SUPPORT YOUR CAMERA

In order to obtain top-notch detail in your photos the camera needs to be steady when you take the picture. This can be just as important and in many cases more important than having a good lens on your camera. The best way to do this is to mount your camera on a tripod. If you are serious about your pictures this tip alone will pay big dividends. Another advantage to having your camera supported on a steady platform is that you can shoot in low light situations and use slower speed fine grain film.

Buy the best tripod you can afford taking into consideration what it will be used for. If you are going to need to carry the tripod for any distance like hiking in the mountains, then weight will be a major concern. There are situations where a tripod is not practical. If you can't use a tripod try some other method of support. One alternative is a monopod. A monopod does not deliver the stability of a tripod but it much better than nothing. A monopod is also easier to transport and set up.

Film does not have the dynamic range of brightness that your eyes have. You are able to see things in a scene that are very bright while still being able to see things that are very dark. Film on the other hand sees a much smaller range. So if the scene has bright areas and dark areas, you will probably only be able to see one or the other depending on what exposure setting you use. One way around this problem is to photograph in situations that don't have as wide a range of brightness. If your camera is sophisticated enough to know what shutter speed to use when in lower light level situations, you would be much better off to take pictures in the shade than in the sun. Today most cameras have this capability (even relatively inexpensive ones).

The best light for outdoor photography is in the early morning or in the very late afternoon to early evening. The reason for this is the light reaching the scene is less intense, more diffused and warmer in color. The yellow and orange tones of the light at these hours is usually very pleasing. I enjoy viewing pictures that are taken under these lighting conditions and so will most of your viewers.

Now the question is: Is that all I need to do to compose a photo correctly? Of course the answer to that question is "no". In fact I'm sure I personally break the rule of thirds as often if not more than I follow it. In general I don't really think about specific rules for composition. From my perspective you as an individual need to decide what you want to accomplish with your image composition. You need to decide what things in a composition you like or dislike and then try to incorporate the things you like into your photographs. No situation is the same so you must continue to deal with each new composition as they present themselves.

After you have your pictures developed, be sure to analyze them to see what went right and what went wrong. You'll find that you will remember what you did wrong at the moment you took the picture when you review your work. You will also find that you make mistakes that you did not realize at the time of exposure. If you are watching what you are doing and analyzing your results, the number of mistakes you make will diminish over time.

If you are new to photography your mind will be racing over all the important things you are suppose to remember while taking that important shot. There will be more things to remember about exposure, composition, and equipment than are humanly possible to think about at one time. The important thing is that over time and with practice the things you were trying so hard to remember each time you were getting ready to take a shot will come to you as second nature. Once that starts to happen, you can start using your artistic talents rather than worrying about all the little details.

In cases where you can't get the type of shot you were looking for there are at least two options that are practical. The first option is to switch your subject matter to something different. Lets say your original intention was to travel to a remote location and to shoot outdoor scenes with plenty of blue sky. You arrive at your destination the night before ready for a day of photography as soon as you wake up the following day. The problem is the next morning you wake up to discover an overcast day. And as you know, if the sky is overcast it will be much brighter than the rest of the scene making for an image with too much contrast to be captured successfully. The answer, switch your subject matter. Instead of taking pictures of wide open scenes, limit your pictures to tight shots of plants or scenes that do not include the sky. Pictures of plants actually turn out better on overcast days since the light is more diffused with more even illumination. This is just one example of switching subject matter. There are many more. The second option is to go with your original intention. This may be easier said than done. Your challenge is to rethink how you might capture your subject successfully. Think about your subject matter and strive to use the situation to your advantage. Maybe you can take your pictures from a different angle than you usually do. Let your imagination run wild. Try out new ideas. Maybe you won't have as many successful pictures as you normally would, but maybe you might have some new types of pictures that succeed in different ways than your normal techniques. Remember as you are developing new techniques you are growing as a photographer.

I like to view photography sites on the Internet just like you are doing now. I can think of one particular photographer that I have noticed while browsing through photography sites that uses relatively simple low cost 35mm camera equipment. The interesting thing is that many of her pictures "in my opinion" are exceptional. This is a prime example of a photographer's skill out stripping the perceived quality of the equipment. The fact however is that most camera equipment is capable of taking quality pictures even if it is not the latest high priced wizbang camera.

So, in my opinion it is better to work on improving your skills as a photographer than worrying about having the highest priced equipment. I don't want to mislead you into thinking that the equipment is not a factor or that I don't drool over the latest equipment when it comes on the market. Quality equipment in many cases can make your life as a photographer easier due to additional controls and available features. It is just not the most important factor.

Once you have learned how everything works, try to make a habit of setting all controls in a default position when you finish a photo session. When I say default, I mean default for you, not necessarily the factory default settings. This makes it much easier the next time you pick up the camera and start using it. This is especially true if you use your equipment infrequently. I personally have made the mistake of picking up my camera and shooting a few shots before I realize that I had left something in a state the renders a less than adequate result due to odd setting positions. One example of this type of mistake that I have made more than once is leaving my camera in the self-timer mode. Many times I use the self-timer mode when the camera is tripod mounted to minimize camera shake when taking a longer exposure or when taking macro shots. When picking up my camera for my first shot after some period of inactivity, inevitably I will be taking a hand held shot and when I press the shutter release button nothing happens. Once the shutter does fire the composition may have changed and the shot is lost.

At the very least, keep your camera owners manual in your camera bag so that its always with you. This comes in very handy if you forget how something works or just want to verify something. On more complex cameras they may have programmable settings that require a reference manual due to the large number of settings and options that are just impractical to memorize. I keep several equipment manuals in a zip lock type plastic bag in the back of my camera bag just in case I need to refer to one of them. This practice has come in handy more than once.

All of these problems can be overcome by bouncing the light from your flash off of a nearby surface rather than pointing it directly at your subject as is normally the case. This technique is only possible if you have a flash unit with a movable head or a cable that lets you remove the flash from your camera. If you have a flash setup that allows this you can point the flash away from your subject and bounce the light off of another surface rather than directly at your subject. In most cases you will want the bounce surface to be white. That way the results will have a more natural looking appearance. When you bounce the light off of a nearby surface it does two things (in most situations) that improve the light. First it diffuses the light making it appear less harsh and more like the lighting conditions you would see on an overcast day. Secondly it makes the light appear to be coming from a larger source. This helps to improve (or decrease) the exaggerated shadow condition. The other problem of red-eye is also eliminated. This is because when bouncing the light, you move the apparent location of the light source away from the camera thereby increasing the angle from the lens to subject to light source. The only caveat is the reduced light level due to the increased distance from the flash head to the subject and the loss of light due to the absorption of some of the light striking the bounce surface.

One of the methods I like to use to bounce the light is to use a piece of white foam board (the type you can buy at any crafts store) as the light bouncing surface. I set my flash to TTL mode. This mode measures the amount of light coming "Through The Lens" and when the camera determines that the right amount of light has been reached, the flash is turned off. This results in the proper amount of light reaching the film. This technique was used when taking the picture of the roses shown in this photo tip segment. The picture was actually taken in my family room at night. The way I bounce the light is to point the flash head about 45 degrees away from the subject and then hold the white foam board in front of the flash head at about 45 degrees to the flash head, directing the light back at the subject. I think the result is much more pleasing than a direct flash setup could produce. Give the technique a try and maybe even experiment to see what kind of results you can come up with.