Monday, 31 July 2017

Beginners Guide to the Rule of Thirds

You may have heard of the Rule of Thirds before, it is usually one of the first things that is taught in Photography classes and it is used to help in the composition of your photographs.

What is the Rule of Thirds ?

Quite simply, you divide an image into 3 parts horizontally and vertically like so :

As you are taking your photo, imagine the viewfinder has those lines ( some cameras do have this feature built-in ). You can use where the lines intersect to place points of interest in the photo, such as someone’s head or a feature in the environment :

You can also use the lines themselves to align a feature in the image :

The theory behind using the Rule of Thirds is that it helps to make the picture more balanced – you dont have one object off in a corner and then lots of space around it for example. Studies have been done which show the a person’s eyes are naturally drawn to one of the intersection points when looking at images, rather than the center of it.

Rule of Thirds Examples

Let’s take a look at some good examples of photos which use the Rule of Thirds …

Two equestrian riders

Two equestrian riders by mikebaird

drops of spring

drops of spring by Steve took it

In the Shadow of a Flower

In the Shadow of a Flower by Hamed Saber

Rule of thirds

Rule of thirds by fd

Stele Pavilion

Stele Pavilion by ralphrepo

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source http://photographicblog.com/beginners-guide-to-the-rule-of-thirds/

Sunday, 30 July 2017

Beginners Guide to Shooting in RAW

Better Photographs

If you’re someone who wants to get sharper, more detailed photographs that contains more accurate colours, with a greater dynamic range (the ratio between the lightest and darkest areas of an image), then you should consider shooting in raw.

What is RAW?

A raw file can be explained as being similar to the old film camera’s processed negative; it contains the complete lossless data from the cameras sensor, and is sometimes referred to as the ‘unprocessed’ image that your camera produces before it’s been modified with imaging software, although the digital image does go through a certain amount of processing before it is saved to a raw file.

Exif Data

Raw files also contains the ‘exif’ data; which has information such as, camera model, shutter speed, aperture and, date and time when the photograph was taken; which is all very handy information, particularly when you want to know the details of why a photograph worked so well when another one didn’t; you just check your exif data, the details are all there!

What Kind of Imaging Software?

When you shoot in RAW you’re using your computers processing power to convert your images, so,you will need some kind of imaging software to convert your RAW files; you could use the software that came with your camera, or you could  try the reasonably priced Photoshop Elements for converting and processing and editing your raw files (and other formats such as jpeg and tiff) or the more comprehensive (and more expensive) Photoshop CS5.

Editing your RAW files

You will find it quite satisfying when you first start processing and editing your raw files, and with time and practice, you’ll find that you can do a better job than your camera’s own processer; you’ll be going back to your old photos which you converted from raw files, as I did, and be able to improve upon them because of the new skills you’ve learned, after all, as I mentioned earlier, a raw file is simply the equivalent of a film cameras negative. You can also get creative with the colour settings, contrast, white balance and sharpening and a host of other settings.

Downside

Of course, there is a downside to shooting in raw; the files are much bigger (around 20mb),there is no standard raw format; every camera manufacturer has their own format, raw takes longer for the camera to write, which decreases the FPS (frames per second) and most software has to be updated to support the latest cameras.

Rewarding

If you prefer photographing in the jpeg format without the hassle of post processing and editing then raw is not for you, but if you want to see more detailed images, and have the versatility and creative control of post editing then photographing in raw can be very rewarding; particularly when you see the end result.

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source http://photographicblog.com/beginners-guide-to-shooting-in-raw/

Saturday, 29 July 2017

Beginners Guide to Depth of Field

Depth of field

Depth of field (DOF) can be a little baffling if you’re new to photography, but it’s easy once you understand the basic principles. Wikipedia defines depth of field as ”the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that are perceptibly sharp in an image” so, lets keep it simple.

Three factors

There are three factors that will determine depth of field:

  • The aperture of the lens.
  • The focal length of your lens.
  • Distance from your subject.

F/stops

F/stops are used to measure the aperture of a lens; the bigger the number (eg F/18, F/22 )  the smaller the aperture, which then increases the depth of field ( more of the image in focus),so, if you want to take a picture of lets say, a landscape, where you want everything near and far in focus, use a  high F/stop setting, along with a shorter focal length lens.

 

Image by macrophile

Smaller Aperture

The only downside to this is that a smaller aperture means that less light is entering the cameras sensor, therefore a slower shutter speed is needed, particularly if the light is poor, and this could cause blurry images from camera shake.If the shutter speed falls below 1/60th second (which is about the slowest speed a person can handhold a camera without camera shake) then you’ll certainly need a tripod to keep your images sharp.

 

 

Image by Schlusselbein2007

© A Webber

Bigger Aperture

If you want to get a shot where your subject is isolated; where everything before and after your subject is out of focus, then a wider aperture is needed, ( and a longer focal length lens). The image above of Teasel plants, was taken with a Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L usm at F/4. I was shooting fully zoomed in at 200mm, so any tiny movement of the camera would be exaggerated, in order to keep the subject sharp and the background nicely out of focus, I used a tripod.

This image was taken with a Canon EF-S 17-85 F/4.5-5.6 is usm lens at F/18, the shorter focal length and the small aperture keeps everything in focus. © Anthony Webber

Short Focal Length

Another factor that will determine DOF  is the focal length of the lens. A wide angle lens, for example, has a greater depth of field (more in focus); and is considered to be ‘wide angle’ when the focal length is less than 35mm, this, combined with a high F/stop (small aperture) will keep everything, near and far, in sharp focus.

Long Focal Length

A  telephoto lens, has less DOF, moreso as the focal length gets longer. So,to isolate your subject with a nice blurry foreground and background; use a telephoto lens combined with a low F/stop (small aperture). When I use the term  ‘telephoto’ lens, then I’m referring to a lens that has a longer focal length than 70mm.

Image by Madmack66

Bokeh

When you have a photograph where the background and fore ground appears blurry and out of focus; the blurry and out of focus area is called the ‘bokeh’. You may have heard photographers use the term of a particular lens as having ‘nice creamy bokeh’; it can be flattering in portrait shots where it lets the subject stand out, perhaps from a cluttered background such as a crowd of people.

Zoom Lens

Of course, you can shoot from wide angle to telephoto with different depths of field all on one lens: a zoom lens; with todays zoom’s offering a wide range of focal lengths and apertures you can get quite creative (which is why zoom lenses are so popular).

The depth of field increases as the aperture widens from F/2.8 (left) F/11 (centre) F/22 (right), all taken at 70mm on a 70-200 zoom lens

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source http://photographicblog.com/beginners-guide-to-depth-of-field/

Friday, 28 July 2017

25 Amazing & Colourfull Photos of Parrots

Parrots are beautifull birds and they seem made for Photography with their many colors and distinctive looks. Thanks to the following Photographers who allowed us to share their Photos under a Creative Commons License. Hopefully the following photos will inspire you to take a trip out in search of a Parrot …

PS. I’m aware that technically, not every one of these is a Parrot!

Graduation portrait

Graduation portrait by alumroot

Someone asked for Pink…lol

Someone asked for Pink…lol by law_keven

Colorful friends

Colorful friends by Tambako the Jaguar

Arara-de-barriga-amarela

Arara-de-barriga-amarela by Rodrigo_Soldon

Sticky Beak

Sticky Beak by Aussiegall

Cool But Not Cool

Cool But Not Cool by shashchatter

African Parrot

African Parrot by digitalART2

He was Sad..

He was Sad.. by mohammadali

Wait for your turn

Wait for your turn by Swamibu

A Pair of Ecuadorian Amazon Red-Lored Parrots

A Pair of Ecuadorian Amazon Red-Lored Parrots by Steve – 800,000 Views Thanks

This Parrot Is Not Dead!

This Parrot Is Not Dead! by peasap

Senegal Parrot

Senegal Parrot by digitalART2

Don’t Try This At Home

Don’t Try This At Home by shashchatter

Parrot

Parrot by Etrusia UK

A White Parrot

A White Parrot by Swamibu

Wild Parrot

Wild Parriot by artolog

Zack and Yellow

Zack and Yellow by Aftab

Loro Barranqueros – Burrowing Parrots

Loro Barranqueros – Burrowing Parrots by Schepers

Into The Light

Into The Light by digitalART2

Rainbow Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeet by iansand

Four Friendly Parrots

Four Friendly Parrots by olivcris

Macaw

Macaw by country_boy_shane

At a parrot’s glance.

At a parrot’s glance. by pattoise

Sitting Pretty

Sitting Pretty by …-Wink-…

King Parrot

King Parrot by Tatters:)

Add Yours to the Comments

We love seeing what our readers have shot – do you have any photos of Parrots ? Share them in the comments below …

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source http://photographicblog.com/photos-of-parrots/

Thursday, 27 July 2017

20 Absolutely Inspiring Photographs of Sunsets

The other day we gave you some tips on taking photos of sunsets, today let’s get some inspiration by looking at what other people have been shooting. I present to you 20 inspiring photos of sunsets …

Almost May

Almost May by Paul Dex

Better Luck THIS Time!

Better Luck THIS Time! by Kyle Kruchok

Sunset over Amsterdam

Sunset over Amsterdam by Werner Kunz

Deixando o pago – uns dias : )

Deixando o pago – uns dias : ) by Eduardo Amorim

Tempo de refletir

Tempo de refletir by Eduardo Amorim

Sukhothai Historical Park

Sukhothai Historical Park by MikeBehnken

Batalla de luz – Es Vedrá – Ibiza 2009 Eivissa

Batalla de luz – Es Vedrá – Ibiza 2009 Eivissa by Joseeivissa

Playa de los Locos, Suances (Cantabria), HDR

Playa de los Locos, Suances (Cantabria), HDR by marcp_dmoz

July 7 2009 Extravaganza

July 7 2009 Extravaganza by Pilottage

Glass Palace

Glass Palace by ecstaticist

Where’d the sun go?

Where’d the sun go? by Matthew Stewart

Saguaros on Fire

Saguaros on Fire by Saguaro Pictures

Cielos y campos de la pampa Argentina

Cielos y campos de la pampa Argentina by Claudio.Ar

Sunset without you

Sunset without you by Claudio.Ar

Like a painting….

Like a painting…. by esther**

Pigeon Point / Sky Whale…

Pigeon Point / Sky Whale… by (nz)dave

Lanzada | Galicia – España

Lanzada | Galicia – España by Paulo Brandão

Fields of Gold

Fields of Gold by Werner Kunz

Parliament House Canberra

Parliament House Canberra by Sam Ilić

Burning Sky

Burning Sky by Per Ola Wiberg
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source http://photographicblog.com/photos-of-sunsets/