View Full Version : Framing Tips
hks3sgte
09-30-2008, 11:13
How do you guys frame your images? Not having any brightlines or parallax correction (like my Canonet) have made a lot of my photos come out with crappy framing. Any tips for an FSU newb? Thanks!
Florian1234
09-30-2008, 11:26
I have the same problem. Makes you wonder... :) Any tips would be appreciated!
if subject is close i frame it and then slightly move camera up and left. but be careful it is just small move - if you remember how much your framelines move on canonet move it about that much. ;)
Double Negative
09-30-2008, 12:14
You could always frame a little more loosely and crop in scan/post or print...
Spider67
09-30-2008, 12:16
I used the turret VF with a Zorki 4 and had good results even at short distance.
Roger Hicks
09-30-2008, 13:04
The answer is the same as the old joke:
Q: "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"
A: "Practice."
Cheers,
R. (Using a IIIa since 1970...)
hks3sgte
09-30-2008, 13:35
The answer is the same as the old joke:
Q: "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"
A: "Practice."
Cheers,
R. (Using a IIIa since 1970...)
Great! :bang: Thanks! :D
and what camera do you use hks3sgte ?
ClaremontPhoto
10-01-2008, 03:34
Unless you're into close ups parallax is not an issue.
If your camera doesn't have brightlines then I'd assume that what you seen in the viewfinder is what you get on the negative.
That just leaves using the four sides of the viewfinder to check your verticals and horizons are straight - but they'll often be a bit off so you'll need to correct later. Like we all do.
hks3sgte
10-01-2008, 09:21
and what camera do you use hks3sgte ?
I have a Fed-2 and a Zorki 3-C
...but they'll often be a bit off so you'll need to correct later. Like we all do...
Correct later? How? Maybe those are the tips I'm looking for?
ClaremontPhoto
10-01-2008, 10:02
Correct later? How? Maybe those are the tips I'm looking for?
In a traditional darkroom crop slightly and turn the paper slightly left or right, as required.
On a screen do the same with mouse clicks and menus.
Most times we just want to take off a few millimetres from one side, and make the horizon straight.
Spider67
10-01-2008, 11:00
The answer is the same as the old joke:
Q: "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"
A: "Practice."
Cheers,
R. (Using a IIIa since 1970...)
...On the other hand doesn't adapting to the equipment go a bit to far ;)
hks3sgte
10-01-2008, 11:08
In a traditional darkroom crop slightly and turn the paper slightly left or right, as required.
On a screen do the same with mouse clicks and menus.
Most times we just want to take off a few millimetres from one side, and make the horizon straight.
ok... i'll stick to the "practice" method. I'm not too into post-alterations. Thanks, though!
Roger Hicks
10-01-2008, 11:38
...On the other hand doesn't adapting to the equipment go a bit to far ;)
Not really. I've adapted to focus shift, inaccurate frame lines, slow (and fast) shutters....
Unless you adapt, you're asking for less-than-optimum quality.
Cheers,
R.
The one about Carnegie Hall used to be that a tourist asked a native NYCer how to get there. However, the answer was the same as above.
FED, Zorki, Leica, Retina etc. etc. all show more in the VF than will appear on the negative, especially at closer distances. Just have to leave lots of extra space for the top and sides (thanks to parralax the bottom is reasonably accurate).
hks3sgte
10-10-2008, 08:32
FED, Zorki, Leica, Retina etc. etc. all show more in the VF than will appear on the negative, especially at closer distances. Just have to leave lots of extra space for the top and sides (thanks to parralax the bottom is reasonably accurate).
I thought the viewfinder was for a 50mm lens? SO what you are saying is that the viewfinder is more like a 45mm view?
Winogrand, "I frame in terms of what I want to include in the picture."
Try it, it works.
hks3sgte
10-10-2008, 08:39
Winogrand, "I frame in terms of what I want to include in the picture."
Try it, it works.
best advice ever
the fixed VF can only be accurate for one distance. in older cameras they were designed to mostly be accurate at infinity so at closer distances they show much more than you will get on the negative. When I got into old RF's it took me a while to figure out why I was suddenly cutting off heads etc. Most modern VF cameras have parallax marks that make up a smaller frameline, you have to figure out what these would be for your camera. I've meant to make a target and shoot some film at 1 and 2 meters... but haven't gotten around to it yet... so I just add space at the top and sides and accept that I will have to do some minor cropping in the end when using a RF. In one of Ansel Adams books I remember he characterized rangefinders as being too inaccurate for precise framing...
rather smug response seeing that what you see in the VF isn't what will be on the negative. From my last roll through my Leica IIIc I had a frame where the camera cut off more than I thought it would... and guess what? I followed your useless advice completely!
>>
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nh3 http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/themes/graphite/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=911493#post911493)
Winogrand, "I frame in terms of what I want to include in the picture."
Try it, it works.
I generally tend not to worry too much about framing - I have a reasonable feel for the FOV of a 50mm lens (which is about all I ever use on an FSU body - occasionally a 35), and always frame generously so there is room for cropping. (But then, that's pretty much my RF approach anyway, regardless of which camera I'm using).
<<snip>> ... and always frame generously so there is room for cropping.<<snip>>
That about says it unless you shoot enough to come to know what your viewfinder is showing and what your lens is seeing.
KenD
Al Kaplan
10-11-2008, 18:06
A lot of practice and a bit of intuition. It's easy enough to really "learn" three, maybe four lenses. Zooms drive me bonkers. For wide and ultra-wide angle lenses I rarely frame with the finder, or even bother looking through it. I learned that years ago when covering news events, holding the camera in one hand so as to shoot over the tops of people's heads. After awhile you get good at it. I kind of like the angular distortion I get in a lot of these 15mm shots. Instead of cursing it work with it, make it part of the photograph. http://thepriceofsilver.blogspot.com/2008/10/finding-light-in-darkness.html Obviously I'm not composing through the finder on this one! It's printed full negative using a filed out negative carrier. The scan is from a print.
nzeeman: "...if subject is close i frame it and then slightly move camera up and left."
This is the correct answer. Put another way, discount some of the top and the left of what you see in the finder.
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