Some lil picture tricks..

Here's a few tricks to help you get that pic you want..

DRAGONFLY
Catch the dragonfly with a bug net. Dip it in water to get their wings wet.Than place them on a branch,etc..They will stay there till there wings dry out.Giving you a chance to get your pics..

PETS

Always try to use natural light;instead of flash..Take your pet outside or shoot in a well lit room w/windows..
Focus on your pets eyes,and try to keep them sharp..
Get down to your pets level..For example sit on the floor,lay on your stomach..Shoot from their eye level or below..
Try to capture your pets personality,ex..lazy,playful,..
I like to get close ups which fills the frame w/their face and fur..
Most important of all is to have alot of patience..

Food Photography

1) Make sure the food is well lit. Lots of Natural light from an open window looks the best.with flash bounced off a ceiling or wall to give more balanced lighting to cut out the shadows. The daylight makes the food look more natural.

2) Pay attention to the props you use such as plates, utensils and table settings.Don’t clutter the photo with a full table setting.And also use props positioned in the foreground or background of the shot..

3)Be quick. Food will look best right after it's been prepared.set up with props before the food is ready, then substitute a stand-in plate to get your exposure right. Then when the food is ready you just switch that plate with the real thing and start shooting.

4)Pay attention to the balance of food in a shot (color, shapes, etc) and lead into the shot ,using leading lines and the rule of thirds to help guide your viewer’s eye into the dish of food.

5) Have a bowl of vegetable oil or water ready to brush on the food to make it glisten (shine) some..

6)To get better shot by shooting from down close to plate level ,or just above it.

7)Try to use a macro lens,or setting to get highlights of the diff. textures of the food..

MORE ON PETS..

1)No,distractions-esp.if you want to take posed pics.If your pet is fed n in a happy mood,easier to get the picture you want..
2)Use props-allow your pet to play with bones,balls,etc..
3)Good lighting-be sure your in good lighted area or your flash is working.Some flashes cause red/green dots in the eyes.Take more than 1 shot at a time at different angles.And make sure your pets coat shows up against the background colors of your picture.
4)Get your pet to look at you when taking the picture.Best pictures are those where the animal is looking at the viewer.

FLOWERS

All in the timing-
Photograph flowers in the morning or late afternoon in "warm light".Get down to the flowers level.Tripod steadies things,ensuring crisp photos,light is what gives your subject shape n color.Various times of day flowers look different completely cause of way light hits it.
1st Rule-
Photograph your flowers early in morning or late in the afternoon.Best times for "warm light"to surround your subject (giving you the richest colors).The blooming periods of annual flowers range from 1-5 months-longer than most perennial flowers.
From mid-morning through mid-afternoon "harsh light" from directly overhead will wash out your photos.
With strong composition,you can give an entirely fresh look to common garden flowers.
Rule of Thirds-DON'T always place the subject in middle of the photo.*

Shooting concerts
Some concert venues are choosy about the types of cameras they allow inside. If you can only take a small point-and-shoot with you, set it on sport mode to avoid blur, keep your flash off, and hope for the best.

If you can take a DSLR:

• Shoot at 800 ISO to keep your shutter speed quick while avoiding too much noise.
• Shoot in manual to get the best shots. Remember to re-adjust if the lighting changes drastically.
• The lighting will be changing constantly, so shoot in raw mode. This will allow you to better edit your exposure later.

An SLR camera will have almost no shutter lag, allowing you take the shot at exactly the right moment. It is possible to shoot concerts on non-slr digital cameras, but the shutter lag must be taken into account, and the photographer will have to anticipate the best moments..

.Use Fast Shutter Speeds

The first reason to use fast shutter speeds is to hand-hold without camera shake. The general rule is that your shutter speed should equate to the length of your lens, so if you were using a 50mm lens, you could "safely" hand-hold at 1/50 or above. If you were using a 200mm lens, you would need a shutter speed of 1/200 or faster. With practice it is possible to keep your hand steady at slower speeds, and you may, for example, be able to get away with 1/160 at 200mm.

You also need to keep the shutter speed fast enough to keep the energetic musicians sharp. However, creative use of motion blur can also be very effective.

Use Fast Lenses

In order to allow the fastest shutter speeds you will want to use lenses that have wide maximum apertures such as a 50mm f/1.8 and a 70-200mm f/2.8. The wider aperture lets in more light, allowing faster shutter speeds. Also, lenses that have wide apertures tend to be "pro" level lenses, which will be sharper and give better contrast than lenses have smaller maximum apertures. Unfortunately, this also means that they are often quite expensive, so hiring lenses such as a 70-200mm f/2.8 for a particular festival or concert is often the best way to go about it. Both Canon and Nikon have a 50mm f/1.8 that is relatively inexpensive and very sharp, and would is an excellent concert lens if you can get close enough to the stage. If you don't have a photo pass, try a fast telephoto such as the 70-200mm f/2.8 and try for the front row of the crowd!

.Shoot in Manual

If you're looking to catch that super rock-star pose you don't want to be wasting time while the camera sorts out the exposure for each shot. In manual exposure mode you can figure out the exposure and just shoot. Of course, if there is a dramatic change in lighting you will have to check your exposure and adjust if necessary.

Spot Meter

Matrix metering is fantastic if you're shooting a landscape. But the concert stage is likely to be full of very dark areas and very bright areas which are going to fool the camera if you are in this mode. Spot meter the performer's face for the correct exposure. Of course, you are in manual mode with the lens wide open, so you should only need to adjust the shutter. If you find the light is so good that it gives an unnecessarily high shutter speed you can stop down a bit for extra depth of field or sharpness.

Shoot Raw.

Because the lighting can change getting a perfect exposure every time can be very tricky, so shoot in raw mode to give a little more leeway in exposure compensation. Having this leeway can free you up to focus on the performance without getting to worried about getting the exposure perfect.

No Flash

Basically flash is out, after all, the lighting guy doesn't want you to wreck his work, and flash will just ruin the atmosphere anyway. However, there may be times when the lighting is appalling and you have no other option, but try to be creative. Using a slow shutter speed with the flash which lets in some ambient light. Using this technique you can create some nice motion effects. But it's best to try not to use it.

Get a Photopass

It's hard to get a good shot when you're at the front of the mosh pit with sweaty people slamming into you, not to mention having your gear crowd-surfed from your hands. Without a doubt, the best place to be is in front of that safety barrier between the mosh pit and the stage; the photo pit. To get here you will need a photo pass, unless you can smooth talk the security, and good luck to that! The bigger the gig the harder it will be to get a pass, and for the large gigs you basically need to be shooting for some sort of press, or if it's a festival, have proven yourself to the promoter enough that you are given the role of official photographer to provide promo shots for them. A good place to start is to approach a small local venue that has live bands and ask if you could shoot there. Probably you will have to negotiate some sort of deal where they get copies of the shots to use. This is a good way to get some shots for your folio.

Also, keep an eye out for new and small festivals who may want someone. Once you have some shots in your folio you could approach a magazine such a local street press or student paper who may then be able to vouch for you at the bigger gigs.

Another good idea is to get to know some local bands. Bands always love photos of themselves and might just be able to get you into venues with them to shoot.

By Andrew Finden
4 May 2007