Polarising Filters - How To Use Them? Why?

Digital photography enables us to recreate most filters effects that we used to produce using optical attachments on our cameras. But there's one filter that should still be in every photographer's gadget bag. Let's forget the crazy world of multi-images, the colourful starbursts and the dreamy diffusers - the essential item you should own is a polarizing filter. A genuine polarizing filter can have a dramatic effect on your photographs, but it won't ruin them, which is one common criticism of special effects filters, such as spot colours and multi images.

The classic effect a polarising filter has on the sky. Left shows a non polarised photograph and right with a polariser attached. Notice the saturation in the sky, making it vivid blue, but also the improved detail in the foliage and blooms, that give the picture more clarity.

How they work
 
Polarising filters work by suppressing surface reflections from non-metallic objects, by blocking the rays. The amount of suppression depends on the angle of the reflected light, the rotation of the filter and the amount of polarisation. You also see an increase in colour saturation, as the glare caused by the surface reflections often lightens the subject.

Polarsing filters are perfect for landscape photography. Here a warm tone version was used which has made the picture look more like a summer's day.

Some image editing software suggests it can offer the same results as a polarizing filter, but it misses the mark. A digital polarizing filter can enhance contrast and colour saturation, but it can't remove the reflections caused by light - well not yet anyway!

Here sunlight has caused glare on the varnished wooden sign which can be reduced when a polarising filter is used.

Photos of non-metallic surfaces aren't the only subjects that benefit from the use of a polariser. Light reflected from water and glass is also polarised and using a polariser enables the photographer to see through the glass or water.

A polarising filter used on water kills reflections, allowing you to see below the surface.

Another essential use of a polariser is for creating those rich blue skies that are normally seen in travel brochures and on postcards. Light scattered from a blue sky is polarised, making many blue skies look drab, add a polariser to the equation and you will produce a lovely dramatic blue sky.

How they attach 

There are three types of polarizing filter. The most basic is a sheet of polarizing gel, which you would need to cut to size and hold over the lens or mount in a gelatin holder. Then we have precut and mounted versions, made by the likes of Jessops and Cokin, that slot into a filter holder and mount onto the front of the lens. The third option is the round type that has a sheet of polarising material sandwiched between two pieces of optical glass. The screw-in variety has a rotating front ring so you can adjust the filter while looking through the viewfinder until the reflections are reduced. The holder variety is usually round and can be rotated in the holder.

Ten top tips on using polarising filters

• When shooting to prevent reflections, it's best if you are at an angle of around 35 degrees to the reflective surface.

• A polariser can be attached on top of an existing UV protective filter, but if you do so, be aware that the depth of the filter rims may cause a small amount of vignetting (darkening of the edges) on wider-angle lenses. And as there are more glass to air surfaces the image quality could be degraded. So where possible it's better to remove any other filter and just attach the polariser.

• When shooting skies ensure you shoot at the best angle - for rich blue skies move around so that the sun is at 90 degrees to the subject - anything more or less and the saturation is reduced.

• Avoid using a polarising filter on a lens wider than 28mm as the effect can look false because only a proportion of the sky will be deeply polarised.

• Watch the exposure. A polariser has a neutral grey look, which won't affect colour, but does reduce the amount of light reaching the film/CCD. If your camera has through-the-lens metering it will calculate the exposure difference automatically, which is roughly two stops.

• Use two polarisers together as variable neutral-density filter with between two and nine stops light reduction.
   
• Use two polarisers one over the light source behind a plastic subject and one on the camera for a cross polariser effect.  There's a technique how to do that here: Cross Polarisation

Cross polarisation is a colourful technique that makes use of one of the polarising filters more creative features.

• When using a polarising filter on an older camera that doesn't have TTL viewing hold it up to your eye and rotate until the filter is showing the best effect. Then mark the uppermost point of the rim with a china graph pencil or tape, screw it onto the lens and rotate so that the tape or mark is at the uppermost position. Some filters have a white line mark already printed on the rim which can be used as a gauge.
   
• Buy a slim version for use on a wide-angle lens to prevent the mount causing vignetteing
   
• Don't use a polariser when shooting through an aircraft window, you will record distracting patterns in the window.

There's one incident when a polariser should not be used. Here I increased the colours in the sky and made the ground look more saturated by using the polariser (left), but look at the rainbow pattern. This is caused by the material used in the windows and has produced the cross polarised effect.

A Guide to buying a polarising filter

Buying a polarising filter - You may be aware that a polarising filter is one of the most useful additions to your camera kit, but there are a few things you need to decide before buying one. First thing you should know is that there are two varieties - linear and circular. Although they're both physically round, a linear variety can have an effect on the autofocus or metering accuracy of any camera that uses a semi-silvered mirror or prism to split the light entering the viewfinder.

You may be aware that a polarising filter is one of the most useful additions to your camera kit, but there are a few things you need to decide before buying one.

Linear or Circular?

First thing you should know is that there are two varieties - linear and circular. Although they're both physically round, a linear variety can have an effect on the autofocus or metering accuracy of any camera that uses a semi-silvered mirror or prism to split the light entering the viewfinder. This is known as a beam splitter and is used by most modern SLRs to calculate exposure and focusing distance.

As a rule use a circular filter if you have an autofocus camera or a manual focus model with a spot meter such as the Canon T90 or any modern digital SLRs.

Screw-in or System filters?

Next thing to decide is whether to buy a round, screw mount filter or a system version that slots into a filter holder. Round ones are often easier to adjust and feel better built. They're also more compact to carry around. The disadvantage is larger sizes are more expensive and, if you have two lenses with different filter thread sizes, you may need to buy two filters, whereas a system type would just need another adaptor ring for the filter holder.

The filter holder type can also cause vignetting when used on some larger thread wide-angle lenses. Equally, a larger filter holder may prevent vignetting when used on a smaller thread wide-angle.

Features to look for

• If you have a camera without through-the-lens viewing look for a filter that has an index mark printed on it. This will help you align the filter correctly.
• Some filters have a small screw-in arm to help rotate the filter, which is useful if you intend using the filter when wearing gloves in cold weather.
• Filters with thick rims can cause slight vignetting when used on wide-angles. The latest Pro1 D versions from Hoya have slim rings.
• Check whether the filter is circular or linear. It will often say PL CIR if it's circular, while linear often just has polariser or PL marked on the rim.
• Polarising filters for square system holders are still round so they should rotate easily in the holder.

Who makes them?


Screw-in filters

Screw in filters attach to your lens' filter thread and are the least bulky option. If you have a number of lenses with different filter threads it can be an expensive option.

B+W
A brass mount with solid ring and deep filter thread make this a heavy filter that feels substantial compared with its Japanese competition. Extremely neutral throughout the range with plane parallel polariser material that the German makers, Schneider, say will guarantee optimal image results. The one to choose if your budget can stretch to the hefty price tag in sizes from 46 to 95mm.

Hama
Suppliers of one of the largest accessory ranges made, with thousands of items for video, stills and audio markets. Recently they have introduced a range of silver finish filters that match the modern styles seen with newer compact digital cameras and AF SLRs, This range includes the HTMC Circular polariser in sizes from 25.5mm to 77mm. In conventional black rimmed options there's a Linear in sizes from 49mm to 82mm, Circular in sizes from 27mm to 82mm and a HTMC circular in sizes from 37mm to 86mm. Hama also produce an slim mounted circular version for wide-angle lenses in sizes from 49mm to 77mm.

Heliopan
Ksemannn polarising are very expensive, but different in that the after the sandwiching of the polarising layer the filters are polished plane parallel and the edges are thoroughly sealed and mounted in a precision rotating mount with numerical scale. The special seal helps if you're using it in difficult climates such as sub tropical. They are available in linear or circular versions along with a linear warm polariser all in sizes from 39mm to 105mm along with Hasselblad and Rollei bayonet mounts.
Heliopan linear and circular polarisers are made from top quality Schott glass (made by the Zeiss group) and come in black anodised brass mounts in sizes from 39mm to 105mm.

Hoya
Super HMC Pro Multi-coated circular polarisers are difficult to make because the heat needed to multi coat the outer surfaces can damage the polarising sheet that's sandwiched between the glass. Hoya have managed that with this version available in sizes from 49mm to 82mm and it's ultra thin and lightweight. Hoya also make a normal circular polariser in sizes from 27mm to 86mm and linear in sizes from 39mm 95mm.

Jessops
Produce a wide range of low cost screw-in filters including linear options in sizes from 46mm to 72mm and circular varieties in sizes from 27mm to 77mm.

Kood
Have a range of screw fitting polarisers in sizes from 39mm to 86mm for the linear variety and 27mm to 86mm for the circular versions. They also produce 84mm linear and circular versions for use in Cokin P series holders.

Sigma
The company that makes lenses also has a range of circular polarisers with slim mounts for their lenses. They range in sizes from 46mm to 82mm for normal coated versions and there's also a multi-coated version in sizes 86mm, 95mm and 105mm.

System filters

Square filters fit onto your lens with removable adaptor rings. You only need one holder and one filter which can be attached to a variety of lenses using different size adaptor rings.

Cokin
French manufacturer Cokin was the originator of the special effects system with A (amateur) and P (professional) sizes. The A series are 67mm square and designed for use on 35mm cameras while the 84mm square P series are more suitable for larger medium-format systems and also come in handy when you use wide-angles to helps prevent cut-off.

More recently a larger Z-Pro and X-pro range were added to accommodate those lenses with large filter threads, especially suitable for the modern ultra wide-angle lenses.

Both linear and circular polarisers are available, which are very neutral in colour. Unlike other resin Cokin filters these are mounted in glass making them much heavier. They fit into the filter holder's back slot so you can rotate them easily.

Cromatek
A British brand with a unique box shaped filter holder that holds the 76mm filter in place while acting as a lens hood. The filter fits into the back slot of the box holder and you have to flip down the cover of the box to rotate the filter. This can slow you down, but you do gain the benefits of a superb light tight hood. A 100mm version is also available and both are glass mounted with circular or linear options.

Hi-tech
An 85mm system with an option of attaching a 105mm screw thread Kaesemann polariser to the front of the 100mm holder.

Jessops
Jessops make a range of budget priced filters for their effects filter system which are, like Cokin, available in two sizes Standard (67mm slot) and Professional (83.5mm slot). Linear and circular polarisers are available in each system.

Lee
A system originally developed for the professional photographer who needs the very best quality. The filter holder is larger and accepts 100mm square filters. Their linear polariser is made from Butyrate and is less than 1mm thick so needs to be mounted in a gelatine holder for the best support. It's available in 75mm, 100mm and 150mm square versions.

Hoyarex
Square system from the popular maker Hoya. A wide range were made and the system had a useful rubber hood that attached to the outside of the filter holder. Several of the filters in this range were glass. The system was 75mm square and excellent quality. You can pick these up second-hand Used Hoyarex Filters and they're well worth the investment.

Source: www.ephotozine.com

 

31 Photography Quotes by Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams photo

Ansel Adams was a great American photographer, most well known as a master landscape artist. Most of his photographs depict natural landscapes of the American west.  Born in San Francisco in 1902, Ansel Adams trained as a concert pianist before deciding to become photographer. He became famous for the technical skill with which he produced spectacular images of the American landscape.  He advocated straight and un-manipulated photography.  His works were exhibited all around the country, and he helped establish the department of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1940, and was awarded a number of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation to photograph National Parks in America.

Influential as both a teacher and lecturer, he was also an avid conservationist. He published many books of his images, and also technical and training guides to teach beginning photographers. In 1980, Ansel Adams was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor in the United States.

Throughout his long and storied career, he also was frequently quoted about photography, and often conservation of our natural resources.  Following are some of his simple, though often deep, quotations, sourced from brainyquote.com.

1. “A good photograph is knowing where to stand.”
2. “A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”
3. “A photograph is usually looked at – seldom looked into.”
4. “A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.”
5. “Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships.”
6. “I tried to keep both arts alive, but the camera won. I found that while the camera does not express the soul, perhaps a photograph can!”
7. “In my mind’s eye, I visualize how a particular… sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice.”
8. “In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.”
9. “It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.”
10. “It is my intention to present – through the medium of photography – intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators.”
11. “Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer – and often the supreme disappointment.”
12. “Millions of men have lived to fight, build palaces and boundaries, shape destinies and societies; but the compelling force of all times has been the force of originality and creation profoundly affecting the roots of human spirit.”
13. “No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.”
14. “Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.”
15. “Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.”
16. “Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.”
17. “Some photographers take reality… and impose the domination of their own thought and spirit. Others come before reality more tenderly and a photograph to them is an instrument of love and revelation.”
18. “Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.”
19. “The negative is comparable to the composer’s score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.”
20. “The only things in my life that compatibly exists with this grand universe are the creative works of the human spirit.”
21. “There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.”
22. “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.”
23. “There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.”
24. “These people live again in print as intensely as when their images were captured on old dry plates of sixty years ago… I am walking in their alleys, standing in their rooms and sheds and workshops, looking in and out of their windows. Any they in turn seem to be aware of me.”
25. “To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent in all things.”
26. “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.”
27. “We must remember that a photograph can hold just as much as we put into it, and no one has ever approached the full possibilities of the medium.”
28. “When I’m ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my minds eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I’m interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without.
29. “When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.”
30. “Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.”
31. “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

If you found this article stimulating then you’ll probably like  The Making of 40 Photographsby Ansel Adams. 

   

What Is Freelance Photography?

A photographer that is for hire for an array of types of photography is practicing freelance photography. At one point, or another, in the lives of most photographers, there is a period when there aren’t one or two specific photography niches that they specialize in.

Freelance photography allows photographers to hire themselves out in different photography niches, as well as sell their photos as stock photography. Customers hire freelance photographers when they have a need for some quality photography but they don’t have the skills, the equipment or the time to do it themselves.

Freelance photographers typically and often work odd hours. It is not unusual for a photographer to have an irregular shooting schedule, or a photo session at off hours of the day or night. Most freelancers enjoy theflexibility that this allows.

Actually, there are basically only two types of photography:

1. stock photography and
2. assignment photography

Stock photography is the selling of photos after they have been taken (as a rule). And assignment photography is when photographers are hired to photograph people, places and things as determined by thecustomer hiring. The term ‘hired’ can be misleading. The photographer is not an employee of the customer, but a self-employed consultant.

Part-Time Freelance Photography

Part-time photographers can do very well as freelance photographers.

Many photographers use freelance photography:

• to find photography markets that pay the most in an area;
  
• to find out what specific photography types are in the highest demand;
  
• to transition to full-time or more focused niche photography; and
  
• to sell their own photos themselves

My experience continues to be that most photographers freelance. There are just a couple of prerequisites to freelance:

1. A digital camera
2. Internet access
3. Know-How

That’s it! Of course, there is much more needed to be efficient and proficient. But, that is really all you need to get started.

What Is Freelance Photography?

It is a tremendous help if the photographer knows the various photography niches. Many photographers are sometimes confused by the “photography niche” issue. As a rule, photographers want to photograph everything! That’s fine. However, knowing the various photography niches helps photographers in a number of ways.

First of all, knowing the niche will help the photographer understand that standards within the specific niche. For examples, portrait photography is a niche. Within the niche of portrait photography there are niches. Senior portraits and executive portraits are examples of two distinct niches within a niche. The standards of ‘senior’ portraits are somewhat more ’creative,’ ‘edgy,’ and personality-driven. And, of course, the standards for executive portrait photography are dramatically different from those of ‘senior’ portrait photography. It helps the quality of the photo when the photographer knows the niche standards’ differences.

Also, knowing the specific photography niche is very helpful to the photographer in choosing how to communicate marketing messages to customers. Using the ‘senior portrait’ example and the ‘executive portrait’ again, the photographer’s marketing message must be different because one audience is a bunch of high school students. The other audience is experienced professionals. The languages that appeals to them are dramatically different. Knowing the niche helps determine the useful language and categories.

Also, knowing specific photography niches will help the photographer compile great looking portfolios. Some of the biggest mistakes that photographers make are with their portfolios. One mistake is that photographers put too much in their photography portfolio. Sometimes, people portraits are mixed with landscape photography, etc. Although the offending photographers’ intent is to show their work, to the experienced eye, they’re showing their lack of knowledge. With portfolios, less is more! 

Photographers should only show their best. And niches shouldn’t be mixed unless the portfolio is specifically demonstrating the range of the photographer. Unless the ‘range’ portfolio is requested, stick with the ‘less-is-more’ specific niche.

How To Freelance Photography

This is the challenge for most photographers that freelance – knowing what to do, when to do it, where to do it and how! That is a lot to know! But, you can learn over time. It isn’t necessary to “know-it-all” before you start. Knowing the basics, however, is key.

• A good thing to know is that the current growth explosion in the photography industry has a positive effect on freelance photography. The current demand worldwide for photos is not being met by current supply. Freelance photographers can profit from that growth.
  
•  Freelance photography is perfect for home-based photographers. In fact, many people are choosing photography as a source of extra income. This is the perfect fit for the work-at-home-moms of the world.
  
• Knowing what is selling in the market is done through research. Research what is in demand, what are the prices, what is the most lucrative, what are prices, etc.
   
• Knowing how to shoot quality photos is critical. Again, it’s important to know the standards of the different photography niches. Standards of quality are a given. However, within some specific niches there are varying standards – that benefits the photographer that knows the differences.
  
• Editing photos ‘know-how’ is very helpful to the freelance photographer. Digital photos often needsome minor editing. (As a side note, digital photo editing is a photography niche that many knowing photographers freelance in.)
  
• In this digital photography world, knowing how to optimize (make easier to find) web pages, photos,titles, descriptions and keywords will help customers find your photos online.
  
• Knowing ‘where’ to start saves a tremendous amount of time (and money, sometimes – if you don’t know, you might purchase unnecessary expensive equipment that you don’t need).

Knowing where to find good information is the ultimate solution. There is an “information overload” in freelance photography ‘how-to.’ Unfortunately, much of it isn’t that “informative.” Two very good and very informative freelance photography beginning solutions and why they are very good (in my opinion):

• Both provide good ‘how-to’ information on where and how to start. Both also provide very good brief explanationsof the different photography niches. And you will be successful following the steps in both of them. One of them offersmore information about successfully entering the stock photography market. A consistent source of income for the freelance photographer is selling their existing photos as stock. This one provides information on taking photos and selling them to magazines. The magazines’ guidelines, requests, prices paid, etc. are provided
  
• The other resource is also very good and very informative. This particular resource offers a 100% guarantee that their freelance photography course will make you money.

I have both of them. They are both very, very good! Successful freelance photography is very doable and very within your reach.

Freelancing also develops your photography business skills. It’s one of the best kept secrets in photography. But, now you “know the secret!”

How to Take Good Shots of Landscapes

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Many of the best photographs taken by professionals are of landscapes and scenic expanses of rolling plains or magnificent mountains. However, a major problem of many landscape captures is they usually don’t look as captivating as the real scenes do. The quality of landscape photos distinguish between a professional, seasoned photographer and an amateur. There is a concern regarding the vastness of scene—the detail that should be captured. Details are significant because they tell whether you’re photo is a nice capture or not.

Making good photographs is as not as easy as it seems but these ideas should be able to help you.

What equipment to bring

Quality lenses – Digital SLR cameras are often used for landscape photography, and these cameras use a set of different lenses unlike compact cameras. It’s wise to invest in premium lenses, which do not cause aberration. For landscapes, you should be opting for wide angle lenses.

Tripod – Nice tripods remain still even against strong winds and should have adjustable legs. A tripod is indispensable equipment for a fine shot of a scenery.

Filters – You can use these to come up with photographs with high image quality with vivid colors and well balanced brightness. While these aspects can be enhanced with software like Photoshop, filters ensure that images are of superior quality from the start.

Shutter release cable – This is not the most essential thing you might add in your backpack but comes handy when you’re too worried about the camera shake you’d make with every nudge of the shutter button. The simpler alternative is to use the self-timer option although this is not too reliable with moving subjects.

Durable camera bag – You most probably should buy a quality bag for your photography equipment. Landscape photography could mean you would be carrying loads of gadgets and gears. Backpack style carrying bag would suit you best for long hikes while you find a good spot.

Landscape Photography Tips

1. Watch the sky – It’s a significant element in your landscape pictures. You can have a photo that is dominated by the sky or the foreground depending on which of the two has a more arresting appearance. You may want to catch a picturesque weather drama or interesting cloud formations in the sky on a still that becomes a sky-dominated photograph. You may enhance the sky-foreground color balance by using polarizing filters.

2. Angle of the sun in the sky – The most captivating photographs of landscapes are done early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the low sun rays create a dramatic effect on the landscape and highlight features and terrain.

3. Exploit the weather – One of the most amazing landscape photography techniques in making breathtaking landscape pictures is to consider the weather, which can change the mood of a scene. You may be given to taking pictures on sunny days but watch out for gloomy days with ominous cloud patterns for they can create a picturesque spectacular effect on a landscape. Sometimes, storms, billowing clouds, dark skies, fog, and gusts can create awe-inspiring photographs.

4. Where is your horizon – When taking photos of landscapes, you inevitably would have to figure out where to position your horizon. As implied earlier, horizons in pictures can be at the bottom or top third of the photo—depending on whichever draws more attention, the sky or the foreground. But this rule of thirds can sometimes be broken. Ideally, horizons should be seen on a horizontal stretch across the photograph.

5. Work with lines – Lines can help add details, perspective, and a sense of depth in your photos. Lines needn’t be real lines but hedges, row of trees, or any linear element.

There are a lot more tips out there and you’ll discover them as you get to add more techniques to what you already have. In fact, you’ll make your own unique approaches as you become a seasoned image capturing artist.

…enjoy,

by Roy Barker

www.profitable-photography.com

10 Reasons to Turn off Your Autofocus

A Guest Post by Alistair Scott.

When I started using a camera autofocus was something out of science fiction. I mean … it would never work in real life, would it? Apart from anything else, how could it know what you wanted to focus on?

Now fiction has become fact, and pretty well every camera has AF as standard. It works, and works well. But it doesn’t always work perfectly. It can pick up the wrong thing or fail to find anything to focus on, causing the lens to ‘hunt’ back and forth. Sometimes it won’t even let you fire the shutter.

So, here are ten situations when it’s worth turning your autofocus off and going back to the ‘good old days’ of manual focusing:

1. When there’s not enough light

In low light, contrast is also low, and AF relies on light and contrast to latch on to things. Your camera may have an AF assist lamp built in. But, even if you have it switched on, it won’t work in situations like in the shot above.

Though the image looks bright enough, in reality there was little light, and it required a 30-second exposure.

2. When there’s not enough contrast

If your AF metering spot is on something like a plain-coloured wall the camera will find it impossible to focus, no matter how bright the light, and the lens will ‘hunt’. You can re-frame your shot temporarily so the spot is on something with detail and press the shutter half down to activate the AF. Then keep the shutter button half-pressed to lock the focus, and go back to your original composition. Or focus by hand.

3. Shooting wildlife

Most wild animals have excellent hearing and, no matter how good your autofocus, it will make a noise. Even the slightest whirr is likely to spook wildlife. Switch it off if you want those great, natural wildlife shots.

4. With landscapes

When shooting landscapes you usually want things in focus from the foreground to distant mountains. This means closing down the aperture to increase depth of field and focusing about a third of the way into the scene (at a point called the ‘hyperfocal distance’ where everything from quite close to infinity is sharp). Switch off the AF. If you leave it on, when you press the shutter it will re-focus … probably on those far-off mountains.

5. If you’re doing HDR

High Dynamic Range photography involves taking several shots of the same scene, all exactly the same except for exposure, then blending them when you’re back at the computer. It’s important to have identical focus in each shot to ensure success. With AF on, it may choose a slightly different focus point for each shot.

6. Fast action

When you’re photographing a fast-moving subject, your AF will have its work cut out to keep up with the changing distances. Most times it fails. At this jump, in a radio-controlled buggy competition, I first started shooting in burst mode, with the AF switched on. This was the sort of thing I kept getting.

It wasn’t until I switched the AF (and burst mode) off and pre-focused on a spot where most of the buggies landed that I started to get decent shots.

7. Shooting through glass

Taking photographs through glass is generally not a good idea. Avoid it if you can. But sometimes it’s unavoidable, e.g. if you’re in a plane, or photographing fish in an aquarium. The trouble is, the AF may home in on reflections, or marks on the glass. So switch it off.

8. With portraits

The golden rule of portraiture is to focus on your subject’s eyes. What’s more, you often use a wide aperture to throw the background out of focus. But if your autofocus picks up your subject’s eyebrows or the tip of the nose then, because you’ve got such a narrow depth of field, the eyes will be blurred.

9. Macro

With macro photography autofocus has a hard time. The depth of field is so tiny that the camera has no idea what you want to focus on and the lens is likely to hunt wildly. You definitely must take control.

10. Composition with the ‘Rule of Thirds’

Many cameras have the autofocus spot fixed in the middle of the viewfinder. This means that if you’re composing with your subject at one of the classical ‘thirds’ positions it is likely to be out of focus.

In this image a centralised autofocus would not pick up the boat and, on top of that, it would have difficulty latching to the smooth water of the lake.

So … autofocus is brilliant but it’s not infallible. A good photographer knows when to take control of the camera to get great shots in challenging situations

Alistair Scott is an award-winning freelance photographer and writer who has travelled the world widely. He lived for 20 years in Africa, but is now based in Switzerland. His latest book is ‘The LowDown Guide to Family Photography’, which can be seen at www.alscotts.com/fampage

Top tips for landscape photography...




1. Harmonious thirds

The rule of thirds is a well-known method of framing images. Where the horizontal and vertical lines a third of the way through the image frame intersect are the most 'powerful' points in the composition.

2. Using reflections

Unlike the rule of thirds, reflections benefit from symmetry. However, a standard 4:3 frame may need to be cropped into to provide the optimum composition - something to consider when out shooting.

3. Looking high or low

Rarely is the best viewpoint from eyelevel. Try lowering your camera to get closer to the ground or, better still, find a high vantage point to produce truly stunning images of even the most usual of subjects.

Landscape Photography - Depth of Field

Landscape photography is generally at the opposite end of the scale of depth of field, where the vast majority of landscape images require a very long depth of field. This is due to the fact that landscapes generally are trying emmulate an actual scene as we see it, and viewers are usually drawn into the image by its great depth of field.




Depth of field is the limitation of perceived sharpness within a photographic image. The greater the depth of field, the more of the image from front to back that appears sharp. An image that is said to have a shallow depth of field has a short and more specific depth of sharpness.

In photography, careful use of depth of field can be a very powerful tool indeed. It can force viewers to focus only upon that which is sharp, by utilizing a shallow depth of field. As our eyes are not comfortable in viewing unclear images, we then tend to look at the parts of an image that is sharp, and our gaze will then focus upon that part of the image, rendering the other unsharp parts of the image as blurry and not worthy of our attention. This use of a shallow depth of field is particularly well suited to portraiture. As long as the eyes are sharp, most other things can be forgiven if they aren’t pin sharp. People and animals tend to look at the eyes first, and so the eyes really need to be sharp in nearly all portraiture photography.

Landscape photography is generally at the opposite end of the scale of depth of field, where the vast majority of landscape images require a very long depth of field. This is due to the fact that landscapes generally are trying emmulate an actual scene as we see it, and viewers are usually drawn into the image by its great depth of field.





Depth of field is controlled in two ways. The most commonly used is by aperture control. The smaller the aperture (the larger the number ie. F22), the greater the depth of field. The larger the aperture, (the smaller the number like F2.8), the shallower the depth of field. The apertures inbetween have a depth of field is that is directly proportionate to the aperture selected along the scale. The second means of controlling depth of field is by using a camera or lens that enables the lens to be tilted forward or back. This enables the focusing plane of the lens to be more inclined to the plane of focus of the subject matter, and hence providing a much better depth of field without a change of aperture. It is one of the major reasons for using bellows type cameras, or tilt lenses. With such a camera or lens, one can have a huge level of control over depth of field at any aperture.



Depth of field is also dictated by the focal length of the lens, and the camera format for which the lens is used. For instance, a wide angle lens always has a much greater depth of field than a telephoto lens. A very wide angled lens such as a 14mm lens has a depth of field so great that it almost doesn’t require focussing, wheras a 600mm telephoto lens has an extremely shallow depth of field, and unless focussed upon long distance subject matter, the depth of field will always be very limited indeed. On the other end of the scale are macro lenses, which are made to be able to focus very closely to objects. Once you start moving in and start focussing very closely, the depth of field again becomes extremely shallow indeed. The closer you get to the subject, the less the depth of field becomes, and in extreme close-ups just the slightest movement will cause the image to go out of focus entirely.

Geoff Ross