A Few Digital Photography Tips
Posted by Esse-Jay | Tags: digital cameras, digital photographs, Digital Photography, latest reviews, tips | Posted On Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 1:42 PM
Today we have digital cameras everywhere and suddenly everyone thinks they are a professional photographer. The cameras come in small and very convenient gadgets like phones, DS’s etc. Everyone is taking digital pictures not everyone is taking the pictures the right way, anyone can take a digital photo but not everyone can take a good digital photo. Here are a few things to consider before take digital photos to impress at least a casual observer.
• Before Shooting – Before you start taking digital pictures a decision has to be made on what type of photos you want to take and most important you need to consider what type of camera you want to purchase. Buying a digital camera today can be a bit over whelming given that there are numerous options to choose from but this is where what kind of photos you want to take comes in, if you are thinking of becoming a serious photographer a Sinlgle Lens Reflex [SLR] Camera is probably your best bet. SLR cameras uses a semi-automatic moving mirror system that allows the photographer to sometimes see exactly what will be captured by the digital imaging system. Lenses are an internal part of the digital camera because they are what allow the camera to focus on the world. Lenses can be defined by their focal length and aperture, the focal length tells what the angle of the view is and how far it magnifies while the aperture determines how much light the camera lens gets. A UV filter is also a good addition to purchase with your camera, it helps protect the lens from fingerprints, scratches, moisture, dust and others as well as reducing the UV light getting into the lens.
• Exposure – This is the amount of light collected by the sensor of your digital camera during a single shot. If the shot is too exposed the picture will be washed and if the exposure is not enough the picture will be dark. Digital cameras come with an automatic light meter which sets the light parameters for the hot if you learn how to control your exposure manually you may end up taking better photos. Digital cameras uses two controls for exposure, the shutter speed and aperture
• Using Macro Mode – Today, digital cameras come with various options, one of those is the macro mode. Taking photos in macro mode lets you move close to the subject of your digital photograph. This option works best when taking photographs of insects, small animals and flowers. Digital cameras do not come with the same macro modes, different cameras come with different macro modes with different capabilities which include focusing distances. Also a tripod is an invaluable tool when using the macro mode, since the depth of field very small. Moving towards and away from your subject can take one subject out of focus, in this case keeping the camera stationary helps. **An article on Macro photography will be written at a later date**
• Composition – This is the composition of distance elements to form a whole and it is the most important aspect of taking a good digital photograph. There are guidelines that can help improve the creativity of your work. Before you take a digital photograph consider what the main subject is going to be, what angle the light should hit the picture etc. There are some guidelines to help improve you photographs
i. Rule of Thirds – This is a very old technique, in this process the frames can be divided into 3 horizontal and 3 vertical sections, where the lines intersect indicates the most important part of the photo. Putting this simply it means if you take the picture and it is divided as instructed above the most important parts of the photograph will be right smack in the middle of the intersections
ii. Simplicity – This is a method for keeping the photo as simple as possible, this just means if the main subject is close avoid distractions like elaborate background that may take attention away from the main subject.
iii. Texture – This is important and creates interest in the photograph, it makes viewers imagine what the subject of the photograph feels like to touch it. This technique is good to use when taking photographs of rocks, walls, surfaces, water and other like surfaces.
iv. Colors – Certain color combinations attract people to take a second look at photographs instead of just a passing glance. Good use of color adds accents and effects but be careful to remember the simplicity rule, do not do too much to distract from the subject of your picture.
• Tweek ISO Options – ISO determines how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of the light present. The higher the ISO the more the sensitive the image sensor and therefore the possibility to take pictures in low light situations. ISO speed affects the shutter/aperture combination which can be used to obtain correct exposure.
• Memory Expansion – Digital cameras come with internal memory but not enough to hold hundreds of photographs, so digital memory cards are a very good idea. There are various types of memory cards with different storage capabilities which all depends on what type of memory card your camera holds and how much storage space you require.
• Before Shooting – Before you start taking digital pictures a decision has to be made on what type of photos you want to take and most important you need to consider what type of camera you want to purchase. Buying a digital camera today can be a bit over whelming given that there are numerous options to choose from but this is where what kind of photos you want to take comes in, if you are thinking of becoming a serious photographer a Sinlgle Lens Reflex [SLR] Camera is probably your best bet. SLR cameras uses a semi-automatic moving mirror system that allows the photographer to sometimes see exactly what will be captured by the digital imaging system. Lenses are an internal part of the digital camera because they are what allow the camera to focus on the world. Lenses can be defined by their focal length and aperture, the focal length tells what the angle of the view is and how far it magnifies while the aperture determines how much light the camera lens gets. A UV filter is also a good addition to purchase with your camera, it helps protect the lens from fingerprints, scratches, moisture, dust and others as well as reducing the UV light getting into the lens.
• Exposure – This is the amount of light collected by the sensor of your digital camera during a single shot. If the shot is too exposed the picture will be washed and if the exposure is not enough the picture will be dark. Digital cameras come with an automatic light meter which sets the light parameters for the hot if you learn how to control your exposure manually you may end up taking better photos. Digital cameras uses two controls for exposure, the shutter speed and aperture
• Using Macro Mode – Today, digital cameras come with various options, one of those is the macro mode. Taking photos in macro mode lets you move close to the subject of your digital photograph. This option works best when taking photographs of insects, small animals and flowers. Digital cameras do not come with the same macro modes, different cameras come with different macro modes with different capabilities which include focusing distances. Also a tripod is an invaluable tool when using the macro mode, since the depth of field very small. Moving towards and away from your subject can take one subject out of focus, in this case keeping the camera stationary helps. **An article on Macro photography will be written at a later date**
• Composition – This is the composition of distance elements to form a whole and it is the most important aspect of taking a good digital photograph. There are guidelines that can help improve the creativity of your work. Before you take a digital photograph consider what the main subject is going to be, what angle the light should hit the picture etc. There are some guidelines to help improve you photographs
i. Rule of Thirds – This is a very old technique, in this process the frames can be divided into 3 horizontal and 3 vertical sections, where the lines intersect indicates the most important part of the photo. Putting this simply it means if you take the picture and it is divided as instructed above the most important parts of the photograph will be right smack in the middle of the intersections
ii. Simplicity – This is a method for keeping the photo as simple as possible, this just means if the main subject is close avoid distractions like elaborate background that may take attention away from the main subject.
iii. Texture – This is important and creates interest in the photograph, it makes viewers imagine what the subject of the photograph feels like to touch it. This technique is good to use when taking photographs of rocks, walls, surfaces, water and other like surfaces.
iv. Colors – Certain color combinations attract people to take a second look at photographs instead of just a passing glance. Good use of color adds accents and effects but be careful to remember the simplicity rule, do not do too much to distract from the subject of your picture.
• Tweek ISO Options – ISO determines how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of the light present. The higher the ISO the more the sensitive the image sensor and therefore the possibility to take pictures in low light situations. ISO speed affects the shutter/aperture combination which can be used to obtain correct exposure.
• Memory Expansion – Digital cameras come with internal memory but not enough to hold hundreds of photographs, so digital memory cards are a very good idea. There are various types of memory cards with different storage capabilities which all depends on what type of memory card your camera holds and how much storage space you require.
