Written on Dec 1st, 2008 by Dave Adams

Posted In: Camera Tips

Minimising Camera Shake

DSLR, Gorillapod, ISO, Lens, Low light, Photography, sensitivity, shake, Shutter Release, Shutter Speed, Stabilisation, Technique, Vibration 0 comments

Camera shake (unintended camera movement while taking a photograph,) can potentially ruin all your hard work in getting the perfect photograph. Camera shake can occur for a number of reasons - a heavy camera, a slow shutter speed and the forces of nature (especially wind) can all contribute to a photograph that is unintentionally blurry.

However, there are a few things you can do to minimise the chances of camera shake creeping into your photographic technique.

Use a tripod or other support

This is the obvious answer to reducing camera shake - use a tripod or other support, such as the Gorillapod (aff), to stop the camera moving. Add a remote shutter release and you don’t even need to touch the camera while taking the shot, which is the number one cause of camera shake.

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Written on Nov 17th, 2008 by Dave Adams

Posted In: Mastering Photography

Mastering Winter Photography

Camera Setup, histogram, Photography, photography tips, Shutter Release, Snow, Tips, Tripod, Winter, winter photography, Winter Scene 1 comment

While it is currently autumn (fall) here in the UK, there is an ever present threat of wintery showers (i.e. snow) lurking in the ever colder days. The chance of snow fall is a great opportunity for photographers to make the most of virgin snowfall to make and take great seasonal (even festive) pictures.

Photographing a winter scene will bring new challenges to even the most seasoned of photographers, with conditions that sometimes make you wish you’d stayed in bed.

Winter Sun Through The Tree By Josef Stuefer

josef.stueferView Larger Version

Here is a list of tips to make the most of photographing that sudden cold snap that brings a blanket covering of snow.

1. Preparing for Snow Photography

The first point is to make sure you are prepared. The best time to photograph a winter scene is when the snowfall is fresh. This means getting out early before the snow is disturbed and before any early morning sun burns through the haze and starts to melt the snow.

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Written on Nov 6th, 2008 by Dave Adams

Posted In: Photoshop

How To Create Stunning HDR Photographs

Aperture Priority, Balance, HDR, Photography, Photoshop, Shutter Release, Technique, Tripod 1 comment

What is HDR Photography?

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, and within photography refers to a process of combining multiple exposures of the same scene to enable the capture of both the darkest and lightest areas of a photograph.

While the human eye is very good at distinguishing between dark and light areas as it looks around, and adjusts the iris accordingly, camera sensors cannot adjust to compensate for an area in a scene that is both too bright (overexposed) and too dark (underexposed) all in one photograph.

To overcome this shortcoming, a system was devised where multiple exposures of the same scene could be combined into a single image, thus blanacing out any under or over exposed areas. With film photography, acheiving the same result would have meant doidging and burning a photograph to ensure an evenly exposed final image.

Once multiple exposures have been combined into a single HDR file, the image is then put through a tonemapping process, and it is this part of the process that most people think of when they talk about HDR photography. HDR photography has become so popular that it is no longer used to just compensate for over and under exposure issues, its actually used as an artistic technique to produce visually stunning digital artworks. In fact many of the HDR photographs that you will see on the web could have been taken with a single exposure with no tonemapping, as the dynamic range in the image is not that wide. however, the process of tonemapping can give a real lift to a photograph, and depending on the artist the effects can be anything from mild to wild.

The following HDR image is one I created from 9 exposures, tonemapped and then applied a Topaz filter to. I will talk a little bit about the best way of taking photographs for generating a HDR image, and give a little more detail on the way the following photograph was processed. It should give you some idea of whats possible with the software thats available today. I would put this in the medium-mild category - beyond photorealistic but not over the top.

Final Result after Tonemapping and Topaz Filter

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