Photo Answers
Our expert answers your questions, plus Tech Check and Image Rescue
Layers on layers
Q
I’ve seen Intentional Camera Movement images that create a painterly look in images. Are there any other arty techniques I can try? Chrissie Parkes
A
There’s a fun technique you could try, which involves overlapping a series of images one on top of the other so the final ‘flattened’ image has a strong graphic look to it – a bit like a drawing created with crayons. There are two different ways you can do it.
The first is to shoot a series of frames of the same scene, each taken from varying angles and positions. For example, if you were shooting a tree in a landscape, you could walk around the main subject and capture as many images as you want. You’d then stack these images as layers in Photoshop and blend them together, creating a single image that looks strongly textured and artistic.
The other option is to take one frame, then alter the composition slightly using Photoshop’s Transform option. You then repeat and blend the image as many times as you want. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but that’s half the fun. As the style is quite graphic, I think urban scenes are well-suited to it, but finding what you like best is all part of the adventure.
The image example here has been created from a single starting frame, with each alteration slightly enlarging and sometimes tilting the scene, until the build-up of blended layers gives it the signature textured appearance. See Jon Adams’ guide to creating this look, on page 94.
Heads up
Q
I want to buy a tripod, mainly for shooting landscape photography – so should I get a ball head or a three-way head to go with it? Darren Fulcher
A
It’s a personal choice. I’ve used both types of tripod head for landscape photography, and each has its pros and cons.
There are several things you need to think about before you part with any cash. A ball head is generally the lighter option, which is certainly a factor to consider if you intend to carry it over long distances in search of the perfect scenic. A threeway head is a bit bulkier and therefore more awkward to carry, but it gives you excellent precision control when finetuning your composition.
For general photography, including shooting landscapes, I’d still opt for the ball head, though, simply because it’s more mobile and much quicker to set up, as you’re only making your adjustments from one pivot point.
A three-way head can offer you more control and this is great for landscape photography, as well as for macro photography and shooting video, if that’s something you’re thinking of doing with your digital camera. The downside is that it’s slower to use, as you have three different areas to adjust to get the camera positioned how you want it.
Whichever option you go for, keep in mind that you need a good set of legs, too, so that the head sits on top of a really stable platform that can deal with whatever the British weather chooses to throw at it. While it’s tempting to go for the least expensive tripod and head you can get, you’ll regret it. There’s nothing more pointless than a tripod that’s too light for the task, or a head that doesn’t give you the flexibility you need or lock the camera solidly.
Heat and noise Q
Is it true that heat can increase image noise and potentially affect image quality? Bernie Piper
A
There’s plenty of scientific information to back this up, and I’ve seen it in my own images from time to time. Image noise is nothing more than a by-product of the way a digital camera records an image onto its sensor; as a rule, it’s regarded as something to avoid, or at least lessen as much as possible.
You can reduce the amount of noise that’s visible on your image by shooting with as low an ISO as possible. As the ISO is increased, so too does the potential for image noise, and therefore a lowering of image quality. But, as you rightly point out Bernie, heat can also increase image noise.
The most obvious time this can happen is during a long exposure – something that anyone who has tried to shoot the night sky with very long shutter speeds may have discovered when colour speckles mar their photo. It occurs because the sensor is heated up during the long exposure.
It therefore stands to reason that a sensor heated by the ambient temperature could also cause an increase in noise. For this reason, whenever I’ve shot in very hot temperatures, in places such as deserts, I’ve done my best to keep the camera out of the sun as much as possible. If I’m not shooting, I’ll put the camera in my camera bag and make sure it’s switched off. I’ll also often throw a microfibre towel over the camera, just to stop the sun baking the dark body.
Ambient heat isn’t really something to worry about too much in normal temperatures, but the simple solution of keeping the camera body protected from the extreme heat of the sun will prevent any potential reduction in image quality.
Too fast? Q
Can you have a shutter speed that’s too fast for shooting birds in flight? Wendy Hardcastle
A
Assuming that the fast shutter speed you’ve set is possible in the conditions – and therefore that you are not going to have a badly underexposed image – I’d say that the fastest achievable shutter speed may well be the best! That’s assuming you want to absolutely freeze the movement of the bird in your shot: sometimes having the main body of the bird sharp but the beating wings slightly blurred is also desirable to give a sense of movement.
Different birds require different minimum shutter speeds, but any bird in flight ideally requires a shutter speed of 1/2,000 sec – and preferably a lot faster. This isn’t always achievable without pushing the ISO higher to make the sensor more sensitive to the available light.
To be honest, Wendy, your biggest issue is never going to be “Is this shutter speed too fast?” but rather, “How can I get a fast enough shutter speed?” As well as increasing the ISO, you may need to open the aperture to allow more light onto the sensor, but this has the disadvantage of reducing your depth of field; so you need to be aware of that, and focus as carefully as possible on the point you want to be critically sharp – and that isn’t easy with a bird flying at speed.
Can’t save Q
In Photoshop, I can no longer get the JPEG option when I go to File > Save As to save an image I’ve worked on. What’s happened? Nicolas Clarke
A
There’s been an update to Photoshop’s Save As functionality, which Adobe says has been necessitated by the macOS operating system, but the change has been rolled out across Windows, too, for consistency’s sake. It caught me out as well: going to File > Save As is what we’ve always done, so it was a bit of a surprise when suddenly that didn’t work while I was trying to save a file as a JPEG.
The simple solution is to go to File > Save A Copy instead. This option sits right below File > Save As; using it allows you to select the full range of file options, including JPEG.
Spot it Q
I took a photo of someone in front of a window, but the subject has come out very dark. What did I do wrong? Rick Sheldon
A
I think you had your camera’s meter set on its default ‘average’ metering mode, which means it takes a reading from a range of places within the frame and calculates the exposure from that. If there’s a large area of brightness, darker-toned areas will be underexposed.
You can either use positive exposure compensation of one or two stops to brighten the subject, or switch to spot metering and take a reading from the face of the person you are shooting.
It may mean highlight areas in the background are overexposed, but crucially your subject will be correctly exposed.
Better booster Q
I never know whether to use Saturation or Vibrance in Lightroom. Which is better? Ben Goudie
A
My rule is to use the Saturation slider sparingly or not at all while I’m making global changes to an image. The Vibrance slider is the one to use if you want to give all the colours a slight kick: it adds saturation, but in a much more subtle way by only boosting the more muted colours.
If I still think that a particular colour needs some extra saturation, I’ll go into the HSL Panel and choose the individual Saturation channel to boost it – but even then, I won’t push it too far, or it can quickly look overcooked.