Choosing your equipment #photography
As well as being a blogger I’m also a community photographer and have to take quite a professional approach to that. However, my equipment isn’t so professional. Most of my content including the photographs is published online so I don’t need an expensive full-frame camera. I did upgrade to a DSLR from a bridge camera when I began to do lots of events but I chose the semi-professional DX camera which is much cheaper than a full-frame DSLR. Choosing your equipment for digital publishing is a lot cheaper than if you were taking photographs for high-end magazines.
Fixed apertures on phones #photography
I usually take photos either with my Nikon D3200 or my old Fujifilm S5600 but now I have a new phone I’ve been trying out the camera. I can set the white balance, ISO and shutter speed just like on my cameras, but the aperture is fixed. Essentially, it is fixed wide open. A wide open aperture is great for portraits and selfies but not quite so good for landscapes. The pictures will never be as sharp as a DSLR but I’ve been getting some interesting pictures because the LG G5 has two lenses. There is a normal one and a wide panoramic type lens. I tried the panoramic lens in our town hall and it made brought out the grandeur of the main hall, but with a little distortion. Cameras with fixed apertures can still take great photos, though.
Starting to use a DSLR #photography
When you first start to use a DSLR all the settings can be confusing and you have to get used to them slowly so you set the camera quickly without thinking too much about it. The first thing to learn is how to arrange your shot to get a nicely composed shot with lots of interest and depth.
Composing your winter picture #photography
I have to admit that I don’t spend enough time composing my pictures, but I do look for diagonal lines and anything that will give the image perspective. Photographing landscapes in winter is difficult with the poorer light but we can still get images with a cold winter look. (more…)
Coping with poor light #photography
Landscape photography in winter is a challenge, it’s either cold or very cloudy. I took this shot on Sunday in very poor light but composed the shot quite well. Notice the diagonal lines and the way the trees in the middle ground contrast with the trees in the background. (more…)
Aperture settings #photography
This isn’t a very good picture, but it demonstrates what I want to say. There is a post on the left that is out of focus and the birdhouse and tree are in focus. The depth of field is quite narrow. As you go away from the optimal distance from the camera things get blurred, but our subject is in sharp focus. (more…)
Competition photography
When you’re taking photos for a competition, you want a nice scene for a landscape, but you usually want your subject in sharp focus. You get sharp focus with a wide aperture. For this shot I needed a fast shutter speed too. (more…)
Settings on your camera #photography
Last week I talked about pre-shoot settings. I did those settings before I took this shot. You can see the exif on bottom of the picture. It was bright sunlight, so I set the white balance for bright sunlight and set the aperture quite narrow for depth of field. The ISO was on auto and the camera increased it to 160. That is strange, I have no idea why it did that. (more…)
Aperture and depth of field #photo
Picture courtesy of Nikon
The diagram above gives you some idea of apertures, the narrowest ones can be little more than a pin hole. Most lenses don’t go very wide. On a bridge camera they tend to go wider. On my Nikon the widest I can set the aperture is about f/3.5, more expensive lenses will go wider. (more…)
Aperture and depth of field #photography
This is the third lesson in my photography series for beginners. This week, I’ll look at a few things. White balance can be important, but I’ll also look at aperture and depth of field. What do you think the subject is in this picture? (more…)
Photography: photographing fireworks
Photography: Photographing fireworks – Mike Maynard
Fireworks are one of the hardest things to photograph, especially with a DSLR. Capturing the exact fraction of a second that the explosion occurs is part skill and part luck! This image is quite spectacular and artistic! (more…)
