Think. Point.. Shoot...

Imagining what to shoot..

You must have always looked at photos in magazines and on the net and wondered, “Wow!! That must have been an awesome camera..” or perhaps, “That pic must have been taken in Europe somewhere..” Well, I have wondered like this more often than not but to share a small secret with you, some of the best photos ever taken were with a camera as “ordinary” as yours, in a place as exotic as your very own backyard (if you have one) or while just walking on the road.. it doesn’t need a big huge camera with 20 different lenses and n number of features to take that mind blowing image. What it takes is a little imagination, presence of mind and a little bit of luck (to be at the right place at the right time).

In this blog post we shall see how simple things can become astonishing pictures.

The aim of this exercise is to enable you to learn how to see creatively. Let’s start by taking a couple of pictures within your home . You may be saying in a single room in the hostel or perhaps in a penthouse n the 20^th floor of a building, there is always something that you can shoot. The biggest advantage of shooting at home is that you can quickly review the entire picture you took on a computer and then take more pictures of the same subjects in different ways, thereby comparing and knowing various settings. This short feedback look can teach you more than you would learn in a class on photography after attending a hundred lectures. My favorite subjects at home are usually plants, pets, books, utensils, food products and even walls (including the insects on them) . As you shoot, look at the light and see whether you can change it by drawing a sheer curtain, adding lights, or by shooting at a different time of the day.

Next go out, perhaps to a beach (if you happen to live on a coast) or to a garden or even a forest . Take a couple of pictures there. Shoot anything, trees, leaves, animals, stones, rocks, people etc. come back and review those pictures on a computer screen.

Now sit and grade yourself for every picture on the technical scale. See if you have achieved the objective that you wanted? Have the pictures been taken and exposed as you wished them to be? It doesn’t matter whether you over exposed hem or under, whether they were totally in focus or not, whether they were grainy or sharp but the effect should be but you had hoped for. Then use a software that can read EXIF data of the photographs to critically evaluate your findings. EXIF data basically contain some basic information about the image and how it was taken. The metadata tags included in EXIF comprise of date and time of taking the image, camera settings (such as the camera model and make, orientation (rotation), aperture, shutter speed, focal length, metering mode, and ISO speed information) as well as descriptions and copyright information. This can be read by using softwares like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Elements. Even Operating Systems after Win XP can read part of EXIF data by right clicking on the photo and then properties (See the screen shot on the right). The aim of doing this is to understand how subtle differences in shutter speed, f stop, ISO and white balance can drastically change what your photos would look like (Put images here, same scene, different settings). Only by doing this yourself would you understand how to use these settings to bring out your desired effects.

If you are bored of doing this kind of photography, I would suggest you go for some motion photography. Take pictures of fast moving vehicles with different shutter speeds and aperture values. Or perhaps you can even get inside one of those vehicles and take pictures of the outside world. You would be amazed to see what different effects you can produce by such small enhancements.

This adds a totally new dimension, “speed” to your photos. As the vehicle you are sitting in is moving, change shutter speeds between shots from 1/30th of a second (or even slower) all the way up to the fastest shutter speed your camera offers. One thing you can learn from this exercise is that having an image that’s blurred can be okay. Not all images have to be perfectly in focus. Some image blur can add drama to a photo as it illustrates movement.

Finally try taking some pictures after it gets dark. If you have a tripod, use it. You will learn a great lot about the interaction between shutter speed and aperture value by taking pictures in the dark.

Consistently taking good photos and getting the photos to look the way you want them to look takes lots of practice. You need to pre-visualize your shots learn how to use your camera, and be at the right place at the right time. The more you shoot, the more you learn how to take great photos. Carry your camera as often as you can and shoot whenever you get a chance. When you first begin to take photos with a digital camera, you will see remarkable improvement in your picture-taking skills every couple of hundred photos that you take.

Take home message: Capturing more photos is the only thing that will help you take better photos.

Good luck and enjoy capturing the light!

The Guild