Category: Techniques

Photographic techniques with a camera

Back to Basics: Photography for Beginners Series

 Gavin   Back to Basics, Techniques

In the last couple of weeks I’ve started to write a new series of blog posts for theLightMatters. It’s aimed at beginners and people who would like to improve their photography, taking it up to th next level. It will cover many basic and fundamental topics in a lighthearted and non technical way. It’s a series for beginners written without the clutter of unnecessary jargon. There will be jargon as it’s important to use the right terminology but hopefully not to the extent that it turns people away. If it does, please let me know because that is specifically something I wish to avoid. My back to basics series is geared specifically to provide clarity with easy to understand terminology and everyday concepts.

The first two articles in the series have been posted and I’ve included a comprehensive but unfinished list after the jump. I’ll be updating it from time to time as my ideas gel so it’s not definitive, exhaustive or contractual in any way.

Continue reading Back to Basics: Photography for Beginners Series »

Back to Basics: Exposure

 Gavin   Back to Basics, Techniques
Basics of Exposire
Examples of Exposure: Under, Over and Correst

Exposure is one of those fundamental concepts of photography that many people struggle with. Get it right and you have a beautifully lit image. Get it wrong and you end up with a ruined shot because it is either too bright, pure white in extreme cases or too dark, maybe even black. We’ve all had them.

The big question is what causes under or over exposure and how can it be avoided? Continue reading Back to Basics: Exposure »

Back to Basics… A Lesson in Photography from Harry Potter

 Gavin   Back to Basics, Techniques

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is which camera I’d recommend for someone to buy from the myriad of those available on the market. I can fully understand why too. There are a large number of players in the arena, each offering a very wide choice of cameras, features, accessories and price points. As a consumer wishing to buy a first camera or upgrade to a newer model, where to they begin?

Hopefully these points will serve a useful guide of the things I would consider.

Continue reading Back to Basics… A Lesson in Photography from Harry Potter »

Backups – The Persistence of media or How safe are your memories?

 Gavin   Journey, Musings, Techniques, Tips

I was prompted to write this post following a conversation I had with a colleague over lunch yesterday. We were discussing how to keep electronic images safe over time. In particular long periods of time such as years or even decades. It’s not just about taking regular bakups either. In the longer term and archive strategy that works and stands the test of time is imperative.

We are slowly evolving into a hardcopy-less society. Prints, as indeed film slides and negatives before them, are becoming increasingly rare. In their wake stand the ever popular “electronic” files, the JPGs, the MP3s, the AVIs and a whole host of others. Continue reading Backups – The Persistence of media or How safe are your memories? »

Technique: How it was done… Battery Shot

 Gavin   Behind the scenes, Equipment, Strobist, Techniques, Tips
Setup for the Battery Shot
Setup for the Battery Shot

I have a couple of questions about how I did the battey shot in this post so thought I’d post the lighting setup in the form of the sketch above. It’s a very simple technique and took about 5 minutes to do.

The foundation for the set was a sheet of black corrugated plastic upon which I sat my camera bag to act as a black background. I then roughly positioned two 580EX II speedlites, the one to camera left standing up on its penguin feet and the one to camera right laying down on its side. Both were fitted with Pocket Wizard triggers. I’d originally planned to use the window light to light the set with the speedlites just adding a cool effect to represent the concept of power. In the end I elected to use the ambient just as fill with the main illumination coming from the speedlites bouncing into a silver reflector.

I’ve repeated the final image after the jump for those that are interested. Continue reading Technique: How it was done… Battery Shot »