Photo Tips :

If you are new to photography, you will quickly learn that before taking a picture, you will be faced with a series of choices. For example, what type of camera should you use? A “point & shoot” model captures the moment quickly, and you won’t need to worry much about settings because the camera makes those decisions automatically. Film and digital models are readily available. When you become more serious about photography, a point & shoot may not allow enough options to take the photos you desire. A single lens reflex camera (SLR) is more versatile and allows use of interchangeable lenses, from wide angle to telephoto. But SLR’s require more thought and are more costly than most point & shoot models.

What Type Of Film Is Best?
Prints are easy to share with friends and good for making enlargements. They have more latitude, or acceptable exposure range. Print film names usually end in the suffix “-color,” such as Kodacolor or Fujicolor. Slide film remains the standard for much of the nature publishing industry, and slides are useful for projecting for groups. Slide films offer better color control, but they have higher contrast than print films and a narrower range of acceptable exposure. Slide film names usually end in the suffix “-chrome,” such as Ektachrome or Fujichrome. Digital cameras do not use film. Images are recorded on memory cards. This information is transferred into a computer for viewing, editing, printing, and storage.

What Lenses Are Best?
Many point & shoot cameras have zoom lenses that cover wide angle to short telephoto distances. Lenses for SLR cameras include zoom and fixed focal lengths. Wide-angle coverage is typically in the range of 24mm, 28mm, or 35mm, while the “normal” field of view is 50mm to 55mm. Peering through a wide-angle lens, the foreground is emphasized and the area in focus is wide, providing great depth of field. With a normal lens, the view appears more like what we see with our eyes.

To make a subject appear larger, photographers can move closer, (which is not advised with some types of wildlife!) or use a telephoto lens. These longer lenses, in the range of 100mm to 600mm, offer higher magnification but usually need to be supported by a tripod to achieve sharp pictures. Depth of field is reduced with long telephoto lenses, requiring pinpoint focusing skills. The cost of a telephoto lens depends upon the size of the lens aperture (f/8 or f /5.6 lenses require use less glass than f/ 4 or f/2.8 lenses), and the optical quality of the glass. Less expensive lenses may not be as sharp as high-end counterparts.

What Is A Macro Lens?
Anyone serious about photographing flowers or insects up close will want a macro lens. These lenses allow focus within inches of the subject, making it appear very large in the frame. The macro view is a dramatic, eye-to-eye perspective. Typically macro lenses come in 50mm, 100mm, or 200mm focal lengths. I also use a 70mm to 180mm zoom macro that makes setup and focusing very easy. To maximize depth of field, try to position yourself so that the front of the lens is parallel with the portion of the subject that you want in sharpest focus. You will also need a sturdy tripod if you are serious about close-up photography.

Take a Notepad!
If you are new to photography or if you are trying a new technique, take notes to remind yourself what settings you used. If the technique works, you can duplicate it, or if something doesn’t turn out as you expect, you can figure out why. Keep practicing until the camera is an extension or your mind and body, and keep taking notes until you can accurately predict how the finished picture will look as you are taking it.