Posts Tagged ‘art photography prints’

Basic Exposure Techniques

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

 

When you take your photographs, good lighting should be a priority. This is because bad lighting will obscure the photo’s subjects and composition, leaving little to be appreciated. It has this power to ruin a good image and make it useless, but it also has the power to make an ordinary photo, a great work of art. That’s why the camera should be set to collect the correct amount of light.

During the capture of a single photograph, the photographic medium (film or digital sensor) is allowed to gather a certain amount of light indicated by its exposure. There is no fixed value of a correct amount of light, because it depends on the available lights, the objects, and the photographer’s judgment. However, it is safe to say that there’s an acceptable exposure and an unacceptable exposure. Unaccepted exposures are, in general, due to a mistake rather than a photographer’s intention.

Low lighting conditions require high exposures to allow more light into the sensor, brightening up the final photograph. Otherwise, the photograph will be underexposed, having too many dark areas, the dark objects loosing their details, and the bright objects becoming dull. Alternatively, a bright scene will need short exposures, limiting the amount of light collected by the sensor, yielding a well exposed photograph. If more exposure is used, the photograph will become too bright with many blown highlights.

The camera controls the exposure through shutter speed and aperture. Shutter speed determines how long the sensor will be exposed to light. Slow shutter speed means more exposure, while fast speed will allow less exposure. On the other hand, aperture controls the degree of openness of the lens. Narrow aperture will let less light pass through it than a wide aperture. ISO speeds also affect the degree of exposure. At high speeds, the camera will collect light faster and will amplify the sensitivity of the sensor, but will add noise to the photo.

When manually setting the exposure, the photographer usually sets the aperture and the shutter speed independently. As for automatic exposure settings, the camera will determine the degree of exposure needed according to the light metering technique used. Because of the lack of manual controls over exposure in many low-end cameras (including most digital compact cameras), exposure compensation (if available) should be used to fine tune the automatic exposure suggested.

In case of extreme lighting conditions, it will be difficult to all cameras (including DSLRs) to get acceptable exposure for all shadows and highlights. High Dynamic Range (HDR?) photography, which employs capturing the same photograph at different exposures, is used in this case to solve this problem.

A good approach to learn more about exposure is to look at the exposure settings of your previous photographs, and compare them Look for the exposure time (shutter speed), the aperture, the ISO speed, and the exposure compensation in the data that is stored in your image files. As a result, you will get a clearer idea on how exposure can impact your photos.

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Filling the Frame - Close Ups

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

An ordinary composition of a photograph will contain one or more subjects as focal points and a surrounding consisting of other objects. The subjects and the environment around them are the tools with which the observer will build his assumptions about where the photo was taken, what happened then, and what message it tries to convey, if any. Close-ups, on the other hand, may provide some sort of ambiguity, which will keep any observer guessing.

From a scenic point of view, taking a photograph of a subject filling a small area in your frame may leave you with many empty spaces that if not effectively used, will render your photo boring. In this case, filling the frame with your subject is simple and effective, as this makes it the only center of interest.

Moving closer to your subjects can make your photo more interesting by removing the surroundings altogether. For example, consider this situation in which you are photographing a wild animal at the zoo. The most common composition is one that consists of an animal, a cage, and maybe spectators. Getting rid of all the element except for the animal itself, may make the photograph look as if it was taken in the wild. Another common use of close-ups is to make the observer use his imagination to come up with different stories from a single photograph .A close-up on two hands holding each others will strike a certain emotion that may be different from one person to the other, depending on his experience. Here, all you did is that you removed the subjects’ personalities, so as to give a space for the observer to think.

Portraits are usually a strong candidate for closeups. While taking a portrait inside a specific environment is always nice, close-up portraits are used to give a very different sort of experience. Filling the frame with your subject will produce a very personal look. A facial portrait usually makes you in direct contact with the subject, as if you are looking to someone sitting in front of you. Close-ups on other body parts produce great photos too; they may create an abstract feel, or emphasize a certain action.

Even with still life, close-ups work great. Getting close to object show new details that are not obvious when photographing from a distance. This is particularly important when photographing products and machine parts.

A frame can be filled by walking towards your subject, zooming on it, or by cropping a photograph. While zooming is an on-camera process, cropping is usually done using photo-editing software, giving you more flexibility to set your composition, but with sacrificing the image’s original size.

As you can see, close-ups open a new door for your creative expression using photography. So use your imagination, and make your audience use theirs.

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Lines and Shapes in Photography

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Composing a good photograph isn’t just done by framing your subjects inside the viewfinder. In order to have better photographs, one should try to make effective compositions. A strong composition is the product of a thoughtful study of the environment around you, its lines, shapes, and the patterns they form.

Lines can have a very nice impact on your composition making it more appealing. They can grab the attention of the eye into a certain direction, they can add depth to the photo, and they can form interesting patterns.

While you may not notice, lines are abundant in our surroundings. The horizon, beaches and fallen trees, all can add interesting horizontal lines to your photos which can add a sense of stability to the picture. While adding lines to you composition, you should not forget about the Rule of Thirds, and try keep the horizontal lines perpendicular to the edges of your photo. Remember that this type of lines is usually more convenient to horizontal photos .

If you look around, you’ll probably notice that vertical lines are even more abundant. Think of buildings, upright trees and light posts, they usually reflect growth and strength and when used correctly, they can provide interesting patterns especially when the photograph contains other elements. To avoid misusing the vertical lines, make sure that they are perpendicular to the top and bottom edges of the photo. These lines look best in portrait orientation.

Another type of lines is the diagonal lines. Just look ahead of you along road or railway lines and you will sense a feeling of depth while your eyes will be set to their point of convergence of the diagonal lines. They can give a sense of speed and movement. It is usually better to have the diagonal lines away from the photo’s diagonals so as to make it more interesting.

The perspective usually control how the lines exist inside the photo. By utilizing a different angle, a pair of parallel lines can easily become converging lines and lead the eyes into the photograph. This can produce a totally different composition with more depth and more points of interest at the meeting point of the diagonal lines.

While lines may add a certain mood to your photograph, shapes usually provide the meaning. Shapes are the 2D outlines of the objects, and they play a major role in making these objects recognizable. Contrasting an object with a different background is usually the best way to put emphasis on its shape . Thus, the edges of your object will be clear, and consequently, its shape will be very well defined.

Every object has its own distinct shape from specific angles, but some objects may look similar from different points of view. Because photographs have two dimensions only, choosing the right perspective is essential to present the object with the shape you want.

Understanding composition in terms of lines and shapes is one step forward toward more mature artistic expression.

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Selecting a Basic Compact Digital Camera

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Whether you are a hobbyist photographer or just want to take pictures of yourself and the people around you, selecting the correct compact camera may be quite a troublesome task, especially if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for. Compact cameras come in all sizes, prices and functionalities; the process of choosing the correct one will certainly be overwhelming for anyone new to it.

As an initial step, think about the camera you will buy, how you will use it and what do you want your pictures to look like. This will allow you to limit your search in a specific range and which will eventually save you a lot of time and money.

If you are looking for an ordinary camera to take your photos without caring much about advancing in photography, then a basic camera should be enough. You will be able to find a lot of cheap basic compact digital cameras. It is still possible to find some good set of basic functions in this range such as autofocusing and white balancing. This will allow you to start taking photos without much hassle.

If you take your photographic artistic expression more seriously, or if you still want ordinary photos but with better quality, try to look for a camera that will give you better control over the photographing process. More features like better optical zooming, better light sensitivity, image stabilization and some manual controls, will certainly become handy while shooting, and will allow you to take better photographs.

Aspiring photographers with somewhat limited budgets may still be able to produce professional quality photographs using high-end compact cameras . The results may not be as good as those of DSLRs, but these cameras are capable to produce very high quality photographs compared to other compact cameras due to the manual settings they have (aperture, focus, and shutter speeds), the better lenses, and the stronger sensors. Also, the capability to capture photos in RAW format means more freedom to the photographer.

The camera with the best value is the one that you will make use of all its functionalities. Maybe you have a video camcorder and you don’t need to record video with your compact digital camera. In this case, you may choose a compact camera with the same price but with no audio or video features as this will usually mean better photographing capabilities. Another feature that is usually emphasized so as to confuse the buyers is the amount of megapixels that constitute an image produced by the camera. A large number of megapixels is needed for very large prints and it allows more details in the photographs. But bear in mind that this number is in no way an indication of the quality of the image this camera can produce.

To have a good idea about what to expect, it is usually recommended to read online reviews and comparisons regarding the cameras you are considering. Search for photographs taken with different cameras in photo sharing website, or look for test photos taken by reviewers. Thus, you may know what to expect from the one you are going to buy.

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Getting the Best Out of Your Compact Digital Camera

Monday, September 14th, 2009

A compact digital camera usually appeals to those who are interested in taking good photographs with no trouble. Taking a photograph can be as easy as pointing and shooting. It doesn’t have to be like this though, as you would be missing a lot of possibilities.

The best way to get to know your camera is by learning about its capabilities. Most compact cameras come with a preset of automatic settings used in specific situations. They are sufficient in most conditions, however, being able to manually adjust your photos will generally yield better results . That’s why manual setting are usually more preferred. The give you the ability to fine tune your photos as you wish.

If printing photographs is desired, the camera should be set to maximum quality and the photographs should be stored at the maximum resolution. Prints usually require high resolution, and any compromise in the photo’s quality is not a good thing. Consequently, the size of the images will increase, so it is advisable to make sure you will have enough space in your storage media, while at the same time trying to find a reliable backup solution.

Nearly every compact camera sports an autofocus feature these days. When taking your picture, just press the shutter button half way down and keep holding it that way. According to the available objects in the viewfinder automatic focus will be chosen. Holding down the button half way down allows maintaining the focus as well as the exposure even when the camera is moving. Pressing down the other half will capture the image.

Even if your camera has an anti-shaking feature, it is usually better to use a tripod (or anything equivalent) to hold the camera still while photographing in low light situations. Unless you can rest your hand on something, it is nearly impossible to hold the camera still during long exposures. Most compact digital cameras will not produce very clear images in low lighting even when a tripod is used, so it is always advisable to improve the lighting if possible.

In all the features that your camera is capable of, some are not very useful. Compact cameras are usually not very capable of producing good photos at very high ISOs which should only be used when photographing objects moving at high speeds. The built-in flash should be avoided except for open areas or very dark places. The small distance between the lens and the flash source will produce very harsh shadows behind the subjects making them look like cardboard. It is usually better to consider external light which will give your photos a better professional look. As for the digital zoom, it should be neglected altogether.

Obviously, one needs to understand some basic photography concepts in order to get the best out of his camera . Fortunately, this can only increase its worth by making it produce better photographs and increase your experience by making you a better photographer.

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