Monday, March 03, 2008

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Updates From BetterPhoto

Photo Q&A

1: Lens Selection for Variety of Shots

Just wondering what size lens, filters and attachments would be required for the following situations: 1) high-energy fashion shot of active sports wear using male and female models interacting physically; 2) power shots of women in business suits situated in a city environment with lots of action around them; 3) oOutdoor shot of a model's head on an overcast day.
Cheers,
Stuart

ANSWER 1:

I'd say a large aperture prime lens: 50 f/1.4, 85 f/1.8, 100 f/2, 135 f/2, depending what type camera you're using. 50-85 for a "crop" DSLR or APS film camera. 85-135 for 35mm film or "full frame" DSLR. Longer lenses for medium format. I wouldn't be concerned with filters, but accessory lighting and reflectors are helpful, even outdoors.

2: How to Make a Large Print

Hi, I have been asked for a large print 36x42 from a client. I'm wondering if an 8 TIFF will suffice, shot in RAW and processed. I use a 20D with a 24-70 2.8 Canon lens, so the image sharpness is amazing. I've only ever offered up to 16x20, which my camera has done very nicely.

ANSWER 1:

The short answer: You should have no trouble with a print that large from the 20D, especially if printed at a professional print shop with high-end equipment. Of course, there are many variables like: Did you crop, and if so, how much? What ISO did you use? Was the exposure correct, or did you have to fix it during processing? How sharp is it? I'm sure there are other factors.

ANSWER 2:

Sherri,
The result depends on the quality you are looking for, the printer you are using, and a few other things. Your resolution on the 20D is 3502 x 2336 pixels, which translates to about 14.6 x 9.33 inches at 240 ppi - often a good number to look at for higher resolution printing. This is all the real detail you will ever have in the image no matter how you process, upsize, or what plugins you use. The kind of size you are talking about printing here realistically translates to about 83ppi at 42x36 ... extremely low resolution - closer to what you get in Web images, and about 1/3rd the generally recommended resolution for sharp prints.
Sure, you can print it. You'd be able to print any image at that size ... the question becomes more about acceptable quality and file handling. As to what happens when you start blowing images up to 3 times their resolution to get a print, what you expect and what the client does become real issues. The client may likely know less about images and resolution than you will and might expect details to remain sharp - or even somehow enhanced after resizing. Quite the contrary, that much upsizing will noticeably soften edges, and details will no longer be as sharp. Certainly a larger image won't be scrutinized from as close. So perfect sharpness may not matter as much, but any tiny flaw in the image will be amplified, and may require more meticulous care in post-processing.
By 8 TIFF, do you mean an 8-bit TIFF? Printers only handle 8-bits anyway (or convert from 16 to 8), so the extra file size of a 16-bit wouldn't improve results anyway. More to the point:
* Are you planning on resizing before submitting to the service?
* If so, to what resolution?
* How are you planning to sharpen/compensate?
* What type of printer is the service using?
* Have you tested the output?
I cover these issues in far more detail in my courses (notably From Monitor to Print: Photoshop Color Workflow and Photoshop 101: the Photoshop Essentials Primer
If you are really considering doing such large prints in the future, you may have to consider a more substantial camera depending on the quality you expect.
I hope that helps!
Richard Lynch

3: Did I Buy a Defective VR lens?

I recently purchased a Nikkor 70-300 VR (Vibration Reduction) lens. I noticed that even with the VR supposedly on and active, I'm getting blurred shots. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks.

ANSWER 1:

Hello Simon,
When the VR is "active", you can actually hear it if you are in a quiet place. (It's a high-pitched whine) You can also "see" it functioning through the lens ... it kinda' looks like a slight image delay when you move the camera.
VR is not a cure-all. It does have limitations. For instance, if you are zoomed in at 250mm and shooting at 1/2 second, no way will it prevent blurring from camera shake. A standard guideline for hand-holding is 1/focal length. So, with the example above, most photographers strive for a shutter speed 1/250th or faster. With VR, you should be able to shoot the same image about 3 to 4 stops better - 1/15th-1/30th.
Also make sure you are operating in "normal" mode, not "active".
To test it, zoom to maybe 100mm and shoot at 1/10th sec. Try it VR on and then VR off. You should see a big difference, if it's working.
All the best,
Pete

4: Airports and Your Camera

This isn't a problem (yet), but I was wondering about airport screening and your gear. I will be taking my camera as a carry-on and, of course, it will have to go through the X-ray scanner. I wanted to make sure nothing would happen to it or the CF cards in my bag. Any tips or pointers anyone has would be so greatly appreciated. :) Thanks!

ANSWER 1:

From everything I've read and heard, it isn't a problem. I recently flew from Houston to Chicago, on American and the screener had me take my camera out of the camera bag and give it to him, and he handed it right back to me after I walked through. My bag went onto the belt with all my extra cards, and they all work fine. Have a great trip!

ANSWER 2:

Hi, Amanda,
One more bit of advice (and this goes for computers, too): Be sure to go through the magnetometer after your gear has started through the X-ray. And, don't put the gear on the conveyor for the X-ray until you're actually ready to go through the X-ray.
A lot of cameras and computers are lost by people not being aware of where their gear is as they're going through TSA.
Cheers,
RK

5: Sharpening Software

Has anyone used a focus program such as focus magic or other sharpeners that you are satisfied with?

ANSWER 1:

Fred,
There will be others that argue for some plug-in or another, but the suggestion I have is several fold:
1) Don't rely on sharpening to enhance the sharpness of a soft image. It is really for sharpening images that are already sharp. Only sharp images can be truly sharpened ... I know that sounds perverse, but that's the fact.
2) Always make the effort to take the sharpest image you can, and don't rely on sharpening as a fix. If an image is soft, it may be best to go with soft-focus or other effects than to try and impose sharpness on it. Use a tripod, monopod, image stabilization lenses, quick shutter speeds, mirror-up locking, other bracing, and whatever it takes to make the capture the best before coming to a sharpening technique to rescue images.
3) When you want to use sharpening, the Unsharp Mask and manual techniques like I discuss in my BetterPhoto online classes - Leveraging Layers: Photoshop's Most Powerful Tool or Correct and Enhance Your Images - can provide tasteful, simple sharpening. Masking can do the rest.
4) I'm always a proponent of learning what your image-editing program can do so you can control your effects. Adding a plug-in only adds to the number of tools you have to learn to use, and really those already in Photoshop (or Elements) are quite good. Make the most of the program before adding on.
Not quite the answer you wanted, but I don't use plug-ins and have not run into one that I consider a 'must have'.

ANSWER 2:

Hello Fred,
I agree with Richard. (hello, Richard!) I had him recently for a Photoshop 101 class. If you try too hard to rescue an image, it will show up and look over-edited (as I've learned - I am a newbie too). This can be a big waste of a time and a bunch of back-peddling to redo your work. Best to stick with what the program offers (assuming you have Photoshop).
There are classes you can take here at BetterPhoto that help you learn to actually use your camera better in order to get the best shot while you're there rather than try to fix them at home. I have taken a couple, and I highly recommend them!
Good luck!

ANSWER 3:

Oh, and take one of Richard's courses, if you want an instructor that excels in critique.

1: High-Key Portrait: How to Do It?

Hi all,

How can I do high-key portraits? Any tips or ways to do that professionally?