BACKGROUNDS

An enjoyable client of mine is Happinez Wine Bar. Each month I am asked to do the Wine of the Month photography, which always stretches my creativity. This month's wine was a deep, dark bottle, and was perfect for a high contrast and graphic treatment.

This post is simply an encouragement to try various backgrounds that at first seem ridiculous. This bottle was photographed at our studio, on top of our ping pong table! For those who know ping pong, you will recognize the white line.

When trying various backgrounds for your subject matter, keep in mind that contrast adjustments will usually aid your photograph. In this instance, I set the camera to maximum contrast, for deep blacks and crisp whites.

To see more of Mark's photographs, click here.

ABSTRACT PATTERNS

It is always wise to build up a collection of stock pattern/texture photos. This image is of a window drape with nice warm, late evening backlighting. As it is out of focus, it can be used within many different graphic design or montage experiments.

Look around your house, and when light is shining on a textured or patterned surface, photograph it slightly out of focus, and keep it for later use. The more stock images of this sort that you have, the more tools you will have at your disposal for interesting design or montage projects.

To see more of Mark Hemmings' work, click here.

MAGAZINE WORK

Even though you may not be doing magazine work now, in the future you may need to know how to create space in your photo for text. If possible, it is wise to create a few variations of the same photograph to allow for magazine titles and other text. If creating various copies is not realistic, create your composition to allow for space around the subject for graphic design work. My photo below was composed in such a way as to allow for a text addition at the bottom of the image.

Composing is easy when you have a client who gives you exact specifications. When in doubt, however, choose a wider composition. In the television industry this is called the "TV Safe Area", whereby you compose wider than necessary to account for different viewing platforms.

To see more of Mark Hemmings work, click here.

RGB COLOR

Before any color space experts get angry at my gross simplification, please be aware that this blog is primarily aimed at those learning photography. So . . . in easy to understand terms, your digital camera has an option of different color spaces. sRGB is the most common, and Adobe RGB is the usual choice for professional photos that will be printed.

Your camera is probably set to sRGB by default, however you may be able to change it to Adobe RGB or other color spaces. If you are not a working professional, you can probably stick with sRGB.

This blog post is an encouragement to utilize sRGB for all photos that will end up on the web. If your photo does not have a color space saved, or is in another color space, it would be wise to change the photo to sRGB prior to uploading it to the web. Open your photo in Photoshop or another image editor, and then save the photo with "save as". There should be an option to choose a color space for the photo prior to saving the image to the hard drive.

The above photo from yesterday was taken in Adobe RGB for professional printing, however for this blog I changed it to sRGB, resized it, and it is now properly displayed for the web.

To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here.

All photos copyright Hemmings House Pictures, 2009

FIRE AND STROBES

It is often difficult to capture fire with strobes or flashes. To get good images of fire it is best to use natural light, and let the shutter stay open as necessary. There are circumstances however when you may need to use strobes to light people or places, but need natural light to capture the flow of fire.

A local bartender named Shawn Horgan from the Alehouse in Saint John, New Brunswick asked me to do a shoot of the above drink, lit on fire. We lit the scene and subject with strobes, but found that the fire was very weak in appearance. An easy fix was to create two exposures; one for the subject (strobes), and one for the fire (natural light). As soon as we took the first photo with the studio lights we immediately took a second photo in Aperture Priority mode with no flashes. The result of the second photo was a nice flowing stream of fire. Since the pictures were taken so quickly one after the other, the subject didn't move at all.

In Photoshop, I simply cut out the fire and pasted it over the first photo. The results look realistic, and everyone involved was happy with the final product.

To see more of Mark's photography, click here.

DRAMATIC LIGHTING

The greatest light in my opinion is dark ominous clouds with a late evening, horizontal blast of warm sun light. The directional sunlight is due to a break in the clouds at the horizon, and this light illuminates the landscape while the sky stays dark. This contrast makes for very dramatic photos!

When you encounter such a scene, make sure your camera is on its highest contrast setting, and try underexposing a little bit. This photo is untouched, straight from the camera. It was shot at a historic village in New Brunswick called King's Landing. To see more photos by Mark Hemmings click here.

OUR NEW STUDIO!

When doing exterior architectural images, try to wait until the sun is just about to set, or even after the sun sets. By doing this you can take advantage of exterior building lights that normal would be invisible in broad daylight.

This fine building is home to Hemmings House Pictures, our photography and film company in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It is a fantastic location, with cruise ships in the harbor, and evening light filling our studio and office spaces. Our building has exterior lights that do a wonderful job of illuminating the facade, but are only visible from sunset onwards.

By waiting for this time of day you can get both the warmth of the setting sun, as well as the warmth of exterior building lights. To see more photos by Mark Hemmings, click here.

DIRECTIONAL LIGHTING

One way to create strong dramatic portraits is to use one single overhead light. This will create deep shadows under the eyebrows, and will accentuate strongly defined bone structures. In normal portraiture this style is usually not welcomed, but for fashion and fine art shoots, it will work nicely.

These are mannequins that I photographed a few years ago in New York city. To see more photographs by Mark Hemmings, click here.

TIME LAPSE

I have been fortunate to have a growing number of clients who want time lapse photography done. Many DSLR cameras have this feature built in, such as the Nikon D300 and D5000. An inexpensive but great way to begin time lapse experimentation is by purchasing a Nikon D5000 and experimenting with the Interval Timer Shooting options.

I am not sure what Canon models have time lapse abilities, but the Nikon options work very well. The above sample is a test clip that I did at the Toronto Pearson Airport.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Use manual exposure mode to avoid exposure fluctuations

2. Use a Kelvin white balance option to avoid color fluctuations

3. Use a tripod (obvious!)

4. Use manual focusing

5. Five second intervals are a good place to start

6. When assembling the stills in a movie timeline, try 12 or 24 frames per second

I make my time lapses in Photoshop and After Effects. However there may be easier ways to create them. In a future blog post I will explain the post production side of time lapses.

To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here.

DSLR's FOR THE CAR

I looked up in the sky the other day and found another sun dog!

Many great photographs happen when you are out living your normal life. Most often however we don't have our camera with us at that opportune time. Freeman Patterson mentioned in one of his books that he keeps a spare camera in his trunk for such occasions, and it is a good idea. If you are a Canon shooter you could invest in a used Rebel DSLR, or if you are a Nikon shooter any used DSLR models will work for a backup camera. While it is a bit risky to keep camera equipment in your car, you can reduce the impact of an incident by purchase a used consumer model and stock lens.

To see more photos by Mark Hemmings, click here.

SMALL INTERIORS

Have you ever needed to photograph a bathroom? It is very tricky due to the size of the space, and lighting issues. Often you will need to rely on the ceiling light, which creates unpleasant shadows. A way to make small spaces more attractive is to take a bedsheet and pin it up (if possible) at the four corners of the ceiling. The bedsheet will sag a bit in the middle, which is fine. The single ceiling light now acts as a giant softbox, filling in harsh shadow spaces.

Here are the problems with this approach: You may not be at liberty to pin a sheet up on the ceiling. Hopefully you can find some other solution for the bed sheet; as long as it fills most of the ceiling, and of course covers the ceiling light, it should be fine. Problem number two is the diminished light strength, due to heavy diffusion (the bed sheet). The solution is to have a longer exposure.

To see more images by Mark Hemmings, click here:

PHOTO ASSISTANTS

This week's blog post is not so much a photo lesson, but an admonition to avoid deleting photos in-camera. During each photo shoot I get my assistant Jon or Jen to stand in for the subject so I can adjust the lighting. In the past I would always delete these test shots, even if I did not need to delete them due to a large memory card. A few weeks ago I decided to collect all the pics of my photo assistants posing for the camera. The results are fantastic, and I plan to put them on my website when I get a few more images.

If you can avoid deleting photos in-camera, who knows what kind of jems you will come up with. I realize that it takes extra time during post-processing, but I have found that many of my favorite shots through the years have actually been the test shots, that I normally would have deleted.

To see more photos by Mark Hemmings, click here.

STROBES OUTDOORS

I shot this iPhone pic of my assistant Jon as we were setting up for an exterior portrait shoot. I didn't realize until later how funny the picture turned out, as it appears that Jon unwittingly became a conductor of electricity.

When using strobes outside in full sunlight you can run into problems. The prominent issue is the fast shutter speed and high "f" number required to make a decent exposure. It is best to use manual exposure mode for shoots like this, with your shutter speed set to 1/200. This number is a safe average of most camera shutter sync speeds. If you have a faster shutter speed than what your camera is made to handle, the strobe or flash will have no effect.

Next, your aperture, or "f" number will probably be quite high because of the locked shutter speed of 1/200 and the bright daylight. You may find that the proper exposure is f8, or f14. This can be a problem because when the aperture number increases, less light is available from the flash/strobe to the subject. It is not that the flash or strobe becomes weaker, rather it takes a more powerful flash to counteract the smaller lens opening.

If you find that you need more flash power even though it is broad daylight, but you are at max power on your flash or strobe, then try these techniques:

Use a polarizing filter on your lens. This will drop your aperture f-number down approximately two stops (depending on the type of polarizer). When you use a lower f-number there will be more effective light power traveling from the source to the subject.

Another option is to simply place the lights closer to the subject. This instruction may seem laughable due to its obvious nature, but many new photographers do not realize that effective light power increases when the distance between light source and subject decreases.

To see more photographs by Mark Hemmings click here.

EMOTION AND GEOMETRY

I rarely have success with silhouettes, but I do enjoy this (almost silhouette) photograph of a young boy in the Magdalen Islands. There is enough exposure to see the boy without blowing out the background, and the low sun supplies the image's warmth.

In most of my images I try to combine two major elements; emotion and geometry. My favorite images emote a sense of mystery or contemplation, set in a composition of rectangles, circles, and/or triangles.

When learning how to craft good photographs, ask yourself what emotion is presented to the viewer, and what compositional design elements are supporting the subject matter. In this case, the boy presents the viewer with a contemplative scene, set within a triangular composition.

To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here

MID-CENTURY MODERNISM

I was staying at a hotel in Caracas, Venezuela a few months ago, and when I looked out across the street I was taken by a tile design on the side of an apartment block. I immediately thought "late fifties" era Modern, and as I got closer I read the inscription, "E. Tamiazzo, Hecho En Caracas, Oct. 1955".

No doubt most of the city dwellers walk by that piece everyday without noticing it. It often takes fresh eyes from outsiders to appreciate the qualities of particular cities. I did a search for Tamiazzo, but nothing came up under English Google results. Maybe a Spanish speaking person can help me out with a bit of information. The remarkable thing about this mural is that the individual tiles were only a few inches square. It must have taken a long time to create the wall art.

When photographing artwork on buildings, a good way to present the artwork is to make the structure darker than the mural. The structure is necessary, to show the viewer the context of the artwork, but it should remain secondary in importance. Place your camera on high contrast, and if needed, increase the contrast afterward in an image editing program. Most of the time you are looking for a gritty, high contrast scene, especially if you are shooting in a city environment. If you are a RAW shooter, you can also try the "clarity" tool in Photoshop Raw converter. This tool will keep light levels relatively stable, but will increase the graphic appearance of the image. As in my above sample photo, try to arrange the composition in such a way that the building also acts as a design element with vertical or horizontal lines.

To see more photos by Mark Hemmings, click here.

JAPAN & NIKON D90

With regards to talking about D-SLR filmmaking, I am a bit outdated dealing with the D90, especially with the recent introduction of the Nikon D300s. However, it takes awhile to put short films together, and this one that I did in Japan was shot entirely on the D90. The future looks bright for creating films on these new and relatively inexpensive cameras, considering each new model will benefit from the shortcomings of the last model. Hope you enjoy the film, and to see it larger on Vimeo, click on the "JAPAN" link below the film.

JAPAN from Hemmings House Pictures on Vimeo.

To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here.

MEXICO & DSLR VIDEO

Each winter my friend James Wilson and I teach photography and filmmaking courses in San Miguel, Mexico. It is a wonderful Spanish colonial town, full of great food, color and activity. The following commercial was my first foray into using DSLR's as video cameras. I was hooked! Lauchlan Ough and I used the Nikon D90 and the Canon 5D Mark II to create the following:

We have learned a lot since then, and will continue to upload films that we have done with digital SLR cameras. For those wanting to start on this path, you may find the Nikon D5000 a useful entry model, due to its lower cost, and excellent still photo capabilities.

If you would like to come to San Miguel and learn photography and filmmaking with us, click here for more information.

STAR & LAND PHOTOS

At the risk of sounding lazy, this weeks lesson is based off of the next lesson below. Follow the same instructions, but include a landscape or man made object such as a house or barn. Your results will always be unpredictable, primarily because of different light intensity from moon phases, as well as distant street lights slowly illuminating your landscape.

I took this photo last week during a trip to the Magdalen Islands. It was 2 a.m., pitch dark, and a cloudless sky . . . perfect for star photos. Please see the next lesson below for exposure information. 

To see more photos by Mark Hemmings, click here.

PHOTOS OF STARS

Most of you know how to take great star trail photos, where you set the camera on a tripod at night and keep the shutter open for a few hours. The result is beautiful streaks of colored light streaming through the night sky.

I had a need recently to photograph non-moving stars. This is tricky for most photographers, due to the lack of professional camera equipment. The ideal situation would be a 50mm f1.4 lens with a professional camera body that works really well in low light situations. For the amateur photographer with normal equipment, here are some guidelines. Keep in mind that the results may have a lot of "noise", due to the high ISO settings. You may be able to reduce this problem by increasing the contrast of the photo afterward in an image editing program.

I will admit that the stars are starting to streak in this image, however in doing the tests with normal consumer equipment, these were the best results that I could come up with. So . . . in your camera menu turn off Active D-Lighting (if you have it), go to maximum contrast, set the white balance to 5600K, or Daylight, focus to infinity, and then put the focus on manual, set the exposure to manual, and place your camera on the tripod.

I am going to assume that you are using a lens that has a fastest aperture of f4. If your lens has a lower F number than that, all the better! Adjust your manual exposure to a shutter speed of 30 seconds, set your lens to the widest zoom (which will reduce the appearance of streaking stars), and adjust your ISO setting to 3200.

You are now ready to take the photo. Trip the shutter with either a remote shutter release, or use your 10 second timer. If you need to physically press the camera's shutter release, it probably won't be detrimental, however using a remote release technique is a good habit to get into. 

When you look at your photo on the computer screen, you will see that the results are quite mottled and grainy. Try adjusting contrast to increase the brightness of the stars, and decrease the mid-tones. For more advanced Photoshop users, you will already have other methods for noise reduction.

Here is a basic chart for different f-stop and ISO combinations, depending on the type of lens that you have access to:

F5.6 - 30 seconds - 6400ISO

F4 - 30 seconds - 3200ISO

F2.8 - 30 seconds - 1600ISO

F2 - 30 seconds - 800ISO

F1.4 - 30 seconds - 400ISO

The reason that I have chosen a 30 second exposure is that it is the easiest shutter speed for those who are learning new techniques. 30 seconds is usually the longest shutter speed that a camera can offer you, prior to manually keeping the shutter open. 30 seconds is also a fair balance between brightness levels and keeping the stars relatively still!

To see more photos by Mark Hemmings, click here.

RAINY DAY PHOTOS

I would like to encourage you to take nature photographs when it is raining. Most photographers have a hard time with this because of the hassle, but it can be done by using a tripod and an umbrella. It is even better if you can convince a friend to come out and hold the umbrella! 

I have photographed Japanese bamboo forests many times in the last 10 years of my Japan travels. A rainy day in Kyoto initially looked like a disaster, until I started shooting. The colors of the bamboo were very rich, with a nice sheen and texture. I was pleasantly surprised! My day was salvaged by a simple introduction to watery surfaces. As long as you avoid including the sky in your composition, you will find that photographing nature scenes in the rain can be quite rewarding. Watery surfaces can provide a whole new dimension to old locations that you have photographed ad nauseam. If you are shooting macro scenes of flowers and plants on a dry but overcast day, try bringing a spray bottle full of water. The colors will pop out, and your shots will go from good to great!

To see Mark's photography, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

NIKON 35mm LENS & FOOD PHOTOS

A friend of mine recently bought the relatively new Nikon AF-S 35mm F1.8 lens. I have been using it lately for food photography, specifically menu items that don't need to be blown-up beyond 8x10 inches. The most important aspect of the lens for me is the ability to get in very close to the subject matter. The closest focus distance is 30 cm, which is quite valuable for certain types of food photography. The closer your lens is to the subject, the more options you have for creative depth of field experimentations.

While professional food photographers might not use this lens because it is not full frame (DX, used with normal consumer Nikon DSLR's), it is a great lens for practicing the art of food photography. A good way to start shooting food is to offer menu photography for your local diner or family-run restaurant. They probably won't have money to pay you, but why not work out food credit? When you get confident in your food lighting skills, and are ready to handle larger commercial jobs with dedicated photography budgets, you will already have a decent knowledge of how to present and light the dishes.

To see more photos by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings.

ELEMENTS OF COMPOSITION

Compositions can be created by many different design elements, such as color, texture, shapes, lines, differing sizes, etc. Next time you take a picture that you like, ask yourself which design elements are at work in this photograph. Sometimes fewer design elements are better, especially for Asian inspired scenes, and at other times the more compositional elements the better, such as high impact magazine ads. 

When I took this Barrios picture from a train station, the scene seemed happy and carefree. I looked behind me, and the same type of houses, on an almost identical mountain, seemed depressing and dangerous. Why the difference? The other neighborhood was in the shadow of the mountain, the houses weren't painted and there was a bit of cloud cover on that side.

Two almost identical scenes, but with vastly different emotions being portrayed. In this instance, color and brightness were the design elements that significantly altered the composition. The next time you are out shooting, use the following design elements to your advantage, and always work toward an image that portrays any kind of emotion. Below is a general list of design elements:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_(visual_arts)

• Line - the visual path that enables the eye to move within the piece
• Shape - areas defined by edges within the piece, whether geometric or organic
• Color - hues with their various values and intensities
• Texture - surface qualities which translate into tactile illusions
• Direction - visual routes which take vertical, horizontal or diagonal paths
• Size - the relative dimensions and proportions of images or shapes to one another
• Perspective - expression of depth: foreground, middle ground, background
• Space - the space taken up by (positive) or in between (negative) objects

To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photographs copyright Mark Hemmings

CARACAS MODERN

Although not an expert, I am a big fan of mid-century modernist design, architecture, and art. A recent trip to Caracas, Venezuela was beneficial for me in many ways, especially as I was able to document modern design via still cameras and video. Caracas went through a modernization period in the 1950's that removed much of the Spanish Colonial style that is throughout Central and South America. While a trip to Caracas can easily be depressing to those who do not appreciate mid-century design, for those who are inclined, the city is quite valuable. 

The Humboldt Hotel is a great example; it was opened in 1957 by Perez Jiminez, but closed in 1970 due to shifting politics. Re-opened in 2002, the interior and exterior make for great photo opportunities. While the interior furnishings are new, I assume they are commensurate with what the hotel used to look like during its grand opening.

The photo lesson for today is an encouragement to always seek photo opportunities in places that you would normally consider unattractive. If you do your homework prior to departing for another country, you may be surprised by a newfound appreciation of the location's architecture, art and design history.

To see more photos by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR

A few days ago I arrived home from filming a television documentary on the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra. We stayed for a week in Caracas, Venezuela, going to different neighborhoods doing interviews and photo sessions with the youth. 

Traveling to dangerous cities such as Caracas can be a challenge due to the high possibility of camera theft. I remember on past trips, especially to Japan, I would take a pro body such as the Nikon D2x, with a Nikon D70 as a back-up, with a 70-200 f2.8 pro lens, an 85mm, 50mm, and 12-24mm zoom. This made for a massive backpack, extremely heavy and uncomfortable.

Lately I have been traveling professionally with the least gear possible. I am not well versed with Canon equipment, but a Nikon D90 with an 18-200mm zoom has served me very well when on the road. I have always relied on the excellent quality of prime lenses, but zooms seem to be getting better each year. The D90 and 18-200 combination is adequate for almost all magazine work, and most stock agencies will except images from this equipment. And if it does get stolen or lost, it is a much easier pill to swallow than replacing a $10,000 professional Nikon body and lens!

While I haven't tried the new Nikon D5000, it might be an even better option for frequent travelers. It is small, light, can do decent travel videos, and is priced very well for its excellent image quality (based on my knowledge of the similar D90 CMOS sensor).

To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

BACKGROUND SHADES

This studio backdrop is pure white in reality, but in this photograph it is gray. If all you have is a white wall to shoot against, you can change the shade of the background from pure white to dark grey. Simply move the model closer to, or further away from the wall.

If this subject was very close to the background, the wall would be pure white. If you don't want pure white, move the subject away from the wall. If your room is large enough, you will eventually get to the point where the white background has turned black.

How do you do this? Make sure that your studio lights are overpowering any ambient window or fixture lights. A good combination to start with is a shutter speed of approximately 1/200, and an aperture of f8. Place your lights slightly over the subject, in any direction that you choose. Make sure the lights aren't pointing toward the background. With this studio set-up, you should be able to effectively control the shade of the background simply by altering the position of the subject. This technique is very useful for photographers on a budget, as you will not need to purchase a gray background. 

To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

OVERHEAD PHOTOS

This photo was taken by me a few years ago in a special section of Kyoto called Higashiyama. Because of the crowd, I needed to hold the camera over my head to get the shot. This technique can be very effective, but also troublesome when in autofocus. 

To insure you focus on what you want, even when you aren't able to see the scene through the viewfinder or rear screen, try the following:

While looking through the camera, autofocus on chosen subject. Then switch the camera to manual focus, place the camera over your head, and start shooting! The focus will remain constant while you try different compositions over your head. When you are done remember to switch the camera back to autofocus, if that is the mode that you usually use.

It is a simple tip, but it can very effective especially with darker scenes such as dusk and very early mornings. To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

CLARITY TOOL

There will be times when a commercial shoot will result in an image that is unavoidably low-contrast. If you need to photograph two dimensional subjects, such as this antique flag, you may find that even a high contrast in-camera setting does not provide the clarity that is required. Thus, in Photoshop RAW we can use the "Clarity" slider to help with our mid-tones.

Set your camera to shoot in its RAW setting, and open the resultant file in Photoshop. In most cases, the program will be set up so that the RAW converter handles the file prior to opening the normal Photoshop screen. You will find a slider called "Clarity", and by taking it to the right you will see the mid tones increase in contrast, while keeping the highlights and shadows relatively untouched.

This tool is an easy and quick way to do mid-tone contrast adjustments to flat, washed out subject matter.

To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

THREE LIGHT SETUP

I took this photo for a local auction where the public bids on hiring a chef, who will come to their home to cook a meal (thus the chef's knife and wine glass!). For location portraits, it is often beneficial to have a triangular pattern of lighting. One light should be in front of the subject slightly off-center, and two lights on either side of the subject, placed slightly to the rear. 

The rear lights should be behind the subject, but placed so that a sliver of light illuminates both the left and right side of the subject's head. If you try this triangular lighting technique and find that the light is far too bright on the two sides of the subject's head, simply increase the frontal light, or decrease the rear light output.

To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

NIKON D90 VIDEO REVIEW

From time to time I will be giving my thoughts on Nikon and their foray into video. Despite the technical limitations of the camera, I have been able to get some really dynamic footage from three different countries so far. When it is finished, I will include on this blog a short film that I did in Japan, solely using the D90.

This blog entry is simply a reminder to check your footage for any potentially interesting still images! Even though HD video is not a great resolution for making prints, it is certainly fine for web viewing. This evocative still image is of my assistant Jon, as he was standing in while getting the manual focus right. I find the D90 has a nice "cinematic" look to it, and I am looking forward to the next offering from Nikon.

Click Here to see Mark Hemmings website. All photos copyright M. Hemmings

COLORED LIGHTING

To add drama to any product photography you may be asked to do, try using a combination of light colors. This only works however when the two types of colors are not mixed together. For example, the glass color of the bottle of wine was green, so I accentuated the green bottle by illuminating the back of the bottle with green light. The front of the bottle had a white label, so it was important to illuminate the front of the bottle with normal white balanced light (5500 Kelvin).

 

The best way to experiment with color effects is to purchase "colored gels". Any professional camera store can order these for you, and the most common are blue, green, and orange. They are sheets of colored plastic that you place in front of your light to change the color. As mentioned above, certain parts of objects may need to always remain normal white. You can do this by simply not using colored gels on that particular part of the object.

To see more work by Mark Hemmings, click here.

LAB ENVIRONMENTS

If you are ever requested to shoot in a lab environment, or other sterile location such as commercial kitchens or hospitals, always do your best to have a brighter background than foreground.

The lighter background will accentuate the viewers feeling of cleanliness and professionalism. A darker background will appear slightly depressing, and not as sterile. To get this shot, I used a Nikon speedlight and placed it on remote firing. When my normal studio strobe fired in the lab, the small Nikon flash fired inside the glass enclosure (behind the model). Had I not illuminated this background, the image would have lost almost all of its value.

Click here to see more photographs by Mark Hemmings. All photographs copyright Mark Hemmings.

NIKON D5000 OPINIONS

I was excited this morning when I discovered that the D5000 was in fact a reality! Very few people have seen this camera, as it is not released yet, but by reading the specs I will share my thoughts:

1. The swivel screen is excellent for photographing in large crowds where you need to raise the camera above your head (press scrums, concerts, etc.), and also great for seeing what you are filming with the video feature.

2. The camera will work very well for snapshots of people using the built-in flash, in Auto mode. My assumptions are based on the D90's excellent performance in full Auto mode, while taking family pics at birthday parties and other non-professional events. This camera, while not in the D90 class, will no doubt equal the D90 in its D-Lighting and flash balancing capabilities.

3. The video will probably be of the same quality as the D90; not so great with regards to the Jello-like effects of "rolling shutter", but very decent for low depth-of-field effects when using fast prime lenses.

4. It will be a great travel camera, just like the D90. It is small, light, unobtrusive, and relatively inexpensive considering its many features. Up until last year I would take my large professional camera bodies on international trips. I don't do this anymore; my last two trips were shot entirely on the Nikon D90, with great results.

5. Do you have a family with small children? The D5000 may be perfect for you. The video capability will be much easier than the D90 due to the swivel screen, and as mentioned above, the camera is feature-packed, inexpensive, lightweight, and it looks easy to use.

To get more information on this camera, do a Google search for "D5000". DP Review is also a great source for a more detailed study of the camera. The comments section is open, feel free to discuss and ask any questions!

Click here to see Mark Hemmings website. 

DELETE LATER!

The attached photo taken in Tokyo a few weeks ago is one of my favorites, yet is very much unacceptable according to compositional rules and common practices. The photo wasn't planned to be a statement against established picture-space guidelines; it was a mistake! I saw the two girls crossing the street from a distance, so I quickly climbed up on top of a tall curb, but missed the shot. They were in the photo, but I wasn't quick enough to compose properly.



I was about to delete the image, but decided it would be best to wait until I reviewed all the images at my hotel. When I got the shot on the screen, I changed my opinion, and decided I would continue its existence!

This is simply a reminder to be very cautious when deleting digital images in the camera. It is often best to delete them after reviewing on a computer monitor. This time period will also give you greater perspective on what images have value, and which ones do not.

To see more photography by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings.

MIRRORS AND DEPTH

If you are doing an interior photo shoot, and the locations have mirrors, why not use them to your advantage? Mirrors have a way of creating depth to an interior image, because they give the illusion that there are more rooms beyond the walls. If you have models in the shot, position them so that they are viewed multiple times in the same image.

I took this photo of a changing room in an oil refinery. While there were only two models present, I was able to get five people in the shot (reflection in the left mirror, two reflections in the right mirror, two actual models). It may take a bit of planning as to where you need the models to stand, but it will be worth it!

To see more photography by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings.

BLUE COLOR CAST

Each year I take people to Nagano, Japan, to photograph the famous Japanese Snow Monkeys. I took this photo last week, and was struck by the emotive quality of the image. This blog entry will be old news to many of my readers, but it is worth repeating. When you have a subject that is melancholic in nature, it is usually best to use a blue filter, or a color balance that produces a cool, blue-ish hue. This color tone will accentuate the moodiness of the image.

The day was overcast, and relatively neutral in color. By placing my digital camera on "tungsten" setting (light bulb icon), the image tone is changed from neutral to blue. If you are adept with using the Kelvin scale in your digital cameras, try a very low number, such as 3500 K.

I have never used the comments option on Blogger, but it is now open, and I will try to answer any questions or comments that are posted. Thanks!

To see more Japan images by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings.

EARLY MORNING SCENES

Today is my last day in Japan, and I was blessed with snowfall in the mountains of Nagano. I was staying at a traditional inn with a beautiful outdoor natural hotspring bath. The water was very hot, and the air very cold due to the elevation and falling snow. I wanted to find the right time to photograph the bath, and chose one hour prior to sunrise.



If you are photographing natural scenes with flowing water, try very early in the morning. There are a number of advantages to getting up at such an hour: you will get a cool blue color cast, your water will flow soft and silk-like (due to long exposures), you will most likely get mist over the water, and the final product will be unique, as no one else will be waking up at such an unreasonable hour!

When using a tripod, make sure that you use a self-timer or remote shutter release to take the photo. Your hand touching the shutter release button can cause camera shake, which may be detrimental to the final image.

To see more Japan photos by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

JAPANESE ART AESTHETICS

I am teaching photography in Japan right now, and I took this image yesterday in Tokyo. I am reminded of the classic Japanese paintings that have a far greater percentage of empty space than subject matter. If you ever give yourself photo assignments, try this one out: find scenes that allow for 5%-10% subject matter, the rest of the scene being empty.



This type of imagery is powerful, as all of the viewer's efforts at comprehending the image are compressed downward to the small (but potent) subject matter. Give it a try!

To see more photos of Japan by Mark Hemmings, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

HARSH SUN, DEEP SHADOWS

Have you ever seen the cover photo for the Buena Vista Social Club? The scene is a Cuban street, with a man walking on one side, and an old classic American car on the other. The photo is not very good technically, but it is incredible aesthetically. The shadows are unacceptably deep, the photo is out of focus, and the man's face is hard to see. However it is one of my favorite images due to it's "soul" factor.



















If you are in mid-day sun, and you feel uninspired due to the harsh lighting, why not use the weather to your advantage? Create a low-fi image by increasing your camera's contrast, underexposing, boosting saturation, and finally, taking the picture slightly out of focus.
















My sample image is quite deficient compared to the Buena Vista image, but it gives you an idea of what is possible when you purposefully take technically poor pictures! Sometimes you will get gems that turn out to be quite profitable.

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STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

When doing street photography, it is of utmost importance to have your camera ready to shoot. Great images present themselves all the time; most often we are fumbling with our cameras and miss the shot.

I took this shot last week in Mexico, and it was one of those images that can never be re-shot! The police turned a corner, and I had only 3 seconds to take the photo. I find that it is best (for me at least) to have the camera set to Aperture Priority, on the lowest "f" number, with the exposure compensation (+/-) set to +0.3. I set the white balance to Cloudy, to keep things warm. 

Try the above camera settings the next time you are traveling, and hopefully you will find that it is a fast combination, for capturing fleeting moments!

To see more of Mark Hemmings work, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

WATER FOUNTAINS

Each year I do international photography courses for those who want to learn more about their cameras, and how to take better travel photos. Right now I am in Mexico teaching a course, in the beautiful UNESCO designated San Miguel de Allende. 

Last night as we were walking back to our villa, we came across a recessed fountain that seemed to glow with a mysterious light. Although difficult to see in the small photo below, a stream of water was pouring from a carved mask, and the water was bubbling and moving as a result of the fountain. The water was illuminated from the bottom of the pool:

This lesson is about flowing water and long shutter speeds. When you are photographing a fountain, there are ways to change the bubbling water to a smooth sheet of luminescent liquid. This is done via a long shutter speed. Here are some tips to create a similar image:

1. Compose the scene with your camera on a tripod.

2. Manually focus on a point in the scene that is of primary interest, namely the pool of water.

3. Set your camera to Aperture Priority, and your lens to f22 (or the highest f-number available).

4. If the photo is taken at night, be prepared for a very long photo. The sample photo above took 30 seconds.

5. Take the photo, and when it is finished adjust the exposure compensation (+/-) if your image is either too bright or too dark.

6. You should now have a smooth, glowing image ready for framing!

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OVERHEAD LIGHTING

I am on a theme of simplicity lately, so here is another one! When approaching the direction of a project, begin the experimentation with as few variables as possible. Keep everything minimal to begin with, and increase the complexity of lighting as needed.

This illustrative image was lit with only one overhead light. I tried the same composition with additional lights, but the photos weren't nearly as dramatic. This minimalist tip is good news for those on a budget . . . never be dismayed by your lack of gear; use what you have and put your soul into it!

To see more of Mark Hemmings work, click here. All photos copyright Mark Hemmings

SYMMETRY AND ASYMMETRY

When a potential composition allows for perfect, or near perfect symmetry, carefully adjust your camera and tripod so that all major lines are either vertical or horizontal. 

When the image is perfectly lined up, try to include an off-center subject within the symmetrical composition. This creates an interesting scenario where you have two unique compositional styles in one photo: symmetry and asymmetry.

This photo was taken last year during a trip to Hungary. It is at the Budapest Museum of Fine Art, in the ancient Rome and Greek hall.

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SINGLE LIGHT SOURCES

When confronted by the challenge to photograph objects, either for commercial jobs or for your own portfolio projects, the tendency is to overcomplicate the lighting.

This wine bottle was a commercial job, and the reflective glass posed a lot of challenges. I tried lighting it with up to five different strobes, and nothing was working. I finally gave up and put one single strobe over the bottle, and I was amazed at the difference. Less is more! 

Try to simplify your lighting setups. It will save you time and a lot of frustration.

POST PROCESSING

A quick tip on post processing for a dream-like effect:

Give the photo a very slight diffusion with Guassian Blur (but not too much!), then increase the contrast, and boost the saturation.

Make sure the color cast is on the warm side, meaning more red and orange, rather than blue.

These simple techniques can be found in almost any image editor, and can often rescue bland photographs.

REDUCING SHARPNESS

When it comes to issues of photo sharpness, almost always the subject deals with techniques to increase the sharpness of a particular image. I have found that digital images are often TOO sharp, and this detracts from their fine-art potential.

If your subject matter is more artistic than documentary in style, why not try a slight out-of-focus technique? It is very easy . . . simply focus on the subject normally, and then switch the lens to Manual Focus. At this point you only need to rotate the lens focus ring slightly. The results are a more organic, film-like look.

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STOCK SKY IMAGES

Here is a short but useful tip: when you are outside taking pictures, grab a few shots of nice cloud formations. 

You can use these photos to rescue bland, overcast exterior photographs that have blown-out, white skies. As long as you do the layering (in Photoshop or other editor) judiciously, you can produce a reasonably realistic landscape or exterior architectural image.

The more stock photos of clouds that you have in your collection, the easier it is to match with various exterior scenes. If you are unaware of the process of Layering, do a web search for Photoshop Layers. With a bit of practice you should be able to get the hang of it in a few hours!

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TEXTURED BACKGROUNDS

I always enjoy using textured backgrounds for fashion photo shoots. Wallpaper in old houses, curtains, or any fabric that has a certain amount of relief, or three dimensionality, can make for intriguing backgrounds. Flat, or non-textured backgrounds are not has photogenic, as there are no 'ridges' in the material to catch the light. When directional light encounters a bump or ridge in background fabric, there will always be a resultant miniscule shadow created. It is the shadows and highlights of a background that will give the appearance of depth, even in relatively flat objects such as sheets.

Remember that the appearance of depth on fabric will not be visible when light is pointed at a 90 degree angle (or straight on). You need to point the directional light at a sharp angle, 45 degrees or less. The slighter the angle, the more texture will be visible. 

All Photos Copyright Mark Hemmings. To see more work by Mark, CLICK HERE

GROUP PHOTOS

I was hired to photograph wrestlers for a television series, and the requirements were individual photos of each wrestler, and a group shot. Group shots can be difficult because people in the middle, and people on the ends of the group often receive inconsistent lighting. Depending on the subject matter, it may be best to photograph the models individually, and paste them into a group setting using software like Photoshop. 

This process can be tedious, because you will need to cut each model away from their background. The simplest way to do this (but not always the most accurate) is to use the Magnetic Lasoo tool.

My graphic design skills are somewhat basic, and I know of many professional designers who are masters of this process (and could do a far better job than I). Do not be intimidated by this process however . . . it is a useful skill to practice and learn. The major benefit that I can see is consistent lighting for each model. It would be impossible to get this hyper-real lighting if the wrestlers were all lined up together in a group during the photograph.

This type of photographic graphic design is quite common in the movie industry. Whenever you rent a movie, take a look at the DVD cover photos, or movie posters. 90% of the time the actors were photographed in a studio at different intervals, and later placed together for the final product; a group photograph of people who were never in a group to begin with.

All photographs Copyright Mark Hemmings

DEFOCUSED PHOTOS

In 1999 I lived in Nagano, Japan, working as a photographer while my wife was working as a teacher. Every week I would take the bullet train to Tokyo, and spend time in the various subway stations learning the art of street photography. I was particularly taken with the odd and wonderful results of photographing people out-of-focus.



The results were often ethereal and dream-like; long skinny arms, legs, and necks, and due to fluorescent lighting, odd color balances.

To try this technique, always have your lens at the lowest f-number, and of course in manual focus. Overexposure is also important, as this type of photography loses it's appeal if exposed properly.

Have fun experimenting!
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HIGH CONTRAST - SHINY OBJECTS

I love photographing shiny, curved objects such as metal, acrylic, and glass. These objects allow for a very high contrast appearance due to the reflective material's propensity to blow-out the highlights. This simply means that the bright reflective areas of shiny material will usually be pure white, with no color or tonal information. Most of the time this situation is undesirable; we almost always want at least a little bit of shade or color, even in the brightest highlights.




Instead of taking a normally exposed photo that has excessively white shiny reflections, why not dramatically underexpose the photo? This technique will increase the appearance of contrast, and will keep tonal information in the bright white sections of the photograph. This technique will also add to the "fine art" aspect of your image.

These sleek machines are Japanese bullet trains called Shinkansen, photographed in Tokyo Station using T-Max P3200 B&W film.
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MAGAZINE STYLE PHOTOS

When shooting interiors for magazines, you will often use strobe lights if people are NOT in the photograph, and ambient light (windows and lightbulbs) if people ARE included in the images.



When people are in the photograph it is often advisable to have them walking, which increases the dynamic aspect of the composition. For a grounding effect, placing stationary people in the background can add to the static/dynamic balance.

If you were to use a flash for my above sample photograph, the people would have a sort of "ghost trail" moving ahead of their bodies. It does not look pleasing! Instead, the technique used is to have your camera on a tripod with no flash or strobe, and experiment with different shutter speeds (or different walking speeds), until you get a motion blur that is not too abstract, and not too still. A good shutter speed to start with is 1/2 second.

If there were no people in the photograph, studio strobes would be helpful to create a more even balance between the large volume of window light, and lesser intensity of interior lighting. While you can certainly still use models with flash or strobe lighting, they will be "frozen" in place, which may reduce the image's marketability.

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CONTROLLING LENS FLARE

One of my favorite non-photoshop techniques is lens-flare. This photo was a painful procedure for me, as it was extremely cold outside. It was no doubt enjoyable for the models however, relaxing in the nice warm outdoor hot tub! I love the result however, as the steam and snow accurately give the viewer a sense of the cold air, and warm water.



It is the lens flare however that makes the photograph for me. This technique is easily done, and the results will always be unique:
1. Overexpose the photograph.
2. Do not have the sun in the composition, but place it just millimeters outside of the frame.
3. You can control (to a certain extent) how the flare will behave by moving your own physical position.
4. Take the picture! If the image is too dark, overexpose more.

This technique is easy to do, and is especially helpful for winter scenes. Make sure you do not look at sun through your viewfinder. For those of you with newer D-SLR cameras with LiveView, you can compose via the screen. Good luck!

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BLUE/YELLOW POLARIZER

This tip will be old news to many of my readers, but for those who have never heard of this filter, it is worthy of a post. The Blue/Yellow polarizing filter goes by a few different names, depending on the manufacturer. They all do a similar trick however, and create either a blue tone to reflective surfaces, or a yellow tone on the same surfaces, depending on how much you rotate the lens filter. I included one of my photos to illustrate, rotated to the Yellow side of the filter:



The reflective surface in this photo is the flowing stream. The polarizing filter gave it a warm, dreamlike hue, which can save a potentially boring nature photograph. The blue version of the stream looked equally intriguing, but for my purposes I stayed with the warmer version (it was photographed for a real estate company promoting their natural surroundings).

While these filters are hyper-realistic, they are very fun to work with, and can often perform miracles on dreary days. Most filter companies offer this polarizer, and they can be purchased at any professional camera store.

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EARLY MORNING SNOWFALL

Although we haven't had our first snowfall in my city yet, hopefully this post will encourage you to prepare for great photo opportunities in the months ahead.



The best time to capture exterior winter photographs is the morning after a snowfall. Here are some tips:
1. You only have a 20 minute window when the outdoor ambient light levels equal the light levels of the building(s) you are photographing. Thus, you should be outside and ready to photograph even when it is dark.
2. Auto exposure should be fine. The blue of the snow, and the orange of the artificial lights should evenly mix what your camera's white balance computer suggests as an appropriate color temperature.
3. Use a tripod and a remote shutter release of some sort, and set your camera to f8, in Aperture Priority mode. You may then have to adjust the +/- exposure compensation buttons to fine tune the exposure after a test shot.
4. As soon as there is a small amount of sky light, you should start shooting. At first, the building's artificial lights will be much brighter than the snow. Then a few minutes later, the photo will be balanced perfectly. Five to ten minutes after your well-balanced photo, you will find that the conditions are no longer adequate for a balanced picture. The snow will be far brighter than the building's lights, and the romantic scene will be greatly lessened due to (relatively) darker artificial exterior lights.
5. While I do not tend to use them, sometimes a softening filter can be useful to make the photo even more dreamy.
6. The only downside to this technique is the pain of waking up early on a snowy cold morning. This laborious aspect of the photo shoot wanes after you start to see the fantastic scene through your viewfinder! It is a great joy to make a photograph during a time of day that almost no one else gets to witness.

I took this photo in the picturesque village of Mt. Tremblant, in Quebec.
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FREEZING WATER

Today's post is very simple and short, but might not be readily known by many photographers. When you are required to photograph moving water within a steel environment such as a sink, always use a flash.



The strobe of light will stop all motion, and will dramatically enhance the stainless steel background. Normal house interior lighting is often not adequate to get a bold, sharp photo with a neutral color cast. Make sure, however, not to simply point your camera flash at the water. It should be diffused or reflected off of a very large surface. One idea is to shoot your flash into a large piece of white bristol board that is angled for the water, or another option is to shoot the flash through large diffusion material such as a bedsheet.

As always, I try to make these posts accessible to those who cannot afford professional gear. When the time comes to buy your first light kit, spend the money to get the largest softbox you can afford. The larger the softbox, the better the picture (in most cases!)

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INDUSTRIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

As a result of an energy boom in my city, industrial photography is now a regular part of my business. I love this type of photography because it deals with shiny steel, bold architectural lines, and very graphic, aggressive visual elements.



If you are ever in the position to take photographs in industrial areas, here are a few tips:
1. Cooler tones are almost always better than warmer tones for metal products.
2. Look for traditional, bold compositions. Experimental compositions may not work as well for this type of photography; you are ideally looking for compositional 'power' that is a result of thirds or symmetrical compositions.
3. Overcast days tend to be better for steel. There are exceptions of course, but this has been my experience.
4. Tripods are essential even on very bright days, due to the need for architecturally straight lines.
5. High contrast settings on cameras or in post processing tends to look better than normal contrast.
6. While low depth of field lens aperture options are attractive for most images, I find that industrial locations with plenty of steel look best with apertures of f8 or f11. Industrial photography is very similar to architectural photography in that sense.

And finally, keep your equipment clean! Such environments tend to wear out your equipment sooner than normal locations. Here are some more photographs from my other company, Industrial Photographic Services. Hopefully they can be of additional help to you.

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COMPOSITIONAL ALIGNMENT

This interior shot of a Mexican villa was taken with a 17mm wide angle lens. When doing interior wide angle photography, it is helpful to locate a straight line in the architecture, and use this straight line as a reference point. Take a look at my photo below:

The only obvious straight line of any length is the yellow beam on the right side of the photo. By lining the edge of my camera's viewfinder with the straight wall beam, I was able to get an accurate composition. Keep an eye out for straight lines, either vertical or horizontal, to use as guides. If your camera has the option of turning on a grid display within the viewfinder, it would be wise to make use of it.

Some people have had success with bubble levels that fit on a camera's hotshoe, but I have found that the bubble is too small to allow for great accuracy. If all else fails however, there are always straightening tools in Photoshop. It is best though to get the photo composed perfectly the first time, as Photoshop straightening will slightly reduce the photo's resolution.

The room at the top of the stairs in this photo can be yours for a week! James Wilson and I are leading a photography tour to the Spanish Colonial town of San Miguel, and we are staying in this lovely Mexican villa. For more information on our international photography tours, please click here:
http://www.markhemmings.com/japan_photo_tour/index.htm

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NIKON D90 REVIEW

Awhile back I did a review of the Nikon D300, and concluded that for professionals it was an ideal back-up camera, but also a very acceptable option for professional and amateur travel photography. In the past I would take a very large camera while traveling (such as the D2x), which increased the weight I had to carry, and made me quite conspicuous on the streets. With the advent of the Nikon D300 I had a smaller camera body, but with a great 14-bit chip to record images that had challenging lighting.

The Nikon D90 is my new travel companion for a number of reasons. Here are a few:
1. It is inexpensive compared to similar 12 MP DSLR's
2. It is very lightweight, and small, which is great for traveling
3. It takes SD cards which are more readily available than CF, and are cheaper
4. While not 14-bit, the 12-bit sensor creates imagery almost as good as the Pro D3
5. It records manual focus HD video, great for travel locations

The video has some issues that would keep it from being used professionally, however it is excellent for creating fine art short films, travel videos, and family films. I have had great success using a 50mm lens shooting video at f1.4, which gives the final product a more film-like appearance as opposed to the plasticky look of video.

The less than $1200 price tag makes this a great camera for all levels. Professionals will find it helpful as a back-up in case of emergencies, travel photographers will like it because of the quality and because it is a "safer" camera to have on the streets, and amateurs will like it because it is simple to use and very effective. To sum up: It is cheap enough to not be a disaster if it was broken or stolen, and good enough for many professional applications. That mix makes the camera ideal for travel, as you need both elements (quality and expendability) for a successful trip.

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OVERCAST SKIES

Overcast days are wonderful for Fall foliage, but the addition of that dull gray blob of a sky can seriously detract from your great image. Why not just crop out the sky? If the sky is not an integral part of your composition, or the desire of your art director, just get rid of it (or leave a small slice like the sample photo). Give it a try! Your photo will be much better for it.

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REMOTE SHUTTER RELEASES

Proper street photography is always unplanned and spontaneous. I subscribe to this ethos 95% of the time, except for the following scenario: a perfect location with no people around! This old picturesque part of Kyoto is called Ishibe Koji, and it is a great delight for exploring both night and day. There were no people around (unbelievably!) when I was there, which was disappointing due to the great scene. So I set up my camera on a tripod, composed the shot, and attached a remote cable release. After waiting about 10 minutes eventually this well-suited and unaware model walked into my frame. I quickly took the picture and got what I wanted.

The advantage of using a remote shutter release (either cable or infrared) is its unobtrusive means of tripping the shutter. In fact, you don't even need to be looking through the camera, just trip the shutter as soon as someone enters the scene.

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