Spot of Light

Today's post is about spot metering verses matrix metering.  This is a little more technical than normal so if you black out during this I apologize.  If you have any questions leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.  Nikon calls it matrix metering and Canon calls it evaluative metering.  Matrix, or evaluative, metering evaluates the entire frame and determines an exposure for the picture.  It tries to find an average exposure of the bright and dark spots so it doesn't blow out the highlights or make the shadows black. 

Spot metering takes only, you guessed it, a spot of the picture and sets the exposure for that spot.  To use this mode change your camera to spot metering.  Select the focus point you want to use and aim it at what you want exposed correctly and the camera will evaluate the exposure for that section of the picture.  Generally speaking you are going to want to use matrix metering for most of the pictures you take.  However spot metering is is useful for tricky lighting situations.

I have been thinking about writing this post for a while now but needed some examples.  So, while I was in Disney over the holidays I ran across all kinds of tricky lighting situations and got some great examples.  The pictures themselves are b-sides at best but they are good examples of the different types of metering.  Spot metering will change your cameras shutter speed or aperture or both depending on what shooting mode you are in.  So, I have included the shutter speed and aperture of all the pictures so you can see the difference. 

In all of the examples below I have the matrix metering shot first and the spot metering shot second.  This first shot is pretty terrible but it is a good example.  As you know I love blue skies and this sky is far from blue so I switched to spot metering and exposed for the hotel.  Again, neither of these are great pictures but it shows the extremes at which it can change your picture.

f 5.0 1/100 Auto White Balance ISO 200

f 7.1 1/200 Auto White Balance ISO 200

This second set of pictures is a little better.  Here the neon lights were much brighter then the dark night sky.  So the Matrix metering blew the neon out just a little bit for my taste.  So I switched over to spot metering and exposed for the neon lights.  It lost some of the extra details in the picture  but there is enough neon on the building to outline its architecture.  This is very much a personal setting.  With digital you can try the picture in matrix metering and check the screen on your camera.  If you don't like it switch over to spot and try again.  Then choose the one you like the best!

f 2.5 1/25 Auto White Balance ISO 200

f 4.0 1/60 Auto White Balance ISO 200

In this example the Epcot ball was a little dark.  So I switched to spot and pointed at the middle of the ball to set the exposure. 

f 11.0 1/400 Auto White Balance ISO 200

f 8.0 1/250 Auto White Balance ISO 200

This is another picture that's not that great but shows the extremes between matrix and spot metering.  For the first shot the camera looked at the bright sun coming through the windows on the left and the dark globes on the right and tried to average exposure of both.  To me the picture is very dark.  So, for the second picture I switched to spot metering and exposed for the globes on the right side.

f 5.6 1/125 Auto White Balance ISO 200

f 4.5 1/80 Auto White Balance ISO 200

Finally, the building below was very bright from the direct sunlight behind me.  The first shot is again in Matrix metering which in this case did an excellent job of exposing the shot.  Just for fun I switched to spot and metered for the building and it made the over all exposure very dark. I put this one in here to show that there is no one setting that works for every picture.  As I have said before, with digital you should take as many pictures as you want.  Go ahead and change settings and push buttons to see what happens when you take another picture.  You can see what changed instantly on the back of the camera!  Again, photography is an expression of what you see and like, so take pictures of things you like at the settings that make them look the way you like.  Have fun with these settings and try them next time you are out taking pictures.

f 11.0 1/500 Auto White Balance ISO 200

f 14.0 1/800 Auto White Balance ISO 200

Framed To Hang

Framing a shot is a crucial part of composing a shot.  Framing and composition determine what is in your picture and what is left out.  You need to be aware of what is around your subject so you can leave out distracting elements like tree branches or poles.  You want the objects in your picture to lead the eye to your subject.  Not away from it.

For instance when you take a portrait of a person you want the background to be dull, soft, and out of focus.  You don't want the person looking at the picture to be wondering what is that shinny thing or what is that dog doing in the background.  You want to keep your backgrounds as clean as possible. 

Composition is done by moving the camera around to different points of view to balance objects with in the frame.  This can only be done before the picture is taken.  You can still frame your picture in photoshop later by cropping. But, in order to properly compose your picture you will have to move your camera in relation to the objects you are photographing. 

Here is an example of how moving the camera slightly can make a huge difference.  I wanted to get a picture of this gas station and its sign in Disney.  In the first picture, I got the entire sign and only a small part of the building in the frame.  You can read the sign clearly and the roof lines lead the eye to it.  It's also the brightest part of the picture so naturally that's what the eye is drawn too.

However I don't like how I cut off the words at the bottom.  It makes me wonder what they say and why they are cut off.  And, I don't like that I cut off the point the roof makes when it comes together.  That is just a personal thing.

This second image is of the same spot just framed a little bit different.  I cut some of the sign off at the top to show more of the building.  To me this makes a more interesting picture that is balanced as well. Again, the sign is the brightest part of the picture on the right side of the frame but is balanced by the blue sky on the left side of the frame.  They are divided almost equally by the top of the building.  To me the second picture has a better feel to it. 

Here is another example that changes the composition and framing to create a more engaging photo.  This first photo stinks!  The position of the boat in this picture is terrible.  It leads the eyes to the right side of the picture and off the page.  So instead of looking at the pond and thinking oh that's nice or something like that, it makes you wonder what is to the right of the boat that you can't see.

For the second shot I took a few steps to the right and a couple forward to recompose the shot.  Now the boat is in the lower left corner and the lines of the boat push your eyes towards the water.  And, you can even see where the grass is separated for access.  It almost feels like you are there ready to slide the boat into the still water. 

Also I didn't try to get the entire boat into the picture.  Sometimes it is ok to leave parts of things out of the frame.  It goes back to the idea of "part of the whole."  If we see part of an object our minds can imagine what the rest of it looks like.  Especially with common shapes like the circular sign of the gas station.  You can see part of the sign and your brain fills in the bit missing at the top.  The same way your brain knows that there is a front that belongs to the back of this boat.

Panning

Most of the time when you are taking pictures of moving objects your goal is to freeze the action to make a crisp sharp picture. Although, sometimes when you freeze a subject that we are used to seeing move it makes the picture have an odd feeling.  If you take a picture of a child on a carousel and freeze them when the horse gets to its highest point, then it looks like they were just sitting there when it was still.  Here is a tip to give the picture some movement and life.  Slow your shutter speed down, and pan with the movement.

For this to work, you have to focus on your subject and move with them at the same speed while the shutter is open.  Say your subject is moving from left to right.  Press your shutter button down half way to focus and start panning to the right with your subject.  Now press your shutter button down to take the picture while still following your subject.  You will not be able to see them through the view finder while the shutter is open so that's why it is important to start panning with them before you take the picture to get your speed right.  Another helpful tip is to keep panning with your subject after the shutter closes.  It's like a follow through when swinging a golf club or baseball bat.  You want to pan before, during, and after the exposure just like you want to swing through the ball.

Once you get this technique down you can apply it to all sorts of picture opportunities.  One last thing to keep in mind when doing this is framing your subject so that they have somewhere to go in the picture.  Again, if the subject is moving from left to right, frame them to the left side of the picture so there is more space on the right side.  This will help the effect by showing they are moving to the right side of the picture.

Pushing White's Balance

As everyone that has been reading the blog probably knows, I love taking pictures that include the sky.  Especially if I can incorporate the sky into a picture where  it's not the main subject.  Plus, the bluer, the better!  My favorite times to get pictures of the sky are late afternoon when its blue and preferably with some white puffy clouds.  But this is easy.  I just go outside with my circular polarizer and turn it until the sky is nice and blue. 

This technique does make great pictures but there is an even better time to make the sky even bluer, right after the sun has completely gone down.  You are also going to have street lights and store signs on to make the picture even more interesting.  There is a time known as twilight, that happens right as the sun sets and this is when the sky will light up with different colors and you get great soft and warm lighting for landscape pictures.  This is the best time to take a landscape picture that involves other lights, because you can get the sun light to match the output of the electric lights.  However I'm talking about the few precious minutes after that.  Where the sun is completely gone and the sky looks almost black.  There is still some great blue sky in there, you just have to know how to capture it. 

Here are a couple of examples of different white balance settings to change how the camera exposes the scene.  In the first picture I used a Kelvin setting of 10000.  This made the picture very warm and yellow.

This second picture was taken literally seconds after the first with a Kelvin setting of 2500.  It renders the picture extremely cool and blue.  

Both the first and second shots were taken at the extremes of the Kelvin scale just to show that you can set your white balance to change what the camera sees.  Remember, the camera is an instrument of creation similar to a paint brush or pile of clay.   However most people use them as copy machines to take mediocre snapshots of things they see.  They leave their camera in auto and just accept whatever it gives them.  Digital pictures are free take a million!  Push buttons and change settings to make your camera push its limits.  By just changing the white balance you can dramatically affect the outcome of a picture, as seen above. 

This third picture is what we are looking for.  Its set a Kelvin temperature in between the first two closer to the cooler side in order to keep the sky and water a deep blue.  Its somewhere in the neighborhood of 3030.  The sun is completely set and gone but the sky is still nice a blue.  By setting the cooler white balance the camera exaggerates the sky and water making them even more vivid.

This is another example of auto white balance versus a manual white balance.  The first picture is set to auto white balance.  Now its not a terrible picture but it could be better.  It just doesn't grab your attention.  If it doesn't grab yours its not going to grab anyone else's and they will skip right past it.  

Here all I did was change to a custom Kelvin white balance.  I took this picture at 3330.  Even at night the sky is still blue, we just have to tell the camera to pick it up.  Here we have a great blue sky with a complementary yellow street lamp.  To me this picture is much more interesting and makes me want to look at it.  The first picture is just dull and boring.  The second one is vivid and has life. 

Here are a few more examples of capturing the blue sky right after sunset.  Again, the camera is an instrument of expression.  Use it to show feeling and tell a story.  Don't just accept the manufacturers settings of what they think will look best for all pictures.  This is almost never right.  When lighting changes the camera needs to change.  Next time you are out shooting try changing your white balance to see the difference for yourself.  

 

Stop to Snap the Roses

I'm sure that almost everyone who has a camera has at one time or another taken a picture of a flower.  I have never met anyone who hates flowers and most people tend to think flowers are great subjects for photographs.  That's because they are!  I love flowers and I love nature and I love taking pictures of both.  The problem is making the flowers look interesting in the pictures.

Most folks tend to find a flower they like, step up to it, bend over at the waist, hover over said flower and snap the picture strait from the top.  Now I'm not saying this is wrong, it will produce nice pictures of the flower.  That's the great thing about photography.  You can take the any picture the way you want to, how it strikes you.  You have control over how to tell the story of your subject.  So if that's the way the flowers look the nicest or prettiest to you then by all means do it.
 

If you look at most of my pictures you will see that I love it when the sky is deep blue.  I love it even more when the sky is deep blue with some white clouds.  However that means that rain is probably coming later in the day.  So, I love incorporating the sky into as many pictures as I can.  With flowers, I love to change the perspective of the pictures I'm taking.  I will admit I am super lazy when it comes to changing perspective and height of my pictures most of the time.  But, sometimes you have to get down and dirty to take interesting pictures.  With this picture, getting below the flowers and looking up at them, allowed me to get the sky in the picture and gave me the interesting perspective I was hoping for. 

These next few shots are from the side of the flower to give the flower depth.  When shooting from strait on top of the flower, the image will come out flat.  Shooting from the side shows the layers of the flower.  Used with this technique, a long lens can give you a nice colorful and soft background, instead of a background full dirt and dead leaves. 

I know these aren't flowers but the same rules apply to all kinds of plant life.  And it has a pretty sweet sky!

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This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it... Reflect

There has been a lot of positive feedback about the bridal portraits I took a few weeks ago so I would like to share one of the tools that made them happen.  Lighting is one of the most important things to consider when taking a picture.  You could take pictures of a supermodel in crummy lighting and even they would look crummy.  Photographers that take pictures for magazine covers and Hollywood movies may spend hours setting up lights and backgrounds to get the perfect picture.  But I don't want to have my subject wait while I spend time setting up lights.  We need to be flexible and move from location to location in a hurry.

One of the most useful tools to instantly make more interesting pictures by controlling light is a simple reflector.  Reflectors are light, small, ultra portable, inexpensive, and dramatically affects your images.  I personally use the Flashpoint 5 in 1 reflectors from Adorama.  They come in all sizes and offer you multiple colors to reflect light with.  They are even on sale right now!  Flashpoint is Adorama's brand so they are less expensive but this does not mean they are of cheap quality.  I own two of these in different sizes and love them.

Here are some quick pictures I took last weekend with the help of two great models, our friend Lindsay and my wife Suzanne.  The setup is simple, you just use natural sun light to bounce light back onto your subject.  Here, Suzanne is holding the reflector to the left of Lindsay's face because the sun is to the right side of the picture.

 

Here is what you get.  We used the gold reflector to bounce warm light on Lindsay that matches the sun's light.  The sun acts as a hair light while the reflector removes all of the unwanted harsh shadows on the left side.   

If you have an assistant it's quick and easy to adjust the reflector to get the perfect light.  If not you can purchase a light stand and optional reflector arm to hold it for you.

 

Here are some other shots from the morning.

Adorama Camera

I just wanted to take a second to mention one of my favorite stores of all time!  Its Adorama Camera in New York, NY.  I have ordered countless items over the years from them and they are, to the best of my knowledge, the greatest camera store on the planet.  Everything I have ordered from there has been shipped so quickly and a lot of times for free.  I ordered a few things on Wednesday, checked the UPS status today and it said they were out for delivery.  Meaning, that around five this afternoon, that's usually when UPS makes it to our neighborhood, I will have on my front porch the three items I ordered only two days ago and the shipping was FREE!

Good service is huge to me to Adorama has made me a customer for life!  Oh, this is also where I order all of my prints.  The online service is great as well and if you have trouble you can chat with a live person.  They have extremely high quality printers and photo paper to choose from.  Generally speaking they have some of the lowest prices on prints and even camera equipment.  And if you choose, you can sign up for the e-mail list as I have and they will e-mail you with coupons and specials weekly.  For instance right now in my inbox is an e-mail telling me that 16X20 prints on any paper are only $4.99!  That's cheaper than anywhere else on the planet!

On a recent trip to New York, I was able to stop by the actual store located between 5th and 6th avenue for the first time.  It was as awesome in person as I had imagined and they were even in the middle of some construction.  If you are ever in new York and even remotely interested in photography then you should stop by.

Here is a link to there page:  http://www.adorama.com/

UPDATE:
It's like clock work.  We went to dinner right before 5PM and when we got home my shipment was waiting for me hidden behind the porch furniture.  I put them at the door to take the picture.  Thanks UPS for trying to hide them so they wouldn't get stolen!  Adorama is awesome!

Here is a picture inside of Trump Towers that confuses my mind and makes me think of the drawing of steps that screws with perspective that I don't know the name of.