"Master Your Flash" Session at Unique Photo. That's a Wrap!

in ,
Photograph by Kathie Austin
I'm just back from my Master Your Flash photo session at Unique Photo in Fairfield, NJ. Good photos – and good fun. Thanks to Unique Photo for setting up the event, and thanks to Westcott and Westcott's Dave Piazza for supply the gear and added lighting know-how. And of course, thanks to all the attendees. You were a great crowd!

My idea for these Master Your Flash sessions: I offer lighting tips and suggestions, and then I let the attendees shoot. Sure, I take a few shots, but mostly I hand over my camera to the photographers who show up – and who really want to learn.

I also offer basic lighting tips:
• The larger the light, the softer the light.
• The closer the light, the softer the light.
• Take the darn flash off the camera.
• Remember, shadows can be your friend.

I also supply the camera gear: Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 7D, Canon 24-105mm IS lens, Canon 580EX II flashes, and Canon ST-E2 wireless transmitter. The concept is to use only two camera flashes and a few accessories to learn the basics of studio lighting - without spending a small fortune on gear.

When Dave is not available, I supply the Westcott gear: reflectors, diffusers, and soft boxes. 

So my friends, if you attend one of my Master Your Flash sessions, you may get a chance to shoot. My next Master Your Flash session will be at Photoshop World in Orlando, Florida in March.

In this post I'd like to share a few shots from the event. Read on! Please keep in mind that we were shooting in a lecture space and not a pro studio. And, the focus was on lighting the model, not the background.

Photo by Ellen Denuto
Above: Attendee Kathie Austin suggests positioning a large Westcott soft box directly above our model, Mercedes Padilla-Register. That's Kathie shooting on the floor in the foreground, and the photo she took opens this blog post.


Above: The main light source (single flash bounced into a reflector) was positioned to camera left. The exercise here was to see how facing away (left) and toward the light affected the end result. Tip: see the light . . . especially the direction of light.

Photograph by Eric Brown
Photograph by Eric Brown
Above (two images): In this pair of pictures, you see what happens when we added a hair light and reflector (bottom image). 

Yes! We know we did not have a background/separation light. We did not get there yet. We were building on the basics.

Photograph by Ellen Denuto
Above: I am the voice-activated flash stand in this picture. I am holding a Canon 580EX II flash for the hair light. Our main flash is off to camera left in a large soft box, and my friend Andre is holding a reflector, directly opposite the main light, to fill in the shadows.

Photograph by Bill Dreitlein
Above: Here's what happened when I accidentally pointed the hair-light flash a bit toward the camera. Usually, we try to avoid this type of lens flare, but in this case, the attendees liked it. I think it's kinda cool.
Photograph by Andre
At my Master Your Flash sessions, I shoot tethered, hooking up my Canon 5D Mark II to my MacBook Pro. To view the pictures, I use Canon Digital Photo Professional, the program that comes free on the CD that comes with Canon digital SLR cameras.

I hope to see you at one of my Master Your Flash sessions. Until then . . .

Check out my app, Light It Light! for the iPhone, and Light It! for the iPad.

Also check out by book, co-authored with Vered Koshlano, on lighting:  

Hey, if you have a great studio lightin shot, post it on my You Light It! flickr group.

One more thank you goes to Ellen Dunuto for taking some of the behind-the-scenes shot at the Unique Photo Event.

Explore the light,
Rick
Photograph by Rick Sammon
P.S. Above is a shot from the the lighting book I co-authored with Vered. Here you see the same basic lighting techniques that we used at Unique Photo, but with a background/separation light added. One light on the background can make a big difference.

Below is a shot using one flash in a soft box. Talk about the importance of the background! :-)

Photograph by Rick Sammon
Finally, below is a behind-the-scenes shot showing the set up for the above image. Here, I triggered my Canon 580EX II with a Pocket Wizard set-up.

Photograph by Rick Sammon

"Battle of the HDR Photo Tips" Coming in March Plus "Battle of the Sunset Photo Tips" Now!

in ,
Photograph by Rick Sammon

It's coming in March: The battle of the HDR photo tips, with Trey Ratcliff and yours truly.

I can't wait. Trey, if he is not stuck in customs, and I will keep you posted as to the date of the "battle."

Each day for one week, we will post one of our favorite HDR image along with a tip.

Note: I have done battle before! Check out the battle of the sunset photo tips.

All in good fun - and good photo learning.

Explore the light, 
Rick

P.S. Check out Trey's HDR book:

















 Here's a link to mine:

"In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams" 2012 Photo Caravan

in , , , ,
Mono Lake
I like to plan ahead :-)

I am setting up my "In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams" June 2012 Photo Caravan. It's basically a traveling photo workshop.

We'll be photographing in some of the most picturesque places in California. I have photographed in these places before, so I will be your photo guide and tour guide, getting you to the best places to shoot.

Yosemite
Bodie State Park
Alabama Hills
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
Mono Lake
If you'd like to get on the mailing list, shoot me an email at ricksammon@mac.com. Space is limited to 10 - but I may do two workshops back to back.

For those new to my Photo Caravans, you drive yourself, make your own hotel reservations (we have a group hotel), etc. We shoot as a group and download as a group. We also have a ton of fun as a group.

You must be in good physical condition for this workshop.

For some quick tips for landscape photography, click here. It's a nice slide show.

Explore the light,
Rick

Selective Sharpening in Photoshop CS5

in
Photograph by Rick Sammon
Thinking and working selectively in Photoshop is important – especially when it comes to sharpening an image. In most cases, you don’t want to sharpen the entire image – for two reasons:

One, if you sharpen only the main subject (monkeys in this case), the viewer’s eye will go more toward the subject than if you sharpen the entire image area;

Two, and this is even more important, when you sharpen the dark and out-of-focus areas in a scene, as well as the main subject, you’ll increase the noise more so in those areas than in the sharp and brightly illuminated areas – because that is where noise is more visible. 

Here is a quick lesson on selective sharpening in Photoshop, requested by one of my workshop students, Donnette Largay. 

Open your image.

Go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters.

Apply your sharpening (I use Unsharp Mask).


Once you apply your sharpening filter (or any filter for that matter), you see what looks like a familiar Layer Mask (just like in Adjustment Layers) in the Layers panel. 

With black selected as your foreground color (bottom of the Tool Bar), click on the Layer Mask, select a soft brush and "paint out" the sharpening in the areas that you don't want sharpened (background in this case). The black brush marks tell you if you have successfully painted out the desired area. If you look closely, you'll see that my image required a bit more work.

See Donnette. It never hurts to ask :-)

Hey! If anyone else out there has a selective sharpening technique, please share it in the comments. You can add a link.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. This is a daylight fill-in flash shot, taken at the Bronx Zoo.
 


Quick Tips for Shooting HDR Nighttime Images

in
HDR image by Rick Sammon

Title: Cool Dude
Location: Miami’s South Beach (taken on my Florida Photo Caravan last week)
Exposures: 0,+2, -2 EV
Processing: Nik HDR Efex Pro and Topaz Adjust

Tips: 
• Making HDR images at night is cool, just like this cool dude. 
• Be sure to capture the entire dynamic range of the scene. Keep underexposing until you see not blinkies on your camera's LCD monitor, and keep overexposing until you see can see into the shadows.
• Use slow shutter speeds to blur moving lights, but make sure the main subject holds as still as possible.
• Use ghost-reducing features in HDR programs and plug-ins to avoid or reduce unwanted subject movement. 
• Shoot at the lowest ISO possible. 
• Keep in mind that the best time to take nighttime pictures is not at night, but rather at dusk, when there is still a bit of light in sky. A black sky equals a noise-filled sky.
• If the background is too busy or distracting, get down low and use the sky as your background.
• In a situation like this, use auto white balance.
• Remember what you mother told you, "Wear white at night." Be careful please.
• If the reds are over-saturated, reduce the saturation in the red channel. That way, your other colors will not be affected.
• Bring a flashlight so you can see what the heck you are doing! :-)

Hey! If you have a nighttime HDR photo tip, please post a comment here. Thank you.

For info on HDR Efex Pro and Topaz Adjust, click here. 

Hey... this image will be in my iPad app. Soon come! Stay tuned for info. Lots of new photos, new tips, videos and audio recordings!

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. For more info on HDR, see my book:
Rick Sammon's HDR Secrets for Digital Photographers