Posts Tagged ‘macros’

Mostly Lisa Photo tip: Turning Blah into Beautiful

tagged in Featured, Photography

Nov 17 2008

Bokeh & The Spider
100mm f/2.8 Macro lens, f/6.3, 1/40, ISO 400.

Posted on TWiP.

I try to rent different lenses for my dSLR as much as possible. I find it a great way to explore photography and keep myself inspired. I rented my first macro lens this weekend, the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro with the goal of DIYing a little macro studio and shooting some cool product shots. But, I really dropped the ball and ended up not having any time to shoot anything.

Plus, I was having some “bad creative days”. I sometimes have days where I have ideas, but I can’t completely visualize the end product, so I somehow talk myself out of even trying to figure it out. This endless circle of doubt just smacks my creativity in the face and wastes so much time, like my entire weekend.

So 45 mins before I had to return the lens to Beau Photo, I kicked myself in the rear and out the door with the goal of grabbing at least one decent shot. I poked outside my apartment building for something interesting to shoot and ran into this friendly spider.

At first, the shot didn’t look great. The sky was blah grey, there was no light, the spider’s web didn’t have any raindrops, it was all very bland. But, determined as I was, I crouched in a big mud puddle and angled the frame, so the spider was sitting in colourful background, instead of the grey sky. And bam! Something decent.

The focus on the spider was a bit soft in the final image, so I sharpened it in Aperture. I aslso amped the saturation of the yellow. The rest of the colours were just that vibrant. It’s not a shot I would ever dream of taking, but there it is.

The point is, even on your worst photo days, you can catch a great shot. Keep shooting, keep exploring, and stay positive about your photography. Just start shooting anything, inspiration will strike sooner than you think.

Mostly Lisa’s Macro Tips:

  1. Use Manual focus. Use Auto focus to help grabbing your focus if you are having trouble, then switch over to Manual.
  2. Get low. Often the best angle is the one where you have to kneel in a pile of muddy guck. If you have sore knees, buy one of those gardening foam pads to kneel on.
  3. Explore Aperture. A small DOF less than f/4 will emphasize the subject, and make it stand out more from the background. This method called selective focus, is great to use if you your background is really distracting, like the fall leaves in my spider picture above. Conversely, if you want all of your subject in focus you will need a larger DOF f/8 or higher.
  4. Shoot in RAW. Always. You will get so much more detail, it will amaze you. You can thank me for your amazement later. :D

Feel inspired? Here are some more photo tips and shoot ideas:

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5 Photography Projects for Rainy Days

tagged in Featured, Photography

Nov 2 2008

Posted on TWiP.

Fall is slowly fading away. The days are short, wet & cold, and the sky is one shade of monotonous grey. I don’t know about you, but I feel like completely hibernating.

Here are 5 photography projects to keep you inspired during the cold, soggy, rainy days:

1. Put your rubber boots on and grab some dewy macros.

abstract of a large leaf with raindrops
50mm. f/1.4, 1/320, ISO 200.

Now is the perfect time to get raindrop covered plant life shots for your portfolio. The light is nice and soft on cloudy days, so you’ll get even light on your subject. Don’t be afraid of getting up close and trying multiple angles. Keep shooting until you find the best angle that makes those raindrops sparkle.

You’ll want to shoot with your Aperture wide open, so you can keep your ISO low and get loads of delicious bokeh. Bring your tripod along just in case you need some steadying. And wear some rubber boots, because you’ll probably be crouching in a huge puddle o’ mud the entire time!

2. Wait for that perfect moody winter sunset.

W. 4th Ave, Kitsilano, Vancouver
18mm, f/5.6, 1/15, ISO 400.

Even on cloudy days the sun can make a brief apperance. And when it does, it’s usually spectacular. If you see the sun start to peak through the clouds during magic hour (1 hour before sunset), bundle up and head out to great landscape location. Winter skies are rich with colour. Add some thick clouds and you’ve got a great shot. There is nothing more magical than sun rays beaming through a dark and moody sky.

3. Get creative with strobes.

Apple Hype Monster

Get that flash off your camera and grab some gels and get creative. Set up a little studio in a corner of your place and shoot some stills with character. Check out Strobist for the 411 on off-camera flashes and cheap DIY projects to keep you inspired and busy on a gloomy day.

4. Set-up some stills on your window sills.

Breakfast Croissants at the Angel, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, UK
50mm, f/1.8, 1/80, ISO 400.

If you don’t have flashes or triggers, no fear! Make use of the lovely diffused light coming through your living room windows and snap a still shot of your tea time snacks, little toys, your little sister, sea monkeys, or whatever strikes your fancy. You probably want to set up a bounce or white board opposite the window to get some light on the subject.

5. Find hidden gems in your old photos.

bowl of colourful cufflinks
50mm, f/2, 1/125, ISO 200.

Get a big cuppa tea and look though your old photos. As you go, mark or star the photos you think have promise. After you’ve gone through once, go back and pull your top ranked photos into a photo editor (LR, PS, Aperture) and really work on them. A little cropping, sharpening, saturating, some layers and masks and voila! Great shot. You never know what amazing shots are hiding in your archives.

If all else fails, just hunker down in your bed with a stack of DVDs and call it a day.

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