Sunday, 30 April 2017

The Beginners Guide to using Light correctly in your Photography

Photography is all about light. Like our eyes, without light the camera’s sensor won’t be able to capture any details. In its purest sense, light is the most important thing in photography. Knowing the various types of light that can be used in creating images is beneficial in improving your skills as a photographer.

Ambient Light

The most common light source is ambient light. Whenever you take a picture without using any kind of flash you’re using the ambient light or available light. The sun is the most powerful ambient light available. More often than not, a lot of new photographers don’t utilize this light source enough.

A common mistake by a lot of aspiring photographers is shooting with the sun directly above. This will result in harsh photographs, too-bright highlights and dark shadows. The ideal time to shoot is during the golden hour, the first and last hour of sunlight during the day, which produces a more pleasing photograph. The angle of the sun during these times creates a more diffused light resulting in a nice balance of highlights and shadows. Landscape photographers like to shoot during the golden hour to produce images with a nice warm hue that is pleasing to the eyes.

ambient by iTux

However, this doesn’t mean that you should always shoot during the golden hour. You can manipulate the light at noon to produce pleasing pictures too. One of the easier ways to go about this is to shoot your subject in the shade. Instead of directly using the harsh sunlight, you use the reflected light from the ground and wall. The diffused light coming from these can do wonders for your subject.

Of course, the sun is not the only ambient light. Your indoor lighting is ambient too. Shooting indoors can be hard if you don’t have a fast lens. f/4 might be open enough outside but inside it’s very different story. Lens stabilization would also help you a lot but keep in mind that this will not stop movement. Even if you can shoot at 1/5 of a second, the subject can still be blurry if it’s moving. You can always use your flash as fill but keep in mind the white balance of the scene.

arches by paul bica

Artificial Light

Natural light is a very good source of lighting but there will be instances wherein you must use an external light source to achieve the output you want. Not enough ambient lighting and subject-background separation are just some of the various reasons you might want to use an external light source for your images.

There is a wide variety of artificial lighting available to all photographers.  The most common is your camera’s built-in flash. Almost all cameras have built in flash except for high-end ones, Canon’s 1D  and Nikon’s D3 series to name a few. The built-in flash can get you some good images but there is a reason why the pro-series cameras don’t have it; it doesn’t pack a punch compared to a dedicated external flash. Some downsides of using the built-in flash are lens shadow, red-eye, harsh shadows and weak light output.  You can still use your built-in flash but please use it with care and moderation.

lily of the vallet lights up… by dexxus

Now that we have taken care of that, let’s talk about the good stuff, external flashes and strobes. Proprietary flash heads made by camera manufacturers are a bit on the high side with regards to pricing. Canon’s 600EX, its flagship external flash, can go for at least $450. The same goes for the other major camera manufacturers. You can literally add just a hundred more and buy an entry-level DSLR.

So why is it expensive? Versatility. The amount of things you can do with an external light source is worth the price alone. It has a lot more power and range compared to your built-in flash. Faster recycling time means more images captured at in a small span of time. Another worthy feature is its off-camera-flash or wireless capability. By using this feature, you can achieve studio like portraits just by your external flash alone.

Giampalo by Astragony

Another well used external light source is the studio light. This has much more power compared to the external camera flash. As a result, it is bulkier and requires an electric outlet to work. This type of lighting is more suited for studio work but you can get a battery pack to use it outdoors. The price range of this can go as low as $200 up to $2000.

Whether you’re using ambient light or an expensive studio light, your images are still highly dependent on your creativity. Remember, no amount of expensive gear can make your photographs into instant award winning pieces.  In the end, knowing how to use the light is the best knowledge you can have.

The post The Beginners Guide to using Light correctly in your Photography appeared first on Photographic Blog.



source http://photographicblog.com/the-beginners-guide-to-using-light-correctly-in-your-photography/

Saturday, 29 April 2017

50 Amazing Examples of Autumn Photography You Should See

The start of Autumn is just days away for us here in the UK – I’ve allready started noticing the season changing and leaves have just started to fall. It’s always sad to see the summer end as we prepare for winter but it can provide you with some great photo opportunities. Take a look at this guide to Autumn photography we published this time last year for some help capturing some great photos this year. Now lets take a look at some inspiring examples shot by talented photographers on Flickr.

[Autunno] in Passeggiata, again

[Autunno] in Passeggiata, again by Un ragazzo chiamato Bi

Steven & Cyndi | The Long And Winding Road

Steven & Cyndi | The Long And Winding Road by Sean Molin Photography

Shelby | Autumn Love

Shelby | Autumn Love by Sean Molin Photography

twohundredandthirtyeight handmade dewdrops

twohundredandthirtyeight handmade dewdrops by doubleyou_em

band of horses:is there a ghost

band of horses:is there a ghost by visualpanic

Fountain

Fountain by ecstaticist

Day 71/365 : The Blue, the Yellow and the Autumn

Day 71/365 : The Blue, the Yellow and the Autumn by ~jjjohn~

Day 79/365 : The Wild Photographer

Day 79/365 : The Wild Photographer by ~jjjohn~

Otoño en Montevideo

Otoño en Montevideo by Eduardo Amorim

Pretty Girl in Autumn

Pretty Girl in Autumn by Jonathan Kos-Read

Colorfall

Colorfall by ecstaticist

Someone needs to go back to camouflage school…:O)))

Someone needs to go back to camouflage school…:O))) by law_keven

The Perfect Place to Take a Book

The Perfect Place to Take a Book by Brian Hathcock

Ruins

Ruins by Nicholas_T

Goodbye….

Goodbye…. by Micky**

Golden Bridge

Golden Bridge by Ian Muttoo

placebo:where is my mind

placebo:where is my mind by visualpanic

A single fallen leaf on Earth

A single fallen leaf on Earth by aurelio.asiain

Freestyle Converse

Freestyle Converse by ul_Marga

Eric with leaves in the air

Eric with leaves in the air by Mr. Physics

Arboles 3

Arboles 3 by gatogrunge

Colorful Garden

Colorful Garden by Hamed Saber

walking hand in hand

walking hand in hand by gari.baldi

Fall Sampler

Fall Sampler by Micky**

Color Among the Forest Floor

Color Among the Forest Floor by Brian Hathcock

A twankly mess, Somewhere deep in the Sierras, Ca

A twankly mess, Somewhere deep in the Sierras, Ca by ™ Pacheco

I Love October

I Love October by Pink Sherbet Photography

Untitled

Untitled by horizontal.integration

Leaf

Leaf by Jeff Kubina

Autumn

Autumn by Cín

on fire

on fire by jox.

Free Pink and Red Leaves October Peace Creative Commons

Free Pink and Red Leaves October Peace Creative Commons by Pink Sherbet Photography

Autumn ladybird

Autumn ladybird by nutmeg66

Around Every Bend

Around Every Bend by OneEighteen

Passionate tree on a cloudy day

Passionate tree on a cloudy day by aurelio.asiain

Autumn is on its way !*

Autumn is on its way !* by AmUnivers

Alex Summoning up the Strength to Burst Forth

Alex Summoning up the Strength to Burst Forth by Andrew Morrell Photography

Maple Leaf Structure

Maple Leaf Structure by jurvetson

A Cool Day and A Cool Lady. 2,000 visits to this photo. Thank you.

A Cool Day and A Cool Lady. 2,000 visits to this photo. Thank you. by Glenn Waters ぐれんin Japan.

Autumn Color

Autumn Color by Edgar Barany

path

path by shoothead

Stages

Stages by Clearly Ambiguous

Missed Harvest

Missed Harvest by Raymond Larose

Stevie-Marie

Stevie-Marie by Shandi-lee

Solitude On The Bluff

Solitude On The Bluff by Ian Sane

fields of gold, rivers of fire.

fields of gold, rivers of fire. by Sushicam

Aster d’automne…!!!

Aster d’automne…!!! by Denis Collette…!!!

Autumn in New York

Autumn in New York by blmiers2

Autumn in Denali – Alaska Landscape

Autumn in Denali – Alaska Landscape by blmiers2

Under A Blood Red Sky

Under A Blood Red Sky by Ian Sane

The post 50 Amazing Examples of Autumn Photography You Should See appeared first on Photographic Blog.



source http://photographicblog.com/examples-of-autumn-photography/