Mode Dial

This quick little tip is aimed mostly at the dSLR users out there who are still learning the ropes. I know how easy it can be to leave the camera in an “auto mode” so you don’t have to worry about all that technical crap. But the non-auto stuff really isn’t that bad, and it opens up a world of possibilities for you.

So this little exercise might be somewhat disappointing on your first go, but it should get you rolling in the right direction. You can do this in a single outing or split it up over multiple days — whatever works for you. And if you don’t feel enlightened after your first try, do it again. Alright, here’s the technique:

1. SHOOT IN AUTO MODE
   If this is what you’re used to doing, just go ahead and get warmed up. Don’t think about that comfort zone you’re about to step out of, just shoot some photos.
2. SWITCH TO APERTURE PRIORITY
   When you move to aperture priority mode, you control the f-number and everything else is automated. So now you need to start thinking about depth of field. Look for photo opportunities where you might want to blur the background or have everything in focus. Lower f-numbers equate to lower depth of field and higher f-numbers equate to greater depth of field. Pay attention to your foreground and background subjects, and experiment with different f-numbers on the same shot to see the results. You’ll also need to pay attention to your auto shutter speed chosen by the camera — low f-numbers on a sunny day might max out your shutter speed, and high f-numbers on a cloudy day might result in long exposures.
3. SWITCH TO SHUTTER PRIORITY
   When you move to shutter priority mode, you control the shutter speed and everything else is automated. Now you need to think about motion blur. Look for opportunities where you might want to blur a fast moving object or freeze everything in the frame. Lower shutter speeds equate to more motion blur and higher shutter speeds equate to freezing action. Pay attention to moving objects, and experiment with panning your camera as you take a shot. You’ll also need to pay attention to your auto aperture chosen by the camera — slow shutter speeds on a sunny day might max out your aperture, while fast shutter speeds on a cloudy day might pin your aperture wide open.
4. SWITCH TO MANUAL
   If you have a handle on the aperture and shutter priority modes, try switching over to full manual controls. The only difference is that you determine both aperture and shutter speed at the same time (and it’s not as hard as it first seems). Modern dSLR cameras have built-in light meters that tell you if your exposure is correct when shooting manual. That little scale in the viewfinder… that’s your light meter. Move the shutter speed and f-number around and you should see an indicator move across that scale at some point. If your exposure is correct, you should be somewhere around the center of that scale. As you experiment with the manual controls, you’ll probably notice that you prefer to leave the aperture or shutter in a steady place while modifying the other. This will tell you which priority mode you lean toward.
Again, if you’ve never shot the priority modes or the manual mode before, this might be brutal on the first round. You’ll mess up a bunch of shots, you’ll miss shots entirely, and you’ll probably be pissed off. Stick with it though! The best way to learn the semi-manual and fully-manual controls is via practice. You can read about this stuff all day long, but that will only take you so far. So get out there and learn your camera!

Points to keep in mind for amature photographer

These are some of the notes I took few years back... still I forget these points quite often. I guess practice is the key. Sharing with others,

1) Automatic is OK
While you can get some great results by changing your camera’s settings, remember to set it back to automatic mode especially when you are new to photography or if the camera is supposed to be used by others. Taking a great photograph is often about capturing a moment, so don’t lose it!

2) Spot metering for vivid backgrounds
If you’re shooting a person against a bright background (the sky, for instance), set your exposure meter mode to “spot” and focus on the person. This prevents the subject being under exposed. If the background is of particular interest, try using a standard metering mode and turning on the flash to light up your subject.

3) Get closer
In photos of people, the subjects can often be lost amidst too much background. Get close to your subject to make sure they are the focus of your shot, and position them to one side of the frame, not dead center. This will give your frame a non-amateur look.

4) Use the rule of thirds
For landscape shots, try to fill the frame with one third sky and two thirds land. Or if the sky is really interesting, do it the other way. Half-and-half never looks quite right.

5) Shutter Speed
Play around with shutter speeds. Anything slower than 1/60th of a second will give some blur (depending on the speed of the action) -- and blur conveys a sense of movement. Try 1/30th to capture the movement of car wheels.

6) Taking portrait
If nothing else, the person’s eyes should be sharp, as they’re the first things we look at. If your subject is off-center, choose the focus point nearest their eyes. Blurry eyes don’t make for great pics.

7) Shooting in sun
Don’t shoot pictures with the sun directly behind you: first, you might cast a shadow across the frame, and second, the person in the shot will probably be squinting.
If you have to shoot into the sun, put the flash on so you don’t get a dark subject – this is called “fill flash.”

ISO Aperture and Shutter Speed

The first thing to understand when you move into the manual / creative zones of your camera the the relation to the three primary factors.

1. Shutter Speed
2. Aperture
3. ISO

The shutter speed relates to the time which the camera opens up to allow light inside. It is measured in units of time. For e.g. 1/125 secs means that the camera will open for that small amount of time to allow light to fall on the censor / film.

The aperture relates to the size of the opening in the lens. The wider the opening the more light that comes in, the narrower the opening the less light that comes in.

Both the shutter speed and the aperture go hand in hand to determine the right exposure. If you let in light though a bigger opening then you would need a faster shutter speed and vice versa.

The aperture is measured in f stops, The lower the number the bigger the opening. e.g. f1.8 has a bigger opening than f5.6.

The ISO is how sensitive the senor or film is to light. It is measured as ISO 100, 200,400,800,1600. The lower numbers indicate a lower sensitivity and the higher numbers a higher sensitivity. The lower number require more light to expose the film and the higher number require lesser light to expose the film.

ISO settings have a direct effect on the quality of the photograph. The lower the ISO the smoother is the resolution and the high ISO setting yield grainier images. Think of it this way, when you are studying a book, if you skim though the book fast, then you have an overall understanding but loose out the details, but a more thorough study takes you more time and will give you a finer understanding.

Photo Samples

I found a very nice website of a photographer. I am impressed by the quality and simplicity of these pictures.


http://www.salleephotography.com/


Don't forget to volume down this beautiful song on the website.


Comments are welcome.

Quality Slimming

Very important and common area of mistakes. When we slim the size of an image, we don't generally include the quality aspect. Size reduction of image is by the size of image (length & width), it reduces the file size too, however we can also reduce the size of file by reducing the quality of image (Color depth). Mostly all software programs do both (picasa being worst). They would reduce the width and length and reduce the jpg quality without asking further details. You will get pretty small size making email servers happy, but the photo quality will be very bad.

Make sure when you reduce the length and width of picture, you do not go overboard with quality of jpg to reduce the file size. Photoshop gives very good options and another hidden option is well explained here.

http://photonaturalist.net/how-to-resize-your-photos-the-sharp-way/

Enjoy quality slimming down.

My assignment of Marathon photos

Got another photography assignment to cover Ekalwalk Marathon.

- Got up early and reached before time, took a tour of places I need to be.
- Made a scheme in my mind on what to cover and by which lens.
- Get my gear ready according to situation.
- Covered preparation, warm-up session, stalls, marathon, awards, dance, yoga and food.
- When people reach the final spot, make sure no one comes on your way and select right spot.
- Check background when you shoot people running. Good contrast is needed.
- Compile your pictures after post processing quickly.
- Don't forget to shoot interesting people.
- Don't forget to enjoy yourself too :)

Happy Diwali

To all the readers:

For this, is a special time when family
  And friends get together, for fun.
  Wishing laughter and fun to cheer your days,
  In this festive season of diwali and always!!!!!! !!
                 “Happy Deepavali”

Why Diwali / Deepawali??
Its Deep's (small lamps) Awali (rows and rows)
Lord Ram returned to rule "Bharat" country which would certainly bring prosperity for sure was the general feeling in everyone's life. He would accept the kingdom from his brother Bharat. Since supreme Lord Vishu's avatar Ram is coming back, rest of Gods will come to you as well. This made entire Bharat country celebrate and lit lamps to welcome. How this day turned in to worship of Laxmi (Lord of money) and Ganesh (Lord of prosperity)  is not known to me but I feel this must be related to the reason for people welcoming Lord Ram at the first place.

We not only clean the houses and shops, but also decorate them to lure Lord Laxmi. My childhood memories remembers Diwali as entire joint family gathering, entire city decorated with small lamps, market decorations and obviously fire crackers :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/sachindevji/Diwali09#