A few words about how I act, photographically speaking. Not sure it may be of any kind of interest to anybody. But at least, when I am old, having lost memory, I can read this and remember the good old days :)
As far as composition is concerned, most of my photos are driven by a very few number of rules... Horizontal format suggests rest and tranquility, as long as the structure of the scene is stable. A stable scene can be sketched for instance with a triangle having its base relatively horizontal and close to the bottom of the frame. This particular triangle won't move, it is stable. Example - Stable composition, presumably more than the couple at least
However, quiet photos may well become quickly borring.
So, another tip I would like to emphasise is how a single point can impulse vibrations and depth to an ordinary flat scene. Example 1 - Ooops, link needs to be updated .. Example 2 - “19” makes it all
Finally, unstability - and therefore movement- can also easily be suggested by putting off the frame those stable elements that one usually see physically interacting with each other: wall and ground, leg and foot, ... Example - Movement, enhanced by medium shutter speed
Vertical formats suggests more action or, at least, dynamic, than horizontal ones.
In both cases, wide angle on scenes including a clear and sharp foreground, as well as lines guiding the eyes, definitely enhances the dynamic and depth of the resulting photo. Example -
Last, cutting bits and pieces that one usually do not see cut -half face for instance- , or rotating the camera by a handful of dozens of degrees generates variety, and helps positionning the key elements of the scene on the hot spots.
And very last, square format also offers interesting opportunities. Although the thirds and hot spots also apply to squares, I find it more challenging to apply these to the square Holgas than in a rectangle. May be linked to the absence of a decent viewer on the Holga..!
I make more than 80% of my pictures with less than 20% of my camera features. No need to say that I'm not talking Holga nor Lomo here, but reflex. Both the Holga and the lomo have got fixed built in parameters, the speed being 1/100 sec approx and the aperture f/8. Note that you still have the choice of the film sensitivity...although 400 isos is what I use for general purposes, since 100 and 200 isos is not light sensitive enough in most cases.
Aperture, Speed ?
So, 80% of the time I use the Aperture priority mode (“Av” for Canon). Simple animated tutorial about aperture here. Another 15% of my photos are long exposures, above 30sec, hence relying upon the Bulb mode. Remote controller is also used in these cases. And speed priority (“Tv”) is used for the remaining 5% of the cases. Don't get me wrong, this reflect the way I do personnaly use my camera and for the type of photos I make.
Light metering
Again, I use the average weighted method in 99% of the cases, because I find it far more convenient to shift the exposure than to toggle between different light measurement methods. In some extreme circumstances, shifting the exposure up or down by the maximum of +/- 2 IL sometimes is not enough to balance against the specific extreme contrast of a particular scene. In these particular cases, I switch to spot.
Histogram
Once a photo is captured, I always double check its histogram in order to check it has been correctly exposed, particularly on the highlights side. Easy to re-shoot if not properly exposed, i.e. partially burned or dark. Also, worth going through this “Expose to the right” page, if you are interested in improving the signal to noise ratio at the time the photo is recorded.
Mirror pre-locking For long exposures, allowing to maintain isos at a reasonable level whilst getting a reasonable depth of field (from f/8 to f/11), I use whatever support is available, including the ground itself. In order to minimise avoidable blurring, I enable the pre-fire mirror locking feature. ...and generally forget to come back to normal afterwards..!
Example 1 - oops, forgotten to link this one Example 2 - and this one also, sorry.
No tripod - Security speed Without tripod, it's still possible to make photos with the available light. It's a matter of using a lens with good aperture, at its maximum aperture, along with high isos. Again, Aperture priority and Exposure shift give total control about speed. For the avoidance of blurred photos, speed should be at least the opposite of the focale distance (at 60mm eq. 24x36, the exposure shouldn't take more than 1/60th of sec.). Consequently, wide angles offer more flexibility when light conditions become difficult. Samples Night shot at 70mm, f/2.8, 3200 isos Night shot at 17mm, f/4, 1600 isos Night shot at 50mm, f/1.6, 1000 isos
Usually remains set up on 'Auto' and gives pretty good results on the 5d. However, in some specific situation, it's worth adjusting the white balance prior the photo is made rather than relying upon digital post processing of the raw file. The reason for that is that when strongly correcting the colours afterwards, the chrominance noise shows up quite quickly...
