Though digital photography has come a long way, beginning photographers must still maintain control of the shots they intend to take. For example, focusing and clarity can be sensed automatically by most digital cameras, but that doesn’t necessarily make the picture a good one. Therefore, choosing the right camera, one which allows you to control intensity, contrast and lighting, is not a choice to make sparingly. Most often, people review cameras and pick their own personal favorite, and while the advice may be helpful to others, it is not necessarily for everyone. First, your needs must determine the type of camera you will buy. Do you prefer to have a smaller camera that can be carried around in your pocket, or would you rather a full-size camera which is carried in a bag? The choice is up to the buyer, and should be thought about carefully before making a decision.
Some of today’s film purists look at digital photography as an unnecessary evil. Is it an unfair advantage that the digital photographer can take a photograph, upload it to their computer, do a little image editing, then have a finished product ready to present to a client (or a personal framed print, suitable for hanging), all in a matter of a couple of hours or less? This is called capitalizing on available technology, and if you’re still one of those that haven’t embraced the tools that are available today, then shame on you! In no way does this mean that film photographers should ditch their 35mm cameras and darkrooms. Much of the work performed in the darkroom is similar to what we do today in Photoshop. We cloned in trees that didn’t exist, removed power lines that distracted from the shot, enhanced colors that were bland, and if we couldn’t do it in the darkroom it was sent to the lab’s airbrush specialist. This person who was definitely an artist and highly skilled in what she did, also took ordinary images and made them extraordinary. One of her specialties was taking old photos that had been bent, folded, and manipulated, and airbrushed everything back to perfection. Digital photography and image processing is not a whole lot different from how things were done 25 years ago.
Normally our eyes compensate for lighting conditions with different color temperatures. A digital camera needs to find a reference point which represents white. It will then calculate all the other colors based on this white point. For instance, if a halogen light illuminates a white wall, the wall will have a yellow cast, while in fact it should be white. So if the camera knows the wall is supposed to be white, it will then compensate all the other colors in the scene accordingly. Most digital cameras feature automatic white balance whereby the camera looks at the overall color of the image and calculates the best-fit white balance. However these systems are often fooled especially if the scene is dominated by one color, say green, or if there is no natural white present in the scene. Most digital cameras also allow you to choose a white balance manually, typically sunlight, cloudy, fluorescent, incandescent etc. Prosumer and SLR digital cameras allow you to define your own white balance reference. Before making the actual shot, you can focus at an area in the scene which should be white or neutral gray, or at a white or gray target card. The camera will then use this reference when making the actual shot.
Quality sports shots are somewhat difficult to come by. Most people have limited access to events to photograph them. The further away you are from the event, the harder it becomes to capture the event in a pleasing manner. You may need a flash with a high output for photographing indoor events.The new modern flash systems produce great results. Some sporting events like gymnastics and others are no-flash events. It is best to talk to an event official before using your flash.
JPEG is a format that makes changes to your photograph, such as adding lighting specifications or white balance. This is usually the best thing to save your picture as, because the results are generally satisfactory and the computer is smart about interpreting the data. However, sometimes you may want to take the raw photograph, which is the picture that has nothing added to it such as light specifications, and edit it yourself. You should do this if you are unsatisfied with the picture taken by the camera, as it is easier than trying to edit a JPEG image. In general, JPEG images are not as detailed as raw images which makes editing them difficult.
Redeye is a common occurrence in photographs. It occurs most often at night, because the pupils dilate to let in more light. When this happens, the flash of the camera reflects to the very back of the retina, creating redeye. Many cameras have settings to compensate, flashing a red light into the eye before taking the picture in order for the pupils to contract. However, if it is too dark, this setting won’t make much of a difference. There are several ways to account for this, one of which is having the subject of the photograph look away from the lens. If there is still a problem, most photo editing programs have red-eye removal.
How do you begin to take good photos? The first thing to remember is this: It’s the photographer that takes great photos, not the camera. Think about that for a minute. It’s true isn’t it? I’ve seen some people take great photos with a simple point-and-shoot camera, while some take lousy shots with the most expensive SLR. Always look for beautiful natural light. The best natural light usually occurs right before, after, and during sunrise and sunset. Be deliberate and creative. Think about what would make a good background, what would make for good colors. When you set out on a picture-taking spree, shoot 10 to 25 pictures so that you can be sure of getting a good shot. Vary the distance, setting, poses, or even the times of day.
