Learn how to photograph fireworks

How to Photograph Fireworks

Taking photographs of fireworks can be really easy, just follow the below steps and have fun taking photographs.

1)      Wear something warm

2)      Get the best spot – always worth asking the organisers where the firework display will be and inform them that you are taking some photographs of fireworks. Generally most organisers are very helpful!!

3)      Use a tripod, as the shutter speed is going to be very slow, tripod will avoid any camera shake.

4)      Focal Length – when photographing fireworks it’s difficult to see what will be in the frame (camera’s view finder) always shoot on wide angle. By zooming into the fireworks, some of the display will be lost, but do try zooming in as you will be surprised what you have captured.

5)      Do not use flash – switch off the flash as this will not capture the firework display.

6)      Camera Settings DSLR:

 I photographed my firework display on fully manual mode with camera on the tripod and these were my camera settings: Aperture f16 (to get maximum depth of field), Shutter speed 30 Sec, ISO set at 200. Use these settings as a guide and change them accordingly to your final result.

If unsure with the Manual Mode on your cameras, use ‘Aperture Mode’ (A) set the aperture at f11 of f16, the camera will set the shutter speed accordingly.

You can also use the ‘Shutter Mode’ (TV or S) set the shutter speed at 20 seconds. Use this as a guide, you may need more or less time – check your result.

7)      Camera Settings Compact Cameras:

Most compact cameras nowadays have preset ‘Firework’ mode, set the camera on this mode and the camera will set everything accordingly.

Have fun taking photographs of fireworks!!

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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Selective Focus

In photography terms, 'Selective Focus' means that the photographer chooses which part of the image he/she would want to keep in focus. This could mean that the photographer chooses to keep the foreground in focus, blurring the background. Or keeping the mid ground / background in focus and blurring the rest of the image.

Using selective focus adds mood, drama and dimension to the final image.

It is very easy to create images with selective focus, this effect can be achieved with the use of macro lens, telephoto lenses or changing your depth of field, using a wide aperture anything from f1.4 to f5.6.

Here are a few examples of selective focus images.

Photograph of a wild flower taken in the garden, using a macro lens and fill-in flash

Wild Flower

Photograph of the bird, blurring the background

Lilac breasted roller bird

Photograph of a flower, taken using a macro lens, the point of focus was the centre of the flower

Orange Flower

Photograph of grass reed, taken early in the morning, the point of focus was the flowerhead, blurring the reed

Reed

The photograph below was taken on my mobile phone, by standing very close to the water droplet, the camera lens focused on the droplet and blurring the background. Most mobile phones have 'aperture' mode (which can be found under 'more' in your camera settings), using this setting, it allows you to choose your desired aperture.

Drop of water

The photograph below was also taken using my mobile phone, I selected the 'Aperture' mode on my phone and chose the widest aperture (f4) and focused on the bee.

Bee

The photograph below was taken using a standard lens, the point of focus was the single stem of bluebells

Blue Bells

Selective focus can be used in anywhere your photography; landscapes, street photography, portraits, it really depends what you as a photographer want to show through your photographs, by creating mood and drama to the images.

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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Learn how take photographs at anytime

Morning & Night Photography

Photography during winter is fun, especially when the mornings are filled with mist and the light is golden. There are long shadows during sunset and frost throughout the day, beautifully formed on spider webs, plants and anything that touches the chill. Then there is snow, which creates its own unique atmosphere. But most importantly, the whole ambiance is a wonderland.

Even though it gets cold during these months, don’t let this put you off photography. Wear suitable clothing to keep warm and capture the beauty of nature in your photography.

In this article I will briefly explain how to take great photographs in different lighting conditions using the ISO, aperture, shutter, and manual mode of your camera.

Morning Photography

Before sunrise, the light reflected from the sky hitting the scene is very soft and diffused, which gives very weak shadows. The colour of the sky will be blue on a clear day and grey on a cloudy day, such lighting conditions can create very atmospheric photographs. This photograph was taken before the sunrise.

Use the Aperture Priority mode; set the aperture at f16 (the camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed).

For Manual mode, set the aperture at f16 and the shutter speed at 15 seconds. Use this shutter speed as a guide only, as your exposure time may vary depending on the available light. You may either have to increase or decrease the shutter speed depending on the image produced.

Cameras which do not have the Aperture Priority or Manual mode will often allow selecting different scene settings, such as ‘dusk/dawn’, ‘nightlight’ or ‘sunset’ modes. Please choose which suits you and your camera best.

Here is a photograph taken using Aperture Mode. The exposure will be long, so use a tripod as this will avoid camera shake. In this photograph the sun has just began to rise and you can see how the colours are different in both images.

If you don't have a SLR, it's still possible to get good photographs, just need to understand your camera and its modes. Read more on 'Understanding your Camera'. 

Example of photograph using ‘Dawn/dusk’ mode on a compact camera

During the morning also try to photograph the morning fog, water droplets on spiderwebs and frost. The photographs below are all taken with a compact camera. To get maximum depth of field, set your compact camera on 'Landscape Mode' (set f16 on SLR - using Aperture mode ) and for minimum depth of field set the camera on 'Close-up Mode' (set f2.8 of f5.6 on SLR - using Aperture mode). The result of using these settings will be similar.

Morning fog (camera set on 'Fog Mode')

Dew drops (camera set on 'Close-up Mode')

Night Photography

During total darkness, there is obviously no natural light available. These are perfect conditions to photograph trailing lights from cars, lit cityscapes, fireworks and light movement. 

If using Shutter mode, set your SLR on a slow shutter speeds such as 1/8th, 1/4th to capture movement. If using Manual mode, set the camera at f16 and use the camera’s exposure indicator to set the value on 0 as this will give you the correct exposure.

An exposure indicator is visible through the viewfinder which looks like:

2||||1||||0||||1||||2+.

On compact cameras choose 'Nightlight', and the camera will adjust the aperture and shutter accordingly.

Photograph of snow at night using Manual Mode:

It's great to experiment and be creative with photography. Try changing the ISO to 1600 or higher to minimise camera shake and to achieve moody, atmospheric photographs. I also convert my images to black/white to add more drama to it.

On compact cameras choose ‘Nightlight’ and the camera will adjust aperture and shutter speed accordingly.

Example of photograph using ‘Nightlight’ on a compact camera:

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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How to Improve your Landscape Photography

Good landscape photography is not just achievable by high end cameras such as SLRs, but very good quality photos can also be taken with a standard compact camera. The key point here is that it is not the equipment that makes the photograph, it is the photographer.

Compact cameras often do not have interchangeable lenses like SLRs, but the Landscape mode and zoom facility on most compact cameras will allow you to take landscape photographs.

Most compact camera should enable you to have some control over the aperture, shutter speed, the ISO, exposure compensation (+/-) and  focusing. Some compact cameras will also allow the user to take full control over the focusing using the ‘manual’ mode.

Taking photographs of landscapes is fairly easy if you keep the following few tips in mind. These tips can be applied to both point & shoot compact cameras and SLR’s.

1) Maximize Depth-of-Field

In landscape photography, Depth-of-Field plays an important role: the normal rule is to make sure that the fore and background of the scene is in focus as much as possible, which is often known as maximising the depth-of-field. However, there will be times when you will want to be creative and experiment with ‘shallow’ depth-of-field in your landscape photography. 

Keep in mind that when using smaller apertures (i.e. f11, f22, etc.) less light is hitting the image sensor/film, you may have to compensate by increasing the ISO or adjusting the shutter speed, in some cases you may have to change both.

Some lower specification compact cameras may not have the facility to allow you to change any of the settings; in this case it is best to use the Landscape mode. 

The photograph below is taken using a compact camera set on Landscape mode:

Yellow

The photograph below is taken using a DSLR set on Aperture mode:

Trees

2) Use a Tripod

As you may be using longer shutter speed, a tripod is recommended which will minimise any camera shake

3) Include a Focal Point

All images need to have ‘point’ where the viewer’s attention is drawn into the photograph. Without the focal point, landscape photographs will look empty leaving your viewer’s eye wondering through the image without having the desired impact of the landscape.

Here are some examples of Focal points in landscapes and these can range from a building, structure, a tree, a boulder or rocks, a silhouette, etc. Using the ‘rule of thirds’ can be very useful here.

Place your points of interest on the either one of the green dots. Most cameras have the above grid; use the grid to frame your shot.

4) Include Foregrounds

Most landscapes images work well with a foreground; always think carefully about the foreground of your images and by placing points of interest in them. By including this element you give your viewer a way of looking into the image as well as creating a sense of depth in the photograph.

Photograph taken in Scotland 

Scotland

5) Change your View Point

It is always best to take a little more time with your photography, especially in finding the most interesting view. Look around and find a different spot to shoot from than the one just in front of you: take a walk down paths, look for new angles, this means getting down lower to the ground, finding a higher up vantage point to photograph from. Explore your scene and experiment with different viewpoints and you will find something magical.

This photograph was taken looking up the cave, photograph taken at Peak Cavern, Castleton in the Peak District, Derbyshire

Peak Cavern

6) Look out for Horizons

It’s best that before you take a landscape photograph always look at the horizon on two points:

a)      Is the horizon straight? It is easier to have your horizon straight in the camera viewfinder before pressing the shutter release, saving time to straighten the image later in editing software.

      b)     Where to place the horizon? The ‘correct’ natural spot for a horizon is on either the top third line or the bottom line of the ‘rule of thirds’, rather than completely in the middle. In saying this, rules can be broken if you are completely sure that your image with the horizon is very striking.

(See diagram below for where to place the horizon)

Jurassic Coast

7) Include the Sky

Including the sky makes the photograph more interesting. Most landscapes images will have either a dominant foreground or sky. If you your image does not have one or the other, photograph can end up being boring. If the sky is bland, boring sky, overcast, do not include the sky in your image and place the horizon in the upper third of your shot. However your foreground has to interesting. On the other hand if the sky is filled lots of clouds and colours include it by placing the horizon lower third.

Clouds - horizon on lower third

Lighthouse, Northumberland

Sky line on upper third

Boats - Northumberland

8)     Leading Lines

You may have asked yourself this question, ‘how can lead the viewer’s eye of into the image’?

Here is the answer; there are a number of ways of doing this.

• Include foreground
•  Blur the image to create a sense of movement
• Changing your view point
• Colours in the landscape: i.e. a field of poppies against the blue sky

Leading lines are one of the best ways into an image which lead the viewers into the photograph. Lines give an image depth, scale and can be a point of interest and create patterns in your image.

Miner's Track - Snowdonia National Park

Tyre tracks leading on

Snowdonia National Park

9)     Capturing Movement

When most people think about landscapes they think of calm, peaceful and passive environments – however landscapes are rarely completely still and adding the movement creates the mood, drama, and create a point of interest.

Examples of movement in landscapes are:– moving trees, waves on a beach, water flowing over a waterfall, birds flying overhead, moving clouds, stars etc.

Capturing movement generally means a longer shutter speed, which means more light hitting your camera  sensor. For this reason you will need to use a small Aperture, use a Neutral Density or a Polarization filter or photograph your landscapes at the start or end of the day when there is less light.

Below: Zoomed while taking the photograph

Pamber Forest

Fast Shutter Speed

10)  Weather

A landscape can change dramatically depending on the weather conditions; choose the right time to photograph.

It’s great to get out on sunny days and photograph landscapes; however an overcast day that is threatening to rain may provide you with a much better opportunity to create an image with great atmosphere and mood.

Look out for storm clouds, mist, sun shining through dark skies, sunsets, sunrises etc. and work with the different elements rather than just waiting for the next clear blue sky day.

Sunset on a misty evening

Trees in the mist

After the storm - photograph of the beach after it had stopped raining

After the storm

Foggy morning

Foggy Morning

I hope this brief insight into Landscape Photography assists you in taking better Landscape photographs.

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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