Simple to do, and just a bit tricky to see but you can do this with any camera. Take two pictures of the same subject with the camera moved several feet. In this case, the left and right shots were about 10 feet apart. The square in the center of the viewfinder was placed over the left chimney on the house.
To view the image in stereo, place the left picture as taken on your right, and the right picture on your left. Cross your eyes so that you see three blurry images, and then focus your vision on the center one where the two overlap. Viola! 3-D. Once you get used to it, it’s easy to do.
Do you have some photos taken on a dull day that could do with a bit of a boost? Or maybe you have seen those photos with incredibly blue skies and wonder why you never manage to capture them? Well I’m about to show you a quick and easy way to give any photo a new boost of life. The following technique is very quick and can improve almost any photo. But if it all seems like to much effort then scroll straight to the bottom of the post and download the FREE Photoshop action to automate the whole process otherwise if you would prefer to do it manually then read on:
This guide is for beginners and advanced photographers and will give you some ideas to diversify and improve your photos.
1.) Embark on a project:
Documenting your project be it in a gallery, online, or a photobook will let you see how your photography has progressed since the start as well as giving you a sense of acheivment making the effort well worth it. But don’t limit your self to just one why not take on several projects such as the weekly Monday Macro project or our own monthly a300.org challenge or a long term project such as the flickr 365 project which involves taking a new photo everyday for a year. Some other ideas could be to shoot object in your community of a certain colour.
2.) Join a local photography club:
Joining a photography group is a great way to submerge yourself into the photography world. It is also a great way to meet other photographers, learn and discuss tips and techniques as well as opening up new opportunities.
3.) Print more:
With the increase in digital cameras most users tend to prefer uploading there photos to galleries. But if you want to really grasp the quality of your pictures printing images is essential be it photos for your wall, a calender, photo book or a magazine.
4.) Study the work of other people:
A great place to start is the a300.org’s flickr group with over 200 members and 1800 photos. There are a lot of incredibly high quality and diverse pictures in the group which should help give you an idea of what is achievable with the Sony a300. Analyse the photos that grab your attention, grab inspiration but don’t simply imitate use the photos for motivation to help you develop your own style.
5.) Try a new niche:
We all have subjects that we prefer to photograph, whether it’s indoors/outdoors, cars, animals, people etc. So if you find a majority of your photos fall into one category then why not diversify and try something new and out of your usual comfort zone. Diversifying your subjects will assist you in learning new techniques and giving you a better understanding for composition, lighting, aperture and shutter speeds required for different situations & subjects.
Select a fast shutter speed to freeze a moving subject (ex: 1/500 sec). To give a sense of movement select a slower shutter speed this will blur the the moving subject making it appear more dynamic as it captures the motion (1/8 sec). Or use a slow shutter speed while panning to blur the background while following a subject as with the above image was captured using ISO 400 as it was quite cloudy and a shutter speed of 1/200 and f11 aperture.
The aperture dictates the amount of light that reaches through the lens. Large apertures (lower numbers: f/1.8, 2.8 & 3.5 etc) decrease the Depth of Field making most of the image out of focus (useful for creating bokeh). Smaller apertures (higher numbers: f/8, 16 & 22 etc) increase the Depth of Field making most of the image in focus.
To spot good photographic subjects you have to start by taking a fresh look at things around you. You won’t have to look far to find a good subject, but you will need to become aware of shapes, form, colour and light, all of which combine to create interesting images.
Autofocus can be highly advantageous, as they allow you to concentrate on framing your shot. However, there is always the possibility that the camera may read the wrong part of the scene, which results with the intended subject being out of focus/blurred.
The Supersteady Shot on the Sony a300 does a pretty good job of removing blur (also known as camera shake) in most shots. There’s also a few techniques you can employ to ensure you get blue free photos. Blur free photographs can be takenusing a shutter speed of 1/60 provided you hold the camera properly, the lens isn’t to heavy or to long, and the subject is stationary. As the focal length of a lens increases so should the shutter speed. e.g a 125mm lens should not be used at shutter speeds less than 1/25.
Standing up Tips:
Always support the camera with both hands.
Keep the strap around your neck and tuck your elbows in for stability
Against a wall Tips:
Hold the camera against a solid surface such as a wall or tree can help reduce camera shake.
Keep your elbow(s) tucked in.
Lying down Tips:
A camera bag can make a useful support for ground level photographs.
Make sure flaps, buckles etc don’t obstruct the lens.
Extra Support:
A tripod or similar device will become essential for long exposures and shutter speeds below 1/60. However, your efforts will be wasted if you jolt the camera when you press the shutter release So either use a remote cable or the self timer option. Although tripods are the most versatile of camera supports, a monopod, clamp or gorilla pod may be more suitable if space is restricted.
View our Tripod guide for more indepth information.
To spot good photographic subjects you have to start by taking a fresh look at things around you. You won’t have to look far to find a good subject, but you will need to become aware of shapes, form, colour and light, all of which combine to create interesting images.
