LINKS:
Return to MAIN PAGE in Photographic Section
UNDERSTANDING DIGITAL EXPOSURE:
Part 1: Exposure Reduction for Highlight Retention
Part 2: Digital Exposure & Noise
Part 3: When Blocked-up Shadows Aren’t Really
Part 4: Take a Balanced Approach to White Balance
Part 5: Dynamic Range
Part 6: Extending the Tonal Range
Part 7: What’s the Real Difference Between RAW and JPEG?
GENERAL:
1) COST-EFFECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY
2) CONTROL THE RANGE OF FOCUS
3) IMAGE INTERPOLATION
4) LOSE THE DEAD SHOTS
5) SCANNING 35MM FILM
6) THE RAW vs. JPEG DEBATE…
7) IS PHOTOGRAPHY EASY?
8) MUST EVERYTHING HAVE AN ADOBE SLANT?
9) A CAMERA TO PAINT WITH
10) WHAT'S THIS COMPOSITION THING ABOUT?
Photo Tips for Better Images
INTRODUCTORY SECTION: Page 1 | Page 2
1. Understand why camera-shake happens and learn how to avoid it
2. Understand why Depth-of-Field happens and then use it to add creativity to your images
3. Practice exposure techniques over and over again bearing in mind that camera light meters are calibrated for mid-tones but digital cameras are sensitive to brighter tones—generally, too much brightness in the scene will result in underexposure and too many dark tones will lead to overexposure
4. Put the above into practice by experimenting with your camera’s metering modes
5. Very importantly, make good use of the histogram, both on the back of your camera and in software—it will tell you a lot about your exposure
6. Think about the use of high capacity cards (8GB for example)—if something goes badly wrong you’ll lose a lot of precious work
7. Connect the card to the computer using a card reader—it's more straightforward using drag ‘n’ drop
8. Always have at least one spare charged battery on location
9. Don’t assume you need to buy top quality lenses, even if you can afford them—think it over, research the subject carefully, recognise the forum hype, and consider your general approach to photography and your favoured subjects
10. Don’t be too quick to accept an image straight from the DSLR—it will usually benefit from software manipulation, especially in layers with Curves (see previous page) and contrast Levels adjustments
11. It’s best not to edit and save JPEGs over and over—save to another format first like TIFF (and work in a layer-supporting format) that won’t degrade slightly with repeated saving
12. Don’t automatically assume RAW is always “better” for you than hi-res JPGs—there’s more too it than that and it can be argued that although raw data can be very useful, most of the time not every serious amateur appreciates or needs the extended workflow as part of his or her usual editing routine
13. Reflect on the compositional skills of movie directors
14. Over time buy several good photography books on camera and software techniques (magazines can be helpful too, but rehash technique advice regularly)
15. If you’re keen on black and white images, don’t just desaturate the colour original—instead work from the edited colour version and be sure to investigate the considerable merits and flexibility of separated Red, Green and Blue channels (and other channel separations), each being tonally unique