Light Source, Time of Day and Tripod

Here are a couple more tips on taking better photographs. One of the resources that I use when I need a refresher on how to take better pictures is the Kodak web site reference “taking great pictures”. There are a lot of good articles and how-to descriptions there.

This contribution will talk about light source, time of day and using a tripod.

Light Source: If you are standing with the light source (sun) coming from behind your subject, you will loose details of the subject. Sometimes this is preferable; you can create silhouettes and gain some artistic representation. If the silhouette isn’t the reason for taking the picture, move your camera close to the subject face and take a meter reading. If you’re camera has a light meter locking setting, choose the setting from the location of the subject and expect the background to be washed out. Changing the depth of field to compensate for the extra light behind the subject is a topic for another article.

Time of day: When you take pictures during the day makes a great deal of difference when it comes to the amount of color contrast that is captured on the screen, film. The closer to sun rise or sun set the better. When the sun is in the lower ¼ of the sky, the suns rays have to travel through more of the “atmospheric” filter before they hit the subject of your photograph. This color saturation will provide more stunning colors and a richer looking picture, give it a try.

Using a tripod: If you are alive and trying to hold a camera stead by hand, your heart will be beating at a normal rate. No matter how steady your hand is, there is still a pulse racing through the appendage that is holding the camera. The best way to achieve an accurate representation is to mount your camera on a tripod and use a remote release. The quality of the tripod does make a difference too, but that is also another topic for an article. If you want to capture the texture of the feathers on a bird, the individual hairs on a cat or dog, using a tripod will be the only way the accuracy of these things can be captured.

Enjoy the art of photography and the results of your picture taking.

Darrell Mishler
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