Quick Tips for Great Photos by Russ Burden
Who doesn't love a Top 10 list? In this case, Russ Burden decided to step up and give us a baker's dozen of quick tips for great photos
Most people have a top ten list for many subjects - movies, CD’s, sports plays, actors, etc. Feeling generous, I feel the urge to give you a dozen. Being a good friend of a baker and knowing he always throws in one for free, what the heck! It’s Valentine's month and I “FEEL THE LOVE” so here are thirteen quick tips to get you on the path to becoming a better photographer. In no specific order:
1) Bracket Tricky Exposures: As most of you have probably gone digital, I suggest you bracket in 1/ 2 stops. What used to hold true with regards to slide film whereby photographers bracketed in 1/ 3 stops, this small amount is easily recoverable in Photoshop so expand this range to acclimate to digital.
2) Depth Of Field: Use apertures wisely. Open up the lens (f4) to help throw a background out of focus and stop down (f22) to increase your depth of field. Get out there and shoot a scene both ways. With Digital, it’s easy to see the difference right away. Make sure you have a strong foreground, midground, and background so you’ll be able to see the differences.
3) Steady as She Goes: Use a Tripod: Not only will it almost guarantee you sharper and steadier shots, it slows you down so it forces you to think more about fine tuning your composition - this is BIG!
4) RTM = READ THE MANUAL: As much as we all want to think we’re smarter than our camera and can figure it out, there are so many features imbedded in the menus, you may be depriving yourself of not knowing that your camera has the ability to do....... and how cool it would have been if you only knew you could have applied.... to a long gone situation.
5) Hyperfocal Distance for Focusing: To maximize the depth of field in any image, in a simplified explanation, focus one third into the frame. Hyperfocal settings are more precise and can be found on line, but in a pinch, the one third rule works.
6) Rule of Thirds: Imagine a tic tac toe board placed in the viewfinder. The most strategic location to place a main subject is where the lines intersect. If you’re shooting with a horizon and the sky is interesting, have it take up the top two thirds. If the sky is mundane, place the emphasis on the foreground.
7) Experiment: If you’re shooting digitally, try something new and different. It doesn’t cost anything except a few more minutes of edit time.
8) Time of Day: The warmest and most appealing color of light occurs around the time of sunrise and sunset. Most subjects are enhanced when shot during these hours. Textures are revealed when sidelit and patterns and shapes are more defined.
9) Histogram Check: As a quick check, I keep the LCD screen set to show the flashing highlights but to really know if I’m nailing my exposures, I use the histogram. Every scene will read differently so there is no such thing as an overall ideal histogram that can be applied to every situation. Avoid spikes on the sides to prevent losing shadow or highlight detail.
10) Shutter Speeds: Try slowing down your shutter to create special effects. A common situation is shooting water for longer than one second to get a cotton candy effect. But don’t limit yourself to this. Whenever a subject is moving, play around with different settings to intentionally show the motion. And try panning for some cool effects.
11) Active Focus Point: Always be aware of what focus point you have active in the camera especially if you’re shooting wide open. If the active focus point is reading a spot on a different plane than your subject, the result is a blurry subject and a sharp foreground or background.
12) Loosen Up: Not every time you go out with your camera will you come home with a winner. There are times when I make two hour drives only to have the light be flat and ugly and I don’t even raise the camera to my eye. Try to make the best of the situation and find something to photograph, but if you come home with no winners, it’s not the end of the world.
13) Shoot, Shoot More and Then More: Like anything else, the more you practice, the better you’ll become. Even if it means heading to a local park or going into your backyard, take pictures every week to keep the photo gears greased.
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