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Contents LETTER FROM KEN
PHOTOGRAPHING THE AURORA Equipment, Settings, Focusing Strategies
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POST-PROCESSING CREATIVE PORTRAITS Techniques to Draw Attention to Your Subject
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PHOTO TOURS AND WORKSHOPS
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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER Sean Bagshaw
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PORTRAITS AND FOCAL LENGTH My Preferred Focal Length for Creative Portraits
LINKS TO PREVIOUS ISSUES OF INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Cover Photo: Lofoten, Norway 2
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Letter From Ken Composing Off the Tripod
When out shooting landscapes, there are two pieces of equipment that I use regularly: a tripod and a wide-angle lens. I use the tripod for two reasons. First, it significantly mitigates camera shake, allowing me to shoot at slower shutter speeds. This, in turn, gives me flexibility in selecting my ISO and aperture without having to worry about camera movement. And, second, it keeps my images better aligned if I am capturing multiple shots for later blending in Photoshop. For example, I might be bracketing my exposures to capture highlight and shadow detail or shooting with different points of focus for sharpness throughout the scene. I use a wide-angle lens for much of my landscape photography because I like what these lenses do for the foreground. When you position yourself close to foreground elements, they look larger and more prominent and can make a composition look interesting. The trade-off is the distant objects, which appear much smaller when looking through a wide-angle lens. One characteristic of wide-angles is that a little means a lot when it comes to positioning the camera. Moving just inches (or centimeters) down, up, left or right can make a big difference in your composition. Although tripods are useful for contributing towards sharp pictures, they are usually a liability when it comes to initially determining your camera placement. For that reason, I determine my exact positioning by taking the camera OFF the tripod and moving it around slowly while looking at the LED screen. Once I’ve found my composition, I put the camera on the tripod and position it accordingly. This technique allows me to quickly explore a variety of positions and angles and really fine tune my composition. Thanks for reading Inspirational Photography! Ken Koskela http://www.kenkoskela.com To receive this magazine FREE click HERE 3
Photographing the Aurora Borealis Equipment, Settings, and Focusing Strategies
If you haven’t seen or photographed the Aurora Borealis before, then there is a good chance that it’s at the top of your bucket list. It is no coincidence that I am writing this article shortly after my two back-toback Lofoten, Norway tours. I am still on a bit of an “aurora high” after again having some good fortune with the lights while there. I am also excited to be returning to Norway next February to lead a 2019 Lofoten, Norway tour (or potentially two) with my good friend and excellent photographer Josh Merrill. Although the first tour is already sold out, we may announce a 2nd tour if there is enough interest. So, please contact me if you may be interested! By the way, I have written on night photography before, but have not published an article specifically focused on capturing the aurora. So, this article will go into more aurora-specific detail than my previ4
ous night photography articles of last year. Catching the Aurora Borealis Chances are that you live in a place that is outside of the best viewing areas for the aurora. You typically have to be pretty far north (or south for the Aurora Australis) to capture the aurora at its best. I especially like Lofoten, Norway during the Winter because you have fantastic foregrounds and are far enough north that an active aurora can fill up the entire sky. Other popular places in the north include Iceland, Alaska, Canada, and elsewhere in Scandinavia. Beyond that, you need to be in a place where your shot is not ruined by light pollution. You can get by with more light pollution with the aurora than with star shots, however. All told, here are some of the things that need to come together to get a winning aurora shot:
• Aurora Activity Levels - There are aurora sites that predict aurora activity, such as http:// www.aurora-service.org/aurora-forecast/. Unfortunately, I’ve found forecasts to be generally unreliable, even in the short-term. However, the forecasts three days out or less are considered more reliable than anything beyond three days. Generally, auroras that are a KP3 or above are fairly solid for shooting if you are far north, such as in Lofoten. There, even a KP2 can lead to some decent photographs. Here is a site with a nice explanation of the KP levels: http://www. aurora-service.eu/aurora-school/all-about-thekp-index/. • Cloud Cover - Some scattered clouds can be okay and even add interest to the image. However, you will need relatively large areas of open sky and also thin clouds that allow the aurora to shine through. • Moon Cycle - For aurora images with foreground landscape, I actually prefer a bit of moonlight to put some nice light on things. I plan my night photography around the New Moon, but for aurora prefer somewhere in the neighborhood of a quarter moon or slightly less, with up to 5-6 days or so before or after the New Moon being optimal. This will add some moonlight to the scene, help overcome some light pollution (if that is an issue), and doesn’t create too much brightness to dilute the aurora. For determining both moon cycles and positioning, PhotoPills is a very helpful tool that I use often.
Equipment At night, the higher end camera equipment really shines. Ideally, you’ll want: •
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A camera that can handle high ISO settings without much digital noise. Most of the modern professional cameras handle noise quite well. You will likely be shooting at ISOs in the range of 1600 to 4000, depending upon the brightness of the aurora and ambient light, if any. A fast wide-angle lens. Most of my aurora pictures were taken between 14mm and 24mm. You want a lens that goes to f/2.8 or wider. A fast prime, such as an f/1.4 or f/1.8 is ideal. The wide aperture allows you to shoot at lower ISOs (which is always ideal from a quality perspective) and shorter shutter speeds (which is often ideal for faster moving auroras). To illustrate the impact of a fast lens, consider the following: If you have an f/1.4 lens and your targeted shutter speed requires an ISO of 800 at f/1.4, your friend
• Moon Positioning - 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 the positioning of the moon relative to your shooting location. I’ve seen people include the moon in their aurora compositions, but generally I haven’t liked the shots I’ve seen. Again, PhotoPills is a great tool for determining moon positioning relative to your shooting angle and the time of night you plan on going out to shoot.
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shooting with an f/4 lens at the same shutter speed would require an ISO of 6400! A sturdy tripod that stays stable when the wind is blowing. This is especially important if you are shooting on a beach or along the coast, where wind is often a factor. A remote trigger. Two sources of light, including one as a backup. I use a headlamp and carry a flashlight in my bag just in case the headlamp stops working. Make sure your headlamp has infrared capabilities to get around in the dark without throwing too much light in the area which can ruin the shots of other photographers.
Settings When shooting the aurora, I first set my aperture, then my shutter speed and, finally, my ISO. Aperture If I am using an f/2.8 lens, I shoot at f2.8. If I am shooting with a prime lens that can go wider, I’ll either shoot at the widest setting or possible one
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increment narrower than the widest setting. For example, I have a Rokinon f/1.4, which as it’s next widest setting is f/2.0. I will sometimes shoot at f/2.0 instead of f/1.4. This is because lenses are generally not their sharpest at their widest aperture. I am not talking about depth of field here, but actual image quality. So, I’m trading off that increased image quality at f/2.0 for the higher ISO I would need to shoot at, assuming the same shutter speed. Shutter Speed There are two considerations for shutter speed: 1. 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. However, personally, I find that 30 seconds starts to make stars go oblong, so I do not go above 20 seconds (25 seconds max) for stars when shooting wide-angle. Using the same method for 24mm, 500/24=21 seconds, but I would use 15 seconds maximum.
Other Settings • • •
I shoot in manual mode I use manual focus I turn Long Exposure Noise Reduction off
Composing It is ideal to get familiar with your location and plan your composition while it is still light out. You want to position yourself in such a way that the aurora appears behind an interesting foreground, such as in the shots you see here. You generally want to aim your camera north, but if you are in an area that is far enough north, then a strong aurora can be present all over the sky. Reflective surfaces capture green (or yellow or pink) light during a strong aurora. So, I am always looking for foreground reflective surfaces, such as water, ice, snow, wet sand, wet rocks, etc. This adds interest to the foreground.
2. The Aurora - Shutter speed selection for the aurora completely depends upon its brightness and the speed at which it is moving. For an aurora that is active and moving across the sky, I think shutter speeds of 6-10 seconds look best because they retain some of the detail of the aurora. For less active (and less bright) auroras, I go with longer speeds in the 15-20 second range. ISO
Once you are composing and re-composing in the dark, a time-saving strategy that I use is to crank up the ISO to maximum (in my case, it is 25,600) and reduce the shutter speed accordingly (usually less than a second). This helps me to avoid waiting through long shutter speeds while I fine-tune my composition. Of course, after I get my camera angle set, then I reset my ISO and shutter speed back to normal for the actual shot. Foreground Lighting As mentioned, for images with foreground landscape, I prefer a bit of moonlight. It is also worth
After determining your aperture and shutter speed, the ISO is then set to get a proper exposure. Don’t rely on your meter, however. Instead, check your screen and look at the histogram. I rely more on my screen than the histogram, visually checking for detail in shadows and watching for blown highlights. Your histogram will be heavily weighted towards the left, but make sure that you are not blowing highlights. ISO’s of 1600-4000 are common for aurora shots. 7
noting that, although light pollution is generally undesirable, it can help light your foreground in some cases. The light pollution usually has an orange cast which can look bad. However, if you have some expertise in post-processing, you can easily reduce or eliminate it by de-saturating orange in the problem areas and cloning out bright spots. You have probably noticed that some photographers like to “light paint” in their night images. If you haven’t done this before, it takes practice to get subjects lit evenly. However, there are usually other photographers out in the good aurora locations when it is active. They will likely not tolerate you shining a flashlight on their foreground. Another common technique among night photographers is to shoot the foreground starting at twilight, keep their tripods stationary, and then shoot their night sky later, blending the two in Photoshop. However, for the aurora, I don’t really recommend this as it is the foreground reflections of the aurora that really add to the shot.
4. As a last resort, I set my lens to its infinity point, assuming I know precisely where my lens is truly set for infinity (it is often not on the infinity line). However, the infinity point can vary with temperature, so this is not a desirable way to focus. Note that you may have trouble focusing on stars if your lens is f/4 or, even worse, f/5.6 at its widest. Additionally, certain cameras with very high pixel density have been known to create challenges focusing on stars.
Focusing Strategies for the Sky
Focusing Strategies for the Foreground
You want sharp stars and good focus on the sky. Here is what I do, in order of priority.
You will be shooting at a wide aperture. So, IF you have foreground elements that are receiving light and are fairly close to the camera, those may not be in sharp focus. Here is what I do in that case:
1. Using live view, I zoom in on the back of the screen (my camera allows a 10x zoom) and find a bright star. I then turn the focus ring back and forth to try to get sharp focus on the star. 2. I focus on the moon. 3. Other distant objects that are receiving light are also an option, although I double-check my stars to make sure they are sharp after I shoot.
If I have captured a great sky shot, then I’ll shoot a few of the same composition at different focal points by incrementally turning the focus ring slightly (away from infinity) and shooting. I repeat this a few times. Although I am “focusing blind”, this usually will give me a nice, sharp foreground shot to blend in. For this technique, it helps to know your focus ring well, especially how much you need to turn the ring to move from a focus on infinity to a focus on closer objects. After shooting a few with closer focal points, I’ll re-focus on a star and resume shooting with an in-focus sky. Later, I can blend the shot with the sharper foreground in if it turns out that it improves the overall quality and sharpness of the image.
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Post-Processing Creative Portraits Techniques to Draw Attention to Your Subject
Note: This article covers processing techniques I use to create heavily stylized, creative portraits. Most of these techniques should not be used for realistic portraits. One thing that I love about portrait photography is that it allows me to meet intriguing people that I would not otherwise meet. This woman from Villa de Leyva, Colombia was no exception. She has a keen sense of humor and stories to tell. Beyond that, she is an exceptional portrait subject. The afternoon I visited her, the lighting outside was bright, sunny and harsh. This is not ideal for portrait shooting. So, photographing her in her home was the best option. However, the lighting in her 100-
year old house also presented some real challenges. There was no lighting other than natural light spilling in from the sides. Consequently, there were dark shadows immediately adjacent to areas being indirectly lit by the sun. I would normally have boosted my exposure in camera here. However, I wanted to capture the woman’s cat in the picture before it ran away, so I shot a few quick images before finalizing my settings. Sure enough, the cat ran away seconds after I shot this picture. Although I like the image, I knew immediately that I would need to make adjustments to light and shadow during post-processing.
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Before we get into technique, it is important to understand what commands a viewer’s attention when looking at an image. Three attributes that initially attract the eyes are:
behind her, the dark area in the upper half of the room creates a distracting void, as if I had placed a large black box next to her. My eyes go to this area searching for details in the shadows.
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In this article, I will walk you through the techniques that I used in Adobe Lightroom (the same can be achieved in Adobe Camera Raw) and Photoshop in order to draw the viewer towards my subject, especially her face. It is important to note that I shoot in RAW format, which gives me much more control over my processing. Had I shot in JPG, some of the adjustments below would not have been as effective.
Brightness Saturation Sharpness
For my portraits, my goal is always to get the viewer to look at my subject’s face first. Although lighting plays an important role, post-processing is also a means to accomplish this. With that in mind, compare the final image on the previous page to the unprocessed RAW file below. When I look at the final image, I am immediately drawn to the subject’s face. This is partly because she is a compelling portrait subject, but also because her face is the brightest and sharpest part of the image. In the unprocessed file, her bright, colorful clothing competes for my attention. In addition to the distracting pole RAW file before processing
Global Adjustments in Lightroom - The Foundation for Drawing Attention to Your Subject As the name implies, “global adjustments” are modifications made to the entire image. “Local adjustments” are changes made to part of an image. I always start with global adjustments first. However, as you will see later in this article, some of these initial global adjustments will not ultimately be applied to the entire image. We will be creating a separate version of the RAW file for the background. More on that later. 1. Getting the lights and darks under control. The first step in drawing attention to my subject for this image was to address some fairly significant issues with the available lighting. If you work in Lightroom, you are probably already familiar with the Develop module, which is where we will be doing all of our Lightroom work. We will be reducing the contrast of the image using a few familiar sliders in
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Lightroom, which also have counterparts in Adobe Camera Raw. Because this image was shot in a high-contrast, dark room, I will be focusing primarily on bringing up the shadows. Each image is different, so don’t pay as much attention to the specific settings as to the general steps and what each adjustment is accomplishing. • Exposure - In this case, I brought the Exposure slider up slightly. Even after this adjustment, the image is still somewhat dark. However, I like the moodiness of it. • Highlights and Whites – I often like to move the Highlights slider left and the Whites slider right. This preserves the highlights but then adds “punch” to the image. I adjusted both sliders until I liked the balance. I am not in danger of blowing out my highlights. I know this because I still have room on the right side of my histogram, as you can see below. • Shadows and Blacks – Due to the dark shadows, I moved the Shadows slider very far right and also gave a boost to the Blacks slider. This was to bring out and preserve detail in the dark areas of the image. I did not want to eliminate the shadows, but wanted to make the details visible.
My histogram has now moved to the right from its original position. The image has less contrast than before and also has some decent detail in the darks. For most images, I would not need to make such drastic adjustments, as I am usually not working with shadows this dark. More often, I am focused on bringing down highlights, such as bright spots on the subject’s face or background areas receiving light.
2. Increasing mid-tone contrast. While I reduced overall contrast during the last step, I will now add contrast to the mid-tones by moving the Clarity slider right. Lightroom’s Clarity slider focuses on the mid-tones while mostly leaving the brighter and darker areas of the image as is. Boosting mid-tone contrast can significantly alter the overall look of your portrait. Although I go very
At the top of the next column is the image after much-needed global contrast adjustments. It is looking better. However, there is still plenty of work to do: 11
sparingly on Clarity for landscape images, I like a stylized look for my portraits and usually add Clarity liberally to my subjects. If I really want to accent facial features, such as wrinkles, I sometimes go as high as +60 on Clarity. In a later adjustment, I will be backing out all of the Clarity adjustment (and the Sharpness adjustment) for the background part of the image. 3. De-saturating the image. Although some pictures thrive on heavy saturation, I usually de-saturate my portrait images. Part of this is because I like the look of it. Additionally, I often have little or no control over what my subjects wear or what my background is. De-saturating helps to reduce the impact of colorful clothing and background elements that distract from my subject’s face. Although I reduce saturation globally here, I will later apply further de-saturation to targeted parts of the image, namely the clothing.
4. Increasing sharpness. There is often confusion over the four sliders in Lightroom’s Sharpening section. Here is a quick overview: • Although we have only moved 8 sliders, you can see in the next column that the updated image is beginning to take shape and look much closer to my finished image.
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The Amount slider determines how much sharpening is applied. The Radius slider determines how large (or wide) of an area around each edge is sharpened. Smaller values will result in more fine sharpening, while higher values lead to “thicker” looking edges. The Detail slider determines which edges receive sharpening based on how fine the edges are. A higher value means that even the smaller detailed edges receive sharpening. A lower value means that less of the fine details will be sharpened. With higher values, you are more likely to sharpen digital noise, which is not desirable. However, this can be resolved by using the next slider...
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The Masking slider allows you to eliminate areas of the image from the sharpening adjustment altogether. You move the slider right to exclude areas that lack detail from being sharpened. This is
Local Adjustments in Lightroom - Targeting Brightness, Saturation & Sharpness 5. Using the Local Adjustment Brush. Using the Local Adjustment Brush, I modified brightness, saturation and sharpness in targeted parts of the image in order to draw attention to my subject’s face first, followed by the rest of her body, followed by the background. The Local Adjustment Brush is found within Lightroom’s local adjustment tools:
very useful for avoiding the sharpening of noise in the sky or in dark areas. Although there are no magic settings, you can see what I have used here. For the Radius and Detail sliders, I typically choose a radius of 1.0 and detail of 50. To set the sharpening amount, I zoomed into the eyes of my subject at 100% by clicking on my subject’s face. I then used Lightroom’s Navigator panel (see below) to check different areas.
Similar to Photoshop’s brushes, you can set the feathering, flow (amount of adjustment per pass with the brush) and opacity (maximum amount of adjustment each time the brush is used). This is done through sliders found at the bottom of the adjustment panel that becomes visible when you click on the adjustment brush icon.
For each new adjustment, click on the word “New”, paint over the targeted area(s) of the image, and
Lightroom’s Navigator Panel
I apply significant sharpening to my portrait subjects, but only because I like the stylized look of it. I avoid over-sharpening as I do not want my subject’s features looking “crispy”. For portrait subjects, I usually stay in the 40-50 range.
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then move the sliders to make the actual adjustments. I always make sure that “Auto Mask” is checked, which helps keep the adjustments from spilling over an edge, such as from your subject onto the background. To see where your adjustment is being applied, hit the letter “O” on your keyboard and red highlighting will appear. Hitting “O” again turns this feature off. For this image, I made the following adjustments: •
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I started by brushing over brighter areas that were competing with her face and darkening them using the Exposure and Highlights sliders. This included the bright clothing and some of the background. I added brightness and sharpness to the subject’s eyes using the Exposure and Sharpness sliders. I painted over the subject’s clothing and pulled the Saturation slider down. I added a bit of additional sharpness to the eyebrows and hair using the Sharpness slider.
7. Cropping. Next, I cropped the image slightly. This crop helped focus attention on the subject by eliminating background that was not adding value to the image. The Crop tool is found within the adjustment tools:
After working with the Local Adjustment Brush, the image at the top of the next column shows the effects of the local adjustments. Notice how the adjustments have moved us forward in directing the viewer’s attention towards our subject.
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The image after a slight crop
7. Creating a custom vignette using gradients. In photography, a vignette usually refers to the darkening of the outer areas of the image relative to the center of the image. The “standard vignette” darkens the outer edges equally, usually in an oval shape. However, using several gradients in Lightroom allows you to control the direction, size and strength of the vignette on each side independently. For this image, I clicked on Lightroom’s Gradient tool, which opened the gradient adjustment window.
I then clicked and dragged from outside the image towards the center. Then, I pulled the local Exposure slider down until I created a subtle darkening of the edge. It is worth mentioning that I don’t always bring the exposure down with the gradient. If your edge is darker than you like, you can also increase exposure along the edges.
Double RAW Processing and Photoshop - Final Touches to Direct Attention to Your Subject 8. Double processing the RAW file. After completing these adjustments in Lightroom, I created a virtual copy of the Raw file in Lightroom (Photo - Create Virtual Copy). For this second copy, I made two adjustments. First, I pulled the Clarity slider back to zero.
Second, I backed out the global sharpness adjustment by pulling the Amount slider left. This version of the RAW file will be used for the background of my image.
I then added two more gradients from additional sides by hitting “New” and again dragging from the side into the image. I adjusted the exposure independently for each of the three gradients.
I opened both file copies into Photoshop as layers and renamed them, with the sharper rendition as the top layer. 15
With the top layer active, I made a careful selection of the subject. In this case, I used Photoshop’s Quick Selection Tool to get an overall selection and then zoomed in closely and refined the selection. I then contracted the selection by 1 pixel (Select-Modify-Contract) and feathered it by 1 pixel (Select-Modify-Feather). I then saved the selection in case I need it again (Select-Save Selection).
To make sure that white is my background color and black is my foreground color, I clicked “d” (for “default” colors) on my keyboard. Then, with the top layer selected, I clicked on the mask icon. This turned my selection into a mask that appeared on the subject layer as above. The subject appears in white on the mask and the background is black. Now, my sharper layer with Clarity and sharpness added is visible for the subject, while the bottom layer (with no Clarity or sharpness added) is visible on the background layer.
This enhances the separation between the background and my subject. The sharpness and midtone contrast of the subject layer also direct the viewer’s attention to her. 9. Creating an aura around your subject Lastly, I created a subtle brightening (an “aura”) around my subject. To do this, I created a Curves layer above my Subject and Background layers. This automatically added a white mask to the layer.
Next, I double-clicked on the left side of the Curves layer to make the curve visible. I clicked on the curve’s center and dragged it down, so that it looks like this. This darkened the entire image.
Then, with the mask selected, I used a large soft brush and painted black on the mask around the area of my subject. I did not precisely paint over my subject, but let the edge of the brush stroke fade off around the subject’s edges, as you can see in the 16
mask here. This concealed the darkening effect in the area around her.
Lastly, I brought the opacity of the Curves layer down so that the aura was not immediately obvious, but helped highlight my subject.
You can see that the subject commands more attention than before we started processing. Even if you prefer less of a stylized look to your environmental portraits, you can still use some of the above techniques in a more subtle, subdued way to draw attention to your subject. Before
After
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2018 PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS & WORKSHOPS http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/photo-tours-workshops/
CANADIAN ROCKIES w/ KEN KOSKELA & JOSH MERRILL October, 2018
The Canadian Rockies are a place of unparalleled beauty and adventure. From jagged, snow-capped peaks to turquoise glacial lakes, the Rockies offer some of the best landscape photography opportunities in the world. We will focus on the majestic Banff and Jasper National Parks and adjust our daily shooting locations to maximize our chances for good light. Additionally, we will keep our eyes open for clear skies at night with the hopes of capturing the Northern Lights and star-filled skies with the Rocky Mountains as an amazing foreground. This is not a trip to be missed! https://www.kenkoskela.com/product/2018-canadian-rockies-photo-adventure/
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2019 PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS & WORKSHOPS http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/photo-tours-workshops/
VENICE CARNIVAL w/ KEN KOSKELA & RENEE DOYLE February, 2019
Venice is one of the most beautiful and unique cities in the world. Each year, during the Carnival festival, Venice comes alive as amazing models in ornate masks and incredible costumes descend upon the city to be admired and photographed. I am very excited to be co-leading this workshop with Renee Doyle, whose masterful Venice Carnival composites are an inspiration to many photographers, including myself. 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. https://www.kenkoskela.com/product/2019-venice-carnival-photography-workshop/
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2019 PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS & WORKSHOPS http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/photo-tours-workshops/
LOFOTEN, NORWAY IN WINTER w/ KEN KOSKELA & JOSH MERRILL
February, 2019 SOLD OUT! CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED IN 2ND TOUR
Winter in Lofoten, Norway has to be seen to be believed. You’ll be up close with majestic fjords, snow-covered jagged mountains, icy blue water lakes, quaint fishing villages, and beautiful rocky shoreline. To top it off, the periods of low-angled sunlight can last for hours. Lofoten is also known as one of the premiere places in the world for experiencing and capturing the Northern Lights. We are limiting the group size to just 8 participants. If you haven’t experienced and photographed Lofoten during the Winter, this is your opportunity! https://www.kenkoskela.com/product/2019-lofoten-norway-winter-photo-tour/
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2018 PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS & WORKSHOPS http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/photo-tours-workshops/
KENYA PHOTO SAFARI w/ KEN KOSKELA & RENEE DOYLE Aug./Sept. 2018
SOLD OUT! CONTACT ME TO BE PUT ON WAITLIST.
Join Ken Koskela and Renee Doyle for an incredible and unique photo safari experience for a small group of just 5-7 participants. We will be staying in 5-star luxury tents in top conservancies located outside of the Masai Mara National Reserve. We will have exclusive use of two vehicles in areas of high concentration of wildlife, allowing participants exceptional wildlife encounters. The conservancies strictly monitor the number of vehicles in the area. Participants will also have the option of reserving their own row in a vehicle. http://www.kenkoskela.com/product/2018-kenya-photo-safari-tour/
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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER:
Sean Bagshaw http://www.outdoorexposurephoto.com/ Sean Bagshaw is an outdoor photographer, digital image developing enthusiast and photography educator based in Ashland, Oregon. He resides there with his wife and two sons. You are probably already familiar with Sean’s photography and teaching. I was first introduced to Sean’s work through his outstanding training videos for Tony Kuyper’s TK Actions, which I featured in the last issue of Inspirational Photography.
Sean arrived at his career in photography rather accidentally. In the 1980s and 1990s, he enjoyed rock climbing and mountaineering and especially liked being the expedition photographer. Over time he moved away from taking purely documentary images and becoming an avid student of the art of photography. Now his expeditions are to photograph mountains instead of climb them. He spends about a quarter of each year in the field on a quest for magical light.
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Sean gives equal importance and attention to the capture of the image in the camera and the developing of it with artistic intent on the path to the final piece. Twice since 2008 his images have been winners in the Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards and have also been honored in the International Conservation Photography Awards and other competitions. He is a founding member and one sixth of the Pacific Northwest based photography team known as Photo Cascadia.
You can follow Sean at: www.OutdoorExposurePhoto.com www.PhotoCascadia.com www.facebook.com/Sean.Bagshaw.Photography/ https://twitter.com/SeanBagshaw
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Portraits and Focal Length
My Preferred Focal Length for Creative Portraits I would not last long as a wedding or commercial portrait photographer. This is because I prefer portraits that look surreal and artistic, rather than real. While most portrait photographers reach for their 85mm or 105mm lens, I shoot much wider. In fact, your lens choice is the foundation for both the style of your portrait and the appearance of your subject. Although it is certainly possible to create an artistic portrait at any focal length, leaving the 85mm in the bag and grabbing your wide-angle lens can make a real difference. Let me say up-front that I have a strong bias towards a particular focal length. It is the focal length that the majority of my portrait images were shot at. We 24
will get into the focal length soon, but first, here is why a wide-angle lens can be so effective in helping create an artistic portrait: •
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First, the wide-angle lens brings the viewer into the scene and helps capture the subject’s emotion. This is because wider focal lengths allow you to shoot very close to your subject. Notice how, in the image at the top of the next page, you actually feel like you are part of the scene. The wide-angle perspective and close vantage point draws you in. Second, the wide-angle allows you to incorporate context into your environmental portrait and can help tell a story about your subject. For me, the portrait of the Colombian woman in the
creative portraits and can do so for you, too. A Focal Length Comparison - With a Twist You have probably seen examples of the same subject shot using different focal lengths. The photographer stands in one place and shoots with a wide-angle, a medium telephoto, and a longer telephoto to show the effect that focal length has on your composition.
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portrait processing article in this issue is significantly strengthened by including her house (and cat!) as context. Third, as alluded to earlier, the wide-angle lens distorts reality. These lenses exaggerate the distance between the foreground and background. Elements that are farther away from the lens look much smaller than they appear in reality. Closer objects appear much larger. For me, this distortion of perspective forms the foundation for my
Let’s do that now, but in a different way and to ultimately prove a different point. Let’s shoot four portraits at 85mm, 50mm, 24mm and 16mm on a fullframe camera, all at the subject’s eye level. Rather than staying in the same place, however, I’ll move forward for each consecutive picture to keep my subject roughly positioned in the same way. You can see the results below. As these shots get progressively wider, two things happen: 1. The subject reveals increasing distortion of their features.
85 mm
50 mm
24 mm
16 mm 25
2. We see more of the background context in the frame. Now, let’s put a slight twist on this same exercise. This time, I will reposition myself and take an additional picture after moving to the right and bringing my camera down. Let’s look at the effect of repositioning at both 85mm and 24mm. Repositioning at 85mm Looking at the images immediately below, the movement on the part of the photographer does not have a significant impact on the subject’s appearance. It does have some, however.
24mm - Center Position
24mm - One Step Right, Below Eye Level 85mm - Center Position
85mm - One Step Right, Below Eye Level Repositioning at 24mm At 24mm, this slight re-positioning of the camera has an increased impact on the look of the subject. What this implies is that lens choice can allow you to achieve a greater variety of “looks” as you go wider, just by moving around your subject. My method 26
24mm - One Step Left, Above Eye Level is often to get close and move around my subject from left to right, having them follow the camera with their eyes. I have found that my winning shots are usually taken to the left or right of center. There is something about an angular glance that enhances an artistic portrait in my opinion.
How Wide? With wide-angle lenses, a little can mean a lot. As your focal length widens, the amount of distortion in your image increases. Moving your camera close to the subject can enlarge and elongate arms, legs, and even noses. Unless you are going for an ultra-distorted look in your subjects, there will be a point at which your focal length becomes too wide.
At 16mm, not only does the distortion of the subject increase, but the background widens to the point that the subject’s immediate context is lost. Including more background context increases the
For me, the “sweet spot” is 24mm. Almost all of the portraits in my portfolio are shot at around 24mm. This is because I find that the 24mm focal length is a good balance of the reality you get at 50mm and the distortion of an ultra-wide focal length. When shooting at much wider than 24mm, elements close to the lens become more elongated, leaving me with few options for positioning of the hands. For the image to the right, the arms and facial features are too exaggerated for my taste at 16mm This effect is amplified by the subject positioning his arm so that his hand is closer to the camera.
16mm - Too distorted in my opinion likelihood that distracting elements will appear in your composition. These elements often do not add value to the image and can take the viewer’s attention away from your subject.
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Proximity When shooting portraits at wide angles, do not be shy about getting close to your subject. It is a good idea to warn him or her before taking the first picture that you will be getting close. When I positioned myself for the 24mm shot, I was less than 3 feet (about 1 meter) from my subject. I often go closer than that. Although this might feel a little uncomfortable at first, this close proximity is what brings your viewer into the scene. This closeness to the subject also makes your subject’s eyes a prominent part of your portrait. Beyond Lens Choice Choosing a lens and positioning yourself is just part of the equation. Obviously, lighting and processing are major factors. I discussed some of my processing techniques in a separate article in this issue. If you are interested in environmental portraiture like you see here, a couple of other articles that might interest you are:
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Wide-angle portraits: pages 8-11: https://issuu.com/kenkoskelaphotography/docs/ inspirational-photography-march-201 Exposing flash and ambient light separately: pages 4-7: https://issuu.com/kenkoskelaphotography/docs/ inspirational-photography-july-2016
MISS AN ISSUE OF INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY? Click below to read past issues. March 2016 • Pushing blue into the shadows • Smoke composites • Guilin, China • Including motion in your images • Wide-angle portraits • Backing up your pictures • Big impact with small subjects
April 2016 • Complementary colors • Dealing with foggy lenses • Effective silhouette images • Gradient vignettes • Watch the windows • Shooting into the sun
May 2016 • Solid neutral density filters • Web sharpening using TK Actions • Following and breaking the rule of thirds • Packing for an outdoor photography camping trip • Pictures that make people think
June 2016 • Using a circular polarizer • Intro to luminosity masking • Oil and water pictures • Minimum shutter speeds • Coastline moving water images
July 2016 • Exposing flash and ambient light separately • Incorporating opposites into your images • Venice during Carnival • Orton effect • Including reflections in your pictures
August 2016 • Shooting the Milky Way, Stars and Northern Lights • Cathedral images • Controlling tonal contrast with a histogram • Focusing strategies for moving subjects
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September 2016 • Post-processing Milky Way shots • Controlling motion in landscape images • Increasing water texture with Nik • Shooting cities at night
October 2016 • Shooting and processing star trails • Eliminating distractions • Dramatic side-lighting • Creating a texture layer in Photoshop • Inconvenience leads to better pictures.
November 2016 • How to use an ultra-wide lens • Search Engine Optimization for Images • Photoshop’s Smart Objects for 2nd Chance Adjustments • Leading Lines
December 2016 • Natural vs. Artificial Light Portraits • Blurred Water Creek Images • Layer Adjustments for Printing • Don’t Miss the Shot
January 2017 • Eliminating Camera Shake • Location Feature: Cinque Terre • How to Create Starbursts in Camera • Photoshop’s Blend If Feature
February 2017 • Making the Hands Prominent in Portraits • Hummingbird Photography - Guest Article by Jim Zuckerman • De-Mystifying Image Sharpening • Precise Camera Placement
March 2017 • On-Camera Fill Flash • Vignette and Aura Post-Processing Techniques • Exposing for Snow • Low Perspective with a Wide-Angle Lens
April 2017 • Identifying Foregrounds in Nature • How to Eliminate a Halo • Location Feature: Canadian Rockies • Interview with Jack Brauer • Should I Zoom In To focus?
Click HERE to join the Inspirational Photography email list. May 2017 • Edge Selections in Photoshop • Camera Setup: Important Menu Items • Seeking Out Great Subjects
June 2017 • Window Lighting for Portraits in Dark Environments • Frequency Separation in Photoshop • Wildlife Photography in Africa: “The Mara”
July / August 2017 • Avoiding Distractions in Landscape Images • Introduction to TK Actions V5 • Interview with Tony Kuyper
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