Ghatahora Photography: still life

Showing posts with label still life. Show all posts

Sunday, 5 July 2020

Light Painting with Mobile Phone

Mobile phones today have amazing in-built features that one can use to photograph creatively. I have a Huawei P30 Lite which has a triple camera with 48MP. I am really amazed with the quality of the photographs the phone produces.

I have never tried light painting with my Professional Digital camera before, however, I was ready to set my self a challenge to create light painting photographs with my Huawei Peacock Blue mobile phone. The mobile phone has standard features such as; AR Lens, Night, Portrait, Photo, Video and More. See the images below, please note that these images are screen shots of my phone.

Under the 'More' function, the phone has 11 extra settings (see image below of the functions on the mobile phone Please note that these images are screen shots of my phone).

I chose the 'Light Painting' function, which is further divided into 4 more functions, (see image below, these images are screen shots of my phone).

All of the below photographs are taken using the 'Light Painting' mode on the mobile phone.

For the shot below, I set mobile phone on 'Light Graffiti', the phone was mounted on a selfie stick which also can be converted into a mini tripod. The shot below was taken on my kitchen counter, no backdrop was used. The lights were switched off in the kitchen, prior to that the shot was focused and locked in on the face.

I used a battery operated candle to create light the image. The mobile phone on light painting mode has a ''live view' which means I could see the image being created and knew when to stop the exposure on my shot. I used the candle to light the front of the image, starting with the face, shoulders, then moving the candle around to light the whole image. While doing this, I had to keep a very close eye on the camera as it was creating the image and making sure that the light does not create any unwanted shapes or glares. The total exposure for this image was around 5 minutes.

For the shot below, the same technique as above was used. This image was lit from the back of the bottle, again keeping in mind to add no unwanted glares added to the image. I also added light to the front of the perfume bottle using a small LED torch. The torch was covered with a piece of white tissue to diffuse the light. The exposure for this shot was just over 4 minutes. I quite like the way the use of the torch has added a blue effect on the lid of the bottle. This is because the candle has a warm temperature at 1500 Kelvin and a LED torch on average is 4000/6000 Kelvin, a cooler light temperature.

This image is of a jelly candle and was lit using a battery operated candle from behind, moving the candle up and down slowly. Again, I kept an eye on the view finder to see that the image was not over exposed or casing any glares. The total exposure for this image was roughly 4 minutes.

This is an image of a house plant shot in 'Light Graffiti' mode, lit with a battery operated candle. Each part of the plant was lit in sections.

This image of the perfume bottle was shot using the 'Light Graffiti' mode and was lit using the LED torch and battery operated candle. The swirls were created using the candle.

The next two photographs were also taken using the mobile phone on 'Light Graffiti' mode. Both images below are of fairy lights. The phone was hand held and moved in various directions to create interesting patterns. I must have taken several photographs as I got carried away taking photographs around the house in the middle of the night. Again, keep an eye on the view finder as the image can easily be overexposed. The exposure time range from 10 seconds to a minute.

This image was taken in the garden of the stars. The phone was mounted on the mini tripod and pointed up towards the sky. The phone was set on 'Star Trails' mode. The phone was left in the garden for 45 minutes on the mini tripod. I took this shot in May around 9.15 pm. If you are taking photographs of the stars, it is best to set up when there is still some colour in the sky and on a clear night.

The last two photographs were taken through my bedroom window. It was dark outside - the light from the moon and the windows created an atmospheric scene. This was photographed on 'Night' mode on the phone.

This image is of the same scene, I just moved my phone up and down to capture the light in an abstract form.

I was truly amazed with the images the phone was capturing. When I started this project, I was not sure if it was going to be successful. It was a challenge that I am willing to explore again at another level.

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

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Monday, 2 December 2019

Easy Steps to photograph smoke

How to photograph smoke in simple steps

It is very easy to take photographs of smoke; I have provided the following tips as a guide to create stunning images. For this project, I have used my DSLR with off camera flashes and also a small compact camera with its built-in flash.

Equipment needed:

Compact Camera or SLR with manual focus

Off camera or 'built-in' flash

Incense sticks

Plate to catch all the hot ash from the incense sticks

Black velvet or similar material ( a black card will also work if you don't have any material)

Photography Gels

Black card or paper to block (flag) unwanted the light

Important: Photograph indoor in a well-ventilated room (not to breezy) to avoid smoke build-up. When working with smoke, you must take regular breaks as the smoke will begin to accumulate in the room which can be a health hazard.

Setting up the shoot

I have used a DSLR for the following shots. Pin the black backdrop on the wall or alternatively as I did, rest it on the sofa.

The off camera flash is loosely wrapped at the head with black paper. This avoids the light to fall back on the backdrop and also this keeps it directed on the smoke.

The incense stick is placed between the camera and the backdrop. I hand held my camera for better flexibility, but if you wish to use a tripod, by all means do so. As I will be using a fast shutter speed, I can get away without using a tripod.

Camera settings (fully Manual on SLR):

Set your camera on Manual mode.

Set shutter at 1/125 or 1/250, this is a common setting that will sync with your flash.

Set aperture on f8 or smaller like f16 or f22. This will maximise the depth-of-field.

Set ISO on 100 or 200

Use Manual focus as the auto-focus function may struggle to latch onto the smoke.

(Tip to assist focusing. Place an object behind the incense stick and make sure it is touching it, manually focus on the object, then remove it when it is in focus).

Light the incense stick and place the flash fairly close to the smoke.

Once the above setup is complete, take the photographs. Adjust the flash accordingly to see where it gives the best result.

Tip: Do not look through the viewfinder because you will not see the full length of the smoke patterns. Follow the smoke with your camera and try to capture the interesting shapes. If you don't have manual settings on the camera, set the camera on Shutter Mode 'TV' and increase the ISO to 320 or 400, this will give you an aperture nearer to f8.

The following three photographs were taken by manual focusing on smoke. The camera was set on Manual mode, aperture f10 and shutter speed 1/125.

Try to see when the smoke makes unusual shapes and take the photograph.

When too much smoke is accumulated it can create an atmospheric effect or may look messy (see below):

The following two photographs have been taken on 'Shutter' mode. I set the shutter speed to 1/125 and the camera selected the Aperture.

Photographing smoke is really fun, try being creative with your images.

The following photographs have been taken using two off camera flashes; one was fitted with a light green coloured gel. The camera is set on manual mode just as before

Red gel is used on the below image:

Blue gel is used on the below image:

Using a Compact camera:

If you are using a compact camera with a built-in flash, follow the above setup and select the ‘Landscape’ mode on the camera.

Tip: It is important to cover the built-in flash with a piece of tracing paper so that the light is diffused, this will avoid 'hot spots' on the backdrop.

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

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Saturday, 16 March 2019

Weekly Photo Challenge; Flowers

This week's photo challenge was 'Flowers'

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

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Monday, 28 May 2018

Friday's Tip

Tip 7:

Make use of shapes;

* interesting shapes can create powerful composition

Tip 8:

Photograph translucent objects:

* leaves, flowers, anything that lets in light

* photograph unusual images using the light box

* effect of the final image can be improved by adding another light source (soft box)

* edit in Photoshop to create scientific images

Tip 9:

Photograph food:

* shapes, textures, patterns and colour

* use simple light

* use exposure compensation

Tip 10:

Take an abstract approach:

* focus on the patterns and texture

* keep lighting simple

Tip 11:

Close-up photography:

* choose unusual viewpoint so that the object is not clearly identified

Tip 12:

Mix transmitted and reflected light

* glass and water both reflect and transmit light which can create subtle tones and textures

* transmitted light; place a glass object in front of a strongly lit white background or use a translucent white material like a tracing paper lit from the behind to create subtle tone

* multi-facet objects can produce a variety of effects by changing the background lighting

* photograph glass by using diffused light from the front of the set-up, such as soft box or a light bounced from a white reflector. This will reveal reflective qualities of a glass