tips for better shots

[Janie]

Add yours to the list!

Here's mine:

Rearrange the scene - if you're shooting nature and a flower or leaf is distracting, I use panty hose to anchor it down and away from my shot! lol This way it won't harm nature and I still get my shot.

Crop the composition - really look into your view finder to imagine the picture and space - if there is too much dead space, zoom in or move closer to fill the frame

Don't forget to set your white balance - especially in midday light! In midday you can get a much more detailed sight if you set the white balance to a cloudy setting - you'll trick your camera into thinking it's cloudy and will set it to a warmer exposure! ;-) (Someone on the other board shot a gorgeous red sky that lost the warmth, if they had done this, it would have been truer color exposure)

Invest in a great polarizer filter so you'll have better saturation and unwanted glare, as well as more dramatic shots

EXPERIMENT WITH VIEW POINTS! I look like a nut when i'm shooting, even when i'm shooting people! I get into the craziest positions - yoga helps with flexibility! lol

LOOK AT YOUR BACKGROUND! You are not only shooting a subject, but you have a background too - your background can destroy a great subject!

Oh - and don't forget to carry extra batteries and memory cards if you shoot digital! I learned this a few days ago when I went to shoot a house with a gorgeous sky behind and my camera died! OUCH!

[mjm]

don't forget to carry extra batteries

ALWAYS do this. I have had mine die several times.... ugh..

I like to experiment with _long_ exposures and bracketing my flash down.

Use a flash diffuser, I always have one of my diffusers on my 550. Direct flash creates _very_ harsh shadows and nasty highlights...

[schrackman]

Oh - and don't forget to carry extra batteries and memory cards if you shoot digital! I learned this a few days ago when I went to shoot a house with a gorgeous sky behind and my camera died! OUCH!

I solved this problem and bought this inverter at WalMart for $20. I actually got the idea from Kokopeli on our trip to Yosemite (but why I didn't think of it sooner is beyond me!). It plugs into the cig lighter in my car and charges my camera battery in less than 40 minutes, so I never have to worry about it running too low to use. And, best of all, I don't have to spend money on another battery until it is absolutely necessary.

You also mentioned about white balance. I've shared this not too long ago but I'll share it again...I white balance my camera to a white coffee filter (I use a #4), which tends to be more accurate than relying on preset white balances. Some cameras do not have the option of customizing their white balance, but for those who do this is a VERY cheap way to get the near correct color temperature of the light that you are shooting in. The image below was shot in my bathroom using a coffee filter under incandescent light and required only slight adjustments in PS (like 5 seconds worth). Now, if I can just do something about those shadows....

This post is a great idea, Janie!

Ray

[Sebastian]

Keep the light to the side, behind you. NEVER in front of you or directly behind you. Not always of course, but in general...

[mjm]

I white balance my camera to a white coffee filter (I use a #4), which tends to be more accurate than relying on preset white balances.

How exactly do you do this? Do you hold the filter directly over the lense? Do you hold it 4" away? 2" away? Also, what is a #4?

I have no problem setting my white balance, I am very interested in this technique.

Thanks.

[schrackman]

Keep the light to the side, behind you. NEVER in front of you or directly behind you. Not always of course, but in general...

Thanks Seb, but that's a bit difficult to do when the lighting fixtures in the bathroom are fixed in one place, lol! I have tungsten bulbs and 10" reflectors (a poor man's setup for sure) but I didn't feel like going through the trouble on a quick pix like this.

Ray

[schrackman]

How exactly do you do this? Do you hold the filter directly over the lense? Do you hold it 4" away? 2" away? Also, what is a #4?

I have no problem setting my white balance, I am very interested in this technique.

Thanks.

With my lens, I set it to macro mode and place the filter about 4-6 inches away from the lens but so that it still fills the frame, and also allowing the light source to fall upon the filter, of course. I then focus and take my shot and then set it as the custom white balance.

A #4 filter is just a certain size filter made for certain types of coffee makers. It has a cone shape to it as opposed to the bowl shaped filters. Melitta is the brand I use but I suppose any decent filter will work. Try it sometime.

Ray

[opus]

is there an advantage to cone shaped filters over bowl shaped filters?

[schrackman]

is there an advantage to cone shaped filters over bowl shaped filters?

Definitely, if you're planning to use a coffee maker that accepts cone-shaped filters only. LOL

Okay, that was dumb.

Seriously, I haven't a clue. However, I would assume that since the cone-shaped filter is tighter weaved than the bowl-shaped filter, it absorbs the light better as opposed to allowing it to escape through the filter. Honestly, I don't know enough about light to really make an educated guess.

Ray

[opus]

hee hee hee, then I'm guessing the cone-shaped filter shouldn't have already had a go-round through the coffeemaker before you do the reading.....

LOL


There, that was dumb too. Do you feel better?