Photography Tips

My notepad on photography!

Here are some tips and advice that I learnt along the way. I find it rather useful and hope you will too.

Copyright infringement for Photos

According to Malaysia's Section 3 of the Copyright Act 1987:

"author"

(d) in relation to photographs, means the person by whom the arrangements for the taking of the photographs were undertaken;

'"infringing copy"

(a) in relation to copyright, means any reproduction of any work eligible for copyright under this Act the making of which constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work or, in the case of any article imported into Malaysia without the consent of the owner of the copyright, the making of which was carried out without the consent of the owner of the copyright;

Avoiding Blurry Photos

Source: Multiple places online.

Rule of thumb: one over focal length (in seconds). However, this is just a recommendation to avoid blurry photos. Example:

At 200 mm, the recommended shutter speed is 1 / 300 sec

Shooting in Cold Weather (Ice and Snow)

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When shooting in below-freezing weather, it is critical to have a fully charged set of batteries, since the cold temperatures can quickly drain them. Should your battery discharge too early, you can extend its life by placing it in a warm pocket, close to your body, to warm it up. Remember to always bring along two batteries: one for the camera and another to be kept charging in your cabin or room.
When shooting in cold weather, or extreme conditions such as snow and sleet, it's important not to change your lenses outdoors. You never want to get moisture or condensation inside the camera body.
Be careful bringing your camera inside a warm house or cabin from the cold outdoors. Put your cameras and lenses into a plastic bag and seal them up before you bring them indoors. Once inside, place them in the coldest area you can find so they slowly warm up to the new temperature.
We always travel and shoot with rain covers (after all, snow is wet) to prevent the bodies and lenses from getting damp. Even the pro cameras, which are sturdier, need protection. Some systems even have an O ring on the lens to keep moisture from getting into the camera body.
We always try to bring along liners and fingerless gloves when we shoot in cold weather. Set up a system that works for you, one that allows you to shoot with your fingers and stay warm in between shots. You want to be sure you always have access to your camera controls and dials.
It's always wise to have a good chamois lens cleaner with you. Who knows when you might want to clean your filter or front element that has become moist from going in and out of cold temperatures.
Know where your CF (CompactFlash) and SD (Secure Digital) cards are stored. We suggest buying a weatherproof container to store them in. The last thing you want to do is lose or drop your valuable photos in the snow. It also protects the wilderness from photo debris.

Panning Shooting Technique

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Understand the basic concept. Panning works when you move the camera in perfect motion with the subject. It’s not enough to just swing the camera from side to side. You have to move it in perfect synch with your subject.
Choose the right subject. Generally (and up to a point) it is easier to pan with a fast-moving subject than a slow one. Sprinters running sideways to you are great examples. They are moving fast enough that you can pan smoothly with their motion, and they are running in a straight line. People walking are almost impossible; they are too slow to get much blur and it’s difficult to pan smoothly. Football players are tough because they move erratically.
Use Manual Exposure or maybe Shutter Priority metering. Whichever you choose, the object is the same. You don’t want the shutter speed to change while you are shooting.
Pick a good shutter speed. This is important; however, there is no “correct” shutter speed for panning. The longer the shutter speed, the more blurred the background will be. A long shutter speed will make your subject pop out from the background, and that is good. But the longer the shutter speed, the more difficult it is to get the subject reasonably sharp. It’s a balancing act. As a starting point, let’s go back to the example of the sprinters running across the picture. Try anything between 1/8 and 1/60 of a second. Beyond 1/8 of a second it's really tough to get sharp, but it can be very interesting. Above 1/60 of a second, the camera will probably stop too much action and ruin the effect. Except for low-flying jets at air shows. Then you might need 1/500 second, and that brings us to our next problem.
Find the right background. The right background is almost as important as the right subject. The background must have some detail in order to produce the pleasing streaks you are looking for. That is why the jet is a bad subject for panning when it is up against a plain blue sky. Pan all you want but the sky will still be a featureless blue. Nothing will look as if it “moved.” On the other hand, backgrounds with too much contrast will often make bad backgrounds for panning. Just one person in a white T-shirt can create an unsightly white blob in your photograph. Choose carefully.
Use the viewfinder correctly. Your viewfinder is your friend when it comes to panning. The best trick is to find a focusing mark in your viewfinder and put it on your moving subject. Now, try to keep that point perfectly aligned with your subject. Crosshairs would be perfect, but we don’t have them in camera viewfinders, so we have to make do with what we’ve got.
Practice panning smoothly. Fluid, smooth motion is the name of the game. No jerking, no rushing, no hesitation. Stand with your body facing where you ideally want to shoot the picture, then rotate your shoulders to pick up your subject in the viewfinder. Start shooting before your subjects reach the ideal point; keep shooting after they pass that point. Follow through just like a good golfer. And practice. Good panning shooters literally go out and just practice their movements.
Try. Evaluate. Retry. Experiment! There is no right way, just infinite variables that can produce interesting results. For instance, if instead of “panning” you could rotate your camera at the same speed as the turning of the carnival Ferris wheel, you might get something cool. Now try to imagine other moving objects you can synch with. By the way, looking back, I see that I shot the horse and carriage in Spain at 1/6 sec at f/9. (And yes, I shot a lot of bad shots to get this one.)

Playing around with Time

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This article tells about different effects one can achieve by varying the shutter time.

Some of the tips of interest are:

When shooting with flash, many photographers don’t realize that they can be creative by changing the shutter speed on their cameras. A slower shutter speed will allow movement to record, and the flash will capture one sharp instant in the blur of motion.
When shooting from a moving object, try a slower shutter speed with a wide angle lens. The foreground will blur far more quickly than the background, and the resulting image is bound to give the viewer vertigo!
Although we are tempted to use a very fast shutter speed when photographing wildlife behavior, slowing things down may lead to a more compelling image. The goal is not always a perfectly sharp image.
Remember, the photographer can move too! You can twirl or run or pan with your camera to create new views. And by varying your shutter speed as you move, a whole series of surprise images can be created.
Fast exposures can freeze actions that happen in the blink of an eye. This photograph by Chris Johns captures an impala in mid-flight. By using a fast shutter speed and a very narrow depth of field, Johns has isolated the animal’s movement against a background that is out of focus and therefore doesn’t distract the eye. —Annie Griffiths