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So where do you find these interesting subjects? They can be found everywhere, from a stormy landscape:
Just take a walk around your local neighbourhood with your camera, and you're sure to find something interesting to photograph.
~ The Sunny Side ~ byViaMoion flickr
Rule of thirds
Composition is how the elements in the photograph are arranged, and a good guideline for composition is the 'rule of thirds'. The rule of thirds works by splitting an image into thirds, so you end up with 9 sections.
You can see in the photo to the right how the photographer has placed the horizon in the top third of the photo, while the landscape takes up the bottom two thirds of the photo.
As well as placing elements along the thirds lines, you can also try and put your main point of focus so that it falls on the intersection of two of the thirds lines. If you look at the photo to the left, you can see the photographer has placed the cat's eye on the intersection of the right and top thirds lines.
The curve of the spiral helps lead the viewer's eye through the photograph. You can see the grass in the photo to the left roughly follows the Fibonacci spiral.
The golden triangle is a good compositional guideline to use when your photograph contains strong diagonal elements. It involves splitting the photo into three triangles that contain the same angles (are the same shape). You can see the below photo has been composed roughly around the golden triangle:
In the photo to the left you can see the edges of the flowerbed and lake create converging lines that leads the eye towards the building.
In this photo the photographer has used the shoreline and waves as lines that lead your eye towards the funfair:
Colour temperature
As a general rule, we tend to prefer photos with a warm (golden) tone. The warmest light naturally occurs around sunrise and sunset, and this is why many landscape photographers prefer this time of day. The colour temperature of a photo can also be modified by adjusting the white balance setting on your camera. And if you are taking photos using flash, you can use a warming gel on the flash to warm up the light.
Of course, in some instances you may want to go the opposite way, and use light with a cold (blue) colour temperature.
Diffuse light is where the light creates soft shadows, which is preferred for most types of photography, particularly portraits.
Diffused light can be created by reflecting light from a large surface (like a wall), or by using a large piece of semitransparent material between the light and your subject. This works the same way as when there is a thin layer of cloud, which diffuses the sunlight and creates a nice soft light.
Harsh light creates strong shadows. Natural light is at its harshest around midday, while an undiffused flash will also create a harsh light. When shooting with harsh light, try and use the strong shadows it creates to your advantage, incorporating them as an element of your photograph.
Areas of the photo that are solid white or black contain no detail. Maybe this is what you want, but generally it is better to have detail available even if you don't need it. You can modify the exposure of the photo by adjusting the exposure compensation. Use negative exposure compensation to darken the photo, or positive exposure compensation to brighten. Take the photo again, check the exposure again, and repeat if any more exposure adjustment is necessary.
Generally the ideally exposed photo is one that is as bright as possible without any detail being blown out white. You can then adjust the photo on the computer to darken it if necessary. It is an extra step, but maximises the image quality.
A full frame camera with a 50mm lens would need 1/50s shutter speed for a sharp handheld photo A 50mm lens on a camera with an APS-C sized sensor has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 75mm, and so would need 1/75s shutter speed for a sharp handheld photo A four thirds camera has a 2x crop factor, meaning a 50mm lens has the equivalent 35mm focal length of 100mm. So it would need at least 1/100s for a sharp handheld photo
The actual shutter speed you need will depend on your handholding ability. To try and give the camera more support when shooting handheld, hold the camera up against your eye, use both hands to grip the camera, and push your elbows in against your stomach / chest.
If using a fast shutter speed makes your photos too dark, try increasing your camera's ISO setting, and / or using a wider aperture. This will allow more light to reach the camera's sensor without having to reduce the shutter speed. If you are photographing a person or nearby object you can also use flash to provide enough light for a fast shutter speed. If your camera or lens has a Vibration Reduction or Image Stabilization function, turn this on as it will help steady your shots when shooting handheld. The other alternative to increasing the shutter speed is to use a tripod or some other form of support (e.g. placing the camera on a wall or table). Make sure the camera is secured tightly on the tripod and either use a cable release or self timer to trigger the camera's shutter. This way the camera doesn't receive any shake from the process of pressing and releasing the shutter button.
For more photography advice and tips, updated with new tips on a regular basis, make sure you check out
www.discoverdigitalphotography.com
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