PC or MAC?

On first glance it may seem a strange question but of course a computer is essential for any professional or amateur photographer.

A computer allows us to store, display, manipulate and print our images. Of course the great thing about a computer is the software that allows us to work with our images in so many different ways. But is it important that you have a PC or a MAC?

I have to confess that I am a confirmed MAC lover. MACs were tailor-made for photographers and designers and allow you to do so much ‘straight out of the box.’ I use my MAC constantly and it makes my life as a Hull wedding photographer so much easier.

But that doesn’t mean you have to throw your PC out of the window and run down to the nearest Apple shop, a PC can produce great results with the right software though you may find yourself having to upgrade the graphics card.

But, I have to say, if you find yourself in the position of choosing between a MAC or PC – it should be Apple every time!

Making Photographic Mistakes into Art

I called this image 'Sometimes it just works' and I made it yesterday. The story behind the image is not groundbreaking, I wasn't in a peak state nor was I inspired to make an abstract piece of art (you may not even see this image as art and that's totally fine - art has always been subjective - think Damian Hirst!)

In fact, this image happened completely by accident and that's why i like it and why I'm choosing to blog about it.

I was actually preparing to photograph a family for their daughter's graduation celebration, I had attached my 70-200 lens to my Nikon D700 and was just swinging the lens up to frame my scene. On the way up, my finger danced over the shutter and this frame was made. When I previewed what the law of randomness had committed to my camera's sensor, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw on the preview screen.

With a little bit of post production work in Adobe Photoshop CS3, I was able to find and make an image which appeals to my love of abstract images.

I think the point of my article here is to say how dynamic photography can be; when I first started making images, I limited myself creatively - I thought I had to make images like the ones in the instructional books that I was reading at the time. How wrong I was and I probably owe my photographic liberation to an amazing Candian photographer called Freeman Paterson, whose work I was instantly drawn to. After reading his books, I went out with my camera and started looking at things in a completely different way. I started seeing shapes, lines, patterns - a whole manner of things which started to interest me. If you have an interest in abstract art and how a camera can help you find these shapes, I urge you to check out Paterson's work as I'm sure you'll be amazed!

Photography is a truly amazing art form, one that keeps my eye constantly evolving and seeing the world in new ways and for that - I love my job as a Hull Wedding Photographer.

Hull Portrait Photography - Simple is Best!

As a Hull Portrait Photographer, I can never get bored of this image. Shot in the doorway of my neighbour's house, this image of Elliot really shouts of what I love about capturing kids just being themselves. We didn't plan on this picture happening, but I had my camera ready to go for a wedding pre-shoot and when I saw how the sky was bathing his face with such soft, wrappy light I knew that this would be a wonderful image.

The picture was shot with a Nikon D700 fitted with a Nikon 70-200mm 2.8VR lens (totally my favourite lens in the whole world). I think the exposure was around 1/500 @ 2.8 400iso.

My family sessions are all about capturing the true nature of children, really trying to get a feel for what makes them tick and then watching as they play out that true nature. I love my job and wouldn't do anything else in the world, to share with parents the beautiful images of their children makes it so rewarding.

If you would like any more information about my portrait service or if you want tips on how to improve your portrait photography, please drop me a line!

Basics Of Portrait Photography

We all enjoy snapping away with our digital cameras and more often than not we will be taking portraits of friends and partners. Unfortunately, although portraits or head and shoulders photos sound easy enough to take, quite often the results are less than great.

Too close, to far away or heads and other body parts mysteriously missing, let's face it we've all been there.

To help avoid those problems lets look at some basic principles and tips for taking portrait photography.

With a digital camera the problem of missing heads shouldn't be too difficult to solve. Always use the LCD screen to help compose the shot. Ensure everything you want to capture is centred in the screen as the photo produced will be exactly as you see it in the LCD screen.

Unless you are trying to take a professional style close up portrait don't worry about the background. In fact you should use the background to produce a really interesting shot. Now, I'm sure the person whose portrait you are taking is very interesting in their own right, but by allowing the background to add context to the shot the photograph will be enhanced and will really tell a tale about that person and their environment.

Don't worry about 'posing' your portraits as off the cuff or spur of the moment photographs can be the best. Of course, if it doesn't work out and you find the subject had already wandered out of shot when you pressed the shutter button then don't worry. Just delete the picture and move on.

One of the best tips in taking portraits, either posed or spontaneous shots, is to ensure that you fill the frame and use every available bit of space. Everything in the frame of the photo should add something to the portrait.

Another basic factor to consider when taking your portraits is the lighting. Most of us will I suspect be taking the majority of our portraits outdoors in the daylight so lighting won't really be a consideration.

But, if you are taking the photos indoors than there some things you need to think about. If there is natural light coming through a window it can be used to disseminate the shot by adding some nice gentle shadows. Be careful though, if the light is too bright the shadows will too strong though, if the portrait is a posed one, you could use white card to reflect the shadows.

Finally, when taking a portrait remember to focus on the eyes as they are a persons most important, and revealing, feature.

Andy Crozier is a professional Hull portrait photographer

A Question Of Megapixels

I was asked an interesting question this week by someone who wanted to know how many megapixels they should be looking for when they purchase a new digital camera. Unfortunately, like many things, there isn’t really a straight-forward answer – it all depends on what you are going to be doing with your images.

The basic rule is that the more megapixels the larger your printed images can be. For example a 2mp (megapixel) camera will be sufficient for 6x4 inch prints but most of us will be looking for more from our digital camera.

You will be able to produce good A4 sized prints with a 3mp camera but for larger prints you will need at least 4mp. A low cost, low resolution camera will probably not be adequate if you are an interest in photography and displaying your images so I would recommend a digital camera with at least 4 megapixels.

(Andrew Crozier is a Hull Portrait Photographer)

What To Look For In A hand-Held Light Meter

Hand-held light meters are not just for a professional portrait photographer , hobbyists and enthusiasts can also use them to improve their photography.

And it isn’t necessary to buy the high end, all singing and dancing professional range meters either.

As long as the meter offers a good degree of control with ambient and flash readings than it should be good enough for most photographers.

Make sure the unit itself is small and light, don’t make the mistake of buying a light meter that is designed for studio work (unless of course you do want that specification!).

Lastly, shop around on the various Internet sites that supply photography equipment and you are also certain to find a bargain priced model that is just right for you.

See The Light

Although all digital cameras do have a built-in flash for the enthusiastic amateur a hand-held light meter is a very useful piece of kit to keep in the camera bag.

Hand-held light meters are much more accurate than those built into a camera as they not only measure the light reflecting from a subject but, importantly, they also measure the light falling onto the subject. This is something that camera based light meters can’t do.

Obviously, to use a hand-held light meter successfully you will need a digital camera with which you can adjust settings such as shutter speed etc.

Although hand-held light meters aren’t cheap they will do much to enhance your photography and to take it to the next level.

Keep reading this blog for more advice from professional Hull portrait photographer Andrew Crozier.

Thanks For The Support

As a professional Hull portrait photographer I sometimes do need to use a tripod to support the camera, especially when taking indoor portraits in low light when it is essential to keep the camera absolutely steady.

For amateur photographers a tripod is an excellent way to prevent camera shake especially if their equipment doesn’t allow them to control shutter speed.

Tripods of course offer great support and are easy to use. Not quite as portable as a monopod they are still pretty easy to move around.

They do come in different sizes from inexpensive mini models right up to the professional standard that can withstand almost anything the whether can throw at them including quite strong winds.

Don’t Do That Shaky Thing

Camera shake is something that can happen all too easily but can, almost as easily, be rectified.

Camera shake is obviously caused by the camera moving when the photo is taken it can also be represented in your photographs if the shutter speed used is not fast enough. If a moving subject is moving too quickly to be captured by a slow shutter speed than the image will look blurred and ‘shaky’.

To prevent this use a shutter speed that is appropriate to the focal length. Working out which shutter speed to use is quite simple: if the focal length is 100mm than you should use a shutter speed of at least 1/100th second, if focal length is 200mm than use 1/200th second shutter speed etc.

Preventing camera shake is obviously important when I’m taking Yorkshire equestrianism photography for example but there are other ways of controlling the problem which we will discuss later in the week.