Cameras-n- Stuff

The EOS Rebel T3i is a great close-up photography instrument. Many new photographers really want to learn more about how to take those awesome macro photos, but for one reason or another, we put it off. Perhaps this is your time and your “sign” (if you are waiting for a sign, this is it). With your T3i, it is ever so easy.

This is a good example of the surprises you can get with macro images – you can’t see the little crystals of ice with the unaided eye.(click on the photo to see it full size)

You may have a dedicated macro lens – marvelous. However, if you don’t possess one of those pricey lenses that is especially created for close-up work, don’t worry, extension tubes are here! Just about any lens can become a macro lens if you have an inexpensive set of extension tubes. Basically, they extend the distance from the lens to the sensor so you, can position your camera closer to the subject of your picture.

One of the best things about taking extremely close pictures of objects is the detail that is revealed. There are facets of nearly every subject that are not normally noticed by people at a casual glance. But take a close up shot and you will experience many OMG moments.

It was on my first digital camera that one of those amazing, eye-opening moments happened to yours truly. As nearly everyone else who makes this discovery, I took pictures of every bug and flower that I could. It didn’t occur to me that there were other interesting small objects that I could shoot as well. There are buttons, zippers, door knobs, human eyes, animal eyes, and the list is infinite. There really is no limit to what can be photographed.

Now that you are convinced to get started, here are a few hints:

-> Don’t delay. This seems quite apparent, but lots of us tend to get bogged down with the learning process. Yes, there are many classes and tutorials available online and off line, but just go out and take some pictures. Training as the need arises is a great way to learn. Actually, “on the job” training works really well in photography.

-> Allow yourself to make mistakes. This sort of goes “hand-in-hand” with hint #1. Mistakes are an important part of the learning process. They may actually lead to some amazing surprises. Some of your best shots will come as a result of something you did “wrong.”

-> Use a tripod. As you get closer to an object, the chances for blur increase exponentially. In addition to the tripod, you can benefit from using the shutter release timer on your T3i, or you can get an inexpensive remote shutter release.

-> Set your lens on manual focus and activate Live View. There is a fantastic feature that makes Rebel T3i macro photography so much easier than most other cameras. When in Live View, you can use digital zoom. The way it works for this kind of photo is to set your lens on manual focus, then use the digital zoom at 5x or 10x so that you can fine tune your focus. Personally, this is the feature that made me a believer in the Canon Rebel T3i.

OK – It’s not rocket science. These tips are meant to get you out and shooting, so get going!

Learn Photography… Or Not?

What is important when it comes to photography? How important are the technical aspects of a camera versus the composition and value of the photos? If you are considering learning photography, these are things you should really settle in your own mind.

Photography is awesome! There are so many kinds of images that it can satisfy nearly everyone in some way. That’s why I have been spending so much time trying to learn photography, every facet of it. That has been a blessing, but it has also been a curse. I have gotten sidetracked with the technological side of photography instead of the creative side.

That’s why I came to these couple of questions. Is photography art? And does just buying a nice camera, like a digital SLR, make an individual a photographer?

I must admit that I have been thinking about these things with regard to my own work quite a bit lately I do qualify as a digital SLR owner. It’s a Canon 30D. There is rarely a day that passes without my camera being used. Still, I occasionally have difficulty classifying myself a photographer.

The cause of this difficulty is that I continuously compare my photos with those of others whom I respect. I spend far too much time viewing the online images of many who I consider as extremely talented in the arena of photography, and, by comparison, I see my own images pretty stinky after looking at theirs. However, one of my friends views my photos and is amazed at how good they are. My problem, I think, is personal expectation.

I want to take images that can stand up to the likes of Jeff Wignall or Scott Kelby, a couple of photographers and teachers that I admire greatly. My opinion… I just don’t compare as a photographer to those guys.

There is no doubt, I am really critical of my own images. But at times, I tend to be even more critical of those who think of themselves photographers yet they know naught about the technical part of picture taking. Is it really possible that a person call himself a photographer whenever he does not know the difference between an f-stop from a shutter speed?

Recently, though, I think I have come to my senses. I have been very narrow minded in my view. It is true that we each have a right to our own view about what is art and what is not. I have come to realize, I expend too much time on the technical data and sharpness of the image than on the artistic or emotional value.

Photography as art is when a picture can cause some emotion in the viewer.

A person’s ability to manipulate the camera settings, while important, is not art. Likewise, if the camera menu is like reading a foreign language, why should that even matter? What is important is the emotions they are stirring with their photography.

Something else I realized as I thought through this issue is that the goal of all photographers is not to get their awesome works published by National Geographic . They only want to save a memory, and that really does make them artists and photographers.

So, as I end my muse about photography and art, let me urge you to continue to shoot those pictures. Use every creative idea that comes into your imagination. It costs nothing to record a digital image. Who knows? Perhaps you will change someone’s mood from sad to glad, or even have a picture show up on the cover of Shutterbug Magazine.

If you really do want to learn photography, you can start at www.photographyclassesatlanta.org

I use Photoshop CS4 to edit all my photos. It’s pretty impressive image editing software, and it costs almost as much as a really good lens. But let’s admit it. Not everyone can take an Ansel Adams quality shot right out of the camera. In fact, Ansel Adams didn’t usually take Ansel Adams quality shots right out of the camera. I discovered recently that he was a genius in the dark room. This was very freeing news to me. I was feeling guilty that I needed to use Photoshop to get better quality.

That’s where shooting in camera RAW comes in. When you shoot in RAW format several things come into play. First, the camera does not add any corrections to your digital file (this is also why you need to post-process your photos to get that “punch” you are looking for). What you see is what you get… No scene modes where the camera adds predetermined filters to improve the photo.

Second, there is no loss of image data like there is in JPEG format. When your camera records images in JPEG, there is a compression algorithym (that I don’t understand) that takes place. Essentially what happens is that the camera software “throws away” unnecessary pixels when the picture is saved. Then every time you open the image and save it again, more pixel data is lost. It’s crazy, but you can end up with a really grainy image if you do this enough times. That doesn’t usually happen, but it is possible.

Here is a photo I took using Raw with Photoshop. All I did to the original (on the right) was to add a bit of levels adjustment, crop, and burn the edges to draw the viewer’s attention into the center of the picture. You must admit that the left image is more dramatic than the right one.

After and Before Photoshop

You can open your photo in RAW format, but you can’t save it in RAW format. Once you make edits to your photo, you will have to save it in a different format. When using Photshop, you will definitely want to save it using the photoshop format which looks like this: ichybug.psd. The psd extension tells you it is a photoshop file. Now, unless you delete the original RAW file, you will always have it so that you can go back and start over. One really cool thing, too, about psd files is that there is no pixel loss in those either. You can open and save as many times as you wish without fear of “lossy compression”.

I know it’s nice to set your camera on “auto” and let it do your editing, but try camera RAW. It will give you a new appreciation for Ansel Adams (just kidding). It will give you more control over the final image as you decide how you want if to look and make the changes yourself. You can even take the same photo and create two totally different images using different editing techniques.

By the way, Photoshop Elements has many of the same capabilities as the CS4 software. There is also Adobe Lightroom 2.5, which many pros use for their editing. You can learn to use any of these software applications at Total Training by paying a monthly fee for total access to their video training. Try it for a month. They have some of the best teachers on the planet.

Don’t forget to visit www.digital-photographic-resources.com if you are looking for great choices in cameras, lenses, or photography tips.