1.   The first step in the camera-buying process is to determine the purpose of having a camera. Beginners, with little or no knowledge or experience, typically purchase a camera for casual photography, pictures of family members, friends, travel and vacations. They are also the largest group of camera owners. Students have a different purpose. They want to learn most of all there is to know about digital photography, and often have career goals in the field. Initially, students can begin to learn with a lower-priced compact camera, but eventually they will need a DSLR to gain the knowledge and experience of a professional.

Serious photography enthusiasts are more likely to be upgrading from a beginner’s model to their first DSLR, or a better DSLR. They could be considered “amateur” students. They want to develop the skills similar to what a photography student learns in a formal educational setting. Enthusiasts may have no allusion about becoming a pro, but they want to create above-average images that are much more than family “snapshots.” Professionals have a quite different list of criteria for the cameras they purchase. Their equipment must be of the highest quality and the right combination of features and capabilities to be a competitive tool in the commercial photography world.

2.   Once you’re able to define your level of photography competence and decide what kinds of photos you want to shoot, you can start to narrow choices by cost. For beginners, there are many excellent compacts priced at $300 or less. Even the cameras at the lower end of this price range can deliver all the features a beginner, or casual photographer, would ever need. Students can certainly learn much about digital photography with compacts in this price range, but for just a couple of hundred dollars more, they can purchase the best compacts and what are called “bridge” cameras. These are considered between a true compact and true DSLR.

Beginners and students who are ready to graduate to their first DSLR will find many worthy choices at just less than $1,000. Second-time DSLR buyers can spend another thousand dollars and the cameras become serious pieces of photography equipment that are more likely to deliver the higher quality images that are their goals. Again, pros are in a category of their own, selecting from DSLRs that cost thousands of dollars. Since most competitive models are somewhat equal in their broad range of capabilities, pros must match specific functionality with the kind of photography jobs they shoot. This is usually a stronger determinant of what camera to buy than its cost.

3.   Selecting a digital camera to buy also relates to budget. The camera you would like to buy may simply not be affordable…today. Your alternatives are to wait or buy what you can afford. The benefit of waiting is that you can start to save money toward the camera you would like to purchase. You can always rent a camera occasionally during this period for an important family event or major vacation.

4.   With a thorough understanding of what kind of photography you will be shooting and the practical consideration of how much you can afford, you can begin to narrow your choices. Canon, Sony and Nikon are the top three brands and are likely to have a camera for virtually all photographers. Other manufacturers to consider are Panasonic, Leica, Olympus, Pentax, Fujifilm and Samsung. These nine represent almost all of the cameras sold in the marketplace.

5.   To help narrow your choices, schedule some research time on the Internet, which has everything you’d ever want to know about any camera model. Some Web sites often provide model comparisons, which make it much easier to determine which is right for you. Don’t hesitate to contact a local photography club to ask the opinions of its members. Visit a local camera shop to listen to the salesman’s pitch about a few models, but don’t allow yourself to be sold just yet.

6.   The final step in the camera-buying process is to pick the three cameras you might purchase. Do additional research about them on the Web, and even access their owner’s manuals, if possible. Then, as a final test, rent each of the three cameras during three different weekends and see how they perform in terms of your kind of photography.

Source photographytalk.com
Photograph provided by www.nikon.com © 2012 Nikon Corporation

You’re a proud parent with one or more child participating in athletics and a casual photographer outfitted with the equipment to capture them excelling on the field of play. You might also be a student photographer shooting pictures of your school’s athletic teams for the school newspaper or Web site. You may also be an amateur photographerthat enjoys the challenges and rewards of shooting athletes and the games they play.

You can improve the results of your casual sports photos when you learn the following 6 techniques and consciously incorporate them into your photography.

1. One of the biggest mistakes of amateur photographers, regardless of what subject matter they are shooting, is dashing out the door without making sure they have all the equipment they may need. You may be outdoors prowling both sides of the soccer pitch looking for great shots or inside a gymnasium to photograph your daughter’s volleyball game. You don’t want to leave in the middle of the game and action because you’ve drained your batteries and forgot to bring an extra set, or filled the only memory card you have.

2. Don’t rely absolutely on your camera, even if it is a DSLR, to select the right exposure every time. Yes, the auto feature on your camera does the job for many photographic situations, but sometimes you must take control of exposure. Of course, you can’t do that if you don’t know how or don’t know what exposure settings are required for outdoors or indoors sportsphotography.

The first step, therefore, is to learn the concepts of ISO, aperture and shutter speed thoroughly, and how they relate to each other. The fundamental lesson is that when you change one, it typically requires that you change one or both of the others. The PhotographyTalk.com Web site has many articles about the details of the three elements of exposure.

As an example, when shooting sports outdoors, especially on a bright, sunny day, first set the ISO to the “normal” setting of 100. Next, select aperture priority with a very wide aperture. Your camera will then choose the fastest possible shutter speed. To freeze the action of sports outdoors, you should typically shoot at a minimum shutter speed of 1/500^th, but 1/1000^th is even better. Because the light is lower inside a gymnasium or arena, you may have to select a higher ISO, 200 or 400, for example, so the aperture remains wide and the shutter speed is at least 1/250^th.

3. A wide aperture is also necessary for good sports photography, so you can create images with shallow depth of field. This causes the many distractions in the background of sports action, such as spectators, to be much less in focus than the primary subject matter. The subjects of your photos will seem to pop from the background and draw viewers’ eyes to the action and give your photos more three-dimensionality.

4. A non-photographic technique that will contribute greatly to the quality of your sports photos is simply to know the sport thoroughly. You need to know more than the rules. You must know how the game is played and how the specific actions and interactions of players could result in the shots you want to capture. The greatest sports photographers are those that can anticipate the action and actually start the shutter-release process before the picture occurs that they want. The shutter is then open at that optimum moment of action.

5. The other secrets that professional sports photographers know and use is always to show players’ faces, so their reactions to the action are visible; include the ball; and crop your compositions tightly.

6. A surprising benefit for many casual sportsphotographers, who apply these techniques, is that they spend less time editing their photos. Most of the editing process can occur in the camera while shooting, as you’re able to make these techniques a regular part of your sportsphotography.

For many digital photographers, color is a given. Virtually all humans see the familiar spectrum of colors, and because they are constant components of human eyesight, it’s easy to understand why both amateur and professional photographers take them for granted. In many cases, the reason is rather simple: most people spend most of the 24-hour day indoors, living in and viewing a world that is illuminated by artificial light sources. There are certainly opportunities to take interior digital photography with dramatic and dynamic colors; but life’s real colors are found outside and lit by the star we call the Sun.

Because color is always a part of your life, a photographic fact that startles most photographers is that the peak color of any scene or object lit by sunlight is only evident for approximately 60 seconds. There is no guarantee that those 60 seconds will be today or tomorrow. The optimum peak color of a red barn door may only happen for 30 seconds on a Tuesday in July, and at no other time of the year.

This is why capturing great color in your digital photos takes a considerable amount of persistence and a willingness to take the time to look carefully for interesting color compositions, and then wait for those peak color moments. Neither the most advanced optics nor the manipulative power of Photoshop can shortcut the process. It’s your power of observation, the development of your photographer’s eye and the calm patience of a monk that reveal the colors that very few others see.

One of the methods you can try to be more observant of color is to forget about being a portrait, nature, candid or sports photographer. Instead, be a color photographer first. Be less concerned with the scene or the objects in your viewfinder and concentrate more on discovering how color defines them. The colors of a pristine flower garden don’t deserve any more of your time than the vivid spray-painted colors used by an accomplished graffiti artist and displayed in an urban cityscape.

Because peak color conditions occur when they do and not for your convenience, you must be willing to adjust your schedule, so you can be there. Not only is peak color available for a minute or less, but also it’s most likely to happen 15 minutes on either side of sunrise and sunset, and then during twilight, which is from after the sun disappears to total darkness. If you’re willing to shoot digital photography during those short time periods, then you’re sure to capture images that very few other photographers have.

That means waking very early, especially during the summer months, so you arrive at the location you’ve picked by 4:30 am, be ready to shoot by 5 am, and then wait for the sunrise period at approximately 6 am. The same commitment applies to sunset. Schedule your dinner earlier or later, so you’re in position for the equivalent 6 pm period, and the twilight that follows. Just because you’re there at the right time doesn’t mean you’ll take interesting digital photos. Many sunrise or sunset periods don’t render any opportunities, which means you must be willing to try again and again. Even during those non-productive shoots, you’ll begin to learn the signs of a great photograph that is just about to happen.

Setting Color Saturation

Being in the right place at the right time also requires that your camera’s settings are selected and you know how to use its tools to expose your images correctly when the color reaches it peak. For all the advanced technology in digital cameras, setting exposure is not easy. Over-expose your scene by even a small amount and color saturation is lost. Try these tips to set the correct exposure for amazing color saturation.
Review the image on the LCD.
Don’t rely on single-channel histograms.
The reds should appear bright, with no hints of yellow, orange or pink.
If the image appears a bit dark, then you can lighten it in photo editing software.
You can’t save the color in an image with bloomed highlights and no details in editing, so it’s better to create a slightly darker image than one that is too light.

Histograms

The reason you shouldn’t rely on single-channel histograms to select an exposure that will beautifully capture a peak color moment is because they’ll fool you. The Nikon D50, D70s and the Canon 20D have single-channel, or curved, histograms. The graph will present data to suggest a correct exposure. Take a

picture, however, and you’ll discover that what you thought were saturated colors will be overexposed. Typically, only the green channel is what you see on a single-channel histogram. Many digital photographers are drawn to saturated reds and yellows when scouting for color in scenes and objects. Single-channel histograms, therefore, are essentially useless, since they don’t record red, yellow and blue. The graph says, “Shoot,” but the red will not be saturated.

To know that the saturated colors are exposed correctly, you need a histogram that shows all three RGB channels and each channel must have different values. Plus, when there is a significant gap between those values, your digital photos will achieve even greater color saturation. Many of the newer cameras, such as the Nikon D200, Canon 30D and various Casio models, are equipped with four-color histograms. When you are able to correct exposure with the data from a four-color histogram, make sure all the colors’ graphs remain within the viewing space. You don’t want some of them to wander off the right side of the view. Occasionally, you may notice that some of those color values are very low. That’s a good sign there is excellent color saturation because it means there is greater difference between those values.

It’s not surprising that many digital photographers occasionally suffer from the shooting blahs. Either their inspiration or motivation has disappeared or they are consciously, or even unconsciously, shooting a very narrow range of subject matter. Eventually, some think that can’t find any more subjects in that category to excite them to shoot. Because photography is also an art form, photographers can have the equivalent of writer’s block. For whatever reason, nothing seems to attract them and their camera; they simply don’t know what to shoot.

PhotographyTalk.com wants you shooting, recording the world around you, and then sharing those images with others; so if you find yourself apathetic about photography, then try any of the 11 “cures” below for those shooting blahs.

Climb from your rut. You’ve become so comfortable shooting only flowers or weddings that you’ve forgotten what other photography opportunities exist. Spend some time with totally different subject matter and you’ll become a more accomplished digital photographer.

Find a photo buddy. Create a photography group of a few people, each with experience in different types of photography. Schedule an occasional photo walk or expedition, each with a different theme. Not only is this an excellent learning and sharing experience, but also a great source for inspiration and motivation by interacting with other photographers. Read this PhotographyTalk.com article for more information: Digital Photography—Make It More Enjoyable With the Buddy System.

Try a new lens. This is a tip for DSLR owners only. Plan a weekend shoot with a lens that is totally new to you; you should be able to rent it, locally. If you shoot with a telephoto most of the time, then spend the weekend with a fisheye or macro lens. You may discover a lens you must have or, at least, be jarred from your boredom by seeing and photographing the world with a startlingly different view.

Create a list of photography categories with which you are unfamiliar or subject matter you would like to capture for your portfolio. If you like to shoot nature, then formal portraits or urban scenes could be on your list. If you spend most of your time in the structured environment of weddings, then set your mind free with some time in the mountains or along the seashore. Then, learn the techniques that are required to shoot excellent images in those other genres.

Challenge yourself with a film-camera exercise. Rent a film camera and learn how to shoot good pictures without being able to check their quality until the film is processed. Plus, you’ll learn how to be more selective when you shoot digitally, after your experience with just a single roll of 36 (or less) exposures.

Spend a day, or a few hours, shooting one, very specific subject matter: red flowers, maple trees (or a species in your locale), blue walls and fences, commercial signs, etc.

Become a mentor. One of the best ways to open your mind and conquer your boredom is to introduce a child to photography. That interaction will likely re-ignite your inspiration.

Volunteer your photography skills/services. Local charitable groups and similar organizations can always use good pictures to help them promote themselves or important money-raising events.

Return to the schoolroom. Register for a photography class to learn more about your field of photography, or a totally different category, to expand your knowledge.

Create another challenge for yourself that requires you to shoot every day or three times a week for a number of months or an entire year. You could announce your challenge to your social media contacts and ask them for feedback of your images and to scold you if you forget to follow the rules of your challenge. You could also do this through a blog.

Study the results of other photographers. You may be motivated to surpass them or learn that there are still areas to explore within the narrow range of photos you’ve been taking.

Improving your beginner photography doesn’t require that you purchase a new, more expensive digital camera and other equipment or enroll in a costly, time-consuming photography course. You will take better beginner photography by simply learning and practicing a number of easy techniques. Adding silhouettes of objects or people is one of these easy techniques—and you can start with the tips in this article.

Your beginner photography is sure to draw many “oohs” and “aahs” with the silhouette technique.
In photographic terms, a silhouette effect is created when the subject of your photo appears as only an outline against a bright background. You can see more details of the background than the silhouetted subject, which will go nearly or completely dark or black. None of the details or features of the silhouetted subject is visible. A typical beginner photo of a beach sunset becomes more dramatic when you add the silhouetted profile of a person, palm tree or lighthouse. Your beginner photography is no longer just pictures of places and people; there’s more of an emotional message in every photo that connects with people.

Capturing those dramatic and emotional silhouetted images in your beginner photographers does require a bit of a learning curve. Composing silhouetted photos will probably come quickly, but it’s the technical part of silhouetting you’ll need to learn and practice to create some of your very best beginner photography.

Composing a silhouetted photo is the first set of tips that will help improve your beginner photographer.
•    Look for a subject to silhouette that has a distinct outline and is a well known shape.
•    Be aware of the angle from which you are shooting the silhouetted subject. A shape may be obvious from one angle, but look like an indistinguishable blob from another.
•    It’s better to shoot people in profile, so they might be recognized, but still remain a bit mysterious.
•    If you want to silhouette more than one object, then separate them, so each can be recognized.
•    Position yourself, so the brightest source of light is behind the silhouetted subject. The obvious source is the sun, but the light shining through a window, a street light or the brightly colored lights of the city or a fair could also serve as excellent backgrounds for your silhouetted photos.
•    Turn off your flash. It would light the front of your subject, which would ruin the silhouette effect.

For the beginner photographer, the technical tips of taking silhouetted photos may seem a bit tricky. In fact, you must “trick” your camera to set the exposure according to the light level of the bright background, not the silhouetted object. That’s not very difficult, but once you know the secrets, your beginner photography will no longer look like the work of a beginner.

The automatic metering feature of most digital cameras is very useful when you want more light on the subject, which is the way most of your beginner photography look. Follow these steps, however, when you want to create a silhouette effect.
•    If your auto mode is like most digital cameras, then it sets the exposure and focus when you push the shutter half way. Once you’ve framed your silhouetted photo, point your camera at the brightest source of light.
•    Press the shutter half way, but don’t take the picture yet.
•    Continue to hold the shutter half way, as you return to the framing of the photo.
•    When you re-position yourself or your camera, however, the silhouetted subject will no longer be in focus. When you point your camera at the light source, the camera will change the focus to that distant background.
•    You can trick your camera again by using the manual focus feature, if your camera has it. Pre-focus on the subject, so when you reframe the image, the silhouetted subject will still be in focus.
•    You can also use the aperture feature to create more depth of field, or more of the photo in focus. Select a larger number (or smaller aperture), so the foreground silhouetted object and the background light source appear to be sharper.
•    Press the shutter the rest of the way to take your silhouetted photo.

The final secret to using silhouettes to improve your beginner photography is to shoot plenty of pictures. Practice and compare and study your test photos and take some more. You won’t be considered a beginner photographer for long.

Although you can be very creative with your digital photography after you’ve uploaded it to your computer and opened it in photo-editing software, letting your imagination loose should start in the camera. In fact, a true measure of your photography skills is how often you shoot inventive images without any need for software manipulation. It all happens in your head and your camera. With the 12 techniques in this two-part PhotographyTalk.com article, you’ll spend more time photographing your world and life and less time chained to your computer.

Use Your Camera’s “Go” Mode

Don’t start frantically looking for a “go” shooting mode on your camera that you didn’t know was there…because it isn’t. “Go” mode is when you put your camera in motion. Yes, you learned the proper techniques to hold your camera steady, including bracing yourself against walls, doors, etc. and using a tripod, so your pictures will be sharp, even at slow shutter speeds. If you want to be inventive, however, then think beyond just sharp, picture-perfect digital photography. Some subject matter can be more interesting when your camera is moving.

Try panning your camera with the subject matter moving parallel to your position. This is a standard technique in sports and wildlife photography. Set your camera at a slower shutter speed. Then, follow the subject matter as he or she moves across the plane of your photo and release the shutter, as your camera is moving.

Read the PhotographyTalk.com article, Digital Photography—Four Tips To Improve Your Sports Photography, for more about sports photography. You’ll also find articles with tips about shooting specific sports.

Stand in the center of an outdoor scene (or interior space) that offers good subject matter in all directions. Then, spin 360 degrees in your position and, much like the panning technique, release the shutter while in motion.

Being inventive with your digital photography can also require an extreme technique, such as tossing your camera above your hands or head. Use a long shutter speed and the self-timer, so the shutter releases while the camera is in the air. This may seem dangerous (or expensive, or both) and foolish and generally it is, so be very careful before you attempt this technique. You may want a couple of extra hands ready to make sure your camera is caught. (Try it with a compact first before tossing your DSLR in the air.)

Zoom the Lens During Exposure.

This is a technique that works best when your camera is steady, even on a tripod. As you smoothly move the zoom from one focal length to another, the image that is created appears to be “pulled” toward the center, or similar to a kaleidoscope effect.

Read more about this technique in the PhotographyTalk.com article, Digital Photography—Zoom While You Shoot for Amazing Images.

Have Fun with Focus.

Precise focusing is just as important as a steady camera for “mainstream” digital photography, but if you want to walk on the wild side, then try purposely to shoot images that are not in focus. A classic picture is the wedding shot with the branch of a flowering tree in the immediate foreground and in focus and the wedding couple standing at some distance in the background not in focus, but can be seen through the branches of flowers.

Take It Low.

How many photos have you seen that are taken by a photographer standing, and from eye level? Too many is the answer. Even a waist-high angle is much too common. Bring your camera to the floor with a wide-angle lens to find a unique view of the world that most photographers overlook. Don’t hesitate to lie on the ground to create excellent pictures right in your camera.

You’ll also like the PhotographyTalk.com article, Digital Photography—Go Low with Your Camera to Create Highly Unique Images, Part 1 and Part 2.

Overexpose on Purpose.

Forget what your camera is telling you about the exposure. Override it and set some exposure combinations that are far from the correct reading. It will probably require some experimentation with different subject matter and lighting conditions to capture a special image or two.

For some, digital photography is primarily for the benefit of shooting pictures of family and friends, and sharing them; but you’re a more creative type. You’re eager for the challenge to capture images with more thought and technique behind them. Photography is an art form, and with all art forms, you must be willing to push the envelope to create something special. That is what the 12 techniques in this two-part PhotographyTalk.com will do for you: be more inventive and less predictable, and make people take serious notice of your work. Read Part 1 for the first 6 techniques.

Select a Slower Flash Sync Speed

This is another technique that overrides the camera’s brain. By using a slower sync speed in low light, you can allow more of the ambient light to illuminate the subject or scene, in balance with a flash. Take your inventiveness one step farther with front or rear curtain flash.

Read this PhotographyTalk.com article for more information: Photography Tip—How To Mix Flash and Ambient Light for Better Photos.

Take It High.

Of course, the other extreme of creative angles is to place your camera above your head and beyond the reach of your hands. Use an extended monopod or similar piece of equipment that allows you to hold one end, with the camera in the air. You then release the shutter with a long release cable or a wireless unit. This is an excellent technique for shooting in a crowd or street photography. If you are truly adventurous, then try your hand at kite aerial photography. Yes, you attach your camera to a kite and let it drift where you dare, but you’ll have some rare and interesting images if you retrieve your camera safely.

Layer Some Images.

One advantage of film cameras is that it is relatively easy to shoot multiple exposures on one frame of film. Only a few digital cameras have this feature. If yours does, then give this technique a try. You have many creative options: shoot the same subject or scene at different focal lengths or progressively take very small steps to the left or right. You can also make slight adjustments with your editing software; or use the editor to create multiple-exposure images if your camera cannot.

Make It Look Gritty and Grainy.

Film photography was also a great medium to create grainy black and white images that were often very artistic and dynamic. You can do the same with your digital camera by manually selecting various ISO settings. You want to choose numbers higher than your camera’s automatic exposure reading. Increase your ISO and you’ll give your images more grain. Experiment with converting them to black and white and making prints.

Manipulate White Balance.

The various light sources that you might use for your digital photography are measured in different temperatures; and different temperatures are related to specific colors. For example, outdoors light and fluorescent lighting are in the blue, or cool, area of the spectrum, while incandescent light bulbs (tungsten) and a candle are in the yellow, or warm, area. You use the white balance mode on your camera to compensate for these differences in light, so your whites are white in your photos.

Like some of the other techniques in this article, you can also override your camera’s white balance to create unusual images. Once you learn how to manipulate this effect, you can almost paint with your camera.

Become Buddies with the Bulb

An often-overlooked feature on most digital cameras is the bulb setting, typically labeled “B” or “Bulb.” This is essentially the slowest shutter speed on your camera. Selecting it and partially pressing on the shutter release will cause the shutter to remain open “forever.” In most cases, you use bulb with your camera on a tripod; however, to go very weird, you can combine the bulb technique with moving your camera. That’s how you can register light trails, especially at night in an urban setting, or during a fireworks display.

This is also a technique that astronomy photographers use to show movement of stars and other objects in the sky. Attach your camera to a tripod and set the ISO to a small number as well as a small aperture. With a bit of experimentation, you’ll capture some “far out” photos, literally. Shooting pictures of the night sky in this manner does drain batteries much quicker, however.

Invent with Infrared.

Infrared photography would seem to be reserved for scientists and maybe the military, but it is like entering/creating a parallel universe where all the rules seem to have been forgotten. Your photos may have black skies, white trees, dark eyes and many other kinds of freaky changes.

Refer to the manual to determine if your camera is capable of capturing infrared light. If it does, then you’ll want to use an IR filter, which blocks non-IR light. An IR filter doesn’t allow much light to penetrate to the sensor, so place your camera on a tripod and use faster ISO settings and longer shutter speeds. The light at dawn and dusk is best for infrared photography.

Humans have always been fascinated by the night sky, so when photography was invented, and then evolved into digital photography, it’s no wonder cameras have been pointed skyward to record the cosmos. One of the most amazing and spectacular astronomical photos is a view of the Milky Way Galaxy, our home, from Earth. As any amateur stargazer knows, you must be at the right place at the right time to see the Milky Way. To photograph it requires even more knowledge and preparation, but the five tips in this two-part PhotographyTalk.com article will help you capture this band of stars in images that will fascinate your family members and friends.

Make It as Easy as Possible.

The most serious wide-field astrophotographers (those that shoot the Milky Way instead of single objects or small groups of objects) take pictures of the Milky Way with a rather complex system. It requires shooting multiple exposures of the sky, often with a tracking mount on a tripod, and then combining the images for the final composition. This is beyond the skill level of the average photographer and the money he or she is willing to spend for specialized equipment for what may be a one-time-only opportunity.

Fortunately, excellent images of the Milky Way are possible with just a single exposure, although a DSLR camera is required, and the best possible. If you do decide to tackle this digital photography challenge, then it may be just the kind of situation to rent a top DSLR, so you have the full array of features and capabilities. To optimize your results, you’ll need the DSLR and the following five components: accurate shutter speed; a fast, wide lens; the high end of the ISO range; manual focus; and no light pollution.

Accurate Shutter Speed.

Your goal with a Milky Way photo is to render the stars as sharp points of light without any motion blur. That requires a shutter speed of enough time to capture these points of light, but not too much time that would result in a loss of sharpness. The focal length of the lens you are using with your DSLR is a primary factor in selecting an accurate shutter speed for this kind of photo.

A Lens, Fast and Wide.

To determine the right shutter speed for a balance of light, you need a wide and fast lens, a 14–24mm f2.8 lens, for example. The wide angle reveals more of the Milky Way and the speed of the lens permits the longer shutter speed to capture sufficient starlight without trails. The short focal length also causes the points of starlight to be registered as smaller objects on the camera’s sensor, which also reduces any blur from a long exposure. The reverse is obviously true: Shoot the Milky Way with a lens of a longer, or even telephoto, focal length and the points of starlight will be bigger on the sensor, making any blurring much more noticeable. Even though 14mm is an excellent focal length, the maximum exposure time to avoid motion blur is approximately 30 seconds, which only further supports the need for a wide, fast lens.

Push the ISO Setting.

To complement a relatively fast shutter speed (30 seconds or less is considered fast for a long exposure) and a fast lens, the ISO must also be accurately set, so all the scant light entering the lens will help to register the image in as much detail as possible on the sensor. It’s true that for most standard types of digital photos you want to use a low ISO setting, but photographing the Milky Way is anything but a standard shot. Having an excellent range of ISO settings, including extremely high choices, is another reason an above average to top-of-the-line DSLR is needed. This is also a technique that may require some testing or trial-and-error because the higher the ISO the more detail of the sky you’ll record. Don’t hesitate to push the ISO beyond everything you’ve learned or experienced in the past. You’ll be surprised how far you must go before losing significant image quality.

Digital photography is a marvelous tool that allows you to record and relive the world around you. This could include the tiny features of insects and flowers in your backyard and the overwhelming immensity of the night sky. One of the most exciting photography adventures is to capture images of the Milky Way Galaxy, in which the Earth resides. Although the right equipment and exposure settings are critical to taking such pictures (see Part 1), your success also depends on where and when you try to shoot the Milky Way and how well you use the various techniques in this two-part PhotographyTalk.com article.

Focus Manually.

Ambient light contributes very little to “wide-field astrophotography,” so you want to control focus manually and set the lens at infinity. Disengage auto-focus and, in combination with an ultra-wide-angle lens, you’ll have so much depth of field that you will be able to include the foreground, and cause both it and the star field to appear in focus. If you don’t have the optimum lens for maximum depth of field, then refer to a depth-of-field calculator to determine the exact range, so you can compose an image with some portion of the foreground and sky in focus. Another option is to make the horizon the foreground, which will make it even easier to render everything sharp within the depth of field.

Pick Your Shooting Location Carefully.

Since most people live in urban areas, they seldom see the sky as humans did thousands, even hundreds, of years ago. The reason is all the artificial light that illuminates streets, parking lots and tall buildings, and is generated by millions of commercial signs. Even for casual, amateur stargazing, you must travel as far from the city as possible. To photograph the Milky Way in all its glory means picking even more isolated and/or wild locations where no light pollution invades the sky. Remember, your camera and its sensor are typically capable of recording more light than your eyes can see, so the very best locations are islands, high altitudes in the mountains, great deserts or the open plains hundreds of miles from the closest city or even small town.

Of course, most people, and even many serious photographers, find it difficult to travel to such faraway places, except maybe once. If that is simply not an option for you, then the next best strategy is to travel as far from any source of artificial light as possible. If you live in a large or significant-sized city, then not only do you want to be over the horizon, but also even further, in some cases, because light can radiate from below the horizon into the sky and negatively affect your images. Generally, the horizon is approximately three miles from eye level near the ground, but the higher your point of view, the further the perceived horizon. For example, if you were standing on a hill or the top of a tower 100 feet above the ground, the horizon would be approximately 24 miles in the distance.

A bit of experimentation is required because if you live in the northeastern corridor of the U.S. (Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston), for instance, then the light cast from these very large cities overlap and extend much farther than if you lived in Las Vegas, which is both smaller and a considerable distance from the next large city. It all depends on how much you want to experience astronomical photography and shoot images that are similar to the best of the Milky Way.

Although, it may seem obvious, you don’t want to attempt photography of the Milky Way when the moon is in the sky. Check the moon calendar for the new moon in the location where you’ll be shooting, so the moon is shining on the other side of the globe.

If photographing the Milky Way is just not “in the stars” for you today, then it could become much easier in the future, as camera manufacturers continue to design lower-priced DSLRs with greater ISO ranges. There’s no reason to wait, however. Do the best you can with your equipment (or rental equipment) in your locale. It will be a good, initial learning experience that will prepare you for any rare opportunities to travel much farther to capture incredible images of the Milky Way.

Source : http://www.photographytalk.com/component/simgallery/?func=category&catid=11

Be a Control Freak

When I first made the jump from a point and shoot style camera to a DSLR I quickly notice how my pictures didn’t look like what I saw, the skies where washed out, my shaded areas where too dark and only the main subject was in focus. With the point and shoot I always had it set to Auto or “P” mode and just thought you get what you get. With the DSLR I was determined to learn how to use the dreaded “M”anual mode. It was fun learning all the cool things I could do when I took control of my camera settings. Photographs started to look just like I saw them and a whole lot more.

Now that You Have Mastered Composition it’s Time to Be Master of Your Camera

• Know what the button functions are on the camera body
• Familiarize yourself with your in camera menu functions, here you will find additional settings that do not have a button
• Read your Users Manual to learn about camera buttons, settings and functions
• Play around with these settings, learn what works for you and your situation
• Set these as your default options
• If you get in a jam, no problem just reset back to the original default settings and experiment again, my camera has a 2 button instant reset

My Top 10 Nikon Settings

1. Manual Mode

• Allows me full control over exposure and depth of field

2.  Metering set to Spot

• Gives me the ability to take specific meter readings in dark and light areas

3. Aperture and Shutter Speed Dials

• Aperture controls the amount of depth of field or how much is in focus, the smaller the f-number eg. 2.8 the item in focus will be crisp, clear and sharp but your backgrounds and foregrounds will be out of focus
• Shutter speed controls how long the shutter blades stay open / how much light is reaching the sensor

4. Iso set to 200

• 200 is the clear and crisp setting, as the number increases so does the grain

5. Quality set to Large and Fine

• Always set to max resolution you will be glad when it’s time to print images

6. White Balance set to Auto

• In most situation auto works great, for those difficult lighting situations learn how to manually adjust WB for best color output or even creative colors

7. Release mode set to Ch 

• Continuous high speed shutter release, allows me to shoot at 6 frames per second

8. Bracketing order set for Exposure 3 shot .7 stop apart

• While holding down the shutter release, 3 frames are taken, 1 at the metered exposure, 1 at .7 of a stop darker and 1 at .7 of a stop lighter, good for Enfusion,  layering and HDR or for a backup making sure you have 1 good exposure

9. Area Focus set to Single Point / Single Servo / 51 Points

• With the selector dial I manually select from 51 focus points through the view finder, I choose what to focus on as I half press the shutter release button

10. Picture Control set to Standard / Active D Lighting on Normal

• The Standard / mid level preset adjusts the amount of sharpness, contrast and saturation levels, I prefer to do any additional adjustments in Photoshop so a mid level setting is safe and works well
• Active D-Lighting helps lighten up dark / shadowed areas

Change Your Settings to Optimize Your Control
Different Situations Call for Different Settings

• Focus set to Auto-area AF / Continuous-servo AF, great for sports and fast moving kids
• Set Bracketing Exposure to 1 full stop apart, good for HDR
• Higher Iso for night or low light shots
• Mode set to “A” and metering set to Matrix for those situations when you dont have time to take meter readings
• Add Raw to the Quality options, when the lighting is tough or when you don’t get another chance to re-shoot, raw files can give you a second chance to correct incorrect camera settings such as white balance and exposure

Raw file White Balance Editing Saved this Photo from Too Much Red

3 Bracketed Exposures 1 Full Stop Apart Enfused in Lightroom

Be Confident and Turn the Mode Dial to “M”

Once you have your settings customized it’s time to locate the shutter speed and aperture (fstop) dials. For landscape photos I prefer f8 as my standard aperture setting, I know my lens is still sharp at f8 and I will have a decent depth of field. While looking through the view finder set your focus point for your meter reading, you will also see your meter along the bottom, rotate the shutter speed dial until the meter indicator is centered, this will be the correct exposure for the area selected. Snap away, it’s that easy.

Metering Tips

• Using your Spot meter option take a reading from the brightest area, usually the sky and another reading from the darkest area usually shade or foregrounds and set the meter indicator to an average of the two readings. That way your skies will be colorful and your shaded areas will have detail
• When you don’t have a lot of time Matrix metering does a good job of taking an average of the whole scene

Article & Photos by: Mark McCulloch