| jumanku | Date: Tuesday, 13/09/2011, 6:33 PM | Message # 1 |
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| How to Take Better Photographs
Many people think they'll improve their photography by buying a spiffy new camera. The truth is, in photography, technique is much more important than equipment. And taking good pictures is something anyone can do with any camera, if you practice enough and avoid some common mistakes.
Steps
1
Read the camera's manual, and learn what each control, switch, button, and menu item does.
At the very least you should know how to turn the flash on, off, and
auto, how to zoom in and out, and how to use the shutter button. Some
camera's come with a printed beginners manual but also offer a larger
manual for free on the manufacturer's website
2
Set the camera's resolution to take high quality photos at the highest resolution possible.
Low-resolution images are more difficult to digitally alter later on;
it also means that you can't crop as enthusiastically as you could with a
higher-resolution version (and still end up with something printable).
If you have a small memory card, get a bigger one; if you don't want to
or can't afford to buy a new one, then use the "fine" quality setting,
if your camera has one, with a smaller resolution.
3
Start off with setting your camera to one of its automatic modes, if you have a choice.
Most useful is "Program" or "P" mode on digital SLRs. Ignore advice to
the contrary which suggests that you operate your camera fully manually;
the advances in the last fifty years in automatic focusing and metering
have not happened for nothing. If your photos come out poorly focused
or poorly exposed, then start operating certain functions manually.
4
Take your camera everywhere.
When you have your camera with you all the time, you will start to see
the world differently; you will look for and find opportunities to take
great photographs. And, of course, you will end up taking more photographs; and the more you take, the better a photographer you will become.
Furthermore, if you're taking photographs of your friends and family,
they will get used to you having your camera with you all the time.
Thus, they will feel less awkward or intimidated when you get your
camera out; this will lead to more natural-looking, less "posed"
photographs. Also, remember to bring batteries or charge it if you are
using a digital camera.
5
Get outside. Motivate yourself to get out and take photographs
in natural light. Take several normal 'point and shoot' pictures to get
a feel for the lighting at different times of the day and night. Go
outside at all times of day, especially those times when anybody with
any sense is sleeping, eating, or watching television; lighting at these
times is often dramatic and unusual to many people precisely because they never get to see it!
6
Keep the lens clear of caps, thumbs, straps and other obstructions.
Keep the lens clear of caps, thumbs, straps and other obstructions.
It's basic, yes, but it can ruin a photograph completely. This is less
of a problem with modern live-preview digital cameras, and even less of a
problem with an SLR camera. But people still make these mistakes from
time to time.
7
The white balance dramatically alters the tone of a picture; these four
photos were taken at the Auto, Daylight, Cloudy (or Shade) and Tungsten
settings.
Set your white balance. Put simply, the human
eye automatically compensates for different kinds of lighting; white
looks white to us in almost any kind of lighting. A digital camera
compensates for this by shifting the colors certain ways. For example,
under tungsten (incandescent) lighting, it will shift the colours
towards blue to compensate for the redness of this kind of lighting. The white balance is one of the most critical, and most underused, settings on modern cameras.
Learn how to set it, and what the various settings mean. If you're not
under artificial light, the "Shade" (or "Cloudy") setting is a good bet
in most circumstances; it makes for very warm-looking colors. If it
comes out too red, it's very easy to correct it in software later on.
"Auto", the default for most cameras, sometimes does a good job, but
also sometimes results in colours which are a little too cold.
8
Your camera's ISO speed number stands for the sensitivity of the digital
sensor. Slower ISO speeds result in less noisy pictures -- even on a
digital SLR; but this is especially important on a point-and-shoot
camera.
Set a slower ISO speed, if circumstances permit.
This is less of an issue with digital SLR cameras, but especially
important for point-and-shoot digital cameras (which, usually, have tiny
sensors which are more prone to noise). A slower ISO speed (lower
number) makes for less noisy photographs; however, it forces you to use
slower shutter speeds as well, which restricts your ability to
photograph moving subjects, for example. For still subjects in good
light (or still subjects in low light, too, if you're using a tripod and
remote release), use the very slowest ISO speed that you have.
9
Compose your shot thoughtfully. Frame the photo in your mind before framing it in the viewfinder. Consider the following rules, but especially the last one:
Use the Rule of Thirds, where the primary points of interest in your scene sits along "third" lines.
Use the Rule of Thirds, where the primary points of interest in
your scene sits along "third" lines. Try not to let any horizon or other
lines "cut the picture in half."
Get rid of distracting backgrounds and clutter. If this means you
and your friend have to move a little so that a tree does not appear to
be growing out of her head, then do so. If glare is coming off the
windows of the house across the street, change your angle a bit to avoid
it. If you're taking vacation photographs, take a moment to get your
family to put down all the junk they may be carrying around with them
and to remove backpacks or hip packs as well. Keep that mess well out of
the frame of the picture, and you will end up with much nicer, less
cluttered photos. If you can blur the background in a portrait, then do so. And so on.
10
[img]http://pad2.whstatic.com/images/thumb/c/cd/Dhaka%2C-Bangladesh.jpg/180px-Dhaka%2C-Bangladesh.jpg[/img]
Distractions in the background can add valuable context to a photo.
Ignore the advice above. Regard the above as laws, which work much of the time but are always subject to judicious interpretation -- and not as absolute rules. Too close an adherence to them will lead to boring
photographs. For example, clutter and sharply focused backgrounds can
add context, contrast and colour; perfect symmetry in a shot can be
dramatic, and so on. Every rule can and should be broken for artistic effect, from time to time. This is how many stunning photographs are made.
11
Fill the frame with your subject. Don't be
afraid to get closer to your subject. On the other hand, if you're using
a digital camera with plenty of megapixels to spare, you can crop it
later in software.
12
Try an interesting angle.
Instead of shooting the object straight on, try looking down to the
object, or crouching and looking up. Pick an angle that shows maximum
color and minimum shadow. To make things appear longer or taller, a low
angle can help. If you want a bold photo, it is best to be even with the
object. You may also want to make the object look smaller or make it
look like you're hovering over; to get the effect you should put the
camera above the object. An uncommon angle makes for a more interesting
shot.
13
Focus. Poor focusing is one of the most common ways that photographs are ruined.[4] Use the automatic focus of your camera, if you have it; usually, this is done by half-pressing the shutter button. Use the "macro" mode of your camera for very close-up shots. Don't focus manually
unless your auto-focus is having issues; as with metering, automatic
focus usually does a far better job of focusing than you can.
14
Keep still. A lot
of people are surprised at how blurry their pictures come out when going
for a close-up, or taking the shot from a distance. To minimize
blurring: If you're using a full-sized camera with a zoom lens, hold the
camera body (finger on the shutter button) with one hand, and steady
the lens by cupping your other hand under it. Keep your elbows close to
your body, and use this position to brace yourself firmly. If your
camera or lens has image stabilisation features, use them (this is
called IS on Canon gear, and VR, for Vibration Reduction, on Nikon
equipment).
15
A tripod is a good bet for low-light shots which require long exposures.
Consider using a tripod. If your hands are
naturally shaky, or if you're using very large (and slow) telephoto
lenses, or if you're trying to take photographs in low light, or if you
need to take several identical shots in a row (such as with HDR photography), or if you're taking panoramic photos,
then using a tripod is probably a good idea. For very long exposures
(more than a second or so), a cable release (for older film cameras) or a
remote control is a good idea; you can use the self-timer feature of
your camera if you don't have one of these.
16
Consider not using a tripod, especially if you don't already have one.
A tripod infringes on your ability to move around, and to rapidly
change the framing of your shot. It's also more weight to carry around,
which is a disincentive to getting out and taking photographs in the first place. As a general rule,[5] you only need a tripod if your shutter speed is equal to or slower than the reciprocal of your focal length.[6]
If you can avoid using a tripod by using faster ISO speeds (and,
consequently, faster shutter speeds), or by using image stabilisation
features of your camera, or by simply moving to somewhere with better
lighting, then do that.
17
If you are in a
situation where it would be nice to use a tripod, but you don't have a
tripod at the time, try one or more of the following to reduce camera
shake:
Turn on image stabilization on your camera (only some digital
cameras have this) or lens (generally only some expensive lenses have
this).
Zoom out (or substitute a wider lens) and get closer. This will
de-magnify the effect of a small change in the direction of the camera,
and generally increase your maximum aperture for a shorter exposure.
Hold the camera at two points away from its center, such as the
handle near the shutter button and the opposite corner, or toward the
end of the lens. (Do not hold a delicate collapsible lens such as on a
point-and-shoot, or obstruct something that the camera will try to move
on its own such as a focusing ring, or obstruct the view from the front
of the lens.) This will decrease the angle which the camera moves for a
given distance your hands wobble.
Squeeze the shutter slowly, steadily, and gently, and do not stop
until momentarily after the picture has taken. Try putting your index
finger over the top of the camera, and squeezing the shutter button with
the second joint of the finger for a steadier motion (you're pushing on
the top of the camera all along).
Brace the camera against something (or your hand against something
if you're concerned about scratching it), and/or brace your arms against
your body or sit down and brace them against your knees.
Prop the camera on something (perhaps its bag or its strap) and use
the self-timer to avoid shake from pushing on the button if the thing it
is propped on is soft. This often involves a small chance that the
camera will fall over so check that it does not have far to fall, and
generally avoid it with a very expensive camera or one with accessories
such as a flash that could break or rip off parts of the camera. If you
anticipate doing this much, you could bring along a beanbag, which would
work well for it. Purpose-built "beanbags" are available, bags of dried
beans are cheap and the contents can be eaten when they begin to wear
through or get upgraded.
18
Relax when you push the shutter button.
Also, try not to hold the camera up for too long; this will cause your
hands and arms to be shakier. Practice bringing the camera up to your
eye, focusing and metering, and taking the shot in one swift, smooth
action.
19
Avoid red eye.
Red-eye is caused when your eyes dilate in lower lighting. When your
pupils are big, the flash actually lights up the blood vessels on the
back wall of your eyeball, which is why it looks red. If you must use a
flash in poor light, try to get the person to not look directly at the
camera, or consider using a "bounce flash". Aiming your flash above the
heads of your subjects, especially if the walls surrounding are light,
will keep red-eye out. If you don't have a separate flash gun which is
adjustable in this way, use the red-eye reduction feature of your camera
if available - it flashes a couple of times before opening the shutter,
which causes your subject's pupils to contract, thus minimizing
red-eye. Better yet, don't take photographs which require a flash to be
used; find somewhere with better lighting.
20
Filling dark shadows in your photographs is a good use of your flash.
Use your flash judiciously, and don't use it when you don't have to.
A flash in poor light can often cause ugly-looking reflections, or make
the subject of your photo appear "washed out"; the latter is especially
true of people photos. On the other hand, a flash is very useful for
filling in shadows; to eliminate the "raccoon eye" effect in bright
midday light, for example (if you have a flash sync speed[7]
fast enough). If you can avoid using a flash by going outside, or
steadying the camera (allowing you to use a slower shutter speed without
blur), or setting a faster ISO speed (allowing faster shutter speeds),
then do that.
If you do not intend the flash to be the primary light source in the
picture, set it up to give correct exposure at an aperture a stop or so
wider than that which is otherwise correct and which you actually use
for the exposure (which depends on the ambient light intensity and the
shutter speed, which cannot be above the flash-sync speed). This can be
done by choosing a specific stop with a manual or thyristor flash, or by
using "flash exposure compensation" with a fancy modern camera.
21
Go through your photos and look for the best ones.
Look for what makes the best photos and continue using the methods that
got the best shots. Don't be afraid to throw away or delete photos,
either. Be brutal about it; if it doesn't strike you as a particularly
pleasing shot, then ditch it. If you, like most people, are shooting on a
digital camera, then it would not have cost you anything but your time.
Before you delete them, remember you can learn a lot from your worst
photos; discover why they don't look good, then don't do that.
22
Practice, practice, and practice. Take lots and lots of photos -- aim to fill your memory card, (or to use up as much film
as you can afford to have developed, but don't mess with film until you
can get decent pictures frequently with a simple digital camera: until
then, you need to make many more glaring mistakes to learn from, and
it's nice to make them for free and find out immediately, when you can
figure out exactly what you did and why under the current circumstances
it is wrong). The more pictures you take, the better you'll get, and the
more you (and everyone) will like your pictures. Shoot from new or
different angles, and find new subjects to take pictures of, and keep at
it; you can make even the most boring, everyday thing look amazing if
you're creative enough about photographing it. Get to know your camera's
limitations, too; how well it performs in different kinds of lighting,
how well auto-focus performs at various distances, how well it handles
moving subjects, and so on.
Tips
Taken with an obsolete 8-year-old digital camera fitted with a $22 lens.
Your camera doesn't matter. Nearly any camera is capable of taking good photographs in the right conditions. Even a modern camera phone is good enough for many kinds of shots. [8]
Learn your camera's limitations and work around them; don't buy new
equipment until you know exactly what these limitations are, and are
certain that they are hindering you.
Pick up a big-city newspaper or a copy of National Geographic and
see how professional photojournalists tell stories in pictures. It's
often worth poking around photo sites like Flickr or deviantART for inspiration, too. Try Flickr's camera finder
to see what people have done with the cheapest point-and-shoot cameras.
Look at the Camera Data on deviantART. Just don't spend so much time
getting inspired that it stops you from getting out there.
When shooting photos of children, get down to their level! Pictures
looking down at the top of a child's head are usually pretty lame. Stop
being lazy and get on your knees.
If you shoot digital it's better to underexpose the shot, as
underexposure is easy to correct later on in software. Shadow detail can
be recovered; blown highlights (the pure white areas in an overexposed
photo) can never be recovered, as there is nothing there to recover.
Film is the opposite; shadow detail tends to be poor compared to digital
cameras, but blown highlights are rare even with massive overexposure.[9]
Get your photos off your memory card ASAP. Make backups; make
several backups if you can. Every photographer has, or will, experience
the heartbreak of losing a precious image/images unless he or she
cultivates this habit. Back-up, back-up, back-up!
If the camera has a neck strap, use it! Hold the camera out so that
that the neck strap is pulled as far as a can, this will help steady the
camera. Furthermore, it'll also stop you from dropping the camera.
Install photo-editing software and learn how to use it. This will
allow you to correct color balance, adjust lighting, crop your photos,
and much more. Most cameras will come with software to make these basic
adjustments. For more complicated operations, consider buying Photoshop, downloading and installing the free GIMP image editor, or using Paint.NET, a free light-weight photo editing program for Windows users.
Keep a notebook handy and make notes about what worked well and what didn't. Review your notes often as you practice.
Upload to Flickr or the Wikimedia Commons and maybe one day you will see your photos used on wikiHow!
To find an interesting angle at a tourist location, look where
everybody else is taking their picture, and then go somewhere completely
different. You don't want the same picture as everybody else.
Warnings
Beware of taking photographs of statues, artwork, and even
architecture; even if it is located in public places, in many
jurisdictions this can often constitute a violation of the copyright in
these works.[10]
When taking photos of people, their pets, or even their property,
ask for permission. The only time you clearly do not need it is when you
are capturing a crime in progress. It is always polite to ask.
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