Color tweak - The White balance

White balance (WB) 

Experience - 5

its the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo .

in simple words i would like to refer it to as color tweaker .  it increases the temperature / color tone of the image . 

you can do it later in the computer while editing it , but its worth great tool worth learning .

So how to get started . 

all i can do is give you a brief idea .. You Need to crack it Yourself .

• if your camera has automatic mode , then you need to switch it off . in sony cam's its usually automatic in everything . In general .So got to MENU>in that "intelligent auto" or anything which gives the meaning of automatic To "Program Auto" or "Scene Selection" .
• when You select this mode , then again go to Menu>scroll down ,you will see an option called "WB AUTO" or "WB" .
• select the option . it nearly looks like this   

the general default screen for wb

Now there will be a lot of options in wb to select .

Auto – this is where the camera makes a best guess on a shot by shot basis. You’ll find ,it works in many situations but it’s worth tweaking out for trickier lighting.

Tungsten – this mode is usually symbolized with a little bulb and is for shooting indoors, especially under tungsten (incandescent) lighting (such as bulb lighting). It generally cools down the colors in photos/gives bluish tint to the shot.

Fluorescent – this compensates for the ‘cool’ light of fluorescent light and will warm up your shots.

Daylight/Sunny – not all cameras have this setting because it sets things as fairly ‘normal’ white balance settings.

Cloudy – this setting generally warms things up a touch more than ‘daylight’ mode.best for sunset and sunrise shots and usually landscape . will come to that . 

Flash – the flash of a camera can be quite a cool light so in Flash WB mode you’ll find it warms up your shots a touch.(optional in camera) .

Shade – the light in shade is generally cooler (bluer) than shooting in direct sunlight so this mode will warm things up a little.

Manual White Balance - the best and more creative option :) .

Tungsten

Fluorescent

Daylight/Flash

cloudy

Shade

Tungsten

Fluorescent

Daylight/Flash

cloudy

Shade

Now coming to Manual white balance - its represented as "custom"  . 

select that> then a small square box will appear in your display screen (generally)

Now you have to select the reference color .it should be a plain color inside the little box . then click >ok or shutter button to select . you will see the change in tone of the color when its done .

 the camera will assume your reference color as white and equally change the actual color of other colors

 too ..

example : for a sunset if u put orange color as reference color , then in sunset all orange shade and reddish shade look nearly white .  

THATS ALL NEEDED FOR THE START . any doubt please feel free to comment . 

Macro - the Close up range -INTRO-

Experience-4

MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY

Macro photography can take the viewer to new and seldom seen vantage points. However, macro photography also often demands more careful attention to photographic technique .

Still wondering whats macro ??? 

its just taking the pics from a very close range . its also called closeup shots .

Things required to understand and learn this section 

• patience .
• steadiness .
• tripod (optional) .
• compact or a basic cam to dslr will do .
• different perspective .

this post is just an intro to closeup/macro photography . you have to experiment it before you could understand .

so expect me to discuss all the topic's at once .

How To Switch to Macro Mode -

                                                              Universal Macro symbol  .

To switch on to macro mode , just search for the button having a flower symbol ( the above one) and just press it , In the LCD screen or viewfinder ,at the side of screen a flower symbol appears if your macro mode is on .

these are some little help in finding it out .

 

  

NOTE : if you have Sony cam , then don't worry it will automatically switch to macro when you focus a close range object .

Once you have enabled it , you are ready to experiment .

• Every camera has its own macro range . ie - its own range of focusing when its in macro mode , it generally ranges from 1cm to 8or10cm . just find your range by pre focusing the frame ( refer pre-focus  in last post ) . when you do all the things right , you will have a crispy frame .
• I've discussed about the optical zoom and magnification , please never use it in macro . 

When you have the range and a subject to take , start experimenting . here are some advice's which might be worth reading .

• start with a static object , later when you have mastered it ,try for living object like ants and insects .
• be careful about the lighting , a dull lighting reduces the clarity .
• and if your taking sun as light source for your shot , then make sure you are facing the sun, so that your shadow wont mess up your frame .
• remember no zoom . 
• try some abstract style , with common household objects .

hoping these advice's will get you kick started . 

in later posts will go as deep as i know . till then get acquainted with the true basics . 

                                                      

this was where i started ..

then after some experimentation  

months went by ... the 1st macros upto my expectations 

this is where now i am  :)

water drops hanging on a spider web and acting as water lens . laws of reflection proved :)

Focused at the tip of the flower 

multiple water lenses formed in a water bottle 

So trust life a bit , don't worry if you are not getting it right , just keep trying . you will crack it soon enough , Hang on till then .

       "  Every Thing Changes , When You Change  "

if you are intrested in checking out the shots , then here's the link 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.384767254909573.120021.100001289045086&type=3

Go Click Click ...  

 

One-Third-Rule (1/3)

Experience - 3

one-third-rule (1/3)

The main theme of this rule is "Place the Subject Off-Centre - Just a little" ...

NO OFFENCE in keeping your main subject at the centre . However, placing the subject off-centre can make the composition more dynamic and Special to the eyes.
 it gives an interesting outlook for the shoot , The best-composed photographs(professional shots)  don't usually have their subject at dead centre.






Well, in photographic terms,its called the "one-third-rule (1/3)" .Placing the subject in the centre lacks dimension.
higher end cameras has a special feature to manually focus on any part of the frame , but in basic camera its set to the centre of the frame , you should have often noticed a small + mark at the centre , this means the camera focuses on the centre of the frame .

HOW TO USE THIS RULE : 

• ENABLE THE GRID LINES OF THE CAMERA , IN SOME CAMERA ITS CALLED FRAMING ,when you enable this option , there will be streak lo lines across and down the frame .   its ok if you don't have the grid line option , just visualize this frame on your camera screen and take shoots 

 according to this rule -"don't place the main subject in your shot at the centre cube . place it in the cube other than the centre .

FOR

HIGHER END CAMERA - just fix the frame of your shot ,select the area where you want to place the subject , then manually focus on the subject . then pre-focus it , then take the shot .


LOWER END CAMERA(basic,d-bridge,for any cam without manual focus) - first pre-focus the subject , keeping the prefocus change the frame .ie - change the area where you want to keep your main subject . keeping the same pre-focus ,click the shot. if you don't follow this then you will end up in a shot which is out of focus . so be careful .

In short .. You cam place the subject in any of the power points or near to it to give it more interesting look.

photography terminology 

in Simple language 

PRE-FOCUS = when you press the shutter half way down , you will see that the camera is trying to focus getting a crispier photo,pressing half way down is called prefocus .

Here are some of my shots taken to explain the effects of One third rule .


Normal shot :

keeping the subject in dead center 

One-third rule :

 keeping the subjects in one of the power points 

                           
Normal shot :

here the main object is placed at the dead center , which might not be the best place to .  

One-third rule :

keeping the same subject and same background if we use the theme of
one third rule , its gets more interesting to eyes . doesn't it

NOTE : it doesnt always has to look good if you keep it away from center , so shots need the subject in center .experimenting is the only key .

Breaking the rule of thirds :


By now, the free-spirited and creative artist that you are is probably feeling a bit cramped by the seeming rigidity of this rule. However, all rules are bound to be broken sooner or later — and this one's no exception. It's time to unleash that inner rebel. That is, as long as it is for a good cause.

A central tenet of the rule of thirds is that it's not ideal to place a subject in the center of a photograph. But what if you wanted to emphasize the subject's symmetry? The example does just that.

Similarly, there's many other situations where it might be better to ignore the rule of thirds than to use it. You might want to make your subject look more confronting, for example. Alternatively, you might want to knock things out of balance.




So go ahead and try some of them on your own , and do let me know if you face any problem .

Knowing Your CAMERA With some ground Rules

Experience 2 J

In this session i will introduce some of the basic ground rules.

Before that I surely know that most of the readers think I’m fake.. Here are some of my basic shots using a basic d-bridge cam & point and shoot camera .. Continue reading if u think I am worth your time.

a common flower , focused at the tip of the flower  

water splashing from a glass ,if you notice it carefully it looks like a lady in the Oscar award(doesn't require a professional camera,all it takes is patience)  

when you play with white balance , you don't need picasa or adobe to edit it 

And still lot more .... while share the knowledge of the shots in the later part of the post , Have patience 

NOW,

Basically there are 3 types of camera

Aim or point and shoot cam (basic, everything is auto in it, don't have more options)

D-bridge (simple language – learner’s camera,you can adjust aperture,shutter speed except manual focus )

SLR and D-SLR (higher end camera , every little thing is manual ) .. Which one is yours ..??

No matter which camera you have or use ,To use your camera to the limits, you have to know how to use the features of it completely … that’s all the ground rules. Learn your camera and its features completely then worry about the further complication.

NOTE: Before you start changing any settings, note the old settings ,

In Menu > settings > search for a option having the same meaning as default settings or reset . if something goes wrong and you don’t know how to fix it , then just reset it .

Here I will explain in brief , some of the basic common features in most of the camera and there uses  …(later part of the posts i will share about each topic in deep, this is just to get you an "idea" ) .

  

      Self-timer – used to take shots by itself after a pre-set time , in higher end camera’s(slr and d’slr) its   activated by a cable switch method .

·         Image size or resolution – it gives the  dimension of the pictures , higher the size =higher the clarity.

·         Optical zoom and and digital zoom (magnification) – optical zoom is achieved by lens ,it gives a crisper shot , digital zoom is just the software magnification , losses clarity and causes blur .

      suggestion is never use Digital zoom..

·         Megapixel usage – in most of the basic point and shoot type , you can select the MP of your pic , ranges from 16.1MP to 5.1MP  , higher end 22 to 60MP , stick on to the highest value available for your camera .

  

Here comes the next level features , I don’t have to give there definition because you can get it on any site , what makes me different than others ... 

   ISO – in simple words , it’s the amount of sensitivity of your picture , you can use high iso at dark conditions or night times , be careful increasing too much of ISO increases graininess of the picture(grains visible to eyes when shots are cropped)

every camera differs in sensitivity and amount of  noise(graininess) .
the comparison above is done by using a higher end camera (D-slr) so Noise level are low .

-Increasing ISO increases the sensitivity , thus increasing the brightness of the shot , noise can be compensated , Will discus that in further post .

these are the noise level of basic camera 

 ISO 6400 ( highest noise level , but in pitch dark its worth using )









ISO 3200

                                 

ISO 1600





ISO 400            ( moderate level of noise and composure )

ISO 64               (least sensitive to light )






   ( all the image are maintained at the same  shutter speed and aperture )

·         Sharpness – amount of sharpness of the shot , high= crisp , standard or low = hazy (depends on light and atmosphere)

·         EV (important ) – increases/decreases  the amount of brightness in the shot ,it’s a software based , not hardware . so u can edit it manually later , but its important . it ranges from -2EV to 2EV. discuss this special topic in further posts 

Just have a idea on this topic , with time you will understand

·         Shutter speed – controlling the shutter of the camera , to increase or decrease the amount of light . Most useful tool in photography , basically starts from 1/2000th sec to minute’s.

·         Aperture - it’s the pupil of the camera , controls the amount of light entering the camera ,ranges from f3.4 to f22.0 , differs by camera ..

NOTE : aperture value is inversely related to amount of light entering , in simple words

  Higher the value of aperture = lesser the light will be allowed to enter = pupil of camera shrinks.

This is all you need in the beginning to learn things by yourself . (will introduce White balance later) .

Go on , keep a same frame and experiment with features , you will get to know their differences , 

you so got to experiment with all the features and know their differences … because knowing your camera is too important to learn .

Till then HAPPY EXPERIMENTING  ( Suggestion or doubts in comment box , would love to clarify things )

 BlackStar  -

Beginning of a new perspective !

Welcome , 

Hello .. 

Experience-1   ;)


According to me and my experience of 2years ,you dont need a professional camera for a shot filled with awesomeness , all u need is a "Different perspective" . the way u see things should really change , you can get a good shot even in adverse condition and worst place . You just have to look at the world in different angle. thats the thing that truly makes a difference.

Nobody can teach you photography , its not a thing to be taught , but a thing to be learnt through ones pace , all they can do is just create the spark you need to make up to that fire.

here i will share the things which helped me learn a part of photography ,its a never ending journey , everybody has there own way of learning , and photography is so flexible , so NO strict rules , playing with the ideas is true fun and art of it . 

 Things you  need to learn photography are
   
NO! NO! you dont need a pro camera to begin .. 

•  "True Inspiration"  - without a inspiration you can never appreciate the true beauty.
• "Different perspective" - this will surely make the snap special.  Vision + desire = Reality .
• "Interest" - if u dont wanna give up , then this is must and should .
• "Patience" - you wont get everything right for the 1st time ,you need patience to correct things .
• Camera - Ofcourse you need it , any point and shoot type , basic cam or D-bridge,slr,D-slr.. any of this will do.

So , next time i am going to share some basic knowledge to understand the World of Photography .

                                                             

   The secret to a Great shot is to do common things Uncommonly Well .        

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

             Blackstar -