Official Misc Photography Crew, Part III! "F/8 and be there."

[Final_Rep]

Wow... that's really cool.

Is that the general digital (raw) approach? expose for highlights and pull shadows after? Or would it depend more on the camera/sensor?

I find the shadows are easier to recover than the highs for some reason. Was the same with the 5D Mk2.

I found one for you.

Aw it's so cute

decided to sort though my hard drive and get everything edited whilst im not allowed out, here's one from a few weeks ago

That looks like the North Slope breh

(I am currently on the North Slope)

[MarkA15]

Canon released a new ultra-sensitive video sensor. Pretty cool. (It's only ~2mp though, so HD video but not great for large stills)

[Dominik]

I find the shadows are easier to recover than the highs for some reason. Was the same with the 5D Mk2.

I think the Canons have slightly better highlight recovery but with the new Nikons you've got the right approach: expose for the highlights and push the shadows in post.

That said, have you tried using a grad filter, maybe handholding it around 20-24mm with the 14-24? Could be worth trying.

[MajesticLion]

Very much in. Too much HDR so far ITT personally, but meh. Always good to see what other shooters are doing, and moreso always willing to learn more on the legal side. I think I'll actually sub to this.

[Boakey]

I need some car photography tips! I picked up a Canon T3 over the winter, and have my dads old lenses for his. I figured the 35mm lens will be the best for this stuff. Just looking for tips on settings so I don't have to rely on the presets in the camera and can fine tune the shots myself.

You should pick up a book like Understanding Exposure, it'll give you a good basis to start from.

[Final_Rep]

I think the Canons have slightly better highlight recovery but with the new Nikons you've got the right approach: expose for the highlights and push the shadows in post.

That said, have you tried using a grad filter, maybe handholding it around 20-24mm with the 14-24? Could be worth trying.

I have not tried that. I have been just using the LR grad, but it obviously can't do what a real grad could do. Any suggestions for one? Cokin or Lee or something?

Very much in. Too much HDR so far ITT personally, but meh. Always good to see what other shooters are doing, and moreso always willing to learn more on the legal side. I think I'll actually sub to this.

Welcome aboard!

[MajesticLion]

Much appreciated!

[cunfewzed]

Much appreciated!

post work!

[Dominik]

I have not tried that. I have been just using the LR grad, but it obviously can't do what a real grad could do. Any suggestions for one? Cokin or Lee or something?

2 or 3 stop soft would be a good choice. I'd recommend soft edge because you obviously shoot a lot of landscapes with mountains and a hard grad would cut into them, unless you shoot longer exposures and move it up and down to soften the transition.

The SW150 filters from Lee are only $10 more and being larger (6x7" vs. 4x6") will allow you to shoot as wide as possible. Also, if you ever decide to get the SW150 holder, they'll fit straight in.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...170mm_0_6.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...170mm_0_9.html

[Final_Rep]

2 or 3 stop soft would be a good choice. I'd recommend soft edge because you obviously shoot a lot of landscapes with mountains and a hard grad would cut into them, unless you shoot longer exposures and move it up and down to soften the transition.

The SW150 filters from Lee are only $10 more and being larger (6x7" vs. 4x6") will allow you to shoot as wide as possible. Also, if you ever decide to get the SW150 holder, they'll fit straight in.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...170mm_0_6.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...170mm_0_9.html

Thanks, I'll have to check this out.

In the past I've been happy to just bracket a few exposures for the lows, mids and highs. I want to try my hand at manual blending this summer, instead of tone mapping or exposure fusion with Photomatix.

[MarkA15]

I have not tried that. I have been just using the LR grad, but it obviously can't do what a real grad could do. Any suggestions for one? Cokin or Lee or something?

Wouldn't a LR grad be the same? Haha I wouldn't know but, I'd think the difference would be if the dynamic range is really poor to where you'd need an actual grad to get some image info then back to using the LR grad to do it some more.. if that makes any sense.

[Final_Rep]

Wouldn't a LR grad be the same? Haha I wouldn't know but, I'd think the difference would be if the dynamic range is really poor to where you'd need an actual grad to get some image info then back to using the LR grad to do it some more.. if that makes any sense.

Naw. The LR grad can only use what's actually in the file. So if your highs really are blown there's nothing it can do to recover information that isn't there.

[Dominik]

Wouldn't a LR grad be the same? Haha I wouldn't know but, I'd think the difference would be if the dynamic range is really poor to where you'd need an actual grad to get some image info then back to using the LR grad to do it some more.. if that makes any sense.

Assuming the image is properly exposed but the point of using a grad in the first place is to pull back the highlights in an area of the frame that would otherwise be overexposed. So a blown out sky won't magically become properly exposed with a digital grad filter applied to it.

Blending several exposures can achieve the same result but it requires more work in post and there might be ghosting issues where something has moved (clouds, waves, etc.). I would rather get it right in the camera (where possible).

edit: frep'd

[cunfewzed]

Assuming the image is properly exposed but the point of using a grad in the first place is to pull back the highlights in an area of the frame that would otherwise be overexposed. So a blown out sky won't magically become properly exposed with a digital grad filter applied to it.

Blending several exposures can achieve the same result but it requires more work in post and there might be ghosting issues where something has moved (clouds, waves, etc.). I would rather get it right in the camera (where possible).

edit: frep'd

Welcome to my life. We're heading to FL for a wedding mid-April. I'm trying to get a grad-filter setup before then so I can take some decent sunset pics. Can't HDR b/c of the waves. Photomatix does an ok job, as does PS, but it's not up to snuff when it comes to removing ghosts. I want to do a single exposure without the sun blowing everything up.

We'll see....

[MarkA15]

Naw. The LR grad can only use what's actually in the file. So if your highs really are blown there's nothing it can do to recover information that isn't there.

Assuming the image is properly exposed but the point of using a grad in the first place is to pull back the highlights in an area of the frame that would otherwise be overexposed. So a blown out sky won't magically become properly exposed with a digital grad filter applied to it.

edit: frep'd

Yeah that's was what I meant. If someone had a properly exposed (single) image, nothing blown, nothing black, why use a grad? So this would depend on the capabilities of the camera. That's what I was thinking about, if the D800 would be able to get all the information anyway. But I completely understand if the scenery has requires a wider dynamic range then I'd see why use an actual grad filter. Was just wondering FRep if the DR of the D800 wasn't enough to not use a filter for your work. But I'm not a landscape photographer, so I think I'll shut up now.

[Final_Rep]

Welcome to my life. We're heading to FL for a wedding mid-April. I'm trying to get a grad-filter setup before then so I can take some decent sunset pics. Can't HDR b/c of the waves. Photomatix does an ok job, as does PS, but it's not up to snuff when it comes to removing ghosts. I want to do a single exposure without the sun blowing everything up.

We'll see....

Eh? Just get the waves part of the scene captured in one exposure. Photomatix will handle the rest. Shouldn't be any ghosting if it's done correctly. (you could manually blend this as well)

Yeah that's was what I meant. If someone had a properly exposed (single) image, nothing blown, nothing black, why use a grad? So this would depend on the capabilities of the camera. That's what I was thinking about, if the D800 would be able to get all the information anyway. But I completely understand if the scenery has requires a wider dynamic range then I'd see why use an actual grad filter. Was just wondering FRep if the DR of the D800 wasn't enough to not use a filter.

Even the sensor on the D800 has far, far less dynamic range than some scenes. I want to say it's something like 12-13 stops and many scenes can be 20 stops.

[Final_Rep]

Another one from Gold Cord Lake:

[akappa]

That looks like the North Slope breh

(I am currently on the North Slope)

I wish it was Alaska, it was on a place called Walney

[cunfewzed]

Eh? Just get the waves part of the scene captured in one exposure. Photomatix will handle the rest. Shouldn't be any ghosting if it's done correctly. (you could manually blend this as well)

I wasn't thinking of capturing the waves, then stitching two photos together. Not sure why. Thanks for pointing out the obvious!

[Final_Rep]

I wasn't thinking of capturing the waves, then stitching two photos together. Not sure why. Thanks for pointing out the obvious!

Yeah man just give it a try. Do you have Photoshop? Manually blending a tough shot like that is probably going to result in a better image than photomatix, even though photomatix does have improved ghosting algorithms.

[Dominik]

Welcome to my life. We're heading to FL for a wedding mid-April. I'm trying to get a grad-filter setup before then so I can take some decent sunset pics. Can't HDR b/c of the waves. Photomatix does an ok job, as does PS, but it's not up to snuff when it comes to removing ghosts. I want to do a single exposure without the sun blowing everything up.

We'll see....

I know what you mean. You can do manual ghosting corrections which might turn out fine but getting it right in the camera is obviously the best outcome. There are times where the use of a grad will be obvious and you'll have to blend exposures. It's nice to have options.

Yeah that's was what I meant. If someone had a properly exposed (single) image, nothing blown, nothing black, why use a grad? So this would depend on the capabilities of the camera. That's what I was thinking about, if the D800 would be able to get all the information anyway. But I completely understand if the scenery has requires a wider dynamic range then I'd see why use an actual grad filter. Was just wondering FRep if the DR of the D800 wasn't enough to not use a filter for your work. But I'm not a landscape photographer, so I think I'll shut up now.

FR has his own approach which clearly works very well but I only push the shadows if I have to. The D800 does have a ridiculous amount of clean shadow detail, but I like to keep it up my sleeve. It's there to save a shot when I screw up, not my Plan A

But you're right, if the image is properly exposed, like shooting after sunset or before sunrise when the contrast is lower and the overall scene is more evenly lit, then you don't need a grad at all.

[Final_Rep]

Don't get me wrong though - when at all possible, I get it right in camera first.

[NinjaKix]

Fancy seeing you guys here....

Got some terrific news today. The Air Force has decided to move me from Las Vegas to Guam. My family is so excited about the move. I absolutely can not wait to get out there and start shooting!

[IgboMeso]

On dat dere stilllife time:

[EuphoriaPL]

been out for a while but wow in on part 3.

was cleaning out my old fb messages and came across this lmao had to share it here



she was my friends gf at the time. and by friend i mean acquaintance i spoke to once a year if that.
so i figured since i knew her i'd give her a good rate plus i was still kind of starting out. looks like that still wasnt good enough lol

i just didnt want to be seen as the guy who shoots everyone for free so i rather have charged 50 than nothing at the time

[IgboMeso]

Has anyone seen Frank Yang's 500px page?
He is srs out there. Prob NSFW.
http://500px.com/Digitalairair

[cunfewzed]

Has anyone seen Frank Yang's 500px page?
He is srs out there. Prob NSFW.
http://500px.com/Digitalairair

None of this chit makes any sense.


Here's a few from a 1-month shoot I did on Sunday along with a couple of the baby's cousins. The couple didn't give me much to work with. Wayyy too cold for outside so they invited me to their home. They just moved in last weekend and the place was a wreck. I had to find like 2 spots where clutter couldn't be seen in the background. Don't think I ever moved from F/1.8. Lost some sharpness that way but it worked, for the most part. Always be prepared for the unexpected, lol.

These are FB pulls, so sorry for poor quality. You get the picture

[Dominik]

Here's a few from a 1-month shoot I did on Sunday along with a couple of the baby's cousins.

C, nice work.

been out for a while but wow in on part 3.

was cleaning out my old fb messages and came across this lmao had to share it here

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/9Ph2rZH.jpg[IMG]

she was my friends gf at the time. and by friend i mean acquaintance i spoke to once a year if that.
so i figured since i knew her i'd give her a good rate plus i was still kind of starting out. looks like that still wasnt good enough lol

i just didnt want to be seen as the guy who shoots everyone for free so i rather have charged 50 than nothing at the time

I know a guy who has a photography business, his work is pretty good, but his friends never hire him for their own wedding.

Why? they know he'll bring his camera gear to the wedding anyway so they'll help themselves to all his shots for free.

It might seem tempting to bring your camera along if you haven't got many jobs under your belt and want to build up your folio of work, but your name will quickly become synonymous with free/cheap photography. Same applies to parties, events, etc. And anyone they recommend you to will be expecting the same rate so you'll be spinning your wheels.

Set a rate and stick to it. If people ask about your work, hand them a business card. Don't be that guy who always has a camera around your neck ready to capture everyone's moments... for free.

What's killing the industry is the glut of people pimping their services on Model Mayhem, etc. offering work for free or dirt cheap. Charge a rate that is sustainable and stand behind your work. There are always going to be people who want something for nothing. Turn it around and see if they'll offer their services for free.

[cunfewzed]

I know a guy who has a photography business, his work is pretty good, but his friends never hire him for their own wedding.

Why? they know he'll bring his camera gear to the wedding anyway so they'll help themselves to all his shots for free.

It might seem tempting to bring your camera along if you haven't got many jobs under your belt and want to build up your folio of work, but your name will quickly become synonymous with free/cheap photography. Same applies to parties, events, etc. And anyone they recommend you to will be expecting the same rate so you'll be spinning your wheels.

Set a rate and stick to it. If people ask about your work, hand them a business card. Don't be that guy who always has a camera around your neck ready to capture everyone's moments... for free.

What's killing the industry is the glut of people pimping their services on Model Mayhem, etc. offering work for free or dirt cheap. Charge a rate that is sustainable and stand behind your work. There are always going to be people who want something for nothing. Turn it around and see if they'll offer their services for free.

I had to over-come this exact "condition" with my friends. Also, when I got into wedding photography, I realized I was Uncle Tom'ing to the max! Live and learn.

[Dominik]

I had to over-come this exact "condition" with my friends. Also, when I got into wedding photography, I realized I was Uncle Tom'ing to the max! Live and learn.

Yeah, it can be a difficult rut to get out of.

It's fair enough if the friends involved are not well off, you might want to do them a favor, but there are a lot of people out there doing well who are tightasses who will expect photos taken (and edited) for free or peanuts. That's where I really would like to see the situation reversed. Like "yeah, no problem, I'll take the photos for free, but will you do my taxes for me? Thanks bro."