Camera Tripod Reviews

Are you planning  for asafari?Do you know what are the problems you will face while on your safari?Then if not  hear we have A Travellers Quide  To Safari  Photography for you,

Preparing  For  A Departure.

When preparing you need to put to consideration very many aspects but we will only touch on the photography Tips as we dont want you to be dissappointed after spending alot of money on asafari and you are unable to get the right results.It is always unwise to commence a holiday with new untested equipment.With digital cameras,take some pictures on each of your memory cards and check that they download correctly onto your computer.For adigital multimedia storage device,check that your memory cards copy successfully and that you can then transfer the files onto your home computer.It is adviceable at least to put one roll of film through a new camera and carry out a full test on any newly purchased lenses.Before deaparture ,make yourself familiar with all the commonly used camera and lens fuctions.Ensure you understand all the functions of any digital storage systems you will be using.Researching might seem to be invaluable and having established the flora and fauna you are likely to encounter,will aid you in selecting the most appropriate equipment to satisfy your own photographic needs.Also ensure and it is for your own good and advantage to insure all your equipments incase of damage,theft in all the countries you will be visiting.It is paramount you keep a checklist of the cameras and lens serial numbers as this will be useful in an event you need to lodge aclaim.Should equipment be stolen,it is important you record a statement with the local police of that country andd get a document with rubber stamp as the insurance will only process compensation when they have this document.

WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU.

Cameras

These days there is avariety of cameras to choose from.For really successfully safari photographers a top brand  Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera,either digital or film,with an interchargeable lens facility is ideal.Almost all of the top models have an auto facility which is  a great asset to the wilddlife photographer.This systems can save a valuable seconds and consequently secure pictures that may have been missed with manual focus equipment.Due to the rigours and stresses that any safari places on equipment ,it is strongly adviceable you take at least two camera bodies -there will be little or no chance of getting any camera repairs undertaken outside major cities.Obviously it is beneficial to have two identical camera bodies,but if this is not feasible you should ensure that your “back up” camera accepts the same range of lenses and accessories as your principle camera body.

Compact cameras have either a fixed or zoom lens,are quick andd easy to operate and prove ideal for those visitors wanting just a photographic record.When visiting coastal area it is possible to obtain underwater compacts.This is a relatively cheap way of getting started in underwater photography.Since most of these underwater compacts are  unpressurised they are only operational to depths of just over ametre.

Most of the compact digital cameras are similar to their film equipment in size and operation but have the added advantage of instant replay,either through a small built in monitor or computer link.Images are recorded on a memory card,so pictures can be quickly sorted,saved or deleted,to make space for more photography.An increasing number of digital videos records have a stills option, and these have the added advantage of being able to record hours of action. As most digital cameras are powered by rechargeable batteries dont forget to pack chargers,leads,and plug adaptors and also a spare rechargeable battery and memory card are paramount.

Lenses

If your choice is the SLR option you will need to think about what interchangeable lenses to take with you.The wide variety of photographic opportunities that are presented to the nature photographer whilst on safari demand an equally wide range of lenses.These can be found  with the manufacturer of your camera system in an excellent range of lenses to choose from.In supplement,independent lens manufacturer will be able to offer competitive prices and maybe different focal lengths.Amedium zoom lens of between 70 and 300mm and a short zoom lens of around 28 to 135mm will cover most photographic opportunities.For the more wary mammals and the vast majority of the bird species ,longer telephoto lenses are required.These lenses are usually 400mm,500mm or 600mm and although often heavy and rather large,are essential for the more serious nature photographer and some camera manufactureres even offer image stabilizer lenses.These use a vibration gyro which detects shaking and then counter balances the movement with  amagnate and coil driven optical compensation system.These particular lenses are useful for handholding situations such as from boat or vechicle.This technology really comes into its own when using longer telephoto lenses where camera shake is greatly magnified,it makes using 500mm and 600mm lenses with teleconvertors a far more successful  option.Many of the new lenses will have auto-focus and this will offer three options.Firstly,by switching ift off,you can manually focus,secondly,using  single shot auto-focus the camera will lock on to whatever you are pointingat,but will need activating again should the subject move.Thirdly,servo-focus can be selected where the auto-focus will be constantly updating the focus point:this is ideal for moving subjects.

Macro Lenses

The inclussion of a macro lens in your equipment bag is essential if your photographic interests are in  recording close-ups of insects and flowers.The most useful macro lenses have a focal length of between 90mm and 180mm : these allow a reasonable working distance from most subjects.With experience macro lenses of around 50 mm have too short  a working distance, which can disturb some  subjects.This short working distance can also often cause lighting difficulties ,particularly when using flash.The macro facility offered by some zoom lenses can be useful, but it is rather restricted and in no way matches the quality of a true macro  lens.

Cheaper  alternatives to amacro lens include the use of extension tubes,placed between any lens andd the camera body,thereby reducing the minimum focusing distance,the use of reversing rings and the use of close-up lenses attached to the front of an existing lens.

Lens Accessories

Tele-converters increase th lens magnification by a factor of either 1.4x or 2x and some zoom lenses are designed specifically to work with them.Extension tubes and close-up filter attachments are another way of increasing magnification for macro photography.A UV or skylight filter on each lens offers  extra protection from accidental damage to the front lens element. a polarising filter is well worth taking, as it will help contral reflection and increase colour saturation. Many enhancements  that filters achieve on film can be added later to digital images through computer  programs such as photoshop.

Digital Storage

Many of the digital cameras use some form of removable storage memory cardd,such as XD, Smart Media (SD) or compact Flash (CF) .Storage capacity is measured in megabits (mb) or Gigabits (GB) .The higher the “mb” or “GB” the more images can be stored between downloads. Its a good idea to use a digital storage device to dowenload your memory cards each night.These are palm size hard  drives that vary in capacity from 20 to 100+ gigabits. Some have small colour screens for viewing.Travelling with  a laptop is another alternative where images can be viewed,stored,or even burnt onto CD or DVD .Small battery power CD and DVD writers are also available and offer probably the most secure form of backup.

RAW or JPEGy

Most digital cameras offer the option to shoot in RAW or Jpeg and this is the format that records your image, the digital equivalent of film.Jpeg is  a file format that stores digitsl photographs in a very  space efficient way.It uses compression to reduce file sizes at the expense of fine image details to do this.The level of the compression ( and thus the loss of quality) can be varied. Raw files contain all the data collected by the sensor,not  a sub-sample as is the case with Jpeg files.Raw  gives the most flexibility for post correction of the exposure and  colour and is the preffered shooting format of most professional photographers.

Noise and ISO

As in film photography,the noise level increases with higher ISO settings and shows itself in the form of pixels of the wrong colour appearing at random in dark areas. At ISO settings up to 400 very little noise is noticeable, so keep the ISO below 400 and save the higher ISO settings for when there is no alternative.

Film

There is avariety raging from negatives for prints or transparencies for projection,there is avast array of films to choose from.The speed or sensitivity to light is gauged by an ISO rating.The higher the ISO ,the more sensitive to light the film will be.However,the results will look more grainy.As light levels in East Africa are general very good,it should be possible to take advantage of the finer quality of the lower ISO films.The quality of film you require may be difficult to calculate.Try and work out a daily requirement and then double it! X-ray security checks at airports are standard procedure.However , those used for hand luggage checks should not cause any problems for film or digital. Hold luggage is aften checked with more powerful X-rays,so always take your film as hand luggage.

Camera Bags

For the protection of your camera equipment from damage,dust and rain is essential hence the need to buy a good quality camera bag.There are many  well-designed camera bags on the market  nowdays,with several more recent designs taking the form of rucksacks- these are excellent particularly if you expect to have to carry  your equipment any great distance.In selecting a suitable bag,resist the temptation to purchase one that is  too big- you will only feel obliged to fill it! with ever-tightening controls and  restrictions being imposed by airlines on the size  and weight of the cabin  baggage, the smaller the better.Waist – mounted camera and the lens pouches can help to spread the load.Stuff bags,sold in  most camping shops in varying sizes, offer an additional form of protection from dust and rain.

Camera Supports

The commonest cause of picture failure is undoubtedly lack of defination as aresult of camera shake.Ovecoming thi problem will increase your success rate enormously with the help of camera instructions manuals which give details of “How to hold your camera” and it is well worth developing a good technique in this area,with elbows locked tightly into the body.

Whenever possible we would recommend the use of a tripod. There are many lights, yet sturdy models on the market which will fit confortably into the average suitcase or roll bag.Monopods are also a good means of steadying the camera, but they do require a little practise. On most photographic safaris to East Africa the vast majority of filming will be undertaken from  a vechicle  during game drives, in most cases this precludes the use of  a tripod or monopod.The best alternative for photographing from a vechicle is to employ the use of a beabag, a very simple, but extremely effective method of camera support.Although beanbags are commercially available they are not difficult to make and all you need is  a section of cloth or canvas sewn to form a zippered bag of around 300mm by 150mm.This can be packed in your  luggage ,on arrival at your chosen destination,be filled with rice,beans or peas and then place it on the roof of the safari vechicle it quickly moulds around your camera and lens, forming a very efficient support.

Rifle stock and pistol grip supports allow freedom of movement when attempting to photograph moving subjects such as animals running or birds  in flight.if you have no option other than to hand hold your camera while shooting ,you should always ensure that your shutter speed is as great or greater than the focal lenghth of the lens in use, so for 500mm-1/60th:100mm-1?125th:200mm-1/250th:500mm-1/500th and so forth.

Once you have all as mentioned below you are set for your safari and ready for any evcentualities and are assured though we do have technical problems but you already know and have the backup.

Scenic Safari,sightseeing & aerial photography will only be enjoyable andd memorable when you get quality pictures orelse it is all awaste and hence the importance of giving you tips on what to do when perparing for a safari to avoid last minute dissappointments.

First: Read the camera manual. It is possible to take pictures just by pressing the shutter button. The camera technology will generally produce a photo that is acceptable, quite unlike the days of film when you could get those black prints back from the lab and wonder what it was you were trying to photograph. However, if you read the manual, you will not just get acceptable photos, you will get great photos.

Second: Use a tripod. Low light means that the shutter must stay open longer to let in enough light to properly expose the image. The longer the shutter remains open, the more chance there is for movement, resulting in blurry photos. Using a tripod will keep your camera steady for those long exposures. You can even consider using the timer so you can be part of the photo.

Third: Raise the ISO sensitivity value. A normal ISO value is 100. You can raise that value in order to let in order to increase the shutter speed, thus having less chance of images blurring.

Fourth: Adjust the White Balance. Have you ever noticed that indoor photos do not look as “normal” like outdoor photos? That is because the lighting is different. Most cameras are left on Auto White Balance. Some of them do a better job of getting the color correct, but if you, the photographer, set the white balance, you take the guesswork out of the process. You can set the white balance to tungsten (incandescent) or florescent to get a more pleasing color output.

Fifth: Set the Scene Mode. Many newer digital cameras have numerous scene modes. If you are in a unique lighting situation, there may be a scene mode for it. For instance, the Panasonic ZS3 has scene mode settings for “party” and “candle light” among others. Using these will get much more agreeable color output.

I don’t know if you realized it as you read, but numbers 3, 4, and 5 will require you to Read the Manual (the First tip)!

Learning to take better pictures takes practice. Cameras are getting more intuitive all the time, but if you don’t know what you want before you press the shutter, that is exactly what you will get… a surprise. Sometimes it is a good surprise, but if you decide to take control of the setup, you will get consistently better output.

Continue to study and learn about how to take good pictures, and you will reap the benefits. There are more digital photography tips all over the Internet. One really good way to learn about photography is to join a photography club in your area. For more tips and hints about taking better pictures visit http://www.betterphotos123.com.

Digital cameras are the need of this modern era. They are one of the greatest inventions of today’s world. We are really lucky to  have them with us,in order to click our various memorable moments and beautiful scenes,but we shouldn’t take them for granted at all.

Whichever of the camera you have or are planning to own,you should have a well rounded information of digital photography. I hope the following tips for taking digital wedding photography will prove to be useful for you.

1. You need to understand your camera first of all. Just stop being lazy and read about the different parts of your camera. Go through your instruction manual carefully and calmly.

2. When shooting sunny outdoor shots,try adjusting your white balance setting from auto to cloudy. The auto setting will make your shots look too cold. When you change it to cloudy,it will increase the warmth of your pictures.

3. If you are desiring for best image quality,the quality to use a variety of lenses and print large high quality snaps,then consider a Digital SLR Camera.

4. If possible then do use your flash outside also. On a sunny day you require flash when the sun is directly upon your head or behind the subject. This causes dark shadows to appear on the face of the subject. The flash will help you to reduce this.

5. Sometimes if you simply turn your camera and take vertical shots,it’ll make a world of difference. So you should always experiment with vertical picture taking.

6. You need not to put your subject directly in the center of your shot. Move your subject a bit off center,it will give your photos a real and lively look.

7. You should join online photography communities. Forget about being lazy and be active to ask questions.

8. You should not copy the work of others at all. Just try to create your own unique style.

9. You should post your photographs in online forums and always be ready to take criticism.

10. Just go and invest a tripod for yourself. Many people have a problem of shaky hands,using a tripod will make a whale of difference.

After pointers on portraits, I believe most photographers need and want landscape photography tips. Where to place the horizon is so crucial to landscape photography, yet looking at most images, photographers don’t apply basic rules.

The 1/3rd 2/3rds Landscape Rule – Not everyone photographs people only.

So, how to compose a beautiful landscape that will make the viewers want to go there or at least admire your photograph?

Place your horizon line in either the lower or upper horizontal third of the frame. This rule accentuates either the sky or the land and gives a pleasing weight to either. Most photographers make the mistake of bisecting the horizon exactly in the middle, which is so boring to the eye that all of the energy of the scene is lost and the viewer loses interest and moves on.

The 7/8  1/8 Landscape Rule for greater impact –

Whenever you want to emphasize your land or sky to a greater degree, try this landscape photography tip, place the horizon either very low in the frame, say about an 1/8 of the way down which leaves a massive amount of sky in the frame.

For example, a day when you have beautiful white puffy clouds sailing across the sky. You don’t need to show the ground, or much of it. So, show mostly clouds and you have a professional looking and composed image of spectacular clouds!

This works for buildings or mountains, too! – Does your image consist mostly of buildings? Try this rule on them, too. Make the buildings 2/3rds of the frame and the sky 1/3rd. This gives a nice composition that can accentuate exactly what you want and makes it pleasing to the eyes. Mountains and trees follow this rule, too.

Lastly, consider your depth of field when photographing a landscape.

For most landscapes photos a large depth of field is required and desired to keep all of the elements as sharply in focus as possible. So, one way to achieve this with a point-and-shoot camera is to adjust your ISO, thus requiring less light and increasing the f stop which increases the depth of field.

Or on a DSLR just adjusting the f-stop to a larger number will increase the depth of field, too. Do you get the shakes? Try a tripod or bracing yourself against a rock or tree to ensure rock steady photos that have no blur or camera shake in them. Try these landscape photography tips to create photographs that will impress your closest friends and relatives.

If you like photographing your kids, it can be both rewarding and profitable. Taking pictures of your kids is no easy task and if it\’s something you don\’t love doing, the child (or your kids) you are photographing will know, making it that much more difficult to get the shot you want.

Some of the most common techniques used in photography will not necessarily work when taking pictures of your kids. Telling a child to \”freeze or \”hold it will not make much sense to them. Children will often do as they please so it is the job of the photographer to anticipate what a child is about to do and be ready to capture it.

YOU can turn this into your advantage: Since your kids don\’t always do what you want them to do, or what you expect them to do (actually they rarely do!). A solution often is: don\’t expect them to become a cooperative little adult merely because you want to take their picture. Trick them – expect them to act like your kids. Don\’t expect anything in particular. DO this and you can enter the fun and profitable field of child photography.

Know your stuff – Before you start booking sessions with your kids you must know exactly what you are capable of doing – what your camera is capable of doing – what all your equipment is capable of doing. Operating your camera and equipment must be second nature. Have your style of photography down pat, so when you start a session your mind is on the your kids). This takes your complete focus. This is not the time to be fiddling with you camera, or trying to figure out your light setup. Children take 100% of your concentration. For some your kids the entire shoot may only last 10 minutes – though you feel you have just run a marathon – so you have to be able to get in position , get the most cooperation from the child, get great shots. At times, this has to be done very quickly, BUT you cannot make the child feel they are being rushed.

When photographing your kids, expect anything and everything to happen. If you have a better understanding of the various behaviours of your kids at certain ages, it will go a long way to being able to capture the images you want thus increasing your financial gain. In addition, knowing what you can expect from a child at age two versus one at age five, will help in keeping your clients satisfied.

During a session photographing your kids you can get a variety of poses, expressions and antics. In no other field of photography are you liable to get such variety. The more you learn about little ones the better child photographer you will be. Children are not just your kids until they become adults -they come in all sizes. Between four months and four years you can place them into quite a few categories: 4-6 mos, 6-12 mos, 12-18 mos, 18-24 mos, and then you can lengthen out the age span. Awareness of these ages are needed to help you – the photographer – be aware of the limitations your kids (especially little ones) have.

Keep in mind that parents can play a key role when photographing your kids. They will be able to tell you certain things about their child that can go a long way to helping you through the picture session ultimately ensuring you obtain the best possible shots. Given most your kids have difficulty sitting through a photography session, you will not have time to win them over; knowing their likes and dislikes, their fears, their favorite things, to name a few, can be extremely helpful.

Above all else, get your camera ready to go – second chances to capture an impromptu moment don\’t come around very often (if at all) when photographing your kids.

In most areas of photography a tripod is great for sharp photos. However with child photography you do not always have such a luxury. Once they reach the moving around stage, a tripod limits your ability to capture expressions and poses. Be mindful of your camera settings – keep that shutter speed fast enough to prevent blurring – and be ready to move quickly!

There is no limit to what you can capture in a shot when photographing your kids; it can be anything from climbing on or out of something, to taking their shoes and socks off. The more experience you gain photographing your kids, the more you will know what works for different age groups.

There is no question that photographing your kids is a challenge. And just when you might start to feel comfortable doing it, along comes a new challenge – multiple subjects. Dealing with twins, triplets, etc. will really test your skills as child photographer! But don\’t worry, this is part of the job and over time you will learn tricks to keeping all your subjects engaged.

When capturing a child or your kids on film, get creative when trying to get their attention; use different techniques and use them quickly as you won\’t have the time to try again. Using a digital camera can help in this regard as there are no limits to the amount of exposures you can take and luckily, you can look at the pictures very quickly as you go.

Brothers and sisters can also play a vital role in your photography session with your kids. Siblings may actually be more successful than parents in getting their brother or sister to laugh, cry, smile, or make a funny face. Use the comfort level a child feels with their sibling to your best advantage and get the pictures you want. Another bonus to having sibling present, is that the parents may decide that they too should be photographed- all this means a bigger photo package for the client and more money for you!

Take your act on the road – You can do child photography at the park – on the beach – in the backyard, just as easily as in a studio or home – maybe more so – and nature will take care of the lighting for you, as long as you select open shade.

Items to have on hand: Depending on the ages and whether you are shooting indoors or outdoors you need a supply of items to catch and keep their interest and that look great in a photo: rattles feather dusters soft toys dolls hats mirrors a telephone (the bigger the better) a big whistle duplicate toys (for twins & overly competitive little ones) treats & snacks.

Just visit www.LearnDigitalPhotographyNow.com to get your FREE Digital Photography Report now!!! – Best Digital Photography tips guaranteed

As a beginning photographer, it is easy to get discouraged when your pictures come out too dark or constantly blurry. It’s easy for the beginning photographer to quickly become overwhelmed; especially when professionals are spouting off terms like shutter speed and aperture. However, with a little more understanding, and a little practice applying those terms, the beginning photographer can quickly and easily be on their way to capturing that perfect picture. Here are the most common photography terms and some helpful hints for applying them in your photography.

Shutter Speed refers to the amount of time that the shutter is open and light strikes the CCD (Charge Coupled Devices). This device converts the light entering through the lens into electric signals and creates the digital image. Shutter speed can be adjusted along with the aperture to more effectively capture the subject image. Slower shutter speeds means that the shutter is open longer and more light is getting in. Try shooting a few pictures of water like waterfalls, rivers, and fountains using a slow shutter speed. This effect can enhance water images. Faster shutter speeds means less light is getting in. This can create a freezing effect on fast moving objects. Try shooting some action shots at your favorite sporting event with a faster shutter speed.

The Aperture works in correlation with the shutter speed. Often referred to as the aperture value (AV) it increases or reduces the thickness of the light beam passing through the lens to the CCD. Opening the aperture reduces the AV and closing the aperture increases the AV. The best place to experiment with AV is in the garden. Open the aperture and focus on a flower. The objects around the flower (closer and farther than the focused subject) will be more out of focus, emphasizing only the flower. Now close the aperture while focusing on the same flower. The range of your focus expands forward and backward allowing for the objects around the flower to remain in focus.

A common enemy to the beginning photographer is Camera Shake (Blur). This is pretty self explanatory. It is when the camera moves while the shutter is open creating a blurred image. Often times adjusting to a higher shutter speed from a low one will solve this problem.. If that doesn’t work, try raising the aperture as well and be sure to use a flash. If your images are still blurry you may need a tripod to capture a clear image. Most of the newer digital and DSLR cameras on the market come equipped with anti-shake features to help combat this problem, but it’s good to know what causes it and how to fix things if you have an older model camera.

As one beginning photographer to another, don’t let the terminology scare you. By just doing a little bit of reading and some experimenting with different settings on your camera, most obstacles can soon be overcome. It is a bit of a trial and error process, but when you capture a picture of your daughter mid-air, hair standing up, grinning from ear to ear, as she jumps rope, it all becomes worth it.

The first thing that any budding photographer needs to learn are the fundamentals of photography starting with the basics. Get these under your belt quickly and you have already won half the battle. So, what needs to happen to get you going as a beginner with your first digital camera? Let’s take a look at my top seven.

1. Equipment

It’s not all about equipment. Don’t go rushing out to buy expensive equipment without knowing what you need. A keen sales person will sell you as far as your wallet or credit card will take you. Wait until you know what you need and what you like and match these desires with the right equipment.

2. Decide on the type of shots you’d like to shoot

A good idea is to browse the internet photo galleries, look in magazines or visit your local library to get an idea of what type of photo you really like. Try it out with your camera and see if you are able to, or, want to persevere until you can. Once you’ve made a list plan to go out and shoot on a regular basis. It’s practise that makes perfect. Stick to it until you master your genre. Only then start looking for the equipment to match your area of interest.

3. Decide on a structured learning plan

Find out what you’d like to learn and what you need to learn in order to shoot the type of photos that interest you. For example, macro and nature photography is a more specialised art form and there are a number of techniques and skills to learn, as well as equipment you’ll need to buy. Research it on the internet, read books and if possible take a course on macro or close up photography.

4. Take photos often

If you are not regularly shooting images you are not going to grow in your skills and abilities. Set yourself assignments based on what you are studying. Of course, in a structured course you will be given assignments. A photo a day keeps the creativity flowing and helps you to keep motivated. I did an assignment once taking a 100 photos of the same subject from a host of different angles. It gave my photography an unexpected boost.

5. Learn your camera’s settings

Getting to know your camera is paramount if you want to learn to take great photos and the best way to do this is by reading your manual. Like I should be telling you this. I am the last one who reads a manual. But, if you do it in a structured way you’ll be amazed at how quickly you get to know your camera. The way I did it was to go through the manual highlighting everything I already knew about it. Then I went back through the manual reading up on each section I didn’t know, practising as I went along. Once I got to know it I was amazed at how much more I could do with my camera. The key is to experiment.

6. Keep your camera with you

Take every opportunity to get a great shot. Whenever you see something that would make a great photo, shoot it. I have often wished that I had taken my camera with me and got an amazing shot. If you don’t have it with you, you won’t get the shot

7. Buy a tripod

Besides my camera, my tripod is the most important piece of kit in my equipment bag. There are shots you can only get if your camera is steady. The sharpness of your shots will improve dramatically. If the pros use them then why not the amateurs?

As you begin your photography journey, work at learning in a structured way so that the fundamentals of photography become second nature. Photography should be fun but your learning process needs to be serious. Happy shooting!

It is easy to take good pictures but to experience the best in digital photography, here are a few tips and ideas that can make your work look not just good but excellent.

1. Focus on what kind of photography interests you. Choose a topic that you understand fully and something that is of curiosity to you. You must have sound knowledge about the subject you want to click.

2. Find a good digital camera that has all the features and characteristics required for your kind of photography. You must understand the basic needs the camera must have therefore invest into a good quality camera that assures great pictures. For example, in case you decide to take pictures for the print media, the requirement should be of a high quality camera and if it is web photography you are looking at, a normal digital cam should create the magic.

3. Familiarize with your digital camera by more and more practicing. Step into your backyard and take pictures. Try and focus on the subject and think about how you want to compose the shot. Try taking pictures from different angles and different modes. This experimentation will give you a chance to know your camera and you can then be a pro in using it professionally. You could also upload your pictures on many social websites for photographers to be shared with your contacts.

4. Consider using a tripod for better stability. Pictures taken with the use of tripod come out a lot better than free hand pictures for the simple reason that the camera is steady and you can try various angles with it. The subject can be framed into the shot easily and the balance on the tripod makes it helpful to click great photos.

5. Lighting plays a very important role in photography. There is a great difference in photos taken outdoors and indoors. Thus, you must know how to fix the lighting. Try and learn about artificial lighting and adequate brightness needed for the genuine color of the photograph. Flash is there in most cameras to support the brightness, however, in some cases it might not be sufficient. Therefore you must know how to play with false lights and get the right image.

7. Once you get expertise in the photography than it is the time to move on the business part. It is advisable to have a custom design portfolio website. As it will be your online entity and it will help you to showcase your work as well as getting future assignment.

Taking these simple steps into consideration, you can perk up your hobby of digital photography. Your work of taking brilliant pictures will be admired among friends, family and photographers and who knows you might get a chance to pursue your favourite past time as a profession.

Photography is a process of taking pictures with the means of a digital camera. The advancement in the technology has brought improvement in the field of picture making. A photographer can use of a number of techniques to make the pictures attractive.

A photographer should keep in mind the quality of the camera. It should have a go od shutter speed, high quality lenses and other such parts. A person should check the focus of the camera. The color of the images should appear brightly colored in the pictures. The image sensors should be of a good quality. Fix the camera on a tripod so that it does not give a blurred image when held in the hand as often the camera is not stable in the human hands. You can even fix color filters to give a visual effect to the image. One can even play with the light and shadow while photographing the subject. The play of the light and shadow can create or reveal moods and expressions of the subject in the photograph. A person can leave wonderful effects on the face of the subject through the interplay of the light and shadow. A person can even employ green screen technology to enhance the visual effects. In this technology, you place the subject against a green or blue color background. After photographing the subject, you can digitally replace the background of the subject by any other desirable background image. With this kind of photography, you can place your subject in an imaginary world and convert your dream into a reality. A person should also know when to use the flash of the camera. A person can use the flash not only during the night but also on cloudy days. Using flash during the sunny days does not produce good results. A person should also check the exposure through shutter speed and entering the light through aperture. The framing of the subject should be done in a manner so that the image appears attractive.

All these are the tips, tricks and techniques with which you can create photographs for photo shoots, magazines, portrait picture making and much more.

I have put together a basic list of the key points to work through when organising a Green Screen Chroma Key shoot. These are the most common questions and possible pit-falls that seem to occur.  If in doubt it’s always best to ask your Green Screen studio for advice on any of these points as they are involved in film shoots everyday, all year round.

Booking the Green Screen Studio – The right time and place

The Green Screen location is such an important factor as clients, talent and crew all need to be able to get the studio easily and on time. A centrally located Green Screen Studio with a good sized holding area, some sofas, TV etc. with excellent catering available should always be a preferred choice. You need somewhere with excellent transport links and also close to key suppliers. You may save money heading to out of town studios but if you run out of tape stock how much would it cost to bike some down? If your camera goes down…. again can a hire company reach you within minutes with a replacement?

Estimating how much time you will need for the shoot is not an impossible task as long as you take into account all the factors that make up a shoot:-

Time required to set up the camera and any additional lights?
Have you allowed time for your subject to rehearse?
Do you have sufficient time for make-up and hair?

Build into your schedule some overrun time especially if you are shooting multiple interviews as some people will be late and some will be early! You can end up with 3 people all turning up at 2pm and having to wait to be interviewed.

Preparation

It’s always best to visit the Green Screen studio to meet the staff and get a feel of how your clients will be looked after. This is very important as for many clients and talent a visit to the Green Screen studio is exciting, interesting and a break from their normal working day. They need to feel relaxed, and be confident that the production being shot will show them in their best light.

There are a few obvious things to remember such as asking your subjects not to wear anything green, heavily patterned, fine striped and shiny /reflective. For corporate shoots think about your colour choices as you do not want anything to clash with your clients brand’s colour or even be seen to represent a rival brands colour!

If possible you should always ask for subjects to bring a choice of shirts (one light, one dark ) and different ties/ accessories. Within reason, you can ask subjects to tie their hair up as fine hair is always harder to key out. Glasses should be swapped for contact lens again if possible but remember that your subject may need to read off cue cards or autocue so they do need to be able to see!

STUDIO TIP – Backgrounds

If you’re shooting some scenes against chroma green, and you need a few shots against a coloured background (white or black for example ), it’s better to pull down the white background and not just shoot green and ‘fix it in post’! A studio with white and black backgrounds is therefore very useful if not essential.

STUDIO TIP  – Perspective and camera movements

Think about how any camera moves (especially zooms / tracking in) will change the perspective and size of your background that you will be adding later.

A slow track into your subject will mean that in the editing stage you will have to accurately recreate the shift in perspective and rescale/size your background to match. Not impossible but keyframing can be time consuming.  For best results your camera should be locked off on a tripod.

STUDIO TIP – Shooting blurred shots

If you’re filming in the Green Screen Studio a shot that will end up being out of focus in the final edit, do not shoot it out of focus. Shoot in focus and then blur it later in the edit suite. Attempting to ‘key out’ a pull focus shot will give you no end of headaches!

In the next article we will look into ‘What video formats are the best for Green Screen Studio Shoots’ plus ‘What is the best way to light a Green Screen studio’.