Tech Directions - February 2009 - (Page 12) mastering computers Reid Goldsborough reidgold@comcast.net Photographic Skills Still Matter in the Digital Age One of the real digital success stories is the marriage of photography with personal computers. Digital technology is used for taking photos, correcting mistakes, adding special effects, and printing, sharing, and displaying. All of this makes it easier and more enjoyable to take pictures, whether for school-related purposes or pleasure. But what hasn’t changed in the transition from analog to digital are the photographic skills needed to start with a compelling image. There are also rules of the road worth following in transforming raw images into eye-popping photographs. many casual snapshooters and even more experienced photographers in the dark about it. When shooting outside, the best photographic light is in the early morning or late afternoon. If you have to shoot midday, keep yourself and your subject in the shade, if possible, to avoid harsh highlights, dark shadows, and squinting subjects. If you need to be in the sun, try to shoot with the sun to the side of you rather than behind your or your subject. If you need to shoot with the sun behind your subject, turn on your camera’s flash to avoid creating an over-dark subject and over-bright background. Photos taken inside can present tricky lighting challenges as well. Lighting. Lighting is one of the common stumbling blocks, with Subjects illuminated with conventional incandescent light bulbs can have a slightly orange cast because cameras are preconfigured for the “color temperature” of the sun. You can correct for this in any of three ways. You can change your camera’s “white balance” setting, if your camera permits. You can use special “daylight-balanced” light bulbs. Or you can place your subject by a window to be illuminated in part by the sun. Using a flash can also prevent this, but flashes have problems of their own. The inexpensive built-in flashes of a typical digital camera can make your subject unnaturally bright and the background unnaturally dark. Instead, if possible, turn off the flash and use additional lighting by moving a lamp or two close to your subject. If you must use a flash, you can experiment with diffusing its light by bouncing it off a light-colored ceiling or nearby wall. One way to do this is to hold a small mirror in front of the flash at a 45° angle. Flashes can also cause the devil- 12 techdirections ◆ FEBRUARY 2009 http://www.elexp.com http://www.elexp.com http://www.7corners.com http://www.7corners.com http://www.7corners.com http://www.elexp.com
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