Photography Tips

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The Cape Town

The Cape Town Best

Best

Best Seller e

Best

Seller e

Seller e----Book

Seller e

Book Series

Book

Series

®

100

100 100 Great Tips for the Amateur

Great Tips for the Amateur

DSLR

DSLR Photographer

Photographer

(International Edition) (International Edition) (International Edition) (International Edition)

b

by

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Michael M. Paulse

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After many years in the commerce, Michael Paulse’s has decided to pursue his passion: Photography. His father was an astute and accomplished photographer who started his career as a laboratory assistant at Kodak Eastman in Cape Town, South Africa in the 1960’s. It is from these rich roots that instilled in him his love of this art.

Mike holds an MBA and currently lectures Economics, Logistics and Management at the various local universities as well as freelancing as a photographer. He enjoys the commercial, sporting and creative genre of this fine art.

He shoots almost exclusively in RAW and is currently dabbling in High Dynamic Range (HDR) post-production imaging. Mike rank’s Michael Freeman as one of his inspirational authors.

COPYRIGHT 2010. . . . All Rights Reserved.All Rights Reserved. This bookAll Rights Reserved.All Rights Reserved. This book/ebook This book This book/ebook/ebook/ebook is copyright under the Berne Convention and as such no part of is copyright under the Berne Convention and as such no part of is copyright under the Berne Convention and as such no part of is copyright under the Berne Convention and as such no part of this book/e

this book/e this book/e

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A

cknowledgements

For my dear friends, Michelle and Deon Eybers, who have been stalwarts in their persistence that I start this project.

For my sons, Brett and Cole, and especially for my beautiful wife who is always there by my side (not necessarily quiet by my side, but by my side, nonetheless.)

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I

ntroduction

The Cape Town Best Seller e-Book Series

® is finally here! After years of contemplation, procrastination and false starts, I have finally knuckled down and penned what is already proving to be a successful local p-book and e-book brand.

My desire to pen my passion for photography came to fruition following Cape Town’s (South Africa) successful hosting of the 2010 soccer World Cup. Amidst the sweet cacophony of the

Vuvuzelas

, I was commissioned to shoot a series of night time photographs of the Cape Town Soccer Stadium in Green Point, a lovely suburb adjacent to the famous Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. And soon after this project, came the requests to do something more. With my association with sites like www.lulu.com,

www.myebook.com and www.digital-photo-secrets.com are slowly allowing my dreams to take shape! This e-book is the inaugural flagship of

The Cape Town Best Seller e-Book Series

®. It is my first entre into the e-book genre and the initial interest has been phenomenal. These e-books will be available in PDF readable by Linux®, Windows®, Android® and Apple Mac® operating systems.

The title

, 100

, 100 Great Tips for the

Great Tips for the

Great Tips for the Amateur DSLR

Great Tips for the

Amateur DSLR

Amateur DSLR Photographer

Photographer

, addresses the basic ‘must know’ and ‘need to know’ tips to get you going with your DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera. It is written in a language that is easy to understand and cuts to the chase. No complicated technical jargon, or sequential training methodology.

My method is one of emersion – YOU are thrown in at the deep end! YOU, the learner and aspirant photographer, yes YOU, decide the pace, the topic or tip, the duration of practice, etc. And it is all demonstrated in clear photographs# that illustrates the underlying tip. Just page to the topic of interest and ‘Voila!’, it is explained in one or five (?) printable and descriptive photographs! Take this with you and go and practice it. There are 100 easy to understand tips – all beautifully illustrated by yours truly in about 190 or so photographs covering all the issues you need to get you going and truly enjoy this fine art form. It is my intention to use

The Cape Town Best Seller e-Book Series

® brand as a platform to bring out the best of local South African writing and artistic talent. Exposing and bringing to the international audience contemporary African literary masterpieces that are not only creative but reflect and highlight the social issues affecting youth in South Africa. Issues such as drug abuse, poverty, gangsterism and hope! You, too, can play a part and the purchase this e-book certainly goes a long way in supporting this initiative. A lot of material and know-how has been drawn from personal field-work experience, mentors, other photographers, the internet, etc. But it would only be prudent to acknowledge authors such as Ian Bradshaw, Michael Freeman, Darren Rowse (http://digital-photography-school.com) among others and it is through their collective wisdom and teachings that have shaped my progress in this medium.

#

I have had to reduce the resolution of the inserted pictures in order to keep the size of the e-book a little more manageable from about 600 to 72 dpi. Hopefully it has not deterred too much from the message and quality of the publication. Consequently some pictures may be slightly blurred at high resolution. My apologies for this.

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“The more I practice,

the luckier I become.”

---- Gary Player

Gary Player

Thank you.

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A

S

Special Appeal

pecial Appeal

Finally, another incentive for launching this title was to assist my son, Brett, in pursuit of his passion – Rugby.

Brett is 14 years old or rather “… almost 15, going on sixteen…” to quote him, is 1.83m (6’) tall and weighs 95kg (190 lbs) and is an ardent rugby player and dedicated student of the Seido Karate School in Belgravia, Cape Town. He currently plays for his school’s (Rondebosch Boys High School) Under 15A and B side as a prop (loose- or tight-head) and lock.

The proceeds of this publication will be used to sponsor his school rugby tour to Argentina in June 2011. The cost of the tour is $3,000 – money we do not have as a family. The sale of the e-book as well as your kind, voluntary donations will assist greatly. So please buy it and encourage others through your social networks such Facebook® and Twitter® to support my son’s initiative. Every little bit helps. Thank you. Michael M. Paulse Michael M. Paulse Michael M. Paulse Michael M. Paulse [email protected] +27 +79 632 4454 http://michaelpaulse.jAlbum.net

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C

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ontents

ntents

Inside Cover Page 2

About the Author 2

Acknowledgements 3

Introduction 4

The Five Top Contributors 5

A Special Appeal 6

Tip #1 3D Photography and the Wireless Flash. 12

Tip #2 Action Shots - The Art of Anticipation. 14

Tip #3 Angle shots. 17

Tip #4 Aperture Priority. 19

Tip #5 Assignments. 21

Tip #6 Backlit Subjects. 24

Tip #7 Backup Buddy - Your Second Camera. 26

Tip #8 Basic Lighting in the Studio. 27

Tip #9 Beach Shots. 29

Tip #10 Black & White Dramatic HDR Portraits. 31

Tip #11 Bouncing Flash for Flattering Portraits. 33

Tip #12 Bracketing different Exposure Settings. 35

Tip #13 Buildings in all their Stature. 36

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Tip #18 Chromodek or Blue Box Photography. 47

Tip #19 Churches and Cathedrals - "Look Ma, 'No Flash!'" 48

Tip #20 Clutter junkie! Keep your Composition Simple. 50

Tip #21 Cropping for Impact. 52

Tip #22 Depth of Field and the Aperture. (Sounds like a bad Novel). 54

Tip #23 Devil is in the Detail. 56

Tip #24 Evaluative, Honeycomb, Matrix and other Puzzling Metering Settings. 58

Tip #25 Exposure Lock[ing] the Reading. 60

Tip #26 Exposure Value or EV Explained. 61

Tip #27 Fans - Don’t forget about them! 62

Tip #28 Fill Flash at High Noon and dealing with other Shadowy Characters. 64

Tip #29 Filters: UV & Polariser – unintended uses. 66

Tip #30 Fireworks and the Bulb Setting. 67

Tip #31 Flash you flashlights at Night. 69

Tip #32 Flower Arrangements. 71

Tip #33 Focus Lock. 73

Tip #34 Food made Yummy? 75

Tip #35 F-Stop, not F&%$king Stop, Build up. 77

Tip #36 Fun! That’s what it’s all about! 78

Tip #37 Getting the Background right. 79

Tip #38 GIMP® (or GNU Image Manipulation Program)® 80

Tip #39 Glaring dealt with the Lens Hood. 81

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Tip #41 Great Resources on the Internet. 85

Tip #42 Grey 15% Card explained. 87

Tip #43 Group Composition Basics. 89

Tip #44 HDR Photos explained. 93

Tip #45 Height of the Subject vs the Photographer. 99

Tip #46 High Key Photography. 100

Tip #47 Histogram clearly exposed. 102

Tip #48 Indoor Shots with your [Creative] Flash. 103

Tip #49 ISO Setting for great low-light photography. 105

Tip #50 Kids should be Seen (at their Level). 106

Tip #51 Know your Camera is Step One. 109

Tip #52 Landscaping and Aperture (Wide Depth of Field). 110

Tip #53 LCD Screen Setting – The bane of Proper Exposure. 112

Tip #54 Leading Lines: Follow my eyes. 113

Tip #55 Low Key Photography. 115

Tip #56 Macro & Close-up Photography. 118

Tip #57 Merging differently Exposed photos. 120

Tip #58 Motion and Busyness recorded for Impact. 121

Tip #59 ND Filters and Washouts. 124

Tip #60 Never leave home without it! 125

Tip #61 Night Shots that are Sharp and Clear. 126

Tip #62 No movement please - Auto-timing and the Tripod. 129

Tip #63 Nudes. 130

Tip #64 P Mode - The Start of taking Control of your DSLR. 132

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Tip #68 Photo of a Photo Techniques. 146

Tip #69 Portraits - It’s in the eyes! 148

Tip #70 Positioning yourself for that Shot. 151

Tip #71 Post-processing, like post Apartheid… its, or we are free. 154

Tip #72 Raw Quality Mode - Getting the wrong White Balance right. 157

Tip #73 Re-composing - Excuse me?! 159

Tip #74 Reflections. 160

Tip #75 Rule of Thirds - Sounds like Math!? 162

Tip #76 Scanning a Document. 165

Tip #77 Scrap Yards and other Junk areas made good! 166

Tip #78 Self Portraits and other Narcissistic Personality traits. 168

Tip #79 Seperating Bride and Groom at Weddings - Huh? 169

Tip #80 Sex in… or is it, …and the City at Night? 170

Tip #81 Shutter Priority. 173

Tip #82 Silhouettes - adding a bit of Mystique. 174

Tip #83 Skew Perspectives. 175

Tip #84 Slow Boat? Slow Sync. 176

Tip #85 Soft Box Flash and effective Diffusing. 178

Tip #86

Sonop, Sonsak!

(Sunset & Sunrises and other Surprises). 180

Tip #87 Space… the final frontier in Composition. 182

Tip #88 Spot Metering wonders. 183

Tip #89 Stitching of Photos. 184

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Tip #91 Taking a Photo of your Television Set and other poor Social skills. 189

Tip #92 The 50mm Lens – The Wedding Singer. 190

Tip #93 The Shot after the Shot! 191

Tip #94 Trailing Lights made easy. 193

Tip #95 Wedding Blues. 194

Tip #96 White Balance and other Far Right tendencies. 196

Tip #97 Z-Cards. 198

Tip #98 Zoom Lenses and ISO Setting explained. 199

Tip #99 Zoom Trails. 201

Tip #100 Zzzzz 202

Registered Trademarks 204

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3D Photography and the Wireless Flash.

With the ability to physically separate your hotshoe flash from your camera, affords you the ability to give your images a three dimensional dynamic. This is achieved by varying the amount of illumination (light) on the subject. In the case of Sony, this is done wirelessly. Very creative shots can be generated by “attaching” additional wireless flashes to your camera. One can act as a key light i.e. firing directly onto the subject (and from an angle) and the second can, for example, be “bounced” off the ceiling thereby bathing your subject in a gentler and softer light.

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ip #2

Action Shots - The Art of Anticipation.

Getting the shot and being ready for it is of crucial importance. I would dare to say, more so than the correct exposure or composition. It is about being ready for the expected ‘unexpected’ to happen. By positioning yourself to where you anticipate the next “move” to be taking place is critical. But it can also be a bit of a hit and miss affair. You need to, it goes without saying, understand the nature of the game or sport.

Typically, I may set my camera to the Action (or Burst mode) setting. But these have their shortcomings such as poor and incorrect exposure because the Action setting uses Evaluative metering and auto focusing. I prefer, instead, to set my camera to P- or Program Mode, change the drive mode to Burst; change the Auto focusing to Single Shot and the metering to Centre Weighted metering.

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Finally, I always use a telephoto or zoom lens (especially for sports photography) and I may marginally ramp up my ISO number setting to at least 400 to 800 to compensate for the one or two lost stops due to the telephoto lens’ polarizer filter. A lens hood is also recommended to deal with glare and potentially washed out shy lines.

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ip #3

Angle shots.

The idea here is to compose your shot from an angle that is unique and unnatural. You may employ placing your camera on an extended pole and firing “from above” i.e. sort of a bird’s eye view composition, or going down low and viewing the world from a dog’s perspective.

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(Public Announcement: The usual disclaimers apply. No animals were hurt during the production of this publication.)

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ip #4

Aperture Priority.

This, along side with Shutter Priority Mode, is your gentle entre into the world of (semi-) manual manipulation of your DSLR. The AP allows you to fix the aperture setting i.e. you have total control over this aspect of the camera, and the camera’s computer decides what the other complimentary exposure settings must be e.g. ISO and Shutter speed. AP, therefore, determines the amount of light entering the camera and simultaneously assigns a depth of field.

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ip #5

Assignments.

Preparation is vital and so is your professionalism when you are on assignment. It is the right thing to do given the fact that you are getting remunerated for your services. And service is everything in this highly competitive game. Secondly, it also instills a sense of confidence in your client. You are putting him at ease so that you will deliver against his brief. You need to without question interpret this brief as best you can and test your interpretation with your client as appropriately as possible. And I suggest even advising him on how to get closer to his expectations.

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superb results especially if it’s an assignment that is not repeatable such as a wedding.

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ip #6

Backlit Subjects.

Rule of Thumb: Always take a photograph with the illuminating light source behind you! Sometimes shooting into the light is unavoidable. In cases like this, the camera’s AUTO mode and metering may often get the exposure wrong (even with modern Evaluative, honey-comb etc. metering algorithms.) The resultant pictures may have a bright background and a foreground with subjects that are terribly under-exposed. To solve this problem, the foreground subject must be spot metered and the exposure settings locked with the camera’s AE Lock button. Thereafter, the shot can be re-composed and captured with the now correct exposure settings. A further enhancement may be to fire the flash as well.

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ip #7

Backup Buddy - Your Second Camera.

Always ensure that you have a second back-up camera in case your primary one fails. I have had my camera’s flash fail on me whilst on assignment. Ensure that your backup is functional i.e. has clean lenses, extra memory cards and is fully charged (and that you are still au fait with its intricate workings).

Your backup may also have an alternative lens attached to it. It’s highly recommended that you change your cameras and NOT your lenses on site. Often there isn’t time for this. So typically, I have my standard 50mm or 18-70mm lens on my primary Sony Alpha and my 70-300mm telephoto lens on my backup Sony.

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ip #8

Basic Lighting in the Studio.

The thought of doing studio work can be quite intimidating to the novice photographer. However, following these basic principles will assist you. Needless to say, a couple of fundamentals worth reviewing:

(1) Remain calm and confident after all you are the expert. (2) Camera on a tripod.

(3) Avoid direct illumination – said with caveats. (4) Use an appropriate backdrop.

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ip #9

Beach Shots.

The ocean has a truly therapeutic effect on people. I think particularly so if you from Cape Town – the closeness to the sea and our ever imposing beautiful mountain, Table Mountain. This cathartic effect must extend to your pictures as well.

The ocean as backdrop must simplify the scene and draw the viewer’s attention to the subject in the foreground. I have found that using a narrow depth of field with the focus firmly locked on the subject(s) yields pleasant results. I am often reluctant to choose between metering techniques (particularly for beach and snow shots) but I have found that in fact all the options produce acceptable results.

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0 Black & White Dramatic HDR Portraits.

The same HDR methodology applies in this case, however, the fundamentals of good portraiture is of paramount importance. Once captured, I desaturate the image to classic black and white, or re-tone e.g. sepia my final shots. I may also intensify the contrast levels in GIMP®.

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1 Bouncing Flash for Flattering Portraits.

Direct illumination, whether by your camera’s built-in flash or with its hotshoe, can “oversupply” the subject with light. It washes out the image (and often the background is left in darkness.) Firing your hotshoe vertically instead, “bounces” the light off from the [hopefully white and low] ceiling and gently bathes the subject in a flattering and softer white light.

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2 Bracketing different Exposure Settings.

If you are not sure about the correct white balance setting, the camera’s drive mode can be set to Exposure Bracketing. This affords the camera the ability to record a number of different exposure or white balance photographs from which the correct/best can be chosen. The use of RAW, however, negates this practice as white balance along with other settings can be manipulated later off-camera.

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3 Buildings in all their Stature.

I am often in awe at the brilliance of building design and architectural thought that goes into it. Also the sheer creativity of bringing to life a concept (on paper) and seeing it “concretised” (no pun intended) in reality. To capture this on film (“… on CMOS/CCD…” just does not sound right) is indeed an honour and must be done so with absolute prudence. I look for symmetry, neat clean lines, texture, ergonomics, contrasting materials design, colours, features, aesthetics and its congruence with its environment. You need to find an angle that exemplifies these characteristics and the final product is truly in the eye of the beholder.

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4 Candid Shots.

The world’s your oyster! And beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Every candid shot is different and so are the techniques required as well. Don’t let criticism or undesired outcomes deter you: one out of at least 25 will be worth drooling over. So keep shooting!

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5 Candle in the Wind.

To obtain great results, it is essential that all the other [distracting] light sources are eradicated. You need to almost start in complete blackness – the only illumination must come from the candle. The candle must also be placed off-centre (i.e. nowhere near the front of the subject) and ideally, to the side of the subject. The same principles with respect to low light and night photography will need to be adhered to. See 3D photographic techniques as well.

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6 Cars, in all their muscular splendour.

The idea is to exaggerate the “musculature” (personification) of the car in question [in order to fulfill some guttural testosterone fuelled (sic) niche in us!?] By changing your angle i.e. composing very closely and from below, changes the perspective of the final image. It becomes artificially ‘warped’ as it were. An effect that can also be achieved with a fish-eye lens. Things appear to be more exaggerated and aggressive.

For moving vehicles, the speed and direction of motion is used to amplify these qualities by manipulating the speed of the shutter.

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7 Centre-weighted Metering: Politics 101?

Centre-weighted metering (CWM) samples 80% of the scene (from the centre outward) and ‘weights’ or applies a greater importance to this aspect of the subject. It then averages the remaining 20% (the outlying areas) to yield the final exposure reading. The results are great for portraits.

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8 Chromodek or Blue Box® Photography.

I often call this my “Plan C”! Not having a venue or reasonably good background as a result of say inclement weather, or an alternative venue, I offer my (by now) distraught and desperate clients a “Plan C”. This involves shooting in front of a Green or Chromadek back drop (as inserted). With the use of special and intuitive “Selection” tools, the Chromadek (and all its variations) can be removed and new appropriate backdrop (from your collection of appropriate stock photos) re-inserted as replacement.

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9 Churches and Cathedrals - "Look Ma, 'No Flash!'"

There are occasions where the use of a flash is not permitted and is in fact frowned upon. In my opinion, it is disrespectful given the ceremonial importance and revere associated with places of worship. (It is only courteous, that you seek permission long before the ceremony should you so desire to use a flash.)

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Let’s assume, it is not permitted...

It is a fact that it will indeed become ineffectual for some shots as the flash has a limited reach in low light scenes. In churches, I typically work on about 4 to 6 rows of efficacy. Notwithstanding this limitation, places of worship offer the vigilant photographer a kaleidoscope of creativity. They are abound with candles, contrasting natural light, beautifully stained glass, artifacts, architecture and that does not even account for the parish itself, or the ceremony! It can become a photographers “heaven” (pardon the pun). Shooting in these environments requires practice and I would suggest that the novice accompany a seasoned photographer to get in the miles as it were. See also the discussion on low light photography.

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ip #20

Clutter junkie!

Keep your Composition Simple.

Sometimes the most admired photography involves simplicity. Remove the props, remove the cacophony of “noisy” colours. Keep it simple. It WILL tell your story.

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1 Cropping for Impact.

With the technology resident in modern DSLRs in terms of resolution, effective cropping does not (in most cases) diminish or degrade the quality and the impact of final product. Composition [of the finally cropped] image i.e. the rule of 1/3, leading lines, etc., is of paramount importance in this regard.

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ip #22

Depth of Field and the Aperture. (Sounds like a bad Novel).

All lenses possess an optical aberration – an invisible field that extends from absolute clarity to a complete mess. But that mess is good! “What the hell is he talking about?” If your depth of field is narrow (or shallow), about the focal length (i.e. the point at which your subject is clearly in focus), all other detail behind that point and in front of that point fades into obscurity. The distance from blur to clear to blur is your depth of field (in layman’s terms!) It makes for flattering portraits as the subject is in focus and that is all that matters. Narrow depths of field have a wide aperture settings from about F/3.5 to F5.6.

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Conversely, a wide depth of field or narrow aperture (from say, F9 to F22 allowing in little light) will have all aspects in your scene captured. Thus making them great for Landscapes. There are no blurring and the invisible depth of field i.e. the distance from blur to clear to blur, does not exist. In fact it approaches infinity.

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ip #23

Devil is in the Detail.

On assignment, one is remunerated to focus on the delivery of the standard and traditional photos e.g. the bride and groom, the removal of the garter, the cutting of the wedding cake etc. at your typical wedding celebration. This is all good and well, but an astute photographer arrives early before the arrival of the guests (and, or stays behind after everyone’s left barring a few inebriated middle-aged uncles) to capture elements overlooked.

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Items such as the Invitation, the mementoes, the flower & cutlery arrangements, the Bible passages, their Vows, etc.

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ip #24

Evaluative, Honeycomb, Matrix and other Puzzling Metering Settings.

When you cannot determine the appropriate exposure for a particular scene or there simply isn’t time to do so, employing the camera’s built-in metering firmware is the next best thing. The camera has stored in its memory a database of similar 1,000 scenes and their associated metering parameters. Terms such as Honeycomb, Evaluative, Matrix, etc. are all synonyms of the same metering protocol.

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ip #25

Exposure Lock[ing] the Reading.

Often different parts of the same scene may be illuminated differently. In order to capture the correct exposure consistently throughout the scene, the AE Lock button must be employed. Typically, you will sample a 15% Grey area or interesting segment of the scene, lock the exposure settings with the AE Lock function and recompose the shot with these settings.

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ip #26

Exposure Value or EV Explained.

Once an exposure setting has been decided upon, the EV value can increase or decrease (i.e. doubling or halving the amount of light taken in) in order to ‘tweak’ (not Tweet) the final exposure. Notwithstanding all of this, my brother once said to me, “Forget everything about shutter speed, aperture etc., just adjust EV and the ISO and it can make all the difference as far as exposure is concerned.” I am a bit of a sceptic, but you give it a try and let me

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ip #27

Fans - Don’t forget about them!

We can become engrossed in capturing the event. However, by turning around (literally) and looking at the fans, a whole new untapped world of photographic opportunities is unveiled. Their passion, exuberant colours, decadent behaviour, waves of emotion(s) and their total immersion in the game, are all worthy of recording.

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8 Fill Flash at High Noon and dealing with other Shadowy Characters.

At about noon, the sun is directly overhead and this creates nasty shadows in your subjects’ faces. One way of eliminating this (besides finding a shady spot outside of the sun) is by firing your flash by setting its Fill Flash to “ON”. This removes these shadows and gently “fills in” the subject’s face instead. (Seems very odd to see a flash being fired in broad daylight. Now you know why.)

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29 Filters: UV & Polariser – unintended uses.

Besides providing the light filtering properties i.e. minimizing washed out skies, the mounting of a UV/Polariser can also protect your more expensive lens from scratches and knocks. It serves as a bit of an insurance call as well.

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0 Fireworks and the Bulb Setting.

These pictures are always spectacular and should give you the feeling of being there. Making you feel like a kid again! Set your Shutter Speed to BULB, focus (which can be difficult – focus manually and set your aperture to a wide Landscape F-value) on where the show will be taking place and fire. The slow BULB setting will trail the path of the fireworks. Camera must be on a tripod for stunning results.

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1 Flash you flashlights at Night.

Movements of the camera (camera shake) and, or movement of the scene are the biggest obstacles for night-time photography given the paucity of incident light. Secondly, the use of a flash is not always practical as this typically only lights up the foreground up to about 10 meters (max) leaving your background hopelessly underexposed. To deal with this, you can set your camera to Night Scene Mode which addresses the Aperture, ISO and Shutter Speed automatically as well as slowing down the timing of your flash i.e. Slow Sync Flash. The alternate is to use P- (or Program) or Manual modes. The use of a tripod is highly recommended.

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2 Flower Arrangements.

It is ideal to get as close to the source (the flowers) as possible; similar to taking a Macro photograph. Use a wide aperture lens in order to reduce the depth of field and to soften (but not entirely blur) the surround subjects (i.e. vase, leaves, other flowers in the bouquet, etc.) In addition, you may want to manually focus on the flower(s) and not let the camera decide on the central theme automatically. Hint: If you taking a picture of an individual flower, I usually insert a coloured or white backdrop behind it, apply the principles above, yielding a simple and uncluttered picture. Try it!

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3 Focus Lock.

By depressing the Shutter Button half way down, you can lock the focus (or focal length) on the subject of interest (i.e. defocusing everything else around it.) This focal length is temporarily retained (whilst you keeping the Shutter Button down half way) and by depressing it all the way, the image is captured with the desired effect. A long telephoto 200mm to 300mm lens is recommended.

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4 Food made Yummy?

Use your Macro setting to capture all its juicy textures but watch your saturation (and White Balance) specifically. Remove distracting backgrounds with a very narrow depth of field. Presentation and simplistic “plating up” of the meal in a manner that is palatable is half the battle won.

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5 F-Stop, not F&%$king Stop, Build up.

To improve the exposure of a [dark] captured scene, the exposure parameters are increased by one-stop. One stop equates to the doubling of light taken in by the camera. So for example, changing your shutter speed from 1/200 to 1/125 (one-stop change) implies a doubling of the light. Every time a setting is changed i.e. shutter speed, aperture, ISO number, EV value, etc. the amount of light taken in is doubled or halved depending on the direction of the setting. (For those that are more technically minded, you may want to Google® “Inverse Reciprocity”.) F-stop build-up is a means of sequentially finding the right exposure reading. Other more effective tools include Spot Metering and the use of Grey Cards. The diagram below by Max Johnson© (taken from Flickr®) clearly illustrates all the factors that can influences once final exposure:

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36 Fun! That’s what it’s all about!

This is my passion (photography, that is) and I am sure it is yours and, if not, I sincerely hope after reading my e-book, it will become yours. Accept criticism gracefully, read a lot, subscribe to blogs and hobbyist clubs, join your local photographic society but above all, enjoy your sport. Have fun and let your photography reflect your vibrant personality.

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Getting the Background right.

Avoid clutter. Use an appropriate aperture setting. Experiment with centre-weighted or matrix metering. And be cautious of unwanted objects in the scene e.g. a sign post, a soft drink can, etc. Visualise your scene through the camera’s eye-piece (looking for imperfections in the background) and recompose if necessary.

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GIMP® (or GNU Image Manipulation Program)®

Thank God for Open Source Software (OSS)! GIMP® can be freely downloaded and in my humble opinion, is certainly one of the best free image manipulation pieces of software.

Given the complexity of this resource, the learning curve can be quite steep and it does take a while to become fairly proficient with its functionality. However, once again, the Internet has come to rescue. Google® download “Grokking the GIMP®” for assistance and help on GIMP®

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Glaring dealt with the Lens Hood.

To avoid glaring caused by the sun (particularly at dawn and dusk when the sun is at fairly low angle,) the use of a lens hood does make a difference to image clarity and detail. It eliminates most of the excessive light (unless you may want this in your project to capture “the being there on site”). The hood also protects your retina from harmful irradiation. (HINT: The use of HDR post-processing can create dramatic sun baked images.)

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Going down… Huh? Unique angles.

Include the nearest foreground (from as low as possible), the ground and capturing a very distant object is similar to the Leading Lines composition technique. It causes the viewer to follow all the objects in the photograph: From the foreground to the distant background. You may also play with depth of field and focus lock to get different effects.

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1 Great Resources on the Internet.

Below is a list of really useful sites relating to photography and related freeware. It is no particular order of importance. I have also not described them in any detail. New e-Book in the making? Watch this space!

http://www.flauntr.com/ http://www.photoradar.com/ http://osp.wikidot.com/ http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/galleries/best-photography-websites/ http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/ http://www.start3d.com/en/ http://www.photofunia.com/ http://digital-photography-school.com/ http://photoshopnews.com/ http://photo.net/ http://www.pdnonline.com/ http://www.photoworkshop.com/ http://shutterbug.com/ http://www.photocompetitions.com/ http://blog.burrard-lucas.com/ http://www.photoclubalpha.com/ http://labs.ideeinc.com/multicolr/ http://hdr-club.deviantart.com/ http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/ http://www.webshots.com/ http://www.digicamhelp.com/ http://www.epassportphoto.com/ http://www.wix.com/photographer/ http://photographerstoolkit.com/ http://www.redbubble.com/

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http://www.osalt.com/ http://whdb.com/2008/the-top-50-proprietary-programs-that-drive-you-crazy-and-their-open-source-alternatives/ http://www.filehippo.com/ http://www.smashingapps.com/2009/11/26/15-most-popular-free-software-i-am-thankful-for.html http://www.lynda.com/ http://animoto.com/ http://www.photo-freeware.net/ http://www.thefreesite.com/ http://www.digicamhelp.com/processing-photos/basic-editing/free-software/ http://www.snapfiles.com/freeware/ http://www.hackosis.com/top-20-free-linux-multimedia-applications/ http://www.1001freefonts.com/ http://manual.gimp.org/ http://www.techzilo.com/gimp-plugins/ http://meetthegimp.org/ http://www.sxc.hu/ http://sixrevisions.com/graphics-design/gimp_video_tutorials/ http://www.blockposters.com/ http://www.pdf-search-engine.com/ http://www.lulu.com/uk/ www.myebook.com http://www.booksonboard.com/ http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/

““““A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin;

A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin;

what else does a man need to be happy?

what else does a man need to be happy?””””

---- Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

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42 Grey 15% Card explained.

The firmware (build in software and operating software of your camera) always attempts to calibrate itself between its absolute white point of reference and its absolute black point of reference.

In doing so, it calculates all the intermediate continuum of colour tonal ranges between these two points. When it fails to do this it, it resorts to averaging every colour its sensor registers to a tonal value of about 15% grey! (Or about 115, 115, 115 in Adobe®). Therefore, for shots with difficult tonal extremes (i.e. extreme white and extreme black composition), locking in the camera’s exposure with the use of a Grey Card (as shown) greatly assists in capturing the scene’s true tonal composition.

The camera’s exposure values are locked in with the use of its AE Lock button. Once “locked in” [on the Grey Card], the scene is recomposed and taken.

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Group Composition Basics.

There are no fixed rules with regard to the composition of groups. It is your interpretation of how you define your group. Generally, I start with the central [important] person/couple and then build the group around and to the side of this person/people. I also look for symmetry and the balancing of heights, colour, etc. The use of a wide angle lens is a nice to have for shots like this. But, once again, I may choose to do the group al fresco and let spontaneity determine the group’s structure. Watch out too for the lay of the land to prevent skew perspectives.

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HDR Photos explained.

This is the latest craze in photography. Cameras are even coming out with on-board HDR (High Dynamic Range) processing. HDR allows for the merging of differently exposed photographs into one composition. It mimics the real-life processing by the human eye/brain apparatus. I use Qtpfs® freeware to produce my images.

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Height of the Subject vs the Photographer.

When you looking down on the subject, the resultant image appears to be subservient. The converse is also true: when you looking up and shooting the subject, the final image portrays the subject as dominant and superior. There are creative effects that can be explored. For example, the use of a Fish-eye lens caricatures and disproportions the subject. I, however, prefer to shoot at eye-level (even when photographing children) as it’s a neutral and unthreatening portrayal.

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High Key Photography.

High Key images refer to photographs with a significant proportion (or distribution) of its pixels (points of light) in the high light (whites) tonal range. Almost to the point of flooding the entire image. To enhance its artistic appeal, I usually soften the image with a GIMP® filter, increase the contrast and add in some noise (if necessary.) This gives the final (often Black and White) image a more lithographic or infra-red disposition. Very nice.

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Histogram clearly exposed.

The Histogram is a plot of pixels per tonal value: from black on the left to white on the right. (A crazy memory tip from a black man: “White and the Far Right.”) The left (of the histogram) is often referred to as Low Lights and the right as High Lights. The middle of the histogram as the Midtones. The midtones closely approximate the 15% grey sought after in order to get the White Balance right.

Use your histogram to view whether your shot has been exposed properly or not. Attempt to get a flattened bell-shaped curve for most applications i.e. scenes that possess a good distribution of the full tonal range i.e. from perfect black to perfect white. Finally, an important tip: Always expose for Highlights because you do not want to lose this detail i.e. being washed out. And as far as low-key items are concerned, these can be brought out by post-processing.

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Indoor Shots with your [Creative] Flash.

For candid day to day photography, the use of your built-in flash is acceptable (even if you do not have access to a hotshoe flash.) I am not talking about special cases such as low light environments. They require particular treatment. I am talking about the use of a flash for normal ambient lit environments. In these situations, a flash can create a hardness of the subject, red-eye or even the complete “washing-out” of the detail. The treatment here is to lower your EV value, increase your shutter speed and, or reduce your aperture setting (thereby reducing the amount of light being taken in by your camera) or simply when faced with this flash created “washing out” situation, is to lowering the Flash Compensation setting such that the intensity generated by the flash is reduced. (Remember to reset it afterwards.)

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ISO Setting for great low-light photography.

This is a remnant of the past when photographic films were rated according to their chemical sensitivity to light. A high ISO rating (fast film in the days of old) is more sensitive to light and is hence ideally suited for low light situations. Conversely, a low ISO setting, although less sensitive to light, produces a richer, fuller quality image with more detail and less noise. Caution: High ISO settings characteristically have more noise – it’s an unfortunate trade off. Use your tripod to reduce the generation of noise.

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0 Kids should be Seen (at their Level).

These loveable creatures (and I am trying to be kind here) are human (sic)

and need to be portrayed and respected as such.

(I have two beautiful sons and I love them to bits!) Attempt to capture them in THEIR element.

Your height relative to the [little] subject is important. Too high and peering down, appears to be condescending, overpowering and illustrating that you are not really at their level. Too low (relative) to the child has the reverse effect.

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1 Know your Camera is Step One.

Inside the sanctuary of my camera bag is its Manual! It is always next to my camera (which is always at hand to capture the unexpected). Get to know your tool. Take time out to familiarize yourself with every aspect of it i.e. its look and feel, menu options, functions, dials, modes, key buttons, etc. Changing of metering modes, ISO settings, etc. must become second nature. In fact, you should be able to do so in the dark (if necessary, like a classic ‘hitman’.) The more au fait you are with tool(s), the more confidence you inspire in your subject and, or client. Apart from knowing the camera, you must also become familiar with its (and its accessories’) limitations. In addition, you need to become well-heeled with regard to some of the special techniques such as panning, spot metering, exposure and focus locking. And its limitations. All described in this e-book. (Hint: With regard to the “Camera Manual”… I would not nonchalantly stop an assignment to go and read up… It’s just not ‘Ayoba*’!)

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2 Landscaping and Aperture (Wide Depth of Field).

To achieve an expansive view of a great rolling landscape, you need to set your camera mode to Landscape or adjust the Aperture priority to a high F-number i.e. a wide aperture e.g. F/5.6 to F/11. It will capture the entire scope of the landscape, as well as, fore- and background clearly. Monitor your exposure, however.

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3 LCD Screen Setting – The bane of Proper Exposure.

The camera’s LCD screen is defaulted to display brightly coloured and well lit previews. (I used the term ‘well lit’ specifically and not ‘well exposed’ – you’ll understand in a minute.) Often, to your dismay, this well lit image is in direct contrast to the final JPG print displayed on your PC. The output tends to be dull and severely underexposed. One simple tip is to set your camera’s LCD Screen setting to its lowest or near-lowest arbitrary brightness setting. This makes the previews appear dull and underexposed thereby reminding you that your exposure needs to be correct in order to ensure good final JPGs at the end! It also forces one to rely on the learned techniques for taking great photographs and to revisit the Histogram from time to time.

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4 Leading Lines: Follow my eyes.

The human eye instinctively follows lines from one end to the next. Therefore ensure that your photographs are composed with this in mind. It makes for an interesting composition.

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6 Macro & Close-up Photography.

A prerequisite is a tripod and narrow depth of field or alternatively (he says reluctantly) use the camera’s Macro mode. Ideally, to minimize camera shake (very noticeable at high magnification), you should also employ the camera’s built in automatic shutter or remote shutter release function.

Secondly Macro photography is not a rush job! Take your time to focus manually so that the final image is crisp and detailed. (Hint: Place a natural monotone and appropriate backdrop behind your subject to further emphasize it and to simplify it by removing any clutter.

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For example, I often place a matt green cardboard behind a bright yellow or white flower and it places the focus squarely on the flower.) If necessary, shoot in RAW and use a Grey Card to get the White Balance correct. I also like illuminating my subjects with natural light. Once you’ve mastered all the technical stuff, I would spend my time on composition and appropriateness of the subject. This is by far the most complex to master.

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7 Merging differently Exposed photos.

Manually merging differently exposed images is fast become a relic of the past. With the advert of HDR software and now, even on-board camera HDR processing e.g. with the Sony Alpha 500 and 550 series, implies that this methodology is fast fading. However, there are still occasions where merging does become necessary. For example, you may want to only merge certain elements of a photograph and not the whole picture. For example, an area that is over exposed in the photograph such as a cloudy sky or back lit window. Techniques such as Selection, Cloning and Masking could be employed to deal with these faults. All resident in GIMP®.

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8 Motion and Busyness recorded for Impact.

Sometimes freezing a scene with a fast shutter speed or pop-up flash is not appropriate. Yes, everything in the scene will be captured, but the “character” will be lost. The movement, the busyness, the hustle and bustle is gone and this is what you are ultimately after. This ambiance can be captured with a slow shutter speed. What you will be left with is not camera shake but a deliberate attempt at capturing the ambiance and a feeling of being there.

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59 ND Filters and Washouts.

For scenes with a wide difference in tonal range e.g. shooting a close up beach scene, the sky may be completely wash out and not resemble reality. It may also lack details such as clouds, etc. Using a Neutral Density (ND) or Polariser Filter will assist greatly in this regard. Other alternate strategies may include merging multiple exposed photos or dabbling in HDR post-processing.

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0

0 Never leave home without it!

Not my maxed out credit card… but my camera! I have often kicked myself when I slip out only to discover a great sunrise, beautiful woman or news worthy event only to realize that I did not bring my DSLR along. The picture above is not a great shot, but mine was the only one capturing a car burning one morning in peak hour traffic. It was also the only picture that appeared in the local press later that day! Photographer’s Motto: “Never leave home without it.”

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1 Night Shots that are Sharp and Clear.

Night Shots can be taken with in all the modes if need be. But to achieve great results, the denominator is exposing your composition with a wide (or widest you’ve got) aperture, a show shutter speed and high ISO number setting. The cherry on the top is to engage your image stabilization function and to make use of a sturdy tripod.

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2 No movement please - Auto-timing and the Tripod.

To eliminate camera shake you may do the following: (1) Use a tripod,

(2) Switch on your camera’s Noise Reduction facility, (3) Use the camera’s auto-timing drive mode,

(4) Or Remote Release and finally,

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3 Nudes.

I would tell my models, “…if it doesn’t feel right, then it aint gonna work…” And if they comfortable and relaxed then their confidence is reflected in the image. The secret to nudity is to appeal to the senses. The image must reflect sensuality, femininity and provoke sexuality but must never be blatantly erotic. It must tease and flirt with the audience. To do this, always put your models at ease (especially if they new to this genre). Ensure that they have a private area to change. Use light and make-up appropriately. Creatively “cover-up” parts that do not work.

A large mirror behind the photographer may also assist your model to adjust her pose in order to get her best side showing. Use cropping, if necessary, to emphasis certain body parts e.g. the belly-button. And finally, work at their pace and for goodness sake, turn on the heater (if its winter).

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4 P Mode - The Start of taking Control of your DSLR.

P- or Program Mode is the first step up from the “Point-and-Shoot” genre. It is also the step up from your DSLR’s AUTO mode. The P-Mode is very forgiving and it allows you to accept the camera’s best guess in AUTO and then affords you the luxury of change one or all the parameters (whilst keeping other things equal aka ceterus parabus.) In a nutshell, the P-Mode is your DSLR’s AUTO mode with your user-defined changes e.g. ISO, flash-on/off, etc.

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5 Panning is a Skill that starts to Showcase your ability.

The secret to panning is to reduce the shutter speed and allow the camera to follow and track the subject’s movement. Speed of the subject and your distance from the subject is very important. Typically, I use shutter speeds of between 1/10 and 1/40th_{depending on the speed and distance of from the camera.}

Caution: A too slow shutter speed may lead to a photo that is over-exposed. Likewise, a too fast shutter speed may diminish the intended impact. So it’s really a ‘trial & error’ situation.

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6 Panoramas that impress.

Fundamental to a great panorama are the following: (a) A great [physical view] panorama,

(b) Consistent exposure across and in each of the sub-photographs making up the final panorama using the camera’s AE Lock function and,

(c) An overlap of at least 30% to ensure effective stitching.

Another hint is to shoot each sub-photograph in Portrait (i.e. turning the camera on its side). This makes cropping the final image a lot more efficient.

Finally, I must admit that I am addicted to Microsoft’s ICE® stitching program to do all my panorama stitching. It’s simple to use and the results are spectacular. However, a special mention must go to the pioneer of this technology Matthew Brown of the University of British Columbia who developed the world's first fully automatic 2D image stitching program, Autostitch®, a number of years ago. It still works like a charm! Thanks Matt.

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Our famous and beautiful mountain (a national heritage site), Table Mountain, Cape Town; contrasting what was once, District Six in the foreground.

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Toyota 2007 Rally above, and above that, Table Mountain and preceding that, Sea Point in Cape Town as well, (a little suburb adjacent to the V&A Waterfront) and my very first panorama, Marda Plata in Argentina.