GeekSugar

What Is Aperture?

GeekSugar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:00:40 -0800

Learning to be a better photographer when you're out of school, you usually just have to pick things up as you go along. Having someone guide you and learning by experimentation is awesome, but sometimes you can have an aha moment when you hear someone explain something from the ground up. In this video, it's aperture, and what it means - you'll also hear about F-stop, depth of field, and how they affect your photos.

The Aperture Interactive Display

GeekSugar — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 10:10:52 -0800

If you were impressed with the high-tech Eyecandy Sound Lounge & Bar in Vegas, you may enjoy this Aperture Interactive Display which uses thousands of individual mechanical irises to create various images.

Created by Berlin interactive artists Gunnar Green and Frederic Eyl, this dynamic concept project reacts to light in front of it, therefore, the darker the object the wider the aperture will open (as you can see in the video below). Each of the apertures in the array can be used to represent a pixel of an image. This functioning prototype which I saw on Bornrich is currently being used to get a feel for what a large-scale aperture could look like.

Snap Pics Like Kanye With a Panasonic Lumix LX3

GeekSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:48:21 -0700

Kanye just can't get enough digital cameras. We've already seen him with the stylish Leica D-LUX 3 at the 2007 Givenchy show in Paris a few years back, and now he's been spotted in London with a new Panasonic Lumix LX3 ($600) number around his neck.

The 10.1 megapixel LX3 is just what Kanye needs to capture great photos on his trips around the world - it comes with a large three inch LCD screen, shoots in 16:9 HD video, includes 21 fun scene modes like self portrait, pet, and starry sky, and it accepts expandable SD cards to boost its onboard 50MB internal memory space.

Plus, this portable number takes excellent low-light photos, thanks to its wide aperture range and the newly developed Leica DC Vairo-Summicron lens, which captures clear shots during late night outings, concerts, and candlelight dinners. Perfect for a geek on the go!

How to: Shoot Cool Light Trails

GeekSugar — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:33:07 -0700

I often find myself drawn to the light trail photos on Flickr. The ones created by moving cars, as well as the ones that people create themselves with flashlights and sparklers. I've done just about enough admiring, and am ready to test out the method myself. So naturally, the go-to place to find some reliable tips is Digital Photography School.

Apparently, shooting light trails is super easy, but you'll have to venture out of manual mode to achieve it. Just by using longer shutter speeds (around 10 or 20 seconds), a tripod, and finding your perfect aperture mode for the light you're shooting in (start with your f-stop at f/8 and take it down if your shots are overexposed and up if underexposed), light trails are easily captured. Check out the rest of the tip details on Digital Photography School and have some photography fun!

How to Make Holiday-Themed Bokeh

GeekSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:00:16 -0800

You probably know what bokeh is, just not what it's called. Bokeh is the photography effect that produces a blurred background.

With an SLR, you get bokeh by setting your aperture value low and then focusing on a subject. It's a beautiful photography effect and in most snappers' bag of tricks.

The other side of bokeh is the gorgeous patterns you can create in your photographs. You can make dots, like in the picture, or you can get ambitious and make hearts or a holiday theme (like stars) with DIY Photography's bokeh instructions.

All you need is an aperture lens and a piece of black paperboard. Follow DIY Photography's instructions and get ready to produce mesmerizing photos!

Source

How to Take Great Night Photos Without Your Tripod

GeekSugar — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:00:34 -0700

Always on the ball, Yahoo's Techie Diva Gina Hughes has tipped me off to a list of helpful night photography guides. It's a problem close to my heart, because like Gina, I love taking pictures of cityscapes at night, especially when I'm on vacation. Suggestions include experimenting with your camera's ISO, Exposure and Aperture settings. Here's more

Set your "ISO at 200 and 400, shutter speed from 1/15 of a second to 6/10 of a second, and aperture set to whichever setting allows the LCD to appear as bright as you want the photos to be, but not much brighter. In other words, set ISO first, shutter speed second, and aperture to the just-bright-enough setting. Now, start taking pictures." You'll need to read your camera's manual to learn more about these three features first.

Of course, once you find the best settings for your digital camera, all you have to do is set them as your preferred settings, and take 5-15 photos in continuous shooting mode until you get one that isn't blurry. Always remember that even the smallest movements can make your images blurry, so try not to take photos right after a glass of champagne. For additional help, visit Instructables.

How to Look and Feel Good Behind a Camera

GeekSugar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:00:22 -0700

Looking good in front of the camera is an ongoing battle for most of us, but being behind the camera can be just as nerve wracking. If you don't follow someone around with a camera everyday - like cough cough Spencer Pratt - you might want to brush up on a few tips that will make your photo subjects look better and make you a more confident photographer.

Think about lighting and angles - If your subject is on the larger side do not take his or her picture from a low angle. This will only make them look bigger. Try to elevate your position and have your subject point their chin up toward you.

For additional tips, read more.

Twist and shout! - Have your subject twist sideways with their feet (if standing), or twist their legs (if sitting).
Take night photos - Experiment with your camera's ISO, Exposure and Aperture settings to take great night photos without your tripod.
Think about your setting - Birthdays, parties and events are prime photo opportunities because they offer the chance to take great action and group shots. Don't forget the money shots - like the birthday boy or girl blowing out candles or opening presents.
Don't be afraid to be creative - Photos of people spinning, running, jumping and dancing are always more exciting than the usual still photos. Getting good movement shots is usually easier than you think - it's just about timing.

Of course, once you've taken your pics, don't forget to make the best of your collection by sharing them with friends!

Pacific Coast News

Take Great Photos In An Aquarium

GeekSugar — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 10:00:59 -0800

Taking photos in an aquarium can be challenging at best. On one hand, the lighting is really beautiful and striking - what with the blue glow and all - but on the other hand, things are prone to be too blurry, dark, and unrecognizable if you don't take the right steps. Lilangelfish e-mailed me asking for some quick tips for her upcoming trip to an aquarium and I thought you might all be interested in what I learned.

The first issue with aquarium photos is that you are usually shooting photos through glass, and if it isn't clean, the spots will show up in your photos. Also, spots on the glass will throw off the auto focus mechanism of many AF cameras. Problem number two is you're shooting through water, which bends light in funky ways. To deal with this, all photos should be taken with the lens directly perpendicular to the side of the tank. If you shoot at an angle, the view will become distorted and your fish will look either elongated or compress. Third problem is that you are shooting moving targets, which means it's hard to get a focus lock on them. For solutions to these problems, just read more

Shooting moving objects
You can change the aperture of your lens to the smallest setting you can get away with (this takes some experimentation) to increase the depth of field. Another solution is to manually prefocus the lens to a point inside the aquarium and wait until a fish swims into that plane of focus. Both of the above will only work on those cameras that allow you to change those settings. Most point-and-shoot cameras will not allow you to change either setting, and will not be a good camera in general because of the flash issues.

Use the right camera
If possible, do not use a built-in or on-camera flash. The best thing to use is an off-camera flash.

Work with your flash - avoid it if you can
If you must use the built-in flash, or a flash that sits on the camera (almost all point-and-shoot and SLRs), you may have a problem of the flash reflecting off the front glass and into your lens, ruining all photos. Option 1: Turn off the flash if you can, or put some black gaffer tape across the flash if you can't turn it off. This means that the flash won't illuminate the tank. Problem is, this might bring you back to the lighting issue. Option 2: most cameras today use something called TTL (through-the-lens) technology to shut off the flash output when it reaches the proper level for exposure. Problem is that the flash reflecting off the back of the tank will influence TTL and you will not get good illumination of the subject you are shooting.