Digital Photography Lighting Tips

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Digital Photography Training: Learn How to Take The Best Photos

Even though digital cameras can do a lot of the work for you, there are additional ways to ensure that your photos are top quality.  The following digital photography training tips can help you take the best pictures possible.

Don't Overcomplicate Things

If you are trying to be artistic with your photography, it may be tempting to overcomplicate the composition. However, it is always best to keep things as simple as possible. You will find that the best pictures are all pretty simple. Practice taking very simple shots of landscapes, people, or animals and see how effective these shots can be.

Focus is Key

You may think that because a digital camera has automatic focus, there is no need for you to do anything other than point and shoot. However, digital photographs can often turn out blurry.

Try pushing the shutter half way, while keeping the camera still. You should then see an indicator, which lets you know that the shot is in focus. Obviously, things like the light conditions and the distance from the subject will all affect the focus, so these things should be borne in mind.

Turn the Flash Off

When you are first learning how to take really great pictures, it is a good idea to practice without the use of the flash feature. Therefore, it is wise to turn the automatic flash off.

At this point, you may be thinking that professional photographers all use flash. Indeed they do, but professional photographers use lighting as well, which ensures that the subject is not washed out with too much white and that unwanted shadow is eliminated.

Of course, if you turn your camera onto a manual setting, you will need to learn to make the most of natural light, as light is essential for the camera to focus properly. There is no quick way of mastering this technique, so practice as much as you can.

Research If you would like to improve your photography skills, make a point of researching professional work. Try to ascertain what it is about a picture that makes it stand apart from others. Of course, if you would like to take pictures of specific things, such as landscapes, then seek out these types of shots in particular.

Avoid Using Zoom

When using a digital camera, it is best to avoid using zoom, as it reduces the clarity of your pictures considerably. If your subject is too far away, try to get closer. The zoom feature may look fine on the LCD screen or through the viewfinder, but it will not look good when you upload or print your pictures.

These basic tips on digital photography training will enable you to gradually improve the quality of your pictures. However, more than anything else, it is advisable that you practice taking pictures whenever and wherever you can.

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Photography Lighting Techniques : Lighting for Portrait Photography


digital photography lighting tips5
digital photography lighting tips5
digital photography lighting tips5

Digital Photography Lighting Tips

1

How to change shutter speed for specific use Canon EOS 7D?

I want to adjust the shutter speed so that when I take a photo of lights is has that light line effect.
Here is an example http://www.digital-photography-tips.net/images/night-time-kuala-lumpur.jpg
Also, I was wondering if any one had any tips for making a time lapse.
People I no I need a long exposure and a tri pod and i have read the manual. But I cant figure out how to set the exposure long.

The effect your are looking for are light trails created when a light moves across frame while the shutter remains open. The Kuala Lampur photo link you provided looks like a long exposure, possibly as long as 30 seconds. "Light painting" is the latest fad to take advantage of this concept. If you've read the manual then you should know there are two exposure modes in which you can set the shutter speed manually to achieve a similar affect.

Manual (M) mode allows you to set both shutter speed (defaults to front command dial) and aperture (defaults to rear command dial) as you see fit rather than letting the camera set aperture and ISO in shutter priority (Tv) mode. It should be noted that if AUTO ISO is enabled while you are in manual mode, the 7D camera will try to automatically set ISO 100 through ISO 3200 in an attempt to provide proper exposure. This is going to add unnecessary noise to the shot as the camera tries to equalize exposure so turn this feature off and manually set ISO to 100 as a starting point. Chances are, with a cityscape like that, you'll want greater depth-of-field which also means a smaller aperture. Rather than confusing you with an exercise in hyperfocal distance, just set aperture of f/10 or f/11 and manually focus the lens to infinity. With focus, aperture and ISO set, adjust your shutter speed until you've got a proper exposure. Depending on traffic, you might be able to get light trails like those in the photo with an exposure time of just a few seconds. But, if you've found you still can't get a proper exposure after pushing the shutter time all the way up to 30 seconds, you'll need to consider raising ISO or possibly putting the camera into "Bulb" mode and manually opening/closing the shutter with a remote release and a stop watch (now that's old school!).

Shutter priority mode (Tv) is pretty straight forward. You just manually set the exposure time for whatever time value (this is where the Tv comes from) you chose. Again, the default is for this to be done with the front command dial but, you can swap assignments with the rear command dial if you so choose. The camera will set aperture and/or ISO for you. Again, I'd disable the AUTO ISO feature if I were you. As you look through viewfinder, if you find the aperture value is blinking, that means you've reached the maximum aperture the lens will allow. This is where the problem lies for a long exposure because the camera will always select the widest aperture that will allow the selected shutter speed. The camera will also try to set the fastest ISO that will allow proper exposure. Again, you probably don't want the camera doing this so, as was the case in manual mode, set ISO manually. The slowest shutter speed you can set in this mode is 30-seconds and the camera will always choose the widest aperture required for proper exposure if left to its own vices.

Digital photography lighting tips: Hot Lights & Painting with light - Western set 1


digital photography lighting tips5
digital photography lighting tips5