The approach and skills for the actual capture of a photograph with a camera.
65
votes
9answers
6k views
How do you photograph rain?
What are recommended settings for my Nikon Coolpix P1 to best portray rain?
Here's what I got. No retouching was applied.
The picture I took when the rain was heavy with the automatic settings:
...
38
votes
5answers
4k views
How can one learn to shoot with both eyes open, and what are the advantages?
Greg made an intriguing comment in this answer (emphasis mine):
One of the things we're supposed to do when we're shooting is keep both eyes open; That helps avoid fatigue from shooting for hours, ...
29
votes
15answers
4k views
How can I maximise that “blurry background, sharp subject” (bokeh) effect?
I know that it occurs when there's a shallow depth of field, but what are the various ways I can increase this effect in my photos when I'm taking them?
Note that I'm not asking how to use an ...
29
votes
20answers
2k views
How can I hold my camera steady?
I've been an amateur photographer for some time, but have always had problems holding the camera steady. I've developed some tricks like using a flat surface and the self timer in low light, and of ...
25
votes
8answers
4k views
Should I shoot underexposed photos?
Someone more experienced than me said that he always shoots so that his photos are underexposed (darker) and I should too. The reasoning being that you can always increase the exposure in ...
23
votes
18answers
1k views
What are some techniques for hand-held image stabilization?
My zoom lens (75-300mm) is fairly slow: 5.6 at its farthest point. (I think it's 3.5-5.6, and it's not image stabilizing. I'm on a budget, sadly!) Unfortunately, my primary use for it is hand-held ...
23
votes
10answers
2k views
What settings should I be using to photograph fireworks?
As it's heading into firework season (with Thanksgiving, Guy Fawkes, and New Years), I've never been particularly successful at photographing fireworks. In previous years I think I've always had too ...
23
votes
6answers
2k views
How do I keep the horizon straight when taking a photo (without a tripod)?
I use a DSLR and I very often find that when I shoot without a tripod, and with my eye to the viewfinder (as opposed to using LiveView), my photos end up slightly crooked: lines that should be ...
21
votes
7answers
2k views
Is it acceptable in photography to never use flash?
I was hanging out with a friend of mine who is a professional photographer (for 15+ years), and has a solid portfolio, web-presence, and regional and national exposure.
He never uses a flash. ...
21
votes
4answers
713 views
When doing portraits, how to get serious insightful expressions?
Professional models know how to produce such expression at photographer command, normal people don't.
Still good photographer are able to get it from famous actors/politicians/sportsmen.
I've been ...
20
votes
10answers
6k views
How can I make short people look taller in photographs?
I was browsing some great shots from Herb Ritts and came across this photo (NSFW). It seems like the legs of the woman appear longer in relation to her body. Is this an effect of the lens used?
...
20
votes
3answers
481 views
How to Avoid Red-Eye in Photos?
Although tools exist to remove red-eye in post-production, what's the best way to avoid it while creating the photograph in the field?
19
votes
5answers
602 views
How to capture the scale of a scene?
My framing in the following photo completely failed to capture the sheer height of the waterfall. If you don't know I was standing at the top of the waterfall, and the "splinters" at the bottom are ...
18
votes
6answers
818 views
How to photograph a partial solar eclipse?
There will be a partial solar eclipse tomorrow visible from Europe, Africa, Asia. I'm looking for photography tips. Looking for ideas for a typical amateur photographer but also for someone having a ...
16
votes
4answers
857 views
Why do people in the stands during events use flash?
I was watching the Olympics, and one thing I noticed was that flashes are going off in the spectators' stands.
Why are people using flash? Is it because they are using automatic mode, or point and ...
15
votes
4answers
619 views
What is ETTR (Expose To The Right)?
Picking up from this answer and this question, What exactly is ETTR? How it may reduce the image noise? And how is it difference from film to digital sensors?
In the answer linked above, what are the ...
14
votes
6answers
1k views
How can you avoid/minimize lens flare when shooting into the sun?
When shooting outdoors in bright sunlight, and specially when shooting with the sun visible in the background, lens flare can affect the picture by reducing contrast and introducing artifacts. Are ...
13
votes
8answers
1k views
What are some of your pre-shoot checklist tips?
I'm always in a hurry and never really check my camera settings before a snapping a few photos using whatever setting the camera was left on. I'm thinking I should probably try to put a checklist into ...
11
votes
4answers
311 views
What are ways of improving aerial photos?
When taking photos from a plane, what are ways of improving the quality of your photos? I've noticed two main issues:
When photographing through the plane window, you'll often get reflection and ...
10
votes
4answers
881 views
Why is the sky in photos always too white?
Why do I never seem to get a clear picture of the sky during the day, even with white puffy clouds in the sky? It always looks over exposed and whitened out? I am using a Nikon D3100, no lens hood, ...
10
votes
8answers
3k views
Best camera settings for photographing text?
I am using my S95 to photograph text documents (both paper & microfilm) for OCR. I have already asked about the problems of how to best photograph a computer screen for microfilm, but I've been ...
9
votes
5answers
8k views
How to avoid reflection when taking a picture of a ceramic object with a shiny glaze?
How can I avoid the reflection when I take a picture of a shiny object in bright light?
9
votes
8answers
931 views
What are the best resources to learn techniques for using a Nikon D90?
I am a beginner in photography and especially for a Nikon D90. Can you please point me to some resources about getting started with Nikon D90 (did some googling and found some resources, but none of ...
8
votes
4answers
415 views
Tips on getting group shots for family
My grandfather is turning 80 this year in September. The most important thing to him is his family. Because of this, my entire family is getting together to celebrate. Since the family is spread out ...
8
votes
6answers
912 views
How do I set the focus in long exposure night sky shots?
I want to catch a good long exposure (5 - 15 seconds) shot of the International Space Station in the night sky as it passes over my city.
Setting the ISO higher (say, to 100) and the exposure time is ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
What is the best auto-focus mode to use for bird photography?
Consider the image below:
How would the shot be focused here? Using Auto-focus or manual?
If there was a cluttered background, will auto focus detect the small bird and sharply focus on it?If manual ...
8
votes
5answers
1k views
How to avoid a halo around the edges?
I am just post-processing some pictures I took last spring. On lots of them, I notice a halo around the edges of objects which are slightly outside the focused depth.
I shot without a tripod, with ...
8
votes
1answer
175 views
What do I need to know before attempting to photograph Venus in transit?
This Tuesday will be the last chance to view Venus in transit for the next 100+ years, so I'm planning to make the most of it. I'd also like to capture what I see for posterity, but this type of event ...
7
votes
5answers
1k views
What focal length lens do I need for photographing the moon?
I would like to know whether it is possible to photograph moon without any flaws with a canon EOS 550d..
Also to get an image of the moon as close as the following image, what kind of ...
7
votes
7answers
1k views
Photographic techniques to avoid chromatic aberration?
I've read several informations here on Photo SE, as well as the wikipedia article on CA.
I understand that it is inevitable that some amount of chromatic aberration shows up for a particular lens, ...
7
votes
2answers
414 views
How is the water effect achieved in “Dali Atomicus”?
I've been thinking of doing a reinterpretation of the Dali Atomicus by Philippe Halsman, and this curved water effect got me puzzled, so I wonder how this is done? If I splash some water from a bucket ...
7
votes
2answers
465 views
What and how to crop?
When I take a photo of something like a building, I tend to shoot the whole building, because later I want to get the feeling and impression I had when I took this photo. I want to transfer these ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
How do you trap focus on DSLRs without native support for it?
I came across the term trap focus on the autofocus page of wikipedia, and it seems to be a very handy feature that triggers the shutter release when a subject moves into the focal plane. This feature ...
6
votes
2answers
489 views
How did film photographers overcome constant ISO/ASA values in low light situations?
Today in Digital SLR era, when I find myself in low light situation in a place that I can't use my tripod or I don't have it, and still don't want to get blurry images, I use the widest aperture which ...
6
votes
3answers
679 views
How can I achieve this effect, where the flower is sharp and everything else is blurry?
I was wondering how it is possible to take a picture like this.
Please have a look here for some example pictures. The flower is sharp, and everything else looks like taken with a long shutter.
Is ...
6
votes
4answers
409 views
How to achieve good scenic photos without HDR?
I've always had a problem getting exposure right with shots of the outdoors. I always seem to need to do manipulation which ends up in noisy photos.
I know HDR would sort it out, but I'm using a ...
6
votes
3answers
443 views
How the splash is created in Cookie splash photography?
Cookie Splash photography, being a motion photography involving liquid splashing off the glass, seems a little tricky. Consider the photograph below:
Source: ...
6
votes
6answers
285 views
What would be the right approach to take pictures of a long counter?
I am trying to take a picture of a long counter in a super market. It is about 15 yards long. I inched along (at about a distance of 3 yards) and took straight on 30-35 pictures with my 16-35mm at ...
5
votes
3answers
215 views
Taking sports and action shots with regular lenses
I do not shoot action or sports photos. I was asked to shoot a friend's soccer game. I am not looking for perfect magazine quality images; however, I'd like to maximize the quality of my shots with ...
5
votes
2answers
452 views
How to make a landscape photo like Stanislav Perov?
I am a beginner in photography. Could some one explain how to make this photo?
There are some things that I would like to know:
what camera, lens(es) (eg shall I do it on crop camera, wide ...
5
votes
6answers
460 views
What unique techniques can I use for shooting fireworks?
What settings should I be using to photograph fireworks? covers some of the basics of taking photographs of fireworks, but what special techniques can I use shooting fireworks? I heard about this one ...
5
votes
3answers
918 views
How to take saturated portraits like these (with natural lighting)?
The photographer of these portraits claimed he used a 50mm f/1.8 prime with no special lighting equipment:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5163/5318756409_9f4ec94f5b_z.jpg
...
4
votes
4answers
446 views
Which parameters to lock between images for a panorama?
I gather that common wisdom says that in addition to camera position you should keep as many variables as possible the same between different shots for a panorama. Variables that spring to mind are ...
4
votes
2answers
243 views
Does having the AF points bunched up in the middle make a big difference?
I was looking into the new Nikon D600, which looks like a pretty compelling camera. I however noticed that its 39 AF points though quite a lot are all bunched up in the middle. I am used to having AF ...
4
votes
2answers
781 views
How to focus manually on the eyes, for a self portrait without a remote?
Any out of box idea to manually focus on the eyes, for a self portrait?
I do have a tripod and the camera has a timer too.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX210 IS
3
votes
3answers
872 views
Long exposures without turning night into day
When taking Night Photography you will use long exposures. Sometimes these exposures can be very long. My question is this:
How can I take long exposures without turning a night scene into a scene ...
3
votes
4answers
209 views
How to take a picture with subject in focus but with a circular light-trace effect around it?
How to keep the Girls sharp combined with the lighttrace effect?
Thank you very much!
3
votes
2answers
237 views
How can I create light trails without a blurry subject?
I would like to achieve this effect using my Nikon P510:
http://youssefalfadl.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/zo.jpg
Are there any suggestions or tips that would help me do that?
3
votes
2answers
197 views
How can one light something in the foreground well while metering for lightning in the background?
A friend asked me how the lighting in this picture could possibly achieved:
Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/10/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2012/100392/
The description leads ...
3
votes
4answers
445 views
What is the blurred light effect in this portrait?
Id like an explanation for how the blue background light in this photo is somehow "overlaying" the model's hair and the back of the chair. How could this effect be setup and reproduced?
