Peter West Carey Photography

Tag: experimenting

Photographing Shadows – Photography Experiments

Yesterday’s topic was Photographing Silhouettes.

This is part two in a mini-series. This series looks at silhouettes, shadows and light through smoke. They are all essentially the same thing, but we’ll pull them apart to see the subtle differences.

Examples

Bottles on cycle – Elevated view – Nepal

Close-up of orange long leaves – USA – Hawaii

The shadows of prayer flags are shown against the side of Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal

Black and white image of a curving sand dune in both the light and shadow – Algodones Dunes, California

If you read yesterday’s post, this is more of the same.

What you’re looking to do with shadows is to make sure they are well defined. If your camera is on Auto Mode and there is a lot of shadow, it will try to lighten those shadows so they aren’t so black. Remember Making Tone Black, Black? That’s why shadows don’t come out as true to life as they should.

What you want to do is meter for the light areas so they are exposed properly. Conversely, you can meter for the shadow and then adjust your exposure bias/compensation to darken the shadows. Either way will work, but metering for the light (especially if you have a gray card) works best.

Here’s the experiment you can run:

1) Set your camera on Manual mode. ISO 100. If you don’t want to use Manual mode, you will need use the Auto Exposure Lock feature of your camera.

1.5) Depending on your subject, pick an aperture that is appropriate for the amount of depth of field you are looking for.

2) Using spot metering, meter off the brighter areas of the scene. In the example above, I would meter off the pavement as it is tonally close to 18% gray, which is what my camera is looking for. If the subject you are metering off of is bright, you’ll want to change shutter speed until the meter reading from your camera reads about +2/3 to +1 1/3 too bight. If you are metering off the shadow area, make sure it is – 2/3 to -1 1/3 too dark.

3) Recompose and shoot!

DONE!

The trick with using Manual mode in this case is to understand what you are metering off of and what your camera is looking for. If you pointed your camera directly at the shadow area and set the shutter speed so it was lined up with zero, then the shadows will be too light.

There really isn’t a top secret trick to shadows other than knowing where you’re metering and why. Metering for the light area (areas that are being hit by light) will work better, but you need to compensate for their color. All of this is solved by using an 18% gray card and placing it in the light to be metered. Then you can just zero your reading with the shutter speed and you’re set!

Tomorrow we will cap off the mini-series by covering light through smoke. Can you figure out who to make that one work?

Questions? Pop ’em like Pez in the comments section below or email me at peter@peterwestcarey.com.

Photography Basics – A 43 Day Adventure, and its companion 40 Photography Experiments, are series written by professional photographer Peter West Carey. The series are designed to unravel the mysteries of photography, helping you can take better pictures. Subscribe here to receive all the updates and bonus material. Your comments are always welcome.

If you enjoy the series, consider learning photography first-hand on a professionally led international photo tour in Nepal or Bhutan!

February 17, 2021
Sun Stars – Photography Experiments
Wandered here from somewhere else? Check out all of the 40 Photography Experiments!

Today we will cover sun stars. This experiment is simple and can be a lot of fun. First, tell me what the main difference is between these two photos of the Treasury at Petra in Jordan:

The answer is: the sun in the second shot has far more ‘rays’ coming out of it.

This is because I used different aperture settings between the two shots. In the first photo, the f-stop is f/10 and in the second photo the f-stop is f/22. When the aperture of a lens is closed down further, the light coming in around those aperture blades shapes differently when it comes from a strong source, like the sun (or light bulbs).

That’s not to say you don’t get any star effect when the aperture is open further, it is simply more pronounced the further you stop down the aperture. You can use this at night to great affect when there are multiple light sources.

In these two examples of the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru, the first is shot at f/5.6 and the second at f/22.

Some stars in the lights. But we can do better.

Simple!

Here’s the experiment you can run:

1) Set your camera to Aperture priority or Manual.

2) Jack up your aperture to the highest number it will accomplish.

3) Find yourself a light source. The sun works, but so do candles.

4) Frame your image (from this point forward, no excuse for boring composition!!).

5) Take a shot!

Done!

This technique can be a lot of fun but it can also become overused. The normal habit for most starting out in photography is to play around excessively with a new technique until they settle in. Eventually they don’t want to use it all the time. That’s normal, so go play!

Things To Consider:
- Your shutter speed will slow down when using this technique. Keep that in mind if shooting at night (the second shot of Cusco was a 2 second exposure with the camera held against a column).
- You might need to increase your ISO to compensate.
- Play around with your exposure as metering can be freaked out by pointing your camera near the sun.
- If there is dust on your sensor, a smaller aperture (higher number) will show it. Be prepared to clean things in the computer if this is the case.
- Increasing Contrast and/or Clarity in your post processing software to make the rays of the light show more.
Questions? Pop ’em like Pez in the comments section below. or email me at peter@peterwestcarey.com.

Photography Basics – A 48 Day Adventure, and its companion 40 Photography Experiments, are series written by professional photographer Peter West Carey. The series are designed to unravel the mysteries of photography, helping you can take better pictures. Subscribe here to receive all the updates and bonus material. Your comments are always welcome.

If you enjoy the series, consider learning photography first-hand on a professionally led international photo tour in Nepal or Bhutan!
March 25, 2019
Making White Tones, White – Photography Experiments
Today’s experiment might be a little more involved than its previous companion, Making Black Tones, Black. This is because white objects will show color cast from an incorrect white balance better than black. You will need to be on your toes to work your way through today. Good luck!

Making White Tones, White

As previously mentioned in Making Black Tones, Black, the metering in your camera will not always expose properly. Scenes with a dominant black or white element might come out gray. Read through the previous post if you haven’t already, because I’m not giving a lot of tips today to see how well you can reason through the steps needed.

Here’s the experiment you can run:

1) Set you camera on a table and switch it to any mode you like, except Manual.

2) Set your ISO according to the amount of light available and place a white object in front of your camera, about four feet away. Make sure the white object takes up the central area of the camera’s field of view. It can fill the whole screen if you like.

3) Take a photo. (Note: When there is lack of contrast in a scene, cameras have a hard time focusing. You may need to place something else in the focus area for the picture to take, or switch to manual focusing.)

4) Change the Exposure Bias/Exposure Compensation of your camera to +1.3. This is one and one third stops over-exposed.

5) Take another photo.

Done! With Shooting.

Now then, two things might have happened here. Likely, the white object became more white in the second photo, closer to its true color and brightness. This is good.

You can fiddle around with the exact amount of over exposure you want depending on the lighting in a scene. +1.3 is just a starting point. But you might have also seen a difference in the color of the white object, even if slight.

This can happen as your camera is not always 100% consistent in figuring out the color temperature of a light source. It may adjust from one shot to the next, even when the camera and subject don’t move.

Read up on White Balance to figure out how to adjust for that.

Things To Consider
- Keep an eye on your camera’s Histogram to make sure white does not become blown out (if possible).
- Don’t forget to change your exposure compensation back once finished. Otherwise you may have blown out photos when next you use your camera.
- Drinking 8 glasses of water each day helps your body stay healthy.
Example

I have one example for you today. While it is not truly white (there is a lot of blue cast in glaciers) it fits the bill. It’s actually the reflectiveness of the scene that you need to trick your camera into appreciating.

White just happens to be the most reflective color. In this case, I adjusted the exposure by +1.3 and the “After” image is closer to the dazzle I saw when there. It could probably be bumped up even more.

Questions? Pop ’em like Pez in the comments section below. or email me at peter@peterwestcarey.com.

Photography Basics – A 43 Day Adventure, and its companion 40 Photography Experiments, are series written by professional photographer Peter West Carey. The series are designed to unravel the mysteries of photography, helping you can take better pictures. Subscribe here to receive all the updates and bonus material. Your comments are always welcome.

If you enjoy the series, consider learning photography first-hand on a professionally led international photo tour in Nepal or Bhutan!
January 15, 2019
Getting Low – Photography Experiments
Already on day 9 of 40 Photography Experiments and it’s time to get down low. Really low.

For today’s experiment you might get a little dirty, but that’s okay. If your camera has a flip screen, now is the time it will shine.

Here’s the experiment you can run:

1) Set your camera on Aperture Mode or Manual Mode if you are feeling up to it. Choose an f-stop around f/6.3. ISO set to suit your lighting. As these experiments go on, I’ll be giving you less instruction in this regard, so practice, practice, practice!

2) For the next 24 hours you are officially BANNED from taking a photo at a height about your knees.

3) Subject matter is up to you, but make sure you get 10 shots in today.

Done!

Shooting from a low angle will give you a different view of the world. Everyday scenes take on a different feel from a low angle.

So often pictures are taken from a comfortable height (by the way, if you have trouble getting low to the ground, you can practice by simply holding the camera down to a low height and firing off a bunch of shots while changing the angle of the camera slightly. Please don’t force yourself onto the ground if it is painful. Another idea is to use a monopod and set your camera on self-timer, then hold the camera upside down and low to get your shot. It’s digital and each shot is essentially free, so play around and see what happens. Am I still in a parenthetical phrase?).

Let’s start that over. So often pictures are taken from a comfortable height and this is a good way to take pictures like everyone else, never standing out from the pack. If you want something different, be different and try a new angle.

Things To Consider
- Instead of keeping your camera level to the ground, change angles.
- Vary your focus point for different effects.
- Pan up slightly.
- Did you know your tripod might help with these photos? Many tripods have a center column that can invert and hold a camera upside down and close to the ground. I used the setup you see at right to shoot some time-lapse and regular video of leafcutter ants in the Amazon basin while keeping my clothes clean.
- Shoot not only objects that are also down low, but shoot higher subjects you would have shot if standing up.
- Pets and kids work well with this technique.
Examples

Below are just a few examples to get your creative juices flowing. All were shot from knee height or below. Sometimes framing is hard to accomplish if you are not looking at the screen, that’s why I suggest using it when you can. Or the viewfinder.

If you have time, please post some results in the comments section below. I love to see what people come up with for this experiment.

Questions? Pop ’em like Pez in the comments section below. or email me at peter@peterwestcarey.com.

Photography Basics – A 43 Day Adventure, and its companion 40 Photography Experiments, are series written by professional photographer Peter West Carey. The series are designed to unravel the mysteries of photography, helping you can take better pictures. Subscribe here to receive all the updates and bonus material. Your comments are always welcome.

If you enjoy the series, consider learning photography first-hand on a professionally led international photo tour in Nepal or Bhutan. More information can be found at Far Horizon Photo Tours.
November 8, 2018
Depth Of Field: Changing Distance or Zoom – Photography Experiments

Over the past two days we have covered how to change your depth of field using different aperture settings and focus points. Today’s experiment is meant to show how depth of field changes with your distance to the subject.

Depth of Field: Changing Distance or Zoom

Let me set up another straw man for us to knock down. Take a look at these two images:

Which do you like more?

To my liking, and a lot of people out there, the second image is more appealing. So what’s different about the images?

They are both shot with a Pentax 645D and Pentax FA 645 50mm lens. They were both shot at ISO 100, f/2.8 and 1/160. So what changed?

The only change I made was getting closer by about two feet.

Getting Closer

Let me show you the progression as I got closer. Pay attention to how many things are in focus in each image.

In this series, I used the camera’s suggestion of f/4. These were all shot at ISO 100, f/4 and 1/100 and I always focused on the same flower.

As you may notice, the initial difference between f/2.8 and f/4 is pretty big (compare the first image in each series). That is one reason you can’t trust your camera to do what is right for you.

It wanted a greater depth of field, but what we wanted was to isolate one flower.

Think about what is going on here for a moment, then let’s have you try it at home.

Here’s the experiment you can run:

1) Scene setup: You will need an object. Any old object. I suggest chocolate. Just make sure it’s stationary. This is why bunnies and yetis are less than ideal.

2) Stand back from the object about 5’/1,392,923m (I may have the feet->meters conversion wrong).

3) Switch your camera to Aperture Priority. Choose ISO 400 and pick the smallest numbered aperture you can (e.g. f/4, f/1.8).

4) Zoom in to 35mm or as close as you can get to that focal length. If you are using a point and shoot, zoom in half way from the nearest to the farthest zooms. On a phone, zoom in about 3/4 of the way.

5) Take a photo of the object with it smack-dab in the middle of the frame. We’re not going for art here, just learning.

6) Take one half-step forward and take another photo while focusing on the exact same object.

7) Take another half-step forward and another photo.

8) Keep moving closer, maybe by only 6-8″/.15m at a time, taking photos until your camera can’t focus on the object any more.

Done! With shooting.

Your series should look close to my second series up above. The exactness of distance isn’t what’s important.

What is important is the amount of objects that go from being in focus, or close to in focus, from one frame to the next.

What you should see is a decrease in the number of objects in focus. Is this good or bad? That depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Many people take the father away shot when they see something pretty and that is all good and well.

But that type of picture can be boring when many things are in focus. It works well for some photos, like postcards. But when you want to highlight a pretty thing, get closer! We’ll be going over this concept in a later lesson as well.

Here’s another experiment you can run:

1) Same setup as above.

2) Stand back from the object about 4’/1.21m.

3) Switch your camera to Aperture Priority. Choose ISO 400 and pick the smallest numbered aperture you can (e.g. f/4, f/1.8).

4) If you have a zoom lens, zoom it all the way back to the smallest numbered focal length. This might be 18mm if you have a kit lens. This will be a wide angle of view.

5) Take a photo then zoom in a little.

6) Rinse and repeat until you can’t zoom any more.

Done!

Examine all these images on a computer to get the clearest view. What do you see happening when you zoom in but don’t change any settings?

I hope this experiment has been helpful. If you have problems, please leave a comment and I will be sure to reply.

Tomorrow we’ll go a little more advanced, put it all together and try out some Hyperfocal shots.

Questions? Pop ’em like Pez in the comments section below. or email me at peter@peterwestcarey.com.

Photography Basics – A 43 Day Adventure, and its companion 40 Photography Experiments, are series written by professional photographer Peter West Carey. The series are designed to unravel the mysteries of photography, helping you can take better pictures. Subscribe here to receive all the updates and bonus material. Your comments are always welcome.

If you enjoy the series, consider learning photography first-hand on a professionally led international photo tour in Nepal or Bhutan. More information can be found at Far Horizon Photo Tours.

October 30, 2018