When I made the switch from film to digital cameras I had a lot of learning to do. My world as I knew it had changed and I needed to change as well. ISO? What the heck was that? Mega pixels? RAW? I beg your pardon!
OK, now to get back to today's world. As with most change, you've got to understand the terminology. Translate, if you will, into something you can understand. ISO is the new ASA. Mega pixels, well lets just say the more the better. Although, that's really not true but that's for another blog. AND RAW. That's what I hope to shed a little light on with this blog entry.
I only have experience with Canon cameras so it may be a little different with other camera makers. But, I think most of the information will be relevant.
Think of the .RAW file as the negative(or film) in the film days. This file contains all the information that was captured by your cameras' sensor when you clicked the shutter release. It contains everything, the good and the bad for that frame, in one file. Because of that, the file is very large. That's where the mega pixels comes into play... but I'm not going there in this post.
My raw files are 13-15 meg each, depending on the shot. That's why it is important to get a large CF card to store more frames. I use a 4-gig card. Not very big in today's terms but I get bored when reviewing a days shooting so I use a smaller CF.
You can only shoot in the .RAW format (Canon cameras) in what they call the 'creative zone'. That's in the Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and manual modes. When I first started in digital I didn't venture into those settings... I just configured my camera to take large JPEG files. That was OK but I was missing out on the post production adjustments. Darkroom in the film days. Half of the quality of the picture is created in the 'darkroom'. Again, another argument/discussion for another post!
With the .RAW file and software you can make up for any shortcomings of the photo. Don't get me wrong, you have to have a quality photo to begin with, but with post processing, you can make the exposure be all that it can be! A second chance if you will, to make it a perfect picture.
If you only shoot in JPEG you have really limited yourself. You cannot easily edit your photos and if you should get lucky enough to have someone interested in publishing your photo, you will need to have a .RAW file (or high resolution) photo to give to your publisher!
I took a few 'once in a lifetime' shots in JPEG format only and now I'm sick about it! Can't really do much with them because the resolution is so low. Still kicking myself for that!! That's the reason for this post. To save you from having a constant reminder of what could have been!
To shoot in .RAW (Canon cameras) you will need to be in the 'creative zones'. Set your camera to AV, TV or M. (see manual for instructions). You will also need to install software on your computer to read and convert the .RAW files. I'm using the software that came with my camera... "Canon Photo Professional". That software will display your .RAW files and allow you to tweak your shots and then convert them to JPEG and a host of other formats.
Photoshop also has a FREE plug-in that supports the Canon .RAW format. Oh, I forgot to mention that camera makers have made it tough, .RAW files are not standardized. Nikon has a different format of .RAW files. But I think Photoshop supports most camera makers formats. Also, the newer versions of Photoshop may already support .RAW files (no plug-in required).
All of this sounds confusing, but once you get the hang of it, it's really easy.
I hope you will at least set your camera to capture in both JPEG and .RAW. It may seem like mumbo-jumbo now but when you learn more about your camera and how to take photos... you'll be glad you did!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
No Look Photography
Have you ever tried to take a picture without looking?
In this age of digital photography if you aren't experimenting with your camera you are missing out on a lot of photo opportunities. When I finally switched to digital, a whole new world was opened to my eyes and more importantly, my camera!
In the film age, each shot was thoughtfully and carefully composed. I treated each shot as if it were made of gold (or silver to be more precise). Film was expensive and the time it took to process a roll of film was too long. By the time a shot was processed, I had forgotten what I did and why I did it! As a result, I took each exposure very seriously because it was time AND money. Because of this I didn't experiment as much as I should have. It really slowed my learning and creativity with the camera. I just didn't want to risk wasting a single frame on a hunch or an experiment.
Enter Digital:
With the advent of the digital camera all of the old and I dare say bad 'thinking' were thrown out of the window. Now, I could shoot as many and as often as I wanted. It does take almost as long to go through a days' shooting but it is not as time sensitive. I can go through a few dozen frames at a time and stop to watch a football game or whatever and then return to editing. I no longer have to worry about a darkroom, timers, chemicals, disposals or odors (except maybe my feet).
I now can shoot literally hundreds of frames without caring about how much it will cost or how long it will take to process. Also, I can see a 'contact sheet' version of the picture the second I take the shot. This really helps in the 'pre-editing' process. Depending on what I'm shooting, I can preview and delete or save the shot right from the camera. Most of the time I don't do any deleting from the camera because the eyes aren't what they used to be so I need a large view before I do any deleting.
So, if you aren't shooting lots of shots and experimenting with different exposures, angles, depth of fields etc... you are really missing the boat!
Here's a few experiments and shots that I would have never tried or captured if not for Digital Photography. The trick here is to take MANY, MANY shots. It really boils down to being lucky. But, you increase your 'luck' by the number of shots you take. For these shots I pre-focused on a spot:
This is a single raindrop on the handrail of my deck. The camera was mounted on a tripod with an off-shoe flash and I used a cable release. I pre-focused on a spot on the rail and took over 200 photos to get this one shot. I just kept clicking and clicking, checking each shot and deleting if I didn't get anything. I almost burned out my flash unit trying for this shot. That was the only thing that was of concern. Keeping the flash unit cool.
A larger version of the raindrop can be found here: http://www.virginiabird.com/Other/Other/1257669_tRpCH#104053004_sj93P-L-LB
Here's another example:
For this shot I again used a tripod (I always use a tripod) with an off shoe flash unit.
I pre-focused on a spot at about 25 feet away. I was lucky because the bats were feeding on insects that were attracted to the flood lights on my house. I was standing on my deck and just kept taking shots. The hardest part was following the flight of the bats. I didn't look through the view finder, I just pointed the lens in the direction of the bat and clicked. I was amazed that most of the time I could capture the bat somewhere in the frame! I was actually laughing out loud while taking the shots! Really! It was a blast!
In this last example I tried low/no light shots:
Again, the trick is to take LOTS of shots! Adjusting the settings on the camera until you get something you like. It would have taken me years to get a shot like this in the film days! Oh I do love digital cameras!
So, I hope I have convinced you to start experimenting with your Digital Camera. It's a lot of fun and really helps you learn how to adjust the camera settings for different lighting and conditions. You can let your creativity flow without worrying about the cost of all the shots you take. If you don't like it.... delete it!
In this age of digital photography if you aren't experimenting with your camera you are missing out on a lot of photo opportunities. When I finally switched to digital, a whole new world was opened to my eyes and more importantly, my camera!
In the film age, each shot was thoughtfully and carefully composed. I treated each shot as if it were made of gold (or silver to be more precise). Film was expensive and the time it took to process a roll of film was too long. By the time a shot was processed, I had forgotten what I did and why I did it! As a result, I took each exposure very seriously because it was time AND money. Because of this I didn't experiment as much as I should have. It really slowed my learning and creativity with the camera. I just didn't want to risk wasting a single frame on a hunch or an experiment.
Enter Digital:
With the advent of the digital camera all of the old and I dare say bad 'thinking' were thrown out of the window. Now, I could shoot as many and as often as I wanted. It does take almost as long to go through a days' shooting but it is not as time sensitive. I can go through a few dozen frames at a time and stop to watch a football game or whatever and then return to editing. I no longer have to worry about a darkroom, timers, chemicals, disposals or odors (except maybe my feet).
I now can shoot literally hundreds of frames without caring about how much it will cost or how long it will take to process. Also, I can see a 'contact sheet' version of the picture the second I take the shot. This really helps in the 'pre-editing' process. Depending on what I'm shooting, I can preview and delete or save the shot right from the camera. Most of the time I don't do any deleting from the camera because the eyes aren't what they used to be so I need a large view before I do any deleting.
So, if you aren't shooting lots of shots and experimenting with different exposures, angles, depth of fields etc... you are really missing the boat!
Here's a few experiments and shots that I would have never tried or captured if not for Digital Photography. The trick here is to take MANY, MANY shots. It really boils down to being lucky. But, you increase your 'luck' by the number of shots you take. For these shots I pre-focused on a spot:
This is a single raindrop on the handrail of my deck. The camera was mounted on a tripod with an off-shoe flash and I used a cable release. I pre-focused on a spot on the rail and took over 200 photos to get this one shot. I just kept clicking and clicking, checking each shot and deleting if I didn't get anything. I almost burned out my flash unit trying for this shot. That was the only thing that was of concern. Keeping the flash unit cool.
A larger version of the raindrop can be found here: http://www.virginiabird.com/Other/Other/1257669_tRpCH#104053004_sj93P-L-LB
Here's another example:
 |
| Larger Version: http://www.virginiabird.com/Small-Mammals/Bats/6172004_uLcGa#389080500_KY7wE-A-LB |
I pre-focused on a spot at about 25 feet away. I was lucky because the bats were feeding on insects that were attracted to the flood lights on my house. I was standing on my deck and just kept taking shots. The hardest part was following the flight of the bats. I didn't look through the view finder, I just pointed the lens in the direction of the bat and clicked. I was amazed that most of the time I could capture the bat somewhere in the frame! I was actually laughing out loud while taking the shots! Really! It was a blast!
In this last example I tried low/no light shots:
 |
| Larger Version: http://www.virginiabird.com/Other/Other/1257669_tRpCH#134581678_jnhbZ-A-LB |
So, I hope I have convinced you to start experimenting with your Digital Camera. It's a lot of fun and really helps you learn how to adjust the camera settings for different lighting and conditions. You can let your creativity flow without worrying about the cost of all the shots you take. If you don't like it.... delete it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)