PhotoGuides

If you’re working with an SLR or a high end point and shoot camera, it’s likely that you’ll have the ability to use filters. Here are the three most common types of filters that are essential tools for any photographer looking to excel.

Imagine you’ve just put a pie in the oven. Now, the back of the packet said it needed 20 minutes at 120 degrees, but you haven’t defrosted your pie yet and the guide on the pack is for a fully thawed out pie. How hot do you want it? How long should you leave it in for and at what temperature? Welcome everyone to the world of photography.

Macro, or ‘close up’ photography offers us with a new perspective and allows us to get right up close and see the smaller world in detailed ways that our eyes cannot.

Monochrome is a very simple term and feature in photography. To understand it all you need to do is break the word into its two parts; Mono and chrome, or rather, one color.

Black and white photography can be very powerful. It can express love, hate, mystery, beauty, fun, motion, age and so much more. The best way to utilize these characteristics is first to learn to see in black and white.

Despite its simplicity, the Depth of field is one of the most effective characteristics of a photo. It refers to the range of in-focus visibility of the shot, or, in other words, how far you can clearly see.

The rule of thirds is a method and technique that can help you compose your image and bring out its energy, tension and feel. All you really need to do is imagine your cameras screen is split into nine even squares.

When you’re in a dark room, your pupils will dilate to let as much light in as possible. Switch the light on and you’ll find that your eyes instantly contract so that you’re not blinded. On a camera, the aperture works in a very similar way.

If you’ve paid attention in Science class you’ll have heard about rainbows and spectrums. Basically, light can be split into different colors. Your camera is designed to read the colors emitted by the sun, so when you go indoors your color can be thrown off. White balance helps you fix this.

Exposure can be defined as the amount of light that reaches your cameras sensor in a photo. A longer exposure will give you a brighter image, and of course a shorter exposure will give you a darker one.