I have already stated this several times on this site, but if you really want to become a better photographer you need to master your equipment and then forget about it. Better and more expensive equipment will not improve the images you take. It could possibly improve the technical quality of an image but not the content. For that you need a "Good Eye" and the ability to make the camera do what you want it to do.
Also see Control The Camera
Basically if your camera has the facility to shoot RAW image files the resulting images will be "unprocessed". So what does that mean?
If you are taking photographs with the default settings as most people do, the files produced by your camera will be the JPEG format and have the file extension of " jpg" e.g. filename.jpg. The camera will have performed some "in camera" processing to produce the file. Examples of this processing will be contrast adjustments and sharpening etc.
Generally the results are good and the cameras produced today sometimes have an amazing ability to "process" the image to achieve good results in all sorts of conditions. This technology is improving all the time.
Delving deeper into the camera manual you will often find that the camera has a baffling array of different "scene" modes which sometimes work very well but not always in every situation. I often wonder how many people actually remember to use all of these different modes when taking photographs. If you do I would be glad to hear from you about your experiences and maybe you could show me some results?
The advantage of using JPEG files is that the file sizes are usually smaller meaning you can get more images on your memory card and you do not need to do any further work on the resulting images. The drawback is that unless you get everything "bang on" when taking the photograph, ( or the camera does! ) it will be harder to process and improve the photograph afterwards.
The big advantage of the RAW file is that you can keep your original image file in it’s "unprocessed" state and then make adjustments to all of the processing parameters such as colour, contrast, exposure, sharpness and many more adjustments. You can then save the result as a new file version of the original. The disadvantage is the increase in file sizes and the extra work needed to produce the result you want.
As you can see there is a trade off here and the vast majority of casual photographers are shooting their images in JPEG mode. However as you progress you may well want to consider the flexibilty that RAW can offer.
In both cases the important thing is to try and get everything as right as you can before you take the photograph. Once you understand how to control your camera to achieve the results you want every time, you can produce stunning images whether you shoot in RAW or JPEG mode.
Also see Control The Camera
When first starting to use our cameras we all have a tendency to point our camera straight at the intended subject so that the point of interest in the resulting photograph is dead centre in the middle of the frame.
This tendency is not helped by the fact that most cameras are initially set up so that a halfway press on the firing button usually calculates the exposure and more critically the point of focus, which is normally dead centre on the camera LCD or in the viewfinder. Sometimes this is fine but often the composition can be changed to create a more interesting photograph.
Before pressing the shutter stop and think!
The first thing to consider is … are there any elements within the frame that will distract from my intended subject. Look around especially at the edges of the frame. Is there anything that might detract the viewer of this image? Examples could be someone at the edge of the photograph or possibly just part of a person, arms, legs etc.. Any object within the frame that will draw your viewer’s eye from your intended subject?
Strong colours or bright objects will also draw the eye in a photograph and if not carefully placed or omitted altogether, they will have an impact on the resulting image. Sometimes just moving your body slightly up, down or left and right can chaange the photograph dramatically. You can also move forwards or backwards or if you have a zoom lens adjust that slightly to omit unwanted distractions within your composition.
You can usually do all of these slight adjustments after you have pressed the firing button halfway down. This will maintain the focus point on your main subject, the only exception being if you move backwards or forwards as you would then need to re-focus and then recompose as needed.
Try thinking more about your overall composition before actually pressing the button fully thereby taking the picture and you should start to see major improvements in your photographs.
I am a wedding photographer so all of the images below ( and many others on this site ) were taken at weddings. However they help demonstrate what I have stated above.
In every case I have focused on the subject and then recomposed the image within the frame. Note how in the second and third images the bright lights do draw your eye. As stated this is something to be aware off particularly if they are near the edge of the frame as in the second image. However I think I have just about got away with it here.
The fifth image has the main subjects positioned fairly central in the frame but notice how I moved around to use the bending arch of the tree to add to the composition. In the last image I quickly focussed on the little girl and then recomposed the image to show more of what she is looking at.
Also see Control The Camera
Click on the first image to see larger versions.
Both of these images were taken at weddings. The lighting in both instances is important here.
The image on the left was taken as I was leaving the brides house in the morning. The little bridesmaid stood in the doorway as I left and as I turned round I saw the opportunity for a great image.
Although it was a very sunny morning the doorway was providing the perfect soft reflected light that is ideal for photographing people.
The right hand image of the little boy was taken in a church before the arrival of the bride. Again the lighting was ideal, soft reflective light, although a higher ISO setting was required to enable a sharp image.
When photographing at weddings I am always looking for opportunities like this, to capture natural looking pictures of guests without any setup or posing.
I always set the camera so that I have a large aperture setting and will adjust the ISO setting to ensure that I also have a shutter speed that will be fast enough to avoid any camera shake and the possibilty of a blurred image.
Then it is a question of looking …. looking for the light first, then looking for the subject, quickly composing the frame and then waiting for the right moment to press the shutter.
Also see Control The Camera
Click on the images to see larger versions.
When photographing groups of people from a distance it pays to think about the overall composition before rushing to take the shot.
For both of these images a telephoto lens was used to compress the distance and to help isolate the subjects against their backgrounds. In both images the composition allows a sense of scale and draws the viewers eye back down to the people.
Timing is also important in both of these images, I could see the potential in both subjects, but by waiting until there were gaps within the groups I have helped to separate them from their backgrounds.
Click on the images to see larger versions.
Compact cameras are getting better and better every year. The quality and range of features make them a very attractive proposition for the photographer who doesn’t want the bulk of a DSLR ( Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera ).
The main advantage is the ease with which they can be carried around for everyday use without the bulk and weight of the much larger and heavier DSLR.
I was attracted to the new Fuji X10 because of it’s solid construction, retro looks and the simplicity of the controls. It actually has knobs and dials rather than the usual on screen menu systems seen on so many compact camera now. It does of course still have a menu system, but tasks such as altering the F stop or adjusting exposure compensation can be performed using the dials and knobs on the camera body.
I wanted to see how well the camera coped with low light and yesterday I took these four shots here on an early evening visit to Margate, a seaside resort in the UK. All of the images were taken at the widest lens setting ( equivilent to 28mm on a 35mm camera ) and the camera itself adjusted the ISO speed settings automatically.
As you can see I was attracted by the dramatic cloud formations as the sun went down and the silhouttes of the rooftops set against the sky.
For those interested in the final camera settings – in the order that they appear First – 1/25th sec at F4 ISO 3200, Second – 1/15th sec at F5.6 ISO 400, Third – 1/15th sec at F3.6 ISO 640, Fourth 1/60th sec at F4 ISO 800
Also see Control The Camera Knobs & Dials Lenses Extension of You
Click on the first image to see larger versions.
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