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Camera School: Master Shutter Speed
by Debbi Allen on 27th September 2010
The shutter controls the duration of an exposure. In creative terms, it’s the shutter that determines how time is depicted: whether movement is frozen in time so that every tiny detail is visible, or blurred to create a sense of motion and energy.
A fast shutter speed will freeze movement to reveal detail, form and features. For example, in wildlife photography, a fast shutter speed reveals exactly how a subject moves – the position of its body, its legs, the intensity of its
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Camera School: Master Aperture
by Debbi Allen on 2nd September 2010
Lesson two: Depth of field & Aperture
Lens aperture controls something referred to in photography as ‘depth of field’. Depth of field is a phenomenon caused by the limitations of the human eye. When a lens is focused, light is formed into a sharp point. However, light reflecting from other parts of the scene, closer to or further from the point of focus (ie, areas that are out of focus) instead forms blurry circles. The further from the point of focus, the blurrier these c
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Camera School: Master your camera
by Debbi Allen on 2nd September 2010
Lesson One: Master Your Camera
Deciding which camera to buy can be a minefield. There are so many models, manufacturers, features and prices, it can be hard to know where to start. Here at DCE, we believe you should buy the perfect camera for you, and not just the one that offers the most megapixels for your money.
Budget is usually the first consideration. Decide how much you are prepared to spend on your new camera, and stick to it. Budget will narrow your choice somewhat but £
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Take This Shot: Landscapes
by Debbi Allen on 19th January 2010
We’re lucky enough to have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world in the UK, but taking great landscape shots that capture the beauty of a location isn’t often easy: as with most things in life, practice makes perfect.
Make sure you’ve got a camera with a decent wideangle lens. Although some compacts do offer wide-angle attachments, your best bet is to go with a DSLR and a good lens, as that also enables you to use filters to enhance your shots. One of the singl
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Take this shot: Lightning
by Debbi Allen on 26th October 2009
Ever noticed that you rarely see photos of lightning taken during daytime hours? There’s a very good reason for that – it’s virtually impossible to achieve. The speed and unpredictability of lightning means than you can only ever hope to get a shot by leaving the shutter open for an extended period. Only at night will the scene be dark enough to get away with this without too much light hitting our sensor.
There’s no easy way to shoot lightning, but there are some tr
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Take this shot: Action
by Debbi Allen on 1st October 2009
Capturing a great action shot is one of the hardest things you can do with your digital camera. But with some patience and practise, images like this one are perfectly possible. Basically, the key principle you need to remember is that pointing your camera in a fixed direction and hoping to capture a fast-moving subject as it speeds past is a lost cause – your finger will simply not be fast enough. Instead, you need to pre-focus your camera onto the subject before you shoot by half-pres
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Take this shot: Children
by Debbi Allen on 10th September 2009
We all want great photographs of our kids that we can keep forever, but children aren’t always the easiest of subjects to capture. They’re so full of energy, it’s mpossible to keep them still long enough to take a decent snap. The solution is just as obvious as the reason behind why they aren’t the easiest subjects – just don’t even try to keep them still! Not only are posed pictures difficult to achieve, they can also be rather dull and old-fashioned
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Take this shot: Silhouettes
by Debbi Allen on 27th August 2009
One of the most important aspects to get right when shooting silhouettes is proper exposure. To calculate this, you first need to position your subject between the light source and your camera. Set your camera to manual exposure and use an external light meter, or your camera’s internal meter (in Spot-metering mode), to take a light reading from the highlight area. Alternatively, try metering the background and then the subject. The difference between these two readings provides the rig
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Take this shot: Exotic
by Debbi Allen on 12th August 2009
If your camera has a macro mode (or even better, if you’re lucky enough to win a macro lens), this is an excellent time of year to get up close and personal with the natural world and pull off some fantastic close-up shots.
Don’t be put off by our exotic subject pictured below. You might not have geckos to photograph, but you’re likely to be able to find all manner of insects, frogs and slow worms in your back garden!
Once you’ve found your subject, moun
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