Getting The Most From Your Digital Shots
Whatever your subject might be, there are usually some restrictions: tripod and flash bans, prohibited areas, limited lighting options and so on. Whether you’re shooting a protest march, a local party or wild animals, it is well worth researching these problems before you go. It’s also a good idea to sort out your equipment the night before as the last thing you want is to miss the perfect shot because you’re cleaning lenses and formatting memory cards!
Preparation is the key.
It’s tempting to start snapping the instant you clap eyes on a subject, but this rarely produces great results. Instead, it pays to take some time out to explore the area and ascertain the best compositions first. Soak up your surroundings and observe the way the light is falling on the scene. Study your angles. Imagine shooting with a range of different focal lengths. Are the lighting and weather conditions favourable? Can you get good access? If not, you may do better to revisit the location rather than wasting time taking pointless shots. If you do return, you’ll be able to get started more quickly having already scouted out the area.
Perspective can make a shot.
Your shooting perspective can quickly inject more excitement and variety into your compositions. Simply crouching down can dramatically change the way a subject appears. For example, shooting people from below, at waist level or prone lying down! This is a great way to create edgy, high-impact portraits. Practice with friends and family. How about using a wide-angle lens and having your subject look down at the camera, to emphasise the perspective? By getting down to the subjects level you can create more intimate and natural shot.
Use colour for impact.
Some colours have a much stronger visual impact than others. Warm colours such as red, orange, pink and yellow leap out towards you and are said to be ‘active’, whereas cold colours such as blue, green and purple tend to recede into the u ‘ ground and are known as ‘passive‘. The fact that active colours dominate over passive ones can make powerful visual statements in your photos. For example, by including just a tiny splash of red (the most dominant colour) you will instantly draw the viewer’s eye to that area and make its subject more significant.
Dont forget the light.
The light meter built into your camera works on the principle that tones in a typical scene average out to a mid-tone grey. This works well in most cases, but with light subjects high reflectance fools it into underexposing. Similarly, dark subjects can fool your light meter into overexposing. Use the exposure compensation facility to override metered exposure. You can use it to vary exposure by -2 to +2 EV in 1/3 EV steps in Program AE, Shutter-priority AE or Aperture-priority AE mode.
Gary is the Editor of Your-Digital-Photography.com, the Complete Digital Photography Resource Site, with Digital Camera Reviews, Tips, Tricks and Tutorials for the Digital Photography Enthusiast!
Tags: digital cameras, digital photography, digital shots
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