Paul Timpa Photography Blog &#187; Photography

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Your First D-SLR: Best Ways to Use It

timpaphotography — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:52:42 +0000

Sunrise over Tahiti

Congratulations! You've purchased your first D-SLR and now it's time to start taking pictures. Many of my friends have also purchased their first D-SLRs too. For those without any background in photography (or who haven't yet read lots of books and magazines), you may not know where to start with your new camera. With all the buttons and new terminology, it can be easy to fall into the trap of just setting your D-SLR to “Auto” mode and letting the camera do all the work.

D-SLRs are capable of taking stunning photos. Before we begin, please allow me to let you know where it’s best not to start. Try to avoid using your new D-SLR like it’s just a larger version of a compact camera. A D-SLR offers much more important features than just great picture quality. D-SLRs enable you to create images that are not possible with point-and-shoots. That's what this article is about.

The easiest and best way to improve your photography is to embrace these features and use them to create photos that can't be taken with a compact camera. That will immediately set your photography apart from the crowd.

What are those features? There are quite a few of them and we'll go through them one-by-one so you understand what each feature is and how to take advantage of it for your own pictures:

First, D-SLRs enable you to take photos where the subject is in sharp focus but the background is intentionally blurred. This makes the subject "pop" out of the picture, and can be one of the best ways to make your images look professional.

Pina Colada, Mexico

These types of photos are not possible on a compact point-and-shoot. The physically small size of a point-and-shoot camera's sensor and lens prevents you from blurring the background on most shots. Because D-SLR sensors and lenses are bigger, you're able to blur the background. Blurring the background is important because it eliminates all the clutter behind your subject and draws attention right to what’s important. In order to achieve the blur, simply use a very wide aperture on your lens such as F4 or F2.8. You can set this by using either Aperture Priority (Av) or Manual (M) mode. The closer you are to the subject and the more you have your lens zoomed in, the greater the effect. So set a wide aperture, zoom in, and get close and you'll achieve that beautiful blur. Try this technique on portraits and sports. Portraits look amazing when the subject is in sharp focus and the background blends to a silky blur of color. Be sure to focus on the eyes of your subject when shooting with wide apertures. Sports are another great time to blur the background. The background at sporting events can often be cluttered with other players, the crowd, advertisements and signs, etc. By blurring the background, your bring the attention right on the athlete. Shooting food this way also produces great results.

Second, D-SLRs are much better at taking pictures in low light than point-and-shoots. D-SLR sensors are larger and are better at gathering light, so the picture quality is improved. You can often shoot with no flash. Use this to your advantage to get shots that would otherwise be impossible with a compact camera.

Statue of Atlas and St. Patrick's Cathedral

Set the camera to your widest aperture and the ISO to 800 (or even higher if the picture quality looks good) and get out there at night, or indoors in dark scenes and start taking pictures. With a wide aperture, a shutter speed around 1/40th, an ISO of 800 or 1600, and a steady hand, you'll be amazed at what you can capture in very dim lighting. Use it for everything from night photography on the streets to indoor photography at concerts, children’s recitals, birthday parties, weddings, etc. Remember, since there’s no need for flash, this is also great for taking pictures of people that are far away where the flash wouldn't reach, such as on a stage.

Third, D-SLRs allow manual control of the shutter speed, enabling long-exposure photography. Most point-and-shoots except for a few of the advanced models do not allow control of the shutter speed. Using long shutter speeds on your D-SLR can be one of the best ways to produce stunning images with loads of impact and movement.

Colosseum, Rome

Mount your camera on a tripod or rest it on something steady, and set the shutter speed to anywhere from 1/4 second to 30+ seconds depending on what you're photographing. You can use either Shutter Priority (Tv) or Manual (M) mode. Try 1/4 second for moving people in a busy place to show the “hustle and bustle”, or 30 seconds for cars and traffic, to capture light trails at night.

Wall Street, NYC

A shutter speed of a few seconds is great for capturing the glistening lights of a city skyline.

South Street Seaport, NYC

Use your camera’s Bulb mode and a remote control and you can take photos that last several minutes and show the stars streaking across the sky! Using long exposures is also one of the ways that photographers can capture photos of lightning striking during a storm. For all shots, it's important to use the camera's 10-second self timer or a remote control to trigger the shutter, because touching the shutter button will blur the shot.

Fourth, capture high-speed action. D-SLRs are very fast in two ways: (1) There is very little lag between when you press the shutter and when the photo is taken and (2) The shutter speeds can be very fast, such as 1/4000th of a second, allowing you to freeze action and capture images that you can't even see with the human eye.

Sunrise, Mexico

Use this for capturing an athlete mid-air diving for a ball, bicycle riders racing down a mountain, raindrops splashing in a puddle, or birds swooping down to land on a lake. Find anything that moves very fast and see if you can freeze its movement. Use either Shutter Priority (Tv) or Manual (M) mode to set the shutter speed.

Fifth, use wide-angle lenses. Most compact cameras have a widest angle of about 28mm, with the occasional compact going to 24mm. By contrast, D-SLRs can go as wide as 15 or 16mm with fairly common lenses, and even wider with specialty lenses. While this may not sound like a lot in terms of millimeters, it is actually much wider and produces photos that are very different and often extremely dramatic.

Eiffel Tower, Paris

If your D-SLR has an APS-C size sensor, a lens that goes to around 10mm will be ultra-wide. If you're using a full-frame camera, a lens around 16mm will be ultra-wide. Capture wide sweeping views of a landscape, or get every person at the family reunion in the photo, even in a small room.

By using wide apertures to blur the background, high ISOs for low-light photography, very long or very fast shutter speeds for motion, and wide-angle lenses, you will immediately start taking photos that set you apart from the crowd.

One last comment -- I love compact point-and-shoot cameras and I use them all the time. I even have a few of them for different types of photography. They're perfect for carrying with you wherever you go, and they enable you to capture images that you otherwise might have missed. Today's compacts also have fantastic picture quality. There is a time and a place for everything, and using your existing compact camera along with your D-SLR for more dramatic images will give you the greatest amount of photographic possibilities.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I've also created an app for iPhone, Android, and iPod Touch which teaches you photography -- more info can be found here:

Photography Trainer iPhone app

Best,
Paul

To keep up-to-date with the latest photo additions and other topics, you can also become a fan at my Photography Facebook page at:

If you'd like to purchase prints or stock photography licenses for my photos (for advertising and editorial use), please visit:

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How to Photograph Fireworks

timpaphotography — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:46:47 +0000

Tutorial: How to Photograph Fireworks

With 4th of July in the Unites States coming up as well as other celebrations all around the world, I’ve written this tutorial on how to photograph fireworks.

Taking pictures of fireworks is a relatively easy process, and you can get some amazing photos. While it does take a small bit of experimentation to get the settings just right, once the camera is all set, you can just sit back and enjoy the show.

For the best photos of fireworks, you’ll want to use a tripod or rest the camera on something steady. To really capture the impact of the streaks of light, exposures of a few seconds are required, and that’s too long to hold the camera steady in your hands. If you have a shutter release cable that triggers the shutter, you may want to use that too so you don’t have to touch the camera with your finger to take the picture. Touching the camera can result in blurry shots. That being said, I’ve also included tips on how to photograph fireworks without a tripod at the bottom of this post.

One of the most important tips I can give for fireworks photography is to use manual focus. Autofocus doesn’t really work on fireworks and will often give you totally out-of-focus pictures. To set the focus of your lens for fireworks, temporarily use autofocus to focus on the farthest object from you (for example a distant building). This will set the focus on your lens to infinity. Then simply use the switch on the lens barrel to switch the lens to manual focus, and you’re all set. All of the fireworks will now be in focus. Note: Once you’ve switched to manual focus, it’s important to avoid accidentally touching the focus ring on the lens as you move the camera around, or all your photos will be out of focus. Periodically double-check the sharpness of the fireworks on the camera’s LCD screen.

Tutorial: How to Photograph Fireworks

Make sure the flash is off for all photos. Flash will have no impact on the fireworks, and will only illuminate the backs of the heads of other spectators, making the fireworks appear darker.

Once focus is set and the flash if off, it’s time to aim the camera toward the fireworks and pick the best focal length. Point the camera in the general direction of where the fireworks will be exploding in the air. Turn the camera vertically if all the fireworks are coming from one launch spot, or keep it horizontal if the fireworks are being launched from more than one location. Check to make sure that there are no nearby streetlights or other light sources in the picture, or they will overpower the photo. For focal length, it’s easy to fall into the trap of just choosing the widest angle on your lens so you capture everything, but you may wind up with photos of a lot of black sky and very small fireworks. It’s better to zoom in a little on an area of the sky where the fireworks are going off, so that they’re larger in the frame and fill the photo with light streaks. Just be sure to double-check now and again that the fireworks going off are in the frame. One exception where a wider focal length works is if the fireworks are over water – the wider lens may allow you to capture the fireworks as well as their reflection in the water.

When you’ve successfully set the focus and the camera is pointing in the right direction, it’s time to set the exposure. You may need to experiment a little during the first few fireworks bursts to pick the right camera settings. Every situation is different, depending on your surroundings. Set the camera to Manual (M) mode since you want complete control of the exposure. Start by setting the ISO to its lowest setting, usually ISO 100 or 200. Then set the aperture to around F16. Set the shutter speed for about 2 seconds.

Now you’re ready for some test shots. When the fireworks begin, take a few test photos of the bursts. Remember to use your shutter release if you have one. Take a look at the framing of the shots and ensure the fireworks are in the photo where you want them. Look at the brightness of the fireworks and the overall photo. If the fireworks are too dark or the streaks are not long enough, increase the shutter speed to 3 or 4 seconds, or more. If the fireworks are too bright, try closing down the aperture even more. Narrow apertures (higher numbers) such as F16 and F22 will darken the fireworks to ensure they’re not overexposed. Wider apertures such as F11 and F8 will brighten the fireworks and the overall photo. Take a few test shots at various settings to see what looks best. Periodically check that the camera is still focused properly and the fireworks are sharp.

Tutorial: How to Photograph Fireworks

If you find yourself at a fireworks display and you don’t have a tripod or somewhere to rest the camera, it’s still possible to take photos to capture some of the action. Try these settings and experiment until you like the results: Set the camera to Manual (M) mode. Set the ISO to 800, the aperture to F5.6 or F4, and the shutter speed to 1/20th second. You should be able to get sharp shots with a shutter speed of around 1/20th or 1/30th of a second if you use an image stabilized lens at a fairly wide focal length and you hold the camera very still. If the photos are too dark or you want a faster shutter speed to ensure sharp shots, try raising the ISO even further (to ISO 1600), or if your aperture goes wider, set it to F2.8. Press the shutter at the peak of the action – that is shortly after the burst where the long streaks are still visible in the sky.

That’s all there is to it. After just a few test shots, you should have the settings exactly as you want them, and you can sit back and enjoy the show. Simply press the shutter release during particularly nice fireworks bursts, and you’ll come away with some amazing photos of the celebration. If you have any questions, please let me know.

I've also created an app for iPhone, Android, and iPod Touch which teaches you photography -- more info can be found here:

Photography Trainer iPhone app

Best,
Paul

To keep up-to-date with the latest photo additions and other topics, you can also become a fan at my Photography Facebook page at:

If you'd like to purchase prints or stock photography licenses for my photos (for advertising and editorial use), please visit:

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The Louvre Pyramid by I.M. Pei, Paris Stock Photos, Paul Timpa Photography

timpaphotography — Fri, 21 May 2010 15:34:39 +0000

Paris is such a beautiful place, and amazing for photography.

This is a photo of the Louvre Pyramid, which now serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum in the main courtyard, Cour Napoleon. It was designed by architect I. M. Pei and completed in 1989.

I wanted to photograph the pyramid at night so that it was internally lit. You can visit the courtyard fairly late in the evening, even after the museum closes. On this particular night, there were only a few pedestrians, so it was relatively easy to get a shot with no one in the photo.

The shot required a tripod and long exposure. On a calm night, you can get great reflections. This location is definitely worth a visit at night during a trip to Paris.

Enjoy.

My iPhone app which teaches photography is here:
Photography Trainer for iPhone and iPod Touch

My Photography Tutorials list is here:
Photography Tutorials List

Best regards,
Paul

If you'd like to purchase prints or stock photography licenses for my photos (for advertising and editorial use), please visit:

To keep up-to-date with the latest photo additions and other topics, you can become a fan at my Photography Facebook page at:

Search on "Photography Trainer" on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or Android phone or click here to download from iTunes

Photography Trainer iPhone app Teaches You Photography

timpaphotography — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:45:06 +0000

Paul Timpa Photography is proud to announce the launch of the Photography Trainer iPhone app, a training tool on your iPhone or iPod Touch that teaches you photography when you need it most -- when you're out with your D-SLR and taking pictures! [Now available for Android too!]

The app has three sections designed to help you:

Photography Trainer iPhone app

The In-Depth Techniques section has photography tutorials that go into further detail on topics such as:

* Getting razor-sharp photos
* HDR Photography
* Night photography
* Sports, Action, and Wildlife
* Composition
…and more…

Take your photography to the next level with the Photography Trainer and learn when you’re out with your camera – it’s the best time.

You can download from iTunes by clicking here: Download Photography Trainer

or search on "Photography Trainer" in the app store on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PhotographyTrainer

Best regards,
Paul

Colosseum, Rome

Sedona, Arizona

Tahiti

South Street Seaport, New York City

Camera Settings for Helicopter Photography and Aerial Photography

timpaphotography — Wed, 12 May 2010 18:33:57 +0000

Hawaii Stock Photos - Images by Paul Timpa

This post discusses the camera settings and equipment recommended for photography from a helicopter or airplane. It is a follow-up to my previous post that displayed images from an aerial photo shoot on Kauai's Na Pali Coast in Hawaii.

I recently returned from Hawaii where I knew I would be taking a helicopter tour of Kauai. Prior to the trip, I did much research into the appropriate camera settings and equipment for aerial photography. I was very happy with the results of my trip and thought I'd share what I learned from my research and from the actual photoshoot.

Equipment:

Assuming you'll have your D-SLR with you, the main choice you'll have to make is which lens to bring for the helicopter tour. Keep in mind that in most cases, you will not be allowed to change lenses during the flight. As a matter of fact, you will likely not even be able to bring additional lenses. It's important to make the right choice.

I recommend a zoom lens in the moderate-wide-angle to short telephoto range, such as a 24-70mm on a full-frame camera, or an 18-55mm or 17-85mm lens on an APS-C camera. This will enable the widest range of shots that capture the magic of aerial photography. Telephoto zoom lenses have too long a focal length to capture the spectacular wide sweeping views you can achieve from the air. I do not recommend bringing your 70-200mm lens. On the other end of the spectrum, ultra-wide angle lenses like a 16-35mm on full-frame or 10-22mm on APS-C have too limited a focal range, and equally as important, are almost too wide -- at the widest focal ranges you may actually get much of the helicopter itself in the shot, even on a doorless helicopter where you're able to shoot from outside (you'll still capture the rotor blades and the landing skids). Your best bet is a lens that covers approximately 24mm to 100mm full-frame-equivalent.

As far as accessories, don't bring any. Filters like polarizers will only get in the way and decrease your shutter speed. There is also limited time to constantly be adjusting the filter. The same applies to lens hoods, which will limit mobility, and in a doorless helicopter will get torn off by the wind. Leave all filters and lens hoods on the ground.

Use the largest memory card you have, preferably 8GB at minimum. Many helicopter tour operators do not allow mid-flight changes of your memory card, especially in a doorless helicopter.

Camera Settings:

There are a few things I recommend when it comes to camera settings. Firstly, shutter speed is the most important setting to monitor. You'll need very fast shutter speeds in order to combat the movement and vibrations of the aircraft. I suggest ensuring that the shutter speed is at least 1/1000th second at bare minimum, and preferably in the 1/2000th range. You can achieve these speeds with a combination of wide aperture and ISO. While there are many ways to set the camera, my suggestion is using Aperture Priority mode. Set the aperture to one of the widest settings to allow plenty of light into the camera. Depth-of-field is not an issue since most everything will be focused at infinity. Depending on the brightness of the day, start with the ISO at 100 or 200 and check the shutter speeds that are achieved with that aperture / ISO combination. If you're in the range of at least 1/1000 to 1/2000, you're OK. If the shutter speed is below that, raise the ISO until you're in that range. During the flight, you'll need to constantly monitor the shutter speed through the viewfinder, as lighting conditions can change dramatically depending on the scene. Be prepared to raise and lower the ISO quickly to compensate for changing conditions. I do not recommend just setting the ISO to 400 or 800 because if you encounter a very bright scene, you may reach your camera's max shutter speed and wind up with an overexposed photo. In addition to being able to adjust the ISO quickly, you will likely need to adjust exposure compensation frequently to achieve the correct exposure. Be prepared to adjust exposure compensation from scene to scene by quickly checking the LCD to confirm you're not over or underexposed. For this same reason, I suggest shooting in RAW so you have the most flexibility with exposure adjustments when you get home.

While I would normally suggest Manual focus at infinity for the shoot, to ensure the speediest shooting, I'm instead going to recommend auto-focus. The reason is that there is a lot of movement inside the helicopter, and it's possible you might accidentally move the focus ring out of focus and wind up with an entire batch of out-of-focus images. During the day, your camera will have no problem keeping up with focus.

As for shooting mode, you can decide between single-shot and continuous shooting. If you're going to use continuous shooting, you'll need an extremely large memory card, of at least 16GB. As previously mentioned, in most helicopters you will not be able to change memory cards mid-flight. Continuous shooting can be helpful to ensure keepers, and also to give you a better chance of capturing a shot without the rotors visible. Even at very fast shutter speeds, with wide-angle lenses, it's possible to catch the rotors in the shot. If you're going with continuous mode, just be sure to use it sparingly and in short bursts. You don't want to run out of memory card space half-way through the flight.

Aerial shots from a helicopter or airplane can produce some truly spectacular images. I hope these tips and suggestions will help you on your photoshoot.

I've also created an app for iPhone, Android, and iPod Touch which teaches you photography -- more info can be found here:

Photography Trainer iPhone app

Best regards,
Paul

If you'd like to purchase prints or stock photography licenses for my photos (for advertising and editorial use), please visit:

To keep up-to-date with the latest photo additions and other topics, you can become a fan at my Photography Facebook page at:

Jack Harter Helicopters:
http://www.helicopters-kauai.com/

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Hawaii Stock Photos, Paul Timpa Photography Aerial Photo Shoot, Na Pali Coast, Kauai

timpaphotography — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:26:17 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to photograph Hawaii's Na Pali Coast on the North Coast of Kauai from the air. It was a spectacular experience. I highly recommend it, especially for photographers. You can capture amazing images during an aerial shoot of Hawaii from a helicopter. The image above shows the rugged coast with a secluded beach.

We chartered a helicopter from Jack Harter Helicopters, one of the most respected companies in Hawaii. They were fantastic. Most importantly, apart from their expertise, is that they offer charters in helicopters with no doors. Their tours are available in Hughes 500 helicopters flown with the doors off. This is essential for capturing quality images because you don't have to shoot through glass. It also allows you to capture a variety of angles that would otherwise be impossible.

The photo above is of a deep valley within the Na Pali Coast. You can really see how rugged the landscape is here.

The photo below of the Na Pali Coast also shows the famous Kalalau Hiking Trail (though it may be difficult to see in a lower res image). This challenging but incredibly picturesque hike winds its way along the Na Pali Coast. Further to the left in the frame, you can see Ke'e Beach.

The image below is of a stunning valley with several waterfalls. I counted at least five waterfalls in this image. Truly amazing.

Photographing a Rainbow on the Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii

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"How to photograph from a moving helicopter": If you're photographing with a D-SLR, I recommend the following camera settings to get the most number of keepers. Provided it's bright enough, set the ISO to 100 or 200. Shoot in Aperture Priority mode with one of your widest apertures. Be sure to have your finger on the exposure compensation dial because you may need to adjust frequently if the meter reading is off. Most importantly, keep your eye on the shutter speed the entire time. I'd suggest ensuring that it is always at least 1/1000th of a second at minimum. If it drops below that, raise the ISO as necessary. You'll want to continually monitor the shutter speed and the exposure, because if you raise the ISO for a darker scene and then return to a bright area, you may find that you reach the maximum shutter speed resulting in overexposed images. Lower the ISO again if this happens. It's a constant balancing act between shutter speed and ISO, but it's a fun experience and the results are worth the challenge.

The photo below is taken with the camera pointed straight down (something that is somewhat impossible in a helicopter that has doors). This is a sea cave on the coast.

Below you can see a sweeping wide-angle view of the coast, and how beautiful it is.

For anyone visiting Hawaii, a helicopter tour will provide memories to last a lifetime.

My iPhone app which teaches photography is here:
Photography Trainer for iPhone and iPod Touch

My tutorial on camera settings when shooting from a helicopter is here:
How to Photograph from a Helicopter

My Photography Tutorials list is here:
Photography Tutorials List

To license these images as stock, click here:
Hawaii Stock Photos

Best regards,
Paul

If you'd like to purchase prints or stock photography licenses for my photos (for advertising and editorial use), please visit:

To keep up-to-date with the latest photo additions and other topics, you can become a fan at my Photography Facebook page at:

Facebook Photography Tutorials List

Paul Timpa is a fan of

Paul Timpa Photography

Create your Fan Badge

Photography Tutorials List on Facebook

timpaphotography — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:41:54 +0000

I've created a group on Facebook where I will be maintaining a list of amazing photography tutorials available on the Internet.

The group is here:

It was created to be a single place where you can find all of the fantastic photography tutorials and tips... There are so many people providing wonderful information on their blogs, websites, and newsletters. I thought it would be great to create a group where all these fantastic sites were listed in one spot.

Anyone in the group is free (and encouraged!) to add any tutorials to the growing list.

The Facebook group is here:

Facebook Photography Tutorials List

FYI, The tutorials that I've written for this blog are listed here:

Photography Tutorials List

My iPhone / Android app which teaches photography is here:

Best regards,
Paul

Paul Timpa is a fan of

Paul Timpa Photography

Create your Fan Badge

If you'd like to purchase prints or stock photography licenses for my photos (for advertising and editorial use), please visit:

To keep up-to-date with the latest photo additions and other topics, you can become a fan at my Photography Facebook page at:

http://www.brooklynbridgeparknyc.org/

New York Architectural Photographer Paul Timpa Photographs Brooklyn Bridge, NYC

timpaphotography — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:23:29 +0000

This post is the first in a new on-going series where I'll discuss photo ops and locations that present great opportunities for photography.

This is an image of the Brooklyn Bridge, taken from Brooklyn facing Manhattan, New York City. It's taken from Brooklyn Bridge Park, a wonderful place to visit. I've taken photos from this location at dusk, but I wanted to try a very long daytime exposure to get something different. The long exposure smoothed out the water and gave this photo a very peaceful feel.

This image is available for purchase as a stock license or as a print, by clicking on the photo.

For more information on Brooklyn Bridge Park, click here:

My iPhone app which teaches photography is here:

Photography Trainer for iPhone and iPod Touch

My Photography Tutorials list is here:

Photography Tutorials List

Best regards,
Paul

If you'd like to purchase prints or stock photography licenses for my photos (for advertising and editorial use), please visit:

To keep up-to-date with the latest photo additions and other topics, you can become a fan at my Photography Facebook page at: