Digital Photography

Digital Photography Tips 1

Photographing Sunsets

Sometimes the camera's settings can give you pretty average results. Set the cameras exposure compensation to -1 stop. Or, a Neutral Density filter will reduce the light coming through. Try using Manual White Balance or test the other White Balance setting such as indoors. Use a tripod and lengthen the exposure times or shutter speeds.

Night Time Photos

At night time try shooting before it gets fully dark - at twilight or pre-dawn, for example. Use a tripod of course because of camera shake and because you will be using slower shutter speeds. Experiment as much as you like - it is not expensive film. Use a portable hard drive to store your pictures on if you want. That is what I do.

Still Life Digital Photography

Strong flat light from above and a clean white background give you very good results. A jury-rigged home studio is pretty easy to set up. The key is lighting but also you need to use a tripod. Get and table and some type of background made out of paper or cardboard or some cloth materials like dark velvet. For lighting use natural light from windows. Bounce light using reflectors. To bring out string colors sometimes a black background works very well. Overcast days will give you a nice flat light. If you use household lights, make sure you do a manual white balance. Maybe try an outdoor security light and bounce it off the roof or the wall, or a reflector. Beware of wall colors because it will reflect the color of the wall.

wide angle lenses

We use wide angle lenses to get more in the picture. That is the usual use for the wide angle lens. But the wide angle lens has a big effect on the look of the picture. The wide angle lens exaggerates depth. Far things seem further away and that means that the perspectives are distorted. Try to experiment with a wide angle lens for a day and then have a good look at your pictures to understand what wide angle does to your pictures.

What filters should i use with a wide angle zoom lens?
If you go wider then you get more in the picture - more subjects and more sky. You can use a polarising filter or a neutral density filter with a gradient that will darken down the sky. Sometimes you can use it as an effect say some sort of foreshortening perspective effect. Wide angle is not very flattering for portraits because it may make the model's nose bigger for example.

Do you need a wide angle lens for landscape photography?
You will get a look that exaggerates the depth and focuses the different layers such as foreground, middle ground, and background. Maybe you could use a 200 mm lens or a telephoto lens and try those lenses out.

Home Studio Portraits

Forget about on camera flash - the harsh directional light shows every flaw and blemish, it creates bad shadows, and gives you that nasty red-eye. Studio photographers use separate lights softened with soft diffusing filters or gels. At home you can use natural light from a window and a reflector to get side fill lighting. Do not use the wide angle lens. Use a zoom lens to about half way to get less depth of field and use the widest aperture. Take lots of shots. Try putting the eyes in a thirds compositional line.

Long Exposures

Short exposures in digital photography capture a fraction so you do not get blurring. Maybe you might want blur or movement. Usually you use long exposures because there is not enough light. Make sure that you use a tripod or some kind of camera support. Longer exposures are good from capturing night time lights, or moving water. Exposures of a few seconds let you capture the trails of car headlights on a busy night time city street. You can use a self timer to avoid bumping the camera when you press the shutter. There also may be a night time mode on your camera.