Hit the Lights

Light painting photography is very fun to try out however it can be very frustrating to handle if you’re not used to it. You’ll need a very dark area, a light source such as torchlight or even a sparkler (the handheld sparkling firework) and also a tripod. The basic need to know is to shoot the photograph with a slow shutter speed and to aim the light source directly to the camera and move it in the pattern of your choice. By playing with shutter speeds on the camera and moving lights in front of the camera, astonishing images or mysterious effects of natural light that are invisible to the naked eye can be produced (Mirko, 2010).

My first try at roadside light photography it was a great challenge for a first timer.

If a tripod is not used, the picture will be very blurry due to the shaky movement of the camera when it is held. When the camera is moved when the shutter is open, it will create a blurry effect and even tiny movements such as releasing your finger from the shutter button or even the natural slight movement when you breathe can be the reason of the blurry picture (Peterson, 2008). Therefore for light painting photography which needs a slow shutter speed which means the shutter will be open for a very long time; you’ll need to keep the camera steady and stable.

It is also a good idea to play with colours if you can. This is because with different colours you can create a colourful painting and making it like graffiti art on walls. However, to make that will take a lot of practice and patience. It is definitely not easy to get stunning light painting shots but the odds are almost every shot taken will look pretty and creative anyway because of the light trails.

The photo "Light trails on S curved road"
(Fishtail@Taipei, 2007)

Besides drawing, you can also just go to a highway of some sorts or even get on a cliff overlooking the road where cars will zoom by in the night. Then get into a safe position by the side of the road, set up your camera, wait and be patient and set your camera to the proper settings and start shooting. You’ll get a wonderful picture like the one shown at the side.

Just set up your tripod and camera and start shooting. Leave the shutter in the slowest mode possible and start drawing. When the shutter clicks, the photograph has been taken and it is time to view your masterpiece.

Here are some photographs I’ve tried during New Year when the cousins were playing sparklers in the front yard of Grandpa’s house.

My cousin twirling the sparkler in a circle

My cousin trying to create a heart shape with two sparklers

 Reference:

Mirko. (2010). 20 Amazing Examples of Light Photography. Retrieved from http://www.designer-daily.com/20-amazing-examples-of-light-photography-7628. 

  

Peterson, D. (2008). The Top 4 Causes of Blurry Photos, And How To Fix Them. Retrieved from http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/129/the-top-4-causes-of-blurry-photos-and-how-to-fix-them/

Fishtail@Taipei. (2007).Light trails on the S curve road [image]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/fish_at_taipei/527118287/

Portraits

A beautiful shot of a friend of mine when she was trying a saree.
This shot was taken with only my mobile phone's camera.

Portrait photography is my favourite style of photography among all. I love taking photographs of people and their expressions. Capturing the moments and expressions and immortalising it in just one shot. There is no specific rule with portrait photography, thus it can be experimental or it can be safe. It’s all up to the individual taking the photograph.

It also does not matter what type of camera is used to take the photo. Take Elsa Dorfman, who is a world-famous portrait photographer for an example. She uses only a  20x24" Polaroid camera to take her portraits and not a fancy camera, thus proving that you don’t need the best camera to take the best portraits and instead all you need is passion and an interest in your subject (Greenspun, 2007).

When taking a portrait, it is always best to look at your subject and find his or her best angle. Take an interest in how he or she portrays or carries him or herself to find the best way to get the best photograph possible. If you know your subject well you might even be able to guess what he or she is going to do next or the expression he or she will give next thus making it easier to capture. If he or she gets very stiff when looking directly into the camera try taking candid shots instead. Alter your perspective, try high angles, low angles, side angles one of them is bound to be a great shot (Rowse, 2010) . Also try your best to make your model comfortable. They can only pose well when they don’t feel awkward. Also, always ask before bringing him or her out of their comfort zone.

A moment like this comes by rarely, so capture the expression and get into a good position
to get a good angle and get up close.

Apart from that, another tip for a great portrait shot is to try playing around with different apertures, this is especially for those with DSLR cameras. With a wide open aperture (lower number) the background will be blurry and a smaller aperture (higher number) will make the background sharp however typically f/2.0 -5.0 is used for portrait shots (Banerji, 2012).

Try photographing in black and white. Sometimes colourless is all you need to take the photo to whole different level. For example, a girl sitting on a chair bent forward in colour might look a little bland. However, taking the photograph in black and white might give a totally different meaning to the picture.

Just a matter of switching to monochrome and a whole different feel is created.

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken and they should. A photographer should keep in mind the rules but should also know when to break the rules. The Rule of Thirds is one of the most basic and a rule of thumb when taking a photo. The Rule of Thirds is breaking an image down into 9 parts and then placing the subject in the intersections or along the lines to make the photo more balanced as studies has shown that a viewer’s eyes automatically goes to one of the intersection points rather than the center of a picture (Rowse, 2010). However, at times by placing the subject in the center a more powerful picture can be created.

Portraits doesn't necessarily have to be only one person as it can also be a photograph of a group of people.

Lastly, don’t forget to play around with lighting. Not every portrait has to be lighted perfectly as sometimes a darkly lit portrait would be more powerful and captivating rather than a brightly lit one. It all depends on the angle and the subject as well as the setting.

An environmental portrait such as this one proves that you don't need to be cooped
up in a studio to take good portrait shots. 

Sometimes by including a prop, like the flower in this picture one can get a beautiful shot.

Reference:

Banerji, A. (2012). Tips and Tricks For Better Portrait Photography. Retrieved from http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/tips-and-tricks-for-better-portrait-photography/

Greenspun, P. (2007). Portrait Photography. Retrieved from http://photo.net/learn/portraits/

Rowse, D. (2010). Rule of Thirds. Retrieved from http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds

Rowse, D. (2010). 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits. Retrieved from http://digital-photography-school.com/10-ways-to-take-stunning-portraits

Let It Rain

The photo "16"(40cm) PRO Camera Rain Cover"
( The 16"(40cm) PRO Camera Rain Cover, n.d.)

If out of the box is what you, as a photographer is aiming for, then give rain photography a try. It is exciting because you’re not taking photographs under the “normal” circumstances. There are many things to think about when working under the rain.

Firstly, will the rain ruin your equipment? Well yes, definitely. So the first step is to protect your camera. There are many ways to protect your camera and one of them is by purchasing a special waterproof case. A camera rain cover, such as shown in the picture is an ideal way of doing a rain photoshoot without having to worry about your camera being affected by water. The 16" (40 cm) PRO Camera Rain Cover is good for handheld or tripod shooting because it is compact and flexible as it is made of Silnylon which is an extremely waterproof, ultralight and strong type of fabric (“16" (40 cm) PRO Camera Rain Cover”, n.d.).

If buying a waterproof cover is somewhat out of your budget, don’t fret because it is possible to make one yourself. I’ve tried and this is from my own experience. All you need is waterproof materials such as a big trash bag, rubberbands, lots of sellotape and invest in a lens hood and lens UV filter. Firstly, cut a hole in the trash bag but make sure the hole is just slightly bigger than the lens hood of the camera. Then push the camera’s lens hood through the hole with the camera inside the plastic bag. Secure the plastic bag around the lens hood with rubber bands and tape over with sellotape to keep waterproof. Lastly , cut a hole in the trash bag for the eyepiece if necessary. There you have it, your very own budget rainproof camera cover. However, even with rainproof equipment it is not advisable to take photographs under heavy downpour unless you’re a hundred percent certain it will not harm your camera.

The photo "Photograph by Jim Ricahrdson"
(Taking Photos In The Rain, 2012)

Jim Richardson is a photojournalist whose photos appear frequently in National Geographic magazine and according to him it is wise to look out for reflections, to backlight the rain and also to be on the lookout for joy and misery (“Taking Photos in The Rain”, 2012). Sometimes reflective shots make for a more captivating shot compared to just normal everyday shots.

If the raindrops are what you’re aiming to highlight, then backlight the rain. This works because light that comes through the raindrops is concentrated and thus making it brighter than the rest of the scene (“Taking Photos in The Rain”, 2012).

If you’re in a group doing a “photo-outing” session or even alone roaming the streets during a travel, just be on the lookout for expressions. There is nothing better than a good portrait that reflects the feelings of those affected by the rain. But always keep in mind that it is best to take the photo in a view which does not identify your subject as not everyone likes to be randomly photographed. If the photograph is for a news story or research, it is alright for a person’s picture to be taken but if the picture taken is close enough to be identified then the picture is not allowed to be used for commercial purposes unless a model release form is signed (Swaney, n.d.).

For basics however, I have only tried inanimate subjects which are the plants in my backyard. In the future I hope to take captivating and beautiful photographs like Jim Richardson but that would take a lot of patience and practice. However for now, here are some of the shots I’ve taken.

Rain makes boring flowers look good

Fiddle with aperture mode to get a blurry background and use flash to highlight the raindrops.

Backlit raindrops always stand out in a shot.

Reference:

16" (40 cm) PRO Camera Rain Cover. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://fotosharp.com/16_rain_cover_w_velcro_opening_.html

16" (40 cm) PRO Camera Rain Cover. (n.d). 16" (40 cm) PRO Camera Rain Cover [Image]. Retrieved from http://fotosharp.com/16_rain_cover_w_velcro_opening_.html

Swaney, A. (n.d.). The Ethics of Photographing People. Retrieved from http://www.montanaheritageproject.org/edheritage/articles/swaney.htm

Taking Photos in the Rain. (2012). Retrieved from http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/taking-photos-in-rain-richardson/

Taking Photos in the Rain. (2012). Photograph by Jim Richardson [Image]. Retrieved from http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/taking-photos-in-rain-richardson/

Maternity, Babies and Children...

The Photo "Sleeping Baby" (Linnea Fine Arts Studios, 2012) 

Children or newborn photography is always an interesting type of photography to get involved in as children are naturally beautiful and captivating. However, this type of photography is far from being an easy task. As a professional, there are many things to bear in mind such as camera settings, angles of shots as well as the comfort of the subject as babies are fragile and children can change their moods in a split of a second.

The Photo "Tattoo Pregnancy" (Linnea Fine Arts Studios, 2012)

It is now a trend for new or expecting parents to hire a Child Photographer or a Family Photographer to capture portraits of them and their newborn from maternity stage till birth and even after that. In western countries it is a trend for the expecting mother to wear minimal clothing to show off her proud pregnant belly and some poses taken might even be considered a little too indecent for the Asian society. However, in Malaysia the practice is still new and it all depends on the family whether they are comfortable being in certain poses or not. Keep in mind that everyone has their own controversial limit.

My niece's first portrait photograph.

The most important thing to note when taking a baby’s photograph is that camera flashes can blind them! Never ever point a camera flash directly at a baby! This is because a baby’s sensitive eyes cannot take the bright flash that an in built camera flash produces. There are many ways to go about this hurdle. In a bright enough room, turn off the flash and adjust the camera settings such as the brightness and the contrast to make up for the slight lack of lighting. Another trick is to take something that reflects light, such as a car sun reflector, find a light source and reflect the light from the source onto the subject. This gives a softer light, balances the shadows and is also safer for the little one.

Candid shots tend to have a better "feel" towards it. Children love to play, just let them be themselves and have fun.

However, in a darker room where a flash has to be used to get a good picture, it is wise to soften the flash. For DSLR cameras this can be done by wrapping and securing a piece of tissue paper or thin piece of cloth over the flash to soften the burst of light so it doesn’t hurt the baby’s eyes. Another trick is to invest in a flashgun as with a flashgun, the direction of the flash can be adjusted away from the baby but still produce a well lit picture. A good entry flashgun for Canon users would be the Speedlite 270EX compact by Canon as it has a zoom head which ensures efficient light distribution and a bounce flash head which enables light from the flash to bounce off a ceiling to produce pictures with more flattering lighting with softer tones and depth (Canon introduces Speedlite 270EX compact flashgun, 2009, para 2.).

For children however, it is just best to go with the flow, capture them doing something they like. However if asking them to pose, keep in mind to keep it fun and don’t push too hard. By forcing them, it would only put them off and that will result in terrible pictures.

Her first bike ride.

I personally, have tried to take some pictures or my niece, it isn’t professional or studio-like in any way but I still love the shots and I’ve learnt that you need to know your camera settings or if you’re lazy just set the camera to the “P” setting and snap away because with children, once an expression or a scene has happened, don’t expect to see the same perfect shot come by again.

Sudden natural expressions makes a photograph priceless

Reference:

Canon introduces Speedlite 270EX compact flashgun. (2009). Retrieved from 

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2009/3/25/canonspeedlite270ex.

Linnea Lenkus Fine Art Portrait Studios. (2012). Tattoo Pregnancy Photography Los Angeles [image]. Retrieved from http://www.linnealenkus.com/tattoo-pregnancy-photography-los-angeles-13.html.

Linnea Lenkus Fine Art Portrait Studios. (2012).  Sleeping Baby Photography Los Angeles [image]. Retrieved from http://www.linnealenkus.com/baby-photographers-los-angeles-babblers7.html.

Macro Photography

Small Porcelain Bear (taken 2009)

Everyone has seen small things that look large in photographs. Macro photography is the art of taking close-up photographs of small subjects. Photographs classified under this kind of photography normally conforms to the 1:1 magnification ratio meaning that the subject’s size in the viewfinder  of the camera is relatively the same size as the subject in real life (Yanik, 2009). 

Orchids in the garden after watering (taken 2010)

There has been much debate however, to what actually counts as a macro shot. Some say that macro shots are supposed to enlarge the subject especially parts of the subject that cannot be seen clearly with the naked eye whereas some say that as long as a small item looks big in the photograph and it fills most of the frame the photograph is considered to be a macro shot.

There are special lenses for macro photography. These lenses are fixed to the standard ratio for taking macro shots. The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens is a good example of a 1:1 ratio lens and is the top choice for beginner macro photographers (“Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens Review”, 2012, para.9).  Another good example is The Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM which happen to be a shorter lens but it gives a sharper photograph result (“Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens Review”, 2012, para.4).

Stunning white (taken 2010)

However, sadly for those who do not own these special lenses, the range of the type of macro shots are limited. This is because to get the perfect 1:1 ratio the camera will have to be closer to the subject and thus subjects that move and have a life of its own like insects for instance is a tough challenge and nearly impossible to capture. Therefore, as a beginner with a basic 18-55mm lens I stick to non moving subjects such as flowers and any other small inanimate objects for practice. It is also always best to focus with manual focusing rather than auto focusing. This is because the subject needs to be the sharpest in the picture and it is easier to manipulate the focusing on a camera to get an accurate and beautiful shot with less takes  then to let a camera decide and it might inaccurately focus on the background instead of the subject. Thus needing more takes to get a satisfying shot.

My favourite shot out of all (taken 2012)

Reference:

Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens Review. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-60mm-f-2.8-Macro-USM-Lens-Review.aspx. accessed on 14^th April 2012. 

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens Review. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-100mm-f-2.8-USM-Macro-Lens-Review.aspx. accessed on 13^th April 2012.

Yanik (2009). Introduction to Macro Photography – Part 1. Retrieved from http://yanikphotoschool.com/tutorials/introduction-to-macro-photography-part-1/. accessed on 13^th April 2012.

Exegesis

My blog is titled “Worth A Thousand Words” because I believe that photographs, each and every one have meaning worth more than a thousand words. Photography is a passion of mine and I’m always snapping photos with my DSLR or even my phone camera.

I chose the template Picture window for my blog because it is a clean and simple template. I will be posting lots of pictures on my blog, therefore, I do not want the readers of my blog to be distracted by too many things on the home page so they can focus on the pictures that I will be posting.

It wasn’t hard to select the contributing nodes for my blog. As my blog is a  Photoblog, I have selected Flickr, Tumblr and Facebook as my contributing nodes. This is because with Flickr, I can share my photographs with others and link it to my blog so when someone views my photographs in Flickr they can also view my blog if they wish to. Flickr is a site that supports photo, time and location metadata (Kennedy, 2007).

Besides that, I have selected Tumblr as my second contributing node because it is a good way of sharing my posts and even my photographs as Tumblr is a sharing site that keeps a signature of who started the post, therefore credit will always be given. This node is a good example of folksonomy. Folksonomy is user defined and tags are part of folksonomy as tags allow users to generate and classify content in their own way (Nick, 2005).

The last node that I picked to link to my blog is my own Facebook page as it is something that I frequently use and is linked to most of my family members and friends. Facebook is a social network, therefore it allows it’s users to construct a public or semi-public profile, create a list of online friends who they want to be connected with and to view and traverse their list and also lists made by others (Boyd & Ellison, 2007).

Thus, with this blog of mine and the three contributing nodes I have chosen, I hope that I will be able to complete my assignment accordingly. Also all this will make me understand the unit more as I will be in a way applying practically some of the readings and discussion done in class.

Reference:

Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html

Kennedy, L., Naaman, M., Ahern, S., Nair, R., & Rattenbury, T. (2007). How Flickr helps us make sense of the world: context and content in community-contributed media collections. Proceedings of the 15th international conference on Multimedia. Augsburg, Germany.

Nick, W. (2005). Tags & Folksonomies - What are they, and why should you care?. Retrieved from http://www.threadwatch.org/node/1206.

Why Photography?

Welcome everyone to this humble blog of mine.  The creation of this blog came to be because of a class assignment, whereby each individual in the class has to create a blog that relates to them. This is when I chose the topic "Photography".

Therefore the theme of my blog is photography and it relates well to me because I am always taking pictures and I love just being able to capture miscellaneous moments may it be with my mobile phone's camera or with my Canon 1000D DSLR. I do know certain technical aspects and terms due to a few mini courses I've taken in basic photography skills but I do not consider myself a professional or that I am very very good at it. Honestly, most of my favourite shots are what I call lucky shots. Happens by blindly fiddling and tweaking the settings on my camera and just snapping away.  Thus another reason why I chose this topic... I can research and improve more on my photography skills and also to share them with all your readers. I don't believe in following and keeping strictly to the techniques until creativity is lost but techniques are important in certain cases.

So, throughout this blog I will be posting up my favourite photographs that I have taken and explaining how I took them "blindly" and what technical aspects goes into that photograph. Hopefully all you readers visiting this blog will share your opinions and comments. Thank you.