Lightroom vs. Capture NX

Wow what a difference.

Lightroom 2.0

Same image in Capture NX2

Here is the NX2 image with just 30 seconds worth of LOVE

Look at the skin tones…

Lightroom

Capture NX 2

 

Some food for thought,

Chris.

Lesson 3: ISO, and the completion of our lessons on the basics of exposure.

Now that I understand Aperture and Shutter Speed – how they work independently and together to expose an image – let’s move to the last of the 3 major components of exposure, ISO.  Let’s start out with the definition. (www.photographytips.com & www.digital-slr-guide.com & wiki)

ISO - Film speed is designated by a single, almost universally-accepted common system developed by the International Organization for Standardization which uses the initials “ISO” before the film-speed number – e.g. ISO 100. (The letters ISO come from the Greek work for “equal” (isos). These three letters have been adopted by the International Organization for Standardization, but ISO is not an acronym for the organization)

FAST FILM - High speed film, i.e. film that is more sensitive to light, meaning less light is needed to obtain a properly-exposed image.

FILM SPEED - is the measure of a photographic film’s sensitivity to light. Film with lower sensitivity (lower ISO/ASA speed) requires a longer exposure and is thus called a slow film, while stock with higher sensitivity (higher ISO/ASA speed) can shoot the same scene with a shorter exposure and is called a fast film.

 

 

Okay that makes sense, let’s see if I can come up with a real world explanation that has nothing to do with photography.  Ok got it…  You’re car has an MPG rating of 20 miles per gallon in the city, so to go 40 miles in town, would take you about 2 gallons.  Now imagine you were driving a Mini Cooper, which gets close to 40 MPG in the city.  That same trip would only take you 1 gallon.  So how does this relate?  Imagine that your car of choice is the ISO (film speed or sensor’s sensitivity to light), and the distance is the image you are trying to expose.  The variable that would be directly affected by the CAR and DISTANCE is the gas needed.  The gas needed equates to what we learned in lesson 1 and 2.  Aperture and Shutter Speed together effect the amount of time the shutter needs to be open to get the proper amount of light to expose an image.  So if you pick a high ISO setting, it would take less shutter time to produce an image.  Let’s jump back to our UPS truck story from Lesson 2, we said that it takes 100 boxes to fill the truck.  Imagine that each box has a size measured as 100 (ISO 100).  If we increased the box size to 200 (ISO 200), it would take half the time (amount of light) to fill the truck.

 

So what’s the problem with shooting in high ISO all the time???  Noise.

 

The reason noise shows up is that because the camera on a higher setting has less time to capture an image, it isn’t able to capture all the information as it would if it was on a lower ISO setting, like 100.  This lack of information shows up as noise in the exposed image.  

 

Here’s a real world example.  You’re blind folded and led into a bare room with only a table.  They turn off the lights, take off your blind fold, and it’s completely dark.  The table has 10 items laid out on it.  Now, they quickly turn the lights on for a brief second.  Most of us would not be able to remember exactly everything about every detail on the table, let alone 2 or 3 of them.  Let’s say the room is dark again and the items are switched out with another item.  This time the lights are turned on for 5 minutes.  Most of us now, could easily remember and describe every item in detail after 5 minutes.  

 

Another lesson that can be learned from this is why better cameras cost more or have bigger sensors.  My D70s is an average C+ student, while my wife’s D300 is a straight A gifted student.  The D300 is able to more correctly “remember” more information (items laid out on the table) than the D70s at the same ISO (time the light are on), and produces less noise (false information out the stuff on the table).  Now the D3 would definitely be Rainman and Einstein combined, being able to remember a lot of detail at very fast light on and off sequences (ISO).  If you probably notice, the more expensive/pro cameras tend to have bigger sensors.  Imagine the sensor of a camera to be the size of the brain of the person looking at the items on the table.

 

There’s not really an exercise for this lesson as much as there is an experimentation.

 

Find an object (preferably with a large area of a solid color) and shoot it with at least 7 different ISO settings.  Note the different setting, and notice how the noise increases in the solid area as the ISO increases.  Here are my results below.  I shot in Auto mode, but locked and changed the ISO for each shot.

ISO 1600 / 1250 / 1000 / 800 / 600 / 500 / 400 / 320 / 250 / 200 (In order as they show up in the gallery)

 

Here are some standard ISO settings and what they are most commonly used for.

Best Light / Studio (dealing with very still or inanimate object) – ISO 50-100

Outside – ISO 100-400

Inside – ISO 400-800

Speciality – ISO 800 – whatever your show off camera can do.

 

Here some basic tips if you’re looking to buy a camera, and you want to know how ISO plays in your purchase.  (www.digital-slr-guide.com)

Buying Tip

Look for a camera with low noise at high ISO if:

• You enjoy taking photos in dim available light
• You enjoy natural light images and don’t want to use your flash a lot
• You don’t want to lug around a tripod all the time

Don’t make ISO noise into a big issue if:

• You intend to take photos during the daytime in plenty of light
• You don’t mind carrying a tripod to keep the camera stable
• Faced with a low-light scene, you’d rather pop the flash than fiddle with ISO

Also, if you’ve made the mistake of using too high of an ISO and you have unbearable noise, send in the ninja!  Noise Ninja is the gold standard in noise reduction, a great plugin.

 

Again thanks for taking the time to learn with me,

Chris.

Lesson 2: Shutter Speed.

 

Now that I understand aperture, it’s time to move to the next thing.  Shutter speed.  I don’t think this lesson is going to be as long as aperture, because I already know what shutter and speed means, therefore, I think I can make an educated guess about shutter speed.

 

Here are the definitions:

SHUTTER - A movable cover for an opening. In photography, that opening is the lens – more specifically, the aperture. The shutter blocks the passage of light traveling through the lens to the film when it is closed, and allows light to reach the film when it is open. Shutters are composed of blades, a curtain, a plate or another movable cover. They control the amount of time that light is allowed to pass through the opening to reach the film.

SHUTTER SPEED - Controls the duration of an exposure – the faster the Shutter speed, the shorter the exposure time.

SHUTTER PRIORITY - An exposure mode (in a camera with automatic exposure control) that permits the photographer to preset shutter speed while the camera automatically determines the aperture setting required for proper exposure.

 

 So that’s why when my camera is in Auto mode, I’m not using a flash, and the light is kind of dim, it takes forever (or a longer time) between the two “clicks” to take a picture.  The camera needs a certain amount of light poured into the sensor to be able to expose an image.  So, let’s take a look at this concept in term of something that has nothing to do with photography.  

 

You’re the UPS guy getting ready to go on his daily route.  Your truck is empty and you can’t go on your route until your truck is full, which is 100 packages.  Let’s say it’s just you, and you have to load the truck by yourself.  It would take you a while to do it, probably around 20 minutes.  Now let’s say there is another person to help you load up.  It would take half the time to get a full truck.  Now there is a single person for every package.  It wouldn’t take more than 20 seconds to load the whole truck.  So imagine that the 100 package total is the amount of light information your camera needs to expose a proper image, and the people loading the truck are particles of light.  If you have very dim light (people loading a truck), it’s going to take your camera longer to get an exposure (a full truck of 100 packages; therefore your camera’s shutter needs to stay open longer to allow enough packages to get in.  Now, if it’s very bright, therefor lots of particles of light (lots of people loading the truck), your camera’s shutter only needs to be open very briefly, because it’s not going to take that long to “load up the truck.”

 

Shutter speed is measured in seconds and fractions of a second.  1/125 seconds,  1/1000 seconds…  3 seconds and so on.  Let’s say in a room with constant light, if your first picture is shot with a shutter speed of 1/125, then if your second picture is shot with a speed of 1/250, you a halved the amount of light reaching your camera’s sensor.  This is why during low light photography a tripod is usually recommended, because it requires longer shutter speed, and therefor a still capture.  If you tried taking a picture in low light with a long shutter speed without a tripod, unless you are a freak, chances are you’ll get a some smear or blur.

 

Here are some problems.  Armed with my knowledge from Lessons 1 and 2, this is how I would solve them:

Low Light, Still Object 3 feet away, with Mets fans in the background.  I’d shoot at a slow shutter speed (1/15 or 1/30) and a large opening in my aperture, so maybe f1.8.

Normal Light, Very fast moving object, with a beautiful background.  I’d shoot at a fast shutter speed (maybe 1/1000) with an aperture set fairly small (f/13), but not too small to allow enough light to pass to the sensor.

 

Now for the exercises.

 

Exercise 1:  If you’re lucky to live near a waterfall, good for you, for the rest of us, go to your bath tub and turn on the faucet.  Let the water run, put your camera on a tripod and set to shutter priority or (S) mode.  Take a picture at with least 7 different shutter speeds.  Then notice how the definition of the water changes.  On the fast shutter speeds you’ll be able to see every drop, and at the slowest shutter speed your water will look like a unified misty dreamlike stream.  Here are my results below.

 

 

Exercise 2 (Which combines your knowledge from Lesson 1):  Find a loved one, friend, or willing stranger and get them to do jumping jacks.  Make sure they stand a couple of feet in front of something with definition, like a book case or window…

Angel Wings Without Background = Which would be a slow shutter speed with a wide open aperture.

Angel Wings With Background = Which would be a slow shutter speed with a smaller aperture.

Stick Man Without Background = Which would be a fast shutter speed with a wide open aperture.

Stick Man With Background = Which would be a fast shutter speed with a smaller aperture.

 

Now if you’ve mastered this exercise, make it harder.  Make a game out of it.  Get your jumping jack champion, to write down a sequence of 10 Angel/Stickman combinations, and then start a minute timer.  As you hit start on the timer, your subject hands you the order.  Now, can you get all ten pictures in the time allowed?  If you can, upgrade the combinations to 20…  This is a good exercise even for a seasoned  veteran.  Here are my results…

 

Hope you enjoyed your lesson in shutter speed,  I look forward to seeing your results.

Chris.

Lesson 1: Aperture Settings. a.k.a. f stops

Disclaimer: I know nothing, and I claim to know nothing.  The reason I’m doing things this way is because I believe that you don’t truly understand something, until you are able to teach it to someone else (It’s even better if you can teach a 4th grader something, that’s the real challenge).  Also, I might teach something that is totally wrong, and that’s okay we’re all learning.  Simply comment, correct me and I’ll appreciate the help.

 

Definitions (photographytips.com)

APERTURE - A circle-shaped opening in a lens (a hole, really) through which light passes to strike the film/sensor. The aperture is usually created by an iris diaphragm that is adjustable, enabling the aperture to be made wider or narrower, thereby letting in more or less light. The size of the aperture is expressed as an f-number, like f/8 or f/11.

f-NUMBER - (ƒ-number) A number that expresses a lens’ light-transmitting ability – i.e. the size of the lens opening. Usually found on the barrel of a lens, f-numbers indicate the size of the aperture in relation to the focal length of the lens. A smaller number indicates a larger lens diameter. ƒ/1.4 signifies that the focal length of the lens is 1.4 times as great as the diameter. All lenses set at the same f-number transmit the same amount of light.

ƒ-stop - (f-stop) A lens aperture setting calibrated to an f-number.

 

 

So, what I’ve learned so far about aperture is that it functions like the pupils in your eyeballs, expanding and contracting as needed depending on the amount of light in the room or place where you are.   Ok.  That makes sense.  When the doctor sticks a shiny flash light in my eye, my pupils get tiny.  So l just went to the bathroom (a dark room) and turned off the light for 30 seconds and then turned the lights back on…  Guess what?  I could see my pupils shrink real quick in the mirror.  I know this is a trick we did as a 4 year old, but it really helps me understand why aperture is important in photography.  My pupils in a dark room expand in an attempt to capture as much of the light that’s in the room.  And when I turn the lights back on, my eyes don’t need as much light to see, so my pupils shrink back down.  The same concept works with the diaphragm of the camera.

 

So what do the f numbers mean?  Where do they come from?  The f/numbers relate the diameter of the diaphragm to the focal length of the lens.  Let’s say that your lens has a focal length of 50mm.  Then an f/number that reads as f/2 would mean that your diameter (size of the hole passing light into your camera sensor) is 25mm.  So for all you algebra nerds (I’m on of them) :

Focal Length / Diaphragm Diameter = f number

 

If you also notice, f/numbers should be seen as fractions.  It would be easier to assume that the bigger f/number, the more light comes in, but that is not the case.  Just like 1/2 a pizza is more food goodness to intake in my belly than 1/4 of a pizza, the larger the f/number the less goodness (light) is brought to the sensor inside the camera.

 

So far I feel like I’m an idiot for breaking it down to pizza and my eyeballs, but at least I get it!  And now that I know the basics, I can build upon that.

 

While researching the f/numbers, I also figured out that the aperture affects the depth of field and not just the amount of light needed for a good exposure.  Depth of field is the amount of stuff around/behind/in front of your focus point that is in focus as well.  So, let’s say you are in a bowling alley and the entire cast of The Office is bowling 2 lanes away from you.  That would be the best picture for my blog – me bowling side by side with Jim!  Well if I want to take this picture without having to ask the celebrities for a posed shot, I have to make sure that I have the proper depth of field set up to capture both me and Jim 2 lanes down bowling.  I mean, if it’s all blurry in the background, who would believe me?  

 

Then again, less depth of field can be a very interesting composition tool.  For example, let’s say I’m at a Mets game with my wife and she just looks amazing in her Atlanta Braves shirt – I’ve got to get a picture of this!  But what’s the worst part about being a Braves fan at a Mets game???  Mets fans.  By setting the small depth of field, I can focus on her and ignore all the Mets fans in the background!

 

The way I learn is by doing, so with each lesson I’m going to be creating a fun photography exercise to put into play the concept that I just learned, and then I’ll do a quick debriefing afterwards.

 

***To eliminate as many factors as I can, I will be shooting in Aperture Mode (A) on a tripod, with no zoom, and no flash.  This way I know that the difference in each picture relates directly to what I’m adjusting.***

 

Items you’ll need :

* Camera (I’ll be using a Nikon D70s)

* 3 sheets of paper with the word FOCUS written or typed on the bottom half of the page.  As big as it’ll fit.

* A large room.

* Tripod (or the ability to stay still and take multiple pictures from the exact same spot…which I’m not blessed with!)

 

1)  Okay, once you’ve printed out the 3 FOCUS sheets of paper fold them in half.

 

2)  Now set them up around your room at these intervals.  1st one at about 4 feet in front of your camera, the second one at 8-10 feet, and the third one at 20-25 feet.  Make sure that all the sheets can have the word “FOCUS” read at the same time through the viewfinder of your camera.

 

3)  Now try to get only the first “FOCUS” in focus.  Note the f number.  (f/1.8)

 

4)  How about getting the first two in focus?  Note the change you are making? (You might need to peek down at your LCD screen to notice the difference. (f/8)

 

5)  Can you get all three in focus?  Note the f number. (f/22)

 

 6)  Now try some extra aperture settings.

 

See, that was fun right?  Study your results and you’ll see how your aperture settings affect Depth of Field.

 

Please feel free to post your pictures and results on this page.  I found the higher the aperture number (which means the smaller the diaphragm), the more I got in focus.  So:

higher f/number = more depth  

 

That’s easy.  The lower the aperture number (the larger the hole is for light to travel through), more isolated the main focal point was.  So:

 lower f/number = less depth

 

Thanks for your time, and go teach a 4th grader about aperture!

 

Chris.

…and so it begins!

 

Howdy!

 

I’m a successful sound designer in Atlanta with a recording studio that’s almost finished…so why jump into photography with my whole body, mind and soul?  Well, I’ll tell you. 

 

Love.  

 

Yep, the best and simplest reason there is.  I love my wife, who in my opinion is one extremely talented, fresh, wonderful, beautiful, awesome photographer.  Seeing that I don’t think my wife will ever have an “ear” for sound, I’m going to try my best to develop my “eye.”  We’ve made a commitment to each other that we are going to build a brand together that will come to complete fruition in January of 2010.   We’re starting a business.  In other words, I’ve got a year and 3 months to learn.  Though I’m mostly skilled in the business area, I want to learn photography and how to be a photographer (these being two completely different things).  I’m convinced that I can be great.  I’m usually pretty good at everything I pour myself into (I’m really passionate to the point of being obsessed!) and I figure this should be no different.  I’m already fluent in Photoshop from previous work experiences, so I’m a little ahead of the curve.  I love new technology, gadgets, shiny things, and cool software…that’s pretty much a perfect fit with digital photography.  So, all I need now is to shoot and learn how to shoot well.  I’m not too terrible, and even a monkey could take decent pictures in Auto Mode on a DSLR, but I want to really know what I’m doing.  This blog for the most part will be dedicated to my struggles, discoveries, mistakes and successes in my quest to becoming a professional photographer.  

 

I hope that my creative journey will help you on yours whether you’re like me, starting from square one, or a seasoned veteran.  In my previous endeavors, it’s never been bad to revisit the basics!

 

My current reading/listening assignment I’m making my way through are…

Mastering Digital Exposure and HDR Imaging by Chris Weston

and probably the best thing ever…  

The Fast Track Photographer by Dane Sanders

 

I’ll have a special lesson every week targeting an area of photography that I’m rusty or completely green on.  I should have Lesson 1 up in a few days so stay tuned.  Lesson 1 is going to be a simple exercise in “Depth of Field – How F stops work.”

 

God Bless!  Chris.