Why does the amount of light matter to your camera? Think of your own eyelids and how each of your eyes has an iris. When it’s a very sunny day you tend to squint and your irises expand to protect your retinas. Conversely, in a gloomy room, you open your eyelids as wide as possible and your irises contract.

"Me" captured by Phil Kneen (Click Image to See More From Phil Kneen)

Your eyes irises and eyelids vary the amount of light because your retinas like a certain amount of light to register information – too little light and your eyes only see limited information, too much light and your retinas are overloaded and you see nothing. Your camera’s sensor is the monocular equivalent of your retinas – the place where information about light is registered, and just like your retinas, the DSLR’s sensor likes an ideal quantity of light. Unlike your eyes, your camera has no eyelid or iris to regulate the quantity of light. Instead the camera controls light by varying the shutter speed and aperture.

Two new terms, shutter speed and aperture, deserve an explanation. Think of a shutter as a primitive eyelid for your camera, primitive in that the shutter is either open or closed and cannot be anything in-between. When you take a photo, the shutter temporarily retracts so light can come through the lens and register on your camera’s sensor. The longer the shutter retracts, the more light hits the sensor. In a bright room, you only want the shutter to retract for a short time or the sensor will be overloaded. In a dark room, you want the shutter to retract for much longer to give your camera’s sensor enough time to register the far dimmer light. The typical shutter speed is 1/125th sec which means the shutter temporarily retracts for a tiny fraction of a second but most DSLRs’ shutter speed ranges from 30 seconds to 1/4000th of a second. A later article in this series will later explain why you would want to vary shutter speed.

Now you know what a shutter does, where does aperture fit in? The aperture is the iris of your camera. It is physically part of your camera’s lens, it is usually octagonal and it restricts light by expanding and contracting.

Unlike an iris, an aperture has a ratings system e.g. f5.6, f8, f11. What does this mean? The ‘f stop’ rating simply explains how much light is let in by the aperture using a scale where f2 lets twice as much light as f4 as f5.6 lets twice as much light as f8 which lets in twice as much light as f11…. This is a confusing scale – just remember, the smaller the aperture (e.g. f4 instead of f 11), the more light is let in.

In summary, a DSLR controls how much light registers on the camera’s sensor by varying the size of the aperture and by varying the time the shutter retracts. It stands to reason that different combinations of shutter speed and aperture will result in the same amount of light reaching the sensor.

For example, if your sensor needs a shutter speed of 2 seconds and an aperture of f8, if you double the shutter speed to 4 seconds (which will let twice as much light in), then you need to change the aperture from f8 to f11 in order to halve the amount of light let in by the shutter.

Before you worry about what combination of shutter and aperture to use, you need to work out how much light is required by your DSLR’s sensor. Cameras have built in light meters to measure the prevailing light condition but they have to make an assumption about how much light is being reflected from the objects you want to photograph. Why? The camera’s light meter measures light that is being reflected from your choice of subject and the general environment around your subject. However, the camera’s light meter cannot know the reflectivity of your subject matter so it has to assume that overall, your subject reflects as much light as a light grey (known as “18% gray”) piece of paper and this assumption works for the majority of subjects.

To understand why this assumption isn’t always appropriate, imagine three tennis balls, one is white, one is grey and one is black.

Let’s assume the white ball is three times as bright as the black ball. In other words, the white tennis ball reflects three times as much light as the black ball. Now let’s imagine what your DSLR assumes when you aim your camera at the white tennis ball. Does your camera assume it is a black tennis ball in a very bright room, a white tennis ball in a very dark room or a light grey tennis ball in average lighting.? Faced with these three options, your camera assumes the tennis ball is light grey, whether it is in fact white, black or grey.

In order to make a white tennis ball a grey tennis ball photo, your camera will underexpose the photo i.e. it will speed up the shutter speed from say 2 seconds, to 1 second so that the sensor is only exposed for half the time it should be.

In order to make a black tennis ball a grey tennis ball photo, your camera will overexpose the photo i.e. it will slow down the shutter speed from say 2 seconds, to 4 seconds so that the sensor is exposed for twice the time it should be.

If this is all a bit too theoretical, think about photos you have taken that were incorrectly exposed. A classic example is snow – instead of pristine white landscapes, your pictures have dull ’sooty’ snow because your camera didn’t know that the scene’s overall reflectivity wasn’t light grey but much brighter so it exposed the focus to make your snow light grey!

About the Author: John Slaytor
I find it difficult to narrow my photographic interest. This inattention to detail gives me plenty of subject matter. My range of work includes Macedonian Weddings and Christenings, Nigerian 21st Birthday parties, Presbyterian and Catholic funerals, Indian and Greek family portraits, Chinese and Ghanaian football supporters, Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps and Sydney Opera House.

I live and work in Sydney but can and do travel anywhere for my vocation. I would like to think I have been positively influenced by Werner Bischof for his quiet humanistic vision, Jane Bown for her minimalist approach to technology, Eve Arnold for her compassion and Peter Dombrovskis for his pristine imagery. After visiting Auschwitz I came across Michael Kenna whose work has helped me understand how buildings can have mood. (I avoid formality and artifical lighting believing these things draw far too much attention to the process of photographing people. I have no qualms about making buildings endure long exposures with a tripod.) I use Nikon cameras and process my images (RAW only) using DXO. I print with an Epson 4800. My computer is a Mac and my screen is an Eizo.

"airport" captured by Maria Little (Click Image to See More From Maria Little)

Now although there are all of these elements to consider, you still need to understand that a really stunning image is composed in the simplest way. So with these factors in mind, use your photographic eye to create images that have them present. So let’s take a look at the elements.

1. Shape

Shape is fundamental to your images. Without shape you cannot identify your subjects. If you are unable to identify the shape of a lion under a tree when hiking through a reserve then you are in trouble. Shape is what the viewer sees first and allows them to relate all of the elements in the image.

2. Line

This is the strongest of all the elements and comes into play very often. If you can use strong lines in your images they will be striking. Learning to use lines is essential if you are to progress in your photography. As you learn digital photography use them often. From horizontals to diagonals and from verticals to converging, all of these will strengthen your images.

"Old Chicago Northwestern Engine 6540" captured by Carl Wycoff (Click Image to See More From Carl Wycoff)

3. Form

Now shape is two dimensional but when we get to form we add a third dimension, depth. Form is very dependent on light. How the light hits the form creates the feeling of depth which is essential in a stunning image. Squares, circles and triangles reveal their form when strong sidelighting hits them. The contrast between shadows and light turns shape into form.

4. Patterns

Patterns to me are exciting. Finding patterns where you least expect them adds a new dimension to your images. Repeated patterns and broken patterns both reveal interesting aspects in a photo. Patterns can be used as the subject or as a background to an image. The careful use of these patterns will always help in creating a really great image. Patterns can be found everywhere and by identifying them will add interest to the overall image. Use them to your advantage.

5. Color

Use color to your advantage as well. Color is the most striking of the elements when used correctly. Contrasting and complementary colors will create an amazing image but used incorrectly will wash out an otherwise great photo. Color evokes deep emotion. We think in color and feel in color and use color to describe those feelings. Red gives a feeling of passion while orange warmth. Black denotes anger and fear while green represents growth and peace. If you can add color to an image that already has elements that evoke the emotion, then the final image will be exceptional.

6. Texture

Out of all the elements I think that texture evokes the biggest emotional response by a viewer. The challenge here is to photograph it in such a way that the light causes the texture to reveal itself in a way as to create a feeling. Sidelighting is important as it lifts the texture out of the image so as to almost create the actual texture for you to feel. More than any other element it is important to get in close so that the fibres, cracks or rough stone are clearly visible.

"Death Valley Photo Workshop" captured by Keith Skelton (Click Image to See More From Keith Skelton)

These elements of design can all make that outstanding image when used by themselves or when combined. By regularly looking for them and applying them in your images you will learn just how incredibly they help to create great photos. Happy shooting!

About the Author:
Do you want to learn more about photography in a digital world? I’ve just completed a brand new e-course delivered by e-mail. Download it here for free by clicking here: http://www.21steps2perfectphotos.com/ To learn how you can take your photography from ordinary to outstanding click here – http://www.21steps2perfectphotos.com/21steps.htm

Wayne Turner has been teaching photography for 25 years and has written three books on photography.

"groom portrait" captured by Tatiana Garanina (Click Image to See More From Tatiana Garanina)

When you hear the phrase Depth of Field (also called DOF) you may wonder why you should care as long as your pictures are in focus. Well since DOF is generally referred to as the range of a pictures over all sharpness; and most people are instinctively drawn to the sharpest part of the picture first, I would say that it is indeed a major player in the game of creative control.

Most articles or books you will read on this subject immediately jump into talking about f-stops. These are numbers like f-1.4 to say f-22 that represent how much light the aperture is letting into the camera. Although I will explain that more in detail in a few minutes, it is not where I want to start.

There are three basic things that affect Depth of Field:

1. the lens aperture (f-stops)
2. the lens focal length (the size like: 35mm vs. 200mm)
3. the subject difference (how far it is from the camera)

Keep in mind that most digital cameras do not have f-stops as per say. In fact if you have a straight point and shoot camera with a set lens, it may feel like you have no control at all. Although it does take a little more effort there are still things you can do to enhance your Depth of Field experience.

Both the point and shoot and even many of the more advance digital cameras are based on a false premise. They assume that all people want all their pictures, all the way in focus, all the time. “Now wait a minute”, you may be saying to yourself. “Of course I want my pictures in focus, don’t I?”

When we say in focus, we are not talking about the results of a 110 year old lady who can not hold the camera steady. Depending on where you focus in any given picture; so much in front of the subject and so much behind the subject will also be in focus. Generally, more will be in focus behind the subject than in front of it. Keep this in mind when you are choosing your focus point; you may want to focus about 1/3 of the way into your scenic shot as opposed to automatically focusing ½ the way in to the scene.

"les tuileries jogger" captured by Ryan Blyth (Click Image to See More From Ryan Blyth)

There are several really good reasons for wanting to choose a narrow DOF verses a wide DOF. Remember Wide DOF means everything in focus all the time. For those who are not quote “into” photography then this mode will indeed satisfy their needs 90% of the time. But for the rest of us; here are some examples of when you may NOT want to shoot that way.

A) Portraits: focus on the person and blur the background. This is helpful when there are distracting elements behind the subject.

B) At the zoo: focus on only one animal. The idea here is to obscure the fact that you actually took the picture in the zoo. You want to make it look like you took this animal in its own natural environment.

C) Flower shots: focus on one flower or better yet even just part of a flower and let the others around it become like a painted background.

"HBW" captured by fady (Click Image to See More From fady)

D) Sporting Events: focus in on the one who crossed the line first, or jumped the highest. Separate the leader from the pack by using creative DOF.

Back to the basic problem, how exactly do we control Depth of Field? Shooting an object that is 10 feet from the camera will have a much smaller DOF range than shooting an object 100 feet away. So, move in closer!!

If your camera has a zoom lens ( say 35mm -200mm) the smaller the size, the wider depth of field. Most set lens are in the range of 28mm – 38mm, so there is less to adjust, less to think about, and unfortunately less control. However, even without getting into the f-stops; if you photograph someone with using the 35mm end of the scale a lot will be in focus, but if you do the same using the 200mm length of your lens much less of the total image will in sharp focus.

If you are into doing close-up photography (flowers, insects, etc) the close-focus or macro mode of your camera will already give you a fairly narrow amount of depth of field. But you can push that even further by considering the use of filters. Most cameras, will now accept filters. But even if yours does not (set lens again); you can actually hold the filter in place and shoot. Close up filters allow you to shoot much closer than the lens will by itself. They also usually narrow the depth of field and require a little more light.

"Urban Cowboy" captured by Luis A. De Jesus (Click Image to See More From Luis A. De Jesus)

Many of today’s cameras have more than one auto mode. In a fully automatic camera you have not gained much if any control, but if you have the option for Aperture priority or Shutter Priority you are back in the driver’s seat. Basically put: Aperture Priority means that you control the aperture (or f-stop) and the camera picks the right shutter speed to get a proper exposure. Conversely, Shutter Priority does the exact opposite, you control the speed and it will pick the correct aperture for the given light conditions.

Now we will mention the world of f-stops. The words aperture and f-stop are referring to the same thing. I have absolutely no idea why we don’t call them A-stops, but just so I don’t confuse anybody, I will call them f-stops. The f-stop controls how much light enters the camera. Many books and magazine confuse people by referring to how big the opening is and how small the depth of field is. In my world, I like to keep things as simple as possible.

A small number (like f-1.4) means only a small amount will be in sharp focus. A large number (like f-22) means a large amount will be in sharp focus. To me, that is a whole lot easier to remember than the way many people explain it. Small number = small amount in focus, and large number = large amount.

But wait, you’re saying to yourself, “I don’t even have an aperture mode.” Maybe you do, and don’t realize it. If you’re camera has little pictures or icons on it like, many cameras do, you may have more control than you realized. The picture of the small head means portrait mode. (IE the subject will be in sharp focus but the background will not) The picture of the little mountain means landscape mode. (IE most of the picture will be in sharp focus from front to back.)

"greensleeves" captured by Shery Han (Click Image to See More From Shery Han)

Remembering that most people are attracted to the thing that is in the sharpest focus, it becomes very hard (visually) to be attracted if the entire picture is in complete focus. There is nothing specific to draw the viewers’ attention. By using the creative possibilities that depth of field offers; no matter what kind of camera you have, your images will be much more powerful and interesting.

This Article was Written By: Tedric A. Garrison Cedar City, Utah

Tedric Garrison has done photography for over 30 years. In college Tedric was an Art Major, and firmly believes that “Creativity can be taught.” Today; as a writer and photographer he shares his wealth of knowledge with the world, at: http://www.betterphototips.com

"Nouel Cason" captured by Deneb Catalan (Click Image to See More From Deneb Catalan)

Want to capture the perfect portrait every time? Keep reading to learn some tips professionals use that you can adopt – even without a fancy camera or a studio of your own. Learn what you need to know about simple but effective lighting, flash photography, and more. You should also consider following a photography course online that would guide you step by step until you could take truly memorable portraits time and time again.

Good lighting is key to any successful portrait. With on-camera flash, you encounter problems that detract from a quality picture. For example, flash brightly illuminates your subject in an unnatural, flat light. It can also cast harsh shadows behind your subject – especially if they are positioned near a wall, or some other object. This effect is not attractive. Additionally, flash frequently reflects light from the pupils in the eyes, causing the dreaded red eye effect – something you definitely want to avoid.

Portraits are actually much more interesting if there is some shadow on the portrait, but not harsh background shadows. It is good to work with directional lighting and then use a reflector or some fill lighting to lighten up features that might otherwise fall into deep shadows. You don’t want to eliminate the shadows altogether, though. That can make for a portrait that lacks dimension.

Where possible, try ambient light, such as that through a large window, or outdoor light instead. If using supplemental lighting, place a bright, diffused light directly behind where you are standing with the camera. This illuminates the subject’s face effectively. You can then try adding some subtle light to one side of the subject to fill in some of the shadows and emphasise the soft shadows on the other side. You could also “bounce” some light from a reflector onto the side of the face, instead of using direct light, so it is less intense.

This set-up creates a well-lit portrait – then you can start experimenting with adjusting the lights to see the effect you can achieve. If the light from behind you is very bright, you may need to reduce exposure settings on your camera to compensate so the final image is not overexposed. A reputable photography course online would provide training in how to create these desired lighting effects.

Another approach to try is to place the bright light to one side of the subject and then to place your fill light or a reflector on the opposite side. Your fill or reflected light should always be less intense than the main light. This will effectively reveal the curves on the face and body. If you use extra lighting, take note of how it affects your digital image. You may need to adjust the white balance on your camera or set your camera for the kind of lights you are using to avoid yellow or blue colour casts on your photos. You can avoid this if you use natural outdoor light.

For a great outdoor portrait, an overcast but bright, cloudy day works well. The clouds diffuse the sun so the light isn’t too strong, yet there is plenty of light to work with. Alternatively, you can photograph in an evenly shaded area. This will also eliminate hot spots or over-exposed highlights on the face in your portrait. Make sure you don’t have any light filtering in between leaves and branches, though, as that can look odd when it shows up in your pictures. Avoid using the flash outdoors if you can help it, too.

Photo captured by Christine Elise Photography (Click Image to See More From Christine Elise)

One great way to add dimension to your portraits and flatter almost every face and body type is to turn the subject’s body away from the light about 90 degrees. In other words, have the subject face the light and then turn their body one-quarter turn. This gives shape to the body as the light wraps around it. Now turn the subject’s face, so they are facing towards the light. This illuminates the face, which is the focal point of your image. It gives your subject a subtle glow, and should result in some catch lights in your subject’s eyes, which really brings a portrait to life!

Using lighting effects successfully can be a little daunting at first, but practice makes perfect – experimentation is key. By following a reliable photography course online you could easily master these, and more, lighting techniques, learning when and how to apply each for optimum results.

About the Author
You can discover the secrets of taking stunning photographs, simply by following a photography course online. Please check out http://www.photographycourseonline.info for further information.

Prime Lenses and Zoom Lenses: A lens with a fixed focal length is being called a prime lens. This is opposite to zoom lenses which have varying focal length. As the focal length is fixed, in order to compose a photo you will need to adjust your distance to the scene to have specific objects or people in the photo. In zoom lenses, you will use the zoom level to compose the photo instead of changing the distance of camera to the scene.

"Meet Me On The Corner" captured by Tony Taffinder (Click Image to See More From Tony Taffinder)

Prime lenses have a more simple build than zoom lenses and they can be designed to have very much better performance, sharpness and quality than zoom lenses. Zoom lenses normally show different types of errors in different focal lengths while prime lenses have the least amount of such errors. Prime lenses are very compact and much smaller than zoom lenses. Their price is also cheaper than zoom lenses in an equal aperture size. You can buy a 50mm f/1.8 lens for a Canon or Nikon camera for around $100 while a zoom lens with the same aperture size might cost above $1000.

Normal Prime Lens: A prime lens (i.e. with a fixed focal point) with a focal length of 50mm is called a normal lens. Photos taken with a 50mm lens seem similar to what our eyes see at the scene (perspective, angles etc). Canon, Nikon and some other DSLR brands, as mentioned in previous section, sell normal lenses with f/1.8 aperture size or better (like f/1.4) with a cheap price. An f/1.8 normal lens is suitable for relatively low light conditions and produces sharp and bright photos.

Short Zoom Lenses: Zoom lenses which cover the range of up to 50-60mm can be considered in this category. Examples of these lenses are 35-70mm f/3.4-4.5 and 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 lenses. Nowadays some Canon and Nikon models are offered with a cheap 18-55mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. These lenses can be considered short zoom lenses while they also cover wide and super wide range.

"Sea In Her Eyes" captured by Stacey Russell (Click Image to See More From Stacey Russell)

Super zoom Lenses: These are the types which cover a super big range. Super zoom lenses like a 18-200mm lens cover wide-angle as well as tele-focal lengths.

However the most important feature of these lenses is their convenience of avoiding lens change. These lenses can offer almost every focal length you need and therefore they are sometimes being called as “walk around lenses”. If convenience is not a matter for you, we recommend you to use more than one lens which have a better performance in a smaller focal length range.

Aperture Size: Bigger aperture sizes (i.e. smaller f number) like f/1.4, f/1.8 and f/2 provide more light to the camera sensor and therefore are faster lenses (photo can be taken in a faster shutter time). However zoom lenses with bigger aperture size might be unbelievably expensive. F number is calculated by dividing the focal length to the aperture diameter. As an example if the aperture size (i.e. diaphragm window) of 50mm lens is set to 6.25mm the f number will be 50mm/6.25mm=8 meaning that with this aperture size, lens has been set to f/8.

Wide-angle and Ultra Wide-Angle Lenses: Lenses with a focal length of 21mm to 35mm are normally called wide-angle lenses. Lenses with a focal length of less than 21mm are called ultra wide-angle lenses. These lenses can be either prime lenses or varying focal length ones (zoom lenses). Wide-angle prime lenses have better aperture sizes (in the range of f/1.4 to f2.8) than wide-angle zoom lenses (aperture sizes of f/3.5-f/4.5 most of the time). Again the zoom types provide flexibility while prime lenses provide sharper photos, cheaper price and bigger aperture size (i.e. better photos in low light conditions). There are also zoom lenses which just cover wide and super wide ranges. These include 21-35mm, 18-28mm lenses.

The large coverage angle is also one of the benefits of wide and super wide lenses. An ultra wide lens can sometimes capture up to a 90 degrees angle or even more.

Wide and ultra wide lenses normally have perspective distortion. This kind of distortion causes the nearby images to be photographed very much bigger than far away objects. These lenses are suitable for taking photos inside buildings, street photography and so on.

"the end" captured by David Hobcote (Click Image to See More From David Hobcote)

If you mostly shoot inside buildings, a lens covering focal lengths of 28mm or below will be suitable. This kind of lens allows you to capture a considerable angle of a scene without the need to have a big distance with the subject(s). However, if you shoot portraits and nature a longer range lens will be more useful. In these cases a 35-135mm lens is very good.

Long telephoto Lenses: Lenses with a focal length of 135mm or above are normally considered as long telephoto lenses. Tele lenses which have varying focal length are called telephoto zoom lenses while those with a fixed focal length are simply called telephoto lenses. You can easily find 55-200mm, 55-250mm, 70-300mm, and similar telephoto zoom lenses for most of the DSLR brands. However because of the big range of the lens and complicated design, different focal lengths of the lenses might show different errors and quality. These lenses normally have a lower performance than short zoom lenses and fixed focal length telephoto lenses. A 200mm telephoto prime lens is an example of non-zoom telephoto lenses.

Medium Telephoto Lenses: Lenses with focal length of the range 85-135mm are sometimes referred as portrait lenses. This is because their perspective distortion is low and a suitable distance between the subject person and camera can be maintained. Many telephoto zoom lenses can be used in this range, but they are heavier, bigger and their maximum aperture size is smaller than prime lenses. However if you shoot a lot of portraits, you would rather use medium prime telephoto lenses like with a focal length of between 85mm and 105mm maximum aperture size of f/2.

"Phoebe" captured by Alex Lewis (Click Image to See More From Alex Lewis)

Prime medium telephoto lenses have less perspective error and as mentioned earlier their image quality is sharper and brighter and bigger aperture size prime lenses are cheaper than zoom lenses with the same maximum aperture size.

Macro Lenses: Macro lenses are designed to provide very high level of magnification and also very short focusing distances. In normal zoom lenses minimum focus distance (i.e. the distance between lens and the object) is normally larger than 30 cm. This distance is a few centimetres for macro lenses so you can take photos from a shorter distance and have a sharp and very detailed photo of a very small object (like a small flower or a bee).

Mac Sarmady writes for Society50 social networking website. You can visit Photography Club of Society50 to ask your questions or just to get advise on any photography issue.

"The Joy of Open Space" captured by Jim Worrall (Click Image to See More From Jim Worrall)

It seems as if everyone is trying to be a landscape photographer these days. With the advent of digital imaging and the corresponding ease in cranking out pictures, photography is everywhere. Because of this, it’s getting harder and harder to create landscape images that are different and not the same old stereotypical stuff that everyone else is shooting.

Many photographers go to great lengths to put their own creative stamp on their work, using such things as camera filters or complex computer editing techniques to gain a unique style. These are all well and good but it is often amazing how much difference there can be in a photograph by getting a different perspective with a lower camera angle.

Humans are very much creatures of habit. If we have a camera in our hands and we see a pleasing scene, we raise the camera to our eye, compose, and shoot. If we’re using a tripod, we extend the legs to eye level and shoot the picture. Well it’s time to break the old habits

The next time you’re out doing landscape photography, try simply dropping to one knee in order to incorporate, and put more emphasis on, interesting foreground elements. If you’re using a tripod, try not extending the legs in order to keep the camera closer to the ground. You might be surprised at the difference this simple little step will make.

Now that you’re getting the idea, take it a step further and try some shots lying flat on the ground. Now you are getting some perspectives that are different than the majority of the casual snapshot shooters out there. Things like rocks, flowers, logs, and even blades of grass are examples of objects that can be incorporated into the image to make it more interesting. Obviously the scene and the foreground elements will dictate how low to go. Experiment and have fun. That’s the whole idea, isn’t it?

As you incorporate more foreground elements into a scene by using this technique, depth of field, also known as depth of focus, will become an issue. It can be difficult to keep both nearby objects and the distant landscape in focus. Use as small an aperture as possible. This increases depth of field. You can try using a wider angle lens which also increases the appearance of a wider focus area.

If these aren’t sufficient, try moving back a little from your foreground elements which will make it easier to keep them in focus. Utilize the depth of field preview button, if your camera has one, to see how much of your scene will be in focus. If there’s any doubt, make sure that the closest objects are sharply focused. The human eye can often accept distant objects that are a little out of focus but blurry foreground elements will nearly always spoil the scene.

"Oasis" captured by fady (Click Image to See More From fady)

The point is, you don’t need exotic gear nor do you need to learn complex computer editing techniques to take digital landscape photographs that have a unique perspective. You just need to see a little differently and using a low camera angle is one very simple way to achieve this.

About the Author
Visit my blog and online galleries for more information and examples of this and other techniques at http://deaneppen.com/

"Blue" captured by Anya Kozyreva (Click Image to See More From Anya Kozyreva)

As with all photography you must always think before you shoot an image. Take the time to ponder the scene and work out what works in the composition. Look at what colors are available and where they are, how much color to include and how to use it. By applying a few simple techniques you images will be admired and result in great satisfaction for you.

1. Using a single color

This is a great technique for a bold photograph. By isolating a color or at the very least making it the dominating color you create images that are bold and dramatic. Key to this is finding objects or scenes that have just one color yet make an effective composition. Get in closer to the subjects isolating from their surroundings and making the color the focal point.

2. Watch the light

When shooting in color just a subtle light change can result in a very different image. A sudden change in cloud cover will enrich the colors and make them appear more saturated. When shooting in the morning or evening they will look warmer and when the sun is higher they will look cooler. Shooting in bright shade will also make them look richer. So always be aware of the light quality and get to know which times in the day give you the best results.

"Cumalıkızık Houses" captured by Halim TOKEL(VIRBOVCA) Click Image to See More From This Photographer

3. Color saturation

This is how rich or deep the colors appear to be. Well saturated colors appear bright and make really colorful images, which is what you want to achieve on most occasions. To do this in camera is quite simple but you need to be careful not to overdo it. By using your aperture compensation usually denoted by the Ev setting on you camera, you can very slightly underexpose the photo by a third to half a stop. This will increase your saturation. Too much though will make the final image dark and muddy. With digital photography you can also adjust the saturation using the slider in Photoshop.

4. Contrasting colors

By getting to know your color wheel and where the various colors are situated you will see that colors opposite each other are contrasting. When you create a colorful photo, look for colors that are next to each other in the scene that contrast. Be careful that one doesn’t dominate the other so shoot in strong light. You want the colors to capture the attention like a bright red subject on a bright green background.

5. Complimentary colors

These colors make each other look good. They lie alongside each other on the color wheel and in a way harmonize. This type of image is very easy on the eye as you will see in a green scene with a strong yellow subject. Try finding different shades of the same color which is basically the dominant color mixing with the color next to it.

6. Colors that clash

These should never be used together, or so the rules say. But, we all like to break the rules so try it out and see if it works. On some occasions they will and a stunning image may result. Experimenting will always bring surprises so don’t be afraid to try.

"next to the green mill chicago" captured by andre stoeriko (Click Image to See More From andre stoeriko)

The world of color is a top source of fantastic images and if you use it as you learn digital photography you will create great images. Don’t be afraid to try new ideas. Break out of the traditional mould and find out what works for you.

About the Author
Do you want to learn more about photography in a digital world? I’ve just completed a brand new e-course delivered by e-mail. Download it here for free by clicking here: http://www.21steps2perfectphotos.com/ To learn how you can take your photography from ordinary to outstanding click here – http://www.21steps2perfectphotos.com/21steps.htm

Wayne Turner has been teaching photography for 25 years and has written three books on photography.

"ice bank" captured by David Hobcote (Click Image to See More From David Hobcote)

As you learn digital photography you’ll find terms that leave you wondering what on earth they mean. One of them is exposure compensation and sometimes known as aperture compensation or Ev. A technical term, but if you understand it will help make some of those good images great.

I always had a problem when taking images that had a lot of white in them or where they were quite dark. They came out grey or with the dark images, too light. What I hadn’t realized was that my camera was doing its own thing. That is, the light meter was being fooled by the conditions and making its own decisions. Most times they are great but there are times when they just don’t get it right.

The camera’s light meter is not super intelligent so it’s always trying to average all the colors in a scene to an 18% grey. It doesn’t work with you but has its own agenda. This works fine most of the time as long as there isn’t too much white, then it gets fooled and does its own thing.

On your camera you will find a setting or a button denoted by Ev or a little icon with a +/- sign. This is where you will change the exposure settings. So what do you need to need to change and how does it work to improve your photos?

1. When the light meter of your camera sees all the white in an image it thinks that there is too much white and the image will be overexposed so it compensates for this and underexposes the photo. Just what you don’t want to happen.

2. The setting it chooses for the aperture size is therefore incorrect as it allows less light to hit the camera’s sensor.

3. This results in a muddy or grey image because not enough light is allowed in through the lens.

"December in Central Park" captured by Thomas Hawk (Click Image to See More From Thomas Hawk)

4. In order for you to improve your image you have to compensate for the camera’s light meter reading using the Ev setting.

5. Depending on your camera, the compensation measurements or stops as they are known are measured in thirds or halves.

6. If your scene is very white as in snow, you’ll need to add a stop or a fraction of a stop so that enough light reaches the sensor.

7. By doing this you manually open the lens aperture overriding what the camera’s light meter thinks it should be.

The same goes for a dark or black image. You just do the opposite by stopping down a third, half or full aperture stop. Here the camera thinks there is too much dark and opens up the aperture.

The proof of this is in the pudding as they say. You may get it right first time or it may be necessary to vary this setting until your photo is acceptable. When I learned how to use my exposure compensation setting my photos improved dramatically. It was my discovery of the year. As you learn digital photography and experiment with these settings you too will improve.

Photo captured by Great Salt Lake Photographer (Click Image to See More From This Photographer)

There is another feature on your camera which help you get this right virtually every time. It means taking extra images every time you press the shutter. It’s called AEB or automatic exposure bracketing. What it does is this. You preselect the amount of compensation you want, say one third of a stop, and the camera brackets this by choosing one normal image, one a third of a stop over and one a third of a stop under. So when you press your shutter button it takes three shots, one for each of your chosen exposure settings. It’s like insurance and you get the shot every time. Again you need to experiment to see if a third, half or full aperture stop will work.

By taking just a little extra time as you learn digital photography your images under these circumstances will improve considerably. Take a look at your camera’s manual to see exactly how exposure compensation and exposure bracketing works on your particular camera. Happy shooting!

About the Author
Do you want to learn more about photography in a digital world? I’ve just completed a brand new e-course delivered by e-mail. Download it here for free by clicking here: http://www.21steps2perfectphotos.com/. To learn how you can take your photography from ordinary to outstanding click here – http://www.21steps2perfectphotos.com/21steps.htm.

Wayne Turner has been teaching photography for 25 years and has written three books on photography.

To take a top-class wildlife photograph, you need to know your animal; where to find it, how to approach it without scaring it away, and how to know the precise moment to press the button to capture the character of the subject. Often a wildlife photographer will spend hours trying to get a good shot. What a shame, then, if all that effort is wasted by taking your photo in bad light.

Photo captured by Radoslav Toth (Click Image to See More From Radoslav Toth)

As a nature photographer, I have learned that the ideal light for a photo can vary depending on the subject. Landscape photos are usually best photographed in sunny weather, early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the contrast is low and the light is soft and colorful. On the hand, rainforest photography is usually best in the middle of the day, in cloudy weather to eliminate extremes of light and shade. To understand the best lighting for wildlife photography, you can take a lesson from both landscape and rainforest photography.

To get the best light for a wildlife photo, you are really looking to minimize contrast, and to eliminate shadows from important areas; most importantly across the face of the animal.

If you take your photos in the middle of a sunny day, you are bound to encounter shadows in all the wrong places. Bright light is likely to overexpose parts of the subject, while the face and the underside of the animal could be lost in heavy shadow. The result will be unattractive, and lacking in much of the detail that should give character to your photo.

There is nothing wrong with taking your wildlife photos on a sunny day. Just remember the lesson from landscape photography and seek to take your photos early in the morning and late in the afternoon. At these times the subject is illuminated from a more horizontal angle, so the full face of the animal is well-lit; you are less likely to have shadows over the eyes and other important features. If there are shadows, they will be much softer because the contrast is much lower when the sun is low in the sky.

"Monkey" captured by Stephanie (Click Image to See More From Stephanie)

The light at these times is also much more colorful, with the golden hues you associate with sunrise and sunset. This is a classic technique for improving landscapes, but it can be just as effective for wildlife. The warmth of the light can create an intimacy in your pictures that is completely lost in the harsh light of midday.

The second approach is to follow the rule of rainforest photography, and take your photos in overcast weather. This allows you to catch your subject in very even, low-contrast light.

I find cloudy days particularly useful for animals with glossy surfaces. Frogs, for example, have damp, shiny skin that reflects a lot of light. In glaring conditions a green frog may appear mostly grey or silver in a photo. On a cloudy day the same frog will be shown in its true colours.

Birds can often appear more colorful on a cloudy day, for the very same reason. The sun shining on glossy feathers can create a lot of reflection, robbing the photo of its natural color. It may seem the opposite of what you would expect, but the dull light of a cloudy day can actually produce the truest colors in a bright wildlife subject.

One final question you may ask: should you use a flash to illuminate a wildlife photo? My answer to that is a definite “NO.” Flash photography bathes the subject in white light, coming from directly in front of the subject. It may illuminate the subject, but at the same time rob it of the natural play of light and shade that makes a good photo so appealing.

Some wildlife photography experts use multiple flashes to brightly illuminate a subject from every possible angle. This approach can work very well, but remember; these are experts in flash photography. If you are at the beginner stage, I recommend learning to work with natural light. When you get the hang of it, I guarantee you will be happy with the results.

About the Author
Andrew Goodall’s top selling ebook “Photography In Plain English” is a great place to start learning the art and skills of nature photography. Find it at http://www.naturesimage.com.au along with a great collection of Andrew’s landscape and wildlife photography. You can also sign up to the online newsletter for free gifts and tips on photography.

"night bus" captured by David Hobcote (Click Image to See More From David Hobcote)

In this article I will try to explain how perspective works in a 2D photograph with some tips, myths and example photos.

When we see a photograph on computer screen or on prints, we are looking at a 2-dimensional representation of a real 3-dimensional scene. And that is what photography is all about – capturing a 3D scene onto a 2D image. I used to wonder how do photographers demonstrate “depth” or sense of “scale” in a (good) photograph. They use the concept of Perspective.

This is one of the tricky areas of photography which if a photographer is not consciously aware of, can produce unwanted “distortions” or “flat” uninteresting images.

3D is real. A 2D depiction of a 3D scene is just an illusion exploiting how our brain synthesizes information to determine the “depth” in real-time. Powerful compositions can be created by applying the concepts of perspective in effectively converting a 3D scene into a 2D translation.

Let’s start by formally defining “Perspective”

Perspective in photography can be defined as the sense of depth or spatial relationships between objects in the photo, along with their dimensions with respect to the viewpoint (camera lens or the viewer).

Now let’s come down to the techniques -

I. Blocking, overlap or obstruction

This is probably the dumbest thing to tell. But let me tell you anyways. When we see an object blocking the view of another object, the first object is nearer to the viewer than the latter.

This clue to our brain regarding distance can be utilized in a photograph to depict the “depth” or distance between the objects also called overlap perspective. If this overlap is repeated in a same picture the viewer gets a sense of depth among various objects lying in a 3D reality through the perception of the relative distance of objects made by partial blocking and hiding.

"Hitting the Wall" captured by Mark Feliciano (Click Image to See More From Mark Feliciano)

II. Relative Size

Our brain is very complex but gets fooled easily. We have a notion that when an object becomes more distant, it appears smaller than the one which is closer to the viewer.

In reality our brain has encodings of “natural” size of different objects like trees, cars, people and animals. So when we see a person twice as big as building, we cannot rationally conclude that the person is actually twice as big in reality. Our brain tells us that the building is farther away for a person. Alternatively when we carefully place different objects at different distances but giving an illusion that they are in the same plane produces funny images.

So in a nutshell, our brain makes an evaluation of the sizes based on “known” objects in relationship with other objects in the photo. Thus a distance is “imagined” in the brain and creates the “depth” in the photo that the photographer is looking for. This is also called “scaling” which helps the viewer to determine the actual size or relative size of the objects in the picture.

III. Linear, Rectilinear and Vanishing Point

As already mentioned earlier that a 2D image is nothing but an illusion of a 3D scene, but nevertheless artists and photographers utilize this illusion effect as an important compositional factor in their works.

The human eye judges distance by the way lines and planes converge at an angle. This is known as linear perspective.

"downtown" captured by rjnic (Click Image to See More From rjnic)

This when expanded to the rectangular objects, you find that some of the lens (fish-eye and panoramic) produces objects at the sides much smaller than it actually is and the objects at the center much larger that it’s actual size. Geometrically all straight horizontal lines at the lens axis level are represented as straight lines, and all other straight horizontal lines either above or below the lens axis level are reproduced as curved lines. But with “rectilinear perspective” the straight lines in the subject are reproduced straight in the picture (normal lenses are rectilinear lenses) which is way we see things normally.

It is noteworthy to mention that any photo is subject to “perspective projection distortion” which can be controlled and corrected with various methods that I will describe in Part II of this series.

The fish-eye and panoramic lenses produces “false” perspectives and are used only to produce “special” effects on purpose (more on this in Part II: Playing with perspective).

So back to linear perspective. Lines that are parallel to each other when seen at a great distance gives us the sensation of meeting (at vanishing points) for example in rail tracks. This “converging parallel lines” illusion can be used to show “distance” or depth in the photo.

IV. Lack of Sharpness, Color Quality or Contrast

"dwntn blue" captured by Mike Regan (Click Image to See More From Mike Regan)

We are accustomed to our eyes not able to figure out objects in the distant far off (due to lowering of contrast or scattering of light or both). We can use this information to “create” the effect of lack of sharpness/contrast by controlling the depth of field. Now controlling depth of field is totally different subject area in Photography and I do not want to mix it with the current discussion of perspective control. But just for the sake of completeness, I can give you a quick hint: just focus your lens slightly shorter than infinity so that the farthest object looks blurred thus giving the viewers a sense of distance.

Also atmospheric conditions like haze/fog/dust can cause loss of image sharpness at a distant. Since the effect of this “haze” (scattering of light due to particles in the air) is proportional to the distance of the objects from the lens, we can use this information as well in composing the shot.

Of course, there are various different factors that contribute to varying atmospheric conditions but the result effect of reduction of contrast, brightness and saturation can make our eyes believe that we are looking at something really distant compared to the objects that are clear, sharp and vibrant color.

So next time when you are trying to compose a photo, before pressing the shutter, think again. Are you able to successfully illustrate the “3D-factor” through any (or all) of the above mentioned “illusion” methods. In Part II of this article, I will explain the myth on perspective, zooming/framing and distortion corrections.

About the Author
Sudipta Shaw is a software professional and a self-made photographer. He also likes to teach and mentor.