 30 feet has less than 12 inches DoF from f/2.8 to about f/8.0 so I wasn’t too concerned about the background. My main concern was not to blow out the white feathers.

Fred, the shoebill stork, as usual, didn’t disappoint. Here, I caught Fred in a contemplative mood as he studied the flowers in front of him. As fearsome as he looks, I would love to get up close to Fred.

All the photos were processed in Lightroom 3 based on techniques I learned from George Jardine’s LR training videos. If you’re serious about your photography, you should be using Lightroom and, if you’re using Lightroom, you need George’s videos. You can get all three (Library, Develop, Adobe Camera Raw) for about $50. That’s 16 hours of training for less than a dinner for two.

Understanding Layers and How To Use Them

Explaining Layers is like blind men describing an elephant. Depending on where on the elephant a blind man touched, it was variously described as python-like, wall-like or built like a tree trunk. Be as that may, I’m presenting a 30-Minute Webinar to demonstrate the different ways Layers can be used in PS/PSE. I’ll demonstrate Adjustment Layers, Layer Masks, Fill Layers and other useful Layers.

This webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, August 10 at 7PM Pacific Time. As always, the webinar is $3. Register HERE.