Thursday, January 7, 2010

Tips for Better Pics.



Hello, me Smokey, calendar model, bit unemployed at the moment. See the wound on my throat? Buggsie did that and I was nervous for months after. Here's a word from my sponsor.


Thanks Smokey. Not a lot of work to improve the top shot. Why did I have almost nothing to do?


Because I always set the camera on the highest 'Sensitivity' (ISO) level possible.


And because I always use 'Manual' exposure.


Low ISO, or 'sensitivity' settings may give better colour quality, but the cost in cloudy conditions, or indoors, will usually be images spoiled by camera movement during exposure. If you have a camera that will allow it, set the sensitivity 200 or 400 for sunlight, and 800 at other times. Higher ISO = shorter exposures = sharper pictures.


If you cannot or do not want to control the exposure manually, try to avoid large areas in the picture that are much lighter or darker than your subject matter. The camera simply does NOT know what the central subject is. The camera looks at most of the picture and measures the average amount of light seen. This average is usually wrong because the subject is either lighter or darker than the unimportant areas in the background or foreground that it measures as well.


Believe me, Higher ISO settings, and higher shutter speeds set manually, are the two most important factors in improving your pictures.  Almost as important as pointing the camera in the right direction, and from the right place.    


Please send me pictures to work on for this blog, either to publish or to return.
Posted by Picasa
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I truly appreciate it! You're photography is beautiful and the cats are adorable! Many blessings to you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bob, I have tons of photos I took while living in Ukraine. I would love to see what you can do with some of them. I've got everything from landscapes, to people, to traditions... Let me know what interests you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your artistic eye for photography is wonderful. If I were not allergic to cats, I would love to have one after looking at these photos!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for those kind words Cher, hope a is well with you, you encourage me to continue bogging by popping back now and then - it's appreciated. I too used to be allergic to cats but since 10 years ago when they started to take over my living space all symptoms have gone completely. Now it is cold nights six to eight sleep all night on my douvet (and one inside), and never a sneeze out of me!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Adorable cat. My cat's name is also Smokey :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Agnes, I noticed you had a big fluffy cat called Smokey. My Smokey says to send you his portrait taken a couple of years ago nearly. Do you like their biscuit silo? It takes 20kg and lasts a month. It can allow a non-stop trickle, and they have to stick a paw in the gap between the feed pipe and the floor to get more to fall, or I can easily regulate how much food comes out before it stops. They have learnt to pull out fresh biscuits and scatter old ones, unless I stop the flow - then they will eat every last one. They will quarrel around a plate, but never interfere with a cat during his munch. Two friends will eat at once but some cats won't eat with another cat opposite, even though they can't get at each other inside. The silo is a thrown-out water softener, somewhat modified. With 8+ cats is is an essential device.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bob-I didn't know you were a magician with the camera. I don't know a thing about photography, but even my untrained eye can notice the improvements. I'd send you a picture of myself to enhance, but I realize magic is one thing, and performing a miracle another. Besides, I know from your comments on religious threads that you don't believe in miracles. Take care, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just stopping by to say hello, my friend. Did you put the coffee on for me yet? No, I don't drink tea, but I do enjoy these photos.

    ReplyDelete

Do tell me what you think. It's the blood of blogs.