What was I thinkin?

Oh My Word, Tips - Wednesday, May 30

 

One of the best things about the internet is an unlimited amount of TIPS you can find on just about any subject! There are even people who blog about all kind of random tips (like one of my favorites - the tip junkie.)

My 5 favorite "TIPS" for flower photography

1. You don't have to own a macro lens to get a good shot. A zoom lens is a great tool for flowers. Standing at a distance and zooming in on a bloom will put the background out of focus and the attention on your flower.

2. Take your shots from a variety of angles. The temptation may be to shoot down at flowers - which can be great with a single bloom, but getting down next to the flowers can bring more interest to your shots. (This same tip applies to children.)

I had to lay on the ground to get the shots of the tulips at this angle. I think it was worth it (see top border created on page below).

3. Shoot while it is cloudy (overcast). The colors are more vibrant (not washed out by the sun.) Better yet, after a good rain with all the water droplets - (and while the sky is still overcast.)

4. On a sunny day, the best options are in the morning or late afternoon. Position yourself where the back-lighting of the flowers has a nice effect.

5. Where to find flowers to shoot: Theme parks, zoos, botanical gardens, farmers market, garden centers, grocery stores/florist.

Do you have 5 favorite tips? Add your list to our comments to be entered in our snapncrop.com drawing. Aren't sure how to leave a comment/List? Click here for the details.

On the 5th day of Christmas...

Photo Prompt 5... Traditional Holiday Drinks

Tami's Notes: I'm taking a shot at the peeps today - and no I am not "going gangster!" Just wanted to remind you all to get the camera out when you mix up that cocoa, hot cider, or egg nog.

And, may be, you can invite a few friends to join you...

 

A bright holiday table cloth makes a great backdrop:

Happy Snappin'

On the 4th day of Christmas...

Photo Prompt 4... Capture a Christmas Kiss!

Tami's Notes: We have mistletoe hanging in our house, but that isn't the only kind of Christmas Kiss I am talking about. I thought it would be fun to create a page of "Christmas Kisses" this year and what better way to embellish my page than with a border of peppermint candy kisses!

I took several of my "standard shots;" but, I wasn't getting what I wanted. Kisses are not that "pretty" as a jumbled group.

So, I started playing around with other ideas:

The one highlighted with the yellow border (above) is the one that got my attention. Kisses, I thought, look better as "individuals" AND, wouldn't they make a cute border!

I rearranged and snapped a few more shots. I ended up using the last few (shots where the kisses are a little more separated) to create my border:

 

After printing, I am going to crop the kiss images to 2.125 inch high:

 

Next step: Capture the people kissing!

 

Happy Snappin'!

 

On the third day of Christmas...

Photo Prompt 3 - Take a 'group shot' of the Christmas Candy

Tami's Notes: Among all the yummy candies available at Christmas, Ribbon Candy is one that immediately makes me think of my mother, who enjoyed this beautiful & delicate treat.

I haven't decided exactly how I will cut the photos yet, and once my kids get their hands on this stuff it isn't going to look so pretty... So, I used white scrapbook paper with an embossed pattern as a backdrop and I set up a lot of different shots to make sure I would have a large variety of images to work with when I put my pages together:

a few of my favorites were:

Of course this holiday photo prompt can apply to all kinds of candy...

Is peppermint your family tradition? Grab a holiday platter and a bag of your favorite peppermint treats (image 1). Try arranging the peppermints in different ways to get different textures. (see image 2.)

image 1

image 2

Hope your holidays are as SWEET as can be.

 

Happy Snappin'!

On the first day of Christmas...

Photo Prompt 1 - Take Photos of Ornaments.

Tami's Notes: I gathered together some Christmas ornaments, used a little garland for "padding" and took several shots. (I mixed up the arrangement between shots.) Cole asked if he could be in the first shot. I couldn't resist.

I chose a few of my favorite shots and printed them.

These are going to make great Photo Mosaic Details for my Christmas pages!

 

Happy Snappin'!

 

Fireworks Photo Tips

Equipment:

• Camera
  
• Fully charged battery (and spare batteries if available)
• Memory cards
  
• Tripod
• Key chain light or small flashlight
  

Take a tripod and a light with you to the fireworks display. The flashlight will help you see your camera settings in the dark if you need to adjust your camera settings. The tripod will help you avoid blurry photos. (If you can't take a tripod find a way to prop your camera, to keep it as steady as possible, and turn on vibration reduction setting if available.)

 

 First, check your camera to see if it has a fireworks setting. That mode will automatically adjust your settings.

If you do not have a fireworks mode, set your camera to Manual mode. Set your ISO to 200, aperture to f/8, and shutter speed somewhere between 5 and 15 seconds. If your photos are turning out bright and blurry, use a faster shutter speed.

 

 When possible, include a landmark in the photo, like a lake, statue, park, tree, or monument. The fireworks will light up the landmark in the photo, and will add more perspective to the composition.

foolproof

When I was 12 years old, I borrowed my mom's camera to take pictures of me and my friends at the end of the school year. Unfortunately, the roll of film was "miss placed" and it wasn't developed until many years later.

After the film was found, it was fun looking through the old photographs, except for one problem... most of the images were blurry! I blamed it on the camera. It was old and "unforgiving" of any movement.

At age 12, I was a "bad" photographer. I didn't know how to hold the camera properly and I had a habit of moving the camera "down" each time I pressed the shutter release button. 

Camera's are so much better now! They have great features like vibration reduction and they automatically adjust to poor lighting conditions. If only I'd had a little digital camera back then, right?

Yesterday I gave my 12 year old daughter my small digital point and click camera. I asked her to take lots of photos of her and her cousin. I take a lot of pictures with the camera. I've gotten a lot of great shots in all sorts of conditions. I believed the camera was foolproof. But, when I uploaded the photos my daughter took, they looked similar to the photos I had taken all those years ago with my mom's camera.

I guess it is good to know... "the person behind the camera" really does make a difference - even now, with our "foolproof" cameras.

Flash Lighting

Problem: You want to capture a photo of your wonderful husband (friend, sister, child...) sitting in front of a beautiful landscape; but, the light meter in your camera is making their face too dark (image left.) When you try to adjust the lighting on your subject, using the meter, the exposure is increased and background/sky is washed out.

Solution: Use your flash to fill in those dark shadows. (image right)

Notice  - in the photo on right, the mountains and sky are not washed out from over exposure; however, Kevin's face is lighter.

Happy Independence Day

Photos taken with Nikon S52 fireworks mode.

Busch Gardens started their fireworks show tonight. There is nothing like watching fireworks shooting off over the water.

I can't wait to turn these into a mosaic! I think the photos turned out great considering they were taken with a little "point and click" - no tripod used; however, I did brace my elbows on a ledge.

The 4th is this Friday - you still have time to find the "fireworks mode" on your camera. If your camera doesn't have "fireworks mode" try setting your camera to ISO 200, shutter speed 15 seconds, aperture f8. The photos will work best if you use a tripod. : )

Happy Independence Day!

Sling Style Camera Bag

I had been on the look out for a good camera bag. I did a little internet research and found this:

The Lowepro SlingShot -- Ooo000 me likes!

With other camera bags I had to find a good place to set the bag down to open it and get my camera out. This bag uses a sling design to go from "carry mode" to "ready mode" in just seconds. There is a video clip on their website that shows how it works. Just click on "product video."

The bag is well made and has nice features like an attached all weather cover that tucks away when it's not in use. (Big thumbs up from me!)

Aperture

Shutter speed and Aperture have a reciprocal relationship: meaning, if you open the lens by one aperture stop to let in more light and then speed up the shutter speed by one stop, you get exactly the same exposure. Good to know, however, in light of promising to stick to the basics...

It is easier for me to think of  shutter speed as the the setting that controls action (stops motion or lets it flow) while changes in aperture affect depth of field (how much of the photo will be in focus.)

Playing with Aperture

The maximum aperture on many cameras is 2.8. This setting lets in the most light. The minimum aperture is 22. This lets in the least light.

A wide open aperture like 2.8 has a very narrow depth of field, while a "small" aperture like 22 has very broad depth of field. Example:

aperture f 5.6

This photo of a columbine flower was taken at aperture f 5.6. Notice how the left side of the flower is out of focus.

aperture f 22

This photo was taken at an aperture of f22. Most of the photo (near to far) is in reasonable focus even though some of it is a hundred or more feet away.

If you're taking a portrait of someone where the person's face pretty much fills the frame, typically you focus on the eyes. If you choose a narrow depth of field by using 2.8, the ears will be out of focus, and if the depth of field is particularly small, the tip of the nose will be out of focus.

This can be a nice effect, particularly if the background has distracting stuff in it.

If you're taking a landscape shot where there's a field of flowers in the foreground and a mountain scene in the background, you might want a very broad depth of field such as 22 so that the foreground flowers and background mountains are all in focus.

Is aperture the only thing that effects depth of field? No. You will notice big changes in your depth of field based on your lense and it's focal length.

Both of the following photos were taken at an aperture of f8:

photo taken at 18 mm length (I got up close to take this photo.)

photo taken at 135 mm length - (I stood back and zoomed in to take this photo.)

Notice how the background is blurred in the second photo.

 

 

Middle Gray - friend or foe?

Shutter Speed continued...

Something REALLY important to remember about your cameras light meter - it is programed for "middle gray". What does that mean? - well, look at the two photos below. The photo on the left is what your camera's light meter wants to give you - not too dark, not too light (middle gray.) It is great when you want a "middle range" photo but, it can kill the dark mood of a forest.

Knowing how to make adjustments can help you maintain the mood of a scene.

Shutter Speed

Which shutter speed you choose can have a big impact on your photos. If you're taking pictures of moving objects, you can decide to show the motion by shooting at 15 or 50 or you can decide to "freeze the action" by shooting at 500 or 1000. (1000 will stop all but the very fastest motion - won't stop an airplane propeller, but it will stop a baseball).

I think the best way to explain the difference shutter speed choice can make is to show you.

Compare the following examples:

I like taking pictures of water. It is a subject where shutter speed really shows off. There are times when stopping water in action can look really cool; but, sometimes showing the flow is much more appealing. Both of the above photos were taken with an ISO of 100. The first photo was taken with a slow shutter speed of  1/15 (aperture 16). The second photo was taken with a faster shutter speed of 1/250 (aperture 4).

I took the above photos in the morning on a foggy day. The brighter it is outside, the harder it will be to get a shot of "flowing water."

Taking good photos at an amusement park can really keep you on your toes. Photos of a swing ride offer another scenario of shutter speed choice priority.

The question is, do you want to show the motion or stop the action?

The top photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/50. The bottom photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/500. The top photo is an action blur - the bottom stopped the action.

You may have noticed how much darker the bottom photo is. This is where ISO comes in to play - these photos were both taken at an ISO of 100. In order to stop the action, at the same time getting a brighter photo, change the ISO from 100 to 200 or 400 (or wait for brighter lighting!)

Your camera is sort of like a child, the best way to really get to know and love your camera is to spend quality time with it.

Assignment:

Find some time to spend alone with your camera. Take your camera somewhere scenic, a botanical garden, a theme park...  a place with both beauty and movement would be great! Make sure it is just you and your camera so you won't have any distractions.

When you get to that scenic place, take tons of pictures.  Play with your shutter speed. Learn how to stop the action and learn how to let it flow. Make a series of adjustments and notice the changes.

Q. Would you like to share the results of your shutter speed assignment with others? E-mail or comment and let me  know.

Next time: Aperture.

EXPOSURE

Photography is all about exposure.

If your shot is exposed too long the photograph will be washed out.  If the shot is exposed too short the photograph will appear too dark.

In deciding how much light is needed for correct exposure, your camera employs a light meter that measures the amount of light reflecting from the subject. Taking into account the ISO (or speed of the film), it then sets the camera's controls for the optimum exposure.

In a low light situation your camera will want to use a slower shutter speed - but that may cause "the blur."

In a bright situation your camera may want to go into "aperture lock down," but, you might not have intended to create a silhouette of your subject.

The more familiar you are with how your camera works, the more creative control you will have.

There are three things that control exposure:

• ISO sensitivity - ISO affects how receptive the digital sensor will be to light. ISO controls the granularity/noise of the picture.


• Shutter speed - the amount of time the sensor (or film) is exposed to light.  It affects aspects of the image like "the blur" and for long focal lengths, sharpness.


• Aperture - the size of the lens opening that lets light into the camera. Aperture controls the amount of light hitting the sensor in a given amount of time. It also affects the depth of field, and overall sharpness of the picture.

One of the beautiful things about digital cameras is ISO flexibility. We used to have to buy a certain speed of film – what we put in the camera (i.e. 100, 200, 400) was what we had to work with. Now we can set the ISO and adapt to changes in lighting – photo by photo if necessary.

ISO is a rating of a sensitivity to light. An ISO of 800 is very sensitive to light, while a ISO 25 is not very sensitive to light. ISO is generally inversely proportional to image quality. Examples:

• You might need a high ISO like 800 to shoot basketball indoors without a flash, but the resulting pictures might be grainy (like a newspaper photo) and the color is not the best.
• If you shoot an ISO 25  you'll find that you have to have full daylight to take a picture, but the resulting images have very good color and very little grain.

The good news about high ISO (bad grainy photos) and new digital cameras is that they have added features to reduce the grain/noise. (So, you can take those basketball photos and not get so much grain/noise.) Just remember that you need to set your camera to the correct ISO - or it will give you "the blur."

Check your camera's manual for more information on setting white balance, ISO sensitivity, or High ISO NR.

Next: Shutter Speed 

Getting to know the Camera

I took my first photography course about 20 years ago. I thought I was taking a class to fill a requirement ; but, in no time at all I was hooked. I used a Cannon AE-1 with a 50 mm lense and a lot of Ilford black and white film. In a more advanced course, the instructor taught us about Ansel Adams' Zone System - that is what really hooked me. I came to a new understanding - that photography can be art.

Cameras are wonderful things, and getting to be more wonderful and more affordable all the time. There was a time when the amateur photographer had two basic choices - SLR or point and click. You either had to know how to use your fully manual camera or you just pointed to the subject, clicked, and got whatever you got. Things have changed - a lot.

There are many kinds of cameras and many different levels of functionalities. It is easy to buy a great camera only to find yourself with "more camera" then you know what to do with.

So, if you are feeling a bit like your camera can do more, I invite you to journey with me in "Getting to know the Camera". I will stick with the basics (using simple terms) and we will see where it goes!

To skip direct to "the camera blogs" just look for the "Getting to know the Camera" under the categories listing on the side bar.

Check back soon for the first in this series of blogs - I'll be talking about Exposure and ISO sensitivity.

...and feel free to ask questions : )