Composition

What makes an image attractive? not because of the camera and lenses. you need to think that both of them is merely a tools to take good photograph. Composition is what makes an image attractive. here are a few tips on how to compose a good photograph. 

1. Framing

This is one of my favourite technique. To put your main object between an object as a frame. This composition can add a dimmension to your picture.

2. diagonal lines Lines

A diagonal lines can somehow nice to see in a picture.

3. Repetitive texture or lines

A repetitive pattern in a picture is attractive to the viewer.

4. curve

Curve can also be interesting for the viewer. 

5. Perspective lines 

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Photographing Children

Photographing children

Most of us start buying camera to take a picture of our own child. Little are known that taking photograph of our own little people is one of the most challenging task a photographer have. They always move around and difficult to direct.

Here are a few tips to catch a great image of your child.

1. Play with them and follow them wherever they go. camera ready of course.

2. shoot when he / she is busy doing stuff.

3. The closer the better. The closer your camera to the child, the better it is. ( I usually use 85mm lens to get a better close up image. and use 35mm to shoot on different perspective such as from the top of their head)

4. The windows of human soul is through their eyes. children's eye is very attractive.

5. bribe them with candy. If you want them to do something for you to take a photograph, promise them some gift like candy r cracker.

6. Use minimum aperture of f4.With this formula, your depth of field is not too narrow, allowing a sharp picture when the object is moving while you can still have a good bokeh.

7. don't forget your minimum speed limit.

8. shoot when he/she eat or drink, feed his pets, trying to pick up fallen toys, throwing, running, jumping, riding bike, even sleeping.

9. stop asking them to pose when they don't want to pose. you better off taking a candid picture.

10. shoot a hell of lot. this is the marvel of digital world. you don't have to pay for film and the result is instant. Even when you shoot without looking at your few finder can make an attractive picture

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Connecting the dots.

The easiest way to learn the connection between the three exposure component is by experimenting. In DSLR camera you notice that you can have 3 main mode which are, aperture priority, Speed priority and Manual. Aperture priority is what I use most of the time. you decide which f value you want to use for the shoot, the camera will adjust the camera speed automatically.

For a start, set your camera ISO to 100 and set your camera mode to aperture priority. change the f value as low as your camera permit between 4.5 - 2.8 and press half of your shutter speed. You will notice the camera speed will change depending on how well lit your object is. the brighter the object, the more speed you can get.

Usually during the day you can test shooting outdoor and indoor. with the same setting, shooting outdoor will let your camera operate in higher speed then shooting indoor.

Note: the faster your camera speed, the sharper your image. this is because the faster the camera speed, the less shake produced from your hand.

Tips: Know your hand, know your speed. I experiment taking picture of one object with different speed to know my own shutter speed limit. My speed limit is 100. meaning that if I shoot using shutter speed under 100, my image will sharpness will be reduced. some people with steadier hand can shoot with shutter speed 30 without losing its sharpness.

case study:

You set your camera to ISO100 and you want to shoot an object with aperture value of f4. because the lighting condition is not that good, your camera detecting that you need 30 for your camera speed. Your speed limit is 100. what should you do?

You have 2 option.

1. If you can tolerance your depth of field, you can adjust it to f2.8 ( so your camera sensor can capture more light) but your depth of field will be shorter. If the is not an option, then choose option 2

2. increase your sensor sensitifity by adjusting your camera ISO to 200 or 400. with higher ISO, you can take a picture with higher speed without sacrificing your depth of field.

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