SilhoueesMonitor Calibraon

2015 ISSUEMAY

GUIDEPHOTOGRAPHYSLR

http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/online-courses.shtml

THANKS FOR CHECKING OUT SLR PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE

MAY EDITIONDIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE EDITOR TANYA PUNTTISLRPHOTOGRAPHYGUIDE.COM

2015

cover photo © Ron Cous (Australia)Nikon D5100 + Sigma 10-20mm lensaperture f/7.1 |shuer speed 1/160 | ISO 100 | 13mm focal length

in this issue

Student image © Shelby R Adair (USA)

Student image © Sharon Westergard (USA)

Student image © Craig Breakey (UK)The Boathouse UllswaterISO 100 | focal length 38mm | aperture f/16 | shuer speed 1.3 seconds

Student image © Leanne Dieter Gorges (Australia)aperture f/3.5 | 1/13 shuer speed | 22 mm focal length | ISO 100ND filter used

Why do all lenses vignette?

Beginners are often confused as to why their lenses display optical vignetting. The truth is, it seems it’s simply not possible to design a lens that doesn’t vignette to some degree.

So how do you minimise vignetting?

Lower aperture numbers create more vignetting than higher. Often it can be as Lower aperture numbers create more vignetting than higher. Often it can be as little as one or two stops higher. For example, from f/3.2 to f/5.6 as shown in the images below.

f/3.2

Lens Vignette

f/5.6

Using your lens at it’s widest end will result in more vignetting. Take these two images below for example. Both have been shot with the same f/2.8 aperture. The wider was taken with a 40mm focal length, the other without the vignette was 70mm focal length.

Lens hoods and filters are two other reasons you may be seeing vignetting, so best to remove them if you are seeing too much for your own liking.

Of course you didn’t buy a wide angle lens not to use it at it’s widest focal length. The good news is, vignetting can be removed in post editing.

The easiest way is to simply crop the image to remove the vignetted corners.

Adobe and other software including RAW file editors, have vignetting correction Adobe and other software including RAW file editors, have vignetting correction tools built in. For Adobe users, look for the ‘Lens Corrections’ tab and tick ‘Enable Profile Corrections’.

If you notice vignetting in your images, it’s important to realise all lenses do this to some degree under certain camera settings and lighting. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with your lens.

Cheers!Tanya.Tanya.

“The images ... were taken in the poorest parts of Mumbai and my intention was not to show the poverty these men and women live in, rather show them as they live their lives. As generous, hardworking, happy, sad, eccentric human beings who, despite being born into a certain life, just get on with it.” ~ Bell Clark

If you live in Sydney why not come along and help support a fellow student. Put it in your diary. Sunday May 17th, 3pm - 5pmPut it in your diary. Sunday May 17th, 3pm - 5pmSee you there!

Student image © Betsy Eaton (USA) ISO 800 | 240 mm focal length | aperture f/6.3 | shutter speed 1/125

Student image © Jay Campbell shutter speed 1/800 | ISO 400 | aperture f/8 | 400mm focal length

Student image © Char McQuillan (USA)ISO 200 | aperture f/5.6 | shutter speed 1/1250 | 290mm focal length

Student image © Sandra Aydelott Bickham (USA)

(student profile)

At 48 years of age I have begun a new chapter in my life. I have found art again. The world is my canvas, my camera my paintbrush!

https://www.facebook.com/PypersPackPhotographyhttps://www.facebook.com/Mycameraandme1

Never stop experimenting or learning . Most importantly, never ever give into your Never stop experimenting or learning . Most importantly, never ever give into your own worst fear or critic. Find your inspiration and run with it . At 48 I have found my art and I am not going to let anyone stop me from reaching my goals, not even myself!

Jacqui Sjonger

Q & A with Jacqui

How did you first become interested in photography?

At first it was my love of dogs and then once it began it was the ability to see thru the flesh. To want to capture those emotions no one sees, seeing behind the masks. Everyone wears as mask, everyone hides their soul. So now that you ask me that question, it is the art of truth that makes me want to be a photographer.

What do you enjoy most about being a photographer?What do you enjoy most about being a photographer?

All of it, the learning, the experimenting, the photo you know is just perfect that makes you go WOW. Those that compel people to want to look at it and come back to it, I love everything about photography. You cannot love just part of photography, you have to love it all. Even your mistakes are a learning experience, without them you do not get to those WOW shots.

What’s your favorite photograph that you’ve taken and why?

Emotional favorite, not because it is the best I have ever done or will ever do, but it is the one that gave me that ‘uh-ha’ moment, where I said damn I can do this and I got the truth, the moment you know that this is not a hobby but this is where you are supposed to be going in life. So yes my awakening shot would be my fox.

How has DSLR Photography Course helped you?

This online photography course gave me the knowledge I needed to fully This online photography course gave me the knowledge I needed to fully understand my camera. I had tried several different courses until I stumbled upon Tanya's blog. To be honest I was about to give up! I had put the DSLR away and was getting ready for the old point and shot. It was my stepping stone and opened me up to the possibilities of what my camera and I can do together.

Do you have any advice to new photographers just starting our course?

Experiment, practice and experiment more. Learn your camera , get intimate with Experiment, practice and experiment more. Learn your camera , get intimate with it, know all its little bells and whistles where it hiccups and where it shines like a star. If your afraid of it put it down now, because if your not willing to understand it and see all that it has to offer, then you will never become a photographer. Learn your camera and teach it what it needs to know to create your master pieces.

The images below show where Jacqui was with her photography back when she The images below show where Jacqui was with her photography back when she enrolled for our online course. It is her hope that in seeing where she started, it will help inspire those just starting out to perservere, experiment, and never give up!

What plans do you have for the future of your photography?

Why plan when you can ride the adventure to where it is going to take you. I am a Why plan when you can ride the adventure to where it is going to take you. I am a photographer and putting my camera down is not anything that has ever crossed my mind since the moment the light bulb in my head went off. My plan is to be the best photographer I can be. I have opened a business for pet photography that I’m hoping will take off. I want the world to see the soul and I think my work on dogs speaks for itself. One day I hope to be on the cover of Canadian Geographic or the likes. I will continue to do my artistic work and experimenting ... the possibilities are endless.endless.

We truely believe Jacqui has what it takes to fullfill her goal of being on the cover of National Geographic. Her photographs of animals in particular are much more than portraits. It is as she says, like you are looking into the soul of the animal.

Q & A Tidbits from inbox messages and email

1. Denise Jackson-Cook this past month had a problem with what seemed like corrupt image files. Here are the examples she had sent me through private messaging.

Aer a bit of a chat back and forth a soluon was found. It seemed the inbuilt memory card reader on the PC was to blame. When she connected the camera to the computer via the USB cord, all images transfered fine. Note this could also go the other way. If you see files like this when using the USB cord, the first thing you should try is a different cord and / or USB slot.

2. Another asked, why is it when she views images at work, they always looks different in color to what she sees on her home computer?

When exporng an image for internet viewing (or prinng) make sure When exporng an image for internet viewing (or prinng) make sure you save it with sRGB colour profile embedded. sRBG is universal, every PC, MAC, tablet and printer understands sRGB. If you are saving it as Adobe RGB unfortunately it is not universal. All browsers convert to sRGB when showing the viewer an image, and some do a really bad job at it. Hence the difference you see between operang systems, printers and browsers etc.

3. Almost daily we receive quesons concerning prinng. Or rather, why 3. Almost daily we receive quesons concerning prinng. Or rather, why is it that photos oen print much darker than they see on their monitor? Apart from exporng images in sRGB as menoned above, we also recommend turning your monitor brightness down to around 15% when previewing photos that are intended for print. As we know, monitors are backlit with a bulb, paper prints are not! You need to take this into account when preparing images for print.

4. A queson that comes up oen in both email and in our facebook 4. A queson that comes up oen in both email and in our facebook group (students only) refers to RAW files and why they oen look different in color when viewing them in soware that came with your camera (such as ZoomBrowser for Canon users) when compared to Adobe soware?

In our course we encourage students to experiment with custom se ngs In our course we encourage students to experiment with custom se ngs (increasing or decreasing saturaon, contrast etc). This informaon is saved in the image file, however Adobe disregards this when opening RAW files. The RAW file editor that came with your camera however, does display the custom se ngs when opening RAW files.

how to photograph silhouettes

Silhouees make for dramac photographs. This past month Amanda Franklin asked in our private facebook group (students only) how does one go about photographing them. Listed below are my top ps for photographing silhouees.

It’s best to shoot silhouees at the beginning or end of the day, when the sun is It’s best to shoot silhouees at the beginning or end of the day, when the sun is low in the sky. Sunsets are one of the most popular mes for silhouees, because of their vibrant colors. However you can also create silhouees indoors by making sure there is more light on the background than the subject, then expose for the backgroud (a reverse of the exposure compensaon assignment found in Lesson 5 of our online photography course).

The key to a successful silhouee is backlighng. You don’t necessarily need to The key to a successful silhouee is backlighng. You don’t necessarily need to have the main light source directly behind the subject, it just needs to be at some angle in front of you. Then you need to expose for the brighter background, which will place your subject in shadow.

Before shoong silhouees, make sure Acve D-Lighng or Auto Lighng Opmizer is turned off (if your camera offers it).

The trick is to focus on the main subject, but expose for the background. If your The trick is to focus on the main subject, but expose for the background. If your camera is having trouble focusing, try to focus on the very edge of the subject or switch your lens to manual focus.

A good starng point is to use Manual mode and set an aperture of around F8, ISO between 100-200 and dial in between -1 to -3 EV (Lesson 5 - Exposure Compensaon). Have a look on the LCD at how the image looks, and adjust your exposure accordingly.

Keep It Simple. Pick a strong subject with an interesng shape. For example, a Keep It Simple. Pick a strong subject with an interesng shape. For example, a lone tree or a portrait figure against a sunset makes a great subject.

I’ll look forward to seeing more sihouees posted in our facebook group!

Silhouette

Student image © Trisha Speel

It doesn’t maer whether you are a beginner or a professional, image quality and accuracy are always important. Calibrang your monitor will help guarantee you’re viewing content the way it is meant to be seen, and that the colors you see in your images are true.

Before calibrang, ensure your monitor has been turned on for at least half an hour to Before calibrang, ensure your monitor has been turned on for at least half an hour to warm up and check that you are using its default screen resoluon. It’s also best to calibrate in moderate ambiant lighng. ie make sure no sharp glares and color casts are hing the screen.

The good news is, both Mac OS X and Windows have in-built display calibraon tools. In The good news is, both Mac OS X and Windows have in-built display calibraon tools. In Windows, the display calibraon tool is located in the Display Control Panel or use the search bar to scan your computer for the keyword ‘calibrate’. Once you’ve located the calibraon wizard, simply follow the steps.

In Mac OS X, the Display Calibrator Assistant is located in the system preferences, or enter the word ‘calibrate’ in the spotlight found in the upper right side of your screen, then follow the steps.

When completed, you can use web based calibraon tools to check the results. For When completed, you can use web based calibraon tools to check the results. For example: hp://displaycalibraon.com/color_depth.html or hp://t.vanity.dk/monitorTest_scale.html

Alternavely you can also download The Lagom LCD monitor test pages from hp://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ (instrucons for use are listed on the website).

Of course online calibraon relies on your percepon of color and may therefore be Of course online calibraon relies on your percepon of color and may therefore be flawed. If you sll have trouble obtaining color consistency across all your monitors, then we recommend using colorimeter hardware such as those created by Datacolor hp://spyder.datacolor.com/display-calibraon/

Calibrang your monitor will help ensure your prints match your display and is highly recommended!

How to calibrate your monitor

© Ajit Menon - Pano 2014 Finalist - Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City

Message from Sandy May and Peter Riley

To all the Melbourne (Australia) based members of this course. On Sunday 31st May we are planning a photo meet up down in the docklands area.

Meeng at 4:30pm, the idea is to photograph through the twilight into the blue hour and maybe beyond.

A tripod is going to be needed but if you don't own one don't panic, I will A tripod is going to be needed but if you don't own one don't panic, I will give as many as possible the chance to use a tripod so that everyone gets a chance to capture some beauful night images of the docklands and the city.

If enough people are interested i will also try and book somewhere for dinner as there are plenty of restaurants in the area.

Anyone interested should message Peter Riley or Sandie May (through our Anyone interested should message Peter Riley or Sandie May (through our private facebook group) so we can gauge how much interest there is for this.

Did you know our online photography course

now comes with downloadable cheat sheets?

"If you haven't taken advantage of printing the cheat sheets, I strongly suggest you take time to do so. These alone are worth

the price of the course." ~ John Smith (student)

Check out our online photography course over at

http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/online-courses.shtml