Photo Articles

A good straight talk about metering By Moni Caron

2009-01-12T13:40:00.000-08:00

Controlling how much light reaches your camera sensor is an important decision for expressing your creativity. You know you have an idea in mind to take a picture, but can that idea be the end result if you don’t know how to meter light?

There is a difference in having a proper exposure and having the result of your creative mind printed on paper. You want more than just a picture that “turned out ok”? Then you need to understand metering modes, and understand how your camera “thinks”, what is the camera trying to tell you and what kind of information you need to give the camera.

So let’s take a look at metering modes and how they work, so you can select which one to use in different situations of light.

As cameras keep getting more and more sophisticated and more computer “thinking” is added to them, we have more precise ways of metering light. Today, we have , multi-pattern metering (called matrix or evaluative), center-weighted averaging metering, partial metering, and spot metering.

The metering system is nothing more than a microprocessor inside your camera, like a mini computer. In this processor, you have a big database of pictures and charts with information about those pictures so the camera can compare the light you have available and the settings in your camera to those stored pictures and suggest you the “proper“ exposure.

When you point the camera to a subject and half press the button, your exposure level indicator will show up in your viewfinder, where you see a number zero and some dots and/or sticks moving constantly to the left and to the right. As you point to different subjects, you see those sticks moving. They are trying to tell you if you have too much light or if you don’t have enough light, so that you can adjust your camera controls until you have a proper exposure, being “proper” an average exposure that reads ZERO in those “sticks, numbers and dots of your viewfinder, or a bar that stays green UNDER the ZERO mark.

Your goal for proper exposure is to get those dots and sticks in the zero mark. When it is in the zero mark, your camera understands that for an average scene, the colors will turn out right, and you will have good light for the scene. That is known for what the camera considers 18% gray, that is, the camera averages all the tonal values (the brightness levels of everything in shade, in sun, all the colors in the scene, etc) and translates that into an “average” amount of light, that is set by the manufacturer as the “proper” exposure level as 18% gray. Once your metering system is under the zero in your camera, it is like the “correct” exposure will bring out all the colors right: red will be red and not pink, yellow will be yellow and not orange, and all the other colors should be right.

Don’t get too confused with 18% gray. It is just a number so you understand how the camera “thinks”. It will not show up on your camera in any place. It is mere information so you can look it up online for more detailed information of how camera understands colors and tonal values.

Now, have in mind that not all situations of light will have colors, brightness and contrast turn out all good all the time. The camera microprocessor will interpret the light in 3 different ways, depending on the metering system that you pick.

Multi pattern, or evaluative, or matrix metering system (the multi pattern gets different names with different camera manufacturers) - this system divide the overall scene in little pieces and assigns each piece a brightness value. Then it takes in consideration the lens you are using, the ISO, the aperture, and the shutter speed you have set in your camera and compares all these with the database stored in the microprocessor until it finds a stored situation of light that is similar. Then, it will suggest a metering “solution” by blinking in your viewfinder in the left side or in the right side of the zero, meaning you need to adjust the exposure by changing your shutter speed or your aperture until your metering bar is in zero. This system is great when the light is coming from behind you and when you have lots of colors in the scene. A general purpose metering mode. Good for portraits and street photography with tricky light, it will give you accuracy and proper exposure about 80% of the time.

Center-weighted averaging metering system - a system that interprets light by giving “weight, to some part of the scene more than others. So the camera reads the light from all parts of the scene and assigns 70% of the light from the center of the frame and 30% of the light from the edges (numbers that can also be 60% to the center and 40% to the edges, 75% to the center and 25% to the edges, 80% to the center and 20% to the edges, depending on the manufacturer preset. What it means is that it will average a reading considering that whatever is inside the center of the frame is more important than the other outside of the center of the frame. This metering system is better for contrasty situations of light, backlight and pictures in which white or black subjects are NOT in the center of your picture. If white or black are in the center, your chances of having an overexposed or underexposed pictures will increase dramatically, since the camera is trying to turn everything “gray” for average good color rendition. Also great for side lighting when you have lots of shadows in the scene, as an end of the day street picture.

Partial metering system - a system that interprets light assigning 6.5%, 9% or 10% of your viewfinder area at the center as important for the metering results, depending on the model of the camera. That means once you have picked your CENTRAL point of focus (let’s say you are pointing to the eye of your model to meter light), the camera will consider the area between 6.5 to 10% around it to “suggest” you the “proper” exposure, ignoring everything else in the scene for metering purposes. That means it would not matter if you are photographing someone with very light skin with a black wall behind: the camera will only read the light off the eye (and around the assigned area from 6.5 to 10%, depending on your camera) to give you the 18% grey “proper” exposure. A great system to pick if you have a lot of backlighting much brighter than your subject in the foreground. The meter won’t be fooled by lighter or darker scenes around your subject with this system. It is mostly center weighted. It will meter off the CENTER point of focus, so you may need to recompose your scene after you lock exposure to take the picture.

Spot metering system - a very precise metering mode. In Canon systems that could be approximately 3.8% CENTER, ignoring everything else in the metering. Your metering needs to use the CENTER focus point to meter off the scene, then you lock exposure and recompose the picture using whatever focus point - or manual focus- you want to select, but keeping the original metering from your CENTER focus point. The spot metering is great for when you photograph bright colors or when you want very specific metering ignoring almost all the rest of your composition. That means if you are photographing a person against the window (with bright sun behind the person) and you spot meter the person using your CENTER focus point in the eye of the person, you will have a metering for exposing to the face. Then you lock your exposure in that metering- meaning you don’t change your aperture or shutter speed - and recompose the scene with another auto focus point or manual focus and take the picture. The background (the light behind the person) will be blown out much brighter than the person. If that is the effect you want, SPOT METERING is great for this situation. Spot metering requires that you really understand the metering and know exactly what end result you want, often meaning you need to adjust/compensate the exposure toe the brighter or darker side, depending on the result you want from the picture.

When picking which metering system to use, take into consideration the situation of light you are at: low light, side light, front light, backlight. Also, pay attention if there is a very large area of the frame filled with darker tonal values.

When you have snow, you need to compensate your exposure to the PLUS side, meaning you need to overexpose your scene at least one F/stop or your snow will be dark grey. It happens because when you are metering a person in snow, the metering system is seeing all the snow around the subject and “thinking” “it is too bright!”, hence suggesting you need to adjust to a darker exposure. But you know the camera is trying to make everything 18% gray, so you need to overexpose the metering to turn snow white, and not gray. So every time you have lots of white in a scene, use your “suspicious” meter and adjust your exposure to the PLUS side, unless you don’t care about the large white part of the scene being darker than it looks.

The same thinking applies to dark colors being most of your frame: you need to compensate the exposure to the MINUS side, so you don’t have your blacks being too light. Black is DARKER than gray, so you need to UNDEREXPOSE at least ONE f/stop for a correct exposure for darker tones.

Hope this metering talk guides you towards better pictures.

Emotion as your source of work

2008-07-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

My mom and sister, seeing snow falling from the sky, in the San Juan Mountains, for the first time in their lives, May 22, 2008, while we were going to Monument Valley.

I've been through lots of emotions this year.

My family (mom, middle sister Lisi, and step dad came to visit me). We did more than 2000 miles while they were here and saw more than they could possibly dream seeing in such short time (Lisi stayed 2 weeks, parents stayed 3).

Above all, what remarked me the most was the connection we had. I knew that. They knew that, but yet, saying goodbye was the hardest thing ever. It always is when half of your heart goes aways when you say bye.

While my family was visiting, I learned I have friends who are more family than friends. I learned they accept me for who I am. I learned I love them more than i think I possibly could. I learned that I AM and I CAN BE much more. I can be anything I want. I can create new dreams in my head and heart and go chase them!!

Eventually, I learned a little more about being a photographer and being a better person. I learned that being a photographer is not only about capturing that beautiful landscape at the sunrise, or the beautiful smile of my sister and wise look of my mom. It is that too, but it is much more than that.

I learned that sometimes, when you have a picture that is meaningful it is really hard to really tell WHY. I realized sometimes I like it because of the beauty. Sometimes I like it because of the angle. Sometimes I like it because of the light. Sometimes I like it because of the composition.

Sometimes I like it because of the story it tells, or even because of the story behind it, when i took it, or wonder what happened when someone took a picture, what was the story behind it.

But most of all, the reason why I photograph is emotion.

A photograph not only tells a story without words, it is also capable of causing emotion, stirring your own memories from inside - and sometimes old memories by association). A photograph is about a story you lived, someone else lived, and the story that will come after. The never told story.

Emotion is what stirs me. Passion. Happiness. Mood. Sometimes introspective days. Emotion is what this assignment will be about. Tell me a story. Tell me how you thought about it. Why did you pick the subject, how did you produced it. What were you trying to say? Or, did you capture the emotion, or did the emotion captured you?

The interpretation is part of the assignment.

Deadline is August 10, 2008. Go live and photograph :)

My way of showing love: public

2008-04-14T20:32:00.001-07:00

When I am happy, I am happy, so I went out and created this for this project in my way of riding my bike for 17 miles today :)

Aperture: f/10

shutter speed 1/160

ISO: 125

Spotmeter

Lens : Canon ef 50mm f/1.4

LOVE comes from the heart - Deadline: April 20, 2008.

2008-04-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Translation of the caption: front of the card that Sarah gave me :)

Even when we don;t pay attention, the most beautiful images either come from long planning or long love. By that, I mean that we, photographers, are always making decisions of what to photograph, where to spend the time to photograph and what is worth taking the picture. By creating an image of a subject we love, we automatically become better photographers, when compared to the task of photographing something we don't care about or are not really interested about.

Landscape photographers research sunrise and sunset times. Then, they plan a specific time of the year to visit the place. Not once, or twice, but many times. Whatever it takes to create the image they have in mind. Yes, They come back again, again and again, until one day they capture the right angle, the right light, the perfect composition, just as in their mind.

Macro photographers pick up a theme and create an environment of light in such a way to get us to see what even the naked eye can't see. With their cameras, a tripod and the right light, in studio or outdoors, they perfect the details, explore many angles of their "mini" subject and share a work that few people would have the patience.

Wedding photographers don't work with the luxury of "time", but rather need to work under pressure of the one chance to do it right. The bride will only walk the aisle once. And there will be only one first kiss once they are married.

The photographer needs to anticipate what is going to happen and find the most effective way to connect with the bride, the groom, and the guests. When that happens, the images and the story of the wedding can be told.

Portrait photographers work with families and children who not always "follow" direction.

They capture a special moment in those families. the have a time frame to get their clients to relax, be themselves and interact with one another and be able to capture their personalities.

With technical skills - but above all people skills - they need to make those images meaningful and eternal.

Sports photographers barely have a game time to capture all the action and get them to the newspapers and magazines on time for Internet or next day's news.

All these photographers have different subjects and specific goals based on the needs of their market or wishes of their souls. However, they all have something on common: it's all a work of heart.

That's it, the big secret, I believe: the best images always come from the heart.

It could have taken 1/250 of a second to see and capture that loving look, and 1/1000 to get the football player scoring touchdown, or 1/60 of a second to get the groom looking at his wife for the first time as "his" wife for now and ever. Eventually, we all capture what we care about and love the most.

So in this assignment, I propose you share LOVE. Do something from your heart. Put your heart into it. Deeply. Tell me a story, in one or more images. Show me what you love to take pictures of or show LOVE itself (or convey LOVE somehow).

Isn't about love that life is all about??? I'd say YES!

What do you all think of this crop?

2008-03-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

This is not a good photo technically, I shot these at all the wrong settings. I just want to know what you all think of the crop on this one?

Kathleen

2008-03-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

ISO 100

F 2.8

SS 500

This is a shot I took of my son and his girlfriend yesterday. I tried to do sun flare shot but wasn't too happy with this one. I would like harsh critisism on this one please. I shot them all at f 2.8 and regret it. I have seen is done before with a couple but it didn't work for me.

Anyway, here is my tilted crop assignment.

Look forward to your cc.

Kathleen

Tilted Crop

2008-03-05T20:33:00.001-08:00

Canon 5D

85mm 1.8 lens at f 22

iso 100

ss 2.5

Camera on tripod with shutter release, indirect afternoon sunlight through a higher window. I did a slight s curve adjustment and burnt some of the background to make it all match.

Not tilted but I thought it was funny

2008-03-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post this one in my webgallery of street photography

Canon 40D

Lens: Canon 24-70 L f/2.8 @ 70mm

ISO 200

Shutterspeed: 1/500

Apeture: f/5.6

Converted to bw in photoshop and added contrast.

Moni's tilted Crop

2008-03-03T16:20:00.001-08:00

Canon 40D
Lens: Canon EF 24-70 L f/2.8 @ 70mm
ISO 200
Aperture:F 14.1
Shutterspeed:1/50
Spotmetering

So I went with my freinds to this little old town called Manitou Springs, CO to spend the afternoon doing street photography. Thought it could be interesting to create a new tilted crop to share here.

If you want to see more, here is the link to this fun afternoon:

The link to all the photos is http://www.monicaron.com/manitoustreet/index.htm

Tilted Crop - Deadline: March 9

2008-02-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

How many times you have seen beautiful photographs that for some reason made you stop and say “wow”??

I don’t know about you , but me, I tend to look around and admire lots of different photographers and the more I look, the more I refine my own vision.

To throw some perspective or shake things up in your mind a little, I would like to talk about the angle you take photographs.

As a general rule, the camera is wider than taller and I’ve read somewhere that 90% of the photographs taken are horizontal. To make it worse, the majority of the images we see online are taken from the height level of whomever is taking the photograph. That makes sometimes nice images. Sometimes. Lots of times, however, makes them to be too obvious or too predictable.

What makes us wow an image are a little beyond a logical explanation.

It could be because it reminds you an amazing image you have seen before. OR maybe some image you always had in your mind and didn’t get the chance to create. OR just because you felt angry, disturbed, bored…you will try something different. Yes, that s more like it!!

Shaking the obvious out of your mind will most likely create some weird and not so perfect image, but in the end of this creative day , you will have an assignment that will get you somewhere where you have not been yet…create something you have not tried yet. For pure fun.

The art of using deliberately the tilted crop is strange at first. IT breaks the rule of “normal” and makes things more interesting because you are not expecting to see things from that perspective.

And quite honest, it is so cool to be able to just try things in another way. Had that been in the “film” age, and we all would be thinking of how much money and time this assignment or learning would cost us. Being digital though allows us to experiment more and try things more often. And if we don’t like it, we can always go and do it again. Just delete in the computer.

That‘s learning too.

So the assignment this month is to try a different perspective. Tilt your mind, will you?

I suggest to compose, frame your image as you would normally would. Then, tilt the camera to the left or to the right, step on a bench or lay on the floor and then recompose and take your picture!

Tilted crop is a very nice exercise to play with new angles and new way of seeing things. Just pretend for a day you are a 5 year old child and you don’t know exactly how you are supposed to hold the camera and take the picture. Cut things out, get close and experiment with a very different tilted crop.

If it makes you feel more inspired, go online and research tilted crop, different angles on photography, and anything that can get you motivated.

Then try a still life, a person, whatever you feel like, using tilted crop in your composition. Then, share!

THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENT

2008-02-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, I am no Moni but I will post the next assignment. I am not good with words and direction so you are all on your own with this one.

Assignment: "Tilted Crop"

This can be an in camera crop or a photoshop crop. From what I have read, there is certainly a limit on how far to take your crop. You don't want your subject to look like they are falling out of the photo or to look un natural.

Have fun and we will see your posts by next Sunday. Remember to leave comments on the posters photos. This is all about learning and making us better photographers.

I apologize for my simple post, maybe Moni will come and save the day.

Good luck and have fun shooting

Kathleen

Macro

2008-02-21T17:48:00.000-08:00

Okay so i really wanted to do this challenge and not pull from my archives, but alas it is almost the end of Feburary and I have not gotten around to taking any intresting Macros. I will try to replace this when i can take a decent macro!

So this is a water droplet caught in the end of my plant. ISO 400, ss 1/8, f5.6 taken with the cheap tripod i have (I need another ) and my remote.

Macro attempt

2008-02-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, to start, I don't have a macro lens. I use my 85mm 1.8 lens with my 50mm 1.8 held in reverse in front of it inside the lens hood. This results in a dark outer circle but you can either crop out the center or leave it for effect. This also results in an extremely shallow dof, probally best to shoot very flat things this way. Anyway, I gave it a go and this is what I got.

Used light meter to get a reading of iso 100, f22, ss 15

light from behind coin through a window, and slightly to camera left.

Tripod and a shutter release were also used.

Same set up as above for this one.

It is a gear that winds the strings

on a guitar.

This was taken in front of the same window

on a diferent and not so bright day.

iso 100, f22, ss 1.3

tripod and shutter release cable used here too.

This doesn't really look macro but it is the sam magnification as the others. It is the dead center of a rose that is light from a celing fan light overhead. I hand held for this shot and the camera shake is responsible for the soft edges of the petals.

iso 400, f22, ss 30

Macro Photography Project

2008-02-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

f/7.1
ISO 200
Manual
Focal Length:100.0mm
Lens: 100mm f2.8 Macro USM
Flash Fired (-2/3)
Time:12:03pm
Metering:Partial
Temp: 5300k
Tripod
Adobe Camera Raw/PhotoshopCS3

Sunlight coming through window behind camera. Black matte board underneath. Object one of a set of metal dice (measures 3/4" x 3/4").

I wanted to capture the dramatic sayings on the dice, but not put them just in a "middle space" of the photo, so I set the die off to the side of the framing. I also wanted to emphasize the message as much as possible, so I tried to get only that message to pop out (by getting the natural sunlilght to shine on that part of the dice).

The dice are given to participants at my work (Center for Creative Leadership), and you can role the dice to come up with different "thoughts" or "ideas" for the day. This saying caught my attention and is very powerful unto itself.

Water drops

2008-02-14T08:45:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share this link for water drops Marco style. Hope you all enjoy!

http://ilovephotography.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=271326&hl=macro

Window light assignment

2008-02-13T21:02:00.001-08:00

This was taken with her at a 45 degree angle to the window.

Settings were ISO 200, SS 200 AP 1.8. Taken with my 50 1.8 lense.

Hope you like them

Photo Assignment # 4 - Macro Photography - Deadline: February 24

2008-02-12T16:45:00.000-08:00

Photographing the landscapes and looking for the most beautiful places has its merit for the photographer who wants more than the average picture. Beautiful images are definitely born from those who have discipline to wake up early, and be at the right place at the right time. Now, going the extra mile and looking for that something “else” to tell a story is for those who are really into photography.

When you watch a good movie, you will see a story well told. The planning, the light, the personages, the plot, the angles, the panoramic vision, the framing, the tight closes, the shadows, the spotlights. All ties up together to tell the end of the movie.

Well, when you go on a photo journey, it should be the same. But most of us forget the details, the change of perspective, the direction of light and the perfect timing.

A good image does not happen by chance. Specially in landscape and macro photography. Carefully planned, a macro shot requires a little bit extra patience than a regular panoramic or landscape photography.

It starts with the tripod, to assure you don’t blur the image, since macro shots are shot within a few inches from the subject.

Then the appropriate lens, a macro lens, specially designed to allow you to get close and magnify the reason of how close to real life size the subject is. A typical lens will have reasons like 1:2 (your subject will be half the size of its real size in the picture) or 1:1 (your subject will be the same size as it is in real life).

The most common lenses for macro are 50mm macro and 100 macro. However, setting them in your camera body is not a proof of getting a good picture. You need to decide on what kind of lighting will be used to capture the image. Will it be backlight? Will it be sidelight? Will it be flash? Natural light? Window light? All these could be used to photograph your small subject and cause impact.

Once you decide the light, position your tripod in the height you want to work in your composition, that is, are you going to show the whole object? Half? Are you going to position it to show it as tight crop? Lot of negative(empty) space around it?

What about depth of field? Do you want to have a lot or a little?

Remember that the aperture and the distance to your subject being very close will strongly reduce your depth of field to millimeters, being more appropriate to have a big depth of field if you plan to have your whole subject in focus.

With an aperture such as 2.8 , 4 or 5.6 you will be very limited to depth of field and lots of blurriness will show in your picture. F 11, 16 or even 22 will get your subject more depth of field.

It’s your vision though and you can approach it however you wish.

Select a subject like a flower, a bug, anything little that calls your attention, and set some time for this assignment. It does require patience. Produce 3 images and share your experience of how did you do it. Explain where was the light coming from, if it was natural light or any other kind of light, what you did to compose, what were you thinking.

Make comments about what was your vision compared with the result you got. Tell which aperture, shutter speed, ISO and any other post processing you did to get your final images.

Share!

2008-02-09T18:36:00.000-08:00

Canon 5D

50mm 1.8@ 3.5

ss 80

iso 400

window light to camera right

late afternoon

Canon 5D

85mm 1.8 @ 9

ss 40

iso400

window light early afternoon

behind camera

More window light

2008-02-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

A few extra window light pictures.

The light is coming from a window on the ceiling of a gorgeous bathroom :)

Window Light Kitty

2008-02-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

This is Smoky, my adorable kitty.
He is not a "poser", but he is like me, he seeks the light. He begs to have the windows open so he can watch outside and get some sun.

ISO 1000
Shutter speed: 1/60
Aperture: f/3.5
Lens: Canon ef 50mm 1.4
Canon 40D

ISO 1000

Shutter speed: 1/60
Aperture: f/2.5
Lens: Canon ef 50mm 1.4
Canon 40D

See the catchlight in his eyes?? That's the reflection of the window :)

Window light babies.

2008-01-29T18:50:00.000-08:00

So I do quite a few window light sessions, and I couldn't choose just one photo to complete this assignment. It is also too bloody cold here to get close to a window right now, so none of these are new (please come back warm weather) lol. So here are my favorite window light photos with settings attached!

Settings: Taken with my 50mm1.8 iso 230 ss 1/400 f2.8 window camera right

Settings: D80 with the nifty 50, iso 200 ss1/400 f3.2 window light directly behind me.

This one is not a baby...but she is a babe lol. D80 with a 50 mm 1.8 iso 200, ss 1/100, f 4 window to camera right wall camera left

Photo Assignment # 3 - Window Light Portrait - Deadeline: February 10

2008-01-28T21:06:00.000-08:00

Window light coming from the left. West facing window. Picture taken at 2:05 pm. Reflector on the right side to bounce natural light back to her face. ISO 800. Aperture: f/7.1 Shutter speed: 1/100. Focal lenght: 45mm (taken with Canon EF 24-70 L 2.8 lens).

When was the last time you forgot about your flash and took a beautiful natural light picture?

We often forget that the way we perceive light is based on the way we see the sun light reaching over everything. In shade or under hard light, we are used to seeing faces all the time, lit with only one source of light: the sun.

So lots of people tend to mimic the sun by using flash indoors, built in flash. The light coming directly from the camera creates very hard shadows and we have that “washed” white look in snapshots though.

Wouldn’t it be so nice to create a great portrait with the light you are used to seeing? I think so. That’s why natural light is always my first choice whenever it is possible. You can easily see where the light comes from, where its shadows fall, how it will look like before you actually take the picture.

When you are using an slr camera, you are metering natural light, so you know if your camera tells you there is too much light or light is not enough at all.

You use your in camera meter to know if the light coming form a window will be enough to photograph a person by the window. You look for any window in the house. The dining room window, the bedroom window, the hallway window, even the bathroom window. If your goal is to get a beautiful window light portrait, you have to find the light. Going room by room and taking light readings is a nice and fun home assignment that you can do when you are stuck at home or just want to be more creative.

What I like doing is to keep a little notebook and make notes about metering the light from that window. I find it very helpful to study that light. It keeps me on track about the quality of that light. It also trains my eye to not overlook any kind of window, wherever I am. It is specially nice to be able to find light anywhere. And learn how to use it to create a beautiful window light portrait.

These are the questions I ask myself and how I keep the information:

Which window had that light? Bathroom? Kitchen? Bedroom? Living room?
What time of the day is the light being metered? Early morning? 7 am? 10 am? 11am? Afternoon?
Is that a south, north, east, or west window?
How is the weather outside the window? Sunny? Overcast? Snowing Hard? Dark outside?
Is there any reflection outside that can change the light? Sun bouncing light on a outside white wall? Is it fall? Does fall colors provide a warmer light?
Is it winter? Is there any snow on the floor bouncing light to the inside of the room?
Is it summer? Does the light coming from outside in summer is any harder than the one coming from the same window when it is spring?
Does the light become any softer in different times of the day?
Does the sun ever reach that window and the light come through the window?

All these questions will be very important and will help to understand how the natural light works in big windows, tall windows, narrow windows.

The challenges of working with customers on location, in their homes, will be always be big, and these studies sharp our skills.

So where do you meter, when taking pictures by the window?

Just sit your subject by the window, in the brightest window of your home. Turn the person 45 degrees towards the window, so the light comes to lit both sides of the face. You meter for the bright side of the face, so you don’t blow out the highlights.

Sometimes, you won’ like the way the light hits your subject, so you may use a closer wall to bounce that light back, so you have a more even light, but with enough shadows to create depth and 3d feelings.

You can use a 5 in one reflector, a t-shirt, a shower curtain, anything white or silver (and gold too if you want warmer tones) to help you to bounce light. A simple window light and one little help from anything that will bounce the natural light back to the darker side of your subject's face.

See the window light coming from the left and one reflector used on the right side to bounce natural light back. Simple, naturally beautiful.

Now, get ready to practice. Find your own window light and go make a beautiful window light portrait!

by Moni Caron

Ringin' in the New Year

2008-01-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

So I took the sigma 70-300 Macro out to play today. I mostly bought this lens for taking to the zoo and such, but I am finding I am in love with the macro feature. I now have a serious jonesing for a "real" macro. Anyone have a Nikkor macro they feel like selling me LOL? Anyhow this was shot at 200mm in Macro. SS 250 F5 ISO 640 all on my D80.

Posting Info

2008-01-18T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I just want to add that when we post our assignments, everyone should take the time to comment on all of the new posts.

If you think it is great, then tell them, if you think they could have or should have shot it differently tell them, If you would have shot it differently, let everyone know your outlook on it. This blog is for learning purposes and this is the only way to learn. There are not very many of us on here so it won't take too much time but I know myself and a few others would like critique be it good or bad.

Thanks everyone and I can' t wait to see all your beautiful winter pictures.

Kathleen

One for now

2008-01-18T08:36:00.000-08:00

Canon 5D

28 - 105 mm 3.5 - 4.5

1/250 at f 14

105mm

iso 800(purley because I forgot to change it, oops)

Taken just as the sun was about to set

For the past 6 years I have lived in a small country village and we pass this spot every time we leave town. Each and every year the first big snow makes this formation and I always say that I am going to photograph it. This year, with kids in tow and playing in the ditch behind me, I finally made the effort. This was taken a few weeks ago and I figured I would share it until I get something else that I like with the new snow exposure advise.

Ode to the muffintop

2008-01-14T16:34:00.000-08:00

Who am I (besides a procrastinator?) I am a mom, a nurse a photographer.

I have been taking pictures since I bought my first 35 mm with my allowence at 9 and started composing pictures in the backyard of my house with dolls and stuffies as my subjects. I am a portrait photographer at heart, I love capturing people as they do what they do, and making that connection that sends tingles up your spine. I am a mommy to 2 beautiful children who have been the inspiration for both my photography and the title of this post lol. I am a future wedding photographer who is currently using flash for everything so that I can learn to master it. I am a combo of studied and self taught, I took photography classes in high school but I find I learn better by surfing flickr and shooting all the time.

I am on night shifts and not quite lucid today. I am also getting called for dinner.

Hi everyone, this is me

2008-01-13T23:37:00.000-08:00

Well, this is me. I guess I got bitten by the photo bug when my first daughter was born and I got my first roll of film back from walmart that was taken with my old point and shoot. I went directly out and bought an old use film SLR the next day.

My pictures greatly improved although it took lots of reading to get a few basic techniques down. I eventually took some photography classes which led me to Kathleen and she helps me keep on track with not letting photography fall though the cracks of everyday life. This blog and these assignments are part of that venture. There is no better feeling than getting that pic and the wow feeling in your gut and a smile on your face when you know you got it. Hopefully these assignments will help me push myself foward and make time for me and what I love, photography...

this pic was taken with a Canon 5D and an 85mm 1.8 lens with camera on tripod with shutter release cable. Small softbox to camera left and at an high angle Shutter speed was 100 and apeture was 2.5 at iso 400

2008-01-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

ISO 100

F/8

1/80th

140 mm focal length

lens: 70-200mm f/2.8

Aperature Priority

Time of Day: 4:38pm

Weather: Overcast

I have driven by this awesome tree for 10 years and have always wanted to photograph it. SO, one cold day I did! I pulled the car over, turned off the engine, rolled my window partway down, rested the lens on the ledge of the window, took a few test shots and then a few more (5 altogether) and voila! Exactly how I envsioned it. Converted to black and white and adjusted curves.

2008-01-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

Here I am! Can you pick me out? No? I'll help a little. I am the smallest dumpling, smiling away for the photographer.
Yes, it's me wearing the dress. How girly of me, I know. But it was all my mother's idea, really. I myself was never the dress-up type, but instead revelled in playing with all the boys instead.
Today I am happily married to the man of my dreams ( that is a story for Oprah in and of itself...). We've been together for 14 years, have 2 kids-13 and 10. We all spend way too much time at the hockey rink watching our son (the 1o-yr old) play, but oh we love hockey!! (I played ice hockey in college--yes, for real!) I'm the mom with the 70-200mm lens pointing at the players at every game.
I started off my photography career in May of 2003, after selling my piano to buy a digital camera. 3 cameras later, I am almost never without one. I'm starting to get a twitch from closing one eye so much....well, not really. :-)
I am looking forward to participating in project 24 challenge! ----Tara

Photo Assignment # 2: Winter - Deadline: January 27

2008-01-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Winter has always been my favorite season. The idea of a slower moment in life to make us more introspective, thoughtful, a growing inner time in a beautiful season.

Colder days, but that does not mean that we can go back to the cave and come out after 3 months. This reclusive time allow for wonderful photo opportunities.

Winter provides some unique scenes all over the planet, with its variety of different winters.

In some places, a lot of wind, in others a lot of rain, in others, a lot of snow and some places have no winter at all, with their tropical heat all year round.

Since we are in the North Hemisphere and winter is showing up timid, I figured we could use some thoughts about photographing in cold weather.

Snow is tricky. And cold. Did i say cold?? Yeah. Cold. So lets start with some careful preparation in organizing the equipment.

When it is below freezing temperature (Zero degrees Celsius / 32 degrees Fahrenheit), we are subject to condensation when going out to take pictures. Condensation happens when you are outside in the cold and come home to a warmer temperature. Remember when you have the sunglasses in snow and comes inside and it fogs?? That's condensation.

So in order to prevent the camera and lens to "suffer" the cold, and to enjoy winter photography, take some steps:

Avoid changing lens in the cold weather, the more you expose the camera to the extreme weather, the more you increase your chances of having problems.
If wind brings dust, snow brings water, which is worse.The problem with condensation is that your camera, or anything with a circuit connected to your camera can get water once the "ice" or "cold" warms up in the camera, and that can "fry" your camera circuit, your battery, your memory card.
If possible, carry a big zip bag to put the camera on when coming to a warmer place then outside temperature. This way the camera can slowly adapt to the new temperature and the cold will be transferred to the plastic bag.
Carry silica gel in the zip bag or in the camera bag if you are not using any plastic clear bag. That will help to take the moisture off the camera and store in the silica gel bags.
When coming from outside, let the camera warm up slowly.
Give it at least a couple of hours without taking it from the camera bag or from the zip bag. This way the camera will acclimatize gradually.
Don't try to take the memory card from the camera in this "warming" time (I call it "waking up time").
Careful with breathing in your camera or in the viewfinder: the viewfinder can fog and the whole camera can be ruined by "freezing" the moisture of your breath inside it.
Remember to protect the photographer in you too: layers, good ans warming socks, head covered with fleece and more, insulated shoes. You don't want to take a beautiful picture and come back home without feet.(I know that is extreme, but you get the point.)
Get extra batteries. Cold weather drains them like crazy.

Now about exposure, making it very simple:

The camera meters for 18% grey. If you meter and your meter bar is in the middle of your viewfinder's scale, you have a "correct" exposure, unless you have extreme contrast or more than average tones, such as white or black, or dark brown and dark blues. They will "fool" your in camera meter. So whatever your meter tells you, it is wrong to start with anytime you are photographing too dark tones or too bright tones. It will tell you to make a grey snow, because it is "averaging" for 18% grey, and snow is not grey.

If you want a white snow, you need to compensate your exposure, in other words, meter for your "correct" exposure, and then change the aperture or change the shutter speed to ADD more light to come inside the camera to reach the digital sensor. This means that after you take your meter you will open up the aperture (a smaller number) in order to allow more light come in- OR keep whatever your aperture you want and make a longer shutter speed than the "correct".

In practical terms: let's pretend you meter the snow scene and your meters says you should have 1/125 in your shutter speed and f8 in your aperture. If you use that meter, you will have a grey snow. Now let's say you like f/8 for your aperture, and your scene is in shade(sun is not reaching the snow), you should take the picture with f/8 and shutter speed 1/60 or 1/45 for a shady scene. That should give you a "correct" snow, which means the snow will look bright as it is and not "muddy" dark grey. Usually, exposure for snow is about +1 to 1 1/2 f/stops if in shade. For noon pictures in the snow with sun hitting it try +2 or + 2 1/2 even +3!! In digital times, you can play and see what you did, and learn from it!

What about themes?
You can think feelings or you can think photo impact. What is not there but it is suggested...is there. Frozen flowers. Stones. Empty benches. Paths in the park. Quiet sunrises. Frozen lakes. Water. Dead trees. Shadows, shapes, shallow rivers. Horses. Door knobs. Windows. People!
Get yourself a cup of coffee, bundle up, get your equipment. Get inspired, go out and make pictures! It is winter after all!!

by Moni Caron

"Who Am I"

2008-01-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

This was shot in studio with a soft box to camera right at a 45 angle and an umbrella to camera left at 45 angle. ISO 100 SS 125 F8.

Hello everyone, My name is Kathleen. I am a mother of two, Michael 18 and Ashley 15. I am married to the most wonderful, supportive man in the world, Paul. We have been together for 19 ½ years and still going strong.

It was the summer of 06’ that I thought I would look into some photography courses at NAIT. I bought my 30D and the 17-85 kit lense in September and started my classes 2 weeks later. Wow! I had no idea what I was getting into. F-stop? Shutter speed? ISO? Huh? So I took a getting to know your camer class, a lighting class and a portraiture class. I met some wonderful people there and continue to chat every once in a while and have made an ever lasting friendship with Deanne.

I am an all or nothing kinda girl so I went and bought a huge lighting set up. 4 lights, 3 soft boxes, an umbrella, barn doors, grids, computer system, etc. Everything you could think of to operate a studio. I was set to go. Renovated two rooms in my house to make a 11’x17’ studio with a muslin track and that got me ready to experiment and learn.

I did my first studio session June of 07’ and have been shooting ever since. When I started photography, I thought newborns, kids and families would be my ultimate desire. While I love and will continue dabbling in a bit of everything, I think I have found my niche. I love doing intimate glamour/couple and weddings.

I love to spend time with my family. We camp all summer and play a lot of ball. My parents and my two sisters and their families all live in the same town as us and we are very tight. I love to play poker, I love watching reality t.v. I love comedies, I love documentaries, I love the color pink, I love learning photography, I love how my daughter is so genuine, I love how my son has a mind of his own, I love how my husband supports me in everything I do. I love me.

deadline on the 13th!

2008-01-11T23:39:00.000-08:00

Come on, gang!
It is a fun photo assignment.
Get off your comfort zone and tell us who you are in a non conventional way, and post a picture of yourself.
We want to know you!

Cropping changes

2008-01-11T00:53:00.000-08:00

I've tested the images, and for the sake of sharing here, this is what i came up with:
The portrait of myself in pink was actually cropped as 4x6 at 72 dpi. When I uploaded the image I selected show "medium" size in this main page, but the image is clickable so we see 4x6 at 72 dpi when we click on it.
If you want to share an image as a bigger size such as 5x7 at 72 dpi, you can, but I recommend that for those images you want to show more detail.
If you have an odd size image to share, restrain yourself a little bit to keep the long size of your image not much bigger than a 5x7 at 72 dpi. But please share. If you have questions, ask! We wil ltry to help :)

Who am I (by me, Moni Caron)

2008-01-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

Photography is my life. Black and white. I think the lack of color shows more character and tells a better story, but I know how to appreciate color in some cases.Enthusiastic is THE word to describe my personality. I am a people person.I believe the little things tell more about us than the big things.I like taking long walks: it refreshes my thoughts and prepares me for the day.I wake up early, but I am not a morning person. I love music, but I don't care for the tv existence. I hate commedies. I have faith. I need sunny days. Too many cloudy ones turn off my soul. I prefer mountains to ocean, black to white, night to day, loud to quiet.I love yellow flowers and italian food.I remember my friends when I see the sunrise and I thank for the ones I love everyday when I go to bed. My favorite color is pink, i will forever miss my Cat Panca (she disappeared many years ago), I love white chocolate with wine and I like long sentences. I prefer theater to movies, outdoors to indoors and I welcome what is different. If it's different, it's good. I like changes. I'm a happy person.

2008-01-10T23:17:00.000-08:00

Well this is me Kathleen Swanson. This is the only picture I have of me at the time that I wish to share but I will have a new self portrait done by the time the assignment is due.

OOPS! I better get working on that.

Photo Assignment # 1 - Who are you? - Deadline: January 13, 2008

2008-01-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

As photographers, we are very comfortable in being behind the camera. We look through the viewfinder, we talk to people or enjoy the nature, and we decide when to press the button.
The easy feeling of deciding what to include in the picture or not is a good feeling.
We are more times and more often behind the camera then in front of them.

Capturing people's expression, a secret look, a sunrise or sunset, plan weeks in advance to be at the right place at the right moment with the right equipment. This is all part of our routine.

Now.. when it comes down to tell who you are, show off your face, expose your soul and tell us something about your self and why you photograph, what do you want, what's in your mind...then it starts becoming a little fuzzy, huh?

We, photographers, are famous for being away from the "front" of the camera. So here lies the secret challenge: assignment # 1 is about you.

Assignment # 1 - Who are you?

Who are you? What do you like? What is your favorite subject?
We urge you to share, to expose, to tell, and reveal yourself in a non traditional way. Step out your zone of comfort and find a creative way to describe yourself, and include a small picture that shows your face, so we all know a little more about the real you.

This blog is about creativity, inspiration, motivation. We want to shake up your bases, help you to grow up as a photographer. Above all, we want to grow.

Imagine, think, wonder, make up a plan, photograph, share. We are who we are. And we can all be better.

Get up, find a fun and different way of describing yourself and include a self portrait or a picture someone took of you. We want to see your face and know who you are.

May this first photo assignment be a real door opening to our imagination and may the God of Light be with you :)

Creation, Inspiration, Motivation

2008-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

Hello my photo friends!

My Canadian friend Kathleen from Canada and I (Moni Caron) are starting 2008 with some fun plans to get our creativity going.

You might have seen online, there are lots of websites with 365 project, the once a day picture kind of thing. We know that it is a very hard to achieve goal, so we brainstormed and figured it would be very nice to have a more achievable project, so we came up with ours.

Instead of committing to take one picture a day to share among our online community, we propose to take on 2 projects a month and share 2 pictures a month, one per project.

Everybody is busy and sometimes life does not allow us to take as many pictures as we would like, but 2 pictures a month is a reachable goal and we will try to inspire. Looking forward to hearing from you and your images!

As we go forward in our projects, we will probably do some studies about self portrait, but for now, any picture you have will be fine.

In order to make the blog to be smooth, we will ask you to follow some rules, posted here:

crop images to 5x7 at 72 dpi

you may comment on how hard it was to create the image and what you went through to make it

we encourage you to share your technical info such as light direction, camera used, aperture, shutter speed and any other pertinent info that could help everybody to learn from that picture

we will post articles to inspire and set the deadlines for the subject. We know not everybody will be able to make the deadlines, but that's ok.

Our goal is to make us think and go out (or stay in) to take more pictures and be beter photographers. When we commit to something, it makes us a better person, and this i about trying harder to get the picture.
Welcome aboard and let's have some fun making pictures!

Moni and Kathleen