Sullivan J Photography

Hello everyone,

I started this blog to give people information on macro and close-up photography.  The posts began with the basics but now we must move on to discuss more complicated techniques to improve your work.  If you need help with the basics go back to the beginning of my blog and read on…

Click here to start you off with the basics.

Remember… always feel free to make a comment or email me at info@sullivanjphotography.com with any questions, I’ll do my best to help you.

Today’s post will be about HDR (high definition range) photography.

Basically, your camera cannot read dramatic contrasts.  In the future I’m sure there will be a camera with built in technology to be able to produce HDR photographs, but for now, in order to achieve a correct exposure from extreme darks (black) and lights (white), you must work on the photo using your computer.

Today’s lesson is about photographs that are not too complicated to work on.  Later I’ll talk about more difficult photographs.

When we photograph macro we use a tripod to focus on the subject, this makes it easier for you too when processing an HDR.  I always suggest you photograph in RAW, so you can easily change the photograph using software like Photoshop & Lightroom.  When photographing macro you must tell the story of a subject, this is your focus, think about why you want your pic up-close and let everyone know about it.  HDR can give you that extra technique to tell your story!

I will show you two steps that I have used today to correct the following pictures.  I would like you to read the articles by Harold Davis. He’s an excellent writer and will give you more details about this process.

My first example is working with a variety of exposures.  When you work this way keep your ISO and aperture the same… only changing the shutter speed to achieve the variety of exposures needed.

To view the Figures up close click on them…  to go back to the blog use your back arrow key on your browser.

Figure 1

You will need to decide what photographs work the best to merge together.  I decided to start with the best exposure of the petals and then work on the middle of the picture outward.   The photo on the left is the correct exposure for my petals but the middle of the flower has lost some of its clarity because it is underexposed.  Also, you run into noise when you underexpose, which looks really bad, especially if you enlarge your photographs like I do.

Figure 2

Next, move the second photo onto the original photo. Again, I decided to work from the middle of the flower to the outer part of the flower (see Figure 3). I also suggest working with the RAW format pics because it’s a smaller file…unless you have an amazing computer with the latest and greatest everything on it goodies… ☺

Figure 3

Now it’s time to mask…go to Layer>Layer Mask>Hide All.  You will see that the mask is black.  When you mask a photograph everything in black will not show and everything in white will show.  Next, pick a soft brush and paint the area with white to reveal the new photo that you just added to the file.

Figure 4

Figure 5 shows you how I masked the second photo and only revealed the middle of the flower.

Figure 5

I decided to add one more photo to the original to enhance my exposure. Once I completed this I saved it just in case I needed to make changes to the mask later on. Once I am happy with my masking, I merge the layers together (to make a smaller file) and work on it with more detail, removing spots, dust, etc…

Figure 6

Figure 7

This is the final image:

Figure 8

For this next image I used one RAW file to expose certain areas of the photograph to merge them together.  I could process this picture like this because the photo itself wasn’t too under or over exposed.

Figure 9 is exposed for the top part of the red carnation.  I wanted a rich red color…

Figure 9

Figure 10 is exposed for the bottom of the photo… I wanted the stem and the background very light to help POP the red on the picture.

Figure 10

Just like the previous photographs I had both raw files opened, I moved one photo onto the other holding my shift key at the same time.

Figure 11

Just like the previous example, mask your photo by clicking on Layer>Layer Mask>Hide All.

Figure 12

Next I painted in white what I wanted to be revealed in the combined photographs.  If for some reason you paint too much that’s ok you can change to black and paint over or change the opacity/fill.

Figure 13

The ending result is a beautiful photograph of this carnation.

Figure 14

Today, I gave you two examples on how to process your photographs to achieve the dynamic range and beauty the camera cannot capture.   The first example is to photograph a variety of exposures and merge them together.  The second example is to develop one RAW photograph into a variety of exposures to merge together. Both techniques must be masked and painted with white to reveal what you want on your new photograph.

When you photograph up-close use a tripod… this makes this whole process easier.  So have some fun, play with HDR, and tell your macro story!

Cheers,

Janice

With the New Year just passing…I thought to myself how fast the last 10 years have gone by.  I remembered the people that have passed away and how important they all were to me.  One of my favorite photographs is a close up of my grandmother’s hands.  I took this picture using black & white film and worked on the negative in the darkroom to enhance the character of her hands.  She was an avid quilter so I photographed her hands while she was working on one of her quilts.  We had fun photographing her hands, so I thought it would be nice to help you learn to photograph the people you love close-up.

A portrait is nice to have but when you photograph close-up, especially the eyes, hands & feet, the photo becomes more than just a portrait, for me I am seeing the soul of the individual.

So today I will discuss how I photographed my daughter’s eye and my hands.

PHOTOGRAPHING EYES

Some suggestion for photographing eye (s):

1. Don’t use a flash.
2. Use a telephoto lens (preferably a macro lens).
3. Put music on or something that will make your subject relax.

Most of us get nervous when we have anything close to our eyes, so for this reason a telephoto lens is a better lens to use.  I would use a 100mm or longer so your subject doesn’t feel like you’re in their face.   Also, a flash can be annoying for the person so I don’t recommend a flash.  If you need extra lighting use continuous lighting, turning it off and on when needed.  I always stress, “use a tripod when photographing close-up”, but this is one of the few times that you can get away without using the tripod.  Make sure that you hold that camera steady…you don’t want the eye to look too blurry.   Some eyes shots can look nice when they’re a tad blurry…..for me I get a feeling of a dreamy state to the eye(s) when the photo is blurry.

Next, I view my pictures on Lightroom or my Bridge programs.  I place a star on the pics that I feel resemble the personality of my subject.  I then wait a day or two to view the pics again, focusing on the starred photos.  Once I find the one that I like, I start to work on it.  I take my time because these photos will be important to my family and the future family to be.

I always photograph in RAW so I can make changes with ease.  The main objective of photographing the eye, for me, is to match the color of my subject’s eye.  I want the color correct!   My daughter has beautiful eyes and I definitely want to show this in the pic for her children and grandchildren, etc….  She also loves to sleep and read so I wanted the eye relaxed, not wide open.

Reminder: If you want to view the figures up close click on them, to return to this article use your back arrow key.

Figure 1:  Photograph a variety of eye shots and star your favorites.

Figure 2:  Choose the photograph you like and make basic adjustments.

After my adjustments I open the photo in Photoshop to work on it in more detail.

Figure 3:  Work in Photoshop to clean your picture in more detail.

I clean up the photo by removing dust and anything that distracts from the original look of her eye.

Voila! … I now have a great photograph of my daughter’s eye.

Figure 4:  Finish picture of my daughters eye.

PHOTOGRAPHING  HANDS

While photographing hands, try to tell the person’s story.  For example, my grandmother loved to quilt so I shot her hands with one of the quilt pieces she was working on.  She had a needle & thread with her bobbin on one finger.  For my hands I wanted to show the designs of art on my nails.  I really enjoy having designs on my fingers…being an art photographer, I can appreciate the creativity my manicurist paints for me.

Some suggestions for photographing hands:

1. Tell your subject’s story.
2. Use lighting to enhance the story.
3. Use a tripod.
4. Use a macro lens for close-ups.
5. Have fun and be creative.

I stressed that you should focus on the subject’s story because this post is about reality, not a glamour shot!  Also, think about your lighting.  Placing continuous lighting on the side of your subject will help you see the lines of the skin better. Or for my example, the focus was on my 2010 artwork, so my lighting was focused on that nail.   Use a tripod if you want to see more details on the hands.  Of course if you want motion then go for it and hand hold your camera, but just be careful that your photo doesn’t look like a bad shot.  I recommend a macro lens because we are getting up close and personal… and of course play with a variety of positions (camera & hand positions).

First, I set up my tripod and camera using a macro lens.  I set my camera on the timer so I would have enough time to place my hands.

Use something that you can focus on (see below):

Figure 5:  Use something to focus on like this lens cap.

I focused in the area of the lens cap and set my hands over my eyepiece holder, putting the black velvet over the holder.  Black velvet is amazing…it doesn’t reflect light; I highly recommend velvet as a background for macro shooting.

Figure 6:  Place your hand where you focused your lens.

Viewing the variety of hand shots in Lightroom, I chose the best photo that represents me.  Just like the eye shot…I stepped away from the photos for awhile and then picked my favorites.  I made basic corrections in Lightroom.

Figure 7:  View all of your photographs pick your favorite and correct exposure if needed.

Next, I wanted to remove dust and any other distractions from the shot using Photoshop.  I suggest you correct your photo using separate layers, it’s so much easier if you make a mistake to toss a layer than to start all over.  Also another tip for you…when you work with various layers, make sure all of the sample layers are checked (at least for dust removal).

Figure 8:  Clean up your photograph using layers.

I didn’t clean up too much because I want the character of my hands to show… again this isn’t a glamour project! 

Next, I flattened the image to combine my layers.

Figure 9:  Before you sharpen your image flatten the layers.

After I flatten my image I sharpened it by clicking on filter > sharpen > unsharp mask.

Figure 10:  Sharpen your image.

Figure 11:  Preview your adjustments before you click ok.

After I’m happy with the amount of sharpening I’ve done to the photograph I save my photograph to a Tiff.  This is my way of saying that the photo is finished and ready for printing.

Figure 11:  The final image of my hands.

Today I discussed two body parts that you can photograph to keep as a special picture for you and your family.  I talked about some tips on photographing eyes and hands.  Remember to try and not use a flash for the eyes and use a telephoto lens to help your subject be more relaxed.  When photographing hands, focus on a story…the story of your subject.  Use lighting to enhance your story and have fun!  I also talked about the steps I use while processing the picture.  Take your time…this is a photo for a lifetime!   Happy New Year to you all…I wish the best for you and your families.

Cheers,

Janice

Ps…I will be out of town for the next several weeks but will be back with more macro and close-up techniques when I return.

Hello everyone,

I receive a lot of emails from artists asking me how to photograph their work because they can’t afford a photographer.  I understand how hard it is to start marketing your business especially for a new artist.   So I decided to help you all with the basics.

With the holiday’s, many artists and crafters want to photograph their work, but it can be hard to photograph small pieces if you don’t know what to do, so let’s talk about what I did with this really cute Christmas treat.

GETTING READY FOR THE SHOOT

First, I stabilized the piece and thought about the background.  You definitely do not want your background to take away from the art piece.  I planned to change the background so I will shoot a black, white, or gray background to make it easier to pull the image out and place it on my new background in Photoshop.

Use your back arrow key to return to blog  :0)

Stabilize your work.

Second, place your camera on a tripod and use a cable release so you have minimal movement to your camera.

Third, photograph in RAW format so you can color correct easily.

Fourth, definitely get a macro lens. See the difference of a standard canon zoom lens on 90mm shot compared to a 100mm macro lens, below:

Standard Lens 90mm

FYI…I didn’t move my tripod or the Christmas treat.

100mm Macro Lens

I suggest if you don’t have a macro lens now then you should start with my favorite macro lens, the Canon Telephoto EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro. For more information on macro lens’ check out Canon.  If you’re not a Canon user no worries, just purchase a macro that will work with your camera. Macro lens’ are made for “Close-up Photography” as you can see from the photograph above, a macro lens purchase is worth it!  Your work will look sharp and clean.

Fifth, use a tent if your work has a shiny surface.  Tents are awesome!  You can use them with any style of lighting…sun, flash, etc…

PROCESSING YOUR PHOTOGRAPH

I mentioned previously that you should photograph RAW. It is easier to white balance (correct your color).  You want your potential clients to see what your work actually looks like.  Normally, I use my Adobe Lightroom software if my lighting is the same, whether I photograph in a studio or use natural light, if I have a segment of many photographs with the same lighting conditions, Lightroom is much easier to process.  But with this piece I wanted to play with the lighting a bit so I decided to use Adobe Bridge to rename, apply copyright info and to view all of my pictures.

Adobe Bridge

Once I decide to develop a photo, I’ll double click on the image, see below and to the right:

White balance, Exposure, Recovery, Fill Light, Blacks, Brightness, etc…  Also, below RGB you will see boxes to click on and adjust even more to your photo.  Check out Amazon to see books out there for your software.

Develop your photo in Photoshop from Bridge.

I photographed this cute snowman in various positions and lighting.  I knew that I was going to change the background and because the snowman had light and dark colors in it I shot my photographs with a light and dark background.  This way I could play with both types of photos to see which one would be easier to select my subject.  Just trust me…it doesn’t take long to change a background but it can take forever to select your piece in Photoshop!

Black Background

Light Background

SOME ADDED TOUCHES

I decided to use the shot below so I used the lasso tool to cut out the Snowman treat.  I opened a new file and made a background that matched his nose and reversed the gradient tool because I wanted you to see the snowman : )

Select Subject

Work on your background.

Next, I used the move tool to cut the snowman out from the selected area and placed it on top of my new background.  To make the snowman fit go to Edit>Free Transform.  Hold your shift key while you proportion it to the background so you don’t distort your work.

Once you select your work move it to your background.

If you are happy with the photo…next clean it up, viewing it at least 100%. Sharpen your image by clicking on Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask.

Remove dust spots or anything that takes away from your work.

This is then end result

Happy Holidays to you all!

So all you artists, crafters, or anyone that would like to photograph their small pieces of work, remember:

• Stabilize your art piece.
• Use a tripod and cable release.
• Photograph in RAW format.
• Use a macro lens.
• Use a tent if your work has a shiny surface.

If you want to go a step further to enhance your work you can change the background in Photoshop.  I did:

• Select your art piece from the photograph.
• Make a new file concentrating on your background.
• Move your artwork (photo) to the background with the move tool. (drag & drop).
• Clean up your photo – remove dust and other distractions.
• Sharpen your image.

Hope this article has helped you learn how to photograph your work. Good luck and as always feel free to email me or add a comment to this post.

Cheers,

Janice

Hello everyone,

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving….I did  :)

Today I would like to talk about how to photograph Macro in Black and White.  I really enjoy printing my B & W (black & white) photographs, they have an elegant quality to them; but there are several factors you must pay attention to while photographing macro.  Let’s talk about these factors so you can produce a beautiful & elegant photograph.

When I was taught to shoot B & W, we didn’t have digital cameras.  The requirement was that we must have full tonal zones and shoot corner to corner in focus with no over or underexposed areas.   Well, if you have read my blog posts and seen the photographs I produce now, you will see that I have changed a bit on my educated style of photography, but, and I stress the “But”….I do believe that you must learn how to photograph correctly and then play around and be more creative.  Back in the day, we used to dodge and burn areas of the photo in the darkroom to fix the photo, but today most of us shoot digital and use the computer to fix pictures.  I must say that software has improved so much and I’m happy for that.  When I was researching for this post, I went back to some of my info on how-to-photograph digital B & W.  I couldn’t believe how outdated the info was!  So always, always, research and see what’s out there…the photo field is changing constantly now that we are in the digital age.

So I’ll stop talking about the past and now talk about today’s info and what I do to create that spectacular, awesome B & W photo

First, I want you to read up on the Zone System.  It’s important to this post that you understand the tonal range of a photograph in B & W.

Remember, to look at the photos click on them and to get back to the blog use your back arrow key.

Second, when you photograph digitally you must pay attention to noise, especially when you want a black and white print and it’s a macro shot.  We have a double whammy when it comes to noise!! (Long exposures and the look of the close up print.) So please pay attention to this and take the time to add light to your subject, if needed and change your camera settings. My camera has a noise control for long exposures; if you have this on your camera, enable it. If your camera has the capability to shoot B & W and you’re not sure how the picture will look then go ahead and change it to photograph B & W. I don’t recommend this…only do this if needed because you can change a color photo to B & W but you can’t change a B & W to color!

Third, when photographing macro, pay attention to the balance of the photograph. The photo below is a standard shot of a family (my family), nothing spectacular about the photo but you do notice that my husband’s color is red compared to the rest of us. I could fix his face but I decided to make this a black & white photo for our Christmas card and to tell you the truth…I’d rather have this in B & W :0)

BEFORE

AFTER

Because you will be photographing macro…I want to stress that when you print you will notice imperfections more than a photograph that is like the example above and that I gave you this example of my family portrait because I want you to understand as we shoot closer and closer to a subject, the more going on in the photo, the more distracting it can be.  Unless you have some balance to your form, shapes, lines, textures & patterns, your photo can just be a picture with no meaning to it, just a blob of visual junk.  What’s nice about black and white photography is if you have that wonderful textured photo or any of the above styles I mentioned, B & W will enhance those styles. Color can be more distracting in a macro shot…when you’re in doubt change it to B & W, you may be surprised with the results.

Fourth, I recommend you take the time and photograph in RAW format.  This way you will have more control in adjusting your contrast and can achieve a full range of zones.

Of course to achieve a great macro you will be using a sturdy tripod and a cable release, correct….read my previous posts on How to Photograph Close-Up if you didn’t know this. Just be careful to take your time shooting your macro.  If you want all of your picture in focus you may need extra lighting or you can shoot a variety of pictures and merge them together (I’ll have an article on this at a later time).  If your exposures are underexposed you’re going to have problems, so even if you overexpose a bit that’s ok…. I feel it’s better to overexpose (not blown out) than to underexpose.   Check your histograms on your camera.    I found a couple of sites if you want to read up on Histograms (GOOGLE) to make sure you haven’t under or over exposed your subject.

When you shoot RAW you can adjust your white balance and exposure easier. I use Adobe Lightroom to develop my photographs. I absolutely LOVE Lightroom!!!! My post production is fast and fun

If you want to try this program for a month click here, it’s worth it!!

If you would like more information on Adobe Lightroom check out this link.

I decided to work with this shot…I like the soft feel of the candlelight. So I went to my Lightroom program and developed this picture to Grayscale:

I liked the lines of the pine so I played with the various tools Lightroom offers. The key is to play and learn from mistakes. Lightroom will not damage your photo, so play! You will acquire an eye for your own style of work and definitely understand what you’re doing. I read this great book on Lightroom by Scott Kelby, “The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers”. Check out Amazon or your local library and read up on the program.

Once I adjusted this in Lightroom I opened it up in Photoshop:

I wanted more contrast to the photo and I like the curves setting to work with this in more detail.  Next, I flatten the image and the last thing I do is sharpen the photo.  In photoshop I went to filter/sharpen/unsharp mask and made my adjustments:

This is the finished product… cropped a bit off the top. I like this in B & W, the lines of the pine draw your eyes up to the candle light.

Sullivan J Photography

This last example shows you how color can sometimes be distracting.   Unless you’re an interior designer and want the colors to match the floor plan, this could be a nice pic, but personally I like this photo in B & W.

Sullivan J Photography

My adjustments to this final photo were done exactly like the photo of the candle-light.

Sullivan J Photography

Today I discussed some important things to remember while photographing Macro B & W’s.  Remember, that a macro photograph/print will show more problem areas.

So:

• Learn about the zone system.

• Pay attention to Noise.

• Pay attention to balance; your textures, lines, shapes & form of the subject(s).

• Photograph in RAW format.

• Sharpen image.

I also would like you to try Lightroom for a month…  I promise you will absolutely love this Adobe product!  Of course if you have any questions or other info to add to this post, please feel free to comment.

Hope you all  have a wonderful holiday season this year!!

Cheers,

Janice

Hello all,

Today we will talk about basic digital darkroom.  When you received your DSLR camera you most likely received software to fix your photographs.  Before digital cameras, we would process our photographs in a darkroom.  I had so much fun playing with the photographs back then.  Because of digital photography, the craft has changed, I now process my files using Adobe Lightroom and to detail the photo I use Adobe Photoshop.   I always photograph in RAW format.  Shooting RAW gives you more flexibility to change your picture.  I will show you later how to batch process but today is an introduction to correcting your photos with the CD/DVD you received with your camera, so let’s start…

Your steps may be different if you do not use Canon but what I discuss in this post, 3 basic ways to fix your photos, should be on the software you received. You will be fixing your color, spot removal, and sharpening the image.

(If you want to see the images below up close click on them, when you want to go back to the blog, use your back arrow key.)

Open your software…I did from my computer clicking on the CameraWindow:

from my computer to upload canon software

Next, I downloaded my photographs to a file in my computer:

Canon download options.

After the completion of my download the Browser window came up:

Canon Browser Window

This is where you view your images.  You will have other options to play with, depending on your software.  Once I have the photograph I want to process, I will go to my Digital Photo Professional file (see first image above) and start working on my photo:

fixing photographs

It’s time to fix your photographs…   Click the white balance icon at the top and double click the photo you want to work on (see above).  Once you’re in this area click around all the goodies your program has to offer.  You wont mess up your original, just don’t save it until you’re happy with what you have done.

Here is an example of what the canon software looks like when I white balance (color correct):

view of white balance info

Next, it’s time to clean up the photograph, remove dust, scratches, or any other areas that you feel need to be cleaned.  Under my tools area there is the image stamper…basically, it’s a tool that you can use to fix your photo.  See below:

for canon it's called stamp tool to clean up photo

What I did is  click an area that I want to copy (holding down my alt/option key at the same time)  and then stamp it to the area that needs to be cleaned, and wala…it’s perfect!

canon's stamp tool

Now sharpen your image:

I had to leave my photo and start up again later to fix it.  I saved my changes but left it RAW, so if you don’t have time to finish your project, no worries… just keep your file in the RAW format.  When you open your photo, click on the upper left to change, ” main window” to “edit window”.

In this area you can sharpen or make any other adjustment needed.

After you have sharpened your image, you need to save your file:

save your file to a tiff

I always save my photo to TIFF’S to preserve the quality of the photograph.   See above to view the screen that I used.  You can change the name of your file here and make other adjustments…play with your software to learn it.

So today we discussed how to view your photos, color correct with white balance, and clean dust and scratch marks from your photos.  I recommend you save your file as a TIFF to preserve the quality of the photograph.  JPEG files depreciate every time you open and re-save them.  If you want to get a jump start on our future discussions on digital dark-rooming, read this book, “Digital Macro Photography” by Ross Hoddinott.

With the techniques I discussed today, see the before and after pictures below:

lily before I fixed with software provided by canon

after color correction and spot removal

I went drastic on the color correction because I wanted you to see what you can do with the basic software you received with your camera.  To tell you the truth, I would change more on this photograph, but I don’t want to overload you just yet. One thing I want you to remember, always, always, sharpen your photographs when you’re done, or at least before you print or post on the web.

Your homework this week is to play with the digital darkroom software and read the book on Digital Macro Photography. Next week we will discuss some creative techniques to achieve an awesome Macro Photograph.

Cheers,

Janice