100 Steps to IYP - Lesson 2: Moods…

100 Steps to IYP - Lesson 2: Moods…

Posted by: Prajneet In: Photography| photography tips

“Every picture should convey a mood” said someone. And they were right. I am of the opinion that whatever you do in life, it is the ‘feel’ that matters. And when it comes to photography, dramatic and moody photographs have this instant appeal, that hooks your attention.

So for our second lesson, I won’t talk about the rule of the thirds, leading lines, or any of the stuff that I’m bored with. I’ll talk about creating a moody picture and the tools that help you do that.

TIP 1: Use light… dramatic light… Photography is essentially a play of light, and it is light, or the absence of it, that makes your pictures what they are. How, where, and what light is falling can make all the difference in a photograph. Once again, experiment. Use side light, top light, back light and any other direction you can think of. Play with sources of light. Candle light can lend a very dramatic feel to a portrait. The light during rainy weather or during dawn and dusk can lead to brilliant colour tones in landscapes.

Photo by b3ni (using an N95)

TIP 2: Don’t use light… Use the absence of it… Normally as photographers we would want maximum light to capture maximum detail. Naturally present shadows, if there, are fine. If not, then also it’s not too much of an issue. But intentionally including and using shadows can lead to some very amazing photographs. You can use shadows to frame or even to highlight the subject. Shadows can transform your pictures from flat to 3D, and even create interesting patterns that accentuate your picture. In fact, texture cannot be felt without shadows.

TIP 3: Shoot Silhouettes… Silhouettes, apart from their obvious mood creating potential, also keep the viewer guessing. The simple absence of detail except the shape and outline is enough to give hints about the subject (or even make it very obvious) and at the same time leaving the viewer wondering. Also, action silhouettes like people jumping or running or throwing something can have a much higher impact than well lit shots of the same. Coupled with a dramatic backdrop, silhouettes very nicely illustrate the aesthetic value of shapes and forms.

Photo by Raphael

TIP 4: Use monotone…

Black and white, especially those with high contrast, can again lead to very powerful images. In fact, many pictures that would otherwise look bland and average in normal colour can turn out to be extremely captivating in high contrast b&w. Not only black & white, even tones like sepia can impart a moody and ‘old’ feel to the picture. You do not have to limit yourselves to these two tones only. Play with warm and cool filters and see the results you get. You don’t have to buy filters necessarily; you can adjust the white balance to get plenty of in-camera filters.

Photo by Erman

TIP 5: Noise, Blur and Depth of Field… … can all be used in different ways for interesting results. Noise can be coupled with monotone for a vintage feel. It also enhances journalistic pictures (as in photojournalism). Blur can be used to convey a sense of motion as in panning shots, or action using radial blur (where you zoom in or out during the exposure). Depth of field used creatively can result in photographs with a very dreamy feel to them, especially soft focused portraits.

Remember, all the tips I’m putting up here will need lots of implementation and experimentation. Combine two or more of the above points and see what you get. Use them independently and see what you get. If you went through the last lesson carefully, you would remember a very important tip “SHOOT, SHOOT and SHOOT some more”.

I look forward to your experiences. Comments, queries and critique are welcome as always

100 Steps to IYP - Lesson 9 - Flowers…

100 Steps to IYP - Lesson 9 - Flowers…

Posted by: Prajneet In: Photography| photography tips

This morning, I spotted a beautiful looking flower that I had not seen before. It was 5:30 in the morning. The weather was heavenly, and I must’ve stood there looking at the pretty little thing for almost half an hour. Such soft petals, a brilliant mix of pink and blue, they looked mesmerising against the rising sun.

There really is no end to nature’s beauty, is there? And we’re lucky to be able to capture it through are lil’ click-boxes Jokes apart, spending time with the beautiful bloom in the morning encouraged me to write this lesson on flower photography. So without further ado, here we are:

TIP 1: Get Low This is always the first thing I say whenever discussing flower photography, and this is the biggest mistake beginners make. Fine, you’re taller than the plant! But that does not mean you have to always look down on the flower and shoot that way. Kneel down and shoot from the level of the flower. Move around, try different angles. Of course, shooting down can also give great results at times

TIP 2: The time of the day… Straight and simple - avoid harsh midday sunlight. It creates unpleasant shadows, and washes out the colours of the flowers. The contrast may at times look pleasing to the naked eye, but the camera sensor disagrees The best time to shoot flowers is early morning or late afternoon. The soft light at these times saturates the colours and enhances the already divine beauty of the blooms. An overcast day is often perfect to shoot some flowers. But a windy day will create trouble because flowers are very easily moved by the slightest breeze, and may lead to unwanted blur. A tripod of course will be of much use. In fact you’ll end up paying a lot more attention to every composition rather than shooting away without thinking.

TIP 3: The right light…

As stated above, the best light is during early mornings and late afternoons. The light then is soft and diffused, and so brings out the texture and the colours of the petals. But if you aren’t getting that brilliant soft lighting, why don’t you soften it yourself. Use a white piece of cloth, or maybe some butter paper to diffuse the light. If not that, you can also try using some home-made aluminium foil reflectors to fill in the distracting shadows. Sounds like boring work, but its pretty darn effective. Also, backlighting works brilliantly with flowers. Shoot with the light source between you and the flower, and the translucency in the petals is like jewellery!

Outdoors isn’t the only way to go. You can buy some flowers and set up a mini studio inside your own room. All you need is an external flash, a diffuser/softbox which you can make yourself, a background of your choice, and your camera. You can get an idea of the set up from the picture below.

TIP 4: Keep the background at the back… I mean here that the background should not be distracting. Often while taking pictures of flowers, the background can be quite messy, with all the leaves and weeds and other flowers. Here you can do two things: Use a shallow DOF to blur the background, and make an effort to frame the picture such that the background distraction is minimized. You can also make your own background, whether outside or inside. Just put a black (ideally) sheet behind the flower (prop it on some sort of stand, or get someone to hold it for you), and wallah! This generally gives better results inside though, because of the more controlled environment. Some people suggest avoiding white backgrounds as they tend to distract, but I suggest you experiment and choose the background according to the flower. A background that complements the colour of the petals is always preferable.

TIP 5: The right depth of field… Okay, personally, I prefer a very shallow depth of field in my flower pictures (which are often macros). I like the brilliant dreamy effect it lends to the flower. But I’ve also seen many great pictures with the whole flower sharp and in focus (this is often done when shooting indoors studio style). When shooting outside, a single flower looks much better with a soft bokeh at the back. When taking a picture of say a field of flowers, however, you will obviously need to use a longer depth of field and therefore a smaller aperture.

People in flower fields make very interesting pictures. Play with the composition to avoid monotony though

TIP 6: Go Macro… Flowers make some of the most mesmerising macros. They look perfect no matter the distance. In fact, the closer you get, the prettier they look. Use a good 1:1 macro lens and a tripod, and get inside the flower. Be careful not to damage the flower though.

TIP 7: Decorations! Water droplets, snow, ice, frost and anything else that you may happen to find on a flower, including insects, is likely to enhance the photograph.

Remember, flowers are delicate and fragile, and can get damaged easily. Try your best to avoid this. And don’t pick flowers to photograph them. If you want to do that, buy some from a florist instead.

I hope you will find a difference in your pictures IF you implement these tips. I haven’t put too much on composition because that is something dependent entirely on your imag

100 Steps to IYP – Lesson 4 - Wildlife

100 Steps to IYP – Lesson 4 - Wildlife

Posted by: Prajneet In: Photography| photography tips

Another very popular subject among photographers, wildlife is not easy to capture in its ‘element’. When you do however end up with a picture that does capture them the element, it is a feeling hard to describe, and if you’ve ever shot wildlife, you’ll agree. Getting straight to the point, here are some tips that will help you take beautiful pictures of these beautiful creatures.

TIP 1: Catch the eye… Focus is critical in wildlife photography (including bird photography). In general you should try and focus on the eye of the creature, especially during close-ups. Whenever you look at an image of an animal or a bird, by nature your view is directed straight to the eye, and if the eye is not sharp, the picture is not good. Also, having the eye in focus enhances the image by making it seem as if the animal is making eye contact with you. Always keep the eyes in focus, especially if you’re using a wide aperture and depth of field is limited.

Photo by BULLETSAYS

TIP 2: Bring out the tele, and use the IS… This might seem like an obvious idea, but isn’t for many, especially the IS part. The value of zoom is very obvious in wildlife photography, and IS has made things even easier. Whenever you’re out shooting creatures, keep the IS on, and boost the ISO up a little so that you get sharp, blur-free images. You’ll also end up using your lens wide open (go to aperture priority mode and select the smallest f-number) in order to freeze the action.

TIP 3: Catch them in action… Actions always speak louder than, well, simple monotonous pictures of the animals just sitting there. Not that those pictures are not good, they can be brilliant. But pictures that capture ‘moments’ and action are always more appreciable, not to mention a lot tougher to take. Moments like animals mating, courting, hunting their prey, feeding their young, moving in huge herds (like the legendary migration of the Wildebeest) are treasures meant to be captured (in your camera that is!).

Photo by Martin_Heigan

Photo by iam_photography

TIP 4: Do your homework… To capture moments like the ones above, you need to know when and where you’ll find such moments. It definitely helps to study your subjects and do some research before you go out to shoot. For example, I like shooting birds, and the easiest way for me to find them is by tracing their calls, which I’ve learnt with time. And with practice, you will be able to predict their behaviour to quite an extent. Use the net, and get hold of a field guide to your local wildlife. Both these will greatly benefit you in your pursuit for the subject of your choice.

TIP 5: Composing for effect… Wildlife pictures should be composed in a way such that the subject’s action/position is complemented. For example, if you’re taking a picture of a bird looking to the left, then instead of centering the subject, you should leave some space on the left for the subject ‘to look into’.

Photo by Erik Veland

TIP 5: THE ANIMAL IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PICTURE! A common mistake beginners make when they discover an animal at a certain location is that they go too close. Animals are often not used to, and don’t welcome human presence so close to them. In fact, some even desert their homes and their young (esp. Birds), and some can be very aggressive to defend the same. THEY DON’T KNOW that you’re simply taking a picture! So PLEASE do not agitate the animal, and keep some distance.

TIP 6: Camouflage… And prepare to get dirty… This is helpful particularly when you’re taking pictures in woods or areas where human presence is fairly negligible. Don’t wear bright colours. Blacks, browns and darker greens are more suitable. Some people who use huge lenses do camo’s on their kits as well! And to shoot an animal, you’ve got to be prepared to be like one… I mean, you have to be prepared to end up VERY dirty, often bruised, and bitten and stung all over! But believe me, that in itself is a great experience.

Notice the Camo kit? And yes, that IS huge!

Wildlife photography is indeed one of the most difficult but also most rewarding kinds of photography. But in the end, a good picture is worth every bit of effort. I hope these tips can make a difference to your pictures. Your comments and suggestions are welcome as always.

100 Steps to IYP - Lesson 10 - Insect...

100 Steps to IYP - Lesson 10 - Insect Photography

从 Beyond Megapixels 作者：Prajneet

Ever since I was a little kid, I was fascinated by the world around me. I kept asking so many questions about stuff all around that my folks gifted me a multi volume encyclopaedia and said that I would find all my answers there. And so I did. I was particularly interested in bugs, but honestly, I was terrified when I would see one. I had a major phobia of cockroaches till about a year or two ago. It was only after I got into photography that I got over my fear of insects, because I was and still am very intrigued by nature’s miniatures. In fact I was shocked to discover that I spent about 15 minutes taking pictures of a bee that was sitting on my shoulder. A couple of years ago, I would’ve run off screaming at the top of my voice!
I am also often surprised at the fact that most people find insects disgusting. This is verified by their reactions when I show them the insect pictures that I take. But personally, I find them to be amazing creatures. Have you ever closely observed the structure of a dragon fly? Design marvels they are. Such fine balance… This post is for those who share my love for insects and wish to capture them (in pictures please, not otherwise!). I’ll be sharing some tips that’ll help you take better pictures of the lil’ buggers.

TIP 1: Use the right equipment
Once again, the equipment to be used is of utmost importance. Since you’ll be shooting really tiny creatures, you should ideally be using a dedicated macro lens. However, if you don’t have a dedicated macro, you can use what is known as the poor-man’s-macro lens. This isn’t a cheap quality sad lens, but basically a reversed lens that acts like a macro. A 50mm prime with a reversal ring should do the trick. You can add closeup filters and teleconverters if you want to increase your working distance, but know that every added piece of glass decreases the quality.

TIP 2: The Treasure Hunt…
Night vision high magnification insect sensing goggles - not what you need to find a bug that you want to click. All you need is an eye for little things. Snoop around, scan plants, hedges, flower beds. You’ll find a whole bunch of different bugs, from butterflies to dragon flies to damsel flies to spiders to firebugs (I actually found all of these within a radius of one metre in my own flower bed after a shower). What I’m saying is, you don’t really need to go to a rainforest to find bugs. You’ll find plenty in your backyard. You just need to look very closely.
Also, early mornings and evenings are the best times to go bug hunting. You’ll find millions of them out looking for their own breakfast. And if you start really early then that’s even better because that is the time when they’re in a relatively dormant state.

TIP 3: Be patient… Be very patient…
This is where insect photography is a lot like wildlife photography. Your subject tries to keep as far away from you as possible, which can be really frustrating at times. But the good thing about bugs is, and I say this by experience, that most of them will let you come surprisingly close, if you do it very slowly without making any sudden moves. Even flies, one of the most active insects, will let you come within an inch or less if you go slow. Of course, there are the extra social kinds that don’t have a problem accepting your offered finger as a path to tread (like ladybugs and caterpillars). And then there are those that would rather use it as food (like hungry beetles).

TIP 4: Set up your stuff beforehand…
Most insects will not pose and wait for you do set up your camera and then click. You should have your camera ready to shoot before you start looking for a subject.
The ideal settings to use would be shutter priority with a high shutter speed, and focus on manual. Since the subjects are really tiny, the lens might have trouble focusing on its own. Also, the depth of field isn’t much so focus is critical hence manual focus. The shutter speed is obviously in order to freeze your subject. If the insect is a slow moving one, then shutter speed need not be a priority.
Also, since you’re very close to the subject, the amount of light entering the lens will be very limited. Although most macro lenses are made keeping this in mind, there will always be situations where you’ll need to make adjustments to compensate for the low light. This you can do by boosting your ISO, using a wider aperture (which reduces depth of field, making focus even more important, hence manual is recommended), or by using a flash. The point to note here is that you should avoid using the flash as much as you can because some insects get disturbed by the light. There are some that are flash resistant though, especially spiders (at least the ones I encountered). If you have to use a flash, diffuse it. On camera flashes tend to cast a shadow (courtesy the lens), so I would advise an external flash. A ring flash that fits around the lens is a good idea because it provides even illumination. Alternatively, you can use a reflector.

TIP 5: Capture a moment…
Insects mate, insects feed, insects prey, insects fight (insect fights are absolutely AWESOME!) and sometimes they end up doing stupid stuff that looks hilarious! Thing to do: capture a moment like this. Close ups and detail are very enthralling no doubt, but when captured in the middle of an activity, the little critters are even more appealing. For example, a spider with prey, firebugs mating, a bee in flight, a butterfly sucking nectar, and so on and so forth.

TIP 6: Know your enemy, or in this case, your subject…
If you’re ignorant, your subject might just turn into your enemy, and a dangerous one at that. Many insects, especially spiders, can be venomous. And a bite from one of those isn’t really the kind you get from your girlfriend. If you encounter a bug that you’re not familiar with, avoid the temptation of getting too close. You can visit sites like whatsthatbug.com or insectidentification.com to check out how safe your discovery is.

Once you get used to the wait and the approach, and your equipment of course, then you can start playing with the composition and framing. The same bug can look surprisingly different from different angles, so try shooting from a variety of angles.

I hope you enjoyed the post, and look forward to your comments

8 Tips for Shooting Extremely Wide Angles 作者：Brian Auer

Wide angle photography can be fun and challenging at the same time. On one hand, it’s great to pull in so much of a scene with a single shot. On the other hand, it can be difficult to produce a well composed photo at such a wide perspective. So I’ve pulled together a few photos and pieces of advice for shooting with wide angle lenses.

For the purpose of this article, we’ll consider anything at or below 30mm (full frame equiv) to be a wide angle.

1. GO VERTICAL

Shooting in a portrait orientation with a wide angle lens can produce wonderful images, even landscapes (which are more commonly shot using landscape orientation). Going vertical allows you to pack a lot of information into the frame, basically from your feet to way up in the sky.

Photo by Brian Auer [CC by-nc-nd]

Photo by Andreas Manessinger [©]

2. GO HORIZONTAL

Though vertical shots are fun, horizontals will sometimes be better suited for the subject. Evaluate the scene and decide which elements you want to be prominent in the photo.

Photo by Brian Auer [CC by-nc-nd]

Photo by Brian Auer [CC by-nc-nd]

3. EMPHASIZE THE FOREGROUND

Get low or point the camera down to make your foreground the main subject. Since objects in the foreground are much closer than the background, they will appear quite large in comparison. As you get closer to your subject, this emphasis becomes stronger.

Photo by Brian Auer [CC by-nc-nd]

Photo by Garry [CC by-nc-sa]

4. SHOOT FOR THE SKY

If you have some nice cloud formations, don’t forget to point that lens up at the sky. The wide angle can pull in a huge portion of the sky and make for a great scene.

Photo by Brian Auer [CC by-nc-nd]

Photo by Brian Auer [CC by-nc-nd]

5. PLAY WITH GEOMETRY

Capturing shapes and geometry with wide angles forces you to look at the world a bit differently. Look for large structures containing strong lines or curves, and move around until you find those shapes.

Photo by Andreas Manessinger [©]

Photo by Thomas Hawk [CC by-nc]

6. TAKE A PORTRAIT

Wide angle lenses can be used to take portraits, if you’re mindful of the distortions caused by the lens. If you shoot around 30mm (or 20mm for 1.5x crop sensors) and keep your subject near center, the distortion will usually be minimal. On the other hand, you can use very wide angles and get up close to produce a distorted portrait on purpose.

Photo by Brian Auer [CC by-nc-nd]

Photo by Dave Wild [CC by-nc]

7. TRY A DIFFERENT ANGLE

Wide angle lenses allow you to capture a large scene at very close distances. This means that you can shoot from all sorts of different angles that wouldn’t be possible with normal or telephoto lenses.

Photo by Stefano Corso [CC by-nc-nd]

Photo by Éole Wind [CC by-nc-sa]

8. WATCH THAT DISTORTION

Wide angle lenses are prone to various distortions at extreme focal lengths. You might encounter things like barrel or pincushion distortion, especially at the edges and corners of your frame. If you want to avoid them, keep things like people or buildings away from these areas. But don’t always try to avoid them — use them to your advantage if the subjects are suited for it.

Photo by Cristian Paul [CC by-nc-nd]

Photo by Josh Hunter [CC by-nc-nd]

As always, feel free to leave your own tips and/or photos in the comments below. For those of you that shoot wide, what advice do you have for others?

小盆友照相召集贴 I II

I 各位小盆友的家长们：

大家好！

春暖花开（当然现在除了盯着香外），暖和还是蛮暖和的。呵呵。N多小盆友家长找我希望能够继续给小盆友们照相，经过重霄策划，现在隆重推出，周日小盆友活动和照相计划，欢迎大家参加。报名者电邮我和重霄。

本年度，小汤同志已经由义工升级到专业摄影人士，也为大家的小盆友服务。所以今年义工稍有变化，除了徐宁外，我的新招博士小翁也来做义工帮助大家。希望大家能够给我提供一些创意，能够让每年的“年年岁岁花相似，年年岁岁人不同”，也感谢大家的支持。

对于周日活动的要求：

1 时间9：30-11：30，大家最好能够稍微错开一点时间，否则我和小汤同志没有太多精力，大家报名，特别希望大家能够把参 加时间也告知。

2 小盆友要漂亮，家长们要甘心绿叶，不能喧宾夺主，每个时间段最好2-3个小盆友比较好，太多玩得太狠，难找到合适拍照时间。

3 极其强烈希望我们的爸妈们与小盆友的 距离保持在5米以上，否则我一定会把你们的白头发挑出来或者把你们不大优美半边脸展示出来。呵呵。

4 对于提出创意的小盆友或者家长，将给于巨额精神奖励和一点物质奖励。

最后，提前先感谢一下小汤、徐宁和小翁。

我的角度来说，器材升级了：相机和镜头，但是技术可能还没有，呵呵。希望大家帮我升级一下技术。

II

小盆友家长们：

大家好！

好像老天很照顾我们情绪，上了问天网查了一下，周六小雨到中雨，周日晴，好天气好片子啊。大家报名好像没有想象踊跃，不过我也可以稍微轻松和专注一些。

因为现在小盆友大致分为两个阶段：

1 学前：最好在10：30以前

2 小学：最好在10：30以后

3 特别策划给于我们小盆友家长，来了需要先向我报到，给于特别留念，内容保密。

谢谢大家参与。让我们小盆友快乐愉悦3小时。

月光博客博客写作编辑规范 作者：williamlong (williamlong)

　  多人共同协作的群体博客，需要一个明确的协作规范，虽然目前月光博客还不是多人更新的博客，但也有一些写作规范，这里进行了一些总结，以便未来的某些时候能用的到。

　　一、标题规范

　　1、标题应概括全文的最主要思想。

　　3、文章标题应该简洁明了，以不超过15个汉字为宜，最长不得超过20个汉字，两个英文字符算一个汉字。

　　4、由两部分组成的标题，中间可以用空格隔开。

　　二、内容规范

　　1、文章需要分段，每段开头空两个全角空格。段与段之间空一行。

　　2、文章的首段通常为介绍性文字，尾段为总结性文字，每篇文章须包含首段和尾段。

　　3、多个自然段，需要增加黑体的副标题。

　　4、文内标点符号为全角符号。

　　5、每天发布的内容最多不超过两篇，超过两篇，则顺延到下一天发布。

　　三、图片规范

　　1、所有上传的图片都应该加上ALT属性，并且ALT属性必须符合图片本身的内容。

　　2、每副图片下都应该配有适当的文字说明，并且文字说明中要包含页面关键词。

　　3、图片需要居中显示，图片下的说明也需要居中显示。

　　4、对于含有文本的文章来说，不要在文章开头就显示图片，在文章开头三百个汉字之后再增加图片。

　　5、图片文件扩展名必须为JPG格式。

　　6、正文中图片使用缩略图，点击后链接到大图，正文中图片的最大宽度为500像素，点击后的大图最大宽度为1280像素。

　　7、图片大小不超过200K字节。正文中缩略图大小单个文件不超过50K字节。

　　8、上传的图片统一放在同一个目录下，例如UPLOAD目录。

　　9、使用第三方图片要注明该图片出处。

　　四、标签规范

　　1、每篇文章有且仅有一个标签（Tag）。

　　2、标签为英文，不得使用中文字符。

　　3、每个标签均有一副此标签的LOGO图片，图片格式为GIF格式，图片名放在标签的备注中，通常为该标签的英文小写，图片统一放在logo目录下。

　　五、翻译规范

　　1、新闻类外文翻译，需在文章第一句注明媒体出处和超级链接地址，格式为“据某某媒体报道”，其中“报道”两字添加出处的超级链接地址。

　　2、教程类外文翻译，需在文章的结尾处以固定格式注明：英文原文（英文标题加原文链接地址），中文翻译（翻译人名称），中文译文（翻译后的名称和链接地址）。

　　六、新闻评论规范

　　1、需在文章首段引用原始新闻，首段结尾处在括号内注明时间和媒体出处，格式为（4月16日《南方都市报》）。

　　2、从第二段起开始对于该新闻的评论。