The Famous Rule of Thirds in Photography
The most famous of the so called “rules of photography,” the Rule of Thirds is probably the first thing you will hear about when you begin the learning process. Basically, it relies on how the humans eye perceive a photograph . That’s why, according to the rule, the subject should be placed along imaginary lines indicating the best spots within the photograph.
While the Rule of Thirds is very important for composing good photographs, it is also the easiest to understand and apply of all the photography rules. All you need is just to know how you should frame your subject.
A photograph is divided into a 3×3 grid similar to that of thee famous Tic-tac-toe game. This is done by putting four lines (two horizontal and two vertical) each at one third of the photograph, hence the name of the rule. Four intersection points will be formed at the meeting points between each nonparallel pair of lines . In general, the lines together with the intersection points should be used to align the main subjects of your photos so as to have one that complies with the Rule of Thirds.
In case of closeups, the subject itself will probably be bigger than the whole frame. As a result, interesting features within the subject should be aligned instead. In case of facial portraits, for example, the face usually covers most, if not all, of the viewfinder leaving the facial features to be aligned. Most photographers align the eyes to the first horizontal line from top. This is mainly because eyes are the most important feature of the face, and that by doing so, the rest of the facial features will be well placed inside the photo too.
Landscape photographers use this rule too. If the foreground contains any subjects, they should be placed in compliance with the rule (usually along vertical lines). As for the background, horizons are usually aligned to one of the horizontal lines. A landscape scene may contain fields, mountain or clouds. These can also be aligned to the lines of thirds and, if possible, separated in different thirds, producing a well composed photograph.
Despite being important to the composition, some flexibility should exist when applying this rule. For instance, if you align everything in perfect compliance with the rule just to discover that an essential part will not be included inside the frame, slightly moving the viewfinder to include all the details will not cause any damages. Another example is when trying to create the mirroring effect using reflections. A more conventional alignment in this case is to put the line separating the real from the reflection exactly at the center.
In general, this rule is a main element of good composition. By using it, you will be able to produce photos that are very appealing to the eyes.
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Living Through the Stress of Wedding Photography
Wedding photography has driven more photographers to drink or stamp-collecting than any other genre. Some simple rules will see you safely through this assignment and its many challenges.
The List of Shots
Prior to your worrying about your gear, you have to find out exactly what photos are needed and wanted. You might find the bride already has this nutted out. Some brides may have vague ideas of capturing the mood and so on. In this case, sweat should break out on your brow. Request or propose a listing of the most essential photos.
A shooting list is best broken down into three broad groupings:
1. Before the Ceremony
2. The Ceremony
3. Subsequent to the Service
Prior to the Ceremony
These shots can consist of the following:
* The bride dressing
* The bride with her friends
* The bride and her parents
* The groom with his friends
* The groom with his parents
* The wedding dress
* Getting into the limo
* Sitting in the limo
* Arriving at the church
Some of these can be candid photos. Some work better if you pose them.
The Service
These photos depend on the venue and whether you are allowed to photograph the actual exchange of vows, etc. You may or may not be able to record the service - ask the bride to find out. Be as unobtrusive as possible, and place yourself somewhere you can frame the bride. service shots are the ones that show the bride.
These photos should include:
* Take medium distance photos of the bride and groom and celebrant.
* Three quarter length of the bride, groom.
* Three quarter length to full length of the entire bridal party including the maids and groomsmen.
* Take the bridge and groom head to waist with some space around them.
* The ring (close-up on the hands if you can zoom in fast otherwise go for the semi-close-up)
* The kiss (semi close-up)
Lighting plays a big part in the service photos. Flash is too harsh and intrusive so do your best with the available lighting - it’s probably adequate. Get a clear idea of the lighting conditions by going along to the rehearsal. Make sure you use a tripod.
Your digital camera should have an option to turn the shutter sound off. Do that so you can shoot many frames without disturbing the event. The more the better. Set the camera to multiple frames and hold the shutter down at the important moments. Nothing spoils an otherwise great picture than a blink captured at half-mast. Taking a lot of shots at the critical moments solves this.
Now move quickly so you can take the newly weds as they move off from the altar. Now this is an important wedding photography tip: Take advantage of the rehearsal to see where you can move so you can stay ahead of the action. You can capture the newlywed’s passage down the aisle using flash. You can see more about this under the heading ‘Equipment’.
After the Service
Once more some of these may be candid and some should be posed. These should include:
* The bride and groom outside the church/venue with well-wishers
* The confetti moment (just hold the shutter down!)
* The bouquet
* Groups of bride and groom and all parents
* Getting into the limo
* Sitting in the limo
* The limo itself if it has been tricked up with cans and graffiti etc.
Following on-After the Ceremony
These usually need to be planned ahead. Accompany the couple to a location you have scouted out - a park, a beach, or a garden. Don’t forget the dress - you can achieve some nice shots here against a peaceful background. The subjects can relax here and figuratively let their hair down. Find an attractive location with soft lighting and shoot with your zoom, also do some semi-posed photos.
This phase includes the reception. You might be asked to do side photos of the guests but don’t forget your shot list and don’t get too distracted.
Cutting the cake is one definite shot. You may have the bridal table on your list - if not just do a general coverage of the toasts. On the day you’ll be asked to photograph everything, but the most wanted pictures after the event will be those of the ceremony.
If you are asked to do shots at the reception, ask the bride or an intelligent bridesmaid to organize them, otherwise you’ll just end up shooting people who will never order and yet miss out on the important photos with distant relatives, grandparents, etc.
The Finished Product
It is better to supply a CD or DVD with the unusable edited out. A dud is anything that makes you look bad as a photographer. For added effect you can use video editing software to quickly make a slide show of the event in sequence. An image that can’t be printed out at A4 size and be clear and sharp is also a dud. It is simpler to provide a CD of all the best shots and let the ‘clients’ print whatever they like.
September 28, 2009
How to Select A Basic Compact Digital Camera
Whether you are a hobbyist photographer or just want to take pictures of yourself and the people around you, selecting the correct compact camera may be quite a troublesome task, especially if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for. There are a lot of factors to take in consideration when buying a compact digital camera including the price range, the features, and the quality.
The first thing you need to think about is why you need the camera. This will allow you to limit your search in a specific range and which will eventually save you a lot of time and money.
If you are looking for an ordinary camera to take your photos without caring much about advancing in photography, then a basic camera should be enough. In this case, you may sacrifice the features for the price. But even in this range you may still find some basic features like white balancing and autofocusing. These features were almost unheard of in the same range a few years ago.
But if you are more of a hobbyist than a snapshooter, maybe it is better to consider a camera with more features so as to cope with your hobby’s needs. More features like better optical zooming, better light sensitivity, image stabilization and some manual controls, will certainly become handy while shooting, and will allow you to take better photographs.
While they might not be considered basic, high-end compact cameras are regarded as a cheap alternative of DSLRs . The results may not be as good as those of DSLRs, but these cameras are capable to produce very high quality photographs compared to other compact cameras due to the manual settings they have (aperture, focus, and shutter speeds), the better lenses, and the stronger sensors. Also, the capability to capture photos in RAW format means more freedom to the photographer.
The camera with the best value is the one that you will make use of all its functionalities. Features such as video and audio recording may not be needed by some. In this case, you may choose a compact camera with the same price but with no audio or video features as this will usually mean better photographing capabilities. Another feature that is usually emphasized so as to confuse the buyers is the amount of megapixels that constitute an image produced by the camera. If you are working with large prints, you should be interested in this number. But bear in mind that this number is in no way an indication of the quality of the image this camera can produce.
To have a good idea about what to expect, it is usually recommended to read online reviews and comparisons regarding the cameras you are considering. Many websites provide samples of photos taken by many different cameras and compare them. In the end, this will make you confident that you are making the right choice.
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Vacation Photography
Don’t travel without taking a camera with you. How you see the scene determines how good your scenic shots will be. You could be delighted by the results.
Shooting What You See
Sometimes you might have taken a photo that looked good in real life but didn’t look so great on the computer. Maybe the focal length of the lens you used was the reason for this. Your eye sees through an arc of 40 degrees. Viewing a general scene like a skyline is a way to test this for yourself. Note the elements of the scene keeping your eyes aimed straight ahead. Examine the scene now as it appears through the viewfinder. Notice how some scenic elements are excluded now, or some are now perhaps included. By zooming the lens back to around 40 degrees you’ll get the same framing as your eye. Trial and error will allow you to work this out until you’ve established which zoom setting will give the same as the view through your eyes.
Composition
Composition is the art of ‘framing’ the photograph or arranging the elements so that it draws the viewer’s eye to what you want seen or noticed. Here are some basic rules of composition:
1. The Eye Scans Diagonally
The eye usually scans automatically from bottom right of a picture diagonally across to the top left. You can get some idea of this by taking any picture you have in your files and flipping it horizontally with your photo editing software. The balance of the picture changes when you flip it with some becoming more prominent one way but not the other. Taking portrait photos is one place where this rule can be used to good effect.
You should pose your model turned slightly away from the camera. Direct him to make loose fists and rest his hands on his legs. Keeping his body in that pose, get him to look at you by moving his head. This is a head to knees pose. View the image through the camera. Notice that your eye looks first at the hands and they guide it to the subject’s face. Take this photo, and then flip it in the computer using photo editing software. What version looks best?
Here’s an exercise you can do: look over a photography website or through a book to see the rule in action. You may discover that a shape, color, or line has been employed by the photographer as a guiding element to direct the eye to the subject in the middle of the composition. Occasionally a photographer will achieve a startling effect by breaking this rule.
2. Frame the Photograph
The edges of a photograph are like the fence around a house. They define the space. Mount one of your pictures in a frame and you’ll see this effect. Now the picture and its contents are better defined. You can make deliberate use of this using trees or doorways. If you place the subject before a featureless or neutral background you can achieve a contrasting effect. Without any other elements in the picture, the eye is automatically drawn to the person.
Shooting so as to include the background adds to the mood or feel of the final image. Sometimes the background can be cluttered, or includes strong shapes that overwhelm the subject. Best avoid these. However, generally speaking, by including enough of the background you can contribute to the telling of the visual story. Frame your scene so the end result provides answers to these simple questions
This is what location?
Who this is?
Why are they where they are?
What activity are they engaged in?
The Rule of Thirds
This rule divides the image into thirds horizontally and/or vertically. The subject should occupy the central third. Or put at the locations where the two grids intersect. In a landscape the top third is the sky, the middle third is the subject. The last third comprises the foreground which supports the subject.
Most portraits are composed vertically, half to three quarter length. Imagine three horizontal lines dividing the frame from top to bottom; the face is at the juncture of the top two lines. This permits some ‘space’ above the head and makes it easier to view. And this is a more balanced composition with the space either side of the subject.
If you’d like a mood of intensity, try some extreme close ups.
In photography, the more you shoot the better you get. Take lots of photos and analyze the ones you like – and the ones you don’t like. Expect to learn the basics of this rewarding hobby quite quickly.
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