Exposing for Silhouettes

Silhouettes are a lot of fun to create because they simplify scenes by stripping away most textures, colors and surface details and leaving mainly shapes behind. Creating silhouettes is very simple: just position an opaque subject (one that light doesn't pass through) in front of a bright background and then expose for the background. The simplest way to set the exposure is to aim it at the brightest part of the background (in the shot here I used the sky, but the water would have worked as well) and then use your exposure-lock feature to hold that exposure setting. Then simply recompose the scene and shoot.

On most cameras (all cameras--whether compacts or DSLRs) holding the shutter release halfway down will lock the exposure reading. So, if you point the camera at the sky or water and hold the shutter button halfway down to trigger the exposure system, as long as you don't let up on the button the exposure remains locked (and I know that most of you know this already!). The only problem is that when you lock the exposure you also lock focus. If the bright background and your primary subject are at different distances from the camera, you'll have to work around it. One way (with a MILC or dSLR camera) is to switch to manual focus and then you can still lock the meter reading, but you can focus manually--and this is what I do 90% of the time. Another solution (again with a more advanced camera) is to shoot in both manual exposure but keep the autofocus working--so you set the exposure for the sky manually, but the camera does the focusing. Many dSLR cameras also have a separate override that enables you to lock focus and/or exposure separately (see your camera manual for more info).

What about compact cameras? Since most point-and-shoot type cameras have very extensive depth of field (near-to-far focus), focus isn't that huge an issue as long as you're not right on top of your subject. So just leave the camera in the full auto mode (the green mode) and lock your meter reading on the bright background and let the focus do it's thing. If you need more depth of field (DOF) try switching to the Landscape exposure mode. In this mode the camera will automatically select the smallest possible aperture for the given lighting and ISO combination and this will increase the DOF.

One problem you often run into with silhouette photos are "merges" where a part of the foreground is lost in a dark shape in the background. In the shot here you can see that part of the sailboat's mast is lost in the shape of the island. There's not much you can do to solve this problem other than to change your position a bit and try to avoid the convergence. 

Read more about exposure and silhouettes on my main site. 

Check out my exposure book! If you'd like to learn more (a lot more!) about exposure, be sure to look for my latest book: Exposure Photo Workshop, 2nd edition. It's a comprehensive look at the entire world of exposure and Shutterbug magazine called it "...possibly the best book ever written on the subject."

Tens of Thousands of Elephants Slaughtered

This morning I read a very tragic story on MSNBC.com: Tens of thousands of elephants were slaughtered in 2011. This is the saddest animal/nature story I've read in years. Please take a few minutes out of your day to read the story and repost it to Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is just so tragic that nature must always pay the price for human greed. Something must be done on a global level to stop all poaching once and forever. So much has been tried: paying the poachers not to kill, training them to work as guards in the parks, etc. But greed just rears its ugly head time and time again and nature always pays the price. May the poachers rot in hell. (Photo by Mike Hutchings.)

Quick Tips for Better Close-up Shots

Spring is (photographically, at least) probably my favorite time of year because there is just so much life happening outdoors. And after a winter spent hiding at my computer writing, being outside is such a nice change. In particular, I love wandering around the garden with a macro lens and just looking for interesting things to shoot. But getting really outstanding close-up photos is not always as easy as it looks and what starts out as an innocent pursuit of  pretty pictures usually turns into me cursing the breeze for moving my subjects around (cover the kids' ears if you're near me) or wrestling with my tripod while trying to avoid smashing the plants I'm shooting. Eventually though I calm down, go back to basics and get the photos that I'm after.

Among my favorite close-up subjects are bleeding heart flowers because the buds are just so fascinating in their shape and I've shot hundreds of photos of them (I had a huge plant growing in my side yard but a neighbor weed whacked it into oblivion--I just hate lawn people). I particularly like this pretty backlit shot and in studying it I came up with a quick list of five tips that I think make the photo work:

• I chose an attractive segment and was careful that all of the blossoms were in good shape (i.e., not fading or misshapen in any way). Again, these bleeding hearts are very different in shape from most flowers and that pinkish-red color is just beautiful.
• I used strong back lighting from a late-afternoon sun. Most flowers are somewhat translucent and when the sun comes through them from behind they seem to glow. You'll have to experiment with adding some exposure using the exposure-compensation feature to prevent underexposure--particularly if the background is very bright. I used +1 stop here.
• I used a dedicated 105mm Nikkor macro lens and close-up extension tubes. Prime (one focal length lenses, as opposed to zoom lenses with a macro setting) are sharper that most zoom lenses. Extension tubes have no glass in them so they don't degrade the image in any way.
• I used a wide aperture to toss the background out of focus and create an attractive "bokeh." Bokeh is a Japanese word that refers to the "smooth" quality of the out-of-focus area.
• I shot in RAW and that allowed me to adjust the white balance and exposure after the fact. The exposure I used was pretty accurate, but I did warm up the white balance a bit during the RAW conversion process. 

One other thing that I strongly suggest is using a tripod for close-photos whenever possible. It's a bit awkward to find a placement for the tripod at times, so at times I'll use a rolled up sweater or towel instead, but a tripod is definitely worthwhile in most situations. With all of the magnification that is going on in most close-up photos it's very hard to compose accurately without a tripod.

Good graduation gift! If you're looking for a good digital photo book for a graduation gift (to go with a new camera perhaps?) my book The NEW Joy of Digital Photography has sold nearly 100,000 copies and is a great introduction to photography and digital cameras. By the way, I'm looking for new ideas for my next photo book--so if you have any suggestions just email me or leave a comment!

The Ikea Cardboard Camera (no kidding!)

I have a love-hate relationship with Ikea, I love about half the stuff in the store (especially the cheapo stuff in what I call the flea-market area), and the other half (ugly modern furniture) just leaves me cold. I'm not sure which category to put this in: at a recent trade show Ikea was handing out Ikea-branded re-usable cardboard digital cameras in their press kits.

The camera is apparently a fully-functioning digicam wthat will shoot up to 40 exposures. You can then transfer the images to your computer via a flip-out USB plug. The camera runs on a pair of AA batteries, and the internal memory is emptied (after downloading, of course) by inserting a paper clip into the trash-hole. It uses two AA batteries (something I like since you can replace them anywhere if they run down). I don't know the specs for camera resolution.

With everyone snapping away with their iPhones these days I'm not sure how big the market is for an almost-disposable digital camera, but what the heck, if Ikea sells them for just a few bucks (as they probably will), I'm sure there will be lots of them placed on tables at wedding receptions or stuffed into Christmas stockings.

Please visit my main site: I hope you'll take a look at the many free tutorials on my main site.  There is also a camera-buying guide there that I'm currently updating.

Nikon D3200 24mp DSLR Announced: $699

In the never-ending quest to be king of the megapixel pile, Nikon today announced a somewhat amazing (and amazingly priced) consumer-level DSLR that features a 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor (this is quite a leap from the 14MP Nikon D3100 camera that it is replacing).  The camera supports a high-speed shooting rate of 4fps (frames per second) and has an ISO range of 100-6400 (with 12,800 available in extended range).

The camera features a 3-inch LCD and has a Live View mode that lets you view your scenes live on the LCD as well as both 1080p30 and 1080p24 video recording modes with full-time autofocus.  There is also a built-in microphone jack.

The D3200 will be sold as a kit with Nikon's AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR kit lens and is set to hit stores in late April. The suggested price is $699.95--so I imagine it will be even less when it hits the street. Nikon is also introducing a Wi-Fi add-on accessory (the WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter) that will sell for $59.95, and clips into the side of the camera to add wireless file transfer and shutter control. This feature lets you transfer files directly from the camera to your smart phone, and also lets you control the camera using your phone from up to 50 feet away. 

Sound sweet? It does to me. It continues to amaze me that consumers these days can shoot with cameras that pros would have killed for just a few short years ago. And my guess is that cameras like the D3200 will find a place in pro bags as a backup body.

My Exposure book on Kindle. My book Exposure Photo Workshop is available as a  Kindle book and you can view it in full color using your iPad, iPhone, etc. with a free app. It's the most comprehensive book published on the subject of exposure and Shutterbug Magazine called it, "...the best book ever published on the subject."

Nice YouTube Review of My Exposure Book

I found this great review of my book Exposure Photo Workshop on YouTube. (The Amazon link at left is for the newer edition, by the way.) My thanks to Diana Varela, the very nice woman in the video for giving the book such a nice review and for doing such a professional job with the video! Please visit her site Zoo Animal Photos. There are lots of great photo tips on her site!

National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest

Have you ever fantasized about traveling elbow-to-elbow with a National Geographic photographer? Here's your chance--it's the first prize in the National Geographic Traveler magazine photo contest. If you win first prize you get to travel to the Galápagos Islands in the company of a National Geo photographer. I know a lot of pros that would jump at that prize. Anyway, rather that just reword their announcement, I'll just post it for you.

How It Works
To enter the contest, submit your photos to National Geographic Traveler between April 5, 2012, and July 11, 2012. Photos can be from your travels or your own backyard! Submit as many photos as you’d like.

Prizes
First Prize: A ten-day Galápagos Photography Expedition with National Geographic Expeditions, where the winner and a guest will travel with a National Geographic photographer
Second Prize: A two-and-a-half-day photo workshop at Santa Fe Workshops
Third Prize: Admission to a National Geographic Travel Photo Seminar
Merit Prizes: Seven U.S. $200 gift certificates to B&H Photo

Winning images will be showcased in the National Geographic Traveler magazine and on the National Geographic Traveler photo contest website.

Enter Contest
More Information: Read the official rules and find more information about the contest at NationalGeographic.com/ TravelerPhotoContest.

My contest book:  If you're looking for some inside information on photo contests and how to win them, be sure to check out my book Winning Digital Photo Contests. One of the people that I interview in the book, coincidentally, is a judge for many of the National Geographic contests.