BEYOND THE BASICS HOW TO TAKE BETTER PHOTOGRAPHS

This course follows on from MAKING A START IN PHOTOGRAPHY.

The aim here is to show you how to take technically sound pictures that show a better
understanding of light , creativity and personal involvement.
Cameras do not take photographs, photographers do. By taking far more care
and by a fuller understanding of the practical methods in using your camera and by
learning the artistic aspects of looking and seeing the results will be much better.
More involvement , more motivation and a consistent approach with lots of good
ideas is called for. So how does that happen? Read on.
Photography is a life-skill, to improve you need to practise and look at other art
forms and other photographers work . Dont be afraid to experiment , try to work in a
style of your own and work on themes and things youd like to say. Eventually you
may want to join like-minded people in Camera Clubs , or take a college course , or
attend weekend workshops. Maybe youd like to get some of your work in Magazines
or submit to photographic exhibitions and chase awards and professional
qualifications.
THIS COURSE WILL GIVE SOME INSPIRATION AND DIRECTION AS TO
HOW THIS MIGHT BE ACHIEVED.
Information covered here is structured and dedicated to help you realise your potential
But, your own input and ability are vital. Techniques can be taught, until they become
second nature and with practise and an ability to recognise error by understanding
how mistakes can occur , you will improve quickly. However , learning to see a
picture takes longer. This relies heavily on an emotional response to your chosen
subject , and an ability to understand lighting and exposure control to create mood
and atmosphere in a picture.
AN IMPORTANT FACTOR HERE IS TO MAKE SURE THE EQUIPMENT YOU
OWN WILL GIVE THE RESULTS AND TECHNICAL PERFECTION REQUIRED
Points to learn are:
ACCURATE FOCUSING , WITH BOTH MANUAL & AUTOMATIC SETTINGS
KNOW HOW TO CONTROL AND ALTER EXPOSURE , SO THAT PICTURES
CAN BE MADE DARKER OR LIGHTER .
USING THE APERTURE SETTINGS TO CONTROL DEPTH OF FIELD.
AND USING SHUTTER SPEEDS TO STOP MOVEMENT OR CREATE BLUR.
TRY TO USE THE CAMERA ON A TRIPOD.

This course will also cover design , graphics and composition. Being made more
aware of shape , form , texture , helps with visual perception and best use of picture
space. Other factors here, are use of colour , its effects , with some help on
saturation or subtleness and the relevance of that. Also , well look at monochrome
and the way that might be used. A lot of the course is linked by visual examples and
demonstration , with some practical tips on a one to one basis , so ideas can be
explored , and questions asked.
Dont forget this is a hobby , meant to be fun, but also a form of visual expression
and a way to illustrate you ideas and view of the world . Be certain to give yourself
space and time to practise. Patience will be needed at times when results turn out to be
disappointing.
Taking pictures is only part of the process. Making them , either by using a processing
laboratory , or by printing your own is the other part of the equation. The best way to
get exactly what you want , is to learn to print your own work , either in a Darkroom ,
or more easily by PC, SOFTWARE and PRINTER combination. That way you can
oversee results, but be warned this takes time to learn , and eventually becomes quite
obsessive. Artistry results ! Courses are run on these aspects as well , either here at
Jessops or at colleges or by tutors on a group or an individual , hands-on basis.
If you use a lab , then use a good one , and make sure they understand your
requirements. The mass-production machine prints are only really a compromise , like
a proof . The small prints then need to be analysed and then a choice must be made as
to which ones to have a proper hand made print done.
Finally once you get the right results , have bigger prints made. These can look great
on the wall in frames and will give you a sense of achievement and pride.
This is the way to building a PORTFOLIO of work , ideal if you want to get into the
professional world , or appeal to picture editors in magazines etc. It will also act as a
record and show your progress. Your collection of images should rightly show areas
that you feel better at this might be portraiture or landscape , still life , natural
history , sport , close-up whatever . Try taking a range of subjects , then when you
feel happier in one given area , really explore the potential . This means working in a
variety of styles , maybe with different lighting , different lenses or different
techniques within that subject. When you take pictures , work in a series , dont just
take one and move on , look closer , look harder , work on concepts or make a
version of an idea you may have seen in a magazine , or on TV , or in a gallery.
By keeping an open mind , your projects will become much more interesting .
Remember to keep trying to improve , analyse and evaluate your own work , or get
other photographers to offer constructive advice or opinions. DO NOT give up
thats the easy option !!

TECHNICAL SKILLS USING LIGHT AND EXPOSURE.

LIGHT this is our basic raw material , what we use and control within the medium.
It occurs in lots of ways , from an overall flat grey , to bright , high contrast
sunshine. Some subjects are best taken in flat , even light PORTRAITS , AUTUMN
COLOURS , CLOSE-UP FLOWERS , INTERIORS OF BUILDINGS etc in fact
any subject that too much contrast would spoil , wash out colours or cause hard
shadows in the final look of the image. LANDSCAPES benefit from using light at
certain times of day early morning , late afternoon and evening , rather than the
overhead light of midday ( causes colour loss, uninteresting skies and lack of depth).
Time of year is also important- Winter and Autumn are often more dramatic and
moody. The light is softer and more coloured , whereas mid-summer is often quite
blue and hazy, too bright and cheats the colours out of the landscape.
VARIATIONS OF LIGHT ( examples will be shown )
Soft , delicate veiled light as in fog/mist early morning landscapes , portraits etc
Grey/Flat ideal for people and flowers , weddings etc
Cross-Lighting is good in studio set-ups , architecture and urban scenes, landscapes
Contra-jour/backlighting very effective for silhouettes and dramatic scenes
pictures taken into the light sunsets etc
Rim-lighting is a variation of the above -, achieved by waiting for the sun to get
lower in the sky , or by placing objects so that they pick up a halo.
Midday/overhead- best avoided , O.K if cloudy/bright with good sky interest.
Low Light / Night Lighting more difficult to use , can be quite contrasty giving
very bright highlights and dense shadows, so use this as an effect , dont fight it, work
with it in relevant situations townscapes , stage lighting or end of the day
landscapes. Good for church interiors , fireworks, car light-trails and floodlight
historical buildings.
Try to understand how light works and the way it helps form and shape , and also
how it elevates textures , how it gives 3D to a picture. Be aware of how it effects
colours and how it gives an emotion to a scene.

VISUAL AWARENESS, DESIGN AND USE OF PICTURE SPACE

Art and photography both use design, proportion and balance, perspective , line , tonal
weight , areas of colour , graphics and shapes as major factors within a composition.
This is how to make a picture look how to use picture space what to put where
within a picture.
The idea is to maintain a pictorial , aesthetic appeal or harmonic feel to an image. It is
also relevant to use abstraction, discordant colours etc to create a deliberate statement.
You can use false or contrived visual tension , by clever use of wide-angles and
vanishing points to be more creative. How you decide to use that space, or link
objects and shape together is up to you. It is possible to create a balance by use of
similar shapes of equal weight or by using symmetry to make pictures,too.
You might favour the distortion that a wider angle lens and lower viewpoint will give.
You may prefer the recession of tones and compression of shape/distance that a
telephoto lens allows. The choices are many a lot of it comes with practise and good
knowledge of what your lenses can do.
Graphic and mathematical derivations of triangles , circles and squares can also aid
composition. It is possible to use the so called rule of using intersections on the
thirds within an images as placement for important or emphasised elements in a
picture. You can make pictures in either very simple or very complex ways include
very little , or a lot of detail there are numerous possibilities, so try a few different
ways to suit whatever subject you are working on at the time.
Pictures also rely on interruptive pattern or vertical punctuation of a line or horizon to
work well. They can work well with repetitious shapes and patterns, too. Your best
aids are eyes and feet the best vantage point maybe three feet to your left or slightly
higher/lower. When on location, walk around first size-up the possibilities. As you
get more experienced , your eye will naturally seek out the right place to work in.
This is O.K for subjects that are static what about those that move . Here it is best to
know your subject ( sport etc) well , be able to anticipate when the action is going to
occur. Use the picture space as stage pre-focus , work out where the decisive
moment will occur and at the critical split-second press the shutter. Practise !!
FOCUS Learn to focus manually its very accurate , but not as quick. Its useful to
focus on eyes in portraits , and to keep adjusting as subjects change and move. Focus
is altered by DEPTH OF FIELD using the aperture at F2.8 limits how much of the
image will be sharp , whereas F16 is sharp from a few feet away to infinity. Choice of
aperture will be explored in the next section.
Remember the following you might find it useful :EMPHASIS , SELECTION , SIMPLICATION and OMMISSION try and use
those factors as a guide in making the image work visually . After taking the picture
e.g. when producing the final image as print , it is useful to try different formats for
presentation narrow , vertical or horizontal rectangles , or squares on mount boards.

CREATIVE USE OF EXPOSURE.

APERTURE - by choosing the aperture correctly to suit the subject , you decide on
how much of the image is in sharp relevant focus. It is ideal to use shallow depth of
field for portraiture and sport e.g Aperture set at F4 or F5.6 , as this leaves the
background un-sharp and therefore less important. With other subjects close-ups ,
buildings , landscapes etc choose F11 or F16 as this will give a better overall
sharpness throughout the image.
APERTURES can be used at the wrong values ( those higher or lower than indicated
by the cameras exposure meter ) to Over-expose ( this makes the image lighter than
average) or Under-expose ( makes the image darker than average ). Learn to set the
values manually refer to the camera guide to understand this. Metering , and
learning to use the correct combination of APERTURE and SHUTTER SPEED is
vital in understanding how you can expose for lighter or darker pictures. Darker
pictures have denser colours they appear to be deeper and more saturated . Lighter
pictures have very delicate colouring be careful not to wash them out . If you overexpose information is lost in the highlight areas , but gained in the shadows ( so this
method is often used by Black & White Film Camera users ). If you under-expose ,
detail is lost in shadows , but highlights will look better. Photoshop can balance all
this out , so nowadays its not so critical as it was when film was our only option.
You can , if unsure , bracket your exposures. This can be done by using the Auto
Bracketing function on the camera , or by taking 3 exposures , set manually, at 3
differing values from lighter , average , then darker.
Also as an option , it is useful to know how to set EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
( check your cameras user guide to see how to set this its simple and very , very
useful in most pictures ) It allows small 1/3 of an F-stop darker or lighter variations.
An F-stop is a full aperture setting e.g. the difference between F4 and F5.6 is one full
F stop and so on.
SHUTTER SPEEDS you must be able to choose the correct shutter speeds for the
subject matter a camera cannot tell how fast something or somebody is moving, so
you need to set faster or slower speeds for arresting movement and freezing the action
at a given moment e.g 1/250 of second or be able to create a feel of blur by use of
slower settings e.g second . Night photography often needs slower speeds of 30
seconds or more.
This area is very relevant to getting the right colours , right lighting and correct
exposure values for each picture you take its the cornerstone of camera technique.

SUBJECTIVE AND PERSONAL APPROACH TO PHOTOGRAPHY.

Choice this what picture making is all about , choosing the subject and what
techniques to couple to that. Working to a formula , or working to a style , linking
pictures as a theme or series all this requires a lot of personal input. This is the more
thoughtful and considered approach , where all the variables are relevant. Above all
this is where you rely heavily on an ability to say , in a visual sense , what you feel ,
so that the viewer can understand and enjoy the picture. If you can open up an
emotion , and draw the viewer to your ideas and concepts , so much the better.
Decisions must be made that suit what you are going to illustrate. These start by
being fairly obvious :Colour or Monochrome
Digital or Film Darkroom or PC/Photoshop
Time of day , Time of Year
Feel , mood , atmospherics- whether to use dramatic effects and lighting.
Quality of light and exposure.
Straight or Creative.
Artistic or just technique with no soul?
Bold, powerful , attention grabbing , or quiet , moving and gentle.
Subject:Landscape the great outdoors big in scale or intimate detail
Urban or Industrial Landscape . Places / Travel .
People studio or outdoor , environmental portraits , glamour , commercial
Wildlife / Flowers.
Sport Abstract , artistic
Weddings and Baby pictures.
Studio- still life , figure and nudes , commercial e.g advertising/product pictures.
Social Documentary / Reportage events , history , political statements.
Stage and Theatre musicians , concerts , actors , ballet , opera.
Interiors churches , architecture , commercial , galleries and museums.
Night Photography. Transport Record- faithful reproduction of objects/antiques
Medical , Macro and Scientific.
Preparation and research may also help , finding out where, when and why, coupled
to correct methods of working. Seeking permission. Checking locations.
Finally , try and view the world through the eyes of a child see it with wide-eyed
wonder , record the way the world alters in time , capture it before it changes and
fades, or disappears forever. Capture beauty and the transcience of light become
Obsessive- it works !