Three Elements of Digital Photography Using a DSLR Camera

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:59:08 +0000

Know your camera and your camera settings.

As a photographer, your knowledge and confidence in your own photographic ability along with your equipment will work together to make eye-catching images. There are actually three essentials that work together so that you can take better pictures with your DSLR camera.

First and foremost is the photographer

Whether you care to admit it or not, the photographer is the most important element in the photographic process. Whether using a point and shoot camera, a home made pin-hole camera or the most sophisticated digital SLR, if the person behind the camera is knowledgeable about the features and use of their camera, it will make a huge difference in the outcome. Armed with the simplest of gear, a real photographer can produce amazing photos.

Second is the camera.

So many would-be photographers think that if they just get that next level camera, they can take better pictures and their images will improve by leaps and bounds. While this may be true, a really good photographer can shoot award winning images with a phone camera. It’s really all about how you “see” the photo. Yes, being able to manipulate the camera settings is important to the final outcome, but if you don’t have an eye for framing your images and knowing your camera settings, the most expensive, technological DSLR will not help you produce amazing photos.

Third is the lens. Do not underestimate the power of the lens.

You can’t really take advantage of the fundamentals of photography until you are familiar with the capabilities and power of the DSLR lens that is attached to your camera body.

Lenses work very differently than the human brain/eye combination. When you look at a scene, your eye has the ability to focus on the whole scene and take it all in. Your brain processes the information in front of you over a period of seconds or minutes. The lens has only one focal point and an instant of opportunity when the shutter opens briefly to capture the same scene. So the way you apply camera and lens settings is critical to getting the image you are thinking about. Which aperture, which shutter speed, which focal length… these are all components of the final output that will determine your success or failure to get the desired result.

As a photographer, you also need the knowledge about what type of lens to use in a certain situation. For instance, will you use a wide angle lens or a macro lens to get the close-up effect you want? Taking the exact same photo with two different types of lenses gets you very different results. In the case mentioned with regard to wide angle versus macro, the macro lens will give you a fairly accurate image of the subject, but if you switch to a wide angle lens, you can achieve a very interesting distortion of the foreground and background to make the image much more artistic. This is just one example of lens differences and knowing what you desire as an outcome.

This is the point at which your photography can become an art form rather than just a journalistic record of your surroundings. Once you have the right knowledge, you can produce amazing photos with much more consistency.

Learn About Digital Photography – Techniques for Beginning DSLR Photographers

admin — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:58:22 +0000

Digital SLR cameras are amazing tools.

One of the first things you need to learn about digital photography is that it costs you nothing to take pictures. Keep that in mind as you get used to your camera. Take lots of pictures.

If you are new to digital photography, or you just love learning more, you will benefit by trying out these 10 techniques. They are very basic concepts and easy to implement in your photography work flow.

1. Choosing the Right Resolution: Every digital camera has a setting for picture size and quality. In order to get the best quality from your digital camera, always use the highest number of megapixels allowed. That may mean you’re able to store fewer pictures on your camera or your memory card, but you can always carry extra memory cards in your camera case. The only reason you might choose a lower resolution is if you intend only to post the photos on the Web (like on Facebook) for friends and family to view. However, even then you might end up taking a photo you want to frame and display, so keep the resolution at its highest setting. To compensate for being able to store less pictures, consider buying a larger storage card. Once you get used to your new toy…er.. tool, and you learn more about digital photography, try using the RAW setting. There is a whole new learning curve involved with RAW.

Check the composition and camera settings.

2. Selecting a Subject: Think about every photo before you press the shutter button. Consider who or what you intend to photograph and look at the surroundings. Decide how your subject will be affected by those surroundings. Perhaps you will want to move the subject to improve the shot. If you intend to capture more than one subject in a single photo, you may want to ask yourself if you’d be doing the subjects better justice by shooting them individually in greater detail.

3. Finding an Angle: As mentioned above, think about the photo you are about to capture. To take artistic photographs, try unusual angles that offer a unique perspective of your subject matter. For instance, you may want get lower by crouching down or putting your camera on the ground and point the camera upward when taking your photo. Or, conversely, find a higher perch to get that creative angle. Move around. You will surprise yourself at how much this will improve your photos.

4. Planning Your Composition: When planning your composition ask yourself what the main focus of your photo is. Decide where you want the subject positioned—in the center, off to the side, or at the top or bottom of the photo. Decide how much background you want to reveal in proportion to your subject. Take into account the lighting. Remember that your eyes see things much differently than the camera lens. So practice in different lighting situations and take mental note of what works best. In fact practice is the best teacher. You might even carry a notebook in your camera bag to record your successes and no-so successes so you can repeat or delete certain techniques. Keeping notes and referring back to them will exponentially increase what you learn about digital photography.

5. Fill the Frame: A great digital photo makes use of the whole frame. When you look through the lens or view the LCD of a digital camera, take the whole picture in visually. Is that what you want when you process your photo? Images and detail that are well distributed throughout the frame make for an interesting photograph. Filling the frame does not mean to fill it with clutter and distracting elements, rather fill it with your intended subject. A little thought before pressing the shutter button can save you much disappointment when you get back to your computer to view your images.

6. Compensate for Lighting With the White Balance Setting: Digital cameras have an automatic default white balance setting, which sometimes results in pictures that lack vibrancy. If you are using the JPEG quality setting, make sure you select the proper scene. You may be able to choose from a wide variety of scenes, or maybe just a few, but make sure you use these settings to get the right color. Cameras may make the wrong choice for you when left on auto. You may also take some artsy photos by choosing the incorrect white balance or scene setting. Again, practice and experiment. One of the joys of that you will learn about digital photography (if you have not already) is that you don’t have to pay for mistakes as you do with film. So take lots of photos. This will help you to become much more confident in your ability, as well as being comfortable with your individual camera.

7. Capturing Motion: A wonderful way to capture a moving object against a stagnant background is to force your digital camera’s shutter to remain open for a couple of extra seconds. The effect is softly flowing, slow motion. You may want to set your camera on a tripod or on a solid surface for this one. It works really well with waterfalls.

8. Use Filters for Fun and Creativity: Filters can be attached to your lens for many different reasons. Purchasing a polarizing filter for your digital camera will not only help you reduce glare, but it will also enable you to minimize unwanted reflections. Polarizing filters create more saturated color, especially in your outdoor pictures. There are also Neutral Density filters that help to with very diverse lighting. And then there are a bunch of creative filters for changing colors, taking infrared photos, and whatever else floats your boat.

9. Post Processing: One sad thing you have to accept as you learn about digital photography is that you will make mistakes. If you take a bad shot, don’t fret. There is always a computer waiting to help. This is a whole separate topic, but just know that even poorly composed or exposed photos are not necessarily a lost cause. As you work with your camera, your photo’s composition won’t always turn out like you planned, sometimes you’ll want to use a photo editing program like Adobe® Photoshop® to frame the best part of the picture and crop out the rest. You can also fix over or under exposed photos, poor white balance, and practically everything else.

10. Change Lenses: Maybe this should have been number one. It’s probably why you got your camera in the first place. Don’t forget it. Changing the lens changes a lot about the end result. Don’t be intimidated by the technology. Use it. And don’t be afraid to use different lenses for the same shot just to see what the differences are. For instance, use your wide angle lens to take a close up shot instead of the macro lens.

Check out the links on the right. There are some really awesome and helpful web sites listed to assist you in your quest for digital photo knowledge. Actually there is one that promise that you can learn about digital photography in 14 days (or your money back, of course).

Learn To Take Better Pictures » digital photo tips

Three Elements of Digital Photography Using a DSLR Camera

Learn About Digital Photography – Techniques for Beginning DSLR Photographers

Digital SLR cameras are amazing tools.