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General Hints and Tips for Photography
This page provides hints and tips for the use of cameras and other photographic equipment.
They are not in any particular order. New tips will be added to the end of the list in each sub-section.
The success of this service will depend upon the willingness of club members to contribute their ideas.
If you have a hint or tip that you would like to share please email it to the webmaster.
| OTHER HINTS AND TIPS |
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In difficult lighting situations, such as deep shade or mixed light (daylight and tungsten) the automatic white balance setting on your camera may not give an appropriate setting. It is worth checking your camera manual for the procedure to set a custom white balance. On most digital SLRs this is a simple procedure that takes just a few seconds and it can save you a lot of time trying to correct white balance in Camera Raw or Photoshop.
To avoid distracting backgrounds in your images pay careful attention before you take the shot - it will save you a lot of time in Photoshop. If there is a distraction in the background - remove it if possible, otherwise move yourself or change your perspective. If none of this is possible, try using a wide aperture and/or a long lens so that you can focus tightly on the subject and have the background out of focus.
Before you take each shot, ask yourself what it is that you are trying to show with the image. If you know what you are trying to achieve it is much easier to get the composition, perspective and lighting correct. Try to take images that will tell a story to anyone who looks at them. This is particularly important with images of people - try to get the image to convey a message even if the viewer does not know the person in the image.
Are you the best judge of your own images? If you want to be successful in photographic competitions you have to take notice of what people say about your images. Judges will not always agree, but if the majority of people (judges and others) are saying that they do not like your image then maybe you should stop thinking it is your favourite.
Don't be afraid to experiment. Try taking familiar objects from different perspectives or in different light. Try different settings on your camera and different "treatments" in Photoshop. But always experiment with some particular goal in mind - random experimentation rarely produces winning images (especially when you are experimenting with Photoshop filters).
If the memory card in your camera fails when you know that it has images on it: Remove it. Do NOT reformat it. Do NOT try to use it in a different camera. Connect it to a computer via a good card reader and use recovery software to try to retrieve the images. There are several good image recovery software packages available. Some good quality memory cards have recovery software on them when you purchase the card - just download it to your computer. You can also download recovery programs from the web - some are free, most have a free trial period.
Good quality memory cards are becoming cheaper. Don't waste your money on no-name brands.
The KEN ROCKWELL web site provides very comprehensive reviews of cameras and lenses (particularly Nikon and Canon). It is well worth a visit if you are considering buying some new equipment. [You cannot buy from the site - just read reviews.]
All images on this site and all documents and tutorials linked to this site are copyright.
This page last updated 21st July 2008 (RK)