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Brett Harkness Photography Training 2009
Digital Photography Training - Immediately Improve Your Photographs!
Are you interested in digital photography training? Have you bought a digital camera and you aren't quite sure of the best way to obtain the beautiful photos you KNOW you're capable of shooting? Well, you could be in luck! I'm about to provide you with a photography technique which will lift your pictures to the next level - As well as it's entirely gratis.
First let me preface this with a caution…
This technique works! It really works in no time and works for everyone. And as described, it's gratis.
But, it's not among the exotic, sexy sounding (frequently useless) photo tips we are used to reading.
Here is the bad news…this strategy is downright boring. However the trade off is that you may see an instantaneous improvement in your pictures - no matter what level you might be currently starting from.
Would you be prepared to accept a few hours of boredom for a lifetime of stunning pictures?
Sounds good? Ok, here we go.
The initial technique you need to employ as part of your digital photography training would be to - read your camera handbook!
Have you studied it? Lately? Ever? Are you able to even locate it?
Subsequently read the manual for your flash, then every other equipment guidebook you'll have gotten.
I might venture to speculate that 90% of all the difficulty you meet within your photography may be easily resolved if you had a thorough understanding of the equipment and how it works.
Plus, while you read and as you discover all the interior workings and amazing things your camera can perform, resourceful ideas will start popping into your head
Get your instruction booklet - plus your camera - start with the first page and proceed through the manual page by page. Be sure to locate all of the buttons, try every one of the settings and so on…Don't turn to the next page until you entirely comprehend the page you are on.
This tactic isn't just for digital photography training but also for film pictures too! Sit down - today - and start going through your instruction manual. Go ahead, yawn and be bored, but tomorrow your photos will likely be better - and can get even increasingly more stunning in the future.
About the Author
To learn more about <a href="http://www.OnTargetPhotoTraining.com">Digital Photography Training</a>, and to get a FREE copy of my new e-book:
"7 Secrets To Creating Stunning Photos!"
Check out my website at:
<a href="http://www.OnTargetPhotoTraining.com">http://www.OnTargetPhotoTraining.com</a>
Frequently Asked Questions...
Need help at pet photography?
As my mom is a dog trainer, so i was thinking maybe i can make some extra money from that, by taking pictures as they are training, portraits etc. But all my practice shots are kind of dull and completely unusable. I've been experimenting with my camera with all mods( P;A;S;M), WB etc. I tried everything but can't adjust my camera to get some useful shots, colors are terrible and as dog are moving constantly almost, its all in blurry, maybe someone can help me to adjust camera to get some useful shots.
I own Sony A230 camera, 18-55mm lens, 75-300 mm lens and external flash; nothing REALLY good, but that's what i've got. 
Answer:
First, read the manual for your camera. It tells you how to use it. You need to learn the basics of photography, and everyone goes through the hit and miss beginner stage.
Read carefully the information about white balance. Most of your color problem is probably here. For the moment, set the white balance to Auto. After you get comfortable with exposure you can fuss with the color. You may have a slight color cast in the photos but this can be mitigated in post processing.
Set the lens to auto focus on only one thing. If the lens can follow focus, great, but right now you don't need it doing the thinking. When shooting animals I find it really helpful to focus on a specific plane and let the animal walk into the shot. Don't try to follow the animal yet. As you improve you can learn to pan to follow the movement, but right now just get it in focus.
Read and study the part about the light meter. It is your best friend.
Now you have to work:
There are 3 elements to a proper exposure: ISO (sensitivity), shutter speed, and aperture.
At this point you want to freeze the dog in the shot. You need a fast shutter speed. The shutter scale is:
1 2 B 1 2 4 8 15 30 60 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 (and beyond on some cameras).
If the dog is stacked or sitting you can shoot at 125, otherwise you will want 250 or larger. The larger the number the faster the shutter opens and closes to let in the light. To freeze motion you want to use a fast shutter. If the dog is moving and you shoot it at a slower speed, you will get blur.
So, you have determined you need a 250th of a second shutter speed. Now you have to figure out the other two elements of exposure. Which ever you choose will affect the other so it can be a balance between depth of field, which is a function of the aperture and ISO, which affects noise.
As you want the dog to be the star of the photo, you want as much of the background out of focus as possible. This requires a wide aperture. The scale is:
(2.0. 2.8,) 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22
Your lenses don't go to 2, they probably say something 3.5 - 5.6 on them. This means the maximum aperture - the hole in the lens that lets the light in - is 3.5 when the lens is zoomed out all the way (as wide a view as possible). The widest aperture is 5.6 when it is zoomed in all the way (narrowest view.) You want to set it as wide as you can so use the smaller number. The smaller the number, the bigger the hole (aperture) and the less appears in focus. This means that what you focus on is sharp, but the background isn't (or at least isn't as much - these lenses are not the best for isolating a subject. But, they are what you have.) You may want to blur the background in post processing.
To get the shutter and aperture where you need them, you have to choose the ISO to match. Use the light meter and increase or decrease the ISO to get you the shutter and aperture settings you need. If the ISO is high, the images may be noisy - that multicolored mud in the shadows. This can sort of be fixed.
Try to shoot outdoors in the late afternoon or early morning if at all possible. Until you are very comfortable manually controlling the exposure I'd leave the flash aside for the moment. Once you have natural light down, break it out and ask again.
Remember: The dog is in charge (my mom trained dogs too.)
good luck, hope this helps
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