Taking good pictures is a great way to be able to share your experiences with other people and make a living. Time marches on very quickly, and those pictures are a great way to look back over what has occurred or indeed, help recommend a photographer. Many people are disappointed though at some of the pictures. They didn’t turn out the best.
This can be due to:
– Not enough exposure
– Too much exposure
– Double exposure
The first thing to remember about the background of any photograph is that it is indeed the background and ‘not the subject’. This means that the power of this part of the scene must be to a much lesser degree than the primary focus. While there is no easy tip or trick for knowing if you have allowed the background to overwhelm or distract from the subject, simply remembering that it isn’t to be any kind of competition to the attention of the viewer, is a good start.
Quick note from Ray – Photography tips and tricks are welcomed here and if you feel you have something to offer other photographers, feel welcome to visit this page for the guidelines. Now on with this amazing tip….,
Vaseline does wonders, not only for your skin, but can also help you to create impressionist masterpieces. You can transform just about any subject into something interesting and exciting. If you like the soft, poetic look in your photographs this simple technique is for you.
Using natural lighting for your photography is a handy technique. Apart from the fantastic photos you can produce, you don’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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
