Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Let's start with a critique of one of my own

Snow may seem like a great place to take photos, but for many reasons this setting can have adverse results. For example, if an amateur photographer has the "white balance" set to automatic, the camera will most likely misread the color balance necessary for the scene and create a blue tinted snow. Another example of why snow is such a tricky element is that the color white is a natural reflector of light. Now this can be very helpful for photographers try to slightly brighten a dim scene, but an excess amount results in the photo I am showing here. The snow is greatly underexposed along with the boy as you can tell by the dullness of his blue jacket. How can we fix this? For those using a simple digital camera, it is very likely that your camera has a snow setting made specifically to counter these problems, but if not, you can also adjust the exposure that your photos are taken. Try searching your manual for either of these. For those using a film SLR, this is a perfect scenario to practice your bracketing skills. If you don't know what that is, it is the practice of taking three of each shot-one at the exposure you believe appropriate, one under it, and one above it. For those using a digital SLR, bracketing is also a great tool, but you have the advantage of being able to look at your photos on the spot. Don't forget to do this, and adjust appropriately while you are there rather than taking a bundle without seeing if they turned out.

I hope this was helpful! Send your photos to me at photo.critique.made.unique@gmail.com and I will give you the same help!

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