5 Photography Myths

Myth #1: “You must have a great camera.”

Your equipment can’t tell you which aperture will work best for a particular scene. It can’t tell you to step back a little bit when you’re using your camera’s flash. It can’t tell you to use foreground elements when taking landscape pictures. The list of things your equipment can’t do is much bigger than the list of things it can do. Whenever someone takes a great photo, the equipment is only partly responsible for it.

Your equipment will only get you so far. The rest is you. I could write this article on an old Windows 95 laptop. It would take more time, but I’d still get the same result. Similarly, there are a lot of good photos you could take with an old point-and-shoot camera. If you do your homework and think the shot through, you can make it happen. It might not be as easy, but you can do it.

So get it out of your head that you need a better camera!

Myth #2: You need to be somewhere beautiful to take nice pictures

It doesn’t matter where you live, there is always something to photograph. It may not be Niagara Falls or the Eiffel Tower, but you don’t really need any of that. Some of the best photographers turn a small village or town upside down with their work, presenting it to the world in a way it’s never been seen before. We have all taken the same boring photos of famous places over and over again. We had every advantage, to look at it in a different way and didn’t take it.

Yes another “boring” photo from a “boring” part of the world.

A place is just that, a place. As a photographer, learn to see the same place from multiple perspectives. You need to know it intimately, from the early morning hours, through the middle of the day, and into the night. A place is not just a place. It’s a setting that lives through multiple times, each capable of being captured in an interesting way.

Myth #3: There is one “correct” way to expose an image

Some people seem to think there is only one way to expose the shutter to light from the outside world. They say everything has to strike a certain “perfect balance” between lights and darks. While that’s true to a certain extent, it’s still entirely subjective. Sometimes you want one part of the image to stand out while another fades into the background. Sometimes you have to overexpose or underexpose a part of the image in order to make this happen.

 

It’s simply the cruel fate of using camera equipment that isn’t as adept as the human eye. Digital SLRs and point-and-shoot cameras don’t capture all of the highlights from a scene in the way the human eye does. What we see in real life is not at all like the picture a camera creates, and because it isn’t, we have to make some difficult choices about what we want to emphasize and what we want to keep in the shadows.

At the end of the day, the exposure that looks the best is the “correct” exposure. There is no right or wrong. There is only what we find beautiful.

Myth #4: Megapixels matter

This one goes right along with all the other computer myths. At one point in time, people thought processor speed was the only important factor in selecting a computer. They figured the faster the processor, the faster the computer. Not so. As it turns out, other things are just as important as processor speed. Without extra memory, your computer has to do a bunch of extra work, and that extra processor speed doesn’t help it along all that much.

The same is true of megapixels. Just like processors, they do matter. But only up to a certain point. Once you hit 5 megapixels, other parts of the camera start to matter more. At that point, it’s more important have a real viewfinder that works through the lens so you can see what you’re about to get. You’ll also want the ability to control the exposure by changing the aperture or shutter speed. So far as digital photography is concerned, I would take those two over extra megapixels any day.

Cameras only need to be detailed enough. Once megapixels are accounted for, I want a camera that makes my job as photographer easier. I want something that takes photos faster and simplifies the entire process.

Myth #5: You don’t need to use flash in the middle of a sunny day

I can sympathize with this one. It chimes with our intuitions about light. Of course, it’s entirely false. Just because there’s a lot of light available doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use a flash to fill in the shadows, especially on a portrait photo.

As a matter of fact, it’s even more important to use a flash in the middle of the day. That’s when the light is as harsh as it will ever be. The shadows are particularly strong, and if you don’t get rid of them by using a flash, your portraits will look a bit off. I know your friends will question you on it, but that’s the life of the photographer. You have to go against the grain to get the good shots.

All myths are easy to believe. They spread because they seem to agree with other things we hold true. We know that a better guitar produces a better sound, so we assume a better camera produces a better picture. It’s also partially marketing – the camera makers want us to purchase their shiny new models every year.

Instead, we need to turn everything on its head. Perhaps the only reason we ever thought a better camera produces a better picture is because good photographers tend to purchase expensive camera equipment. The same could very well be true of guitarists.

I can only hope that this blog has turned your world upside-down. It’s a bit unsettling at first, but I know it will help you grow as a photographer.

Metering

Metering In Photography.

Metering is a process which involves the camera taking a light level reading from the scene and selecting the appropriate combination of aperture and shutter speed to set the required exposure value.

Different metering modes allow you the photographer to select the most suitable one for the specific lighting conditions.

They can be changed manually by use of the exposure compensation meter as required; here are some of the selections you will come across.

Centre Weighted:

Here a metering is taken from the whole scene first, then the central spot.

The result is the average reading, but with extra weight given to the central part.

Some cameras allow you to change the amount of weight given to the central area usually 60 – 80 per cent of the sensitivity is directed toward the central part of the image, making it a good choice for portrait photography.

Spot Metering:

Spot metering takes a reading from a very small part of the image (usually 1 – 5 per cent) it then ignores the exposure from the rest of the scene.

While this area is usually in the middle of the scene, with some cameras the user can select a different part of the image from which to take a reading.

Spot metering is a good choice for high contrast and backlit scenes but care should be taken aiming for an area that will form the mid-tone part of the final image.

Zone Metering:

Was first introduced by Nikon.

 Zone metering takes readings from several different (areas – or zones) within the scene, to produce a calculated average.

The number of zones used varies dramatically from one camera to another, but overall the end result is usually an average of them all, useful for general scenes with low contrast.

There are other types of metering but they tend to be variations of these above mentioned types.

Having different metering modes available becomes useful when you start progressing in your photography.

Sharper Images.

Step 1: Use low ISO

If you want the highest possible degree of sharpness from your photographs, you’re going to have to start by removing anything that gets in the way of being able to extract as much detail out of your photos as possible.

This is to ensure that your pictures are recorded with the least possible amount of noise. To do this, set your camera to the lowest ISO setting – most cameras have 100; some have 80 as the lowest setting.

How does this help?

At higher ISO, you can get photos with faster shutter times, but the trade-off is extra digital noise. Which we don’t want.

Step 2: Stop down your lens

In more readable English, ‘stopping down your lens’ means to not take your photos at wide-open apertures. You don’t have to take photos at f/22, but the sweet spot for most lenses is at between f/8 and f/11.

How does this help?

At a wide aperture (say, f/2.8 or f/3.5), your lens lets as much light into the camera as possible. “That’s good”, I hear you say but that’s not always the case: you’d be surprised how much fuzzier lenses can be fully open compared to being stopped down slightly. This is doubly true for consumer-grade lenses, such as the lenses that are sold in body-and-lens kits.

Stop down your lens to f/8 to get as much sharpness from it as you can.

Step 3: Get rid of vibrations

Now that the camera itself doesn’t degrade the image quality by adding extra noise, and your lens is operating at its very best, suddenly you, the photographer, are the issue. Try to make your subjects stand as still as possible, and use a good, sturdy tripod. Use as fast a shutter time as you can too – this counteracts the effects of any camera shake

If you’re shooting in particularly low light, you may even consider using a remote control or the self-timer to ensure that you don’t inadvertently shake the camera when you trip the shutter.

How does this help?

Any vibrations that are transferred through you to the camera cause a very slight blur. Sometimes, you can’t tell it’s actually blurry, but trust me – it will affect the crispness of your photos this is why studio photographers use tripods a lot of the time. Trust me, use a tripod.

Step 4: Get enough light

All the tips so far are incredibly useful, but you’ll notice that they all ruin your light: The combination of low ISO, small aperture and high shutter speed mean that you need an ungodly amount of light. Shoot out-doors, use studio strobes, invest in a flashgun and a reflector, set off a nuclear bomb – do whatever you have to get as much light as you can.

Step 5: Always shoot in RAW

To maximise the amount of data you have to work with later on, when the time comes to edit your photos, shoot in RAW format.

How does this help?

We didn’t just spend all that effort just to let your camera screw up the photos by throwing away a lot of information and compressing it – which is what happens when you shoot in JPG.

RAW format gives you a load more flexibility, more data to work with, and is an overall better way to work with digital photos.

Step 6: Watch your exposure

It is positively amazing how much data an imaging chip actually captures – there is so much information in a photograph that you’re never likely to even look at. The secret lies in that all this information is in the shadow parties.

Obviously, it is always better to try and expose your photographs perfectly If you have to hedge your bets, it’s always better to underexpose slightly than to over-expose: You can work with underexposure in Photoshop or one of the many other programs, but an over-exposed image (with areas that appear ‘burned out’ or completely white) is a write-off, unfortunately.

Having said all that, you lose definition if you have to fiddle too much with a photograph – so do your best to get your exposure as good as possible.

Step 7: Think about your workflow

Ideally, you want to treat your photos in this order:

1. Take the photo
2. Copy it to your computer
3. Make any adjustments to colour and exposure on the RAW file
4. Make any other adjustments in Photoshop
5. Resize the image for your target medium ( the web, an e-mail, a photographic print etc.)
6. Sharpen your photo (but don’t over-do it)
7. Save it down at the highest possible quality

Step 8: Sharpen your photos for the right medium

Now that you’ve done everything right, you can think about sharpening your photos...

5 Skills For You The Photographer

The modern camera should, at least in theory, make creating great images an easier process than it used to be – with all these exposure modes, focussing tools, picture styles and such, camera manufacturers would like you to believe that it’s just a matter of squeezing the shutter and hey presto you’ve nailed it. Getting the business of exposure right has become more straightforward for the photographer – you really don’t need to know much to get some passable shots but what about if you want to take your photography further?

Photography is very different from that of even ten years ago. Good modern photographers need to be able to do so much more than compose and frame a shot, a whole set of new techniques are needed if you want to develop your photography to a really high standard. Here are five key ways to make your photography shine:

1. Know Your Software

Practice your ‘developing’ skills to where you can take an image and get the very best out of it in your digital darkroom. This is vital whether you want to be primarily a ‘photographer’ or an ‘image-maker’ and allows you to have greater control over your work so it’s the very best that it can be. This means choosing a solid piece of editing software and learning how to use it to its full potential. You have to choose a program that best suits your interests and needs. Be prepared to change your mind.

2. Get the Basics Right

You need to know composition, exposure and how to utilise your camera to get the most out of it. It doesn’t matter much what camera you’re using, if you don’t really know how to point it then you’re going to struggle to get anything good out of it. Read your manual and learn what your camera can (and can’t) do. Study and understand options like depth of field, focal planes and shutter speeds. This can get confusing and a bit dull at times but it will help you to understand how to produce a particular effect or look when you start to frame in your mind what you want an image to look like in its final form.

3. Be Flexible

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut taking the same kind of shots and processing them in the same way over and over again. Or just adopting one set of tools and failing to implement new ones, when they become available. Developing your work means that you do need to develop the way you work. Being conscious of issues such as workflow and how they impact on your ability to produce good images. If you fail to understand you won’t survive and will fail to keep your interest in photography in general, you also need to be able to innovate and change if you’re really going to produce some impressive images.

4. Study Others’ Work

Art rarely is in isolation, the work of other people can be helpful for you to develop your own style, hone your skills and increase your knowledge. Spend time every day looking at the work of others, thinking about how they created a specific look or effect and work out how you could replicate it. An important tool for the modern photographer is networking with other photographers on-line or in real life. On-line communities such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr are a great way to get your work ‘out there’ but are an even better resource for inspiration and discussion. They even allow you to engage in projects which will boost your skills and experience. In real life, you should check out your local camera club or photo-walk group. Interacting with other photographers in the flesh is a great way to learn new things and increase your engagement with photography overall, it might give you access to new shooting opportunities and equipment and will certainly challenge the way you see your own photography.

5. Practice

Enough cannot be said on this subject, you can read all the books, internet sites or magazine articles you like but there’s no substitute for actually picking up your camera and using it. Passion for photography comes from the feeling of having created something unique and interesting with your camera – it may be a single image, a small portfolio or an entire body of work. There is just no substitute for picking your camera up and pointing it at things in earnest, and ideally you should be using your camera as a portal to show others something you are passionate about. Having the ability to show something you love in a new and visually exciting way comes with practice and so practice is the thing that more than anything else will make your photographs stand out from the crowd.

Odd Numbers

“Odd numbers are better than Even ones in photography.”

 

I first heard about this ‘odd rule’ many years ago at my local Camera Club, and decided to experiment with it to see if it would work for me. I’m not really sure why it works, but it does. Perhaps it’s about the balance that odd numbers create. I find that three objects in a shot are particularly good.
Five, Seven or more can work but you run the risk of clutter in your image.

Give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprised on how it works!

Don't wait for the smile

Taking photos of your baby/children in whatever situation they’re in, whether they are being serious, curious, grumpy, sleepy, silly or sad.

For truer lifestyle photo’s, shooting how people are naturally is what makes photography truly editorial and photojournalistic. These are the kinds of images that will tell a story or show an emotion. Don’t just wait for a smile.

Remember, be respectful if they have just fallen and are in pain, for instance. It may not be a good idea to be in their face with your camera. But if you can discreetly snap a shot with a zoom lens, then by all means go for it.

From that shot, you can capture mum soothing her baby or dad kissing his little one, which are moments to be treasured.

Too often photographers wait for the “perfect” timing to snap a shot, when baby is smiling, or when the child is looking straight into the camera, when they stop playing to look up.

Capture the natural moments and you will capture personalities and stories behind the faces.

Remember to relax and enjoy your photography

Filters to consider

 Here are 3 Filters that you may want to consider adding to your photography equipment.

 Damage to your camera’s lens could cost you many hundreds of dollars to replace, purchasing any or all 3 of the following filters at a fraction of the cost of a replacement lens might be worthwhile considering.

                               

CPL Filter (Circular Polarising Filter)

 

 This polarising effect is most effective when used to increase the contrast and saturation in blue skies and make clouds stand out.

A polarizing filter removes unwanted reflections from non-metallic surfaces such as water, glass, snow etc. They also enable colours to become more saturated and appear clearer, with better contrast. This effect is often used to increase the contrast and saturation in blue skies and white clouds. Polarizing filters do not affect the overall colour balance of a shot.

A circular polarizer filter (CPL) is generally required if you want to use the "auto-focus" feature in your camera. 

These filters can also be used for video & digital cameras.

UV Filter

 UV stands for Ultraviolet, which is light that is invisible to the human eye. UV filters were used to cut down on haziness, such as in mountains and around coastal areas, but the digital sensor isn’t as sensitive to this as 35mm film was. These days UV filters are used, mainly as aprotection for your cameras lens.

Having a UV filter attached to the lens at all times protects the lens from scratches, dust, and weather. There are debates among photographers about the use of UV filters; some argue that they visually affect the outcome of the photograph while others argue that they don’t affect it at all and that the filter is great insurance.

I use a UV filter screwed onto my lenses; and have had one of my lenses saved thanks to the attached filter. However, if you are going to use a UV filter, don’t buy the cheapest one you can find.

Skylight 1A Filter

 A filter which is used in front of the lens in order to filter out UV light that can cause a bluish haze. A skylight filter is also coloured slightly pink (or yellow) in order to give pictures a warmer appearance. In the digital age these filters are used less than before, since colour temperature can be influenced in-camera and in processing, especially when using the RAW file format.