PHOTOGRAPHY - DO U FORGET??--2

d) NOT TAKING CARE OF UR EQUIPMENT:

is it not ur habit to change lenses in dusty conditions or at the beach?...not protecting the lenses and camera LCD from getting scratched....forgetting to clean ur equipments from time to time....more importantly immediately after a long shoot.

e) that for customers, the prints are correctely printed in the lab...or u lack that judgement.....for a consistent reputation, it is most important to check/get reprinted before delivering them to clients.

f) with camera in hand, do not have a habit of walking around...lose patience so early? ...without trying other angles, u fall prey to laziness to shoot from the regular COMFORTABLE angle.

g)to know that it is most important to have an eye for the distracting or disturbing elements.....or do u forget to have the straight horizon while shooting and leave the shot as it is....do u remember to correct the tilt in the photoshop?

h)not to rely on the camera's LCD TO CHECK THE EXPOSURE OF AN IMAGE....avoid learning how to read the histogram.

i) using the on-camera flash indiscriminately, forgetting that the reflective surfaces cannot be shot with a flash, avoiding using the camera flash in noon time or in back light conditions.

j)not to over-sharpening, over-saturating the images in an effort to make technically bad image look good.

k) not allowing urself to change with the time....particularly getting stuck in the same kind of photography.....not expanding the horizons and pushing the limits.....avoiding further exploring the different fields.

l) not allowing urself ready to participate in the contests, exhibitions on photography....or having good work lying in the cupboards....even avoiding to show ur extraordinary work to public thru solo exhibitions.

PHOTOGRAPHY - DO U FORGET??

Regular photographer, enthusiasts, amateurs all have different natures while handling photography equipments and allied accessories before and during shooting....Sometimes, this may lead to frustration...

2. As happened with my friend, who went to shoot group photographs of an institution....generally. he uses manual mode, bracketing exposures, but on that day he used Av mode and the dresses of the groups were of maroon colour and the camera read the darker area thus overexposing the photograph...It was day light, difficult to judge on the monitor...He also forgot to use exp.compensation mode to minus side....thus again had to shoot after a week....wasting his own time, energy and the time of the customer......I feel there are many things we can avoid not forgetting them, but they still happen; what they are:

a) Forgetting to carry the right equipment:
Keeping a slow lens to shoot an event that has very low lighting, carrying a mid range zoom or a telephoto lens for a place where u wud have wanted a wider view , forgetting to carry along a lens, or even a camera or the right choice of camera, if u have more than one.

b) Not carry enough charge and memory:
Keeping almost discharged batteries or not charging long enough, not taking spare sets of charged batteries, not taking additional memory card, even forgetting to insert the memory card in camera after downloading the images in the computer via card reader.

c) Shooting in the wrong settings or formats:
Forgetting to change the settings back to optimal after experimentation, or shooting in the different white balance forgetting to switch over to the existing lighting, thus at least disturbing some frames or whole shoot......to continue....gshroti@gmail.com

PERSPECTIVE AND SCALE

The distance between objects in pictures are represented by perspective and scale. U can make use of perspective to control the appearance of depth in ur photograph.Also u can make use of people as measures of scale and distance...

2. The human being is consistent in size and instantly recognisable... Humans are perhaps the most valuable yardstick for measuring distance in landscape and other pictures....

3. It is important to bear in mind that the degree of shrinking with distance is affected by viewpoint....IT IS THE VIEWPOINT AND NOT THE FOCAL LENGTH THAT CHANGES PERSPECTIVE.

FOR A SOFT EFFECT USE WINDOW LIGHT

If u are not happy using ur flashgun indoors, try using the light from a window instead. If u have a window that is facing the direction of the sun , half the problem remains solved....If necessary, u may use a couple of reflectors to fill the shadows especially when shooting portraits and STILL LIFE. It wud be a good practice to keep two pieces of thermocol handy to use as reflectors. Light seeping in thru the window normally has a softening effect....If the light is too harsh, u can cover the window with a thin white curtain, or a sheet of tracing paper to diffuse the light ...thus getting the soft lighting effect with softer shadows, as in the picture at left.

HELP CREATURES--SAVE ENVIRONMENT.

There are beautiful little creatures that exist around...These creatures play important roles in nature's lifecycle...

2. There are few enthusiast photographers who will break twigs or cut plant just to get a shot of an ant, hanging on the edge of a leaf....Some other will force a little creature to keep a pose that they are not really accustomed to....

3. As a photographer it is our job to respect these creatures and ensure that they are not disturbed in their natural habitat.....This is just going beyond limitations of nature's existence., not in order to save but to destroy it, and disrespect it.

4. It is also our duty to document and spread awareness, not to destroy their natural functions for the sake of a sensational photograph....The earth will be grateful, if these small things are followed, otherwise, the mother earth is laden with lots of unnatural loads on its chest and one day it will be helpless to save ur existence.....RESTRAIN URSELF FRIENDS..TO SAVE NATURE, TO SAVE ENVIRONMENT.

IS PHOTOGRAPHY DIFFICULT?--SEE ANSWERS..

continue......
READ BOOKS, MAGS & WEBSITES....

Books and websites on photography provide u with a lot of information on various types of photography. They are also a great way to seek ur own areas of interest....besides reading books, mags...practise the techniques featured therein....This will help u to be a perfectionist as far as the few rules of photography are concerned.

ENROLL IN A COURSE....

YOU will find courses available locally.Govt recognized colleges and technical institutes that offer degrees in Art, Design, Physics etc., often have basic courses...Besides some experts also run their own institutes and get help the students appear in the examinations.

ATTEMPT PERSONAL ASSIGNMENTS...

Self-assignments allow u to sharpen your skills... Choose topics that are interested to you and make a project and try to fulfil in a limited time span...Moreso taking part in photography contests is also a great way to hone ur skills.....U have locally many of ur friends, acquaintances to whom u can photograph and once u get good skill, u can get offers from ur own circle and outside...that will help in making some part time money as well.

IS PHOTOGRAPHY DIFFICULT?...SEE ANSWERS

1. EVERYTHING is difficult...until and unless u dive deep into it even for a learning point of view....Therefore photography is no exception.....Generally it is ur intense desire which enables u to reach ur goals, like a footballer..

2. For expending knowledge it takes nothing but perseverance...If u have that guts then nothing is impossible...Here I relate few important things which will help u to motivate u as a photographer, or in any field of photography u wish to join.

JOIN PHOTOGRAPHY CLUBS:
1. THERE ARE A LOT OF OFFLINE AND ONLINE CLUBS THAT ARE QUITE ACTIVE, interacting with other club members, sharing ur pix for critical feedback, discussing mutual areas of interest. Finding solutions to common problems are greater learning experiences...the club members are eager to help, since in this way they also enrich their knowledge.

PARTICIPATE in WORKSHOPS:
1. WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, GROUP OUTINGS, EXHIBITIONS AND OTHER EVENTS TAKING PLACE near u are a nice way to learn....Clubs often participate in groups so the monetary burden on each member can be reduced...........to continue.....gshroti@gmail.com

WHITE BALANCE--A BALANCING ACT.

1.The human eye sees white objects as white, regardless of the light source. ON THE OTHER HAND A DIGITAL CAMERA does not. The colour of lighted off a subject also reflects the colour of the main light source.

2.The white balance setting on a digital camera , which is set on automatic by default, adjusts the brightest part of a scene so that it appears as clean white.....Auto WB does a good job under most circumstances. However there are times when white balance needs to be changed manually to match the inside or outside lighting in order to obtain more true to life colours....

3. The dcams generally have WHITE BALANCE settings as auto, daylight, cloudy, open shade, sunset, tungsten, fluorescent, custom WB 1/2/3 which u can save upto three custom white balance settings for later retrieval as well.

4. In the above photograph, the photo is showing green cast....here daylight WB setting wud have helped.

VISITING LOCAL NATIONAL PARK--2

continue.....2

FIND OUT DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES:

1. WALK AROUND AND MORE TO EXPLORE VARIOUS VANTAGE POINTS TO FIND OUT DIFFERENT SHOOTING OPPORTUNITIES.
2. zoo photography is not all about shooting animals. People make great subjects too. Shoot the candid expressions of people watching the animals, birds etc. Experiment with panoramas near the large enclosures.

EXPECT THE OPPORTUNITY:

Animals do the funniest things....observe and anticipate the photograph....For example, keep ur camera ready near the monkeys' enclosures, so that u do not miss ur shot.

2. Try to get an experienced friend's opinion, that can help u focus on what kind of subjects u can shoot there. ...Have a talk to zoo-guides about animal patterns and the way the animals react to various things around them.....A better understanding of ur subjects will help u to click the better pictures u are after.......

3. Find out the pond of the birds, which come season-wise...there u can also find crocodiles, tortoise etc.......see the picture above taken hurriedly while the bird just flew from the upper tree branch......good luck.........gshroti@gmail.com

VISITING LOCAL NATIONAL PARK

I THINK, MOST OF THE PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN VISIT LOCAL ZOO, with film or dcams....it gives them a good experience of using their cameras, whether expensive or inexpensive...even now with good mobile cameras, people visit with interest and bring a good number of photographs....here u will find animals, raptiles, crocodiles, deers, bears, birds and many more.

1.GOOD time to click: generally it is best either early morning upto 10 am and/or after 4 pm in the evening....particularly in the evening, the warm, golden light that adds a beauty....Like the photograph above, the best time to shoot animals while they are fed(or served lunch/supper).....

2. PREVIOUSLY THERE WERE CHARGES for taking the cameras inside the premises, but thanks to good mobile cameras, the authorities were compelled to withdraw this unnecessary burden on the visitors.

3. the most uncontrolled animal is the leopard and in some places it is kept 40 ft away from the boundary and in a big cage.....while the lion and tigers have some patience to give good poses.
Therefore it is wise on the part of the photographer to carry a SLR with long focal length lens...There are now coming good prosumer cameras with 10x to 24x zooms...U can get good benefit of them in good sunlight.

4. Check for distractions: THERE is a necessary problem of iron bars or nets at viewing places..however if u have a 300mm focal length zoom and the net is somewhat wide, u can take photograph at 300mm end where the net becomes out of focus and ur lens focuses on the subject with a wider aperture of f2.8 or f3.5

5. If u are using a compact that does not allow u to control the aperture, use here the 'portrait' mode, which gives the facility of automatically keeping aperture at wider aperture.

6. When shooting, try to focus on the eyes. THIS establishes a contact with the viewer and make u feel that the animal is staring back to u or the viewer........to continue.....gshroti@gmail.com

PHOTOGRAPHY THE WAY U WANT

EXPLORING UR OWN VANTAGE POINTS:

This may look unusual, but it is a part of ur shoots/experiments with dcam....here the position of the camera determines the attention paid to details within the frame as well as the message we plan to communicate to the viewer...

2. most people hold their cameras at eye level and shoot their subjects, head on. Doing this usually produces static, unimpressive photographs.

3. However, by positioning the camera , above, beneath, in, out, around, and even behind the subject, u can make images that say a lot more.

4. Try different vantage points to reveal details that wud usually go unseen....In photographic parlance, less often means more.....if we are slightly lazy, then that time never returns, and the 'more's lost....