1

Exposure Triangle – What

Shape is Yours?

The exposure triangle is the most important consideration you will make

when controlling your camera to shoot in manual

If you‟re already there and a pro with the triangle or just starting out, let‟s

talk about it! Of the three settings for perfect exposure – aperture, ISO and

shutter speed – what do you personally feel is the most essential and

important one to you? When you start to dial in your settings, which do you

always think of first?

I‟d say for me, control of ISO is probably the most important first step in my

exposure triangle. I hate shooting at high ISOs (I‟m a pixel peeper) so the

most important thing to me is keeping that as low as possible.

After that, I consider shutter speed. Because I mostly shoot kids – and kids

move fast – I have to keep my shutter speed above 100.

And this leaves me with aperture. Unless I‟m purposefully going for a certain

look which requires me to pay special consideration to my aperture, this

usually ends up being whatever it needs to be to complete a perfect exposure.

What about you? What order do you dial in your triangle?

So we probably all know about the exposure triangle by now. Pretty basic

stuff you learn when you‟re first getting into manual. And if you‟re just

learning, you may be wondering what the point is in obsessing over your ISO,

2

aperture and shutter speed. So indulge me as I explain the triangle sub-

headings:

{Aperture – Depth of Field} When I learned that there were lenses that were

„faster‟ than others (meaning the aperture can open widely), and that this was

required for good photos in low-light situations, I thought „great! problem

solved!‟ Well…problem NOT solved. Why? Because opening your 50mm

f/1.4 right up to 1.4 now causes issues with very shallow DOF (depth of

field). So if you‟re shooting a wedding, perhaps, and your plan is to just open

your aperture up, you better have a plan B. Because at some point, the groom

will be a smidge in front of the bride or the bride will be holding her boquet

in front of her and the focus will fall on the wrong thing. So simply opening

your aperture isn‟t going to be enough to leave you other settings as they

are. Point? When adjusting aperture, don’t just think ‘more light’, also

think ‘depth of field’.

{Shutter Speed – Sharpness} When first learning about the exposure

triangle, every setting was explained to me in terms of how it dealt with light:

aperture lets in more or less light, shutter speed lets it in longer or shorter,

and ISO is how sensitive the sensor is to light. But like in the example above,

there are other factors when considering your settings. With shutter speed, it

isn‟t only the length of time the shutter is open that you have to think about.

Particularly in low-light situations, using a too-slow shutter can cause camera

shake from your shaky hands or motion blur from moving subjects. And this

all leads to blurry photos, soft edges and no sharpness in sight. Inside, use as

fast a shutter as possible while still being slow enough to fit into your triangle.

And if you can, invest in lenses with IS (image stabilising) because this helps

you to create sharper photos when shooting at slower shutter speeds or long

3

focal lengths (far zoom) when your hands may be shaking. The short of it?

Shutter speed = sharpness.

{ISO – Grain} ISO can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It‟s the

setting I compromise on last and not if I can help it. I really hate noise. I‟m

learning not to pixel peep and LR3 is so much better at handling noise than

LR2 ever was. That said, just know that ISO isn‟t a magic triangle-balancing

number. You can‟t just whack it up to 3000 and forget about the rest. You

should know that higher ISO equals increasingly more noise/grain. And some

photographers add grain on purpose, particularly when shooting or editing in

B&W. Basically? High ISO = grain

Hopefully, expounding upon these other factors to think about when

choosing your manual settings will help you make more informed choices

and better photographs.

4

Introduction to Aperture in

Digital Photography

What is Aperture?

Put most simply – Aperture is „the size of the opening in the lens when a picture

is taken.‟

When you hit the shutter release button of your camera a hole opens up that

allows your cameras image sensor to catch a glimpse of the scene you want to

capture. The aperture that you set impacts the size of that hole. The larger the

hole, the more light that gets in – the smaller the hole, the less light.

Aperture is measured in „f-stops‟. You‟ll often see them referred to here at Digital

Photography School as f/number – for example f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6,f/8,f/22 etc.

Moving from one f-stop to the next doubles or halves the size of the amount of

opening in your lens (and the amount of light getting through). Keep in mind that

a change in shutter speed from one stop to the next doubles or halves the amount

of light that gets in also – this means if you increase one and decrease the other

you let the same amount of light in – very handy to keep in mind).

One thing that causes a lot of new photographers confusion is that large apertures

(where lots of light gets through) are given f/stop smaller numbers and smaller

apertures (where less light gets through) have larger f-stop numbers. So f/2.8 is in

fact a much larger aperture than f/22. It seems the wrong way around when you

first hear it but you‟ll get the hang of it.

5

Depth of Field and Aperture

There are a number of results of changing the aperture of your shots that you‟ll

want to keep in mind as you consider your setting but the most noticeable one

will be the depth of field that your shot will have.

Depth of Field (DOF) is that amount of your shot that will be in focus. Large

depth of field means that most of your image will be in focus whether it‟s close

to your camera or far away (like the picture to the left where both the foreground

and background are largely in focus – taken with an aperture of f/22).

Small (or shallow) depth of field means that only part of the image will be in

focus and the rest will be fuzzy (like in the flower at the top of this post (click to

enlarge). You‟ll see in it that the tips of the yellow stems are in focus but even

though they are only 1cm or so behind them that the petals are out of focus. This

is a very shallow depth of field and was taken with an aperture of f/4.5).

Aperture has a big impact upon depth of field. Large aperture (remember it‟s a

smaller number) will decrease depth of field while small aperture (larger numbers)

will give you larger depth of field.

It can be a little confusing at first but the way I remember it is that small numbers

mean small DOF and large numbers mean large DOF.

Let me illustrate this with two pictures I took earlier this week in my garden of

two flowers.

The first picture below (click them to enlarge) on the left was taken with an

aperture of f/22 and the second one was taken with an aperture of f/2.8. The

difference is quite obvious. The f/22 picture has both the flower and the bud in

6

focus and you‟re able to make out the shape of the fence and leaves in the

background.

The f/2.8 shot (2nd one) has the left flower in focus (or parts of it) but the depth

of field is very shallow and the background is thrown out of focus and the bud to

the right of the flower is also less in focus due to it being slightly further away

from the camera when the shot was taken.

The best way to get your head around aperture is to get your camera out and do

some experimenting. Go outside and find a spot where you‟ve got items close to

you as well as far away and take a series of shots with different aperture settings

from the smallest setting to the largest. You‟ll quickly see the impact that it can

have and the usefulness of being able to control aperture.

Some styles of photography require large depths of field (and small Apertures)

For example in most landscape photography you‟ll see small aperture settings

(large numbers) selected by photographers. This ensures that from the foreground

to the horizon is relatively in focus.

On the other hand in portrait photography it can be very handy to have your

subject perfectly in focus but to have a nice blurry background in order to ensure

that your subject is the main focal point and that other elements in the shot are not

distracting. In this case you‟d choose a large aperture (small number) to ensure a

shallow depth of field.

Macro photographers tend to be big users of large apertures to ensure that the

element of their subject that they are focusing in on totally captures the attention

of the viewer of their images while the rest of the image is completely thrown out

of focus.

7

Introduction to Shutter Speed

in Digital Photography

What is Shutter Speed?

As I‟ve written elsewhere, defined most basically – shutter speed is ‘the

amount of time that the shutter is open’.

In film photography it was the length of time that the film was exposed to the

scene you‟re photographing and similarly in digital photography shutter speed is

the length of time that your image sensor „sees‟ the scene you‟re attempting to

capture.

Let me attempt to break down the topic of “Shutter Speed” into some bite sized

pieces that should help digital camera owners trying to get their head around

shutter speed:

Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most cases fractions of seconds.

The bigger the denominator the faster the speed (ie 1/1000 is much faster than

1/30).

In most cases you’ll probably be using shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second

or faster. This is because anything slower than this is very difficult to use

without getting camera shake. Camera shake is when your camera is moving

while the shutter is open and results in blur in your photos.

If you’re using a slow shutter speed (anything slower than 1/60) you will

need to either use a tripod or some some type of image stabilization (more and

more cameras are coming with this built in).

8

Shutter speeds available to you on your camera will usually double

(approximately) with each setting. As a result you‟ll usually have the options

for the following shutter speeds – 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8 etc.

This „doubling‟ is handy to keep in mind as aperture settings also double the

amount of light that is let in – as a result increasing shutter speed by one stop and

decreasing aperture by one stop should give you similar exposure levels (but

we‟ll talk more about this in a future post).

Some cameras also give you the option for very slow shutter speeds that are

not fractions of seconds but are measured in seconds (for example 1 second, 10

seconds, 30 seconds etc). These are used in very low light situations, when you‟re

going after special effects and/or when you‟re trying to capture a lot of movement

in a shot. Some cameras also give you the option to shoot in „B‟ (or „Bulb‟) mode.

Bulb mode lets you keep the shutter open for as long as you hold it down.

When considering what shutter speed to use in an image you should always

ask yourself whether anything in your scene is moving and how you‟d like to

capture that movement. If there is movement in your scene you have the choice

of either freezing the movement (so it looks still) or letting the moving object

intentionally blur (giving it a sense of movement).

To freeze movement in an image (like in the surfing shot above) you‟ll want to

choose a faster shutter speed and to let the movement blur you‟ll want to choose a

slower shutter speed. The actual speeds you should choose will vary depending

upon the speed of the subject in your shot and how much you want it to be

blurred.

Motion is not always bad. I spoke to one digital camera owner last week

who told me that he always used fast shutter speeds and couldn‟t

understand why anyone would want motion in their images. There are

times when motion is good. For example when you‟re taking a photo of a

9

waterfall and want to show how fast the water is flowing, or when you‟re

taking a shot of a racing car and want to give it a feeling of speed, or when

you‟re taking a shot of a star scape and want to show how the stars move

over a longer period of time. In all of these instances choosing a longer

shutter speed will be the way to go. However in all of these cases you need

to use a tripod or you‟ll run the risk of ruining the shots by adding camera

movement (a different type of blur than motion blur).

Focal Length and Shutter Speed - another thing to consider when

choosing shutter speed is the focal length of the lens you‟re using. Longer

focal lengths will accentuate the amount of camera shake you have and so

you‟ll need to choose a faster shutter speed (unless you have image

stabilization in your lens or camera). The „rule‟ of thumb to use with focal

length in non image stabilized situations) is to choose a shutter speed with a

denominator that is larger than the focal length of the lens. For example if

you have a lens that is 50mm 1/60th is probably ok but if you have a

200mm lens you‟ll probably want to shoot at around 1/250.

Shutter Speed – Bringing it Together

Remember that thinking about Shutter Speed in isolation from the other two

elements of the Exposure Triangle (aperture and ISO) is not really a good idea.

As you change shutter speed you‟ll need to change one or both of the other

elements to compensate for it.

For example if you speed up your shutter speed one stop (for example from

1/125th to 1/250th) you‟re effectively letting half as much light into your camera.

To compensate for this you‟ll probably need to increase your aperture one stop

(for example from f16 to f11). The other alternative would be to choose a faster

ISO rating (you might want to move from ISO 100 to ISO 400 for example).

10

ISO Settings in Digital

Photography

What is ISO?

In traditional (film) photography ISO (or ASA) was the indication of how

sensitive a film was to light. It was measured in numbers (you‟ve probably

seen them on films – 100, 200, 400, 800 etc). The lower the number the lower

the sensitivity of the film and the finer the grain in the shots you‟re taking.

In Digital Photography ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor.

The same principles apply as in film photography – the lower the number the

less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain.

Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster

shutter speeds. For example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze

the action in lower light. However the higher the ISO you choose the noisier

shots you will get. I‟ll illustrate this below with two enlargements of shots

that I just took – the one on the left is taken at 100 ISO and the one of the

right at 3200 ISO (click to enlarge to see the full effect).

100 ISO is generally accepted as „normal‟ and will give you lovely crisp

shots (little noise/grain).

Most people tend to keep their digital cameras in „Auto Mode‟ where the

camera selects the appropriate ISO setting depending upon the conditions

you‟re shooting in (it will try to keep it as low as possible) but most cameras

also give you the opportunity to select your own ISO also.

11

When you do override your camera and choose a specific ISO you‟ll notice

that it impacts the aperture and shutter speed needed for a well exposed shot.

For example – if you bumped your ISO up from 100 to 400 you‟ll notice that

you can shoot at higher shutter speeds and/or smaller apertures.

Questions to Ask When Choosing ISO

When choosing the ISO setting I generally ask myself the following four

questions:

1. Light – Is the subject well lit?

2. Grain – Do I want a grainy shot or one without noise?

3. Tripod – Am I using a tripod?

4. Moving Subject – Is my subject moving or stationary?

If there is plenty of light, I want little grain, I‟m using a tripod and my subject

is stationary I will generally use a pretty low ISO rating.

If it‟s dark, I purposely want grain, I don‟t have a tripod and/or my subject is

moving I might consider increasing the ISO as it will enable me to shoot with

a faster shutter speed and still expose the shot well.

Of course the trade off of this increase in ISO will be noisier shots.

Situations where you might need to push ISO to higher settings include:

Indoor Sports Events – where your subject is moving fast yet you may have

limited light available.

12

Concerts – also low in light and often „no-flash‟ zones

Art Galleries, Churches etc- many galleries have rules against using a flash

and of course being indoors are not well lit.

Birthday Parties – blowing out the candles in a dark room can give you a

nice moody shot which would be ruined by a bright flash. Increasing the ISO

can help capture the scene.

ISO is an important aspect of digital photography to have an understanding

of if you want to gain more control of your digital camera. Experiment with

different settings and how they impact your images today – particularly learn

more about Aperture and Shutter Speed which with ISO are a part of the

Exposure Triangle.

13

How to Control Aperture and

Shutter Speed on an Entry

Level Point and Shoot Digital

Camera

Darren, thanks for your recent articles on aperture and shutter speed, they

were really interesting. My problem is that I have a point and shoot camera

that doesn’t have the ability to change aperture and shutter speed manually. I

would especially like to have more control of aperture and depth of field – is

there any way I can do this without upgrading my camera? Submitted by

Susan.

Good question Susan – it‟s one I‟ve had a few times of late so you‟re not

alone as a Point and Shoot user wanting more control over your settings.

Really you have two main options.

1. Upgrade your camera

The first of these options is probably ideal if you want real control over the

settings your camera uses for aperture and shutter speed. While you can do a

few things to „trick‟ your camera (see below) you‟ll be limited in the

exactness in the settings it will choose.

If you‟re looking to upgrade you‟ve got two main choices – a DSLR or

another point and shoot with more manual control (read this tutorial on

making the choice between DSLR and Point and Shoot cameras).

14

Probably the best bet if you‟re after complete control (in more than just

aperture and shutter speed) is to go for a DSLR which will let you add a

variety of lenses, shoot in full manual mode (in most cases) and have lots of

control over other elements such as ISO, white balance, exposure etc.

Alternatively look at a more advanced point and shoot. These days even some

of the more basic point and shoot cameras coming onto the market come with

manual or semi-manual control. If you go for a point and shoot look for

something that at least has aperture priority or shutter priority modes.

Of course this option is going to cost you financially. If you don‟t have the

budget for this – read on.

2. Learn to live with your point and shoot and learn how to ‘trick it’ into

doing what you want.

Ultimately you‟ve got a digital camera that was designed largely to be used in

Auto mode where it makes the decisions about what settings to choose.

Having said this – even the most basic entry level point and shoot digital

cameras these days come with a variety of shooting modes which give you

the photographer the ability to tell the camera what situation you‟re shooting

in and what type of photo you‟re hoping to take.

The most common shooting modes include „sports‟, „portrait‟, „landscape‟,

„macro‟, „movie‟.

Understanding and using these modes gives you a little more control over

settings like Aperture and Shutter Speed as each of them will trigger different

settings in your camera.

15

You write in your question that you‟d like more control over Aperture and

Depth of Field. I‟d encourage you to shoot in two modes – „Portrait‟ and

„Landscape‟.

If you’re looking for Shallow Depth of Field (i.e. your foreground and

background blurry) shoot in Portrait mode as this will trigger your camera to

choose a wider aperture.

If you’re looking for a wider depth of field (i.e. everything in focus) shoot

in Landscape mode where the camera selects small apertures in this mode.

If you’re looking for a fast shutter speed choose „Sports‟ mode as in this

mode it‟s assuming you want to freeze fast moving subjects.

If you’re looking for a slow shutter speed you‟ll have more of a challenge

as most cameras don‟t have an automatic mode that naturally chooses this.

You could try shooting in Night mode (if your camera has it) but this mode

will also fire off a flash. Try covering your flash up and you might get the

result you‟re after.

Of course none of these modes allow you to get specific about the settings

your camera chooses but they do give you a bit more control than you might

think you have. If you‟re still thirsting for more control, start saving for your

next digital camera!

16

Aperture and Shutter Priority

Modes

A Quick Reviser

We‟re looked at how the three elements of the exposure triangle impact one

another. This is particularly the case when it comes to aperture and shutter

speeds. As you increase the size of your aperture (make the hole that you

shoot through bigger) you let more light into your image sensor. As a result

you will need a shorter shutter speed. In the opposite way if you increase the

length of time your shutter is open you decrease the necessary aperture that

you‟ll need to get a well exposed shot.

Priority Modes

Aperture and Shutter Priority modes are really semi-manual (or semi-

automatic) modes. They give you some control over your settings but also

ensure you have a well exposed image by the camera making some of the

decisions on settings. Let me explain each separately:

Aperture Priority Mode

(often it has a symbol of „A‟ or Av‟ to indicate it‟s selected)

In this mode you as the photographer sets the aperture that you wish to use

and the camera makes a decision about what shutter speed is appropriate in

the conditions that you‟re shooting in.

When would you use Aperture Priority Mode? – if you remember

our tutorial on aperture you‟ll see how the main impact that aperture had on

17

images was with regards to Depth of Field (DOF). As a result most people

use Aperture Priority Mode when they are attempting to have some control in

this area. If they want a shallow DOF (for example in the shot to the right

which has the flower in focus but the background nice and blurred) they‟ll

select a large aperture (for example f/1.4 – as in the example to the right) and

let the camera choose an appropriate shutter speed. If they wanted an image

with everything in focus they‟d pick a smaller aperture (for example f/22)

and let the camera choose an appropriate shutter speed (generally a longer

one).

When choosing an Aperture keep in mind that the camera will be choosing

faster or longer shutter speeds and that there comes a point where shutter

speeds get too long to continue to hand hold your camera (usually around

1/60). Once you get much slower than this level you‟ll need to consider using

a tripod. Also if you‟re photographing a moving subject your shutter speed

will impact how it‟s captured and a slow shutter speed will mean your subject

will be blurred).

Shutter Priority Mode

(often has a symbol of Tv or S)

In this mode you as the photographer choose the shutter speed that you wish

to shoot at and let the camera make a decision about what aperture to select to

give a well exposed shot.

When would you use Shutter Priority Mode? – in our tutorial on shutter

speed we talked about how the main impact of different shutter speeds was

how „movement‟ would be captured in your images. As a result most people

18

switch to shutter priority mode when they want more control over how to

photograph a moving subject.

For example if they want to photograph a racing car but want to completely

freeze it so there is no motion blur they‟d choose a fast shutter speed (say at

1/2000 like in the first shot below) and the camera would take into

consideration how much light there was available and set an appropriate

aperture. If instead you wanted to photograph the car but have some motion

blur to illustrate how fast the car is moving you might like to choose a slower

shutter speed (like the second shot below which has a shutter speed of 1/125)

and the camera would choose a smaller aperture as a result.

Keep in mind that as the camera chooses different apertures it will impact the

Depth of Field in your image. This means if you choose a fast shutter speed

to freeze your fast moving object that it‟ll have a narrower DOF.

Practice

As you can see – Shutter and Aperture Priority modes do give you more

control over your images but they do take a little practice to get used to.

As you use them you need to not only think about the setting that YOU set

but also keep an eye on the setting that the camera selects for you.

I find that when shooting in Av or Tv modes that it‟s often best to bracket

your shots and shoot a number of images of the same subject (where you

have time) at different settings. This will ensure that you‟re likely to get at

least one shot which meets your need.

The best way to learn about Shutter priority and Aperture Priority modes is to

grab your camera, to head out with it and to experiment. Switch to Av or Tv

19

and start playing with the different settings (taking lots of shots as you go).

Particularly watch how the camera makes changes to compensate for your

selections and what impact it has upon the shots that you take.

In Aperture Priority Mode take some shots at the largest aperture you can

(small numbers) and see how it blurs the background (but also increases the

shutter speed) and then head to the other end of the spectrum to take some

shots at the smallest aperture you can (large numbers) to see how it keeps

more of your image in focus.

In Shutter Priority Mode play with fast and slow shutter speeds and see how

that impacts DOF.

Don‟t be frustrated if your initial shots are not what you‟d expect – it takes

practice to get your head around these modes. But keep in mind that when

you do master them you‟ll have a lot more creative control over your shots.

It‟s really worth learning this.

20

Introduction to White Balance

White Balance is an aspect of photography that many digital camera owners

don‟t understand or use – but it‟s something well worth learning about as it

can have a real impact upon the shots you take.

So for those of you who have been avoiding White Balance – let me

introduce you to it. I promise to keep it as simple as possible and keep what

follows as useable as I can:

At its simplest – the reason we adjust white balance is to get the colors in

your images as accurate as possible.

Why would you need to get the color right in your shots?

You might have noticed when examining shots after taking them that at times

images can come out with an orange, blue, yellow etc look to them – despite

the fact that to the naked eye the scene looked quite normal. The reason for

this is that images different sources of light have a different „color‟ (or

temperature) to them. Fluorescent lighting adds a bluish cast to photos

whereas tungsten (incandescent/bulbs) lights add a yellowish tinge to photos.

The range in different temperatures ranges from the very cool light of blue

sky through to the very warm light of a candle.

We don‟t generally notice this difference in temperature because our eyes

adjust automatically for it. So unless the temperature of the light is very

extreme a white sheet of paper will generally look white to us. However a

digital camera doesn‟t have the smarts to make these adjustments

automatically and sometimes will need us to tell it how to treat different light.

21

So for cooler (blue or green) light you‟ll tell the camera to warm things up

and in warm light you‟ll tell it to cool down.

Adjusting White Balance

Different digital cameras have different ways of adjusting white balance so

ultimately you‟ll need to get out your camera‟s manual out to work out the

specifics of how to make changes. Having said this – many digital cameras

have automatic and semi-automatic modes to help you make the adjustments.

Preset White Balance Settings

Here are some of the basic White Balance settings you‟ll find on cameras:

Auto – this is where the camera makes a best guess on a shot by shot basis.

You‟ll find it works in many situations but it‟s worth venturing out of it for

trickier lighting.

Tungsten – this mode is usually symbolized with a little bulb and is for

shooting indoors, especially under tungsten (incandescent) lighting (such as

bulb lighting). It generally cools down the colors in photos.

Fluorescent – this compensates for the „cool‟ light of fluorescent light and

will warm up your shots.

Daylight/Sunny – not all cameras have this setting because it sets things as

fairly „normal‟ white balance settings.

Cloudy – this setting generally warms things up a touch more than „daylight‟

mode.

Flash – the flash of a camera can be quite a cool light so in Flash WB mode

you‟ll find it warms up your shots a touch.

22

Shade – the light in shade is generally cooler (bluer) than shooting in direct

sunlight so this mode will warm things up a little.

Manual White Balance Adjustments

In most cases you can get a pretty accurate result using the above preset

white balance modes – but some digital cameras (most DSLRs and higher

end point and shoots) allow for manual white balance adjustments also.

The way this is used varies a little between models but in essence what you

do is to tell your camera what white looks like in a shot so that it has

something as a reference point for deciding how other colors should look.

You can do this by buying yourself a white (or grey) card which is

specifically designed for this task – or you can find some other appropriately

colored object around you to do the job.

I‟ve done this with the following two shots.

The first shot is one of some books on my wife‟s bookshelf taken in Auto

White Balance mode. The light in my room is from three standard light bulbs

and as a result the image is quite warm or yellow.

After taking this picture I then held up a piece of white paper to my camera to

tell it what color white is. Then I took a second shot with this setting and got

the following result – which you‟ll see is a much truer color cast than the first

image. This manual adjustment is not difficult to do once you find where to

do it in the menu on your camera and it‟s well worth learning how to do it.

23

Digital Camera Modes

Automatic Modes

Automatic Mode

I suspect no one will need any introduction to this mode (as it seems most

digital camera owners use it). Auto mode tells your camera to use it‟s best

judgement to select shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, focus and

flash to take the best shot that it can. With some cameras auto mode lets you

override flash or change it to red eye reduction. This mode will give you nice

results in many shooting conditions, however you need to keep in mind that

you‟re not telling your camera any extra information about the type of shot

you‟re taking so it will be „guessing‟ as to what you want. As a result some of

the following modes might be more appropriate to select as they give your

camera a few more hints (without you needing to do anything more).

Portrait Mode

When you switch to portrait mode your camera will automatically select a

large aperture (small number) which helps to keep your background out of

focus (i.e. it sets a narrow depth of field – ensuring your subject is the only

thing in focus and is therefore the centre of attention in the shot). Portrait

mode works best when you‟re photographing a single subject so get in close

enough to your subject (either by zooming in or walking closer) so that your

photographing the head and shoulders of them). Also if you‟re shooting into

24

the sun you might want to trigger your flash to add a little light onto their

face.

Macro Mode

Macro mode lets you move closer into your subject to take a close up picture.

It‟s great for shooting flowers, insects or other small objects. Different digital

cameras will have macro modes with different capabilities including different

focusing distances (usually between 2-10cm for point and shoot cameras).

When you use macro mode you‟ll notice that focusing is more difficult as at

short distances the depth of field is very narrow (just millimeters at times).

Keep your camera and the object you‟re photographing parallel if possible or

you‟ll find a lot of it will be out of focus. You‟ll probably also find that you

won‟t want to use your camera‟s built in flash when photographing close up

objects or they‟ll be burnt out. Lastly – a tripod is invaluable in macro shots

as the depth of field is so small that even moving towards or away from your

subject slightly can make your subject out of focus. (I‟ll write a full tutorial

on Macro Photography in the coming weeks).

25

Landscape Mode

This mode is almost the exact opposite of portrait mode in that it sets the

camera up with a small aperture (large number) to make sure as much of the

scene you‟re photographing will be in focus as possible (ie it give you a large

depth of field). It‟s therefore ideal for capturing shots of wide scenes,

particularly those with points of interest at different distances from the

camera. At times your camera might also select a slower shutter speed in this

mode (to compensate for the small aperture) so you might want to consider a

tripod or other method of ensuring your camera is still.

Sports Mode

Photographing moving objects is what sports mode (also called „action mode‟

in some cameras) is designed for. It is ideal for photographing any moving

objects including people playing sports, pets, cars, wildlife etc. Sports mode

attempts to freeze the action by increasing the shutter speed. When

photographing fast moving subjects you can also increase your chances of

capturing them with panning of your camera along with the subject and/or by

attempting to pre focus your camera on a spot where the subject will be when

you want to photograph it (this takes practice).

26

Night Mode

This is a really fun mode to play around with and can create some wonderfully

colorful and interesting shots. Night mode (a technique also called „slow shutter

sync‟) is for shooting in low light situations and sets your camera to use a longer

shutter speed to help capture details of the background but it also fires off a flash

to illuminate the foreground (and subject). If you use this mode for a „serious‟ or

well balanced shot you should use a tripod or your background will be blurred –

however it‟s also fun to take shots with this handheld to purposely blur your

backgrounds – especially when there is a situation with lights behind your subject

as it can give a fun and experimental look (great for parties and dance floors with

colored lights).

Movie Mode

This mode extends your digital camera from just capturing still images to capturing

moving ones. Most new digital cameras these days come with a movie mode that

records both video but also sound. The quality is generally not up to video camera

standards but it‟s a handy mode to have when you come across that perfect subject

that just can‟t be captured with a still image. Keep in mind that moving images

take up significantly more space on your memory storage than still images.

Other less common modes that I‟ve seen on digital cameras over the past year

include:

27

Panoramic/Stitch Mode – for taking shots of a panoramic scene to be joined

together later as one image.

Snow Mode – to help with tricky bright lighting at the snow

Fireworks Mode - for shooting firework displays

Kids and Pets Mode – fast moving objects can be tricky – this mode seems to

speed up shutter speed and help reduce shutter lag with some pre focussing

Underwater Mode – underwater photography has it‟s own unique set of exposure

requirements

Beach Mode – another bright scene mode

Indoor Mode – helps with setting shutter speed and white balance

Foliage Mode - boosts saturation to give nice bold colors

Semi Automatic Modes

Aperture Priority Mode (A or AV)

This mode is really a semi-automatic (or semi-manual) mode where you choose

the aperture and where your camera chooses the other settings (shutter speed, white

balance, ISO etc) so as to ensure you have a well balanced exposure. Aperture

priority mode is useful when you‟re looking to control the depth of field in a shot

(usually a stationary object where you don‟t need to control shutter speed).

Choosing a larger number aperture means the aperture (or the opening in your

camera when shooting) is smaller and lets less light in. This means you‟ll have a

larger depth of field (more of the scene will be in focus) but that your camera will

choose a slower shutter speed. Small numbers means the opposite (i.e. your

aperture is large, depth of field will be small and your camera will probably choose

a faster shutter speed).

28

Shutter Priority Mode (S or TV)

Shutter priority is very similar to aperture priority mode but is the mode where you

select a shutter speed and the camera then chooses all of the other settings. You

would use this mode where you want to control over shutter speed (obviously). For

example when photographing moving subjects (like sports) you might want to

choose a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion. On the flip-side of this you might

want to capture the movement as a blur of a subject like a waterfall and choose a

slow shutter speed. You might also choose a slow shutter speed in lower light

situations.

Program Mode (P)

Some digital cameras have this priority mode in addition to auto mode (in a few

cameras Program mode IS full Auto mode… confusing isn‟t it!). In those cameras

that have both, Program mode is similar to Auto but gives you a little more control

over some other features including flash, white balance, ISO etc. Check your

digital camera‟s manual for how the Program mode differs from Automatic in your

particular model.

Fully Manual Mode

Manual Mode

In this mode you have full control over your camera and need to think about all

settings including shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, flash etc. It gives

you the flexibility to set your shots up as you wish. Of course you also need to

have some idea of what you‟re doing in manual mode so most digital camera

owners that I have anything to do with tend to stick to one of the priority modes.

29

Understanding Histograms

I was flicking through my camera’s menu today and came across a little

graph labeled ‘histogram’. What is it and should I take any notice of it? Is

there such a thing as the ideal histogram? What should we be aiming for?” –

Brent

What is a Histogram

Histograms are a topic that we could (and probably should) spend a lot of

time talking about but let me give you a very brief answer to get you through

in the short term.

Histograms are a very useful tool that many cameras offer their users to help

them get a quick summary of the tonal range present in any given image.

It graphs the tones in your image from black (on the left) to white (on the

right).

The higher the graph at any given point the more pixels of that tone that are

present in an image.

So a histogram with lots of dark pixels will be skewed to the left and one

with lots of lighter tones will be skewed to the right.

The beauty of a histogram is that the small LCD display on your camera is

not really big enough to give you an great review of a picture and you can

often get home to find that you‟ve over or under exposed an image. Checking

the histogram can tell you this while you‟re in a position to be able to adjust

your settings and take another shot.

30

Some Examples of Histograms

Let‟s look at a couple of examples of histograms on shots I‟ve taken over the

first year of my son‟s life (it‟s his birthday this week so we‟re going through

some shots). Compare these two shots and their corresponding histograms:

The above shot has a lot of light tones – in fact there are parts of the shot that

are quite blown out. As a result on the right hand side of the histogram you

can see a sudden rise. While there are quite a few mid tones – everything is

skewed right and with the extreme values on the right hand side indicate an

over exposed shot.

This second shot has a lot of dark tones. This is partly because of the black and

navy clothes in the shot – but also because it’s slightly underexposed shot. The

31

resulting histogram is quite different to the first one – the values are skewed to

the left hand side.

Is there such a thing as a ‘good’ histogram?

As with most aspects of photography, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and

there‟s always a lot of room for personal taste and different ways of expressing

yourself as a photographer.

There is no such thing as the „perfect‟ histogram – different subjects and

photographic styles will produce different results. For example taking a silhouette

shot might produce a histogram with peaks at both ends of the spectrum and

nothing much in the middle of the graph. Taking a shot of someone at the snow

will obviously have a histogram with significant peaks on the right hand side….

etc

Having said this (and to generalize) – in most cases you‟ll probably want a fairly

balanced shot with a nice spread of tones. Most well exposed shots tend to peak

somewhere in the middle and taper off towards the edges.

Using Histograms While Shooting

So now you know what a histogram is – grab your digital camera‟s manual and

work out how to switch it on in playback mode. This will enable you to see both

the picture and the histogram when reviewing shots after taking them.

Keep an eye out for histograms with dramatic spikes to the extreme ends of either

side of the spectrum. This indicates that you have a lot of pixels that are either

pure black or pure white. While this might be what you‟re after remember that

those sections of the image probably have very little detail – this is a hint that

your image could be either over or under exposed.

32

The histogram is really just a tool to give you more information about an image

and to help you get the effect that you want. Having your camera set to show you

histograms during the view process will tell you how your image is exposed.

Learning to read them will help you to work out whether you‟re exposing a shot

as you had hoped.

Another Example of a Histogram

Let‟s finish this tutorial by looking at one last example of a histogram:

You can see in this shot a much more even spread of tones. It‟s still not

perfect and I‟d do a little post production work but it‟s a much more evenly

exposed shot and the histogram reflects this.

33

Pre-Focus to Combat Shutter

Lag

My first foray into digital photography was with a small Canon point and

shoot camera. I immediately fell in love with the medium due to being able to

take large amounts of shots at no cost, being able to see shots immediately

after taking them and the ease at which I could use the images in different

ways. However there was one aspect of digital photography that I

immediately began to hate – shutter lag.

In the first few shots that I took with my new point and shoot I realized that

pressing down the shutter release didn‟t mean that the scene that I was

looking at would be captured just the way I saw it – there was at least a 1

second delay before the shot was taken.

Most modern day digital cameras have cut down the annoying shutter

delay/lag problems significantly. In fact the only camera that I‟ve tested with

any significant lag has been my new camera phone (the Nokia N95 – which

has a 5 megapixel camera in it – but which is annoyingly slow to use). Most

point and shoot cameras these days will not have a noticeable shutter lag,

however I still get asked about it a lot.

One of the reasons that I suspect many still think they suffer from shutter lag

is that they don‟t allow the camera time to focus. I realized this earlier in the

week when out with a point and shoot user and watching their technique.

They would see a scene – lift the camera to their eye and immediately hit the

shutter in one jerking movement – expecting an instantaneous result.

34

Of course the camera needed a moment to focus and the resulting small delay

while it did so was labeled „shutter lag‟ by my friend.

If you want to capture a moment in timed to the smallest delay possible it‟s

worth pre-focusing your camera on the scene – before you want to take the

shot.

The way to do this is to frame the scene and then push your shutter release

down half way. Once you‟ve done this – continue to hold down the shutter

release half way down until the moment you want to capture the scene –

when you‟ll press the shutter the rest of the way.

I showed my friend this simple technique and he was amazed at how exact he

could get the timing on his point and shoot camera. His „shutter lag‟ was

gone – all he needed to do was learn about pre-focusing.

35

Using EXIF Data

EXIF stands for „Exchangeable Image File‟ data and it is the information that

your camera stores with you image file that tells you about it. It is stored

when you take images in JPEG format (or TIFF). Almost all camera

manufacturers support EXIF and whether you know it or not your camera is

likely to be recording it with your image file.

Perhaps the best way to talk about it is to show you the EXIF data associated

with a picture I took this morning of my son (any excuse to show him off).

Here‟s the shot:

The EXIF data associated with this picture can be found in a number of ways.

1. Firstly if the image is still stored on a memory card in my camera I can

view it there. On my Canon DSLR I do this by hitting the „info‟ button while

36

in preview mode. It will then give me an array of information about the

image including shutter speed, aperture, date and time of shot etc.

2. Another way to look at an image‟s EXIF data is to right click an image file

and clicking „properties‟ (if you‟re on a Mac click „get info‟. Here‟s what I

get when I do that on this image on my Mac:

It doesn‟t show all of the EXIF data but does gives some good basic

information.

3. The last way of viewing EXIF data that we‟ll talk about is via your image

editing software. I‟m using Photoshop Elements 2.0 today (for Mac) so in

this software I go to the „File‟

menu then choose „File Info‟.

This allows me to view two

types of information about the

image „general‟ and „EXIF‟.

When I choose the EXIF

option I get this:

You can now see some of the

information about the image

taken including what camera I

was using, the resolution, the

time and date of the shot, the

37

shutter speed, ISO and aperture and if I scroll down it will even tell me what

focal length I was using (105mm).

You will find different cameras and different photo editing programs will

mean that the EXIF data displayed will vary (older cameras stored less

information) but most will give you the basics of your shot.

EXIF data is very useful for a variety of reasons – the main one being that it

allows a photographer to compare shots to find out what I did right and

wrong in them.

For example I might look at the image above and think to myself „gee I wish

I‟d had a larger depth of field and had not only the hand but the face in focus.

I could then look at the aperture f/4.0 and see that next time if I want bigger

depth of field that I should use a smaller aperture (f/5.6 or more). Similarly I

might look at the ISO and think it was too grainy and see it‟s at 400 and

could have perhaps been pulled back to 200.

Using EXIF data is probably not something you‟ll do with every image but

especially when you‟re starting out in digital photography it‟s a worthwhile

feature to play around with and to keep in mind as you seek to improve your

photography.

38

Automatic Exposure

Bracketing (AEB)

Have you ever been photographing a subject with tricky lighting or lots of

variation between bright and darker areas but were not sure what exposure

setting to go with?

One way to work in such situations is to manually play around with your

exposure control and take a series of shots – the problem with this is that it

takes time and if you are photographing a changing environment (for

example a sunset which changes from moment to moment) you can lose „the

moment‟ while you get things right.

Most DSLRs (and some more advanced compact cameras) come with a

feature called „Automatic Exposure Bracketing‟ (AEB) which can be

useful to learn how to use in such situations.

By selecting it you can quickly take three shots (usually three) at different

exposures without having to manually change any settings between frames.

When you select Automatic Exposure Bracketing the camera will choose one

exposure (based upon what its metering thinks is right) and then it will take

one other shot on either side of this best guess (one over exposed (as in the

left shot above) and one underexposed (as in the right shot above)).

This way you end up with the three images in a series with exactly the same

composition but at different exposures for you to select the best of later on.

39

If you have the camera in burst mode (continuous shooting) the three shots

will be taken if you hold down the shutter for a burst of three shots. If you‟re

in single shot mode the shots will take as you depress the shutter three times.

Each digital camera has a different way of selecting AEB, some like Nikon‟s

D70 have an accessible button on the back (marked BKT) while others (like

Canon) have an AEB setting in their menus.

Check out your manual to see how AEB works on your digital camera. Most

will allow you to change the variation between shots by different „stops‟. For

example you might want a big variation between your three shots and would

select a ‟2 stop‟ gap or you might only want a slight variation and choose a

„half stop‟ gap. I generally start with a ‟1 stop‟ variation and work from there.

PS: to give you a little more control in Automatic Exposure Bracketing mode

you can use it ether in Aperture Priority Mode or Shutter Priority Mode.

Using AEB in Aperture Priority mode will all you to choose the aperture you

want for the shot and telling the camera to make the variations in shots by

varying shutter speed. Alternatively using AEB in shutter priority mode will

keep the shutter speed at the speed you select and tell the camera to vary the

exposure by changing the aperture in your shots.

40

How to Hold a Camera

Tripods are the best way to stop camera shake because they have three sturdy

legs that keep things very still – but if you don’t have one then another

simple way to enhance the stability of the camera is to hold onto it with two

hands. While it can be tempting to shoot one handed a two hands will

increase your stillness (like three legs on a tripod being better than one).

Exactly how you should grip your camera will depend upon what type of

digital camera you are using and varies from person to person depending

upon preference. There is no real right or wrong way to do it but here‟s the

technique that I generally use:

1. Use your right hand to grip the right hand end of the camera. Your

forefinger should sit lightly above the shutter release, your other three fingers

curling around the front of the camera. Your right thumb grips onto the back

of the camera. Most cameras these days have some sort of grip and even

impressions for where fingers should go so this should feel natural. Use a

strong grip with your right hand but don‟t grip it so tightly that you end up

shaking the camera. (keep in mind our previous post on shutter technique –

squeeze the shutter don‟t jab at it).

2. The positioning of your left hand will depend upon your camera but in in

general it should support the weight of the camera and will either sit

underneath the camera or under/around a lens if you have a DSLR.

3. If you’re shooting using the view finder to line up your shot you‟ll have the

camera nice and close into your body which will add extra stability but if

you‟re using the LCD make sure you don‟t hold your camera too far away

from you. Tuck your elbows into your sides and lean the camera out a little

41

from your face (around 30cm). Alternatively use the viewfinder if it‟s not too

small or difficult to see through (a problem on many point and shoots these

days).

4. Add extra stability by leaning against a solid object like a wall or a tree or by

sitting or kneeling down. If you have to stand and don‟t have anything to lean on

for extra support put your feet shoulder width apart to give yourself a steady

stance. The stiller you can keep your body the stiller the camera will be.

Holding a camera in this way will allow you flexibility of being able to line

up shots quickly but will also help you to hold still for the crucial moment of

your shutter being open.

Another quick bonus tip on how to hold a camera – before you take your

shot take a gentle but deep breath, hold it, then take the shot and exhale. The

other method people use is the exact opposite – exhale and before inhaling

again take the shot. It‟s amazing how much a body rises and falls simply by

breathing – being conscious of it can give you an edge.

Of course each person will have their own little techniques that they are more

comfortable with and ultimately you need to find what works best for you –

but in the early days of familiarizing yourself with your new digital camera

it‟s worth considering your technique.

One last note on how to hold a camera – this post is about „holding a

camera‟ in a way that will help eliminate camera shake. It‟s not rocket

science – but it‟s amazing how many people get it wrong and wonder why

their images are blurry.

42

Shutter Release Technique Thanks for your tip on using the Continuous Shooting Darren. I use it on my

DSLR regularly but have one problem – I always end up taking more shots than I

want to. I put my finger down on the shutter button and before I know it I’ve

taken a whole heap of shots. Any suggestions?”

Thanks for the question Harold – unfortunately there‟s no easy answer to this

problem except to use the old adage – „practice makes perfect‟.

I know the problem you have because when I first discovered continuous

shooting mode on my old film SLR I had the same problem and could quite

easily go through a 36 exposure roll very quickly (an expensive problem). The

way I got over it was to practice shooting in burst mode without any film in the

camera. As I did that I learnt how much pressure it took to take one, two, three or

more shots. Of course with a digital camera you can practice as you go without

having to pay for unnecessary shots.

The best advice I can give when taking a shot in continuous mode (or in any

mode for that matter) is to work hard at gently applying pressure to your shutter

button rather than jabbing at it.

Someone once told me that it‟s the same principle with shooting a gun (not that

I‟m too familiar with that). Rather than jabbing at the trigger and pulling yourself

off aim you gentle squeeze it to keep the gun steady.

Using this technique with a camera will give you more control in continuous

shooting mode to take the amount of shots you want and will also have the added

benefit of keeping your camera still and reducing camera shake.

Lastly – don‟t press the shutter with the very tip of your finger – rather use the

flat part of it so that the end section of your finger is almost horizontal at the time

of releasing the shutter (as pictured). This will help you to have as much control

as possible and will also reduce camera shake.

43

How to Avoid a Dirty DSLR

Image Sensor

If you‟ve got a DSLR you‟ve probably had the experience of uploading your

photos onto your computer after a long day of photography – only to find that

there are dark „spots‟ and „blotches‟ on your pictures.

These spots and blotches appear on all your shots in exactly the same position.

They might be less noticeable on backgrounds with lots of detail (and more

noticeable on plain backgrounds (like blue skies – especially when you have

a small aperture) – but they‟re there in all your shots (the picture to the left is

one of the worst examples I‟ve seen – and was the result of poor image

sensor cleaning technique).

The reason for these marks is that you‟ve almost certainly got dust on your

camera‟s image sensor.

Cameras are being developed that combat this problem (for example the

Canon EOS 400D/Revel Xti and others) but until we all go out and upgrade

our DSLR we‟re all susceptible to it.

Most DSLR owners do eventually get some on your sensor (unless you never

change your lens) but here are some tips for decreasing the likelihood of it:

Avoid changing lenses in risky environments (where there is wind, water,

dust etc) – pick a lens and try to stick with it.

Turn camera off before changing lenses. On some cameras the sensor has an

electric charge that will actually attract dust to it like a magnet.

44

Hold camera upside down (with the opening facing down) when changing

lenses – it‟s impossible for dust to fall into your camera if it‟s upside down

(unless there is wind that blows it up into it).

Have your lens ready when you‟re changing lenses (be prepared and have

your new lens ready to attach so that your camera is open for as short a time

as possible).

Check your lenses for dust before attaching them – have a blower that you

can get any specs off your lens with.

Clean your image sensor with care. There‟s a lot of debate about whether to

do it yourself or whether to get your sensor professionally cleaned (see below

for of some of the DIY approaches to cleaning sensors) If you do tackle it

yourself do so with extreme care – let the picture above be motivation to get

it right!

To test if your image sensor is dirty photograph a white wall with a small

aperture (large number) and you should see it in the images that result if you

have any.

45

How should I clean my DSLR’s

lens?

I’ve noticed that my DSLR’s lens has lots of smudges on it that are starting to

impact the quality of my images but I’m too scared to clean it because I’m

worried about scratching it. Do you have any suggestions? – Chris

Cleaning your camera‟s lenses should be a regular (although not too regular) part

of any camera owner‟s maintenance. While you do need to be very careful during

this process it‟s not something to be frightened about. The best time to clean a

lens is when it‟s dirty – don‟t get in the habit of cleaning it off daily or you‟ll do

more damage than good. However when the time comes to clean it here are a few

simple tips:

Use a UV or Skylight filter

Before I get into cleaning techniques let me share a tip that all DSLR users should

consider. For each lens you own you should consider purchasing a UV or

skylight filter. Keep it attached to your lens at all times. In addition to it cutting

out UV light they will protect your lens from scratches or even breakage. It also

means that when you do your cleaning you‟ll just be cleaning the filter instead of

the actual lens (unless dust gets right in). Keep in mind that filters come in

different levels of quality – if you have a high end lens consider investing in a

higher end filter.

Lens hoods can also help protect the end of your lens as do the lens caps for both

the front and back end of your lens that come with it – always use them!

46

Lens Cleaning Fluid

In most camera stores you‟ll find an alcohol based lens cleaning fluid that is well

worth having. It will help you to lift off fingerprints and other smudges without

leaving streaks on your lens or filter. Keep in mind that you don‟t need too much

of this fluid at a time – usually just a drop or two wiped in a gentle circular

motion with a cleaning tissue will remove most marks on a lens or filter. Always

apply the fluid to a cloth or tissue rather than the lens itself.

Alternatively – many photographers believe that simply breathing on your lens

and then wiping with a cloth is a safer method for cleaning it – rather than

introducing harsh fluids. My own approach is to start with breath and then use the

fluids for difficult marks to remove.

Cleaning Tissues

To apply the cleaning fluid grab yourself some lens tissues. They are a very thin

paper that will let you wipe your lenses without scratching them. These tissues

are one use tissues and should be thrown away after using. Don‟t use normal

facial tissues – these are too rough and will scratch your lens.

Cleaning Cloth

An alternative to cleaning tissues is the more modern microfiber cleaning cloth.

These washable cloths grab a hold of dust and oils on your lens. The main thing

to be aware of with them is to keep them clean themselves with a regular wash –

alternatively just buy yourself a new one as they are very cheap to buy and that‟ll

negate the risk of wiping something from your wash into your lens.

Before using a cloth always check the lens to make sure you don‟t have any

larger pieces of grit on it. The last thing you want to do is wipe it into your lens

47

causing a scratch. Remove any larger gritty dust using a blower or brush before

wiping.

Blowers

Most camera stores sell blowers of different varieties. While I‟d personally advise

being very careful with them on the inside of your camera (you could actually

end up blowing dust into it) they can be great for cleaning the outside of your

camera – including the lens. Before you use a blower make sure you squeeze if a

few times first to get any dust that might be inside it out.

Brushes

If you have a lot of dust on your camera one good tool to get the big stuff off is a

brush. Get one with fine and soft hair (camel hair) to avoid scratching your lens.

Similarly you might like to invest in a lens cleaning pen which has a retractable

brush on one end and a cleaning pad on the other.

Silica Gel

One lost preventative measure before we end. Grab some silica gel sachets to

throw into the bottom of your camera bag. The little sachets will draw any

moisture in your bag to them to save your lenses and DSLR from being impacted

by it. Keep changing over this sachets over time or they‟ll attract too much water

and become useless.

Much of the above cleaning gear is pretty low cost and will be available from a

good camera store (often as a full kit). Don‟t go for the very cheapest gear though

– when you‟re looking after gear that you‟ve paid big dollars for it can be worth

paying a little extra to ensure quality.

48

7 Digital Camera Predators

and How to Keep them at Bay

1. Sunscreen and Insect Repellent

It is important to protect yourself from the elements of sun and insect bites

when shooting outdoors, however some of the things that you‟ll use to do it

can cause your camera harm. Sunscreen is generally oily and insect repellent

often contains chemicals that you wouldn‟t want to get in touch with the

more delicate parts of your camera.

The way to limit the impact that these things have on your camera is pretty

obvious and largely involves keeping those parts of your body that come into

contact with these things clean. Wash your hands in fresh water after

applying sunscreen and repellent and you‟ll go a long way to keeping your

camera clean. If you do get your camera greasy make sure you clean it off as

quickly as you can.

Lastly – don‟t fall into the temptation of putting sunscreen and repellent into

your camera bag. I know it‟s tempting so that you don‟t have to carry another

bag – but it‟s really not worth the risk as a leak could end your camera‟s life.

If you do travel with them together make sure you have a sealed bag for the

liquids.

2. Sand

There is nothing that frightens me more than the thought of sand getting into

my camera. Cameras have moving parts and to get something as gritty and

abrasive as sand into them can quickly put your camera out of action or at

least damage it so that you end up with scratches through it.

49

Ultimately the only protection against sand is not taking your camera to

sandy places. Of course this is not particularly feasible and you‟ll need to do

what you can to keep sand and your camera separate.

Sealable bags are great to travel with, cleaning brushes to get those stray

grains off your camera can be useful and cleaning clothes are helpful.

Always be particularly aware of your surrounds and things like wind or

people kicking balls or throwing Frisbees when you‟re changing lenses,

memory cards and batteries as these are high risk moments that sand just

loves to swoop in. Also – learn to think ahead about what lens you might

need so that you can change it inside in a more stable environment before

hitting the beach.

3. Dust

Like sand, dust is a natural enemy of the digital camera. It‟s a more subtle

attacker in that it generally won‟t scratch your moving parts – but it is just as

damaging, particularly when it works its way into your camera‟s inner parts

and settles on your image sensor.

Once again – wipe your camera down each day, be careful of when and

where you change lenses and travel with your camera in a sealed bag.

Also if you have a DSLR consider getting it‟s image sensor professionally

cleaned (or learn to do it yourself – with care) every now and again if you do

find marks on your sensor (you‟ll notice them most at small apertures – to

test it, set your camera to its smallest aperture and shoot at a white wall or

ceiling).

4. Moisture/Water

Moisture attacks cameras in numerous ways. At its most extreme it attacks as

water which has the ability to quickly end the life of your camera (I regularly

get emails from digital camera owners who‟ve dropped cameras in all kinds

of liquids including the ocean, baths, rivers and even toilets). Use you

50

camera‟s wrist or neck straps to keep your cameras out of water and always

be aware of where you put it and how it can be knocked.

A more subtle attacker when it comes to moisture is condensation.

Particularly noticeable is when you move from one temperature to another

with your camera (for example from air-conditioning to humid ones).

Investing in silica gel packs is one way to help with this as they absorb

moisture in your camera bag. Some people suggest putting it in a sealed

plastic bag when moving between temperatures – this might work well but is

not particularly practical in many situations, especially when you have a large

camera. Ideally you want to warm your camera up naturally and slowly – it‟s

definitely a challenge. Other than that – wipe off your camera regularly when

in humid environments.

5. Salt

While the beach presents photographers with wonderful photographic

opportunities it also can be a dangerous place with many digital camera

predators – not the least of which is salt which has a habit of getting into your

camera and lenses and causing all kinds of problems (including corrosion).

Fight the impact that salt has on your camera by wiping it clean at least once

per day while shooting in salty places.

If you have a DSLR use UV filters on your lenses to give an extra level of

protection and avoid opening your camera up (to change batteries, memory

cards or lenses) as much as possible. When not shooting, keep your camera

safely in your camera bag and be particularly aware of positioning yourself in

sea spray on windy days.

6. Thieves

Another natural predator of expensive photographic equipment is the thief

when you least expect it will swoop in and steal your gear away from you –

51

leaving you feeling frustrated, violated and wondering what you did to

deserve it.

Always be aware of where your gear is and how accessible it is to others. Get

yourself a camera bag that doesn‟t scream „I‟ve got a camera in here‟ if you

can (there are some great brands on the market – I use this Crumpler bag for

this reason).

Keep your cameras on your body if in a risky environment, keep your bags

zipped up and well fastened, consider having your bag on your front rather

than your back in high risk situations, insure your gear and try to be selective

and not every travel with too much of it at any one time.

7. Bumps and Drops

The downfall of many cameras comes quite literally when they are dropped

or bumped into other hard objects. While some cameras now come with

shock proof casings the majority of cameras do not and need to be treated as

delicate objects.

Use a padded camera bag or casing (and use it when your camera is not in

use, be aware of where you put your camera, be careful when passing it from

one person to another etc. Also check your house and contents insurance to

see whether it covers accidental damage (many do). It‟s just common sense

really but I‟m quite amazed at how often silly accidents end the lives of

expensive pieces of equipment.

52

How To Get Better Digital

Photos In Low Light

Conditions Without Using A

Flash

The flash is the biggest solution to low light digital photography. However

the problem with this is that not all situations can benefit from using the flash.

Not only does it interfere with your “moment” socially and artistically, but

the flash can flatten out your digital images. This is especially true for a flash

that is built-in on digital cameras. The built in flash (and a flash in general)

has the effect of lighting your subject on the front only which compresses the

depth in your digital photos. Compressed depth can really decrease the

beauty of your subject in your digital photography.

This can be avoided to a certain degree, depending on your subject and by

watching how your light falls. Learn how to see how the light falls on your

surroundings and your mind will become adept at knowing what works and

what doesn‟t with the flash

Really, a good way to combat the problem in low light you can try using a

higher ISO. Your ISO simply means the amount of sensitivity of light falling

on your sensor. For example take traditional photography as a comparison to

digital photography. Traditional photography ISO will be film sensitivity.

(ISO in traditional terms works with film speed as well.)

53

The only set back in digital photography ISO is noise. If your ISO is perfect

for the photo yet there is a significant increase in noise you can use software

to sharpen up your digital photo. There are two good noise reduction software

programs called “Noise Ninja” or “Neat Image”. If you don‟t push the ISO

higher you may find the problem with camera shake if a tripod is not in hand.

By adjusting the ISO you will find that noise is better than camera shake. In

digital photography noise will always be something to consider.

In digital photography, a higher ISO allows you to take photos in low light

situations. In traditional photography you‟d have to change your roll of film

from. In digital photography ISO give you the opportunity to adjust a setting,

rather than fiddle with changing film. This is advantageous if the subject is

not going to stay around or you yourself are unable to stay for an extended

length of time.

I‟ll use another example. Let‟s take for example you are taking dome digital

shots indoors, like someone speaking, or playing an instrument. Perhaps the

flash is not appropriate in this situation. In this case (which happens a lot in

digital photography) you would simply adjust the ISO to a higher setting. If

you set the camera on “ISO Auto” your digital camera will then detect that a

higher ISO is necessary. Alternatively you can set the ISO yourself. This

higher sensitivity can give you the opportunity of gaining the right exposure

for the shot.

If you find that‟s still not right, because your digital photo now has camera

shake and you don‟t have a tripod, you can in fact decide on the next top ISO

which will then enable you to select a faster shutter speed.

Update – DPS reader BayTamper emailed in a continuation of this post with

an extra tip:

54

As someone who shoots a ton of low light, no flash concert photography, I

feel you hit on two key points, but left out a THIRD KEY POINT, which is

FAST LENSES!!! For me, when I‟m absolutely desperate for light without a

flash, I use this technique:

1. Crank ISO as high as it will go

2. Shoot RAW if possible

3. Use aperture-priority with the lowest f-stop on the fastest lens I have (f1.8

or lower if you can).

4. If that still causes my shutter speeds to be too low to hand-hold, then I

might even set exposure compensation down a stop, which will increase the

speed a little, and then I‟ll push the exposure in post (preferably in RAW).

5. Lastly, I‟ll use various forms of noise reduction to help on the grain/noise

front.

55

How to Take Sharp Images

Getting your digital images perfectly sharp is something that most

photographers want – however clean, crisp, sharp images can be difficult to

achieve.

Perhaps before we start exploring how to improve sharpness it would be good

to talk about the main causes for lack of sharpness:

Poor Focus – the most obvious way to get images that are „un-sharp‟ is

through having them out of focus. This might be a result of focusing upon the

wrong part of the image, being too close to your subject for the camera to

focus, selecting an aperture that generates a very narrow depth of field or

taking an image too quickly without checking it is in focus.

Subject Movement - another type of „blur‟ in shots is the result of your

subject moving – this is generally related to shutter speed being too slow.

Camera Shake – similarly you can get blur if you as the photographer

generate movement while taking the image – this often relates to either

shutter speed and/or the stillness of your camera.

Noise – „noisy‟ shots are ones that are pixelated and look like they have lots

of little dots over them (get up close to your TV and you‟ll get the same

impact).

Here‟s a list of 10 basic things to think about when shooting to get sharp

images (note – there‟s also a lot you can do in Photoshop after taking you

images – learn more about that in Photoshop Tutorials):

56

1. Hold Your Camera Well

A lot of blur in the photos that I see is a direct result of camera shake (the

movement of your camera for that split second when your shutter is open).

While the best way to tackle camera shake is to use a Tripod (see below)

there are many times when using one is impractical and you‟ll need to shoot

while holding your camera. I‟ve written a tutorial previously on how to hold

a digital camera but in brief – use both hands, keep the camera close to your

body, support yourself with a wall, tree or some other solid object etc.

2. Tripods

Regular readers of this site will have seen my recent series on tripods and

know that I‟m a big fan of them as a way to reduce (and even eliminate)

camera shake. While not always practical, the result you‟ll get when you do

go to the effort of hauling one around can be well worth it.

3. Shutter Speed

Perhaps one of the first things to think about in your quest for sharp images is

the shutter speed that you select. Obviously – the faster your shutter speed the

less impact camera shake will have and the more you‟ll freeze any movement

in your shots. As a result you reduce the likelihood of two of the main types

of blur in one go (subject movement and camera movement). Remember the

„rule‟ for handheld shutter speeds: Choose a shutter speed with a

denominator that is larger than the focal length of the lens.

57

So:

if you have a lens that is 50 mm in length don‟t shoot any slower than 1/60th of a

second

if you have a lens with a 100 mm focal length shoot at 1/125th of a second or faster

if you are shooting with a lens of 200mm shoot at 1/250th of a second or faster

Keep in mind that the faster your shutter speed is the larger you‟ll need to make your

Aperture to compensate – this will mean you have a smaller depth of field which

makes focusing more of a challenge (read more on Shutter Speed).

4. Aperture

Aperture impacts the depth of field (the zone that is in focus) in your images.

Decreasing your aperture (increasing the number – say up to f/20) will increase

the depth of field meaning that the zone that is in focus will include both close

and distant objects. Do the opposite (for example moving to f/4) and the

foreground and background of your images will be more out of focus and you‟ll

need to be more exact with what you focus your camera upon. Keep in mind that

the smaller your aperture the longer your shutter speed will need to be – which of

course makes moving subjects more difficult to keep sharp.

5. ISO

The third element of the exposure triangle is ISO which has a direct impact upon

the noisiness of your shots. Choose a larger ISO and you‟ll be able to use faster

shutter speed and smaller aperture (which as we‟ve seen help with sharpness) but

you‟ll suffer by increasing the noise of your shots. Depending upon your camera

(and how large you want to enlarge your images) you can probably get away with

using ISO of up to 400 (or even 800 on some cameras) without too much noise

but for pin sharp images keep it as low as possible).Read more on ISO.

58

6. Image Stabilization

Many cameras and lenses are now being released with different forms of image

stabilization (IS) which won‟t eliminate camera shake – but can definitely help

reduce its impact. I find that using IS lenses that it will give me an extra two or

three stops (ie I can use slower shutter speeds but 2-3 stops) when hand holding

my camera. Keep in mind that IS helps with camera movement but not subject

movement as it allows you to use slower shutter speeds (not good for moving

subjects).

7. Focus

Perhaps the most obvious technique to work on when aiming for sharp lenses is

focusing. Most of us use „Auto Focusing‟ with our cameras but don‟t assume that

the camera will always get it right. Always visually check what part of the image

is in focus before hitting the shutter and if it‟s not right try again or switch to

manual focus mode. This is particularly important if you‟re shooting with a large

aperture (small depth of field) where even being slightly out can result in your

subject being noticeably out of focus.

8. Good lenses

This one is for DSLR owners – if you have the budget for it invest in good

quality lenses as they can have a major impact upon the sharpness of your images.

For example shortly after buying my DSLR I was in the market for a everyday

zoom lens that would give me the ability to have both wide (ish) and telephoto

zoom capabilities. I bought a Canon EF 28-135mm lens. It was a good lens (and

reasonably priced) but it wasn‟t as sharp as some of my other lenses. A few

months later I borrowed a Canon EF 24-105mm „L series‟ (the professional series

of lenses from Canon) lens from a friend and was amazed by the difference in

sharpness between the lenses. While the first lens was good for what I paid for it I

ended up going for an upgrade and the new lens is now almost permanently

attached to my camera.

59

9. Get your Eyes Checked

Since I was young I‟ve worn glasses but in recent years I‟ve been a little slack in

getting my eyes checked. Recently I got them tested for the first time in a number

of years and was surprised to find that they‟d deteriorated significantly. Getting

new glasses improved a number of areas of my life, one of which was my

photography. Also connected with this is checking the „diopter‟ on your camera

(if it has one. The diopter is a little adjustment that you can make to how your

viewfinder works – it‟s particularly useful for people with poor eye sight – it‟s

usually a little wheel next to your viewfinder.

10. Clean equipment

Recently my wife and I went on a window cleaning frenzy at our place. Over the

previous months the grime on our windows had gradually built up without us

really noticing it. When we did clean them though we were amazed at how much

more light got through and how much better the view outside was. The same can

be true for your camera‟s lens. Keep it clean and you‟ll eliminate the smudges,

dust and grime that can impact your shots. Similarly – a clean image sensor is a

wonderful thing if you have a DSLR as getting dust on it can produce noticeable

blotches in your end images.

Update

11. Lens Sweet Spot

Lenses have spots in their aperture ranges that are sharper than others. In many

cases this „sweet spot‟ is one or two stops from the maximum aperture. So instead

of shooting with your lens wide open (ie where the numbers are smallest) pull it

back a stop or two and you might find you get a little more clarity in your shots.

60

How to Use Focal Lock

It‟s a very simple technique and something that virtually every digital camera

(and most film cameras) has the ability to do. Here‟s what you do:

Pose your subject.

When framing your subject put the central point of your frame on the point that

you want to focus upon (the face of a person is generally the best point).

With the subject‟s face in the centre of your image half press down on the shutter

button (not fully). This will tell the camera to focus on that point.

Without letting go of the shutter (it should still be half depressed) move your

camera to frame your shot as you want it (i.e. the person‟s face doesn‟t need to be

centered now).

Once you‟ve got the framing right press the shutter the rest of the way and the

shot will be taken with the right focusing even though the centre of your image

might not be the person‟s face.

This technique is not just useful for taking photos of people when they‟re not

central in your shots but can also be used in many other types of photography.

For example in Macro shots when you want to place the insect or flower that

you‟re photographing off centre (using the rule of thirds) you might want to use

focal lock. Similarly if you were taking a landscape shot but wanted to focus

upon a house in the foreground that was off centre rather than the horizon you‟d

use this technique.

This technique is one that most people know but it‟s something that beginners

should master in the early days of their photography as it‟s something you‟ll use

constantly. It might take a little practice but after a while it will become second

nature to you.

61

Shooting with an In Camera

Flash

My preference with flash photography is to have dedicated flash that is either on

a hotshoe, flash bracket or off camera – however there are plenty of times when

all you‟ve got at your disposal is the in camera flash. 99% of all cameras have

them – so perhaps it‟s time we thought about how to get the best results from

them.

Here are a few tips:

1. Get In Close

The main limitation of built in flash units is their power. Whereas external flash

units have their own dedicated power source and can be quite large – a built in

flash shares its power with your camera‟s other components and it‟s generally

quite a bit smaller.

Knowing this should drive you to get in close enough to your subject for the flash

to have some impact (usually within 2-3 meters). If you can‟t get in close (for

example if you‟re at a rock concert and are sitting in the back row) you‟ll

probably achieve better results by turning your flash off and bumping up the ISO

setting.

2. Try Slow Sync Flash

Another limitation within built flash units is that they can produce quite harsh

results that mean any other ambient light in a scene is lost. This is partly because

62

the light they produce is unable to be directed/bounced indirectly onto your

subject.

One way around this is to use Slow Sync Flash. You can read about this

technique in our tutorial on the topic – but in short it involves choosing a slower

shutter speed and firing the flash while the shutter is open.

3. Diffuse or Direct Your Flash DIY style

I‟ve already alluded to the problem of not being able to diffuse the light produced

by a fixed flash unit – however one technique that some inventive photographers

use is to take a Do It Yourself approach and create their own diffusers.

Some photographers I know always have a roll of semi-opaque adhesive tape in

their camera bag to put over their flash. This doesn‟t stop the flash‟s light but

diffuses it.

Other friends take a little piece of white card with them which they put in front of

their flash to bounce it up or sideways.

Using these techniques might mean you need to play with exposure

compensation (you‟ll probably want to increase exposure by a stop or two) as

your camera won‟t be aware that you‟re taking some of the power out of it‟s light.

4. Fill-in Flash

Don‟t just use your flash when it‟s dark. Often when shooting outdoors a flash

can really lift an image up a notch – particularly when photographing a subject

with strong backlighting or one with harsh downward light. A fill in flash lights

up shadowy areas

63

Using Fill Flash

I was chatting with a new digital camera owner on the weekend about their

camera and they were telling me about how they didn‟t think they‟d ever use

anything but fully automatic mode on their great new Canon DSLR.

They told me that „auto‟ mode would produce the perfect shot in every

scenario – so why would they ever need to use anything else.

I asked them to show me some of the shots that they‟d taken on their camera

and they allowed me to flick through some shots until I came to this one:

It was taken at a wedding that they attended where the bride, groom and

celebrant (I was actually the celebrant – like my pink tie?) were positioned in

a fairly dark gothic-like hall in front of a number of large windows.

The Problem

The problem with the shots was that there was so much light coming in the

windows that the super little camera that my friend was using in Auto mode

thought that the scene had enough light. As a result the window and what you

can see through it is reasonably well exposed – but the main subject matter of

the picture (the happy couple) is well under exposed. Some of the other shots

taken this day were much worse and had the bride and groom as silhouettes.

64

Obviously the issue with this shot is that there is just not enough light from

the front of the subjects to light up the subject with the shutter speed being

used.

The Solution

There are a number of possible solutions to this problem but one of the

easiest is to override the camera and force it to shoot with a flash – a

technique often called „fill flash‟. Fill Flash is used to supplement existing

light in a scene – it‟s generally not the primary light source (as a flash often is

at night) but fills in light where natural light doesn‟t go.

In addition to helping with backlit subjects fill flash helps in more subtle

ways also by helping to eliminate shadows cast by facial features (under eyes,

noses, chins) or under hats – especially when light is shining down from

above. It also might just add a special little sparkle to the eye of the person

you‟re photographing.

In the same way it is also very useful in other styles of photography including

in nature and macro photography for lighting up subjects in much the same

way as when you‟re photographing people.

Most cameras have a way of doing this that doesn‟t mean that you have to go

into a full manual mode – in fact my point and shoot digital camera allows

me to force the flash to fire IN automatic mode. Check out your digital

camera‟s owner‟s manual to work out how to do this on your digital camera

but in most point and shoot cameras the main button to look for will be the

one with the lightning bolt (flash) on or near it. Press this multiple times and

it will cycle you through the different options for flash (on, off, automatic,

red eye reduction are the main four). Some point and shoot cameras even

65

have a „fill flash‟ option that ramps back the strength of the flash a little

which is ideal.

Some more advanced digital cameras will allow you to experiment with the

strength of the flash you use. This will enable you to tailor your flash to the

situation you‟re in. Most DSLRs will let you pull back your flash output in

1/2 or even 1/3 stops. I find that at the start of a photographic shoot if I shoot

off a few shots at different exposure levels and check them on my LCD that I

quickly find out what‟s working and can stick to that level in the shots that

follow.

Keep in mind that Fill Flash can be overdone. If you beef up the flash too

much your shots can look artificial and overexposed. Aim for subtlety when

using a flash and you‟ll really lift your shots.

66

11 Tips for Beginner

Photographers

1. Don’t go crazy buying the most expensive equipment right away.

It‟s possible to get very nice photos with an inexpensive point and shoot. The

more photos you take, the more you‟ll know about what kind of camera to get

when it‟s time to upgrade.

2. Consider a tripod.

On the other hand, an inexpensive tripod is worth getting, especially if you

have shaky hands like mine. When I got a tripod, my satisfaction with my

shots skyrocketed. For even more stability, use your camera‟s timer function

with a tripod.

3. Keep your camera with you all the time.

Photo ops often come when you least expect it. If you can keep your

equipment relatively simple – just a small camera bag and a tripod – you

might be able to take advantage of some of those unexpected opportunities.

Or, if your phone has a camera, use it to take “notes” on scenes you‟d like to

return to with your regular camera.

4. Make a list of shots you’d like to get.

For those times you can‟t carry your camera around, keep a small notebook

to jot down places you‟d like to come back and photograph. Make sure to

note any important details, like the lighting, so you can come back at the

67

same time of day or when the weather‟s right. If you don‟t want to carry a

notebook, send yourself an email using your cell phone with Jott.com.

5. Don’t overlook mundane subjects for photography.

You might not see anything interesting to photograph in your living room or

your backyard, but try looking at familiar surroundings with fresh eyes. You

might catch an interesting trick of the light or find some unexpected

wildflowers in your yard. Often a simple subject makes the best shot.

6. Enjoy the learning process.

The best part of having a hobby like photography is never running out of

things to learn. Inspiration is all around you. Look at everything with the eyes

of a photographer and you‟ll see opportunities you never noticed before.

7. Take advantage of free resources to learn.

Browse through Flickr or websites like the Digital Photography School

Forum for inspiration and tips. Also, your local library probably has a wealth

of books on all types of photography. If you‟re interested in learning about

post-processing, give free software like the GIMP a try.

8. Experiment with your camera’s settings.

Your point and shoot may be more flexible and powerful than you know.

Read the manual for help deciphering all those little symbols. As you explore,

try shooting your subjects with multiple settings to learn what effects you like.

When you‟re looking at your photos on a computer, you can check the EXIF

data (usually in the file‟s properties) to recall the settings you used.

68

9. Learn the basic rules.

The amount of information about photography online can be overwhelming.

Start with a few articles on composition. Be open to what more experienced

photographers have to say about technique. You have to know the rules

before you can break them.

10. Take photos regularly.

Try to photograph something every day. If you can‟t do that, make sure you

take time to practice regularly, so you don‟t forget what you‟ve learned. An

excellent way to motivate yourself is by doing the weekly assignments in the

DPS Forum.

11. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

If you‟re using a digital camera, the cost of errors is free. Go crazy – you

might end up with something you like. You‟ll certainly learn a lot in the

process.

69

10 Questions to Ask When

Taking a Digital Photo

1. What story am I telling?

This is an important question and one that should help you to make any

number of decisions in terms of composition, framing, exposure etc. In

essence what you‟re asking is „why am I taking this shot? What is its purpose

and what am I trying to convey?‟ Is it purely a way to keep a record of a

moment, are you trying to capture the emotion of a moment, is it possibly a

shot to give to someone, is it part of a larger series of shots or will it be the

only shot to commemorate the moment etc.

2. What is the visual focal point of this shot?

What will viewers of this picture naturally have their eye drawn to in this

scene? Once you‟ve identified this focal point you can think about where to

place it in the frame (consider the rule of thirds for example).

The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image

down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts.

As follows.

As you‟re taking an image you would have done this in your mind through

your viewfinder or in the LCD display that you use to frame your shot.

70

With this grid in mind the „rule of thirds‟ now identifies four important parts

of the image that you should consider placing points of interest in as you

frame your image.

Not only this – but it also gives you four „lines‟ that are also useful positions

for elements in your photo.

The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along

the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of

the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when

viewing images that people‟s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points

most naturally rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds

works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against

it.

3. What competing focal points are there?

Once you‟ve identified what you do want your viewers‟ eyes to be drawn

towards and have placed it in the frame – scan your eyes over the shot and

see if there are any competing focal points and ask yourself whether they add

to or take away from the image. Secondary focal points can add depth to

shots but they can also be very distracting and so you might need to

reposition yourself or adjust your focal length and/or depth of field to

accommodate or remove them from your shots. Also keep in mind that if

71

your shot has more than one focal point that it might be worth taking two

shots, one of each focal point, in order to keep things simple.

6 Techniques to Enhance the Focal Point in an Image

A focal point can be virtually anything ranging from a person, to a building,

to a mountain, to a flower etc. Obviously the more interesting the focal point

the better – but there are other things you can do to enhance its power

including:

Position – Place it in a prominent position – you might want to start with

the rule of thirds for some ideas.

Focus – Learn to use Depth of Field to blur out other aspects in front or

behind your focal point.

Blur – If you really want to get tricky you might want to play with slower

shutter speeds if your main subject is still and things around it are moving.

Size – making your focal point large is not the only way to make it prominent

– but it definitely can help.

Color – using contrasting colors can also be a way of setting your point of

interest apart from its surroundings.

Shape – similarly contrasting shapes and textures can make a subject stand

out – especially patterns that are repeated around a subject.

Keep in mind that a combination of above elements can work well together.

Lastly – don‟t confuse the viewer with too many competing focal points

which might overwhelm the main focal point. Secondary points of interest

can be helpful to lead the eye but too many strong ones will just clutter and

confuse.

72

4. What is in the background and foreground?

One of most common places for distractions in digital photography is the

background of your shots. Run your eyes over the space behind your subject

to see what else is in the image (do the same for the foreground). Consider

whether you want the background in focus or nice and blurry.

9 Strategies for Dealing with Distracting Backgrounds

a. Check your Background Before Hitting the Shutter Release

Ok – this strategy isn‟t rocket science, in fact you‟d think it almost goes

without saying – but unfortunately it doesn‟t and many of the mistakes that I

see in photographs could have been avoided simply by checking the

background before taking the shot and taking some sort of evasive action.

Always scan the background of your shots before taking a shot. Look for

colors that don‟t fit with the rest of the image, bright patches that might

distract the eye, lines that clash, people that don‟t belong etc.

b. Move Your Subject

This is once again a fairly simple technique but is probably the first thing you

should consider. Quite often asking a portrait subject to take a step to the left

or right will fix things either by putting the distraction behind them or by

putting it out of frame.

c. Change your Shooting Angle

If you have distracting elements in the background of a shot but can‟t move

your subject another strategy is to move yourself and shoot from a new angle.

This might mean rotating around your subject but could also include getting

73

down low to make the sky the background or even getting up high and

shooting down onto your subject to make the background the ground.

d. Using Aperture to Blur Backgrounds

One of the most useful things to learn as a way to combat distractions in

backgrounds (and foregrounds) is to use the power of your lens to throw the

background out of focus using depth of field. What you‟re trying to achieve

with this technique is a nice blurred background where you can‟t really make

out what‟s going on there.

The easiest way to do this is to use a wide aperture (the smaller the number

the wider the aperture). The wider your aperture the more blurry your

background should become.

The quickest way to see the impact of this strategy is to switch your camera

into aperture priority mode and to take a number of shots at different

apertures. Start with an aperture of f/20 and work your way down – one stop

at a time. Once you get down to under f/4 you‟ll start seeing the background

in your shots getting blurrier and blurrier.

e. Using Focal Length to Blur Backgrounds

Another way to help get your backgrounds nice and blurry is to use a lens

with a long focal length. Longer tele-photo do help a little to get narrower

depth of field (although the amount is less than many think). In actual fact the

impact is smaller than it seems and the main reason for the change is that

with a longer focal length the subject actually takes up more space in the

frame.

74

f. Place Subjects In front of Open Spaces

Placing your subject a long way in front of other objects will also help to

make those objects more blurry. For example if you have the choice between

shooting your subject standing right in front of a brick wall or standing in

front of an open field – the open field shot will have a much more blurred

background simply because the brick wall is just centimeters from your

subject and inside the focal range whereas an open field stretches off into the

distance where everything will be out of focus.

g. Fill your frame with your subject

One of the most effective ways of removing distractions from backgrounds is

to remove the background altogether by totally filling the frame with your

subject. Get up close and/or use your zoom lens to tightly frame the shot and

you‟ll not only remove distractions but could end up with a high impact shot

as well.

h. Make your Own Background

Sometimes there just isn‟t any suitable background and so you might want to

consider making your own. This could range from buying a purpose built

studio background or simply buying some cloth to do the job for you.

I know of one keep photographer who goes out shooting photographic

portraits and carries large colored sheets of card with him to put up on walls

to act as a background.

The other thing to keep in mind is that in many instances you can move

things around in the background of your shots (especially if you‟re shooting

indoors). For example I was recently photographed in my home for a

75

newspaper and the photographer had me move a number of pieces of

furniture during the shoot because they were distracting in the shots. It took a

little effort but the impact in the shots was quite incredible.

i. Post Processing

I‟m no expert in using photo editing software but there are numerous ways of

editing a shot after you‟ve taken it to get rid of distracting elements. These

can include blurring techniques, actual removing of elements and replacing

them and techniques such as selective coloring (ie making your subject stand

out by making your background black and white (or at least sucking some of

the color out of it).

5. Am I close enough?

Another common mistake in digital photography is taking shots where your

subject is too small in the frame. Shots that fill the frame with your subject tend to

be much more dynamic and show a lot more detail of your subject. To get this

effect you have the option of moving yourself closer, moving your subject closer

or using a longer focal length to give the effect of closeness.

So how do you fill your frame? You‟ve largely got three options:

1. Use your Optical Zoom – most point and shoot digital cameras these days come

with a zoom lens and all DSLRs are able to be fitted with one. Use them.

2. Use your Legs – most photographers have a built in zoom in the form of their legs.

Don‟t just rely upon your cameras zoom but actually position yourself effectively

for close in shots.

3. Crop your Shots – the other option is to zoom in manually at home after you‟ve

taken your shots. This is a handy option to have but I personally prefer to use one

of the first two options where I can because cropping shots later means if you want

a large image that you‟ll find that it becomes more pixelated. This is a good option

76

if you‟re just trimming shots but any major cropping will result in a loss of quality

of your image.

Digital Zooms – Another option that many digital camera owners use is to utilize

their „digital zoom‟. Most digital cameras these days have boast about having

digital zooms but don‟t tell you that to use them will decrease the quality of your

shots in a similar way that cropping your shots can. In essence a digital zoom fills

your frame by increasing the size of pixels in your shots when can leave you with a

grainy impact. I would highly recommend switching off your digital zoom feature

and relying upon option 1 and 2 above. If you still need to get in closer you can

always crop your shots and achieve the same results as using your digital zoom.

6. What is the main source of light?

Always give consideration to how your subject is lit. Without light you‟ll lose

detail and clarity in your image and your camera will have to compensate by doing

things like increasing ISO and lengthening shutter speeds (which could lead to

noisy and blurred images). What is the main source of light, where is it coming

from, is there enough light, do you need artificial light sources (flash etc), do you

need to stabilize your camera on a tripod to stop camera shake due to low light etc.

Flash Diffusers

There are many techniques for overcoming these problems including using bounce

flash techniques and controlling the flash output from your camera (we‟ll cover

these in the future) but one simple tip is to soften the light from your flash using a

diffuser.

Diffusers help eliminate harsh light and shadows and can help leave your photos

looking more natural.

Diffusers come in all shapes and sizes depending upon the type of flash you‟re

using.

77

Some external flash units come with one built in (see a picture of my Canon

Speedlight‟s sliding diffuser below – it is not in use in the one on the left and IS in

use on the right).

Other external flashes don‟t come with them and need some sort of external

diffuser like the one pictured to the right. In addition to these professionally

designed diffusers there are all manner of DIY diffusers that I‟ve seen digital

camera owners trying.

These range from simply placing a piece of semi-opaque sticky tape over

your flash (I‟ve done this with some success on my point and shoot, to using

pieces of plastic from takeout containers through to more involved

contraptions involving tissue paper, cellophane and a variety of other types of

opaque everyday items.

Flash Reflectors

In addition to this there are a variety of „reflectors‟

available to purchase (or make) for your flashes also

(for example see the one pictured to the left).

While a diffuser sits directly over your flash a reflector

is usually some kind of white object (card, paper or

plastic) that you bounce your flash into to in order to

78

spread the effects of the flash wider through a room and to make the flash a

little less direct.

Once again they help to eliminate direct, harsh light and shadows and soften

the light a little.

If you‟re going to make your own diffuser or reflector make sure that you use

white, non tinted materials. Otherwise you‟ll end up throwing colored light

onto the scenes you‟ve photographing which will leave them with tinges of

that color.

Umbrella Reflectors

Lastly, the pros use umbrella reflectors to fire

flashes into to reflect light evenly onto their subjects from a wide area.

7. Is my Framing Straight?

It‟s amazing how many otherwise good photos are spoiled by framing that is

slightly offline. Sloping horizons and slightly leaning people or buildings

should always be in the back of your mind to check.

Also related to this question is that of „Am I holding my Camera correctly?‟

Many people don‟t and as a result suffer from camera shake and framing

mistakes.

8. What other perspectives could I capture this subject from?

Put 10 digital camera owners in front of a scene and most of them will take

exactly the same shot from the same position. Make your images stand out

79

from the crowd by challenging yourself to not only take the standard shots

that everyone else will get but to find creative and fresh angles and

perspectives to shoot from.

10 Ways to Add Variety to Your Digital Photography.

a. Shoot your subject at different focal lengths – using the zoom on your

photos will not only change how close your subject appears but it will also

change the depth of field (ie the blurring of the background). It also allows

you to shoot from different distances which can really impact how relaxed

your subject is (there‟s nothing better than a photographer in your face to

make you tense up!)

b. Shoot your subject from different angles – it‟s amazing how much you

can change a shot by getting on your knees or taking a few steps to the side!

c. Shoot using different formats – there are different ways to grip a digital

camera. The two main ones are horizontally or vertically but you can also get

into all kinds of diagonal ways to do it. Mix it up.

d. Avoid the Group Shot Blink – When photographing people try to take

multiple shots, especially group photos when someone is always bound to be

blinking.

e. Use continuous exposure modes – most digital cameras these days will

have a mode that allows you to shoot multiple frames quickly. So instead of

taking one shot at a time you can take multiple ones by simply holding the

shutter longer. This can be very effective at capturing people in that second

after they post (quite often when they are looking a little more themselves).

f. Move your Subject around – If it‟s appropriate move your subject around.

The pictures at the top of this post are from a session of photo I took of my

brother. I love the series because it puts him in a variety of poses in quick

80

succession (we shot 50 or so shots all in 10 minutes). They make a great

series.

g. Try Exposure Bracketing – this is a technique that Pro photographers use

to make sure they get the perfect exposure. Some cameras have a built in

bracketing function but with others you‟ll need to do it manually. The basic

principle of it is to take numerous shots in a row and purposely shooting them

at a variety of exposures. Start with under exposing them and gradually dial

up your exposure levels until your last shot is over exposed. I‟ll write a

tutorial on this at some point in the future but in the mean time hit your

digital camera‟s instruction book to see if they have a way to do it

automatically.

h. Experiment with different ‘modes’ – even the most basic point and shoot

cameras have different „shooting modes‟. These are usually things like

„portrait‟, „landscape‟, „sports‟, „night‟ etc. Sometimes it‟s worth flicking

through these to take shots at different settings. What these modes do is

simply change the basic settings (like aperture, shutter speed, ISO) – all

things that can change the look and feel of your shot considerably

i. Play with your Flash - try turning your flash off or forcing it to fire in

shots. Sometimes adding flash to a scene where there‟s lots of light behind

your subject is essential (even though your camera might not think it needs it).

This stops those silhouette shots where it looks like you‟re trying to hide the

identity of your subject.

j. Tell a story - rather than trying to sum up a whole occasion in one shot

think of the shots you take as an opportunity to tell a story. I sometimes have

the sequence of shots in mind as I‟m doing a shoot – look for a beginning

shot, a middle shot and an end one. It‟s almost like a movie but with still

shots.

81

One last tip: when it comes to shooting lots of images – take note of what

you‟re doing. One of the problems with shooting lots of shots at different

exposures and in different modes and settings is that you get home to your

computer and find a brilliant shot but can‟t remember how you did it. Many

cameras will store your settings in the images for you to look at later but I

find it is sometimes helpful to even jot down what I do as I take images or at

least to make a special mental note of what I‟m doing as I go so that I can

reproduce the types of shots in future.

9. How would holding the camera in the other format change this shot?

Many photographers get into the habit of always holding their camera the

same way (horizontally/landscape or vertically/portrait). While it‟s OK to

have a preference one way or the other it‟s also worth remembering that

changing the format can drastically change the impact of the shot. Don‟t

forget you can also hold your camera at an angle for an effective result too.

10. How will the eye travel through this image?

This is related to asking about focal points but gets in touch with the fact that

while you‟re photographing a still image your viewers eyes don‟t remain still

as they look at an image. People tend to follow lines and are attracted to

shapes and colors so considering all of these different visual elements and

cues can help improve your shots considerably.

Of course you probably won‟t remember all the questions and you‟re unlikely

to go through each of them with every shot you take – however next time you

head out with your digital camera concentrate on asking yourself at least one

or two of them as you take your shots. As you do you‟ll find that they

become more automatic and in time you‟ll naturally take digital photography

shots that take into account all of these elements.

82

7 Strategies for Avoiding Flash

Blow Out

The problem that point and shoot camera owners face when it comes to using

flash to light a scene is that many point and shoot cameras offer a photographer

much less control over how powerful the flash is and what direction the light is

pointed (in comparison to a DSLR with a dedicated flash unit that can be

bounced in different directions at different levels).

However don‟t resign yourself to flash dominated shots – all is not lost. Below

are 7 tips for point and shoot users (and DSLR users wanting to use their

camera‟s flash).

Learn to See Your Flash as a Secondary Light Source

Before I give some specific tips on decreasing the impact of your flash on your

shots let me share a tip that a more experienced and wise photographer once gave

me.

A flash should only ever be thought of as a secondary light source. In almost

every situation that you will want to photograph there will be some level of

existing ambient light. This light is important as it is the natural light of the scene

you‟re trying to capture. Your flash should be used to supplement existing light

rather than as the primary way of lighting a scene. If you use a flash as the

primary source of light it will look artificial.

As a result of knowing this you‟ll find that most of the following strategies are

about making the flash more subtle or making the natural light more noticeable.

83

OK – so let‟s get on with some strategies and techniques for Avoiding Flash

Blow Out:

1. Take a Step Back

One of the simplest ways to decrease the impact of the light coming from your

flash is to put a little more distance between you and your subject. While I

generally advise people to get in close to their subject and fill the frame – this can

often make the effect of a flash even brighter. Many of the blown out flash shots

that I see are simply because the photographer is too close to their subject.

Stepping back further away from your subject doesn‟t mean that you can‟t fill the

frame. You could use your camera‟s zoom lens (although this can increase the

effect of camera shake) or simply crop the shot later on your computer.

2. Diffuse It

If your digital camera doesn‟t allow you to have any control over how much light

it outputs (see below for more on this) you might want to consider manually

making some changes that limit or diffuse the light coming out of your digital

camera. This is something that users of dedicated flash units can do by using

specifically made flash diffusers – but point and shoot owners may need to get a

little more creative and hack their own solution.

One of the most effective ways of doing this is simply to find some semi opaque

material to place over your flash. I‟ve seen some point and shoot owners stick a

little white tissue paper over their flash and others do this with a little piece of

cello tape (the semi-opaque kind). Just remember that the color of the material

that you use will impact the color of the light that comes out of your flash (and

therefore the color cast on the scene) – so white tape or tissue paper will give a

more natural light than red or blue!

84

3. Redirect it

Another strategy that dedicated flash users will often use is to redirect or

bouncing the light coming out of their flash off another surface. They are able to

do this because these flash units are able to be swiveled and shot into different

directions.

Point and Shoot users obviously can‟t change the direction that their flash points

– but might want to try „hacking‟ their camera in this way also. I‟ve seen a few

photographers do this simply by taking a small piece of white card and putting it

at an angle in front of the flash so that the flash is redirected up onto the ceiling of

the room (or even sideways onto a wall). This little hack will need some

experimentation to get the angle of the card right and the results will vary quite a

bit depending upon the situation that you‟re photographing (distance to your

subject, how high the ceiling is, how much ambient light there is etc). Again, the

color of the card you use, as well as the ceiling or wall that you‟re bouncing the

light off, will impact the color cast in the shot.

4. Night Mode

Most point and shoot digital cameras have a fun little option on their mode dial

called night mode. This mode tells the camera to use a technique called „slow

sync flash„. It means taking a shot with a slower shutter speed while still shooting

the flash. This means that you get a little more ambient light from the scene while

still freezing the action with the flash (like the shot to the left). The shots taken in

this mode won‟t give you pin point sharp images – but they can be fun and very

effective (particularly if there is some nice colored lights in the room).

85

5. Decrease Flash Output

Some point and shoot cameras have the ability to tell the camera just how much

flash you want it to use. This won‟t be something you all have at your finger tips

but check your camera‟s manual to see if you have it. If you do, dial back your

flash output by a stop or two to see what impact it has. It might take a little

experimentation to get the setting just right but it can help you end up with much

more natural shots.

6. Add Light

This one could get you kicked out of the party – but getting a little more light on

the scene is another pretty obvious way to help the situation. At an extreme level

this might mean turning on all the lights in the room (and potentially destroying

the mode) or it could mean moving your subjects to a better lit position near a

lamp or light. I‟ve done this in photographing wedding receptions – simply

positioning myself in front of an open door that leads into a better lit room where

the light spills in lighting up the faces of guests on the dance floor.

Another way to increase the impact of ambient light on a subject is to think about

reflective light. For example photographing someone standing next to a white

wall as opposed to a black wall will mean that any ambient light in the room will

be bounced onto them (this is similar to having your own reflector).

7. ISO, Shutter Speeds and Aperture

One last way to decrease the impact has on a scene is to tweak some of your

camera‟s exposure settings – particularly those that impact how the camera treats

light like ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed.

86

This isn‟t the place for a detailed explanation of the basics of exposure, but if

your camera allows you to change any of these settings they could be helpful. In

brief:

ISO – increase the ISO setting and you increase the camera‟s sensitivity to light.

This means the ambient light in the room will have more effect and you‟ll have

less need for flash. Keep in mind that increasing ISO also increases the grain or

noise in your shots.

Aperture – as you increase the aperture of your camera you increase the size of

the hole in your lens and more light is able to get in quickly. So increasing

aperture (this means decreasing the f/number) can be something to experiment

with. Keep in mind that this means you also decrease the depth of field in your

shot meaning you need to get your focus spot on and that not everything in your

shot might be in focus.

Shutter Speed – lengthening the amount of time that your shutter is open

increases the amount of light hitting your image sensor. This is another factor in

exposure that you might like to experiment with. Keep in mind that if there is

movement in your scene (even small movements) that the longer the shutter is

open the more blur you‟ll get in your shot.

Please note – not all point and shoot digital cameras have the ability impact all (or

any) of these settings. Check your manual – particularly to see if your camera

has Aperture or Shutter Speed Priority Modes. I‟d personally start with increasing

ISO and then switching to a larger Aperture before playing with Shutter Speed

(unless it was part of a Slow Sync Flash strategy).

87

Macro Photography Tips for

Point and Shoot Digital

Cameras

Select Macro Mode – this is a fairly obvious first step but I‟m always

surprised by how many digital camera owners haven‟t explored the shooting

modes that their camera has. Macro mode is generally symbolized with a

little flower and when selected it will tell your camera that you want to focus

on a subject closer to your lens than normal (the minimum distance allowed

will vary from camera to camera – consult your instruction manual to find

yours). Macro mode will also usually tell your camera to choose a large

aperture so that your subject is in focus but the background is not.

Use a Tripod – in macro photography a tripod can be particularly useful,

even if you‟re just shooting with a compact camera. Keeping your camera

still not only improves your shots (getting rid of camera shake) but it allows

you to play around with different settings without losing your composition.

Aperture – once in macro mode some cameras will not allow you to make

many other adjustments but if you are able to play with your aperture settings

it can be well worthwhile to do so. As we‟ve covered in our Aperture

tutorials, the main thing that aperture impacts is the depth of field of your

shots. Choose a small aperture (big number) if you want a large depth of field

with everything in focus or a large aperture if you just want your main

subject in focus. In macro photography you‟ll probably want a shallow depth

of field so select the largest aperture available.

88

Focusing – I find that in macro photography it is helpful to have full control

over focusing – especially when you have shallow depth of fields where it is

all the more important to make sure the right part of your shot is in focus. If

your camera allows manual focusing select this option and manually focus on

the part of our subject that is the main point of interest.

Composition – remember some of the basic rules of composition like the

Rule of Thirds. Make sure your image has a main point of interest and place

that focal point in a smart position in your image in order to draw the eye of

your viewer. Try to select a non cluttered or simple background for your

main subject so as it doesn‟t compete with it visually.

Flash – in many macro shots having some artificial light is important. The

challenge with compact cameras is that most give you limited control of your

flash. As a result choosing a good time of day when there is plenty of

available light is probably your best bet. If you do need more light check to

see if your camera allows you to pull back the level that your flash fires at.

Alternatively you might like to try diffusing it in some way (tissue paper or

cellotape over the flash for example). Another option might be to use some

other source of artificial light or to invest in a reflector to help make the most

of available light. Experiment with different methods of lighting your subject.

Take Your Shot - once you have your shot lined up and in focus take your

shot. Make sure once you‟ve taken it to take a good look at it on your LCD,

zooming in to make sure that your focusing is sharp. Try shooting at slightly

different apertures, with different compositions and focusing on different

points of your subject to see what works best.

Macro Lens Attachments – some compact cameras actually have

accessories available to help with macro/close up photography. These will

89

enable you to enlarge your subject and/or decrease your minimum focal

length. These might be worth investing in if you intend on doing a lot of

macro work.

Self Timer – (this point was added as a result of comments below – thanks

team!) when using my DSLR for Macro work I tend to use a shutter cable

release and tripod to make sure my shots are completely still (to eliminate the

small amount of camera shake from pressing the shutter). Most compact

cameras don‟t have cable releases but a simple way around this is to use your

camera‟s self timer on it‟s shortest time setting which will similarly mean

you have no movement of your camera when taking your shot (if you‟re

taking notice of the „use a tripod‟ tip above).

PS: I‟ve used the term „macro photography fairly loosely here. Technically

„macro photography‟ is actually when you produce an image where your

subject is captured on your image sensor at life size (or bigger) with a 1:1

ratio.

In the case of most (all?) compact cameras this is not achieved and in fact

„close up‟ photography would be a better description. However as most

manufacturers call their close up mode „macro mode‟ I‟ve used the term for

the purposes of this article.

90

How to Get Shallow Depth of

Field in Your Digital Photos

There are a number of things you might like to try. I‟ll start with the easy ones:

Positioning of Subject

One of the easiest things you can do is position the subject you want to

photograph as far away from any objects behind them as possible. If they are

standing right in front of a wall you‟ll probably end up with it in focus no matter

what else you do – but if they‟re standing 100 meters in front of that same wall

it‟s going to be a lot more blurry. Of course this will only get you so far – you‟ll

need to do some of what‟s coming next as well.

Portrait Mode

The Canon EOS 20D has a little wheel on top of it (on the left) with lots of little

icons on it. One of those icons is a little head. This icon is the symbol for portrait

mode and if you‟re not confident with changing apertures (we‟ll discuss this

below) it‟s a good mode to switch to as it will do some of the work for you.

Portrait mode chooses a large aperture (a small „f‟ number) which will make the

depth of field (the amount of your shot in focus) smaller.

Aperture Priority Mode

If you‟re feeling a little more adventurous switch the wheel to „A‟ which is

Aperture Priority Mode (go on, you can do it). I‟ve written on this mode before

but to recap – this mode lets you choose the Aperture (the size of the hole in your

lens) and tells the camera to choose all the other settings. This semi-auto mode is

a great way to control depth of field as it will ensure your images are well

exposed. For shallow depth of field and nice blurry backgrounds choose a large

Aperture (the smaller the number the larger the aperture). Try taking a few shots

91

at different apertures and see how it affects the background of your shots – this is

the best way to learn how to get more creative control in your shots.

Zoom Lenses

I‟m not sure what lens you have on your 20D but if you‟re like most people these

days it will be a zoom lens with different focal lengths. Many zooms will have

different maximum apertures at different points along the focal length spectrum.

For example if it‟s an 18-55mm kit lens it will have a maximum aperture of f3.5

at 18mm and a maximum aperture of f5.6 at 55mm. Many see the bigger aperture

at the 18mm end of the range and think that that would be the best focal length

for blurry backgrounds. The problem with this is that 18mm is a very wide angle

and for portraits it can mean you need to get in really close to your subject and it

could distort their facial features (not really desirable).

Instead I find that shooting at the 55mm end of the lens is best. This means you

can stand further back (making your subject more at ease and pushing your

background even further away from your camera). You‟ll probably still get nice

blurry backgrounds if you use the fastest aperture available. The other good thing

about zooms is that they enable you to really fill up your frame with your subject

which can give it more prominence and your background less.

Get a New Lens

This is an „easy‟ solution in some ways, but hard if you don‟t have the budget.

Different lenses have different maximum apertures. Those with larger ones are

called „faster‟ and one of the impacts of having a fast lens is that you can make

your depth of field smaller (another is that you can shoot in lower light situations

without needing the flash). A good option for Canon DSLRs is the Canon 50mm

f/1.8 lens. It‟s very fast, it‟s a good focal length for portraits and it is one of the

most affordable lenses Canon make.

92

How to Reduce Camera Shake

– 6 Techniques

1. Elbows In

As often as possible pull your elbows in to your body and exhale completely

before depressing the shutter. When you‟re working with a wide aperture or low

shutter speed (or both), even a breath can introduce shake. Pulling your elbows

tight to your body can really help keep you steady. I also press my elbows firmly

into my chest for even greater stability.

2. Raise Your Left Shoulder….

I am definitely a right eyed photographer, but this tip that I learned from “The

Moment It Clicks” by Joe McNally, requires that I shift for a moment to my left

eye. What I‟m doing here is raising my left shoulder, and bracing my left elbow

into my rib-cage (no arrow for this one). For further stability, you can pull your

right elbow in to your chest. As always, exhale completely before depressing the

shutter to avoid introducing shake.

3. Create a Tripod With Your Knee

You can create your own tripod by resting your elbow on your knee while in a

seated position. Again, bring that other elbow in for greater support.

4. Lay Down

These two images illustrate perhaps the most obvious way to avoid shake without

a tripod. Lie flat and let the lens sit directly on the ground. The problem with this

is that you‟re likely to have quite a downward tilt to the lens and unless you‟re

aiming to photograph the pavement, you probably won‟t end up with the shot

you‟re hoping for. In the first image you‟ll notice that I placed my hand flat

93

against the cement and balanced the lens on top of it to give myself some height.

In the second image you‟ll see that I created a fist with my hand to give myself

even greater height.

5. The Machine Gun Hold

This next technique is sometimes referred to as the machine gun hold. I rarely use

this technique as I find it awkward and difficult to maintain for more than a

second or two. Just because it doesn‟t work for me, doesn‟t mean it won‟t for

you. . . give it a try.

6. Cradle It

In this next image you‟ll see that I created a sort of cradle for the lens between

my shoulder and my wrist. I also stabilized the hold by balancing my elbow on

my knee.

Well there you have it. That‟s how I avoid “The Shake” (I‟ve named him that

because he‟s like an evil monster who comes in and ruins my otherwise perfectly

delicious images).

94

10 Ways to Take Stunning

Portraits

1. Alter Your Perspective

Most portraits are taken with the camera at (or around) the eye level of the subject.

While this is good common sense – completely changing the angle that you shoot

from can give your portrait a real WOW factor.

Get up high and shoot down on your subject or get as close to the ground as you

can and shoot up. Either way you‟ll be seeing your subject from an angle that is

bound to create interest.

2. Play with Eye Contact

It is amazing how much the direction of your subject‟s eyes can impact an image.

Most portraits have the subject looking down the lens – something that can create

a real sense of connection between a subject and those viewing the image. But

there are a couple of other things to try:

A. Looking off camera – have your subject focus their attention on something

unseen and outside the field of view of your camera. This can create a feeling of

candidness and also create a little intrigue and interest as the viewer of the shot

wonders what they are looking at. This intrigue is particularly drawn about when

the subject is showing some kind of emotion (ie „what‟s making them laugh?‟ or

„what is making them look surprised?‟). Just be aware that when you have a

subject looking out of frame that you can also draw the eye of the viewer of the

shot to the edge of the image also – taking them away from the point of interest in

your shot – the subject.

95

B. Looking within the frame – alternatively you could have your subject

looking at something (or someone) within the frame. A child looking at a ball, a

woman looking at her new baby, a man looking hungrily at a big plate of pasta….

When you give your subject something to look at that is inside the frame you

create a second point of interest and a relationship between it and your primary

subject. It also helps create „story‟ within the image.

3. Break the Rules of Composition

There are a lot of „rules‟ out there when it comes to composition and I‟ve always

had a love hate relationship with them. My theory is that while they are useful to

know and employ that they are also useful to know so you can purposely break

them – as this can lead to eye catching results.

The Rule of Thirds is one that can be effective to break – placing your subject

either dead centre can sometimes create a powerful image – or even creative

placement with your subject right on the edge of a shot can sometimes create

interesting images.

Another „rule‟ that we often talk about in portrait photography is to give your

subject room to look into. This can work really well – but again, sometimes rules

are made to be broken.

4. Experiment with Lighting

Another element of randomness that you can introduce to your portraits is the

way that you light them. There are almost unlimited possibilities when it comes

to using light in portraits.

96

Side-lighting can create mood, backlighting and silhouetting your subject to hide

their features can be powerful. Using techniques like slow synch flash can create

an impressive wow factor.

Low Light Photography Options

When shooting with a subject in low light situations you generally have two

options; either to shoot with a flash or to shoot with a slow shutter speed.

1. Flash – When shooting in low light with a flash in auto mode your camera will

choose a relatively fast shutter speed. This means that your subject will be well lit

and that if it is moving it will be frozen and as a result will be sharp. The problem

with this is that it can also leave your subject lit up too brightly and can leave it‟s

background looking very dark as there is not enough time for the camera to

collect any ambient light.

2. Slow Shutter Speed – The other option is to turn your flash off and shoot with

a longer shutter speed in order to collect enough available light from the image to

get a well exposed shot. This can be an effective technique if you‟re shooting

landscape or environmental shots where everything is nice and still – however if

you‟re shooting a moving subject it means you‟ll get motion blur which could

ruin your shot.

Both of the above options are legitimate technique but both have their

weaknesses. Another options to consider is slow sync flash.

What is Slow Sync Flash?

Slow Sync Flash is a function found on many cameras that tells your camera to

shoot with both a longer shutter speed as well as firing the flash. This means you

get the best of both worlds above and can both get a relatively sharp shot of your

97

main subject as well as get some ambient light from the background and

foreground.

Some cameras allow you to access slow sync flash manually and set exposure

length and flash strength but on many compact cameras there is a little less

control given and it‟s presented as an automatic shooting mode, often called

„night mode‟ or even „party mode‟ where the camera selects the slower shutter

speed and flash strength for you.

Rear and Front Curtain Sync

If your camera gives you some manual control when it comes to slow sync flash

you might find yourself presented with two options called „rear curtain sync‟ and

„front curtain sync‟.

These two modes sound a little technical but to put it most simply they are the

way in which you choose when to fire your flash during the longer exposure.

Rear Curtain Sync – this tells your camera to fire the flash at the end of the

exposure. i.e. when you press the shutter your lens opens up and starts collecting

light and just before it closes the flash will fire to light up and freeze your main

subject (see the card shot to the left for an example where you‟ll see the card trail

ending in a nice crisp shot of the card).

Front Curtain Sync – this tells your camera to fire the flash at the start of the

exposure. i.e. when you press the shutter, the flash will fire immediately and the

shutter will remain open afterwards capturing ambient light.

You might not think there‟s much difference between these modes but when

you‟re photographing a moving subject it can have a real impact. You‟ll find

98

many action/sports photographers will use Rear Curtain Sync when shooting with

a panning technique.

Tripod or Handheld?

When using either slow synch in either mode (or in the automatic „night mode‟

you will want to consider whether or not to use a tripod. Traditionally when

shooting with longer shutter speeds it is accepted that a tripod is essential in order

to stop any camera movement. Even the steadiest of hands will not be able to stop

a camera moving over even a 1 or 2 second exposure. So if you want to eliminate

blur from your cameras movement definitely use a tripod (and consider a shutter

release cable).

However in some circumstances hand holding your camera while using slow

sync flash can lead to some wonderful effects. For example if you‟re at a

wedding or party and are out on the dance floor the results can be great at

capturing the mood of a night with those you‟re photographing largely frozen by

the flash but the lights on the dance floor blurred from you moving your camera

during the shot.

Of course hand held techniques won‟t work with every situation so experiment

with both methods at different shutter speeds and by using both rear and front

curtain sync and find the best methods for your particular situation.

5. Move Your Subject Out of their Comfort Zone

I was chatting with a photographer recently who told me about a corporate

portrait shoot that he had done with a business man at his home. They‟d taken a

lot of head and shoulder shots, shots at his desk, shots in front of framed degrees

and other „corporate‟ type images. They had all turned out fairly standard – but

there was nothing that really stood out from the crowd.

99

The photographer and the subject agreed that there were plenty of useable shots

but they wanted to create something „special‟ and out of the box. The

photographer suggested they try some „jumping‟ shots. The subject was a little

hesitant at first but stepped out into the uncomfortable zone and dressed in his suit

and tie started jumping!

The shots were amazing, surprising and quite funny. The shoot culminated with

the subject jumping in his pool for one last image!

While this might all sound a little „silly‟ the shots ended up being featured in a

magazine spread about the subject. It was the series of out of the box images that

convinced the magazine he was someone that they‟d want to feature.

6. Shoot Candidly

Sometimes posed shots can look somewhat…. posed. Some people don‟t look

good in a posed environment and so switching to a candid type approach can

work.

Photograph your subject at work, with family or doing something that they love.

This will put them more at ease and you can end up getting some special shots

with them reacting naturally to the situation that they are in. You might even want

to grab a longer zoom lens to take you out of their immediate zone and get really

paparazzi with them.

I find that this can particularly work when photographing children.

7. Introduce a Prop

Add a prop of some kind into your shots and you create another point of interest

that can enhance your shot.

100

Yes you might run the risk of taking too much focus away from your main

subject but you could also really add a sense of story and place to the image that

takes it in a new direction and gives the person you‟re photographing an extra

layer of depth that they wouldn‟t have had without the prop.

8. Focus upon One Body Part – Get Close Up

Get a lens with a long focal length attached to your camera – or get right in close

so that you can just photograph a part of your subject. Photographing a person‟s

hands, eyes, mouth or even just their lower body… can leave a lot to the

imagination of the viewer of an image.

Sometimes it‟s what is left out of an image that says more than what is included.

9. Obscure Part of your Subject

A variation on the idea of zooming in on one part of the body is to obscure parts

of your portrait subject‟s face or body. You can do this with clothing, objects,

their hands or just by framing part of them out of the image.

Doing this means that you leave a little to the imagination of the image‟s viewer

but also focus their attention on parts of your subject that you want them to be

focused upon.

10. Take a Series of Shots

Switch your camera into „burst‟ or „continuous shooting‟ mode and fire off more

than one shot at a time. In doing this you create a series of images that could be

presented together instead of just one static image. This technique can work very

well when you‟re photographing children – or really any active subject that is

changing their position or pose in quick succession.