Daily Photo Tips Archive

24.Nov.11Many successful artists aim to produce a variety of work, and do not obsess overly about the quality of each and every piece. This leads to some very mediocre work, but also leads to breakthroughs and revolutions in thinking unencumbered by mundane, difficult details.

19.Nov.11Black and white conversion software may not include only primary colour mixing channels. Other 'channels', simply mixes of the primary channels, can be included to further target areas not affected by a much broader approach.

18.Nov.11Heat waves, particularly when using long lenses for ground-level exposures, can cause tremendous amounts of motion blur. Since heat waves move very quickly, you must use an extremely fast shutter speed or wait for a time when the ground and air are cooler.

17.Nov.11Digital sensors tend to be noisiest in shadows, while film tends to be noisiest in highlights. This can be a big adjustment for photographers used to working with film, where the best way to preserve details was to very slightly underexpose a photograph.

16.Nov.11Photographic noise cannot be truly duplicated by a random-number generation algorithm, even a very good one. Though excellent random number generators exist, truly random data is always gathered from a natural source.

15.Nov.11Larger format camera systems do not have lenses with effective focal lengths as long as those available for smaller formats. Larger systems would require telephoto lenses too huge and expensive to be practical.

14.Nov.11Changing the white balance setting before doing a black and white conversion can give you more control over the final image. Producing an image that is colour balanced will allow you to manipulate more colour channels than with a monochromatic image.

13.Nov.11Sounds can shift a tripod during a long exposure just like other vibrations. It takes an extremely loud sound to blur a photo made with a normal or wide lens, but even just a nearby idling truck engine can cause a super-telephoto lens to produce a less-than-perfect photograph!

12.Nov.11Contrary to popular belief, a messy workspace does not foster creativity in most people. Keep your workspace tidy: it will allow you to think clearly and not become distracted by things unassociated with your current projects.

11.Nov.11Haze reduction through the use of haze (or UV) filters is almost completely ineffective. The filter slightly warms the photo and increases contrast, but minimally. The main purpose of most 'skylight', 'haze' or 'UV' filters is to protect the front lens element from damage.

10.Nov.11The human body can be seen in abstract as well as its usual representational presentation. Try to find abstract shapes, or even textures and patterns, in the many poses the human body can take.

09.Nov.11When reflected light is the main or secondary light source, be aware that lighting conditions can change dramatically and quickly. A small change in the aspect of the object (like a cloud drifting across the sky) can radically alter the colour and intensity of the light on your subject ... work fast!

08.Nov.11Clear air, ideal for landscape photography, is often found immediately after a brief storm has passed through an area. Falling rain or snow can clear dust from the air, and cool air prevents heat waves: if the moisture itself does not cloud the view, distant scenery can be crystal clear!

07.Nov.11Don't judge the success of your photography skills, equipment or workflow based on one or two prints. Most poor quality prints are due to poor technique at the time of capture, difficult subject matter, or poor decisions during post-processing: a couple of bad prints does not make you a bad photographer!

06.Nov.11Some very high quality prime lenses may actually be slower than their competitors. Some high quality primes avoid extremely large apertures to lower the weight of a lens, or, more often, because the lens design would produce poor results wide open.