A Photographer using his DSLR

I have been asked a lot on what camera to use or what brand is the best one to buy. Honestly that’s a real tricky question as there are a lot of factors to consider. Being one of the Olympus endorsers in the Philippines I may give a biased answer in a fly so I don’t want to give a specific brand. Here’s an article I wrote for a magazine at least a year ago which I think is still relevant at this time. Since that Magazine never saw the light of its second issue, I might as well publish it here with a few changes to adapt to time. Hope this one helps.

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We call it the “Happy Shot” — that one single photograph amongst the many attempts that captured the perfect moment. It may be the perfect smile on a portrait. The best light on a landscape. Or that unexpected candid action on an event. It’s what every photographer yearns for. The sheer pleasure of taking home the shots that you would be proud to hang on your wall, post on the internet and show off to your friends. Your quest for your own “Happy Shot” begins with getting the camera that’s right for you.

“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs”. – Ansel Adams

Know your Objective. It is a great time to get into photography with of the huge selection of cameras to choose from on a wide range of prices, but this also makes choosing the right equipment confusing. So how do you pick the right camera for you? The best way is to know your objective first. Will you be shooting people, events, sports, landscapes or travel?

Choosing a Camera. Shooting Sports, requires a camera that can shoot fast at least 5 frames per second. Landscape Photography captures rich details on a vast panorama and cameras that is capable of capturing those minute details in a scenery. Event Photography like weddings, parties and concerts requires cameras that can shoot images in various lighting conditions including dim-light low lighting. Wildlife photography calls for cameras that can zoom in from afar while Street Photography calls for cameras with stealth and unobtrusive as not to intrude on subjects. For general shooters, most entry-level cameras which are trimmed down in features and price are all capable.

A photographer shooting portraits

Digital Single Lens Reflex. An excellent tool to use in learning the basics since it has manual controls and interchangeable lenses to suit different purposes. The cheapest entry level DSLR kit comes with a basic lens and can go for as low as Php 25,000. Be ready to build your selection of high grade lenses because in time you’ll outgrow the basic lens that came with the kit. But this also means you have to be ready for the bulk and weight to get those images.

Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras. The new format initiated by Olympus and Panasonic called Micro Four Thirds did away with the traditional mirror mechanism to make them lighter and compact compared to DSLRs. And now this is a fast growing market with Samsung and Sony following with their own versions. They are small and versatile. For a small package, the quality is in par with regular DSLRs. But like DSLRs be ready to invest on good lenses to get the most out of it and their lens line are growing fast yes still on a premium price being new.

Advance Point and Shoots. These are compact cameras that have manual controls with fixed lenses that are versatile and powerful enough to deliver quality images. Panasonic LX5, Canon S95, Olympus XZ-1 and Samsung TL500 are some of the cameras in this line. Key advantage is they are easy to carry.

Picking the Pixels. Images from digital cameras are made up of pixels. And the more megapixels, the bigger the print. Unless you’re going to print for large billboards, 10-12 megapixels are enough for most use. Don’t be too blinded with cameras with a whopping number of megapixels, it will just eat space on your hard drive.

Less is more. Buy only what you need. It’s easy to get excited when buying gears but ask yourself first if you’ll be able to use those gears. For cameras, you’ll get better value on good condition second hand camera bodies. Quality lenses are an investment since you can retain them even if you change camera bodies.

A monk shooting the falls at Laos

Get Comfortable. The main thing to remember when choosing your equipment is that you should be comfortable with the camera controls and features that fit your shooting style and objective. We often hear the saying “It’s the Indian not the Bow and Arrow” but in truth it should be both. The Indian may do the shooting but it also helps if the bow and arrow is in good condition. To make it simple, when shooting you shouldn’t be struggling with your camera, you should be at ease with the camera in hand.

Learn the Basics then Break the Rules. Point and shoot, shutter speed, aperture priority, ISO and composition. If those terms sound alien to you then better get started on the basics because these are the elements you mix up to get the desired exposure. One easy way to learn photography is to attend workshops and learn from professionals. Workshops are a great way to learn techniques and shooting styles but don’t get too lost in the technical aspects that you lose out on the artistic side. Ultimately, it is a creative eye that will spell the difference between a striking image and a technically perfect but less impressive capture.

In the end there is no single “Right Camera” but there is a camera that may be right for you at the moment. Don’t you think?

Would you give your image for free and multiple use for a credit?

I’ve been aware of some publisher’s practice for some time now. Some publishers would search for flickr and would flatteringly praise your work then ask if they can publish your work – for free or an undisclosed “token”. And there was even a time when an image was blatantly stolen and published even if the photographer said no. Of course any aspiring photographers would be excited with the prospect. But think about these for a moment here.

1. You pay for your gear
2. You pay for your travels
3. The publishers or company pay for their writers, and staff and it should follow that they should pay for your photo that they will use as well
4. If they got advertising or they will sell their work with your photos on it, it should follow that that you should be properly compensated for that.
5. Unless you are commissioned for a photo work, then that should give the party rights for multiple use of your photos (also depends on agreement)
6. Crediting your work is a standard and should be a minimum requirement
7. If the image being used and context is about you or to promote your work, I would give an exception

I have been quiet about this issue for some time now until I saw this e-poster with the header “Start off your career as a Travel Photographer” which is a blatant display of taking advantage of young photographers out there to contribute images for free. I have nothing against the people behind this but it certainly leaves a bad taste for the industry.

Of course, whatever I say here, the end decision is always on the photographer if they will fall on this bait. But think again, it will cheapen the industry.

Alodia Gosiengfiao (Olympus E-P1, ISO 800, 17mm Pancake, F2.8, 1/80sec)

It took a while for my second installment of the Olympus E-P1 Diary as I took my time in actually using the E-P1 in various situations. One interesting challenge for the E-P1 is on shooting portraits using its current kit lenses, the 17mm f2.8 Pancake and the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Zoom. I shot most of the portraits here under natural lighting conditions as I rarely travel with flash or any reflectors since these are personal travels. It is interesting how the Olympus E-P1 fared in this situation.

Ashley and Alodia Gosiengfiao (Olympus E-P1, ISO 800, 17mm Pancake, f2.6, 1/100sec)

The first set of photos was an impromptu shoot during a tour in Singapore’s Chinatown Heritage Museum. It was a dimly lit room on the upper floor of the museum. But there was a dramatic light leaking through the windows and a set of chairs. It was just hard to ignore the scene so everyone began having their photos there. Among the willing models were popular cosplayers, the beautiful Gosiengfiao sisters Alodia and Ashely. They were a great subject as they are used to posing for cameras and really knows how to project.

Ashley and Alodia Gosiengfiao worm's eye view (Olympus E-P1, ISO 800, 17mm Pancake, f2.6, 1/60sec)

For this shoot I positioned myself near the window where the light is coming from to get that dramatic gradient of shadow and light. I was using the 17mm Pancake at that time and had no time to change lenses. It’s a good choice since the place is actually dim the f2.8 aperture was good but I still need enough light so I boosted the aperture to ISO 800 with Image Stabilization ON,  Noise Filter set to LOW and Gradation set to Normal. On the first shot I try to focus more on the eyes on the second shot, since I’m using the Live View of the E-P1 I tried a worm’s eye view for a dramatic angle. At first the E-P1 kept on focusing on the foreground so I switched to selection focus and set to aim on their faces instead.

Alodia 100% Crop of the first image

The images were processed from RAW using Adobe Camera Raw 5.5 with minor global adjustments and unsharp mask. Here’s a 100 % crop of the ISO 800 image. It looks good it retained some details on the highlights and the grainy quality on the shadows.

Caysasay Lola Candle Vendor (Olympus E-P1, ISO 400, 14-42mm Kit Lens, f4.7, 1/80sec)

On the next photo, it was during a tour at Caysasay Church in Taal Town, Batangas. I was actually the one left behind already so I was rushing. But I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the Elder by the church door selling candles. So before I left I asked to take her photo. I was using the 14-42mm kit lens at that time with ISO boosted to 400 since that zoom lens really isn’t fast on low light situations as this. Nevertheless I was glad the photo was sharp when I viewed it on the computer.  The photo posted was cropped a little on top to remove a minor distraction.

Playing Baby Alexa (Olympus E-P1, ISO 800, 17mm Pancake, f2.8, 1/30sec, Soft Focus Art Filter)

Shooting portraits of Kids is another challenge. I have a bunch of nephews and nieces staying in our house so it would be nice to take photos of them. Baby Alexa is quite active and never stopped moving. I already boosted my ISO to 1600 just to keep up. I think 3 out of 10 shots were sharp enough considering the indoor fluorescent lighting conditions.

Baby Alexa (RAW File on the left and JPG File with Art Filter Sof Focus on the right)

I also thought it would be nice to try the Soft Focus Art Filter on the E-P1 which would produce soft light images and it matches the kids fairly well. I Included a comparison of the actual photo processed from RAW and the out of camera JPG with the Art Filter for comparison.

Siblings (Olympus E-P1, ISO 1600, 17mm Pancake, f2.8, 1/25sec, Soft Focus)

Both lenses 17mm pancake and the 14-42mm zoom are really not designed for portraits, but I think it’s fair to say that they deliver very good results with on the E-P1. They capture good details even up to ISO 800 and I somehow like the smooth bokeh on the 17mm f2.8 when doing close up portraits like those of Baby Alexa. There were times when the camera focuses somewhere else I didn’t want to but switching to manual focus points could fix this.

Misty Morning at Dominican Hill

It seemed a daunting task but I took on the assignment with much gusto as delving into the paranormal intrigues me. Seair Inflight wanted to feature Baguio’s famous haunts for its October-November Issue. There was research done on the famous and not so famous spots. But as with any ghost stories it’s a question on how would you catch anything that isn’t corporeal. Let alone a question of belief if they do exist.

Like a good film maker or director, the best way to evoke ‘haunting’ is through the power of suggestion. The audience has a powerful and playful imagination and the reader can think of anything by just giving them the proper stage and scenery. I think there are three key points when it comes to shooting ghost stories as such.

Shadows lurking at Dominican Hill Ruins

Know the Story.  It’s what people think of a haunted place is where the imagination starts. What made this house haunted? What happened here that people are afraid to walk by this road in the middle of the night? These questions are the spark of the story. Hunting for these kinds of stories is the start.

Capture the mood. It is the only way to evoke that air of mystery. What I love about Baguio is the mist that blankets its mountain slopes. On crumbling structures, the texture on the walls tells the story. Also suggesting a sense of movement by using slow shutter speeds adds an eerie mood in the picture. It’s like showing something obscure and let the imagination of the reader draw the conclusion.

Postprocess Magic. A lot of people are irked when they say that a photo has been processed. Personally I don’t do overboard processing on my photos. I let the art director decide on the treatment he likes. For stories such as this he needs to have a consistent feel for all the photos on that feature. Like in films, I let the special effects people do their magic. I’m quite pleased on the output on print. The photos looked more menacing and haunting.

A Page in Seair Inflight October-November 2009 (Art Direction by Jocas See)

Article Published on One Philippines August 2009

People have been asking for tips on how to get the most when taking photos during their travels. I’m sharing here and article I wrote for One Philippines, an entertainment and lifestyle newsmagazine for the millions of Overseas Filipino Workers and Pinoy migrants. It’s a general set of pointers both for point-and-shooters and new to DSLR cameras:

There’s nothing like summer to stir wanderlust. We go to exotic places, embark on adventures, sample great food, and most importantly, share moments with friends and family. And the camera has become our third eye, capturing these important events in our lives so when we return home, we get to re-live our experience and share them on Facebook or via email to our friends. But sometimes, when we finally scroll through our photographs, we see blurry shots, awful lighting, unrecognizable landmarks or plain-to-crappy pictures.

It can be frustrating, as we can’t take back the moments we remember vividly  but documented so badly. How to avoid vacationer’s remorse? Here are a few handy  tips to take better travel photos. Whether you’re a casual point-and-shooter or a beginner when it comes to handling that brand new DSLR or digital single-lens reflex camera, these tips may help you make your casual snaps into something as memorable and stunning as your actual experience.

Know your camera. It is important to know the basics. Understand your camera’s capabilities and limitations. Most of today’s point-and-shoot cameras have programmed scene modes. Just turn the dial to the appropriate mode setting – beach, night, portrait, landscape – and your camera is optimized to take the kind of shot appropriate to the setting. If you are feeling adventurous, move out of Auto mode and experiment with the manual controls of your camera. Don’t be afraid to tinker with your camera; it’s easy to reset your settings.

Don’t be too conspicuous. Low key is the way. Avoid attracting too much attention by flashing your large DSLR or that shiny new compact camera. Try to blend in with the locals and wear clothes that don’t make people turn their heads. Being almost invisible allows you to observe the sights and the locals and sharpens your powers of observation. The locale should be the center of attention, not you.

Article second page continuation

Get people in the picture. Traveling is about relaxing and having fun but it’s also about the people you see and their environment. Even if you’re taking the picture of a landmark, having people in the shot makes for a more interesting photo. People provide scale and their reactions sometimes tell a better story about the place or thing you’re shooting. Shooting people also means shooting yourself and your companions. Aside from taking the usual “I was there” snaps, try telling a story. Play around with angles or don’t have people pose all the time. Sometimes, candids make the best photos, revealing the unique character of the person or the place. If you’re shooting locals, respect their privacy. Ask their permission, if needed.

Always keep your camera nearby. Sometimes, the perfect photographic moments come in a split second. Whether it’s a beautiful sunset viewed from a car window, a surprise street parade or just a wacky episode with your pals, it pays to have your camera within reach.

The delight is in the details. The big picture is good but there are stories in the details. Does the sunlight bring out the texture of a crumbling church wall? Does the receding tide expose a wiggly pattern on the sand? What about the lengthening shadows on your resort veranda? It pays to get really close. Use the macro mode on your camera and see the tiny details in full glory. This is especially useful when you’d like to document the steaming bowl of La Paz Batchoy you ordered at the roadside turo-turo.

Shoot at the golden hours. A familiar rule and something I can’t emphasize enough: Lighting is the essential key when shooting landscapes and even streetscapes. Take advantage of the ideal slant of light during the few hours before and after a sunset and sunrise. In the morning, the warm glow and long shadows make for outstanding lighting and just after sunset, the burst of colors in the sky can be phenomenal.

Check your gear at the end of each day. It would be a great shame if you missed a shot because your batteries ran out or your memory cards are full. Make sure to check your gear by recharging batteries and downloading photos to another source if possible or loading another memory card.

View other people’s awesome travel photos. One way to learn more about taking great travel photos is to check out what others have done. When traveling to a certain destination, check out pictures of the place. Trawl the Internet. Browse through postcards. See what’s been done before and try to find a way to establish your own point of view. Maybe a change of angle or different lighting can make it yours and yours alone.

Practice makes perfect. The great thing about digital cameras is the fact that you can snap away with abandon. Take lots of practice shots wherever you may be. Review and discard the bad. Keep the good ones and find out what you like about it. Play around with the settings of your camera and see the effect they have on your pictures. The more you shoot, the better you’ll be. And when vacation time comes around, you’ll be ready to apply all you’ve learned for photos you, your friends and your family will love.

Text and Photos by Ferdz Decena
Published by OnePhilippines, edited by Ces Rodriguez

Sorting and organizing photos

Whenever I go home from a personal trip or a photo assignment,I would usually have a few of memory cards filled in. Imagine around 10-16 gigabytes of photos which is roughly more than a thousand photo files. Just thinking about sorting out and organizing all of those photos can be daunting. But if you have a system or work flow for organizing photos, life can be a little easier. I’m sharing here my current method on sorting and organizing my photo files straight from the camera. It’s not perfect and may be refined more in the future, but currently it works for me.

Create the main folder

1. Organize and Name the  Main Folder. I usually name the prefix of my folders with the dates. Particularly the dates those photos were taken. When organizing your folders by date the sorting usually follows the year, month and day then the title. So naming the folders “yyyy.mm.dd title” helps organize folders on the dates they were taken.

Download the content of each memory card to their respective RAW folders

2. Download Files to your computer. Inside the main folder I usually prepare “Raw” folders depending on the number of cards I used. Usually I have a set of Compact Flash Cards that I bring, so if I have 3 cards used I create folders named Raw 01, Raw 02 and Raw O3. Then I extract each contents of each card to each appropriate folders.

Create category folders

3. Create Category Sub-folders. Now this is a bit tricky because category types changes like it can be a place, a time or an event. In this example I categorized the photos based on the places we visited in San Miguel District which are the Malacanang Palace and also the La Cocina de Tita Moning.

Create an Archive and Picks Folder

4. Create an Archive and a Picks Sub-Folder. Under each category folders I have the Archive and Picks folders. Archives is where I move all the photos from the Raw Folder photos related to that said category. When I moved all photos from Raw to their selected archives category I delete these Raw Folders. But do check first if there are left over files there.

Choosing and moving your keepers

5. Find your Keepers. This may probably the trickiest and time consuming part since you may have to take a close look at each one of them. So don’t expect to finish all of them overnight if you’ve got tons of photos to sort out. Here are some steps on picking out the keepers.

• Start out by removing photos which are hopelessly blurred, incorrectly exposed that cannot be salvaged, near duplicates, test shots and other useless snaps. It helps you cut down the numbers and save disk space as well.
• Make a quick pass and choose photos that readily stand out from your eye or your favorites then move them to the Picks Folder.
• Then take a second slow look on each photo and see what can be used or a potential keeper by slight corrections or cropping. When you have picked the potential ones move them to the Picks Folder.
• Finally don’t delete the Archives Folder. You may not have chosen those photos the first time around but looking at them with fresh eyes at a later time, you could possibly find other Keepers you may have overlooked before.

So that’s it. This is just the first part of the job as there’s the photo processing and also storing these media files as well. You can try out the method yourself and refine it, but as of now, this works for me. Do you have your own system? Care to share it?

The stuffs I bring on a Photo Assignment

It’s time once again when I need to pack my stuff for a photo assignment. Normally, when I pack my stuff for a personal travel, I try to be as light as possible and leave some things that I would probably not use. But when packing for a photo assignment, its different. I had to bring other stuff along that I may probably need. Here’s just an insight on what I bring along during a photo assignment trip.

Zuiko Lenses I would bring: (l-r) 35mm Macro, 70-300mm, 12-60mm and 9-18mm

Filters ND8 and Graduated ND

Essentials: Inside my Kata Sensitivity Bag I have the following:

Camera and Lenses:

• Olympus e-3 body
• Zuiko 12-60mm lens (my all around lens)
• Zuiko 35mm lens (for my food shots, macros and sometimes portraits)
• Zuiko 9-18mm (just a new addition for my ultra wide angle needs)
• Zuiko 70-300mm (for my telephoto needs)

Filters: Aside from the usual protection filters, I also have an ND8 filter and a GND (Gradual Neutral Density) Filter on 2 varying stops. I use to have a polarizing filter but lately I no longer use it as much so I leave it.

Memory Cards, batteries, Flash

Chargers

Batteries, Memory cards, Lens Pen. I have two extra batteries with me always and also around 20gig of memory cards.

I have a couple of small bags where I put all my chargers and some cables.

I don’t usually bring my MSI Laptop during my trips but a times like this I bring it in case I need extra storage. My Music companion, an old gen iPod and also my cellphones. I can’t also leave without my moleskine and notebook where I jot down notes.

Out of the bag I also have my Giottos Carbon Fiber Tripod. One of the essentials I can’t leave without like my folding umbrella.

All packed up. Ready to go

Some of the additional things I bring is my Fl36 Flash and a couple sets of batteries in case I need it. A 2 sided portable reflector which I only borrowed.

Usually on travel assignments, we get to have a decent accommodation where I can leave my stuff so I just bring a Deuter duffle bag with me with a few sets of clothes, toiletry. I leave that in the room.

There that’s it. I may have missed a few things but essentially those are what I bring. When properly packed, I essentially have two bags. My Kata Sensitivity for the gears, my Deuter for the clothes and additional gears and I just hand carry the tripod.

That’s sharing my insight. Will be leaving in a few hours and hope you enjoy the weekend.