October 30th, 2009

How to take clear pictures at night

Posted by Rachel King @ 5:31 am

Categories: Digital Photography, Tips

Tags: SLR, ISO, Photograph, Camera, Nonstop English, Weatherscapes, Rachel King

With Halloween just a day away, you might be thinking about shooting photos at parades or your kids trick-or-treating. But most of those activities are at night, which could hinder photographers. But there are a few steps that can help you take clear, crisp photos at night, despite the spooky darkness.

1. Timing: The night sky is often a few shades lighter just after the sunsets, slightly allowing you a longer shutter speed and also giving you more texture for your photo. Nonstop English recommends that you also consider timing as for when the sun sets, the moon rises, etc. if you want to include these objects in your background.

2. Equipment: Tripods are essential. If you can’t afford one or don’t want to carry one, scout out your location in advance and see if you can find a steady object, like a picnic table, a brick fence, etc. to steady your camera on. We’re all prone to camera shake, so it would also be wise to bring a remote control or shutter-release cable for your SLR (definitely recommended more over point-and-shoots for nighttime shots), to avoid shaking the camera when its shooting at lower shutter speed.

Read the rest of this entry »

October 19th, 2009

How-To Photograph, Shop and Edit Tips Round-Up

Posted by Rachel King @ 6:00 am

Categories: Digital Photography, Tips

Tags: Tip, Photograph, Rachel King

There’s been a number of how-to posts published here in the last few months on different photography techniques and tips, so here’s a quick round-up in case you’ve missed one or would like to review some.

Photography Techniques

• Understanding Macro mode on a point-and-shoot camera
• How to recover deleted photos from your SD card
• Five tips to better beach pictures
• Tips for photographing fireworks
• How to take better vacation photos
• Five tips for better photos with point-and-shoot cameras
• How to take better sporting event photos
• How to make a tripod for free
• Understanding the importance of photo composition
• Six tips for flash photography
• Six tips to photographing beautiful sunsets
• How to shoot pictures with overcast skies

Read the rest of this entry »

October 14th, 2009

Answering your digital camera and camcorder questions

Posted by Rachel King @ 6:14 am

Categories: Announcements, Tips

Tags: Camcorder, Digital Camera, Camera, Question, Rachel King

Quite often, we receive a number of questions, either via email or TalkBack, about very specific camera and camcorder-related topics. But sometimes the answers to those questions could serve a larger audience. Thus, if you have a question and don’t mind having it published, I’d welcome you to post digital camera and camcorder-related questions in the TalkBack section of this post, or via email to me.

For example:

Dear Rachel;

Could you recommend a point-and-shoot camera that is good for sports photography and under $400?

Sincerely,
Camera Shy

Note: I cannot guarantee that I will answer every question, depending on their relevance to the site and depending on the amount of requests that I receive during a given time period.

October 1st, 2009

How to take better sporting event photos

Posted by Rachel King @ 6:00 am

Categories: Tips

Tags: Event, Photograph, Camera, Rachel King

Sporting events can be some of the most difficult events to photograph, but there are some techniques and tricks to getting it done. Here are six tips to taking better sports pictures.

1. Fast shutter speed: At many sporting events, it is difficult to capture the actions of the players without blurring them. To combat their speed, set your shutter speed as high as possible in relation to the allowable aperture based on the light. Otherwise, your subject will be blurry, you could be susceptible to camera shake, or both.

2. Dealing with shutter lag: If you anticipate photographing a lot of sporting events, invest in a faster camera that has doesn’t have a reputation for shutter lag. If your camera tends to be slow, switch from auto focus to manual focus to speed up the shutter process a bit. Also practice counting how long it takes your shutter to snap a photo under the lighting conditions you’ll be working in.

Read the rest of this entry »

September 30th, 2009

How to make a tripod for free

Posted by Janice Chen @ 6:05 am

Categories: Camera accessories, Tips

Tags: Camera, Stand, Janice Chen

If you can’t bear to cough up a buck or two for even the cheapest little tripod to stabilize your table-top images (or are just too lazy to carry one around), this awesome tip is for you:  With a few strategic bends, you can fashion a stable stand for a compact camera from a lowly paper clip.  Originally “designed” as an iPhone stand, the reincarnated paper clip works great for both horizontal and vertical shots (though the vertical orientation may take a little bit of balancing, depending on the heft of your camera).  I actually tried this trick at home and it works a treat. It’s perfect for those super slim ultracompacts that won’t really stand up on their own.

Check out the inventor’s video:

[Dean and Ying via Photojojo]

September 29th, 2009

Understanding the importance of photo composition

Posted by Rachel King @ 5:59 am

Categories: Tips

Tags: Photograph, Rachel King

Anyone can press a button and snap a photo, but it takes thought when composing a stunning photo. While some people say it takes a real “eye” to capture a beautiful image, really anyone can get there with some practice and some patience. 

1. Understand composition: Before you even take the photo, understand that photography is a work of art. Even portraiture doesn’t have to be centered. Consider the background, other objects in the foreground, anything else around before hitting the shutter button. Your picture has the ability to tell a story, to capture a moment in time. Don’t forget the power that one photo can have.

2. Follow the lines: In Renaissance art, one of the biggest innovations was perspective. Subtle lines in the painting draws the viewer into the subject naturally. Well, the same rule can hold true for photographs today. Pay attention to the lines around you, like roads, paths, sunlight, either straight or diagonal. They create a natural focal point and it is often easier to compose photos This works well especially for landscape photography. Read the rest of this entry »

September 24th, 2009

Six tips for flash photography

Posted by Rachel King @ 6:02 am

Categories: Tips

Tags: Photograph, Flash, Rachel King

While I’m a very resistant towards using flash in my photos, there are just certain times where it is absolutely necessary. But mastering flash photography isn’t the easiest task. Here are six tips to get you started.

1. Avoid glass: Don’t put your subjects in front of glass like windows and mirrors. The reflection will show the flash and create ugly and unnecessary noise in your photo. Small objects like figurines should be alright, but no guarantees. Subtle and soft colors often work best in the background.

2. External flashes: Almost every quality point-and-shoot model and DSLR come with a built-in flash. (Camera phones are not included in this statement.)  If you have a DSLR and are serious about involving flash in your photos, you might want to spring for an external flash. While I think its benefits are debatable versus the price (being that quality flashes are around $200-400 and that I’m a bit anti-flash), there are some to be sure. Often times it makes skin look more natural, it doesn’t cause red-eye as often as a built-in flash and you have the power to direct your flash up/down, left/right, etc.

3. Notice Flash “Fall-Off”: Flash only brightens up so much space in your photo, depending on how much light is already in the room and the distance you are from your subjects. If you plan on taking a lot of photos with flash, it would be best to find your flash “fall-off” points early. These are the spots where your flash is weakest. You can test your camera’s flash by pointing it a white-painted wall (or as close to white as possible) and notice how far the flash radiates from the center of the frame. Read the rest of this entry »

September 22nd, 2009

Six tips to photographing beautiful sunsets

Posted by Rachel King @ 5:59 am

Categories: Tips

Tags: Sun, Sunset, Photograph, Sunsets, Rachel King

Sunsets are probably my favorite non-human subjects to photograph. Each one is different, yet beautiful in its own way. The sky is rich with colors and can change the entire landscape around it. But, if you’re not careful, sunset and twilight photos can turn out dark, hiding details in the foreground or background, or both. Here are six tips to achieving stunning sunset photos.

1. Mind the sun: Don’t focus directly on the sun. This will fool your light meter and put your photo in danger of being overexpose. Instead, shoot a little above or below to adjust for shadows and light in other parts of the picture. You can also choose to avoid shooting the sun altogether, instead focusing in on foreground images while taking advantage of the sunset-colored sky.

2. Light Metering: If you under-expose your photo a little (maybe two stops at the most), it will highlight the colors of the sunset. A little lightening of the darker spots of the photo in Photoshop is not cheating. You can also choose to stick with a silhouette look for your foreground subjects. While its not a great rule to live by, under-exposure is better than over-exposure because at least in editing mode, you can lighten up a dark spot and find some hidden details, but you can’t make something out of nothing in a bright spot. Read the rest of this entry »

September 18th, 2009

How to shoot pictures with overcast skies

Posted by Rachel King @ 6:00 am

Categories: Tips

Tags: Sky, Photograph, Iso standards, Process Improvement, Quality, Business Operations, Rachel King

Quick tip: Cutting off the sky can allow you to focus on the colors and details of the foreground.

Overcast skies can be tricky for photographers, but sometimes they can be a blessing. Depending on the time of day, a clear sky can hurt your pictures by washing out the colors. In my experience, at least a few clouds are always good because they add both texture and color to your picture. But if there are a few too many clouds in your way, here’s a few tricks to producing a beautiful image in spite of them.

1. Boost ISO: Olympus America (and other photo sites) recommend that on partly cloudy days, try to stick with an ISO 200. But on extra cloudy days, bump it up to ISO 400.

2. Use a filter: If you have digital SLR camera and willing to spend a little for better pictures, consider purchasing a neutral density filter. A filter can give the photographer more flexibility when it comes to deciding aperture and exposure. Basically, this filter can reduce the contrast between the sky and your subjects on the ground, without harming the colors of either.  Read the rest of this entry »

August 7th, 2009

How to shop for your first digital camcorder

Posted by Rachel King @ 6:05 am

Categories: Digital Camcorders, Tips

Tags: Camcorder, Video, Camera, Corporate Communications, Marketing, Rachel King

Recently I wrote up some tips for buying your first digital SLR camera. Many of the tips can be applied to buying your first digital camcorder, but with a few more additions:

1. Consider a Mini-HD: If you’ve never owned a digital camcorder before, it might be best to learn how to shoot video on something cheap and simple. They’re typically smaller and more durable, thus easier to carry around and practice on. You’ll save yourself a few hundred dollars, and if you break something, you won’t be distraught over it forever.
2. Pay Attention to Lighting: A camcorder isn’t like a camera in which it can easily compensate for low-light with a big flash. Best to test it out in-store in a dark spot and see how well the model compensates for lack of light.

Three more tips after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »