10. Advanced Techniques
Impress Your Family and Friends
We’ve covered a lot of ground in the previous chapters, especially on the general photographic concepts that apply to most, if not all, shooting situations. There are, however, some specific tools and techniques that will give you an added advantage in obtaining a great shot. Additionally, we will look at how to customize certain controls on your camera to reflect your personal shooting preferences and always have them at the ready.
Poring Over the Picture
I love leading “photowalks” for my fellow photographers. Photowalks are a great way of getting to know people who enjoy the same hobby, and can be a learning environment as well. As a walk leader I am often asked how to shoot various scenarios, and on this particular photowalk in Orlando, Florida, one of the participants asked how to get a better sunset photo. It’s not all that hard, once you know where to point your camera.
Spot Meter for More Exposure Control
Generally speaking, Evaluative metering mode provides accurate metering information for the majority of your photography. It does an excellent job of evaluating the scene, and then relaying the proper exposure information to you. The only problem with this mode is that, like any metering mode on the camera, it doesn’t know what it is looking at. There will be specific circumstances where you want to get an accurate reading from just a portion of a scene and discount all of the remaining area in the viewfinder. To give you greater control of the metering operation, you can switch the camera to Spot metering mode. This allows you to take a meter reading from a small circle in the center of the viewfinder while ignoring the rest of the viewfinder area.
So when would you need to use this? Think of a person standing in front of a dark wall. In Evaluative metering mode, the camera would see the entire scene and try to adjust the exposure information so that the dark background is exposed to render a lighter wall in your image. This means that the scene would be overexposed and your subject would then appear too light. To correct this, you can place the camera in Spot metering mode and take a meter reading right off—and only off—your subject, ignoring the dark wall altogether.
Other situations that would benefit from Spot metering include:
• Snow or beach environments where the overall brightness level of the scene could fool the meter
• Strongly backlit subjects that are leaving the subject underexposed
• Cases where the overall feel of a photo is too light or too dark (Figures 10.1 and 10.2)
FIGURE 10.1 I was trying to get a good exposure of the doorway, but the light-colored wall was fooling the meter into underexposing.
FIGURE 10.2 By switching to Spot metering and measuring the doorframe, I was able to get a more accurate exposure.
Setting Up and Shooting in Spot Metering Mode
1. Press the Q button to bring up the Quick Control screen on the back of the camera, and then use the Cross keys to move the icon to the Metering mode.
2. Rotate the Main dial until the Spot metering icon appears, and then press the shutter release button halfway to return to shooting mode.
3. Point the center focus point at the subject that you wish to use for the meter reading.
4. Press the 
button to enable the AE Lock, which will hold the exposure value while you recompose, and then take the photo.
When using Spot metering mode, remember that the meter believes it is looking at a medium gray value, so you might need to incorporate some exposure compensation of your own into the reading that you are getting from your subject. This ability will come from experience as you use the meter.
Metering for Sunrise or Sunset
Capturing a beautiful sunrise or sunset is all about the sky. If there is too much foreground in the viewfinder, the camera’s meter will deliver an exposure setting that is accurate for the darker foreground areas but leaves the sky looking overexposed, undersaturated, and generally just not very interesting (Figure 10.3). To gain more emphasis on the colorful sky, point your camera at the brightest part of it and take your meter reading there. Use the AE Lock, and then recompose. The result will be an exposure setting that underexposes the foreground but provides a darker, more dramatic sky (Figure 10.4).
FIGURE 10.3 By metering with all the information in the frame, you get bright skies and more detail in the foreground.
FIGURE 10.4 By taking the meter reading from the brightest part of the sky, you will get darker, more colorful sunsets.
Manual Mode
Probably one of the most advanced and yet most basic skills to master is shooting in Manual mode. With the power and utility of most of the automatic modes, Manual mode almost never sees the light of day. I have to admit that I don’t select it for use very often, but there are times when no other mode will do. One situation that works well with Manual is studio work with external flashes. I know that when I work with studio lights, my exposure will not change, so I use Manual to eliminate any automatic changes that might happen from shooting in P, Tv, or Av mode.
Since you probably aren’t too concerned with studio strobes at this point, I will concentrate on one of the ways in which you will want to use Manual mode for your photography: long nighttime exposures.
Bulb Photography
If you want to work with long shutter speeds that don’t quite fit into one of the selectable shutter speeds, you can select Bulb. This setting is available only in Manual mode, and its sole purpose is to open the shutter at your command and then close it again when you decide. I can think of two scenarios where this would come in handy: shooting fireworks and shooting lightning.
If you are photographing fireworks, you could certainly use one of the longer shutter speeds available in Tv mode, since they are available for exposure times up to 30 seconds. That is fine, but sometimes you don’t need 30 seconds’ worth of exposure and sometimes you need more.
If you open the shutter and then see a great burst of fireworks, you might decide that’s all you want for that particular frame, so you click the button to end the exposure (Figure 10.5). Set the camera to 30 seconds and you might get too many bursts, but if you shorten it to 10 seconds you might not get the one you want.
The same can be said for photographing a lightning storm. I have a friend who loves electrical storms, and he has some amazing shots that he captured using the Bulb setting. Lightning can be very tricky to capture, and using the Bulb setting to open and then close the shutter at will allows for more creativity, as well as more opportunity to get the shot.
To select the Bulb setting, place your camera in Manual mode and then rotate the Main dial until the shutter speed displays Bulb.
If you want to make a change to the aperture, hold in the Av button on the back of the camera while turning the Main dial.
When you’re using the Bulb setting, the shutter will only stay open for the duration that you are holding down the shutter button. You will also see a counter on the lower-right portion of the LCD screen that will count off the seconds that the shutter is open. You can use this counter to either add or subtract time for your next shot. You should also be using a sturdy tripod or shooting surface to eliminate any self-induced vibration. The Bulb setting can be used in conjunction with the Mirror Lockup feature found in the Custom Setup menu for improved image sharpness.
I want to point out that using your finger on the shutter button for a bulb exposure will definitely increase the chances of getting some camera shake in your images.
To get the most benefit from the bulb setting, I suggest using a remote cord such as the Canon RS-60E3 Remote Switch (see Bonus Chapter 11, “Pimp My Ride,” for more details). You’ll also want to turn on the Long Exposure Noise Reduction, as covered in Chapter 8, “Mood Lighting.”
Bracketing Exposures
So what if you are doing everything right in terms of metering and mode selection, yet your images still sometimes come out too light or too dark? You can use a technique called “bracketing,” which will help you find the best exposure value for your scene by taking a normal exposure, as well as one that is overexposed, and another that is underexposed. Having these differing exposure values will most often present you with one frame that just looks better than the others. I use the Bracketing function all the time.
Once you have entered the Auto-Exposure Bracket screen, you must use the Main dial to decide how much variation you want between bracketed exposures. You can set the amount of exposure bracketing from as little as a third of a stop to as much as two stops per exposure (this is the setting I use for creating HDR images). You can also dial in the amount of exposure compensation that you might need. You can adjust the compensation as much as seven stops in either direction, depending on the range of your bracketed exposures. Either way, bracketing will help you zero in on that perfect exposure, and you can just delete the ones that didn’t make the grade (Figures 10.6–10.8).
You can adjust the Exposure Compensation/AEB setting through the camera menu or by my favorite method, the Quick Control screen.
Setting Auto-Exposure Bracketing
1. Press the Q button, and then move the cursor to the Exposure Comp./AEB Setting icon (A).
2. Press Set to enter the compensation/bracketing screen (B).
3. Use the Main dial to set the amount of over- and underexposure that you desire (C).
4. If you want the “normal” exposure to be a little over- or underexposed, you can adjust that with your left/right Cross keys.
The camera will take the underexposed image first, then the normal image, then the overexposed image. Don’t forget to take all three.
When I am out shooting, I typically shoot with my camera set to an exposure compensation of –1/3 stop to protect my highlights. If I am dealing with a subject that has a lot of different tonal ranges from bright to dark, I will often bracket by one stop over and under my already compensated exposure. That means I will have exposures of –1 1/3, –1/3, and +2/3.
Tip
The Auto Exposure Bracketing feature will reset itself when the camera is turned off and then on again.
HDR Backlight Control
Earlier in the book, I explained the process for creating HDR images using three separate images that need to be combined using special software. There is, however, a special feature on your camera that will let you take three images and combine them right in your camera for improved highlight and shadow details. It’s called HDR Backlight Control, and you can activate it by selecting it on your Camera Mode Dial.
It lives in the Basic Mode side of the dial (as discussed in Chapter 3, “The Basic Zone”) because you have no control to change any options.
When you select the HDR Bracket Control option, the camera will take three continuous photos with a single click of the shutter button. After the photos have been taken, the camera will combine the images to give you an image with greater detail in the highlights and shadows (Figure 10.9).
FIGURE 10.9 There is a great deal of detail in both the shadow and highlights from the backlit subject thanks to the HDR processing.
There are limitations to using this setting. First, you should always have your camera on a stable surface or a tripod when taking photos. Second, you should only use it on nonmoving subjects, because you can get ghosting if movement occurs during the exposure process.
Auto Lighting Optimizer
Did you know that your camera provides a function that can automatically make your pictures look better? It’s called Auto Lighting Optimizer. It works this way: the camera evaluates the tones in your image and then lightens any areas that it believes are too dark or lacking in contrast (Figures 10.10 and 10.11). This is different than the HDR Backlight Control because it is only working on a single exposure and boosting the shadows while pulling the exposure down slightly to darken the highlights. This optimization is applied automatically in the shooting modes of the Basic zone.
FIGURE 10.11 Although the exposure hasn’t changed, the shadows are brighter after changing the Optimizer to the Strong setting.
You can choose from four levels: Disable, Low, Standard, and High. You will need to evaluate the strength of the effect on your images and change it accordingly. I typically leave it set to Standard so that I have brighter, more detailed shadow areas in my photographs. If you are using exposure compensation to darken your image, you might find that your image is too bright with this option turned on. Also, you should disable it if you are using flash exposure compensation since it will try to work against you when you alter the flash strength.
Setting Up the Auto Lighting Optimizer
1. Press the Menu button and use the Main dial to get to the second setup tab, then highlight Auto Lighting Optimizer and press the Set button (A).
2. Use the Cross keys to select the level of optimization that you prefer and press the Set button to lock in the change (B).
Handheld Night Scene
Another great little automatic feature found in that Special Scene Mode is the Handheld Night Scene mode. We briefly touched on this in Chapter 3, but it bears going over once again. Handheld Night Scene is a Basic shooting mode, and it acts in a similar fashion to the HDR mode except it’s made for getting a sharp image in low light or night scenes, where handholding a camera usually isn’t possible. To do this, the camera fires off four continuous frames, and then processes them in-camera to create one sharp, properly exposed image (Figure 10.12). You even have the option of combining the mode with flash if you want to include someone in the photo. Just make sure you turn the flash on using the Q button and have the person stand fairly still during the picture.
The My Menu Setting
There are a lot of items in the menu that you can change, but some are used and changed more frequently than others. The My Menu function allows you to place six of your most used menu items in one place so that you can quickly get to them, make your changes, and get on with shooting. You can see what I have in my My Menu in Figure 10.13.
Customizing Your My Menu Setting
1. Press the Menu button and select the tab with the star using the Cross keys.
2. Select My Menu Settings and press Set (A).
3. Highlight Register To My Menu and press Set (B).
4. Scroll through the available menu items, and when you highlight one that you want to add, press the Set button (C).
5. When asked if you want to register the item, highlight OK and press Set (D).
6. Continue adding the items that you want in the list until you have selected your favorites (up to six of them).
7. You can sort your menu items as you see fit, or if you change your mind, you can delete them individually or all at once. It’s all up to you.
Customize Your White Balance
Previous chapters have addressed the issue of setting your white balance, but what if you are in a situation that doesn’t fall neatly into one of the existing categories like Daylight or Tungsten? You might want to consider creating a custom white balance. This is especially helpful if you are working in a mixed lighting scenario where you have more than one kind of light source that is shining on your subject. A perfect example might be inside with fluorescent lighting fixtures overhead and daylight coming in through a window. To ensure that you are getting the best possible results in a situation like this, you can perform a quick white balance customization by using the Custom White Balance option. Don’t worry, though; it’s easier than you might think. Typically the only thing you will need is a white piece of paper.
Creating a Custom White Balance
1. Begin by having your subject hold a white piece of paper and then take a picture of it. You can have the camera set on any white balance preset for this (A).
2. Press the Menu button and navigate to the second shooting menu, highlight Custom White Balance, and press the Set button (B).
3. The camera should then display the photo that you took of the white paper. If it is the correct image, press the Set button. If not, use the left/right Cross keys to locate the image first (C).
4. Confirm that this is the image that you want to use by highlighting the OK option and pressing Set (D).
5. Click OK to set your camera to the Custom White Balance setting (E).
You are now ready to take images with much more accurate color for the environment where you are shooting.
Conclusion
As you’ll see, the online bonus chapters cover a lot of gadgets, filters, and accessories that will make your photography better. It can become an obsession to always have the latest thing out there. But here’s the deal. You already have almost everything you need to take great pictures: an awesome camera and the knowledge necessary to use it. Everything else is just icing on the cake. So, while I introduce a few items in the bonus chapters that I think will make your photographic life easier and even improve your images, don’t get caught up in the technology and gadgetry.
Use your knowledge of basic photography to explore everything your camera has to offer. Explore the limits of your camera. Don’t be afraid to take bad pictures. Don’t be too quick to delete them off your memory card, either. Take some time to examine them and see where things went wrong. Look at your camera settings and see if perhaps there was a change you could have made to make things better. Be your toughest critic and learn from your mistakes. With practice and reflection, you will soon find your photography getting better and better. Not only that, but your instincts will improve to the point that you will come upon a scene and know exactly how you want to shoot it before you even take your camera out of the bag.
Chapter 10 Assignments
Many of the techniques covered in this chapter are specific to certain shooting situations that may not come about very often. This is even more reason to practice them so that when the situation does present itself you will be ready.
Adding some drama to the end of the day
Most sunset photos don’t reflect what the photographer saw, because they didn’t meter correctly for them. The next time you see a colorful sunset, take a photo without taking a meter reading from the sky. Then take a meter reading from the sky and snap a photo and see what a difference it makes.
Making your exposure spot-on
Using the Spot metering mode can give accurate results but only when pointed at something that has a middle tone. Try adding something gray to the scene and taking a reading off it. Now switch back to your regular metering mode and see if the exposure isn’t slightly different.
Using the Bulb setting to capture the moment
This is definitely one of those settings that you won’t use often, but it’s pretty handy when you need it. If you have the opportunity to shoot a fireworks display or a distant storm, try setting the camera to Bulb and then playing with some long exposures to capture just the moments that you want.
Bracketing your way to better exposures
Why settle for just one variation of an image when you can bracket to get the best exposure choice? Set your camera up for a 1/3-bracket series and then expand it to a one-stop series. Review the results to see if the normal setting was the best, or perhaps maybe one of the bracketed exposures is even better.
Share your results with the book’s Flickr group!
Join the group here: flickr.com/groups/t5i700dfromsnapshotstogreatshots