As any sports photographer will tell you, half of getting a decent shot is timing, and the other is being prepared. To start with, the focus needs to be correctly set up to allow the image to be taken when the instant occurs, rather than having to wait for the correct focus zone to be highlighted. Because of the relatively uninteresting background it isn’t any great loss to lock the zones down to centre only, and leave the majority of the rest of the shot blurred. This also ensures any obj

Creating the illusion of movement within a still image can be a difficult proposition, as it requires breaking one of the basic rules of photography in keeping the subject sharp. A waterfall makes for an attractive subject when taking landscape photography, but some of the majesty of the image is lost when the shutter speed is too high. The water appears completely static and although the environment will give away the motion, the final effect will still be a poor reflection of the subject. The

Snowy winter scenes are notoriously difficult to photograph due to the challenges of exposing correctly for the bright white snow. In Automatic mode, the camera can become confused by the whiteness of the snow, and underexpose the rest of the image. Many digital compacts feature a Snow scene mode that, once selected, will automatically adjust the camera settings to a level suitable for snowy scenes. However, a scene like this one has its own specific challenges, not least of which is the fact i

Dealing with sunrise or sunset takes practice, but there are a few tricks of the trade that make the photo-taking process a lot easier. First off, try and use manual settings as much as possible as this will mean you have greater control. For example, an automatic white-balance setting will try and compensate for the warm glow of sunset and tweak the settings to create a dull version of your shot. Preset white-balance options are fine to use, so long as you realise their effects. The cloudy opti

Achieving the perfect shot of a flower is harder than it might first appear. You’re more likely to be able to achieve it with a digital SLR combined with a macro  ens. However, if you’re using a compact, switch to the Macro mode, and use the camera at its closest focusing distance. For a shot like this, use the smallest aperture available (anywhere between f/11 and f/22 is best). If you increase the aperture, then the depth of field  narrows, which is desirable in order to

Architecture has always been a favourite subject for photographers because of the wealth of detail it contains, and the enormous range of shapes, angles and contours that can be achieved through creative framing. Spiral staircases are common subjects, but rarely are they captured as well as this one. The shape and location of most of these structures usually means that light is limited, or that there’s very heavy contrast within the shot. So, it’s important to lock your exposure just