March 2007 Archives
While many filter-like effects can be simulated with photo-editing software, there are three on-camera filters that might interest you: Neutral Colour, Neutral Density and polarizing. Neutral Colour (NC) filters are simply there to protect your lens.
Shutter lag refers to the elapsed time between the instant you press the ‘release’ button and the instant the image is captured. This can become an issue with auto-focus cameras, where the time required for the camera to focus can make it difficult to capture moving subjects. Fortunately, most cameras sold today can be forced to focus by applying light pressure (often called a ‘half-press’) and holding the release button. When you press it the rest of the way, the image is captured immediately.
Rivers, lakes and waterfalls make interesting photographic subjects but they are not without challenges. When photographing these subjects, watch for bright sunlight reflecting off the water. While it can often add to the image, it can also cause exposure difficulties and you may have to choose between losing shadow detail or having the reflections wash out.
The light meter in most cameras assumes that the ‘average’ of an image is what photographers call ‘neutral grey’. In most cases, this works reasonably well. However, snow and sand are both brighter than neutral grey and, if they comprise a significant portion of the image, the result will be an underexposed image. This is why snow and sand take on a dull grey colour in many photos. While you may be able to adjust this later, in your photo-editing software, the common solution is to increase the exposure by approximately one stop. If you can’t do this manually, check your camera’s instruction manual. Some cameras have a ‘beach’ mode designed to address this issue.
You’ve probably noticed that direct sunlight is not very flattering. It creates harsh shadows and most people can’t keep their eyes open when looking into the sun. The time-honoured ‘advice’, to place the photographer’s back to the sun, often produces mediocre results. In practice, if you can’t find a place in the shade, I suggest you try the opposite: Place the subject’s back to the sun, force your camera’s flash on, or use the other techniques outlined in ‘backlighting’. You may also want to experiment with commercially available or improvised reflectors, such as a large sheet of white cardboard.
We've all taken photos of someone outside or in front of a window, only to find out, later, that the person's face came out so dark that we can't see it. To sum it up, the issue comes down to this: Some more-sophisticated cameras can detect and compensate for backlighting. But, if the camera thinks that the backlight is lit 'normally', it will underexpose the rest.
Entire books have been written on the subject of composition and it's difficult to do the topic any justice in a single post. However, for those of you who are just starting out, I'll offer two suggestions: Fill the image with your subject and consider the 'rule of thirds'.
It is virtually impossible to buy a digital camera without automatic exposure capability, so it's no surprise that most digital camera owners don't learn the very basics. Good automatic exposure systems result in decent results most of the time, but as you have likely noticed, in others the results are disappointing. If you want to avoid photos that suck, you need to understand three basic exposure controls: Media sensitivity, shutter speed and lens aperture.
