Sneaking Up on the Wedding

Every wedding has a professional photographer who has been doing this for years.  What they are going to produce is pretty much a known entity before the wedding even gets started.  You know he is going to hold the wedding party over after the ceremony and do a bunch of staged shots.  You know he will “stage” the feeding of the cake between bride and groom, the throwing of the bouquet, the dance of father and bride, all that standard stuff.

But you may have the assignment as an amateur photographer to also take pictures of the wedding.  This is not unusual.  If the bride’s brother is good with a camera or the groom’s uncle knows a thing or two about photography, why not let them take pictures too.  So if that assignment has fallen to you, there may be a few tips for you to keep in mind as the big day approaches.
 

• You are the back up guy.  So let the professional do his stuff.  Remember, just because your sister or best friend has utmost confidence in what you can do to make the wedding album more interesting and fun, those traditional shots are important to the family and to the bride and groom.  They may be old fashioned and a bit boring but that paid photographer was hired to do a job.  So don’t get in the way of the professional and if you do interact with him, do so respectfully.  You don’t want that guy in a bad mood.  So give his space.
   
• Be ready.  You can bet that paid photographer came here having checked out his equipment and he knows what he needs and he knows it all works.  So you be just as “professional” as the next guy and do your prep work the night before.  That way when you step up to get that shot you know will make the wedding album sizzle, your equipment works perfectly too.  This also includes arriving ready to go with backup batteries, tape, light bulbs and anything else you will need for a full day of shooting.
   
• Use what he does.  That professional is going to stage the people to get those shots that are on his list of standard shots all wedding albums get.  But during that time when the wedding party is trying to be good but giddy with nervous excitement, there will be dozens of little moments that will make great photographs.  Maybe get that shot of sister fixing the flower girls dress.  Or that silly tickle session between bride and groom as they play with each other to get through the tension of the day.  Use what that photographer is giving to himself.  As long as you don’t get in the way, you can grab some great pictures that way.
   
• Those action shots during the ceremony.  You have come with a more mobile equipment set than the professional has because your goal is to get the informal shots.  So you have what you need pretty much on your back.  You can move around the hall and get those little photographs during the ceremony of things going on up on that stage that everybody else will miss.  The wedding party will love you for capturing moments that would have been lost to time if you had not come ready to work on your feet and get those little throw away pictures that are worth gold in the wedding album.
   
• The kids are “down there”.  Don’t overlook the children during the wedding or the reception.  They add a lot of fun and joy.  But remember, they are down there closer to the ground than you are.  To get their shots, you have to go down there with them.

Remember, this event is not about you.  You are the proverbial fly on the wall to get those shots that the pro doesn’t have on his checklist.  But at the same time, don’t forget that you are important to this wedding to.  So put down that camera every so often and have that glass of wine and do the funky chicken during the reception with everyone else.  Let someone else get that picture.

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Most Important Tools in Photography

When the term photography is used, people tend to think first of pictures processed at the corner drugstore, school pictures, or perhaps a family portrait. This kind of photography is called “continuous-tone photography” and is an important part of the world. However, the applications of photography are much more far reaching than continuous-tone photography.

The basis of photography is a chemical change caused by the action of light on a light-sensitive material. It is generally agreed that visible light is electromagnetic radiation measured in wavelengths emitted from either a natural source (the sun) or an artificial source (an electric bulb). When radiation strikes an object, it is either absorbed or reflected. It is the reflected radiation that causes a chemical change on a piece of film.

In order to start shooting images in photography, one must first have a complete set of equipment. To know more about the available equipment, here is a list that you have to use in order to get that best shot:

1. Camera
It is a light-tight box that holds the film. It is a means to focus an image on the film. It is also the device that will control the amount of light that reaches the film.

Cameras come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, but they all have the same characteristics and controls. It has lens, which is an opening through which to pass and aim the light.

2. Film
All photographic films use some type of light-sensitive material called an emulsion to record a visual image. The characteristics of the light-sensitive emulsion as well as the quantity and quality of light reaching that emulsion will determine the sort of visual image recorded on a piece of film.

Most film emulsions are formed from a silver halide suspended in a gelatin compound and silver chloride are less common and are almost always used in combination with silver bromide to produce different film characteristics.

Whatever their chemical differences, all films are structured in the same general manner.

3. Lens
Lens comes in all sizes, depending on the size of the camera. However, an f/stop number will always pass the same quantity of light on any size camera lens.

In photography, it is necessary to be able to move the lens so the reflected light from the object will be sharp and clear on the film — this is called focusing. If the image is not in focus, a blurred picture will be produced.

These are just some of the many types of equipment necessary in photography, but these three are the most important in order to produce a good shot.

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A Guide for Newbies in Photography

Let's Shoot Like a Pro!!!

Photography is one of the most popular hobbies today, and a lot of photographers progressed from being a photo hobbyist to a professional who gets paid to do what they love. Being a great photographer requires a lot of patience, an artistic eye, and technical know-hows. To help those who are interested in becoming a photographer, here are some tips that will surely help them in creating beautiful, interesting pictures.

1. Choose the right camera
A photographer eats with his camera and sleeps with his camera. The camera is his life. Therefore, it is but very important to choose the right camera to shoot those perfect photographs. There are many kinds of cameras that aspiring shutterbugs can choose from, catering to different kinds of budgets. It goes without saying that the best cameras are the priciest ones. A good camera is a large but justifiable investment.

These are the type of cameras available in the general market:

1. Disposable camera
2. Compact camera
3. Digital-single lens reflex camera or DSLR
4. Digital camera

Beginners are recommended to use the medium price range cameras such as Nikon, Sony, Canon, Minolta or Pentax, which can take great-looking pictures almost as good as the top-of-the-line ones.

2. Select suitable lenses
Beginners can start off with two lenses, the first one from 28mm to 80mm and the second one from 80mm to 270mm. There are different kinds of lenses, the normal the wide-angle, the zoom and the macro lenses.

3. Distinguishing film types
Obviously, film is very important since the images taken are stored here. The most general kinds are colors are black and white films.

4. Choosing the right film speed
The general rule is, the higher the ISO number, the faster the film. Faster ISOs are for fast actions like sports, or for shoots where there is less light. For shoots with an abundance of light, a 100 0r 200 ISO will do just fine.

5. Balancing of color
The film should always be matched to the source of the light in order to produce desirable pictures. Unlike the naked eye, film sees different light colors, and if the light and film don't match, the colors will come out all wrong.

Photography is a great hobby that is recommended for everyone, men and women or young and old alike. Studying the right techniques is essential if you want to become good at it. Just following these guidelines and anyone can create great-looking pictures in no time.

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Let's Learn Photography

Are you interested in taking up photography? If you are relatively new to photography, then here are some tips that will help you learn about photography and its many different qualities.

The camera
When choosing a camera, you should keep in mind that whatever kind of camera you buy, it won't necessairily affect the final image. There are certain factors that will affect your final product regardless of camera brand. They are:

- the quality of the expected final image.
- will the image be magnified before being viewed?
- will the subject carry the whole focus of the shot?
- the time alloted to take the picture

It is also important to keep in mind that cameras work at varying speeds. This will prove to be crucial depending on the subject that you will be shooting. When taking a picture of your son or daughter while they are playing, you may opt to use an automatic camera to avoid all the fuss of making adjustments with regards to aperture, focus, lighting, etc. But if you are going to take a picture of a mountain view, then you have all the time to use a manual camera. 

Lighting conditions
Taking portraits under the sun may present some problems. Because of the sunlight's hardness, dark shadows will may appear in the shot. To solve this problem, you can move the subject to a position under the shade to be able to use skylight instead of sunlight. Skylight is less concentrated than sunlight. Another thing that can be done is for you to take the picture during the last few minutes during sunrise or sunset. Sunlight is mouch more mellow during these times. If you have the equipment such as diffusers as well as reflectors, they will do a good job to make the shot more vibrant. The use of artificial lighting or a flash is also ideal if you know the proper way and time to use them. Avoid using the flash during sunrise and sunset since the resulting picture will look rather clammy or cold.

Exposure
There are no such things as correct exposure. It is really up to you and your artistic preferences how your picture will turn out. The environment contains many tones which can't be fully represented using film. Some of the details might get lost depending on the picture as well as the film used.   

These are some of the things that you should remember while taking pictures. As you take more and more pictures, your skills will become sharper and you will be able to use more of your creativity.

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