Extravagaria Workshop Wiki

ExtravagariaWorkshop2008

Photographing Conferences

Possible Exercises

DOF

Narrow vs. Enough vs. Deep
- still life
- landscape/outdoors
- facial and group portrait

Motion Blur

Slow vs. fast shutter speed
- Fountain or similar
- People in low light

Noise

Low vs. Very High ISO
Light vs. Shadows

Metering and Exposure

Metering and EC
- Successively meter on, & shoot scene with, white, gray, black cards
- Do this using evaluative and spot metering respectively
- Learn about and practice using exposure compensation
- Do this with AvM and with EvaluativeSpot, respectively
Low light: What's a sufficiently fast shutter to stop motion blur, wide aperture to get exposure, high ISO to compensate -- and what are the results in terms of noise?
High dynamic range: See and shoot in low, good, and high dynamic range conditions and evaluate the results. Conclusion is that very high dynamic range makes single-shot photography hard to impossible.
Shooting to the right

Issues to Discuss

Technical Capture

Camera settings: Av, Tv, P, M, ISO, AFMF, RAWJPG, MP, FL, EL, EC
Camera settings: sharpening, saturation, contrast, etc. vs RAW
Camera settings: exercise -- shoot JPG vs RAW of same scene
Recommended settings: RAW, separate FLEL, lowest good ISO, PAv/M
Camera Modes: shoot in different modes: P, then Av, then M
White balance: auto versus custom, use of white/gray cards
Metering: use ECAvSpot to correctly expose blackwhitegray cards
Metering: exposure lock
Histogram: chimp/reshoot to get perfect blacks, whites and grays
Histogram: RGB histogram, avoid blown highlights in single channels
Shoot to the right: find high DR scene, meter and shoot for brights
Dynamic range: shoot scenes with less, equal, greater than camera DR
Depth of field: use aperture + ISO in Av mode for deep & narrow DOF
Depth of field: figure DOF needed for individual, pair, group shots
Depth of field: maximizing DOF (long exposure), mention diffraction
Freezeblur motion: use speed + ISO in Tv mode to freezeblur motion
Focusing: AF/manual, using AF focus points, focus with narrow DOF
Flash: metering for foreground/subject vs metering for background
Flash: fill light in bright conditions, putting light in the eyes
Flash: using swivel, bounce, and diffusion
White balance: automatic vs custom WB, tungsten vs daylight, etc
Digital noise: digital noise as a function of ISO, shadows, sensor
Lens distortion: go shoot some brick walls!

Compositional

subject in the middle versus rule of thirds (and golden ratio)
abstraction -- seek shots with minimal inessential background info
light -- seek shots with beautiful illumination
action -- seek shots in which people are doing interesting things
place -- take shots that capture the time, the space and the place
food -- take tasteful shots of food and dining
balance -- take shots with nice visual balance
dynamism -- take shots with high dynamic feel
perspective -- closewide vs farlong shots of faces filling frame
perspective -- vanishing points, especially rectilinear elements
shadow -- facial shots with ugly versus nice shadows (nose, eyes)
key -- recognize and capture high key versus low key images

Post-Processing

white balance and other RAW adjustments
filling in important meta-data
color spaces and color management
bit depth
pixel and adjustment layers
whiteblack points using levelscurves for viewing
capture sharpening
noise reduction
distortion (pincushion/barrel)
horizons/rotate
perspective
cropping
color improvement using curves
black/white mapping using channel mixers
contrast adjustments using curves
dodging/burning by painting on gray layer in overlay mode
healing/cloning (sensor dust, distracting details, PJ ethics)
masks
creative sharpening using USM
resolution, resizing, resampling
color space and bit depth conversions
output sharpening using USM
creating web galleries
printing, including color management

Goals of Good Conference Photography

capture part of the story and atmosphere of the event
record people and personalities in their professional activities
use good technique, composition, lighting, and timing to capture images with strong visual and emotional impact
document social-scientific events for the historical record

Elements of Bad Photography

Technical flaws
- Missed focus
- Camera motion blur
- Subject motion blur
- Poor exposure
- Undue sensor noise
- Poor white balance
- Garish flash
- Shooting JPEG
- Recording at low resolution
Compositional flaws
- Poor framing
- Cluttered backgrounds
- Embarrassing moments
- Harsh flash illumination
- Harsh natural light
- Boring perspectives
- Shooting from the wrong spot
- Being absent for the right action
- Turning off the subject
- Elements protruding from subjects' heads or bodies
- close-up wide-angle big-nose portraits
Process flaws
- Being too obtrusive
- Flashing and beeping at bad times
- Moving around at the wrong times

Equipment

Camera Body
- Note: most DSLRs multiple lens focal lengths by 1.3 < k <= 1.6
- Field of view from wide (<= 28mm, or 17mm on DSLR) to telephoto
- External flash (primarily to reduce redeye)
- Capable of producing good images in low light (P&S often fail here)
- Should be able to shoot in RAW mode; always shoot in RAW format [http:/www.popphoto.comhowto2196jpeg-vs-raw-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-explained.html]
- Provides sufficient resolution for good output even after cropping
- To the first order these requirements dictate the use of a DSLR
- High-end point/shoot cameras can work at the cost of sensor noise

And:

Lenses
- Issues
  - Lens hoods are key in daytime; they make a big difference. Note that lens hoods are sometimes a strange shape. This is because they are designed to block light that would reach the areas of the lens surface that are captured by the sensor or film. If the hood is accidentally rotated (while taking the camera in and our of a camera bag), you might get dark patches at the edges of your photos from misaligned parts of the lens hood.
  - Field of view from wide to telephoto (=> 85mm, preferably 200mm+)
  - Zoom vs Prime (quality versus convenience except at high cost)
  - Speed
    - Ability to shoot in low light
    - Ability to blur background
    - Brightness of image in viewfinder
  - Quality
    - Distortion
    - Flare
    - Resolution
    - Bokeh
  - Size/weight
- Recommendations
  - Marginal lighting demands fast glass
    - f4 is borderline (130 + f/4 + ISO1600 = motion blur + noise)
    - f/2.8 is often workable
    - f2 or f1.4 can be very helpful at cost of very shallow DOF
  - 50mm f/1.8 lenses are fast, inexpensive (under $100), often of superb optical quality, and (at 85mm equivalent on many DSLRs, e.g., most Canon DSLRs) are great for portraiture
And:

Tripod / Monopod (optional but recommended for this workshop)
- Q: What lens gave you such a sharp picture? A: Oh, a Gitzo.
- What's the joke? A Gitzo is a kind of tripod
- Firm support is often essential for producing sharp images
- Especially true in low light

And:

Flash (optional but recommended for this workshop)
- Built-in flash units are generally terrible
- If you're going to use a flash, it should be external and it should have both bounce and swivel capabilities
- You want to be able to illuminate the subject by bouncing light off of a wall or ceiling, to produce a more diffuse, natural illumination and to help light up the environment, which otherwise might appear too dark
- an inexpensive and useful item is a flash diffuser that fits over the bulb of your flash, to soften the otherwise harsh light of a flash
- event photographers will often use flash brackets rather than the hot shoe atop their cameras, to place the flash off-lens-axis and to get it above their subjects, to avoid harsh shadows

And:

Other essentials
- storage cards
- disk space on laptop
- batteries (including spares) and chargers
- cleaning gear -- at least a bulb blower for sensor dust

Techniques

Metering

How Your Camera Sees: Use of In-Camera Reflected-Light Metering
Camera "assumes" that the subject is 18% gray
Camera calculates exposure needed to render subject as 18% gray
Using Exposure Compensation to render subjects at correct luminosity

Exposure

Relationship Among Aperture, Shutter Speed, and Sensitivity (ISO)
What's an f-stop? Why does exposure go up when f-stops go down?
Keeping exposure constant, you control DOF, noise, & motion blur

Relationship between Aperture, Distance, and Depth of Field

wide aperture focus attention on subject by blurring out background
low light sometimes dictates wide aperture and thus depth of field
At f2 it's hard to get a whole face in focus. Better to use between f2.8 and f/4.
A dreamy bokeh doesn't suit men as well as women, so aim for f/4 or so
For groups, use f5.6 all the way up to f11 or so, to ensure that everyone is in focus; in low light this rule often dictates the use of a high ISO (and so a trade in which you accept noise for good focus)

Relationship between focal length and perspective

short focal lengths strongly accentuate nearer elements (like noses)
longer lengths (from 85mm up) provide more flattering perspectives

Use of Flash

Flash photography is a difficult and complex subject
Different cameras and manufacturers systems work differently
Fill flash
- Not meant to fully illuminate subject, but to lighten dark shadows and to add specular highlights to the eyes
- Key is in use of flash exposure compensation (FEC)
  - FEC = 0: camera tries to balance flash and ambient light
  - FEC = -2: good starting point for fill lighting in subdued light
  - FEC = +1: good starting point for fill lighting in bright sunlight
  * When using flash to illuminate subject, expose for the background
- you want to avoid getting a flashed out subject against a nearly black background -- the classic "bad result" for flash photography
- but the background is usually dark, which means that the proper exposure will generally involve a wide aperture, slow shutter speed, and high ISO, with the associated risks of camera motion and undue digital sensor noise

Useful Tips

Always have your camera with you
Learn to shoot without a flash
Watch for especially nice light
Make friends with your subjects (or at least smile for them)
Take lots of pictures then cull
Be sneaky: use wide lenses, shoot from the hip, etc
Include foreground elements
Poach on other photographers' setups
Use continuous shoot modes
Document the setting (food, city, natural environment, venue, etc)
Make a schedule of activities to photograph
Include your own personal work (e.g., side trips you take)
Find high, low, and other unusual places to shoot from
Use the rule of thirds (simplified golden ratio)
Beware of clothes with busy patterns, writing, etc
Take pictures of a subject from multiple angles
Don't overlook the utility of your flash in bright light
White airline barf bags taped on external flashes are good diffusers
Use flash exposure compensation in bright light
Know how to use (and use) program, aperture priority, & manual modes
Know how to use (and use) spot or evaluative metering
Always shoot color; convert to black and white in post-production
Use shutter release cables and mirror lock-up for "long" exposures

Useful Sites

[http:/digital-photography-school.comblogdigital-photography-tips-for-beginners]
[http:/en.wikipedia.orgwiki/Photojournalist]
[http:/en.wikipedia.orgwiki/Documentary_photography]
[http:/en.wikipedia.orgwiki/Street_photography]
[http:/en.wikipedia.orgwiki/Celebrity_photography]
[http:/digital-photography-school.comblogtechniques-photographing-people-when-traveling]
[http:/digital-photography-school.comblog11-tips-for-better-candid-photography]
[http:/www.popphoto.comhowto2196jpeg-vs-raw-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-explained.html]
[http:/digital-photography-school.comblogaperture]
[http:/digital-photography-school.comblogshutter-speed]
[http:/digital-photography-school.comblogusing-flash-diffusers-and-reflectors]
[http:/digital-photography-school.combloggetting-backgrounds-right]
[http:/digital-photography-school.combloghow-to-take-great-group-photos]
[http:/digital-photography-school.comblogusing-fill-flash]
[http:/digital-photography-school.combloghow-to-use-continuos-shooting-mode-on-a-digital-camera]
[http:/www.kantor.comblog/Legal-Rights-of-Photographers.pdf]
[http:/en.wikipedia.orgwiki/Fineartphotography]
[http:/digitalcustom.comhowto/mediaguidelines.asp]
[http:/digital-photography-school.comblogdigital-photography-composition-tips]
[http:/digital-photography-school.comblogcrop-factor-explained]
[http:/digital-photography-school.comblogcreate-active-space-in-your-photography]
[http:/digital-photography-school.combloggive-your-subject-space-to-look-into]
[http:/digital-photography-school.comblogrules-of-photography]

Ethical and Legal Issues

Not legal to use image of someone to endorse a product without their permission in the form of a model release [http:/en.wikipedia.orgwiki/Model_release]
Certain kinds of photography prohibit certain kinds of manipulations [http:/digitalcustom.comhowto/mediaguidelines.asp]