What is an ISO?

July 5th, 2009
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This shot was done at 25600 ISO with a Canon 5D mark 2, The reddish color in the shot is all the noise..

ISO is the definition of how long it takes to make a photo with a specific amount of light.

100 ISO film usually requires you to be outside on a really sunny day. If you used this film indoors, you will need to use a flash.

400 ISO film usually allows you to take shots inside. You could use the film in an outside environment, but some cameras would not be able to fire fast enough to prevent the finishing shot from looking too light.

In digital photography, ISO is the definition of how much graininess or noise the shot will have. With digital photography, you can change the ISO on the fly to suit your needs. The higher the ISO, the noisier or grainier the photo will look, but you will be able to take faster shots in darker environments.

In general, it’s best to shoot at the lowest ISO setting appropriate for what you’re shooting, so your photos can be as sharp as they can possibly be.

This is the same shot at 100 ISO with the same camera. Much blacker eh?

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Why is the Moon so small in my shot?

June 5th, 2009
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Shot of the moon with a 400 mm lens

dime on ground

Same 400 mm lens but shooting a dime on the ground.

Actually, this is a really great question that I got this week from a fellow shooter.

Basically,  your camera just shot what it really did see. Meaning that in your photo, the moon is really that small.

Why does it look bigger to us? Well truth be told, when we put a bright object on a black background, our mind automatically removes the black background and we tend to concentrate more on the main focus of the subject, For example, when we see a really big moon in the sky, our minds have subconsciously removed all the “extra” black and we only see the moon itself.

To give you a reference point to compare it to…..if you shoot the moon with a specific camera and then drop a dime on the floor and take the same shot, both the dime and the moon would be approximately the same size in each photo. The shots above were both done with a 400 millimeter lens. Interesting, eh?

So, how big does your lens have to be to get a full frame shot of the moon? The size of a really large telescope should do the trick.

Thanks for the question, Andrea! Keep them coming.

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It’s all in the Point of View

May 5th, 2009
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Ever think about how different people, animals, or fish view the world? We walk around seeing with our own  (for me, 6 foot) point of view. And let’s face it, it gets boring because that is what we see every day. But the interesting thing about photography and life is that when we change our view, we can actually see something different. Gee, is that train really that big?

So that’s how tall I look to my nephew.

This pup above has only one thing on his mind and that would be the treat the owner put on my head, so he would look right into the camera’s eye. Yea, this shot would have been better if I had gotten down to his level, but it’s still great as it is!

So, play with your prospective with shooting and life. You might find a that you get a better view and a better life

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It’s in my contract Ma’am…

April 8th, 2009
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From time to time, we photographers will actually get paid for shooting! WOW, what a concept! Our drop a dollar down the hole hobby/obsession actually made us a buck!

But here is the thing, whether you’re shooting a family outing or a wedding; if someone is serious about paying you, then you MUST get them to sign a contract.

  1. Contracts protect you and your client from misunderstandings about the scope of the work.
  2. If there is a dispute with the photos you shoot, then you always go back to the contract. End of story.
  3. NEVER break the rules in your contract. Once you break one rule in it, your contract is worthless.
  4. There are some unscrupulous people out there that will always want your stuff for free. And our investment in time, equipment and talent is something that should not be taken lightly. We paid a price to get to where we are, they didn’t. So pay up bucko!

To date, the best bang for the buck book is Business and Legal Forms for Photographers. You can get it online, or at any bookstore.

If someone refuses to work with you because you insist on a contract, then you definitely do not want to be shooting for them. (Trust me, I have been there.) They will end up costing you more time, money and emotion in the end.

Some scams they will play are the “Gosh, I love your stuff, but I don’t have the cash to pay for it.” Later on, what you’ve shot is no good and they can’t believe they ever agreed to pay you for the work that you did.

Folks, we all need to get paid. Why not get paid for what we love to do!

Oh yea, one final note: The second you get paid a dollar, or get reimbursed in any other way, like a night in a great hotel, all expenses paid….. YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER! Don’t ever go back to being an amateur again! That is how it started for me.

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