Like many of my readers know, I’ve been a Canon shooter for over 25 years. I started with an A1 SLR back in 1984 and I never looked back. Nowadays I shoot with a Canon 7d. I also have a 50D and an old XTi as backups.
Like many of you, I’ve been experimenting with HDR photography. However, I’m not into the whole surreal thing at all. Instead, I love to make my pictures so real that it feels like you’re looking out the window. My idea of a great HDR is an image where the untrained eye will know that there’s something special about it, but he/she won’t know what it is!
My software of choice is Photomatix Pro combined with Photoshop CS5, a myriad of plugins —that I won’t even mention— and my inseparable Macintosh computer. However, what I will mention is my latest toy: the Promote Control. This —my friends— is the “secret sauce” that has really spread open the doors of HDR Photography for me. It’s the “ace up your sleeve” if you’re shooting HDRs with Canon cameras.
In there infinite wisdom, Canon engineers decided that three exposures were more than enough to shoot any bracketing sequence. WRONG! I’ve shot off sequences of 9, and even 11 for my HDRs.
Doing this by hand is entirely possible, but it’s a pain in the #@>&#$! First, you might move the camera, and second it takes too long! That’s where the Promote Control comes in. This little wonder will pop off as many as 27 consecutive shots in rapid-fire succession allowing for beautiful HDRs. It’s not cheap though. The whole deal will set you back around $325. But it’s worth every penny.
I won’t bore you with the details on how to use the Promote Control because those are plastered all over the Internet (especially on YouTube). Besides, it comes with an excellent manual and once you get the hang of it, it’s super simple. What I will tell you however are the tricks you’ll need to know to get it to work correctly.
First, make sure that you buy the Shutter Control Cable CN2 or CN3 for your particular Canon body. This allows for time-lapse sequences and several additional features that won’t work with just the USB cable that comes in the box. Second, make sure your camera is in Manual Mode, your lens is in Manual Focus mode and your White Balance is NOT in Auto White Balance mode. Third, make sure to use a tripod; a good one! Forth, make sure that your “center shutter speed” is close to 1/60.
This last tip is going to be very important when shooting lots of brackets. Why? Because half of your exposures will be under this middle point. And if you make it too low your bottom images will be too long and potentially blurry.
How do you solve this? Set your aperture close to the middle of your lens’ exposure range (Generally called the “sweet spot”), set your center shutter speed” close to 1/60 and arrive at a correct exposure by moving your ISO setting.
And that’s it! From here on the Promote Control will take care of the rest. Your camera will shoot off as many images as you wish in rapid-fire succession. And the results, when you finish processing your HDRs, will be breathtaking!
©2011, Orlando Mergal
PUERTO RICO PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG
