Getting the right external flash
Sometimes the light you have in a scene isn't adequate for getting the exposure you want for your image. In this case, you need to have some sort of artificial light, such as an external flash or strobe. (You can find more information about lighting in Chapter 10.)
Your camera brand makes external flashes that are designed to work specifically with your camera. When you connect the flash to the camera, the two products communicate and automatically expose images. The camera adjusts its exposure settings and tells the flash how much light to produce in order for the scene to be properly exposed. This flash process is referred to as
TTL creates a simple shooting experience in which you don't have to worry about setting the intensity of your flash, but it only works when the camera and the flash are made by the same company. Don't try to mount a Nikon flash on a Canon body and expect the two to sync with TTL features.
Trying, a tripod
Tripods are essential for taking images with slow shutter speeds and for leveling your camera to ensure a proper perspective in nature and architecture photography. (Chapter 8 tells you more about perspective.) I bring a tripod on every shoot whether I plan to use it or not. It's nice to have it when you need it.
You can find tripods in different weights and sizes. The most important factor to consider when purchasing a tripod is what you plan to use it for. Consider the following:
If you are a travel or nature photographer and go on long hikes with your gear, you want a tripod that's lightweight and compact.
If you shoot architecture, you want a tripod that has a great deal of extension in the legs; architecture photographers commonly shoot from high angles for exterior shots. For this type of photography, a tripod that reaches at least 10 feet is essential (and so is bringing a step stool along with it).
A studio photographer would be best suited with a heavy tripod that's as large and sturdy as possible.
Look at the different tripods available and determine what qualities would best suit you and your style of photography.
Figure 3–7 shows a scene with a still subject that I photographed using a very slow shutter speed of 1 second. I took the image on the left while the camera was fixed to a tripod. The result is a sharp image. I held the camera in my hands to snap the image on the right. As you can see, the natural movement of my hands caused the scene to become blurry with motion blur.
50mm, /
Figure 3–7: Placing your camera on a tripod enables you to use slow shutter speeds and maintain sharpness in a still scene.
Part II. Elements of Photographic Design
Photographic composition involves many V layers and ideas, and in this part of the book you find out about the elements that go into any composition. I introduce you to the fundamentals that lead you toward amazing photographs, and I also tell you about the rules of composition that decades of photographic talent have honed. (You do yourself a service in learning them, but don't think you can't break them.) Finally, I round out the part with a helpful chapter on using color in your compositions.
Chapter 4. Introducing the Elements of Photographic Design
Determining what your points of interest are in a scene
Understanding lines in composition
Differentiating between shape and form
Working with texture to increase scale and depth
Exploring the patterns you can include in your compositions
Photographic composition is a combination of everything in an image. W Depending on how you compose a photograph, you may represent each separate element in your frame as what it literally is or as the basic lines, shapes, forms, and textures it includes. For instance, you can include in your composition a sofa that's obviously viewed as a sofa, or you can break it down to its shapes and lines or the colors and textures it contains.
In order to purposefully create compositions that have a clear message and that are visually impressive and influential, you need to understand the basic elements of design and what each is capable of. Understanding basic design helps you make compositional decisions that improve the way your photography looks and reads.
As a starting point, consider a stick figure: A stick figure with its arms angled upward seems happier than a stick figure with its arms angled downward. Even without any literal expressions or details, the message of joy is conveyed through lines and shapes. If a stick figure was standing at the beginning of two lines that gradually got closer until they finally connected at a point, you could get the idea that the stick figure was standing on a road and had a distance to travel. The lines and shapes in your scene create the foundation of your message. The relationships they have with each other make up the basis of your composition.
In this chapter, I examine the basic elements of design, such as points, lines, shapes, textures, and patterns. I show you how to use them in your photographic compositions to maximize the aesthetic and descriptive value of your images.
Grispinq the Point about Points
The most basic design element is known as
For instance, a white frame with a single red dot is a composition with one point, the red dot. If the frame had a second red dot, it too would represent a point in the composition. If you then added two intersecting lines in the frame, the area in which they intersected would represent a point.
Your subject can exist at a point if it's fairly small in your frame, but a large subject would most likely have multiple points of interest. In a close-up of a person's face, for example, her eyes, nose, and mouth are all points of interest.
The
