Finally I can say “I am Back!”

Hello guys. First of all I would like to apologies for being inactive for more than 6 months now.  I had some problems with my hosting service and took a while until I was able to get back my database with all my posts and comments.

So what I was up to?

So you might be wondering what I was up to, for the last 7 months. Well the most important thing is that I worked for 6 months at a national newspaper here in Romania, where I learned a tremendous amount of things, from camera equipment all the way to studio lighting (yes studio lighting in press, I shot had to shoot like 15-20 girls a month for an yearly Miss contest). But I recently quit to start my own business in graphic design and photography.

Speaking of graphic design, I have finally finished my personal website with portfolio for web and graphic design, and I will soon launch an website for my wedding photography entitled Nunta in Imagini (Wedding in Images) , and after that I will launch a portfolio for the rest of my photography .  Stay tuned for updates.

What’s next?

Well, I promise I will update this blog at least weekly with news from photography world, and more photography and photoshop tutorials and this time in video format for better understanding. This is a future feature, and I need to learn more about video compression and the best way to shoot a video tutorial.

Tags: Constantin Chirila, Personal, Photography, Tutorials

What is the “Aperture” and How It Affects the Depth of Field?

We are constantly bumping on this “Aperture” notion, especially when we are trying to buy a new lens. Well the main function of a camera lens it’s to collect light. But often we need to control the amount of light coming in: some times we need more and other times we need less. Well this is the job of the aperture (which in fact is an iris), to control the amount of light getting in ( the larger the diameter of the iris, the more light gets to the image sensor). Another fact that aperture controls is the Depth Of Field.

So the aperture is measured in F-stop : f/1.8, f/2.8, f/10, etc. The smaller the f number (value), the larger is the diameter of the iris, and the  bigger the  f number (value) the smaller is the diameter of the iris. You might ask “Why it’s so twisted?”. Well because the F Number is represented by the formula F/D (F= focal length, D= diameter of the iris). So as you can see the diameter of the lens varies at different focal lengths.This is because a 300mm lens needs an larger “hole” to collect the same amount of light as a 50mm lens with with the same aperture. In fact that’s the reason why those 300mm, 400mm, 600mm, are so huge, because they need a hole large enough to catch enough light. Also that’s why there aren’t  super telephoto lens like 600mm with small f/number, for example f/1.8 (first of all will have a microscopic depth of field, and second of all will be an enormous).

Read more…

Tags: Photography, Tips & Tricks, Tutorials

What is the “Shutter Speed” and When You Can Use It To Your Advantage?

As I promised a few posts back i would like to start talking about some basic aspects of the camera. Like Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO, Camera Settings, etc.

Today I will talk about Shutter Speed. Here is a list o things you should know about this:

1. What is Shutter Speed?

As the name says, it’s the speed of the shutter is opening and closing. In fact it is measured in the time the shutter stays open (from 1/8000 of a second to 30 seconds and more in the bulb mode). So if you take your photo with 1/250th of a second the shutter stays open for 0,004  (1/250) seconds, or if you take it with 1/25 of a second the shutter stays open for quarter of a second. Read more…

Tags: Camera Basics, Gear, Photography, Tips & Tricks, Tutorials

Tutorial: Create Fujifilm Velvia Film Effect with Photoshop

Hello guys/gals, long time no see.  Hope you all had a good time this Christmas and Santa was kind and generous.

Today I would like show you a quick tutorial on how to create a Fujifilm Velvia film effect. This one it’s popular through landscape photographers, and gives to the photo a colorful look and having a slight over saturation.

Here is the photo, which in my opinion doesn’t put into value the beautiful colors of the Autumn season.

Read more…

Tags: Color Management, Editing, Photoshop, Tutorials