Equipment

What’s are the three most important pieces of equipment for available light, performance photography? Fast glass. Fast glass. And, more fast glass.

It’s that easy. In low or changing light, it’s best to use fast glass. Both Alan and Scott try to shoot lenses no slower than F/2.8. Each carries at least one lens in the F/1.4-1.8 range. So do I.

Why? Because we face a dilemma when shooting in low light. We want to get a proper exposure without running the risk of capturing a lot of noise. Although there have been great improvements in the ability of our chips to capture data in low light while limiting the amount of noise, the general rule of thumb — the higher the ISO the more noise, generally proves true.

Here’s the challenge: the three variables that control the amount of light to reach our sensor are: ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed. Because we are shooting hand held, often with long lenses and subjects that move, most of us want to shoot higher shutter speeds; Scott and Alan often shoot at 1/250. For sports and color guard performances (where they toss flags, rifles and sabers), I often start at 1/500. These faster shutter speeds are a must.

And, to avoid noise, with even the best cameras, most people want to shoot at ISO 1600, or less (although with the newer cameras, people are getting good results at ISO 6400).

So, starting with a fast shutter speed, and constrained by the ISO, the best way to avoid noise and get more light to the sensor is with a fast lens. An aperture of F/2.8 lets four times more light reach the sensor than an aperture of F/5.6. Assume for the moment that we can get a proper exposure at 1/250, F/2.8, ISO 800. To get that same exposure using a lens at F/5.6, we would have to bump the ISO to 3200. That’s a huge difference — one that with many sensors will introduce serious noise.

Zoom lenses play an important role. I wasn’t surprised to find that Scott and Alan, both Nikon shooters as am I, carry the same lenses I take to most performance shoots, the 24-70 F/2.8,  and the 70-200 F/2.8. In addition, we usually carry a faster prime lens — I carry the 50 F/1.8 which is an incredible bargain and can be purchased for less than $150. Sometimes, to capture something different, I carry my 16mm FishEye which is also a F/2.8.

Why the zooms? Because, when we are stuck in one place and cannot move to or from our subjects we rely on the zoom lenses  to frame our images. In the studio or in a space I control, I choose where on the lens I want to be, and walk to and from my subject to frame it. That does not work during performance photography. Zooms are helpful.

But, fast zoom glass, though nice, is not essential. The best camera and lenses to use are the cameras and lenses you own. Some of my best shots were made with my Canon G11 point and shoot; in fact, it’s so good that I sometimes carry it as a back-up instead of my Nikon D2x. Want to shoot performances? Do it. Don’t let your perceived lack of equipment discourage you.

And, fortunately, there are post-production/processing work arounds for equipment imposed limitations. For example, there is some excellent noise reduction software that is quite effective; I use both Imagenomic’s Noiseware and NIK’s Dfine.

Another technique I share with Scott and Alan is to “take advantage” of noise by converting to black and white. Voila! The noise becomes “grain” and gives the image a nostalgic, old world “film look”. There are a lot of great ways to convert to black and white. My favorite is Silver Efex Pro 2.

What you carry in your bag will be defined by your style. Unlike Scott and Alan, I carry two meters, a Sekonic 758, and a Sekonic C500R Color Meter. I’ll talk about using both in a moment. The key is to travel light and self contained; everything should fit on our back or belt. Large, dark, crowded venues are not the place to leave unattended gear cases.

My favorite equipment tip from Alan? Carry ear plugs — lots of them — ear damage is an occupational risk for concert photographers. Why lots of them? Alan makes friends of his fellow photographers AND the security folks by passing them out. Hard not to like a guy who comes with “freebies”. (Actually, Alan and Scott are two of the most likeable guys I’ve met on the “photo teaching circuit”; both are self-effacing and unassuming. It’s hard not to like them and I think that goes a long way in their getting and maintaining access.)

The oddest thing I carry?  Knee pads. Often, we have to stay low, on our knees, to stay out of the spectators’ line of sight. Do that for a few hours, or in the case of a tennis tournament for several days, and you will hurt. The pads may look dorky — but it’s hard to make a fashion statement draped in camera gear, anyway.

So much for what we carry — let’s talk about how we use it.

Step 1. Location Scout — Locking In On The Lighting

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. — John Wooden

Be it in a studio or on location, we all share a common goal — to get a perfect exposure, one that captures what we are seeing with our eyes. It’s a lot easier to do in the studio where we can control all of the variables. It’s much more difficult to do on location where we cannot.

So, to close the preparation gap, when possible, I scout a location before a shoot. Be it a stadium, church, auditorium or club, I want to know as much about the lighting as I can — particularly the quantity, quality, location and color temperatures of the sources of light.

More often than not, these venues  do not create  lighting schemes for each performance. They tend to have preset lights in place that they modify in intensity and change with gels and some times diffusion. By switching lights on and off, they control which parts of the stage are lit. However, there are situations where there is no one “switching” between lights — and the lighting pattern at the start of the performance is the same pattern that exists for the entire performance. Or, the exact opposite may occur; the lights may be programmed to randomly change, in every way — intensity, quality, color and duration. In either situation, with a couple of steps a performer can move out of the light, completely, or the light can change so significantly that we must adjust our exposures or lose the shot.

My protocol is simple: I draw the location, put symbols to represent the lights — their location, type (including color temperature for white balance purposes) and intensity. I also note how the light sources are modified — be it by barn doors, gels or diffusion.

To check the quantity of the light,  I use my light meter to take a series of readings — I walk across the stage, metering every couple of feet, marking my diagram to indicate every spot in which the light either increases or decreases by a full stop; if I cannot get onto the stage, I use the spot metering function of my Sekonic L-758 to grab my readings from a distance; the “spot meter” gives me a “reflective”  as opposed to the preferred “incident” reading. (“Reflective” reads the light bouncing off the subject and is less accurate than an “incident” reading which reads the light before it hits the subject. The meters inside of our cameras take reflective readings. So, one might do a scout metering with the camera — but it is a lot more difficult to get precise, consistent readings that way.)

To assess the quality of the light, I look at the modifiers; diffusion will soften it, bare bulbs will throw hard light, the closer the light to the subject, the broader the shadow transition line. More often than not, there is little or no diffusion on the lights; and, the light placement is controlled with something like barn doors which stay constant throughout the performance.

The next thing I do is figure out the White Balance setting for the shoot. This is usually the greatest challenge. Many venues mix light sources — we find tungsten, halogen and fluorescent and daylight all in the same space. This is particularly true in churches and reception halls. There are a couple of things I do to minimize the risk of color cast.

I take a reading with my Sekonic C-500R. This is by far the best way to deal with the situation. The meter gives me a specific color temperature reading, in degrees Kelvin. I then set a “custom white balance” in my camera to that number. Perfect.

Uh, except for the great Photoshop Gotcha. We cannot assume that Photoshop recognizes the Kelvin temperature settings we use in our cameras — either those that use a preset or those that use “custom” readings. For Nikon shooters, there appears to be a discrepancy at every setting. Nikon’s “Flash” setting is 5400K. When I use Photoshop, it opens those images in the 6000K range. It’s not a big deal; I simply batch correct all of the images to 5400; but if you don’t know to do that, you will have a color cast when none should exist. (As one might expect, Nikon’s own Capture NX2 reads the files, perfectly, and opens the images to the exact Kelvin setting used.)

If I can’t get a meter reading, I try to take a reference shot using a Gray Card or an X-Rite Color Checker Passport. This gives me an accurate starting point for post production. (And, when I can’t do that, either, in post production I’ll use teeth or the whites of eyes to set the WB point.)

OK, I’m a bit anal. I over prepare which may be especially foolish because I cannot control ANY of the variables I’m researching. But, it gives me confidence and, when necessary,  helps me make informed guesses.

Stadiums and gyms add another wrinkle.

When shooting sports, outdoors, in the early fall, we usually start in daylight and then must make the transition to artificial light when the sun goes down. For a time during the transition, we are in a mixed lighting situation — and, as the light changes, we have to adjust our settings accordingly.

Indoors, I’ve been running into some odd, off the chart lights — like those I found in a new, beautiful, high school gym in Bryant, Texas. Looking up at them, one would swear that they were tungsten bulbs. But, they were not. And, that became clear when I looked at images shot in “bursts”; adjoining images had different color casts. When the camera was set at “tungsten”, none looked good. So, out came the C-500R. I got a series of readings, all around 4150K. The set my D3 to 4170 for the shoot, which was the closest I could come. And, I shot bursts — figuring that some in each sequence would be right. It proved to be a good move. When I got home, I did some research on 4150K and found out that the lights were Xenon Arc’s — and that they “cycled” between two adjacent color temperatures at a very fast rate. With my custom setting, in post-production my starting point was close enough to make all of the images useful. Bottom Line: We cannot assume things are what they appear to be; there are all kinds of new, “green” lights out there and we’ll have to learn how to master them.

A. Virtual Scouting — We don’t always have the time or opportunity to do on site location research. Fortunately, there are great Internet resources to allow us to scout with our computers. One of my favorite online communities — The Texas Photo Forum — has a section in which lists gyms and playing fields and photographers set forth the type of lighting and conditions one can expect on a shoot. I’m sure similar resources exist elsewhere.

B. Thou Shalt Honor the Lighting Director’s Artistic Vision — In his Kelby Training session, Scott Diussa makes a very important point: Our job is to work to maximize the impact of the lighting director’s artistic vision. Our job is not to overpower or neutralize it. If the lighting scheme calls for a purple cast, our job is to get an exposure that best reflects that purple cast. Our job is not to neutralize it or replace it with a choice of our own — which we can easily do with camera settings or post-production.

(To me, it’s like a client taking one of my images into Photoshop and changing it. That may not bother some people, but it bothers me. That’s why I don’t “sell” my images, I “license” them; and, my licensing agreement makes clear that my images are not to be altered, in any way, without my written permission.)

At the end of the day, we are trying to get a perfect exposure. I find that I do a better job when I am well prepared, and scouting is a part of that preparation.

Winter Guard Concert: PrairieFire Productions, Inc. © 2010

Perhaps, the most difficult venue I’ve photographed was the stage upon which Jenny’s Winter Guard gave its annual performance. There just was not enough light. And, what light existed lit only very few small portions of the stage. This was one of those times where a performer would go from light to dark in a couple of steps. To make matters worse, group shots were almost impossible because some of the group members were in the black hole while others were lit. Why was it like this? Because the lighting was set to maximize the performance, not my photography. The performers were tossing things into the air; they had to look up to catch them and did not want to be blinded by the lights. To the audience, it looked great. And, that’s what mattered. Me? I got enough shots to fill in their yearbook.

Some times, that’s the best we can do.

Step 2. Camera Settings

A. Shoot RAW

This seems to be a universal practice amongst all sports and performance shooters. RAW gives us the ability to use post-production to overcome the limitations discussed above.

B. Exposure Mode

There are many people who choose to shoot in one of the Priority Modes — Shutter Priority or Aperture Priority. By doing so, they use the computing power in the camera to try to get a perfect exposure.

In low light situations, in an attempt to maximize the light to the sensor, many shoot in Aperture Priority mode; they set the camera to the greatest aperture the lens affords and tell it “Never stray. Stay here, no matter what”. And, the camera will. The risk in this setting? To get a shot in very low light, the camera will have to go to a very slow shutter speed — one that cannot be successfully hand held — thereby resulting in movement and out of focus shots.

Scott, Alan and I shoot in Manual Mode. We choose our shutter speed and aperture; they remain constant until we change them; the responsibility is ours, not the camera’s.

Our starting settings are discussed above. Scott and Alan are so good at doing this that they can get their initial settings by instinct and experience. They will look at the situation, tweak the shutter and aperture settings, shoot a frame or two, and then tweak again to optimize the exposure.

I’m not that good. I start with a meter reading from my diagram.

In manual mode, when the lighting changes — either because a performer moves to a darker or brighter spot, or because the lights themselves change —  we have to start twisting dials. To maintain proper exposure, we change either the shutter, the aperture, or both. With experienced shooters like Alan and Scott, this is fluid and seamless. It’s more difficult for me; I’m embarrassed to say that in the heat of the moment I’ve moved the wrong dial, or the right dial in the wrong direction; I am haunted by a series of flag performance images of Jenny, shot during a half time performance, that were so underexposed as to be unsalvageable, because I moved the aperture dial in the wrong direction.

There are a couple of “cheats” that help those of us who shoot in Manual Mode but are at risk of making mistakes.

First, even though we are in control of the camera, the internal meter continues to function. We can glance at it to make sure our settings are not too far off. To use it effectively, I set the camera to the “spot metering mode”; if I want to take a quick reading make sure to meter the face of the performer.

And, second, my favorite “cheat” — setting the camera to use manual settings while activating Auto ISO. As we’ve discussed, there are three variables we can use to get a perfect exposure — Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO. Most of the time, while shooting in manual, the ISO remains constant. We usually choose a value that gives us the greatest sensitivity while minimizing the risk of noise. Alan and Scott start with a very safe ISO in the 1600-2000 range.  I do, too.

However, in situations where I’ve not scouted, or in situations when I know that the light intensity will vary beyond a range I can control with shutter and aperture adjustments, I’ll use Auto ISO. In essence, I tell the camera to internally adjust the ISO to get a proper exposure using my selected shutter and aperture settings. In some ways, this is a “priority mode”; the camera can take some control away from me. But, I see it as an Negative Priority Mode. I’m telling the camera, “I don’t care about ISO, do what you want, but leave my shutter and aperture alone.” In the Nikon, I can limit the camera’s discretion. I can tell it that it cannot adjust ISO above a chosen setting — for me usually 6400.

Using Auto ISO has risks. One must be diligent because, like pure manual mode, we have set limits and unless we adjust them, when exceeded, we will not get proper exposures. And, if we set the ISO range too high, we will be be capturing noise. But, I don’t worry about noise. My noise reduction software takes care of it.

C. White Balance

Although most shooters, like Alan, use Auto White Balance, I do not. I prefer to use a Custom setting, as discussed above; if I cannot get a custom reading, I use the Programmed setting that most closely matches the source; most often, that is a “tungsten” setting. In the newer cameras, Auto White Balance does a very good job. However, I do not use it because one of my favorite instructors, Jim DiVitale, taught me that it is easier and more effective to correct the white balance of a batch of images all shot at the same color temperature than it is to run a batch process when all of the images have been shot in Auto — at different temperatures. Auto works and it’s easy. I’m stubborn. I never use Auto.

D. Continuous Servo Auto Focus Mode — Spot or Dynamic

There is a lot of movement in performance photography. Our subjects rarely stand still. Therefore, most of us use the Continuous focus mode. Once we initiate the focus mechanism (either with the shutter button or a programmable button on the camera), when the subject moves, the camera follows it and tries to keep it in focus.

Depending on the amount of movement, we have to decide how big an area we want the camera to read in establishing focus. We can use a Spot, or a Dynamic area. If the subject is somewhat still, or does not move too erratically or far, spot works well. If there will be greater movement, we can use more focus points in what Nikon calls a “Dynamic Area”.  Autofocus on modern cameras works so well that I don’t think the choice between spot or dynamic is critical in what we do.

E. Continuous Release Mode — Shooting Bursts

When I first started shooting sports, I had a film camera without an auto advance mechanism. I learned to shoot a camera the same way I learned to shoot a gun. One shot at a time. Aiming carefully, taking a deep breath, becoming still and at one with my tool of choice — making each shot count.

When I switched to my first digital camera, I retained my one-at-a-time shooting style. What a dolt. The failure to take advantage of the ability to shoot bursts, when appropriate, was just plain dumb. (And, a bit arrogant. I used to look down my nose at photographers who, at sporting events, were shooting bursts with so many frames that I thought they were shooting movies. My thought: if you can’t get it in frame with one frame, you don’t belong here. Arrogant. And, very wrong.)

Shooting bursts allows us to capture the nuance and subtlety that are the essence of an artistic performance. Things change in portions of a second and burst let us capture them.

For sports and color guard, I set my camera to shoot what Nikon calls “Continuous High Speed” (Ch on the dial) at 9 frames per second.

However, just because I can shoot 9fps, does not mean I use them all. I’m at my best when I use my film camera/gun training and use the trigger sparingly and carefully.

Final Thought: The most important thing to take on a performance shoot?

The answer is simple: Reasonable Expectations.

With so many variables beyond our control, it is unreasonable to expect that all or most of our frames will be keepers. They won’t be. And, we should not feel bad because of that.

The truth is that most of the great photographers I know throw a lot of images away. We see their work in magazines or winning contests and we assume that all of their images always turn out right. They don’t.

The key is to continually push ourselves to learn and get better — to increase our ratio of “keepers”. And, to never let unreal expectations take the fun out of what we do.

Thriller (©PrairieFire Productions, Inc. 2009)

This image was shot under some terrible conditions — strong backlight and movement made finding a shooting angle difficult. But, it is the strong backlight that makes the image.Images on either side of this one were not useable. But, this one was and, on that night, that was good enough for me.

But Wait! There’s More!

Kelby Media Group has graciously given me permission to incorporate a portion of one of the segments from  Alan and Scott’s Concert Photography course. I chose this sample because it represents a few of the things that make these guys such great teachers: (1) they are practical and to the point; (2) their images rock; and (3) they are really nice guys. I’ve watched these lessons a few times and have learned quite a bit from them. This is copyrighted material, to be used for personal use and not to be distributed in any way.

Note: Depending on the speed of your computer connection to the ‘net, you may want to allow a moment for the video to load before playing it; with slower connections, it will stop and “buffer” while streaming, only  to start up again; I find this very frustrating and prefer to wait until I can see that at least a third has loaded before I Double Click the arrow button.

Thanks, Kelby Media for allowing me to show this.

Note: My screen shots are captured in IShowU HD Pro. I tried several programs that capture screen action and found that this was both easy to use and offered  more bang for the buck. Although I have a YouTube channel, I don’t publish most of my  videos. I make a lot of them to capture “odd” things I’m doing in post production  so that if I later, if have a grey moment and can’t recall how I did something, I have a video that shows me each step. I’ll do a full review of iShowU, and explain more about why I got it, in an upcoming post.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2011)

Because, if my head is not in the right place, if it doesn’t see clearly, if it cannot execute — no matter how creative my vision, I will fall flat.
That’s why I love books, video’s, conferences and seminars. And, that’s why I bought a subscription to Kelby Training — a subscription that has proved to be a very worthy long term investment in my creative future.

Simply stated, Kelby Training is an online site that gives us access to world renowned instructors teaching lessons in the things they know best.

The Faculty: Kelby Training modestly proclaims that it has “The Best Teachers On the Planet — All In One Place”. Actually, I think that might be true. Of course you get the “Photoshop Guys” — Scott Kelby, Dave Cross, Matt Kloskowski, and Corey Barker — all of whom are different, both in approaches to the material and teaching styles. And, then you add in 25, or so, more greats like Rafael Concepcion, Vincent Versace, David Ziser, David Cuerdon, Lesa Snider, Julieanne Kost, Laurie Excell, Eddie Tapp, and, one of my all time favorite instructors and personalities, Joe McNally.

This is a very diverse group of people. What I like most is that their differences show. And, because they are teaching things they do and love, their enthusiasm is catching. I’ve watched at least 50 hours of lessons, from a vast number of teachers and have not had one that I found boring, too confusing or hard to understand.

The curriculum matches the diversity of the faculty. As one might expect, the classes are heavily weighted toward photography. And, many are rooted in the Adobe Creative Suite. But, there are classes on Nikon’s NX2, Apple’s Aperture, and some on video. Some classes deal with creating images in the camera and others on post-production. Some deal with Illustrator, In Design, and Dreamweaver. Then there are those that teach us how to disseminate our work, either in print or online. Will we all want to watch every lesson? Of course not. But, the curriculum is sufficiently broad that most people will find relevance in most of the classes and never run out of new things to learn.

The lessons are timely, too. As soon as CS5 was announced, a host of tutorials appeared on the site — some for beginners and some for those who are more advanced. I’ve been watching them this week and I feel prepared to take advantage of the new features in CS5 as soon as I get my hands on the final version.

The interface is simple (with one hidden “gotcha”) and the production quality very high. The “gotcha”? When we go to watch a lesson, there are two checkboxes under the video window. They are easy to overlook. One, “Continuous Play” does what it says. It plays one lesson after the other without stopping between them. Cool. The other, “Remember My Position” is the one that got me; it keeps track of where you are in a lesson; if you log out, and come back later, it will take you to the exact spot where you previously were. Great. Unless you don’t want to go there. And, that’s how it got me. I wanted to look at something else. Try as I might, I couldn’t change classes. Until, in unchecked that box. It really is a good feature so long as you know to turn it off when you want to move to a new starting point. I do, now, and so do you. Other than that, this interface is strong and simple.

Enough general talk — let’s go to some lessons.

Note: All of the video’s of  the class segments below are the sole property of Kelby Training which owns their copyright. I am including in this review pursuant to their gracious consent to do so. The actual production quality on their site is better than that which I’ve been able to reproduce, here. However, they will give you some idea of the scope of content and quality of the teaching.

Why is this post in 3 parts? Because, with so much video embedded, the pages may load a bit slowly; PLEASE BE PATIENT,  give them some time; it’s worth the wait.

So, what have I learned?

1. From Dave Cuerdon: The Beauty and Retouching Kit

By giving me a set of techniques and the tools to implement them, Dave Cuerdon allowed me to take a quantum leap in the quality of my portrait retouching. And, he did it in a way that was so simple to learn that I was able to implement his lessons the day I learned them.

What do I mean by “giving a set of tools?” I mean that Dave gives us a toolbox full of things we’d have to buy elsewhere or create ourselves. From within the lesson, we can download a folder that contains some very sophisticated stuff. We get Actions, Brushes, Color Swatches, Custom Shapes, Textures and Tools. Not sure what to do with them. No problem. Dave teaches us how to load them into Photoshop and then, in the lessons that follow, he shows us how to use them.

Here’s a look at what’s in the Cuerdon toolbox:

If you do a lot of portrait retouching, this free toolkit will more than cover the cost of the online subscription.

Dave’s lessons focus on the face and its components.

The Eyes

We’ve all been taught the importance of getting the eyes right. Ever notice how new born babies stare into their parents’ eyes? Psychologists tell us that eye contact is the cornerstone or our interpersonal connections and communications. When we meet people, we look them in the eye. So it makes sense that when most people look at portraits, they look into the subject’s eyes. If they can make a connection, they are drawn into the image. If they cannot, they move on.

For many of us, eye retouching is a struggle — it’s often hard to figure out exactly what the goals are and what tools to use to achieve them.

Dave, inspired by Fay Sirkis, has created a system and set of tools to make this an easy task.

Simply stated, Dave has produced an action that creates a layer for each task we face in retouching eyes.

For each layer, Dave has selected the appropriate tool and settings. For many, the tool is the “right brush” (often one he has created and given us), set to the “right opacity” so that one can paint on the effect or localize it on a mask.

We get a complete brush set — the one’s I like best allow us to remove catchlights and replace them with better ones; to really make things look cool, we can also create a moon — that little curved reflection opposite the catchlight. Lately, I’ve been putting a little “creative confusion” in my images by removing the original catchlights and replacing them with something more “artistic”; I particularly like taking images that were clearly shot in the studio and putting in large “window” catchlights and moons.

Here’s a look at the layer set that I’ve put in a folder called “Eyes”:

Starting at the bottom of the stack we can see the logic in the order of Dave’s approach.

The first step is to clean up the eyes.

Then, if we don’t like the catchlight, we remove it; it will be replaced, later.

Most often, we will want to brighten the eyes; we do this with a curves layer that lightens the entire image and then covers it with a black mask; we paint, in white, on the mask over the part of the eyes we want to be brighter.

We do the same thing with Redness removal — this time using a Hue/Saturation layer set to diminish the amount of red in the eyes.

The Pupil layer allows us to create a nice, dark pupil — and to change its size .

The Iris layer allows us to either boost (saturate) or change the color.

On the Iris Ring layer we use one of Dave’s custom brushes to create a dark ring around the outside of the iris; a little free transform work will get the placement spot on; this ring really makes the eye jump off the page.

In the last two steps, we use more of Dave’s custom brushes to paint in a new catchlight and moon; sometimes I’m pleased with what I’ve captured; in that case, I don’t use the catchlight and moon layers.

At first, I was a bit intimidated. Nine different layers, each with a distinct set of tools and task, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to remember what to do.

Dave was 10 steps ahead of me. Knowing that there would be a learning curve, he created two versions of the same actions — one for beginners and the other for those who have mastered the techniques.

The beginner version — the one I still use even though I could use the advanced — lets us run each layer as a separate step. Push the start button and up comes an instruction window telling us what we will be doing. Push another button and we do it. When done, we go back to the play action button to bring up the next layer. There is no way to make a mistake in this system. It is fool proof.

Here’s an example of how the “Action with Stops and Instructions” guides us through the process:

The tools are all set to the parameters in the box. Once we understand the task, we push the button and do the work. When we are done, we play the next step in the action, get a new layer complete with instruction box. This really could not be any easier.

The “advanced” set is a bit different. Push the Play button and all of the layers appear without the instruction boxes. Once we understand, we can just push through them. (Why do I still use the beginner version? I like the rhythm of reading, doing, and moving on.)

Eye retouching? With Dave’s instructions and actions — a piece of cake. I do it in almost every portrait I retouch.

The Rest of the Face

Dave gives us the tools and knowledge to work on eye brows, eyelashes and eyeliner, skin retouching, lip treatments, teeth whitening, and, as a special treat — the application of digital tattoos. To give you a sense of the nature and style of these lessons, here’s the one on “facial contouring”:

As taken as I am with Dave’s creativity and native teaching skill — I think I’m most impressed by his generosity. Not many instructors would GIVE us these tools — tools most of us are used to paying for. I look forward to taking Dave’s other Kelby Training class – Fantasy Portraits.

Please Access Part 2 from the Home Page

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2010)

The number one complaint I hear from my photographer friends is not about photography. It’s about web sites.

Web sites. The bane of our existence. Essential to our success but, until recently, frustrating to create and maintain.

For a couple of years, I struggled with a beautiful Dreamweaver site created by an artist friend. It looked great and worked well. But, I could not interact with it. If I wanted something done — the smallest thing like posting an article or image, I had to call the artist; and if he was busy, it didn’t get done. As much as I wanted to do it myself, to do so would have required learning Dreamweaver and probably some HTML. My head was too full. No more room at the inn. Didn’t want to do it.

And, then my web developer extraordinaire (who is also my cousin), Nina Sossen, told me about WordPress, and created this site. We bought a theme from Elegant Themes; but it did not look anything like what my site looks like. Nina skillfully designed and  implemented the look and feel of the site. I’m not sure any of us would be able to do what she did; it takes a real code jockey. If you want something unique — something that aesthetically expresses who you are, I strongly recommend that you contact Nina.

Once Nina got me up and running, WordPress has been a saviour. Today, I can do most anything that needs to be done to add content and maintain the site. When I get stumped, Nina is but a phone call away.

WordPress is FREE! I still pay for my domain names and for hosting, but the basic software is free.

Much like Photoshop, there are plugins that extend the functionality of WordPress. My calendar and galleries are controlled by plugins. So is my ability to embed my YouTube videos and other media.

I cannot tell you how happy I am with the switch to WordPress.

You don’t have a cousin Nina to teach you the basics? Don’t worry. Kelby Training has a great WordPress teacher.

R.C.’s Step-By-Step Tutorial — At the End, We Have a Web site

Want to create your own WordPress site? A total novice as to all things web site? No problem.

In two classes, in 31 easy lessons, R.C. Concepcion takes us, step by step, (and I mean small step by small step — there is no way to fall behind in these lessons) through the creation of our very own photographic sites. He starts with showing us how to get a domain name and set up a hosting account. Then he introduces us to FTP, the file transfer protocol we will use to send things to our site. From there we learn everything we need to create the look and feel of our site and load our pages with content.

These lessons are framed in a way that encourages us to build our own site as we watch them. Amazing, in a couple of hours, we can have a fully functional web site that we know how to run and modify.

Yes, WordPress is designed to be user friendly.

R.C. gives us the knowledge and confidence to take the first steps on the WordPress path. ALL new software is intimidating. But, not with R.C. guiding us through it.

He is an amazing teacher — well organized and calm. He just makes it seem simple. And, one of the nice things about creating the site while working through the lessons is that if we stub a toe, first aid is simply a button away — push “rewind” and watch again.

I first saw R.C. teach at a Photoshop world a few years ago. I so wanted to learn how to control my Dreamweaver web site that I took one of his classes. Although I soon realized that I did not want to make the investment in learning Dreamweaver, I watched a couple more — just because he was such a good teacher.

So, I was thrilled when I found the WordPress lessons on Kelby Training. This is the software for most of us who really don’t want to learn a new, difficult program. And, with R.C. leading us, we will get what we need, quickly and painlessly.

Want to go the full bore, hard core Dreamweaver route? R.C. has 5 different sets of lessons to guide you. And, he’s pulling a heavy oar in getting us up to speed on CS5 with courses on the new Camera RAW and Illustrator. R.C. is a rock solid, steady teacher — easy to follow, easy to like.

3. From Joe McNally: Perspective

Sometimes we get so focused on the technical aspects of photography that we lose sight of the fact that we are really in the “people” business. Joe McNally never lets us forget that:

I’ve written about Joe several times in my newsletters and on this site. He is an incredibly gifted teacher. Most see him as THE “off-camera-flash” guru of our time. He is that. But he is a lot more. Mingled in with the technical information in his DVD’s, seminars, books, and classes (there are nine of them on Kelby Training), are important philosophical and inspirational themes presented in the least pretentious way possible and in ways that make a great impact.

Want to learn everything there is to know about off camera flash? See Joe’s lessons on Kelby Training.

Want to learn things we need to know about being the kind of photographers who get the most out of their subjects and team? Look at those same lessons. Read his books. Watch his DVD’s and take his seminars. Joe McNally has made be a better photographer in all senses of the word.

Please Access Part 3 from the Home Page

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2010)

When I was an embryonic lawyer, my office had an IBM system that created templates for most legal forms and allowed the secretaries to fill in blanks rather than type long originals; the computer took up a full sized office.

Today, my D3 puts much more computing power in my hands.

The upside of all that computing power is that I have an almost infinite variety of settings with which to create and control my images. The downside of all that computing power is that I have an almost infinite variety of settings with which to create and control my images.

The bottom line — to get the most from our cameras, we have to know how to harness that power — we have to master the menu and setting choices that tell the camera what to do. For most of us, that means spending many hours in manuals that make little or no sense.

Fortunately, for those who learn better seeing than reading, Kelby Training has complete classes on many current cameras — including many Nikon and Canon models. There are even lessons on shooting video with the latest DSLR’s.

I really know my D3 — I’ve actually read the manual several times. I know, boring. But, hey,that’s who I am.

Even thought I knew my D3, I still took Laurie Excell’s class on it and learned some new things. Laurie is well organized, clear and concise. In 2 hours I learned as much from her as I had from many more hours in the manual.

Laurie goes one step further. In a separate class, Cleaning Your Digital SLR Sensor, she takes the fear out of sensor cleaning. Before watching this tape, I hesitated to clean my sensor; I knew that the slightest mistake could lead to an expensive repair. Laurie demystified the process, and took me through it in small, easy steps. (One lesson is aptly entitled “Dont Be Afraid”.)

Here’s Lesson 7 of the 10 in this class:

Conclusion:

I’m glad I subscribed to Kelby Training.

I  like the deep curriculum and the fact that it is expanding every week. I like the ability to “dabble” in a subject; I can try a topic and if I find it’s not for me — nothing is lost; I’ve not had to buy anything and nothing will sit and gather dust on my shelves.

Those who study the psychology of learning tell us that repetition is the key to retention. One of the strong points of online content is that we can watch it over and over and over — and then again, if need be.

And, so long as I can get an Internet connection, the lessons are always with me. I find them a good way to pass time in airports or hotel rooms.

Kelby Training is the real deal — and for those who want to up their games, a “continuing education” course well worth the price of admission.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2010)

In the onOne review I wrote:

The upside of shooting tethered is: (1) the ability to control the camera without having to work through the menus on the small LCD screen and turning the dials on the camera; (2) the ability to see a much more accurate display of the image on the computer screen; (3) the ability to focus and fire the camera without touching the camera or looking through the viewfinder; (4) the ability to view the actual image on a real screen, not the faux image on the camera’s LCD screen; and, (5) with live view, the ability to get feedback as to what the image will look like BEFORE the shot is taken.

For many, one of the downsides has been finding the right software package. Some cameras come with free software; my Canon G10 did and I’m pretty sure all of the Canon DSLR’s do too.  My Nikon’s didn’t. So I bought and use both Nikon’s Camera Control Pro 2 and DSLR Remote Pro. Both are strong performers and to me worth the investment.

But, not everyone can use DSLR Remote Pro; it is an iPhone application. If you don’t have an iPhone — you are missing out on what I believe to be the best software bargain in photography and one of my favorite tools.

Some who are not sure that they will find benefit in tethering, or use it that often, are not ready to purchase Nikon’s Camera Control Pro 2 which has a list price of $180 (to Nikon’s credit, it has a free try it before you buy it, full function, 60 day trial period).

On the Windows side, there appear to be some some solid free programs and some  low cost alternatives like TetherPro. I’m a Mac guy so I’ve not been able to try any of them but from what I’ve read they appear to be worth trying.

On the Mac side, low cost alternatives have been hard to find. And, that’s why I was so pleased to stumble onto Sofortbild. It is a “shareware” program. What’s “shareware”? It’s a program we can download and use for free. But, we are strongly encouraged to “donate” to the developer to reward and encourage his efforts. Try it. If you like it, send him some money.

So what does it do? Quite a bit. Let’s take a quick run-through the set up and features:

Step 1: Create a file on the desktop for the captured images. Depending on what you want to do there are a few alternatives. I open that folder in Adobe Bridge. When the images are captured, they are immediately available in Bridge for evaluation or adjustment. Others use the similar, but a bit more complicated, procedure I wrote about in the newsletter to send them into Lightroom. Sofortbild will also open up and send the images to either iPhoto or Aperture.

Step 2: Connect the camera to the computer.

Most of us will use a USB cable.

Caution: If you want to extend the USB cable beyond 16′ so that you have freedom to roam, you should not use an ordinary USB extension. You should use what is known as a “USB repeater cable” which has some form of signal amplification built in. The range of an ordinary USB cable is 16′. The danger when tethering is that with a weak signal, we may drop off the computer and your images will not get to the hard drive — and most of us will not notice until it is too late.

Step 3: Launch the Software and turn on the camera.

Step 4: Go to the Preferences Panel, seen here, and adjust the settings:

First we identify our desktop file for the captured photos.

We name them. I’ve stopped using DSC and started using my initials; that’s how file naming is set in my camera.

The drop down menu shows that you can import into “None”, Aperture or iPhoto. Since I’m using Bridge, I choose “None”

Even though Sofortbild has a very good viewing window, I probably would not use “Show pictures after capture” because I view and evaluate them in Bridge.

I really like the optional  ”Inspector” panel.

It includes an RGB histogram to let us see whether we are having serious clipping problems. (We must remember that this is based on a .jpeg image, because there are no RAW histograms; if we are shooting RAW we have some room for recovery and probably have not “lost” the data.

There is a “Nikon” section with some camera data. I found a big bonus here — it gives me a frame count for all of the shots on my D3. There are a lot of programs that do this for Nikon owners using Windows, but this is the first I’ve found that let’s me do it, easily, on my Mac. The read out tells me that I’ve activated my shuter 8,495 times.

The EXIF and TIFF menus present just what we’d expect them to present. Nothing new here — and not stuff I’d probably need to see when shooting tethered.

But, there is one menu that fascinates me.  I love all things technical whether they are helpful or not —  the GPS/Google map is one of them. If your camera is enabled for GPS — each time you take a shot the exact location coordinates are entered and a pin shows up on the map. Now, that’s cool.

Step 5: Control Your Camera and Shoot Away — It’s that easy.

Warning: I went a little nuts here — playing in Photoshop to make a composite out of Sofortbild’s main window to show you all of the drop down menus at once. I once heard Jullieanne Kost say that if you are working in Photoshop on a Saturday night — you need a life. Uh. Hmm.

So, here is the main window:

The red bar across the top is what I call a “status bar”; it tells us things about the camera, the lens and some of the settings that must be made on the camera or in its menus. The settings are “dynamic”; as the camera or lens changes, the read out changes.

The red bar across the bottom contains a series of drop down menus that allow us to change shutter speed, aperture, white balance, ISO, and image quality. Note that I had my camera set in “Manual” mode; If I had chosen other modes, I would not have all those choices — for example in Aperture Priority I can choose the aperture but not the shutter speed (because it is set by the camera to maintain the aperture; the opposite would happen if I were in Shutter priority.)

The buttons above the top red bar control camera functions and invoke special settings.

The camera icon activates the shutter. The clock, the Self Timer. The BKT is for Bracketing. The last one is for Interval Shooting. The last three include a lot of easily set options. And, one last thing, as seen on the preferences menu above, Sofortbild has a built in HDR program.

That’s a lot of functionality in a “shareware” program.

As good as this program is, I’m going to stick with Camera Control Pro 2 because it does a couple of things that I need.

Both CCP2 and DSLR Remote allow me to shoot in Live View — which I’m doing a lot, lately.

CCP2 lets me set the camera menu items using the computer; and then it lets me save a set just in case I need to reload them.

However, if you don’t need those functions, or are hesitant to invest a lot of money in tethering software Sofortbild is the right place to turn. It’s simple. And, it works. What more can you ask?

Oh, one last thing. If you do end up using it, send the developer a donation. Let’s support the people who are developing top end programs and “selling” them at reasonable prices.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2009)

No matter how I set the white balance in my Nikon cameras — be it preset or custom — when I opened my images in either Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) or Lightroom (which are, in essence, the same thing) the White Balance number would be way off. The image didn’t look bad, but the Kelvin number wasn’t right. For example, with the flash setting used on my D3 — which Nikon tells me is set at 5400 — ACR would open the image at 6150 Kelvin.

"As Shot" Kelvin Reading in ACR

So, I began to wonder — If ACR was wrong on this fundamental setting, what else was it missing?

Followed by — Why was this happening?

And, finally — What am I going to do about it?

At the same time, the proponents of Nikon’s own software, NX and then NX2 were proclaiming that no one could render a .nef (Nikon’s RAW format) image more accurately than Nikon could. And, they were right.

Out of the camera, NX2 gave me a better starting point than the Adobe software. But, with a bit of adjustment, I was able to get good results with either of the Adobe programs. But, let’s not denigrate the importance of an accurate starting point.

If the idea is to get it as close to “right” in the camera as possible, then the idea should be to get it into the our post production software as close to right as is possible — and for my Nikon images, until recently, that meant using NX2. Said another way, what good is it to work hard to get a perfect exposure in the camera if the post processing software ignores the effort and opens the image to its own specifications?

For Nikon users, the solution might be to use NX2. I am a big fan of NX2; when appropriate I use it. But, because I often go beyond its scope , most of my work is done in the Adobe programs.

And, that’s where the ColorChecker Passport comes in. For the first time, I think I can do that.

The ColorChecker Passport allows me to use the Adobe programs confident that my starting point will be dead on accurate — not just for Nikon cameras in general, but for my individual Nikon cameras. And, not for generic lighting situations but for the actual lighting conditions under which the images were shot. Said another way, Passport makes sure that the image as captured in the camera is the starting point in my Adobe post production software.

Camera Profiles Control the Software’s Starting Point

There is nothing sinister here. No matter the camera, Adobe (and all other post production software developers) want us to have an accurate starting point.

So, the developers create individual “profiles” so as to read the data from each camera manufacturer in the most accurate way possible. For all of us, no matter what camera we shoot, the key is how good that profile is — how accurately it reads and depicts the image as it imports it.

Their task is challenging, especially in a world without a standard RAW format and one in which some camera manufacturers want to compete with Adobe on the software front; in those cases, there have been allegations that the manufacturers have held back information making it impossible for Adobe to get a profile 100% right.

Finally, no matter how bright the software engineers — there are factors for which they cannot account. All cameras are, to some extent, different. A “standard” profile cannot account for the idiosyncrasies in my particular D3 or your Canon. And, my D3 will be different from my friend’s.

Despite the difficulty, the profiles are really pretty good. A tweak here and a tweak there and we can take our properly captured image and get it looking pretty good — the starting points are close enough that it does not take much work to get things right.

But, there is an insidious problem with a profile that is very good but not perfect. We end up making the small adjustments with no standard of reference — we proceed by eye and, therefore, can miss the mark.

Adobe’s Built In Profiles

Most of us have probably not spent much time thinking about the built in profiles. In fact, had I not wanted to know why the WB was off on my .nefs, I would have never done the research that ultimately led to this article.

For a long time, I never knew the profiles existed. They are tucked away behind a tab in ACR, in an area I never really used, called “Camera Calibration” — the one shown here with the camera icon. Duh! So, that’s what that was for. Here’s a copy showing, in red, the icon to push to get to the section; notice it shows the standard Adobe profile, also in red; in the second image is the drop down list, itself.

Most of us probably have ACR 4.4 and Adobe Standard. The “D2x” and “Camera … ” profiles were downloaded and installed, a while back, from an Adobe site. They are attempts to more specifically replicate the output of Nikon cameras — with the latter set corresponding to the Nikon “picture control” modes that one can pre-set in the camera.

What you say, only Nikon profiles? No, but this is what you see on a .nef. If I had opened a .CR2, a Canon RAW image I would have seen different options.

The profiles in the dark blue frames are those that I created using the Passport; we will get to them, later.

The bottom line is that the Camera Profile is the starting point for all of our post-production work. The more accurate it is, the better our outcome will be.

So, the question is: How do we get accurate profiles.

For me, the answer is X-rite’s ColorChecker Passport.

Creating Our Own Profiles with Xrite’s ColorChecker Passport

In a sea filled with gimmick devices and promises of color correction panaceas, the X-rite ColorChecker Passport is the real deal. It is an easy to use, fairly priced hardware/software solution that allows us create and load custom camera profiles into ACR and Lightroom.

It’s elegance is in its simplicity.

It proves one of my core philosophical underpinnings “Less is more”.

With the Passport, anyone — no matter how unschooled in color theory or unsophisticated in the intricacies of ACR — can quickly create a profile/starting point that will make post-production adjustments easy and accurate.

What’s in the Box?

A small, unobtrusive, carry it in your pocket or around your neck, device containing three targets and a software disk. That’s it. The elegance is in the integration of the two components.

There are three “targets”.

The one on the bottom left is the 24 patch “Color Classic”. It’s used by the software to create the profile.

The one above it is the “Color Enhancement” target; it can be used to induce creative color shifts; for example there are several shades of gray that can be used to warm or cool white balance. It can also be used to make sure we are not losing shadow details or clipping highlights.

To the right of the double target image, we see the Passport opened to show a gray card that can be used as a target to custom set one’s white balance.

Putting it to Work

Photoshop, Bridge and Elements

Step 1: Load the software. Depending on which Adobe programs you have and how you invoke ACR, the installer will do one or both of the following:

For Photoshop, Bridge, and Elements — all of which use versions of ACR, X-rite installs a stand alone application. Whereas Lightroom is a one stop  shop, these other programs invoke another step, the use of the ColorChecker Passport application. It’s one more step but still magic.

For Lightroom, it installs a plug-in/preset that will find the target in an image and create a profile. It works behind the scenes and is absolutely amazing.

Step 2: Take a reference image with the target in it. This is pretty simple. If taking a picture of a person, have them hold it. If it’s a product shot, I use the built in easel function to put the targets in the picture.

A couple of things to watch for: Make sure the light hits the target in the same way that it is lighting the subject and that the target is evenly lit. And, make sure the target image is around 10% of the picture. If it gets much smaller than that, the software may have a hard time finding it.

Step 3: Open the image. As I mentioned, there are two ways to do this depending on whether you start in Lightroom or Bridge/CS4. Whichever way you create the profile, it will be stored in the same place and work in all Adobe programs that process RAW images. I’ll do it both ways for you.

I’ll start with the independent application route — the route I take because I’ve pretty much abandoned Lightroom and usually start in Bridge.

First, I opened the image in ACR — AND DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO IT — NO ADJUSTMENTS, NOTHING.

Angy Torres and the Target

Here’s the reference shot I took during a session with Page Parkes model Angy Torres. Angy’s make up was done by MUA Tree Vaello.

(I’ll have a lot more on these two later and in future articles. Both are superb at what they do and were kind enough to help me get the images for this review. Unfortunately, these images are dumbed down for use on the web; the lower resolution does not do justice to Angy’s beauty and Tree’s fine make up.)

The next step was to save the image as a .dng file. This is Adobe’s universal RAW file — a format into which we can convert all of our RAW images, without regard to our camera brand. The advantage of .dng is that Adobe guarantees that all of it’s future products will be able to process .dng images. There are no guarantees that the same can be said for their ability to support the .nef’s I took years ago. It is a good, safe format and I should use it more.

Having done nothing to process this image, I hit the “Save Image” button in the lower left corner of the window (circled in red). The “Save Options” dialogue box opens.

Nothing hard here — the critical thing is to make sure to save it as a .dng — in the File Extension drop down menu. I gave it a distinct name and put it on my desktop because I was going to immediately use it in the stand alone application.

Step 4: Create the profile in the ColorChecker Passport application. I opened the application and got the following warning screen. Bad me. I hadn’t calibrated my monitors within 30 days.

So, I stopped, pulled out the colorMunki, and made sure the monitors were just right.

This warning is beneficial. What’s the use of being so careful with the camera and creating spot on profiles if the monitor is off? A strong starting point demands an accurate monitor.

Here’s the working window of the application:

Nothing could be easier to use. The full instruction set is on the left. I dragged my .dng to the center and clicked create a profile

And, here I had a lucky moment — at least lucky for teaching purposes. I got the following window telling me that the target was not taking up 10% of the image and that I’d have to help the software find it.

(Now that I’ve got the hang of this, I make sure my target takes up more of the image space. But, the cure is simple, as seen here.)

To help the software find the target, you take the crop tool and put a green dot at each corner of the Classic  target — which in this case is the upper target. Line up the corners so that the little green boxes are inside each of the color patches.

Don’t make the mistake I did the first time I tried this. Use only the Color Classic target, not both.

Having isolated the target, push the “Create Profile button. You’ll get a dialogue box asking you to name the profile. The default is “Nikon D3.dcp” for a D3. I don’t use that name. I change it to something much more specific with a date and lighting scheme involved. If not, every profile would have the same name and I’d not know which to use or how to manage them. Hit save and the profile will be created and stored.

One final thing  – if the application within which you are going to use the profile is open, you must close and re-open it. When you re-launch the program, be it Photoshop, Bridge, Lightroom, or Elements, the profile will be in the list shown above.

Don’t be put off by the length of the step by step, written description of the process.

I made this profile in a couple of minutes. It is fast and very easy.

Lightroom

Using the passport in Lightroom is equally easy and a bit faster. The advantage here is that you never leave Lightroom.

Step 1: Open your image in Lightroom’s “Develop” module. And, then the magic begins. Without us having to do a thing, the Passport software finds the target and creates a profile.

Step 2: Go to File>Export in the menu bar. The following window will come up:

Name the profile, hit the “Export” button and you’re done. The profile is created and stored with all of the other profiles.

Once more, you have to remember to close Lightroom and then reopen it so that it can load the new profile.

Using the Custom Profile and Target Shot

OK, so we’ve created a profile. Now what?

Well, lots of things.

I take the target shot right back into ACR and use it create the baseline set of color corrections I will use for all of the shots taken that session with that camera and lighting pattern. Once I have things the way I want them, I will batch process all of the shots to my chosen standard.

1. Select the Custom Profile

2. Correct the White Balance:

Important Point: The custom profile we created with the Passport does not change our WB value. We have to do that on our own — for good reason. There is some creative judgment to be exercised here and the Color Enhancement target gives us the tool needed to experiment and dial in our preferred, fine tuned White Balance.

Shame on me. I don’t custom white balance before each shoot UNLESS I am in some very odd mixed light situation — like a church or football stadium. And, in those cases, I don’t shoot a target, I use my Sekonic C500R color meter and dial in a specific Kelvin number — which, unfortunately,  Adobe will partially ignore. Most of the time I use a preset — for Angy’s shoot, I used the Nikon flash setting. Outdoors, I prefer Cloudy.

How does the Passport help here? On the Enhancement target, It gives me a series of gray patches one neutral, some warmer and  some cooler to use in setting the proper White Balance.

Take a look at this shot from ACR.

Notice I’ve taken the WB tool from the top and placed it on one of the gray patches(bottom target, 3rd in from the left, upper/middle row). Now, look at the Kelvin degrees on the right. An image that was imported at 6150 has been corrected to a proper 5400. All with one click.

Why am I so cavalier about White Balance? Because I shoot RAW. When I shoot RAW the camera captures all of the data to hit the sensor — it throws nothing out. In post-production I can change anything and everything to get the exposure and color where I want it to be. All I need is an accurate starting point in ACR and I’m good to go. The Passport gives me that starting point.

If you shoot .jpegs, you will probably want to use the Passport’s white balance target to set the camera before the shoot. And, there are several other things you will want to do with the targets before you get going. For example, you might want to use the target to check your exposure to ensure that you are not clipping the highlights or losing detail in the shadows. Why? Because, once you start shooting .jpegs, the camera is throwing out information in order to compress the images. With that information gone, you ability to make corrections in post-production is limited.

(For more on the advantages of shooting RAW, you might want to read part of this article I wrote a while back.)

3. Batch Process: I batch process all of the images taken in that session with that camera and same lighting pattern to set the exposure and color profile. Note I said in that session. If I change the lighting, I shoot a new target. On the same set, that’s probably a little anal. But, I did take Angy onto another set, one in which I used my Profoto 600BR and a Ringflash in a mixed lighting situation and shot new targets.

4. Did all of this make a difference? Yes, definitely. But, the difference was subtle as one would hope it would be. The Adobe profiles were close. But, as they say, “Close only counts in horse shoes.” I definitely got a better starting point using the custom profile. Clicking between Adobe’s and mine, I could see a clear shift in color and tone. Said another way, slight color casts were removed and Angy looked like Angy. I could ask for nothing more.

Some Final Thoughts on the ColorChecker Passport:

There are other functions the Passport will help us:

One that I’ve not tried is the “Dual Illuminant Profile”. The idea is to combine two targets from different light sources to create one more general target. For example, if you are moving from rooms with tungsten lighting to outdoor daylight, you take a target shot in each area and the software will allow you to combine them into one profile. I’m a bit skeptical about the value of this and until I try it I won’t recommend it. In that situation, I’d take individual target shots and make individual profiles. In post-production I’d sort my shots and process all of those shot in daylight with my custom daylight profile and those shot under tungsten with that profile. But, to be fair to the Passport, until I try the Dual Illuminant I can’t really say anything about its value.

The main targets in the Passport are “consumable” and require careful treatment. These are better protected, more rugged versions of our old Greytag Macbeth cards — those expensive bigger versions of the Classic that required very special care. In order to get the right colors and surfaces, they are printed on special paper. Put an oily fingerprint on them and the color and reflectivity change. That’s why it’s important to handle them by their plastic edges and store them closed, safe in their plastic clam shell. The way the Passport is engineered, it’s easy to protect the targets.

There is one thing in the software I’d like changed — and from what I understand, a change is on its way. I’d like to be able to manage the profiles — discard the older ones after I’ve used them — so as not to clog or confuse the drop down menu. To do that, today, on a Mac I have to go to User>Library>Application Support>Adobe>CameraRaw>Camera Profiles and manually remove the profiles I no longer need. Until the profiles are easy deleted, I think it’s wise to give them very distinct names and to date them. That way, there will be no confusion as to which to use.

These quibbles aside, I really like the Passport and will use it on all of my shoots wherever they may take place. It’s nice to actually get something that works the way it is supposed to work — a product that helps us get the most out of our images. And, one that does not require and advanced degree to understand and use.

I like it so much I’m going to get another one so I can leave one in the studio and have one with my everyday “carry camera”.

A Few Words About the Shoot

The creative team was model Angy Torres, MUA Tree Vaello, and assistant Tom Folger. Tree’s participation was made possible by her sponsor – La Mer skin products.

The mission was simple — get some shots for use in this article. In addition, we decided to get a few head shots for both Angy and Tree to use on their websites and in their books.

It was easy to work with Angy. She’s got a great sense of humor and “go with the flow” attitude — but, when needed, she could be fierce. She’s definitely on my A list. She can be reached  by contacting her agent Erik Bechtol.

We used two lighting set ups; the glamour lighting pattern described here and a Profoto Ringflash shot onto a metal door background. I shot a reference shot for each set up.

Here’s one of the head shots. After using the custom profile, there were no color corrections of any kind made.

But Wait There’s There Will Be More!!!

I’ve been looking to add a make up artist to my team for quite a while. In Tree Vaello, I think I’ve found the perfect collaborator.

My first rule, no “high maintenance” people. Can’t deal with that. Tree is, as we’d say in California”mellow”. But that calm and cooperative demeanor hides the passion and fire of a true artist. Her work is amazing.

Truth be told, I’ve never worked that much with MUA’s.

So, I thought a cool article would be an interview with Tree as to what we, as photographers, need to do to get the most out of an MUA’s talents.

I’ll do it soon. Have some questions you want me to ask her? Send them in.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2009)

Confused? Read on.

With all of the attention properly being paid to color management, I’ve been asked whether it matters which color space one uses in the camera — and if so, which one to use. Without going into an in depth discussion of the concept of “color space”, I’ll try to clear up some of the confusion in this post.

D3 Color Space Menus

Most modern cameras allow us to choose a “color space”. The most common choices are Adobe RGB 1998 and sRGB; the Adobe space is “larger” but whether it makes a difference, as we will see, depends on how we are going to use our image. Most modern cameras come with a default selection — so whether we choose or not, we have in fact designated a color space. My Nikon D3 comes from the factory set at the narrower sRGB space. As you can see, I’ve reset my camera to Adobe RGB 1998.

Will my selection make a difference? It depends:

Yes.

If I am shooting .jpegs. When we shoot .jpegs, the camera takes the data the sensor captures and “compresses” it. The goal is to create a smaller image file size. In essence, the computer within the camera “edits” the RAW data — deciding what to keep and what to throw out. The color space selection is part of the instruction set the camera uses when making it’s “keep it” or “lose it” decisions.

If we are shooting .jpegs, only, those decisions are irrevocable. That is why .jpegs are called a “lossy format”.

I don’t know too many people who shoot .jpegs only. Most of the people I know, who have cameras capable of shooting RAW, shoot either RAW exclusively, or RAW and .jpeg, concurrently. With the decreased cost of storage — both in the camera and on computers — and the increase in speed of camera buffers, there’s not much reason to forgo the many benefits of shooting RAW, but that’s a rant for another time.

Suffice it to say, Color Space does matter in the in camera conversion to .jpeg.

No.

If I am shooting RAW, exclusively, the color space selection does not matter. Simply stated, a RAW image represents all of the data to hit the sensor. The camera does not sift, winnow and throw away data. So, no matter which color space is selected, there is no instruction followed that says “bring the image down to the specifications of this space”.

With a RAW image, the color space decision only becomes important when we “output” from our post production software. At that time, we take our RAW image and choose a color space which will best suit our output needs — whether it be for the web, computer screen, inkjet printer, or press. Since the conversion of a RAW image does not affect pixels but, rather, is simply creating an instruction set — we will always have that RAW image to work with and can use it in multiple color spaces (so long as we don’t delete it in favor of the .psd, .jpeg, or .tif we may have created from it.) Most people seem to agree that for monitors and web use, sRGB is the space of choice. However, for regular printing both Adobe RGB and sRGB have proponents — and the decision is often made by which profile is used by a lab rather than which better suits the image. For press, the most common space is CMYK.

All we need to know is that when shooting RAW, the color space decision in the camera is not critical.

Well, sort of. There are some exceptions.

Maybe.

You didn’t really expect a simple clear cut answer from me, did you? I’m an academic. We don’t see the world in clear cut terms.

There are situations in which the color space choice in the camera WILL MATTER, even when shooting RAW exclusively.

First, and foremost, it will affect the image we see on our LCD’s. Why? Because that image is a .jpeg, created by the camera from the RAW data. Even if we are shooting RAW only, the camera has to create a .jpeg to show on the LCD and to be the basis of the image’s histogram.  For more on this, see the work of the late Bruce Fraser, a man whose book, Real World Camera RAW, was one of the finest and clearest of all of the photography books I’ve read.

(For those of you who have wondered why, when you shoot RAW and set the camera to Black and White — you get a B&W image on the LCD but a full color image when you go to process the RAW — the answer is that the B&W image on the LCD is the camera created .jpeg but, since the image was shot RAW and nothing was thrown out, all of the color data remains for use in post-production.)

And, second, some RAW processors are capable of using the camera’s color space selection as a starting point for adjusting the RAW images. For example, Nikon’s NX2, when opening my RAW .nef images, will start with the color space selected in the camera. (It will also use the “picture control” settings from the camera — things like sharpening, tone compensation, and saturation — as starting points.) The key here is that although the in camera choices are being respected ALL of the RAW data remains which allows us to process the image in any way we want. Nothing has been or will be thrown away. Once more, all we are creating is an “instruction set”; we are not changing pixels.

I don’t know about Canon’s software, or the other independent RAW processors, but I do know that neither Adobe Camera Raw nor Lightroom can read the .nef’s in the same way that Nikon’s own software can; neither strictly “honors” the camera’s color space setting in the same way that NX2 does. Is this a big deal? No, not really. First, Adobe has created camera profiles for use in both programs that come very close to replicating Nikon’s starting points. And, second, I don’t find the discrepancy in color space to make a difference in the ultimate RAW processing decisions I make.

So, does it matter which color space you choose? Maybe. Which one do I choose? The larger Adobe RGB space.

But Wait, There’s More: Warning — Geek Alert

To make sure I understood these concepts before writing about them, I went to the Guru of Color Space — Eddie Tapp. Our email chain is attached here for anyone who wants to see how Geeky we both can be. Thanks, Eddie for  the help and for letting me publish the emails.

(Copyright: PrairieFire Productions/Stephen J. Herzberg — 2009)