Night photographs express a special something that cannot be seen in normal daytime photography. Whether it is a photograph of a moon and starlit sky over a windy deserted beach, the excitement of a downtown cityscape when the lights go on, or just a picture of you and some friends in front of a favorite hangout, nighttime digital photography, when done right, are sure to attract attention.
However, even for experienced photographers, nighttime digital photography can be a tricky situation. Photos often look unfocused, blurry, or lacking crucial details, and many may not come out at all. There are some tricks, though, to taking spectacular nighttime photos with your digital camera, tricks that can be explained yet only completely learned through practice.
This article on nighttime digital photography will cover tricks not necessarily related to digital camera settings, but tricks nonetheless that can result in better photographs or a more pleasing photo-taking experience.
* Although more expensive digital cameras do not necessarily result in better photos, realize that the cheapest cameras may not be capable of taking great photographs at night. It requires more work, both on your's and the camera's part, to take spectacular shots in very low-light situations. Though you don't have to spend over a thousand dollars for night photography, don't expect too much out of a sub-two hundred-dollar camera, either.
* Especially if you are not completely familiar with your camera's settings to enhance nighttime photography, consider first taking some photographs around dusk, when the sun has not yet completely left the sky. Dusk photos can sometimes be even more dramatic than those taken in the pitch-black sky, as the added light helps illuminate details easily missed in a completely dark environment Check your local newspaper where you are shooting photographs or a website such as http://www.weather.com for sunrise/sunset times, and be ready to shoot around a 20-30 minute window for best results.
* Plan your photos before you shoot! While it is always a good idea to study an area first, this is crucial if you are planning on snapping photographs around dusk! You will not have much time to plan, and if you spend five or ten minutes just getting a perfect angle or framing the perfect shot, the overall lighting will change as the sun slowly sets. And of course, remember when composing your photos that the sun sets in the west.
* Be prepared for the environment. If you're heading out by yourself, especially in a semi-deserted wilderness area, always carry a map so you remember how to get to your home, camp, or hotel. Check the weather before you go and wear a poncho or coat if necessary. Carry a flashlight, or, in the most extreme environments, a flare, to help others find you if you become lost. Also, bring along a WELL-CHARGED cell phone in case of emergency! You're taking photos at night to have fun and create spectacular results. Be prepared for unexpected situations so they don't ruin your experience.
While the results can be outstanding, nighttime digital photography presents its own unique benefits and hazards. Not just any digital camera will do; lower-end models may not have the capability of taking spectacular shots. Timing is crucial, especially when taking pictures in the brief time between dusk and total darkness. And, the environment and weather can play havoc with your plans. By purchasing the correct equipment, studying the subject area before nighttime falls, and dealing with unexpected situations with the correct nighttime gear, you can be better prepared to take amazing nighttime photos.
Night photos can take on a somewhat magical quality you may find lacking in normal daytime photography. Amazing night pictures certainly can attract attention. As the sun goes down, however, it becomes harder to capture images without the proper equipment and techniques. Thus, as was mentioned in Part I of this series, taking incredible nighttime photographs requires a lot of planning.
When your digital camera receives less light, it cannot absorb the surroundings as well in the resulting photographs. Some pictures may turn out too dark. Others can be too blurry. Your camera requires more time to absorb enough light to create an effective picture, so any shaking of the device will result in photographs lacking sharpness.
To compensate for the lack of lighting, here are several things you can do with most middle and high-end digital cameras to get the results you need. Part III of this series will continue with even more expert ideas.
* You may think that professional photographers take a large amount of time to set up a shot, perform complex calculations, talk about all sorts of topics such as f-stops, shoot one photograph that accurately represents their interpretation of a particular scene, and then leave.
While most of this may be true, the last part - only taking one photo - is far from it. Many, if not most, professional photographers commonly take a multitude of shots for every subject! Traditional photographers can go through rolls and rolls of film on a single shoot, and digital photographers may use gigabytes of memory.
Professionals know that no matter how well everything has been factored in when setting up a shot, 'stuff happens'. It is better to take time shooting a particular subject ten times and get one outstanding photograph than to take one or two photos that turn out blurry or dull.
Most photographers perform a trick called bracketing, where they intentionally adjust their camera settings in small increments in case their calculations were not precisely correct.
Heed this advice when taking photographs at night. If you have a particular subject you want to reproduce in digital form, don't rely on taking 'the one perfect shot', but take several photographs in case problems occur with the lighting, or lack thereof.
Remember, you're shooting digitally, which means you can later throw out all the bad photos in your camera's virtual 'trash can', and no one ever needs to know! I can't tell you how many times I've done this, especially when taking late-night shots of the
* If your digital camera has a special nighttime mode, study your manual and learn how to enable this feature. Perhaps your camera has a button or dial next to a graphic of a half-moon to signify this setting. This works well for some late-night situations.
* Forget about using the flash unless you purchase a high-quality accessory flash unit. Flash shoots a burst of light out of your camera and works most effectively when your subject is within a few feet. If your subject is a long way away, your small flash unit will never reach it effectively.
Nighttime digital photography requires a little extra work out of you and your camera. To prevent against mistakes and increase the chance of a spectacular shot, it may be necessary to take the same picture multiple times, adjusting your camera settings slightly to help ensure at least one picture will come out well. The digital camera manual must be studied, as many high-end cameras contain automatic features to help take better photos. And, a natural tendency most people have to use flash must be avoided. By heeding this advice, you can learn to take spectacular nighttime photos.
Nighttime Digital Photography
Digital Wedding Photography
Have you ever imagined to capture all those treasured moments of your wedding ceremony in your own camera, I mean digital camera? Stop imagining, for digital cameras have made way to your wedding party to turn your world around. The quality of photos by digital cameras simply speaks for themselves. And beyond that, with digital wedding photography, couples can save their pockets by doing away with the wedding studio for the wedding proofs.
There was a time when the brides and grooms could do nothing but wait for weeks or even months following the wedding for the films to be developed. But things have changed now as digital wedding photography can bring pictures the very same day without much trouble.
The best part about digital wedding photography is that even amateurs can click photographs without having to compromise on the quality of photos. That reminds of the quality of digital pictures. The pictures are simply as good as it gets. You shouldn't be surprised, as many professional photographers have taken to digital operations too.
Interestingly, you will come across three types of wedding photography namely photojournalistic wedding photography, traditional wedding photography, and artistic wedding photography. Photojournalistic wedding photography or better known as candid wedding photography is all about documentary style wedding photos. Traditional wedding photography is poised to take only formal photos whereas artistic wedding photographers tend to add a bit of their artistry in their photo shoot.
If you are to venture into wedding photography then you must follow some of these winning tips. Always make sure that you hold the background into consideration before taking your photos. It is the most commonly made mistake you definitely want to avoid. What amateur photographers tend to do at times is focus on the subject leaving behind the negative space and the surroundings. The best you can do is finding a place where subjects are free from clutter and obstructive backgrounds.
Mind you, the glares from spectacles can bring about an intense spot in your photo hence ruin it. All you need is a bit of adjustment without having anyone remove his or her glasses.
You can snap some fabulous photos at the reception. This is where the cutting of the cake, the throwing of the wedding bouquet and many other real life moments come into picture. Make sure that all the colorful wedding accents fit into your photos. You should know that digital cameras fabricate colorful photos, so why not chance at the colorful décor of the wedding party. Now, if all of this is not enough then there are scores of good books out there that can teach you to film weddings as it should be.
Digital wedding photography with its manifold advantages is all that you need to take you over the edge on your wedding extravaganza.
Baby Photography for Great Baby Shots
Baby Photography can be the most challenging and rewarding subject to attempt, but can also be the most frustrating. Babies tend to sleep, eat and cry a lot and won't pose in front of the camera easily, but don't let that put you off photographing them. Creating the perfect baby portrait, when done right, will certainly be a rewarding experience.
One of the most important factors in photographing babies is patience and the way you apply child psychology when relating to the baby. Babies over six months may be shy and may not react well to a complete stranger.
This is where child psychology comes in - you must try to play with the baby, or even become a child yourself while taking the photograph. The keys of your car can be very effective. But remember, your job is to take a baby portrait; you must be able to react quickly when the infant responds to your entertainment. Shooting a portrait of a newborn baby can be difficult. At this age the baby will not be active, so it's better to focus on close-up head shots. Try using natural light from a bedroom window to add atmosphere.
Babies over a few months of age will be more alert and will have a lot more movement in them. Shooting fast is a necessity, the infant will tire quickly. The baby will bore quickly and can prove tricky to shoot! If you are serious about baby photography and you tend to shoot from your own studio make sure you have a lot of toys to amuse the infants. A light color background will work best and use both color and black & white.
Parents may be worried about the affect of studio lights on their baby. Remember that strobe lights have no effect on babies and children, so don't worry. If you're photographing somebody else's baby, be sure not to handle a baby without the parents consent, as most parents will be very protective and won't react well to a stranger lifting the infant.
Watch out for the babies hands & fingers. Fingers in the mouth can be attractive to photographers but on most occasions they will obscure the face & spoil your shot! Also on the legal side of things, If you plan to resell the photographs to an agency or site, make sure you ask the parents beforehand, and get a release form signed by the parents.
There is a large market out there for baby pictures but agencies or magazines won't touch them without the parents consent. Here area few tips to remember when shooting
Buying the best digital camera for your needs
A camera for emailing photos, taking family photos etc. : Most people use a digital camera for taking personal photos and then emailing them to family and friends. For this purpose, a simple and relatively cheap camera costing $100 to $200 and having a 2 mega pixel range is sufficient.
A camera for images of top quality for web pages, desktop publishing etc : Now, if you need a camera for taking pictures for desktop publishing or web site development, then you need one with a 4-5 mega pixel range. These cameras normally have lots of additional features which you can use to enhance your images. Even though they are quite costly, they provide the best options with respect to resolution, features, and creativity. They also allow you create prints up to 8x10 inches in size with very good quality.
Besides the above points, you also need to consider other issues such as the ergonomics of the camera. How does it feel when you hold it in your hand ? Are you comfortable with its size and weight ? Is it practical to carry it throughout the day ? Is its shape user friendly or does it look like a gizmo out of Star Wars ?
If you emphasize on a light-weight and small camera, then you must also keep in mind the fact that you will compromising on the battery life. Most small cameras do not have powerful batteries since larger the battery, more the power. Also, small cameras have very small flash lights – so the amount of flash generated by these pea-sized flashes will be considerably less than a bigger camera.
Hence, it is very important that you know exactly what you need your camera for in order to ensure that you are truly buying the best digital camera for yourself.
How To Buy A Digital Camera
Are you buying your first digital camera? Well, you must be confused by the bewildering range of models out there.
How do you know which model will suit your needs? To make things worse, digital cameras do not come cheap. Choosing a bad camera will easily cost you a few hundred dollars.
- Number of Megapixels
- Zoom Lens
- Exposure Control
- User Controls
This has got to be one of the most overlooked features in digital cameras. I know many people who go for the latest and greatest digital cameras which are short in the battery life department. If you want to take good photos, your camera needs to powered for extended periods of time. I've found that cost and battery life don't go together - many cheap cameras have good battery life, while some high-end models drain your battery really fast. Make sure you choose a camera that has good battery life.
Number of Megapixels
The megapixel rating of a digital camera determines how much fine detail you can capture in your shots. Typically, the number of megapixels can range around from 2 megapixels to 8 megapixels. How do you decide how many megapixels you need? As a rule of thumb, if you're only interested in taking small snapshots to send via email or for posting on the Web, you won't need more than 2 megapixels. If you want large print outs of your gorgeous photographs, then you'll probably want to get 5 megapixel cameras and above. You may want to refer to this guide for more information.
Zoom Lens
You'll definitely want a camera with decent optical zoom. Now the keyword here is optical zoom (as opposed to digital zoom). Optical zoom physically moves the camera lenses to zoom in on a subject. Digital zoom, however, digitally averages and magnifies the image within the camera's microchip - resulting in poor picture quality. Many manufacturers' advertisements talk about digital zoom instead of optical zoom - so do be careful when choosing. I'd recommend getting at least 3x optical zoom in any camera you buy.
Exposure Control
The ability to control exposure settings such as shutter speed and lens opening is critical to professional photographers. Cheaper digital cameras only allow you to shoot photos in automatic mode - just press the shutter release and voila, your picture is taken. More advanced users prefer to tweak the shutter speed and aperture to capture fast moving objects or blur the image background. Choose a camera with good exposure control if you foresee yourself taking on photography as a serious hobby.
User Controls
If you are getting a point-and-shoot camera, make sure you find one that's easy to use. User controls to set resolution, macro mode, flash and exposure should be within easy reach. Of course, if you're a serious photography buff who wants to take the time to tweak all sorts of manual settings, then this many not be so critical. I prefer to try out the camera first in the store - play with the controls and get comfortable with them. Only then will you know whether it's comfortable enough for you.
Conclusion
Well, I do hope this article has helped you understand what factors to consider when buying a digital camera. A general piece of advice I can give is - if you're a total newbie, don't go for the latest digital SLR. It may be tempting to get that Nikon D70 right from the start, but I'd reckon its much better to start off with a cheaper camera first. Learn, experiment and build up your digital photography skills. Once you're more skilled, then proceed to upgrade to a better camera. Good luck and happy shopping!
