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Banish Bad Pictures: 9 quick fixes for common camera complaints

jmeyer — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:57:45 +0000

Tired of taking bad pictures? Find out how to fix photos in-camera with our simple advice for curing your exposure problems and focusing headaches. We offer solutions for some of the most common photography problems photographers face. So read on to soothe your burning photo composition and colour complaints!

Whether you’re an experienced enthusiast or you’ve just bought your first digital SLR, everybody has problems with their pictures now and then. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

In fact, if you’re less than perfectly happy with your shots, it only goes to prove that you’re eager to improve your DSLR shooting skills. And, as the saying goes, you can always learn from your camera mistakes!

However, working out how to solve your dilemmas on your own can prove to be a real headache. Which menu option or control do you need to use to make your pictures look better? Well, you can rest easy, because our team of D-SLR doctors are here to cure all of your camera complaints.

Whether your highlights are looking blown out and over-exposed, or your photos are suffering from camera shake, we’ve got the solutions to your problems.

If you’re finding it impossible to capture photos with a sense of impact, or your images’ colours look out of whack, we’ll help you resolve your issues. Read on to learn the quick and easy way to restore your shots back to health.

Fixing Bad Pictures: Why are all my photos blown out?

Were you shooting in bright daylight?
Photographing landscapes under midday sun can prove problematic. For the best colours and problem-free exposures, try to shoot your scenes with your back to the sun. If that’s not an option, here are two other possible solutions…

YES

Did you try using Exposure Compensation?
Left to its own devices, your digital DSLR can sometimes produce pictures that look lighter or darker than you would like them to. Switch to Av (Aperture Priority) mode and use Exposure Compensation to tweak the overall brightness.

Did you use an ND Grad filter? 
In landscapes, a standard exposure will either result in overly bright skies lacking detail, colour and impact, or striking skies and excessively dark foregrounds.

Using ND Grad filters 
By using a Neutral Density (ND) Gradient filter when photographing landscapes, you make the brightness of the scene more even. You’ll be able to capture the foreground detail as well as the beautiful colour and texture of clouds in the sky.

Try using histograms
When reviewing your shots on your camera’s LCD, get into the habit of checking histograms as well to see if your shots are too bright or dark. You can also check histograms in Levels in Photoshop.

1 Under-exposed 
This shot of a stag is too dark. The majority of the tones are stacked on the left of the histogram.

2 Over-exposed 
This shot is too bright. The majority of the tones are now bunched up on the right of the histogram.

3 Correctly exposed 
This shot is bang on. There’s an even spread of shadows, midtones and highlights on the histogram.

10 reasons why your photos aren’t sharp (and how to fix them)

anicholson — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:01:40 +0000

Getting sharp photos is one of the fundamental goals in photography. If your images aren’t as sharp as you’d like, take a look at our ten-point guide to work out where you’re going wrong and how to get it right next time.

Reason No. 1. Your Photos Aren’t Sharp: Shutter speed too low

In the days of film photography there was a general rule that in order to get sharp images from a hand-held camera the shutter speed needed to be at least one second divided by the focal length of the lens.

So if you were shooting with a 100mm optic the shutter speed needed to be at least 1/100sec, which because of the way shutter speed is set usually translates to a setting of 1/125sec or faster.

This rule still holds today, but it is somewhat complicated by the focal length magnification factors of sub-full-frame sensors and image stabilisation systems.

For example, if a 100mm lens is mounted on a Nikon APS-C format SLR like the D5200, which has a focal length magnification factor of 1.5x, the photographer would need to set a shutter speed of at least 1/150sec.

Canon APS-C format DSLRs like the EOS 650D have a 1.6x focal length magnification factor, so the shutter speed would need to be at least 1/160sec.

The image stabilisation systems built into some lenses and cameras have a mechanism to compensate for accidental camera movement and this allows slow shutter speeds to be used when the camera is handheld.

Many lenses now claim a 4EV compensation, which means that the shutter speed can be reduced by 16x. That’s the difference between 1/125sec and /18sec.

Even with image stabilisation some people are better at handholding a camera steady than others. The amount of coffee and alcohol that you’ve drunk can make a difference as well.

How to choose the best tripod: 10 things photographers should look for

jmeyer — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:01:17 +0000

If you thought all tripods were essentially the same, then think again! What looks like a small difference in design can have a big impact on usability.

So how do you choose the best tripod? If you want your tripod to be a trusty lifelong companion and not just an overpriced, overweight millstone, you need to read our top 10 tips for choosing the right one!

How to choose the best tripod: 1. Balls of fire

Tripod heads come in two types: ball heads and three-way heads. Ball heads have a single locking screw – when you loosen it you can move the camera in any direction.

Ball heads are (usually) cheaper, lighter and more compact. This makes them perfect for travel and most other types of photography, but they’re less effective for precise framing and small adjustments.

How to choose the best tripod: 2. Three way precision

Three-way heads have separate pan, tilt and swivel movements.

They take a little longer to set up, but they allow you to make small accurate adjustments, and to move the camera along one axis without disturbing the others.

They’re ideal for studio work or more demanding landscape photography.

But they’re bigger and heavier than ball heads, and the handles stick out so they’re less convenient to carry around.

PAGE 1: How to choose the best tripod 1-2
PAGE 2: How to choose the best tripod 3-4
PAGE 3: How to choose the best tripod 5-6
PAGE 4: How to choose the best tripod 7-8
PAGE 5: How to choose the best tripod 9-10

9 creative photo ideas to try in May 2013

jmeyer — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:01:19 +0000

As part of our ongoing series to help you get more creative with your digital camera, each month we publish some fun, seasonal, creative photo ideas to help inspire your imagination. Along with some amazing images, we’ve also provided some quick photography tips by both amateur and professional photographers who are experts in these fields.

This month our list covers fun projects like shooting long exposures, puddles, stormy seas and painterly plant portraits, among many other fun and creative photography projects.

On each page you’ll find a stunning image and an explanation from the photographer on how it was made.

If you attempt any of these photo ideas, don’t forget to share them on our Facebook wall!

01 Shoot creative spring light painting effects

Light painting photography doesn’t have to be restricted to the longer nights of winter. As spring arrives, why not make the most of the milder evenings with this clever twist on a familiar technique?

Simon Berger created his ‘Pouring Rain Noir’ shot after seeing a tutorial on steel wool light painting and experimenting with the technique. It was taken using nothing more than a tripod-mounted Canon EOS 5D Mark III, a willing model (Martin) and some burning steel wool.

“We used ordinary ‘0000’ steel wool for this shot,” says Simon. “To control the direction of the sparks, I rotated the  steel wool towards the camera and Martin, and the sparks bounced from the ceiling onto the umbrella.”

The technique is pretty simple. By placing steel wool in a metal whisk suspended at the end of a chain, igniting the steel wool with  a 9V battery and then spinning the chain, you can create impressive arcs of sparks using a long exposure. Of course there are risks, and it needs to be carried out well away from anything flammable.

“The umbrella we used was a really cheap one,” Simon says. “We had some bottles of water, but the shooting took place in a tunnel so there was no real danger of anything catching fire. I knew I wanted the sparks to look like rain, but I had no idea how to do it until I found this location. Then it just clicked.”

Get started today…
* Safety warning! Spinning molten steel wool at the end of a chain carries a high risk of injury. Don’t attempt it alone and make sure you wear goggles, gloves and suitable protective clothing. Protect the front element of your lens with a clear UV filter.
* Experiment with exposure times. Simon used an aperture of f/8 and shutter speed of 20 seconds at ISO200.
* Consider converting the original colour shot to black and white for added intrigue.

PAGE 1: Shoot creative spring light painting effects
PAGE 2: Shoot painterly plant portraits
PAGE 3: Shoot the beach during a spring storm
PAGE 4: Shoot zoo animals with environmental context
PAGE 5: Shoot reflections in puddles
PAGE 6: Shoot plane trails
PAGE 7: Shoot portraits with reflections
PAGE 8: Shoot water birds at your local pond
PAGE 9: Shoot images with motion blur

10 camera settings you don’t use (and which you probably should)

jmeyer — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:00:19 +0000

Our friends at the photo management blog Photoventure came up with their list of the most overlooked DSLR settings and why they feel these options are worth a second look. They agreed to share them with Digital Camera World readers. Do you agree with their list? If you’ve got something to add, go join the conversation on their Facebook page!

It’s easy to fall into a pattern when you take pictures, favouring some subjects and overlooking others, and sticking to the camera settings you know rather than experimenting with those you don’t.

But here are 10 shooting options you should explore in order to get the most from your camera…

1. Manual mode 
Modern metering systems are so sophisticated you might imagine exposure is far too complicated to figure out manually. Not true!

In fact it’s remarkably easy to estimate the exposure for any conditions manually – and you get to see the result on the LCD straight away, so it only takes a moment to tweak the settings and try again.

Switching to Manual mode has two big advantages:
1. You base your exposures on what you can see looks right, rather than what the camera’s exposure metering system imagines you want.
2. You can use a constant exposure for a series of shots taken in the same light, without the camera making unnecessary adjustments.

2. Daylight white balance
 The camera’s auto white balance system tries to correct for different-coloured lighting to produce neutral-looking colours. Isn’t that what you want?

Not always! Sometimes it’s the colour of the light that ‘makes’ the picture, especially with landscapes, and the last thing you want is for the camera to try to ‘fix’ it.

Instead, switch your camera to the Daylight preset. This fixes the colour correction values to match regular daylight, so that any changes in the light colour are recorded faithfully, such as the cool blue light of dawn or the warm golden tones of early evening.

3. Spot metering
 Your camera’s Evaluative metering system does a good job of measuring the tones across the whole image and arriving at a good, compromise exposure.

Often, though, it’s just one area of the frame that’s important, and that’s where Spot metering mode comes into its own. It measures the light across a small area only and ignores the rest.

This is often the only way to get the correct exposure with tricky subjects like spotlit performers on a stage, but it can be equally effective with everyday shots where your subject is in a different light to its surroundings.

4. Monochrome Picture Style
 Picture Styles control the look of the picture saved by the camera, and almost all digital SLRs offer an equivalent.

If you’re planning on making black and white photos, the Monochrome Picture Style is especially valuable because it enables you to see how your pictures are looking as you shoot them, and how to compose them more effectively when you’re working with shapes, light and shade rather than colour.

Shoot in your camera’s RAW+JPEG mode, and you’ll have one colour image (RAW) you can work on later, and a black and white shot (JPEG) that you can share straight away. On EOS digital SLRs, you can even apply ‘contrast’ filter effects using red, yellow or orange filters.

5. Use the self-timer for tripod shots 
A tripod is great for keeping the camera still during long exposures, but that’s not much help if you jog it when you press the shutter button. The ideal solution is a remote release, but what if you don’t have one with you?

Simple – you just use the self-timer instead. 10 seconds, the usual self-timer delay, is rather a long time to wait, of course – but did you know you can change the delay to a shorter time, such as 2 seconds. That’s enough for any vibration to die down, but quick enough – hopefully – to catch your subject before it moves.

6. Program shift 
In program AE mode, the camera selects the shutter speed and lens aperture combination automatically. If you want to choose either setting yourself, you’re usually advised to switch to the Shutter Priority or Aperture Priority modes instead.

But there’s a quicker way – your camera’s program shift function. If you don’t like the shutter/aperture combination, you use this to shift it in favour of smaller apertures or higher speeds. On Canon EOS cameras, you do this by turning the main control dial on program AE mode – simple!

7. Auto ISO 
Auto ISO isn’t just for beginners. Normally you’d set the ISO manually to suit the conditions – low ISOs for best quality, for example, and high ISOs for hand-held shooting in poor light.

But this brings the risk of camera shake, if the ISO isn’t high enough, or excess noise if you’ve set it higher than it needs to be. This happens all too easily if you’re shooting in changing conditions and don’t have time to alter the settings.

This is where auto ISO comes into its own – the camera will use the lowest suitable ISO for the conditions and only increase it where necessary to avoid camera shake. You can usually set the maximum ISO you want the camera to use, if you’re concerned about quality.

8. AE lock button
 On most cameras you can half-press the shutter button to lock the exposure, so that you can re-frame the shot and take the picture without the exposure changing. However, this also locks the focus, which isn’t always desirable.

So use the AE lock button on the back of the camera instead. This locks the exposure only. You can release the shutter button as you reframe the shot, then press it again when you’re ready to take the picture. The camera will re-focus on your subject, but keep the exposure you ‘locked’ – perfect for spot metering.

9. Focus in Live View 
If you’re composing close-ups or still-life shots with the camera on a tripod, use Live View to focus – you can move the focus point anywhere in the frame and zoom in to check the fine detail, which makes it especially effective for manual focusing.

10. Long exposures 
Photography isn’t just about freezing moments in time. Try using longer shutter speeds of a second or more to see how movement blur can enhance your pictures. Obvious subjects include waterfalls and seascapes, try recording fields of corn swaying in the breeze or pedestrians passing in busy streets.

Best monitor for photo editing: 4 top models tested and rated

jmeyer — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:01:51 +0000

What is the best monitor for photo editing? Colour-accurate monitors offer true-to-life reproduction of photographic images, but price and performance varies. We’ve tested four of the top models available to see which monitor is best for photographers.

Best monitor for photo editing: 01 Eizo ColorEdge CG243W

Price: £1,200
Buy it: www.eizo.co.uk
This thoughtfully laid-out monitor has a versatile swivelling screen, which makes fitting it into your workspace a doddle, even with the (included) hood in place.

The menus are sensibly laid out, with icons popping up above the buttons so you always know what to press, even in a darkened studio.

The included calibration software enables you to build an ICC profile quickly, and the 1920×1200-pixel display offers high-end reproduction, but this doesn’t come cheap and, at 24 inches, this is the smallest monitor on test.

Pros: A high-end, flexible monitor with rich, consistent colours
Cons: Only 24 inches; functional rather than stylish design; pricey

Score: 88%

PAGE 1: Best monitor for photo editing: 01 Eizo ColorEdge CG243W
PAGE 2: Best monitor for photo editing: 02 Dell U2711
PAGE 3: Best monitor for photo editing: 03 NEC MultiSync EA273WM
PAGE 4: Best monitor for photo editing: 04 Samsung SyncMaster S27B970D
PAGE 5: 5 things to look for in a monitor for photo editing

Color Theory: best color combinations for photography (and how to take it further)

jmeyer — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:01:13 +0000

Learning the basics of color theory can add instant impact to your photo compositions. In this quick guide we’ll take you through the best color combinations for photography according to color theory and how you can take it one step further to make truly amazing images.

Most of us use color in our photography without really thinking about it. As soon as you stop and really consider which shades you use in your shots and how you match colors together in your compositions, though, you’ll see a drastic change in your photos.

In this tutorial we’re going to run through the basics of color theory. We’ll look at how to use a color wheel to mix and match colors perfectly, and then focus on using color in four different ways to create bright, exciting shots in seconds.

You’ll need some bright clothes, but these can be picked up cheaply in charity shops. First we’ll show you how to add one or two touches of a single vibrant color to a mostly neutral subject to create portraits that really make an impact.

From there, we’ll experiment with using complementary colors (ones on opposite sides of the color wheel) together. The third stage is to mix shades of one color for striking effects, and to finish we’ll clash lots of different colors for fun rainbow photos.

We’ll also explain how getting the correct lighting can drastically change how colors are shown. Color can have a huge effect on our moods – used cleverly, it’s a brilliant way to really bring your photography to life.

Color Theory Tip 01 A touch of color

An easy way to experiment with color is by adding a bright pop of one shade to an otherwise neutral composition.

Red is a fail-safe choice, but any warm shade, such as orange and pink, will also work well as a focal point.

Our model’s red lips and scarf stand out against her black coat and the grey walls, drawing the eye in and making the shot come alive.

Color Theory Tip 01 A touch of color
Color Theory Tip 02 Matching complementary colors
Color Theory Tip 03 Shades of a single color
Color Theory Tip 04 color clash
Color Theory Tip 05 Taking it further – how lighting affects colour

Group Photography: 12 ways to make your portraits shine

jmeyer — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:01:29 +0000

Is your group photography stuck in a rut? If you’re bored of the formal group pictures there are some subtle and creative ways to make your group photos more engaging. In this tutorial we’ll start by showing you the basics to set up and shoot the traditional group shot… and then how to take your group photography one step beyond.

Anyone who’s tried to shoot group photography will know they can be a lot harder to pull off than individual portraits. First you have to get everyone together at the same time and wearing the right expressions, and then you have to figure out how to compose your image so that it doesn’t just look like a boring and predictable line-up.

There is a place for these, of course. Special family occasions are one example, where the main reason for taking the picture is to capture a record of the event. Prize-givings, awards and company group shots are other examples.

However, there are times when you want a more casual approach that captures the personalities of your subjects and their spontaneous reactions, or you may be asked to come up with something more creative, such as an album cover for a band.

This is when you need to explore some less formal photo opportunities, and get more adventurous with your shooting angles, lens choice and camera settings.

There are other secrets to great group photography, such as making the most of your surroundings. Your choice of lens and viewpoint will obviously affect what’s in the background of your group photography, but you can go further, using doorways to frame your subjects, for example, or making seats, steps and railings part of the composition.

The most important thing of all is to work on the interaction between yourself and your subjects, and use the group dynamics, working with obvious pairings and groups within the larger collective.

Professional models know how to pose, but most of your subjects will feel quite awkward, so explain what you’re trying to do as you go along. Best of all, find some activity for them to engage in, no matter how silly, to break the ice and get some great expressions.

10 common exposure problems every photographer faces (and how to fix them)

anicholson — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:01:16 +0000

Are you struggling to get well-lit shots? You don’t need any fancy equipment or complex lighting techniques. This guide to the 10 most common exposure problems all photographers face will show you how to avoid them and start taking better pictures today.

At some point most photographers take a picture that doesn’t come out exactly as they expected, it’s either too dark or much lighter than they want it to be.

This might be because of a mistake with the metering, they’ve made an exposure error or because the camera settings are wrong. In this article we explain 10 of the most common exposure problems and how to avoid them.

Exposure Problem 1. White subject made grey

Camera metering systems generally expect the brightness of a scene to average out as a midtone.

There may be very bright and dark sections, but the average brightness is somewhere in between.

So if you fill the frame with a very light subject, a winter landscape or a light, sandy beach, for example, the camera will reduce the exposure to render it a midtone. Hence a white subject is often made grey.

The solution is simple, just use the exposure compensation control to increase the exposure above the value suggested by the camera.

With snow you may need to increase it by over 1EV, perhaps even 2EV.

The key is to keep an eye on the histogram view and increase the exposure until the trace reaches the far right of the scale, indicating that there are some whites in the image.

Don’t increase the exposure too far and introduce a large peak at the right end of the histogram as this means that lots of the highlights are burned out.

9 creative photo ideas to try in April

jmeyer — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 00:00:36 +0000

This month our list covers fun projects like shooting out of focus, experimenting with humorous still life photography, wildlife long exposures and looking for faces where they don’t normally belong!

On each page you’ll find a stunning image and an explanation from the photographer on how it was made.

If you attempt any of these photo ideas, don’t forget to share them on our Facebook wall!

We’d love to see how you get on.

01 Shoot twilight portraits

Now that the clocks have sprung forward, evenings arrive at a more civilized time. Make the most of this opportunity by shooting low-light portraits in the fading light of dusk.

The soft light and cool color temperature at this time of day can add incredible mood to your pictures.

Although the quality of light might be softer, it will also be lower. This means that your pictures may be blurred unless your technique is spot-on.

You’ll need to select wider apertures and higher ISO settings if you’re shooting handheld, and you’ll need to be accurate with focusing if you’re forced to use the widest aperture on your lens.

Select a focus point that corresponds with one of your subject’s eyes, or use the centre AF point and lock the focus on their eyes before recomposing.

To emphasise the cool, blue quality of the light, use the Daylight white balance preset. If you rely on Auto White Balance to make adjustments, it’s likely to try and warm the scene up too much, removing some of the mood as it does so.

Of course, you can always shoot in raw and make adjustments later – although dialling in the Daylight white balance will give you a more accurate impression of colour on the rear screen.

Get started today…
* Use focal lengths of 50mm and above to create more flattering portraits.
* Shoot in Aperture Priority, but keep a close eye on the shutter speed in the viewfinder – it needs to be the equivalent of 1/focal length of the lens for sharp handheld pictures (so 1/50sec for a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera).
* Use the camera in continuous drive mode, and fire in short bursts in order to capture any change in expression from your subject.
* The soft light of dusk can lead to low contrast pictures – you might want to boost the shadows and highlights later using Levels and Curves.
* Consider using an off-camera flash with the power dialled down in order to add a catchlight to the eyes.
* This style of portrait works equally as well early in the morning, with the advantage that you won’t be working in fading light.

PAGE 1: Shoot twilight portraits
PAGE 2: Shoot still life photography with personality
PAGE 3: Shoot a film noir style
PAGE 4: Shoot quiet landscapes
PAGE 5: Shoot out of focus
PAGE 6: Shoot faces in unusual places
PAGE 7: Shoot pictures of weather
PAGE 8: Shoot wildlife with long exposures
PAGE 9: Shoot baby sheep