Water… gorgeous to look at but just as hard to shoot. Reflectivity, composition, texture all play a part when shooting water. And then there’s moving water. Capturing water in motion and being able to show that in a photo is one of the most interesting shots a photographer can take.

Here’s how you can make them look great:

If you permit the automatic settings in your camera to record moving water, chances are it will opt to use a fast shutter speed to eliminate blur. While this gives an accurate depiction of the moving water, it may not create the tone or texture that is desired.

By adjusting camera settings manually, the appearance of moving water can be made smooth and almost “soft”. This is done by choosing a slower shutter speed. If there is adequate light around, you could also choose a slower ISO setting for a more detailed effect. This may require reliance on a tripod to prevent hand shake and blurriness, but the result will be dramatically different than from an automatic settings. The slower the speed of the shutter the blurrier the passing water becomes giving it the softer and opaque appearance.

For blurry water, it is best to begin with one eighth second setting and work down from there, but true smooth water usually is not available until a shutter is open for a full second or more. Also the lower the ISO on the shot, the more likely the image captured is going to be satisfactory. This is where the smallest aperture and highest f/stop will result in the slowest possible shutter speed for the ISO and lighting conditions.

The distance between the camera and the image of water it is capturing changes the effect of shutter speed on the “blur” factor. The closer the camera is to the water the more quickly the blur is captured. Low lighting may exist within many moving water environments and this too will necessitate slower shutter speeds and even tripods.

It is recommended that you experiment with a few shutter speed settings for moving water, and allow the shutter priority to determine the f-stop and aperture on the image. Record which results you find the most appealing and visit other bodies of moving water to further experiment.

Remember that water flows to the sea shore in large waves and gentle lapping tides, it flows from lawn sprinklers and regularly spurts and erupts from public fountains, so experiment at many types of locations.

Water never looks the same at the same point for long. Be sure to move around, change settings and try some interesting stuff. Water won’t disappoint. And neither will you!

Photo by Ajay Verma

While shooting portraits remains a favourite with most amateurs because of the ease of capturing a known face, the freedom of making the subject move as you like to suit the background, lighting and other details is also an added advantage.

Photo by Kumar

Swapan Mukherjee who is a famous fashion photographer maintains, “May it be a grown up or a kid it is always important to break the ice.” While the exercise of breaking the ice with the kids might not be a long one, what with all the exuberant energy in children but Swapan also points out the painful part, “It is essential that the shoot is taking place when the child is in the best of his moods. Also, when shooting with children one can’t really expect them to pose so these will be photo shoots where the photographer will have to follow the subject around. Patience is a virtue in these shoots. One has to be patient when dealing with toddlers.”

While Swapan mentions the need to follow the little subject around, Sameer Belwalkar suggests, “There are some kids who may even surprise you with their skills at posing but if you are shooting the kinds you need to follow around to get a shot then it is best to keep a high shutter speed because you are bound to get a lot of shots in motion and keeping a high shutter speed will help avoid blurred images.”

Another trick that works for Swapan when shooting kids, “I try to get down to their level and may be for a fleeting moment see life the way they do and try and understand what goes on in the little mind of theirs. One can offer chocolates or other goodies to gain confidence or even act funny.”

Photo by Partha Sarathi Bose

“Bribe them all the way, shoots can be made an easy task when shooting with the kids’ favourite toys. I, on most occasions ask parents to carry the kids’ favourite toys or may be even dress them in their favourite clothes!” Sameer adds.

While Swapan talks about breaking the ice with children Vickky Idnaani goes a step further to make sure the kid can be convinced to do what he wants. He says, “The mothers are the best judges of how the photograph has turned out. They are also the ones who know the kid very well and can make them do the cute little things that these toddlers do and can be captured to make a wonderful image. I think it is primarily important to capture the innocence and the energy of the child.”

And how does one make a choice between indoor and outdoor shoots? To which he is quick to respond, “Not that a studio shoot cannot be as successful as an outdoor one, but children are bound to get a little more conscious when in a studio. When outdoors they are in the best of their moods and energy levels remain high as well. Finally it boils down to the photographer’s interaction skills with the kid!”

Photo by Kumar

Sameer on the other hand firmly mentions a priority list on locations for shooting the young ones, “In my opinion it is best to shoot kids in their own house if possible. When in their own turf they might not even mind a stranger clicking their photographs, outdoors can also be a good option and studio should always be left as the last one.”

“Kids are bound to get frenzied and scared with the flashing lights, prompting, etc. shooting with their favourite toys or in their favourite clothes can not only work as a bribe but a little familiarity works for them and makes them comfortable as they attach security to their belongings like these!”

Hope these tips come in handy for all the parents to be, new parents and any one who would love to get a cherubic shot!

It’s all too simple these days with point-and-shoot cameras. But even with these, a little care can go a long way. Find out five common problems that you will encounter. This is how to avoid them or cure them! Take print and carry it around.

Problem: Lackluster composition

An ordinary landscape view can be turned into a stunning photo. One that could adorn calendars or even magazine pages. Just some movement of composition could make it happen.

Tip 1: The Rule of Thirds is a time-honored technique professional photographers use to improve composition. Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid over the image you want to take. Use the intersection of those lines to place your subject slightly off center, and bring interest up or down.

Tip 2: Take photos at various angles and distances to give you more options to choose from. Also experiment with vertical and horizontal camera orientation—you may discover that this simple shift yields interesting results.

Tip 3: Eliminate distracting background clutter by getting closer to your subject. Or try using your camera’s Portrait pre-set mode. This will keep objects close to you in focus, while blurring the background. You can achieve the same effect, known as a shallow depth of field, by manually adjusting your aperture setting to a low f-number, such as f2.8.

Problem: Poor lighting

Digital photography is all about catching that magic moment when the light is just right. But lighting also provides some challenges. These tips will help, whether you’re indoors or out.

Tip 1: Balance bright or dim light

Digital cameras get “confused” by unbalanced conditions, such as a very bright or dim light, causing the camera to under or over expose your photo. In low light conditions, try using your camera’s night shooting mode, or lower the ISO to 50 or 100 to get rich detail in low light. Use a tripod, or steady yourself against a stable object to avoid moving the camera. In bright light, try your camera’s Beach or Sunshine mode, or manually choose a fast shutter speed to control the amount of light that comes in.

Photo by Vinnce

Tip 2: Shooting indoors

Avoid using your flash. Instead, provide as much natural light as possible—open curtains, or even the door. Or use lamps to add light to the scene. Your flash mutes color and casts stark, deep shadows that are especially unflattering in portraits. Don’t place your subject in front of a bright window or they will become a silhouette (although this can be a nice effect when done intentionally). Try placing them off to the side instead, or facing a natural light source.

Tip 3: Shooting outdoors

Try to have the sun behind you when you shoot. This will provide the most flattering light to your subject. Shoot early or later in the day—dawn and dusk provide lovely light, whereas midday light can be harsh. Take advantage of overcast days for photography. That’s when the light is even, and casts almost no shadows.

Problem: Red-eye

The appearance of glowing red eyes can ruin a portrait of even the cutest child or pet. The red color comes from light reflecting off of the retinas in our eyes. The following quick tips can help get the red out.

Tip 1: Try not to use a flash if possible—it is the number one cause of red-eye. Instead, turn on lights or open curtains to add additional light to your scene.

Tip 2: Ask your subject to look toward the camera but not directly at the lens or to look into a bright light first.

Tip 3: Stand farther away from your subject.

Tip 4: Take advantage of in-camera red-eye removal. Many digital cameras and photo printers now allow you to remove red-eye or prevent it altogether. Check your digital camera’s manual to see if it includes these features.

Photo by Sushant S Acharekar

Problem: Blurry photos

While a photo with a dramatic blur can often be artistic (as above), it can also render a subject incomprehensible. Here are some ways to add clarity to your digital photographs.

Tip 1: Reduce shutter lag. The time between pressing the trigger and the camera taking the picture is called shutter lag, and it can cause blurry pictures. Avoid it by pressing the trigger halfway down until you’re ready to shoot. When the right moment comes, press the rest of the way. This strategy is great when you're taking pictures of people (especially kids) or animals. ?

Tip 2: Minimize camera shake. Even the slightest camera movement can cause unclear photos. Use a tripod or brace yourself against a stationary object to hold the camera still. Some digital cameras come with image stabilization, another way to get clear images of moving subjects.

Tip 3: Use your digital camera’s Action shooting mode for sports or other action shots. It automatically optimizes your shutter speed to help capture motion. Or manually increase your camera’s shutter speed to achieve the same effect?

Photo by Sushant S Acharekar

Problem: Low-quality prints

If you plan to print your photographs using a digital photo printer, keep resolution in mind. Resolution is measured in megapixels (MP), and matching the resolution to the print size will help you get clear digital photo prints. Look for detail in photos (like the one above) and your prints should also be on high-quality paper and printer (like the ones Epson makes) for best results.

Tip 1: If you plan to enlarge or crop photos before printing, it’s best to shoot at the highest resolution possible. But high-resolution pictures take up more memory.

Tip 2: If you plan to e-mail images or print smaller sizes, like 4" x 6" or 5" x 7" photos, you can stick to 4-5 MP with no problems.

Tip 3: Many digital cameras let you select the resolution level, so you can determine ahead of time whether you want to shoot a big file with lots of detail, or a quick snapshot you can post to a website or e-mail to friends and family.

There is no rule in photography that your subject has to be clearly identifiable. Abstract photography, for example, consciously strives to create an image without a clear subject.

In other words, abstract photography denotes something that can be interpreted but not seen. The attraction of abstract photography is that it asks us to look beyond the obvious and find a new meaning for ourselves.

For those who are interested in abstract colour photography, where do you look to for inspiration? The answer is simple: all around you! Abstract photography can transform even the most (seemingly) mundane of objects. Pioneer colour photographer Ernst Haas, one of the masters of abstract colour photography, enjoyed shooting peculiarly shaped fragments of peeling paint, torn billboard posters, and even crushed beer cans. Another master of abstract photography, Pete Turner, finds inspiration in subjects as ordinary as plastic garbage cans and beach umbrellas. Look around your home – your kitchen cupboards, your fruit bowl, your jewellery are all potential subjects. If you venture outside, neon shop signs, street lights, traffic lights, modern buildings and wet pavements all create interesting combinations of lights and colour which are just asking to be shot!

Photo by Johnbasco

Another great place to look is the natural world e.g. flowers, rivers, trees. The key to finding subjects for abstract photography is understanding that the world is full of patterns and colours and therefore images!

In much abstract colour photography, the colour, rather than the subject, becomes the dominant element in the composition, as in the following photograph of hot air balloons…

Photo by Anupam Pal

Various techniques can be used to achieve this effect. For example, zooming in on the subject can isolate interesting colour combinations which become subjects in their own right. These photographs work best if you can frame the shot so that the subject is not immediately recognizable. This can be done by showing the subject from an unusual viewpoint, using a longer lens or even a macro lens. In the following photographs, the subject is not obvious at first (or even second) glance. The first is of an umbrella but what is the second? Coat-hangers perhaps? The fact that we cannot be sure doesn’t matter; in fact, it adds to the photo as we are forced to treat it not as an ordinary true-to-life photo but as a work of art.

 Photo by: Samiran Paul

In the following photo, the mass of red dominates the picture; it is only when we look closer that we realise it is a shot of red, autumn leaves.

Photo by: Sangeeta Das

Once you have chosen your subject, you can make it even more interesting. Try spraying water on it – wet surfaces produce fascinating patterns, colours and reflections, as in the shot of a wet pavement given above. Also try varying your lighting by using different colour filters. If you use a digital camera, filters can be added later using Photoshop. Alternatively, de-saturate your image to black and white and then adding a little colour to bring out key aspects of the image. And remember that you need not be limited by the colour combinations you find around you. Try mixing different colours of poster paint on a plate and then shooting them using a 100mm macro lens; you’ll be amazed at the results! In the following photograph the photographer has created her own colour combinations using what appear to be coloured inks:

Photo by: Sangeeta Das

Another common method used in abstract photography is blurring. In the following photograph, the photographer used a slow shutter speed (1/3 sec) to transform an everyday image into something out of a dream: -

Photo by: Sandeep Roy

It is not always essential to give any structure to the arrangement of colours within the frame – what is essential is that the result is comfortable on the eye. Having said that, do bear in mind the points discussed in my previous article on how to use the colour wheel. Notice how, in the photo below, the complementary colours magenta and cyan are used to create a colour combination that is pleasing on the eye:

Photo by: Sanath PC

Last of all, it is important to understand that abstract photography, like abstract art, is subjective and open to various interpretations. Therefore don’t take it too personally if someone doesn’t like your photos; it is likely that someone else will! The important thing is that your photos so challenge the viewer to see beyond the obvious. I’ll leave you with some comments from a Fotoflock member on one of her photos. As these comments prove, the great thing about abstract colour photography is that, instead of representing the real world, it encourages you to step into a new one.

Photo by: Sangeeta Das

"RED shrieked and BLUE fainted. While GREEN tried to revive her, BLACK stood in the corner, sombre, WHITE sat down to meditate. YELLOW laughed at the fracas, PURPLE started solving the mystery and PINK got busy calming us with sweet charm. What will I do with them, I thought. Can't leave them, can't live without them. But how I wish they wouldn't turn my life upside down."