The human eye is the best camera out there. Since it can’t take pictures or download to pc’s so we came up with the second best ? Camera. So which camera is the best? Doesn’t matter; any camera is good enough, the trick is in taking the pictures.
Photography is such an expensive hobby, it helps being resourceful by making the most of less.(read it as kanjoos) The following are some Tippaniyah. No more missing body parts in your picture, what you meant to take is what has come out in the picture and most importantly people recognize what your picture was about.
?.....And then there was light’’
The word Photography was derived from Greek which meant ’’art of light’’.
Honey, You are my shining star
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? Taking pictures is all about manipulating light.
? Sunlight is the best light out there and FREE.
? The sun at noon uh-huh - too bright. If you are taking the picture of a person his/her face will appear too white without any features. Any scenery , sure.
? The best time to use sunlight is around 9.30 to 10.30 am and 3.30 to 4.30 pm.
? Remember to use the ’’Flash’’ at these times, even if Suryabhagvan is generous with his affection. The reason being the face itself casts a shadow which makes the neck look darker; the eyes have the same effect on the cheeks.
Mujhe rang de
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? Our memories of timeless beauty have always been in B&W. Why?B&w smoothens the pitches and ditches on the anatomy of human face. Color pictures are ruthless, they’re not gonna make you look beautiful.
? B&w is an expensive process. The rolls, the development and the labor involved. Color on the other hand, throw in the roll into the machine and it spits out with vengeance sometimes smearing its waste on some negatives.
? So, they have come up with B&w with C41 processing - i.e. B&w with color processing. The difference is diamond and Zirconium.
? The secret is in color coordination. Primary colors.(If you are taking a picture of a small child and kid?s mother, make the kid wear the darker color )
Bending over ? Reflectors
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? Light disperses. To focus light you need reflectors.
? You have those fancy umbrellas of studios? No? What about an aluminum sheet? No? Aluminum foil? Ah-hah. Take a Cardboard stick Aluminum foil on one side and white chart on the other. Voila. You have your reflector. These reflectors focus light on the face or whichever part you want to appear brighter.
Stand on you own feet..
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? If you want to take a picture of the beautiful sunrise or sunset, take a tripod along with. Don’t have one, and then find a rock or your bike or cycle...anything that doesn’t move.
? Do not use your Palm not unless you are dead. You should use you palm in bright daylight.
? If taking pictures of babies, use tripod even in bright daylight. Don?t tell me you know their language to tell them not to move, do ya?.
From Darkness to light..
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? Most important thing is at night if you are using point&shoot or Digital use night vision, if SLR the shutter speed should be more than 60.
? Indoors, do not use tube light (florescent) and household bulbs together, unless you want to look green like Shrek.
? Want to get creative? Switch off the lights and focus only the table lamp on the subject’s face. Photographic bulbs are usually 250W and not easily available, so go with a higher wattage bulb and use the reflectors to focus.
? When using table lamp focused on subject and blinding him, hold a trace paper(the translucent one civil engineers make house plans on), it softens the light
? Here too...tripod. Don?t have one? Use a table. Stack up books.(Aakhir kithabhe ab tho kaam aye.).
? Ask the subject not to look straight at the lens and look at it at an angle. This is for red eye reduction.
Mother Nature
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? Mankind in his best cannot compete with Mother Nature on her worst days. When it rains and stops, run outside camera in tow.
? Mother Nature is always beautiful and always ready to pose.
Aas Paas
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? If you want to attempt close-ups....stick to flowers, bees or anything you fancy. Get the lens close to the object, focus and take the picture.
? Statutory warning. Unless you have a score to settle don?t attempt this on humans. The myth camera adds ten pounds was created here and it?s not a myth. Even the face gets distorted. The minimum distance is 6 ft.
? Rule of thumb; don?t get too close or too far.
Bring in the Nature.
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? The subject should occupy only 1/3 of the frame preferably to the corner.
? The surroundings play a major part too.
? If for a person, leave some space above the head. Too much space will
make him look shorter; too less will make him look taller but also fatter.
? But if you are taking the picture of a group, don?t wave your hands hysterically to move them closer until they are on top of each other. With P&S if you can see the Whole group ask them to come a little closer. With SLR your picture comes the way you see it, if you can see them just shoot. Digital with LCD you don?t have the problem
Kora kagaz
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?Just take care to fit the background in the frame.
? If you are taking bust size, you can stick up a black chart if you want a black background. Choosing a Background is very important.
? If outdoors, choose a contrasting one.
? Indoors , beg, plead.. wail??mommeeee ur sareee?, get a plain black, white or light blue and tie it up and let it flow on the ground too.
kahi pe nigaahe, kahi pe nishaani,
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? In photographic terms this is called shooting from the hip. Attempt this on unsuspecting bakras if you don’t want them to know you are taking pictures of them. Keep the camera on, down by your side and point the lens up. Look the other way and start clicking. These will produce some interesting angles.
Color me Blue
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? Tint’s In. Take a B&w picture (B&w with color processing) and ask them to develop on warm tone .Whoa; you got that Brown tinted picture. If you say soft, you get the light blue tint.
It’s the negative, stupid.
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? No matter whatever picture you take, give it in a good place for developing. If the picture is bad you can go for seconds. If the negative is bad you lost it.
Bade miyah , chote miyah
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? Enlargements ? If you are using a Digital camera, using 4x or higher would get you beautiful 8 x 11?s.Make sure you have at least 360 DPI. When using SLR or P&S, for a 35mm roll the optimum enlargement would be 5x7. 8x11 should be okay. But Higher would be?..well, expect to see the enlarged picture in your nightmares.
? If you want life-size ?.go to a studio.
Say Cheezzzzzzz