Aylwin’s Photography - Blog

Techniques To Getting A Great Picture !

Have you heard of the phrase, “There is more than meets the eye?”

Frankly, I’ve yet to fully master all of the points which I’m sharing with you below, myself but I usually keep them in mind whenever I plan to do any shoots.

We use our eyes to capture images but the camera captures the memories. Through time, man has devised ways to preserve fleeting moments. The camera is one such tool. These days, the biggest sellers in the camera market are the Digital SLR cameras. These modern gadgets can trigger our creativity and seeds of emotion. Most people choose Digital SLRs because resulting images can be easily manipulated. However, it takes more than just a camera to deliver a perfect image.

Below are some pointers that you can consider to maximise the potential of your DSLR camera. Certain pointers can also be applied to digital compact cameras :

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1. Focus On Simplicity

Consider the subject of your picture. Zoom into it and capture the image. Crop out irrelevant objects and areas, or just allow the camera to soften and blur the background for you.

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2. Practise Rule Of Thirds

When capturing a subject, draw imaginary lines dividing the “working space” into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. Place the important elements of your desired composition (subject) where these lines intersect. Ideal places to put things are: a third of the way up, a third of the way in from the left and so on.

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3. Consider Shapes And Lines

Shapes can be made more dominant by placing them against plain contrasting backgrounds; for example, consider the white sail against the dark water background. By silhouetting the subject and at the same time, eliminating its other qualities, such as texture and dimension, you can achieve the greatest emphasis of shape.

Vertical, diagonal, horizontal and curved lines create different moods. Vertical lines communicate a sense of strength, rigidity, power and solidarity to the viewer. Horizontal lines represent peace, tranquility, and quietness. A generally accepted practice is to use a vertical format for pictures having predominantly vertical lines and horizontal format for pictures having predominantly horizontal lines. Again, while this is a generally accepted practice, NOT a rule.

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4. Experiment With Vantage Points

Stressing key details and making the most of your frame depends on where you choose to stand with your camera. Your vantage point often determines your message. Most beginners hold their cameras at eye level and confront their subjects head on. This vantage point usually produces static, descriptive pictures. By moving the camera in, out, up, down, around, and even behind the subject, you play with your camera angles.

You’ll be surprised by images that convey a lot more.

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5. Strive for Balance

Unlike the Rule of Thirds where you can easily identify key spots to place an image, it’s more difficult to determine whether a composition is balanced or not. Perhaps the most effective way to grasp the context of balance is through practice. We’ve all experienced it - shots with strong points of interest on one side of an image and ‘emptiness’ in another area.

It’s not about symmetry - images don’t need to be the same on each side. Sometimes they can be improved greatly by having a secondary point of interest that counter-balances the main focal point of that image and providing those ‘empty’ spots with a little weight.

Achieving balance in shots is something that photographers learn over time. The best way to learn it is to scan through some of your older photographs and look for those that you think could have been more balanced by adding a secondary point of interest. So the next time, you’ll be more aware.

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6. Try Framing Your Composition

One of the easiest ways to take a creative photograph is to compose your subject with a frame around it. A photographic frame is an object or objects that act as a border or frame for your main subject. The frame directs the viewer’s attention to a particular subject or point of interest within the photograph.

Frames also create perspective and show depth. Use an interesting frame for your photograph. Think of objects to creatively as a frame. Some examples include branches, windows, tunnels, doorways and archways. Anything that lets you look through one thing at another thing will make a good frame. If possible, use a symbolic object for framing your subject, something that has a meaning to the subject.

Consider depth of field when working with a frame as a foreground object. Since you have a foreground object (the frame) and a background object (the subject), you can choose your depth of field. Do you want your foreground to be in focus? If so, then use a small aperture to keep the frame and subject in focus. Conversely, if you want only the subject in focus, use a large aperture. Keep the camera’s focusing and lighting sensors on the main subject. If possible, use a foreground frame that is a darker object than the background. Expose the subject in the background and let the frame darken.

Emphasise your subject. All framing directs the viewer’s attention to the subject, but you do not need to always go tightly into the frame. You can leave the subject framed but still leave other objects around the edges of the photograph. In this sample photograph, the trees act as a frame, but you can still see the cannon around the edges of the photograph.

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7. Indoor Lighting

The first secret to taking good indoor shots is that you need light. The major problem with indoor shots is that they are really just far too dark. I’ve taken shots of things indoors and sometimes found that no matter how hard I try, without the aid of an overhead lamp or sunlight streaming through the window my shots just won’t turn out.

Portrait shots are a classic example of this. There is a very good reason as to why photographers who work at their family residence have lots of big and obtrusive lights, lamps etc to create a lot of artificial light. That’s because they know that in order to work successfully indoors, they must have adequate lighting or forget it. It’s really that simple.

The correct balance of a light is a tricky one at times. You can have too much light which tends to create too many areas of white light. These blocks of overexposed light eliminate detail. The problem with indoor pictures is that too often the picture is underexposed. This means not enough exposure to light. Because our eyes perceive light differently from a camera, it’s difficult to know exactly how much light to let into the camera sensor.

The good news is that the more you practise taking indoor shots, the more you’ll know how much light you’ll need for your composition. A subconscious awareness will develop about which light (ambient or flash) will work.

To work successfully indoors, try taking a picture of your subject under window light in the morning. You can even turn on an overhead light to create even more light to help the camera pick up your subject more clearly.

You can even create a variety of lighting results for your shots. For example, you may even want to angle the light onto a wall to be reflected back onto your subject. This can work well indoors if done properly. And if you want to get really creative, there are also things you can do to create different effects with a very limited amount of money, such as using colour gels.

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8. Understanding Camera Modes

Aperture priority (Av*) controls the amount of light that enters a camera sensor. It also controls the amount of bokeh (A Japanese term meaning out-of-focus backgrounds). Learn how to adjust this properly and appropriately so that images will not appear as either very bright or very dim.

Shutter priority (Tv*) controls the amount of time light can fall on a camera sensor. Lowering the shutter speed allows the image to be more exposed to light. Learn the proper length of exposure time so that images will not appear as blurry.

* Mode names may differ from one camera brand to another.

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9. Selecting ISO Speeds

Digital cameras have ISO speeds ranging from 100 to 3200. The higher the ISO, the higher the camera’s sensitivity to light’s exposure. Be sure to master this function as it complements the camera’s aperture and shutter speed.

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10. Lenses and Filters

Digital SLRs allow additional lenses to be attached to the main lens or the lenses to be completely interchanged. Lenses can be categorized and used as follows :

Filters, on the other hand are used to :

However, if you still want to improve on the images you’ve taken, these software can allow touch-ups such as colour saturation, removing unwanted objects :

Finally, here’s a link to Canon’s website showing how fun and easy it is to use a digital SLR camera, and the true joy of photography.

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/enjoydslr/

If you have anything you would like to share or add on, feel free to let me know via email.