1.2 HDR - My First Dabble

I discovered the technique in Scott Kelby's LR2 guide book. I like his style, although some will hate it (just like marmite). I followed the technique as outlined - just as well because believe me I haven't got a clue how anyone worked this one out - there is nothing intuitive or logical in it to me (Kelby agrees - I feel better for that).

Oh, yes, High Dynamic Range - essentially its about merging separate shots of the same subject to produce the best possible image. The core idea is that you shoot one at the correct exposure and then one (or more) under and over exposed. The quality of darks, shadows and highlights of the 'merged' image dramatically improves. And, I have to say, even on only my first trial I'm getting the feel that all those magazine landscape covers are using this technique.

For HDR you have to shoot 'RAW' to be able to process it in Photoshop and that causes pain with the Nikon D70.

Setting the camera up was a real nightmare. I searched endless blogs for guidance. Everyone was having the same problem (its not intuitive on a Nikon D70). In the end it was down to reading the Nikon manual. If you ever recall those 'mystery books' as a child where you can choose the next step (go to page 10. for the Study or page 15. for the Library) - no! Well, anyway, you start at page 87 then get directed to 146 then to 135 on to 90 then to 144 and then to 35. There's a logic, but my advice, don't worry go with it (there's a song a there somewhere).

Here it is if you've got a Nikon;
There's a white bracketing option - but as it doesn't do RAW lets move on. Flash Bracketing - now lets come back to that in another section.

Then there's exposure bracketing - that'll be the one then. It can only be used with Manual, Aperture or Shutter priority modes - and Programme mode (a programme that you have created for the camera to follow).

The Nikon will only bracket 3 shots in RAW (and I'd love to see the effect from 5). Bracketing 9 shots sounds wild.

Go to your cameras menu, choose the pencil icon, then option 12. BKT and select AE & Flash.

Then go to option 13. BKT order - I chose 'Under>MTR>Over' - it does what it says - takes the shots in sequence - Under exposed - metered - over exposed.

Now to option 9. EV step - here you choose whether to keep the exposure adjustment to 0.33 steps or 0.5 (I chose 0.5 because with only 3 shots to play with I want maximum impact - if I had 5 shots to play with I would give 0.33 a try for more subtlety).

The maximum +/- exposure that bracketing will accept is 2 stops (and then it limits you to 2 shots, but at least you get to choose whether the 2nd shot is + or -.

Now to it. Press the BKT button (just below the mode selection dial on the left) then rotate the main dial (rear right of camera) and look for BKT in the LCD. Now rotate the sub command dial (front right) and choose the stop increment (notice it wall also display the number of shots 2/3.

That's it happy days.

With that snow fall (winter 09/10) I got out in to Coton Forest, the light was low, shadows and highlights I thought - lets see what HDR does. I took a load of shots (all bracketed) and played around with various stops. The Nikon takes the shots as set up, mine from - to + (e.g. choose a full stop at '0' and it'll take them in sequence '-1', '0', '+1'. Now here's the interesting bit it won't take them automatically - you have to press the shutter x 3 (the LCD display shows if you've taken the 1st, 2nd or 3rd shot). Here's why that's not good. 'Clouds move'. You're set up on your tripod and press that shutter x3 as quick as you can (without causing any vibration) - but the clouds, yep, they've moved.

So for my next camera (whenever and whatever that is) I want auto shoot in bracketing and I want 5 shots.


The Shooting Process
This gets messy when you're first learning it.
Take a test shot to check composition and exposure (to set the initial stop for bracketing). I used the histogram on the Nikon for exposure, keeping it slightly towards dark (I prefer deep blacks and shadows).

Check the histogram, adjust a stop (or 2 if needs be) take another shot (beware you're not in bracketing mode, otherwise you've now got to reel off x 3 shots).

When you're happy with the histogram go to bracketing mode and set that exposure, and shoot x3.

It took me a while to get used to - taking off bracketing mode (otherwise you've now got another 2 shots to reel off), making sure the composition is right before I took the test shot for exposure, testing exposure (using the histogram) resetting to bracket mode (otherwise you'll now take 3 shots of the same exposure). Then of course if the light changes or you want to adjust the composition - you're back to step 1 in the whole process.

3 TIPS
(i) Use the image taken for exposure testing (metering) to also check you're happy with the composition. It's little hassle to adjust composition at this point and take another test shot.
(ii) Shooting RAW takes up space - lots of it, so delete the test shot after you're happy with the exposure and composition. It's the bracketed shots you're after and the middle one will be at the exposure you chose in the test shot anyway.

2.2 Studio Know How - Lighting & Equipment

Light quality is often considered the single most important factor in photography. In a studio their are no rain clouds, bright sunlight or setting suns. The photographer has complete control over the set up. The only limitations are space, equipment, ability and perhaps most of all - imagination.


The Burton studio comes equipped with 4 x Bowens Gemini Esprit 500 compact flash (the 500 indicating the maximum capacity of the light in watts). When used on full power the cycle time is 1.5 seconds and quicker at lower power. A discharge switch ensures that, when moving from higher to lower power settings, follow on shots are not incorrectly exposed.


They all come with a model lamp that can be dialled up or down to show where light and shadows will fall allowing the photographer to set shots up quickly and make creative decisions and adjustments with greater ease. The flash unit can also be used on location.


Here's the light before the use of attachments, showing the dials for model and flash lamp settings.

At the rear of the lamp we can see the switches the beep is very useful as an audio guide to whether all lamps have fired or not. The very necessary lamp with - maintains the power in the lamp but enables it to be switched on off during the shoot for various lighting requirements. E.g. shoots with and without back lighting of a full length body shot lit bottom and top followed by the same shot with light only on the upper body.


The cell enables a very simple, very useful but tricky to explain functionality. Lets explain it in a logical sequence of events. The camera has the trigger, the trigger fires one of the lamps with the corresponding unit. That leaves three lamps to be triggered. Switch on the cell/s and they will synchronise - very important. 

Lights
The two main sources of light are tungsten (red heads) and flash. The tungsten light remains on all of the time, it is constant.  The flash is used to light the subject and only when activated (fired) as described above. To help each flash comes with a modelling light to help set up the subject. The modelling light can indicate where light and shadows may fall.


In the studio, once we are ready for shooting we work with the modeling and flash lights only. Tungsten works on a different wavelength and will give our pictures a yellowish glow (we've all go some of those in our family albums).

Soft Boxes

The main aim of the soft box is to provide 'diffused' light - providing a soft light that provides gentle highlights and soft shadows (no hard edges) and even coverage. Great for product / still life photography.  Allows greater control than an umbrella. This will be my main light source for the portrait shoot. The model's skin tone will absorb some light and I'm expecting to need stronger highlights than a brolly would provide.

This diagram shows the component parts for a soft box. The outer skin (1), steel rods for creating the shape (2), the speed ring (3), inner diffuser and outer diffusers (4&5) and the outer bib (6). The speed ring enables quick attachment and release of the constructed softbox to/from the flash lamp. Some speed rings also enable the softbox's position to be adjusted


Barn Doors
A set of four clips that are used to control the light source - thus attached to the light source. Warning. they get very hot and should only be adjusted with a 'door key'. (remember that Joe). I plan to use these in the Subutteo product shoot.




Umbrella

The brolly. Shown here in an Elinchrom D'lite kit (see what they did there!). Mainly used in portrait photography. The flash is fired in to the umbrella and back on to the subject. This diffuses the light - causing in to bounce around the umbrella before landing back on the subject. The light will flood the subject area providing soft shadows and smaller reflections than the direct light source from a softbox. Another warning Joe - they would melt if used with a continuous light source.

Snoot
Snoots give a very directional circle of light. This will be perfect for the Subutteo shoot where the light will be used to recreate the effect of floodlighting. Great for casting shadows and highlighting specific areas. They can be used to create a spotlight effect on subjects.



Reflector


Usually used to lighten shadows and are more subtle than using additional light sources. When used for very specific applications they enable careful control of shadows e.g. allowing enough light to allow details through but not so much that it distracts. They come in many shape, sizes (and price ranges). Coloured sheeting/card can be used to great effect. This Bowens kit demonstrates the extent of options available.









Lastolite are probably the market leaders in diffusers and reflectors here's an example of their tri-grip reflector in action. They can also be used with stands.

 

Honeycomb
Fitted to a spillkill the two types of honeycomb provide either wide or narrow pools of light. Great for lighting specific areas and creating soft edges.

SpillKills

Help to control light direction (reducing reflected light) and create shadows (less so if close to the subject).

Light Table

The object of product photography is to show details of an object clearly. Lighting an object well brings out details and provides pleasing highlights and contrasts. One method for controlling the lighting of small objects is to use a light table. This table was used in my trial product shoot.

The Gemini Classic 500C features the unique ability to easily integrate with the Bowens Pulsar trigger - a device that sits on the hot shoe of the camera and simultaneously fires the flashlights.


Lightmeter
An essential hand held device that can be used to measure both reflected light (light coming from the subject) and incident light (light falling on the subject but prior to hitting the subjects surface). 
 
The lightmeter will come fitted with a diffuser (the white dome shown here) which is slid back for taking reflected light readings. The meter is then pointed at the subjects surface. The reverse is true for incident readings. The diffuser is closed and the meter placed at the subject's surface and pointed towards the camera. Incident readings provide a good average. I will use incident readings for my portrait and product shoots.


This one is the ever popular Sekonic range the L-358 Flash Meter.

2.4 Studio Trial - Product Shoot - Toys

The Lighting Set Up

The lighting position was inherited (i.e. it was already in situ) and as this was my first time in the studio we (myself an Steve, our tutor) agreed to allow my focus to be on learning the basics as opposed to spending time on moving lights around (when I wouldn't really know what I was doing anyway).

A soft box to the rear right and left with a snoot to the left - all lighting to the rear of the toys - not what I had intended. The idea I had was to get some front light as though the figures were looking towards a sunset.


Having read around the subject and in particular 'Light, Science & Magic' (3rd Edition - Hunter, Biver & Fuqua) that the soft boxes are well placed and would have given a nice diffused light with soft shadows. Had the snoot been positioned at the front it, then its high contrast light could have been used to simulate daylight with its direct light providing hard shadows. Positioned low enough these would have provided long, hard shadows, that may have diffused a little from the back lighting of the soft boxes. A gel could also have been used to slightly soften and colour the light to more closely mimic the colour of sunset light.

The uplighter lamp can also be seen. Its hard light becoming very diffused and refracted by the tables translucent composition (known as diffuse transmission no less). The table surface would also absorb some light, helping to removing light bouncing around and causing unwanted highlights.

The Camera & Subject Positions

I positioned the 'farm' at a slight angle with the figures coming out towards the camera. The camera itself shooting straight down the 'table'. Had the snoot been positioned at the front, because of the subjects material (dense 'shiny' plastic) then reflections would have become a problem - we wouldn't expect to see reflections from a low sun. A thin material to provide some diffused transmission - a mid-contrast light (see I've read the book, well o.k. the early chapters so far) would have solved this problem.


The First Shots

All pictures were taken on ISO 200, the fastest possible on a Nikon D70, and all at 1/60th exposure. These two being constants all (like it was nothing), so I repeat all, I had to think about was lights and aperture (yes all on manual focus, so that too, smarty blooming pants).


N.B. None of the pictures have been touched in LR2 or CS4, so what you are seeing are the images as they came out of the can (Mr Hollywood's in town). Yep, you can see the cr@p on my lens (please don't let it be on the sensor) too.


The reason for this is so that you (I) can see the impact of the light/aperture settings. A levels adjustment would make my learning impossible.


This first shot was at 48mm - a compromise of widest angle that could achieve the focus and crop. I got the lights to f8.0 - it felt about the right aperture and I'd read that the Nikon 28mm-80mm lens that I was using was optimum between f8.0-f11.0 (depending on where/what/who).


I was pleased with the depth of field sharp to blurred but still evident what it was - thus emulating the blur you might get in real life for the subjects over a greater distance. Wasn't happy with the light though.Did a shot at f11.0 that gave me the right light (slightly too dark but could bring that back in photoshop with levels). There was an impact to depth of field but I liked f11. more the blurring was softer.

Lights Go Out!

As you can see from this shot I had a light failure - the two soft boxes failed to sync and so I had to switch them off and work with just the snoot - which started to challenge my ability to get depth of field and lighting how I wanted. Reflections were becoming too hard (even greater diffused transmission required) Just a gentle touch on the snoot power was making a major difference to the light in the final image. The relationship was too sensitive for my limited knowledge. A small adjustment in power was having a disproportionate effect on light in the image.

Here's the first image shot after the soft boxes failed.

Love the long shadows, just like at sunset. It's exactly what I'd wanted from the front. If the this light was from the front I'd just need to get f11.0 for the depth of field and those soft boxes back for a bit of diffused light at the back (don't mind if I don't say diffused transmission, no thought you wouldn't). There are a half dozen shots between the shot above and this and I'd ended up at f5.6 for no other reason than getting used to adjusting the lights, taking a reading and getting the subject to camera reading to the aperture I required. I had loads of fun with this. I guess only photographers would describe such an iterative process as fun But there it is - it was. I was in the 'flow' (that's a whole other subject) maybe you know it as 'the zone' - when time passes unnoticed.

The image, as you can see, is too dark. The Bowens Esprit Gemini (GM500) was set at 3.5 (the other two lights with soft boxes are the same model), the camera at f5.6 and light reading at f5.6 (lens at 28mm - widest possible to maximise depth).

In the next shot I went with 4.0 on the Bowens

 I then went for  a more dense image with the figures closer together and the lens zoomed in, with a shallow depth of field.

Far too much light really. But I'd decided I wanted a close up now anyway. So camera to narrowest angle (80mm) and move on in. This following shot was withe the Bowens on 4.0 lights on f5.6 and camera at f5.6

I like close ups (we call it macro Joe), I like this image, the cos burned out the horse is blurred and they on a sloping boat but hey it was a mad time with the lights and I like this 'neon light' effect. The farmers taken the animals to Tokyo and they're enjoying the light show (too much Babe in the City Joe).

Went for a slightly wider view (78mm) more depth of field, f8.0 and lights at f8.0. If it was a product shot then getting the detail would be important. The pigs are a bit out of focus and so f11.0 should solve that, as well as changing the focus point. Here the farmer is still the focal point although he has moved behind the pigs (earlier he was at the front with depth of field moving away from him). I took another shot with the Bowens down a notch (was still getting and f8.0 reading) but the image was darker, the chicken had detail. That would be the image I would work on in photoshop - bringing out the details.

A Farmer Portrait

And finally a single figurine takes centre stage - lots of challenge around the single light and depth of field.

I then moved on to a selection of Farmer portraits, here's a list of some of the combinations I tried with the one Bowens light, snoot, no diffusion (did I mention I only had one light - do your best Steve said).


Bowens 4.0 - Reading f8.0 - Camera f8.0 = too bright
Bowens 3.5 - Reading f8.0 - Camera f8.0 = too bright

Bowens 3.0 - Reading f8.0 - Camera f8.0 = too bright

Bowens 3.0 - Reading f8.0 - Camera f9.5 = too dark
Bowens 3.5 - Reading f8.0 - Camera f8.0 = too bright  
Bowens 3.5 - Reading f8.0 - Camera f8.0 = too bright 
Bowens 2.75 - Reading f4.0 - Camera f5.6 = too dark
Bowens 2.0 - Reading f4.0 - Camera f5.6 = too dark
Bowens 2.0 - Reading f8.0 - Camera f8.0 = too bright

I think the evidence shows I'd lost the plot. Here he is, the very patient farmer.
80mm, f11.0 (I'd not gone for depth of field because it was a portrait - seeing as the background is white it begs the hindsight question of why not). f11.0 reading on the lights and Farmer's yer uncle.

4.1 My Portrait Theme Choice - CANCELLED

These influences have lead to my portrait theme choice "You Bring It To Life".

The underlying idea is a 'travel advertising' shoot. Using shadows/silhouettes to depict iconic locations e.g. the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and safari animals. By introducing people in full colour, in typical holiday regalia, the contrast then supports the tag line "you bring it to life".

What is a Silhouette? - well according to the fountain of all knowledge - Wikipedia "A silhouette is a view of an object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. The term was initially applied in the 18th century to portraits or other pictorial representations cut from thin black card". Perfect.


The term has also (from the same source) "....been extended to describe the sight or image of a person, object or scene that is back lit, and appears dark against a lighter background. Double perfect (if a man can say such a thing).


This effect has been used to create a very specific genre of theatre "shadow". Its history can be dated beyond the 13th century in China. Today there are over 20 countries with 'troupes' performing the genre.' Pilobolus' are an American troupe originating from New York City. Following widespread exposure on US TV, they have since appeared around the world, featuring on
the UK's Royal Variety Performance show of 2009.


The following images show how the effect can be created.



Because a silhouette emphasises the outline, the word has also been used in the fields of fashion and fitness to describe the shape of a person's body or the shape created by wearing clothing of a particular style or period.

Because of the limitations of studio space I will need to back light 'small' silhouettes to then projected 'larger' shadows on to a white background.

Portrait Shoot - Lighting Plan

Here's a lighting plan for my portrait shoot - thanks to Kevin Kertz for making the psd. freely available online  - click this link to the source) Kevin Kertz's Set Up Plans (psd. file).

Two beauty boxes were used to create soft light and soft shadows. The plan to produce composite images to support the 'women in business' campaign meant that and long, hard shadows would cause problems when I came to create the composites (I'd end up removing them in PhotoShop).

The boxes were positioned one above the other - to provide the option for just lighting head and shoulders or full body. The latter is required to when the model poses in full traditional dress, to bring out the colour and produce some highlights and reflections off of the gold embroidery.

A Canon EOS 5D camera fitted with an EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM lens was used on the stand that was also used for my product shoot (which was shot before this one). The camera belongs to the college and the lens provides better quality images than my Nikon D70 and Nikon 28-50mm lens combination. The longer length of the Canon lens provides a softer image, which is great for model / wedding and portrait shots.

The shots were mostly taken at 90mm (although planned at 100mm). I am still in the habit I learned from reading Cartier-Bresson "don't crop in the darkroom, take the picture as you want it". It's a hard habit to break, learning to take a wider shot and crop later.

Shutter speed was set at 1/100 sec - a fairly standard setting in the studio, fast enough to minimise tungsten (although all tungsten are off and only modelling lamps used) and not so fast that it closes down before the flash has fired (yep I've read about that shutter sync problem). Aperture at f5.6 gave a narrow depth of field - again helpful with the composites. The light at this setting is the driver of the aperture and was at f8 - previous history with this camera - lighting combination suggested and opening the aperture a little further to avoid the background becoming too dark (and it still doesn't burn out).

ISO 100 allowing sharp images and minimising noise.

The Model is c8' away from the background so that light does not hit it with any significance.

Jonathan Klein: Photos that changed the world

WARNING: This video contains graphic images which some may find disconcerting.


It's here because it supports my portrait choice. About how images can affect how we respond to  the world. In my photo shoot, admittedly less globally significant, I am taking the idea of showing  images (with text) that cause us to challenge our own beliefs, values and conceptions. 


I take the idea of one person, a female and show aspects of gender, race and culture. Does our understanding (projection of our beliefs, values expectations) change according to what we see? Can images help us to reconcile our conflicting opinions? Can images by themselves become a call for action, whether on a 'mass movement' scale or a more subtle, personal, individual shift of opinion. With the latter, can such small individual shifts in beliefs combine to cause a shift in collective beliefs? Just from images?

4.1.2 Portrait Shoot Planning & Storyboard

The storyboard consists, of the following 10 shots.

In order of shoot, they will be re-arranged for the storyboard after the shoot (see comments at end of list);

1. Model standing in traditional dress facing forward (for half and half image - both face and full length) - Also capture hard/defined shadow.
2. Model sitting on chair in traditional dress (face forward)
3. Model sitting on chair in traditional dress (side on)
4. Model walking in traditional dress (towards future self) (towards camera)
5. Model walking in traditional dress (towards future self) (sideways to camera - left to right)
6. Model making traditional greeting (towards future self)
7. Model, in traditional dress, holding hands with future self
8. Model disrobing traditional dress e.g. removing headscarf or letting hair down, as she walks towards future self
9. Model standing leaning against white wall, in business dress (face forward and side on)
10. Model walking in business dress (towards future self) (towards camera)
11. Model walking in business dress (towards future self) (sideways to camera - left to right)
12. Model, in business dress, making handshake with future self
13. Model, in business dress, holding hands with future self 
    
14. Model standing in business dress facing forward (for half and half image - both face and full length)
15. Shot of traditional shoes (table required)
16. Shot of business shoes (table required)
17. Shot of business bag (table required)
18. Shot of business phone e.g. Blackberry (table required)

Comments
Positioning for shots 1&14, 6&13 and 7&12 will be critical for matching up. Same focal point, distance from lens and lighting.

The model may choose to start in business dress and then move to traditional dress so the order of shots will need to be flexible (considerations of make-up etc). I could ask in advance of course, however, its part of my plan to help the model feel comfortable on the day by involving her in the shoot. Naturally, I'll be taking advice from her as regards to the 'poses' to be adopted. The model is a passionate member of 'Women In Logistics' and as such is 'surrogate client'.

3.2 Processing The Subbuteo Shoot Images

This section highlights the process and key techniques used to take the original images and merge them with real life images of various stadia to create the final 'reverse tilt shift' images.


A long search was undertaken to find suitable 'background' images - size, scale and orientation of the crowd / stadia were key considerations. A shot that included the goalmouth needed a crowd image that was also located behind the goal and likewise shots taken across the breadth or corner of the pitch.


Some of the following pictures will show the plan to use the model floodlights in the images by masking in lighting. However, whilst the process worked reasonably well I was unable to bring the floodlights in to the final image in a way that was acceptable.


Whilst I have developed 10 images, many of them use the same techniques. For this reason I will highlight the work flow and key processes used.


All images were shot on RAW and imported in to LightRoom (L2) - were I would also normally do my image processing. However, as L2 is my 'library' tool that's were all work flows start. The images were then immediately exported to PhotoShop for a whole load of manipulation.


For all images they start with the same first steps;

• Open the image
• Open the carefully selected stadia background image
• Drag the background image in to the core image creating a new layer
• Select free transform

Adjusting the background layer takes time and personal judgement. In the above image you can see a brown band that is edge of the table (see Subutteo Set Up). This needs to be removed. There is also a judgment to be made about where the edge of the background image will meet the edge of the Subutteo pitch. I wanted to keep the Ground Stewards in (adding to the reality) but remove the 'real' balls and the 'real' pitch.

In the following image I have adjusted the opacity of the background image to make it easier to align the edges. This will also help with blending later.

Having aligned the edges I needed to;

• Bring forward some background (I want the crowd - around the two players at the top of the image)
• Bring the hoardings up to the edge of the Subutteo pitch
• Keep the players (in first step you can see that the players have a transparent aspect to them).

The approach involved use the eraser tool to either remove the background or bring in the foreground.

I then used 'Lens Blur' to match the blurring achieved in the product images by use of shallow depth of field. A bit of a tweak was also required on the background opacity.

In the following image the lightness of the box behind the goal is distracting. I created a 'Pattern Stamp' that could be used to replace this section.

You can see in the above image that the players are now glowing like the 80's Ready Brek children.


I used the same technique with a much smaller brush close up.

You may recall I decided not wanting the Subutteo Floodlights in the shot. To remove them I applied a copy layer to the core image and then a quick mask.

Making The Ball Move
Now, anyone who recalls Subutteo will also recall that the ball was as big as the players. In the final shots I want the ball to be more 'life like'. Also, as the images are all 'stills' I wanted to create the impression of movement. Here's my solution.


I'd planned the final image in advance. I'd positioned the players to simulate a goal being scored from a 'header'. I'd also taken shots of the ball in isolation.

As you can see in the above shot I used the 'Magic Wand' tool - with a low tolerance - to select the ball. I then used the 'Move' tool to transfer in to the chosen image.

'Free Transform' and a process of trial and error was used to get to the final position and size right.


Now to get some movement. Firstly I copied the same ball in (adding another layer).

I then used a combination of motion blur and 'stretching' the image to create the motion effect. Getting the angle approximate the required trajectory - heading towards the roof of the goal.

Again the iteration of trial and error was used to get both ball size, amount of blur and stretch right. Stretching the ball (using Free Transform) also caused the ball image to fade and this had to be factored in to the amount of blur used.