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Picture Of The Month
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| What Is The Most Important Photography Element? |
| The most important element to many great photographs is the lighting. Warmth, depth, texture, form, contrast, and color are all dramatically affected by the angle of the sunlight, and thus the time of day. Shooting at the optimum time is often the biggest difference between an 'amateur' and a 'professional' shot.
In the early morning and late afternoon, when the sun is low, the light is gold and orange, giving your shot the warmth of a log fire. Professional photographers call these the 'magic hours' and most movies and magazine shots are made during this brief time. It takes extra planning, but saving your photography for one hour after sunrise, or one to two hours before sunset, will add stunning warmth to your shots.
Plan Your Day
Assuming a sunrise at 6am and sunset at 7pm, and that your spouse/kids/friends suddenly give you the reverence and servility you so obviously deserve, a good day might be:
5am: Pre-dawn: A pink, ethereal light and dreamy mist for lakes, rivers and landscapes.
6-7am: Dawn: Crisp, golden light for east-facing subjects.
7am-10am: Early morning: The city comes to life; joggers in the park.
10-2pm: Midday: The sun is too harsh for landscapes and people, but perfect for monuments, buildings & streets with tall buildings.
2pm-4pm: Afternoon: Deep blue skies with a polarizer.
4pm-6:45pm: Late Afternoon: Terrific warm, golden light on west-facing subjects. Best time for landscapes and people, particularly one hour before sunset.
6:45 - 7:30pm: Sunset: Great skies 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after sunset.
7:30-8pm: Dusk is great for skylines, while there¹s still a purple color to the sky.
9pm: Night shots, or go to bed - you¹ve got to be up early tomorrow! |
| How Can I Take Good Photos In Museums And Cathedrals? |
Get a Good External Flash
If you use a standard point-and-shoot with a built-in flash, you'll soon realize that its not sufficient for these type of photographs. Hence, the number one tip I can give about taking good pictures inside museums or cathedrals? Get a good external flash unit.
Good enthusiast digital cameras (e.g. the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20) will have a hot shoe onto which you can fit an external flash. An external flash unit allows you to throw light 75 feet away, and are much better for illuminating scenes like this. The external flash unit I use with my Panasonic FZ-20 is the Sunpak 383 Super Flash shown below.
No Flash Photography Allowed?
One big problem with shooting indoor tourist locations like cathedrals is that flash photography is often not allowed. Why so, you might ask? Well, flash photography might disturb other visitors, or ruin the serenity of the location. The powerful flashes might also cause cause to ancient materials.
My advice is to learn how to turn off your flash before you step inside the museum or cathedral. Most digital cameras allow you to completely disable the flash by cycling though its various settings until you reach an icon that has a slash through the flash symbol.
Bring Along Your Tripod
Now, assuming no flash can be used - how can you still take a good photo of such museums or cathedrals? Well, here’s another tip - bring along a tripod. Even a small, lightweight tripod is enough to stabilize your camera for the long exposure you'll need.
Remember that to shoot under low-light conditions, you will need to set the camera shutter speed to be very slow (e.g. from 1 to 8 seconds). You can't possible hold the camera steady by hand for that long - hence the need for a tripod.
If full-size tripods aren't permitted, you can try propping yourself against a wall or doorway to keep the camera steady. Set the camera to its highest ISO level (making the camera sensor more sensitive to light) and keep shooting.
Another option is to buy a tiny tabletop tripod - the type with finger-length, flexible legs. You can use it to hold the camera firmly against a wall, doorway, or some other vertical surface while you take a long exposure. The authorities should not mind since you won't be obstructing corridors when you do that.
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| Can You Give Me Some Suggestions For Shooting Great Landscape Photos? |
Tip 1: Bring a Tripod
Always bring a tripod if you plan on shooting landscapes. Even if the day is sunny, you may need to use a small aperture to achieve a great depth of field. In such cases, you may be using a low shutter speed – which leads to camera shake if you can’t hold the camera stable in your hands. Hence the need for a tripod. If you need a good travel tripod, I recommend the Vanguard Tourist-2 – I’ve used it for years and it functions very well.
Tip 2: Cable Release
One good tip is to carry a cable release. Instead of using the timer function on the camera, use the cable release. This ensures that you can trigger the shutter at precisely the right timing. In turn, this leads to reduced camera shake and a more beautiful photo.
Tip 3: Use the Right Filters
Filters are important when taking landscape photos. There are different types of filters that I use – polarizers, neutral density filters and graduated neutral density filters.
Polarizers are useful for reducing glare from water and other reflective surfaces. These create a more well-balanced and beautiful picture.
Neutral density filters will stop a specified amount of light entering the camera. I tend to use these for shooting waterfalls on a sunny day.
Graduated neutral density filters are a slight variation of this – they are dark on top and clear on the bottom, creating a ‘gradual transition’ from the dark to clear area. These filters are good for blocking out bright parts of a scene (say the sky) to create a more evenly exposed picture.
Tip 4: Research the Landscape
One thing to do before taking landscape photos is to do some background research on the landscape. If you’re taking pictures of the Nigara Falls, or the Grand Canyon, try to do some background study on what the most scenic spots are.
It’s also good to check out the weather conditions of the place. Check up the papers – if the weather doesn’t look good, you may want to try shooting another day.
Tip 5: Lenses
For shooting landscape photos, it’s usually best to bring wide-angle lenses. I also bring along a telephoto lens in case I want to shot some creative, zoomed-in shots.
Tip 6: Composition
Another thing to remember is that composition rules are still important in landscape photos. Make sure you have something in the foreground, mid-ground and background.
Tip 7: Shoot at the Right Time
For landscape photography, one thing I realize is that you should avoid shooting during mid-day. There is a lot of harsh lighting and bad shadow effects during that period. Early morning or late afternoon tends to be best.
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Tip Of The Day:
It's the AMOUNT of light that counts: The interaction between the Aperture and the Shutter Speed determines the volume of light hitting the film. The aperture and shutter speed settings go in "opposite" directions. If you have a tiny opening, you need to have the shutter open a very long time to allow enough light in to properly expose the shot. Conversely, if you have a large opening, you need the shutter open for a short time to let in the right amount of light in to properly expose the shot.
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