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View Larger Map | Tips for Taking Better Photos
This is where we give practical, realistic examples to help you take better photos.
| | Rule #1 - Don't Shoot Into The Sun... a classic example!
Most modern compact cameras have an automatic exposure system, which also governs the flash. If you are shooting into bright light, the auto exposure system decides that no flash is necessary. Unfortunately, as you can see in the picture on the left, in compensating for the bright sunlight, our subjects look rather dark and washed-out. If you cycle through the flash modes by pressing the flash button continuously, until "constant flash" is selected (usually a steady lightning bolt icon on the display panel of your camera), the autoexposure system is now over-ridden. The flash will now fire, and our subjects are saturated with light, filling in the harsh shadows thrown by the sun. What a difference a little flash makes! Remember to keep nice and close to the subject, so that the full efficiency of the flash is maximised. See? Some rules WERE meant to broken! |
| | Using the same trick, in a similar situation...
Another common example of the camera being "too clever". Again, the auto exposure is tricked into thinking that there is enough light for a good exposure. In comparison, our subject is lost in darkness, resulting in a disappointing silhouette. By using the same method of selecting "constant flash", the result is another pleasing exposure. Cheers, Carol! |
| | How do you like your steak... Medium or Well-done?
Just as we have personal preferences for food most of us also have our own idea of how a photograph should look. Some prefer darker prints and some lighter, some go for warmer colours and some colder. When we print your films we have to choose a print density and colour balance which experience has shown us most people are happy with. |
When the photograph shows something we are all familiar with such as skin tones then our job is fairly easy. It is the one subject that can be used as a guide to obtain the correct "look" of a print.
When we print something that does not contain such an easily recognisable subject then we have to use our own judgement of how the original looked and how the person who took the photograph wants the finished print to look. Take the photographs of the sunset below, we can print this kind of shot either darker to give a more dramatic effect or lighter for a more subtle effect, to say nothing of the varied hues we could introduce.
When asking us to make an enlargement of this kind of shot we prefer that you give as an original print so that we can get an idea of how you feel the finished print should look. Your taste may differ widely from ours but when we know what you like then we will try to give you what you want.
Photography is the one artistic medium that we can all become involved in and it is the one where we can very easily express our own preferences.
What is the "standard" print size and why is my image cropped when I print my photos?
The answer is not as simple as you might think. We are accustomed to having photographs printed as "post card" size prints measuring 4" x 6" or 10 x 15 cm. This size was logical when we used film as the proportions of the print was the same as the proportions of the 135 negative which measures 24 x 36 mm i.e. a ratio of 2 to 3. Being the same proportions the print logically was without any cropping.
When digital cameras first appeared the image produced was of different proportions i.e. 3 to 4 or basically the same proportions as TVs and computer monitors of the time. Was the thinking that people would mostly view their digital images on a screen rather than print them?. The problem with recording images to this 3 :4 proportions became obvious when a photograph was printed to a "postcard" size as some of the original image was cropped out. When we consider that the files produced by these early cameras were less than 1 mega pixel there was perhaps a marketing reason for keeping this 3 : 4 ratio as changing it to 2 : 3 would reduce the pixel count and make the camera specifications appear lower but with average camera producing files of 10 - 12 mega pixels this reason is no longer valid.
| | | Image produced with camera on 3:4 ratio, to print whole image it should be printed as a 10 x 13.6 cm. or D46 size print |
| | When image is printed as a 4x6 (10x15cm) print the shaded areas in red will be cropped out. This image is similar to the solution Canon offers |
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Most manufacturers, with the exception of possibly the two biggest , Canon and Nikon, have included an option of producing images in this 2 : 3 ratio. Canon does provide in their compact cameras a 2 to 3 ratio framing option,see above, but this is less than satisfactory as it is difficult to ensure the picture is framed within the 2 :3 un shaded area on the screen.
So if you want to print your photographs to a standard "postcard" size that will fit a standard photo frame then ensure you have selected the 2 :3 ratio option when setting up your camera. If you do not have this option on your camera we can print to what we call D46 which gives you a print size of approx 10.2 x 13.5 cm.or you can individually crop your prints using our Digital Photo Kiosks to ensure the finished print is as you want it.
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