Close-Up with normal 50mm f/1.4 lens

          While nowhere on the barrel of your 50mm f/1.4 lens will you find the word "macro", if your lens has an aperture ring, you can quickly and easily turn your "normal" lens into an extremely powerful close-up tool.

          To magnify your subject to a 1:1, 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio, all you need is a lens reversing ring such as the Nikon BR-2A. You twist the ring onto the front-barrel filter threads of your 50mm lens, and then bayonet the lens backwards into your DSLR camera's lensmount. You won't be able to focus at infinity - but bring on the bugs and buds.

          If none of the 50mm lenses made for your DSLR camera have an aperture ring, macro fans still has options. Find a reversing ring for your lensmount. With the right ring, you can reverse-mount any maker's 50mm f/1.4 on your DSLR camera body and fire away in your camera's manual mode. Search garage sales and onine auctions for inexpensive 50mm lenses (with aperture rings). Or, failing that, grab a new Pentax 50mm f/1.4. Even new, it is much less expensive than virtually any 1:1 macro lens around.

          If you decide to try this low-cost and effective route to high-magnification close-ups, budget, too, for a macro focusting rail. Without one, you will very quickly tire of the tedium and inaccuracy of conventional manual focus at such tight subject distances.

Low Light Shot by The 50mm f/1.4 lens

          If you are accustomed to shooting in low light with a variable aperture f/3.5-5.6 kit zoom lenses, get ready for a pleasant surprise: Today’s 50mm f/1.4 lenses make sharp photography possible in the kind of light so dim, you probably would have left your DSLR camera in its bag before.

          Several factors contribute to give the 50mm lens its superb low light performance. First and most obviously, the high-speed f/1.4 maximum aperture allows more light through to the image sensor than almost any other lens available today.

          Second, the compact dimensions of the 50mm lens are – compared with more long-barrelled lenses – less apt to magnify camera shake.

          Third, if your DSLR camera body is blessed with sensor-based shake control, it will give you yet another stop or two of sharpness when lights are low.

          Finally, with each generation, the sensors in today’s DSLR cameras are getting much better at suppressing image softening noise in dimly lit shadows, even when you’ve dialed in high ISOs.

          Add these factors together, and you see how a 50mm f/1.4 lens lets you leave tripod and flash at home.

Color Saturation Mode

Super-Saturated Skin Tones

          Until about 20 or so years ago, film manufacturers trumpeted true-to-life colors of their slide and print films. But Fujifilm was the first to question if photographers really wanted highly accurate colors in the first place. To find out, Fuji made a vast number of test shots showing typical outdoor scenics with varying colors saturation in the prints, from well below normal to super-vivid. A large test group of viewers was asked to pick out which colorations they preferred in blue sky, green grass, clothing, and skin tones. In nearly all instances, the majority of viewers preferred colors more highly saturated than normal. The amount of increased saturation varied within each different color. Then Fuji emulsion sensitometrists set about creating a film that would have color saturation as close as possible to what the majority of this group preferred.

          And so Fujichrome Velvia 50 was born. Many pros used it exclusively because of its enhanced color. A few years later, Fuji also offered Reala print film, which was similarly well saturated. Photographers switched to these films when weather was poor and the colors needed a bit of goosing. Kodak soon followed with its own saturated and very saturated films.

          So what has all this to do with DSLR cameras? Most DSLR cameras, as you probably know, can be switched from normal color saturation to some manner of decreased or increased saturation. What you may not know is that there is no standard amount of increased or decreased saturation. It is up to each camera maker. While decreased saturation may be what some photographers want for special purposes, the preponderance of DSLR owners seem quite satisfied with increased saturation and often leave DSLR camera set for it. But in the early days of Velvia, when users were equally satisfied, some discovered that the increase in saturation too often made skin tones to reddish. Fine for scenics, many pros concluded, but stay away from people.

          How well does the increased color saturation mode of your DSLR camera handle skin tones? Before choosing the increased saturation mode, find a light-complex-ioned person who has just a tinge of color. Shoot a portrait with and without added saturation. You do not need any fancy setup. Direct flash with built-in or accessory flash will do. Just be sure to turn off any existing lighting and allow the flash to recycle fully between shots. Giving the flash about 5 seconds additional time after the flash-ready light comes on isn’t a bad idea, nor is bracketing your flash exposure to make sure you get the best facial tone.  Have prints made by your favorite photofinisher and compare skin tones. If you like the added saturation in the skin tones, OK. If not, you’ll know when to turn off the added saturation or use it to cancel out a cool or warm lighting cast outdoors.

4 Ways to Cook with RAW

          Most of photographers save images in DSLR cameras as JPEGs, but these files are the product of hefty in-camera processing of the sensor data. While such processing usually works well, it sometimes makes for problems in the images as it discards some information and compresses the remaining data.

          To save the complete, unadulterated picture data, opt instead for RAW files. A computer application called a RAW files converter (included with most DSLR cameras) opens a RAW file and converts the file’s data into an image. The important part: The converter lets you (not the DSLR camera) set the parameters of the image processing. Here are four ways this control can help you.

DIG DETAIL OUT OF THE SHADOWS.

          RAW files images capture about two more stops of dynamic range than JPEGs, meaning shadow detail that might be pure black in a JPEG can retain detail in a RAW file.

SHOOT FIRST, BALANCE LATER.

          You don’t have to worry about setting the DSLR camera white balance when shooting RAW file. You can adjust it to your taste later on when converting the RAW file. You can choose to click on a preset (like Daylight, Tungsten, etc.) or custom-tune it to your heart’s content.

OPEN MULTIPLE TIMES.

          RAW file converters create images without altering the original RAW files, so you can open a RAW file repeatedly to try new things. It’s like a film negative: Endless interpretations are possible from one original. Notice the difference in felling from a bright, oversaturated color version and a monochrome rendition from the same RAW file.

WHO NEEDS PHOTOSHOP?

          RAW file converters control exposure, contrast, color balance, and saturation; many also sharpen, reduce noise, and remove lens aberrations. This might be all the image control you want.

Capture the Sunset Secret

Don't Follow The Sun, stop chasing the light, and start anticipating it!!!
   
          How many times have you raced to capture an incredible sunset, but by the time you got your DSLR camera, found a good angle, set up your tripod, meter, and pressed the shutter, that crimson red color had faded to a dull gray? Peak sunset and sunrise color lasts just minutes, and chasing this light rarely results in good compositions. The pro's secret? Be there first.

Watch the wether
          Cirrus or cumulus clouds generally signal a change in wether. When a storm's clearing (or moving in) and the sun's low, the light will be dramatic.

Scout the location
          The day before a shoot, check out the scene and determine composition so you know precisely where you want to be during those golden 10 minutes.

Pre-position the sun
          Determine exactly where the sun will be relative to your DSLR camera position. Use a Photographer's Sun Compass, which shows where the sun will rise or set in a particular location at any time of the year.

          With a little planning, you can anticipate the light and come away with a stunner!

Telephoto lenses for Landscape

          For landscape, most photographers would instinctively reach for a wide-angle lens (16-35mm) and leave their telephoto lenses in the camera bag, save them only for wildlife or action shots. But it’s time to think outside the ultrawide and retool the grand landscape with a 70mm or longer lens.

          For starters, foreground elements are not always necessary. It is rare that you’ll find the perfect foreground element anyway – you may not find a single one on your backpack trip. While best landscapes of many photographers are often shot at 70mm all the way up to 400mm.

          Here are key factors that make the image work when there is no obvious foreground element.

Find a line your eye can follow

          In the image of the moss-covered tree (opposite), the forest itself was littered with autumn color, mossy branches and many other vibrant distractions. Rather than shoot with a wide-angle lens and try to capture every aspect of this complex coastal rainforest, I found a tree in the distance and singled out its shape, lines, and colors with my 70-200mm lens at a 100mm focal length. It may appear to have been taken with a wide-angle lens, but the details are more accentuated, and your eye follows the branches through the scene.

     Any element that leads the eye, such as a river, a mountain ridge, or a winding dirt road is a great way to replace your foreground element and carry the scene.

Keep it steady

          Long lenses do not play nicely with slow shutter speeds. Their long profiles catch every breeze and vibration, and their higher magnifications increase blur. While photographing yellow leaves against an old conifer, the canopy of the forest and overcast sky spelled hideous conditions for a telephoto lens. But there are tricks to guarantee razor-sharp images.

          First, maximize your depth of field by setting one of the smallest apertures available, especially if your subject is relatively close. (often use f/32)

          Next, minimize vibrations. Mount your lens, not the DSLR camera body, to the tripod. With DSLR camera itself mounted to the tripod, the rig would be very nose-heavy and shake-prone.

          Then, enable mirror lockup the setting is usually in the DSLR camera custom functions. The flipping of the reflex mirror can actually shake a long lens enough to ruin your shot.

          Finally, use a cable release or DSLR camera self-timer to trip the shutter.

Compose minimally

          Once heard an artist say that painters add to a canvas until their visualization is complete, whereas photographers try to simplify a scene, subtracting elements until the “canvas” is boiled down to just the basics. A telephoto lens is the best paintbrush for this.

          When you find yourself in a very open space, switch to a long lens and scan around for a more essential, minimalist take.

Keep your contrast

          When photographing with a tele across a long distance, haze, pollution, and other particles can reduce contrast and wash out your images. A polarizing filter will cut through the haze and help preserve detail.

          If you shoot in RAW, you can also add punch to your images in postproduction. Here’s how I do it in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR): Open your image and make your usual adjustments. Either slide the tab to the right for deeper blacks until the image looks right. Or, for finer tuning, go to the Tone Curve tab, where you can adjust highlights, lights, darks, and shadows. Experiment with the shadows and darks until you add enough contrast.

Manage your aperture

          When photographing objects that are reasonably close – less than a quarter of a mile away – I shoot only at the smallest aperture. With large apertures, such as f/2.8, there’s a good chance that elements in the scene will be soft.  This can be a desirable effect, but I prefer images that are as crisp as possible.

          Also, large apertures vignette tele images – darken the edges and corners. So to keep colors and exposures balance throughout your images, use as small an aperture as you can.

Default Settings for your new DSLR camera

          You can just open the box, charge the battery, slip in a memory card, and start shooting pictures. Impressive pictures. Today’s DSLR cameras are that good.

          But we guarantee you even better photos if you change just a few of your DSLR’s fresh-out-of-the-box default settings. Here are some that always switch before firing even a single shot with a new DSLR cameras:

Forget Auto ISO.

          Set it to ISO 400. That’s a good all around sensitivity and, as test results from the Pop Photo Lab prove, virtually every DSLR camera gets great image quality at this setting. If you have to go higher in low light, or lower in bright light, you are, “just a few clicks away in either direction.”

          Why not just leave it to the DSLR camera? Auto ISO is likely to set it too high in normal conditions, and not go far enough in extreme cases. With most DSLR cameras, the Auto range is ISO 200-800. Yet you can typically manually dial the ISO up to ISO 1600 or beyond for low-light work, and down to 100, where the image quality usually is the best of all.

Control the flash.

          Auto Flash is the default setting, and it is so point-and-shoot. You did not buy a DSLR camera for snapshots with brightly lit, obviously flashed subjects and completely lost black backgrounds.

          Instead, go into the menus and set it to Fill Flash. This means you’ll have flash whenever you want it – just pop up the pop-up flash. Also set the flash compensation to -1 EV. This gives you a burst of light that does not overpower the ambient light in the frame. You can, for instance, brighten up a face without blowing out the subject and forgetting about the light in the rest of the image. The result looks more natural and better exposed.

Don’t be normal.

          Do you shoot JPEGs? If so, check the default setting for image size. If it is not on the highest-quality JPEG, dial it up. Often, the default is “Normal” at least one step below “Fine”.

Color your space.

          If “sRGB,” “Adobe RGB,” and “color space” make you want to turn the page, please bear with me. All this means is how many colors can be represented in your image files, the “color gamut.”

          Chances are, your DSLR camera is set to sRGB, a relatively small gamut that matches most low-cost computer monitors. But increasingly, LCD displays can show the more expansive Adobe RGB color space. And your next computer monitor probably will, too. So why not start shooting in that color space now?

          On a standard monitor, you won’t notice much difference with Adobe RGB; maybe just a little less pop in the colors. But when you print these files on a good inkjet printer (which has a large color gamut), you’re likely to see more range. And that’s a good thing.

          Of course, if you shoot RAW, you can always adjust the color space any way you want. But if you shoot any form of JPEG, or want to save a step in your RAW processing, go into the menus and set the color space to Adobe RGB.

          One more thing you should not leave to automatic? The owner’s manual. DSLR camera can’t read it for you!

Flash as main light

          In situations when it is simply too dark to photograph, you’ll need to use the flash to provide all of the light that illuminates the subject. While it is possible to us flash as main light in your DSLR camera program mode, strongly recommend working in manual exposure so that you can control the tonality of the background.

          Here is an example: Let’s say that you have a tame tricolored heron in your sights early on a cloudy-black morning. You’d like to make a head-and-shoulders portrait of the bird against dark green water, so you add your 1.4X teleconverter – and are dismayed to see that your shutter speed is only 1/25 sec at the wide-open aperture of f/5.6. This is the perfect situation to use flash as main light.

          Set your DSLR camera to manual mode and select 1/60 sec as the shutter speed and f/5.6 as the aperture. This represents an underexposure of 1  stops (-1.3 EV). If your DSLR camera has an analog exposure scale in the viewfinder, pay careful attention to this readout. As the light from the flash will not illuminate the background behind the bird, it is best to strive for an ambient exposure 1 stop or (at most) 1  stop less than the correct exposure. This helps avoid the dreaded black-background-obvious-flash look. If the background is reasonably close to the subject, it will be lit by the flash, so you can be less concerned with the degree of ambient underexposure.

          Now set the flash exposure so that the subject is properly exposed by the flash. With film, setting the flash at zero compensation (0 EV) will generally yield good results. Theoretically, the same should be true when using flash with digital, but in low-light situations, such as our heron example, flash levels ranging from -0.3 to -1 EV will properly illuminate the subject.  Teaching folks to check their digital exposures by looking at the histogram rather than at the LCD display, but when using flash, viewing the image on the LCD can quickly reveal whether or not you over flashed the subject.