Sport and Action Photography

Sports photography, which comes under the category of photojournalism, can offer photographers quite a reasonably well paid career if they become proficient enough at it. But if it’s just the kids at school sports meets or if you just want to know how to take action shots, then I hope this tutorial will help accomplish that at least.
For the NOVICE, sport or action photography does not require specially sophisticated gear. A good point and shoot digital camera will certainly give you some good results, but for versatility and a better range of options, the DSLR has got to be out on its own. In fact, I will continue this tutorial based on the SLR camera, but a great deal of it will still refer to the point and shoot and I am sure that by reading this, those people will see where their limitations lie.
I say the SLR is preferable because of the option for manual operation, to change lenses and fit various filters whenever the need arises. The point and shoot is fairly useless too when your boy has possession of the ball but he’s right over on the other side of the field. So you are also restricted where distance is concerned.
I suppose distance can be a bother with the SLR too, unless you are prepared to spend big money on a long telephoto lens. And that can run into many thousands of dollars.
So, I would advise that if you are just interested in having a go at it at this stage, then you should read up as much as you can on the subject, get in some good practice and take it from there.
It would be favourable too, with your SLR to have a good knowledge on the manual workings of your camera and plan to use them with this type of photography. This includes shutter speeds, aperture settings, ISO ratings and focus control (reference link below).
For the action enthusiast it is recommended to switch to aperture priority, which will allow for faster shutter speeds with large apertures of f2.8 or f4 (if your lens will allow). This will give your subjects sharpness and clarity, but plenty of isolation, with a blurred background.
Also take a look at "Panning". (reference link below).
No matter what subject you take on, it is a good thing to know a little about what you are shooting and sport, or any action photography for that matter is certainly no exception.
Which means that if you are going to shoot a football match, you should have a good idea about how the game goes, so you can anticipate each move and know ahead of time when the action is about to happen.
Another aspect about football matches and many other field games, is that the players spend a lot of their time looking down at the ball, so invariably your correct shooting angle will be from below eye level. In fact you have probably seen at football matches how the photographers on the side-line are actually sitting down. It’s not because they are lazy, but that is their chosen angle at which to shoot the players. I have spoken to one fellow who says a lot of his time is spent on his belly.
Also a major piece of their equipment is the Monopod, which I suspect is a little easier to manipulate than a tripod and anyway with everybody rushing here and there in that confined area, you wouldn’t want anyone kicking the leg of your tripod when you are just about to get that favoured shot.
Other things to take into consideration are:
To work with auto focus
Have the camera in continuous shooting mode, so as not to miss any of the action.
From the camera’s menu switch to centre weighted metering.
Also check out your exposure compensation facility, because if there is a lot of white in the players’ dress you might need some minus exposure values of say minus 1 to 1-1/2 to keep some detail in those areas.
To keep everything sharp use your biggest possible aperture setting (smallest number) and depending on the ambient light you should be operating on shutter speeds upward of 1/250 sec. So the brighter the day, the better.

Reference:

Depiction of movement by panning

Shutter speed and aperture settings

Altering the camera's exposure settings

Cropping

Some of you may well know what cropping is, but a lot of you might not know where to crop or why we crop.
Cropping is what we do when we literally want to emphasize our subject in the photo. By cropping we can also alter the balance of the image. For example, if our subject is bang in the centre of the frame, if we crop in a little from the right and up from the bottom, our subject then will be a little of centre on the right and closer to the bottom of the frame. But why go to all that bother? Why can’t we just leave the subject where it is? Alright, alright, for an explanation of that, check out my:
"Rule of Thirds Explained".
Cropping is also handy for taking out any little nasties or intrusions that we don’t want to include in our photos.
But let’s go back to the beginning and I mean right back to even before we actually take the photos in the first place.
Before you raise your camera, give yourself a second or two to assess the scene and you really should ask yourself these important questions:
1) How close can I get to my subject?
2) What is the background like? Are there any bright areas? Anything that
does not relate to my subject. Can I alter my viewpoint or change to a
better angle to eliminate those things?
3) Can I get in even closer still? What about if I turn the camera on its
side and take the shot that way.
4) I’ll use the zoom to its full extent, then I will get only what I want in the
frame and very little else.
There are many other things you need to ask yourself when you compose your shots, but here, we are only concerned with cropping.
So, now you can really understand what cropping is. It is a matter of eliminating that what you don’t want in your photograph and getting closer to your subject. And all that should be done in your mind as a sort of pre-visualisation, before you actually press the shutter button. This will not only help you become a better photographer, but it will save all that extra time working on your photos when you eventually get them all up on your computer later.
There will of course be times when you want to include part of the background with your subject, but at least be aware of what is being included. Because the things you miss, your camera will only pick up.
If you would like to extend your knowledge of this subject, might I suggest you take a look at my: “Composition Design” chapters 1-7 and don't forget to have a look at: “Rule of Thirds explained”.

See also "Amputation"

Group Photos

If you have had difficulty in getting your voice heard amongst family, friends or workmates, photographing them in a group is one way of being able to acquire that certain voice of authority you have been lacking. Because that is what it really needs when shooting groups as opposed to singular people shots. Like the wedding photographer, someone has to be in control at all times.
Another thing, have some predetermined idea of how you will go about the task and where it will all happen and stick to your plan.

Let me tell you about my first group assignment.

It was at the birthday party of an eighty year old lady, who had her children, grand children and great grand children all attending and I new at some time or other I was going to have to do a very large group photo. So I let the MC know of my intentions, but to allow me time to just go about taking some posed and some candid photos of individuals, whilst I looked for the ideal setting for the group photo. I found an area that had a reasonable background with no visible distractions and taking into consideration, that due to all those people, I was going to need a high vantage point to get everyone in shot and luckily, there was a park bench that I could use to stand on. As I brought a few different lenses with me, I selected my old non-digital 17-35mm wide angle. Wide open it gave me a maximum digital equivalent of about 52mm. I assumed this would be acceptable for the size of the group and from where I would be standing. Of course I will have my flash attachment fitted too. I noticed also, as my planned time for the shoot would be about 3 pm, the sun would be behind the group and off to the left, so I wouldn't have a problem with back lighting and my flash unit would balance the scene anyway.
Once I had all the main coordinates fathomed out I then conferred with the party MC that I would be ready for the group shot in about ten minutes and would she let everyone know. This gave me a bit more leeway and by going around the family taking single subject photos and small group shots, I was getting more and more relaxed with them and no doubt them with me.
When the time finally came around for the big one, I thought, ‘Well, this is it - do or die.’
I walked over to the MC and asked her, would she now let everyone know that I was ready for the big family shot. When they were all brought to attention and informed what was happening, I then took control and asked them all if they would follow me to a the spot I had chosen.
It’s strange, but I didn’t have to do much sorting. I just asked them all to form into a tight group and stand with whoever you want to stand with. Of course Great Grandma took pride of place up front and they all soon settled into their positions behind her - all smiling with great anticipation.
I let them all know that I intended to take several shots and would they please not disperse until I gave the OK.
Well, it all just seemed to go like clockwork. Everyone had a great time and couldn’t say enough about the resulting photos. But I am sure the whole secret to it being such a success, was the planning, knowing full well that even the best of plans can go awry, but fortunately, for me, on that day anyway, they never did.
There will be many situations in life where you will find the need to take control and if you have full confidence in yourself and in what you are doing, half the battle is won. Makes no is no difference if you are driving a car, flying an aeroplane or simply operating a camera.

When one is never enough

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, but I also think, that a good subject is worth a thousand pictures. And if you have a subject worth shooting, it’s definitely worth giving it all you’ve got at the time or, if not, come back tomorrow or another day, when the light or time is better and plan to take as many shots of it as you can.
For the novice, when a subject first catches the eye, you think to yourself, ’Wow, gotta get a shot of that.’ You will invariably take one shot from the same angle you first saw it at and then move on. Even the most experienced of photographers never think for one minute that they are clever enough to only need one shot!
If you are shooting a bird or an animal, you will want to get in as close as you possibly can and one shot maybe all you can manage, before they take flight. Of course, one shot may be all you need for a record of the event, but if there is a chance of a second shot, you may decide to wait for a moment when the subject is in a better light or perhaps a different viewpoint might eliminate background distractions or if there is a chance you can move another couple of steps closer.
Always try to think outside the square and really put your camera to the test. Give it all you have got and use wisely whatever light you have at your disposal. It is no use after the event, when you get your shots up on the PC, thinking you wish you had done this or that, because you may never get the chance again to return to that same scene.
An excellent way to practice this is to go out into your garden with your camera. Shoot the first bright, colourful object that catches your eye. Let’s assume this is a flower.
Photograph this flower from your normal height and from wherever you are standing at the time, then take a couple of steps closer and whilst focusing on your target, move from side to side or crouch down on one knee, till you get your background and viewpoint right. Also check the background for any bright spots or distractions. Use your zoom. Try holding the camera vertically as well as horizontally. When you feel you have it right, get another shot in. Then go through the entire process again for a possible third shot.
When out in the wilds you are confronted by a bird or animal, you never really know what they consider is a safe and comfortable distance from you, so you must try to be very quiet, but get in your first shot as quickly as possible from where you are standing and treat this simply as a record shot.
Then, remembering the steps of the above exercise and how important it is that you get in as close as possible, if there is a chance of a second shot, go through all of those things again in your mind and try to get in as many shots as you can until you are completely satisfied that what you have will be sure to offer at least some good results.

Still Life

In most cases Still Life photography is not too far removed from food photography and like food photography, it is best done indoors under natural light, either from a window or open doorway. And unlike food, your subject is not likely to go all stale and withered looking on you.
But like food, it gives as good opportunity to learn more about subject lighting and composition.
Equipment
You need a camera with a lens that will allow you to get in close to your subject, depending of course on how small your subject is.
Here you are using slower shutter speeds, which means longer exposures and a tripod is a must. Also a remote or cable shutter release would be an asset, but not absolutely essential. You can use the on-camera timer facility to restrict camera movement
There are many different coloured backgrounds you could use, but you need to be careful here as the wrong background will no doubt be in detriment to your subject, so I would advise you to start with a piece of black velvet and get enough to stand your subject on and to use as a backdrop. Black velvet is best to start with as it does not reflect light. And the last thing you want is reflections in your Still Life. It will also help to give your subjects that 3D appearance.
So, we are using natural, but not direct, sunlight from a window or open doorway. You will probably want to fashion yourself a white card or reflector of some sort to bounce light back into the shaded side of your subject, otherwise the camera could expose the shots with dark featureless shadows. This may even be a feature you can use, but at least be aware of it. Avoid using on-camera flash if you can, it is far better to use natural light as it gives better controllability. If you have an external, swivel type, flash unit, you could probably try bouncing the light from that off a whitish wall or ceiling.
Composition
This is where your artistic side comes to the fore and you are really only limited by your own imagination. Try one item only at first till you get your camera and the light and the distance right. Then you can start to add other items and mix and match and create a story with your subjects.
You might like to add some things that belonged to a deceased member of the family or a family pet that had to be laid to rest.
Think about the colour, shapes, form and surface textures of the items you are photographing. If they include glass items, another reason not to use on-camera flash, due to the reflections. The possibilities here are almost endless and as I said, you are only governed by the limits of your own imagination.
View point
It is up to you how you approach your subject, but to start with I would suggest a position just above the height of your items and at an angle of say, 90 degrees to the angle of the ambient light and position your light reflector on the shaded side of the object/s or in the manner in which it will provide you with the best secondary light.
Treat this merely as a suggestion, but once you have gained your confidence, then you can begin to get adventurous and try various angles and viewpoints and different lighting angles and strengths.
At times you will find Still Life photography very frustrating, when things won’t go right, but it can also be very stimulating so don’t give up on it too easily.

See also "Food Photography"

Photographing Lightning Strikes

Good old Mother Nature certainly gives us a diverse range of subjects to photograph and none could be more fascinating or unpredictable than that of lightning storms, but when shooting lightning strikes, you should no doubt be aware of the risks and possible dangers involved.
That being considered, it is an advantage if you can be under a shelter of some sort, especially at night in case of a sudden downpour or even being struck yourself. Although your vantage point should allow you to have a good wide view in the direction of the sky you will be photographing.
Your equipment should include a good sturdy tripod, remote or cable shutter release, and your camera should have the ability to be manually operated on shutter priority or the “B“ (Bulb) setting, as you will be working on times of up to thirty seconds and more. It’s no use attempting to press the shutter button after the lightning has struck as it all happens so quickly, your chances of catching it will be next to none.
You could say that photographing lightning strikes was not un-akin to fireworks photography, only I’d say that fireworks are probably more predictable. And like fireworks, by keeping the shutter open for long periods you can catch several strikes on the one frame.
So, let’s assume there is a storm approaching and it is black dark or at least in the twilight hours. Your camera, which is pointed skyward, is set on shutter priority at +30 seconds and you have allowed for a little bit of terra firma at the bottom of the frame and your lens should be at its widest setting.
It will give added impact to your photos if you can include something of a landmark, a tree or anything else of interest. This will also add drama and a sense of scale to your images.
As the lightning starts, open the shutter. If there is nothing else in the first 30 seconds, open it again and repeat this procedure until you get a couple of good strikes. Keeping a vigil of course on what’s happening with the storm, both with its direction and intensity.
No lightning strike is ever the same and you may get several strikes within a second or two and you may only get the odd one every now and again, but you need to be patient and try different techniques and you sometimes have be content with what you get on the night. But if you are in the storm season, then there is always the possibility of another chance tomorrow night.

Architectural Photography

Architectural photography doesn’t just mean the photography of new, modern skyscrapers. It is represented by all man-made structures including, buildings, bridges, lighthouses, dams, etc., etc. So it offers a fairly broad range of subjects to tempt and challenge our abilities. And due to the subject diversity, there will be many different ways in which we will need to approach each subject.
Because of this, just about all of your photo equipment could be put to the test - not to mention our ability and expertise. And whatever you have in mind that you would like to photograph will be determined by what equipment you have at your disposal.
All that taken into consideration, let’s look at how we might approach certain subjects.

We’ll start with modern skyscrapersIt is worth knowing here, that dependent on the type of lens you are using, how wide it is, and how close you are to your subject, will determine how much distortion you will have of the subject in your photos.
It is sometimes best if you can use a long lens, or at least a zoom lens - including one that came as a package deal with your camera, if it allows a range from say, 25 - 200mm. By standing well back from your subject and closing the lens down, you will find there is less distortion than if you were closer. Although, at closer range you can pick out certain parts of the building that might provide some good abstract shots, such as in the frame work or the reflections in windows from other buildings. And for reasons of your own, you may want to purposely distort their shapes anyway. You are limited only by your own imagination to look at each structure on its merits.

Old buildings and ruins
Old buildings don’t seem to provide that modern architectural abstractness that new buildings provide, but they do convey a lot of natural, old worldly char and character. Such as those in old townships that include churches, government buildings, etc. And the standard approach to photographing these sorts of buildings is generally the norm. They usually come with nice gardens and sometimes other buildings, annexes, etc., that are associated with them. Use the wider end of your lens with these subjects and when photographed in the right context, they can create their own little stories and conjure up memories and emotions of nostalgia in the eyes of the viewer. You may even find a very old building dwarfed by a neighbouring giant skyscraper. These too can evoke emotion in the viewer.

Best lighting conditions?
Lighting is a very important consideration with big city architectural photography. Ideally, good, clear, sharp light is preferred for any situation, but the air here can be hazy from vehicle emissions, etc. And dark shadows cast from buildings nearby creating exposure problems. Unfortunately, we cannot turn the buildings into the light, nor do we have the ability to change the weather on the day. Although, for certain scenes, it is always nice to have a bit of interesting cloud to take advantage of. But of course, a perfectly lit building would be one that is lit front on and slightly to the side to create sharpness, but also the extending shadows can bring on that well sought after 3D look.
As we cannot lighten an entire building, it is not advised to shoot a building that is in deep shadow with the sun ahead of you, otherwise this will result in an underexposure, which is only useful of course if you wish to make a silhouette of your subject.

Polarising Filters

Circular Polariser

I am fully aware that I already have a chapter especially devoted to filters, but I have singled out the polarising filter because apart from the UV it’s probably the most widely used filter on the market to date.

There are two types of polariser, the circular and the non-circular. The circular polariser is best for auto-focus type DSLR cameras, but here I will simply refer to it as, “the Polariser”.

The polariser itself is made up of two pieces of glass within a holder that is fitted either by screwing directly onto the filter thread at the end of your lens or slotted onto a filter holder which is also fitted to the lens.

With the polariser fitted, the rear circular glass piece remains stationary, while the front piece is turned to polarise the light that enters the lens and therefore creates the desired effect.

I am not going to go into all the technical side of how the polariser does its job, but it is very interesting and is worth checking it out. Just type the words, “circular polariser” into your browser and see what options you have for reference when you bring it up.

However, there is one technical aspect that I feel you should be aware of, and that is: for optimum best, it must be used at roughly an angle of 90 degrees to that of the sun.

It is not recommended to photograph rainbows with a polariser fitted as it will eliminate some of the reflected colour and possibly lessen the impact of the image.

Its uses:

It is probably best known for its ability to really intensify and enhance saturated colours and make blue skies even bluer; but a point worth noting is, the higher you are above sea level, the darker the sky becomes.

It will cut through haze and is ideal for eliminating reflections on glass, water and most other surfaces that reflect light and therefore ideal for when you are shooting a subject and there are reflected light distractions in the background.

It is worth remembering too, that because it will lessen the amount of light permitted to enter your lens by up to about two stops, there are times when this could be an asset. Especially when a lower light source is required.

For filters in general? Click "HERE"

The Eyes Have It!

I have always found it a bit disconcerting when looking at portrait photos where the subject or subjects are looking out of shot rather than at the camera. This phenomenon is due to the fact that we, as humans, and being part of the inquisitive animal world, like to have eye to eye contact when we look at other beings.
It’s probably something you never really gave much thought to, but in photography, it is very important to consider where your subject/s are looking when you compose your shots.
In photographic composition, we can utilize guiding lines, such as pathways, winding roads, fences, tree lines, etc., to draw the viewer’s eye from one point to another. These guiding lines are obvious to us because they are there as part of the make-up of our images.
However, the invisible line between our subject’s eye and what he/she/it is looking at, is not obvious to us because we cannot see it - but it is there nevertheless. It connects with us and it is a very important link as to the viewer impact of our images. It can change the focal point (main point of interest) as well as the mood and/or emotion of the image.
To give some examples of this:
A little girl is posing in the garden whilst holding ‘and looking at’ some flowers. Because she is looking at them, the interest is taken away from her and the flowers become the focal point. There is an invisible line drawn between her eyes and the flowers. This draws attention away from her.
If the child was looking directly at the camera, the focal point would be placed squarely on her and the flowers would then become a secondary point of interest.
A different scenario is when she is neither looking at the flowers or the camera, but is gazing at some other object out of view, this can become an annoyance, because the viewer also wants to see what it is that has grabbed her attention. It would be different if she was just sitting there, gazing into space, because you know that she is not looking at anything in particular.
A similar case to this is at a wedding and you are taking photos of the bridal party whilst they are being photographed by the official photographer. But I suppose in this case you know where they are looking, but it can still be quite bothersome.
Now, when you are taking portrait photos of family or friends, you are going to have to make the decision as to how you will portray them. If they are side-on or profile shots, with the subject looking out of frame, at least place them in the frame so that they have plenty of space to look into. In other words, if your subject/s is looking to their right, place them 1/3 in from the right of frame, so that they have about 2/3 of frame to look into. Still having both eyes in view with the focus being on the eye nearest the camera.

Photographing Babies

It’s a fact that we can never take enough photographs of our first born. I believe the second born generally gets second billing. Probably because you are spending most of your valuable time chasing after the first born.
Anyway, this chapter of photo tips looks at that age from when you first bring the little darling home till just prior to it being able to scurry off on all fours. That is, it doesn’t need to be tethered yet.
Where to shoot? Indoors or outdoors, you can probably think of many options for the best place to photograph your child. But outdoors is not always a good option because you can’t always rely on the weather. Too chilly, too sunny, too windy. And having to cart everything out and bring it all back in again. It is much easier to do it indoors.
“What about lighting indoors?” And may well you ask.
The best overall indoor lighting, whenever possible, is natural lighting, as it is much safer with colours and skin tones. That means choosing the room in your house that has the brightest available light - natural light but not direct sunlight. This is likely to be either in the main bedroom, living room or sunroom. Or even a room where there is a skylight in the ceiling.
You should use your own imagination to set up a little area, that is easily dissembled, in the brightest part of the room or an area that you think will best suit the following photography suggestions.
Whatever you intend to use as a backdrop, it is important to at least have one. Preferably of a plain or soft neutral colour, so as to put more emphasis on your little one.
Place the child in the spot where you intend taking the photos and start with a few practice photos to check how the exposure or quality of the light is. While you’re at it, check for any background annoyances or distractions. If the child’s face is over bright, you may have to move slightly to one side or reduce the amount of light entering the room.
If the child’s face is too dark, you may have to move closer to the window or allow more light to enter the room.
Depending on the type of camera you will be using and I assume it will be digital, so at least you can repeatedly check each shot till you feel that the lighting is right for the child’s skin tones and this is very important for the outcome of your photos. After all, they have to last you and the child a lifetime and believe me, you’ll be glad you went to all this trouble.
When you finally get down to some serious photography, you’ll find your photos will look more natural and come out better if you get down on eye level with the child and at times, even lower. There are just too many of those photos around where the photographer is standing up, looking down at a child who’s head looks three times bigger than it’s body due to camera distortion at that close-in high angle. As I said, get down at eye level or lower and shoot heaps from different angles and various view points. Get as much variety as possible.
If you have a problem getting down on the floor with your child, because you might have a problem getting up again, use a higher base such as a bed, high chair or even someone’s shoulders.
Include props like toys, family pets, or even other people or someone else’s baby.
Catch the child’s emotions - laughing, crying, eating. Especially eating something new for the first time and watch for funny facial expressions.
A great pose is when the little one is either in the bath or has just had a bath and is lying belly down on a towel.
I am sure I don’t have to tell you how to pose your child, you know what you want and you are only limited by your own imagination. Just enjoy every pleasure that this valuable time with your child can bring. Because pretty soon your going to have to nail them down to hold their attention.

Food Photography

Have you ever seen those Coca Cola billboard advertisments, where the icy cold can or bottle is literally dripping with condensation that makes you think, ‘Oh, I could just go one of those right now.’ Well, that’s just the sort of response that one would expect to get when viewing food photography.
When you are looking for a recipe book, chances are you are looking for the one that includes the simplest recipes, but it’s very likely that the book with the better presented photographs is the one that you’ll purchase.
I did a similar thing when I was looking for recipes devoted to chicken, but I ended up buying a book that was obviously far beyond my culinary capabilities - but I liked the pictures.
These are the things you have to accomplish with food photography, because it’s what sells, not only the recipes, but more importantly, the book itself.
Food, in a way, should be photographed and treated much the same as “Still Life” shots, but unlike the vase of daisies or a bowl of red peppers, it has to be able to leap out of the picture at you and on to your table. So it has to have a great deal of impact. And what is the best way of achieving impact? Getting the right light and as naturally applied as possible to provide the best in whatever colours you will have in your dish.
If you have never attempted this type of photography before, I suggest you get in some practice on the bowl of red peppers first. For at least you can spend more time fiddling and adjusting with that, than you can a bowl of steaming hot soup ready for the table. Then, when you have the set-up and lighting right for the peppers, and your confidence is brimming, only then can you start on the hot fresh stuff. Because if it is going from the stove top to the table, you will want to get the job done in less than a minute or so. Otherwise you’ll have the family banging on the table shouting, “WHERE”S MY DINNER, WHERE”S MY DINNER?”
You don’t really need to have a full-on lighting studio for this task, but you will need to set up an area near a window, preferably close by, in your kitchen that allows for lots of good natural light to enter the room. You will also however, need a camera that is able to be operated at least semi manually. There are some great point and shoot digitals on the market these days that have this option, so get to know your camera well and if you can, use it in “Aperture Priority” mode.
So we are looking for, mid range apertures, enough to blur the background, but show off as much of what we are photographing as possible. If you do not have a camera that you can manually operate, you may get by as long as you can switch to “Portrait” or “Close-up” mode.
But do not intend to use on-camera flash in this situation, unless you absolutely have to. If you have an external flash attachment, you can use it to bounce light off the ceiling or a nearby whitish wall, to supplement the natural light from the window.
Or instead, make up a reflector from a piece of white card, enough to reflect and bounce light back into the shaded side of the subject. So that the light is evenly distributed. The direction and quality of which may change, depending on the season and time of day.
You will also need a tripod and I would go as far as to say, a remote, or cable, shutter release, but it is not essential. All these things at least allow you to have your gear all, ready and set up whilst you fiddle about getting your subject right.
The correct attitude for your camera on a single plate setting should be just above the level of the food, so that you get a good view of the front, side and top of your subject. Try to get as much clarity and sharpness on the main viewing part of the subject with the background almost completely out of focus. This puts all the emphasis on the food itself. Choose an interesting looking plate or platter, but not too interesting that it detracts away from your main point of interest. Try also a couple of props, such as a whitish or plain table cloth, fork, wine glass or table napkin, which should also be visible, but just out of focus. A look at some recipe books will show how the professionals set up their food shots.
Try to get a balance of the contents of the plate so that the chicken legs you are photographing are prominent in view and not totally covered in dark gravy or the like. Or do away with the big spoonful of red/orange honeyed carrots at this stage, because their bright colour will surely act as a distraction to draw the viewer’s eye away from the chicken legs. But as a means of drawing the viewer’s attention to where you want it, you could use a drizzle of gravy across the plate and over a lesser part of the chicken. The glistening gravy will also act as a guiding line. Then you can add a couple of other items to the plate of lesser significance. And to add to the authenticity, it looks better if the contents of the plate are still steaming.
I am sure, in due course, you will look at many various food photography tutorials, but I hope this one helps in providing you with a good start.

DELUSORY ILLUSIONS

Before you get into the tutorials, here are some images that are guaranteed to send you reeling . . .

WARNING ! . . . . Do not view these images if you are on strong medication, or if you have consumed more than 2.8 litres of full strength beer within the last 20 minutes.

No.1 It appears that this brick wall is very hot. Would you not agree?



No.2 Is this a real spiral, or concentric circles? It's really just concentric circles.
This illusion is so powerful, it can even cause your finger to trace in a spiral.



No.3 Here vertical or horizontal edges seem to appear distorted. Other areas seem to move.


No. 4 The lines look as though they are tilting, but are parallel.


No. 5 These circles seem to cross over one another, but your wrong!



No. 6 The vertical lines appear to be bent, but they are parallel.



No. 7 Watch how the intersections in this image scintillate and move about.



No. 8 Can you see the grey angled bars move from side to side?



No. 9 Which of the brown bars is longer? They are both the same.



No. 10 red appears to be magenta or is it orange?



No. 11 Is the grey surround in this image lighter than the centre square?



No. 12 Are all the vertical lines the same length?



No. 13 Stare at the centre, are the bluerings rotating? Which direction are they going, clockwise or anti clockwise?



No. 14 Watch this image as you move your head closer and away. It should rotate.



No. 15 Got the wobbles.



No. 16 Animation where there is none. Turns from left to right.

HOW DESPERATE DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO GET THE RIGHT SHOT?

I don't think anything could make me this desperate . . .It's downright scary!

This is a case of photographer photographing a photographer. The following photographs were taken by Hans Van De Vorst at the Grand Canyon. The descriptions are Hans' own. The identity of the subject photographer is unknown.

I was simply stunned seeing this guy standing on this solitary rock in the Grand Canyon. The Canyon's depth is 2,700 feet where the photograph was taken. The rock on the right is the edge of the Grand Canyon where all the normal people stand behind the established guard rail! Watching this guy in sandals, with a camera and a tripod I asked myself three questions:

1. How did he get onto the island rock in the first place?
2. Why not take the picture from that rock to the right, which is perfectly safe?
3. How is he going to get back?
After the sun set behind the canyon's horizon, he packed his things and prepared himself for the jump. This took about 2 minutes for him to make the jump.

He has a camera, tripod and a plastic bag, all on his shoulder or in his left hand. Only his right hand is free to grab the rock. He landed low on his jump and his right foot slipped away as I took the last picture. He waited for a few seconds, threw his stuff on top of the rock, climbed up and walked away.

Shooting Indoors

Challenges of shooting indoors

(real estate photography)

I have found shooting indoors can bring about, for me, many more challenges, than outdoor photography. Particularly with lighting and especially if there is a bright, open window dominating part of the scene. This can result in a drastically under-exposed shot due to the camera exposing for the bright window.

Other problems could include room clutter, such as kid's toys on the floor, too many ornaments or brightly coloured cushions, articles of clothing or dishes still in the sink. If there are windows that show a clear view to the outdoors, make certain it is a clear view and one without any annoying or distracting elements either. 
Another problem with indoor photography is distortion cause by wide angle lenses on vertical and horizontal surfaces, such as, door frames and window drapes. And we need a good wide angle lens to get everything in, but the wider the lens the more distortion. Fortunately some mid range SLR cameras now have a built-in Distortion Correction facility to alleviate these problems.
All these things can not only detract dramatically from our main point of interest, but also give shots a very unprofessional look.

Perhaps you are photographing a property that is for sale or rent for a Real Estate office? Is it going furnished? If so, will you need to show all items in each room? But you will also need to find out if there are any special features of the property that the owner would like to have included in the shoot.

In real estate photography you would normally shoot both inside and out, so outdoors will need almost the same amount of scrutiny, care and consideration as inside.

Obviously, a SLR camera is best suited for this type of photography. Mainly due to the fact that if you need to use flash, as would normally be the case, the pop-up flash of a compact camera is simply not powerful enough for distant shots and just too over-bearing for close-ups. Therefore an external flash attached to a SLR camera's Hot Shoe is much more acceptable, as its light is more powerful and can be diffused by being bounced off a whitish wall or ceiling. You may need to adjust its strength, and/or your white balance however, depending on the type of fixed lighting being used in the building.

A slave flash mounted atop a tripod would also be an asset in large rooms.

As for the strength and direction of the sunlight coming in from outdoors, you may have to draw the curtains or possibly come back when the sky is a bit more overcast.

It all depends on the equipment you have and how proficient you are with its use.

The best type of lens for this job of course, is a wide angle lens. If you are using a compact camera, set it to its widest angle.

On a SLR camera, 14-18mm is about right for larger sensors, but for smaller, 12-14mm. You will notice however, the wider the lens, the more “barrel distortion” will affect your shots. And unless you have a very costly distortion altering lens, the best you can do is try to make it as less obvious as possible, by not including vertical door frames, etc., in the shot.

To make it less obvious, get a rough idea of the ceiling height of the rooms and if you shoot at half that height, you will find those distortions will not be so prominent.

One thing that I consider is important with real estate photography, is to contact the owner prior to the shoot and be fully informed with what he expects and all that is required.

Keep a file on him/her and the real estate office handling the property. Take notes of each consecutive frame number that relates to a particular room, so that you can then relate back to them if needed. Also note down any special aspects of this shoot that you may want for future reference.

Ask the owner if he/she would like to have a photo or print of any special part of the house or garden that they are particularly fond of or has a certain closeness to.

All these things considered can only help you become more professional in what you do and how you accomplish it.

Shooting Panoramas

I really cannot say that I am over-joyed with excitement for panorama photography, but I suppose there is a niche for it somewhere in photography annals. Some newer cameras are even equipped with their own built-in stitching program, mine program came with my printer of all things, but there are programs available freely on the net.
Admittedly, panoramas are fun to do and can require a certain amount of skill to get a reasonable result.
The main thing I find, is to choose a really interesting subject or at least one that has one or two good focal points. They can look fairly boring with miles of landscape and nothing much to fix your eye on.
For instance, scenes such as, Monument Valley in Utah, Ayers Rock (Uluru) in Australia or Yosemite National Park, just to name a few, they would all make excellent panoramas and hold great interest to the viewer, because of the interesting elements they provide.
For best results, your equipment should include a good stable platform for your camera. If you do not possess a tripod, might I suggest at least a small bean bag which you can rest on a fence post or the roof of the car and mould your camera firmly into it. But I still recommend a sturdy tripod with pan head if possible. A remote/cable shutter release would also be an asset, but not essential. If it is a windy day and you are concerned about camera movement, you can always use your camera’s timer facility.
Depending on the scene you are composing (we will assume, in this case, a landscape) and type of camera you are using, for a correct exposure you should switch your mode dial to “Landscape” and have your lens set on wide angle. Or, on the other hand, if you are using a SLR type camera, a 50mm (standard) lens or zoom set at around 45 - 50mm. For exposure, “aperture priority” mode and set it to f11 or f16 or “shutter priority” - 1/125 or 1/250 second (for a bright sunny day). Focus control set to infinity. This should allow you to get good clear focus throughout the scene, availability of light permitting. You may have to make minor adjustments till you get exposure settings right.
I am hoping, at this stage, you have been practicing your composition skills, so I don’t have to go through all that with you but when you compose your first shot, remember it is the start of your panorama and in most cases people will view a scene from left to right, so it is therefore important to include part of your subject in the first frame.
When you are happy with your first composition, (and I am assuming you are panning from left to right), carry out the shot, but keep a mental note of any elements near the right edge of the frame, such as a tree or rock. Pan your camera along for the next composition, but overlap slightly the tree or rock that you mentally noted from your first frame. Then compose and take the shot.
Repeat this process for a third, fourth or fifth shot. Depending of course on how long you want your panorama to be, or in fact, how long your subject is. Generally speaking, most panoramas will include four, five or six frames.
Remembering of course, the more frames you have, the longer your panorama will be, and the more difficult it is then to view comfortably on your PC.
We have been discussing horizontal panoramas here, but you can also do vertical panoramas simply by turning your camera 90 degrees on your tripod and using your vertical adjustment lever to vertically pan each shot.
Yes, panoramas can be fun to do and with a bit of planning and care and good subject selection, you can get some pretty good results.

Best camera settings for macro photography

Be prepared to change your settings when you dip into the tiny world of macro. Our series of pre-shot checklists continues with a look at the best camera settings for macro photography.

Getting great close-ups is all about noticing the details, so the fewer camera settings you need to think about on the day, the more you can concentrate on getting both the subject and the background perfect.

SEE MORE: What is a macro lens – magnification, minimum focus distance explained

Things you can pre-set
Just as when you’re shooting portraits, depth of field is one of the most important considerations when it comes to macro shots. Because of this, you should set your camera to aperture-priority exposure mode to give you control over the aperture setting.

An aperture of f/8 is a suitable starting point for macro images, but you may need to alter this to achieve the right amount of depth of field for your shots on the day.

It’s best to switch to manual focusing when shooting close-ups, as focusing is often critical for macro subjects, and using manual, rather than automatic, focus will make it easier to get the precise area of the subject you want to be sharp absolutely in focus (see ‘Use Live View’, above, for more on how to do this).

As many macro subjects will fill the frame with a single colour, the automatic white balance can produce colour casts on your images. Switching to one of the white balance presets will help you avoid this, but you’ll need to set this on the day according to the lighting conditions.

You’ll want the best quality possible for most close-ups, but as both camera shake and subject movement can make it impossible to shoot at very slow shutter speeds, setting the ISO to 200 is a good compromise between image quality and allowing the camera to select as fast a shutter speed as possible.

SEE MORE: Download our free macro photography cheat sheet

Settings to change on the day
Choosing the right aperture – one which will keep as much of the subject as possible in focus but blur the background – is the key to many successful macro images.

So even though you can pre-set the aperture to a commonly used setting such as f/8, you’ll often need to change this on the fly according to the subject that you are shooting. When you are taking photographs you should also keep an eye on the shutter speed, as camera shake can be a big problem when you’re shooting close-ups.

If the shutter speed is too slow to allow you to shoot hand-held, you can try resting your camera on a bean bag or other support, but for a really stable platform you should use a tripod.

However, if there’s any wind, you can find that subject movement is as much of a problem as camera shake, and if that’s the case, the only way to enable a faster shutter speed is to increase the ISO setting on your camera – but beware of noise.

If you are shooting hand-held rather than on a tripod, you can change the drive mode to continuous shooting and then shoot in short bursts, as this will increase your chances that at least one image will be sharp.

This is because even very small changes in the distance between the camera and the subject will cause focus errors on many hand-held macro shots; a burst will give you a series of shots at a variety of minutely different distances.

You’ll also need to check the white balance on your camera to get accurate colours. If, for example, the light is falling on your subject through foliage, it will be greener than normal.

This means that the normal pre-set values (or the automatic white balance, though we recommend against that) won’t give the correct colours. In these situations it’s best to use the custom pre-set white balance by shooting an image of a white or grey card in the same lighting as the subject you want to shoot.

SEE MORE: Creative macro photography – how to shift focus using layer blending

Typical camera settings for macro

File format
RAW

Exposure mode
Aperture-priority

Aperture
f/8

ISO
200

Shutter speed
1/1000 sec

Focus mode
Manual

Drive mode
Single shot

White balance
Daylight

READ MORE

Our review of the MeFoto travel tripod...

Today we have the pleasure of a review of the MeFoto tripod from long time friend of Weekly Photo Tips, Paula Apro. Paula is a digital artist with an affinity for cameras, yoga, bikes, greyhounds, and traveling.

I know personally she never had a good thing to say about a tripod, that is until she got her MeFoto travel tripod.

Here is her review, enjoy.

My Love/Hate Relationship With Tripods

There is no question that I sometimes love and hate tripods and I admit... it's has been mostly hate. Well, I should say it has been mostly hate up until this year. I even pride myself on the reputation that I've built up over the years at photo workshops. At first the instructors would work very hard at convincing me that I MUST use a tripod. They'd preach endlessly about the importance of using one until finally they would come to the realization that they are wasting their time and their breath. Not only was I stubborn and stuck to all the reasons why I don't like using them, but in the end my creativity of my images would almost made them re-think their own strict rules on using what I refer to as "those creativity stifling devices." Pretty soon I became known as that "rogue photographer" or the "the anti-tripod" and although the jokes were many, the preaching has since stopped. I proved that I was good at hand holding a camera.

Just to be clear, my flat out refusal to use a tripod doesn't apply to conditions that truly warrant needing one, i.e., shooting a long exposure. There is a time and place for everything and when the real need arises I would comply and (grudgingly) use the proper tools, but I can't remember a time when I was happy about doing it. Taking a tripod out of the bag was soon followed by a bit of grumbling and maybe even a non family friendly word (or two). There has even been a time when actual tears where involved - when my heavy 70-200mm pivoted on the bullhead and came crashing down, pinning my finger between the lens and the tripod. This example pretty much illustrates a typical day using a tripod for me.

I also felt that using a tripod was work, so much work in fact that it would cause me to quickly lose interest. This is why I was so surprised and delighted when I discovered a tripod that I not only didn't dread using, I enjoyed it!

This year I bought a new MeFoto travel tripod for a recent trip overseas. I guess you can say that I downgraded from a carbon fiber Manfrotto to a much less expensive ($189) aluminum MeFoto. As I REALLY needed a tripod for this trip I decided to give it one more try, plus the darn thing was just too good looking to pass up. It comes in a variety of beautiful anodized colors (mine is blue) and packed into the smallest tripod bag I ever saw (just over a foot). The most brilliant part of this design over my old travel Manfrotto is the fact that the legs fold up backwards so you no longer have the big bulky head sticking out beyond the length of the collapsed legs. It's hard for me to believe that it took tripod manufacturers this long to come up with such a brilliant idea.

The other thing that I love about this tripod is just how "buttery smooth" the ballhead is. Now please keep in mind that I wasn't moving from a cheap no-name tripod. I had been using a top of the line carbon fiber Manfrotto and the smoothness of the MeFoto ballhead simply blew away my Manfrotto, even made it feel "sticky". I think the "sticky" ballhead issue alone is why I always disliked using tripods. It was always a struggle for me to get the adjustment just right. I would loosen the ballhead and either push too much or not enough. That is NOT a problem with my MeFoto.

It's got all sorts of cool features, like the different leg angle positions and 360 panning, but the thing that excites me the most is the fact that I can put my hand over all four extension tubes at once and in one single twist of my wrist either loosen them all up or tighten them all back down. These tubes are similar to the Gitzo style tripod and very different from the individual knobs on my old Manfrotto. I have 4 sections on three legs that need to be loosened and then tightened with every use. You do the math. That's a lot of time wasted twisting knobs. And when your assistant insists on over-tightening all of them, well it gets old and frustrating really fast.

I didn't think there was a tripod out there that could make me anything but cranky when attempting to use it, but this cute little number has done the trick, to the point where I see more long exposure photos in my future.

In closing let me say you get three important things with the MeFoto travel tripod, functionality, affordability, and portability. Okay, make that four things, because it is an extremely good looking tripod as well.

Selling food photography...

Not all photography is sellable directly to the public and food photography is a good example of that.

If you are a food photographer THE place to sell your images is StockFood.com.

Why?

Glad you asked, because they care about their photographers and one of the ways they prove that is by consistently paying the highest percentage of each and every image sale right back to the person who created that image, you the photographer.

Another way they invest in our success is by letting photographers know what kind of imagery clients are looking for. No sense in shooting food images that are not currently being supported in the market place, so before setting up a shoot you can check out the Stock Food image wish list which will increase your chance of sellability.

You can also significantly improve your chances of success by understanding and following their well documented submission guidelines.

So if you photograph food, please check out StockFood.com, it's the only stock food agency I am registered with.