This week’s article addresses two questions. The first question from Carol in Holland, NY: “When should you tilt the camera?” Now, Don Quixote traipsed across the countryside tilting at windmills and imagined monsters, and while Holland may have an occasional windmill, it’s a long way from Spain’s LaMancha -- but then it doesn’t have much to do with tilting the camera, either.
The question refers to when to take the picture using landscape or portrait orientation. The visual effect of landscape vs. portrait is easier seen than described so take time to view the linked illustrations.
Most digital cameras record files in a 3:2 proportion format (printed, the common size would be 6”x4”). If the picture is wider than it is high, it is called landscape orientation); if it’s taller than it is wide, it’s be called portrait orientation. The shutter button is easiest to reach when on top – or in landscape position. The simplest way to change the orientation format to portrait orientation is to tip the camera 90 degrees. A landscape photo can be cropped so the photo appears as portrait orientation, but you’ll be discarding more than half of the file in making the conversion (if you retain the 3:2 ratio); however, sometimes making this crop adjustment is unavoidable and even desirable. Take a look at the figure in the window. [Illustration 006-1] However, if your camera is set for the largest possible file, you may still have enough pixels in the cropped photo for a good print.
Why use different orientations to record a photo? As the name ‘landscape’ refers, it will allow for a wider photo – exactly what you need if you’re trying to take a photo of a landscape; most landscapes will be wider than they are high. [Illustration 006-2]
Portrait orientation commonly refers to taking a photo of a person. Traditionally, the person would be posed standing or sitting, so the shape of the subject is taller than it is wide. If the camera is tilted 90 degrees, we can better fill the frame with the subject. Referring to my illustration, the figure in the window as a landscape would leave a lot of uninteresting green space around him. By tilting the camera and using portrait orientation, the camera would crop out much of the uninteresting green. Since the whole frame is now filled with the figure, this would allow for more detail (assuming there was detail in my example). [Illustration 006-3]
In almost any art form, we learn the rules so that we can break them for special effect. (Just try telling that to the police officer that’s giving you a ticket for speeding.) Here are a couple of examples: iIf the photo is of something that’s wider than it is tall such as someone sprawled out on a sofa and we wanted to get their whole length into the frame of the photo, we would probably chose landscape orientation (even though we were taking a portrait!). [Illustration 006-4].
Or maybe, the photo is to be a portrait, but the surrounding landscape gives definition to the subject – like someone fishing at the top of a wide waterfall. [Illustration 006-5] When in doubt which will look best, take the same shot in both orientations and then decide which version you like. [Illustration 006-6]
The Tip Section in this article is to answer Peter from Silver Creek’s question. He’s planning a 2 week trip to Italy soon (lucky stiff!) and asks what kind of camera supplies he should take with him. He’s planning on using a Canon Powershot A2000 – this camera records 10 megapixel files in JPG Format – nice little camera and good quality. The largest file settings should allow a good picture to be printed out at 10x13 or maybe a little larger; maybe Peter will never want to print out an 10x13, but he hasn’t taken pictures in Italy yet.
Tip #1: Set the camera for the largest file setting with no compression – files can always be reduced for email with no loss of quality, but can’t be made larger for that 10x13 print. A 10 megapixel photo file (maximum size and quality) will be about 4 Meg; if he uses an 8 gig memory card, he should be able to store about 1600 photos on each card; 1600 photos are a lot of photos, but then with 2 weeks in a photo rich environment, he can take a lot of photos .
Tip#2: Don’t assume while on vacation you’ll be able to find more memory cards that will work– if you do, you’ll probably pay for them! I would plan on taking at least 4 - 8 gig spare cards plus the 5th one in the camera. Purchase a small memory card wallet to keep track of the cards. Important – before going, try taking picts on ALL the cards and uploading them to a folder on your computer, then reformat the cards. You’ll want to know that the cards work before you travel 3000 miles to take pictures. X-ray machines at security will not harm the memory cards.
Tip #3: This camera uses 2 AA batteries. I would take at least 3 spare sets (6 extras) plus placing fresh batteries in the camera just before I left. If you take rechargeable batteries, charge the batteries and tape the terminals (airline security will require it). Make sure you take a small battery charger along. It would be a good idea to call your airline just to double check these precautions; rules change often.)
Tip #4: I would take a small tripod – one that folds to 6” is fine. If you have the occasion to take a low light photo, it will come in handy. If no tripod, in a pinch, you can always rest the camera on a wall to steady it. Here's one that's compact, light and will even wrap around a pole or chairback; I've seen it in several photo departments [Illustration 006-7].
Tip #5: If you think there’s a picture, take it. If it doesn’t come out, you can erase it – nothing wasted. Once in Italy, keep your eyes open for memory cards and batteries that will work in your camera – just in case. I would suggest not spending a lot of time reviewing your pictures w/ the LCD viewer on. The viewer wears down the batteries fairly quickly. Besides, while you’re looking at the pictures on the camera, you’re missing all the other pictures you could be taking.
Tip #6: Finally, the camera came with a lanyard. I recommend attaching it and keeping it around your wrist for security. My brother-in-law carried his camera loose in his pocket on his trip to Italy. Both his camera and wallet were stolen at the same time!
The next article is based on another submitted question: How would I select a photographer? |
