Alpha Mom Guide To Everything
Date: Friday September 19, 2008Posted in: Blogging, Foto Friday, Photography
I did not plan a Foto Friday post for today as the week has been busy. We have been soaking up every second of these record-breaking temperatures, and in my spare time (Ha!) I have been a canning machine. Yesterday I did two (Two!) batches of plum chutney. Today’s plan is to can some more peaches and try a peach chutney recipe (Thanks for the link Tannis!).
I really am crazy. But I am OK with that.
If you want to read a real post by yours truly, have I got news for you.
I am guest posting today over at Alpha+Mom. Alpha+Mom is a site run by Isabel Kallman, and if you know her (I do! I visited with her at BlogHer! And ate the cheeseburgers she sponsored for the Cheeseburger Party!) you know what an honour (Honor, for my American friends) it is for me to be posting on her site.
If you do not know Isabel or her Alpha+Mom site, do not fret. The Internet is a scary huge place. Her roster of full-time writers should give you a heads-up as to the greatness of Alpha+Mom. Writers such as Amalah, Bossy, Melissa Summers and Finslippy contribute regularly. This is in addition to Isabel herself.
To say that I am in good company would be a gross understatement.
Isabel asked if I could post some photo tips. Could you go read my post and leave a comment as to your thoughts on it? I am really hoping that I can do Isabel proud.
Let me know what you think. Thanks everyone, and have a great weekend!
How To Take Photos With A Blurry Background
Date: Friday September 12, 2008Posted in: Foto Friday, Photography
There are times when you want your entire photo to be in focus.
(f/20, ISO 200, 1/50 sec)
There are other times, however, that you want only a small portion of your photo to be in focus and the rest of it blurry. You can always manipulate it after the fact in a photo editing program like Photoshop but it is much easier to shoot it the way you want it and then edit as you see fit.
The first way to make your background blurry is something I explained last fall in my post about aperture. For the purposes of this tutorial I will keep it nice and simple.
You want to use the lowest f/stop number that your lens allows.
I have a 50mm f/1.8 which is a must-have prime lens, in my humble opinion. I am not going to use it for this post, as it will not work for the second point that I am about to make. I am instead using my 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. The reason is that there is one more thing you need to do in order to blur your background even more.
You need to step back and zoom in.
Here is a shot of a flower in our garden using those two tips. I set the aperture to 2.8 and zoomed out so that I was at 24mm.
(f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/50 sec)
The background is nice and blurry, but we can blow it out even more. I zoomed in to 70mm, took a few steps back and tried to compose it the same as the first shot.
(f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/60 sec)
The larger the zoom, the blurrier the background.
If you want to get really artsy you can throw a larger zoom lens on. I used my 70-200mm lens and zoomed to 200mm for this shot of Hillary and Shawn.
(f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/800 sec)
I wanted to use a more current photo to demonstrate this again. Here is my ridiculously cute daughter, wearing a ridiculously cute dress, holding a ridiculously pink flower.
As you can see, she took her job very seriously.
Once I told her what a great job she did helping Mommy, she was quite pleased with herself.
To sum it up you can do two things to make your background as blurry as possible.
1. Use your widest aperture setting (lowest number).
2. Use as much zoom as you have and step back to frame your shot.
Happy shooting!
1. Use The Lowest ISO That You Can
I explained ISO last fall so I will keep this short and sweet. The lower the ISO, the sharper your photo. This all depends on available light, of course. Basically you want to use the lowest ISO setting that you can get away with so that you get a crisp photo with minimal digital noise.
Digital noise is not techno music, despite what you might think. It basically means that your pixels are all wacked-out and grumpy and not letting you have a crisp photo.
This applies to most of you using point-and-shoots too! I have a Canon Powershot and you can use manual settings. Don’t chicken out. Be brave. You will be happy that you did.
On a bright, sunny day you will want to shoot at an ISO of 100 (or less, if your camera lets you).
You will need to bump it up in lower light, but try to shoot at the lowest ISO you can get away with.
2. Use A Tripod
The tripod is your friend. Taking photos of your kids in the yard is not conducive to using a tripod. OF COURSE. If you are taking family, wedding, or macro photos you will want to use a tripod. Camera shake can be disastrous.
If you do not have a tripod handy try bracing your camera by pulling your strap tight. You can also place it on an fence, chair, etc.
I used my tripod to take photos of the laundry room.
3. Use Your Self Timer
If you are using the lowest ISO possible, just the pressing of the shutter button can cause camera shake. When doing formal portraits or still/macro shots you will likely want to use a shutter release cable. If you cannot justify the expense, and ten seconds will not kill you, use your camera’s self-timer function. You press the shutter button and ten seconds later your camera has stopped shaking so that you can take a crisp photo.
4. Shoot Rapid Fire (Continuous Mode)
Friends often find it humorous when I take photos and they hear the shutter fire off three or more times. It also surprises them if I have them take a photo of me and mine. They press the button and BAM, BAM, BAM! Three photos in a matter of seconds! It kind of freaks them out.
My camera is almost always set to continuous mode. The reason being that out of three or more shots, at least one of them has to be crisp and clear. If there is any camera shake from pressing the shutter button it is on the first frame and then the remaining shots are nice and crisp.
For group shots, the likelihood of everyone having their eyes open is also greater.
5. Play Your Photos Back And Zoom In
On the tiny LCD display of your camera photos almost always look like they are in focus. I have gotten into the habit of zooming in to make sure and what do you know? Sometimes they are NOT in focus. This little habit of mine has saved me many a headache. It also allows me to get crisp shots of my monkeys.
Welcome back to Foto Friday everyone. I hope these tips helped, if even a little bit.
I know.
It is the fourth of JUU-LYY in the US of A. Such a great time to revive Foto Friday. Whenever there is a holiday in the US, the Internet seems to go eerily silent. This may be due to the fact that a large portion of my readers (and who I read) are from the USA (Happy 4th, friends!). I expect to hit “Publish” and hear…
*Crickets*
However. I live in CANADA. Our July long weekend was so three days ago. Besides, the mutual (Canada and US) July long weekends are a great kick-start to summer. I think it is high time that I post about the summer photo tips that I have been alluding to lately.
Here goes.
We all know that the best time of day for shooting photos is in the early morning or early evening. If you did not know that already? NOW YOU KNOW.
I could get all technical and such and explain about the fact that light is measured in….never mind. Just trust me. Early morning and early evening are DA BOMB for lighting.
So what do you do it your finger is itching to take photos and it is the middle of the day? I might have a suggestion or two. Hence this post.
The Shade Is Where It’s At
A blazing sun may be horrible for photos, but it does provide enough light so that you don’t need to bump your ISO so high that you get digital noise (grainy photos). I like to drag my kids kicking and screaming encourage my kids to play in the shade so that I can get photos of them with some stellar lighting.
Any shade will do, even the shade of the minivan.
I love the light reflecting in her eyes in that one.
What if you find yourself in the harsh midday sun and want to get snap happy, but there is no shade around?
You Need To Use A Flash
It sounds crazy, right? I KNOW. Here is the deal. The sun is nasty for photos, yes, but there are tricks to use! I promise!
The main idea behind it is that the sun, while all bright and harsh-like, is not all-encompassing. It casts great light, but only in one direction.
Which leaves us with shadows. That photo is not too extreme, but you get the idea.
When I want to get all fancy-pants, I pull out my external flash and fill the harsh shadows in with light.
Not everyone can justify spending money on an external flash, so what do you do? There are options!
Diffuse Your Built-In Flash
The flash that is built into your camera is cheap. It is extreme, and harsh, and really lame. STEP AWAY FROM THE FLASH (Until later. Stay tuned).
I will show you what I mean. I took this photo using my built-in flash.
Emily! Watch out for the nuclear bomb that went off!
You can use a diffuser. (It makes the light not so APOCALYPSE-like.)
Put the sun BEHIND your subjects
People often think that making their subjects face the sun is GOOD. Because then they are WELL-LIT.
They are also squinty and nasty-looking. No offense. I have done the same.
The secret trick is to have your subjects facing you with the sun behind them. While shooting a wedding two weeks ago, I gave this tip to a mom of a friend of the bride. We moved the girls 180 degrees and the photo on her point-and-shoot was one hundred percent better.
If you can work it right, you can get a photo without any need for flash.
Often, though, you need a flash. What do you do if you do not have a diffuser?
Zoom From A Distance And Flash Away
I was in the yard with the kids one evening and had not attached my external flash. I zoomed to 200mm, and tried using the built-in flash.
Not too bad, if I do say so myself. Nathan was far enough away from the camera that the (LAME) built-in flash was not overpowering.
So.
For those of you that skip to the end of long posts (Not that I do that or anything. Heh.), here is a summary:
- Shoot in the shade whenever possible.
- If there is no shade, the sun should be BEHIND your subject
- Use a fill-flash (external), but not the built-in. Unless;
- You have a diffuser, or;
- You are far away and are zoomed out in the 200mm range.
Happy summer snapping, folks. I hope I helped you in some miniscule way.
It appears that the Internet Rule Of Opposites is at play here. You know the one. You post something on the Internet and then your Life reads what you posted and turns a 180 on you? Like when I said that Foto Friday was a burden and I was letting go? Not quitting, but taking the pressure off?
Well, the pressure lifted and then (thanks partially to some of you) I was inspired! And have ideas! Foto Friday has been revived! New and improved, even! (Like how I have left “Foto Friday” out of the title.)
You are probably reading this and thinking that I am crazy. Can I just say something to clear things up?
I am crazy. Certifiable even. I am also a whole lot of fun at parties.
