1. Bring a tripod, bring a tripod, bring a tripod.
Good fireworks photos require long exposures, and the best way to get them is to use a sturdy tripod. If you absolutely can’t bring a tripod to the scene, do your best to brace your camera against railings, walls, or cars to keep it steady. (Or try a mini tripod!)
2. Bring a flashlight, charged batteries, and plenty of empty memory cards
You’re gonna need to change your camera settings while you’re out there, and it’s gonna be dark. Bring a small flashlight. And since you’ll likely be taking lots of pictures as you experiment, don’t forget to empty out your memory cards and bring a fully charged battery, too.
3. Find a great location early
Once the show gets going, you’re not going to have the time (and if you’re in a crowd, the ability) to move around much. Here’s how to stake out something good from the start:
Start scouting for a location early
Look for a place with an unobstructed view of the sky. Remember, you want to see fireworks in front of you, not above you.
Watch out for trees and buildings which could block your view, and street lamps and other lighting which might make your exposures tricky.
Try to find landmarks or other interesting things you can use to make your compositions more interesting.
Try to find a unique vantage point: near a body of water that will reflect the fireworks, high up where the fireworks are at eye-level (on a rooftop, balcony, or bridge), etc. Get creative and go where other people aren’t.
Remember that tripods work best on stable, level footing, and cameras work best when people aren’t likely to walk in front of them during long exposures.
Fireworks give off a fair amount of smoke. Make sure the wind isn’t headed in your direction or the smoke will obscure your view.
4. Turn your flash off
Whether it’s an on-camera flash or an add-on, it’s not nearly powerful enough to reach the fireworks. Even if it was, you wouldn’t want to light them that way. Go flash-less.
5. Drop your ISO to 50 or 100
Your digital camera has several user-selectable light-sensitivity settings. The higher your ISO, the more sensitive your camera is to light. Normally this means you want to use a higher ISO in dark settings, but when you’re shooting longer exposures (long shutter speeds) high ISO can introduce a lot of digital noise to your photograph. An ISO setting of 100 is a good bet.
6. Turn on noise reduction
If your camera has it, this setting will help get rid of any digital noise created by your long exposures, even with a low ISO. Note: some cameras will take several seconds to eliminate noise after a shot is taken, preventing you from taking another photograph immediately.
7. Use the self-timer to reduce vibration
Even with your camera on a tripod, you cause small vibrations just by clicking the shutter, resulting in a less-than-perfectly sharp capture. Set your self-timer to the shortest duration possible and use it to give the your camera a chance to settle before the shot’s actually taken. Sharper shots, guaranteed.
8. Use your camera’s fireworks setting
Many recent cameras have a scene mode specifically for fireworks. Try some photos with and without it and see what you prefer.
9. Focus on infinity
We strongly recommend shooting in full manual mode if you have the ability. Set your focus to just less than infinity (or choose a landscape setting if you can’t manually adjust focus) and use an aperture of f/8 to f/16.
10. Use long shutter speeds: 2-3 seconds or longer
This is the most important camera setting you’ll need to worry about. At any given moment, fireworks are just a bunch of bright points of light. What makes them interesting is how their quick motion across the night sky illuminates a path and creates beautiful streaks and patterns. Your eye sees it, but with a fast shutter speed, your camera doesn’t.
So to give your camera a chance to record those streaks and patterns, you need to make sure your shutter is open long enough to get them in. That means at minimum a full second, and possibly up to 15 seconds or more. You’ll want to experiment with different durations to see what works best.
How to do it: If your camera allows full manual control, it’s easy. Just set your shutter speed to whatever you want. If your camera doesn’t give you full control, put it in the mode that gives you the most control and turn off the flash. If you click the shutter to snap the photo while a rocket’s still rising and before it’s exploded, your camera should automatically meter for a long exposure and set the shutter speed appropriately.
11. Take lots of pictures, be creative, and have fun!
Have fun, experiment, and take tons of photos. Remember, you can always delete the duds later.
NikoNkeePtHemoMentS
Friday, September 24, 2010
Four Easy Ways to Make Your Photos Look Vintage
1. Doctor Up the Shots You’ve Already Got.
We found some awesome places online to help you convert your digital snaps into old-style vintage masterpieces super fast and without expensive photo-editing software!
Wanokato has a fantastic online tool for making your digital photos look vintage. Upload, click a button, and seconds later you’ve got an image that looks like it was pulled out of a hundred year old photo album!
Try Rollip.com, a simple web application where you can apply over 40 different filters (including specific vintage ones!) to your photos.
Old photos are known for looking fuzzy, oddly exposed, scratchy, vignetted, and sometimes even dirty.
With a cell phone camera (or one you’re not worried about damaging) you can try putting Vaseline directly on the edges of your lens to give your photos an out of focus vignette just like old film cameras.
If you’ve got nice equipment, you should probably put your grease of choice on a clear lens filter that you aren’t worried about damaging.
You might also want to try:
Stretching a nylon stocking over your lens for images that look like they’re from old time toy cameras. (Try different colors, too!)
Experimenting with clear paper, wax paper, or anything else slightly transparent to shoot through.
Combining our Color filters with the grease/Vaseline method for photos with beautiful colors and awe-inspiring focus tricks!
3: Out With the new, In With the Old!
Back in the day, people had to walk uphill (both ways) in the snow for 4 miles just to take a photograph.
Now we’ve got digital SLRs, cell phone cameras that shoot HD video, and we can share any picture instantly with the rest of the world.
Been there, vintage-ized that? Then it’s time to break out the original shooters: expired film and old cameras!
Resurrect that old 35mm camera that’s been collecting dust in your attic. The dust might even add to the look you’re craving!
Try out some expired film! The older the better. The colors usually come out strange or faded, making them look like old vintage prints as soon as they’re developed! (This example was shot with color film several years past it’s expiration date.)
If you have a camera that takes Polaroid film, try shooting some Impossible Project Silver Shade Film. With the perfect old-style sepia color, this film also reminds us of beautiful photographs made at the turn of the 19th century.
4. Find A Photobooth!
Love nostalgia as much as we do, but don’t have access to working vintage cameras or film? No problem!
Treat yourself to one of the last remaining endangered species of photography: The analog photobooth.
Nothing beats sitting behind the curtain, staring straight into a camera for it’s un-timed flashes, and waiting 5 minutes outside the booth to retrieve your photo strip while it develops.
Luckily, the folks at Photobooth.net have been hard at work making analog machines easier to find around the world!
Check out their Photobooth Locator to find a working booth near you, and don’t forget to bring your top hat and monocle!
Don’t have Photoshop? Don’t worry!
We found some awesome places online to help you convert your digital snaps into old-style vintage masterpieces super fast and without expensive photo-editing software!
Wanokato has a fantastic online tool for making your digital photos look vintage. Upload, click a button, and seconds later you’ve got an image that looks like it was pulled out of a hundred year old photo album!
Try Rollip.com, a simple web application where you can apply over 40 different filters (including specific vintage ones!) to your photos.
2. Reuse and Diffuse.
With a cell phone camera (or one you’re not worried about damaging) you can try putting Vaseline directly on the edges of your lens to give your photos an out of focus vignette just like old film cameras.
If you’ve got nice equipment, you should probably put your grease of choice on a clear lens filter that you aren’t worried about damaging.
You might also want to try:
Stretching a nylon stocking over your lens for images that look like they’re from old time toy cameras. (Try different colors, too!)
Experimenting with clear paper, wax paper, or anything else slightly transparent to shoot through.
Combining our Color filters with the grease/Vaseline method for photos with beautiful colors and awe-inspiring focus tricks!
3: Out With the new, In With the Old!
Back in the day, people had to walk uphill (both ways) in the snow for 4 miles just to take a photograph.
Now we’ve got digital SLRs, cell phone cameras that shoot HD video, and we can share any picture instantly with the rest of the world.
Been there, vintage-ized that? Then it’s time to break out the original shooters: expired film and old cameras!
Resurrect that old 35mm camera that’s been collecting dust in your attic. The dust might even add to the look you’re craving!
Try out some expired film! The older the better. The colors usually come out strange or faded, making them look like old vintage prints as soon as they’re developed! (This example was shot with color film several years past it’s expiration date.)
If you have a camera that takes Polaroid film, try shooting some Impossible Project Silver Shade Film. With the perfect old-style sepia color, this film also reminds us of beautiful photographs made at the turn of the 19th century.
4. Find A Photobooth!
Love nostalgia as much as we do, but don’t have access to working vintage cameras or film? No problem!
Treat yourself to one of the last remaining endangered species of photography: The analog photobooth.
Nothing beats sitting behind the curtain, staring straight into a camera for it’s un-timed flashes, and waiting 5 minutes outside the booth to retrieve your photo strip while it develops.
Luckily, the folks at Photobooth.net have been hard at work making analog machines easier to find around the world!
Check out their Photobooth Locator to find a working booth near you, and don’t forget to bring your top hat and monocle!
lenses of the month
Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S Nikkor |
Name | Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S Nikkor |
---|---|
Image Circle | 35mm |
Type | Standard Zoom |
Focal Length | 28 - 300mm |
APS Equivalent | 42 - 450mm |
Max Aperture | f/3.5 - 5.6 |
Min Aperture | f/22 - 38 |
Diaphragm Blades | 9 (rounded) |
Lens Construction | 19 elements in 14 groups, including 3 aspherical and 2 ED elements |
Diagonal Angle of View (Based on image circle) | 74 to 8.2 degrees |
Focus Details | AF-S with Silent Wave Motor (SWM) and internal focusing; M/A focus mode switch |
Front Element Rotation | No |
Zoom System | Rotary with Zoom Lock Switch |
Closest Focus | 0.5m / 1.6 ft. (throughout the entire zoom range) |
Magnification Ratio | 0.32x / 1:3.1 (at 300mm) |
Filter Size | 77mm |
Dimensions (Length x Diameter) | 114.5mm x 83mm / 4.5 in. x 3.26 in. |
Weight | 800g / 28.2 oz |
Notes | VR II Image Stabilization (up to 4 stops); Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC); Included Accessories: HB-50 Hood, CL-1120 Soft Lens Case. |
Typical Online Price | US$1,050 (Available Sept. 2010) |
Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR II Nikkor |
Name | Nikon 18-200mm ƒ/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR II Nikkor |
---|---|
Image Circle | APS-C |
Type | Standard Zoom |
Focal Length | 18 - 200mm |
APS Equivalent | 27 - 300mm |
Max Aperture | ƒ/3.5 - 5.6 |
Min Aperture | ƒ/22 - 36 |
Diaphragm Blades | 7 rounded |
Lens Construction | 16 elements in 12 groups, including 3 aspherical and 2 ED elements |
Diagonal Angle of View (Based on image circle) | 76 to 8 degrees |
Focus Details | Internal; AF-S "Silent Wave" motor with full-time manual focus override feature |
Front Element Rotation | No |
Zoom System | Rotary |
Closest Focus | 0.5m / 1.6 ft. |
Magnification Ratio | 0.22x / 1:4.5 |
Filter Size | 72mm |
Dimensions (Length x Diameter) | 96.5mm x 77mm / 3.8 in. x 3.0 in. |
Weight | 565g / 19.9 oz. |
Notes | Image Stabilization; Included Accessories: Bayonet hood, Soft lens pouch |
Typical Online Price | US$849.95 (Available Sept. 2009) |
Thursday, September 23, 2010
tips for interior photography
In this picture, 3 different sources of light were used and blended perfectly together. The 3 sources were the light from the lamp, flash and from the sunset.
in this picture, the flash is not come directly from the front of the camera but it come from the side of the camera. the reason is to make the object become more attractive
posing guide
please click here to see some posing guide which can help us as a photographer in order to get best shoothttp://www.fototeacher.com/PosingGuide.pdf
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