How To Take Photos - Rule of thirds

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!

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!

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

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....

• 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

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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 .

How To Take Photos - Shutter speed

Shutter Speed

When taking photos it is important to think about what sort of shot you want to get. Do you want a feeling of motion in the shot or do you want to stop the action?  Setting the shutter speed will decide on the outcome of your photo.

The Shutter Speed is how long the shutter will stay open for when taking a photo.  A fast shutter will freeze action (useful for horse jumping, sports, fountains etc), a slow shutter will blur motion (to get moody waterfalls, or traffic trails)

How To Take Photos - Tip 4: ISO

ISO

This is how sensitive the camera sensor is towards the light.  If you have an ISO 100 the sensor is very sensitive to light. An ISO 1600 means that the sensor is not so sensitive.

The higher the ISO though the more "noise" (that grainy effect) you will get in your photos

When you take photos, you should always use the lowest ISO you can.

How To Take Photos - Tip 3: The Exposure Triangle

The Exposure Triangle is a combination of three of the components of your camera.

The 3 elements, that form the Exposure Triangle are...
1. ISO
2. Shutter speed
3. Aperture

By understanding each components, you can affect the outcome of your pictures when you take photos.

 

I will explain more about these elements in the coming posts!

 

so click follow and stay tuned.......

How To Take Photos - Tip 2: Get down with your subject

When taking a photo of a pet or child, get down to their level.  Looking someone in the eye is as important in photography as it is in real life.

It will also give a better scale to the photograph and not make the subject look small.

How To Take Photos - Tip 1: Auto = Average

OK, the first tip I am going to throw out there for you is a basic one.

If you leave your camera in "Auto", the camera will pick the average exposure, average white balance, average ISO, average shutter speed, average ...... you get the idea.

You may well get a nice photo, but it will be an average photo!

To get a good, or even great photo you are going to have to take the camera out of "Auto" and learn how to use the different settings to get the best from your camera.

Remember - "Auto" = Average!

New blog for me means better photos for you

Hello,

This blog is designed to help people take better photos.

Having completed courses in photography and photoshop, I now want to give a little back to the world and help others get the most from thier cameras.

Over the next few weeks, months, years, I will post little tips, tricks and tutorials to help you take better photos and get that award winning picture!

Cheers for now!