How a Digital Image is "Made",rather than "Taken."

[kencaleno]

There are vast differences between “Taking” the shot, and “Making” the shot:

First, you Make the shot:

Answer these questions:

1. What is the main subject?

2. How to emphasize main subject?
- fill the frame
- freeze the motion-fast shutter speed
- blur the motion-slow speed
- subject placement in frame-rule of thirds
- Low side-lighting for texture


3. What to leave out of the image?
- All irrelevant stuff

4. How to light the Subject?
-flash-on camera -off camera
- available light?
- available light plus flash?

5. What time of day/ white balance?
- dawn Auto
- sunrise 2400 Kelvin Auto white balance
- mid-morning 4000-5500 Sunny white balance
- noon 6500 Kelvin Cloudy white balance
- afternoon in shade 7500 Kelvin Shade white balance
- evening (sunset) 2400 Kelvin Auto white balance
- night………………………..Tungsten


6. - What lens?- What focal length?

7. Exposure?

Let’s say settings of 100 ISO @ F8

- Hard Shadows 1/500 sec
- Soft shadows 1/250 sec
- Barely visible shadows 1/125 sec
- No shadows 1/60 sec



Okay, you have, after answering all the questions above, just Made a photographic image, with your eyes, and your mind.
Now, grab your camera and Record that image you have made: Using the acronym FAST

Focus

Aperture

Shutter Speed

Think……

.Take a look through the viewfinder before pressing shutter button, to see if there are any visible distractions, (Foreground rubbish, rivers running through ears, cluttered backgrounds, trees growing out of heads, etc.,)

Regards, Ken

[dcclark]

Pretty good advice, Ken -- it's always good to re-emphasize how much of a photo happens *before* you hit that shutter button.

[krish_g]

Thanks Ken for your suggestions. Can you please explain what you mean by
- Low side-lighting for texture

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by krish_g

Thanks Ken for your suggestions. Can you please explain what you mean by
- Low side-lighting for texture

Say you are photographing a bath towel,or a manuscript and want to show the napp of the towel, or texture of the vellum/papyrus/paper of the manuscript-very low side lighting (10-20 degrees) will emphasize these textures. Ken