Recently I’ve been getting a lot of questions about clarity. This leads me to the answers about lenses. You know if you do not have a good lens you do not have a good photo- generally.

The reason I say that professional SLR is much better than a prosumer camera or a point and shoot is not because of my desire to look “pro” when I take photos its because of the amount of control you have over the photo. You can control the light so much more; you can control the exposure and the general aspects of the image. And with this freedom comes the choice of getting the clarity via the lens. To gain the ultimate freedom in picture clarity first of all you need to know what lens does what.

Fixed focal length lenses

A fixed focal length lens is a lens that is on most point and shoot and prosumer cameras. They are normally an average wide angle lens. It’s kind of like a “mid range quality” lens. If you then take a zoom lens and compare the two, a fixed focal lens is smaller and often has a larger max aperture. This is good, because they work pretty well in low light situations. These lenses appear clearer than zoom lenses. The only problem here is that your person or subject can appear smaller than you would like unless you move in closer.

Zoom Lenses

And what of a zoom lens? Without going into overly technical details, zoom lenses often have more practical focal lengths for digital photography. They can give you a good angle perspective for filling the frame for example. These lenses are great if you need to take shots closer when it’s impossible to get closer to something.

Optical zooms lenses are the best. My advice to you would be to forget digital zoom altogether. Digital zoom is not a real zoom, in other words it’s not a true representation of what’s there. You’ll just get more noise on your image which can’t really be edited.

The problem with zooms is that they loose light the closer you get. They have lower apertures and this can be difficult in low light conditions. In some situations it’s possible to use the flash and have adequate lighting, but other times you use the zoom because you are far away from the subject and the flash is only effective a few meters away.

There is no general answer to “What lens should I get?” The answer is it depends on what your camera can do and what you want to do yourself. But the more you understand what lenses do what, the better off you are of making an informed decision and get the right lense for the job.

Best wishes,

Amy Renfrey
www.digitalphotographysuccess.com

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Last week we discussed light as being the first secret to successful digital photography. This week we are going to examine the second secret to digital photography, and that my friend, is composition.

Composition in your digital photography, if you like, is really your shapes, lines and forms all working together in your digital photo. Its not just these working together, its really all your shapes working together, complimenting each other to create a visual balance. So what do I mean by this?

Example:

A seascape photo. The reason why this digital photo works is because the lines of the clouds work to compliment the horizon line of the ocean. The direction of the clouds creates lines and forms. These forms in this digital photo work together to create a balance of symmetrical shape with the line of the ocean. See how these things work to create symmetrical composition?

The key also is to keep your composition simple. Don’t overcrowd your digital photo with unnecessary and irrelevant forms and images that have nothing to do with the story you are creating with your digital photography.

Its this simplicity of lines and forms that create good composition. You will notice that the best photos are simple. There is no clutter, no distraction, no irrelevance and everything works together. The outer parts of the digital photo all lead to a single point of focus- and this is GOOD photography.

So whenever you embark on digital photography just remember; make sure the light is evenly spread across your digital photo and make sure you keep the lines and forms really simple. The less clutter the better.

I took this digital photo to show you that you can create good photos using a basic digital camera if you apply the 3 secrets to digital photography. It’s just a simple one, but just because you don’t ideally have the latest dlsr camera doesn’t mean your shots can’t turn out.

Can you guess what camera I used to take this digital photo? If you can guess, you win a free copy of my “Powerful Landscapes” ebook.

Now, on to secret number 3…..

Good luck.

Amy Renfrey

If you want to learn how to take digital photography like a professional, just visit http://www.digitalphotographysuccess.com

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When people are in school, the teacher will always lecture the students on the proper ways of doing something. A good example is math because doing this the wrong way will never make the person get the right answer.

There may be some subjects that can be memorized such as history but the rest will have to be understood. This is because the lesson book and the question in the exam are different and it will take some time to figure it out.

One hobby that needs a bit of understanding is photography. This is because the individual does not only point and shoot to get a picture. The person needs to follow and understand certain rules to achieve the right technique in each shot.

The first rule when it comes to photography is being able to fill all the available space when taking a shot. This must be done to get the intended subject that is achieved by zooming in or out on the intended subject.

The second rule for anyone who wants to take a picture is for the individual to pay attention to shape on the image. There are many ways to take a shot but it is only by studying it in detail that one picture will stand above the rest. It takes practice but this will surely pay off in the end.

The third deals with the kind of background chosen for the picture. Photographers shoot either in a studio or on location. The person must know when and where this must take place to be able to achieve the desired effect in the shot.

Believe it or not, motion also plays a factor in a shot. This is because it can disrupt the viewer’s attention away from the model instead of the subject taken. Those who decide to have background should use those that have diagonal or curved lines since it will not make the person look anywhere else.

In the past, pictures were taken in black and white. Color has changed all that so contrast is also something that needs to be understood by the photographer. This can capture depth and emotion making each photo artistic in nature.

The basic rules and techniques in getting the shot are important. It is one thing to read it and another to put it into practice. The individual should understand then apply it so this can be mastered eventually.

Low Jeremy maintains http://digital-photography.articlesforreprint.com This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included.

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