Photography Tutorial

1. Main Camera Modes

Aperture Priority
Shutter Priority
Manual mode

2. DSLR Camera Menu Options

White Balance
ISO sensitivity Settings
Active D-Lighting
Auto Distortion control
Color Space
Noise reduction
AF-Area mode
Metering
Set picture Control
Flash Exposure Compensation
Exposure Compensation

3. Lens Classification& Lens Naming/ Abbreviations

Prime Lens
Fish eye Lens
Super Wide Angle Lens
Wide Angle Lens
Tele Photo Lens
Super Tele Photo lens
Micro/Macro Lens
4. Types of photography
Portrait photography.
Nature Photography.
Macro photography
Bird Photography
Rain Photography
Night Photography
Black and White Photography
Bokeh Photography
Underwater Photography
Long-exposure photography
Star trail photography
Time Lapse Photography
Hi speed Photography
Motion Photography
Hi speed Photography
Sunrise Photography
Rain Photography
Thunder Storm Photography

5. Camera Accessories.
UV filter
Polarized Filter
Teleconverter
Tripod
Balance Grey Card
Light Reflector
Lens Pen
Lens Hood
Pop Up Flash Diffuser
Wireless Remote Shutter Release
Wireless Mobile Adapter
WirelessMobileUtility (Android Application)
6. File formats& Image Size
7. Framing and composition of Object.
Center of interest
Simplicity
Rule of thirds
Golden Ratio
 Lens

Lens Classifications

 According to Focal length

 Prime and Zoon Lens
 According to Quality

Basically Lens is classified according to its focal length. They are

1) Fish eye Lensor Ultra Wide angle Lens (8 mm):A fisheye lens is an ultra
wide-angle lens that produces strong visual distortion intended to create a
wide panoramic image. Fisheye lenses achieve extremely wide angles of view,
which gives images a characteristic convex appearance.

2 Types

Circular fisheye:"circular fisheye" — lenses which took in a 180° hemisphere

and projected this as a circle within the film frame.

Full-frame fisheye:As fisheye lenses gained popularity in general photography,

camera companies began manufacturing fisheye lenses that enlarged the
image circle to cover the entire rectangular frame, called a "full-frame
fisheye".

2) Super Wide Angle Lens (16-35 mm):Used for taking shots with a very
wide perspective. They are useful for landscapes and for getting in nice and
close to subjects still fitting a lot of them in.Be aware that very wide lenses
will sometimes distort your image a little (or a lot), especially at the edges of
your photos where they can be quite curved. This can be used to great effect
but can also be quite frustrating at times. It is possible to reduce the distortion
to minimum by putting the distortion control “ON” in your DSLR.
3) Wide Angle Lens (35-50 mm):This wide angle lens won’t make as much
distortion as Super Wide Angle Lens (16-35 mm) and if 50mm is there then if
you rotate the focal length ring to 50mm then it will give you normal eye
vision images.

4) Tele Photo Lens (55-300 mm):Tele photo Zoom lenses are the most
popular DSLR lenses at present and come in a range of configurations and
levels of quality. Obviously the benefit of zooms is that you do not need to
physically get closer to your subject to get a tighter framing of the image.
These lenses can have quite narrow ranges or quite long ones. Keep in mind
that if you buy one with a long focal length (for examples you can get them in
lengths ranging up to 300mm or longer) that the longer your focal length the
more impact that camera shake has on your images. More and more lenses
these days are being released with Image Stabilization (IS) (In Canon) and
Vibration Reduction (VR) (In Nikon) to combat camera shake.

5) Super Tele Photo lens (300-8000mm): These tele photo lens used for
sports, Landscape and very distant objects to reduce vibration these lens are
made more solid so the weight is more and better to use on a tripod or mono
pod. The price range of this also very high.

The other classification of lens is according to whether it made as a zoom

lens or not.

The lens without zoom is called as Prime lens. It has one focal length only.
They are becoming less popular in an age where photographers like to have
the convenience of a range of focal lengths at their fingertips (see zoom
lenses) but they are definitely worth considering. Zoom lenses are increasing
in the quality that they offer but prime lenses are known (especially at the top
end) for their image quality and speed (faster aperture).The prime lens is very
good for Portrait photography and Bokeh photography.
The last classification of lens is according to their quality and price.

1. G/L Lens (General –low Lens)

2. USM-AF mount (Ultra Sonic Motor-Auto Focus)
3. CP2 Lens (Cinematic Portrait Lens)

These days the lens that is offered as a package with the DSLR itself is USM-AF
Mount lens so G/L Lens is out of the market therefore we are not discussing it
here.CP2 lens is specially designed for cinematic portrait photography. What
we are going to discuss here is about USM-AF mount Lens.

The Selection of best lens for your DSLR is very difficult because of the Varity
of the models available due to the completion between corporate giants like
“Canon” and “Nikon”. In the meantime there are also companies like “Tamron”
is a very good competitor in lens industry. The lens which these companies
are making is almost the same but the naming will differ so there is no
particular standard is available to identify the lens of different companies. So
what we are going to do is to take a particular brand, in my case I am
considering Nikon because it is the DSLR which I am using.

So what we are going to do here is to take one of my Nikon lens as

example to explain all the lenses.

Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 55-200 mm 1:4-5.6 G ED

DX SWM VR ED IF ∞-1.1m/3.61 ftɸ 52

Some of the terms which won’t be available even in some Nikon lens itself and
may be some other terms will come into play. Any way to start with we are
going to take this as example.
The portions marked in red are the brand name of the company and lens. This
will be common in all Nikon lenses.

This stands for lens description some times DX can be changed with FX, CX
and DC.

DX:The lens is specifically designed for use on Nikon digital SLR cameras. It
produces a smaller image circle for more efficient coverage of the imaging
sensor in these cameras, which is smaller than the 35mm film frame.

FX:FX indicates “full-frame”, as in 35mm film equivalent. Abbreviations like

FX, DX and CX indicate format size (size of the digital sensor). You will never
see FX on descriptions of lenses, because unless indicated otherwise, all lenses
are full-frame by default.

CX:Nikon has a mirror less system called “Nikon 1″, with a sensor smaller
than DX. Although the CX abbreviation is not included in the lens title, you
might see it in descriptions and other marketing material. If a lens title starts
with “1 NIKKOR”, it means that the lens is specifically designed for CX camera
bodies such as Nikon 1 V1/V2/J1/J2. CX lenses do not work on any other
Nikon mounts.

DC:Defocus Control lenses allow controlling the bokeh, which is great for
portraits.
AF-S:AF-S is an auto-focus where the focusing motor is built into the lens
itself. AF-S motors are typically faster and quieter than what is in the camera
body.

AF-D:Auto Focus with Distance information. Same as AF, except it can report
the distance between the subject and the lens and then reports that
information to the camera. The distance information can be useful for
metering.

The marking in the above image is the focal lengths attainable by the zoom
lens.In case of prime lens there will only be one value (Eg: 35 mm, 70mm etc.)
All other focal length we discussed above in Lens classification according to its
focal length.

The marked portion is the maximum aperture or the largest opening (the
smallest number) on the aperture scale that your lens is capable of opening to.
Larger apertures like f2.8 or even f1.8 are highly desirable because they let in
more light and allow you to shoot in low light conditions without getting
camera shake.
 Maximum Aperture-explained with Example
In the example you can see two different lenses. My Tamron 17-35mm (1:2.8-
4) and my 85mm (1:1.8). On the Tamron you see “1:2.8-4″ and on the 85mm
you see “1:1.8″. What that means is that the maximum aperture on the 85mm
lens is f1.8, but on the Tamron zoom it changes from f2.8 to f4 as you zoom the
lens. At the lenses widest, 17mm, I can open the aperture to f2.8, but if I zoom
all the way in to 35mm now my maximum aperture is only f4. This is pretty
common with kit lenses and ones that have a large focal length range such as
28-300mm or 18-200mm.

If you see a letter “G” after aperture in the lens, for example “Nikon 50mm AF-
S f/1.4G”, it means that the lens does not have an aperture ring like the old
lenses. All modern Nikon lenses are “G”, because the aperture ring is only
needed for old manual focus camera bodies.

ED Sometimes replace with FL, CRC or ASP Accordingly.

ED:Extra-low Dispersion glass elements within the lens do not disperse the
light as it enters the lens. Most modern top of the line Nikon lenses contain ED
glass, which also delivers better sharpness and reduces chromatic aberration
or color fringing in photographs.
FL:Newly introduced in 2013. Indicates that the lens has Fluorite Lens
elements, which are superior glass elements than ED.

CRC:Close Range Correction lenses that are optimized for close focusing
distances.

ASP:Lens contains at least one aspherical lens element, which is used for
correcting coma and other lens aberrations. Sometimes goes by “AS”.

You will see a range of distances – usually marked in two scales, feet and
meters. Look for the infinity symbol at one end, the other end will show how
close your lens can focus, or its minimum focusing distance.

Example: ∞ - 1.1m/3.61 ft (This means this lens can focus up to infinity and
minimum distance from the focusing object is 1.1 m or 3.61 ft)

ɸ (Filter Size or Lens Diameter):That indicates the diameter of the front of

your lens or the size of filter required to fit on it. You can also find that same
number on the back side the lens cap. Handy to know if you want to go to the
camera store to buy a filter, or you’re buying something online.
These are some new technologies incorporated with the lens.

SIC (Super Integrated Coating):Nikon Super Integrated Coating achieves a

number of objectives, including minimized reflection in the wider wavelength
range and superior color balance and reproduction. Nikon Super Integrated
Coating is especially effective for lenses with a large number of elements, like
our Zoom-NIKKOR lenses.

Internal Focus (IF):Internal Focusing allows the lens to quickly focus by

moving some of the elements inside the lens barrel, without moving the front
barrel or extending in size. • Lenses with IF acquire focus faster than lenses
without IF.

ED glass: Nikon developed ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass to enable the

production of lenses that offer superior sharpness and color correction by
minimizing chromatic aberration.

Rear Focusing (RF):With Nikon's Rear Focusing (RF) system, all the lens
elements are divided into specific lens groups, with only the rear lens group
moving for focusing. This makes autofocusing operation smoother and faster.

ML (Meniscus Protective Lens):A curved meniscus protective glass element

is installed in front of the lens to minimize ghosting by diffusing light re-
reflected from the image sensor or film and the protective glass. Using a
meniscus protective lens ensures a clear image with little ghosting.

VR: Vibration Reduction-This is a feature that gyroscopically stabilizes the

lens for sharper photos, especially when you're handholding the camera (as
opposed to mounting it on a tripod). Conventional wisdom says that using a
VR lens is the equivalent of shooting three stops faster, thanks to less jitter
when you hold the camera in your hands.

N (Nano Crystal Coat):The letter “N” stands for Nano Crystal Coat and it is
always displayed in a golden sticker on all top of the line Nikon lenses.

SWM (Silent Wave Motor):Nikon's AF-S technology is yet another reason

professional photographers like NIKKOR telephoto lenses. AF-S NIKKOR
lenses feature Nikon's SWM which converts “traveling waves” into rotational
energy to focus the optics. This enables high-speed autofocusing that's
extremely accurate and super quiet.

M/A mode:An “autofocus-priority autofocus” mode that reduces the

sensitivity of the manual override to prevent unexpected switching from auto
to manual.

A-M switch:An element that locks the focus ring during autofocus while
enabling behavior similar to a manual focus lens in manual focus mode with
sufficient load when the focusing ring is rotated. The focus rings on the AF-S
DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor ED 18-55 mm
f/3.5-5.6G, and AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor ED 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6GII rotate during
autofocus.

RD (Rounded Diaphragm):Soft-focus shots of point light sources create

regular polygonal shapes that reflect the shape of the opening created by the
diaphragm blades. A rounded diaphragm uses blades designed to create a
circular opening for a more beautiful soft-focus effect.

HRI (High Refractive Index lens):With a refractive index of more than 2.0,
one HRI lens can offer effects equivalent to those obtained with several
normal glass elements and can compensate for both field curvature and
spherical aberrations. Therefore, HRI lenses achieve great optical
performance in an even more compact body.

FL (fluorite lens):Fluorite is a monocrystal optical material that features a

high transmission rate within both the infrared and ultraviolet zones. With its
superb anomalous dispersion properties, fluorite intensely blocks the
secondary spectrum in order to effectively correct chromatic aberration
within the visible light spectrum – something that is more difficult to achieve
at longer focal lengths. It is also significantly lighter than optical glass, giving
you a more effective lens with less weight.
 Camera Accessories

We will discuss some of the camera accessories in this topic.

 UV filter
 Polarized Filter
 Teleconverter
 Tripod
 Balance Grey Card
 Light Reflector
 Lens Pen
 Lens Hood
 Pop Up Flash Diffuser
 Wireless Remote Shutter Release
 Wireless Mobile Adapter
 WirelessMobileUtility (Android Application)

UV Filter

UV filters are used to prevent ultraviolet (UV) light from getting through the
lens.UV (blocking) filter is transparent to visible light while filtering out
shorter wavelengthultraviolet rays. UV filters are sometimes referred to as
L37 or L39 filters, depending on the wavelengths of light that they filter out;
an L37 filter removes ultraviolet light with a wavelength shorter than 370 nm,
whereas an L39 filter eliminates light with a wavelength shorter than 390 nm.

Many photographers and cinematographers also use UV filters as a protection

against dust, dirt, smears and scratches on the front element of the lens, and
due to their low cost and lack of effect on the exposure of the shot. However,
UV filters (in particular filters lacking optical coating) may introduce lens flare
and have an adverse impact on contrast and sharpness, especially when a
strong light source is present
Disadvantages

The filter sometimes causes

 a loss of image quality

 Flare and ghost images
 Loss of light
 Loss of resolution.

Better to use UV filters on all lenses at all time and only to remove them in
those very rare situations like which mentioned above.

Purchasing a UV Filter

Purchasing a UV Filter is according to what diameter lens you are using.

ThelensDiameter is usually printed on the lens. If you look at the front of it, it's
usually either just inside the edge before the glass or just along the outside of
it.Look for a symbol “ɸ” like this the preceding number in “mm” will be your
Lens Diameter.

Polarized Filter

Polarizing filters change the way that your camera sees and treats light.
Particularly – when using one you’ll notice a change in how your camera sees
reflections and glare. As a result it also has the ability to change the vibrancy
of some colors in shots.

Let’s look at a few areas where polarising filters can have the biggest impact:

Water – When shooting a picture of water adjusting your polarising filter will
mean you see into the water differently, cutting out glare and even changing
the colour of the water.

Sky – Similarly, the color of sky can change remarkably using a polarizing
filter. Rotating the filter you’ll see a blue sky change from a light pale blue
color to a vibrant and deep blue color (depending upon where the sun is). A
polarising filter can cut out a lot of the smoggy haze that is often in city shots.
Color – Polarizing filters cut down the reflection that many objects have (even
those that you might not think reflect at all). This makes the colors of some of
these objects more vibrant. For example out in the garden you might notice
foliage on trees looking greener than you would get without the filter.

Other Reflections – Shooting through glass can be a real challenge at times and
using a polarising filter can definitely assist in cutting down distracting
reflections or glare. Similarly photographing shiny objects (like a new car for
instance) with a polarising filter will change the way reflections are treated.

Lens Protection

Another benefit of fitting a polarising filter to your camera (or any kind of
filter) is that you put an extra level of protection between your expensive
lens’s glass and anything that might scratch or damage it. A UV filter is
probably a more appropriate filter for protective purposes (they are cheaper
and have less impact upon your shots when you don’t want the polarising
effect) but a polarising filter is definitely more preferable to break or scratch
than your actual lens.

Polarizers Change Exposure

One factor to consider with polarising filters is that they change the exposure
needed for a shot. When you see a polarising filter you’ll notice that it looks
quite a lot like a sunglasses lens. The filter is dark and works by cutting out
some of the aspects of light. As a result less light gets through to your image
sensor and you’ll need to either use longer shutter speeds, a larger aperture or
to beef up your ISO setting to account for this. The difference that you’ll need
to account for is 1-2 stops. It’s for this reason that you won’t want to use a
polarising filter at night.Polarizing filters can be used deliberately to reduce
available light and allow use of wider apertures to shorten depth of field for
certain focus effects.
Purchasing a Polarising Filter

Purchasing a Polarising Filter is according to what diameter lens you are

using. The lens Diameter is usually printed on the lens. If you look at the front
of it, it's usually either just inside the edge before the glass or just along the
outside of it.Look for a symbol “ɸ” like this the preceding number in “mm” will
be your Lens Diameter.

Types of Polarising Filter

There are two types of polarizing filters readily available,

 Linear Polarising Filter

 CircularPolarising Filter

Both have exactly the same effect photographically. But the metering and
auto-focus sensors in all SLRs, will not work properly with linear polarizers
because the beam splitters used to split off the light for focusing and metering
are polarization-dependent. Linearly-polarized light may also defeat the
action of the Anti-aliasing filter (Low-pass filter) on the imaging sensor.

"Circular" polarizing photographic filters consist of a linear polarizer on the

front, with a quarter-wave plate on the back. The quarter-wave plate converts
the selected polarization to circularly polarized light inside the camera. This
works with all types of cameras, because mirrors and beam-splitters split
circularly polarized light the same way they split unpolarized light.

Linear polarizing filters can be easily distinguished from circular polarizers. In

linear polarizing filters, the polarizing effect works (rotate to see differences)
regardless of which side of the filter the scene is viewed from. In "circular"
polarizing filters, the polarizing effect works when the scene is viewed from
the male threaded (back) side of the filter, but does not work when looking
through it backwards.
Teleconverter

A teleconverter (sometimes called tele extender) is a secondary lens which is

mounted between the camera and a photographic lens. Its job is to enlarge the
central part of an image obtained by the objective lens.

Tripod

In photography, a tripod is used to stabilize and elevate a camera, a flash unit,

or other photographic equipment. All photographic tripods have three legs
and a mounting head to couple with a camera. The mounting head usually
includes a thumbscrew that mates to a female threaded receptacle on the
camera, as well as a mechanism to be able to rotate and tilt the camera when it
is mounted on the tripod. Tripod legs are usually made to telescope, in order
to save space when not in use. Tripods are usually made from aluminum,
carbon fiber, steel, wood or plastic.

Tripods are used for both still and motion photography to prevent camera
movement. They are necessary when slow-speed exposures are being made,
or when lenses of extreme focal length are used, as any camera movement
while the shutter is open will produce a blurred image. In the same vein, they
reduce camera shake, and thus are instrumental in achieving maximum
sharpness. A tripod is also helpful in achieving precise framing of the image,
or when more than one image is being made of the same scene, for example
when bracketing the exposure. Use of a tripod may also allow for a more
thoughtful approach to photography. For all of these reasons a tripod of some
sort is often necessary for professional photography as well as certain video
uses. Tripods are also used as an alternative to C-Stands to photographic
accessories.
Balance Grey Card

Grey Card isthe easiest way that you can be 100% sure you will get your white
balance right.All you need to have is a grey card either purchased from a
photography gear shop or you might have some neutral grey paper yourself
(make sure it’s non reflective though).

Procedure

 Once you turn your camera on – check your white balance on the
camera is set to match closest the lighting type.
 You need to look for a button on your camera with two capital letters
WB and it is usually placed on the top right of canons near LCD screen
and top left of Nikons.
 Press WB and set it to the appropriate light situation.
 If however you are not sure what white balance option to use – the best
option then is to leave it set to “auto white balance”.
 Take a photo of the digital gray card in the same light as your subject.
Remember you’re measuring colour temperature, so you’ll want to get
the light falling on your subject consistent with the light falling on the
WhiBal card.
 Use this white Balance for the photos which you’re going to take on that
location.

Light Reflector

In photography and cinematography, a reflector is an improvised or

specialized reflective surface used to redirect light towards a given subject or
scene.

2 Types.

 Lamp reflectors
 Board reflectors
Lamp reflectors
Diagram of a lamp reflector, showing
path that light typically takes from a
light source.
Similar to a domestic lampshade,
these reflectors are fixed to an
artificial light source (for example, a
filament bulb or flash tube) to

direct and shape the otherwise scattered light, reflecting it off their concave
inner surfaces and directing it towards the scene to be photographed.
Although there are a large number of variants, the most common types are:

 spherical, short-sided, giving a relatively broad spread of light;

 Parabolic, providing a tighter, parallel beam of light.

The reflector factor is the ratio of the illumination provided by a lamp fitted
within a reflector to the illumination provided without any reflector fitted. A
matte reflector will typically have a reflector factor of around 2, due to its
more diffuse effect, while a polished or metallic-finished reflector may have a
factor of up to 6.

Board reflectors

Also known as plane reflectors, "flats" or bounce boards, this kind of reflector
is located independent of a light source; the light is reflected off its surface,
either to achieve a broader light source, or control shadows and highlights, or
both. This kind of reflector generally has a very low reflectivity factor that
varies widely according to surface texture and colour.[2] As a result, it is most
commonly used to control contrast in both artificial and natural lighting, in
place of a fill light or "kick" light. In this case, light "spilling" from the main
ambient or key light illuminating a scene is reflected back into the scene with
varying degrees of precision and intensity, according to the chosen reflective
surface and its position relative to the scene.
Reflectors may also be used as a means of increasing the size of the main light
source, which may (or may not) retain a direct path to the scene. By
positioning a board reflector close to a light source, its effective size can be
increased by "bouncing" the light off it. A very common example of this
technique is the traditional umbrella reflector, typically having a gold, silver
or matte white interior onto which a lamp fitted with a circular reflector is
projected, providing a broad, soft illumination. The lamp faces away from the
scene to be photographed, allowing only reflected light to be thrown forward.

Lens Pen

Lens pens are small handheld devices designed to clean optical lenses like
those you attach to a digital SLR camera. The Lenspen is a proprietary version
of a generic lens pen with a brush on one end a cleaning tip on the other.
Together, these two elements of the device remove smudges, fingerprints and
other debris quickly and easily without scratching or otherwise damaging the
sensitive coated glass of your lens.

Instructions
 Slide the button on the body of the Lenspen to expose the retractable
brush. The brush extends out of the thicker end of the Lenspen. Gently
wipe it against the back of your hand to remove any dust or debris that
may have accumulated on the brush since its last use.
 Gently use the brush end of the Lenspen to wipe dust and other loose
debris from the lens. Wipe outwards from the center of the lens.
 Remove the screw-on cap from the other end of the Lenspen to expose
the cleaning tip.
 Wipe the lens with the cleaning tip to remove fingerprints, smudges and
other obstructions. Use a circular motion when cleaning with the
cleaning tip. Press only as hard as is needed to remove debris. Be careful
not to scratch the lens with the plastic casing of the Lenspen.
Tips & Warnings

 If the cleaning tip fails to get the lens completely clean, breathe on the
lens and try again.
 The original Lenspen is designed specifically for use on optical lenses.
Do not use the Lenspen on plastic surfaces.
 Lenspen also sells a version of the device called the LenspenSensorclear
specifically designed for use on lens sensors. If you have this version of
the Lenspen, remove your lens and set it aside. Use the included blowing
device to blow any surface dust and debris from the sensors. Gently
touch the sensors with the tip of the LenspenSensorclear to remove
additional debris.
 A number of generic lens pens are also available for purchase. Most are
built and designed to work in the same way as the Lenspen, with a
brush on one end and a cleaning tip on the other. On some lens pens,
you retract the cleaning tip between cleanings to restore or remoisten it.
Similar products without the cleaning tip are also available at many
camera stores.
 Lens pens can also be used on other optical equipment, including
telescopes, scopes and binoculars.

Lens Hood

In photography, a lens hood or lens shade is a device used on the end of a lens
to block the Sun or other light source in order to prevent glare and lens flare.
Lens hoods may also be used to protect the lens from scratches and the
elements without having to put on a lens cover.

Pop up flash diffuser

If you are using an entry-level or a semi-professional DSLR, your camera most

likely has a built-in pop-up flash unit that can be used to add some additional
light on your subjects or even trigger another flash. The problem with built-in
flashes, however, is that they fire harsh, direct light that does not look very
good, especially on people.
Wireless Remote Shutter Release

Anything you can use to trigger the camera shutter without touching it. It can
be a remote or cable based control for your camera shutter. Its main
advantage is allowing you to take shots without interfering with the camera
stability, but it could also be used for shooting from awkward/distant
positions or when taking shots including yourself. Also for things like shooting
wildlife in a situation where you can set the camera up close to a likely spot,
and trigger it remotely when a good target walks/flies/swims/whatever into
its field of view. Another common use of them is to do aerial photography
(using R/C planes and helicopters, kites etc.), where the shutter can be
controlled by radio or electrical signals through a wire. A third option, but not
exactly remote, is to use automatic shutter control mechanisms based on time
(those are usually available in the camera itself) or events. Using special
software (for example CHDK for Canon cameras) or tethering (with a
computer or using Trigger trap for example) you could make the shutter
trigger whenever there is movement in the scene or with the external trigger,
a change of light, time or distance intervals or some other event.

Wireless Mobile Adapter

Wireless mobile adapter you can now automatically send great images to your
smartphone and even use your smartphone to remotely capture images from
compatible cameras. Images can be taken remotely using a compatible smart
device using the camera's Live View preview on the smart device to frame and
compose the subject.

Note: Smart device is used to remotely fire the camera, maximum distance is
up to 49 feet and the smart device cannot be used to adjust settings on the
camera.

WirelessMobileUtility (Android Application)

The Wireless Mobile Utility wirelessly connects your smart device to Nikon
digital cameras, letting you download photos, take pictures remotely, and
share them hassle-free via e-mail or upload to social networking sites.
Principal Features

 View the scene through the camera lens live in the app window.
 Establish a wireless connection and take pictures with the camera or
remotely from the Android device (see note).
 Download new pictures automatically.
 View existing pictures remotely and download selected photos.
 Pass photos to other apps via the OS "Share" intent and share them
hassle-free.
 Add location data from the smart device to pictures during upload.
 Control optical zoom on COOLPIX cameras.
 Control the overall brightness of pictures during shooting (see note).
 Use the camera to select pictures for download before connecting (see
note).
 If both the camera and smart device support NFC, touching the device to
the camera automatically launches the app for a hassle-free connection.
 Take pictures with the self-timer.
 Synchronize the camera clock with the smart device.
 DSLR Camera Menu Options

DSLR Camera Menu Options

The main DSLR Camera Menu Options are given below other small options
like screen brightness, date & time adjustment, image size, etc. are not that
important and some of it will vary according to camera model.

White Balance
ISO sensitivity Settings
Active D-Lighting
Auto Distortion control
Color Space
Noise reduction
AF-Area mode
Metering
Set picture Control
Flash Exposure Compensation
Exposure Compensation

White Balance

White balance in digital photography means adjusting colors so that the image
looks more natural. We go through the process of adjusting colors to primarily
get rid of color casts, in order to match the picture with what we saw when we
took it. Why do we have to do this? Because most light sources (the sun, light
bulbs, flashlights, etc) do not emit purely white color and have a certain “color
temperature“. The human brain processes the information that comes from
our eyes and automatically adjusts the color temperature, so we normally see
the colors correctly. If you took a white sheet of paper and looked at it outside,
it would most likely look as white as if you were to look at it indoors. What
most people do not realize, however, is that there is a huge difference in color
temperature between bright sunlight and indoors tungsten light.

Example:If you are a skier or a snowboarder, try this quick experiment: put on
your ski goggles and look at the snow – it should change in color tone. If you
have ski goggles with a yellow tint, the snow will look yellowish. However,
after you ski for a little bit, your eyes and your brain will adjust for the color
and the snow should look white again. When you take off your ski goggles
after skiing, the snow will look bluish in color rather than pure white for a
little bit, until your brain adjusts the colors back to normal again. This
example proves the fact that we are equipped with a very sophisticated color
system that automatically adjusts colors in different lighting situations.

While our brains automatically process the colors for us in such a smart way,
digital cameras can only guess what the color temperature is by watching the
ambient light. In most cases, modern digital cameras can guess pretty well,
however, in some situations they make errors. Because of these errors, some
of the pictures might appear to be bluish or yellowish in color and the skin
tones might not look natural.

Here is an example of both correct and incorrect White Balance:

As you can see, the image on the left feels more natural and the skin tones look
correct, while the image on the right is too yellow. The second image clearly
needs its white balance adjusted to eliminate the yellow tones.

Should you change WB in camera or during post-processing?

One of the great things about digital photography is that we no longer really
have to use white cards and cast-removing filters in order to get accurate
colors. If you shoot in RAW format, the RAW image can be converted to any
white balance, because this information is only saved as a reference and the
original image stays untouched and unprocessed by the camera. This means
that as long as you shoot in RAW, you can simply ignore the settings and shoot
in any WB mode. I personally set my camera to “Auto White Balance” at all
times and I let the camera guess what the correct colors should be. If my
camera is unable to guess the correct white balance, I simply change it in
Lightroom and I can copy-paste the new setting to as many pictures as I need.
So if you have your camera set to shoot RAW, simply set it to Auto White
Balance and you are good to go. This is one of the advantages of shooting
RAW. But what if you do not use RAW and shoot JPEGs. Then you will need to
learn how to use white cards and how to adjust white balance on your camera.
White Balance Presets

Most current DSLR and point and shoot cameras have white balance presets
that are set to a certain Kelvin number by the manufacturer. These presets
also vary depending on the manufacturer and camera model. Here is the list of
presets for most Nikon DSLR cameras:

Auto (A) – Default WB setting and what I use all the time when I shoot
RAW. The camera automatically guesses the WB depending on ambient
light and use of flash.
Tungsten (Light Bulb) – Use it strictly under tungsten light bulbs or the
image will look very blue.
Fluorescent (Glowing Tube) – Use if photos look too green or when
under fluorescent lights.
Direct Sunlight (Sun) – Used when shooting outdoors with the sun
shining on the subject.
Flash (Lightning Bolt) – Used when using on-camera flash.
Cloudy (Cloud) – Used in cloudy days or in shades. Will yield warmer
images than sunlight.
Shade (House with a Shadow) – Warmer than cloudy, adding orange
colors to the photograph. Good for sunsets and shades.
Continuously Variable (K) – Lets you manually change the Kelvin value
from 2,500 to 10,000.
Preset (PRE) – Used for color matching with a Balance Grey card.

Balance Grey Card

Grey Card is the easiest way that you can be 100% sure you will get your
white balance right. All you need to have is a grey card either purchased from
a photography gear shop or you might have some neutral grey paper yourself
(make sure it’s non reflective though).
Procedure

Once you turn your camera on – check your white balance on

the camera is set to match closest the lighting type.
You need to look for a button on your camera with two capital
letters WB and it is usually placed on the top right of canons
near LCD screen and top left of Nikons.
Press WB and set it to the appropriate light situation.
If however you are not sure what white balance option to use –
the best option then is to leave it set to “auto white balance”.
Take a photo of the digital gray card in the same light as your
subject. Remember you’re measuring colour temperature, so
you’ll want to get the light falling on your subject consistent
with the light falling on the WhiBal card.
Use this white Balance for the photos which you’re going to
take on that location.

ISO sensitivity

ISO sensitivity is a measure of the camera's ability to capture light. Digital

cameras convert the light that falls on the image sensor into electrical signals
for processing. ISO sensitivity is raised by amplifying the signal.ISO is actually
an acronym, which stands for International Standards Organization, and the
ISO rating along with the shutter speed and aperture setting are the three
elements that determine the final exposure of the photographic image. The
ISO rating, which ranges in value from 25 to 6400 (or beyond), indicates the
specific light sensitivity. The lower the number, the less sensitive to light the
film stock or image sensor is. Conversely, a higher number indicates a higher
sensitivity to light, thereby allowing that film or image sensor to work better
in low light conditions.

In digital photographythe lower the ISO rating, the less sensitive the image
sensor is and therefore the smoother the image, because there is less digital
noise in the image. The higher the ISO rating (more sensitive) the stronger the
image sensor has to work to establish an effective image, which thereby
produces more digital noise (those multi-colored speckles in the shadows and
in the midtones). So what is digital noise?It is any light signal that does not
originate from the subject, and therefore creates random color in an image.

ISO Speed vs. Motion Blur

Lower ISO ratings produce color-accurate, smooth and aesthetically appealing

images… and this requires ideal lighting conditions. However, there are some
subjects that you want to photograph in low light conditions. Or, you may
want to stop fast-moving objects (a humming bird, a race horse or a carousel).
In both situations, you need higher ISOs to capture those images with an
acceptable exposure. Unlike film, with a digital camera you can increase the
ISO with the touch of a button, and this flexibility makes it much easier to get
the image you want. So with the higher ISOs, you can use faster shutter speeds
to eliminate motion blur and/or camera shake. In the event that you want to
use motion blur creatively, then decreasing the ISO is simple, and you can then
decrease the shutter speed (less than 1/30s) to achieve the desired motion
blur and still have smooth, noise-less images.

ISO Speed and Image Sensor Size

The size of the digital camera’s image sensor dictates what ISO setting
provides the least amount of digital noise. One must understand that image
sensor size is not the same thing as pixel count. Image sensor size is the actual
physical dimensions of the sensor, for most of the history of digital
photography the image sensor has been smaller than a 35mm film frame. On
point and shoot cameras, the sensor was quite small, and on most DSLR
cameras, the image sensor has been the size of APC film (23x15mm). Smaller
image sensors produce much more digital noise at higher ISOs (like 800)
mainly because the high pixel count means that more pixels are being packed
into a smaller area, thus producing more grain at all but the lowest ISO.
Image Quality and ISO Sensitivity

It is important to remember that the lower the ISO rating the better the image
quality is going to be. While most digital cameras have a default “Auto ISO”
setting, this reduces your control because it can automatically set a higher ISO,
which will result in a grainier (noisier) image when other settings could have
created an acceptable exposure with less noise. Increasing ISO affects image
quality in two major ways: 1) the distinction between fine details is reduced.
2) When you enlarge the image and make digital prints, or when you save the
image as a jpeg (which has a high level of compression), the inherent high
level of digital noise will result in a “muddier” image after conversion.

As we’ve stated, the lower the ISO the smoother, cleaner, and “better” images
you will have. Lower ISO images will be more color-accurate and more
aesthetically captivating. ISO between 100 and 200 will give you the best
results, and depending on the image sensor and the camera’s engineering you
can get away with ISO 400 and still have clear, clean and sharp images for the
vast majority of enlargements (up to 20x24).
Active D-Lighting

This feature automatically identifies and highlights areas that will be lost, and
does its best to bring them under control.

It isn't needed if you shoot RAW as you can underexpose and raise the
shadows in post.
It is only relevant if you are shooting scenes with bright highlights and
dark shadows - you get slightly improved highlights at the expense of
noisier shadows.
It slows down JPG processing slightly. You would only notice this if
firing at a high burst rate.
Worth using if you are taking long (20-30 second) exposures of night
time scenes or astrophotography. Significantly lengthens the processing
time (doubles it in fact, by shooting a second "dark frame" and then
subtracting out hot pixels).You can avoid using this feature if you shoot
"dark frames" manually and apply them later in software. Otherwise,
using long exposure NR in-camera has definite benefits. Problem is
doubling the processing time will affect the battery usage
Will reduce noise (While shooting in High ISO) at the expense of losing
some small detail. You can turn this on in-camera, or you can use noise-
reduction in post processing. There is probably a negligible effect on JPG
processing. It does not affect RAW.
Auto Distortion control

Before controlling the distortion we should know what distortion is.In

photography, there are two types of distortions: optical and perspective.
Both result in some kind of deformation of images – some lightly and others
very noticeably. While optical distortion is caused by the optical design of
lenses (and is therefore often called “lens distortion”), perspective
distortion(is done by photographer) is caused by the position of the camera
relative to the subject or by the position of the subject within the image frame.
And it is certainly important to distinguish between these types of distortions
and identify them, since you will see them all quite a bit in photography.

Optical Distortion

In photography, distortion is generally referred to an optical aberration that

deforms and bends physically straight lines and makes them appear curvy in
images, which is why such distortion is also commonly referred to as
“curvilinear”. Optical distortion occurs as a result of optical design, when
special lens elements are used to reduce spherical and other aberrations. In
short, optical distortion is a lens error.

Barrel Distortion.
Pincushion Distortion.
Mustache Distortion.

Barrel Distortion.

When straight lines are curved

inwards in a shape of a barrel, this
type of aberration is called “barrel
distortion”. Commonly seen on
wide angle lenses, barrel distortion
happens because the field of view
of the lens is much wider than the
size of the image sensor and hence
it needs to be “squeezed” to fit.As a
result,
straight lines are visibly curved inwards, especially towards the extreme
edges of the frame.Barrel distortion is typically present on most wide angle
prime lenses and many zoom lenses with relatively short focal lengths.

Pincushion Distortion.

Pincushion distortion is the exact

opposite of barrel distortion –
straight lines are curved outwards
from the center. This type of
distortion is commonly seen on
telephoto lenses, and it occurs due to
image magnification increasing
towards the edges of the frame from
the optical axis. This time, the field of
view is smaller than
the size of the image sensor and it thus needs to be “stretched” to fit. As a
result, straight lines appear to be pulled upwards in the corners.

Mustache Distortion

The nastiest of the radial distortion

types is mustache distortion, which I
sometimes call “wavy” distortion. It is
basically a combination of the barrel
distortion and pincushion distortion.
Straight lines appear curved inwards
towards the center of the frame, and
then curve outwards at the extreme
corners.This is the reason why
mustache distortion is often referred
to as “complex” distortion, because its

characteristics are indeed complex and can be quite painful to deal with.

You can minimize the effects of distortion by Switch “ON” the auto
distortion control in your DSLR or you can do it in post processing with
software’s like “Adobe Photoshop”.
Noise reduction

“You should turn it “OFF” immediately.

One of the most heavily touted features of most consumer-oriented cameras,

and even some pro ones, is noise reduction. Unfortunately, it almost always
makes your photos look terrible, and you should turn it off whenever possible.
Noise is an unfortunate byproduct of digital sensors. The dimmer the light in
your scene, the higher you'll have to crank the ISO and the more noise will
appear in your image. Noise levels can range from barely-noticeable to oh-my-
god-who-barfed-on-my-photo.

The solution put forth by camera-makers has been noise reduction. When
your camera compresses the image as a JPG file, it applies an algorithm that is
supposed to magically wipe away uglifying noise. It's a feature in every
camera you can buy, and is almost always touted as being "Advanced" or
"Superior" or "Next Gen." With great sounding words like that, why wouldn't
every user crank up the Noise Reduction?

Because what you think is salvaging your photos is actually destroying them.
Noise Reduction works at the expense of detail. The only way that software
can diminish noise is by averaging out the values of a group of pixels. The
algorithm is supposed to detect where contrast and edges are, so that detail is
left intact. But it never does it very well, and the effect is the smudging of fine
detail. What you end up with are photos that look like smeared, swirled
messes. The alternative, simply leaving noise intact, is really not bad! Noise
can look gritty and cool. If it's really over the top, no amount of noise
reduction is going to save it anyhow.
AF-Area mode

The nice thing about digital cameras today, is that you do not have to
manually focus like people used to before, back in the early film days. Digital
photography is much more forgiving in this regard, because unlike film, you
can see the results instantly and you can easily change your camera settings
and take many exposures without worrying about film cost and replacement.
Autofocus has gotten better and better over the last decade and even the
cheapest entry-level DSLRs are now equipped with rather complex autofocus
systems.

How DSLR Autofocus Works

Active vs Passive Autofocus

Focus Points
Types of AF Points
Other factors that impact AF performance

Active vs Passive Autofocus

There are two types of AF (Autofocus) systems – Active and Passive. The
“Active AF”system works by shooting a red beam on your subject, then
bouncing that light back to your camera to figure out the distance between the
camera and the subject. Once the camera knows what that distance is, it
instructs the lens to adjust focus based on this information. The nice thing
about Active AF, is that it can be used in very poorly-lit environments, where
normal (passive) AF does not function. The bad thing about Active AF, is that
you can only use it for stationary, non-moving subjects and it only works for
close subjects within 15-20 feet.

On the other hand, the “Passive AF”system works very differently – instead of
relying on the red beam to find out the distance between the camera and the
subject, it either uses special sensors within the camera to detect contrast
from the light that goes through the lens (known as “Phase Detection”), or
uses the camera sensor itself to detect contrast in the image (known as
“Contrast Detection”). What does “detect contrast” mean? Without going into
complex terminology, this simply means that it tries to look for sharpness in a
particular part of an image. If it is blurry, the AF system will adjust the lens
focus until sharpness/contrast is achieved. That is why the Passive AF system
requires that you have enough contrast (Contrast is the difference in
luminance or color that makes an object (or its representation in an image or
display) distinguishable.)in your frame for it to be able to focus properly.
When a lens starts to “hunt” for focus on single color surfaces like white walls
or gradient/blurry surfaces, it happens because the camera needs objects with
edges (contrast) that stand out from the background to be able to acquire
focus.

Focus Points

Focus points are the little empty squares or dots that you see when you look
through your viewfinder. Manufacturers often differentiate entry-level DSLRs
from professional ones by implementing different types of autofocus systems.
Entry-level DSLRs generally have simple AF systems with a few focus points
for basic focusing needs, while pro-level DSLRs have complex, highly
configurable AF systems with lots of focus points. These focus points are a
part of “Phase Detection AF”, so each one of the focus points can be used by
the camera AF sensors to detect contrast. The focus points are intentionally
laid out in certain parts of the frame and the number of focus points, along
with the layout vary not only by the manufacturer, but also by camera models.
Take a look at these two types of autofocus systems with a different number
of AF points and different layouts:

Nikon D5000 (Left) vs D300s (Right) AF Points

As you can see, Nikon D5000 has a total of 11 AF points and Nikon D300s is
equipped with a total of 51 AF points – a big difference in the number of AF
points. Is the number of AF points important? Of course it is – not only do you
have more AF points to use while composing your shot and focusing on a
particular area of an image, but also the camera AF system can use those
different AF points for subject tracking (extremely useful for sports and
wildlife photography). However, it is not just the sheer number of focus points
that make a difference – there are also different types of focus points.

Types of AF Points

As pointed out above, the number of focus points is not the only most
important factor in autofocus systems – the type of AF points is also very
crucial for getting accurate results. There are two types of AF point sensors
available – vertical and cross-type. Vertical sensors are one dimensional and
they only detect contrast on a vertical line. Cross-type sensors are two
dimensional and they can detect contrast both on vertical and horizontal lines,
which makes cross-type sensors much more accurate than vertical sensors.
What this means, is that the more cross-type sensors your camera has, the
better and more accurate autofocus is going to be. That’s why when new
cameras are announced, you will typically see something that says “x number
of focus points and x number of cross-type sensors” Whenever you shop for a
new camera, pay close attention to the total number of AF points, along with
the number of cross-type sensors, because those two are important, especially
if you want to shoot sports and fast-moving wildlife.

Other factors that impact AF performance

The quality and the amount of light is another important factor that can
seriously affect autofocus performance. By now, you probably already
know that your camera autofocus works great when you shoot in
daylight, under bright sun and starts to suffer when you move indoors
to challenging light. Why is this the case? Because in low-light
conditions, it is much tougher for your camera to detect contrast.
Remember, Passive Autofocus completely relies on light that passes
through the lens. If the quality of that light is poor, so is autofocus
performance.
Lens condition, its quality and maximum aperture are other important
factors that affect AF performance. If you have an old lens with all kinds of
 physical problems such as mold, dirt, too much dust or back-focus/front-
focus problems, your AF performance will surely suffer.

DSLR Focus Modes

Single Area Focus Mode

Continuous/AI Servo Focus Mode
Single/Continuous Hybrid Mode
Full-time Servo Focus Mode

Single Area Focus Mode

You pick one focus point and your camera will look for contrast just in that
single focus point. When you half-press the shutter or press a dedicated AF
button (if you have one), the camera will snap into focus once and if your
subject moves, it won’t reacquire focus even if you continue half-pressing the
button. Hence, the focus remains “locked”. The Single Area AF mode often
requires the camera to lock into focus before allowing you to take a picture, so
if focus is not acquired or your subject moves, pressing the shutter will do
nothing (due to focus error). Some cameras allow you to change this behavior
though – on the Nikon D810, for example, you can set the “AF-S Priority
Selection” under “Autofocus” custom settings menu to “Release”, which would
let you take pictures even when focus is not acquired properly. A couple of
things to note about the AF-S mode – if you mount an external speedlight that
has an “AF-Assist” red beam, you will need to be in AF-S mode for it to work.
The same is true for the “AF-Assist” lamp in front of your camera, it will only
function in AF-S mode.

Continuous/AI Servo Focus Mode

This mode is used for tracking moving subjects and it is a must for shooting
sports, wildlife and other non-stationary subjects. The way this mode works,
is it analyzes the subject movement and predicts where the subject will be,
placing the focus at the predicted point. The nice thing about the Continuous
mode, is that it will automatically readjust focus if you or the subject move. All
you need to do is continue half-pressing the shutter button or holding the
dedicated AF button (if you have one) on your camera and the autofocus
system will automatically track any movement. Compared to Single Area AF,
the Continuous mode is generally highly configurable (especially on high-end
DSLR models) and can do complicated tasks, such as tracking subjects with a
single or multiple focus points.

Single/Continuous Hybrid Mode

This is basically a hybrid mode that automatically switches between

Single/One-Shot and Continuous/AI Servo modes. The way this works, is the
camera detects if the subject is stationary, in which case it automatically
switches to Single focus, while if the subject moves, it will switch to
Continuous focus. The default method on lower-end Nikon DSLRs is AF-A and
it works quite well for most situations. Many of the higher-end/professional
DSLRs do not have this mode, since it is designed for beginners.

Full-time Servo Focus Mode

This mode automatically tracks subject movement and acquires focus during
video recording. While it seems to sound like a great feature, it does not work
very well for fast-moving subjects and Nikon will have to work on improving
this mode to make it faster and more usable. Don’t worry about this mode if
you do not shoot video.

AF-Area Modes

Single-Point AF-Area Mode

Dynamic AF-Area Mode
Auto-Area AF Mode
Group-area AF Mode
Other Area Modes
Single-Point AF-Area Mode

When you choose the “Single Point” (Nikon) or “Manual AF Point” (Canon) AF-
Area Mode, the camera only uses one focus point that you choose in your
viewfinder to acquire focus. So if you move your focus point
up/down/left/right, the camera will detect contrast only on that particular
focus point, using either vertical or cross-type sensors (depending on which
one you have chosen). I use Single Point AF-Area Mode when photographing
landscapes, architecture and other stationary subjects.

Dynamic AF-Area Mode

In “Dynamic” (Nikon) or “AF Point Expansion” (Canon) AF-Area Mode, you

still choose one focus point and the camera will initially acquire focus on that
particular focus point. However, once focus is acquired, if your subject moves,
the camera will utilize the surrounding focus points to track subject
movement and keep focus on your subject. You are expected to track the
subject by panning the camera along with the subject and making sure that
the subject stays close to the initially selected focus point. If camera selects a
surrounding/different AF point, it will not be directly visible inside the
viewfinder, but will be visible after the image is taken.The Dynamic AF-Area
Mode works great for fast-moving subjects like birds, because it is not easy to
keep focus on birds in flight. Higher-end DSLRs have the ability to control the
number of surrounding focus points to activate for this type of shooting. For
example, the Nikon D7100 allows choosing between 9 points, 21 points and
51 points in Dynamic AF-Area Mode. So if you only wanted to track a small
portion of the scene, you would pick 9 points and if you wanted to track the
entire frame, you could pick all 51 points to track your subject. Lastly, many of
the modern DSLRs from Nikon have a “3D-Tracking Mode”, where you initially
pick the AF point and the camera will automatically activate as many focus
points as needed to track subject movement. The cool thing about the 3D-
Tracking mode, is that it uses a special scene-recognition system that actually
reads colors and will track your subject automatically, letting you compose
your shot while the subject moves. For example, if you are photographing a
white bird among many black birds, the 3D-Tracking system will
automatically focus on and track the white bird, even if the bird moves or if
you move the camera, letting you compose your shot. If you compare 3D-
Tracking to Dynamic AF-Area with a certain number of focus points selected,
the 3D-Tracking method will use all available focus points on the camera to
track your subject, while Dynamic AF-Area mode divides the focus points to
“zones”, activating only the surrounding focus points (as many as you
selected). For example, if you choose 9 focus points, subject tracking will only
work within a zone of 9 total focus points that are surrounding the focus point
you picked. If your subject moves away from all 9 focus points, the camera will
not be able to focus on the subject anymore. In 3D-Tracking mode, the camera
will continue tracking the subject (newly selected focus points will be
displayed in the viewfinder), even if it significantly moves away from your
initial focus point. I use the Dynamic AF-Area mode a lot when photographing
birds and wildlife and typically shoot with a smaller number of focus points
activated, between 9 and 21 focus points. I have some mixed feelings about
the 3D-Tracking mode for photographing birds hand-held, since it does not
seem to be as quick as the non-3D mode, especially when a smaller number of
focus points is used.

Auto-Area AF Mode

The “Auto-Area AF” (Nikon) or “Automatic AF Point Selection” (Canon) Mode

is the “point-and-shoot” method of acquiring focus. Depending on what you
are photographing, it will automatically pick what to focus on. It is a pretty
complex mode, because it will actually recognize skin tones of a person in the
frame and will automatically focus on him/her. If there are multiple people in
the frame, it will focus on those that are closest to the camera. If the camera
does not detect any skin tones, it will typically focus on the closest and largest
object in the frame. If you shoot in Single Area/AF-S mode and select “Auto-
Area AF”, the camera will actually display what focus points it will use for a
second, allowing you to see and confirm the area the camera will focus on. The
same thing can be done on Canon DSLRs, but it is called “Automatic AF point
selection in One-Shot AF mode”. I never use this mode, because I want to
control where to focus, instead of letting the camera do it for me.
Group-area AF Mode

The latest Nikon DSLRs like D810 and D4S came with the a new “Group-area
Autofocus”. When compared to the regular single point AF mode, Group-area
Autofocus activates five AF points to track subjects. This focus mode is great
for initial focus acquisition and tracking of subjects when compared to a
Single-Point or Dynamic AF, especially when dealing with smaller birds that
fly erratically and can be really hard to focus on and track. In such situations,
the Group-area AF mode might give better results than Dynamic AF, showing
better accuracy and consistency from shot to shot.How does Group-area AF
work? Basically, within the viewfinder you see four focus points, with the fifth
one in the middle hidden. You can move all four focus points by pressing the
multi-touch controller on the back of the camera (ideally, you want to stay in
the middle, because the focus points in the center of the frame are cross-type
and the most accurate). When pointed at a subject, all five focus points are
activated simultaneously for the initial focus acquisition, with priority given to
the closest subject. This differs from the the Dynamic 9 AF mode quite a bit,
because D9 activates 8 focus points around the center focus point, with
priority given to the chosen center focus point. If the camera fails to focus
using the center focus point (not enough contrast), it attempts to do it with
the other 8 focus points. Basically, the camera will always prioritize the
central focus point and only fail-over to the other 8 if focus is not possible. In
contrast, Group-area AF uses all 5 focus points simultaneously and will
attempt to focus on the nearest subject, without giving preference to any of
the 5 focus points.

Group-area AF is especially useful when photographing birds, wildlife and

non-team sports. In the above sample image of speed skaters, if your goal is to
focus on the front runner, Group-area AF would do wonders, as it would
automatically acquire focus on and track the runner that is closest to the
camera. Another good example can be a perched bird sitting on a stick and
you are looking at it a little from above, so the ground behind the bird is
clearly visible. With Dynamic AF mode, whatever you are pointing at is where
the camera will initially attempt to acquire focus. If you are right on the bird,
the camera will focus on the bird. If you accidentally point to the ground
behind the bird, the camera will focus on the background instead. This can get
quite challenging when photographing small birds, especially when the
branch or stick they are sitting on is constantly moving. Getting initial focus
point is important and the quicker you do it, the better the chance of capturing
and tracking action, especially if the bird decides to suddenly take off. As I
have mentioned above, with Group-area AF, there is no preference given to
any focus point, so all 5 focus points are active simultaneously. In this
particular situation, since the bird is closer than the background, as long as
one of the 5 focus points is near the bird, the camera will always focus on the
bird and not the background. Once focus is acquired, Group-area AF will also
track the subject, but again, only if one of the 5 focus points is near the subject.
If the subject moves fast and you cannot effectively pan your camera in the
same direction, focus will be lost, similarly to what happens in Dynamic 9 AF
mode. In terms of tracking, I personally found Group-area AF to be pretty fast,
but it is hard to say if it is as fast as Dynamic 9 AF – in some situations,
Dynamic 9 AF seemed to be a bit faster.

Another important fact I should mention, is that when you use Group-area AF
in AF-S mode, the camera will engage face recognition and attempt to focus on
the eye of the nearest person, which is neat. For example, if you are
photographing someone between tree branches and leaves, the camera will
always attempt to focus on the person’s face instead of the nearest leaf.
Unfortunately, face recognition is activated only in AF-S mode, so if you
photograph fast-moving group sports and you need the camera to lock and
track on a subject’s face (and not on the nearest object), your best bet will be
to use Dynamic AF instead.
Clockwise from the top left: Single-point AF mode, Dynamic-area AF
mode (9 points), Dynamic-area AF mode (21 points), Dynamic-area AF
mode (51 points), 3D-tracking mode, Auto-area AF mode and Group-area
AF mode.

Other Area Modes

The newly-released DSLRs have additional AF-Area Modes like “Face-priority

AF”, “Wide-area AF”, “Normal-area AF” and “Subject-tracking AF” for use in
video recording. These modes are probably going to be incorporated into all
future Nikon DSLRs with video capability going forward. I’m not going to
discuss each one of these in detail, because they are specific to certain camera
models and will probably change in the future. Canon also has some AF-Area
Modes like “Spot AF”, where you could fine-tune your focus inside an focus
point. These extra AF-Area modes are specific to certain Canon cameras like
Canon 7D.

When to Use Different AF-Area Modes

Why do you need to know how and when to use different AF-Area Modes?
Because each one of them can be combined with Focus Modes! To make things
easier to understand, I compiled a chart with examples for you (for Nikon
DSLR Cameras):
Metering

Metering is how your camera determines what the correct shutter speed and
aperture should be, depending on the amount of light that goes into the
camera and the sensitivity of the sensor. Back in the old days of photography,
cameras were not equipped with a light “meter”, which is a sensor that
measures the amount and intensity of light. Photographers had to use hand-
held light meters to determine the optimal exposure. Obviously, because the
work was shot on film, they could not preview or see the results immediately,
which is why they religiously relied on those light meters.The most common
metering modes in digital cameras today are:

Matrix Metering
Center-weighted Metering
Spot Metering

Matrix Metering

Matrix Metering mode is the default metering mode on most DSLRs. It works
by dividing the entire frame into multiple “zones”, which are then all analyzed
on individual basis for light and dark tones. One of the key factors (in addition
to color, distance, subjects, highlights, etc.) that affects matrix metering, is
where the camera focus point is set to. After reading information from all
individual zones, the metering system looks at where you focused within the
frame and marks it more important than all other zones. There are many
other variables used in the equation, which differ from manufacturer to
manufacturer. Nikon, for example, also compares image data to a database of
thousands of pictures for exposure calculation.
Center-weighted Metering

Using the whole frame for determining the correct exposure is not always
desirable. What if you are trying to take a headshot of a person with the sun
behind? This is where center-weighted metering comes in handy. Center-
weighted Metering evaluates the light in the middle of the frame and its
surroundings and ignores the corners. Compared to Matrix Metering, Center-
weighted Metering does not look at the focus point you select and only
evaluates the middle area of the image.Use this mode when you want the
camera to prioritize the middle of the frame, which works great for close-up
portraits and relatively large subjects that are in the middle of the frame. For
example, if you were taking a headshot of a person with the sun behind
him/her, then this mode would expose the face of the person correctly, even
though everything else would probably get heavily overexposed.

Spot Metering

Spot Metering only evaluates the light around your focus point and ignores
everything else. It evaluates a single zone/cell and calculates exposure based
on that single area, nothing else. I personally use this mode a lot for my bird
photography, because the birds mostly occupy a small area of the frame and I
need to make sure that I expose them properly, whether the background is
bright or dark. Because the light is evaluated where I place my focus point, I
could get an accurate exposure on the bird even when the bird is in the corner
of the frame. Also, if you were taking a picture of a person with the sun behind
but they occupied a small part of the frame, it is best to use the spot metering
mode instead. When your subjects do not take much of the space, using Matrix
or Center-weighted metering modes would most likely result in a silhouette, if
the subject was back-lit. Spot metering works great for back-lit subjects like
that.Another good example of using spot metering is when photographing the
Moon. Because the moon would take up a small portion of the frame and the
sky is completely dark around it, it is best to use Spot metering – that way, we
are only looking at the light level coming from the moon and nothing else.
Set picture Control

You can modify the currently highlighted control by scrolling to the right
before you press the OK button (figure 1, images 2 & 3). This will bring you to
the fine-tuning screen. You can adjust the Sharpening, Contrast, Brightness,
Saturation, and Hue settings by scrolling up or down to select a line and then
scrolling right or left (+/-) to change the value of that line item. This is entirely
optional.

If you do choose to modify a control, it is not yet a Custom Picture Control

because you haven’t saved it under a new name. Instead, it’s merely a
modified Nikon Picture Control. To name and save your own Custom Picture
Controls you'll use the Shooting Menu selection called Manage Picture Control.

You can select one of the controls and leave the settings at the factory defaults,
or you can modify the settings and completely change how the camera
captures the image (figure 1, image 3). If you shoot in one of the NEF (RAW)
modes, the camera does not apply these settings to the image permanently; it
stores them with the image so you can change them during post-processing in
your computer. If you shoot JPEG, the camera applies the settings you’ve
chosen immediately and permanently. Let’s examine each of the Picture
Controls.
SD or Standard

This is Nikon’s recommendation for getting “balanced” results. They

recommend SD for most general situations. Use this if you want a balanced
image and don’t want to post-process it. It has what Nikon calls “standard
image processing.” The SD control provides what I would call medium
saturation, with darker shadows to add contrast. If I were shooting JPEG
images in a studio or during an event, I would seriously consider using the SD
control.

NL or Neutral

This is best for an image that will be extensively post-processed in a

computer. It, too, is a balanced image setting, but it applies minimal camera
processing so you’ll have room to do more with the image during post-
processing. The NL has less saturation and weaker shadows, so the image will
be less contrasty. The effects of the NL and SD controls are harder to see since
there’s not a marked difference. However, the NL control will give you a little
extra dynamic range in each image due to more open shadows and slightly
less saturated colors.

VI or Vivid

This setting places emphasis on saturating primary colors for intense imagery.
The contrast is higher for striking shadow contrast, and the sharpness is
higher, too. If you are shooting JPEGs and want a saturated transparency this
mode is for you! Plus, the greens and blues are extra strong. That means your
nature shots will look saturated and contrasty. Be careful when you are
shooting on a high-contrast day, such as in direct sunshine in the summer. If
you use the VI control under these conditions, you may find that your images
are too high in contrast. It may be better to back off to the SD or NL control
when shooting in bright sunshine. On a cloudy or foggy low-contrast day,
when the shadows are weak, you may find that the VI control adds a pleasing
saturation and contrast to the image.
MC or Monochrome

This allows the black-and-white lovers among us to shoot in toned black-and-

white. The MC control basically removes the color by desaturation. It’s still an
RGB color image, but the colors have become levels of gray. The blacks are not
as deep, and the whites are a little muddy. Good black-and-white images
should have bright whites and deep blacks. To get images like that from a
digital camera, you’ll have to manually work with the image in a graphics
program like Photoshop. However, if you want to experiment with black-and-
white photography, this gives you a good starting point. There are two extra
settings in the MC control that allow you to experiment with Filter effects and
Toning.

PT or Portrait

This is a control that “lends a natural texture and rounded feel to the skin of
portrait subjects”. Nikon has included some software enhancements
specifically for skin tones in this control, so I’d use this control for portraits of
people. The results from the PT control look a bit like smooth.

LS or Landscape

This is a control that “produces vibrant landscape and cityscapes,” according

to Nikon. That sounds like the VI control to me. I shot a series of images using
both the LS and VI controls and got similar results. Compared to the VI
control, the LS control seemed to have slightly less saturation in the reds and a
tiny bit more saturation in the greens. The blues stayed about the same. It
seems that Nikon has created the LS control to be similar to, but not quite as
drastic as, the VI control. Exposure compensation

Exposure compensation is a feature on almost all cameras that allows you to

make a picture lighter or darker than the recommended exposure. There are
numerous instances in which you might want to use this handy function.

You’ll find the exposure compensation button on your camera, marked with a
“+/-” icon. Your exposure compensation option gives you incredible leverage
as a photographer to fine tune your exposure to take pictures in low-light or
high-contrast scenes where you might not have been able to get a quality
picture before.

A plus (+) setting makes your image brighter (for instance, making snow
appear whiter), while a minus (-) setting makes an image darker (such as
shooting your child in a school play, spot-lit against a dark background).

Flash exposure compensation

Setting flash exposure compensation affects the flash output only. Ambient
exposure is unaffected. This can always be set on the flashgun itself, but some
cameras have a button on the camera body itself where the flash
compensation can conveniently be set without taking your eye from the
viewfinder.

There are, broadly speaking, two scenarios to consider when we think of how
flash exposure compensation works:

1. FEC when the flash is mere fill-flash

2. FEC when the flash is the dominant light source.

Flash exposure compensation when using fill-flash

With fill-flash (using TTL or Auto flash), you will most often dial down your
flash exposure compensation to give only a tiny bit of fill light. So in this case,
your flash exposure compensation will be around -1 to -3 EV.

Let’s look at a specific example – a window-lit portrait of a model. In the top

two images, there are no flash. In the left-hand side image, with the way she is
posed, the window light looks fantastic, with the way the light turns to shade
across her cheek. Her eyes are lit and have a spark.
But the moment she looks at the camera, the contrast is too much. Her eyes
are shaded. While this might work as a moody portrait for some subjects, it
isn’t quite as flattering as a gentle portrait of a woman. In the right-hand
image, the exposure is still the same. That didn’t change. We couldn’t just add
more light (by opening our aperture, or dropping our shutter speed), since
this would cause over-exposure to the brighter side of her face.

We need to do something to bring in more light to the shaded side of her face.
We could use an on-camera bounce flash. Now I need to control the amount of
light from the flash. I need to tell the camera to add only a certain amount of
light, instead of the full output. Here are four examples at different FEC
settings.
When your flash is your main source of light

When your flash is your main source of light, you will usually use your flash
exposure compensation around 0EV to +0.7 EV depending on the camera and
camera system and of course, the tonality of your subject and scene. So your
flash exposure compensation could still range anywhere from around -2 EV to
+2EV.

Factors that will affect your choice of FEC

There are a number of factors which would affect how your camera and flash
meters TTL flash, and would therefore affect how much flash exposure
compensation needs to be dialed in:

Reflectivity of your subject,

How much of your frame is filled by the subject, and
How far the subject is from the background, and
Whether the subject is off-center or centered in the frame,
The individual camera’s exposure algorithms that the camera designers
came up with,
Available light – (this ties in with how the camera’s metering algorithms
work),
Back-lighting – (strong back-lighting always require a lot more flash
exposure compensation).

Therefore you have to juggle all this when figuring out how much flash
exposure compensation to dial in.When your flash acts only as fill light, then
the actual flash exposure compensation can vary a lot without affecting the
quality of the final image much.
 Types of photography

Portrait photography

Portrait photography or portraiture is photography of a person or group of

people that displays the expression, personality, and mood of the subject. The
focus of the photograph is usually the person's face, although the entire body
and the background or context may be included.

Portrait Photography Styles

Outdoor portrait photography

Indoor Portrait Photography
Window light portrait photography
Candid Portrait Photography

We are picturing people, and whether you are photographing a model, taking
a family photo, or capturing some candid shots while on vacation, you have
probably discovered that great photography is a little more than just pointing
a camera and pushing a button.A really good photo should convey the
subject’s character and personality, and communicate something distinct or
identifiable about whom they are as a person.

Selection Of photographic Style

Study Your Subject

The first step in taking portraits is to find out what the subject or family
wants. What is the subject’s personality or the attitude of the family? Are they
outgoing, serious, or funny? What are they trying to create with the photo?
What mood do they want to convey? Or, what are the reasons for having the
photos taken?

When you answer these questions, you will be able to choose an appropriate
setting accordingly. Settings can vary from a formal indoor environment, to a
more casual outdoor location, a family home, a studio, or even a subject’s
workplace. Also, when considering backgrounds, remember that the focus
should always be on the subject, so choose a setting that is passive or
complements and enhances the theme and mood of the photograph.

Lighting

Lighting can change the mood and effect of any photograph, and when taking
portraits, natural lighting is best, so whenever possible, take these pictures
outdoors or by a window. It is important to be aware of lighting and shadows
as you want to flatter your subjects, not draw attention to wrinkles or
imperfections. Also, keep in mind that flash lighting can cause red eye and
may also produce boring, clinical photographs.Rather than looking like the
typical, uninteresting school pictures, you want your photos to be creative and
intriguing so they capture people’s attention and express the subject’s
personality. Experiment with lighting by trying some silhouetting, use soft
lighting for a more romantic mood, or schedule a sunrise photo shoot.

Interaction to the subject

Positioning the head and body at different angles will give you some variety in
your shots and make your photos more interesting. It is important that you
make the subjects feel comfortable, so take a few minutes to get to know them
and put them at ease.Sometimes the best positioning may feel a little awkward
or unnatural, so if you need your subject to tilt their head to the left or drop
their shoulder down a little, you must communicate exactly what you want.If
you can understand a little of their personality, you may get a better idea on
how to pose them. Pay attention to expressions, body language, and other
traits and try to pose the models so you can capture some of these identifiable
features. Also, you should ask your clients what type of pictures they are
hoping for because this may help you determine different poses that will add
to the creativity and mood of the photos.
The Eyes Have It

Getting the eyes of your main subject in focus is practically essential in most
traditional portraiture. You can get away with having a lot of the rest of the
image out of focus, but if the eyes are blurry, you are usually going to have a
hard time.In addition to focus, this means you need to actively consider your
depth of field (which is controlled with your aperture and distance to subject).
Many portrait photographers prefer to blur their backgrounds (especially
when shooting outdoor portraits) so that means shooting at relatively wide
apertures from 3.5 through to 5.6. You can also experiment with apertures
wider than 3.5, but often it will narrow the depth of field too much and lead to
some elements of the photograph being out of focus that you might want to
keep sharp).

Take a Series of Shots

Switch your camera into ‘burst’ or ‘continuous shooting’ mode and fire off
more than one shot at a time. In doing this you create a series of images that
could be presented together instead of just one static image. This technique
can work very well when you’re photographing children – or really any active
subject that is changing their position or pose in quick succession.

Alter Your Perspective

As a photographer you must learn how to think outside the box.With the
resources available today, boring, posed photos will not make much of an
impression. Creativity it the key! Most pictures are taken at eye level, but by
changing the angle you can make your images much more powerful.Get up
high and shoot down on your subject or get as close to the ground as you can
and shoot up. Either way you’ll be seeing your subject from an angle that is
bound to create interest.If you are taking a group photo, vary the level or
positions of the individuals, and experiment with framing by having subjects
off to the side or on an angle rather than centered. Play with eye contact by
having models look away from the camera or asking subjects to look at each
other or objects within the photo. If the situation allows, have fun! You may
just discover something both beautiful and unique that captures personality
and displays quality.

Looking off camera

Have your subject focus their attention on something unseen and outside the
field of view of your camera. This can create a feeling of candidness and also
create a little intrigue and interest as the viewer of the shot wonders what
they are looking at. This intrigue is particularly drawn about when the subject
is showing some kind of emotion (ie ‘what’s making them laugh?’ or ‘what is
making them look surprised?’). Just be aware that when you have a subject
looking out of frame that you can also draw the eye of the viewer of the shot to
the edge of the image also – taking them away from the point of interest in
your shot – the subject.

Looking within the frame

Alternatively you could have your subject looking at something (or someone)
within the frame. A child looking at a ball, a woman looking at her new baby, a
man looking hungrily at a big plate of pasta…. When you give your subject
something to look at that is inside the frame you create a second point of
interest and a relationship between it and your primary subject. It also helps
create ‘story’ within the image.

Experiment with Lighting

Another element of randomness that you can introduce to your portraits is the
way that you light them. There are almost unlimited possibilities when it
comes to using light in portraits. Side-lighting can create mood, backlighting
and silhouetting your subject to hide their features can be powerful.

Use a reflector

A quick and affordable way to brighten up your portraits and to give them a
professional look is to use a reflector. Use them indoors (near windows) or
outdoors to bounce light back onto your subjects to fill in unwanted
shadows.Many reflectors come double-sided or with detachable covers, 
so
you get a choice of white, silver and gold reflective surfaces. The white
surfaces of reflectors can also double up as diffusers to soften strong direct
sunshine.

Using fill flash on sunny days

Although it may seem odd to use flash when the sun’s out, that’s precisely the
time when you should use it.The sun can cause all sorts of problems for
portrait photographers: harsh shadows across faces, unbalanced exposures
and burnt-out highlights. Use a bit of ‘fill flash’ and you’ll instantly improve
your portraits; your camera will capture a much more balanced exposure,
because your flash will light up your subject while the camera exposes for the
background.

Outdoor portrait photography

Before you delve into more advanced outdoor portrait photography

techniques, you need to master the basics. Here’s how to get started.

Location

One of the great things about outdoor portrait photography is that you can
shoot almost anywhere, from your back garden to a glorious tropical beach.
But it’s important to know how to get the most out of any location you choose.
There are few hard and fast rules when it comes to working a location. If the
location adds to your portrait, you can include the background, but if the
location isn’t particularly photogenic, try using limited depth of field or tight
framing to concentrate attention on your subject. For the most striking
portraits, it’s often best to keep things simple, so try to shoot against
uncluttered backgrounds such as the sky, a wall or foliage. This will help your
subject stand out. However, like most rules, there are times when it’s best to
break them – particularly when you’re shooting environmental portraits
where you want to show the surroundings almost as much as the subject
itself.
Composition and framing

Try to position either your subject’s face (on a half or full-length portrait) or
eyes (on a head-and-shoulders or close-up shot) using the rule of thirds. This
gives a much more balanced composition than if they are in the centre of the
frame. When shooting closer than full length, you’ll need to think carefully
about framing. A good rule of thumb is to avoid cropping the portrait so that
any joints such as knees or elbows come too close to the edges of the frame.

Master depth of field in outdoor portraits

The amount of an image that appears sharp from the front to the back is key
to its look and feel. Using a shallow depth of field, where only a small part of a
portrait is in focus, concentrates most of the viewer’s attention on the sharp
areas, while deliberately keeping more of the scene sharp makes the subject’s
surroundings more visible.

As there are three things that determine the depth of field in your shots –
aperture, focal length and your distance from the subject – it can take practice
to get the effect you want. Here’s how these key factors affect your shots.

Aperture

One of the easiest ways to control the depth of field is to change the aperture
that you use. For shallow depth of field, choose a wide aperture (small f-
number) such as f/2.8 or f/4.To capture more of the scene in sharp focus, use
a smaller aperture (larger f-number), such as f/11 or f/16. Prime lenses
offering wide apertures (such as a 50mm f/1.8) produce a really shallow
depth of field, which makes them the perfect lens for portraits.

Focal length

If the other settings stay the same, a longer focal length lens will blur the
background more than a shorter one. Try selecting a focal length of around
55-70mm in order to throw backgrounds out of focus.
Shooting distance

The final thing governing the depth of field of your shots is how far you are
standing from the subject. The further you are from your subject, the more of
the shot will be in focus from front to back, while the closer you are the less of
it will be sharp. This means you’ll find it easier to get shallow depth of field by
getting as close as you can.How far you are from the subject will be governed
by the focal length of the lens you are using, and how much of the subject you
want to include. It’s much easier to get shallow depth of field effects when
shooting head-and-shoulder (or close-up) images than it is if you’re taking
full-length portraits. But remember that it’s also easier to get shallow depth of
field with a longer focal length lens, and you’ll also produce unflattering
distortion if you get too close to the subject.

Indoor Portrait Photography

Go prime

A focal length of around 85mm is the classic choice for portraits; wide-angle
lenses can contort facial features when shooting up close, while telephoto
lenses are impractical. If you’re using a crop-sensor camera, then a using a
prime lens like Canon’s budget EF 50mm f/1.8 lens will give you an effective
focal length of 80mm and has a wonderfully wide f/1.8 aperture.

Use a wide aperture

When shooting indoors, set Aperture Priority mode and select a wide aperture
(such as f/2.8 or greater). This will not only allow you to make the most of the
lower light levels, but will also give you a shallow depth of field that will help
your subjects stand out from cluttered backgrounds.

Up the ISO

To avoid camera shake, you need to select a shutter speed of at least ‘one over’
the effective focal length – so for 85mm you’d need 1/100 sec or faster.
Shooting indoor portrait photography in low light will mean you’re likely to
need to shoot at ISO 800 or 1600 to obtain a good shutter speed. While higher
ISOs mean more image noise, this is very well controlled in most recent
DSLRs, and a little noise is far preferable to a shaky shot.

It’s all about the eyes

Getting your focus spot-on for portraits is critical – always focus on the eyes
(or the nearest eye, if your subject isn’t square-on to you). Switch to the single
AF point mode and use one of the off-centre AF points for sharp focusing and
to help improve your compositions. If you use the central AF point and focus
and recompose, when shooting with a shallow DoF, you may end up with a
pin-sharp nose but out-of-focus eyes.

Home Is Where The Heart Is. And Awesome Images Too.

If you’re taking portraits of families or couples you should definitely consider

shooting in their home. Shooting in homes is fantastic, but definitely has the
challenge of busy backgrounds. You need to find the balance between showing
the environment, but keeping it simple enough to maintain the focus on your
subjects. Pay attention to any objects that are strongly drawing your eye away
from the subjects. Sometimes you’ll need to do a bit of “redecorating” to get
things just right for the image. As long as you put it back when you’re
done.The Objects can play a game, read a book, make some pancakes—these
kinds of activities are not only great for photos, but also let your clients feel
less nervous and awkward, and just relax and have fun.

Window Light Photography

Windows as a source of light for portraits have been used for decades before
artificial sources of light were discovered.The best time to take window light
portrait is considered to be early hours of the day and late hours of afternoon
when light is more intense on the window. Curtains, reflectors, and intensity
reducing shields are used to give soft light. While mirrors and glasses can be
used for high key lighting. At times colored glasses, filters and reflecting
objects can be used to give the portrait desired color effects. The composition
of shadows and soft light gives window light portraits a distinct effect
different from portraits made from artificial lights. While using window light,
the positioning of the camera can be changed to give the desired effects. Such
as positioning the camera behind the subject can produce a silhouette of the
individual while being adjacent to the subject give a combination of shadows
and soft light. And facing the subject from the same point of light source will
produce high key effects with least shadows.

Tips for Awesome Window Light Shooting

Shut off all other lights in the room so you only have one light source.
Expose for the bright side of the subject to avoid blowing out your
highlights.
Expose for the subject when using backlighting (and the window is
going to blow out. That’s ok)
When shooting people, try to get catchlights in their eyes to brighten
them up. Catchlights are the little white reflections of the light source
that show up in eyes. They’re good things.

Candid Portrait Photography

A candid photograph is a photograph captured through motion mostly,

without creating a posed appearance. This is achieved by avoiding prior
preparation of the subject and by either surprising the subject or by not
distracting the subject during the process of taking photos.

Use a Long Zoom

Obviously the further you are away from your subject the less likely they will
be to know that you’re photographing them and the more natural and relaxed
they’ll act. Using a telephoto lens or long zoom enables you to shoot from
outside their personal space but keep the feeling of intimacy in the shot you’re
taking.

Kill the Flash

Perhaps the most obvious way that you can signal to another person that
you’re photographing them is to use a flash. There’s nothing like a blinding
flash of light in the eyes to kill a moment. If possible (and it’s not always)
attempt to photograph without the flash if you’re aiming for candid shots.
When in lower light situations increase your ISO setting, use a faster lens,
open up your aperture or if your camera has a ‘natural light mode’ turn it on.
Hopefully one or a combination of these approaches will help you blend into
the background a little more.

Shoot lots

When you shoot multiple images quickly of a person you can sometimes get
some surprising and spontaneous shots that you’d have never gotten if you
shot just one. Switch your camera to continuous shooting mode and shoot in
bursts of images and in doing so you’ll increase your chances of that perfect
shot.

Position yourself strategically

While Candid Photography is about capturing the spontaneity of a moment

and getting that perfect shot at the right split second of time I find that if you
think ahead and anticipate what is about to unfold in front of you that you can
greatly increase the chances of getting some great shots. So at a wedding get
to the church early (or even go to the rehearsal) and think about what will
happen during the ceremony and where will be best for you to stand to
capture each moment. Which way will people be facing? What will they be
doing? What will the light be like? Thinking through these issues will save you
having to run around repositioning yourself when you should be shooting
images.

Photograph People Doing things

Images of people doing things tend to be much more interesting than people
sitting passively doing nothing. For one your subject will be focussed upon
something which adds energy to a photo (and takes their focus off you) but it
also puts them in context and adds an element of story to your image. Timing
is everything in Candid shots so wait until they are distracted from you and
fully focussed upon what they are doing or who they are with and you’ll inject
a feeling into your shots of them being unaware and that the viewer of your
image is looking on unseen.

Photograph People with People

Something very interesting happens when you photograph more than one
person in an image at a time – it introduces relationship into the shot. Even if
the two (or more) people are not really interacting in the shot it can add depth
and a sense of story into the viewing of the image. Of course ideally in candid
shots you’d like some interaction between your subjects as that will add
emotion into the shot also as we the viewer observe how the people are
acting.

Nature Photography

Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors

and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife,
plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures.

Wildlife photography is devoted to capturing animals in their natural habitats.

The animals are often photographed in action, such as eating, fighting, or in
flight,. Alternatively, more static portraits may be used to show detail of the
animal or to depict it in its environment.. Captive or controlled animals are
often photographed instead of true wild specimens. It is arguable as to
whether this constitutes true wildlife photography.

Do your homework before heading out

Be as educated as possible before you ever make a photo. Doing your

homework is one of the most important, yet loathed parts of wildlife
photography. It never pays to walk into a situation and be completely clueless.
Though you can never be totally prepared for every challenge you will face
(that’s part of the fun) you can educate yourself so that you safely make the
most of your outing.
Create Depth

When you are taking a landscape photograph, try creating a sense of depth by
keeping all the different elements of the image in focus. To do this you need to
use a small aperture, from f/16-f/22 because this keeps objects in the
foreground and background sharp. Place your camera on a tripod (this will
eliminate camera shake) when using a small aperture, as less light will be
entering the lens.

Use a Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses are preferred for landscape photography because they can
show a broader view, and therefore give a sense of wide open space. They also
tend to give a greater depth of field and allow you to use faster shutter speeds
because they allow more light. Taking an image at f/16 will make both the
foreground and background sharp. Remember to try some interesting angles
with the photograph.

Use Photographic Filters

To get the best possible images, you can make use of two filters in your
landscape photography. Polarizing filters darken the sky and therefore bring
out the blues in contrast to the white of the clouds. Neutral Density (ND)
filters prevent too much light from entering the camera. This is useful on
bright days, when the camera is unable to give you a slow shutter speed (you
may want to capture the movement of the sky or water for example).

Capture Movement

If you are working with moving water you can create a stunning white water
effect by choosing a long exposure. One way to do this is by using TV or S
(Shutter-Priority) mode and choosing an exposure of 2 seconds or longer. You
can also use AV (Aperture-Priority) mode and choose a small aperture like
f/32 (which generally requires more light). If working with bright daylight
you must use an ND filter to reduce the amount of light hitting the camera, and
this way the camera will allow you to have a longer shutter time. You must
always use a tripod for this kind of shot so everything else remains sharp.

Use Water as a Mirror

Water in subdued light can create beautiful effects and reflections. The best
time for this kind of shot is during the two “golden hours” which are the first
hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset. Put your camera on a
tripod and set the mode dial to TV or S (Shutter-Priority) mode. Choose a slow
shutter speed and allow the camera to choose the correct aperture. If you
struggle to get a sharp image you can push the ISO up although ISO 125 is a
good starting point.

Take Account of People.

A landscape isn’t just about nature; so why not include people? A beautiful
landscape can be complemented by a cute child or by a beautiful girl running
or jumping through the flowers. Remember the rule of thirds and place the
person in an off-center position to create interest. Choose a fast shutter speed
if you want to freeze the action or a slower shutter speed if you want to
capture movement.

Rule of Thirds

To use the rule of thirds, imagine four lines, two lying horizontally across the
image and two vertical creating nine even squares. Some images will look best
with the focal point in the center square, but placing the subject off-center or
on one of the intersections will create extra interest as it creates a pleasing
layout. When a photograph is composed using the rule of thirds the eyes will
wander the frame. A picture composed by the rule of thirds is more
interesting and pleasing to the eye.

What gear to pack

Advanced gear is not a requirement; however, patience and perseverance are

essential. You don’t need the latest and greatest zoom lens or space-age
gadgetry in order to produce outstanding nature and wildlife photos. At the
same, you must also understand any limitations of your kit, so that you will
have realistic expectations and avoid disappointment.Gear up for what you’ll
most likely be shooting. Packing for a photographic outing can cause a lot of
anxiety. It’s easy to over pack due to fear of lacking a piece of gear. Over
packing though, can be even worse than under packing. You become weighed
down and uncomfortable. You find yourself not enjoying what you’re doing
which is one of the most preventable of all mistakes, made by photographers.
Research the animals and scenes you are likely to encounter. Decide what is
most and least important to you. Make choices, commit to them, and then let it
go.

If you plan on photographing wildlife, such as birds and animals that scare
easily, then pack your best zoom lens so you can keep distance between you
and your subject. Shooting landscapes or scenes where stealth is not a
concern? You might consider taking along a wider angle lens to better capture
your scene.

A good bag is worth its weight in gold

All the planning in the world isn’t worth much unless you can comfortably
carry your essential tools with you. Find a camera bag that can carry the gear
you need easily, and is equally comfortable on your body. Bags range greatly
in price and quality but you usually get what you pay for. For added piece of
mind, you might consider a bag that is semi-weatherproof or water resistant.

Comfort items

Shoes: A good pair of hiking shoes or boots is one of the most important
pieces of gear for any wildlife photographer. Grit, dirt, mud, water, insects,
rocks, and creepy-crawlies – you need a pair of shoes or boots that can handle
all of these elements. Your shoes should be well fitting and suitable for
walking long distances. If your feet become uncomfortable it won’t be long
before you start thinking about cutting your trip short.
Shoot RAW

If possible, set your camera to capture images in camera RAW format. RAW
image files are basically unprocessed, one might say uncooked, straight from
your camera’s image sensor. They contain a massive amount of pixel
information when compared to JPEG and take up a lot more memory card
space. However, this additional information allows more latitude for
adjustments in post-processing.

Use the lowest practical ISO

The ISO number of photographic film and image sensors relates to their
sensitivity to light. The boiled down explanation is, everything else being
equal, the higher the ISO number the less light is required to make an image.
Unfortunately with higher light sensitivity comes increased image noise. In
most (but not all) situations you will generally want to use the lowest ISO
possible. That is not to say you should be afraid of bumping up the ISO. A fast
shutter speed is often needed to capture the quick movements of wildlife and
increased noise is far less noticeable than a blurred image.

Use AF continuous (AI Servo) mode when photographing wildlife

Autofocus (AF) can be your best friend or your worst enemy. When it comes
to photographing most wildlife, however, autofocus is a great tool! Animals
and birds, especially the wild variety, are almost constantly on the move. They
shift positions and move closer or farther away selfishly, with little regard for
the photo you are so carefully trying to compose. This is when AF-Continuous
and AF-Servo modes come in handy. Though called different names depending
on your camera’s make, they both accomplish the same objective which is
keeping a moving subject constantly in focus. Place your selected focus area
over your subject and half-press the shutter button to engage the AF. Focus
will be tracked for as long as you follow your subject while maintaining
pressure on the shutter button. Read your camera’s manual (you’ve done that
already, right?) for detailed information concerning specific autofocus
capabilities for your model, and how each mode can be selected.
Don’t forget the tripod

“I really didn’t think I would need my tripod” are words that usually begin a
sad story about how a potentially great shot is missed. In most wildlife and
nature photography situations a tripod is always a good idea. It’s better to
have access to one and not need it than to need it and not have one available.
Find the lightest and most compact tripod that is sturdy enough to handle
your camera setup.

Macro photography

The term macro used to refer to the capture of an insect or whatever, that
resulted in an image on the 35mm film frame (24x36mm) that ranged from
1:10 to 1:1 the size of the original subject. For its part, the term micro referred
to a film image that was larger than 1:1 life size; micro photography could
easily give you a 35mm film image of an ant that was itself larger than the
original ant.

Use a ring flash or twin lite flash when shooting macro

Using a flash will allow you to shoot at a reasonable speed, yet enable you to
keep the aperture on a high f/11 for sufficient depth of field. I understand it
isn’t always possible for beginner photographers to purchase external flash.
However we recommend keeping it in mind for later on.

Learn to focus manually

Learn to use manual focus when shooting insects. As the hoverfly was
constantly moving, I found turning off the lens AF (automatic focus) function
made the job so much easier. If I hadn’t turned this lens setting off, it would
have kept swimming or refocusing, making it near impossible to capture a
sharp image of the hoverfly.

Try extension tubes

An extension tube is simply a hollow cylinder that fits in between your camera
and lens, causing the lens to move further from the sensor. This additional
distance allows your lens to focus more closely, which in turn provides more
magnification capability.

Experiment with extension tubes. They are cheaper than you might think. If
you view a photographs EXIF data and notice the aperture and focal length are
showing as zero (0), chances are the photographer used an extension tube or
some piece of equipment that sat between the camera’s body and the lens.

When to use a tripod

Use a tripod if you cannot shoot faster than the length of your lens. For
example, this photograph was taken with the use of a tripod and a remote
release. Having a slower shutter speed of 1/30th of a second, I wouldn’t have
achieved a sharp image if the camera was handheld. A general rule of thumb
for hand held macro shots, is that if your lens is 100mm focal length, then the
shutter speed needs to be at least 1/100th of a second or faster to achieve a
sharp photograph. Therefore, if you are shooting in a shady spot of the garden,
you will need a tripod to achieve great results.

Make good use of backlight

Make good use of morning sunlight to capture detail not seen otherwise. This
particular photograph was taken at 8.30 in the morning with strong sunlight
coming from behind the dragonfly. While many photographers don’t like
shooting into the sun, I find when it comes to macro photography, it can often
help to highlight an insects tiny hairs. You do need to be careful not to capture
lens flare though. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Trying numerous
angles also helps to find the best position.
Blend Flash with Ambient

With more static subjects it can be fun to add a blip of flash just to liven up an
image.

In this composite shot of a sycamore leaf, both images were exposed for
natural light; however, the bottom image was given a blip of off-camera fill-in
flash and the shutter speed was increased by one stop in order to darken the
background.

Try a Dioptre to Make a Lens Focus Closer

Close-up filters are single-element lenses that look like magnifying glasses.
These filters screw into the front element thread and can provide an
inexpensive alternative to splashing out on a pukka macro lens. They come in
a variety of strengths that are measured in dioptres.Close-up filters are often
available in sets of +1,+2 or +4 dioptre magnification.Dioptres are also
available to fit Cokin style square filter systems. Add a dioptre to a bridge
camera or a compact to achieve real close-up shots.
Bird Photography

Photograph them in direct sunlight

Photographing birds in direct sunlight helps for two reasons: it gets you a
faster shutter speed and it creates even lighting on the bird. The faster shutter
will help you freeze the action of the bird (since they don’t sit still for long),
and the even lighting will help you avoid getting those harsh shadows that
hide detail in the bird’s feathers.

Recommended Settings

To get the best exposures possible when shooting bird close-ups, you’ll need
to consider that the subject could fly away in the blink of an eye. So you’ll want
the shutter speed to be as fast as possible, say 1/500s, that way you’ll be able
to capture the bird even if it’s about to take flight, and have an acceptable
image. However, with shutter speeds that fast, you need as much light as
possible, which means as wide an aperture as possible. This works in your
favor, because not only do you get the light you need, but the wide-open
aperture dramatically reduces the depth-of-field, thus eliminating any
distracting background objects.

Recommended Equipment

A macro zoom lens is important if you want to take very sharp close-up
images. When going out into the wild to get these types of photos, there are a
few things you need to bring to make sure you can be satisfied with your
session. A telephoto lens with an aperture of at least f/3.5 or f/4, a tripod or a
monopod, perhaps even a lens support (if you have a 300mm or 400mm lens).
It’s hard to maintain a steady camera lens without one.

Wait patiently for them to fly to you

Birds will almost always fly away if you get too close to them, so instead wait
for them to come to you. If you wait patiently long enough, then birds will
often land just a few feet away from you, once they realize you’re not a threat
(and if you stand somewhat still).
Enable continuous shooting and take lots of shots

Since birds like to move around so much, it’s helpful to take a lot of shots to
ensure you photograph the bird when they’re standing still in a nice pose.
Make sure you enable continuous shooting on your camera, so you can rapidly
shoot photos.

Don’t skimp on depth-of-field.

Beginning birds in flight shooters often use the lowest aperture they have
available to get a high shutter speed. While a high shutter speed is certainly
important, skimping on aperture is not the answer. Many birds have a large
wingspan, and a low aperture will often put the wing tips out of focus. If you
need more light to increase your shutter speed, use a higher ISO.

Focus on their eyes

The viewer of your photograph will first look at the eyes of the bird, so it’s
important to get the eyes tack sharp. To help you do this, set your camera’s
autofocus point to the center spot.

Consider the Background

When you’re composing your close-up bird shot, the background is extremely
important for ensuring an effective photo. You usually want a dark or neutral
background, so the subject pops out. Set the exposure metering mode to spot
metering, so you can get a reading of just the subject while ignoring the
background. Otherwise the camera’s light meter will be fooled into thinking
that the image is darker than what you want, and overexpose the photo.

Catch them in Action

Nothing fascinates more than capturing a bird in flight, but if you’re not
careful, you’ll only get a blur. To stop the action cold, you need to quicken the
shutter speed to at least 1/500th of a second. The fast shutter will be able to
stop the nearly invisible motion of a humming bird’s wings. Consider using the
burst mode which will shoot simultaneous images for you quickly.
Set your lens to autofocus on farther objects

Most longer lenses have a switch that controls the distance that the autofocus
will search at (near or far). So, with birds, since you’re photographing
something far away, make sure this switch is set to focus on far objects. This
will speed up your lens’ autofocus and prevent it from “searching” for
something to focus on, which could cost you the shot.

Use a Teleconverter

You might want to consider purchasing the best quality 400mm telephoto
zoom lens you can afford, and then add a teleconverter (sometimes known as
extenders) to your setup. A teleconverter is a tube that extends the focal
length of your lens. For example if you placed a 1.4x teleconverter onto your
camera with a 400mm telephoto lens, then it would create similar effects to
using a 560mm lens.

Photographing Birds in Flight

Surely, the most celebrated technical challenge in bird photography must be

that of capturing crisp images of birds in flight—or BIFs (Birds in Flight).
Birds are, after all, the dominant flying vertebrates, so in some sense the flight
shot might be said to more fully capture the essence of the living bird. Note
that skills do take some practice, though in many cases the end result may
depend as much on luck as on skill. The skills are still essential, however,
since no amount of luck can help you if you don’t at least know the basics. The
most fundamental issues when photographing birds in flight are motion,
lighting, and pose. In addition, there are special considerations regarding
equipment choices and finding good flight subjects.

Motion

The main problem with photographing birds in flight is that they’re moving.
Recall that for stationary birds, to obtain a sharp image you only needed to
make sure that the camera was kept still, the shutter speed was fast enough
(say, 1/160 sec or faster without IS), the aperture was set to a stop or so
below wide open (to overcome optical flaws in the lens), and no intruding
elements in the scene (e.g., branches, leaves) partially occluded the bird. Now
you need to consider all of these things plus the fact that the bird is moving.
There are two aspects of subject motion that affect image sharpness: (1) the
motion of the whole bird relative to the scene (or relative to the camera), and
(2) the motion of the bird’s extremities (primarily its wings) relative to the
bird itself. These two aspects affect flight photography in different ways.

First, let’s consider the motion of the bird’s extremities relative to its body.
The flapping of the wings is obviously the biggest concern in most cases. The
first thing to realize is that not all birds flap their wings at the same rate. As
all dedicated fans of Monty Python surely know, in order to maintain airspeed
velocity, an unladen swallow needs to beat its wings 43 times per second
(though this result has been disputed by some researchers). For some
hummingbirds, that number can be as high as 100 beats per second or more.
Larger birds, however, tend to flap their wings much more slowly than this,
and it’s large birds that, by and large (with the exception of hummingbirds),
tend to be most often photographed in flight. Many larger birds such as hawks
and herons beat their wings only about twice per second, give or take half a
beat. Ducks, by comparison, can be relatively rapid flappers, meting out 4 to 9
beats per second (give or take a few wing beats). During periods of gliding, of
course, all these speeds go down to roughly zero beats per second. For
flapping flight, however, the question remains: how fast does the shutter
speed on your camera have to be in order to freeze the bird’s wings?

Large birds such as eagles and herons can sometimes be satisfactorily frozen
with shutter speeds as slow as 1/500 or 1/640 sec, though often you may
need 1/800 or 1/1000 sec, and for birds in a hurry you may need even faster
speeds. If you read the popular articles that have been published on the
matter, most will suggest an average speed of 1/1000 sec for general BIF
photography, with ranges typically being cited as 1/500 sec to 1/1600 sec.
The ideal thing to do is to simply try several speeds on the birds you’re trying
to capture, and to zoom in to 100% on your LCD to see if you can detect any
evidence of motion blur. If you do see motion blur—more motion blur than
you think will support the desired aesthetics of the image you’re trying to
craft—then you can simply increase the shutter speed and continue to shoot
your subject at progressively faster speeds until you get satisfactory results.
Doing so will, of course, place additional constraints on your other exposure
parameters.

The other major consideration in freezing motion for BIF photography is the
movement of the whole bird, relative to the camera (as opposed to the wings
relative to the bird’s body). Whereas the motion of the bird’s wings required a
sufficiently fast shutter speed, the forward motion of the bird itself requires a
less technological solution: carefully controlled movement of your own body.

Movement of Photographer Relative to Bird

Smooth panning is an essential skill for BIF photography—and not necessarily

a difficult one to acquire, though a bit of diligent practice will almost certainly
improve your results. The key is to delegate one part of your body to do the
swiveling as you track the bird, and to keep all other limbs fixed relative to the
swivel point during the imaging sequence. In the vast majority of hand-held
flight sequences, this means rotating at your waist while keeping your upper
torso rigid. With only your waist doing any (relative) movement, you can
concentrate on both keeping the bird vertically stationary in the viewfinder
(via fine adjustments in your arms or upper torso) and also keeping it
horizontally stationary in the viewfinder as you track it (using the muscles in
your thighs and waist). The important thing is that you develop a technique in
which the same muscle group is used, for every BIF photo you take, to do the
panning. What you don’t want is to track each BIF that you encounter using a
complex, on-the-fly improvisation of muscular movements that may result in
jerky motion. Note that proper technique can require a surprising amount of
muscular exertion, both in your thighs and waist as you rotate and in your
arms and shoulders as you strive to keep your upper body rigid.

I recommend preparing for any BIF session by planting your feet a

comfortable distance apart (most authors suggest shoulder-width) and
practicing your panning motion by holding your hand-held rig up to your face
and horizontally swiveling strictly at the waist. With a modest amount of
practice you’ll identify the muscle groups involved in this motion, and you can
then begin to pay more attention to these muscles during the actual act of
swiveling. Though general BIF photography encompases more than simply
left-to-right or right-to-left tracking trajectories, these are a good place to
start. Once you have the discipline down for horizontal tracking, more general
tracking should become more intuitive. Just concentrate on remaining in
complete control of your movements, so that your imaging trajectory can be
as smooth as possible.For hand-held work, I recommend holding the lens by
placing your left hand underneath the lens hood (i.e., at the far end of the
lens), to maximize sensitivity of your hand movements in controlling lens
angle. Note also that if your lens has a removable tripod collar, it’s generally
advisable to remove it for hand-held work, to reduce weight (unless you find
that you can get a better grip by grasping the collar or the lens foot).

Keeping the bird in the viewfinder is generally easier when the bird is smaller
in frame, and this of course is a function of both focal length and distance to
the bird (as well as bird size). In terms of focal length, many photographers
prefer 300-400mm for BIFs. A popular choice is a 400mm f/5.6 lens with a
fast in-lens focusing motor (i.e., not the Nikon 80-400mm zoom) because
these are generally small and lightweight, so they’re easy to hand-hold for
extended periods. For hand-held work I personally prefer a 400mm f/4 lens,
because I can easily use a 1.4× teleconverter if necessary. When the birds are
fairly close, 400mm—give or take 100mm—can indeed be very effective at
keeping the bird in the frame, though larger or faster-moving birds can still
prove challenging. In these latter cases you might consider backing away
from your subjects if possible, both to reduce the size of the bird in the frame
and to reduce the angular velocities of birds passing across the frame.

The other challenging aspect of tracking BIFs is keeping the AF sensor on the
bird—and not just on the bird, but on the right part of the bird. Ideally, you’d
like to keep the sensor positioned on the bird’s eye, since the eye is generally
the most important part to keep in focus. In many cases (perhaps most),
however, the bird’s eye will be too small to serve as an effective target in the
viewfinder. A more tractible target is the bird’s head, since this will often be
large enough to reliably keep under the AF sensor. If the head is too small to
effectively target, the bird’s torso will do instead, though it’s important to try
to avoid focusing on the wings. If the depth of field is shallow enough,
focusing on a wing can result in the bird’s head being too out of focus. When
the background isn’t completely clear, keeping the AF sensor positioned
precisely over the bird at all times becomes more important, since many
cameras will give up on the bird and switch to focusing on the background if
given the chance. Once the AF system decides to focus on the background, it
can be exceedingly difficult to get the subject back in focus, because the bird
will often be rendered so out of focus in the viewfinder that you can’t even be
sure that the lens is still pointed at the bird. Photographers have come up
with a number of techniques for getting the bird back in focus in these
situations. One, if your lens features full-time manual override, is to disable
the AF system by removing your finger from the shutter release, and then to
focus manually until the bird becomes visible in the viewfinder again. You
needn’t obtain a precise focus manually, since you can re-engage the AF
system once you’re confident that you’ve got the AF sensor positioned on the
bird again. The manual-refocusing approach can be very difficult to use
effectively, since you may need to track the bird visually (i.e., not through the
viewfinder) in order to get the lens pointing at the bird again.

Another approach that many photographers have discovered is to point the

camera at an object a similar distance from the camera as the bird, engage the
AF system to achieve a focus at that distance, and then disengage the AF and
quickly point the lens back at the bird. At that point you can try to re-establish
focus of the subject via AF. Depending on the speed of your camera’s AF
system and your lens’ focusing motor, this may or may not be faster than
adjusting focus manually. If your lens has a focus limiter switch this can help
to improve the focusing speed by reducing the range that the focuser needs to
move through as the camera searches for a new focus.

Lighting

Lighting can be an especially frustrating issue when shooting birds in flight.

Due to the distances typically involved, flash tends to be less useful than for
closer, more stationary birds. Thus, BIF shooters rely more on natural light,
which is more difficult to control. On cloudless days the BIFs will be
illuminated by direct sunlight, which is problematic during much of the day
when the sun is overhead and your view of the bird consists largely of a
poorly-lit underside. One approach is to shoot only at sunrise and sunset,
when the sun is low in the sky and the birds will be lit from the side rather
than from above.

Rain Photography

Use Tele Photo Lens

Use of Tele Photo Lens let you capture the rain without getting immersed in
rain. It would be wise to use longer lenses; so that you could avoid the
possible risk of splashes hitting your equipment at totally unexpected times.
Longer focal length lenses also magnifies the subject (which includes rain
drops) and thus could bring more impact to the rain drops.

Shutter speed

Obviously rain is going to be a moving subject, and with that the first thing to
come to mind would be your shutter speed. In order to stop the raindrops in
action, you want to use as fast of a shutter speed as possible. If you can bump
your shutter speed to faster than 1/500, you’re much more likely to stop the
drops! Try shooting at as many different speeds as possible until you get the
image you want. Depending on the lighting, you may not be able to go too fast
without bumping up your ISO. That’s okay. It’s better to have a higher ISO and
risk of some grain than to miss out on a great shot.

Bouncing

Some of the best times to capture water is when it hits the ground, puddles or
other bodies of water, or an object. In the image above, some drops are still
falling and some are bouncing. The light hitting the two bigger drops in the air
is a nice touch as well. Consider being close to the ground for some of your
shots. Pavement, puddles, rocks, and more make for great opportunities to
capture water landing on them.
Water Reflection

Puddles are wonderful opportunities to catch a reflection while it’s raining.

They’re often easy to find, too! Just take a walk down your street during a
rainstorm.

This image of the little boy stomping in a puddle is a great childhood capture.
Who doesn’t remember stomping in a puddle as a kid? The clouds in the
reflection also work quite well. They’re both reminders that when you see a
possible image, take note of it from different sides to see how it changes.
Likely, if the shot was taken from the other side of the puddle, the reflection
would be quite different.