Photography Techniques

Photography Tips using Natural Light

21/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Using natural lighting for your photography is a handy technique. Apart from the fantastic photos you can produce, you donâ€™t have to drag around a lot of equipment. But it does make you a slave to any available light.

Avoid the Light at High Noon

All photographers know to avoid shooting in full, natural sunlight at midday. It is the worst type of light of the day. It is unforgiving. If you have to take photos at this time of day find some shade for the best results.

There are situations where this will work well for you. If you are taking photos in a naturally dark area (e.g. in a forested parkland area) this can work in your favour when your subject is in high contrast with the environment.

The best times of the day for photography are early morning or late afternoon. The harshness of the midday sun will give you hard shadows whereas early or late afternoon light will soften them.

High Dynamic Range Images Redistributes your Light

21/09/2024 by Ray Baker

The newest technology revolutionizing SLR digital photography techniques is high dynamic range images (HDR or HDRI). Think about some of the shots you take when you are out and about with your digital camera.

How often do you think you have that great shot of your dogs running along a beach? You take a look at it on your screen and you are excited it looks great. But, when you download the image it does not have the depth of feel you saw when you took it. A digital image cannot capture the full range of light of the subject. You usually get something less than you expect. But this is true of any camera.

Photo Composition made Easy – Five Tips for Photos

21/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Composition is another photo technique you need to master to get good photographic results. How often do you stop and think about what you are seeing through the viewfinder of your camera?

Composition is subjective and depends on the subject of your photograph. There are rules for good image composition and, once you know the rules you can break them to get good photos more often.

What Format to use for your Photographic Composition

So many people seem to forget you can turn your camera on its side to get a vertical shot of your subject. Most people just use the horizontal format and end up with a whole lot of empty space around their subject. Just turning your camera on its side will eliminate this problem.

Lighting in Macro Photography

21/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Many people like to experiment with the macro settings on their digital cameras, but ultimately give up on their efforts when the results are blurry and poorly lit. Fortunately, with just a bit of effort and some inexpensive equipment, macro photography can be successfully accomplished.

The key to good macro photography is lighting, and unfortunately most on board flash units will not do the trick, nor will traditional flashes mounted to the flash shoe, the bracket where a larger flash unit can be inserted into the camera body.

Tips for Night Photography

21/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Night time photography produces some amazing results. It is fun capturing the night-time city shots and the bright lights of cars whizzing past.

Use a Tripod to Eliminate Camera Shake

If you are a serious night photographer a tripod is necessary to eliminate camera shake and get clear exposures with good depth of field.

When shooting sunsets and city scapes we normally just point and shoot. Try adding foreground to the photo to add depth. Something else to consider is the general rule of thirds so your photo has good perspective.

When you check the light levels using your camera, make sure it is not pointing directly at the sun. Take the reading based on the colors around the sun. If you don’t then your photo will be underexposed.

Lenses and Macro Photography

21/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Macro photography has become increasingly popular; so much so that most consumer digital cameras are equipped with a setting intended for such a purpose, and/or they arrive with built-in zoom lenses capable of focusing on the most minuscule or tiny detail of a subject.

The most common subjects for macro photography are flowers, insects and natural patterns in wood, stone, sand or even moss, but some photographers may take commercial images of jewelry, or other subjects as well. Macro photography is basically the capturing of clear details of very small or even microscopic subjects, and this requires special lenses.

Creative Holiday Photos

21/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Around the world there are millions of photo albums filled with holiday snap shots of children opening gifts, relatives seated around a table or living room and even some outdoor images. While these are treasured memories, they can become the “same old thing” year after year.

How do you capture creative holiday photos? There are many unique opportunities during the days and weeks leading up to the actual day (or days) of celebration, and these make for some excellent images.

Tips for Developing Macro Photography Techniques

21/09/2024 by Ray Baker

There are many ways of approaching macro digital photography. And, if you are new to macro photography, it is quite confusing for those learning how to take great macro shots. Here are some macro photography tips to give you a greater insight into the art of taking close-ups of small things. Exposure for Macro Photography … Read more

Macro Photography Equipment Tips

21/09/2024 by Ray Baker

What is macro photography? Macro photography is the art of taking close-ups of small things and the subjects tend to become larger than life. It is the opposite of micro photography and often the subjects are things like a water droplet on the petal of a flower or a line of ladybirds as they go about their daily business.

How to Get Photoshop Joy

21/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Many amateur and professional photographers have discovered the almost limitless potential of Photoshop software – they can change textures, apply all kinds of artful filters, make additions or corrections to photographs, and even combine unlikely images into a single image. One area where Photoshop becomes an incredibly useful tool is in portrait photography.

For example, most professional photographers are now capturing all of their images in the RAW format because of its functionality in the Photoshop program. The larger file size captures a broader range of color and makes for a much better, less “noisier” print. The traditional JPG format that most people use for their photographs asks for certain camera settings and may eliminate a great deal of the control that photographers want when taking professional and portrait images.