Inspiring ways to improve your photos
Inspiring ways to improve your photos
Photo Review tips section
Different places and different times of day can affect the colours you capture in a digital photograph and all image sensors are designed to reproduce a wide range of hues and tones accurately. From the harsh desert sunshine to the misty rainforest; from sunrise to dusk; indoors and out; your camera should be able to produce pictures that capture the colours and atmosphere of the place and time of day.
Clouds have been a popular subject with photographers since panchromatic film made it possible to differentiate them from the sky in photographs! They still remain popular. The inclusion of interesting clouds can make a landscape shot, and they are often worth photographing simply for their structural beauty. However, photographing clouds can present some problems for digital photographers.
Expect to hear a lot more about colour fringing in digital photos as the pixel counts for compact digicams continue to rise, while sensors become smaller. At the same time, expect to see the true reasons for colour fringing misattributed more often than not. To ‘put you in the picture’ (so to speak), if you see coloured fringes along edges in a photograph it can be attributed to one of two effects: chromatic aberration or blooming. The problem is deciding which one is the cause.
From the Archive: Don’s Editorial, Photo Review Issue 5 June/July 2002
The burst (or continuous shooting) mode on a digital camera is a new feature for those who have never used a film SLR but a familiar one for most SLR users. However, the way it works – and the options provided – are quite different on digital still cameras (DSCs). Whereas film cameras were dependent on how quickly and accurately the motor drive could jump the film through the film gate, digital cameras rely on the speed of the data processing system and the size of the internal ‘buffer’ memory where the image is stored while it awaits processing.
Many cameras offer one or more bracketing functions. The most common is auto exposure bracketing (AEB), which involves taking a series of pictures of the subject while changing the exposure level. The normal practice is to take three shots, one under-exposing by 1/3EV, the second at the metered exposure and the third over-exposing by 1/3EV. This basic strategy is a kind of ø¢â‚¬Ëœinsurance policy’ for obtaining a correct exposure (there’s a good chance at least one of the three shots will be correctly exposed).
Correct exposures make good photographs so it’s important to understand the controls that determine image brightness.
Photographers often use the Japanese term, ø¢â‚¬Ëœbokeh’ to describe the quality of the out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field. Though it’s difficult to quantify, some lenses produce more attractive bokeh than others.
Photographers can become obsessed by lighting, yet many of us ignore the effect the angle of the sun can have on the pictures we take. Most people know the best times for photography are early in the morning and late in the afternoon, and many are aware that the low sun angle produces elongated shadows, which lend definition to subjects. But sun angle can have other effects on the ways in which digital camera sensor records the tones in image files. Understanding these effects can not only help you to use your camera more effectively; it can also illustrate the value of having equipment reviewed in the lighting conditions that apply where you live.
Ads can be a pain, but they are our only way to maintain the server. Please deactive Ads blocker to read the content. Your co-operation is highly appreciated and we hope our service can be worth it.