Technique Archives - Page 2 of 4

Macro Photography

What Does Macro Photography Mean When Talking About Taking Photos? The term ‘macro photography’ describes the art of taking close-up photographs of subjects. Traditionally for a photograph to be considered a true macro photograph the subject should be rendered as life-sized or larger than life-sized. A lot of modern cameras feature a ‘macro mode’ which allows the camera to achieve focus on an object at extremely short distances, but this generally doesn’t allow for the minimum 1:1 magnification ratio required for a true macro photograph. True macro photography requires the use of a macro lens which combines high levels of …

Multi-Pattern Metering

What Is Multi-Pattern Metering and What Is It Used for When Taking Photographs? ‘Multi-pattern metering’ refers to a metering mode selectable on a camera which is designed to meter a scene accurately in challenging lighting situations. Multi-pattern metering reads light levels in multiple areas or ‘zones’ within a scene and compares the results to calculate exposure settings that will produce the clearest exposure of in focus areas. Multi-pattern metering is particularly useful in challenging lighting situations, for example backlit subjects. In this situation multi-pattern metering can ‘sense’ the difference in light between the subject and background and compensate for a …

Multi-Point Focusing

What Is Multi-Point Focusing and How Is It Used in Photography? Modern cameras often have multiple focus points spread across an active area of the cameras frame. This allows a photographer to compose a scene and then select the single focus point closest to the position to the scene subject, or alternatively to focus on the subject using the center focus point and then recompose. Multi-point focusing allows the shooter to select a starting focus point, but the camera will automatically track a subject within a frame as they move, thus utilizing multiple focus points. This technique is particularly handy …

Multiple Exposure

What Is a Multiple Exposure and How Is It Used When Taking Photographs? A ‘multiple exposure’ is a type of photograph that is created by exposing the same frame of film to light more than once. Multiple exposures allow a photographer to superimpose one subject or scene over another on the same frame of a photograph. Think of the classic ghost photograph, often caused by forgetting to wind on an analogue camera between shots thus creating a ghostly multiple exposure image! Multiple exposures can also be created digitally, although this is done during post processing by overlaying multiple photography over …

Open Up

What Does Open up Mean When Talking About Taking Photographs? When taking photographs to ‘open up’ or ‘opening up’ refers to the practice of allowing more light to be recorded by a photographic medium for example a camera film or sensor. Opening up can be done in one of two ways; By selecting a larger aperture setting on a lens, or setting a longer exposure time on a camera. Both methods allow more light to be captured by the film or image sensor but have different creative effects. The challenge of of capturing a good photograph is knowing which method …

Panning

What Is Panning and How Can It Be Used When Taking Photographs? When talking about shooting still images ‘Panning’ refers to a technique that is used to capture a moving subject against a blurred background. By setting a relatively slow shutter speed and tracking a moving subject with the camera a photographer is able to freeze a moving subject in motion, the sideways movement of the camera and the slow shutter speed cause the background to appear blurred. One example would be a race car travelling at high speed, by panning and allowing the background and turning wheels to blur, …

Perspective

What Does Perspective Mean When Talking About Photography? When talking about taking photographs the term ‘perspective’ describes the positional relationship between the photographer and the subject or scene being captured. The angle at which the photographer views the scene is called their perspective. If you were to stand on the roof of a building and shoot a subject below you you would be shooting from a high perspective, if you were lying on the ground shooting a subject above you you would be shooting from a low perspective. Choosing the best perspective when setting up a scene is a key element …

Photo Slave

What is a photo slave is and how it is used when taking photographs? When talking about photography, specifically lighting, a ‘photo slave’ is a flash unit set to slave mode which will fire when it detects the output of another flash unit. a photo slave can be triggered by a cameras built in flash unit, or another flash unit in a group when you don’t have enough flash receivers for the lighting setup you are using. The biggest limitation of photo slaves and slave mode is that they require direct line of sight between the slave unit and another flash, this …

Portrait

What Is a Portrait When Talking About Photography? In photography a portrait is an image of a person, or the likeness of a person. Portraiture is one of the oldest forms of photography, dating back as far as the early 19th century. The art of capturing a portrait involves placing the subject in a pose, either within as scene or against a plain backdrop, and then exposing the image in such a way that the image is a clear representation and likeness of the subject. Taking pictures of a person is easy, capturing a good portrait that includes fine details …

Programmed AE

What Is Programmed AE Mode and How Is It Used in Photography? When talking about photography the term ‘programmed AE’ refers to an automatic image metering mode which a camera can be set to when taking photographs. In programmed AE mode the camera evaluates the scene and automatically sets the shutter speed and aperture to values which will capture a correct exposure. Unlike fully automatic mode however programmed AE mode allows the shooter to choose between, or ‘program shift’ between various combinations of exposure settings for the current scene, thus allowing for more artistic control over the final image. A …