I am going to try a new (hopefully weekly) feature. Photography tips. Before we begin, I want to make it clear that I am not a professional, far from it. I am really more of a hardcore hobbyist. I certainly don't have the most expensive camera or lens but what I do have is a love of photography. Combine that with a love of reading and I have read just about every photography book there is out there. Why would I want to give tips? Well the success of your slide show depends on the quality of your pictures. Quite simply, great pictures = better slide show = happier you.
My number one tip: turn off your flash. Of course if it is a family picture at a dark restaurant and you simply must record the moment leave it on but if it is a picture where the flash will ruin the mood (a sunset, blowing out candles etc.) shut it off. The picture above is a perfect example. I took it from inside the house because I am a wimp when it comes to the cold. If the flash had fired, it would have resulted in glare from the window and also negated the night effect. I avoided this by putting the camera on the "A" (aperture) setting and using a wide open aperture (f/1.8). I also increased the ISO to 2000 and used a relatively slow shutter speed of 1/80 sec. Aperture, ISO and shutter speed all work together like the legs of a tripod - each needs to hold up their side or it will collapse (resulting in a bad picture). ISO is the speed of the picture, it used to be film speed -100, 200, 400 etc. With a digital camera, you can set this number yourself and the higher the number the faster the speed. Aperture determines how much light your lens lets in, the lower f number the more light. Shutter speed is how long the shutter stays open and it is fractions of a second - 1/30 is slow, 1/1000 is fast. I used aperture mode rather than manual because if I set the aperture then the camera will set the shutter speed. Gosh, this post is long, I will try to be brief in the future.
As a humorous aside, my daughter does not like having her picture taken at all so I got her to "cooperate" by asking her to throw snow at me. She is 13 so she liked that idea a lot.
This week's recommendation:
Book- "The Life Guide to Digital Photography" by Joe McNally. Very readable, great tips, not too technical.
If you have questions that you would like answered, please leave a comment here or on my FACEBOOK page.
My number one tip: turn off your flash. Of course if it is a family picture at a dark restaurant and you simply must record the moment leave it on but if it is a picture where the flash will ruin the mood (a sunset, blowing out candles etc.) shut it off. The picture above is a perfect example. I took it from inside the house because I am a wimp when it comes to the cold. If the flash had fired, it would have resulted in glare from the window and also negated the night effect. I avoided this by putting the camera on the "A" (aperture) setting and using a wide open aperture (f/1.8). I also increased the ISO to 2000 and used a relatively slow shutter speed of 1/80 sec. Aperture, ISO and shutter speed all work together like the legs of a tripod - each needs to hold up their side or it will collapse (resulting in a bad picture). ISO is the speed of the picture, it used to be film speed -100, 200, 400 etc. With a digital camera, you can set this number yourself and the higher the number the faster the speed. Aperture determines how much light your lens lets in, the lower f number the more light. Shutter speed is how long the shutter stays open and it is fractions of a second - 1/30 is slow, 1/1000 is fast. I used aperture mode rather than manual because if I set the aperture then the camera will set the shutter speed. Gosh, this post is long, I will try to be brief in the future.
As a humorous aside, my daughter does not like having her picture taken at all so I got her to "cooperate" by asking her to throw snow at me. She is 13 so she liked that idea a lot.
This week's recommendation:
Book- "The Life Guide to Digital Photography" by Joe McNally. Very readable, great tips, not too technical.
If you have questions that you would like answered, please leave a comment here or on my FACEBOOK page.
