Photography Tips & Tutorials6179 articles

Dodging and Burning’ are essential techniques to finish off any black and white image, especially useful for atmospheric or moody images. This is a fantastic method of producing black and white Landscapes in particular. It’s a fairly simple technique that requires an image editing program like Photoshop, but most good editing programs have a ‘Dodging & Burning’ tool, which aren’t too difficult to use.

Panoramas are usually more effective when taking pictures of far off landscapes, but they can still work with close objects you just have to be really good. One crucial thing you must remember when trying these is to use the exact same exposure settings for each picture or some will be darker and lighter. When taking the actual pictures you need to make sure you have at least 1/3 of each picture overlapping with the next one, this makes the stitching much more accurate.

The first and foremost tip about digital SLR photography is to equip yourself with the nitty-gritty of lighting. If you are shooting outdoors during the day it is best to have the sun directly behind you. It is also essential that your subject also does not have to face the sun so that he has to squint. You should know that the best time to film landscapes, buildings and outdoor portraits is either dawn or the twilight hours.

Here is a pre-shoot checklist to help you get the best out of your D-SLR. Try to get into the habit of running through this list before each shoot and you will avoid having great shots ruined by incorrect camera settings.

Most serious photographers and professionals use a Single Lens Reflex camera (SLR), the definition of an SLR camera is that the image is captured exactly as you see it in the viewfinder. However there are now two types of SLR the single lens reflex film and the single lens digital.

How do you begin to take good photos? Well, the first thing to remember is this: It’s the photographer that takes great photos, not the camera. Think about that for a minute. It’s true isn’t it? I’ve seen some people take great photos with a simple point-and-shoot camera, while some take lousy shots with the most expensive SLR.

Most of these printers offer good quality output for printing standard size photos, but pay attention to the detail because not all inkjet printers provide good quality output for larger photos. Although most inkjet printers produce a similar quality – the majority providing the maximum dpi (dots per inch) of 1,200 X 4,800 – spending more on an inkjet printer will most likely provide you with more features or a faster printing speed.

In basic terms, a histogram is a two-dimensional graph, often resembling a range of mountain peaks, that represents an image’s tonal extent. Whilst, at first glance, histograms might appear quite complex and confusing, they are actually very simple to read. They are an essential aid for digital SLR photographers striving to achieve consistently correct exposures in-camera and are a more accurate method of assessing exposure than looking at images you’ve taken on the LCD monitor.

With its ability to generate nearly perfect images, a digital camera can be fantastic and flexible tool. However, understanding a digital camera can take time. Novice users will often limit themselves to the typical “pose-and-click” brand of photography used by amateurs for decades. This is, unfortunately, a great injustice to a camera that can be put to better use.

Many people however are stuck in “automatic” mode (or rather their cameras are). Armed with a little knowledge about your digital camera (and some practice) your photos can go from good to outstanding. Following are some tips to help you get started.