I’ve just come back from my brother stag do in Budapest. In amongst the drinking and usual shenanigans of a stag do, I managed to slip away and get some of the more ‘cultural’ aspects of Budapest. I’m struggling to find the time to sort out all my photos from the trip but I’ve finished this shot as it took a long walk along the Danube to get it and it is a very impressive looking building.
I know that I keep going on about the rule of thirds like some fervent preacher but I just cannot stress how useful a tool it is to improve your photographs. I thought that I would just post a 'how to' provide yourself a handy nine square grid in photoshop.
First you'll need to go to the menu File -> Preferences. A dialog box should now appear. In the 'Gridline every' box about halfway down the dialog box you should enter a value of 33 percent. Click on Ok to accept the change.
Now, if you go to the menu View -> Show -> Grid a grid should appear over your photo helping you with your composition.
There is a nice tip over at Digital Photography School about not getting too over excited and overly using the delete button on your camera. I think that this is a valuable tip as I very rarely delete things when I'm out and about but when I get home the shots I weren't very happy with can be transformed with a quick crop or just a change in the levels. Likewise some of the shots that look amazing on my cameras LCD screen look plain awful when enlarged on my computer monitor!
One of the more tricky aspects of digital photography to get right (and, indeed, any photography) is time. Finding the time to shoot and then edit the photographs that you are happy with. Mixing this in with a career and life (girlfriend, friends, family etc) can be quite a demanding task. I have only just got around to editing some of the pictures I took two weekends ago at the London Marathon.
The first is a picture of the eventual winner. We were stood in Westminster, just outside Big Ben when these two came hurtling past us. With only 1 mile to go their pace was impressive in a way that you don't really get a sense of on TV. At the time they were at a World Record Breaking pace (finished up a couple of minutes off at 2:06 hours) and getting a picture was remarkably difficult in the short time frame available. If I could reshoot I would have used less of a zoom lens and allowed myself a bit more of a cropping choice but it is all part of the learning process.
The second image was simply a shot of some of the runners who weren't competing at top international level and the pain and anguish on their faces and bodies are clear to see! I also wanted to frame them against a London landmark, so the London Eye gets another mention.
The third and final image is from the end of the race where the runners have all left their clothes and other items and the place is covered in these big plastic Flora bags. Some are on the floor and some remain on the back of articulated lorries. The bags are guarded by the tracksuited individuals and I just managed to capture one in a contemplative moment.
Casio have announced their new 5 Megapixel point and click camera the Casio
Exilim Zoom EX-Z5 which starts shipping at the end of May. Weighing in at 118g with a body dimension
size of 95.2 x 60.6 x 19.8 mm, this is an easy to carry camera. The matt black finish also looks nice and
pretty. There aren’t too many reviews
around at the moment (Daily CE and Digital Camera Info have made an effort) but a lot of people are simply regurgitating the Casio press
release (as usual the best place to see all of the info is at DPreview). I'm guessing we'll see more in depth reviews once it starts shipping.
I currently use a Canon 300D for most of my
photography (I have an ancient Praktika film camera, a Rolleicord from the 60’s
and a couple of the new Lomo cameras too). I have upgraded the firmware to take advantage of some of the extra
features that can be unlocked in the camera. It must be realised that this can void your warranty with Canon, so it
is up to you to take the risk. There are
two different hacks, Wasia's and Undutchable’s which can be found at Digital SLR Tips and
Tricks (as well as other
information on modding your camera). Exactly what can be unlocked and
why is also explained on the site but there are other sites that also discuss the hack (Try here and here). The official instructions for upgrading your firmware can be found on the Canon site.
Use the lines
Shoot Vertically and
Horizontally
A big mistake that a lot of people seem to make is always shooting landscape (with the long edge of the photo forming the top and bottom of the picture. Don’t forget that the camera can be turned 90 degrees to shoot more vertical lines and give the feeling of height. It is easily done and if you are not sure how to frame a picture then experimenting with having the camera in both positions doubles the possibilities for you.
Ensure You Have a
Focal Point
When I first started taking photos (and sometime even now) I used to take wide expansive shots trying to take in as much of a scene as I could fit into the lens. However, this approach tends to leave the photograph feeling a bit dull and lifeless. There is no real focal point and everything can look a bit messy. You need to ask the question what is the photo about? What do I want to show the viewer? What is my subject? By focusing on a specific subject the photograph will suddenly be far more interesting. So what do you do if you have a fantastic place to photograph that won’t fit into one frame? Break it down into smaller shots, in short; take more photos!
Filling the Frame
Your photographs are a certain size; you can see what you
are taking through the viewfinder. The
last thing that you want is lots of empty space around a small subject that
will create boredom in the eyeballs. Make sure that the frame is bursting with stuff that is visually
pleasing that makes people want to look at the shot you have taken. That is the point after all! If this can’t be achieved when taking the
shot then think about how to crop the photograph in Photoshop that will provide
maximum impact. Don’t be afraid to cut
off parts of the subject if it makes the photo more dynamic or eye
catching. But you do need to be aware
that cropping people and objects in the wrong place can look odd (cropping out
peoples ankles for example). But
experiment with the photo and have fun just remember the Ctrl-Alt Z button in Photoshop to undo.
Change Your
Perspective
A lot of things have been photographed before. How you can you make a shot stand out? Come at it from a different angle, of
course. Get down on your knees. Sit on someone shoulders, whatever it takes,
regularly try and take shots from the low and high vantage points, try and come
up with a way to photograph a subject that you’ve never seen before. Take my picture of the London Eye. There are hundreds of shots of it as a wheel
or of the spokes at a jaunty angle but I haven’t seen many that show it from
the side like this (I’m opening myself up here; I’ll have to go and check on
flickr). Notice how the Eye itself gives you a vertical element focal point while the Saatchi Gallery in the town hall gives you the diagonal leading to the focal point.
Break the Rules
Almost as cheesy as the Rule of Thirds that is in every list (not included here due to its inclusion previously in another post) is the opportunity to break all of these rules. There will be occasions where simply ignoring the rules will result in a breathtaking photograph or something startlingly original. In which case don’t feel held back by self imposed rules, after all nobody will complain if your photograph drips genius but does not follow some of these guidelines.
Digital Photography Blog has a nice round up full of compositional tips
Mac Dev Centre has some tips on overall improvement of Digital Photos
Digital Camera has the more conventional ‘Top 10’ Compositional Tips
About have some compositional tips for painters but they are useful background knowledge for photographers too.
