Ha, Headshots, who needs em!

Good Tuesday from Prospect.

Headshots, who needs em. "Hell I don't need to post a pic of myself, potential clients will just know who I am and want to work with me."

Is this what gets you ahead? I see this everyday. The infamous facebook guy or the linkedin head and especially that computer/laptop camera shot. Trust me that's not a positive image.

It's one thing if you're online in a personal capacity, but when it comes to business what are you thinking? If you think your facebook page is only viewed by your friends you're sadly mistaken. Even if you don't think it happens potential clients/employers are checking you out. That online presence is key to selling yourself and your ideas. If you don't care then power to ya.

Really, if you're going to take the time to post yourself online what the hell are you doing without a good headshot. You are your brand. A good headshot is part of your brand, if it doesn't portray your messaging and what you have to offer than why bother? 

Good branding is how you portray yourself to potentials, a good headshot is one graphic element in a successful marketing plan that stems from your brand. Good brands are about being focused. 

As a Designer and photographer I can assure you, if you don't put your best foot forward you won't succeed in whatever you're up to.

When looking to get a good headshot, look to a professional.

Professional photographers aren't your average enthusiasts, they aren't your cousin or boyfriend or fellow employee that just happens to have a camera, they are professionals because they understand professionalism. 

A professional seeks a vision, a creative that envelopes a message. Professionals deliver consistently time after time, not just get paid to shoot pictures. They know their gear and they know light. A professional headshot is a big part of your brand. Remember…"Your brand is what people say about you when you leave the room".

Whether you agree or not the net is image driven, it's not just what you say but what you show.

That deer in the headlights shot chases people away from, not toward, you. BTW, that includes your staff pics on your web site.

A Professional headshot is so empowering. So lean In, put your best self forward and get a professional headshot that communicates all of your many talents!

Until next post, enjoy Derek

How much should you Spend on Glass for APS-C sensor cameras?

Good Wednesday from Prospect.

To begin with, sorry I've been trying to stay off as much social media as I can lately and just honing my skills, and getting food on the table. Seems to take much more effort as of late for the same burger.

Canon 5D mkII, Canon 70-200 II f2.8 at 165mm, f2.8, 1/2500

Anyway, todays post I want to talk about full frame vs APS-C sensors as they relate to composition and DOF. Yes both of these play a big role in what gear we shoot and frankly we'll find that although APS-C cameras are relatively less expensive than FF we'll see we'll need to spend more on glass the smaller the sensor. Unless of course all you want is everything in focus all the time (point and shoot your heart out).

This post will not touch on light gathering capabilities between full frame and crop sensors (APS-C) or their pixel size and counts (too much tech there thanks). As sensors mature that really doesn't have as much bearing as it used to. But sensor/film size will always have an effect of DOF and BOKEH.

As we explain the effect of depth of field between the two we will see a trend that will explain why the crop glass should be the fastest we can afford.

Bare in mind this isn't really a tech post as so much as a technique post. What helps us to get that great BOKEH or control over the subject matter along with the composition. I am, also, not judging which is better, FF or APS-C (crop sensor), just the differences we need to be aware of.

First let me explain, briefly, what depth of field (DOF) is and what BOKEH is, for those who are unfamiliar.

Simply put DOF is that part of the subject that is in focus. To start, when we focus on a subject 1/3rd (33%) of the space in front and 2/3rds (67%) the space behind are included as in focus. 

The factors that determine that are:

 1 - the focal length of the lens

 2 - the aperture we are shooting at

 and

 3 - the distance from the camera to subject.

Fuji XF 14mm f2.8 with dof scale

Most high-end and manual focus lenses are imprinted with a scale that express what that lens takes into focus at any chosen aperture and distance. If you don't have that at hand here's a great resource to figure it out: http://www.dofmaster.com/doftable.html. 

(Oh BTW there's also an app for that, linked on the same page to the left. I have my copy.)

BOKEH is all that out of focus bit in front and behind the subject.

The combination of DOF and BOKEH are what helps, or hinders, the final composition.

So here is where cameras with different sensor sizes can change how the composition will look.

When we are shooting with either FF or APS-C, size does matter. A full frame sensor is typically Canon: 35.8 mm w x 23.9 mm h, where as an APS-C is typically 22.2mm w x 14.8mm h (Nikon: FF  36mm w x 23.9mm h, APS-C is typically 23.6mm w x 15.7mm h). It varies from model to model but a crop factor of 1:1.5 is common (50% smaller than FF). So the distance to subject, on a cropped sensor, will be about 50% further away from the subject to frame the same composition. 

Here's the story everyone hears at the camera store when it comes to crop sensor cameras: CAMERA SALESMAN: "This is a 50mm lens but on the APS-C camera it's about a 75/80mm lens, great for portraits, or that 35mm will make a great standard 50/56mm., or a 70-200mm is really a 105-300mm, great for sports." Insert whichever you wish in that conversation.

What no one wants to explain is what effect that has on the final composition and how it effects DOF and BOKEH. That falls in the full frame/crop sensor sales pitch.

So if by comparison we are always standing 50 percent further back to achieve the same crop with an APS-C size sensor than that's going to ultimately effect the depth of field (DOF), especially if we want the same amount of subject in focus. Now some will say that's a benefit. I'm not saying one has an advantage over the other. I'm just saying it effects how we shoot.

Canon 5d mkII, Canon 85mm f1.8 at ISO 200, f8, 1/125th
I wanted her face and hair in focus but her neck and shoulders to
fall away with subtle softening at the ears
The one thing I dislike is fuzzy hair if I can help it.

But here's my point about more expensive glass on APS-C cameras.

Theoretically every shot we make at f2.8 with a full frame camera, we will need to shoot at 50 percent more open to achieve the same thing because we're 50% further from our subject i.e.: f2 for the same effect. f4 would be f2.8., f5.6  would be f4 and so on (one full stop). 

Remember the percentage difference from front to back DOF? Here's a simple explanation.

Lets say the subject is 10 feet from us with a FF camera, same crop will set us at 15 feet (50% further away) And suppose that at FF - f4 we achieve 1 foot in front and 2 feet behind for subject in focus(3 feet in total). With an APS-C we will get 1.5 feet in front and 3 feet behind, 50% more (4.5 feet in total). To narrow down the same DOF and achieve the same BOKEH we will need to open the aperture to 2.8 (1 stop). So right off the bat we need faster glass to achieve the same effect. (Note: what to do if we're shooting 2.8 FF?)

But you say hey we can use a different focal length on an APS-C camera to be equivalent to that FF. Ahh, not so fast, now we have to compare the differences in compression as it relates to different focal lengths. The higher we go in focal length the more compressed a subject will look (more 2 Dimensional than 3 Dimensional)

By using say a 35mm on an APS-C may indeed crop the same and place us the same distance as a 50mm lens on FF but those lenses are very different when comparing compression, which is a crucial part of DOF. We can make the comparisons on the chart at this link (http://www.dofmaster.com/doftable.html) listed above as well. 

Here's an example, both resulting in the same crop/composition: 

(Note the Canon APS-C is actually set at 1.6 crop factor)

35mm (56mm with 1.6 crop) on a Canon 7D (APS-C) at f4 produces, at 10 feet from subject, 

a distance of 8' 5.1" - 12' 4"in focus (approx 4' 11")

50mm on a Canon 5D (FF) at f4 produces, at 10 feet from subject, 

a distance of 8' 8.9" - 11' 8" in focus (approx 2' 11")

To achieve the same DOF the 7D would need to stop up to f2.8  for 8' 10" - 11' 6" (approx 2' 8")

(BTW 35mm on a FF at f4, 10 feet is 7' 8.7'' - 14' 2'' (approx 6' 5") so it does have an effect, just not enough.)

Using the same focal length on both cameras to achieve the similar DOF is tough but here it is (approx). Note: the framing will be different between the shots at 10 feet and similar at 15 feet.

50mm (80mm with 1.6 crop) on a Canon 7D (APS-C) at f5.6 produces, at 10 feet from subject a distance of 

8' 10.3'' - 11' 6''in focus (approx 3' 1") (cropped composition-slightly deeper DOF)

50mm (80mm with 1.6 crop) on a Canon 7D (APS-C) at f4 produces, at 10 feet from subject a distance of 

9' 2"' - 11' in focus (approx 1' 10") (cropped composition-shallower DOF)

50mm (80mm with 1.6 crop) on a Canon 7D (APS-C) at f4 produces, at 15 feet from subject a distance of 

13' 2.4'' - 17' 4.8'' in focus (approx 4' 2.4") (same composition-deeper DOF)

50mm (80mm with 1.6 crop) on a Canon 7D (APS-C) at f2.8 produces, at 15 feet from subject a distance of 

13' 8.4'' - 16' 7.2''  in focus (approx 2' 11") (same composition-similar DOF)

50mm on a Canon 5D (FF) at f4 produces, at 10 feet from subject a distance of 

8' 8.9" - 11' 8" in focus (approx 2' 11") (same composition-similar DOF)

As we compare we can also see a trend of a very different nature in the in-front and back focus ratio. Sorry I'm not going to get into Hyperfocal distance (Great article here http://www.dofmaster.com/hyperfocal.html) or circles of confusion. My goal is to simply show the differences between the two and how they relate to the overall composition and technique.

By the way the faster the glass (more open aperture ability) the more expensive it is, incase for some inexplicable reason you didn't know. ( to illuatrate the difference, a Leica 50mm f1.4 Summilux goes for about 4000.00us and the most expensive 50mm lens we know of for full frame is a Leica 50mm f0.95 Noctilux for 11,000.00us. In DSLR standards, a Canon 50mm f1.4 is about 400.00us and a Canon 50mm f1.2 is 1620.00us. All 35mm film/sensor sizes. I haven't seen a dslr lens at 0.95 yet and I don't think it can be done given the lens to film plane distance, at a decent price anyway.

It's always mentioned at how creamy the BOKEH is on full frame and Medium format. When we boil all this down it simply shows that if you are going to buy APS-C sensor cameras, and want that same great look, you need to spend even more on the glass. Yup f1.2 and f1.4 is in your future or at least f2.8 as a minimum.

As a side note, I do tote a Fuji XPro-1 when I walk around shooting candid and street work. My glass starts at f2.8 on all my cameras but I tend to go faster on this XPro-1 (f1.4 and f1.2 is the norm and primes only) If you're not familiar with that camera it's APS-C. I chose that for the size of gear to carry and the results in the environment I intend to use it. You can see the results throughout this blog.

Now if that XPro-1 or fuji X equivalent, XPro-2 maybe, was full frame I'd drop my big DSLRs in a heart beat, or at least when I add digital medium format, I shoot film with that format currently. Which by the way achieves even creamier BOKEH at higher apertures. You see my goal is all about the sharpest image with the best control over DOF to blow a background out at a sharp aperture, say 6.3 to 8 and still get great BOKEH. That's where full frame and medium format come in.

One more note, the case could be made that APS-C is better for landscape because you get a longer DOF but as reality would have it the further away we are from a subject the more, in focus it is anyway.

Enjoy, Derek

Previous post on this subject

http://justthatdesign.blogspot.ca/2013/07/picking-lenses-based-on-focal-lengths.html

Mastering the right kit part2

Happy Tuesday from Prospect.

Well, back in the studio today perfecting the traveling headshot kit. Today we set up the typical clam shell.

(Kit part 1 link here)

This set-up is typically used in fashion but works exceptionally well for head shots, when set-up right, and the beauty is it can have a black, dark (non distracting) or pleasing, environmental, background depending on your light ratios. The kit only includes one main light and an optional second light to add separation where and when needed.

Something I wanted to add. I, for the umpteenth time, heard Zack Arias' ( his link is on the side bar) talk about an honest and inexpensive starter kit when starting out as a a photographer. He chose a Canon 5D mark 1, 2 primes and some basic flash gear, all used for easy pocket book pricing. What he failed to mention is why this gear. Although it may not be the latest and greatest in camera gear with oodles of mega pixels, it is a full frame package that fits a productive bill that delivers real results your client will love.

Full frame vs Crop sensor discussions are all over the place. Sorry, Full Frame rules…and delivers, period. (My XPro-1 is the only crop I've ever enjoyed and I use it for street, not business or deliverables.)

So for the shoot today, I used just that. I shot some of these with a 5D mk1 (this is my back-up body) with an 85mm f1.8 and the rest with a 5D mrk2 with a 70-200mm f2.8. Same strobe and separation flash set-up for both. Doubt you can tell the diff and I'm not tellin'. (Aperture/shutter speed/ISO/white balance are identical between the two. That's what happens when you take the time to calibrate your gear. PREVIOUS POST HERE) 

BTW, when I'm in the studio or on location doing these I always want my clients to enjoy themselves so we shoot as much fun stuff along with the final serious pieces, even if they don't leave the studio and no one else sees them. It makes for a better shoot and my clients end up much happier that they decided to do these. No humdrum Walmart here.

Good Headshots are just as important as your business card or brand. It's what you put forward. Can you really afford to go cheap. A Bad headshot (Maybe shot from your computers camera. Don't laugh, I see it all the time) is just as detrimental as a bad logo (50 bucks online).

Stop hurting yourself and look good to your potential clients, it's worth it.

Enjoy the fun poses, Derek

Lighten that Load

Good Wednesday from Prospect.

Set-up including living light stand

So here I am proposing on location headshots. You know, the one's that don't hurt. 

Well for the most part they only hurt me, lugging way too much gear for seamless shots. 

It usually takes me three trips and a car load when doing a larger shoot.

But I want a kit for those quicker runs. You know less time setting up and more with my client.

I finally decided to trim this big kit down. If I can walk out of here with one bag of stands/modifiers, one box of lighting and one camera bag with bodies/lens I'll be happy.

Well I think I've done it. Even tested it with my main digital bodies so I can handle what I need when I need it.

List is now 3 stands, 2 light booms, 2 reflector/diffusers (for white, grey, black backgrounds, 1 60" umbrella/softbox, 2-3 speedlights (1 main, 1 background, 1 hair-light when needed) , 3 pocket wizards (may make that 4), 1 light meter, assorted cables, batteries and 1 stool. Camera plus lenses (depending on the shoot).

One thing to bear in mind this is a "headshot" kit. Not a full body set. That would require an existing wall or available background.

Canon 5D markII, 85mm f1.4. ISO100, f9, 1/125th

I've included a couple of test shots to verify my lighting set-up, plus a look at the set-up.

Enjoy Derek

Fuji XPro-1 35mm f1.4. ISO200, 1/125, f5.6

Next Personal Project comes from a love of mine.

Good Sunday from Prospect.

Here's a teaser for ya from my next personal project which involves, you guessed it, the sport of sailing. The primary rule to be a sport is simple, if you can get hurt then it is a sport. Yes it's a sport because participants can, and do, get hurt.

Weapon of choice: Canon 5D mrk II, Canon 70-200 IS f2.8

The project involves group and individual portraiture before, during or after an event, in the flavour of street photography. It is an editorial piece and no photos will be used in product endorsement or commercial purpose except for being in the final book and featured in online blog/website features.

If you're interested in participating, and sail locally, drop me a line and we'll see if we can work you and/or your team in. 

Sorry, no fees will be paid for sessions and all image copyrights will belong to the photographer, but you will get an online copy for your personal enjoyment.

A note on sailing: IMHO

Sailing is the utmost team sport, everyone needs to do their job for the team to succeed. No hot dogs or rock stars, they just rock the boat and create a lack of cohesion, unless the entire team, of course, are as talented. Then it's just an awesome team.

Some, those who have not partaken, say it's foolish and slow. Racing should be fast they say? Well that's all relative now isn't it. Sailing is not just about going fast, although doing 40 knots in 25 knots of breeze is quite a rush and it takes a tremendous amount of skill and superior technology to achieve. If all you want is speed then watch stock car racing, now that's foolish. Going fast left, left, left done.

In sailing you pit your experience and skill against your opponent. It's about making choices of direction as well as knowing how to trim and drive. It's also about becoming a better sailor. Practice makes perfect and what better way than to pit yourself against extreme conditions and other sailors to gain experience where it may otherwise be dangerous to experience for the first time.

Anyway, all I wanted to bring up is, yes, it's sailing season here in Halifax and the teaser is a sample from the gallery, and book, soon to come. 

Canon 5D mrk II, Canon 70-200 IS f2.8

This particular event is off point pleasant and run by the royal nova scotia yacht squadron, the oldest yacht club in north america.

Once a week every sailing club in the area runs at least one race night for the members. It's a great way to hone your sailing skills and, as it was for me, learn to sail.

If you'd like to spectate, other than go out on a boat, you can watch this specific event, from Point Pleasant Park on the Halifax peninsula or from Ferguson's cove off the Purcell's cove road.

I'm quite sure any sailing club close to you puts on a weekly event for you to see or participate in.

From August 14-17 Chester race week is underway. The photos included in this post is from last Wednesday nights rnsys race night. The clubs teams were gearing up for race week and so they were fine tuning their skills.

With fingers crossed, we hope the weeks weather will be awesome sailing weather with brisk breezes and bright skies. No I'm not forgetting about the great partying for the week, that's something you need to experience for yourself after the races in Chester NS.

Keep dropping back, or sign up for rss feed, as this project develops.

Maybe we'll see you in Chester, enjoy, Derek

DSLR vs Mirror-less? Really? My introduction to mirror-less photography...An eye opener

Good Friday from Prospect. Looks like summer has finally found us, and it's hot.

Today's post is more on the review side than anything else. I don't do reviews as a practice but if gear falls into my hands I'm all about it.

For those of you who have been following me for a while you'll recall I purchased a Canon G1X in April of 2012. I was looking for something light weight that gave me decent resolution on a C-size sensor that had the manual controls I need when I shoot but would be light and fit in a small case or pocket. Unobtrusive.

Canon 5D mark 1 50mm f1.4
click here for full size jpeg

My choice at that time was that G1X and for the most part it gave me what I wanted for a reasonable price. The kit, with filter adapters and such, took me into the under 1000.00 range. It has fully manual adjustments using readily available dials and buttons right on the body with almost no need to go into menus. It has 2 Custom, saveable setting groups for quick set-up, not unlike my Canon 5D M2. Sensor has a ratio of 1.8, slightly smaller than a typical C-size DSLR at 1.5 crop. Lens was a fixed zoom at 15.5 - 60mm (28 - 115 approx) with an aperture of f2.8 - 5.6.

This camera worked well for me and introduced me to mirror-less cameras without a big bundle out of pocket and no fuss about glass. I've shot everything from the Route Halifax Saint-Pierre race to the Tall ships primarily for this blog with potential to print (resolution is 14.3mp and shoots jpeg + RAW).

Canon 5D mark 2 Sigma 50mm f1.4
click here for full size jpeg

But as any photographer will tell you, stick to the gear you have and only move as you grow and can afford. At the time of my purchase I was trading/selling all my Pentax gear (that story is in the past and you can read about it HERE).

So the cost wasn't significant. But at the same time the Fuji X100 and XPro 1 were out at a significantly higher investment and just didn't fit what I was looking for at the time. I needed to learn what the fuss was about.

Now fast forward the June 2013. Time to move up. I had the G1X long enough to understand what I really did and didn't like about that camera and knew what I wanted. 

Fuji XPro-1 Fuji 35mm f1.4
click here for full size jpeg

I have no issues about the whole mirror-less concept, which as far as I'm concerned it is just a reincarnation of the range finder with a live view LCD on the back. Call them point and shoots if you will but that really doesn't describe them. I know of a bunch of DSLRs that fit that point and shoot description. If you're sticking your camera on auto everything, regardless on interchangeable lenses, it's a point and shoot. Hell, a cardboard, film,  pin hole camera is as close to a point and shoot as you can get.

Canon 5D mark1 Canon 16-35-II f2.8
click here for full size jpeg

Now to the review part. The problem I had with the Canon G1X was, to be honest, minor to most. Manual focus was truly non existent, the optical view finder is a joke and if I wasn't shooting stand still subject matter it just fought focus all the way. You need to really think about your focus and framing beyond the usual. Simply zooming in ever so slightly to reframe would change your aperture which would adjust your depth of field which would change your composition and on and on. Not cool! But it did have a leaf shutter and if I were to use it in a studio setting that would work. But that's not what that camera is about. They're about shooting without flash, for the most part, with available light. Street photography is where they belong.

Mind you, once I took the shot it gave me above average quality. I do compare these to top end DSLRs, that I use to put food on the table, so I'm a lot fussy.

Canon 5D mark2 Canon 16-35 II f2.8
click here for full size jpeg

Well I'm glad I chose this route of seeing if I could really rely on such a camera. June I traded in my G1X for a Fuji XPro-1. The pricing has dropped significantly and the control and quality are stunning.

Some say they are willing to give up their DSLRs for this camera. I can't say that much, unless you're comparing any of the crop sensor DSLRs on the market today. Then yeah, dump em.

I shoot with full frame Canon 5D M2 and M1. Those full frame sensors are tough to beat. They're not about resolution (being 21mp and 12mp respectively) they're about fidelity. They're about buttery mid-tones and smooth flesh-tones. And nothing beats full frame for Bokeh, especially with the right lens. 

But I've gotta tell ya this thing just performs. I doubt, IMHO, there is any C-size DSLR that can knock this camera off it's pedestal. It has every control at your finger tips, 16mp res on Fuji's new xtrans CMOS, c-size sensor. That means no anti aliasing filter in from to blur the image to get rid of moire. If you're not sure what that means it simply means sharp images right out of the gate without weird patterns from things like clothing patterns, house siding and fences to name a few.

I've posted 6 images on this post with links to the full high-res for you to view. All high res Jpegs exported from Lightroom with nothing more than  a watermark and identifying titles. All were shot in manual mode as set by one of my hand held incedent light meters to make these fair. All were RAW+jpeg modes in fine at 2000/sec, f4.5 and ISO 200. The lenses I used were Fuji's 35mm f1.4, Fuji14mm f2.8 on the xpro 1,  Canons 16-35 II f2.8 and my Sigma 50mm f1.4 (best 50mm lens on the market, bar none, IMHO) on the mark 1 and 2. The only unfair thing here is the 16-35mm ( Only wide angle I have for my Canons. I don't own the Canon 14mm f2.8. Just don't have that bread). It is a zoom which inherently don't produce the sharpness of a prime lens so the real comparison is the 50mm vs the 35 (53mm on fuji crop sensor, sort of).

Fuji XPro-1 Fuji 14mm f2.8
click here for full size jpeg

I did notice that the fuji raw from sensor colour balance is a bit colder than the Canon ones (maybe it's just how Lightroom translates the raw file). But quite expected if you are familiar with fuji as a film company. It's where they live in colour balance. I made a point to not adjust it to be fair. The colour rendition of the jpegs are much closer but since each camera modifies the image to produce the jpeg, and I've adjusted my set-ups to be closer than default, I thought that didn't make a good comparison.

I've also included a screen shot of file sizes from the three digital cameras at my disposal. If the RAW file sizes are any indication of information these are chalk full of data. This is definitely game changing technology.

Anyway you be the judge. I'll be carrying this thing every where and should be at a full comfort level real soon.

If you have any comments don't be shy. I'd love to hear them.

Enjoy, Derek