Category: Tips for Better Photography Images From Your Camera

Selecting a Tripod

Tripod

I do prefer a tripod in many situations. Some examples of where I find a tripod useful and in some cases essential are as follows:

When using a long telephoto lens.
With Macro photography a tripod can greatly increase your success rate.
Where you want to carefully frame an image, a tripod is very useful, especially for landscape images.
Long time exposures require a tripod. Sometimes I may use a 10-stop Neutral Density (ND) filter for water scenes, resulting in exposures several minutes long.
Night photography. Even though cameras now can use extremely hig ISO settings a tripod can be very handy for night images and is essential for star images at night.

Digital Landscape Photography – Ten Tips

Landscape photography is something many photographers aspire to. There are many opportunities for this type of photography of your surrounding area, no matter where you are. Landscape Photography Definition Landscape photography is generally aimed to show different spaces and objects within the world where you are. They can be distant or close up micro objects.… Continue reading Digital Landscape Photography – Ten Tips

Tips for Sharper Bird Photography Images Using the Nikon 300mm f/4.0

This image of the Rainbow Bee Eaters has been captured on one of my many trip around the country. Images like this are very difficult to capture with great detail. There are several tips which can be applied to help you get sharper bird images when using long lenses. In general I find it easier… Continue reading Tips for Sharper Bird Photography Images Using the Nikon 300mm f/4.0

Bird Photography Tips

Photography of birds is one of the most difficult subjects to capture, here we will give you some tips which assist in improving your bird captures. The above image of a Satin Bowerbird has been photographed at the Lamington National Park, Queensland.. Frequent places where birds regularly visit, such as honey eaters at certain flowers… Continue reading Bird Photography Tips

Water Movement Photography

Natural Bridge Falls

The movement of water can help to create interesting images. In order to capture images such as these it is essential to use a tripod, as shutter speeds close to 1 second or greater will be required. Generally a shutter speed of 1/8 of a second will start to blur the moving water, but with a tripod any shutter speeds up to 1/2 minute can be tried.

Using a Tripod

Tripod

A tripod will make a significant improvement to the sharpness of many images. Generally a tripod will comprise two main parts, the main part comprising the three legs and the upper part comprising the head to allow movement of the camera. A tripod is very usefull in obtaining sharp landscape images and also very usefull… Continue reading Using a Tripod

Using a Monopod

Monopod

Many images will be improved if a monopod is used to stabilise the camera and lens. A monopod will not stabilise a camera to the same extent as a tripod, however it will aid significantly in obtaining sharper images. The monopod illustrated below can be used by itself or it can be used in conjunction… Continue reading Using a Monopod

Tips For Still Life Photography

Rag Doll

With still life photography we have many options, generally with a choice of lighting, electronic flash or artificial lighting, if we take into account the color temperature of the lighting. We can use slow shutter speeds with a tripod to give more flexibility.
In order to get an effective diffused light on the subject with little or no shadows a light tent can prove to be excellent. A light tent effectively diffuses all the direct light to produce very even lighting on the subject. A light tent with two or three fluorescent lights placed strategically around the light tent can produce very effective results for photographing ornaments or for product photography. With a light tent set up, shadows can virtually be eliminated.

Patterns in Composition

Opera House, Sydney

An important photographic tool is composition, which is used to present a worthwhile subject in the most effective way. Many types of patterns can be legitimate targets for pattern images. The following image is an example of a subject which can be illustrated by strong patterns and also with strong diagonal lines across the image.

Diagonal Lines

Coolangatta

Diagonal lines in images are essentially straight lines that run from one corner of the image to the opposite corner. Diagonal lines are often useful if objects are included on the diagonal lines it can give the image a sensation of sliding and moving. The diagonal line can be a most dynamic type of composition.

The Golden Section

Clarence River Illuka

It is an old tradition of composition that the Golden Section or the Golden Mean is a particularly pleasing ratio which has been used extensively since the Middle Ages by both architects and painters. In mathematical terms the Golden Section is defined such that, a line of a given length is divided into two unequal… Continue reading The Golden Section

Long Exposures

Tripod

Long ExposuresLong exposure photography is generally refered to when the photographer uses shutter speeds greater than can be hand held and still get sharp images. There are several options to turn to when this occurs.
Image Stabilization or Vibration Reduction which is built into some lenses, will assist in allowing the use of longer exposure times, in some circumstances this can be by the equivalent of three to four stops. This means that a shutter speed which would normally 1/100 of a second hand held could be extended to possibly 1/10 or 1/5 of a second, using one of these lenses. Image stabilization lenses compensate for the movement of the camera and lens by moving an element inside the lens to stabilize for any movement of the image at the sensor plane. Image stabilization or vibration reduction can be very usefull in longer lenses from 100mm and upwards.

Focussing and Depth of Field

Accurate focusing is one of the two main steps in obtaining an excellent image, the other main step is setting the camera to the correct exposure. If the scene captured by the camera contains close objects near the camera and far objects at a distance from the camera it may be difficult to get all of the image in focus due to depth of field limitations. The depth of field is a zone of focus in front of the subject and behind the subject which is acceptably sharp. This zone is controlled by the aperture setting of the lens.

Remote Releases

Would you like to capture a full frame image of a dangerous creature or a shy animal or bird. It is quite easy if you use a remote camera release. Today there are many types of remote releases available for cameras, there are cable releases, infra red or radio controlled releases. There are also many types on remote triggering devices to automatically trigger your camera as an animal or bird approaches.

Bad Weather Images

Illuka Beach

Many people believe that bad weather is the time to stay at home and wish for better weather. No, bad weather is the time to get out and take pictures.
Many bad weather conditions can actually enhance your images.
When it is very cloudy, the flat lighting is excellent for photographing people or animals. The flat lighting is very flattering to the subject as the contrast is low.
Foggy and misty conditions can add a moody feeling to your images. Moody foggy lighting can be excellent for landscapes.

Noise Reduction in Images

In some digital images the noise can become quite objectionable where images are taken in relatively low light levels and high shutter speeds are required, particularly when using telephoto lenses. Generally digital cameras allow for ISO settings between ISO100 and ISO3200 even in some cases up to ISO 6400 and higher. When used at high… Continue reading Noise Reduction in Images