Photography Tips From Professional - Lesson #3

Welcome back! It is now time for our third and final lesson right before Christmas. In Lesson #1 we learned about the simplicity of the camera mechanics with the f-stop (aperture) and shutter speed. In Lesson #2 we learned about ISO as well as how the average person should set his camera when shooting various scenes. Today I will touch on the final two rules for creating stunning photos. As an added bonus for our more advanced users I will include one tip using the f-stop (aperture) to improve the depth of field.

When creating a photo or painting the artist should always consider the Rule of Thirds. So what is the Rule of Thirds? For top painters and photographers alike they view each area of interest by dividing it into thirds both in height and lengthwise. This creates three columns and three rows with nine sections. When you take a photo or create a painting the points of interest should be located around the various quadrants/lines created by this division. The main intention is to have the eyes flow through the picture from one quadrant to another. The picture below illustrates this rule. The castle, horizon, rocks all fall within a quadrant and around the division lines. As you view the picture pay attention to how your eyes move throughout the entire shot. Too many amateur photographers place the point of interest directly in the middle of the frame. Imagine how the castle picture would look if everything was shifted with the castle right in the middle? It would clearly be lacking in pizazz and the eyes would not move throughout the picture.

NOTE: All rules are meant to be broken, but you must first learn the rule before you can break it.

Rule of Thirds

Castle In Italy

Most individuals love portrait shots of friends and family. However, they don’t need to be composed shots with everyone saying “cheese”. (In reality they should say “Whiskey” during that type of shot because it brings about a more natural smile.) When having a family or group of individuals gather together they typically are at their most relaxed and humorous state before you begin shooting. These times provide excellent opportunities to take some really interesting and fun shots without anyone noticing. Notice how the shot captures the candid and relaxed aspect of everyone while also following the Rule of Thirds. (Faces are NOT in the middle of the picture.) Lastly, when taking candid portraits you need to be “in the moment”. Try and become the subject and predict their next move, thoughts, or facial expressions. Doing so allows you to capture some fascinating photographs.

Family Shot at Christmas

Predict Your Subjects Behavior

Before moving to the final tip let’s summarize the past three lessons. I still recommend reading all of them one final time to see the connection between each lesson.

Lesson #1 – The main idea behind f-stop, shutter speed, and auto programing is to determine the amount of light necessary for a properly exposed photograph. The faster the shutter speed and the larger the f-stop number the less light allowed into the camera.

Lesson #2 – Larger ISO numbers mean less light required to produce a good exposed photograph. Large ISO numbers should be used in low light and indoor settings. Amateurs should utilize the Tv (S) setting for their cameras instead of the auto programming features such as Portrait, Action, or Auto. This allows you to adjust and match the shutter speed with the subject matter allowing the auto aperture feature to control the exposure.

Now the bonus feature. Anyone that has spent a small amount of time shooting realizes that not everything in a photograph is in focus. This behavior is more pronounced when using your zoom. This affect is due to physics but a photographer can control the amount of subject matter within focus using the aperture. The area in focus is termed the depth of field - how much distance in front of and behind the subject remains in focus. To increase this distant use a higher f-stop setting. For example instead of shooting at f-8 shoot at f-11 or even f-16. Just remember that the larger the number the smaller the aperture (hole) and the less light allowed into the camera. You will need to reduce the shutter speed or increase the ISO setting to compensate for the reduced amount of light.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the lessons and are now ready for some incredible picture taking over the holidays. Take care everyone!

Photography Tips From Professional - Lesson #2

Welcome back and it’s now time for our second lesson. Last week we learned about the simplicity of the camera through the f-stop (aperture) and shutter speed. Hopefully you dusted off the camera and performed the homework assignment. If so you should now feel very comfortable with the main functions (Av, Tv, Auto, Manual, Portrait, etc.) on your camera that control the main factors in creating a photograph. This week’s topic will focus on two more aspects (ISO and the Tv Setting) for creating a nice photo.

The ISO numbering convention is not important except to realize that the higher the number the less light required by the film or sensor to get a properly exposed photograph. The numbers typically seen are 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600. A simple rule for most shots is that on a very bright and sunny day you should utilize ISO of 100 or 200. For indoor shots and times around dusk 400 and 800 are good choices. This doesn’t mean you can’t utilize any ISO setting you desire, however for most amateurs that shoot using ISO 100 during darker settings the only light source you really have available for a properly exposed photo is your flash. The two pictures below illustrate what happens when using a low ISO setting with a flash in a dark environment.

Duck shot at ISO 800.

Duck shot at ISO 100

Both photos were shot using the Auto feature (what most amateurs select) utilizing flash with the left at ISO 800 and right at ISO 100. Notice the difference in color and exposure of the ISO 100 photo (bottom photo). The chair should be green, the feet orange, and beak a stronger yellow as evident in the ISO 800 photo. However, due to the ISO setting these colors were muted by the flash and the overall picture appears washed out. There are ways professionals can adjust this effect on a higher end camera or through color correction on a computer, but for the amateur it's best to always shoot with a high ISO setting! So, figure out how to set it manually instead of allowing the camera to adjust the setting.

The last tip for today deals with shutter speed and aperture combinations. For most people these are the most confusing aspects of a camera. In my opinion this is caused by manufacturers and other photographers not providing two very basic rules for shooting. Instead they get technical and begin providing information more suited for a thesis.

The first rule for shutter speed/aperture setting combinations is that every amateur should be shooting with either the Tv (or S) setting on their camera. They should rarely every require the auto program features like Portrait, Landscape, Sports, or any other auto feature.

The second rule is shutter speed. When shooting anything that is stationary the shutter speed should be between 1/60^th and 1/125^th. The sole intent is to have nothing blurry in the photo as a result of your own movement. If you can hold the camera extremely steady you may be able to shoot at 1/30^th or slower but for 99.9% of all your stationary shots the above range is perfect. If the scene is moving quickly (like sports) then use a shutter speed of 1/200^th and above. This will stop all movement. This means on almost all your shots the camera should be set on Tv (or S depending on your camera) thereby allowing you to set the shutter speed! Here are two examples.

Example 1: Your on vacation and you see a beautiful mountain range. The day is sunny. You pull out your camera with the Tv setting, set the ISO to 100 or 200 (bright sunny day setting), set the shutter speed to 1/125^th of a second (nothing moving) and shoot the picture. Done! It’s that simple!

Example 2: Your at your son’s indoor basketball game. You want some actions shots but need to make sure your son is not blurry. You then put the ISO setting to 800 (indoor/darker setting) and place the shutter speed at 1/200^th. Done! Again it’s that simple.

Next week (Lesson 3) we will talk about arranging a photo. Until then start adjusting your ISO and Shutter Speeds and see if that alone doesn’t improve your photos! I promise it will!

Photography Tips From Professional - Lesson #1

With Christmas approaching I thought a blog on photography would be appreciated by the masses. There is nothing I like more than a photograph or well written song that stirs the soul. I have always enjoyed not only shooting but teaching others photography my entire life. Watching someone grow in their ability always brings a smile to my face.

I have read many articles and books on photography plus seen many tips for the amateur shooter and the one thing I found most frustrating was the inability to teach in an easy to understand method. Through a series of three simple blogs I hope to have everyone understand the basics of a camera, what the different settings mean, and simple techniques to significantly improve on your abilities. What I present here will be simple to remember so note taking is not required.



Today I will talk about the basics of a camera. Regardless of film or digital they all work the same. A camera has a hole on the front that allows light to pass through and impact film or a computer chip called a CCD or CMOS. In all cases the amount of light determines the exposure. If there is too much light the picture is white, if little to no light the picture is dark. To control the amount of light allowed onto the film or sensor a camera uses two mechanical techniques. These are the shutter speed and f-stop (also called aperture).

Before you begin to panic understanding these two are extremely simple. The f-stop is essentially the size of a hole in the opening. The smaller the f-stop number the larger the hole diameter thereby allowing more light. The number and size have an inverse relationship. Imagine your window blinds partially open allowing some light into your living room. If you open them further you get more light.

The shutter speed is how long the camera absorbs light. One example might be 1/60^th of a second. As the speed increases the amount of light hitting the film or sensor decreases.

At this point I could speak about ISO rating, flash, and other aspects but everything revolves around controlling the amount of light hitting the film or sensor. All the settings on a camera control these two aspects. Below I put together a list of typical settings showing what each controls.

• Manual (M) – user sets the f-stop AND shutter speed.
• Aperture (A) – user sets the f-stop ONLY. The shutter speed is controlled by the camera.
• Shutter Speed (S) – user set the shutter seed ONLY. The f-stop is controlled by the camera.
• Auto, Program, Portrait, Action, Landscape, Night, etc. – user sets nothing as the computer guesses and the correct f-stop and shutter speed combination.

With the advent of the CCD and CMOS users now get direct feedback on their pictures. This is a HUGE advantage because you can retake the shot quickly by adjusting the amount of light entering the camera if your first shot was either too dark or too light. With this in mind there is NO reason not to constantly shoot and do so frequently. Who cares if you get ten shots of the same thing? They can be easily deleted and by adjusting the settings you get different results. So your homework for now is to go play with your camera and try different settings. I promise it won’t break!

The next lesson will teach you about ISO and what combinations of settings you should generally use for most daily shots. The third lesson will teach you a few simple tricks professionals use when taking shots.

Five Energy Tips to Save Upwards of $100 a Month!

There are numerous tasks that can provide energy savings but as we all are aware many aren't really helpful or practical without much work. For example filling the car ties up with air or caulking windows. Well, duh! We all know this, but how about something more realistic including areas you probably haven't realized? Using my engineering background I have compiled five items that you may not realize provide a significant impact on your energy costs. I personally utilize these techniques and my home's energy bill this summer never exceeded $150. So without further ado here is the list.

First, almost all refrigerators allow you to adjust the internal temperature with many now showing the actual temperature in Fahrenheit. Most normal settings are 36 degrees for refrigerators and 2 degrees for freezers. All contents within the refrigerators survive fine at temperatures as high as 39 degrees and freezers upwards of 10 degrees. Depending on the change in temperature this can save you on average $10 a month on your energy bill.



Second, your computer probably has a 750 watt power supply that runs continually when not show off. They have the potential to use upwards of $30 or more a month in electricity. All computers should be turned off when not in use. If standing around for a boot up is frustrating then use the sleep mode. This still shuts down the computer but remembers all your settings providing for a much faster startup.

Third, hot water heaters are typically 3500 watt storage devices. Some homes have two or more. Along side the air conditioner, stoves, microwaves, and furnaces they utilize a large amount of electricity. If your family takes a large number of showers maybe increasing the temperature is worthwhile, but most families should have their hot water heaters set below the recommended setting, especially if you are single. The savings can amount to upwards of $10 a month.

Fourth, the oven is an energy hog having ratings usually around 3500 watts similar to hot water heaters. Most families rarely fill the oven during use because most items cook at varying temperatures. Instead of utilizing the oven purchase a larger toaster oven that instead utilizes 1500-1700 watts. You will cut the energy usage for stove cooked items in half saving upwards of $20 a month depending on the amount of cooking. In addition cooking with convection reduces the cooking temperature by 25 degrees providing additional savings.

Fifth, sprinklers can utilize a large amount of water especially during the summer months. The ground gets hard increasing the surface tension preventing water from fully being absorbed into the ground. To prevent runoff and maximize absorption utilize the same technique as top quality golf courses. They water twice with the first watering lasting only a short period thereby allowing time for the surface tension to break and maximize water absorption. They then utilize a second watering cycle with longer times. This approach reduces the water usage by upwards of 25-30% over a single watering cycle. During the summer when water bills can reach in the upper $100's this amount of savings can easily reach $20-$30 or more. Not to mention your grass will thank you!



There is your total savings of $100 a month in energy costs and the amount of effort to accomplish these savings was essentially zero.