Photography Education (Page 3)

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

Written by Dave Henry and Ken Sklute

When preparing to shoot the upcoming solar eclipse, the most important consideration is safety for you, your eyes and your camera equipment. Part of the planning involves not only where will you cover the eclipse from, but also how will you stage it. For most of the country, the eclipse will happen midday, during the hottest month of the year.

The Canon Digital Learning Center has been busy compiling a great set of articles on solar eclipse photography, with two more articles – "Keeping It All In Focus" and "Spectacular Totality" – added recently. See below for the full list of solar eclipse articles available on the CDLC and also check out our review of the Meade Glass White Light Solar Filter.

CDLC Solar Eclipse Photography Articles

• Planning Ahead for a Successful Solar Eclipse Shoot
• Tracking the Eclipse
• Choosing a Camera for Eclipse Photography
• Multiple Camera Eclipse Coverage
• Choosing Lenses for Eclipse Photography
• Being Safe Using Solar Filters
• Supporting Your Camera with a Tripod
• Photographic Exposure of a Solar Eclipse
• Planning Multiple Exposure Sequences
• Keeping It All In Focus
• Spectacular Totality
• Location Set-up
• The Big Day - Final Thoughts
• Solar Eclipse Pocket Field Guide

For those residing in the USA, Independence Day (aka, the 4th of July) is often celebrated with freinds, family, grilled food and fireworks. With so many fireworks displays occurring this week (either in a city center or in your own backyard), you may want to brush up on your fireworks photography techniques before the colorful bursts paint the night sky.

Fireworks Photography Tips

• Fireworks Photography Tips
• Creative Fireworks Photography
• CDLC Photographing Fireworks Quick Tips + Additional Tips from Us
• Fireworks on the Savannah River

The Canon Digital Learning Center has posted some interesting articles on the newly announced Canon EOS 6D Mark II and Rebel SL2 DSLRs.

New CDLC Articles

• EOS 6D Mark II for Landscape Photography
• EOS 6D Mark II for Nature and Wildlife Photography
• Canon EOS Rebel SL2: A Great Beginner Camera
• Ten Reasons the EOS Rebel SL2 Should Be Your Next Vlogging Camera

Preorders: You can find the latest preorder retailers here.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

Written by Dave Henry and Ken Sklute A total solar eclipse is truly amazing and is absolutely the most majestic natural phenomenon for earth! That’s right… for earth! It’s nature’s gift to earth. Nothing beats it. Nothing! The thrill, however, began months ago when you decided that you weren’t going to let this eclipse pass you by. After all, it’s the kind of challenge all photographers live for. The challenge that expands our photography skill sets and allows us to photograph something new.

Afterwards you’ll sit back and reflect on what it was exactly that enabled you to get such great images and you’ll soon come to the realization that it was all in the planning.

That’s usually the case in almost everything we do.

It was over a hundred years ago that Louis Pasteur said, “Chance favors only the prepared mind.” What he meant is that a prepared person, with the right skills at the right place at the right time, can take advantage of an opportunity and create something.

B&H carries solar eclipse photography gear.

by Sean Setters

Here's a seemingly simple question – "What is your camera's image resolution?"

Before you answer, let me warn you. If you're simply going to recite the "Effective Pixels" value listed in your camera's specifications, you'll be incorrect. Your camera's advertised resolution is different than the resolution of the recorded images. In fact, your camera's image resolution is a little lower than the widely accepted value.

Want proof? Multiply the pixel dimensions of your camera's highest image resolution setting and compare it to the advertised camera resolution. For convenience, I'll list a few examples below.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Image Dimensions: 6720 x 4480
6720 x 4480 = 30,105,600 pixels (30.11 MP)
Stated Resolution: 30.4 MP

Canon EOS 80D
Image Dimensions: 6000 x 4000
6000 x 4000 = 24,000,000 pixels (24.00 MP)
Stated Resolution: 24.2 MP

Nikon D810
Image Dimensions: 7360 x 4912
7360 x 4912 = 36,152,320 pixels (36.15 MP)
Stated Resolution: 36.3 MP

Sony a7R II
Image Dimensions: 7952 x 5304
7952 x 5304 = 42,177,408 pixels (42.18 MP)
Stated Resolution: 42.4 MP

Are you seeing a pattern here?

Before I explain why the maximum image resolution is slightly smaller than the advertised effective pixels resolution, it's important to first understand the difference between the total and effective pixel specs. The term "total pixels" refers to the total number of pixels found on the sensor. The term "effective pixels" refers to a subset of the total pixels which fall within the image area.

So the area outside the portion of the sensor used for recording the image accounts for the difference between the total pixels and the effective pixels. But, the question remains: What is the reason for a discrepancy between the advertised effective pixels and the actual number of pixels in the image?

The answer is that manufacturers use specially allocated pixels within the image area to aid in noise reduction, dark noise cancellation and other various image processing tasks. These pixels are not recorded in the final image, but can enhance the quality of the final image. Thus, the difference between the effective pixels value and number of pixels found in the final image equals the total number of specially allocated pixels used for the various processing tasks.

The next time someone sees one of your images and asks, "How many megapixels is it?", don't recite your camera's advertised resolution but instead pull out your calculator to give them the precise answer.

That said, does the difference really matter?

What do you think? Were you surprised? Let us know in the comments.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

Written by Ken Sklute and Dave Henry

Since the earliest days of photography, scientists worked at making a successful image of the corona during a total solar eclipse. The first correctly exposed photograph of the corona during a total solar eclipse was made on July 28, 1851 by daguerreotypist Johann Berkowski at the Royal Prussian Observatory at Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, in Russia). The exposure was 84 seconds during maximum eclipse. Numerous attempts were made earlier, but Berkowski’s image was the first correctly exposed image.

A cropped and enhanced version of the original Berkowski daguerreotype of 1851 clearly shows that not only did Johann Berkowski correctly expose his 84 second daguerreotype, he was the first to document the solar flares, known as prominences, emanating from the sun's surface. This daguerreotype became the benchmark for later photographic attempts.

Throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century and on to today, photography has played a significant role in science. Correct exposure though, makes the photograph useful.

B&H carries a wide range of solar eclipse related gear.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

So far in our eclipse series we’ve discussed camera bodies and lenses that can be used to photograph the upcoming total solar eclipse. This article covers solar filters, the most important consideration for solar photography and direct viewing of the solar eclipse.

Warning

It is never safe to look at the sun without proper eye protection when any part of it is visible behind the moon!

This also includes not looking through your camera’s viewfinder when photographing the eclipse – use a solar filter on the front of the lens, and look through your LCD screen instead of the viewfinder!

B&H carries solar filters and solar viewing glasses.

The Canon Professional Network has an in-depth article which provides details on each Canon battery series – NB, BP, NB & LP – with tips on how to get the most out of your Canon batteries.

B&H carries Canon battery.

The Canon Digital Learning Center has posted two in-depth articles on the newly announced EOS C200:

• Production Brief with the EOS C200
• Post-Production Brief with the EOS C200

The Production Brief covers many of the features found in the C200, including the detached touch-screen monitor, built-in dual rotary ND filter and 4-channel audio. The Post-Production Brief covers available recording formats including Cinema RAW Light.

B&H will carry the Canon EOS C200 Cinema Camera.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

by Rudy Winston

Today’s digital SLR cameras usually have two distinct Autofocus systems — what we now think of as traditional AF you get through the optical viewfinder; and (usually) a separate AF system for focus using the LCD monitor to view your scene, when shooting with Live View or recording video. They’re very different:

Viewfinder AF:
Usually relies on a totally separate AF sensor for focus detection, and always uses what’s called Phase Detection technology.

Live View and video AF:
Uses pixels on the actual camera imaging sensor to read focus information. Early systems simply read blurriness or sharpness off the image sensor; this is called Contrast Detection AF. (This is still used in some competitive brand interchangeable-lens cameras.) More sophisticated systems utilize individual pixels, or groups of pixels, on the image sensor and make comparisons of data to detect when a subject is focused or not…this approach is also called Phase Detection.

We’ll discuss the many advantages that traditional through-the-viewfinder AF systems offer in this series of AF articles. But before we dive in, it may be helpful to have a quick understanding of how AF has typically worked in our SLR cameras since these systems were introduced back in the mid-1980s.

From the LensRentals Blog:

By Roger Cicala

Yes, I’m sick of filter articles, too. But I come today not to educate you, but to mock others. Because yes, people continue to try to save a few bucks by putting a cheap filter in front of their $1,000 lens. And also because they buy what they think are good filters off of Fleabay or some used place and these filters aren’t what they think. This can particularly happen when you purchase a brand that makes different filters of differing quality.

How bad can it be, you ask? Well, today we’ll show you. Because someone had a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens that had been nice and sharp and then returned it because it suddenly got soft. They were kind enough to return it with their protective filter in place.

Note from Sean: We've often advised site visitors not to skimp on their filter purchases. From our perspective, it doesn't make sense to invest in an expensive (often L-series) lens just to negate its high end performance with a cheap, low quality filter affixed to the front of it.

If you want to protect a lens and retain its image quality, be sure to use high quality filters with it, like B+W XS-Pro filters (our personal favorites).

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

By Liza Gershman

Lifestyle photography differs from traditional portrait photography in that it focuses on candid moments, or moments that appear to be candid, rather than traditional posed portraiture in which the subject is looking directly at the camera in a static pose. Lifestyle photography is often seen in advertising and editorial imagery to convey a mood, feeling, and experience. The goal is to capture real, genuine moments, and photograph these moments in a thoughtful way with attention to backgrounds, colors, lighting, and even wardrobe. A major distinction between lifestyle imagery and candid imagery is that candid imagery captures what is preexisting. It is a moment that happens organically, something that is unplanned. Lifestyle photography allows for candid moments, but within the structure of a planned scene.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

Welcome to Part 2 of our series on concert photography. I hope you have had a chance to read Showtime: A Beginner’s Guide to Concert Photography. Whether or not you are a beginner, it is a good set-up for step 2 in becoming a concert photographer.

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve likely gone through a few things that the majority of concert photographers have gone through. If you’ve been using an entry-level DSLR, you may have begun to feel some limits in what it allows you to do. You have come past the point of being that fan-tographer at shows, smiling and cheering for artists you love, and have learned to focus on the job at hand. When people ask you what you are doing at a show, you don’t think twice about saying you are a concert photographer. You likely have a base of settings you know to start with at every show. And you probably have some images you used to love and now look back at and wonder why you liked them in the first place.

If most of this is true for you, welcome to Phase 2 of your growth in becoming a concert photographer. We will spend some time today talking about what to focus on in order to advance your journey to the next step. From more advanced camera settings, tricks to getting even better photos, approach and strategy in the photo pit, and what I consider equipment standards.

Among the categories that lenses can easily be grouped into, one of the least understood is the "tilt-shift" category. As such, we invite you to explore the latest installment in our Photography 101 series to find out what tilt-shift lens capabilities make them unique and alluring to photographers.

Photography 101: What is a Tilt-Shift Lens?

Check out our other posts in the Photography 101 series:

• What is a Macro lens?
• What is a Portrait lens?

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

Choosing a lens to photograph the upcoming total solar eclipse in August takes a lot more consideration than the camera body to be used because the camera is simply a light-tight box that records the image produced by the lens.
...
Choosing a lens to photograph the sun or moon depends on how large of a sun or moon disk you want. The size of the disk is controlled by two things: your DSLR’s sensor size and the focal length of your lens.

B&H carries the gear you'll need to photograph the solar eclipse safely (checkout will be available at 9:00 PM ET tonight).

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

Whether you’re an amateur still photographer or a one-person video production crew, focus is critical to a successful shoot. Autofocus systems in previous generations did a passable job overall, but increased demands and more sophisticated technologies called for a more comprehensive solution.

That’s why, in 2013, Canon introduced Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus. We believe it’s a game changer for both video and still shooters. The benefits of Dual Pixel Autofocus (or DPAF) for shooters of all experience levels are vast and diverse. This article will explain the capabilities of DPAF, as well as outline several real-world examples of just how groundbreaking this new technology can be for your photographic projects.

A macro lens is a lens that specifically allows you to focus extremely close to a subject so that it appears large in the viewfinder (and in the final image). "True" macro lenses are able to project subjects onto the camera's sensor life-sized at a 1:1 reproduction ratio resulting in a 1.0x MM (Maximum Magnification) at the lens' MFD (Minimum Focus Distance, measured from the subject to the sensor), meaning that a 0.6" (15mm) long subject would be projected 0.6" (15mm) long onto the sensor. While that doesn't sound like a big deal, keep in mind that a subject measuring only 1.4 x .9" (36.0 x 24.0mm) will completely fill the frame of a full frame DSLR. When viewed on a large display, tiny details in your subjects become conspicuous features while using true macro lenses.

A select few macro lenses actually exceed life-sized reproduction (the Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x Macro is a notable example) for the ultimate in close-up DSLR photography. Besides true macros, lenses featuring a MM between 0.50x and 1.0x can also be considered macro lenses as they permit significantly closer focus than typical lenses provide.

Macro lenses come in a variety of focal lengths from wide-angle to telephoto. The important thing to keep in mind is that the lens' focal length will determine your field of view, working distance available and background blur capable when photographing your subject. For instance, the Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM features a 35mm focal length (as the name implies) and produces 1.0x magnification at its MFD of 5.1" (130mm). In contrast, the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM produces the same magnification with a subject placed 18.9" (480mm) from the sensor. The extra working distance provided by longer focal length macro lenses can be very beneficial if photographing skittish subjects such as insects. Longer focal lengths also produce a more pronounced background blur which can be great for showcasing your subject through isolation.

Now get out there and enjoy shooting our big world full of small things!

The Canon Professional Network has been adding to their Digital Photo Professional 4 Video Tutorials. New videos include:

• Sharpen Detail
• Lens Correction
• Cloning and Healing

The new additions join the following already published videos:

• Getting Organized
• Recover Missing Shadows
• Levels and Curves
• Counteract Color Casts
• Improve Composition (Crop & Level)

Canon Digital Photo Professional 4 is compatible with following cameras:

EOS Kiss X9i / EOS REBEL T7i / EOS 800D, EOS 9000D / EOS 77D, EOS M6, EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS-1D X Mark II, EOS-1D X, EOS-1D Mark IV, EOS-1D Mark III, EOS-1D Mark II N, EOS-1D Mark II, EOS-1D C, EOS M5, EOS M3, EOS M2, EOS M10, EOS M, EOS Kiss X8i / EOS REBEL T6i / EOS 750D, EOS Kiss X80 / EOS REBEL T6 / EOS 1300D, EOS Kiss X7i / EOS REBEL T5i / EOS 700D, EOS Kiss X70 / EOS REBEL T5 / EOS 1200D / EOS Hi, EOS Kiss X7 / EOS REBEL SL1 / EOS 100D, EOS Kiss X6i / EOS REBEL T4i / EOS 650D, EOS Kiss X50 / EOS REBEL T3 / EOS 1100D, EOS Kiss X5 / EOS REBEL T3i / EOS 600D, EOS Kiss X4 / EOS REBLE T2i / EOS 550D, EOS Kiss X3 / EOS REBEL T1i / EOS 500D, EOS Kiss X2 / EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi / EOS 450D, EOS Kiss F / EOS REBEL XS / EOS 1000D, EOS Kiss Digital X / EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi / EOS 400D DIGITAL, EOS Kiss Digital N / EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT / EOS 350D DIGITAL, EOS 80D, EOS 8000D / EOS REBEL T6s / EOS 760D, EOS 7D Mark II, EOS 7D, EOS 70D, EOS 6D, EOS 60Da, EOS 60D, EOS 5DS R, EOS 5DS, EOS 5D Mark IV, EOS 5D Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 5D, EOS 50D, EOS 40D, EOS 30D, EOS 20Da, EOS 20D, PowerShot SX60 HS, PowerShot S120, PowerShot S110, PowerShot S100V, PowerShot S100, PowerShot G9 X Mark II, PowerShot G9 X, PowerShot G7 X Mark II, PowerShot G7 X, PowerShot G5 X, PowerShot G3 X, PowerShot G16, PowerShot G15, PowerShot G1 X Mark II, PowerShot G1 X

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

Written by Ken Sklute and Dave Henry

Just about any camera will work to capture a solar eclipse, but some will produce a better experience depending on your expectations. You may already own a camera or are planning to buy one for not only photographing the upcoming total solar eclipse in 2017, but you’ll also want it to be your companion for years to come to document your life and travels.

This article explores features you should consider in choosing the camera you’ll be using to capture, what will be for most, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

B&H carries solar eclipse photography supplies.