Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Basics on How to Take Good Photos

Many people dread picking up the family camera to grab that perfect moment. Much of this is said to come from their misunderstand of the equipment. It can also be because people misuse the best camera of all, their own eyes. To become a great photograph 'taker' you need to have an appreciation of what goes into making a great photograph. Being a professional photographer I often see this king of image produced by beginners.
Seeing a wonderful Peak District scene is something that we all enjoy but often we do not realise that the camera does not see the way that we do. Human beings look about; our eyes constantly rove a scene picking out interesting elements which either appeal to some hidden primaeval emotion or an interest we currently have. Put these elements together an you have a wonderful scene to photograph.
For example in the Derbyshire Peak District you will find some great landscapes (primeval emotion), we will also see wonderful properties (current themes and aspirational). Often people will reach for a camera to record this image because it presses a few pleasure centres for us. We might even think that the image will look terrific on our lounge wall. The bad news it that we didn't see the quarry and Peak District limestone processing factory in the middle distance. The result is that when we review the image back home there is an amount of disappointment.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

How to Achieve Amazing Photo Quality using Photo Lighting Equipment

A great deal of information about the photo lighting equipment subject is already known by photography school students and avid photographers, but not really by those that might be hoping to enter the field from the beginning. These tools can be used to further enhance a picture beyond what is otherwise possible with only editing software (and a good camera, of course). Combining all of these factors together can create truly astonishing photos of amazing quality, but this all begins with proper photo lighting equipment.
An all-new level of quality is easily achieved by those with either the wallet to buy new items, or those with the mind to buy used photo lighting equipment items. Either way, once the items are acquired, you must then learn how to use them. The first thing you should learn to use is the external photo lighting (or a photo lighting kit). This allows you to highlight the subject of the photo, whether it's a product or a person, and also to manipulate the light in such a way as to capture an image of the subject's best features.
Photo lighting equipment typically comes in two varieties. Strobe lighting, or camera flash, is the more technologically advanced of the variations and requires complex synchronization. Once the shutter and strobe light are synchronized, the picture can be taken safely. This is advantageous because it doesn't provide a constant bright light that can cause squinting. The other type of lighting is continuous lighting, or "hot lights". These provide a constant stream of high-quality light for repeated shots, and are usually advantageous for objects (or other subjects that are unaffected by bright lights).
Continuous lights can be further broken down into two categories: halogen and florescent. Halogen is usually the more popular of the two because of the amount of brightness it can produce, but raises the temperature of the studio while in use. It is also far less energy efficient. Florescent photo lighting equipment is usually much cheaper and more efficient because it consumes less electricity. It generates almost no heat and is used to simulate more natural lighting (ie. the sun). Florescent photography bulbs also last a lot longer, maxing out at around ten thousand hours.