Black and White

It is amazing how something so simple as converting you shots to black and white can improve your shots. The beauty of digital is that you don’t need to decide on B&W before you shoot either. Its much easier and actually a far superior to convert later in your computer. I find it works best for photos with strong compositional elements where colour is not that strong anyway. Everything from sweeping landscapes, cityscapes to classic portraits can benefit from a lack of colour. So give it a go, I did.

The Exposure Triangle – In Beginner Speak “The End of Auto Mode”

In previous beginner speak posts I have written about aperture, shutter speed and ISO and how they affect your photos. Understanding each of those aspects of photography is necessary to have creative control over your shots. “So what is this Exposure Triangle?” I hear you ask. The exposure triangle explains how the individual aspects of exposure (aperture, shutter speed and ISO) affect the final exposure of the photo.

What is exposure though?

The technicalities of exposure are rather convoluted and a bit mathsy, however the end result is that exposure refers to how bright or dark your photo is due to the amount of light that is recorded by your cameras sensor. A properly exposed photo should (normally) resemble the brightness of the original scene. A poorly exposed photo will either be too dark or too bright and may contain areas that are so dark or bright that they contain no detail (know as blown out). So how can we control the exposure of a photo? That is where the exposure triangle comes in.

What is the exposure triangle?

Should You Shoot RAW?

In my post about whether to buy a DSLR or not I noted that one of the plus points was that it could shoot RAW. But what is it? What difference does it make to my photos? Should I use it? There is a lot of opinion out there on this issue so I went back to the facts to make my own mind up.

What is RAW?

RAW is a file format that your camera can use to save your photos, you have probably hear of JPEG which is probably the other format your camera can use. JPEG files have the extension .jpg but, confusingly, RAW files have different extensions set by your camera’s manufacturer. My Olympus creates .orf, Nikons .NEF and Canons .cr2. So how is a RAW file different from a JPEG? The RAW file is just that, raw data straight from the camera’s sensor where as a JPEG file has had all of the camera’s settings applied to it to process the image into a use-able format. The JPEG image has also been compressed to a smaller size by discarding some of the RAW data it no longer needs now the settings have been applied. The flow chart below is probably the easiest way to describe it.

ISO – In Beginner Speak “Fast or Slow Film”

Continuing the series of posts where I try to explain some of the basic concepts of photography in “beginner speak”. If you like the concept, have anything to add, any futher questions or want to suggest another topic then let me know. Either add a comment below or email me.

ISO is often referred to when discussing the settings used to obtain a correct exposure but what is it, what affect does it have on your photos and when do you need to change it?

ISO actually stands for International Standards Organisation who are a group that define univeral standards in industry so that everybody is working from the same hymn sheet. What does this have to do with photography? Not a lot. The reason we use the term ISO is because the organisation defined the standard for the sensitivity of 35mm film called the ASA. Anyway enough of of pointless facts, what does it affect in my photographs.

Out of Bounds Effect in PS Elements

Recently I posted the image below on the DPS forum and a few people asked me how it was done. So I though I’d write a how to. I used Photoshop Elements 6 but you can do it any software that can uses layers and masks

The effect is called “Out of Bounds” or sometimes “3D Border Breakout”. First off you need to pick a suitable picture. Photos with a strong subject help, one that has some depth in the frame. Movement is also good but make sure your subject is sharp otherwise it won’t look great later on. There are a few different ways to get to the end product so this isn’t a definitive guide, it may not even be the easiest way but it works.