A Tip From The Hat A Novices Take on General Photography

[Jonnyabc 0]

In photography, modeling for a camera is a dangerous profession. The process can be summarized that you will shot, blown up, framed, and if ultimately successful: hung...

 

 

Some people love to take photos of their experiences and care not about how good the result looks, so long as it helps them capture the moment. Others are pickier; they expect perfection-no blur, perfect lighting and no closed eyelids. But most of us are not that lucky to get picture perfect photos. So how can we improve ourselves?

 

The first and foremost thing you need to do is find the dusty old photography book on the shelf and read it, regardless as to whether or not it is "out-of-date". Most of the technical aspects remain the same, only the method by which we now get it to paper, plus any additional features apply with new cameras.

 

You may also find searching the web is an invaluable way to get some information as well. Undoubtedly you can learn a lot on the web, but even so, it never hurts to make sure that you find a trustworthy site that will give you accurate information.

 

But what really is the best method to taking digital photos like a pro? Here are the requirements:

 

A (decent) camera. It does not have to be digital, although in this day and age, it is the best way to go. And if you still are learning the basics, you should not be using a complex and expensive camera until you at least get the basics down.

A steady hand (and/or a tripod). If you cannot hold your camera still, you will not have sharp crisp photos.

Something to shoot at. Rapidly taking photos at random for no reason likely won't gain you any fame, but you still may learn from it. With film, or very limited media drive capacity, you need to learn to cut back on how much you take at a given time.

There are, of course, advanced techniques to taking picture perfect photos, but the basic concepts are enough to suffice for this article. Let us begin.

 

Focusing. In order for an image to have any quality, it needs to be focused. Moving before a shot is done may result in a misfire, which of course means that you will either have to start over, or you find out when it is too late. Learning to time how long you must hold still before and after snapping that cute puppy or the child's first flip-flop is critical. Every camera's initial and final delay is different, and so is every situation's length time that is necessary for it to capture the image. The another big cause of unfocused shots is due to bad posture; when you hold the camera, use both hands and be sure to keep your arms against your chest whenever possible. Even standing as still as possible can be a challenge, particularly if you are in a dark setting. Lastly, allowing the camera to auto-focus for you may result in it making the calculated decision and focusing on something

entirely different than what you had anticipated.

 

Targeting. Some people are natural born photographers, while others are not. Learning to eye what is a great shot is not without its flaws, but you can greatly increase your productivity by learning how to spot the "moments".

 

Still photography, as it is called, is perhaps the easier of the two to do, although this too may depend on who you are. With still photography, you want to find serene scenes, such as (a field of) flowers, a mountain, a city skyline. People and animals may fit in this category if they are not moving very much, such as when they are asleep or sitting/standing for a portrait. If you truly are interested in still photography, you need to get a camera that can handle macro shots. "Macro" means big, and that is precisely the action you want: taking small objects, and blowing them in huge proportions.

 

If you are not one for taking the time to smell the roses, you may want to try your luck at action photography. Whether it is the Super Bowl or race day, a barbecue or a time to swing on the playground bars, you can bet where there are lots of people; everyone is most likely doing some form of an activity. Take, for instance, race day. If you are lucky and can get a clear shot of the cars on a straight part of the track, you can try panning on the car during the shot; this will keep the car in focus, but blur everything else around it. If you are attempting to take pictures in the barbecue, remember that many people are hostile to cameras, so getting a good shot of their faces may become a challenge, but nevertheless a fun experiment to see how persuasive (or deceptive) you really can be.

 

Always keep in mind that people may not wish for their photograph to be taken without their explicit permission. Therefore, it is always best to avoid taking shots of people that would allow someone to recognize them. Once again, do not sell a photo if this is the case without their (written) permission. The same is also true about anything of ownership: works of art (logos, statues, paintings), paid attractions (zoos, theme parks, museums), etc. Doing so may end in a court case where you are sued to kingdom come.

 

Functioning. In order for you to take that just-right picture, there is no replacement for knowing how your camera works. As mentioned earlier, you need to know how much delay time your camera has. However, there are many other functions to a camera that you need to learn. SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras have the best setup available (although digital cameras now come with a display screen, which pretty much gives you that functionality). The difference, is that instead of looking through a separate view finder, you know exactly what the camera is going to snap (useful if you are one for putting your finger(s) in the way of the lens). This article is not meant to explain everything about SLRs, so go find that dusty book on your shelf if you want to know more.

 

The other learning curve is the use of the film type and shutter speed versus aperture ratio. Both of these are significant, although you may do not have a camera to experiment the latter with. Shutter speed is the length of time that the camera will expose the light to film (this is also true for digital as well). The aperture (or also known as F-stop) is the size of the hole that the light is able to penetrate. The larger the hole, the less time the film is needed to be exposed to the light; the smaller the hole, the longer the film is needed to be exposed.

 

When you run into a camera with these settings, you will generally see a dial on the camera for its shutter speed, and a ring on the lens to adjust the aperture (F-stop). Keep in mind that the the numbers on the shutter speed represent fractions of seconds, such as 1/30, 1/60, 1/120, etc. Be forewarned about the aperture: the number may be deceiving at first; the larger the number, the smaller the hole becomes. But this is where the ratio comes in. Suppose you have your aperture set to 4.0 and your shutter speed to 1/30 of a second. If you wanted to take the picture quicker, you will want to shorten the shutter speed, so set it to 1/60 of a second. To compensate, you will need to widen you aperture, which means using a smaller number, so lower the F-stop number from 4.0 to 2.6. Therefore, the conclusion is: if you lower the number on the shutter speed or aperture, you must also do the same on the other to maintain the same lighting effects.

 

The film type (based off of ISO, International Organization for Standardization) that you get also helps determine this; 800 is great for very dark, or very quick shots, while 100 is great for still, or well lit areas. This too is a ratio, except this time it is about quality; the higher the number, the less time is required, but it will look grainier (or pixelated); the lower the number, the more time is required, but will have excellent quality.

 

As you grow and develop in the art, you will undoubtedly learn special techniques (some from a book, some on your own) and use more advanced equipment. NOTE: Always remember that the most important part of a skill is not the equipment itself, but the knowledge behind using it. You can do anything you set your mind to.

[SaraInWasteland 0]

Honestly I think the most important tip on here is to either have or develop an eye for a good shot. If you don't have that then you have just about no hope of ever getting a decent photograph. The camera can't, and won't, do all the work for you. I've seen some amazing pictures taken with a point-and-shoot camera, all because the photographer had an amazing eye for a good picture. I've also seen very expensive and professional cameras take less-than-perfect shots because the photographer just figured that the camera would do all the work for them. Either way, these were some great tips. Thanks for posting. :angel:

[anwiii 17]

WOW! great post bud! makes me want to go out and take some pictures again. reminds me of the old days when i was just learning and excited about taking pictures. photography was always a hobby that left me the most fullfilled....except maybe when i bought my first computer 25 years ago and was learning everything under the sun and taking advantage of what i learned. one definately has to have an eye for a picture. even if it's just a "simple" group photo because the background is also key....even if you blur it with your aperature setting. people would often look at me funny when i take pictures because i would get in to the weirdest position to take one. or people sometimes don't have the patience when i am taking a picture of them and i want them to move to the left or right. photography to me isn't just about taking a picture. it's about creativity and ART. or patience when you know a shot will come within 1-10 minutes and only have 2 seconds to shoot it. i've put my camera in between tree branches or on the hood of a car(proped up with whatever i could find) when i didn't have a tripod. even then it gets tricky when you push the button to take a picture since you still have potential camera movement.anyway, brought up a lot of good memories and it got me excited all over again. GREAT post! i don't say it lightly as i rarely give post compliments.

[Deaziz 0]

i'm having hard time understanding the aperture number. When people say one stop down or up, what excatly is that f-stop up? how many? is there a chart to memorize ?

[yordan 10]

A (decent) camera. It does not have to be digital, although in this day and age, it is the best way to go. And if you still are learning the basics, you should not be using a complex and expensive camera until you at least get the basics down

Of course, you should also consider that a lot of people talk about photography while thinking about using the camera tool of your smarphone