PICKING THE BEST VIEWPOINT AND BACKGROUND

WHAT MAKES THE BEST PHOTO COMPOSITION?

FRAMING AND THE RULE OF THIRDS

IMPROVING YOUR IMAGE

UNDERSTANDING PARALLAX

USING A FLASH

NIGHT SCENES

SHOPPING FOR A DIGITAL CAMERA

LOOK AFTER YOUR CAMERA

GLOSSARY

Before you snap that shutter, look at what is in the view finder.
Make sure you can see the subject and the action of the subject (if there is any).

WHAT MAKES THE BEST PHOTO COMPOSITION?

Point of View

When shooting children or pets try to get the camera down at their level so as not to make the subject appear in a confined location. This also give a perspective from their point of view.

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Shooting a subject at eye level is the most common POV shot. However, taking the picture from below eye level gives the appearance of power and strength and makes the subject seam taller, whilst shooting from above can give the effect of weakness and of shorter stature.

All the photos above are of Devils Courthouse on the Blue Ridge Parkway in western NC.

Now which has the best composition?

1. The left picture shows the size and scope of the rock formation, but shows little detail.
2. The center image, while showing more detail, and a foreground object adds scale, but it does not have a main focal point.
3. The right photo shows the most detail of the rock outcropping and has a definite subject and human interest as well.

4. Shutter speed

   All cameras from the most basic point-and-shoot single use camera to the latest highly sophisticated digital SLRs have shutter speeds. The very basic compact models may have a fixed speed and there’s nothing you can do with these. More advanced 35mm compact cameras have adjustable shutter speeds, but the speed is controlled automatically and you have no override. And then we go into the more sophisticated cameras such as the digital cameras and SLRs. With this type of camera you still have the automated control but also an override of some form to allow more creative use of the shutter speed. And it’s here where we can start to have fun.
   
   

   By adjusting the shutter speed you can control the movement of the subject. A fast shutter speed will freeze the subject and a slow shutter speed will make it look blurred as the subject moves. You can also combine flash with a slow speed to get movement and blur all in the same shot.

   

   The aperture diaphragm of a lens (Bigger or smaller) AND timing (Open and close) of the camera's shutter curtain - BOTH perform the tasks of regulating the amount of light entering the camera and expose onto the sensor or film. The shutter speed is sdjusted by changing the digital numerals on the LCD screen like: 1/8000, 1/4000, 1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1 or -1, -2 etc. This essentially changes of time duration at which the shutter curtain open up and close during an exposure process. A 1/125 setting means the shutter curtain open and close within one hundred and twenty five of a second while 1 means in one full second the shutter open up to absorb the light source for an exposure.
   

   Aperture Size or F-Stop
   

   F-stop is the focal length divided by the diameter of the lens. For example, a 200mm f/4 lens will be 50mm wide. Get out your ruler and measure it. (200mm/50mm = f/4). That is why f-stop is typically written as F/4, meaning "focal-length over 4" or "focal-length divided by four".
   

   What the numbers mean?

   Lenses are marked with a series of f-stops. Each one lets in half as much light as the previous one. The light-gathering ability of a lens is determined by its area, and f-stops are determined by diameter. Area is related to diameter squared. The progression of f-stops, 1 - 1.4 - 2 - 2.8 - 4 - 5.6 - 8 - 11 - 16 - 22 - 32, are powers of the square root of 2.
   
   

   Understanding Depth of Field
   
   

   Depth of field is the distance at which the image comes into and then out of focus from the lens of the camera. This range will vary when the aperture (F-stop) size is changed.

   F-Stop and Depth of Field Relationships
   f-29	f-25	f-22	f-20	f-18	f-16	f-14	f-13	f-11
   f-10	f-9	f-8	f-7.1	f-6.3	f-5.6	f-5.0	f-4.5	f-4.0

   
   

FRAMING AND THE RULE OF THIRDS

FRAMING

Without a frame the subject is lost and the viewers eye runs off the scene.

RULE OF THIRDS

Using the rule of thirds, the subject is placed in one the 4 intersections allowing more of the background to be visible. If the subject is a person, animal or is moving, the direction that the subject is facing or traveling should be toward the center of the photograph.

IMPROVING YOUR IMAGE

The Image on the left was shot with the camera on Auto so the aperture was set wide open to get the trees, but the sky overexposed the picture.

The Image on the left was taken with a fill in flash. That reduces the aperture size and though it did not have enough throw to light the trees it did bring out the grass in the foreground.

This first photo is of a ship out at sea, but since there are no reference objects it is best to just zoom in on the subject.

Here is another disturbing picture, not the subject, but the angle it was taken.
Keeping the horizontal line in an image is more pleasing to the viewer, and much less strain on the neck.

Another very important technique in good photography in learning to use a tripod, monopod, or some other means of stablizing the camera.
Evening leaning against a tree or wall will help a great deal.

Panning is the art of following a moving object so that it remains in focus. the big trick is to keep following the subject even after the shutter clicks, some cameras have a lag between the sound and the action. This technique is very effective at pulling the viewers eye to the subject, because everything else a blur.

Tricks of Light

Shadows can be a useful friend or a powerful foe. Having the subject face into the light for a profile image will prevent the raccoon look from dark shadows cast in the eyes.

Shadows can add perception and depth.

White balance and color temperatures

What we perceive as white is actually just a trick of our mind. Light is different shades, “Temperatures”, of red, green, yellow and blue. Yellows (6,000) generally come from sun lit skies when the sun is more or less over head. Reds (3,000) come from incandescent lights, and a Green/blue (4,500) tint come from florescences.

UNDERSTANDING THE PARALLAX

On most models of point and shoot cameras the view finder does not see the same thing that the lens does.
Since the view finder is located above the lens

In a Macro shot "extreme close-ups" the viewfinder is positioned above the camera lens, so doesn't cover quite the same area at very close distances. With some cameras, the viewfinder is also on one side of the lens, so these are even less accurate. It is to overcome these parallax errors that viewfinders are often marked with lines (shown below) that give some indication where the top (and side) of the picture will be when shooting really close. If you make use of these, remember to focus, as usual, on the most important part of the picture, then semi-depress the camera release to lock the focus in place before adjusting the camera to allow for parallax.

With this camera viewfinder, use the guide line on the right to tell you where the top of the picture will come for close-ups.

With this camera, the viewfinder is not immediately above the lens, so the marks indicate the top and left-hand edge of the picture for close-ups. This is obviously less convenient than just having to allow for the height.

Some cameras just indicate the top corner of the area covered in extreme close-up, but most don't have any guide marks at all.

If you are going to do a lot of really close-up work, you'd be much better off with a SLR (single lens reflex) camera, when your viewfinder will really show you just what you're getting, or a digital camera when your LCD screen will give you an accurate picture. Simple guide marks can only give a rough indication, and their accuracy depends on exactly how far you are from the subject. You'll require quite a lot of experimenting to use them successfully!

USING FLASH

The reason you sometimes get red glowing eyes while using a flash is because the pupil of the eye opens up in dimmer lighting: you then see the flash reflected in the blood vessels of the retina.

There are several possible solutions, of which one of the most convenient is to edit the red eye out with the software that came with your camera. You can use a computer with an photo editing program (such as Photoshop Elements) to replace the red. Most digital cameras are shipped with some form of editing software. Another way is to buy one of the special red-eye pens. You wait until you've got a print that needs retouching, then carefully dot the red part of the eye so that it is covered in black. Practise first on an old photo, as there's a knack to doing this! But you'll soon get the hang of it.

Many cameras come with a red-eye reduction device that fires off preliminary little flashes - just enough to close down the iris. But these don't always make all that much difference - and they often confuse the subject! (It's more effective to arrange for your subject to be looking away from the camera, but you may not want to do this.)

You can reduce red-eye by asking your subject to glance at a bright light just before you take the picture. But this can result in a screwed-up face!

A better alternative would be to use a more powerful flash gun (so that you don't have to be so close) and to hold it well above the camera-subject axis. Or bounce its light off the ceiling. But it's a lot more economical just to buy a red eye pen....

If your camera lets you manually adjust the aperture (F-stop), or shutter speed, it is often recommended, in really tricky lighting, to try bracketing exposures. This means taking several views of the same scene at differing settings (say the normal, several stops below it and several stops above it), then see which turns out best.

Effective night shots are often a matter of trial and error. The best thing about a digital camera is that you don't have to wait until the next day to see which shutter speed and f-stop works the best. Another tip, Always use a tripod. When shooting in low light and using a slower shutter speed it is very important that the camera body stays completely motionless.

The Shutter Speed is the length the camera eye is open. This allows for some interesting effects,
but if the subject is moving it will be blurred.

The Aperture is how wide the camera eye is open.
This lets more light into the camera, but reduces the focal length

Focal Length is the amount of range that is in focus

Do not use a flash to take most nightshots.
The backgrounds are too far away to be lit by the flash, and the reduced exposure automatically
set for flash means that even the lights don't show up properly.

You could still use flash, though, if you wanted to light somebody in the immediate foreground,
although the background will probably come out black, unless you have a camera with a
special "night" setting that offers longer exposures for flash portraits of
people that allow a bit more of the background to show up.

Have fun with the settings. Don't be afraid to experiment!

SHOPPING FOR A DIGITAL CAMERA

There are many brands of digital cameras out on the market today. I only have one rule of thumb when it comes to buying your camera. BUY ONE MADE BY A CAMERA COMPANY!!!. The number of mega pixels is not nearly as important as the optics are. Most of the cheaper cameras, and some that are not so cheap, have plastic lenses. While this does lighten the camera, just an hour on the dashboard in the sun will warp the lens. Kodak, Fuji, and Sony are not "old world" film camera companies. And lack the years of development in optics. Your best bet is Olympus, Nikon, Minolta, Canon, or Pentex.

Don't wait until the last minute before buying a camera and setting out on an important trip! Always take time to check that everything is working properly, and to familiarize yourself with the camera.

If you want to save money by buying a digital camera on the internet, check details and make sure your camera comes with everything you would get from a retail store, INCLUDING THE US WARRATY

APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF IMAGES PER CAPACITY OF CARD

MB = megabytes GB= gigabytes

* Average file size using cameras highest resolution JPEG mode. The actual number of images per card will vary and depends on the camera model and compatibility of the scene being photographed.

MEGAPIXELS AND PHOTO PRINT SIZE

The photo print quality of your images depends on the camera's "megapixel rating." The higher number of pixels your camera has, the higher the resolution (or sharpness) of your images---and the larger your prints can be without quality loss.

APPROXIMATE PRINT SIZE BY MEGAPIXEL

LOOK AFTER YOUR CAMERA

A camera case offers useful protection. Use it! The same goes for a lens hood, if you've got one.

Keep your camera well away from flying sand grit and dirt. And think twice before even taking it onto a sandy beach, or, months later, it may grind to a halt!

Don't leave a camera locked in a car on a sunny day. Keep it hidden away in the shade.

If you take it from a cold place into a warm one, condensation may form on the lens and mirrors. Give this time to clear before turning ther camera on.

If the lens is dusty, use either special lens cleaning tissue (or a sable paint brush) or a blower brush (to blow away grit from controls etc). You can remove dirt from metal parts with a soft lint-free cloth. Make sure the lens is free of dirt or specks of grit, but don't touch the mirror or lens with your finger, the oils from your hand are very hard to clean.

The most useful parts of the lens cleaning kit are the lens tissue and blower brush. The kit also contains cotton buds (moisten with the lens cleaning fluid provided to clean up any crevices), and lint-free cloth (to clean hard surfaces such as guide rails).

Try not to leave a camera unused over a long period, but, if you do, be sure to remove the battery .

Digital cameras do not lend themselves to home repairs. But, if nothing happens when you try to use it, do check the batteries. Rundown batteries are the most common cause of breakdowns! Always have spares available.

Keep the camera dry. Wipe off any light rain immediately. If it falls into saltwater, remove the battery immediately and immerse it in fresh water. Use a sealed container, and take it in for repair as soon as possible. If it falls into fresh water,remove the battery immediately and remove any parts that can easily be taken off (if there are any!), Dry with a hair dryer, then take it in for a check-over. Don't take unnecessary risks!

Be sure to insure your equipment. It can often be included on a house contents insurance policy, but check that is covered when used away from home.