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How to take photos:
Travel |
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Also see:
'How to use your SLR'. Bookmark with
 del.icio.us
(look below for others).
See the forums to
discuss and ask questions. |
Basic gear you need:
 | Whatever you've got (and
it doesn't have to be much) |
| Suggested minimum: A zoom lens,
tripod, polariser, Neutral Density filter |
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The
Aim:
| To choose a single subject
and show it justice |
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How:
| ISO: Best to use
iso100 where possible,
and maximum iso400 to avoid
noise. |
| Depth of field:
This will vary, but I mostly use about F11. |
| Shutter Speeds: For handheld, best to use
1/100 shutter speed as a bare minimum for a 18-70mm lens, but usually 1/125. Though, consider using a monopod with a longer lenses
to reduce camera shake / blur. Blur is really annoying as it can depreciate an
otherwise great photo. Ideally, on bright sunny days, I would try to use 1/200 for
handheld when using my 75-300mm lens, and higher shutter speeds the
further the subject is away. |
| Lenses: There are
some great (expensive) lenses out there to choose from. Though, for
travel, and let's face it, some places you need to hide your wallet and
passport, so I use my (cheaper) Konica-Minolta 18-70mm and 75-300mm kit lenses. Other people
might prefer a 50mm lens (non-zoom, I would too if I had one), or a single
28 to 300mm zoom. Often,
older lenses reduce details and or colour, but they're cheaper to replace,
especially after loss or damage. They are also softer on details, so
they're good for portraits. I downloaded a really cool bit of software a
while ago (called Wega2), and statistically found I mostly shoot at about 55mm. |
| Flash: Use one to
fill in shadows, as you'll mostly be touring in the middle of the day, and
so the sun can create some harsh shadows and at some unflattering angles.
I just use the built in flash. It does the job (see
101 Tips and Tricks). |
| Problems: Be sure there's no
distractions, or unnecessary junk in the background or interrupting the
foreground. Plan it, so everything that you see through the lens is there,
because it needs to be. "Keep it clean!" |
| ONE SUBJECT! Most tourist
photos are 'boring', as the photographer takes a single photo of
EVERYTHING (see below). I look for details, smaller things, or I take a
few steps closer and photograph a single subject. Also see
101 tips and tricks. |
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| A touristy
photo, with information signs, the subject isn't at an interesting
angle, and it looks far from the tranquil Zen we would expect of a
Shinto shrine |
A better photo.
As it happens, this place wasn't swarming with tourists, but I just
took this angle (among many others) anyway. |
| On bright sunny days,
filters can help reduce glare and 'burnt out' spots (where there's too
much light, that it appears white. See above left). Filters, especially Neutral Density
(ND) and polarisers are great for this. Otherwise, try to get the early
morning or late afternoon glow; or try on a gentle hazy / overcast day. |
| Find a feature, then come
in close; closer still, and zoom in more, and that's it: isolate it. Also
see the DOF article for
more help on isolating the subject. |
| Cloudy days are a blessing
and a curse. Little Flute (below) was taken on a cloudy day, and so there
are no harsh shadows; whereas Horyu-ji temple (below) does. Close ups of
human faces in bright light is unattractive, so use a flash to reduce some
shadow. |
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Examples:
Click
on these to view them at a larger size
 |
< Taken
using Minolta 303si set on Portrait Mode. At Angkor Wat, 2005. Notice
there are no distractions. Refer to the
Composition article. |
 |
< F8, 1/160,
iso400; 75-300mm lens at 300mm. Little Flute. An overcast day (notice soft shadows and no
harsh bright spots). What I needed though, was a monopod, as this
collection was mostly blured because of the distance and the difficulty
in holding a zoom steady enough. Also notice the thirds rule being
applied; refer to the
Composition article. |
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< F9, 1/125,
iso100; 18-70mm lens at 70mm. A park in Kuwana City, Japan. Notice there
is still a main subject, though a geisha walking across would have been
awesome! |
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< F5.6,
1/100, iso100; with 18-70mm lens at 18mm, with linear Cokin polariser
filter. Horyu-ji, Nara, Japan. A typical touristy photo. Though, notice
how the subject is not in the centre, nor was I facing square onto it
either. Compared the the 'Little Flute' (above), there are,
unfortunately, harsh
shadows, but great clouds nonetheless. The harsh shadows normally reduce
the details in the darker areas, but these details were picked up with a
little Photoshopping. |
| See
Events |
< See Events
for more touristy picture styles |
|
Tainan, Taiwan
Hualien, Taiwan |
< Some of my
early works. It's embarrassing, but look for any faults you can, and
avoid them. |
 |
< See here at 101 Tips and Tricks for some ways to get some great
photos. |
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