[IgorZ]

If you use a nd filter with at least 10 stops you should have a long enough exposure that hopefully they are not in the shot long enough to be in final image.

This could work, but you have to make sure you have a good ND filter. My B+W 10 stop ND filter leaves a colour cast. I found it the hard way when I was trying to do something similar: merge a photo with and without ND filter. You could probably eliminate colour cast in PP. In my case I managed to mitigate it somewhat, but I am no PP guru.

As was mentioned by others, changes in lighting and cloud movement is something to watch out for. I didn't realize that when taking the photos, but when merging them fast moving clouds and shadow movements present some challenge.

[stevebrot]

Here is one more vote for the early morning/late at night approach.


Steve

[BruceBanner]

Thanks for all the replies, I'll try to respond to the comments that sparked a thought;

If you use a nd filter with at least 10 stops you should have a long enough exposure that hopefully they are not in the shot long enough to be in final image.

I do have a ND filter, I use it with waterfalls and the like. I tripod up, take one quick shot of the scene and then ND filter up for the water part, then merge in PP. I thought about doing the same with this scenario also, I've just never tried it and thought even a 30 sec exposure shot may leave ghosts in the shot? Something to try at least.

I also find when I do my long exposure shots, even if I look at my exposure value before with the single shot (lets say it actually says I'm on -1, and I then apply the ND filter and then too change the shutter speed so that it too reads -1 before the shot is taken, I still end up with two shots with quite different exposures. With waterfalls its not too bad, its just the water being replaced but the thought occurred to me that doing something like what I had in mind here might be tricker.

Yes, thats the usual way.

In practice though and especially in this age of narcissism with the selfie, you can have people standing at a spot taking and admiring themselves on the phone and then retaking and then repeating this process for quite a while.

Yeh, you have to be aware of the non movers.

If you opt for the multiple image approach, you can use the 'median' stack mode in photoshop. It will save time with the masking and automagically remove most things that move through your frames, keeping only the stuff that doesn't move. You'd want to selectively handle the inclusion of your subject though, slight shifts during your exposure and hitting them with median will mess them up.

I've used file stacking in PS, but not the median. Interesting. So if I like take a single shot of the subject first, then once done ask them to get out of the shot, then take a series of multiple shots, then use the median PS feature for the 'after shots' (when the subject too is not in frame), process that, then I could reintroduce the subject frame at the end and combine the two?

Multiple images + median filtering is the way to go but 5 minutes may not be long enough if someone is eating lunch, reading a book, or romantically enmeshed on the steps. When you first set up the shot, you can try to judge who are the short-term strollers and who are the long-term sitters and compose your image accordingly.

It can help if you capture the scene on a phone or tablet first so you can keep track of who has moved and who hasn't.

The approach of using a very dark ND filter or using the camera's interval composite (with averaging) provides an interesting alternative because the background tourists become blurred ghosts rather than totally disappearing. This approach can be used to blur even the lunch eaters who never leave the scene within the total time frame you've allotted for the picture.

Good advice, especially the take a pic with the phone part.

We just introduce 'em to our local beastie.

Several options to remove stubborn/lazy tourists:

• Break out the bagpipes.
• Remove an article of clothing every minute. Few people stick around to see me down to the thong.
• Ask people for "A moment of their time to talk about life insurance".
• Release the pigeons and scatter the birdseed around them.
• At the Opera House? I'm belting "O sole mio". Their lunch will curdle, even if they have no dairy products.

A plus to the multiple image approach is you only need them gone for one frame to manually patch in a clone job for the stubborn folk.

Something no one mentioned is to visit the site on early Sunday which is a time most people will be elsewhere or in bed. Some movies make use of particular times of the day when crowds are well thinned out and sometimes traffic is not present to get their shots. Of course that doesn't work if your shot is confined to a particular time by other constraints.

One problem you'll run into by taking a series of shots is changes in lighting. The sun and shadows will move. How much of a problem that is depends on your particular shot and its lighting.

If you do opt for multiple shots, you might include your model in a number of them, which would give you different poses to choose from and at the same time, allow erasure of moving objects.

Yeh, I realise the job will be made easier at certain hours. That's not always gonna be possible for me, I'm wanting to learn a method for doing this regardless of the subject matter (pro model or family member) and outing/time of day.

My initial thought was an additional long exposure, but then that carries problems in certain scenarios. If there is a lot of trees and wind then that strategy won't work.

For the Median PS multiple shot scenario, are we using the Multi-exposure or Interval Composite shooting modes at all? If so what specific settings? Or is the aim to simply use a remote and just spam the shutter occasionally (whilst keeping an eye on the exposure and perhaps adjust slightly if light changes etc) with the idea to let PS do all the work and not 'in camera' processing?

I guess as a photographer, when you get on site you'll know if the tactic will work or not. A bright blue sky with no cloud that gives a consistent light for 10mins vs those days where the sun can pass in and out of clouds makes it trickier and you have to pay attention to the sun and do the shot when it has a cleared clouds etc.

What about locking the exposure (AE-L). I seldom use this button, mainly on a few ETTR landscape shots where I use the spot meter to find the brightest part of the frame (typically white cloud), and then lock exposure and then shoot.
I've not used this feature with a scenario like above, could you take the initial 'portait shot', lock exposure, ask subject to remove from frame, and ten continue to take 30-50 shots over a 5-10min period of time, even if the light changes slightly (overcast day perhaps with some cloud being denser than others etc), would using the AE-L button try and make every successive shot the same exposure as the first? ie would shutter speed vary and compensate throughout the remaining shots?

[BrianR]

I've used file stacking in PS, but not the median. Interesting. So if I like take a single shot of the subject first, then once done ask them to get out of the shot, then take a series of multiple shots, then use the median PS feature for the 'after shots' (when the subject too is not in frame), process that, then I could reintroduce the subject frame at the end and combine the two?

Yep. You can try the median approach at home, set up your tripod, run around in front of it and snap 4 or 5 photos with you in different locations. Then run through a median stack and see how it works. Do not use in-camera multi-exposure for this, you want separate files to load into PS (the camera does not have a median blend option). The intervalerometer will work, and it will be ideal to use a sturdy tripod and not touch the camera during the shots to minimize alignment errors. Best results if the lighting (and your exposure) is relatively constant throughout. Manual exposure mode is made for this, but if you must use an auto mode, I'd keep the aperture and iso constant and let the shutter vary. This type of stack is essentially automating what you initially proposed, multiple photos with manual masking, and you may end up needing to combine the approaches.

And absolutely aim for a time with the least amount of people. As a general rule, pre-processing a scene to get it as close as possible to your final image can go a long way. How much "pre" and how much "post" is ideal can be a tricky a question. If you look at RGlasel's first example, photoshopping out all those people from one frame would be impossible (though I swear some people think it could be done easily if 'they just knew how to use photoshop'). Multiple photos will make masking out some of the areas doable. But at a busy time like he's shown you might never get a shot with a clean view of the main walkway. Depending on the location of the troublemakers, it may be possible to manually clone them out. Or it may not. So shouting 'Ogopogo! Run!' to clear out the mob might be in order (insert an appropriate national monster for 'Ogopogo').

There's also the option where you go for a mid length exposure of a few seconds to make the people blurry but not invisible. Combine with a sharp image of your model and you can have an interesting effect where your model stands out.

[pentaxfall]

Go when it is raining or wet.

[Bophoto]

Early in the morning is probably the best tip.
Or use some friends, equip them with tripods and maybe softboxes or other big stuff.
Probably many people disappear nearby.
When I was in Milan, I went inside locks in front of the Duomo di Milano (church). Almost directly came a person and said it's work area, I ask for just one picture and then took some pictures. ...
I heard that a famous photographer was in Russia (he could speak Russian) about 50 years ago, he would show friends the Lenin mausoleum. It was closed for renovation and there were military guards. He went first and presented himself with a Russian name and said he would show the visitors the mausoleum, then he said he took full responsibility and went in.
Use different tactics in different situations/ countries.

[jbinpg]

Averaging mode of multiple exposures will also average out the composite exposure so it doesn't really matter much if one frame is over and another is under exposed.

[AggieDad]

Back before the turn of the Century in the 80's ...

Boy, am I old! I saw the phrase "turn of the century" and my mind was immediately thinking about the 1890's. I just sometimes forget the we have turned another century.

[honey bo bo]

Boy, am I old!

Remember the old odometers in cars way before the turn of the century would go to 199999 and then roll over and start at 1 again. Sigh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Longevity at its best!

[BruceBanner]

Averaging mode of multiple exposures will also average out the composite exposure so it doesn't really matter much if one frame is over and another is under exposed.

Multi exposure and Average in the camera or software?

[35mmfilmfan]

How about a hot-shoe mounted laser ?

[pixelsaurus]

There is software: NEAT projects professional - photo-software by FRANZIS

[microlight]

I’m surprised that no-one’s mentioned cloning people out of pictures in post - I do it all the time (I don’t like people in my pics!). A pain if there are hundreds, but otherwise ...

[35mmfilmfan]

I’m surprised that no-one’s mentioned cloning people out of pictures in post - I do it all the time (I don’t like people in my pics!).

I agree - it's bad enough seeing them in real life. Fortunately, there are many parts of Norfolk where they are thin on the ground.

[stevebrot]

How about a hot-shoe mounted laser ?

...or simply shout "bear!" "bear!"...


Steve