[tweetmeme]Histograms are a graphic representation of the levels of light in your photo. They’re a great tool for understanding just how the light in your photo is balanced and can help you to create the perfectly exposed and balanced photograph.

To see just how histograms display colour and light information we will dissect the histogram below which represents the light tones of the image above.

The most common type of histogram illustrates black and white tones, but it is not uncommon to see a histogram that separates an image into it’s core colours as well. To understand the black and white histogram above we must first imagine that the image at the top is desaturated and presented in black and white.

The horizontal axis represents the dark and light tones and the vertical axes shows what portion of the image holds that particular tone. The photograph above is evidently dark and the top and bottom of the image hold a lot of black shadows. On the histogram we can see that there is a peak on the far left which indicates that those dark shadows are the most prominent tones in the image. Contrastingly, on the far right of the histogram we can see that there are minimal highlights. This again can be seen in the photograph as there are no significant white points.

Due to it’s significant shadows this photograph would be regarded as underexposed. A correctly exposed photo will have the majority of the histogram in the ‘Midtones’ section and be evenly spread throughout the graph.

Histograms can be a very handy tool when you’re trying to balance the exposure of your photo. Just remember that it should only be used as a guide and sometimes the eye serves as a better judge.

Photographer by behherit

[tweetmeme]So, you’ve got a fancy new DSLR camera, eh? You’re really excited! It probably cost a small fortune. It’s gotta be good, right? It better be good, right? Maybe you’re having a ton of fun with your new camera and you’re getting great results out of the box. If so, that’s awesome, good for you! This guide should help you get even better results in a very short time.

On the other hand, as a new DSLR user you may either have a hard time using all the buttons and knobs on your new camera, or you may just not be getting the results you had hoped (and paid!) for.

Well, you’re in luck — DSLR’s are absolutely fantastic pieces of machinery, and they can really help you unleash your creativity on your photos. And — better yet — I’ve got a brief, no nonsense guide on how to work that fancy device. Now, get your camera out of Auto mode and get ready to learn!

First things first: how a picture is taken

The yellow line represents light. Light is reflected into your eye as well as onto the film of the camera.

To understand how to operate your camera, it’s helpful to understand the basic concept of modern photography. For sake of explanation, let’s first lets talk about film photography. When a film photograph is taken, the camera operator presses a button called the shutter release. This opens up, or “releases” a small gate called a “shutter” in front of the camera film. When this gate is opened, light comes through the camera lens and hits the film, which “imprints” the picture on the film. After a brief amount of time, the shutter closes and that photo has been “exposed”. Film can only be exposed once if it is to turn out properly. We call this film exposure “taking a photo.” Fairly simple, right?

Now, on a digital camera, the concept is almost the same. Instead of film behind the shutter, however, we have a digital sensor that acts like infinitely reusable film — it can be exposed over and over again. For the purpose of this guide, that’s really all you need to know about the concept of photography.

What it’s all about – Exposure

In the Exposure Triangle, three different factors directly affect each other and your photo.

The exposure of a photo depends on three primary factors: the shutter speed, the lens aperture, and the ISO sensitivity (sometimes referred to as ISO speed.) You need to properly set each of the three to get a properly exposed photo (a photo that is neither too dark nor too bright.) Modern cameras do a great job of this automatically, but you can usually do better manually with a little practice. You also have a lot more control in manual mode. The measure of a photo exposure is referred to as the “exposure value” (EV). If the word “exposure” is confusing you, you can just think of it as the brightness of the photo for now ’til you’re more comfortable with the correct terminology.

There are six simple rules to these three aspects of photo exposure:

1. If you increase shutter speed, the exposure value decreases, and the photo will turn out darker.
2. If you decrease shutter speed, the exposure value increases, and the photo will turn out brighter.
3. If you increase lens aperture, the exposure value increases, and the photo will turn out brighter.
4. If you decrease lens aperture, the exposure value decreases, and the photo will turn out darker.
5. If you increase ISO sensitivity, the exposure value increases, and the photo will turn out brighter.
6. If you decrease ISO sensitivity, the exposure value decreases, and the photo will turn out darker.

Using what you know from these rules can enable you got get a properly exposed photo in practically any situation.

Shutter Speed

‘The City by Night’ by Mohain. Here he has used a long shutter speed which has captured the flow of traffic.

The shutter speed is the speed the shutter opens and closes when taking a photograph. When taking a photo, the camera’s shutter opens, exposing the camera photosensor to light which comes in through the lens. This light, in layman’s terms (my terms!), “imprints” the picture on the sensor and the picture is saved to memory. Shutter speed is measured in seconds, and, more frequently, fractions of a second. For instance, a common shutter speed such as 1/100th means the camera shutter opens and stays open for 1/100th (pronounced “one one-hundredth”) of a second before closing. The longer the shutter is open, the brighter the picture will be (the greater the exposure value).

To adjust the shutter speed on your DSLR, go to the “shutter speed priority” mode on your camera. On Canon and most other DSRL’s, it’s labeled T or Tv.

A faster shutter speed decreases the likelihood of your photo being blurry due to camera or subject movement. In general a higher shutter speed is better, if you can get it. I say in general because there are a gazillion exceptions to this. However, if you’re just shooting around for fun, I recommend trying to keep your shutter speed above 1/50th indoors (in low light) and above 1/200th outdoors (in bright light). This is just an extremely rough area to start, it is by no means a hard rule — your shutter speed should change depending on the situation.

“Wow, David, that’s an impressive load of gibberish! Give it to me in a nutshell!”

A shorter shutter speed (i.e., 1/500th) decreases exposure (darkens photo), a longer shutter speed (i.e., 1/60th) increases exposure (brightens photo).

A longer/slower/lower shutter speed (i.e., 1/10th) is more likely to produce blur from camera and/or subject movement than a shorter/faster/higher shutter speed (i.e., 1/200th).

You manually adjust shutter speed in the T, Tv, and M modes on your camera.

Aperture

Robber Fly by Thomas Shahan. Here the incredibly shallow depth of field indicates he has used a very large aperture.

The lens aperture is my personal favorite, though it is by far the most difficult to explain. Luckily I have example photos readily available, which I’ll show you in just a moment. First, the word “aperture” is a noun that literally describes an opening or hole. In photography, that’s what the lens aperture is — the opening at the back of the lens that allows light to enter through the lens onto the camera sensor. If you look into your camera lens and take a picture, you should see a flashing black thingamabob appear — that’s the aperture blades closing and opening. If you have a DSLR that has a video mode, put it in that mode and you should be able to see the aperture clearly — it looks like several black “claws” interlacing together to make a hole (aperture) in the middle of the lens.

To adjust the lens aperture on your DSLR, go to the “aperture priority” mode on your camera. On Canon and most other DSRL’s, it’s labeled A or Av.

Secondly, I should say that aperture nomenclature is a bit counterintuitive. Aperture is usually written down like “f3.5″ or “f1.4″ or “f11″. A larger aperture has a smaller number succeeding the “f”. For instance, f1.4 is a larger aperture than f5.6. A larger aperture increases your exposure (remember, increasing your exposure means it will brighten your photo, and that’s the last time I’ll tell you that!) Additionally, aperture measurements are exponential. For instance, f1.4 will expose your photo twice as much as f2, four times as much as f2.8, eight time as much as f4.0, etc. A large aperture is essential for low-light photography.

Thirdly, aperture doesn’t just effect photo exposure, it effects the photo itself! This is why aperture is so cool. A larger aperture will have a smaller “depth of field” (DoF), and vice versa. The DoF is the width of the focal plane, or “how much is in focus” in the picture. Take a look at the following examples to make things clearer.

In each of these pictures, the focus point remains the same: the green handle on the pitcher. However, you’ll notice that in the first, the background (and even the front of the pitcher, closest to the camera) is blurry. In the second picture, the background less blurry, and in the third picture it is almost sharp. This is what aperture — the depth of the portion of the photo to be in focus at one time. This portion of focus is called the “depth of field.” A large aperture (for example, f1.8) produces a more shallow depth of field, and a smaller aperture (f5.6) produces a deeper depth of field (DoF).

“Your words are myriad, David, but they are hollow. Give it to me in a nutshell!”

A larger lens aperture (i.e., f1.8) increases exposure, a smaller lens aperture (i.e., f7.1) decreases exposure.

A larger lens aperture (i.e., f2) produces a more shallow depth of field, a smaller lens aperture (i.e., f8) creates a deeper depth of field.

You manually adjust lens aperture in A, Av, and M modes on your camera.

P.S. Aperture is sometimes written in different ways — “f3.5″ is sometimes written as “f/3.5″ or “f1/3.5″ or even “f 1:3.5″. I prefer the way I’ve used above as it is brief and simple to write.

ISO Sensitivity

ISO sensitivity is the final element to photo exposure. The acronym ISO has nothing to do with photography so don’t worry about it (ISO is the International Organization for Standardization). ISO sensitivity (sometimes called ISO speed) is simple: the greater the ISO sensitivity, the greater the exposure of the camera. The only catch is the higher the ISO speed the more “noise” will appear on the camera. “Noise” is unwanted artifacts on the photo that are the result of the ISO sensitivity making “mistakes” on individual pixels when the photo is taken. A less sensitive ISO will make less mistakes and thus less noise.

You can manually set ISO speed in almost all modes on your DSLR, except “full auto” mode.

Here’s an example of dramatically different ISO sensitivities on the same photo.

The first photo is taken at ISO 100 and the second is taken at 12,800. Click on each and compare the two. As you can see the first is far superior to the second in overall picture quality. A general rule is to use the lowest ISO speed possible to allow you a fast enough shutter to eliminate motion blur while using the proper aperture to get the depth of field you want (might want to read that sentence two or three times. ). In other words, ISO sensitivity is in a way the “last” thing you think about when you take a photo, after shutter speed and aperture. And don’t be afraid to use a high ISO if you need to! A noisy image is better than a image that’s muddled by motion blur!

“Okay, David, you sweet talkin’ geek, give it to me in a nutshell!”

A greater ISO sensitivity (i.e., ISO 1600) increases exposure, a lesser ISO sensitivity (i.e., ISO 125) decreases exposure.

A greater ISO sensitivity (i.e., ISO 2000) produces more noise, a lesser ISO sensitivity (i.e., ISO 400) creates a superior, less noisy image.

You manually adjust ISO sensitivity in P, T, Tv, A, Av, and M modes on your camera.

Conclusion

Well, I hope this guide (and the others on PhotoGuides) will give you some assistance in getting started with your shiny new DSLR. If you have any questions, or if this guide has helped you in some way, feel free to comment below, it really means a lot to me.

View my site, http://rhynemedia.com.

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Find everything else in The PhotoGuides Guide to Photography

What is colour temperature?

[tweetmeme]Although misleading to use the terms ‘light’ and ‘colour’ interchangeably, colour temperature (also referred to as White Balance or WB) is a measure of how cold or warm the light, and consequently the colour, is in a photo.

The temperature of light is measured in degrees of Kelvin, from:

• cold light at 10,000k, e.g. early morning or dawn when everything has a blue hint to it; to
• normal light at 5,500k, e.g. noon when all colours look natural; to
• warm light at 1,000k, e.g. late evening when everything has an orange hint to it.

As the temperature of the light changes so too does the colour cast in the photo. However, the time of day is not the only factor in determining temperature, ambient light will play a key role, e.g. cloud, shade or sunlight, artificial lighting etc.

How does it affect photography?

The affect of light temperature on photography is quite simple.

A photo taken will record the temperature of the light as a hue across the overall colour balance and can often take on unpleasant cast from poor lighting conditions, e.g. incandescent bulbs and candles give a very warm light, producing a strong orange cast across a photo that can often lead to unflattering and unnatural skin tones.

The photos below of an autumn landscape show how temperature that is too warm (orange) or too cold (blue) can create unnatural finishes.

How to control colour temperature

Digital cameras:

Colour temperature is controlled by choosing a setting with your camera menu (WB option) specific to the environment in which you are taking the photograph, such as Tungsten, Cloud, Shade etc. Alternatively the WB setting can be left at Auto to allow the camera to assess the composition for you, although, as with all auto settings on your camera, this can often lead to disappointing results.

Film cameras:

Controlling colour temperature with camera film is more difficult and requires a greater understanding of the affect of temperature and a stronger ability to assess a composition.

Camera is usually rated for a specific colour temperature, e.g.

• daylight balanced film accurately record colours in daylight, c. 5,500k
• tungsten balanced film will accurately record colours in warm light, c. 3,000k

Where the actual temperature is different to the film rating the image can be controlled by the use of filters, e.g. cooling and warming filters, that will compensate for the difference in temperature.

Post processing:

Further control of temperature can be achieved using packages such as Lightroom (particularly where your files are RAW) and Photoshop, both of which will allow you to tone down the overall colour cast in your images.

Ideally however colour temperature should be controlled at the point of taking the photo as this will teach you to assess a composition correctly. Relying on post processing to correct faults usually means the photo was taken incorrectly to begin with.

Steve

[tweetmeme]Traditionally, a camera’s flash is used to artificially fill a scene with light to allow for a brighter photo in certain situations. Most cameras though have multiple flash modes that allow you to use your flash creatively.

Auto Flash:

Auto flash will simply activate the flash based on whether or not the camera requires additional light to capture a well exposed photograph. Auto flash can be quite limiting as the burst of light can drain the natural colours of your photo and create unwanted shadows. It’s best then to consider the other flash options to ensure you still get the best out of your photo.

Fill In Flash:

Fill In Flash is useful in bright daytime situations such as when you’re outdoors and your subject is heavily backlit. If the scene’s ambient light is overpowering your subject causing it to appear dark, or if your subject is simply stuck in the shadows and your camera isn’t responding to the lack of light due to the bright environment behind it, Fill In Flash can be used to throw light onto your subject thereby balancing the exposures of your subject and the surrounding light.

Slow Sync Flash:

Slow Sync Flash is useful in low light situations, such as at a party, where you want to capture your subject but retain the scenes natural colour and vibrancy. With Slow Sync Flash, a slow shutter speed will still be used by the camera, but a burst of flash will typically occur at the start of the photo to illuminate the scene. This initial burst of flash can usually freeze your subject in still form, but by retaining the longer shutter speed, background lighting and the true colours of the scene still have the time to be captured by your camera. Slow Sync Flash is perfect for retaining the character and life of a shot in low light situations.

Red Eye Reduction Flash:

Red Eye Reduction Flash consists of a quick burst of flash prior to the photograph to prepare your subjects eyes, followed by a normal flash during the photo. This helps to eliminate the ‘Red Eye’ effect most flashes create.

[tweetmeme]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. Filters are additional pieces of glass or plastic that are placed over the lens to achieve certain effects or modify the light entering the lens. Here are the three most common types of filters that are essential tools for any photographer looking to excel.

Ultraviolet Filters:

As the name suggests, a UV filter will block ultraviolet light from entering the lens. Ultraviolet light is not visible to the human eye, but can cause a slight haze in your photos in some bright conditions. The effect of a UV filter is barely noticeable though, and the use of a low quality UV filter may harm your photos contrast, increase lens flair or add a slight colour tint. Using a Multicoated UV filter is the best way to avoid reduction in image quality. Above all, UV filters are mainly used to protect your lens. Having a UV filter over your cameras lens is a great way to keep it safe and scratch free.

Polarized Filters:

Polarized filters use polarized glass to eliminate glare and reflected light. The result of this is a crisper photo with higher colour saturation, sharper colours and, most prominent of all, a deeper blue of the sky. A polarized filter is an essential tool for a landscape or outdoor photographer due to the vibrancy it adds to a photo. If you’re interested, be sure to get a circular polarized filter as a linear filter won’t work on a modern digital camera. A polarized filter is one of the best things you can buy for your camera.

Neutral Density Filters:

A Neutral Density or ND filter effectively acts like a pair of sunglasses for your camera. They’re used to reduce the amount of light passing through your lens. This means you can use longer exposures in daylight conditions. An ND filter will allow you to capture silky smooth water, use a shallow depth of field or capture the motion of an object, even in bright conditions. It’s not wise to use one of these filters permanently though, as they can reduce the saturation of your photo.

There are many different levels of ND filters, all of which hold a different level of darkness. Typically, the title of the filter will denote the fraction of light allowed through by the filter. For example, an ND 64 filter is a strong, dark filter than allows just 1/64th of the light through. An ND 4 filter however is a weaker filter that cuts out all but 1/4 of the the light. ND filters aren’t an essential photographic item, but they’re a great tool for the experienced photographer who likes to photograph waterfalls or capture other forms of motion.

The Triangle by Thackman

[tweetmeme]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.

Confused? This is where The Exposure Triangle can help. Imagine that the time you leave your pie in the oven for is your cameras Shutter Speed, the temperature of the oven is the ISO, and the state of your pie (frozen or thawed) is your cameras aperture. These three aspects of photography help to make up what is called ‘The Exposure Triangle’. Each one is directly related to the other, and a change in one will require an adjustment in the other two to ensure a properly exposed photo.

This analogy may seem strange, but I find this is one of the clearest ways to understand the relationship between Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO. In order to understand the relationship though, you first need to know what each one is, and how it affects your photo.

Shutter Speed: The Shutter Speed is a fairly simple concept. It basically defines how long the shutter is open for. A longer shutter speed, such as two seconds (2″), means that your camera’s sensor (the CCD) is exposed to the light for longer, and this subsequently results in a brighter photo. Likewise, if you use a shorter shutter speed, such as one two hundredth of a second (1/200), then the camera’s sensor is exposed to the light for less time resulting in a darker photo. In the pie analogy, the shutter speed relates to the time your pie is in the oven. If you leave it in the oven for 30 minutes, it will be much hotter compared to leaving it in the oven for 10 minutes.

If you want to leave it in the oven for at least 30 minutes however, but don’t wish for it to get burnt, then the easiest way to avoid this is to turn down the temperature of the oven…

ISO: The ISO is the temperature in our pie analogy. ISO refers to your camera’s sensitivity to light and usually ranges from ISO 80 to ISO 1600. When light passes through the lens it is detected by the camera’s CCD (the camera’s sensor). If you have a higher ISO, such as ISO 800, then your photo will appear very bright. If however you choose a lower sensitivity such as ISO 100, then the image will appear darker. In photography it is best to leave the ISO at a lower level, around the 200 mark. Higher ISO’s will result in a noisier image, a bit like how having an oven at 400 degrees will burn the edges of your pie, even if you leave it in the oven for a very short time.

So you’ve got a low ISO, and you’re compensating for this low sensitivity with a slightly longer shutter speed. The additional light let in by exposing the sensor for longer should help you to properly expose your photo. But what about the frozen pie? After all, if the pie is frozen then you might need to leave it in the oven for longer, or perhaps turn the temperature up…

Aperture: The aperture refers to the size of the opening within your lens. Aperture is measured in F-Stops, where a smaller F stop such as F3.2 means a large opening, and a larger F-Stop such as F22 means a much smaller opening. If you increase the size of your aperture to around F3.2 then there is more space for light to enter, which subsequently causes your photo to be brighter. If however you choose a smaller aperture of F22, then there is very little room for light to enter, and less light enters resulting in a darker photo. In the pie analogy, a smaller aperture means a frozen pie, whereas a larger aperture means a well thawed pie. If your pie is frozen, you will need to leave it in the oven for longer or turn the temperature up. Thaw it out however, and it will be ready much faster.

A well exposed photo is a result of the correct shutter speed, the correct ISO and the correct Aperture. A nice warm pie is similarly the result of the correct time, the correct temperature, and a pie in the correct state.

The Exposure Triangle defines the relationship between all three of these photographic aspects. Hopefully this pie analogy will help to explain just how they all affect each other. There is no right or wrong setting for taking a photo. Sometimes you may want a longer shutter speed to capture the flow of a waterfall, in which case you will need a smaller aperture and a less sensitive ISO to compensate for this extra light. Sometimes you may be photographing at night in which case you’ll want to increase the sensitivity, increase the shutter speed and use a wide aperture to capture all the light you need.

The best way to fully understand The Exposure Triangle though is to get out there and take photos. Move the dial to M and shoot on full manual, and proceed to adjust each setting to see how they change your photo. Even the pro’s get it wrong the first time, but having the understanding of how they work together will allow you to end up with a nice tasty photo.

Macro Photography.

Photography is an amazing way to frame the unique world we see around us. 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.

These days the term macro is used very loosely. We regard it widely as ‘close up’ photography, but by definition macro actually refers to photography where the image is at a 1:1 ratio, as close to the actual size as possible, or bigger.

Just about every digital camera has its own macro capabilities. Even point and shoot cameras, thanks to their thin designs and short focal length lenses, allow us to get incredibly close to the lens and still take a remarkable quality photo. It can be great fun to take artistic photos of the small world, be it the vibrant petal of a flower or the incredible shapes and textures of an insect, but if you want to get your macro image right then there’s a certain way to take it.

It all begins with your choice of camera and how you take your photo. A nice SLR will of course get you the best result, but a by using a point and shoot effectively you can still churn out fantastic photographs. In the world of point and shoot, the Olympus SP-570 UZ and the Fujifilm FinePix S100FS are kings, and allow you to get incredibly close with superb quality.

The first obvious step is to flick your camera onto macro mode. This is shown as a small flower just like the one in the first image. When you select manual mode the camera now knows to focus on subjects close to the lens, as well as to use a wider aperture to focus your subject and blur your background. Point and Shoot macro capabilities can range from just 1cm to around 20cm, that being the distance your subject is from your lens where it can still be focused.

On some cameras, flicking to macro is as far as your settings manipulation can go. If your camera does allow you to adjust your aperture settings then this can be largely beneficial (provided you know what you’re doing). By changing your aperture you can of course control the depth of field. In macro situations, the shallower the depth of field the better, so keep your aperture as wide as possible (a lower F-stop).

The next most important aspect is the focal point of the image. Due to the shallow depth of field your focal point will be quite noticeable and, if chosen correctly, can have a great impact on your photo. Even though it’s the most common and obvious choice, you don’t always need to focus on the immediate subject. Learn to aim for the/a point of interest in your piece because this will always give you the best result. Sometimes focusing on the most obvious object closest to your camera can be the wrong thing to do. Provided it suits the image, you can focus on an object behind or off center to create a unique style or sense of order about your piece.

I took this when I was first learning my camera. It’s actually a very symbolic picture about significance and reflecting on a journey, looking back into the faded past with a light, weaving path.

Of course, all of these tips are irrelevant if you’re image isn’t composed properly. Remember to consider the Rule of Thirds in your composition to add an artistic flair to your main point of interest. Choose a background that isn’t complicated to ensure you don’t draw attention away from the main subject. By using a shallow depth of field any eye catching background features can usually be blurred out, but the color of the background will remain the same. To combat this, try to compose your image with a consistent background color, or at least one where nothing stands out. When you’re taking the photo, try to stand as far back as possible and then zoom in to complete your desired frame. This will prevent any shadow being cast upon your photo, and, by zooming in your depth of field will be amplified.

Whilst this next tip isn’t a necessity, it certainly can be very handy and have a great benefit to your result. When you’re shooting macro, if you have a tripod and it’s a suitable situation to use it, then use it. A tripod will allow you to fiddle with the settings and focus with the confidence that the layout of your image won’t change. Don’t think you’ll need to lug around a big tripod though, because I understand that a lot of macro photos are taken low to the ground. There are these great little tripods out called ‘Gorillapods’. They’re only about 20 to 30cm off the ground, have three legs, and the best feature is that these legs are bendable. They’re easy to carry around, quick and simple to set up, very very versatile, and will provide ample support for your camera to allow you to play with the features. They’re only around $30 AU so they’re well worth the investment, and you can find them at most camera shops. You may also want to switch on the timer to make sure there isn’t any shudder when you push the shutter.

When shooting macro you must be aware of your flash. If your subject is very close and your flash is on, then when you take the photo the main subject will be washed out and overexposed due to the immense flash of light that shines onto it at such a close range.

All of the terms and tips written above can be used to get the best out of your macro on both your point and shoot and your SLR. There are though significant advantages of having an SLR, mainly due to the dedication, quality and size of your lens. If you have an SLR then you may know you can purchase a separate macro lens. Unfortunately this can be quite costly (from around $200 to well over $1000). Thankfully though there are pretty much no bad macro lenses, so you can feel confident about buying a cheaper one. The only thing you’ll loose is the full adjustability of the lens and perhaps the brand name.

Another handy tool you can get for your SLR is called an extension tube. This doesn’t have any lenses, glass or mirrors in it at all. You attach the tube between the lens and the body of the camera and then change the size of the tube to move the lens further and closer to the cameras CCD. By moving the lens further away from the sensor you will see that your image zooms in without changing the focus, meaning your focus distance (and hence macro) is closer and better.

If you want though, you can cheat for your point and shoot camera by buying a special lens attachment. These devices (which unfortunately do not fit all cameras) will zoom in slightly to help you take closer macros.

As is the way with all photography, the best way to understand properly is to get out there and experiment with it your self. Shooting macro is actually a great deal of fun due to the interesting scenes, textures and shapes you find when you look at the world in a completely different way.

10 Steps has put up an incredible display of Macro Photography here at 40 Spectacular Macro Photography Images

If you’re interested in finding out more you can follow these great links:
Digital Photography School – Macro for Beginners
Digital Photography School – Macro tips for point and shoot
Photography Basics – What is macro photography?

Monochrome from New Zealand

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

This feature uses a vast range of tones so your image is shown in shades of just one color. Black and white mode is the most common form of monochrome that presents a vast range of moods, emotions and abstract expressions. Another common one is Sepia, which shows your image in shades of yellow/brown, and gives a traditional and aged look to your image. Also, if your camera has a ‘Document’ mode, which is intended for taking photos of text and documents, then it uses black and white monochrome to determine which colors should stand out (the black text) and then adjust the other colors accordingly.

Using monochrome in your photos has great potential to artistically express a scene in a way color cannot. If you want to learn just how to utilize mono then my Black and White Photography Guide will let you understand its potential and its unique uses.

I call this one ‘Fly Away With Me’. Of all my photos, this is one of the most unique and symbolic.

Whilst it may seem that rich, vibrantly coloured photos are the ones that capture a scene the best, nothing can capture a mood or feeling as well as a simple black and white photo. Of course, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes black and white can be completely wrong for a photo. If you choose correctly though, black and white can show abstraction, interest, and express love, hate, mystery, beauty, fun, motion, age and so much more.

Pretty much every camera has a monochrome (mono) mode. This is a feature that uses a vast range of tones so that your image is shown in a shade of just one colour. Black and white is the most common mono mode. A slightly less common (but still quite popular) is Sepia, where your camera uses a brown/yellow tone to give an antique feel to your photo.

Changing to black and white is very easy, and usually just involves pushing a button or changing a single setting. However taking the right photo is much more difficult. If you learn to think in black and white though it can be instinctive and easy. Some of the best scenes are ones with interesting textures, shapes, forms, and ones with interest to them (even if it’s completely simple like a stick, or the rocks in the image below). You don’t need to be in an epic location either. Even your back yard could contain objects that show a great deal of interest in black and white, like the rust of a worn out garden tool, the texture of some scattered rocks, or the shape of a flower. Experiment with close ups and peculiar angles in these situations, as they can exaggerate the lines or shape you wish to show.

Also be on the look out for moods and feelings. If taken correctly, these can be some of the most interesting and powerful photos you’ll ever take. In a cold scene for instance, black and white can be perfect to portray a sad or depressing mood. Due to the lack of colour and detail, mystery can also be shown nicely in black and white. And of course, love and romance can be show with great passion thanks to its simple nature. The first image, titled ‘fly away with me’ combines both mystery and romance. Not only is the scene unique and timelessly romantic, but also the silhouetted nature suggests an untold story, and also has the potential to be anyone.

The key to a successful black and white photo is the overall feel. It can be difficult at first but soon enough you’ll see potential black and white shots all over the place. If you do see a great mono shot, get into the habit of shooting both a colour and black and white photo of it, so if it doesn’t look as good on the screen as it did through your eyes you also have a colour one as fallback. Also remember that just about every photo editing program has the ability to change your photo to black and white. It’s always great to experiment with any colour photos that you think have black and white potential.

Bunga Arm of Paynesville. Where the calm lake meets 90 miles of vigorous ocean.

Depth of field is one of the most effective characteristics of a photo. It’s an aspect which clearly separates even the top end point and shoot cameras from the simplest SLR’s. Better still, it’s a simple concept which is incredibly easy to manipulate and, if used correctly, can provide you with professional looking photos.

The Depth of Field (DOF) refers to the range of in-focus visibility of the shot, or, in other words, how far you can clearly see. If you’ve seen a photo where the subject is in focus and the background is blurred out then this effect is a result of Depth of Field. In this case we say the photograph has a shallow depth of field. Alternatively, if there is a photo where you can clearly see a significant distance, like above, we say it has a deep depth of field.

Manipulating the DOF is probably as straight forward as it gets, and this is because it’s directly related to your cameras aperture. Basically, a wider aperture will give you a shallower depth of field, and a smaller aperture will make the DOF deeper and give you a greater viewing distance. By zooming in on your subject you’ll find the DOF appears to be shallower, and, if you have a wide angle lens then you’ll find your depth of field to be deeper.

Probably the most commonly used situation for a shallow depth of field is when taking photos of people. You’ll find that the background blurs out and the person in focus is clearly seen and nicely framed, almost as though they are separated from the background. When you switch your camera to portrait mode, a wide aperture will always be chosen to create this effect. The best situation to use a deep depth of field is for landscape shots where you want to capture as far as the eye can see. By selecting a landscape mode, the camera will once again use aperture to create a deep DOF.

But how does depth of field work?

When we see light, we aren’t just seeing one beam, but rather a countless number. If you open the aperture to be wider, then these light rays can enter the camera with relative ease, which causes your subject to be in focus and the background and foreground to be softer and out of focus (a shallow Depth of field). By closing the aperture though, you’re cutting out a significant portion of entry space, meaning that these rays have to enter in a much finer state. This subsequently causes your photo to have a much deeper DOF, and the back and foreground are more in focus than before.

To most people though, none of this complicated explanation really matters. After all, its as easy as pushing a button to make it shallower or deeper. The best way to learn though is of course to experiment and play around for yourself.

A Seagull watching over the waters of Paynesville.

There’s quite a difference between taking a photo and photography. Anyone can snap away at a scene and take a more than ample photo with a well-lit subject, a nice effective aperture and vibrant expressive colours. One of the simplest things though that defines a snapshot from photography is the positioning of the subject in your photo. This is where the Rule of Thirds can help you.

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, with two lines running down and two running across, just like seen in the image above. Most cameras do have a simple feature that does this for you. Try pushing the display button a few times and you should see the grid appear on the screen.

The general idea is for you to place your subject upon any of these lines. If you have a specific subject like a person in the image then you should try to position them on one of the ‘Golden Means’, which are the points where these lines intersect. If there’s a horizon in your image or other object (like the jetty and distant sea in the seagull image), then aim to place this along one of the lines. In most cases, it’s on these points that a subject can be most appealing.

Whilst it is called the ‘rule’ of thirds though, it is of course only a guide and using the lines inflexibly is a poor way to manage your layout. You should aim to compose your image in whatever way looks the best whilst taking the rule into consideration. Many times it just discourages centering your subject. There are though times you’ll find that a subject is much more effective when taken centered to the frame (Bulls eye composition). In these cases you can once again use the cameras template to square your image.

In philosophy the Rule of Thirds is very simple, and it’s one of the easiest techniques to execute. It’s quite difficult to get it wrong, and once the concept has been put to practice a few times you’ll find you’re instinctively taking well-composed photographs.

Using Aperture to manipulate the Depth of Field

In many ways, a digital camera is like our eye. The light from whatever we see is focused by the lens, and then passes through the pupil into the eye. After a few more complex steps the Optic Nerve at the back picks up the light, and then we can see. This can almost be directly related to features on a digital camera. The cameras lens is of course our eye’s lens, the Optic nerve is the CCD, and the pupil of our eye is the Aperture.

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. It expands to let in more light when it’s needed, and shrinks to keep it out, to ensure your photo isn’t over exposed.

It does this by a measure known as F-Stops. The Aperture will have different levels to which is expands and contracts to, usually ranging from about F2.8 to F11 (keep in mind this can vary significantly depending on the price, range and lens of your camera). Despite how it may seem though, when your camera is on F2.8, the lens opening is wide, and F11 means that the opening is small. The higher the F-Stop, the smaller the aperture.

If you switch it off auto mode, the aperture can of course controlled manually by using either the Aperture Priority mode or the Manual mode. If you are using a wider aperture and hence are letting more light in, the shutter speed will need to be faster to compensate for this.

Garden Fireworks by Mark-F

When you see an artistically crafted image with a very wide aperture, the blurred content such as lights will scarecely look completely round. Instead, just like this image above, the blurred points are slightly hexagonally. Interestingly this is the shape of aperture diaphragm of your camera.

Aperture isn’t just a means of properly exposing your photos though. It’s the key contributor to one of the simplest yet most effective photographic techniques, the Depth of Field (DOF).

The Depth of Field basically refers to the range of in-focus visibility in the shot. The two images above were taken with a wide aperture, and hence a shallow depth of field (See how the foreground and background are blurred and out of focus?). But why does this happen?

When we see light, we aren’t just seeing one beam, but rather a countless number. If you open the aperture to be wider, then these light rays can enter the camera with relative ease, which causes your subject to be in focus and the background and foreground to be softer and out of focus (a shallow Depth of field). By closing the aperture though, you’re cutting out a significant portion of entry space, meaning that these rays enter in a much finer state. This subsequently causes your photo to have a much deeper DOF, and the back and foreground are more in focus than before.

So play around, because as always, it’s the only way you’ll learn. Keep the aperture and depth of field in mind whenever you’re taking a photo, because it can be one of the most powerful and aesthetically pleasing effects in photography, and it’s a sinch once you get the hang of it.

Showing the difference between two White Balance settings on the same scene. On the left a daylight setting has been used and on the right is tungsten.

When we look outside and see everything lit by the white glow of the sun, this white light can be split up into all the different colors of the spectrum (colors of the rainbow). This is the type of light your digital camera is designed to see. Every now and then though you might take a photo lit by artificial light, such as a fluorescent light or a candle. Even though this light appears white, the color combinations that make it up are different to those of the sun, and not all of the spectrum is present. Because of this, your camera needs its White Balance adjusted to take account of occasions where not all of the spectrum is visible.

Most cameras have at least five different white balance settings. Auto, daylight, shade, tungsten and fluorescent. All of these settings alter the way the cameras sensor sees and records the light.

By default your camera will be set to auto. If your camera isn’t though, and you take a photo with the wrong white balance setting, the difference in color will be quite noticeable. For instance, in the daylight, a Tungsten white balance setting will give you a blue tinged photo, as this setting is used to compensate for the warm colors cast from household lighting.

Auto mode, rather than detecting the type of light and then changing the mode accordingly, uses a custom algorithm to guess the color of the light. Whilst it does produce a nice photo the majority of the time, manually changing the White Balance will give you a much better result.

As has been said in many of my guides, the best way to understand White Balance is to play around. Whereas with exposure and aperture there’s a very fine line to getting the correct settings, White Balance is very simple, direct, and easy to get right. You don’t always have to pick the exact setting for the lighting conditions either. Be creative and see what moods you can generate with different White Balances.

Comparing different exposures. Pretty easy to pick. The left side has a higher exposure than the right.

It’s been stated that the lighting and vibrance are the most important aspects of an image as they capture the mood and essence of a scene. Every time you look at a photo you should feel like you’re right there, and this makes exposure one of the most vital factors towards capturing that perfect photograph.

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. There are three elements which control your images exposure. Your shutter speed, the aperture of the lens and the cameras sensitivity to light (ISO). When your camera is on auto mode, it will use a metering system to try and keep your image properly exposed, and it does so by adjusting any of these three elements. But just what part do these three aspects play?

Shutter speed refers to how fast the shutter of your camera opens and closes, exposing the sensor to light. On most cameras the shutter speed can be changed from 30/1 to 1/4000. This means the shutter can stay open for 30 seconds right through to just one four thousandth of a second. By using a longer shutter speed, you will let more light through to the sensor, making a brighter photo. Likewise, a fast shutter speed will let less light through, making a darker photo.

Your cameras Aperture is the small adjustable opening which all light passes through in order to reach the lens. The size of the opening is displayed in F-stops. Each F stop is a level of size. Most cameras range from about F3.2 to F8. Despite logic though, as the F stop goes down, the lens opening gets larger. This means F3.2 is the largest opening, and F8 is the smallest. By widening your aperture (lower F stop) you can take a brighter photo, and by making it smaller your photo will be darker. Changing your aperture will also change your images depth of field.

If you’re taking a photo in the dark (or even the light), sometimes adjusting your shutter speed and aperture wont be enough to capture all the needed light. To combat this you can change your cameras ISO and sensitivity to light. On most cameras, the ISO can be changed between 100, 200, 400 and so on, usually topping out at ISO1600. The higher your ISO, the more sensitive your camera is to light.

Understanding exposure doesn’t only help with taken an evenly lit photo. By understanding its determining aspects, you can also change your settings to help capture a unique moment. If it’s sport you’re looking at then a faster shutter speed will capture the fast movement, and a wide aperture will compensate for the loss of light. Likewise, if you want to create a blur effect, keep the shutter speed long to let in all the light, and combat this extra brightness with a small aperture. So play around and see just what you can do.

Comparing different resolutions. The left has a higher resolution than the right.

If you’ve been following the digital camera market for the past few years, you’ll have noticed the recent flood of high megapixel cameras. We’re now seeing consumer digital cameras with in excess of 20 megapixels, and even mobile phones with resolution as high as the entry level SLRs. But what is a megapixel? What difference does it make? And more importantly, how many do I need?

We’ll start by going over the basics of how your camera works. Regardless of the size and expense of your camera, behind the lens lies a sensor known as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). It’s this sensor that replaces the film used in traditional cameras. The CCD is comprised of many tiny ‘photosites’ that collect the light coming in through the lens and then converts it into an electric form. This information, after it’s been stored, is then reassembled onto your screen as the photograph you captured.

A pixel is a minute location on the CCD that contains a photosite, a micro lens to focus light upon the photosite and other electronics. The word megapixel of course can be split into two. Mega, and pixel. Together this means million pixels. When you see that a camera has 4 megapixels, it of course has 4 million pixels.

But how many do I need? Well, this depends entirely on what you want to do with your photos. More megapixels means more detail in your photos, which will allow you to view and print your images in a larger size. Too many though in a cheap camera and you’ll find the camera maker has sacrificed the quality of the image just to make it bigger.

Realistically all the normal camera user needs is around 3 megapixels, because this has the potential to fill an A4 sheet. Even 2 megapixels is ample for most people as it will give you a 6×4 print (the standard photo print size), with no sacrifice to quality.

It’s best though that you don’t limit your megapixels depending on what you think you’ll need, because if there’s a nice photo you want to print out and frame for the family, then you’ll be kicking yourself because your camera wont have the ability to do that.

My verdict is that, if you’re looking for a normal camera for occasional use, you aim for around 6 to 8 megapixels. Even a 6 megapixel camera will allow you to print out an A2 sheet (42 x 59cm). Whilst it’s likely you’ll never need to print your image in this size, or even half of it, it’s always nice to have a high resolution image to look at, and, if for whatever reason you wish to zoom in or crop your image, 6 to 8 megapixels will cater for this. Also, it’s worth noting that in the current camera market, low megapixel cameras are hard to come by and most consumer cameras are averaging 6 to 8 megapixels. This means that you can find one of these cameras at the cream of the cost. They’re in the cheaper market, so, if you shop wisely, you can find a fantastic 6 megapixel camera packed with usable features at an excellent price.

A Canon 30D. Thanks to Leo Reynolds for this photo.

[twittermeme]Most people out there love using their camera. It’s great fun to snap away regardless of where you are or what’s in front of you. If you are ‘most people’ though then you probably just leave your camera on auto mode. 90% of the time this is the easiest way to photograph. However, you’re missing out on a huge range of features on your camera, and, even if you don’t think you’ll need or use them, simply understanding them will make taking a photo a much better experience.

Let’s start out with the basics. After all, how are we meant to understand the features if we don’t even know how a camera works? On auto mode, when we push the shutter button, light goes through the lens, is detected by the CCD (see megapixels), is saved on your memory card and then viewed on your screen. Throughout this process, the camera also focuses, adjusts its aperture and shutter speed depending on the subject and lighting conditions. Switch it off auto mode, and the process is still the same, however you have the ability to change whichever of these settings you want.

The dials on a Digital SLR or on a high range point and shoot. These settings may not be on a dial on your camera. Take a look through the menu.

On most cameras there are 5 different modes. Traditionally you’ll find these modes on the dial, although a lot of modern cameras are putting these modes into the menus in order to make thinner bodies and bigger screens. If your camera does have a dial then you’ll notice a series of letters above the auto mode (shown as the green rectangle here). There’s Auto, Programmable mode (shown as P), Speed priority (S or Tv), Aperture priority (A or Av), and Manual mode (shown as M). The letters on your camera may differ slightly, but they should appear in the same order.

But what do they all mean?

Programmable mode (P) is still fairly automated. The camera will still set its own shutter speed and aperture, however it will now give you the option of choosing your own ISO, White Balance and other settings which you generally have to go into the menus to change. On auto mode, you’ll find that these settings are grayed out, or locked on to the Auto setting.

Speed priority (S or Tv) will allow you to change the speed of the shutter, whilst it keeps most other settings automated. The capabilities of speed priority vary depending on your camera, but most allow you to change the shutter speed from 30/1 to 1/4000. This means you can have your shutter open for 30 seconds to just one four thousandths of a second. As you change the speed, you’ll notice the aperture keeps adjusting to try and ensure even lighting on your photo. Longer shutter speeds are best for dark shots where you want to let more light in, and faster speeds are best for catching those sporting moments.

Aperture priority (A or Av) lets you change the aperture of the lens, whilst keeping most other settings automated. This means you can adjust how large the opening of the lens is, to let more or less light in at once. The size of the opening is displayed in F-stops. Each F stop is a level of size. Most cameras range from about F3.2 to F8. Despite logic though, as the F stop goes down, the lens opening gets larger. This means F3.2 is the largest opening, and F8 is the smallest. By changing your aperture you can take a brighter photo at night, and, more importantly, you can fiddle with your Depth of Field.

Manual mode (M) is all out. Everything here can be manually adjusted, from shutter speed and aperture, to ISO and white balance. This is the perfect option for the budding, or even professional photographer, who wants to have complete control over the lighting, depth of field, vibrance, and any aspect of their photo. It’s probably best though that you don’t take all your photos on Manual mode, because when you just want to point and shoot, auto mode will often get you better results. Take a photo on manual when you have a bit of time, and have an image in your head you want to put on the screen. You’ll find you’ll end up with a few trial photos of the same scene where certain settings aren’t quite right yet, but that’s all the fun in photography. This will be a photo that’s yours and not the cameras.

These are the basic modes on the camera. You’ll also find that, on most new cameras, there are various profiles or scenes you can choose from. These will automate all of the settings to get you the best photos depending on what profile you’ve chosen. For example, ‘sports’ will center itself around a quick shutter speed, so you can capture those fast moving moments. ‘Night’ will try and keep the aperture down low and the shutter speed slow to let as much light in as possible. There are countless profiles and scene modes coming out on the latest digital cameras, ranging from portrait to food, and for the casual point and shoot photographer, changing the scene according to your subject is a great and simple way to get the best photo.

Photography doesn’t have to be difficult. Even advance photography is now being made quick and easy. Just by understanding how your camera works and what it has to offer, you can get so much more out of a single photo. It’s likely your cameras features will go beyond the ones explained here, so the best way to learn is by playing around. Remember, whilst it may seem that your camera is packed with complex features, they’re all there for a reason. To make your photos great and your experience as simple as possible.