Photography as an art is one of our most realistic representations of the world that we have, It can capture extraordinary detail in a way that no other medium can. This can be a double edged sword in that we can often get complacent with the realism and forget about the artistic. In the “Developing an Artistic Eye” series of articles we will be discussing artistic properties as they pertain to photography and will develop ideas on how to best use these properties to produce stunning works of art.

We’ll begin the series by discussing the concept of composition.

I believe that the first part about understanding any concept is to define the word or words used to describe that concept. As defined by dictionary.com a composition is:

• the act of combining parts or elements to form a whole.
• the resulting state or product.

This definition shows why we will be starting with composition; because the composition is the image we are creating. We are not taking pictures, we are creating compositions. From the definition we can gather that if we are to create a good composition, or even just a composition by definition, the parts or elements of our photograph must come together to form a whole. If our composition is dis-jointed then is it a composition at all?

So with this understanding we can move into discussion on the techniques for creating compositions. Then in future articles we will go into the elements of design followed by the principles of design; we will then wrap up by coming full circle and seeing how those elements and principles effect our techniques and begin to form the whole in order to produce a good composition.

Alright, no more delays lets jump into the techniques!

The choice of purchasing a new lens shows that you are interested in diving a little deeper into photography. So with so many choices on lenses how do you decide on what would be the best next lens? Well there are a few things we need to think about before we venture into specifics.

Ask yourself these questions:

What do I want to be able to do with my camera?

Find photos that you really appreciate and ask yourself, how did they get that shot? If I were to recreate this shot what would I need, how would I do it? If possible speak with the photographer.

Do I want to be able to shoot things far away?

Do I want to capture a large amount of a scene?

Do I want to shoot things that are really small?

What will the majority of my shooting situations look like? Will it be low light, fast moving subjects, or perhaps studio portraits?

Through the answer to these and similar questions you will find the answer to what lens will make a perfect companion to your photographic expeditions. Lets look at some lenses and see how the different types can relate to the different answers we get from these questions.

Creating a custom white balance for your shots is one way to be sure you get the photograph you are looking for.  Automatic white balance has it’s convenience and often does an alright job at getting the right color, but when you want full control over your photograph without the hassle of post production color correction then you’ll want to create a custom white balance. Normally you would need to carry around a grey card or paper so that you could white balance in whatever situation you’re in. Now through the Photojojo store you can purchase a lens cap that will fit on the front of any camera lens so you will always have the ability to make a custom white balance profile wherever your camera goes!

Check it out by clicking here.It comes with two domes one for neutral and one for warm light.

I would recommend signing up for their newsletter as well, they write great articles on some of the coolest photography gear and diy projects.

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Getting Around the Camera

So you now have an SLR camera and you have been playing around with it, but you keep asking…what are all these buttons and how do I use them to my advantage? We will talk briefly about the different features of the camera and how to use them. In further articles we will go more in depth with the features and experiment with different ways of using them to achieve some exciting results. The camera consists of many different functions that when changed will return a different result, this allows you to have extensive creative control over the end product.

Camera Modes

Not all the cameras will have the same labels but the modes are essentially the same in all models.

When choosing your first 35mm camera there’s definitely not an exact science to the process. You want to choose something that is not too expensive but will also serve you well (read: will not break) while you experiment and learn the process of the camera. Most people get caught up in the brand war and will tell you that either Canon is better than Nikon or vica-versa; or that sony offers the best option in the market. While each brand has their pluses and minus’, I’m going to recommend a few other considerations to think about before choosing the brand you want to go with.

Photography can be intimidating when you look at all the different camera choices, and the list of cameras seems to keep growing. Where do you start when you are looking to get into photography? We’re going to investigate different camera types along with their benefits and also their drawbacks.

Point and Shoot

The point and shoot camera is the most popular choice among consumers. The quality of pictures taken with this camera has been continually improving as manufacturers are able to squeeze more and more megapixels out of smaller and smaller sensors. This type of camera is definitely a nice camera for the person on the go, as it is often very compact. Many of the cameras also come with the ability to set the camera into manual mode and make some minor adjustments in order to offer extra creative control. Because of their compact size, these cameras come with some restrictions as far as what they can do. Point and shoots come with a fixed lens which have very limited optical zoom capabilities. The lens size is a major restriction with these cameras as many creative features that high end cameras offer get their abilities from their lens.