Tag Archives: RAW

Camera Settings – Landscape Photography

It is April and spring has arrived at Monument Valley along the Arizona/Utah border. The pastel glow of twilight dyes the valley a cool hue while warm light from a setting Sun catches the wispy overhead clouds. (Bill Ferris)

It is April and spring has arrived at Monument Valley along the Arizona/Utah border. The pastel glow of twilight dyes the valley a cool hue while warm light from a setting Sun catches the wispy overhead clouds. (Bill Ferris)

There have been more than a few days when I’ve wondered if I travel to do photography or if the camera is just an excuse to get outside amidst inspiring landscapes. Actually, there is no wondering about it. It’s the latter. I have a deep, soulful connection to nature. Truth be told, if faced with the choice of spending my remaining years alone in a magnificent wilderness or amongst the beehive of activity in a major city, I might choose the wild.

It should come as no surprise, then, that landscape imaging is my first love in photographry. Since a move from the Midwest to northern Arizona nearly 20 years ago, I’ve been blessed to have ready access to some of the most dramatic and iconic landscapes of the American West. Grand Canyon, Monument Valley,  Arches, Canyonlands – these are nature’s cathedrals. These are the places where I hone my craft and renew a spiritual connection with the world.

This blog continues the series in which I share the camera settings I use for specific genres of photography. Today’s genre is landscapes and these are the settings:

  • Mode: Aperture Priority
  • Aperture:  f/13 to f/22
  • ISO: 100 to 200
  • Image Format: RAW
  • Focus: Back Button or Live View
  • Shutter Release: Timed with a 5-second delay
  • Essential Gear: Tripod
Late day light paints Zoroaster Temple in Grand Canyon a deep amber hue as seen from a campsite along Clear Creek Trail. (Bill Ferris)

Late day light paints Zoroaster Temple in Grand Canyon a deep amber hue as seen from a campsite along Clear Creek Trail. (Bill Ferris)

Great light is the first element of a great landscape. While it is absolutely possible to make a fantastic landscape exposure in midday light, the golden hour times of sunrise and sunset are the most prized. The soft earthy glow adds a dramatic feel and reveals the inner beauty of a place. Weather, is the second key element. Clouds, rain and lightning put passion on display. Snow reveals the essence of a place and hints at possibilities to come.

A common theme connecting the above, is the relatively low light levels one encounters when shooting under such conditions. Unlike other genres (e.g. sports, wildlife and portraiture), short exposures and shallow depths of field are not necessarily desirable when shooting landscapes. More typically, you want great depth of field. Also, since your subject is mostly static, exposure times can be longer without compromising image sharpness.

An f/13 to f/22 aperture will deliver an in-focus, sharp image through the fore-, mid- and backgrounds. (APS-C bodies can achieve the same at f/9 to f/16.) With depth of field being so critical to achieving the desired result, I usually shoot in Aperture Priority mode and dial in an aperture – more accurately, a focal ratio – of f/13. Depending on the lighting and composition, I’ll go as large (in focal ratio) as f/22 or more.

Of course, I always shoot in RAW to allow as much latitude as possible during processing.

White House ruin in Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Chinle, Arizona) (Bill Ferris)

White House ruin in Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Chinle, Arizona) (Bill Ferris)

To maximize image quality and minimize noise, I typically use the base ISO of the camera body. In the case of the Nikon D610, the base ISO is 100. This combination of low light, small aperture and low ISO forces the camera to use relatively slow shutter speeds to make a properly exposed image. When shooting just before sunrise or shortly after sunset, an exposure of 1-second or longer may be needed.

Long exposures demand a solid, stable platform to ensure good sharpness in the resulting image. This makes a tripod essential gear for the landscape photographer. I use a Benro model tripod. It is designed to be lightweight and portable, while still providing good stability. It is not as rock solid as other beefier designs, which means I’m always in need of a sheltered location when doing photography in a strong wind.

A technique I use to minimize vibration, is setting a 5-second delay on the shutter release. This allows any vibration introduced when I push the shutter release to dampen before the exposure begins. I also use either back button focus or contrast detection focus in Live View to help ensure best focus. Contrast detection, while slower, is sometimes a bit more accurate than phase detection. Moving focus control off the shutter release button minimizes the risk of a last second focus change when an exposure is made.

Using these settings, allows me to take full advantage of the spectacular landscapes populating the Desert  Southwest. If you are a landscape enthusiast, I hope you find they help your results, as well.

So, get out there and shoot.

Bill Ferris | April 2015

Camera Settings – Wildlife Photography

An American White Ibis preens in the late afternoon light at Disney World Epcot theme park. (Bill Ferris)

An American White Ibis preens in the late afternoon light at Disney World Epcot theme park. (Bill Ferris)

This post continues a series on camera settings for specific genres of photography. As I mentioned in the first installment, I am not suggesting these settings will be best for every photographer. I am sharing them because they work for me and may be of some help to you.

As the above image indicates, this post will focus on settings for bird and wildlife photography. Let’s begin with my goals when shooting animals in a natural setting:

  • Communicate the wild
  • Convey the personality of the animal
  • Bring the viewer close

There is something about an animal in a wilderness setting that captures the imagination. This is particularly true in cultures that feel a strong connection to a past when people lived, struggled, thrived and died in wilderness places. They competed not only with the land and weather but also with animals. Some animals were hunted as sources of food and clothing. Others were hunted as competitors for scarce food resources or as threats to people.

A photograph of an animal in a wilderness setting has the potential to reconnect us with that pioneer heritage. It can make the pulse quicken and loose a surge of adrenalin in the blood. Communicating the wild is as much about setting as the animal, itself. Framing the shot with a rugged terrain or severe weather conveys a sense of wilderness. The personality of the animal comes to life through action. Interesting – even aggressive – behavior does the trick. Sometimes, the suggestion of a behavior that is about to happen can be even more compelling. Capturing the instant before the animal becomes aggressive hints at wildness and allows the audience’s imagination to fill in the rest.

The Kilimanjaro Safaris tour at Disney World Animal Kingdom exposes visitors to a host of animals native to Africa, including the giraffe. (Bill Ferris)

The Kilimanjaro Safaris tour at Disney World Animal Kingdom exposes visitors to a host of animals native to Africa, including the giraffe. (Bill Ferris)

A long telephoto lens can bring the viewer close enough to feel the breath of the animal. Stealth and patience, when skillfully employed, can have the same effect. Every guideline has its exceptions and this one is no different. A wide angle lens capturing the interesting behavior of a collection of animals in the wild can be just as inspiring.

Bird and wildlife photography is a relatively new interest for me. I’m still searching for that heart-stopping image of an apex predator in the wild, or an iconic creature persevering against nature’s maelstrom. However, the technique of capturing such moments is fairly well ingrained. I’ll be ready when the moment arrives. Here, are my settings:

  • Aperture: f/2.8 to f/5.6
  • ISO: ISO-auto with 1/500 to 1/1000-second as minimum shutter speed and 6400 as maximum ISO
  • Back Button Focus: AE-L/AF-L button assigned to autofocus control
  • Burst Rate: Low (3 fps) to Continuous High (6 fps)
  • Image Quality: RAW
  • Exposure Compensation:  +2/3 to 0 to -2/3 stop

I use a large aperture to blur the background and isolate the subject. A wide open aperture also allows for the use of more reasonable ISO’s when shooting early in the day. Now, an aperture closed one stop from wide open will do a better job of capturing pin sharp detail in the animal. So, if the light level will allow it and if there is significant distance between your subject and the background, consider closing down the lens a bit.

Back button focus is a great technique for just about any type of photography. It gives you more control over focus point and framing. If the animal is moving slowly, a shutter speed of 1/500-second will do an excellent job of freezing action. However, birds in flight and other more aggressive actions demand a faster shutter speed. A low burst rate works fine for an animal slowly grazing for food. A faster burst rate is called for when shooting birds in flight and other more dynamic action.

A bull Elk eyes a gathering crowd of tourists on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. (Bill Ferris)

A bull elk eyes a gathering crowd of tourists on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. (Bill Ferris)

Finally, you’ll want to pay attention to the coloration of an animal. Animals with dark fur may require an exposure compensation of +2/3 stop to preserve detail. By contrast, compensation of -2/3 stop will preserve feather detail when photographing a bright white bird.

These are the settings I use when photographing birds and animals. If you give them a try, I think you’ll find the results rewarding. At the very least, you’ll gain a better understanding of the settings that work best for you.

Now, get out there and shoot!

Bill Ferris | April 2015

Camera Settings – Sports Photography

NAU's Eddie Horn grabs a handful of facemask to prevent Eastern Washington's Quincy Forte from reaching the end zone

NAU’s Eddie Horn grabs a handful of facemask to prevent Eastern Washington’s Quincy Forte from reaching the end zone (Bill Ferris)

With this post, I’m launching a series in which I will share the settings I use for specific genres of photography. Each article will focus on one kind of photographry: landscape, wildlife, event, portraiture and, in this entry, sports.

Right off the top, I want to be clear about something. The settings I use are not necessarily best for everyone. In fact, I suspect the opposite may be closer to the truth. Many professional and experienced amateur photographers prefer to shoot in full manual mode. I don’t.

In any given situation, there are some settings I absolutely want to control and others I’m perfectly comfortable allowing the camera to control. It’s been my experience that modern digital cameras are reliably competent at choosing settings like shutter speed and ISO. Even if the setting the camera chooses is off by 1/3 to 1/2 a stop, shooting in RAW allows me to correct for that in post with just a few clicks of the mouse.

In short, the settings I use work for me and my workflow. My intent in sharing them in this series is that they may help you to make better photos and get more satisfaction from photography.

So, let’s get to it. Here, are the  settings I typically use with my Nikon D610 when shooting sports:

  • Mode: Aperture Priority
  • Aperture: f/2.8
  • ISO: ISO-auto with 1/1000-second as minimum shutter speed and 6400 as maximum ISO
  • Autofocus: Continuous with a 9-point cluster at the center
  • Back Button Focus: AE-L/AF-L button assigned to autofocus control
  • Burst Rate: Continuous High (6 fps)
  • Image Quality: RAW

Why? Let’s start at the beginning. Before I start shooting, I give some thought to what I want to accomplish with the photograph. Here are my goals for sports photography:

  • Capture the decisive moment
  • Communicate the emotion of that moment
  • Put the audience in the middle of the action

The above settings allow me to accomplish all three.

A goalkeeper prepares to send the ball out of her zone.

A goalkeeper prepares to send the ball out of her zone. (Bill Ferris)

The first decision I make when setting up the camera is selecting a mode to use. I never shoot in full Auto. In that mode, the camera makes all the decisions and I’ve yet to find a camera having an aesthetic identical to mine. I rarely shoot in Manual. In that mode, I make all the decisions and, frankly, that’s just a lot of work.

Aperture Priority allows me to lock in a focal ratio. Normally, I’ll set the lens to f/2.8. Since I’ll be using a fast shutter speed to freeze action, I need to deliver big heaping gobs of light to the sensor to produce a properly exposed image. Shooting at f/2.8 maximizes the light collected by the lens and delivered to the sensor, at any given moment.

A large aperture also produces an image with a shallow depth of field. That is a huge plus when shooting sports. Often, the shot is focused on one player, coach or person. But how to draw attention to someone who is surrounded by a melee of athletes, officials and fans? A shallow depth of field serves to isolate the subject by putting everything and everyone else out of focus.

With a wide aperture selected and locked in, the next choice is which shutter speed to use. For basketball, soccer and football, I have found a shutter speed of 1/1000-second does a great job of freezing the action. Now, I could do this by putting the camera in manual mode, selecting the aperture (f/2.8), shutter speed (1/1000-second) and ISO. But I’m lazy. I don’t want to be responsible for all three variables. I want the camera to do some of the work. I’ll choose the aperture and shutter speed, and let the camera choose the ISO.

This is why I use Nikon’s Auto-ISO setting. In this setting, you choose a minimum shutter speed and a maximum ISO. For sports, I select 1/1000-second and a maximum ISO of 6400. Shooting with the D610, I’ve been very pleased with the quality of images taken at ISO 6400

At this point, I’m almost ready to start shooting.

This photograph was taken with a Tamron 70-200mm at 135mm, f/2.8, ISO 3600, 1/640-second

This photograph was taken with a Tamron 70-200mm at 135mm, f/2.8, ISO 3600, 1/640-second (Bill Ferris)

Next, i check the image quality setting to confirm it’s still in RAW. Shooting in RAW serves several purposes. First, it is the format that captures and preserves the most information about each image. The more information there is at my disposal, the greater the flexibility I have in post. RAW allows for adjustments to be easily made in Lightroom, not just in exposure, but also in white balance, contrast and a host of other key settings. As such, shooting in RAW gives me the greatest latitude when processing an exposure. And since I’m trusting my camera to choose the ISO, RAW acts as my insurance policy against a setting that is off by as much as a full stop. Typically, however, the Nikon D610 is within 1/3-stop in the ISO it chooses.

To ensure that my photographs are properly focused, I use Nikon’s AF-C or continuous autofocus mode. In this mode, the camera continuously adjusts focus to keep the subject sharp, For most events, I’ll use a cluster of nine autofocus points – sometimes, a single point – to allow the camera to focus on the subject while ignoring distracting objects within the frame. The autofocus points at the center of the frame are most accurate. Hence my preference for a central grouping.

Now, to give myself more control over when and where focus is set, I also engage back button focus. This is a technique where you assign focus control to a button on the back of the camera body. I assign focus control to the AE-L/AF-L button on my Nikon D610. With back button focus engaged, I am able to push the AE-L/AF-L button when I want to set focus. If I’m shooting a stationary subject, I can set focus then remove my finger from the button and recompose. If the subject is moving, I’ll continue pressing the button and allow the camera to follow focus while I’m keeping the subject framed.

With 12-seconds left in regulation, NAU's Dan Galindo hauls in a Jordan Perry pass to score the game-winning touchdown

With 12-seconds left in regulation, NAU’s Dan Galindo hauls in a Jordan Perry pass to score the game-winning touchdown. (Bill Ferris)

Almost by definition, athletes are quick and fast-moving subjects. As such, I use my camera’s highest burst rate to rip 6-10 exposures in a 1-2 second burst. This gives me the best chance of capturing the decisive moment. The only thing that’s missing from the above photo, is the official’s arms in the air signaling a touchdown. But that didn’t happen until long after the receiver made the catch.

While we’re on the subject of moments, let’s address a setting that, all too often, is ignored. Moments are fleeting. As soon as you recognize one as being of significance, it is already gone. One of the keys to successful sports photography is anticipating a decisive moment, recognizing that it is about to happen. This has more to do with you, as a student of the game, than with your camera settings. Know the sport. Decide ahead of time the kind of moment you want (a score, a collision, the joy of victory, dignity in defeat), watch for that moment, recognize when it is about to happen and press the shutter release.

Now, get out there and shoot.

Bill Ferris | January 2015

Classic Beauty

Looking east inside the Wisconsin Capitol. Two glass mosaics (pendentives) are seen: Liberty (left) and Justice (right) (Bill Ferris)

Looking east inside the Wisconsin Capitol. Two glass mosaics (pendentives) are seen: Liberty (left) and Justice (right) (Bill Ferris)

There is just something about classic, old world architecture. I love it and, best of all, so does my camera.

Built during the early 1900’s by George B. Post & Sons of New York, the Wisconsin Capitol building in Madison is a fine example of Renaissance Revival architecture. It features the largest granite dome in the world, a rotunda constructed of marble from Greece and the classical lines and archways one would expect to find in a European capitol. At 284 feet, 5-inches tall, the Capitol is three feet shorter than the nation’s capitol in Washington, DC. In 1988, the state of Wisconsin began a major renovation project to modernize the infrastructure while restoring the original 1917 appearance of the building. Completed in 2002, the result of that work is shown in the photos accompanying this article.

Architectural photography and landscape photography have a lot in common. The most significant commonality is that a good wide angle lens and tripod are key to capturing dramatic images filled with rich color and detail. All the photos in this article were taken with a Nikon D600 and Nikon 16-35mm zoom lens. All were shot at 16mm. To capture as much detail as possible, I used small apertures (f/16 to f/22), which deliver great depth of field. To minimize noise and preserve the detail of the exposures, I selected an ISO of 200.

I visited the capitol building on a late November day, finding an interior illuminated by wonderfully soft natural sunlight. Because I was shooting with small apertures, my exposures needed to be quite long. The above photo, for example, is a 0.8-second exposure. As you look through the other images, you’ll see captures from 2- to 5-seconds in length.

Looking southeast from beneath an archway in the Wisconsin Capitol building, three pendentives are seen: Liberty (left), Justice (center), and Legislation (right) (Bill Ferris)

Looking southeast from beneath an archway in the Wisconsin Capitol building, three pendentives are seen: Liberty (left), Justice (center), and Legislation (right) (Bill Ferris)

This is a 2-second exposure shot at f/16. The dome interior was overexposed by a full stop but the arches and corridors were properly exposed. Shooting in RAW made it relatively easy to correct the overexposed dome in Photoshop. I opened the original RAW image, making subtle adjustments in exposure and color saturation to optimize for the arches, corridors and pendentives. (Pendentives are the colorful glass mosaics between the arches.) This file was then saved as a TIFF. I then re-opened the original file, this time bringing the exposure down by a full stop to optimize for the dome interior. I copied this into a new layer in the TIFF file and used a layer mask to reveal just the dome interior.

This is the beauty of working with RAW files. Because they are uncompressed and contain the widest dynamic range of any format, RAW files allow you the greatest latitude in adjusting exposure, brightness, contrast and color saturation without loss of detail. I can often decrease or boost exposure by two full stops without significant degradation of the image.

A view from the Wisconsin Capitol second floor balcony up toward the dome. Three pendentives are visible. The pendentives are glass mosaics representing the three branches of government: Justice (left), Legislation (center) and Executive Power (Government - right) (Bill Ferris)

A view from the Wisconsin Capitol second floor balcony up toward the dome. Three pendentives are visible. The pendentives are glass mosaics representing the three branches of government: Justice (left), Legislation (center) and Executive Power (Government – right) (Bill Ferris)

The graceful curves and lines make this building perfect for a photographic style that emphasizes balance and symmetry. While setting up, I noticed a small patch of sunlight illuminating the dome interior so, I framed the shot to include this detail, which anchors the upper boundary of the image. This, again, is where a tripod is essential gear. Shooting with a tripod allowed me to carefully compose each shot. I used the D600’s virtual horizon to get the camera level along the horizontal X-axis. Tilting in the vertical Y-axis would still preserve a symmetrical view.

After composing the shot, I used the camera’s AF-S (Auto Focus-Single Servo) mode to set focus on a distant detail. I had also assigned focus activation to the AE/AF lock button. With focus set, I could then pay attention to any final framing adjustments before taking the exposure. To minimize the chance that vibration would introduce shake during these long exposures, I used the camera’s self-timer to delay shutter actuation by 10-seconds from the moment I pushed the shutter release button. This delay allowed the camera body to settle and capture crisp, detailed photos.

The only drawback was that, on several occasions, people would walk into my frame during the 10 second delay. Oh well. When that happened, I would wait for them to leave the frame before starting another exposure count down. Patience, is a valuable asset to have as a photographer.

Looking up from the ground floor toward the center of the dome of the Wisconsin State Capitol. With east at bottom, south at right, west at top and north at left, all four pendentives (glass mosaics) are visible: Liberty (bottom left), Justice (bottom right), Government (top left) and Legislation (top right) (Bill Ferris)

Looking up from the ground floor toward the center of the dome of the Wisconsin State Capitol. With east at bottom, south at right, west at top and north at left, all four pendentives (glass mosaics) are visible: Liberty (bottom left), Justice (bottom right), Government (top left) and Legislation (top right) (Bill Ferris)

This image was taken at 16mm, f/16, ISO 200. It is a 5-second exposure. I intentionally overexposed the dome by two full stops to capture enough light to allow the arched ceilings to show good color and detail. As with the other images in this set, I used the exposure adjustment tool when opening the original RAW image to create multiple layers in the final Photoshop composite. The base layer was optimized for the architectural details in the corners; the next layer, for the arches; then third, for the glass mosaic pendentives; and the uppermost layer exposure was optimized for the dome interior. Exposure was decreased by nearly two stops, which shooting in RAW makes possible.

The real fun of photographing a structure such as this–with its graceful lines, European flourishes and classical beauty–is having the time to play with composition. After capturing a frame featuring one detail, you might move the camera just a few degrees to reveal another detail that serves as the focus point for the next exposure. There is almost no wrong way to work a subject like this. Of course, this assumes you’ve brought your camera along for the trip.

Now, get out an shoot.

Bill Ferris | December 2013