Beyond Phototips

If you know what you like to shoot and what you are really good at Photographing, you also have to know the kind of photography in which you can make money. Identify branches of photography where you need to develop your Photographic talent to enable you to make money to sustain a career in photography.

The area where you make money, may not be the branch of photography dearest to your heart! When you make enough money … you can shoot to your hearts desire!

Happy Shooting…

Work towards knowing where your talent (If not your Genius) lies in photography.

Decide what you like to shoot. It may be Birds … Historical Ruins … the Female Form … Portraits; or any one of the good subjects you have around you!

Next… decide what you are really good at shooting! Like Portraits … if you can capture the incredible range of emotions on the Human Face … or may be the real beauty of the human Form.

What ever it is, know what you like to shoot and what you are really good at photographing … and know the difference.

Happy Shooting!

To the enthusiast Photography can either be a serious hobby or a profession possibility. Whatever the status of Photography in your life, know the power of Creativity that this form of ‘Art’ places in your ‘Hands’.

You will do well to give Photography its due importance and study and practice systematically.

Happy Hunting!

Very often, when you are taking photographs of a subject with an element or translucence (Like flowers, fruits and vegetables or maybe even a dragonfly on a twig!) you may want to give some light from behind the subject. This is to add life to the translucent nature of the subject and to bring out vibrant colours that have to be highlighted in the picture.

Of course you will have your main light source. Backlighting may be done by using a reflector or deflecting surface to backlight the subject. A ‘Kicker’ or light from behind the subject may also be used.

You will do well to avoid flare caused by the kicker’s light coming onto the lens. You can do this by using a lens hood or black cardboard as ‘cutters’ to block the light from falling directly on the lens.

Happy Shooting!

You are a photographer, so remember that you have a powerful tool of creativity in your hands… the camera! Try to create a masterpiece every time you click. Take the composition and balance in your photographs seriously. Follow the Great Masters of painting Rembrandt… Renoir… Rubens… Da Vinci (every painting was carefully composed in sketches, and thought out a great deal.) and I’m sure you will turn out masterpieces as well.

Happy Shooting!

by Ben McLeod

If you want the sharpest pictures that your lens can give you, remember not to use its largest and smallest apertures. Most lenses are optimised to be used in the f/5.6 - f/11 aperture range and give their best performance when stopped down a couple of f-stops from the widest aperture or opened up from the smallest aperture.

The problem with using small aperture sizes is that light waves are affected due to diffraction and though you have great depth of field, you lose out on sharpness.

Large apertures are great for low-light, but unless you have an exceptional, lens its just too difficult to produce lenses that are razor sharp at it’s widest aperture.

There are always exceptions and some lenses made by Carl-Zeiss and Leica are just as sharp at f/2.8 (or f/1.8 as the case may be), as they are at f/5.6.

Marvels of science, that’s what they are.

by creativity+

Flare is a kind of haze often caused by light falling directly on the lens from behind or around the subject. This light may be direct or deflected. Flare may also be caused by light deflecting off fog, smog or dust in the atmosphere. It is more pronounced if it is caused by the position of the main light source. Unless this haze is intentional you may want to recognize and eliminate Flare!

Happy Shooting!

by birdyboo

Remember to be aware of and study the main source of light. The main source of light may be a direct source of light, sunlight deflecting from a wall or sunlight diffused by clouds. If the key light is directly behind, or not more than 55 degrees to the right or left of the camera, the image and colours will be clearer. Also, do not forget that ‘Head on’ lighting is flat and uninteresting! Light at 45 degrees to the subject would be more interesting in most cases!

Happy Shooting!

Remember that when light hits the subject ‘Head on’, more often than not, the lighting is flat and uninteresting. You may want to place the subject so light falls on it from one side. This may cause shadows on the opposite side you may want to deal with. However, lighting a subject from different angles and the consequent shadows are more interesting than flat head on lighting.

You will do well to experiment with light from different angles! Happy Shooting!

More Tiny Tips here.

by David

The earlier two tips were about attributes of light that may well be avoided. Here is one aspect of light that you would do well to utilise constructively.

While a light source from behind the camera helps you take sharp and colourful photographs, light from behind the subject may help you take pictures with spectacular highlights, especially when shot against darker backgrounds.

So, when you are taking photographs with the light source from behind the subject look out for the highlights on the subject . . . it may be on the hair of the person or on the dew drops on a leaf or flower! Make sure you notice it and capture it in your photograph! You may want to open up a stop or two to make the highlights even more spectacular and the shadows on the front of the subject a little lighter!

More Tiny Tips here.