Don't Prove..Improve!

Recently my husband subscribed a monthly magazine named "Outdoor Photographer".A magazine I would recommend other photographers to read.It has more useful info on equipments,photography techniques and educative interviews.


In the magazine of June 2011 I came across the topic "Don't Prove..Improve" which had a interesting thought which I wanna share with you.


"I've watched countless photographers waste countless hours trying to prove themselves to others rather than spending those same hours improving their technique and sharpening their eye.You can get better a lot faster by focussing on improving rather than proving.You learn far more by sharing than by hoarding.When we shoot from our own unique vision there's no reason to "prove" ourselves.To whom?We're the only person on the planet who can do what we do,see as we see.Fastest way to learn is to trust and share rather than compete"


This was an interview given by Dewitt Jones.

How to shoot fall colours?

Fall colors are always a treat to the eyes unless we do not think of the trees without leaves in the winter ahead.
         Fall colors are best to be captured either in dawn or in dusk. When you try to take pictures of fall colors in hot sun you may have a tough time to avoid shadows.
Don't search for yellow,orange or red alone lookout for green also in-between which will make the picture speak on its own that the color has changed from green.


OK..what if you couldn't find a free time rather than a hot sunny time?
Here are few tips for you!!!
1. Make use of spot metering in your camera for focusing individual fall leaves.
2. You can make the colors look interesting by taking back lit or side-lit pictures.
3. Try to utilize on the colors which are in the shady area. For instance,the leaves in the shadow of a house or shady areas in a park.

Fall colors taken in Radford,VA on a hot sunny day but I was lucky that one side of the mountain was shady

This was clicked in Blue Ridge Parkway. Used the deep inside the frame rule in this click .

Digital Zoom and Optical Zoom

We all would have noticed settings like optical zoom and digital zoom in our cameras.But what is that?


DIGITAL ZOOM:
Digital zoom is not a zoom as such it enlarges a portion of the image.In other words camera crops portion of the image and enlarges it back and so the image quality reduces.

I used digital zoom(maximum) for the first time and shot this Grizzly bear  in Wyoming and it had the worst clarity.

*It is not necessary to have digital zoom in a camera as we can crop and enlarge the pictures using photo editing softwares too


OPTICAL ZOOM:
Optical zoom is that the lens of the camera goes closer to the subject and the image quality is more.

I captured these leaves in my apartment complex in evening sunlight using optical zoom.

*Gonna buy a new camera?Check whether it has optical zoom and not digital zoom.

What is ISO?

When we go slightly technical its better to understand some basic settings like ISO.Don't panic I will try to put them in simple words.ISO basically refers to sensitivity to light.You can find the ISO settings in all SLR cameras and prosumer cameras too.

By default when you set your camera to Auto or the Intelligent mode the ISO settings are by default more.

LOW  ISO:

1.When you set your camera to low ISO like 100 or 200 then you will get a sharp image with a blurred background.

2.Low ISO has less noise when compared to high ISO.

3.Low ISO has long shutter speed as it is less sensitive to light.

HIGH ISO:

1.When you set your image to higher ISO equal importance is given to the whole picture and there would be no blur.

2.Its always wise to set the highest ISO of 400 as increasing the ISO more than 400 may lead to noisy images.

3.Instead of using a high ISO its always better to use shutter speeds efficiently which I will discuss in later posts.

4.Higher the ISO higher the shutter speed.

ISO 800

ISO 400

Clicked in bright sunlight at ISO 100


* Reference For ISO:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_image

Copyright Your Pictures

WHY TO COPYRIGHT:

Initially even I felt copyrighting is not important but later realised the need for it.The reason to copyright your stuffs is that nobody else uses it online without your permission or without acknowledging you.

WHAT TO COPYRIGHT:

Copyright your pictures it can be using a code word which you would prefer to use in all the pictures you are going to click or the name you want yourself to be identified with.

WHERE TO DO COPYRIGHT:

You can add the text through photo editing softwares like picasa,gimp,photoshop etc and its optional to make it as a watermark in your clicks.In my future posts will let you all know how to create watermarks in gimp.

HOW TO CREATE COPYRIGHT SYMBOL:

If you are using Windows OS Press "ctrl+Alt+C" to create a copyright symbol and if you are using a Mac OS Press "Option+G "to create a copyright symbol.

Was clicked during easter look out for the Copyright

Baby Potraits-Tips

When you are gonna shoot babies dont worry whether if some part of the picture comes out shaky or it isn't   impressive.


*Features or the facial expressions when cropped and made as a sequence looks attractive.
*Different facial expressions can also be combined to a collage.
* A picture of the baby can be taken every month and can be combined to a collage.

*Picture of the baby along with a big sized toy or a teddy bear can also be taken every month to show the growth of the baby.
*Picture of the baby's feet or fingers near the parents hand or feet can also be taken to show how small the baby is and can make the picture meaningful.

Though her feet was shaky in this picture I could crop and get the reddish fingers of this 12 weeks old angel.

Feet that has not touched the ground safe in his father's hands

Tender feet

Collage of facial expressions which was taken in a continious mode

Certification in Photography

My passion for photography increased gradually and so I took a course on "The Secrets Of Better Photography"in Virginia Western Community College and got certified in November 2010.

                                                                               Although photography is more about experience it was a chance for me to know photo tips and tricks.