# Good light? Good processing skills? Or Both



## chiyeung (Feb 2, 2011)

Ian Phillips-McLaren Tel +44 (0) 7889 861654


How does his images have such a crisp and sharp effect? How does he do it?


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## Big Mike (Feb 2, 2011)

Have you tried asking him?

Crispness & Sharpness come mainly from having accurate focus and freezing any movement...either with fast shutter speeds or short burst of light (flash).

It can also help to use good quality lenses and have some skill in post processing.


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## LindseyTorres (Feb 2, 2011)

This kind of sharpness/crispness comes from a good lens (I get this from a 50mm/1.4), good focus, fast shutter speed, and natural light. I have noticed that when I'm in natural light, the crispness is incredible. These images look like they were taken in natural light.


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## LindseyTorres (Feb 2, 2011)

BTW, if you want to know if an image was taken in natural light, an easy way to tell is to look at the reflection in the eyes. In the images in the website you posted, many of the up close portraits were taken by a window.


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## chiyeung (Feb 2, 2011)

Ahh. so mainly natural lighting??


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## Big Mike (Feb 3, 2011)

You can get sharp, crisp photos with either natural or artificial light....it doesn't really matter.  What does matter is how much light you have, and thus the exposure settings you can use.

For example, most artificial light (in buildings, houses etc) is actually quite dark...in terms of photography.  So many people find that photos in these scenarios aren't as sharp as they would like because they are forced to use a slower shutter speed.

Bright daylight, on the other hand, may allow for faster shutter speeds, which will give you sharper photos.

You can use artificial light (if it's bright enough) to give you faster shutter speeds...or you can use flash/strobe type lighting, which is so short, that it freezes most movement.

As mentioned, using good quality lenses and nailing your focus is key to sharp shots.  In these shots, they may also look sharper because of the shallow DOF, which is leaving the subject in focus, while throwing the background out of focus.


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## chiyeung (Feb 3, 2011)

Thanks Big Mike. Mind= blowned


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## stevenrecords (Feb 3, 2011)

He is using a highpass filter in photoshop. I have a tutorial on my blog that explains how to do it. It is that along with the guy using good equipment, shot at right exposures, the right settings (low iso, RAW or TIFF, prob custom white-balace as well). Although some of the shots are using natural lighting, some are probably using an external light source as well.


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## Derrel (Feb 3, 2011)

These look like a big light source, which causes fairly soft, relatively soft-shadowed lighting on a person's face. Either a large window, or a wall illuminated by flash, or a large panel or a big softbox--any of those light modifiers will create this type of look. The processing is pretty normal...nothing extraordinary.


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## CCericola (Feb 3, 2011)

He could also be shooting medium format film or medium format digital. According to his about page he was an artist is residence in 1990 so he definitely perfected his craft in film.


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## mwcfarms (Feb 3, 2011)

I have no clue but I just want to go work for him.


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## IPM (Jul 14, 2011)

stevenrecords said:


> He is using a highpass filter in photoshop. I have a tutorial on my blog that explains how to do it. It is that along with the guy using good equipment, shot at right exposures, the right settings (low iso, RAW or TIFF, prob custom white-balace as well). Although some of the shots are using natural lighting, some are probably using an external light source as well.



There is definitely no use of a high pass filter, they are mainly shot between 800 asa and 1600 asa a shutter speed of a 60th to 125th and 99.9% natural light


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## Edsport (Jul 14, 2011)

He has a tendancy to cut the top of their heads off...


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## Bitter Jeweler (Jul 14, 2011)

Edsport said:


> He has a tendancy to cut the top of their heads off...


He also has a tendency to center the subject.


:roll:


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## IPM (Aug 8, 2011)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> Edsport said:
> 
> 
> > He has a tendancy to cut the top of their heads off...
> ...



Yes!, but only when it's a tight shot


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