The Basics

I think I may have jumped the gun a wee bit when i wrote the post about B & W's. Where i really should be starting from the basics. Mea culpa, I'll do a basics entry here. What prompted me to write this now? Well a friend - WJ, was taking a photo for me and another friend, and basically just pressed the button. No composition, no focusing, he just pressed the shutter button. And sure enough, he ruined a shot which would otherwise be a pretty picture. I was this close to smacking him and telling him to keep his hands off my camera. Yes.. Angry Allan.. So yea, hopefully the following will correct some mistakes people new to photography have been making.

Photog Boot Camp:

-The Shutter Release Button:

-Usually located on the top right of the camera.
-Pressed halfway, it locks in the focus and exposure on the area you designate by centering it in the viewfinder.
-Fully pressed, it releases the shutter to record the image.

So basically, depress the shutter halfway, let the lenses auto focus, then push it down all the way. Or you're gonna end up with a blurry blurry photo or you might end up focusing on something unwanted.

-Colour Balancing

White balancing is a system of balancing colour components to simulate pure white light under various lighting conditions so that all other colours are correctly calibrated for that condition.

Ever had a photo come out with an unnatural yellow or blue/green tint? Chances are your camera was fooled by the lighting conditions.

Most of the time, the camera will be set on AWB (auto white balancing) mode, but when the camera isnt able to set the white balancing correctly due to multiple different lights (ie, incandescent and fluorescent lights) the photographer will have to set it to the appropriate lighting condition. Basically, hold the camera up to something thats supposed to be white, and if it has a warmer or cooler look to it where it should just be white, chances are the white balancing is inaccurate.

-Conclusion:

So, there you have it, 2 very very basic things any photographer should watch out for, the first one being more important than the 2nd. Make sure you get the objects you want SHARP. Or you might as well delete the photo. The 2nd basic rule can be loosened a little bit, cameras are getting smarter and its not all that hard to adjust colour levels if you have Photoshop CS. So, go on now, go off and take some nice sharp focussed pictures!!! Dimissed!!!