Disclaimer: This post contains more advanced photographic concepts, such as using external lighting and creating two different exposures in one shot. If your brain explodes due to information overload, I am not responsible. Continue at your own brain’s risk!
So, how do I approach photography?
Well, for most situations, I approach a scene aperture-minded. For example, with portraiture, I ask myself, “Am I going to incorporate the background? If so, what will I include?” If the background is beautiful, then it might strengthen the photograph by giving the viewer context and a sense of depth. So, I might choose full depth of field. If the background is not very appealing, then I will likely blur it out (shallow depth of field). To do either, I need to know what kind of focal length and aperture setting I will use. Remember, the amount of background blur you get depends on the focal length of your lens AND the aperture setting! Longer focal lengths, such as 105mm and 200mm, shot at f/4 will compress and blur the background much more than 35mm at the same aperture setting.
Check out the photo below. The location was an alley way. I was new and wanted to challenge myself to create a nice portrait in an unflattering location. There was a large brown dumpster in the background and piles of debris next to the wall. I situated Melynda in such a way so that her head blocked most of the dumpster behind her. The green trees on camera top left weren’t too appealing, either. With a less than ideal background, it was better to isolate the subject and blur the background.
To blur the background, I used a longer focal length lens (85mm) with a larger aperture setting (f/1.8). I shot this on my old Sony A7RII, which has eye autofocus. The camera locked focus onto the eye closest to the camera and I took the shot. The narrow plane of focus that an 85mm lens shot at f/1.8 means that one eye can be in focus, but the other eye can be out of focus. It’s that narrow! This can create a dreamy and flattering look. This photo is with natural light only (no external lighting).
This next photo is where it gets more advanced and may take longer to explain. No, it’s not “Photoshopped.” It was shot on-location. Follow along to know how. I used external lighting to create this image. The background was amazing! Dramatic clouds, crashing waves, the beautiful pier! It would be a pity to exclude it. The iconic Santa Monica Pier gives the photo proper context, rather than only the sand and ocean. There is only one place in the world with this particular pier. Use a good background to your advantage! This was the perfect opportunity to create a dramatic, captivating photograph.
To create this photo, I approached the scene as if it were a natural light only landscape. In other words, it could stand alone as a landscape photo. So, I had both the focal length and aperture in mind. As we walked in the sand, I previsualized the Santa Monica Pier in the background on camera left. The middleground would feature crashing waves. Hannah would be the lovely star in the foreground on camera left. This arrangement will guide the viewer through the image, leading from Hannah to the Pier and back. So, I would have to shoot at a wider focal length. A wide angle lens, such as 28mm, will give you a wider angle of view. It opens up the background. I grabbed my Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 DI II RXD lens for the job. Remember, a telephoto lens, such as 200mm, compresses the background and reduces the angle of view. This is why “zoom” lenses make the subject look closer. Instead, I wanted a wide angle lens to space the elements apart to give the image depth.
But, I had to keep in mind that wide angle lenses distort the foreground and exaggerate the background. If I placed Hannah too close to the edge of the frame at 28mm focal length, it would elongate and distort her features. So, I tried to place Hannah far enough away from the edge of the frame so as not to distort her. Next came the task of composition — where would I need to stand to include all these elements in an appealing way? [Side note: Don’t be a lazy photographer! Move your feet!] If something doesn’t belong in the photo, don’t “Photoshop” it out later. Move your feet and compose your shot in a way that doesn’t include the unappealing element. It’ll also be less work for you in post processing!
As far as aperture, I wanted it to be discernable as the famous Santa Monica Pier, but not too distracting from Hannah. So, I set the aperture to f/5.6. If you’re new to photography, these numbers may seem intimidating. But, after a while, you’ll see which aperture setting at which focal length gives you the results you want. You will be able to set these variables even before you look through your viewfinder. With these two variables set (focal length and aperture), all I had left were my shutter speed and ISO.
Even though it was a cloudy day, there was enough light for me to shoot at ISO 100. That is my starting point. ISO is the last setting that I adjust, and only if I need more sensitivity. Otherwise, I keep it as low as possible for a cleaner image. Now, that the ISO was set at 100, all I had to do was adjust my shutter speed.
So, I adjusted my shutter speed to create a well-exposed frame. Keep in mind that I am still approaching the scene as if it were a natural light only photo. I want to make sure that I don’t blow out any highlights. In this situation, the settings for a well-exposed frame were ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/200 sec. shutter speed. But, I wanted a little more drama in the background.
Here is where your artistic eye comes into play! I didn’t want the background to be the same exposure as Hannah because it’ll take away from her spotlight. So, I underexposed the background by one stop by speeding up my shutter to 1/400 sec. So, the final settings were ISO 100, f/5.6 and 1/400 sec. shutter speed. [Side note: I shot this using High Speed Sync, as it exceeds the 1/250 sec. flash sync speed on my camera. This feature is too lengthy to discuss in this post. Check out some Youtube videos instead.]
Underexposing the background creates an even more dramatic effect in portraiture, as it creates a natural vignette around your subject. Once you have your background exposure dialed in, LEAVE THEM ALONE! Do not change these settings once they’re locked in! The only time you would make refinements is for changing ambient light. For example, if the sun popped out from behind the clouds, that would increase the amount of available light. So, I would likely increase my shutter speed or close down my aperture to compensate for the increase in ambient light. Otherwise, LEAVE THEM ALONE!
This takes care of the background exposure. But the problem now was that Hannah was also underexposed, especially after underexposing the background by 1 stop. She was close to being a silhouette. In this situation, I could either expose for Hannah, or for the background. But not both! The camera’s sensor is not as good as our eyes. So, in difficult lighting situations like this, you will have to get a little creative. [Side note: Here is where it gets more advanced because we touch on external lighting. This adds an extra variable into the mix — flash settings! Hang in there and read through it. You only have a little more left to read! If it makes sense, go out and experiment with it! If not, at least you’ll have some exposure to the process. One day, you might come back to it.]
To compensate for this lack of proper exposure on Hannah, I used my Flashpoint Xplor 600 monolight to expose her properly. I started out at around 1/64th power on the Xplor 600. I used a double diffused Triopo 65cm octagon softbox to soften the light. I placed the lighting setup on camera left approximately 4 feet away from Hannah. I would have preferred to use a larger softbox to soften the light even more, but you work with what you have. I moved it outside of the frame so that I wouldn’t have to “Photoshop” C-stand legs or the softbox out of my frame. I angled the softbox down and feathered it towards the camera to create even softer light. The background was still well-exposed because of my camera settings. But, now I was only changing the power on my Xplor 600 until Hannah was well exposed. Light placement is imperative! We didn’t touch on it much here, as it’s a subject for another post.
When I dialed in my external lighting settings, which took less than a minute, it was time to create some epic imagery! By exposing for the background in-camera and exposing the subject with external lighting, you’re taking two different exposures in one shot! Try doing that with your cell phone! Not gonna happen! This is why you need a photographer who knows what he or she is doing!
Blog question: From what you’ve read so far, what is one thing that you’ll use from this point onward in your photography? Leave a comment below! Feel free to ask any questions.
