Select Focus

I wanted to share with you a couple of Youtube videos I've found.  These 2 videos address Select Focus.  Select Focus gives you the ability to determine the exact location of focus.  When you are working with a lens with a lower aperture this is essential.  Otherwise you run the risk of catching a shoulder in focus and a face out of focus.  Or a hair bow in focus and a face out of focus etc.  

Enjoy....

No More Blurry Images

The most common reason for blurry images is a slow shutter speed.  If you shoot in automatic mode or aperture priority then your camera will often select a shutter speed that is too slow, hence a blurry image.

Shutter speed is the speed that the shutter opens, lets in the image and then closes.  Shutter speed manages two elements of your photo: the amount of light in your image and the amount of motion captured in your image. 

When the shutter speed is on a lower/slower setting the shutter is open a longer amount of time letting in more light.  The slower the shutter speed the longer the shutter is open and the more light that is let in to create your image.  When the shutter speed is on a higher/faster setting the shutter is open less time letting in less light.  The faster the shutter speed the less time the shutter is open and the darker your image.  

When the shutter speed is on a lower/slower setting the shutter is open a longer amount of time capturing all the motion found in your scene.  The slower the shutter speed the longer the shutter is open and the more motion that is captured in your image.  The lower/slower the shutter the blurrier the image.  When the shutter speed is on a higher/faster setting the shutter is open less time capturing a smaller amount of "time" in our scene, stopping any motion that is happening.  The faster the shutter speed the less time the shutter is open and the less motion is captures.  The higher/faster the shutter the sharper your image. 

   I never shoot a portrait of a person less than a 250 shutter speed.  However, as you can see from the example above 250 is fast and doesn't allow a ton of light.  An image shot inside at 250 shutter speed tends to be a bit dark.  So what do you do???

After pulling up my blinds, turning on all my lights and moving my baby towards the open door,  I set my camera to 800 ISO, 250 Shutter Speed and 2.8 F-Stop and this is my final image....

Learn more in my photography workshops:

-Shooting in Manual Mode

-Perfect Lighting Every Time

-My Favorite Poses

-The Magic of Photoshop

  

Photo By Emilie Workshops:

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My next Salt Lake Workshop will be Saturday, March 3rd

My online workshop prices will increase by $50 on February 15th.  

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Perfect Christmas Tree Photos

Capturing gorgeous photos of your Christmas tree is all about selecting the correct shutter speed.

Shutter speed is the speed that the shutter opens, lets in the image and then closes.  Shutter speed manages two elements of your photo: the amount of light in your image and the amount of motion captured in your image.

 

When the shutter speed is on a lower/slower setting the shutter is open a longer amount of time letting in more light.  The slower the shutter speed the longer the shutter is open and the more light that is let in to create your image.  When the shutter speed is on a higher/faster setting the shutter is open less time letting in less light.  The faster the shutter speed the less time the shutter is open and the darker your image.   When capturing your Christmas tree you want to let in lots & lots of light so you would select a lower/slower shutter speed.

When the shutter speed is on a lower/slower setting the shutter is open a longer amount of time capturing all the movement found in your scene.  The slower the shutter speed the longer the shutter is open and the more movement that is captured in your image.  When the shutter speed is on a higher/faster setting the shutter is open less time capturing a smaller amount of "time" in our scene, stopping any movement that is happening.  The faster the shutter speed the less time the shutter is open and the less motion is captures.  The higher/faster the shutter the sharper your image.  When capturing your Christmas tree you want to capture the "movement" of the lights so you would select a lower/slower shutter speed.

Notice 2 things in the following images.  Notice as the shutter speed increases the images becomes darker, also notice that the bulbs get smaller. 

What do you do when you get images that look like this?...

 

Solution...

End Result...

  Be sure to put my workshops on your Christmas list!

 Just a few of the things you'll learn:

-Shooting in Manual Mode

-Perfect Lighting Every time

-My Favorite Poses

-The Magic of Photoshop

  

Photo By Emilie Workshops:

ONLINE WORKSHOPS

SALT LAKE WORKSHOPS

 

I couldn't resist adding this next one.  When I asked my baby niece to reach up to the top of the tree she lost her balance and in slow motion starting timbering into the Christmas Tree.  My Sister In Law is one quick lady and caught her before she knocked the whole tree over.  Of course I captured the whole thing on camera.  Enjoy....

Photography Tip - Magic of Aperture

If you can master aperture you gain real creative control over your camera. In my opinion – aperture is where a lot of the magic happens in photography and as we’ll see below, changes in it can mean the difference between one dimensional and multi dimensional shots.

Aperture is the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken.  Aperture is a function of the lens.  Lenses contain a diaphragm, a thin light-blocking plate or interlocking set of adjustable plates. The diaphragm contains a small hole, called the aperture. This hole is adjustable in size and allows the photographer to determine and control the amount of light entering the camera.  Below is an image of a 50mm lens with the diaphragm or aperture wide open and the aperture closed tight. 

One thing that causes a lot of new photographers confusion is that large apertures  (lots of light gets through) have smaller f-stop numbers. Smaller apertures (less light gets through) have larger f-stop numbers.  So f/2.8 is in fact a much larger aperture than f/22.  It seems the wrong way around when you first hear it but you’ll get the hang of it.  Here's a diagram to help...

Lower f-stops (wider aperture) give a shallow depth of field (DOF). This allows you to isolate the subject from the background. Shallow focus typically is used to emphasize one part of the image over the other.  

Here are some examples...

Shot at 2.8f

Shot at 2.8f

Shot at 2.8f

Shot at 1.8f

 

Shot at 2.8f

Shot at 2.8f

Shot at 2.8f

Shot at 2.8f

 

Shot at 2.8f

Higher f-stops (narrow aperture) gives a deep DOF. In deep focus the foreground, middle-ground, and background are all in focus. Deep focus requires more light to achieve than shallow focus because the aperture is narrower letting in a smaller amount of light. 

Here are some examples...

 

Shot at 9f

Shot at 5.6f

Shot at 4.3f

Shot at 8f

Shot at 10f

Shot at 8f

Shot at 4.3f

Shot at 6f

I hope you enjoyed my tip. 

This is just one of the tricks you'll learn during my Photo By You Workshop.

My next Workshop will be held Saturday, May 21st.

Cost $225

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Discount offered until Friday, May 13th.

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