The Big Picture

We recently had a birthday party for our son. It was at a playhouse with large bounce houses and a play structure, with tall black ceilings (maybe about 30 feet high or so) and multicolored walls.

What lighting technique would you use in these circumstances? Hit the jump to see what approach I used.

When I'm indoors I prefer to use bounce flash because with proper technique, the light is soft and directional. In this situation however, I thought bouncing would be impractical because of the very high and dark ceiling. I didn't think bouncing off walls would be a good idea either because the multi-colored walls would create wildly inconsistent color casts on the subjects.

Without being able to bounce, I thought about other alternatives such as a handheld umbrella, the Fotodiox 8x12 softbox, or the Coco Ringflash. I first took a test shot using ambient only. At f/2.8 and ISO 1600 (what I consider to be a reasonable amount of noise for the D90 and to a certain extent, the D70), I was getting a shutter speed of around 1/80. I was surprised because I was expecting that the ambient would be too dim, with just some fluorescent lights overhead. At 1/80 however, I thought the shutter speed was usable, so that's what I used - ambient only (cue the thunder and lightning).

Sure, I often use flash because I believe it often improves the result, but I don't go out of my way to use it when I don't have to. I could have used the tools I mentioned (handheld umbrella, on-camera softbox or ringflash) but if I did, it would have been much harder to handle two cameras at the same time. And with only one camera, I would be compromising either my ability to capture moments (if I had to keep switching lenses) or my ability to compose (if I stuck to one lens). When the results of ambient only are fine, I didn't think it would be a good tradeoff.

A shot of me by my non-photographer wife:

Who knew that my wife would know to pan a shot and do it successfully? :-O

Part of what made it possible to get the shots above is that I was using fast f/2.8 lenses. The lenses I used here are the Tokina 11-16 (reviewed here) and the Nikon 24-70. See if you can guess which lens was mounted on the D90 and which was mounted on the 8-year old D70. :)

Speaking of lenses, I wanted to briefly mention my choice of focal length. I normally use a standard zoom (17-50 on APS-C or 24-70 on full frame) and a telephoto (50-150 on APS-C or 70-200 on full frame). However, I sold my Tamron 17-50 VC a couple of months ago after I got the D3 because I was using the 24-70 to cover the standard zoom, and then I recently sold my Nikon D3 in anticipation of the Nikon D600. I initially thought about using the Tokina 11-16 and Sigma 50-150 but I would be left with a large gap between 16-50 (24-75 in 35mm terms). Instead I paired the 11-16 with the 24-70, using the latter as a normal and short telephoto lens. I have a Nikkor 28-105 3.5-4.5 which I also considered because of its longer range but felt that I could use the wider aperture of the 24-70 in the somewhat dim light.

After the kids played, it was time to eat. The dining area was a medium-sized room, with light yellow ceilings about 10 feet high, and plain yellow walls. Unlike the play area, bouncing was definitely a good alternative here.

Some of you may know that I recently reviewed two bounce flash accessories - a modified Flashright and the "DIY Spinlight." Which one did I use here? Neither. The modified Flashright, DIY Spinlight, and even the black foamie thing are all useful for blocking the flash from directly reaching the subject when the flash is aimed forward to bounce it from a short-light direction. The short lighting looks cinematic and I love the effect.

However, in this case, I preferred a more even lighting, so I bounced the flash behind me or to the side, making it unnecessary to use the BFT or the other bounce accessories. Again, I choose the look I want then the tool to achieve it, not the other way around.

BTW note that for these shots in the dining area, I used a narrower aperture. First of all, a shallow depth of field would not be useful because the background was often plain yellow. The bokeh would not have been interesting. Second, by using a narrower aperture, I could more easily keep subjects in focus because of the deep depth of field.

As for color temperature, I took the shots in raw, which allowed me to neutralize the color, but I preferred the straight-off-the-camera white balance with a yellowish color cast because that's how the room looked to me. The neutralized white balance technically made the colors look "correct" but felt "weird" in the sense that I don't expect an absolutely neutral color under these circumstances (yellow walls, fluorescent lights).

The time came for blowing the candle on the cake. The playhouse staff dimmed the lights, which was perfect. To maintain the ambience, I set the ambient exposure so that the candles would appear to be the primary source of light. The fill was supplied by the dimmed ambient and bounced flash (dialed down so it wouldn't overpower the candlelight).

After that the kids had cupcakes and goody bags.

And then it was time to say good night.

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CowboyStudio Umbrella Stand Adapter D

I was looking for a couple more umbrella holder brackets.  There are plenty of designs out there, and I chose a kind of bracket I had not seen before but had good reviews, the CowboyStudio Umbrella Bracket "D."  Here's a quick review.


COMPONENTS

The adapter is made mostly of metal (some sort of lightweight alloy).  Build quality appears decent.

The set includes a metal cold shoe, a spacer for the cold shoe, and a spigot.  The spigot has a removable bushing that can convert it from 1/4 to 3/8 inch.  That means the adapter can accept a light stand with either 1/4 (as in a tripod), 3/8, or 5/8 inch stud (by simply removing the spigot).

The business end of the adapter has a 1/4-inch stud, to which the cold shoe can be mounted (with the spacer to secure it).  You can also use many other third party cold shoes such as a Frio.  Alternatively, the spigot can be mounted on the 1/4 inch stud so that the adapter will have a 5/8 mounting stud.

NOTES:
- The receptacle for the umbrella can only take 7mm shafts.  Unlike some umbrella adapters, the receptacle is not angled (the umbrella shaft will be exactly perpendicular to the flash).

- When the adapter's knob is tightened, the adapter holds its position well.  It is possible to force it to move if you push it down really hard but in the real world the adapter is unlikely to encounter that much force.
- The receptacle for the light stand or spigot is secured both by a thumbscrew as well as a button.  Even if the thumbscrew is not locked down, you can't remove it from a light stand unless you press the button.
- There is a loop from which you can hang accessories such as radio triggers.
- It takes up less space in my bag than my old umbrella adapter.

So far I'm pleased with this umbrella adapter.  If I need another umbrella adapter, I would probably buy it again instead of the previous one I owned.  Alternatively, if you want to mount a speedlight on a light stand for use with an umbrella, the CowboyStudio Speedlight Bracket T places the flash closer to on-axis with the umbrella and can potentially be used with Bowens or Calumet modifiers, but the Bracket T will cost more and take up more space than the Adapter D.

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Choosing a Second Camera

If you have more than one lens and you shoot events or candid shots, I highly recommend getting a second camera. I used to have only one camera and two lenses (Tamron 17-50 VC and Sigma 50-150). I liked the Sigma 50-150, but it was too specialized, so whenever I had the choice between the 17-50 VC or the 50-150, I almost always chose the 17-50, so I got very little use out of the 50-150, even though I liked it. I finally decided to get a second camera, and it made a big difference in my photography. I used my Sigma 50-150 far more often and I got a greater variety of shots.

Buying a second camera isn't just for gearheads. I honestly believe it would be useful for the majority of family photographers. If you shoot events and candids, you probably don't have time to switch lenses (or if you do, you're probably missing some moments). Plus, if you don't have to switch lenses, you will get less dust in your sensor, and it's less likely you'll drop your lens by accident. Moreover, if anything happens to your primary camera, you will still have a backup.

A second camera doesn't have to be expensive either. You can buy a very capable Nikon D70 for $200 or less these days.

If you're looking for a second body, I recommend getting one that has different capabilities from your current camera. Here are some examples for Nikon (Canon has equivalents as well):

• Shallow depth of field and great low-light performance: any full frame DSLR.
• Good low-light performance: Nikon D5100 or Nikon D7000.
• A weaker anti-aliasing filter for greater sharpness: Nikon D800E, Nikon D300, or Nikon D300S
• Unlimited sync speed: Nikon D40, Nikon D50, Nikon D70, Nikon D70s
• Pop-up commander flash (so you can use an external flash wirelessly): Nikon D70, Nikon D70s, Nikon D80, Nikon D90, Nikon D7000, Nikon D300, Nikon D300s, Nikon D700
• Built-in focus motor (so you can use lenses that don't have focus motors): Nikon D70, Nikon D70s, Nikon D80, Nikon D90, Nikon D7000, Nikon D300, Nikon D300s, any full frame DSLR
• Tilt and swivel LCD (so you can get shots from unusual angles): Nikon D5000, Nikon D5100, Nikon D3200 (with wireless adapter)
• High dynamic range: Fuji S5 Pro, Fuji S3.
• Very high resolution: Nikon D3200, Nikon D3x, Nikon D800, D800E
• Compact body: Nikon D40, D40x, D50, D3000, D3100, D3200.
• Video (if your current camera doesn't have video): any recent DSLR.

RELATED POSTS:

Second body vs Second flash

Full frame DSLR FAQ

Canon 60D vs. 550D and 600D

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Capturing Epic Sunrises and Sunsets

Epic sunrise or sunset shots -- the kind where the sky is ablaze with hues of red, yellow and lavender -- don't happen purely by luck.  We can't control the weather but we can pay attention to the kinds of conditions that are conducive to producing glorious sunrises and sunsets.  Here are some techniques I learned for capturing sunrises and sunsets.

1.  Gotta have some clouds.  Just like a movie projector needs a screen, the sun needs clouds to catch the light from sunrises and sunsets.

2.  Cleaner air is better.  I recall learning at school that sunrises and sunsets are red due to selective scattering of sunlight passing through the air molecules.  I therefore thought that with some air pollution, sunrises and sunsets would be more impressive.  I was wrong.  The problem is that particles from air pollution tend to vary in size, so rather than scattering only a certain portion (e.g. blue and green) of the visible spectrum, most of the spectrum is scattered, so that air pollution produces a grayish light.

3. High or medium altitude clouds are usually better.  A couple of reasons: First, there is more air pollution at low altitudes.  Sunlight illuminating low clouds has to pass through a thick layer of this low-hanging air pollution, making the light more grayish.  On the other hand, sunlight reaching higher clouds (cirrus, altocumulus) has less air pollution to scatter it.  Second, even assuming there is no air pollution, higher clouds can catch the rays of the sun when the sun is lower in the horizon.  At those steeper angles, the sunlight has to travel a longer distance to reach the clouds, resulting in more scattering and thus shifting the color to a deeper red.

Low altitude clouds include the cumulus and stratus family of clouds.  In the picture below you can see that with cumulus clouds, even the peak of sunset colors is usually not impressive.

High altitude clouds include the cirrus family of clouds.  The medium altitude clouds I like are the altocumulus clouds.  (Altostratus is also medium altitude but is formless, like a fog in the sky).   The shot below is a sample of a sunset with altocumulus clouds (unfortunately all I had with me at the time was a camera phone).

4.  No cloud cover.  Even if you have high or medium altitude clouds, too many low-hanging clouds can block the view of the high and medium altitude clouds.  If there are stratus clouds (the fog-like clouds), I usually don't even bother to check what the sunrise or sunset looks like.

5.  Timing.  Assuming there are high or medium altitude clouds and no low-hanging clouds, it is best to start shooting about 15 to 30 minutes before sunrise or after sunset.  With the sun below the horizon, the sunlight has to travel a little farther to reach the clouds, scattering more of the greens and blues and casting a deeper red light on the clouds.

SAMPLES
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that we had cirrus and altocmulus clouds in the sky without too many low-hanging clouds, close to sunset.  Conditions like those seem to be rare in our area, occurring only a handful of times in a year.  I quickly drove to the airport and waited at a popular local spot for watching planes land. Fortunately I was rewarded with a beautiful sunset, and I took some photos of planes landing (my first time to try that).

The series of shots below are arranged in chronological order.  The first couple of shots were taken at around sunset.  You can see that after sunset, the colors become more intense before becoming darker.

BTW, for my equipment I used the Fuji S5 (I thought the S5's unparalleled highlight range would help protect the highlight details in the clouds) and the Tokina 11-16.

FOR FURTHER READING
The Colors of Sunset and Twilight
Fuji S5 Review
Tokina 11-16 Review

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Updated Status of D600 Preorder

http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-i-preordered-nikon-d600.html

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Formal Portraits with a Flashmeter

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to take portraits for two beautiful families.  I'll discuss the lighting setup as well as the equipment I used, including the Paul C. Buff CyberCommander, which not only controls Paul Buff strobes but also functions as a flashmeter.

My friend asked me to take her daughter's graduation portrait.  It turned out that the official photographer for their school took everyone's photos but omitted the cap.  They wanted to charge extra for another portrait session with the cap.  This irked my friend (rightly so, in my opinion) and she asked if I could instead take her daughter's portrait.

SETUP: LIGHTS and LENS
The shot was to be taken indoors in an area about 10 ft. x 10 ft, with a ceiling height of about 8 ft.  Because this was intended to be a formal portrait, I wanted to use a traditional setup with key light, fill light, hair light, and background light:

• Key light - this is the primary light on the subject and creates the pattern of highlights and shadows.
• Fill light - this light illuminates the shadows created by the key light.  Depending on its position, it often also contributes to the illumination on the subject.
• Hair light - this light helps separate the subject from the background and is usually placed above and behind the subject.
• Background light - illuminates the background.  Adds separation.

I wanted to create a very softly-lit (not edgy) portrait.  For my key, I used a 43-inch umbrellabox / softbrella (it looks like a reflective umbrella but with a diffusion sock, thus somewhat resembling a round softbox) with an SB-800.  The umbrellabox has a more controlled light compared to a shoot-through umbrella, though not as controlled as a beauty dish.  I didn't think we would have a lot of time to shoot, so I positioned the key light for maximum flexibility, about 3 feet above the camera, slightly to camera left, mounting it on a Linco 8310 light stand.

For the fill light, I wanted it to be as soft as possible so as not to create its own shadows.  I chose a 60-inch shoot-through umbrella, positioned slightly to camera right, at about the camera's height.  To illuminate this large light source evenly, I used an AlienBee B1600 monobloc, also mounted on a Linco 8310 light stand.

For the hair light, I used a Nikon SB-800.  To position it above and behind the subject without the stand being seen in the shot, I used a boom stand.  Because the hair light was going to be pointed somewhat toward the camera's direction, I didn't want it to create flare which would reduce the contrast or create ghosting therefore I used a honeycomb grid on the SB-800.

For the background light, I used an old Nikon SB-26, which I just placed on the floor, aimed at the 5 ft x 7 ft popup background.  I varied the intensity between the shots to achieve different effects.

Here's what the setup looked like.

For my lens, I chose a telephoto lens to have a smaller field of view so that I wouldn't capture the area outside the pop-up background, and I could shoot in between the light stands without the stands or umbrellas being in the shot.  I used the Nikkor 70-200 VR with the Nikon D90.

USING THE FLASHMETER
Because this was a formal portrait, I wanted to be very precise with the exposure.  To do that, I used a flashmeter.  I don't have a dedicated flashmeter.  Instead I use the flashmeter function of the Paul C. Buff CyberCommander, the dedicated radio trigger for Paul Buff strobes.

About the CyberCommander
Besides being able to remotely adjust Paul Buff strobes, the CC has several awesome features to make setting up very convenient.  First, it can control up to 16 different light sources.  When you tell the CC which light source(s) you're using (Einstein, X3200, B1600, ABR800 or whatever), it will know the output range (in watt-seconds), flash duration (which varies with power), and color temperature (which in the case of non-Einstein monoblocs, can vary quite a bit with power level).  Each light source can be assigned specific names such as fill light, background light, etc. 

The CC has a built-in flashmeter to allow you to take measurements in 10ths of a stop.  If the setting is not where you want it, you can remotely adjust the power level (and even the modeling light output of any light source) - all while remaining at the subject's position.  Plus you can measure and adjust any single light source or any combination of lights.  There are several remote adjustment options out there, just as there are several flashmeters available, but having the two together makes it extremely convenient to set up lights.

BTW, did I mention you can also use the CC as an incident light meter?  OK, enough about the CC - you'll just have to wait for my review.  Back to our show.

Flashmeter
The primary benefit of a flashmeter is the precision of the exposure.  As we know, the camera's reflective meter can be fooled, and when using manual flash, can't be used at all.  Gauging the exposure from the image preview on the LCD screen is convenient but wildly inaccurate.  I often need to adjust exposure in postprocessing when I do that.  A step above that would be using the blinkies, which can help me avoid blowing out highlights (even then sometimes it's inaccurate), but it doesn't necessarily mean that the exposure is correct.  Finally, using the histogram to measure exposure can be misleading.

Besides nailing exposure, another benefit of a flashmeter is that I can set the lighting ratios more precisely.  In portraiture, the ratio of the key light to the fill light is very important and can determine the primary mood of the portrait.  Generally, the stronger the contrast between the intensity of the key and fill, the more dramatic and moody the portrait becomes.

To use the CC's flashmeter function, I just input the ISO and shutter speed I'm using.  I specify the light I'm measuring, aim the flashmeter dome, then press the button to take a measurement.  The flashmeter will indicate the aperture for the given ISO and shutter speed.  As for aiming the dome, there are varying opinions about this.  Some say to point the dome at the light source while others say to point it at the camera.  I'm not about to try to resolve that debate here.  In my case I positioned it at my chin and pointed it at the camera.

First I decided what aperture I wanted to use for the final shot.  I decided on an aperture of f/5.6.  An aperture of f/8 would have given me slightly better sharpness and a deeper depth of field but it would require the speedlights to work harder.  If the aperture had been wider, I was worried that the depth of field would not be enough to keep the entire head in focus, given the long focal lengths I was using.  I thought f/5.6 would be a reasonable compromise.

Having decided the aperture for the shot, I measured the fill light.  Initially, I decided to set it at f/4.0.  That meant that the shadow would be at f/4.0, i.e., one stop less than the subject's highlight at f/5.6, which means the ratio is 2:1.  I then adjusted the key light until my overall measurement (key + fill) was at f/5.6.  BTW, this meant that the key light by itself would have also been at f/4.0.  The highlights of the subject would be illuminated by both the fill light and the key light, bringing their exposure up to f/5.6.

As for the hair light and background light, they weren't linked to the CC, so I just had to adjust them by estimate.

RESULTS

First, I took shots of my friend's daughter.

We had time to take some shots of my friend.

They also asked if their neighbor could take a portrait.  I didn't expect this but I figured we could use the same setup.  After a few shots, I thought a white background would look better, so I just flipped the popup background and increased the intensity of the background light.

Finally, we took a few shots of their dogs.  The larger one posed like a champ.  The poor little one though was really scared of being high up on a chair.

OBSERVATIONS
Is having a flashmeter a necessity?  I don't believe so.  There are many situations when using one is not possible (e.g. events), and we do just fine after all.  On the other hand, for setup shots, having a flashmeter makes setting up faster and postprocessing simpler.

RELATED POSTS:

• Lighting technique:
• Intro to Basic Lighting for Family Photographers
• Quality vs. Contrast: Soft Light Ain't All That
• TTL vs. Manual Flash: a False Dilemma
• Therapy for TTL Addiction: How to Use Manual Flash
• Lenses: Sigma 50-150 is TIGHT and Controlling Depth of Field
• AlienBees: Intro to Studio Strobes and Are you ready for AlienBees?
• Old hotshoe flashes: Old School
• Triggering options: Triggering Hotshoe Flashes and Remote Adjustment Radio Trigger Options

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Controlling Depth of Field

Do you like having a shallow depth of field?  As shallow (ahem) as it sounds, I confess, I still do.  That's why all but a couple of the lenses I have had have a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or wider.

Meanwhile, take a look at these shots (all were taken with a Nikon D3).  Care to estimate the apertures I used?  [Don't cheat with the EXIF... :) ]

Sample #1:

Sample #2:

How about these second set of samples?

Sample #3:

Sample #4:

Hit the jump for the answers.

Sample #1 appears to have a shallow depth of field.  However the aperture I used was f/6.3.

Sample #2 appears to have a deep depth of field.  Yet, the aperture was at f/1.4.

In the second pair of samples, the apertures were taken a full stop apart, yet the images appear to have a similar depth of field.

Sample #3 was at f/4.0

Sample #4 was at f/2.8.

My point with these examples is that aperture is not always the most significant factor for controlling depth of field.  Depth of field is also influenced by focal length (the actual focal length, not the equivalent focal length), distance to the subject, and the circle of confusion (which is partly based on the sensor size and partly based on the viewing size).

Take a look at these comparisons (assume full frame camera for now).

Let's start with a baseline:

Focal length: 105mm

Distance: 10 ft.

Aperture: f/5.6

The resulting depth of field is 0.91 feet

Let's see how quickly DOF changes if we alter focal length (let's say by a factor of 1.4):

Focal length: 145mm

Distance: 10 ft.

Aperture: f/5.6

Depth of field: 0.47 feet

Focal length: 75mm

Distance: 10 ft.

Aperture: f/5.6

Depth of field: 1.81 feet

Another comparison, this time altering the distance to the subject (also by a factor of 1.4):

Focal length: 105mm

Distance: 7.14 ft.

Aperture: f/5.6

Depth of field: 0.46 feet

Focal length: 105mm

Distance: 14 ft.

Aperture: f/5.6

Depth of field: 1.8 feet

Finally, let's try changing the aperture by 1 stop:

Focal length: 105mm

Distance: 10 ft.

Aperture: f/4.0

Depth of field: 0.64 feet

Focal length: 105mm

Distance: 10 ft.

Aperture: f/8.0

Depth of field: 1.29 feet

In this theoretical example, there was arguably a more significant change to the depth of field when the focal length or the subject distance was changed compared to a change in aperture.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying that aperture is not important.  All I'm saying is, it's a juggling act.  After all, the focal length and distance aren't just going to affect the depth of field - they will also of course affect the composition and perspective.   Similarly, you can't just rely on changing the aperture.  Sometimes, it's just not possible to use a wide aperture, as when there is bright ambient and you are using a monobloc flash with your camera already at its sync speed.

Indeed, those were the circumstances when I took the headshot above.  The subject was lit with an SB-800 on a beauty dish as key, with an AlienBee B1600 with 60-inch shoot through umbrella as fill, plus a white reflector on the side.  The B1600 doesn't have high speed sync so my shutter was limited to 1/250.  Although we were partially shaded, it was still relatively bright, and the widest my aperture could go at base ISO was f/6.3.  The client wanted a shallow depth of field -- was it a problem?  Not really.  By shooting at a relatively close distance (around 5 feet) and a somewhat long focal length (I used from 105mm to 150mm), I was still able to get a reasonably shallow depth of field.

BTW, these are the lenses I used here:

Sample #1: Nikkor 70-200 VR I

Sample #2: Sigma 50 1.4

Sample #3 and #4: Tamron 28-105 2.8

RELATED POSTS:

What's the point of having different lenses?

Using zoom lens as compositional aid

Sigma 50-150 is TIGHT

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