Video Tutorial of Christmas Light Bursts

So here you go, my first ever video tutorial... Capturing the light burst of Christmas lights...

How Would You Feel?

I have just one question for you...

How would you feel about having these tutorials on video? I want to hear from you on this, so lets fill up those comments.

Christmas Lighting, Capturing the Holiday Feeling.

Image 1

Okay so it is that time of year again. Everyone is shopping, trees going up in the living room, and lights of all colors are everywhere. I have always wanted to capture the way I feel about Christmas, the joy of the lights, But every time I took a picture of a Christmas tree, or lights, they just looked dull and plain, if you could see them at all. Does this sound familiar? Well then you are in luck, because I am going to give you a couple of ideas to capture those beautiful lights and colors.
First thing you need to do is get rid of the flash. Not this is not a good formula for portraits of people or pets, unless than can hold perfectly still for 10 seconds of more. I know that doesn't seem that long, but it really is. Second thing you are going to need is a tripod. The third is one light. For this example I am using a lightbox that I built out of a light stand, and foam cooler, and two photo bulbs rated at 200w each.


Image 2

First I am going to show you what happens if you use no outside light at all, just the light from the tree... I had my camera set at a 3 seconds shutter speed, with my f/stop at 16.

Now I didn't like the color very well. The lights looked pretty cool and was close to what I wanted, but it was way too warm and unnatural (image 1). So I grabbed my lightbox. I knew that direct light would be way too much, and to keep from overexposing I would have to turn up my shutter speed, which would kill the effect I was looking for with the Christmas lights on the tree. So I turned the light away from the tree, pointed directly at the wall to the right of the tree (maybe 6 feet away). The lightbox was about 3 inches from the wall. I then set my shutter speed to 10 seconds, and my aperture to 30. Yep that's right 30... And bam! there it was; the image I had been looking for (image 2).

Image 4

Image 3

 I went on to shoot some of the ornaments on the tree as well, but this was a bit different. to get the proper coloring and keep the effect I tried something a little different, but along the same line.

This time I wanted the ornament to show very clearly, and keep the star burst effect on the lights. So to do this I kept the light where it was. Moved in closer to the ornament and set my focus on it. The camera settings stayed the same. a 10 second shutter speed, with a f/stop of 30. Now here is where things change up. After I released the shutter, I counted off 3 seconds and then flipped the lightbox off (image 4). I loved the results so I pulled the camera back to where I started and shot the tree one more time using the same method, and I loved it even more (image 3).

So there you go, give it a try, and see what you can come up with...

Studio Lighting 1

Okay so you have your camera, you have learned how to use it, and have taken some nice images outside... Now if you live somewhere like me (Ohio), the weather has gone south for a few months. So it is time to bring your new found skills inside. For the beginning photographer trying to set up a studio can be overwhelming, and seem far too expensive. Many believe it is smarter and cheaper to go out and rent studio space when it is needed, but that is not true. You can set up a studio space rather easily and without spending thousands of dollars. All you need is a spare room or garage. My wife and I actually use to set up in our living room when we first started. Next you need the lights and backdrops. This is where the cost starts to build, but it does not have to break you. There are kits out now that can be purchased for as little as $120.00 such as the one from LimoStudios, that can be found on amazon.com... It comes with 2 light stands, 2 light heads, 2 photo bulbs, 2 umbrellas, 1 backdrop support, and 3 muslin backdrops (black, white, and green chromakey. Okay, granted this is not the most sturdy built set on the market, and my not last you more than a couple of years or so, but it is a good place to start.
There is also another alternative... you can build your own. Now this does take a little knowledge in electrical wiring (very little), and you must have some craftsman skill. I am not going to get into it right now, but I will in part 2. Why? because I believe the purchase of a kit like above is your best way to start, and build off of it...
That's it now, until next time, happy shooting...

Special Announcment

I wanted to check in to say howdy to everyone and let you all know that soon we will be shooting our very first video. This is not where I am at my best, but I am going to give it a shot anyway. If you have any ideas or have something that you would like to see please let me know. As for now I just want to let you know that the next blog is going to cover lighting - studio lighting to be exact. This one again is going to be more for the beginner, but hopefully a good read for anyone. The post will be up within a couple of days. So... see you then.

Lets Get Started

Okay so now that you have read your manual and practiced a bit, we are going to get down to the basics.


Shot at camera meter settings.

Photography... what does the word mean? Well simply put it means "to paint with light". And that is exactly what we do as photographers. We need to know how to use the light to capture the image that we want. Now how do we do that? We use a combination of shutter speed and aperture. I am sure that shutter speed is pretty self explanatory, it is how long the cameras shutter is open. Aperture is how much light that is allowed in while the shutter is open. It is also known a your f/stop. The smaller the number the more light that is allowed in, such as f/4 lets in more light than f/10. Now how do we get our settings, well there are a couple of ways. The one that many use, and have been since the beginning of time (okay maybe not that long) is to use a light meter. Now back in the day, when I first started this was pretty much your only option. You would take your light meter, hold it at your focal point on the subject, take a reading, and set your camera accordingly. Today's DSLRs have built in light meters. They may not be as good or accurate as a standard light meter, but they can do the job. Using your built in light meter is called "Chimping", and is looked down upon by many photographers. They can call me a monkey all they want, chimping saves me time and money, and I still get excellent results. There is a trick to it however. Like I said, the built in meters are not as accurate. Most of the time a simple step up or down will fix the problem.

Image shot at one step down. Model: Tiffany Rhodes

 

When shooting outside you need to control the light as best as you can, especially when shooting people. I try to make it a rule to never have my subject staring into the sun. If you are shooting under clear skies and the sun is high, try to find an area with shade. Make sure your subject is just past the shade line, but is completely covered. Now you can test your light. Set yourself for the shot, and put your camera on auto. Focus on the subjects eyes, lightly press your shutter release button until your camera settings show in the viewfinder. Now read the auto settings inside your viewfinder. Now you have your light reading. Typically I have my ISO set at 200 when shooting outside, and I normally use aperture priority mode, the A or AV mode on most DSLRs. If the top end of my Len's aperture is lets say f/2.8, I would set it a stop down like f/3 or whatever it may be. Now test the light again. On a bright day the camera is going to pick up all of that light in the background, not the light on your subject, so whatever the camera is telling you the proper shutter speed is, step it down one. Put your camera in to Manual Mode, "M" on most. So if the camera read 1/200, drop it back to 1/125 for an example. The background will blow out bright, but your subject should be lit just right. If your subject is still a bit dark, then drop it one more. Keep trying this out and soon you will be doing it without even thinking. You don't have to start out in auto mode, just use A Mode, just remember to watch your ISO. Keep it low in bright light, or sunlight. I would recommend never going over ISO 400 unless you are shooting in very low light.



Welcome to The ShutterBug Corner

Model: Lacey Brown

Welcome to The ShutterBug Corner, I am John Steinman, your guide through the wonderful and fascinating world of photography. My goal is to help you learn and improve your photography. To keep things simple and fun, I mean to me that is what photography is, fun and exciting, and if you are here now then you must feel the same way. I have been taking pictures for more than 20 years (on and off). I do not claim to be an expert, but I have produced many wonderful images through the years. I by no means know all there is to know about photography, this is one art form that there is always room to learn new techniques. There are so many styles of photography that no one person can possible know all there is about all of them. But I am going to share with you what I do know.

 

The first thing I want to go over is camera choice... This is more for the beginner, but that is why I am here to help the beginner to the seasoned photographer. I have had many beginner photographers come to me and my wife (also a photographer) to shadow us on shoots to learn from us in real-life situations, and I have seen one common factor with the most of them. What is it they have in common? Their big, fancy, and very expensive cameras. We actually had one young lady show up with a $3000.00 camera. I was stunned when she told me that it was her first DSLR camera, and that  she was thinking (I repeat, THINKING) about taking photography in collage. I am not saying that she made a mistake, but she was shooting for the first hour in "Auto" mode. So basically she was using a $3000.00 point and shoot. So here is my advice, go out and purchase a entry level DSLR, such as a Canon Rebel or a Nikon 3100 or something on that order. The bigger cameras do have more features, higher pixels, and larger ISO settings, but they also have a bunch of extra features that you are paying big money for that a beginner is never going to use such as GPS and WiFi. Later I asked her why that camera? She said one reason was that it shot 1080p HD video. So then I asked, are you wanting to take pictures or film movies? Take pictures of course, she answered. Then why on earth would she base one of her purchasing decisions on it shooting HD video. My point is, you don't need a high dollar camera to start out. I have seen some great shots from people using point and shoot cameras, not that I recommend using one if you are seriously wanting to be a photographer. But, if you can capture good images with a point and shoot, then you have a photographer eye, and that is one of the most important things to have.

 

Now after you have purchased your new DSLR, or if you already have one, the next thing you need to do is learn what your camera can and can not do... Yep... that's right, read the manual. I know it seems like a boring task, but it is worth it. The new DSLRs (even the entry level) have so much more to offer than the old 35mm cameras that I started with. Once you have read the manual and have a good understanding of the camera, go try it out. Shoot anything and everything around your house, inside and out. Feel free to send me some of what you shoot to shutterbugcorner@gmail.com with My First Pics in the subject line. One more piece of advice, if you are going to take photography as a collage course, and your goal is to have your own studio in the future, make photography your minor and major in business. In the long run you will be glad that you did.

 

Next time we will get into more details on shooting.