Posts Tagged ‘Viewfinder’
Learn Digital Photography: Fast Track Your Photography
July 3rd, 2009 | 
Author: 
Learning digital photography in our instant society is only possible by applying the basic principles of good photography. Digital is another tool and there is no real fast way of doing this. BUT… If you are prepared to follow these six quick photography principles you’re on the road to learning digital photography fast. And I really mean fast. So here goes.
1. Choose your subject carefully.
This is the centrepiece of your photo. Make sure you identify a suitable subject and focus on this. Not negotiable. If subject is not clearly identifiable your photo will be below average.
2. Place you subject intelligently.
Divide your image into thirds vertically and horizontally. Imagine 2 lines across and 2 lines down. Where these lines intersect place your subject on one of these points. If you have an horizon in the image, line it up with one of the 2 horizontal lines.
3. Get closer to your subject.
Most times the subject is what you want to remember about the scene you are recording. So get as much of it in your photo. This is especially so with family photos. Have smaller groups of people shot closer to the camera.
Focusing on Camera Stability: Tripod? Beanbag?
Using a tripod helps to achieve sharp, clean focus in photographs, but when that is impractical, a handy, beanbag camera support may be a better answer. Buy one or make your own, filling it with any of various types of filler.
Producing excellent photographic images, whether for personal or professional use, involves good composition, correct lighting exposure and sharp, perfect focus. Unfortunately, even if you have the greatest photo elements, perfectly composed with superb lighting, if the image is blurry or out of focus, everything else really does not matter.
Shaky, hand-held shots can ruin your images. If you read articles on how to take great photos, you will inevitably see the suggestion to use a tripod (or bipod or monopod) to hold and stabilize your camera and avoid camera shake, the nemesis of photography.
But what do you do in a situation where a tripod is impractical? If you are shooting exteriors on a windy day, even if you sand-bag or stake the tripod legs, you still risk having the whole thing blow over with possible disastrous damage to your camera and tripod. If the terrain is uneven, leveling the tripod legs can be a nightmare. And again, the tripod can overbalance and topple over.
Perhaps you have the perfect shot in your viewfinder, but you are on the edge of a precipice or cramped alongside or behind a wall or other solid object where there just is not enough room to set up a tripod. Or maybe you are shooting pets, toddlers, plants or insects and your best angle is low or ground level. (A side note: a remote control device for your camera is very handy when photographing a pet. It allows you to stand off to the side and distract the pet instead of having it stare at the camera lens. You will have less red eye problems!)