Macro Photography
Close up macro photography can be a really exciting thing to try! The classic subject for macro shots is flowers or insects… but you don’t have to stop there. Try these fun ideas! First up, the basics Photo by Alias 0591 Photographing flowers or insects is a good place to start. Have a look and see if you have a local butterfly farm. During the summer they are absolutely packed with butterflies and you can get some amazing shots. Fruit Photo by Quinn Dombrowski Fruit has loads of details that look interesting when photographed close up. The skin of this strawberry is filled with little seeds. Try slicing fruits such as kiwis or oranges and looking at the detail inside. Eyes Photo by sarahxic Eyes are beautiful in close up! There is so much variation in the colour of...
Read MoreHow to photograph children
If you are a parent, you probably want to know how to take great pictures of your kids! Here are some tips! Get down to their level. Photo by James Jordan You need to try kneeling or even laying on the floor to photograph toddlers. You can maybe get a few cute perspective shots by photographing them from above but, in general, the best shots happen at eye level. Think about location! Photo by followtheseinstructions Try shooting at home… but also take the kids to the zoo, photograph them engaging with animals. Take them to the park and photograph your kids on the swings. How about at the beach? Or in a field? Look for details. Photo by Pranav This is an especially good tip for photographing babies. Look at the details like fingers and toes. Photograph close ups...
Read More5 photography tips for beginners
1. Composition. Learn to frame things well. Try moving the camera just a small amount and see how that affects your image. Learn the rule of thirds and use it, then when.it is second nature, try breaking it. 2. Controlling Light Experiment with the light. Grab a light (even a desk lamp will do) and an object like a plant. Then try moving the desk lamp around the plant and see how the light changes. Try framing shots with the light in different places. You’ll get a feel for how light works with this hands on game. 3. f/8 and be there. This is a famous saying in news or war photography. Basically it means that if you set your aperture to f/8 (around the middle for most lenses) then your shots will usually come out as long as...
Read MoreWhat is white balance?
You may have noticed that light comes in lots of different colours. Most noticeably, a sunset is deep orange, street lamps are yellowy orange, daylight is blueish, the lamps in your home are yellow (think of when you are outside at night, and you see a home lit up in the distance). Colours like red and orange are referred to as warm, while blue is cool. Our eyes are very good at adjusting for these differences. But cameras will over accentuate them. This can lead to problems. Most commonly, if you shoot images inside your home with the lights on, and no flash, they are likely to come out very orange. You can compensate for this by setting your white balance correctly. Here are the usual different white balance setting and when you should use them Auto – This lets...
Read MoreWhat camera should I buy as a beginner?
As a photographer, my friends often ask me for advice about buying a camera when they want to try out photography as a hobby. My advice is always to keep it simple to begin with. It is tempting to save up until you have enough cash to splash on some really high end gear, but that isn’t necessary. When you are starting out, the two most important things to learn are composition, and how to use the light. You can do both these things with a simple point and shoot camera. Using a simple camera will allow you to concentrate on learning these important basics. When you have them down, you will naturally find that you are ready to buy a more complicated camera, when you recognise the limitations of your simple one. Composition is a real joy to learn....
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