Whether you’re using a ‘point and
s
h
oot’ camera,
l
i
k
e a
f
a
b
u
l
ous
l
y
compact Sony Cy
b
er-s
h
ot, or a
l
ar
g
er camera
l
i
k
e Son
y
’s new
d
i
g
ita
l
SLR,
there are some sim
p
le thin
g
s
y
ou can do to
dramaticall
y
im
p
rove
y
our shots. Brent Williams,
a professional photographer, shares his top tips.
01> People
I
f
you’re s
h
ooting peop
l
e,
f
ocus on t
h
e eyes, it
does
n’
t
m
atte
r
so
m
uch
i
f
the
othe
r
ele
m
e
n
ts
a
r
e
s
l
i
gh
t
ly
out o
f
f
ocus. W
h
et
h
er
y
ou’re s
h
ootin
g
a
p
erson or
g
rou
p
, make sure li
g
htin
g
is even
across the face
.
02> Rules
A
pp
l
y t
h
e ru
l
e o
f
t
h
ir
d
s. T
h
is is t
h
e
compositiona
l
ru
l
e t
h
at t
h
e main su
b
ject o
f
t
h
e
ph
oto s
h
ou
ld
not
b
e
p
er
f
ect
ly
centre
d
,
b
ut
should be offset b
y
rou
g
hl
y
a third. The main
sub
j
ect should ali
g
n to an ed
g
e or corner of the
centre square. This creates a visually appealing
p
h
oto t
h
at
h
as
b
a
l
ance an
d
energy.
03> Angles
T
r
y
turnin
g
t
h
e camera on its si
d
e
f
or a
p
ortrait
shot – var
y
in
g
the orientation of a shot can
dramaticall
y
im
p
rove the
p
hoto’s im
p
act.
04> Settings
Genera
ll
y spea
k
ing,
k
eep t
h
e ISO sensitivity
d
own as
l
ow as possi
bl
e to maximise image
qua
l
ity, a
l
t
h
oug
h
w
h
en using t
h
e te
l
e en
d
o
f
t
h
e zoom ran
g
e, a
h
i
gh
er ISO settin
g
ma
y
b
e
u
seful in combination with Su
p
er Stead
y
Shot in
avoidin
g
blurr
y
ima
g
es.
05> Horizons
U
se ‘
h
orizons’ to prevent camera ti
l
t. T
h
at can
b
e t
h
e actua
l
h
orizon or a cei
l
ing
l
ine, t
h
ey
ca
n in
d
i
cate
u
n
des
ir
able
ca
m
e
r
a
t
i
lt.
T
h
i
s
ca
n
sometimes be trickier than it sounds. If
y
ou’re
takin
g
a
p
icture at an an
g
le to
y
our horizon,
the camera’s
p
ers
p
ective will make the horizon
appear to s
l
ope. It’s a
l
so a goo
d
i
d
ea to c
h
ec
k
vertica
l
l
ines, suc
h
as
d
oor
f
rames, to avoi
d
ti
l
t
.
06> Lighting
A
t
p
arties or in dark rooms, do some
p
ractice
shootin
g
to
g
et li
g
htin
g
levels ri
g
ht. It’s common
f
or people to get overexposed because of the
fl ash – a problem that’s very diffi cult to correct
l
ater wit
h
so
f
tware. I
f
your su
b
jects are getting
overexpose
d
,
l
ower t
h
e
fl
as
h
l
eve
l
t
h
roug
h
t
h
e camera’s menu or
p
ut a
l
itt
l
e
b
it o
f
tissue
p
a
p
er over the fl ash to tone it down. As a rule,
ts bette to u de e poset a ove e pose.
it
’
s
bette
r
to
u
n
de
r
e
x
pose
t
h
a
n
ove
r
e
x
pose.
U
nderexposure can often be corrected by
so
f
tware. Outsi
d
e, it’s o
f
ten
b
etter to s
h
oot in t
he
s
h
a
d
e t
h
an in
d
irect sun
l
ig
h
t.
07> Composition
While the LCD is a
g
ood tool for
g
eneral
com
p
osition, use the o
p
tical viewfi nder (if
y
our
camera has one) to engage the subject more
e
asily. With the optical viewfi nder you see the
su
b
ject wit
h
no
d
e
l
ay an
d
in
h
ig
h
er reso
l
ution,
so t
h
e camera
b
ecomes an extension o
f
yourse
lf
an
d
y
ou’re a
bl
e to en
g
a
g
e wit
h
t
h
e su
bj
ect
more easil
y
. Even with the latest LCD screen
t
echnolo
gy
, the resolution on the LCD never
matches the clarity of seeing something through
th
e optica
l
view
fi
n
d
er wit
h
your own eye
.
08> Memory
Get a
b
i
g
memor
y
car
d
an
d
g
o
b
erser
k
wit
h
t
h
e
number of shots that
y
ou take, don’t
j
ust take
one shot. Shoot off three or four ver
y
q
uick
shots, which gives you the chance to skip any
p
ictures wit
h
c
l
ose
d
eyes, wac
k
y
h
a
lf
-smi
l
es an
d
othe
r
co
mm
o
n
fl
aws.
09> Position
Don’t feel intimidated about askin
g
p
eo
p
le
t
o chan
g
e
p
osition. Be a director! A fun
p
art
o
f the
p
rocess is
g
ettin
g
p
eo
p
le to do thin
g
s
f
or t
h
e p
h
oto. Move peop
l
e aroun
d
to get ri
d
of
d
istracting
b
ac
k
groun
d
e
l
ements. You can
al
so
d
o a
l
itt
l
e post-pro
d
uction cropping wit
h
s
o
f
tware too, i
f
somet
h
in
g
d
oesn’t a
dd
to t
h
e
p
hoto, take it out! Make sure when cro
pp
in
g
t
hat
y
ou kee
p
the
p
hoto’s ori
g
inal as
p
ect ratio
(
approximately), so that the photo doesn’t
b
ecome too wi
d
e or too t
h
in
.
10> Balance
I
f
t
h
ere’s one accessor
y
t
h
at wi
ll
im
p
rove
y
our
p
hoto
g
ra
p
h
y
, it’s a tri
p
od. It eliminates blurr
y
p
hotos com
p
letel
y
and allows
y
ou to use lon
g
er
e
x
p
osure times. Even if a tri
p
od is not available,
t
ry an
d
stea
d
y your
h
an
d
s
b
y resting your e
lb
ows
on your
k
nees or any avai
l
a
bl
e sur
f
ace.
Check out exam
p
les of Brett’s work at
w
ww.creative
p
ix.net
Digital SLRs
With the launch of its brand, Sony has a new
range of digital SLR cameras. The advantages
of digital SLRs are much the same as fi lm SLRs
– you get through-the-lens viewfi nding. Sony’s
DSLR cameras use a mount system based on
the Konica Minolta (KM) lens mount system for
attaching compatible KM and new Sony lenses.
Single-lens refl ex (SLR) cameras have been
popular in the fi lm world for decades. An SLR
gives the photographer the capacity to see
exactly what the photo will look like before taking
the shot. SLR cameras are also more likely to
have switchable lenses, making them the perfect
choice for professional photographers and
serious amateurs alike.
The cameras complement the compact Sony
Cyber-shot range. The Cyber-shot models take
great photos, with resolutions of up to 10 mega
pixels, and they’re the kind of camera you can
carry with you everywhere you go. The DSLR,
however, gives you the capacity to engage the
subject in ways that only an SLR can.
Sony has designed the to make it easy for
point and shooters to make the move to a
digital SLR. A host of automatic settings makes
those fi rst few shots with the new style of
camera easy. These automatic functions can be
progressively turned off as the user becomes
more comfortable with the camera settings. It
also has advanced features like Sony’s sensor-
based Super SteadyShot, which builds anti-shake
technology into the camera’s body: and a special
anti-dust vibration technology that reduces the
risk of dust attaching to the image sensor and
ruining a good photo. There’s also the Eye-Start
Autofocus system, which starts the autofocus as
soon as you bring your eye to the viewfi nder.
Photo: Getty Ima
g
e
s
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on
y
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