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These photography tips are a record of new entries to the Daily Photo Tips RSS feed since November 2007. There are currently 1567 tips in the database! Contact Me to comment or add tips.
Lens flare can be partly controlled by stopping the lens down. Since the size of the polygonal shapes that flare in the frame match the aperture, reducing the aperture should reduce the size (but possibly not the intensity) of the shapes. (First published Oct 30, 2011)
06.Oct.11Camera manufacturers often share components or outsource the manufacturing of camera parts to other companies. Being aware of how a device was made and who took part in its manufacture may help you to judge its quality.
05.Oct.11Turning on image stabilization when using your camera on a tripod can make composing a photograph difficult. Image stabilization tends to shift an image slowly to match camera movements, so the photographer may not see the results of a new composition until the camera has been still for several seconds.
04.Oct.11Your camera's LCD screen may under-saturate photographs, sometimes severely. Before deciding that an image is too 'washed-out', download it and view it on a good-quality computer monitor.
03.Oct.11Telephoto lenses aren't just for 'getting closer'. Telephotos compress perspective and produce background and foreground blur, which can isolate a subject, make a scene feel more 'intimate', and allow the photographer to control the composition from a distance.
02.Oct.11Telephoto zoom lenses usually range from about 70mm to about 200mm (35mm equivalent). Fixed-aperture versions of these lenses can be excellent for event photography, though they are generally large and heavy. Lightweight variable-aperture versions are often extremely slow and fairly soft.
01.Oct.11Using a very long telephoto lens requires techniques not dissimilar to those employed by snipers. Regulating your breathing, stabilizing your stance, and making an exposure between heartbeats all help to remove motion blur from high magnification photographs.
30.Sep.11Indirect light from a window can be great for baby pictures. Most people don't have anything close to a studio lighting situation, but the soft, diffuse light coming from outside can often produce excellent results anyway!
29.Sep.11Large super-telephoto lenses are not produced in great numbers. Super-telephotos are time-consuming to make and appeal to a very small user market. Some models see fewer than 5 lenses produced per year!
28.Sep.11The first time you use a long telephoto lens, expect to see slightly disappointing results. Long lenses require careful focus, stable shooting conditions and carefully chosen shutter speed ranges, causing many photographers to goof most of their photos at first.
27.Sep.11Pinhole lenses, especially in shorter focal lengths, will often suit centred subjects. Since pinhole lenses tend to vignette strongly and show very little detail, whatever is in the centre of the frame will tend to attract the viewer's attention.
26.Sep.11Telephoto prime lenses are lenses from about 100mm to about 300mm (35mm equivalent). Depending on the manufacturer, these can be extremely sharp, though large and very expensive lenses. Used in sports, journalism, and many other fields, proper technique is critical in order to obtain sharp images.
25.Sep.11Photographic noise generally falls into two categories: luminescence noise and chroma noise. JPEG artifacts are not noise, as they are not randomly occurring patterns produced by a system intended to measure a natural signal.
24.Sep.11A clip-on lens hood will inhibit your ability to operate a polarizing filter. Clip on hoods block access to the sides of the filter, forcing the photographer to reach awkwardly into the front to change polarization orientation.
23.Sep.11Common lens designs will behave similarly, even across different brands or styles of camera. Though the quality of manufacturing affects a lens's performance, the lens design always produces certain key characteristics.
22.Sep.11Lowering ISO is only one way to reduce noise. Choice of subject, choice of composition and post-processing noise reduction methods also contribute to a low-noise photograph.