Capture moments, share art, and ignite your passion for photography in our community. Connect with fellow shutterbugs, exchange tips, and explore the world through the lens. Let's frame the beauty of life together!
Photography is more than a hobby to me. It's my passion. You can tell by visiting my profile here. ????
I will share 8 secrets that will help you improve your photography.
1. Look for the best view from above
Experts say the best photos are taken from above. So climb as high as you can. On terraces, rocks, mountains, bridges and see from there the landscape around you. From there definitely what you will see will be much different and much more interesting than staying low.
2. Watch out for reflections
If you want to take a picture of something out of a shop window or a window then all you have to do to avoid the annoying reflections on the end result is to get as close as you can.
3. The locals always know something more
When you travel to a place you don't really need maps, phone apps, and guides. What you need is to have the courage to ask the locals. They know everything for their city, better than anyone. They will also know where is the best place to set up your camera. They will reveal places you will not find anywhere else.
4. Keep your eyes open
Even where you think there is nothing nice to photograph there is always something worth your attention. All you have to do is learn to isolate the details and look with "hungry" eyes for your next best photo.
5. Leave the maps
One piece of advice I give to all you reading this is to use the guides and maps of the places you visit only for the essentials. If you follow my advice only this way you will find the most picturesque alley, the kindest local that will pose for you, the most authentic delicacy (I've been guilty many times!), the most beautiful balcony. Everything available for your camera.
6. The applications are very useful
If you are taking pictures with your smartphone, then you must have equipped it with the appropriate apps. For example from the ones I have tried I recommend, VSCO Cam and Afterlight. These applications, in addition to achieving better results, allow you to "tweak" brightness, saturation, contrast, and other settings.
7. Rain and cloudiness are not your enemies
Okay, "showers" may not be our friends for walks, but for good photos, they can be a treasure. Rainy days are more atmospheric, cloud formations are more impressive, street reflections and potholes can be turned into small paintings.
8. Wake up in the morning, do not forget the sunset
Professional photographers agree that sunrise and sunset times are ideal for photography. At that time the sunlight is soft and highlights without "burning" the colors. Do not be with the watch in hand. Download the application Sun Seeker, which informs you when the sun sets and when the sun rises daily.
I was looking at a 2012 camera by Panasonic. It is in their LUMIX range. It seems like a solid camera for only $220! I think when the camera came out, it was something like $699 so it is better than a budget camera but for its time. I am not sure if it is worth it. Can I get a better camera for around the same price?
Is it worth buying a DSLR these days instead of a smartphone with camera?
So my nephew decided to ask me this question and I had to cross-check with this forum.
My nephew who is an aspiring photographer and hobbyist asked me if he should invest in a cutting-edge DSLR camera these days or if he should buy actually a smartphone that has extremely good lenses and camera.
He gave me samples of photos from DSLR and smartphones. Honestly? Couldn't tell the difference. The images looked identical to my eyes and the only slight difference that had to do with lighting was noticeable or sharpness.
My eyes are untrained and I will have to upload a couple of images for you to see at least and judge. Perhaps @eddie knows as I read about photography.
The prices are very close so this makes it even more difficult to decide. The reviews also are shared and I see a balance between the three options.
To be honest I trust much more this community's answers and feedback from people who know than questionable reviews that sometimes are fake intentionally to boost sales or models, accordingly.
To me, this forum is a very interesting and valuable haven on the internet. Blahface > All other social media platforms.
I see that smartphone companies have a direction where they emphasize the cameras. The new term astrophotography is starting to circulate in manuals and upcoming models.
To many, it is an exaggeration, to others, those who seek the latest piece of technology it's a magnet and those companies know how to sell their products.
Arguably carrying your smartphone is much easier than carrying a DSLR camera. Also, and less weight and packaging, not to mention that these days everyone has his phone in his pocket to capture a breathtaking moment or something interesting. DSLR demands some preparation. I'm afraid DSLR will remain a professional's equipment and I see smartphones taking over mainstream over DSLR sales.
Adjusting the shutter speed (or shutter speed or exposure time)
When I turn on my cameras and place them on the center selector in position M (manual - manual shooting option). If they have an adjustment washer then this washer adjusts the speed at which the shutter will open. If they have more than one washer, one of these washers definitely adjusts the shutter speed.
The shutter is a metal blade mechanism that opens and closes in front of the digital sensor at a specific speed that I choose to determine for how long the light will fall on my photosensitive material. The digital sensor or the film.
Windshield mechanism whose speeds you can adjust
These speeds take different values but the most common are from fast in milliseconds up to 1/16000 or 1/8000 (most machines reach 1/4000) to slow speeds that go down to 30 seconds. The speed of the shutter controls the light that your photo will have, but it also determines how the motion will be recorded. Whether it will be icy (at fast speeds) or whether the traffic will be recorded in various ways (at slow speeds). But first of all, by determining the speed, you want to succeed so that the photo does not move from the movement you make to press the camera button. You control this in a groceries way if you use speeds faster than the focal length of your lens. For example if you use a 50mm lens, with shutter speeds faster than 1/50. To ensure this in the photos there are also the various image stabilization systems either in the lenses (IS, VR, etc.), but also the stabilization in the bodies of the cameras. In general, however, speeds above 1/60 and 1/125 freeze the movement of the camera and the vibrations of the mirror, as well as the movement of people walking.
Michelle Cumming, Murray's municipal employee on the north east coast of Scotland, has been fascinated by the Northern Lights since she first saw the phenomenon in September 2020. And she has prepared her "backpack and flask" to go to it. chase, “I often take my dog Dexter with me, wrapped in a fleece blanket while we stand and watch the saddle. "There have been a lot of trips at 1am," he told the BBC's Steven McKenzie in the Highlands.
Michelle first saw the Northern Lights during a walk on a beach in Losimouth: "I was impressed that night," she says. "What I remember most vividly from that night is not only the awe I saw in such a spectacle, but also the expressions of admiration from the spectators in the dark just down the seafront."
Selas is an impressive natural phenomenon caused by geomagnetic storms from the Sun. And it can appear as light rays that shimmer and "dance" in the sky.
Impressive photo of Gordon Mackie in Therso (Facebook / Caithness Astronomy Group)
The dark nights of autumn and winter offer a better chance of being seen - when the sky is clear - and there are websites, apps and social media groups that provide forecasts and alerts for when it might happen. Scotland is one of the best places in the UK to observe the Selas, but powerful images of it are also visible from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Very recently while rummaging through the drawers of my library, I came across an album of photos from high school. When nothing was done without a camera, in an era without mobile phones and with the completely self-evident condition that someone from the company would have to go by the neighborhood photo studio to give the film for printing and make several copies for everyone. I realized that if it weren't for these photos that I nostalgically travel with from time to time, many of my childhood memories, moments that when I lived them I had no idea how defining they would be for me, would not have lasted until today.
Because this is the basic value of a photograph. Correction: of a printed photo. And this approach is not old-fashioned at all, because going back to today, in the era of the smartphone empire, with the thousands of unused shots saved on the memory card, the rule is always the same: if you don't print the photos you love, they will be lost. Conversely, the photos you choose to print are the ones you love and therefore stand out the most. The absolute way to honor a moment, a look, a feeling, is the same: You must release them from the lens, capture them on photographic paper. To be included in a frame, to become an album, to be there, in front of you, when you enter the house or when you work in the office. Like a talisman in your wallet. To share with your most loved ones.
I've always felt anxious at the idea that my memories depend on the lifespan of my cell phone. That's why I looked for that way that highlights the classic value of a photo and the vintage feeling as we remember it from the multi-photographed 80s and 90s through the most modern version of printing, with new technological means, such as Fuji's instax printers.
The instax mini Link 2 combines past, present and future in one print
This super sleek printer is the answer to anyone who might think “ok boomer” when hearing me talk about printed photos. Because Fuji's instax mini Link 2 gives substance to the photos I keep on my smartphone, very easily, with the push of a button.
But precisely because we're talking about a cutting-edge gadget, this instax doesn't just stop at printing. It connects to your smartphone or digital camera and opens up countless creative and fun possibilities. You can add effects with your finger to make the photo even more personal, add filters and videos, share what you made on social media and most important of all: print instantly, wherever you are (like you will also see below):
And because one option is never enough, Fuji gives us one more to go "outside the frame" with the new INSTAX SQUARE Link smartphone printer which offers countless possibilities not only to print, but also to connect even more with our loved ones faces. INSTAX SQUARE Link offers a variety of frames, digital stickers, special effects, text, images, background colors, doodles and animations to create with an even more personal style.
That's why photos need to be shared, and INSTAX SQUARE Link takes sharing one step further by printing individually at high speeds over and over again with Augmented Reality effects. You can share prints with those you want with messages even if you live far away, while communicating with them at the same time through Instax Connect. Of course, since we're talking about a Fuji printer, you can make collages and use different frames for even more creativity, add sketches and text to the photo, and just scan the code with your smartphone to see what you've made before pressing the print button. And at the same time, you will have achieved the most important thing of all: to create special moments and memories together with the people you love.
