1. Photography
Techniques in Producing
Good Pictures
PREPARED BY:
MYLA T. DE LA PEÑA
BSED-TLE3 WI
2. 5 Techniques To Make Your Photos Look
Good
1. Go Black and White.
• The best photos to turn black and white are
those photos that have high dark and light
contrasts, and/or shadows.
2. Lomo-fy it!
• Giving a photo that over-
saturated, colorful, whimsical feel is a good
way to make a photo look better.
3. 3. Go HDR. HDR (or high dynamic range imaging)
• Is a technique that allows a greater dynamic
range of luminances between lightest and darkest
area of an image.
4. Crop it!
• The only thing a photo needs to become a
stronger photo is good cropping.
5. Sharpen.
• All you need to improve a photo is by
sharpening.
5. Beginning Photography Tip #1:
Move in Closer
Sailboat and Sunrise
Too Far Away
Sailboat and Sunrise
Becomes Better by Moving in Closer
6. • Each time you spot a subject, snap a shot and
then move in closer for a better shot. Having
your subject almost fill the frame helps your
viewer understand and appreciate your
photo. Also, details are often more interesting
than an overall view.
• Keep moving in closer until you are sure the
photo will successfully represent your subject.
8. • If it is at all possible that your subject may
move, bolt, fly away, stop smiling, or just get
tired of waiting for you to take the picture,
shoot once right away.
• Practice getting quicker and quicker to the
draw.
• Do not worry about taking too many pictures
and do not wait until you're absolutely
certain all the knobs and buttons are in their
correct position.
• As the motto of one of Better Photo old T-
shirts states, "Shoot First, Ask Questions
Later."
10. • Even if you don't plan on selling your photo to the
Smithsonian, make every effort to keep it balanced and
beautiful. On one level or another, everyone responds
better to a picture that has all elements in balance.
• Strive to lead the eye along an interesting path through
the photo, with the use of strong lines or patterns.
• Keep the horizon level;
• Crop out extra elements that you are not interested in
(more on this is the next tip);
• Consciously place your subject where you think it most
belongs rather than just accepting it wherever it happens
to land in the photo;
• Play with perspective so that all lines show a pattern or
lead the eye to your main subject;
• Work with the Rule of Thirds.
12. • Discern what you are really interested in and center
your efforts on getting the best photo of this subject,
whether it's a still life, your funny cat, your doggy, a
friend, a family matter, a mood, a place or culture.
• Then be sure to keep anything that would distract out
of the picture.
• The easiest way to do this is to watch your borders -
the edges of the view you see through the camera's
viewfinder. Then recompose if anything - such as an
unattractive telephone wire, an old soda can, a
distracting sign, your finger, or your camera strap -
hangs into your picture.
• It can become more difficult if you want to, say, shoot
a San Francisco cable car without a single distracting
telephone line. But even in such a difficult case, you
have many options.
13. You can:
• Focus in on a close-up that tells the whole
story;
• Move around until you arrange the
telephone lines into a neat pattern that leads
to the subject; or
• Take a panning shot that makes the cable car
remain in focus while the background goes
blurry.
16. • Practice shooting with different apertures and
monitor the results afterwards to learn how
depth-of-field affects your photo.
• You will find that a smaller depth-of-field (and
smaller f-stop #) focuses all the attention upon
your subject. This is great for taking a picture of
your child, your dog, or your husband - subjects
stand out against a blurry background.
• Likewise, you will find that a greater depth-of-field
(bigger f-stop number) will make everything from
here to eternity appear in focus. This will help
make those landscapes fascinating and lovely.
17. Beginning Photography Tip #6:
Experiment with Shutter Speed
Snoqualmie Falls
Shooting with a Slow Shutter Speed and Tripod
18. • One of the most basic overlooked and fun aspects of photography is that
you have the power to slow time down or catch a split second.
• One image happens so slowly that we could never see it and the other
happens so quickly in real time that we would never notice it. Play with
shutter speed!
• Use a slow shutter speed and a tripod to make a pretty picture of any creek
or stream. On the other hand, you can use a fast shutter speed (1/500 and
up) to capture an object in motion.
• Combining a fast shutter speed with a long lens, you sports buffs can get a
trophy of your own when you are able to catch the expression on your
favorite running back’s face as he slips past the final defense toward a
winning touchdown. Remember, catching the moment in fast-paced action
photography may take a little more practice so hang in there.
20. • By this, I don't mean look into the sun - no, that won't
do at all. But it is good to see what kind of light you
are working with. Which way are the shadows falling?
Unless you want a silhouette effect, where your
subject is black against an interesting background, it's
generally best to shoot with the sun behind you.
• How is the light affecting your subject? Is the subject
squinting?
• Is the light blazing directly and brightly upon your
whole subject? This works well if you are in love with
the bold colors of your subject.
• Side lighting, on the other hand, can add drama but
can also cause extreme, hard-to-print contrasts.
• Lastly, indirect light can be used to make your subject
glow soft and pretty.
21.
22. Beginning Photography Tip #8:
Watch the Weather, Too
Carmel Mission
Clear Blue Skies and a Polarizing Filter
23. • Look outside and decide whether or not you are going
to want to have the sky in your picture.
• If it's overcast, simply keep the sky out of your
pictures as much as possible. This is usually the best
way to avoid both muted tones in your subject and
washed-out skies in your background. You might also
find black and white pictures of an overcast day more
pleasing than color.
• When the day is beautiful, go ahead and make the
most of it.
• If your camera allows for the use of filters, purchase
a polarizer. This will help you render deep blue skies
against bright white clouds, richly contrasting
colors, and other wonderful effects with a simple twist
of the wrist.
25. • While you may wish to have "all the bells and whistles"
available just in case, you will probably get the best
results if you do not try to use them all the time and
instead learn a simple set up that works best for you in
most situations.
• This doesn't necessarily mean keeping your camera set on
"Program" - while this mode may be perfect in its
simplicity, it may be frustrating in its tyrannical control.
• Instead of relying on a fully automatic program, pick a
simple, semi-automatic program such as aperture-priority
and master shooting in that mode. Then, you'll be able to
control certain basics without letting the other basics
control you, and thus keep that 150 page manual where it
belongs - in your camera bag.
• Tip: if you want one accessory, bring a tripod. This one
item can solve camera shake issues and help you get
beautiful evening shots.
27. • Don't allow yourself to be paralyzed by fears of using
the wrong settings, or a non-politically-correct social
policy.
• If you are afraid of upsetting someone by taking their
picture, just go up and ask if it's okay. Ask them to
sign a release and offer a print in return.
• With wildlife, adopt a low-impact method when you
go places where few photographers have gone
before. In the above photos, I put my camera and
telephoto in a waterproof bag and kayaked out into
Monterey Bay. (Lawyer-talk: This can be dangerous -
so be careful.)
• Be wise... But be bold.
• There you have it - basic but helpful, I hope. Now go
out there, make some great shots, learn from the
failures, and have fun.
30. Use high- and low-camera angles with
caution. High angles tend to shorten the
legs of a person. Low angles may distort the
body and face of the subject. Of
course, watch for objects that seem to be
growing out of or are balanced on a
person's head.
31. BASIC SEQUENCE
During motion-media recording, you can change
the image size by changing the camera-to-
subject distance or by using a zoom lens
(which also changes the field of view).
32. Shot classifications can be broken down into
five categories: extreme long shots, long
shots, medium shots, closeup shots, and
extreme closeup shots.
33. Extreme Long Shots
An extreme long shot (ELS) is used to portray a
vast area from an apparently very long
distance. An ELS is used to impress the viewer
with the immense scope of the setting or
scene. An ELS is best usually when made with
a stationary camera.
34.
35. Long Shots
A long shot (LS) shows the entire screen area
where the action is to take place. The
setting, the actors, and the props are shown
with LS to acquaint the audience with their
overall appearance and location within the
scene.
36.
37. Medium Shots
A medium shot (MS) is usually used between a
long shot and a close up shot. After the scene
location has been established with an LS, the
camera is moved closer to the main subject
or a longer focal-length lens is used to bring
the main element of the scene into full frame
or near full-frame size.
38.
39. Close up Shots
The close up shot (CU) fills a frame with the most
important part of a scene. The CU should include
only action of primary interest The portion
selected of an overall scene, such as a face, a
small object, or a small part of the action, may be
filmed with a close up shot. Close up give the
audience a detailed view of the most important
part or action within a scene. Close up also help
to build audience interest in the film. The CU shot
can be used to "move" the audience into the
scene, eliminate nonessentials, or isolate a
significant incident.
40.
41. Extreme Close up Shots
Very small objects or areas or small portions of
large objects can be photographed with an
extreme close up shot (ECU), so their images
are magnified on the screen. Small machine
parts, such as calibrations on a ruler or a
match at the end of a cigarette, can be very
effective when shown on a full screen in an
ECU.
Do not forget, you must change camera angles
between shots within a shot sequence.
