Let’s start off with the ‘why’ and then move to the how.  For those of you well versed in astronomy this may all seem very simple to you and you’re welcome to skip right over.  But as I’ve traveled I’ve been amazed at how many people, while sitting around a campfire or on a beach, can’t find the North Star or Southern Cross.  I’ll admit, for most people, it doesn’t matter.  They just like seeing stars overhead, making up constellations and looking for shooting stars.  And that fine.  But if you are looking to take pictures of the night sky, it can be helpful to find either the North Star (Polaris) or Southern Cross.

The reason is that it will tell you how light trails from the Earth’s rotation will show up in your picture.  Are you looking for streaks across the sky when using a long shutter speed or stacking photos?  Or do you want that cool circular effect?  It can be fun to play with different directions and foreground objects and unless you’re familiar with finding the right locations, it can be tricky.  First, some explanation.

A Pole Star is a star that sits near the point of rotation for the axis of the Earth directly above either pole.  In the case of the North Pole, it’s the North Star. In the case of the South Pole there currently is not a single star close in that is easy to spot with the naked eye, so the Southern Cross is often referenced.  Unless you are on the equator, you can only see one or the other (or very high up a mountain near the equator, like Mt. Kilimanjaro).  When you point a camera at either Polaris or the Crux and leave the shutter open for a while, you’ll get a swirled pattern as you see in the photo above (shot in Arches National Park, Utah, USA).  If you point the camera away from the pole, you’ll get more gradual curves depending on your location.  The photo at the bottom of this post was taken near the equator, in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, while pointing Southwest.

Speaking of location, let’s find the North Star.  It’s fairly simple and you only need to know one constellation, the Big Dipper or Ursa Major.  I usually reference this constellation rather than the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor), even though Polaris is part of the Little Dipper, because the Big Dipper has ‘brighter’ stars (I know I’m disturbing some astronomers out there with a few colloquial terms and I apologize).  Once you have found the Big Dipper, connect the dots from the bottom of the outside of the dipper (farthest from the handle) to the top of the outside of the dipper.  Now follow that line until you meet the next bright star.  That’s Polaris and it is at the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper.

As I have practically no experience finding the Southern Celestial Pole, I’m going to borrow from Wikipedia (this is where the astronomers can jump in and give some pointers (har har har)) “Since the southern sky lacks an easily visible pole star, Alpha and Gamma (known as Acrux and Gacrux respectively) are commonly used to mark south. Tracing a line from Gacrux to Acrux and extending it for approximately 4.5 times the distance between the 2 stars leads to a point close to the Southern Celestial Pole. Alternatively, if a line is constructed perpendicularly between Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri, the point where the above mentioned line and this line intersect marks the Southern Celestial Pole. The two stars of Alpha and Beta Centauri are often referred to as the “Southern Pointers” or just “The Pointers”, allowing people to easily find the asterism of the Southern Cross or the constellation of Crux.”

A helpful reminder when finding either celestial pole is they are as far off the horizon, North or South, as you are from the equator. In other words, the photo at the top was taken in Utah at approximately 38.7°North Latitude, so the North Celestial Pole is 38.7° off the horizon to the North.  This is helpful for visualizing a trip in advance.  If you know your latitude, you can guesstimate what your star pattern will look like.

And that’s the how and why of finding either celestial pole.  Armed with that knowledge, and the DPS post 4 Steps to Creating Star Trails With Stacking Software, it’s time to head outside when the sun goes down and see what you can create!  Feel free to post some of your memorable star trail photos in the comments section.

PHOTO NOTES: The top photo is a stack of 36 images taken over 51 minutes. Each image is 75 seconds in duration shot at 16mm, ISO 1250 f/6.3. The second photo is one single image lasting 618 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 400, 16mm.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

How To Find The North Star And Why You’d Want To

Framing

Image by foreversouls

Most of us use ‘frames’ to display our images when we hang them on walls for viewing – however ‘framing’ can be used within the composition of a shot to help you highlight your main point of interest in the image and and/or to put it in context to give the image ‘depth’.

Learn how to use framing as an element of composition.

Perspective

Image by Image by fensterbme

The perspective that a shot is taken from is another element that can have a big impact upon an image.

Shooting from up high and looking down on a subject or shooting from below looking up on the same subject drastically impact not only the ‘look’ of the image, emphasizing different points of interest, angles, textures, shapes etc – but it also impacts the ’story’ of an image.

Read more on photographing people from different angles.

Space

Image by .robbie

There can be a fine line between filling your frame with your subject (and creating a nice sense of intimacy and connection) and also giving your subject space to breath.

Either technique can be effective – so experiment with moving in close and personal and moving out to capture a subject in its context.

Sometimes it is what you leave out of an image that makes it special

Balance

Image by *L*u*z*a*

The positioning with elements in a frame can leave an image feeling balanced or unbalanced.

Too many points of interest in one section of your image can leave it feeling too ‘heavy’ or complicated in that section of the shot and other parts feeling ‘empty’.

Read more about balance in photography.

Color

Image by baboon

The colors in an image and how they are arranged can make or break a shot.

Bright colors can add vibrancy, energy and interest – however in the wrong position they can also distract viewers of an image away from focal points.

Colors also greatly impact ‘mood’. Blues and Greens can have a calming soothing impact, Reds and Yellows can convey vibrancy ad energy etc.

What have I missed?

Between yesterday’s post on composition elements in photography and today’s I’ve covered just 10 things that photographers consider when composing a photo. What would you add?

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

5 More Elements of Composition in Photography

Instead of looking at composition as a set of ‘rules’ to follow – I view it as a set of ingredients that can be taken out of the pantry at any point and used to make a great ‘meal’ (photograph). Alternatively I’ve often described it as a set of ‘tools’ that can be taken out of one’s compositional tool belt at any given time in the construction of a great image.

The key is to remember that in the same way as a chef rarely uses all the ingredients at their disposal in any dish – that a photographer rarely uses all of the ingredients of composition in the making of an image.

Today I’d like to look at five of the ingredients (or tools, or elements) of composition that I draw on in my photography. They’re not ‘rules’ – just things that I consider when setting up a shot.

Pattern

Image by actionlovr

There are patterns all around us if we only learn to see them. Emphasizing and highlighting these patterns can lead to striking shots – as can high lighting when patterns are broken.

Read more on using repetition and patterns in photography.

Symmetry

Image by straightfinder

Depending upon the scene – symmetry can be something to go for – or to avoid completely.

A symmetrical shot with strong composition and a good point of interest can lead to a striking image – but without the strong point of interest it can be a little predictable. I prefer to experiment with both in the one shoot to see which works best.

Read more on symmetry in photography.

Texture

Image by Grant McDonald

Images a two dimensional thing yet with the clever use of ‘texture’ they can come alive and become almost three dimensional.

Texture particularly comes into play when light hits objects at interesting angles.

Read more on using light to create texture in your photography.

Depth of Field

Image by orangeacid

The depth of field that you select when taking an image will drastically impact the composition of an image.

It can isolate a subject from its background and foreground (when using a shallow depth of field) or it can put the same subject in context by revealing it’s surrounds with a larger depth of field.

Read more on getting shallow depth of field and also this video tutorial on depth of field.

Lines

Image by stevacek

Lines can be powerful elements in an image.

They have the power to draw the eye to key focal points in a shot and to impact the ‘feel’ of an image greatly.

Diagonal, Horizontal, Vertical and Converging lines all impact images differently and should be spotted while framing a shot and then utilized to strengthen it.

These are just some of the elements of composition that I consider in my photography. They reflect my own style and personality but there are plenty more.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a continuation of this post and 5 more elements of composition in photography.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

5 Elements of Composition in Photography

Photo by acampm1

Here’s a little ‘question’ for you to ask next time you’re out and about with our digital cameras.

Next time you’re taking a landscape or urban landscape shot pause before you hit the shutter and ask yourself:

“What’s in the Foreground of this shot?”

I find that many photographers give backgrounds of shots real attention – but few take the time to consider foregrounds.

If they do consider them it’s usually more about making sure the foreground is empty and that there is nothing obstructing the main focal point.

While empty foregrounds can mean your main subject is unobstructed – it can also leave your image looking quite boring.

Alternatively – a foreground with some sort of secondary interest point can really lead viewers into a shot and help create a more dynamic scene.

The foreground point of interest need not be anything too amazing – it could simply be a rock, tree, pathway or fence post. Alternatively you might want to get down really low and shoot from that position to make the ground itself the interest point.

More tips on using the foreground of your shots to add impact here.

I’d love to see the results of your experiments with foregrounds in comments below.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Pay Attention to Foregrounds

A Point & Shoot (P&S) camera, however, easily slips into my pocket or resides peacefully in the glove box of my truck.  With years of service, it has become invaluable in capturing special memories and spur of the moment shots. 

On a recent business trip to San Francisco, with my trusty P&S in my pocket and the DLSRs moping around back at home, wondering why I had forsaken them, I was bitten with by the photography bug.  I’m guessing most of you know this feeling.  Some of you are bitten every day.  But for some of us that don’t have a specific project or trip in mind, the photography bug doesn’t pay a daily visit.  Inspiration in us all comes and goes, like the tides.  When the bug does bite, though, a camera must be acquired, STAT!

For me the bite happened at night as I walked the streets of the Financial District.  With only my P&S along for the ride, I’d like to share some trips I have found handy in pushing a small camera to an often large task; night photos without a tripod.  In this case, I’ll limit it to a city landscape.

1. Use A Longer Shutter Speed

Without getting into specifics concerning one brand of a camera or another, most P&S cameras have some ability to adjust the shutter speed.  If you’re lucky, yours will actually have a shutter speed setting, but my Canon Digital Elph does not.  However, it does have a “Night Scenes” mode setting with an expanded feature.  This feature does allows for shutter speeds beyond its standard two second maximum in Program mode.  In fact, it can be dialed all the way up to 30 seconds if I desire.  And to be honest, it took me two years of using this camera to finally notice this setting!  I’d highly suggest checking your owner’s manual to see if your camera has such capabilities.  If not, then you might want to skip tip #2…

2. Try Different Shutter Speeds

We all know longer shutter speeds will bring in more light.  But chances are if you’re shooting at night in a city, there’s not too much light.  Meaning, your camera will have the latitude it needs in the aperture settings to keep the exposure well developed.  I found my camera was able to handle shots all the way up to about 20 seconds before things started to get too blown out.  Otherwise, different shutter speeds allowed me to capture headlight streaks with a varying degree of streekiness.  Longer shutter speeds and their corresponding smaller aperture also brought distant buildings into focus.

3. Find Something Sturdy

I can hear some of the comments now, “20 second shutter speeds without a tripod?  Are you crazy?”  While I mentioned the lack of a tripod, I didn’t mean you have to completely handhold each shot.  Find as many sturdy surfaces as you can.  Newspaper boxes, lamp posts, statues.  Just about anything will work.  Sometimes it will mean the surface will be in the shot (such as with a railing or ledge) so you’ll need to take that into account.  Some people can make decent handheld shots down to one second long.  Me, I need stability in the form of large objects.  Even then, technique matters (see example at right as a prime example of what not to do), which means you will want to…

4. Breath Easy And Squeeze

Keep your finger on the shutter release as you’re taking the photo.  Don’t attempt to remove it as it’ll likely cause minor shakes.  Breathe normal and steady, don’t hold your breath.  I read some place that sharp shooters are trained to squeeze the trigger while exhaling as the body tends to relax during that portion of the breathing cycle.  I’ve found this to be mostly true and it does help with longer shutter speeds.

5. Fiddle With ISO

ISO can be your friend or enemy in city night photos.  P&S cameras don’t often have the same noise reduction capabilities of their larger brethren (although they are constantly evolving) and this makes for some fairly grainy shots past ISO400.  Some people like this, some don’t.  If you’re not a fan of all that grain, take manual control (if you can) of the ISO setting.  This will, of course, mean longer shutter speeds, but that’s half the fun of learning photography; getting used to the interplay of the controls to manage how much light passes through to the sensor.  Also, if there is just a touch too much light in the scene, lowering the ISO may help darken those areas until they are acceptable.  Also, lowering the ISO may help you grab some light trails that didn’t exist before with a faster shutter speed.

6. Use Noise Reduction If You Have It

As previously mentioned, not all P&S cameras are equipped with decent noise reduction for higher ISOs.  However, a fair number of cameras DO have noise reduction for long shutter speeds.  My camera is such a unit and it has positives and negative aspects.  On the positive side is the fact that the feature is intended to be used with night shots.  It knows black should be mostly black and can handle night skies well.  One the negative side, the feature takes about as long to process an image as it took to shoot the image.  I’ve cursed this aspect as the scene I really wanted went zooming past while my camera took 20 seconds to process my 20 second photo.  It’s something to be aware of.

I’m limiting this post to just these six tips which I hope are the most helpful, otherwise a blabber mouth like me could go on and on and on.  I do have one more tip that is outside of the parameters I set at the beginning of this post.  Grab a GorillaPod and leave it in your vehicle.  Or carry it around with you, but that’s not always practical.  These little devices are very easy to use and perfect for night photos around a city.  They can also give you more latitude in composition as you’re not confined to straight forward shots on newspaper boxes.

Lastly, don’t forget to check out Natalie’s previous post How To Avoid Camera Shake.  While directed at the large DLSR lens crowd, it contains a number of tips that also apply to using a P&S at night.

Now then, let us hear from you!  Add your favorite night-photography-with-a-P&S-in-a-big-city tip in the comments section below.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

6 Tips For Better Night Photos With A Point And Shoot Camera

A great technique for better photos is to frame your subject within your photo. The next time you are out exploring the world with your camera, try looking for ways to surround your subject with another element in the scene. Framing up your subject is a great technique to add depth and visual impact to your photography. Isolating your subject with framing draws the viewer’s attention directly to the subject of your photograph.

When framing within your photos pay careful attention to your foreground and your background. Remember that both elements are present in nearly every photo that you make. Try to find a way to frame the subject with an object in the foreground that relates somehow back to the object. Try to utilize elements in the foreground that may give the viewer more information about where the photo was taken, what the location was like, or even what event or activity is taking place.

Be careful when utilizing framing techniques that you don’t clutter the photo or obscure the subject. If there is too much going on around the subject of your photograph it is easy to lose the meaning of what your image is trying to convey. Remember though that busy photographs can easily be subdued by carefully choosing a shallow depth of field and blurring out things that could otherwise be distracting. It doesn’t do well to overshadow your subject with chaos or confusion. Be careful when choosing things such as tree branches or leaves as framing elements. You don’t want to jumble the viewer or have branches “growing” out of people’s heads.

To find framing take the extra time to explore your surroundings when making photographs. Walk around the scene. Find different angles. Look for elements within your surroundings that you can use to fill the frame. Imagine objects as windows and frames to help isolate your subject and highlight what you are trying to show. It’s sometimes the simplest techniques that help take your images to the next level.

Got some examples of good framing to show? Leave us a link to them in comments below or share them in the share your shots section of our forum.

About the Author: René Edde is a freelance photojournalist based in Chicago, IL. When René isn’t shooting on assignment for newspapers or working with local and international non-profits on documentary stories, you can find her teaching English to Tibetan monks in Nepal. You can see more of René’s work at her website and her adventures on her blog.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Creative Compositions: Finding Framing

Photo by peter bowers

Most Pro landscape photographers recommend shooting either at (or around) dawn or dusk in order to capture their scene in the ‘golden hours’ when the light is at it’s best (in fact some will rarely shoot at any other time of day).

However, one of the problems associated with shooting at this time of day is that while the sky will often have enough light in it the foreground of your images can sometimes end up being a little underexposed and featureless.

One way to get around underexposed foregrounds is to include water in that area of your shot and to get it reflecting light from the sky.

This is a particularly effective technique at sunrise or sunset when there’s color and interesting cloud formations in the sky (and reflections in the water).

It may take a little experimentation with different positions to shoot from in order to get the right part of the sky in the reflections but with a little trial and error the effect can be quite stunning and a much brighter and more balanced image.

Even if you don’t get perfect reflections the light coming from the water can help balance the shot and help you overcome underexposed foregrounds.

Photo by IrenaS

Photo by Bram & Vera

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Using Water to Lighten Landscape Photos

1. Diagonal Lines

Photo by Feuillu

Using diagonal lines can be a very effective way of drawing the eye of those viewing an image into it and to the main focal point.

The ‘lines’ need not be actual lines - they could be the shape of a path, a line of trees, a fence, river or any other feature in an image.

Converging lines (two or more lines coming from different parts of an image to a single point) can be all the more effective.

Read more about using Diagonal Lines in your digital photography.

2. Geometric Shapes

Photo by Mattijn

By positioning key aspects of a landscape on points of a geometric shape you can help create a balanced composition. Perhaps the most common and easiest way to do this is to use a ‘triangle’ shape between objects in an image with three objects in a frame positioned with one to each side and one more central.

Using Geometric Shapes in this way isn’t something that I’ve done a lot of - but it is one technique to get balance in a shot and if you’re clever, to lead the eye into it (in a similar way to the diagonal lines rule above).

You can see this illustrated (to a point) in the photomontage image to the right.

3. The Rule of Thirds

Photo by james_wicks

The Rule of Thirds gets trotted out more often than any other in all types of photography and is one of the first rules of composition taught to most photography students. While sometimes it can feel a little cliche it can also be a very effective technique in landscapes (although keep in mind that breaking this (and other rules) can also produce dramatic and interesting shots).

Position key points of interest in a landscape on the intersecting point between imaginary ‘third’ points in an image and you’ll help give your image balance and help those focal points to really capture attention.

Read more about using the Rule of Thirds in composing your shots.

4. Framing Images

Photo by Leviathor

While adding points of interest to a foreground is an important technique for adding interest to landscape shots - a similar technique is to ‘frame’ the shot by adding interest to other parts of the edges of an image.

Perhaps the most common way of framing a landscape shot is to include an overhanging branch in the upper section of a shot. Similarly framing a shot with a bridge might work.

Read more about Framing Images

Rules are Made to Be Broken?

Of course while knowing the rules can be important - knowing when to use them and when to break them is a talent that great photographers generally have.

Practice these techniques - but don’t get so worked up about them that they kill the creativity that you have.

Let me finish with a quote about Rules of Photography from Photographer Edward Weston to help give us a little balance on the topic:

“To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk. Such rules and laws are deduced from the accomplished fact; they are the products of reflection.”

Further Reading: 11 Surefire Tips for Improving Your Landscape Photography.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

4 Rules of Composition for Landscape Photography

Photo by svenwerk

Regular readers of DPS will know of my love for shooting from down low to get an image that emphasizes the height of subjects.

I love the way shooting from ground level creates wonderful foregrounds and puts a completely new perspective of familiar scenes. In addition to this it’s great for photographing children, pets and wildlife as it really puts you on their level and helps you enter their world.

However photography is a wonderful thing because sometimes it’s when you go to extremes that you can get the best shots. While shooting from low down leads to interesting shots - so does getting up high and shooting down on your subject.

Here are six reasons why shooting from up high can be something worth considering:

Photo by rentoholic 17

1. flattens objects - shooting down on a scene tends to flatten it out. While this can mean depth of field doesn’t come into play as much it can highlight patterns, textures and shapes well.
2. no horizons - photographing a scene below you eliminates horizons and skies. This means less big empty blue spaces in your shots and hopefully more points of interest.
3. less distracting backgrounds - because most of your scene will be the same distance from your lens you might find yourself with less (or no) backgrounds to have to scan before you snap your shot.
4. group shots - if you’re photographing a large group of people, shooting from up high is a great way to fit everyone in as less space is filled up with legs and torsos and more filled up with faces.
Photo by Garion88
5. shadows - I love shooting from up high at the start or end of a day when shadows are at their longest. When shooting from ground level at such times the light can be wonderful but it’s almost impossible to get a full shadow in frame. Shooting down captures the way light hits objects in ways that can give a whole new perspective on a subject.
6. new perspectives - sometimes it is difficult to photograph familiar objects in a way that keeps them looking fresh and interesting. I’m thinking of iconic buildings or structures for example. Shooting from up high can reveal things about those objects that no one may have seen before.

Do you use this technique? Got any tips to add on the topic?

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Get a New Perspective By Getting High… with your Camera