Technology Explained, Practice
Daniela Bowker
Resolution and pixels and image quality! Oh my! ...

When you hear the term 'high-res' thrown about with such abandon when it comes to images for web use, have you ever stopped to think just how big or how high quality and image meant for the web needs to be?

Resolution and pixels and image quality! Oh my! Saving images for the web
Feature Articles, Photography Theory
Haje Jan Kamps
Low-contrast photographs don't have to be boring

There's an assumption that high-contrast images are more dynamic, more compelling, more inviting. Have a go at some low-contrast photography. You might surprise yourself with the results.

Low-contrast photographs don't have to be boring
Feature Articles, Theory
Daniela Bowker
Seeking balance in your photos

Balance doesn't mean symmetry; it means an internal consistency and tension within your photos. And it's a vital element of composition. 

Seeking balance in your photos
Feature Articles, Photography Theory
Haje Jan Kamps
Training your photographic luck

Great photos might be down to a little bit of luck, but most of that 'luck' you make yourself. Don't believe us? Read on...

Training your photographic luck
Feature Articles, Practice
Daniela Bowker
The ups and downs and ins and outs of ...

Photographing buildings doesn't have to mean wide-angle lenses and fretting about correcting for the keystone effect. Any lens, and angle. Don't believe us? Let us show you!

The ups and downs and ins and outs of photographing buildings

To Rewrite

Keep your compact zoomed out!

Daniel posted a blog entry with a lot of valuable tips about shooting with the limitations of using a digital compact camera – most of it is common sense, but if you’ve never thought about any of it, it’s definitely worth a quick read. Some of the points he brings up is using a low ISO to reduce noise, using custom white balance, using program mode, getting in close, and take a lot of pictures, to increase the chances of getting the shot.  

The man’s got a lot of great points, although for one of them, I don’t quite agree:

When your camera is fully zoomed out, it is at wide angle and will cause some distortion in your subject. If you are taking portraits, you definitely will want to step back and zoom in so that your kid, or spouse, does not look like a chipmunk.

While I am happy to admit that most compacts aren’t great for barrel and pincushion distortion, it’s a minor problem, compared to light loss. Cheap lenses, and especially those in digital compacts, lose an incredible amount of light once you start zooming in.

In fact, my Canon Digital Ixus S500 (also known as the Digital Elph in the US) has a f/2.8-4.9 lens over a 3x zoom. That means that while you get f/2.8 at full wide-angle, you lose nearly two stops of light just by zooming in. Most of the time, it ain’t worth it – leave your camera fully zoomed out, and rather crop the image to size!