Thursday, November 22, 2007

Lessons for me...

Am reading the online tutorial on this website by Geoff Lawrence.

Some tips (solely for me to remember...am sure this is all very common knowledge to the experienced lot).

Rule of thirds: Put the object of interest on some "third" of the picture. (Not explained very well, will add more once I use this tip!) There is a lone orange hanging on a branch of my orange tree, will try using this tip on it!

This one is straight from the tutorial:
Using auto exposure to your advantage.

If you have a modern camera, the chances are that the default metering system is 'centre weighted average', which means that, although it takes an average reading of the whole scene, it takes more notice of what is in the middle of the frame. Which is good news for us. The other good news is that it takes this reading at the time when you take 'first pressure' on the button to take your picture. When you push it halfway down and it beeps at you, not only is the focus now set (on an auto focus camera) but the exposure reading is taken and the aperture and shutter speed are set. So, if your main point of interest is not in the centre of the frame, it's a good idea to put it there temporarily while you focus and take your light reading, then move the camera whilst still holding the button halfway down and compose the picture the way you want it to be. A common use for this technique is when you are taking a close up shot of two people and there is space between their heads, if you're not careful the camera will focus on the wall or trees behind them. If the background is very dark or very light this can alter the exposure significantly and result in faces that are too dark or too light.

====================================================================

My notes: I did not know this!!! Wow, this can make quite a difference!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

YYEEEEEEE... u found.. the golden rules of photography... - tanu

aneri_masi said...

@tanu
:))) Now if only I shed my laziness and apply these rules :)

Saritha said...

That's a good tip. I'll remember to use it now onwards.