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Digital Photography Tutorials

During these summer months, I’ve been traveling to various caves in Romania. First, I will show you the pictures I took with Nikon D40x, 18mm lens, and then I will tell you how to obtain something similar yourself.

Doing cave photography is an exercise in frustration. The biggest problem is that you are working in near total darkness. Trying to photograph large formations, especially when they are beyond the limits of your headlamp, can be nearly impossible. (It’s best to have your own lamp with you, however, in my case, the cave was illuminated for tourists since many years).

Composition is based on everything you already know about landscape photography as much as it is on your headlamp. Focusing can be similarly difficult. Lighting placement may seem easy at first until you get your processed images back and discover the glaringly over or underexposed portions of the photograph. By this time, you’re probably miles away from the cave with no intention of returning to it anytime soon. This can be very frustrating.

As for composition, you can make landscapes, covering the entire cave, you can focus on details - certain interesting formations, or, you can have a person standing there, adding the human factor to the natural environment of the cave. But, to be more specific, a good photograph does not have a person “standing” in the picture, but actually “doing” something: climbing or other action inside the cave.

The camera settings I used are:

1. shutter speed mode: around 1/30sec (longer exposure time will likely cause motion blur and overexposed areas near the lighting source)
2. ISO 1600 (Slower speeds limit your capability with the light sources you carry, faster speeds give you more of a problem with contrast and graininess)
3. exposure +3,+4, +5 (depending on how illuminated the scene was) - if your camera supports bracketing, do so - it’s very hard to get the right exposure from the first shot
4. flash on: rear mode (this is what creates a different light color in the pictures - the blue one, for near objects)
5. manual white balance (I played a bit with this one in the ice cave)

Now let’s talk about lighting - illuminating the scene. Using the flash is not necessary if you want to create a mystery scene in which all is black but the lamp illuminated formation. But, I do believe that lighting is the most effective tool of a great cave picture (and, after all, you are providing all the lighting for the image), so I’m going to point out some tips from ephotozine:

Cave photographers mostly use flashguns as their primary light, followed by bulbs as their second main source. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Bulbs of all shapes and sizes are still used a lot by cave photographers. There are several reasons why they have not been totally replaced by the use of flashguns - they have a higher light output than many strobes. When photographing a large room, nothing beats the output of a flashbulb. They also give off a wider arc of light than a strobe.

Slaves are remote electronic switches that you attach to each of the different flash units distributed around your cave photo area. The flash on your camera sends out the message to all the slaves to fire when your camera shutter opens. In this way, they are all synchronized and give you the perfect exposure. This also helps to eliminate the need for tripod.

A dramatic effect can be created by strongly backlighting a subject (along with a properly lit foreground) such that the backlight creates a slightly burned edge to offset it from the darker background. Try putting a light on either side of a subject with the lights aimed at one another.

In close-up shots, the use of a softened light (soft box or even just a piece of tissue over the flash tube) is frequently better than a hard light. Sometimes the cave passage itself, if it is reflective, can serve as a bit of soft box on its own.

As a last word, I remember you to do not touch or walk on formations or clean areas that are off trail - protect the nature or else you will only picture the past and not the eternity.

Portrait Professional version 8 is different from conventional editing software in that it is designed only for portrait shots and has actually been ‘trained’ in human appearance using many hundreds of human faces. As such the software has ‘learnt’ statistically what is attractive and unattractive in human faces.
Because of this built in knowledge, it requires less skill and considerably less time than traditional software for face touch up.

While we don’t see it as a direct substitute for software such as Photoshop, for the professional dealing with multiple images in short space of time or the amateur who doesn’t have the requisite skill level on other suites, we feel that it provides a complimentary and easy-to-use alternative.

What’s new about it?

• It is the first version of software that is Mac compatible
• Further enhanced training in human appearance particularly on the 3/4 views and more shape beautification modes, including neck lengthening (at the request of fashion, advertising and catalogue photographers)
• Hair beautifying controls including hair re-colouring, thickening and smoothing to let you eliminate bad hair days after the event. To the best of our knowledge, a world first
• It also has similar enhancements for eyes and mouths. Iris colour, iris saturation, whiteness of the eye, pupil colour, and the sharpness and size of each eye can be individually controlled by sliders. Whiteness of the teeth, the colour contrast saturation and darkness of the lips and the sharpness of the overall mouth can be altered in the same manner
• Improved Colour Calibration and Raw File Support as well as a an Improved User Interface and an Improved Help and tutorial System

Portrait Professional 8 is available in two versions:

1. Portrait Professional 8 Standard This is the standard version which works on
JPEG and Tiff files
2. Portrait Professional 8 Studio This is the high end version which also works
directly on 16 bit Camera RAW files.

The high end software is priced at £79.95 (US $149.95) while Portrait
Professional Standard is £39.95 (US $79.95)

Kenneth William Caleno wrote to me about a neat way to use auto focus for wildlife or fast sports action. This setting lets you prefocus on a specific location, and once something comes into that specific focus distance the camera will take the image. To do this automatically you will need a remote release, preferably one on which you can keep the shutter button depressed. Set the release priority on the D200 for focus.
These are the settings for Nikon users:

Custom (pencil) menu:

Auto focus set to AF-S
AF area mode set to single
AE-L/AF-L set to AF On

Compose your shot and set the focus by aiming the centre focus icon at a exact target (Say, for example, a pre-focus point on a tree branch, where you are waiting for a bird to land) at the precise distance you want, and pressing the “AE-L/AF-L” button near the viewfinder. This will focus the lens- Now press and hold the shutter button. As soon as something comes into focus the shutter will fire, It’s a very fast action, far quicker than a human reflex!

Prefocus on the determined distance where you expect your subject to be, using the AF-ON button. You do not want the shutter button controlling focus as you are pre-focusing. You only want the shutter button to fire the shutter. Once you are focused, release the AF-ON button.

Now back away from the object. Fully depress the shutter button and the camera will not fire. However when something comes into focus, the camera will start taking pictures.

This is very useful for unattended photography for nocturnal animals, birds at feeders etc. Also quite useful for motor sports as you can prefocus on a spot where say a race car will be and then the moment is arrives the camera starts taking pictures. It is much quicker this way than tracking the object and focusing at the same time, the camera reacts much quicker than the human finger.

We hope you like our idea, and you help us to make this 1st. International
award well known on the gaming community. You are invited to participate!

The Festival Internacional de Juegos de Mesa Córdoba 2008 (International Boardgame Festival) will take place in October 10-13 (Last year Reiner Knizia was here, this year Wolfgang Kramer will come…). As a part of the Festival, the organization’s new idea is to start the 1st. International Gaming-Photo Award - that is, an international photography award based on games and gaming.

For years, we have seen many good and impressive pictures about games and
gaming hobby on BGG or other sites… Now is the moment to recompense these good
photographers.

Pictures about games and gaming can be presented to the award. The selected
pictures will be exposed in the Festival Internacional de Juegos Córdoba 2008.
The prize for the best picture: 500 € + 150 € to buy games at masqueoca.com.
And there are more little awards.

You can find all the info and the rules on the web:
www.festivaldejuegoscordoba.es

There, you can find: Spanish rules, English rules and French rules.

June Selection

10 Tips for Urban Photography
Being from New York, the hustle and bustle of inner city life (while not for everyone) does provide great areas that are so interesting to spend time in - both on a personal level but also photographically.

Photography: Little Known Ways to Avoid Problems in the Field
Photography is all about preparation. Instead of running into problems when you’re out shooting, understand some easy ways of tackling the more common problems you may run into!

Wedding Photography Agreement (Contract) Tips
You’ve seen it before. It’s not the photographer with the biggest camera or the most artistic eye that wins in the world of wedding photography. It’s the best-practiced business photographer.
Unconventional wedding photography

How to Reduce Camera Shake - 6 Techniques
In this article photographer Natalie Norton explores 6 ways you can hand hold lenses at low apertures and low shutter speeds and still avoid blurry images caused by camera shake.

Food Photography Techniques and Tips
Food photographer Jonathan Pollack shares some wonderful food photography tips (and some positively mouth watering photos.

Street Photography Revisited
“if you like street photography, take a walk down the street.”

Photography 101.4 - Exposure and Stops
In this series, we cover all the basics of camera design and use. We talk about the ‘exposure triangle’: shutter speed, aperture and ISO. We talk about focus, depth of field and sharpness, as well as how lenses work, what focal lengths mean and how they put light on the sensor. We also look at the camera itself, how it works, what all the options mean and how they affect your photos.

Infrared Photography
nfrared photography looks like nothing else. I’m sure you’ve seen some IR photos around the web, but maybe you don’t know how to achieve this special effect?

Bird Photography, Part I
It can be difficult to make a good photograph of a bird. There are practical and technical reasons for that. Birds are small, fast, and shy so it is hard to get close enough to a wild bird to take the picture.

3 articles on High Dynamic Range Photography:
http://www.point101.com/news/high-dynamic-range-photography-20.html
http://blog.23x.net/7/beginners-guide-to-hdr.html
http://techbutter.com/2008/06/02/high-dynamic-range-hdr-photography/

Step 1: Triple Check Your Equipment Before You Go Shooting

It always happened to me to forget something. The last “mini photo trip” had the impact on me to always check my equipment on every single and last detail.

We’ve taken with us two Nikon cameras, four lenses and one point and shoot digital camera (canon a640). We wanted to make a test. The most important test was to compare Nikon 70-300mm Vibrate Reduction lenses with Tamron AF-S 70-300mm lenses for Nikon. For this test we needed the tripod that we’ve taken with us. BUT I’ve forgot the head of the tripod. So there I was, with lot of equipment but with out that little piece I’ve need it. Mission Failed!

So check:
- batteries (back up batteries)
- tripod and the head of the tripod
- lenses
- filters
- settings of the camera (why would you shoot the first picture with the settings left from home?)
- camera and lens hoods

Step 2: Travel

Now you are prepared. The next step is to travel. Go to places where you never been before. It’s true that a good photographer can make from one scene thousands of good photos but a smart photographer will travel. Traveling will help discover the world and always have interesting and new pictures.

You can’t go to the same park and expect to always have killer photos. Change places!

Step 3: Try to Avoid the Mid of the Day

A definition of photography says: paint with the light. In photography it’s all about the light. In the mid of the day most of the time you’ll have a white sky and the objects will have no shades, these means: no story to tell (in most of the cases).

Step 4: Always Shoot a Scene from Different Angles

Don’t get satisfied with just one angle. Try more angles and different settings.

Step 5: For Snapshots on Moving Targets Try to Avoid Manual Settings

If you shoot birds, children, moving objects you should use the auto mode or pre-programmed modes. Try to avoid manual settings, because the object is moving so you will have different light, shutter speed and aperture.

Step 6: A Good Photographer Knows that Not All Photos Are Astonishing: Be Very Selective

If you want to be considered a good photographer be very selective, edit your photos and include in your portfolio only the killer photographs.

You could go in a trip and make 1000 photos where would you get only three astonishing photos and 50 OK photos. Include in your portfolio only the best ones.

The photos are from one of my trip around the country. 2 days - 600 photos.

I always recommend to buy a dslr.

Written by Tudor Mateescu.

If you want to write an unique guest post to my blog shoot me an e-mail at laurentia.fr [at] gmail.com

Fourth of July celebrations often end with a firework extravaganza that captivates us all with its awesome beauty. So be prepared to “ooh” and “ah” along with the crowd. And, if you’re like many of us, plan to have your camera ready to capture the “rockets red glare.”

What’s the best way to take “great” firework photos? According to Chuck DeLaney, Dean of the New York Institute of Photography (NYI), the world’s largest photography school, it’s easy if you do a couple of simple things. “Most of all you need a steady camera, a long exposure, and medium speed ISO setting,” DeLaney explains.

First, you’ll want to take a time-exposure. If you have an SLR camera, this should be no problem. Many point-and-shoot cameras have a special Fireworks setting, but if the camera you are using doesn’t, try to “fool” the camera into keeping the shutter open. Here’s how: When you see a rocket shoot skyward, press the shutter-button. The darkness of the sky should cause your camera to keep the shutter open for a time-exposure, and you can end up with a splendid picture.
What about using a single-use “cardboard” disposable camera? NYI says, forget it! These cameras usually have a fixed shutter speed, and you can’t “fool” them into doing the right thing no matter what you do.

Second, and equally important, since you are taking a time-exposure, your camera should be on a solid, unmoving base throughout the exposure. A tripod is best. If you don’t have a tripod, try bracing your camera against some solid structure - for example, a wall, a post, or a railing. They’re not as good as a tripod, but they’re better than hand-holding your camera. And hand-holding is the road to disaster - no one likes blurry fireworks photos.

Third, to add an extra-special touch to your picture, try to include something on the ground to give a sense of location to the firework display in the sky. For example, across the bottom of your frame you might show silhouettes of the crowd, or a statue (George Washington on horseback?), or the skyline of thecity. This one trick will do more to make your fireworks pictures stand out than any other single thing you can do. “There are some special do’s and don’ts that will help digital photographers get the best results,” notes DeLaney. “We
written a special article just to address those issues.”

For lots more advice on how to take “great” fireworks pictures, and some great fireworks photos, visit http://www.nyip.com/ezine/holidays/firewksintro.html or read the other photo tips on the New York Institute of Photography (NYI) Web site at http://www.nyip.com.

Reprinted with permission from the New York Institute of Photography
Photos by Lau

In this week of “photo critique” I received more wonderful images. Let’s see them.

Portrait by FurSid

Original Image

Technical Aspects

Technically, this portrait is almost perfect. If I look carefully at the details in full view, I might say that the upper right eye is too dark and looses details. Exposure looks fine, kind of at the limit in the mustache area because of the strong contrast, which, otherwise, is good for the details and pops out the man’s expression. The main focus point is well placed on the eyes of the subject. Composition is very good.

Visual Aesthetics

The expression captured gives a very deep feeling and the sepia toning adds alot to it. Congratulations for such a pleasant portrait!

Spring time in the Mountains by Tudor

Technical Aspects

The image is well focused, with a proper DOF. However, the post processing resulted into some burned areas. Better pay attention at that. Composition is great: not just the right positioning of the flower, but also the slight radial feeling given by the grass adds to it.

Visual Aesthetics

Unlike classical spring interpretation, your’s is full of mystery. I sense that the flowers from the dark side of the picture are still “frozen” in the remains of the winter, while the other flower, the one that rises into the light, is the symbol of the spring yet to come. The vignetting looks good on this picture.

Do you want your photo to receive a critique at photoaxe.com? Send your image at laurentia.fr[at]gmail.com and next week your photo will be commented here.

Last week I’ve been to the photography exhibit: “Himalaya - People and Mountains”.


The photographs belong to a Romanian photographers Mihai Moiceanu, originally from Brasov, a city surrounded by mountains in the middle of Romania. The exhibit left me with the feeling of a colorful and cheerful life in the highest mountains covered always by snow and ice. Instead of a cold feeling, the wars sunset/sunrise colors change the view towards the mountains.

“The beauty and attractiveness of Himalaya emanate not only from the beauty of the mountains but also from what surrounds it. Nepal is a country of hospitable people with picturesque villages, with an amazing diversity of cultures and traditions and also a great variety of flora and fauna.”

You can view some of the best photographs from the expo here.
Also, if you are interested, Mihai Moiceanu invites you to a new series of workshops.

The theoretic notions of photocomposition and the processing and analysis of the photographs on the computer will be combined with the photo tours around Magura-Bran area. Under Mihai Moiceanu’s guidance you will carry out landscape photographs, but also peasants or sheperds portraits, photographs of rural architecture (houses, hodai, sheepfolds) or photographs that capture rural activities (ploughing, mowing etc).

More details here.

Spring Ideas

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