Norman Dodds, Author at Fotobuddies

Sharpness – a dying art?

Norman Dodds — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 03:05:36 +0000

Recently, I’ve become very aware that many photos obviously lacking sharpness or which are out of focus are often posted both on social media sites and also on photographic sites such as Flickr. This is particularly true of close up and macro photographs.

I’m referring to photos which are taken by photographers and which are almost certainly intended to be sharp but aren’t. I’m not referring to photos which have an intentional lack of sharpness or to photographs taken by those who would not claim to be photographers.

The following two photos were both shot at the same time with exactly the same settings. At this size they look very similar where sharpness is concerned.

But… the devil is in the detail! Here they are again but this time with only a section of each image at full size. (Click to enlarge.)

As you can see the image on the right is much sharper.

I can think of a variety of reasons why some photos lack sharpness.

Lack of photographic technique

There are many ways to achieve unsharp photos. Here are just a few:

holding the camera incorrectly
being unsteady while the shot is taken
using shutter speeds that are too slow to hand hold especially where there is subject movement
forgetting that you switched off image stabilisation
inaccurate focusing
using apertures that are too large to ensure the desired area is in focus
too much noise reduction when a photo is taken with high ISO settings

One of the flowers in the next pair of images is an example of poor technique – but which is it?

When we look at a section at full size, it’s very easy to tell! (Click to enlarge.)

The picture on the left was focused on the nearest part of the flower and the aperture wasn’t small enough to pull it all into focus.

Google searches will offer screeds of good advice on technique. The solutions for all of these issues are very easy to find even though they may be less easy to implement consistently.

Poor equipment

I think this is unlikely given the quality of today’s cameras and lenses. Having said that, I have a relatively cheap ultra-wide lens which has manual focussing and no image stabilisation. As I’ve discovered, it’s very easy to take unsharp photos with this lens.

Laziness

I know that I can be lazy sometimes. I might be well aware that the subject and the available light really require a tripod but somehow it remains firmly in its bag. I’ve lost a great many photos due to lack of sharpness because of this!

Lack of awareness that photographs are unsharp

Some photos are so fuzzy that it’s hard to imagine that anyone could be unaware of this. Yet there they are posted publicly for all to see. I know some people are obviously aware as some photos have been horrendously over-sharpened in an attempt to compensate.

A belief that it’s acceptable for photographs to be less than sharp.

A number of people have said to me, “It’ll only ever be seen in a small format on a screen so it doesn’t matter.” I will admit to having had similar thoughts on occasion. While the first part may be perfectly true, I think it DOES matter. Are we really OK with photography being dumbed down simply because sites like Facebook and Flickr don’t let us see images at full resolution? If we are, then why do we spend thousands of pounds on cutting edge technology which is capable of taking near-perfect technical photographs?

I’m not having a go at anyone here. I’ve been guilty of poor technique and laziness at one time or another. But it does devalue the feedback received when a truly blurry image can get more favourable responses than a perfectly sharp shot. If blurry photos can get responses like ‘Amazing!”, “Wow!” and , then where is the motivation to do better?

I know I always strive to do better and I get satisfaction from taking photographs which are focused accurately and are sharp where they are intended to be. Equally I am often disappointed when this is not the case. This is particularly true when it’s a decent composition of a good subject.

Disappointed

Satisfied

I am often guilty of poor technique and sometimes of laziness and both of these have contributed to my many failures. But I have an excellent camera and some great lenses so I can’t blame that. I am NEVER guilty of a lack of awareness that a photograph isn’t sharp or of finding unsharp photos acceptable!

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Exposure – a worked example

Norman Dodds — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 01:16:23 +0000

Landscape photographers have often encountered a subject where there is a very high dynamic range. Typically, skies are too bright and shadows are too dark if you expose for the mid tones. One way to overcome this is to bracket several shots with a range of exposures and blend these later in post-processing, often using HDR software. However, as cameras improve the dynamic range they are capable of rendering we now have other options. I have a Canon EOS 5D Mark 4 which boasts a dynamic range of 13.6 EV. This means that I can record a scene with a single frame where the difference between the brightest and darkest areas can be almost 14 stops.

Taking the Picture

My intention was to photograph in a single shot, the glorious autumn colours at Gosford House in East Lothian. I had already decided how I wanted to process the image. The image below is the original RAW file with no editing whatsoever.

A typical shot with over-exposed highlights and under-exposed shadows.

The original, unedited RAW file taken at 100 ISO at 1/160 second with an aperture of f8.

I had set my exposure so that I could retain all detail in both sky and shadow areas. My histogram let me know that no information had been lost and I knew I would be able to recover these details in post-processing. In the original RAW file, the sky looks washed out and the shadow areas are a bit muddy, so how best to recover all the detail that I knew was there?

Histogram of the RAW file. Although the highlights extend to the right hand edge, no information was lost.

Editing in Lightroom

One approach would have been to edit the shot in Lightroom and use the graduated and radial filters to reduce highlights and open up shadows. This seemed like very hard work and I was fairly sure I wouldn’t be able to achieve the result I wanted because I wouldn’t have the level of control I needed. A much more effective solution had already sprung to mind.

I began by creating two virtual copies of the RAW file in Lightroom. I edited each of the 3 frames separately.

The first frame was edited with the sky in mind. I reduced the highlights, increased the contrast and added a little Clarity. I also darkened the blues a little to give better colour.

The second copy was edited for the midtones.

I opened up the shadows in the third copy.

In each case I paid no attention to other areas of the image while editing each frame. In the same way as taking a photograph is a preparation for post-processing, this initial set of edits was preparation for the next stages of processing.

At this point I could have used HDR merge in Lightroom to combine the 3 frames. I elected not to as the end result is a single frame and this restricts what can be done next.

Editing in Photoshop

I exported all 3 frames to Photoshop where they were stacked as separate layers.

Next, I added layer masks to the Highlights and Shadow layers. I used Easy Panel 2 by Jimmy McIntyre to create a set of luminosity masks. This is a very straightforward process and allows the creation of masks which will select the desired areas of any layer according to their luminosity or brightness. This is an excellent way to mask highlight and shadow areas as there are no hard edges and no unwanted halos. My intention was to create one layer with only brighter areas visible – the sky in effect. A second layer would contain only shadow areas. The midtones layer didn’t need a mask as this was the base layer, overlaid by the shadows and highlights layers.

Get Easy Panel 2

Shadows layer – the mask was created using the Highlights layer and then it was applied to the Shadow layer. Only the darkest areas of the image are visible.

Midtones layer – this layer wasn’t masked as it’s the base layer over which the shadow and highlight areas sit.

Highlights layer – the mask was created using the Shadows layer and then it was applied to the Highlights layer. Only the brightest areas of the image are visible.

The next step was to add several adjustment layers to tweak colour and tone. At this point I created layer groups for Highlights, Shadows and Midtones. I also name layers and groups in a meaningful way. This is a good idea when you have multiple layers as it makes everything much more understandable.

Then I created a copy of the Shadows layer and added a layer mask so that I could increase the contrast of the water in the lagoon separately from other shadow areas.

Finally I created a composite layer using ‘Stamp Visible’ and cloned out a few blurry birds in flight.

This may seem a very lengthy procedure but it was accomplished in just under 11 minutes.

Slide Right for the original RAW file. Slide Left for the finished result.

Conclusion

I hope this article has demonstrated the power of RAW files. They contain so much more information than jpgs. Assuming you haven’t clipped shadows and highlights, all of this information can be recovered and used effectively.

There are many who only post-process using Lightroom only. While I respect every photographer’s right to make images in the way they choose, I do feel that they are missing opportunities to improve their photography.

It really helps to consider how you will MAKE a photograph before you take it. However you choose to edit your images it is always worth bearing in mind what will need to be done in post-processing. My intention is always to make sure I have captured all the information I will need to make the picture I intend to make. While it is still good practice to set out to take the perfect picture in camera, this is only true of subject, composition, focus and sharpness. Perfect tone and colour are simply not achievable in camera if you use RAW files.

RAW files produce the best image your camera is capable of producing.

Photoshop masks and layers are very powerful and give a level of control that is just not possible in Lightroom.

With RAW, post-processing is not an option – it’s a requirement!

Summary

The photograph was taken with an exposure to ensure that no detail was lost.
Two virtual copies were created in Lightroom.
The three frames were edited separately for highlights, midtones and shadow areas.
All 3 frames were exported to Photoshop where they were stacked as separate layers.
Luminosity masks were used to create layer masks for the highlight and shadow layers.
Adjustment layers were added to tweak colour and tone.
The Shadows layer was copied. A layer mask including the lagoon only was added and contrast was increased.
All layers were combined into a single finished result and a few blurry birds in flight were cloned out .
Then I had coffee!

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Reading the Light

Norman Dodds — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 23:04:02 +0000

Photography is all about light – by definition! How we ‘read’ the light in any scene or subject is one of the most important steps in taking a photograph. As always, the first consideration should be, “What is my intention with this photograph?” Reading the light and then setting exposure in the way you want are necessary and vital steps in realising that intention.

Reading the Light

Light has a variety of characteristics which I always consider before thinking of the more practical tasks of camera settings. Reading the light gives me the information needed to set the camera’s exposure so that I can successfully capture the image I am intending to capture.

Direction, quality and colour are characteristics of light which clearly have a considerable impact on the aesthetic value of any images. They do not, however, have a direct effect where setting exposure is concerned. They remain reasonably constant in terms of exposure once the camera position and angle have been decided.

The characteristics of light I need to consider for exposure are the amount of light and the dynamic range of any subject.

Amount of Light

This is rather obvious and can range from a subject which is very brightly lit to a scene which is almost dark. Photographers tend to be exercised by low light but ANY amount of light comes with its own challenges. This is especially true when a subject is unevenly lit and includes very bright and very dark areas.

Dynamic Range

Simply expressed, the dynamic range is the difference between the darkest part of the subject and the lightest.

Where there are lots of shadow areas AND lots of bright areas then the subject has a high dynamic range. Setting exposure in this situation is difficult and will depend on a camera’s ability to record the whole scene without under or over exposure. The example shown on the right is a landscape where there is a bright sky and much darker land.

A low dynamic range is where the majority of tones in the subject are predominantly similar. This is much simpler and most cameras will record an entire subject without losing detail in highlights or shadows. The example is a shot of a building on a dull day where the main subject is very evenly lit.

Taking a picture - Workflow
Choose a subject
Decide on intentions
Compose the shot
Set the focus
Read the light and set exposure
Take the picture

This article focuses on reading the light and setting the exposure.

High dynamic range (unedited)

Low dynamic range (unedited)

Setting the Exposure

Having ‘read’ the light, the next step is to set the exposure. There is no right answer here and the ‘correct’ exposure is the one I want to represent the subject as I intend.

Exposure is set via a combination of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. This is often referred to as ‘The Exposure Triangle’.

Aperture relates to the size of the hole which will open in the lens.
Shutter speed relates to the time that hole remains open.
ISO refers to the sensitivity of the sensor.

An understanding of the Exposure Triangle is essential to achieving the desired exposure.

Aperture and Shutter Speed

There is a direct relationship between aperture and shutter speed. Double one and I must halve the other to maintain the same exposure.

Aperture	Shutter Speed
f2.8	1/1000
f4	1/500
f5.6	1/250
f8	1/125
f11	1/60
f16	1/30

Each of the above combinations result in exactly the same amount of light reaching the sensor.

ISO

Similarly, ISO is entirely predictable. If I double ISO then I can either reduce the size of the aperture by one stop OR reduce the speed by one stop. Of course, if I increase ISO by more than one stop, I can distribute the extra capability between Aperture and Shutter Speed in any combination I wish.

ISO	Aperture Mode	Shutter Speed	Aperture	Shutter Mode
100	f5.6	1/30	f2.8	1/125
200	f5.6	1/60	f4	1/125
400	f5.6	1/125	f5.6	1/125
800	f5.6	1/250	f8	1/125
1600	f5.6	1/500	f11	1/125
3200	f5.6	1/1000	f16	1/125

In Aperture priority mode, the shutter speed will be faster as ISO is increased.
In Shutter priority mode, the aperture will be smaller as ISO is increased.

Metering modes

Most cameras will offer a choice of metering modes. Each of these will meter the light in a different way. Be aware that whichever method is used, the camera is only offering a suggestion and not a right answer. I will nearly always use Centre-Weighted Average metering which averages the light across the entire frame but gives more emphasis to the area around the centre. Occasionally I will use Spot metering which reads the light only in a small area around the centre of my frame. This is useful when I want a precise exposure for a specific element in my subject.

Exposure Compensation

I have a very cavalier attitude towards metering and will use the camera’s suggestion as a starting point. I often choose to vary this suggestion depending on how I have read the light. There are two main ways to vary the recommended exposure:

Exposure compensation – this allows me to override the suggested setting by over or under exposing. The precise method for doing this will vary from camera to camera.
Manual mode – aperture and/or shutter speed can be changed to over or under expose the shot. I prefer this method as I find it easier to twiddle the knobs without having to move the camera.

Bracketing

If I think that the dynamic range of my subject is more than my camera is capable of rendering, then I will bracket my shots. This means that I take a sequence of 3, 5 or more shots automatically. With 3 bracketed shots, one will be under-exposed, one will be normally exposed and one will be over-exposed. These can be blended together in post-processing. I can use HDR processing to do this automatically or I can blend layers manually in Photoshop using any one of a variety of techniques.

In the example on the right, the original shot, taken with the recommended exposure, had poor detail in highlight and shadow areas. I then took 3 bracketed shots with exposure set at -1.5 stops, 0 stops and +1.5 stops. These were merged in Lightroom using HDR merge. The merged shot was then edited in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Some will use bracketing as a form of insurance in the mistaken belief that if they take a number of shots at different exposures, one of them is bound to be OK! That may work on occasions, but if all the information needed can be recorded in a single frame, then there’s no need to bracket – just read the light and set the exposure which works! (see previewing below)

Example: Bracketing

The Tricky Bit!

Many different settings can produce the same exposure. It’s usually easy enough to select exposure settings which will expose the photograph exactly as I wish, but I also need to consider the other effects of each of the three areas of the exposure triangle:

Aperture: do I want a small amount of my photograph to be in focus? (large aperture) Do I want most or all the photograph to be sharp? (small aperture)
Shutter Speed: do I want to freeze the subject? (fast shutter speed) Do I want my photograph to blur any movement within the subject? (slow shutter speed)
ISO: Do I want my photograph to be ‘clean with no noise? (low ISO) Does it matter if my photograph shows some evidence of noise? (high ISO)

It’s good practice to think about the other effects of changing any of these settings before changing them.

My Approach

My usual preference (and order of doing them) is:

Aperture: this depends entirely on the subject and how much of it I want to be sharp. I use the largest aperture I can select to achieve the effect I want as this will give more flexibility with shutter speed. There’s little point in selecting f22 if f8 will do the job!
Shutter Speed: For general hand-held photography I will select a shutter speed which guarantees no camera shake. This is usually a minimum of 1/125 of a second. I’ll use a tripod for anything less. Where there is movement in the scene, I’ll select a shutter speed which will work best for the subject whether it is to freeze it or blur it.
ISO – For best quality, I try to use a low ISO all the time – usually 100. I will, however, increase ISO in low light where I want a faster shutter speed and/or a smaller aperture.

NOTE: Using a tripod gives much more control over which specific settings I use. With a tripod I don’t need to compromise aperture at the expense of a fast shutter speed. A tripod is essential for longer exposure times which are needed to blur movement.

Taking the Picture

Then I’ll take the shot. Nearly always, I’ll preview the shot to check and check the histogram to see if the exposure is what I expected. If it isn’t, I’ll adjust and take the shot again. This is a much better approach than bracketing and hoping for the best!

Post-Processing

This is an extension of picture taking where I have set out to capture the information I’ll need to create the image I intended to make. I will already have an idea in my mind of what will need to be done in post-processing when I am taking a photograph. In most cases I use Lightroom for lens correction, cropping, transforming and adjusting tone and colour. I use Photoshop (often with Color Efex Pro or Silver Efex Pro) for everything else.

The post Reading the Light appeared first on Fotobuddies.

It’s all about intentions

Norman Dodds — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 01:03:34 +0000

So, you’ve found something you want to photograph. Do you just point and press or do you stop and think first? What goes on in a photographer’s mind between the time a possible shot is seen and when the button is pressed?

Let’s assume I have a subject in front of me which has attracted my attention. It may be a subject which tells a story, which I find visually interesting or which has evoked an emotional response. My first and most important thought is, “What is my intention?” What is it about this subject that makes me want to photograph it? How do I interpret that subject using all the tools at my disposal? By tools, I don’t just mean the camera and all its settings and gizmos. I also include the skills, knowledge and experience that I’ve built up over the years. My purpose is to take the photo in the best way I can to realise my intention.

COMPOSITION

This is my usual starting point. Deciding where the camera position should be in relation to the subject is critical. There are several factors to consider:

Direction of the light. There may be no choice here or it may be that it’s not very important for this particular shot. The quality and direction of the light may, however, be the very reason I want to take the picture in the first place and may dictate where I stand.
Framing the shot. What do I need to include? Are there distracting elements in the scene which don’t deserve to be there? Can I move the camera position to reduce their impact? Is there balance (or intentional imbalance) in the relationships of the different elements of the image? Is the scene ‘straight’ or do I want it to be deliberately squint?
Angle of view. Should I stand, kneel down, lie down, climb up on something? If I lie down, will I be able to get up again? Will I tilt the camera or try to keep it straight?
Focal length of the lens. A wider angle might help to get it all in but that will have an impact on perspective and the relationships between the different elements of the picture. Will moving closer or further away give me a better viewpoint? I try not to be lazy!

Once I have established the composition I may lock it down using a tripod. This is a good idea in many situations even when there is plenty of light and you can use a fast shutter speed. More of tripods later.

Often I will compose generously to allow for cropping and straightening in post-processing. I’m not always an expert at holding the camera straight. I think it’s an age thing!

Can you spot anything in this image which distracts?

In this shot, I had to tilt the camera which resulted in the building leaning back.
A generous composition allows for straightening in post-processing.
(Drag the vertical line to see Before and After)

FOCUS AND SHARPNESS.

Focus isn’t just about deciding where to focus the camera. It’s also about deciding how much of the scene I want to be sharp. This is influenced by the focal length of the lens, the chosen aperture, the distance from camera to subject and the depth of the scene in front of me. My decisions here are based on my intentions. How much of the scene needs to be sharp to meet my intentions?

Choosing a shutter speed is also to be considered here. The speed needs to be fast enough to guarantee there is no camera movement. I may also want to freeze any movement in the scene. Plants are notoriously prone to being unhelpful where movement is concerned. So, a sufficiently fast shutter speed (or a tripod) will be required. Of course, I may deliberately choose a slow shutter speed as it may be my intention to have some movement in the shot!

My intention was to have the plant in focus with a very soft, out-of-focus background. This was achieved with six shots taken with an aperture of f5.6 (100 mm Macro lens) which were then focus stacked in Photoshop.

The intention was to capture the movement of cars against a sharp background.
A shutter speed of 1/6 second was sufficient to blur the cars. I used a tripod and a 17mm lens with an aperture of f5.6 ensured all the static elements were in focus.

EXPOSURE

The key here is reading the light and deciding which exposure will realise my intention. Rarely do I rely on the camera to expose the scene correctly. The camera’s light meter simply offers a suggestion which I can choose to accept or vary. Exposure captures the mood of the scene and there are always choices to be made. Where there is a low dynamic range in front of me, it’s relatively straightforward. But in many cases, it’s not so easy. Where there is a high dynamic range AND you want to retain detail in both the highlight and shadow areas, it may be that multiple exposures are required to be blended later in post-processing.

In many situations there just isn’t enough light to expose the scene correctly if I’ve concluded that a small aperture is needed to get the depth of field I need. I can turn up the ISO but that will inevitably reduce quality even with newer cameras which give much improved results at higher ISOs. Again, it comes back to intentions. If my end result will only ever be published onscreen then higher ISOs will be more than acceptable. If I want to make a 24” x 16” print, they won’t! A better solution is to use a tripod, assuming movement in the scene isn’t an issue. The real power of the tripod isn’t its ability to hold the camera steady or to lock in a composition. It’s the freedom of aperture choice which is much more powerful.

This iguana was shot at 3200 ISO. The image is perfectly acceptable for screen use but the enlarged version clearly shows the quality loss associated with higher ISO settings.

The image on the left was taken with exposure settings recommended using a Centre Weighted Average meter reading. As is often the case, there is considerable loss of detail in highlights and shadows. The shot on the right is the result of blending
3 bracketed shots using HDR Merge in Lightroom.

Then I press the button!

Immediately after I will review the result on the back of the camera. Reading the histogram is essential to see if I’ve lost information in shadows or highlights. If sharpness is a possible issue, I’ll enlarge the preview to check that. If I’m not satisfied I’ll take the shot again, assuming that the ‘moment’ hasn’t passed.

POST PROCESSING

Once upon a time I used to use film in my camera. In those days I would always be attempting to take the perfect picture in camera. I no longer do this. Now I use RAW files so, by definition, I can’t hope for the perfect shot in camera as all RAW files will require some processing before they can be used. Now I set out to record all the information I’ll need to create the image which fulfils my intentions. Post processing is an extension of actual picture taking and consequently I’ll already be bearing that in mind before I take the photo.

FINALLY

It may seem that this is a very prescriptive and clinical approach to taking a photograph, perhaps analogous to a helicopter pilot going through all his start-up checks. Many years ago, I sat beside my daughter who was behind the wheel of a car for the very first time. She was bemused by the number of things she needed to do, some of them simultaneously, before she would be able to drive off. Experienced drivers will carry these steps out effortlessly. It’s not so different with photography – these things become second nature with experience and it all happens very quickly and organically.

Over the years I’ve learned that you get nowt for nowt in photography. Everything has a cost whether it’s reduced quality with higher ISO settings or badly exposed shots because you don’t want to compromise on your chosen aperture and shutter speed combination. It’s the interplay of those features which have multiple effects that makes it all so interesting. For example, aperture isn’t just about the size of the hole which lets the light in – it’s also about how much of your image is in focus and how you choose to interpret what’s in front of you. Shutter speed isn’t just about how long that same hole remains open – it’s also about how the camera will record movement in any scene and whether your shot will have no evidence of unintentional camera movement.

Photography is all about choices and decisions. There are many ways to take any photograph and it is realising your intention for any photograph which is paramount.

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