Different Quotations by famous Photographers in the World

ANSEL ADAMS:

1. "You don’t take a photograph, you make it." : Full awareness of what makes a good photo is essential in taking great photographs. Why would anyone be interested in this photo and what elements can be included or excluded to make it truly great?

2. "Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop":Even one of the masters in photography, Ansel Adams, didn’t expect to get more than 12 great photographs each year.How can anyone expect more? Take a look at your last year in photos – do you really see 12 photos that stand out from the rest?

HENRI CARTIER BRESSON:

1. "Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst": Do you know how many photos you have taken up until now? You will have to take thousands of pictures to reach a point where you can begin to evaluate them objectively. Looking upon your photos as if you were looking at them through someone else’s eyes is a good way to give yourself constructive criticism. Comparing your first photos with your most recent, do you see improvement? Do you remember how you loved some of your first photos – do you still love them or are they now not so good anymore?

GARRY WINOGRAND:

1. "If I saw something in my viewfinder that looked familiar to me, I would do something to shake it up": How often have you seen a photo that is missing something? “This is a good photo but I’d make it different somehow.”? Sometimes small things make a big difference. Don’t be afraid to shake things up.

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Tips for Getting Backgrounds Right

1. Check your Background Before Hitting the Shutter Release

Ok - this strategy isn’t rocket science, in fact you’d think it almost goes without saying - but unfortunately it doesn’t and many of the mistakes that I see in photographs could have been avoided simply by checking the background before taking the shot and taking some sort of evasive action.

Always scan the background of your shots before taking a shot. Look for colors that don’t fit with the rest of the image, bright patches that might distract the eye, lines that clash, people that don’t belong etc.


2. Move Your Subject

This is once again a fairly simple technique but is probably the first thing you should consider. Quite often asking a portrait subject to take a step to the left or right will fix things either by putting the distraction behind them or by putting it out of frame.

3. Change your Shooting Angle

If you have distracting elements in the background of a shot but can’t move your subject another strategy is to move yourself and shoot from a new angle. This might mean rotating around your subject but could also include getting down low to make the sky the background or even getting up high and shooting down onto your subject to make the background the ground.

4. Using Aperture to Blur Backgrounds

One of the most useful things to learn as a way to combat distractions in backgrounds (and foregrounds) is to use the power of your lens to throw the background out of focus using depth of field. What you’re trying to achieve with this technique is a nice blurred background where you can’t really make out what’s going on there.

The easiest way to do this is to use a wide aperture (the smaller the number the wider the aperture). The wider your aperture the more blurry your background should become.

The quickest way to see the impact of this strategy is to switch your camera into aperture priority mode and to take a number of shots at different apertures. Start with an aperture of f/20 and work your way down - one stop at a time. Once you get down to under f/4 you’ll start seeing the background in your shots getting blurrier and blurrier.

5. Using Focal Length to Blur Backgrounds

Another way to help get your backgrounds nice and blurry is to use a lens with a long focal length. Longer tele-photo do help a little to get narrower depth of field (although the amount is less than many think). In actual fact the impact is smaller than it seems and the main reason for the change is that with a longer focal length the subject actually takes up more space in the frame. Lots of arguements have been had over whether focal length impacts this - you can read more about it here and there - I’ll leave it to the experts to discuss the finer points but will say that using longer focal lengths does seem to have some impact and is worth experimenting with.

6. Place Subjects In front of Open Spaces

Placing your subject a long way in front of other objects will also help to make those objects more blurry. For example if you have the choice between shooting your subject standing right in front of a brick wall or standing in front of an open field - the open field shot will have a much more blurred background simply because the brick wall is just centimeters from your subject and inside the focal range whereas an open field stretches off into the distance where everything will be out of focus.

7. Fill your frame with your subject

One of the most effective ways of removing distractions from backgrounds is to remove the background altogether by totally filling the frame with your subject. Get up close and/or use your zoom lens to tightly frame the shot and you’ll not only remove distractions but could end up with a high impact shot as well.

8. Make your Own Background

Sometimes there just isn’t any suitable background and so you might want to consider making your own. This could range from buying a purpose built studio background or simply buying some cloth to do the job for you.

The other thing to keep in mind is that in many instances you can move things around in the background of your shots (especially if you’re shooting indoors).

9. Post Processing

I’m no expert in using photo editing software but there are numerous ways of editing a shot after you’ve taken it to get rid of distracting elements. These can include blurring techniques, actual removing of elements and replacing them and techniques such as selective coloring (ie making your subject stand out by making your background black and white (or at least sucking some of the color out of it).

Tips for Battery Power Conservation when you are out for long time like Trekking,,,

Last year I went for a Trek with Canon Rebel XT and I had no extra battery. It was five days trek and there was no option for charging the batteries, so I managed to conserve power for all five days. So I read a lot of links for power conservation before going for trek. Recently I was discussing about new plan for 8 days trekking in Kinnaur and realized that it will be very-2 difficult to use one battery for 7 days. I am still thinking of the options I can opt to manage this.

But here I wanted to share few tips for battery power conservation:


1. Think About Your Shot First:

Think about the shot’s value before getting the camera into action. You may find that a lot of the pretty things you normally would snap four images of without thinking, turn out to be scenes simply enjoyed without need for a picture. This step alone will save a lot of battery use indirectly by reducing the amount of times you want to get your camera out.

2. Turn Off Auto Focus:

This tip only works if you use a DSLR camera. Most point and shoots (P&S)don’t have a focus ring on the lens like DSLR lenses do. If you have a point and shoot, you don’t have much of a choice. But for those with DSLRs, using manual focus can be a huge power savings. Most cameras will start focusing when the shutter release is pressed down half way and will continue to focus until the shot is taken. And the larger the lens, the more power will be sucked from the battery to bring objects into focus.

3. Turn Off The Review Feature:

Both DSLR and P&S cameras have the ability to review a shot after the image is captured. While technology for screens is advancing and battery consumption is a prime concern (as well as clarity in sunshine) it’s still best to simply turn off the review feature.

4. If Your Camera Has A Viewfinder, Use It:

More and more DSLRs are being shipped with “live view”, popular on most all P&S cameras. But this can also be a huge power draw. For the same reason turning off the review feature saves energy, turning off “live view” and using the camera’s viewfinder can possibly save more power. Personally, I purchase P&S cameras that can still be used with just a view finder for this very reason. Constant display of what’s in front of the camera is not a wise use of battery power when running low. If your P&S does not have a viewfinder, allowing you to turn off the “live view” on the LCD during shooting, this tip may be of little help.

5. Image Stabilization:

Just like autofocus, the battery is drained from constantly moving elements around inside the lens to compensate for camera shake. It’s best left off, or only turned on for vital shots.

6. Off Your Camera When Not In Use:

I know this one sounds obvious, but many of us get in the habit of leaving our camera on and letting it power down automatically.

7. Don’t Transfer Pictures:

If you are accustom to using your camera to download photos to your computer, now might be a good time to think about bringing along a USB flash card reader. Downloading from your camera will surely suck down more power as most cameras don’t take advantage of the power capabilities.

8. Increase ISO To Lessen Flash Use:

Your flash can kill your batteries in no time flat. Depending on your camera’s capabilities, it may be a worthwhile option to increase the ISO a bit in marginal lighting situations to lessen the use of the built-in flash. Before your trip, or right now, do a few quick tests in moderate indoor lighting (the most likely scenario for flash use) to see just how far you can push the ISO before it doesn’t look good to you. This setting is purely subjective. If you can stand the grain at ISO400 on your camera, then go with it. Some cameras look horrid above ISO200. Don’t take someone else’s, or some website’s, word for it, try it out yourself and see what looks good to you. Flash use has been shown to reduce battery life by as much as 40%.

Patterns and Repeatetions in Photoigraphy

While repetition in the monotony of daily life can at times be a little boring - capturing it in your photography can create an image with real impact.

Life is filled with patterns - many of which we overlook due to the business of our days - however once you get an eye for spotting them (and it takes being intentional and some practice) you’ll be amazed by what you see and you’ll wonder why you didn’t incorporate them into your photography before.

When it comes to capturing repetition in photography a couple of techniques come to mind - you can either emphasize it or break it.

Let me explain with a few examples:

EMPHASIZE PATTERNS:

Filling your frame with a repetitive pattern can give the impression of size and large numbers. The key to this is to attempt to zoom in close enough to the pattern that it fills the frame and makes the repetition seem as though it’s bursting out (even if the repetition stops just outside of your framing).

Some examples of this technique might include faces in a crowd, bricks on a wall, a line of bicycle wheels all on the same angle etc. Almost any repeated appearance of objects could work.

BREAKING PATTERNS:

The other common use of repetition in photography is to capture the interruption of the flow of a pattern. For example you might photograph hundreds of red balls with one blue one.

Sometimes you’ll find these broken patterns naturally appearing around you and on other occasions you might need to manipulate the situation a little and interrupt a pattern yourself.

Broken repetition might include adding a contrasting object (color, shape, texture) or removing one of the repeating objects.

Pay particular attention to where in your frame to place the break in the pattern. It might be that the rule of thirds comes in to play here.

Also consider your focal point in these shots - the broken pattern might be a logical spot to have everything focussed sharply.

This week I’m setting myself a little assignment to get out and take some shots that emphasize patterns and repetition.

Light Pattern on my office walls : Can you describe???

Going out for Photo-Shoots help a lot

My new learning to improve as a photographer would be to go out and shoot in different situations.

For the earlier part of my venture into the photography hobby, I spent most of my time developing myself indoors. Reading articles, magazines, forums, a basic photography training and blogs. That’s not BAD and I strongly suggest continuing to read and grow in your knowledge of photographic techniques, but the only true way to improve is to put everything we learn and read into PRACTICE. Go out and shoot!

Disregard all fear of what people will think of you as you snap away on the street or at your favorite venue or park. “Oh what a mad guy”, “That camera is not even that great”, “That looks like a cheap lens”, etc. Don’t let others or the price/quality of your equipments set limitations on you! We all have to start somewhere.

I have read it numerous times on the forums and elsewhere. It’s not the quality or price of the camera, but the photographer behind the camera that makes or breaks an image. The only way we can improve our photography is to practice and shoot a lot.

I am an introvert by nature, so going out and shooting random people, street life, and the like is not my strength. I get pretty intimidated when people start staring at me while I take pictures, and self-conscious. On a recent drive, I decided that I need to just break out of my comfort zone. I need to go out and shoot. For last few weeks I have been going out with some of my photographer for shoot in delhi and I feel its helping me in improving my mindset about urban & street Photography.

Photography tutorial - depth of field

Appreciate the Camera you have :-)

Lots of times I have seen people dreaming about good equipments. Its not bad but one should focus on photography rather thinking about new cameras and gadgets.

All cameras have are essentially the same thing, a shutter that exposes light on a light-sensitive surface. Sure, there are differences in engineering tolerances and technical ranges and the latest technology. Remember old Photographers had not these gadgets and their work is outstanding...

"The real difference between an average photo and an amazing photo, is the photographer, not the camera."


Here’s how you can make your camera amazing. It just takes a little bit of work:-


1 Read your camera manual. If you don’t have it anymore, you can probably find it online. Learn every feature and aspect of the camera you have. It will take amazing pictures if you know how to use it properly.

2 Take your camera with you everywhere you go, and take lots of photos. Take photos of everything. Find something uninteresting and find a way to make it interesting. That is the essence of art.

3 Practice in manual mode. All cameras have a manual mode take a photo and change a single setting. Then change that one setting and take another photo. In my opinion this is the best way to understand the manipulation of light.

4 Make each photo count. One of the biggest downfalls of digital photography is the ability to take so many photos so easily for so little monetary investment. So we buy a cheap camera and snap away, hardly taking a thought to what is in the view finder. STOP! Think about your next photo, then take the time to make it amazing. You’ll start thinking like a photographer and your photos will improve ten fold.

5 Keep your best photos in a special place, discard the rest. Professional photographers take thousands of and show only their best to the client. Take photos for you, you are your own client. One day you’ll look back and be amazed at your work.

Macro Shots : A new challenge

Today I got a Macro Lens and started using it...

Now what I found:

- Difficulty in getting right Depth-of-Field
- Shake is making the shot worse..

Dept of field is a powerful tool when taking macro images, and it’s a technique we need to understand in order to work true macro magic. We will generally be using very shallow depth of field settings when getting up close to the subjects, and the closer we get, the shallower depth of field becomes.

At times this can be frustrating. For Example, we think we have captured a great image of a flower in full bloom, but then find that parts of the image are too soft. One way of getting around this is to stand a little further back and use more zoom, but be prepared to pay the penalty in terms of Camera Shake...

A much better option is to adjust the aperture setting manually. Selecting a smaller aperture, such as f/16 or even f/32, will increase the depth of field and ensure that the subject stays sharp. Larger aperture settings, such as f/2.8, will provide sharp focus area that can be measured with millimeters.

However, as soon as the aperture gets smaller, shutter speeds start to get much longer in order to compensate for the reduced amount of lighting coming through the lens. At settings of ISO 100 and f/16, shutter speed will be roughly 1/60secs or even slower, which can be a bad news if we are taking a hand-held shot because the risk of camera shake increases considerably.

We can still take the shot by using a tripod. If a tripod is unavailable, steadying the camera against a wall, fence or even a camera bag will make things much less shaky.

Autofoucs saves a great deal of time and hassle in norma shooting modes, but it’s often a good idea to use manual when shooting up close.

Basic things about Architecture Photography

As a photographer, architecture offers many different challenges, especially for the new photographer. Technically, buildings can be very demanding to photograph, but the key in solving this and attaining good images is understanding image distortion and finding the best time to capture the building at its most glamorous moment.

Image distortion: When we look at a standard building, we see lines running horizontal and vertical. These lines often appear distorted and will make your image look warped. Image distortion occurs when we choose the wrong point to take our picture or use the wrong equipment.

With most SLR cameras a certain amount of image distortion will occur. Shooting directly in front of the building will limit your options but will limit the amount of distortion in your image.

View cameras are ideal cameras for architectural photography. They minimise distortion and allow you to shoot from any angle. If you are serious about architectural photography, an investment in a View Camera is something to consider.

Your lens may also make your image look distorted. A wide-angle lens will make the front of the building look massive compared to the rear.

If you are photographing a tall building, don’t shoot too near to the base. This will make the base of the building look too large compared to the top. Find a high advantage point, if possible, to take your picture.

Different light brings out different moods in a building. Just as with all other types of photography, studio photography being the exception, the time of day can make a big difference to an image. A building that looks plain and uninteresting during the day can be transformed by lighting at night. Also look out for photos that tell a story such as an office block with a single light on.

Side lighting will create long shadows along the front of the building adding mood to your image. Back lit buildings are extremely difficult to photograph and are only effective as a photograph when captured as a silhouette.

Most buildings are best captured at night and if possible shoot when there is detail left in the sky. You don’t need the most costly camera gear on the market to get great building pictures at night - bring plenty of film and a good sturdy tripod.

Great care should be taken when photographing the interior as elements within the interior may be distracting to the final image result. Remove any object that may interfere with your image.

- Give Old Buildings Some Space
- Even a Bit of Space Helps : If you're not capturing an entire village or farm, it still makes sense to think about the space around your subject. Space and proper framing enhance your main subject...

- Step Back and Use a Telephoto Lens :

- Back up from an work of architecture and use a telephoto lens to compress the perspective. This often brings out an interesting pattern.

- Include the Fence

- Watch the Shadows

- Watch the Weather : What's the best weather for photographing buildings? The sunlight adds punch to the fire hydrant and makes urban life seem more appealing. However, if you were trying to show people details or wall-designs in the buildings, a high overcast day would have been much better.

- Staircases can be very interesting :-)

- Lead the Eye by Leading the Person : If your composition includes a visible footpath into the scene, it should naturally draw the viewer.

- Add Natural Frames

But like all types of photography - practice makes perfect.

Photofunia Magic (PHOTO EDITING)

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