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Using Digital SLR Cameras for Black and White Photography

Being able to effectively manipulate your scene to suit your style and the requirements for the shoot are very important. Color and lighting are two key areas that can be altered by your choice of camera settings and post production methods.

If you look into the options provided within your camera for black and white photography you may be able to eliminate one step of the post processing job you face after the shoot. Some cameras offer very good quality when it comes to this feature but these are generally the higher end models.

One of the main reasons this is a good function to use, is that it’ll help you learn just how to view a scene without seeing the color. If you wish to use post processing later and take a color original you’ll need to be able to see what will make a good black and white photo without seeing it in black and white. These functions on your camera help you to learn how to do that.

Lighting is a major component to any photography, and in black and white it is doubly important. You can increase or decrease contrast results and sometimes harsher lighting styles will work very well in black and white where they could be horrible in color images. Creating depth in the image with shadow and other features can all be achieved by knowing how to adjust your lighting.

For landscapes, you’ll find that it is best to use as much sky as possible. Generally the cloudy dark sky is more popular in black and white photography and you’ll find it creates a very moody final image. If you can’t access storms then you can enhance the darkness of clouds in post processing.

Black and white landscapes should be emotive and striking in their contrast and composition.

Using Digital SLR Cameras for Black and White Photography

Understanding Sensors:Digital Camera Tutorials

To create an image, rather than imprinting onto a negative a digital camera relies on a sensor and millions of pixels. As you use your camera, the pixels congregate in a specific way and store your image, which you see transferred to the LCD or your computer. The larger the sensor, the more useful the level of megapixels quoted to the camera will be.

Essentially as you begin to take a photograph, your pixels will capture generally one of three colors – red, blue and green. By combining these colors it can process almost any color available in quite an accurate way. Sensors generally use something called the Bayer Array which is a method in which it captures the image and colors.

Not everyone use this so if it’s an important aspect to your camera then you should definitely do some research into brands. For example, Sigma lenses have another style and Sony use something else again, this time with four colors – they incorporate a second green.

When you press your shutter release button to take a photograph, the pixels all jump into position and will organize themselves to match it. When you release the compression, it is shut off and these are saved as a photo site. Then the Bayer Array will assist the camera in matching colors to the image.

Only one color is usually captured in the pixels to begin with and so it is important to have something that accurately approximates all other colors in the shot. Sensors are quite technical but their use is paramount. The size and quality of the sensor can make a very big difference to your photographic outcomes including the color accuracy, noise problems, low light photography and how large your image will print.

It’s definitely worth learning more about this area if you are intending on using your digital SLR camera in various conditions.

Understanding Sensors:Digital Camera Tutorials

Post Production – Photoshop: Digital Camera Products

One of the many techniques that have been converted to digital technology is the developing alterations that used to be made in the dark room. Professional photographers have been altering their images for years in this way, letting the final image be something new and interesting to what they took. By developing in different ways and using different chemicals do so, they were able to create a range of different and unique images.

One such result was called cross processing. This basically involved mixing chemicals together to develop the film, and it is now possible to do this by using the most common post-processing software, Adobe Photoshop. Some post processing is almost always necessary in digital photography, and allows the photographer to overcome any hurdles caused by going digital.

By learning how to use Photoshop you can extend your abilities immensely. If you’re interested in cross processing then you need to learn to use the curves option. This is a curve on a graph that you can move and reshape and by doing so it’ll make major changes to the image that you see.

It’s a fairly simple process, and outlined below:

Open up the image you wish to change

Open a new adjustment layer

Change each color channel by adding handles and moving the graph around in different shapes.

Finally, adjust the RGB curve.

Enjoy playing around, and try out a number of different maneuvers that will lead to completely different results. You can always just delete the layer to remove the changes so there’s no harm in having a go and seeing what type of subtle or extreme changes you can make to your original.

You’ll find plenty of resources to learn Photoshop available both for free online and in hard copy book format – you can even take classes in it. By doing some reading you can learn this and many other ways to change your images and make your work into true art.

Post Production – Photoshop: Digital Camera Products

Sports Photography of Digital SLR Camera

Taking quality sports photography needs some skills in live action as well as an understanding of how a camera works and the game or activity you plan to photograph. It’s important that you can pre-empt moves from players or participants so you’re lined up ready to shoot as soon as they are in the frame.

You need to move instinctively to shoot good sports shots. This means knowing the rules, the state of play and watching it unfold before you start photographing. Without it you could be aimed in the wrong direction for play and while it won’t mean you’ll catch everything, having the skill to be ready for upcoming moves means you’re in with a much better chance.

You need a good lens choice too. You’ll want to be able to take shots of players that seem like you’re right in there with them. This means a good telephoto lens is always a great option especially when you’re limited to one position and the field of play is large.

You’ll be able to capture close ups of players even when they are on the opposite side to you and it’ll mean good images at the end of the day. Look at considering the use of burst photography so that you can pre-empt a move and then shoot the burst to capture all the moves in sequence. This is a great option for shooting moves that may take a bit of time or those that’ll happen so quickly you won’t be able to react fast enough to press the shutter release.

Using equipment for stability is also a must. When using close zoom the camera picks up a lot more movement making the frame more likely to blur. By using a tripod or similar, you can easily take steady shots all the time.

Finally make sure you set up in a great position. Arrive as soon as possible and then hang around to capture any moments that other photographers may miss – any on field discussion or response by players is always good for photos, and if you leave early you’ll miss those opportunities.

Sports Photography of Digital SLR Camera

Purchasing a Sony Digital SLR Camera

Sony have a range of digital SLR camera’s and like some other brands, have moved from electronics into consumables, with cameras being just one of their range. The SLR cameras from Sony are generally high in quality and more suited to the enthusiast rather than the professional. In 2006, Sony acquired Konica Minolta and as a result has jumped ahead in the market with quality and knowledge from this well known film camera company.

What originally started as a partnership is now a complete takeover as Konica Minolta shut up shop and sold their business and operations to Sony. Just a couple of months later, Sony released their first digital SLR camera, and with it have already taken the amateur market by storm. They were very much interested in a large market share.

Despite the established brands already operating, they claimed to want to take as much as twenty five percent of the entire digital SLR market share. Working hard to accomplish this has seen Sony jump in the deep end, already offering three fantastic camera options to consumers. With plans for more, there is every chance that Sony may acquire the market they are after.

Using their Alpha branding, they are looking to bring a range of cameras to all levels of the SLR marketplace, and encourage users to switch from the popular Nikon and Canon ranges. By jumping straight in at SLR level they have created a formidable force in the market and expect to outsell some of the more established yet smaller companies currently operating within it. There is every chance of this happening, and they are working very hard with their newer and more professional range to be released.

With this they hope to take some of the market away from the Nikon professional series, as well as the higher end offerings from Canon.

Purchasing a Sony Digital SLR Camera