Nighttime photography takes a little more planning and, depending on the weather, a warm coat. But, if done correctly, there is ample opportunity for creativity. Plus, the lack of light means there are fewer people out at night, and those who are out are less likely to accidentally step in front of our camera.

Another creative and fun thing for nighttime photographic work is High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography. HDR photography involves taking multiple pictures of a scene at different settings and merging them on a computer later.

Equipment

There are specific pieces of equipment that a photographer will need in order to take nighttime photographs such as a decent camera. This is because most cameras are designed to capture images during the day. This means that they’re not set up to take high-quality shots at night. If you want to take better nighttime photos, then you’ll need to invest in a decent camera. And by camera, my recommendation is an actual camera, not a phone that has a camera as well.

If you are using a DSLR camera, when taking the image, the shutter can cause the camera to shake. If your camera has a shutter lock function, use that. New murals camera this is not an issue. In addition, it’s best to shoot in RAW mode so that you can adjust the white balance later on.

A tripod and a cable or remote release for the camera are useful items to have. Since the camera is picking up less light and will require a longer shutter time, it won’t be possible to hold the camera in hand.

If using a tripod, it should be a sturdy one so as not to move and create a blurry image. Since most pictures will involve long shutter times, a stopwatch and notepad are handy for making notes of the time used for each exposure. This is especially important if using film. When using film, the light range that the film picks up varies over time so that, when taking a scene, the reds will come across brighter or more intense than the blues.

If it’s cold at night, a thermos of hot chocolate is also helpful. And, on the warm summer nights, a gin and tonic is a good way to go.

When to take Nighttime Photographs

It doesn’t need to be pitch black outside to take night photographs. Just after the sun has set while the sky is a little blue, is an excellent time to take some photographs. Urban areas and houses can have a surreal effect just after sunset. When taking pictures of people just after sunset, it is possible to still get some of the background in the picture and use a subtle amount of flash to light the subject.

While taking pictures late at night, after it’s fully dark outside, using long shutter speeds will be required. A fun thing to do here is to point the camera at the sky, set the camera to the bulb setting and, using a stopwatch to time it, hold the shutter release for multiple minutes before releasing. When reviewing the images later, it will be possible to see the stars moving.

When taking pictures of motion such as traffic, the long shutter speed will cause the car lights streaming through the image. It’s also fun to hold a flash off the camera and trigger it at different objects. When the flash hits the moving object, it creates a unique freeze effect on the image. Or, take a flashlight and highlight different areas of a subject while holding the camera shutter open. Just be cautious not to do anything that will cause the camera to move, or the image will end up blurry.

Think of photographs of the San Francisco Bridge at night and how fantastic those look. Think about any city street or urban area in any town and what a different feeling that will have, with no people and dreamlike lighting.

It will take some practice and note taking to figure out the right amount of time to hold the shutter open when taking night photographs. Yet, take your time with it and you can create some interesting and beautiful artwork.

The post A Few Night Photography Tips appeared first on D Studios Photography.

HDR photography enables photographers to record a greater range of tonal detail than currently available cameras can capture in a single photo. Using HDR processing allows photographers to take multiple pictures of a scene and combine them together with dramatic effect. If used to the extreme, HDR photography creates a striking and surreal image. If used sparingly, it will bring out details that wouldn’t normally be visible on the image.

The human eye can adjust to the changing light level as we scan dark to light areas in our field of view. A camera only takes a photograph in one light setting. And so, HDR processing will create an image that looks like the original scene or, depending on how it’s used, will create an image that is reminiscent of a surreal fantasy world.

Taking the Pictures

Taking a HDR photograph involves taking multiple pictures of the same subject with the camera in the exact same location at different settings then, after the pictures are taken, manipulating those three or more images in layers using HDR processing software.

Since most HDR photographs are comprised of 3 to 5 images, it is necessary to set the camera on a solid surface, such as a tripod, and use a remote trigger or cable release. The camera should not be allowed to move at all in between each image, as they need to line up later on. It’s possible to use a table, chair, or any other solid surface, but it is recommended to use a sturdy tripod.

Attached the camera to the tripod, and either a cable release or remote trigger to the camera. Then compose the image. The camera must be set to its manual functions. Then adjust the f-stop and shutter speed to best compose the scene. Take the image using the cable release or remote trigger. Then dial-down the shutter speed or f-stop by one stop. Be very careful not to move the camera, as this will cause the images to be out of line later on.

Take the picture again and repeat the dial-down process. After taking a few pictures with the camera dialed-down, repeat the process except for increasing the shutter speed or aperture opening over what it was originally set at. It might not be necessary to use all the images when processing them and, if they aren’t needed, they can be deleted later. After a few times of doing this, it will be possible to get a better idea of how to set the camera for each image.

If worried about moving the camera during the process, you can use your camera auto-bracketing function, or audio-exposure. This will let the camera take 3 images in a row at different aperture settings without the need to touch the camera. Also, if using a DSLR that allows you to lock the shutter for night photography, set that as well.

Best Time to Take HDR Photographs

Technically HDR photographs can be taken at any time, but it’s usually best to take the photographs in lighting situations where there is a lot of contrast between the light and dark areas of a scene. For example: shooting out a window from inside a house while including the inside walls. Usually the light outside is a bit brighter, and so the camera either exposes for the interior or exterior, but cannot expose for both.

Most HDR photographs are usually taken in the evening or at night of a static subject, such as a cityscape or building. When taking a scenic picture just after dusk, the sky might still be a little bright in the foreground. The image will look either too dark in one area, or too bright in the other. If taking a picture later at night, any streetlights or other light could washout portions of the picture while leaving other areas black.

Processing the Pictures

Processing the images involves taking the captured images using different exposures, and then combines them into one photograph to create an image with a wider dynamic range, using computer software to combine multiple images with different exposures into one photograph.

The most common tool for doing this is Adobe Photoshop CC and Lightroom. Previous versions of Photoshop involved creating multiple layers and manipulating each in a time-consuming process. However the current versions of the software allow users to import the images and batch process them into one image. Then the images can be further manipulated as needed.

Photoshop, however, is an expensive piece of software, so there have been other companies to release HDR processing software. One of the more popular ones is Photomatix Pro. Photomatix Pro was designed specifically to create HDR images and is pretty easy to use. There are also some free HDR programs available that might be worth trying for a novice user before spending money one on of the other products.

Note: Many cameras and smartphones now come in with built in HDR features, allowing the effect to be processed directly in camera. However, this technique does not allow for a lot of adjustments by the user. You basically get what the camera gives you.

The Bottom Line

The HDR process can be time-consuming and sometimes frustrating for some photographers because it is not as easy as taking a regular photo. In order to get the best results, photographers need to take 3-5 photos of the same scene with different exposures. The camera needs to be set in a stable location, and to be set on manual mode so that the shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings are all consistent between shots.

High Dynamic Range Photography involves a lot of planning before taking the pictures, some patience when taking the pictures, and time spent after the pictures were taken to process them. If all is done well, the final image will be a fantastic piece of art to hang on the wall. Even though HDR photography can create interesting and dramatic effects, it can also be a time-consuming and sometimes frustrating endeavor.

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Knowing what depth of field is and how to work with it when it comes to photography will allow you to have more control over the look of the final image adding additional impact to your images. This can be an emotional response or simply to focus the viewers eye where you want them to look.

F-Stop

The most common and often used method for adjusting the depth of field is by adjusting the f-stop, or aperture, of the camera. The f-stop setting will either increase or decrease the focal length. If the f-stop is set wide open or at a low number such as f1.4, the depth of field will be shallow. If the f-stop is set narrow or at a higher number such as f22, the depth of field will be deeper. Try this by taking the same picture with the f-stop at f2.8 or whatever your widest option is, and take the same picture at f22. It will be possible to see the difference in depth of field when comparing the two images.

Focal Length of Lens

The distance between the object being photographed and the lens will also affect the depth of field. The further away the subject is from the camera, the further the depth of field will increase. When taking a picture of mountains using a wide-angle lens, almost everything will be in focus. Yet, while using a macro lens to photograph flowers or other small objects, the camera is extremely close which will result in a very narrow depth of field in the picture.

Distance of Object

The distance between the object being photographed and the lens will also affect the depth of field. The further away the subject is from the camera, the further the depth of field will increase. Similar to the previous experiment, set your cameras aperture wide open, or to a low f-stop. Then take a picture of an object or person from 2 to 4 feet away. Then to around 10 feet away and take the same picture. When cropping the image to have the same framing you should see more depth of field in the picture taken from further aware compared to the once closer.

In Summary

Understanding the effect of the distance between the object being photographed and the lens is key for taking a great photograph. A shallow depth of field is used to focus on one particular element in an image, while a deep depth of field can be used to show many different elements.

The result in narrowing down the focus of the image to what the photographer would like the viewer to see and allows the photographer to control the interpretation of the scene. By selectively using depth of field, photographers can create a professional-looking effect which not only will make the images more enjoyable to view.

The post A Basic Understanding Depth of Field appeared first on D Studios Photography.

After doing a quick internet search, it appears that most digital point-and-shoot cameras being sold these days range from 15 to 20 megapixels, with digital SLR and mirrorless cameras even higher. The latest iPhone and Samsung cameras both offer 12-megapixel cameras built in. One of the misconceptions about these new cameras is that the extra megapixels are creating a sharper and better image when, in fact, image quality has more to do with the quality of the lens on the camera than the sensor inside of it.

What is a Megapixel?

We should start by defining a megapixel. A megapixel is 1 million pixels. A pixel is a tiny square on the sensor within the camera. To view a pixel in a photograph, open the image on a computer and zoom into the image until the little squares are visible. Once you see the square, you are seeing a pixel. The idea behind “the more megapixels the better” is that with more megapixels, crammed into a sensor the megapixel gets smaller and we can enlarge further the image before the squares become visible. Which, technically, us true.

There is only so much physical space on a camera sensor and, with each megapixel upgrade, more information is being crammed onto the sensor, creating larger and larger image files. When the images are stored on a computer, they then take up more hard drive space. This in turn requires buying computers with larger hard drives for storage and faster processors to handle the images, creating a never-ending cycle of buying.

Based on this photographer’s experience with portrait photography, I have found that most consumers order prints less than 8×10, occasionally enlarging to a 16×20 but rarely ever larger. Most images, in fact, are ordered digitally to be posted on social media with a few to be framed in a home. Sue Chastain wrote an article on Lifewire.com stating that only a 3 to 4-megapixel camera is needed for high-quality 8×10 prints. While a chart made available by B&H Photo Video shows that a 4-megapixel camera will create photo quality, 8×10 prints. Based on my experience I would say that around 8 to 10-megapixels is a good number for the average print.

There are other things to take into consideration with pixels and those are pixels per inch (ppi) and dots per inch (dpi). When printing a picture, the printer creates little dots of each color (a combination of red, blue, yellow, and blacks) to create the final image. Each printer can handle only so many dots per inch so, if printing an image with more megapixels than the printer can handle, they end up being unnecessary.

As each new year’s camera is produced with more megapixels, most manufactures also do other upgrades to the camera. Early digital point-and-shoot cameras were slow to use and, when pressing the ‘shoot’ button, the photographer would have to wait for the camera to focus and take the picture. The lag time often made the picture taken different from the picture intended to be taken. Also, the speed on new cameras has been greatly improved, as well as color quality and accuracy

Cropping and Enlargements

There are advantages to having a larger megapixel camera. If cropping the image, the more cropping that is being done, the more the zoom is increasing on that section of the print and this is increasing the pixel size. The more megapixels, the better the crop that can be made to allow for a good print.

Cropping an image involves editing it in a photo editing app and cutting out portions of the image to zoom in and focus on a specific area. This is where a larger megapixel number comes in handy. As you crop the image and zooming in to focus on a specific area on the picture you are cutting out megapixels, so by having more than is needed originally you will not necessarily see a reduction in quality.

One way to avoid the need for this is to take the image with the final output in mind. For example, if you are standing on the side of a mountain and the focus of the image is a lake at the bottom of the mountain, don’t take a picture of the entire skyline and crop it later, but take the picture of the lake that is the focus. Take the picture framing it as you intend the final output to be framed.

What Should I Buy?

When shopping for a new digital camera, any camera on the market today is going to have more than enough megapixels for the average consumer’s needs. Instead of looking for a camera with the highest megapixel count, there are other camera features to be looked at.

The most important thing to look at is the quality of the lens on the camera. Look at sample images taken with the camera and assess the clarity of the image. Also, does the lens have optical zoom or digital zoom? Optical zoom will create a better image.

Another thing to look at on the camera is the image color quality. Is it an accurate representation of the scene? Look at the blues in the sky and people’s skin tones to check for accuracy. How well does it take pictures in low light or bright light? Finally, look at the other camera features, such as screen display and autofocus options.

With people usually using the default settings on a camera read some reviews on the quality of the auto-focus and how fast and accurate it is. Additional features like follow focus are also handy if you are using the camera for video as well.

Quality Over Quantity

When buying a new camera don’t fall into the megapixel hype. Since most consumer prints are less than an 8×10 anything over an 8-megapixel camera is unnecessary. Most cameras being sold these days already exceed that it is more important to focus on the other features a new camera offers.

Megapixels tend to be emphasized when it comes to new digital cameras. Although more is usually better, it might not always be the case for cameras and megapixels. When it comes to buying a new camera look at the other features of the camera and ignore the megapixel count.

The post The Megapixel Myth appeared first on D Studios Photography.

Things you will need:

• FutureBit Moonlander 2
• Driver
• Mining Software
• Litecoin Pool

The Plan:

The idea is, to install the miner, plug it into my USB hub, and let it run in the background of my work computer. I figure since I will be running it during the day when I’m working anyway so that the additional electricity usage won’t be noticeable – I’m guessing, I haven’t calculated my average electricity usage before installing or after to see the difference.

Instillation:

1. The first thing you are going to need is to download a driver. Simply, download the file, extract it from the zip and install. The same as any other time you have installed drivers on your computer.
2. Once the driver is installed, you will need to sign up with litecoinpool.org. I’m not going to walk you through that process as there are a few tutorials out there already on how to do it. Basically, just follow the steps. Also note that once you have setup your account, you will need to enter your payment address which will be the Litecoin payment address you have associated with your cryptocurrency wallet
   • Here is a link to an article I wrote on cryptocurrency. About halfway through the article is a section of wallets.
3. Now for the fun stuff, you will need to install the mining software. Before you download the miner from the GitHub, disable your antivirus firewall. Basically, all antivirus programs consider cryptocurrency miners a bad thing. You can re-enable it later and add an exception for it after everything is installed and running.
4. Download the mining software and extract it from the zip file. I placed mine in my documents folder but you can put it wherever you want, such as the desktop, or some other folder.
5. Once extracted, open the folder bfgminer… and and go to the .bat file labeled Start Moonlander 2, right click on it and select edit. This will bring up notepad.
   • The two things you need to change are going to be where it has a – u and -p.
   • The u is the username and the p is the password.
6. Go back to Litecoin pool and you will need to add a worker if you haven’t already.
7. Once you have a worker copy and replace the user and password from the .bat file. Be sure to have the full name. Then do the same for the password.
8. Then save it.
9. Before you run it, plug the miner into either your USB hub or simply the USB drive on your computer.
   • The nice thing about this one is it has a built-in fan. Some of the others on the market you will need to purchase a fan to keep it cool.
10. Now that the miner is plugged in, simply double-click start Moonlander 2 to get it running. Give it a minute or two and you should see your worker in the green and the speed rate on litecoinpool.org.

If it’s not working then you should see an error of some type of error as it runs. Two errors that I experience are:

• “bfgminer.exe’ is not recognized as an internal or external command.” I had to reinstall the drivers for this one to get resolved.
• “Please check the details from the list below of the servers you have input Most likely you have input the wrong URL, forgotten to add a port, or have not set up workers” This was because my unsername didn’t copy correctly. So doublecheck you have your username and password exactly as it should be.

For the results:

I previously did an experiment to see how much I could mine just running the scrip on my computer and it was about a quarter of the speed as the Moonlander is. It also had the negative impact of slowing down my computer. Since the Moonlander is doing the work, I’m getting four times the speed and it doesn’t slow down my machine. The only downside so far is I need to turn off my USB hub when I turn my computer off. Since the Moonlander has the built-in fan, as long as it’s getting power the fan will run.

Looking at the numbers so far, I’m not really going to make any money off this. I’m averaging less than a penny an hour when calculating the profit. It is possible to adjust the speed, so I am going to play with that a bit to see if I can squeeze any more out of it.

So, if you are looking to make money, probably not a good investment. But, if you want to start dabbling in cryptocurrency mining, which is what I’m doing, then it is worth it to get some experience dealing with editing scripts and doing the calculations.

Finally, you will need to re-enable your virus protection software and add an exception for the miner. I’m not going to walk through that process as it varies depending on which program you are using.

For a video walk-through of the instillation and setup process

The post Using the FutureBit Moonlander 2 appeared first on D Studios Photography.

Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) and some digital point-and-shoot cameras provide users with the option of shooting in either a .jpg or RAW file. A .jpg file is a standard and universal format for digital images; RAW files are not as standard and universal. Many professional photographers shoot in RAW. What is a RAW file, why do professionals use it, and why should people consider shooting in RAW?

RAW Files

RAW files are images that have not yet been processed and are not printable without further work. A RAW file must be imported from the camera’s memory card to photo processing software. Each camera manufacturer has image processing software that can convert the RAW file to a .jpg or other image format. Adobe also offers a variety of popular products for processing and editing images that work with RAW files; Photoshop and Lightroom are two examples.

One issue with RAW files is that each camera manufacturer has its own RAW file format. This requires either obtaining their specific, proprietary software, in order to process the images, or locating a third-party product that is compatible. For example, Photoshop will usually need to have updates installed so as to be able to view RAW files from a camera manufacturer’s latest camera.

Why Shoot in RAW?

The advantage of using a RAW file is that it contains more information and has a higher range of digital data than what a .jpg file would contain. If the scene is too dark, with a RAW file, it will be possible to obtain more detail out of the shadows. If the scene is too light, it will be easier to process the image and bring out detail, if it is available.

The best way to think of a RAW file is as a film negative. The negative holds all the image details. It can’t be used to view the image directly, but the negative is used to create the final print. The final print can be thought of as the .jpg. When making copies of that film negative, it would be better to use the negative over the final print. The same relationship exists between RAW files and a .jpg.

Disadvantages of Shooting RAW

As mentioned, each camera manufacturer has its own version of RAW for each camera. This can vary from similar cameras within the same manufacturer’s line. Often when a camera company launches a new version of a camera third-party manufactures have to do updates even though they were compatible with the previous version.

As technology evolves, it is possible that later versions of software won’t be compatible at all with older cameras’ RAW files. Users might have RAW files that they will eventually be unable to process. Just like people who still have musical 8-tracks but can’t find stereos with 8-track players anymore. People may one day be hard pressed to find compatible RAW processing programs. Adobe is attempting to offer an archival file format known as Digital Negative (DNG) in order to solve this possible problem. According to Adobe, they will always provide support for DNG files in their products.

File size can be another issue for RAW images. Since each RAW image holds so much information, the file size is much larger than it would be if it were a .jpg. A camera will also spend a few macro seconds longer to process a RAW file with each click. Photographers need to have larger memory cards and more space on computers for the files. On top of that, since the image has to be converted to a .jpg for printing, users have to store and track two files of the same image, the RAW file and the .jpg.

In Summary

When shooting large scenes such as nature or scenes with a high contrast between the darks and the lights, shooting in RAW will provide a photographer with more options and control in the development of the final print, making the additional file size and processing time worthwhile.
Yet, if shooting friends and family during the weekend barbeque, and the images will most likely just get loaded to a website for printing in 4×6, shooting in RAW might be more than is necessary.

The post An Explanation of Camera RAW Files appeared first on D Studios Photography.

Shutter Speed

It can be hard to notice sometimes when the shutter speed is set too slow, and often this is a result of a cameras automatic settings. But when it comes to keeping an image sharp even the slightest movement can have a negative impact on the picture if the shutter is too slow. Sometimes this is intentional but most of the time it is not.

A workaround for this is to select the shutter priority mode on your camera. This allows you to set the shutter manually and the camera will automatically set the aperture. Then you can set a faster shutter speed if necessary to capture the movement.

The rule of thumb for capturing sharp when hand-holding the camera is, that you shouldn’t handhold a camera at shutter speeds slower than the equivalent focal length of the lens. For example, let’s say you have a lens set at 50mm, then don’t set the shutter speed to less than 1/50 second. Or, if you are using a zoom lens at 100mm aim for 1/125th second. Note: if you are shooting super wide at 10mm for example, don’t think you can handhold at 1/10th of a second. I’d recommend a tripod if going that slow.

Use a Tripod

A tripod cuts down on camera shake from the photographer’s hand. During times of night photography or even in bad lighting it is recommended to use one if you can.

Another tip when using a tripod is using a shutter release or the cameras built-in timer. This is especially useful when doing night photography in combination with a tripod. Just like the shutter release causes a little camera shake, so does pressing your finger on the button to take the picture. Check and see if your camera has a shutter lock feature. This lifts the shutter before taking the picture to reduce camera shake from the shutter for night photography.

Image Stabilization

There are two types of image stabilization. The first is built into the lens and the second is built into the camera. Depending on the company who makes it, it might be called something different but it works the same.

When the stability is built into the lenses. The lenses have elements suspended inside that are constantly moving to compensate for the movement caused by not holding the lens still. Instead of placing the stabilization in the lenses some camera companies will design it into the camera. The sensor shifts to compensate for the camera movement. Stabilization is really useful for longer heavier telephoto lenses because the extra weight ads to lens shake.

Note: stabilization does not help with capturing moving objects easier. It really only works to compensate for camera shake when photographing still objects. It also isn’t necessary when using a tripod, so if you don’t need it, shut it off to save on battery life.

Lens Quality

When it comes to buying cameras and lenses your money will always be better spent on a lens than a camera. Every year camera manufacturers come out with new cameras, but spending money on a good quality lens and taking care of it, the lens can last much longer than a typical camera will. The lens that comes with most camera kits is crap. When buying a new lens look for a lens with a wide aperture, often referred to as a fast lens. Read reviews and once you get the new lens, take care of it. Add a UV filter on the front to save the glass from being damaged. Store it in a dry warm place when not in use. And don’t let your kids get their grubby hands on it.

Focus

It seems pretty clear, right? If using the autofocus function on the camera make sure it is focusing on the correct location. When focusing pay attention to where you are focusing. For example, when taking a picture of a person or an animal you want to focus on the eyes.

Sharpen in Post

Depending on your camera settings, if shooting in RAW or not, and any of the previously mentioned your image likely won’t be perfectly in focus. When looking at the image it can look at little soft. If that is the case it can be sharpened a bit in post. Your cameras RAW processing software will have a sharpening option, or if using Photoshop or Lightroom you can sharpen the image a bit. But be aware sharpening does not solve the problem of an out of focus image. If it is out of focus it is out of focus. A soft image, however, can be sharpened.

Depth of Field

When playing with aperture and using a narrow depth of field we can get some lovely shots but it also means you need to be more precise on making sure what you want to be in focus is. Any movement might move the subject out of focus.

In Summary

When it comes to keeping it sharp it isn’t as simple as just pointing and shooting a picture. There are a lot of things that can affect sharpness to keep in mind depending on the situation you find yourself photographing in.

The post Tips for Keeping Your Photography Sharp appeared first on D Studios Photography.

To test this and prove my point that megapixels don’t matter for much, I went out with a couple of fellow photographers. We each had three different cameras.

• Nikon 90D with a 55mm fixed lens and an adjustable ND filter and 12.9MP
• Canon EOS 60D with 24-70mm lens and 17.9MP
• Canon S45 an 11-year-old point and shoot with 4MP. Yes, I pulled an 11 year old digital point-and-shoot out of the closet.

At the end of the day we each provided three images for comparison. The rule was no post-processing. Images must be sent as they looked on camera.

I’ve uploaded the pictures in random order. Can you guess which is which is the fancy camera and which is the cheap super old camera?

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