The amount of sky you choose to include in a landscape or seascape composition can make a huge impact on your photo. Check out this new BetterPhoto article:
The article, by the way, is adapted from the book The BetterPhoto Guide to Creative Digital Photography - co-authored by Jim Miotke and Kerry Drager.).
May 15, 2012
May 04, 2012
Twilight Photography for Great Light and Color
By Jim Zuckerman
(c) Jim Zuckerman
Twilight is the most dynamic time to photograph architecture and cityscapes. This is the time just before dark when the sky is cobalt blue.
If you shoot earlier than this — dusk — the sky has more light in it and therefore your exposure is shorter. This means that the artificial lights of the city won’t be as bright in the final picture (because the shorter exposure won’t accumulate as much light as when the shutter is open longer). If you wait until twilight, the mixture of the cobalt sky with the yellowish color of the artificial lights is stunning.
The two examples here show you what I’m referring to. The image above, which is the spectacular Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the incredible train station in Lisbon, Portugal, below, look good when photographed in daylight, but at night they are especially beautiful.
Note that the sky in both pictures is not black as it would have been had I shot a few minutes later. That makes a big difference.
(c) Jim Zuckerman
Editor's Notes:
- Jim Zuckerman teaches many inspiring - and informative - online photoy workshops at BetterPhoto's digital photography school, including
Perfect Digital Exposure and Techniques of Natural Light Photography. - In addition, Jim Z is a major contributor to two new books co-authored by Jim Miotke and Kerry Drager: The BetterPhoto Guide to Photographing Light and The BetterPhoto Guide to Creative Digital Photography.
April 30, 2012
Polarizing Filter: Reduce Glare and Boost Colors!
(Note: This article is adapted from the new book - The BetterPhoto Guide to Photographing Light - by Jim Miotke and Kerry Drager.)
With a little imagination and skill, the use of a polarizing filter can be a low-effort, high-impact method for controlling light and color.
The polarizer - which attaches to the front of the lens - has long been known for its ability to deepen a pale blue sky. But a polarizer can do so much more than that. Most important, the circular polarizer can help tone down reflective surfaces (such as glass, water, wet rocks, foliage, and painted objects) in order to enhance a scene's natural colors.
The following photos were captured on a sunny day, but with the chairs in the shade of a covered porch. See how the polarizer reduced the bright glare.
BEFORE - No polarizer! (c) Kerry Drager
AFTER - Polarizer used! (c) Kerry Drager
Many outdoor photographers use the polarizer when it’s overcast or just
after a rain. Soft light is perfect for shooting water - waterfalls, streams, wet
streets, etc. - and often a polarizer will give those images a boost by bringing
out the colors. The polarizer also will cut the surface glare and let you
see into small ponds, shallow streams, or tide pools.
There are some things a polarizer can’t do. It is at its peak effectiveness
when used at a 90-degree angle to the light source - say, with the sun at your
right or left. Don’t bother trying a polarizer when you are facing the sun, or
if the sun is at your back. Due to the 90-degree factor, beware when using a
polarizer with a wide-angle lens to enliven a blue sky, since it could cause
an unnatural variation from dark to light.
Important ... Don’t Forget to Turn It:
The polarizing filter turns in its mount, and you must rotate the outer ring to see the possible effects. Then, when you hit the amount of polarization that you want, you shoot the scene at that precise orientation. If you do not see any effect whatsoever as you rotate the polarizer, it’s very likely that the scene is not a “polarizer scene”—i.e., you’re not at an angle to the sun or the surface isn’t actually reflective.
More on Light, Color and Exposure
- Don't miss the new book The BetterPhoto Guide to Photographing Light: Learn to Capture Stunning Light in any Situation by Jim Miotke and Kerry Drager
- BetterPhoto's online digital photography school offers an exciting variety of courses taught by top professionals - including classes on light and exposure.
April 23, 2012
April 19, 2012
April 18, 2012
Ultra-Wide-Angle Lenses for Dramatic Photos
By Jim Zuckerman
(c) Jim Zuckerman
Many people ask me what wide-angle lens to buy, so let me say here that I am a big fan of ultra-wide-angle lenses. For full-frame sensor cameras, I recommend a lens in the 14mm to 16mm range, and for less-than-full-frame cameras, a lens in the 10mm to 12mm range is excellent (such as the Canon 10-22mm or the Nikon 12-24mm lens). These lenses produce incredibly dramatic images.
For example, one of the highlights of my recent photo tour to Portugal and Spain was photographing the incredible staircase in the Lello bookstore in Porto, Portugal. The color, graphic design, and the light all come together to make an outstanding image, but it was my 14mm lens that enabled me to really capture the essence and the beauty of the architecture. Lesser angles obtained from 18 to 24mm wide-angle lenses produce a nice shot, but it is the extreme width of the 14mm that makes this subject especially compelling.
Tip: Ultra-wide-angle lenses are most dramatic when used very close to the subject.
Notes from the Editor:
- Jim Zuckerman teaches many excellent online photography courses at BetterPhoto, including Techniques of Natural Light Photography and Eight Steps to More Dramatic Photography.
- In addition, Jim Z contributed some of his amazing pictures to these new books (co-authored by Jim Miotke and Kerry Drager): The BetterPhoto Guide to Creative Digital Photography and the just-published The BetterPhoto Guide to Photographing Light.
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