Tips for Optimizing your Photography and Workflow
Travel can lead to wonderful experiences, and wonderful photographic opportunities. During my recent live online presentation as part of the GreyLearning Webinar Series, I shared tips for creating great photographs during your travels.
You can view a recording of the full presentation on my Tim Grey TV channel on YouTube here:
Long exposure techniques can lead to creative and compelling photos, and can be used in a variety of different scenarios. In today’s presentation as part of the GreyLearning Webinar Series, I shared my top tips for helping you capture great long exposure images, both from a technical and a creative perspective.
You can view a recording of the full presentation on my “Tim Grey TV” channel on YouTube here:
We all want to make sure our photos are–in most cases–as sharp as possible, and in my latest online presentation as part of the GreyLearning Webinar Series I shared my “Top Tips for Sharper Photos”.
You can view a recording of the full presentation on my Tim Grey TV channel on YouTube here:
As photographers, we’re always trying to improve our craft, and that means learning from our photographic mistakes. In my recent presentation as part of the GreyLearning Webinar Series, I fessed up to the common photography mistakes I still make from time to time.
You can view a recording of the full webinar presentation on “Common Mistakes in Photography” on my Tim Grey TV channel on YouTube here:
New York City has been my home for almost nine years now, and during that time I’ve gotten to know the city quite well. I’ve found that each neighborhood offers something a little different, and around every corner there are photographic possibilities.
If you would enjoy photographing the iconic scenes and hidden corners of New York City, then I invite you to join me for an all-inclusive five-day photo workshop experience in the “City that Never Sleeps”. We’ll photograph impressive skylines, interesting architecture, fascinating street scenes, and unique people.
For all of the details of my New York City Photo Experience Workshop in 2020, please visit my website here:
http://www.timgreyphoto.com/nyc-2020
I have been visiting the remarkable landscape and homesteads of the Palouse region of eastern Washington State for more than a decade now, typically spending three or four weeks in the area each spring. In all that time, I am still excited about the wonderful photographic opportunities and local experiences this area provides.
I am therefore very happy to announce that I will once again be leading two all-inclusive field photography workshops in the Palouse region in 2020. Registration is now open, so if you’d like to join me you’ll want to act quickly. All of the details of this unique field photography workshop can be found on my website here:
http://www.timgreyphoto.com/palouse-2020
I recently returned from an extended trip that had me traveling all the way around the world with just one lens. In my latest presentation as part of the GreyLearning Webinar Series I shared the top lessons I learned during that unique trip.
You can view a recording of the entire presentation on my Tim Grey TV channel on YouTube here:
It is often said that a long lens will “compress” a scene, making near and far objects appear to be closer to each other. In actual fact, it is not the longer lens focal length that is compressing the scene. What actually causes this compression is moving the camera further away from the subjects you are photographing. I can demonstrate this with a few images.
This photo was captured at a lens focal length of 100mm:
Standing in the exact same position, I then zoomed in to a focal length of 400mm to capture this photo:
If you examine both of the above images, you can see that the relative sizes of the two key objects (the lamp and a tower of the Brooklyn Bridge) remain the same in both photos. That is because I stood at the exact same position for both photos, only changing the focal length to zoom in. In other words, changing focal length only cropped the scene, not compress the scene.
To help make this concept a little easier to understand, I have created a composite with the 400mm image resized to match the applicable area of the 100mm image, highlighting the area that the 400mm image represents. Here is that image:
Next, I walked closer to my subjects. As I walked, the apparent size of the lamp increased relative to the tower of the bridge in the background. I was reducing the apparent compression of the scene by moving closer to my subjects. Of course, because I didn’t have a ladder and couldn’t hover, the lamp appeared in a higher position relative to the tower of the bridge. But that is an issue of parallax, not compression. You can see the change in relative size for the two objects in this photo, which happened to be captured at a lens focal length of 118mm:
To be sure, when you change your distance to the subjects you are photographing, you may need to change your lens focal length in order to maintain the same framing for the scene. But it is your relative distance to the scene that causes a change in apparent compression of the scene. The lens focal length is merely cropping that scene to achieve the desired framing.
This issue has been the subject of several questions recently in my Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter, and so I hope this blog post helps to provide something of a “final answer” on the subject.
In my latest presentation in the GreyLearning Webinar Series I addressed the process of deciding which lenses to bring with you on a given photo trip or outing. I discussed the various factors to consider, as well as an approach I use when trying to decide which lenses to put in my bag and which to leave behind.
You can view a recording of the entire presentation on my Tim Grey TV channel on YouTube here:
In an Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter (http://asktimgrey.com/2019/04/04/hand-held-hdr-2/) I addressed a question from a reader who wanted to know if it really is possible to capture bracketed high dynamic range (HDR) exposures hand-held, rather than using a tripod.
The simple answer is “yes”, though there are some caveats I’ll mention in a moment.
It is indeed possible to capture bracketed exposures for an HDR without the use of a tripod. The software you use to assemble the exposures into an HDR image, such as Aurora HDR (https://timgrey.me/aurora2019), is able to align the individual exposures so all of the details are blended properly without any ghosting. In other words, the slight movement between frames captured as part of a bracketed sequence can be compensated for.
In the image below, for example, you can see the ghosted evidence of camera movement during the bracketed exposure sequence. The effect is especially obvious in the leaves of the hedges along both sides of the image. With HDR software, however, I was able to align the images to create the final image shown above.
Of course, you do need to be careful with your camera settings to avoid other problems with hand-held shooting. With a bracketed exposure sequence you might have a significant range of shutter speeds, so that the longest exposure in your sequence might be too long for you to be able to get a sharp image without using a tripod.
In other words, HDR software can most certainly compensate for a degree of movement between frames of a bracketed exposure sequence. But you still want to make sure that all of those photos are of high quality. That means you need to consider all of your camera settings carefully, and in the context of hand-held exposures also making sure that the shutter speed for each exposure will be fast enough considering the absence of a tripod.