Bernskiold Media » Photography

OnOne’s Camera Remote iPhone App Gets Nikon Support!

Erik Bernskiold — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:46:31 +0000

Canon shooters have had the ability for a while now to enjoy OnOne’s Camera Remote app for the iPhone, while us Nikon shooters have just had to wait. Now, the wait is over and the application works with Nikon cameras as well!

The update is available for free in the App Store for owers who had the 1.0 version. Apart from adding support for Nikon cameras, version 1.1 adds support for a plethora of things such as auto bracketing, AF in LiveView, Lightroom Auto-Import support and more!

The app comes with a server client which needs to be run from your computer in order for it to work and if you are using the new 1.1 app version, you will need to make sure you download and use the 1.1 server version, or things will not work!

It’s available in two versions, a lite ($1.99) and a professional ($19.99) and all info as well as comparisions, can be found on OnOne’s website!

4 Reasons To Share Your Work and a site tip!

Erik Bernskiold — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:00:45 +0000

I see a lot of photographers who get out and take photos. I see fewer who really go in to share their photography. Even fewer decide to go in and get critique. I realize that it can be hard sometimes to take critique on your work, even if it is the best way to improve, but the first bit, sharing your photos—there is no excuse not to do that.

1. You Gain Exposure

One of the reasons that you should be sharing your work is of course for the exposure you’ll be getting. Even if you are right now not trying to make money of your photos, it’s always nice to know that someone else sees them.

2. It Gives You a Purpose

You can justify going out on an extra shoot because you know you are going to be sharing them later on. You won’t just be storing them away on a harddrive with only yourself ever looking at them. Which brings me to the next reason.

3. Other People Can Enjoy

The same as: why not! Instead of your photos lying around on your harddrive, not doing much good, you can instead share them with the world so that everyone can get to view them, instead of just you.

4. You Get Better

By allowing other people to comment on your photos, you can improve. By also looking at other peoples photos, you can get inspiration and that way want to shoot the way others do. This might lead you to indirect improvements!

I really can’t say how much that has been the case for me. I started out years back and when I was sharing my first photos, I thought they were good. In an evolving process, I saw better photos. Photos that I wanted to be able to shoot. In turn, this has led me to become a lot better photographer and it still continues to drive me forward!

Site Tip: Photography Corner

Finally, I wanted to leave you with one of my favorite sites to share your photos on. I’ve been a member of the site for several years and it’s helped me tremendously in improving. The site has got a great and friendly community, who all love photography.

What are you waiting for? Get out there and share your photography!!

Portrait Photography: Practical Tips

Will King — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:00:23 +0000

I am always happy to share my knowledge and experience, so when Erik asked me to share it with you all, I was very happy to do so! I’ve only been seriously shooting portraits for about a year now but I’ve learned a lot. Here are some tips I’ve found to be helpful.

Just like any other form of photography, it all starts with good light. (I learned that from my friend and mentor Mark Warren.) Light can take on many different characteristics that will have an impact on the subject. It’s up to the photographer to decide which characteristic(s) of light will be most suitable for the subject. The good news is that there are tools that allow photographers to control light in virtually every way. These tools are referred to as modifiers. With modifiers, photographers can change or adjust the light to make it harder, softer, larger, smaller, diffuse it, reflect it, change the color and just about anything else you can think of. Light is what defines shape, depth, and dimension. Light can also set a mood and evoke emotion. Achieving better images does not start with a better understanding of the camera but rather a better understanding of light.

The most critical area of a portrait has to be the eyes. The eyes can speak without words. The photographer has to be able to translate what the eyes are saying with the camera. The subject’s eyes should be the sharpest feature in the image therefore it’s critical to use one focus point on the camera and place that focus point on the eyes. If the head is tilted or rotated, make sure the eye that is closet to the camera is the sharpest.

If you want to capture something a little more dynamic that the typical portrait taken at the local mall studio, you have to be able to add a touch of life to the image. The best way to do this is to add movement. Add a hair fan or get your model to move as you’re shooting. Movement and motion will transform dull, lifeless images to images that are full of life.

Just like other forms of art, how you lead the viewer’s eye is critical. That’s why composition is a vital element to a good portrait. The rule of thirds usually works well with landscape photography but it also works very well with portraits as well. Place the eyes in the upper third level of the composition. This will place the emphasis on what’s important but it will also allow the viewer’s eyes to flow to other areas of the image. Also consider breaking up the monotony by adding a tilt.

Try capturing the subject’s personality or a taste of him/her. Get to know your subject and try to convey their true self in the portrait.

Will King is a photographer that loves photographing people, places, sports, dramatic displays of light, and just about anything else that he can capture creatively with his lens. You can visit his site for more great photography!

Before You Shoot Checklist

Erik Bernskiold — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:00:53 +0000

It’s happened to us all. We’ve been right in the moment, shooting away, or at location beginning to shoot and it dawns upon us: the batteries are not here. Or you are in middle of shooting and notice that the memory card wasn’t formatted. You might even be in middle of that important shoot and realize that the sensor has a lot of specs on it? Perhaps you’ve even left the lenses at home?

Just for that, I’ve created this “Before You Shoot Checklist” that aims to help you to remember to pack everything down before you go! Print, or fill out digitally on your computer!

Click To Download!

A Rerun: How to Shoot Fireworks

Erik Bernskiold — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:01:56 +0000

Like I always do on New Years and for my american readers this time of the year, here is how to shoot these wonderful fireworks:

Fireworks is a lovely thing to photograph but it may seem hard at first. I’ve been doing it for the past three years now and really feel that I’m getting the grip around it! I hope it helps to clear up some stuff if you are unsure since I’ve gotten a lot of questions about it this year, and that you go out and try it tonight, it is really cool and fun.

How To?

First off, dial in Manual mode and set the aperture to f/11 or f/13 (run some tests to see which is better), then set the shutter speed to Bulb, usually indicated by a B. Now when the firework explode, press the shutter and then when the burst has exploded and is wearing off, you let go of it. This usually makes for a nice picture of a firework.

If you wish to capture many in one frame, just keep it pressed and make sure the frame is pitch black until the next firework goes up. Adjust the aperture as fits between the shots.

Equipment?

It’s best to have a camera that you have full manual mode on but special firework modes can work, although best result is given with a full manual mode. It’s really necessary to have a tripod because you’ll be working with second long exposures that you simply can’t hand-hold. Also learning from own mistakes, never extend the center column on the tripod, even if it feels like you need to, I did it last year only with a good sacrifice in quality in the images.

It helps if you have a remote control so you don’t need to look into the viewfinder all the time when shooting, plus, it’ll give you more stability.

Depending on your location to the fireworks, either a zoom lens (70-200) or a normal zoom (18-55) is the right lens. For organized displays, I’ve found that you might get closer than you think with a 18-55, which allows you to get close enough in the sky (if you are close) and also to get some foreground in there as well if you want to, without changing lenses, something that is a no-no! You just won’t have the time.

Position and Preparations

Get to the fireworks display in time and make sure that you know where they are going to be shooting from and set up in a good place where you can see the display and if you want also include some foreground such as the water or something alike. Also make sure you have clean memory cards that are formatted and that they work, also make sure to have your batteries charged and working!

I hope this little article can benefit you and it is really fun to photograph fireworks! Questions? Leave them in the comments!

4 Big Tips for Stunning Sunset/Sunrises

Erik Bernskiold — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:00:41 +0000

A couple of weeks ago we took a look at how to pleasantly photograph flowers and now I was thinking to follow this up with how to capture stunning sunset/sunrise photos. My goal is that you should be able to take these tips with you in mind out the next time you are shooting and think about a couple of them, try them and see your photography potentially get better!

Get Down Low!

A vital thing for any landscape in general is to photograph them in an angle that you typically don’t look at them. Normally when we as humans look at a sunset in this case, we either are standing up in full height, or sitting down on the ground or on a bench. To get nicer photos, get down even lower, perhaps so low so that you might need to lie flat down on the ground in order to be able to see through the viewfinder (of if you have LiveView this will help a lot). My recommendation is to shoot it from as low as possible in order to create more depth in the scene as opposed to getting up high!

The Sun Is Not Important!

This may sound a little odd at first, but the sun is really not the important element in a sunset or sunrise scene! Think about it, when you sit around and watch a sunset without a camera, what are you looking at? Definitely not the sun! Rather, you look at the colors. All the beautiful colors that the setting sun creates in the clouds and the beautiful light is lets on the landscape around.

What you want to do in most cases (good exceptions may very well apply), is to make sure the sun is either shaded by a cloud or even below the horizon. The most beautiful colors that you can get in a photo is when the sun has just set below the horizon line, or just before it comes up!

The Foreground Is Important!

Sunsets and sunrises are quite hard scenes to shoot in that they need to be great all over. While a colorful sky may be nice to look at normally, just a colorful sky will just not do it when it comes to a photo. You need to have both that colorful sky, that interesting foreground and maintain a good exposure throughout. Look for rocks, a pier, something extending into the water if you are near water, grass that catches the beautiful light being cast or any object that makes it interesting. A tip with the water: Bring a dark neutral density filter with you that can bring down the exposure to speeds of about 5+ seconds. This will allow you to have the water blurred and onto the so-called “silky effect”. It adds a lot of impact in the water and makes it seem full of movement!

Don’t Let Rain Deter You!

The best shots that can be had is after a storm clears. Storm- and rain clouds are usually really dark and dense which catches up the color of the sunset beautifully and enhances it.

You’d be surprised at how fast these clouds can break up. I was sitting at home (I’m about ten minutes away from the ocean by car) while it was raining hard outside thinking that the sunset shoot was going to waste, until I began seeing some really beautiful colors appearing in the clouds. Still raining hard, I quickly hurried to one of my favorite spots nearby, set up and man! The rain stopped pretty much when I got there and the clouds started to clear up a bit and I had a scene that just kept getting different and different every second and I got a lot of great photos that evening (photo on the right from that evening)!

So, moral of the story is to get out even if it looks like the rain isn’t going to stop. Even if it doesn’t, bring some rain-cover and shoot form underneath. You can still get the incredible color and amazing photos!

Finally, get out there this weekend and shoot! I’ll definitely do that myself and if the weather is on my side (not the best, not the worst), I’ll hopefully have some sunset photos to share with you!

Happy Shooting!

Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

Erik Bernskiold — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:00:00 +0000

This week, it is a mix between both video and photography. With the current season going on, I’m trying to focus a bit more on photography as of now but definitely will not forget the video and audio side. What I want to talk about this week is getting out of your comfort zone. Leaving what you usually photography/film and doing something else for a while!

What Intrigues You?

First, sit down and figure out what really intrigues you! I’m sure that there are some special photographic areas that you really find impressive and that you’ve always wanted to try! Make a list, and eventually start by selecting just one area that you’ll end up focusing on for a while!

This doesn’t necessarily need to be in the same field. Say you are a photographer and have always wanted to try out shooting some video. Do it! It isn’t what you are best it, but only by exposing yourself to it you can become better!

Go For It!

Once you’ve decided what it is you want to do, go for it! Don’t just see it as a small side project to see what it is like for just one time. If you for example want to try and shoot more portraits, do it! The only way that you are going to get better in the area that you want is if you expose yourself to it and make sure to get critiques and comments on your results. Look back at how you started in the field that is now your comfort zone! Go back and do the same process over for this new field!

Most of all: Enjoy it!

This is meant to bring a little variation into your photography/videography and to help you become a better photographer/videographer. By trying out some areas that you’ve done very little, and by actively working on improving the skills, you can become a better artist. You will however not come any way at all if you don’t really want to do it and want to become better. Thus, when finding out what intrigues you, make sure you end up picking a final area that you like. Now, in most cases, you will want to do something that intrigues you!

8 Tips for Pleasant Flower Photography

Erik Bernskiold — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:00:13 +0000

It is late spring, almost getting into summer in most parts of the world. This means that flowers are blooming and that pretty much everything in the nature looks gorgeous. This is a perfect time to do flower photography, with close-ups and macros as well and I’m going to today share some flower photography tips and tricks.

1. Don’t Shoot Down on the Flower

Something that many people tend to do when they approach a flower they want to shoot is to just bend over it and take a photo—shooting down on the flower. It tends to not only produce a rather flat and lifeless image but also include a messy background. The trick is to get down to the level of the flower and shoot it from the same height or from below, which will produce much more pleasing results and allow for better backgrounds. Now, there is a very good exception to the rule which is when you have only got a single color, out of focus, background that takes care of the depth of field for us. Then, if you compose wisely, shooting down on the flower won’t matter as much.

2. Be Wary of the Background

The most common mistake done when shooting flowers is to be all caught up in the lower itself as to not think about the background behind. The two most common mistakes are; to either have very little depth of field so that pretty much everything remains in focus in the frame; with the second having a deliberately out of focus background with far too many distracting objects, color-shifts and light objects that draw your attention away.

3. Use Depth of Field to Your Advantage

You want to try and shoot at a large aperture (like f/2.8) to get as much depth of field as possible and still a sharp image. Try shooting in Aperture Priority mode to leave the camera to worry about the shutter speed. By using a small depth of field, you can really make flowers or parts of flowers pop out.

4. Manually Focus Your Lens

To allow spot-on focus with the chosen depth of field, set your lens to manual focus and find the exact spot for your focus. This way you don’t have to worry about refocusing if you were to slightly change your composition (as long as you don’t change your distance to the flower).

5. Use a Tripod

With depth of field being so incredibly tiny and the combination with using manual focus, you will need to set up on a sturdy tripod to help you out in getting that spot-on focused photo.

6. Lighting: Overcast or Shadow

Most of the time, flowers and close-ups will be best photographed in overcast weather or if they are in the shadow. It produces a more even and pleasing light with not as harsh shadows. Sometimes backlit flowers work nicely as you get a nice, golden, light from behind the flower itself, but still without the harsh light on the flower itself.

7. Time of the Day

Experiment with the times of the day that you shoot in. The morning produces really wonderful golden light while you have a good chance of seeing some natural dew drops left on the flowers. Plus, it won’t be as hot in the morning if it is a sunny day.

8. Bring a Water Bottle

If you don’t happen to be shooting in the direct morning and you want to have dew drops, simply bring a water sprayer bottle and spray gently on the flower. You’ll get instant dew drops right where you want!

Finally, get out there and have fun shooting!

Story: The Shooting of a Team Photograph

Erik Bernskiold — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:00:20 +0000

For this first Photography/Video/Media Thursday, I’d like to talk photography, specifically the challenges when shooting a team. I recently had the opportunity of shooting the official school football (soccer for your americans) team for a city championship. What was needed was a serious group photo and one humorous photo. With the fact that this was to take place in the school auditorium during a break, there wasn’t really much time!

There was another big challenge apart from the time, equipment. I’ve only recently begun purchasing flash accessories and building my flash equipment, and that was one of the problems.

Although I’d gotten my Lastolite Ezybox Softbox a couple of days before, I hadn’t got the tilt-head that I ordered, meaning the softbox, mounted high on a light stand couldn’t be tilted down on the subjects. Well, easily solved, I had a friend hold the entire stand and tilt it all downwards. Lesson, make sure you have the right equipment beforehand, or make sure to have a friend or assistant there with you!

This was the image that I eventually got (the serious one). I wanted to go for the dramatic style which really does work well equipment wise, having only one flash! Of course there are things that I could have improved by having a second flash, adding a little fill in on the right side, or by using a reflector to bounce some light back in. It did therefore need a bit of saving in Lightroom not to have completely unrecognizable half-faces.

The beauty of shooting a school team of such a small size is that I didn’t need to worry about the posing. True enough, you get quire used to posing yourself for group photos after so many years don’t you? The real tough lesson I learned was to shoot with space around and to crop later! I ended up cutting away the Sparta head (the team is called "Rudebecks Spartans") most of the time although was very lucky (definitely luck) to get at least two where I did shoot wider.

Here is a little sketch about how I did the lighting setup as well, and happy shooting!

Equipment Used

Nikon D50
Nikkor 18-55 lens
Nikon SB-600 Speedlight
Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe 38×38cm
Elinchrome Light stand
Sync cord

Weekend Website Tip – Photography Corner

Erik Bernskiold — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:56:46 +0000

For any photography interested person this site, Photography Corner, is a place you really must visit. The site is based around a forum where you can post your photos, get comments and feedback on them, talk about gear, software, the business side, participate in a lot of great contests (with prizes) and a lot more! Basically it’s a good friendly community of photographers who share and comment on photos and more. Apart from the forum, you have the main website with tutorials and resources on plenty of things, but it is really the forum that shines. Take some time, go visit the site. Sign up for the forums and share! Comment on other photos! Have fun!