Hints and tips

MULTIPLE EXPOSURE TECHNIQUES

This is a photographic technique and is frequently incorporated with subjects such as flowers, trees, a river or pond and a waterfall. By altering the point of sharp focus with each or a group of exposures, or by using the panning or zoom techniques, or possibly even adding the Cokin filter range of creative filters during exposure.

HOW IT ALL WORKS

“LIGHT” and only light is the magic in photography. Light will enhance the quality of your picture, add to the colour saturation and increase the definition from the lens you dearly paid for at the time of purchase. Light comes from various sources. If it is sunlight, then depending on the time of day the following four examples will apply.

MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY

The most important aspect of Macro Photography is that it must inform the viewer about the subject being photographed.

STAR TRAILS

A real dark night, usually away from stray light or town lights, is ideal. Check the newspaper for moonless nights.

THE ART OF PLACING THE SUBJECT MATTER IN THE RIGHT PLACE

For centuries we have all admired the beauty that the artist captures on canvas, especially a beautiful landscape scene. When photography came to the fore, photographers started to utilize these same compositional concepts in their pictures.

THE RULE OF THIRDS

A good photograph must be in sharp focus, perfectly exposed and composed in a visually interesting way. We can all spot an out-of-focus picture or an incorrectly exposed image, but when it comes to composition it gets more tricky as the ball is entirely in the photographer’s court. Cameras may be advanced these days, but they can not tell you how to frame a scene or where to put the main subject for an effective, well balanced composition.

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT PICTURES

Swirling colour, movement and light are a favourite for creative night-time photography. With such a wide variety of illuminated rides to choose from you are spoilt for choice. Photographers’ favourites include the big-dipper-style roller coasters and giant rotating ferris wheels. Basically, any ride which can be shot with a long exposure to blur the moving coloured lights against a dusky-coloured sky.

BIRDS AND INSECTS

Wildlife photographers, I am sure, will be able to tell you that birds are not the easiest subject to photograph. The zoom lenses on most digital compacts are nowhere near powerful enough and even with a digital SLR in the back garden, you need at least a 300mm lens to be able to make the bird a reasonable size in the frame. The situation is even more challenging in the wild, where you often cannot get as close and super-telephotos are the order of the day.

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY

Wildlife photography is extremely popular in this country not only with South Africans, but the thousands of tourists that flock to our shores. To take quality wildlife photographs does not require that you own the most expensive photographic equipment.

CHRISTMAS IN NATURAL LIGHT

As Christmas time is fast approaching, it is time to plan those special family memories around the tree on Christmas morning.

TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OF BABIES AND SMALL CHILDREN

It is said that the memories you want for tomorrow must be photographed today. Photographing babies or children more than often requires less technical skills but a tremendous amount of patience.