Belated Friday Apollo & Pseudo HDR tutorial

"Hi!"

As promised a couple weeks ago, here's a brief set of instructions for those of you interested in creating pseudo HDR images. To make it really easy, what I suggest is downloading an "action," - a pre-recorded set of instructions that tells your program how to manipulate an image automatically. It's a great shortcut, but also a crutch.

I found the one I use here: www.finessefx.com. This particular action made by Karl Sneath is pretty effective for drawing out details in washed-out sky. You will need to download and install this in your Adobe folder.

(Side note: there are also downloadable actions for other progams like Gimp)

After you have installed this...As always, make sure to save a copy of the original photo in a new filename and work on that instead of the original - these actions are quite destructive and can affect the image quality, and some actions - not the one I suggested downloading - will automatically save for you after it has finished making changes, making it difficult for you to get original image back if you don't like the results.

Look for the triangle icon in your menu. If it's not there, you can hit Alt+F9

(2) Then scroll down until you see the name of the action. If you downloaded the same pseudo HDR one that I did, it will be clearly labeled, "Pseudo HDR." Click on the folder to open it. (3) click on the first step to highlight it, then (4) click on the triangle (aka play button) near bottom.

Once you click the play button, you can sit back and let the action run. It will ask you occasionally to click "OK" or to make a few minor tweaks. As you play with this feature, you'll get a better idea of what works and what doesn't.

As you can see, when this action is finished, you've a number of layers to play with, to make any further tweaks to your image. For example, if I decide I don't want vignetting at all, I can just unclick the "eye" and it goes away.

I know my instructions aren't comprehensive, but really, best way to learn this stuff is to play with photoshop yourself. It should get you started, at least.

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Night photography

True night photos are tough to do, unless you've got gear - or the know how. There are some easy, cheap tricks anyone can employ, especially if your camera has a flash or flash attachment.

Tripods are relatively inexpensive these days, and there are even some for digital point-and-shoot cameras.

Tonight, though, I forgot mine. Out walking Apollo, I found an interesting looking tree, which I photographed with a flash while holding the camera. This is the result...
What happened? Because it was so dim, I used the flash, then the shutter remained opened long after the flash disappeared. Because I was holding the camera, my breathing moved it - and produced a slightly blurred image where the flash did not reach. If you click on the photo to see a larger version, you'll see that the details on the bark and that dried leaf are pretty sharp - those got most of the light. I kinda like this image. A happy accident.

Here's another shot of the same tree. I opted to tweak the setting so that the light spread on the camera was different (more on that later) and the length of exposure, shorter. Shorter exposure = darker image. But this time, I put the camera on a fencepost and set the self-timer so that my finger would not jar the camera. This resulted in a much sharper, more in-focus image.

Tips:
If you don't have a tripod, place the camera on something stable and solid - fence post, rock, ground, table.
Use the self-timer so that your finger doesn't move the camera when pressing the shutter button
If you're able to, play with the f-stops, iso speeds and the light meter, to try find an ideal balance. It might take a few trial and error attempts before you hit on a good mix.

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How to take effective photographs - Cropping

It's one thing to read or be told how to photograph well, but it's quite another to actually see samples of why this or that does or doesn't work along with explanations.

One of the secret to stellar photographs isn't just in photography itself alone, but also in knowing when and how to to use post-production tools. Post-production is a fancy schmancy term that means anything you might do after "production" - taking photos. Cropping, dodging, burning, all the classic tools plus a few new ones thanks to the advent of computer digital technology that most of us now have access to.

Take this first photograph for example. It's a pretty good picture. It breaks the "rule of thirds" a little, but that's okay - rules are made to be broken. But how do we make it better? The little details that makes the kid so cute are actually drawing the viewer's attention away. Like the ear, chubby neck and the shirt. The black background isn't too bad, but if we trimmed it down, it would move one's focus squarely where it belong - on this chubbo's face.

Right now, he seems a bit far away and somehow frail. I don't want to convey this...this kid was anything but frail. If anything, he was pretty much in my face, demanding that I give him "the cam'a!" or to open a bag of goldfish so that he could stuff his face. Quite a character.

I cropped this photo along the left and right sides, taking out the ear, minimizing the shirt and the black. I decided to make the photo as perfectly square as I could. Now, because of how this photo was cropped, it more closely follows the rule of the thirds. His eyes pop out more; they effectively command your attention.
I did consider cropping more and making it a vertical picture. But I decided against it - I felt his cheeks were a distinctive feature and to remove them would hurt the photo. Whenever you crop, do it in moderation, little at a time (or be very familiar with the undo tool) and always always save your cropped copy under a different filename, just in case you decide you don't like it later down the road.

Rule of thirds example. Behold my computer drawing skills.
The original photo wasn't strong and distinctive, but cropping improved it. This is why close-ups of people's faces are employed so often in various media. The eyes are a very dramatic and effective way to grab people's attention - windows to a person's soul.

So, to wrap this up...
1. When cropping (or using other tools), keep the feel/mood of the photo in mind
2. Pay attention to the shapes of your subject and consider cropping parallel to the shape. Ie, if your subject is tall and lean, make the photo a vertical one to emphasize that.
3. While cropping, keep the the rule of thirds in mind - but don't follow it strictly.

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