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Four Weeks to Become a Better Photographer (Part 2)

In August 2007, Assistant Editor Kathleen Davis participated in a four-week course with BetterPhoto.com. Click here to see what she learned that month. For a refresher on how the classes work, click here.

Posing and Portraiture Techniques taught by Ibarionex R. Perello

Lesson 4: The Impact of Focal Length

This final lesson in the course was all about the benefits and drawbacks of specific focal lengths. The first that Perello discussed was 85–105mm (which is considered a “portrait lens”), this is the standard lens for portraits because it is very sharp, and can produce a soft background at a wide or moderate aperture, and provides a good subject-to-camera distance.

The next lens covered was telephoto, which at a focal length of over 100mm gives a portrait a look that’s very popular in fashion photography—very reduced depth of field that makes the subject pop out from the extremely blurred background. The drawbacks to these lenses are that they can be heavy, expensive, and put a lot of distance between the photographer and subject.

Another lens covered in this lesson is one that is often thought to be very unflattering for portraits—wide angle. Wide-angle lenses cause distortion (such as elongated facial features or disproportional bodies). Perello pointed out however that these lenses can produce interesting environmental portraits.

Our assignment was to create portraits of the same subject using a wide-angle and a telephoto lens.

I used my Nikon D40 with an AF-S Nikkor 14–24mm f/2.86 ED wide-angle lens and an AF Zoom Nikkor 70–300mm f/4-5.6G telephoto lens.

 

Telephoto Shot Tech info: focal length: 300mm, Exposure: 1/40sec at f/5.6, ISO 200.

Wide-Angle Shot Tech info: focal length: 24mm, Exposure 1/60 at f/4, ISO 400

My critiques, and more photos, after the jump.

Four Weeks to Become a Better Photographer (Part 2)

In August 2007, Assistant Editor Kathleen Davis participated in a four-week course with BetterPhoto.com. Click here to see what she learned that month.  For a refresher on how the classes work, click here.

Posing and Portraiture Techniques taught by Ibarionex R. Perello

Lesson 3: The Successful Candid

In this lesson Perello discussed the best methods for taking candid group shots at parties. He recommended shooting in Aperture Priority mode at f/5.6 with flash to get a good depth of field and exposure.

For low light situations with flash, when the subject is exposed well, but the background turns black, he suggested switching to Manual mode and using a slow shutter speed. This allows you to capture more of the ambient light, allowing a bit of flash ghosting and a feeling of movement in the image.

Perello also offered tips on observing groups for expressions and trying different angles, such as overhead shots.

Our assignment was to attend a party or event and photograph people having fun.

Luckily, I had been asked to photograph the launch party for ProjectExplorer’s Jordan Series.

Four Weeks to Become a Better Photographer (Part 2)

In August 2007, Assistant Editor Kathleen Davis participated in a four-week course with BetterPhoto.com. Click here to see what she learned that month.  For a refresher on how the classes work, click here.

Posing and Portraiture Techniques taught by Ibarionex R. Perello

Lesson 2: Using Flash

In this lesson Perello discussed using fill flash in daylight to eliminate harsh shadows, and techniques for controlling flash output.

One method he mentioned is flash compensation, which works similarly to exposure compensation, in that you can increase or decrease the amount of flash output. Another method to modify the flash output (especially in mixed light conditions) that was covered was bouncing the flash off a ceiling or wall, as well as using a flash modifier over the flash head to soften the light.

He went on to explain the limitations of flash sync speed (usually between 1/200 and 1/250 sec) and the limitations it creates in low light.

Finally the last part of the lesson included advice on using flash in low light. Perello advised using an aperture of f/5.6 for a flash exposure at twilight, and manually setting the shutter speed slower to produce a good exposure of the sky.

Our assignment was to take a portrait at twilight using flash, experimenting with several different flash exposure compensations.

More photos, and my critiques after the jump.

Four Weeks to Become a Better Photographer (Part 2)

In August 2007, Assistant Editor Kathleen Davis participated in a four-week course with BetterPhoto.com. Click here to see what she learned that month.  For a refresher on how the classes work, click here.

For the next four weeks, I’ll be taking the class Posing and Portraiture Techniques taught by Ibarionex R. Perell. Although I know a lot of the typical tips for posing and portraiture, I haven’t had much opportunity to put them into practice.  The first week’s lesson was on posing, and while the advice seemed rather simple, I encountered a few challenges out in the real world.

Lesson One: Posing

For this first lesson, Perello offered advice on making your subject comfortable and working with them as collaboration. He said, “They are not just rag doll whose limbs need to be manipulated and configured into position, but a person who is willing to work with you. You may be the one behind the camera, but you are not alone in making something worthwhile happen.”

He went on to give advice for avoiding unnatural posed looking portraits, suggesting having your subject lean against something to help relax their posture, and moving around them rather than asking them to change their position.

I was lucky to have my friend Joan agree to be my model for the day. Although she’s naturally very photogenic and gave a lot of different expressions and movement to work with, the environment presented a few challenges. Rather than a nice diffused light, the sun was extremely bright and often shining directly into the spot where we were shooting, making getting and maintaining a proper exposure difficult. It was also a very windy day, a challenge for both model and photographer alike.

This photo was my favorite from the day; it was one where the elements worked in our favor. I love her expression, the wind in her hair, and the rays of sun coming through the fence. The sky is overexposed, but I think that works here and provides more of a blank backdrop.

Here’s what Perello said, “ (This) is the best of the series, because of the perspective, the use of light and the sincerity of the emotion. It really comes across well. Be careful though about handling the camera and detecting focus on the eyes. The image is a little soft where it should count most around the eyes. You don't want to weaken a good image, which something as easy to achieve as a sharp image.”

He’s right, with a bit sharper focus and maybe even a catch light in the eyes this photo would be even stronger.

More photos and critiques from this lesson after the jump.

Four Weeks to Become a Better Photographer: Lesson Four

Assistant Editor and novice shooter Kathleen Davis challenges herself to take her photography to the next level with an online course at BetterPhoto.com. See what we can learn along with her.

Click here for our post on how the class works
Click here for Lesson One in the series
Click here for Lesson Two in the series
Click here for Lesson Three in the series

Techniques of Natural Light Photography taught by Jim Zuckerman

Lesson Four: Window Lighting

In our final lesson Zuckerman discussed using natural light from windows, on its own and mixed with artificial light. Using window light as a main source of illumination is soft, natural, and flattering. As Zuckerman said in the lesson, “Instead of destroying the appropriate highlights and shadows with flash, when you use ambient window light you retain the correct relationship between light and dark in the picture.”

Most of the examples in the lesson involved subjects indoors illuminated in full or part from different angles by window light. He also discussed twilight and night photos of buildings lit from within and natural light through stained glass.

After the Jump, my photos and Zuckerman’s critiques.

Four Weeks to Become a Better Photographer: Lesson Three

Assistant Editor and novice shooter Kathleen Davis challenges herself to take her photography to the next level with an online course at BetterPhoto.com. See what we can learn along with her.

Click here for Lesson One in the series
Click here for Lesson Two in the series
Click here for our post on how the class works

Techniques of Natural Light Photography taught by Jim Zuckerman

Lesson Three: Backlighting

In our third lesson Zuckerman discussed three different types of backlighting: Silhouette, Transillumination (When backlighting comes through a translucent subject, such as leaves, fabric and hair, making the subject glow), and Rim Lighting (where light comes at a subject from a low angle, creating a rim of light around the subject). The lesson discussed how to meter for each type of backlighting, what kind of sunlight to look for, and subjects that would create the most dynamic images. For example, when shooting silhouettes, the graphic design of the object is important to consider and with rim lighting, subjects with edges that can catch the light (the hair of a model or the fur of an animal) are best.

Finding the right subjects and getting the exposure right would have been challenging enough, but my week of shooting presented me with another challenge: dark, cloudy, rainy days. So I took my lessons in natural light inside and attempted to use the principals with artificial light.

After the Jump my Photos and Zuckerman’s critiques.

(Above Photo: My attempt at transillumination with a glass of red wine and a desk lamp. Note: I cloned out the top of the lamp and some smudges in the glass in Adobe Photoshop CS2)

Four Weeks to Become a Better Photographer: Lesson Two

Assistant Editor and novice shooter Kathleen Davis challenges herself to take her photography to the next level with an online course at BetterPhoto.com. Let’s see what amateurs and pros alike can learn along with her.

Click here for Lesson One in the series
Click here for our post on how the class works

Techniques of Natural Light Photography taught by Jim Zuckerman

    Lesson Two: Moody Light–Fog, Mist, Rain and Deep Overcast

In our second lesson, Zuckerman discussed how fog, dust, low clouds, deep overcast, rain, and mist can all change the mood of photos. He also discussed techniques for creating mood with artificial light, and how color can affect mood in images. One method for affecting mood without additional equipment or software is to switch the camera’s white balance to tungsten or “indoors” when shooting outside, which gives photos a bluish hue. Zuckerman also covered the affects of warm golden light from sources such as candles.

Our assignment: submit photos showing subjects in either natural or artificial moody light.

After the jump, my photos with Zuckerman’s critiques.

(Above Photo: Brooklyn Bridge & Bird shot on deep overcast day with tungsten white balance)

Four Weeks to Become a Better Photographer: Lesson One

Assistant Editor and novice shooter Kathleen Davis challenges herself to take her photography to the next level. What amateurs and pros alike can learn along with her.

Click here for previous posts on her course.

Techniques of Natural Light Photography taught by Jim Zuckerman

Lesson One: Learn to Use Dramatic Natural Light

Zuckerman discussed how angled light effects a photo, providing both more texture and diminishing the contrast between shadows and highlights. He gave various examples of landscapes and portraits shot both in harsh mid-day sun and during the golden hours around sunset and sunrise. To help us figure out how to accomplish what he was talking about, he also covered how to meter properly for various types of light.

Our assignment: Submit pairs of before and after photos that show any subject in both drab light and dramatic early morning/sunrise or late afternoon/sunset lighting.

After the jump, my photos with Zuckerman’s critiques.

(Above Photo: Water towers in Brooklyn, NY at sunset— one of my first attempts at the dramatic natural light assignment)

Four Weeks to Become a Better Photographer

Assistant Editor and novice shooter Kathleen Davis challenges herself to take her photography to the next level. What amateurs and pros alike can learn along with her.

When BetterPhoto.com offered us the opportunity to take one of their online courses, I jumped at the chance. After all, of the staff at Popular Photography & Imaging, I have the most to learn.

After browsing all of their course offerings (Photoshop, Travel, Macro, People, etc.), I chose the 4-week Techniques of Natural Light Photography course taught by Jim Zuckerman. Since I own a very modest set of gear (a Nikon D40 with kit lens, and a Slik tripod) I figured I would be able to learn a lot from this course without being hampered by learning to use new equipment at the same time.

After the jump, how the classes at BetterPhoto.com work.