Daily Photo Tips Archive
Page 73
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.
Daily Photo Tip
The 'sunstar', caused by extreme highlight diffraction from aperture blades, can vary in size and quality depending on the format used. Smaller format camera systems tend to produce the star at larger apertures than larger format systems. (First published May 1, 2011)
20.Mar.09Be extremely careful when cleaning CCD sensors or other delicate camera components. Follow the manufacturer's instructions – they will likely not honour the warranty if you don't.
19.Mar.09Owing to modern optics, the effective focal length of a particular lens may be longer than the physical length of the lens. This means it is possible to have a 400mm lens that is less than 400mm long.
18.Mar.09'Bulb' mode is a mode found on most modern cameras where the user uses a cable release to open the shutter for as long as they like. Bulb mode is normally used for night and low light photography.
17.Mar.09Since the human eye sees relatively, not absolutely, it can sometimes be hard to guess what a photograph will end up looking like. Be conscious of lighting conditions, and always check images if you shoot digitally.
16.Mar.09Ring flashes are flashes that fit in a ring around a lens's front element. They provide very soft, even light, making them good for macro photography and some portrait applications.
15.Mar.09In architecture photography, parallel lines will converge as you look up or down at them. If this bothers you, try changing the camera height or using a shift lens to correct the problem.
14.Mar.09GIF format files are used for some web-based images, but not usually for photographs. Though you could save a photograph in GIF format, it will tend to look 'dotted' and may distract from the photo's effect.
13.Mar.09A fisheye lens is an extremely wide lens, usually about 10-12mm in 35mm format. Fisheye lenses distort the scene with a very exaggerated barrel distortion, some producing a circular image.
12.Mar.09Don't try to force a change in photographic style. Change your methods or motivations because you're tired of what you're doing or because you're excited by something new, not to yield to external pressures.
11.Mar.09A single large 'heavy' element draws all of the viewer's attention to one area of the photo. This can create a calmer, more static composition.
10.Mar.09A 'reverse' neutral density (grad) filter is one that has a hard transition from clear to gray in the middle, with the gray slowly transitioning to clear near the edge.
09.Mar.09Try creating a 'diffraction fringe', where a strongly backlit object appears to be outlined in light. Diffraction fringes work best at medium distances with a very strong light source, like the sun.
08.Mar.09Digital cameras will write to storage cards at different speeds, depending on the type and make of card. If write speed is important to you, note the speed of the card you are intending to purchase.
07.Mar.09Some extremely fast shutter speeds can be inaccurate, giving slightly skewed exposures. As a rule, try to avoid using the fastest shutter speed on your camera.
06.Mar.09Try analyzing photos that you like from a technical perspective. Try to figure out what equipment was used, what the lighting was like, and any techniques that could have been used to create the photo.