I did it: for the first time I tried to take a picture without a flash card in the camera…
Doing the flash challenge I was outside and had just turned on the flash and the camera when the LED said: NO CF… For a moment I didn’t know what that was and thought my camera had died. But no – figured it out, my Compact Flash card was still in the card reader. Was I happy that I wasn’t on location and just could walk inside and grab it (although I always take multiple cards with me).
That experience brings me to a number of tips and tricks I get in my inbox all the time. In order to help all photographers in the Casements Camera Club I read a lot and as I’ve said before some tips and tricks are worth repeating:
- Before every shoot check your settings! It happened this morning – I had shot my selfie on the self timer and yes: this morning I had to wait. So it would be a good thing to check ALL your settings (not only aperture, shutter speed and ISO). I think I read this in an article from the Digital Photography School newsletter I get every week (http://www.digital-photography-school.com);
- Clean your lens before every shoot. That one is from our own Herb Paynter and that is also a good one. Greater chance for sharper pictures.
- Watch the background. In order to keep the focus on your subject avoid: – strong colors in the background; – high contrast areas; – bright spots (your eyes are always attracted to bright spots); – sharpness or sharp focus (use the smallest aperture number for soft backgrounds). This tip comes from Canadian photographer Darlene Hildebrandt from Digital Photo Mentor (http://www.digitalphotomentor.com)
I also signed on for daily photo tips and sometimes they’re very good – a few examples, I’ve saved in my Phototips folder:
- Take perfect photos in any weather
- Learn to shoot stunning portraits
- What is the “600 rule”? (it has to do with night photography).
So every week I am bombarded with information and I try my best to pass things along to the camera club members. Next time we’ll talk about YouTube videos… that’s another source of great information.
Till next time,
Ans