CAMERAS

People are always amazed when somebody says that the camera is older than photography. Many discoveries and unsuccessful experiments were required to bring the camera to the technological point of being able to record an image on film. In about 1000 BC the Arabic found that light through a small hole in a dark and closed space projects an image. The first camera obscura was made to study the eclipse phenomenon.

LENSES

Unfortunely bigger the ASA bier the grain you get. This is important because film speed determines the sharpness in a print if you want just 4x6 prints even 800 will be ok but if you want to enlarge at 8x10 or bigger your image will be grainy. small grain films retain sharpness ASA/ISO 25, 50, and 100 are small grain - 200 and 400 are medium - 800, higher is large grain.



Film is sold in two ways: rolls of 24 or 36 exposures that you buy off store or 100 foot (30.5 meter) rolls at professional photography stores. The difference is the aging process. Film goes through a color shift as it gets older. New film might show a blueness in a print where as old film shifts to browns and oranges. It is true that you may roll you own film in empty cassettes. buying this kind of film rolling machine that cost about $15-30; the reusable film cassettes are about 75 cts. each but once you have these items are forever.

EQUIPMENT

To start you don't really need that much: of course your camera, cable realize for those long exposures, long cable always is better. Uv as lens protection and polarizing filters, the last one increase the blue eliminate glass reflections and help you in really brilliant days. flash separate from your camera. Tripod at list one small, if you don't have always try to place the camera in a solid surface or lean your body against something still like a tree or wall for exposures under 1/60. a small brush to on dust the lens of your camera and of course small towels cleaning liquid. All the cleaning liquid is almost the same an do the job just fine so if you have to chose between one of $15 than other of $8 take the $8 one.

Depending of the kind of photography you taking. you will develop your own needs. remember that photography is expensive buy what you need not what you want. Keep in mind that you are the one who going to carrier all the equipment.

COMPOSITION

In the beginning Most people look through the lens and concentrate in one specific point ignoring the rest, they take the shot. then when the film is develop find the subject always in the center and usually they don't really like the results. there's lots more that can be done to improve each shot, remember that the idea is make the picture interested enough that somebody else wants to see it.

Rule of Thirds: This is the most important of all the techniques listed. As you look through the lens at your subject, break-up the frame into thirds - both horizontally and vertically. Then place the subject on one of the four lines. This takes your subject off dead center and makes for a more interesting picture. if you going to take a portrait line your subject in the joint of the lines, that way you move your subject from death center.

Let's say we are going to take a picture of this nice looking fellow.

Now If you notes as longest you have something in each joint or most of them your picture will be on balance.

Keep in mind this rule, this is a good basic technic that give you a better idea that how organize your picture. But it is not that rigorous. Many photographer that dominate this technic often break it whit good results.

In the beginning be simple choosing your subjects, make sure that what you want look clear and stand in the picture, some times trying to get to many elements confuse your subject with the others elements in the picture or just get lost in the background. Often too many subjects make the message of the picture get lost. To ad subjects or take out to our frame. Just move yourself a little bit, change position, to the left or to the right walk one or two steps forward or back up, get in your need or lay down in the floor if you are not comfortable yet turn your camera vertical change the lens for a bigger one or smaller depends of your needs.

Look for contrast, if your subject is dark look for a lighter background if your subject is white look for a darker background to make stand what is important in the picture. Because can turn confusing if don't do it in the right way.
Look the direction of the movement, always is good leave some space in front were the subject is moving. Folowing the eyes is a good example of direction. If the person is looking at the right put it on the left side, if is looking ant left put it in the right side. Leave open spaces in the direction were is looking.

7 GOOD TIPS

1.- Learn all there is to know about your camera you might be pleasantly surprised if you re-read the manuals that came with your camera.if is hard for you understand the instructions look for somebody that can help you whit the functions of your camera. If you don't understand what your camera can do, how can you expect to take competent shots? This applies to compact camera users as much as it does to SLR owners. never be afraid to experiment, the more you understand about the gear you use, the greater the control you'll have over your picture making.

2.-Never shoot a portrait in bright sun It's the most unflattering thing you could do to your subject. Shooting in direct sun can produce ugly shadows under the nose, eyes and chin. moved the model into the shade. Also, never mix shade with bright sun. If you do, the meter will probably expose for the highlight and give you dark shadows and underexposed skin tones you always can use a ND filter o porolaiser but wont help that much. move the subject into the shade, inside or wait till the sun gets lower in the sky.

3.- Understand the concept of composition. many elements in the same picture make the massage get lost. Think about the kind of photography you what to capture. Look for the contrast. what is what you want to say whit your picture.

4.- use a tripod camera shake is often the culprit and can usually be sorted quickly with a tripod. If you don't own a tripod you can make do by leaning onto a rigid object, such as a wall, resting the camera on a stable platform, such as a table
Decent mono pods and tripods can be picked up for less than $100 and are a great asset for shooting in dim light, or after-dark. stay away of those ones that have plastic hardware. plastic get wear off soon and screws get lost really easy.

5.- Understand the direction of light. cameras are machines design to read light. try to find the way light is reflected in your different subject. the beast light is the one is not back light. the best light you may find is in the sunrise or one hour before sunset. Study it and what it does before you take the shot. Look at what it does to people and the textures it illuminates. Appreciate how it changes throughout the day in a landscape. Study the light in different seasons. Try and visualize what brighter or less intense lighting might do for the subject and consider returning at another time for a different result.

6.-Use the best lab In Your area one of the most obvious failings in the photography world is in its bad processing standards. the result of inexperience and cost-cutting in many photo express places is that your pictures could be ruin. I learn that years ago I went to the National park San Elias south of Alaska. I was so exited to see my pictures that i whet to one of those places When i got my pictures all of them had this brown line in the middle Few pictures didn't get any damage the (ugliest ones). They didn't charge for the pictures but the negatives were ruin. After five years I haven't be able to go back to the Park. Photography is an expensive hobby so if you go for a budget print job don't expect to get top results! If you are unhappy about the lab you use, change it. If you are getting a cheap job don't expect quality and certainty don't expect the lab to reprint images that you're not happy with. Dust spots, red-eye and general mishandling can also make a print look awful.

7.-Try a little self-criticism, there is nothing worse that those wanabe's that think their pictures are the best in the world when they are not better than student. the world id full of these guys Don't contribute more. consider joining a camera club these organizations are great places for contacting new photo friends. ask people that work in photography o are serious about this hobby. learn from your mistakes and apply what you have learned next time the shutter is pressed . if you ask to you mom about your pictures she always going to say that are pretty. if you ask somebody with knowledge he will tell you your mistakes.

Night Photography

Night time photographs are not difficult but require lot of patience. If you own a 35mm manual camera great! that's exactly what you need. If your camera is automatic and no manual , you can still get great results if you have a built-in spot meter and an exposure compensation. when you get ready to shoot, make sure that the exposure control is on 'B' setting so that you can take long exposures (more than 1 second). you don't need al lot of equipment to do the job. A good tripod of about $100, a cable release and a roll of color slide film. Don't waste your time with print film. The one hour Photo lab will ruin all your precise exposures when they print your images. Slide film, on the other hand, will display your images exactly the way your photographed them. When you get a shot that you really like, you can have a professional lab make a print directly from the slide, or have them scan it in to your computer.

The fun Challenge of Cave Photography