Darren Smith Photography's photographic tutorials are aimed to teach anyone interested in photography the basics in how to operate their camera and what to consider when you move beyond taking "snaps".
Part 1 of this video tutorial gives some of the basics of composition, colour and timing. It also shows how it affects your photographs.
/p>
Part 2 is all about light, scale and perspective.
If you learned something from watching this video tutorial click subscribe below
if you liked what you are watching please click like. I hope you enjoy it and come back for more!
Quick Tips Part 1
Hello and welcome to the Darren Smith photography tutorials.
Here is quick go to photography and looking at several factors which affect your image, part one of this guide looks at composition, colour and timing and part two will look at light scale and perspective.
An image that reflects off water, glass and another reflective material is always very appealing, that's why symmetry is important in our composition. You should always look to make sure that your image is well balanced either through the viewfinder or on the screen check that it is composed in such a way that lines of symmetry do not look strange (unless you are deliberately aiming for that effect.)
The image of the lake opposite shows symmetry in both the vertical and horizontal planes even though it doesn't have a main focal point. It is pleasing to look at the picture of the post box has a vertical line of symmetry even the background has an element of symmetry too.
Poor composition in an image is obvious to anyone looking at it, a good composition will focus on the subject being photographed.
The questions you should ask yourself are as follows:
Number one, is your subject the primary focus of your image? The example here clearly shows that the camera is focused on a completely different part of the scene.
Number two. are there any stray or distracting artefacts in your photograph? In this example there is clearly a petal diverting your view of the orchid.
Number three, does the image of your lens intersect the corners or edges of the image? Commonly known as vignetting. Vignetting can be seen here as some of the light is blocked towards the corners of this lens making it appear darker. Extreme vignetting can clearly be seen in this example where the edges of the lens completely block out light on this ultra wide lens (this is an extreme example.) I used the lens design for a smaller crop sensor on a full-frame camera to show the effect.
Number four, is the horizon straight and not looking as if you were leaning to one side? If your image is not level, use a spirit level on a sturdy tripod or perhaps correct in a photo editing package afterwards.
Number five, am I choosing to follow or deliberately break the rule of thirds? This is where the image is divided up into three and the main subject is traditionally situated towards the middle third of the composition
And finally number six, Am I choosing to follow the Golden Spiral? This is based on the mathematical Fibonacci spiral analyse the eye to easily pan across the image
Colour, or the lack of colour can set the mood of your image it will determine whether your image will look warm, cool, vibrant or dark. Your choice of colour should be determined by the subject you are shooting. Reds, yellows and oranges will give your image a warm feel whilst blues and greens will give your image a cooler sensation. Shades of the same colour add a sense of flow and familiarity, red is the natural colour of danger yellow promotes intelligence and happiness whilst green and blues encourage calmness.
Contrasting colours will make your subject stand out, adding a sense of drama or passion to your image.
Colours on the opposite side of the colour wheel can trust each other and will produce striking images, if used together, example is an image containing red and green of a lone flower in a field.
The use of colour evokes an emotional response from the intended viewer of your pictures, this is one reason why black and white photography is very popular particularly with portraiture and landscape images.
Timing is also very important in photography mainly in time in the correct exposure but equally in timing of your picture if you rush your shot he may be too quick to capture that perfect moment, if you are too slow you may miss it. Be patient and wait until the precise moment you need if your camera has a delay become familiar with it and practice anticipating when you will need to press the shutter. If you do not want people in your shot, wait until they have moved on, alternatively if you do want people in your picture to give a sense of scale, wait until suitable people are in the right place or engage with the people around you.
I hope you've enjoyed watching this video please feel free to check it more at darrensmith.org.uk or on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook
Thank you for watching
Quick Tips Part 2
Hello and welcome to the Darren Smith photography tutorials.
Here is part two of the quick photographic tips to taking a good photograph looking at several factors which affect your image. Previously we have looked at composition, colour and timing. Now we're going to look at light scale and perspective.
Light sources are incredibly important in photography, as these will also affect the timing of your shots. You must decide what you are looking for in your image.
This video is shot using a light source in different places overhead, the ring binder is initially lit from the front then moving to the left and after that moving ahead and to the right showing the reflection of the light in the metal rings, the light then moves towards the back before returning to the distant left side exposing a long shadow.
Having the light source behind the subject can prove a challenge however, when done properly, it can have some fantastic results. Having a strong light source above the subject may be too harsh, for example, shooting in the midday sun does not produce good landscape photography as it creates washed out colour areas and dark shadows which your camera will struggle to cope with.
Waiting a few hours causes the light to change dramatically providing a better chance of a balanced picture
A standard light bulb produces a yellowish tone known as warm white and our eyes naturally compensate for this.
A camera will clearly show this tonal change, you can clearly see the yellowish tone in his picture of a subway station this can be altered in camera or by using a photo editing package or using a cooling filter
Fluorescent lighting as a similar effect by producing a greenish tint on photographs, the light around sunset and sunrise produces a range of naturally warm and pleasing tones that is due to the colour of the sky. At these times, these two photographs show how much of an effect an hour has on the image as a sunsets.
Placing familiar objects in your picture will give viewers a sense of scale and proportion, for example, people in this photograph of a desert scene allow the fastness of the area to be estimated, whilst a familiar object in the distance would give a perspective view of the scale and size of fire objects.
Shadow also gives us an estimate of the height of distant objects
Zoom lenses do more than make your images appear closer than normal, they play a pivotal role in setting the composition of your picture. Zooming out to the wider setting allows the depth of field to be increased allowing more of the picture to be in focus, and gives more three-dimensional depth to your shot.
Zooming in reduces your depth of field and allows the perspective of his subject to be flattened out, making distant objects appear closer together. Perspective is the effects we see on a path which seems too narrow or a railway track which appears to meet in the far distance. This effect is seen clearly in this path through a forest as the path seems to end in a single point. It is also seen in this photograph of the Masjid Negara in Malaysia, this is quite useful as perspective gives a level of depth to the viewer of your picture.
This is not always a good thing though, tall buildings appear to be thinner at the top and may appear to lean backwards. If a foreground object is missing this can be very detrimental to a good image and can be corrected using photo editing software or specific shift lenses.
A foreground object will also allow the appearance to be corrected as the viewer will get a better sense of scale.
Wide-angle lenses exaggerate perspective even more as the light has to bend around the lens, adding to the distortion already there. Having some lines in an image will evoke different emotions. Lines give a sense of direction or voyage as the viewer will follow the lines through your picture straight lines that converge into the distance give a sense of perspective adding a three-dimensional element to your image. This can be seen in the images opposite. Diagonal lines are a wavy path give a sense of travel and movement and a feeling of taking a voyage as you can see from the image of this path.
Curved lines simply add a gentle sway evoking a feeling of relaxation and viewing your picture.
I hope you've enjoyed watching this video please feel free to check it more at darrensmith.org.uk or on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook
Thank you for watching