Featured Article

2010 Ultimate Shooting Guide

by Matt Tuffin on 18th Dec 2009

What you need to take photographs all year round

After taking the time to invest both money and effort in buying the right camera and accessories, it can be easy to forget that the conditions you shoot in make a fair bit of difference to your end product. Lens flare, shadowing and reflections can ruin an otherwise technically perfect image, meaning a rethink of the entire framing and focus setup.

Fortunately DCE has all of the knowledge required to give you the best possible tools for shooting in all four seasons. Each gives a different series of challenges as well as a number of potential pitfalls for the camera itself, making it all the more important to prepare both yourself and your gear for the challenges ahead. Over the next 6 pages we’ll concentrate on each season, detailing how to get the best out of your camera in all the different climates.

Learning Metering

      

How snow can affect your images

The drastic change a landscape can go through when covered in a sheet of snow is one of the most striking, eye-catching sights possible. Capturing it as an image can be extremely difficult though, as the lack of contrast can ruin any detail in the image.

There are a couple of ways to combat this. The first is to utilise the combination of lower f-stops and longer shutter speeds to increase the depth of field. Because of the lack of detail in the ground more time is required to absorb the light and add some contrast. On the flipside of this is the potential for over-exposure, as the snow will be very reflective of any stray sunbeams. For this a circular polarizer can be used, effectively replicating what a pair of sunglasses would do and reducing the glare. It’s worth sticking to a lower ISO to prevent any grain from showing up, as a lighter surface will show up the effects even more than usual. Most of these criteria will require a far steadier hand than the majority of people can manage, especially in colder climates, leading to a tripod and remote being required.

Long shutter speed

The lack of detail in a snow covered ground means a shorter shutter speed would lose the subtlety in the shadow. Because of this a longer shutter speed is required, especially when the aperture is around the f/18 range.

Higher aperture

Although the lack of detail is an issue a lack of light rarely is when shooting in daylight in the snow. To both increase the depth of field and lower the likelihood of over-exposure the aperture needs to be increased to around the F/18 level.

Circular Polarizer

Acting in a similar fashion to a pair of sunglasses the circular polarizer can limit the amount of light, and therefore the amount of glare in the image. With a twist of the outer ring any reflection from the snow can be limited, reducing lens flare.

Overexpose

Although reducing the aperture and shutter speed will insure a decent amount of detail both will also turn the white snow into a dull shade of grey. To combat this bump the EV up to one stop, which will slightly overexpose the images.

Exposing for different lighting

How to alter ISO and white balance for better images

Low ISO

A lower ISO will be far more suited for snowy conditions. This is because it allows the camera to shoot on a longer exposure, giving more time to allow the light to travel to the CCD and making the snow white, instead of a duller grey.

High ISO

A faster film speed is normally used for lower light situations, such as when night draws in or the shutter speed is increased. For snowy landscapes the faster rate doesn’t allow enough light to travel to the lens, therefore turning the image grey.

Too blue

White balance is extremely important when shooting on a white surface, purely because the amount of tint becomes all the more visible. As the scene is already cold, there’s no point in adding more blue to make it feel all the colder. Adjust the white balance to include more saturation.

Slight saturation

Putting a slight red/orange tint onto the photo can warm it up, making the end product more welcoming to the viewer. Go too far and detail is lost though, so make a slight manual adjustment if possible, or make the increase in Photoshop.

Essential Kit

What you need to shoot in the cold

Weather Sealed Case

Although a small pouch can be convenient, the cases with proper weather sealing stops moisture and cold getting at your gear. Some also have rain covers, making it far easier to protect from moisture. There are backpacks and side satchels available so a day hiking won’t be too uncomfortable.  

Spare battery

The worse the conditions get the more the battery power is likely to take a hit, so bring along a couple of spares and keep them warm. The best method for this is to put them into a pocket, then your body heat will keep the charge in place far better.

Gloves

As obvious as it may sound, a thin but warm pair of gloves can help you both shoot for longer and perform simple tasks such as changing a memory card or battery in a far more satisfactory fashion. Lowepro have a number of grippy, thin gloves and Etre have their Touchy range.

Silica Gel

This small packs are normally the first casualty of a new bag, but they do have a usage beyond filling space. The gel inside absorbs moisture, protecting the camera from the elements should some rain seep through. It can be worth lining the bottom of the bag with silica when placing down on a wet surface. 

Creative lighting

Shoot some stunning ice and snow photos with a few simple techniques

One of the more frustrating aspects in shooting ice and snow is the blank canvas upon which to shoot. The lack of colour doesn’t necessarily offer a disadvantage though, as it means creative colouring can add an entirely new slant on proceedings.

This can be achieved in a number of ways, from a coloured gel across a portable light or a slight tint on a flashgun. Due to the reflective properties of the surfaces, and their ability to diffract the light, the results can be quite spectacular with the right tools.

Lighting

Putting a gel over a portable light can create a striking effect, with the ice able to bounce and alter the shades within itself. Try piling up some ice cubes in an interesting fashion, placing them on a black surface and turning the lights off. Then light them using different colour and snap the results. 

Flash

When the snow falls flash can be used to freeze the moment, not only lighting up the subject but the dropping flakes as well. With a darkened background the scene can stand out all the better, but exposing for the background without flash and combining the two images can also create stunning results.

Reflection

A frozen lake can provide an excellent opportunity for some inventive reflection-based photography. To take a shot like this insure the aperture is high, such as at f/11, and the shutter speed is at least a few seconds, then the detail will come through on the end product.

Using natural light

      

How a summer landscape can create plenty of issues with the amount of light spread across a frame

The bright sunshine of summer can make trying to get a balanced exposure a nightmare. With extreme, bright light coming from a single direction shadowing becomes inevitable, and taking an image of a wide expanse means it’s not exactly possible to use a reflector to correctly expose all the spaces.

Instead there is a method to get the most of the space by utilising High Dynamic Range. This can be performed on virtually any camera with the ability to adjust the EV settings, which over or under exposes the image. If the camera hasn’t got the ability built in, simply lock a tripod into position, then set the camera to under expose, then to the centre setting, then over expose. With the shutter speed and aperture locked the adjustments should mean that when the images are combined there will be little disparity around the edges. This can be done in Photoshop quite easily, in fact in recent releases there’s a special mode for exactly that task.

The trick with HDR is to avoid ‘haloing’ by insuring the areas that need to capture detail aren’t overexposed. This may take a number of attempts and a lot of zooming in playback mode to get the balance correct, but the end result is well worth the extra work.  

Under exposure

Any brighter areas, such as those closest to the sun, will lose definition if exposed for too long. Underexpose this zone to insure there’s sharpness and contrast in the image.

Mid exposure

This will keep any areas such as unshadowed ground within acceptable levels of detail, insuring there’s a base for the HDR image at the same time.

Over exposure

For darkened, shadowed areas over exposing allows the limited amount of light within them to travel to the lens. This will leave the sky and ground white, but will create detail in the dark.

Lock the settings

For the end product to be successful the other settings must be locked in place, so meter and set the shot in manual mode as even sticking to one of the priority modes can cause issues.

The dangers of sand and water

How shooting on or near a beach has plenty of hazards

Sand

Not only does sand have corrosive properties which can dissolve both seals and lubricants, but it can also coat the CCD and get in between parts of the lens barrel, preventing smooth focussing and zooming. Steer clear of getting too close, and be sure to immediately wipe out any stray grains.

Salt water

Water and electronics are a complete disaster anyway, but adding salt into the mix means a fine residue will be left well after any elements have dried out to cause even longer standing problems. There are plenty of water-proof housings and cases available, so invest in one if you’re planning on getting wet.    

Sunrise to sunset

How to shoot dawn to dusk

The contrast of having an extreme lightsource surrounded by a darkened sky means balancing the two and producing a worthwhile end result can be almost impossible. There aren’t any hard and fast rules as far as shooting a sunset or sunrise is concerned, instead the camera needs to be catered to the particular confines of the situation at hand.

The best rule to begin with is to manually meter the shots, preferably to the area around the sun. As the sky will be graduated in terms of lighting it’s best to confine the metered area to the centre spot, then aiming it away from the sun but still relatively close to it. This should give a median reading that will insure the sky isn’t lost nor the sun a shapeless blob.

Beyond that the shutter speed and aperture will be dependant on how much detail is required, but try leaving the aperture to the camera’s priority mode and working the shutter speed from quick to slow.  

Do’s and Don’ts

How to avoid the classic shooting mistakes

There are plenty of less subtle ways to ruin a photo, such as under or over exposing, not focussing correctly or shaking when at the top end of the zoom, resulting in motion blur. When shooting in sunlight the issues that arise aren’t always immediately apparent, instead being only noticeable when the end product is uploaded. Most can be altered in camera, with a few manual settings requiring a slight change or something as simple as a filter attached. As there’s rarely chance to shoot away from the sun, there are a few simple techniques to employ to stop a bright, sunny day from wrecking your images.   

Purple hazing

UV effects can cause the sky to develop a subtle purple haze, which can be particularly apparent if the camera is susceptible to magenta tones. This can be remedied by either adjust the colour balance to favour saturation, or simply purchase a UV filter. 

Lens flare

The primary cause of lens flare is a bright source hitting the lens at a slightly obtuse angle, creating visible rings of light. Normally angling the lens away from the light can help, but if this is impossible a lens hood can block the stray beams from causing an issue.

Poor contrast

Trying to expose for diametrically opposed lighting conditions often means one will lose detail. Depending on where the majority lies the shadow or highlights could end up as little more than a solid colour. Take multiple exposures at different settings, then combine them into one in Photoshop.

Controlling contrast and colour

Make those images pop with a colour adjustment

When the weather turns duller and the skies become grey it’s worth adjusting the colour balance to compensate. This is especially important in autumn, as the leaves turning to reddy colours means an increase in saturation can really make the image that much more vivid.

White balance adjust

Bumping up the saturation to make the skies more welcoming can be achieved by altering the white balance. By setting the balance to cloudy skies the amount of red will be increased, not only giving the image some much needed warmth but emphasising the existing red tones as well.

Reset metering

Having the clouds as the metering point can have the side effect of overexposing the rest of the image, so set the priority to central and point the camera at the trees. This will insure the darker areas gain some detail as well as the moody-looking skies.

Storm shooting

How to capture some of natures most startling events

Storm photography is a dedicated profession in itself, as managing to track and shoot them creates a whole host of issues, least of all the danger associated. If a storm happens to appear within your vicinity there are plenty of techniques in which to capture them.

Lightning

As the lightning strikes will move to quickly to react to, and will be against a blackened sky, set the camera on a strong tripod and open the shutter using the bulb exposure. When the lightning strikes release the button, use a remote if possible to prevent jogging the tripod. 

Rainbow

Try to frame the shot so the rainbow can be seen making contact with the ground. A plain, uncluttered background is also helpful to insure the rainbow stands out, so it’s often best to frame more sky than ground, and opt for a larger depth of field to insure as much sky detail as possible.

Storm Cloud

In order to capture the detail in a storm cloud alter the metering to focus on the sky and little else. Then insure the aperture is narrower than normal to get as much detail as possible. The various levels of exposure means a circular polarizer may be worth using, so an extraneous light can be trimmed out. 

Return to features archive »