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Contents LETTER FROM KEN
AN INTRODUCTION TO SHOOTING THE NIGHT SKY
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THE MAKING OF AN IMAGE High Contrast Cathedral Pictures
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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE MONTH Mark Wainer
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PHOTO TOURS AND WORKSHOPS
p 12
PROCESSING TIP OF THE MONTH Controlling Tonal Contrast With a Histogram
p 15
THE STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE
p 17
FOCUSING STRATEGIES FOR MOVING SUBJECTS
Cover Photo: Cape Kiwanda, Oregon Coast 2
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Letter From Ken
Shooting Outside Your Comfort Zone You can’t be good at everything. Photography is no exception. For example, my wife is a professional newborn photographer. I shudder to think how bad I would be at photographing newborns. I wouldn’t just be bad at it... I would also not have any fun while being bad at it. Although you’ll probably never see me photographing a newborn, I recently had two opportunities to shoot subjects that are slightly outside of my comfort zone. A photographer friend of mine was coming to town and wanted to photograph the painted murals in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Although shooting street scenes is not a focus of mine, we had a great time driving around Pilsen looking for murals and trying to figure out how to best photograph them. It was a good learning experience and a lot of fun. A week later, I had the opportunity to shoot with a local Chicago photographer. This involved photographing a couple of interiors as well as Chicago’s architecture downtown and along the river. This is also outside of what I normally focus on, but I very much enjoyed walking around the city looking for compositions. On both occasions, I was reminded that photography doesn’t always have to be about expanding one’s portfolio. And, it can be fun shooting outside of one’s comfort zone (in my case, so long as it’s not newborns!). Beyond that, you might end up expanding your portfolio to include something new. Even if that doesn’t happen, it still helps to develop creativity and compositional skills that can be applied towards any genre of photography. Thanks for reading! Ken Koskela http://www.kenkoskela.com To receive this magazine FREE each month click HERE 3
An Introduction to Shooting the Night Sky Part 1: Milky Way, Stars & Northern Lights
A good night’s sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, right? Getting adequate sleep not only positively impacts your mind, heart and mood, but also helps you look better. However, Milky Way and Northern Lights pictures are really, really cool. So, like many other photographers, I sometimes ignore the advice of the health experts and skip a night or two or more of sleep in order to bring home some killer images. In fact, I’ll be doing that again next week. Disclaimer Let me start with a disclaimer. There are books, blogs, videos and long articles dedicated solely to night photography. This article is only an introduction to pique your interest and help get you started. By all means, do some more reading. 4
Also, I’ll do a Part 2 article on “Processing” in the next issue as it is a topic in and of itself. Star trails also warrant a separate article, so that will be Part 3. With all that in mind, here is some advice on getting started with shooting the night skies. Shoot in a Remote Location At night, there is “dark” and there is “DAAAARK”. You want the latter. This means shooting in an area far away from the lights of towns and cities. Otherwise, the light pollution can wash out your sky and end up dominating your horizon. The site http://www. lightpollutionmap.info/ has a map that shows light pollution around the globe (i.e. places to avoid). However, all is not lost if there is a town in the distance. In fact, in many cases, I think the light pollution looks good. In the cover photo of the trees in
Tuscany, I think the light pollution adds to the image by providing a nice warm glow to complement the cool night sky. Distant, minimal light pollution behind you can also help light foreground elements during your exposure. Ideally, shoot in an area with dry, clear air. Deserts and places of higher elevation work well. Timing Issues There are a lot of timing issues to get right for night photography. You have to know what cycle the moon will be in, when the moon’s light no longer impacts the sky that night, and (possibly) whether the Milky Way will be visible. Of course, you have to worry about clouds, too, but those are less predictable. Moon Cycles Having the moon in front of you while shooting is similar to having someone shining a flashlight into your lens. It will create a bright spot in your image while also washing out the stars. Because of this, you need to be aware of moon cycles.
blending a separate foreground shot in during processing. The well-known program “The Photographer’s Ephemerus” (http://photoephemeris.com/) is a good resource for showing the window of timing you have to work with for your date and location so that you are not stuck staring at the moon wondering when it will get out of the way. The Milky Way Although shooting a sky full of stars is fun and can lead to a great image, the core of the Milky Way is the money shot. Capturing the Milky Way’s core takes some planning, however. You can do a Google search to find out where and when it will be visible. Or, PhotoPills is an iPhone application for identifying when and where in the world it is visible, as well as what angle it will be at during certain times of the night. There are also night sky maps available on Amazon. Whatever you do, plan your trip around Milky Way visibility and the moon cycle. The Aurora Borealis
Ideally, plan your shooting during the New Moon, which is the moon’s first cycle during which it is hidden from view. You’ll have nice, long periods of complete darkness during this time. You can also get by with up to 25% moon (about 5 days before or after a New Moon), so targeting that time period is workable. Time of Night If the moon is visible at all in the sky on your shooting nights, then you will want to aim for a period of the night called “astronomical dusk,” which is the point at which the moon has no impact on the brightness of the sky... the sky has reached maximum darkness. This is generally 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours after sunset and the same amount before sunrise. However, start shooting before complete darkness to get a bit of faint light on your foreground and a nice blue in the sky. The stars will not be as pronounced during this period, but it is good to have shots from both time periods, especially if you are
Photographing the Northern Lights is an absolute blast. As you know already, you have to be pretty far north to capture the Aurora at its best. You generally have to brave the Winter months in places like Iceland, Alaska and Scandinavia to get the best chances. However, all three Aurora shots in this article were shot in Iceland in mid-September. There are Aurora sites on-line that predict Aurora activity, such as http://www.aurora-service.org/aurora-forecast/. Some of these Aurora forecast sites 5
are location specific, so do a search to see if there is one for your location. Weather Conditions While a clear sky is usually a disappointment for landscape photography, it is great for night photography. •
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For Milky Way (or single point stars in the sky), you need the sky to be completely clear overhead. The header shot of the Milky Way over the trees in Tuscany includes some low clouds along the horizon, but nothing blocking the Milky Way. A few minutes after this shot, the clouds started covering the galaxy and I left. For pictures of the Northern Lights, some scattered clouds are okay and can even add interest to the image.
On the subject of weather, remember that dropping temperatures can lead to foggy lenses, particularly if the area is damp. As you are shooting in the dark and sometimes cannot turn your flashlight on without upsetting other photographers, it is easy to overlook a lens that is fogging. Foreground Subject The night sky is not a subject, but a background. So, you still want something interesting as a foreground element. If you will be letting your subject go dark as a silhouette, then the subject’s shape is extra important. If you want your subject lit, then there are a few options: 1. Light pollution from distant cities behind you can help provide enough lighting to illuminate your foreground subject. 2. You can “light paint” your subject with a flashlight or other light source. However, if you haven’t done this before, it takes some practice to get subjects lit evenly. 3. As mentioned, you can also shoot your subject before things go completely dark and just leave your tripod in the same position for the shot of the sky. For this option, I recommend shooting several images as the sky darkens. Start at twilight and then try a few more as time goes on, adjusting your settings as necessary. Although 6
you will get the best quality image at twilight (with a lower ISO), sometimes the subject at twilight does not look natural when blended. Equipment At night, the higher end camera equipment really shines. Ideally, you’ll want: • •
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A camera that can shoot at high ISO without much digital noise. A fast wide-angle lens, such as f/2.8 or faster. An f/1.4 prime lens is ideal. I just bought the Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 for this purpose. The wide aperture allows you to shoot at much lower ISOs. To illustrate, if your lens is at f/1.4 and your targeted shutter speed requires an ISO of 800, shooting at f/4 would require an ISO of 6,400. In the world of ISO, that’s a world of difference. A sturdy tripod that stays stable when the wind is blowing. A remote trigger... get an intervalometer if you
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plan on also shooting star trails. You’ll need two sources of light, such as a headlamp and flashlight. Bring layers of clothes for changing temperatures.
Settings For the Sky Shot • Manual mode & Manual focus • Long Exposure Noise Reduction off • Aperture - Shoot at the widest aperture of your lens. Or, if you have a very fast lens (like f/1.4), try also shooting at one stop above the widest setting (f/2) as it will be a sharper aperture. You’ll need a higher ISO, but you can compare quality when back at your computer. • Shutter Speed - Stars - The rotation of the earth will start to streak the stars at some point. To avoid this, use the “500 Rule” by dividing 500 by your focal length. If your focal length is 16mm, then 500/16=31 seconds. Round it down to 30 seconds, and for good measure, you should lower the shutter speed a bit more, down to 2025 seconds. Using the same method for 24mm, 500/24=21 seconds, but use 15 seconds. • Shutter Speed - Northern Lights - In my opinion, Aurora images look their best at between 6 and 25 seconds, depending upon the brightness of the Aurora and how fast it is moving. I like some detail in the lights, as opposed to a big blur. • ISO - The ISO is then set to get a proper exposure. ISO’s of 1600-3200 for the sky are common. When setting your exposure, you don’t need or want every single star in the sky to be visible. For the foreground subject •
Shoot the foreground separately (re-focusing if necessary) at a lower ISO and, therefore longer shutter speed. In Part 2 of this article, I’ll discuss blending the two images in Photoshop.
ISO to maximum just to get my composition right. This helps me avoid waiting through long shutter speeds. Then, I reset my ISO and shutter speed to the desired amounts for the actual shot. Focusing If your foreground elements are closer than your lens’ infinity focal point, you will want to focus on your subject and the sky separately and take two shots. Focusing in the dark can be difficult, but here are some ideas: Focusing for the sky - Use Live View to zoom in (using the zoom buttons for the LED screen) on a distant light or star. If this cannot be done, then you can walk a flashlight past your lens’ infinity point. Optical infinity is too big of a subject to go into detail on here. If you don’t know the infinity point of your lens, some photographers simplify this by saying to convert your focal length to feet and use that distance. So, for a 24mm lens, walk out at least 24 feet, leave the light there, come back and focus on it for your infinity focus.
Focusing for a closer subject - If you are shooting a closer subject that is not in focus considering your aperture / infinity point, you will need a separate focal point for the subject. You can shine a bright flashlight on it and focus using Live View.
Composing
Processing
It is ideal to compose while it is still light out. If you are composing or re-composing in the pitch blackness, a time-saving strategy I use is to crank up the
As mentioned earlier, watch for Part 2 next month on processing night sky images, as well as a separate article on star trails in a future issue. 7
THE MAKING OF AN IMAGE High Contrast Cathedral Pictures
I’ve had the opportunity to shoot inside a few beautiful cathedrals. In this article, I’ll discuss how I went about shooting the images, as well as some high-level guidance on processing. First, you have to do a little planning ahead. Contact the cathedral ahead of time to make sure you can use a tripod and to schedule a time to photograph that does not coincide with a service. Schedule your shoot for the afternoon as the windows look best when it is bright outside. Shooting Environment You have to be methodical if you want sharp images with detail throughout the church. Here is what you are up against: 1. Cathedrals are usually fairly dark overall. The 8
dark shadows mean that you have to pay closer attention to your ISO to avoid noise in the shadows. 2. Cathedrals have very high dynamic range, from bright stained glass and chandeliers to dark shadows in hallways and between pews. The dynamic range is high enough that you will usually have clipping in both the highlights (the windows and lights) and the shadows during a normal exposure. This means a loss of detail at both ends of the spectrum. 3. Cathedrals have elements throughout the composition. You’ll often have pews in the immediate foreground, as well as elements throughout the middle and background. Equipment Needed Because of the above, you’ll need a tripod if you
want a quality image that is sharp throughout. You’ll also want a wide-angle lens to capture images like you see here. I used a 14mm lens on a full frame camera for both of the images in this article. Lastly, a remote shutter trigger is ideal so that you don’t have to press the shutter and risk causing a slight movement of your tripod between shots. Composing As you can probably see, my favorite cathedral shots are right up the middle of the aisle. This creates a perfectly symmetrical image, identical on both sides. Because of that, you need to pay very close attention to your positioning. Do your best to get right in the center of the aisle and shoot straight on. With an ultra-wide lens, even a few inches to one side or a very slight sideways tilt of the camera will distort the perspective. Look carefully at the corners to make sure they are a mirror image of the other side. Also check lines on the ceiling to make sure they look straight and/or balanced properly on each side.
I like to include the pews in the shot, but have them take up a small part of the composition. If you intend to straighten some of the columns during post-processing, then shoot extra wide to leave yourself some room to straighten them later. You can see that the shot below is not perfect. For the cover shot on the previous page, I had better positioning. Settings Here are my recommended settings: • • • • • •
Shoot in manual mode. Use your camera’s mirror lock-up feature. If you don’t have a remote trigger, also use your camera’s 2-second timer. Use live view when composing and focusing. Use a low ISO, such as 100, to keep the shadows as clean as possible from digital noise Use a narrow aperture to keep everything in focus from front to back. Somewhere around f/16 or f/18 works. You will be shooting several images, each with a
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different shutter speed., which I’ll discuss in the next section.
Method 1: Manual Blending Using Luminosity Masks. This is my preferred method.
For those of you who like to shoot at a sharp aperture (like f/8) and then blend focal points for maximum sharpness throughout, this would be a bit of a pain in this scenario because you will also be blending exposures. It is possible, however.
1. First, I choose a “base” image that gives me a good exposure for everything but the brightest parts of the image and for which I can pull up some detail in the shadows. 2. I process this first file in Lightroom without worrying about the detail in the windows. I use the shadows slider until I can see some detail in darker areas, but keep the shadows still fairly dark. I pull down the highlights slider. I add some clarity and vibrance. 3. Next, I choose the brightest image where the windows have detail throughout. I copy the settings from my base photo to this 2nd image, then adjust the exposure and highlights so that the window detail is there, but the windows still look bright. 4. I bring both of those images into Photoshop as layers. I Auto Align the images (Edit-Auto Align Layers), using “Auto” as the setting. 5. In Photoshop, I put the base exposure layer on top and create a mask on that layer that masks out the windows and bright areas with black paint, making the bright parts visible on the bottom (darker) layer. I do this using luminosity masks with TK Actions. You can read about this in the June Issue of Inspirational Photography, starting on page 6. I usually paint with black paint onto a white mask through a lights selection. Then, I release the selection and touch up the mask with more black paint to make sure the entire window or bright spot is masked out. 6. Once the blend is accomplished, I continue processing as normal. If you want to straighten the columns, you can do so in Photoshop using Transform.
Shooting After you have your composition, lock your focus on an object about 1/3 of the way into the scene using live view and then shut off auto focus (if you used it). Now, in manual mode, adjust the shutter speed until you have a good exposure for the brightest part of the image, most likely the stained glass windows. Zoom into the image to make sure they have good color, are exposed well and look sharp. The rest of the picture will be REALLY dark. Take a shot. Then, take additional exposures while decreasing the shutter speed by 1 stop each time. Your images will be getting lighter. When the darkest areas of the image have visible detail in the shadows, you can stop. By this time, the windows will be completely blown out and lack any detail. Once you have the straight up the middle shot, try out different compositions throughout the church. You can use archways as framing elements, for example. Shots straight up at the ceiling look good and would not require multiple exposures. Quick Input on Processing You have two options to get the images blended properly. For the blue church (cover photo), I blended the images manually using luminosity masking. For the other image, I used HDR software to do the blending. You can see that the 2nd church has more of an HDR look and feel. I will not go into much detail here on luminosity masking or HDR, but will try to point you in the right direction. First, note that you probably don’t need (or want) to use all the images you took when blending. 10
Method 2: HDR Software. If you are not comfortable with the above method, or prefer the HDR look, then HDR software can quickly blend for you. For this image, I used Nik Filters’ HDR software to do the blending. Try the blend with differing #’s of exposures (starting with perhaps 2 or 3) to see which blend gets you the best look. Nik gives you a variety of options for the initial processing effect, so you can scroll through those options and choose the one you like best.
FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER:
Mark Wainer http://www.markwainer.com
Mark Wainer has been passionately pursuing photography for 50 years. He took his first Photoshop class in 1991... Photoshop version 1.7! In 1994, he transitioned from the darkroom to digital printing. However, because digital photography had quality limitations at that time, he initially worked in a “painterly” photographic style. Mark has had two individual gallery shows and has participated in numerous group shows. His work is collected in the United States and internationally. Mark’s new show “A 50 Year Retrospective” opens at the R.Blitzer Gallery on September 2nd, 2016. Mark’s artist statement reads: When I explore, I see. When I see, I visualize. When I visualize, I wonder. When I wonder, I can imagine. Mark’s work can be viewed and/or purchased at www.markwainer.com.
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2017 PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS & WORKSHOPS http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/photo-tours-workshops/
VENICE CARNIVAL w/ RENEE DOYLE February 18-24, 2017
Venice comes alive during Carnival as amazing models in ornate masks and incredible costumes descend upon the city. I am co-leading this tour with Renee Doyle. Renee and I have some great connections with many of the best models which will allow our group to have opportunities for private shoots in some locations away from the crowds and not accessible to the general public. http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/2017-venice-carnival-photography-workshop/ CLICK HERE FOR INFO
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2017 PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS & WORKSHOPS http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/photo-tours-workshops/
GUILIN, CHINA w/ RICK SAMMON May 17-25, 2017
WAITING LIST ONLY
Join Rick and I to photograph the beautiful karst mountains, Li River, cormorant fisherman at sunrise and sunset, the incredible Longji rice terraces, the XiangGongShan overlook, Cuipinghsan Hill, and many other locations. We will also meet and photograph rural villagers. http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/2017-guilin-china-photo-tour/ SOLD OUT! SIGN UP FOR THE WAITING LIST.
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2017 PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS & WORKSHOPS NEW ZEALAND w/ RENEE DOYLE April 18-28, 2017 (Optional 3-Night Milford Sound extension available)
Join Renee and I to photograph this amazingly beautiful country during the best time of year... Autumn. In addition to the iconic Church of the Good Shepherd, the lone Wanaka Lake tree and Nugget Point Lighthouse, we will photograph turquoise lakes, rolling hills, hidden waterfalls and New Zealand’s iconic mountainous regions. Also, join us for the optional extension to Milford Sound to round out an amazing visit to the South Island of New Zealand! http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/2017-new-zealand-photo-tour/ CLICK HERE FOR INFO!
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Processing Tip of the Month Controlling Tonal Contrast Using a Histogram
Apart from getting a compelling composition in camera, controlling tonal contrast during post-processing is perhaps the most important part of creating a successful image. What does tonal contrast mean from a photography perspective? It is simply the magnitude of the difference between the light and dark areas of the image. To see this visually, let’s look at the histogram… a tool found in your post-processing software that can help you control contrast more effectively. I use Adobe Lightroom to do my initial processing. In Lightroom, you can make the histogram visible by making sure the word Histogram is checked under the Window menu.
In the histogram, identical tones in your image are reflected in the vertical movement of the graph, while differences in tones are reflected in the left to right movement. More concentration on the left mean an overall darker image, while more concentration on the right means an overall lighter image. Here is an exercise that I think will make the histogram clear:
The image above is just a middle gray box. Every pixel in the image is filled with the same tone… middle gray, which is exactly halfway between pure black and pure white. This zero contrast image results in a histogram that is made up of a single very narrow column right in the middle. Now, look at the next image. As expected, the histogram has two very narrow columns… the left (it is there but difficult to see) representing the black pixels and the right representing the white pixels. All of the pixels are concentrated in two tones.
Lastly, below is an image with a gradient applied from pure black to pure white. You can see what the histogram looks like in this case, with a full range of tones moving from left to right.
So, how do you actually control contrast and how can you use the histogram when processing an image? Although I work with contrast at different stages in post-processing, I initially set contrast as one 15
of the first steps. This initial contrast adjustment is the focus of this article. The image below is a pretty extreme example of one that completely lacks contrast and looks “gray” in tone. This results in a histogram that is fairly concentrated around the middle. This image can be substantially improved by increasing contrast.
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Below is the same image after initially adjusting contrast. This image is not finished with processing, but it certainly looks a lot better already. Notice the tones are spread out and each side of the line of the graph does not quite reach the edge of pure black or pure white. I do this because I like to leave myself some room for a later contrast adjustment in Photoshop.
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image. For another image, I may have moved the slider to the right to reduce or eliminate the pure black in the image. Next, I looked at the darker parts of the image (ignoring the histogram) and adjusted the Shadows slider so that the image had greater contrast, but without losing detail in important shadow areas. You usually want to still be able to see detail in the shadows without losing too much contrast. Looking again at the histogram, I moved the whites slider to the right until the graph line was close to the edge, but had room to spare. If the image didn’t look good with that adjustment, I could have simply backed off on the adjustment. Also, if the graph was up against the right side at the beginning and I didn’t want white in the image, I would have moved it left. Looking at the image (and, again, ignoring the histogram), I adjusted the highlights slider until the lighter areas of the image showed some nice contrast. I went back and tweaked the sliders again.
It is important to note that this is really only an example of how I initially adjusted contrast for one particular image. In many cases, you want to reduce contrast, rather than increase contrast. For some images, it is okay or desirable to have a fair amount of pure black or pure white in the image. Also, in some cases, you want your image histogram concentrated either to the left, middle or right. Night pictures, for example, will have a histogram concentrated on the left.
In the partial screen shot above, you can see the adjustments I made using just 4 sliders in Lightroom. Again, this is a pretty extreme example, so my adjustments are pretty extreme here. There is no real right way to do this, but here is what I did for this image: 1. First, looking at the histogram, I moved the Blacks slider to the left to get the leftmost part of the graph line fairly close to the left edge, but not touching. So, there is no pure black in this 16
I can teach you my processing techniques through one-on-one, on-line instruction via Skype and screen share. I can help you with: • • •
Basic Lightroom and/or Photoshop Intermediate and Advanced Environmental Portrait Processing Techniques Intermediate and Advanced Landscape Processing Techniques
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The Story Behind the Picture Deja Vu
I took the above picture in May of 2012 in a small village near Xingping, China. My local guide spent a few minutes chatting with the women before they agreed to take the picture. I liked this image immediately and have had it in my China portfolio since then. Three years later, almost to the day, I was back in China with the same local guide. I was more focused on portraits at this point, so we spent more time going to villages looking for portrait subjects. While we were photographing in one of the villages, I commented to my guide that the place looked familiar. A couple minutes later, we walked around a bend and came right up to these same two ladies... sitting in the exact same spot on the same stairs... and even wearing the exact same shoes and clothes! That was a real deja vu. I showed the ladies the picture from 2012, which they enjoyed seeing. I had hoped for a follow-up photo session, but they politely declined this time around.
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Focusing Strategies for Moving Subjects When subjects are moving, a photographer has more to think about. Shutter speed becomes very relevant to ensure the subject is sharp or is intentionally blurred the amount that you want. (See page 12 of the June Issue of Inspirational Photography for an article on suggested minimum shutter speeds for sharp pictures.) Beyond eliminating motion blur, capturing your moving subject in focus, the topic of this article, is more challenging than setting an appropriate shutter speed. In fact, no focusing strategy will get you guaranteed good focus for a subject moving quickly towards your camera. Full disclosure here... I don’t shoot fast moving subjects all that often. If you want the best advice on the topic, ask a bird photographer. With that disclaimer out of the way, I use three strategies to focus on a moving subject. Which of these three I use depends on the circumstances, as I’ll discuss below. 18
Strategy 1. Pre-focus on a spot where you anticipate your subject will arrive at This is a good strategy when your subject is moving along a predictable path, such as a race track. You anticipate where your subject will move to, lock your focus on that location ahead of time and then shoot the picture when your subject (hopefully) arrives in the right place. It is best to shoot in continuous mode, starting shortly before the subject’s arrival to the predetermined spot, to increase your chances of capturing a sharp image. I used this strategy for the jumping caracal shot on the next page. Getting sharp focus had an added complication because I was lying on the ground trying to capture the lynx jumping high in the air. So, I had to account for the distance between me and the jumping off spot, as well as the additional vertical distance. I wish I could tell you that I used a clever geometric
nowadays to allow for greater flexibility. Strategy 3. Focus, Re-Focus in Continuous Shooting Mode For slower moving subjects moving across the scene (rather than towards the camera), I often keep the camera set to continuous firing mode and simply refocus the subject frequently. This strategy is not recommended for fast moving subjects or subjects moving towards you. Camera Controls Auto focus mode - For moving subjects, I always keep my lens on auto focus. Continuous shooting mode - As mentioned earlier, for moving subjects, you’ll have a better chance at an in-focus subject if you shoot in continuous shooting mode, rather than single shot mode. Beyond that, people and animals look different in each frame when moving. So, you’ll get a better chance at a good composition. method to figure out the focusing distance. To be honest, though, high school geometry is all a blur now. In this case, I asked the person holding the stick to hold it up ahead of time so that I could focus on it. I shot at f/5.6 to give myself a little breathing room in terms of depth of field. This technique also makes sense if you are shooting multiple subjects all moving past the same point. Strategy 2. Use Al Servo / AF-C modes If you have a higher end camera, your camera probably has an auto focus mode that continuously tracks a moving subject and keeps it in focus. On Canon, this is called AI Servo. On Nikon, it is called AF-C. On the Canon, I set the mode to AI Servo and hold the shutter down half-way while keeping the moving subject over the active focusing point as the subject moves along.
Aperture choice - Aperture choice is a balance between needing a faster shutter speed to freeze motion and allowing yourself a bit of wiggle room for focusing with greater depth of field. I usually shoot moving subjects at around f/4. If you have a super fast prime lens, shooting very wide (i.e. f/1.4) gives you very little margin of error in focusing. Multiple focus points - I use a single focus point for landscape and portraits. However, for moving subjects, I’ll often switch over to use multiple focus points (auto) and let the camera select the focus point.
I used AI Servo on the cheetah shot at the end of this article. Check your camera’s instruction manual for full details on how to use this function. On Canon, the AI Servo menus have gotten fairly technical 19
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