Post Production

For these portraits I wanted to crop them tightly and convert them to black and white.

For this I used Serif's Photo Plus X3, and its black and white filter:

Post production is where the differences between digital photography and traditional film photography become very apparent.

With traditional film photography, much of this work, like dodging and burning, has to be carried out in a dark room, although sometimes prints can be edited outside the darkroom, and then the print is re-photographed to produce a new negative. 

With digital photography, software applications such as Adobe's Photoshop, Corel's Paintshop Pro, Serif's Photo Plus to name four software packages are used to edit the digital files on a computer.  Although the range of software is very limited on the Apple Mac computers.

Adobe Photoshop is seen as the standard to which many photographic editing software is measured against.  This application is available for both windows based pcs and Apple Mac computers.

Week Two

At the beginning of this lesson, Steve discussed the making system and the different options available.

Then Steve had a one to one meeting with me to discuss what options I was looking to study.  Steve did say about choosing a theme, which I will have to think about, and discussed the different units that I would need to achieve a diploma.  Steve did discuss the time required to complete the modules and we felt that this would be achievable given the work done on the previous modules.

Different Types of Digital Camera

There are four types of digital camera:

Compact Cameras

These range from the basic click and shoot cameras, to more advanced compact cameras which offer different ISOs, more program modes, manual mode, RAW capture.  These cameras have fixed lenses, in that you cannot change the physical lens, but many of these cameras do feature zoom lenses, which would sometimes cover many of the lenses you might need especially as some cameras feature up to 10x zooms.

My first digital camera was a compact camera, a Fujifilm Finepix 1400 Zoom.

This camera is between the point and click and the more advanced cameras.

Bridge Cameras

The next type of camera is the bridge camera.  These cameras are called bridge cameras because they bridge the gap between compact cameras and SLR (single lens reflex) cameras.

These cameras also feature fixed lenses, but offer higher zoom ranges, up to 30x, and offer more features and allow the photographer to be more creative.

Above is the Fujifilm Finepix S7000 bridge camera, like the one that I own, that I moved on to after the Finepix 1400 zoom.

This camera offered RAW capture using Fujifilm's RAF format, as well as a larger zoom range and far more control over the final photograph with metered manual mode.

Single Lens Reflex (SLR) Cameras

These cameras offer total control with more manual control, interchangeable lenses and a wide range of accessories.

  

The Pentax K10D shown above has the battery grip, which not only holds a second battery but also includes a second shutter button and front and rear e-dials for changing the shutter speed and aperture, whilst the camera is held to the photographer's eye.  This accessory is very handy as not only does it provide these features but can also store a second SD memory card (not directly accessible from the camera), and a Pentax remote control, but makes portraits and portrait style photographs easier because it provides a more natural way of holding the camera as opposed to simply rotating the camera and twisting the hands in order to access the camera controls.

The ability to change the camera lens makes these cameras more versatile than any other type of camera.

A newer form of interchangeable lens camera, similar to SLRs but sometimes referred to as micro systems.  One example of these is the Olympus Pen camera, shown above.

Medium Format Cameras

These are the larger cameras, offering resolutions of 40 megapixel for more professional photographers, and are very expensive.

Differences between Film Based and Digital Cameras

The main and fundamental difference between the traditional film based cameras and digital cameras is the method of capturing the image and how it is stored.

Traditional film based cameras use photographic film which is fed through the internal film transport system, which positions the frame to be exposed directly behind the camera’s lens assembly.

Once the shutter button is pressed the mirror flips up (blanking out the viewfinder) and the light from the subject and their environment enters the camera, controlled by the shutter speed and the amount by which the lens’s aperture is open, and this light hits the unexposed photographic film.  This action exposes the film, which is then wound on to the next available frame (unless it is held in position to be exposed again in the case of a multiple exposure).  The amount of light required to produce a correctly exposed photograph is also controlled by the film speed or ISO, the lower the ISO, e.g.. 25, the more light is required, but the higher quality photograph, the higher the ISO, e.g.. 1600, the less light is required, but the photograph suffers because of the size of the grain on the film required to capture the available light.

In the above example we can see that the image is recorded on the photographic film, which then has to be developed before the photograph can be seen.

On a digital camera the process is very similar:

Once the shutter button is pressed the mirror flips up (blanking out the viewfinder) and the light from the subject and their environment enters the camera, controlled by the shutter speed and the amount by which the lens’s aperture is open, but this time the light hits the camera’s sensor.  This time the pixels on the camera’s sensor measure the amount of light and its colour and tone and records this information internally in a digital RAW format.  The photograph is then processed within the camera and output to the memory card in the format and quality settings as set up in the camera.  Again the amount of light required to produce a correctly exposed photograph is also controlled by the ISO, but as there is no photographic film the camera’s sensor handles the different amounts of light, but like the traditional film photograph, which suffered because of the size of the grain on the film required to capture the available light, in the digital camera the lower light levels can cause noise (a digital form of grain).

In this example the photograph was recorded by the camera’s sensor and stored on the memory card, which unlike traditional film, is re-useable.

Health and Safety in the Studio

 

Because I am working with people who are modelling for this photo shoot I must make sure that at all times their safety is of prime concern.  Fortunately, all my subjects are photographers themselves and are aware of the safety measures in place in a photographic studio, where as many people, especially children and curious adults are prone to ‘what happens if I press this’ scenario, which having worked in the joinery trade, I am fully aware how dangerous a clicking of a simple button can be where the person pressing it knows nothing about the implications of doing so.  Also the dangers of multiple children, or over curious adults, where you cannot watch everyone all the time, although these dangers can be reduced by having an assistant present.

The usual health and safety precautions must be followed:

Environment

Fortunately, working in the college photographic studio which is kept clear of any obstructions, we had a clear and safe working environment, which is very important because, once the lights are out and we have only the modelling lights from the flash units to see by, any cables or props left lying around could cause an accident.

Electricity

Although the voltages for many lights may be lower, especially for portable lighting, you must always check that the cables are in good condition and have firm connections (to the equipment and to the mains power supply) and that nothing is overloading any sockets.

There were no liquids in the studio, so there was no concerns of any liquids coming close to any electrical appliances.

Cables

With more people in the studio there are always more concerns over tripping and falling accidents in the studio.  The lighting is fitted to a series of tracks which are fixed to the ceiling, this reduces the number of cables that are near the ground, and any slack in the cables from these lights is taken up to prevent any tripping over accidents.

Heat

Because of the use of flash units, which generate a lot of heat, these were only handled before any photography started, using the light from the modelling light to ascertain the lighting.   Also nothing inflammable was placed any where near any lighting equipment.  It is important with so much lighting equipment that can be triggered wirelessly that any unused equipment is switched off, both for safety and causing unwanted lighting.

Steve, who changed any fittings, prior to the start of the shoot, was careful not to catch any lighting tubes, which are very fragile whilst changing the fittings.

Chemicals

Because we are all using digital cameras, most of the chemicals involved with photography, in particular the processing and development of the finished photographs, have been removed.  The only chemicals that a photographer will come into contact with is printer inks and cleaning fluids, and any day to day chemicals used for cleaning. 

Digital v Film Photography

This debate has been going on since the concept of digital photography was born, and given that digital photography is still very young in comparison to traditional film based photography this debate shall be going on for some time yet.

Here are some pros and cons of digital and film based photography:

 

Aspect	Film Based	Digital
Cost (cameras)	Film based cameras are no longer produced, and older cameras are still holding their prices.	As newer models are coming out the prices of older models is dropping.
Cost (developing and printing)	Films are not re-usable and have to be replaced.  Films have a shelf date and are best stored in a fridge. No computer or printer is required.     Developing and printing of films is still expensive and prices are not falling. The whole film has to be developed at once, so partly used films often cost the same to be processed as fully used films.	Memory cards are re-usable, to a limit (about 10,000 times) Memory cards have no date limit. Unless you already own a computer and a printer these costs have to be considered.  Some printers today can print direct from the camera (pictbridge) or from the memory cards. Depending on the type of printer and print costs, printing can be cheaper. You can print only the images that you want printed and other images can be stored and used later if required.
Cost (storage)	Prints and negatives need careful storage (especially in the case of negatives).	Digital photographs can be stored on internal and external hard disks and on DVDs and CDs.
Taking the photographs	Photographs can be taken both on location or in a studio. If a different ISO is required then the photographer has to replace the film with the correct ISO rated film.  Changing it back if required later. If a lower shutter speed is required then the photographer has to use a support for the camera, e.g.. Monopod, tripod, etc	Photographs can be taken both on location or in a studio. If a different ISO is required the photographer simply changes the ISO in use.   Most digital cameras and SLRs feature some type of anti-shake technology – either camera based like the Pentax range of cameras, or lens based like the Canon range, reducing the need for camera supports.
Colour Reproduction	Because film based photography uses emulsions every colour is reproduced accurately.	Because digital photography uses sensors they can only capture a limited about of the colours (the gamut) in the final image.  The normal colour space SRGB captures less colours and tones than AbobeRGB.  Although by using HDR (Higher Dynamic Range) technology more colours and tones can be reproduced.  Also by using a RAW format (DNG, PEF, RAF, CRW, CR2, NEF, etc) a 16 bit image is captured instead of a compressed 8 bit image which will retain more tonal range.
Reviewing of the  photographs	Photographs can only be reviewed once the film has been processed, therefore cannot be reviewed whilst the photographer is on location.  Some labs will produce contact sheets, but these can be expensive. Camera settings have to be recorded, if required, at the time of exposure.	Photographs can be reviewed instantly either on the cameras LCD or better still on a laptop (if available) whilst the photographer is on location.  So the photographer can easily re-shoot an image if they find it necessary. Digital photographic images contain meta data with all the camera settings embedded into the image.
Editing the photographs	For editing film based photographs you would need access to a darkroom and specialist equipment and knowledge. Unless a duplicate is made of the negative only the developed photograph can be edited and if multiple copies of the edited image are required then a photograph of the edited print has to be made.	Today there is a wide range of photographic editing software from the free GIMP and Paint.net to Adobe Photoshop CS5 software. Non destructive editing can be carried out using layers so they do not affect the original image.
Printing of the photographs	The photographs are usually printed as part of the development service provided by various outlets, although these are becoming less and less common place.	Photographs can be printed at home or via specialist labs, such as DP Colour Labs. Care must be taken to ensure that the colours and tones are correctly reproduced and this usually involves colour calibration of the equipment used.  Also with some of the older 3 colour printers (Cyan, Magenta and Yellow in addition to black) not all the colours and tones may be available.
Sending of the photographs	Prints can be sent via email, but only after they have been scanned in to a computer using a scanner. Otherwise prints must be sent via the post.  They can be sent via DVD if they have been scanned in to a computer using a scanner.	Images can be sent via email to any where in the world within minutes of being taken. Photographs can also be sent via the post either on DVD or as printed photographs.

Analysis of the Equipment Used – Tamron 18 – 200 mm Zoom Lens

This lens is a very versatile ‘Super Zoom’ which is capable of a very wide range of focal lengths ranging from 18 to 200 mm (or 27 to 300 mm in the terms of a 35mm SLR camera).

The lens has a large aperture of between f3.5 to f6.3 depending on the focal length of the lens at the time, with a minimum aperture of f22 making it a very versatile lens with a good large aperture for capturing action and a smaller aperture for a good deep depth of field.

The lens can focus down to 45cm (18”) which is handy for close photography like product and macro photography.

The lens has a lock on its body to prevent the lens from extending from it’s 18mm setting, which I have actually found very useful, and came with a good lens hood.

This lens has now become my standard lens as it offers a very good range of focal lengths, close focusing, and is a comfortable lens to use on the camera.  When I was using this lens in the studio to photograph Eric its wide focal length range meant I could compose the picture whilst maintaining the camera position preventing any issues of exposure difference, and not ending up almost standing on Eric’s toes.

My only dislike with many of today’s zooms is that they are all twist zooms as opposed to the older pull or push zooms.

Analysis of the Equipment Used - Pentax K10D

Pentax K10

The Pentax K10D digital SLR is a 10.2 megapixel camera from Pentax, that I own.

I chose this camera because, when I purchased it, this camera was the best built camera that I could afford, and one of my more usual photographic areas involves Air Displays, where a camera should be able to take a bashing, especially in the event of an accident.

The camera has a built in anti-shake which is in the actual camera body, unlike some DSLRs which have their anti-shake systems built into the lens, this ensures that I have the facility available which ever lens I chose to use and saves me having to buy more expensive lenses just for this facility.

Exposure Modes

The K10D has a number of different exposure modes, these are detailed below:

Icon Mode P Program Mode SV Sensitivity Priority TV Shutter Priority AV Aperture Priority TAV Shutter and Aperture Priority M Manual B Bulb X External Flash Sync USER User pre-set mode Green Fully automatic mode

I have gone into more detail into each of the modes below:

Mode	Description
Program	In this mode the camera sets the shutter speed and aperture according to the available lighting to give a correct exposure.  But the photographer can alter any one of these settings (shutter speed or aperture) using the front and rear e-dials (found both on the camera body and the battery grip) and the camera will automatically reset the other setting (aperture or shutter speed) accordingly.
Sensitivity Priority	In this mode the photographer sets the sensitivity (or ISO) and the camera sets the shutter speed and aperture. This mode is very handy as it prevents the camera changing the ISO if the shutter speed and aperture cannot be changed enough to correctly expose the image.
Shutter Priority	This mode allows the photographer to set the shutter speed that they want and the camera changes the aperture, and if necessary the sensitivity (ISO) to match. This mode is ideal for air display photography where you will want slower shutter speeds to capture the movement of propeller driven aircraft but faster shutter speeds for fast jet aircraft.
Aperture Priority	This mode is the opposite to the shutter priority mode in that the photographer sets the aperture and the camera changes the shutter speed, and if necessary the sensitivity) to suit. This mode is ideal when you want full control over the depth of field for taking both landscapes and macro photography.
Shutter and Aperture Priority	In this mode the photographer can set the shutter speed and the aperture themselves and the camera will change the sensitivity (ISO) to compensate.
Manual	In this mode the photographer sets the shutter speed, the aperture size and the ISO themselves.  In the viewfinder a scale is used to check the exposure so that the photographer can choose which setting they wish to change without the camera changing anything else. This is seen as the most creative mode where the photographer can capture the image that they want without any changes made by the camera to compensate for the photographers settings.
Bulb	This mode enables the photographer to keep the shutter open for as long as they wish, without the constraints of the range of shutter speeds. This mode is ideal for capturing movement, especially at night, eg. fireworks, etc.
External Flash Sync	This mode is for synchronising the camera shutter release with external flash units.  It locks the shutter speed at 1/180 second and prevents it being changed accidentally.
User	The user mode allows the photographer to set a number of settings; exposure mode, flash settings, EV compensation, bracketing, file format, image tone, size, sharpness, saturation and contrast and store these settings on their camera so if they lend their camera to someone or a setting is changed they can reset the camera to their own preferences.
Green	This mode is a fully automatic snap  shot mode where the camera sets the shutter speed, aperture and sensitivity ready for the photographer to use.

Focusing Modes


The Pentax K10D has three focusing modes, these are:

Focus Mode	Description
AF.S (Single)	In this mode the camera sets the focus and allows the photographer to capture the photograph in focus. This mode is only suitable if neither the camera position or the subject position do not change. This mode is ideal for landscape, product and macro photography where the camera and the subject are not moving.
AF.C (Continuous)	In this mode the camera locks the focus onto the subject and changes the focus to suit if the subject or camera move. This mode is ideal for action and wildlife photography where the subject is moving or likely to move.
MF (Manual)	This mode allows the photographer to manually focus the camera, without any changes being made by the camera. This mode is ideal where either the camera and subject are not moving, there is something between the camera and the subject that may affect the camera’s automatic focusing, or where the photographer is using a manual focusing lens, for example a catadioptic mirror lens.

Other Focusing Options

As well as the focusing modes above, the Pentax K10D, which uses eleven focusing points, offers three options concerning how the camera chooses which focus point to use, these options are:

Option	Description
Auto	This is where the camera selects the focusing point, based on any movement being picked up by the focusing points.
SEL	This is where the photographer can choose which focusing point is used (the focusing point is highlighted in the viewfinder).
.	This is where the central focusing point is used, meaning the photographer has to make sure the subject is central in the viewfinder.

Metering Modes

The Pentax K10D has three metering modes, details of these are shown below:

Icon	Mode	Description
	Spot	In this metering mode the camera takes a light reading from the central 12% of the frame only, ignoring everything else. This mode is very useful when there are distracting forms of lighting, in particular back lighting, which would otherwise cause the camera to under expose the photograph.
	Centre Weighted	This mode also takes a light reading from the centre of the frame, but also takes in to consideration the wider central area. This mode is useful for situations where there are less forms of lighting.
	Multi Segment	This mode takes light readings from different parts of the frame, as well as the central area. This mode is useful for general photography.

File Formats

Since the beginning of digital photography cameras have used the universal JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format for storing the digital photographs back in 1992.  Whilst this format allows the images to be viewed and edited on all platforms, as well as direct viewing on televisions, the format does have its limitations.

JPEG is a format that allows the image to be compressed to reduce the file size and enable the photographer to store more images on the memory card, but this compression can lead to problems such as artefacts where the camera in order to compress the image discards too much information, and splodges or irregular areas of colour are present where the compression algorithms do not maintain an even range of colours or tones.  The JPEG standard has another problem, in that it is a lossy format, whereby each time an image is saved and re-saved in the JPEG format more and more of the data is lost.

In today’s digital cameras the DSLRs, many of the bridge cameras and some of the more advanced compact cameras now retain the original RAW file from which the camera processes the JPEG photograph.  Each manufacturer have created their own RAW format for their range of cameras.

The Pentax range of DSLRs have the advantage that not only do they capture the image in JPEG and the Pentax PEF RAW format but they can also capture the image in Adobe’s DNG (Digital Negative) format which is becoming more acceptable with photographic editing software.  

Looking at the range of image formats before the JPEG standard was developed, I can see the DNG format becoming the new standard for RAW images.

When taking photographs I prefer to capture the image in the RAW+ mode, whereby both the original RAW file together with the processed JPEG formats are stored, and although my photographic editor Serif’s Photo Plus X4 can handle both PEF and DNG formats, I tend to use the more universally accepted DNG format.

Unit 205

The Image

Eric

Description

This image is of Eric, a friend from the photographic courses and the Burton Photographic Society.

The portrait was taken as part of my City and Guilds level three studio photography assignment, entitled Portraits of Photographers, where I wanted to photograph the photographers on the course.


Equipment Used

For this portrait I used my Pentax K10D with a Tamron 18 - 200 mm lens, using the BG2 Battery Grip (to provide a second shutter button, and secondary controls, as well as a back up battery).

The lighting, a single Bowen Esprit 1000 head fitted with a beauty dish pointing towards Eric and two Bowen Esprit 500 heads fitted with light boxes to illuminate the white background, which were all provided by Burton College in their photographic studio, the main flash, the Esprit 1000 fitted with the beauty dish was triggered by a wireless trigger, the other two units were triggered by slave units.  A white background was used, and a chair for the subject to sit on.

The studio set up is shown below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I chose this lighting set up as I wanted to create the portrait in the style of David Bailey.

 

Method

For this portrait of Eric, the camera was set in manual exposure mode, with the drive mode set to single frame, so that the flash unit could keep up with the camera.  The file format was set to RAW+ (JPEG and RAW) with the RAW format set to the universal DNG format, so that should that I was not happy with the exposure I could correct it in Photo Plus later if necessary.

Once Eric was sitting in the chair a light reading was taken using the college’s light meter, and the aperture was copied to the camera, which was set in manual exposure mode, and to the Bowen Esprit 1000 studio light.

Eric, like the rest of the group, was great to work with and he came into the studio with a few ideas of poses himself.

Once I was happy with the portrait, it was converted using Photo Plus X3, and a black and white filter was applied via an adjustment layer.  This filter gave me full control over how different colours would be visible in the finished black and white portrait.  This was then cropped tightly.

Week One

Well, here we go again (I am sure someone could make a song something like that !).


Some of the gang are here, so I'll be ok, and a lot of new people.


At least we are using blogger, NOT **** iWeb !!!!!!!


Seriously, I think I will be going for the 7512-03 Diploma in Photography and Photo Imaging with the following modules:

• 205  -  Photo Imaging Equipment and Materials
• 310  -  Photo Image Output
• 212  -  Working to a Photo Imaging Project Brief

in addition to the modules that I covered during the last courses.

• 211 - Photo Image Presentation
• 306 - Studio Photography
• 307 - Location Photography

The first module looks like covering the camera and equipment that I am using.  So I will make a start with that one first.