Upon observing repeating patterns in the subjects, you may find them pleasing to shoot. Of course, some things are not so readily apparent. Anyhow, if you’re on a photographic walkabout, watch out for repeating patterns.

Note that these patterns also exist in organic subjects (sometimes arranged by Mother Nature herself)…

Once you’ve mastered this, go one step further to introduce an element that breaks the repeating pattern. Finding this element is of course a whole new challenge but will allow your photograph something for the audience’s eyes to latch on to.

Many people like to use their onboard B&W conversion when shooting with their cameras. Or simply use the Desaturate function in Photoshop (PS). Here’s a quick and dirty method that will give you more flexibility for converting colour photographs into B&W. Note there are 1001 ways to do the conversion but I like using the Channel Mixer.

The Channel Mixer is a relatively powerful tool. It can be accessed in PS by these menus - Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer. I actually use this in the Layers mode but that is another discussion for another day. Once you understand this concept, you can easily apply it to any photo for conversion.

Here’s the original photo…

Now, click on Monochrome and pull the Red channel to 100% (leaving the other two channels as zero)

If you select 100% of Green…

And Blue 100%

Achieving the desired result requires you to mix and match the percentages of Red, Green and Blue channels and they do not necessarily have to add up to 100% (you can go beyond). Here’s what I chose for this. There are specific guidelines as to how your black and white photos should look like but they are only guidelines not gospel.

Final Result Red 80%, Blue 20%

Compare it with the simple Desaturate function…

You will see that the Channel Mixer method yields more details and contrast in the clouds and the reflections especially.

Good luck!

Hi, I’ve just realised that I haven’t introduced myself.

My name is Christopher Chong - just some regular person who happens to like photography. I’m also thankful for the invitation to be a part of Digisniper.

I also like playing with cameras - they make rather nice toys for adults.

But, as I’m only beginning to learn, it’s not the camera that matters. Rather, it’s all about technique.

BTW, I currently have an obsession with buying new tripods and camera bags. It’s a terrible way to spend money.

I’m a born-again photographer of sorts. I used to shoot a lot with my dad’s Canon AE-1 as a kid (and bought another two once I entered university). However, my creativity had reached its limits - mainly because I couldn’t afford to keep experimenting with various shots. After all, it costs quite a bit of money to buy and develop film.

Digital photography changed all that, though. In the past 5 years (from my first 2.0-megapixel Olympus compact right up to my current Nikon D70) I have learnt so much more about photography than I ever did with film.

I don’t consider myself a great photographer by any stretch of imagination - a monthly peek into Practical Photography at newsstands confirms this. However, I would like to share my knowledge so that newcomers may also learn how to take better pictures as quickly as possible.

You can’t teach people to see, but you can teach them the right techniques.

And now for the shameless plug: View my blog, The Occasional Mumble, for more about me, my life and the various things that happen during it.

*Note: This tip only really applies to DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera users, since the lenses on these cameras have filter threads (required for attaching a photo filter of any sort).

If you look at magazines or postcards, you might notice that the ocean and skies always seem a little bluer or that the grass looks a little greener. And when you go to the exact same location and shoot the same picture (at the same angle), chances are that it looks nothing like the photo shot by the professional.

That’s because professionals (and some budding enthusiasts) use polarising filters - a little piece of special glass that you screw on to the front of your lens that helps cut out reflections.

Please refer to the following pics:

Both pictures were taken in quick succession with the same camera and lens. The weather and lighting conditions didn’t change either. So why do they look so different?

The first shot was taken without a polarising filter, and all of the light from the sky is reflected off the river and the plants. In the second shot, a polarising filter is used to cut off some of the reflections - even off the trees - to produce a much nicer picture.

Why this works:
Basically, all light waves oscillate transversely as they go through any space - the polarity (that is, the angle of oscillation) is mainly dependent on either the source of light or the angle of a plane that reflects the light.

A Polarising Filter basically cuts off light waves along a particular polarity. In photography, a polarising filter is normally used to cut out reflections (rivers, glass doors, etc) and specular highlights on objects (such as the reflective sheen on tarmac during sunset). By doing so, the natural colour of the object (such as the green of leaves or the colour of a car) is more easily captured by the camera.

If you’ve been following closely, you’ll also see that only light of a particular polarity can be cut off with a single polarising filter at a time. Hence, it’s impossible to cut out all the reflections in a given scene, unless there’s only one plane.

The polarising filter itself can be rotated to cut out light from the desired plane of polarity. The best way to see how this works is to try it out yourself.

Why this is necessary:
Strictly speaking, a polariser isn’t 100% necessary for all outdoor shots. After all, there are times when you might acually want reflections in your pictures. They’re also not so good for hand-held night-time photography, since you’ll be cutting off even more light, which would mean even higher required ISO settings or longer exposures. It’s really up to you and how you want to compose a shot.

Additional information:
For digital cameras, you’ll need to get yourself a Circular Polarising Filter (commonly marked as “C.PL” filters). Apparently, standard polarising filters have some unwanted side-effects on the metering systems used and may result in under- or over-exposed shots.

Also, make sure you get a filter in the correct size for your lens - there’s usually a marking on it that says how many mm the diameter of the filter thread is. Unfortunately, most lenses have different filter thread sizes, which means that you’ll have to either buy a few of the same filters or get a large one and several filter adapters. Generally, larger filters tend to cost more.

Conclusion:
If you’re shooting in bright daylight and your shots have too many distracting reflections in them, try a Circular Polarising Filter - sure beats Photoshopping everything later on.

When starting out with photography, it’s easy to think that your camera’s flash is only needed indoors or in the dark. But on the contrary, a flash can be very useful in bright shooting conditions.

Also known as using a “fill-in” flash, the idea is that available light (whether natural or artificial) may not always light up your subjects properly. Either that, or the contrast between your subjects and their backgrounds may be too strong. To remedy this, simply use your camera’s built-in flash (or add-on flash unit) to balance out the lighting.

Here are a couple of pictures to better illustrate this:

In the first picture, you’ll see that the lantern looks fine but the street in the background is blown out. This is because the lantern is in the shade and needs more light to be properly exposed.

To solve this problem, a fill-in flash is used to illuminate the lantern (second picture). This reduces the difference in brightness between the foreground and background, allowing you to capture details in both.

Why this works:
In the 2nd shot, the camera’s shutter and aperture are adjusted for the background (which is brighter) while the flash lights up the lantern (which is darker). This works because flashguns have a limited range and weaken with increased distance. This is why the background isn’t blown out by the flash. In contrast, the lantern was lit properly is because I was standing close enough to it.

The proper exposure is handled automatically by most modern cameras, so don’t worry - just enable your flash and it’ll sort itself out.
Why this is necessary:
Like film, the sensors in digital cameras have limited dynamic range. That is, they cannot capture as much contrast as the human eye. Techniques such as this reduce the difference in brightness so that the picture appears more like how the human eye would see it in real life.

Additional information:
There are some issues abut using a flash - some of which are probably more suited to an advanced article about flashes and lighting (i.e. Sync speeds, ISO settings, the effects of varying aperture). When I find time, I’ll write about these.

Do take note that using a flash excessively will drain your camera’s batteries faster (especially if you’re using a compact digicam).
Conclusion:
If you find your subjects too dark or your backgrounds too bright, try using a flash - it helps!