By Suzanne Kantra, Techlicious.com (July 2011)
Wanted to be sure you didn't miss this great article, which was posted on the following website... some great tips to help with taking awesome photos of fireworks-have a safe & happy 4th of July holiday...
COPIED FROM: http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/06/30/6976038-take-sparkling-photos-on-the-fourth-of-july?gt1=43001
Heading out with the family for HOLIDAY fireworks celebrations is a time-honored tradition. And, if you're like me, you enjoy capturing those memories in pictures. But photographing fireworks with no camera shake and proper exposure is difficult, unless you know these simple tricks.
1. Use a tripod
When you take picture of fireworks, the camera needs to hold the shutter open long enough to “see” the fireworks. The longer the shutter is open, the more susceptible your photo is to motion blur. So use a tripod to make sure there’s no movement. For open areas, use a stand-alone model with telescoping legs like the Dolica AX620B100 Proline ($36 on amazon.com). A more mobile option is the Joby Gorillapod original ($19.95 on joby.com), which can wrap around trees and poles or stand up on the ground.
2. Use the “fireworks” scene mode
Most point-and-shoot cameras have a button or dial with “SCN” or “Scene” on it. Otherwise you’ll find it under the “menu” button. When you put your camera in scene mode, a list of the available modes will pop up on screen. Select the one that looks like a spray of fireworks and/or says "fireworks". Most cameras sold today have a "fireworks" option for scenes. Some models I recommend include the Canon PowerShot A3300IS (an affordable 16MP camera with a 5x lens, $179 on usa.canon.com), Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 (an extremely rugged 12MP camera, $399 on panasonic.com) and the Fujifilm FinePix HS20 (a 16MP camera with a monster 30x wide-angle lens, $425 on amazon.com).
3. If your camera doesn’t have a “fireworks” mode, put it in “landscape” mode
Your camera automatically tries to find an object on which to focus. And when presented with a black featureless sky, the camera doesn’t know what to do. By putting your camera in “landscape” mode, you’ll be presetting the focus to infinity and narrowing the lens opening, which keeps both near and far objects in focus.
4. Turn off the flash
Turning your flash off will let the camera know that it only has available light to take a picture. This is important because the camera will then keep the shutter open long enough to capture the fireworks. The flash button is usually a separate button on the back of the camera. On some cameras, you can’t turn off the flash unless you put it in a scene mode or program mode (P).
5. Turn down the ISO
High ISO will crank up the sensitivity of the camera so it can see details in the dark. However, the fireworks themselves are quite bright. So, to avoid overexposure and reduce film noise, take your camera out of Auto ISO and change the setting to ISO 100 or even lower. The ISO setting is usually found under the main menu. You may have to put your camera in program mode to change this setting.
Showing posts with label camera flash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label camera flash. Show all posts
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
TIPS FOR BETTER DIGITAL PHOTOS
FIRST AND FOREMOST: Visit your camera manufacturer’s website – whether they will have lots of helpful tips and suggestions specific to your camera and how to take great pictures.. Always check the flash range and how close you can get to your subjects; which vary with every camera
GET CLOSER TO WHAT YOUR ARE PHOTOGRAPHING: The most common mistake we all make is that we are too far away from the person or object we are photographing… Get closer and if you aren’t sure how close – as always check your camera to see what the manufacturer recommends so your pictures are not blurry.
TAKE PHOTOS ON THE SAME LEVEL AS YOUR SUBJECT : Hold your camera at the same levels as who y0u are photographing – whether that is an adult, children or animal… Yes that might mean stooping down – but the results are wonderful… being at eye level improves the quality of your picture…
OFF CENTER HAS ITS ADVANTAGES: Often times if we move our subject to the side of the photo – versus dead center – our photo will have more life & personality… But remember if you have an auto-focus camera you need to lock it so it doesn’t focus on whatever is in the center
LOCK THE FOUCS: You can check the manufacturers recommendations on locking your focus, but usually all you have to do is center the subject and press and hold the shutter button halfway down, then when you are still holding the button, reposition your camera so the subject is away from the center and then pressing the shutter button all the way down to take the picture.
THE MORE SIMPLE THE BACKGROUND THE BETTER: too often our subjects get lost in the back ground – so consider shooting up towards the sky at your subject or have them move so that they don’t have “objects” growing out of their bodies, like chair legs or poles.
WHAT ABOUT LIGHTING?: No doubt, this is critical to great pictures – watch for shadows and don’t hesitate to move or have your subject move and on vacation, when you are attempting to take those great landscape shots, try to take pictures early or late in the day when the light had different tints and can greatly enhance your scenery shots.
SHOOTING IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT: Consider using your flash to help lighten your subjects faces. Some cameras have 2 choices fill-flash mode or full-flash mode. We use fill-flash mode when the person is within five feet and we use full-power mode for beyond five feet… On overcast days – try your pictures both ways with & without the flash – often times without gives your photos a soft glow..
GET CLOSER TO WHAT YOUR ARE PHOTOGRAPHING: The most common mistake we all make is that we are too far away from the person or object we are photographing… Get closer and if you aren’t sure how close – as always check your camera to see what the manufacturer recommends so your pictures are not blurry.
TAKE PHOTOS ON THE SAME LEVEL AS YOUR SUBJECT : Hold your camera at the same levels as who y0u are photographing – whether that is an adult, children or animal… Yes that might mean stooping down – but the results are wonderful… being at eye level improves the quality of your picture…
OFF CENTER HAS ITS ADVANTAGES: Often times if we move our subject to the side of the photo – versus dead center – our photo will have more life & personality… But remember if you have an auto-focus camera you need to lock it so it doesn’t focus on whatever is in the center
LOCK THE FOUCS: You can check the manufacturers recommendations on locking your focus, but usually all you have to do is center the subject and press and hold the shutter button halfway down, then when you are still holding the button, reposition your camera so the subject is away from the center and then pressing the shutter button all the way down to take the picture.
THE MORE SIMPLE THE BACKGROUND THE BETTER: too often our subjects get lost in the back ground – so consider shooting up towards the sky at your subject or have them move so that they don’t have “objects” growing out of their bodies, like chair legs or poles.
WHAT ABOUT LIGHTING?: No doubt, this is critical to great pictures – watch for shadows and don’t hesitate to move or have your subject move and on vacation, when you are attempting to take those great landscape shots, try to take pictures early or late in the day when the light had different tints and can greatly enhance your scenery shots.
SHOOTING IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT: Consider using your flash to help lighten your subjects faces. Some cameras have 2 choices fill-flash mode or full-flash mode. We use fill-flash mode when the person is within five feet and we use full-power mode for beyond five feet… On overcast days – try your pictures both ways with & without the flash – often times without gives your photos a soft glow..
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