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Assorted Tips on Underwater Photography
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TIPS
I'VE FOUND |
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- 1. Make sure your subject is your subject. It seems
simple, doesn't it? Well, how many pictures have you
seen where there is so much going on you can't tell
what the photo is about? Or where the person in the
picture is a tiny speck on a giant wall? Which brings
us to our next one...
- 2. Don't be afraid to get close. Most point and
shoots focus to about four feet. If you are shooting
a person, or group, try to just get the tops of their
heads to touch the top of your viewfinder. Too close
is almost always better than too far away.
- 3. Look at the shadows. If you have shadow falling
on a person's face, it won't be a pretty shot. (It
may, however, be very dramatic, so consider; what
is the goal of your photograph?) Early morning, late
evening, or overcast days are best for people. They
do not call the hour before sunset 'magic hour' for
nothing!
- 4. Match the film to the subject. This is purely
a matter of taste, experiment, try going against your
instincts. Shoot a surefire color shot in black and
white, and vice versa. Try a slow speed film for a
high-speed action shot, and the fastest film you can
find for a still life.
- 5. Keep your camera ready. You can't win the lottery
if you don't buy a ticket; by the same token, you
can't win the Pulitzer if you don't have your camera
ready when that once in a lifetime shot presents itself.
- 6. Use your flash. Even if you think you don't need
it, use it. On a bright day, it puts that extra sparkle
in your subjects' eyes.
- 7. Steady as she goes. If you can, always brace
yourself on something as you shoot. Whether it's made
for it, (a tripod), or not, (a car roof), your photos
will always be better, crisper, clearer.
- 8. Composition is everything. This is, essentially,
a rehash of #1. Really study everything in your viewfinder
before you trip that shutter, and remember, if it
doesn't make the picture better, it makes it worse.
Walk three feet to the left or right, get closer,
really study the image, and be certain it says exactly
what you want it to say. THEN take that photo.
- 9. Show the foreground. This applies principally
to those magnificent landscapes we all like to take,
(although I have also used it on fashion shoots.),
a plant, a barbed-wire fence, a weathered tree stump
in the foreground can really add interest to a beautiful,
yet unremarkable, shot.
- 10. Look at the light. Remember, the light is what
makes your photo, a very good friend of mine referred
to photography as, 'painting with light', the axiom
is excellent. Take the time to photograph a favorite
subject, from the same point, with the same lens,
every half-hour over a day. See the differences. Try
the same exercise in winter, summer, spring, and fall.
You will find the different qualities of light amazing.
I very much hope some of these help you on your photographic
journey, I have used them all, to (MOSTLY!), good
effect! Good Shooting!
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photoShop TIP on getting
rid of squiggles
This method of noise reduction relies on a second frame
known as the "dark frame" being taken with the shutter
closed for the same amount of time as the main image,
this dark frame will be taken either before or after
the main image and will be used to identify and subtract
"stuck pixels". This has been implemented by Kodak in
their consumer grade digital cameras for some time,
and more recently in their new DC4800 digital camera.
Canon also implemented this method of noise reduction
in the Canon EOS-D30 digital SLR. This method of noise
reduction can also be implemented in a software package
such as Photoshop. Simply take the original image, then
a second image with the lens covered with exactly the
same exposure (this becomes the "dark frame"). Open
the original image in Photoshop, paste the "dark frame"
as a new layer, give it a slight Gaussian Blur (around
0.3 pixels) then change the layer options to "Difference".
This will make a fairly good job of removing stuck pixels
from the noisy original image. Note: this isn't perfect
and will still leave some black "pits" in the image.
The examples below were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 990
and the exposure was 8 seconds at F2.9.
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary/Digital_Imaging/Noise_Reduction_01.htm
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Power Supplies and Chargers To meet
the heavy load placed on the batteries of these big strobes,
manufacturers must use industrial grade NiCads as power
supplies. NiCads work harder and can deliver current more
quickly to the energy-storing capacitors, which power
the intense flash tubes. Also, unlike disposable alkaline
batteries, NiCads do not vent hydrogen gas, which can
be detrimental to a strobe. To achieve optimum performance
and long life from a NiCad module, it must be charged
properly. Each strobe manufacturer has made this much
easier by offering super-chargers, which not only reduce
charging time, but also preserve the health of the battery
by going into a pulse or trickle mode when the NiCad becomes
warm or is finished charging. They include: Nikon SH-104
Quick Charger (2 hours) $427; Ikelite 4063.1 Smart Charger
(2.5 hours) $130; Sea & Sea MC-1 Multi-Volt Charger (6
hours) $299. |
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