By Rae A. Costa
Outdoor photography encompasses a wide range of subjects. People and animals are just a couple of the choices we have when looking for subject matters. Our options are limitless if we keep an open mind and an open eye to our surroundings.
You don't have to travel to exotic locations to find interesting things to shoot. Your own city, neighborhood, and even backyard can yield a wide variety of subjects. With a little creativity, everyday subjects can be turned into great photo opportunities.
People
Most people buy a camera to take pictures of their family and friends. When taking pictures of people you should remember three things: camera position, lighting, and the pose of your subject(s).
People look the most natural when the shot is taken from around four to five feet away. If you move closer, the subject's features can become extended and look disproportionate. Further away and the subject appears flat. If you want a headshot, remain about four feet from your subject and use a zoom lens to tighten the shot.
Be sure the camera is at eye level with your subject. A common mistake when shooting pictures of children is the camera level is too high, causing the child to look small. Shooting from the subject's eye level is preferred, but you can be creative to enhance your subject. For example, if your subject has a weak chin, shoot from just below eye level to give a better perspective. Always focus on your subject's eyes.
Avoid harsh lighting, such as shooting with a flash or when the sun is directly overhead. This produces stark photos with dark shadows, causing your subject to appear unattractive. A bright flash can give your subject an unnatural skin tone. If you have to shoot during the noontime hour, have your subject turn away from the sun. Try to avoid using a flash if possible. If indoors, try to use natural lighting such as sunlight coming through a window.
Having your subject pose is entirely up to you. Some people prefer to take random shots of their subjects. This, however, can cause your pictures to have no sense of composure and look like amateur snapshots. This is quite common in spur of the moment pictures of people at parties, weddings, or other large gatherings. Photographing more than one person can be difficult. It requires patience and good communication skills to get those in your photo to cooperate.
Others, however, desire a more composed shot and will take the time to have their subjects pose. In group shots it's important to ensure everyone looks their best and no one is being blocked by someone else's head. Make sure their pose is natural and arrange the group in an attractive manner. Don't line them up in rows just so they'll all fit within the viewfinder.
Your pictures should have impact and not be merely a snapshot of people standing uncomfortably in front of the camera. Your pictures should tell a story.
Pets & Animals
Many pet owners consider their animals to be part of the family, so pets are another favorite subject matter. Photographing pets is similar to photographing people, so many of the how-to tips used in people photography can be applied to pet photography.
The biggest difference, however, is pets for the most part don't listen when given directions. So patience is strongly recommended when photographing animals. If the pet isn't yours, try to have its owner nearby to help keep the animal calm and cooperative.
The zoo is a popular location for photographing animals. Zoos offer a variety of animals in a small and controlled environment. There's nothing wrong with photographing animals in captivity as long as you don't try to pass off your shots as 'wildlife' photography. It's best to take your zoo shots during non-peak hours, which is usually when the zoo first opens and the crowds have yet to gather. Animals are most active during early morning and in late afternoon.
Find a spot that gives you a good and unobstructed view of the animal you want to photograph. Pay attention to the background, angle of the shot, and lighting when composing your photo. Be prepared to wait. Don't tap on the exhibit's glass, whistle, shout, or make abrupt movements to get the animal's attention. This not only stresses the animal, but disturbs those around you as well.
A common problem in most pictures is a distracting background. A simple solution is to see your scene in its totality and not get too focused on just the main subject. This goes for both people and animal photography. People can be repositioned to block out distractions. Since it's difficult to reposition an animal, you will have to pay particular attention to setting up the shot.
To avoid unwanted people, fences, or other distractions try using a zoom lens to crop out unwelcome elements. Try changing your angle and framing your shot differently until you find what looks best. When arriving at the animal's enclosure, compose several different shots. This will help when an unwanted distraction wanders into your picture. You won't waste time trying to decide where to move and you'll be able to get the next shot before the animal turns away.
Be patient. Have fun. And take lots and lots of pictures.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Using Colored Filters with Black & White Photography
By Rae A. Costa
Filters are wonderful additions to any photographer's camera bag and there are many kinds on the market to choose from. When used properly, filters enhance your photos by affecting contrast and light intensity. Depending on the type of filter you use, you can also create different special effects or cause highlights. Filters can turn dull photos into eye pleasing memories, but if used wrong they can spoil the entire photo.
As the name implies, colored filters add color to color photos. For example, a picture taken with a red filter will come out with a red tint. Simple, but used with black and white film colored filters can be very effective in changing the light and dark contrasts in a scene. Without a filter, objects of similar color and contrast would look about the same in a black and white photo.
For example, red flowers and green leaves reflect about the same amount of light. If taken with black and white film and no filter, the red flowers and green leaves would appear the same shade of gray with no major distinction between the two. However, if the same picture is taken using a red filter, the flowers will become lighter and therefore stand out more from the leaves.
A green filter will also provide distinction between the flowers and leaves by lightening the leaves and darkening the flowers. The eye is naturally drawn to bright areas in a black and white photo. For your photo you'll want to use a filter that will make the subject light and the surrounding areas darker.
Yellow is another common color used in a filter. Black and white film is more sensitive to ultraviolet and blue light . Objects that reflect a lot of ultraviolet and blue light, such as the sky, appear lighter in a photo. A yellow filter will absorb some of the ultraviolet and blue light thus darkening the sky so white clouds stand out and appear more dramatic.
An orange filter will absorb more of the ultraviolet and blue light thus darkening the sky even more. A red filter, which absorbs cyan and green as well as ultraviolet and blue light, can be used to further darken the sky. Experiment with using various colored filters to learn how they affect the overall look of your photos.
Polarizing filters can also be used with black and white film. Polarizers increase general outdoor color saturation and contrast. With black and white photography, polarizers can darken a blue sky, but the sky must already be blue not white or hazy. These filters also reduce unwanted reflections from surfaces such as water and glass.
Remember, when using a filter it's important to increase exposure otherwise your photos will be too dark. Check the filter's 'filter factor' number and adjust your camera's f-stop accordingly.
Filters are wonderful additions to any photographer's camera bag and there are many kinds on the market to choose from. When used properly, filters enhance your photos by affecting contrast and light intensity. Depending on the type of filter you use, you can also create different special effects or cause highlights. Filters can turn dull photos into eye pleasing memories, but if used wrong they can spoil the entire photo.
As the name implies, colored filters add color to color photos. For example, a picture taken with a red filter will come out with a red tint. Simple, but used with black and white film colored filters can be very effective in changing the light and dark contrasts in a scene. Without a filter, objects of similar color and contrast would look about the same in a black and white photo.
For example, red flowers and green leaves reflect about the same amount of light. If taken with black and white film and no filter, the red flowers and green leaves would appear the same shade of gray with no major distinction between the two. However, if the same picture is taken using a red filter, the flowers will become lighter and therefore stand out more from the leaves.
A green filter will also provide distinction between the flowers and leaves by lightening the leaves and darkening the flowers. The eye is naturally drawn to bright areas in a black and white photo. For your photo you'll want to use a filter that will make the subject light and the surrounding areas darker.
Yellow is another common color used in a filter. Black and white film is more sensitive to ultraviolet and blue light . Objects that reflect a lot of ultraviolet and blue light, such as the sky, appear lighter in a photo. A yellow filter will absorb some of the ultraviolet and blue light thus darkening the sky so white clouds stand out and appear more dramatic.
An orange filter will absorb more of the ultraviolet and blue light thus darkening the sky even more. A red filter, which absorbs cyan and green as well as ultraviolet and blue light, can be used to further darken the sky. Experiment with using various colored filters to learn how they affect the overall look of your photos.
Polarizing filters can also be used with black and white film. Polarizers increase general outdoor color saturation and contrast. With black and white photography, polarizers can darken a blue sky, but the sky must already be blue not white or hazy. These filters also reduce unwanted reflections from surfaces such as water and glass.
Remember, when using a filter it's important to increase exposure otherwise your photos will be too dark. Check the filter's 'filter factor' number and adjust your camera's f-stop accordingly.
Friday, April 01, 2005
How to Build the Ultimate Train Set
You might remember having fond memories of the train set when you were little. The excitement it was to build your own ultimate train set. Putting the tiny tracks together making the scene look as real as possible so cool huh? Friends and family crowding around looking to see what kind of train model you constructed. Your dad giving you his train set he had when he was little and showing you pointers how to make one. You might have got angry and thought that you could do it yourself. Well you can do it yourself, but having friends help is good too! Building the ultimate train set is easy, but does require you to have an imagination. Also can help build new memories these memories can last a lifetime and they don’t have to stop when you’re young. Many mature adults have trains as a hobby and have huge set ups. Some take pictures and have competition among them who can build the ultimate train set. A lot of these people have their creation set up in there basement and some take up the whole room quite a set up indeed!
Train collecting and train building is an expensive hobby, but worth the time and effort. You will find that you can slowly build your set up to the ultimate train set. So you’re ready to start building that ultimate train set down in the basement or attic. Where ever you start the first thing that you want to do is clear yourself enough space. The living room bedroom is not recommended because of the other things in the room that can harm your set. These “things” namely people, pets, and furniture and objects in the room that might damage your set. I recommend that you go in the attic, basement, or and empty garage, or sometimes an extra bedroom that nobody ever goes into. The pieces are very delicate and need to be treated with soft hands.
After you found a large amount of space then you need to start buying track. By electric I recommend that you get digitrax Ho Scale on sale at $27.99. With tracks you need to get curves, bridges, tunnels, and left and right turns. Then you can get all the neat scenery. You can find everything you need and everything you don’t need on the internet. There is everything there and you just need to look around. Go to keyword spot on your computer and type hobby stores and you should get a lot of places with all the stuff you are looking for. If you don’t have a computer you can go to your local hobby shop to find what you’re looking for. Chances are though to build the ultimate train set you need to get on the net to find everything you’re looking for. You can get animals. They have tiny people too and they all look detailed and everything is down to scale. Maybe you want to add a tiny little farm for the animals to play in? Nothing looks better than a train flying by a tiny farm with cows and chickens. Add horses and holding pens, by now your train set is looking good.
Not the ultimate train set yet? What’s wrong you need to get moving? Well you need to get more together build tunnels for your tiny train to go into. Add a fine train station for your conductors and passengers to dock and arrive at. Add hills and rolling plains and mountains be creative you can get all the pieces that you are looking for. You can even create your own towns and cities with real cars, streets and planes. By building piece by piece and then place them just right where you want them. Let your mind be creative and never stop rearranging your pieces ask people to see what you’ve done and ask for there opinion. When you get it all set up just the way you want it and you think it looks perfect buy the locomotives and the freight and passenger cars and then finally the caboose. When you then think that you have the ultimate set run it through the track around and let our friends and family see your creation. Take a picture and see if can be in a magazine for everyone to see. Do you think you have the best train set? I don’t believe you need to show it off! Many magazines in hobby interest are looking for creations like this. Don’t be shy show of your creations and be proud soon every hobby person out there will start asking you for advice on how to build the ultimate train set.
Train collecting and train building is an expensive hobby, but worth the time and effort. You will find that you can slowly build your set up to the ultimate train set. So you’re ready to start building that ultimate train set down in the basement or attic. Where ever you start the first thing that you want to do is clear yourself enough space. The living room bedroom is not recommended because of the other things in the room that can harm your set. These “things” namely people, pets, and furniture and objects in the room that might damage your set. I recommend that you go in the attic, basement, or and empty garage, or sometimes an extra bedroom that nobody ever goes into. The pieces are very delicate and need to be treated with soft hands.
After you found a large amount of space then you need to start buying track. By electric I recommend that you get digitrax Ho Scale on sale at $27.99. With tracks you need to get curves, bridges, tunnels, and left and right turns. Then you can get all the neat scenery. You can find everything you need and everything you don’t need on the internet. There is everything there and you just need to look around. Go to keyword spot on your computer and type hobby stores and you should get a lot of places with all the stuff you are looking for. If you don’t have a computer you can go to your local hobby shop to find what you’re looking for. Chances are though to build the ultimate train set you need to get on the net to find everything you’re looking for. You can get animals. They have tiny people too and they all look detailed and everything is down to scale. Maybe you want to add a tiny little farm for the animals to play in? Nothing looks better than a train flying by a tiny farm with cows and chickens. Add horses and holding pens, by now your train set is looking good.
Not the ultimate train set yet? What’s wrong you need to get moving? Well you need to get more together build tunnels for your tiny train to go into. Add a fine train station for your conductors and passengers to dock and arrive at. Add hills and rolling plains and mountains be creative you can get all the pieces that you are looking for. You can even create your own towns and cities with real cars, streets and planes. By building piece by piece and then place them just right where you want them. Let your mind be creative and never stop rearranging your pieces ask people to see what you’ve done and ask for there opinion. When you get it all set up just the way you want it and you think it looks perfect buy the locomotives and the freight and passenger cars and then finally the caboose. When you then think that you have the ultimate set run it through the track around and let our friends and family see your creation. Take a picture and see if can be in a magazine for everyone to see. Do you think you have the best train set? I don’t believe you need to show it off! Many magazines in hobby interest are looking for creations like this. Don’t be shy show of your creations and be proud soon every hobby person out there will start asking you for advice on how to build the ultimate train set.
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