Author: Mark Eden

Ok. So you’ve read up on the technical side of taking great photos. You know your aperture from your exif and you’ve experimented with shutter speeds. But there is something missing from the photos you’ve been taking. They’re ok, but that’s it. Just ok. Why? You wonder. Well, here’s a little secret: it’s all about luck. Well not really. More to the point, great travel photography is about creating your own luck.

Preparation

There is an art to being lucky in travel photography, and it usually involves a lot of hard work. Research is the key. Find out all you can about where you are going. Read travel guides, books, newspaper and magazine articles, scour the internet, watch television programs. Knowing a little about what life is like in that part of the world can go a long way to getting the most out of your time there. For instance, how would the locals react to someone trying to take their picture? Some cultures can be quite offended by having their photo taken. This is especially true of women in Islamic countries. At other times, people will practically beg you to take their picture. Sometimes, you will be expected to pay for the privilege.

If you are intending to photograph well known landmarks, there will be plenty of images available in the various media, so that you can get an idea of what it might look like during different times of the day or different seasons. This might help you in your planning. There is nothing quite as valuable in photography as knowing how to be in the right place at the right time.

Flexibility

Sometimes the shot you want is just not possible. You may be in a busy city square attempting to photograph a serene monument basking in the afternoon sun, but being interrupted by a stream of passers by wandering through the frame. Unless you are able to stop traffic, you are not going to get the shot you came for. This is where you might need to adjust your approach. Try to capture the feel of the place as it is. If the square is bustling with people going about their day, show it as such. Make your focus the intensity and speed of which life moves within the space. Be creative. Maybe use a bit of motion blur to capture the essence of a city in a hurry. You might also be able to return at a quieter time to capture that monument at peace. Again this comes back to preparation and research. Yes, I’m harping on about that again, but it really is that important.

The Wider Picture

Doubtless you will arrive at your destination with an intended subject. Maybe the local people, or architecture, or you’ve planned your trip around a particular festival that is taking place. However, do not limit yourself to this one subject. Instead of fixing your viewfinder on a subject and keeping it trained, try looking around you. Look up, down, behind you. You will be amazed at how much more there is to photograph. And how much more of a sense of time and place you will be able to show in your images. Isn’t that your purpose anyway?

Great travel photography does require great technical skills. Let’s not kid ourselves about that. But more often than not it’s about being in the right place at the right time and having the awareness to take complete advantage of it.

By: RAYMOND NWAMBUONWO

Most of the latest cameras come with a digital photography tutorial that literally takes you by the hand and teaches you all that you need to know about taking photographs with the digital camera you just bought. For best results use those lessons of the digital photography tutorial that matches with your level of knowledge; you would find three types of tutorials basic, advanced and expert.

What Are The Major Highlights That A Digital Photography Tutorial Gives You

The first thing that you would learn from the digital photography tutorial is how to handle the camera. You will find that the most complex digital camera would require no more than ten minutes to master its use. This is because in a digital camera everything is computerized and all you need to learn is to how to give it your command.

The next thing that the tutorial would teach you is how to take a picture in different circumstances, i.e. in full sun, on a cloudy day, when the sun is in front of you and when it is behind you, when the lighting is very poor or very bright and so on. Though generally the lighting conditions are taken care of by the camera automatically, the tutorial would explain to you the different aspects so you would understand its function better and be able to use it manually when shooting special subjects.

Next comes the shutter speed, aperture and exposure which normally would be set manually in a regular camera; with a digital camera your work is very much simplified as its inbuilt sensors are meant to understand the conditions and type of subject (whether moving or still) you are shooting and give you the best possible combinations for shooting your target. The digital photography tutorial would once again explain how the camera functions and why you do not need to worry about these aspects as you would have had to do if you used a regular camera.

Lastly, the digital photography tutorial would take you through the use of the photography software with which you could edit and further perfect the pictures you shot. Most of the software in question would allow a vast range of manipulations to the photographs you download would open for you a new world of creativity.

As you finish the tutorial, immediately apply what you learned and practice the maneuvers until you are fully conversant and comfortable with the procedures taught. In case you have started with the basic, remember you would still have two more levels to cover.

By: Semra Gencay

I could start by saying that photography is the process of recording images by capturing light on a light-sensitive medium, such as a film or… But I hope you don’t mind, rather than sharing Information that is accessible in any library I’d like to talk about what makes me passionate about photography.

When I think about photography I think about a medium that is a visual form of expression. According to the objective; it can express a commercial or artistic idea. For me personally, photography is an artistic form of expression, a wonderful way to submit an idea quickly - within seconds by visual means.

There is something fascinating about how humans perceive their environment. For example we judge a person’s likeability within a fraction of a second. So studying and understanding the complex way in which an individual perceives the world around them is a great tool. It enables the photographer to communicate ideas without using words. This gives the persons viewing the image the freedom to interpret the photo in the way that is unique to them and the photographer the ability to cross boundaries of geography, sex, age, race and even education. .

In conceptual and artistic photography technique also serves as a tool to express ideas. This technique can be as simple as a box with a hole that has photographic paper inside, or as complicated as the mountain of equipment found on a professional shoot. Whatever emphasizes the initial concept behind the photo and the idea is perfect. .

Photography for me is an example of the way in which I perceive my environment; I try to express my feelings about my world via my photos. It is a process in development, changing as I grow. It enables me to stand back, to look and learn about other people, cultures and places. My subjects are personal and at the same time they refer to the whole of humanity, how we are slotted between family, society, environment and politics and how that shapes us.

Photography is the lense that is helping me to grow and develop as a person and I hope through sharing this journey; I am able to affect and enhance the lives of others too.