Photofocus Podcast Episode #101

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Master Photographer

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Show notes will appear here soon.

Photofocus Podcast Episode #96

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Master Photographer

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Photofocus Episode 96

Host: Scott Bourne (www.scottbourne.com or www.twitter.com/scottbourne)

Special Guest: Kevin Kubota (www.kubotaimagetools.com or www.twitter.com/kevinkubota)

Show notes by Bruce Clarke (www.momentsindigital.com or www.twitter.com/bruceclarke)

Sponsor – Adorama

Adorama is much more than a camera store. Visit Adorama.com.

Welcome to Episode Number 96 of Photofocus with Scott Bourne and special guest Kevin Kubota. Photofocus is the show devoted to your questions about anything photography related including gear, technique, locations, etc. Your questions will shape the direction of this show so be sure to send your questions to photofocus@me.com. We will try to answer as many as we can but we get a lot of questions so we’ll try to take a collection of questions that represent a particular topic and present them together.

This week we kick things off with a question about reflectors:

Question One – Reflectors

What’s the difference between a gold, silver and white reflector? Peter Williams Toronto, Ontario CA

Kevin: It will be the color and intensity that it reflect. If you’re looking for that that warm California sun kissed look then the gold works really well. If you want that same crisp light without the gold cast then silver works really well. White is a bit softer and more neutral. Personally I tend to go with white reflectors.

Scott: There are times when you want specularity and that’s when you’ll use the silver reflector.

Question Two – dSLR or Dedicated Video Camera

I know you shoot a lot of video. Is it better to use a DSLR or a dedicated video camera? Herman Goldman New York

Kevin: Personally I use a dSLR because I like being able to use all the lenses I have.

Scott: dSLRs are a lot of fun but can be hard to focus with. I’ve moved to dedicated video cameras for big shoots because you don’t have to gear them up like you do with dSLRs. I like the Canon XF series but I do have the C300 on order. If you’re going to shoot with a dSLR, I recommend getting something like a Zacuto Z-Finder.

Question Three – Protecting Gear from Condensation

When people say to put your camera and lens in a Ziploc bag so the condensation forms on the bag not the lens do I need to put just the body and lens that is not in my camera bag in the Ziploc bag or all the lenses that I will be using on that shoot? Dean Blowers Stoke, England

Scott: If you’re carrying stuff into extreme environments, you may want to put everything into Ziploc bags. This will keep the condensation on the bag and not on the gear. If you’re buying any used gear and it has mold on it – steer clear.

Sponsor – SumgMug

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Question Four – Using the Distance Scale

How does one use the distance scale on a lens for photography and video? I have the EF-S 15-85mm Canon lens. Soujanna Sarkar

Kevin: You’ll see lines on the lens that used to correspond to an f-stop and that would tell you the range of what would be in focus. As far as using it, most people don’t use them anymore because they rely upon their auto focus and through the lens.

Scott: For me, the distance scale has mostly been to determine the hyperfocal distance but with most of the modern lenses you can’t do that anymore. In the video world we use it for focus. These days though it’s really just an approximation.

Question Five – Things to Look For When Buying Used Gear

I’d love to know what you look out for when buying used gear and that sort of thing. I see great prices on eBay occasionally, but I’m a little leery of that, considering how little recourse you have. Jim Hoffman

Kevin: I have bought stuff on eBay before and haven’t run into any issues but I do know people who have. If you’re going to buy used, buy from a dealer who will give you a warranty. Some of the cameras will keep track of shutter actuations which you might be able to check out.

Scott: I think you’re always going to be safe if you buy from a well-known National store like KEH or Adorama. If you buy in eBay, look for their selling history and their reputation. Things to look for – excessive wear and tear, dust or mold inside the lens, worn out connectors, zooms that are loose, etc. Take some test pictures if you can.

Question Six – Exposure Problem Shooting Egrets

I love to take photos of the Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets we have in new England during the warm weather. They are so white that I have real problems getting any detail in the feathers. By the time i reduce the exposure enough to get detail in the feathers the rest of the photo is way too dark. What do you suggest? Marty Grassie

Kevin: Whenever you have extreme contrast in the scene and you want to hold important detail there are a couple of ways to handle it. One is to take an incident reading and not reflective reading. Try using a spot meter on the dress or the egret and then over expose by a stop. Then you can open up the shadows in post, especially if you’re shooting in RAW.

Scott: I know this problem well. They key is shooting RAW and holding the detail in the highlights.

Sponsor – Animoto

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Question Seven – Focus Area on a Fisheye Lens

On a fisheye lens, is the depth of field parallel to the camera or parallel to the curvature of the front lens element? (i.e. is the focus “area” curved?) JC from Rockland, Ontario, Canada

Kevin: I’m going to take a wild guess that the plane of focus will still be parallel to film plane or sensor even though the lens element is curved. I find that they are designed to give you a flat plane of focus.

Scott: If you shoot a fisheye lens at wide open, then everything is still in focus so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Even at f4 everything will be in focus.

Question Eight – Camera Level vs. Bubble Level

I had an occasion to shoot something that needed to be exactly level. I was using a Canon 7D on a Manfrotto tripod that had a bubble level. When I went into the camera’s level function I found that it didn’t agree with the bubble level. So, which one should you trust? ( I went with the bubble.) Kevin Grishkot

Scott: I think this is a trick question. The tripod might be level at the height that the tripod is sitting but the camera is going to be higher than the tripod. Just because the tripod is level, doesn’t necessarily mean the camera is level. Ultimately I would trust the cameras levels the least because they are electronic.

Kevin: Go with whichever bubble is closest to the film plane.

Question Nine – Street Photography and Model Releases

I would like to grab some shots of people begging on the street. Occasionally, I do drop some money in their buckets and I would like to take their photo for A) my blog and B) to insert in one of the print articles I write for publication. I’m hesitant to ask them because I feel anything verbal would be useless…or would it? I realize you’re not a lawyer (thank God!) but the other day you talked about shooting people on a public street and if one didn’t use it in an advertisement, it would be okay. Certainly, personal use would be okay, but what if I’d like to post on my blog or use in a print article in a commercial publication (NOT sold to an agency as an ad)? Is this okay without any written or even verbal permission because it’s on a “public street?” Larry Gauper Fargo, North Dakota

Scott: I would take the picture and if it’s supposed to be photojournalistic I wouldn’t ask. I would throw a dollar in the bucket and then wouldn’t use that photo for anything other than art or editorial use. No agency will buy it without a release.

Kevin: A verbal release is useless, no matter how much they say it will be okay.

Question Ten – Memory Card Went Through the Wash

I inadvertently left my 32GB Sandisk CF card in my pants when they went through the wash. I have heard 3 different views on this: 1. The card should be fine, people say they reuse them with no problem. 2. The card should be fine, but if you’re doing paid work, you might think twice about using it. 3. The card is toast, and should be thrown out. After over a week of sitting on my kitchen table to dry, I put it in my 5D Mark II today, and the card formatted fine, and I took about 15 or so test shots, and all was ok. Being it was a fairly expensive card, should I trust it, or take a few minutes and cry about the loss and throw it away? Ken Jancef

Kevin: From my experience, I haven’t had any problems after running a card through the wash. If you’re shooting paid work, then you might want to play it safe and use it for less critical jobs. It’s also a good idea to label your cards with the date or some other way of indicating that it got wet so you’ll remember which card it was if you do have issues.

Scott: I’ve done it too and used the cards for years with no problems. Most Pro dSLRs now come with two cards slots and you can configure them shoot to both cards simultaneously so I like to configure them that way on big jobs where I can’t afford to lose anything.

Sponsor – Tenba Bag

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Question Eleven – Getting Started in Wedding Photography

I’d like to break into wedding photography as a business. Do you have any tips on how to go about 1. Getting experience 2. Getting gigs. William Johnson Los Angeles, CA

Kevin: I started by offering my services to other photographers and friends as a sideline shooter. Then start by offering services to friends or family who otherwise weren’t going to hire a photographer so you can get some images for your portfolio.

Scott: Getting gigs is all about networking. Try to connect with all the other wedding vendors. Make sure you do some second shooting before you try to do a wedding on your own.

Question Twelve – Holding Detail in the Shadows or the Highlights

If you have to choose between holding detail in the highlights or the shadows, how do you decide? Mary Ellis Philly, PA

Kevin: I would hold the hi lite detail in most cases but that is presuming that is the most important part of your subject.

Scott: Decide what the most important thing is in the photograph. If it’s bright, hold the hi lites. If it’s dark, hold the shadows.

Question Thirteen – Workflow for Image Backup and Archiving

Can you briefly describe your image backup/archive workflow? I want to make sure I don’t lose any valuable images to a blown hard drive. Mark Thomas Vancouver, BC

Scott: I don’t think an image is real until it’s in at least three places. I shoot dual format cameras with two cards taking the same picture. When I get back to the office, I immediately off load them to Aperture which is stored on a large RAID array. After I do that, I have a separate copy of the Aperture vault that I copy to a drive that put in a plastic static free box that I take home. That way I have a copy away from my office. Then at night we have an automated system that backs it up into the cloud in another location. Then I will erase the CF cards.

Kevin: I have a similar workflow. I will shoot two cards in the camera. I then throw them onto a RAID drive and back up to a 2nd RAID drive. We used to burn a DVD for weddings of the original files and we store that off site at my home. Once I’ve verified that it’s in at least 2 places, then we clear the cards.

Sponsor – Borrowlenses

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Question Fourteen – Cropping Images

Is it okay to crop an image to something other than a standard size? All the frames I see in stores are 5×7 or 8×10 but sometimes I like to shoot odd dimensions? Sally Sorlee Paris, France

Scott: I shoot whatever I want and let them build a frame for it. I will also buy a standard frame and then get a custom mat cut for it. That will be much cheaper than a custom frame.

Kevin: I love to play with all kinds of different crops. You don’t have to buy the frames from the stores. Many of the labs will do custom canvas wraps in just about any size you need. If you see it in a certain way then I say show it that way. You can also get custom frames done.

Question Fifteen – Sorting and Selecting Images

How do you sort out your keepers when you come back from a photo shoot? Are there images you just discard out of hand or do you rate each image and then continually cull them until you find the ones you like? Luke Hanson London, UK

Kevin: I do a combination of both. I go through and use star ratings to tag everything I like. I will then hide the other ones and start rating images up and compare similar images to pick the best. I have a system that tells me what each star means.

Scott: I use Aperture and I hit the 9 key for anything I know I’m not going to want. Then I hit 3, 4 or 5 stars to narrow down my choices and then I’ll go back and 9 the 3s and 4s until all I’m left with are 5 star images. I don’t normally delete images unless they are a pure black or white frame or completely out of focus and not usable because you never know what they might be worth later on.

Wrap Up

We want themes and questions from you. Be sure to visit the blog at PhotoFocus.com for articles, how-to’s, videos and more. E-mail us at photofocus@me.com follow us on Twitter. Don’t just take pictures – make pictures.

Scott Bourne is at www.scottbourne.com or www.twitter.com/scottbourne or www.3exposure.com or www.carloves.com

Kevin Kubota is at www.kubotaimagetools.com or www.twitter.com/kevinkubota

Show notes by Edmonton Wedding Photographers Bruce Clarke at www.momentsindigital.com or www.twitter.com/bruceclarke

Retouching & Post Production In The Days Before Photoshop

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Master Photographer

Most reading this have always had something like Photoshop to help them with their photographic retouching. But I came across this old job description for “photographic process workers” and thought I would post it. It gives both a historical look at the job and helps to put in context what we do today.

How would you like this to be your daily routine?

* Dry prints or negatives, using sponges and/or squeegees, mechanical air dryers, or drying cabinets.
* Examine developed prints for defects such as broken lines, spots, and blurs.
* Mix ink or paint solutions, according to color specifications, color charts, and desired consistencies.
* Place sensitized paper in frames of projection printers, photostats, or other reproduction machines.
* Evaluate film and negatives to determine characteristics such as sensitivity to light, density, and exposure time required for printing.
* Examine drawings, negatives, or photographic prints to determine coloring, shading, accenting, and other changes required for retouching or restoration.
* Immerse film, negatives, paper, or prints in developing solutions, fixing solutions, and water in order to complete photographic development processes.
* Measure material to be copied, and compute percentages of enlargement or reproduction necessary, using rules, charts, or percentage scales.
* Mix developing and fixing solutions according to established formulas.
* Mount original photographs, negatives, or other printed material in holders or vacuum frames beneath lights.
* Place identification on film as necessary.
* Produce color or black-and-white photographs, negatives, and slides, applying standard photographic reproduction techniques and procedures.
* Read work orders to determine required processes, techniques, materials, and equipment.
* Reprint originals to enlarge them, or in sections to be pieced together.
* Select lens assemblies according to sizes and types of negatives or photographs to be printed.
* Apply paint to retouch or enhance negatives or photographs, using airbrushes, pens, artists’ brushes, cotton swabs, or gloved fingers.
* Color photographs to produce natural, lifelike appearances, using oil colors.
* Cut negatives and put them in order.
* Set automatic timers, lens openings, and printer carriages to specified focus and exposure times, and start exposure in order to duplicate originals, photographs, or negatives.
* Shade negatives or photographs with pencils to smooth facial contours, soften highlights, and conceal blemishes, stray hairs, or wrinkles.
* Clean and organize darkrooms, and maintain darkroom equipment.
* Correct color work prints to adjust for outdoor filming.
* Create work prints according to customer specifications and lab protocols.
* Cut out masking templates, using shears, and position templates on pictures to mask selected areas.
* Expose film strips to progressively timed lights to compare effects of various exposure times.
* Ink borders or lettering on illustrations, using pens, brushes, or drafting instruments.
* Paint negatives with retouching mediums to ensure that retouching pencils will mark surfaces of negatives.
* Record test data from film that has been examined, and route film to film developers and film printers for further processing.
* Rub erasers or cloths over photographs to reduce gloss, remove debris, or prepare specified areas of illustrations for highlighting.
* Thread film strips through densitometers, and expose film to light to determine density of film and necessary color corrections.
* Thread film strips through sensitometers, expose film to light, and read gauges to assess light sensitivity.
* Trim edges of prints to enhance appearance, using scissors or paper cutters.
* Wipe excess color from portraits in order to produce specified shades, using cotton swabs.
* Examine quality of film fades and dissolves, and evaluate potential color corrections, using color analyzers.
* Produce timed prints with separate densities and color settings for each scene of a production.

Sometimes I long for the old days – looking at this list – not so much.

_______
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Photofocus Podcast Episode #92

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Master Photographer

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Photofocus Episode 92

Host: Scott Bourne (www.scottbourne.com
or www.twitter.com/scottbourne) and Joe Farace (www.joefarace.com or www.twitter.com/joefarace)

Show notes by Bruce Clarke (www.momentsindigital.com
or www.twitter.com/bruceclarke)

Welcome to Episode Number 92 of Photofocus with Scott Bourne and special guest Joe Farace. Photofocus is the show devoted to your questions about anything
photography related including gear, technique, locations, etc. Your questions
will shape the direction of this show so be sure to send your questions to photofocus@me.com. We will try to answer as many as we can but we
get a lot of questions so we’ll try to take a collection of questions that
represent a particular topic and present them together.

Sponsor – Adorama

Adorama is more than just a camera store. Visit Adorama.com to shop for a variety of other electronic items.

This week we kick things off with a question about exposure compensation:

Question One – Exposure Compensation

When I set exposure compensation (on my Nikon D7000) what actually gets adjusted? Shutter speed? Aperture? ISO? I mean something has to give, right? David Rabenau from Webster Groves, MO.

Joe: It will vary depending upon what mode your camera is in. If you are in Av mode – the shutter speed will vary. If you are in Tv or Shutter Priority – then your Aperture will change. As far as ISO, many cameras have an auto ISOs feature but I find they often pick to high of an ISO.

Scott: Make sure you read your manual and it will do a good job of explaining the settings on your particular camera. Auto ISO can work well with fast moving subjects where the lighting might change very quickly. Many of the high end cameras allow you to set an ISO range.

Question Two
- Shooting in High Humidity Locations

What should I be concerned about when shooting in high humidity locations? I have a canon 5d Mark II. Kevin Banning Newburgh, Indiana

Joe: I would bag the camera. The change in temperature can cause misting and fogging. If you put it inside a sealed plastic bag and allow it to acclimate you should be fine.

Scott: You want to keep the condensation off the camera so if you put it in a bag then it forms on the bag and not on the camera. You don’t want condensation to get into the lens or it can create mold and that will ruin the lens. Check your manual for operating conditions for your camera.

Question Three – Shooting Sports with an ND Filter

I was shooting a high school football game recently in the middle of the afternoon. The opposing team, wearing all white, has a tendency to have their uniforms largely turn out as blown highlights with not a lot of detail even on a slightly overcast day. I was wondering whether it’s normal practice for professional sports shooters to use a neutral density filter to allow them to use a small f stop for short depth of field and blurry backgrounds, but also slow the shutter speed to not blow out the highlights in the uniforms? Scot from Cedarville OH

Scott: The way to avoid blown out hilites is to get the proper exposure. Sometimes we have more latitude in the scene than the camera can handle so adding an ND filter will just make the overall scene darker – it won’t reduce the range between the shadows and hilites. I’ve never seen any pro sports shooters use an ND filter. Understand that photography is always about compromise and the religion about blown-out hilites drives me crazy. If the exposure on the face is good, then I don’t care if the jerseys are blown out. If you shoot in RAW you might have more latitude in your shot.

Joe: He didn’t mention if he is using flash. If he is using flash, some fabrics might fluoresce.

Sponsor – Animoto

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Question Four – Turning off Image Stabilization

I recently read advice that image stabilization should be turned off, even if the camera is hand held, when using shutter speeds of 1/1000 or faster. Others say, “it makes no difference.” As one beginning bird photographer to an experienced one for which I have great respect and admiration, should I turn off the image stabilization function when using fast shutter speeds to capture images of birds in flight or does it matter? Jerry G. Oak Hills, CA

Scott: Not all IS, VR, or OS is created equal. The newer ISs have horizontal tracking modes that allow you to continue to use the IS at higher shutter speeds. In general, my experience has been that there is no real benefit to IS over 1/1000 of a sec. My advice would be to do some of your own tests and experiments.

Joe: I agree with you Scott. When you’re shooting anything fast moving, the IS doesn’t settle down fast enough to capture the action. I find it’s very helpful with slow moving or static subjects.

Question Five – Stating the Effective Focal Length

When discussing lenses why do many photographers continue to feel compelled to add some version of “which is equivalent to XXX mm when using a 35mm film camera”? With rare exception everyone’s frame of reference is digital so other than demonstrating you can do math in your head or are old enough to actually have shot film what is the point? Larry ‚Äì Huntington Beach, Ca.

Scott: I don’t know what the point of it is. I don’t put a lot of information on my images. It’s one of those religious things again and I don’t think you need to worry about what the effective focal length of the lens is.

Joe: I think it’s a leftover from the transition from film to digital but I don’t think it’s needed anymore.

Question Six – Computer Tweaks to Speed Up Editing Tools

Since you work on Macbook Pro, have you made some tweaks to speed up Photoshop and other editing tools? Things other than maximum ram and SSD drive? I have an mid-2010 so no thunderbolt. Does a firewire drive in raid mode help to speed up process? Alexandre Bolduc from Montreal

Joe: I don’t do that much serious editing on my MacBook. It’s mainly used when I’m on the road. The big thing is the maximum RAM.

Scott: I do work with a MacBook Pro at the office and I plug into a Cinema display. Fast RAM and SSD drives are very helpful. Make sure that you have a 2nd disk drive so that your Photoshop cache isn’t writing to the same drive where Photoshop is installed. Sometimes trashing your preferences in Photoshop will also help to speed it up. Buying a computer with a fast GPU is also helpful as many of the new versions of Photoshop take advantage of the GPU.

Question Seven – iPhoto vs. Aperture

I currently load my pics into iPhoto..then if they need work..I send them into Aperture. Do you think there’s any difference between storing pics in iPhoto or Aperture or even Lightroom when storing a ton of photos? Iphoto to me seems to not be very strong when it comes to handling a large amount of photos..I’m experiencing this after loading Lion on my MacBook Pro. Wondering if Aperture or Lightroom would be a good choice then to store several thousands of pics. Dave Kallaway WIFC Morning Dude

Scott: Yes, I think Aperture is a much better cataloging tool than iPhoto so I would stick to using Aperture. iPhoto is probably great for amateurs or hobbyists who aren’t dealing with a large volume of photographs.

Joe: I don’t have a lot of experience with Aperture but from what I’ve seen it does a much better job than iPhoto.

Question Eight – Checking Images

I recently went on a cruise for my vacation, and while on-board I noticed the ship’s photographers rarely looked at the back of their camera while taking photos of guests. Most had a stationary setup with lighting equipment and so on, however I was impressed by their speed and confidence even when walking around from guest to guest in various lighting conditions. What is their secret? I find myself checking my images constantly. Is it just the sheer amount of photos they take? All carried the same model camera Nikon D200, and are shooting Manual only. Wayne – Miami, FL

Joe: I think that they are like experienced wedding photographers. They know their lighting and what they are going to get.

Scott: Experience, experience, experience. The more you practice, you get good enough to where you don’t need to check things constantly.

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Question Nine – Powerful Lights

My lights are bright- too bright. At the lowest power setting I find myself shooting at f/11 even when using a beauty dish with a diffusion cover over it. My studio is 24×24′ and I could back the lights away from the subject, but I want soft diffuse lighting that a small distance provides. An ND filter on the camera will make it impossible to focus. Are there ND filters for the lights themselves? Other solutions? Greg West

Joe: I’m assuming that he is using strobes but I’m astonished that his lights would be too powerful at their lowest settings. I’ve tested a lot of different lights and I could always dial them back to get less than less than f11. I would be curious what his ISO setting is.

Scott: There are no ND filters made for lights themselves. In the old days they did make polarizers for lights. You could try putting lots of diffusers between the lights and the subject. Review your manuals as well to see if there is some setting that you are missing.

Question Ten – Adjust Color Tones in Camera

I have a Canon 5D MkII and I was told by a photographer mentoring me a couple of years ago to adjust the color tones graph in the menu (Red, Green, Magenta, Yellow). Does that affect RAW files in anyway? If not, should I even worry about that or changing the contrast, saturation, etc in the picture styles menu when shooting RAW? James Gates, Carrollton TX (Dallas)

Scott: There is no reason to make these changes if you’re shooting RAW because you can do all that in post. That is why you’d shoot in RAW.

Joe: Picture styles only affect JPEGs so sometimes I’ll use it when I shoot RAW + JPEG.

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Question Eleven – Focusing in Low Light

I am trying to get used to focusing my camera in low light. Can you share any tips for improving auto focus in low light? Matt Holiday, St Louis, MO

Joe: Fast lenses. Watch were you put your selection point. You are usually better off picking one point and using that one to focus.

Scott: Look for an area of high contrast at the same focal plane where white meets black. Pick up a $1.99 LED flashlight and point it at the subject so your camera can grab focus. Check your custom functions to make sure that your AF assist beam is turned on.

Question Twelve – Low Light

I noticed that on all the camera forums, the first question most photographers ask about a new camera is how well it does in low light? When I shot film we never talked about things like this. What’s changed? Tom Jackson, Brooklyn NY

Scott: This is an example of another religion. Look at some of the old photographs from Time and Life magazine and you’ll see that there is a little bit of grain in the photograph. Let’s get away from all of these religions. Any $500 dSLR today will produce better images than what you could get from film. Spend time on trying to tell stories and less time focusing on low noise performance, color tonne maps, etc.

Joe: These cameras continue to improve in low-light performance. There is no film ever made that can compete with the performance of the new cameras today.

Question Thirteen – Lytro Cameras

Do you think that the new Lytro field cameras will take off? Won’t we actually have to become experts at post-processing to take advantage of this technology? Von Roberts Toronto, ON

Joe: It’s a cure for an unknown disease.

Scott: This technology has been around for awhile. It’s interesting and fun at the moment for the low-end point and shoot. I do wonder if Grandma is going to learn to use the software to move the focus point around. At this point in time, I’m taking a wait and see approach.

Sponsor – Smug Mug

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Question Fourteen – Budget for Professional Results

Simple question – how much money should I expect to spend to get a new camera if I am hoping to get professional or nearly professional results? Sam James Los Angeles, CA

Joe: $500

Scott: Anything from $500 you’ll get image quality that you will be able to publish.

Question Fifteen – Buying Gear at Retail

My local camera store sells cameras at retail price. Am I out of line in trying to haggle with them or should I just give up and order online? Blue Holden, London, UK

Scott: I would haggle. What do you have to lose? I think you want to support your local camera stores. See if they’ll meet you halfway. If they aren’t willing to negotiate even a little bit, then you can always take your business somewhere else.

Joe: Don’t be bashful. There can be no harm by asking.

Wrap Up

We want themes and questions from you. Be sure to visit the blog at PhotoFocus.com for articles, how-to’s, videos and more. E-mail us at photofocus@me.com
follow us on Twitter. Don’t just take pictures – make pictures.

Scott Bourne is at www.scottbourne.com or www.twitter.com/scottbourne or www.3exposure.com or www.carloves.com

Joe Farace is at www.joefarace.com or www.twitter.com/joefarace

Show notes by Edmonton Wedding Photographers Bruce Clarke at www.momentsindigital.com
or www.twitter.com/bruceclarke

How To Stitch Panoramics Using Photoshop

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Master Photographer

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CROSS POSTED AT 3EXPOSURE.COM

Guest Post by Richard Harrington – Follow Rich on Twitter

The Photomerge command lets you take several photographs and combine them into a seamless panoramic image. You can use the command to merge images that are tiled horizontally or vertically.

Use the following steps to merge properly shot photos into a panoramic image.

Choose File > Automate > Photomerge. You can also select multiple images in Adobe Bridge and choose Tools > Photoshop > Photomerge (then skip to step 4).
Click the Use menu and choose Files or Folders.
Click the Browse button and navigate to the files or folder you want to use.
Select a Layout option to merge the photos. For most situations, Auto works well.
Choose Blend Images Together to have Photoshop attempt to seamlessly blend exposure and color. If you want to create layer masks manually, leave this option unchecked.
Click OK to begin the Photomerge process

Other Options

Vignette Removal: This option can remove darkened edges that can be caused by lens flaws or improper lens shading.
Geometric Distortion: This option attempts to correct the distortion caused by certain lenses (such as wide angle or fisheye).

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Photographers – It’s Okay To Say “Excuse Me!”

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Master Photographer

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I was invited to attend a press conference at the SEMA show in Las Vegas this week. Apolo Anton Ohno, the most highly-decorated Winter Olympian in history was attending the public unveiling of his new custom 1964 Cadillac Deville convertible. There were dozens of photographers and several video crews at the press conference. The room was small and poorly lit. Typical conditions in the real world.

At these events, in order to get the shot you need to be patient. You also need a little luck. With lots of photographers jostling you for position, you may have trouble unless the people you work with are sensitive to the needs of their fellow photographers.

At this event, most of the photographers were working for the same shot. Fortunately, most were paying attention to their location and careful to avoid staying in the line of fire.

But at all these events, no matter where they are, when they are or who attends. No matter who the celebrities are or what they are doing, there are always a few people who will either simply be clueless or downright rude and boom – they’re constantly in your shot.

At this event, I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with several such photographers. One in particular, who is at most car-related events just casually walks into other people’s shots without care or concern. He got in front of my shots at the Indy Car race, the NHRA Nationals and yesterday, at the press conference. Along with a few new guys who I didn’t recognize, it was a real battle to get a clean path to the right shot.

When you find yourself in these situations, the first and least confrontational approach is to just wait patiently for others to get their shots. You can wait too long though and end up with nothing. Mr. Ohno wasn’t going to sit there all day waiting for me to take his picture. You can only wait so long.

At this event, I decided I wasn’t able to wait any longer so I firmly placed my hand on the shoulder of the guy who’s been walking in front of me for months and loudly said, “Excuse me!” It almost always works. In years of experience it’s worked about 90% of the time. I’ll leave it to you to decide how to deal with the other 10% – but don’t be afraid to assert yourself. Moments and opportunities pass. There will never be another time when Mr. Ohno unveils his new 64 Cadillac. Sometimes you just have to say “Excuse Me!”

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The Problem With Using Filters On Your Camera Lenses

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Master Photographer

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Just like the meme that you should change your oil every 3,000 miles or have your teeth cleaned every six months, the photographic retailers have their own meme going – you should buy a UV filter to protect your lens.

Sigh…

While I am sure many of you – maybe even most of you – have fallen for this, it’s not necessary. In this post I’ll give you my opinion as to why you don’t need such a filter and further, discuss a few pitfalls of filters in general.

Let’s work backwards. Filters in general cause several problems. They may induce flare, either the visible kind that results in small starbursts of light appearing on your image, or the more insidious kind – light refraction, which ends up reducing image contrast. These problems are caused by light leaks between the filter and lens, and the inner reflective surfaces of the filters themselves, as well as a few optical phenomena, the discussion of which would be beyond the scope of a simple blog post.

Additionally, filters can cause vignetting on wider-angle lenses. Some cheap filters apply their effects unevenly. At very small apertures, physical defects in filters can be perceived by the human eye.

There are ways to mitigate all these problems to be sure. The first and easiest way if you can afford it is to spend money for high-quality filters. The higher-quality filters exhibit far fewer of these problems than the low-quality filters. Buying filters made of optical glass can also help.

In almost every case the filters you might use are optically deficient when compared with the lenses they cover.

Now onto the UV filter as protection. All of the problems discussed above apply to these filters as well. But really, when someone buys a $1000 lens and then throws a cheap, plastic $35 UV filter over the front element – what do you expect? No need to buy the best glass if you’re just going to cover it with a cheap filter.

Here’s something you may not know. The entire reason that you’re asked about buying a UV filter at the camera store is that years and years ago, photographic marketers came up with this as a gimmick to sell more gear. The filter does little to protect your lens, but adds large profit to the retailer’s bottom line.

I don’t use a UV filter because my experience has proven I can get the same amount of protection most times from a lens hood. The idea that something will destroy my front lens element is frankly very unlikely. If I have a lens hood on – and I always do – then anything that might bang against the front of the camera that is larger than the hood will not make contact with the glass. The odds of something smaller making contact are tiny. I’ve been making photographs for longer than most of you reading this have been alive, in all sorts of situations, in all sorts of conditions and it’s never happened to me.

The good news is that the front element is usually the least expensive piece of glass in a lens so if it does ever need to be replaced, it’s not as expensive as you might think. For the 1 in 100,000 of you who experiences a problem here, I do send my condolences.

“But wait – the UV filter also helps protect my lens from dust and dirt and grime,” you say. Well I guess it does but again – in decades of experience this hasn’t been a problem for me. You have to end up cleaning the filter or the lens and most times you’d do that the same exact same way. You blow off the dust or dirt with a bulb blower, then you use a microfiber cloth to clean the remaining residue. I do this all the time directly on my lenses and nobody has ever accused me of having photos that don’t look sharp enough.

I’m not saying you should never use ANY filters on your lenses. There are two kinds of filters I use on my lenses – circular polarizers and neural density filters. I use them sparingly. I only mount them when I need them. I only buy high-end, optical glass filters. I never stack filters. These are best practices for filter use in my opinion.

The next time you see me at a convention, or a workshop or out in the field with my camera, come see for yourself. There’s no UV filter on my lens and never will be.
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Professional Car Racing Photography – A Personal Diary

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Master Photographer

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NOTE: This piece was cross-posted at my car-related site CarLoves.com. It appeared there as a three-part diary but I’ve condensed it into one long post here.

This post is dedicated to Dan Wheldon who lost his life during the Indycar race at Las Vegas

One of the reasons I moved to Las Vegas just more than a year ago was the access it affords to great race tracks. One of those tracks is the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. If you are a car person or are interested in racing, then this place is about as close to Disney Land as you’ll get without going to California or Florida. It’s one of the most fan-friendly, accessible, professionally run race tracks in the world. And I’m lucky enough to shoot there.

Recently, the LVMS was busy. The IZOD IndyCar Championship had it’s last race of the season and the season point winner was crowned. The Indy Lights teams also ran as did the folks who race trucks in NASCAR in the Smith’s 350.

Copyright Scott Bourne 2011 – All Rights Reserved – Danica Patrick prepares for her last IndyCar race. This image was made with a fisheye lens. An "over-the-wall" photo pass is required to make an image like this. Note some photographers in orange vests on the right side of the image standing behind the wall. I like the string of light stands in this image top right.

With all those races, the practice and qualifying that goes with, and the surrounding events including tech inspections, fan events, etc. there are tons of photo opportunities.

Lucky for me, I got to cover the races and had an all-access photo pass to help me accomplish that goal.

A pretty horrible self-portrait made after shooting qualifying. Note the Racing Electronics headphones and radio, along with over-the-wall pass, general pass, Nikon D3s, Tenba bag on my shoulder, etc.

In this series of posts, I’ll outline some of what happens when you photograph a professional, national-level motorsports event. Think of it as a diary. I’ll just give my impressions and recite some things that I think other photographers might like to know.

So let’s get started…

It all starts with gear. Know what to bring – and what NOT to bring is the beginning of a successful shoot. This list is pretty exhaustive but I am sure I forgot to mention something.

CAMERA GEAR

Nikon D7000
Nikon D3S
Nikon 400mm f/2.8
Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S
Nikon 60mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Micro
Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye

Extra Batteries For Both Nikon Bodies

Olympus EP3 Body (x2)
Olympus 12mm f//2
Olympus 45mm f/1.8

Extra EP3 battery

Manfroto Monopod
Kirk Lens Plates
Induro BHD1 Ballhead

Misc 32gb Ultra Fast CF and SD Cards (I don’t use any specific brand of memory card. They all seem to work pretty well for me.)

Tenba Transport 400 mm Lens Bag

Tenba Medium Messenger Camera Bag

You should also note that use of a tripod is almost universally forbidden at most race tracks, including LVMS. You may use a monopod in very limited situations like while at a photo hole or out of the pit area. There are safety concerns in the pits that preclude the use of monopods and tripods.

CLOTHING

Long pants – preferably SPF 20 or better. NOTE Most major motor sports events won’t credential someone wearing shorts. It’s a combination of safety and professionalism.

Long sleeve shirt – preferably SPF 20 or better. I use the Columbia fishing shirts because they have a high SPF factor and sunburn can be a real problem. While a long-sleeve shirt can be hot on a summer day, it’s better than getting skin cancer.

Closed toe shoes. Safety first.

Hat to block the sun. (With me but not shown in my photo here.)

MISC

Credentials/Parking Pass

Sunblock

Ear protection (I use the Racing Electronics Uniden Sportcat radio with Racing Electronic Platinum Headset. The headset provides a 24db NRR Rating and simultaneously allows me to monitor individual drivers’ radios as well as the race officials and radio/TV broadcasts of the race.)

Computer/Power Supply/Card Reader for offloading cards.

iPhone for marking locations, tracking sunset/sunrise times, mapping shooting locations.

Water – and plenty of it.

NOTE: The Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the top race facilities in the world. It’s certainly the nicest track I’ve ever photographed at and the media center is the best in the business. There are large media rooms with desks, power, free refreshments and lockers. The photo staff assigns lockers and hands out locks. I store everything I don’t need for each shooting session in the locker. The media room is under heavy security so I feel like it’s safe. It’s easier to get to the drivers and their cars than it is the media center! Unfortunately, this kind of luxury isn’t found at most race tracks. Call ahead to see what amenities the track offers for credentialed photographers.

Next on the list is access. Having access is the most important thing when you want to photograph any pro sport, including motorsports.

To get access you have to get permission which usually means you need a client or a good friend with the connections. At major tracks like LVMS it’s much harder than your local drag strip. In either event, don’t try to arrange access the day of the race. This sort of thing is usually arranged well in advance.

Credential office at LVMS

Here at LVMS there is a separate “credential shack” on Craig Road behind the speedway. You go to this building to get your credentials. Depending on what and who you’re shooting for you get different levels of access. Each event is different. Some require hot or cold passes and these have to do with where you can be when there is activity on the track. At most events at LVMS there is no hot or cold pass but there is an “over the wall” pass which is required to go over the pit wall for any race.

Once you have credentials you pick up the schedule. This isn’t the schedule that the event posts on its website. This is the media schedule. This document details press conferences, media avails and other information needed to cover the race.

At this race (and most national races,) there is a photographer’s meeting – much like the driver’s meeting. In this mandatory meeting you find out all the rules. The organizers will tell you where you can and can’t shoot, go over safety rules, discuss further credentials such as a photo vest and even handle mundane stuff like passing out meal tickets. (Yes at the big events they even feed us!)

The most important part of the pre-race photography activities is the safety talk. Believe me when I tell you there are few things in life you’ll photograph that are as dangerous as a major auto race. Read on below to see some examples. Everywhere you go you are in danger so be alert!

Copyright Scott Bourne 2011 – All Rights Reserved – Shot From A "Photo Hole" at the finish line using a fish-eye lens on what the track officials call "The Outside." Anything on the pit side of the track is "The Inside" and anything on the grandstand side of the track is "The Outside." At this track there are 20 holes for photographers. These holes are three feet from the track, behind the "Safer Barrier." Don't let the name fool you. If a car impacts the wall at the location you're shooting from, you're in danger. During the truck race a truck crashed right at a photo hole here at LVMS.

Rule number one is never turn your back on the track when it’s hot – i.e., cars are on the track. You never know what might be coming at you and if you’re facing it you have some chance of avoiding it. You also want to be aware of your surroundings in general. The garage and pit area are very dangerous. There are tires rolling around, cars charging out of the stalls, engines catching on fire. You don’t want to relax in this environment because you might end up getting hurt.

The crews and drivers generally don’t think much of photographers. They see us as a necessary evil as best. They’re not usually in a very good mood when we’re around so don’t expect them to go out of their way to look out for your safety. That’s your job. Pay attention at all times. Give them enough room to do their jobs, which are also very dangerous. Work together.

No matter how much I talk about safety in these posts, it can’t be enough. Ed Reinke, a well-known race photographer with decades of experience, died after he fell and suffered a head injury while covering the IndyCar race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

In 1971, the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 slammed into a photographers’ stand. Nobody died but there were several serious injuries.

In 2005, four photographers were injured in the pits at the Daytona 200 when a car slid through a pit stall.

I’m not trying to unnecessarily scare anyone. I just want to make sure all race photographers understand the risks and prepare for them.

I got my start in photography as a race shooter and behind the scenes stuff was always my favorite part. You never know what you’re going to run into. This can be the most fun and the most rewarding stuff to shoot at a race. The track, the people, the equipment and the surrounding area provides a cornucopia of subject matter with which to work.

Sorry to sound like a broken record but I have to mention safety – even here. It’s important to remember that walking through the garages and pits is still very dangerous. Even though there are no race speeds involved, you can be killed or injured by something as small as a golf cart carrying tires from one garage to another. I like to keep my head on a swivel when I am in the pits or the garage. You never know when something will be coming at you so first things first – be safe.

The routine I like is to first walk the garages and become familiar with where each driver is assigned. Then I have the option of waiting for drivers to show up at the garage or I can content myself with simple shots of pre-race mechanics.

The subject list here is incredibly long. You are limited only by your imagination, access and time. Let’s start with access. Depending on the track, the race, etc., you may or may not have unfettered access to the garage area and the pits. At LVMS we have unusually good access to the garage. The pits are harder only because they are even more dangerous.

One important thing to remember when in the garage is that you cannot actually cross the threshold of any particular garage space without team permission – in advance. Do NOT assume because you see a photographer in the garage that it’s also okay for you to go in. That photographer may be a team or sponsor photographer and most certainly has advance permission. When in doubt ask. The rough and tough folks that work on these cars for a living may unceremoniously escort you from the premises if you disobey this rule.

I try to focus on all the details. I shoot steering wheels, tire racks, fuel canisters, people, their pets, logos, and anything else that catches my attention. Try to think of this from the following perspective. Imagine that your pictures of the behind the scenes activities are the only record anyone will have of what happened there. Try to tell a story. Document as much as you can. Pay attention to detail. Think like you are about to explain this setup to someone who’s never seen it and all you have to work with are your photos.

The garage is one environment where you have time to be creative. Things are moving quickly, but not 200 miles per hour. I tend to work with smaller cameras like the Olympus EP3 or the D7000 in this environment. There’s no need for the blazing speed of the D3s here. You can set up your angles, wait for light and get the shot the way you want it many times. There are moments where you have to grab and go, such as when a driver walks in or you catch a fun moment like the pit crew resting while their car goes through tech, but most of the time you have a few seconds to think before you shoot. During the race, a few seconds is a lifetime.

Remember to change up your angles. Try to spend as much time shooting from a low angle as you can. Shooting up on something gives it power and when you’re photographing race cars in the garage, you want to express the power that permeates the area any way you can. The more often you do this sort of work, the better and more instinctual you will become at catching the right moment.

For inspiration, look at lots of race photography. See what other photographers have done and are doing. This will give you ideas that you can make your own when it’s your turn to work the pre-race.

When it gets down to it, the race is what matters and hopefully my experience shooting these races will somehow be helpful to you who are reading this and who want to do the same.

Getting ready to shoot the race means charging your batteries, formatting your memory cards and getting your camera setup BEFORE the race starts. Once you have that out of the way, it’s time for the photo meeting.

The pre-race photo meeting is more important than ever on actual race day. Sometimes track access rules change on race day. There are special events like Air Force fly-overs, the National Anthem, dignitaries, celebrities, etc. that you need to know about. If you have the right access, you also need to go to this meeting for victory lane photo assignments. Credentialed photographers will usually have a chance to shoot in victory lane. If you want the podium shot with the racer, the trophy, the celebration, etc., this is where you get that shot. Unfortunately, there are usually more photographers than there are spots so the track photo supervisor usually assigns these slots based on things like publication, circulation, seniority, etc. If you miss the photo meeting, you almost certainly miss your chance at a victory lane shooting slot.

The most important things to shoot at the actual race are the start (green flag) and the finish (checkered flag.) In between, you want to be lucky enough to capture and crashes or other incidents. You also want to capture cars pitting, refueling, being repaired after crashes, etc.

If you’re new, the best thing to do is keep your eye on all the veteran photographers. If you’re in their general area, you are probably in the right place. You can of course scope out your own angles. During the Smith 350 NASCAR truck race Saturday, I knew they’d do driver introductions in a way that the crowd could be involved. NASCAR drivers/teams are closer to their fans than any other kind of racing. I found out they planned to walk the drivers through the crowd, down the main grandstand and over a ladder in the fence down onto the track. Most of the photographers positioned themselves at the bottom of the ladder. I crossed it and caught the drivers coming right off the stairwell and had an uncluttered background.

You eventually have to commit to a spot. Sometimes the roof of the grandstand is best if you want an overall view and the best chance at the flyover. Sometimes one of the photo holes is best because you can do double duty, catching the important pre-race pageantry and then being in position for the green flag which means it’s time to go racing.

For the Smith 350 NASCAR truck race, I selected the photo hole closest to the start/finish line. This gave me a good angle on pre-race stuff and left me where I wanted to be to get the actual race start.

I scoped my options out the day before and this is why it’s important to go to the track early. The drivers and the photographers have one thing in common. The better they know the track, the better their day will be. I try to walk the entire track on the day(s) before the race to judge every possible angle. I look for sun angle, backgrounds, shooting holes or platforms (there are 22 photographers’ holes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but only one photographers’ platform) and anything else that might help me figure out the best place to be and when.

For instance, at LVMS in October, the sun angle works in favor of shooting on the inside (from the pits) in the morning, and shooting on the outside (from the grandstand-side) in the afternoon. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always matter. Sometimes you have to shoot in extremely backlit situations on a race track. There are shots you can wait to make. I wanted a shot of the entire race track with the cars near the start/finish line. I went up on the grandstand roof in the afternoon during a re-start after a caution flag and got the shot in better light than I would have had if I shot from there during the actual start of the race.

When you’re working from the photo holes, make sure to remember this is a dirty, loud, dusty, and dangerous place. During the truck race here on Saturday, a truck crashed RIGHT AT the photo hole one photographer was standing in. Due to the protection of the safer barrier he was un-injured, but he was a bit shaken up. His headphones were blown right off his head and he was covered with dust, dirt, sand and debris. Be sure to remember to bring a bulb blower and micro-fibre towel with you to the race because you will need to clean your camera and lens often. I highly recommend that you do NOT change lenses in this environment. If you do, you’ll be cleaning your sensor for a month afterwards.

Some of the things you need to think about while shooting the race are related to mundane things like focus and shutter speed. If your camera has a high-speed shooting mode, you’ll want to use that. You also want to think about pre-focusing on certain points in the track because at 220 miles per hour, it’s not always easy to just put your sensor on a car and track it through the shooting position. I like to also experiment with shutter speeds. You can use a super fast shutter speed, like 1/4000th of a second and get most everything tack sharp. But you also run the risk of making the car look like it’s standing still in a parking lot if you freeze the action. A good compromise is to try to get about a one-quarter or one-half wheel turn blurry with the rest of the car sharp. The shutter speed you select to accomplish this will depend on how close you are to the cars, how fast they are traveling and what lens you are using. For most cases, I like to start at about 1/1000th of a second. That usually works well enough to get a result that shows some movement in the car. I like to experiment with both slower and faster shutter speeds, especially if I can pan with the car.

Otherwise, the main events to shoot are the pre-race celebration, the green flag start of the event, any cautions such as crashes or other issues, pit stops and the checkered flag. After the race, you want to try to get pictures of the winner’s circle. In LasVegas, there is a victory lane that is pre-templated for photo access. Photographers, according to seniority, publication and seniority are granted access to a set of risers directly across from the Victory Lane. In places like Vegas – and at other major venues, it takes yet another credential to access the victory lane.

At LVMS for the NASCAR/INDYCAR weekend, we actually had three races. So our assignments for victory lane were for the entire weekend. I was given a purple ticket with the number 36 – indicating the position I was to shoot from in Victory Lane. The risers were marked with masking tape and fortunately for me, my spot was dead center near the top. I try to get shots of the winner and his crew as well as any other special guests.

Shooting the race is fun, hard work and yes, very dangerous. At LVMS we had a serious crash in every race and a death – Dan Wheldon. On day one, during the NASCAR truck race, a truck crashed right at a photographers’ hole. It was such a hard hit that a track caution light was turned around on its stand and damaged. The photographer working that hole had his headphones knocked off his head by the force of the impact.

Remember that race photography is dirty and dangerous. It’s fun, but there are risks involved.

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Halloween Portraits: Not Just for Kids

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Master Photographer

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Post by Joe Farace – Follow Joe on Twitter

This time of year, one of my favorite portraiture tips is to ask subjects to bring their Halloween costumes to the shoot. Sure they can bring their regular clothes too, but this is a fun set to shoot in addition to what they already had placed to wear. As adults they don’t always get a chance to wear the costumes very often. It adds an amusing element to a portrait shoot that allows you to create the kind of images that are fun to make. You will also find that when wearing a costume the subject usually gets more involved in the session. There is something about being dressed up that’s fun. As Muffy VanderBear always said, “Life is just one big dress-up.” In addition to getting a chance to create some great images to add to your portfolio, you also get to add another potential sale from the session. For the portrait photographer, it’s a perfect win-win situation.

Mary Farace photographed this “butterfly” at a group photo shoot in Northern Colorado. This is one of ten different shots and three different poses that she made. Using the hay bales gave the subject something to interact with, and Mary’s pose created a diagonal line that showed off the costume effect as well as giving her a chance to make a horizontal portrait, something that’s not always easy to do with a single person. This image was made with an Olympus E-500 and Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 lens. Exposure was 1/160 second at f/4.5 and ISO 100 with the camera’s pop-up flash used as fill.

Joe Farace is the author of “Studio Lighting Anywhere” the second book in a trilogy or glamour and portrait photography from Amherst Media. It’s available on Amazon.com.

The Second Most Important Thing To Know About Car Photography

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Master Photographer

NOTE: This was cross-posted from CarLoves.com

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Assuming that you have access to the car you want to photograph is the first step to making a great car photograph, the background is the second.

A clean, uncluttered, background is very important to car photography. Additionally, a background that “makes sense” helps. For instance, photographing a car inside a swimming pool may be cool because it’s never been done before, but cars and swimming pools don’t go together. Cars and roads, cars and parking lots, cars and garages and cars and race tracks all go together.

I try to find backgrounds that match the car’s intent. A Bentley Continental looks “right” parked on a big circular driveway outside a mansion. A Yugo, not so much.

A sports car, muscle car or race car always looks good on a race track. Race tracks are almost always my preferred place to photograph cars. Even if the car doesn’t end up ON the track, there’s usually enough space around the track, or facilities like garages, that will set the scene. In the photograph I made for this article, I took my 2011 Corvette Grand Sport to the famous Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval. It made for a perfect background since it added interest to the shot without cluttering it.

The background’s job in the photo is to set the scene and then get out of the way. Spend as much time scouting backgrounds as you can.

Good hunting.
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