Using Alien Skin’s Bokeh Plug-In for Wildlife Photography

It’s spring again (finally) and that means you bird photographers out there will be hard at work trying to capture that perfect shot of a bird in flight. This elusive quest strikes the heart of most nature and wildlife photographers, both professional and amateur alike and is known to have driven more than a few crazy over the years. So it’s also time I repost one of my favorite articles from years past for y’all to enjoy. It’s not really cheating, my friends, it’s just employing the right tool for the right job. For most of us without $10K to spend on a new lens, this little plug-in does wonders “in post”.

Enjoy!

I realize that this post may offend a certain population of wildlife photographers out there and for that I do apologize. I’m not a wildlife photography “purist” and I will enhance my wildlife images in Lightroom or Photoshop just as I do my commercial, portrait or landscape work. I do this in wildlife images for the very same reason I do it in other types of images, to tell a story and to evoke an emotional response. For me, that’s what photography is all about.

Having said that, I do realize that many well known wildlife photographers (and most wildlife magazines) require that the image be manipulated as little as possible, just as a photojournalist would when covering the war in Iraq for example. I certainly respect that style of wildlife photography but it’s just not my style and that’s why I’ll always let you know when I’ve manipulated a wildlife image during post capture processing as I did in this image below.

Flying Solo
Copyright © 2008 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 50D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM + EF 1.4x Extender monopod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 420mm, f/5.6 for 1/500th of a second at ISO 100 on SanDisk digital film. Post capture processing was done in Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4 using Alien Skin’s “Bokeh” plug-in filter. Click on the image above for a larger version.

My first step in creating this image was to process it as I would normally do in Lightroom. I generally work on the Basic settings like Exposure, Recovery (very important), Blacks (also very important), Brightness and overall Contrast. I almost always crank up the Clarity (adding mid-tone contrast) and Vibrance (adding mid-tone saturation) and may play with these two settings for 20 or 30 minutes until I find a combination I like.

At this point, my work in Lightroom is complete and my next step is to export the image in Photoshop CS5 and use the Quick Selection tool to select the duck as shown here. Although the selection doesn’t have to be pixel perfect, it always pays in realism to spend a little extra time making a thorough selection of all parts of the subject.

Once you’ve got a basic selection done it’s time to use the Refine Edge tool to Smooth, Feather and Expand the selection you’ve just made. For birds in flight these are the settings I normally use to make sure all the bird’s feathers are included in the selection.

Once that’s done your new selection should look something like this.

You’ll understand why this step is vital when you begin to play around with the settings in the Alien Skin Bokeh plug-in filter.

Bokeh provides creative controls to enhance images by focusing the viewer’s attention anywhere you want. In the image above, the Bokeh plug-in was used to enhance the background blur. This allows me to shoot the image at f/5.6, which is the fastest my Canon EF 300mm f/4L + 1.4x Extender can go, but make it appear as if I shot it with Canon’s much more expensive EF 400mm f/2.8 lens. Blurring the background in an image like this one makes the subject “pop” and seem that much sharper.

Another trick to enhance an image like this is to apply some sharpening  to the subject only, as shown below.

It’s easy to do this by clicking on the layer that your selection is on and using Nik Software’s Sharpener Pro plug-in. I prefer this plug-in because it acts more subtly and with fewer artifacts showing up in the final image. Sharpening only the selection is important since you’d hate to mess up that beautifully blurred background you just created using Bokeh.

The final step in Photoshop CS5 is to blend the three layers you’ve just created using Lightroom (background layer), Alien Skin’s Bokeh (bokeh layer) and Nik Software’s Sharpener Pro (sharpener pro layer). Now you could do this simply by flattening the layers but I suggest you take a little time and experiment with the Opacity of each layer until you achieve the desired results. I tend to blend the Bokeh layer at 100% but the Sharpener Pro layer at only 60% – 80% to achieve the most realistic look to my image.

Once you’ve completed this process, you just save the image in Photoshop and it should automatically show up in Lightroom, ready to be exported or printed.

Understanding the Differences Between Canon’s EF and EF-S Lenses

It’s been a while since I posted this article the first time so I thought it time to clear up a little misinformation I’ve seen floating around the web lately.

What is this Field of View Crop Factor (1.6x FOVCF) everyone keeps talking about and how does this affect my lens choices for the Canon DSLR cameras?

As you know the sensor in the new Rebels, EOS 60D and EOS 7D are much smaller than the full frame sensor found in Canon’s high-end DSLRs like the EOS 5D Mark II and 1D Mark IV. The physical focal length is a optical measurement of a lens and does not change just because you mount it on a 1.6x FOVCF camera like the 60D or 7D, but the field of view the lens exhibits certainly does.

For example, if you are looking for a field of view that a 50mm lens provides on a full-frame DSLR body like the 5D Mark II, you’ll probably want a 35mm lens on your 60D since 1.6 x 35mm = 56mm. The lens is still a 35mm lens, but the final image captured by your 60D will only include a crop of the lens’ complete image.

Wildlife photographers really love the benefit of using high crop factor (1.6x) DSLRs like the 60D or 7D since they can achieve tight subject framing from a greater distance or from the same distance with a shorter, less expensive lens. Using an EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM telephoto lens on a 60D yields the same field of view as an 800mm f/4 IS USM lens would on a 5D Mark II.

So where does the EF-S lens fit in this?

Canon developed the EF-S series lenses (the “S” stands for short back focus) with the rear element of the lens closer to the image sensor than on the EF series lenses. They also matched the image circle of these lenses to the APS-C sensor size. This design enables EF-S lenses to be made smaller, lighter and less expensive. A perfect match for their consumer and prosumer grade DSLR cameras.

Canon EF-S lenses are designed specifically for the 1.6x FOVCF DSLR bodies but still require the same 1.6x crop factor to be applied as the standard Canon EF Lenses to get the equivalent field of view comparison. Again, this is because the physical focal length of the lens is the same, regardless of which camera it’s mounted on.

The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM is a great example of a well designed EF-S series lens. It provides a field of view similar to what Canon’s popular EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM and EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM do on a full frame camera like the 5D Mark II.

Using Alien Skin Bokeh for Wildlife Photography

I realize that this post may offend a certain population of wildlife photographers out there and for that I do apologize. I’m not a wildlife photography “purist” and I will enhance my wildlife images in Lightroom or Photoshop just as I do my commercial, portrait or landscape work. I do this in wildlife images for the very same reason I do it in other types of images, to tell a story and to evoke an emotional response. For me, that’s what photography is all about.

Having said that, I do realize that many well known wildlife photographers (and most wildlife magazines) require that the image be manipulated as little as possible, just as a photojournalist would when covering the war in Iraq for example. I certainly respect that style of wildlife photography but it’s just not my style and that’s why I’ll always let you know when I’ve manipulated a wildlife image during post capture processing as I did in this image below.

Flying Solo
Copyright © 2008 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 50D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM + EF 1.4x Extender monopod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 420mm, f/5.6 for 1/500th of a second at ISO 100 on SanDisk digital film. Post capture processing was done in Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4 using Alien Skin’s “Bokeh” plug-in filter. Click on the image above for a larger version.

My first step in creating this image was to process it as I would normally do in Lightroom. I generally work on the Basic settings like Exposure, Recovery (very important), Blacks (also very important), Brightness and overall Contrast. I almost always crank up the Clarity (adding mid-tone contrast) and Vibrance (adding mid-tone saturation) and may play with these two settings for 20 or 30 minutes until I find a combination I like.

At this point, my work in Lightroom is complete and my next step is to export the image in Photoshop CS5 and use the Quick Selection tool to select the duck as shown here. Although the selection doesn’t have to be pixel perfect, it always pays in realism to spend a little extra time making a thorough selection of all parts of the subject.

Once you’ve got a basic selection done it’s time to use the Refine Edge tool to Smooth, Feather and Expand the selection you’ve just made. For birds in flight these are the settings I normally use to make sure all the bird’s feathers are included in the selection.

Once that’s done your new selection should look something like this.

You’ll understand why this step is vital when you begin to play around with the settings in the Alien Skin Bokeh plug-in filter.

Bokeh provides creative controls to enhance images by focusing the viewer’s attention anywhere you want. In the image above, the Bokeh plug-in was used to enhance the background blur. This allows me to shoot the image at f/5.6, which is the fastest my Canon EF 300mm f/4L + 1.4x Extender can go, but make it appear as if I shot it with Canon’s much more expensive EF 400mm f/2.8 lens. Blurring the background in an image like this one makes the subject “pop” and seem that much sharper.

Another trick to enhance an image like this is to apply some sharpening  to the subject only, as shown below.

It’s easy to do this by clicking on the layer that your selection is on and using Nik Software’s Sharpener Pro plug-in. I prefer this plug-in because it acts more subtly and with fewer artifacts showing up in the final image. Sharpening only the selection is important since you’d hate to mess up that beautifully blurred background you just created using Bokeh.

The final step in Photoshop CS5 is to blend the three layers you’ve just created using Lightroom (background layer), Alien Skin’s Bokeh (bokeh layer) and Nik Software’s Sharpener Pro (sharpener pro layer). Now you could do this simply by flattening the layers but I suggest you take a little time and experiment with the Opacity of each layer until you achieve the desired results. I tend to blend the Bokeh layer at 100% but the Sharpener Pro layer at only 60% – 80% to achieve the most realistic look to my image.

Once you’ve completed this process, you just save the image in Photoshop and it should automatically show up in Lightroom, ready to be exported or printed.

Canon’s Auto Exposure Bracketing Explained

Canon has made serious improvements in the Auto Exposure Bracketing in the EOS 50D / 60D / 7D and 5D2 although they still lack the ability to take more than three bracketed exposures at a time. Today, only the much more expensive EOS 1D Series cameras allow for more than three bracketed exposures. In these newer EOS models, Canon has combined Auto Exposure Bracketing with Exposure Compensation in a way that should make photographers working with HDR (high dynamic range) techniques very happy.

As you can see in this image, photographers can now use this feature to easily shoot a series of bracketed exposures covering the histogram from -4 EV to +4 EV in increments as fine as 1/3rd stop. For my own architectural HDR work I generally use the following series of nine exposures to provide the maximum dynamic range. I can take four continuous bursts of three bracketed exposures (I generally delete the three duplicate exposures) in less than 10 seconds.

Many of the latest EOS models have a new “function” button that can be set to display the EC/AEB settings as shown above. Once the EC/AEB settings are displayed I take the first set of three bracketed exposures with the camera set on continuous burst (high) with EC set at +2 EV. The three bracketed exposures take less than 1 second.

I then change the exposure compensation to +1 EV using the Quick Control Dial, hit the set button and take the next set of 3 bracketed exposures. Again, this takes less than 1 second. I continue this process two more times at -1 EV and -2 EV and end up with 12 exposures taken in less than 10 seconds. Its not as automated as using a Nikon D3 or D300 but it works fine for me.

EC Value  |  AEB Amount
+2 EV  |  +/- 2 EV = +4 EV, +2 EV, 0 EV
+1 EV  |  +/- 2 EV = +3 EV, +1 EV, -1 EV
-2 EV  |  +/- 2 EV = -4 EV, -2 EV, 0 EV
-1 EV  |   +/- 2 EV = -3 EV, -1 Ev, +1 EV

Results
-4 EV, -3 EV, -2 Ev, -1 EV, 0 EV, +1 EV, +2 EV, +3 EV, +4 EV

Do I really need nine exposures for my HDR work? Probably not, but I’ve yet to find an architectural situation where nine exposures didn’t adequately cover the entire dynamic range,  so for me this technique works perfectly. Its one more reason why the newer EOS cameras are a welcome upgrade from the previous models.

My basic HDR setup is fairly standard.
1) Camera on tripod, lens with AF on, IS off.
2) Set the AF point to ONE point, not “auto”.
3) Focus on the subject and set the lens’ AF to off (manual focus)
4) Take the bracketed exposures.
5) Review the histograms to make sure the entire dynamic range is covered.
6) Process in Photomatix Pro.

Follow @jefflynchphoto

Canon’s Back Button Focus Explained

Canon DSLR cameras like the EOS 50D, 60D, 7D and 5D Mark II have an option to change the way auto focus is activated. This setting lets you customize the camera so that auto focusing is initiated by pressing the rear “AF-ON”  button with your right thumb instead of by half pressing the shutter button. “Back-Button Focus” as its called, offers several advantages such as making it easier to lock focus, making it easier to override auto focus with lenses that provide full-time manual focus and making it possible to switch between focus lock and focus tracking when in AI Servo mode.

Activating “Back-Button Focus” is done on the EOS 5D Mark II by changing C.Fn IV-1 to one of the settings shown below. I’ll attempt to explain what each of these mean since they definitely seem a little confusing at first.

0: Metering + AF start
This is the default setting where you activate the camera’s meter and AF by pressing the shutter button half-way down OR by pressing the rear “AF-ON” button.

1: Metering + AF start / AF stop:
Again, you activate the camera’s meter and AF by pressing the shutter button half-way down but now, pressing the rear “AF-ON” button locks the focus. Focus is unlocked by removing your thumb from the “AF-ON” button. This is very useful when shooting in “AI Servo” mode when you need to switch from “AI Servo” to “One Shot” mode back and forth. (Hint: This is the setting I use most often for birds in flight)

2: Metering start / Meter + AF start:
The shutter button no longer activates auto focus, but still fires the shutter. Auto focus is activated solely by pressing the “AF-ON” button. There’s no locking of exposure, unless you separately press the “AE Lock” button.

3: AE Lock / Metering + AF start:
Auto focus is activated solely by pressing the “AF-ON” button. The difference between this setting and option 2 is that when you press the shutter button half-way, your exposure is locked and won’t change until you pull your finger off the button entirely. If you shoot a burst of pictures in any auto exposure mode, the exposure setting used for the first shot is used for each subsequent shot.

4: Metering + AF start / Disable
This is the same as the first option except the rear “AF-ON” button is completely disabled. I suppose this protects you from accidentally pressing the “AF-ON” button (Hint: Dumb setting since this rarely happens).

The Dark Night (No, not Batman)

Every so often a reader comments on a post or send me an email asking what my “original RAW image” looked like before post-capture processing. Several have asked how I “enhance” my RAW images in Lightroom and Photoshop before posting them to my blog or my Flickr page. I guess the assumption is that I’m somehow “cheating” and that my final output is heavily edited before publication.

I suppose that some folks feel my Photoshop talents exceed my photographic talents. Oh, how I wish this were true. What would take one of “The Photoshop Guys” only a few moments would most likely take me hours and hours of effort. Most of my images are created IN THE CAMERA, not because of some innate talent, but because I’m just too damn lazy to learn all that stuff about layers, curves and masking. Maybe someday when I’m older (oops, too late) but right now the extent of my PS knowledge is knowing which Nik filter to apply in a pinch.

But talk is cheap so here’s an image taken in January of 2009 on a magnificent winter evening in southeast Texas. Just a simple shot taken about 45 minutes after sunset when the southern sky turns a wonderful shade of purple. No special filters and no special technique other than shooting from a tripod and using the mirror lock-up setting on my Canon 50D to eliminate as much camera shake as possible.

NO POST CAPTURE PROCESSING other than what Lightroom applies by default and a bit of cropping. No adjustment brush, no graduated filter, no custom white balance, no added vibrance, saturation or clarity. No tone curve adjustment and hue, saturation or luminance adjustments. No added sharpness, no noise reduction, no lens corrections and no post-crop vignette. In fact, I didn’t even remove the dust spots. As the saying goes “Nothing But Net”.

The Dark Night – Needville, Texas
Copyright © 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 50D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 15mm, f/22 for 2/3rd of a second at ISO 100. No post capture processing was done on this image at all. Click on the image above for a larger version.

So download the HUGE VERSION (4.1 MB at 240ppi) and pixel peep to your heart’s content. You’ll find some noise in the shadows and the deep purple regions but no PS artifacts at all. And if you’re still not convinced, drop me an email and I’ll send you the .CR2 or .DNG file.

Driving around Inks Lake

Inks Lake was created in the 1920’s as a means of flood control along the Lower Colorado River. It’s the second of six such lakes that make up the “Highland Lakes Chain” here in central Texas, created by the Buchanan dam to the north and Inks dam to the south. It was built by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) during the Great Depression and provided employment for 1,500 workers during its construction. The state acquired the land in the 1940’s as part of a public works project sponsored by Lyndon B. Johnson when he was just a US Congressman.

The geology of the area is truly unique with pink, granite-like outcrops called “Valley Spring Gneiss” pushing their way up through the surrounding limestone. These outcrops support a unique ecology of wildflowers, grasses, mosses and even ferns. Inks Lake State Park is a place that you could explore and photograph for years and never run out of interesting sights to see. In the springtime when the wildflowers bloom, the area comes alive with color and that’s why Inks Lake is always one of the stops on the Texas Landscape Safari.

Inks Lake – Burnet, Texas
Copyright © 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 50D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/11 for 1/50th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray 2-stop (soft) graduated neutral density filter. All post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Getting Used to Your New DSLR!

Getting used to a new DSLR camera can be a daunting task, especially for folks moving from an APS-C to a full-frame sensor. Most of us that began our photographic journeys with a 35mm SLR felt a little “cramped” the first time we used a “crop body” DSLR like the original EOS Digital Rebel. We had to get used to the smaller, darker viewfinder and the much more narrow field of view. All of these things made us “adjust” our photographic “style” to accommodate the new medium, but adjust we did.

Today, folks that move from “crop body” DSLR cameras to their full-frame counterparts are experiencing a similar adjustment period and finding it a little disconcerting. Their favorite zoom lens doesn’t seem to “reach” as far as it once did and their wide angle lenses are not nearly as sharp around the edges as they once were. Many folks find themselves frustrated with images that just don’t seem as sharp and they begin to question their decision and the large sum of money they’ve just spent.

When I first started shooting with a 5D Mark II, I would swear that my 50D was producing sharper (raw) images using the same, high quality (L Series) lens. I couldn’t understand why my 5D2’s landscape shots at f/8 looked much “softer” than those taken with my 50D. I couldn’t comprehend why all my hand-held shots looked much softer than those taken with my 50D. What the hell was going on?

For those of you out there having this experience please know that you’re not alone. And please understand that it takes weeks and sometimes months to “learn” how to use your new full-frame camera and to “unlearn” some bad habits created by using a crop body camera. Here are a few key points to remember:

• The higher the resolution your sensor is, the more sensitive it is to camera shake. The old adage of using a tripod below 1/125th of a second shutter speed becomes a vital rule when shooting with a full-frame DSLR.

• Don’t let anyone mislead you. The depth of field obtained by a full-frame sensor is MUCH narrower than that of an APS-C sensor. Shooting at f/8 and “hoping” that everything in your scene will be in focus just doesn’t work on a full-frame sensor. Try shooting at f/11 – f/13 and setting your focus point 1/3rd of the way in the scene (hyperfocal rule) for best results.

• Learn to zoom with your feet. Your 100mm lens is really a 100mm lens now, not the 160mm you’ve been used to. On the flip side, your 24mm wide angle is now REALLY wide!

• Finally, the most important tip. Your 21 MP, full-frame sensor will distinctly present any shortcomings of your lenses in sharpness, contrast and chromatic aberrations. Trust me on this folks, your “consumer grade” zoom lens that you paid less than $500 for is NOT going to produce images on your new 5D Mark II that you’ll be proud to exhibit. Full-frame cameras really do need “professional grade” lenses.

One final thought on this topic. Practice with your new full-frame camera as much as possible. Make it your job to try different things and then review what works and what doesn’t during your post-capture processing. I’m a firm believer in the old saying, “Practice Makes Permanent, So Practice Right”. Use the correct shutter speed and aperture for each situation and immediately review your shots on the camera’s LCD screen to check for focus. Always use proper hand holding technique (Google Joe McNally “Da Grip”) and whenever possible use a tripod.

Learn how to make your new full-frame camera perform to it’s fullest potential and enjoy the journey. Learning for a lifetime is a gift from God!