My industrial design class just completed their semester-long power equipment design project culminating with the building of full-scale appearance models. I set up a make-shift photo studio in a lightly used classroom and over the past 24 hours shot over 600 images. All were taken in RAW format (DNG) with my Pentax K10D and my 18-55mm kit lens and FA 35mm f/2 AL and processed in Adobe Lightroom. By shooting in RAW I was able to set the white balance for all the shots with one click by selecting an underexposed portion of the white backdrop with the eye dropper tool in Lightroom and then copying and pasting that setting to all images.

Most of the shots required a heavy dose of positive exposure compensation while shooting to keep the white backdrop white and not grey. I was pretty diligent with the use of the histogram while shooting so there wasn’t much need for exposure adjustment. I just made sure there was a good spike on the right hand side of the graph without going very far into the mid tones. Here’s a shot of the “studio” set-up:

I positioned the white paper backdrop centered under a row of fluorescent lights so that there was a row flanking the backdrop on either side. This provided nice even lighting front to back and reduced shadows to a minimum.

For each of the 14 students I took anywhere from 40-70 shots (all hand-held @ ISO 400). I started with low-angle orthographic views at a medium focal length (35-45mm) followed by eye-level perspective shots at a wider angle (35-24mm), short depth of field detail shots (to hide any imperfections), and specialty shots as required (use, high angle, ultra-wide low angle perspective, etc.). All in all I was really pleased with the results right out of the camera and I think the students ended up with great shots for their portfolios.

Unfortunately, the confidentiality agreement I signed prevents me from showing most of the shots or even revealing the client or other interesting project details, but here are a few ambiguous detail shots of the final models to show what I was able to achieve with this make shift DIY studio set-up:

Oh, and I have over 2,000 photos that I have taken of the students working on their projects this semester that I need to burn off onto DVDs within the next week!

After shooting digital for 10 years I finally started shooting RAW exclusively in September 2008. What took me so long? Probably the same thing that keeps most amateur photographers from shooting RAW: the added time and complexity of post-processing RAW images. That all changed when I discovered Adobe Photoshop Lightroom’s customizable default development settings. By creating a custom set of image adjustments I get Lightroom to do most of the work for me as I import my images. I often refer to my “default import settings” in my blog posts so I figured I should share what those settings are. Here are the settings that I have found that work best for me and my Pentax K10D in Lightroom v1.4 and make shooting RAW work so well for me:In order to create a set of custom develop settings you should start with Adobe’s default settings. To do so, select an image, enter the Develop Module and simply click on “Develop” in the menu bar then select “Set Default Settings…”

When the dialog box appears select “Restore Adobe Default Settings.” You will need to do this for each camera you use with Lightroom. To do so, simply find images shot with each camera and repeat this process (use the Metadata Browser in Library mode to find images shot with specific cameras). Obviously, don’t do this if you have previously saved custom develop settings you want to keep :-/

Once you have established a baseline for your develop settings it’s time to apply the adjustments you wish to make to ALL future images you import into Lightroom. I emphasized “all” because these settings should only serve as the basic image parameters you start with. Keep in mind that RAW files imported into LR do not retain any of the custom image settings that you apply in-camera (ie: sharpness, saturation, contrast, etc.). To automatically apply in-camera settings to your RAW files at import I’m pretty sure you have to use your camera manufacturer’s proprietary RAW software. Personally, I’d rather not be futzing with in-camera image parameter settings while I’m shooting and instead focus my time and attention on focus, composition and exposure. By creating this baseline default development setting you’ll only have to spend time adjusting white balance and applying creative effects.

The first area to adjust are the Basic settings. Be sure to leave the white balance (WB) default set to “As Shot.” Otherwise, LR will override your in-camera “auto” setting to whatever you select here (you are shooting in auto WB, right?). Once you have imported images adjusting white balance shot-to-shot will be one of the few things you will have to do. Of course the WB eyedropper makes this quick and easy and you can efficiently copy and paste settings to entire batches of photos shot in the same light. Sure beats having an entire batch of JPEGs shot at the wrong setting ;-)

Next, I like to dial in a bit of Clarity. I can’t really say what Clarity does but it seems to help define edges and brings out subtle details and gives images more depth. Too much Clarity can create distracting dark halos around edges much in the same way an over-processed HDR image does.

I also like to bump the Vibrance slider up a tad to make the color pop a bit more. I prefer using the Vibrance slider over the Saturation slider as Vibrance seems to be more subtle and does not blow out highlights as bad as Saturation does. This is a highly personal setting as many people prefer more neutral (say: “flat”) color. For me, I like my colors to pop. +25 is my baseline setting. I often go much higher :D

The only thing I do with the Tone Curve adjustment pane is to set the Point Curve to “Medium Contrast.” This seems to give the best overall balance to my images. Any other adjustments I make here are done on a case-by-case basis.

No default changes here. I only use the HSL / Color / Grayscale sliders to tweak specific areas of specific images (mostly to make a specific color pop or to tone map grayscale images).

Again, no default changes here. Thus far in my Lightroom usage the only thing I use Split Toning for is to warm up the occasional B&W image.

I do make a few changes to the Detail settings. I generally like my images to be sharp. However, I hate the look of “sharpened” images. I have found that dialing in a moderate amount of Sharpening at a relatively small radius gives the right look. A handful of Detail does just what you’d expect- pops detail- without over sharpening the overall image.

In my experience, all lenses impart some kind of CAs to images. Unfortunately, they don’t all do it in the same way at all times. The only default setting I have found that works well is setting the Defringe to All Edges. I like to use the Lens Corrections pane to add vignetting to some of my images for creative effect. However, I don’t always do this so I leave the Vignetting settings alone for my default settings.

I don’t know much about what is going on here. Logic would dictate that the specific camera model setting (Pentax 1.00 in my case) would be the way to go. However, my images are all jacked up if I use anything other than ACR 4.4. I’m sure that there’s some pretty useful fine tuning that can be done here but I just keep it on ACR 4.4 and close this pane so I’m not tempted to mess with it ;-)

Now, simply go back to “Develop”–>”Set Default Settings…” and this time select”Update to Current Settings.”

Now the next time you import a batch of RAW images Lightroom will apply your custom develop settings as the default baseline. This will keep you from having to hit every adjustment pane for every image- freeing you up to focus more on composition and creativity while still giving you the most control possible over your images!

The Canon 5D Mark II’s in-camera JPG processing is awful if you’re making huge prints. The in-camera processing of the raw data oversharpens harsh edges, adds too much contrast and smudges subtle textures into mush.

For the Canon 5D Mark II, if you’re making huge enlargements, shooting CR2 files and processing them with Adobe Lightroom 2.2 makes a world of improvement over in-camera processing. Shooting CR2 files in the 5D Mark II and processing them in Lightroom 2.2 makes files almost indistinguishable from the JPGs that come directly out of the Nikon D3X.

I find this quite amusing as Ken is infamous for bashing anyone who shoots RAW as a hack. Read his article on RAW vs. JPEG to see what I mean. If you can get beyond all of his opinions there is some pretty useful information in there.

Personally, I pretty much agreed with Ken and shot JPEG exclusively up until last year. I switched to shooting RAW with my Pentax K10D and post processing with Adobe Lightroom when I discovered how much better the RAW images looked coming out of Lightroom as JPEGs than they ever did coming out of the camera. The thing that makes it work for me is that I know the camera so well that I can picture what post processing adjustments I am going to need to do to an image as I’m peering through the viewfinder… much the same way a good film photographer considers how they will later develop and print an image in the darkroom.

I have lens specific import presets for my K10D’s RAW files that automatically apply my preferred adjustments during import (Sharpening, Detail, Clarity, Vibrance, Noise Reduction, Defringing, etc.). I shoot in auto white balance mode so all the post processing I have to do is make any required adjustments to the WB where the camera missed (which happens more often than not. Often, I can do this quite simply with a large number of images shot in the same light with less than 3 clicks (click on the first image, shift-click on the last, click on the WB pull-down tab, scroll to the correct WB preset and release). I certainly fail to see how this can be any more time consuming than fiddling with the in-camera WB settings while shooting.

I don’t recommend shooting RAW for beginners. Post processing can be a quagmire where inexperienced photographers often get lost and discouraged. However, once you get to the point that you can see what kinds of adjustments an image might need before you even release the shutter, shooting RAW starts to make a lot of sense. Used wisely, RAW images can open up a whole new world of creative and critical control. Best of all, you can always reset the image back to the default as-shot capture and do it all over again- all without creating multiple JPEG files to keep track of and store.

If you want to get an idea of what shooting RAW will do for your core image quality, look up the review of your camera on dpreview.com and navigate to the “Compared to (JPEG)” and “Compared to (RAW)” sections.

Camera Dojo just posted a pretty in-depth article on the same subject that is worth taking a look at.

Interesting concept from BRNO- lens caps that facilitate the setting of white balance for DSLR users. As a product designer I admit that this is a very clever idea that is well executed. However, the photographer in me suggests pocketing the $54.00 and just shoot RAW. Available from B&H photo if you are so inclined (shoot RAW!). –via www.woohome.com

UPDATE: Seems this is nothing really new. Pick one up at Amazon for a video camera for $7 if you still think it’s something you need.

Dusk is my favorite time of day. I love the rich blues of the sky and the contrast of dark trees and such in the foreground. Normally, these shots require long exposures and a tripod to capture and a bit a tweaking post-process to get the lighting and color right.

This shot required a 30 second exposure at f/9 and ISO 100 with +1EV exposure compensation. I chose f/9 for two reasons. First, f/9 was the smallest aperture I could use and still keep the exposure under 30 seconds in Aperture Priority mode (maximum shutter time without switching to Bulb mode) at ISO 100. I wanted to keep the shot at ISO 100 to ensure tack sharp details, rich saturation and no noise. Second, I have found that my kit lens is its sharpest between f/8 and f/11, so f/9 was a logical place to start.

This photo was processed in Adobe Lightroom to look as close to what my eyes saw as possible. Here’s the original RAW shot straight out of the camera (SOOC) with nothing but my default import processing:

Since I was shooting in RAW I left the white balance at Auto and simply used the histogram display on the LCD to verify a good mix of highlight and shadow detail. After downloading I started off by cropping and straightening the shot a bit. Next I tweaked the white balance to 3700K to get the blue to pop (the sky was too purple at the Daylight/5500 setting and too blue at Tungsten/2850). I then pushed the exposure up another +1EV and dropped the Black slider to 3. Nudging the Fill Light slider to 21 pulled even more shadow detail out. I set Clarity to 11, Vibrance to +25 and Saturation to +21. Finally, I added a touch of Sharpening and Detail (50 & 50) and Defringed all edges.

The Clarity, Vibrance, Sharpening, Detail, and Defringe settings are pretty standard for most of my shots with the Pentax K10D. I find the SOOC RAW files are a little flat color-wise and softer than I like. Also, the kit lens leaves a bit of color fringing on hard edges that Defringing seems to fix well.

The final result turned out very true to what I recall seeing that night in Birmingham. It was a bit windy so the tops of the tree branches are motion blured. The tiny star trails were an unexpected surprise.

There are few things more beautiful than a good sunset or sunrise photograph. However, if you’ve ever tried to do it you know it can be frustrating. How many times have you seen a beautiful sunset like the one above only to have your photo turn out something like this?

There are a couple of easy things you can do to get great sunset photos. First, turn off your flash. The only thing the flash is good for during a sunset is to add fill to illuminate a foreground subject. Unfortunately, getting the right mix of fill flash and background exposure can be very tricky:

Not a very inspiring photo (though after the number of rum punches I had I didn’t care). For now, let’s just turn the flash off and focus on capturing a brilliant sunset photo.

Next, set your white balance to auto. You can also try daylight but I have always found the auto setting gives the best mix of deep blues, pinks, reds and oranges.

I like to shoot sunsets with a wide angle lens to get as much of the sky in the picture as possible. This ensures a full mix of colors from the darkest indigo blues overhead to the brightest pinks and oranges at the horizon. Usually I leave only a strip of ground/foreground across the bottom to anchor the photo- letting the sky dominate the scene for maximum impact.

The main challenge with sunset photos is getting around the camera’s matrix metering’s natural tendency to balance exposure across the frame. The camera doesn’t know what’s going on and tries to balance the dark foreground with the bright background. The washed out example at the top is what you get when you just point-n-click. To get a decent sunset exposure you either need to dial in some negative exposure compensation (usually -2/3EV to -1EV). An easier method is to just aim the camera at an unobstructed portion of the sky, focus, lock exposure, recompose, and shoot. I typically use a little of both.

For the best sunset photos I typically like to wait for the sun to be fully below the horizon. That beautiful glowing orange ball of the sun absolutely wrecks exposure on a camera and typically results in pretty disappointing shots. Also, some cloud texture in the sky helps provide a good mix of colors. Be sure to look behind you as many times clouds away from the setting sun pick up some awesome colors. Finally, some good foreground silhouettes can help add additional visual interest (especially helpful if the sky itself is not as dramatic as it could be).

A medium aperture like f/8-f/10 is best to ensure the best detail and sharpness across the frame and eliminate vignetting typical at larger apertures when shooting at a wide zoom setting. Since I generally like to wait for the sun to drop fully, there’s typically not very much ambient light. This means I either need to be shooting on a tripod at a low ISO and slow shutter speed or bump the ISO up to prevent camera shake. These samples were all shot hand-held at ISO 200-400 and f/8 and f/10 at around 1/4 second. The combination of the K10D’s in-body IS and the wide focal length meant it only took a few tries to get sharp shots (wider zoom angles can be hand held at slower shutter speeds than longer ones).

Typically a properly shot sunset photo doesn’t require much post-processing. Since I shoot everything in RAW I have to tweak sharpness and saturation on all my photos in Lightroom. I can also play around with the white balance a bit to get the best pop from my images- though the as-shot (Auto) setting worked best for these images. Often I find the fluorescent WB preset works well for sunsets for some reason.

While a DSLR gives the most control over all of these settings, I have gotten wonderful sunset photos with a pocket camera by simply turning off the flash and using the focus, recompose and shoot method. Here is a collection of some of my other sunset photos on Flickr.

The most difficult part about getting good sunset shots is being at the right place at the right time with your camera. I hope this helps you get that great shot the next time that happens!