Applelust is looking to add writers to its staff. If you
are interested or want to be part of the Applelust community, drop us
a line with your resume or vita. We are always on the look out for good,
very smart, and reliable people to join the staff. If you think you have
what it takes, let us know.
Now that you have a new iMac, iPhoto and that new
digital camera that you wanted, you have a problem
to deal with: making pictures with it. Your new camera
may boast auto focus, auto exposure, etc., but no
matter how many fancy bells and whistles that your
chosen digital wonder may boast, it's still just a
dumb chunk of plastic, metal, glass and batteries.
You still have to make the picture. Cameras do not
make pictures. People make pictures... with cameras.
Most of us have used a simple camera sometime in our lives and
have an idea of how to point and click to make a picture. Sounds as
simple as using your computer, right? Umm... well... maybe not. Often
those pictures come out blurry, too dark, sometimes too light, or
they might be well exposed and sharp but are as interesting as cold
mashed potatoes. The problem is that most people do not quite
understand why one picture comes out well and another is a dud.
Never fear... help is at hand. With a few basic concepts and hints you can
turn yourself from a mere snapshooter to a real photographer.
Read The Instructions!
The first thing you have to do is remove your new camera from its
box and then do something most Americans, especially those of us of
the male gender, are loath to do: Read the instructions. You may be a
genius or remarkably psychic and unconsciously know everything there
is to know about that camera you just took out of the box, but the
odds are against it. So, to prevent disasters and frustration, follow
the old advice...
"When all else fails, read the instructions."
Now that you have read how your particular camera works and have
essentially understood the instructions, you might try to make a few
pictures to get the feel of your camera. One thing you may have
noticed when you were choosing your camera is the wide assortment of
camera shapes and control layouts. I hope you considered how the
camera fit in your hand when you chose it as well as the advertised
feature set. Regardless of the shape of your camera it will have been
designed to be held in the right hand and with the shutter release
placed under the forefinger of your right hand. Some controls may be
placed under the right thumb (depending on the control layout chosen
by the maker of your particular camera) and general lens controls
will be handled by the left hand on larger cameras. Smaller cameras
may be greatly simplified in an effort by the designers to
idiot-proof the camera.
Holding the Camera
Now we come to one of the first things that a snapshooter can do wrong. Although
the higher end and professional level cameras are
shaped to fit the hand in a natural and obvious manner,
smaller cameras allow the user to hold them in various
ways, mostly wrong ways.
Do not hold the camera with open fingers, that is, splayed out
over the camera as if you were holding your computer mouse. The
likely result will be a finger placed right over the lens. If the
camera uses a simple viewfinder you will not discover that you have
made this mistake until it is too late. A variant on this error is to
hold the camera firmly with both hands but unconsciously point the
left hand's index finger straight out, again covering the lens
resulting in a wondrously out of focus portrait of your finger
instead of a remembrance of your Aunt Gertrude.
On larger and/or more advanced cameras you may see a rather large
lens sticking out in front of the camera body. While the right hand
is comfortable holding the camera with the controls under or near the
appropriate fingers, hold the lens either in the palm of your left
hand (for larger lenses) or firmly between the thumb and forefinger
of the left hand, depending on the size of the lens. This position
may be modified depending on the particular size and layout of your
camera. If you are in luck, your instruction manual may show
illustrations of how they recommend holding the camera.
The idea is to hold the camera steadily with the controls comfortably under
your fingers. Whatever you do, do not try to hold
the camera by the fingers of both hands on the body
of a larger camera that has a sizable lens poking
out. It stresses the lens mount on cameras that use
interchangeable lenses and results in an unsteady
and shaky hold on the camera. You are also much more
likely to drop and damage that expensive camera.
Shutter Speeds & F-Stops
Some cameras are fully automatic so you may not feel that you have
to understand shutter speeds or F-stops. But, an understanding of
shutter speeds and F-stops can make life much simpler especially if
your camera allows you to choose them, so here is a simple guide:
Shutter Speeds The shutter speed controls how long the medium inside the camera
is exposed to light. The numbers on the shutter speed dial are in
increments of two. Look at the numbers on the shutter speed setting.
You will see numbers like 30, 60, 125, 500, 1000, etc. You may have
noticed that they are approximately either double or half the
previous number depending on which way you read them. These numbers
represent the exposure time in fractions of a second, 1/60th of a
second, 1/125th of a second, 1/250th of a second, etc. You may also
see faster and slower shutter speeds depending on the design of your
particular camera, but if you examine them you will see that they
continue the pattern of halving or doubling shutter speeds.
The shutter speed controls more than the amount of light that the
shutter allows to enter your camera. It also controls how wide a
slice of time you are capturing with your camera. If you are taking a
picture of a daffodil on a quiet day, low shutter speeds (i.e.,
1/30th of a second as an example) are fine, but if you are trying to
capture a shot of a fast and furious game of soccer that shutter
speed of only 1/30th of a second will result in blurry pictures. For
rapid action, choose shutter speeds of at least 1/250th of a second
or faster.
There is also a limit on how slow a shutter speed can be and the
photographer can make a clear picture without the unavoidable camera
shake that comes from hand-holding a camera. That limit is generally
regarded to be at 1/30th of a second. Blurry pictures are almost
guaranteed by using lower speeds than this without using a tripod.
F-stops
The F-stop setting, like the shutter speed settings also controls the
amount of light that enters the camera but instead of choosing how
long the medium is exposed, it does it the same way a valve controls
how much water runs through it, by constricting the size of the
available opening.
On some cameras you can see the iris open and close as you
manually move the setting. For most cameras, the F-stop setting will
be on the lens. The numbers on the F-stop setting may read as
follows: 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, etc. You may also see larger
and/or smaller numbers depending on your particular camera. Again, as
in the shutter speed settings numbers increase or decrease the light
by factors of approximately double or half.
F-stop numbers represent a ratio of the focal length to the size
of the iris opening. As an example: for a fixed focus of 50 mm ( the
"standard" focal length on most 35 mm cameras and high end digital
cameras), a setting of F2 means that the diameter of iris setting is
one half (1/2) the focal length, or 25 mm for a 50 mm focal length
lens. A setting of F4 mans that the physical opening of the iris is
one fourth (1/4) of the focal length. View the F-stop number as a
fraction with the F-stop as the denominator and a one as the
numerator.
Note: The "F" used in these examples will not appear on the
camera. You will see only the numbers, i.e., 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6,
etc.
This means that the larger the number you see, the smaller the
opening of the iris. The smaller the opening of the iris, the less
light will be admitted thought the opening.... just like closing down
a valve. You might consider the F-stop settings to be light valve
settings. Just remember that the smaller the number, the more light
gets through and the larger the number, the less light gets through.
The F-stop also controls the Depth of Field. The Depth of
Field means how close and how far away objects will appear to be in
focus at the same time. On some more advanced cameras you may see
F-stop numbers that appear on the lens bracketing the focus marker as
well as on the F-stop setting. Sometimes the F-stop numbers are in
colors. These are to help a more advanced photographer manually
choose the depth of field by selecting the best F-stop for the
desired effect.
For most photographers the rule is simple. The smaller the F-stop
opening (or larger the F-stop number), the greater the depth of
field. The larger the F-stop opening (or smaller the F-stop number),
the shallower the depth of field. A problem arises when the camera
must use a wider opening under low light conditions. That means as
the light level drops, the wider open the lens must be relative to
the desired shutter speed. A photographer then has to compromise by
balancing how slow he/she can tolerate the shutter speed to be
against how wide the F-stop must be. Eventually things break down
when the light is too low and either the depth of field is too
shallow, or the shutter speed is too slow, or both! That's when we
are forced to resort to flash photography.
Although a more advanced photographer can use control of depth of
field to get interesting effects, a beginner is best advised to think
of using the smallest F-stop setting possible under the conditions to
assure a focused shot.
Speaking of focus...
Focusing
Most modern cameras, whether they use film or a light sensitive
electronic device for recording a photograph, have auto focus.
Frankly, I am not a fan of auto focus. Auto focus almost always
latches onto the wrong source for focus, or has trouble determining
correct focus under some conditions, or is too slow to focus on a
moving object. One way to demonstrate the limits is by trying to take
a picture through a chain link fence of something some distance
beyond. Most auto focus cameras will focus on the nearest object...
and in this case that means the fence. The only way to get past the
limitation is to turn off autofocus and use manual focus.
Add to that, auto focus can't anticipate the correct focus point
in dance or sports photography. That's why pros turn off auto-focus
when they have it and avoid cameras that don't allow manual focus
control. That being said, the beginner will probably use it for most
shots. However, once you advance enough to want some control over the
situation auto focus will start seeming less like a boon and more
like a burden.
Assuming you have a camera that allows you to turn off auto focus
and use the manual setting, some things will help get you into focus.
One is to have a good optical view screen. If you do not have an
optical view screen then you have a problem. LCD screens simply do
not have sufficient resolution to allow for accurate focus,
especially if you have to shoot under low light conditions where the
automatic exposure needs to open the lens up. Remember the sections
on shutter speeds and depth of field?
Exposure
Although the camera you bought probably has auto
exposure, don't depend on it getting things right
all of the time. You will at some time or other have
to override the automatic exposure and use some manual
correction. Auto exposure makes life simple for the
snapshooter but more advanced photographers will need
to learn to use manual overrides and controls. When
and how to use manual controls will be covered in
a future article.
Making a Simple Outdoor Portrait
One of the most common pictures most snapshooters
make is of a person, a simple portrait. Have you noticed
that most of these pictures have people squinting?
Or perhaps you can't tell if they are squinting or
not because their face is a dark shadow. It seems
to a beginner that they can't do a good outdoor shot
of a person without squints or shadows. Actually,
you can follow a few simple rules that can make a
good shot.
Squinty Eyes
First, don't make the subject face directly into the sun. That may
assure exposure, but it is also why they are squinting. They have the
sun in their eyes! Next, don't try to cure the squint by making them
stand with the sun to their backs. The camera will likely set the
exposure for the general background leaving the subject to resemble a
black cardboard cutout set against the scene. The simplest way to get
a good outdoor portrait shot in sunlight will be to have the sunlight
coming over your shoulder at an angle. Look for a small shadow of the
subject's nose to appear slightly below and to the side of the nose.
If you get the angle right, the subject will not be squinting, the
exposure will be good and you have a little shade modeling of the
face. This is a quick and simple way to imitate an old lighting setup
that when used in studios is called Paramount Lighting. It tends to
be flattering to most faces. Voila! You have now cured several
problems all at once and even made your subject look good to boot!
Open Shade
The best way to make an outdoor portrait of someone
is to not take the picture in open sunlight but in
open shade instead. Modern cameras can handle the
light levels under open shade easily making it an
almost ideal choice for making outdoor portrait shots.
The shadow of a building, under a tree, etc. has softer,
more diffuse light that allows for very nice tonal
shading and color contrasts. If you use open shade
to make your portrait shots you almost can't lose.
Even colors seem to be stronger and brighter. An alternative
to open shade is to shoot under cloudy conditions.
However, a very cloudy day may result in a noticeable
blue shift in color.
Pinocchio's Nose
Sometimes you may have tried to make a close-up picture
of someone only to discover that in the final picture
the subject's face seems bulge and worse yet, to have
grown Pinocchio's nose! The problem also arises when
you use the "standard" focal length setting. This
will be around 50-55 mm for 35 mm cameras and high
end digital cameras built on advanced 35mm technology.
If you have a zoom lens on your camera, and most digital
cameras do come with a 3 to one zoom ratio or better,
you can easily cure the bulging face and Pinocchio
nose problem.
All you have to do use use a significantly longer focal length
than the "standard" focal length. Generally this will be about twice
the focal length of the '"standard" setting. As a example, a high end
digital camera or a 35 mm camera may use about 50-55 mm "standard"
focal length. The recommended portrait focal length of these cameras
would then be from 90 to 105 mm. For a simple three to one zoom
camera, use the maximum zoom setting and voila! Pinocchio's nose
vanishes and the subject once again resembles a normal person.
"Getting it All In"
One more problem that afflicts most snapshooters
is the urge to "get it all in". Unfortunately, what
you usually get is a picture with no center, no central
subject and that object or person you were trying
to show disappears into a massive clutter. Usually,
"getting it all in" results in getting nothing at
all. A much better approach is to choose a central
subject and include only what is absolutely necessary
to frame or set off the main subject. One example
is one you already know: a portrait. When you make
a portrait you are interested in the subject and only
enough of a background to set off the subject. The
same goes for almost any picture you wish to take.
If you want to show a forest, choose an interesting tree, or a
stump covered with moss, or a path framed by some trees. That is how
you really see a forest and all the main elements are in plain view.
It can also make for a nice picture.
That brings us to a more advanced concept, composition.
However, since that is a whole new can of worms, I
will save that for another column..
Stuffit
7 (10-18-02) Dr. Neale Monks. What purpose does file compression have
in this day of 100 GB hard drives? Is version 7 worthy of the upgrade fees?
Fireworks
MX (10-8-02) Dean Browell. Fireworks is more than just a pretty face;
The last app I needed to convert entirely to OS X delivers in upgrades and
features as well...
Dreamweaver
MX (10-8-02) Joel Davies. Not being satisfied with just carbonizing it's
product, Macromedia made sure that Dreamweaver MX was the killer app for web
design.
SliMP3
(9-6-02) Pat St-Arnaud. The SliMP3 is a small, simple and elegant network
devices that connects to any audio component with RCA inputs and lets you
browse, search and play music directly from your computer's MP3 collection.
Voyager
III v.3 (8-16-02) Dr. Neale Monks. Carina's Voyager is the grandfather
of Mac planetarium programs, but does it still have what it takes to keep
up the current generation?
CodeWarrior
8 (8-16-02) Douglas A. Welton. Doug dives into the latest version of this
robust multi-platform programming tool.
STM
Sports Backpack (8-9-02) Pierre Igot. How will this backpack designed
for the "global digerati" stack up when Pierre puts it to the test
with his mobile digital lifestyle?
Scope
Driver (8-2-02) Dr. Neale Monks. An alternative to the 'point and click'
telescope control paradigm: a powerful list-based utility for Autostar and
LX200 telescopes.
Apple
Final Cut Pro 3.0 (7-19-02) Michael Tate Jones. Tate reviews the video-editing
powerhouse Final Cut Pro 3 and sizes up its competition. Does Final Cut Pro
3 hold its ground?
Strata
DVpro RME (7-16-02) Matt Frederick. Matt Frederick. Matt takes a comprehensive
look at Strata DVpro, Strata's pro-level non-linear editor for digital video.
Stargazer's
Delight (6-28-02) Dr. Neale Monks. Looking for a viable shareware alternative
to the big commercial astronomy software packages? Neale may have found one.
TheSky
(6-21-02) Dr. Neale Monks. Neale takes a look at the easiest to use planetarium
program for the Mac.
NI
FM7 (6-21-02) Matt Frederick. Matt takes this software replica of Yamaha's
DX7 synthesizer for a test drive.
The
Digital Universe (6-14-02) Neale Monks. Planetarium program, astronomy
encyclopaedia and space flight simulator all rolled into one - could The Digital
Universe be the ClarisWorks of astronomy software? Neale Monks takes a look.
After
Effects 5.5 (5-31-02) Michael Tate Jones. Tate reviews the OS X native
version of After Effects and likes what he sees.
InDesign
2.0 for Non-Professional Designers (5-24-02) Pierre Igot. In the second
part of our review of Adobe InDesign 2.0 for Mac OS X, Pierre Igot looks at
InDesign from the point-of-view of the non-professional designer - and finds
plenty to like.
Corel
Graphics Suite, Part 2 (5-24-02) Dean Browell. CorelDraw returns in full
force and Corel R.A.V.E makes its debut.
Corel
Graphics Suite, Part 1 (5-17-02) Dean Browell. CorelDraw is back, and
it's brought some powerful friends that makes this Suite worth the look...
OmniGraffle
2.0 (5-10-02) András Puiz. Analog napkins are so 20th century --
this gem from OmniGroup knows (almost) all about diagramming. András
Puiz wishes all Mac developers developed a similar understanding of Aqua,
and of Mac OS X in general.
Watson
(5-03-02) Michael Tate Jones. Tate discovers a 'Swiss Army Knife' for OS X...
it's called Watson.
