Hobby Photography Tips - Resource for Learning Photographers

When people know that you are a passionate photographer, you might get asked to photograph two people together, and it is a situation that can require a quite special approach. In most cases it is important not only to produce a good likeness of each of the two people, but also to suggest the relationship between them and at the same time compose the picture in a way that produces a pleasing and balanced arrangement.

This is a task that can be notably more difficult than taking a single portrait or even photographing a group, as the way in which you arrange the subjects will often be affected by the relationship you wish to imply, and two people can present more of a problem in terms of composition than will one person.

When taking photographs of couples, it is important to ensure that the two faces are on a similar plane of focus, as with a close up picture the depth of field will become quite restricted. For this reason it is safer to use the smallest practical aperture, and to allow for the fact that the depth of field extends rather farther behind the point of focus than it does in front.

It should not be assumed that side by side heads or heads directly above each other must always be avoided, as they can be effective provided that some other element of composition, such as a hand or even special lighting, is used to prevent the image appearing too static. This type of arrangement is probably the most suitable where the relationship between the two models is rather formal, but where a more intimate situation is being photographed, for example as a mother and child, or a bride and groom. You should remember to think about the positioning of them, and make sure that they are placed in contact with each other.

Let’s take an example, a bride could be placed so that she leans back against the shoulder or chest of her partner, and with a very tightly framed shot their faces can be positioned in contact with each other. Apart from making a more dramatic composition this will also help to create a warmer and more intimate mood. In this type of picture it is also possible to make more use of hands and arms, which can be an effective means of creating amore interesting arrangement.
In most cases it is preferable to offset the two heads, so that one is slightly above the other and they form a diagonal line rather than a horizontal. This can be achieved by positioning one of the models slightly behind and a little higher than the other so that the mouth of one is at least above the other’s eyeliner.

It has been said that photographers never actually see things happening, only the image reflected in their viewfinders. But if this is true it is more than compensated for by the fact that they are able to produce a lasting visual record, and not just acquire a transient memory. Although the most important element of these pictures will be the subject to its self, and the purpose at the time of making the exposure is not to produce a great masterpiece, the pleasure of looking at the picture in the future will undoubtedly be enhanced if it is also a good photograph.

The sort of occasions that become milestones during a lifetime are so varied that it is not possible to formulate any particular method of recording them. One week it may be a children’s party with a dozen excited seven year olds crowding around the birthday cake and the following week it may be your grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary, or maybe the school sports day.

It may well be that the complete family album will call on every photographic technique ask you ever learned to do it full justice, conveying everything from formal portraits to action pictures. While it may be out of place to use such events into photographic sessions it would at the same time be a great pity not to use your abilities to create the most evocative pictures you can. Think like this – if the birthday party would look even more festive when shot with a star filter, why not use one?

Many occasions can severely test your skills and your quick responses. The last thing you want is to spoil the atmosphere by issuing instructions, and very often the best shots will not be of the whole gathering, but segments of it. It can be of two people sharing a joke or watching someone else, a child suddenly overcome by tiredness or too much excitement. Therefore depending on the size of the room, something like a 70—150 mm zoom might give you an ideal of opportunities, in addition to a slightly w than normal lens for capturing the general scene.

Constant bursts of flash can be very distracting, so try to give same thought to lighting and film choice before the time. A moderately wide-angle lens, 35 mm or even 24mm, will have the advantage of giving a good depth of field even with a wide aperture, allowing you to include almost everyone in some shots at least.

Clearly on of the true benefits of being a photographer, whether professionally or as a hobby, is that it gives you the opportunity to make a record of the events and occasions in the life of your family, with the result of not only evoking pleasant and nostalgia memories for you in years to come, but also of providing a unique gift for future generations. It is really worth making every effort to produce at least one or two attractive pictures of every important occasion.

Underwater photography is basically the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can also be done while snorkeling or swimming. There are of course a set of equipment that is needed in order to take photographs under water, and the most important thing is to have some sort of waterproof camera. We will talk much more about underwater photography later, now we just enjoy and watch some footage from the sea:

And here is an other nice video that is a collage of underwater video clips and still photographs from Sharm El Sheik:

Simply stunning and beautyful.

Today I want to share some tips on shooting the best possible black and white photos as possible. There are some important things you should know, that I will discuss here.

Let’s begin with the first good tip: Shoot in RAW

Im aware of that many readers of DPS are unable to shoot in RAW (simply because their camera doesn’t support it). It could of course also be because they just don’t know how to, or even like it for that matter. The reason why you should shoot in RAW is the fact that is that it offers you the most control in the post production phase, when you are about to convert your photos from color to black and white. If your camera does support RAW, then flick it on please. Of course it will work if you shoot normal JPEG`s as well, but like I said, there are some advantages to RAW, so please give it a try, you will be surprised with the results I think.

If there no other option available: shoot in Color
Shoot in Color if you can’t use RAW, and then just do the conversion later on your computer. If you’re good on photo editing, it can still turn out pretty good.
Cameras that offer you to shoot straight into black and white is fine, but you should shoot color first. It gives you more control over your end results if you have the color data to begin with, and then let your computer do your conversion job. Besides isn’t it logical that your computer will do a better job for this?

Next tip up is to use a low ISO!

Turn down your ISO settings to the lowest possible. Many of you hobby photographers are maybe familiar with this practice already, from when you shoot your normal color pictures. This is in fact especially important to do, when you want to have black and white photos.
Because black and white images can create a lot of noise in your picture created by ISO, so if you turn down your ISO, then this noise will be less obvious. If you want a picture with some noise or grain, than you can always add this later in post production, using a photo editing program like for instance Photoshop. Whatever you do here, remember that its always harder to go the other way, and take noise out.

When to shoot?

People with a little experience with digital photography, will prefer to shoot images for black and white, in low contrast situations. A perfect opportunity can therefore be to shoot on a dark or overcast day. One humours thing about this, is that this is usually when you would complain about poor lighting, when you take you’re normal color photos. Wait on some dark or gloomy days, and take some excellent black and white pictures!

Light and shadow are of course important

Light and shadows is really everything a black and white photograph consists of. Needless to say that it is important to take good advantage of these things. Experiment with different qualities of light and shadow. A good tip is to take pictures of the same scene at different times of the day, and watch for how the lighting changes, and adds or subtracts mood into the pictures. For example, take a picture of a fence on a bright day, and take another picture of the same fence on a foggy day.

The Background
Make sure the background does not distract from your subject, I take great caution in this myself. Try moving your subject a few feet to the right or left is usually all that you need to eliminate unnecessary elements from your photograph. If that doesn’t work, then you could try taking the picture from a different angle.

Composition

Most of the general tips on how to compose or frame a good shot apply just as well to black and white photography as they do when shooting in color. However there are some main obvious differences that you should be aware of. Remember that you’re unable to use color to lead the eye into or around your shot. What this means, is that you need to need to train yourself to look at shapes, tones and textures in your frame as points of interest. Pay particularly attention to shadows and highlights which will become a feature of your shot.

Subject

Choose your subject carefully, and with some thought. One common error is to pick a subject, and find out that some subjects that look interesting in color look dull in black-and-white. On the other hand, black-and-white can create an unexpectedly intimate portrait or transform a simple scene into a dramatic moment.

A popular black and white type of subject is people. Photographs of people look especially good in black-and-white. More and more people are actually having their wedding pictures taken in black-and-white, because it makes the photographs look timeless and therefore more romantic. When you’re in a festive or exciting place, your first instinct might be to take color pictures, but if you’ve ever seen a black-and-white photograph of a man kissing a woman on a beach, you know how much more compelling a black-and-white photograph can be. Black-and-white photographs of children and babies are also very beautiful and sentimental.

When you’re taking black-and-white photographs of people, be careful about how they are dressed. They should be dressed simply and in solid colors, not in prints. The fewer the elements in a black-and-white photograph, the more dreamy or dramatic it will be.

Buildings, landscapes, and other scenes are also valuable subjects in black-and-white photography. Keep an eye out for the unexpected. The way the light falls on a table, the shadow of a bicycle on the ground, or the swaying of a tree in the wind could be the subject of your next black-and-white masterpiece.