Portraiture weekend
March 10, 2008 by Philip
Filed under Philip Dunn's PhotoActive Blog
Well, we’ve just had a fantastic weekend with a great bunch of people at the grand old Cally Palace Hotel here in Galloway. The theme was portraiture using flash and available light. I think everyone had a great time. Some travelled very long distances. Cliff flew up from the south coast of England, Russell came down from the wilds of Inverness, while Bob came all the way from The Isle of Man. Alwyn was the lucky one – he travelled just a few miles. One of the truly rewarding aspects of doing this tuition is that so many people come back again and again, and this weekend was no exception. Only Bob and Cliff had not been to me before either to Scotland or Menorca. Hopefully we will see them all again soon. It was also great to see Maria, a regular student of mine, she couldn’t make the whole weekend, but travelled from Edinburgh just to say hello and meet everyone.
Anyway, thanks to Ken, Cathy, Bob, Russell, Alwyn, Peter, Cliff for making the weekend so enjoyable. Oh, and thanks to Tom, our model, for the day.
I have embedded a short video below to show the gang at work.
This morning I got a lovely email from Cathy, one of the participants.
Well, Philip, you did it again! Worked your magic on a group of (almost)
total strangers, so that we all had a wonderful weekend of learning and fun.
Thank you!!
And thanks also to Norene for the organisation and patient posing, and to
Tom for his patience and good humour.
Thanks Cathy – and the whole gang.
Photography Weekend place available
February 22, 2008 by Philip
Filed under Philip Dunn's PhotoActive Blog
Due to a late cancellation I now have one place available for the Photography Weekend on 7th – 9th March. The theme is portraiture with both available light and flash.
Full details on my website
You’ll really enjoy this one, but do let me know asap.
How to take flash photographs – part 4
January 11, 2008 by Philip
Filed under Philip Dunn's PhotoActive Blog
Over the last three post, I’ve demonstrated just a few of the ways you can create beautiful, soft, directional light with your flash gun attached to your camera. I hope by now you are realising that a flash really is a superbly versatile and portable source of light. When you have the facility to separate that flash gun from your camera, things get even better. Then you can really put light exactly where you want it.
For the photojournalist, a small portable flash is absolutely essential. Without it, he, or she, could not hope to get professional standard photographs in difficult, remote and often poorly lit locations. I have often chosen deliberately to photograph my subjects in what might be described as ‘difficult’ light conditions, and the reason for this is simple – those difficult light conditions can produce highly atmospheric photographs.
Take a glance at the photograph of the man sitting astride the old butcher’s bicycle. This was a wonderful story about a man called Cor Ellen – he is a professional beachcomber on the Dutch Friesian island of Texel in the North Sea. I was commissioned to photograph him for an article for ‘You’, the Mail on Sunday Magazine in UK. I took a great many photographs of Cor – in his home, working on the beach, with his collection of extraordinary things found washed up on the shore. But I wanted an atmospheric shot of Cor on the old bicycle he used to get around the island. I also wanted to show the atmosphere of this remote, wild and windswept place – where better than on the shore beneath the lighthouse.
To add atmosphere, I chose to wait until late afternoon when the light was fading. The camera was put on a tripod. I took a light reading of the cloudy part of the sky. At ISO100, that gave me 1/15sec at f11. The flash was held in my hand as far away from the camera as possible to my right hand side. It was connected to the camera by a long cable (synch lead). I timed the flashes of the lighthouse and pressed the shutter just before it shone.
The flash has fired and lit Cor and the bicycle, but the shutter has remained open – gathering the light from the sky and the lighthouse. A very similar technique to that I described in my article about photographing sparks.
TIP FOR TODAY
Try to avoid those ‘curly’ flash cables – the springy ones like those on a telephone handset. They are a menace because the temptation is to stretch them just a little more, and a little more, to get the flash just that little bit further away from the camera. Then BANG! the tripod is pulled over. It happens so suddenly you will be unable to stop it. Better – if you can – to use a long, simple synch lead with no spring or curls in it. Then you will always know how far it can be pulled.
Cordless infra-red devices are often unreliable in adverse outdoor conditions.
How to take flash photographs – part 3
January 10, 2008 by Philip
Filed under Philip Dunn's PhotoActive Blog
When I said that sidelight was the ‘star of the show’ I meant it. It is not always ideal for making attractive women look more glamorous, but when you want to bring out the character in your subject, it can work extremely well. For portraits, it is really very easy to create with a flash attached to the hot shoe of your camera. The soft sidelight in the picture of the girl in period costume was done simply by pointing the flash at a large reflector positioned out of shot on the left. I have used a fairly fast shutter speed 1/160sec to cut out most of the ambient light in the background, which has gone quite dark – just the effect I was looking for. What could be easier?
Remember, flash is an instant burst of light. If you are shooting in a room that is also brightly lit by daylight coming in through the windows or strong artificial light, and the shutter remains open after the flash has fired (slow shutter speed), you will ‘gather’ more light in the camera. This can be a very effective technique for certain subjects. It can ruin others.
Now take another look at the portrait posted in part 2 of the chap kippering his lungs with the roll-up cigarette. This time I have bounced the flash off a light-coloured wall off to the left and used a slow shutter speed, 1/15sec. This has ADDED some ambient light which has helped fill the shadows on the right side of his face. The slight blurring of the smoke is evidence of that slow shutter speed. The flash has gone off and lit his face on the left of the picture, but the shutter has remained open long enough to gather some available light on the right. A very different effect from that picture of the girl in costume, but it has worked in this situation.
1
I have bounced the flash off a light-coloured surface to my right. This creates good sidelight which has lit the model’s hair nicely and given shape and form to her face. The nearer the flash is to the reflective wall, the stronger the shadows will be. The effect was done by using the set-up in 2
3
If you want to soften those shadows, simply put another reflector opposite the flash. This lovely, soft, flattering light is created by pointing a flash at a wall to the right of the model while placing another white reflector to the left. This reflector helps fill any shadows created by the sidelight
4
Some flash guns do not articulate to the sides – they will only point dead ahead and upwards. Don’t forget you can reflect these flash guns off a wall to create sidelight if you turn the camera on its side and shoot in portrait format. The most versatile flash guns have a light head that can be swivelled both upwards 90 degrees, and also to either side and directly backwards – away from the subject. Almost any angle of light reflection can be achieved with this type of flash gun.
Flash is the most portable, convenient and versatile light source you can use, but a moveable flash head that can be aimed in all directions is essential if you are to achieve the most from a flash unit when it is attached to your camera
How to take flash photographs – part 2
January 9, 2008 by Philip
Filed under Philip Dunn's PhotoActive Blog
Let’s go though just a few of the techniques you can use to capture simple indoor flash portraits when your flash unit is attached to your camera’s hot shoe.
The essential thing to remember is that a portable flash is a very small-sized light source and when pointed directly at your subject will cause hard-edged, dark shadows.
Flash is an instant burst of light lasting sometimes as little as 1/20,000sec, so its effects are difficult to predict. Lots of practice helps, but remember, you have the luxury of instant digital playback – so use it; and don’t be afraid to experiment if you don’t get it right first time.
What about ‘bounced’ flash? Bouncing (reflecting) light off a white wall or reflector is a bit like playing snooker – its all about judging angles and distances. It really does need practice. Do not get fixated by bouncing (reflecting) the flash off the ceiling. That will give you toplight. Ugh! We spend a lot of time avoiding top light when we are shooting outside by trying to time our photography for early morning and late afternoon when the sun is low in the sky. So why do we want to use top light indoors? It’s horrible.
Just take a look at the set-up in picture 1. The flash has been directed up at a white ceiling. Its effect is seen in picture 2 – eyes light black holes in the snow, deep shadow under the chin. Don’t do it. You can improve things by placing a reflector under the model’s face (picture 4) so that some of the light coming down from the ceiling is reflected back up again under the eyes and chin. This has produced picture 3 – much improved.
Another possibility is to direct the flash back over your head to a large reflector positioned behind you. See picture 5. A wall, white door, or large white card will do. This should produce an effect similar to picture 6. Now, 
in effect, you are using frontlight from a large light source (that big reflector behind you). It will have the effect of flattening the image by taking away the shadows. This can be very flattering for an attractive young model, but a bit boring when you are wanting to convey the character of an older or male subject. For that you need the ‘star of the show’ -sidelight – and I’ll show you more about that in the next post, but first, read about that picture I showed you yesterday…
So what was the set-up for the picture of the man with the mask?
A sheet of newspaper has been taped to the wall off the picture to the right and the flash head has been pointed at it so that the flash light bounces back to the 
model’s face. The wall was about 5 feet away from us. The fastest shutter speed compatible with the camera’s flash synchronisation (1/160sec) has been used to eliminate any other light in the room and the model has been positioned as far as possible from the wall behind him. The light of the flash has not carried as far as this background so it has not been lit – it appears as a black. I wanted the deep shadows to add drama, so no reflector was used on the left hand side of the picture
NEXT – in part 3
What was the set-up for the picture of the chap kippering his lungs with the roll-up fag, above?
And more on sidelight
How to take flash photographs – part 1
January 8, 2008 by Philip
Filed under Philip Dunn's PhotoActive Blog
Do you use flash only as a last resort when you run out of daylight? If so you are missing out on a most versatile light source. Over the couple of posts I’m going to explain how a flash gun can produce more than just an ‘in-your-face’ blast of light.
Take a look at the photograph of the man with the Venetian mask. Was it taken with directional sidelight from a north-facing window? Maybe it was lit in a studio using a big white brolly or soft box? No, it was taken using just one small portable electronic flash gun attached to the hot shoe on the camera. No tripod, no cables, no sophisticated gear whatsoever. It was the sort of simple set-up you might use almost anywhere.
I show my students this picture when they tell me they hate using flash. They say it ‘kills the atmosphere’. I like to demonstrate how flash is the fastest, cleanest, most portable, convenient, controllable and versatile light source they can use. It has endless creative possibilities, you can carry it about in your pocket, and, when you know how to handle it properly, it can create beautiful high quality directional light.
Sure, it’s bound to have power limitations – you’re not going to light the interior of the Albert Hall or the Hollywood Bowl with a portable flash gun mounted on your camera – but once you know where those limitations are, it becomes an invaluable tool.
Picture 1 shows the result of using straight, head-on flash with the set-up shown in picture 2. Notice the hard, unpleasant shadows beneath the model’s chin. It looks almost as though her 
head is separate from her neck.
To point a direct and undiffused flash at your subject is a pretty rotten thing to do. Straight flash has its place in newspaper, press-style photography, but not in portraiture. It can hurt your model’s eyes and creates sharp, hard, unpleasant and unflattering shadows. Results like this are the most common reason why so many photographers are completely put off using flash.
Next, in Part 2 – I’ll explain exactly how that photograph of the Venetian mask was done… and how to get more from your flash in other situations
How to take indoor pictures without a tripod. Part 3
December 7, 2007 by Philip
Filed under Philip Dunn's PhotoActive Blog
In the third short article about how to get interior pictures indoors without using a tripod, let’s take a look at how we might use flash. A variety of techniques were used for flash in the ironmonger’s shop.
Direct flash light, either from the camera’s pop-up unit, or from a flash gun mounted on the camera, can be hard and unpleasant. Bouncing the flash off a wall or ceiling is common practice. But what do you do if there are no walls to bounce it off? Or the ceiling is far too high? All is not lost.
You can raise the quality of the light and soften it by swivelling the head of a flash mounted on the camera’s hot shoe to one side and angling the light to reflect off a piece of paper. Anything white will do. Just get your angle right. You can even aim the flash at a reflector held in one hand while holding the camera in the other hand – as in the picture above.
The stag’s head was mounted high up on a wall in dark corner of the shop. Without a flash I could not have photographed it. The flash head was turned to aim at a sheet of paper held in my left hand. The flash has reached right up into the corner with a lovely soft light. Using one of those small box-type diffusers that clip over the flash will have little effect if there are no reflective walls or objects around the flash. The light will still be from a very small light source – and that’s what gives hard shadows. If you think about it, the stag’s head is lit by a light which is the size of the magazine pages – much better.
For the picture of the plant pots and shop interior, the camera was settled on a bag of dog food. I took the flash gun off the camera. A shutter speed of 2secs was used with the self timer. I fired off a couple of low-powered flashes by hand while the shutter was open. This added a little light into the shadows. 
Shooting from behind the life-size dummy horse in the shop window and looking out into the street, the lighting contrast was very high and created only a silhouette image with little detail in the foreground. To counteract this I used the camera’s pop-up flash, but reduced its output by –2 values… just enough to add detail and colour.
How to take indoor pictures without tripods. Part 2
December 6, 2007 by Philip
Filed under Philip Dunn's PhotoActive Blog
For the pictures of the interior of the shop and the goods on the shelves, I either steadied the camera on the floor or on a piece of shop furniture. For at least one photograph, the camera was nestled onto a bag of dog food and the shooting angle adjusted by stuffing my handkerchief under the lens. Use whatever you have at hand. You may be forced to make some small compromises with composition and angles if you cannot get the camera into exactly the position you would prefer. Don’t let this prevent you gathering pictures.
For the picture of the row of pot pigs, it was easy to just rest the camera on the floor, aim roughly in the right direction and press the button. Check your image, if you don’t get it exactly right first time, try again.
For the shot of the baskets hanging from the ceiling, I simply rested the camera on its back on the floor pointing upwards. Set the self-timer, stepped back, and the picture took itself.
A variety of methods was used for flash. The camera might be steadied as above, and the flash fired by hand during the long exposure. Or the camera was held in one hand with the flash on the hot shoe with the flash head angled to reflect off a sheet of paper held in my other hand. Sounds like a conjuring trick, but it’s easy once you get the hang of it. I also used the on-camera flash for one shot.
For the picture of the rope and walking sticks in the shop doorway, I steadied the camera on the shop counter. Expoure was 1/15sec at f8
Unless your camera has ‘live-view’ facility, it can sometime be impossible to get your eye down to the viewfinder when it is resting on a table or other surface (see the picture below). In this case, frame the picture as near as possible before you set it up. Then try to aim it as near as possible for the shot you want. You will be surprised how accurate you will become with practice.
For the picture of the row of pot pigs, it was easy to just rest the camera on the floor, aim roughly in the right direction and press the button. Check your image, if you don’t get it exactly right first time, try again.
The total time spent in the shop to take some 20 very different photographs was just 45 minutes – time I thought very well spent.
In Part 3, I’ll show you how to create natural-looking light with your flash mounted on the camera.
How to photograph sparks – Part 3
December 4, 2007 by Philip
Filed under Philip Dunn's PhotoActive Blog
For this picture I have used a separate flash unit to add some details to the man’s face. Compare this shot to the one shown in Part 2. That was taken without flash.
The technique I use is desperately simple. If the shutter speed is set to ‘bulb’, or is slow enough (perhaps 1/2second or less), there is no need to connect the flash to the camera by any means – cables or infra-red. You can even hold the flash in one hand, point it at your subject and fire it manually just before you close the shutter. So – open the shutter – fire the flash – close the shutter. This is the way Victorian photographers worked over 100 year ago when they used flash powder… yes, I know, I’m an old git. The technique works just as well today with your electronic flash and digital camera. But the makers of hi-tech gear will not thank me for telling you.
The flash has lit the man’s face. I set the flash to ‘manual’ mode and put it on half power. This was just about right, taking into consideration the flash to subject distance, the f11 aperture set on the camera, and the brightness of the sparks. Experiment with your own flash unit you get the results you want. You can play with your flash guide numbers if you have the patience, but, frankly, to me life is too short.
For the picture of the glass-modeller (left) I used two flash units – one from behind the sitter to separate his dark hair from the black background.
Whatever you do, do not use too much flash power. This will destroy the atmosphere. To be effective, most of the light should come from the sparks themselves.
Sometime I do connect the flash to the camera with an extension cable, radio, or infra-red device. Then I prefer to set a fixed shutter speed on the camera (not ‘bulb’ mode). I also set the flash synchronisation mode to ‘rear’. This fires the flash at the end of the fixed exposure, just before the shutter is closed. The reason for firing the flash at the end of the exposure is to avoid the subject’s movement (they often jump) as soon as the flash goes off.
TIP… It is vital that you brief your subject before you start. The subject’s head must be kept very still during the exposure.
TIP.. To find the ‘bulb’ setting is on your camera, set the camera to ‘M’ Manual exposure mode. Slow the shutter speed down as far as it will go. The ‘bulb’ setting is usually the next setting after 30-seconds.
TIP.. a tripod is essential for this type of photography. A range of good quality tripods is avaiable from th PhotoActive Camera Shop
How to photograph sparks – Part 2
December 3, 2007 by Philip
Filed under Philip Dunn's PhotoActive Blog
Exposure for this picture was simple. I just fixed a cable release to the camera, put it on a good firm tripod, set the aperture to f11 and the shutter speed to ‘Bulb’. There’s no point in trying to take a correct light reading because when the sparks start to fly it will be irrelevant. I set ISO 100.
When my subject was ready and producing sparks, I just pressed the button for about 1sec. You will need slow shutter speeds of at least 1/2sec in order to capture the full trail line of a spark – not just the dot of the spark itself. If you use a faster shutter speed you will just capture a series of frozen dots or very short spark trails. This is not in the least effective. Of course, you could use fixed shutter speeds rather than using the ‘Bulb’ setting, it’s just that I prefer my way. I like to ‘gather’ the sparks as they fall and spread. Then close the shutter when I think I have gathered enough.
I set the ISO at 100 because it is not necessary to set a fast ISO when you are using slow exposures and the camera is on a tripod. Remember – the slower ISO the better the quality and sharpness of your image.
Why f11? Because experience tells me that at ISO 100 sparks from a welder’s torch are just about right at f11. For sparks from a disc cutter or grinder, f8 is often best because they are not so bright. Experiment for yourself and see which you prefer.
Unlike the picture in Part 1, there was absolutely no ambient light for this picture. The workshop was completely black This time there is no light on top of the man’s head – his face is lit solely by the glow of the cutting torch and the sparks. In this darkness I could have left the shutter open as long as I wished – provided the subject kept his head still.
TIP… your auto focus will probably not work with this type of subject. Turn it off and set the focus manually.
Next, in Part 3, I’ll explain the ‘bulb’ setting and tell you how to add some flash
TIP.. a tripod is essential for this type of photography. A range of good quality tripods is avaiable from th PhotoActive Camera Shop
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