Photography worlds

You’ve read all the “best digital camera” articles, got the best price on your first digital camera, and even glanced at its owner’s manual. Are you itching to take some shots of your family, or what?

Slow down, soldier. Before you take 200 shots that seem great at the time, but then upon review of the final picture are less than what you expected, let’s prepare. Prepare?!?! I’ll bet you thought charging the battery was the hardest part of taking great photos, didn’t you? Sorry to disappoint you, but if you want to improve your photo results 50% in 2 minutes, let’s review some basic advice of the pros.

There are two categories of GENERAL ADVICE which applies, regardless of whether you’re using a digital camera to take family portrait poses, baby pictures, pet portraits, group pictures, funny photos, or even maternity portraits. The first category is…

1. Prepare For The Event
Prepare for the event by thinking about every photograph you want to take and what kind of photography pose or poses you would like to capture. Consider who, where, how, and the type of environment.

2. Take Multiple Photographs
Take multiple shots of each pose (remember, digital memory is reusable, a.k.a. “free”). Regardless of what you say or do, people will blink. And don’t count on spotting small problems on the tiny camera LCD screen (even on full magnification); which leads to…

3. Check LCD Screen
Check the digital camera’s LCD screen for general framing of the picture, any movement, visibility of faces, and the histogram. Note that you can think up a fantastic photography pose; arrange everyone perfectly; and, have the photograph “frozen” (no blinking, and no shaking of the camera)…but, when you check it out in the LCD, you see 2 drunks fighting in the background! And, my favorite…

4. Funny Phrases
Have some funny phrases handy to use just before you take the photo. Don’t use it when setting up for the shot. And, don’t use the same phrase all the time. Throw in funny anecdotes, phrases, names, words that you know your family will find more amusing than “cheese.” A natural smile looks four times better than a fake one. The second category is

“Location” Advice For Photography Poses
Taking indoor family photography, is very different than outdoor family photograph (duh!). For INDOOR pictures…

1. Wide Angle
You will tend to use the wide angle more often than your telephoto setting. Pay particular attention to your “end people” (those farthest to the right and the left in your viewfinder), and verify there is enough space in picture, so that if cropping is required, the end people don’t have to lose a limb.

2. The Flash
Flash considerations are critical. Do not be outside your “flash range.” For example, if at ISO 100, your flash can properly illuminate 12 feet, don’t attempt any photography pose that requires anyone to stand at 14 feet (unless, of course, it’s evil cousin Ira who you want to appear in darkness).

3. Plan “B”
If you need to be further away than your flash allows, here are 2 things you can try…First, increase the ISO setting (but not so much as to produce to much noise), or second, move to a significantly brighter location.

4. Watch Your Background
If there are distracting features, change your settings to blur the background (see the Techniques page). The best photography pose in the world won’t look right with a distracting background. And finally…

5. Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall
If there are mirrors or reflective surfaces in the background and you can’t find a different location, only take the picture in such a way that the flash is NOT PERPENDICULAR to the surface, but at an angle (unless you WANT a nice photo of your flash).
Outdoor family photography has completely different issues. For OUTDOOR photography…

6. The Sun
Avoid photographing in direct sunlight, or in mixed light and shade, especially faces. Optimal lighting results from a slightly overcast sky.

7. Shade
When photographing in shade, use fill-flash (see terms) when necessary. And, REALLY finally…

8. Beauty
If practical, take the picture at one of the beautiful natural settings near you. Imagine the result of a creative photography pose captured in a stunning environment. Can you say: “Over the mantle!”?

By Robert Bezman

Most SLRs cope remarkably well with freezing temperatures. I’ve had no problem using Canon EOS SLR cameras below zero for weeks on end, often down to -20°C and in extreme down to -30°C. This article is for those trying to keep such a camera going under expedition conditions, such as an icecap crossing or mountaineering expedition in the arctic: ie no power sockets, adverse weather, sleeping in tents on the ice and for a period of weeks. However much of the advice also applies to using a camera in cold conditions generally.

Two Main Technical Problems To Overcome Are:
1. Condensation
Condensation forms when moving from a cold to a warmer environment, you don’t need to worry about damage to your camera moving from a warmer to a colder environment. Even in arctic conditions the temperature inside a tent is often well above zero yet well below zero in the shade. this means there is often a temperature gradient when bringing a camera into a tent which leads to condensation forming. Condensation on the front element or view finder is an inconvenience, but condensation on the electronics can give permanent malfunction, and condensation in the inside glass elements can write off the camera off for hours or days till the lens totally dries out.

2. Reduced Battery efficiency
Batteries are many times less efficient in cold weather due to the reduced speed of the chemical reaction that powers them.

Tips For Reducing Condensation:
1. Place camera in plastic bag
The camera should be placed inside a polypropylene freezer bag, loosely knotted or twisted and then placed back inside the camera bag. You don’t want to put a waterproof bag around the entire camera bag as any moisture in the camera bag would then condense on the camera body. Ziploc bags, and Ortlieb style dry bags may sound better but often don’t fit neatly inside the camera bag and are much heavier and more expensive. The freezer bag also has the major advantage that you can stuff it below your camera in the bag when not in use, but you need to take spares for when it gets damaged.

2. Use camera bag insulation
The padding on most camera bags (especially the holster style common on expeditions) offers some insulation value which can reduce the dramatic temperature change, when moving from environments of different temperatures.

3. Try and warm up slowly
If there are environments of differing temperatures try and make the warm up process for the camera as gradual as possible.

4. Avoid breathing on the lens
Obvious maybe, but If you need to clean the lens just use a camera cloth to avoid ice forming.

Tips For Dealing With Reduced Battery Efficiency
1. Carry multiple batteries
As a rough guide plan to take 2/3 times the number of batteries you’d need for equivalent shooting in temperate climates. My personal strategy if to take multiple batteries for an extended trip in the wilderness rather than deal with the uncertainties of solar chargers. This makes planning easy as one can ration a battery to last a given amount of time.

2. Warm batteries by keeping close to skin
Carry your spare close to your skin so your body can warm then. An apparently dead battery can be given more life by warming in this way so on very cold days you may find yourself rotating batteries in this way.

3. Adjust shooting style to conserve power
Accept you will get less out of your batteries so adjust you shooting style to conserve power. The biggest thing you can do is turn off after shot preview and reduce to a minimum previewing your images later. Addition power saving tips to get the most out of your battery are to turn off image stabilisation, don’t use flash and minimise half-press pre-focus.

By Quintin Lake