Tech Notes #3: Effective Cigar Photography

Got cigar? Got camera? Just snap away and you'll have great photos to accompany your post, right? Not necessarily! I use photography heavily in my reviews and informational threads and over the years have accumulated some tips and techniques for making great cigar photos that I'd like to share with my fellow CigarPass'ers.

There are plenty of examples of good photography and many more examples of sub-optimal photography on the various cigar forums I've visited. By sub-optimal, I mean confusing, detracting from the post, or distracting from the message. Intentions are good, but execution is sometimes lacking. Technical errors are more common than one might think and the result is usually a snapshot that is less than fully successful in supporting the post or thread. In the worst of cases, one picture might undo the good work of a thousand words. As I'll demonstrate in the following technical article, the common mistakes are easy to correct and often with great positive effect. I will caution, however, that this approach means that one must be mindful of the task of photography. Just whipping out the digicam or the celphone will not automatically result in a worthwhile photo. You've got to put in the effort to make it right. If you do so, I think you'll find that you and your readers will be well rewarded. I should qualify this article by saying that I am not a professional photographer nor do I aspire to be. I just like snapping things to capture memories or to illustrate a point.

1. Wrong Color Balance
Digital cameras, like film, are sensitive to the spectral distribution of light from the source. In other words, the bright blue-white of the noon time sun is quite different from the warm, mellow yellow glow of a 60 watt incandescent bulb. Accordingly, if the camera thinks that you're shooting under a lighting condition that is different from the actual source, the colors will look out of whack. The exception to this situation is if you are using flash. When using flash, the camera will typically capture accurate colors no matter the ambient illumination.

For example, here are two shots both made under cool white fluorescent illumination using no flash. In the first photo, I've set the color balance of the digital camera to "Fluorescent." In the second, I've set it to "Cloudy Day." Notice how the colors in the first photo are true and there is no unnatural color cast to the cigar or my hand. In the second photo, since the camera was expecting the cool, cool light of overcast sunlight, the in-camera compensation resulted in an image that is far too yellow.

EXAMPLE: Proper White Balance
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...alance_Good.jpg)

EXAMPLE: Improper White Balance
Solution - Use flash or switch from the "Auto White Balance" setting on your camera to the mode appropriate for the ambient illumination. Settings common to most cameras are: Sunny, Cloudy, Shade, Incandescent, and Fluorescent.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...Balance_Bad.jpg)

2. Improper Focus
Chances are pretty good that any of the digital photos see nowadays will have been taken using some manner of autofocus. For the majority of cases, this is just fine. However, there are two cases where even excellent autofocusing schemes will fail and give less than optimal results. First, if you are trying to take a close up photo and you have not set the macro mode (usually denoted on the mode indicator by a flower) or your camera does not have a macro mode. Second, if autofocus grabs a feature to focus on which is not the intended target.

Here is a close-up shot taken with a camera that has macro setting capable of close focusing at this range. The cigar appears sharp, fills up the frame, and details are clearly visible.

EXAMPLE: Proper Focus
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins.../Focus_Good.jpg)

EXAMPLE: Improper Focus Point
Solution - Lock focus on the subject of interest. Confirm by reviewing the photo in your camera.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...Focus_Bad02.jpg)

EXAMPLE: Macro Failure
Solution - Switch to macro mode or if no macro mode is available, pull back from the subject until the camera can focus clearly.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...Focus_Bad01.jpg)

3. Too many photos in a sequence.
Sometimes, in our enthusiasm to share a particular cigar experience, we take numerous photos of the cigar as we smoke it down. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this. The problem arises when we post most or all of the photos we've taken without critically considering the effect that a half dozen or more, minimally informative photos has on the flow the post or review. Often, the effect is opposite that of what was intended, The progression ends up as tedious and distracting. My personal philosophy in posting values providing the most information in the most compact and efficient manner. If I feel that it's of value to show a sequence of photos, I'll do the work to compose the shots so that the viewer's job is made easier.

Here is an example of a sequence I posted for the 2006 CigarPass Ash Stand Challenge. In the context of this thread, it was worthwhile to show the ash growing longer and longer. To capture this in one compact photo, I made the effort to compose each shot in the sequence and cut and combine the cigar images in editing. In the "bad" example that follows, I combined the images into one. Typically, each one is posted individually making for a long, long post.

EXAMPLE: Compact, Effective Sequence
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...Lashstand01.jpg)

EXAMPLE: Too Long Photo Sequence
Solution - Compose with consistency, edit for compactness and efficiency. If you can't edit, choose to post only the few key images.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...iedsequence.jpg)

4. Reflection from Flash Blows Out Image.
Working with flash, especially close to the subject can result in some extremely bright reflections. These can then obscure details that might otherwise be informative or interesting. Often, the solution to flash problems lies in one simple principle: let no surface be parallel to the film plane. In practice this simply means tilting the cigar a little so that the flash doesn't reflect directly back to the camera lens. Even so, sometimes you might not be able to see everything you want. In the two "good" photos that follow, the compromise is made to best show the top then the bottom of the band.

EXAMPLE: Minimized Reflections
Solution - Tilt head of cigar back.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...lash_Good02.jpg)

EXAMPLE: Minimized Reflections
Solution - Tilt head of cigar forward.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...lash_Good01.jpg)

EXAMPLE: Bad Flash Reflection
Solution - Tilt one end of the cigar away from the camera.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...Flash_Bad01.jpg)


*************************************
This post is continued...

*************************************

*************************************
This post is continued...

*************************************

5. Ambient Light.
Related to flash, and color balance is the aspect of working with ambient light. Just as we need to be attentive to the appropriate white balance and the angle of subject in relation to the flash head, we also need to be aware of potentially distracting reflections coming from ambient lighting. Even though there is no direct flash, we can tame these reflections in much the same way as flash reflections by tilting the cigar until the reflections are minimized or eliminated. An additional freedom you have when taking ambient light photos is in moving the subject in relation to the light source. In the "good" photo below, I've moved the cigar farther from the light source that created the strong reflection in the second photo.

EXAMPLE: Good Use of Ambient Lighting
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...tLight_Good.jpg)

EXAMPLE: Reflection from Ambient Lighting
Solution - Tilt one end of the cigar away from the camera or move the entire cigar in relation to the light source.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...ntLight_Bad.jpg)

6. Poor Composition Makes it Hard to See What's Important.
The final point I want to make in this post is that composition is important. When presenting images for informational instead of atmospheric or artistic purposes, clear, uncluttered composition is most advantageous. The two major errors that are often made when taking pictures for posting are 1) inclusion of too much background, and 2) a too cluttered background. Oftentimes, the two are combined resulting in a photo that can be more distracting than helpful. When taking flash photographs at night, the background will be swallowed up in darkness leaving only the subject illuminated, reducing the influence of the background. The first photo below illustrates straightforward, clean composition. My intent is to show the cigar and little else and so little else is in the photo aside from the hand holding the cigar. The other photos illustrate the type 1 and type 2 weak compositions I identified above.

EXAMPLE: Simple Composition, Cigar Image Maximized
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...sition_Good.jpg)

EXAMPLE: Too much (cluttered) background, cigar image is too small
Solution - Zoom in on the cigar, take the image in front of a plain background or wall.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...ition_Bad01.jpg)

EXAMPLE: Cluttered background distracts from the cigar
Solution - Take the image in front of a plain background or wall.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...ition_Bad02.jpg)

So there you have it. I've put this article together in my spare time and I hope that the thread can be used as a reference for particularly good or bad examples that you might have seen or taken yourself so that we can all learn from each other. I will modify and add to these two posts as the need arises.

Wilkey

Very informative Wilkey. You should charge for your lessons!



X

Great information and I love how you also included tips for each section. Awesome job Wilkey!

Great post. I could have use something like this about 8 hours ago.

Stinki

Great infromation Wilkey. :thumbs:

...but you forget to state the importance of proper nail hygiene. Nothing's worse than seeing someone's nail smeg in a macro shot, while reading a review pontificating on the merits of the latest Edicion Limitada. :laugh:

....dunno, I kind of liked the shot with the "Easy Ups" in the background.... :laugh:

Nicely done, friend Wilkey - B.B.S.

Very nice touch Wilkey. No wonder I always look like crap in a photograph. :angry:

Brian.

Very nice post Wilkey.. Love it when you guys live up to what this place is supposed to be all about..

Thank you sir!

Very well put. Thanks for the lesson Wilkey.

Very nice post, as I am about to finally spring for a digital camera.

BTW, were you going to smoke that DC Maximus? :sign:

Cheers,
antaean

Great info but what's with the turned label in one of the photo sequence shots. Kinda ruined it for me :laugh:

Brew,
Good point. I'll add an example about cropping. It really pays to be ruthless in removing that which is not absolutely essential. It makes the subject of interest pop out while minimizing distraction.

Antaean,
I didn't smoke that DCM. I chose it for the ornate band. In fact, I didn't really care for the couple that I've tried. just not to my taste, I guess.

Wilkey

Wilkey, have you had better experiences taking photos of cigars with the "cardboard brown" background versus an white/off white one?

Phil,

I get better results shooting against a background that is fairly close in value, that is about the same darkness or lightness. The reason is that digital imaging devices are limited in dynamic range (the overall range of darkest to lightest) that they can capture relative to the human eye. A perfectly fine scene can have the highlights blown out with shadow areas losing all detail when captured by even a good digital camera.

So the reason for shooting against a like-valued background is that it allows you to maximize the information and detail in the dynamic range you have.

Try shooting a cigar against a bright white field and you'll see that the image is compromised in terms of the details in the darker regions.

Wilkey

Thanks for the Tips Wilkey. Much appreciated!

Nice tips, but it looks like you smoked your band in that long ash contest! =)

Also note that many camera's allow you to control the power of the flash. It is very easy for a photo to be blown out when using the flash at close range, and at the same time its easy for it to be under exposed as the effective range of a flash is typically 6 to 10 feet.

So if the image is blown out or overexposed take the flash down in steps of 1/3rd until you get what you want.

Right on, Ludwig. If your camera allows adjustments of flash compensation then it will likely also allow exposure compensation.

Taking good photos takes some effort. Putting them together to tell a story takes some effort as well but I feel it's well warranted to provide a good experience for the reader.

Wilkey