Price: $26.99
(as of Jul 10, 2022 01:20:04 UTC – Details)
From the Publisher
SEEING YOUR WORLD
DIRECTION OF LIGHT
Direction impacts not only the quality of light, but also the way it paints a subject in both highlights and shadows, influencing mood and message.
“Twilight is the perfect low-light situation for a skilled photographer like John Stanmeyer to capture the energy, beauty, and pulsating verve of India’s annual Ganga Dussehra festival along the banks of the Ganges River. Notice how the streaks on the river dance and lure you into the frame. They entice your eyes to float down the river to the right, where the bright street lamps guide you from one side to the other until you return back to the fore-ground to find the bright spots in the candlelit crowd. Lighting in a photograph can be a powerful tool. The gorgeous blue hue in this image, in combination with the blurred crowd, adds to its success. They create an energetic mood that envelops me with the importance and excitement of the moment. ”
— STACY GOLD, Senior Director, National Geographic Image Collection
SEEING YOUR WORLD
PHOTOGRAPHING THE FAMILIAR
STATIC SCENES
From inanimate objects, artful photographs can be made. When texture, history, light, and shadow combine, you may see something new in a familiar, static scene.
By eliminating the sides of the display case that holds them, these leather shoes in a Moroccan market become a mosaic of color and pattern
PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW
Be brave and approach strangers with integrity, transparency, and kindness for honest, authentic portraits of new people in a new place.
The photographer made great use of the white wall and window of a snack shop in Rajasthan, India, to frame the owner as she arranges her wares. His rapport with her shows in her comfortable expression.
LANDSCAPES
Landscape is the foundation on which a place is formed, influencing everything from color palette to architecture to cultural customs.
The soft pastels of twilight transform a reflective scene of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, adding a gentle tone to an otherwise imposing mountain range.
ANIMALS IN THE WILD
Knowledge and patience are your best allies in photographing animals in the wild—understanding their environment and behavior, then settling in and waiting for a special moment.
A long lens and patient observation of this flower in Mindo Cloud Forest in Ecuador, yielded a vibrant photograph of life in the wild. The photographer anticipated the swift movements of these hummingbirds to capture a compelling composition.
TECHNOLOGY AND THE ART
LENS OPTIONS
Although you can make a picture of anything with any lens, understanding the difference between types of lenses helps identify the right tool for the job.
THE BEST LENS FOR THE JOB
Flower stamen or insects: True macro lens, 60 to 105mm with short minimum focus distance
Sports subjects at varying distances: Zoom, perhaps a 70 to 200mm
Large groups or families: 24mm or wider
SHUTTER SPEED
Shutter speed is the agent of movement in a photograph, used to freeze fast action or animate motion with a soft blur throughout the frame.
OPTIMAL SHUTTER SPEEDS
Slow shutter speeds: Use 1/60 or slower to blur subjects in motion, but anything slower than 1 second may blur motion beyond recognition.
Average shutter speeds:
Use 1/125 to 1/350 to freeze subjects that are still or not moving very fast, or to blur motion of fast-moving subjects.
Fast shutter speeds: Use 1/500 or faster to freeze fast-moving subjects. Shutter speeds of 1/1000 or more will require a lot of ambient light.
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
Exposure compensation allows photographers to maintain creative control of exposure, even when working in an automatic mode.
By varying exposure compensation under or over the camera’s normal exposure setting, a photographer can tweak the resulting image to highlight anything. In this case, trees, castle, or sky get different emphasis depending on the exposure compensation setting.
CHOOSING YOUR EQUIPMENT
The choice you make should be based squarely on two things: (1) your goals as a photographer and (2) your budget.
When considering your photographic goals, it is critical to understand your own photo-graphic inclinations—that is, what appeals to you visually, what kind of photographs you most enjoy making, and what techniques and styles contribute to your overall voice as a photographer.
Accessibility, usability, and portability are all important factors to consider when purchasing equipment.
TECHNOLOGY AND THE ART
PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER
Throughout both the capture and editing process, being true to yourself and consistent with your style is key to developing your photographic voice.
PUTTING IT OUT THERE
COVER IT Think of a story you can capture and tell through photographs relatively easily and in one day. This can be something you’ve been meaning to work on, or perhaps a small vignette about a typical day in the life of someone you know. Assume the same goal as a professional magazine photographer, which is to capture more photos than one story needs.
EDIT Design and set up your workflow in advance. Use this system to immediately back up your work and to import the photo-graphs into your photo software. Now, distill the set down to the five best frames that cover the story with quality and variety. Take these photos through your postproduction process to bring them to their full potential. Compose a meaningful caption for each, or a brief statement about your inspiration or context for the project. Add this to the image file’s metadata.
SHARE Upload the final five on a platform where friends and other photographers can see them. Create a dedicated gallery on a website, a comprehensive post on social media, prints for display, or even a book or magazine. Spread the word about your project and be open to the feedback you receive.
Publisher : National Geographic (October 19, 2021)
Language : English
Hardcover : 416 pages
ISBN-10 : 1426221436
ISBN-13 : 978-1426221439
Item Weight : 1.25 pounds
Dimensions : 7.5 x 1.25 x 10.05 inches
