photography_matters

Articles on Photography Matters:

Holding the Camera Steady While You Shoot

Before I shoot the photo, I will always ask myself:

What can I do to hold the camera steady while shooting?

You may wonder why this is important.

Just understand that any digital camera take a 'little' time to capture the image. This is done via a sensor by sensing the reflections of the light rays from the target. The darker the surrounding environment, the longer the sensor needs to capture the image. Thus, it is important that the camera does not move out of focus during this 'little' time. If not, the resulting photo will be blurred to a certain extent.

Below are a few things that you may want to consider doing:

Breathe out and hold your breath before pressing the trigger to shoot. Breathing causes the body to move. Thus, the body can be more steady by holding the breathe.

NB: Please do not hold your breath if you are taking photo while diving!

Use a tripod to support the camera while shooting. This is especially important if the surrounding environment is a little dark.

Train fingers, hands and arms muscles regularly. A stronger hands allow one to hold the camera more steadily. It's important if you are caught in a situation without a tripod and the surrounding environment is a little dark. In summary, the simple weekly idea that I will like to share with you is :

Hold your camera steady while you shoot.

To your best shot,
Max Ng
Singapore
18 Dec 2006
www.addictivephoto.com

Choosing a Suitable Background - Photography

Have you ever seen a photo or photos where something else other than the intended subject catches your eye first?

For example, a photo of your friend dressed in dull colors has a background of a painting in bright colors. The painting in bright colors will catch the attention of a photo viewer first.

The main cause is the use of inappropriate background for photo taking.

Imagine the reverse, a photo of your friend dressed in bright colors has a background of a painting in dull colors. Your friend will catch the attention of the photo viewer first.

See the power of of using an appropriate background!

There are a few guidelines that I will adhere to when choosing a suitable background to take a subject:
Any attention grabbing objects or people in the background?

Any objects or people will become a distraction as a result of reflection of sunlight, flashlight...etc?

Any objects or people will become prominent as a result of combination of the subject and the background?

The background maybe appropriate if all the answers to the above questions are NO.

In short, the simple idea that I will like to share with you is:

The subject must be the only prominent object or person/people in a selected background for photo shooting

To your best shot,
Max Ng
Singapore
18 Dec 2006
www.addictivephoto.com

Optimum Temperature - Photography

Once, I went trekking in Nepal. On my 3rd day of trekking at about 3000m above sea level, I saw beautiful sceneries of snow mountains. I took out my camera to shoot but only to realize that my camera not working at all. At first, I thought the battery went flat, so I bought new batteries but the camera still could not work At last, I accepted that my camera has malfunction.

But when I was back to Singapore, I tried the camera again after unpacking and realize that the camera is working again. So I thought, the next time, I would use a weather proof camera that can be used in all weather.

After a few years, I brought another camera which is supposed to be 'weather proof' to Korea during winter. Again, the camera has malfunction.

These events teach me that it is important to keep the camera at an optimum temperature to function properly. If the weather is too cold or too hot, this would affect the camera which may end up malfunctioning. Even if you have managed to take a photo, the quality may not be as good since the camera has malfunctioned.

In cold weather, keep the camera warm else it would suffer from 'cold'. In hot weather, keep the camera cool else it would suffer from 'fever'. Only take it out from the container when you need to shoot the photo. After finishing, quickly put back into the container.

In short, the simple idea that I will like to share with you is :

Keep the camera in the optimum temperature before shooting.

To your best shot,
Max Ng
Singapore
18 Dec 2006
www.addictivephoto.com

Seeing is believing

Once, I showed my friends some printed photos of fireworks. When they saw them, their first reaction was to ask me what type of camera did I use for the shooting. When I told that I used an average compact digital camera that cost around $200, they were very surprised. In addition, I have shared with them that they need to use the 'Firework' scene mode and a tripod to achieve the effects.

Then they recalled that they should have attempted to shoot the nice fireworks display during their last oversea trip. They did not do so because they thought that it is impossible to do so with a compact digital camera. Based on my photos, they have decided that if they ever going to see a nice fireworks display again, they are going to take them with their own compact digital camera.

Do you see my point? We must believe that we can take nice photos before we actually can do it. One of the ways is to look at someone's photography works so that you are convinced that it is possible to achieve that standard or even better.

Once you are convinced that it is possible to do it, don’t just stop there. Do it while you feel the passions! Print a copy of that photo and place it on your desk. This will serve as a constant reminder for you to achieve that standard. Next, create a plan on how you can go about achieving that standard. Take actions according to your plan. That is you should go for as many rounds of photo shooting as required. Based on your results, examine and identify your mistakes. Learn from your mistakes and revised your plan. Take actions with your new plan. Keep learning from your mistakes and fine-tune your photography skills until you achieve that desired standard.

You can also join photography forums to seek advice on how to improve your photography skills from the experts. Also, you can form a support group of around the same standard with the common objective of improving photography skills. When you are learning together, there will be no issues of embarrassment for asking ‘silly’ questions. Also, you can learn from each other mistakes and tips for taking good photos. In this way, you can accelerate your learning to achieve better photography skills.

In short, the simple idea that I will like to share with you is: See to believe that you can do it!

To your best shot,
Max Ng
Singapore
22 Dec 2006
www.addictivephoto.com