After a long time browsing this forum I've come across a lot of awesome stuff and the one thing I always think is, "God damn I wish some of these pictures were better". After just over a year being here I figure it's finally time I post a quick guide on how to get the best results out of even the ****tiest of cameras. I was a gig photographer for years so I've spent a lot of time trying to get photos with ****ty equipment in horrible lighting conditions
Rule #1 - No photos inside!Unless you live on the surface of the sun, have a good window sill or a really good camera you're going to struggle to get a decent shot inside. While you may be able to get a photo with sharp focus your camera will dial up the sensitivity which results in a pretty grainy shot most of the time. Best results can be attained if you take the items outside and set them up on a backdrop of some sort (I like to use a wooden chopping block). I usually set up in the shade regardless of weather, even in winter I can get enough light during the day but then again winters aren't super extreme here in Australia.
Rule #2 - Choose a backdrop that is neutral to the overall color scheme of the board.What this means is you should be choosing something that will allow the camera to focus and nail exposure easier. If you've got a black board with black caps, don't shoot it on a white background and vice/versa. Smaller cameras and phones only have tiny little sensors so the dynamic range isn't up to snuff for shooting a black board on a white backdrop without making nailing exposure difficult. This is another reason why I like to shoot on a chopping block, the wood grain is a nice neutral zone for just about any keysets I drop on it.
Rule #3 - Figure out how close your camera will successfully focus.Some cameras and phones these days can focus at like 5cm, others (like my Nexus4) are god awful. This isn't a problem though. Considering most camera's these days are in the 5-15MP range you can easily shoot from further back where the camera can focus and then crop the photo later to get a close up shot. Even with the loss of resolution from cropping you'll still have more than enough size for posting online etc.
If you've got a macro option on your camera then give that a crack as well, often that will enable close focusing mode and allow you to get much closer.
Rule #4 - If your camera has a manual exposure or exposure compensation, USE IT!Exposure compensation is really handy when the camera won't quite nail the right exposure on it's own. Here's a quick explanation of when you might want to use it. Sometimes when photographing black sets you'll notice the blacks are pitch black (under-exposed) or might look washed out and and grey (over-exposed). Same goes for lighter tones, if your whites are turning pure white with a loss of detail this is over-exposure. If they are turning a sickly grey color then you've under-exposed.
So if you've got an over-exposed photo you'd go into exposure compensation mode (usually marked EV or with +/- symbols) and set the exposure to -1 EV. See how this looks and fine tune at will. Obviously you just do the opposite for under-exposed photos and set a positive value in the exposure compensation.
Rule #5 - Take the same shot 100 times if you have to!There is no prize for getting it right on the first shot. People used to be astounded by the 10 or 20 photos I'd post after each concert but what they didn't realise is I'd shoot like 200-300 shots of each band before I'd get the shots I needed to publish. It's the digital age, take as many shots as you need to get it right and then turf the rest.
Rule #6 - Camera shake is the enemy of all good photos.Camera shake is a *****. I have a condition that makes my hands shake quite a bit sometimes, this isn't always a massive problem though. If your camera has image stabilisation, turn it on. If it doesn't then there are some other tricks you can try if you don't have access to a tripod or you're using a phone.
- If you're standing and shooting something in front of you, tuck your arms into your chest to stabilise the camera.
- If you're shooting something on the floor keep a wide stance and let your arms hang as low as they will go, the weight of your arms will stabilise the camera.
- If you're doing up close work then I like to lay on the ground or sit with my knees tucked up under my chin and my arms around my legs.
