Tag Archives: Tutorials

Photography, Tutorials

Using Canon’s E-TTL part3

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Finally, I get to the part where I tell you what you get when you cough up the extra bucks for the Canon Speedlite or Nikon Speedlight.

Max, my talent was rendered perfectly by E-TTL set to 1:1. Speedlite A on the left was set about 11 o'clock. Speedlite B was at 3 o'clock

Under normal situations your DSLR will only be able to synchronize with a generic flash at a maximum 1/200 sec.

In some cases, you might get away with 1/400 sec but that would mean unpredictable results.

If this concept is new to you, read my earlier post about “Getting Started with off-camera-flash.”

After my 1st attempt with Max where I set his bed on the ground, I quickly realized my camera position was too high.

Sort of like when you photograph young children. Seeing them on their level sometimes makes the images more engaging.

Since I didn’t want to be crawling on my belly on the very soggy ground thanks to our recent rains, I chose my tent trailer as my “stage”. Continue reading Using Canon’s E-TTL part3 →

Photography

Spinning to create illusion of speed

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Spinning–Normally, this picture taken at 1/30 sec at f16 would have a whole lot depth-of-field especially since it was shot with a 17mm lens. The idea was to just have my subject Melissa sharp and the background blurred due to the motion of spinning her. For better results? I would use some sort of clamp to immobilize my camera in the vertical axis.

Imagination is something I lack.

Once in a while though, I surprise myself.

Most folks learn better if they actively do instead of sit passively and listen to their instructor go on and on in a darkened room.

Snore. I am more sensitive to this because among my favorite job descriptions is this one :

A professor is one who talks in someone else’s sleep

Every semester that I teach this Introduction to Digital Photography class, I am finding more and more ways to make my students use their cameras in class.

I’m having them use their cameras not because the beauty surrounding my classroom location is so inspiring but mostly it’s to teach them hands-on some concepts.

You can see for yourself the beauty I’m immersed in when you look at the pictures. Continue reading Spinning to create illusion of speed →

Photography

Adding yourself to a group shot Photoshop Elements 7

And because so many of you requested this, I’m sharing how to add yourself to a group picture using Photoshop Elements 7.

Start by downloading the files.

Then follow along.

Adding myself to a group shot with PSE 7 from Peter Phun on Vimeo.

A quick tutorial on how to add yourself in a group photo using Photoshop Elements 7

Actually I’m just adding this to my blog to serve as a reminder for myself since I had forgotten how.


Photography

Including yourself in vacation pictures


You probably don’t have many pictures of yourself while on vacation.

After all you’re the one who’s always behind the camera.

Even in this age of camera self-timers and after market wireless remotes, including yourself is problematic at times.

Even after you’ve set everything on the camera and all that’s needed is for someone to press the shutter, it never seems to quite work the way you want, isn’t it?

If you have access to Adobe Photoshop CS3 and above, here’s a simple way of adding yourself in a picture.

Remember, I don’t consider myself a photoshop guru even though I play one in real life.

Besides, I prefer to shoot everything in the camera than fix it in Photoshop, but that’s just me.

Whenever you enter the back-end realm of post production a.k.a. as the digital darkroom, things can get complicated real fast.

Adobe software versions change almost as quickly as I change my underpants, that’s why I always skip every other version and upgrade once every 2 years.

If I weren’t teaching, I probably wouldn’t upgrade as often. Continue reading Including yourself in vacation pictures →