How to get your whites WHITER and your blacks BLACKER

Remember I am using the Nikon D90 so if you have your manuals this is definitely easier to find (pg90 exposure compensation) though I will include some pics of what we need to be looking at on the camera and of which buttons you should be pressing.

Turn your camera to M- manual and look through your view finder you should be able to see a little line inside with a 0 in the middle.

Lets do the exercise:

For this you will need a white peace of paper, some thing black and something that is 18% grey (if you have a camera bag with grey insides remove one of the Velcro pieces as this is 18% grey. I explain don’t worry 

OK…
Take a picture of your piece of white paper without changing any settings just get it in focus.

NOW…
Without moving from where you where standing to take the photo of white paper get your grey card and change your white balance.  You will need to bring the line inside back to 0, while looking through your view finder press the exposure button on the top this is the +/_ sign next to your right index finger. You can do this by moving your shuttle and aperture dials.

NEXT…
With your white balance on 0 while looking at your 18% grey card take the card away and look back at your white paper, move your white balance back to 0 again.
Now take a picture of your white peace of paper.

WHAT happened??
Your white is now whiter. Before – After

This may seem like a lot of in camera effort but once you have done it a couple of times you will see how amazing it is. Repeat the same as above for your black object.

WHAT happened??
Your black is blacker. Before – After

As you can see from my pics below it is a skill worth mastering.

**if you are out in the field and don’t have a grey card find the closest thing to 18% grey you can and set your camera for the area and objects you will be taking photos of.
You will really see the difference in your pictures very quickly.

Correct exposure
So we have found that your camera gets the correct exposure most of the time, although when taking photos of bright whites or black blacks the camera takes an average 18% grey and your colors don’t really turn out right.
When taking a photo in really bright situations you will want to increase your shutter speed and decrease your aperture. The opposite is required for darker situations.

Have a play

The two most important parts of good band photography consist of studying the photograph’s composition and focusing on the picture’s overall subject. In most cases, the most interesting band photographic pictures are those where the viewer will see some dynamic motion, or feel a sense of action. Posing for a picture often looks inauthentic, especially when it is attempted just to capture some sort of seriousness that band doesn’t even have. However, if the band is laid back and willing to have a little fun, then the band photographer might be able to capture some humorous facial expressions or unconventional poses.

The tried and true band photo technique is pose or position band members in the photograph in the same manner as they would appear on stage. For example, the lead singer stands in front of the bassist, with the drummer behind them. Make sure that the subjects know that they do not have to gaze straight ahead into the camera lens. A location outside, like a park, a garage or inside a recording studio can also add variety to a band’s photography shoots. Some of the best band member photographs are taken as the band is jamming or practicing a set. Those times are the perfect opportunity to snap a few candid moments, as well as capture a more intense side of the band. Inspiration for the art of band photography can be found all around you. Try looking in industry publications, professional musician magazines and local newspapers. If you want to emulate a specific band’s photography, you might check out The Strokes’ band shots. Their photo sessions are intense, and always feature lots of action. Remember, your band photography will be the best of how you make it, and you’ll be well on your way towards greatness.

Within the next couple of blogs I will explain the difference between white balance and exposure. As it’s easier to learn while practicing, I have included some really helpful exercises. White balance and exposure is easy to read about although as I found out myself, it’s very easily confused. If you do the exercises below I think you will find, as I did that the little light will come on in your head and everything will become clear.

I welcome comments so please write what you found while doing the exercises and whether you found any difference with your photos.

These things are very important if you want to turn a good photo into a great photo.

White Balance

Basically all light has a color blue, green or orange. When you take a photo and it turns out orange you can change that from within your camera so that the camera sees the orange light as white hence taking the photo the way you see it.

I have been taught a wonderful exercise to help make this a little clearer.
(I have tailored this exercise for Nickos and I have a Nikon D90, you are still able to complete the exercise with you Cannon or other brand of camera though you may be a little limited in the variations of options you can find ready to use in camera)

White Balance Tutorial

1. Your camera will need to be on M – manual mode
2. Press your menu button on the left side of your camera
3. Go to White balance
4. To do this exercise setup your subject somewhere in natural light this will give you a good control setting to test your white balance settings
5. Take a series of photos going down your settings within white balance of the same object and see how the setting affect the photo you are taking.

I have put a series of example photos below to show the variations. There are so many different options on your camera I suggest that after you do this exercise save the photos to a separate file on your computer and put notes in so you can remember what you achieved.


This photo is obviously too blue as the light coming through the lens is blue this is why we white balance.

This picture is still slightly blue, just after this the picture would be correct. If you go too far in this direction you end up with…

Orange light tainting the picture, as you can see this is a feature of your camera that is definitely worth mastering.

Play away…

Aperture

The aperture is how much light comes through the lenses while taking a photo.

The aperture is measured by your f number or f stop.  Weirdly the smallest number is known as the greatest aperture and the largest number is the smallest aperture.

Basically and I’m all for the Basics – If the subject you are looking at is dimly lit you will need a smaller aperture (more light will enter eg. f4), If the subject you are looking at is bright you will want to use a large f number (less light will enter the lens).

The aperture also controls your depth of field (DOF) eg. Focusing on a close subject like a flower with the back ground blurred.

For Depth of Field always remember

- Large depth of field large F number (landscape)

-Small depth of field small F number (portrait)

-Large F number for brightly lit areas and small for dimly lit areas

Shutter Speed

Controls how long light is exposed to your film – The sharpness of a moving object or the amount of blur you want within a photo.

- The higher the number eg. 1/4000sec the briefer the exposure

For moving objects recommend above 1/250thsec

For blur (slow shutter speed) below 1/60thsec, when using shutter speeds this low always use a tripod to prevent camera shake and increase your chances of a better pic.

Choosing your shutter speed..

Remember your ISO (Will explain shortly) and aperture are very important in this process.

*With still objects shutter speed is not a factor as long as you are using a shutter speed above 1/60th to prevent camera shake.

*With moving objects it all depends on how fast your object is going and at what angle you are standing in relation to the object. I have listed a general guide below this is as the object is directly crossing you path, though the best way to find this out for yourself is to play with your camera speeds within different shooting environments.

-walking (3mph) 1/250sec, (10mph) 1/1000sec,

-car (40mph and above) 1/2000sec to 1/4000sec.

ISO sensitivity

Basically because as I said I am all for the basics

The higher the ISO the less light needed to make an exposure, this allows higher shutter speeds or smaller apertures.

*if you where taking a photo of a water droplet you would want a high ISO this would allow you to take a photo with the greatest shutter speed though still allowing enough light for good exposure, result a clean singular droplet.

This all depends on your situation so the ISO can vary, if you where taking a water photo in a brightly lit area you would want an ISO of  2000, where as if your droplet was poorly let you could use anything from 2500 to 3200.

*the best way to discover the best ISO for different lighting is to play with your camera within these settings.

The goal is to never use our cameras on auto, after all we have this beautiful little box full of wonderful opportunities and all we need to do is change our settings…