Photography Quick Tips
A “Pocket Guide” To Shooting
Awesome Photos Everytime
Quick Tips:
Manual Settings
Anyone who has been in the Photography scene in the last 7 – 10 years would have noticed that digital cameras have become more and more sophisticated. The new digital camera wave has given us more options and more menu screens.
It’s no good having it all if you don’t understand anything, because further down the line they will end up giving you more and more problems, more so than trying to sort out a simple solution.
Okay When Do I Use The Manual Mode Setting?
First you need to understand what the manual setting does. The manual setting chooses both the shutter speed and the aperture. You’ll find when you use this setting that you have to make the decisions and not the camera.
To find this setting on your camera look around for the “M” setting on your camera dial.
So just when can I use it, and when should I use it? To be honest you, you can use this setting whenever you like and you’ll notice that most professional photographers use this all the time, because there are times when it is much easier to use it.
Most pro’s use this setting if there’s very dark or very light spots in the composition and you’ll find this happens more when you start moving your
camera position all the time. Some great examples for this are;- Sports games at night, theatres and concerts.
Sports Games At Night:
If you’re at your favourite stadium you should have noticed by now where the real great spots to take photos are, you know the ones I mean with the bright lights shining down on the playing field, or you should have noticed the very dark spots in and around the stadium.
If you’re like me, you just like to follow all the action with your camera and while you are doing this your auto exposure meter is always making adjustments for you.
This is because of the light variations around the stadium and to be honest most photographers are only interested in the players and not the light variations, so the next time you're at your local stadium watching your favorite sports, try using your manual settings on your digital camera.
Theatres or Concerts:
You´ll notice straight away when you´re at your next theatre performance or concert that you have one very well lit area where everything is taking place and you´ll also notice the light levels changing all the time, so your mine aim in taking a picture is to keep the light levels in the same mood.
Most amateur photographers try using the following settings; aperture priority, full auto or shutter priority, and by using the above settings you´ll notice that your exposure from photo to photo will vary greatly and you´ll also notice that the subject which you are focusing on will either be under exposed or over exposed. So for conditions like this you´re better off using manual setting.
If you are going to give this a try, then I would always recommend you take a few test photos first. It might take a while to make your changes and finding the right combinations for the aperture and shutter, but trust me it’s well worth the time. Once you're happy just leave the setting there.
Now it’s just a case of pointing and clicking and you’ll be that confident about the outcome, even if the lights are brighter or dimmer. You should also pay a lot of attention to your shutter speed and aperture combination, as these settings are so critical for your photos.
Quick Tips:
Landscape Photography
Landscape photography is an art in itself and the main key to producing great landscape photos is to find the right composition.
The secret is getting your weather and shadow correct, I can’t stress how important these conditions are for you. I will also guarantee that you will have to come back many times to get that perfect photo.
Six important things you need to have when you're taking landscape photos:
· Polarized filters to cut any glare and reflections out from the direct sun.
· You will need a tripod as all professional photographers take their landscape photos using a tripod because this gives the best results.
· A range of multiple lenses which range from – 35mm and below to telephoto lenses which range between 100mm up to 400mm.
· If you’re taking photos from a great distance you will need a UV filter as this will cut out the haze.
· You should always take a level with you as this will fit on your camera when you’re taking your shots.
· Most important is you’ll need a very good back pack to carry everything in.
Your Camera Set Up:
The very best set up for taking Landscape Photos is; Set your ISO to 100-200 for noise free images. The next thing you need to do is set your camera to Aperture Priority Mode and you will have to play around with the aperture settings, but this will depend on what you’re focusing on.
Something to remember which the professionals use is, small apertures will always give you a large depth of field. Basically this means everything from several miles away to just a few feet in front of you will always be in focus.
I did mention earlier that you should always carry a level with you, this is because landscape photography always throws some unique challenges at you.
If you don’t use this you will ruin nearly everyone of your photos, so it will be a wasted journey for you. Most tripods now a days come with a built in level, or you can just get one to fit your flash shoe of your camera.
Professional Quick Tips:
· You’ll notice all the pros always make enlargements of their landscapes and this is something you need to get used to. The reason for this is because you need to make your landscape stand out to capture your view. There’s no point in keeping your photos small as the reason you're taking photos is to show them off.
· You need to give your landscape photo that sense of scale and to do this you need to include the foreground in your shots.
· This is something that you’ll see every professional photographer use and that is taking photos at different times of the year but from the same spot, and this way you’re giving your photo a different look each time.
· To get the most dramatic colours and the best shadows in your photo you need to take your photographs before 10am and late on in the afternoon something time after 3pm.
You’ll see professionals just walking around in the middle of the day and this is because thy are making the most of their free time by scouting out the best locations to shoot from.
Quick Tips:
Sunsets and Sunrises Photography
As I have mentioned above smaller aperture will give you more depth of field. So if you are taking sunsets or sunrises you need smaller aperture.
The reason for this is because it will give you longer exposure times and you should always use a tripod for this type of photography because it gives the best results.
If you are shooting in the morning (sunrise) you will need UV filters as this will reduce the morning haze and if you're shooting objects from a distance.
Your Camera Set Up:
The three most important things you need to remember when taking sunsets and sunrise photos are;- Aperture Priority Mode, Exposure Compensation and Mirror Lock.
Aperture Priority Mode:
Make sure you use a small aperture as the reason you need to use this is because it will give you a maximum depth of field (f8 – f16), your shutter speed will automatically be picked up and your tripod will make you shake-free.
Exposure Compensation:
The reason you need this is because it will bring a ray of dramatic colours in the sky, you will need to experiment with this.
Mirror Lock Up:
You’ll find this on all modern SLRs and basically it lets you compose your shot and then locks your mirror, and the reason for this is because there’s no vibration.
The very best time to take sunrises is first thing in the morning before the light starts to change. So make sure you have everything set up a good hour before the sun rises, as this way you have time to check everything and always take a lot of time with each photo you take. Professionals normally allow a few minutes between each photo.
Professional Quick Tips:
· You’ll find the very best light to take sunset and sunrise photos is just before it sets or just after it rises.
· A great tip which the professionals use is the light behind them, so what do I mean by that? Well the best light or most dramatic light is behind you, so make sure you look around frequently. Why? you might be asking, well the reflections of the clouds behind you are nearly always more stunning than just looking straight ahead.
· Don’t waste the middle of the day, always check out for the best places to shoot your sunsets and sunrises.
· You need to remember to include dominant features in your sunset or sunrise photos as this way you're creating a sense of scale and depth in your photo and this is very important because there is nothing worse in spending a full day taking photos and they all turn out wrong because the scale and depth look wrong.
· You always need to remember to place your point of interest in the horizon line. See photo above.
Quick Tips:
Beach Photography
Beach photography is great, in fact more fun photos are taken on the beach than anywhere else. The things you need to remember are always try to shoot your photograph with a haze or UV filter on your lens.
To get the best results you need small aperture settings as this way you’ll have a longer exposure time. If you can, try using a tripod too.
As you can see in this photo, to make the photo more interesting I’ve taken this at an angle and this is what you should start doing.
If you are going to take a beach shot then the things you are going to need are; UV and haze filter, tripod and polarized filter as this will help you eliminate the reflections and also make the blue water and blue skies even more bluer.
Your Camera Set Up:
We are looking for noise free images here so you need to set your ISO to 100-200.
If you are doing close ups, you need to select the automatic mode as this way you can focus on your subject and also your camera should automatically meter the light for you.
Another great photo shot to have in beach photography is the full beach shot (do this in landscape mode).
To get the best results for this you need to set your camera in Aperture Priority Mode as this way you can set the aperture, plus your camera will select the correct shutter speed.
If professional photographers are taking beach shots they will want a very large depth field so select a small aperture and If you find you are shooting
on a very sunny day the preferred settings for this are f16. But it is always best to experiment.
There is something you must consider if you're taking photographs of people on the beach is their eyes and the shadows.
Most amateurs just click and shoot and hope for the best.
You see you are always going to have people squinting in the sun and with shadows on their faces. The very simple way to get round this is to watch the direction of the sun and how it casts its shadows. I’ve seen so many good photos ruined because of this.
Something else to consider is if you’re doing beach photography it is always best to keep your camera free from sand. If it’s windy never put your camera bag on the floor because the wind will blow sand dust in your camera bag. Always protect your filters and lenses and the simplest way to do this is freezer bags or self seal bags.
Professional Quick Tips:
· You’ll notice that every good professional photographer tries to tell a story with the photos, so get into the habit of doing it, If you're taking a beach photo in Miami then try and get something which says Miami beach in the photo.
· Something else to consider when your taking beach photos is to keep it trash free! What do I mean by trash free? Very simple, keep the cans, litter, rubbish, etc. out of your shot, even redo a crumpled up towel if you have to. I know we have photo editing software to remove things like this, but with a few seconds prep work first, you won’t have to.
Quick Tips:
Desert Photography
Again desert photography is just like beach photography so you need to remember the following the get the best shots. Always shoot with a haze or UV filter on your lens. To get the best results you need small aperture settings as this way you’ll have a longer exposure time. If you can, try using a tripod too.