Of course, with a shorter lens, the shutter time could be slower. That should eliminate shake in at least one of the three spatial axes, right? Well, indeed: The percentage of sharp shots at any speed was significantly higher than going hand-held. I repeated this experiment with a couple of support aids. It was like trading in my expensive optic for bottle glass. Using 1/50th of a second with a 50mm lens ensured a blur. That old chestnut about choosing a minimum speed that’s the reciprocal of the focal length turned out to be nuts. It also became clear that if I wanted a 50 percent or better chance of a high-res pic, I needed a shutter speed of at least 1/250th of a second. Lesson: It pays to make multiple shots, if possible. But the point is, there’s a lot of “noise” in the system, at least at most shutter speeds. This presumably was due to such things as my breathing cycle, muscle spasms, and the alignment of Jupiter’s moons. Each shot was given a grade: from A for roughly 55 lines per millimeter, down to E for 31 lines.Ĭheck out the figure at the top of this story, and you’ll see that at any given shutter setting, the sharpness varied a lot. I then viewed these pix in Photoshop, zooming in to see the finest resolved lines on the chart. Standing back seven feet (again, a typical shooting distance), I steadied my stance and carefully fired off four or five shots at each shutter setting. The exposure was kept constant with a dimmer on a lamp. To reduce ambiguities, I fixed the aperture and ISO (f/3.2 and 320, respectively). It filled only the central part of the field of view. I clamped a resolution test chart (plenty are available on the web) to a bench, and used it as my subject matter. The idea for this impromptu effort was straightforward: I mimicked a typical shooting situation with a 50mm lens, intent on determining the slowest shutter speed at which I could get first-rate sharpness hand-held. My assumption was wrong, as I learned after spending some quality time in my garage running a simple experiment. I was one of those people, confident that my practiced shutter squeeze and a decently short exposure would always result in the best that my optics could offer. But I wonder if they think about whether they can hold their camera steady enough to justify the investment. It’s a fact that most serious photographers won’t hesitate to buy the sharpest glass. You flatter yourself as capable of scalpel-sharp photos at 1/8th of a second, even with a telephoto. You’re an accomplished photog, with the savvy to steady your stance, hold your breath, quiet your bile duct, and gently squeeze the shutter release. The predictable result? A heavily blurred shot, for which the stranger is obsequiously thanked.īut that’s not you. The victim obliges by awkwardly holding the phone at arm’s length, and then punching it as if dispatching a wayward ant. The results, usually contact prints, had more detail than a Lexus shop manual.Ĭompare that to now: A couple will pose themselves in front of a nondescript background, hand their iPhone to a random passerby, and plead for a pic. And they were all made with tripod-mounted equipment. They were also the work of professional photographers-not casual snaps by army recruits. Well, these pix were shot on glass plates up to 8x10 inches in size, or roughly 50 to 80 megapixels in today’s terms. Have you ever checked out the battlefield photos made by Mathew Brady’s studio during the Civil War? They’re great, right?īut why? After all, the equipment was poor, the emulsions were slow, and the subject matter was often dead. The straight line is a least-squares fit to the data. Join us for an engaging conversation with one of the industry's most respected professionals in automotive photography, and learn how to elevate your technical skills and creative vision to deliver outstanding work that meets your clients' needs.Resolution quality as function of shutter speed for handheld shots with a 50mm lens. From client management to communication, Tim shares his expertise on every aspect of running a successful photography business. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting in commercial photography, this episode offers valuable tips and advice on how to succeed in this field. Tim also emphasizes the importance of developing a unique creative vision that sets you apart in a competitive industry. We delve into the technical aspects of photography, including lighting, composition, and post-processing techniques. As an expert in automotive photography with decades of experience, Tim shares his insights on understanding client needs, tailoring your approach to meet their objectives, and delivering work that exceeds expectations. In this episode, we sit down with renowned automotive photographer Tim Wallace to discuss the technical and creative aspects of commercial photography.
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