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Project Educate: Night PhotographyProject Educate: Photography
A shot in the Dark

This short article coupled with Photographing Fireworks will hopefully aim to share some tips and skills at shooting in the dark and how you can make the most of the darker evenings drawing in (for most of us anyway!)

Requirements

Camera – it needs to be capable of long exposure to capture the best of night time photography. Bulb Settings are very important to enable you to hold the shutter open for a long time.

Lenses – Wide angle, telephoto – a range is best if you have access to it. Wide angle lens are fantastic for capturing those motorway shots from bridges of long distance traffic light trails. Telephoto lens are more useful for captures of the moon and other details.

Tripod – This is

Photography Troubleshooting: Dull Images on dA?After a long pause in which nobody seemed to have very many questions, we've got a very intriguing one which came up during the People & Portraits #projecteducate week and it's something that has always played on my mind, and no doubt on yours too. Once again `sine-out has provided a fantastic answer, so hopefully that will help somewhat in clearing this issue up. Have a question? Drop it on this article and we'll work on an answer!

"It seems like colorful pictures made in adobe look good, then after
they have been uploaded on deviantART... the color is more dead.. not so
alive..is this an issue?" ~ *kayjensen
"Hi *kayjensen, the issue your describing is most likely a colour profile issue. Colour profiles essentially describe how each colour is represented and there are different profiles for different purpose but mostly for getting accurate colour out of a printer or a screen.
By default the internet works with and assumes that every

Photography Troubleshooting: Capturing AutumnFor many Photographers, Autumn is now officially here and is one of the most exciting seasons to capture in terms of colour, change and vistas. Early morning mist, late afternoon sun, orange, red and golden hues - Autumn has a lot to offer in many countries. If you're like me, Autumn often arrives all at once and it can be tricky to know how to make the best of the season before it's over. A couple of days of high winds and rain can ruin the best Autumnal captures by ripping the leaves down before you've even got the chance to snap - so it's great to be prepared for the season.

Leading lines are particularly useful. Yet so many people quote ' Look for leading lines...' or 'You've captured the leading lines here perfectly' and really do we even know properly what they are? The purpose of a leading line is to draw a viewers eye into the photograph and then on a journey - through it. Think of it as a visual narrative. They can be intentional and ind

Photography Troubleshooting:How to Photograph FoodMany of us lament about a lack of subjects to Photograph - and almost just as many of us create something on a daily basis that with a bit of presentation, can look like a masterpiece. Food is one of the most accessible Photographic subjects and if you've no idea where to start, hopefully this article will give you a few pointers. Firstly, you don't need an expensive D-SLR in order to capture some of the food masterpieces you see around.

By *PaSt1978
The above was taken with a Sony Cybershot which is a good quality point and shoot camera. As you can see, the focus is crisp, the quality is good and the lighting is adequate. It works well - and it's easy enough to achieve whether you have a D-SLR or something smaller.

Before you start cooking - get prepared. It's the simplest easiest thing to say and you'll likely roll your eyes at such a mundane instruction but there have been many times when I've found mysel

Photography Troubleshooting: Capturing BabiesOkay so one of the biggest subjects within portraiture photography are infants and children! Children and in particular newborn babies bring out the photographer in all of us. So whether or not you're looking to go pro and snap babies professionally or whether you just want to brush up on some tips for your own family or friends, this could be the article for you! I always thought that when I got my first baby shoot booked, it would just be a case of snapping them on the carpet or wrapped up in a blanket. I had no idea how creative I could really get - and how simply it would be to do that.

Until a few weeks ago, I had never photographed a baby in my life, let alone had to pose and arrange one in cute positions with lots of fluffy toys surrounding it. I had also never used a lighting kit before, but that's another story. Anyway, I found it incredibly easy once I knew what i needed, to set up for the shoot and since then I haven't looked back. Whether yo

Project Educate: Photography - The Basics Project Educate: Photography 3rd October 2011 -> 9th October 2011

Project Educate has launched for 2011/2012 and I'm delighted to announce that the first week will be brought to you by myself and `ScENeYmE
As two of the General Photography Community Volunteers we will be posting topic specific weeks later on in the year. But for now we thought it would be nice to launch with a week of Photography Basics for those of you who are uncertain where to start - and those who just want some new tips and beautiful features to look at!
Keep an eye on the blog over at #communityrelations as each CV will be posting announcements about their weeks there. Also head over and make sure you are watching #projecteducate where we will be collating all the links to the articles over the coming months.

Shooting in RAW

It's surprising how many peop

Photography Troubleshooting: PetsPhotographing pets whether for yourself or as part of a job, is becoming increasingly popular and the demand for tips and tutorials is ever on the increase. Within this weeks article we hope to give you a few pointers and answer a few queries that might have come up. ^Talty asked us this...
"My camera has a pets & kids setting but they still come out blurry.
I've tried every setting, so far I've had better results with the "EASY"
setting, but they still come out only decent."
^Talty is using a high end Canon Powershot which is fantastic for things like still life photography, landscapes and working up close with static options and scenery. But when it comes to photographing animals and in particular as ^Talty is attempting - kittens, it doesn't compensate for the difficulties such a subject poses. For example kittens are incredibly wriggly, and as ^Talty has found, getting them to stay still in any one place is a nightmare! So naturally you need a camera that can al

The Photography Galleries: Why and How to SuggestSo many of my watchers and other members of the community suggest fantastic pieces for Daily Deviations every week. But I need more. I need to be more specific about my rules now too, so that you understand what I do and do not look for. But above all that, it's time to get You more exposure. Think you have an awesome photograph in your gallery? Why not consider self suggesting right now. I actively encourage it. If you send me your own work I will greet you with pompoms and latex free balloons. Srsly. Read on for more info:
The Community Relations Team is your first stop when sending a Daily Deviation. The full team is listed there and it's pretty self explanatory of whom you should select to send your note to. If the deviation you are suggesting is in, for example, Animals, Plants and Nature - then there isone designated Community Volunteer that

Photography Troubleshooting: Understanding ISOHeader created by ~TouchedD
=TheGalleryOfEve asked recently about SLR settings and in particular, a troubleshooting article focusing on ISO. So here it is! Hopefully this article will help you to understand ISO better, whether a beginner or not.
What Is ISO?
ISO within traditional photography, was an indication of how sensitive a film was to light. Within digital photography it measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. Basically, the lower the number then the less your camera is sensitive to light. Higher ISO numbers are generally used in dark situations to get faster shutter speeds but this can often mean that your shots are noisier. ISO 100 is the most widely used and gives crisp shots with little to no grain. Shooting in automatic means that the camera will select the appropriate ISO for the situations that you are facing, and work out the rest for you to reduce noise as much possible. But it's when you start getting more technical and

Photography Troubleshooting: The Watermark FAQ"How do I protect my photography and art in general?"
~=Eitvys200
"As =Eitvys200 pointed out, at least 1 journal per month makes it to the top of the list and is about stealing art. Sometimes this is something small such as posting a piece to facebook, other times you see hoards of pieces on a website selling wallpapers or something similar. Regardless of how it happens, or where, it can hurt just as much to see your hard work disregarded and especially someone else profiting or taking credit.
Protecting work is a huge deal for some people, and not for others. It depends entirely on your outlook - how you view your work and indeed whether or not there needs to be some constrictions on it due to the content being a child, or family member. But how do we protect our work properly from art theft and wrongful use? The simple answer is you can't provide for every eventuality. Even if you upload your work to a website where right click -> copy is disabled,

Project Educate: Composition BasicsThe action of putting things together; formation or construction.
The term composition simply means 'putting together' and is applied to all forms of art. In this respect, composition is all about the placement, arrangement or organisation of the individual elements within a photo. The composition of a photograph is what catches the viewer's attention and is what makes the image pleasing to the eye. By practicing and developing basic composition techniques, you can produce pieces of work which can recreate the impact of the original scene.
Some tips for developing composition skills are;
Look around using the viewfinder every time you take a picture.Look at each element and how it impacts the overall composition.Become familiar with your camera. Learn how it works, play around with settings and really get to know how each setting changes the overall image.Experiment and practice. Experiment and practice. Experiment and practice.Study other pieces of art; photogr

Photography Troubleshooting: Snap to ProThis week we bring you another issue of Troubleshooting for Photographers, to hopefully give you some tips and explanations behind how to make your Photography look that little bit more professional. ^Aeirmid noted that while there are a lot of folks in the photomanipulation community who enjoy taking photographs, there is also a great desire for people to learn a bit more about how to make them look more professional.
Firstly combining the elements of many of the articles that have already been written in this series (see the bottom of this article for links) will assist anybody in gearing their photographs up to look more professional. However `IsacGoulart summed it up quite neatly with this rather epic quote...
“Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph."
Getting your work up to some sort of standard is always tricky. Especially if you are setting the standar

Photography Troubleshooting: FiltersThis week we bring you another issue of Photography Troubleshooting to hopefully give you some tips and explanations behind how to make use of some photography accessories. If you have a question, query or any thoughts you wish to see discussed just drop us a comment or note!
"The use of filters, how to pick them and examples of situations where they would be helpful...."
~ =moria330
Hi =moria330, filters are a good way of diversifying your photographic opportunities without spending a great deal of money (though, granted, many of the better quality filters can get to be relatively expensive).
In film photography, filters were used a lot more extensively then they are today thanks to the nature of the medium.
For example colour filters were used for white balance purposes on colour films that were balanced for different light types, so, you could shoot artificial light balanced film under daylight if you had a filter that corrected for it.
:bigthumb

Photography Troubleshooting: Capturing SnowThe best of the Wintery weather conditions often come later on in the season, especially here in the UK. The next week or so will hopefully provide many photographers with the chance to capture those snowy scenes. So what’s the best way to achieve them?
I’m sure many will agree that snowy landscapes are amongst the trickiest things to photograph. Exposure is the common problem; temperature is usually a close second! If your camera has a snow or winter setting then this will help override the auto white balance and lower the exposure, so you are already set to go. But if your camera doesn’t have these functions, then you might find these tips handy:

1.Before you head out, check your equipment. The white skies that often accompany a snowy scene are the most likely out of any shot you’ll take, to show up the dirt on your lens. Give it a good clean beforehand or you’ll be spending a long time with th

Photography Weekly: Edition Twenty EightPhotography Weekly Header created by ~TouchedD
“What i like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”

―
Karl Lagerfeld
This week I spied an awesome topic in *Fuzzypiggy's journal and knew instantly that it was what I would talk about for edition twenty eight. "Underground train system bosses are set to ban all photos under new proposals that have angered photographers.." You can read the full article for yourself here but I would love to get some discussion going amongst us all as to whether or not the proposed ban would effect you. I'm personally quite pleased that the latest articles report a U-turn in the proposals so it doesn't look

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Project Educate: Shooting Fireworks!

by ^Kaz-D, Oct 4, 2011, 4:59:50 AM
Journals / deviantART, Inc. / Community Relations

Shooting Fireworks

The most popular and in my opinion the trickiest subject for Night time photography is Fireworks.

The important thing to remember is to use your own eyes and step away from the camera every so often. Nobody wants to go to a Firework display and not remember what the real thing was like. Memory is far better than the select sensations a picture can provoke!

USE the Tripod. It's not there as a leaning post. It's not there to look pretty or to rest your camera on when you feel like it. It's there to be used!

USE your remote shutter release!

Choose your frame – Horizontal/Vertical – make sure you have your position and your image scope sorted out before you begin. With Fireworks it's very easy to get distracted!

Choose your Aperture – Most of the time it's best to shoot between f/8 to f/16.

Choose your Shutter Speed – Don't leave the shutter open too long because although it's tempting to think that the darkness will allow you to leave it open as long as you like – this isn't strictly true. Fireworks are bright and can easily overexpose.

Check your ISO – Keep it low to ensure a cleaner shot. Anything around 100 will give you the best results in usual circumstances.

Check your Flash is OFF – The flash really doesn't benefit you in these situations other than to bounce off of objects nearer to you than the fireworks and detract from the awesome colours!

General Tips for Shooting Fireworks

Be sure YOU are stable! There's nothing worse than lining up for the perfect shot and then being rudely jolted by the crowd or indeed by the loud noises!

Find out the wind direction! Stay up wind if you can so that the smoke doesn't cause hazy problems in your pictures.

Keep Safe!

Project Educate: Night Photography

Project Educate: Shooting Fireworks

Project Educate: Photography Basics

Project Educate: Photography Mini Contest

Project Educate: The Full Schedule!

16 Comments

Project Educate: Shooting Fireworks!by ^Kaz-D

Journals / deviantART, Inc. / Community Relations

*isischneider Oct 11, 2011 Photographer

wow! thanks for this beautiful feature

~Lizkiz Oct 8, 2011 Hobbyist Photographer

I always thought firework pictures like this were perhaps edited and some of them might but yet I'm glad I know mortals like me can shoot fireworks too!

^Kaz-D Oct 8, 2011 Hobbyist Photographer

It is possible!

~Lizkiz Oct 8, 2011 Hobbyist Photographer

Yay!

`im-not-sana Oct 6, 2011

'cause baby you're a firework!

^Kaz-D Oct 8, 2011 Hobbyist Photographer

=Earthymoon Oct 5, 2011 Hobbyist Photographer

Darn it. I thought I was going to learn how to shoot off fireworks. This is handy too!

^Kaz-D Oct 8, 2011 Hobbyist Photographer

*alierturk Oct 4, 2011 Photographer

cool!

~FxSanyi Oct 4, 2011 Hobbyist Photographer

Never thought my picture can or will ever be used for educational purposes. Makes me feel proud. Thank you so much for this feature and keep up the AMAZING work on these articles!

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