Creative Silence Blog

Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

People today really like to take pictures. That’s why most of their electronic gadgets are equipped with cameras so they can take pictures anytime they want to and everywhere they go. Of course different cameras have their own different qualities and outcome. General cameras may be able to capture precious moments in life, but the result may not be beautiful or even artistic. But when people have SLR cameras on their hands, they can be sure that the quality of the images will be just beautiful and marvelous.

The reason why SLR cameras are different from other cameras is because the SLR cameras are so packed with all the good stuffs and technologies. They’re equipped with the most sophisticated technologies that will be able to deliver high quality images that are bright, detailed, and crisp. Users won’t have to fumble with complicated or difficult setting up. All they have to do is adjusting the camera to their preference and they’re ready to go. They don’t even have to own impressive photography background to operate such device.

When people have SLR cameras, they will naturally need SLR lenses. The lenses are different from the others because they’re able to capture the best quality of a subject and reduce any reflection from it.

Have you ever wondered where modern photography originated? While we are now moving into the digital age and away from film, the lighting techniques and other photography techniques began in the 1820’s. Niepce and Daguerre were the first inventors of modern photography. They used a chemical component from silver and chalk, which darkens when exposed to light. This type of technology used a glass negative to cement the picture.

From the early cameras seen in western films we have moved on to manual cameras with film. This film or negative captured the image on a roll to be developed in a dark room to prevent over exposure. The manual cameras used a theory of setting up shots. You had to understand aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and metering to obtain the best picture possible. This meant you spent a lot of time setting up the shot and had to be a professional to catch wildlife in their natural habits.

Aperture is measured by F-stops, or the amount of light the lens will let in. Focusing and depth of field are also important when setting the aperture on your camera. You have to know what numbers will allow more light to enter the lens and the converse to avoid over exposure and blurriness.  Shutter speed is the amount of time a lens is open for the picture. You may have found in a darkened room without flash your camera takes a while to imprint the picture on the negative. This is because the light is dim and the shutter must correct for the lack of light. The lack of light induces a need to expose the film longer to obtain the picture where as more light will have the shutter moving at a faster speed.

From the manual cameras we moved into the automatic. The camera became lighter. The shutter speed and aperture was programmed into the camera by the settings. ISO became important. ISO is the film speed. Instead of taking minutes to set up a shot you just had to pick the correct setting and hold the button down to focus. Many cameras came as automatic with manual options for those who still liked to treat photography as an artistic vocation.

Digital cameras are the new era in photography.  Now we can see the picture we take without the use of film and negatives. We can send the pictures to all of our friends and use our home printers to create prints. Photography has moved from the concentration of taking the perfect shot with a skill born to a few to everyone taking pictures.

This is not to say photography and photographers will not remain. There is still the need for quality in taking professional grade photographs. Light sensitivity is still important when dealing with a digital camera and unless you spend a lot, you will find quality of photographs is still missing. Photograph techniques lay within the lighting provided whether natural or artificial for the subject. You might wonder how to create a photograph in a dark room like a museum to share with your friends and family. Knowing the past photography techniques will help you in attaining that perfect photograph with your digital camera. Photography may have originated with few people, but we can see the advancements their inventions have led us to now.

Photography is art.  Individuals will spend hours in museums and galleries analyzing a person’s photographs for the meaning.  Like painting photographs have a message, sometimes it will evoke sadness, happiness, a carefree attitude, and thought.  There are many techniques a budding photographer will learn to evoke the emotions they desire.  One such technique is using artificial lighting.  Artificial lighting is not always as fun and easy as sunlight, but you can use it to create some wonderful photographs once you know how.

Indoor lighting is often fluorescent and tungsten bulbs.  Tungsten bulbs are used by professional photographers, as “hot lights” because of the high temperature they produce.  In photography it is important to understand the temperature scale in relation to the colors they will produce.  A hot light will produce more red and reduce the blue.  Firelight and candle light though not artificial can be used in doors to create shadows and depth.

When using indoor lights, specifically artificial light you will need to understand exposure.  When you have less light it will take longer to expose the film to capture a photograph.  Part of exposure is the angle.  Lets talk about taking pictures in a museum.  For instance I was in a museum with minerals behind glass and a woman made the statement if she took the picture nothing would come from it.  This is not true.  First in a darker room where you have direct light on the object you will not want to use the flash.  The flash will bounce the light back at the picture.  The next step is to get as close to the glass as possible.  The third consideration is the angle.  Taking the picture head on of the object will bounce the light and shadows about.  You will need to angle the camera to the side or up from the ground to attain the photograph.  If you do not have glass in the way the angle will still be important, especially when taking portraits.  Shooting any subject head on is likely to create shadows and take away from the print.  The best angle for shooting portraits is often up into the face.

When shooting faces or other objects you usually want a three dimensional contrast.  You will need to search for the planes and contours of the subject, especially in portrait photography.  The planes and contours will help you determine the angle you will shoot the subject from.  The shadows will often provide the three dimensional contrast if you find the correct planes and angle to shoot from. This helps with pictures that you want to stand-alone.

Artificial lighting needs to be moveable.  Just turning on your home lights will not give you the desired affect.  Instead it can wash out the subject, place the light at the wrong angle, or create too much shadow in one area.  You need to have lights set up on tripods to change the angle to suit your needs.  Rooms are small which is one reason over head lights can either be too powerful or not direct enough.  Following lighting tips will increase your photography skills.  Most amateur photographers find taking a class on lighting and having a few books on the subject will help them learn proper lighting techniques.  The reason for classes is to provide feedback.  You may be happy with the shot, but suggestions can help you make the shot perfect in the future.

Artificial lighting has advantages over outdoor or natural lighting, but sometimes the picture turns out better with natural light. It might be a matter of preference or the desire of a client or subject for that matter. You never have artificial lighting outside for the most part; you usually rely on your camera flash to help with the picture quality. When you choose your lighting, look for the best lighting situation to enhance your subject and make your picture as natural as possible.

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