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Photo Techniques for your Camera


Interested in picking up new photography techniques, but unsure about what to try out first? Here is a shortlist of what techniques to try out depending on the camera you own.

PANORAMAS: Stitching the panoramas in unconventional ways, like this “planet” panorama here, is just one of the many panorama options.

FORCED PERSPECTIVE: dramatic for people appearing as smaller than or larger than common objects and structures. Alignment is paramount.

LIGHT PAINTING: Many prosumer cameras offer minutes of exposure time allowing for photographs of light trails. Photographing traffic is a common.

FOCUS STACKING: All the dew drops in this photo would not normally be in focus. Multiple exposures with different points of focus are merged together.

SPEED PHOTOGRAPHY: This technique needs a cheap trigger mechanism, that can be purchased from enthusiast or professional shops.

HDR: HDR imaging is similar to focus bracketing, a number of photos are taken to bring out the nuanced shades of each area of an image.

MOTION BLUR: Vehicles, pedestrians and children are all great subjects. When necessary, the phone itself can be moved to induce a controlled blur.

PANOGRAPHY: Generally, arranging images in a collage of some kind is a good idea for presentation when the images are low-res.

SKY PHOTOGRAPHY: SLRs have no limit on the shutter speed. Long exposures (minutes to hours) allow for great photos of star trails, or lightning.

BLACK AND WHITE: The graininess of the fi lm often adds interesting textural details to the images. Getting hold of black and white fi lm can be difficult.

Types of Camera You Can Use

COMPACT: Compacts are maneuverable and versatile allowing for blind and “from the hip” photography.

PROSUMER: Also bridge cameras, these offer the ease of use of a compact along with the features of a dSLR.

DSLR: Investing in filters (UV/ IR etc.) and accessories (triggers, mounts etc.) allow for a range of techniques.

CAMERAPHONE: Composition, subject matter and timeliness can compensate for lack of quality.

SLR: There is still plenty of magic that SLRs can pull off, that digital cameras can only dream of.