Photo Tips and Stories (Page 19)
Like scores of others, you (probably) and I photographed the solar eclipse this year.
While partial solar eclipse images are easy to process (simply make them bright without blowing the red channel), the total eclipse images when bracketed, are in a different league in terms of complexity.
So, like me, you are probably now asking, "How do I process the exposure-bracketed total eclipse pictures?"
While there were many articles teaching us how to photograph the eclipse, those telling us how to process the images we captured during totality are scarce.
A great solar eclipse photography strategy is to extensively bracket exposures during totality, when the corona becomes visible.
While the corona is relatively bright just outside the edges of the moon, it becomes very dim far away from the sun.
Of course, with the sun being 93 million miles away, the word "far" takes on a significant meaning.
While I hoped I could simply load a set of bracketed-exposure images into my favorite HDR software (Photomatix or
Photoshop) and be finished, the results returned were not acceptable to me for a couple of reasons.
The primary problem was that the software did not properly align the moon (it moves across the frame in subsequent images), creating ghosting and still did so even if I pre-aligned the moon in each image.
I could have overlaid the moon from a single frame, but ... I still wasn't satisfied with the overall look of the results.
In the end, after numerous trial and error attempts, I settled on an easy, relatively fast way to merge the results in Photoshop as my solution.
Note that there are many techniques that can be used to process a stack of bracketed total solar eclipse images, so don't think this is the only option.
But, this technique is easy and it produces a nice result.
Hopefully you captured your images in RAW format for the highest quality and in that case, processing those RAW files into 16-bit TIFF format is the first step needed.
Next, the images need to be loaded into layers in Photoshop.
I use Adobe Bridge for this task, browsing to the folder the files are located in, clicking on the first of the series and shift-clicking on the last to select them all.
Then select the "Tools" menu, "Photoshop", "Load files into Photoshop Layers ..." and a new Photoshop document will open with all of the images stacked in layers.
Unless you were using a tracking mount, the moon disk will need to be aligned in the layers.
I simply moved each layer into identical position.
Click on the layer and move it using the move tool.
Toggle layer visibility of the image containing the targeted moon position for use as a guide and use the arrow keys to slide the layer being adjusted into position.
Once the images are properly aligned, crop the image as desired.
Trimming away the missing edges and centering the sun was my decision.
Next, Order the layers from top down in darkest to brightest sequence.
Because I set up the camera to shoot brackets from darkest to brightest (using three custom modes), this sequencing happened automatically for me.
Select the first/top layer and shift-click on the second-to-last layer.
With all except one layer selected, reduce the layer opacity using the "Opacity" box at the top of the layers palette.
Try starting at 20% and adjust to taste from there.
I suggest keeping the image on the bright side at this point.
Making the opacity adjustment (likely) immediately produced an image that looks decent, but one ready for some contrast adjustment.
Click on the top layer and create a new adjustment layer.
The adjustment layer type you should select depends on your Photoshop skill level, but it needs to be a contrast-adjusting layer type that you are comfortable with, curves being the most powerful and levels being very easy.
Use the adjustments the selected tool offers to bring life into the image.
If using curves, try selecting two points to create an S-curve that darkens the darks colors and brightens the light (though likely only slight brightening is needed if the layer opacities were set low enough).
If using levels, try reducing the mid adjustment slider.
You may find that adding multiple adjustment layers is helpful.
The beauty of adjustment layers is that they are non-destructive and can be created or deleted at any time.
Because the edges of the moon become brighter as the exposure becomes increases, the edges of my moon were not as crisp as I liked.
Also, Baily's Beads were one of my favorite aspects for the solar eclipse and they were only found in the images captured just before C2 and just before C3.
So, I incorporated an additional layer into the top of my layer stack and used a layer mask to make only the lunar disk and Baily's Beads visible.
This means a black mask (use CTRL-I with a newly-created mask selected), with the desired visible attributes painted white (I used the paint brush).
Another option for sharpening the moon is to duplicate one of the existing layers (CTRL-J), likely a darker one, giving it a 100% opacity and a layer mask with only the lunar disk made visible.
A technique that can be used to bring out some contrast in the corona is via Photoshop's High Pass filter.
There are a number of ways to do this, but here is one of them:
Select and combine all layers by clicking on the topmost layer, shift-clicking on the last and pressing CTRL-E.
Then copy the combined layers to the clipboard by press CTRL-A to select the entire image and then pressing CTRL-C to copy it.
Next, undo changes until one step back past the layer-combining step.
Select the top layer and press CTRL-V to paste in the copied combined layer.
With the new layer selected, desaturate it by pressing CTRL-SHFT-U.
Implement the High Pass filter selecting from the menu: "Filter" > "Other" > "High Pass...".
From the High Pass filter dialog, adjust the radius until it seems like the results will work well, with a low value being good for sharpening hard edges such as the border of the moon and a high value being good for adjusting overall image contrast, such as the corona.
The next step is to change the blending mode of the High Pass layer to "Overlay" by using the blending mode drop-down list founds at the top of the layer palette.
The opacity of the High Pass layer can be adjusted to reduce the amount of effect and a mask can be used to hide undesirable portions of that layer.
You can create a second or even third High Pass layer if you think it will help.
Adjust individual or smaller groups of layer opacities is another step that can be taken to optimize the final appearance.
For the total solar eclipse HDR image shown here, I combined eight 1-stop-bracketed exposures (out of 14 captured) using opacity values of 100% on the bottom (the brightest frame), 25% for the next three up,
20% for the next three up and 30% for the darkest layer on top.
The top layer has a layer mask that allows only the center of this frame to show with a strongly-feathered border creating a natural transition to the layer below (one click in the center with a very large, totally-soft paint brush tool selected).
With so many options available, you may decide it worthwhile to create multiple versions of your HDR image and that is a great idea.
You worked hard to prepare for and capture the solar eclipse, so having multiple images processed differently simply increases the reward.
Try this technique and let us know how it works for you! If you like it, share it with others. If you know how to improve it, share that with us. I may update this article as feedback comes in, so ... it might be worth stopping back to read it again later.
A larger version of this image is available on Flickr.
ISO 100
7483 x 4989px
by Sean Setters
Aside from the Rebel T6, all of Canon DSLRs currently produced feature Multi-Shot Noise Reduction (MSNR). With the feature enabled, your camera takes a burst of 4 images which are combined and output to a JPEG file with less visible noise compared to a single exposure.
Unfortunately, there are many downsides to using MSNR. For a good overview of those downsides, let's take a look at a couple of paragraphs from Bryan's review of the 5D Mark IV:
Multi Shot Noise Reduction (MSNR) is one of the additional in-camera options available in many of the latest EOS models including the 5D IV. MSNR merges information from multiple (four) exposures taken in a full-frame-rate burst into a reduced noise image. The concept makes a lot of sense. MSNR generally provides a remarkable one stop or more of noise reduction, but ... I still have not found a compelling use for this feature.Fortunately, with several of Canon's upper-level DSLRS, there's a slightly better way to accomplish the same goal. It involves many of the same compromises as Multi Shot Noise Reduction, but instead of being limited to JPEG output, you can output a RAW file instead.The downsides to Multi Shot Noise Reduction include: MSNR is currently available only with JPG output (I would like to see this feature added to Canon's Digital Photo Pro software for RAW capture processing – perhaps as another HDR preset). Multi-Shot Noise Reduction is not so useful with moving subjects (or with a moving camera). Long exposure NR, Dust Delete Data, Multiple Exposure and HDR Mode must be set to off to enable MSNR. The 5D IV reverts back to Standard NR in Auto/Basic zone modes, during video recording, in Bulb mode and when the camera is powered off. Flash is not supported in MSNR mode. After the 4 shot burst is captured, the camera remains "busy" for a noticeable period of time while processing the merged image. So, while this feature is a nice idea, its limitations make it less useful in real-world applications. I am far more likely to use a low ISO setting with a longer exposure when shooting stationary subjects from a tripod.
Before I go any further, it's important to know exactly which of Canon's DSLRs this information applies to:
- EOS-1D X Mark II
- EOS-1D X
- EOS 5D Mark IV
- EOS 5Ds R
- EOS 5Ds
- EOS 5D Mark III
- EOS 6D
- EOS 6D Mark II
- EOS 7D Mark II
- EOS 80D
The secret is to use your camera's Multiple Exposures feature and set the Multiple Exposure Control Method to "Average." By setting the desired number of shots to 9 (the max), noise in the combined image will be greatly reduced.
The best part about using this technique is that it enables reduced noise to be captured in a RAW file rather than JPEG. However, drawbacks of using this method include:
- Tripod use is required, especially as there is no option to align the images in-camera.
- Any subject that moves during the 9-image capture duration will be blurred.
- You must first shoot a base image before selecting the Multiple Exposure options, as designating a base image is required. Therefore, there will be delay between the first image and the following 8 images.
- In-camera lens profile corrections are not supported.
With the drawbacks listed above in mind, you may be wondering what situations would benefit from using the Noise Reduction through Multiple Exposure technique. Here are a few ideas I came up with.
- If photographing a lighted sign that lights up sequentially (as if being handwritten), and there is only a small portion of time when the sign is completely illuminated. If you were to use a longer shutter speed, the illumination of the sign may not be even. However, if you time your 9 shots when the sign is completely illuminated, you can avoid the uneven brightness.
- If photographing a moderately busy street scene, but you do not want pedestrians or traffic in the image. You can easily time your images so as not to include pedestrians or traffic in the final image.
To get a better understanding of just how significant the noise in your RAW images can be reduced using this technique, download the full resolution 7D Mark II ISO 12800 single exposure and 7D Mark II ISO 12800 multiple exposure files and compare the noise for yourself. The RAW files were processed identically (except for white balance) in Adobe Camera RAW with no noise reduction applied before the JPEG conversion. Note that the sample images were not taken under circumstances where this technique would be especially beneficial, as a longer shutter speed could easily have been used (they are only used for noise reduction demonstration purposes).
Tips for Using Multiple Exposures (Average) for Noise Reduction
- As previously mentioned, the best noise reduction will result from the combining highest possible number of shots (max 9)
- With Multiple Exposures set to Function and Control Priority (On:Func/Ctrl), the source files will be saved along with the final combined result. However, if using continuous shooting, the burst rate will be significantly reduced.
- With Multiple Exposures set to Continuous Shooting Priority (On:ContShtng), the source files will not be saved (only the final result) but continuous shooting will operate at a normal-for-the-circumstances rate.
- You can get similar results in post processing by combining separate exposures in Photoshop CC by using File/Scripts/Statistics and stacking your images using "Mean."
While the technique may not be feasible under a wide variety of situations, the noise reduction benefits will certainly be worthwhile in the specific situations where this technique can be employed.
Can you think of more situations where this technique might be useful and advantageous? Let us know in the comments.
I know, you are trying to decide if it was the 28 hour round trip drive or the celestial body alignment that warped my mind. But, with the solar disk (or a portion of it) imaged against a completely black background, the composite opportunities become endless and are limited only by your own creativity.
The site's circular-crescent logo seemed to be a good design fit for the solar eclipse. So, I made a transparency template to overlay a sun image captured during the eclipse.
You likely spent a lot of time and effort to photograph the eclipse. While I will treasure some of the solar eclipse images I captured forever, there are a lot of other identically-captured images out there. But, there are not likely any that look like this one (you can be the judge of whether or not this uniqueness is fortunate). Have fun with the rewards of your efforts – spend some time being creative with the results.
ISO 100
4800 x 3200px
by Sean Setters
Bryan has mentioned it several times, but it bears repeating. Getting your significant other flowers is not only a great way to foster goodwill in your relationship, but it also means you have an interesting subject (or subjects) for photographic purposes.
During a recent visit to the ophthalmologist for a checkup, I struck up a conversation with another visitor who worked at a local florist wholesaler, which immediately piqued my interest for the reasons listed above. Fast-forward a few days and there were a dozen Peruvian Lilies (Alstroemeria) ready for admiring on a coffee table.
With such interesting looking flowers available for photographing, I decided to create a focus stack image highlighting one of the flower's anthers and anther caps.
Typically speaking, I would have used the Canon EOS 7D Mark II + W-E1 Wi-Fi Adapter and DSLR Controller app to easily capture the incrementally focused images. Unfortunately, since updating the 7D II's firmware to version 1.1.2, DSLR Controller will no longer communicate with the W-E1.
Without a convenient programmable solution, I decided to use a tripod mounted 5D Mark III and EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM while adjusting focus manually for the 20 images used for the focus stack. For lighting, I used a 16 x 16" collapsible soft box with a 580EX Speedlite flash camera right and another 580EX flash camera left (low) with a full CTO gel fired through a snoot. The second 580EX flash opened up the shadows on the left side of the image and the gel provided a warm light that contrasted well with the cooler tones of the petals. The two flashes were triggered via third-party radio triggers.
Exposure settings were f/4.5, 1/160 sec, ISO 100. The focus stack was compiled in Helicon Focus 6 with finishing adjustments made in Photoshop CC.
Some may question why I would create a focus stacked image instead of using a very narrow aperture to gain the depth of field (DOF) required, but there were very good reasons to use focus stacking in this situation. The following are some benefits to focus stacking compared to using a very narrow aperture for this type of image.
- The wider aperture provides a much sharper falloff in focus before and after the desired DOF is achieved (the benefit being more of a personal preference/artistic taste in this case).
- The wider aperture, still being stopped down from the lens' widest aperture, allows for the sharpest result possible while avoiding the softening effects of surpassing the camera's diffraction limited aperture (DLA).
- The wider aperture allowed for the use of lower power lights – in this case, Speedlites – and/or faster recycling times at ISO 100.
A larger version of the image can be found on my Flickr photostream.
With about 1300 miles under his belt (and counting), Bryan has still not arrived home from his eclipse adventure. Thankfully, the distance I traveled to see the total eclipse – as well as the traffic I faced – was significantly less.
With a forecast of partly cloudy with a 15% chance of rain at 2:00pm ET, I decided to brave the slightly concerning weather conditions and head to Santee, SC around 9:30am from Savannah, GA. The trip typically takes about 1 hr 45 min, but... it took significantly longer because of traffic.
Not surprisingly, Santee – with a population of less than a thousand people and relatively close to the "dead center" zone – was a bit stretched as far as resources were concerned, but the crowd of people I joined in the Civic Center parking lot were all amiable and generous with conversation and supplies (several were giving away extra pairs of solar eclipse glasses to anyone that needed them).
Thankfully, the clouds dissapated as the eclipse started and never proved to be an issue. I got to see the total eclise in all its glory, and its something I won't likely forget.
With the longest lens I had topping out at 300mm, I didn't necessarily focus all of my attention photographing the event (especially totality). Instead, I sat and enjoyed the company of other totality-seekers and simply snapped a photo every now and then of the progress of the partial eclipse. As totality began, I removed the solar filter and set my camera – a tripod mounted Canon 7D Mark II – to capture bracketed exposures in burst mode so that I could enjoy the eclipse while the camera took care of the rest. In post processing, I combined a few partial eclipse images with a total eclipse exposure bracket to get what you see above.
So how was your eclipse experience? And what was your favorite image from the event? Did you do anything unique? Share your stories and images in the comments.
Baltimore's Inner Harbor is a target-rich environment and this location became a daytrip destination for giving the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens a workout.
I found the art sculpture in front of the Maryland Science Center entertaining and made it my focus as the sun set. I wanted the art sculpture to be framed against the sky, providing a colorful, clean background. I also wanted the city skyline framed above the brick walkway below and the bricks would provide a solid base for the overall image.
Those wants meant a position between the science center and the art sculpture was required. That I wanted the art sculpture rendered large relative to the other subjects in the composition meant that a close perspective was required and that meant it was a perfect subject for the 14mm lens I was evaluating. With the wide 14mm focal length on a full frame body, I was able to set up on the science center side of the art sculpture, keeping the science center's roofline just outside of the frame.
The time-of-day took care of giving me the right light and colors for this single-exposure capture. With some layers adjustments applied, I didn't need to incorporate the additional exposure-bracketed images I captured.
The image quality delivered by the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens is very impressive, even when mounted on an ultra-high resolution Canon EOS 5Ds R camera.
A larger version of this image is available on Flickr.
ISO 100
8688 x 5792px
Sigma has discounted their telephoto zooms, but... with many solar filters now out of stock, a telephoto zoom without a solar filter (or some type of solar protection) will do you no good for the upcoming eclipse.
However, all is not lost. Amazon still has some Thousand Oaks Solar Filter Sheets that you can use to fashion your own lens filter.
If you already own a square filter holder, you can sandwich a square piece of film between two piece of stiff cardboard with a holes cut out that match the size of the end of your lens. Otherwise, if you don't own a square filter holder, you can make a cardboard filter holder that slides onto the end of your lens that is held in place by gaffers tape or a rubber band.
If you go the DIY approach, safety first! Be sure to guard against light leaks and ensure that your filter will stay in place throughout the event.
We shared last week that the United States Postal Service has released a special edition stamp featuring a solar eclipse. Unique for a USPS stamp is that it is heat sensitive, revealing a full moon when the heat of a finger is applied to the moon's silhouette.
While the opportunity for photographing a spectacular solar eclipse is coming very soon (August 21), the details shown in the heated stamp's moon will not be available to photograph at that time – the back-lit moon will be totally black. However, tonight's full moon, the last before the upcoming total solar eclipse, provides a great opportunity (weather permitting of course) to capture the image needed to composite into your later-captured solar eclipse images (including even partial solar eclipse images). Compositing the full moon into your solar eclipse images should be relatively easy in post processing, and this strategy provides a great way to differentiate your work from that of other photographers, especially considering that this will likely be the most photographed total solar eclipse in history.
Compositing options include full opacity or at a reduced opacity to mimic the moon's details being very slightly perceptible in the shadowed area within the corona (think of it as a high dynamic range total solar eclipse image). Another option is to create animated GIFs.
Photographing the moon is also great for gaining experience with your solar eclipse gear setup (sans solar ND filter). Testing now means that there is still time to order or rent alternative gear for the big show.
If you don't have the opportunity to photograph tonight's full moon, don't fret – there will be more opportunities coming. Your next chance to capture a full moon image will be September 6, 2017.
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by Sean Setters
I recently shared my experience making a DIY Automotive Photography Boom Rig and I thought I'd share another example image created using the same setup. My goal in creating the image above was to capture a moving vehicle during the daytime without over exposing the sky. The best method I could come up with was to use a location that blocked out most (if not all) of the sky in the frame.
The first location that came to my mind was a parking garage. However, parking garages are generally busy during the day, offer little wiggle room for maneuvering in the aisles and require a [minimal] fee to use them. The second location that came to mind was the nearby Wormsloe Historic Site which features a long avenue flanked by live oaks whose branches are filled with Spanish moss. As I already have an annual pass to Georgia's Historic Sites, and the avenue was wide enough to provide plenty of room for boom rig testing, I decided on the latter option.
To get an idea of how dense the tree canopy is, here's a shot of the avenue (with early morning fog) that I took in late 2016:
After arriving at the location and setting up the boom rig, I set my Canon EOS 7D Mark II (fitted with the EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM + 4-stop ND filter) to interval mode at f/11, 0.8 sec, ISO 125 and drove down the dirt/gravel avenue at 10 mph (16.1 kph) for roughly 3/8 mile (0.6 km) before parking along a small side road. At that point, I removed the camera from the rig and previewed the images.
Every single image was blurry. I had underestimated just how bumpy the dirt/gravel road was.
Unfortunately, I needed to keep the shutter speed open as long as possible to capture a significantly blurred background at such slow driving speeds. However, driving faster would decrease the interval between bumps in the road. I settled on increasing the shutter speed by 1/3 stop (to 0.6 sec) for my next attempt. I backed out of the side road onto the main avenue, turned my wheels toward the park's entrance and drove back to the parking lot. With the only available spot, I had to swing the wheel pretty hard to park in the open space after passing a sign that marked the beginning of the avenue. It was a shot captured during my turn into the empty parking space that provided the sharpest results while also recording enough movement to significantly blur the background, with every other shot from the second attempt too blurry for practical use.
In post processing, I limited the area used by Photoshop when determining how to fill in areas using "Content Aware Fill", and the technique worked very well for removing the boom rig as well as the boom rig's shadow on the ground.
Approximately once every 18 months (on average) a total solar eclipse is visible from some place on the Earth’s surface. However, the average duration between solar eclipses that are visible from any specific location on earth is roughly 375 years. If you live in the U.S. and miss the upcoming opportunity on August 21, 2017 to see the total solar eclipse, you won't have another opportunity until April 8, 2024 when the path goes from Texas to Maine. And if you miss that one, your next two chances will occur in August 2044 and 2045.
In other words, the upcoming total solar eclipse is so rare that you have few opportunities in your lifetime to see (and photograph) the event in North America. Don't wait! Prepare for the solar eclipse today.
Here's a list of suggested gear for photographing the event:
- Camera and telephoto lens
- Protective solar glasses
- Solar filter
- Stable tripod
- Shutter release cable or intervalometer
As to which telephoto lens you should choose, that depends on how large you want the sun to be in your frame. Generally speaking, the longer the focal length, the better. Below you can see how the sun will appear at various full-frame focal lengths.
A couple of things to keep in mind:
- During totality, you won't be photographing the sun, you'll be photoraphing the sun's corona, so the area of the frame taken up by the sun's corona will be larger than what is shown above.
- With APS-C sensor cameras, you need to multiply your lens's focal length by 1.6 to get the full-frame equivalent focal length.
There are several great options in regards to long focal length lenses, including the following 400mm+ lenses:
- Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM
- Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM
- Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM
- Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM
- Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM **
- Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x
- Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
- Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports
- Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM C **
- Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 **
- Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD **
** Budget consideration with an MSRP less than $1,500.00 USD.
Of course, the benefits of having a long focal length telephoto lens in your kit extend far beyond the August 21 event.
Total Solar Eclipse Resources
This little green heron was hunting for early morning breakfast in a relatively thick-growth area over shallow, duckweed-covered water. While the bird was not at all concerned about my presence, I was struggling to acquire a clear view of it, and finding a good body angle along with a pleasing background aligned within such an opening was especially challenging. When the bird hopped up onto this dead limb and walked to the end of it, pausing to determine its next move, I at least had a few seconds with a relatively still bird.
And at that moment, I had two of those three goals met. The heron was horizontal to the camera and the background was distant with good color. The foreground obstructions were the remaining issue.
I shifted my position enough to get a clear view of the bird's head, focused and held the shutter release down for a short burst (always photograph birds in high speed burst mode as you, minimally, never know when a nictitating membrane is going to come across the eye). When reviewing the result, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens faded the foreground obstructions into a "dreamy" look. Note that calling any kind of photo effect "dreamy" always put a positive spin on an effect that might otherwise be used to downgrade an image, but ... I do like how this one turned out with this photo having a unique appearance.
The lighting conditions for this shoot were ranging from direct early morning sunlight to full shade. I was using Manual exposure mode with the aperture set to wide open (f/4) and ISO set to Auto, allowing the camera to adjust to the lighting conditions as needed with me adjusting the exposure composition as lighting situations required. While shooting, I could quickly adjust the shutter speed by simply rolling the top dial. When the bird was about to strike at prey or otherwise move, I quickly selected a fast shutter speed (such as 1/1600 or higher).
Of course, when the subject was in full shade, as seen here, 1/1600 meant a very high ISO and that of course means higher noise level in the image. When the bird paused at the end of this dead limb, I quickly rolled the shutter speed down to 1/400 with ISO 2000 being camera-selected. Full frame ISO 2000 looks great. And, that is my little green heron story for today.
A larger version of this image is available on BryanCarnathan.com, Flickr, Google+, Facebook and 500px.
ISO 2000
8688 x 5792px
by Sean Setters
A few months ago, I reviewed the RigWheels RigMount X4 Magnetic Camera Platform, a device that allowed me to safely and securely mount a DSLR to the hood (or just about any other metal part) of a car for capturing dynamic, in-motion automotive imagery. While RigMount platform works perfectly as designed, I became interested in other tools used for similar automotive photography, specifically boom rigs.
It didn't take me long to realize that a specially designed car boom rig can be a significant investment. Therefore, I made it my goal to create a DIY version that met the following requirements:
- Easy to assemble
- Compact enough for transport
- Strong enough to provides sufficient safety to camera gear
- Rigid enough to allow for slow shutter speed use (creating a sharp vehicle)
- Relatively economical
The "relatively economical" portion is just that – relative. As I had several of the components that I would later employ in my boom setup, the investment cost for me was less than it may be for you, if you don't currently have any of the components conveniently at hand.
Before I go on, let me be absolutely clear – use of a car boom rig involves a certain amount of risk. In other words, you could damage your camera if a suction cup fails, you could damage the car's paint job with a high-strength suction cup and you could easily injure yourself or someone else if they were to get clipped by the boom during a moving photo capture. Proceed with caution; we are not responsible for property damage or injury which may occur as a result of using the gear or techniques described below.
With that out of the way, listed below is the kit I assembled which sufficiently met my requirements above:
(2) Qadira Premium Quality Heavy Duty Aluminum Suction Cup Plate
(5) Impact Super Clamp
(1) Arca-style Clamp
(2) Arca-style Plate
(1) Ball Head
(1) 96" Heavy Duty Closet Pole
(1) Manfrotto 022 Counter Balance Weight - 15 lbs
Of the components listed above, I already had the ball head, Arca-style clamps/plates, Manfrotto counter balance weight and two super clamps, making the total investment in new gear relatively reasonable. However, even at full cost for all of the components listed above, you'll likely be spending significantly less compared to a specially designed car photography boom rig setup.
Here's a closer look at the components that make up the portion of the rig that holds the camera:
Because I loathe having to screw ball heads onto surfaces over and over again, I've installed a quick-release plate onto one particular ball head so that I can quickly be swap the head between various rigs. With a clamp installed on a super clamp, affixing or removing the ball head takes all of 2 seconds.
Note that one of the Arca-style plates listed above is installed on the camera, with the other (as previously mentioned) installed on the base of the ball head. Typically speaking, I have a battery-grip and an L-bracket installed on my DSLRs. However, wanting to reduce the overall weight hanging on the end of the boom, I opted for exchanging the battery grip and L-bracket for a traditional Arca-style plate.
Here's basically what the setup looked like in use (taken with my Samsung Galaxy S5):
And yes, being roughly 13 years old now, the paint is peeling on the right side of the windshield and the paint on the bumper seems to have faded at a much faster rate. Just after taking the picture above, I disassembled the setup and then recreated it on the passenger side to avoid capturing the peeling paint on the driver's side. I adjusted the front bumper's color in post-processing.
Notes on the DIY Boom Rig
I originally purchased the 96" (8') regular duty closet pole at Home Depot after trying to stress it in store (propping it against a sturdy shelf and pushing on the middle of it) to see if it would flex. A quick test seemed to indicate the regular duty (less expensive, lighter) would work. However, after assembling the components for a test run, I realized that the regular duty pole flexed/bounced a bit too much. Therefore, I bought the heavy duty version instead.
When it comes to booms, 8' (2.44m) isn't necessarily all that long. In fact, a longer pole would likely provide more flexibility in positioning with increased rigidity being required for similar performance. However, as my pole isn't sectional (it doesn't break down), getting anything larger would have required a different vehicle to get my boom to the shooting location. As it was, I was still required to drive to the location with my passenger-side window down with the pole sticking out several inches (I forgot to close the window when capturing the shot atop this post).
Something to keep in mind in regards to boom poles, as the market for car rig photography is relatively small, I don't think anyone is designing boom poles specifically for the purpose. As such, even companies that are selling car boom rig kits are sourcing their boom materials from other companies who design them for other industries. As such, poles designed for windsurfing masts or other similar products could also be used. In fact, you may even be able to purchase your boom pole directly from a tubing manufacturer, with a wide range of materials and specifications to suit the purpose.
When affixed properly to flat portions of your vehicle, the aluminum suction cup holders in the setup above worked quite well in my limited experience (3-4 test runs). Depending on the shape of your vehicle, though, finding flat enough areas for optimal suction can be challenging without articulation between the two handle-connected suction cups. An even more versatile (and more professional-looking) solution would be to use Avenger F1000 Pump Cups, high-power 6" suction cups with a baby swivel pin. Using the Avenger F1000s would require a smaller flat working area and would eliminate two of the super clamps needed in my particular setup. Another benefit of the F1000s is that there is visual confirmation of proper suction, as a red line will appear on the pump when suction is at a critical level (requiring a few more pumps).
Be sure to clean your hood of dirt and debris to ensure the best possible connection between your suction cups and the car. Years ago, a photographer friend of mine who used to do these kinds of shots warned me that strong suction cups can damage a car's paint job, so he typically used paint protection film under the suction cups to protect the car's paint job.
Also note that suction cup mounted car rigs should not be used in colder weather, as suction cups will lose suction very quickly at lower temperatures.
Also pictured in the setup shot above are the Canon EOS 7D Mark II (set to intervalometer mode) and Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye lens used to create the final image, with settings of f/5.6, 1s, ISO 160. For the location, I chose to shoot at a large shopping plaza near midnight to ensure I had an expansive open area (parking lot) with almost no obstacles aside from the easily avoidable light poles.
An important thing to keep in mind when creating your in-motion car images while using a boom rig is that you will likely want to remove the boom rig in post-processing. That means that you may wish to be careful how you position the camera and rig so that hard-to-recreate elements of the car are not blocked by the suction cups or boom pole. To keep post-processing requirements to a minimum, I purposefully positioned the camera so that the suction cups could be seen just above the edge of the car. If the camera had been higher, the suction cups would have blocked a portion of the hood scoop which would have been difficult to recreate in post-processing. If you are an expert in Photoshop, you'll likely have more leway in positioning the camera.
Post-Processing
In post, I applied some distortion correction to remove much of the fisheye look while leaving some of the lens' distortion intact, as well as minor color corrections (including adjusting the color of the bumper) before tackling the boom removal. Here's a before/after shot showing the removal of the boom.
After working with the image, I decided that I wanted less tilt and a looser framing. I decided to give Photoshop CC's Content Aware Crop a try to see how well it generated extra space around a significant portion of the edges. I was pleasantly surprised by the results.
Tips and Final Thoughts
If I were going to be offering this type of photography to potential clients, I would probably change a few things about my setup and image-capturing procedure. For one, I'd likely use two Avenger F1000 Pump Cups with Baby Swivel Pins for easier positioning of the rig and the visible indicator of proper suction provided by the red line on the pump. I actually own one of those pumps from a project I did years ago, and upon testing it yesterday, it took about 10 seconds to affix to my hood and about 5 minutes of forceful pulling to remove it.
Also, instead of having the client actually drive the car with the boom rig installed, I think a better idea would be to push the car and simply use a longer shutter speed for a similar effect. That will reduce vibrations induced by the engine as well as lessen the chance impacting obstacles with the boom with avoidance being even easier at ultra-slow speeds. Of course, those pushing the car would need to remain in an area blocked from view by the car.
On August 21st, 2017, over much of North America, the moon is going to cover the big fireball, creating a spectacular sight (weather conditions permitting of course). Start preparing now – photographing the sun is not difficult and likely is affordable to you.
Read through the Solar Eclipse Photography Tips posts and don't miss the Meade Glass White Light Solar Filter review to learn how this image was created.
This image is moderately cropped from a 1200mm full frame capture.
A larger version of this image is available on BryanCarnathan.com, Flickr, Google+, Facebook and 500px.
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by Sean Setters
As I mentioned earlier this week, I recently renovated an old workshop to serve as my new photography studio. Above you can see a 360-degree view of the studio. Note that the middle of the panorama shows the back wall of the studio while the edges show the curtain-covered french doors opposite the back wall.
Below are some organizational tools and techniques I used for optimizing the space.
Always Available 12' Background Support Crossbar
If you look closely at the panorama atop this post, you'll notice a 12' 4-section background support bar held up by the side walls. I purchased the support bar several years ago and it has served me well for larger backdrop needs. I had originally intended on hanging hooks from the rafters to hang the background support, but upon measuring the space, I realized that wasn't necessary. The walls of the studio are slightly less than 12' (3.66m), so it was relatively easy to add a couple of nails to the top of the walls to keep the background pole in place, while still being able to take the pole down when it's needed for on-location work.
Having the 12' background support semi-permanently installed has the benefits of freeing up storage space that would otherwise have been required for the collapsed set of poles while reducing setup time when the background support bar is actually needed.
For the shot above, I used (6) black lights to photograph Alexis in front of an 84x52" tapestry.
Surfboard/Snowboard Rack for Light Stands/Tripods/Monopods
Want a great way store your light stands, tripods and monopods? Get a surfboard/snowboard rack! With 16" arms and a support rating of 100 lbs. (45.4kg), the surfboard rack can store a lot of gear neatly and efficiently.
Just how much lighting and photography gear can you support with a surfboard/snowboard rack? Well, right now, mine is holding:
(9) Light stands (of various sizes and weights)
(2) 40" Extension Arms
(2) Monopods (1 alloy, 1 carbon fiber)
(1) Avenger D600 Mini Boom
(1) Alloy Tripod
(1) Manfrotto 173B Mini Boom Arm
The above gear totals approximately 93 lbs (42.2kg).
Pegboard for Misc. Supplies
I tried to make use of previously installed organizational items when possible, and the pegboard installed by the previous owner worked great for storing miscellaneous items such as the following:
- Avenger F600 Baby Offset Arm
- Spiffy Gear Light Blaster
- Giottos Rocket Blaster (Large)
- Giottos Rocket Blaster (Medium)
- Flashpoint Mini Light Stand - 3.3'
- Clipboard
- Impact Backlight Stand
- Impact Telescopic Collapsible Reflector Holder
- Feisol TT-15 Mini Carbon Fiber Tabletop Tripod
- Arca-Style Pano Rig
- Bag with 6" Spring Clamps
A pegboard hooks variety pack was all I needed to transform this otherwise unutilized area behind my post-processing computer's monitors into a convenient storage solution for often-used gear.
Ball Bungees Keep Gear In Check
After placing a few soft boxes/octa boxes on one shelf and umbrellas on another, I quickly realized I needed something to contain the items while leaving them quickly accessible. My solution was to wrap a ball bungee around the top portion of shelf section and a no-damage hair elastic band to the bottom portion of the shelf. With the two fitted together, the gear stays in place yet can be accessed very easily.
Parting Thoughts
Optimizing your gear storage will help you get the most out of your studio space, whether it's a small room, a garage or a large commercial workspace. By utilizing techniques similar to the ones outlined above, you can maximize floor space while simultaneously allowing for quick access to often-needed tools and supplies.
by Sean Setters
I just moved into a new house in Savannah and, unfortunately, this one didn't have a large extra bedroom with high ceilings to use as my studio/office space. Fortunately, it did have a detached building that served as the previous owner's workshop.
The floor space available inside the workshop is 17' 5" x 11' 2.5" x 10' 5". The ceiling is 10' 5" at its apex but angles down to create walls which are roughly 7' high. As far as photography studios are concerned, this area is adequate for many needs but few would consider it spacious (especially with the gear that would eventually fill it).
After cleaning out the shop, washing the walls, installing insulation in the ceiling and fixing a minor electrical issue, it was time to decide on what color to paint the walls. Traditionally speaking, white is a good option. But I decided that the traditional option wasn't right for this space.
My previous studio was very slightly larger than this one. And even in that space, controlling light spill could prove problematic. That's because of the numerous nearby bright (yellow) colored walls for the light to bounce off of. Aside from the wall color making color balancing a pain (an x-rite ColorChecker Passport helped), limiting fill light in the space required using black [negative fill] cards for certain shoots.
So while white walls would have helped me avoid color balance issues, it would have compounded my previously-experienced light spill issues in a small (but larger than this) space. After thinking it over, I went to Home Depot and asked the associates in the paint department to mix me "middle gray," or specifically, 18% gray. Apparently, that's not a color that's found in their system. The next day I took a gray card to Home Depot and asked for a color match.
The above photo was taken just after the studio was painted. There's substantially less useable space now that my studio gear is all in place.
For this relatively small space, the benefits of having 18% gray walls include:
- Less light is reflected compared to white walls, helping to limit light spill for better overall control.
- For the light that does bounce off the walls, color influence is negligible.
- A gray background is great for classic portraiture.
- When gelling the background with flash, gray tends to work better because gelled flashes firing at white walls tend to get washed out relatively easily if any of your ungelled main light contaminates the background.
Unfortunately, there's only one small section of the room where the wall is actually bare and useable for background purposes, and that particular section is located on one of the longer sides of the room (shown above, left side between two power outlets), leaving a relatively small working space that is more appropriate for headshots or head-and-shoulder portraits as opposed to full length portraits. I can of course shoot longways in the studio with many other background options available. Below is recent head-and-shoulders shot I made in the new studio that was used by the subject's parents for a modeling call.
So far, I'm pretty happy with how the studio turned out. I'll be making another post later this week about some of my organizational techniques utilized for the space.
The pronghorn is a beautifully-colored animal and this sharp-looking buck gave me a glance perfectly timed with a brilliantly-colored background.
I shared the pronghorn chase story (with me being chased most of the time) before, but got around to processing another favorite from that experience. I won't tell you the same story twice, but head over to that page if you do not remember reading the story and strategy before.
The 5D Mark IV is a great general purpose camera and wildlife photography is just one of many excellent uses for this model.
Do you have your fall photography plans in place?
A larger version of this image is available on BryanCarnathan.com, Flickr, Google+, Facebook and 500px. If reading from a news feed reader, click through to see the framed image.
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Catchlights in a subject's eyes are usually desirable in a photograph. A bright reflection in the eye creates a sparkle that brings the subject to life. While this applies to human subjects, it also applies to wildlife subjects.
This mother black bear (I know that she is a mother because she stashed her 2 cubs high up in a huge hemlock tree 100 yards/m or so behind her) was hunting for food in the woods in Shenandoah National Park. The woods were quite dark due to a heavy tree canopy, but there was a small clearing in the direction the bear was headed. I moved ahead of her and positioned for what I envisioned being the ideal situation that could develop ... and the bear was unusually cooperative.
The clearing of course had an opening with sky visible. Sky, especially the sun if the sky is clear, is bright and can create the desired catchlights. However, the angle on the eyes still must be correct to get that reflection.
A key point here is that bears generally walk with their head hanging down low and a downward viewing angle on animals' eyes seldom results in a catchlight. This is another good reason to get level with (or even below) your animal subjects, increasing the likelihood of catchlight reflections being created.
The other issue created by the head-down walking is the that bear's head falls below most of the beautifully-rich-green plant life in this area. While a bear back showing above the green plants may be interesting, visible eyes are usually required to pass for a keeper image for most serious bear photographers.
So, in order to see the eyes in this location, I needed the bear to look up. In a case where I couldn't have planned things any better, this bear hit the clearing, stopped and looked around.
This was a randomly moving animal. Though it was not moving fast, it was moving most of the time and its was a bit unpredictable, including making 180° direction changes at times. I had the camera in M (Manual) mode, but was using the camera's autoexposure system via the Auto ISO setting. With these settings, I could simply roll the top dial to get the shutter speed I thought I needed at any moment.
If the bear stopped walking (though even then it was always moving its head from side to side), I immediately took insurance shots at confidently-fast shutter speeds and then quickly began shooting bursts at longer exposures in attempt to get some even higher-grade images without motion blur (the longer shutter speeds resulted in lower ISO settings for lower noise). The 1/250 setting used for this image is not close to stressing the capabilities of this image stabilized lens at 560mm on a monopod (used over a tripod for setup speed), but the bear was still moving some. Fortunately, the 1D X II image quality is extremely good at the auto-selected ISO setting of 2500 used here. When the bear began moving, I quickly rolled the top dial to get an action-stopping shutter speed again.
The vibrant green foliage in Shenandoah National Park works very well for wildlife images. The wet bear hints at the recent weather conditions. There had been dense fog and a considerable amount of rain and as the 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 2500 camera settings hint, this image was captured under heavy cloud cover.
Though this bear appears to be lit by flash, no flash was used. The lighting is all natural ambient light. The bear's position in the opening meant that just enough cloudy sky was visible to brighten the scene and create a nice sparkle in the bear's eyes.
So, those are some lessons from a momma black bear. Hopefully you found something said here to be applicable to your own photography!
A larger version of this image is available on BryanCarnathan.com, Flickr, Google+, Facebook and 500px.
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Have you ever wondered what kinds of Lightroom adjustments were made to an image you found online? Now, there may be an easy way to find out.
Assuming that the JPEG image in question was saved with all EXIF information intact, a website called Pixel Peeper can display the camera and lens used, exposure settings and exactly what types of adjustments were made to that specific image in Lightroom.
I loaded a few images into the tool and it seemed to work as advertised. Give it a try and see what you think. [Sean]
by Sean Setters
Several years ago when I was first exploring the wonderful world of off-camera flash, radio triggering options were very limited with rudimentary capabilities. It's amazing how much the radio triggering market has changed since then.
Now, in addition to the basic triggers of ye olden days, we have radio triggers that can remotely adjust the power levels of compatible flashes or even adjust power levels automatically via TTL technology. In other words, there has never been a better time to explore what radio-triggered off-camera flashes can do for your photography.
If your current flashes support radio triggering – like the Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT – then you don't need anything else. However, if your flashes or studio strobes don't feature radio triggering, or if you need to incorporate non-radio enabled flashes into your radio flash setup, then radio flash triggers will be worth looking into. And on that note, there are a few things to consider when arriving at your preferred choice of radio trigger.
Type of Connection
First, it's important to understand how these radio triggers connect to our shoe mount flashes (and possibly studio strobes). Radio triggers primarily connect to compatible flashes in one of two ways, either by a cable connection or via a hot shoe (and most of those triggers featuring a hot shoe can also trigger via a cable connection).
The most common type of sync port found on shoe-mount flashes is a PC terminal. These sync ports have been an industry standard for decades, but... they are not my personal favorite type of connection. First of all, PC cables are not very robust (easily damaged) and they sometimes disconnect from the socket when a flash is handled with the cord attached (though locking PC compatible ports mitigate this issue).
A select few flashes feature a 3.5mm (1/8") miniphone sync port, which is very convenient as it's the same sync port that's featured on almost every radio trigger with inexpensive 3.5mm male to 3.5mm male cables being easy to find.
A far simpler solution, however, for triggering a shoe-mount flash is to use the flash's mounting foot. Many newer radio triggers feature a built-in hot shoe that your off-camera shoe-mount flash simply slides into. In my opinion, this is the best triggering solution as it eliminates the need for cables which can easily be lost, damaged or simply not long enough (or inconveniently too long) for a specific application.
Transmitter/Receiver or Transceiver
In addition to the type of connection a radio trigger features, it's important to understand whether a specific triggering system is built on separate transmitters and receivers or if a single device can act as both, i.e. is a transceiver. In regards to the separate transmitter/receiver systems (such as Vello FreeWave LR, Radiopopper Nano), a significant pitfall is that is that a single transmitter failure (without a spare transmitter to fall back on) will render all of your receivers completely useless. Alternately, a single device failure in a transceiver setup (such as the PocketWizard Plus/FlexTT* or Cactus V6) means that you only lose the ability to trigger one flash, not the entire group, as any of the devices can act as a transmitter.
In some cases, a company may even produce radio receivers that are completely compatible with camera brand master flashes or transmitters, thereby allowing the use of older (non radio enabled) flashes to be used in an otherwise radio-enabled setup.
Range
One of the primary advantages of radio triggering technology is that it eliminates the line-of-sight requirements for trigging off-camera flashes as well as boosting the range even if line-of-sight positioning of flashes is possible.
For instance, Canon Speedlite's optical flash triggering system has an advertised range of 32.8 ft (10m) outdoors and 49.2 ft (15m) indoors. And technically speaking, line-of-sight isn't always required indoors if surfaces are available for the master flash's transmission to bounce off of in order to communicate with slave flashes.
Now contrast the previously mentioned optical triggering range with that of typical radio triggers advertising anywhere from 300 ft (91.4m) to 1,600 ft (487.68m).
Suffice it to say, most photographers will never need to trigger an off-camera flash from 300+ ft away, but... it's nice to know that your flash will fire when you need to position it in a location that exceeds the capabilities of optical triggering.
Brand Longevity and Backward Compatibility
Another thing to consider when shopping for radio triggers is the likelihood of the brand remaining in the radio triggering market for the foreseeable future and whether or not they have displayed a commitment to backwards compatibility with previous generation devices. One example, PocketWizard, has been producing flash triggers for more than 15 years with newly released products always being backwards compatible in terms of radio frequency.
Basic / Advanced Triggers
In regards to radio flash triggers, there are basic triggers and advanced triggers. Basic triggers transmit/receive only one highly relevant piece of information – FIRE! Because they are relatively easy to design and manufacture, there are a wide range of companies that produce these very-easy-on-the-budget triggers. While most of the triggers will work as intended most of the time, you may experience or occasional misfires and you'll likely forego high build quality with flash triggers at the lowest tier pricing level. Examples of basic triggers include the PocketWizard PlusX, Radiopopper Nano, and Yongnuo RF-603C.
On the other end of the spectrum, advanced triggers provide a myriad of features that make them more versatile and/or more convenient for those working in a professional (or semi-professional) atmosphere. Some advanced triggers are capable of:
- Flash power levels adjusted automatically via TTL communication
- Remote manual flash power adjustments
- Rear curtain sync
- High speed sync
- Seamless communication with camera branded flashes
- Upgradeable firmware
- Multiple channels to avoid interference
Not all advanced triggers feature all of the capabilities listed above, but most offer at least some of them. The extra features of advanced triggers compared to basic triggers come at a higher cost, of course, but the price differential translates to significantly increased convenience and versatility. Examples of advanced flash triggers include the PocketWizard FlexTT*, Phottix Laso, Cactus V6 and Yongnuo YNE3-RX .
Which radio trigger is right for you?
If you're just exploring off-camera flash for the first time, it's probably a good idea to invest in a set of basic triggers. Why? Because all of the extra features afforded by advanced triggers can complicate the off-camera flash learning process. Basic triggers require manual flash power adjustments and therefore simplify the "cause and effect" learning process. Once basic lighting principles have been conquered, the value of the advanced triggers' full feature set can be fully appreciated.
Then again, nearly all advanced radio triggers can replicate the functionality of basic triggers. So if you're ready to jump down the rabbit hole, but still inexperienced with off-camera flash, you can invest in an advanced flash trigger system and use them as basic triggers until you're ready to explore the augmented feature set.
Other Photography Lighting 101 Posts
When a unique weather pattern arrived with numerous little rain storms showing on the radar, it seemed like a good time to go trail running with the lightweight Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens. After photographing some distant storms from a high vantage point, I took a direct hit from one of them. But, that was good news. Rain storms make rainbows and this one delivered superbly.
Also delivering superbly was the Sigma 100-400. While a telephoto zoom may not seem like a first choice for landscape photography, this focal length range is excellent for that purpose (and many others of course). And, using a telephoto lens for rainbow photography is often a good idea.
It was a good night for a run with the camera. In addition to some intense rainbow images, I brought home a large number of nice dramatic sky images including at sunset – and got some exercise.
A larger version of this image is available on BryanCarnathan.com, Flickr, Google+, Facebook and 500px. If reading from a news feed reader, click through to see the framed image.
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