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Before Taking a Photograph |
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You may be the most trigger-happy person around, but than does not amount to the fact that your pictures are good.
If you thought that your love for photography qualifies your photographs as 'awesome', think again. There is a lot that goes into a picture that does not involve your finger and the shutter release button. Here are a few aspects that you need to be mindful of before pressing down.
As pointed out, photography is not just about pointing your camera and taking the shot. Oftentimes, you just take a photograph without much consideration to it and you move on to your next target. But this is not the best way to take a good picture. True, you may have taken a few good shots on your own way. But luck does not always favor. To evolve into a good photographer, your mind should actively search for ways in which to improve it. You need to question the quality of your shot.
Are you wondering what you should ask? Well, here are a few simple questions to put things in perspective before you press down 'the' button:
You may be the most trigger-happy person around, but than does not amount to the fact that your pictures are good. If you thought that your love for photography qualifies your photographs as 'awesome', think again. There is a lot that goes into a picture that does not involve your finger and the shutter release button. Here are a few aspects that you need to be mindful of before pressing down. As pointed out, photography is not just about pointing your camera and taking the shot. Oftentimes, you just take a photograph without much consideration to it and you move on to your next target. But this is not the best way to take a good picture. True, you may have taken a few good shots on your own way. But luck does not always favor. To evolve into a good photographer, your mind should actively search for ways in which to improve it. You need to question the quality of your shot. Are you wondering what you should ask? Well, here are a few simple questions to put things in perspective before you press down 'the' button:
Is the main subject in Focus?
Sounds silly? Well, it's one of the most elemental questions to be asked. Especially since you are perfectly aware of how miserably a picture can lose its essence when the main subject is out of focus. A properly focused picture has a crystal-clear subject and always attracts the viewer's eye. So check your focal points before taking a picture. What if there is more than one element that you want to focus on? In such scenarios, you need to increase your depth of field as much as is necessary or possible to cover the depth of your important elements. After this you need to focus on the most important among all the elements: your subject. For example, let us consider a portrait photograph. You should try to consider the eyes of your subject in sharp focus while other part of the face well within the depth of field.
What about my other camera settings?
A camera is always to be set carefully and you need to be aware of it. You may create marvelous effects or create a hopeless image, but it should never be unknowingly. To begin with, review whether the preset scene modes available in your camera like: Auto, Portrait, Macro, Sports etc. are adequate. If any one of them is, then go right ahead, set it and shoot away. As a beginner, this should be your choice. These preset scene modes are set in your camera by judging the light available and then calculating the best setting based on the data already stored in your camera. Then, check the ISO. If you use an unnecessarily high ISO, you will get a noisy effect in your photograph. Your best bet is to set the default ISO to a lower one like 100 or 200. When you need to scale higher, just return to the default and set it again. Of course, do remember to return to default again so as to minimize your chances of forgetting to shooting in a higher ISO. Another thing that confuses most shutter-bugs in their initial days is whether they should use the 'shutter-speed priority' mode or the 'aperture-priority mode'. When in this confusion, the thumb rule is always to use:
Is the photo-framing straight?
Aah! There goes another crucial question. And the answer should be a resounding 'yes' if you intend on taking that momentous photograph! The frame of the photograph has to be straight. If the frame includes the horizon, then it should appear horizontally, and trust us, it's one of the basic guidelines. You may intentionally tilt the frame to emphasize some other point, but you better have a good reason to be doing something like that.
Background? Who cares?
You should, if you want your picture to be good! A background plays a vital role in differnetiating between a 'photograph' and a 'good photograph'. In fact, it is as important as your focal subject/ foreground. An irrelevant or distracting background ruins your efforts and beats the purpose of the photograph completely. So, always try to keep irrelevant elements away from the background of your frame. If the background is cluttered, your subject may get lost in it. Moreover, disruptive backgrounds draw the attention of the viewer away from the main subject. To improve your take, try changing your position or angle, or even wait if the background is dynamic. Trust us, it will be worth the effort.
Is my composition correct?
Do i see your eyes growing rounder in wonderment, as you ponder over the question, "is a photograph composed?" Yes, it is, and 'composed' is the term you need to remember when you go about on a shooting spree. Fore your composition, it is always advisable to follow the conventional techniques. And these techniques include: However, rules are meant to be broken, especially if they don't serve the purpose. So, if you find that these rules are not serving your purpose, then break them to frame your photograph in a different yet more appropriate way. Just keep one thing in mind: it is important to know these rules well, if you think of breaking them.
From where the light emmanates?
When you venture into taking a picture, one thing unceasingly puts things in perspective. This is the fact that every photograph is actually a mass of light, and it is this light that you are attempting to capture. Hence, the source of light is what makes or breaks your photo, which in turn depends on how aware you are or how wisely you use it. An understanding of the direction of the main light source and its intensity answers several questions like: As a rule, unless you intend on capturing a silhouette or back-lit image, you should always try to avoid the sun or any other bright light source in front of your camera, as this ruins the balance of exposure in your frame.
Taking a Close call?
As a good photographer, you should always evaluate whether you are close enough to your subject or not. Closeness to the subject is an important criteria if you want to stress on it. Closeness also easily fills up the meaningless empty space in your frame, allowing you to keep irrelevant clutter out of your frame. Sometimes it may not be possible to move closer to a subject even if you want to. A longer focal length or a telephoto lens comes in handy in those cases.
How deep is your field?
The 'depth of field' is the depth within which the elements will possess considerable sharpness. You need to decide whether you want to use a shallow depth of field or a much wider one , and then set your aperture accordingly. A golden rule you can rely on is to Increasing your depth of field covers a range of depths, thus keeping them considerably sharp. While, shallow depth of field helps eliminate the distracting effects of unwanted elements or background.
Need for Shutter speed?
You'd want to check on your shutter speed once before you punch the shutter release button, or else, you might end up with a well shaken and stirred photograph.
Re-view?
You are almost ready now to take that master shot. But not ready enough yet to run along with your shoot-at-sight machine in hand. A photograph does not end with just taking it. It only begins there. And it is also this final stage that separates a good photographer from an average one. This stage is when you review the shot you have taken in the light of all the things you have learnt. It should not be a bad review if you were attentive while taking the shot. However, it does not hurt to find out what and where the photo lacks, and the ways in which it could be made better. Then just try a different angle or camera settings for the same shot and subject in different way. |
| Date added: 2009-10-24 08:24:54 Hits: 68 |
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