Today, I took photos in a children’s dance school, not as part of a pro photo shoot, but being a spectator in a class. I did not use any flashes – just a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS
It turned out that motion blur was not the problem (the girls were not vary fast at that age), but the flickering fluorescent light caused all sorts of weird colour casts. The light tubes were not only quite dim – they flickered between pinkish and greenish colours. To make matters worse, different light tubes in the studio flickered with different phase relative to each other, so in some of my images, part of the frame had pink cast and another part – green.
Normally, I would correct the colour in post-processing, aiming to create realistic skin tone. However, with colour gradients across the frame, often the only option was to convert the photo to black-and-white. Still, today’s shoot was the case where being spontaneous and unobtrusive mattered more than creating high-quality lighting conditions.
, since it has higher resolution than a 
, but a 
might be a better option for shooting from greater distance.
lens in it too. I 
that day, so I used it to shoot the portraits of my daughter and wife in our kitchen using natural light from a skylight located directly above them. I shot wide open, at f/1.2, which gives such a shallow depth of field, that the typical kitchen clutter in the background is not very distracting. The wide aperture also lets in a lot of light, which allows the ISO (and therefore, noise) remain relatively low.
is not a substitute for a 
for long exposure shots. It enables only slightly slower shutter speeds than what can be managed by hand-holding the camera. However, there are certain situations where using a monopod is very convenient.
and of course, there is Nikon counterpart: 
). It is important to support a long lens not only to avoid fatigue (these lenses are heavy!), but also to reduce camera shake. At many venues, tripods are not allowed, as they take too much space, but monopods can be used. Sometimes, a monopod can be used as a makeshift stationary camera support in very tight spaces, when it is clamped to some heavy object. I have used it in this way in a research laboratory and also at a sporting arena where tripods were not allowed (by clamping the monopod to advertisement panels that surrounded the pitch).
or using a 
. I tried both methods and found that using a collar is more convenient. In the photo above, Armando has his 
lens attached to a gimbal head. When using a head, it should not be tightened too much, so that the camera can be be turned quickly. An alternative is to attach the lens hood directly to the monopod and tilt the entire system slightly to adjust framing. Since long telephoto lenses have a narrow field of view, small inclinations of the camera result in large changes in the framing. The collar should be kept relatively loose, to be able to quickly change from horizontal to vertical camera orientation. Most telephoto lenses have collars, so monopods are usually sold without a head.
, but this time, I attached the lens to a 
, which was extended to a height that allowed me to shoot from a standing position. Normally, a lower shooting position, such as standing on one knee, is preferable for sports, but I was willing to sacrifice it for extra mobility (no need to fiddle with the monopod – just set it on the ground, point and shoot). I attached the lens collar directly to the monopod, without a 
. To frame the shots, I simply tilted the entire monopod. I kept the collar loosely closed around the lens, which allows me to quickly rotate the camera to a vertical shot position.
body. With the crop sensor, this combination gave him a very long effective focal lens, allowing to shoot closeups of the action from the opposite side of the pitch. Also, low camera position was excellent for capturing the flying pieces of mud being kicked up by the players.
, 
) at some point in the editing process. Having said this, time is a very precious resource, and while I am doing fine tweaks, which might not be noticed by anyone, except myself, I am not doing something else, for example, shooting more photos or learning new techniques. In my experience, the “optimal” stopping point in post-processing is actually not a true optimum, in the optimization theory sense of the word. Rather, it is a bit of a moving target. Finding the balance between under- and over-processed image is like riding a bicycle: sometimes, I lean more one way, sometimes – the other. The important thing is doing it consistently and avoiding extremes.