The Eye of a Photographer

The world looks different to a photographer than it does to everyone else.  Why can a photographer capture flat images and turn them into art?  The eye of a photographer sees light, details, shadows, highlights, shapes and how they interact with each other.

The world looks different if you see it with both eyes compared to how you see it with only one eye.  Close an eye and look at an object, do you see what I mean?  Well, by doing so, before taking a shot, you will have a pretty good idea of what you can expect from your image.

Photographers explore the light and texture.  Light is probably their most important tool.  Photographers are intrigued by the way the nature of light affects the way things are seen.  Intensity, direction and type of light offer the photographer a potential for visual exploration.  Photographers have mastered how to use the rules of composition and know when to break them.  Photography is a process.

Our eyes work similar to a camera.  Here are some facts that you might even find amusing:  Our eyes have a resolution of around 560 megapixels, they can differentiate around 10M shades of colors.  The ISO of an eye is not great, it can be measured at around 800 and in low light they cannot see color.  The equivalent of the aperture would be f/3.5 with a focal length of 20mm.  The great thing about our eye is that it has auto white balance an auto ISO and it has a very high dynamic range.

Some photographers have the eye probably since they were born but most develop it after practice and training it can take several years to begin to notice things in a different way.  A photographer does not have to have all kinds of expensive equipment to take great photos.  The best camera gear in the world is not going to help a photographer see or be aware of its surroundings.  It’s all about the art of seeing.  With a photographer’s eye you are going to see things differently and you are going to cause an impression on the people viewing your images.

A photographer thinks in photography concepts and sees in terms of photography.  If you enjoy taking pictures you attitude will show up in the final image.  Everything has the potential to be captured.  It’s all about picturing an image in your head and making it happen.  The more it gets done the better you get at it. 

Steps to Better Landscape Photography

How many times have you been driving and wanted to stop and take a shot of that breathtaking landscape.  You then stop, look around and the shot even looks better.  Your heart even skips a beat.  You go for it and return to the car with a huge smile.

When you get back home you download your pictures, process them and then you find out that what you shot was not what you placed your eyes on.  What went wrong?  Well its simple your lens and the sensor of your camera do not work like your eyes and your brain does.  You select different parts of the scene and produce beauty out of them, your sensor doesn’t.

So what do you now?  For landscape photography you need time and a couple of tips, follow them, practice and your shots will improve.

1.     The general rule for landscape photography is to keep as much of the scene in focus as possible.  This means that you have to maximize the Depth of Field or DOF.  In other words you have to choose a small aperture setting (remember small in this case means a large number) to obtain a greater Depth of Field.  The greater the DOF is the more focus you will achieve.  This also means that your shutter will stay open more than it would normally be.

2.      Since you are now using a longer shutter speed to maximize your Depth of Field you need to ensure that your camera is stable and not shaking.  The best thing to do is to use a tripod and a cable or wireless shutter release mechanism.  Doing so your camera will not shake and your photo will be not blur.

3.     Decide what your central point will be, what is your subject, where is it, what size is it, does it have enough contrast with the rest of the picture and how does its shape compare to the rest of the composition.  Your central point, know as Focal Point, is what will make your shot stand out and not allow the eyes of the viewer to wonder.  The Focal Point in landscape photography can take the shape of many different things, a building, a tree, a rock, a person, etc.  The placement of your subject is very important, use the rules of composition for this purpose.

4.     Your horizon is the next step to consider and an important one.  Make sure your horizon is straight and in the lower third or the top third of the photo.  The rule of thirds applies very well to landscape photography.

5.     Now look for lines in your shot.  Lines are a way to guide the eye.  It gives your image a sense of direction.  Lines should direct the viewer towards your subject.  A line can be road, a river, shoreline, mountain edges, etc.

6.     Another element of your landscape composition that can create an amazing landscape shot is a foreground object, this creates depth in your shot and prevents it from being flat.  The foreground will help you balance your image.

7.     When possible convey and transmit the movement that you see, wind, water, moving clouds, a bird.  A static image is less dramatic than one that showcases movement, it ads drama, mood and creates a point of interest.

8.     Shoot landscapes either early morning or at dusk, light is the best at this point and colors, textures, patterns will pop out and impact your image. 

9.     Take your time before taking the final shot.  Try different points of view.  The same image will look completely different if you go lower or if you go higher.  So walk around, climb a little, get on your knees or in a ditch.  You will be surprise at what you see.

10 Tips to Help You Improve Your Photography

Reading books, attending workshops and browsing the Internet are all good things that can help you take better photos.  Read the following tips, they will improve the way you create amazing photos and how you see photography.

Know your camera – Your camera has lots of features that most photographers including yourself never use, maybe not even know they exist or what they are for.  Aperture, shutter speed and focus are fundamental and very important, but they many more that can help you be a better photographer and spend less time retouching and fixing your average photos.  There are functions like multiple exposure, time lapse, mirror lock-up, metering and many others.  Take your time to learn about them and get creative.  Creativity will change your photography.  Do you know where your camera’s manual is?  Time to take it out, go through it, experiment with each function and learn what you can create.  You’ll be amazed.

Take your camera into your room and turn off the light – Literally follow this instruction go into any room in your house and turn off the light, grab your camera and lets see how much your actually learn about it.  Sit down and change the shutter speed, the mode, aperture, ISO, focus mode, etc.  If you can actually do this is because you really followed the first tip and you know your camera well enough.

Enter photography contests – This is a fun activity and a great way to learn.  Look for contests that will actually provide critique and feedback.  There are many contests out there that decide on the winner by how many friends you convinced to vote for your photo.  But there are also some great photo contests, just spend some time looking and finding them.

Choose your best 25 images and have friends rate them – Print your 25 best images and place them on a flat surface.  Ask each of your friends to order them from their favorite to the one he or her likes the least.  When they are finished ask them why they placed them in that order.  You will be shocked at some of the comments and how people that are not into photography view things.  Their comments will help you understand some concepts that will help you improve.

Choose a couple of pictures that you like from sites like flickr and 500pix – When you are done, compare them, analyze them and critique them.  See what you like the most and why?  Look closely and see what they have in common, look at the metadata and find out how they were shot and the settings used.  Think about why they used those settings and what would have happened if the settings were different. 

Join a photo club and go out with your photo buddies – Photography is lots of fun when you can share the experience with others.  Look for local photographers, or a local photo club and plan outings.  Going out with several photographers allows you to experiment with other cameras, with new lenses, learn new techniques and practice new tips.  It’s fun and a great way to learn.

Learn a new photo technique at least every week – There are many different techniques out there and nowadays it is very simple to find them and to learn from them.  Google “Photography Technique Tutorial” and you will find thousands of them.  If you are very visual use the ones in Youtube, they will guide you step by step.  Another great resource is Google+, the amount of photographers participating is growing every day and the tips are awesome.  After you see them or read about them go out and take a couple of shots using the technique you just learn.  Practice makes perfect!

Shoot night photography – Shooting night photography is probably the best way to learn photography.  Automatic does not work.  You have to learn how to balance ISO, aperture and shutter speed.  You are forced to use a tripod and by doing so you learn how to use it properly and reinforces proper shooting techniques.  You will also learn how to focus on the light.  At the end you will be rewarded with amazing images.

Learn as much as you can – Research, ask, practice and most important cover a wide range of topics and learn about different styles of photography.  After you’ve done that you will probably know by then which style you prefer the most.  When you do, dig deeper, learn and specialize yourself, there is a lot to learn.  When you become real good at one style, sit down, relax and decide what’s next.  Start learning a different style, it will be a completely different experience and you will love it.

Show-off your work – There is no better feeling than someone commenting on your image and liking it.  There are many ways in which you can show-off your work.  Post it online, for example in smugmug, here you can have your own mini-website and share your work.  Enlarge, print a couple of your images and hang them at home or at the office.  Build a photo page of your work in Facebook.  There are many options and at the end you will feel proud of your work and motivated to do better.

Enjoy shooting and creating GREAT images!!

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