Quick Photography Tips
Its a real joy helping others with limited time and money to capture precious moments on film. When asked my thoughts on "what kind of equipment and stuff should I buy" or "what are some quick tips to improve my pictures", I'd say:
- Contrary to what people may think, it's not the camera that makes the
ultimate difference in the quality of the photos...it's the person holding
the camera.
That means you!
With a little thought and practice, you'll see tremendous improvements in the photos that you take.
So read on, absorb as little or as much as you wish and try out some of these tips.
As you give it more attention, you'll begin to see the transformation
taking place literally in front of your eyes.
First off, let's take a quick check of the equipment you're using to see if there's some simple adjustments that can be made before heading out to take your next photos. Even if you already have a camera, a quick review won't hurt.
Equipment
- In terms of equipment, it's not the camera, but the lens that makes all the difference in terms of the photos. The main features that a camera contributes are: (a) automatic exposure, (b) automatic focus, and (c) shutter speed control. While these contributes to a quality photo, none of these really affects the sharpness of the picture like the lens. With the today's point-and-shoot cameras, the lens and camera are pretty much one in the same.
If you want to buy a simple point-and-shoot camera that's very capable, but not as expensive, consider the Olympus Infinity Stylus Epic. It features a 35mm f2.8 lens that's very sharp, auto-focus, flash that's good up to 13 feet or so, and several creative modes even though it's fully automatic. It goes for about $100 on sale. That's cheaper than a single lens for a quality Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera! While it doesn't sport a fancy zoom like most people would like, it's very small and light and fits in most purses or in a pants pocket. It's ideal for a go-everywhere party picture camera also takes great shots of landscapes. I also use it to record a "people's view" of newsworthy events. And with the combination available lighting plus red-eye reduction flash mode, you get spectacular nightime shots that combine a flash picture of a person in the foreground with a beautiful nightlight scene in the background.
You can learn quite a bit about photography from such a small and simple camera. Then you can upgrade to a single-lens reflex cameras and keep the Stylus Epic as a back-up or convenience camera. I've taken a few photos with it under very demanding conditions that's virtually impossible to distinguish from those taken from an expensive Nikon camera with some of Nikon's finest lenses, yet it was just a matter of pressing a couple of buttons on the Stylus Epic to achieve these amazing results!
- The second item that makes a quality photo is again, not the camera, but the film. Most consumer film, such as Fuji Super G, Kodak Gold and Kodak Royal Gold are reasonably sharp and offer good color and contrast. I frequently use Fuji Super G 200 for general consumer shots.
- If you're fortunate enough to own an SLR, there may be some options for your consideration. If you really want sharp, crisp photos, you need quality single-lens reflex (SLR) lenses like Nikon, Canon, Minolta and others. Don't waste your time and money on cheap third party lenses--while they are cheaper, in the long run you'll quickly spend more for film and processing so you might as well buy sharp lenses up-front and make each picture count!
- If you're on a limited budget, consider buying clean used equipment. You can always upgrade as your available funds allow. You'll still need to absorb the basics of photography and photocomposition. Neither of these two aspects are sensitive to available funds. I was surprised when a new father showed me his baby's photos. I said "Boy, your pictures are sharp. Is it a point and shoot?" "No," he replied. "It's an old Nikon I bring out once in a while to capture the kid's antics." I was impressed at what his "old" equipment could do.
FILM
However, make a moment and try some Fuji Reala ISO 100 film. The film is not much slower than ISO 200 (my favorite film speed), but the color and grain (or lack of grain) is absolutely fabulous. People looks great! (Good skin tones.) My favorite for weddings, family gatherings and portraits.
Another favorite for low light work is Kodak Professional Pan Film 400 (PPF 400). Good color, sharpness and reasonably fine grain considering it's 400 film. Excellent for point-and-shoots and long-exposure astrophotography.
Fuji NPH is a professional ISO 400 film that's a favorite with wedding photographers. The grain is good enough to make 8x10 photos and the 400 speed allows for excellent flash coverage.
And, if you need high speed for flash work, smaller lens aperatures (larger depth of field) or action-stopping results in low lighting try FujiSuper G 800. Great speed and color with surprisingly little grain (much better than consumer ISO 400 films). It has good skin tone. Excellent for indoor flash photography in large halls, astrophotography and outdoor nighttime events at parks and stadiums.
These three films are professional film and the last two come in rolls of 36 exposures only. Before you think they may be expensive, check it out. It's usually only a dollar or two more per roll but the results are well worth it. If you buy these in bulk, it's cheaper than the consumer grade film.
And if I already have a camera?
- Good manual bodies include the F3HP, FE2 and FA. The N90, N90s
are good automatic bodies.
- If you want to buy a new camera outfit on a budget, consider:
- Nikon FM2N SLR
- Nikon N60 SLR
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As your experience and budget permits, you can upgrade by adding another lens (80-200mm F4.5-5.6 AF-D). The lenses mentioned here are not the sharpest, but is a balance between capability and cost.
If your budget permits, consider the: 20-35mm; 35-70mm; and 80-200mm F2.8 AF-D lenses. These are very capable professional lenses. Or, you may wish to branch out to the 20mm f2.8D, 35mm f2.0, 85mm f1.8D, 105mm f2.5 and 180mm f2.8D prime lenses which are very sharp and more economically priced without complex zoom features.
Accessories
- Use a tripod, a shutter release cable and lock up the internal mirror if you're shooting a subject that's not moving, you're using very sharp film and lenses and want to achieve maximum results. You'll only need the tripod for the most demanding situations but you'll be surprised at how much sharpness it adds for landscapes and portraits.
Composition
- Never, never shoot a candid photo of the back of a person. I've taken hundreds of group and party shots with people's backs in them (simply because I didn't want to disrupt the gathering) and nothing is "deader" than a photo of a group of people's back. You can't figure out who they are, and you can't figure out what they're doing. It just doesn't work. Don't do it. If you find an artistic angle, please share it with me. I'd very much like to know.
- Allow for margins along the edge of the photo. Having seen good and bad photos, I'm surprised at the number of photos that are wasted when the photographer didn't account for the fact that some of the negative is not readily available to project onto the print. For example, a 4x6 or 8x12 photo most accurately conveys the image on a 35mm negative, which is 24mm x 36mm. A 5x7 or 3-1/2x5 print needs to be slightly cropped to make it fit, so you lose some of the area along the margins.
If you're not paying attention, you'll wind up cutting off people's heads or feet in the final print, or worse yet, on the original negative. Better safe than sorry. Allow for margins along the edge of the print.
- Borrow a book at a nearby library that talks about photo composition and ways to make your pictures look better. They're really simple ideas and just the basics. Or, you can view these web pages. I won't duplicate much of the common knowledge here, but I will emphasize some basics that really work, so it pays to learn them early.
- Look to see that you can see the person's eyes and smile.
- Look to see that the person is looking at you, if it's a posed group shot.
- If the person wears glasses, watch out which way the head is turned so that the glare from your glass does not wash out their eyes.
- If it's a candid, is there a way of capturing action or mood to spice up the photo?
- Would framing the photo with nearby elements add to the effect?
- Look for balance between the major elements in the picture, so that if a large object appears, place it closer to the center of the photo and place the smaller object towards the opposite edge.
- Be mindful of the effect of lighting (and unwanted shadows) on making or breaking a shot.
- Learn about "Depth of field" and how you can control whether the background appears sharp or artistically out-of-focus.
Other Tips
- If you come across a family gathering or some important occasion, buy and shoot more film than what you would normally use. Film is cheap. Memories are priceless.
- If the family gathering is special, consider shooting a roll of black and white film. Color photos will fade and have a maximum lifespan of perhaps 70 years. Black and white photos properly cared for will last over 300 years.
- Select a few photos and put it in a small, portable photo album that you can share with office workers and other casual acquaintances. They are great conversation starters. You get to expand their world by sharing a few choice shots, and you might get a comment or two in return that you might not have otherwise expected.
- Examine and frame the scene as you approach it The more you shoot and analyze your results, the more you become aware of what works and what doesn't work in composing a photograph. You can eliminate a bad picture (and save yourself a frame of negative film for another shot) by remembering a few pointers. Therefore, as you approach a photographic scene, start analyzing and determining the key points:
- What is/are the main subject(s)?
- What are you trying to convey or communicate? What mood? What action? What setting? Are you engaging the viewer to examine and absorb all that the scene has to offer?
- Are there elements you wish to use as framing? Perhaps there are elements you wish to eliminate from the photo in order to simplify it?
- Are there elements or curves you can use to draw your eye across the photo? Some of my favorites are using diagonals, curves or the direction the people are looking in order to draw your attention across the photo.
- How's about front-to-back "movement" in the photo? Is there a play between the foreground and background that causes you to make several sweeps back and forth to fully embrace and analyze the photo?
- Any chance to use lighting, color or texture to embelish the photo?
- If people are present, observe what they are doing and anticipate what future actions may prove interesting, amusing or exciting.
- Where would you have to stand, and what focal length lens (wide angle, short tele, long tele, etc) would you need to align all these elements?
- Then, as you approach the scene, start setting your camera.....
- I typically set it for 1/125 or 1/250 if it's in daylight and adjust from there.
- If it's darker than that, I lower the speed to perhaps 1/60 or 1/125. Alternatively, if it's bright or I need shutter speed, I adjust up from there.
- I quickly rough set the focus...in case I have to shoot anyways. Plus, I can see what I'm framing.
- Sometimes, I'll take a moment to zoom in or out to frame the photo. Or I may zoom it as the last action item. If I have a single focal length lens, I start moving with my legs at this point.
- I adjust the aperature according to the meter, and adjust plus or minus if I believe I need to compensate for unusual lighting conditions that fool the meter. If needed, I quickly "paint" the scene with the camera and see how the exposure meter responds. Then, I'll know the bright and dark spots, the influence of shadows, etc.
- Touch up the focus....
- Look over any people in view and see if they look good, not doing anything embarrasing, etc. If it's a posed shot, look over the visibility of their face not being blocked by someone in front, their hair, clothes, collars, flower leis, pose, possible distraction by someone or something nearby. Oh, and don't forget watching out for that nasty -- the reflection of the flash in their eyeglasses! (Have the person turn their head slightly away and look towards you with their eyes.)
- And wait for the prime moment...if it's a candid and you're watching two people "talking story", it won't be long before one of them smiles, laughs or otherwise responds. That's the peak moment to shoot! You can see it coming from the expression on their face.....Anticipate it, be ready and shoot!
- Spend some time (and a few dollars) to evaluate the results of the various photoprocessors you frequent. Results vary from company to company. Examples of things to look for are:
- Sharpness of the image and color contrast (could be the lens in the enlarging printer)
- Color balancing (perhaps too purple or blue)
- Texture of the printing paper (I prefer glossy rather than matte or textured).
Kodalux does quality enlargements up to 8x12. Fuji's processing is erratic with generally poorer image quality, including scratched slides. Kodak Colorwatch has a magenta tint which is very evident in photos of asphalt roadtops that are supposed to be black. A 24-hour photolab in Jerusalem, Israel using Agfa products did pretty good work when I was there. There are a range of results for just a few dollars of difference. So, it pays to test and compare.
If you learn and systematically perform these small steps, your "fabulous", "wow" and "amazing" rate of taking quality pictures will steadily improve.....
since June 9, 1997
Copyright © 1998-2006 Ron Hashiro
Updated: April 14, 2006
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