How to Use the Full Dynamic Range of Your Camera

Suppose you have read somewhere that the dynamic range of your camera at a certain ISO setting is 11 stops. And here comes the immediate question – how can one use such a treasure to its full potential? Optimal exposure for RAW is the answer. But now we need to explain what we mean when we say, “optimal exposure for RAW”. Let’s start with one of the problems, which arises as a result of non-optimal exposure for RAW. Here is a typical wide dynamic range low-light scene. According to Sekonic spot-meter, it is wider than 11 stops:

Figure 1. FastRawViewer. Shot exposed 1 2/3 EV hotter than the in-camera exposure meter suggested.

We made two shots of the same scene – one (#4152) was exposed according to the in-camera exposure meter set to matrix metering mode. The other shot (#4153, Figure 1.) was exposed 1 2/3 EV hotter (spot-metered from white half-dome, for the procedure to determine the amount of correction please read on, or you can simply bracket). Matrix metering seems to have gotten fooled by the specular highlights on that white half-dome, hence it underexposed a little more than usual.

We opened them both in FastRawViewer, applied Shadow Boost to both of them to open the shadows, and applied +1.67 EV exposure correction to shot #4152 (the one that was exposed according to in-camera exposure meter recommendation, so that both of the shots had the same overall brightness).

Figure 2. FastRawViewer. Zoom into shot #4153 with optimal exposure for RAW. Applied Shadow Boost.

As we can see on to the RAW histogram for shot #4153 (Figure 2) the capture definitely has more than 11 stops. Now we look at shot #4152.

Figure 3. FastRawViewer. Zoom into shot #4152 that was exposed according to the in-camera exposure meter. Applied Shadow Boost and +1.67 EV exposure correction.

As we can see, shot #4152 exhibits significant noise everywhere below midtone. The thing with a camera’s dynamic range is that those exciting numbers become valid only when the signal reaches the maximum; that is, the exposure is the hottest possible for the given camera at a given ISO. Imagine a bucket having a volume of 2 gallons. If you do not fill it up to the top, some volume is wasted. It’s the same with a camera. If your whitest white is not exposed to the maximum, the top portion of the dynamic range is not being used. This immediately means that in order to use the dynamic range of the camera to its fullest and simultaneously to have as little shadow noise as possible, the whitest whites where you want to keep some texture details need to be exposed so that they are just below clipping. In a sense, one can say that dynamic range characterizes the depth, and starts from the top, while the bottom is sort of fuzzy because of individual tolerance to noise, viewing conditions, size of the output, etc.

Back to our bucket analogy – if one tries to pour, say, 2.5 gallons in it, an overflow happens, and half a gallon will end up on the floor. In digital photography we know this as highlight clipping. That is, if we try to expose a pixel hotter than its capacity allows, everything that is above the capacity will pour out, causing blown-out highlights. By the way, if one tries to set exposure low to keep from clipping all the light sources and specular highlights, he is, most probably, also wasting a couple of stops of dynamic range.

Unfortunately the metering systems of our cameras are not designed to provide the proper placement of the highlights right out of the box (this is partially because to do so, the camera’s AI needs to make a guess as to what a photographer considers to be “important highlights”, and if it guesses wrongly, it may arrive at an unacceptable exposure). One can try different metering modes with the camera, with mixed results when it comes to optimal exposure for RAW. You can use RawDigger or FastRawViewer to see how close you are; be prepared for more misses than hits, in part because the complex metering modes are optimized for JPEGs rather than for RAW. Reliability and repeatability, however, come with manual metering in the spot meter mode. While placing important highlights at the top, let’s take advantage of one very well-known and stable feature of the camera: cameras are calibrated in such a way as to provide the exposure that will result in the rendering of whatever was under the spot meter as “middle grey”.

For a JPEG middle grey is defined as 118 RGB in sRGB color space, which corresponds to the proverbial 18% grey (and L* = 50 in Lab color model, too). For RAW, middle grey is not fixed by common standards, and camera makers have some freedom while placing it. Why is this so? Modern cameras have relatively low noise, and customers often complain that the highlights in their exposures are blown out. To provide extra room for the highlights, camera makers tend to calibrate the exposure so that it shifts middle grey down to 13% (instead of 18%), and often even lower than that. This is what often causes the rumors that camera makers cheat with ISO. In fact it is not cheating, because in most cases the ISO speed is defined for the processed output (JPEG) and not for RAW. Lets look at the shots of the scene we have already used in the article “Why Bother Shooting RAW if Culling JPEGs?”.

Figure 4. FastRawViewer. Scene with a high dynamic range. Shot #1866 with optimal exposure for RAW (ETTR).

Shot #1861 was exposed according to the in-camera exposure meter and it has the hottest possible exposure for JPEG. Shot #1866 had exposure increased by 1 2/3 EV, and it has the optimal exposure for RAW (ETTR). If we look at the shadows of those two shots after running them through ACR (shot #1866 was converted without any adjustments; while shot #1861 was converted with +1.67 exposure correction applied in ACR, to “match” the exposure difference between the shots), we see that there’s quite a difference in the shadows between these two shots. By the way, the smaller the sensor is, the more difference optimal exposure will make.

Figure 5. Photoshop. Left part – shadows in shot #1866 after conversion in ACR. Right part – shadows in shot #1861 after conversion in ACR with +1.67 EV exposure correction

A tone curve applied when rendering a JPEG takes care of matching of whatever the middle grey is in RAW to the standard 18% grey in JPEG. But if we are shooting RAW and trying to exploit the dynamic range of our cameras to its full potential we need to set an exposure which is close to optimal, and place the highlights in the RAW where they belong – at the top of the dynamic range of your camera.

In other words, the top of the dynamic range of the scene (and by scene we mean everything you want to capture, and not the irrelevant / specular highlights) needs to be placed at the top of the dynamic range of the camera.

Back to the question of achieving this goal in a reliable and repeatable manner:

• First, we need to know the value for the middle grey in RAW numbers. This varies by camera model and sometimes by ISO setting.
• Next we need to know the maximum value that the RAW file may contain. This also varies by camera model and may depend on ISO setting; it may be the same as the maximum value for ADC (12 bits, 4095; 14 bits, 16383), or it may be less.
• Finally we need to calculate the result – the number of stops between the middle grey in RAW and the maximum in RAW for this specific camera and given ISO setting, to use this number as the exposure compensation when metering off the highlights that we want to keep.

Again, to use the result we need to meter from the whitest white in the scene where we want to preserve some texture and details, and apply exposure compensation in the camera that equals the number we have just determined. Consequently, the important whitest whites of the scene will receive the maximum allowed exposure, thus being placed at the top of the dynamic rage of the camera. This way you have achieved optimal exposure, also known as ETTR. The whole thing hinges on the theory that whatever is presented to an exposure meter will be recorded as middle grey as soon as the exposure meter recommendations are followed. Let’s check this theory.

We made six shots of the ColorChecker (Figure 1):

Figure 6. RawDigger. ColorChecker CC24

For each shot, we spot-metered one of those neutral grey patches at the bottom row, starting from the white patch, setting the exposure according to the recommendations of the spot meter. Next, we opened those shots one by one in RawDigger, sampled the patch we spot-metered, and checked the RAW values for this sample.
 
As you can see, the RAW values for the patch under the meter are very close to each other:

Figure 7 – RawDigger. RAW values for the 6 shots exposed as per spot meter readings from respective patches

Because the camera was set to record both RAW and JPEG, we can check the RGB values in Photoshop too. As expected, they also turned to be very close to each other and to the target value for the mid-tone for JPEG, RGB=118.

Figure 8 – Photoshop. RGB values from OOC JPEGs of the same 6 shots.

Now that we are confident that the spot meter indeed guides the exposure in such a way that whatever shade of grey we put under the spot meter, the result will be the same number in RAW, with the number representing middle grey in terms of camera calibration for RAW. Because the theory proves to be true, you don’t need to meter and shoot all 6 patches: one is enough, or you can use a grey card.

• To get the most accurate reading for the middle grey in RAW, it is more practical to use a light grey patch / card (ColorChecker Passport has a separate grey page for white balance, it has L*=81, or, in other words, it is 60% grey, light enough to use with confidence) or matte white. The reason for using lighter tones is to keep flare as low as possible for both metering and capture. The higher reflection values of the lighter samples are less prone to flare compared to lower reflection values for dark grey and black samples.

  So to get G_MiddleGrey, make a shot with exposure setting according to the spot meter recommendation for a white or a light grey patch, open the shot in RawDigger, place a sample on the patch from which you metered, and read average value for the Green channel, Avg G. In our case, G_MiddleGrey = 1435.

  

  Figure 9 – RawDigger. Reading middle grey value for RAW

• Now let’s determine the maximum value for the G channel that RAW can contain (maximum values may be different for different channels).
  There are basically 2 ways to determine the maximum:
  1. One way, which does not require additional shots, is to include from the beginning some source of relatively small specular highlights in the scene (a shiny metal ball, for example, is what is often used); however, this can create flare in the shot, and that flare will throw the metering off; maybe just a little, but sometimes significantly.
  2. The other way is to simply shoot with long exposure, ensuring that part of the shot reaches clipping.

  The truly clipped region will usually have a very small sigma (σ, standard deviation, Std.Dev.) value, in the order of single digits, in many cases very close to 0. The mean (average, Avg) value of the green channel for the clipped region is the maximum raw value we are after. On Figure 5, the average for green (Avg G) is 14,594.4; the standard deviation for green (σG) is 59.4. This means that there is no clipping.

  

  Figure 10 – RawDigger. Shot #2254. Large sigma (σ) values for all channels

  On Figure 6, the average for green (Avg G) is 15,478.7; the standard deviation for green (σG) is 2.03. That is the G channel clipping all right, and increasing exposure further will not help decrease σG in any significant manner – see the next Figure, #7.

  

  Figure 11 – RawDigger. Shot #2255. Small sigma (σ) value in Green (and Red) channels

  On Figure 7, the average for green (Avg G) is 15,477.3; the standard deviation for green (σG) is 1.81; that is, the green channel G is clipped, like it is on the previous one:

  

  Figure 12 – RawDigger. Shot #2256. Small sigma (σ) values in all channels

  Nevertheless, the Avg G from the previous shot, #2255 (Figure 6) is a better choice: as you can see the Avg G is larger here, and this is because we triggered intense anti-blooming on shot #2256 (Figure 7), and it acts like solarisation, also known as a Sabattier effect. On film, increasing exposure results in decreased density of the negative; however, it is much milder on digital.

  So, we will consider Avg G for a sample area from shot #2255 (Figure 6) as maximum raw value: G_max = 15,478.7

• Finally, let’s calculate the value of exposure compensation (the number of stops, EV, between the middle grey in RAW and maximum / clipping point in RAW) for the given camera at a given ISO. We are going to use the formula:
  EV = log₂(G_Max / G_MiddleGrey) (1)

  If you are interested in what the corresponding percent of grey is, you can calculate it as
  percent = 100% * G_{MiddleGrey / GMax (2)}

  In our case G_MiddleGrey = 1435 and G_max = 15,478.7, so using the formula (1a) we get
  log₂(15,478.7 / 1435) ≈ 3 1/3 EV

  That is this value of exposure compensation turns to be +3 1/3 EV (meaning the calibration for our camera puts the mid-tone in raw to 9.27%, nearly a stop lower than the “expected” 18%).

  Let’s shoot with calculated exposure compensation and see… For the next shot #2257, we metered off the white patch, applying to the meter readings the exposure compensation we just determined, +3 1/3 EV. Now we open it in RawDigger and check raw values of the white patch:

  

  Figure 13 – RawDigger. Shot #2257 made with calculated exposure compensation +3 1/3 EV. RAW

As you can see, for a white patch average RAW value for Green channel (G_avg) is 14592.5. That is we are very close to the clipping point but still below it.
If we look at the JPEG of the shot #2257 (Figure 9) we will see that we “overexposed”: R=G=B=255. That is, of course, not so. OOC JPEGs do not use the full dynamic range available in RAW.

Figure 14 – Photoshop. Shot #2257 made with calculated exposure compensation +3 1/3 EV. OOC JPEG

If you hate calculations, you can use a brute force approach. Shoot some neutral patch or grey card, setting the exposure as per your camera’s spot-meter recommendations and start adding exposure compensation, EC (you can set EC initially to +2 1/3 EV, which corresponds to calibration of the mid-tone in raw to 20% grey; we suggest this because calibration shouldn’t be higher than 20%) until the raw values for the patch or card comes close to clipping, within 1/3 EV from it. Incidentally, you can often hear advice to meter off of the 18% grey card to set the correct exposure. This exposure is not likely to be optimal for raw, as in most cases it does not place the highlights high enough on the DR scale.

Shot #2253 was metered from the N5 patch of ColorChecker with zero exposure compensation, which by design has L*=50, or, in other words, it is 18% grey. As you can see in RawDigger, the white patch is recorded 1 stop below clipping, and we have not achieved optimal exposure (Figure 10). Not even close.

Figure 15 – RawDigger. Shot #2253. RAW. Metered from N5. White is one stop below maximum

If we check OOC JPEG for the same shot (Figure 11) we will see that while middle grey was correctly placed at 118 (sample 2), the RGB values for the white patch (sample 1) are (220, 220, 225), that is, seriously below maximum value.

Figure 16 – Photoshop. Shot #2253. OOC JPEG. Metered from N5. White is below maximum

Sekonic 758 in incident metering mode recommended 1/4s for shutter speed, matrix and center-weighted metering in the camera suggested 1/6s and 1/5s, respectively, while the shutter speed for ETTR, as we already know from shot #2257, is 1/2.5s. All out-of-the-box metering turned to be inefficient in terms of ETTR, but very consistent with the ≈1 EV difference we observed between calibration for raw for this camera (≈9%) and calibration for JPEG (≈18%).

We are very happy to hear that a new camera has ½ of a stop more DR than a previous model. We consider those ½ stop to be a huge improvement. However, if we are not using ETTR, we will be getting from this new camera the same or even lower image quality an ETTR practitioner is getting from the previous model.

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Photographer Reshapes Landmarks into Cartoons with Paper Cutouts

Rich McCor sprung to 175k followers on Instagram, with his creative approach to landscapes. Adding his own paper cutouts to the frame, we’re treated to a cartoon view on famous landmarks. They’re playful, well made, and definitely a creative way to travel the world.

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How to Find & Photograph Great Macro Subjects

If there’s one type of photography “wild west”, it’s macro photography.

“Water Drops” captured by PictureSocial member Janice Sullivan

While most other subject – flowers, sunsets, the aurora borealis – already have thousands of great shots from pro photographers, the opportunities to take new, unique, and exciting macro shots are endless!

Here are a few tips I learned on my macro photography journey and how you can find your best macro shots!

Your First Step: Zooming In (Hint: not with your camera)!

There is a whole new world right in front of us that we do not see! Tiny little details, patterns, and shapes that we are blinded from seeing. The reason is simple. We’re taught from an early age to see the “forest” – not the trees.

Just think of it. When you walk into a room you see chairs, couches, a TV

set, a keyboard, and plates. You don’t notice the specks of dust on the keyboard or the details of the wood finishing on your chair!

Your first step to macro photography is training yourself to see these details. To force your eyes to zoom in on all the details lying right on front of you!

“Cha-Ching!” captured by PictureSocial member Samantha M.

To start seeing the “trees” instead of the forest.

Find One Specific Subject

As with any type of photography, your first step is to define what subject you are shooting. Once you’re “tuned in” with the minute details in front of you, take time to decide what exactly you want to shoot.

What is it that you want to capture?

Is it the details of the wood on your chair? The texture? The color? The lines? The answer to this question is what you have chosen as your subject.

Once you have decided your subject, think of the composition rule of simplicity. You want one specific point of interest. Then, you want to compose your shot to really concentrate on that subject.

“Paddestoelen” captured by PictureSocial member Bart Lok

The Point of Focus is Imperative

When shooting macro, the point of focus can dramatically alter how your image appears. Take careful consideration when deciding where to focus your image. Depth of field is greatly magnified when up-close. A simple couple millimeters produces an entirely different visual effect.

“The Web” captured by PictureSocial member Stuart

I would recommend shooting macro shots with several different points of focuses. This will give you a few options to choose from.

Use Keen Observation Skills

Try to notice all the tiny details within your frame. The lines, shapes, patterns, textures, and colors. With the subject pinpointed, you want to choose the angle that accentuates these elements and gives the most visual impact.

Intrigue the Viewer

If your photo provides a viewpoint and framing that makes the subject too obvious to viewers, there is no real incentive to continue viewing. Instead, viewers will be bored and move on. You must intrigue them!

This can be done through:

• Different perspectives.
• Unique backgrounds to bring out features of your subject
• Defocusing for abstract effects
• Orientation and how your frame is positioned (Sometimes a minor rotation will pack a strong visual punch)

“Iris” captured by PictureSocial member Janice Sullivan

Always Observe the Background

Your background can make or break your shot. Think of your background as the “voice” of a speech. Sure, you need a great speech to deliver an effective message. However, without a good presenter, the speech will always fall flat.

A good rule of thumb is to choose backgrounds that accentuate the features of the subject without detracting from it. Complementary or contrasting colors work well as backgrounds to bring out the subjects color.

“Macro” captured by PictureSocial member Mohamed Rushdi

A good trick macro shooters use is to bring colored cards on shoots. If, for example, you’re shooting a flower, you can place the color card that accentuates the flowers features behind the flower.

Scouting for the Dust

One great exercise is to choose a small area (around 20 cubic feet) and spend an hour finding every great macro shot you can. You’ll probably get bored after about 10 minutes. However, if you keep pushing yourself, you’ll find that your creative brain-juices will find new photo opportunities you would’ve missed otherwise!

Remember, no normal person spends their days observing the specks of dust on their keyboard. With macro photography you are taking the viewer to a new world they have probably never explored. Use this opportunity to awaken and excite them with your new world!

About the Author:
Simon Takk, creator of phototechniques.info, shows others how to open their eyes to the breathtaking photo opportunities all around them.

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Dodging, burning… microwaving? A look inside Ansel Adams’ darkroom

In a recent interview with Marc Silber of Advancing Your Photography, Ansel Adams’ son Michael gives a tour of his father’s darkroom.

The basics are all there, but by and large, they were designed by Adams for the space he was in. Sure, the dodge-and-burn stick is literally a stick with some cardboard taped to it, but the enlarger and wall mount are both on a custom-built track, and can be moved independently toward or away from each other depending on Adams’ needs. The light source in the enlarger is actually 30 individual light sources, each with its own switch for the utmost control over a negative’s illumination.

My favorite part? When Michael details how his father tested exposures with a new image. It’s pretty standard up until the end, when he says that Adams would routinely microwave the test print – it would dry faster that way, and the best way to ascertain the correct exposure is with a dry print. The more you know!

It’s a fascinating look back into the world of film and physical prints, and a reminder that creativity and control don’t necessarily require the fanciest equipment money can buy. 

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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PL Level 1 Workflow and Post-Processing Announcement

We are very excited to announce the release of our second video course, Level 1: Workflow and Post-Processing. After months of hard work and many sleepless nights, we were finally able to wrap the course up and make it available for purchase. After receiving a lot of positive feedback on our first video, we decided to take it up a level and deliver something we are truly proud of. The result is a 14-hour educational course that will surely satisfy your hunger for photography knowledge for quite a while. In this course, we pick it up right where we left off last time; from the moment you insert your memory card into your computer, all the way to the image export process. We go over each step of the photography workflow process, provide detailed information on different post-processing tools available on the market today (along with the overview of the most popular ones), and give you in-depth coverage of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. In addition to the above, you will also learn how to properly organize your images and your Lightroom catalogs, find out about computer hardware required for post-processing, and even learn how to properly backup and export your images. To make it easy for you to follow the course, we are providing all relevant raw images, so that you can try all the tools we teach you to use. Without a doubt, this is one of the most detailed and complete courses you will find on both workflow and post-processing!

While the course is aimed at beginners, there is plenty of content for intermediate-level and even more advanced photographers. At the end of the course, both John and I show our ways to edit images through case studies. John starts out with a sample image culling and editing process in Lightroom, while I perform detailed post-processing of a landscape image in Lightroom, then use another image to perform more complex editing involving such techniques as dodging and burning, selective sharpening, contrast and color adjustments in Photoshop. To get an idea of what to expect out of this course, please check out the trailer below:

Here is the outline of the video, along with the length and relative size of each chapter:

00) Course Introduction: 01:38 (51 MB)
01) Introduction to Workflow: 06:23 (198 MB)
02.1) Computer Hardware: 26:37 (827 MB)
02.2) Monitors: 25:10 (781 MB)
03) Importing Images: 14:25 (443 MB)
04) File Management: 01:18:33 (2,640 MB)
05) Image Culling: 29:02 (885 MB)
06) Introduction to Post-Processing: 17:49 (552 MB)
07) Software Overview: 09:47 (296 MB)
07.1) Capture One Pro Overview: 25:45 (762 MB)
07.2) DxO Optics Pro Overview: 10:43 (325 MB)
07.3) ACDSee Pro Overview: 12:56 (391 MB)
07.4.1) Lightroom In-Depth – Modules and Navigation: 45:05 (1,364 MB)
07.4.2) Lightroom In-Depth – Develop Module: 03:19:16 (6,443 MB)
07.4.3) Lightroom In-Depth – Catalogs: 31:27 (956 MB)
07.5) Photoshop Overview: 58:38 (1,810 MB)
08) Backup: 21:01 (652 MB)
09) Exporting Images: 37:07 (1,138 MB)
10) Printing and Publishing: 05:24 (168 MB)
11) Case Study – Wedding Workflow and Culling (John): 28:08 (798 MB)
12) Case Study – Portrait Editing in Lightroom (John): 15:12 (478 MB)
13) Case Study – Landscape Editing in Lightroom (Nasim): 01:06:07 (1,894 MB)
14) Case Study – Landscape Editing in Photoshop (Nasim): 01:17:12 (2,348 MB)

As you can see, the course is very detailed and extensive – we cover everything we know about proper workflow and we spent quite a bit of time covering both Lightroom and Photoshop.If you would like to find out more about what’s covered in the video, check out this Table of Contents document for details.

Each of the chapters is recorded in High Definition at 1080p, 23.9 fps in MPEG-4 format. The total size of the tutorial is roughly 26 GB. For those who have issues with Internet bandwidth, or those who are planning to watch the content on smaller devices, we decided to also provide lower resolution videos in 720p resolution – the total download size is roughly 15 GB (single ZIP file). Both downloads have the necessary material to follow the course (such as raw images, Lightroom catalogs, etc).

The entire course can be downloaded instantly (digital download versions) or if you choose the USB version, you will get both.

Who is this Course For?

As you can probably tell, we’ve designed the course in the same format as a photography workflow. Since both John and I use Lightroom heavily, we put a heavy emphasis on it in the course and shot over 7 hours of Lightroom content alone. In fact, if you are not interested in the workflow process, just the chapters on Lightroom should teach you quite a bit, as we literally go through each and every slider and option you will find in the Develop Module! And we don’t just show you how to edit images – we even go into more advanced Lightroom content, such as file and catalog management. The beauty of the course is that it is not just aimed towards beginners – there is solid content for even more advanced photographers, who want to explore post-processing and other related topics in more detail. In the case study section of the course, both John and I show you our day-to-day workflows and how we edit images. And we are planning to release more case studies in the future!

Consider our courses as solid investment in your photography education. Now that we have two full courses that cover all the basics, we will be taking education to the next level from here. We have huge plans for this project and the idea is to make a few foundation courses today, so that we can keep taking your photography training to higher levels in our future courses. From here, we will move on to more complex training material. The good news is that we won’t be repeating any of the basics in those higher tiers, so there won’t be any duplication of efforts. So the courses will follow a university-style program with a good amount of pre-requisite material that is recommended to master first before moving up to the next level.

Here is what we have in the plans today in terms of future courses:

Sample Images

Below are the three images we used for post-processing in our case studies – you can see how the images looked before and after the editing process. Here is an example of what can be done to a portrait in Lightroom with just a few minutes of editing (John’s case study):

I chose a rather difficult image to work with in Lightroom (captured while filming the Level 1 Photography Basics course) and I go into quite a bit of detail on how to fix lens problems and make subtle adjustments in Lightroom to convert bland-looking images into something much more pleasing to look at:

And lastly, here is another dramatic landscape, but this time after it got a few tweaks in Photoshop:

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

We are confident in the quality of the material presented in this course and we back it up with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are unhappy about your purchase, we will gladly issue a full refund.

How to Buy

If you are interested in buying this course, we currently have a special launch discount, bringing the price down from $ 149 to $ 129. If you have previously purchased our first video, you should have already received an email from us with an additional discount to bring the price down to $ 99. And the best deal is for those who want to buy both Level 1 courses – for a limited time, the bundled price will be $ 198.

Below are the purchase links for all three:

1. Level 1: Camera Basics – $ 129 ($ 149 regular)
2. Level 1: Workflow and Post-Processing – $ 129 ($ 149 regular)
3. Level 1 Bundle – get both for only $ 198 ($ 248 regular)

The above discounts will expire on August 1, 2016.

We would love hear your feedback! Please let us know if you have any questions or comments in the section below!

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Working with Candlelight in Cinema – True Practical Lighting

Even though technology has come a long way, you have to have some kind of lighting in order to film. Generally, cinematographers bring in giant ARRI lights to help make a scene look realistic, but for the BBC TV series “Wolf Hall,” they opted for a more natural approach. Cooke Optics TV sat down with cinematographer Gavin Finney to talk about how he used candlelight as the only source of light during nighttime scenes.

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15 Essential Photography Tips

Mastering the art of photography starts with the camera. Sure, there are plenty of filters and digital treatments out there that you can use to apply to your photos after they’re shot, but the true art of photography lies in the technique. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a DSLR rookie, it’s important to know the fundamental basics of photography.

That’s why BorrowLenses put together a list of essential photography tips for beginners:

15 Essential Photography Tips for Beginners (Via BorrowLenses. Click image to see full size.)

From composition rules such as the Rule of Thirds, to basic lighting tips, this visual guide has real photo examples that will help you tailor your craft to any type of photo shoot. Check out the top 15 tips above, and visit BorrowLenses for the full list of helpful photography tips.

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How I Learned to Use a DSLR Camera

If you’re looking to get the most out of your new DSLR camera, you’re going to want to get out of the automatic Program mode (which is fully automatic) and begin learning how to take photos either in Shutter Priority mode, Aperture Priority mode or, ultimately, full Manual mode.

Manual mode. Photo by Levente Fulop

When you’ve got your camera in Program mode (usually signified by a letter “P” on the mode dial of your DSLR), you’re basically handing over all of the decision making responsibility to the camera. The camera will then use its coded algorithms to decide what is the most appropriate settings to use—that is, how wide the aperture should be, how fast the shutter speed should be. Both of these (aperture and shutter speed) affect the amount of light data that can be captured by the camera’s digital image sensor, and what the camera calculates as appropriate might not result in an image that’s desirable. Essentially, when you buy a DSLR and keep it in Program mode, you’re treating it like a cheap compact camera, where you just aim and click the button to take the photos, rather than treating it like the sophisticated image creation machine that it is. You’re not taking control of what will be blurred in your image and what will be crystal clear; or choosing when you want motion blur in your image and when you don’t.

The main features of your DSLR camera that you will want to master are:

• Mode Dial (Program vs. Shutter Priority vs. Aperture Priority vs. Manual Modes)
• ISO
• White Balance

I’ll walk you through each one in turn, the way that I learned to become comfortable with working these features, so that I was able to take responsibility for how my photos were (if I may be so bold as to say) crafted.

photo by Cheon Fong Liew

Mode Dial

The obvious first step is to get out of Program mode and learn to become comfortable in the other three modes. Because I wanted to be totally in control of using my DSLR, my ultimate aim was to comfortable using the camera in full Manual mode. My route to this was to take advantage of what you might call the two “semi automatic” modes: Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority, respectively.

Aperture Priority Mode

All you need to know is that when your camera is set to Aperture Priority mode, you are in control of setting the correct aperture value (f-stop numbers, such as f/2.8, f/5.6, f/8, all the way down to f/22) and the camera will be in charge of calculating the shutter speed. When you’re changing the aperture of the lens, you’re either widening the opening of the lens to let more light in, or you’re narrowing the lens to let less light reach the sensor.

photo by Larry Jacobsen

When you widen the aperture (choosing a lower f-stop number, such as f/2.8), background subjects will become more blurry, allowing foreground targets to stand out more when you focus on them—either by turning lenses manually to achieve clear focus or taking advantage of the camera’s autofocus technology.

When you narrow the aperture (choosing a higher f-stop number, such as f/8 or higher), more things deeper in your scene will be in clear focus, including the foreground subject you’re targeting.

Shutter Priority Mode

If you’ve understood what happens when you select Aperture Priority mode, you may already have figured out that when you put your camera into Shutter Priority mode, you are responsible for choosing how long the shutter is allowed to stay open. The image sensor of your camera will record all the available light data for as long as the shutter remains open. So, if you choose a faster shutter speed (measured in fractions of a second, such as 1/50, 1/250, 1/1000, 1/4000), the sensor will have less opportunity to continue recording light and this results in a darker exposure. You know, when you’re ultra disappointed because your photos have come out too dark? That’s known as an “underexposed” image, as it hasn’t been exposed to the light for long enough.

If, on the other hand, you choose a slower shutter speed (greater than 1 second, such as 1″, 1.3″, 15″, 30″, 60″), then you’re allowing the shutter to stay open longer, so the image sensor will be able to record more of the light, resulting in a lighter image. Have you ever been disappointed because your photos have become too light and nice details have been lost to the brightness? That’s known as an “overexposed” image, as it has been exposed to the light for too long.

Shutter Speed: 8 seconds. Photo by Andrew Moore

It may have dawned on you that one of your roles as a photographer is to master the balance of light coming into the lens and onto your camera’s sensor. If the scene is too dark, your job is to use the settings and tools at your disposal (i.e. a flash, if necessary) to help the image sensor to record more of the light—either by allowing the shutter to remain open for longer and/or allowing more light in through the lens by widening the aperture. If the scene is too light, you want to go the opposite way and either restrict the time the shutter stays open and/or narrow down the aperture so that less light enters the lens when the shutter button is pressed.

It sounds pretty straight forward, but there is a slight catch. The shutter speed and aperture are both tools used not just to get more or less light onto your camera’s sensor. They’re also creative controls that give you different effects, and once you get the right setting you might not want to change it even if you still need either more or less light in your image.

For instance, while the aperture can be narrowed to let less light onto the sensor, thus helping to darken overly bright images, you might not want to reduce the aperture any further than what you’ve selected, because at the wider aperture that you’ve selected, you’re getting a nicely blurred background, which is helping to make your foreground subject stand out more clearly. This is known as “selective focus”; you’re telling a story by helping those viewing your photos to better understand that the clear, foreground item, whether person or other object is the main subject of the photo, and you’re helping them know this by blurring out everything behind the target subject.

Alternatively, you can create different effects by choosing a faster or slower shutter speed. Perhaps you want to freeze every drop in a waterfall? Or capture a bird of prey as it hovers in the air without any blurring of the wings? For both situations, you’ll want to select a faster shutter speed. The shutter will stay open for only a very, very short time (fractions of a second, such as 1/2000 or something like that). You’re doing this to freeze the motion, not primarily to let the sensor record light for less time. If you wanted motion in both those examples, you’d be choosing a slower shutter speed. The shutter stays open for longer, even if it’s only a few fractions of a second, and all that movement will be recorded onto your final image.

Shutter Speed: 1/1600 of a second. Photo by Ben Cremin

Okay, this is all very good to know, but how do you go about learning how to use this knowledge to master the main features of your DSLR camera?

I ended up playing about with the camera in both modes. Some of the time I spent in Aperture Priority mode, controlling the aperture; some of the time I was in Shutter Priority mode, controlling the shutter speed. I wasn’t concentrating on the technical aspects of whether I wanted to freeze motion with a faster shutter speed, or blur out certain subjects in the background with a wider aperture (that all came to me later, as I got more experienced with the camera). I was focusing solely on looking at the LCD screen to see whether the image was too bright (overexposed) or too dark (underexposed).

From a personal point of view, I found I learned faster while in Shutter Priority mode. This was because, on the camera I was using at the time (a Panasonic FZ1000), whenever I half-pressed the shutter button, as I scrolled the dial to change the shutter speed, I could see the image on the LCD screen either get lighter or darker and I was able to use this to gauge whether to increase or decrease the shutter speed.

At this point, I need to mention my upgrade from the Panasonic FZ1000 to a proper DSLR, in the form of the Panasonic GH4. When I went to use the same method of looking at how bright or dark the image was on the LCD and simply deciding whether I needed to increase or decrease the shutter speed, I discovered that the brightness didn’t alter on the GH4’s LCD screen. As it turned out, this was to be a good thing, as it forced me onto YouTube to look for a solution, and that’s where I discovered how to take advantage of the Exposure Compensation indicator to help determine when the image was exposed properly. It turns out that when you have the light balance right—not too dark (underexposed) and not too light (overexposed)—there should be a little symbol that has a plus and a minus in a box, with a zero next to it (+/-0). When you see this, you have the right light balance and you’re ready to start snapping. Now, it doesn’t matter what DSLR I use, I know I can find the right balance of light to gauge the correct exposure, before I waste hours taking photos that are either too light or too dark.

Even with this knowledge, I’d still continue to practice in Shutter Priority mode, first, letting the camera dictate which aperture to use. Do this until you feel you’ve grasped the proverbial nettle and feel that you’re ready to begin experimenting with the camera in Aperture Priority mode. When I made the switch, I found I got the hang of it pretty much immediately. Setting a wider aperture (lower f-stop number) will make things brighter but also make the background elements more blurred; setting a narrower aperture (higher f-stop number) will make the image darker but will bring more of the scene into clear focus.

Aperture: f/1.8. Photo by r. nial bradshaw

I spent only a few hours in Aperture Priority mode before I felt I’d got the hang of it and felt ready to begin learning to use the camera in full Manual mode. But, guess what? The transition was pretty much instantaneous; I’d learned how to use the shutter speed in Shutter Priority mode, and I’d learned how to use the aperture in Aperture Priority mode. In Manual mode, you’re essentially putting the two lessons together, but doing it all yourself. You’re now in control of what to adjust to let more or less light onto the sensor and now you’re able to start learning to be more creative with this knowledge. You can make subtle changes to both the shutter speed and aperture to improve the quality of your images.

You can start to use the shutter speed to explore freezing moving subjects or letting some of their movement show in your photos by slowing the shutter speed to introduce a bit of motion blur. And you can adjust the aperture to have more things in focus in your scene (which is often what you want in landscape photos, when you want to see everything in the foreground and everything to the horizon in clear detail, and when you want to select a narrower aperture, with a higher f-stop number). Or, maybe you want to use selective focus and have only your main subject in focus in the foreground, while the background is allowed to be blurred, to help the subject “pop”? That’s when you can widen the aperture with a lower f-stop number.

But what if you still don’t have enough light entering your camera? What if you have your aperture and shutter speed correctly set and your photos are still turning out too dark (too underexposed)? Well, that’s when you can explore the next setting I learnt to adjust.

ISO

The ISO setting (pronounced EYE-so) determines how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to light. When I first got my cameras (both of them, the FZ1000 and GH4), they were already set to “Auto ISO”, which meant the camera used its algorithms to calculate the most appropriate ISO setting. But, like having the camera in Program mode, you also want to get comfortable adjusting the ISO settings as the situation demands it, rather than letting a snippet of computer code make a best guess (albeit a binary one).

It’s not all that difficult to learn. When not in Auto ISO mode, the ISO settings are displayed as different numerical values, such as 100, 125, 200, 400, 800, and 1600. The higher the value, the lighter the image will become. However, this isn’t a magic feature that will allow you to take high quality photos, regardless of how dark it is. The camera needs to make certain algorithmic adjustments to help illuminate dark images. However, the higher you push the ISO setting, the more grainy the photos become. This graininess is referred to as “noise” and, if you can help it, you want to avoid noise in your images, because it detracts from the overall quality of the photo. That’s just the nature of this technology, which is gradually getting better as cameras become ever more sophisticated. However, as things stand in 2016, cameras like the Panasonic FZ1000 and Panasonic GH4, which I know well, don’t fare so well above ISO 1600, which is my current limit that I’m willing to go to, despite being able to push the ISO over 12800. Images are just about acceptable at ISO 1600, certainly for posting smaller photos on the internet; if I still needed more light for a correct exposure, I would ignore pushing the ISO any further and instead scale back to a lower ISO (such as 200 to 400, maybe 800 at most) and reach for my external flash to provide the desired illumination. If I can get away with it, though, I do like being able to take photos without fiddling with the flash and will explore the ISO range to try and get me there.

ISO 2000. Photo by Jimmy Baikovicius

That said, there are times when an external flash comes in useful. Recall those instances where the you didn’t want to adjust either the shutter speed (because you wanted a certain motion blur, perhaps) or the aperture (because you wanted to use selective focusing to help your image tell a story) in order to help your camera’s sensor capture the right balance of light? Well, you can have your proverbial cake and eat it if you use an external flash. The flash allows you to introduce light so that you’re not having to steal light from shutter speed and/or aperture adjustments. Let the power of a flash (aka Speedlight) take charge of illumination and leave the shutter speed and aperture settings at the sweet spot for your current project.

So, by this time, I was getting better at selecting the shutter speed and aperture and adjusting the ISO all in tandem to help improve the overall quality of my exposures / photos (whatever you want to call them). That left just one other main feature to get to grips with.

White Balance

The color of white can take on a reddish or blueish tinge, depending on the lighting conditions, such as sunlight or when taking photos indoors, under incandescent lights. The white balance feature allows you to adjust the color temperature so that it looks natural, just the way you see it with your naked eye.

Most modern DSLR cameras come with certain preset white balance settings, usually identified by specific symbols in your camera’s White Balance menu. For instance, you can set it to AWB (Auto White Balance) and let the camera calculate the most appropriate setting. Or, you can take a look at the environment you’re in and, if you’re outdoors and the sun is shining, select the “sun” icon; if you’re under a cloudy sky, well, there’s usually a “cloud” icon that will adjust the white balance to a suitable color temperature for this situation. When taking photos indoors, there’s usually a “light bulb” icon for taking photos under incandescent lights.

On some of the more sophisticated DSLR cameras, you’re able to manually adjust white balance by adjusting the Kelvin color temperature values. Those presets that I just mentioned were doing this, to a certain degree, by changing the white balance to a certain Kelvin temperature value, according to the situation. However, if you have the option on your particular camera, you can choose to warm things up a little bit more, by selecting a slightly higher Kelvin value; or, you can cool down the color temperature by lowering the Kelvin value. The lowest value is 2500K (K = Kelvin), which will cool the image down by increasing the amount of blue. The highest value is 10,000K which will warm up your image by increasing the amount of orange in the exposure.

White Balance: Cloudy. Photo by Jen

There is no hard and fast rule about which white balance setting to use. There was a time when I wanted to set the white balance manually and dictate the color temperature in my photos, so I would always go into the Kelvin menu and decide whether I wanted more warmth in my images (increasing the K value) or less warmth (reducing the K value). However, I have come to find that the presets do a pretty good job so, for instance, if it’s sunny outside, I just stick the white balance into the “sun” preset and get on with taking my photos. Experiment, see what works best with your workflow.

And that’s pretty much it. That’s how I learned what I consider to be the main features of a DSLR camera. This is how I went from never having used a DSLR before to feeling fairly comfortable using any DSLR camera in full Manual mode, where I take control of the creative process of crafting (or trying to craft) the photos I want to take. It is a rewarding skill to master.

About the Author:
Graham Wadden created and maintains the Creative Commons photography website, WaddenCCPhotography.com, specializing in creating royalty free stock photography primarily for home educators and those in education.

Go to full article: How I Learned to Use a DSLR Camera

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