When you photograph songbirds from a blind, this question usually arises: should you use flashes? In this video, professional bird photographers Doug Gardner and Gary Carter show you how they use flash units. To open up the shadow areas, Gary uses his flash often, but he dials it down to minus two or minus three. He will also employ a flash extender or beamer to illuminate the bird, not the entire scene. The goal is to pop a glint in the eye and light up the dark areas. Basically, you are imitating full sunlight. Using the flash unit and attachments, Doug and Gary photograph cardinals, white-throated sparrows, downy woodpeckers, and bluebirds feeding their young.
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HDR Photography Tips: Capturing Mixed Lighting
This is a great room for capturing mixed light,” says Professional photographer and instructor, Tony Sweet. He refers to a musty room in the old prison that features bright skylight, shadows, and lamp light. To capture the HDR image, you will learn how Tony uses long exposures, dropping as low as minus five below aperture…
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HDR Photography in Al Capone’s Old Prison Cell
This old prison was full of photo ops. But Al Capone’s prison cell? Professional photographer and instructor, Tony Sweet, found this old cell to be the ideal subject for a HDR photograph. You will learn how to handle mixed lighting, from lamp light to window light, from the bottom of the gray scale to the…
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HDR Photography Tips for Capturing the Yard
The old prison yard. Outdoor setting. Light sky. Dark stone. Professional photographer and instructor, Tony Sweet, explains, “This is the perfect candidate for an HDR photo, from deep shade to bright sunlight.” You will learn that fast exposures work best in this type of exterior setting in order to minimize ghosting of the moving clouds.…
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Processing the Chaplin’s Office
How do you process an HDR image that includes extremes of light in an old prison? In this how-to editing video, post-production instructor Tony Sweet takes you through the procedure. He sandwiches the eight exposures into one HDR photograph, moves it into Photomatix. Using the tools, he pushes the contrast way up, then dials up…
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