Playing with some new photo gear - NEW 'tutorials'

[jennielynn1970]

it's amazing the difference that that silver reflector made. Pooky was very accommodating with the whole set up too, lol!

I definitely appreciate the lessons.

[Catlady711]

it's amazing the difference that that silver reflector made. Pooky was very accommodating with the whole set up too, lol!

I definitely appreciate the lessons.

Yup, I can see it now, all of PT will be putting crinkled aluminum foil (NON shiney side out!) on cardboard now. LOL Also a car window shade (those silver things that they have in the auto dept. that's for the windshield in the summertime) work pretty good too. I have two of those also. LOL

Yeah, that's why Pooky gets so many more pictures done of him sometimes, he's more laid back.

No problem. I enjoy talking about photography about as much as I love talking about pets. lol And I always had wished that I'd had someone to teach me this stuff when I was starting out instead of just library books. Now-a-days I think they call this 'paying forward'. lol

[rg_girlca]

Gorgeous, absolutely GORGEOUS pictures of your cats. The one of Josh is breathtaking.

[Catlady711]

Ok we had some good strong sunlight today so I was able to do my "pix tutorial" about how the white thingy works (technically called a translucent reflector/illuminator, but we'll call it a white thingy because it's easier to type and more fun to say LOL).

Again, to be fair to those of you with simpler point and shoot cameras, these were all shot with the Canon S3IS on Program Mode, and NO processing, only downsizing for posting.

This white thingy is really cool because it can do two things depending how you use it.

A cheaper substitute would be a piece of white poster/foam board for the reflector part. You can use a thin but all white shower curtain or a fair quality white bed sheet for the other part.

(yeah I buy expensive stuff sometimes but I know how to use the substitutes as well, I still keep 4 sheets of big poster boards and a white sheet around the house and use them still)

Ready for the 'white thingy' tutorial? OK!

Modeling for us today is Bear, who has kindly volunteered his services for this tutorial.

Ok so here's your situation, you've got this great sunbeam coming in the window with your pet laying there snoozing (ok so Bear elected not to snooze), you go grab the camera and this is what you get.



OUCH, harsh shadows on the wall, shadows go a total unrecognizable black near his butt, and some parts of your picture have horrible white washed out areas. Hmmm, think we can do better? You bet.

Here's where the white thingy comes in. Light goes through it but it's softer light and spread more evenly.

So we prop up the white thingy in the window and hold it up with a clothespin to the curtain rod. It looks like this.




So now here's what we get for a pix with that set up.



Better. The shadows still have details in the fur, and the nasty shadow behind Bear is gone. There is a bit of way too bright area behind Bear on the wall though. This could be eliminated if he weren't so close to the wall, but that's where my model's kitty castle is, so we just live with it. LOL

There's still a fair shadow on the side of his face and neck though and we can get that tamed down even more. How? We add the silver reflector from the other 'tutorial'.

Since Bear is being such a good model we're going to give it a try.

Here's the set up for that combination. I held the silver one just a bit different angle than this pix shows to get the next shot.



And here's what our picture looks like now.



Much better, we can now see Bear's lovely fur texture on the other side of his face as well.


"ok so what's the deal with the reflector part of the white thingy and how is it different than the silver thingy?"

No Problem! Modeling for this tutorial part is Cami, who kindly volunteered her services for you.

Here's the problem, kitty sitting in the windowsill watching birds, bright sunlight shining in. Like this....



Oooh, we can't see those lovely stripes in her fur at all!! This just won't do. We need something.

Hmmm lets see, how about a white thingy? Let's try it ok?



So this is what our pix looks like now.



Now we can see some of the stripes on her side facing the camera. The white thingy puts a little light in when you don't want a whole bunch. Depending on your subject's fur/skin and the lighting you may just want a soft fill like that.

In my case today, I really want to see those stripes!

So lets try swapping the white thingy for the silver one and see what happens.



Better! Now I can see her Purrty stripes!!!

So what do you do when you only have a second to get the shots, and/or a skittish critter?

We can make use of the pop up flash.

More on that in the next post.

[Catlady711]

Ok so we don't have time to grab a white or silver thingy, or our critter is afraid of it, what do we do?

Our pop up flash can help save the day.

Remember the shot of our model Bear for the sunbeam? Well he's here volunteering his modeling services for you again.

Here's the problem, backlighting (light coming from behind something).



Ouch, I can't even see his face! If I change the camera so I can see him the whole background will be all white, not what I want. So I use the pop up flash without any paper on it because this is a very bright sunbeam.

Here's what we get with the flash on 1/2 power (factory defalt setting).



Better, I can see his face now. We're still going to get alot of too bright white from the sun because it's so darn bright today.

If we want to see more of Bear's face we crank up the pop up flash power to full and get this.



You can try using the paper with these shots but remember the pop up flash isn't very powerful so it certainly can't compete with a million mile a way ball of fire in the sky, but it sure can help with those dark shadows.

We can also try pop up flash at 1/2 power on the very first shot for this 'tutorial' instead of using the white or silver thingy.



It doesn't help the pix as much as the white or silver thingy's did, but it's quick, easy to use, and you always have it with you.


With ANY of the shots from ANY of these 'tutorials' I can change things on the camera or how I take them to make them a bit better yet, but I wanted to just do quick snapshots on purpose to make this easy for people to be able to do themselves at home with their own point and shoot cameras.

NOW....go out there with your point and shoots and try some of what I've shown you and post your results here! I really want to see your shots. If you have time and a cooperative pet (cat, dog, guinea pig, bird, or whatever) please post the before, after, and set up shots if possible so others can see too.

Ok Next 'tutorial' by request will be on white balance or color casts (as requested by Moesha). I'll see what I can do about getting those posted over the weekend.

[Randy_K]

Wow, your cats are patient! Mango is usually off on another adventure after my first shot unless he's sound asleep. I found that if I talk to him while he's snoozing he won't wake up. If I'm quiet he has to see what I'm up too...

[Moesha]

I will have to see what I can do with the lighting around here. They have a perch next to a window, but I bought them new kitty beds. They've been in the beds more than near the window. I don't have any light to practice bouncing back onto them. LOL Maybe I'll have to use something besides my furkids as models. I wish Morgan would be a good model like Bear was. They look so similiar.

[Catlady711]

Everyone, please vote. I'm curious how many people are actually interested in this 'tutorial' type of thread.

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=149746


Randy - Thanks for the pix. I dunno that my cats are patient, I just work with whatever one is in the lighting I'm wanting to use and will be there for awhile. When you have 7 cats, it kinda gives you a variety of choices. ROFL

Moesha - Even if you don't have light to reflect around, try out the piece of computer paper in front of the flash until it's warm enough that windows look inviting enough to entice the kitties out of the beds. lol