There’s a slightly geeky joke that tickles me. There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don’t. Binary notation gives you two choices: 0 or 1. People can be surprisingly binary at times. Take organisation for instance. Some people are efficient, prepared and ready for all eventualities. Some just aren’t. Guess which type a photographer has to be? Even just turning up at the right time for an event, whether it’s a…

Here at MyPhotoSchool we have some terrific online photography courses, but haven’t talked much about panoramic photography.  So today I want to redress this issue, so this weekend’s photography assignment is to go out and shoot a Panoramic. You go for a burger and fries and you’ll be asked if you want to go large. Buy a TV and the salesman will try to persuade you take out an extended guarantee. It seems that everything has to be bigger these…

In an earlier article I wrote about sharpness. I very briefly mentioned that keeping still when shooting is important if you want to avoid unsharp photos. That’s all good advice of course but how on earth do you keep your camera still when handholding it? Is there a knack to the art? It’s a rare museum that allows you to use a tripod on its premises. This is when Auto ISO comes into its own, altering the ISO (and therefore…

“A picture is worth a thousand words” – this is a quote we’re all familiar with! The idea of course is that a situation, or an idea, that would take a lot of words to describe or explain, can be illustrated by just a single image. Or in other words, a single photograph can tell a story. But some photos tell more of a story than others. So what makes a good storytelling photograph? A photograph of a deserted beach…

Deciding how to compose your photograph can be one of the most fun, but also one of the most challenging, aspects of photography. A good composition is certainly absolutely crucial to the success of any image. A successful composition could be defined as one where there is balance between the different elements in the frame. The use and placement of colour, light and shape all work together to create visual harmony. But how is this achieved? Well, there are some…

Back in the days of film photography, it was difficult to shoot a panoramic photograph without an expensive, specialised camera. But now it’s easy to do – all you need is a digital camera and some suitable software. Later versions of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements include it, and there are also stand-alone software programmes for stitching panoramic photographs.   In essence, you take a series of photos, and the software then stitches them together. Before I first tried it, I…

The great majority of photographers pack their gear away once the sun has gone down – but there are still some amazing outdoor shots to be had even at night. Here are some top tips to help you if you’d like to give night time photography a try! 1. You don’t need to wait until it’s completely dark. At dusk you can retain some colour in the sky, and often the best colours of a sunset appear after the sun…

Panning is a great technique to try if you want to give a sense of movement in a photograph. It’s also ideal if you just want to make a more creative, arty image instead of a straight record shot. There are two types of panning photos – moving the camera to follow a moving subject, and moving the camera while photographing a static subject. The technique is quite similar for both of these. Basically it involves moving the camera while…

A beautiful garden is a pretty tempting subject for a photographer, whether it’s your own backyard, or a fully landscaped public garden complete with a lake and several gazebos. As with any other subject, a little care and thought can elevate your photograph from the ordinary to the special. Here are a few garden photography guidelines: 1. On a sunny day, try to visit the garden early or late in the day to get the best light – the lovely…

Winter is not many people’s favourite season, but even so, it does have some advantages for an outdoor photographer. The light is low throughout the day, which is great for texture and shape in landscape photography. And if you like the idea of photographing at dawn but don’t like getting up early, then winter is perfect, as the sun rises at a much more civilised hour than it does in the summer! One of the other great things that winter…