New eBook written by David duChemin

In May 2010 David duChemin spent 5 days in Venice creating a series of images on themes of loneliness and solitude. The first in The Print & The Process series, this book contains over 30 inspiring images, accompanied by a discussion of how and why those images were created.

VENICE, A Monograph – The Print & The Process

If you missed an article I wrote a few days back talking about David’s first 4 books, you can catch up over at: 4 eBooks that will improve your photography. For only $5 each, these eBooks really are a great opportunity to get inside the mind of one of the world’s most respected photographers.

His new eBook, VENICE, A Monograph – The Print & The Process, is one of the most beautiful PDF books I’ve seen, truly inspiring as a photographer. The first 30 pages contain wonderful photographs, displayed simply without text or distraction, allowing them to stand on their own. He then follows up with notes about each image, how and why they were taken, including all relevant EXIF data for those more technically minded. However, when reading the eBook you tend to forget the technicalities, as you’re drawn into the emotion behind each image.

It’s easy to understand why David is proudly excited about the release of his new eBook!

VENICE, A Monograph is a 47 page downloadable PDF eBook, affordably priced at only USD $5.00

Setting the White Balance on your digital SLR camera

White Balance is how you set the color balance. Color balance, is critical to every image. Have you ever taken a photograph and found it looked too blue, yellow or green? This is usually a result of the camera’s White Balance not being set correctly for the available light.

To understand why White Balance is important, take the 3 photographs below for example. The first was photographed with the cameras White Balance set on ‘Daylight’, the second with a ‘Shade’ setting, and the third with a ‘Fluorescent’ setting. Notice the difference in the coloring?

White Balance settings for many Digital SLR cameras include:

Auto: The Automatic White Balance setting on todays SLR cameras do a pretty good job when photographing outdoors. If you’re a beginner to SLR photography, keep your White Balance set on Auto to start with until you get the hang of other important settings. Truth be told, many professionals keep it on Auto White Balance as well. One day when you’re not photographing anything special, take a few shots of the same scene, all set on different White Balance settings to see the difference for yourself. You’ll find 9/10 times, the Auto setting will end up the best choice.

Daylight: Use this White Setting for bright sunny days.

Cloudy: Overcast and cloudy days. Cloudy is also great for twilight and sunsets.

Shade: Used in the shade, for example in a shady area of a park.

Tungsten: Normal indoor lighting.

Fluorescent: Indoor fluorescent lighting is one of those rare times when experienced photographers manually choose their White Balance setting. Don’t rely on the Auto setting for indoor shots, this is normally the time your camera will get it wrong.

Some Digital SLR Cameras may have others as well.

What is Bokeh

Bokeh is an adaptation from a Japanese word meaning blur. In photography this term is used to describe the quality of the areas in the picture which are not in focus.

Bokeh usually works best when taking a close up picture of your subject. Experiment with different positions. Photographing slightly into sun rays can result in wonderful Bokeh background patterns as seen in the caterpillar photograph below. Different lenses often result in different Bokeh patterns. ie some are more rounded patterns, while others hexagonal.

What aperture setting to use for macro photography

Just because your dedicated lens can shoot in F2.8 doesn’t mean that’s the best Aperture for macro photography. More often than not, using an Aperture of F2.8 on a dedicated macro lens, will result in only the eye being in focus.

Take this image of a tiny grasshopper for example. It was photographed with the cameras Aperture set at F/11. The higher the F number, the more in focus. Good light or flash is also required when photographing at higher F stop numbers.

Macro Photography Tip: What is the best time for macro photography?

No doubt, the best time for macro photography is early morning while the ground is still wet. It’s much easier to photograph insect macro’s at the crack of dawn, while they are still covered in dew and unable to fly.

How to blur backgrounds when photographing portraits

A question I get asked often from beginners to SLR photography, is how do I achieve a smooth or blurred background in my photographs. It doesn’t matter whether you’re photographing a portrait, flower or animal, the technique stays the same, and revolves around the Aperture setting on your camera.

This photography tutorial below by Cameralabs is no doubt one of the best videos I’ve seen to help those first starting out.

Digital SLR Photography Tutorial – How to blur backgrounds on portraits

Important Tip

Before taking a portrait, always ask yourself if blurring the background is the best technique for that particular situation. I’ll give you an example of what I mean. Last year while touring the Whitsunday Islands here in North Queensland Australia, I took this photograph of my parter John and daughter Danielle.

Yes, it’s a photograph I’ll treasure forever. However, my first reaction when I returned home, was one where I was wishing I’d also photographed the beautiful tropical background for memories of where they had enjoyed their day together.

Just because you know how to blur backgrounds on portraits, doesn’t mean you have to do it every time!

Photography eBooks written by world known photographer David DuChemin

A few weeks back I came across a set of eBooks written by David DuChemin. I’m not normally one to purchase eBooks, however considering each cost as little as a cup of coffee, I thought I’d give them a read.

All I can say is Wow! I was blown away by the quality of the information found in these books that I’m certain readers of SLR Photography Guide would also find useful. Here is a quick run down of each.

1. TEN (10 Ways To Improve Your Craft. None of Them Involve Buying Gear)

This is the first book of the series and still his most popular.

TEN is an exploration of ten techniques and ideas that can improve any photographer’s work. It gives you 10 solid steps to take on your photographic journey, each with accompanying creative exercises, and none of them asking you to buy new gear.

I’ve also found they are perfect for transferring to an iPhone or iPad as well for reading while on the go.

TEN is a 32 page downloadable PDF eBook priced at only $5.00 USD.

Anyone who’s ever read a photography book by David DuChemin will understand how insanely cheap that is from a photographer of his level.

2. TEN MORE (10 More Ways To Improve Your Craft. None of Them Involve Buying Gear)

This eBook is a followup to the first one, making a great addition to the collection.

TEN MORE is the follow-up to TEN and picks up where TEN left off. The question it addresses is still the same – how can I improve my photography without spending a pile of cash on big lenses and the latest must-have widget?

These eBooks are also a great photography resource you’ll find you’ll read over time and time again. That’s why I keep a copy on my iPhone!

TEN MORE is a 34 page downloadable PDF eBook priced at only USD $5.00

3. DRAWING THE EYE (CREATING STRONGER IMAGES THROUGH VISUAL MASS)

Drawing The Eye is about understanding and using the ways in which the eye reads a photograph in order to create more powerful images, and it’ll change the way you look at your craft. Broken into 4 parts, it looks at this concept of visual mass, in concept, in camera, in post-processing, and then through creative exercises.

DRAWING THE EYE is a 32 page downloadable PDF eBook also priced at only USD $5.00

4. CHASING THE LOOK (10 WAYS TO IMPROVE THE AESTHETICS OF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS)

CHASING THE LOOK is about making intentional choices about the use of our gear and the settings on our cameras based on their aesthetic effect. It begins to answer the question we all ask at some point while looking at the images of others – “How come my photographs don’t look like that?”

CHASING THE LOOK is a 48 page downloadable PDF eBook priced at only USD $5.00

These are only four of several eBooks available for download. I know personally I’ll be purchasing the whole set. For only $5 each they’re a great opportunity to get inside the mind of one of the world’s most respected photographers.

Click here for the full list of available eBooks.

Free sunset iPad wallpaper to download

To download this free iPad wallpaper picture, simply touch the sunset photograph to load the full size version. When the wallpaper has loaded in the browser, touch and hold on the image and select ’save image’ from the pop up menu.

Then click on your ‘Photos’, and you’ll find it in the ‘Saved Photos’ album. Tap on the sunset image to open, then choose ‘Use as Wallpaper’ then press ‘Set Both’ button.

Click your home button, and you should now see a beautiful new iPad wallpaper =)

Sunset iPad Wallpaper

Click this image above to load the full size version

Alternatively, copy this URL: http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/images/sunet-iPad-wallpaper.jpg then paste it into the address bar of your Safari browser to load the full size image. Follow the steps above to save and set as a wallpaper image.

How to make iPad wallpapers to suit both horizontal and vertical dimensions

Even if you don’t yet own an iPad, creating wallpapers for those who do, is a great way for getting a portfolio of photographs noticed. As most users are aware by now, the iPad has a 1024 x 768 pixel screen. However, since it can be used horizontally as well as vertically, this also changes the vertical and horizontal dimensions to 1024×768 or 768×1024 respectively.

Horizontal display 1024x768

Vertical display 768x1024

The Problem with two orientations

If you’ve ever tried to use a 1024 x 768 pixel image for your iPad wallpaper, you’d have noticed when you hold it vertically it will cut the photo off on both sides. There will also be ample space at the top and bottom as it won’t stretch to cover the whole screen vertically either.

The solution for cropping photographs to suit both horizontal and vertical orientations of your iPad

If you create a 1024×1024 image in your photo editor, it will be automatically cropped to 768×1024 or 1024×768, depending on the orientation of your iPad. Yes, that’s right, it needs to be a square image. But keep in mind there will always be some parts of the image that will never be seen, depending on how the user holds their iPad.

Therefore, the safe area for the main part of the subject to sit, is within the middle 768×768 as noted by the two images shown at the start of this post. Furthermore, I’ve been careful to place the cheetah’s eye / head within this 768×768 area so it stays the main focus when the iPad is being held in either orientation.

Download a free cheetah iPad wallpaper

Click the image below to load the full size wallpaper, then save to your iPad. If you’re reading this from an RSS feed or iPad application that doesn’t allow you to load the full resolution, copy and paste this URL to your Safari browser: http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/images/cheetah-iPad-wallpaper.jpg

Cheetah photograph copywrite John Hodgkin at Funtours Travel Blog, used with permission.

More free iPad wallpapers coming soon!

Digital SLR tips for night photography

How to take photographs at night? It’s no doubt one of the most popular questions we receive from beginners to SLR photography. What at first seems like a hard technique, in practise is much simpler, as this video tutorial demonstrates.

The trick to successful night photography is all about light. No, I’m not referring to light from an onboard flash! I’m referring to finding the correct camera settings that will allow enough light into the cameras sensor to enable you to take a good night photograph. Or in other words, setting the correct exposure. In my personal experience, using Auto modes for this style of photography doesn’t achieve the best results. Therefore, this workshop will show you what you need to know to take a good night photograph using manual mode.

The next important step, is to use a tripod and a remote control. Without these, your images will look shaky. As strange as it sounds, it’s also important to temporarily switch off any anti-shake or image stabilisation systems when using a tripod. Not turning these off can in turn result in wobbly looking images, as your camera will be looking for shake that simply isn’t there while it’s sitting on a tripod.

Free PDF / Ebook tutorial for photographers

A Photographer’s Guide to Depth of Field (DOF) is the first photography downloadable guide from ‘Light Stalking’, but don’t let that fool you! It might be their first guide, but it’s full of excellent advice for beginners.

It starts off explaining why Depth of Field is important, showing stunning visual examples with each point. It then goes on to discuss how to apply good DOF principles to your photographs, camera presets and depth of field in post production.

Unlike other free tutorial guides, you’re not required to hand over your email address or personal details. Simply download the PDF file and start reading. To download your free PDF guide explaining depth of field, visit: http://www.lightstalking.com/dof/

The guide does presume you understand how to use your digital SLR camera, more specifically how to set your Depth Of Field, better known as Aperture or F/Stop. If you’re unsure about this camera setting, I suggest you start with this article: What is AV aperture mode on your digital camera.

Video footage of the House episode filmed with a Canon 5D Mark II DSLR camera

After reading in Digital Photographer (Issue 96) today that the sixth series finale of House (television show) was filmed exclusively with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera, I immediately set about finding a sneak preview of it for photographers yet to see it. The producer Greg said he loved its ease of use in tight spaces and revealed that Canon are possibly engineering cine-style lenses.

Sneak Preview of House filmed with Canon EOS 5D Mark II (11)

If your Feed reader can’t view video you can watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAaZZQhuyMo

Unfortunately it wasn’t uploaded in full HD, but it still gives you the idea of what producers were able to achieve. The Director Greg is welcoming questions from photographers about the process over at Twitter.

The Twitter discussions have revealed that a selection of Canon’s prime lenses were used to shoot the season finale, as well as the 24-70mm and 70-200mm zoom. To give the film a hand held feel, they did not use a tripod, or at best, a small one. For those wondering about mass storage, Greg also stated that an 18GB card was able to give them 22 minutes of footage. As far as the quality goes compared to traditional cameras, Greg said he loved it and that he saw it as the future!

Canon also put out a press release congratulating the show. The executive VP of Canon USA is quoted as saying:

We take great pleasure in congratulating the cast and crew of HOUSE on completing the first network television episode to be completely shot on a DSLR camera. This milestone marks a paradigm shift in the way professional cinematographers and filmmakers capture HD video.

The House episode aired in the United States on May 17, 2010.

SLR Photography Guide recommends purchasing your camera equipment from Amazon:

How useful is the iPad for photographers

While waiting for the release of the iPad here in Australia, I searched many photography blogs trying to find information concerning the usefulness of the Apple iPad for photographers. Unfortunately much of the information was either from photographers who never owned an iPad, or it was presumptions made before it was released. Being huge Apple / MAC fans, my partner and I decided to bite the bullet and pre-order two of them, and I’m happy to report that 24 hours after delivery (Australia) it is clear to see that the iPad is going to be a very useful tool for us both as photographers.

Reasons why the iPad is useful for photographers

Listed below are our initial thoughts on why the iPad is useful, especially for photographers.

1. Much lighter and more compact than a laptop.

The iPad is much lighter and compact to carry around than a Macbook Pro. I’m not saying to replace your desktop PC or MAC with an iPad. However for on the road use while travelling, it’s going to save you a lot of back ache. It will also fit easily into your usual camera bag or handbag.

2. Yes, it can act as a portable storage device for your photographs while on the road.

This morning I shot several RAW files with my Canon 5D mark 11 and easily transferred them (quite quickly I have to say) to the iPad using the USB connection kit. I could view the imported images and delete the ones I didn’t like. Afterwards I connected the iPad to my Macbook Pro and imported the files easily into Aperture 3. Of course if you intend on doing this, it is best to purchase the larger 64GB flash drive. More about this in my next post.

3. iPad photo editing apps are either very cheap or better still, free.

If you’re anything like us, you’ll also want to edit photographs on the fly and upload them to social networking sites such as Facebook or Flickr (we usually leave serious editing for when we return home). This is where iPad photo editing applications like Photogene or PhotoPad come in handy. Obviously with their small cost (if any), they shouldn’t be compared to Photoshop or Aperture, however for editing images to upload for friends to see while you’re away, they are more than efficient. I’ll be writing more in-depth reviews on the most popular iPad photo editing tools over the next couple of weeks.

4. Perfect as a display for your photography portfolio.

I can’t count the amount of times I’ve shown interested travellers my photographs on a much smaller iPhone. The iPad features a much larger (9.7″) and higher resolution LED backlit display that makes it ideal for photographers and videographers who want to really show off their portfolios.

5. Photography magazines like Digital Photographer are much cheaper in Ebook format.

Here in Australia, I usually purchase Digital photographer magazine for $17. Now with a handy application called ‘Digital Photographer’, I can download E-versions for only $6 per edition and read it on the iPad, not to mention the space it will save.

6. Inspiration for photographers.

There are already several applications that we’ve found inspiring, including Eyewitness and Early Edition. Eyewitness is a daily show cap of the worlds best photographs along with technical and artistic merits as explained by the photographer. Where as Early Edition works like an E-Paper that can pull together all your favourite photography RSS feeds.

As you can see, the iPad has a real possibility of becoming a very useful tool, whether you’re a beginner or professional photographer. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be discussing all these points in more detail so stay tuned!

SLR Photography Guide recommends purchasing your iPad tablet or iPad accessories from Amazon:

• Discover visual poetry in the creative process
• Use less to say more with your subject matter
• Learn to see light, color, shape and expression
• Understand what gear is essential
• Create compelling portraits

Book Description
A great photograph has the potential to transcend verbal and written language. But how do you create these photographs? It’s not the how that’s important, but the who and the what. Who you are as a person has a direct impact on what you capture as a photographer.

Whether you are an amateur or professional, architect or acupuncturist, physician or photographer, this guide provides inspiration, simple techniques, and assignments to boost your creative process and improve your digital images using natural light without additional gear.

Chris Orwig’s insights—to reduce and simplify, participate rather than critique, and capture a story—have made him an immensely popular workshop speaker and faculty member at the prestigious Brooks Institute. His engaging stories presented as lessons follow his classroom approach and highlight what students say is his contagious passion for life.

In this accessible and beautifully illustrated four-color guide you will:

• Discover visual poetry in the creative process
• Use less to say more with your subject matter
• Learn to see light, color, shape, and expression
• Understand what gear is essential
• Create compelling portraits
• Make lasting memories of your family and kids
• Capture the outdoors and adventure
• Begin the transition from amateur to professional

Chris also includes exclusive interviews with such photographers as: Steve McCurry, Chris Rainier, John Sexton, Rodney Smith, Joyce Tenneson, John Paul Caponigro, Marc Riboud, and Pete Turner.

Share your work with the author and other readers at www.flickr.com/groups/visual-poet and visit the Web site: www.visual-poet.com.

Visual Poetry: A Creative Guide for Making Engaging Digital Photographs

Book Description
Scott Kelby, author of The Digital Photography Book, volume 1 (the world’s best-selling digital photography book of all time), is back with a follow-up to his volume 2 smash best seller, with an entirely new book that picks up right where he left off. It’s even more of that “Ah ha—so that’s how they do it,” straight-to-the-point, skip-the-techno-jargon stuff you can really use today to make your shots even better.

This book truly has a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: “If you and I were out on a shoot and you asked me, ‘Hey Scott, I want the light for this portrait to look really soft and flattering. How far back should I put this softbox?’ I wouldn’t give you a lecture about lighting ratios, or flash modifiers. In real life, I’d just turn to you and say, ‘Move it in as close to your subject as you possibly can, without it actually showing up in the shot.’ Well, that’s what this book is all about: you and I out shooting where I answer questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I’ve learned, just like I would with a friend—without all the technical explanations and techie photo speak.”

Each page covers a single concept on how to make your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you’ll learn another pro setting, tool, or trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. If you’re tired of taking shots that look “okay,” and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, “Why don’t my shots look like that?” then this is the book for you.

This isn’t a book of theory—full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts. This is a book on which button to push, which setting to use, and when to use it. With nearly 200 more of the most closely guarded photographic “tricks of the trade,” this book gets you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos every time.

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3

PictoBrowser – Free Picasa and Flickr slideshow for your website or blog.

PictoBrowser is a neat slideshow builder that helps you to easily display your Picasa or Flickr photographs on your website or blog. See the example slideshow below, built from one of my Flickr sets.

How to build your own photo slideshow

This photo slideshow tool is very easy to use and recommended for all skill levels. You simply load the online builder, type in your Picasa or Flickr screen name, then customize to your liking. Once completed, mouse click the tab that says ‘Get HTML Code’ to copy and paste into your blog or website. Can’t be easier than that!

PictoBrowser is freely available as an online slideshow builder at: PictoBrowser

Or as a Wordpress plugin, offered as a free download from: Kumara Sastry

Requirements

All you need is a website or blog, as well as a Picasa or Flickr account.

Photography Podcasts including 530 Episodes

Shown below is a list of photography podcasts that I have found useful for photographic information and inspiration. All the photography podcasts are free to download for a regular fix of encouragement. They are definitely some of the best photography podcasts I have come across to date.

Free Video Podcasts For Photographers

1. Chase Jarvis Photography IPod / IPhone edition – These podcasts include behind the scene video footage of how award winning creates his images. Podcasts include: High Speed Photography, Packing Photography Gear, High Speed Strobed Sequences.

Download 27 free podcasts from

2. Within The Frame Podcasts – Watch and listen as photographer David duChemin critiques images that members of Peachpit’s Within the Frame flickr group have posted. Learn his best tips including: composition, landscape depth, use of lines and balance within a photograph, use of color, enhancing images with plugins, evoking emotion, lighting and much more.

Download full free 20 podcasts from Peachpit

3. Pixel Perfect (Large Quicktime) – Learn Photoshop and Illustrator tips from digital artist Bert Monroy. Podcasts include: Color management, skin softening, moonlit landscapes.

Download 25 episodes from

4. 10 Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips – Get a weekly dose of Photoshop Lightroom tips for digital photographers including: importing RAW+ JPEG’s into Lightroom, merging multiple Lightroom catalogs, sharpening workflow, tips for laying out prints, saving files between Lightroom and Photoshop and much more.

Download from

5. Photo Walkthrough – 31 quality video podcast tutorials on post processing photographs.

Download from

Free Audio Podcasts For Photographers

Depth of Field with Matt Brandon- Listen to humanitarian and world/travel photographer Matt Brandon, as he talks about the lives and adventures of working photographers from around the world including: David duChemin, Matt Brandon and Gavin Gough.

Download 8 episodes from Peachpit

2. Digital Photography Tips from the Top Floor – Includes both audio and video podcasts. Non tech, short tips you can put into action straight away. Includes tips on wedding photography, prime lenses, light, preparing for exhibitions, focus rings, Q&A’s and much more.

Download 50 episodes from

3. The Candid Frame A Photography Podcast – Interview podcast where you’ll be inspired by the thoughts of established and emerging photographers including: Nadine Brown, Dane Sanders, Dan Winters and others.

Download 23 audio podcasts from

4. Martin Bailey Photography Podcast – One of my favorite podcast subscriptions, includes tips like indoor portraits, ambient light, interviews, assignments, fine art prints, IPhone apps for photographers, camera gear and equipment and much more.

Download 237 episodes from

5. TPN Digital Photography Show – Digital photography tips and tricks. Useful and lighthearted look at digital photography.

Download 98 episodes from

Why you should buy a cable release for your SLR camera

The last tip talked about turning off the image stabilization on your lens when you have an SLR camera sitting on a tripod. If you followed this advice, you should have noticed sharper results.

“Hey, I want even sharper photographs” I hear you say! Instead of pressing the shutter button down yourself, invest in a cable release for your SLR camera.

I can’t count the amount of times I’ve seen photographers with tripods, but no cable release. Doesn’t this defeat the purpose? The reason photographers use tripods, is to reduce camera movement when taking photographs. So why touch the camera at all? Use a cable release instead!

When to turn off IS (image stabilization) and VR (vibration reduction)

Many DSLR camera lenses now come with an option to turn off IS (image stabilization for Canon) or VR (vibration reduction for Nikon). You’ll find this on / off switch on the side of the actual lens. One thing I’ve noticed with friends and family who are just starting out in SLR photography, is that they tend to turn this on and never touch it again. However, there are times when you should turn it off.

For example, I was photographing the Sydney Opera House recently with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS lens, and for the life of me, I could not get a sharp image. Then it hit me, because I had my camera sitting on a tripod, I turned off the image stabilization and bam I suddenly got sharp photo’s. When IS / VR is turned on, it causes the camera to look for vibrations, which in turn, can cause vibrations.

So next time you have your camera sitting on a tripod, turn off that IS / VR switch on the side of your lens for sharper results.

Read your digital SLR user manual from your iphone

Before I purchased an IPhone,  I use to carry around manuals in my camera bag for numerous pieces of equipment, including: camera EOS manuals, lens manuals, flash manuals and so forth. Then I discovered a neat little IPhone application called, PDF Expert, which in short is a professional PDF documents reader.

Now whenever I purchase a new piece of equipment, I transfer the PDF user manual into my IPhone documents reader. Saves carrying around extra weight in my camera bag. The IPhone application also has a good search function, so no more looking through the manual book for exactly the information I’m after.  It’s fast, efficient and very user friendly. Click the iTunes button below to download the application.

How to better focus with a macro lens

Anyone who’s purchased a dedicated macro lens, will understand what I’m talking about when I mention ‘the lens swimming’, if set on auto focus. This is especially true when photographing moving bugs and insects. One of the best ways to overcome this is to turn off your lens automatic focus, placing it in manual mode instead. It’s really not as hard as it sounds to focus manually, it just takes a little practice.  Personally I support the DSLR, with my left hand underneath the camera, moving the focus ring with my fingers.

How to get a smooth or faded background in your photo’s with a telephoto lens

Achieving a smooth background in your photographs isn’t as hard as it first seems for beginners. Firstly, set your camera’s F-stop to a low number, for example, 4.0. Secondly zoom your telephoto lens out. In the example below, I had mine zoomed out to 200mm focal length. Then move as close to your subject as possible, while still allowing you to focus properly and take your shot. The lower the F number, the more zoomed out your lens, and the closer you are to your subject, the nicer the smoothness.

Use a dedicated macro lens for portraits

Macro lenses aren’t just for flowers and insects. A dedicated macro lens can also be your best portrait lens. Take this wedding portrait below for example. It was photographed with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens. A fast F/2.8 was perfect for indoor lighting.

How to photograph through glass or cages

If you’re at the zoo and are faced with an animal that is caged or behind a glass window, zoom your lens all the way out to its maximum length, stand as close to the glass or cage as possible, then focus through the glass and onto the animal. If your lens doesn’t do this automatically, then turn the focus ring yourself manually to show the camera exactly where you want to focus. Also make sure you’re not standing in front of a crack or scratch in the glass. Otherwise the camera might want to focus on that instead.

How to use your camera settings to get a multi point star filter effect

If you’re a photographer who likes multi point star effects, but don’t want to lay out the cash for a filter, you can get a similar effect by setting your camera’s F-stop from anywhere between f/11 and f/22, depending on the circumstances.

Photograph human experiences to tell the story

Take a step back. Instead of photographing the subject (ie in this case the sunset), photograph the experiences of those enjoying the moment.

Crop tightly for more impact

Crop tightly for more impact. This is especially true when photographing animals. Next time you’re at the zoo, take notice of animal postcards. Most are usually cropped tightly.

Canon EOS 5D Mark 11 camera review

On a recent trip to Melbourne (Australia), I decided to upgrade my Canon 5D DSLR to a Canon EOS 5D Mark 11. Not that I was unhappy with the Canon 5D camera, which is now being used by my delighted partner. The image quality of both 5D camera’s remains excellent!

It’s just that I could see several advantages to justify the upgrade including:

• The sensor now having 21.1 megapixels, matching Canon’s flagship EOS 1Ds Mark III at a fraction of the price. Extremely useful if you’re anything like myself and tend to crop a lot of photo’s tightly for greater impact. This is particularly useful for macro and animal photographers. Now we can crop to our hearts content, yet still be able to print the resulting image in very large sizes.
  
  
• Video recording in Full HD 1080p format. Now I don’t need to pack both my DSLR and video camera on trips away. Obviously a person can only hold one piece of technology at any given time. Now I can easily switch between taking still photographs or video at will.Click here to view example high quality videos shot with a 5D Mark 11 DSLR camera.
• A larger and more detailed 3 inch VGA screen. This is particularly useful for zooming in and checking the sharpness of the image on location.
• Live view, for those who like it.
• Maximum ISO of 25,600. 3 stops higher than the 5D.I found on a recent trip to Sydney Aquarium that I could up the ISO to 3200 for low light, hand hold the camera, yet still end up with printable photographs as shown in the examples below.
  
  Click on each photograph for a larger view

  
  
  

  This night shot of Darling Harbour, displayed below, was also photographed with an ISO of 3200 and hand held.

  

Faster 3.9fps for continuous shooting. Useful for photographing children, animals, cars etc on the move.

I won’t go into other 5D Mark 11 technical specifications, as they are already listed on the Canon website at: http://www.canon.com.au/products/cameras/digital_slr/eos5dmkII.aspx

However, I can tell you this, one month on and I’m not about to upgrade again any time soon. The 21.1 megapixel sensor, the increase in ISO including the image quality all the way up to 3200, and the addition of Full HD 1080p DSLR video recording, is more than enough to keep me recommending this camera for many years to come.

Do I think it was worth updating my original Canon 5D camera to the Canon 5D Mark 11 EOS? You betcha

SLR Photography Guide recommends purchasing your camera equipment from Amazon:

Zoo Photography – Tips for photographing zoo animals

Over the last couple of years, my partner and I have visited numerous zoo’s and taken hundreds of photographs of zoo animals. Although the photographs during these years were taken with different DSLR camera’s, including a Nikon D40, Canon 400D, Canon 5D and a Canon 5D Mark 11, the basic techniques for photographing zoo animals remained the same.

Zoo photography requires a DSLR photographer to think about numerous problems that may occur such as:

• Distance between the photographer and the animal.
• Cages and glass windows surrounding the enclosures.
• The movement of the animals.
• Tricky lighting. In most cases zoo’s don’t open until mid morning. By the time you stand in front of the first animal and set your camera up, the lighting can prove to be a challenge. Especially if the animal is in an enclosure that offers both light and shade.
• Other photographers and visitors. You don’t always have a whole area to yourself for setting up a tripod etc.

The answers to these problems, lie in both the equipment a zoo photographer chooses to use on the day, as well as his or her technique.

What camera equipment will you need to take to the zoo

In my experience, a long zoom lens is required to take good photographs at the zoo. By a long zoom lens, I am referring to one in the range of 100mm, to say 400mm focal length. In a lot of cases, you’ll find yourself shooting within the 200 – 300mm focal length.

My partner photographs with a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens which is perfect for most situations, whether the animal is close in distance with 70mm being useful, or further away, with the 300mm range giving plenty of reach.

Monkey photographed with a Canon EOS 5D camera + Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens.

A focal length of 300mm allowed me to get in nice and close for an ideal animal portrait, which was then cropped with Photoshop software, into a square for display purposes.

Camera Settings

Exposure:      0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture:     f/5.6
Focal Length:     300 mm
ISO Speed:     200

For comparison, the photograph of a giraffe below was taken with a focal length of 100mm to fit in both the animal and its surroundings.

Tripods or monopods?

Whether or not to use a tripod or monopod is often a grey area when it comes to zoo photography. Yes, it’s true that animals in darker enclosures may need a slower shutter speed to allow more light into the shot, therefore requiring extra stability. Personally in these cases, I prefer to increase the ISO to a higher number, for example 800.

Now those more experienced photographers would most likely argue that you could simply use a tripod instead of increasing the ISO.

This is why I don’t use tripods for zoo photography.

I recently visited Sydney Taronga Zoo where a photographer was rather upset at an infant who grabbed the leg of his tripod to collect his balance. It doesn’t matter what type of expensive setup you have, photographers won’t look good getting angry at infants and children who may accidentally bump into their equipment. This same photographer also expected other zoo visitors to give him ample room so he could take his professional photo. Need I say more?

If you own a DSLR camera the equivalent of a Canon 5D or Nikon D300, there is no reason why you couldn’t up your ISO to 1200 and still get a good quality image.

If you own an entry level DSLR and can’t reasonably increase your ISO, or you feel like you need more stability, then I recommend using a monopod instead of a tripod. Monopods of course, taking up less floorspace, keeping other visitors in mind.

Silverback gorilla, photographed at Taronga Zoo in Sydney Australia, with a Canon 5D Mark 11 camera + Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens, no tripod.

Camera Settings

Exposure:      0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture:     f/6.3
Focal Length:     400 mm
ISO Speed:     1250

Lens Hoods

Lens hoods come in handy for times when you have no choice as to the angle from which to shoot. Often you may need to shoot into the sun. Lens hoods may be useful for stopping sun flares in these situations.

Zoo photography tips for beginners

Now for the technical side of zoo photography. Listed below are our top 10 tips for taking good photographs at the zoo.

1. Plan your dayAs soon as you get to the zoo, grab yourself a map and plan out what animals you want to see and at what times. We have found the best times to see animals is just before feeding time, when they are most active.
2. Treat animals as moving subjectsWith a lot of animals constantly on the move at feeding time, I like to keep my camera settings on shutter priority mode with a fast shutter. My partner on the other hand, keeps his camera on P mode, with continuous shooting also set. Another way to do this (for entry level DSLR’s) is to set it on sports mode. This will enable you to capture a burst of shots, one after another, never missing an opportunity.Lion photographed by John Hodgkin (aka 2minutes) with a Canon 400D, hand held.

   Camera Settings

   Exposure:
   0.003 sec (1/320)
   Aperture:     f/6.3
   Focal Length:     300 mm
   ISO Speed:     800

3. Eliminate cagesThere is nothing more annoying to a zoo photographer than not being able to photograph through the cage and capture only the animal. The best way to do this, is to zoom your lens to a longer focal length and place the focal spot on the animal itself. This should in most cases, eliminate the cage.A trick my partner uses, is to set your DSLR camera to P mode, zoom your lens out to a longer focal length and take your shot. This tip also tends to ensure the focus is on the animal and not the cage.

   If all else fails, move your physical position and try again.

4. Eliminate glassYou eliminate glass using the same method as eliminating cages, as explained above. However, there are a few other tips for glass including: wiping the glass with a cloth to get rid of grubby marks, or positioning yourself so there are no scratches between you and the animal.
5. Get in close, then crop the images even closerWhen you arrive at the zoo, take time to look through the shop and take notice of the posters and postcards being sold. You’ll soon learn that tightly cropped faces and body parts have more impact than those with ample surroundings. This allows you to capture details otherwise not seen.Giraffe photographed at the National Zoo in Canberra, Australia.

   Camera Settings

   Exposure:      0.004 sec (1/250)
   Aperture:     f/7.1
   Focal Length:     400 mm
   ISO Speed:     400

6. Focus on the eyesAs with all living subjects, if the eyes aren’t sharp, you lose the connection between the animal and the viewer.
7. Get down (or up) to the animals level where possibleEven if it means being on your knees or laying in the dirt Other times, you might need to stand on a seat. You’ll find your images have a lot more impact if you are at eye level to the animal, within reason of course.
8. Have patienceGive yourself ample time at each enclosure. My partner is very good at this. I can’t count the number of times I’ve walked away from an animal, to find he then takes the perfect shot of it yawning, displaying its teeth in hunger, or capturing that unique expression.A mandrill, photographed by John Hodgkin at the Melbourne Zoo with a Canon 400D + 70 – 300mm zoom lens.

   Camera Settings

   Exposure:      0.006 sec (1/160)
   Aperture:     f/5.6
   Focal Length:     90 mm
   ISO Speed:     400

9. Eliminate backgrounds where possibleNothing is more distracting in a zoo photo than a fence in the background, or a feeding bucket. Where possible, always make the main focus on the animal. I often do this by repositioning myself so the distracting object isn’t in view, or using aperture mode (set to a small F number) to nicely smooth the background.
10. Photograph people and their enjoyment The main reason to visit the zoo, should be to experience the enjoyment of viewing the different animals. Don’t forget to stand back and photograph that human enjoyment. At the end of the day when you look over your photographs, it will often be these images that bring a smile to your face.
    Photographed by John Hodgkin at Melbourne Zoo, Australia.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Video

More and more digital SLRs are now being built with a movie recording mode. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is one of the highest spec models offering full HD at 1920×1080p. After viewing a couple of dozen video’s taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark 11, I can honestly say it rivals the quality of high end movie recording equipment. But don’t take my word for it, check out some of the links below and see for yourself.

The EOScars

EOScars offers some of the highest quality video’s I’ve seen, taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark 11. They scour the latest movies posted on the web and publish only those where it is clear the filmaker has put in the effort to create a complete package. View the sample below then visit http://theeoscars.com/5dblog/ to enjoy many others.

Images Of Karijini National Park from Michael Fletcher on Vimeo.

Reverie

Reverie is a sample EOS 5D Mark 11 video by photographer Vincent Laforet. It’s a beautiful short video about one mans dream. You can see Reverie at Canon Digital Learning Center Sample Video or watch how they produced the EOS 5D Mark 11 video at: Behind the scenes with Vincent.

Flickr Group – Canon 5D MK 11 Videos

One of our favorite hangouts now has a group for videographers who shoot with a Canon 5D Mark 11. It’s a relatively new group that already boasts 360 members. It’s also a great place to discuss video techniques, or for beginners to help each other out. For more information, head on over to: http://www.flickr.com/groups/canon5dii-videos/

Nature / Wildlife video

Visit http://www.vimeo.com/1858950 and you’ll see a bird watching video taken with 5D Mark II + Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS L
Lens + 2x Teleconverter, effectively providing for an 800mm focal
length with f/5.6 aperture @ISO 3200. This is a good video to show the 5D Mark 11 capabilities in extreme ISO and teleconverter settings. Notice the video is still of very high quality.

Canon 5D Mark II Underwater Video Review

To really test the capabilities of Canon 5D Mark 11, Berkley White took it to the depths of the ocean to video sharks and dolphins in Monterey. Watch the video at: http://www.backscatter.com/5d2/

When I first heard about the Canon 5D Mark 11 video capabilities, my intitial reaction was similar to many others, ‘Why would I want video capabilities, I’m a photographer?’. Now that I think about it, I do often take both my Digital SLR camera and Sony video camera, on trips away. Therefore, it does make sense to only carry one piece of equipment that does the job of two.

SLR Photography Guide recommends purchasing your camera equipment from Amazon: