The rule of thirds is an important rule of thumb that you need to know when you are learning how to take photos.
The rule of thirds is to do with composition of the photograph and how to get the most interesting picture by arranging the subject, background and foreground to interconnect with each other.
The rule is to imagine a tic-tac-toe (noughts and crosses) broad over the image you are trying to take. now rather then placing the subject in the middle of the frame ( or middle square) try placing them at one of the intersections where the lines cross over. You will get a more interesting photo.
Similarly, if you are taking a landscape shot, rather than placing the horizon on the middle of the frame place it on the top horizontal line ( of your imaginary tic-tac-toe board) you will get a photo with more depth because the viewers eyes will be drawn up the photo making them look at the foreground first then towards the "back" of the photo where the horizon is.
We found this book to be quite helpful - The Digital Photography Book: The Step-by-step Secrets for How to Make Your Photos Look Like the Pros
Remember to Keep On Clicking!
Monday, 9 May 2011
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
How To Take Photos - The Camera Will Lie!
When you take photos remember that the scene you see with your eyes will not be the scene the camera captures! The camera will lie to you!
Your eye can distinguish between many different colours and shades and also between the different contrasts that make up a scene, all the different light and dark areas - that sort of thing!
As an example of how a camera can lie to you, here is a photo of the Queen I took. From one angle the Queen is frowning, but the same note from a different angle the Queen is smiling!
Enjoy!
Your eye can distinguish between many different colours and shades and also between the different contrasts that make up a scene, all the different light and dark areas - that sort of thing!
However a camera's sensor is not has good at picking out all the different contrasts, so will give you it's interpretation of the scene in your photo!
As an example of how a camera can lie to you, here is a photo of the Queen I took. From one angle the Queen is frowning, but the same note from a different angle the Queen is smiling!
Enjoy!
How To Take Photos - And Get Them Printed Cheap!
If you have followed some of the pointers on how to take photos and you have taken lots of photos, you might want to get them printed out for your album. Well if you have a lot of photos that you want developed then Argos are doing a good offer for new customers signing up.
Get 100 6"x4" printed photos or a Softcover Photobook, you just have to pay the postage which is £1.99 for the photos or £3.99 for the photobook.
Quite a good deal if you have lots of photos you want printed out after Easter Holidays!
More information can be found here
Get 100 6"x4" printed photos or a Softcover Photobook, you just have to pay the postage which is £1.99 for the photos or £3.99 for the photobook.
Quite a good deal if you have lots of photos you want printed out after Easter Holidays!
More information can be found here
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
How To Take Photos - The New canon 600D camera!
Canon have announced the new camera in their Rebel series - the Canon 600D.
The camera is also know as the Rebel T3i. It boasts an amazing array of features some of which are listed below....
It has a massive 18 megapixel sensor that will take photos that are rich with detail and clarity.
The big plus that I like is the new Intelligent Auto feature which will hopefully make the times you have to shoot in "Auto" more bearable. It replaces the full "Auto" on the camera.
Also the Wireless flash control will get rid of all the wires that trail when using off camera flashes!
Although starting at ~£750 for the camera and a basic 18-55 IS kit lens, it is not a cheap entry level model ( there is a new 1100D that files that shoe), but I think the way it takes photos and the benefits of the camera will soon out weigh the cost!
It also handles all the EOS lenses so compatibility with any existing canon lenses you have is covered.
More reviews of this camera can be found over at Amazon.....here
The camera is also know as the Rebel T3i. It boasts an amazing array of features some of which are listed below....
- 18 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
- DIGIC 4 processor with ISO 100-6400 (Expansion to 12800)
- Fully articulated 7.7cm (3.0”) 3:2 Clear View LCD
- Full HD movie recording
- Digital zoom in movie mode (3x - 10x)
- 'Scene Intelligent Auto' exposure mode
- 'Basic+' and 'Creative Filters'
- Integrated wireless flash control
It has a massive 18 megapixel sensor that will take photos that are rich with detail and clarity.
The big plus that I like is the new Intelligent Auto feature which will hopefully make the times you have to shoot in "Auto" more bearable. It replaces the full "Auto" on the camera.
Also the Wireless flash control will get rid of all the wires that trail when using off camera flashes!
Although starting at ~£750 for the camera and a basic 18-55 IS kit lens, it is not a cheap entry level model ( there is a new 1100D that files that shoe), but I think the way it takes photos and the benefits of the camera will soon out weigh the cost!
It also handles all the EOS lenses so compatibility with any existing canon lenses you have is covered.
More reviews of this camera can be found over at Amazon.....here
Monday, 2 May 2011
How To Take Photos - Composition
When trying to take a photo, you must think about the photo as a whole and not just the subject!
Most people will take a photo of their partner/pet/flowers etc and think only about that without thinking about what fills the rest of the photo or how to position the subject in the viewfinder to make a more interesting picture.
Most people will take a photo of their partner/pet/flowers etc and think only about that without thinking about what fills the rest of the photo or how to position the subject in the viewfinder to make a more interesting picture.
Thinking about the Composition of your photo is important, and will lead to take photos that are impressive.
Over the next few tips I will give you hints on what to think about with regards to composition when taking photos.
So stay tuned!
Sunday, 1 May 2011
How To Take Photos - A Hi-Def Royal Wedding Panarama Photo
I bet we wish we could all take photos like this!
Hi-Def Photo from the BBC website
All credits and acknowledgements to BBC website.
Hi-Def Photo from the BBC website
This high-definition, 1.15-gigapixel picture, is a composite of 189 images. The full picture measures 81,471 pixels by 14,154 pixels. The field of view covers 200 degrees.
All credits and acknowledgements to BBC website.
Saturday, 30 April 2011
How To Take Photos - Aperture or F stop
Aperture or F stop
This is how big the hole in the lens is to let the light onto the sensor. The bigger the F number the smaller the hole, the smaller the number the bigger the hole.
This is how big the hole in the lens is to let the light onto the sensor. The bigger the F number the smaller the hole, the smaller the number the bigger the hole.
The F stop also has an impact on the Depth of Field [DOF] (or how much is in focus in front and behind your subject). the Smaller the F stop (e.g. F2.8,F4) the smaller the DOF. The bigger the F stop (e.g. F11) the longer the DOF, meaning more will be in focus around the subject.
So when taking photos, you will need to think about if you want the background in focus or not and set the F stop accordingly .
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