Photography Articles

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

Your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D is capable of amazing close-ups. For great close-up shots, start with the basic capture settings. Then try the following additional settings and techniques to take great close-ups on your Canon camera: Check your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D owner’s manual to find out the minimum close-focusing distance of your lens. How “up close and personal” you can be to your subject depends on your lens, not on the camera body. Take control of depth of field by setting the camera mode to Av (aperture-priority autoexposure) mode. Whether you want a shallow, medium, or extreme depth of field depends on the point of your photo. For the scene shown below, for example, setting the aperture to f/5.6 blurred the background, helping the subjects stand out from the similarly colored background. But if you want the viewer to clearly see all details throughout the frame—for example, if you’re shooting a product shot for your company’s sales catalog—go the other direction, stopping down the aperture as far as possible. Remember that zooming in and getting close to your subject both decrease depth of field. Back to that product shot: If you need depth of field beyond what you can achieve with the aperture setting, back away, zoom out, or both. (You can always crop your image to eliminate excess background.) When shooting flowers and other nature scenes outdoors, pay attention to your Canon’s shutter speed. Even a slight breeze may cause your subject to move, causing blurring at slow shutter speeds. Experiment with adding flash for better outdoor lighting. As with portraits, a bit of flash can improve close-ups when the sun is your primary light source. You may need to reduce the flash output slightly, via your Canon camera’s Flash Exposure Compensation control. Remember that turning on the built-in flash limits the maximum shutter speed to 1/200 second, however, and that mixing sunlight with flash light may affect image colors. When shooting indoors, try not to use flash as your primary light source. Because you’re shooting with your Canon at close range, the light from your flash may be too harsh even at a low Flash Exposure Compensation setting. If flash is inevitable, turn on as many room lights as possible to reduce the flash power that’s needed. To get really close to your subject, invest in a macro lens or a set of diopters. A macro lens enables you to focus at a very short distance so that you can capture even the tiniest of critters or, if you’re not into nature, details of an object. A 90mm macro lens was used to snap an image of the ladybug below just before she got annoyed and flew away home. Notice how shallow the depth of field is. The extreme background blurring is due to the long focal length of the lens and the short distance between the lens and the subject. An f-stop of f/10 was used, which may seem high when you’re going for a shallow depth of field. But because the focal length and subject distance already combined for a very shallow depth of field, a higher f-stop was needed to keep the entire subject in the focus zone. Unfortunately, a good macro lens isn’t cheap, regardless of which Canon camera you’re using; prices range from a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars. If you enjoy capturing the tiny details in life, though, it’s worth the investment. For a less-expensive way to go, you can spend about $40 for a set of diopters, which are like reading glasses that you screw onto your lens. Diopters come in several strengths — +1, +2, +4, and so on — with a higher number indicating a greater magnifying power. With most sets, you can stack one diopter on top of another for increased power. The downside of a diopter is that it typically produces images that are very soft around the edges, a problem that doesn’t occur with a good macro lens. Want to learn more? Check out our Canon EOS Rebel Ti8/850D Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

When you select an Image Quality setting on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D that results in a JPEG image file—that is, any setting other than Raw—also experiment with the Auto Lighting Optimizer feature. Unlike Highlight Tone Priority on your Canon, which concentrates on preserving highlight detail only, Auto Lighting Optimizer tries to improve underexposed, low-contrast, or high-contrast shots by adjusting both shadows and highlights. The adjustment is made as the image is captured by your Canon camera. In the Basic Zone exposure modes, you have no control over how much adjustment is made. But in P, Tv, Av, and M modes, you can decide whether to enable Auto Lighting Optimizer. You also can request a stronger or lighter application of the effect than the default setting, which is Standard. The following image offers an example of the impact of each Auto Lighting Optimizer setting. Given the level of improvement that the Auto Lighting Optimizer correction made to this photo, it may seem crazy to ever disable this feature on your Canon camera. But it’s important to note a few points: The level of shift that occurs between each Auto Lighting Optimizer setting varies depending on the subject. This particular example shows a fairly noticeable difference between the High and Off settings. But you don’t always see this much impact from the filter. Even in this example, it’s difficult to detect much difference between Off and Low. Although the filter improved this particular scene, at times you may not find it beneficial. For example, maybe you’re purposely trying to shoot a backlit subject in silhouette or produce a low‐contrast image. Either way, you don’t want the camera to insert its opinions on the exposure or contrast you’re trying to achieve. Enabling Auto Lighting Optimizer may slow your shooting rate. That slowdown occurs because the filter is applied after you capture the photo, while the camera is writing the data to the memory card. In some lighting conditions, Auto Lighting Optimizer can produce an increase in image noise. Noise becomes more apparent when you enlarge a photo. It also tends to be most visible in areas of flat color. The corrective action taken by Auto Lighting Optimizer can make some other exposure‐adjustment features less effective. So turn it off if you don’t see the results you expect when you’re using the following features: Exposure compensation. Flash compensation. Automatic exposure bracketing. You can’t use this feature while Highlight Tone Priority is enabled. In fact, as soon as you turn on that feature, the camera automatically disables Auto Lighting Optimizer. You can view the current Auto Lighting Optimizer setting in the Quick Control and Live View displays; look for the icon representing the setting in the areas labeled below. Notice the vertical bars in the graphic—the number of bars tells you how much adjustment is being applied. Two bars, as you see above, represent the Standard setting; three bars, High; and one bar, Low. The bars are replaced by the word Off when the feature is disabled. By default, the Auto Lighting Optimizer level is set to Standard for the P, Tv, and Av modes. In M mode, the feature is disabled by default. You can adjust these settings in two ways: Shooting Menu 2: Choose Auto Lighting Optimizer, as shown on the left in the image you see next, to display the settings screen shown on the right below. Here, you can select the level of adjustment you want to apply. Just below the four adjustment-level symbols, notice the check box next to the Info label. This is the option that determines whether Auto Lighting Optimizer is applied in the M exposure mode. By default, the box is checked, as in the image above, telling the camera not to make the adjustment during manual exposure. If you do want to add the adjustment, tap the check box or press the Info button to toggle the check mark off. Tap Set or press the Set button to return to Shooting Menu 2. Quick Control method: You also can adjust the setting using the Quick Control method. After pressing Q or tapping the Q symbol to shift to Quick Control mode, highlight the Auto Lighting Optimizer icon and press Set (or just tap the symbol). You’re presented with the same options screen you see in the image above. If you’re not sure what level of Auto Lighting Optimizer might work best or you’re concerned about the other drawbacks of enabling the filter, consider shooting the picture in the Raw file format. For Raw pictures, the camera applies no post‐capture tweaking, regardless of whether this filter or any other one is enabled. Then, by using Canon Digital Photo Professional, the software provided free with the camera, you can apply the Auto Lighting Optimizer effect when you convert your Raw images to a standard file format. If you want to learn more about your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D, check out our Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

Aperture and shutter speed give you refined control over your Canon camera pictures. Which Creative Zone exposure mode on the Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D you choose determines your level of control over aperture and shutter speed and also determines the method you use to adjust those settings. Here’s the scoop on adjusting aperture and shutter speed on your Canon Rebel. P: You can choose from different combinations of aperture and shutter speed, but have no direct control over either. To view the camera’s recommended combination, compose your shot and then press the shutter button halfway. To select a different combination of the two settings, rotate the Main dial. Tv: You control shutter speed; adjust that setting by rotating the Main dial. After selecting the shutter speed, frame your shot and press the shutter button halfway to initiate autoexposure metering. The displays then show the aperture setting that the camera selected to expose the picture at your chosen shutter speed and the current ISO. Av: The opposite of Tv mode, Av mode enables you to set the f-stop while the camera selects the shutter speed. Rotate the Main dial to set the aperture setting you want to use. Then frame your subject and press the shutter button halfway. The camera then displays the shutter speed it selected. Even though you’re in aperture-priority mode and so concentrating on the f-stop, always check the shutter speed that the camera selected for you. If the shutter speed drops so low that handholding the camera or capturing a moving subject won’t be possible, you can either open the aperture (choose a lower f-stop number) or dial in a higher ISO setting, which will enable the camera to select a faster shutter speed at your preferred f-stop. M (manual exposure): You set both aperture and shutter speed. Use these techniques: Adjust shutter speed. Rotate the Main dial.In M mode, you have access to Bulb mode, which keeps the shutter open as long as you keep the shutter button pressed fully down. To get to the Bulb setting, go one step past the slowest possible normal shutter speed (30 seconds). Adjust aperture. Rotate the Quick Control dial. Be sure to use the Main dial to lock in your setting when working in the P, Tv, or Av modes. In those modes, rotating the Quick Control dial applies an exposure adjustment called Exposure Compensation. In the Av, Tv, and M exposure modes, you also can adjust the exposure settings on your Canon camera as follows: For viewfinder photography, use Quick Control mode. After pressing the Q button or tapping the Q touchscreen symbol, highlight the setting you want to change and then rotate the Main dial. The Quick Control method doesn’t work in Live View mode, unfortunately. In Live View mode, use the touchscreen. Just tap the setting on the touchscreen to display a screen that offers the available values for that setting. A few more words of wisdom related to aperture and shutter speed for the Canon EOS Rebel T8i/80D: Check the meter for guidance in M exposure mode. Of course, you don’t have to follow the camera’s guidance—you can take the picture using any settings you like, even if the meter indicates that the image will be under‐ or overexposed. In Live View mode, keep an eye on the Exp Sim symbol. The live monitor preview updates as you adjust exposure settings to show you the change in image brightness. But if the camera can’t display an accurate preview, the Exp Sim symbol in the lower-right corner of the screen appears dimmed. (This happens, for example, when you use flash.) In P, Tv, and Av mode, the shutter speed or f‐stop value blinks if the camera isn’t able to select settings that produce a good exposure. If the problem is too little light, try raising the ISO or adding flash to solve the problem. If there’s too much light, lower the ISO value or attach an ND (neutral density) filter, which is sort of like sunglasses for your lens—it simply cuts the light entering the lens. (The neutral part just means that the filter doesn’t affect image colors, just brightness.) Say “nay” to Safety Shift. If you dig into the Custom Functions warehouse found on Setup Menu 5, you find Custom Function 4, Safety Shift. This feature, when enabled, gives the Canon camera permission to fiddle with your chosen f-stop in Av mode or shutter speed in Tv mode if it thinks that you’re headed for an exposure disaster. The option is disabled by default, and that’s how you should probably leave it. The recommendation is based on a couple of assumptions. First, if you’re using Av or Tv mode, it’s because you want to be the one controlling the f-stop or shutter speed. If you wanted the camera to stick its nose into your business, you’d shoot in Scene Intelligent Auto or P mode. Second, the camera does alert you to impending doom by blinking the f-stop or shutter speed value in the displays, as mentioned earlier. If you pay attention to those signals, you can decide how you want to solve the problem. You—not the camera. Finally, if Auto ISO is enabled, the camera is already free to adjust ISO as an exposure assist—although, granted, it may not be able to choose an ISO low enough to avoid overexposure or high enough to prevent underexposure. On some higher-end Canon models, you can give the camera a couple of options for how it responds when it senses exposure peril in Av or Tv modes. But on the T8i/850D, you either can say “yay” or “nay,” which means that you don’t really know how your settings will be adjusted. So for most, Safety Shift is a no-brainer: Keep it turned off. You can adjust the exposure results that you get in the P, Tv, and Av modes. When you use these semi-automatic exposure modes, the settings that the camera selects are based on what it thinks is the proper exposure. If you don’t agree with your Canon camera, you have two options. Option one is to switch to manual exposure (M) mode and simply dial in the aperture and shutter speed that deliver the exposure you want. Or if you want to stay in P, Tv, or Av mode, your other option is to try using exposure compensation. Want to learn more? Check out our Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

You can record audio on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i by attaching an external microphone to the camera or using the built-in microphone. (Either way, options on Shooting Menu 1 enable you to control sound recording for your Canon camera. In Scene Intelligent Auto and other Basic Zone modes on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i, you have limited control over the audio portion of your movie: You can choose to record sound or disable audio recording. Make your preferences known through the Sound Recording option on Shooting Menu 1. When you set the camera to P, Tv, Av, or M exposure mode, you get a larger set of audio recording options. To explore them, choose Sound Recording from Shooting Menu 1, as shown on the left below, to display the screen shown on the right. If you’re new to sound recording on your Canon camera, explore the next few sentences to discover the audio meter at the bottom of the right screen. An audio meter provides guidance about the sound level being picked up by the microphone. Stereo audio contains two channels, left and right, so you see a volume meter for each channel. Note that although the built-in Canon mic is a stereo mic, you can’t control the channels individually, so both meters always reflect the same data when you record on your Canon camera using that microphone. Audio levels are measured in decibels (dB). Levels on the volume meter range from—40 (very, very soft) to 0 (as loud as can be measured digitally). The goal is to set the audio level so that sound peaks consistently in the -12 range. The indicators on the meter—the notches that run horizontally across the L and R bars of the meter—turn yellow in this range. The extra space beyond that level, called headroom, gives you both a good signal and a comfortable margin of error. But if the sound is too loud, the volume indicators peak at 0, with the last notch on the meter turning red, warning you that the audio may be distorted. With Audio Meters 101 out of the way (was that the easiest class ever, or what?), here’s the rest of what you need to know about the three options on the Sound Recording settings screen on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i: Sound Rec.: You get three choices: Auto: At the default setting, Auto, the camera adjusts sound volume automatically. You may want to open the menu screen and take a look at the audio meter before you begin recording to make sure that the sound levels aren’t too high or too low at the Auto setting. Disable: Choose Disable to record a video without sound. When this setting is in force, a microphone and the word Off appear at the top of the Live View screen, as shown in the left screen below. Manual: Select Manual if you want to set the audio recording levels yourself and also to gain access to the additional settings described next. When you opt for this setting, a minimalist version of an audio meter appears in the lower-left corner of the Live View screen, as shown on the right below. Rec. Level: This option—the one bordered by the red selection box on the left below—enables you to adjust the audio level after you switch to manual volume control. The volume scale to the right of the option name shows the current setting; to make an adjustment, tap the option name or highlight it and press Set. You see the screen shown on the right below. To change the volume level, tap the triangles at the end of the scale or rotate the Quick Control dial. As you do, a white marker appears atop the scale to indicate the new level; the blue marker, the original level. Tap Set or press the Set button to return to the Sound Recording menu screen. Wind Filter/Attenuator: Regardless of whether you select Auto or Manual as your Canon’s Sound Recording method, you also can enable or disable the following two features. Choose Wind Filter/Attenuator from the main Sound Recording screen (left screen above) to access the features. They work as follows: Wind Filter: Ever seen a newscaster out in the field, carrying a microphone that looks like it’s covered with a big piece of foam? That foam thing is a wind filter. It’s designed to lessen the sounds the wind makes when it hits the microphone. You can enable a digital version of the same thing via the Wind Filter option. By default, the Wind Filter is set to Auto, and the camera decides whether to apply it and at what strength.Essentially, the filter works by reducing the volume of noises that are similar to those made by wind. The problem is that some noises not made by wind can also be muffled when the filter is enabled. So when you’re indoors or shooting on a still day, keep this option set to Disable. Also note that when you use an external microphone, the Wind Filter feature has no effect. Attenuator: This feature is designed to eliminate distortion that can occur with sudden loud noises. Experiment with enabling this feature if you’re shooting in a location where this audio issue is possible. The internal microphone may pick up sounds made by the camera’s autofocusing system, especially if you use an older lens. (Newer Canon lenses offer quieter autofocusing operation.) The best solution is to use an external microphone for your Canon camera or lock in autofocusing before you start recording.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

Getting the settings right for you Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D isn’t as straightforward as you might think. For some Canon camera options, such as exposure mode, aperture, and shutter speed, the best settings depend on your subject, lighting conditions, and creative goals. But for certain basic options, the same Canon camera settings work well for almost every scenario. The table below offers recommendations for these settings. The following image shows the information display on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D, where you can see the current status of many of these settings. (You may need to press the shutter button halfway or press the DISP button to view the screen.) Don’t forget that by pressing the Q button or tapping the Q touchscreen symbol, you activate Quick Control mode, which enables you to adjust settings right from the screen. To adjust the following settings, you must be in advanced exposure modes: P, Tv, Av, or M. Other modes prevent you from accessing settings that can be critical for capturing certain subjects, especially in difficult lighting. All-Purpose Picture-Taking Settings for a Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D Option Recommended Setting Image Quality Large/Fine (JPEG), Raw, or cRaw (CR3) Drive mode Action photos, Continuous Low or High; all others, Single ISO 100 Metering mode Evaluative Exposure Compensation (P, Tv, and Av modes only) Set as needed; raise value for brighter exposure, lower for darker exposure AF Operation mode Moving subjects, AI Servo; stationary subjects, One Shot AF Area Selection mode Moving subjects, Auto Selection; stationary subjects, Single Point White Balance Auto (AWB), Ambient Priority Auto Lighting Optimizer Standard for P, Tv, and Av modes; Disable for M mode Picture Style Auto Want to learn more about operating your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D? Check out our Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

Getting familiar with the concept of depth of field is one of the biggest steps you can take to taking better shots on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D. Not sure what depth of field means? Here’s a quick overview: Depth of field refers to the distance over which objects in a photograph appear acceptably sharp. With a shallow depth of field, the subject is sharp, but objects in front of and behind it appear blurry. The farther an object is from the subject, the blurrier it looks. With a large depth of field, the zone of sharp focus extends to include objects at a greater distance from your subject. Which arrangement works best depends on your creative vision and your subject. In portraits, for example, a classic technique is to use a shallow depth of field, as in the example shown below. But for landscapes, you might choose to use a large depth of field, as shown in the following image. Because the historical marker, lighthouse, and cottage are all sharp, they have equal visual weight in the scene. Again, though, which part of the scene appears blurry when you use a shallow depth of field depends on the spot at which you establish focus. Consider the lighthouse scene: Suppose you opted for a short depth of field and set focus on the lighthouse. In that case, both the historical marker in the foreground and the cottage in the background might be outside the zone of sharp focus. So how do you manipulate depth of field? You have three points of control: Aperture setting (f‐stop): The aperture is one of three main exposure settings on your Canon camera. Depth of field increases as you stop down the aperture (by choosing a higher f‐stop number). For shallow depth of field, open the aperture (by choosing a lower f‐stop number). This image offers an example. Notice that the tractor in the background is in much sharper focus in the first shot, taken at f/20, than in the second image, shot at f/2.8. Lens focal length: Focal length, which is measured in millimeters, determines what the lens “sees.” As you increase focal length, the angle of view narrows, objects appear larger in the frame, and—the important point in this discussion—depth of field decreases. Additionally, the spatial relationship of objects changes as you adjust focal length. For example, the next image compares the same scene shot at focal lengths of 138mm and 255mm. The aperture was set to f/22 for both examples. Whether you have any focal‐length flexibility depends on your lens. If you have a zoom lens, you can adjust the focal length by zooming in or out. If your lens offers only a single focal length—a prime lens in photo‐speak—scratch this means of manipulating depth of field (unless you want to change to a different prime lens, of course). Camera‐to‐subject distance: When you move the lens closer to your subject, depth of field decreases. This statement assumes that you don’t zoom in or out to reframe the picture, thereby changing the focal length. If you do, depth of field is affected by both the camera position and focal length. Together, these three factors determine the maximum and minimum depth of field that you can achieve, as follows: To produce the shallowest depth of field: Open the aperture as wide as possible (select the lowest f‐stop number), zoom in to the maximum focal length of your lens, and move as close as possible to your subject. To produce maximum depth of field: Stop down the aperture to the highest possible f‐stop setting, zoom out to the shortest focal length your lens offers, and move farther from your subject. Here are a few additional tips and tricks related to depth of field: Aperture‐priority autoexposure mode (Av) enables you to easily control depth of field while enjoying exposure assistance from the camera. In this mode, you rotate the Main dial to set the f‐stop, and the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed to produce a good exposure. The range of available aperture settings depends on your lens. If you’re not up to Av mode, experiment with the Background Blur setting available when you shoot in Scene Intelligent Auto mode. You access it through the Creative Assist option. Just don’t expect miracles: The Background Blur feature doesn’t always deliver as much or as little blurring as you’d like. Some SCN modes also offer the Background Blur option. For greater background blurring, move the subject farther from the background. The extent to which background focus shifts as you adjust depth of field also is affected by the distance between the subject and the background. Depth-of-field preview: When you look through your viewfinder and press the shutter button halfway, you see only a partial indication of the depth of field that your current camera settings will produce. You can see the effect of focal length and the camera‐to‐subject distance, but because the aperture doesn’t actually stop down to your selected f‐stop until you take the picture, the viewfinder doesn’t show you how that setting will affect depth of field. By using the Depth‐of‐Field Preview button on your camera, however, you can do just that when you shoot in the advanced exposure modes. Almost hidden away on the front of your camera, the button is labeled below. To use this feature, press and hold the shutter button halfway and simultaneously press and hold the Depth‐of‐Field Preview button with a finger on your other hand. Depending on the selected f‐stop, the scene in the viewfinder may get darker. In Live View mode, the same thing happens in the monitor preview. Either way, this effect doesn’t mean that your picture will be darker; it’s just a function of how the preview works. Note that the preview doesn’t engage in P, Tv, or Av mode if the aperture and shutter speed aren’t adequate to expose the image properly. You have to solve the exposure issue before you can use the preview. To learn more about your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D, check out our Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

Your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D has all the bells and whistles. One incredibly fun feature is the Video Snapshot option. The Video Snapshot feature captures short video clips that are stitched into a single recording, called a video album. You can set the clip length to 8, 6, or 4 seconds long on your Canon camera. (All clips in an album must be the same length.) When might recording a series of seconds-long clips come in handy? One scenario might be that you’re a tennis teacher, and you want to record each serve made by your star student during a match. If you use the Video Snapshot feature, the two of you can easily study just those brief interludes without having to bother with fast-forwarding during a longer recording. That’s the best example that can be offered at this point, but lots of Canon users must like this feature because the symbol that tells you whether Video Snapshot recording is on or off has a permanent home on the information display when the camera is in Movie mode. The symbol is labeled on the left screen below. (If you don’t see any data onscreen, press the Info button to change the display style.) To create a video snapshot on your Canon Rebel camera, press Q to enter Quick Control mode and select the Video Snapshot icon, as shown on the right above. Then set the clip length by choosing one of the icons at the bottom of the screen. Press Q or tap the exit arrow (top-right corner of the screen) to return to shooting mode. Begin recording as you do any movie on your Canon camera: Just press the Live View button. A blue progress bar appears to let you know how many seconds of recording time remain. When the time is up, you’re offered three options: create a new album to store the clip; play the clip; or delete the clip. After you make your choice, you can record your second clip. When you create clip number two, you get a new post-recording option: You can add the clip to the first album or create a new album for it. You can control a few additional Video Snapshot settings through Shooting Menu 2. If the Video Snapshot item is set to disable, change it to Enable. Then choose that option again to display the available customization options. You can’t change the Movie Recording Size setting; video snapshots are always recorded using a setting of FHD (1920 x 1080 pixels), 29.97 frames per second, and Standard IPB compression. You can’t record normal movies when the Video Snapshot feature is enabled on your Canon camera, so when you’re done creating clips and albums, turn it off via the menu or through the Quick Control screen. Want to learn more? Check out our Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 07-26-2022

Many digital cameras can capture images in the camera raw file format, or just raw. This format stores raw picture data from the image sensor without applying any of the usual post-processing that occurs when you shoot using the JPEG format. Shooting in the raw format offers a number of benefits because you are capturing absolutely all of the data received by your camera's sensor. This makes the raw files superior to any other types of image files. But the downside is that if you want to have images printed at a retail lab or to share them online, you need to process the raw files and then save them in a common image format. Another downside of raw files is that you can't use them in a word processing, publishing, or presentation program — actually, in any program except photo software that can understand the particular raw language spoken by your camera. (Every manufacturer has its own proprietary raw format, and each new model from that manufacturer produces raw files slightly differently from the previous models.) You have a couple options for converting raw files: Some cameras offer a built-in converter. For example, take a look at the converter available on some Nikon cameras. Although convenient, these tools enable you to control just a few picture attributes. Additionally, there's the issue of having to make judgments about color, exposure, and sharpness on the camera monitor — a small canvas on which to view your work when compared with a computer monitor. Still, having this option is terrific for times when you need to process a raw file on location or when you're in a hurry. After downloading the raw files to your computer, you can process them using a photo program that offers a converter. The software provided by your camera manufacturer may provide a raw converter, and many photo-editing programs also offer this tool. The image below offers a look at the raw converter found in Adobe Photoshop, for example. (Pros in the photo industry refer to this tool as ACR, for Adobe Camera Raw.) How many picture characteristics you can tweak depends on the software, so if you're shopping for a program to handle this task, investigate this feature carefully. Some entry-level programs simply change the file format from raw to a standard format, applying the same picture-characteristic choices that the camera would have used had you taken the photo in the JPEG format originally. For specifics on selecting conversion settings, you will need to take a look at your camera manual or software manual. You also can find online tutorials for Adobe Camera Raw and other major photo-editing programs that offer raw conversion tools. But here are a few general rules to follow: Don’t erase your original raw file. You may someday want to convert the file using different settings, and retaining the raw file means that you always have an original image in pristine condition that you can return to, if necessary. The settings you use when making your raw conversion stay with the raw file, sort of like an invisible recipe card. The next time you reopen the file in the converter, you don’t have to go through all the adjustments again; they’re automatically applied as you did them the first time. But because your picture data still is technically “raw,” you can apply a whole new set of adjustments without doing any damage to the picture. To retain the highest image quality in the converted file, save it in the TIFF format. Tagged image file format, or TIFF, is a non-destructive format: It preserves as much of the raw file's original image data as possible. That translates to the best image quality, which is why TIFF is the standard format used for professional publishing. Most photo editing, word processing, and publishing programs can work with TIFF files, and most retail labs can print TIFF files as well. Other nondestructive formats include portable network graphics (PNG) and the Photoshop native format (called PSD, the one created for use in that program). PNG is compatible with many publishing and graphics programs, but few programs other than those from Adobe can work with PSD files. So make your life simple and, unless someone requires you to do otherwise, stick with TIFF. TIFF does have one downside: Pictures stored in this format are much larger than JPEG files. But that's the price you have to pay if you want to retain your image at its highest quality. If you want to use your converted file online, save a copy in the JPEG format. TIFF files don't work online; browsers and email programs can't display them. JPEG, on the other hand, is the universal online photo format and also is fine for taking photos to retail print shops. Just know that unlike TIFF, JPEG is a lossy format. To reduce file sizes, JPEG tosses away some image data as the file is saved. As far as raw conversion goes, the best practice is to save one file in the TIFF format and then save a copy in the JPEG format for online use. (You also may want to reduce the resolution of the JPEG version.) Before you do any raw conversions — or any photo editing, for that matter — calibrate your monitor. This step ensures that you're seeing an accurate representation of image color, contrast, and brightness.

Article / Updated 07-26-2022

When it comes to checking exposure, the image shown on the digital camera monitor can be misleading. The actual image may be brighter or darker than what you see onscreen because the display is affected by the ambient light in which you view the image and on the brightness of the monitor itself. For more reliable exposure guidance, find out whether your camera offers an exposure meter, histogram, or highlights display mode. Reading the meter An exposure meter offers before-the-shot assistance. This simple bar graph indicates whether the camera thinks your current settings will produce a good exposure. When you see a single bar at the 0 mark, as in the third illustration, you're good to go. Bars appearing on the side of the meter that sports a minus sign indicate underexposure; bars on the plus-sign side predict overexposure. The more bars that appear, the greater the potential exposure problem. (Note that some cameras place the positive end of the meter on the left while other models put it on the right, so inspect the meter closely to see which is which on your camera.) A few pointers about the way exposure meters operate: You may need to press the shutter button halfway to display the meter. Your half-press wakes the exposure system and tells the meter to do its thing. Where and when the meter appears depends on your camera and shooting mode. The meter may appear in the viewfinder, monitor, or top LCD readout, depending on your camera. But on most cameras, the meter appears only when you shoot in manual exposure mode. In other modes, the meter typically appears only if the camera anticipates an exposure problem or if you enable Exposure Compensation, an autoexposure adjustment feature. The meter readout depends on the metering mode. This setting determines which part of the frame the camera analyzes when calculating exposure. Normally, the entire frame is measured. Keep the lens trained on your subject while checking the meter. If your camera displays the meter only in the monitor (or if you prefer to view the meter there), don't move the camera after pressing the shutter button to display the meter. All too often, people frame the shot, press the shutter button halfway to activate the meter, and then point the lens at the ground so that they can get a better look at the display. The problem is that most cameras continue adjusting exposure settings until you take the picture, so as soon as you move the camera, it takes a new reading. So when the lens is pointing down, you're viewing the proper settings for photographing the ground and not your subject. For this reason, you should rely on the viewfinder meter if your camera offers one. Interpreting a histogram A histogram is a chart that plots out the brightness values of all pixels in the photo, using a scale of 0 (black) to 255 (white). For example, the histogram shown below represents the accompanying butterfly photo. The horizontal axis of the chart displays brightness values, with shadows on the left and highlights on the right. The vertical axis shows you how many pixels fall at each brightness value. A spike at any point indicates that you have lots of pixels at that particular brightness value. Some cameras can display a histogram on the monitor in shooting mode, helping you suss out exposure settings before you snap the shot. Most models, however, offer this tool only during playback; you may need to change your camera's default playback settings to display it. Normally, a histogram that resembles a bell-shaped curve, or something close to it, is a good sign because well-exposed photos typically contain more midtones (areas of medium brightness) accented by highlights and shadows. This fact has led some photographers to believe that their exposure decisions should be based on generating this so-called perfect histogram. But unless you plan to frame and exhibit your histogram instead of your photograph, this idea is hogwash. Here's the thing: You have to interpret a histogram with respect to the brightness values of your subject. You're just not going to see a ton of pixels at the dark end of the scale when you're photographing a polar bear against a snowy backdrop, for example. However, if you look at your camera’s histogram and it has a big spike to the left, it may be that your photo is too dark, in which case you need to adjust the exposure settings or add a flash. If it’s spiked to the right, your photo may be too bright. It’s normal to have a few odd spikes here and there, though. Displaying playback “blinkies” The problem with both the meter and the histogram is that although they can indicate an exposure issue, they don't tell you which parts of the image are under- or overexposed. To provide this information, many cameras offer a playback mode that causes any pixels that are pure white — that is, the ones that have a brightness value of 0 — to blink in the display. Most photographers refer to this as “blinkies” mode, but the official name on most cameras is Highlights Display mode. Again, consider the blinkies display with respect to your subject. When you shoot a portrait against a very bright background, you may see lots of blinkies in the background. If your subject is well exposed, ignore those blinkies — it's the subject that matters. But if the blinkies occur on the person's face or hair, that's a signal to adjust the exposure settings or find different light in which to shoot your subject and try again.

Article / Updated 07-25-2022

Have you ever looked through the photos you shot during a vacation or important family get-together and wished you had better pictures to frame, share online, or use in a photo book? For example, that really cool picture you took of your husband in front of the Eiffel Tower? Not so cool after all. You can’t really see him; he’s way too small in the frame. And in another shot, he has horns sticking out of his head because of some strange, unidentifiable object in the background. It's frustrating when you end up with less-than-ideal pictures. But you can improve your photo-taking skills by incorporating a few simple techniques. Give the following tips a try. Pay attention to the whole frame As illustrated above (the horns), it’s important to pay attention to the entire frame of your photo when you’re getting ready to click the shutter button. Whether you’re using a smartphone or something fancier, what’s around your main subject and in the background matters. You might have to change your position, your camera angle, or wait a few seconds, but it will be worth the trouble. Fill the frame This tip is related to the first one because it’s also about paying attention to the entire frame of your photo. One of the best pieces of advice for better photos is to get closer to your subject and fill the frame with it, or them. The photo below shows an example of this. The photographer moved up close to the woman and filled the frame with her and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Identify your focal point and compose around it Before you snap a picture, first, identify your focal point, or main subject. It could be a person, a fountain, a tree, a building , or anything you’re interested in. Then, compose your shot with that focal point in mind. Even in scenes where a main subject isn’t obvious, try to identify something. For example, in a busy outdoor market, is there an interesting person or eye-catching tapestry you could use as your focal point? In the photo below, the photographer noticed the wacky shaped, bright-colored peppers and chose them as the focal point. If the photographer had stood way back and shot more of an overview of the scene, with nothing in particular as the main subject, the result would have been a much less interesting picture. In this shot, the photographer also chose a fairly shallow depth of field to blur the background. This further emphasizes the focal point, while also showing the environment. Dummies.com has many articles and books on photography, including lots of books on specific cameras. Use the rule of thirds Often, if we don’t take a moment to consider composition, we end up placing our main subject right in the center of the frame. The result, most of the time , is a boring photo. You can significantly improve your photos by using the rule of thirds when you compose your shot. The rule of thirds is a method of composition. Imagine a grid (see image below) over your viewfinder (on many cameras and smartphones, this is an option you can actually turn on) and place your subject along one of the lines or at a point where the lines intersect. As you can see in the image of the golden retriever below, the dog’s head is near one of these intersecting points, and it results in a beautifully balanced shot. This photo would be far less dramatic if the dog was placed right in the center of the frame. Keep in mind, the rule of thirds is a guideline. There are many examples of beautiful photographs featuring the main subjects in the center of the frame (like the next photo featured in this article). This decision, like so many aspects of photography, is an artistic one. Where is the light coming from? Take note of where the light source is, whether you’re indoors or outdoors. For example, if you take a photo of a person with the sun coming from behind them, it’s likely their face will be darkened and they might appear silhouetted. This is because your camera’s light meter is trying to simultaneously deal with the very bright and very dark areas in the scene. That’s not to say that shooting toward the sun is wrong. Many photographers do this intentionally for artistic effect, which requires a bit of technical know-how and some experimentation. Also, pay attention to whether there are harsh shadows falling across your main subject. Try changing the angle of the shot by moving yourself or the subject, if possible. Meter the light on your main subject Digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, and others, include different ways to measure light coming into the lens to ensure a good exposure — meaning the picture will not end up too dark or too light. Make sure you are measuring the amount of light on your main subject. Even smartphones allow you to do this by tapping a specific area of the image on the screen. The point on the screen you tap is where the phone’s camera will measure the light. It will then adjust the exposure for that point rather than trying to balance the exposure for the entire scene, which can result in your main subject looking too dark or light. Try playing with this on your phone, and you will soon understand how to make it work for you. Keep your camera level and hands steady This tip may seem obvious, but we all sometimes forget to do these two simple things when we’re shooting photos. You can easily ruin what would have been a great shot by not holding steady and making sure you have your horizon straight. Look for leading lines and patterns In photography, leading lines are shapes in the scene that help lead a viewer’s eyes to your focal point. These could be train tracks, a line of trees or lampposts, a fence, buildings, or even shadows. In the photo below, the planks and rails of the pier lead your eyes out to the clouds and mountains beyond. You can also look for other elements, such as shapes and colors, that make patterns in a scene to add interest to your photo. Frame your subject Many times, if you look carefully, you can find ways to frame your main subject with other elements in the scene. For example, a rowboat just offshore in a lake could be framed by the trees on the shoreline. In the photo below, the photographer saw an opportunity to frame the subject with the arched window. Try a different angle For fun, try framing your subject with a different angle. In the photo below, a different perspective, shooting up toward the statue’s face, and using the architecture on the ceiling to frame the head, creates a much more interesting picture than it would have been just shooting this static subject from farther back and straight on. (Photo credit: Home page image by Dylan Hargraves, Unsplash.com)