Making the most of your camera
THEY say, ‘all good things must come to an end’, can you believe how time flies and this is week 16 of my ‘ Tips Page’.
As our world comes back to some sense of normality, my routine is now going to change to sport and other outdoor activities over the weekends.
I have really enjoyed writing my tips page and have received some really wonderful feedback. Hopefully I have helped with some of those thorny photographic issues in a day to day language.
So this week I’m going to try and condense 15 weeks of tips into one article! A tough call but I’ll see what I can do. Here goes….
In week 1 we concentrated on the basics, the first being focus. Focus may seem like a very basic point but it is essential. Every time I make an image I focus making sure the part of the image I want in focus, is. This is the SUBJECT of your picture. For people using camera phones, touch the screen at the point you want to focus on. This will focus on your subject and bring up other options as well. Focusing and the 3F’s Simple, but Very Important · Focus. You decide on your point of focus not the camera. Select single point focusing in the menu of your camera. This point can be altered but for the moment please select the centre point.
· Half press the shutter release button and focus on your subject.
· Do not let the pressure off the shutter release button. By doing this your lens will remain on the original point you focused on even if you move. Frame:
· By framing I mean that you move the camera (slightly) to position your subject where you want them in the frame.
· You must not move forward or backwards, keep in the same plane as when you focused. This is very important. If you have a focus lock button on your DSLR or digital compact camera you can also use this facility. Some lenses have this facility also.
Fire:
· When you are sure that you are happy with the composition of your image gently press the shutter release button without making sudden movements or changing the framing of your subject.
Week 2 we concentrated on basic composition techniques discussing the most common error, usually made when people are making portraits. Can you guess what it is? Yes, the head of the person is usually centered with loads of empty space to the top of the picture or worse still the subject ends up with the top of his or her head cut off!!!
I think the best way to remedy this is to slow down slightly and think about your image.
The rule that most artists and landscape photographers use is ‘ The Rule of Thirds’. This means that we divide our image into three horizontal parts and three vertical parts. Where the lines intersect, we call them power points or points of interest. These are good positions to place something of interest, something important in the image. It doesn’t mean you have to put something of interest in each point but some.
Week 3 we looked at some technical issues, one being exposure and controlling it on both phone and DSLR. When I’m making an image on my phone, I firstly touch the point I want in focus and that starts the ball rolling. Next, I look at the exposure, basically is the image too bright or too dark. The secret to a great image is to have as much detail as possible in your highlights (Bright areas), mid tones and shadows (Dark areas). If you now touch a light area on your image the phone will expose or adjust the image to suit that particular area.
The EV Button (Exposure Value or Exposure Compensation Button) on your DSLR will do the same job for you in adjusting the exposure.
Week 4 aperture and its effect was the topic. This is one area where some people get a headache just thinking about it! Basically an aperture is an opening, something similar to a tap. Aperture controls the amount of light going through the lens and is measured in f numbers, also creating different Depth of Fields. ‘Depth of Field is how much in front and behind your subject (the part of the image you focused on) appears in focus. Therefore a small f stop number has small Depth of Field (DOF) and a large f stop number has large DOF’.
Week 5 saw us explore shutter speed. Here is a guide (Rule of Thumb) I use on a day to day basis:
To show movement us a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second or slower.
To stop movement us a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second or faster.
For general images where there is no major movement, such as a family occasion use 1/125th or 1/250th of a second.
Week 6 and 7 we reviewed items and discussed quality between camera phones and DSLRs. In week 8 ‘Portraiture’ was out topic. Here are a few items: Backgrounds….. Most people will stand their subject directly against a wall or Granny’s floral curtains. By doing this we tend to make the background as important as the subject, which is not what we want to do normally but on occasions we may want that. This is something I’ll talk about later in this article.
Another thing to watch out for as well is perspective. The lenses on phones tend to be wide angle. These lenses distort, especially if they are used too close to the subject or at an angle either looking down on a person or looking up at a person.
If you look down on a person from a height, such as a child you make the head of the subject larger than the body and if you go too close this distorts the features. So, not the best look in the world.
Portrait photography can sometimes be described as a ‘dialogue’ between the subject and the photographer. Sometimes it’s the strongest character that wins, whether it be the photographer, getting the image he or she wants or vice versa.
The best portraits for me are when both meet in the middle and both subject and photographer win with a great image.
The later weeks we looked at film versus digital and black and white. Drone photography was discussed in Week 10, then to the holy grail for many photographers ‘Manual Mode’.
What tips have I got to assist you in transferring to Manual Mode? When I’m about to cover an assignment I set my camera before I start, just as I’m leaving my car. I decide what type of pictures I’m hoping to make and set my camera accordingly.
This helps eliminate possible errors that could happen if you get nervous. (Note: If you are any way nervous and think you might forget settings, write them down on a piece of card and have them in your camera bag).
Other subjects discussed were white balance, colour and how to use it well finishing up with holiday pictures and lastly using filters.
Thank you so much for reading the articles and for your feedback. I’ve included some images that I’ve really enjoyed making from last year.
As with every week I’ll finish with ‘Enjoy your camera and STAY SAFE’. Ken