Spring is a great time of the year to capture amazing pictures. The weather is perfect, and with all of nature's beauty being showered all around, you have a great ambiance to shoot some incredible pictures. This blog article talks about the ways in which you can prepare spring photography.
Get the right device
It is important to select the right camera to shoot perfect pictures. The surroundings might look great to the eye, but your camera may not agree with you. So go ahead and invest in the right camera and accessories before you start shooting. While buying a camera, check the image quality with some sample pictures and recheck the images in a laptop or your computer. Compare the image quality of different camera’s before zeroing on a particular camera. It is advisable to do some research about the optics and image sensor of the camera.
Shoot with the right frame
Once you are out there shooting, it is important that you select the right frame to shoot that perfect photo. A good composition highlights the subject and complements it. If the composition is not proper, then it may take the attention away from the subject. While shooting outdoors, you might notice spotty and over exposed areas in the frame. These areas decrease the color saturation of the picture, and you might fail to get the desired result. It is better to avoid these areas by tightening the frame on the subject.
Turn off auto white balance
Auto white balance helps you balance the colors in the composition, it is a useful tool, but not while shooting outdoor. The auto white balance, if used, will add unnatural colors to your images. For example, if you are taking a picture of your child with green grass in the background, the camera will try to undertone the green color. The green color may come across as too overpowering, it may push one color over the other giving you odd colors in the entire picture. By setting the auto white balance to off, you will get vibrant and rich colors.
Capture photos with the right light
Getting the perfect light is like work half done. Overexposure or underexposure reduces the color saturation of the image and makes it dull. Play with the light and look out for areas where light bounces off and fills the entire space. Look for broad light which has a soft tone. Search for things that reflects light and give you the desired light tone. Look for quality over quantity, when it comes to lighting. An open shade or the shadow of a house are places where you can get sufficient lighting; your photos will not be prone to underexposed or overexposed tones.
Your DSLR is smarter than your Smartphone
If you are shooting pictures using your smartphone or tablet, then it is better to shoot images aided by your primary camera app. Third party apps tend to add filters to the images you shoot. In the end, you end up with photos plagued by low image quality. It is better to shoot first and add third party filters later.
Editing Photos: less is more
Keep your photos simple with the least amount of editing and manipulation. A badly edited photo looks unnatural, and they tend affect the image quality. By changing the values of contrast and exposure, the quality of photo may drop drastically. It is advised to print the image or view it in a large HD screen before you make the final change. This will help you gauge the amount of editing required for a particular case. Save the original file; in case you change your mind, you still have the original copy to rework.
Good background adds quality to the image
Having a good background adds to the aesthetics of the photo, making them look more gorgeous and professional. It also adds colors to your photos, giving them a vibrant look. A background, such as a field of wildflowers will give you magnificent shots.
Tonal and color contrast
An image with simple contrast tone highlights the subject and enables it to stand out. There are several different types of contrast settings that you can try to get the desired effect. Color contrast will draw attention to the subject very easily, and add character in the image and help it stand out. For example, a yellow raincoat on green grass or an orange umbrella on a gray wall will give you great color contrast. Tonal Contrast refers to the contrast of light and dark. It works pretty well in black and white photography. In color photography, it works well when you use bold colors with pastel light colors. For example, bright red with soft pink. Focal contrast is achieved by blurring the surroundings and keeping a sharp focus on the subject. This helps you add a lot of attention to the subject as the rest is not in focus. Pattern contrast is when you use combination of patterns that are different from each other. This makes the subject stand out easily. We would love to know about your techniques and methods for capturing those amazing spring moments. We look forward to your comments and suggestions.