Macro photography is taking photos of small things like insects, flowers, plants, and water droplets among many others. If you are one of those who want to get started on macro photography, or if you are into macro photography, but can’t seem to get ‘the perfect shot’ you want, you may want to read this Macro Photography Tutorial to educate yourself more and learn a few tricks.

Below is a list of the basic equipment you’ll need for this macro photography tutorial.

Point and Shoot or DSLR?

Nowadays, your typical point and shoot cameras actually have enhanced macro functions, and some even allow you to attach macro lenses with the use of a lens adapter. Preferably, your digital camera should have 10X zoom or higher, with manual settings you can adjust. However, a DSLR or digital single lens reflex camera will still yield better results since you can attach many different types of macro lenses on them. Any kind of DSLR will do.

Macro Lenses

For digital point and shoot cameras, you can use Raynox MSN-202 or Raynox DCR-250. These come with their own lens adapter. For DSLRs, you can use a lens that has a macro in its name. Examples of macro lenses include the following:

• Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED

• Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM

• Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 AF

• Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG

Of Flash Diffusers and Macro Flashguns

For this macro photography tutorial, you’ll need a flash diffuser which you can buy or DIY. When making a flash diffuser, you just need cardboard with a hole in it for the flash, two tissue layers at one end, and aluminum foil inside to better transmit light. In this macro photography tutorial, you’ll learn about the all-important DOF or depth of field, and for this, you need a flash diffuser.

Your camera’s flash alone provides strong and stark lighting, plus lost of reflections. With macro photography however, you’ll need soft lighting, and you can achieve this with the flash diffuser. On the other hand, if you have the cash to buy a macro flashgun. A macro flashgun serves the same purpose as your flash diffuser. Some examples of these include the Nikon R1 Close-Up Speedlight and the Canon MR-14EX Macrolite among many others.

Recommended Camera Settings

Manual settings are recommended for this macro photography tutorial whether you use a point and shoot or a DSLR.

• Manual Focus – Auto focus is good for typical photography but not in macro photography, since the DOF or depth of field in macro photography is on the shallow side; 5mm maximum. So when shooting, switch to manual focus and move your camera around in very small motions for sharpening and focusing on your subject.

• Depth of Field Setting/ F Number – since macro photography is taking photos of very small objects, you’ll be required to capture all the details you can possibly capture. When possible, the F number should begin from 11 since you can capture more details with a higher F number.

However, you will also require more light with a high F number. Sometimes, F 2.8 is actually adequate, that is, if you are totally decided on what details you really want to pop in your photo. It is really hard to sharpen images when using a low DOF setting/F number, but you’ll still be able to get sharp images with more than adequate details with practice, and because a lower F number allows for more light, which makes for shorter exposure times. Remember, practice is key!

• ISO – the higher the ISO setting, the faster your shutter speed is, which means shorter exposure times. When using a point and shoot camera, choose ISO 200 or if possible, lower. For DSLRs however, try different ISOs since it will ultimately depend on your DSLR’s quality.

• Exposure Time – in this macro photography tutorial, you should start with an exposure time of 0.0125 or shorter if possible. In the event that you use this exposure time with an ISO 100 setting and your photo comes out dark, try adjusting the ISO to 200 or 400 at the most (for DSLRs) and stay at the same exposure time. If that does not work, use your flash, along with your flash diffuser or macro flashgun and adjust ISO back to 200 or 100.

If your photo is too bright however, make the exposure time even shorter. The primary goal here is to maintain balance between the exposure time and the ISO since exposure makes your photos sharp and ISO, when set correctly will drown out noise in your photos. Again, experiment and practice to get the balance right.

• White Balance – cameras have automatic white balance functions to correct the lighting type it can detect. However, this fails when there’s no white to focus on in your shot. To properly set the white balance to the particular lighting you’ll be using, you should aim your camera on a gray or white surface while pressing the white balance button.

The background of your photos will always be blurred since you are trying to capture as much detail as you can from your subject, say, an insect or a plant, and not the background necessarily. This is also mainly attributed to the small depth of field. However, this does not mean that you should automatically discount the background because it will provide some color to complement your subject, and will still be a part of your overall macro photo.

In addition, remember that it’s perfectly fine if your photos are darker rather than brighter. This is because you cannot edit overexposed photos since many details will already be lost, but you can certainly post-process underexposed photos with various image editing software. However, this is a macro photography tutorial and not a tutorial for editing photos so just remember this tip.

When starting out with macro photography, don’t be surprised if you take lots of bad, grainy, and out of focus photos. You should ideally try and take 30 or more photos of different kinds of objects and under different lighting conditions to get the feel of adjusting camera settings for different conditions. Just follow this macro photography tutorial and continue taking macro photos until you get them perfectly right.

It has been said lots of times that when it comes to photography, light is actually the soul of your photo. In this context, manipulating light sources to capture the image you hold in your mind even before you take that shot is very important.

In this photography lighting tutorial, you’ll learn various tried and tested tips for manipulating a scene through different lighting techniques to get the specific effect you want to stand out in your photos. This photography lighting tutorial will give you tricks such as moving objects away to, or near the sun to get the perfect lighting you need, and using various lighting tools among others.

Tips to Effectively Manipulate Lighting used in this Photography Lighting Tutorial

1. Light is softer when the light source is closer, so the light is harder when the light source is farther. Therefore, if you want to broaden the light source, move closer to the light, and if you want to make the light source narrower, move away from the light.

In portrait photography, you can try putting lamps and other light sources near your subject for a more flattering effect.

2. Light appears harder when the source is narrower, while light is softer when the light source is broader. Broad light sources can decrease contrast, minimize shadows, and repress textures, while a narrow light does the complete opposite. Light hits your subject coming from various directions if the source is broader, capable of filling in shadows which makes the photo more illuminated.

To test this, this photography lighting tutorial will require you to place your subject close to a bright, big window that does not get direct sunlight. This is ideal for those who don’t have a softbox since the effect you’ll get from doing this exercise is what you’ll also get when you use a softbox.

3. Remember that light actually has color, even with ‘white’ light, and this is known as color temperature. We may not see this, but digital film and sensors record color casts such as yellow hues from tungsten bulbs, bluish hues from landscape scenes during midday, and warm hues cast by the afternoon sun.

To balance out very blue hues on clearer days, change the color balance of your camera to ‘Cloudy’. This will serve as a warm filter to get some golden hues on your shot.

4. Shadows can produce volume and this is how photographers illustrate the concept of images being multidimensional. Lighting coming from below, above, the sides provides a sense of volume or depth by casting longer and deeper shadows, and this is why landscape, product, and still-life photographers harness the power of angular lighting.

As an exercise, you can try pointing a light source above your subject and somewhat to the side, positioned downwards, but not too much so the shadow of your subject’s nose lies beyond midway down to the upper lip. If successful, your shot should have that so-called ‘Hollywood lighting effect’.

5. Light is scattered with diffusion, which in turn makes light sources softer and broader. Fog, clouds, an overcast sky are all natural diffusers that scatter light in various directions. These then act as nature’s softbox.

You can do DIY light diffusers, but we’ll not focus on those in this photography lighting tutorial. Just keep in mind that you can always use white fabrics, translucent plastics and the likes to effectively diffuse light.

6. A bouncing light source can serve as diffusion. Point narrow lighting to a matte, broad surface like a wall or a matte reflector to reflect light and diffuse it through spreading it out over a broader area. On the other hand, a shiny reflector will keep the light source narrow.

For practicing, crumple aluminum foil, flatten it out, and then completely wrap it around a cardboard piece, with the shiny side outside. This can function as a reflector good for that sparkling highlights effect.

7. How the light falls, also called light falloff, can affect the relationship among the light on the background and the subject. When you position your subject close to the light, the falloff coming from the subject to your background can be highlighted. If you move your subject farther from the light, the background then becomes brighter.

To try this tip, photograph your subject near a frontlit window in order to create the illusion that the wall of the room descends into darkness. If your want the wall illuminated, position your subject near the wall and farther from the window.

8. Light sources fall off farther when the light sources are also farther. To illustrate, light sources will dim faster or fall off faster if it is far from a subject. This is something nice to remember if you want to re-position either your subject of your movable light sources to get the exact light effects you want in your shots.

If you want to counteract this, you can adjust the flash of your camera (either hot-shoe or pop-up, does not matter) for filling in the flash for outdoor photography during instances where the sun’s rays are too harsh. This can effectively lighten the shadows that fall on your subject without having an effect on the exposure of your background.

9. Lighting sources coming from below, above, or from the sides of a subject reveals texture, while lighting in front of the subject hides textures. As a rule, more textures will be revealed when the angle is higher from which lighting sources are directed to a subject.

To make textures stand out in your shots, say, when taking photos of your dog’s fluffy hair, set your light source relatively to the side instead of in front of your dog.

10. Lighting coming from the back can act as diffused light sources. In general, you cannot totally have only a backlight illuminating your shot, without some form of lighting or light falloff from the front, such that a subject with its back to the sun will still have falling light which you can see in front of the subject. Because of this, the exposure should be increased for recording light falloff on your subject.

For interesting photos of silhouettes and backlit subjects, try including the light source in your shots. For this, make sure to bracket the exposures so your meter won’t go crazy.

As you can see from the tips outlined in this photography lighting tutorial, you will have to make adjustments and experiment plenty of times to get the right shot. However, once you have perfected the art of manipulating light sources, you will be able to take photos easily at whatever time of the day and under different lighting conditions.

A digital SLR is the tool of choice for serious photography hobbyists, and working professionals in the field. This is because no other kind of camera offers the sheer flexibility and expandability a digital SLR camera is capable of. Photographers of all kinds also appreciate the durability and modular nature that modern cameras can offer, allowing them to switch from one type of photography to another in a snap.

The modular nature of an SLR camera is thanks to the massive aftermarket products and support now available on the market today. In addition to scores of different lenses, many kinds of filters, flashes, tripods, camera straps and other accessories only add to the flexibility a digital SLR already has. But what is the best selection for your needs? For the professional photographer, the right tools will allow him to do the right job with maximum efficiency.

Factors to Consider

The most popular brands of digital SLR’s today include Nikon, Canon, Pentax and Sony. Regardless of the brand, both the features and potential for expandability should be something a photographer of any level should look for first. You never know what might come in handy later on, so a complete feature set can only enhance your ability to take photos.

The first thing you should consider is your budget. Photography equipment can get especially expensive, especially if you dabble in more than one kind of photography. Buying up new lenses in addition to your camera body can end up into an endless downward spiral of money-spending madness if you are not careful.

When looking for a good DSLR camera for professional photography, look for the following:

• Image Quality – Unless you are taking pictures for avant-garde art photography, a camera capable of crisp, clear images should be preferred every time. Megapixels won’t always matter on a digital SLR camera, but for professional work, the more the better. Image quality may be better on a more expensive camera, especially when shooting at high ISO levels, where grains may get heavier and heavier when light is not available.

• Viewfinder Capabilities – While higher-end digital SLR cameras now have the option to select a live view on the LCD before snapping a picture, professionals still prefer to look through the viewfinder. Entry-level digital SLR cameras may only have the option to adjust a viewfinder for people who are shortsighted or nearsighted. Either way, what you see through the viewfinder should be what your picture will turn out to be when you take it.

• Speed – Your shutter and focus speeds should also be capable of adjustment on a good digital SLR camera. Photographers who take pictures of fast-moving objects may also benefit from faster camera speeds.

• ISO Range – Entry-level digital SLR cameras are typically only capable of ISO levels up to 1600 and 3200. Professional ones have an even larger range than this, and can be useful in many more situations than just low-light shooting.

• Manual Control Range – The level of control a photographer has over his or her camera can affect the ability to snap good photos. While less controls make for a much easier-to-use camera, more controls allow more flexibility, especially if you are taking pictures professionally. The ergonomics and placement of these controls are also something a photographer may pick depending on personal preference.

• Expandability – This is what makes the digital SLR camera the choice of serious hobbyists and professionals. Different kinds of lenses, flashes, tripods, bags, controls and more accessories can be fitted to a camera, depending on the brand. Typically, lenses are brand-exclusive, so while you may be able to re-use your lenses if you get a new camera body, the new camera body needs to come from the same manufacturer as your previous one.

• Supported File Formats – Professionals will typically take photographs in RAW format. In addition to this, the ability to snap pictures in common image formats like JPG can be done while also being able to control the level of quality. Check a camera’s spec sheet for this before buying. Also, remember that some RAW formats are exclusive to the camera manufacturer.

The general appearance and handling of a digital SLR also need to be taken into account before choosing one.

• Size and Weight – While lenses may come in sizes ranging from small to the utterly unwieldy without a proper mount, the digital SLR camera body can be another story. Even professional digital SLR cameras are relatively compact, and are made of lightweight materials like magnesium or aluminum.

• Ergonomics – How the camera feels in your hand also matters a lot. Pick up a variety of digital SLR cameras and see which one will feel the best in your hands when at rest, while mounted on a tripod, or when moving around a lot. Just be careful not to drop one if you are trying one in a shop.

• Camera Straps & Bags – Most digital SLR cameras will come stock with a camera strap which is durable enough to keep the camera slung on you at all times. Not many will come with a camera bag, so think about getting a padded one to protect your investment. Some camera bags will even have pockets for other accessories, such as provisions for different lenses, flashes and a tripod. A good bag is also essential for carrying around a digital SLR for professional photography.

The perfect portrait is an image that ideally tells you a whole lot about the subject person. It provides you with a clear perception into the subject’s character, even if the portrayal of the subject in the photo is real or fantasy. In this portrait photography tutorial, we provide some basic portrait photography tips you can use when practicing portrait photography.

It is also important to note that in this portrait photography tips and tutorial page, we won’t be using fancy equipment such as reflectors, softboxes, flash diffusers, flashguns, and the like. We’ll just stick to the basics.

Portrait Photography Tips and Tutorial: Basic Equipment You Need

Camera – For portrait photography, you can use your trusty point and shoot digital camera, but if you want more control over certain factors when shooting, you can use a DSLR, digital single lens reflex camera, if you have one handy.

One major advantage of DSLRs over point and shoot digital cameras are the large sensor. Likewise, you can also attach different lenses on DSLRs. However, you’ll find that in this portrait photography tips and tutorial page, other factors you’ll be introduced to below, and not your choice of camera, are far more important when getting that perfect portrait shot.

Lens – In portrait photography, commonly used focal lengths are around 50 to 105 millimeters on full-frame DSLRs. These lengths will allow you to be reasonably closer or farther away from your subject when the situation calls for it. Also, unless you want you subject’s nose to be the center of attention in your photos, you should preferably position yourself 10 to 15 feet away from the subject, and make use of lenses with longer focal lengths.

Portrait Photography Tips and Tutorial: Background, Location, and Lighting

When deciding on the background and the location you’ll use for shooting your portraits, ask yourself the following:

• What’s the main purpose of shooting your portrait subject?

• Do you want to shoot your subject in a controlled setting?

• Or, do you want to shoot your subject in a/their natural environment?

Whether you decide to shoot in a studio, indoors, or outdoors, one thing to keep in mind when choosing a location, is that your subject should be at their most comfortable.

When choosing backgrounds on the other hand, your emphasis is of course your subject so you should isolate your subject and place them against a clean and orderly background. This holds true for indoor or outdoor portrait photography, since you want your subject to stand out above everything else in the frame.

As for lighting, the general rule of thumb with portrait photography is that softer lighting works best since this will enhance what you want to ‘pop’ in your photos, and efficiently hide what you want hidden.

Portrait Photography Tips and Tutorial: Shooting your Subject

In this portrait photography tips and tutorial section, you will be introduced to some portrait photography tips you can use for getting those perfect portrait shots.

• Experimenting with Eye Contact.

Undoubtedly, portraits usually have subjects that look straight to the photographer to create a connection with those looking at the photo. However, you can also try playing with eye contact and have your subject either focus their gaze on a thing or someone within the shot, or look off outside the frame.

When you have your subject focus their eyes on a thing or someone included in the frame, it introduces a second focal point, as well as a relationship between them. On the other hand, when your subject looks outside the shot or frame, the viewer will get a sense of candidness and this will pique their interest as to what and why the subject is staring at that specific something.

• Breaking common Composition Rules.

It is important that you acquaint yourself with the common rules of composing a shot because once you are familiar with them; you can use it to your advantage and break the rules to compose a unique shot full of interest. If you’re familiar with the Rule of Thirds, you can break this and try positioning your subject at the very center of the image, or on the frame’s very edge to produce more thought-provoking shots.

• Changing Perspective.

Majority of portrait photos are shot with the subject directly looking into the lens, or at direct eye level. To make shots more interesting, move around and try shooting from side angles, from as high up as you can and shooting down, or as near to the ground as possible, while shooting up.

• Playing with Lighting.

While soft lighting is generally recommended for portrait photography, you can certainly break this rule and add interest to your portraits by playing with how the light falls on your subject. Try shooting in between architectural objects such as dividers to see how shadows fall on your subject, or lighting your subject from the side or the back to produce powerful silhouette shots.

• Shooting Close-ups of specific body parts.

Taking close-up shots of subject’s eyes, hands, mouth, just the lower body, or the upper body can sometimes tell more about your subject and leave a sense of imagination to the photo’s viewer. This is very easily done placing your lens really close to the body part, or for more reserved subjects, using a lens with a longer focal length.

• Shooting candid shots.

While posed shots are typically the norm in portrait photography, some subjects just don’t know how to pose so they won’t look good in a posed setting. Shooting them candidly in this instance may just be the solution both of you are looking for in order to get the most out the portrait photo session. This works extremely well with younger kids.

This is simply done by having your subject do something they love to do, at work, even at play. This will effectively make them more comfortable which is good for you since you’ll get awesome shots of their natural reactions to many different things. You can also get ‘paparazzi-like’ with your subject by using a longer lens, and to make them feel they’re not being photographed when in fact, they are.

As you have gathered from this portrait photography tips and tutorial page, you now know that the most important aspects of portrait photography are your creative eye and your rapport with your subject; not your camera, or other factors like your lens, or lighting. The other factors simply serve to enhance your portrait images. In this light, take as many portrait shots as you possibly can, experiment, keep an open mind, and continue breaking the rules as you go along.

]]> http://www.photographytutorial.com/portrait-photography-tips-and-tutorial-what-you-need-to-know/feed/ 0 http://www.photographytutorial.com/adobe-photoshop-for-photographers-a-how-to-guide/ http://www.photographytutorial.com/adobe-photoshop-for-photographers-a-how-to-guide/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:05:18 +0000 admin http://www.photographytutorial.com/?p=30

Adobe Photoshop has always kept the photographer in mind, even after recent updates have made it more oriented towards the digital painter. Photoshop remains to be a very powerful photo editing tool, allowing digital artists of any medium to modify, cut, copy, paste and completely overhaul their digital works to their bidding. But while Photoshop is used for more than just photography, this short guide is made for photographers in mind.

Photoshop can be used to modify your photos in a variety of ways. Many times, a photographer who takes photos with a digital SLR camera will want to add a film roll vibe to his pictures. Sometimes, a portrait or fashion photographer will use Photoshop in order to touch up pictures of models, getting rid of blemishes, acne, red eye, and so forth. No matter what your style of photography is, you will find Photoshop an indispensable tool for editing your photos.

Getting Started: The Tools and Functions of Photoshop

As Photoshop is subject to constant software updates, many new features have been added in order to make it’s functionality appeal to more than just photographers. However, if you are a photographer yourself, then you may not feel the need to use functions like 3D modeling or other gimmicks that Adobe has packed in the latest version.

Here are some features you can use, or add on as a plug-in later:

• Image functions – Located on the primary toolbar, selecting this drop-down menu will lead to you many, many functions you will find useful for all kinds of image editing applications. Some of these include the overall image size, and and adjustable canvas size which makes cropping by the pixel, inch, centimeter or other unit of measurement easy.

• Image Adjustments – Located in the “adjustments” menu within the image functions are even more options you can use to modify your photos. This includes the brightness/contrast sliders, hue and saturation modifiers, color replacement sliders, color variation tools, and even a tool for modifying the exposure of your photos.

• Filters – One of the reasons behind Photoshop’s reputation is the option for applying filters on your pictures. Some of these filters may seem rather cheap when applied directly on a photo, so use these with moderation. Some of these the venerable “liquify” function, which photo editors use to distort different aspects of their photos with.

• Brush Tools – The brushes in Photoshop have been anti-aliased to ensure smooth brushing across the board. Paired up with a good graphics tablet, and you will have yourself even more flexibility when editing photos. Adding up custom brushes can be done too; simply right-click, then click on the arrow in the menu that appears. Select load brushes, and find your custom brushes, which may take the form of an .abr file.

• Selection & Crop Tools – Photoshop has streamlined the act of selecting objects within your photos. Users can now utilize marquee tools that take the shape of a square, rectangle, or an oval. while lasso tools can now be made into polygons of your choosing. The lasso tool comes in a free-form tool, as well as a polygonal mode, which lets every click of the mouse create a new corner. The crop tool will crop your image to the size of your choosing.

• Plug-ins – A professional or advanced photographer may need a couple of plug-ins to maximize Photoshop’s functionality with photos. Some essential plug-ins include support for RAW files, as these filetypes are recognized depending on the camera manufacturer. Find a plug-in that is made to work with your camera in particular.

• History, Layers & Navigator Toolbar – The History bar will allow you to undo or re-do any mistakes you have made when editing your photos. The Layers toolbar will allow you to apply different effects on separate layers, preserving your original photo while doing so. The navigator toolbar creates a thumbnail of your overall picture, allowing you to zoom in and out freely. All of these can be activated under the “Window” toolbar.

• Actions – If you perform a regular set of modifications to photos, but get tired of doing them, then save them as a set of Photoshop actions to make your life easier. The Actions toolbar will automate all of these modifications, and can be found in the “Window” toolbar. The stop, record, create new action and delete buttons can be found on the Actions toolbar.

Using Photoshop with Your Photos

Photoshop can be used to edit photos in a variety of ways:

• Artificial Make-Up – Model and fashion photographers will typically edit out blemishes seen on a model’s face during a photo shoot. Sometimes, they will even go as far as adding in artificial make-up, or even completely re-working a model’s face with the liquify and brush tools.

• Illustration and Vector Effects – Think what you will about the filters included with Photoshop; some artists will use them to full effect. Photographers in particular can use filters in order to get a cleaner, vectorized look with their photos; simply find a filter in the filters toolbar menu that works for you.

• Vintage and Film Photo Effects – The digital age has made photography much easier, yet some may feel that digital photos lack a certain something. A vintage photo effect can be achieved with a little desaturation, color level modifications, and even a film grain effect possible with the Noise filter in the filters menu. If you can’t find the effect you want, then simply find a set of Actions on the internet that can do this for you.