THE CANON EOS 7D 18MP DUAL CMOS SENSOR THAT SHOOTS AT 8.1FPS WOW WHAT ELSE CAN YOU ASK FOR IN A 1.6 CROP FACTOR CAMERA. THE IMAGE QUALITY IS AMAZING, THE FEATURES ON THIS CAMERA ARE OUTSTANDING AND HAVE 5D FULL FRAME USERS LOOKING AT IT. ADD A BATTERY PACK TO THIS CAMERA AND YOU GET PLENTY OF EXTRA BATTERY LIFE AND EXTRA UMPH. USING THE LIVE VIEW FEATURE AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE GIVES YOU A PERFECT MATCH TO WHAT YOU ARE VIEWING LIVE. I SOLD MY CANON 50D FOR THIS CAMERA AND STILL IN LOVE.
THE CANON 135MM F/2.0 L SERIES LENS IS BY FAR ONE OF THE SHARPEST LENSES I HAVE EVER USED. THIS LENS IS A SPECIFIC TYPE FIXED LENS USED FOR CERTAIN SHOTS. THIS LENS USED ON A NON FULL FRAME CAMERA IS EQUAL TO 216MM AT F2. YOU CAN ADD A CANON 1.4 MULTIPLIER AND HAVE A FIXED 302MM F/2.8 LENS. THIS LENS IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE BECAUSE OF THE BACKGROUND BLURR OR BOKEH AND THE SHARPNESS IS EXACT TO SUBJECT.
THE CANON 430 EX2 FLASH IS VERY POWERFUL AND IS SECOND IN LINE WITH THE CANON 580 EX2. WE FEEL THAT THE 580EX 3 IS TO PRICEY. THE FEATURES ON THE CANON 430 EX2 IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR MANY PHOTOGRAPHERS BOTH AMETURE AND SEMI PRO UP TI PRO. I HAVE PERSONALLY USED THIS FLASH ON A UMBRELLA STAND ACOMPANIED BY A WIRELESS REMOTE FLASH UNIT AND REFLECTOR DISC FOR LIGHT BOUNCE.
THE MANFROTTO PRO STUDIO COLUMN GEARED TRIPOD IS ONE OF THE HEAVIEST ON THE MARKET, YET THE STABILITY IS FAR SUPERIOR TO OTHERS. STRONG, STURDY AND VERY MANOUVERABLE. WHEN YOU ARE IN THE FILED SHOOTING WITH YOUR TRIPOD, SPEND A LITTLE MORE AND BUY A STURDY TRIPOD IT WILL PAY OFF IN THE END. TIP REMEMBER TO USE A REMOTE CONTROL WHENEVER POSSIBLE TO CONTROL MOVEMENT WHEN SHOOTING.
COKIN FILTERS- HERE IS A BIG TIP FOR ALL YOU PHOTOGRAPHERS SHOOTING AT THE WRONG TIME! TRY USING A COKIN +1 OR +2 ND GRAD FILTER TO CONTROL THE HARSH LIGHT OF THE WATER, SKIES, CLOUDS, REFLECTIONS. USE A CIRCULAR POLARIZER TO SPIN FROM LIGHT TO DARK TO CONTROL REFLECTIONS AND BETTER SKY COLORS. USE A COKIN TABACOO FILTER TO ADD WARMTH TO A SCENE OR A COKIN GRAD BLUE SKY TO ADD COLOR TO DRABBY SKIES.
TRIPOD HEADS- WHEN YOU ARE SELECTING YOUR NEXT TRIPOD HEAD MAKE SURE TO BUY A 3 WAY OR BALLHEAD.
YOU WANT THE MOST FLEXIBILITY WHEN IN THE FIELD POSITIONING FOR YOUR SHOT. I PERSONALLY LOVE THE 3-WAY HEADS FROM MANFROTTO VERY STURDY WELL BUILT AND CAN HOLD UP TO 26LBS FOR A FULL FRAME CAMERA, SUCH AS THE 1D, 5D AND THE WEIGHT OF A 7D WITH BATTERY PACK.
MULTIPLIERS AND DOUBLERS- SO YOU HAVE A LONG LENS THAT SEEMS TO WORK FOR MOST FAR AWAY SHOTS, BUT ONE DAY YOUR OUT SHOOTING THAT AMAZING COLORFUL BIRD AND YOUR STUCK WITH THE DISTANCE YOUR LENS IS MAXED. BUY A CANON 1.4X OR A CANON 2.0X MULTIPLIER AND GET MORE DISTANCE OUT OF YOUR LENSES. CONFIGURE THIS= CANON 100-400MM ON A CANON 50D OR 7D FOR A DISTANCE OF 160-640MM NOW ADD A 1.4X MULTIPLIER 224-1280MM AT -2 LIGHT STOPS AROUND F/6.7-F/8 ONLY USE CANON WITH A CANON LENS TRUST ME.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT LENS- OK SOME PHOTOGRAPHER SAY "ITS THE LENS THAT MAKES THE SHOT", SOME SAY "ITS THE CAMERA". WELL DUH!, ITS BOTH, BUT IF CAN ONLY AFFORD A CAMERA BODY WITHIN YOUR BUDGET THAN SAVE FOR A BETTER LENS. THEY ARE COMMING OUT WITH LENSES THAT DO IT ALL, I DONT BUY IT, AND I WONT BUY THEM. THINK ABOUT IT, IF YOU WANT A BAG OF GOOD LENS DO THIS. BUY A WIDE, BUY A STANDARD PRIME AND BUY A TELEPHOTO, AND MAKE SURE EACH LENS DOES THE JOB WELL 16-35, 24-70, CLOSE TOGETHER ON MM.
DO YOU USE THE SUPPLIED LENS HOOD? YOU SHOULD, BECAUSE IT WILL BLOCK OUT SUN GLARE AND HARSH RAYS THAT DIRECTLY SHINE ON YOUR LENS. ITS ALSO VERY GOOD TO HAVE A LENS HOOD ON TO PROTECT THE LENS ITSELF FROM ROCK CHIPS AND SCRATCHES. LENS HOODS COME IN PLASTIC ROUND AND BUTTERFLY SHAPED ALL THE WAY TO RUBBER FOR FLEXIBILITY FOR WHEN SHOOTING MACRO CLOSEUPS.
* Portrait - Set your digital camera to portrait mode when your taking photographs of people. Portrait mode will set the image color for skin tone perfectly.
* Landscape - Set your camera to this mode when your taking photos of landscapes. For example if your photographing beach or mountain sceneries.
* Close Up - Close up mode speaks for itself. For example, when you want to photograph small objects so the fill the whole frame as if to appear larger.
* Sports - Sports mode should be used when you want to photograph a moving object such as a child or dog running.
* Night Portrait - Choose night portrait automatic mode when you want to shoot a person in low light such as night time.
* Flash Off - This mode is useful for times when your not allowed to use a flash. For example, in an art gallery.
1> How many brackets should I use:
(3) -1,0,+1 or (5)-1,-2,0,+1,+2
2> Don't blow out your highlights:
Shoot a test photo at your highest exposure
to make sure your highlights are not to bright.
3> HDR explanation: High Dynamic Range.
More tonal ranges for your photo.
4> Does it look real:
When your done editing your photo, stand back
and decide if it looks realistic or fake in any way.
remember it is your vision in the end.
5> Use layers:
Photoshop can be your best friend by creating layers
to increase detail levels and bring out better depth.
6> Polarizers:
Buy the best your wallet can afford. A good polarizer can
give you better control in the highlight areas and deeper
color saturation where needed.
7> HDR Photos can do what:
HDR can give you a much broader range of tonal ranges
such as your warm and cool tones, your shadows, mid-tones
and your highlights. HDR has a greater depth if edited right.
8> Clouds and Water:
Clouds: are soft and edges blend outwards, don't edit leaving
them with a sharp crisp dark edge, make them realistic.
Water: smooth or ripples look for gradation of your blues,
cyan's, purples, and some greens to be balanced..
9> Equipment needed:
Tripod: buy a sturdy tripod the best your wallet allows.
Polarizer: Circular polarizers can be your best asset
Lenses: wide 16-35MM, Standard 24-70MM, zoom 100-400MM
10> Disc Deflector:
When shooting outdoors your LCD screen can give you a
better full view rather then your eye piece.
Use a Disc Deflector to cover or place on the side of your
head to block out light.
TIPS & TRICKS PHOTOGRAPHY 101
HDR TIPS AND TRICKS By Louis Ruth, "Photographer of Light"
EXAMPLES OF WHAT NOT TO DO IN HDR
Avoid over-saturation. Most HDR programs have a tendency to oversaturate. Start with files that are low contrast and low saturation. You can always add more contrast and color later if you want a surreal look.
Use a low ISO. HDR tone-mapping will exaggerate noise, so this fits right in with the previous point.
Sharpen later. Don’t send sharpened images to your HDR tone-mapping program. You’ll end up exaggerating halos around objects and making things look far too gritty. You can sharpen at the end of your workflow in your external editor.
It’s about the composition. It doesn’t matter how good you are at tone-mapping; the best shots still need to have a creative eye behind them. A bad tone-mapping job can make any image look horrible, but even the best tone-mapping job won’t transform a weak composition into a work of art.
HDR at its worst!
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LOUIS RUTH PHOTOGRAPHY
LET YOUR VISION BE YOUR GUIDE / CANON
TIPS / TRICKS
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LOUIS RUTH PHOTOGRAPHY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2006-2013
LIC# 14-00037246
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PHOTOGRAPHER OF LIGHT
HDR
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