The Weekly Wrap-Up features articles from this week on Photofocus. This week, Jason Hahn teaches us about negative fill, Michael Muraz talks about using negative space in architectural photography, Levi Sim gets low, Vanelli explores using Photoshop with the new Luminar Flex, and Michele Grenier continues her mirrorless journey with a first look at the Sony a9. Enjoy!
How to use negative fill to create deep, dramatic photos - Photography is about capturing a brief moment of light. A large part of the art of photography is how we control light to create an image. Not just of a moment, but for how we want that moment to appear in the photograph. We alter the appearance of light with tools and techniques to add, remove or change the light and shadows in a scene to make our creative ideas into a photograph. By controlling the look of the light and shadows in our images we set mood and create emotion, from feelings of calm serenity to tense drama. One of the tools I use all the time to do this is a set of v-flats from V-Flat World. Contrast How large a difference in range is there between the highlights and shadows in an image? High contrast is a wide range of tones from the darkest shadows (black) to the brightest highlights (whites). Low contrast images are a more limited range. In other words, the brightest parts of the image are closer to the darker parts. The dynamic range describes how wide a difference from dark to light we see, and a given camera can record. A photograph with very bright highlight and super dark shadows is high contrast. There is a large difference of exposure between the lightest highlight and the darkest shadow. These are often described as dramatic. A picture where there is a small or very small difference from highlight to shadow is said to be low contrast. Low contrast images are often described as serene or soft. Contrast, simply put, is the difference in brightness between highlight and shadow. Low contrast examples High contrast examples Fill light A certain amount of light is going to hit your subject that is not directly from your main source, but rather from light scattering or reflecting onto your subject from say, a white wall. This is most noticeable in areas of shadow, as it is coming from the opposite direction of your primary light source falling. Light falling into shadowed areas makes them lighter. Contrast can only be lowered by adding light to the shadows. Think of fill light as a drama control. Low fill, dark shadows equals dramatic lighting. Lots of fill, light or even not shadows is thought to be romantic or soft. (Soft vs. hard light is a whole other topic that’s coming soon.) Positive fill We tend to use the term “fill” to describe adding light to the shadows. It is useful to think of it as “positive fill.” Positive fill can be accomplished many ways, either through the use of additional light source or sources aimed at the shadow side of a composition. It can also be done through by reflecting or bouncing light from the main light back onto your subject. Negative fill “Negative fill” is the opposite. If adding light to the shadows lowers the contrast, taking it away increases the contrast. Negative fill means reducing the amount of light reflecting or scattering into the shadow areas. In any situation where there is a primary light source, some of the light is going to pass by the subject, and when it encounters another surface, reflect back into the subject. When this happens the contrast lowers and the drama lessens. Negative fill techniques either block or absorb the fill light coming from the main light. When positive fill doesn’t appear in the shadowed areas of your subject the contrast increase. So does the drama. Using fill light The concepts of creating or adding light to a scene are pretty intuitive. Positive fill is done through the use of flashes, reflectors or other light sources getting extra light into the shadows. When the light is harsh and contrasty it creates extremely deep shadows. Positioning a subject near a white or light colored surface will reflect light into the shadows. This positive fill will brighten the shadows creating a softer look. Working with negative fill How to subtract light from the shadows is not quite as obvious. Frankly, to a lot of photographers, negative fill is an unknown. In fact, you may already be using negative fill light and not realize it. For example, let’s say you are photographing portraits outside, and the light is “flat,” low contrast and soft, so the person in your portrait looks more like a cardboard cutout than a real life 3-dimensional person. Having them stand near a dark surface, like dark rocks, tree trunks, walls, etc. is a way to create negative fill. The side next to the dark object receives less light. the contrast increases as does the depth of the photo. These dark surfaces absorb light instead of reflecting it, giving it higher contrast due to darker shadows. V-flats Not every location has a tree or black wall in just the right place for a composition, v-flats are a great tool for both positive or negative fill. The ones I use are portable 40 by 40-inch pieces of foam board that unfold into self-standing vs. 80-inches tall and, unfolded, 80-inches wide. I received the ones in this article from V-Flat World for the purpose of writing articles for Photofocus. How they work White reflects light, bouncing or scattering all colors off it equally. Black absorbs light, taking in all colors equally. The v-flats from V-Flat World have a white side and a black side. Placing the v-flat near your subject and opposite your light source will either reflect (white side) or absorb (black side) the light, lightening or darkening the shadows in your image respectively. These v-flats are lightweight and work on location or in the studio. Note that outside in a breeze, have an assistant hold onto the v-flat so it doesn’t blow over. You can vary this placement quite a bit, in both distance from your subject, and angle to your light source and subject. Subtle changes in these can make a big difference in your results. Experiment with the many varying degrees of
Using negative space to improve your architectural photography - When photographing architecture, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. This is why I like details and abstracts so much, as it allows me to simplify my compositions and isolate certain features of a building. One tool I use a lot and that can really help with your composition is using negative space. What is negative space? When framing your image, negative space is space you deliberately leave around your subject to give it some breathing room. It gives your image more minimalistic feel, usually emphasizing a specific feature of your subject. For example, in the image above, I filled the frame with that geometric facade, giving it a busy, overwhelming feeling. In the composition below, I got closer to the building to include a large portion of the blue sky. The composition is thus more minimalistic and less chaotic, emphasizing the shapes of the facade. Of course, the easiest way to include negative space is to include the sky in your exterior images. It works both in color and in black and white. In the image below, the white canvas helps define the jagged edge of the building. It usually works better with blue skies or blank gray skies. It works with interiors too! Find blank walls without texture and you’ll have your negative space. In the image below, I use negative space to create a very minimal composition that focuses on those two tangential curves. Dark shadows work well as negative space. This is why shooting in the midday sun isn’t an issue with architecture! In the image below, the negative space created by the shadow really emphasizes the curve of the building. In this other image, I used a part of the building in the shade to frame the colorful part of the building. Negative space doesn’t have to be completely empty. A perfectly aligned pattern can also be used. In the image below, I shot with a tilt-shift to make sure the black building’s grid would be perfectly straight, creating a negative space canvas for the colorful and curved sculpture. It works with wider shots too, even if it’s usually harder. Here I used a huge puddle to create a reflection and add more negative space in the foreground. Negative space is a powerful tool and I encourage you to try to incorporate it in your compositions next time you’re out shooting. It works well with architecture, but you can use it for any type of photography. Share your images in our Photofocus Flickr group!
Portrait Tips: Get your camera lower - Your camera’s height has a strong effect on the impact your portraits make. I’m a fairly tall individual, and if I don’t pay attention, my camera comes right up to my eye and I point it toward my subjects, who are usually shorter than me. That means I’m looking down at them, and everyone looking at the picture is also looking down on them, and that’s not usually the relationship I want my viewer to have with my subject. Put the camera in the middle You should always shoot with your camera in the middle of the subject. For a headshot, put your camera at the same height as the lips or nose. If you’ve got more body in the picture, put the camera at the height of the chest or belly button. For full-length shots, you should be down at the waist (see the tip below). Of course, you can mix it up and have pictures higher and lower, but there’s a good reason to get your camera in the middle. Foreshortening Foreshortening is the effect that happens when things that are closer to the camera appear larger than things that are farther away. If a kid holds up a frog close to the camera, the frog may appear larger than the kid’s face, even though it’s not really that big. The trouble with foreshortening is that it makes everything that’s closer to the camera appear larger. When you look down toward your subject, their foreheads are enlarged, their shoulders appear bigger, their bellies can appear bigger and their feet are diminished. Again, this can be a fun effect, but you need to know it’s happening so that 2/3 of your photograph isn’t dominated by forehead. Use a tripod Whenever possible, use a tripod to get your camera at the right height. It’s hard to keep shooting higher or lower than your natural stance, so let the tripod do the work. I use this one. Get on your knees for kids When you make all your photos of kids looking down on them, you make them look small and you limit the background options — it’s always the floor. Instead, get down on their level, just as you should for a headshot. You’ll make the child look like a person and the background will be farther away and more out of focus. Get on your belly for full-length shots When you get low for full-length shots, you make a more fashion-looking photo, especially if you zoom in. If you use a wider lens, you create a more heroic perspective (as in the header image). Go try it! This is a thing you need to experiment with in order to see the results. Get a friend and go make pictures from all different heights and with various focal lengths. Getting your camera at the right height (and it’s usually lower) makes a huge impact in your pictures. Portrait Tips come out each week, and you can see them all right here.
Elevating your Photoshop workflow with Luminar Flex - Advance masking is what Photoshop lives for. The program is designed for graphic artists with tools photographers can also use. Luminar, on the other hand, is designed for Photographers to develop and process images with graphics tools such as layers and masking to blend creativity with solid photography. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create an editable poster of a football player using Photoshop and Luminar Flex as a Smart Object and Smart Filter. Let’s get started. Create a blank Photoshop document with the size of the final print Step 1: Launch Photoshop and create a new document. We are creating a poster so the dimensions are 24×36 inches. Since this is the full size we are printing at, we can get away with 180ppi — PPI stands for pixels per inch — for standard prints. This helps keep the file size smaller and quicker to process. Yes, 300ppi is the industry standard and should be used on high-end print jobs, but the difference in quality is hardly noticeable. Click File > New. Set the width to 36 inches, height to 24 and PPI to 180. Click the Create button to create the new Photoshop document. Place and resize images Step 2: Place the background and football player images in the new document. Click File > Place Embedded. Browse your computer for the images and click the Place button to place the images in the document as a Smart Object. A Smart Object is a container that holds the contents of a layer. You’ll see why this is a great feature in a moment. Convert to a Smart Object Step 3: Convert all Layers to a Smart Object. Select all the layers and right click on one of them. Select Convert to Smart Object. This creates a single smart object layer. Double clicking on the Smart Object will open the container showing all the layers. The file extension for a Smart Object is PSB — Photoshop Big — and is automatically created. Apply the Luminar Flex plugin as a Smart Filter Step 4: Apply the Luminar Flex plugin. The Luminar Flex plugin becomes a Smart Filter when added to a Smart Object. This feature allows us to make changes after applying the filter, making it non-destructive. Click Filter > Skylum Software and choose Luminar Flex. From here, you can apply any Looks or Filters to the image. A good starting point is to select a Luminar Look from the Looks Collection. Let’s use the Grunge Look from the Creative collection. You can continue to make changes to the Filter settings or add additional filters to complete the Look. Click the Apply button to return back to Photoshop. Smart Objects and Smart Filters can be edited non-destructively Step 5: Resize or make changes to Smart Object. Here’s a great example of showing the power of Smart Objects and Smart Filters. The football player appears a little small. Here’s how to resize him without having to start over. Double click on the Smart Object to open the container. Click on the football player and use keyboard shortcut Ctrl or Cmd T to resize him and position him in place. Press enter to complete the change. Press Ctrl or Cmd S to save the file. Luminar Flex reopens and gives you an option to accept or make additional changes. Click apply. Return to the Poster document and your changes are automatically updated. How cool is that? Bonus tip Since Smart Objects and Smart Filters are non-destructive — meaning they can be changed at any time — it’s best to create a copy of the Smart Object layer and rasterize it to avoid any accidental changes. Use keyboard shortcut Ctrl or Cmd + J to duplicate the Smart Object Layer. Right click on the layer and select Rasterize. By using Photoshop’s Smart Object we were able to add Luminar Flex as a Smart Filter to create an editable football poster. Think how powerful this is. You could swap out the Football player with a different image and all the changes will automatically be applied to the new image.
Will I switch from DSLR to Mirrorless? My first photoshoot experience with the Sony a9 - As you might already know, I am seriously thinking about changing my DSLR gear in favor of mirrorless. Because it would require a very important investment — perhaps one of the biggest I could make as a photographer — I want to feel 100% confident about my decision. For review purposes, I’ve been loaned two camera bodies: The new micro four-thirds Olympus OM-D E-M1X and the full-frame Sony a9. This article reviews my first photoshoot experience with the latter. Our first date Cloudy sky, soft light coming through the window, this was the perfect afternoon for our first activity. I asked two aerial artists friends to come by and work their magic. I shot most of the photographs backlit — as you can see from the picture below. It would’ve been challenging with my Nikon D750 as the focus sometimes searches too much in those conditions. The a9 never failed to lock on once. But then … Could you be a little hyperactive, Mr. A? Within a few minutes of shooting, I realized the camera’s autofocus (AF) setting was waaaaaaaay too responsive for my needs. It was literally all over the place. I would press the AF button and the focus wouldn’t stay where I wanted it to be. It caught me off guard and I became a little irritated. Couldn’t you just lock on where I asked you explicitly, Mr. A? A few minutes later, with a call to the right person and a little education, I found which settings suited best my needs. Is too much of a good thing possible? Twenty frames per second. That’s a hell lot of pictures in a tiny short amount of time. I shot something like 600 pictures before I even knew it (or heard them being taken for that matter). It is extremely easy to take too many of them. The shutter is so efficient, I barely pressed on it and it was already bursting like there was no tomorrow. I wasn’t even noticing even because 1) I didn’t experience any blackouts in the viewfinder and 2) it was completely silent. Very different from my DSLR habits. Again, it all came down to learning my way to a new workflow and getting used to a different technology than the one I was used to. Then we danced I felt like slowing things down for my dancer shooting so I slowed the shutter speed to 1/40s. I wanted to see the athlete moving without it being too blurry. Here, we can see how she was lifting her right leg to create a circle in front of her (I apologize to all the dancers reading this, I have no idea the name of what she’s doing). It came out really well — thanks to the image stabilization offering five stops of vibration reduction. This next one is my personal favorite of the day. I love how graceful she is: Her long hair flowing in the air, the expression and the light on her face. It’s very dynamic and also very soft. As I wanted to freeze the motion back again, I sped the shutter up to 1/1000th of a second. Nifty 50 If you are wondering why all the pictures were taken at 55mm, it’s plain simple. Sony’s rep asked me which lens I’d like to have with the loaned body. Well, he learned as you’ll learn: I’m a sucker for primes. I am used to taking pictures 75% of the time with the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8. He got me the amazing Sony Zeiss Sonnar 55mm f/1.8 to pair with it. I’ve been blown away by the quality of the image, the fast autofocus, the sharpness and the gorgeous colors straight off the camera. Auto White Balance is the best I’ve ever experienced (call me lazy I don’t care, I’m always on AWB). It literally saved me half the time in post-production — I’m not even kidding. Honestly … how long can you last? These photoshoots lasted for about 3.5 hours (from which I got around 1700 frames). It used 85% battery life. This was one of my main concerns when I started considering mirrorless cameras. Well, I can tell you, it ain’t anymore with the a9. A second date allowed I’ve been extremely pleased with my first experience and am actively scheduling new photoshoots with different sports. I have yet to put to the test the newly released 5.0 firmware and I can’t wait to see what the extremely promising real-time tracking autofocus that has in store. If you are facing the same choice I am and you haven’t read my two previous articles, “Are you considering switching your DSLR to a mirrorless? I am” and “Will I switch from DSLR to Mirrorless? First hands on the Sony a9 and the Olympus OM-D E-M1X,” you might enjoy reading them as well. I am sharing my fears and hopes about completely switching to DSLR gear to mirrorless. On my upcoming article, I’ll share the story of my first date with Mr. X (aka Olympus OM-D E-M1X) at an Olympic Weightlifting meet. I’ll keep you updated with my appreciations. Stay tuned!
