Perhaps you’ve heard this one before, or said even it yourself: I could take great pictures too, if I had your camera.
But saying pictures are great because of the camera is like saying Michael Jordan was great because of his shoes. Sure, the camera determines an image’s resolution, but give a $7,000 camera to a toddler and you’ll have a high resolution blur.
… Continue reading 10 Ways That Understanding Your Camera Leads to Better Images
I spend most of the winter shivering in New England despite numerous layers of silk, fleece, and wool. One of the few consolations that the season offers is the opportunity—often numerous opportunities—to photograph snow. Although driving in snow is wretched, seeing it is glorious.
However, for years, my snow shots were disappointing. I would try to capture a brilliant snowy scene and wind up with an image that appeared dingy or slightly blue. Luckily, the cure was simple.
I had forgotten that cameras are designed to expose for a nice, even medium grey. Grey, not white. So snow throws off the camera’s metering system, which tries to make the snow a nice shade of grey.
… Continue reading Perk up photos of snowy scenes with these simple and practical tips
I was reading a discussion the other day about how shooting in RAW mode saved some under-exposed shots. Accepted wisdom seems to be that correcting under and over exposure is much easier/better with RAW than JPG. Without making any judgments, I decided to try it out and see if it was true.
… Continue reading RAW vs. JPG: Correcting under/over-exposure
When your camera is set on automatic, making a photograph is as simple as pressing the shutter release button. Somehow, the camera magically records just the right amount of light to render an image of the scene before it. But what is really going on? How does the camera know how to do that?
Read on to find out how a little knowledge about what goes into making an exposure can open up new worlds of creative possibilities.
… Continue reading Understanding exposure: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO
