Well, it seems as if that with any information application is the most important part of it and there are a few exercises that can help with mastering your photo-graphing. sometimes I like to limit myself to one picture per subject. That requires decision making on what would be the best. Using Digital cameras eliminates this decision making process to what ones to delete. look at your subject, Identify it and look at it's surroundings, look at it from multiple views and choose one. Remember to move outside of your comfort zone.
Another exercise I like to do is to devote one day to different Genres of photography. It will help you be more flexible and perhaps discover something you're amazing at that you otherwise wouldn't know. For example Buildings, People portraits, People Candid, Flowers, Animals, inanimate objects, landscapes, etc.
Take one picture in the same frame but keep changing settings and explore what your camera can do with different lighting settings and shutter speed.
11.23.2007
11.04.2007
More on Photography...
My last post was on some very basic rules of thumb to improve your photography. Today I want to talk about the next step. Knowing more about photography will improve your photography. Over exposure, under exposure, aperture and shutter speed. These are the next few things that will help you understand how to control your shots, and make them your own. Most digital camera's take this away from you the user, however the more advanced and professional camera's give you the option to control these aspects of your camera.
There is something called the f-stop. the f-stop is the measurement of the size of the aperture. or how big the "iris" thingie is in the lens. Think of the human Eye, the more light it is exposed to the smaller the hole gets, or the higher the iris is dilated. in the same way the more light that your camera is exposed to the smaller the aperture needs to be and the lager the f-stop is. This is somewhat confusing for most people, because the larger the number on the f-stop the smaller the aperture.
over exposure is when the film, or image is overly exposed to light and you will get a white out effect. In Photoshop and in photo labs there is a way to control this exposure to over expose the exterior of the frame for a washed out effect. Under exposed frames will appear to be too dark. experimenting with these things may cause you to find something you can use artistically.
Shutter speed can also effect your exposure. the more light you let in through the lens the more exposed the shot will be. so the faster the shutter speed the less light allowed in. used in combination with the proper aperture, you will be able to find a good way to do more with your camera. You know those cool pictures of the person with the car lights in the background that are blurred across the picture. this can be done by a smaller aperture and a slower shutter speed. the longer the shutter is opened the more blurry a picture can get. Go to your favorite intersection at sunset and try this. By now you have already seen the results of all of this in the pictures you have taken, but now you will be able to do it more consistently and controlled.
These tips applied with those in the previous post can give you the edge you are looking for to get your pictures noticed. Remember Practice makes perfect. The most important thing you can do as a photographer is try new things, put yourself out of your comfort zone constantly. Try new aspects of photography, Portraits, stills, go downtown and take pictures of buildings, flowers, animals. every subject demands something new on your part. Buildings in the frame react different than flowers. By far Flowers demand more awareness of the photographer than almost anything else. in order to get what you want, you need to know what looks good in a frame, no overcrowding, good layout. hopefully this helps, if you have any specific questions about photography, maybe something you are trying to do etc. e-mail me.
There is something called the f-stop. the f-stop is the measurement of the size of the aperture. or how big the "iris" thingie is in the lens. Think of the human Eye, the more light it is exposed to the smaller the hole gets, or the higher the iris is dilated. in the same way the more light that your camera is exposed to the smaller the aperture needs to be and the lager the f-stop is. This is somewhat confusing for most people, because the larger the number on the f-stop the smaller the aperture.
over exposure is when the film, or image is overly exposed to light and you will get a white out effect. In Photoshop and in photo labs there is a way to control this exposure to over expose the exterior of the frame for a washed out effect. Under exposed frames will appear to be too dark. experimenting with these things may cause you to find something you can use artistically.
Shutter speed can also effect your exposure. the more light you let in through the lens the more exposed the shot will be. so the faster the shutter speed the less light allowed in. used in combination with the proper aperture, you will be able to find a good way to do more with your camera. You know those cool pictures of the person with the car lights in the background that are blurred across the picture. this can be done by a smaller aperture and a slower shutter speed. the longer the shutter is opened the more blurry a picture can get. Go to your favorite intersection at sunset and try this. By now you have already seen the results of all of this in the pictures you have taken, but now you will be able to do it more consistently and controlled.
These tips applied with those in the previous post can give you the edge you are looking for to get your pictures noticed. Remember Practice makes perfect. The most important thing you can do as a photographer is try new things, put yourself out of your comfort zone constantly. Try new aspects of photography, Portraits, stills, go downtown and take pictures of buildings, flowers, animals. every subject demands something new on your part. Buildings in the frame react different than flowers. By far Flowers demand more awareness of the photographer than almost anything else. in order to get what you want, you need to know what looks good in a frame, no overcrowding, good layout. hopefully this helps, if you have any specific questions about photography, maybe something you are trying to do etc. e-mail me.
10.31.2007
Basic Photography
Some things in photography go unsaid, such as f-stop and amount of exposure. there are plenty more things that don't have any meaning to those who are entering the world of photography. However I am writing this post for those who are interested, confused, and earnest about learning more. There is one basic rule that will take your pictures to the next level. Composition! Many film makers and professionals spend years in school learning about the perfect composition. Now you may ask what is composition. Well it is the layout of the subject in the area of your lens.
What draws you to the pictures you love? What captivates your heart in a perfect picture of you and your loved one? It is mostly always something you cannot see, but is still visible. Many great photographers have his impeded in their mind and they can see it before they snap the shutter. As a film photographer, I have learned what pictures will look good and those that wont, because I can't afford to waste an exposure. The other extreme is those who have gotten into photography digitally and can afford to amass a large number of photo's. I refer to it as the machine gun effect. I however have been trained in the sniper effect. One shot One Kill. Either way there are great, beautiful pictures to be had.
Many are frustrated with having to depend heavily on the amount of pictures they can take, composition will drastically reduce the number of pictures you need to take before getting the perfect one. There are about 4 principles that are key to composition. The easiest and most basic is the portrait composition. when taking portraits of people and/or things, weather it is a group shot or one single subject it is important to center them in the frame. keeping some head-room at the top but not so much that their face is in the center of the frame. This is the most basic composition that you'll see everywhere from your school pictures to magazine covers. most people I know who are into photography are not there to take portraits of their friends and family, however they are captivated by the artistic photos that they themselves try to emulate. That brings us to the rule of thirds. This is used in every aspect of motion pictures and in any, non-portrait, photo. In every frame you will have one subject of focus, by placing that subject in a certain part of the frame it will automatically become the focus of that picture. for example.
In this picture the area of focus is the lighthouse. By having it in the left third of the frame your eye is drawn to it. the reason is, is that by placing the light house in the left 3rd the pier and the decking are like visual arrows guiding your eye to the light house. Also notice how the horizon is in the bottom 3rd, this give the viewer a mental spacing so it doesn't feel confined or squished. I know I know you don't even know what the 3rd's mean that I'm talking about. so here you go. You split your frame into thirds vertically and horizontally. Most digital cameras have this already as a display option. It may feel weird to use at first but it'll be key to getting your eye trained to see this automatically. This is what the rule of thirds looks like and in application.
The Green Dots and red lines are what you want to line your subjects up with. The lady bug is lined up in such a way, and the natural lines in the branch draws your eyes to it. Do a google image search for "rule of thirds" and you'll see many more examples. when you watch a movie take note of where they put the subject in the frame.
The third composition guideline is your point of view. Any good photographer will move around, bend, stoop, climb and get a good feel of things to get a better composition. This effectively skews the subject to get a not so eye-level view on things that we are so use to.
Sometimes it even means having to lay down on your stomach to get a good shot.
The fourth and final guideline to good composition is the clutter factor. This is one of the hardest things one can do. Having to many things in the frame or in the wrong place inside of the frame can ruin the picture. When used inline with the rule of thirds you can be very successfully, but keep in mind where your eye automatically goes when looking at the frame. Tho painters paint artistic masterpieces they use these same concepts to get the looker to focus somewhere on the canvas.
To review we have the;
- Portrait Composition
- Rule of thirds
- Point of View
- Clutter factor
When all are used properly your pictures will become 10 times better. Remember that this is just the basics. One more rule of composition is space. When dealing with people or animals, keep some buffer space in the direction they are facing. For instance you do not want to take a picture of someone in a field looking into the distance with them facing left and have them on the left third of the frame, rather have them on the right third. You get the picture. When doing close up shots or face shots it is ok to skip the rule on head room. To get a feeling of coziness and confinement you can cut the top part of the head off, and it will give the viewer that same feeling. Done wrong it will make the viewer claustrophobic and un-easy, unless that is what you're going for, and is done in a lot of horror films.
That is all for this post if you have any questions e-mail me
What draws you to the pictures you love? What captivates your heart in a perfect picture of you and your loved one? It is mostly always something you cannot see, but is still visible. Many great photographers have his impeded in their mind and they can see it before they snap the shutter. As a film photographer, I have learned what pictures will look good and those that wont, because I can't afford to waste an exposure. The other extreme is those who have gotten into photography digitally and can afford to amass a large number of photo's. I refer to it as the machine gun effect. I however have been trained in the sniper effect. One shot One Kill. Either way there are great, beautiful pictures to be had.
Many are frustrated with having to depend heavily on the amount of pictures they can take, composition will drastically reduce the number of pictures you need to take before getting the perfect one. There are about 4 principles that are key to composition. The easiest and most basic is the portrait composition. when taking portraits of people and/or things, weather it is a group shot or one single subject it is important to center them in the frame. keeping some head-room at the top but not so much that their face is in the center of the frame. This is the most basic composition that you'll see everywhere from your school pictures to magazine covers. most people I know who are into photography are not there to take portraits of their friends and family, however they are captivated by the artistic photos that they themselves try to emulate. That brings us to the rule of thirds. This is used in every aspect of motion pictures and in any, non-portrait, photo. In every frame you will have one subject of focus, by placing that subject in a certain part of the frame it will automatically become the focus of that picture. for example.
In this picture the area of focus is the lighthouse. By having it in the left third of the frame your eye is drawn to it. the reason is, is that by placing the light house in the left 3rd the pier and the decking are like visual arrows guiding your eye to the light house. Also notice how the horizon is in the bottom 3rd, this give the viewer a mental spacing so it doesn't feel confined or squished. I know I know you don't even know what the 3rd's mean that I'm talking about. so here you go. You split your frame into thirds vertically and horizontally. Most digital cameras have this already as a display option. It may feel weird to use at first but it'll be key to getting your eye trained to see this automatically. This is what the rule of thirds looks like and in application.
The Green Dots and red lines are what you want to line your subjects up with. The lady bug is lined up in such a way, and the natural lines in the branch draws your eyes to it. Do a google image search for "rule of thirds" and you'll see many more examples. when you watch a movie take note of where they put the subject in the frame.The third composition guideline is your point of view. Any good photographer will move around, bend, stoop, climb and get a good feel of things to get a better composition. This effectively skews the subject to get a not so eye-level view on things that we are so use to.
Sometimes it even means having to lay down on your stomach to get a good shot.The fourth and final guideline to good composition is the clutter factor. This is one of the hardest things one can do. Having to many things in the frame or in the wrong place inside of the frame can ruin the picture. When used inline with the rule of thirds you can be very successfully, but keep in mind where your eye automatically goes when looking at the frame. Tho painters paint artistic masterpieces they use these same concepts to get the looker to focus somewhere on the canvas.
To review we have the;
- Portrait Composition
- Rule of thirds
- Point of View
- Clutter factor
When all are used properly your pictures will become 10 times better. Remember that this is just the basics. One more rule of composition is space. When dealing with people or animals, keep some buffer space in the direction they are facing. For instance you do not want to take a picture of someone in a field looking into the distance with them facing left and have them on the left third of the frame, rather have them on the right third. You get the picture. When doing close up shots or face shots it is ok to skip the rule on head room. To get a feeling of coziness and confinement you can cut the top part of the head off, and it will give the viewer that same feeling. Done wrong it will make the viewer claustrophobic and un-easy, unless that is what you're going for, and is done in a lot of horror films.
That is all for this post if you have any questions e-mail me
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