DigitalCamFan
Archive for January, 2010
AE Lock (Auto Exposure Lock)
The AE Lock (Auto Exposure Lock) is located on the backside on the Canon EOS top right under the asterisk.
Press the shutter half way down to focus on the subject, then press the asterisk to lock the exposure. In your viewfinder you will see the asterisk telling you that you have indeed locked your exposure. You can then recompose and take the shot.
This setting would be good when taking a portrait. If you wanted to focus on the subjects face and then recompose the shot, but you don’t want the exposure settings to change because your background is darker or lighter then your subject.
Selecting a Picture Style
By changing your picture style you will get the desired image effects. Once you change your picture style it will stay on that setting until you manually change it. If you don’t feel like you are ready to dive into this function quite yet just leave it on standard.
Standard (S) – images looks vivid, sharp and crisp. This style is a very versatile button since is is suitable for most scenes.
Portrait (P) – Looking for good skin tones this might be a good one to choose. Produces a soft texture skin tones will have a warm look from a slight increase in Magenta. Effective for close up shots.
Landscape (L) – Sharp expressions with vivid blues and greens. Also emphasizes yellow objects with added saturation. You don’t have to use this one just on landscape perhaps when you want bright colors emphasized.
Neutral (N) – If you want to process images more on your own computer. Contrast, color saturation and in-camera sharpening are all reduced. You will end up with more natural colors and subdued images.
Faithful (F) - This one is also if you want to process the image more on your own computer. When the image is captured under 5200K lighting conditions. color saturation and contrast are deliberately toned-down. not exactly neutral though faithful will have a warmer look. good for still life images.
Monochrome (M) – For black and white images. Remember you can always turn a colored picture black and white with and editing software program, but you can’t add color to a picture once you take it. That being said this setting allows you to mimic the effects of traditional yellow, orange, red or green filters that would have been used with black and white photographic film.
What a little contrast can do in photoshop
What a little contrast can do in Photoshop…
First let me start off by saying I am not an expert in Photoshop or photography… I just enjoy it!
I was amazed at what a difference the contrast tool can make on an image. Out of all the pictures I have taken I thought this one really demonstrated how amazing this tool is.
First of all you might want to read how I took the picture of the water droplet. I think the fact that there was a colored light under the drum head is why this picture brings in such color. When i first looked at the picture I figured the flash light I was using was too small. Just not enough power to light the image, but the softness of the light is what I ended up loving.
In Photoshop there are a few ways to do contrast – the one I used for this image was
Image — adjustments — levels…
You can see the histogram in the levels dialog box, make sure you check the preview checkbox so you can preview your work as you go. Under the histogram image is your input slider (black point, gamma, and white point on the right) What I did was bring the black point to the edge of where the histgram starts. giving me an input level of 170 | 1.00 | 255
Play with these levels for awhile until you get the contrast exactly where you want it. I went a bit dark on the contrast, but that was just a personal preference.
I only 2 other things when editing this photo. Seems like I use the sharpen tool on all my photos.
Filter — Sharpen — Sharpen
The other tool was the clone stamp. I used that to take out the dusk particles that seemed to appear when I added the contrast, will write a post of about the clone stamp next.
If you want to share your favorite contrast tool please do. Or if you want to correct me on my technique also feel free to always ready to learn something new!
Playing with water take 2- shooting water at high speed
My 2nd attempt shooting water with a fast shutter speed.
If you want to see some more shots from this batch check out my flickr water set.
My friend and I once again set up our working area in the kitchen. We had a couple of ideas from last weeks photo shoot to try out. More light was an issue…. my clever husband who always has a great idea, of course had a great idea. He suggested we buy a clear drum head for the kit then we would be able to put a light inside the drum shinning under the water.
On some of the pictures I used an external flash when doing so I was able to get it closer to 500 on the shutter speed anything faster then that and the picture would end up half black. I guess the flash was quicker then the camera could take the picture. Some had a flash some didn’t this one had a flash.
We tried different lights, flashlights, food coloring, shutter speeds everything.
We used a mirror as well, but we didn’t really utilize it it just sat in the background eventually we put a blue piece of paper over it for a backdrop. Will have to experiment with the mirror again.
This is what we used to get the picture
Canon XSi
Shutter Speed – 400
F-stop – 5.6
Focal Length – 55mm
external flash
Clear drum head
Filled top of drum head with clear water
Washcloth full of water slowly dripping onto drum head
small flash light that had red green and blue inside drum
Some pictures we held a light shinning on the water from above some used external flash.
Canon EF 50mm f1.4 for DSLR
Canon EF 50mm f1.4 for DSLR
I ended buying the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 because of price. But the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 is awesome. As I learn more about DSLR cameras I am surprised to find out what a difference the f-stop makes for letting in natural light. You can check out some photos from the flickr group Canon EF 50mm f1.4 @ flickr.
As for hunting around and finding a good price Amazon comes in at $349.00 +Free Shipping. Buy.com is selling it as a kit for $349.00 +Free Shipping. B&HPhoto is priced at $349.00+ Free Shipping.
Here is the official Product Description:
- Focal length: 50mm
- Maximum aperture: f/1.4L
- Lens construction: 7 elements in 6 groups
- Angle of view: 46 degrees
- Focus adjustment: Overall linear extension system with USM
- Closest focusing distance: 1.5 feet
- Filter size: 58mm
- Dimensions: 2.9 inches in diameter and 2 inches long
- Weight: 10.2 ounces
- Warranty: 1 year
Product Description
Canon offers this standard lens featuring superb quality and portability. Two high-refraction lens elements and new Gaussian optics eliminate astigmatism and suppress astigmatic difference. Crisp images with little flare are obtained even at the maximum aperture.
Using the Self-timer DSLR – Canon XSi
The self-timer is not just for when you want to be in the family picture.
The Canon DSLR comes with three different choices
- 10-second. self timer
- 2-second self timer
- 10-second self-timer plus continuous shots.
When using the 10-second self-timer plus continuous shots you take anywhere between 2-10 pictures.
If you are taking a picture of yourself you can still use the auto focus. Find something that is the same distance where you will be standing and focus on that.
If you are taking pictures on a tri-pod but don’t have a remote control shutter just put your camera on self-timer then you don’t have to worry about any extra camera shake when you push the shutter button.
Need a remote control for your Canon XSi?
The Canon Remote Switch RS60 E3 is great! I use mine a lot. Set you camera to Self-timer/remote control, plug in on the left side of your camera and you’re ready to go! Today it’s only $21.95 on sale that is a savings of 27%!
The Opteka RC-4 Wirelss Remote Control I own this one as well and I do like it. You have to use this one
while standing in front of the camera. This one is great for group photos with you in it. Since it’s wireless you can just hide it in your hand and take the picture. Just turn your drive mode to self-timer remote control and you’re good to go! The price of this one can’t be beat on sale today at only $7.95 that is a 73% savings!
Black and White with a touch of Sepia
Taking a colored picture and turning it black and white with a touch of sepia. This tutorial is for Photo shop CS!
Layer — New adjustment layer — channel mixer
When you first open the channel mixer there will be a pop up window that says new layer, go ahead and hit o.k. On the next window you will want to check the box for monochrome, and then move the sliders around until you are happy with the results. You can always go back and re-tweak your choices when you are done.
Change the opacity to around 50% according to what you like.
Layer — New adjustment layer — Hue/Saturation
When you first open Hue/Saturation there will be a pop up window that says new layer, go ahead and hit o.k. Next go ahead and check the box to colorize Once again play with the settings until you are happy with the results.
Change the opacity to around 50% according to what you like.
Layer — Duplicate Layer
Set the blending mode to Soft Light (for tone and contrast)
Opacity and fill to 50% or adjust to your preference
Next you will want to….
Layer — New adjustment layer — curves
When you first open the curves there will be a pop up window that says new layer, go ahead and hit o.k. Now curves I can mess with all day, hard to get exactly the right amount. Have fun playing with them!
You can mess with the colors to either give you picture a lot of color or just a touch of color. The options are limitless, have fun with it!
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera lens
Canon EF 50mm f/1/8 II Camera Lens
This 50mm lens is my favorite lens! I love it! I don’t want to take off my camera. The Bokeh is amazing…. You can’t help but love it.
The price is also affordable which is a huge! Right now Amazon is selling it for $99.95- free shipping! Same price at Buy.com $99.95 -free shipping! Of course there is always B&Hphoto $99.95 -free shipping! So whatever your preference is for shopping looks like the price is the same.
If you want to check out some amazing pictures taken with this lens – Flickr has a group of images with pictures only taken with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 on Flickr.com
Here is the official Product Description:
Amazon.com Product Description Lightweight and affordable, the Canon EF 50mm lens–which offers a fast f/1.8 aperture–is an excellent lens for people who prefer a fixed focal length. Canon’s lightest EF lens at a mere 4.6 ounces, the lens boasts a traditional Gauss-type optical design that delivers a sharp performance even when wide open. As a result, the lens provides an image that’s extremely close to how your eye perceives a subject, making it excellent for portraits and images that require a natural depth of field. In addition, the lens focuses as close as 18 inches, helping you take extreme close-ups. Finally, the lens offers an excellent color balance. As with all Canon lenses, the lens carries a one-year warranty.
Specifications
- Focal length: 50mm
- Maximum aperture: 1:1.8
- Lens construction: 6 elements in 5 groups
- Diagonal angle of view: 46 degrees
- Focus adjustment: Overall linear extension system with Micromotor
- Closest focusing distance: 1.5 feet
- Filter size: 52mm
- Dimensions: 2.7 inches in diameter, 1.6 inches long
- Weight: 4.6 ounces
Here is a video showing what the 50mm f/1.8 lens looks like:
Different types of metering modes – Canon XSi
This affects how the camera evaluates the light in a given situation, and consequently what exposure settings your camera recommends.
Evaluative metering – meters the whole scene, the camera automatically sets the meter to suit the entire scene.
Partial metering – Takes a partial metering of the scene so if your background is much brighter than the subject you can meter just a small area.
Center Weighted – meters the center of the scene and then is averaged for the entire scene.
Spot Metering – meters for only a specific spot of the subject or scene.
Playing with Water – Shooting water at high speed
Shooting water at high speed – I have been having fun trying to understand the shutter speed on my DSLR camera. Really I am just playing around making a colorful mess in the kitchen, but having fun doing it.
I borrowed my son’s drum set, taking the kick drum I placed it on the counter then proceeded to pour water on it. After that I took the food coloring and put a few drop around the edges. While my friend began to play I began to take pictures. These were the best two! Still trying to understand light vs. shutter speed… Once I opened up the shutter speed the picture became to dark. I couldn’t get enough light for the shot most of them were to dark even with the drum set on the counter in front of a window. I wanted the shutter speed at least 1000, but it was just to dark.
So I used the flash on the camera, which is usually my last resort. Now when using the flash you don’t get the consecutive instant shots there is a delay between the shot. The highest my shutter would go was 1/200 sec on continuous with the flash on.
Will try again…
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