I just found your channel because I literally googled “how to make calendars photographer” and your content popped up, I’ve been stuck all morning. Do you, or anyone veteran followers of this channel, know of anymore tips on how to make a career of photography… like how printing works, making stores or selling products. The creativity is easy for me, but business is not as natural. I’d love to hear everyone’s stories (I’m kind of an amateur)
I would like to suggest a different way of thinking about focus stacking. Stacking is a way to build sharpness in depth. Ideally, you should set the sharpest f/stop for the lens in use, then build your stack accordingly. This becomes problematic when you stack manually, either using DOF tables or Photopillls. At wider apertures more frames are needed, requiring more individual 'calculations'. But your camera, and many others, can create stacks automatically. Focus initially on the nearest objects in the frame, then let the camera shoot the rest of the stack. It re-focuses the lens step-wise to infinity. This often creates more frames than actually needed, but these extra frames are easy to delete before the DOF merge. But essentially, you only need to focus once for the near objects, then the camera does the rest. No DOF tables or Photopills charts needed at all! None! (Or should I say, 'It doesn't get any better than this!' 😀 )
@@martinsarre If you are using Nikon, their documentation for focus stacking is almost useless. After a good deal of testing, a step value of 4 will work for everything, including macro.
When I first started out everyone said to use the lowest ISO. So that's what I did. If there was any wind I'd have trees that would have motion blur. I've learned how to use Photoshop and that has changed how I do my photography. I may use an nd filter to smooth out water and then I'll take it off and raise the shutter speed to freeze the trees if it's windy. I will raise the ISO to get the exposure I need. I can use ISO 100 for the water and then use whatever I need to freeze the trees. When I look at a scene I look at it as pieces of a puzzle that I'm making. I may have to focus, I may have to time blend, I may have to bracket my exposure, or I may have to do all of that. But each shot I take is a piece of the puzzle that I will use to put the picture together in Photoshop. I had a shot this fall where I used my nd filter to smooth the water on this lake. I took it off to freeze the trees. I think I had to use something like ISO 1200 to get a fast enough shutter speed because it was cloudy that morning. But I didn't want ripples in the water.
I think "messin about" sums it up. Get out and shoot, experiment, and play. Apply these tips, or formulate different approaches to see what works. We no longer have the constraints of film, the limited shots and associated costs. That area by the waterfall looks great for a picnic. Pack a lunch, spend the day, and scope out a dozen different shots in different light at different focal lengths without wandering very far. Get inspired. Have fun! 👍 🥂
So well explained Nigel thank you for making this. Love the graphic near the start of the video showing the process from SS to Aperture to ISO. Awesome video, this type of video was how I discovered your channel years ago and still enjoy watching to see how you articulate your thought process so well. 😃
Enjoyed the tutorial, thank you. Slightly surprised you didn’t mention using “auto ISO” setting to allow you to deal only with shutter speed and aperture.
At first I felt like cheating, when using auto ISO on my Z6ii. But it’s such a great tool! You can setup an acceptable range, and then almost forget about it.
If you set to Auto ISO and then focus stack you run the risk of the camera 'brain' deciding to change ISO. For focus stacking, bracketing and panos I'd never use Auto ISO. Don't use it anyway but for those methods of shooting I'd avoid. It probably is a good idea for sports and wildlife though.
Many thanks for this video, Nigel. The more we learn about the thought process behind settings, the better we will be at making those decisions, so that we can focus on other important considerations - like composition, for example. Cheers!
Excellent video as usual Sir. We had some severe storms around my area as well, unfortunately resulting in many fatalities. I surely hope everyone who was affected in your area is okay. I was beating myself up for watching a gorgeous sunrise and not having my camera until I realized that sunrise was the last for many poor folks. Really made me appreciate it all the more.
Hello Nigel, The one think that is most important to my is to GET out and practice. As we are now shooting digital once you have your kit just go out and uses it. It does not matter if you image are poor, but the more you learn the more fun you will have and the easier it comes. Keep well, keep safe and have an amazing festive time.
Focus stacking looks like a great technique. I heard you could optionally just focus 1/3 a way into the scene e.g., find the first focal point of interest say 30 feet away, then focus exactly 30 feet further from that with a reasonably high F strop to get everything in focus. Question- do you ever use exposure compensation when attempting a panorama- so that would be 3+ shots, each with 3 exposures. If so, what is your editing workflow?
Let me repeat what you said here, Nigel. Are you literally focusing on moving water?! I never had success with that. I always focus on something stable at the same distance -- like the shore, a rock, etc. Running water?
Depends really how you wanna portray the photo of how your settings will be... There's nothing really black and white and that's the thing about art and not taking a regular snapshot lol
Thanks Nigel. Feels like i’m in the forest too. I want to shoot landscape but most of the time i find myself busy setting the tripod and filters getting dropped. How often do you use tripod? What’s your opinion on using it?
The shot with the tree was so nice! Also, the technical tips were very welcomed to me. Relatively new photographer and just bought a decent lens and polarising filter. Got the a6400 and the 18-100 g master. Can't wait to head north into the mountains and wilderness.
What is the best camera for a beginner like me lol I have a kodak but I don't really know what the setting mean for the best shot. Do you have a video about setting on cameras and which is a good camera for a beginner
Nice video, as always, Nigel. I would add a couple things. (1) ISO. You want it as high as possible to avoid noise - I'd say that bringing as much light energy into the camera as possible is what helps top keep noise down. With my Z 7ii, I don't see 1,600 ISO as a problem, even in low light. What noise I get in the end result largely depends on the raw processing software I use and its settings to denoise. (2) "Constant ISO" camera. These Nikons are likely constant ISO cameras with a couple discrete amplification levels. I saw a video from a specialized Milky Way shooter who had a couple clever technical shots to demonstrate this and with the Gen i Z 7, the camera went to higher amplification above 400 ISO - the consequence was that 400 ISO was much noisier than 800. (2) Subject dynamic range - the subject with the hut has very limited dynamic range and here it helps to expose to the right as ,much as possible to get as little noise as possible - this will work well even at high ISO values.
I've found that with my EOS R and using DXO PureRAW or ON1 Photo Raw 2022 AI Noise function I can easily shoot as ISO1600 (3200/6400 for astro) and end up with low noise photos. I try not to use that for normal shooting but I've found it works OK - not tried to print large though.
@@SteveP_2426 - PureRAW is very good indeed. I shot a couple portraits the other day, with available light at 2,000 ISO and in Lightroom, without adjustments, at 200% on a 4K Eizo (very good contour sharpness) display, you need to be experienced to see the tiny and subtle grain. Yes, sensors and the electronics that make them do their work have become better and better.
Good day Nigel. I feel this has been one of your best videos yet. Excellent information for beginners and hobbyists as well. The exposure triangle is critical to a good image, and learning how you go about thinking your way through the settings and using resources like PhotoPills was awesome. Loved seeing your dad out with you as well.
Nigel, Thanks for this timeless lesson. Would love to see more of them…. Like one of the other comments, I was told early on to keep ISO low and deal with he rest. Very challenging sometimes. Really enjoyed “going back to the basics” to think about things in a different light.. Very helpful. Merry Christmas!
I think with newer cameras ISO is less of an issue that the previous generation. You can get acceptable images at very high ISOs on the Z6ii for example.
Nigel, thanks so much for all of your great videos! I’ve been watching for a while for inspiration and instruction. I finally saved enough to purchase a used D750. It came with a few lenses. But no filters. I noticed the polarizer you are using in the video you were able to just “pop off” as if it was magnetized or something..? Is there one circular polarizer I can purchase that will fit different sized lenses? That would be great if there’s a (circular) filter system like that. Thanks for any help. And thanks again for all the wonderful videos!
Thanks for sharing... again a great video & comments....so helpful as I have enjoyed your explanations...as I am a hobbyist I want to learn about the basics to get the best results... cheers from Australia 😀
Thanks Nigel for the lucid presentation. I presume that you were in manual Mode. Am I right? thanks once again for helping beginners like me to get better understanding of landscape photography
HI Nigel. Thanks for this video. I’m doing photography about a year now on a Nikon ZFC. My muse is taking pictures of cows in black and white. I was on the hills in Co Laois here in Ireland on Friday taking pictures of the cows🇮🇪. I do get confused what settings to use in manual mode. Some of the pictures do be blurry. The cows head will be in focus but the body does be out of focus slightly. Any tips on fixing this ? Ive screenshot your setting and will use them the next time in out with my camera. Love from Ireland 🇮🇪 Andrew
Hello Nigel my english is bad . Bud when i shoot i First watch whats is most importante on that momento . What mostly is ir apertura ouro shutter speed . And then bild a round . Bud Nice vídeo i love tou Channel im from Brazil !
“Merry Christmas to you and your family “ Thank you very much for your instructions. I find once you understand the use of the “Big three”. You can start creating and manipulate your shots. That is what I tell my students when I was teaching photography. “Master the Big Three.” (Great topic.) Take Care and be Safe
Watching many of your videos has left me the feeling that a simple infographic addition would greatly help to categorise your videos by "expertise" level. This mostly applies to your educational videos, such as this one. If in the top right corner there was a small rounded graphic indicating "beginner", it would save a lot of time for people who are looking for an advanced take on the issue. It may hurt your youtube viewing time though as more advanced photographers would simply skip such videos, so I understand if it may not be in your best interest. However, it would definitely be in the interest of your viewers, especially now that you have so much content, and going through it all is just not an option.You need some form of better categorisation, the level of the video is of course just one of the possibilities.
That shredded tree in the opening sequence looks like it was struck by lightening, boiling the water in the trunk and causing it to explode. I saw this about 50 years ago and the timber appears to have been cooked causing the colour to change to pink. The surrounding area was littered with the bark that had exploded away from the tree.
Thank you for the video. Looks like I'm going to be spending a little time learning about focus stacking. Other than you are there any resources you or anyone here would recommend? Also, it seems like no matter what I adjust if I adjust my exposure I end up with too bright of a picture. Any help? Also also is there anyway to deal with motion blur during a higher exposure photo, say you have some swaying leaves or grasses in your foreground? I'll be diving deep in to trying to figure out what I'm actually doing with this camera so I'm sure I'll find it in one of your vids.
What a fab video. I can recall from many, many, I mean many years ago, someone trying to explain the Exposure Triangle to us which led to so many confused students firing questions towards the teacher that he struggled to answer, the poor chap. But in less than 5 + seconds, the bold Nigel throws it out there with that kind of simplicity we students needed way back. The E.T of photography has since been mastered of course, but can you imagine how easier it would have been if we had Nigel telling us that way back in the early 80's? :) I enjoyed this video Nigel, great images but my take on this one is your explanation of the E.T of photography and how beneficial your simple explanation will be to young photographers.
That was interesting. I've used a Cir-pol filter at the 14mm end of a Z 14-30/4 to darken a blue sky - the results gave a unnatural graduation due to the angle across the sky being so extreme! Some will say that the only filter you should ever use are polarisers. As a non-pro I can't afford to allow lenses costing between £550 & £2k to get their front element covered in pollen so use high quality clear filters. Another aspect of pol filters is they increase saturation in foliage as you've shown. Not many people think about hyperfocal distance. No camera I know of automates this where the lens would change focus as the aperture was adjusted. In theory, you could tap on the closest part of a scene where a focus box would turn green then get prompted to select a 2nd box & the camera would do the focussing & other settings. This would make landscape photography on a tripod a lot easier in the same way that subject tracking has got easier for wildlife/sports. Some will say it's become too easy - I say you can concentrate on composition without distractions! Lenses used to have distance scales & aperture markings that you could easily adjust for hyperfocus - not any more!
Great video Nige. Was interesting to see what you think about when composing your images, Im due to get out very soon to capture a new vlog now the storms have past over. Storm Arwen didn't really do much but Storm Bara certainly gave us a beating here on the coast in Mid Wales. Loved the drone footage as well. Keep up the great work! I look forward to your next video. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent video, very clearly explained, even for anyone who is a novice. I watch pretty much all of your videos and find them interesting and instructive. I do have one observation which I hope you don't mind me making and it's nothing to do with composition, focusing, aperture or shutter speed. I've noticed that a lot of your processed images seem to be a little lacking in contrast, the one of the tree and the stream in this video is a great example. Is this a conscious style that you've developed and continue to use? I think the actual scene to the eye would have been considerably more contrasty than the final image. Thanks for any thoughts you can give on this.
Random video idea - I’d love to know how you prepare your camera gear for travelling, knowing everything can survive the baggage handlers! Another great video again too. Thanks.
Big fan of your RU-vid videos! Recording the scene from the camera position with you in the frame pointing out important items is terrific and quite innovative I thought. Perhaps off topic here, but related to your covering the basics -- I've always been curious about your sound recording setup. I can see you're using a lavalier mic but can't tell if you are recording into a small external recorder in one of your pockets and then synchronizing the sound in post, or if you are going totally wireless. Such clear sound even when you're some distance from the camera is great.
so useful! quite a relief actually to have these basic fundamentals and the thought process explained so clearly by a leading light in this field, much appreciated.
Great video, clearly setting out the reasons for why you choose each separate setting for ISO shutter speed and aperture, to make the perfect shot, which is different for different scenes. Thank you, Nigel, for a clear, easy to understand video.
Great video once again Nigel - clearly and well articulated so thank you! Also worth noting that for all the RU-vid content I watch, I think the quality of your content is second to none! Slick and very professional!
Good primer Nigel. Will be very useful for friends of mine just getting into photography!! Was also neat to see your dad out with you. Those kinds of events and sharing grow increasingly special as our parents age. Well done!
Super informative and instructional, Nigel! When you say trial and error, are you taking test shots and then zooming in on the back of the camera to ensure the shutter has frozen parts of the image you want, and then maybe stack that with an image focussed on the hut? Sounds similar to testing shutter speed for fast flowing waterfalls. Cheers 👍🏻🔥
Excellent tutorial on the thought process to setup a photo. Then using the tools in the camera to get the effect you want. Thanks so much for making this. Do you shoot full manual on these type of shots or AP? Shutter Priority?
Great video as usual Nigel. I really enjoy tuning into your channel. Even though i've been shooting for quite a number of years, I am always learning something new from you. Keep up the great work.
I don't understand exposing to the right. Digital cameras are not so good at recovering detail from highlights, but are good at recovering detail from shadows - film is the opposite. So wouldn't it be better to be closer to underexposure? Serge Ramelli very often underexposes, even by as much as 1.3 or more stops, and he creates gallery and book quality photos. Maybe I'm missing something? Cheers!
