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CrazyBusy
Nov. 24, 2007
PT&T: Catchlights (with assignment) And Another Quick Tip
I'm kind of piece mealing this together with photos I've already taken, so forgive the inconsistency. The sun starts to disappear behind the mountains around 3:30pm so I don't have much light to work with. I've only gotten my camera out 3 times this month! Boo-hoo! Can you say, withdrawals?
Here are some quick photography tips!
1. Catchlights. You want 'em. Good ones.
What are catchlights? Pretty much what they sound like. They're the light "caught" and reflected in the eyes. They give the eyes life- that sparkle!
Where does the light come from? You have to look for it. It's the sky reflected in the eyes; light that bounces off of cement, walls, buildings- whatever it is around you. You could also use a reflector to get catchlights. Turn your subject around 360 degrees and see how the reflected light changes in the eyes as they turn. When you see that sparkle, STOP! That's what you're looking for.
TURN OFF THAT FLASH! And leave it off. Forever. Okay, if it's a very, very, very important moment and it comes down to blurry pictures or your on-camera flash, it may be okay to use your flash in that situation. Just that once. But don't let it happen again. But your on-camera flash will NOT give you good catchlights. They will give you a good example of BAD catchlights. They will be pinpoint and right in the middle of the pupil. To get good catchlights, you want to avoid them falling on the pupil. If they're mostly on the iris and a little on the pupil, that's okay, but certainly try not to center them in the pupil. Now for the more advanced photographers with the fancy flashes that you can swivel and bounce and diffuse (which does not include me), you know how to get good catchlights with your equipment. It is possible to get good results with a flash if you have the right equipment and really know what you're doing.
On to some examples!
An old picture of Alek taken with my P&S (point & shoot) with the on-board camera flash on:
You can tell I used my flash for a few reasons: 1) the lighting is flat- not much shadow or depth to his face, 2) the harsh shadow on the wall behind him and 3) see the light in his eyes? Right in the middle of his pupils? Not appealing. And I LOVED this picture of him after I took it! (still do, but I look at my photos with more critical eyes these days)
Now here's one I took yesterday on a little walk we took.
This photo does have technical issues but I'm showing it for the catchlights. See the sky reflected on the upper part of his irises? See how his eyes sparkle? Scroll back up and compare the catchlights. Don't the natural ones look better?
And here's another photo of Alek. This was taken in 2004, pre DSLR days. This photo has NO catchlights at all.
 His eyes look dull- they lack that spark and life. What a difference a little thing like good catchlights can make for a photo, don't you think?
Here are some more examples.
Funky catchlights (to be more technically correct, catchlights should be at the 10:00 or 2:00 position on the eyes- I liked the funkiness of these though and I'm not always a rule follower, contrary to popular belief):
 This was taken inside. You can see the light reflecting off the kitchen table and into her eyes.
Here's another one I took of Alek over the summer. I post-processed this a little funky (major color pop- he's not wearing lipstick, promise!) but a good example of catchlights.
 You can see the sky reflected in his eyes.
The next two are examples of catchlights I got in Millie's eyes with the help of a silver-sided reflector.
 A little low in position but still gives some spark to her eyes.
And another bad example using on-board flash, taken in March '04 with P&S:
And a couple of good examples using studio lights- taken last year:
 Her eyes are a little squinty here, but you can still see the catchlights.
 Except on this one, they really should be a little higher on the iris. I should've raised my light a bit.
Okay, so that's enough of catchlights!
Onto another quick, easy tip.
2. Focus on purpose! Don't just point and shoot. Figure out how your camera focuses. If you're using a point and shoot, usually the center area is what the camera focuses on. And most point & shoots will let you "focus, recompose". For example, if your daughter is leaning on a tree on the left side of the frame and you want to capture the scenery to the right of her also but you want to have her be the main focus, you could point that center area over your daughter, push your shutter release button halfway down, hold it, recompose your shot so that your daughter is on the left again, and then take your shot by pushing the shutter release button all the way down.
With DSLR's you can choose your focal points. I hardly ever use the focus/recompose method because I like to shoot with larger apertures and that slight camera movement can cause you to lose your focus altogether. I am constantly changing my focal points to suit the scene.
Also, and this is another biggie about focus, if you are shooting photographing a person as your main subject, you want to focus on their EYES. You want their eyes to be the most focused part of the scene.
Here's what it will look like if you're sloppy with your focus. I took this of Josiah yesterday on our walk:
 Do you see that his face is out of focus but his ears are nice and sharp? Not how I wanted it to look.
Here's another of him with his eyes in focus:
 His ears are a little out of focus in this one, but that's okay. I wanted the focus on his eyes.
And then there are times when you want your child (or spouse, etc.) to be a little out of focus to make your subject look a little more 3-D-ish, and make it pop, like this one of the banana slug:
Or how about some crab legs, courtesy of Millie?
I could post lots more examples but I've run out of time! So two things for now: focus on purpose and watch for those catchlights!
Here's your assignment. I'd like you to take the time to find those catchlights! Turn off your flash, take your subject outside or near a window and photograph examples of good catchlights! If you don't have a reflector, get one! :) They're pretty inexpensive (around $25 or so) and such a valuable tool. If your budget's tight, you could even use white poster board from WM (a buck or two) Post them on your blog and link that specific post here so others can see your results. Post bad examples too if you wish. This one's fun & easy, so please join in!
FAQ's
Q: One question- how do you postition the poster board to get it to work? Do you try to catch the light with it and angle onto your child?
A: Try and angle it so that it is catching the available light, whether it be from the sun, overhead lights, etc., and bouncing it onto your subject, especially their eyes. Exactly how you described in the second question! :)
Q: What kind of reflector do you recommend?
A: It's kind of a personal decision- which would fit your lifestyle best? Will you always have someone around to help you hold it? I have a 5-in-1 collapsible reflector.(actually, I have 2) It folds up just like my gray card (as seen on the White Balance post), except it is much larger. MUCH larger. You can get just about any size you'd like. The larger the reflector you get, the more difficult they are to work with...but in a way, they're easier. Confused? You'll get more light reflected onto a larger area with the larger reflector. I have one smaller (maybe 3' diameter?) round reflector and a larger (5'x4'?) rectangular shaped reflector. The larger, rectangular shaped one is easier to prop up against chairs or trees (hence the one reason it's easier to use). I use this one a lot more but have found my smaller one to be a bit more portable because of its smaller size, but I have to hold that one while I'm taking the picture because it's so small- if I propped it up against something on the ground, it would only reflect light onto their legs. Not much help when you're wanting the light on their face. Click here for a link to ebay where you can browse the different types of reflectors. Having a 5-in-1 reflector is nice because you have different colored sides for different effects. My favorite side to use is the silver side. I like the contrast it gives and it really lights up the eyes nicely. I've found the white side to be a little too flat and the gold side a little too warm- unless you're going for that sunset look. ;) The inner frame has a translucent lining and that is good for diffusing light in bright, sunny conditions. There is a black side also to block unwanted light but I have never, ever had to use that side. I don't ever see that as being a problem here. Hee-hee!
By the way, you do NOT need a reflector to get catchlights nor do you need one for this assignment! Just find the light. Head towards the light. :) Embrace the light. Okay, I need to go to bed. |
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Kirstin 
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Nov. 24, 2007 - So great!