Getting the Most Out of Your Images
- 1. How to get the most out of your (geo)photography February 26, 2013 Webinar Jerry F. Magloughlin Colorado State University 1. Rationale 2. My approach: pragmatism & geoscientists; overview & fundamentals 3. Geophotography in general 4. The four components (PEST) 5. Equipment 6. Planning 7. Shooting tips
- 2. 1. Rationale • Photography is pervasive in geology (teaching, research, outreach; indoor, outdoor, photomicroscopy, other imaging). • “Photographs…show features exactly as they are, thus being the most convincing kind of graphic evidence.” –R.R. Compton • Geoscientists visit amazing places, but often return with mediocre photographs. • An explosion of equipment & techniques… harder now? • Rarely is any training afforded! • Issues unique to, or special considerations in, GEOphotography. • Photographic skills may be worsening!
- 3. Survey question: I received “significant” instruction on what to do, photographically, in the field while doing geology/geoscience/field work: Click yes (agree) or no (disagree)
- 4. • We’re geoscientists first, photographers second • Not unlimited money or time • We’re usually on a schedule • We still want high quality images • My approach: – careful choice of equipment, – planning, – care while photographing, – modest investments in workflow… – we can do a lot better! 2. My approach: pragmatism & geoscientists
- 5. • In this webinar: cameras, planning, key points when shooting. • Goal: maximum benefit for the minimum time invested, and that includes helping to ensure you get a good photograph. • Ellen Bishop: From Shooting to Post-processing: Making the Most of your Camera's Capabilities. • Steve Weaver: Beyond the snapshot: making the excellent geo- photograph in the field. • Marli Miller: Public Outreach • David Mogk: Geophotography as Pedagogy: Students Creating and Using Geologic Images.
- 6. 3. What IS geophotography? Geophotography involves the use of light (visible, UV, IR) and realistic recording and processing of images of geologic features and processes (or experimental equivalents), motivated by a scientific understanding or question, in order to accomplish a specific, useful goal.
- 7. There is a continuum: “The Geo-Mugshot” Artistic & landscape photography Good geophotography Balanced framing, subject centered, minimize ‘depth’, realistic (mid-day) color, scale included, standard point of view, sharp, stop action, completeness, horizontal Emotion, drama, wonder, reaction triggering, ambiguity, imagination, depth, uneven framing, curiosity, ambiguous scale/size, possibly low DR, incompleteness
- 8. There is a continuum: “The Geo-Mugshot” Artistic & landscape photography Good geophotography Balanced framing, subject centered, minimize ‘depth’, realistic (mid-day) color, scale included, standard point of view, sharp, stop action, completeness, horizontal Emotion, drama, wonder, reaction triggering, ambiguity, imagination, depth, uneven framing, curiosity, ambiguous scale/size, possibly low DR, incompleteness
- 9. 4. The four components 1. Planning (light, conditions) 2. Equipment (good camera with a variety of manual controls, good lens, tripod) 3. Shooting/execution (all efforts on-site) 4. The post-processing No matter what your equipment, you can get better results.
- 11. Point & shoot Pros: • Small & light (field consideration) • Cheap • Easy to use; not as much room to grow as a photographer • Easy access/backup camera • Some are “waterproof” Cons: • Not great in low light • Not great sensors • Minimal manual control • Fixed lens • View finders marginal or must use LCD (soft, bright sunshine) • Difficult to shoot in sophisticated set-ups
- 12. Bridge/EVF (electronic viewfinder) Pros: • Lightweight • Reasonably small & cheap • May take filters • Good image quality • Better telephoto capability • May have much better lenses • More manual control Cons: • Sensors still small • Viewfinder & LCD issues • Can’t change lenses • Usually not great for macro http://www.adorama.com/alc/0012789/article/Buying-Guide-The-Best-EVF-Cameras-Right-Now
- 13. MILC/Hybrid Pros: • Some have excellent sensors & image quality • Not fixed lens • ‘Pancake’ lenses and/or adapters for DSLR lenses • Better in low light • Panorama mode (Sony) • More sophisticated • Filters • Range of accessories including GPS-tagging, flashes, and microphones Cons: • Moderately expensive • Heavier • May have/need an array of lenses • No through-the-lens viewfinder • Uses batteries faster • Crop factors from 1.5x to 5.5x http://www.adorama.com/alc/0013367/article/The-Best-MILCs-Right-Now
- 14. DSLR Pros: • The best sensors • The best low-light sensitivity • Wide array of lenses • Sophisticated in-camera software • Filters • All accessories • Highest pixel counts • Some have ‘full-frame’ sensors • May have multiple memory cards Cons: • Most expensive • All accessories • Heaviest • May have/need an array of lenses • Some don’t have built-in flash • Most difficult to learn to use
- 15. UV & polarizing Equipment: filters Minimal effect with digital sensors (far less sensitive to UV) but protects lenses from accidents and cleaning. Get multi-coated filters (ghosting, cleaning). Keep clean! Richer colors, darkens skies, reduces reflections.
- 16. Equipment: wide angle lenses • We shoot many large things. • WA lenses allow great depth of field—a good antidote to the geologic mugshot. • If zoom, will handle a lot of your average uses.
- 20. Equipment: tripod • Quality = weight • Quality = $$$ recent Kickstarter project
- 21. GPS tagging
- 22. 6. Planning • Weather: – cold (batteries) – wet (protection) – gray (flash) • Physical conditions: – dusty (less valuable equipment? avoid changing lenses?) – precarious (less valuable equipment, and less of it?) • Where: – total weight, tripod, monopod (some double as hiking sticks; Gitzo, Novoflex) – good quality pack is valuable! • Light: – reflector? – flash? • When (are you going to be there): – topography (Google Earth) – http://photoephemeris.com/ • Bottom line: equipment, weight, batteries, lighting LEKI Photosystem Carbon Speedlock Trekking Pole
- 23. 6. Planning • Weather: – cold (batteries) – wet (protection) – gray (flash) • Physical conditions: – dusty (less valuable equipment? avoid changing lenses?) – precarious (less valuable equipment, and less of it?) • Where: – total weight, tripod, monopod (some double as hiking sticks; Gitzo, Novoflex) – good quality pack is valuable! • Light: – reflector? – flash? • When (are you going to be there): – topography (Google Earth) – http://photoephemeris.com/ • So: equipment, weight, batteries, lighting LEKI Photosystem Carbon Speedlock Trekking Pole
- 26. 7. Shooting tips • (biggest impact with least effort & expense) • Focus & sharpness • White balance • Exposure • Depth of field • Life, action, humor
- 27. Focus & sharpness • Control where your camera focuses…
- 28. Focus & sharpness • Control where your camera focuses…
- 29. Focus & sharpness • Control where your camera focuses… • “Good glass” makes a difference • Clean optics & filters • Tripod • Vibration reduction (OIS) helps • Lenses have ‘sweet spots’ • With more pixels, more care is needed • Take lots of shots • Make sure shots are sharp on-site
- 32. Exposure • Know your histograms • Make sure your images are correctly exposed on-site • Hoodman LCD viewer (bright sunlight)
- 33. Depth of field—changing f/stop • A smaller aperture is not always better, and can be substantially worse. http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/
- 34. F/2.8 Gain of depth of field with decreasing aperture…
- 35. F/7.1
- 36. F/14
- 37. F/22
- 38. f/10 f/14 f/18 f/22
- 40. Add life, action, humor
- 43. Resources Practice! Your local photographic club or society! References and Resources Adorama Learning Center: http://www.adorama.com/alc/ B&H Photo “InDepth”: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/ Cambridge in Colour: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/ Nikon tutorials: http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Learn-And-Explore/index.page OneSlide Photography: http://oneslidephotography.com/ Poster on Geophotography, GSA Denver: http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/~jerrym/zGSAGeophotographyPosterDenver2010Magloughlin.pptx PowerPoint on Geophotography, GSA Minneapolis: http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/~jerrym/zGeophotographyTalkMagloughlinGSAMnpls2011.pptx PDF on Geophotography, GSA Minneapolis: http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/~jerrym/zGeophotographyTalkMagloughlinGSAMnpls2011.pdf Manuscript on Geophotography, submitted to Journal of Geoscience Education: http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/~jerrym/zGeophotographyJGEManuscript2012.pdf
Editor's Notes
- #7: Note: doesn’t exclude videoField, lab, microscopeScientific understanding separates what we’re doing from
- #8: Fundamental point: steal from the artistic approach and incorporate as much of it as possible into your photograph, while giving up little or none of what’s necessary to accomplish the purpose. ‘completeness’: example of a bird’s head or fossil [at green river fossils] (geophotography) versus its entire body (mug shot)
- #9: Fundamental point: steal from the artistic approach and incorporate as much of it as possible into your photograph, while giving up little or none of what’s necessary to accomplish the purpose. ‘completeness’: example of a bird’s head or fossil [at green river fossils] (geophotography) versus its entire body (mug shot)
- #10: This is not generally different from good photography, only there may be additional variables.
- #20: always store in separate places
- #21: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/134466492/rotation180-photo-backpack
- #23: Leki: $144 @ backcountry.com
- #24: Leki: $144 @ backcountry.com
- #34: F/2 for 50 mm lens: 50 mm focal length/25 mm diameter = 2 = f/2F/2.8 is next, and allows half the light through—F/1.4 doubles the light (area) of f/2
- #35: 6266
- #37: 6270
- #38: 6274
- #39: f/14, 18, 22
- #42: Illustrates cropping.