Photography is all about light…

… and marketing. But I won’t be talking about marketing today.

I recently photographed a family and their extended family in Sundance, Utah. They live all over the country and had rented a sweet cabin in Sundance for Christmas. As we were talking about they photo shoot they had expressed interest in some HDR portraits along with the “standard” portraits and I thought that would be cool to try. While editing the photos I though it would be fun to blog about the different lighting techniques available to photographers. There is flash (artificial light), natural light, and High Dynamic Range (HDR).

The first photograph is using flash/artificial light. I am using my Nikon SB-800 with a Lastolite 24″ softbox for this photo. I was able to balance the exposure of the mountain and sky with the foreground which was in complete shadow.

Using a off camera flash with a softbox

Otherwise you get what is in photograph number 2 – which is just natural light. This photograph has the couple properly exposed – and hence the camera has blown out the sky and the mountain. Personally, I think this photo sucks. I would have spent a lot of time in Photoshop making it look better.

Natural light photography

The last photograph of our couple is an HDR photograph. I used my tripod, cable release, and my Nikon D300 to take 9 photographs very quickly. Cause the couple might blink, move, hair move, or something. So right before I press the button I yell “DON’T MOVE!”

HDR is still an developing technique/technology. The skin of people often comes out with noise or a grain. Not smooth and soft as I would like. So I will composite one of the photographs for just the skin. A little bit of post processing here and there and things look great. Another downside of some of the HDR technology is that there are halos that are created. So it is all about balance and finding out what works. But overall it looks pretty good.

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

So yes, there are a million ways to take a photograph – and each has upsides and downsides. My goal is to try and find the technique that best works for my subject. Even if that means a little extra time in Photoshop or carrying around a tripod. It’s all about you!

I hope y’all had a great New Years Eve.

dav.d

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