Digital Photography Tutorials » Macro Photography

How to Photograph Christmas Decorations

lau — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:30:03 +0000

Every photographer, from amateur to professional, will take pictures of Christmas Decorations because these are beautiful, eye catching, and most of all, memorable.
From the view of the entire Christmas tree, to close-ups on simple and sophisticated decorations, it’s all sparkle and lovely. For the shots, remember to have a tripod and a remote controller.
For the first Christmas tree picture, my friend Tudor used flash (with -2 exposure) in rear mode, in low light. Picture was taken in “Program” mode.
The second Christmas tree picture has +3 exposure, no flash, and low light environment. Longer exposure time in this case: 20 sec.. Picture was taken in “Shutter Mode”.

The white balance in case of such photographs is better set to “auto” since the colors from the lights differ from the environmental light and other lights coming from nearby. After all, the multitude of colorful lights is what makes Christmas beautiful.
Now let’s see the close-ups: the most simple setting scheme is: “Program” Mode, rear flash, adjusted exposure (differs from scene to scene), tripod and remote control or 2 seconds shutter delay. For brighter scenes you can put the flash off and increase ISO.

On most of the photos, on post-processing, I added a warm filter to make the tree have a yellowish green, and to make the red color stronger.

Nikon D80 User Guide

lau — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 10:23:19 +0000

If you have just purchased your Nikon D80, the controls on the outside of the camera coupled with all the menus and custom settings can be … all Â» downright overwhelming. We give you a structure for looking at the controls as well as a repeatable ritual for taking great photos with your new camera. You spent a bundle on this camera. Let it be an extension of your hands rather than a struggle. The Nikon D80 is a powerful piece of equipment. A solid understanding of its features and controls can really unleash its potential. Once you learn how the cameraâ€™s components work together, youâ€™ll have all the tools you need to capture the best image under all conditions.
Understanding AF Area Selections Topics include:
â€¢ Be Prepared (To Get the Shot)
â€¢ Shutter Priority
â€¢ Aperture Priority/Depth of Field
â€¢ Focus Alternatives
â€¢ Metering and Bracketing
â€¢ White Balance/Color Temperature
â€¢ ISO
â€¢ Playback Options / Image Review
â€¢ Understanding Histograms
â€¢ Exposure Compensation
â€¢ Flash Overview
â€¢ Custom Settings
â€¢ Tripods and Telephoto Lenses
â€¢ Programmable Buttons
â€¢ RAW (NEF) Files
â€¢ Composition
â€¢ My Menus
â€¢ Bracketing versus Post Processing
â€¢ Shutter Priority to Achieve the Effect You Want
â€¢ Self Timer and Delay for Rock Solid Results
Take great pictures with your Nikon D80! All you need is this training DVD and about 93 minutes, and youâ€™ll have the knowledge and the confidence to create the images you want. The topics are arranged in chapters, so you can move at your own pace, and return later to individual subjects.

Nikon Understanding Digital Photography

lau — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 10:16:30 +0000

Nikon Understanding Digital Photography DVD You are ready to take your digital SLR photography beyond the automatic settings on your … all Â» Nikon digital SLR camera, this 45 minute Nikon SchoolÂ© DVD is the perfect guide. Join Bob Krist, award-winning National Geographic Traveler Photographer, on a day of shooting and instruction. Along the way, Bob will offer valuable insights on choices you can make to begin composing and shooting breathtaking photographs.

While on a variety of locations, Bob will share his vast knowledge of photography and Nikon digital SLRs to educate you on:

Â· Camera settings for best quality in various situations
Â· Lens choice for creative and practical shooting
Â· Utilizing the Retouch Menu for in-camera editing
Â· Exposure fundamentals and shooting options

During the day’s shooting, Bob takes us to familiar situations around the home and demonstrates a variety of creative photographic opportunities. Understanding Digital Photography covers the use of the Nikon Creative Lighting System, using Nikon Speedlights for portraits and small groups. Bob continues removing the mystery of overcoming photographic challenges in a variety of environments including the difficulties encountered with twilight portraits and landscapes.

This DVD offers valuable instruction to anyone interested in digital SLR photography, particularly those who have some familiarity with a digital SLR’s basic functions. For those unfamiliar with basic digital SLR operation, I recommend beginning with the Nikon SchoolÂ© DVD, Fast, Fun& Easy: Great Digital Pictures.

How to Photograph White Object on White Background

lau — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 19:32:11 +0000

First, let’s see what I used: a white textile (canvas or so) and not a paper. Why? Because I want the result to be realistic and not plane. Also, it’s important that the background surface should not be glossy.
Natural light plus a tungsten light (two of them would be even better) and fill flash. Because the flash might overexpose some ares of the photo (usually the central area), I use a diffuser made from a very transparent soft plastic or canvas piece.
Usually this kind of thing refers to macro shots, so you may want to shoot in macro mode or manual.

Now let’s see the tips:
1. Use a textile background that makes a few soft “natural waves”
2. Use one little colored piece in your white composition as a reference
3. Use lights from all sides to avoid big dark shadows
4. Use fill flash (better with diffuser on it) to naturally brighten up the scene and reveal the details
5. Use custom white balance to ensure real white
6. Only use matrix light metering
7. Do not overexpose the picture in the attempt of getting pure white
8. Use manual focus if the auto does not find the desired focus point
9. Do not completely remove the shadows – let the shapes be visible
10. Use a software to remove dark corners that may form

Sometimes, even if I use custom white balance, I still need to cool the picture a bit later. The whole task of photographing white objects on white background can be very difficult and require allot of practice. On the other hand, shooting in RAW format may let you change the exposure even after the shot was taken.

Tags: White Object on White Background, photography tutorials, photo tips, macro photo, macro photography

Food Photography Video – The Art of Deception

lau — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:44:51 +0000

Tags: food photography

Warning: This 10 Tips Could Make You do Killer Autumn Photos

lau — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 21:56:33 +0000

During the past few days I had a walk in the park and I noticed the beginning of autumn. After a few shots capturing lonely people in the far distance on the “golden” autumn afternoon – melancholic spirit, I got connected with the ground: some leaves (left standing or prearranged) create patterns and abstactional lines, shapes and colors. A few stairs covered by leaves and empty feet stepping on them was an idea I go but could not yet do. When I found myself close to a branch, I toked a close-up of it with the rest of the forest behind. However, macro shots of leaves are more impressive is you take one in your hand and shoot it even closer, creating a deeper DOF behind it. Another interesting idea I had was to combine old rusty objects and architecture pieces with the dead leaves. Go on and try that!

The 10 Tips

By trying to make a resume of how to acieve great photos in autumn I came out with these tips:
1. Try to take photos in the early morning or late evening (however, shooting directly against the sun will only cause a mixture of overexposed and underexposed areas – you don’t want that, but if you are lucky, you might get some spectacular sun rays through a golden forest)
2. Combine colors: take together red, yellow, green, and maroon leaves
3. Look up, look down and try different angles and backgrounds (I admit I climbed a tree to get one of my ideas done)
4. Follow the rapid changes of nature day by day on a near foliage
5. Look for contrasts but also fill one frame with just one color (same leaves)
6. Set the white balance to cloudy (even fluorescent might work) to get more vibrant colors – ah and by the way, also choose the vivid option for the pictures
7. The sun might be very powerful over the yellow leaves, and, in order to obtain more vibrant well-exposed colors, slightly underexpose your shots
8. A polarizer also helps allot, if any
9. Shoot near a lake and capture the colorful reflection
10.When editing your photos, saturate in yellow and red channels and add a yellowish photo filter to warm up the scene (if the cloudy white balance didn’t done well enough)

Tags: autumn photos, leaves photos, autumn photo tips, photo tips, macro leaves

Improve Your Camera For Extreme Macro Shots

lau — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 11:54:35 +0000

Tags: photo tricks, photo tips, macro photos, macro photography

How to Get the Best out of Using the Digital Rebel XTi Close-up Mode

lau — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 09:58:50 +0000

Using the Close-up Mode is one of the easyest shooting modes but also probably has the most impressive results. A few tips on using this on a SLR camera in this video.

Tags: macro photography, close up mode, macro mode, macro pictures, photo tips

6 Killer Tips on How To Photograph Bugs and Insects – A Bug’s Life

lau — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 23:07:42 +0000

Tip 1
Use your best telephoto and macro lenses. Some little creatures wonâ€™t allow you to get very close and since you donâ€™t want them to be scared away and chase them all over the place for a long time, you may consider a telephoto lens.

Tip 2
Be very patient, move slowly and silently. Try again and again; donâ€™t get angry because this is one of the subjects that are hard to get right from the first time. They move fast and unexpected.

Tip 3
Surprise your little bug in the middle of an interesting action (like feeding time, reproduction time, fighting, and so on).

Tip 4
Know with what you are dealing with. Maybe itâ€™s a deadly spider, maybe itâ€™s a friendly butterfly that will even settle on your camera. Also, learn their habits so that next time you encounter that creature, be prepared to shoot better.

Tip 5
These creatures are usually very small meaning that the camera will hardly find the right focus point. I suggest using manual focus (set it to the minimal possible distance when you can get close enough â€“ about 3-5cm).

Tip 6
Try every angle: front, side, above. Study the physiognomy of your subject without interfering with it. Donâ€™t touch it (supposing you could do that), let it stay and do whatever it desires. Of course, donâ€™t kill it: you are a photographer not a bug criminal.

Tags: bug photo, insect photo, bug macro, macro photography

Shooting Particular Objects in Macro Mode

lau — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:37:58 +0000

Metal
1. Use a light-blue background to display silver to its best advantage.
2. Use a piece of poster board to reflect light back on the piece, but mask the image of your hands or camera that may have reflect in the surface.
3. Add small colorful accessories to pictures of silver, such as a flower, to add interesting reflections and a punch of color.

Jewelry
1. Use black velvet backgrounds to display jewelry at its best, particularly diamonds. White is also effective.
2. Position pieces so the most interesting part of the piece is visible. Prop up rings, for example, using a small piece of museum wax or silly putty, or cut a small slit in a piece of foam core board with a razor blade and push the band of the ring down into the slit, making the ring stand up.
3. Make certain photos are well lighted, and the details are clear. Good jewelry is an investment and nobody is going to offer top dollar for something that appears fuzzy or dirty.
4. Sharp, close-up photos of jewelry may require the use of a macro lens and a special lighting set up.

Porcelain
1. Place the porcelain piece against colored background that plays up one of the colors in the pattern.
2. Include a close-up of the most interesting part of the pattern.
3. Experiment with lighting until you get a picture with accurate color and white balance.

Furniture
1. Dust and polish items before photographing
2. Place furniture against a neutral, uncluttered background.
3. Light picture so that the color is warm and accurate.
4. Include a close-up of any carving, inlay, or other details that add to the beauty or value of the piece.
5. Include an accessorizing object to indicate scale, a book or bowl for example.

Paintings
1. It is crucial that the camera be absolutely parallel to the artwork, or you get the â€œkeystoneâ€ effect (distortion).
2. Use a tripod and watch out for reflections if the art is under glass. Remove glass if possible before shooting pictures.

Generally, make the image fill in the picture. Too much background detracts from the interest of the image. Use a small tripod for steady images. Take several pictures with different exposure values to ensure at least one of your shots is well-exposed (use exposure compensation +/- 2 stops). Use a lens attachment if your camera allows one to reduce depth of field and reduce impossible glare from reflective subjects. If the image appears to be too warm or bluish, use the manual white balance. Finally, you can adjust your photo in an image-editing program such as Adobe Photoshop, if necessary.

Tags: macro photography, jewels photo, macro, object photo, object photography, paintings photography