Jean-Francois OKane Photographe et Conférencier Montréal » exposure

Landscape and bodyscape workshops

TheStudioCoach — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:09:13 +0000

Image from London, layerd with a Graphic Authority template

The 2 last editions of TheStudioCooach Landscape and Bodyscape workshops were held in Sutton Quebec and in London Ontario. The participants were thrilled by how photography of a the figure study becomes easy and rewarding by adopting a new look on the subject. Men and women as well took part as photographers and all have brought a cynergy to each workshop. The event will be held in the 2 cities next summer, contact me for resevations. Of course the workshops are a place to learn about photography but over everything a place to learn to stop and look and then release the shutter. No corners are cut as al participants are sked to shoot it right to minimize the postproduction work. The PhotoMasterTarget is used to achieve exact exposure and white balance, often very hard to figure in shadow or open reflection area.

PhotoMasterTarget in use at workshopStudents reading from PhotoMasterTarget at workshop

Why do I get only three peaks on my histogram?

TheStudioCoach — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:30:00 +0000

One regular question about the color balance coach target is: why do I get only trree peaks on my histogram?
as you can see on the left side of the hand-drawn graphics that the target is used facing the camera instead of facing the light. When you do so the difference of the light from one side to the other of each white patch changes until it reaches the amount of the next patch so you have a kind of one ongoing fading patch. As you can see now on the graphic on the second side on the right-hand side you have four peaks when the target is facing the main light remember the object of the color balance coach target is to measure the highlight to be sure that we do not get an over exposure of the light and the only way he to make this sure is to measure the highlight side with the target. So in the center of the drying you see the two side-by-side drawings one representing the target facing the camera and the other one representing the target facing the main light giving the proper exposure.
Enjoy your target and keep you posted with all your question how will answer them personally.
Jean François O’Kane,
TheStudioCoach.com

New StudioCoach product

TheStudioCoach — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:24:00 +0000

The videographers dream for white balances, the WhiteBeam now enters the market! It is an 8″ disk that is placed in front of the video camera lens in order to do the white balance in 5 seconds flat. This ensures continuity of light and easy matching of sequences. For more information…

Now available on line, the PhotoMasterTarge t measures only 10″x15″ and is ideal for the photographer on the go. Just like the ColorBalanceCoach, it allows you to control contrast and exposure.

FAQ PhotoMasterTarget/ColorBalanceCoach: Do I use the exposure info (F-stop and shutter speed) taken from the grey surface or the exposure info taken from the whole disc including the white and black colors ?

TheStudioCoach — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:48:00 +0000

The exposure info that you will have when aiming at the target whole or grey patch, will be used as a starting point to set the final exposure using the 4 patches and representation on the histogram. The 4 peaks pattern on the histogram ill be the confirmation of proper exposure.

Once your histogram is perfect, be sure to be on manual mode and do not change the F-stop and shutter speed.

FAQ PhotoMasterTarget/ColorBalanceCoach: When I take the picture of the grey surface, should I leave my WB settings to AWB to take the picture for use in setting custom WB ?

TheStudioCoach — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:38:00 +0000

For Canon, Nikon and other brands, it does not make any difference the mode that you are in when you take the image you will use for setting the white balance. As a second step the camera will white balance the surface or the image that you have chosen to perform the custon WB.

The FAQ are fuelled by user’s questions.

The ColorBalanceCoach in the figure study

TheStudioCoach — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 12:33:00 +0000

In difficult situation like this one, the ColorBalanceCoach target played a key role.
I wanted a light rolling on top of my nude model’s stomach. I needed to calculate exactly the light passing horizontal al the model’s point. By putting the ColorBalanceCoach target flat on the floor I was able to preform the necessary readings, and ajust the camera for an exact white balance and exposure setting.
Model: Émilie

Shot at Studio Astre, Paris, France.

Sand and snow, same exposure problem

TheStudioCoach — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 21:31:00 +0000

In a backlit beach image like the one beside the camera sees all the light tones of the sky and the sand and underexposes the whole image. By reading from a grey card like the reference8, you can always be sure of the exposure and bring back great souvenir images, without spending too much time setting the image and even greater, spending zero time correcting the image in Photoshop.

How to read the photographic histogram?

TheStudioCoach — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 21:27:00 +0000

How to read the photographic histogram?
watch this video to learn about the histogram.

In my studio I already have a studio strobe as a second light I want to use a quartz lamp?

TheStudioCoach — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 03:19:00 +0000

Some steps are essential
1- decide which lamp will be the main lamp
2- do not mix different light type on your main subject
3- use your second lamp for a support effect

For example if you use the flash to light your subject you will do an exposure test and a white balance adjustment on the main subject ( using the ColorBalanceCoach), if you need to fill the shadows you may use a reflector, that will not change your color balancing and will not overpower your flash. Then turn on the quartz light and make sure the beam does not spill on the subject face or front.
If the 2 light mix on the subject it will be impossible to make a neutral white balance and your shadows will be contaminated with inproper hues.
So let’s use the quartz to light the background, even if in your view finder you see the effect of the quartz, it may not register yet in the picture. The setting you use for the flash exposure are usually based on an exposure speed of 1/125th of a second with an aperture of f/8 or more. At this speed and aperture the hot light will no register (PIC#1), to figure this out, think of how long you need to set exposure for a night cityscape. Try reducing the speed of the camera until you start seeing the effect, this will happen around 1/15th or longer, do not hesitate to reach the 1 second mark. (PIC#2), (NOTE: you may have to shut the flash’s modeling lamp to avoid the yellow modeling lamp to affect on your subject)

Jean-Francois O’Kane

Official launch ColorBalanceCoach

TheStudioCoach — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 20:45:00 +0000

(TEXTE FRANCAIS À LA SUITE DU TEXTE ANGLAIS)

Montreal Photographer Turns Inventor
Making Digital Photography Color-Perfect at the First ShotMontreal, Wednesday, September 27, 2006- This week Montreal Photographer Jean-François O’Kane will introduce in a world premiere, a new colour balancing system for digital photography that he invented and perfected himself at the Photokina international fair in Cologne, Germany. The “ColorBalanceCoach” is a collapsible disk that looks like a photographic reflector. Made to fit in any photographer’s bag, it confirms in a matter of seconds the whiteness of the white, the exposure and the contrast before a single shot is taken.

“I developed the ColorbalanceCoach as the only tool that a photographer needs to keep with him at all times to take color-perfect pictures. As a photographer I pride myself on producing high quality images, but as an artist, I want to concentrate more on the image itself than on the tools and process”, explains Jean-Francois O’Kane.

Mr. O’Kane developed the unique “ColorBalanceCoach” as a one-step easy to use tool for photographers. More than two years in the making, this tool was created as the answer to many questions from the hundreds of people he has taught in his lecture series as “TheStudioCoach”.

Why is a colour balance needed?
The color balance, also called white balance, is a technique that ensures that photography captures real colors, and produces an optimal rendering on a computer monitor or final print. Some digital cameras have exposure and color balance settings that can be set on automatic, but unfortunately, automatic does not necessarily mean exact and photos are often discolored.

The “ColorBalanceCoach” is made of 4 distinct regions called patches. The largest is the grey patch, made of chromatically neutral synthetic material, 18% reflective, that will remain stable in density and color for years to come. The black patch reflects only 5% of the light it receives, the white reflective patch will reflect 95% of the light and the dull translucent patch will reflect 85% of the light. The translucent patch is made of 100% colorless white fabric that will allow a shoot through white balancing area as well as a reflected low-light reflected white balance patch.

Canadian and World-wide Distribution
This new tool will be available in Canada as of October 10, 2006 thanks to Booth Photographic that has announced the coverage of the Canadian market through its network of 150 dealers. As well, it has just been confirmed that Aurora will take on the world distribution of a special edition of the ColorBalanceCoach disk.
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Note to media:
Mr. O’Kane will be in Germany until October 2, and in Paris from the 2nd to the 5th. He will remain available for interviews by phone. He will be available for interviews in person upon his return.
For visuals and video instruction visit www.colorbalancecoach.com.

Source:
Emmanuelle Rondeau
Expression Communications for «ColorBalanceCoach»
T: 514-347-1114 or mailto: erondeau@expressioncommunications.com

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Un photographe montréalais devient inventeur :
Il conçoit l’équilibrage parfait de la couleur
dès la première pose pour la photographie numériqueMontréal, 25 septembre 2006- Mardi 26 septembre 2006, le photographe montréalais Jean-François O’Kane lancera en première mondiale au salon international Photokina à Cologne, Allemagne, un nouveau système d’équilibrage de la couleur pour la photographie numérique, procédé dont il est l’inventeur. Le ColorBalanceCoach est un disque pliable sem! blable à un réflecteur photographique. Conçu pour s’insérer dans l’étui de transport du photographe, il confirme en quelques secondes la blancheur, l’exposition et le contraste avant même le premier déclic de l’appareil.

« J’ai mis au point le ColorbalanceCoach afin qu’il soit l’unique outil nécessaire pour obtenir un parfait équilibrage de la couleur en tout temps. En tant que photographe, je me fais un point d’honneur de livrer des images de haute qualité, mais en tant qu’artiste, je veux me concentrer davantage sur l’image que sur les outils et procédés », explique Jean-François O’Kane.

M. O’Kane a développé le ColorBalanceCoach pour en faire un outil complet et facile à utiliser. Fruit de plus de deux années de conception, cet outil a été créé pour répondre aux nombreuses questions de centaines d’élèves inscrits à des conférences qu’il dispense par l’entremise TheStudioCoach. !

Pourquoi est-il nécessaire d’équilibrer la couleur ?
L’équilibre des couleurs, ou équilibrage des blancs, est une technique qui permet de capturer les couleurs réelles et de produire un rendu optimal à l’écran ou à l’impression. Quelques appareils numériques sont dotés du réglage automatique de l’exposition et de l’équilibrage des blancs, mais cet automatisme n’est pas toujours synonyme de précision et produit souvent des photos pâles.

Le ColorBalanceCoach est composé de 4 échantillons. Le plus grand échantillon gris est fait de matériel synthétique chromatiquement neutre dont la densité et la couleur demeureront stables au fil des ans ; il réfléchit 18 % de la lumière. L’échantillon noir ne reflète que 5 % de la lumière, l’échantillon blanc en réfléchit 95 % et l’échantillon translucide mat en reflète 85 %.
Ce dernier est fait de tissu 100 % incolore permet aussi de faire une balance de blanc en mesure incidente.

Distribution canadienne et mondiale
Ce nouvel outil sera disponible au Canada à compter du 10 octobre 2006 grâce à Booth Photographic qui couvrira le marché canadien par l’entremise de son réseau de 150 revendeurs. De plus, Aurora vient d’annoncer qu’elle assurera la distribution mondiale d’une édition spéciale du disque ColorBalanceCoach.
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Notes aux médias :
· M. O’Kane sera en Allemagne du 26 septembre au 2 octobre 2006, puis à Paris du 2 au 5 octobre. Durant cette période, il sera disponible pour des entrevues téléphoniques. Les entrevues en personne seront accordées dès son retour.
· Pour voir le produit et sa vidéo rendez-vous à www.colorbalancecoach.com.

Source :
Emmanuelle Rondeau
Expression Communications pour ColorBalanceCoach
T: 514-347-1114 ou courriel : erondeau@expressioncommunications.com