Photography Tips (8)

SIMPLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Simple tips on the basics of photography by Trevor James @ www.trevorjamesphotography.com

A Day in the Life of a Photography Course

I hope that by now the previous weeks' Photography Tips has given many of you new insights in how to get more out of your cameras, and that you have each grabbed some new and creative ideas to enhance the skills already attained? This week we start on something a little different - what goes on on the Photography Courses I take.

Last week I mentioned to you that I would be putting together the day's events of a Beginners' Photography Course to give you all an insight in what goes on during those 6 hours of learning, and coming to terms with the buttons, dials, and switches of your camera. 

09.30 Hrs and the group start to gather outside the Co-Op superstore in Elmswell, Suffolk. One or two have gone in to grab a quick drink whilst waiting for the remainder of the group to show. General introductions have been made and with everyone present I begin to address the group for the days' events. Firstly, I introduce myself and give a run down on the things that we be covering during the next 6 hours: checking that everyone has remembered to bring with them some sensible footwear and waterproof clothing, a packed lunch and their camera equipment. Then we start to address the itinerary, such as, Camera Settings, Composition, Aperture & Shutter priority, Rule of Thirds, ISO, White Balance - giving a very brief summary of what they can expect to get from the course. Then the group introduce themselves to each of us and giving some idea of their level of camera & photography experience and what prompted them to come on this particular course. Once this has been completed and the formal bits are then closed off we set off in a particular direction through the village down to Warren & Kiln Lane, where the course begins.


Whilst along the walk, mostly village roads and lanes, we discuss further our experiences to date and generally talk informally about some of the elements that will be captured today using the list above. At the first stop - a corn field with a diagonal footpath running through it - we stop to capture the flat-ish view to the point of the horizon with the surrounding bushes and skyline. in our group we first get to taking a few shots in landscape and portrait format as we would normally take them. This is done for two reasons: Firstly, to give us all a reference point of what our photos would be like before the course and to compare them later at home; and, Secondly, so we can all get some feedback at the very start before getting down to the nitty gritty elements of manipulating photography with the proper use of the camera and its settings. 

That's what I call the 'ice-breaker'. And it usually is as from there we start to go through the understanding - whilst still taking shots - of how the camera works with its variables of Shutter and Aperture, and using the Rule of Thirds. All the while we are moving along the path taking shots at varying angles and heights putting to use what has been described above. Once we are all comfortable with these basic understandings and everyone has had their concerns and questions answered, and happy to move on we can slowly progress to the use of White Balance and ISO settings. All the while remembering what has previously been taught and taking more shots - now using the additional information and teachings. Again there are ample spaces in the course for feedback on each photo as the students continue to take shot after shot and use each other, as well as me for their constructive feedback. All of a sudden the day's course has become one that is filled with every member of the group working with each other to support and encourage the others to get the most from what they have come to get: the very best of photography basics. Some of the interesting points are the lanes as they meander into the distance, the ploughed fields as they have been prepared for crops, the cross roads with a road on one side and path on the other, the big tree in the middle of the field (Our Lady's Tree - historically named), field contours, and horizon shots. After lunch we head into the small wooded area and then off along the footpath to the rod entrance and a walk into the village once again from another point of entry and back to the local store to end the day.

Lunch time has come and a chance again to discuss the images taken and get some more feedback on the five elements above.  Everyone has remembered to bring pack lunches with their camera equipment and there are no mad dashes to the village shop a mile back.  Lunch is always a great opportunity to chat freely and informally again about the images and where there may have been some difficulties - or even to go over some previous issues regarding White Balance manipulation. Once lunch has been scoffed and the drinks have rinsed the palates we set off for final part of the course.  There's a quick but concise introduction into Depth of Field and how to manipulate all your images using this great scale for focus measuring and then we're off. Today it's a free for all shoot making full use of all that has been taught using varying levels and angles whilst making full use of the Rule of Thirds for great composition, as well as filling the frame and breaking those rules. Two hours of really looking at what's been taught and making comparisons from those initial shots at the start of the day.  Landscapes, portraits, Depth of Field, movement, action freezing, light sensitivity with ISO, and WB, are all the rage now. each member of the group making the very most of the new ways of taking those great shots and proving, once again, that they had it within them all along - all they needed was for someone to show them what they needed to do - lose the auto programmes - to get there.

Well done everyone!

Next week I would like to go through some of the mistakes i used to make many years ago, as well as some of the errors i have made more recent. We all make mistakes, some people will always continue to make the same mistakes when they stop being receptive to learning.  I have a range of photos to show you to let you know that making mistakes is nature's way of showing us what we need to do and learn to 'get it right'.


Until next week you guys have a fantastic Christmas break and enjoy all the festivities on offer!!

Photography Tips (7)

SIMPLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Simple tips on the basics of photography by Trevor James @ www.trevorjamesphotography.com








That week went rather quickly for a change. Usually on the run up to Christmas things start to get much more rushed but the time seems to hang on to the very last. That didn't appear to be the situation for the last week - where did it go?

Just to catch up on last week's topics (Shutter Speed), we said that we can use it to tell the camera 'how long we let the light to enter the camera' - whereas the Aperture setting measure the amount of light entering the camera and therefore what parts of the image will remain sharp and what parts are out of focus. This week's topic on ISO settings will show how it works to allow us to shoot in low-light situations without image blur, as well as for creative design - giving a grainy effect similar to that of traditional photographic prints.

ISO SETTINGS

Two images showing the effects of High ISO with noise and Low ISO with clarity

I’m not a geek at this stuff but ISO stands for International Standards Organisation and it replaced the old ASA/DIN some years ago. ISO is basically the light sensitivity control meter for your camera to let it know how much light it is allowed to use. If you had little men running out of your camera to catch as much light as possible for your image then these are the ISO gang. 


Some digital cameras have a range of ISO 100 – 1600, whilst others are blessed with wider ranges. So, depending on how much light you have available to you would depend on the film speed (ISO rating) you would have chosen traditionally. Today it’s 

done on the camera. In a nutshell it takes longer to expose an image in low light on a setting of 100 than it does to expose it on 1600. The upside is that in low light you may still be able to take a good quality correctly focused photograph with sharp details by adjusting your camera’s ISO setting to a higher rating without the use of 

a tripod, or other means of good stability, than you would when using the ISO 100, for example. The downside of this is that there will be exposure to digital noise. Which is similar to grain in traditional photography – and tends to be somewhat undesirable for using higher ISO settings. For sharper images use ISO ratings of 50 – 200 and no higher. 

So the higher the ISO rating the greater the amount of digital noise that will occur on your photos. 

There are positive sides to ISO settings in that it allows you to keep pace with the changing light levels while avoiding unnecessary noise and exposure problems. There are also some very good 'noise reduction programmes such as that in Photoshop that will smooth out much of the unsightly graininess. we must not lose track of its advantages in this debate over clarity or noise: the digital world has allowed us this ability to walk from an area where you may have been shooting in ISO50 and instantly change to another vehicle. The traditional method was to either carry extra cameras with faster film in it of to continually change films with the same camera (a very expensive method for most).

Please take on board when manipulating your photography with ISO settings that it can be a little cumbersome to 'get it right' first time: the level of digital noise on the image may be difficult to see on your camera's LCD screen for a number of reasons. I would also recommend setting your ISO one setting down from the highest your camera can go as your final shot. So if your highest ISO is 1600, set it to 800.

Next week I want to talk to you about one of my beginners courses I did some time ago and what we actually learned from the day's events. This will give each of you some idea of how my courses are conducted and a taste of how things are structured.

TILL NEXT WEEK - Have Fun

Photography Tips (6)

SIMPLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Simple tips on the basics of photography by Trevor James @ www.trevorjamesphotography.com

Okay then, how many of you actually went out in the snow last week and took photos? Who's going to send some over so we can all view? I was out in the snow last week doing one of my photography courses (Beginners) and it was great fun. Cold, but nevertheless, FUN! It was, as always a small group but the things that we went through and discussed in detail regarding Aperture Priority, ISO, White Balance, lighting, taking images in the snow, and shutter Speed - which really brings us to this week's blog. 

SHUTTER SPEED

On your camera's mode dial there is an area that when turned to this point will allow you to vary the shutter priority speed by simply turning the main dial (usually located near the shutter release button). This variable mode will ensure the speed at which the shutter curtains within the camera are operated (that is, to open and shut) and capture the image you see through the viewfinder. Depending on what you want to achieve in your image will also depend greatly on what speed this dial is set at.

If you want to capture the movement of a subject, such as a waterfall or the turning wheels of a motor vehicle, or, on the other hand you want to freeze action at a sports event, then Shutter Priority would be the beneficial mode setting to use.  Where the aperture would determine the amount of light that reaches your camera’s sensor, the Shutter Priority would tell it how long it would enter for. So for movement shots in general you would be thinking of setting Shutter Priority for 1/60 sec or slower. For example, to capture a waterfall movement in an image you’d probably set the Shutter Priority to around 1/30 or 1/15 sec. As mentioned earlier in this book, by using this mode the Aperture would be automatically set by the camera.

For freezing action it would probably be around 1/250 sec or faster. I say these as approximate guides only as it really would depend on the action. For example to capture a motorcycle or fast car race speed of 1/1000 and upwards would be the settings, whereas to capture a person generally walking along a footpath a shutter speed setting of around 1/125 sec would be ample. 

I have included two images here to emphasise the movement and freeze of the same image. This image has been taken only to show you the difference between slow shutter speeds to capture movement and faster shutter speeds to freeze the action. As you can see there is a difference which is distinctly noticeable between the images.

Most cameras will have the following shutter speed settings on the dial:

B - Bulb allowing you to keep the shutter curtain open all the time you have you finger pressing the shutter release button down.

1/8000 - 30 Seconds - this is obtained by simply turning the main dial near the shutter release button in a clockwise/anit-clockwise way. not all cameras will offer this facility and not will have this variance. However, most will have a range for you to choose in order to gain the correct exposure time.

All you really need to do now is get your coat and wellingtons on and snap away practising your shutter speeds and getting to understand more of your camera.

Next week I want to discuss ISO settings with you in more detail - this should then bring us to a better understanding of the three elements of correct exposure.

Should anyone wish to purchase a simple guide book (Photography Tips & Techniques) you are more than welcome. You can purchase this short guide book by contacting me through my website. I will forward my bank details by return. 

The price is ONLY £4.00 and will be emailed to you on PDF format once payment has been received.

Till next week! - Have fun

Photography Tips (5)

SIMPLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Simple tips on the basics of photography by Trevor James @ www.trevorjamesphotography.com

Firstly I wish to apologise for the delay in uploading this blog. There have been some difficulties over the last few days with telephone and broadband communications and this has caused a breakdown in connections.


Well, did any of you get out there before the snow came along to grab some shots and practice, or did you know we were going to get snow and decided to wait a few days? Did any of you guys try using your flash outdoor in the dark to see what affect it would have? It doesn't do mush really does it? You'd be better trying a slow shutter speed and large depth of field whilst using a tripod. This kind of nicely brings me to this week's blog on 'Depth of Field' and what it is.

I guess you can't really do much on this topic without discussing aperture s well, so here we kind of expand a bit on Aperture Priority somewhat - it's all in the name of learning!

Depth of Field (DOF) is that amount of your shot that will be in focus. Large depth of field means that most of your image will be in focus whether it’s close to your camera or far away (like the picture to the left where both the foreground and background are largely in focus – taken with an aperture of f/22. The focal length was 28mm).

Small (or shallow) depth of field means that only part of the image will be in focus and the rest will be fuzzy (like this picture on the right where you will see the closest snow-covered apple is sharp and yet the remainder of the image is all blurred out). This is a very shallow depth of field and was taken with an aperture of f/5.6 and a focal length of 135mm).

Aperture has a big impact upon depth of field. Large aperture (remember it’s a smaller number) will decrease depth of field while small aperture (larger numbers) will give you larger depth of field.

It can be a little confusing at first but the way I remember it is that small numbers mean small DOF and large numbers mean large DOF. Let me highlight this with two pictures I took earlier this week. 


The first picture on the left was taken with an aperture of f/22 and the second one was taken with an aperture of f/2.8. The difference is quite obvious. The f/22 picture has both the flower and the bud in focus and you’re able to make out the shape of the fence and leaves in the background.

The photo on the right taken with an aperture of f/2.8 shot has the left flower in focus (or parts of it) but the depth of field is very shallow and the background is thrown out of focus and the bud to the right of the flower is also less in focus due to it being slightly further away from the camera when the shot was taken.

The best way to get your head around aperture is to get your camera out and do some experimenting. Go outside and find a spot where you’ve got items close to you as well as far away and take a series of shots with different aperture settings from the smallest setting to the largest. You’ll quickly see the impact that it can have and the usefulness of being able to control aperture.

Some styles of photography require large depths of field (and small Apertures)

For example in most landscape photography you’ll see small aperture settings (large numbers) selected by photographers. This ensures that from the foreground to the horizon is relatively in focus.

On the other hand in portrait photography it can be very handy to have your subject perfectly in focus but to have a nice blurry background in order to ensure that your subject is the main focal point and that other elements in the shot are not distracting. In this case you’d choose a large aperture (small number) to ensure a shallow depth of field.

Macro photographers tend to be big users of large apertures to ensure that the element of their subject that they are focusing in on totally captures the attention of the viewer of their images while the rest of the image is completely thrown out of focus.

If you are still snow-covered in many areas where you live go out and grab some shots playing around with your aperture dial and experiment with your 'Depth of Field'. Don't forget your tripod!

Next week we will be looking a little closer at Shutter Speed