A Tip to Better Low Light Photos

Some might say Taking low light photos are a PITA to do. But for off camera flash users, also called as "strobists", this is one of the most favorable times to take pictures. This is because you have total control over lighting the area. But for other types of photography, low light is really a problem.

The problem arises when you try to let as much light into your sensor, either by using a slow shutter speed,using a wide open aperture, or using a high ISO. A slow shutter speed might get you more light, but your shot will be blurry because of camera shake (aka your hand moving as you take your shot) and motion blur (aka your subject moving before you can end your shot). Using a wide aperture is nice, but if your using aperture priority, your camera might still choose a slow shutter speed and get the same blurry images. Using a High ISO, you'll get grainy pictures.  Using a combination of all is maybe your best shot but it doesn't always go your way.

Here are some things I do to get better shots:

1. Use a Tripod/Monopod - this will help you get rid of camera shake; best for landscapes

2. Use flash - may it be off camera or your on board flash, flash will stop your subjects' motion, as well as allowing you to use a faster shutter speed; Best for event photography

3. Use a higher ISO - I know  I said this will make your photos grainy, but just using the right ISO will give you a little more shutter speed, while minimizing the grain.

4. Shoot with a fast lens - this means a lens with at least an aperture of f2.8 and lower.  This means you get that extra f-stop to get a faster shutter speed

The shot above was from last night. I was on the top floor of our condo and taught I can do some nice photos. I forgot to bring my tripod, so this was done hand held. Its a pretty sharp photo, as I used the tips above (except for the tripod, duh). It was also sharp because I used a trick for shooting without a tripod. Here's the shot of the place with all ambient light, @ f/2 shutter 1/6 ISO 400

Not really a good shutter speed, camera shake was obvious and the light really sucked. Clicking the shutter as the exposure starts add more to shake.  I don't have the steadiest hads so that's not helping. So here is what I did:

1. Turn your timer on.  I used 10 secs for the shot above, but for people shots use the shortest time you have

2. Make sure you are in a stable position.  I was sitting for the shot above, but you can lean on a wall, or use anything to stabilize yourself. I also made sure I tucked my elbows in. 

3. Pre focus on your subject and then recompose your shot. Then change your camera/lens focus to Manual Focus.

4. Take the shot and stabilize yourself while the timer countsdown. If your subject is a person, count verbally as your timer counts down.   Make sure you do not move while the exposure is being taken.
This, of course, would really not be the best for people shots but if you have nothing to go for, you still have a way to take decent photos. And, for those who do not have fast lenses (I used a f1.8 lens for the shots here), I actually used f4.0 - f6.3 for the shot above and the ones below. You really do not need really expensive lenses, as long as you know how to use your gear correctly.  Here are more shots from last night.

 

 

Hope this helps you on taking better low light photos.  Keep Shooting!

IMO Review: Q Strap - The Knockoff that's better than the Original

Most great products nowadays have their counterpart "knockoffs" or for a better term, a cheaper alternative. For every Pocket Wizard there's an alternative Cactus trigger (actually there's prolly a little less than 10 that I can think of). Most of these are made in China, such as the Cactus triggers/flashes, lightstands, umbrellas you name it. Heck, even the original branded photographic supplies are most probably made in China.  There are even some Nikon lenses made in China. As the saying goes, God made the world, the rest was made in China.

But this doesn't mean that the cheaper alternatives from China (or anywhere for that matter) is not of good quality.  Some are equally as good. But I think the more pressing issue is copying something from the original and then selling it cheap, somewhat like piracy in the entertainment industry. But the product I am reviewing now is/could be an  exception.



Photo above is the Quick(Q)-Strap. It's basically a strap that is attached to your camera via the tripod mount and is worn like a sling. At first glance, you would probably say that its a cheap imitation of the R-Strap. But looking at it closely, and when using it, you will see that there are substantial differences. And in some points, it actually iis better than the R-Strap.

First the similarities. The Q is made of the same material as your regular camera strap and it feels like the same material used for the R-Strap. Even the metal used for the clip feels and weighs like they were from the same type of metal. The strap looks sturdy and could probably support more than 5 times the weight of an average camera. But the similarities end there.
The Pouch - the Q has a pouch for memory cards and what not, but its not as comfy for your shoulders as the R. Not a big deal, again as you'll only notice the difference after a few hours of continuosly wearing it.

The Clip - its prolly of the same metal alloy, but unlike the R, the Q only has a plastic lock that you slide into place to prevent the clip from accidentally being opened. To me that's a minor issue, as once the clip was attached, I have not removed it since. I just remove the mount from the tripod mount.













The Mount - the R has a unique mount called the FastenR2 that resembles a screw with a loop where the clip attaches to. The Q's mount is different as it is more of a screw that locks a piece of metal with a hole on one end where the clip is attached. The screw at the bottom also has a female tripod mount for easy attachmnt to a tripod, while the R, because of the mount design, doesn't. Both are pretty much locked into the mount. The clip rotates not the mount screw. Also heard reports of issues with the R-Strap when using a Vertical grip or when used with a D3 or a 1Ds as the FastenR pokes your pal while on vert. The Q-Strap is quite nice as the hook loop is at the side, which becomes the bottom of the cam when on vert position.

Wearing it - Both wears like a sling, with the lens pointing to your back. With the Q, because of the mount design, the lens moves a little to the front. The R is more of attached  to the middle of the camera and sits still almost always.  Sorry no photos of me wearing it. Just doing this in between a busy week. : )

Overall build Quality - The Q, as expected, is built a little less than the R.  The first day I used it some paint from the clip chipped off. The metal feels solid and looks like it will last along time. I have tried it on an event shoot and it saved me from so much stress, as the weight of the cam is not concentrated at your neck but to your shoulder and across your body. I used two cameras that day and I never felt a strain on my body.

For half the price, the Q - Strap maybe the best alternative to the original. This is not piracy, not even a knock-off. It's a different product that runs better in some ways than the original.

If you're in the Philippines, you can get the Q-Strap from JT Photo. Visit their site here and here for more details.

Hello and Goodbye

My mom visited us in our new condo this last weekend.  Haven't seen her for a few months and I was excited to see her. Incidentally, it was her bithday last and we kinda celebrated it by having lunch and eating her favorite (although bad for her, but hey what's not good for you is what you normally crave for) lechon. I told her she can only eat this once a year, and she did make the best of it.

Also thought of getting some birthday portraits to remember this day.

Here's another with her new bag my brother gave as a gift...

In other news, I said goodbye to my beloved black straw snoot. It was a good 5 months, and it served me well. Took one final shot of it for you to see how used it has been.

 

 

I have an idea for another snoot, this time not involving sticking together 100  straws. I'll keep you posted.

After the Storm

A couple of storm has passed. And although we always get hit by one ever so frequently, this one hit too close to home.  I hope everyone is safe and okay. Please pray for those who have been affected and those who may still be tormented by typhoon Parma.

Photo above is the view from the back of my new condo. That was farm land before, but was turned into a deep pond last week.

Been Gone for a While

Okay, make it a looong while. Unfortunately, I've been really busy, more unfortunately its not about photography. It wasn't even about my day job. Me and my wife were stuck with some legal issues on our recent home purchase. That took a lot of my time....and funds. Between that and my walk-all around lens breaking (unrepairable) I'd say I haven't had a really great life. LOL. Alls well, though, as we were able to settle out of court and we're happy to say, that we love our new home. And the broken lens did not go to waste, as I sold it for parts and got a decent, almost equal-in-spec Nikon glass as replacement.


Any ways, I wanted to share my recent vacation. We recently came from Coron, Palawan for a well deserved vacation.

The sun wasn't really cooperating, but when it did, it gave us some amazing light. With the help of some nice clouds acting as huge softboxes, we got all the shots below with only available light:

I took the chance to bring some lighting gear just in case we get a chance to shoot some themed model (my wife of course) shoot. We saw this great house from the 1800's that was torn down back in the 40's and all that's left was walls with some great grungy textures and graffiti. Two strobes used with the shots below with either both with snoots, or an umbrella -snoot combo.

That wall was so pretty that I decided to join in the fun as well!

Some group shots:

We also got a chance to help out with a local bar there and took some photos for their brochure. We were glad to help, especially when we get free drinks. More on this on a future post. Man I love Coron!

Over to the Dark Side (and a lot of photos)

 Edit: I know I said i was changing the format to a plain black template, but blogger was giving me some problems with adding photos. I think I'll go plain white for now.


Yes. I have been succumbed by the dark side. I've seen so many black template-blogs nowadays that i felt that I did not need to have one when I was starting this out. Thought I will be a little different, but here I am. Black does bring out a little kick to photos so I guess I will stay with this for the meantime.

After a long long sabbatical, I'm back to blogging. There's a ton of things that has happened since my last post (or even before that post):


1. Had a ton of work in my day job (sucks)
2. Shot a Corporate sports event (view some of the photos here) with a camera from the other side
3. Shot two Strobist Bootcamp assignments here and here that made the final cut (thanks DH!)
4. Bought a our first home (yahoo!)
5 Had more day job work (really sucks!)

Any way for the meantime, here's some photos while I was out. Hope to blog some more soon.
Man, I am so digging snoots....

And finally, some from my lemon project...

Strobist Boot Camp 2

Update: My entry made it up to the final cut only (out of 700 entries). Not bad. The results were announced here.
If you haven't heard of Strobist, then you're missing a lot of good info on lighting and photography. Now, if you have been reading it, then I would like you to know that one of my photos (above) was chosen as a finalist(screams like an excited little girl).



Alright, for all you late strobist bloomers out there, David Hobby (the guy who coined the term strobist) is running a photography and lighting exercise on his site called Strobist Boot Camp 2. It's basically a list of weekly assignments that you need to complete and submit. He then judges them and picks out a winner. Boot Camp 1 was in '06, so this has been along time coming. For the first assignment, he's giving out prizes as well. Read more here.

The 1st assignment deadline was 2 days ago. I just found out that David tagged my entry as one of the finalists! Click here (for a better view) and here (and with David's note) side by side with my photo ( as it was a requirement) through my flickr stream.

Anyways, there's a lot of other very good photos there. win or lose, I'm pretty happy with what I got and I had fun doing it. I can't wait for the next assignment.

Camera Gear for Rent

No budget to buy a camera? What? No flash? Now there is no more excuse for you not to take better pictures! More info after the jump.

I had a paid assignment a while ago where my gear just ain't gonna make it. I was shooting a sporting event, and my current gear weren't long enough to reach the subjects from a safe distance. Enter CameraCart.

CameraCart provides camera gear (mostly Canon) for rent. With a wide variety of products for sure you'll find what your looking for.

As a Nikon user, I was really not interested on even trying on Canon (it's a loyalty thing). But when I saw they are offering L lenses, I kicked loyalty's butt out the window and whent ahead and called Cameracart. I ended up renting a 40D and a 70-200 f/4 L. Sweet. They delivered and picked up the items. Now that's great service.

Renting is a great way to get your assignments done, or just try out a product before you buy them. CameraCart has flash units and strobes available so you can even pratice your lighting for all you strobists out there.

So if you are within the metro, give CameraCart a try. And for you Nikon users, there is also one here, but a little more expensive.

CameraCart's site

Revisiting the old Point and Shoot

As most of you know, there are basically two types of digital cameras, the Point and Shoot(P&S) digicams and the big and expensive (looking, sometimes) DSLRs (digital single lens reflex). Basic technical difference is that P&S cameras have fixed lenses and DSLRs have removable and replaceable lenses). There are so many other differences, I won't blog them all, but will be sharing an experience I had recently were I was "forced" to use only a P&S.
Photo above was taken by a P&S.

My wife and I recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary at one of the beaches in Batangas, Philippines. So I packed my photography gear and advised my wife to bring our old Panasonic digicam in case of emergencies. Whenever you're at the beach, you may wanna bring less-attention-attracting gear if you plan to swim and leave them semi unattended. And of course if the weathers not looking good, you may wanna just risk bringing your smaller camera you can put in a plastic bag in case it rains.

Too bad the weather wasn't cooperating. We were there for 3 days, and there was not a single day that the weather didn't change from sunny to rainy in a matter of minutes. I had no choice but to bring the P&S. Our room was a bit far from the beach and I didn't want to risk it.
To my surprise, I was able to get some shots that was sharp enough that I could compare them to shots I made with my DSLR. With the help of some sunlight (at a great angle I should say) and some camera tweaking (plus a little picasa magic), I was able to get some clear shots that I'm really proud of. A lot of the shots below were taken by my wife, as I was too busy swimming. : )

Point and shoots really do well on silhouette shots......


This was the sharpest shot I made that afternoon. Click here or click the photo below for the full size copy to see the details. You can even see my reflection in her eyes!
Some tips on how to maximize your Point and Shoot:

- Look out for the Sun - the 12pm sun is too harsh for pictures. The sun at 3pm to 5pm is great for lighting portraits as it lights your subject at an angle

-Use your camera's WB and Exposure Evaluation feature - WB (white balance) is a common feature in cameras now, use it when in bright sun or when using tungsten lights to color correct your photos. (click here for a great link for learning more about WB) Exposure Evaluation (EV) is the ability of your camera to brighten or darken your photo. If your P&S is giving you a very bright picture, put your EV to a negative value and vice versa. Look for the +/- sign in your camera for this.

-Don't use your flash always - cameras nowadays are smart enough to choose almost the correct exposure for your shot. turn your flash off when outdoors. Use the sun when outdoors.

Hopefully this helps everyone take better photos.

April & Nelson: A Wedding Documentary

View slideshow here.
More photos here.

April and Nelson had a wonderful wedding. And I was honored to document their most special event.

This was no ordinary event, not only because its a very special union between April and Nelson, but also this was the first time I'll be documenting a wedding unconventionally - - as a bystander.

More photos and full story after the jump.



________________________________



I wanted to give April and Nelson moments that their hired photography will not be able to get. You see, a wedding photographer has so many things to do during the event. From knowing the program and coordinating with the organizers to get all the "important" shots to editing on site and preparing the on site presentation. Unless they have 6 or more people to handle the whole group, the photographer would miss a lot of moments that a couple would like to remember of their wedding. Plus knowing the couple, I know when and where to take their photos to convey a story that the couple would surely smile and be fond of. Here's some of the shots.

The bridesmaids (notice how almost all of them were taller than the men!):





A very anxious groom...
The kids:

The bride...


Some random shots...

Finally some shots of the couple....



I hope the couple is having a great honeymoon in Palawan.