It’s human tendency to rush to different places to capture all the beauty that is there in the world. But, with experience – you learn that slowing down and being patient gets your creative juices flowing that rewards you with some amazing photographs.
As a photographer, you’re aware how light changes a scene; every place wears a different look at different times of the day.
You might be wanting to photograph your favourite place/landscape during different seasons of the year but, if you can’t travel that often – you can surely capture the beauty of the place on your trip by visiting it, the same day at short intervals or by photographing it from the window of your resort room – if you’ve got a good view.
Below 4 photographs depict how light conceals and reveals different elements of the same scene:
Image before sunrise
Image at sunrise
Image after sunrise
Image after sunset
For time lapse photography – you can either shoot a time lapse video from your DSLR Camera of sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moving clouds or moving people on the street etc. You can also take a lot of photographs at short intervals and then create a time lapse video out of the photographs using a software.
Well, if you don’t have a DSLR Camera, you can shoot a Hyperlapse Video from your android smartphone (remember to keep your phone on a stand to avoid shake as you’ll be recording the video for several minutes). With Hyperlapse videos, you can show actions/movements that are happening at a normal/slow speed in the scene at a much faster speed.
Below is a hyperlapse video of moving people & moving clouds
Below is a sky timelapse/hyperlapse or clouds timelapse
We bring you ‘Jo & His Camera’ Comic Strips wherein a Magical Camera gives DSLR photography tutorials to Jo, an aspiring photographer.
Click on the below Image to see the Comic wherein the Camera explains Jo, the concept of photographing same place at different times with the help of practical examples.
When you do photography: Remember the 5E’s – Explore, Experiment, Experience, Enjoy & Express.
Do Share The Learning – Like It, Post It, Pin It, Tweet It!
If you haven’t yet taken photographs of the same place at different times (time lapse photography) – do give it a try. And remember to share those photographs with us in the comment box below.
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Trying to photograph an amazing landscape? Just when you’re about to take the shot, you see people posing a selfie in front of it, that blocks your view. So, what do you do? Wait for their selfie session to get over, isn’t it? Well, we’ve all been there.
But, do you know – having people in the scene you’re photographing is not always a hindrance to creating aesthetically pleasing photographs? Yes, you read it right! Adding a human element in your scene engages the viewer as it adds life or motion to a still photo, captures local stories, balances the compositionof the image, provides a reference for scale, adds depth to the photograph, conveys popular activities of a place and more.
Wondering, how to decide whether to keep people in the frame or not? Just check whether they fit in with the composition of the image – will they attract the viewer’s attention to your image by letting them think – who are those people in the photograph and what are they doing at that place?
So, let’s dive in and understand both the things – people in photographs that help in creating amazing photographs and people in photographs that don’t go well with the composition of the image.
Girls fill the negative space in the foreground and the photo also makes the viewer think – what the two girls are talking about (Uttarakhand)
Biker adds motion/speed to a nature photograph (Mussoorie)
Depicts activities of the locals – woman in blue fishing (Meghalaya)
Tells more about the place – a Sage walking towards the holy River Ganga to quench his thirst for spirituality (Rishikesh)
Shows Occupational Hazard – Fishermen trying to take the boat out into the sea when it gets hit by the wave (Goa)
Girl in purple shirt filling a can with the holy Ganga water provides a reference for scale by depicting how grand/magnificent nature is (Rishikesh)
Another example that gives a reference for scale (Meghalaya)
Yet another example that gives a reference for scale- Group of travellers facing inside the frame also takes the viewer’s attention inside the photo (Kashmir)
Girl on the tree holding leaves depicts the local attire (Kashmir ki Kali)
Traveller exploring/wandering through the streets – Girl in pink adds life, colour to the still streets of Mussoorie (Street Photography)
Now, take a look at the below 2 photographs where having people in the frame spoil the composition
If the man wouldn’t have been cut in the image – the photograph would have been more amazing (Kashmir)
The people are a distraction in the below image or else the photograph of the leafless tree with a cloudy sky would have created a more dramatic effect
Pro-tip: Well, there’s a trick for removing people in the scene who’re not adding any value to your photograph by setting slowershutter speed(long exposure).
We bring you ‘Jo & His Camera’ Comic Strips wherein a Magical Camera gives DSLR photography tutorials to Jo.
Click on the below Image to see the Comic wherein the Camera explains Jo, the concept of Including People into Travel Photographs with the help of practical examples.
When you do photography: Remember the 5E’s – Explore, Experiment, Experience, Enjoy & Express.
Do Share The Learning – Like It, Post It, Pin It, Tweet It!
Have you photographed a place where people in the scene enhanced the composition and helped in creating a more attractive image? Do share such photographs and your experience with us in the comment box below.
Did this blog help you with some ideas to improve your photography skills? For more useful photography tips, examples, ideas & inspiration, please subscribe below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email. Thank you!
As photographers, we have the power to capture the beauty of our universe and share it with the world!
Astrophotography is the photography of astronomical objects, celestial events, and areas of the night sky which includes Moon Photography, Star Trails Photography, Milky Way Photography, Northern Lights Photography and more. We’ve already covered Sun Photography in our earlier blog, now let’s dive into Moon Photography.
Moon is beautiful and mysterious in all its phases – be it the Full Moon, Crescent Moon, isn’t it? Well, if you’re a night owl – you’ll love photographing the moon.
How to photograph the moon? (Pro tips for Moon Photography)
Use your longest lens 300mm or more (you can also try with 200mm or 250mm) to click the photograph of the moon
Depending on your creative vision – how do you want to composethe photograph, what elements of the scene you want in the frame, you can choose to go for Wide-angle lens or Zoom lens
If you’re using Manual Mode, you can use the ‘Looney 11 Rule’: Set Apertureto f/11 and Shutter Speed to the reciprocal of the ISO you’ve set.
For instance, set aperture to f/11, if you’re using ISO 400, then set shutter speed to 1/400 secs; if ISO 1600 then shutter speed of 1/1600 sec and so on
If you’re using either Aperture Priority mode or Shutter Priority mode, then to avoid the moon in your photograph to look like a white disc (without its craters), dial down Exposure Compensation to -2, -3, -4 or -5 so that the resulting image looks natural and depicts the craters on the moon’s surface (Remember: Exposure Compensation doesn’t work in Manual Mode)
You can experiment with settings like for ISO begin from 400 till 1600 and go for mid-range aperture: f/8 – f/11
If the exposure you’ve set is low, then adjust the camera settings
For instance, your settings are aperture: f/11, ISO 800, Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec, then try a different setting by increasing the exposure, maybe you can use f/11, ISO 1600, Shutter Speed: 1/1600 sec or less
Tripod is highly recommended to avoid a blur photograph and give you a sharp image of the moon
If you don’t have a tripod, you can increase the ISO but remember a higher ISO will produce a more grainy image; so set your ISO accordingly
Use Self-timer mode to eliminate the possibility of camera shake when you release the shutter button to take the shot
You can either use single focus point in autofocus mode or infinity focus in manual mode (you will find the infinity symbol ∞ on your camera lens). See which option gives you a better picture – use that one
Try both the possibilities to shoot the moon – Live View mode and through the Viewfinder to check what works best for you in the given lighting conditions
How to focus to infinity without indicator
If you don’t have the infinity symbol ∞ on your camera, then you can find the infinity focus and mark it on your camera. Here’s how:
Turn your AF (Autofocus) mode on
Go for Single Focus Pointand select center focus point
During daytime, point your camera (preferably mounted on a tripod) with the Single Focus Point on the top of a pillar, lighthouse, tree, mountain or a tower that is set against the skyline (Keep the top of the pillar in the center of the frame)
The AF mode will try to find focus on the top of the pillar
Through the viewfinder/Live View Shoot Mode, when you see your subject/pillar appearing sharp, halfway press the shutter button to lock the focus (the focus has been set to infinity)
Now, quickly mark that point on the focus ring with a marker or a tape (you’ve marked your infinity focus)
Turn AF (Autofocus) mode to MF (Manual Focus) mode
When doing moon photography, use MF (Manual Focus) mode, move your focus ring manually and stop at the marked infinity focus to capture a sharp image
How to focus to infinity without indicator
Note: After I marked the infinity focus on my focus ring (Canon 1500D) – I found out that when I move my focus ring to the extreme left (hard stop of the camera’s focus ring which is the place at which the focus ring will turn no further) and then move it back by a centimeter to the right, there lies my infinity focus.
(Always try to get sharp images coz if your images aren’t sharp, even post-processing in Lightroom won’t help to correct/enhance your image)
Take a look at the below pictures and Camera Settings that were used to photograph the moon:
Phase of the Moon: First Quarter
(It is a primary Moon phase when we can see exactly half of the Moon’s visible surface illuminated)
(It is the intermediate phase, Waxing means moon is getting bigger; Gibbous refers to the shape, which is less than the full circle of a Full Moon, but larger than the semicircle shape of the Moon at the Third Quarter)
Camera Settings – (Looney 11 Rule was used) Aperture: f/11, Shutter Speed: 1/1600 sec, ISO: 1600, Focal length: 250mm
Photograph of the White Desert of Kutch (India) using Wide-angle lens
We bring you ‘Jo & His Camera’ Comic Strips wherein a Magical Camera gives DSLR photography tutorials to Jo.
Click on the below Image to see the Comic wherein the Camera explains Jo, the concept of Moon Photography with the help of practical examples.
When you do photography: Remember the 5E’s – Explore, Experiment, Experience, Enjoy & Express to develop your own style as a photographer.
Do Share The Learning – Like It, Post It, Pin It, Tweet It!
So, have you photographed the moon yet? If yes – do share your moon photographs and the settings you used to photograph it, in the comment box below.
Did this blog help you with some ideas to improve your photography skills? For more useful photography tips, examples, ideas & inspiration, please subscribe below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email. Thank you!
