Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ Category

Posted on January 29, 2012 - by benmullay

Low Light and Night Photography Tips

1. Wrap up warm

This may sound obvious, but if you are dressed for the occasion you will be able to concentrate fully on photography and getting the best shots.

2. Stock up on Storage

Not having a good memory card inside your camera is like having a Ferrari with poor tyres.  Having spent so much money on a digital camera, it doesn’t make sense to skimp on the memory card.

There are only three companies in the world that make digital memory, one of them is Samsung which is my brand of choice.  Using non-branded memory cards is a false economy as these have failed the quality control check at the production line and are then sold off cheap for rebranding.

Samsung digital memory cards are water/dust/shock proof and safe from X-rays and magnetic fields.  They have a very high transfer rate which ensures your camera can perform the way it should.

To purchase Samsung digital memory cards, click here or visit The Camera Centre.

3. Travel Light

Try to minimise the amount of gear you take as you don’t want to get weighed down with camera equipment.  If you’re using a Digital SLR, try to just take one lens as this will force you to be very considered with what images you capture.

4. Charge your Batteries

Make sure all your batteries are fully charged (including a spare set) as at night your battery life can diminish in the colder conditions.

5. Switch to Manual Focus

Autofocus (AF) works best in good light.  If you’re having trouble with AF and you’re not getting sharp pictures, chances are it is in low light situations.  Switching to manual focus should solve the problem.

6. Turn off Image Stabilisation when using a tripod

If your camera is housed on a tripod, and your camera or lens has image stabilisation (IS), switch it off as having IS switched on can actually result in blurry pictures.

7.  Read your manual

Darkness is not the time to be learning where your camera menu settings are located.  Familiarise yourself beforehand with the functions which you will require and know how to access them quickly.

8. Use maximum aperture

If you’re using a Digital Bridge Camera or Digital SLR camera, try putting your camera on Aperture Priority (AV on Canon, A on Nikon) and set to the maximum aperture (smallest number).  This will help you get shutter speeds which you can handhold in low light.

9. Use a high ISO setting

When shooting spectacles such as Up Helly Aa from a distance, your built-in camera flash is not going to be powerful enough to reach your subject.  As a result, turn off your flash and increase the ISO setting on your camera.  This increases the cameras sensitivity to light and will result in higher shutter speeds thus reducing the chance of camera shake.

10.  Shoot, shoot, shoot

Digital memory is relatively inexpensive so take lots of photos – you can always delete them later on.

Good luck and have fun!

Ben

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on October 5, 2011 - by benmullay

Worldwide Photo Walk 2011 Review

Last Saturday I led the Shetland leg of the Worldwide Photo Walk for the third year in a row.  I thoroughly enjoyed this year’s walk and it was great to see lots of new faces.  I am looking forward to seeing the images that everyone managed to capture. 

I spent a lot more time this year giving advice to photographers on subjects such as composition, camera skills and technical advice.  As a result I did not get any images of my own apart from the shots you see here documenting the event.

This year’s walk was at Michaelswood, Aith.  The weather was kind to us which was ideal for two hours of photography.

Michaelswood was created by Ray, Betty (pictured) and Alan Ferrie in memory of their son/brother Michael.  A big thank you to Ray and Betty for allowing us access to the site especially as it’s off-season.

A bird observatory has been added which contains binoculars and information to help spot the wildlife on view.

Michaelswood is suitable for all ages.  Bairns are well accommodated for with a special “Philosophers Trail”, amazing pirate ship to play in, a pond and a lovely picnic area with benches.

Participants soon started finding interesting subject matter to photograph.

 

Hundreds of trees have been planted over the years.  The picture above shows the new plantation which will add a whole new dimension to the attraction in years to come.

 

Michaelswood is a fanstic visitor attraction and I would recommend it highly to anyone who has never visited.

Thank you again to Ray and Betty for allowing us unlimited access to Michaelswood for the Worldwide  Photo Walk 2011.

A Flickr group has been created for everyone who attended to upload their images.  To view the group please click here.

Stay tuned to my blog where I’ll be announcing the winning photo from my walk in the near future.

-Ben

Posted on December 24, 2010 - by benmullay

Digital Advent Calendar 2010 – Day 24

Merry Christmas

Well folks, we’ve reached the finale of my Digital Advent Calendar 2010 series.  I’ve certainly enjoyed putting all the tips together and hope that you’ve taken learned something along the way.

I can’t believe how fast this year has gone.  I’d like to thank all my customers and everyone who has taken time out to look at my website/blog.  It’s been a busy and enjoyable year at Ben Mullay Photography so stay tuned in 2011 for my latest news and developments.

I’m going to leave you with a song synonymous with Christmas which I’m sure will get you in the spirit for tomorrow.  Enjoy!  I hope to see you back in the New Year and remember to take lots of photos over the festive period.

All the best

Ben

Posted on December 23, 2010 - by benmullay

Digital Advent Calendar 2010 – Day 23

Calibrate your monitor

I’ve had numerous people ask me why the colours on their monitor look different to their finished print or on the back of their digital camera.

Digital photography colour management is quite involved but the first step in improving your workflow is to calibrate your monitor which will help you achieve consistent and accurate colours.

There are several calibration tools available but the one I use is the Spyder system from Datacolor.

The process is very simple.  Install the software included with the device and then follow the on-screen instructions connecting the Spyder when prompted.  The device will go through the calibration process which takes approximately five minutes.  On completion you will be shown a ‘before and ‘after’ image on your screen to show the effect the calibration has had.

This is the first step in your journey to ensuring accurate colours but remember to recalibrate your monitor at regular intervals as the colours can shift over time.  Repeating the process once a month would be my suggestion.

-Ben

Posted on December 22, 2010 - by benmullay

Digital Advent Calendar 2010 – Day 22

Macro Mode

Today’s tip is based on getting the most out of macro mode on your digital camera.

By setting your camera to the macro mode you are telling the camera to give you the nearest possible focusing distance available which is great for photos of small objects like flowers, coins etc.  Macro capabilities can vary between cameras/lenses but my tip is applicable to all cameras/lenses with a macro mode.

What you need to know is that the minimum focusing point of your lens is better at the wide-angle end than the telephoto end.  Below is the focusing distance specification taken from a typical digital camera:

Macro: Wide: Approx. 8cm – 80cm  * Telephoto: Approx. 60cm

As you can see, the closest focusing distance at the telephoto end of your zoom is 60cm; however, zoom your lens back to the wide-angle setting and your closest focusing distance is now 8cm.

So, if you’re doing close-up photography I suggest you get closer to your subject rather than racking your lens out to the telephoto end.

-Ben

Posted on December 21, 2010 - by benmullay

Digital Advent Calendar 2010 – Day 21

Photographing Snow

We’ve been having a lot of snow recently so I thought I’d share a tip on how to ensure that the snow in your pictures is white rather than a dull grey.

The problem with snow, or any white subject, is that the light meter of your camera is fooled due to its reflectiveness.  What you need to do is to override your camera’s light meter and tell it to overexpose the base exposure.  This overexposure is necessary because a camera’s built-in light meter views neutral grey as the optimum exposure, so it will try and expose a scene to get the overall photo to equal neutral grey. So, when you have bright white, the camera will expose the scene to make the white grey by underexposing the photo.

If you have a compact digital camera, I suggest you search through the scene mode settings to see if you have a dedicated ‘Snow Mode’ which will adjust the settings automatically for you.  If you have an advanced digital compact, digital bridge or digital SLR camera you can dial in a +2/3 to +2 setting using the exposure compensation facility.  Just remember to adjust the compensation dial back to zero again once you’ve finished in the snow.

-Ben

Posted on December 20, 2010 - by benmullay

Digital Advent Calendar 2010 – Day 20 (Guest tip from David Gifford)

Guest Tip by David Gifford

When Ben asked if I would write a wildlife photography tip for the advent calendar, my first thoughts were of technical settings or to recommend some fantastic (and probably expensive) camera equipment.  But to photograph wildlife you often need something more important – a bit of luck.

Photographing wildlife differs from the likes of studio or portrait photography, in that there are many things outwith your control.  But, as Bobby Tulloch once wrote, luck can be expressed as ‘being in the right place at the right time’.  And that being the case, you can greatly improve your luck with some knowledge: research and explore the best wildlife locations, observe and read about animal behaviour, check out the latest sightings on www.nature-shetland.co.uk, think about what to photograph at different times of the year, and, depending on the subject, think about the position of the sun, the direction of the wind and the state of the tide.

The more time you spend in the field, the better your chances of making great wildlife photos.

www.davegifford.co.uk

Posted on December 19, 2010 - by benmullay

Digital Advent Calendar 2010 – Day 19

Sensor Cleaning

Today’s tip is a follow up to my entry on Day 8.

If you own a Digital SLR and end up with dark spots on your photographs then it’s more than likely that your sensor needs cleaning (see figure 1).  You have two options:

1. Get your local camera store to clean it for you

2. Do It Yourself

If you are going to undertake the cleaning yourself you’ll need specialist equipment to undertake this.  DO NOT clean your digital camera sensor unless you have the correct cleaning equipment and are confident in what you’re doing.  A damaged sensor will be extremely expensive to replace.

I’ve seen a few different sensor cleaning systems but the one I recommend is the Delkin Sensorscope System.

To see a brief demonstration on how to clean your digital with the Delkin Sensorscope System please watch the video below.

The Delkin Sensorscope System is available to purchase here.  If you know someone who owns a Digital SLR and you’re stuck for Christmas gift ideas you may wish to consider this product.

BONUS TIP 1

I think it’s important to differentiate between dust in and around your camera’s viewfinder compared to actually having a dirty sensor.  My test is to take a photo of a blank piece of white A4 paper and then look at the image on your computer monitor.  If you look around the image and see any black spots then that is sensor dust.  If you see no black spots then you have nothing to worry about.

BONUS TIP 2

To access the sensor on your Digital SLR then you need to use the ‘Mirror Lock Up’ facility on your camera.  If this function is shaded and cannot be accessed the chances are your camera battery is not fully charged.  You can only use the ‘Mirror Lock Up’ facility if your battery is at 100 per cent.

-Ben

Posted on December 18, 2010 - by benmullay

Digital Advent Calendar 2010 – Day 18

Remove your UV filter for low-light photography

As you’ll probably know, I am always championing UV filters and how you should always have one protecting your lens at all times.  However, there is an exception to the rule!

When you are photographing at night having a UV filter attached to your lens can actually result in washed out images.  This is why I suggest removing your UV filter for low light/night photography but please take care of that exposed lens!

BONUS TIP.  Using your lens hood will not give you 100 per cent protection whilst your UV filter is removed but it will help.

-Ben

Posted on December 17, 2010 - by benmullay

Digital Advent Calendar 2010 – Day 17

Spend money on glass

I’m a big believer in spending money on lenses rather than camera bodies.  You can get a beautifully sharp picture with a low-end digital camera body with a high end lens.  You can’t, however, get a good photo with a top of the range digital SLR with poor optics.

Digital SLR camera manufacturers are pretty shrewd as they lock you in with them once you decide to invest in equipment.  Canon equipment, for example, will only work with Canon cameras so if you decide to switch to, say, Nikon down the road then it’s a major decision to source a whole load of like-for-like gear.

Purchasing lenses from manufacturers such as Canon and Nikon ensure you get the the sharpest possible images available but come at a higher price compared to third party equivalents from Sigma and Tokina, for example.  Third party equivalent lenses are a great alternative and could save you about a third off compared to the main brands.

-Ben