Some of the learning from first Photogrpahy Field-Trip..

Today we had our first Photography trip to Qutub-Minar, Delhi. It was a foggy day so we had new challenge to click good photographs...

Here are few things I observed during clicking some photographs in Foggy conditions:

- Try to use lower shutter-speed with small Aperture(Higher Aperture)... I found the subject is clearer when exposed for a long time at small Aperture rather than exposing it for less time and using big Aperture...

- Try to use the conditions for focusing on some particular part of any object... Since background is hazy, main subject will be sharp.

- These conditions give a good contrast in your photographs.

- Best Conditions to click portraits...

Apart from that here are few more learnings...

- It not always necessary to keep Light Meter at 0, I found -2,3,4 very useful to get good contrast and get more focus on the subject...

- We can also use White-Balance as a feature without bothering about light conditions to get different results which could be pleasant than the natural view :-)

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FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY : How do you photograph food and get good results?

I am gearing up for shooting food items and found some good tips about food-Photography. Here are few of them. I will try to update the same in near future...

Lighting: Treat the food you’re photographing as you would any other still life subject and ensure that it is well lit. One of the best places to photograph food is by a window where there is plenty of natural light - perhaps supported with ceiling or wall light to get rid of Shadows if you want. Sometimes shadows add very good impact in photographs. This daylight helps to keep the food looking much more natural.

Composition: Pay attention not only to the arrangement of the food itself but to the context that you put it in including container and any table settings around it. Don’t clutter the photo with a full table setting but consider one or two extra elements such as a glass, fork, flower or napkin. These elements can often be placed in secondary positions in the foreground or background of your shot.

Be Quick: Food doesn’t keep it’s appetizing looks for long so as a photographer you’ll need to be well prepared and able to shoot quickly after it’s been cooked before it melts, collapses, wilts and/or changes color. This means being prepared and knowing what you want to achieve before the food arrives. One strategy that some use is to have the shot completely set up with props before the food is ready and then to substitute a stand-in plate to get your exposure right. Then when the food is ready you just switch the stand-in plate with the real thing and you’re ready to start shooting.

Style It: The way food is set out on the plate is as important as the way you photograph it. Pay attention to the balance of food in a shot (color, shapes etc) and leave a way into the shot (using leading lines and the rule of thirds to help guide your viewer’s eye into the dish). One of the best ways to learn is to get some cook books to see how the pros do it.

Enhance It : Have some vegetable oil on hand and to brush it over food to make it glisten in your shots. :-)

Angle for your Shot: A mistake that many beginner photographers make is taking shots that look down on a plate from directly above. While this can work in some circumstances - in most cases you’ll get a more better shot by shooting from down close to plate level (or slightly above it).

Colors : Colors are very important. Food should neither look dull nor extra-colored...

How Angle of View, Depth of Field & Perspective changes with change in Focal Length

Lets discuss a bit about relation of lenses with the focal lengths supported by them. Basically we have three basic lens types, determined by the focal length (measured in millimeters) of the lenses:

Normal. A normal lens shows most accurately what a normal human eye will see. 50mm is a typical normal focal length. The 50mm is the most popular and versatile lens. The quality is excellent while also being inexpensive. It is smaller and lighter, and the aperture allows photographs to be taken in low-light situations.


Telephoto. A telephoto lens brings the background closer. Longer-than-normal focal lengths such as 70mm and 300mm are typical for a telephoto lens. Since a telephoto lens will bring the subject up close, it is popular for sports photography.

Wide. A wide lens captures a wider expanse of the background than what the human eye will see. Shorter-than-normal focal lengths such as 24mm and 35 mm are typical for a wide lens. Wide lenses are popular for landscape photography and large group shots.

We also categorize lenses in two broad categories Fixed focal length & Zoom Lenses. Fixed/Block lenses are considered as quality lenses as compared to zoom lenses because Zoom lenses have optical errors due to extra lenses...

***How Angle of View, Depth of Field & Perspective changes with change in Focal Length***

ANGLE OF VIEW:

Increases with decrease in Focal Length (>46 Degree)<<<<-----50MM (46 Degree) ------>>>> Decreases with increase in Focal Length(< 46 Degree)

DEPTH OF FIELD:

Increases with decrease in Focal Length<<<<-----50MM ------>>>> Decreases with increase in Focal Length

PERSPECTIVE :

Exaggerated Perspective<<<<-----50MM ------>> 80MM(Normal)----->> Diminished


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- Normal Lens : 46 dgree angle of view : 50 MM
- <46 : Telephoto Lenses : Icreases DOF : Greater than 50 mm
- >46 : Wide-Angle Lenses : Decreases DOF : Less than 50 mm
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