Presented by www.samys.com this video is designed to teach about one of the most important aspects of a digital camera, the sensor size. Enjoy as photographer Robert Vasquez shows discusses the good and the bad (no Ugly) about full frame sensors. =o)
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A clever person learns from their mistakes. A wiser person learns from the mistakes others make. This article will identify the most common photography mistakes for you. It’s based on hundreds of hours teaching beginners through to professionals; do you still do any of these? I’m assuming you understand the essentials of photography; grab your copy of Photography: The Few Things You Need To Know if anything’s unclear.
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So many people do this. They’ve invested in an amazing camera, they’ve studied the essential techniques and then they’ve travelled to a great location; but as soon as they’re a little bit tired, hungry or bored – off they go. Even more common is not exploring the scene enough, perhaps assuming that the first photo will be the best. Experience says you’ll get better photos by taking the time to find all of the perspectives that the scene has to offer.
On my workshops, I’m always the last person out photographing before meeting up with the others in the bar. The best light isn’t necessarily before the sun goes down! When you consider that there are billions of photographs on Facebook alone, it’s wise to do a little bit more to ensure your photos stand out from the crowd. If taking a certain photograph is inconvenient and a little stressful, you can be sure a lot of photographers would give up. Keep going a little bit longer than them and you’ll be rewarded with better photographs.
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When you turn on a compact camera, the lens will be at its widest setting. A dSLR lens is generally at its widest when it’s contracted to fit in your bag. A wide-angle is therefore normally a default setting for most photographers. But for portraits, its distorting effect can be incredibly unflattering, especially if you’re very close. To avoid creating a caricature of your subject (and ensure they enjoy being photographed!) zoom in to the telephoto end of your lens. This will flatten the perspective, making for much more attractive portraits. If your compact camera has a digital zoom (a little line when you’re zooming in), turn it off as it only reduces image quality.
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This is one we’re probably all guilty of at times; I certainly am! At slow shutter speeds such as 1/8th and even 1/80th second, the camera will show any camera movement in the photos. Beginners don’t realise, and professionals often assume they’ll be okay and don’t want to raise the ISO. Unless it’s deliberate, camera shake can be distracting, and many competitions and magazines won’t use motion blurred pictures.
The main way to get sharp photos is to keep the camera still, and one of the best methods is to use a tripod. But you don’t want to carry one of these, nor maybe even invest the money necessary to get a decent one. That’s fine. Modern lenses often have technology to reduce camera shake and modern cameras are very good at high ISO sensitivities (so you can use faster shutter speeds). To avoid this common mistake, ensure you’re as still as possible for the split second when you take the picture. Don’t be afraid to use a higher ISO sensitivity if your shutter speed is too slow. And try and find some sort of support to help keep the camera still.
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To get it in, you point the camera up. This causes the vertical lines of the buildings to converge; to appear to slope inwards in the photo. This is made more obvious when you use a wide-angle lens; which will probably be necessary if the building is big and you’re right next to it. Ideally, you want the parallel lines in architecture to be parallel in your photographs. How can you achieve this? In theory, you need to be in line with the centre of the building. This is fully explained by the Pyramid Technique I teach on my courses.
This normally puts the ideal camera position way above our heads. And unless there’s a convenient window opposite our building at the right height for us to use, we’ll have to compromise. Minimise the angle at which you photograph the building by getting back as far as possible. To minimise distortion, use a longer telephoto lens from further away instead of a wide-angle lens up close. Often trees and lampposts will get in the way, so use common sense and get back as far as possible without including too many distractions in the final photograph.
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Last but definitely not least, the majority of photographs will never be award-winning because it’s either not obvious what the photographer is showing us, or because there are too many distractions from the main subject. This common tendency is due to the difference between how we see the world and how the camera captures it. Specifically, we generalise what we see, highlight what’s important to us and ignore what’s not. I covered this in my article on DPS, Benefit From How You See The World. There are several fixes you can try to help overcome this. The main one, and probably the most famous, is just to get closer. Often, people want to capture the whole scene so use the widest possible lens from far away. But this makes the subject seem small, and because the images are probably only going to be seen a few inches high on a screen, a lot of impact is lost. Likewise, photographing people and animals often prompts a fear of getting too close. Do it anyway; get closer. Also, experiment with ways to make your subject stand out using colour and lighting ratios. Check for distractions in your background. And make sure you know what you’re photographing!
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That’s it! These are the five most common mistakes that photographers make. Check to see which ones you’ve been doing without knowing it. Ask a friend if you want a second opinion. Hopefully my ‘hard and fast rules’ will prove useful. As always, take them as guidelines only; ultimately only you can know if you’re happy with the photograph or not. And in case you haven’t already done so, remember to get your copy of my book Photography: The Few Things You Need To Know, priced for less than an espresso HERE NOW to ensure you get the most value from these articles. If you’re already enjoying your copy, tell your friends where to get it – www.GreatBigBear.com!??Ben Evans is an English Photographer in Barcelona who works internationally. Ben teaches photography classes in Barcelona and keeps a photoblog of ‘fine art street’ photos of Barcelona at www.i-Barcelona.com.
Ben is the author of best-selling book, Photography: The Few Things You Need To Know, available now at www.GreatBigBear.com. He is working on two photography teaching projects, Better Than 90 Percent and Holistic Photography.
He shoots Nikon, Hasselblad, Apple (iPad 3) and those little throwaway waterproof film cameras with the plastic lenses.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Are You Making these 5 Common Mistakes with Your Photography
Thailand Trip – Phuket September 2011 DSLR 60D Canon Handheld Tokina 11-16 2.8 Sigma 30mm 1.4 Director : Fawaz Al-Kandari
I command the Austrians. My opponent, RankAndFile, commands the French. Map: Arid Cliffs
Check out Today’s best deals on gadgets HERE – amzn.to This is an unboxing and overview of the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G. Here are some more details on the lens – Key Features Fast f/1.8 prime NIKKOR lens Perfect for low-light conditions, travel, environmental portrait and general photography Aspherical lens element Minimizes coma and other types of lens aberrations, further improving image integrity Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM) Enables fast, accurate and quiet autofocus Rounded 7-blade diaphragm Renders more natural appearance of out-of-focus image elements Engineered for Nikon DX-format digital SLRs Optical formula optimized for use with Nikon DX-format digital SLRs, rendering a picture angle approximating the classic normal angle of view of a 50mm lens on a Nikon FX-format digital SLR or a 35mm film camera Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC) Enhances light transmission efficiency and offers superior color consistency and reduced flare Close focusing to one foot For creative perspectives and versatility
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This video shows you how to use manual focus in the video mode.
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[ By Steve in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]
From “jive turkeys” to WKRP’s notorious televised Thanksgiving airdrop, turkeys have historically gotten less respect than the late Rodney Dangerfield… or have they? These 12 tall & tasteful turkey statues pay well-deserved tribute to the succulent bird that gave sustenance to the Pilgrims.
(image via: Wikimedia)
Turkey for Thanksgiving dinner may be big in the USA but back in Merry Olde England the bodacious bird is more commonly consumed for Christmas dinner. Take a Sunday drive through rural British farmlands in December and you’ll come across countless giant turkeys advertising roasters for sale. Some look more lifelike than most, others like the “tired old turkey” above sacrifice authenticity for expediency. God bless us everyone!
(images via: Tekniklr, Buddy Scalera and Malls of America)
Either that’s a really small boy or a really big turkey, and only artist Christopher Parks knows for sure! The “Wild Turkey” statue/sculpture was presented to the people of Paramus, New Jersey on March 14th of 1974 in conjunction with the opening of the Paramus Park mall on that date. Originally located on the mall’s main floor, the artwork was eventually moved to the second floor where it resides today.
(image via: Buddy Scalera)
What’s the connection between Paramus and turkeys? We’re glad you asked: it seems that the colonial settlement was named “Parampsepsus” by the local Leni Lenape tribe, which means a fertile land where maize was grown and where wild turkeys were abundant. The more you know!
(images via: Russellmcneil and Cultured)
The renaissance artist Giambologna may sound Italian but his birth name was Jean Boulogne and he was born in Douai, Flanders in the year 1529. Moving to Florence, Italy in the mid-16th century, Giambolgna soon attracted the notice of the powerful Medici family and in 1567 crafted this astonishingly realistic turkey for the Duke’s gardens. Turkeys had only recently been introduced to Europe, having been brought back from the New World by some of the first explorers.
(images via: CBS Minnesota, City of Frazee and Miss Minnesota)
Before August 8th of 1986, Frazee, Minnesota was known for its abundance of turkey farms… that was before “Big Tom” came to town. Standing 16 feet tall and made from white-painted fiberglass, cardboard and insulation attached to a steel frame, Big Tom put Frazee on the map as the home of The World’s Largest Turkey.
(image via: City of Frazee)
Oh, the turkmanity! Frazee’s most famous attraction met the fate of most actual turkeys on July 1st, 1998 when a wayward welding spark set the gargantuan gobbler’s flammable stuffing ablaze. Much like “Touchdown Jesus”, the Texas State Fair’s “Big Tex” and other flame-felled monuments, the original Big Tom’s fiery passing did not cause any human injuries though it probably wounded Frazee’s civic pride a bit. Don’t cry for Frazee, however: the original Big Tom was due to be replaced by an updated, bronze-colored version standing 30 feet tall.
(images via: Mixed Greenz and Elizabeth Lofgren)
We’re not saying Minnesota’s got a Turkey War brewing but if one should break out, the battle between Frazee’s and Luverne’s giant turkey statues could rival Godzilla vs Megalon. Luverne is tucked into Minnesota’s most southwestern county and, naturally, is a buzzing hub of turkey farming activity. The oversized turkey bidding welcome to patrons of the Blue Mound Inn had better be nailed down good or we’re looking at (removes shades)… A Gobble-lypse Now. YEAHHH!!
(images via: Mommylogue)
Grey Towers National Historic Site, in Milford, PA is centered on the French-style Gifford Pinchot House built using local materials and labor in the mid-1880s. Pinchot was the first director of the United States Forest Service (USFS) and was twice elected governor of Pennsylvania. The proud and noble turkey statue above stands guard near the decorative moat on the house’s grounds.
(images via: Woodstock 11alive and WSBradio)
Sure there’s a ton of turkeys on Facebook but one was a real, live turkey! Bob the Turkey from Woodstock, Georgia, still shows nearly 2,000 Facebook likes though he’s sadly passed on to the avian afterlife. What’s up with Bob and how did he earn his very own statue? It seems that Bob, a wild turkey, set up stomping grounds in a disused green space along Woodstock’s Main Street back in the summer of 2011. Pecking at police cars and gobbling at the neighborhood humans, Bob quickly endeared himself to the local Woodstockians. “He’s out here in the middle of the street,” stated resident Mitch Evans, “wreaking havoc on Woodstock traffic.” You can guess what happens next, hmm?
(images via: Woodstock Art & Glass)
On Sunday, January 15th of 2012, Bob met his end at the hands (tires, actually) of an automobile driving down Main Street. He was obviously missed by Woodstocks’ citizens because six months later a metal statue of Bob was placed in a raised green space just outside Woodstock Art and Glass. Bruce Weinzetl of Acworth, GA made the 60-pound sculpture out of recyclable materials donated by Cherokee County residents. Probably confuses the heck out of the local pigeons.
(image via: Taking A Walk)
Bill Haley and His Comets introduced the world to rock & roll music with “Rock Around the Clock” back in 1955. That same year, the Virginia town of Rockingham erected two statuesque bronze & stone monuments to… no, not Bill Haley, to turkeys! Coincidental or not, the pair solemnly stand on the sides of Route 11 on the northern and southern borders of Rockingham County, Virginia’s turkey capitol. At least it was in ’55, when farmers presumably worked around the clock.
(images via: Jimmywayne, Roadside Examiner and Examiner)
When you’re the National Wild Turkey Federation’s home base, you celebrate the fact and Edgefield, South Carolina has gone whole hog… er, cold turkey? Undoubtedly the many elaborately painted fiberglass turkeys on display in Edgefield get a might chilly on clear winter nights but nobody’s complaining, least of all the turkeys.
(image via: Martin LaBar)
Edgefield may be small but its been home to ten of South Carolina’s governors including Strom Thurmond, who served from 1947 through 1951. These days, though, turkeys are the town’s real claim to fame and visitors get constant visual reminders of that fact as they mosey through the center of town. It’s enough to stimulate the appetite so stop in for a turkey & pepperjack panini – they serve turkey in Edgefield as well as celebrate them.
(images via: Kathryn Sanderson)
Pamplona has the running of the bulls, Licques has the running of the turkeys… or as they call it in the local parlance, “Fête de la Dinde”. Maybe it’s not as exciting or dangerous as the traditional Spanish event but hey, when turkeys are your business you work with what you’ve got. Licques’ turkey festival is no latecoming copycat, mind you, the town’s been celebrating all things turkey since the 17th century. Let them eat cake, sure, but in Licques the main course is turkey.
(images via: BildIndex, Wikimedia and Panoramio/Lady A)
Boys riding turkeys? What’s the world coming to? Better (or worse) yet, this odd practice has been immortalized a number of times in bronze and stone. One of these “turkeyboys” can be found on the grounds of the century-old Italienisches Dörfchen restaurant complex in Dresden, Germany. Georg Wrba’s whimsical sculpture has held up pretty well over the past century, all the more remarkable when one considers it’s spent those hundred years in Dresden.
(image via: OpenLibrary.org)
Albert H. Hodge (1875-1918) was a prolific Victorian-era sculptor whose work has stood the test of time in London, Cardiff and Glasgow. Hodge’s “Boy and Turkey” dates from 1907 and its companion piece – a boy riding a goat – seems utterly pedestrian by comparison.
(images via: Wikimedia and ZOOM.nl)
Turkeys aren’t exactly known for their ferocity but Theo Mulder’s 1965 sculpture “Vechtende Kalkoenen” (Fighting Turkeys) purports to state otherwise. The sculpture spent some years at the Kerkstraat in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel in the Netherlands before being moved in 1989 to its current location at the Rosarium in Oudwijk, Utrecht.
(image via: The Onion)
More so than almost any other animal, turkeys were domesticated to provide food for people. From gobbling to being gobbled – rather ignominious, no? Yet around the world we’ve raised monuments and built statues featuring this crispy (if deep fried) critter. Go figure… and while you’re doing that, pass the stuffing!
If there is one thing humanity did right, it’s create awe inspiring monuments: The Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Gundam robot statue… wait, what?
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This selection of 15 sky-high statues showcases the tallest figural sculptures in their respective countries, all constructed with a higher purpose in mind.
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[ By Steve in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]
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Find out more info here: www.myfinepix.co.uk
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Fifty/Fifty is a personal project by Belgian professional photographer Bert Stephani (www.bertstephani.com). For 50 days Bert will shoot whenever and whatever he can with a full frame camera (Canon 5D mkII) and a 50mm lens. The goal of this project is to become a better photographer by training his photographic eye, working with limited equipment and shooting subjects that Bert is not familiar with in his regular assignments.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Some cool visual art images:
Art Institute of Portland Portfolio Show
Image by Art Institute of Portland
The Art Institute of Portland’s January 2009 Portfolio Show – graduating students show their portfolios to the local business community, networking, interviewing, and meeting with potential employers in creative fields.
Find out more about The Art Institute of Portland: www.artinstitutes.edu/portland
Photo: Lulu Hoeller
Art Institute of Portland Portfolio Show
Image by Art Institute of Portland
The Art Institute of Portland’s January 2009 Portfolio Show – graduating students show their portfolios to the local business community, networking, interviewing, and meeting with potential employers in creative fields.
Find out more about The Art Institute of Portland: www.artinstitutes.edu/portland
Photo: Lulu Hoeller
Art Institute of Portland Portfolio Show
Image by Art Institute of Portland
The Art Institute of Portland’s January 2009 Portfolio Show – graduating students show their portfolios to the local business community, networking, interviewing, and meeting with potential employers in creative fields.
Find out more about The Art Institute of Portland: www.artinstitutes.edu/portland
Photo: Lulu Hoeller
Learn everything you need to know about White Balance on your Nikon D7000. More lessons coming. Subscribe today to make sure you don’t miss anything!
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Learn it all at a workshop: thatnikonguy.com Part 2 of a series to teach you everything you need to know to master strobist photography techniques. That Nikon Guy (Matt Granger) introduces the key concepts you need and runs through a simple demonstration using a simple umbrella flash, and then adds a second light as a background seperation light. Assumed knowledge: Manual exposure intro: www.youtube.com Example strobist images: www.youtube.com www.mattgranger.com https
