Better Pictures, In Camera
Shelton Muller discusses the benefits – both creative and practical – of perfecting your images in the camera…
Digital has revolutionised photography like no other change it has ever known. During the 19th century and on into the 20th, chemical and technological improvements made photography easier and produced higher quality images. However, the simple pixel has changed the way we think about photography, no matter whether you are a family snapshooter or a keen imaging enthusiast.
Photographers who cut their teeth on the meat of film and darkroom learned a vital process that is now being considered less important. That is the process of getting the image right – in camera.
For many, this notion is no longer necessary. With the options to correct composition, exposure, colour balance etc using software, photographers are thinking less about what they do in camera and this is a hindrance both to their photography and to the good use of their time.
Composition and Cropping
The option to crop an image using a photo suite like Paint Shop Pro or Adobe PhotoShop is easy and available. Anyone can do it. However, there are few reasons for this necessity. Composition should be created in the camera, and only finessed using the computer. The photographer may want to create a more exaggerated format, such as a panorama or a square, and so the computer is the logical place to crop that image. However, using software to crop an image unnecessarily only degrades the image for printing as it reduces the amount of pixels across and down.
Exposure and Balance.These days, exposure is one of those things most people leave for the camera to work out. Most of the time, that works quite well.However, technology can only do so much and there are situations where even the most advanced meter will not correctly expose. Not only that, but metering has creative options attached to it also. A photographer can deliberately expose for shadows or highlights to create a certain mood or effect or to highlight the subject.
Also, there are limitations in the sensor – as there was with film – that means that not everything within the frame will retain detail. While the human eye can see details in bright areas and in shadows, digital sensors cannot – at least to the same degree. Understanding and using what you know about the tools available to you in the camera for correct exposure can only produce a higher quality image. Once you start using software to brighten or darken areas of the image you begin the process of image degradation. There is no better training for any photographer than the process of creating images that can be printed straight from the camera. That is, after all, what pre-digital photographers used to do. That is what they usually had to do.
The creative processes that are possible with software should be considered a further creative step, and not a necessary logistical one.
HDR – is it the Life Saver they say it is?
HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging is becoming more popular, and no one is complaining about its availability. However, it shouldn’t change the desire or need to get the image right in camera. Lets have a balanced look at this for a minute.
HDR is a software process that can produce an image with unusual detail in both highlight and shadow from a series of images of the same scene taken at separate exposures. It has been welcomed by photographers, and for good reason. However, it can only really apply to scenes in which there it little if any movement, such as landscapes.
Also, it is yet another time consuming post camera process.Before digital, photographers often used graduated filters to balance their images. Graduated neutral density filters can be used to balance the foreground and background exposure in landscapes, producing a balanced image in the camera that requires little, if any, post processing.
Shelton Muller can be contacted at shelton@total-image.com.au
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