Tips & Tricks
Are your pictures great but miss that extra little something that would otherwise make them perfect? We can help. Our Tips & Tricks section offers useful suggestions to help you make the most of common photo opportunities. Ideas for adding character to people shots. Drama to landscapes. Excitement to action shots. Even tricks for handling lighting. And be sure to check back regularly—our featured tip changes to keep you up-to-date on the latest tips and tricks.
Action
Action shots can be as fun and exciting to shoot as they are to pose for! But how can you be sure you're really capturing the action and not just a jumble of indistinguishable shapes and colors? How can you freeze a moment in time? Consider these useful tricks:
- Use a fast shutter to stop the action. To freeze movement and clearly capture the background as well, use your camera's shutter-priority setting. Always try to take your picture at the fastest shutter speed available. And don't miss a minute of the action—be sure to set your camera to all the proper settings beforehand so you're ready to shoot.
- Use a slow shutter to blur the action. By slowing the shutter speed, your camera will record the movement of your subject with interesting streaks of blurred colors. At a shutter speed of about 1/30 of a second, you can follow your subject with the camera and have the background blur, or hold the camera still as your subject passes by and have them blurred! Either way you'll achieve fun and interesting effects.
People
People and portraits are the most popular subjects for photographs. But short of asking someone to smile and say "cheese!" how do you capture the personality and character of your subject? Consider these helpful hints:
- Use sunlight to your advantage. For outdoor pictures, position your subject so the sunlight brightens their left or right side. Don't face them towards the sun—squinting isn't attractive! Then use your flash or "flash fill" mode to fill in any dark shadows and light their face evenly.
- Consider different angles. Instead of having your subjects look at you straight on, ask them to turn their bodies to the side but still face you. This slightly over-the-shoulder look can highlight the hair and profile. Finally, zoom in on your subject as close as you can. Close-ups force the viewer focus on the person and not the distracting (and unnecessary) elements in the background.
Landscape
When done right, landscape photography draws the viewer in and captures the drama of the scene. Sunrises and sunsets are particularly popular—but can often pose the greatest challenges. Consider these suggestions for making the most of your sun-filled memories.
- It's all about timing. Many people want to capture the sun just as it begins to touch the horizon. That's fine, but some of the brightest colors appear up to 30 minutes before or after the sun sets or rises, especially when clouds are present. Morning and evening sunlight reflecting off the clouds can add a dreamy mood to any picture. Be prepared with extra memory cards or film.
- Use the foreground. While a colorful sky is always exciting, consider adding foreground elements to your picture to add depth and texture. Interesting elements could include wisps of dune grass, fragile tree branches, rocky outposts, or an old wooden fence. Adding foreground elements also creates interesting compositions for your pictures.
Lighting
You're in the mood to shoot some pictures but it's nighttime. That doesn't have to stop you! Night photography can produce some particularly interesting effects—as long as you know the key tips for making it work.
- Long exposures make the most of the given light. The longer you expose the picture the brighter the lights will be. Use your camera's EV control to extend the automatic exposure and overexpose that by EV+1 or EV+2. And it's hard to under- or overexpose nighttime shots. In general, the longer the exposure, the better your shots will be.
- Use a tripod. Whenever you're shooting at exposures longer than 1/60 of a second, you should always use a tripod. Tripods steady the camera and ensure a great picture. Most cameras feature a tripod socket on the bottom of the camera to allow you to attach one quickly and easily.
Source: Pentax
