Hdr, time lapse, Posters, how to?

orbit · Apr 3, 2011

1: HDR

how does one go about doing this? i love them, but i have no clue how to do it.

2:Time Lapses
I just figured out how to jimmy with my shutter speed. is that all i need to do for time lapse photos?

3: Pictures to Posters
How does one go about taking the picture that will later be blown up into a poster.
what kind of picture works good as in file format, how do i change that on my camera (t2i) and do i just go to kinko's and ask them to blow it up?

Thanks in advance,
Orbit

rlemert · Apr 3, 2011

1. As I understand it, you use post-processing to combine multiple exposures of the same scene. I haven't done this, so I'll leave more explanation to others.

2. Time laps has almost nothing to do with shutter speed, but rather with how often the shutter is triggered. Point your camera at a piece of sky on a stormy day and fix it into position. Now, take one exposure every minute - and on the minute. The result will be a series of photos showing the sky's change as time lapses from one exposure to the next.

There is a type of photo where the shutter is kept open in dim light, and a fast strobe is used to briefly illuminate the subject multiple times. This is how you get those shots of golfer's swings showing the club in multiple positions. Strictly speaking, though, I don't believe this is considered true "time lapse" photography.

3. Several factors go into whether or not a picture can be blown up into a successful poster, including camera resolution, ISO speed, and sensor size. The finer the resolution, the slower the speed, and the larger the sensor, the bigger the poster you can get and still get a decent image. (If I remember correctly, people shooting film for posters generally use cameras with bigger film when shooting for the poster market.

Big Mike · Apr 4, 2011

Wow, those are three practically unrelated questions. :lol:

1. Yes, HDR is done by combining multiple exposures with software. Photoshop can do it, but Photomatix is the popular choice for HDR junkies. By the way, Google is your friend.

2. As mentioned, Time Lapse is a series of photos (of the same thing/location) over a period of time. Shutter speed is one of the three settings that controls your exposure.

3. A poster is just a print, albeit a large one. So any photo can be printed that large....but as the photo gets bigger, any flaws will also get bigger. So try to ensure that your photo has the best quality possible, especially sharpness. For example, shoot with the camera on a tripod and use a remote (or self timer) so that the camera is perfectly still when the photo is taken.
As far as file type/size...you should shoot at your camera's maximum size and with 'fine' resolution. Ideally, I'd suggest shooting in RAW format, but that will require you to know how to edit the RAW file and eventually save it as a JPEG or TIFF to send to the lab.