The Rule of Thirds
Let me start out saying that “The Rule of Thirds” is a compositional ‘rule of thumb’, not a hard and fast rule. The first rule in photography is; that there are no rules. To explain the rule of thirds, we need a visual. The rules says you should divide your image into a grid of thirds, like pictured below.
You’ll notice the grid causes the lines to intersect at four (4) main intersections (Marked with a red circle). At the intersection of these lines is where you would place a point of interest for a subject. The rule of thirds is considered by many to make pictures more aesthetically pleasing and professional-looking. The rule of thirds can be applied by lining up subjects with the guiding lines, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line instead of the center, or allowing linear features in the photograph to flow from section to section.
The rule of thirds is a simple and effective way to produce aesthetically pleasing pictures, and once you start putting it into practice, you’ll begin noticing it being used in paintings, billboards, and even television. The rule of thirds may turn out to be the most powerful tool in your camera bag.
What exactly is ISO?
What exactly is ISO? Well if you remember back in the days of film, we use to buy film with a ASA rating, such as ASA 100, ASA 400, etc. This expressed the films sensitivity to light, or commonly referred to as the speed of the film. Today’s camera do not use film, but use image sensors instead. ISO is basically a ASA equivalent. The ISO setting denotes how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor and therefore the possibility to take pictures in low-light situations.
Back in the days of film, you had to physically change the film if you wanted a different ISO, but with todays digital cameras, you can simply set the camera to whatever ISO speed you want. Pretty nice huh… just one of the advantages of the digital world.
Having the ability to change your ISO on the fly helps you always get the shot. Suppose your in a low light situation, and your camera can’t obtain a correct exposure, you could use a flash, but what if your in a museum, or concert where flash photography is not permitted. All you need to do is use a higher ISO setting, this will allow you to obtain a correctly exposed picture.
Another example is, if you find your camera is using a shutter speed that is too slow (1/60 sec. and slower) to handhold the camera steady and shake-free (thus resulting in blurred pictures), and you cannot open up the aperture anymore, and there’s no tripod readily available. then you might select a higher ISO which will then allow you to select a faster shutter speed.
Oh course there’s always a price to pay for versatility. Increasing our camera’s ISO setting can introduce what is called digital noise. This is a necessary evil, the higher the ISO the more noise. But I wouldn’t worry too much, about digital noise, as todays cameras have greatly improved picture quality at higher ISO speeds. Just remember to shoot at the lowest possible ISO setting for the lowest noise and best dynamic range.
So, go dig up your cameras owner manual, and read up on how to adjust/set your cameras ISO settings. Having this knowledge means you’ll always be able to get that award winning shot..
Photo Tip of the Day
Want to be a better photographer? Get out and shoot. Believe it or not, the more you shoot, better you’ll get. Experiment, get creative. Too many of us are just too busy with everyday life, meanwhile were letting life pass us by. It’s time to slow down, get out of our cars, take the day off, and go for a photowalk. Photowalking allows you to see the world in a different way. So come on, get out and shoot!
Peace of Mind
How much would you pay for piece of mind? Do you have a current backup of all your photos? I bet the majority of you answered; ‘No’. Let’s face it, backing up our photos is a time consuming task, and takes a discipline few of us have. At least on a regular basis.
With the introduction of digital photography, the average person now a days stores thousands and thousands of photos of their computer. Most of these photos are priceless, irreplaceable memories of friends and family.
Businesses know how to protect their data from failure and loss, they use technology to automate, and prevent data loss. Using both hardware and software to protect their corporate data. But what about us common folks?
The answer is Drobo. Automated no Headache Data Redundancy System. Drobo utilizes a revolutionary storage technology that makes it simple for anyone to use, yet is powerful enough for business. Once you experience the power of Drobo, the idea of keeping multiple external drives or a RAID 5 array will seem as antiquated as that 300Kbps modem in the back of your closet.
Drobo Features
- Redundant data protection
- Hot swappable expandable drives up to 16TB
- Mix n Match Drives cap
- Both Firewire 800 and USB 2.0
As your library of data grows, now your storage solution can too. Drobo holds up to four hard drives, and can expand at any time, it supports up to 16TB on a single volume.
Drobo is Self-Healing
When Drobo detects a “bad” hard disk, it proactively advises you with a series of warnings ranging from a blinking red LED on its front panel, to pop-up alerts in Drobo Dashboard, to email alerts. What Drobo does next is exceptional. Drobo enters self-healing mode where it repairs around the bad sector or bad disk, working until it returns to the safest state possible. If Drobo has sufficient time and free capacity (indicated by all lights returning to a solid green state), it can even withstand a second hard disk failure. That’s the power of self-healing. Unlike other storage arrays, Drobo doesn’t just sit around and beep at you when something is awry—it takes the set of actions available to it to fix the problem without human intervention.
Check out Drobo for yourself. Click here to see drobo in action. 
Image Stabilization
Image Stabilization is going to be your new best friend, and in my opinion, a mandatory tool in every photographers arsenal. Image Stabilization, or ‘IS’ for short, can help you get a much sharper images then normally possible when hand-holding a camera. In fact, it’s so important to helping me get great shots I won’t buy a lens or camera without it. In fact even my point-and-shoot G9 has IS built-in.
Both Canon and Nikon offer fantastic image stabilization. Canon uses the term IS (Image Stabilization) and Nikon’s VR (Vibration Reduction). VR and IS are the same, and both terms are interchangeably. Each camera manufacturer uses their own acronyms. Both IS & VR stabilizes images from the unsteadiness of hand-holding a camera. IS helps you times using a tripod is not possible or practical, IS lets you shoot in bad light and slower shutter speeds.
How it works: Now I’m not a expert of techincal operation of IS, but here’s my best attempt at the techincal way it works. Image stabilization helps to steady the image projected back into the camera by the use of a “floating” optical element—often connected to a fast spinning gyroscope—which helps to compensate for high frequency vibration (hand shake for example) at these long focal lengths. Sorry thats as technical as you can get from me..
A new comer in the DSLR market is Sony which has moved the Image Stabilization normally contained in the lens to the camera body itself.(formerly technology developed from Minolta). The stated advantage is not having to to buy lens with the expensive IS technology.
IS and VR work great for subjects that hold still, However, image stabilization does not prevent motion blur caused by the movement of the subject or by extreme movements of the camera. Image stabilization is only designed for reducing blur that results from normal, minute shaking of a lens due to hand-held shooting. Image Stabilization does nothing for fast moving objects such as sports, and small children.
Image stabilization technology, has recently become more and more available to the average photographer. Over the years, the technology has greatly improved, and is available in a much wider range of cameras and lenses from several different manufacturers. IS is an enabling and liberating technology. It helps photographers of all abilities get noticeably better results.
I highly recommend Image Stabilization.
Lens Hoods – Why you need them
Lens hoods play a very important role, especially in outdoor photography. Despite it’s importance, it’s still one of the most overlooked items by the average photographer. A lens hoods primary function is to prevent unwanted light from hitting the lens. Without the protection of a lens hood, unwanted side light will hit the lens, reducing contrast, and possibly create nasty lens flare. Lens flare can destroy an otherwise fine photograph.
The lens hoods also serve a second function, that being one of protection. With a lens hood installed you’re less likely to accidentally touch the optics. If you’re photographing small children or animals at close range this will also help you from getting unwanted smudges on the lens, because we all know how much kids and animals love shiny things.
Now for the downside. Lens hoods are expensive! Each lens has a specific matching lens hood. How expensive you ask? The average cost of a lens hood is generally around $30. That’s some very expensive plastic!
All in all, lens hoods are a vital tool, and worth the investment.
Find the Picture in the Picture
Photographers take great care to show their photos at there best, and would never think of letting you see a raw unfinished photo. What’s the difference between a snapshot and a masterpiece? Sometimes it’s just the ability to see the picture in the picture. Of course I’m talking about photo cropping.
When I decided to write this article, I immediately ran through my photo collection looking for the worst possible photograph that I could find, just to illiterate that even a bad photo can be cropped into a good one.
This is a photograph of my brother on a recent visit.
There’s not much right about this photograph, but we can still save it. Let’s see, the background is terrible, the left side is dark and under exposed, the right side is just plain boring. The door frame molding is coming directly off my brothers head, I also have a casted shadow onto the background.. What was I thinking!
I wasn’t.. I was a normal everyday person, taking a quick snapshot of my brother before he left for LA. Well, when you think about it.. isn’t this a typical snapshot we take all the time? Sure it is..
So let’s look at this picture and find the picture in the picture. Look at my brother’s natural pose, and great smile. This is a candid for a portrait. Yep! I think I’ll crop this photo from a landscape mode to portrait.
We have uncovered the “picture in the picture”!
Of course we could stop here, but I was still bothered by that background, even through the picture cropped is a vast improvement already. I decided to go one step further, and remove the background using photoshop.
There we are! A everyday snapshot turned into a masterpiece suitable for framing..
Protect Your Investment
Lenses can be a very expensive investment. Good lenses can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Such a investment is worth protecting. And it’s easy to do.
Simply by installing a ultra-violet filter (UV filter). A UV filter is a simple piece of glass that screws on to the front of your lens and protects it from scratches, dust, dirt, moisture and fingerprints while reducing unwanted ultra-violet light. Remember, it’s far cheaper to replace a scratched filter than your $1000 lens.
When shopping for filters be sure and buy a high quality multi-coated glass. Be sure and stay away from cheap UV filters as cheap plastic filters will degrade your picture quality. One of the best UV filters is the B+W MRC UV , it’s made from high quality glass and I consider this the best UV filter available.
Better Outdoor Portraits
Photographers rarely shoot in the mid-day sun because the sunlight is direct and very harsh, this harsh light, casts very hard shadows. The midday sun comes from too high an angle, to produce a flattering portrait. It causes subjects to squint, and their eyes become lost in deep pockets of shadow.
Try and shoot early morning or late afternoon for your best results. The light is warmer and softer just after sunrise and just before sunset — the pros refer this time as ‘The Golden Hour’.
If you must shoot a portrait outdoors at high noon, try and find some shaded areas, a trees canopy is nature’s perfect umbrella. Have your subject stand in the tree’s cover, you get some really nice soft light, and produces a very flattering portrait.
Len’s Rules of Photography
You never realize just how many photo opportunities are missed each day, until you start carrying your camera around. Some of my best photographs ever taken were during the course of my everyday life. I know that carrying a big heavy SLR everywhere isn’t always practical. That’s why every photographer should at least own one point & shoot camera. Most point & shoots easily fit in your pocket or bag, and are easy to take with you everywhere. I carry my Canon G9 everywhere I go. With your camera in hand, you’ll find yourself looking at the world differently. You’ll find yourself looking for more photo opportunities, as well as a new appreciation of life and our surroundings. That’s where the old wise adage comes from; “Stop and smell the roses.”
Len’s Rules of Photography
- Rule #1. Always have your camera with you..
- Rule #2. Never forget rule #1.
