Photographing your Pets

Photographing your pet is not only popular, it is insanely fun!  Pets are inherently cute and funny, so getting them to pose and ham-it-up for the camera is typically pretty easy.  Now with that said; they are also impatient, quick, fidgety, and depending on the pet – very bad at doing as they are told!

Using props is a great way to spice up the photographs and to get your pet’s attention.  So if you have a toy you can use to get their attention, always have that available.  You might also want to consider a squeaker or something that makes noise – this is great for getting them to look in your direction when you are ready to shoot and has the added benefit that their ears will be perked up at full attention when you take the photo.

If you aren’t into props, then you will have to be into patience.  Taking casual observant shots of your pet doing their thing is a great way to really capture who their personality.  Lazy cat? Then some snoozing photos are in order.  Athletic dog?  Then some action shots jumping and chasing the ball can make for fantastic images.  If you need to freeze the action of a pet in motion, try using the sports mode setting on your camera and the continuous shooting function to capture a series of shots.  That way you are more likely to capture the perfect moment.

Red or Green eye is a particular problem when taking photos of animals with the flash, so if you have to shoot in dark situations, you will probably end up with some photo editing on your to-do list.  If possible, shoot in natural daylight to get the best possible photos and you will also end up with normal looking eyes!

You should also think about the background and how it plays into the composition of the photo.  Lush green grass can make for a great backdrop, as can a sandy beach, a brightly coloured blanket, or even the pattern on the family couch.  If you can, try to choose a background colour that complements your pet’s fur colour, rather than one that clashes or helps them blend into the background like a chameleon.

Lastly, make sure you aren’t too serious – have some fun and your loving friend will be sure to make you laugh in the end!   Thanks Ginger for being such a great model dog

The Guide to Photo Enlargement

Printing digital photos in large sizes is becoming increasingly popular.  It’s no wonder that popularity is on the rise because when photos are printed large, the results can be spectacular.  With recent advances in printers, digital cameras, and software; photo enlargement results are better than ever before.  But before you dive in, if you want to get the very best results it helps if you understand the details.

First the simple stuff
First, when shooting with a digital camera you want to capture as many pixels as possible so that you have the most resolution available.  While having lots of resolution will not improve your composition, focus, sharpness or clarity – if you are lacking resolution, your options for printing large photos becomes very limited.

To ensure that you are getting the most resolution, choose the highest quality setting in your camera’s menu by finding the “image quality” option and selecting Large.

Some digital SLRs allow you to shoot your photos in multiple formats at once, such as RAW and JPEG.  A lot of photographers prefer to manipulate their images in RAW, but be sure to save it as a high resolution JPEG or TIFF before printing. Most photographers feel more comfortable with TIFF because of image compression.  While it is true that TIFF trumps JPEG, the differences usually aren’t noticeable to the human eye when the images are printed large. You will just have to trust us on that one!

How low can you go?
So what happens when you have an amazing photo with low resolution?  Can it still be enlarged?  While it is possible, there are definitely a few things to keep in mind.  First off, photos with soft curves, soft colours and smooth lines will work best. Photo enlargements are generally viewed from a distance, so it might not be a huge deal if there is some pixelation in a landscape shot. However, portraits should be avoided at all costs – there is nothing nice about a big pixelated face.

The 300 dpi question
The million dollar question for many photographers is whether they should digitally enlarge their photos using software tools before going to the printers.  People are often taught the rule that they need 300 dpi.  They treat this like some type of photo printing holy grail.  The truth is that it is rare to attain 300 dpi when printing a photo in large proportions, as most cameras can’t produce an image with enough pixels. (keep reading below for a more detailed explanation on what dpi actually means)

So should you try and artificially make your image 300 dpi?

The answer is NO.  First some terminology: ‘re-sizing’ generally refers to changing the set dimensions of an image, but the overall pixel count remains the same.  In order to add pixels, you must ‘re-sample’ the image.

Let’s be clear – any re-sampling to add pixels will degrade your image and cause unwanted effects such as rough edges, changes in colours, pixelation, and fuzziness.  However, if you must test this out for yourself, there are tools in most software packages such as Photoshop that allow for image re-sampling that anyone can experiment with. If you are serious about re-sampling and are stuck with low resolution images that need to be enlarged – you should buy a tool like AlienSkin.  These special tools are designed to do the least amount of damage to the image and provide more control over the sharpening effects and the reduction of compression articles.

Not more than once
A final basic (but very important) tip about resizing images is that you should only resize an image once from the original file. Some people think they can do a series of smaller re-sampling maneuvers to lessen the negative effects.  The truth is that re-sampling programs already have built in algorithms that are far superior to this approach.   Re-sampling an image that has already been re-sampled will lead you down a slippery slope.  If you need to create multiple re-sampled image sizes from the same digital image, start each re-sample process from the original image file.

What is this dpi you speak of?

Dpi is a term that confuses pros and amateurs alike.  The major misconception stems from the double usage of the word.  There is; 1) The dpi used to measure the capabilities of a printer, 2) The dpi that is used as a measurement ratio for digital photos and images. The dpi of the printer itself is not important for this conversation, so let’s concentrate on your images.

The dpi of a digital photo or image stands for ‘dots per inch’.  That means that it is a useless measurement unless you know the inch part.  The inch measurement denotes the print size (like a 16” x 24” print).  See, isn’t it all starting to make more sense now? (so next time someone tells you their photo is 300 dpi, you can ask them – at what print dimensions sir?)

To put this in perspective, every little dot (pixel) will make up the printed image.  Now imagine a line an inch long – if you could fit a three hundred little dots across that length you would be able to make an image with great detail.  If you had only 10 little dots to fill in that inch, you would have a very rough sketch.

There are some detailed calculations below which you should try with your digital photos, but to start you need to be comfortable with finding the pixel length of your image.  You can look at the properties of your image file from any file folder system, or you can call up the information in Photo Shop or other graphic editing tool.  If you have dimensions like 3000px by 4000px you know that you have a 12 Megapixel image (3000 x 4000 = 12,000,000).  If you have something like 200px by 300px, then you know you are in trouble as your image is way less than a Megapixel (or 1 million pixels). Generally you want at least a 3 Megapixel image, but today’s cameras are going to give you a much bigger image than that (if you have the image quality set to High/Large).

So how do you calculate the dpi of your image with respect to the image size you want? The following calculation shows how to compute it: (If you aren’t into this type of thing, you can upload your photo at posterjack and they will give you a quality score based on this calculation – nice and simple!)

A. Take the square root of the product from the pixel length and width of the digital image: A = SQRT(Lpx*Wpx)
B. Take the square root of the product from the length and width in inches of the desired print size: B = SQRT(L*W)
C. dpi = A/B

Lets try an example from that 12 Megapixel photo from above:

A = SQRT (3000 x 4000)  ->  A =3464

B = SQRT ( 24 x 32) -> B = 27.71

dpi = 3464/27.71 -> dpi = 125

The results are in

Ok, so we started with a 12 Megapixel Image and printed it at 24” x 32” and the dpi is only 125!  Isn’t that going to look terrible?  Actually no, the results will be VERY good. Why is that?  There are three main reasons:

1. When you print an image large, you look at it from farther away, so the detail looks just as crisp as when you look at a smaller image right in front of your nose.
2. The RIP software that is used to tell the printer how to print your image is very advanced and does a tremendous job of enlarging the prints on paper.
3. Your photo is a really high quality image taken with a quality camera and a skilled photographer.  The better the photo, the better it will look at any size, especially large!

So, what is the rule of thumb for the optimal dpi when printing an enlargement? Although no hard and fast rule is available, if the photo itself is high quality, you can probably print at much less dpi than you previously thought.  If you are pushing up into the 20” x 30” range and above, having 100 dpi and sometimes less is going to be just fine.  Don’ t be scared!

The best thing to do is experiment;  first try printing some of your favourite images in large sizes on an inexpensive medium like photo paper.  When you do this, try printing the same image in three different sizes so that you see the difference and make note of where you think your personal threshold sits.  Once you are more comfortable with the process, you might want to try some different mediums such as printing on canvas.

I hope that you enjoyed reading this guide. If you have more questions, be sure to contact us and we will happily answer your photo enlargement questions.

Environmental Portraiture

Last week we talked a little about Portraiture and this week we will further our discussion to a specific type of Portraiture. What the heck is Environmental Portraiture?? Environmental portraiture means a Portrait that tells a story by including the surrounding environment in the photograph. It is becoming more and more common for people to capture the essence of their everyday lives in photographs…..most of us spend 8 hours a day at our workplace, this means that half our lives are spent in a different environment.  In this day of digital photography, people are very comfortable with snapping pictures everywhere they go. This is just taking it one step further and setting up the shot. We all can picture our parents in their workplace but it is not often that we have a photo which captures that moment in time.

The most important aspect of Environmental Portraiture is to tell a story involving the individual’s environment. Once again, light is very important to produce this portrait. Window light is great to give a warm feeling which would convey a warm type of environment, but this is not always what you want.  Try to match the environment with the colour of light that gives the viewer a specific feel. Even using B&W will reflect a different feeling altogether. Maybe if you are shooting a Lawyer in his/her environment, B/W would convey a sense of reality in their environment. I have seen sepia toned photos used in a factory type setting to give the viewer a “real” feel but a little warmer to such a cold environment.

Experiment with your subject actually working and not looking at the camera. Then try photos of your subject posing with their equipment, some times smiling and then other times with a straight face. Sometimes the seriousness of their work requires a serious face.

Shooting in these unconventional environments are great when everything comes together in that magical moment of “stopping time”. These are the kind of portraits that will tell a story about the kind of person that the subject is for years to come. Photography is about capturing a moment in time.

Photo tips – kids portraits

Photographing our kids is a must for every parent. Today we will talk about taking a formal portrait of our kids. It sounds a little above the skills of your regular weekend shooter, but it really is not and here are a few tips that will help you to be less intimidated by it.

Any of today’s point and shoot cameras can fully capture a professional looking portrait. There are enough manual overrides on all point and shoot cameras to take your portrait photography to the next level.

The first thing we need is a cute kid or kids…..this is a must…..lol. Of course, that’s no problem with you and I because we just happen to be lucky enough to have cute kids. Next, we need to scout out a nice location in our house. We are going to use available light from a window or patio door, this kind of light always feels warm because of the colour from the sun. Your house will have different angles of light through-out the day as the sun moves across the sky or more correctly the earth moves your house around the sun. Your background should be as neutral as possible, a simple white wall is the best, you may have to move some furniture around to find the perfect spot. Your subject should stand away from the wall, as you will be able to blur out the wall from your subject and create a separation from your background. Use a little telephoto on your zoom to capture the correct perspective on your subject and this also creates a little less depth of field. The proper perspective on a person keeps things like noses and ears from looking over sized…..if you were to shoot a face using a wide angle lens, the nose or whatever part of the face is nearest to the camera will appear oversized, try it and have a little fun with it to learn about perspective. If you can control your aperture with the camera that you are using, set it to the widest setting….lowest number. The lower the number on the aperture allows you less depth of field and this is what you are trying to accomplish to separate your subject from the background. Be very careful with your focus point on your camera because of the shallow depth of field that you are using, you always need to focus on the eyes of your subject.

The last tip is to use a white cardboard or even a white sheet as a reflector for a little extra light on the dark side of your subject or even use the reflector to light your subject from the front. Don’t be afraid of having one side of your subject a little darker than the other, this is what creates a professional look. What we are trying to accomplish is a soft light with some contrast in the subject.

Now, you can do a little in your photo software to adjust the photo to your liking. Do not do too much or it will look a little fake in the final photo. Now you are ready to send it off to Posterjack for your beautiful canvas wrap around print.

How to take great sunset photos

Well its almost march break and I think that we are all tired of the snow and are looking forward to a warm vacation in the sun. So lets take a break from all this wet snow and escape into the sun for a few moments. Every vacation picture has a sunset in it. How can we go to these beautiful beaches and not capture a sunset photo. Today I would like to talk a little about the best way to capture these photos.

Most of us get very excited and even memorized by the beauty of a beach sunset. It is easy to just start shooting with little thought to composition because the subject is so overwhelmingly beautiful. Lets start by the first day that you arrive at the resort. In your exploration of the resort, ask the staff where the sun sets. The staff will be able to inform you of the direction of the sunset and even inform you of where the best shots can be found. This information is great for most people, but can stifle your own creativity. Now that you know where the sun is setting, start to look for interesting features that may make nice silhouettes in front of the sunset: umbrellas, rocks, pergolas, lighthouses……and so on. Sunsets are easily captured in the typical way but need some other features to make it interesting.

If you cannot find anything interesting to add to the sunset then try adding your family, your spouse will appreciate it…..not that your family is not interesting. In the above photo, I have added my two kids in a fun way of holding the sun. Here I have used a flash to add a little fill, so they do not become a silloette in front a bright sun. When adding people to the photo, you must turn your flash on manually. This will not be done automatically by your camera. On the “flash exposure compensation control” you can either over exposure it ”+” or underexpose it “-“, you should set it at “-“ by ¼ to ½ a stop. This will make the flash look a little more natural and not be so harsh. I have also used the zoom on my lens to increase the sun’s size. Ever wonder how some photographs have this incredibly huge sun, the photographer is using a large telephoto lens. Wide angle lens will decrease the size of the sun to a little pinpoint of light.

Have fun this March break, exchange your winter coats for your best speedo and bring us your sunsets to produce some beautiful poster art for your walls!

Keep warm and keep shooting!

Hockey Photography (part 2)

We covered a few basics on hockey photography in our last blog, however, there is so much more that we can discuss that we thought we should do a second part. In this blog we will further indulge ourselves into the Canadian culture of minor league hockey. No parent should be missing a few pictures of their kids first hockey game and what Canadian kids room would be complete without a stunning (doesn’t even have to be stunning) poster of their boys first hockey experience.

In the last blog we talked about exposures and colour, today we will be discussing less technical aspects of hockey photography. We will assume that you are using a DSLR with a medium zoom lens. If there is a sports mode on the dial, use it. If you don’t have a sports mode on the dial, then make sure that you use a higher shutter speed to stop the action.  Don’t forget to crank up the ISO to about 800 as discussed last time. Find a spot that either has a clean piece of glass or better yet no glass at all, often coaches don’t mind if you shoot from the bench. Move around the rink if you can, don’t stay in one spot, you often find more interesting angles by trial and error. Hockey is great from all angles, the kids are moving in every direction at any given time. The most common angle is too shoot from behind the opposing goal, but don’t sit there the whole game, most defensemen will not be in any kind of good range for your photos.

The auto focus on most cameras have trouble focusing in these dimly lit arenas, so be patient and take hundreds of pictures, because only 15-20% of your photos are going to be in focus. Next, try to locate the “continuous focus” on your camera, in actual fact, you should try and find this at home in front of your internet. Continuous focus allows you to follow a subject while the camera is focus tracking the subject on the move and allows you to take a picture at any time that you push the release. As opposed to “one shot” or “single shot”, which does not allow you to take a picture until the focus has stopped. This means that you will have a lot of out of focus shots and it will take lots of practice to reduce them.

Panning is very important to achieving a slight blurr in the background for that movement effect. Try to be very consistent and steady as you pan with your subject while you half depress the shutter release button to activate the autofocus. If you are using a shutter speed of approx. 1/125 or 1/250, you will get a little blurr in the background depending on the distance and speed of your subject. If you are very steady with your pan, your subject will stay sharp. Again, this will take a lot of practice.

Composition is also very important when viewing it through the viewfinder. Some of the composition can be cropped later in post-production, however you should try to keep composition in your mind when you are shooting. Have your subject lead into the frame at all times. Leave a little empty space in front of your subject always. This shows the viewer where the player is going. Also, try to include the opposing players and this puts your subject in a real game with a opposition that is hot on his/her heels.

Now that you have a few more tips on hockey photography to think about, this may take your mind off of the stupid call that the ref just made. You are way too busy thinking about your next shot to even start a rant on the white cane that the referees use off the ice.

Have fun shooting and leave the stupid calls to the refs!