[Photography] Starting with Off-Camera Flash in Photography: Techniques

The post Starting with Off-Camera Flash in Photography: Techniques appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Carl Spring.

In my last post, I showed you what equipment you needed when starting with off-camera flash. This time, I am going to be looking at the technical side and what you actually need to learn in order to take great photos using off-camera flash.

It’s hard

This is the part where you need to really get to grips with how this all works. When starting with off-camera flash, this will be something that frustrates you. I’m not going to lie, it involves hard work and practice to get right.

In order to start, you really should have a good idea of how to shoot in manual mode, or at least a good awareness of aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

For someone new to off-camera flash, the technical aspects are the part that is the most daunting. Not only are you working with the camera in manual mode, but you are also adding things such as flash power and flash-to-subject distance. Then there is a model for an extra layer of pressure. That said, a good model is vital.

It’s time to move to manual mode. It’s not that scary. Promise

Working with a model

Finding people to pose for you while you learn is always hard. For this article, I managed to get an awesome model. She is incredibly patient and did exactly what I asked her to do every time. Here she is:

Always hits her mark perfectly and never complains. A great investment.

Honestly, a mannequin head is a great investment when starting with off-camera flash. I only paid £4 for this hairdressers mannequin on an Amazon flash sale. Using a mannequin really allows you to build confidence and test lighting setups without worrying about annoying friends, family or models. 

You can always use other inanimate objects, especially if you are not interested in portraits, but a hairdresser mannequin is one of the best investments you can make to help you master off-camera flash for portraits.

Learn the technical rather than letting the camera do it

With modern cameras, flashes and triggers, you can easily stick with letting the camera do all the hard work. Call me old school, but I think it is hugely important to learn off-camera flash manually. By doing this, it is easier to understand how everything works. It also means you are in total control of what is happening.

Just like learning to photograph in manual mode, using off-camera flash manually allows you to get the exact results you want every time. Even if you then go on to shoot in auto mode, you will have the knowledge to still get the shot when the camera plays up (which they tend to do when you need them to do it least).

As you shoot more, you will become more confident, so I would always suggest using an inanimate object whilst you practice. There is nothing worse for knocking your confidence than having your subject in front of your camera and having a total mental meltdown, because you changed the position of the flash but you can’t remember how to adjust the exposure in your camera to make it look right. 

Modern Cameras are incredibly smart. But getting started in off-camera flash requires you to do the hard work.

The five variables

Unlike shooting in ambient light, where you only have three variables that can control the image, shooting flash ramps this up to five.

However, it is simply a case of working through them methodically. With practice, it becomes easier. However, your first few times, it may be trial and error (and possibly frustration). 

The five variables are:

1. Shutter speed
2. Aperture
3. Flash power
4. ISO
5. Flash-to-subject distance

Let’s start with the two elements that are present in every photograph: shutter speed and aperture. 

1. Shutter speed

The ambient light for this shot was awful, so I removed it. I left my shutter at 1/200th and found an aperture to kill the ambient light. I then set the flash power accordingly to create this.

The main use of shutter speed when using off-camera flash is that you can darken or lighten the ambient light. This includes your background and any other light sources, such as room lights and candles, etc. By using your shutter speed, you can alter the amount of ambient light in the shot without altering any other variable. 

The reason for this is that a flash will put out all of its power in the smallest fraction of a second (as quick as to 1/20000th second on some flashes). Your shutter speed will be less than this and, therefore, will not affect the power of the flash itself.

There is also one other thing that affects the use of shutter speed, the flash sync of your camera.

The flash sync is the maximum speed that you can shoot the flash at. This is usually around 1/200th of a second. There is a technical explanation for this and ways to shoot faster, but I won’t get into it within this article as I don’t want to overload you with information. Just remember, you cannot put your shutter speed faster than your flash sync.

Shutter speed in practice

When thinking about using the shutter in off-camera flash photography, the thing you need to decide is how much of the surroundings you want to include. If shooting portraits outdoors against a beautiful sky or backdrop, you may want to balance the exposure with the flash to make the most of the location.

However, if you are doing an indoor shoot with ugly or unflattering lighting, you may want to totally remove all ambient light. Shutter speed is your key to doing this. 

Let’s look at this with a series of images.

In all of the images, the only thing I will alter is the shutter speed. Everything else will remain identical. The Aperture is f/16, ISO 100. My flash power is 1/4.

For the first shot, I set the shutter speed to the maximum sync speed (1/200th). As you can see in this image, the background is underexposed for effect and the model is lit by the flash.

The model is lit by flash. Areas where the flash does not hit are much darker (left side of her face)

As I slow the shutter, this time to 1/100th second, you can see the sky is lighter and the darker areas of the model that are not hit by the flash are less harsh. I have allowed one more stop of light into the camera, but only for the ambient exposure due to the speed of the light coming from the flash.

See how the sky is brighter and the darker areas are not quite as harsh. This is due to the shutter allowing more natural light into the camera.

Finally, I slowed the shutter down to 1/60th to give the correct ambient exposure for the sky and using the flash as a fill for any shadows on the model.

With a balanced ambient and flash, the flash fills in any shadows on the model’s face.

Notice how the lighting from the flash has not changed. That is because aperture controls flash exposure.

You can also use your aperture or ISO to increase or decrease the natural light coming into the camera, but remember when you alter them, you will also need to alter your flash power too.

2. Aperture

When starting out. The easiest way to think about things is that shutter speed controls the ambient exposure and your aperture controls your flash exposure. I know it is a little more nuanced than that in reality, but when learning, you want things to be as simple as possible.

We know that your shutter speed controls how long your camera shutter is open. Your aperture, however, controls how much light enters your camera, not for how long.

As flash power is too quick to be affected by shutter speed, you control it by changing the aperture. If the image is overexposed, you need to close the aperture down, and if it is too dark, you need to open your aperture up.

Setting aperture in practice

To show this in action, look at the images below. In all images, I will keep the shutter at 1/200th of a second and my ISO at 100.

Firstly, I set the flash at f/4. As you can see, the image is overexposed. This means I need to close the aperture a little. 

f/4 is overexposed. I need to change the aperture.

Next at f/8, you can see I have closed the aperture down too far. The image is too dark, so I need to open the aperture a little more.

At f/8, the image is too dark. I need to change the aperture.

Finally, here is the shot at f/5.6. As you can see, this is the correct exposure.

Finally, at f/5.6 I have the correct exposure.

As you can see, I have not changed any other exposure variable, just the aperture. Changing the shutter speed would have no impact because the flash discharges its power so quickly. Now I have locked in my exposure, my lighting will be identical every time.

Bonus round

Here is the same image shot with the same aperture and a shutter of 1/100th of a second. A you can see, the change of shutter speed has made no difference to the exposure.

Changing the shutter to 1/100th has made no difference to the final exposure.

3. Flash Power

Flash power is simply how much power the flash can put out. This varies from flash to flash.

In terms of getting started, a Speedlite is more than fine. It will mean not shooting in the brightest part of the day (unless you are in shade), but it is super affordable, and the best way to start with off-camera flash.  

As with shooting in manual mode, you want to learn with your flash in Manual mode. This helps with consistency.

If you set your flash to 1/2 power, every single pop of that flash will be half power. This consistency is key to mastering flash. 

In terms of power, you start with full power, which is sometimes also known as 1/1. This is the largest amount of light that your flash can produce. Most modern flashes work in small 1/3 stops, but to simplify things whilst you learn, you really need to concern yourself with the following outputs:

• 1:1
• 1/2
• 1/4
• 1/8
• 1/16
• 1/32
• 1/64
• 1/128

Each of these settings equates to 1 full stop of light the flash produces. So changing the flash from full power (1/1) to half power (1/2) reduces the amount of light coming out by one full stop. Changing it from 1/1 to 1/4 reduces it by two full stops, etc. 

Remember, the stops it refers to are your aperture, as this is what controls flash exposure. If you look at the table below it will explain it more clearly.

FLASH POWER	1/1	1/2	1/4	1/8	1/16	1/32	1/64
APERTURE	f/16	f/11	f/8	f/5.6	f/4	f/2.8	f/2

As you can see, if the flash at full power gives you a correctly-exposed image at f/16, half power will bring you down to f/11 and so on. This relationship is the key to mastering flash. Half the power = 1 stop of light. 

4. Where does ISO fit into all this?

Shooting a flash at full power is less than ideal. There may be some circumstances where you cannot avoid it, but it will kill your batteries quicker, take longer to recharge between shots, and, in some cases, it may overheat the flash, causing it to not work at all. Ideally, you want to be working at 1/2 power or less.

ISO is where you can make that happen.

By doubling your ISO, you allow one more stop of light into the camera. Therefore, you can reduce the flash power and still get the look you wanted. For example, an image at ISO 100 and a flash power or 1/1 will be the same as an image at ISO 400 and 1/4 flash power.

ISO in practice 

I have decided I want to shoot at f/8 and ISO 100. To do this, the flash has to be at 1/1. To get to 1/4, it means I will lose two stops of flash power.

Here is the image at ISO100 and flash power 1/1.

To keep the same aperture, I turn my ISO from 100 to 400, therefore, giving me two more stops of light into the camera. The image is virtually identical

At ISO 400, the exposure and the flash at 1/4 power, the image is almost identical.

It is all a juggling act, and ISO is there to help you fine-tune. However, upping your ISO comes with more noise. But, most DSLR and mirrorless cameras can easily go up to ISO 800 and still be of great quality.

ISO can also help with getting the correct ambient exposure whilst keeping a required shutter speed – especially as light drops. A simple tip is – if you need to double your ISO to get more ambient light, drop your flash power by one stop to compensate.

5. Flash-to-subject distance

I have saved this for last. This is the most technical when it comes to understanding flash (and involves the laws of physics). 

The distance of your flash to your subject is governed by The Inverse Square Law. This law states:  

The intensity of an effect such as illumination or gravitational force changes in inverse proportion to the square of the distance from the source.

https://www.diyphotography.net/visual-approach-inverse-square-law-affects-photographers/

Now, I am sure you are reading this thinking, what the heck does that mean? Well it means the amount of light is reduced by distance. See the diagram below courtesy of Wikimedia:

Every time the distance doubles, the power drops by 3/4.
Image: Borb / CC BY-SA (https://ift.tt/nyd3RQ)

The easiest way to look at this in a photography sense is every time you double the distance between your light and the subject, the amount of light will be reduced to 1/4 of what it was.

What also happens is that every time you double that distance, you get more space to work in. This is really useful if you are doing a group shot. Again, whilst this is hard to explain with words, look at the diagram below.

If you are doing a group shot, you want to get the flash further away from the subjects to avoid issues with exposure across the image

Flash-to-subject distance in practice

Now we understand the inverse square law, we can use it to our advantage. All of the images will be shot on the same blue background.

For both images, I will set the exposure at 1/200th, f/16 at ISO 100. I will keep the exposure the same by changing the flash power. The model is 1.5m from the background.

I start with the flash close to the subject (30cm). You can see the background is black. This is due to the light being close to the subject. Therefore, the difference in exposure between the subject to the background is huge due to the inverse square law. 

With the flash 30cm away from the model, the background gets virtually no light due to the inverse square law and light fall-off.

Now, as I move the light back, the difference in the power of light between the subject and the background is much less due to the inverse square law.

The distance between the model and the light is now around 2m.

To keep the exposure the same, I have had to increase the power of my flash a whopping 6 stops. In this example, it has gone from 1/128 power to 1/2 power to keep the same exposure. 

As you can see in the image below, the final model and background are both well-exposed due to moving the light further back.

With the flash further from the background, the exposure covers the model and the background.

Let’s recap

So hopefully, you now have a good understanding of the basics for getting started with off-camera flash. But let’s recap the basic points to remember:

• Aperture controls the flash exposure
• Shutter speed controls the ambient light
• Doubling or halving the power of your flash moves the power of the flash by one stop of light. 
• When the flash is close, the light falls off incredibly quickly
• As you move further away, the fall-off is much slower.
• Get yourself a model that isn’t human to practice on. Try the model head or bottle of whiskey.
• Practice, practice, practice. 
• It isn’t easy to get your head around, but I promise that one day it will just click. The only way for this to happen is if you practice. So, what are you waiting for?

There are more variables you can throw in, such as modifiers, high-speed sync, etc. but right now, that isn’t what you need to learn.

Master these basics and then push things further. The only thing I would suggest to add is an umbrella to diffuse the light and give more flattering results.

Now it’s time to practice

An article about starting with off-camera flash that tells you to shoot fully manual. You might be thinking “I can’t do this.” You can – you just need to practice.

It may sound daunting to some of you, but I promise it is easier than you think. I always compare starting with off-camera flash to learning your time tables. When you are learning them, they feel really difficult. Then it clicks, you suddenly understand it and you wondered why it took so long.

All together class, sing along. Two times two is four…

Do you have any other tips or questions you’d like to share? Please do so in the comments.

The post Starting with Off-Camera Flash in Photography: Techniques appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Carl Spring.

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[Photography] Sony to Potentially Announce Sub-$1000 Full-Frame A5

The post Sony to Potentially Announce Sub-$1000 Full-Frame A5 appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Yes, it’s possible:

Sony may announce an entry-level full-frame mirrorless camera, potentially called the a5, positioned at a price below $1000 USD.

This information comes from Sony Alpha Rumors, which labels the rumor as “wild” and notes that it comes from an indirect channel. However, Sony Alpha Rumors also acknowledges a few pieces of evidence:

First, Sony recently registered a pair of cameras, one of which “is a high-end camera” while the other is “a more consumer-oriented camera.” Both will launch in the coming months; a more recent rumor suggests that the high-end model will debut toward the end of July, with the consumer-oriented model released in the August/September timeframe.

We already know that the high-end body is the Sony a7S II successor, likely called the Sony a7S III, and positioned as a professional video/stills hybrid.

But what about the other camera?

Well, if this rumor is correct, it would be the A5. A reliable report does suggest that Sony will be releasing a “new kind of full-frame camera,” and an entry-level full-frame model would surely fit the bill.

A sub-$1000 full-frame camera is certainly within the realm of possibility. Canon’s EOS RP is currently available for around $900 USD, and the EOS 6D Mark II comes in at $1200. But up until now, Sony has been focused mainly on three distinct camera lineups:

The full-frame a7X series, including the a7S II, the a7R IV, and a7 III models.

The APS-C a6X00 series, including the a6400, a6100, and a6600 models.

And the full-frame a9 series, which consists of the a9 and the a9 II.

This means that an a5 would offer a lot of potential for Sony, assuming the company can position it well. An a5 could allow long-time Sony a6X00 users to upgrade for improved image quality, offering a bridge between the a6X00s and the a7Xs. And plenty of Nikon and Canon photographers looking to jump on the Sony bandwagon could be enticed by such an affordable full-frame option, giving Sony the opportunity to pitch its higher-end products to more customers.

Of course, this is all speculation, but I can’t help but feel excited at the prospect of a Sony a5!

How about you? What do you think about the possibility of an a5? Is it a camera you’d be interested in? And what do you think it would offer? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post Sony to Potentially Announce Sub-$1000 Full-Frame A5 appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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[Photography] Olympus to Quit the Camera Business, Sell Brands to Investment Fund

The post Olympus to Quit the Camera Business, Sell Brands to Investment Fund appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Olympus is leaving the camera business.

After three years of financial struggle, the company has decided to sell its camera division to Japanese Industrial Partners (JIP), a firm known for its ability to successfully restructure unprofitable businesses.

In recent years, Olympus has become more heavily invested in other aspects of its business, and while the company attempted to keep its camera division moving forward, it has struggled to compete with players on either end of the spectrum. Smartphones have eaten into profits generated by hobbyist cameras, while APS-C and full-frame cameras have maintained an edge against Olympus’s semi-professional and professional models.

Then, last fall, rumors of an Olympus camera division shutdown were denied by the CEO, though it’s clear that the company was on a firm downward trajectory; as indicated in the official announcement, Olympus was hit hard by an “extremely severe digital camera market, due to, amongst others, rapid market shrink caused by the evolution of smartphones.”

And while Olympus’s mirrorless lineups were praised for their compactness and sharp lenses, the company struggled to find a habitable niche, especially as “small-but-powerful” became a common refrain of Google Pixels, iPhones, and more. And the release of higher-end bodies such as the OM-D E-M1 Mark III and the OM-D E-M1X wasn’t enough to pull more serious photographers away from leading brands such as Nikon, Canon, and Sony.

So what comes next?

JIP plans to take over the Olympus camera brands by the end of 2020. The announcement indicates that a “definitive agreement” will be signed by September 30th, with the two companies aiming to “close the transaction by December 31, 2020.”

JIP will then “succeed and maintain the research and development functions and manufacturing functions globally…to continue to offer high-quality, highly reliable products.”

This is technically good news for Olympus photographers. JIP will at least attempt to rebuild Olympus’s camera division in the interests of its current consumers. But if the camera market continues to bleed, it may be impossible for JIP to turn things around, leading to a more permanent end for the brand.

And here’s another important question:

What does this mean for the camera industry as a whole? Is Olympus an anomaly? Or is the first of many? At present, even leading camera companies are struggling to find footing, which makes me wonder whether we might witness the fall of at least a few more camera brands before the market stabilizes.

Now over to you:

What do you think about Olympus’s decision? Will it impact Olympus consumers? And will we see the decline of other major camera brands? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post Olympus to Quit the Camera Business, Sell Brands to Investment Fund appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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[Photography] 8 Vital Tips To Crop Your Photos For Stronger Compositions

The post 8 Vital Tips To Crop Your Photos For Stronger Compositions appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.

Even the best photos can be ruined if they are not cropped properly. It’s easy to get carried away with cropping since you can take away more and more of what may seem like a useless portion of the image. This can quickly lead to cropping way too much. Or, the opposite can happen if you are worried that you’re taking away too much. Believe it or not, sometimes even the professionals need tips to crop their photos better. So here are 8 tips to crop your photos better so that you can avoid making mistakes.

f/2.8 – ISO 160 – 1/100 sec

1. Tell the complete story

If you’re taking a photo of two people playing catch, you would never dream of cropping out one of the people or the ball. The photo would no longer make any sense!

Take the subjects into consideration when cropping out elements. Are they interacting with anything in the frame that would change the context of the subject’s actions if removed? This is a surefire way of knowing whether or not you are cropping too much from the image.

f/8 – ISO 100 – 1/100 sec

2. Remove partial elements

There may be something in your frame that isn’t fully in view, like an elbow or a stray tree branch. Without the entire element in the frame, sometimes these partials can be distracting from the subject and should probably be cropped out.

Just like your image is trying to tell a complete story, you don’t want any unnecessary details distracting the viewer from what you are trying to get across in the image. Photobombs are funny, but only in the right context, so consider removing that random person in the background that you didn’t intend to be there in the first place.

The cropped image on the right removes the distracting elements.

3. Keep the subject at eye level

A portrait becomes much more engaging when the subject seems like they are at a more natural eye level. Concerning portraits, this may actually be one of the more important tips to crop your photos.

Cropping too tightly on the subject will create a close-up shot that seems unnatural and even uncomfortable to look at. Keep things in proportion by allowing the subject’s eyes to stay at a more natural level in the frame.

Additionally, your subject will seem to want a little breathing room. When cropping at eye level, make sure that you are giving the frame enough space so that their gaze doesn’t seem interrupted by the edge of the frame.

f/3.5 – ISO 100 – 1/100 sec

4. Centering the subject is not a requirement

Just like you’re trying to tell the entire story by keeping important elements within the frame, that might also play into your composition as well. Apply the rule of thirds (or other compositional rules) to help you determine where your subject should rest within the frame. This will help you lay out other elements in frame as well, making sure that you don’t accidentally cut something out or when you don’t realize that you have centered your subject.

In fact, when cropping appropriately, you can even fix any composition problems that you might not have considered when snapping the image in the first place.

Using the rule of thirds, you can ensure you crop your images better.

5. Try to avoid cropping limbs

While it may be a good idea to crop out part of your subject, try to avoid cutting off the limb of your subject. Cropping limbs creates an eerie effect and shows that you hadn’t considered your framing when taking the shot. Similarly, you wouldn’t want to cut off any piece of your subject that doesn’t make sense, like half of their ear or the tip of their nose.

6. Crop out the errors

You might think that a true photo would include leaving the image as it stands, mistakes and all. However, cropping properly can mean that you cut off portions of an image that distract from the subject or are just simply wrong.

For example, maybe you have accidentally captured your camera strap in your shot. Would you really want to leave that in?

So one of the best tips to crop your photos is to remove anything that wasn’t your intention to include. Of course, ideally, you should spot these errors when taking the photo, but if you didn’t, and you can crop to correct, then you should.

f/8 – ISO 100 – 1/250 sec

7. Crop consistently

If you’re shooting a series of portraits, landscapes, or anything else of the same subject, then it’s important that you crop all of the photos in the series consistently. The series is supposed to be a coherent, consistent set of photos aesthetically, which means the composition and cropping should all work together as a set.

Without uniformity, when the photos are looked at in a group, if they are not composed and cropped consistently, then it is going to have a jarring effect. For scenario shots, like a landscape, keep the rule of thirds of the Golden Triangle rule in mind as well to help with consistency.

8. Cropping doesn’t always have to be right-angles

The majority of the time, cropping will involve right-angles to give you square and rectangle shapes. However, there is no hard rule that says this is the way it has to be. To wrap up these tips to crop your photos, you can also be creative and crop an image as an oval, hexagon, or any other shape that may lend itself better to the image.

Depending on the subject, the composition, and how you want your final image to look, cropping in various other shapes than right-angles may look intriguing.

Conclusion

Sometimes the difference between a good photo and a great photo comes down to the way you crop it. The great thing about digital photography is you can adjust photos without fear because you can always return to the original by using software like Lightroom. So experiment with your cropping, and you may see a big improvement in your photography. Also, share your before and after results in the comments section!

The post 8 Vital Tips To Crop Your Photos For Stronger Compositions appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.

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[Photography] 6 Tips For Capturing Better Urban Landscapes

The post 6 Tips For Capturing Better Urban Landscapes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.

As you continue your quest to enhance your photography skillset, you should look to broaden your horizons by exploring various disciplines. In this article, we’re going to look more closely at how to capture better urban landscapes.

f/8 – ISO 100 – 1/250 sec

This discipline is all about bringing an urban environment to life in your photos. Shots of people living, moving, and working combined with an urban landscape can make for wonderful photos. It’s challenging even for experienced photographers. But you’ll find new ways of expressing yourself and capturing your surroundings, as well as immortalizing a piece of your growing environment.

But how do you best capture engaging images in an urban landscape? Here are six tips for capturing better urban landscapes.

f/8 – ISO 100 – 1/320 sec

1. Get to the streets

Whilst there’s nothing to say that you can’t take urban landscape shots from viewpoints in a city, if you want to capture exceptional urban photography then you should be right there alongside it. Get off your balcony and put yourself right onto the street in the middle of life as it unfolds.

To photograph better urban landscapes, try to find scenes where you can capture the combination of the urban landscape and people. A tight shot on two people talking isn’t necessarily what you’re looking for here. This is more street photography than urban landscapes. So you need to introduce some elements of the urban arena into your composition.

f/6.3 – ISO 250 – 1/160 sec

2. Play around with shutter speed

By lengthening your exposure setting, you can create a very dynamic image. Admittedly, this may go against having a live subject (like a person or animal), since they will probably be moving quite a lot. However, if you can, taking a wide shot of the urban landscape with a long exposure can create some interesting effects through movement.

The streaked clouds overhead can give a sense of movement to your still landscape. It’s a nice trick for capturing better urban landscapes if you’re just looking to get an image of the scene itself instead of active subjects.

At night, this also can create light trails from vehicles. Their tail and headlights will streak in the image, creating an amazing photo that captures the hectic expression of any urban setting.

f/13 – ISO 100 – 4 sec

3. Find interesting buildings

What’s really cool about urban photography is that it’s just as much about the manmade elements as it is people. If you’re shooting in a city setting, then there are likely many interesting buildings, sculptures, parks, and other manmade elements throughout to capture.

Do a little research and learn about why the interesting buildings were built in the first place. By being just as selective with your history as you are your visuals, you can create a story using photography in an urban setting.

For example, if you’ve chosen a wonderful gothic church as the background for your scene, what is unique about that church’s history? It may look amazing, but what else is behind the building, historically-speaking? You might dig up something really interesting that’s going to help shape your photo sessions. It could be key elements in the architecture or historically important locations around the church. Or you may just find interesting viewpoints and angles for better urban landscapes of the church.

f/6.3 – ISO 100 – 1/250 sec

4. Come back during different seasons

Another tip for capturing better urban landscapes is to come back during different seasons. It’s easy to forget what an urban setting can look like during a different season. If you’re standing in the middle of a skatepark during the height of summer, and it’s very active with teenagers riding on every surface, you aren’t necessarily thinking about what the same scene would look like covered in snow.

However, you could make some really intriguing juxtaposing images if you returned to the same scene during a different season later in the year.

If you have the ability to travel to a location more than once a year, then you should consider taking advantage of that luxury. The lighting, skyline, and general feeling can all change dramatically, allowing you to capture great images that you might not have even considered previously.

f/13 – ISO 250 – 15 sec

5. Use the terrain

When you compose your shot, consider the golden triangle rule or the rule of thirds. You can also look to align your subjects with leading lines generated by the terrain; perhaps a bridge, trees, a street, or a mural.

Elements throughout your frame can guide the eye toward your subject naturally, or they can pull it away just as easily. Be aware of how you’re composing your shot and consider using the elements to better align your focal point for better urban landscapes.

f/8 – ISO 800 – 0.6 sec

6. Night versus day

An urban setting can really come alive at night. The shadows cast by daylight are now blending into the surroundings, and your lens will pick up way more than you thought possible.

Daylight photography can capture active scenes natural to that time, and the same can be said for nighttime photography. Aside from general lighting differences, the time of day also helps create an atmosphere in your image that you can’t replicate any other way.

If you can, just like visiting the scene during different times of the year, try and come back to see how the urban setting changes between night and day. Some differences may be subtle, but others will weave new visions for your camera to capture.

f/11 – ISO 200 – 20 sec

Conclusion

The wonderful thing about this type of photography is that often it’s accessible for lots of people. Most people live within or near urban environments. So there will be ample opportunity to practice capturing better urban landscapes. Use the tips above and you will be on your way for improving your photography in this genre.

Do you have any other tips for capturing better urban landscapes that you’d like to share? Do you have some images you’d like to share? Please do so in the comments section!

The post 6 Tips For Capturing Better Urban Landscapes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.

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[Photography] Weekly Photography Challenge – Powerlines

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Powerlines appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

This week’s weekly photography challenge – POWERLINES!

You might want to capture powerlines reflecting in water like this shot I took. © Caz Nowaczyk

Powerlines are everywhere (well at least here in Australia they are!). Capture them close up or as part of a wider scene. Capture them against a fabulous sunrise or sunset, as a silhouette, or whatever you like. You get the idea!

Play with post-processing too, if you like.

The choice is yours! I look forward to seeing what you share

This one is a mix of the sunsetting and silhouettes on a Melbourne city street. © Caz Nowaczyk

These powerlines are part of a larger vista and lead the viewer’s eye into the frame. © Caz Nowaczyk.

Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.

Tips for photographing POWERLINES

How to Take Better Sunset Photos

How to Create Powerful Silhouettes by Telling a Story

How to Edit Silhouette Photos in Lightroom

5 Exercises to Improve Your Street Photography

Make the Most of High Contrast Lighting for Dramatic Street Photos

How to Tell a Story With Your Street Photography

How to share your photo with us here

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see. Or, if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSpowerlines to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Powerlines appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

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