DIYPhotography.net

When it comes to black and white conversion, there is no definitive method that will get the best results every time. Some use the channel mixer conversion, while others will swear by black and white filter. Other just like the simplicity of the desaturate function. Which one is the best? It depends. This is why I was so happy when Ladislav Soukup from ladasoukup.cz (flickr) sent me this cheat sheet. Read on to find your best suited conversion in an instant.

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As part of my ongoing exploration of portrait photography in general and flash studio photography in particular, I wanted to examine the effect that a large light source will have on light fall off. This was a great chance for me to produce a new cheat sheet to companion the portrait lighting cheat sheet and reflector cheat sheet that are already out there. (And this time we have a special guest, read on...)

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In my two previous posts I discussed eleven reasons why you would ever want to use manual focus, and six ways to help you get a good sharp manually-focused picture.

As I said, it takes some practice to get sharp results, and in this wrap up post I'll discuss practice. One type of practice it easy and can be done a home. The benefit of this practice is that it is very technical and needs little preparation.

Here is how it's done:

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In my previous manual focus post I discussed nine reasons to use manual focus. But wait, isn't manual focus slow and inaccurate? Not if you do it correctly.

In this post I will describe six ways to get the perfect (and fastest) manual focus. As will all things photography, practice makes perfect - You may not have your first manual focus pictures right, but as you keep practicing, you'll get better and better, until manual focus becomes a second nature to you. [image CC by parl]

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My previous cheat sheet dealt with the impact of light position on portraiture. The idea was that you can print this cheat sheet and carry it around for fast consultation and getting fast results.

My next investigation involved a single flash again (this time shot through a shoot though umbrella) and different uses and positions for a 5 in one reflector.

Again I suggest printing the card so you have a quick look when ever you are not sure of what a certain reflector effect may be.

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A while back I posted two great ways to create lighting diagrams: using Photoshop or using an online flash application.

Now, the online application as great, but it only allowed you to share a URL, there was no way to save or print your lighting diagram.

Reader Brian pointed me to a nice online application called PhotoDiagram that allows you to create a lighting diagram and then save it as jpg. NICE.

I'd love to see more modifiers in the application. If you feel like being nice, Drop Brian a line on what you'd like to see in the next version of PhotoDiagram.

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Back in the take a shot and see the print three days later good old happy days of film we all knew what is our human limitation when it came to shutter speed. The golden thumb rule said that if you shoot slower than 1 / (your focal length) you will end up with an unusable artistic blurry image.

Just to give an example or two it means that at shooting safari animals at 300mm meant you can not go below 1/400. And when shooting portraits at 80mm, you should not go below 1/75 or 1/100.

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Setting up lighting for a portrait can be quite a complex task. If you, like me, are using small strobes which have mo modeling light it is hard to predict what will be the outcome of each lighting array.

There are however some basic lighting schemes, kind of a starting ground for new portraits. Of course, once you lay out the initial lighting you can change it, move it around and use modifiers to soften or restrict the light.

Wouldn't it be nice, though if you have a magic card that will show you what will be the final lighting of almost every lighting scheme? I think it can be pretty darn cool.

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After sharing two posts of the Shooting the Team project, I believe you get the idea: Do an assignment like photograph, using journeyman flash accessories.

By telling the story of how I shot Omer, I'll almost wrap up half of the team.

What I wanted to show in this portrait is Omer's light and fun approach towards life (and work). "Surf's up - Lets jump in" is just what you'll hear him say at the beach or facing a challenging task at work. (Of course it was easier to convey the mood using a beach accessory).

So this is what Omer and I thought of - making a light feeling portrait while showing off Omer's abs.

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Jake O'Connell posted a comment, sharing his Ringlight in the CD Spindle Ringflash post. When doing this he also reminded me of a great macro tip. This photography tip is extremely useful when photographing flowers, but also when photographing "cold" drinks. It can also be applied when photographing some surfaces.

If you are a seasoned macro photographer, you can skip this tip, otherwise, keep reading. Click to continue ›