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Photography 101

remy_lebeau8 said:
Yes I would like to take period pictures at some point. We only have one local event with a period photographer and he makes a mint. I was at the 150th shiloh event this year and they at 3 Photographers. The price range was 30-50 for a half plate(roughly 5x7). Our guy does them for about 35 and 10 for each print which isnt bad at all for the time he puts into them. I thought it would be fun to learn and a decent side job but the repop cameras are so expensive its almost not worth it. I need to find how to build one. I dont believe they're complex. I scan the image i had done and up load it in a bit when I can get to the Scanner. As for this process, Getting plates isn't the problem, the camera is.

Until i find a camera, maybe you can give me some advice on photo editing techniques to shop a modern photo to look similar to a tintype

Remy

Edit. Professional tintype and one of my edits to try and replacate it.
Click to expand...

The first thing I would suggest is to use only available light for the photos or use some kind of flash mounted off the camera. The old photographers didn't have access to dedicated flash units and the lighting from a modern camera-mounted flash is a dead giveaway. The subjects were frequently squinting because the plates were not very sensitive to light and the pictures were shot during the brightest time of day in direct sunlight. The flash powder of the day was relatively slow burning and very brilliant, so this also forced people to close their eyes during the exposure.

(I will eventually write a few paragraphs on the use of flash, reflectors, and, briefly, studio lighting.)

Also, because those old cameras invariably used a lens shutter, the photographs almost always had a bit of vignetting around the corners. This was caused by the shutter itself opening from the center of the lens toward the inside of the lens barrel and then back again. This type of shutter results in a slightly longer exposure in the middle of the image and thus creates the vignette effect. (Focal plane shutters such as those found in SLRs avoid this problem, but many photographers add a little vignette in post processing to darken the corners and draw attention to the center of the image.) The central brightness was also usually accompanied by clear focus only near the middle of the image as those lenses were typically not the greatest design or glass construction.

There are lots of software programs that simulate the damaged and fogged edges of a film plate. You can probably do it yourself with any decent digital editing package, but it will very likely end up looking like you did it yourself. One trick is to roughen the edges of a blank sheet of paper and add some scratches and stains to the central field. Then scan this page and add it as a layer over your original image. Use some variation on the Multiply, Screen, or Overlay blending technique to get the right look.

Try that and see what happens!
 
Actually this guy uses no flash or shutter. His flash is a guy with a shiny piece of metal to reflect light on the person or object. The shutter is the lens cap. He would pull it for so long and then cover up the lens. Thanks for the edit tips ill try it when i get home from work.

Remy.
 
remy_lebeau8 said:
Actually this guy uses no flash or shutter. His flash is a guy with a shiny piece of metal to reflect light on the person or object. The shutter is the lens cap. He would pull it for so long and then cover up the lens. Thanks for the edit tips ill try it when i get home from work.

Remy.
Click to expand...

I was referring to the flash on the edit you shared, not the actual tin type photo, but thank you for reminding me about the lens cap "shutter." I had forgotten that was how the earliest photographers made the exposure.
 
I added a bit of information about the new Leica M-Monochrome camera for black and white photography. Very exciting this is. :)
 
I edited the first post to include a description of background blur or "bokeh."
 
Lovely thread! I'm subscribing to it.:) I'll have to dust off my Cannon F1 and see what I've been missing.
 
dirtycarol said:
Lovely thread! I'm subscribing to it.:) I'll have to dust off my Cannon F1 and see what I've been missing.
Click to expand...

That's great to hear! If only a few people learn anything new from this thread, it will have been worth all the typing. :)
 
Wish you revived this thread, Eksberg. One way to do it would be to take a picture and explain what is wrong with its lighting composition and how it could have been done better. I just adore Henry Cartier Bresson's compositions. He had the eye. Composition is what seprates teh wheat from teh chaff...
 
serpentwrap said:
Wish you revived this thread, Eksberg. One way to do it would be to take a picture and explain what is wrong with its lighting composition and how it could have been done better. I just adore Henry Cartier Bresson's compositions. He had the eye. Composition is what seprates teh wheat from teh chaff...
Click to expand...

I'll see what I can come up with. Thanks for the interest! :)
 
I added a few examples and some tips on cropping to the third post. :)
 
Since this thread hasn't been visited in so long, I went in and edited a few things just to keep it up-to-date. Please let me know if you find any old info that I should change.
 
Ekserb said:
Since this thread hasn't been visited in so long, I went in and edited a few things just to keep it up-to-date. Please let me know if you find any old info that I should change.
Click to expand...

Just found your thread and wanted to commend you for the effort...also wanted to let you know I'm subscribing ~ Thanks for the interesting info!
 
yukonnights said:
Just found your thread and wanted to commend you for the effort...also wanted to let you know I'm subscribing ~ Thanks for the interesting info!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I hope something I've written was helpful in some way. :)
 
Very nicely done. It's nice to see more photographers on LIT...

And great pic thread!!
 
It's been a few months, so I went through and made a few small changes and updates to the first few posts. Nothing major.
 
Camera

Ekserb said:
It's been a few months, so I went through and made a few small changes and updates to the first few posts. Nothing major.
Click to expand...

Good evening Mr E

As I see you here I wonder if I could be cheeky and ask a question, have you heard anything good about the Panasonic FZ1000 bridge camera? I am upgrading and have been looking at this.

Sorry if this offends but I know you know your stuff.
TIA
Snorks
 
snorkyman said:
Good evening Mr E

As I see you here I wonder if I could be cheeky and ask a question, have you heard anything good about the Panasonic FZ1000 bridge camera? I am upgrading and have been looking at this.

Sorry if this offends but I know you know your stuff.
TIA
Snorks
Click to expand...

I assume you're talking about the Mark II version that came out last year and not the 2014 camera. Either way, it seems like a solid camera with a good lens.

The truth is, it's hard to buy a modern camera that doesn't make high quality images. The technology really has come far enough that the weakest link in any setup will be the photographer. Having said that, there are a few things about this model that I would like to see changed (though many of these may not mean anything to the average person):

• It's not weather-sealed. One of the biggest benefits to using a camera with a non-interchangeable lens is not having to worry about dust and moisture getting into the body of the camera. With the FZ1000, you'll have to worry that it might get damaged on a rainy day or in a very dusty environment.

• The lens, while extremely versatile with a range of 25-400mm (35mm equivalent, see post #1 of this thread), does have a variable aperture, so the maximum lens opening decreases as you zoom from wide to telephoto. In Auto mode, you may not notice this, but if you are shooting in any form of Manual or Priority modes, the exposure may change as you zoom. Just something to be aware of.

• I think that almost all current cameras that also shoot video are expected to be able to shoot 4K at 60 frames-per-second. While this one does shoot up to 120 FPS, it does so only at the reduced quality of 1080P HD. (For the record, my camera does the same thing and I've never missed it.)

• I almost hate to mention this because it harkens back to the "megapixel wars" of a few years ago, but 20.1MP is pretty low for a modern camera. I understand they went for larger individual pixel dimensions to increase the low-light sensitivity, but the max ISO of 25,600 isn't as good as some other cameras with much higher resolution sensors.

None of this means it isn't a good camera. It just misses some of the check boxes that a professional shooter might want to see in a camera. It will still make wonderful images if you know what you're doing.

Looking at the older version, I'd say that one might be the better buy. It's $300 less on Amazon and seems to have an identical feature set.

Hope this helps!
 
Ekserb said:
I assume you're talking about the Mark II version that came out last year and not the 2014 camera. Either way, it seems like a solid camera with a good lens.

The truth is, it's hard to buy a modern camera that doesn't make high quality images. The technology really has come far enough that the weakest link in any setup will be the photographer. Having said that, there are a few things about this model that I would like to see changed (though many of these may not mean anything to the average person):

• It's not weather-sealed. One of the biggest benefits to using a camera with a non-interchangeable lens is not having to worry about dust and moisture getting into the body of the camera. With the FZ1000, you'll have to worry that it might get damaged on a rainy day or in a very dusty environment.

• The lens, while extremely versatile with a range of 25-400mm (35mm equivalent, see post #1 of this thread), does have a variable aperture, so the maximum lens opening decreases as you zoom from wide to telephoto. In Auto mode, you may not notice this, but if you are shooting in any form of Manual or Priority modes, the exposure may change as you zoom. Just something to be aware of.

• I think that almost all current cameras that also shoot video are expected to be able to shoot 4K at 60 frames-per-second. While this one does shoot up to 120 FPS, it does so only at the reduced quality of 1080P HD. (For the record, my camera does the same thing and I've never missed it.)

• I almost hate to mention this because it harkens back to the "megapixel wars" of a few years ago, but 20.1MP is pretty low for a modern camera. I understand they went for larger individual pixel dimensions to increase the low-light sensitivity, but the max ISO of 25,600 isn't as good as some other cameras with much higher resolution sensors.

None of this means it isn't a good camera. It just misses some of the check boxes that a professional shooter might want to see in a camera. It will still make wonderful images if you know what you're doing.

Looking at the older version, I'd say that one might be the better buy. It's $300 less on Amazon and seems to have an identical feature set.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...


Thank you for taking the time to reply, I appreciate your input.

I have a lot of respect for you and your ability to produce great images. You take time out to help others where you can and I like that.

The only thing that does bother me is the great British weather so that is something to definitely think about.

I am still a beginner where understanding and ability is concerned but have taken some decent pics all the same.

Thanks again.
 
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