More than just equipment

If you have the best equipment it does not mean that you will take the best photographs. You will still have to get up early to take photos during the 'golden hour'. This hour is the first hour of daylight when the sun is low in the sky and the light is softer and warmer. You can get the same effect in the last hour of sunlight, but the difference is you will have more people in your landscape photographs. I have described methods of touching up the photograph which would remove a person from the background of a photo, but it is much better if they are not there in the first place. There was nobody in this photo of 'The Platform' at Morecambe but it was taken during the golden hour in the evening.

You have to be ready for the photo at the right time and you also have to be at the right place. It is not just about being in Morecambe at the right time. I am not even talking about a helicopter ride or a holiday on safari, but for a good composition it might just be that you have to take two steps to the right to avoid a cluttered background. If you move slightly the background may become much more significant. There is one photo on my website where the church tower is behind the heads of the bride and groom. No other photographer would have that photo because they were not in the same place and kneeling.

Happy snapping

Emotion in photography

Emotion is so important in all types of photography. There are the photojournalists who capture the moment for the sake of a news item. The really famous photos in the news are the ones that have been the most emotional. Which do you remember? There is the photo taken by Nick Út during the Vietnam war, of the children running towards him but away from the napalm bombing. The second photo that comes to mind is the photo of the Hindenburg airship that was taken seconds after it burst into flames.

To take a really good portrait you want to see some emotion, unless you are taking a picture for a passport. It might be deep thought or happiness or nervousness. Yousuf Karsh was a Canadian photographer who took a very famous photograph of Winston Churchill. The story goes that he only had a couple of minutes to take the photo and Churchill was in no mood to have his photo taken. Karsh stepped forward and took Churchill's cigar from out of his mouth. Emotion is certainly visible in this photograph.

Emotion is everywhere even if it is the way the light falls on a landscape. Half the battle is to recognise the possibilities, the other half is to take them.

Happy snapping

The clone tool

The clone tool is really useful when you are working on your digital photos. There are always alternative ways to do anything on the computer but when you first use the clone tool it looks amazing, and when you have used it for some time it still looks amazing. This is a lovely photo of the bride and groom but it looks even better by taking out the rail, and it is a simple technique when you know how to use the clone tool.

The clone tool does exactly what its name suggests. It copies one part of an image and transfers it to another part. The opportunities are endless. You can take out a lamppost if it is distracting. It is very easy to clone objects out of a sky unless there is a distinctive cloud shape, but these too are dealt with fairly easily. It is also very hard to see when an object has been taken out of a picture if there is a natural background like a hedge.

In a similar way, skin blemishes can also be taken out of a photo. That wonderful photo which wasn't quite perfect, now easily becomes perfect.

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Adding two photos together

I like to get brides and grooms to look into a mirror (or a picture it doesn't matter as you don't see the original). I superimpose a picture of the wedding day which makes it look like they are thinking about the way that the day will unfold. This example was taken just after the couple arrived at the reception and they are looking at a photo of their first dance. Very often I take the photos while the bride and groom are getting ready. So a mirror is often available.

The digital age is not just transforming the way we take pictures. It can also transform old family photos. Scan the picture into the computer and you have a digital version. Take out the creases, bring the colours back to life and improve the faded contrast. In fact anything that you can do with a digital photo can be done to an old picture.

If you don't have a scanner just take a picture of the picture. Be careful of the reflection from the flash, expecially if you have a gloss finish to the photo. The best answer for avoiding reflections is take the picture with natural light, but if you have no option then take the photo at an angle. This will obviously distort the picture but you can always correct the distortion digitally.


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What are megapixels?

What does it mean when you buy an 8 megapixels camera? The lens of a digital camera focuses the image onto electronic sensors. The sensor points are called pixels, and the more that you have, the better the quality of the picture. Have you noticed when poor quality pictures are enlarged the picture becomes 'pixelated'? You can see the individual blocks of the image formed by each pixel.

Mega means million, so if you buy an 8 megapixels camera it has 8 million electronic sensors. It sounds fantastic until you do some maths. To print a good quality image you need 300 pixels per inch. If you take a 10"x 8" photo it needs 300 x 8 pixels for the width, and 300 x 10 pixels for the length. The total number of pixels in this photo is (300 x 8) x (300 x 10) = 7,200,000 i.e. 7.2 megapixels. That marvellous 8 megapixel camera that you bought will only give you 10" x 8" prints!

This is not quite true. I have an 8 megapixels camera that give me very nice A1 sized photos. Why is there such a difference? Partly it is because you will get away with less than 300ppi, partly it depends on the quality of the camera, in particular the quality of the lens, and it also depends on the quality of your printing equipment.

The next time that you see one of those really large photos on a wall then have a look for the pixelation or if it is a film photo have a look for the grain.

Happy snapping

Perspective

If you are used to taking certain types of photo then see what happens if you change the perspective. I use the viewfinder because I have no option with my SLRs, but I also have a compact which is a fine camera and it gives me the option to look at a screen. I tend not to use this option partly because of habit and partly because I don't like reflections on the screen to spoil my view. However if you do use a screen then you are already taking the photo from a different perspective.

Have you seen the photographers on TV when they hold their camera at arm's length to try to get a photo through a car window or to try to take a photo above a crowd? They may be lucky, but they will also have a different perspective. Try close-ups or take the picture from a very low angle. Don't be afraid to take more foreground even if the interest is in the background. You can lead the eye to the main item of interest if there is a path that takes you there, or even a herd of cows!

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Is photojournalism for you?

If you are a photojournalist should you help those in need? I hope the answer is yes, but what can you do if you are photographing a war or a famine. Should we expect BBC journalists to get involved? In today's papers the BBC is criticised for not broadcasting an appeal for a Gaza charity. The BBC say it would damage its impartiality but if people are in need shouldn't the BBC help?

You may have heard the song Kevin Carter by the Manic Street Preachers. He was a photojournalist who took a famous photo that won the Pulitzer prize of a starving toddler in the Sudan. He also took photos in 1994 of three white Afrikaaners who were shot and killed by the side of their car. A few months later he committed suicide. Now I am sure that there are lots of photojournalists who are fairly stable people who would not commit suicide, but there are lots of atrocities going on in the world. I am sure that we would all be moved much more if we were a few yards away for example, from horrific murders.

Happy snapping?