Here’s a famous quote by legendary photographer, Ansel Adams:
“The single most important component of a camera is the 12 inches behind it.”
There is so much truth in this! What matters more than the particular camera features, is the photographer who is using it! You simply must manage the critical setting choices such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO, exposure modes, focusing, depth of field, focal length, white balance, metering modes, etc. The camera can’t make those choices automatically on its own and always get it right. You, as the photographer, must make those choices, based on the artistic intent that only you know. (The camera is not the artist, you are!)
We photographers must make choices that go way beyond camera settings. If we’re shooting portraits, we must bring out the best in the person being photographed, help them feel comfortable in front of the camera, shoot their best angle, manage the best qualities of light, etc.
If you are a nature photographer, you have a wide array of other issues to consider, the weather, sun angle and light qualities, timing, location, wildlife patterns, the flora and fauna at different times of the year, what time you’re getting up in the morning, travel plans, etc.
Yes your choice of camera gear matters, camera features, lens features, tripod quality, and all that, but still these other factors beyond the camera often matter more. Whether you shot the photo with a 20 megapixel camera from 10 years ago, or a brand new 60 megapixel camera will affect various image qualities such as level of digital noise, resolution and fine details, but ultimately the creation of a great image is up to you more than the camera. Whether you shot the image with a Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Sony, Fuji, Olympus, etc. is secondary.
You are that important component that is “12 inches behind the camera.” Upgrade that component, and you’ll get better shots!
Practice, practice, learn, practice some more. Make mistakes, but learn from your mistakes, and you’ll be a better photographer!
I hear this from so many photographers! In fact, I’d say this is the #1 issue people encounter. The solution is multi-faceted and I’ll touch on the key factors you, as the photographer, must keep in mind if you want consistently sharp images.
Focus It is critically important to correctly focus on what is most important in your image. Whether it is an animal or bird in the trees in a wildlife shot, or someone’s eyes in a portrait. All current generation cameras offer automatic focus features, but you’ll need to make sure you really know how to use those features appropriately. A poor setting choice will lead to poor results.
WHERE to focus: You may not want the camera to simply automatically decide where to focus. Depending on your camera’s capabilities, that might even lead to terrible results. You might need to choose single point focus which allows you to point at exactly where you want the camera to automatically focus, or if you’re shooting portraits and your camera has an eye-detection feature, you could turn that on. Single point focus is pretty universal across all cameras, and that provides the greatest degree of control when automatic focusing.
WHEN to focus: Also, consider whether you want the camera to focus once, or continually focusing up until the shutter fires. For relatively static scenarios where there is not much movement, stick with One-Shot focusing (Canon) or AF-S (Nikon,Sony,…). For active scenes like an animal running or a bird in flight, use AI-Servo (Canon) or AF-C (Nikon,Sony,…)
Aperture Your choice of aperture value affects the “depth of field” (range that appears in focus). While this is not a focus setting, it is still very important. The higher the f/number, the greater the depth of field. A poor choice for the aperture value could lead to problems with part of the image not being in focus. Let’s say you photograph a group of people. If they are not all the exact same distance from the camera, you need to make sure you choose a high f/number like f/8 or even higher (just depends on how far their distance varies). Photographers often forget about this, and this leads to serious problems.
Then there is one more issue related to depth of field and focusing. For higher depth-of-field shots, when you choose a higher f/stop you can also achieve better results by not focusing on the foreground or the background, but instead focus on something in between. This technique is called “hyper-focal focusing.”
Shutter Speed Sometimes a blurry photograph has nothing to do with a focus or depth of field issue. It might be an issue where the shutter speed was simply too slow to freeze motion of the subject, or freeze any camera vibration that is problematic at slower shutter speeds.
Handheld Shots: A general rule of thumb is to keep the shutter speed at least 1 / focal length to ensure you minimize hand vibration blur. So if you are shooting at 200mm, make sure the shutter speeds are at least 1/200th or higher. Technically you would need to take into account your camera’s sensor crop factor that affects the effective focal length of the lens. At least this rule gets you in the ballpark of sufficient shutter speeds. When in doubt, err on the side of faster shutter speeds. It can really make a difference.
Action Shots: When there is movement of different elements within a scene, you might need to choose even faster shutter speeds. For example photographing birds in flight or an animal or person running, you might want shutter speeds in the 1/1000th or faster range.
Image Stabilization This feature, offered by many different camera manufacturers under different names (Image Stabilization, Vibration Reduction, Vibration Compensation, Optical Steady Shot,…), is designed to help eliminate motion blur caused by movement in hand-held shots, allowing you to break that 1 / focal length rule by a bit. The features vary depending on the make and model of camera and lenses you are using, but are quite helpful. I most definitely highly recommend taking advantage of this feature in hand-held photography!
Using a Tripod Another way you can stabilize your camera is to use a tripod. It won’t eliminate motion blur in moving subject, but at least it will eliminate or reduce blur caused by camera movement. There are still some situations you must be mindful of.
When Image Stabilization is a Problem Sometimes when your camera is mounted on a tripod that otherwise-wonderful image stabilization feature actual can cause a problem in some scenarios and actually introduce some vibration. So the general rule is to turn off image stabilization when using a tripod. Otherwise it could conceivably introduce a slight amount of motion blur.
Unstable Tripod There are several ways your tripod might not be as stable as you’d like. Let’s say you have the tripod on a wooden deck, that you are also standing on. You can introduce movement that might cause some motion blur, simply by moving around, so stay very still. Or if you accidentally bump the tripod when shooting, that can cause a problem. Or maybe one of the legs is not latched securely and the leg slides down ever so slowly while you are shooting, that could also cause a problem (hey, I’ve seen it happen).
DSLR’s Have Mirrors There is one other factor that is more rare but can cause a problem. It’s the mirror inside a DSLR. You mirrorless camera owners don’t have to worry about this. Inside a DSLR, when the shutter fires, the mirror slaps up very quickly to get out of the way, for the shutter to open. That action causes a very tiny amount of vibration right when the shutter fires. Even if you have the tripod on very secure ground, there is always a slight possibility that this tiny vibration can hurt image sharpness. Some DSLR’s support a “mirror lockup” or “mirror up” mode. Check your camera user manual for more information. This usually is only a problem in rare cases where you are using a long lens (400mm+) and a moderately slow shutter speed (1/4th – 1/60th ish).
I know this sounds like a lot to think about, because it is! With practice, this is not really all that hard. I cover these topics in my various Photography Essentials classes and in my book “30 Practical Tips for Better Photographs” available on Amazon.
I hope this helps. Now go out and create those sharp images you’ve been wanting to create!
Help us decide the best times for us to offer more online photography classes! We have a variety of different types of classes, but we’d love to know what times best serve YOUR needs!
ALSO: Would you be interested in an ongoing group where we meet regularly and give out projects for the group to do and review results?
Wow, I feel like we have all been having to navigate through rough waters since March 2020! In January 2020, my business was going great! Then March hit, like a sudden unexpected storm and my world totally changed, as did all of yours.
Now it looks like the storm is not only continuing, but getting worse, with hospitalizations climbing and the city of Austin teetering on the brink of entering into “Stage 5” with further orders to curtail business activity. Officials are trying to NOT go there, but this still means we all need to do what we can to avoid this pandemic from getting worse, and this is really hard on a studio photography business.
I really hope to ride through this storm and not have to give up my studio but with each month this is frankly getting harder since I have a space that has now sat empty and unused for months, even though I have monthly overhead of rent, utilities, Internet, phone, security monitoring, insurance etc. Thus the reason I have been scrambling to transition over to offering online classes to at least keep my business afloat during these hard times.
I am still intent on persevering through this and not letting this shut down my business. In fact, I haven’t really ever seen my business as just being about “business” and not even just about “photography.” What I really have cared the most about is the PEOPLE I have met along the way, people like you, all of you, truly wonderful people.
I have strived to use my business as a community service in a variety of ways, helping a wide range of nonprofits or individuals who are making this world a better place, and hosting our free Monday night LifeInsights group that is open to all, and is about just bringing our community together, to encourage ways we can “love our neighbors” more. I am intent on keeping this going, so I thought I would just reach out to you all, if you might be inclined to help me keep this venture going. Here are ways you can help:
GoFundMe: Several months ago, I took advantage of that program by GoFundMe where they offered a $500 matching grant in their Small Business Relief Initiative. I really had no idea what the response would be, but it turned out to be truly overwhelming and humbling. (I admit, I shed a tear or two when I witnessed your kindness.) At the time when I set that up, I had no idea just HOW hard it was going to be on my business in the subsequent months. Your donations were like a lifesaver to my business. As this crazy COVID-19 storm continues, my business still faces tough challenges. IF any of you feel inclined to donate to the GoFundMe campaign to help my business, you can still do so. All donations are appreciated. I actually feel embarrassed to even ask, so I am not really “asking.” You have all been so immensely generous already. You have helped us get through several really hard months, but it appears more hard months are ahead, as we now have been forced to cancel several major workshops recently. Still, do not consider this as me “urging” you to donate to the GoFundMe campaign. I just wanted to let you know it is there IF you would like to help in that way. To say I am “grateful” is a huge understatement. I will never forget the kindness and generosity you all demonstrated.
Online Classes Make sure you check out my various online classes I am offering now. Click Here Also remember one thing I am doing to help others who have also been financially hit hard by this pandemic, I now have made the pricing be variable, so you can set the price when you register, based on your ability to pay. – I have a class coming up next week on Adobe Lightroom Classic. – I have a new class on managing LIGHT for better photographs starting on July 21st. – And if you are just starting out in photography or want a refresher on the basics (or if you have a friend who might be interested), check out my Photography Essentialsclass. I will continue adding more classes in the weeks ahead!
Private Instruction With this private learning option, we can focus on your specific photography needs and your schedule! We can do this online via Zoom video conferencing from anywhere. It’s easy to set up! Plus I have added a new program that I call “Teaching on Retainer” where I am your resource any time throughout the year, for an extended amount of hours at a much-reduced price. I have several photographers who have already taken advantage of this option.
Join Us in LifeInsights LifeInsights doesn’t cost anything and is always free to attend. We have totally moved this online, so you can connect via Zoom video conferencing from anywhere. It is just a way to connect with others, to hear other perspectives, and to be heard. During this pandemic especially, we need to stay connected to one another. We do a variety of different things, just open discussion, occasional online “happy hours,” as well as TED Talk watch parties and discussions, book discussions, and occasional guest speakers, inviting people who are working to make this world a better place. We have been meeting for over 2 years, and we intend to keep meeting, and would love for you to join us any time. You can always check out what we’re doing by going to this web page.
I am looking forward to calmer seas. This storm will pass.
In these crazy uncertain times, I know many of you are under such stress maybe due to your business being shut down, or you lost your job, or you are in the COVID-19 “high risk” health category, or you are fed up with people arguing “mask” vs. “no mask”, “shut down businesses” vs. “don’t shut down businesses”, and the seemingly unrelenting bickering by the immensely politically polarized world around us.
I am frankly tired of the “noise” of it all. We can focus so much on what we have lost, that we lose sight of what we have in abundance all around us.
Gail and I go for a walk every morning, usually 5-7 miles or so. I call these my “sanity walks.” They are my escape from all the chaos. Since we are not around others, we walk without masks, and the world just feels “normal” as if we were not even in the midst of a major pandemic disaster. We talk about life. No tweets or posts popping up. No emails or news notifications. We are just walking.
Occasionally, we have a special treat of having our 4 year old granddaughter Addison spend the night with us. She likes to go on walks with us in the late afternoon, usually around 2 miles (and for a 4 year old, 2 miles is a long walk). Addison brings along a little bag, and she calls these walks “nature walks” as she’s always finding a leaf or twig or acorn to put in her bag.
Every time we pass by a rosemary bush, Addison stops, rubs her small fingers on the fragrant needle-like leaves and breaths in the wonderful smell of rosemary. She smiles and says in her cute little 4-year old voice “I love the smell of rosemary!”
That is our routine. Every time we pass rosemary bushes, Addison has to stop and smell the rosemary again, and remind us yet another time, just how much she loves the smell of rosemary.
I also love the smell of rosemary, and every time I pass a rosemary bush, I think of Addison and how thrilled she is to encounter a rosemary bush.
There is so much about this world around me that reminds me that this world is still a beautiful place, and I have SO much to be thankful for.
In spite of the chaos. In spite of the uncertainty of each day. In spite of all that is “wrong” in the world, there is so much that is beautiful, so much to be celebrated, so many sights, sounds and smells of nature that are wondrous. If only we would pause long enough to appreciate it all.
I love the sounds of the birds. I love the bright array of colors of the flowers. I love the slight cool breeze in the morning before it gets hot outside. I love the sunshine. I love the rain. I love the deer we sometimes encounter. I love seeing the other neighbors out walking as we say “hi” each day. I love holding the hand of a 4 year old while I walk. (Those are special occasions.) And yes, most especially, I love the smell of rosemary.
Since we have been doing these walks, I have been taking snapshots with my iPhone of some of the sights I have encountered on my morning or evening “sanity walks.” The point isn’t really about “great photography,” at ALL. I am not on a mission to photograph. I am on a mission to escape and simply walk. It’s about SEEING the world around me, and simply affirming the beauty I encounter each day.
I encourage you to take some time to experience the world around you more, pushing aside the distractions and chaos. Don’t miss the beauty that is ALL AROUND YOU.
Look for some rosemary bushes. Smell the rosemary.
I can definitely affirm my life is “not going as planned” for this year. I bet most of you can relate! There is so much going on in the world around us right now, so much stress, so much hardship. We face so many unknowns about our health, our future, our jobs, our businesses, our economy, our lives.
Basically all we can really do is make the best of the situation, whatever it is. The truth is, we never really DID have control over most factors in our lives. Sure we have control over the choices we make, at least to a degree. But really, most of the time, we move along with an illusion that we have things under control. We assume life will go on, but it might not. We assume our loved ones will be with us, but they might not. We assume we will have the same job tomorrow we had today, but we might not. We just assume so much will be the same tomorrow as it is today.
Then something big happens. We lose our job. A pandemic hits. We are diagnosed with cancer. Whatever it is, we have those moments where we suddenly face a new reality. Some refer to those times as a “rude awakening.” I don’t know about you, but I would prefer “soft gentle awakenings” rather than the rude awkenings.
Either way, maybe it is a good thing to be “awakened” from time to time. We might just start to see how much we have taken for granted in our lives.
We need to find ways to navigate through these hard times, and we don’t have to do it alone. For me, my faith is an important part of my life (I’m a Christian). I find God really has to slap me on the side of the head from time to time to get my attention. And usually if I pay attention, I learn something I needed to learn. (Maybe I am a slow learner.) 😉
For others of different faiths, I suspect your faith is an important part of your life also. And for some, if that’s just not something that’s a part of your life, I respect that . We are all different.
I think we all have opportunities where can agree the world would be a better place if we loved one another more and I think we ALL need each other to get through these challenging times.
If your life feels totally out of control, or if you are like me and the isolation we are all experiencing is getting old and you just need to talk to others. I want to invite you to join our LifeInsights group that meets (virtually) on Monday evenings. ALL are welcome, regardless of your world view, religious affiliation, race, gender, sexual orientation, or political leanings. We just get together, put aside differences, and do book discussions, TED Talk watch parties, invite fascinating guest speakers, or sometimes just hang out together in a virtual “happy hour” and share what’s going on in our lives.
We’d love to have you join us, any time!
Want to know more about our LifeInsights group and current schedule? CLICK HERE!
Stay safe my friends. Remember you don’t have to go through all this alone.
Happy Father’s Day my friends. My photo on this blog post is actually from almost 3 decades ago, when our daughters were little. Nothing in my life has mattered more to me than being “Daddy” to these little girls who are now “all grown up.”
I am so grateful to have photographs to help remember these moments in our lives. At the time when we take a photo, we might not even realize just how much we’ll cherish that image years later.
Keep that in mind with your photography! Capture those special moments. Celebrate and honor this beautiful experience we call life.
Saturday June 20, 2020 1pm – 2:30pm CDT An Online Zoom Video Conference Session
Purpose: To create a safe place of conversation while offering multiple perspectives on social injustice and inequality in the black community to bring about change.
Community: Open to first 50 to register (tentative) Zoom link will be sent to those who register.
Darius will provide a welcome introduction to the group, and will be an active participant along with special appointed speakers (representing a variety of perspectives including law enforcement, educators, correctional officers, youth, …) Kevin will help set the framework for discussion, mutual respect, and providing a safe place to share differing viewpoints to encourage a deeper understanding of these complex issues.
We won’t solve all the world’s problems in this session, but we hope to open the door to maybe a bit more understanding and openness to discussing these important topics.
These are some of the topics we may cover:
Does systemic racism exist and if it does, how do we fix it?
George Floyd Death
How and what can we do to change the division between law enforcement and the community?
Why is this happening?
Are there disproportionate numbers of minorities incarcerated and if so, why?
Are black communities underserved?
Are white communities underserved?
Does police brutality exist across America and if so, how do we fix it?
Do you agree or disagree with the current looting and rioting?
Just a few days ago, we were making “chalk art” on our front sidewalk with our granddaughter. Since then, every time I walked by her artwork, I smiled.
Then the rains came and washed it all away. Gone are the precious creations of a four year old artist.
Life has its moments when we smile, when we create or experience something beautiful, and moments when the rain comes.
We can either focus on what we lost, or see this is an opportunity for a clean slate, new opportunities, new experiences, and a new set of memories.
That is the lesson of life. Appreciate the moments as they happen. Never take life for granted. In an instant everything can change.
All we can do is embrace change as a part of life, and not lament the passing of what was, but instead look with faith and anticipation for what comes next.
For now, enjoy the rain.
Get your chalk ready.
Kevin Gourley
Kevin Gourley Photography Workshops, Austin, TX – Austin Photography Classes
