The Rules Of Photography Knowing When To Break Them.
Creative photography is a mix of many ingredients; art and technology, skill and patience, cold mechanical knowhow and individual flair.
For a beginner learning the basics, it would be nice if there was a simple set of rules to follow to make the whole thing easier. Surely someone could just tell you what aperture to use in a given situation, or how to structure a composition to get the best results every time?
Photography is a lot like learning to drive. With a car, you need to know the road rules, and you need to know the basic skills of steering, accellerating and braking. These can be learned easily with a bit of practice. But even when you have mastered the essentials, you still need to get to know your car, because each car is a little different. Then you need experience with night driving, wet-weather driving, off-road driving…
What you must understand is that following the rules will only take you so far. In photography, you will find that rules help you in the beginning, and some rules will stay with you throughout your career. The trick is to understand when the rules don’t apply, or when you should choose to ignore them. This is the type of knowledge that can’t easily be taught. It comes with experience, and is what gives you indiduality as a photographer.
Below are just a few of the rules that, for an experienced photographer, are just made to be broken.
Photography Rule #1. Outdoor Photos Should Be Taken In The Early Morning Or Late Afternoon. This is one of the first principles of landscape photography, and can be applied to almost any outdoor photography. The softness and warm colour of the sunlight at these times adds beauty and character to almost any scene. It also creates much lower contrast, allowing you to avoid harsh shadows and over-exposure of the highlights in your photos.
When can you break this rule? I can think of two situations immediately.
Black and white photography is defined by contrast rather than by subtle colour, so you often want stronger shadows to create the best image. For this reason, black and white photos are often best taken closer to the middle of the day when the light is stronger.
Rainforest photography is also best in the middle of the day, but this time you don’t want bright sunlight; you want cloudy weather to create an nice even light throughout the forest. Otherwise the patches of light coming through the canopy will create ‘hot spots’ all over your image.
Photography Rule #2.The Rule Of Thirds. The rule of thirds is an excellent guide for a beginner learning about composition. In simple terms, it divides your photo into three parts, vertically and horizontally. The dividing lines are the best places to position long objects in a photo (like trees and horizon lines). The points where the lines intersect are the most effective places to position smaller objects for most impact.
Photos that are taken according to the Rule Of Thirds appear balanced. They satisfy our natural sense of visual order and simply look ‘right.’ Unfortunately, the world is not so easily organised as the rule, so it is impossible in nature to take every photo this way. Moreover, sometimes you may decide to ignore the rule, giving more impact to the photo by shaking up the normal balance of the composition.
When can you break this rule? Here is one obvious example, but I am sure you can think of many more.
Sunset photos feature colourful skies, and silhoettes in the foreground. If you have a truly spectacular sky, it doesn’t make sense to fill a third of the picture with empty blackness. You may choose to tilt the camera up to make a feature of the sky, and reduce the area filled by the foreground.
Rule #3. Your Lightmeter Is Always Right. Most of the time you can trust your lightmeter. If it indicates your photo is well exposed, it probably will be…but not always.
When can you break this rule? When there is a big difference in the level of light between the subject and the surroundings.
You may be photographing a person, an animal, a flower etc. in full sunlight, but the background is shady. This is a very effective way of making your subject stand out from the surroundings. In this situation, the different levels of light are bound to trick the lightmeter. In fact, if you take your photo on auto, your subject will most likely be overexposed. The best approach is to switch your camera to manual, and adjust your aperture or shutter speed until the photo is underexposed by one or two stops. This will darken your background and bring the subject into perfect exposure.
Can you see a pattern developing here? Rules are there for a reason, and your skills will improve in leaps and bounds if you learn them and practice them. But having done that, you are ready to take the next step. Start experimenting outside the rules and see where it takes you. Knowing and following the rules will make you a good photographer. Choosing how and when to break them will make you even better.
Perfecting your Digital Photography
Digital Photography Built Straightforward
Nowadays, digital photography is deemed the most well-known not only in the organization business but also for particular use. For all these who have shifted from film cameras, it is important that you know the distinct terms relevant to it. t.
The 1st component of the digital photography tutorial will focus on the fundamental areas and terms you want to know before dealing with a digital digital camera. Below are the widespread terms employed in digital photography:
1.Pixel- suggests the tiniest portion of the digital picture. A picture picture is composed of mixed hundreds of thousands of pixel.
2.Resolution- the more than all amount of pixels in a photograph. Escalating the resolution would make the picture develop into sharper. As a result much more pixels are essential to attain a better photo picture high quality.
3.Mega pixel- a picture composed of three to four mega pixels will have a superior excellent that a photograph with only one particular mega pixel.
4.Dots Per Inch (DPI) – this expression is utilised to illustrate top quality of the computer system keep an eye on and printer. Exclusively, laser printers have much more dpi resolution than monitors. For that reason, bigger the dpi resolution implies much better quality.
5.JPEG (joint photographic industry experts group) – it correspond to the format for saving photos in the digital camera.
6.Memory Card- this is wherever the digital files are stored. Memory cards consist of distinct measurements and ability. A memory card with larger storage ability would be much more practical to invest in.
7.LCD (liquid crystal exhibit) – practically all digital cameras have this specification. The goal of LCD is for the photographer to be able to view the scene initial prior to capturing the photograph.
Now that you already recognize the first aspect of the digital photography tutorial, the 2nd element will talk about essentially on right handling of digital digital camera.
Right dealing with of digital camera is the next important phase in digital photography. This is because the good results of a digital photographer depends on his output. And the essential to achieve high quality photos commences in the way you use and deal with the digital digital camera.
Mastering how a digital camera will work, comprehending the approaches in taking photos, and how to consider indoor and outdoor photos are all component of the points a newbie really should discover.
Under is the 2nd aspect of the digital photography tutorial. These are very good ideas to assist novice grasp the strategies of taking pictures.
1.Shell out consideration to the topic
A single of the most essential digital photography recommendations. You really should be in a position to compose meticulously by functioning on the body. Play with your digital camera, and explore the various shots. Keep away from positioning your object at the center of the photo, as it may possibly end result to dead middle image.
2.Capture Close Up Images
Consider excellent photographs by capturing them in severe shut up. Shut up images add a tiny creativity and excitement to the photographs. In addition, this attribute is only of the different techniques to enrich you photograph.
3.Use a tripod
Oftentimes digital cameras outcomes to blurry pictures if your fingers quiver a tiny. Acquiring a tripod will definitely conserve your hard work from taking very low good quality pics, and protect otherwise excellent images.
4.Be lively
Try innovative shots. Get photos from the prime of a hill, or off the aspect of a yacht. Go outside and discover your environment. You’ll definitely have entertaining taking individuals when in a lifetime photograph shots.
5.Join a photography course
Your finding out doesn’t only concentrate on the sensible element. You need to not only find out by means of your practical experience. Understanding from an expert would also help to increase your expertise as a photographer. Consider to join a photography course in your local community, or if there are on the internet lessons you can log on.
Starting to be a specialist digital photographer actually will take time. You just have to be resourceful and hold on trying new methods. Get started by studying the digital photography tutorial due to the fact this will serve as a stepping stone for your long term job expansion.
[Top]Photography Studio Business Plan Making The Most Of Your Space
When opening a photography studio, you must make a significant initial, and then monthly, investment in your space. To justify these expenses to investors in your business plan, show how you will utilize the space to its fullest. It represents one of your major assets, and renting such a studio while explaining in your plan that your shoots will primarily be out on location shows poor planning on your part to funders.
Studio Shoots
Consider what customer markets you should pursue to keep the space booked up with your own shoots as much as possible. This will likely be the highest revenue-generating use of the space for you. Look for the customers that freelance photographers without a studio are unable to gain and market the strengths your space will offer. By investing in some additional backdrops or decorative elements to dress the space, you can expand the options of shoots you can accommodate in-house significantly.
Other Uses
Can part of your studio double as an office space during downtime? If you can limit your need for separate office space you may be able to cut down on your rent, if you can plan for this before signing a lease.
If your lease allows it, you can also rent out your studio to other parties while it is idle, as long as they are for legal uses. This can be for small parties and events or shoots by other photographers, for example. Be sure that those you rent to carry their own insurance to lower your risk and that your agreement with them further limits the liability you take on from their rental.
For every day you rent your studio out to another business or individual, you will bring in revenue, but you will also incur an unseen opportunity cost. For example if you rent your studio out for a day for $500 two weeks in advance of a date and then you must turn down a shoot that comes up for that day only for which you would net $1,000, you have effectively lost $500 rather than earned it. Only experience will teach you what rates are reasonable to cover the probability of last-minute shoots coming up.
[Top]Freelance Photography for a Living
Photography is a passion for many. But if you are little strategic too, then you can turn your passion into a cash vending machine. Baffled to hear? Rest assured as this is a time tested way. There are thousands of photographers who work as freelancers and doing great with money. You don’t need to have high profile contact list for that. Just a little planning and right information, and bingo, you can earn wads of cash, which is obviously legal and honest. Read on to know more about freelance photography.
Photography entails lots of exciting things that people are usually passionate about. So apart from photography, you can pursue your other passions like traveling, meeting new people, and exploring new places too. And freelance photography enables you to do so by getting paid for pursuing your passion. However, this does not give you any reason to think that life of a self employed photographer is cakewalk, especially when you are doing it for some newspaper. News agencies have their own staff photographers but it is not possible for them to cover everything being omnipresent so freelancer photographers are hired who are paid per photograph used or per photo shoot. This is where you can play your role.
Even if you are not hired, you can always present your photos to selected newspapers since you were strategically present at the spot at the precise time. This is how it works. Payment varies according to the pay scale of the news agency. Local newspapers would naturally pay lesser than the leading dailies. Popular magazines also hire or buy photographs from freelancers. Basically, freelance photography had been there since quite long. It is just the lack of exposure that had stopped people from knowing about it. But today it has become mandatory to acknowledge the source of photographs. So your work does not get unnoticed either.
Being a professional freelance photographer can work on different domains. People always need professional photographers for different purposes. Even in the last few decades, they were called for wedding photography, but today it has become a specialized field. But whether they need to take photograph of items they want to sell in Craigslist or OLX kind of websites or a casual family get-together, your freelance photography is looked upon. When you are not on any assignment, go out and capture mundane yet exclusive moments. Offer them to various picture magazines and see them going places.
The freelance photography jobs are ample for the photography experts. Photographers can earn decent monthly income from freelancing.
[Top]Texture Photography Approach To Eye-catching Photographs
A photographic image is successful when it successfully grabs the attention of the viewers. Images can do this in a variety of ways. Some images depend on bold color. Other photos utilize leading curves. Dramatic scenery is also used for this specific purpose. On the other hand, there exists a method that is quite often overlooked. That method is the use of texture. Thus, the objective of this article is to cover the essentials of texture photography.
Of course, the first thing that needs to be done is to define texture photography. The definition of texture photography is really very simple. The images of texture photography derive at least part of their impact through the use of texture.
Texture will be defined as the surface detail of an object. This detail can be made up of surface irregularities (such as the wood grain of an old plank) or of small forms on a surface (such as a mass of roots from an ancient tree).
Three Types of Texture Photography
This article will cover three of the most common forms of texture photography — texture used to enhance detail, drama, or information.
Detail: With detail texture photography, the detail of an object’s surface is the most important aspect of an image. The actual object is of lower value. There are a couple of approaches to detail images. The image can be taken as a macro shot. That way, the camera is moved in close to really expose the texture. The other approach is to photograph only a part of an object (which also focuses the attention on the texture). An example of this type of texture image would be a close-up of the patterns found in old rock formations.
Typically, the best light for this type of image is side light. Side light will enhance the detail in any uneven surface by casting shadows.
Drama: With drama texture photography, the texture helps to bring out the drama in an image. In this use of texture, the texture is not the principal feature of the image. Instead, it is one component of the image that serves to spice up the image.
A key point is that, typically, the contrast or color of the texture serves to catch the viewer’s interest. So, it is essential to pick a subject that has good color or contrast.
A good example of texture used for drama would be the patterns of layered rock in the Grand Canyon glowing in the late afternoon sun.
An important point is that side light works well with these images. The side light casts shadows that emphasize the texture and, thus, the drama.
Information: Utilizing texture to communicate information about a photographic subject is the last form of texture photography that we will review. In an information texture image, the texture tells part of the tale of the image by communicating something about the image. A case in point would be an image of an aged, dilapidated, wooden walkway at a remote beach. In this case, the aged wood suggests that the beach has a history that could not be communicated by an image of just the white, beach sand.
For information texture images, it is crucial to identify specifically what information the texture is to communicate and compose the image in such a manner that the texture brings out the right message. The outcome will be a better image.
One other essential point is to make certain that the texture has a subservient role in this kind of image. Put simply, the texture should help to enhance the center of interest not overwhelm the center of interest.
Synopsis
The information in this article gives only a hint of what can be accomplished with texture photography. There is a lot more to find out about texture photography.
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