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