Photography: How To Shot People?

A. There are few steps to follow........

They are as under..............

STEP 1: PLAN THE SHOT

Begin by communicating with your subject. Learn exactly what is expected from the portrait session, and how the pictures you shoot will be used. Next, find out about the setting that you will be shooting in ahead of time. This will guide you in your choice of lights and background materials. Arrange ahead of time the kind of clothing the subject will wear. It is best if they avoid pure white or black; very light or dark clothing can make lighting much more difficult. 

STEP 2: SET UP THE LIGHTS AND BACKGROUND

In addition to your camera, you will need some lighting equipment. This can be as simple as a couple of off-camera flash units with umbrellas, or a couple of tungsten lights. In addition to the lights, you will also need a tripod and a background cloth. If you are shooting a busy executive, you may want to have someone else stand in while you adjust your lights and test your initial exposures. Set your main light at a 45-degree angle, and bounce it into a white umbrella. Set a second light up behind and to one side of your subject. This light will give your subject some definition against a dark background. Use a fill card on the opposite side of the main light to balance the light on the subjects face but keep the ratio of light between the main source and the fill uneven for a more interesting portrait. If the background is distracting, hang a black cloth several feet behind where the subject will sit. Test your exposures, adjust the power output of your strobes, and shoot a few frames. 

STEP 3: ADJUST YOUR CAMERA

If you are using flash units, you will need to set up your camera to synchronize with them. We decided to work with both the flash and camera on manual, letting the photographer make all the exposure decisions. Switch your flash units to manual mode and turn off your internal flash. Choose a fast shutter speed to minimize any effect of ambient (room) light, and adjust your aperture to give a good exposure. This will be a function of the amount of light your flash units put out; reviewing a few test shots should show you the correct exposure. Be sure to set your color balance to match the electronic flash. If you are using incandescent (hot) lights, adjust your colour balance to match those lights. Set your camera to aperture priority mode, and choose a starting f-stop one stop down from wide open. If your camera has a portrait mode, you should experiment with that too. If your camera allows you to alter the degree of sharpening, use the normal or soft mode. 

STEP 4: POSE THE SUBJECT

Engage your subject in a conversation as you work. Evaluate the person’s look, and compensate with your lights and the camera angle you choose. For  example, if a person has a very thin face, have them look straight into the camera, while if they have a round face, try a 3/4 pose, and lift your camera angle a bit. If they have a lot of wrinkles, use softer wrapping light by bringing your umbrella closer. A large nose can be minimized by having it face directly into the camera with the chin raised slightly. A small nose can be given more emphasis with a side view. Watch out for reflections on eyeglasses, have them turned away from the lights, or raise your lights until the reflection goes away. 

STEP 5: TAKE THE PHOTOGRAPH

Be sure the focus is sharpest on the eyes. That’s the first place people look when examining a portrait. If your camera lets you zoom in when you are in review or play back mode, you can use that feature to check for sharp catch lights in the eyes. Catch lights are reflections of the light source that give life to the person’s eyes and make the portrait look natural. If you can think of any humorous stories, share them as a natural smile can add warmth to a formal portrait. Review your images as you work, and make sure you have good expressions as well as good exposures before you end the session.

Profesor AZii................

waiting for your comments....

Q: When and How to Shoot Cityscape?

A:
Here are some steps to follow to shoot a good quality photograph of cityscape.

1: CHOOSE DAY AND TIME TO SHOOT
Depending on the city you choose to photograph, quite likely you can get successful photos no matter what time of day or night you shoot. Generally, you will find that mid-day sun offers the least attractive light. As with all subjects, you want to consider carefully when the sun will provide the best light from your chosen vantage point. Some of the best views of a city may be seen from one direction only. If the sun sets behind a city (from your chosen vantage point), you may find that the best time to shoot that city is during daylight in the morning when the sun will be shining on the city—not from behind it, which would cause the buildings to be covered in shadows. Because many cities are often covered in haze (a nice word for pollution) {not every city in South Asia}, you may get some excellent photos if you shoot right after a rain because rain clears the air and possibly provides a rich blue sky, too.

2: SET UP THE TRIPOD AND CAMERA
Choose a good place to set up your camera and tripod. When you’ve determined the city you want to shoot, decide what vantage point you want. Consider shooting from a balcony in a high-rise building, or from a bridge. A different vantage point from the more obvious vantage points will result in a more unusual photo.

3: CHOOSE CAMERA SETTINGS
Select the slowest ISO speed your camera offers (possibly ISO 80 or ISO 100). Choose aperture priority mode and set the aperture to its smallest setting (for example, f/8.0) to provide the greatest depth-of-field. Use automatic focus and try using a “matrix” or “evaluative” metering mode to meter the entire image.

4: CHOOSE FOCAL LENGTH
Generally, you want to use the widest-angle setting your camera offers when shooting cityscapes. However, you can take many successful cityscapes with a telephoto lens as well. If you are some distance back from the city you want to shoot, you can select one small portion of the city to shoot with a telephoto lens. Technique 48(as most camera men know about it) give you better results for your cityscapes shooting.

5: COMPOSE AND TAKE PHOTOS
A beautiful city, perfect light, and the right camera equipment can all result in a not so- good photo if your composition is not good.

6: EVALUATE RESULTS AND MAKE SETTING CHANGES

As you shoot with a digital camera, take advantage of your camera’s histogram (if your camera has one).Use the histogram in addition to the image on the LCD monitor to see whether your images are properly exposed. Varying the settings slightly, especially by bracketing exposure, is always a good idea to give you a choice between images when you later download the photos to your computer and view the images on a large computer monitor.

lot more from profesor azii on this topic (photography)

Q: How to do Photography for Nature?

Here we can learn some steps to learn what is Nature photography and How to do it. here we go.............

A:

STEP 1: DECIDE WHERE TO SHOOT
-- The first step to getting a good pet portrait is deciding where to shoot. Sure, you can put the pet on a chair or table in front of a black drape and shoot the subject with strobes just as you would a people portrait. However, you can get much more interesting photos of pets if you shoot them in their natural surroundings doing things they enjoy doing. If your pet is a cat, try catching it napping in the sunlight in front of a favorite window. Or, you can shoot pets outdoors playing with a ball or chasing children. Once again, you should be aware of how important it is to have good light. An attempt at shooting a black Labrador in dark shade will be challenging. Likewise, when shooting a white poodle in bright sun, getting a well-exposed photo will also be hard. Yet, if you place the same white dog in an area of your yard where overhead trees soften the bright sun, you can easily shoot against a shady background to get a photo. The quality of light makes or breaks a photo—so choose a day, time, and place where you have good light. If you have a small pet like a bird, mouse, or snake, having someone hold the pet in his hands or on a comfortable perch held near a window can provide both a good source of light and a way of controlling the pet’s movement. Think about ways to involve your pet that will result in some good facial expressions. A “meow” sound made the poodle in turn his head and look curiously at the owner, who was standing directly behind the photographer. With a cat, a string or a bit of twine can work wonders. For a horse, it might be a carrot or a lump of sugar or maybe you can get a good photo just by shooting it in the stall. Next time your pet is fast asleep, with legs up in the air, and has a silly expression on its face, quietly grab your camera and take a few shots. Many of the best photographic opportunities just happen— they aren’t created.

STEP 2: CHOOSE FOCAL LENGTH
-- Depending on the length of the zoom lens on your camera, you may want to use a supplemental telephoto lens when taking a pet portrait. Longer lenses allow you to be farther away from your subject, which can be helpful if your pet is uncomfortable with too much attention. A little extra distance can also be helpful if your pet is a real attention hog, as you can reduce your pet’s activity by being a bit more distant and aloof.

STEP 3: CHOOSE CAMERA SETTINGS
-- If you are planning to shoot outdoors, select aperture priority mode and open your lens to its maximum f-stop. Depending on the amount of available light, the maximum f-stop setting will ensure that you are getting the fastest shutter speed you can, which helps stop any movement and helps keep your pet sharply focused. Try to use at least 1/250th of a second as the shutter speed if your pet is moving quickly. Next, enable fill, or forced flash. Outdoor fill flash allows you to capture detail in shadows, and is especially helpful if your pet has dark or black fur.

-- If you plan to shoot indoors, you have to evaluate the amount of available light to decide whether or not to use flash. If you have a cat that likes to sit on a window ledge, your primary concern will be getting a good exposure by metering for the cat, not the bright window. Use your camera’s exposure compensation feature, or spot metering with exposure lock to ensure that your subject is properly exposed. Shooting in a darker part of the room may work for sleeping pets (which can actually make some very good pictures), but if you have an active animal, you need to use supplemental lights.

STEP 4: GET YOUR PETS READY
-- Because shooting a pet can be more or less challenging depending on whose pet it is, what kind of pet it is, and how manageable it is, decide who ought to be working with the pet and who ought to be behind the camera taking photographs. Some of the most manageable pets, such as a well-trained dog can still be challenging unless you can get them to mind and to look like you want them to look.

-- Getting your pet’s attention, getting the right composition, and taking pictures all by yourself is sometimes tough, so, if possible, have an assistant who can either engage your pet or take pictures. If you plan to use an assistant, choose someone who has a good relationship with your pet and knows how to control it. A family member or a close friend who knows the pet would be a good choice.

-- In addition to your camera gear, make sure that you have a plentiful supply of the pet’s favorite treat. Food is a good motivator and reward, and it helps to get your pet to do what you want. Other useful tools for getting attention are noise makers, like squeakers and clickers. For animals that are fascinated by movement, like cats, a string or bit of yarn can be useful to attract their attention. If your pet has a favorite toy, use it to keep the pet posed for good photographs.

STEP 5: COMPOSE AND TAKE PHOTOS
-- Look critically at the light, and choose your angle based on its direction. While the obvious orientation is to have the sun shine toward the subject, you should also try some shots with the sun behind your subject, and fill the shaded face with light from your flash. If your camera has an automated fill flash mode, try it first. If not, you may need to move closer or farther away to achieve the correct balance between flash and existing light. You won’t be able to shoot from too far away, because built-in flash units are only effective at close range. Getting the exposure correct may take a few tries, but backlit and side-lit shots can do wonderful things with fur. Be sure to review your results on your LCD monitor as you shoot to ensure that you’re getting the right exposure, and that you are not picking up any red-eye from the flash. If your pet has dark fur, you may need to shoot with the sun behind you to get the detail you need.

-- When you are composing a picture of a pet, be sure to get the eyes in focus. If the eyes are in focus, your mind fills in the rest of the detail, and overall, it makes for a more pleasant portrait. The same technique applies for photographing people. A catch light (reflection of the light source) in the eyes gives your portrait more life — try to shoot to get one.

-- Also try shooting close to the ground so you’re shooting level to your pet, as that perspective is much better than one where you are looking down at it. To a small kitten, grass may be like a jungle, and you can shoot through the blades of grass to capture a unique perspective. Turn off your flash if it lights up too much of the foreground. Be aware of the background, and try to keep it simple. Indoors, choosing an angle that allows the background to go dark will be relatively easy; when you’re shooting outdoors, try to keep the background plain or out of focus.

STEP 6: EVALUATE SHOTS AND CHANGE
SETTINGS IF NEEDED
-- Once you’ve taken a few pictures, take time to carefully evaluate your results to see that they are well-composed, that they are in focus, and that they are properly exposed. Use your LCD monitor to look at the overall composition, and if your camera review has a zoom feature, use it to zoom in on the subject’s face to see if the eyes and face are in focus. Likewise, if your camera has a histogram, take a quick look to evaluate exposure.

-- Although obviously some differences exist between photographing different kinds of pets, great pictures of any kind of pet share a surprising number of similarities. First, the animal’s attention will be focused. When a horse’s attention is focused, its ears are pricked forward, both pointing in the same direction. With a snake, it could be indicated with a fixed stare of one eye, and a flick of the tongue. No matter what size your pet is, its eyes should be alive and bright, and your pet should be shown in a setting that is free of distracting elements.

What is Digital Photography?

Q: What is Digital Photography and How to Become A Digital Photographer?

A:

Digital cameras are only a few years old and are just now beginning to make serious inroads into photography. They have yet to be fully accepted by some photographers. However, despite some current limitations, digital cameras are the wave of the future and it's only a matter of time before most photographs are taken with these kinds of cameras rather than traditional film-based cameras.

Photographers who don't accept digital cameras generally base their arguments on the fact that the images are not as good as film-based cameras. Yet these same photographers most likely use 35 mm SLR cameras that are not as good as 8 x 10 view cameras. And if they do use 8 x 10 cameras, they don't use the even better mammoth glass plate view cameras used by Jackson and Muybridge after the Civil War. If they really wanted quality, they'd be using mules to carry their equipment. So much for their argument being based on the quality of the image.

The sad truth is that the quality of images has hardly improved at all since the first daguerreotypes of the 1840's and albumen and platinum prints of the late 1800s. What's happened is that both cameras and photographic processes have become easier and more convenient. Digital cameras are just another step along this path. Images captured with these cameras are admittedly different, but you'd be hard pressed to prove they are inferior. Many of the arguments you hear today about digital cameras are but echoes of the sentiments expressed when the 35mm Leica was introduced in 1925. Suddenly there was a camera that was easy to handle in the most difficult situations and with a long roll of motion picture film, capable of capturing one image after another. It may have used a much smaller negative, and hence been "inferior," but photographers who held onto their big, awkward box cameras were soon bypassed by history.

Another argument against digital cameras is that they are mainly of the point and shoot variety. That means they are fully automatic and don't have the controls that photographers have traditionally used to get great photos. This implies they are used for vacation pictures or photographs are taken as documents of family events. However, there is a certain elitism and snobbishness about this point of view. In general, the photographer brings more to a great photograph than the camera does.

But even if objections to image quality and lack of controls were true, these will change over time as more sophisticated, yet still affordable, cameras are introduced. Image quality already rivals or exceeds 35 mm film in high-end cameras. And these cameras also have the same controls as a professional 35 mm SLR.

Their only drawback is their price, but prices are falling rapidly now that image sensors are solid state and Moore's Law is at work. In the meantime, you can get good pictures with point and shoot cameras, but to get great ones you still need to understand what the camera is doing for you automatically. If you understand the basic functions of your digital camera, you’ll find it easier to expand and improve your photography. It's this understanding that gives you the creative control you need to record a scene realistically, just the way you saw it, or to instead capture the feeling or mood instead of the details making up the scene. Your understanding of a few basic principles makes it possible to take a photograph that bestexpresses what you want to convey.

Like artists in other mediums, as a photographer you have a set of "tools" that can make your photographs not only exciting and interesting to others but also unique to your own, very personal view of the world around you. The basic tools you have to work with are the way sharpness, tone, and color interact in the scene being photographed, the vantage point from which to take the picture, and the light under which it’s photographed.

You can choose to keep everything in a scene sharp for maximum detail or to blur it all for an impressionistic portrayal. You can keep some parts sharp and dramatic while letting others appear soft and undistracting. You can use black-and-white to emphasize tone, the innumerable shades of light and dark in every scene, or color to capture bright and powerful or soft and romantic colors. You can photograph the same subject at dawn, noon, dusk, or at night, in sun, rain, snow, or fog. Each of these variables will influence the image you get.

All of this is possible by adjusting only three controls on your camera: focus, shutter speed, and aperture. These three controls, however, when combined with patience, experience, and your own personal view of the world, lend themselves to an infinite variety of possibilities, which makes photography a life-long interest and challenge for even the most experienced professionals.

When learning and practicing photography, remember that there are no "rules," no "best" way to make a picture. Great photographs come from experimenting and trying new approaches even with old subjects.