One of the best places you can go for photographic equipment is your local hardware store. Bungie cords, tarps, and various other items that can be transformed into valuable photography equipment. For today’s post you’ll need to steer your shopping cart to the paint department. All a professional background is is a large piece of cloth with some type design painted/dyed on it, or it may be a solid color. However, many photographers, at least those that go for a more timeless look, will use a simple canvas background. Canvas provides a neutral color background that help the subject pop, but it also provides a texture even when working with a relatively shallow depth of field.

If you go to a fabric store ultra-wide canvas can be quite expensive, running 100.00 for a 9′x7′ seamless piece. For some pros this seamless quality is worth the extra money, but with the advances of digital post-processing a little fabric seam can be removed in seconds. With this in mind, enter the aforementioned paint department and look for the canvas painter’s drop cloth. These run in two larger sizes, the most commons ones being 10′ x 12′ and 8′ x 9′, with the larger being priced between 24.99 and 29.00 depending on your area. The smaller on is usually priced from 17.99 to 19.99. It’s an excellent deal when compared to the 100.00 of the fabric store canvas.

However, quoting countless TV infomercials, “But, wait, there’s more!” A large canvas is just like any other fabric, meaning it can be painted or dyed, just like those other multi-hundred dollar backdrops. If you happen to be handy with some spraypaint, or even regular paints you can create a wholly unique background that only your studio has. You can also custom tailor the background for your subject, and even charge a premium for the service.

Below is an example using a plain canvas backdrop that I bought in a local hardware store for 18.99 plus tax. As you can see with some simple retouches you can get an alternate color to the neutral tone that is inherent to common cotton canvas. You can look at the other images in my gallery and my flickr page for other examples of this look. I tend to use this plain background because it is a timeless look, with no tacky background graphics to date the picture. You can also see the subtle texture that the un-ironed canvas gives to the image which adds elements of depth.

So, instead of leaving you high and dry this weekend, I thought I would post a fun tutorial on a type of time lapse trick photography. Ever wanted to hold fire in your hands? Well, now you can … sort of. The effect is pretty simple and Ill explain it after the jump!

OK, so first off you’ll need a camera that is capable of long exposures. Generally speaking 10-15 seconds seem to be optimal for my cameras, but depending on a few variables anywhere from 5 seconds to 20 seconds could work too. Most trick photography is simply a matter of trial and error when it comes to settings. It’s digital, so shoot until you have the look you want. OK, lets get started with a look at the effect we’re going to pull off.

As you can see from the image the young lady appears to have a hovering ball of fire above her hand. The great thing about time lapse in dark locations is that you don’t see the person in the frame who is making the fireball … namely, me. Yes, its TRUE, Im in this picture. There was no Photoshopping done, just a slight bump on the Blacks in Lightroom. To understand this, you need to know a little about how a camera works. The sensor in the back of the camera works in the same way as film does, it “soaks” up light and displays an image. Too much light and the image is blown out white. Too little light, and the blacks are “flat,” meaning they contain no real usable data. But something that seems like a logical jump, but few people realize, is that if there is not enough light on your subject, but plenty on the stationary items in the shot, the main subject becomes “invisible” to the sensor. Therefore, in the above picture, the model is being lit with a cheap disposable lighter, but the lighter also creates the fire in her hand. However, because I am moving so quickly (in comparison to the available light) I don’t appear in the frame. Pretty neat huh?

So, to pull this shot off you need some models who are able to stay pretty still for the required time limit. (FYI: blinking is fine, a human blink isnt slow enough to register for a time laspe photograph unless the model does it over and over and over again) Next, you need to conceptualize the picture prior to shooting it, because you need to be able to “see” where the fire is going to be in the final image so you are able to move the lighter accordingly. Remember, the lighter is the only light source in this image, so how you image the fire should be in a location where it can also light the subject.

Next, with the lights on, activate the AF on your camera with a half-press of the shutter. From this point the model shouldn’t move. Now, deactivate AF on the camera (on most lenses this is a switch found on either the camera or the lens itself) and turn off the lights. Let your eyes adjust to the dark a little, we don’t want to be tripping over studio gear or models. Then move to the side of the model. Activate your camera with a remote method, wired or wireless is fine but I prefer the wireless options. Now place the lighter at a proper starting point to achieve the effect you’re trying for. Remember, because of the darkness the camera hasn’t take an image yet. Light the lighter(s) and move in the pattern you are going for. When finished, step out of the frame. For a camera set on ISO 100, f/22, and 15 seconds the optimal time is roughly 5 seconds. The extra time on the camera is just padding to ensure you have time to carry out the shot to completion. Then the camera shutter closes move to the camera and check out the image. Don’t turn on the lights if you plan on doing another.

Technically speaking, the model could move after you step out of the frame, but generally I ask them to remain motionless. Unless you are in a cave, it is very difficult to make a room completely light tight, so not moving just ensures the lights stay lights, and the blacks stay black. Experiment until you get the effect you like.

In post production, you could photoshop out anything you don’t like, or even touch up the “fire” if you like. Generally speaking though, I don’t like the effect this gives and try to abstain. Just increase the Blacks and Contrast in Lightroom/Aperture and crop as needed. Variations on this could be using LEDs to create “energy fields” or even a common household flashlight can render some interesting effects. A laser pointed at the subjects and slowly moved over them can also create some fantastic effects! Trick photography is all about trial, error, and experimentation. It also helps you to learn what your camera can, and cannot, do well.

Now, if you’re itching for something more extreme, keep an eye out for a future post where I show you to pull off a fire ball in your hand WITHOUT trick photography. Yes, doing it for REAL with common things you can pick up in any town, and may even have around the house already.

Feel free to join and post your trick photograhy experiments to the Three Five Photography flickr group at Three Five Photo Blog Flickr Group. Ill be back on Monday with the promised post on the Rule of Thirds. Have a great weekend!

OK, no waxing poetic about on this post. This is a down and dirty Photoshop tutorial, so follow along and enjoy the trip back to the 90s.

1. Open up your picture in Photoshop. If the image is in Lightroom just export it for Editing into PS.

2. Duplicate the primary layer.

3. Apply a Gaussian Blur to the bottom layer. Make it strong enough to achieve a good blur, but not strong enough where you can’t tell what is in the scene.

4. Transfer to the upper, as of yet untouched, layer. Change the Layer blending mode to Screen.

5. Tweak Brightness and Color if needed.

6. You’re done!

Granted 60 seconds is only applicable to a seasoned Photoshop user, however I can’t see a complete novice needing more than 5 minutes to complete this look. Below is an example. Enjoy!

Data Level Green: This is for the casual shooter. Perhaps you haven’t made the jump to DSLR, yet you have 500+ shots and a high megapixel camera. Since these cameras usually save images in JPEG format the file size is generally smallish, no more than ~3MB per shot on average. At this level, the aforementioned DVD option is probably your best bet. However, normal DVD-R’s only hold ~4.3GB of data, if you have been shooting awhile there is a good chance you have well over this. Enter Dual Layer DVDs … DL-DVDs can burn two layers of data to a disc by using special plastics and a dual wavelength recording laser. These discs are able to store ~9.5GB and are a much better option for the casual shooter who needs to backup every two weeks to once a month. The best part is that more than likely your current DVD burner already supports Dual layer discs, so all you need to buy are the discs.

Data Level Orange: This level is the advanced amateur. You have moved to an entry level DSLR camera and shoot either exclusively in RAW or you have 5000+ JPEG images. Chances are good you shoot several hundred images per week, and the thought of losing a large amount of images makes you uneasy, but a few here and there is acceptable. For this level, it is time to move into a multi-faceted storage option. Enter external hard drives. With the cost of external storage so low there is no reason why a person shouldn’t consider this option.

You should purchase 2 external hard drives that are 2-4x bigger than your current TOTAL amount of images. ie. 250GB in images? Buy at least a 500GB, but a 750GB or 1TB drive is better. Both of these drives should hold the exact same thing, aka mirrored, but not in a RAID format. In many photo management programs there is an option to save all items to 2 separate drives. For those managing their own filing, there are “Sync” programs available that will automatically sync 2 drives/folders/files etc. (insert Sync program for both Mac and PC here). This level of storage is redundant and your data is saved in the event one of the drives fail. The multi-faceted portion is that you should dedicated yourself to completing an entire DL-DVD backup at least once or twice a year. These discs should be store off-site in a safe location. Personally, I store all off-site images backups in a safety deposit box, but in a friend’s closet shelf can work as well. This is more for the case of catastrophic circumstance as natural disasters, tornados, house fires, etc. You WILL lose some data, but only those images you have taken since the last DL-DVD burn off.

Data Level Red: This is for the Semi-Pro to Full Professional Photographer. You have tens of thousands of dollars in equipment, and an image collection of 15,000+ image. (probably A LOT more) The thought of losing a single image not only makes your blood run cold, it would also take money out of your wallet. Since eating is something we all enjoy, and that takes money, our data storage and backups needs to be double redundant AND multi-faceted. Basically, were taking everything from above, combining it, and adding double redundancy to it.

In this case we need at least 4 external hard drives, but no larger than 750GB in size. 1TB (single drive) units are prone to a higher failure rate and don’t meet the standards for data critical applications in most situations. If you must seek out 1TB drives, try to find dual 500GB enclosures. You should keep two drives on-site, and 2 drives off-site. Off-site drives should be kept in secure SEPARATE locations. Perhaps 1 in a fireproof box at a friend’s house and the second in a safety deposit box. Depending on your own schedule, once a month, every other week, every week, or even every other day, one of the off-site drives should be switched out with one of the on-site drives. Be sure to alternate the drives around to ensure they all have up-to-date data on them. I know, I know, it sounds complicated, but it is really easy, I promise …

I hope that made it easier to understand.

In addition to the hard drive swapping I suggest a DL-DVD backup once per year to be kept in a safety deposit box. I hope you see the running theme here with the safety deposit box. Most banks offer them for next to nothing. (mine runs 10.00/year and is my banks second tier size. It holds 2 drives, 1 DVD backup, as well as other things I need to store) Bank vaults are all but bomb proof, so they’re an excellent option for protecting data from fire, theft, damage, etc.

The Bank Breaker: Let’s assume you are a Professional who wants a super simple method of redundant backup, and price isn’t too horrible of an issue. In that case, I would recommend purchasing two Drobo units in either the 2TB or 4TB sizes (in these RAID units the full size is halved, so a 2TB will show up at 1TB and the 4TB will show as 2TB). With this option you would follow the alternating cycle of Data Level Orange, syncing and switching out the devices at a set interval of your choosing. Because the computer handles it as a RAID the data is redundantly backed up inside a single device. While it is less of a headache the $750.00/EACH pricetag for the 2TB option (1000.00/each for 4TB) can be off-putting for the average user.

Note: As just a point of personal preference, I have found Seagate’s Freeagent line of products to have VERY good build quality and be quite stable. Remember though, the 1TB rule applies to all brands of drives, even my favorite. However, this shouldn’t be the only reason to shy away from them, logic tells us the larger the drive is the more data you stand to lose in a single failure. Try your best not to chance it.

Thats all for now, if you have questions or suggestions feel free to email me directly or leave a comment! Take Care.