As clichéd as it may sound, the
truth is that a picture speaks a
thousand words, and a well-shot
picture always stands out. When you
enter a living room, it’s common to see
family portraits and vacation memories
When shooting outdoors, the most
important aspect to look at is lighting.
With the right amount of lighting, you
can achieve just about the same output
as you would using in-house or studio
lighting. However, there are certain
factors to consider when shooting
outdoors.
 |
| Keeping your subject a little off-center adds more depth to the overall picture. |
on the walls or show cases. Now, it can
be embarrassing to have washed out or
grainy pictures in those photo frames.
In this workshop, we discuss the various
aspects of shooting the perfect picture in
dif erent scenarios and enhancing them
at noon or when the sun is directly
overhead. Apart from the lighting
conditions, you will also need to look
into your camera settings. If you have
a normal point-and-shoot, you should
consider having settings like aperture,
shutter speed and the manual mode.
However, not all cameras come with a manual mode. In such cases, just the aperture and shutter speed controls willsui ce. We have taken both indoor and outdoor shoots into consideration for the
following tutorial as there are no fi xed settings that apply to all situations.
following tutorial as there are no fi xed settings that apply to all situations.
STEP 1: RULE OF
THIRDS
A very common mistake that most of us make when shooting portraits is to place the subject right at the center. While it might seem like the most natural way of capturing portraits, it defi nitely has the makings of a very dull and unimaginative picture. The basis of this after they’ve been shot. Right from the
initial steps of shooting, using proper cameras and equipment, to the post processing and printing of images, we’ll give you brief step-by-step guides on the various crucial aspectsrule states that if you were to divide a
rectangular frame with two equidistant vertical and horizontal lines into nine equal parts, then the point where the lines meet is where the subject should be placed. This rule is applied to prevent positioning the subject at the center. To make things simpler, you can enable the ‘grid’ view option that most cameras come with.
STEP 2: APERTURE AND SHUTTER
SPEED
Both aperture and shutter speed are inversely proportional to one another, which means that if you increase the aperture range, the shutter speed will automatically decrease, and vice versa. However, this only happens when you choose to shoot either in aperture priority mode or shutter speed mode. The shutter priority mode is best used when you're shooting either in low light or whenthe subject that is being shot requires
a really high shutter speed, like when you're capturing fast moving objects. If you want greater control over the depthof fi eld, then the aperture priority modeshould help achieve this. Decrease thenumber of f-stops to get a better depthof fi eld. This is best used when you only need your product or subject to be your
point of focus.
STEP 3: ISO
The selection of ISO settings plays an important role in photography and how
your images turn out. The lower the camera's ISO levels, the fi ner will be
the overall image quality. However, the ISO levels all depend on the lighting
conditions. Better the lighting conditions, smaller will be the ISO levels. However,
we recommend not going beyond ISO 400 when using digital cameras,
because anything over this value will produce visible noise. The same cannot
be said when shooting with an SLR, because SLRs come with a larger sensor
size along with better post-processing capabilities. The best way to overcome
the noise issues with digital cameras would be to set it to manual mode (if
your camera supports this) or switch to either shutter/aperture priority while not
going above ISO 400. It is recommended that you make use of a tripod, especially
when you are shooting under low light conditions.
STEP 4: FLASH INTENSITY
Depending on what you are shooting,
you will need to selectively adjust the
fl ash intensity, otherwise you might just
end up burning your overall image. We
do not recommend using the on-camera
fl ash, as you will only end up spoiling
the overall image. Try making use of the
Bounce Flash method discussed later on
in this workshop. For point-and-shoot
cameras though, the Bounce Flash
method won’t quite work since the fl ash comes fit with the device. So apart from reducing the fl ash manually, you can have a white sheet of paper placed in front of the fl ash to further reduce the fl ash intensity.
Camera gear
LENSES TO LOOK
OUT FOR WHEN SHOOTING
INDOOR AND OUTDOOR: As far
as point-and-shoot cameras go, you obviously don’t have the choice of choosing the lens, as these cameras come fit with a decent amount of zoom out of the box. There are a few that offer upto 30x optical zoom,
which is more than enough to capture objects that are at quite a distance. Adding to this are the
preset scene modes that make the normal digital point-and-shoot a jack of all trades. So you get is a zoom lens, a macro lens and a normal lens all fi t into one single unit.However, the stock lens that you normally get with a DSLR gives a maximum of just 3x zoom, which isn’t much, especially if outdoor photography
is what you are mostly into. Here, however, you have lenses to take care of
each aspect of photography. There are three types of lenses that generally fi t a
DSLR - zoom lenses, prime lenses and macro lenses.
ZOOM LENSES: A typical zoom lens
(24 – 90 mm) will give an approximate
zoom range of 3.5x. However, if you want
the best of both worlds, try going in for a
28 – 200 mm zoom lens. That way, you
wouldn’t need to carry an additional lens
when travelling.
PRIME LENSES: Prime lenses, on the
other hand, don’t of er any kind of zoom.
In other words, these lenses have a fi xed
focal length. But what they lack in zoom,
they more than make up by delivering
superior image quality. In addition, these
lesnses are lighter and cheaper than traditional zoom lenses. They also have a larger aperture range that is capable of capturing images in low light conditions while maintaining the same shutter speed of a zoom lens. Prime lenses are best used when you require the picture to have a certain depth of fi eld.
MACRO LENSES:
Macro lenses are best used when you want to capture extreme close up shots of subjects. They are best used to highlight specifi c parts of a subject while blurring out the rest. However, they require sufficient
lighting to make the overall picture stand out.
TRIPODS:
Tripods are
an essential part of any
photographer’s equipment. So
making use of a tripod when shooting will undoubtedly
produce much better results. There are a few things
that you need to look at before taking the plunge.
First and foremost, you will need to check
the overall weight of the tripod. This
will depend on your requirements. If you are the kind to
make use of several lenses and camera
fl ashes, it would be advisable to settle
for a tripod that’s slightly heavy. But if
you are always on the move and all you
have is the camera, you should consider
buying a tripod that’s light and compact
enough to carry. Secondly, check the
tripod for stability as there are a few
that tend to wobble when fi t with a
camera. The best way to do this would be to mount the camera with the legs of
the tripod spread out. If it feels wobbly or uncomfortable, you should consider looking at something else.
Next, consider the extensibility
of the tripod. Choose something that reaches your height when fully extended.
However, this also depends on what you are trying to shoot. Tripod heads should
also be taken into account i.e.: their ease of use, overall movement of the
camera when attached to the tripod, and if they are easy to detach when the need arises.
So make sure you take all these into account before
purchasing a tripod.If you are not too keen on
purchasing a tripod, you can instead invest in a monopod.
Monopods are much lighter to carry and since they only have a
single leg, they wouldn’t take you more than a few seconds to set
up. They are also considerably cheaper than their three-
legged counterparts. However, keep in mind that a monopod
will not eliminate camera shake as well as a
tripod, but will
to be continued.........
THIRDS
A very common mistake that most of us make when shooting portraits is to place the subject right at the center. While it might seem like the most natural way of capturing portraits, it defi nitely has the makings of a very dull and unimaginative picture. The basis of this after they’ve been shot. Right from the
initial steps of shooting, using proper cameras and equipment, to the post processing and printing of images, we’ll give you brief step-by-step guides on the various crucial aspectsrule states that if you were to divide a
rectangular frame with two equidistant vertical and horizontal lines into nine equal parts, then the point where the lines meet is where the subject should be placed. This rule is applied to prevent positioning the subject at the center. To make things simpler, you can enable the ‘grid’ view option that most cameras come with.
STEP 2: APERTURE AND SHUTTER
SPEED
Both aperture and shutter speed are inversely proportional to one another, which means that if you increase the aperture range, the shutter speed will automatically decrease, and vice versa. However, this only happens when you choose to shoot either in aperture priority mode or shutter speed mode. The shutter priority mode is best used when you're shooting either in low light or whenthe subject that is being shot requires
a really high shutter speed, like when you're capturing fast moving objects. If you want greater control over the depthof fi eld, then the aperture priority modeshould help achieve this. Decrease thenumber of f-stops to get a better depthof fi eld. This is best used when you only need your product or subject to be your
point of focus.
STEP 3: ISO
The selection of ISO settings plays an important role in photography and how
your images turn out. The lower the camera's ISO levels, the fi ner will be
the overall image quality. However, the ISO levels all depend on the lighting
conditions. Better the lighting conditions, smaller will be the ISO levels. However,
we recommend not going beyond ISO 400 when using digital cameras,
because anything over this value will produce visible noise. The same cannot
be said when shooting with an SLR, because SLRs come with a larger sensor
size along with better post-processing capabilities. The best way to overcome
the noise issues with digital cameras would be to set it to manual mode (if
your camera supports this) or switch to either shutter/aperture priority while not
going above ISO 400. It is recommended that you make use of a tripod, especially
when you are shooting under low light conditions.
STEP 4: FLASH INTENSITY
 |
| Manually adjusting flash intensity will help prevent pictures from appearing too bright or dull. |
Depending on what you are shooting,
you will need to selectively adjust the
fl ash intensity, otherwise you might just
end up burning your overall image. We
do not recommend using the on-camera
fl ash, as you will only end up spoiling
the overall image. Try making use of the
Bounce Flash method discussed later on
in this workshop. For point-and-shoot
cameras though, the Bounce Flash
method won’t quite work since the fl ash comes fit with the device. So apart from reducing the fl ash manually, you can have a white sheet of paper placed in front of the fl ash to further reduce the fl ash intensity.
Camera gear
LENSES TO LOOK
OUT FOR WHEN SHOOTING
INDOOR AND OUTDOOR: As far
as point-and-shoot cameras go, you obviously don’t have the choice of choosing the lens, as these cameras come fit with a decent amount of zoom out of the box. There are a few that offer upto 30x optical zoom,
which is more than enough to capture objects that are at quite a distance. Adding to this are the
preset scene modes that make the normal digital point-and-shoot a jack of all trades. So you get is a zoom lens, a macro lens and a normal lens all fi t into one single unit.However, the stock lens that you normally get with a DSLR gives a maximum of just 3x zoom, which isn’t much, especially if outdoor photography
is what you are mostly into. Here, however, you have lenses to take care of
each aspect of photography. There are three types of lenses that generally fi t a
DSLR - zoom lenses, prime lenses and macro lenses.
ZOOM LENSES: A typical zoom lens (24 – 90 mm) will give an approximate
zoom range of 3.5x. However, if you want
the best of both worlds, try going in for a
28 – 200 mm zoom lens. That way, you
wouldn’t need to carry an additional lens
when travelling.
PRIME LENSES: Prime lenses, on the
other hand, don’t of er any kind of zoom.
In other words, these lenses have a fi xed
focal length. But what they lack in zoom,
they more than make up by delivering
superior image quality. In addition, these
lesnses are lighter and cheaper than traditional zoom lenses. They also have a larger aperture range that is capable of capturing images in low light conditions while maintaining the same shutter speed of a zoom lens. Prime lenses are best used when you require the picture to have a certain depth of fi eld.
MACRO LENSES:
Macro lenses are best used when you want to capture extreme close up shots of subjects. They are best used to highlight specifi c parts of a subject while blurring out the rest. However, they require sufficient
lighting to make the overall picture stand out.
TRIPODS:
an essential part of any
photographer’s equipment. So
making use of a tripod when shooting will undoubtedly
produce much better results. There are a few things
that you need to look at before taking the plunge.
First and foremost, you will need to check
the overall weight of the tripod. This
will depend on your requirements. If you are the kind to
make use of several lenses and camera
fl ashes, it would be advisable to settle
for a tripod that’s slightly heavy. But if
you are always on the move and all you
have is the camera, you should consider
buying a tripod that’s light and compact
enough to carry. Secondly, check the
tripod for stability as there are a few
that tend to wobble when fi t with a
camera. The best way to do this would be to mount the camera with the legs of
the tripod spread out. If it feels wobbly or uncomfortable, you should consider looking at something else.
of the tripod. Choose something that reaches your height when fully extended.
However, this also depends on what you are trying to shoot. Tripod heads should
also be taken into account i.e.: their ease of use, overall movement of the
camera when attached to the tripod, and if they are easy to detach when the need arises.
So make sure you take all these into account before
purchasing a tripod.If you are not too keen on
purchasing a tripod, you can instead invest in a monopod.
Monopods are much lighter to carry and since they only have a
single leg, they wouldn’t take you more than a few seconds to set
up. They are also considerably cheaper than their three-
legged counterparts. However, keep in mind that a monopod
will not eliminate camera shake as well as a
tripod, but will
to be continued.........
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