Hey Reader ,
How's it doing? How has it been taking photos? Have you seen any
improvements since you first started? Have you tried to take any
photos of objects that move fast?
Taking shots of moving objects is different than other types of
photography. Don't worry...it's easy!
The key to taking action shots is knowing how to use your camera
right. The settings on your camera are responsible for a fast
action shot coming out nice or blurry and messed up.
Improper setting of your camera is the reason many people end up
with somewhat blurry shots. Most likely, it's because of the
shutter speed.
The shutter speed controls how long light is let in. If light is
let in while an object is moving the result will be blur. This is
the reason many people use tripods.
The way to capture fast moving objects without blur is to use very
fast shutter speeds such as 1/500. This works great with events
like sports and such.
Now, this is great for fast moving sports where you want everything
in focus. But what if you only want the runner to be in focus and
the background to be blurred in steaks? This is called a pan shot
and is relatively easy to do.
What to do
-Get a tripod
-Set the shutter speed to a slow shutter speed such as 1/30 or slower
-Define your subject that is moving
What you are going to do is find the subject that is going to move
and follow them horizontally from the tripod. You are going to
"pan" follow them. When you follow the subject you are going to try
as hard as possible to keep the subject in the same exact spot on
the frame. If the subject is running and is on the right side, keep
the subject at that same spot even though the subjects moving.
What this does is make the camera think the subject isn't moving
(it's in the same spot). The background, however, is moving and the
shutter speed is slow so the result...a blurred background with a
crisp, sharp subject moving.
There are many more tips on action photography available out there.
This is only a small touch to what the possibilities are with the
shutter speed.
Get out and shoot ... and have fun!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
common mistakes that ruin photos
Well...today I've decided that I'll be covering the common mistakes that ruin photos.
I used to make these mistakes all the time. And the bad part is, I didn't even know it!
When you know you're making mistakes then you're learning. If you don't realize your making mistakes how are you going to learn?
Today I'll be covering a few very common mistakes...
--------------------------------------------
Common Mistake 1: Living in Automatic Mode
--------------------------------------------
Automatic mode is a great mode to work in when you don't have time
to mess with manual settings. For example, when you don't expect
something to happen automatic mode is great.
However, do not limit yourself to this. Experiment with manual
and other settings.
--------------------------------------------
Common Mistake 2:Focusing on Too Many Things
--------------------------------------------
A lot of times when beginners take pictures they'll focus on way
too many subjects. There'll be an owl on the top, a fish on
the bottom, and an old man in the middle!
Focus on just ONE subject! When you get good at this THEN you can
try doing more complex shots.
--------------------------------------------
Common Mistake 3: Photos that Are Too Dark/Bright
--------------------------------------------
When you take a photo, you need to be positive you have the right
settings. Improper settings can make your photo too dark or bright.
Here are some very rough guidelines when photographing with an SLR.
In Full Sunlight
-aperture of 16
-shutter of 1/125
In Shade
-aperture of 5.6
-shutter of 1/125
If you are using an automatic camera and are in auto mode then to
ensure your photo is bright you really should start learning how
to use the meter modes in your camera. You can choose to let the
camera adjust the lightness based on the center, an average of
points throughout the photo, or other methods as well.
--------------------------------------------
Common Mistake 4: Failing to Have a Concept
--------------------------------------------
A lot of photographers take photos just to look nice. This is great
when you are taking photos with friends, family, etc...however
when you go out and take pictures for the specific picture of just
looking nice you're really in the wrong mindset.
When you take a photo be sure you have a main concept in mind.
If you're photographing birds and flowers, your concept is
probably happiness or peace.
Stick with this concept and eliminate all other things that DO NOT
fit with it.
If your concept is peace and happiness and you have a homeless man
ranting about in the background, you have a problem...
Well, that's all for today! Have fun shooting!
I used to make these mistakes all the time. And the bad part is, I didn't even know it!
When you know you're making mistakes then you're learning. If you don't realize your making mistakes how are you going to learn?
Today I'll be covering a few very common mistakes...
--------------------------------------------
Common Mistake 1: Living in Automatic Mode
--------------------------------------------
Automatic mode is a great mode to work in when you don't have time
to mess with manual settings. For example, when you don't expect
something to happen automatic mode is great.
However, do not limit yourself to this. Experiment with manual
and other settings.
--------------------------------------------
Common Mistake 2:Focusing on Too Many Things
--------------------------------------------
A lot of times when beginners take pictures they'll focus on way
too many subjects. There'll be an owl on the top, a fish on
the bottom, and an old man in the middle!
Focus on just ONE subject! When you get good at this THEN you can
try doing more complex shots.
--------------------------------------------
Common Mistake 3: Photos that Are Too Dark/Bright
--------------------------------------------
When you take a photo, you need to be positive you have the right
settings. Improper settings can make your photo too dark or bright.
Here are some very rough guidelines when photographing with an SLR.
In Full Sunlight
-aperture of 16
-shutter of 1/125
In Shade
-aperture of 5.6
-shutter of 1/125
If you are using an automatic camera and are in auto mode then to
ensure your photo is bright you really should start learning how
to use the meter modes in your camera. You can choose to let the
camera adjust the lightness based on the center, an average of
points throughout the photo, or other methods as well.
--------------------------------------------
Common Mistake 4: Failing to Have a Concept
--------------------------------------------
A lot of photographers take photos just to look nice. This is great
when you are taking photos with friends, family, etc...however
when you go out and take pictures for the specific picture of just
looking nice you're really in the wrong mindset.
When you take a photo be sure you have a main concept in mind.
If you're photographing birds and flowers, your concept is
probably happiness or peace.
Stick with this concept and eliminate all other things that DO NOT
fit with it.
If your concept is peace and happiness and you have a homeless man
ranting about in the background, you have a problem...
Well, that's all for today! Have fun shooting!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Shutter Speed Basics Tips
Shutter Speed for Beginners
I’m sure you know that one of the most important key elements to getting beautifully clear photos is not only shutter speed but also knowing and having a sense of the artistic. But the artistic imagination of the photographer is different from other arts; since you have to think in split-second increments. You can’t study a photo you haven’t taken yet like a painting, working on it gradually.
Shutter speed is one of the first things in digital photography that you must understand if you want to advance your skills. It can make you or break you as a digital photographer.
First, the shutter speed number refers to the speed of the rotation of the shutter inside the lens, measured in rotations per second (RPS). With photography, shutter speed is the time during which the shutter is open during the photo event to allow light to hit the film or image sensor in a digital camera. So, in combination with adjustments of the lens aperture (which is just controlling how wide the lens is), the shutter speed controls how much light the camera will record.
The basic rule is that a fast shutter speed demands a larger aperture to avoid under-exposure, while a slow shutter speed is offset by a very small aperture to avoid over-exposure. Slow shutter speeds are often used in low light conditions. Fast shutter speeds also give clarity to a moving image, and the fastest can freeze motion in mid-second.
Say you’re snapping a moving car. This example I’m talking about here involves a car on a regular street, going at a reasonable speed. To freeze the motion of the car as it passes you, you will need a shutter speed of about 1/2000. That means that the shutter has opened and closed so fast that you can’t imagine - one two-thousandth of a second. This is done a lot in sports photography, but even a simple subject like kids playing or your pet (who isn’t too good at staying perfectly still, unless they’re asleep).
But sometimes you want blur. You might want to capture the motion of a Ferris wheel, the flow of traffic in an intersection, or a subject with a surreal, dreamy, or action-oriented look. In that case, a shutter speed of less than 1/500 would be what you want. An old trick which many novice photographers use is to use ultra-slow shutter speeds to capture lightning. Go to a high space during a lightning storm at night, far away from city lights, and set up a camera with the shutter open and wait for a flash. Now close the shutter - the job is done for you by nature instead of your camera!
If possible, getting a single-lens reflex digital camera is the ideal. This will allow you to control the shutter speed alone without affecting the adjustment of the aperture.
Shutter speeds are a built-in invitation to experiment. It helps if you take several shots of your subject with different settings, noting each one on a notepad, then using your notes to compare the relative effects that each setting had.
I’m sure you know that one of the most important key elements to getting beautifully clear photos is not only shutter speed but also knowing and having a sense of the artistic. But the artistic imagination of the photographer is different from other arts; since you have to think in split-second increments. You can’t study a photo you haven’t taken yet like a painting, working on it gradually.
Shutter speed is one of the first things in digital photography that you must understand if you want to advance your skills. It can make you or break you as a digital photographer.
First, the shutter speed number refers to the speed of the rotation of the shutter inside the lens, measured in rotations per second (RPS). With photography, shutter speed is the time during which the shutter is open during the photo event to allow light to hit the film or image sensor in a digital camera. So, in combination with adjustments of the lens aperture (which is just controlling how wide the lens is), the shutter speed controls how much light the camera will record.
The basic rule is that a fast shutter speed demands a larger aperture to avoid under-exposure, while a slow shutter speed is offset by a very small aperture to avoid over-exposure. Slow shutter speeds are often used in low light conditions. Fast shutter speeds also give clarity to a moving image, and the fastest can freeze motion in mid-second.
Say you’re snapping a moving car. This example I’m talking about here involves a car on a regular street, going at a reasonable speed. To freeze the motion of the car as it passes you, you will need a shutter speed of about 1/2000. That means that the shutter has opened and closed so fast that you can’t imagine - one two-thousandth of a second. This is done a lot in sports photography, but even a simple subject like kids playing or your pet (who isn’t too good at staying perfectly still, unless they’re asleep).
But sometimes you want blur. You might want to capture the motion of a Ferris wheel, the flow of traffic in an intersection, or a subject with a surreal, dreamy, or action-oriented look. In that case, a shutter speed of less than 1/500 would be what you want. An old trick which many novice photographers use is to use ultra-slow shutter speeds to capture lightning. Go to a high space during a lightning storm at night, far away from city lights, and set up a camera with the shutter open and wait for a flash. Now close the shutter - the job is done for you by nature instead of your camera!
If possible, getting a single-lens reflex digital camera is the ideal. This will allow you to control the shutter speed alone without affecting the adjustment of the aperture.
Shutter speeds are a built-in invitation to experiment. It helps if you take several shots of your subject with different settings, noting each one on a notepad, then using your notes to compare the relative effects that each setting had.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Manipulating White Balance for Artistic Effect
The ability to control white balance, even changing it from one shot to the next, is one of the greatest advantages of digital over film. Sure, with film you could shoot negatives and let some machine or lab technician do color corrections for you. If using slide film however, once you loaded a roll, you were stuck with that film’s color balance until you finished it and loaded the next roll.
It’s not hard to find advice online for understanding the various white balance settings found on most digital cameras. For the most part, these settings are pretty self-explanatory and most moderately experienced photographers (that would include practically all DPS readers) can figure them out simply by playing with them.
Most people approach white balance with the mindset of getting true color representation. That makes sense. You want your whites to be white and all your other colors to be true representations of the original scene as you shot it.
There is a case to be made for deliberately setting the “wrong” white balance to achieve artistic effects.
For example, when at the beach on a perfectly sunny day, you might set your white balance for cloudy or even shade. This tells the camera that the ambient light has a slightly blue cast to it. The camera will compensate by adding a bit of a bronze (red/orange) tone to offset this supposed cast. The result is that your subjects get an instant suntan!
Be warned that this may not work for scenes in which the sky is visible as the color manipulation may be quite obvious in your final images.
Conversely, when photographing an icy scene, perhaps you should try setting your white balance to Tungsten. This tells the camera that the light is slightly orange so it will introduce more blue to offset that. The result is an image that simply looks “cold”.
For even finer control, it pays to develop a bit of understanding of the Kelvin scale. Many cameras will allow you to directly set a Kelvin temperature for the ambient light. Tricking the camera by claiming that the light is warmer or cooler than it actually is can allow you to very finely tune the adjustment, thus giving you the ability to make the effect more subtle. (Or more garish, if that’s what you’re after.)
It’s not hard to find advice online for understanding the various white balance settings found on most digital cameras. For the most part, these settings are pretty self-explanatory and most moderately experienced photographers (that would include practically all DPS readers) can figure them out simply by playing with them.
Most people approach white balance with the mindset of getting true color representation. That makes sense. You want your whites to be white and all your other colors to be true representations of the original scene as you shot it.
There is a case to be made for deliberately setting the “wrong” white balance to achieve artistic effects.
For example, when at the beach on a perfectly sunny day, you might set your white balance for cloudy or even shade. This tells the camera that the ambient light has a slightly blue cast to it. The camera will compensate by adding a bit of a bronze (red/orange) tone to offset this supposed cast. The result is that your subjects get an instant suntan!
Be warned that this may not work for scenes in which the sky is visible as the color manipulation may be quite obvious in your final images.
Conversely, when photographing an icy scene, perhaps you should try setting your white balance to Tungsten. This tells the camera that the light is slightly orange so it will introduce more blue to offset that. The result is an image that simply looks “cold”.
For even finer control, it pays to develop a bit of understanding of the Kelvin scale. Many cameras will allow you to directly set a Kelvin temperature for the ambient light. Tricking the camera by claiming that the light is warmer or cooler than it actually is can allow you to very finely tune the adjustment, thus giving you the ability to make the effect more subtle. (Or more garish, if that’s what you’re after.)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Aperture
During one of my worhshops awhile back one of the first things we talk about is aperture. 
f/4
f/8
Aperture, or f-stop, is the part of our exposure, that lets in varying amounts of light through our lens. The aperture is the opening in our lens that can be made larger or smaller.
The larger the aperture the more light we allow into the camera to make our exposure. Conversely, the smaller the aperture the less light gets in.
Here’s the counter intuitive part; the larger the f-stop number the smaller the lens opening and the smaller the f-stop number the larger the lens opening.
An aperture of f-4 lets in more light than an aperture of f-8.
Beyond adding more or less light, aperture is an important element in our compositions because it allows us to control something called depth of field.
Depth of field is the distance that remains in focus in the front of and in back of the actual distance that we are focused on.
For example if we are focused on ten feet the actual distance that is in focus may start at 7 feet and end at sixteen feet. In this case our depth of field starts at seven feet and ends at sixteen feet even though I am focused on ten feet.
So how can we use aperture to control depth of field? In brief, given the same lens/focal length and distance focused on, the larger the opening in the lens the less depth of field we will have; the smaller the opening of the lens the more depth of field we will have.
The two photographs below, taken during an aperture workshop to demonstrate depth of field during the meeting, should help illustrate this more clearly.
The compositions are nearly identical. The focal length of the lens remains the same as well as the distance focused on; I was focused on the Canon EOS camera for both photographs.
The top photograph was created with an aperture of f-4 while the bottom photograph was created with an aperture of f-8.
Notice the green bottle in the foreground and the clock in the background.
f/4
f/8Portrait Shots
How to take Portrait photos Tips and Tricks:
Taking photos of people is NOT as hard as it seems. Below are six simple tips to use to take better shots of people.
The key to taking great shots of people is to understand their personality and convey it through your photo. For example, if your taking a photo of a person that is shy, take that into account. Set backgrounds that celebrate her personality.
Don't use very "look at me" backgrounds or colors. Select more calm and cool colors such as blues and greens.
Also, the facial expressions also go according to that. It will be difficult to get a shy person to pose very "crazy". The result also will be a model that looks fake and unbelievable.
1. Make the person very relaxed
2. Be patient
3. Use the imaginary lines of the model to pose them right
4. Get good at taking silhouettes of people (you will get better at posing from this)
5. Don't over pose people
6. Use simple backgrounds - Either make the background very simple or use it to convey the persons personality. EX: happy person and rainbow in background. Sad person and rain in background.
Taking photos of people is NOT as hard as it seems. Below are six simple tips to use to take better shots of people.
The key to taking great shots of people is to understand their personality and convey it through your photo. For example, if your taking a photo of a person that is shy, take that into account. Set backgrounds that celebrate her personality.
Don't use very "look at me" backgrounds or colors. Select more calm and cool colors such as blues and greens.
Also, the facial expressions also go according to that. It will be difficult to get a shy person to pose very "crazy". The result also will be a model that looks fake and unbelievable.
1. Make the person very relaxed
2. Be patient
3. Use the imaginary lines of the model to pose them right
4. Get good at taking silhouettes of people (you will get better at posing from this)
5. Don't over pose people
6. Use simple backgrounds - Either make the background very simple or use it to convey the persons personality. EX: happy person and rainbow in background. Sad person and rain in background.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)