Flower Photography

How to photograph flowers

It is possible to take good flower photographs with a compact camera also and not just with a SLR.

Compact cameras often do not have interchangeable lenses like SLRs, but the macro and zoom facilities on most compact cameras will allow photographing subjects in close-up as well as distant.

The first step is to know your camera; it is your greatest tool in creating your master piece. It is also advisable to read the camera manual to familiarise yourself with its basic and advanced functions.

I have often been told by novice/beginner photographers that the manuals tend to be complicated with terminology that tends to be alien to them. My advice to them is to start with the basic controls such as ‘Program Mode’, then move to the advanced features as ‘Aperture/Shutter Priority’, bracketing and others that may be unique to their camera.

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

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when photographing flowers.

The main control on a compact camera for close-up photography is the “Macro” button (often with the symbol of a flower). This enables you to focus closer to the subject and also blurs the background, keeping the flower sharp. The camera automatically sets the aperture and the shutter for you, so you don’t have to worry about the exposure, allowing you to just focus and press the shutter release.

Now I will briefly touch on the Aperture Priority (AV) mode. When in this mode, the camera will set the shutter speed to give you the right exposure. This mode is very useful as it allows the user to determine what part of the subject and background to keep in focus and what to blur by choosing the desired aperture. In close-up photography, it if often advisable to blur the background, as it draws the eye on the main subject when viewing the final photograph, therefore having an out of focus background is not considered bad.

When the camera is set to Aperture Priority, if the lowest ‘f’ number is selected, then the area nearest to the focus point will be in focus and the remaining picture will be out of focus. When the highest ‘f’ number is selected, the focus point and the area before and after the point is all in focus. If ‘f’ numbers between the lowest and highest is selected, then through practice and experience you can determine what to keep in focus and what to blur.

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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How to photograph Nightscapes like a Pro

Nightscapes

I will briefly explain the techniques on how to photograph nightscapes in low light. Night photography is simple, fun and creative, especially at this time of the year as you don’t have to wait long for nightfall. 

It is always best to photograph cities, towns and traffic trailing lights when there are still some shades of dark blues, purples, pinks and orange in the sky. The final photograph becomes more interesting with lots of colours rather than a darkened sky in the background. When photographing illuminated signs, it is advisable to shoot them in close-up, therefore the background may not be an issue.

A few points to keep in mind:

Camera settings: Use Aperture Priority mode or Manual mode on cameras. 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.

When using the Aperture Priority mode, set the aperture at f11 (the camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed).

For Manual mode, set the aperture at f11 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.

If you are using a SLR, there is normally an exposure indicator visible through the viewfinder which looks like -2||||1||||0||||1||||2+. Adjust the shutter speed whilst looking through the viewfinder and ensure the indicator is on 0, as this will give you the correct exposure.

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

Exposure: due to low light, exposures will be long ranging from 10 seconds to 90 seconds. Use a tripod to avoid camera shake, or alternatively change the ISO on your camera to 800 or higher to minimise camera shake.

Composition: It is advisable to frame your shot before you press the shutter release as it avoids ‘unwanted’ objects in your photograph.

Equipment: camera, tripod, watch or a stopwatch to time exposures.

Bracketing: as we will be using a small aperture (f11/f16), it is advisable to over and under expose your image by ½ a stop. When using bracketing, you will have a selection of images with varying degree of exposure. This will allow you to select the desired exposure by duplicating the settings of your preferred image.

Warm clothing: coat, gloves, hat and umbrella.

I have used my SLR and compact camera to take the following photographs. When I used the SLR, I set the camera on fully manual mode mounted on a tripod. As for my compact camera, I used the ‘night landscape’ mode without using a tripod or flash (the camera needed to be handheld very steadily). 

Examples of photographs taken using a compact camera set on ‘night landscape’:

Examples of photographs taken using a SLR set on manual mode:

The face in this image was created by laser lights:

Outside a restaurant:

Illuminated huts near the waterfront:

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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Modeling Portfolio

Modelling portfolio

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

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Before and After

The below photograph is straight from the camera with no adjustments.

The photograph below has been adjusted in lightroom, with global and local adjustments to the final image.

These are the global adjustments that were applied to the whole of the image.

White balance: As shot

Exposure: +48

Contrast: +10

Highlights: -38

Shadows: 0

Whites: +17

Blacks: -2

Clarity: +10

Vibrance: +10

Saturation: +2

A few local adjustments were made to brighten the people, foreground and background. These adjustments are to be used as guide, each image will be different. 

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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The Image of The Month

Telford near the Iron Bridge

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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Easy Steps to photograph smoke

How to photograph smoke in simple steps

It is very easy to take photographs of smoke; I have provided the following tips as a guide to create stunning images. For this project, I have used my DSLR with off camera flashes and also a small compact camera with its built-in flash.

Equipment needed:

Compact Camera or SLR with manual focus

Off camera or 'built-in' flash

Incense sticks

Plate to catch all the hot ash from the incense sticks

Black velvet or similar material ( a black card will also work if you don't have any material)

Photography Gels

Black card or paper to block (flag) unwanted the light

Important: Photograph indoor in a well-ventilated room (not to breezy) to avoid smoke build-up. When working with smoke, you must take regular breaks as the smoke will begin to accumulate in the room which can be a health hazard.

Setting up the shoot

I have used a DSLR for the following shots. Pin the black backdrop on the wall or alternatively as I did, rest it on the sofa.

The off camera flash is loosely wrapped at the head with black paper. This avoids the light to fall back on the backdrop and also this keeps it directed on the smoke.

The incense stick is placed between the camera and the backdrop. I hand held my camera for better flexibility, but if you wish to use a tripod, by all means do so. As I will be using a fast shutter speed, I can get away without using a tripod.

Camera settings (fully Manual on SLR):

Set your camera on Manual mode.

Set shutter at 1/125 or 1/250, this is a common setting that will sync with your flash.

Set aperture on f8 or smaller like f16 or f22. This will maximise the depth-of-field.

Set ISO on 100 or 200

Use Manual focus as the auto-focus function may struggle to latch onto the smoke.

(Tip to assist focusing. Place an object behind the incense stick and make sure it is touching it, manually focus on the object, then remove it when it is in focus).

Light the incense stick and place the flash fairly close to the smoke.

Once the above setup is complete, take the photographs. Adjust the flash accordingly to see where it gives the best result.

Tip: Do not look through the viewfinder because you will not see the full length of the smoke patterns. Follow the smoke with your camera and try to capture the interesting shapes. If you don't have manual settings on the camera, set the camera on Shutter Mode 'TV' and increase the ISO to 320 or 400, this will give you an aperture nearer to f8.

The following three photographs were taken by manual focusing on smoke. The camera was set on Manual mode, aperture f10 and shutter speed 1/125.

  

Try to see when the smoke makes unusual shapes and take the photograph.

When too much smoke is accumulated it can create an atmospheric effect or may look messy (see below):

The following two photographs have been taken on 'Shutter' mode. I set the shutter speed to 1/125 and the camera selected the Aperture.

Photographing smoke is really fun, try being creative with your images.

The following photographs have been taken using two off camera flashes; one was fitted with a light green coloured gel. The camera is set on manual mode just as before

Red gel is used on the below image:

 Blue gel is used on the below image:

Using a Compact camera:

If you are using a compact camera with a built-in flash, follow the above setup and select the ‘Landscape’ mode on the camera.

Tip: It is important to cover the built-in flash with a piece of tracing paper so that the light is diffused, this will avoid 'hot spots' on the backdrop.

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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