Ghatahora Photography

Friday, 15 May 2020

How to photograph Abstracts

In this article, I will be briefly looking at how to photograph Abstracts.

What is Abstract Photography?

Abstract photography is a style of photography that allows the photographer to express ideas, emotions, shapes and colour impact with the final image, instead of creating the realistic representation of the subject. This allows the photographer to go beyond the visual representation to focus on the interesting elements of the subject as well as focusing on their creativity.

Here are few tips on how to take abstract photographs:

1) Keep the subject simple, concentrate on shapes, textures or colour of the subject
2) Interesting composition will add impact to the final image
3) Keep an eye on lighting as this will add interesting elements to the image
4) Explore different view points, this can take creativity to a different level
5) Look out for colours and textures
6) Use an editing software to explore your creativity

Below are a few examples of Abstract photographs,

This image (Number 1) was taken on a rainy day through the window to show splashes of colour.

Lights

This photograph (Number 2) was take at 'Crocodiles Of The World', Brize Norton (Oxford). The baby crocodile was under water with its head out of the water. I placed the camera very close to the glass and photographed his body under the water and the head above the water. This image has been cropped to create an abstract image. The original image was not photographed in this format. (See the original image at the bottom of the page).

Scales

This image (Number 3) was taken on my daily walks near where I live. It had rained the day before and there were lots of puddles, I found the reflections of the trees and the textures of the road very interesting. To emphasise the images, it was converted into black white in post production. (See the original image at the bottom of the page).

Reflections

This is an image (Number 4) of my Oscar fish, I photographed this with my mobile phone placed on the glass tank. I focused on the colours and patterns of the scales of the fish.

Fish Scales

This image (Number 5) is of a very large leaf photographed from the bottom looking up. In post production, the image has been super imposed with the photograph above of the reflections in the puddle. The reason I decided to combine two images was because it added interesting textures to the top left on the image. The saturation of the final image was decreased. (See the original images at the bottom of the page.)

Leaf

This image (Number 6) of red leaves has also been super imposed in post production with an image of wood grain. The saturation was also decreased in this image. (See the original images at the bottom of the page.)

Red leaf

The two images of the crocodile; before and after on the right (Number 1)

The two images leaf and reflections in a puddle used to create the final image on the right.
The image in the middle (puddle and reflections) is the original of the Photograph number 3.

The image of the bench and the red leaves used to create the final photograph number 6

I hope this brief article helps you to photograph amazing Abstract images.

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

Facebook

Monday, 27 April 2020

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

Facebook

Monday, 24 February 2020

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

Facebook

Monday, 27 January 2020

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’: