Tips & Training

Hidden Panorama Photo

‘Top of the Mountain’ at Winter Park Colorado.

I found this gem in my photos from a ski/snowboard trip (that’s my whole family in view). The interesting thing is that when I first saw the photo I thought it was good but not great. Then later I noticed a “Hidden Panorama” (my new term) in the regular photo. This was not a sequence of photos stitched together to form a Panorama.

It had a Panorama within the view – it’s really about cropping a Panorama out of a regular Photo.

I plan to do a Short video with tips on Hidden Panoramas and more examples soon – “like” or “share” (small blue Facebook icon below) this post if you are interested.

Archive

January 26, 2012 by PhotoKen

Getting Extraordinary Photos in ordinary scenes

Press Play above to Watch this Video Tutorial.

You can get extraordinary photos in ordinary scenes by:

Finding an interesting Angle and Position
Getting the camera off AUTO by knowing your settings

This short tutorial (which I promised my Facebook fans) gives you an example on how you can start taking amazing photos in fairly mundane environments. I hope you find it helpful.

You just need a little inspiration to ‘look for the shot’ and with some Photography Basics you can transform your DSLR photos from Average to Amazing. My EasyDSLR Course is designed to give you the basics and a bunch of inspiration to go with it.

I am getting more adventurous in how and what I photograph. I have noticed a vast improvement in my photos. Geoff – Gold Member

It’s an Online Digital Photography Course with Video Training to get you taking better photos within the Hour. It’s filled with photo tips and techniques presented in layman’s terms to help get you taking good photos quicker – EasyDSLR Course

Archive

January 12, 2012 by PhotoKen

Using the Right Lens for Better Photos

Lens Choice is a Key Concept to improving your photos. More so if you have a specialty.

One of my EASYDSLR Members, Julie, has a specialty – she takes Band photos. Her unique challenge is dealing with poorly lit venues. You could put on a decent flash and get crisp images but you lose a lot of the atmosphere.

In my Buyer’s Guide I recommend Cameras and go a little into Lenses but my Photography Course gives you a lot more on using the right lens to suit the situation.

Julie says: “A major point I have learnt from your course is to use the lens to suit the situation, and you will see in the attached photo that I did everything WRONG!

This photo was taken inside a dark pub, and at that stage I still had my Canon 350D. The lens I chose was my often preferred (for outdoor festivals etc.) Tamron 18-270mm zoom. I set the shutter speed much too low, at 1/60sec and the camera chose the Av at F6.3. The ISO was 400 and I took the Ev metre up +1. The metering was also set to Pattern, and I used the flash – definite no-no! Hence the shadows.

Since watching your tutorials I have now learnt that I should have used my Canon 50mm F1.4 lens, and maybe cropped later for a close-up, or moved closer to the subject. Also the shutter speed should have been set to at least 200 with an ISO of around 800 minimum. And definitely NO FLASH.

And another important module I found invaluable, your explanation of the three metering settings; Pattern, Spot and Centre Weighted. I now use Centre Weighted for all my band photos, unless I want to zoom in and focus on the tuning pegs, pick, slide on their fingers, or some other small object, then I set it to Spot.
Thanks again for all your help Ken”

When you put your DSLR kit together think about what kind of Photography are you into. That will determine what lenses you want to add. If, like Julie, you are into low light situations then consider getting a decent Prime lens like a Canon 50mm f/1.4 or NIkon 50mm f/1.4.

P.S. If you want a beginners tour of accessories and techniques to better photos in a short space of time check out my EASYDSLR Digital Photography Course.

Archive

November 6, 2011 by PhotoKen

50mm HD Video Goodness

You don’t need to be intimidated by HD Video using your DSLR Camera.

This short video above was taken using a humble, inexpensive 50mm f/1.8 Lens on a Canon 60D to get great Video. No fancy, Expensive Follow Focus Rig was used – this was all Hand Held. This was filmed with available light only. With the right Settings and a few tips you can get great Video using your DSLR.

These Prime Lenses are great for indoor conditions with low light. Definitely worth adding to your kit if you don’t have one. You can go for more expensive f/1.4 lenses for a little more light and quality – these are my recommendations:

Low-end Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens or Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens.
Mid-Range Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Lens or Nikon 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Nikkor Lens
Wider View – For excellent Indoor Shots with a Wider View I would recommend the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM II Wide Angle Lens (equivalent to around 38mm on Crop Sensor cameras) or Nikon 24mm f/1.4G ED AF-S RF SWM Prime Wide-Angle Nikkor Lens but these are REALLY expensive so if you don’t want to ‘break the bank’ go with the Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM Wide Angle Lens (equivalent to around 45mm on Crop Sensor cameras) or Nikon 24mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor Lens (this one doesn’t let in as much light as the Canon but is reasonably priced).

In my EASYDSLR course I have a Module on HD Video using DSLR cameras (over an Hour of Training) where I go through the basics, what settings to use and some filming tips.

So get out there and get some great Video – you Don’t need a Hollywood budget!