Q&A
This one from Luke in San Luis Obispo:
Question:
Hey Ryan. Thanks for taking the time to spread your knowledge, it is very appreciated. You have shot both the 1D III and the 5d MII; which do you think is better for the wedding/portrait shooter; I’m wondering about color accuracy, focusing speed (especially low-light), high ISO performance, customization/usability both in regards to how the camera is laid out, and the custom functions it provides, and any other factors you think are important. Also, while I have your attention, are you planning on incorporating video capture into your wedding repertoire? Thanks again, Ryan.
Answer:
Your welcome Luke, anytime ;-)
Everyone will have their opinion on the camera question but I personally feel that the 5D MII is a better camera for portrait and wedding shooters. Camera layout is subjective. I personally like the lighter smaller feel of the 5D and since I shoot with 2 cameras at all times. It is less overall weight on my body. I don’t use the vertical grips either. Using two batteries plus the grip itself just adds weight. If you shoot sports or are in the studio a lot, You might really like the vertical grip due to the vertical shutter button. way. The 5D Mark II is one of the most flawless screens I have seen to date it has 960,000 pixels vs. the 1D’s 230,000. Oh, and there is the small price difference of about $5000. Now for the real meat…..
In terms of color accuracy they are both on par and the differences are subtle. In terms of white balance The 5D MII is really neutral/white almost to a fault for shooting portraits. But when you take it into Lightroom or ACR you are starting from a good white point. I find that the colors pop a touch more on the 5D MII.
Focusing speed will be determined in part by the lens you choose. I am not sure how much the actual camera has to do with it. At least with these two bodies. In low light it’s hit or miss. With an 85mm 1.2 it’s slow slow slow. With a 35mm 1.4 it’s fast fast fast. The 1D has a few more focusing points and they have a wider spread so on paper it would appear to focus faster. However, I only activate the center focus point when I shoot so for me at least, they are equal. I use the center point only, focus, and then recompose. That way I ensure the eyes are in focus and everything else can suffer ;-)
High ISO is about the same in terms of noise produced although I feel that the 5D does a better job. It has the updated Digic4 processor which could be the reason why. The 1D only goes to 3200 while the 5D MII can go up to 25,000. However, I wouldn’t push either camera past 3200.
Here is a great review of the two by Phil. Click Here.
On the subject of video:
I tried shooting video but didn’t love the results I was getting. After seeing some people shoot recently I started to realize why. The first and most important thing is a Zacuto Z-Finder. The second is a pair of Redrock rings for focusing. Without these two items it will be very hard to make a good video unless you use a tripod and really plan out your shots. Now they are insanely expensive and then you have the whole post-production issue on top of that. I will keep an eye on the technology and learn slowly but the days of realistic video with a DSLR without a large budget are a few years off.
Cool new 5D Mark II Video
There is no shortage of 5D Mark II videos but here are a few of the good ones…
Here is another neat one…
Backdrops For Sale!
For Sale: Electronic Rollers AND Backdrops : The Roller system is ceiling mounted and can hold 4 backdrops up to 12 feet in width. It is being sold with all 4 of my drops. You can see the different looks you can achieve in the pictures below depending on how you light them. 3 of the drops are Schmidli’s (www.schmidli.com) They retail for $1200+ per drop. The Black Drop was from a movie rental house in LA and is PURE black not sort-of-black like most drops out there. The system with drops would run somewhere north of $8000. I am selling it for $5000!
*The Schmidli’s are reversible and have an amazing texture on the back. They were all hand painted by Marco Schmidli before he sold the company. The gray backdrop is not shown here. It is great for headshots.
*Only selling as a set. Currently I will not break it up. If you are interested in a single drop email me and I will put your name on a list if it doesn’t sell as a set. They are currently in the Los Angeles : Outside SoCal will incur shipping charges
The Gold Backdrop is the exact same one seen in this picture (I bought it right after the 9th Annual SAG Awards)
What Do You Want to Know | Answers
Thank you for fielding our questions. I’ve been following your blog for a long time now and I love all of your work. So here are some of my questions.
Q: How do you meter your ambient light? Handheld? In-Camera? Histogram?
A: What’s ambient light? kidding ;-) It depends on the type of shoot but for fast work like weddings and portraits there is no time to keep metering hand held. Now to answer the first part of your next question. I shoot Manual as often as possible. I use the histogram to make sure I am in the ball park. I know my specific cameras very well, some overexpose, some are blue, etc. I kind of just know what needs to be tweaked based on what I see in the back. As long as you are within a 1/3 to 1/2 stop range you can tweak the rest in Lightroom. I shoot mostly in Manual as long as the light isn’t changing. I want all my exposures to be consistent so there is less work in Post. Take a minute to get it right and then set it and forget it. I am pretty technical but not to the point where it effects my creativity and flow. You have to be very aware of that and it’s a fine line.
Q: How often do you shoot in a program mode vs. manual mode? Do you have any tips for exposure compensation?
A: Sort of answered above. However I do also shoot in Aperture Priority when the scene is changing rapidly. I will make quick adjustments using exposure comp to account for drastic changes. Their are no real tips, just trial and error. If something is backlit I will start at +2 and usually it’s pretty close. Then adjust. Another good tip is to use exposure lock on the ground or some other neutral area and then fire off a shot to see if you are close. Then take that reading – make any adjustments necessary – and dial it in on Manual.
Q: For family portraits, how much time do you spend getting to know the family before the shoot?
A: We stopped doing as many portraits but at the height of it, we were shooting almost every day so it was too hard to meet with all the families. I spend quality time with them on the phone with a few follow up emails getting to know what they were looking for. For the most part they trusted me and just wanted a Ryan Phillips shot. Those who wanted more input would make it clear what they wanted and I would shoot towards that end. There are plenty of people whom I didn’t shoot because we weren’t a good fit. You have to know when you are not a good match for a client and tell them. You are doing both of you a great service.
Q: Do you always have an assistant with you during a family shoot or at a wedding? If so, how many assistants?
A: Always at a wedding! Almost never at a family shoot. Never more than one unless it is a very big deal wedding. Also, I should note that my assistants are 2nd Shooters. They have their own studios and careers and are very well respected photographers. I can carry my own gear but I need to trust that when I say “go shoot the details” or anything else, that it’s done right. And they have to shoot Canon! ;-)
You have to check this out!
des sieht echt toll un realistich aus! I have no idea what that means but that’s one of the comments under this video on you tube. It is perfect since I was floored and left speechless at this video. Knowing how hard this is technically makes it all that much more amazing. This is one of the most amazing uses of stop motion photography I have ever seen. Spend 3 minutes of your day and enjoy this creative work of genius by Eyal Landesman who won a Grammy for this video.
What Do You Want To Know? | Answers
Questions from Carla:
Carla posted the following on January 22, 2010 at 5:30 pm. - Sounds awesome Ryan! Alright… you asked for it ;)
Q: Technique: Would love to hear more about shooting technique.
A: This is a tough one due to the fact that I shoot Wedding, Portrait, Commercial, and Editorial. They all require different equipment, lighting techniques, processing, etc. Since I mostly shoot weddings and portraits and they are similar I’ll stick with that one. I never approach the same shoot in the same way. My clients all have different wants and I take what I call the cinematic approach. The client is the director and I tailor my shooting style to meet their needs. Sometimes they want magazine style commercial grade images and sometimes they want strictly photojournalism. You have to listen to what your client wants.
Q: Lighting: do you use reflectors? flashes? anything to help with lighting? In what circumstances?
A: I do use reflectors sometimes and wish I was better about it. It is one of the most important tools you have and people do not use them often enough…myself included. I use flash when necessary but generally steer away from it because I prefer natural light. If you know how to use flash you can get some amazing results. The techniques would take some serious one on one time and would probably fry your brain ;-) My final word on lighting is that it is more important than anything else and you have to be as proficient in reading natural light as you do sculpting a shot with external sources. Every shoot is different and you will probably need to use some external in every situation.
Q: ISO: What’s the highest ISO you use to keep from getting grainy?
A: This will depend on your equipment. I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II and am not afraid to shoot at 3200 to get the shot. For most pro-sumer cameras I would stay below 1600 and probably closer to 800. For those of you who do not know what ISO is, it is the cameras sensitivity to light. If your indoor shoots are coming out way to dark, bump up your ISO a bit to get more “light.” Lastly, if you know you are going to turn something B&W you can push your ISO a bit further…it will look like film grain…sort of ;-)
Q: Lenses: What lenses are you using for which shots and why, typical apertures/shutter speeds.
A: You won’t like this answer but….. I own almost every lens on the market and have the ability to shoot whatever I want. Which just isn’t the case for most photographers. I stick to prime lenses (fixed focal length) with fast apertures. They are sharper and have better Bokeh. In layman’s terms that means I shoot with a 35mm 1.4 for wide shots, an 85mm 1.2 for mid range shots and a 135mm f2.0 or 200mm for longer range shots. I shoot with two cameras – one wide and one long. All my lenses are f2.8 or below. I shoot heavily in the 1.2 – 2.0 range unless there are multiple people or background info that I need. Shutter speed is largely irrelevant as long as I don’t fall below a 60th of a second.
Q: Post: What are your typical steps once you upload your shots?
A: There is not enough space on the internet or time in my week to answer this one! ;-) I will give you the steps but can’t break it down here. I use Photo Mechanic to import from the card. It has the best import feature. Then I use iView to build a catalog so I can start tagging and editing. Photo Mechanic is the second best program out there next to iView so you can use either one. I like the way iView works better and it builds and saves a catalog so my images are available super fast when I need them. Photo Mechanic, like Adobe Bridge is a browser and has to reload every time. They are faster the first time but insanely slow every other time. Then I load the RAWS into Lightroom to develop. I use DQ Quik Keys to process the files. I do every image by hand myself. I need complete control from start to finish to make a great image and I need every image to be the best it can be. I check them for exposure, color temperature, black point, white point, brightness, and clarity. I also check all the crops. Then I export them to their jpeg folder and open them in Adobe Bridge. Yes the aforementioned and insanely slow Adobe Bridge. No other choice unfortunately. However I do use AutoLoader which opens the image with the press of a button, lets me work on it and then closes and saves it with the same button. It is much faster. Almost every image I shoot gets some sort of final treatment from me by hand. You can’t use the same action on every image they all have different tonal ranges and require different techniques. I do some burning and dodging and any additional color work if necessary.
Q: Locations: Selecting locations..etc etc ;)
A: This is entirely subjective. It depends on what you or your client likes. I generally pick for light, texture and color. In that order. A great location with bad light is worthless. I shoot at fast apertures so the background serves as more of a color or texture anyway. It’s all about the light…
Thanks Ryan!
Lastly, I just saw that my friend Dave over at Quik Keys just launched a software based tool pallette for Photoshop. His video tutorials are always amazing. If you are new to Photoshop this is one button simplicity. You can do a ton of post with the click of a button and don’t need to know that much about photoshop. However, if you want to do it right, learn what each tool does so you know how much to apply and how to change the effect if you need to.
What Do You Want To Know? | Answers
Here are some of Rachel’s Questions and the answers… ( I know this is kind of advanced but so were the questions. To all my clients and the beginners, please feel free to ask questions no matter how simple you think they are. I am here to help so please ask )
Oh wow, you’ve opened the floodgates! I could keep you busy for a while. :-) Here are a few questions that come to mind:
Q. When shooting at larger f-stops, it seems the quality seems to change – doesn’t seem as sharp, has kind of a funky look. Why is this? Am I doing something wrong? Do you use the larger f-stops much? What f-stops do you use when shooting large groups to make sure everyone is in focus? (any other tricks for this?)
A: I’d like to see some images of this to get a better understanding as well as knowing what lens you are shooting with. However the first thing that comes to mind is that when you start moving to smaller f-stops (larger f-number) your shutter speed will start to drop. Depending on the lens you are using this can dramatically effect the sharpness if you are hand holding. Try using a tripod and see what happens. There should be no reason that a shutter speed above a 60th on a normal focal length should look “funky.” If you are using a 200mm lens then dropping below 1/250th of a second might be difficult to handhold if you are not used to proper breathing technique while shooting. There is a great video of Joe McNally showing proper technique here. As far as shooting groups goes, I typically shoot from 5.6-11 depending on the size of the group. If you have a group of 8 or more you are going to need an f-stop greater than 8.0 and will most likely need a tripod unless it is really sunny out. Unless of course you have lights ;-)
Q. What’s a good starting point for sharpening in RAW. I haven’t figured that one out yet. I still just use Unsharp Mask.
A: I personally never sharpen in RAW and most photographers I know don’t either. Sometimes I will bump up the “clarity” setting in Lightroom. If I am printing something large for a client I will sharpen it if it needs it. First I up-size using Genuine Fractals but only if it needs it. I use NIK Sharpener Pro 3.0 because it gives a very realistic output. However, Unsharp Mask is used by most people and it is a very good tool. If you want to try it, some good all around settings are (Amount=%80/Radius=1.5/Threshold=5) I always put it on another layer and then dial it back if it is too strong. You have to experiment and learn what each function does so you know how to get the results you want.
Amount: On average stick to 100 but adjust it based on what the photo needs. Radius: Is the amount it spreads to other pixels around but I would never go higher than 4. Threshold: I am not sure what it is but a safe range is from 2-16 with 2 being the most intense.
Q. Any tips on using curves? I never use it, know I probably should, but can’t seem to work it right.
A: What do you want to do with curves? It is a powerful tool and can be used for a variety of things from color balancing and brightening an image to burning and dodging and color shifts. Most people use it to brighten the image a bit and pop the color. To brighten, just grab from the middle of the curve and drag upwards. To pop the contrast us an S-Curve. Drag the upper 1/3 portion of the curve up slightly and drag the lower 1/3 down slightly. Use sparingly. Create a smooth “S” and it will make the image pop a bit.
Q. Flash tips are always appreciated.
A: Now that really is a can of worms! I did a lengthy post for this on the PhotoZen Facebook page. become a fan and go to the discussions tab ;-)
Q. And lastly, how do you get such eye-popping photos? The colors just POP! Do you always use plug-ins like Nik Effects? That’s what drew me to your website in the beginning – your photos look so glossy and gorgeous.
A: This one is hard to believe but it isn’t always filters and Photoshop. For me it’s a whole process. I start with the highest end cameras and the best glass. It has a huge effect on the data you capture. Also note, I don’t use any filters on my lenses! Why would you put a $25 piece of glass in front of a $2500 piece of glass? After that it’s all about the LIGHT. Seriously, learn about light, it has a huge impact on the color and contrast of in image. The next step is processing. I process every file in Lightroom by hand to ensure accurate exposure, black and white points, color temp, clarity and contrast…etc. So already I am ahead of the game and shouldn’t need a ton more than that. Now the fact is…ALL photographers use Photoshop to enhance their images, it’s just part of what Photography is. The key is to know when and how much. I make sure it is as natural as possible and will print realistically as well. Many people push it too far and it’s obvious.
So here is my trade secret ;-) As most people know I primarily use NIK filters…The one I use most often is Tonal Contrast. It is a tricky tool and too lengthy to explain here at the moment. I will do a video on it later this year. Like all tools, experiment with it and find something you like. All the filters out there lay it on thick and you have to tweak them and pull them back to find the sweet spot.
Address whatever of these you think are interesting. :-) And maybe at some point I’ll have the guts to have you critique a photo!
Guts have nothing to do with it…you can only learn by falling – what better place then here ;-) At the very least, send me a photo and I will make it sing and re post so you can see what some simple adjustments can do to a photograph ;-)
Thanks, Ryan. You rock!
Rachel
-
Thanks Rachel for asking great questions and to you, Ryan, for being so open to helping us amateurs out.
Cheers!
Jeff -
Wow, thanks for answering all of them! Great information – helps a lot.
Curves – I guess from reading online I felt like a lot of people us that tool. I usually adjust using Levels and also in RAW using Exposure, Fill Light, Blacks, Saturation and occasionally some other tools. I think when I’ve tried using Curves, I’ve done too much instead of doing small adjustments. What’s the difference between Levels and Curves?
I’ll email a photo where the f-stop gave it a weird look and you can tell me what you think.
I’ll also look for a photo for you to critique. :-)
Thanks so much!!! Rachel
What do you want to know?
Hey readers, I want to start opening up my blog to more but need to know what you want to know. It can be about anything from gear, to technique, to personal…… whatever! I prefer you ask in the comments section but you are more than welcome to send me an email as well. If you want a critique send me an image….just note that I will most likely post it as well as my critique ;-)
Remember, this is for everyone to learn so if you ask it….there is a chance that it will be posted for all the world to see.
-
Oh wow, you’ve opened the floodgates! I could keep you busy for a while. :-) Here are a few questions that come to mind:
1. When shooting at larger f-stops, it seems the quality seems to change – doesn’t seem as sharp, has kind of a funky look. Why is this? Am I doing something wrong? Do you use the larger f-stops much? What f-stops do you use when shooting large groups to make sure everyone is in focus? (any other tricks for this?)
2. What’s a good starting point for sharpening in RAW. I haven’t figured that one out yet. I still just use Unsharp Mask.
3. Any tips on using curves? I never use it, know I probably should, but can’t seem to work it right.
4. Flash tips are always appreciated.
4. And lastly, how do you get such eye-popping photos? The colors just POP! Do you always use plug-ins like Nik Effects? That’s what drew me to your website in the beginning – your photos look so glossy and gorgeous.
Address whatever of these you think are interesting. :-) And maybe at some point I’ll have the guts to have you critique a photo!
Thanks, Ryan. You rock!
Rachel -
Sounds awesome Ryan! Alright… you asked for it ;) Would love to hear more about shooting technique, lighting (do you use reflectors? flashes? anything to help with lighting? In what circumstances? What’s the highest ISO you use to keep from getting grainy?), what lenses you’re using for which shots and why, typical apertures/shutter speeds for … See Morecertain types of shots…workflow- what are your typical steps once you upload your shots, the process of meeting with new clients, determining needs (what questions do you ask), selecting locations..etc etc ;) Thanks Ryan!
-
Hi Carla,
Great Questions. Give me a few days on these. I will answer all of them except the last one. Mostly because it is a very very long answer. ;-)
I will be giving a workshop this summer with a some exciting partners and I would cover something like that in the workshop. It will be International though ;-) To Be Announced…
-
Thanks so much Ryan, love reading your answers/tips! One more ques…I shoot with a 40D and have 2 lenses…50mm 1.8 and 28-135mm. Really want to increase the quality of my photos but unfortunately have a limited budget. Thinking about upgrading to the 50D and adding a really good lens…OR just getting the 50D mark II and waiting on lenses. Is there enough of a diff b/t the two bodies, or you think it better to just do the lesser one (50D) and a new lens? What are your fav lenses? Also want a lens which is wide and will allow me to create a bit of the fish eye look…any suggestions? Will the 16-50 do that? Thanks again!
-
Thank you for fielding our questions. I’ve been following your blog for a long time now and I love all of your work. So here are some of my questions. (1). How do you meter your ambient light? Handheld? In-Camera? Histogram?
(2). How often do you shoot in a program mode vs. manual mode? Do you have any tips for exposure compensation?
(3). For family portraits, how much time do you spend getting to know the family before the shoot?
(4). Do you always have an assistant with you during a family shoot or at a wedding? If so, how many assistants? Thanks!
Hey Ryan. Thanks for taking the time to spread your knowledge, it is very appreciated. You have shot both the 1D III and the 5d MII; which do you think is better for the wedding/portrait shooter; I’m wondering about color accuracy, focusing speed (especially low-light), high ISO performance, customizability/usability both in regards to how the camera is laid out, and the custom functions it provides, and any other factors you think are important. Also, while I have your attention, are you planning on incorporating video capture into your wedding repertoire? Thanks again, Ryan.