This week, Ken Lee told us how to control depth of field. Then, Joy Celine Asto featured a photography project that focuses on photographing migrant farmers.
Lauri Novak debated artificial intelligence, while Levi Sim wrote about capturing details in portraits. Julie Powell discussed the benefits of back button focusing, and finally, Bryan Esler previewed the new macOS Big Sur release, telling us which photography programs work … and which still need to be updated.
Photography project shares slices of life of migrant farmers - Inspired by his encounters with people in the migrant health field, Eric Bouwens documents the daily life of migrant farmers during the apple harvest season. It’s always fascinating to learn more about the daily life around the world, which is why documentary projects remain a popular pursuit among photographers. For Grand Rapids-based Eric Bouwens, it has also been a way to explore his creative side, which became especially important to him as a way to cope from the pandemic. Capturing some slices of life of migrant farmers became particularly interesting to him in recent times, apart from shooting portraits in a makeshift studio in his garage. Bouwens, who works in a COVID-19 clinic, needed a creative outlet after months of shutting down photography projects and travel plans due to the pandemic. “Staying healthy while working in a COVID clinic was more pressing. As the months passed though, the lack of creative outlet became more depressing and I began to look for projects that could still be performed safely,” he said. Inspiration to tell remarkable life stories It was his early life as a Migrant Health Service physician that gave him the idea to document migrant farmers during the apple harvest. But, what motivated Bouwens to make this project happen despite the challenges was the desire to work around the limitations set by his medical profession. “I had always felt restrained by patient confidentiality in sharing from the remarkable life stories I learned of in my practice.” Indeed, this selection gives us the impression of the connection he had to make with his subjects to be able to take a peek into their work. It didn’t come easy for him initially, as he didn’t get to secure his access to the farms the first time he reached out to the migrant workers. However, meeting a friendly farmer made it possible for him to pursue the project with unlimited access to his land. “Growers were private and suspicious and did not want strangers walking onto their land. I was threatened for walking down the street of a small town with a camera. A photographer did not seem to be welcome. “One day, though, my fortunes changed when I met a friendly farmer who welcomed me onto his land with unlimited access. The workers also warmed up to me gradually, partially due to my previous work in the migrant health field, as well as being a fluent Spanish speaker. I knew many of their hometowns due to my extensive travel in Latin America.” Snippets of life in and out of work Bouwens’ series shows us scenes of the migrant farmers in and out of work, a storytelling technique that is one of the hallmarks of documentary photography. I find this to be effective in creating in-depth narratives about his subjects not only as migrant workers but also as individuals and members of their own community. I also like how the friendliness and trust that the farmers have given him do show in the photos. They were comfortable enough to share with him some slices of their life, what they do and what they come home to after work. All of these tell us of a skill that every aspiring documentary photographer must learn to be a master of the craft: a genuine interest in life, wherever it happens and however it unfolds. “Since early October I’ve repeatedly returned to the orchard as the fall turns to freezing temperatures and the migrant workers hope to flee south,” he said about his future plans for this project. “I’ll likely be able to wind up photographing life on this orchard in the first days of November, and then try to figure out a venue for presenting the work.” Don’t forget to visit Eric Bouwens’ website and follow him on Instagram to see more of his work.
Portrait Tips: Details aren’t only for weddings and newborns - It often seems that wedding photographs are more full of detail pictures than they are portraits of family and friends. And for good reason: Successful wedding photographers know that the detail pictures balance the portraits and fit beautifully in an album, which is a terrific service and a great way to make a profit. The same goes for newborn pictures. Pictures of tiny feet and hands remind parents of the contrast between their growing child and the first weeks of their life when they fit in the palm of the parent’s hand. Details describe the whole Details illustrate the parts that go into a person. They help show all the things that have led to this person to be the way they are, who they are. Details are inseparable from the whole, and you can use photos of details to describe the whole person. But details aren’t only for weddings and newborns. If you work on it, if you ask for it, you can find the details that have built all your clients into who they are and you can use them to build the portrait you are trying to make. Sometimes it’s easy In this case, the details that go into this group are plain to see. Father and sons have all served in the military but in various branches and roles. Since this portrait was made, the younger son has also served in the Air Force. Their uniforms illustrate what that work has been. Photographing the details helps paint a picture of their heritage. Rich portraiture is yours for the asking Everyone you photograph has a heritage that has made them who they now are. If you ask about those details in your planning and pre-shoot meetings then you will have a richer understanding of who you’re looking at and what your portrait can become. A richer portrait and a richer experience for your subjects are awaiting if you just ask. Maybe even ask them to bring objects that have meant something in their progress. Even in a headshot, a small token of their progress is useful — in nothing else it gives them something to do with their hands! Build on a detailed foundation Knowing details will help you in your conversation with subjects, and photographing them can help you craft a portrait that depicts the whole person. Both you and your subjects will appreciate the experience and it will be truly memorable. Plus, you can deliver a richer product for your client, and that makes everyone happy. Portrait Tips come out each week, and you can see them all right here.
Is it time to make BBF your new BFF? - Photography is full of technical terms and buzz words, but one that really is a great one to consider is back button focus (or BBF). So what is it and why should you consider using it? What is back button focusing? To be honest it is a game-changer! Most modern cameras come with a half-press on the shutter-button autofocus as a standard setup. And while this is good for complete beginners, it does have its pitfalls. EVERY TIME you press down on the shutter button it refocuses, usually WHERE you don’t want it. If you have set up a scene or are on location and want a particular subject as your focus it will refocus when you press the shutter. If you manually focus and then press the button it refocuses as well, EVERY time. Annoying, right? I know it seems like such a small thing, so why bother changing it? Back button focusing is a focus button allocated somewhere on the camera (usually the AF-ON button). It only takes a few minutes to set up — Google search for BBF on your make and model of camera, and you’ll find a clip or two on how to set it up. This means you can focus and then take a picture WITHOUT the camera refocusing. My Sony a7R III has a dedicated button, but you still have to turn the AF with shutter to be off. Why should you try it? Like I said because it is a game-changer. Seriously there are so many instances where the standard shutter focus is a bigger annoyance than anything else. Sure, it takes a little bit to get used to, but once you have it, it will change the way you shoot. Example 1: Still life You have your camera set on a tripod and your scene set, and have a particular item as your subject matter set up on the rule of thirds for composition. You’re just moving other small items around. You can set your focus on your hero and then take multiple images. If you were not using BBF, every time you took an image the camera would refocus, possibly NOT on your hero but something in the middle of the frame. Example 2: Light painting You have focused on your subject with a light on it, then remove the light to take a long exposure. Without BBF, your camera would try to refocus, but since there is no light, it struggles to focus, and your images end up blurry. Example 3: Long exposure landscapes If you are using an ND filter for a long exposure, you have a similar problem as light painting. Chances are your image will be blurry because it can’t attain focus. Example 4: Portraits Your subject may be moving and if you use BBF, you can set it to continuous focus. This will let you track your subject’s eyes! It’s pretty cool, especially with animals and pets … and it won’t work without BBF! Example 5: Macro It doesn’t matter whether it is bugs or flowers, BBF or manual focus are the only way to go, as you need control over when and where you focus. Trying to focus on macro subjects without BBF is a good reason WHY people struggle with macro. Sure, manual focus is good if you still have great eyesight, but you still need the shutter autofocus turned off. How do you set it up? I can give you a reason for pretty much any genre — it’s all about the having control. I have been using BBF for years now and it really does bug me when someone hands me a camera without it. Sure, it takes a little bit to get used to, but it is totally worth it. So HOW? Your camera manual is a great place to start. However, if you do a Google search and look for setting up BBF for your camera make and model, somewhere always has a video on how to do it. Guaranteed. Every make, model and brand has a slightly different setup. But it is easy to do.
macOS Big Sur is almost here; is it safe to upgrade? - With macOS Big Sur set to be released later today, we wanted to take a look at some of the most popular photo editing applications and make sure they were compatible. With a totally refreshed design, macOS Big Sur has a lot going for it. But if your favorite photo editing software can’t run on it, you might want to wait a bit. Note that the below discusses the most latest updates for software products. If you are running an older version of a product, note that it may not be supported fully. Updated: March 25, 2021, 4:45 p.m. ET Adobe The verdict: Fully supported with latest versions Adobe has announced that current versions of its apps, including Photoshop, Lightroom and Lightroom Classic are fully supported under Big Sur, as are Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush and After Effects. The only Creative Cloud apps that are still undergoing testing are Adobe Bridge and Adobe Animate. So if you rely on Bridge to manage your photos, you may want to hold off on upgrading to Big Sur for the time being. If you’re using older versions of Adobe software, your experience may vary. For those of you who have been holding on to Lightroom 6 for more than five years … it may finally be time to switch to the Photographers Plan. Adobe has also confirmed that the 2021 versions of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements are fully supported. Affinity The verdict: Fully supported with latest versions All Affinity apps, including Affinity Photo, were updated for Big Sur in August 2020, and should work without issue. Capture One The verdict: Fully supported with latest versions Capture One 21 is now officially supported with Big Sur, as is version 20.1.4 or newer. Drobo The verdict: Fully supported with latest versions Drobo has reported issues with Thunderbolt connections with Big Sur. It recently released an update to Drobo Dashboard to fix these issues. DxO PhotoLab and the Nik Collection The verdict: Fully supported with latest versions With DxO’s PhotoLab 4 software released, it’s ready to go in a Big Sur environment without problems. In terms of Nik Collection, Big Sur is now supported with version 3.3. This release also added support for the latest versions of Lightroom Classic, Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Skylum The verdict: Fully supported with latest versions Skylum recently released updates for both Luminar 4 and Aurora HDR, making them fully compatible with Big Sur. Previously, users experienced crashes upon exporting in both applications, and crashing while batch processing in Aurora HDR. Users should be prompted to update when launching the software. Other software For the most part, your software should work, as long as it’s been updated recently. But you might encounter a few bugs along the way. The big thing I’m seeing is with camera manufacturer software that supports tethering or Live View shooting. If you rely on these applications, I recommend you check with the manufacturer or wait a while to see if an update arrives. Additionally, if you’re planning on running any firmware updates for your cameras or lenses, it’s strongly recommended you wait. These programs are often lagging behind mainstream applications. What about Mac Silicon machines? Most companies have been quiet about their support for Apple’s new Silicon-based machines. Adobe has come out and said that Lightroom will be supported in December, with Photoshop support coming in early 2021. Lightroom Classic will also get a Silicon release next year. Skylum has stated their plans to support it with the upcoming LuminarAI, but no time frame has been given. Affinity has also announced full support for Apple Silicon with the macOS Big Sur release. Are you experiencing any bugs with any of the applications mentioned above after upgrading to macOS Big Sur? Let us know in the comments below!
How much artificial intelligence in photography is too much? - All of the new artificial intelligence we’re seeing in the photography world has got me thinking about how it affects what we do. How we think about our creating images might change, no? How about our processes and the actual creative part of those processes? What options are out there? I recently received a copy of the updates Adobe Photoshop Elements to write about. What I heard as I was listening to their promo video was about how this particular software was geared toward hobbyists and social media mavens. Included are AI-led prompts and steps to help you along the way as you edit an image, create a video or create social media posts. Having just listened to more updates and information on Adobe Sensei during Adobe MAX, this technology is also being used across other Adobe platforms such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro. Some of the features are assistance in replacing skies, adding motion to images, easier selections and even fixing a face/head that may need to be tilted a bit to look better. Skylum is also coming out with an AI-driven post-processing tool, LuminarAI. Being a Luminar affiliate has allowed me to see some of the behind-the-scenes of what all LuminarAI will be offering. Many common editing tasks are being simplified. Further than that, though, are ways to creatively enhance your images, add fog, replace skies and even edit portraits almost automatically with their AI tools. It will save you time … that I’m sure of. ON1 also has its own version of AI for portraits, ON1 Portrait AI. If you look at their website, you can see how with just a click of a button your portraits are automatically enhanced. I’m actually quite amazed by how AI works with these post-processing upgrades to software and apps we use on a daily basis. What are we gaining? The promotions tell us we will be saving time. I do believe that in the cases of wedding and portrait or event photographers, this will be a big time saver. I think we might be gaining one more way to expand our creativity (which will be in contrast to my next paragraph). When given tools that are easy to use, we are more apt to play. We won’t be afraid to press a button and ask what happens if I do that. Using AI might show us a way to edit an image that we would never have considered before. Maybe that will send us off on a whole other creative path. I’m a huge believer in asking the question “What if?” and many of the tools provided with AI allow us to explore that much more easily than learning selections, layers, luminosity masks, etc. Play. Being able to just play with edits and not spend hours in order to get an outcome could be quite beneficial. For someone like me who uses very few of the functions in most of the post-processing software I use, just clicking around, sliding sliders and using something that might be a quick-fix sounds kind of fun. What are we losing? I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of AI, but then that’s not totally true either. I love presets, for example. They are great starting points to use to get to your vision for an image. AI takes presets a few steps further. I still feel like it’s cheating though. Anyone who learned film photography might feel the same way. A few concerns I have about Artificial Intelligence post-processing It’s still photography Photography is still photography to me. I still want to create the best image before I ever press that shutter button. I still believe you have to start with a good image in the first place. An image that is not sharp cannot be fixed perfectly by AI. I’m also unsure how artificial intelligence can know what my original composition goal is when creating an image — I don’t see it being able to fix my composition in that case. There are some recommended cropping tools out there that can help you after the fact though. I’m torn about artificial intelligence. As I said, it can be fun to see what happens if but I also feel like at some point we’re losing our own voice and creative self in the process. Will I give it a try? Of course, I will, because I like to play and ask what if. It’s just another tool to use, another crayon in the crayon box to color with.
Photography 101: Why do I want to control depth of field? - We’re going to discuss depth of field. But I’m going to try and keep it really simple. When I’ve given workshops and busted out charts, most people’s eyes glazed over. So … no charts. Just photos. What is depth of field? Depth of field, sometimes written as DoF, is the amount of distance that is reasonably in focus. It’s the range of area that is acceptably sharp in a photo. The depth of field typically changes gradually. It typically does not occur where the subject is in focus, and suddenly — BAM! — something is out of focus. No. It’s gradual. Why do you want to control the depth of field? A creative question. Excellent. By controlling the depth of field, we can focus the viewer’s attention on a specific subject or place. This is powerful, and it’s a lot of fun! This makes controlling depth of field one of the most creative decisions that we can make. Deep vs. shallow depth of field A deep depth of field means that there’s lots of elements in focus. For example, a photo of a landscape that is reasonably far away typically has everything in focus, such as the photo below. After all, if we look at a landscape, typically most of it does look in focus to us, doesn’t it? A shallow depth of field means that many elements in a photo may be out of focus. The photo below has a shallow depth of field because only the area around her eyes are reasonably in focus. Those are huge differences in appearance and approach and feel. And they largely have to do with depth of field. How to control depth of field There are three ways to control depth of field, and they’re all easy: Aperture Focal length Distance from subject Aperture Aperture is the opening of the lens. The larger the opening, the more light comes in. But it also affects how clearly we see certain things. Here’s what’s fascinating. You know this intuitively already. When you squint your eyes, you’re making the “aperture” of your pupil smaller. Less light is entering your pupil, but the way it enters the pupil and focuses in your eye creates a slightly clearer image. Just like your eye, a lens works similarly. I’ll show you some photos. While viewing these, remember that a higher number like f/22 means that the aperture is smaller, while a smaller number, like f/2.8, means that the aperture is larger. That was confusing to me when I first began, but you get used to it. Let’s have a look at three photos. Deep depth of field, very small aperture The below photo has a very small aperture, or opening, of f/22. Very small. You’ll notice that much of it is in focus. Medium depth of field, medium aperture The below photo has a medium aperture of f/8. This is a common aperture for photographing things like street photography or landscapes where you want a lot of the scene that is farther away from you in focus. Shallow depth of field, large aperture The below photo has a large aperture of f/2.8. It’s letting a lot of light in. See how the depth of field is shallower and only a small amount is in focus? Focal length Another way to control depth of field is by changing the focal length. If you have a zoom lens, you can change the focal length by simply zooming in or out, bringing the subject closer or farther. If you have prime lenses where the focal length is fixed, then you can change the focal length by changing your lens. Each lens has a focal length written on it. You may have seen a lens of 15mm, which is a very short focal length. Or you might have seen that a lens is 300mm, which is a very long focal length. Or sometimes, you might see a lens that has two numbers, such as 28-300mm. This means that the lens does not have a fixed focal length. You can change it by zooming in or out. Short focal length A short focal length ( like 15mm) will result in a deeper (wider, broader) depth of field. Here, more of the tea cups are in focus. Long focal length A long focal length ( like 30mm) will result in a shallower (narrower) depth of field. Here, less of the tea cups are in focus. All I’ve done here is use the zoom feature. The f-stop and location of the camera are the same. I’ve simply zoomed in to the tea cups, keeping the focus point the same. Distance from subject The further away you are from things, the broader the depth of field. You know this intuitively because if you are standing with things far away, everything appears sharp and in focus. Deep depth of field and far away In this photo of Joshua Tree National Park at night, everything is reasonably far away, and therefore all is sharp and in focus. Shallow depth of field and very close We’ll have another look at this photo, where I am very close to the subject. Again, the eyes are in focus, but things closer or farther are not in focus. How to impact your depth of field Up to now, I’ve mentioned how to achieve these different looks by discussing aperture, focal length and distance from the subject. Now, let’s look at this another way. Let’s look at this by what appearance you wish to achieve. If you want to deepen the depth of field to have more in focus, do one or more of the following: Make your aperture, or opening small (select a larger f-number) Move farther from the subject Shorten the focal length (use something closer to 15mm than 300mm) If you want to create a shallower the depth of field to have less in focus, do one or more of the following: Make your aperture wide (select a smaller
