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Hints and tips

 HOW IT ALL WORKS

“LIGHT” and only light is the magic in photography. Light will enhance the quality of your picture, add to the colour saturation and increase the definition from the lens you dearly paid for at the time of purchase.
Light comes from various sources. If it is sunlight, then depending on the time of day the following four examples will apply.

FRONTLIGHTING

  • Gives reliable, predictable results and is the easiest light to use.
  • Makes colours look there brightest.
  • Fully reveals the side of the subject facing you.
  • Casts shadows behind the subject so they so they are not seen in the photo.
  • Flattens appearance of subjects.

SIDELIGHTING

  • Adds pizzazz, but shadows may hide details.
  • Lights the side of your subject
  • Adds dimension to your subject
  • Gives your subject form and texture

BACKLIGHTING

  • Lights the back of your subject
  • Throws shadows toward the camera to add depth to your scene
  • Outlines your subjects with a rim of light that makes it glow. Use a flash if photographing people to fill-in the shadows.
  • Lets you under expose your shot to create a silhouette image

CLOUDY DAY LIGHTING

  • Soft, even light all over your subject
  • No shadows to worry about
  • Flatters appearance of people
  • Reveals subtle colours

This light, regardless if it is natural or flash light, travels through the lens and the selected aperture to either the film or in the case of digital, to the CCD/CMOS sensor.

All the image detail including the colour are captured, processed and downloaded to the memory card. The Magic happens when you take your memory card to your favorite FujiFilm – Foto First Lab and print the pictures. It is a proven world fact that the only true practical Archival route is that of actually printing your photographs.

FujiFilm Labs only use FujiFilm Chrystal Archive paper that will give you a guarantee of a picture for a lifetime.

Now, along this route to actually printing the magic, certain critical items happen to ensure a quality image. As you have read, light and the position in which you stand plus the placing of your model, if used, is critical.

Early and late light will add warmth to your scene on a good sunny day. Cloudy day conditions make for good colour, no shadows but generally a slightly flat image. We can not always choose the best lighting conditions but we can choose the best position and camera angle in which to capture the picture.

Your selected shutter speed will either freeze the image or allow movement to be recorded. A 500th of a second will stop most action in sport or the kids at play. A slow shutter speed, lower than say a 30th of a second will bring about movement in your picture. Night scenes in busy cities with white – red car lights are a favorite. During the day in forest scenes, waterfalls take a whole new appearance when using say an 8th of a second or slower.

The aperture setting is critical to the amount of focus or depth of field in you picture. On film, f4 will ensure a muted background, f8 is good for groups and general photography and f16 is excellent for large vistas. In digital especially the compact models, their aperture settings usually only go to f8 as a maximum. This is due to the fact that the CCD/Cmos records onto a much smaller image size than 35mm film. Most SLR digital cameras “D” size are about two thirds the size of film. This factor or ratio allows the same in focus area to be realized by using say f8 on a compact digital in relation to say f16 on a 35mm film camera. Both types of equipment will deliver the same results and in focusness on the final picture. It is all about technology.

You have the destiny of the final image in your hands. By placing your control dial on AV or A you select the aperture that will give the best result or the amount of Depth of Field (that part of the image that will be in focus). By placing the control dial on TV or S you now control the speed at which your camera will record the image and either freeze the action or allow for creative movement.

But you say the salesman told me to leave the control dial on “P” and the camera will do everything. This is true, but most camera manufacturers program the “P” to go off at the fastest shutter speed to ensure no camera shake in your picture. The fact of the matter is that in photography, the faster, the shutter speed, a lesser aperture setting combination can only be selected. The smaller the number, say f4, a lesser amount of your image will be in focus.

Sometimes photographers use this to their advantage especially when a background is obtrusive. That’s photography. You win some and loose some. Do use “P” or Program mode especially during the day when using your flash to remove shadows – most cameras will work out the correct combination of exposure.

To improve your permutations you need to load either a higher rated film or set your ASA/ISO setting in your digital to a higher value. 100 ISO/ASA is for general photography, 200 ASA/ISO is good for most types of daylight conditions and good for party flash shots. 400 ASA is excellent for sport, pictures requiring flash in large areas and poor lighting conditions. As they say, the more “power” (higher sensitivity setting or higher film rating) the more choices you have got. Unfortunately, the higher you go there is a small cost in quality. It goes with the territory.

It is recommended with all digital cameras to record your picture using the maximum amount of pixels at your disposal. Higher pixel usage in digital ensure’s the best quality image from your particular camera. But you say you only want to Email Granny in Canada so why use the maximum amount of pixels and use up memory space? Another fact of the electronic age is that you can go down but not up in picture size especially if you have chosen to record the image using less pixels. Record at your cameras lowest capacity and you will have to be satisfied with an Email size version or no bigger than a postcard size print. That is all the electronics will be capable of producing without showing “pixelization” (poor image quality). The alternative route is to use the maximum amount of pixels which will ensure high quality prints and then you can downsize the image with incredible quality to Email Granny in Canada.

To sum up, use your light to your best advantage. Choose your camera position wisely in conjunction with your light. Select the best aperture – shutter speed combination to obtain the highest quality result. In other words learn to use and get the best out of your camera.
Learn to make pictures and not just take pictures.

COPYRIGHT : DEREK PEARMAN HON. FPSSA, FPSSA
NORMA PEARMAN FPSSA
NEW TELTRON (PTY) LTD – FUJIFILM
TEL: (011) 375-2070
Email: derekp@teltron.co.za