Another great Lightroom preset…

A few days ago I wrote here on some useful presets I have used before. One of my favorite blogs (Photoshop Lightroom Killer tips) has added a new presets which I found is great for portraits.

Here is the link. It includes a great set of tools to enhance white eyes, red lips, and enhance the iris.

Here is an example of what it can do. I have exaggerated some of the effects on the eyes (iris and white) as well as the lips

	Before
	After

 

Here is the final shot

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Soccer Matches

Shooting soccer matches at the professional level, will prove difficult due to the permits required, so is better to start with your kids little league

• You will need a good DSLR with a good AF system, and at least a good camera with 4 frames per second. A good lense such as a 70-300 mm should be enough.
• In some countries there are some local adult teams, is best to request their permissions, most of the time a phone all is all that's needed.
• Is basic you need to understand the rules of the game, need to know when certain positions will be moving up or down the field
• In most games, the action happens in midfield, so find yourself a good spot on the center of the field.
• Your speed should be around 1/640 secs if you want to freeze the action. Ensure you are using AF and use continuous shooting mode.
• If you have a lens shorter than 250mm then think of staying midfield, if you have longer than 300mm then it might be worth spending some time behind one of the goals, this will allow you to capture action midfield, and great opportunities for goals.
• Ensure you are filling the entire frame, if you are going for an entire body shoot then ensure you are not cutting arms or legs, and make sure you are capturing the ball on the shot.
• Try to predict the action, for example start shooting when the players jump for the ball, so you will capture right at the moment they hit it. Pictures that denote contact are the most dramatic ones.
• Don't forget to keep an eye on the coach or the crowd to capture reactions to any referee calls.
• Once you have the shots, it might be a good idea to contact the local club to share some of them, for promotional material, display on the local bar this is a good way to say thanks to the club.
• Another place to promote your shots is contacting the local newspaper.

Visit my pictures at http://www.flickr.com/a207001392

 

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People in public places

People in Public Places

• Be ready to potentially be confrontational and potential intense conversation
• Be ready to freeze the action, shoot in shutter priority to ensure you can freeze the movement of people walking, running or cars and bicycles
• A good recommendation to be is to set the shutter speed at least twice the focal length of the long end of the lens. Use AF mode and metering mode to center weighted
• As a recommendation your aperture shouldn't be more than 5.6, otherwise be ready to crank up your ISO.
• A good lens recommendation would be an f2.8 at 300 or 400mm
• The hardest thing to do when shooting people on the street, would be to ensure that other people don't cross your shot. As a recommendation shoot with the flow, not across it.
• As for legal ramifications know that in the US and the UK you are allowed to take a picture to whoever you want, Ireland might be a different story. Be careful and avoid shooting kids in public places due to the controversy
• Remember to be courteous, while you are looking at the viewfinder, somebody might be looking at you. If someone sees you taking their picture simply raise your hand in thanks as a courteous gesture, if they ask what you are doing tell them, show them the picture on your camera. As a good way would be to have a card handy with your details so you can share the picture with them later, this could be a good way to give them a model release in case you a have a great shot.

Some people might not like their shot taken.. Suggest you look at this story. Also know your rights.

Visit my pictures at http://www.flickr.com/a207001392

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Shoot great buildings

Focus on your composition

• Use the basic rules, but when shooting a building from afar, pay special attention to your foreground, middle ground and background.
• Leverage roads, pathways that lead to your building.
• Use elements to frame up your buildings, Branches, other buildings can help you frame the subject. Lay low to exaggerate shots and converging lines
• Fitting a whole building could be difficult to fit on the frame. Make sure you set your camera upwards to accomplish this. Trying to fit the entire building could drive the verticals to lean in. Some people don't like this, but it could be fixed later on post processing, also some specific lenses can help you fix this on the camera.
• As for the times, be careful on the lighting. As many times dawn and dusk will allow for the best shots, during midday harsh shadows could ruin your shots making them look flat. This could be a good time to focus on specific architectural details you might be interested, or focus your shooting indoors.
• The use of a warm up filter could help, but this could be done on post processing. Make sure you shoot RAW to get freedom on setting up the right WB
• If you are shooting near a body of water, try and get the reflection of the building on the water. This works best on tranquil waters as any movement from animals or wind could cause the reflection to be ruined. Use a polarizer to bring out the colors, but use it wisely to ensure you dont eliminate the reflection. If its windy a good idea is to go for an abstract shot on the reflection only and get the reflection trough the water ripples
• If your building has some stained glass, this is better shot under a overcast day. If you are taking the entire window, then meter carefully from the bright spot set your exposure to manual and recompose.
• A good idea is to focus on the details. Dont only look for the detail, but looks for patterns from stone work, pathways, etc. Usually a tripod here is a good idea
• If you are shooting at night, ensure to meter for the highlights and watch out for your white balance.
• Indoor buildings are a good target to try HDR due to their uneven lighting.

Look for interesting shapes	Focus on architectural details
When lighting is not good, indoor shooting can generate lots of opportunities	Try out HDR indoors and play with different lighting opportunities

Visit my pictures at http://www.flickr.com/a207001392

 

del.icio.us Tags: Architecture,Photography,Buildings,street,city,HDR,photography,tips