Improve the quality of pictures

You don't need a professional DSLR to take the best photos. The key to good photos is not the camera, canvas prints but your observation and technique. We'll show you how to get the most out of your equipment. With the right shooting techniques, even entry-level DSLRS can produce results comparable to high-end equipment. After reading the tips and creative shooting techniques in this article, you can also use your existing equipment to shoot professional works.

The correct shutter speed setting is the first thing you need to master if you want to shoot a good photographic work, no matter whether the scene is bright or dark.

When choosing to take a picture, the first thing to make sure is that the picture is clear or fuzzy. Many photographers prefer sharp, sharp images, canvas photo prints ignoring the appeal that blurring can bring to a picture. Blurred waters create dreamlike atmospheres, while still waves convey the grandeur of nature. Similarly, slightly blurry track and field pieces convey the real experience of watching a race, while still images show the sharp lines of an athlete's muscles. Factors that influence your decision include the subject's appeal, your mood, the weather, and the environment. 1/500th of a second or less of exposure time can solidify the subject moving at a very high speed. The longer the shutter speed, the more dynamic the shutter will record during the opening process and the blurred image will be more obvious.

The surface of fuzzy

Whether it is a waterfall or a stream, large canvas prints cheap the flow path is relatively fixed, and it only needs about 0.5 to 1 second of shutter to get the silk-like white effect. But if you want a similar blurring effect on the surface, it takes a minute or two or more.

The required exposure time is easily achieved in low-light environments or in winter with a minimum sensitivity and minimum aperture, but in most other cases a medium-gray density lens is required. The medium gray density lens does not change the color of the picture, but only reduces the intensity of light entering the picture. It has 1, 2, 3 and other different specifications, which can extend the exposure time by 2 times, 4 times and 8 times respectively. Additionally, medium gray lenses with 9 to 10 stops of light intensity are available, such as NDx400 from bogu and Big Stopper from Lee. Normally with 1/60 of a second shutter speed, the exposure time will be extended to 15 seconds with the addition of a 10-block medium grey lens. A one-second shutter can be extended to 16 minutes. The price of this kind of medium gray lens is not cheap, and the price of Lee's super reducer lens is very expensive, so it is advisable to use multiple ordinary medium gray mirrors in a stack. If the picture is cheap, you can even use welding glasses as a medium gray density lens, but do not be too harsh on its optical quality.

Phase up

Even for stationary objects, a little more blur can be interesting. In the sunlit forest, you can use slow doors to get creative. Simply choose the right composition, press the shutter and move the camera smoothly to get the amazing results shown above.

The aperture

Depth of field indicates the extent of the picture before and after the focus. Many people therefore think that choosing the smallest aperture will get the clearest picture. Unfortunately, a law of physics ruled them out. The smaller the aperture, the more strongly the light diffracts. As the light passes through the edge of the aperture blade, it mixes, blurring the image. Therefore, it is better to open 1 to 2 blocks on the basis of the smallest aperture of the lens

Focusing stack

Sometimes even using a small aperture will not give you the depth of field you need. Fortunately, we can also easily solve this problem using the focus stack. Focusing stacks can be used for still life, macro and landscape photography, as well as for any still picture shooting. By combining several photos with different focal points and limited depth of field, we can get a composite photo in which all objects in the picture remain clear.

It is important to keep the content of the image the same, so the camera needs to be placed on a stable tripod. Leave some space around the main body of the frame as the final composition will need to cut out a few edges.

Set the camera to manual mode, select the best aperture, and focus on the nearest part of the scene that needs to be clear to take the first picture. Then move the focus to the foreground and take a series of photos from near to far. Although you can combine these photos into one using any image-processing software that supports layers, it's best to use software designed for this purpose.

The white balance

The automatic white balance system can better distinguish ambient light and ensure color restoration, but this system is not without problems. When they do their best to avoid color bias, perhaps it is the atmosphere of the picture that is "corrected", such as the warm tone of sunset and so on. However, we can use the white balance preset or specified color temperature value instead of the automatic white balance, to get more picture atmosphere shooting results.

The daylight or sunlight option on the DSLR's white balance menu is so practical that even when our eyes and brains are tricked, we can usually record the color of the shot as it is. The shading or cloudy Settings are slightly warmer and may be brownish at times, but will work well for certain situations.

Custom white balance

Many photographers find it difficult to set white balance for motion, which is actually quite simple. Custom white balance allows us to freely choose neutral colors in the picture, which is very suitable for shooting in mixed color temperature.

For most SLR cameras, the first step in using custom white balance is to select the custom white balance option. Take Nikon D3100 as an example, which can be set through the white balance menu. The next step is to shoot and calibrate the white or medium gray object in the light condition of the subject. White paper or grey card is the best reference. It is very important that the Angle of the reference object is the same as that of the subject when correcting the white balance at the mixed color temperature. If the subject is illuminated on one side by a window light and on the other by an indoor incandescent light bulb, it is not correct for the reference object to face either side alone.

Custom white balance Settings remain the same until they are reset, so you can always use the custom values set at any time, even if you use other Settings or automatic white balance Settings.

Use a filter

While many filters can be simulated using Photoshop, there are times when we need real filters in order to get a high quality image. Here we introduce two types of filters that are most commonly used in professional photography. One is called a medium-gray gradient filter, and the other is a polarizer. If you prefer long exposures, you will also need to add a medium density lens.

A medium-gray gradient lens is an essential tool for landscape photographers to avoid overexposure of the sky from the source without relying on Photoshop. A medium grey mirror moves from a transparent and soft section to a medium grey mirror at the other end. Using the medium grey part to cover the brighter part of the image, the exposure value of this part can be reduced, which is often used to darken the sky. At this point, the overexposed clouds, which are normally photographed, show more detail against the blue sky.

Unlike the in-camera dynamic range optimizations that camera makers are working on, a medium-gray gradient lens doesn't create noise in the shaded parts of the image and doesn't require post-compositing several different exposures, making it more suitable for scenes with moving objects.

The polarizer does what Photoshop can't. In addition to enhancing color saturation, polarizers can also reduce reflections and glare. When using the polarizer, pay attention to the Angle between the polarizer and the reflective object. Angle is different, the weaken degree to glance is different also. At the same time, rotate the polarizer to achieve the best effect.

Use a medium gray gradient

According to the book, the correct way to use a medium-gray mirror is to read the exposure values of the sky and the ground in turn, and then select the corresponding medium-gray mirror according to the difference between the two readings, and set the camera aperture shutter according to the ground exposure values. However, a simpler way is to set the camera directly to evaluation or matrix metering mode, and then use the appropriate ND size gradient gray mirror, dark sky 2 blocks to shoot.

It's easy to install a medium grey gradient, but it's important to keep the gradient in the right place. First install the filter holder on the lens, and then slowly insert the filter piece on the socket.

View the gradient through the viewfinder or viewfinder mode and adjust the filter until the gray gradient is clearly above the horizon. If you resize the composition to change the position of the horizon in the image, remember to resize the filter accordingly so that the horizon and the gradient of the filter overlap. If the horizon is not horizontal, simply adjust the Angle of the socket.

Using polarizer

Polarizers are generally round in shape because they need to be rotated to the correct position. When the lens is at a 90-degree Angle to the sun, and the polarizer is adjusted at the best Angle to sunlight or reflected light, the dark blue sky can be obtained and the reflection of the picture can be eliminated to the greatest extent.

Since the effect of polarizer is closely related to the Angle of reflection, the sky is often dark and bright when used in a wide-angle lens. It is very easy to check the effect of the polarizer by simply installing it on the lens and rotating it to observe it. When the color reaches its maximum saturation, the reflection is completely eliminated or the sky is dimmed most obviously, the rotation stops.

Once you have mastered the usage and effects of each filter, rectangle canvas you can try to use a combination filter to achieve the effect you want. When you find that you have only one medium gray gradient lens on your body, you can use a polarizer to further darken the sky and also suppress reflections from objects on the ground.