Swap shadows in still-lifes
Try this creative in-camera technique
to add interesting shadows that bring your still-lifes to life
Being creative with shadows can produce
some really appealing images whatever your subject. But swapping a subject’s
shadow is somewhat more complicated, usually involving more Photoshop than
photography. Normally you need to take one picture of your subject, one of the
shadow and then combine the two seamlessly in post-production. This may sound
simple enough, but it’s rather tricky if your compositing skills aren’t up to
scratch. There is a way, though, to create such an image completely in-camera
and without any additional work in post-production – all it takes is some
crafty lighting, a long exposure and still subjects.
Being
creative with shadows can produce some really appealing images whatever your
subject
By using a lengthy exposure of around ten
seconds or more, in a totally dark room, and dividing the amount of time during
the exposure that you illuminate the different elements with a torch, you can
create the illusion in one image. It’s important that the most amount of time
is spent casting the shadow on the wall so it’s the prominent part of the
exposure – this way when you shine a torch on the actual subject, its shadow
won’t render in the exposure.
When preparing for the shoot, you’ll need a
pocket-sized torch, a remote release, a still-life subject and the object you
want to use for its shadow. As sharp shadows work best, use a small LED torch
with one diode and place the subjects as close as possible: the larger the
light source and further away it is, the softer the shadow. Chess pieces work
well for this technique as they have graphic shapes and allow you to be more
creative – try to think about what the subject might get up to when the lights
are turned off and no one’s watching, and use this for inspiration when picking
your shadow subject. I’m using a knight for my subject and a toy horse for the
shadow. Although it takes practice, and many attempts to get right, it’s a
great in-camera technique for creating shadow-swapped images.
Set-up Place
your chess piece on a chessboard or a table against a wall. Set your camera on
a tripod in front of the desk and compose your image so that the chess piece is
small in the foreground, with plenty of background for your shadow. Place your
toy to the right of your chess figure: get them as close together as you can
without encroaching on the camera’s frame. Set your camera to aperture-priority
mode and dial in a mid-aperture (I used f/14). Lock focus on the chess piece
and switch to manual focus to stop the lens from hunting once you turn the
lights off.
Lighting
Switch off all the room lights and stand to the right of your toy. Shine your
torch across the toy at an angle that casts a shadow on the background. You
need to shine the light for two-thirds of the total exposure time (for me that
was seven seconds). Try not to shake your hand. For most of the remaining time,
move the light to illuminate the chess figure. You need to position the shadow
so that its end matches up with where the toy’s shadow began on the background.
For the last second or two, shine the torch all over on the chessboard to
brighten the image.
All the fun of the fair
Take control of your shutter speeds
and master how to capture dynamic fairground photographs bursting with
excitement and motion when your fair comes to town
Take
control of your shutter speeds and master how to capture dynamic fairground
photographs bursting
Think back to when you were a child and the
feverish excitement that the arrival of a travelling funfair to your town
brought with it. Candyfloss, hook-a-duck stalls, bright lights and an
assortment of spinning, tumbling and stomach-churning rides to enjoy – all on
your doorstep! As well as source of endless entertainment for kids, funfairs
also make fantastic photographic subjects; all those moving, twirling an
spinning lights can only mean one thing slow shutter speeds and lights trails.
Grab your camera and tripod, and join the fun of the fair during this
celebratory period.
As we’ll be aiming to capture light trails,
the best time to visit the fairground is early evening. This has the added
advantage of usually being less busy so you don’t risk your tripod getting
bumped during the exposure. Fairs usually run into the dark hours but visiting
just after sunset can yield fantastic results as you’ll be shooting against the
day’s fading light, rather than a black shy.
A wide-angle zoom is a good choice as fairs
are usually packed into relatively small spaces. Using the wide end of your
lens will make your shots more dynamic, too. The other piece of essential kit
that you’ll need is a good tripod and also a remote release to eliminate camera
shake, although you can use your camera’s self-timer mode instead. You’ll often
be waiting around for the ride to start, too, so make sure you wrap up warm and
be patient!
A
wide-angle zoom is a good choice as fairs are usually packed into relatively
small spaces
Set-up
Attach your camera on a tripod and fit a remote release, then compose the shot.
Remember to allow room for the ride that you’re photographing to move in the
frame without being cropped out. Try to compose the shot facing west to record
any fading light in the sky as this will add extra depth, color and interest to
your shots. Use single-point autofocus or manually focus on a part of the ride
that’s stationary.
Camera settings Choose a low ISO rating and select multi-zone metering. Switch to
shutter-priority mode and choose a slow shutter speed – start at around one
second. Take a test shot while the ride is stationary to check the exposure of
the sky and surroundings and use exposure compensation if required. When the
ride starts, try different exposure times; the speed of the ride will dictate
which works best.
Move movement needed At 1/8sec the people on the ride are clearly visible, but there’s
only a slight sense of speed and the light trails are shot. The camera has also
selected a wide aperture (f/4).
Get the balance right There is plenty of motion captured in the lights using 1.6 seconds
at f/9, but the riders have been blurred beyond recognition and don’t stand out
enough against the sky.
The wrong shape A six-second exposure at f/18 has captured the rotation of the ride
and the movement when the ride changed its axis of rotation, losing the shape
of the carousel.
Too long of an exposure Although rotation across multiple axes has been recorded here, the
light trails are smoother at 13 seconds than at six seconds. But the riders are
almost invisible.
