10 things I’ve learned about and through photography:

1. Composition is key! The “rule of thirds” may well be considered a guide of sorts but it holds a universal principle in basic composition that you can apply to almost every photograph you take. A photo taken with composition in mind will almost always look better than one with flawed composition. Don’t discount other “rules” like converging lines, repetition/patterns, juxtaposition and etc either!

2. Shoot things with the idea that you will eventually print the shots! It gives you a different idea of what you want to see when you imagine that shot hanging on your wall.

3. Before looking through the viewfinder, look at the scene with your mind and heart. What strikes you about the scene? What calls out to your emotions? Watch how the elements interact and incorporate that into your composition.

4. Take care of and learn your gear inside and out. Cleaning your camera can save you precious troubleshooting time on the field. Keeping your batteries charged, sensor clean, contacts corrosion free and etc all contribute to a trouble-free shooting day. 

5. Shoot for yourself, you cannot please everyone. While your work may be lauded and enjoyed by many, it will not be appreciated by everyone. People have different tastes and the only way you can be happy with your own work is if you did it because you enjoyed it and wanted to shoot it. Don’t shoot a scene because it will appeal to a target audience. 

6. “It’s the indian, not the pana” is true to a certain extent but the “indian” with a carbon-kevlar “pana” with integrated GPS, laser sights and vibration reduction will find it easier to “hit the mark” with the equipment he has. If you can afford it, get the good stuff and save yourself the trouble and the additional cost of eventually upgrading anyway.

Ex: Given two similarly knowledgable and equally talented photographers… Indian-A is using a D60 and a 55-200VR to shoot a concert. He needs to push to ISO 1600 to shoot the lead guitarist in frozen motion at 200mm, F5.6. In contrast Indian-B is using a D7000 and a 70-200VR2 f2.8 to shoot the same event. Indian-A has to contend with inferior optics, slow focusing and insane ISO noise while Indian-B has minimal noise, higher frame rate, more AF options, instant focus and acquisition while getting superior image quality. 

7. You’re not half as good as others perceive but you’re much better than you think. Show me a photographer that says he loves all of his work and I’ll show you a potential politician. People see your BEST work, shots that have been selected from hundreds or thousands of photos and post-processed to appear in it’s best possible form and context. This is what everyone else sees, the best foot forward, the cream of the crop. You know that for every “keeper” shot that you have, there are about ten “with potential”, a hundred maybes and a thousand auto-deletes behind the scenes. You might some day get into your head that the 1-in-a-thousand ratio is the mark of a failure but that single “1” is indicative of your potential. With more experience, more practice, more reading, more thinking and etc, that 1-in-a-thousand will eventually be one-in-500, then 1 of a 100, then 1 of 50. No one has a 100% keeper rate, but to get remotely close to that is a remarkable achievement that all shooters hope to eventually achieve.

8. Make your own style! Don’t copy another photographer’s work. Sure you can use it as inspiration or draw ideas from but copying everything they do from posing a model to composition and post-processing is just a flawed idea of what photography is. Photography is an art form and art is putting your own ideas and creativity into visible physical form. It’s telling a story based on your understanding and interpretation. Copying another person’s work isn’t photography, it’s simple reproduction. 

9. Remember what I said about composition rules? Don’t be afraid to BREAK THEM! Shooting landscapes? Have yourself in the shot! Take a portrait using an UWA lens! Take a landscape shot *gasp*… vertically! Shoot through glass! Forget the makeup! Shoot in the *wrong* white balance! Do the unconventional thing and break the boundaries. You might be pleasantly surprised! 

10. Write your own “10” list. Writing things down helps you re-learn and internalize the lesson. It forces you to probe your experiences and look at your own methods and habits. The best part about wirting these down is that you can share it with your fellow photographers. Your “10” can be added to another person’s and another and another and soon enough we’ll have the “100 things list” then the 1000 and so on… 

Keep shooting! ;)

-randybau

I’ve Been Plagiarized!

My photos have been plagiarized before but each and every one of those instances have ended in a mature and civil discussion. This case though, not so much. They actually haven’t returned any of my emails and messages and since they don’t have any other contact information posted, I had no other means to get the information across. 

Anyway, here’s the content that was “borrowed”. It’s a shot of the Filipina celebrity Kim Chiu. The original photo was taken back in February of 2008 during Baguio’s Panagbenga Flower Festival. A few friends and I from Manila braved the five hour drive up the mountains to the city up in the sky to take photos and take a breather from the rigors of the office. And this shot was one of those I deemed worthy of posting to my then active multiply.com site. 

http://images.plurk.com/3163539_1375c724c025ae7f35a7fb3eea61fea4.jpg

from http://kimchiu.mycelebsite.info/more-kim-chiu-picture-3.html

taken from my original photo on http://rndbau.multiply.com/photos/album/6/Panagbenga_2008#photo=19

On one hand I feel flattered since they deemed my photo worthy of being made into the main banner for their site but on the other, I feel violated since my work was stolen without even the courtesy of being asked if they could or not. 

Emails and posts on their comments section have been ignored. I prefer not to go into legal action but if they fail to respond to any of my inquiries I might not have a choice in the matter. 

How Do You Choose Your DSLR? Part-I

I get asked this a lot, whether from the Toyota Club, officemates, old school buddies, plurkers and Facebook afficionados. My answers usually just add to their general confusion so I’ll try to whittle it down to manageable levels and down to something that will actually help you make a decision. 

Honestly, it shouldn’t be that hard. You pick a brand, pick a model, drop some cash on the counter and take your new toy home. Isn’t that how things are supposed to work?

Unfortunately, no. Far from it in fact. 

It’s a very long process and you need to make decisions based on numerous factors. Factors like the brands, models, pricing, accesories, lenses, after sales service, flash usage, battery life and etc… You should even consider what brand your buddies use if you’re considering swapping/lending/borrowing lenses and other stuff. 

So for now, I’ll give you Part-1 or a multipart series that discusses how I think you should choose your camera. 

Anyway, first of all I suppose you should consider the price since that will basically determine much of the path that you’ll start to run soon. Your budget determines whether you’re capable of getting an entry level DSLR or something in the Mid-range or even a Prosumer unit. 

First we start with the cropped sensor units. These basically have digital sensors that are about 1/3 the size of standard 35mm film. There are advantages and disadvantages for this format but that can be discussed at another date. 

Entry units are priced around 25,000-30,000 and will come with a basic “kit” lens. You can count the Nikon D3000, D5000 and the Canon 1000D in this category. They’re very capable cameras and can bring you an inifinite number of quality photos at a very reasonable price. Being entry-level models though, you don’t get the same robustness and durability of the higher end models. This range will also limit some of the functionality and control options on the units. It’s a typical example of the adage “you get what you pay for”.

Mid-range consumer units can be found at around 36,000-45,000 without a lens and around 45,000 to 60,000 as part of a lens kit. In this range you can find the Nikon D90, Canon 500D and 550D. These are much better ergonomically and in terms of control. They’re also better in terms of durability and features so the price difference really is worth it. 

Then we go to another league altogether; the prosumer segment. Expect prices to start at 65,000 and go up to about 80,000. Here the Nikon D300s, Canon 50D and 7D roost. These are great choices for those who want their equipment to be top-notch and can perform under varied conditions. Characteristics of these models are better weather sealing, tougher bodies, availability of better accessories and generally being just way better than the standard consumer line. Pro shooters use these models for normal duties so you know they’re very capable. 

Now we get to the big-leagues; the prosumer full-frame format cameras. These are considerably in the PRO lineup and pack sensors that are sized to be equivalent to your typical 35mm film footprint. Here you can find the Canon 5DMkII and Nikon D700 with prices ranging from 105,000 to 130,000. These are typical fare for landscape shooters, wedding photographers, studio shooters and etc. Perfectly capable gadgets to get your photographic fix. They pack more ability than most photographers can eke out so don’t worry about not having enough gear. If your shots look bad with these things, it’s not the camera’s fault.

Finally we get to the PRO bodies; the Nikon D3, D3s and D3x and the Canon 1DMk3, 1DSMk3, 1DMk4 and 1DSMk4. These cameras give you the most number of megapixels, the fastest frame rates, the best weatherproofing and etc.. Basically they embody the manufacturer’s ability to build something. You can bring these with you anywhere in the world and they will work, and work well. Expect to shell out at least 250,000 to 500,000 for one of these babies. 

A caveat here is that the Prosumer and PRO lineup does NOT come with lenses. If you consider that to get the maximum out of each of these cameras you need appropriate lenses, plan to shift a minimum of 20,000 for a few lenses. There is no maximum amount that you can spend on lenses… Really, there isn’t. 

Anyway, that gives you an idea of the initial costs not including accessories like flash guns, tripods, bags and etc. Trust me, there is no ceiling when talking about photography costs but there is a starting cost that is affordable to most people. 

I’ll end this here and give you time to digest it. The second part will delve into why you should choose a particular model and the ideas behind it. So stay tuned and I’ll see you soon!

One of my favorite photos, taken during a trip to ShangRiLa Mactan. It was taken at around 10am, July 10th, 2008 from poolside. 

This was before I got my Nikon D300 so the megapixel count was relatively low at 6.1MP for the Nikon D70. Lens used was a Sigma 10-20mm F3.5-5.6 EX DG with an attached Hoya Pro1D circular Polarizer. 

• Camera: Nikon D70s
• Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
• Aperture: f/7.1
• Focal Length: 20 mm

3…2…1… Half-press… Click!

The first ever post on the AskFOCAL tumblr site…

This is supposed to be a page where my friends can ask me questions about photography. How to’s, techniques, gear recommendations, prices, why and why not to get something in particular. I’ll try to give logical answers and I’ll try to support my answers with links to other info sources as well as personal testimonials but please take all posts with a grain, or sack, of salt. 

Feel free to ask anything. I must warn you though, my niche is in DSLR photography and am mostly self-taught. If you’re going into brand specifics then my knowledge is basically focused on using Nikons but some Canon info has leaked into my head through osmosis over the years. 

By the way… The “AskFocal” name is from my own photography studio which I run with a couple of buddies. Check out focalstudios.wordpress.com for more info on our quaint little business ;)

FOCAL Studios’ photography ‘anorak’ site. Ask and ye shall receive… after a day or two of waiting.