Window Light Portrait Photography Tips |  |
- Window Light Portrait Photography Tips
- Interesting Photo of the Day: A Boy and His Big Best Friend
- First Person View of the Wet Plate Collodion Photography Process (Video)
- Abstract Light Painting Photography with a Light Sword (Video)
| Window Light Portrait Photography Tips Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:31 PM PDT Final Reminder: Only a little time left! in the launch sale on: Portraits – Lighting the Shot Have you ever tried to create a lovely portrait but not known how? It’s not a hard thing to create a beautiful portrait. The secret is the lighting. You don’t always need thousands of dollars in photographic lighting equipment to create a good portrait. In fact, all you need is a window.  “Untitled” captured by Jheuz Marcoh (Click image to see more from Marcoh) If window light is so good, why doesn’t everyone use it? Well, the answer is that they do not know how. Many enthusiast photographers don’t work with the light properly. Many inexperienced photographers stand in front of the window. They position their subjects with their backs to the window. What they should be doing is using the window light to light the subject’s face. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? So why don’t more photographers light portraits this way? The simple answer is they do not understand light. The difference between a photography enthusiast and a professional photographer is a solid and very deep understanding of light. If you are an enthusiast, and you probably are, don’t feel bad. I will help increase your understanding. First, in order to create beautiful portraits, you need to examine the qualities of light. Think about the quality of the light coming through the window. Is it hard or soft? Usually the light is soft. A portrait looks fantastic when the light is soft. Blemishes are reduced, skin tone evens out, and there are no harsh shadows under noses or eyes. It’s really an ideal kind of light for portraits. Think about the temperature of the light. Changing the white balance to suit your portrait is essential if you want to create beautifully warm and fresh skin tones. It’s easy to create unsuitable colour tone through a lack of understanding about white balance and how it affects your model’s skin tone. In this case, do a custom white balance before you shoot.  “Face Lift” captured by Shovona Karmakar (Click image to see more from Karmakar) The way to do a custom white balance is as follows: Take your light meter and place it on the person’s face. Face the light meter toward the window light with the invercone extended. Now take a reading. Make sure the light meter and the camera have the same settings. For example if the light meter tells you that f1.4 and 1/60th of a second is ideal, and your lens is unable to go to f1.4 then you may not use the setting. Move your light meter’s dial to the aperture you want to shoot at. It will then give you a reading you will able to set on your camera. Now that you have the ideal exposure, take a grey card and place it in front of the lens. Set your camera to the settings of the light meter. Take a photo. Set the photo of the grey card to the correct white balance on your camera. Now your white balance should be OK. It’s been set for the conditions you are shooting in. The direction of light is very important, too. It’s good to get a window that is quite long so the majority of light comes from the person’s top and side, not directly from above. If you have too much light from above, shadows under the nose and the eyes may occur. To avoid this, try and find a window that is quite large. This will help disperse the light evenly. If you find that you still have too much shadow on the opposite side to the window, then try using a reflector. A reflector can bounce the light back onto the person’s face to fill in the shadows. This works very well in some situations. If you place your subject too close to the window you may see more contrast on his or her face. If you want softer light and less shadows, move your model away from the window. This will even out the light across the face, but darken the overall exposure of the image. Simply adjust this by increasing your ISO. When shooting a portrait using window light, it’s important to keep the emotive effects of that light clear in your mind. A soft light cast across someone’s face can often be endearing. This is ideal for weddings, young people, and children. If you want to create something theatrical and moody, try a different direction and quality of light. However, for windows, you will find that creating an endearing effect is easier than you think.  “Keep Calm” captured by Pirjo-Leena Bauer (Click image to see more from Bauer) Consider window light as a wonderfully accessible way to shoot portraits. Always make sure you have plenty of light, and use a tripod. Window light is soft and subdued and ideal for portraits. Face your model toward the light, not away from it. The light needs to caress the person’s face to help create a gentle and soft look and feel. If you use window light in this way, you will be better equipped to handle many lighting situations.  “Her Usual Celery Juice” captured by by Olga Filonova (Click image to see more from Filonova) Amy is a photographer who teaches photo enthusiasts how to get stunning images with the press of a shutter button using professional lighting and artistic techniques. About the Author: For Further Training on Portrait Lighting:There are three elements to a great portrait: light, subject and location. When it comes to shooting stunning portraits, lighting can be the X factor in making your pictures pop. This new eBook is designed to help you better harness the potential of light in your photos, communicate emotion more powerfully through every portrait, learn the techniques pros use to capture stunning portrait photography, and understand the right gear you'll need to light up your shots. Launch sale ending soon: Portraits – Lighting the Shot Go to full article: Window Light Portrait Photography Tips |
| Interesting Photo of the Day: A Boy and His Big Best Friend Posted: 20 Sep 2013 03:02 PM PDT A dog is a boy’s best friend. Especially when it’s bigger than you are:  A boy and his dog in “Followed,” captured by Elena Shumilova (Via Imgur) In this charming photo by Elena Shumilova, a very large dog follows a very small boy through a sunlit field. Captured during what photographers refer to as “the golden hour”—the first or last hour of sunlight during the day—this photo depicts the warm glow that lends such a special quality to photos taken during this time. Entitled “Followed,” this photo was taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a focal length of 135mm at f/2.2, a shutter speed of 1/500 of a second, and an ISO of 200. Go to full article: Interesting Photo of the Day: A Boy and His Big Best Friend |
| First Person View of the Wet Plate Collodion Photography Process (Video) Posted: 20 Sep 2013 01:42 PM PDT In 1851, Frederick Scott Archer introduced the wet plate collodion process of making negatives. The process became the most popular method for making photographs until the 1880s. It allowed photographers to print multiple copies of the same image onto paper using a durable glass negative, something that couldn’t be done with the daguerreotype or the calotype. Today, some photographers still use the technique, which produces highly detailed images. LeClair Photo shares this video showing a first person view of the wet plate process using a Graflex Crown Graphic 4×5 camera: Because collodion loses sensitivity and dries up after only about 10 minutes, photographers using the wet plate method must work quickly and efficiently. In the 1800s, photographers set up portable darkroom tents, where they could rush to develop their images before the glass dried. The photographer featured in the video had the advantage of studio lighting and a nearby darkroom. He used the following steps to make his portrait on black glass:
The wet plate collodion process is an interesting way to experiment with old photographic methods. The volatile chemicals and limited timeframe used for developing photos from decades past can give a new appreciation for our modern, flexible photographic processes. Go to full article: First Person View of the Wet Plate Collodion Photography Process (Video) |
| Abstract Light Painting Photography with a Light Sword (Video) Posted: 20 Sep 2013 10:32 AM PDT Light painting is such a great technique for anyone who wants to create unique results each and every time. With the use of small light sources such as lasers, flashlights, torches and more, one can literally do anything with a blank space. Patrick Rochon's light source of choice was a customized light sword piece that he wore on his hands. The video below is entitled "The Light Painting KATA" and shows Rochon moving about in a dark room lit only by the light swords:
Rochon believes that light painting is all about the movement, a mix of dancing and martial arts.
With the use of a dark room and a long exposure, different strokes are made with the light swords, creating images with varies effects. Seen here are the smooth lines of light painting combined with other textures caused by the waving of the sword.
With light painting, it’s great fun to discover the many, many possibilities one can chance upon just by performing random movements. Even if you move purposefully, chances are the final image will be slightly different from what you had originally envisioned. That element of mystery is what draws so many people to this craft, both amateur and professional. For Further Training on Light Painting:There is an extensive best-selling eBook on how to do many photography techniques that produce unusual, eye-catching results (including in-depth chapters on various light painting methods). The new version can be found here: Trick Photography and Special Effects Go to full article: Abstract Light Painting Photography with a Light Sword (Video) |
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