Daily Photo Tips Archive

11.Dec.07Even when a photograph is of a flat surface, the photo's top edge will usually seem further away. This stems from the traditional way of composing art, where the sky is nearest the top edge of the work.

10.Dec.07Bring spare equipment on long trips. Try to pack light, but make sure that you won't be totally shut down if a camera body or lens gets lost or stops working.

09.Dec.07Digital cameras usually have an ISO preset, where the camera will shoot on automatic mode and try to use as low an ISO as possible for any given scene.

08.Dec.07Lenses can have as few as four or as many as fourteen aperture blades. Though lens design sometimes dictates the number of aperture blades, they are usually omitted to make a lens cheaper.

07.Dec.07Tripods and camera supports are available in all shapes and sizes. If you frequently set up your camera in tight or awkward spaces, be sure your tripod is flexible enough for the task!

06.Dec.07Chromatic aberration is the tendency of glass (especially in wide-angle lenses) to focus different wavelengths of light at different points. Good lenses must correct this effect for sharp photographs.

05.Dec.07When a company buys 'exclusive rights' to a stock photo, it means that the photographer gives up all rights to publish or sell the photograph in any form ever again.

04.Dec.07When using flash outdoors or in another environment that doesn't lend itself to easy flash bouncing, get creative! Bounce your flash off the nearest white T-shirt or any other diffuse material you can find.

03.Dec.07Many cameras have a night mode, where the camera will try to synchronize a flash to light the foreground with a long exposure to expose the background.

02.Dec.07The story behind some photographs can be as important as the photographs themselves. If this is the case with your work, consider including a summary of the history of the photograph along with the work itself.

01.Dec.07Ovals, in their most stable position, can lend a supreme air of calm to a photograph. If composed on their edges, however, the calm feeling gives way to one of pride and place.

30.Nov.07Digital cameras require the same care and attention as film cameras in order to get a clear, useable photo. The only difference between the two is the method of image capture.

29.Nov.07'Warm' colours are colours like red, yellow, or orange. They can add energy and vitality to a photograph, or they can make a scene seem angry, nervous, or hostile.

28.Nov.07Try focusing manually sometimes. This lets you choose the focus point instead of letting your camera do it, allowing a further creative control over your photo.

27.Nov.07Some outdoors stores sell walking sticks that convert to simple monopods. These devices are suitable if you carry a walking stick anyway and don't want to bother with a tripod.