How to Capture Really Sharp Photos |  |
- How to Capture Really Sharp Photos
- Interesting Photo of the Day: Lighting Strikes Grand Canyon
- How to Get a Nice White Background in Portrait or Still Life Photography
| How to Capture Really Sharp Photos Posted: 17 May 2013 11:42 AM PDT One of the most frustrating experiences for a photographer is to get home from a photo trip with some great images only to find that some of the images are not sharp. To help solve this problem, this article covers seven things that a photographer can do to create really sharp images.  “Twilight Inferno” captured by DailyTravelPhotos.com (Click Image to See More) TripodWhen it comes to getting sharp images, the first place to start is with a tripod. A tripod provides a stable platform that holds the camera rigid — dramatically increasing the sharpness of the image. Weighting the tripodA tripod is a good start. However, a tripod can be made even more stable by using some object to weigh down the tripod. This produces even sharper images. This is so important that many tripods have some type of mechanism at the bottom of the center post that was designed for hanging objects to add weight to the tripod. A simple way to take advantage of this feature is to carry a small net bag with your photo equipment. The bag can be filled with rocks, or other materials, and attached to the tripod. Even if a tripod doesn’t have such a mechanism, other methods can be used such as hanging a camera bag from the center column of the tripod. Shutter releaseJust because a camera is on a tripod doesn’t mean that the camera will be steady. The simple act of pressing the shutter can cause vibrations that will cause a loss of sharpness. The solution is simple. A remote switch can be used to release the shutter. A remote switch is a device that attaches to the camera through a cable, or wirelessly, and allows the photographer to release the shutter without touching the camera. Mirror lock upEven if the camera is set up on a tripod, the tripod is weighted down, and a remote switch is used, image quality can still be degraded due to vibration from the movement of the camera’s mirror when the shutter is released. This vibration is primarily a problem with shutter speeds between about 1/30s and 1s.  “Happy New Year Singapore” captured by fady (Click Image to See More From fady) This is easily solved by enabling the mirror lockup function on the camera. Once enabled, pressing the shutter button once swings the mirror out of the way. Pressing the shutter button a second time releases the shutter. This way, the mirror vibration dies out before the shutter is released. ApertureThe middle apertures (around f/8 for most lenses) produce the sharpest images. The larger apertures produce softer images due to various aberrations while the smaller apertures produce softer images due to diffraction. Shutter SpeedWhile a tripod eliminates camera movement, the subject that is being photographed may be moving. Thus, a shutter speed that is high enough to freeze the subject movement should be used. This may require that a larger aperture be used in order to get the proper exposure ISOIncreasing the ISO will allow a higher shutter speed to be used in order to stop the movement of the subject.  “Cloud Chafers” captured by DailyTravelPhotos.com (Click Image to See More) Following these techniques will put you on your way to creating some really sharp photos. About the Author For even more information on sharp photography techniques: Tack Sharp Photography Guide Go to full article: How to Capture Really Sharp Photos |
| Interesting Photo of the Day: Lighting Strikes Grand Canyon Posted: 17 May 2013 10:44 AM PDT We’ve all seen photos of the Grand Canyon, but I’ll bet you’ve never seen one like this. Last year, Travis Roe captured this image of a lightning bolt striking the rim of the Grand Canyon. Roe submitted the image to the U.S. Department of Interior who released the image recently. The image has become one of their most viewed and liked photos of all time:  Grand Canyon lit by giant lightning bolt (Click to See Larger Size, Imgur) The lightning adds a beautiful and almost surreal lighting to the image giving a fresh perspective on an otherwise over-photograph landmark. Below is a video clip from NBC Nightly News that tells a bit more about the photo: Go to full article: Interesting Photo of the Day: Lighting Strikes Grand Canyon |
| How to Get a Nice White Background in Portrait or Still Life Photography Posted: 17 May 2013 09:32 AM PDT If you’ve spent time shooting people or products inside a studio then, chances are, you’ve shot a white background before. In this video, photographer Mark Wallace discusses a common pitfall of shooting subjects against a white background — lighting the background insufficiently so it appears gray instead of white. He offers a couple of solutions, using both off-camera speedlights and more powerful studio strobes (for those of you reading this by email, the video can be seen here): The said mistake stems from the incorrect assumption many photographers make that moving the key light closer to the subject leads to a better illuminated background. Mark goes on to illustrate how such is not the case and repeatedly mentions the Inverse Square Law which governs the physics of light intensity with respect to distance.
Mark presents a couple of quick and easy lighting solutions. The first involves using separate speedlights to illuminate the subject and the background. Ideally, the background light is one stop brighter than the key light. The second employs a studio strobe fired into a large parabolic reflector and positioned on-axis, with the subject set close to the background so they are illuminated roughly equally. As the tutorial shows, a little knowledge of lighting principles can go a long way. Go to full article: How to Get a Nice White Background in Portrait or Still Life Photography |
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