Tamron Blog: Angle of View

UGGIE - "THE ARTIST"

By Hernan Rodriguez

I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU ONE OF THE CHAPTERS OF MY NEW UPCOMING BOOK, "75 PORTRAITS by Hernan". THANKS TO AMHERST MEDIA. THIS PARTICULAR DIAGRAM IS OF UGGIE THE DOG.

One of the most exciting things about being based in Los Angeles area, for me, is the opportunity to work with celebrities. When the phone rings or I’m checking my emails, I never know what celebrity I will be shooting next. Uggie was my first canine “star.” Uggie is most remembered for his role in the Academy Award winning film “The Artist.” He came prepared for his publicity shoot with his honorary “Oscar“. Not bad for a dog!!

These images showcased, were created for Uggi’s book. We did a series of three different looks. One image I really wanted to capture, was a classic portrait of Uggi, to be able to convert into black and white. Similar to the style and time period of the movie he starred. For such an image, I tend to keep the background simple and clean. I used a thunder grey seamless paper roll set four feet behind Uggi. I also needed a platform for Uggi, so we used a variety of set chairs. Both short and tall. Contrast was not an issue, being that Uggi is white. In approaching my lighting setup, I also needed the latitude to allow Uggi to move freely, without missing the light. I created a set that would wrap light completely around Uggi.

For my keylight, I used a large 30” beauty dish with a grid, and on some of the shots created, I taped black gaffer tape around the edges, to narrow my light. I often use this technique as well as black cinefoil around the perimeter of my beauty dish, to shape my light. I placed this light overhead at a high angle to create shadows. My keylight metered F11. For my fill light, I used a combination of two lights. The first was a 36” silver umbrella, set at 90 degrees to camera right. This light was feathered across Uggi. Since Uggi’s coat is white, placing my light forward, would flatten my lighting. This light metered F5.6. The combination of my key and fill, kept depth to the final image. My second fill was an on-camera ring flash. This light was used as weak fill if needed. It metered F4. One small 12”x18” softbox was placed directly over Uggi’s right side and just two feet behind. This light was metered equal to the keylight. It added just the right amount of soft highlights as accent. I also used a flash head equipped with a 20 degree grid, for added highlights, set to Uggi’s left side, 3 feet behind. This light metered 1/2 over the keylight. One last light was a flash head with a 30 degree grid, placed four feet in front of the background. This light was 1/2 brighter than the keylight as well. My final exposure was 200^th of a second at F11. ISO 100.

HERE IS A QUICK VIDEO OF UGGIE'S BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTO-SESSION.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6WduC3xZ1PE

Adventures with Tamron: Great Music in a Dark Venue

By Jillian Bell

This adventure highlights the lowlight capabilities of Tamron's SP 17-50mm F2.8 VC. Its F2.8 minimum aperture is ideal when faced with a dark venue. Talking about low light photography, a cameras high ISO quality is equally important in making a great, clear photograph.

I was out in Minneapolis one night; the Melvilles were playing in a local venue where I frequent. They are a local band with an Americana rock sound. Providing upbeat, toe tapping music and a stage presence showing how well the members play together. With their permission, I was able to photograph the set. Whenever faced with a difficult photographic situation, it is important to simplify your setting, keeping many variables in your exposure the same shot per shot. I start with the first song, shooting in shutter speed priority, setting the shutter to 1/90 sec. This is slightly slower than recommended (min 1/125 for movement), but with proper timing it was not an issue. Having a minimum F2.8, ended with a slightly underexposed photograph at ISO800. I underexposed the image on purpose wanting the true black values of the background to be as dark as possible. Underexposing slightly also helps maintain a manageable shutter speed and results in better contrast. Now knowing my desired exposure to be 1/90, F2.8, ISO800; I turn the camera to manual exposure, plug in my values and leave it alone for the rest of the night. All variables have been managed; all I worry about now is timing, and composition. Simple :)

They had two different lighting schemes, blue/magenta and green/red. On stages, skin tones will not look natural. The colored lights add character and setting to each photograph. Exaggerate this with over saturated, high contrast images. Here are my favorite three photographs. You can find the rest on Tamron's my photo exhibits app.

Copy Link - http://tamron.myphotoexhibits.com/exhibits/6924-melvilles-of-minneapolis-mn

For more information on the Melvilles, please check out their website at http://www.melvillesmusic.com

Under The Rainbow

By Jeff Allen

I recently attended a destination wedding. OK, it was for one of my daughters.

As a photographer I always observe rules for shooting weddings.

So first rule…Hire another professional to shoot a relative's event. Don't even think of doing it yourself.

Second rule…Resist the urge to offer said photographer advice and critiques as he or she works. Relax and enjoy the day.

Third rule… Do take a camera along and invite other guests to bring cameras for candid shots during the reception but again, let the pro do their work and invite the guests to stay out of the pro’s way as they work. That is what they are paid for, and interference from well meaning guests just slows them down.

The day of the event brought rain off and on all day. Fortunately since the ceremony was outdoors, Mother Nature gave in to my daughter’s wishes and the rain stopped long enough to have the outdoor ceremony. Our pro got the group portraits in after the ceremony, and before the next shower hit. It passed quickly and the sun came out before setting for the day. As the guests made our way to the reception, the pro was capturing additional portraits of the bride and groom. A rainbow appeared in the sky. It was brought to my attention, so my camera, equipped with my trusty go-to lens, the Tamron 18-270 VC PZD came out, and I grabbed a few shots. The rainbow wasn’t particularly intense, but I thought it would make some nice flavor for the back of the album.

As I walked further, one of my other daughters asked me if I had seen the rainbow. I said that I had, and showed her my shots. She was carrying her bouquet and mentioned that we should use that in a shot. Brilliant! Additionally, as we turned to look at the rainbow, the sun had changed angle slightly and the clouds behind the rainbow had taken on a golden hue. Since we were in the shade, I popped on the camera’s built-in flash to illuminate and add contrast to the bouquet.

After the fact, I noticed some hotel employees in the background, so for the final image, I cropped them out.

Tamron AF 18-270 VC PZD at 1/60, f5.6,

The camera’s built in flash was activated

(set at -1/3stop) for fill on bouquet.

So while we didn’t quite find the “pot ’o gold” at the end of the rainbow, we did find a way to turn a nice snapshot into a memorable photograph.

Be patient, keep shooting, always look for something unique, and you can make more memorable photographs too.

Good shooting!

Macro And A Zoom Lens

By Mike Moats

I did some test to see exactly how tight of a shot I could get with my Tamron 17-35 wide angle zoom and my Tamron 70-300 telephoto zoom. Both lenses are just regular lenses, and not listed having any macro capabilities. I compared the two zooms to my Tamron SP 90mm 1:1 macro. Here is the set up with the 70-300. the minimum focusing distance was 44 inches. If I move in any closer then 44 inches, it won't focus.

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This is the shot with the 70-300 and as tight as I can shoot on this shell. The area that I was able to capture was about 7"x10". So not too bad, and it diffidently could be used for some larger subjects in close-up photography.

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My 17-35 wide angle lens was able get me tighter on the subject at it's minimum focusing distance.

In order to get this shot I had to move in really close with the 17-35 lens, and the minimum focusing distance was about five inches from the front of the lens to the subject. So you can do some fairly tight close-up photography with this lens but you will have to work in very close to the subject to do it.

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Now I tried it with my 90mm macro, and I reached the minimum focusing distance when the front of the lens was about six inches from the subject. Now look how tight of a shot I have. It measured at 7/8th of an inch by 1 and 3/8th of an inch. Pretty tiny area.

Here is the minimum focusing distance with the 90mm macro lens.

So if you have a wide angle lens you will be able to do some fairly tight close-up images, and if your shooting larger subjects or covering a larger area, you could get by with the 70-300 in a pinch. But for the true macro work you need that macro lens.

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Mercado San Diego

By André Costantini

Now, it is probably no surprise that there are plenty of farmers markets in California. But the size of the Mercado market in Little Italy was one of the bigger ones I've seen around. I am told that it only started four years ago and now there are over 130 vendors on any given Saturday. It stretches five blocks long (both sides) going on Date Street from Kettner to Front Street. Of course that is only one of about a dozen farmers markets you will find on Saturdayin San Diego.

Obviously, with a market of this size there is so much to shoot. There are cheeses and meats and produce and prepared foods and flowers and crafts. There is also plenty of opportunity to sample a lot of what you might shoot!

With so much to choose from sometimes it becomes difficult to know where to start. I suggest trying to make a little series, it helps focus your attention with a self assignment. This is often a helpful exercise to improve your technique. That day I was traveling light and had taken only my Tamron SP 17-50 f2.8 on a D7000 body. With one lens and one camera, I focused mostly on textures catching some nice ones on fruits, vegetables and flowers. I usually tried to fill the frame with whatever the subjects were. I was less interested in where I was and more interested in the forms of the subjects. In all of the images the color is important but when it is too saturated the textures get lost. I processed the images by increasing the contrast (which adds visual depth) and then manipulating the saturation, so that the color would not overwhelm the photograph.