Filters are glass or plastic objects which are placed in front of the camera lens in order to change the effect of the light which strikes the film. Light which is the same color as the filter passes through to the film, while the complementary color of the filter is blocked. Not all filters can be used with color film. Two of the most useful are listed below.

One of the most useful filters for color film is the polarizer. It is the only filter which can be used to darken the sky in color photographs without changing the color. It also saturates colors and helps eliminate reflections. Notice the darkened sky in the photo at the right. Polarizers can also be used to reduce reflections from glass and water and some metallic objects.

Another useful filter for color film is the ultraviolet (“UV”) or “haze” filter. It reduces the effect of atmospheric haze but does not affect the color. This filter is also useful in flash photography because electronic flash sometimes produces an overall blue cast in the picture. This is due to ultraviolet light which is emitted by the flash. You should always use a UV filter when taking pictures via electronic flash.

One tip for good people pictures – Don’t say “cheese!” Such pictures look like you’re gritting your teeth. If you must say something, say “bunny.” Really, a simple smile is best.

Different focal-length lenses can give quite different effects in people pictures.

The normal focal length (50mm) is best for full-length photos. 100mm is perfect for head-and-shoulders portraits. Longer focal lengths flatten the perspective too much to give a pleasing effect. 35mm or 28mm lenses are good for group pictures, but be sure to hold the lens level to avoid distortion. Wide-angle and fisheye lenses can distort features and give some really weird results. If this is the effect you desire, that’s great. Otherwise, be careful in your use of wider than normal focal lengths.

The best lighting for good modeling is to arrange the main light so that it falls on the subject at about a 45-degree angle from above and slightly to one side. In portraiture, the side of the face opposite the main light should be illuminated with a fill light of about 1/3 the intensity of the main light. In bright sunlight shadows should be filled in with flash. With some SLR cameras this can be a problem because the x-sync shutter speed may be too slow for a proper exposure (see the article on flash). If fill-flash is not practical, try using a reflector to fill the shadow areas. People don’t look good in pictures when their faces are partially-obscured by shadows.

Nature photos include scenery such as mountains, lakes, rivers, trees, as well as flowers and animal life.

We will be adding content to this page soon. Check back to keep up to date with our progress.

“Red-eye.” This is probably the most common problem with flash photography. It is caused by the close proximity of the flashgun to the lens. The best solution is to get the flashgun off the camera so the light path from the flashgun to the eyes and back to the lens is not a straight line. However, many cameras have the flashgun permanently attached to the camera so it cannot be moved. The solution to this situation is to reduce the size of the subject’s pupils, which can be accomplished by asking the subject to stare at a bright light just before taking the picture. Some cameras have a “red-eye reduction” feature which fires a “pre-flash” before the picture is taken. This does not always eliminate the problem, but it helps. As a last resort, your photo supplier has a “red-eye pencil” which can be used to manually color over the red eye effect.

Underexposed (dark) or overexposed (washed out) flash photos. Each flashgun gives proper exposure only within a certain range of distances. Get too far away and your subject will be dark (underexposed). Get too close and your subject will be washed out (overexposed). Experiment and keep notes to determine the best distances for your equipment.

Multiple subjects unequally exposed. You may have taken flash pictures which have more than one subject, such as a group of people. Some of the subjects may be overexposed while others are underexposed. The way to avoid this effect is to make sure that all subjects are positioned at the same distance from the flashgun. If your flashgun has bounce capabilities, you may bounce the flash off the ceiling or a reflector. This will diffuse the light and spread it out more evenly than direct flash. You will have to compensate for the fact that the reflective substance will absorb some of the light. Also, if the ceiling or reflector is some color other than white, the flash may reflect that color in your picture. Experiment and make notes to determine the best flash to subject distance.

Unwanted reflections. Watch the background for glass such as a window or a mirror which might reflect the flash back into the lens. Shoot the picture at an angle to the glass so the light will not be reflected straight back to the camera.

Overall blue cast. Most color films are balanced for the color of daytime sunlight. Electronic flash is bluer than daylight and will sometimes show an overall blue cast in your photos. The way to avoid this is to use an ultraviolet (UV) filter, which will absorb the ultraviolet light and eliminate the blue cast.

Unnecessary use of flash. You see it all the time at sports arenas. Flashes are going off all over the stadium. Many photographers seem to be unaware that their flashguns are only effective up to about twelve feet. This doesn’t really hurt anything, but it doesn’t help anything either. It just wastes battery power. The stadium lights are generally bright enough to get an acceptable picture.

Failure to use fill-in flash. Many people are unaware that they can greatly improve outdoor pictures of people by using fill-in flash. In fact, the brighter the sunlight, the more you need your flashgun. This is because the sun tends to cast shadows across the faces of your subjects. The film is not able to handle the contrast created by this brightness range. Flash can fill in these shadows and create a more pleasing effect.

Shutter speed – flash sync failure. The flashgun must fire when the shutter is completely open. For cameras with between the lens shutters this is not a problem because they synchronize properly at all shutter speeds. However, the situation is different for single-lens-reflex (SLR) cameras. The shutter of an SLR is a curtain located just in front of the film plane. This is called a focal plane shutter. The shutter speed is not determined by changing the speed at which the curtain moves across the film plane, but by varying the width of a slit in the curtain. The flash from an electronic flashgun is very brief, lasting only about 1/1000 or 1/2000 second. Focal plane shutters are not completely open at all shutter speeds, which means that flash will not synchronize at all shutter speeds. The shutter must be set to a speed at which the slit in the curtain is completely open. This is usually 1/60 second or slower, although some cameras will synchronize at shutter speeds of up to 1/125 or 1/250 second. See your camera’s manual to determine the proper flash synchronization speed (called “X sync”) for your camera. If you use a faster than indicated shutter speed, you will only get part of a picture because the shutter curtain is only partially open when your flashgun fires. It is okay to use a slower shutter speed than the recommended X-sync speed because the shutter is completely open at X-sync speed and all speeds slower and will synchronize properly.

NOTE: If you want to use fill-in flash outdoors with an SLR you may have to use a neutral density filter or a very slow-speed film in order to be able to use an acceptably slow shutter speed.

NOTE: Some cameras use a “dedicated” flashgun which will set the proper X-sync speed automatically. Also, these flashguns give the proper exposure by reading the light which strikes the film plane. There are some newer flashguns dedicated to certain cameras which give a rapid series of flashes (so fast your eye sees them as a single flash) which continuously flash during the entire time the shutter curtain travels across the film plane. These (expensive!) flashguns overcome the synchronization problems of focal plane shutters. They will synchronize properly at all shutter speeds – even 1/2000 second.

ONE LAST NOTE about flash synchronization. Any camera will synchronize properly with any flashgun at a shutter speed of 1/30 second or slower. Use this shutter speed when in doubt.

This report is not intended to be a complete treatise on the use of flash. These are the most common problems. Practice the procedures listed here and notice the improvement in your flash pictures.

]]> http://goodpictures.com/2010/06/15/flash-photography/feed/ 0 http://goodpictures.com/2010/06/15/various-types-of-cameras/ http://goodpictures.com/2010/06/15/various-types-of-cameras/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:21:39 +0000 Larry http://goodpictures.com/?p=207 Continue reading →]]> There are many different kinds of cameras. We will restrict our discussion to still photography, not motion pictures or videos. Still cameras are available to fit various sizes of film. For our purposes we will deal exclusively with 35mm cameras, which are the most popular still-film format.

35mm cameras are manufactured in a variety of styles:

• one-time use – sometimes called “disposable”
• point and shoot
• fixed focus and autofocus
• fixed focal length lenses and zoom lenses
• single-lens reflex (SLR) with interchangeable lenses.

There are others. but these are the most widely used. Both good pictures and bad pictures can be made using any of these styles.

Cameras which are fixed-focus and do not have adjustable shutter speeds and adjustable apertures are very limited as to the picture situations in which they can be used. Also, those cameras which have “auto-exposure” will only give the correct exposure when used within the sphere of their limitations. They will quite often “automatically” give the wrong exposure! The main point is to recognize the limitations of your camera. Do not exceed these limitations if you want to make acceptable photographs. Remember the old saying, “When in doubt, read the instructions.” This advice certainly applies to using your camera.

35mm Single-Lens Reflex

The most versatile camera is the 35mm SLR. With the SLR you are viewing the scene through the actual picture-taking lens rather than through a separate viewfinder. Also, these cameras allow you to use interchangeable lenses. You can use a normal focal-length lens, a wide-angle, a telephoto, a macro, or any of the special-use lenses available for these cameras. Most of these cameras offer through-the-lens (TTL) exposure meters. The exposure is determined by the amount of light actually striking the film plane. If you place filters or accessories in front of the lens, exposure compensation is automatically achieved without your having to do any calculations. Shutter-speed synchronization with electronic flash is the only real drawback when using an SLR . This is discussed under the article about flash. The fully-adjustable SLR which accepts interchangeable lenses is the camera which is recommended by this writer

Films may be either positive or negative. Positive films produce transparencies, usually called “slides.” Negative films are printed on paper which has been coated with light-sensitive emulsion. Films may be either color or black and white. On this web site, we will restrict our discussion to 35mm color negative film, because that currently is the most popular format. The resulting photograph from this type of film is generally a color print. However, color negative film is very versatile. It can also be used to make color slides (there is a print film available for this purpose) or black and white prints (this is accomplished by printing onto a photo paper which is panchromatic – that is, sensitive to all colors of light).

Films have varying degrees of sensitivity to light, which is indicated by an “ISO” number. The old “ASA” numbers have been replaced by ISO. However, the values of ASA and ISO are identical and can be used interchangeably. Films with a low ISO number are said to be “slow” because more light is required for a proper exposure than is required for films with a higher ISO rating. See the article about exposure for more information about this.

35mm film is marketed in rolls which can be purchased with varying numbers of exposures per roll – the most common being 12, 24, or 36 exposures. Some special purpose rolls may contain different numbers of exposures, and 35mm film can also be purchased in long rolls such as 25 feet. These long rolls are sometimes used with motor drives to cover events where many pictures must be taken, such as sporting events.

There are many film manufacturers. Most produce fairly good quality films, but there are also some that are very poor. I prefer to use Kodak or Fuji films. This is not to say that there are not other good quality films – it’s just that I’ve had more experience with these two companies.

Find a film that produces good results for you. Feel free to experiment and be sure to keep records so you can duplicate your results. One of the great attributes of a good photographer is the ability to produce consistent results.

Do not hesitate to take a lot of pictures. Film is the cheapest thing you  have! Take lots of pictures and edit your results to select the very best. Don’t be afraid to use the wastebasket. Show only your best pictures to others!

There are three factors involved in exposure:

• The sensitivity of the film.
• The amount of light which strikes the film.
• The length of time to which the film is exposed to light.

Proper exposure requires that the correct volume of light strikes the film for the right amount of time, as required according to the designated sensitivity of the film.

Film sensitivity is indicated by its “speed.” Film speed is determined by the International Standards Organization and is listed on the film package as an “ISO” rating – 100, 200, 400, 800, etc. Films with a lower number are called “slow” films while higher numbered films are considered to be “fast” films.

There is a definite mathematical relationship in film speed ratings: ISO 200 film is exactly twice as sensitive as ISO 100. Therefore, 100 speed film requires twice as much light for proper exposure as 200 speed; 200 requires twice as much light as 400; 400 requires twice as much light as 800, etc.

Slow films are generally finer-grained than fast films and are excellent for brightly-lighted subjects, such as sunlit scenes. (“grain” refers to clumps of the light-gathering sensitive material used in film emulsions). These fine-grained films are a good choice for large enlargements because the grain pattern does not show up in the finished photographs.

Fast films have larger clumps of grain and therefore are more sensitive to light than slow films. Fast films are a good choice for low-light situations or action photos where a fast shutter speed is required. However, when enlarged the grain pattern may appear on the finished picture.

The amount of light which strikes the film is determined by the diameter of the opening in the lens. This is called the “aperture.” A large aperture lets in a large quantity of light and a small aperture lets in small amounts.

The size of the aperture is indicated on the lens as the “f/stop.” The f/stop is the relationship between the diameter of the lens opening and the focal length of the lens. This relationship is usually engraved on the lens as a reciprocal. If the diameter of the lens is one-half the focal length of the lens, the f/stop would be indicated as “f/2.” There is a definite mathematical relationship between the f/stops indicated on a lens. This is based on a logarithmic scale. Some standard lens apertures are f/2, f/2.8. f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, and so forth through the logarithmic scale. A higher number indicates a smaller aperture and a smaller number indicates a larger aperture – f/2 lets in twice as much light as f/2.8; f/2.8 lets in twice as much as f/4; f/4 twice as much as f.5.6; f/5.6 twice as much as f/8; f/8 twice as much as f/11, etc.

Another function of the lens aperture is control of the area of acceptable sharpness, commonly referred to as “depth-of-field.” Smaller apertures (but larger numbers on the lens – remember, it’s a reciprocal) increase depth-of-field, while larger apertures (but smaller numbers on the lens) decrease the area of acceptable sharpness. Not all cameras allow the photographer to adjust the size of the aperture, in which case you must accept a fixed depth of field, usually from about 4 feet to infinity. With a fixed aperture you also cannot control the amount of light entering the camera – it is pre-set.

The length of time to which the film is exposed to light is controlled by the shutter-speed. The shutter is the device which opens and closes to allow light to enter the camera or to prevent light from entering. Shutter speeds are indicated in fractions of a second and are indicated on the camera as reciprocals. A shutter speed marked as “500″ on the shutter speed indicator means 1/500 of a second. There is a two-to-one mathematical relationship between shutter speeds. The most common speeds are 1/30, 1/60/ 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, and 1/2000. Each of these allows light to strike the film for one-half the time of the previous speed, respectively. Some lower-priced cameras have only one shutter speed which cannot be adjusted.

How correct exposure is determined.

The light meter in your camera is designed with the assumption that an “average” scene reflects 18% of the light falling on it. Your light meter reads the total amount of reflected light, then computes the exposure based on 18% reflectance. When your light meter is programmed with the correct ISO speed rating for the film you are using, the 18% reflectance rule will give the correct exposure for an “average” scene, such as a front-lighted scenic. This will give a good exposure most of the time, but definitely not all of the time.

Many of the subjects of your photos, especially people, may not be “average” scenes. We will discuss each of these “exceptions” in separate articles.

]]> http://goodpictures.com/2010/06/15/how-to-get-correct-exposure/feed/ 0 http://goodpictures.com/2010/06/15/photographic-composition/ http://goodpictures.com/2010/06/15/photographic-composition/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:12:01 +0000 Larry http://goodpictures.com/?p=197 Continue reading →]]> [ This page won the Los Angeles Times Launch Point Award ]

“Composition” refers to the way you arrange or “compose” the objects which will appear in your finished photograph.

Most camera users are not really photographers – they are “snapshooters” who just “point and shoot” without really giving much thought to achieving a pre-determined outcome in their photographs.

When taking pictures of people, most photographers do not get close enough to the subject. Alfred Eisenstadt, late dean of Life Magazine photographers, summed it up like this – “If your pictures are no good, you weren’t close enough.” Pretty simple, isn’t it? The easiest way to improve your pictures is simply to move closer to the subject (or have the subject move closer to you).

One professional photographer gave a simple way to make sure you get close enough. He said to do it this way -

• Compose the picture exactly the way you want it.
• Now, before you take the picture, cut the distance between you and the subject in half.
• Now compose the picture again just the way you want it.
• Now, before you take the picture, cut the distance between you and the subject in half again!
• Now you can take the picture!

Some things to look for in order to improve your composition are:

patterns — repetition — similarities — opposites — color patterns –
contrasts (both in light patterns and subject matter)

Watch the background – most people completely ignore it. The background can either enhance your subject or detract from it – especially in people pictures. The lamp post growing out of a person’s head is almost a photographic legend. Throw the background out of focus by using a large lens opening. If you’re using a fixed-focus camera, then you will have to move the subject or the background objects (if possible) to eliminate the distraction. Pick up trash which might appear in the picture. Arrange your photo so it emphasizes the intended subject – not extraneous objects.

The “law of the thirds” -

Regarding composition, most people will place the primary subject in the absolute center of the picture. This is a sure way to produce absolutely boring photographs! See below concerning using the “law of the thirds” in your composition.

As mentioned above, placing the subject in the exact center of the photo creates a static and boring composition. The Old Masters of painting used a simple rule called the “law of the thirds” which can be applied to photography as well as to painting. The rule simply states that the subject is placed off-center about one-third of the way into the framing of the photograph.

Place your subject at one of the areas indicated by “subject” in the above diagram.  An example of the “law of thirds” is shown in the photograph below.

Example of the “law of thirds”

Another rule regarding “thirds” is that you should never split a picture exactly in half, either vertically or horizontally. Many photographers violate this rule when taking scenic pictures which include the horizon.

Regarding “rules” – remember this – “Rules are made to be broken” (well, usually not, but sometimes this is acceptable). If you feel that your picture looks better with the subject exactly centered – then by all means break the rules!

Have a definite purpose in mind – get close – watch that background – utilize the “rule of the thirds” – and notice the improvement in your photographs.

This page on “Composition” is a winner of the Los Angeles Times Launch Point Award

This is subjective and opinions vary as to what constitutes “good” pictures. If you like your pictures, then they are “good” in your opinion. You may not care how others feel about your pictures if you are satisfied with them. If you like your pictures, then they’re “good enough” as far as you’re concerned.

Have a definite purpose in mind

Actually, you do not really want photographs at all – you probably want memories – or perhaps documentation of an event – or maybe a photographic inventory or some other such record. You want photographs which have a purpose.

Do you have a purpose in mind each time you snap the shutter? Are your photos dull, or are they interesting? A definite purpose can make the difference.

Develop a creative “photo-eye”

Try to “see” things in a new way. Try to see things the way your camera sees them. Use your imagination and picture in your mind how the scene would look if it were framed as a small rectangle rather than a life-size scene. Keep in mind that a photograph depicts scenes in two dimensions, while we view them in three dimensions. Try to determine how you are going to make a two-dimensional photo appear to be three-dimensional to your viewers. This can be done through the arrangement of the elements in the scene and the creative use of depth-of-field (which areas are in or out of focus).

What did you see?

You saw something which made you want to take a picture. What was it? Whatever you saw, you wanted to record the scene as you saw it. When you show your pictures to others, you want them to see what you saw. Some people are disappointed when they view their pictures because they failed to record what originally motivated them to take the pictures in the first place. Use creative thinking to record the scene as you saw it.

Remember this – the camera can not think. It is simply an instrument which faithfully obeys your commands. It records whatever you place in front of it. Make sure the camera sees what you want it to see.

Here’s a question with a very simple answer –

The question – What is the difference between a good photographer and a poor photographer?

The simple answer- a poor photographer shows you all of his pictures! One of the handiest photo accessories is a wastebasket. Film is the cheapest thing you have, so take lots of photos to guarantee that you get some good ones.