Studs and Nuts and Glue, Oh my!

Studs and Nuts and Glue, Oh my!

"I was prepared for the theatre, but not for the nuts and bolts." - Matthew Ashford

     If you do any kind of photography work that involves light stands, or super clamps and other such light mounting hardware, then your probably very familiar with studs and spigots. You may also then be very familiar with how much they can cost... I don't mind paying $3 or $4 for one of these little pieces of metal, but when you factor in shipping, it easily doubles in cost. And those are the CHEAP ones! A good Manfrotto spigot will cost you around $10 each, plus shipping.

     It wouldn't be so bad I suppose if it were only necessary to have one. But the thing is, you can never have enough because they're always getting lost! I bought 6 about a year ago, and now I somehow have only 3 and a half left. Ridiculous. So, like any self-respecting male who likes to build things, I went to the hardware store.

 

      I know... you pros are thinking "Wow. This guy has low standards." But just hear me out!
 Or read me out? OK anyway, just trust me, this is a really great CHEAP solution that works just as good as the real thing! AND, it's perfect if your in the middle of a shoot or have one coming up soon but can't wait for a new spigot to ship. Just head over to Home Depot, or Ace or whatever, these are very standard parts. You can do it!

Here's what you need to make ONE (1) awesome homemade spigot/stud:

• Six 5/16" hex nuts
• Two 5/16" flat washers
• Two 1/4" hex nuts
• One 1/4-20 X 2-1/2" carriage bolt (or hex head, see below for info)
• Super Glue (liquid, NOT the gel)
• Pliers or crescent wrench

      First, send one of those 1/4" hex nuts all the way to the head of the carriage bolt, tighten it down and add a few drops of Super Glue to keep it from moving around.

     Then, before that glue dries, slip on one of the larger 5/16" hex nuts. It's not supposed to screw on, just let it rest on the smaller nut below. Add a few drops of glue to the inside of that larger 5/16" nut so it really gets in there and secures that nut to the one below it and to the carriage bolt as well. This step will be repeated after every nut from now on for maximum strength. 

     Just keep stack'n them nuts and glue'n them down! Eventually, you'll be ready for the TWO washers in the middle. Do two, not one. Trust. And this step is no different... Stack, glue. Stack, glue.

     When you get to the end, screw on the second 1/4" hex nut.It's a good idea to let all that glue you've applied to dry for a good 10-20 minutes before applying heavy wrench pressure to that last nut.
     After you've patiently waited and THEN tightened it down, add some glue!

     OK! Here's it is mounted inside an umbrella bracket:

     Earlier, I made mention of using hex head bolts instead of carriage bolts. Let me show you what I would have done differently. Well, what I WILL do differently NEXT time.

     Check out how the new spigot sits differently depending on how it's placed in the umbrella bracket: 

     The reason that it isn't sitting straight when the bolt is upside-down, is because the large head of the carriage bolt is pushing up against the inside of the bracket which is a smaller space than the hole that the bolt passes through. When the tightening knob sets in, the spigot goes all wonky.
     It's not an issue with other accessories (at least the ones I own), so if you plan to use these homemade spigots with umbrella brackets, either:
          A) use hex-head bolts with smaller heads or
          B) make sure that the carriage bolt is placed so that the large head is at the top.

     Here it is holding a monolight on a stand. Stong as can be!

     Well, that's it for now. Like I said, this is a really great solution if you're in a pinch and need some more spigots fast. And all things considered, it's also a difference of over $10 a piece!





     Hey thanks for reading! I love photography and I enjoy writing blog posts. Hopefully I've been able to teach you something or remind you of something or give you some inspiration or just give you something to do at work other than...uh...

Exposure Compensation: Manual Control For Automatic Modes

Exposure Compensation: Manual Control For Automatic Modes

"No collection without compensation." - Jeff Rich

     "What??? A manual control for my automatic mode?!" Yes, I know, it doesn't make any sense. But after you've read a little further, it will make perfect sense and you auto-people will be glad you read this. It essentially gives you a very basic control over exposure when shooting in any of the semi-automatic modes: Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Program. But first, let's go over some basic stuff about making an exposure. 

      A photograph is made using 3 different methods of light capture at the same time: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO speed. The aperture controls how much light enters the camera at one given moment. The shutter speed controls how much time passes while light is entering the camera, and the ISO speed is a measure of how sensitive to light the film or digital sensor is. In manual mode, you have the responsibility to control each one so that it works in harmony with the other two and provides you with a properly exposed photo.

     When you're using the camera in an automatic mode, like Shutter Priority for example, you set the shutter speed to a desired amount and the camera changes the aperture and ISO speed accordingly to achieve a proper exposure based on what the light meter sees (which also involves the metering mode you've selected). In most normal environments, and aside from setting the shutter speed to a very fast or very slow setting, the resulting image will be no different than if you set the camera to full auto. So what if you're in Shutter Priority, and the camera does it's calculations and you end up with a picture that's too bright? If you increase the shutter speed, the camera will automatically compensate by choosing a larger aperture or higher ISO speed, and you'll get the same exposure again.

The "Av +/-" button on a Canon T5i

     Well, this is where exposure compensation can save the day. If your using a Canon camera, and it's not of professional grade, you'll likely have an "Av +/-" button on the back somewhere near where your right hand thumb sits. While in one of the automatic shooting modes, press this button (and hold it down) and turn the wheel with your right index finger. You should see the little bar on the light meter inside the view finder change position. It will go up to let you know that the camera is "seeing" more light, and down when it "sees" less light. The scale will show from -2 up to +2, and this is telling you by how many stops the light is changing. So, if your image is too bright, press the "Av +/-" button and turn the wheel to the left to lower the exposure. On pro grade camera like the 5D models, you would instead just turn the rear wheel without pressing any buttons first. 

     I wish there was more to say about exposure compensation, but it's a pretty simple in theory and in practice! If you normally shoot in one of the semi-automatic modes, this will be something you use a lot. If you always shoot in manual, well... you know.

     Hey thanks for reading guys, I do hope you've learned something. If you like my little blog project, please share it with your friends and click the little social media icons below the articles. It would mean a lot! If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below!

Back That Thang Up! : Hard Drive Backups

Back That Thang Up! : Hard Drive Backups

"Storing files on a computer without any backup is like putting all your eggs in one basket, and then throwing it off a very high cliff. They may be safe for a while, but eventually things will get messy." -
T.E. Ronneberg

     So first off, I'd like to apologize for such a late post. I was out of town for work and when I got back, I discovered that one of my hard drives had failed while I was gone. Thankfully, I'm a good boy and I backup my hard drives regularly! So it was only the loss of an $100 hard drive and not the loss of thousands of irreplaceable photos.
     Backing up your stuff on external drives is so easy, simple and valuable, there's really no good reason for you to not be doing it. And with the prices of hard drives consistently dropping, it doesn't hurt your wallet either.

     There's a couple different ways to backup your photos, and while some techniques are bit more advanced, they can also be more robust in features. Without going into lengthy detail on each option, here's a list of the more common ways to backup your photos and some general info about each one:

    * RAID Array Setup This is where multiple hard drives are used together as one storage device. There's different methods for configuring the drives, and each method has it's own benefits. For example, some configurations allow for better performance than one hard drive could provide, while other configurations allow for data redundancy that a single drive could not provide.      
    * Automatic Backups I know it's more of a general term, but what I'm referring to is the software that sometimes comes included with the purchase of a hard drive. Essentially, it automatically stores changes made in a specified folder onto a backup drive. Very handy if your not interested in messing around with backups all the time, as it does it all on it's own. As with anything these days, there's several different companies that make the software, and you'll have to do some research to find one that fits your personal needs.
    * Drive copying This is pretty much what it sounds like... You copy the contents of one drive onto another drive. As an exact duplicate of the original files, this is usually the safest way to backup, as there won't be any proprietary file formats to contend with in the future. However, this is also the most time consuming.
    * Cloud storage backup Putting your photos and videos out there into the great interwebs is an option with serious pros and serious cons. The good part is that it's offsite storage so that if something should happen to the physical location of your hard drives, you have another copy safely waiting thousands of miles away. This could be a real life saver in the case of theft or fire or something like that. The bad part is that those hard drives "in the cloud" could be hacked by mean people that like to steal personal data. Maybe you have nothing to "hide", but doesn't it make you feel a little uncomfortable to know that your trusting a company that's trusting employees who are trusting third parties who are trusting their employees who are trusting other employees and so on?  It's easy for Carbonite or Dropbox or whoever to say "your data is secure", but does any one person really know that that's true?
    * Burned DVDs Two words: SLOW & SAFE.
    * Thumb Drives This is a great option in my opinion, because it focuses on the photos that really matter. With this backup method, you don't copy every single photo or file on your hard drive, but instead only copy onto a thumb drive the pictures from the important shoots or the big events.This is also meant to be a temporary storage solution for short term extra backup until your other drives get settled. Then it can be erased after a week or two without worry.

     When I need to copy and backup new photos, what I do is copy directly from the camera to the primary storage drive. This is the drive I access when working in Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. I then copy again directly from the camera to a second drive that acts as a mirror to the primary drive. The reason I copy directly to both is that if there happened to be an error while copying to one drive, the error (hopefully) would not be likely to occur on the other drive during the second round of copying. Whereas if I only copy directly to one drive and an error occurs during copying, then duplicate that drive, then I have two bad files! This has happened to me several times, which is why I always copy directly to two different drives. After that's done, I convert the raw images to large JPGs and upload them to Flickr in a private folder. This way, if my two drives fail, I at least have high quality JPG versions to turn to.

     I know my method isn't as fancy as some other photographers, but it's cheap (2 WD My Passport drives for $99 each), it's completely under my control, and I have the 3 copies. Perhaps if gigantic loads of money start falling into my lap, I might upgrade the configuration a bit, but I don't think it's really necessary. Well that's it... hard drive backups. Don't be lazy or you'll be sorry! Get some drives, and start copying!

     As always, thanks for reading, and I really hope that you find some helpful information in all my rambling. If you have a comment or question, I'd love to hear it! Just below, there's comment boxes, and social media links, and even a cool survey! Have fun!

Photo Walks: Take A Hike!

Photo Walks: Take A Hike!

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust

     I'm sure you've all heard about photo walks, but have you all participated in one? If not, you should. It's loads of fun, and you can end with some really cool pictures you'd have never thought to make otherwise! There's all different kinds of photo walks too: 

• Themed walks - Maybe the idea is to walk down a busy road and only take pictures of cars
• Group walks - You'll likely find a group on Flickr, if not check the Community section on Craigslist
• Solitary walks - You're walk'n solo. No pressure, very relaxing....
• Objective walks - For example, minimum of 100 pictures, no round objects, no red objects, etc.
• Make one up! - Be creative, be limiting, and stick to it! Your brain will work harder to make it happen!

     These are some pictures I made just this morning on a quick photo walk through my neighborhood. It's not award winning stuff, but it helped me to get the day rolling and I made some images I've never made before.

     Again, you can go with a formal photo walk group, maybe bring a friend along, or just go by yourself. There's also the option to drive more than you walk; essentially, you drive to random locations around town, get out and take pictures for a little while, drive to another location, and on and on... This can be bad on your gas mileage, but great for your practice. It also allows you to find new locations for shooting later. This how I find a lot of the spots that I take models for photo shoots. Just be careful about where your driving, parking, and walking. There's a lot of people & businesses that don't like having photographers around.

     Well that's the post for this week. I was out my own photo walk, and thought it would be good to remind you of how fun it can be...so get out there and start walking! As always, thanks for reading, and leave a comment about how you go about your photo walks!

The Quick Review: Vagabond Mini

The Quick Review: Vagabond Mini

"The truth is that it is natural, as well as necessary, 
for every man to be a vagabond occasionally." - Samuel H Hammond

     Well this is a first... a product review! And what a great product to start with, too! Yes, I know that the Vagabond Mini has been out for some time, but I just got mine, and I thought sharing some things about it could be helpful. So here we go...

• Manufacturer: Paul C Buff
• Model: Vagabond Mini
• Description: Portable AC Power Center
• Number Of AC Outlets: 2
• Maximum Continuous  Wattage: 120 Watts
• Size:  2.75” x 4.3” x 7.8”
• Weight: 3 1/2 lbs.
• Price: $239.95

     When Paul C. Buff first provided photographers with portable power, it was without a doubt very helpful. Albeit the power packs were gigantic and weighed enough to make your assistants hate you. Oh, and they had...wait for it...

     Grounding rods. 

     Haha, yes, grounding rods. So scientific! Then the Vagabond II was released, a definite improvement of the first generation, but still a bit on the back breaking side. Well now, the company has moved from sealed lead acid batteries to rechargable Lithium batteries (Angels Singing: HALLELUJAH!) and the difference is astounding. The company completely overhauled the Vagabond power pack, partly because the new battery type forced them to, but mostly because the people at Paul C. Buff are awesome and they love to make great products for us to enjoy. Anyway, let's get into it.

     When you first open the box of your new Vagabond Mini Lithium, you'll see a very obvious red card that states some warnings about using the device near water or heavy moisture, flammable objects etc. This is important to read and these warnings should be kept in mind when using the battery pack. 

     There's also, of course, a manual that gives details on how to set it up, charge it, store it, etc. I recommend reading the manual before turning it on, as there were some things I didn't know about it and was glad I read the manual first.
 

     The first thing I did (per the manual's instructions) is to hook the charger up to it and let it charge until the LED light on the charging adapter was green. Even though the status indicators on the actual Vagabond Mini showed 75 - 100 % power, it charged for a good hour or more before the adapter LED stopped showing red. Believe me, it took a LOT of self control to not use the thing before it finished charging to 100%... I've been wanting one of these for a loooong time!

Once the Vagabond Mini was fully charged, I plugged in my monolight and started testing:

     Wow! I know, the monolight didn't change, and the light isn't any different, but it's so cool to be able to walk around with portable AC power! I used to rely on my speedlights whenever I wanted to shoot somewhere away from an AC outlet. Yes, speedlights can definitely provide substantial power. But not the way a 600 Ws monolight can! This thing is super cool.

Speedlite                           Monolight

Here's some pictures showing the lowest and highest settings of a speedlite and a monolight I have. They were all shot F11, 200/sec @ ISO 100. Notice the brightness of the room surrounding the hotspots; this is all reflected light in a 12' X 20' room with vaulted ceilings... I will definitely being enjoying the extra power wherever I go!

     As any review should have, here's a quick Pros & Cons list, and for some of the items, I'll offer further explanation.

Pros

• The fuse is easy to find a replacement for, just go to an auto parts store
• Having two outlets is great, most on location shoots need more than one light
• It's extremely lightweight compared to it's predecessors
• The strap is both a handy extra and an essential part
• Can be operated on a car battery if needed 
• The mounting hole for the light stand mount is a standard 1/4-20 size

Cons

• Lack of 2A USB port - 0.5 amps is sufficient for most small devices, but the charging rate is SO SLOOOOOWWWWW......
• The light stand mount is terrible, just hang the pack by the strap instead

• The tightening screw will bottom out before you can get it tight enough to grip the stand. And the smooth plastic that it's made of slips easily on a metal stand. I tried it on several different brand light stands of different thicknesses and it just doesnt work. The pack just keeps sliding down the stand. My only suggestion would be to add a small piece of sticky rubber pad to the inside of the plastic mount. I haven't tried it yet though.

• The small battery tab that allows one to release the actual battery from the inverter is placed in such a way that it prevents stability when the unit is set down on that side. (See pictures below) I suppose I could set it down on it's rubber feet instead...
• There are no rubber feet to set it down on.
• So far as I can see, there's no explanation of a very obvious "grounding hole" on the face of the unit. Although I can think of some possible uses for it myself, it isn't listed in the manual at all.

     Here's some pictures of that tab that's driving me nuts... I realize that there are small vent slots on that bottom side of the unit, and it would be unwise to operate the device while blocking those slots. I'll always hang or mount it when in use. 

     But speaking only about short term storage (like on a shelf): It's just that standing level in the upright position with outlets on top seems like such a normal, logical way to place the device. Do you agree? I'll probably end up at the hardware store to find some rubber or felt dots to eliminate the problem.

     Well, that's it for the Vagabond Mini quick review. I'll being testing it and playing with it a lot over the next couple of weeks, and I may post some more images in a separate blog to show you how well it's been working out. If you have any questions, corrections or suggestions, please leave them in a comment below!

     And don't forget: Sharing is caring... (click on the little social media icons below)

Memory Cards: Size Does Matter!

Memory Cards: Size Does Matter!

" Memory is the treasure house of the mind wherein the monuments thereof are kept and preserved." - Thomas Fuller


     Sometimes, there can be so many different specifications to your camera gear, it's hard to keep track of it all, and even harder to make confident decisions about which gear to purchase. Most of the time, we lean on the "bigger is better" mantra to see us through our decision making: bigger body, longer telephoto, wider aperture, bigger memory card, brighter mono-light. However, that can often lead us to spending bigger money...and that's definitely not better. So, what should you do? Who do you listen to when making these decisions? Me! Me! Me! Listen to me!

     Just kidding. Though, I can help with this one. Deciding what size of memory card to purchase is pretty easy when you understand how you'll be using the card. For example, which of the following scenarios fits you best?

    * You'll probably just use it in a point and shoot to make pictures every couple of months when a birthday comes around...
    * You're a hobbyist or blogger with a decent SLR that also likes attending local events
    * Your a professional wedding or sports photographer
    * You shoot a lot of high definition video

     Scenario 1: If your not really into photography that much (why would you be reading this?), then you could certainly get by with a point & shoot camera on a regular basis with a standard memory card inside. There's nothing wrong with point & shoots, I have one too because they do a great job at what they were designed for: taking great photos quickly and easily. In fact, that concept alone is what gave Kodak so much fame & fortune. For these cameras, a standard memory card will suffice, though with everything shooting video these days, and mega-pixel numbers climbing Mount Everest, "standard" isn't really what it used to be. Look for a 2 - 4 GB card, 8 GB if they're cheap enough, and don't concern yourself with speed. The recent advances in memory card design have almost eliminated the chance that a card will be too slow for a point & shoot.

     Scenario 2: So you've got yourself an SLR ay??? Well aren't you a fancy pants... I have good news for you if you use it for strictly still photos 90% of the time: You're in the point & shoot group. "WHAT? I just spent all this money on a fancy new DSLR & I think I need to have a fancy memory card too to trick it out & feel like a pro!" You can if you want to, but it really isn't necessary. Again, the recent improvements to memory card design have made the "standard" read/write speeds so high, the chance of a card being the bottleneck for stills are rather slim. *I'm making a silly assumption that you'll be purchasing a decent brand name card, not a generic POS from who knows where that's been sitting on a warehouse shelf for 6 years. Also, eBay purchases can be trickery; a dishonest seller may place a new sticker on an old memory card. Always purchase cards from authorized retailers to avoid this.* If you must choose a speed class, go with Class 4, 6 or 10.

     Scenario 3: Professional wedding & sports photogs, I think you have it the worst. Not because you need the biggest & fastest cards (although you might in some cases), but because you panic so much about losing the images, you have to buy 3 backup cards for every one you plan to actually use! $$ CHU. CHING.$$ Not to say that "better safe than sorry" isn't something every wedding photographer should have tattooed on themselves somewhere... Anyway, You super-pros are going to be purchasing the top of the line stuff: 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, or even 256 GB in size, UHS-II+ speeds. For the sports photographers, your burst mode shooting is going to necessitate a high speed card. And all those extra pictures eat up space quick when your shooting a 36 MP Nikon D800. *I still think that camera is ridiculous* Wedding warriors, you need space and speed for sure, but more importantly, you need reliability. These big, fast cards are made by companies that know their stuff and that's why your investing $400 per memory card. A sports photographer may be employed by a company that bought the camera gear. If the gear fails, not his fault. Besides, there's 500 other photographers at the event to cover the action, so there's no shortage of people to borrow a memory card from. As a wedding photographer though, your likely working for yourself, and likely haven't asked a bunch of other photographers to back you up. If your $20 memory card fails and you lose the pictures of the bride doing bride stuff, she'll probably turn into a giant *zilla like creature, eat your head and then sue what's left of you for all the money your children will ever earn. Please invest heavily in the hardware that's responsible for storing your digital photographs.

     Scenario 4: The video people need to know one thing: Ultra High Speed. Preferably UHS-II or UHS-III.

     One more thing for the still shooters to keep in mind is that sometime it's best not to put all your eggs (pictures) in one basket (memory card). Yeah, I know, this idea started out back in the beginning when memory cards were crap and failed on a regular basis and photographers were constantly losing their work. BUT, a card can still fail, and even more likely, it can be lost or stolen. I personally have lost cards at major events even though I was very careful and had a great labeling system, different pockets and cases for certain cards, etc. I guess it's probably harder to lose a card if you only have one and it's in your camera all the time. Then again, I've also had memory card read errors multiple times, even with proper & regular formatting techniques. So, I think this one is a tough choice. One gigantic card, or several small cards?

     With that looming question, I will leave you. Hope the article made some sense and helped out some. I know this one was a bit late, there's lots of life to live that gets in the way sometimes. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please let me know if theres anything you'd like me to write about or add or remove or whatever! Don't forget to share!



Also...

You absolutely MUST watch this video. This is how Lexar makes their memory cards.

Exposure Bracketing: A Tool? Or A Safety Net...

Exposure Bracketing: A Tool? Or A Safety Net...

"If two wrongs don't make a right, try three." - Laurence J. Peter

     If you've ever seen one of those HDR images with really dark darks and super bright whites, it's a good chance the photographer used a technique called exposure bracketing to aquire such a wide range of brightness levels in one photograph. There are other methods to making an HDR image, but that's not what is article is about. We'll discuss that another time, yeah? Anyway, let's get into bracketing. 

     Exposure bracketing is rather simple, in theory as well as form. Essentially, a photo is made at the appropriate exposure settings, as usual. Then, another is made that is intentionally underexposed, and one is made that is intentionally overexposed. As stated above, one of the uses of these 3 images would be to make an HDR image. The 3 images would be combined using specialized software that allows the darker portions of the the overexposed image to show through and the lighter portions of the underexposed image to show through. This allows the photograph to contain a large amount of detail in the highlights and shadows of the final image that a single exposure would not be able to contain. 

     Two other reasons to use exposure bracketing would be:

          A) spot correction for exposure

          B) ensuring the correct exposure is captured when the photographer 

          isn't sure on how to set the controls of the camera.

     The first is a reasonably acceptable technique in my opinion, as it's meant to correct parts of the image that stand out as severely over or underexposed. It's not a fix-all for a photographer that doesn't know what they're doing. In practice, for example, the digital images would be brought into editing software of some kind, and the two extra (over & underexposed) images would be hidden layers. Then, as needed, only parts of the two extra images would be painted in as visible with medium opacity. This prevents the image from looking fake or overly processed the way an HDR can look. 

     The second reason is something I despise. Unfortunately, there are several photography blogs out there that encourage you to use bracketing every time you go out to shoot. They say it's making up for the camera's confusion in tricky lighting situations. In fact, it's making up for the photographer's confusion. I know, it seems harsh because some people are just starting out and may not be entirely sure of how to set the camera for a correct exposure. So, if you've been shooting for less than 6 months, feel free to use this technique. Otherwise, you should have learned by now how the controls of the camera should be set in most any situation in order to get a proper exposure. Yes, it may be convenient at the time of shooting to have several exposure options; it makes you feel safe. But, when your sorting through the images later, it's just more work to do in deciding which of the images you want to keep. For example, instead of having 100 pictures to choose from, you'll have 300... Or, instead of sorting through 300 pictures, you'll have to sort through almost 1,000! You'll quickly realize that bracketing hasn't as much value as you thought it did while out in the field. Now, if you shoot landscapes a lot, bracketing may be of great use to you and that's understandable. The sky is much lighter than the ground, and with pictures of sunsets being as popular as they are, a bracketed HDR type image will definitely be a part of your repertoire. However, I really feel that there's no room for bracketing when making portraits of people or animals, shooting weddings, or photographing live events. Here's why:

1. Living things move. Whether it's a bride & the swaying trees behind the bride, your pet dog, your favorite rock band or the crowd behind your favorite rock band, there's sure to be some movement. Go ahead...try to get three images that are all EXACTLY the same except for the exposure settings. Good luck. 

2. People react negatively to strange looking people. I know, that sounds, well, strange. It's not not meant to be offensive either. What I'm talking about is familiarity with normal human appearances. It doesn't matter if your wearing a black dress or a green suit, we've all seen that before. Nor does it matter if your skin is dark or light, your hair long or short; we're familiar with those normal human appearances. What we're not familiar with is a High Dynamic Range face where the pores of the skin are so visible it looks like a creature from another planet. Have you ever seen a picture of a face where the eyes or mouth have been digitally turned upside down? It's a little unsettling isn't it?This is because our brains aren't used to seeing people look like that, and our immediate reaction is usually one of dislike. If you want people to immediately dislike your photos, fine. Not me though.

 
     There are other types of bracketing that can be performed that don't necessarily effect the exposure of the image, like focus bracketing for example. That's a technique best suited for macro photographers and event photographers in my opinion, but we can discuss that in another article.

     Well, that's about it for exposure bracketing. Again, if your just starting out, use it as a learning tool, but don't use it as a crutch. Same goes for looking at your LCD screen after every image you make. If you want to get better at photography, trust your gut and learn from the mistakes you'll inevitably make. Exposure bracketing all the time won't get you anywhere.

     I do hope that you've learned something, and I very much appreciate your reading these articles!  If there's anything I've posted that's in error, or if you have any questions about the topics in this blog, please don't hesitate to leave them in a comment below. Please share this article using the icons below!
Thank you!