Taking the perfect shot

Photography history started with the camera obscura. The french inventor Nicephore Niepce created the first photograph by using a camera obscura. These cameras were made up of a dark room or a box with a small hole at one end. If the hole was small enough, an up side down picture would develop on the opposite wall of the box, of what ever the hole was facing. Niepce had to expose the first photosensitive paper for eight hours to capture the image.

The capability of the camera obscura to copy images, is the basis of all photography technology and camera lenses. Today this technology is still growing and evolving at a very fast pace.

Taking pictures are much more complicated than just aiming and snapping. People who are serious about photography should learn what influence different aspects have on the pictures they take.

Pictures taken in excessive light result in an overexposed film that produces pictures that are too bright. WIth moderate or no light, the pictures will be underexposed and will be too dark.

Learning how to control the lighting you have available and the film speed will enable you to get the right level of exposure. If you want to take a photo of a person, the soft lighting of a cloudy day work the best. Early mornings or late afternoons will be best to take beautiful landscape pictures. 

A flash can even be used outdoors to improve the quality of your pictures. The flash will help to eliminate the darker shadows under the nose and the eyes. It will also help to illuminate faces and make them stand out from the background on cloudy days. To prevent your pictures from being too dark, you should know the range of your flash.

Getting the right composition is a matter of adding some props, rearranging your subjects, and trying different angles. By getting down to the level of your subject, you can improve the angle and composition of your photos. This is especially recommended if your subjects are pets or children. They do not even have to look directly into the camera; the eye level angle alone will create a more personal feeling.

By ensuring that you have a natural background, the pictures would be even more capturing. A busy background will be distracting while a plain background will draw attention to your subject. 

Move in close and fill your picture with your subject.By doing this, you will reduce any distraction from the background and highlight only the details of your subject. Use your camera’s macro or “flower” option to get good pictures of small objects.

Change the angle of your camera, some pictures look better if taken in a vertical picture.

Developing and enhancement is an ongoing process for cameras and photography. Whether you are a serious photographer, an amateur or a professional, it is important to  stay well informed and up to date with the latest technology and photography techniques as new innovations appear daily such as affordable underwater cameras and digital cameras.

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