[Photography] Long Exposure Photography 101 – How to Create the Shot

It’s easy to get caught up in the fast nature of photography, technology, instant results, presets, etc. But what happens when you slow your photography right down?

This tutorial will introduce you to the 101s of daytime long exposure photography and share the exact steps you can follow to create your very own long exposure photographs.

Long exposure seascape.

What is long exposure photography?

long exposure photography can be defined in two ways. A traditional description would class it as taking photographs with the intent to deliberately capture the effect of time and display moving objects in a different way to how our eyes are used to seeing them.

But for those of a more literal-mindset, long exposure photography is a brilliant way of photographing atmospheric landscapes, whilst being able to enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit – all at the same time.

Now, if that sounds like your type of photography, I encourage you to settle in and read on.

Slow down

The very nature of long exposure photography is pretty slow paced. It forces you to take your time, which is excellent practice for your framing and compositional skills. And because you literally can’t rush the shot, it makes you think about the light, your subject, and your compositional techniques before you invest several minutes of your time capturing the image.

It’s worth noting that there is no specific shutter speed that defines the crossover from “typical photography” to long exposure photography. It’s not the duration of your shutter speed that defines your image as a long exposure photograph. Instead, it’s your intention to capture moving objects using longer exposure times than necessary that makes it a long exposure photograph.

Generally speaking, long exposure photographs will use shutter speeds that can be measured in seconds or minutes instead of fractions of seconds.

Embrace the blur – add a sense of motion

“So, why should I take a photo using a slow shutter speed? Won’t that make it blurry?”

Yes, precisely. Using a long exposure technique is typically reserved for times when you want to selectively blur objects in your images. Common examples would be to capture flowing water, like the ocean or a waterfall. It’s also used to capture the movement of clouds or stars in the night sky.

Long exposures are great for capturing motion and stillness in a single frame.

A long exposure photograph reveals the passing of time and conveys motion in a way that your eyes are simply unable to see at the time. Long exposures turn clouds into whispers, water into silky-looking glass, and people into otherworldly ghost-like beings.

Long exposure photography allows you to capture stillness and a sense of motion in a single frame. The contrast between these elements creates a sense of mystery and adds a surreal atmosphere to your images. It’s precisely this playful mix of the fluid and the still that makes long exposure photography beautiful, strong, and mildly addictive – or maybe that’s just the cup of tea.

Anyway, here’s what you need to know to take a long exposure photograph.

Blocking out light with Neutral Density (ND) Filters

To capture those ethereal tones and silky motions in your images, you need to use a slow shutter speed. The trouble with using a slow shutter speed during the day is that it lets in a lot of light. So much light in fact, that it will inevitably overexpose your image.

To counter this, you will need to use a Neutral Density (ND) filter to make long exposure photographs during the day.

ND filters essentially sit in front of your lens and block out the light. Think of them as a fashionable set of sunglasses for your lens. And because the ND filters reduce the amount of light that hits your camera sensor, you can use shutter speeds up to several minutes long without overexposing your images – even in bright conditions.

Rectangular ND Filters – otherwise known as “rectangular dark glass to block out the light”.

Using an ND Filter

The exact length of your exposure will depend on the lighting conditions and the strength of the ND filter you use. ND filters are typically measured by the stops of light they are able to block out and are usually available in increments of 3, 6, 10, or 16-stops.

Nisi, Lee Filters, and Formatt-Hitech are among the popular brands of ND filters, although there are many others available for a variety of budgets. ND filters come in either a circular format (these screw onto the front your lens) or a rectangular format, which requires the use of an additional filter holder to mount them to your lens.

As a general rule, the more light your ND filter is able to block out, the longer your exposure will need to be to achieve a balanced exposure. And the longer your exposure, the more dramatic the effect will be in your final image.

Rectangular ND Filters attached to camera lens using a filter holder.

Don’t Move

You may be aware that when you use slow shutter speeds, the smallest bit of camera movement can throw your image out of focus and cause it to look a little blurry. This is especially true in long exposure photography.

Given that your camera will be taking several seconds or several minutes (if you’re using a 10 or 16 stop ND filter) to complete a single shot, it’s crucial to ensure it doesn’t move a millimeter during the exposure.

It would be nearly impossible to achieve this by hand. Therefore, it’s a good idea to get your hands on a sturdy tripod. This not only ensures your camera will remain still throughout the entire exposure but more importantly, it frees up your hands, so you can have a sip of your tea whilst your camera is hard at work.

In addition to your ND filters and tripod, here’s a checklist of essential equipment you’ll need for long exposure photography.

Essential Long Exposure Photography Equipment Checklist

Essential long exposure photography gear – particularly #10.

1. Your ND filters.
2. A sturdy tripod.
3. Camera with bulb mode function – bulb mode allows you to take exposures longer than the camera’s default 30 seconds.
4. Fully charged batteries – try to avoid the heart-breaking moment when your battery cuts out in the middle of an exposure.
5. Lens – wide-angle lenses work very well with landscapes, seascapes, and architecture photography. If you’re just getting started, any lens that is compatible with your ND filters will work just fine.
6. A shutter release cable with a locking functionality. Using a shutter release cable (remote trigger) allows you to lock the shutter open without having to touch the camera body. This reduces camera movement during your exposure.
7. A viewfinder cover – during long exposures, light has a habit of finding its way into your camera through your viewfinder and ruining your images. You can prevent this from happening by using a viewfinder cover, some sticky-tac or even duct-tape.
8. A dark cloth or hat – perhaps the most peculiar item on this list, however, it’s arguably one of the most important. Believe it or not, light doesn’t just find its way into your camera via the viewfinder. It also leaks in via the lens/body connection and also from the connection points on the side of your camera. Placing a dark cloth or hat over your camera works well to prevent light leaks.
9. Smartphone – this will serve two purposes. First, it will help you to calculate your long exposure times via a handy long exposure calculator app that I’ll introduce you to shortly. Its second function will be to keep track of your exposure time using a simple timer.
10. A flask of tea and a selection of biscuits – and you thought I was joking! By far my favorite item on the list. long exposure photography will typically have you sitting in a beautiful spot for several minutes, taking your time and soaking up your surroundings. It’s good for the soul and a creates the perfect opportunity to enjoy a well-deserved treat, particularly on cold mornings!
11. Chargers, USB cables, and lens wipes. Ideal if you need to recharge your gear or remove your fingerprints from your ND filters when you’re out and about.

Every item on this list plays an important role in capturing a long exposure photograph. Now here’s precisely how you can capture one.

Step 1: Prepare at Home

Unlike a typical day of photography, long exposures don’t afford you the luxury of being able to rattle off 1,200 images in a few hours. Instead, you’re likely to return home with only a handful of good photographs after a day of long exposure photography.

So, before you grab your gear and set off in search of ethereal landscapes and mind-bending architecture, it’s well worth investing your time. Research the location and environment so you can make the most of your time in the field.

Weather Conditions

If you’re planning on shooting a landscape, cityscape, or architecture, take a look at your local weather forecast to see what the cloud cover will be like. Anything over 40% cloud cover should give you ideal conditions to capture a silky sky.

The low clouds help to create a surreal atmosphere.

Creating a long exposure seascape, on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily need a lot of cloud coverage (although, cloudy conditions over water often produce great results). It’s worth researching the water conditions because – like the clouds – the greater the movement of the water, the greater the effect of your long exposure photographs.

Cloudy and stormy conditions create dramatic long exposure photographs.

Location Scouting

Use Google Maps and street view to go for a “virtual walk” around your location. Doing so helps you to familiarize yourself with the area and scout out potential compositions for your images. Essentially, you should know precisely where you are going, how you will get there, where you will park, how much daylight you will have and in which direction you need to walk to ensure you take full advantage of your time and the conditions.

Using Google Maps and Street View can help you with composition ideas before leaving your house.

Prepare Your Equipment

There is nothing more heart-breaking than spending the time to scout out the perfect location and setting up your camera only to realize that you have left your ND filters at home or your camera battery is at 27%. Be sure to charge up all of your batteries (including your smartphone) and pack your camera bag using the equipment checklist above.

Shoot RAW

Set your camera to shoot in RAW format. Long exposures tend to have a blue or magenta color cast caused by the ND filters. Shooting in RAW allows you to easily correct the white balance in post-processing.

Ensure that your camera is set to record your images as RAW files.

Install Long Exposure Calculator Smartphone App

Spending your time trying to calculate what your exposure length should be with a 16-stop ND filter might not sound like much fun to you. Long exposure photography is all about taking time out to soak up your environment and enjoying the views – not solving algorithms.

Installing a “Long Exposure Calculator” app on your smartphone will save you time and make calculating your shutter speed much easier when you’re out in the field. Here are a couple of popular suggestions for IOS and Android users.

• Exposure Calculator – Android
• Long Exposure Calculator – IOS

It’s a good idea to install the app on your smartphone at home before heading out – just in case you later find yourself in an area with no mobile coverage to download the app.

Step 2: Work the Scene

By the time you’ve prepared your gear, researched the area, and arrived at your location, you’d be forgiven for wanting to unpack and get shooting straight away. Instead, you’ll find that holding off for just a few minutes and allowing yourself to explore the scene often produces more favorable results.

Pick up your camera (without the tripod) and work the shot. Take note of the weather, light, and direction of the water, clouds, lights, or traffic. What are the characteristics of the scene? How does the mood feel? What angle best captures all of this? What are you going to include in your frame?

Step 3: Compose the Shot

Once you have decided on the perfect angle, it’s time to set up your tripod and mount your camera (without the ND filter) to compose and frame the shot. Ensure your tripod is locked in place and your camera is tightly secured. Now is also a good time to attach your remote shutter release cable to your camera.

Secure your camera to your tripod and attach the shutter release cable.

Step 4: Aperture, ISO, and Focus

Switch your camera into Aperture Priority mode and set your aperture to somewhere between f/7.1 and f/11. As a rule of thumb, this range will fall close to your lens’s sweet spot and provide you with a deep depth of field to ensure your image is sharp throughout.

As I’ve mentioned, noise and camera shake can be problematic in long exposure photography. Therefore, adjust your ISO to 100 to minimize the amount of noise and turn off Image Stabilization on your lens to reduce the amount of internal camera shake.

Aperture Priority mode, ISO 100, f/8.0

Focus your lens, ensuring your subject is sharp from back to front. When you are happy with your focus point, switch your lens over to manual focus. This essentially safeguards your focus point and prevents accidental re-focusing when you trigger the shutter.

Switch your lens over to manual focus when you’re happy with your focus point.

Step 5: Test Shot

Use your viewfinder cover (duct-tape or sticky-tac will work) to cover up your viewfinder. This will prevent light from leaking into your camera and ensure that your camera gives you an accurate metering.

Use a Viewfinder cover, duct-tape, sticky-tac or even some cardboard block out light leaks.

With your viewfinder covered and your camera still in Aperture Priority mode, take a test shot to obtain the base shutter speed. It’s the shutter speed from this test shot that will form the basis of your long exposure calculations.

It’s a good idea to review the test shot to ensure the exposure looks good and everything is perfectly in focus. When you’re happy with your test shot, check the metadata and make a mental note of the shutter speed.

Aperture Priority test shot – In this case, the camera’s light metering used a shutter speed of 1/60th. This shutter speed will form the basis of the long exposure calculations.

Step 6: Bulb Mode

Switch your camera mode from Aperture Priority to Bulb Mode and set your ISO and aperture to mirror the exact same settings as your test shot.

Bulb Mode – Set the ISO and aperture to match your test shot.

Bulb Mode allows you to keep your shutter open as long as you hold down your camera’s shutter button. However, standing next to your camera and keeping the shutter button held down with your finger isn’t ideal. Not only would this cause lots of camera shake, it would also make it nearly impossible to enjoy a cup of tea on the job (it’s clear where my priorities lie).

This is precisely why you’ll need a shutter release cable with a locking function. The lock plays the role of your finger and keeps the shutter button held down until you decide to release the lock, thus minimizing the possibility of camera shake.

Step 7: Calculate Your Long Exposure

Enter the shutter speed from your test shot into the long exposure calculator app you installed on your smartphone in step 1.

Enter the shutter speed from your test shot into your Long Exposure Calculator mobile phone app.

You will then need to set the filter density to match your ND filter. For example, if you’re planning to use a 16-stop filter, you would enter 16-stops into the app.

The app will then calculate the length of your long exposure. It’s worth noting here that this time is approximate. It doesn’t account for a change in weather conditions during the exposure or the quality of your ND filters. I use Lee Filters and from experience, I find adding approximately 25% to the app’s suggested exposure time works well.

Step 8: Set a Timer

Load your long exposure time into your smartphone’s timer. You will trigger this at the same time you commence the long exposure to keep track of timing.

With a 16-stop ND filter and a base shutter speed of 1/60th, The Long Exposure Calculator suggested that I will need an exposure time of 18 minutes. I added approximately 25% to allow for the changing light conditions and created a timer on my phone.

Step 9: ND Filters

Mount your ND filters to your camera. Be careful not to adjust the focus or zoom rings of your lens in the process. It’s a good idea to double check your lens is still set to manual focus.

Mount your ND filters to the camera.

Step 10: Mirror Lock-up

If you’re using a DSLR, enable Live View or the mirror lock-up function. These features lock your camera’s mirror in the up position, which reduces internal camera vibrations when you trigger the shutter.

Live View or the mirror lockup function will prevent camera vibration when you trigger the shutter.

Step 11: Cover the Camera

Carefully cover your camera with a dark cloth or a hat, being careful not to adjust the zoom or focus rings on your lens. This will help to prevent light from leaking into your camera during the exposure.

Perhaps the most crucial step – use a dark cloth, hat, or an old pair of trousers to wrap around your camera to prevent light leaks.

Step 12: Trigger the Shutter

Now it’s time to create your ethereal masterpiece. The aim here is to simultaneously trigger your smartphone’s timer with one hand (this will keep track of your exposure time) and with your other hand, lock the shutter release cable to hold open your camera’s shutter. If you’re like me, and the mere thought of doing two things at once confuses you, you can simply trigger them one at a time.

All that’s left for you to do at this point is make yourself comfortable and enjoy that cup of tea! Finally! And because you set a countdown timer on your smartphone, its delightful little chime will alert you when it’s time to get up to release the lock on your shutter release cable. Thereby closing the shutter and completing your long exposure photograph.

The Result

So, what do you get after spending a leisurely afternoon in front of a beautiful scene sipping from your thermos and nibbling on a cookie? Well, it’s likely you’ll return home with an image that looks something like this.

23-minute long exposure – processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Recap

The very nature of creating long exposure photographs is to slow down. It encourages you to step away from the rapid-fire approach and have fun creating something that you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to see. That’s what long exposure photography is all about.

By now, I’m hoping this article has you reaching for your ND filters and checking the weather forecast – I’m sure you’ll love giving it a try. In case you need a short reminder whilst you’re out in the field, here’s a snapshot of everything we’ve covered.

1. Research your location, charge your gear and install the long exposure calculator app on your smartphone.
2. Work the scene to find the best angle.
3. Set up your tripod and compose your shot without the ND filters.
4. Switch your camera to Aperture Priority mode. Set your aperture between f/7.1 – f/11.0 and your ISO to 100. Focus in on your subject and set your lens to manual focus.
5. Cover your viewfinder and take a test shot.
6. Switch your camera into Bulb Mode and set your aperture and ISO to match your test shot.
7. Use the long exposure calculator app to calculate your exposure time.
8. Set a timer on your smartphone.
9. Mount your ND filters.
10. Enable live view or your camera’s mirror lock-up feature.
11. Cover the camera with a dark cloth or hat.
12. Lock open the camera shutter and trigger your smartphone timer.

If you have any questions, please ask. And it would be great to see your long exposure photographs, so please share them in the comments below.

The post Long Exposure Photography 101 – How to Create the Shot by William Palfrey appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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[Photography] How to Create Colorful Artistic Images Using Oil and Water

Colors are the smiles of nature. We see colors all around us and it makes us feel happy and alive. Just imagine a life without color, where everything is simply in black, white and in between, how dull and boring it would be. Luckily, our beautiful world is full of colors.

In this article, you’ll learn how to create some colorful images using just water and oil to make your world even more beautiful.

I am sure you have seen oil and water images on the internet before and may have even tried to photograph it. But this is your lucky day, as you are going to learn a very easy technique where you don’t need any flashes or artificial lights and your pictures will come out beautiful and vivid.

Are you ready for this? Okay, let’s move on.

What you need

Like any other kind of photography, first, you need a camera. You can use any DSLR or compact camera or even your mobile phone. There is no restriction on lens choice as well.

Second, you need a glass dish. Just look in your kitchen and you will find one. If it’s square, that will work great otherwise, a round dish will work too.

I took some photos using a glass bowl but found a little problem. Bowls usually have a smaller bottom compared to the top and this shape affects the picture. Also, bowls may not be 100% transparent, so I went to a local aquarium shop and had them make an 8×12 inch glass tray with one-inch depth. You can also get the same for yourself.

Background

Next, you need background images and there is a super simple trick. Go to Google and search for “colorful wallpaper” images. You’ll find lots of wallpapers that you can download and use. Download whichever ones you like, just make sure they have lots of colors and patterns.

Now send these photos to your iPad or tablet (or Google directly on the iPad and save). You will use these pictures as a background instead of a printed one, so you don’t need any lights and the colors will be very bright. If you don’t have a tablet, you may lay your computer monitor or laptop down and use it.

NOTE: If you do this, please do so at your own risk and take all safety precautions.

Other than this, you’ll need water, vegetable oil, dish soap, a plastic sheet to cover your tablet and two boxes about six inches high.

Setup and camera settings

Okay, place the two boxes about 8 inches apart so you can place your tablet between them. Now put your glass tray on top of the boxes. If you are using a glass bowl and it’s small in size, put two metal rulers on the boxes and place the bowl on them.

Now pour some water in the tray and add 4-5 tablespoon vegetable oil to it. When it’s ready, set up your camera. You may fix it on a tripod or you can shoot handheld, but it’s always better to use a tripod and get your hands free to do other tasks.

Set the ISO to 200, aperture to f/5.6, and your shutter speed will be around 1/25th (depending on the brightness of your screen). If you have a wide aperture lens like a 50mm f/1.8, it’s better to use that (you don’t need a lot of depth of field for this type of shot).

Since the water and oil bubbles are on the same focal plane, even if you use an aperture of f/1.8, the entire picture will be in focus. The background will be more blurred which is actually a good thing. So, just go with the widest aperture your lens allows and change the other settings on the camera accordingly.

Now place your tablet below the glass tray. It should be around six inches below the tray. Make sure you wrap it in plastic so if you accidentally drop some water or oil on it, it will be safe.

Workflow

Now relax because the hardest part is already done and all you have to do now is change the image on the tablet and take some pictures. When you shoot one image, use a spoon to stir the water gently, let it settle down and take another shot. After four or five shots, change the image on the tablet and repeat the process.

You’ll find that oil drops are very big in size. Don’t worry about it and take some shots. When it’s complete, put a few drops of dish soap or any other liquid soap into the water, mix it well and voila, the oil drops have now become smaller. Don’t try to understand the science behind this, just change pictures on the tablet and shoot three or four pictures, change the photo again, and repeat the process.

Large oil droplets.

Smaller droplets created by adding soap.

Even smaller yet.

Post-processing and finishing up

There is no need for heavy post-processing, just levels, sharpening, and cropping is enough.

Okay, call your friends and tell them that you’ll be busy next Sunday because you’re creating some extraordinary beautiful images. Just do it, share with them and don’t forget to share in the comments below too.

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[Photography] Announcing the Three Tamron Contest Winners

The Winners of the Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD Ultra-Telephoto Zoom, Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD, and Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD lenses are…

A HUGE thank you to everyone who entered the recent contest from our friends at Tamron. Again, this was not actually a photography competition, but so many of you shared your beautiful photographs, we encourage you all to go back and scroll the comments section for some wonderful photos, and links to reader pages and sites.

Yet again, the response was absolutely AMAZING with over 480 entries! But now…onto the winners! Drumroll please, and the winners are:

Grand Prize Tamron 100-400mm

Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD

The grand prize winner is: Lorrie L.

100-400mm Di VC USD Ultra-Telephoto Zoom – Value $799. Winner’s choice of Canon, Nikon or Sony-A mount. No Substitutions. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Second Prize Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8

Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD

The second prize winner is: Esther V.

Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD – Value $599. Winner’s choice of Canon, Nikon or Sony-A mount. No substitutions. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Third Prize Tamron SP 70-300mm

Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD

The third prize Wwinner is: Debra S.

Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD – Value $449. Winner’s choice of Canon, Nikon or Sony-A mount. No substitutions. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Thanks for entering

We were all thrilled with the entries, you tugged at our heartstrings, made us laugh, made us smile, but most importantly, you made us keep wanting to do more of what we are doing; providing you quality information and guidance to become a better photographer. We were so pleased to see that you came from every part of the world, young adults to grandparents, and everyone in between. Thank you all for your entries!

The winning entries

Here is a snippet of each of the entries from the winners of the Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD, Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD and Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD, respectively. If you want to read the full entries head to the contest page here.

Lorrie – Grand Prize Winner

As with all bird photographers, I am really wanting a longer lens to “Get That Shot”. I am a regular reader of Digital Photography School. Today I was on your page looking for an article on aperture. I was hoping to understand aperture the best I can to make certain I am getting it correct for absolute sharpness. I was also wanting to understand how I should adjust aperture for the distance of subjects. I strive for sharp images with great focus. Suddenly I ran across this contest and I was like “Oh my Gosh!!” I have to enter!!

I love Tamron lenses. I am familiar with the Tamron web page. I visited today for the most up to date information on the Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD. I am certain it will improve my photography in so many ways. I know it is far more than just a birding lens. I know Tamron lenses produces high-quality, sharp images with excellent color. I have extreme confidence in the lenses knowing I can take them out and use them in less than perfect weather conditions and they will not be frail. I have also watched several videos on YouTube by different reviewers stating the Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD is a value and is far superior to any other lens in this category! The lens is certainly on my wishlist! Thank you!! Best Always!!

Esther – Second Prize Winner

The more I researched the three lenses, the harder it became to decide which one would be my top pick!

Thank you for doing this contest, it has helped me learn more about these lenses, and even if I don’t win any of the lenses I have been helped by this. I think that my top pick would be the Tamron SP 35mm f1.8. It is a very versatile lens that would be helpful for me in shooting portraits and getting clear shots of everyday life. I love that it is f/1.8, it will create stunning pictures with subjects that have that “pop.” It is also wide-angle which would be very nice to have! I am an 18-year-old amateur photographer and I look forward to using every piece of gear for capturing neat images of people and other wonderful things that God created.

Debra – Third Prize Winner

I live on 40 acres in southern California. On December 4th, everything burned in the Thomas Fire. I was able to get out with my camera bag but not my lens bag. I am living in a trailer on my property waiting to rebuild my house. At first, there was no life, not even a fly. The first life I saw was a stray hornet. Then the birds came back. Green is starting to sprout from the burned flora that I thought was dead and gone. I would have loved to record the return of wildlife but all I had in my camera bag was my Canon 5D Mark III, a nifty 50 and a kit lens. I feel like I am on a photo challenge.

I would love the Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD to give me more range to document the changing details of my new landscape. The 70- 300mm range would be perfect for capturing returning insects, rabbits looking for fresh greens and the coyotes that hunt them. I am drawn to the ultrasonic silent drive to prevent startling my subjects and capture sharp images faster. Most of the wildlife ventures out at dusk so the vibration compensation would help with longer shutter speeds.

Honorable mentions

We had so many wonderful entries, we have chosen 10 people to receive an “Honorable Mention” prize of the Living Landscapes eBook, by dPS. The 10 winners are listed below:

1. Christian
2. Eddie
3. Debra Lee
4. BJ
5. Ronaldo
6. Abhiman
7. Anthony
8. Martin
9. Luis
10. Gajendra

Special offer for dPS readers

Now, for those of you that didn’t win, Tamron has invited ALL dPS readers to download their eBooks. You can find them here.

The winners will be emailed with the details of how to collect their prizes. Please make sure to look for our email. Thank you again for all the wonderful submissions and to Tamron for sponsoring this competition.

Tamron Rebates

For all of you residing in the USA, when you do purchase your next Tamron Lens, make sure to take advantage of the rebates* up to $200 off through March 3, 2018. Find additional information HERE!

*Current rebate offers end March 3, 2018. US RESIDENTS ONLY.

About Tamron

Disclaimer: Tamron is a paid partner of dPS.

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[Photography] How to Make a Dramatic Portrait with Light Painting Using Items Found in Your Home

In this article, I’ll show you how to do a fun project you can do with friends and a little light painting. You can do this, using things you likely already have in the house.

It’s always fun to experiment with different and creative ways of using light in photographs. It’s also a lot of fun to take some risks and experiment with a technique that may or may not produce good results. The reality is you can learn from every photographic experience. It doesn’t matter if the results are perfect or not. Each time you pull out a camera you create something that adds to your knowledge base and helps you to grow as a photographer.

Learning lessons

In the case of a project I did recently with light painting and live models, several lessons were learned. The first was the importance of finding enthusiastic people to assist with my projects. The second was the importance of a reflector in adding light to a photograph.

Lastly, the third lesson involved pushing the limits of human abilities. I asked my friends to hold very still for these images, sometimes in some slightly awkward poses. How much was too much for my models?

This was our final image of the evening. It took a lot of trial and error to reach this point.

 

The light painting project

The whole concept for the photo project was inspired by the light painting of Eric Pare. He creates dramatic images in stunning locations with the help of dancer Kim Henry. Eric uses an easily created light tube and a strong flashlight. It’s winter here in Canada, and at -30c it’s not reasonable to ask a friend to pose outside in a landscape while wearing skimpy clothing.

So using his idea of long shutter speeds, it was time to craft a different project. The goal was to create dramatic images that you could easily reproduce within your home at a fairly low cost.

The following images were created in my kitchen using a large piece of black velvet (a black sheet will also work) draped across my portable backdrop stand, a reflector, an extension cord, and a string of Christmas lights. Of course, three friends were also recruited to assist with the project. They were more than willing to participate in the fun. In the end, there were a lot of laughs, and everyone was quite dedicated to the effort to get the images correct.

A terrible grainy image but my friend was having so much fun she needed to take a quick selfie.

The Setup

Setting up was very easy. A backdrop was attached to the narrow walls of my kitchen. Black velvet is a lovely fabric for absorbing light and creating true black in photographs. I love black velvet and I’ve used it to create some very dramatic still life images and portraits in the past.

Wait until the fabric is on sale or pick remnants. The only trick to black velvet is to use a lint brush to remove white fuzzy bits. These show up quite easily in images, and it’s a pain to clone out all those little white spots.

Here we set the lights and the background. The kitchen is pretty narrow so it was a challenge to set up the backdrop. In the end, part of the backdrop was taped to the wall.

A shot from above. My friend stood on the countertop to spin the lights. As you can see they were loosely draped over the fan.

The reflector was placed just below the model’s belly button and the light was directed up towards the face.

After setting up the backdrop using tape and the cross piece from my backdrop kit, we then hung the Christmas lights from the ceiling fan.

In the original plan, we intended to turn on the fan and let it spin. It’s a good thing we realized that the lights would tangle around the fan and cause an issue. So it then became the job of one person to spin the fan 340 degrees during the exposure manually.

The Camera Gear

We used a Canon 5D Mark III mounted on a tripod and the 2-second self-timer. That allowed the person manning the fan to begin spinning the lights.

This image is getting better. It’s still soft. My exposure time wasn’t quite correct yet here.

The Procedure

It was time to establish the proper exposure for the whole project.  The trick here was to balance the exposure so that there was a long enough shutter speed (exposure time) to blur the lights but we also needed to keep the models in focus.

It’s awfully hard to stay still for even just a few seconds. In fact, it’s almost impossible. After several experiments and through trial and error the final exposure used was 0.8 of a second at f/3.2 with an ISO of 100. We also used a large reflector to bounce the light back up towards the models face.

This one is a little better. I ran it through a sharpening editor to help. It’s not perfect but I love the way the lights curved around their hair.

The whole experiment required us to use two people to create the photo and one or two people as models in each shot. The photographer triggered the camera timer as well as held the reflector, while the fan operator stood on the countertop and spun the fan at the proper moment.

This image didn’t turn out as planned. You can see how important timing and communication are to this kind of project.

The Keys to Success

The keys to a successful photograph were quite simply communication and timing. The lights had to be spun at exactly the right moment, and the photographer needed to communicate timing to everyone else.

It took a lot of tries to get the whole thing correct, but in the end, we were able to produce the desired images.

The creative person in me is able to ignore the slight ghosting from motion because I love how the lights spin above and below her eyes.

The goal was to create dramatic images with a neat light painting effect. I wanted to encircle the model with light, almost as if she were standing within a light tube. There were many failed attempts.

Sometimes our timing was off, and the lights did not spin around the model or got caught in her hair. Other times the lights moved too slowly and didn’t make it all the way through the image. Other times the issue was the lights themselves. Sometimes the lights spun right across the model’s eyes. I like a few of these images, but at the same time, some ran across the face in a way that was not attractive.

Have fun with it

The whole experiment was a lot of fun. It made for a great night out and some fun pics to post on social media. My friends were happy to post the pics to show their friends. As an artist and a professional photographer I also wanted to see if I could use the technique for other purposes.

Is it possible to use this technique to create some interesting fine art images or perhaps for some interesting portraits? The answer is yes! There’s a lot that can be done with this technique. It’s well worth experimenting with and seeing what kind of results can be created.

In this one, we achieved exactly what I was hoping to do. She is standing in a circle of lights.

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[Photography] 7 Tips for Creating Natural-Looking HDR Landscapes Using Aurora HDR

Aurora HDR is one of the best and easiest photo editing programs available for quickly creating HDR images. With that said, it has a wide range of tools and filters to help you achieve your HDR goals. To help you sort through them all, this article will highlight seven tips for creating natural-looking HDR landscapes in Aurora HDR 2018.

1. Keep HDR editing of sunsets and sunrises to a minimum

Everyone knows that sunrise and sunset provide optimal landscape photography opportunities. Golden hour bathes everything in a beautiful, often colorful natural light. As a result, it’s best to take a more subdued editing approach to keep the scene as natural looking as possible, especially when dealing with HDR. Otherwise, you risk over-processing your image.

Original starting image (the middle exposure of a 5-image bracketed set). Image courtesy dPS Managing Editor, Darlene Hildebrandt.

NOTE: On that note, many of the tips below will include editing tools and sliders that have been pushed to their extremes. This is meant as a demonstration to show what you could do by using these tools at their maximum, but it’s not suggesting you should do this.

2. Intelligently bump contrast and color with HDR Enhance

One of the first tools you should utilize is called HDR Enhance. Found in the HDR Basic panel, it’s a newer feature available in Aurora HDR 2018 and it serves as a replacement for the clarity slider. When activated, HDR Enhance brings out the details and textures in your image while minimizing any residual artifacts such as image noise that might be introduced in the process.

In the example below, the HDR Enhance slider has been pulled to the extreme for demonstration purposes. Notice how the contrast in the foreground and the distant rocks have increased significantly, and the color in the sky really pops.

HDR Enhance at 100.

But adding too much HDR Enhance is like adding too much clarity. The rocks and sand in the foreground have so much contrast and clarity that they look unreal, and the rocks and hills in the background now have a halo effect (generally considered undesirable).

To reduce these effects and thus make your landscape appear more realistic, tone down HDR Enhance significantly (or use the masking brush to apply or erase the effect wherever you choose). By having the slider at 36 as opposed to 100, there’s still a nice pop of details and color.

HDR Enhance scaled back to 36.

3. Bump up the contrast

To make your image appear less flat, bump up the contrast. Going to extremes results in lots of shadows, reducing details in any dark areas. It also saturates color in the sky and in the reflection on the water.

Contrast at 100.

By lessening contrast to about 20, shadows are still enhanced, but the details are better preserved. Note that the trees on the hill are still visible.

Contrast scaled back to 20.

4. Use Smart Tone to brighten up an image

Since increasing the contrast introduced more shadows to the image, brighten it up again by using the Smart Tone filter. Dragging the slider to the right brings more light to areas of the image that are dark, without dramatically affecting parts of your image that are already bright.

Below, you can see an extreme version of the Smart Tone slider in action. Notice how the shadowed areas are brightened, revealing lots of detail, particularly in the hill on the right. This is what you can do with Smart Tone, but it’s not necessarily what you should do since the image now appears very flat without any shadows or contrast, and the dreaded halo has appeared again.

Smart Tone at 100.

To appear more realistic, pull back Smart Tone to about 22. This gives a hint of detail to the trees in the right, similar to what a reflection on the water might cause. It also brightens that patch of sand to the right.

Smart Tone dialed back to 22.

5. Enhance Saturation, Vibrance, and Color Contrast

At this point, let’s turn our attention to the colors. Play with the Temperature slider in the HDR Basics panel to add some warmth to images like this sunset. Then scroll down to the Color panel and tweak the Saturation and the Vibrance sliders.

Depending on your image, you may need to bump these either up or down. Just avoid taking them to their extremes; generally, somewhere between 5-20 will be a good range. You can also bump up the Color Contrast slider, which controls the contrast between primary and secondary colors.

Saturation, Vibrance and Color Contrast boosted.

6. Use Image Radiance for an ethereal effect

Now we’re looking at a few finishing touches that you can add to your HDR landscape shots, and one option is Image Radiance. This adds a soft, dreamy glow to your photo, and it is best used on sunset or sunrise images. In this particular scenario, Image Radiance seems particularly important since it can contribute a soft, hazy effect typical of ocean shots.

Increase the Image Radiance slider to about 37. Doing this will introduce some shadows to your image, but that can easily be fixed with the Brightness and Shadows slider in the same panel. You can also adjust Vividness and Warmth here too if you see fit.

7. Add a subtle Vignette

The final edit that you might do to an HDR landscape image is to add a vignette. In the case of a sunrise or sunset, a vignette can be particularly helpful to add a subtle frame around the subject, drawing more attention to the focal part of the scene, the setting sun.

Within Aurora HDR, the Vignette panel is at the very bottom. You can control not only the size, amount, roundness, and feathering of the vignette, but also the inner brightness. As well you can adjust the placement of the vignette, meaning you can easily create a vignette that is not centered on the image – very handy if your subject is following the rule of thirds and is off-center.

When adding a vignette, note that the amount is a negative number for a dark (black) vignette and a positive number for a bright (white) one.

Final image with the vignette added.

Bonus tips

In addition, Aurora HDR also has tools for correcting Chromatic Aberration and Lens Distortion. It also comes loaded with several “Realistic HDR” presets that you can use to get started, and then just tweak the settings to your liking.

Over to you

There you have it, seven tips for processing landscape HDR photos in Skylum’s Aurora HDR. If you were inspired to create your own HDR landscapes, please share them in the comments below along with your post-processing tips and tricks.

Disclaimer: Skylum (formerly Macphun) is a dPS advertising partner.

The post 7 Tips for Creating Natural-Looking HDR Landscapes Using Aurora HDR by Suzi Pratt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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