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Question: WHAT THE BEST LENS FOR PORTRAITS? Answer: The best lens you can afford really, but you want a wide aperture, i.e.: 2.8f-stop or lower, so you can blur the background, and a focal length of between 85mm to 135mm, so you can fill the frame but not have to stand to close to your subject. These lenses can be expensive so be sure that’s what you want to get into.
Question: SHOULD I BUY DIGITAL OR FILM (35mm) CAMERA? Question: HOW DO I DECIDE IF A PICTURE IS WORTH TAKING? Answer: Before digital cameras became affordable for the consumer market, choosing what photos to take was a matter of finances and processing time. Everyone envied the contributing photographers for glossy magazines that had deep enough pockets to afford taking a hundred exposures to get that one keeper for the cover. Digital photography has made it economically feasible for the amateur photographer to feel more relaxed and experiment by taking numerous exposures and sort through them quickly without the long processing time. Should you take the photo? Take as many as you want.
Question: HOW DO I GET THE WHITE BALANCE RIGHT? Answer: For most situations the auto white balance on your camera does a good job, but there are times when it doesn't work as well. If your camera has preset white balance settings, you can work with them to get the result you want. If you still don't get the right shot, try to manually set the white balance. Change the camera settings to manual or custom white balance, then point the camera at something white or gray -- a white/gray card or t-shirt -- filling the screen completely with that card or shirt, and pressing the White Balance button on your camera (if you have one). Make sure the white that you focus on is not in the shadows, and is illuminated by the artificial light of the room. If you can't get the results you want, try using the raw file format available on some advanced cameras. This takes the pictures without any automatic enhancements. The pictures can be adjusted in your photo program later. Question: HOW DO YOU TAKE CLEAR SHOTS FOR INDOOR SPORTS? Answer: The main key in shooting sports is speed. You MUST have a quick shutter speed in order to freeze the action. You can get try it with a slower shutter speed, but you will have follow the subject with the camera as you're taking the picture, and this can lead to very unpredictable results. To get the best results, set the ISO to the highest setting -- 400-800. That's like using fast film in a 35 MM camera and works better in low lighting. Action photos are difficult because of the delay in the shutter release and in recording the picture. If your camera has a rapid fire mode, then you'll want to set it to that. Answer: When you take a picture in a jpeg format, the camera does things to it before it's saved. The image sensor converts analog to digital, adds any specifications that were made, like white balance, sharpening, contrast, image effect, digital zoom, etc. After all of that is done, the image is saved to the memory card In a lot of cases, that is the best way to go, because the camera is very smart about interpreting the surroundings and adding the right specifications.
A raw file format is the unprocessed data file that is captured by the camera's image sensor before any specifications are applied. This can be very helpful to have when the camera doesn’t interpret the light or the images the way you want it to. If you don't get the results you want with the settings you've made for a picture, you can take a raw picture and not have anything "added" to the image. The picture can then be edited in your photo editor to get the look that you want, rather than having to adjust from the settings made to a jpeg image. Question: HOW DO YOU TAKE A PHOTO OF A GLASS SIGN OR A FRAMED PICTURE IN GLASS WITH A FLASH AND NOT HAVE THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT FROM THE GLASS? Answer: As with redeye reflection and eyeglass glare, the key is to find a way of either redirecting the angle of the flash or the angle that the camera captures the image: the angle of incident equals the angle of reflection. Put simply if your lens and your flash are shooting at the same angle and direction, you'll get the majority of light thrown back in your frame. A polarizing filter on the camera (or in sheet form placed over the glass surface) also redirect reflected light, but at the cost of some muted colours. Question: HOW DO YOU GET HIGH CONTRAST NATURAL LIGHT BLACK AND WHITE PICTURES? Answer: Many factors determine the results you'll get in taking black and white photos, with the composition being the most important: black and white photos are most startling when the elements in the photo differ. Saying this, composing a memorable black and white photo requires that your subject and setting carry with them significantly different light-reflecting values. If the elements are too similar in reflecting light, no amount of ambient or artificial light will make them leap out at the viewer. Many digital cameras offer a black and white photo mode as well as offering simulations of Sepia tone, which make taking high contrast photos easier but not foolproof. You may also wish to take your picture in colour, then convert it to black and white with your photo editor. Answer: Redeye occurs more at night because the eye's pupil dilates to allow more light in, and your camera's flash reflects nearly directly back off the exposed retina. Many cameras have a redeye setting that pre-flashes a bright red light into your subject's eye, causing the pupil to contract, but oftentimes it isn't enough to compensate at night. If your camera does not have a redeye setting or it isn't preventing the effect enough, alternatives are to move (if possible) the source of the flash away from the camera's lens, making the reflection less directly back into the lens. If moving the source of the flash isn't feasible, try having the subject look slightly away from the lens, which also redirects the angle of redeye reflection.
Question: HOW DO YOU GET THE CAMERA INCHES AWAY FROM A SMALL OBJECT AND SHOOT A CLEAR PICTURE? Answer: The macro feature of a camera allows ultra-close detail of the subject. It has become such a popular feature that the camera industry has adopted the icon a small potted flower as a symbol for the camera's macro mode to take extreme close-ups. Changing to this mode allows the camera to resolve the subtle contrast differences needed to activate the auto-focus, which cameras without macro mode struggle to make sense of such close detail. Experiment with different coloured backgrounds to get the right colouring and contrast. Craft stores have packs of craft foam sheets in a wide variety of colours that are useful when taking close-ups. Question: HOW DO YOU TAKE A PICTURE WITH STRONG SUN AND STRONG SHADE SO THAT THE SHADE DOESN’T TURN BLACK? Answer: Most of us start out in photography by learning that our main subject should be facing the sun. Doesn’t is say that right on the film box? That works if all you have is sun and no shade. For a good mix, consider placing your subject in the shadows -- not completely in the shadows, but in a spot where there is a mix of sun and shadows. If you can find a Answer: People in general think that they need to “pose” for pictures. They are ingrained from a young age to say “cheese” whenever a camera is spotted. They see models posing for their photo shoots and believe that acting natural is completely unnatural in the world of photography. A good photographer is a sneaky photographer. His or her camera is always in hand ready and waiting for the every situation. It’s important for the people around you to become used to you with a camera close. Eventually they will not think of it as something special, but as something natural.
Camera-matically (is that a word?), there are a few things to assist you in your sneaky quest for the best personality shots. If your camera has a setting for taking multiple shots at once, this can allow you to capture several shots within split seconds of each other, so that a mood can be tracked. Most cameras make a clicking noise because people think that’s what cameras are supposed to do. If you can, turn off the sound, so that your subject won’t react to the familiar memory of a picture being taken. Also, a good zoom lens on your camera will allow you to take close-up pictures from a distance, so that your subject is not always aware that the picture is being taken. This can add to the natural effect. Children are great subjects to with whom to start because they are less affected by the camera “stigma.” Get on the floor with them and capture them in play. This will provide a lot of training for getting the best impromptu shots. Question: HOW CAN I UNDERSTAND DEPTH OF FIELD? Answer: Depth of Field is one of the most important aspects of digital photography, -- it can be the difference between an ordinary and stunning photograph. However, so many photographers have little or no idea of how to set their cameras for a desired Depth of Field effect A shallow depth of field means that only the subject you are focusing on is in sharp focus – everything in front and back is not. An increased depth of field means that more of the picture in the front and back of the subject appears to be more sharp and clear. This is an “acceptable” sharpness, as it is more clear than a shallow depth of field, but still not as sharp as the subject. Some call this the “circle of confusion” – where the view around the subject is sharp enough, but not crystal clear. Digital Cameras typically have an increased depth of field over the 35mm cameras, and this is good news. The bad news is that it’s not as easy to lose that depth of field when you don’t want it. As each camera make and model is different, so is the depth of field calculation of each. You can control your depth of field with changes to your aperture. The smaller you make your aperture, the wider the depth of field, causing more of the picture to be in focus. Answer: A critical factor related to photographic equipment is the ability to get closer to the subject. Unless one has a stealthy nature, any small movement would scare away most birds and wildlife, especially small ones. One needs to use a camera with good zooming capabilities for effective photographic birding. Sometimes a 3X or up to 5X zoom just won't be enough except for photographing the ever present Ducks and Geese where even close up shots are highly possible.
A fast shutter speed is the baseline for the camera. The preference for shutter speed is at 1/800th of a second to freeze most actions. If the subject is in the shade with expected small movements like feeding or preening, a slower shutter speed such as 1/200th second can be used. This allows the aperture to open up further for more light. If blur occurs, increase the shutter speed. The primary focusing on birds or wildlife should be the eyes. When you view images, you are naturally drawn to the eyes (unless it’s a bear with its mouth open!). The best condition to photograph birds in flight is when there is lots of light. You can use the lowest possible ISO available from your camera for the least amount of noise. You can also use the Sunny white balance setting for optimum in-camera colour rendition. Question: HOW CAN I TAKE PICTURES INTO THE SUN AND AVOID LENS FLARE? Answer: Lens flare is created when non-image forming light enters the lens and then hits the camera's film or digital sensor. It can lower the overall contrast of a photograph significantly and is often undesired artifact; however, some types of flare may actually enhance the artistic meaning of a photo. A good lens hood can nearly eliminate flare caused by stray light from outside the angle of view. Ensure that this hood has a completely non-reflective inner surface, such as felt, and that there are no regions which have rubbed off. If a lens hood can’t be purchased for your camera model or if it is inadequate, there are some easy but less convenient workarounds. Placing a hand or piece of paper exterior to the side of the lens which is nearest the flare-inducing light source can mimic the effect of a proper lens hood. Care has to be taken that the makeshift “hood” does not become a part of the picture. Answer: When shooting pictures in the snow or on the beach, you face special challenges that your camera cannot handle properly without your help. Snow and sand are two of the most reflective surfaces that you will ever attempt to photograph. That reflectivity will fool your camera's built-in light meter, which adjusts the exposure of your shots automatically at the time you take a picture. Your digital camera interprets all that light reflected off of the snow as a scene that is brighter than it actually is. There are a couple of ways to work with this. If your camera has special 'shooting modes' for snow or beach shooting, try those. These modes will bump up the exposure of your pictures automatically. Remember not to leave your camera set on those shooting modes, however, as normal scenes will then come out too dark.
If your camera doesn't have a special shooting mode for snow or the beach, but it does have the ability to manually change settings, you can probably adjust the exposure yourself using an exposure compensation dial or button. Set the control to about +1 or +2, so that you're overexposing the scene by one or two stops, allowing more light to enter your camera's lens. Question: HOW CAN I TAKE CLEAR, CRISP WELL-FOCUSED PHOTOS EVERY TIME? Answer: Well, if you can anticipate every lighting possibility, every movement a subject is going to take, and every climate, temperature, and situation that might present itself, you can take a good picture every time. |
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