Tips On Photography
In order to be a photographer, you must be able to make decisions, not simply point a camera and press a button. Photography can be an important activity as it can help people, adults and children, understand what the media projects every day. Besides that, it is a good hobby, and photography can help people understand the world around them, especially through someone else’s eyes. It is a great way to bring together a community project as well.
It is quite easy to touch the optics of a camera and leave fingerprints. The result is that your pictures do not turn out clear in certain areas. Or, the autofocus sensors (if your camera has them) can be fooled by the smudge you leave on them, and deliver blurred pictures. Regularly clean your optics with an appropriate cloth and solution (both obtained at any respectable camera store). Do not use tissue paper, your finger, spit or household cleaning solutions.
The autofocus of most cameras has a two-step shutter release. Pressing the button down half-way locks the focus of the picture, and pressing it down all the way takes the picture. Depressing the shutter only half-way allows you to select what part of the picture you would like to be clearly focused; after holding the button halfway down, you can move the picture so that the subject is where you want it to be and yet is still focused. Always press the button gently, not jerkingly, so as not to move the camera too much from the frame and composition.
When you look at a picture where there are objects in the foreground and in the background, you may notice that, besides your main subject, some objects in front of your main subject and going all the way back to behind your main subject are also in focus. This “zone of sharpness” is called the depth of field. The depth of field is dependent on the aperture you are using, the focusing distance, and the size of the projected image. The depth of field decreases as you open up the lens, i.e. as you move to a larger aperture. It decreases as you move closer to your subject. And, at a fixed image size, the depth of field is the same irrespective of the focal length used. You would want to use a shallow depth of field to isolate your main subject from its surroundings, as in a portrait. You can accomplish that by moving in close, by zooming in (again, because it makes the background appear larger and more out of focus) and/or by using a large aperture.
A great technique that helps photographers create eye-catching pictures is the rule of thirds. This is a composition technique, create a pleasing balance between the different obects in a photograph. In order to use the rule, divide your screen into six different parts: three horizontal sections, and three vertical. The focal points, where the eye is attracted when it first looks at a picture, are where the lines intersect. Placing the subjects of your pictures at or near the focal points can help create a balanced and attractive picture.
To take a successful landscape picture, you want the whole thing to be in focus. You’ll want the focal length to be as short as possible, to create a greater depth of field. You can use the rule of thirds to create a balance between land and sky. Also, having a subject, such as an object in the foreground, might give a better sense of dimensionality. When photographing water, you will want to use a slow shutter speed, giving the impression of water flowing, and when photographing the sea, add a polarizing filter and give the water a transparency effect.
The panoramic picture is a new and exciting mode that is becoming more prevalent in digital cameras. Start by setting your camera on the tripod and ensure that it can only swivel left and right and not up and down. Take your first shot. Note the edges of the picture carefully and identify where you want to overlap the next picture. Choose an object where the overlap will be less apparent. Then, without moving the tripod to another spot, swivel the camera, say clockwise, and take your second shot making sure you have overlapped a part of your first shot. Continue to swivel and take shots until you have captured everything you wanted to. Then use the software provided with your camera to “stitch” the shots together to form your panoramic picture. If done properly, panoramic pictures (landscapes and group pictures) can be very impressive. Note that best alignment results are obtained from cameras with the tripod socket smack under the lens.