I have learned so much about photography since my early days of photographing my wife. No, don't even ask. I used to think I had all the answers. Just pick myself up the latest and greatest camera and I was off to the races. Then I couldn't understand why my photos looked like garbage. Well, I quickly learned that it's all about lighting. I don't care how great your camera is. If you don't have sufficient lighting, your photos are only going to be so good. This article is going to give you some personal tips that I've picked up over the years that have greatly helped me make the most of my digital photos.
For starters, the time of day when you take your photos greatly matters. There is a huge difference between natural sunlight and the light that comes from your halogen lamps or whatever source it is that you're using. For example, I can take a photo inside my living room, with absolutely no lights on at all, just the window shades wide open, and end up with crystal clear photos. This will be true with the cheapest digital camera all the way to the most expensive top of the line model. As a matter of fact, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two as long as the megapixels of each are about the same. Natural daylight does wonders for your photos.
Okay, but what if you're taking photos at night? Well, then you're going to have to depend on good lighting. The flash of your digital camera, especially if it's a built in flash, is only going to do so much. Many times, with poor lighting, you'll end up with photos that are either very dark or grainy or both. This is what used to drive me crazy with my early photos. What I have found is that halogen lights are great if you simply want photos that are bright and crystal clear. If they're white halogen, don't expect very soft or colorful photos as the white light kind of washes them out. But they will be bright and clear. Just make sure the light is focused on the subject from the side. Either side will be fine. Anything but directly behind as the light will end up in the line of site of the photo. You don't want that.
If you want softer photos, you need different color lights. There's a resource in my signature that goes into all that stuff. You can read my review of it at my blog.
I never used to like taking photos. But these days, taking great looking photos is a breeze.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Tricks with Filter, Flash and Zoom
Sometimes you have to make do with what you have. Not everybody has the latest equipment or the coolest toys. Fear not. You can actually take some really great photos without being a pro and have the best of the best. I'm known as a real cheap skate and yet I still take photos that are crystal clear and sharp as a tack. Just take a look at the photo of me at this directory. That was done with a cheap $99 camera and no flash. This article is going to give you some tricks you can use to get some really nice effects.
The first one is for shooting photos outdoors in the bright sunlight. As you know, bright sunlight can really play havoc on your photos because of the glare. In these cases, it's best to use a polarizing filter. The problem is, these filters aren't cheap and some digital cameras don't come equipped to handle filters. So what do you do? I got a simple and cheap solution for you. Get yourself a cheap pair of sunglasses, ala ZZ Top fame, and place them over the lens before you take the photo. Instant polarizing filter and you'll get some really great shots.
Here's another cool one that you'll like. Have you ever considered taking photos outdoors and using your flash? You can do this. Yeah, I know, most cameras are defaulted to using flash only when you need it. But this can be overridden in many cameras. If you manually take control over using your flash, you can use it any time you like, even outdoors. This can produce some really cool effects, either by placing your subject out in the glaring sun or in the shade. You will notice a kind of a shine to your photos. Try it sometime.
My last cool trick for this article is on close up shots. This is where thinking outside the box can really come in handy. There is a world out there that most people never take the time to explore. It's no wonder with how chaotic our lives can be. But one day, do yourself a favor. Go out to your backyard and start digging through the dirt, plants, weeds, whatever. Activate your zoom and start taking photos of nature. You'll be taking photographs that will look as professional as some of the great nature photographers of our time...even with a cheap $99 camera.
These are just a few of the many great things you can do with a cheap digital camera and some ingenuity.
The first one is for shooting photos outdoors in the bright sunlight. As you know, bright sunlight can really play havoc on your photos because of the glare. In these cases, it's best to use a polarizing filter. The problem is, these filters aren't cheap and some digital cameras don't come equipped to handle filters. So what do you do? I got a simple and cheap solution for you. Get yourself a cheap pair of sunglasses, ala ZZ Top fame, and place them over the lens before you take the photo. Instant polarizing filter and you'll get some really great shots.
Here's another cool one that you'll like. Have you ever considered taking photos outdoors and using your flash? You can do this. Yeah, I know, most cameras are defaulted to using flash only when you need it. But this can be overridden in many cameras. If you manually take control over using your flash, you can use it any time you like, even outdoors. This can produce some really cool effects, either by placing your subject out in the glaring sun or in the shade. You will notice a kind of a shine to your photos. Try it sometime.
My last cool trick for this article is on close up shots. This is where thinking outside the box can really come in handy. There is a world out there that most people never take the time to explore. It's no wonder with how chaotic our lives can be. But one day, do yourself a favor. Go out to your backyard and start digging through the dirt, plants, weeds, whatever. Activate your zoom and start taking photos of nature. You'll be taking photographs that will look as professional as some of the great nature photographers of our time...even with a cheap $99 camera.
These are just a few of the many great things you can do with a cheap digital camera and some ingenuity.
3 Most Critical Items for Digital Photography
Believe it or not, unless you've got a real high end camera, the most important thing to taking quality digital photos is lighting. Have you ever taken photos with a fair to poor digital camera and yet had such great lighting that the photos came out great? I have. As a matter of fact, when I had my Mustek, I found that setting up some killer lighting made that camera sing. But take the lighting away and you ended up with the most grainy and color washed out photos you can imagine. Lighting made all the difference. That's why I put that on the top of the list, even above the camera itself. So if you're on a limited budget and can't afford a great camera, make sure you have enough light.
Next to lighting is of course the camera itself. Naturally, the better the camera, the better the quality of the photos. The problem is, how do you know what a great camera is? You can't just go by megapixels because each manufacturer has a different method by which they're represented. So a camera with 8 megapixels may actually not be as good in quality as a camera by another manufacturer with 6 megapixels. So do yourself a favor, read as many unbiased reviews of each camera you're thinking of buying. How can you tell an unbiased review? It's one where there's no affiliate link to the camera itself.
Finally, there is the skill of the photographer. Sadly, this is not something you can buy in a box. It's funny the things that I take for granted now, having taken photographs for so long. Things like centering your subject. I've seen some of my friends take photos where the subject is all the way to the left of the photo. It's almost criminal. Skill is something I picked up over time, however, it is something you can learn.
Below you'll find a review of a great book that will have you taking digital photos of great quality in no time. I wish this book had come out when I first started. It would have saved me a lot of time and effort.
Anyway, these are the three most critical items for quality digital photos.
At least two of them you can actually buy...Wait, make that three.
Next to lighting is of course the camera itself. Naturally, the better the camera, the better the quality of the photos. The problem is, how do you know what a great camera is? You can't just go by megapixels because each manufacturer has a different method by which they're represented. So a camera with 8 megapixels may actually not be as good in quality as a camera by another manufacturer with 6 megapixels. So do yourself a favor, read as many unbiased reviews of each camera you're thinking of buying. How can you tell an unbiased review? It's one where there's no affiliate link to the camera itself.
Finally, there is the skill of the photographer. Sadly, this is not something you can buy in a box. It's funny the things that I take for granted now, having taken photographs for so long. Things like centering your subject. I've seen some of my friends take photos where the subject is all the way to the left of the photo. It's almost criminal. Skill is something I picked up over time, however, it is something you can learn.
Below you'll find a review of a great book that will have you taking digital photos of great quality in no time. I wish this book had come out when I first started. It would have saved me a lot of time and effort.
Anyway, these are the three most critical items for quality digital photos.
At least two of them you can actually buy...Wait, make that three.
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