Recently I was thinking of a gift for a friend of mine and I decided I’d make a collage from some of my non-personal photos. The collage turned out to be a 36″ x 24″ poster with one 18″x12″ hero shot. I think for someone who pursues photography purely as a passion and doesn’t have the time to organize his work into a portfolio, this template does the job.

Here’s a preview of what it turned out to be. Related photographs here.

I met several challenges while I was making this collage. Lightroom wouldn’t let me save the collage as a saved print in TIFF format. Another major one was sizing and aligning the images in a grid with the required border. But finally I managed to get it done. And so I thought of sharing it so that you don’t have to go through the same pain.

The one that I had printed was created in Lightroom and then the file was saved and printed to a file. I then sent it to the printing company and voila!

However as far as printing is concerned, I find Photoshop a lot easier to work with. I thus sat and created a Photoshop template also within which you can place your photos with the right profile and all and save for print later, in whichever format you like.

Lightroom Collage Template

Lightroom Print Template (If you are on Windows, just extract and place the file in this folder: %appdata%\Adobe\Lightroom\Print Templates\User Templates)

Photoshop Templates

Though the size of these files seems trivial, be warned. After extracting these will occupy upwards of 600MB. The files are in Adobe RGB profile and set to print a size of 36″ x 24″ at 300dpi.

Guides Only: Just drag and resize photos as required and print or save for print later. You may not want to hit the print button unless you have a printer suitable for such large prints.

Guides with Smart Objects: This allows you to place your photographs as smart objects and the photo-borders are taken care of automatically by the layer effects.

Using the templates should be straightforward. Here’s a little video to get you started.

It’s the Indian new year today. The last year was a tough one. My father was diagnosed with cancer in Jan 2014. He left us on 25th Aug 2014. He was my inspiration behind music. And he was the one who let me hold a camera for the first time ever. I don’t remember the brand or make, but the camera had no film inside. For me he cut a roll of translucent paper and inserted the roll inside a camera just like you do with film. And then he instructed: “Every time you press the shutter you’ll see an upside down image of the scene that’s in front of the camera.” I had to keep the camera’s back open and I played all day. I made my brother pose and act in front of the camera the entire time — not that I’d see much since it just worked on the principle of the pin-hole camera, but I did want a real subject to pose. It was a manual camera with no auto forward. So after some clicks the paper roll would come to an end and had to be reinserted.

I bought the Nikon D80 in the early half of 2008. I had another not-so-serious Nikon film camera earlier which I rarely used — no fun clicking and not knowing what you shot, unless you spend the rest of the film shooting the walls and the sky and rush to have it developed. I made around 60K pictures with the D80.

I bought the Sony RX1 in 2013 and have made quite a few good ones with that as well. However as you know my primary job is to design websites for my clients and that’s my bread and butter. I never got a chance to make a proper collection. However recently I was thinking of a gift for a friend of mine and I decided I’d make a collage of some of my non-personal photos. So very quickly I rushed through my collections and narrowed down on these.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 10000

The famous Gwalior fort has been photographed from many angles and by so many photographers that it’s almost become a cliche. I never planned to get this shot. This was shot with the RX1 when the light-and-sound show was in progress. The high ISO of RX1, the dynamic range and the bit-depth all came together to make this a unique one. The scene is so dynamic and RX1 was even able to capture the blue in the sky even though shooting a bright subject.

Nikon D80, 18-200mm@120mm 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

A sunset… one of the many sunsets I’ve shot. I seem to have so many sunsets in my collections that now I consciously avoid photographing them. I don’t play with white-balance for these. I just turn down the exposure compensation to a negative value (-2 or lower) to get the saturated colors. Else you see the sun is high and so bright that it will totally wash away the scene.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@200mm, 1/6 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600. Handheld.

The moon behind a coconut tree while I was enjoying the beach breeze in Goa.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@200mm 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, -1.3EV

My first sunset photograph before I became a sunset expert. I waited for an hour at Gwalior fort to get this one right. I like the golden lining on the clouds and the framing that gives it a narrative and context.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 8000

The common every-night roof-top moon. I played with in-camera white-balance.

RX1 35mm 1/400 sec, f/2, ISO 100

My daughter’s shoes. She was less than a year when these were bought. Women go gaga over this family of pink tones.

RX1 35mm 1/100 sec, f/2, ISO 100, -3EV

At Lonawala on a family holiday.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 400

An electric Diwali-lamp.

RX1 35mm 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100

The roots of a tree. I liked the forms and planned to turn it black and white. But I liked it with an emerald touch.

RX1 35mm 1/4000 sec, f/10, ISO 100, -1EV

Another sunset. I planned to have some florals to add a touch of beauty. This is what came out.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@24mm 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

I was on this beach at Goa and had this leaf figured out. But my son conveniently walks into the scene. I kept this one for the trivia.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@18mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO100

A boat ride. I chose it for the colors.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@200mm, 1/640s, f/5.6, ISO100, -0.7EV

Some flowers.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@170mm, 1/1000s, f/5.6, ISO100, -1EV

Some more flowers.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@200mm, 1/640s, f/5.6, ISO100, -2EV

A lotus. It had been plucked by someone and was handheld when I took the shot. You’d discover an ant at the top of the stem on careful inspection.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@200mm, 1/4000s, f/5.6, ISO100, -2EV

The Tighra dam reservoir. I went for the golden waters.

Nikon D80 18-200mm@18mm, 1/200s, f/3.5, ISO100

Some rocks on a beach at Goa.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/8, ISO 640, -2EV

Another sunset. I tried to capture the beautiful tones instead of the sun.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 3200

I was returning from the country-side when I saw this fire in the field. I loved the combination of the deep blue and the orange.

RX1 35mm 1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 100, -2EV

Another sunset.

RX1 35mm 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 100

Oops. Yet again.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 25600

I had walked 20kms and finally climbed a hill to reach the Tighra reservoir. What I reached was a moon smiling from behind the beautiful florals.

RX1 35mm 1/10 sec, f/2, ISO 25600

This is what the reservoir looked like when climbing down. The spiral adds to the composition.

RX1 35mm 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 100, -3EV

The last sunset in this collection. I promise.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/8, ISO 3200

It looked like a normal pond on a cold, breezy, clouded, chilly, winter day. Then I played with white-balance.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 1250

Car tail-lights.

RX1 35mm 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100

A lotus.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 250

A saree (dress) I bought for my lovely wife.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 640

My violin.

RX1 35mm 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 250

Some “rakhis” displayed hanging at a shop.

RX1 35mm 1/640 sec, f/2, ISO 100

I’ll leave you with some flowers.

Time and again some readers have questioned my skills as a photographer. I’ve also been declared as an internet expert. Let’s just say I’m not a pro. But I hope you’d agree I do get lucky sometimes. I hope you enjoyed these. Please do share these with your friends and let me know which ones you like.

…with due apologies for the spam attack and the story behind… And there’s a lot new. But first things first. APN had been in offline mode for over a month now. And there were several reasons, funding being the key issue.

APN started as my personal photography blog. These we my personal memoirs on photography — everything that I learnt and picked up with my Nikon D80. But sometime in Jan 2013 APN couldn’t survive any further without funding. It was time to rethink whether APN was going to be another wild venture in the closing.

APN is special to me… as is photography. So instead of bowing out, it was time to relaunch APN in a new avatar — something that would let me experience photography and help me achieve the creative satisfaction but also (hopefully) allow me to offer my core expertise to photography professionals. I’m a full-time web-designer but with a creative eye.

So here’s the new APN for you — a web-design service exclusively for photographers, packed with photography, business tips and tricks and an awesome forum.

But in the midst of redesign and revamping the forums, APN was attacked by spammers who managed to send at least 3 spam articles to our feed subscribers. As a result we lost many subscribers. I do sincerely apologize for the same and want to assure you that this will not happen in the future. Strict measures are in place to put an end to this and it’s the end for the spam attack.

What has changed with new APN?

1. The feed subscription service has been replaced. Please resubscribe: APN is now sending newsletters via Aweber. The new newsletter is more powerful, easy on the eyes yet comprehensive and robust. Subscription is free of course. Those subscribed to APN through feedburner will need to resubscribe and confirm the subscription here. This will ensure that you continue to receive my awesome photography anecdotes and experiences and the killer tips to grow your photography business and generate more revenue.
2. I’m now offering web-design services for photographers: The only thing that makes me special for the job is the blend of my coding experience with the creative eye. Photography and design are closer that is apparent to the naked eye.

What is in store for future?

Offering web-design services to photographers gives me an incentive to continue sharing my photography experiences. Without it APN would lose the traction and would be more of a fruitless exercise. I think in the new form APN is a killer offering. It not only helps you grow as a photographer but also allows you to run an awesome photography website, helps you with eBusiness and makes it easy for you to showcase your portfolio creatively. Not only will this help you grow your photography business (get new clients, promote your business and generate more revenue), it will also be my endeavor to sharpen your skills as a photographer and as a website owner. That’s the best thing about the new APN — a gateway to making monetary success with Photography.

As I write this post, I recall that APN turns 5 this year — the credit all goes to the wonderful readers and APN fans. With this, I would like to invite you to have a look at the new APN.

I‘ve shot around 60,000 photographs with my Nikon D80 and it is pending a shutter-unit replacement. I’ve shot almost everything with it. That’s the camera with which I grew as a photographer and that’s why APN happened. It was the only camera I had so far and the only lens I used it with is 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 VR Nikkor. I enjoyed my share of reading great camera reviews. And after all this while I settled for Sony RX1. This review got delayed by over a month. Finally I realized that a “delayed review” equals “no review”. And just when I sat down to share my experiences, they released the newer RX1R — the one with the anti-aliasing filter removed.

There were several reasons I wanted to go with Sony RX1. I just hated to be so visible with a hammer of a camera in my hand and a big-gun zoom lens protruding out of the body. I hate flash and I’m a totally an ambient-light-photographer. I hate to have my face stuck to the viewfinder and need more flexibility to re-compose the shot without it. But above all the primary reason for investing in Sony RX1 was my desire to grow myself as an artist — to refine my skills as a photographer.

At a price of $2800, RX1 is only for the one who knows his stuff. It’s a bold camera and takes an equally bold decision to buy one. I’ll issue a bold statement too: In addition to being a secondary camera for a professional, the RX1 is an ideal camera to shape up your photography skills. It forces you to visualize, focus on composition, allows you the flexibility of all controls and marries the body to a beautiful 35mm f/2 lens. This forces you to focus inside the frame and forget about the lens considerations or the lazy zooms.

Note: I’m not a camera reviewer. And I do stay away from the tempting equipment and stay focused on the “skill”. Comparing Nikon D80 with Sony RX1 is unfair. But I did upgrade from the D80 to RX1. It’s my experience and I thought I’d share.

One of my favorite shots — 1/80 sec., f/2, ISO 640

Here’s everything I purchased alongside the RX1:

Items: Sony RX1, 64 GB card (Class 10 rated at 94MBPS) & external charger. I also bought a Carl Zeiss MC protecting filter (VF-49MPAM) and LCD protector (PCK-LM15) from Adorama. Along with it Sony offered me a leather carry case (LCJ-RXB/B) free-of-charge. The leather case is a delight and I can already see some RX1 owners going green.

All this has come to me as a real gift for taking my photography to the next level. I have spent a good time with my little tank now and here are some of the notable experiences I’ve had with this lovely camera of mine :)

The Camera Handling & Grip

It is pretty compact for my hands. I’m still getting used to the grip. The Nikon D80 was hand-in-glove. But then I love to carry RX1 and not the D80. Also the micro-USB feels rock solid and the male connectors just snap in at once making a clear distinct and reassuring sound. But having worked with these delicate machines I know there will be a day when things will be loose. Metal is malleable. And it’s a little overhead to unscrew the leather case to connect the camera but I do it anyways. I have to take the camera out of the leather case to take out the card, battery or even charge/connect it to the PC. I’d definitely want to carry it only with the lower-half part and get rid of the top/front half. I bought a charger separately which I use to charge the battery while I pull the card out and copy over the data.

Sony RX1 with the leather jacket on

Brilliant Highlight Recovery

It was a busy day when I purchased the RX1. As such I was eagerly waiting for the next day to try it out. It was a bright sunny day when I took the first few outdoor shots and quickly realized that I’m limited to 1/2000 sec. at f/2. Of course I could go a little narrow on the aperture but having used an f/2 for the first time I realized 1/2000 sec. is not the best combination for a sunny day. The shutter does go up to 1/4000 but you have to set an aperture narrower than f/2 for that.

In case you find yourself limited by the shutter speed on a bright day and you really need f/2, the RAW files of the RX1 allow you some great highlight recovery that (almost) makes up for the overexposure. Check out the sample of highlight recovery for yourself.

SOOC: 1/2000 sec., f/2, ISO 100

Same Shot After Highlight Recovery (and some extra touches)

Revisiting The World Of Macro & DOF With RX1

In the first few days of shooting with the RX1, I was left scratching my head and missed my 18-200mm. It takes some great composition skills and a creative eye to look for the photographs. It was then that I realized that no-zoom forces you to work the shots and accentuates the artist in you.

Initially, I cheated by using the macro mode on the RX1. When you shoot macro, you really are trying to draw viewer reaction by showing something unusual, not necessarily a better composition etc. but by something that is unseen or shot from a creative perspective.

Though after a day or two I got the hang of it and took some normal shots. I was especially impressed by the quality of DOF the camera offered me. And one rainy evening I thought of using the superb DOF to my advantage by making bokeh the subject of my photograph. I set the camera to macro mode and focused the closest for a distant light to get the maximum defocus and here is the result:

SOOC: The Bokeh Shot — 1/80 sec., f/2, ISO 1250

Straight From The Camera Vs RAW Editing

All these years of shooting with D80 I’ve become a fan of Capture NX2. I’ve never opened NEF files in anything else (I tried but the exposure/color curves were way wrong. I always got the true colors with Capture NX2 and no way would I waste time with anything else when NX2 did it right straight out).

Sony’s Image Data Converting on the other hand is an abhorring piece of RAW software. With the majority of in-camera settings missing, it completely defies the purpose of shooting RAW. I don’t trust third-party RAW editors for proprietary RAW formats. So for RX1 I use Sony’s IDC and export as 16-bit TIFF for further processing. I have to re-start the conversion every time it crashes. I hope Sony fixes the crashes and makes it more feature-rich else I’m not going to be using Sony again.

While I’m upon the subject of processing, the image quality from the captures of the RX1 is so great that I really have to struggle to find ways to polish the images any further. The RX1 has given me some shots that are truly insane and I never expected a camera to be able to do this.

Amazing low light performance — 1/80sec., f/2, ISO 1000. That part of the sky wasn’t visible to the naked eye. That’s what I wanted and I got it and there isn’t a shot of this monument that even comes close.

Other Remarkable Features Of RX1

I’ve always had to be careful with the alignment with D80. With the RX1, I just set it to show the virtual horizon and the rule-of-thirds grid and shoot to glory.

Another great thing about RX1 is the ability to simulate the final image as soon as you press the shutter half-way down. This gives me a good preview of what kind of a result will I land.

With this camera in my hand, I’m falling in love with shooting black-and-white. And I love to reach the exposure compensation which I confess I never used too much earlier.

SOOC: B&W Shot — 1/125sec., f/2, ISO 100 and -1EV Exposure Bias

Even with all the praise and compactness, I find that I really behave differently with a $2800 camera. So far I’ve never allowed it to hit any surface and I hope things stay that way. But it’s only a matter of time. I tend to be extra careful with this little tank and never want to hand it to anyone else. Somehow I feel that this factor gets in the way of me being comfortable and creative with this camera.

The RX1 does some quick movies too. Though there’s a lot of fretting over the video quality, this comes in real handy as I can now just leave back my camcorder. I did hit the movie record button once by mistake. This camera needs hands that make love to this camera without pressing the wrong buttons.

I’m not sure if it’s just me but I find the AF points a little disappointing. Not that I’m complaining of the AF speed (I’ve gotten used to the AF speed of the D80 which again uses contrast based AF). I’m not confident if it work this way, but the point is that I found the Nikon to give priority to people’s faces or pick up the sharpest.

Low Light Portrait — 1/10sec., f/2, ISO 25600. Shot at 10pm. The face is lit by the cellphone screen and the red lamp is the street light in the background.

The Pros, Cons and More

Before spending the money on the RX1 I did extensive research on it and read a lot of reviews. I knew I’d need spare batteries, especially more than one since my little tank would only deliver a 100+ shots on a single charge. The spare batteries are not available in the market yet and therefore, I had to cut down on the sleep-timing for the LCD display.

With the battery rated to shoot about 100 shots per charge, there’s no way I can play/toy around with the settings and get familiar with this stuff. I’m not even confident if this is going to last me a few hours of an outing.

As such, I don’t really plan to use this camera on continuous shooting mode. This camera is more about thoughtfully composing each shot than about candid real-time child portraits or marriage photography etc. Also each RAW file is about 24MB and I don’t have the budget to buy a RAID-enabled hard drive anytime in the near future. I also forbid shooting in continuous mode because the camera gets warm after an hour or so of frequent shooting (a shot every 2 seconds). And like I said earlier, RX1 is only for the one who knows his stuff, you have to be decisive about the utility of this shot-gun.

Indoor Shot — 1/80 sec., f/2, ISO 400

The lens filter that I ordered was branded Carl Zeiss. It though felt like cheap material and I could see some fine artifacts on the surface diffusing and reflecting colorful light in all the directions.

The experience of shooting without a viewfinder is funny. Something feels missing when I don’t have the viewfinder to stick my eye against and compose. But in this case I really needed something that would allow me a wider angle of view, real-time so that I can hold the camera high or low and just shoot. I can’t do that with my D80 (another point where this is an unfair comparison). But RX1 helps you to experiment with different angles and perspectives by losing the viewfinder.

Is the camera — Sony RX1 really worth it?

Nobody can answer that question for you. The RX1 is a specialty package and it’s features all mean different things to different photographers.

I bought it for it’s compactness and it’s ability to replace my DSLR. I was willing to compromise with the zoom / lens flexibility but the 35mm f/2 more than makes up for it.

The RX1 gives me absolutely best quality for images (that’s the area where I can’t accept any compromises). I see the fixed lens more as an opportunity to grow my composition skills and the ability to imagining and “finding” a photograph happening somewhere. That can only happen if I can get out of my comfort zone, carry the camera at all times and shoot good compositions without any compromise on image quality.

I paid for it and I’m absolutely in love with the RX1. For now it’s difficult for me to go back to D80. But that’s my primary camera when I need the reach of 18-200mm. As for the rest it’s RX1 (or until I have enough money to land something that can take the Nikkor AF DC-NIKKOR 135mm f/2D). And here comes another superb shot straight out of the camera.

SOOC: 1/80 sec., f/2, ISO 1250.

Should You Buy Sony RX1 Or Wait?

Well that’s a tricky question. The days of full frames are finally in. The developing trend that I see is that the newer cameras are getting rid of the optical low-pass filter. The RX1R was launched on the same lines even before this review was complete. As the pixel count goes higher, so does the pixel density, image detail and the desire to get rid of the anti-aliasing filter.

I have my own doubts on the claims that full-frame sensors hold the light better because of the larger photosites (where is that larger photo site when you are shoving in 36 MP into the sensor). Most of the image quality is not because the sensor is full-frame but is purely based on the technological advancements in the newer sensors.

Today’s full-frame/FX sensors are only as capable of holding the light as their APS-C/DX counterparts of the same generation. And that’s because the pixel density is essentially the same. The full-frames have a larger sensor area to allow larger photo-sites. Instead of keeping the pixel count low and allowing bigger photo-sites the manufacturers instead use up this area to push in extra pixels and push up the megapixel race even further.

But every time you invest in a camera you have to realize that technology grows old the moment you get it in your hands and you have to take this bit with a pinch of salt (think RX1R). So it’s completely your take to invest in it or not. I am very happy with mine. You can check out the pricing, features and camera specs here. Do send in your thoughts on the RX1.

Ever since my Nikon D80 went kaput, I’ve been pondering over the thought of going for an upgrade. While Nikon D600 sounds good, I’ve been eying the Nikon D800E (not the megapixel story but the absence of the moire filter) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. So far I’ve just lived my photography passion shooting pics, getting to grips with composition, learning and experimenting consciously trying to avoid getting lured by better bodies or camera specs. So all I have is a single body and a Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX. Thus I’m not married to Nikon… not yet. Also I’ve avoided yet-another “Nikon vs Canon” blog post: you can spend endless hours researching on this and still come to no conclusion. But I’ll share my thoughts and invite yours.

Recently while researching on an upgrade I stumbled upon a lot of factors which make or break your photography.

Cosy Compacts Vs Startling DSLRs

After photographing for last 8 years with a compact film and a Nikon D80 I realized that a DSLR somehow intimidates (read “threatens”) human subjects. You are unduly noticed and made to feel conscious about your equipment (no pun). A compact on the other hand is a casual thing which no one bothers about. People feel at ease facing such a camera; they can make funny faces and do just about anything including ignoring the camera altogether — think of photography with cellphone, Instagram, instant uploads, Wi-fi printing. Pull up a DSLR with a gun-barrel and people are conscious about their looks, the intent of the photographer and everything else. It changes their mood. In-fact it kills the mood of the photograph. So unless you are photographing in a commercial field, street photography (specifically) can benefit from a compact. It remains to be seen how much you want to shell out for a so-called compact. A compact is not necessarily a Coolpix or a Powershot. It could be many things including a Leica rangefinder.

The “Feel” In The Photograph

There’s also a difference between the photography output of different brands. You’ll often find photographers referring to the silky soft feel of a Leica image. Hit me for saying this but I also noticed that Canon images have a distinct subtle difference in the tones (which I personally like). I hope it’s not my personal imagination but I found the Nikons (and Sony) a little bit harsh on tones but more true to life. My Nikon pushes me harder to use my creativity in making a surreal photograph.

Lens Focal Length and Field Of View

And finally the perspective (metaphorically). With my 18-200mm, I’ve shot at the longer end of the lens almost all the time. I tend to like tight shot vs shove-in-it-all shots. However at the APS-C (or the Nikon DX) format 35mm represents a image size that’s the closest to what you see from the eye (feel free to correct me). But field-of-view is a different story. Eyes see wider. In fact our eyes are very much like fish-eye-lenses but it’s our brain which is able to correct our skewed perspective so we “see” things right. In all this banter I realized that cut-short the focal length a little and your photographs start telling a story. A wider lens (35mm on a full-frame/22mm or 24mm on a APS-C/DX ) adds a narrative to the photograph thereby allowing the viewer’s eyes to explore the scene beyond the subject. The viewer understands the setup, the scene and gets a context to the photograph thereby relating to it differently.

Finally Which One?

So far my research has raised more questions for me than answers. I think it’s a essential phase that every photographer goes through eventually while trying to explore, discover, reinvent or evolve the photographer inside. It’s a matter of taste, style and essentially your idea of the art of recomposing the world. I’m somehow drawn back to film, black and white and also rangefinders and reminisce my father developing black and white film. But my ideal camera would be the Leica M-Monochrom fitted with a 35mm lens. I dare not tell my wife that it sets me back by $8000. I guess I’ll go find my old Nikon compact, load it up with some black and white film and develop film myself till I’m fed-up and return to my Nikon D80. Which one would you go with?

PS: BTW, my Nikon seems to have taken a hit because of the moisture. It’s rear LCD would go off and not work unless the camera is put in sunlight for an hour. Ever happened to your camera?

If we heard it right, Nikon may be about to release it’s first entry-level FX anytime now. I looked it up when my D80 went kaput a few days back because of moisture. I had already convinced my wife for a new camera when it magically came back to life and diluted my chances of getting a new FX anytime soon.

Nikon D600 Specifications

D600 is expected to be a 24MP sensor powered by EXPEED 3 processor. It’s shutter life span is supposed to be 150,000 cycles. The maximum shutter speed would be 1/4000 sec. It is likely to feature 39 point auto-focus system with face recognition, 5fps in continuous shooting mode, 3.2-inch LCD containing 921,000 dots with automatic level adjustment. It will also have a 16 bit image processing ability (don’t know if it means 16-bit RAW (NEF) files though). ISO range would be like ISO 100 to 6400 expandable to ISO 25,600. The viewfinder of D600 would have 100 % coverage (FX) and 97% coverage (DX). Talking of the flash, it will definitely have an on board pop-up flash with 1/250th sec sync speed. Keeping all these specs in mind, D600 seems to be designed to offer high dynamic range and better image quality.

Build

D600 would be smaller in build, size and weight, similar to D7000. The weight of D600 would be 760g (850g with battery and media card). The build would be of magnesium alloy in the back and top sides of the camera, while the remaining surface would be traditional plastic body with weather sealing in it.

Other Bells & Whistles

Input and output ports on the D600 would be USB 3.0, HDMI output, stereo headphone jack, stereo mic input jack, GPS/remote input jack, built-in mic (mono). D600 would have internal intervalometer with automatic movie creation. Its sensor would be a CMOS 36X24mm self cleaning sensor (vibration-based). D600 would have 2 x SD Card Slots(UHS-1 SDHC/SDXC). Nikon D600 would have 30 minutes of video recording. D600 would have built-in picture editing tools (with RAW editing capability) with 19 scene modes. D600 would be able to record HD videos in 1920x1080p with the speed of upto 30 fps, 720p video upto 60 fps in the format- H.264 MPEG-4 codec.

Nikon D600’s official announcement is expected on 13 September 2012, aptly timed right before Photokina 2012 to be held in September 18-23 in Cologne, Germany. Price for D600 is expected to lie between $1500 – $2000. Time to save-up if you’ve been waiting for an entry-level FX.

There’s no official word about the D600 from Nikon yet. That gives us another chance to let the impact of a “rumor” sink into our gear-happy anticipations.

Update: Nikon D600 was officially launched on the anticipated day, i.e., 13th September 2012. Check out the technical details & specs of Nikon D600 here.

Want to nail the exposure? Fed-up with the set defaults? Want to do it in manual mode? There are several steps to go before you actually start tuning the dials. Every camera has several metering options. It’s critical to understand and learn to use these in order to be able to nail the exposure manually.

Exposure Compensation

TTL light meter measures the intensity of light, finds it appropriate for the photography and then controls aperture, shutter and ISO to achieve it’s task. But a machine remains a machine. Hence exposure suggested best by the cameras sometimes yields opposite or too different results. That may be one of the reasons, why cameras have inbuilt exposure compensation modes, those are denoted by EV (Exposure Value). If we select +1, camera will add one stop of exposure to the scene before the shot. If we select -1, the camera underexposes by a stop. So exposure compensation can be pushed positive if the scene looks underexposed, and negative if the scene seems overexposed.

To adjust the exposure on the image, many cameras offer metering modes. Primarily there are three metering modes as spot metering, center-weighted metering and pattern metering but there can be more modes depending on the camera.

Metering

Spot Metering

If this mode is selected, camera reads the exposure at and around the focus point on the scene, and applies the same exposure to the entire image. This mode meters 3% of the area in whole scene. This mode is best suggested when the subject is back-lit, like shooting against the sun (like a portrait).

Center Weighted Metering

The camera reads the exposure at the center of the scene and around the center [usually 8mm(adjustable) area] towards the edges, but emphasizes more on center. This mode is best suggested for shooting scenes such as landscapes.

Matrix Metering (Nikon)

The scene is divided into multiple small segments, and exposure is read at each segment. Data collected are then compared with pre-defined images of almost every possible photographic situation. This library of images is stored in the system’s memory. Many Nikon cameras have over thirty thousand such images. The exposure is made against the closest match. This is the default mode in Nikon cameras and is suitable for almost all scenes.

Evaluative Metering (Canon)

Many professionals claim that this is just Canon’s name for Matrix metering. However Canon’s own article has more and precise details about evaluative metering.  Canon cameras are set to use this by default and it is suitable for most photographic work. It divides the scene into several zones, and meters the exposure, direct lighting and back-lighting in each zone and compare it with the exposure, direct lighting and back-lighting at auto-focus points.

Partial Metering (Canon)

It reads the light at the center and area around it, it meters around 10% of the area in the whole scene. It is similar to spot metering, however it covers around 6% – 9% of the area located at the center of the scene.

Situations and Metering Modes To Use

So before you go in setting the aperture and shutter-speed manually, experiment with the following. There’s greater possibility to get the results that you want than trying the auto modes or the full manual mode.

• Spot: Backlit Subjects as Shooting against Sun
• Center-Weighted: Large Areas as Landscapes
• Matrix: When you don’t really care, trust the camera’s meter or want to try your luck.
• Evaluative (Canon): Not much different from the last one.
• Partial (Canon): Same as spot but a little more tolerant of the spot. Can be used for backlit subjects.

Histograms Anyone?

Histograms are one of the most crucial pieces of exposure information. But don’t use the metering to even out the histogram — there’d never be high-key or low-key photographs if you always even-out the histogram. More so, when you are so much concerned about exposure that you want to override it with your choice, it should be your preference which define the optimal exposure, not a histogram per se.

We all know how various aspects of light affect the final photograph. Amongst these are temperature, angle, quality (soft vs hard), etc. See Lighting and its features. At the time of writing that article and experimenting whether the amount of light has got anything to do with the final photograph I concluded that changing the amount of light didn’t have any direct impact on the photograph.

However there are other factors at play with respect to the amount of light. The amount of light may not have any direct impact on the output, it definitely presents itself as a constraint around which you, the photographer has to work to make that it’s a good capture. Let’s see how:

Today’s latest cameras, be it the compacts or the DSLRs, are designed to perform at extremely high ISOs. That’s because when you shoot in dim light, ISO comes into play and brings with itself a noise-grain which is not very flattering to the photograph. And once you get this grain, you are left to the mercy of grain removing plugins etc.

That brings in another twist: why do we need flash at all? Guess the amount of light matters after all. May be not in the output itself, but during the capture phase it certainly does (after all photography is about capturing the light).

The exposure triangle is basically trying to control light. While the amount of light may have no direct impact on the end result, it nevertheless is a constraint. Given that you are shooting in low light, the exposure triangle has little control over light (since it is hardly any). You can choose to use slow shutter-speed. But you’d not like the way portraits come out in that setting. Almost always there’s motion blur which needs hours to clear our during post-production.

I’m not asking you to upgrade to a better camera which can shoot in low light. The point is that the amount of light does matter. What do you say?

In an effort to expand our horizons into the photography passion, we at APN have chosen to make some major changes to the site to reflect our vision and commitment to the art of photography.

A New Domain

Advanced Photography started as a small photography blog. However, as we grow into a community of photographers willing to share and learn from each other, we’ve chosen to move the site to www.apnphotographyschool.com to reflect our purpose and vision.

APN Photography Forums

In order to assist better interaction and participation and take our community to the next level, APN now has forums where all of you can ask and answer questions related to photography. The salient feature of the forums is that you need not register. You can log in with your Facebook account or your Google account seamlessly and start posting. Isn’t that cool! Additionally, the forums shall allow us a platform to run photography assignments and also share & showcase our work.

But that’s not all. There’s quite a lot lined up for the future as well. We’ll soon have on offering some professional services which will be targeted as assisting photographers with their businesses. We will have some regular photography assignments to help us feature the works of the professionals in the community. And yes, in addition to the regular email updates, we’ll also have a periodic newsletter-digest to keep everyone informed of the highlights at APN.

Again welcome to the new APN. We hope you enjoy being a part of the APN community!

A self-flattering photograph first…

As a photographer and a blogger, after churning up so many articles about photography I somehow have this inkling of a sense of guilt building-up inside. Well if I’m a photographer, then why do I blog so much? Where’s my work and portfolio? Where are my clients? I bought my camera in 2008 (well at least the first one that I put to use). I have taken over 15000+ photographs since then. So where do I stand as a photographer? I think it’s time everyone should know.

1. I’m not a professional photographer: As much as I’d like to call myself a photographer, photography doesn’t make me money and I’m a website developer by profession.
2. …but my father was: My father photographed for commercial projects and looks like somewhere that thing was lying dormant inside me.
3. I just happened to be by accident: …until one day, just for the fun of it, I bought a DSLR. I never had a reliable camera. The toy film camera required me to buy films. And get them developed. And every developed copy looked different. And I was prone to lose the negatives. (Also happened to my digital pics one day when I lost my entire collection of digital photographs in a failed hard-drive and was lucky enough to get them recovered for over $1500). The DSLR was a curious looking thing with so many controls and an expansive manual. It caught the fascination of the tech freak inside me. Looked like I could do a lot of things with it. And then I tried, read books, talked to my father and something clicked. Afterwards when I looked through the viewfinder, the world expanded in a new dimension. I was no more photographing the objects around — I was composing my own world and organizing it the way I always wanted it to look.
4. My knowledge about photography is by no means bookish or authoritative: I never attended a photography course. I did attend a two day photography workshop and found that most of the things were the ones which I knew already. A camera is just like any other tech-gizmo like a cellphone. In that workshop I realized that photography is not about shooting pictures, it’s all about making use of and capturing “light”. I’ve often being drawn into heated discussions of pros and taken the flak. Unfortunately not every word from the book can stand the test of the field.
5. …but it is experience and practical oriented: I’ve spent crazy time experiment with the camera and lenses in variety of conditions, experimenting with different controls and various settings and a combination of them. After all this painstaking investment of crucial hours I now know that my camera behaves, and it behaves in a very predictable manner. And I know how to use this behavior to make good pictures. Thus I could see what all these books are about.
6. I’m (very) shy to go around carrying over a pound of a camera in public: Just happens to be a part of my personality. Or also because maybe the place I stay, photographers are not a part of the usual scene. India is a place where any unusual looking element (or person) will catch the fascination of simpletons. A big camera in my hand makes me feel as if I’m the centerpiece of everyone’s attention.
7. Not comfortable carrying expensive equipment in secluded areas either: Crime and notoriety is a concern. You don’t want to be surrounded by 3 strangers and being parted away from your equipment. So I generally stick to going around with a friend when I plan to go out shooting.
8. I don’t have fancy gear — just carry my D80: As much as I like to share my know-hows about photography, I only have a single DSLR — my Nikon D80 when it comes to counting cameras. But when I carry it, I have the complete kit, a clear filter by default, a circular polarizer, extra batteries, charger, the lens cleaning kit and the works.
9. I don’t have several lenses either: I’m not a very rich person (for someone who doesn’t make a dime with photography). I saved for several months before I was in a position to plan a purchase. I stuck to a general purpose AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR which did everything I imagined at the time.
10. I don’t shoot regularly: Doesn’t even need a mention as someone who doesn’t photograph for living, I only photograph as and when life allows the luxury of pursuing my interests.
11. But when I do I come back with over 2000 images: And when I do get lucky I shoot all the photos I can. I want to take good shots, and make sure it’s not blurred, and try it from different angles and take an extra one too before I lose the scene.
12. Most of pictures I shoot are portraits, family functions: Naturally for someone my kind who doesn’t travel too often my memory card and hard-drives are populated with photos of friends, family and family functions. My family treats me as a professional photographer (who  is supposed) to offer free service to them. There are some folders in my hard-drive which contain my personal picks. These are the ones which my wife doesn’t find anything worth appreciating. So I keep them for those who talk in the photography jargon like DOF, DR, etc…
13. I still feel lucky when I get a killer shot: A killer shot is in no way guaranteed. The more I photograph, the more are my chances of striking gold. The less I think while shooting the worse the chances. And I never realize I’ve got that shot I was looking for until I come back to my pc and view the image full size, verify it for noise and blur etc. I can understand perfectly; it’s tough being a photographer and making a living out of it.
14. I love natural light: Natural light has a certain thing about it… something that I’m yet not able to describe. Even the hard light is so flattering in a natural way — no doubt it’s called natural light.
15. I dislike flash: And primarily for the same reason I have a strong disliking for flash. Not that I have a professional flash light or have tried one, I’d prefer the ring flash if my back is against the wall.
16. I read books and view photographs of other photographers more than my own: I shoot them and archive them. Being into so many things it’s difficult to go reviewing each photograph and classifying the keepers. And sometimes it’s such a tough decision that I let them be. I just finish the ones I like and print them on my Epson TX700W (and I’m always turned-off by the unavailability and the lack of ink supplies).
17. I’m not scared of reading my camera manual and being called an amateur: That comes as a part of being a perfectionist. Does the depth-of-field-preview button even work? How does it? And what should I be seeing? Could never make much difference because I wear glasses. Had to try real hard to make out the difference. But the point in being thorough with my knowledge of things.
18. I do know my camera like a writer knows his pen (or a programmer his keyboard): That’s because I’ve spent time reading the manual and exhaustive experimentation. After all I don’t want to be looking for the space-bar when I’m typing. I know how my camera behaves, all the controls are under my grip, I’m able to tune the camera in real time and make it sing. And if all goes well, lucky enough to get the dream shot. But everytime I read the manual I do come across something about a functionality that I didn’t know before.
19. I do yearn for a better camera: And a better lens. I yearn to use a portrait prime someday on a body that allows me to photograph in low light at high ISOs (something that can give me clearer pictures in low but natural light). I wanted a Nikon D700 which seems to have been superseded by the Nikon D800. I’m now waiting for a Nikon that has the picture quality of the D800 but the pixel size of D700 (for obvious technical reasons).
20. I could get more practice: Like any other form of art, I wish to perfect it. And in this endless pursuit, I only wish I could get more practice. I make it a point to at least go out and try every new thing that I learn, if not master it.
21. I’m still not at a stage where I can get away without some kind of basic off-camera adjustments or post-processing: I know of purists who don’t like someone to even blow the dust off their photographs. They are comfortable seeing the paper age and the natural grain in it. But this day, I am still not content without doing some basic fine-tuning like contrast, color adjustments etc. I primarily use Nikon Capture NX2. Once I have a good output I move them to Lightroom where I can just flag and sort them or try some filmsy effects.
22. I wish to work for a commercial photographer someday: Just for the sake of the learning involved and being called a professional photographer. I know of enthusiasts who can put some of the so called pros to shame (which seems like more of an exception than a rule); I though wish…

In the coming days I’ll share some of my personal shots and how I took them with the intent of just sharing my experiences first-hand. Do you have any confessions to make? Haven’t you felt like this at some or the other part of your photographic journey?

For almost all of us be it photographers or the audience, the final result is what matters the most. Capturing a perfect shot every single time is not so easy and thus the flexibility to add finishes to the image in post- processing phase becomes crucial for getting the professional results. Accordingly, the file format you choose to shoot in decides the level of flexibility and control you have over the final result. While RAW format is generally prefered over JPEGs, let’s quickly check out what TIFF format is all about; when and why to prefer (or not to prefer) it over RAW.

Overview — RAW & TIFF

1. RAW: The RAW format is referred to as the digital negative. The RAW format simply preserves the image information as collected by the camera sensor. It is the minimally processed data as captured by the camera sensor and holds information of every pixel of the sensor.
2. TIFF: TIFF is a file format and is an acronym for “Tagged Image File Format”. It is one of the popular formats for high color depth images. The TIFF files usually have either the TIFF or TIF filename extension.

File Size

1. RAW: RAW has a data depth of 12 bit or more. The file size is big and eats up lots of space on your memory card.
2. TIFF: The TIFF normally saves 8 bits or 16 bits per color (red, green, blue) for 24-bit and 48-bit totals, respectively. The file size is even bigger than RAW and the space occupancy is enormous. Thus, buffer is filled up quickly and processing time increases, hindering your capacity to quickly shoot photos one after the other.
   

   2 Pino E La Panchina By mirco_sem (Shot At TIFF)

Flexibility & Versatility

1. RAW: RAW is not readable by all softwares. It is a proprietary format and needs exclusive custom made image editing software for readability for instance Capture NX for Nikon NEFs. Adobe RAW is also a feasible option for RAW files but proprietary software provide much more flexibility and control over the final image. After editing the RAW files, you need to convert them to either JPEG or TIFF for other softwares to read them; especially when you wish to share your work with the publishing industry.
   

   Hamilton Pool Waterfall By Michael Connell (Shot At RAW& Photoshoped)

2. TIFF: TIFF is extremely compatible with most of  the image editing softwares. It is a universal format that is absolutely versatile in its approach. It does not require any proprietary solution for post-processing during or after download from camera, so the image is immediately usable. Also, the ability to store image data in a lossless format makes a TIFF file a useful image archive, because, unlike standard JPEG files, a TIFF file using lossless compression (or none) may be edited and re-saved without losing image quality. However this is not the case when using the TIFF as a container holding compressed JPEGs.

Control Over Post Processing

1. RAW: RAW keeps the information of every pixel intact. It extends the sensor’s dynamic range and provides 256 intensity levels for each pixel. You have a complete control over the image and you can change almost everything (except lighting) like white balance, contrast, sharpness, color saturation, etc. as per your wish.
2. TIFF: TIFF does not have as much editing versatility as RAW. In fact, like JPEG, most of the editing is decided and processed by the camera itself. However, unlike JPEG, since it is an uncompressed, lossless format, therefore, you can do some editing but using the common software editing elements ( like adjusting levels and curves in Photoshop). The parameters and options for editing TIFFs are fixed and limited.
   

   Mare Bagnasciuga By mirco_sem (Shot At TIFF)

RAW or TIFF — Which Format Is Better For Me?

1. RAW: RAW is usually not ideal for beginners. Before using a RAW format, you must make sure why you want to use it. In order to edit RAW files, you must have a high end knowledge, photo-editing skills and an in- depth understanding of the camera as well as the proprietary image editor for RAW files.
   

   Tulip By dougbutchy (Shot In RAW)

2. TIFF: TIFF is considered to be the best for those who do not wish to fiddle much with their images during post-processing. For JPEG and TIFF formats, camera manufacturers input sophisticated, programmed algorithms in their camera sensors for automatically correcting the photographic flaws like contrast, sharpness, color balance etc., in the camera itself.  As such, little needs to be done during the post- processing phase.

Conclusion

We finally arive at the most awaited question — Which format is better [RAW or TIFF]. Well, the answer totally depends on your priorities. If you sweat for fine details and love to deliver professionally finished results, RAW by all means is the piece of cake for you. And if you are looking for a quickly printing the high quality images, TIFF would be an ideal format to shoot in.

Author’s Intro: Kevin provides various tips and tricks on wedding photography, portrait photography and family photography.

Flash photography is one of the photography techniques where, once mastered, will produce extremely amazing and beautiful photos. However, many people do not completely understand what flash photography is, or the correct technique that should be applied. This is why many amateur attempts at family photography in Brisbane that use flash often produce sad results.

Built-in flash, studio strobes, and hot shoe-mounted flash units are examples of devices that can emit good flash. Nevertheless, no matter how high-tech a device is, flash photography needs good management of flash and ambient light exposure, as they contribute to the images captured. Flash exposure is affected by aperture and ISO settings, while ambient light exposure is managed by changing the shutter speeds. Thus, keep the shutter open longer is not much help to flash portrait photography in Brisbane.

The inverse square law states that distance affects flash illumination. This is applicable for images in which there is more than one subject and they are positioned at different distances from the photographer. When the distance to one subject is increased by a factor of 1.4, for example, flash illumination is reduced by half. Thus, when photographing a group portrait where people in the first row are 10 feet away from the photographer, and people in the second row are 14 feet away, the first row will be one full stop brighter than the second will.

Most people are familiar with direct flash, the flash that is emitted directly on the subject from the camera. Good tips for using this flash is that the subject needs to be further away from the background, i.e., nearer to the camera, and the flash should be angled so that there will not be harsh shadows and little depth in the resulting image.

Another type of flash is the stroboscopic flash, where a flash is fired rapidly several times during a single long exposure. The exposure should be set manually at f/2.8 for ½ second in order to obtain flash firing that is evenly spaced.

If flash is to be used in an environment with tungsten or, predominantly, incandescent lighting, the flash should be gelled so that the image looks more neutral. Otherwise, the usage of flash without gel will result in a grungy-orange background and a blue-hued image.

While flash photography might seem complicated, it is worth the time spent getting right because the resulting photos can look stunning and dramatic. At the same time, if you have yet to master the skill but have to take fantastic photos, engage a professional photographer and see if you can pick up some tips.

Author’s Intro: Kevin provides various tips and tricks on wedding photography, portrait photography and family photography.
Website: Dreamlife Wedding Photography

Macro photography can be real fun. Macro photography brings out the fineness and detail which is not usually seen by the human eye. It enables you to capture close-ups of plants, flowers, animals and tiny insects with beauty and fineness. It lets you zoom into the new world of tiny subjects. The subject being larger than life definitely adds to the fun. Here are 10 beautiful examples of  macro photography.

1. Sonnentau (Drosera) Macro Detail photo
   
2. iPhoneography: Dandelion Macro I
   
3. Duvalia caespitosa X Huernia pillansii hybrid flower macro
   
4. Huernia clavigera X Huernia pillansii hybrid flower (Huernia distincta) – Extreme Macro
   
5. Tiny Echidnopsis cereiformis flower & buds – Extreme Macro
   
6. Macro planets
   
7. Super Macro Eye
   
8. Ladybug Macro
   
9. Macro
   
10. Macro Raindrops 5
    

Want to learn how to shoot macro photography? Here are some links to get started:

• Tips for better macro photography
• 5 unusual techniques for taking beautiful macro shots

When I picked up a toy camera for the first time I hunted everywhere for a photogenic subject. I ended up photographing walls, bushes and what not. Budding photographers have always been plagued by the lack of interesting subjects around them. Depending on the cultural values in a specific region it may not be suitable to photograph kids or women. Landscapesmay be difficult to come by — there are electricity poles everywhere in my area and in the country-side where I reside. It’s difficult to achieve the backdrop of a clear blue sky or the silver clouds because of the pollution and haze. Well, that’s the world we live in.

It’s a different matter though that after about 1 hour of driving distance I do come across wheat fields and the likes. While photographers travel great distances and exercise extreme patience to get the right location and timing to get the magic shot, as a budding photographer not everyone has that privilege.

Welcome to the creative realm of photography. A slight different approach and everything around us turns photogenic. That’s a world where there are no real subjects. There’s abstractness composed of normalcy yet surreal. Yes, macro comes to the mind… but do not forget bokeh either. It’s actually the creative vision of a photographer that helps him achieve results which gather acclaim. So instead of putting it point-wise, this is only for those reading between the lines :)

Red by BrittneyBush

Shooting abstract also extends into ‘creating’ abstract. We’ve all gotten used to pursuing razor sharp focus, accurate compositions and the likes. How about we take a U-turn and try the other extreme? The essence lies in understanding how the camera behaves. Today optics are complex and it takes time to learn and get used to how your camera behaves — precisely what it will output in a certain lighting, composition, setting, lens, zoom-level, ISO, shutter-speed. That’s where ones expertise is tested handling these controls manually. Not only these techniques get you great results, make you a more successful photographer and widen your creative horizons.

When you are able to turn lines, reflections, gradations, shapes, forms, textures into a subject and can make abstractions out of depth-of-field, bokeh, blurs you’ll realize a new world full of countless options. Photographing abstract from your surroundings brings with is a lot of lessons and shall give you the creative edge you need as a photographer.

Stairs@Adalaj by Yogesh Moorjani

In Part-I of the series photography principles from design, we discussed 8 photographic design principles to create professionally composed photographs. Before proceeding with this one, check out Photography Principles From Design-I to see how rhythm, harmony, symmetry, balance, proportion, emphasis, contrast and unity contribute in making great photographs.

In this series, we review the remaining seven principles which will take your photographic composition skills to an advanced level.

1. Variety

   The design principle of variety refers to use of diverse elements in the photograph. This may include a variety of colors, shapes, textures or subjects as well. These varied elements portray unity in diversity thus making the photograph interesting. For instance the cloudy skies shot during the magic hour present the unison of blue, orange, pink and white which makes the scene all the more dramatic and the outcome is an impressive image. While a lack of variety can make the photographic composition dull, a lot of variety on the other hand may create an effect of chaos where the viewer might get confused about the intention of the photographer and the point of focus. Therefore, a well balanced variety is a must for a pleasing photograph.

   

2. Movement

   Technically movement refers to something which signifies motion or action in the photograph. In this respect it means to capture the motion and movement by choosing appropriate shutter speed to portray motion blur, render panning effect or simply freeze the action. When speaking in terms of design principles, movement refers to the ability of the visual image to guide the human eye in some particular direction by effectively using lines, curves, shapes and form. Vertical lines for instance leads the eyes upward, horizontal lines direct the eyes inwards while shapes and form guide the eye in deciphering the structure of the subject.

   

3. Form

   Form refers to the closed contour of element / subject in the photograph. The properties of light play an important role in depicting the form on the two dimensional photographic surface. The side-lighting plays a prominent role in rendering form in fine art photography. When an object in the case of table top photography and the subject in case of fine art photography is emphasized with the help of sidelight, a shadow is rendered and the element seems more dynamic and its depth becomes more pronounced; giving it a three-dimensional effect. Form is immensely useful in heightening the sense of three dimensional reality (as in the following image the water droplets look more real and natural owing to the use of side light).

   

4. Gradation

   Gradation refers to a gradual change in the linear perspective, shapes or color shades in the scene. The change in color may be with regards to its hue, saturation or the tonal values (warm to cool or dark to light) while the shapes may ascend or descend from big to small. For a gradation in the linear perspective, direction and size of an element is used. The size of the element, if gradually decreased in a particular direction gives an illusion of increasing distance (because of the constant reduction in scaling).

   

5. Perspective

   Another design principle or design element to be precise is the perspective. Perspective signifies the utilization of your photographing skills to present a creative outlook of the scene or the subject. Perspective portrays your unique viewpoint in the photograph. Perspective helps you in making the photograph interesting by adding the missing third-dimension to it. Adding your perspective to the composition weaves a story around the captured scene; elaborating your unique style of observing and photographing. Learn more about perspective here.

   

6. Negative Space

   Negative space is the free / empty space around the subject of an image. It simply refers to the space which is not utilized by the main subject (as opposed to the positive space of the image). Negative space renders a soothing effect to the photograph by providing the place for resting the eyes. The effective use of negative space helps in leading the viewer’s eyes towards the main subject. Employing the negative space makes your photographs desirable for advertisers and designers thus increases your prospects of making money with photography (by selling the photographs online). Check out the article on negative space to learn more about using the negative space creatively.

   

7. Simplicity & Minimalism

   Simplicity is one of the main components of the good photograph. It is the technique of enhancing the visual appeal of the scene by keeping distracting elements off the photographic frame. Simplicity enables you to portray the aesthetics of the subject effectively. This design principle thus helps you in conveying a clear and strong viewpoint. Simplicity depends a lot on the way you present the subject. For example eliminating the background clutter, limiting the number of elements in the photograph, employing negative space and using complimentary colors help in intensifying the simplicity which ultimately helps you in drawing the viewer’s attention to the main subject. (Learn more about simplicity here)

   

The design principles have an elaborate impact on the way an image is read and appreciated by the critics. An image portraying the visual symmetry, unity, balance, simplicity, gradation and so on definitely look good even when the underlying principles are not noticed by the common man. However it is rare that one single image employs all the principles. Sometimes just focusing on one principle alone can also create a strong point of interest in the photograph. By the way, are you practicing the design principles?