1. Learn to shoot in manual mode. In doing so you will force yourself to learn the basics of aperture, shutter speed and ISO, if that all sounds like Russian to you then make a point of learning it. The internet is your friend and you can get all the basics down for free. Although working in manual may seem slow and cumbersome at first it will help you better understand your camera and light even if you do eventually choose to shoot in more automated modes.
2. Shoot with the lowest ISO you can whilst still maintaining a suitable aperture and shutter speed. The lower the ISO you use the less "noise" your photographs will contain, essentially your images will look cleaner, clearer, smoother and less grainy. As a bonus you will get away with enlarging your photos more than you could had you shot with a high ISO whilst better maintaining apparent quality.
3. Flutter, umm, it rhymes with shutter. In deciding upon your shutter speed one essential principle for sharp hand held photos is to shoot with a shutter speed at least as fast as 1/focal length. Arghhh! I hear you scream. Don't fret, it's really easy to grasp and isn't as mathematical as it looks! Essentially if you were to use a 30mm lens the general slowest shutter speed should be 1/30th of a sec. Likewise on a 100mm lens it would be 1/100th of a sec. This is a recommended minimum shutter speed to provide shake free images. If using a tripod there is no need to worry about this rule as the camera will be held steady, you will however still have to consider subject movement and use a shutter speed fast enough to freeze them.
4. Depth of what? Depth of field, or the amount focus extends beyond and in front of the focal point can be used to great effect, as such it is a concept worth your learning. Lets say we are shooting a landscape and we want the viewer to feel like they can look into the scene. We may wish to use a large DOF so that the entire image from foreground to background is in focus. In such a case you would use a small aperture. Small aperture = large f stop number, e.g. f22. On the other hand having an entire scene in focus in a portrait shot may be distracting and steal the viewers eye from the subject. In this case you could reduce the DOF by shooting with a large aperture, or small f-stop number. E.g. f2. I strongly suggest you read further about DOF and experiment with it's role in photography.
5. Understand fill flash and when and how to use it. On camera flash can look flat and unflattering however used as fill with the flash power set to approx 1 stop under ambient you will be able to open up the shadows and obtain portraits under full harsh sunlight whilst avoiding the heavy shadows in the eyes. This will lead to more professional looking portraits with greater detail and more flattering light.
The basics of photography really aren't that hard to get your head around, you do however need to make a point of learning them rather than reverting to simply picking up your camera and shooting away blindly letting it make all your decisions. Take the time to learn and your photographs will thank you.
2. Shoot with the lowest ISO you can whilst still maintaining a suitable aperture and shutter speed. The lower the ISO you use the less "noise" your photographs will contain, essentially your images will look cleaner, clearer, smoother and less grainy. As a bonus you will get away with enlarging your photos more than you could had you shot with a high ISO whilst better maintaining apparent quality.
3. Flutter, umm, it rhymes with shutter. In deciding upon your shutter speed one essential principle for sharp hand held photos is to shoot with a shutter speed at least as fast as 1/focal length. Arghhh! I hear you scream. Don't fret, it's really easy to grasp and isn't as mathematical as it looks! Essentially if you were to use a 30mm lens the general slowest shutter speed should be 1/30th of a sec. Likewise on a 100mm lens it would be 1/100th of a sec. This is a recommended minimum shutter speed to provide shake free images. If using a tripod there is no need to worry about this rule as the camera will be held steady, you will however still have to consider subject movement and use a shutter speed fast enough to freeze them.
4. Depth of what? Depth of field, or the amount focus extends beyond and in front of the focal point can be used to great effect, as such it is a concept worth your learning. Lets say we are shooting a landscape and we want the viewer to feel like they can look into the scene. We may wish to use a large DOF so that the entire image from foreground to background is in focus. In such a case you would use a small aperture. Small aperture = large f stop number, e.g. f22. On the other hand having an entire scene in focus in a portrait shot may be distracting and steal the viewers eye from the subject. In this case you could reduce the DOF by shooting with a large aperture, or small f-stop number. E.g. f2. I strongly suggest you read further about DOF and experiment with it's role in photography.
5. Understand fill flash and when and how to use it. On camera flash can look flat and unflattering however used as fill with the flash power set to approx 1 stop under ambient you will be able to open up the shadows and obtain portraits under full harsh sunlight whilst avoiding the heavy shadows in the eyes. This will lead to more professional looking portraits with greater detail and more flattering light.
The basics of photography really aren't that hard to get your head around, you do however need to make a point of learning them rather than reverting to simply picking up your camera and shooting away blindly letting it make all your decisions. Take the time to learn and your photographs will thank you.
About the Author:
To view Samuel's sydney wedding photography or check out photos, tips and tricks please visit his website, Samuel Burns : Sydney wedding photographer
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