Every “shutterbug” enthusiast dreams of snapping at least one prize-winning photo. It takes practice, and sometimes an entire lifetime.
Art is Man's nature. Nature is God's art.
James Bailey
I learned of one photographer who could look at his subject scene, blink his eyes abruptly, set his camera's lens opening and shutter speed, and end up with a perfectly exposed film plate virtually every time. I believe his name was...Bachrach. Some lessons from great photo artists:
First and Foremost, Know your camera.
Set your camera for a minimum of 2 mp resolution per photo. This can be found in your camera instruction booklet. Of course, this will limit your photo session to about 24 snapshots (for a 4.1 MP camera) before your memory is filled. To take more in one session, you will need an external memory chip.
Second, Do not use Your Flash, Unless Absolutely Needed.
This light is only needed when there is no light to expose your subject. It is also used to fill shadow in the subject when backlit. It can sometimes ruin a close-up photo.
Keep in Mind What is Called Depth of Focus
The simple rule, close your lens (as the iris of your eye) in high light conditions, your depth of focus increases. In other words, at 6 inches away from subject, you might be in focus from 4 inches to 10 inches. Your camera instruction booklet should give you this information when you set your camera to Macro setting. Open your lens in low light conditions, your depth of focus decreases. This time, at 6 inches away from your subject, you might be in focus from 5 inches to 8 inches. Remember that these figures are only examples and depend on a few factors, such as ASA speed settings. Some more expensive cameras may display lens settings in display window when holding down shutter button halfway, such as f: 16 @ 1/100 sec. In a bright light condition, or f: 5.6 @ 1/100 sec., in a low light condition. The latter will give you a narrower Depth of Focus.
Avoid, as much as possible both motion of subject and yourself, so that whatever your focus quality is, it will not be deteriorated by lateral motion. Try to shoot subject either moving toward or away from you (the camera). If subject is outside on a windy day, wait for a lull in the wind. The closer the subject, the blurrier the image will be at any given shutter speed, which should not be below 1/100 sec.. In most cameras, this will change automatically by the built-in software - when your camera is set in AUTO mode.
When taking very low light photos, such as night scenes of buildings or low light level street scenes, it is sometimes very advantageous to use a tripod which can be a very low cost item for some photo sessions. Of course, make sure your camera has the proper thread mount to mount to the tripod.
A remote shutter trip may be a very useful item to carry along on some photo excursions, when provision for a very steady camera is needed, such as waiting for an event to happen and then tripping the shutter at that exact moment.
Finally, to insure an uninterrupted photo session, carry at least one set of fresh batteries, especially on vacation, something many people tend to forget.
Now I understood some of that, where am I going to find the time to raise kids,cook,clean,shop,finance,write,read,and learn more about the photography aye? Good articles with some useful tips!
#2 by Lucy Lockett, Sep 14, 2007
I have just come back to this article for some of your expertise and knowledge. I am laughing because of the last tip about the batteries, that got me last time I went photo taking! Thank you.
#3 by beauley, Lucien, Sep 15, 2007
Beautiful, glad to hear this message helps. Of course, it didn't help when my batteries fizzled out just before a very important one-time photo I could have had. The solution, of course is to go back to the old Kodak "Brownie" that used the finger energy to activate the shutter.
