Better Photo Tips

Five Points of Composition

2005-07-31T17:29:00.000-07:00

When you press your eye to the viewfinder of your camera, a blank canvas is placed before you. Similar to more traditional artists, you can paint a vertical shot or a horizontal shot. That's your first decision in basic composition. "Is my subject up and down, or is it something that goes side to side?" If your subject is up and down, you should be holding your camera in a vertical position. Too often people get lazy and say "oh, they can crop that later." Yes, they can.
But why let them? This is your masterpiece, why hand them the brush?

Second point to consider . . . how big a print do you want? You do realize of course that different size prints have different preportions. In other words, if a group of ten people just barely fit in your 5x7 print and then someone asks you to make an 8x10 print; someone will be missing or cut in half on the larger print. Giving your subject room on either side so that you can enlarge later is NOT the same as being lazy and letting the lab make up for your mistakes.

Third point, is where on the canvas is your subject going to be placed? Centuries ago, Greek Artists discovered that the eye tends to focus on certain points in any given picture. If you divide your picture into thirds both horizontally and vertically, the points at which those lines intersect are the points where most people tend to focus comfortably. This is commonly referred to as the "Rule of Thirds".

By placing your subject (or point of interest) at one of these natural focus points, you have greatly increased the odds that the viewer will be captivated by your work. The more you do this, the more people will notice that your work seems more interesting than their "Bull's-eye" type snap shot. They won't understand it, but they will be drawn to your work like a magnet.

If you get a really nice shot that you like, what usually happens? You enlarge it, then frame it, then find that perfect spot on you wall. Why do you frame it? Because it draws attention. In the children's story Charlotte's Webb, Charlotte concludes that people believe what they see in print. Likewise, people believe if something is framed it must be important. So why wait? Learn to start framing your shots, while you take them.

In most cases, framing consist of something in the foreground (usually slightly out of focus) that helps set off something in the background. One of the reasons this is such a powerful tool, is that this is exactly how the human eye sees things. Think about it: A flower at the edge of a canyon, you can either focus on the flower or the canyon, but not both. Framing helps create a sense of depth by creating opposition.

The last and most important rule in basic composition is, if it doesn't add to the shot, then get rid of it! In other words, get closer! Don't stand twenty feet away and say you're taking a portrait. If you're taking a landscape that's exceptable. But if your subject consist of one or two main subjects, they should fill up 80% of that viewfinder, not 20%. This takes us back to the beginning. If you are shooting one person who is standing and the camera is still in the horizontal position, you're waisting 80% of your shot. Turn that camera up on it's edge, step closer, and fill that frame with your subject.

Do these five things, and your work will improve dramatically! People will start
to notice. As you start to feel more confident in your work, it gets even better. Then you get noticed even more. The final step in this process is for you to share what you've learned, so others can enjoy photography as much as you do.

Seeing the Light

2005-07-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

In my 30 years of photographic experience, I have been forunate to make several great friends in the field of photography. Several of them work in Photo Labs. When asked about the single biggest mistake that they see day in and day out, the response is always: "These people just don't understand light."

Remember: all cameras average the existing light. What that means to you is just because you can see it doesn't mean the camera can. The human eye is still far more sophisticated than the most expensive camera money can buy. If, for example, you stand someone in front of a huge bright window, your eye can still tell who that person is . . . but the camera can not, at least, not without help. Your eye will zoom into a person's face and automatically ignore all that bright light around them, the camera will not.

The camera's whole purpose in life is to make an image that is 18% gray. Long ago, someone decided that 18% gray was as close to the human eye, as a camera can get. But if for example, 80% of the picture frame is filled with light that is say 70% white light, what does the camera do to make the image average 18% gray? It takes your subject and makes him or her a silhouette. Don't get mad at the camera, it's only doing what it's been told to do.

I was on a hike with my son at Bryce Canyon National Park the other day. We could see these small caves going back into the rock. From a distance, we could even see into the caves a fairly good distance. It was a fairly bright day, too bright to shoot the caves. Even my flash, which is pretty massive, could not light up the caves from that distance. The solution would be to shoot the scene at dusk when all the light was lower.

Use a flash indoors 90% of the time. The only reason, I don't say 100% is because some events won't allow a flash indoors. If that's the case, get a higher speed film (400 or 800 ISO) and use a tripod. If you can't give a subject more light, give it light for a longer period of time. Basically put, that means if you use a flash the camera speed will probably be about 1/125th of a sec., if you can't you may shoot as low as 1/30th of a sec. or longer. (That's why I suggest the tripod.)

I use a flash outdoors, about 80% of the time. Why? Just because there is plenty of light, doesn't mean it's the right kind of light. Bright light, causes harsh shadows. I can give a short burst of flash (commonly called: "Fill Flash"), and suddenly my colors are vibrant and shadows are under control.

Think of your camera as a child. It will do what it knows how to do (18% gray), but it doesn't have the same skills that you do. If you want a subject to actually be white (a wedding dress for example) give it more light than the camera suggest. If you want it to actually be black, (a black horse for example) give it less light than what it says. If you shoot indoors, use a flash when allowed. If you shoot outdoors, consider a flash, it might surprise you. If you are so close that a flash would wash out your subject, try bouncing the flash, or diffusing it.

You make the decisions about your photos, not the camera. There are 26 letters in the alphabet, but not every effort makes a great novel. What you do with those 26 letters determines whether or not you are a great writer. What you do with the information your camera gives you, determines whether or not you are a great photographer.

The Zen Approach

2005-07-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

The week after I graduated high school, I managed to spend a week at the "Zen Center of LA". My father was a Zen Buddhist Priest there and he introduced me to a Zen Master who was also very much into photography. Keep in mind that this was over 25 years ago. Since I don't know
if that Master is still alive or not, I will refer to him only as Zen Master.

The Zen Master taught a different approach to photography than any I have ever encountered. To test my photographic "chi" he hypnotic me into a photograph. Let me explain, he had an 8x10 Black and White image of a mountain on the edge of a calm lake that had an almost perfect mirror reflection. The original image was shot as a horizontal image. He hypnotic me and had my eyes closed. He told me to open my eyes for two seconds then immediately close them. During the two seconds he held out the photograph about two feet from my face, but held it vertically. The effect was that it looked like a giant ink blot. With my eyes still closed he told me to describe the photograph I had just seen.

To make a long story short, I told him things about that photograph that I could not possibly have known. For example, I smelled a very sweet aroma and described in great detail a certain type of yellow flower that I had never seen before. Later, when I was allowed to study the photograph in great detail, I was disappointed to see no flowers in the shot, what so ever. The Master was the person who had taken that shot and told me that he was standing in a field of the flowers I described when he took the shot.

The Master did not give assignments like go out and shoot motion. He gave assignments of a higher understanding. He would tell me to go out and shoot emotion, not motion. If I was feeling Happy, I was told to go out and shoot a roll of "Sad". If I was feeling anger, I was told to go out and shoot a roll of "Joy". The key to his exercises was to be able to have other students see my work and be able to identify the emotion.

Not all photographers can capture emotion on film when they are trying to do so. But as my wife pointed out, when you are not aware of your emotions it can have a dramatic effect on your work as well. Example, I have shot many weddings before. Yet, when my own son was getting married, I was so nervous about not getting it perfect, that I did just that. I think Henry Ford said it best when he said, "Whether you think you can or think you can't . . . You're right."

The reason the Master had us shoot opposite what we were feeling, was to make us consciously aware of all the emotions around us. He used to say, "Anyone who feels happy can shoot happy. That doesn't take skill. What takes skill and years of practice, is for a depressed man to make you smile or laugh."

Since that time, I have made it a practice to study motivational quotes and success stories before I ever go out on a paying job. I'm not proud to admit that my son's wedding shots were some of the worst I had ever taken, but then again . . . That's what I was worried about. The moral of the story is: want uplifting motivational shots? Think uplifting motivational thoughts.

35mm Verses Digital

2005-07-28T03:59:00.000-07:00

It seems like every few days someone sees my work on my website (www.lordtedric.com), or some other place; and asks me is that digital? When I turn in my regular 35mm film, the lab asks me, "Haven't you gone digital yet?" Other people when talking with me seem shocked when I state that I am NOT 100% digital.

Don't get me wrong, I do have a digital camera, and there are things I love about it. But in the real world, there are some good reasons for sticking with 35mm. Let me repeat, this is NOT a "bash all digtal cameras" story. But here are a few points to consider:

A) My digital camera has a flash that covers about 15 feet. My handlemount flash that I use with my regular 35mm camera is rated with a guide number of 120. That means, I could shoot a portrait from across a basketball gym if I desired. It also means I can shoot family reunions with 50 plus people in the photo and not worry about my flash.

b) My digital camera has a 10x zoom, (which is nice); but it does not except any of the dozen or more filters I have used through out the years. A polarizor filter does great things for clouds and reflections. If I want to get really close, my close-up filter set can make a world of difference. A cross star filter can add that little touch of class that makes the difference between a nice shot and a great shot!

c) Everyone points out that digital cameras are so much cheaper as far as prints go. That my friend, depends on your perspective. When I shoot a wedding for example, I shoot 24 exposure rolls of film, usually either 4 or 5 rolls. With regular 35mm film I can get those processed (as jumbo "5x7" size) for about $7.00 per roll. That works out to about .29 cents per print. If I bring in my digital card and want a jumbo "5x7" size print, it cost me at the same lab: $1.47 each. Let's say I shoot five rolls . . . which would you rather pay $35.00 raw cost, or $176.00 raw cost?

I realize that if I could afford a good 35mm digtal camera (about $1,000.00)then many of my complaints would be taken care of. But as a working man trying to get by, I still can't ignore getting 5x7 prints for only .29 cents (or less if I out lab it).

Do I own a digital camera? Yes. Do I enjoy it? Yes. But will I ever go totally 100% digital? Not likely. If I got a color laser printer, maybe? Maybe, but that's another $1,000.00 I just don't have laying around. Until I get to that point, I will continue to use both and enjoy it.

The "A" Generation

2005-07-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

It occurs to me, that if I started to ramble on about f-Stops and aperture,
there is a growing generation of upcoming photographers who may actually not
know what I am talking about. This is not necessarily bad, if you still understand
what it is they do. To those of you who do know what "f-stops" are, remember that
this generation was not trained the same way we were.

In our day, (those of us over 35 years old), when someone mentioned the phrase
"f-stops" or "aperture", we knew automatically we were going to talk about
"Depth of Field". To those of you have never seen: f-1.8, f-8, f-16 or know
what they mean, that's OK, because you belong to Generation "A". "A" stands
for automatic. Which most of today's cameras favor.

In most cameras you will now see several new "automatic settings". These include:
the green symbol that looks like a camera, the symbol that looks like a small head,
the symbol that looks like a mountain, the symbol that looks like a small runner,
a symbol that looks like a flower, and sometimes, a person with a star over one
shoulder.

The green camera is a totally automatic mode - the camera picks both the f-Stop
and shutter speed which gives you very little control. The small head is a
portrait mode - meaning that the camera automatically picks a small f-stop, meaning
a very narrow depth of field. The small moutain is a landscape mode - meaning
that the camera automatically picks a large f-stop, meaning a large depth of field.

A narrow depth of field is actually closer to the human eye than any other mode.
Example: Hold a pencil out at arms length and stare at the tip. Now look beyound
the pencil. As the sharp pencil becomes soft and the soft background becomes sharp
this is what we mean by the phrase "Depth of Field". The human eye can only focus
on one point at a time.

A large depth of field means that everything in the image is just as crisp as any other
point. Although useful for landscapes, or large groups of people, this mode is not the
most realistic mode. Many people assume (wrongly) that if your picture is not totally
sharp from one edge to another, then you must have messed up. Personally, I
disagree with that view. A large depth of field would also allow a person and the
mountain behind him or her to be in equal focus.

The small runner is a sports mode - the camera automatically pick a fast shutter
speed which can stop action.

The flower is a close-up mode - which often allows you to focus closer and changes
how the camera meter exposes the subject.

The person with a star off to one side is basically a night shot mode. Even though it
is still an automatic mode, this mode does allow you to shoot at slower shutter speed
than normal.

Knowing what these little symbols are for, still gives you a much more creative edge
over those point and shoot cameras that give you no choices at all. My advice to
you is to shoot two or three rolls in each mode. Understand in your own mind; what
the advantages of each are, and you will be on your way to becoming the best
photographer you can be.

My First Blog

2005-07-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

To any and all photo enthusist out there. I have been in photography for
30 years. I've been using the internet for 10 years, but . . . this is my first blog.
My name is Tedric Garrison (AKA Lord Tedric). I have been working on a
photo web site (www.lordtedric.com) for several months now. It occured to me
that if I want this web site to be successfull; I shouldn't rely on just my own
knowledge, but gather tips and insights from other photographers too.
I have had lots of experience in Portraits, Weddings, and Nature Photography
but I am well aware that is only the tip of the iceburge. If anyone wants to share
thoughts in these areas that's great, if you have experience in other photographic
areas, that's even better. I am trying to set this up as a learning tool and expect to
learn as much or more than what I have started with.

Lord Tedric