[Photography] How to Capture Mood and Atmosphere in Your Photos

Why is it so difficult to capture the cozy ambiance of a cafe in a picture? Or the casual atmosphere of a warm bonfire with friends on a summer night? Learning how to capture mood and atmosphere of a scene is a skill that is elusive for many photographers.

This is because the finished product isn’t only about getting the technical settings and composition correct. The image needs to evoke something in the senses; it has to capture the visceral aspects of a scene, the sights, sounds and smells so that every time you look at the picture, you are brought right back into the moment.

As always, rules in photography are made to be broken. So this list is meant to help you explore the creative aspect of how to capture mood rather than a firm lecture on how x will help you accomplish y.

Here’s a rundown of some of the things to consider when you’re trying to capture the mood, atmosphere, and emotion of a setting. Your goal; looking at the picture later brings you right back into the moment.

Candid Versus Posed

Photography is artificial. That little black box that you use to take pictures necessarily is always between you and the subject. That’s why it is really impressive to see photographers who can take incredibly natural pictures – almost as if a camera wasn’t even involved in the process.

When capturing a moment, your goal should be to take a candid photo, where your subject(s) are unaware of the camera. This helps to create a final image where the viewer feels like a fly on the wall. A picture where everyone is staring straight at the camera, on the other hand, pulls the viewer out of the moment and draws attention to the artificiality of the process.

Walk into a room with a camera and you can see how everyone changes the way they smile, their posture, etc. Everyone wants to look good for the camera. But by being super aware of the camera, the mood of the moment is lost.

Of course, it’s not always an option to take a candid photo. This is where you need to have the skill to make a natural picture by giving direction or helping the subject feel comfortable to the point that the shot looks real, rather than staged.

Consider the Lighting

Lighting always plays a huge role in your image. To capture the atmosphere of a specific moment, your goal should be to emphasize that lighting as much as possible. Typically, a warm or cozy setting will involve soft lighting. For example, with a summer evening comes soft orange light and a radiant glow outlining people lit by the sun.

So how can you show this? Experiment with shooting with the sun behind your subjects. A camera on automatic mode will struggle with this and will make your overall exposure too dark. Try either adjusting your exposure compensation to shoot a brighter picture, or go full manual and explore the creative possibilities!

Shooting into the sun also often results in lens flare – and you can use this effect to your benefit as well. Lens flare can help add a real mood of summer and warmth to a picture.

Low light pictures can also really stand out. The soft glow of a bonfire or candlelight often throws deep and intriguing shadows. To capture this, you need to consider the direction of the light. Someone looking away from the light source will have their face in deep shadow – and it likely won’t make for a very interesting image. But, by turning them back towards the light, you can really bring out texture and personality.

In low light, your camera will often tell you there isn’t enough light and will flip on the pop-up flash. What should you do then?

Ditch the On-Camera Flash

Using the flash on your camera is a sure way to add an unnatural feeling to an otherwise warm and cozy atmosphere. The main reason for this is because there are different temperatures of light. Some types of light look warmer; some look colder.

The light from your flash is balanced to match the type of light you’d find under the midday sun (daylight). Light from a bonfire or candle, however, contains a lot more orange. The light from your flash will look very blue in comparison, and this mismatch of colors is easy to recognize in the finished image.

Light from the flash is also on nearly same the angle as the image. Since we don’t normally view people or objects with light coming from the same angle as our eyes, this looks strange. This also has the effect of removing the shadows and textures that give the image a sense of dimension.

Of course, the reason your camera will want to use flash is because there isn’t much available light. This brings us conveniently right to the next point…

Use a Wide Aperture

If you can’t add light with flash, you’ll need to find another way to collect enough light to capture the image. This can be done by opening up the camera’s aperture. Aperture is measured by f-stops, with a lower f-stop number (like f/4) meaning that the lens is opened wider to let in more light.

Prime lenses, or lenses that don’t don’t zoom, can typically open to a wider aperture. For this reason, they are an ideal choice for capturing the atmosphere of a setting when there isn’t much light to work with.

Besides just gathering more light, a wide aperture will give your image a more precise point of focus (shallow depth of field). Whether the focus is on a person or a detail, the viewer gets a sense of being close and intimate with the scene.

The bokeh, or out of focus area created by using a wide aperture, also throws the background into a creamy blur, which both helps to remove any clutter from the shot and lets our imagination wander to fill in the blanks.

Show the Setting and Environment

Whether you are using a wide aperture or not, you’ll want to show the setting the get a clear sense of content. Capture the details that make the setting memorable and put everything into context.

A technique I like to use is to include an object or person in the foreground of the shot. By framing the shot with foreground elements, I can create the illusion of being a participant in the event. This technique also gives a strong sense of depth to the image, which can help make it a more memorable photo.

Capturing Emotions

More often than not, our fondest memories are closely tied together with the people we experienced them with.

For this reason, a good way to capture the essence of a moment is to get a shot of people interacting with each other. It can be through buoyant smiles, a tight hug, or a tear of joy rolling down a cheek.

It isn’t always so easy to spot these little moments, and they also tend to disappear quickly. Likewise, it takes a bit of observation and creativity to find the moments that really bring out the drama or happiness of a scene.

Bringing out the Textures

Maybe you can’t capture sound and smell with a photo – but you can appeal to those senses by bringing attention to details that are familiar and remind us of a distinct sound or smell.

The sharp texture of stone or the gritty feeling of sand are very familiar to us, so having those textures prominent in a picture helps us experience the image more strongly.

Editing Your Photos

Often, you can really bring out the mood of a shot during the editing process. Whether you are using Photoshop or a simpler editing program, here are some tips for emphasizing the style you want in your final image.

Consider how color influences your photo

Color is important for establishing the mood of an image. Muted or darker colors can give a feeling of reflection, sadness, or calm. Brighter and vibrant colors, on the other hand, suggest happiness.

Color temperature

A picture’s white balance can be set or adjusted to bring make an image feel hotter or colder. The difference between a warm summer evening and a cool winter’s night should be evident in your pictures.

White balance works on a sliding scale from yellow to blue. Experiment to find the right setting for your image. If you shoot in RAW, you will be able to freely adjust your white balance without any quality loss in your picture. If you shoot JPG, there won’t be nearly as much leeway.

The strong blue tones in the original image on the left feel calming and introspective, while the edit on the right feels much more energetic. These two versions also give a very different impression of how warm or cold the morning was.

The Film Look and Experimenting with Black and White

Some editing styles can help invoke a sense of nostalgia. The “film look” adds a feeling of timelessness to a picture, even to those who are too young to remember the days of taking and developing pictures on film.

The editing of this picture gives it a retro feel, as though it was taken several decades earlier.

If you want to play around with this style, there are many different presets and filters that can get you started. This style will typically desaturate colors, remove some contrast, and add some grain.

Converting your image to black and white can also give your photos this sense of nostalgia. Play around with your edit and see what you can come up with!

A black and white edit on this image makes the mood feel much more melancholic or thoughtful.

So good luck with your practice of taking images that capture the mood, atmosphere, and emotion of a scene. Until scientists invent a time-machine, it’s the best way we have to travel back and experience a friendly place or memory once again.

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[Photography] How to Create Good Black and White Portraits

The most difficult question I often ask myself is, “Do I convert this image to black and white or leave it in color?” This question is particularly difficult with people, because black and white portraits look really good.

My go to rule is that if the colors in the image do not match, are not complementary, or simply do not look good, then I convert my image to black and white.

A lot of people prefer black and white images and because of that I always send to my models/clients one black and white image and one edited image in color. I basically force myself to convert all my images to black and white, and in some cases, I get surprised because the result looks really good.

Black and white is less forgiving

Flaws in monochrome images will automatically stand out than in color ones. This is because sometimes color distracts the viewer and it can give the impression that the image is perfect even if the composition, facial expression of the model, or lighting are not the best.

With black and white portraits, you will need to pay more attention to light, composition, contrast, and the whole scene in general.

Lighting for black and white

Contrasty lighting is what makes a black and white image pop. If you look at the work of famous photographers like Ansel Adams, his images stand out because of the light contrast. Fine art photographer, Joel Tjintjelaar, explains very well separation and the grey scale, tonal contrast, separation and presence and depth. Black and white is all about presence and depth. Most of the time this can be created and enhanced using the dodge and burn tools in Photoshop.

It is important to study the work of others. For example, Peter Coulson is a photographer who takes stunning black and white portraits.

When taking portraits in natural light, always use a shallow depth of field to centre the attention on the eyes and avoid slow shutter speed as the image needs to be completely sharp.

Taking images during the magic hour will give a very flattering result as the light will be very soft. In studio sessions, a large softbox or window light will give you very soft light. For more contrasty results, the best solution outdoors is to photograph during the middle of the day and in studio is to use a beauty dish.

The difference will mainly play in the shadows and it will depend on how dark do you want your shadows to be.

Plan for black and white

Most of the time, the best solution is to have black and white in mind for the final image because you will automatically pay more attention to light and shapes around your model. You also need to tell your model that this is your intention because the pose and facial expression will be more important and emphasized.

Black and white portraits are all about facial expression and transmitting emotions. The eyes of the model should always be the centre of attention and facing the light source to create a little sparkle of light (called catch lights), this makes the difference. You can also create a second sparkle if you use a light reflector. You don’t necessarily need an assistant to hold the reflector, you can ask the model to hold it or you can hold it yourself with one hand.

Studio portraits in black and white can be much more creative because you fully control the amount of light in the room. You can control the direction and intensity of that light towards your model. Try to get creative by only lighting one part of the face, by using objects or using a black background to isolate your subject.

Post-processing

Black and white work is not only desaturating an image, it is much more complex. The work flow I usually use is I start by editing my image in color and playing around with the contrast of colors. I adjust my exposure, the sharpness, do skin work and then I do my first dodge and burn. Afterward, I convert my image to black and white using the channel mixer and it is quite simple because the different filters will give you different results.

The most important part of post-processing is using dodge and burn to give life to your image. Brighting and darkening up key areas of the image is the most important step, take your time to do it well. The result will depend on you, so don’t hesitate to do it several times before you are completely satisfied. I recommend using a Wacom Tablet for full control. Finish your post-processing by creating a vignette to add another feel of dimension.

Conclusion

Black and white portraits look amazing when they are done properly. The result will depend on how good you can control and define the light around your subject. In other words, how defined is your contrast between the different tones.

Always think about black and white when the colors in the RAW image do not look good, when when your model has a very strong facial expression, and when you have good looking light whether it’s outdoors or indoors.

Please share your comments and black and white portraits in the section below.

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[Photography] 4 Simple Ways to Get Sharper Photos

If I were to ask you what the best way to make sharper photographs is, your mind might instantly jump to something like, “Get a better lens.” While the quality of your lens glass certainly does play a huge role in overall image sharpness, it is not an absolute guarantee.

There are many other factors that come into play when discussing image sharpness or lack thereof. I’ve even said things myself like, “If I only had this lens or that lens, I could make better photos.” But have you considered the other reasons why your images seem to lack that wonderful sharpness we all chase?

Let’s face it, not all of us can afford the top of the line lenses that we believe will deliver the utmost clarity in our photographs. But there are so many other things that can be done to make sure you don’t stand in the way of even your kit lenses of delivering the best images possible. Here a few easy tips you can use right now to make sure you get the most out of whatever glass you might have on hand…or rather, on camera – and get help you get sharper photos.

#1 – Ye’ Olde Tripod

Here it comes. That same old practice that I’ve always implored you to do – use a tripod. There’s simply no escaping the fact that the more steady your camera is the sharper your images will be. Read: 5 Tips to Get Sharp Photos While Using a Tripod for more on this.

The truth is, excuses for not using a tripod are becoming slimmer and slimmer. Lightweight travel-style tripods (like the Vanguard tripod I wrote about here) are becoming more readily available. These are small and light options that fit in your camera bag without dragging you down. While not always practical, of course, a tripod (even a monopod) is the single best option you have for steadying your camera while making a photo. But when a tripod isn’t possible there are still ways to physically steady your camera for the capture. Like these…

#2 – How to Hold Your Camera Steady

There isn’t a set way to place your hands for each and every camera you may encounter. But there are some basic principles to follow that can help you to keep your camera physically stable when shooting handheld.

The most important thing to remember is that the further your camera moves away from your center of gravity, the more inherent possible camera shake will become. This means that whenever possible you should hold your arms close to your body and avoid putting distance between yourself and the camera.

Arms out making the camera unsteady.

Arms and elbows tucked in, this is much more stable.

Furthermore, the manner with which you hold the camera in your hands becomes important. Keep a comfortable yet firm grip with your shutter hand while your left hand remains beneath the lens close to the camera body, all the while still being capable of adjusting the lens focus or zoom ring. Your left hand should be pressing slightly backward in opposition to your shutter hand.

Hold the camera and lens firmly but stay flexible. Notice the left hand is under the lens.

This will allow more steady control of the entire setup to reduce shake. Again, experiment with different configurations of the same grip so that you become the most comfortable. Just remember to keep those elbows tucked in close to your body, with your left hand cradling the lens firmly underneath close to the camera. Your right hand should be gripping the camera equally as firmly with opposing forward pressure to your left hand.

If you want to test yourself, take in a deep breath before each shot and exhale half way before you click the shutter. These little nuances may seem somewhat neurotic but can help you to get sharper photos when the odds are against you.

#3 – The Importance of Shutter Speed

Much like the idea of preventing camera shake, the faster the shutter speed you can use the better it is in terms of making your images sharper. Motion is always your enemy. Unless you purposefully want to impart motion to your photograph the more helpful arresting it in your frame will be. One of the most helpful methods you will find to reduce both camera shake and subject blur when shooting handheld is something called the Reciprocal Rule. Which really, is more of a guideline than a rule.

The Reciprocal Rule is simply a calculation based on whatever focal length lens you happen to be using. Just take the focal length in millimeters and make it a fraction. If you’re shooting a 50mm lens your maximum shutter speed should not be slower than 1/50th of a second. If you’re shooting a 24mm lens then the shutter speed should be at least 1/24th second; a 300mm lens would need 1/300th, and so forth. If the exact shutter speed isn’t available just round up to the nearest speed (or faster).

Here are a couple of examples of the improved sharpness based on an increase in shutter speed according to the Reciprocal Rule:

Shot at 1/40th of a second with 85mm lens – notice how it’s not quite sharp. Usually when you see a sort of  double image like this – it’s due to the shutter speed being too slow. 

Now notice the reduction in motion blur once the shutter is increased to 1/100th second.

Shot at 1/100th of a second with an 85mm lens

This is an easy and quick way to prevent your images from suffering sharpness robbing blur due to camera shake. While not perfect, the Reciprocal Rule will become your best friend in the field.

#4 – What’s a Sweet Spot Anyway?

Regardless of the lens you happen to be using, it has what is often referred to as a sweet spot. This is the aperture range of your lens that will produce the sharpest images. This range varies even between lenses of the same make and model, so personal experimentation is a must in order to determine where the sweet spot of your particular lens may be. Read: How to Identify Your Lens’s Sweet Spot

Begin at the largest aperture (smallest f-number like f/4) and make photos at each aperture up to the minimum aperture (largest f-number like f/22 or f/32) of your lens. Adjust shutter speed and ISO as you go to normalize the exposure. Then examine each image throughout the frame, especially at the corners, to see which apertures give you the best sharpness. This is a somewhat tedious process, but I assure you it will pay off in more ways than you might imagine.

When in doubt, always place the subject of your photo towards the middle of the frame. The center of the lens glass will virtually always be the sharpest area. So, regardless of the aperture you happen to employ the more important aspect of your photo will benefit from the most physical sharpness possible.

Summing Up

• When you can, use a tripod. A tripod really is your best friend.
• Practice good camera holding techniques. Keep those elbows tucked in with your left hand firmly (yet still maneuverable) cradling the lens from underneath. Use your right hand to tightly grip the camera body in opposition to your left hand.
• Use the fastest shutter speed allowable for your image effect. If you need to figure a maximum shutter speed quickly use the Reciprocal Rule (one over the focal length of your lens).
• Learn the sweet spot of your lenses. Figure out the optimum sharpness aperture for each. If conditions don’t allow you to use that particular setting, then place your subject as close to the center of the frame as possible.

Have more tips that help you achieve sharper images? Please let us know in the comments please.

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[Photography] How to Introduce Lifestyle Photography to Families

Firstly, what exactly is lifestyle photography? Most people are familiar with a family photo shoot, where they go to a studio and get a nice group shot of the family, all smiling in front of the camera. While this is perfectly nice, it feels rather static. Enter lifestyle photography.

Here, the photo shoot is mostly done at their home and the idea is to capture candid moments in their lives, without getting them to pose specifically for the camera. This helps in getting natural expressions and renders the photos a lot more memorable. Of course, there will still be a few certain posed shots, but the look will be more natural and easy-going. The problem is that most families have not been exposed to the idea of “Lifestyle Photography”, so it is important to understand a few things before you go ahead.

Whether you’re an amateur with a point-and-shoot or a professional photographer, getting families to pose during a photography session can be a real challenge!

Let’s consider a typical situation. You are off for a family photo shoot, well equipped with your camera, a nice set of portrait lenses, a couple of off-camera lights, and a few props (hats, jackets, plastic balls, Frisbees, etc.). The shoot is scheduled at their home. You have informed the family to be ready with the right colored clothes. It’s a regular family with the husband and wife, their parents, two kids, and a dog. You have decided to shoot early in the morning to get the magical golden light, having allocated three hours for the photo shoot, allowing for three clothing changes and three locations.

Once you enter, you realize that the living room and the backyard are in a mess, the color coordination of their clothes is off, and the kids are groggy. There is hardly any safe space to set up your lights with the kids and a dog around. What do you do?

Well, there are a few things that can be taken care of initially, so that such a situation can be easily handled. Here is what you can do to make it easier for you and the family you are photographing.

1. PLANNING

It’s very important to sit with all the members of the family and discuss what you intend to do, well before the shooting day. Tell them why you intend to start so early in the morning, or maybe reschedule the shoot for late afternoon. This is also a great way to get to know all the family members and for them to get to know, and be comfortable, with you. This is especially helpful in the case of kids and pets.

2. SCOUTING

This is something that is almost always overlooked, but the importance can never be overemphasized. Go to their place and have a look at all the spaces available. This will help you identify the best locations to shoot, considering the best light available and the best settings. You will also be able to find secure places to set up your equipment and make sure it is out of reach of the kids and pets. Plus, it will also help you plan your equipment in a more efficient way.

3. CLOTHES

You need the right colored clothes to create the mood you wish to show in the photos. This needs to be communicated to the client in specific terms. If the client is comfortable, you may even have a look at their wardrobe and select clothes for each member of the family. Allow enough time for at least three changes. You can even think of going for coordinated colors for the family, but don’t select matching ones, as it may not look natural.

4. PROPS

Not a requirement, but you can carry a few non-imposing props like toys or clothing accessories, especially for the kids and any pets.

Almost all kids love their pets and making them pose with their pet will get you better expressions most of the time. The car bonnet is a way better location to get natural expressions than a living room sofa!

5. LENSES

Considering it’s a family portrait shoot, you will need fast lenses for a shallow depth of field, and depending on the space available, you will have to make your choice between a 35mm, 50mm, 85mm or at the most a 100mm. Aperture needs to be wider than f/2.8 for a couple reasons – better indoor photos and shallower depth of field.

Note: make sure, however, that you have enough depth of field to cover everyone in the photo especially when doing groups.

6. LIGHT

Natural light works best, especially if the house has large windows and big reflecting walls. But not every situation is ideal, and you might be stuck in a place without decent light. In this case, you can consider using off-camera flash, or bouncing it off the ceiling to get nice diffused light, spread evenly across the room. It’s better not carry a lot of equipment as it can feel imposing for the family members.

Backlighting can work wonders! This was shot in the late afternoon, and we had nice golden light behind the subjects.

7. POSING

Not everybody is going to be comfortable posing for the camera. Consider that as a given. You will have to work at making the family comfortable to capture more candid moments. You will get the best candid moments before and after the posed shots.

If you still want to try formal poses, go ahead and give it a shot. But you will get some lovely shots when no one is posing, while they’re having a conversation, sharing a joke, or sipping coffee. So be sure you are ready with your camera every single moment.

A children’s play area can be an out-of-the-box location for a family pose, but it sure makes for a nice candid moment, and most importantly, makes the children comfortable.

8. KIDS

The kids, especially younger than five, will almost never be comfortable posing. If there is more than one kid, it will be easier to photograph them while they are playing with each other. If it is just one, you can use toys as props, or make the parents, or better still the grandparents, play with them. Chocolates, ice cream, and candies could be used as props (ask the parents first), and you are sure to get some nice expressions of joy and delight on their faces. You can even have the kids play some games, like a running race or even hide-and-seek, to capture natural expressions.

A great way to capture candid photos of children is to let them play. If the location has a garden or a backyard, that’s the place to be.

9. POST-PROCESSING

A tricky thing, but I believe that every photo needs cleaning-up and a little bit of enhancement. Photo manipulation is debatable, but removing that distracting cable, a piece of paper or some lens spots is perfectly fine. Use warmer tones in White Balance and go slightly soft on clarity.

Conclusion

So if you want to do something a bit different for your family portrait sessions, consider trying lifestyle photography. Please share your images and comments below.

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