PSAM: Why I Settle For Nothing Less

So you just got your first DSLR and are ready for action, you are excited to take that first shot, so you toggle your new DSLR to "Auto" scene and run outside.  I did it with my first DSLR too.  Modern DSLRs give you several programmed scene modes just like every point and shoot camera, but unless you are just wanting bigger and better lenses on a point and shoot, why not learn the advanced features your new camera has to offer.

First off let me explain about something scene modes, they are nothing magic.  All that the scene modes are s the "P" mode with specific generic setting set for a specific scene.  For example, for a landscape scene it will run a tighter aperture and will make the image a little sharper, for a portrait it will open the aperture up to reduce depth of field and reduce sharpness and saturation.  We can do all this on our own, and more.

I started my photography in landscapes, black and white, and color.  So most of the time I used Ilford Delta 100 (for black and white) or Fuji Velvia (for color).  But when I shot people I usually grabbed Fuji Astia 100.  When you shoot film, you choose that film for what you want to get out of it.  If I were to shoot people on Velvia they would look horrible with red faces and way too much contrast, but Astia has reduced contrast and less saturation for smooth features.  Using the PSAM modes you have virtually any film at your fingertips.

For black and white I shot most landscapes with Ilford Delta 100 and an orange filter.  If you shoot with any of the scene modes, you are shooting color and that is it.  Sure you can black and white any image after the fact, and probably get a decent result, but my goal when I shoot is to get the image straight out of the camera, and not waste time in photo editing software later.  Shooting in PSAM I can do that, and can give my camera any film I want.  I can go into the "Shooting" menu, "Optimize image" and select BW and I have black and white.  I can even add some digital contrast filters on if I don't want to use real ones.  When I want to do color, I have the "Custom" optimization already set up for it, color mode pumped up, saturation pumped up, and others to get as close to Velvia as possible.

Changing your "film" is just one piece that you can use to get anything you want straight out of the camera.  And lets face it, if you are like me and go away for a 3 day weekend and come back with 2000 shots, the last thing you want to do is have to fiddle each one to make it usable.  So now that you know why you want to, lets learn about PSAM!

Shot with my DroidX in cruddy light, it sucks,
just here to show the selector.  :-)

PSAM are four settings:

• P - Program:  This program selects a shutter speed and aperture based on exposure value and usually focal length.  Generally, unless it can't help it due to lighting, it will stay a stop or two away from full open aperture and won't go tighter than f/11.  Your camera may be different, this is just a generality.
• S - Shutter Preferred (Tv - Time Value for you Canon folks):  In this mode you select the shutter speed to use and the camera, using a similar program to the Program mode, will select the aperture.
• A - Aperture Preferred (Av - Aperture Value for Canon folks):  This mode is the opposite of Shutter Preferred.  You select the aperture and the camera, using a similar program to the Program mode, will select the shutter.
• M - Manual:  This is no program at all.  You set the aperture, you set the shutter.  Now, there is a twist here.  If you have Auto ISO turned on, the camera will vary the ISO to maintain correct exposure for the selected shutter speed and aperture value.  I have heard this called a bug, but I have found it very useful and will explain it later in this article.

So what do I shoot?  95% of the time my camera is in "P".  When shooting landscapes, cars and bikes, or even fast action of people, it is the mode that just gets the job done.  Unless there is an artistic need or a technical need for something else, I use "P".

Camera: Nikon F4      

Lens: 24mm f/2.8 AF-D

Focal Length: 24mm

Shutter: N/A

Aperture: N/A

ISO: 100

Flash: None

When I am around water, that is when I move from "P".  I love shooting water, it is one of my favorite subjects.  And I love smooth flowing water.  I love waterfalls that just look like silk.  To get what I want I switch the camera to "S".  This allows me to take my VR 18-55mm to 18mm and close to my subject and crank off a hand held 1sec exposure standing in the middle of a river.  "S" is the way to go for this shot since my main concern is a slow shutter speed.

Camera: Nikon D80     

Lens: 70-210mm f/4-5.6mm AF-D

Focal Length: 145mm

Shutter: 1/80

Aperture: f/4.8

ISO: 100

Flash: SB-600

The next time that I always differ from "P" is shooting portraits.  I also change my "film" here to a much more subtle setting.  When shooting portraits I want to get the depth of field just right.  That means I want full control of the aperture, so "A" it is.  

And the final differ is actually a different mode, "M", which is convenient for this article.  I use this mode, with Auto ISO, to shoot my fiance's flag football games.  Why you may ask?  Well, I run an old 70-210mm AF-D when I am shooting these games and put myself in a position to have a full frame shot of the quarterback from the defensive side of the field at 210mm.  This allows me to track the action as it comes up the field zooming from 210 down to 70mm.  So to sufficiently stop the action and get decent sharp shots I want a 1/250sec shutter speed.  Part two is that I want a fairly decent depth of field and being that I am running 210mm on the long end, I like to run it at f/11 if I can.  Since Auto ISO will vary the ISO for me from 100-1600, I can just leave these set and go.  If shooting in the early morning I do need to run a little more open aperture and a little slower shutter to maintain the ISO in range, so I just monitor the ISO as I go and then work the aperture and shutter towards where I want them as the sun comes up.  For me, it is the only way to shoot football.

I hope this helps drive you to learn how to use these modes, properly used they can greatly improve your creativity.

Thanks for reading, and happy shooting!

Aperture: Using The Aperture To Focus Your Viewer

In the articles Stops: What Are All Those Numbers and Exposure Triangle: How To Make Those Nutty Numbers Work we learned how the aperture is one of the ways we control light, but that isn't all it can do.

The aperture has a creative function as well, it can control the depth of field.  The depth of field is how much is in focus.  Now don't get me wrong, only the distance you are focused at will be absolute tack sharp focus, but the aperture along with focal length determines how quickly objects go out of focus as they get nearer or further than the focused distance.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: VR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G

Focal Length: 55mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/11

ISO: 100

Flash: SB-600

Great for us because we can use that to creatively modify a picture.  Lets look at the picture at the right.  This is one of my prized possessions, my Petri f/1.9 rangefinder camera.  Here we can see that focus is is perfect on the focus ring, but decent focus is maintained throughout, only getting soft on the nearest part of the lens but not so soft that you cannot read the shutter speed numbers.  But lets say we wanted to focus our viewers attention on the focus ring, maybe we are giving a lesson and the reader may be confused if they see the numbers on the shutter speed ring.  What we can do then is open up the aperture from f/11 to f/5.6 to reduce the depth of field.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: VR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G

Focal Length: 55mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/5.6

ISO: 100

Flash: SB-600

Here we have reduced the depth of field dramatically.  The focus ring is still in sharp focus, but the shutter speed numbers have been all but obliterated.  Even the knurled silver aperture ring just this side of the large black focus ring has softened as well as the leatherette covering which is now only sharply textured near the focus ring and softened toward the perimeter of the photo.

As you increase in aperture size this effect gets even more and more pronounce with f/1.4 lenses getting a depth of field that may only be a few millimeters deep.

For the artist, this article is complete, it is really all you need to know.  Practicing and knowing how and when to use short depths of field, as well as long ones will help you make your art more interesting and convey a specific message or thought.  If you are a tech head, by all means continue on...

Now as I mentioned before, there is really only one distance of sharp focus, everything outside of that point has some sort of circle of confusion.  So what is a circle of confusion, well, lets say we have a white wall with a 1 micron dot on it and we shoot it with a macro lens at 1:1.  At the precise focus distance, there will be a 1 micron dot on our sensor.  But as we move from that perfect focus distance that dot will grow since that pinpoint of light will no longer make a pin point, but a confused circle.  The further from the perfect focus distance we are, the larger that circle gets.

Now how quickly that circle grows as we move from perfect focus is dependent on the aperture and focal length.  As the aperture gets larger, or the focal length gets longer, the circle of confusion will grow quicker.  As the aperture gets smaller, or the focal length gets shorter, the circle of confusion will grow more slowly.

A thing of note here is that the circle of confusion is only affected by focal length and aperture.  So lets say you take the exact same picture but with three different cameras.  First a DX sensor camera with a 35mm lens, second a FX sensor camera with a 50mm lens, and lastly a medium format camera with an 85mm lens. All of these combinations will produce roughly the same framing with the same angle of view.  But, if we sot them all at f/2 the depth of field among them would be vastly different.  The DX with the 35mm will have a huge depth with almost everything in focus, while the medium format with the 85mm lens will have almost nothing in focus but the actual focus depth.

So if you are selecting a lens specifically for short depth of field, keep in mind that as your focal length grows there is less of a need for big f/1.4 apertures.  Also it is of note that as you combine large apertures and long focal lengths the unnecessary accuracy of your focus goes way up and proper AF calibration will become paramount.  Even a 50mm f/1.4 will show minute inaccuracies, so the wonderful 85mm f/1.4 will require even more accurate focusing.

Hope this helps you enjoy your shooting and gets you what you want.

Thanks for reading!

Portrait Perspective: Ignore Those Wives Tales

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: VR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G

Focal Length: 55mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/5.6

Flash: SB-600

How many times have you seen this.  It is pretty common nowadays with the proliferation of social media, everyone want to show a new pic of themselves right where there at.  On the one hand, we now have more pics of ourselves and families than we ever have in the past, but at what expense.  Portrait pictures are all about the perspective of the shot, and the 3ft of your arm just isn't enough to do you justice.  Now, I have no thoughts that people are going to stop shooting photos of themselves with their phones, it is just way too convenient, but you as a photographer should keep it in mind.

Now one of the things that is great about the web is that there is a lot of information available, the bad thing is, there is also a lot of wrong information.  Now people aren't trying to point you in the wrong direction, they are just parroting what they've heard, it's human nature and we all do it.  The biggest one for portraits is the 85mm lens, or less often the 135mm lens.  The bad thing about this is that these wives tales have been around since film, and they didn't change when everyone started using DX sensors.  People just kept on parroting.  What you need to remember is that you select your focal length to frame the shot the way you want, you don't simply put on an 85mm lens and then move 5ft away from your subject to do a head shot.

Portraits are all about perspective and you get that perspective by maintaining a proper distance from your subject.  No matter what kind of shot you are taking, headshot, or full length, you need to maintain a minimum of 15ft from your subject for proper perspective.  Now I will demonstrate that.  My beautiful daughter has allowed me to post the absolute ugliest photo I could make of her on the web for your benefit, so here you go.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: VR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G

Focal Length: 18mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/4

Flash: SB-600

18mm DX / 27mm FX:  POOR GIRL.  She is such a trooper that she allowed this.  At this focal length I was right in her face, and just look at what it has done.  She is balding worse than her dad, her nose has grown like Pinocchio, where are her ears, and you can see every pore on her face.  Every feature at this distance of about 1.5 feet is grotesquely exaggerated.  Now even you people shooting yourselves with phones are doing it this close, but it magnifies just what your are doing with that close perspective.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: VR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G

Focal Length: 35mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/5.3

Flash: SB-600

35mm DX / 50mm FX:  Already we have improvement.  This has moved me back to about 4ft.  Her hairline is still receded  and her nose is still enlarged, but this is definitely improving.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: VR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G

Focal Length: 55mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/5.6

Flash: SB-600

55mm DX / 85mm FX:  Here is your fabled portrait lens (on 35mm film).  So this lens is really still too short for this shot as we are only about 7ft away from her here.  Even though we are still too close, the proportions are really starting to become "human" and this shot could be used if we can't get any further away due to a confined space.  And although this picture is looking good, you will see that there is still more improvement and that her hairline is still receded in this photo.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: 70-210mm f/4-5.6

Focal Length: 110mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/4.5

Flash: SB-600

110mm DX / 165mm FX:  Now we are getting somewhere.  This is longer than any of the so called "portrait lenses" due to the fact that we are framing a headshot here.  For this shot we are just short of the 15 feet at about 14 feet.  If you looked at these shots in order you probably thought the last shot looked really good, until you saw this one.  This is a completely usable shot, and I think my daughter would be happy with this one.  Unless forced by constraints of my environment, this is the closest perspective I'd use for any portrait shots.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: 70-210mm f/4-5.6

Focal Length: 135mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/4.8

Flash: SB-600

135mm DX / 200mm FX:  We are to the point of incremental improvement here, but still improvement.  We are about 16ft now.  Although the improvements are incremental, why not give your subject all you can and flatter them.  That is why I didn't stop here, I had zoom left, so lets see what's left.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: 70-210mm f/4-5.6

Focal Length: 210mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/5.6

Flash: SB-600

210mm DX / 315mm FX:  I am still seeing improvement here at 20ft, but it is minimal at this point.

Now portraits aren't just head shots, so lets take a quick look at a full length shot.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: VR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G

Focal Length: 18mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/4

Flash: SB-600

18mm DX / 35mm FX:  So here we are at that original 18mm lens we used for the first shot, but since this is a full length we are about 6ft away.  Not terrible, but we aren't doing her any favors here either.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: VR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G

Focal Length: 55mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/5.6

Flash: SB-600

55mm DX / 85mm FX:  Now we are back to 15ft, and there is a noticeable difference.  Just like the headshot, 15ft gives us the proper perspective for a full length photo too.  But as you see here, it required a much shorter lens than the headshot.

So make sure you flatter your subjects by providing them the proper perspective.

Thanks for reading.