• Your “studio” can be a table, countertop, floor, or any surface that allows you to arrange your subject. It should have ample amount of natural light (diffused) and have enough room to allow you to add light and reflectors as needed.
• Tripod, extra light sources (see below) shutter release (or shutter delay feature on your camera)
• Your subject. For practice it can be just about anything that will sit still!
• Look at your subject from all angles, paying attention to shadows coming from the subject or being cast onto the subject.
• Look at your subject through your camera lens from different angles, heights and distances. Paying attention to the same things listed above.
• Take a bunch of shots and dump them to your computer. Delete the ones you dislike. Pick your favorite shots and study them. What angle, height, and distance did you shoot from? (a notebook works great here!)
• Critique them for lighting. Would it help to add light from any angle?
• Repeat this process at different times of the day to change natural light or add or subtract light with camera flashes (off the camera set to slave mode), desk lamps, flashlights, etc. ()Don't be afraid to try different lights!) Use household objects to reflect light – White dinner plates, sheets of paper, aluminum foil, etc…
• Take more shots with added light, reflectors and angles. Dump them to your computer and critique them. The beauty of Digital Cameras is that you are limited by memory storage only! Pick your favorites and delete the rest!
• Last thing to remember is to remember! Remember the setup that works best for you and use it again!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Adventures in choosing a camera
When deciding to buy a digital camera, there are three basic factors.
Cost - What is your budget? There is countless choices for "point and shoot" cameras under $300 (these days there are countless choices under $125). Above $300 you can get into the DSLR (digital single lens reflex) cameras, all the way up to the $10,000 and above range for Professionals (if your in that category, you are way past this blog)! All of the online buying websites allow you to sort by price. Start there with how much you can afford to spend, then use some of the information that follows to help you narrow down your choices.
Memory - Megapixels and Megabits are the two things to consider. First, lets talk Megapixels. Megapixels represent the resolution of the camera you choose. These days, 10 megapixel cameras are the norm. The higher the megapixels, the higher the resolution and the better the picture will look when enlarging. You can safely print a 10 megapixel image up to and over 8 inches by 10 inches and larger. Megabits are inportant on the computer that you plan on storing your pictures on. If you choose a 10 megapixel camera, your pictures will fill up a hard drive very quickly unless you have a very large hard drive (1 or 2 terabyte hard drives are inexpensive to add to your computer these days).
Camera features - Most point and shoot cameras have a slew of pre-set shot conditions from portrait, to macro, to outdoors, to action, to night, to sunny or cloudy settings. These settings are preset to shutter speed, aperature and Depth of Focus to help you get the best picture for a specified condition. Point and shoots allow you to get a good shot quickly. An important feature to consider is zoom. There are two types of zoom that you need to know about. The first, Mechanical zoom, is the most important. Mechanical zoom (also known as optical zoom) is performed using a series of lenses. Once you reach the maximum optical zoom limit, digital zoom kicks in. The problem with digital zoom is that it is the equivalent to using photo editing software to zoom into a picture and cropping it. Digital zoom will degrade the image you are capturing.
Cost - What is your budget? There is countless choices for "point and shoot" cameras under $300 (these days there are countless choices under $125). Above $300 you can get into the DSLR (digital single lens reflex) cameras, all the way up to the $10,000 and above range for Professionals (if your in that category, you are way past this blog)! All of the online buying websites allow you to sort by price. Start there with how much you can afford to spend, then use some of the information that follows to help you narrow down your choices.
Memory - Megapixels and Megabits are the two things to consider. First, lets talk Megapixels. Megapixels represent the resolution of the camera you choose. These days, 10 megapixel cameras are the norm. The higher the megapixels, the higher the resolution and the better the picture will look when enlarging. You can safely print a 10 megapixel image up to and over 8 inches by 10 inches and larger. Megabits are inportant on the computer that you plan on storing your pictures on. If you choose a 10 megapixel camera, your pictures will fill up a hard drive very quickly unless you have a very large hard drive (1 or 2 terabyte hard drives are inexpensive to add to your computer these days).
Camera features - Most point and shoot cameras have a slew of pre-set shot conditions from portrait, to macro, to outdoors, to action, to night, to sunny or cloudy settings. These settings are preset to shutter speed, aperature and Depth of Focus to help you get the best picture for a specified condition. Point and shoots allow you to get a good shot quickly. An important feature to consider is zoom. There are two types of zoom that you need to know about. The first, Mechanical zoom, is the most important. Mechanical zoom (also known as optical zoom) is performed using a series of lenses. Once you reach the maximum optical zoom limit, digital zoom kicks in. The problem with digital zoom is that it is the equivalent to using photo editing software to zoom into a picture and cropping it. Digital zoom will degrade the image you are capturing.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Aputure Pro Coworker Wireless Remote shutter release is what I use when I want stable, vibration free shots. This unit attaches to the Hot Shoe on my EOS Rebel XS and allows me to use my tripod for very stable zoomed in shots. This remote actually has a range of approximately 50 feet! When shooting zoomed or closeup shots, I will use the Mirror Lockup setting on my camera as well. Mirror Lockup moves the camera's internal Through the Lens (TTL) mirror into the exposure position prior to opening the exposure shutter. By using Mirror Lockup, you can eliminate the small vibration that can ruin details in your picture.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
How I took this shot -
First and foremost! Find a location that is away from city lights. Believe it or not, at night, street lights, house lights, car lights, flash lights, etc. affect your exposure!
Equipment used -
Canon EOS Rebel XS
Canon 75~300 MM Zoom at 300 MM
Tripod for stability
Program Mode (let Camera select aperature, shutter speed and film speed)
Advanced Camera settings - Mirror Lockup
After processing - Picasa to eliminate some of the noise in the dark sky.
Welcome to MR Photography Simplified!
I will endeavor to explain Photography tips in everyday terms and examples, so that even the beginning photographer can learn and grow. I have considered myself a "beginning" photographer for years, and recently realised that I did so, because I spent too much time trying to figure out what expert photographers were trying to teach me. It's my hope that by simplifying lessons that I have learned, you learn something and I reinforce what I know on the subject of Photography.
Topics I will discuss soon are -
What are Mega pixels? F-stops? Why film speed for a digital camera?
Advanced camera settings for beginners
Composing a shot, Back lighting, Front lighting
Landscape photography, People photography, Night Photography
Leave me a message on a topic you want explained and I will research it, simplify it and Blog it!
Welcome and enjoy!
Topics I will discuss soon are -
What are Mega pixels? F-stops? Why film speed for a digital camera?
Advanced camera settings for beginners
Composing a shot, Back lighting, Front lighting
Landscape photography, People photography, Night Photography
Leave me a message on a topic you want explained and I will research it, simplify it and Blog it!
Welcome and enjoy!
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