Shooting outdoor portraits using the Sunny 16 rule with 1 light set up

Shooting outdoor portraits using the Sunny 16 rule

i was fortunate to attend a workshop on "Understanding light" by my mentor Dr. Krishna Mohan and i wanted to know the best way to get portraits using an external light source in broad daylight. thats when Dr. Krishna explained the "Sunny 16 rule" to us.

and a few days later i was able to use what he taught us at the workshop pretty effectively.

The primary purpose of this shoot (for me) is to darken the backgrounds and mainly focus on the subject giving it a dramatic look with 1 light source. (at the workshop we used an external speedlite) when we use a narrow aperture like f 16 at 1/125 shutter speed at ISO 100 , without flash/strobe, the resulting image will be very dark. at such situations adding light from a flash or strobe will only illuminate the subject/model at close distances keeping the backgrounds dark. so the subject 'pops out' in the photo.

Aperture Av mode in DSLR photography simple tutorial

Camera: Canon

Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

ISO: 800

Exposure: 1/40 sec

Aperture: 1.8

Focal Length: 50mm

Flash Used: No

Aperture? f stops? wide aperture? Depth of Field? Bokeh? i have been asked several times to explain what the big deal really is about apertures and shooting with Av mode on a DSLR or compact cameras. and so here is a simple tutorial explaining this ....

Aperture : is the opening or hole which controls the amount of light entering the lens. and please remember a large aperture means smallest f number like f 1.2, f 1.4, f 1.8, f 2.8 . its inversely proportional. ALWAYS. and similarly a narrow aperture means large f number like f 8 to f 22.

what and why are they useful?

most useful in photography as it conveys what exactly u what u want to convey or highlight or focus in a photo.

Simple tips to Frames within Frames In Photography

Simple tips to Frames within Frames In Photography

From creative pics II

Model: Canon EOS 60D

ISO: 3200

Exposure: 1/80 sec

Aperture: 4.0

Focal Length: 50mm

Flash Used: No

First let me ask myself some questions about framing and for your convenience , i shall answer them as well..

what is framing?

Its a simple technique in photography where the subject grabs immediate attention by the viewer

Why is framing done?

So that ur images look cool and different from the ordinary

How is framing done?

presence of mind and a good subject tops the list

Types of framing

2 important ones are portrait framing and object framing.

What ees Frames within Frames?

as the name suggests its "Frames within a frame". it could be a reflection of a mirror, books in a shelf, photo of a window or wall clock or just about anything.

Munz and Nirmal Visit my place

My good friend Munz along with Nithil Nirmal had come to my place yesterday, the 20th Of November 2011.

Munz is like the rock star of photography and Nithil owns the first photography studio back in Kannur called Minerva Studios which was started by his grand father 85 years back!!

had an amazing time, Munz got to experiment with his newly purchased 7D camera and we took a lot of indoor , outdoor, telephoto and landscape pics

posting some of my fav photos from yesterday

Canon 60D

Glass - EF 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L IS II USM

Aperture - f 4

Shutter - 1/40

ISO - 400

Focal Length - 168 mm

Flash - speedlite 580 EX II, bounced off ceiling

From november 20, 2011 munz and nirmal flats visit

Tips to Taking Candid Shots at Weddings

Tips to Taking Candid Shots at Weddings by Pritham D'Souza

From Candid Photography at Weddings

Its a never ending headache for a photographer to carry the right lens at weddings. a few of them depend on a general walk around lens like EF 24 to 105 mm f 4 L IS lens which is an excellent choice offering group shots and even medium telephoto range to capture those precious moments.

for the others, there's the always dependable EF 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L IS II which renders sharp images even at very low light and is a super fast lens with wide aperture of 2.8

i did the right thing and carried both of them and used them extensively at a wedding i covered few months back.

below are some photos i clicked using EF 24 to 105 mm f 4 L IS USM lens

1200 Year Old Mangaldevi Temple captured with EF 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L IS II

1200 Year Old Mangaldevi Temple captured with EF 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L IS II

Mangala Devi Temple in Mangalore, India is over 1200 years old built around the 9th Century. "Mangalore" is named after this famous temple which houses the Goddess Mangala and hence the name "Mangala Ooru" which translates to "City of Mangala" and the Anglicized version MANGALORE

From mangaldevi temple

this was my very first attempt at capturing a temple and i decided to start with one of the oldest and most famous temples in Mangalore. no photography was allowed inside the temple premises , but i somehow managed to get in a few shots using my superb Canon EF 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L IS II USM glass.

The Down Troddence and Cypher 16 gig review

The Down Troddence and Cypher 16 gig review

I have been friends with rocker Munz from his Kannur based contemporary metal band The Down Troddence for sometime now, but never had the opportunity to see them live. So when they came down to Bangalore to perform , i jumped at the chance to meet them and also check them out live.

after the usual meet and greet, i was told that the concert would be starting a bit late. and no bands were allowed to do a sound check. and when i got there at around 5pm, i could see only about 10 guys present, which included the bouncer, the organizer and TDT the band. hmmm

From people at the gig at kyra, 23 sept 2011

soooo about 45 minutes later, the first band takes stage.

Old man Ploughing fields

It was a crisp morning and i decided to take my new bazooka Ef 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L IS II lens for some test shots and i was fortunate enough to find the 81 year old neighbor farmer Ramanna, ploughing his paddy fields with his 2 deaf ox