Shooting for Impact
Setting Up for High Quality Shots
by Wes Kisting
There are many excellent photography resources (in print and online) loaded with great tips for setting up your camera to capture high quality photos. I know because I've read or skimmed hundreds of them since I first became interested in photography more than a decade ago. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these resources target a very broad audience comprised (ideally for sales) of "amateur," "semi-pro" and "professional" photographers. In short, they try to be all things to all people. The inevitable and oft-repeated consequence of this tendency is that much space is wasted, on one hand, explaining very basic concepts (What is a camera? How does light record on film, or on the digital sensor? How do shutter and aperture affect exposure?) and on the other hand, explaining some of the most advanced principles of photographic theory, ad nauseum.
Don't get me wrong: A broad, encyclopedic range of information is all well and good if (like me) you're a researcher at heart who loves to devour huge chunks of information. But when it comes time to shoot, if you're a pragmatist who (also like me) just wants to know how to set up properly for high-quality shots, it can feel obnoxious and taxing to comb through tomes of photographic wisdom looking for a short-list of good, nuts-and-bolts advice.
Here, I've done the leg-work for you. Below, you will find nothing but practical, straightforward, time-tested tips for setting up your camera to achieve best results for particular types of shots. These tips comprise the sum total of the advice I have gleaned from many hours of reading—all neatly and conveniently distilled into single, short sentences with minimal explanation. Faithfully applied, these tips should put you at least in the right ballpark for achieving high-quality results, even if you do not fully understand why. Of course, your own photographic and artistic "eye" will determine whether or not you actually produce truly "stunning" images.
Razor Sharpness
If you want your photos to be razor sharp, you need to eliminate the causes of camera shake and subject blur.
Follow these tips to maximize your chances of razor-sharp photos:
- go ashore to solid ground: razor sharp photos require solid ground
- use a solid, high-quality tripod: avoid flimsy models which may shake or slip in the wind
- always use a tripod even in bright light: eliminate hand-held camera shake
- use the tripod legs to set height: avoid extending the less stable center column, if possible
- extend the tripod as little as possible: less extension means greater stability
- weight the tripod in windy conditions: weighing down the base may help reduce shake
- use a remote shutter release or the self-timer: manually pressing the shutter causes shake
- use the lowest possible ISO setting: minimize noise and grain for sharper detail
- use a fast shutter speed: minimize motion blur with shorter exposure times
- set digital cameras to "fine JPEG" or "RAW": larger file sizes preserve more detail
- use Mirror Lock-Up, if available: eliminate vibration from internal mirror action
- buy the best lens your budget allows: better optical glass yields superior sharpness
- use the shortest feasible focal length: longer focal lengths magnify motion and shake
- find the sweet spot of the lens: many lenses shoot visibly sharper at a particular aperture
- avoid wind, when possible: favor calm days; wind creates motion blur and camera shake
- block the wind: shield close-up subjects from wind with your body, camera bag, or an umbrella
- take multiple shots: shoot 2 to 4 shots in case of unexpected motion in the scene or subject
- zoom in to check focus: after the shot, zoom in on the LCD review to verify sharp results
- sharpen in post-production: programs like Photoshop offer superior control than in-camera
Most of these tips apply to any SLR camera; however, not all cameras offer the mirror lock-up function. My Nikon D50, for example, includes a setting called "Mirror Lock-Up," but it is used to clean the digital sensor, not to lock the mirror for vibration-free shooting. If your camera offers mirror lock-up, use it (especially at slower shutter speeds). If not, you will still be able to capture razor sharp photos by following the other tips. Mirror vibration rarely matters at shutter speeds faster than 1/25 of a second.
Some photographers report that vibration reduction (VR) actually causes blur when shooting from a tripod because in the absence of vibration, the VR may actively "seek" for it (thus, introducing minor motion blur). I don't use VR lenses myself because of their expense and because they're unnecessary from a tripod, but if you use a VR-equipped lens or camera, try turning off VR to see whether it yields sharper results from a tripod. For hand-held shots, I would certainly use VR.
Now I'll let you in on a secret: I take a lot of my favorite shots without the aid of a tripod or VR lenses, yet they still (usually) come out razor sharp. Why? Because I've gotten very good at holding steady (a steady hand takes practice and a good bracing position), because I shoot most of my hand-held shots in bright sunlight, and because I use a fast shutter speed. If you stick to these requirements, the tripod is only truly necessary when the lighting conditions begin to dim. Even then, if you have VR lenses, it is amazing what you can achieve without a tripod. The tips above are intended to maximize your chances of razor sharp photos, but a clever photographer can also cheat some of these rules without sacrificing image quality.
Seamless Panoramas
Few photos capture the experience of "really being there" or the accompanying impression of spatial grandiosity better than a large, well-composed panoramic. If you don't own an ultra-wide-angle lens (or even if you do) you'll be interested to know that breathtaking panoramas can be captured by stitching together a sequence of individual, overlapping frames. In fact, most digital editing software and many digital cameras include software to make the stitching process fast, effective, and relatively effortless. That said, you'll never get good panoramic results without attending to the many, many variables which can ruin an otherwise gorgeous panoramic sequence of shots.
Here's how to reduce or eliminate as many of these variables as possible:
- go ashore to solid ground: perfect panoramas require solid ground
- use a tripod: maximize your chances for seamless panoramas
- shoot in Portrait orientation: more frames, but much better coverage than Landscape orientation
- use a small aperture: the large depth-of-field reduces out-of-focus anomalies
- use the lowest possible ISO setting: minimize "noise" for sharper detail
- use a fixed White Balance setting: ensure all frames have the same color cast
- turn on Exposure Lock: ensure all frames have the same exposure
- turn off AutoFocus: prevent re-focusing between frames
- favor distant subjects: closer scenery and foreground objects exaggerate distortion
- favor longer focal lengths: wide angle lenses may intensify barrel and parallax distortion
- don't change the focal length: maintain the same focal length throughout the sequence
- minimize geometric patterns: distinct lines and hard edges call attention to seams and distortion
- overlap each frame by 25%: good overlap ensures easier stitching later
- shoot the sequence quickly: minimize changes in clouds, lighting, etc. between frames
- rotate around the nodal point of the lens: minimize parallax distortion (see below)
The nodal point (a.k.a. "principal point") of the lens is the point inside the lens where light paths cross on their way to the sensor. It is located somewhere between the end of the lens and the camera body, but not necessarily in the precise middle of the lens. Since its position varies from lens to lens and from camera to camera, you need to locate it yourself. (For advice on locating the nodal point, visit vrphotography.com, kingpano.com, 360texas.com or utexas.edu.) If you invest in (or make) a special tripod bracket to offset your camera so that it will rotate around the nodal point of the lens (rather than the tripod mount on the underside of the camera body), the resulting panorama will show much less distortion.
It is possible to capture superb panoramas without finding the lens nodal point, but you will need to limit yourself to very distant scenes (unless you don't mind the spatial distortion) and it will require more work to stitch the scene together. In some cases, people may not notice the spatial distortion unless they are familiar with the original scene. Regardless, rotating around the lens nodal point is one of the key elements that separates "spectacular" panoramas from the merely "good" ones.
Panoramas can be captured in the aforementioned manner using a film camera, but you'll need to scan the panoramic sequence of pictures into your computer before you can stitch them together digitally. The quality of your scanner will obviously determine the results you achieve. Print film may scan adequately, but slide film (and a decent slide scanner) yields better, brighter results.
One last bit of advice: Panoramas don't have to be horizontal! Ninety-nine percent of them are shot horizontally, but a vertical panorama can give you awesome vertical coverage of, say, a deep canyon, a tall forest, a skyscraper, or a towering mountain. Try it out for an effect few photographers ever think to explore!
Lovely Light and Vivid Color
Few things are more disappointing than when spectacular scenes turn out looking bland or discolored in photos. Fortunately, there are many steps you can take both during and after the shot to maximize your chances of producing a stunning, vibrant photo. One important fact to know is that truly stunning, vibrant photos of expansive and distant subjects (like landscapes) almost always require editing in post-processing to bring out their full color and contrast potential. That's because cameras tend to record atmospheric haze which the superior optics of the human eye can cut right through. A polarizer filter will help considerably in many cases, but if you aspire to produce truly breathtaking digital photography, you'd be foolish to completely disregard the power of digital photo-editing. That said, clever editing can't save your photos unless you set up for a high-quality shot to begin with.
Here are the simplest, most practical tips I've discovered for maximizing the impact of light and color:
- use a polarizer filter: cut through reflection and glare; intensify blues and greens
- keep the light at your back: shooting into the sun can wash out color with glare and flare
- avoid flash, if possible: flash washes out color; natural lighting is almost always superior
- use fill flash for backlit or shaded subjects: fill flash preserves detail in dark/silhouetted subjects
- set White Blance to "shade": to obtain more natural colors in shaded or fill-flash subjects
- set White Balance to "cloudy": to obtain warmer, golden-toned colors in your landscapes
- avoid blown highlights or shadows: clipped details can destroy the rich impression of light
- bracket high-contrast scenes: multiple exposures can be combined for better color and detail
- shoot at dawn or dusk: better natural light produces better, richer photos (see below)
- calibrate your monitor and printer: photo-editing is futile without proper color calibration
- edit with curves: Photoshop's Curves feature offers phenomenal color and contrast control
In the world of commercial photography, the vast majority of marketable landscape shots are captured around sunrise or sunset. That's because the natural light at those times lends a spectacular impression of richness, color, and depth to everything it touches. Take a cue from the pros: try to shoot early in the morning (25 minutes before sunrise up to an hour afterward), or late in the evening (an hour before sunset up to 25 minutes afterward). I prefer to shoot early in the morning because the light is better, the winds are calmer, and most people aren't awake to get in the way of a great shot. Plus, shooting landscape photography makes a terrific way to wake up in the morning before heading out on the water.
The two finest books I have found with regard to photo-editing in Adobe Photoshop are Photoshop Artistry: for Photographers Using Photoshop CS2 and Beyond (Haynes, Crumpler, and Duggan, 2007) and Professional Photoshop: The Classic Guide to Color Correction, 5th Edition (Margulis, 2006). Photoshop Artistry provides comprehensive instruction in using Photoshop, complete with DVD tutorial assignments. It includes excellent, in-depth discussions of various editing tools, sharpening techniques, color correction (and calibration), and other vital topics. Professional Photoshop offers an extensive examination of color correction techniques (primarily using Photoshop's curves and channels features), but also discusses other vital photo-editing concepts like sharpening. Both books are terrific resources worth their weight in gold. To my mind, Photoshop Artistry is the single best "one-stop resource" for anyone who has not already mastered Photoshop and the principles of digital editing.
[Editor's comment: This article will continue to grow, so check back often. If you have tips to contribute, send them to: editor@roguepaddler.com.]
This article courtesy of:
