Eastmon Digital Photography Tips » Flash Outdoors

Photography… It’s all about light

Eastmon Admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:24:52 +0000

It doesn’t matter how many time we hear it, the truth is It’s all about light! When I ran across this article it sprang to mind immediately the images that capture everyone’s attention are the images that have amazing lighting. You may well be using a top of the range Nikon Digital SLR or the most expensive lens you can put on your Canon DSLR, the bottom line is that a well lit shot from a compact digital camera can often look more appealing simply because of the lighting.

This simple article by Brenda Tharp is proof that a compact digital camera like a Canon G9 is capable of taking great images with the right lighting. Unusual lighting effects aren’t limited by the light of the day though. Try experimenting with an off camera flash also to create dramatic shadows and effects. You may have to use a tripod though if you are going to be holding the flash with one hand and shooting with the other.

When you capture those amazing images they are worthy of a giant canvas print placed in a very prominent position in your office or home or even turned into a photo gift for a friend or family member.

Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography

Getting started shooting portrait & candid photography

Eastmon Admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:27:03 +0000

Getting started shooting portrait & candid photography

Getting started taking portrait and candid photographs can be a little intimidating at first. There always seems to be so much to remember, however in this short video by Erin Manning you will learn the very basics to get you started.

Erin is a professional photographer who hosts her own television program ‘The Whole Picture’ in the U.S. and also writes books on photography.

In this video you will get an overview of;

The Rule of Thirds
Don’t force a kid to say cheese
Don’t let your subject wear busy clothing
Don’t let your subjects look like red eyed monsters
Don’t take all your pictures at the same angle
Don’t forget to flash your subject
Don’t overlook the quality of the light
Don’t stand too close too your subject
Don’t shoot in front of a busy background
Don’t miss your shot because you ran out of battery

Taking great pictures is not pot luck. You can learn the slow and hard way of experimenting and there is nothing wrong with that, but if you want to save time, learn from an expert. There are very few secrets to getting great photos, but there are lot of great tips and techniques that you can learn from well written books and videos. Have a look at the book below and see if it fits in with the type of photography that you do.

If you would like to view Erin Manning’s book click on the link below.

Portrait and Candid Photography: Photo Workshop (Photo Workshop)

Silhouette Photography made easy

Eastmon Admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:50:38 +0000

Capturing that brilliant silhouette of a fisherman at sunrise, or a boat on the water against the backdrop of a setting sun, is all about timing — and a few basic rules.

A silhouette is defined as an outline that appears dark against a light background. This means being in the right place at the right time, and having the right exposure settings.

So when is the right time?

For best results, pick a time when the sun is just above the horizon — that is, immediately after sunrise and before sunset.

In a sunrise/sunset silhouette photo, the sunlight in the background is exposed correctly, forcing everything else in the photo to be underexposed, causing the silhouette effect.

To create a silhouette, ensure that you put an opaque object in front of a bright background and expose for the background.

If you’re using a point-and-shoot, switch off the flash. Point the camera at the bright area, half-click and hold the shutter half pressed to fool the camera into thinking the whole area is bright, then recompose the shot using the dark areas as a frame.

If you’re using an SLR that has a spot-metering feature, take a reading of just the bright area and then bracket in half- or full-stop increments toward overexposure.

Look for subjects that have simple but bold shapes, and it’s important not to crowd the shot: one fisherman at dawn creates an uncluttered shot; four or five fishermen in close proximity could leave you with nothing but a dark clump.

Silhouette photography is a wonderful way to convey mood in a picture. You might get lucky and snap the perfect silhouette at any given time, but more often than not, you have to work at ‘shaping’ the picture.

When you see a brilliant sunset looming, let your imagination take over. Find the ideal silhouette subject — it might be a person, an animal, a tree or some inanimate oject — and experiment.

And remember: practice makes perfect. You might not get it right the first time, but you can have a lot of fun trying for that perfect shot.

In summary, remember to:

Choose a strong subject with a defined and recognisable shape

Turn off the flash to have as little light on the front of your subject as possible

Get the light right by having more light shining from the background than the foreground

Frame your image so that the brightest light source is behind your subject

Make sure the silhouette shapes are distinct and uncluttered by making subjects recognisable and keeping multiple subjects separate.

Photo by Dan Shirley

How to place hands in your photographs

Eastmon Admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 08:25:54 +0000

Hands can be pesky things to deal with when it comes to photography. They can be the difference between a photograph looking forced or relaxed. Most people always have to be doing something with their hands whether it is playing with their necklace, holding onto the bottom of their sleeve or picking at a loose thread on their jeans. However when someone pulls out a camera hands tend to instantly stop what they are doing and just sit there lifeless and rigid. It is an instant tell-tale on whether someone is comfortable in front of the camera or not.

Positioning the Hands

However there is a way to keep these hands under control and that is to simply give them something to do. Now this doesn’t have to be any thing extravagant like origami or anything like that, it can be as simple as getting the person lay one hand over the top of the other or give them something to hold. Some People say it is the reason that brides have bouquets so that no one can see how nervous they are or that their hands are shaking. It is a simple thing to consider when you are about to take a photo and yet it can make a world of difference.

Personality

Hands are also an important part of us that can give a clue to what type of person we are. A shy person may keep their hands close to them, while a more confident person may be more flamboyant with their hands. Some people talk with their hands using extravagant gestures to accompany what they are saying. Also hands are great for showing emotions such as a gentle touch on the cheek to let one know that it will be okay. Just by focusing on ones hands you can sometimes tell more of a story than if you photographed the whole scene.

Posing in Context

As I have mentioned previously, just before you take the photo take a second to look at the scene. Think about what type of photo you are taking, a formal or casual photo, and get the hands to act appropriately. For example you are taking a photo of your son on his graduation day. Rather than him standing there stiff and rigid get him to hold onto his certificate or his graduation hat, have him lean against a tree or put his hands behind his back. You will be surprised the difference it will make. Couple shots are the easiest because you can simply tell them to hold hands, link arms, give each other a cuddle, put their arms around each others waist… the list is endless. For a casual shot get them to put their hands in their pockets or lean on a chair. Hold onto the ends of their scarf if they have one on or fiddle with a piece of jewelery. It is amazing how by giving someone a task or something to think about they will relax and forget for at least a split second that they are getting a photo taken which is all the time you need to take a photo. It does take a little thought before you shoot but once you get into the habit of checking what those hands are up to you will notice your photos look a lot more relaxed and natural.

Amy works in the Ballina Eastmon store and has written a number of articles as she pursues her passion to be a Professional Photographer. You can read other article by Amy here.

Olympus MJU 9000 Digital Compact Camera Review

Eastmon Admin — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:21:57 +0000

Olympus MJU 9000

I hate going on holidays without the right camera equipment, that usually means packing my Nikon DSLR and a few lenses, this year though I also took a new camera, the Olympus Mju 9000. When I got home I realized that I had not taken one photo with my DSLR, the reason for that, the Olympus was so versatile and easy to use and had such great features that I just wanted to keep shooting my holiday shots with it.

First Impression

Let me go through the things I like about the Mju 9000, you might find that it’s the compact camera you’ve been looking for as well. Firstly I want to recommend the 10x Optical zoom lens. Most cameras this size have 3x or 5x zooms so having 10x zoom means it’s a heap more versatile so you can get in for nice tight portrait photos without being right on top of your subject but the long end of the zoom is not the bit I loved using the most it was the wide angle end that I really appreciate. The Mju 9000s zoom starts at 28mm (in 35mm film equivalent terms). 28mm wide angle is a nice size for doing scenery shots and just gives lots more versatility than most of the zoom lenses on compact cameras in the market today.

28mm Wide Angle

10x Magnification

Fill Flash

I’ve included some shots of Trial Bay Gaol near South West Rocks taken at either end of the zoom lenses range from the same position so you can get an idea of how versatile this lens is. There is also a portrait shot taken with the zoom almost fully extended with the Gaol in the background. I used fill in flash on this shot to ad some light under the brim of the hat. Fill in flash is a great feature that’s built into almost all compact cameras but is rarely used but that is another story.

Features

The Olympus Mju 9000 has a 12 megapixel sensor so heaps more than I really needed to take the shots I wanted, the 2.7″ LCD is one of the nicest I’ve seen and made reviewing my images a pleasure.

The thing that concerned me and many people about cameras with big zoom lenses is “will I get camera shake?”
Large zooms like the 10x zoom in this Olympus can mean your images could be a little blurred caused by a combination of the magnification of the lens and a shutter speed that is not high enough to freeze the action. The Olympus Mju 9000 offers dual image stabilising to give you every chance of taking sharp images, not only does it have a variable ISO that offers sensitivity up to 1600 ISO (to increase the shutter speed) but also CCD shift technology that moves the CCD to compensate for your camera movement. The combination of these two technologies gives you the best chance at getting a good shot even in tough conditions.

Shot of Australian $10.00 note using Super Macro

New Olympus cameras now come with an XD to Micro SD card adaptor so that you can buy memory cards larger than the 2GB (the current maximum size for XD picture cards). I used the adaptor and a 4gb Micro SD card, it was quite easy and a 4GB Micro SD card was cheaper than a 2GB XD and stored over 1,200 high res images taken at 12 megapixels. The only down side is that you can only use the cameras built in panorama mode when you use an Olympus XD card.

Conclusion

To wrap up, I really enjoyed using the Olympus Mju 9000, it was small and easy to carry around and had all the features that I needed to capture the scenes and portraits I wanted.
You may end up like I did leaving your SLR in it’s bag next time you travel.

About the Author

This article was contributed by Geoff Porter. Geoff is the Regional Manager of the Eastmon group of stores and shoots weddings professionally when time permits. He is a keen photographer and tests many of the cameras in the field and is an associate of the Tamworth store.

10 Tips to take Better Digital Photos

Eastmon Admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:24:36 +0000

Get up and taking great pictures immediately with this short, sharp tutorial for taking better digital photos. We have included here, some of the secrets and tips that professionals know and use to get those shots we often wish could do. One of the first things to do is to make sure your camera is ready to go.

1. If you see it, shoot it

Don’t spend all of your time and energy trying to get one perfect shot. Experiment and take as many pictures as you can. If you see something that strikes you, photograph it.

A digital camera is all the excuse you need to just blaze away and shoot everything in sight. One of the reasons digital became so popular so quickly was the perception that you could just shoot as much as you wanted and it didn’t cost you anything if you took a dud shot.
Post production or editing your images in a computer may even save those images that you would have normally deleted.

2. Use a plain background

A plain background shows off the subject you are photographing. When you look through the cameras viewfinder or LCD screen, force yourself to study the area surrounding your subject.

Nothing is worse than the pole coming out of someones head or the garbage bin in the background. Always have a quick scan around the viewfinder or LCD screen prior to pushing the button, it’s amazing how blind we become to the rest of the photo when we’re concentrating on our subject.
Using a longer lens, or zooming your lens to a more powerful setting often has the effect of blurring the background and isolating your subject from the background.
Try using the ‘Portrait’ mode on your camera. This mode has been designed in most cameras to specifically soften the colour saturation and blur the background behind your subject

3. Use flash outdoors

A bright sunny day can create unattractive deep facial shadows. Eliminate the shadows by using your flash to lighten the face.

We don’t generally think that we should use the flash outdoors, but it is a little secret that can make a huge difference to some photos. Experiment with the flash setting on your camera and read up in your manual about controlling your flash.
The general rule of thumb in very bright side light which causes heavy shadows across the face is to adjust the flash and force it to work. Some cameras call it force flash, others fill flash, experiment and note the difference. The closer you are to your subject the better result.
Back light is a very similar problem and often confuses the camera as it sees plenty of light coming from behind and therefore needs you to force the flash to improve your result.

4. Move in close

Always take a step or two closer before taking the picture and zoom in. Your goal should be to fill the picture area with the subject.

Crop tightly if you really want to create impact.
Those viewing your photos are generally drawn to the eyes and the expression, rarely would anyone say “aw you’ve cut the top of their head off, or you can’t see their socks.”
Filling your picture area with the subject removes distracting backgrounds and makes certain that people viewing your photos will only see what you want them to see.

5. Move it from the middle

Bring your picture to life by simply moving your subject away from the middle of your picture, the middle of your picture is not the best place for your subject..

Maybe you have wondered why professionals photos always look more interesting than yours. It may not necessarily be that they have a better camera then you, it’s possibly the placement of the centre of attention in their photo. Next time your tempted to put subject in the middle try moving your camera to position the subject to the side.
Horizons also suffer the same fate when run through the middle of the photo. Again try positioning them a little lower or a little higher than centre.

6. Get down to their level

When taking a picture of someone, hold the camera at the person’s eye level to unleash the power of those magnetic gazes and mesmerising smiles.

Hey, who wants to see the top of your head… Get down to eye level, all the best photographers shoot their portraits at eye level.
Shooting higher or lower does have it’s time and place, however we are used to seeing people at eye level. When we are shooting from very high or very low quite often we are distorting the features of our subject, and often creating a very unflattering photo.
Getting down to eye level does not mean that we have to be directly in front of our subject. shoot from the side, have your subject turn to you, this in itself adds variety to your images and the different poses, depending upon the light falling on your subject can create some very complimentary images.

7. Know your flash

What is your camera’s flash range? Can’t find it? Then don’t take a chance. Position yourself so subjects are no further than 3 metres away.

If it’s too dark, no worries the camera will turn the flash on and everything will be OK, if only it were that true. The flash, just like a torch or flashlight outdoors, only has a limited range that it is usable for before it drops away and can’t see anything.
The beauty of digital and flash on a digital camera is that you can see immediately whether the flash is reaching your subject, If it is too dark move closer.
The most general rule of thumb is that a built in flash in most digital cameras is good to about 3 metres from you to the subject. Zooming the lens and bringing the subject closer does not assist the flash in making it brighter, as a rule it harm of your photo.

8. Watch the light

Light affects the appearance of every photograph you take. On an older person, bright light can enhance wrinkles and the soft light of a cloudy day can subdue those same wrinkles.

One of the other things that make a professionals photos look so different to ours is their understanding and use of light. Hard lighting, soft lighting and many other terms spring to mind. Knowledge of some of these terms will immediately change the quality of your images.
Soft lighting, like on a cloudy day or under the shade of a large tree is ideal for portraiture. It subdues wrinkles, softens colour and can portray a feeling romance with the right subject.
Hard lighting is generally any form of outdoor lighting were the sun is directly impacting the subject. This form of lighting produces more vibrant colour and the shadows formed from the light give form and shape to the subject we are photographing.
Hard lighting is generally good for landscapes and photographing static objects, or moving objects such as sport.

9. Get vertical

From a lighthouse near a cliff to a child jumping in a puddle, many things look better when taken vertically. So next time your out, make an effort to take some vertical pictures.

Every camera is made to be held horizontally (landscape), and it is this reason that it becomes quite difficult for many to spin the camera over to take a vertical (portrait) shaped photo.
Next time your taking a shot, try spinning the camera over and seeing whether it looks better as a portrait style.
Portrait or landscape, the name probably says it better for what it should be used for rather than me dictating to you when you should and should not use it. Remember though rules are there to be broken so feel free to break the rules if need be.
One of the benefits of using your camera portrait mode when doing a landscape photo is that you can position your centre of interest in such a way that you can have a lot foreground leading you to your subject.

10. Direct the picture

If time permits, take control of your picture taking and watch your pictures dramatically improve. Become a picture director not just a passive picture taker.

Quite often those images that look so natural and candid are very much contrived and posed. Position yourself and prepare to capture the image before you start speaking to your subject. As soon as they start looking at the camera or in the direction you want start shooting.
Don’t make the mistake of controlling the image so much that you get the ‘tin soldier, standing to attention with a forced smile’ type of image. Let your subject just relax in your company and they will respond with some great images with just a little prompting, even the reluctant and shy ones.