The best f-stop to shoot for any lens...

By "best" I mean the the lowest aperture that will give you the sharpest focus on the area you have selected on your subject, the "sweet spot".

The other day I was listening to an interview with Nicole Young (aka "Nicolesy") and... wait, before I get into that let me say a few things about Nicole.

First, I LOVE HER, whenever I find a new interview with her I listen to it, I follow her blog, and I check out her iStock portfolio. She is one of those photographers that is on my "lunch list".

You don't have a lunch list? It's a list of those photographers that would be fun to break bread with, to pick their brain about photography and talk about experiences and ideas.

The reason I am such a big fan is simple, I think she is an outstanding photographer AND she shares like no one else I know. She shares her lighting setups, what gear she uses, and how she does her post processing. A great example is her post about "adding steam" to a shot.


Okay, back the the interview. Nicole was being interviewed at the Typical Shutterbug Podcast when the subject turned to image sharpness and it was suggested that to get the best sharpness you should use an f-stop 2 stops higher than the lowest f-stop for that lens (so a 2.8 lens would give you a better sharpness at 5.6).

Just to be clear (so there is no misunderstanding), yes the area of sharpness (or in focus) becomes larger as the f-stop increases, but what we are talking about here is that the same area that was in focus at 2.8 will be significantly sharper at 5.6.

Then Nicole shared a post in which she did a test shoot using a 2.8 lens, she shot it at 2.8, 4, and 5.6 and the results were an eye opener for me (you can see the post here, and the hi-res test shot here).

She also did a post about lens compression and depth of field that nicely demonstrated those very same results.

Some pretty cool stuff.

So today I am going to break out the camera and play around with this, if you do as well please share your results with us on our Flickr page.

Small in size and price, but HUGE in functionality...

I was looking forward to getting the Frio coldshoe adapter as I've heard so many good things about it from others (including from David Hobby over at Strobist) and because I shoot Speedlight's pretty much exclusively I figured it would be a pretty handy accessory to have in my "bag-o-light".

And even though I was expecting something good, I was still pleasantly surprised just how good they were the moment I pulled them out of the box.

It may be small and made of plastic but as soon as the Frio hits your hand you know it's not just some cheap "do-hicky", it has substance. To ensure a secure fit and longer more durable life the connecting thread is all metal construction.

The Frio is the ONLY hotshoe adapter with a dual-locking mechanism so you can be secure in the knowledge that whatever you attach to it is staying in place. And it's pretty darn universal too, not only will it hold you flash, it will hold an LED panel, a microphone, a monitor, and almost anything else that has a hotshoe mount.

Not only is it designed to live a long life (under normal conditions) it's also designed to break, yes... to break, let me explain: if exposed to extreme shock because something hit your lightstand (or your lightstand hit something) the Frio is designed to break away before the shoe of whatever you have mounted breaks. This little feature could easily save you big bucks in repairs (or replacing) whatever was mounted on your Frio. Ingenious.

My only disappointment? I only got 3.

;)

You get all this for under $14, and shipping won't cost you a penny either, it's free free free.

Below is a quickie Frio demonstration video, for those of you who receive our posts via email can return to the blog to to watch it or head directly over to our YouTube channel to give it a gander.

"Guys, I can't find my dad...."

My daughter was having a bit of fun with yesterdays prediction of the "coming of the end".

She took my clothes, laid them out on the lawn, and posted the picture on Facebook proclaiming I was "one of the missing".

The girl has a good sense of humor (and is cute as a button too).

Timing is everything...

Timing is everything... in photography and in life.

Recently I have been feeling as if I was getting "a bit stale", like I had taken Weekly Photo Tips as far as it could go.

And I did not want to be like the guest who overstayed their welcome or an athlete that played beyond when they should have retired (not that I would over be confused with an athlete, at least not a living one).

Plus, even though I see the stats of our visitors, get the emails and comments, writing this blog still happens in a vacuum. I sit here early in the morning (often still in my jammy pants) writing down my thoughts and putting them online, but sometimes the thoughts do creep in, "are people really reading this, is it really that interesting?".

So I was considering a change and weighing out the options, reducing how often I posted (so that when I did post it would be more relevant and interesting), maybe transitioning into a once a week podcast, or just bringing the blog to an end.

As I was kicking these ideas around a couple things happened that "interrupted" my thought process.

First, Weekly Photo Tips was named one of the "10 Best Photography Blogs" along with folks like Scott Kelby and Joe McNally by the online tech magazine PluggedIn... that's some pretty darn impressive company. They said "The blog is a good mixture of the personal and professional: with good photos to browse". What made me me feel best was that they recognized the "personal" side.

Second, very shortly after this I received a comment from JW Stovall "I discover new and different products and services, that you have checked out. I appreciate that, but what I like the most, is that you are usually very 'upbeat' throughout your posts. This is refreshing, and encourages me to check in often. Thanks!"

These were reaffirming events for me... it made me realize that there are people out there, they do read this, and they do find it interesting.

Thank you!

Have I got a great deal for you!...

A 6 pack of SanDisk 4GB Ultra compact flash memory cards with a Think Tank Pixel Pocket Rocket case for only $69 with FREE shipping! That is a 50% savings (and even more savings if you include the free shipping).

SanDisk Ultra cards are fast, featuring fast 15/MB/sec Read/Write speeds, that will help reduce the time it takes for your camera to write to the card and to transfer data from your camera to your computer.

They also come with a lifetime limited warranty.

And (this is the part that will impress the heck out of you), these are the cards I use. Blown away, huh?

;)

I shoot fast and these cards keep right up with me and it's true what they say about the transfer speed, fast.

So if you are in the market for cards this is an opportunity to get very good memory cards at an outstanding price.

Reserve your seat at our David Tejada workshop...

This workshop is limited to just 8-10 seats so that each attendee is assured of plenty of personalized attention, so be sure to signup before those precious (and few) seats are gone.


Come join us on the weekend of September 17 & 18 for a two day workshop with small strobe photographer extraordinaire David Tejada.

David is one of the most highly regarded (and sought after) location corporate photographers out there, known for his dramatic and innovative photographic lighting techniques and graphic style.


He shoots both domestic and international assignments for graphic design firms and Fortune 500 companies. With 25 years of annual report photography experience, David is equally at home hovering in a helicopter over a drill rig in the Andes, creating dramatic lighting in a laboratory setting, or shooting a CEO portrait in New York City.

During the workshop David will demonstrate how to control and modify the quality of light produced from a typical shoe mounted flash. You’ll learn how to properly use umbrellas, soft boxes, snoots, grids, silks and bounce techniques. We’ll discuss using a single strobe combined with existing light as well as more complicated multiple light set-ups.

This workshop is designed for the emerging pro or for those contemplating doing so.

This workshop does not show you how to use your camera, you should understand the relationship between shutter speeds and F-stops and what the difference is between f/1.4 and f/22.

Learn more about David Tejada at his website, his blog, the "Small Strobes Big Results" site, or head over at Strobist and see why David Hobby is such a big fan (here and here).

3 day photography seminar... FREE!

Chase Jarvis had done it again over at Creative Live, he has put together a 3 day seminar for this weekend "Food Photography with Penny De Los Santos".

You can spend this coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (May 13, 14, 15) with National Geographic photographer Penny De Los Santos learning the principles of food photography, image critiques, business of food photography, studio food photography, lots of shooting, and so much more.

And you and watch it live the entire three days for free (you can register here).

If it is anything like the Zack Arias three day extravaganza it will be worth your time and money (you can see the posts here, here, and here). Like this seminar it was $99 to "pre" buy the video downloads (which I did and have done for this one already) and it truly was the best $99 I have ever spent in the field of photography.

You really need to check out Penny's website as it is not only full of stunning imagery, it's so much more than food photography, she also captures the people and the culture behind the food wonderfully.

So here are the links for the workshop, to register, and to pre-buy the videos.

Here is a short (3 minute) video that will give you more of an insight on Penny and her work, if you would like to see more follow this link to watch an interview with Chase talking with Penny and Foodista.com founder Barnaby Dorfman where they discuss food, food culture, and photography.

Lastly, a big thanks to Miguel for letting me know about this event.