• COLOR SPACE: If you check your camera you will probably see two options for color space: Adobe RGB and sRGB.  You might wonder what this is, so here is a simple explanation. All devices that display or output graphics (photos and illustrations), such as cameras, printers, monitors, etc. have a color space associated with them. Essentially each color space is a box of crayons, and like the larger boxes of crayons, larger color spaces encompass and can create more colors. Adobe RGB is to sRGB what a box of 128 crayons is to a box of 64 crayons, so it would make sense, on the surface, to set your camera to Adobe RGB as it contains and can display more colors. However, most labs, for professional photographers or amateurs, meaning 99% of them, print in sRGB. To prevent the lab from converting colors in the large space to “fit” in the small space, it is better to set your camera to sRGB – unless your lab prints in Adobe RGB.

• INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: When dealing with foreign cultures it is best to understand their customs before photographing anything and anyone like you are still at home. This is especially true when dealing with religious buildings and ceremonies. For example, in Orthodox churches, women must cover their heads before entering. When entering a mosque you must take your shoes off first. If you happen to be invited to a Coptic wedding ceremony, there are certain times when photography is not allowed.

• The BLUE HOUR: Everyone has pretty much heard of the Golden Hour for getting great photos, but there is another time that is ideal for capturing dramatic skies in landscapes and cityscapes without the use of graduated neutral density filters or HDR software. The 30 minutes after sunset, or the 30 minutes before sunrise, when the sky is clear of clouds, are the best times to capture rich, naturally saturated images of the sky and properly exposed man-made lighting.

• UNDO HISTORY: In Photoshop you can use the History panel to step back and temporarily or permanently remove most changes. However, to make maximum use of this tool, you need to open the flyout menu in the upper right corner of the History panel and set non-linear history to on. Also set it to affect visibility changes and create new snapshots when saving.These settings will give you maximum power, especially the non-linear setting which allows you to delete a step in the middle of the stack without automatically losing all the steps that follow. This is great when you realize that one step is just not working like you expected.

• MINI FLASHLIGHT: One of the invaluable tools that I have stashed in all my camera bags is a small LED flashlight. It allows me to see the camera controls in dark settings, without being distracting or overpowering. It has saved me at wedding receptions, in nightclubs, at aquariums, and when shooting nighttime cityscapes. Just don’t shine it in the viewfinder when taking a shot, or you will overexpose at least or wash out the image.

• ADVANCED PANNING TECHNIQUE: Sometimes there is too much light for you to try shutter speeds around 1/30 to 1/60 for freezing a moving subject and blurring the background by panning. In that case, add a neutral density filter, or two, to remove 1 or more stops of light. Presto, less light and a properly exposed photo at slow shutter speeds in bright daylight.

• GREAT PANORAMAS WITHOUT SPECIAL GEAR: You do not need special panorama tripod heads to take great panoramas or expensive ultra-wide angle lenses. Just keep your tripod level and turn the head so that each subsequent image overlaps the  prior one by about 30%. You can get by with less overlap, but you may run into issues when using stitching software to piece the images together. If you already own Photoshop CS, there is a nice set of panorama tools included. Try the different panorama settings and remember what results work best for you.

• FASHION CROP: You have probably heard that it is important to leave room around your images when you crop them – for aesthetic purpose or to leave room for the frame. There is a fun exception to these guidelines, the Three Point Crop where face close-ups are cropped so tightly that there is an edge merge (image touches edge of photo and is partially cut off by the edge.) Take the plunge and give it a try.

• USE AN EV TABLE: If you are unsure what settings to use when you are learning to shoot in Manual mode, get an EV Table and a chart that converts EV numbers into Aperture and Shutter settings. My Night & Low Light Workshop students get a thorough introduction to this method of shooting – and since it applies to all levels of lighting – indoors and out, they learn how to shoot everything well with less trial and error – which means less frustration and more enjoyment.

• SCAN PHOTOS WITHOUT A SCANNER: You can easily convert your digital camera to a high resolution scanner – especially if you can shoot in Raw format. Take a tripod, mount the camera, and use the notch on the side of the tripod head base or flipout panel to point your camera straight down. Place your photos underneath, zoom so they fill the viewfinder and take your photo – preferably using the timer function or a remote shutter release so you do not shake the camera unduly.

 CRITERIA FOR WINNING COMPETITIONS (Part 3):  Professional association judges look at 12 different criteria when judging a print. In my humble opinion that is twice too many, but if you want to do well, pay attention to these items.

1. Lighting (the use and control of light) refers to how dimension, shape and roundness are defined in an image. Whether the light applied to an image is man-made or natural, proper use of lighting should enhance an image.
2. Subject Matter should always be appropriate to the story being told in an image.
3. Color Balance supplies harmony to an image.  An image in which the tones work together effectively supporting the image, can enhance its emotional appeal. Color balance is not always harmonious and can be used to evoke diverse feelings for effect.
   More next week.

• USING YOUR HISTOGRAM:  Many digital cameras can display a special graph called a histogram. It shows the brightness (tonality) levels of an image ranging from pure black (zero value) on the left to pure white (255 value) on the right. Use it to increase the dynamic range of your images and adjust your exposure. There is no perfect shape to a histogram as it reflects the actual luminosity levels of your scene. For digital photography, it is best if you “expose for the highlights”, meaning you push the luminosity to the right side of the chart without slamming up against the edge (clipping or overexposed).

• WHEN OVEREXPOSURE IS OK: If you have naturally overexposed items in your scene, such as the sun in daytime or a street light at night, your histogram will show clipping or overexposure by abruptly hitting the right side of the chart. This specular light is OK as exposing for it would make the actual subject of the image too underexposed. Just make sure that your brights or whites are properly exposed – far to the right without hitting the edge.

• PAN FOR COOL ACTION SHOTS: A cool technique for showing action in a still image is to follow a moving subject along its path with your camera set to a a slow shutter speed. Depending on your shutter speed and speed of panning, you will get different results. Most people want to freeze the action of the subject completely and blur the background. Try shutter speeds between 1/30 and 1/60 with a moving car or cyclist. Practice makes perfect, so don’t be discouraged at first.

• WORK YOUR SUBJECT & YOUR SETTINGS: Each time you take a photo, you are using a single ingredient (light) with many potential qualities (harsh, soft, diffused, reflected, colored, etc.). You use just three tools to influence your outcome: aperture, shutter and ISO. Combining these “science” elements with the “art” elements of photography (composition, depth of field, angle of view, etc.) you can create hundreds of variations of a single subject.

• CRITERIA FOR WINNING COMPETITIONS (Part 1):  Professional association judges look at 12 different criteria when judging a print. In my humble opinion that is twice too many, but if you want to do well, pay attention to these items.

Impact is the sense one gets upon viewing an image for the first time. Compelling images evoke laughter, sadness, anger, pride, wonder or another intense emotion.

Creativity is the external expression of the imagination of the maker by using the medium to convey an idea, message or thought.

Style is defined in a number of ways. It might be defined by a specific genre or simply be recognizable as the characteristics of how a specific artist applies light to a subject.  It can impact an image in a positive manner when the subject matter and the style are appropriate for each other, or it can have a negative effect when they are at odds.  More next week.

• USE NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTERS:  A neutral density filter is a dark, neutral-toned glass lens filter that reduces the amount of light entering your camera. It has no effect on color. Neutral density filters come in a range of strengths and are labeled two ways, 2X or 0.3, 4X or 0.6, and 8X or 0.9. Regardless of the system, they decrease light by 1, 2, and 3 stops respectively. Use ND filters (screw-in or Cokin style) to slow shutter speeds (1 to 10 seconds or more) on bright days. By doing so you can create the silky water effect in streams or waterfalls. Use tripod or clamp to hold the camera steady.

• MAKE THE ORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY: The next time you are out with your camera shooting everyday scenes, change the angle you are shooting from to make it exciting. Climb stairs, lean out of a window, lay on the ground – change your perspective and do something different. I call this 360 degree Sphere Shooting because you imagine your subject in a sphere that you can access from all angles. Try it!

• TURN SETTINGS OFF!: Your digital camera is a computer with a lens attached. Like your computer, it can do many things that you may not understand or have features you may not use. Some features may even make it harder for you to control your camera in Aperture, Shutter or Manual modes. Consider turning off D Lighting (Nikon), Safety Shift (Canon), all face and smile recognition and area focus modes. They can all interfere with your control of the camera and the quality of your final image.

TURN SETTINGS ON!:There are many functions in your camera that should be turned on, but are not. Go figure!  Anyway, if you have them, turn on ISO expansion, Long Exposure Noise Reduction and High ISO Noise Reduction. If you wait until you need the function, you will probably miss the shot by the time you turn them on.

• RAW VS. JPG: Raw files give you the maximum size and quality possible with your camera, allowing you to print larger images or crop tighter to focus on smaller sections of your image without degrading the image quality (no pixelation.) Raw files are proprietary to each camera manufacturer. Unlike jpg files, they do not have white balance, sharpness, contrast, saturation and other settings applied in camera. You must do this in a raw editor, before converting images to jpg. psd or tiff files.

• EDIT JPGS ONCE: Each time you save a jpg file after editing it, your image degrades due to the repeated compression applied to it. Therefore, you should not use a jpg as a work in progress file for adjustments. For a work file use an uncompressed format such as tif / tiff or psd. Jpgs can be used to share or print, being converted from the uncompressed formats as needed.

• “FIX IT IN PHOTOSHOP” FALLACY:  Learn to shoot the best images possible in camera as there are images that cannot be properly fixed afterward. Underexposure can create extra (not fixable) noise in dark areas and overexposure can create blobs of light without detail – which cannot be recovered. Too slow a shutter speed can cause motion blur issues from camera shake or subject movement – again irrecoverable. While shooting jpg files, an incorrect white balance setting can create color cast problems that require extra work to eliminate.

• SEE IN BLACK & WHITE: In one step you can improve greatly your ability to take awesome photos – stop looking at the color in your subjects. Color confuses and detracts from your ability to see details. Instead, practice seeing in black and white so you see more clearly the fall of light light across your subject and detail or texture created by the light. If you need help, try looking through a Roscolux #77 Green Blue gel.

• USE THE LOWEST ISO POSSIBLE: To eliminate noise as much as possible, shoot in the lowest ISO (usually 100.) Even when taking night time or low light shots, use 100 and lengthen the exposure time – unless there is motion in the scene you are shooting. Shooting in manual mode, use the desired aperture setting and raise the ISO high enough to give you the shutter speed needed to freeze the action. Remember to use a tripod or other stabilizer with long exposure shots – and turn on long exposure noise reduction if your camera has that feature.